Chapter 14 - Doctor's appointment
"Yeah.. no. I'll pass for tonight." Claire answered into the phone as she shut the refrigerator with her foot and smirked down at the half eaten Ben and Jerry's Chris had clearly forgotten about or didn't care enough to hide from her.
Setting the carton on the table, she adjusted the phone from her shoulder to her hand. Leaning against the counter, she shook her head at her friend Natalie's persistent tone.
'Aw come on Claire bear! I understand you're doing this whole independent working, don't-need-no-man college student thing right now, but skipping Blake Anderson's pool party? Everyone's gonna be asking me where the hell you are tonight!'
"Look, Natty cat.." she began as she managed to flick the top off the ice cream with the back of her spoon, and walked up the stairs licking the carton lid. "Its just that the job I'm doing right now is keeping me so busy right now. Its bullshit, I know, but my bills are getting ridiculous, and I need to start helping Chris out more! I mean come on, did you see our supplies fee for this year?"
'Nu uh Claire, we're not talking about our ridiculous bills! We're talking about you becoming one of those girls that gives up on guys, cuts all her hair and starts playing the bongo's on a subway in New York for spare change.'
Claire giggled and rolled her eyes as she plonked down on her bed and started flipping through channels. "Oh Nat, that's crazy. I'd never play the bongo's, I've always been a guitar kinda gal."
Natalie laughed and it was as infectious as ever. The phone call had been unexpected, but so very welcomed. This summer had been a real strange one so far. It had been the first summer she hadn't spent out at bon fires with friends, chilling at the beach or having sleepover's with absolutely no sleep. She sighed as she thought about the strange past few days she had. Glancing at her arm and remembering the 'power' she had now. Strange indeed.
No, she wasn't passed all that, she just had priorities right now, and sadly, Natalie and all her other college friends had to take a back seat.
Once the laughing had settled down, Natalie gave an overly dramatic sigh. 'Things have been too quiet Eclaire. Are you busy tomorrow?' her voice had lost its wonderful spark it always had when she was happy or excited, and instead had taken on a quiet and solemn undertone.
Claire scrunched her face up in thought. Wesker had said he wasn't expecting the team until late tonight, so he was going to be diving straight into training tomorrow, meaning Claire most likely had to go over the accepted officers with Chief Irons. Yes, she was going to be busy tomorrow.
"I.. will be, Nat." she said apologetically. "But we can meet up for lunch? how's 1 o' clock? At Emmy's?"
She was sure she heard Natalie sigh when Claire said she was busy, but definitely heard her perk up at her lunch offer. 'Definitely! We need to catch up, and get talking about your birthday plans.'
Claire nearly choked on her mouth full ice cream, the realization suddenly hitting her that her birthday was - she glanced at the calender above her TV - 2 weeks away!
"Oh shit, I completely forgot about th-" Claire's eyes somehow managed to roam over to the window, and spotted a familiar black car pulling up onto the drive way. "I.. I will talk to you tomorrow Natalie sorry! I just remembered I had to do a report for work! See you later!" she quickly finished as she spotted the familiar blonde stepping out of the car.
What the fuck? Claire watched with amazement as he started walking towards the door. Theirs no way he's here for Chris, they're not due back till late. She quickly realized he was here for her. Albert Wesker was here to see her. Aren't you special?
Tearing her eyes from the window, she practically ran downstairs, having no clue why she was so excited all of a sudden. What did he want? Why did he have to see her in person? Was it important? Was it work related?
Questions appeared faster than Claire could give them any type of thought, and before she realized Wesker hadn't even gotten the chance to ring the door bell or even knock before she practically tore the door off its hinges opening it.
"Wesker!" Claire said in shock as she noticed the blonde's eyes open all the way as he held up a fist to knock.
"Good evening." Wesker said a bit awkwardly as he lowered his fist, an eyebrow arched at the unnecessary volume of her voice.
They stood in silence for a moment, Wesker waiting for Claire to allow him in, and Claire waiting for an explanation.
Oh boy. Was all she could think as she swung the door open and motioned for him to come in.
"No, thank you." Wesker answered her with the wave of his hand at her offering him a tray of milk, sugar, and a few odd biscuits she'd managed to wrangle up from the pantry. Probably best he didn't eat any, Claire wasn't even aware they had any biscuits in the house. Her and Chris rarely got visitors. She was sure that was obvious to Wesker considering she was using a small decorative rice bowl as the container for the milk. Do we really not have a milk jug?
"So.." Claire mumbled as she sat on the adjacent couch, muting the television as she spoke. She watched Wesker with interest. Even when she worked at his home, he sat impeccably straight watching the news. She didn't think that would be possible on their couch considering the couch was pretty much made up of four cushions, but lo and behold Wesker, a man who could make what was quite possibly the most comfortable couch ever, look like it was made of bricks.
"How do you feel?" Wesker asked as he set his coffee on the table and took off his sunglasses to tuck into his, of course black dress shirt. His casual wear collection probably consisted of shirts and pants more expensive than her tuition. She caught herself as she realized she was staring intently at his clothed chest and snapped her eyes up to his.
"Uh.. fine?" Claire answered. "Am I suppose to feel a specific way now that I'm.." I'm what exactly? Infected? Improved?
Wesker pursed his lips. He looked like he was about to finish her sentence, but decided to go in a different direction. "Truth be told I'm unsure whats considered.. normal for you right now Claire." Wesker admitted. "But that's exactly why I'm here."
"What?" Claire asked as she nervously fiddled with her hair. A nervous habit she had had for years.
Wesker cleared his throat and stood up. "I'd like you to come to the Umbrella lab where I work."
Claire cocked her head slightly to one side, unsure of where he was going with this. Before her imagination got carried away and started to imagine Wesker playing frankenstien with her, he explained.
"That friend that allowed me to review your blood work, Doctor Birkin, would like to perform a quick physical on you, now more specifically."
"Now?" Claire asked as she watched him with a single eyebrow raised. "Why? Am I in danger?"
"No." Wesker answered rather fast. "No.." this time the answer was less convincing. "Doctor Birkin just wants to make sure that you're healthy, and wants to check your body first hand for all of the virus's effects. It's nothing to worry about."
Claire sighed and nodded. She supposed this was for the best. Maybe this Birkin guy could put her mind at ease. She did have a few questions, ones she was sure Wesker couldn't answer. Doctor Birkin was obviously the person she needed to speak to for clarity.
Standing, she grabbed her purse and nodded to Wesker. "Lets get this over with then."
Claire wasn't sure when she'd fallen asleep in Wesker's car, or why the hell he hadn't just woke her up to bring her to the lab, but when she awoke in Wesker's arms being carried down a white hallway, she didn't feel the need to question it. Wesker gently brushed a stand of her hair out of her hair, discretely disguising the tiny needle prick on the side of her neck.
As she begrudgingly awoke and opened her eyes, Wesker gently set her down and once he felt she was steady enough, let her walk along at his side.
"He knows hes seeing you today, I just need to give him some samples in private, if you would.. ?" Wesker nodded towards about four seats in a row and Claire knew she was to be an obedient little assistant and wait for Wesker.
"Kay." Claire answered as she plonked down on one of the seats and folded her arms. Wesker looked somewhat disapproving of Claire's behavior but forgave her as her eyes almost instantly shut. Clearly the sedative he gave her was a little too much, and she was now cranky from how tired she was. Fortunately for Wesker, he knew William had a lot to discuss with him, so Claire could doze for quite a while.
Opening the door to their joint lab, Wesker spotted his colleague instantly, but wasn't impressed with what he'd brought to the office this evening.
"Hi Uncle Albert!" Sherry beamed as she set her child's watering can down. Clearly William was stuck babysitting Sherry this evening. William was in the corner analyzing what was most likely both his own and Claire's blood samples, while Sherry watered the various plants he'd been taking pollen samples from. Sherry ran over to Albert at full speed but stopped short in front of him, knowing all too well how much he despised physical contact. This evening she was in white bunny slippers, a cyan pajama's and a pink fluffy dressing gown. Considering it was well passed 10 PM, William should of most certainly had her home in bed, but being the workaholic he was, this was hardly a surprising sight.
"Sherry." Wesker nodded to her as he gently patted her head and walked to William. Sherry giggled and went back to watering his plants. He never worried too much about her ruining them, as she was surprisingly very careful about the amount of water she used to care for his plants, and had been doing it in the lab for a while.
William looked up from his work to acknowledge his colleague with a nod. "Have you found out anything William?"
A sigh left his lips as he ran one hand through his hair. "You're not gonna like this."
Wesker's expression soured slightly. "What won't I like?"
William pushed his chair out and spun to a computer screen that was directly behind him. He tapped his pen at the screen, a chart of sorts on the screen. "This is Claire's spread sheet of her bodies chemicals over her infection." He began on the small set of numbers on the far left. "This is your initial blood sample, all vitals were normal." He moved on to the next set of numbers "This is the blood sample you took after the 72 hour mark, same numbers, give or take." Wesker nodded, growing a little impatient as he pointed to the next set of numbers, this one looking much different. "What sample produced these numbers?"
"This set right here." William double clicked on the set and after a few seconds, a stream of information came on screen. "This is the sample you took from her after your little experiment." William once again pushed his chair out, returned to his original desk and grabbed a folder.
"You say she got extremely aggressive when cornered by the brute known as Jack?" William scrunched his face up in disapproval at that trick, but Wesker made no move to reprimand him for it.
"Yes, she nearly killed him, even if Jack thinks otherwise." Wesker answered as he attempted to make sense of the numbers in front of him. They made no sense. "Her body went into survival mode, her adrenaline was pumping and her virus obviously gave her a burst of strength and confidence." Wesker guessed, judging by the numbers displayed before him, and the state he found her in.
William sighed. "Yes, but theirs one more thing.."
Wesker growled. "Spit it out!"
Sherry looked a little nervous at Wesker's tone, and William seemed to notice. "Sherry sweet heart, will you go outside and make sure Claire is alright?" Sherry quickly nodded and scampered out the door.
William scratched his head and placed the pen in his hand behind his ear. "Claire is.. well.. from what I can tell.. she's a queen bee of sorts."
Of all the things Wesker was expecting William to say, that wasn't one of them. "Elaborate."
"This is just a theory," William stated. "but when Claire was attacked, her body had two needs: To survive, and to breed." William once again motioned to the screen. "Her estrogen levels were far higher than they should of been at the time of this blood sample, showing that her bodies response to near death is to survive by any means, and to breed in case of emergency. When she survived, her bodies estrogen levels nearly tripled in an effort to attract a male."
Wesker was perfectly still as he mulled over the information. That's why I could hardly resist her that night..
"Because the virus in her blood stream is thus far the strongest and most stable of all our strains, while still being in the family, she is a theoretical queen bee amongst those infected with the lesser strands that have survived. If I'm correct her, she may be even able to control the subjects beneath her if they were extremely weak minded, like the Cerberus.."
Wesker's blood ran cold. Control. That was not for her to have and use. That was his. A Redfield came damn close to bringing him to his knees. A Redfield. In the bedroom of all places.
"William, her virus-"
"I know, I know." William swatted the air around him. "You want the virus for yourself, I've thought of that already." he stated. "But you may need to wait a while."
"Why?" Wesker hissed. "What is stopping me from bring her in here right now, taking a sample of her blood and manufacturing the virus for myself?"
William smirked up at him. "What if I told you that I may have an even more powerful, and damn near perfect virus in my possession?"
Wesker folded his arms and stared down at the smirking scientist leaning in his chair. "I would ask what the catch was."
William chuckled. "Oh Al. You wouldn't believe me if I told you." his mouse hovered on a file named. CLASSIFIED - PROJECT NAME: PROGENITOR
Wesker raised an eyebrow. "Try me."
"Why are you so tired?" a soft, high pitched voice asked Claire as she yawned in the uncomfortable as hell plastic chair.
Claire's eyes opened in a flash, spying a cute little blonde girl dressed for bed in front of her. Is she here to see the doctor too? Where are her parents?
"I've been awake for a really long time." Claire stated as she smiled at the little girl, who returned it swiftly. "Why?" she asked with a giggle.
"I was working all day." she said as she watched the little girl with interest. "Whats your name sweet heart?" Claire asked her as she bent down to pet her bunny slippers. The smile on her face began to hurt, but she couldn't help it. This little girl was too cute.
"I'm Sherry Anne Birkin!" she beamed as she came a little closer to Claire. it was only when she came closer that Claire noticed how blue her big eyes were.
"I'm Claire Redfield." Claire replied softly, "I like your bunny slippers." she smirked as the little girl burst into a fit of giggles. "Thank you!" she chirped as she sat cross legged on the ground with a big grin on her face.
Claire was about to ask her where her parents where when she lifted her head and shot Claire that cute little smile. "Daddy told me to come out here and make sure you were okay!"
Claire was a little surprised at that. "Is your dad Doctor Birkin?" Sherry giggled and nodded. "Yup! but his real name is William, not Doctor! Only old people call him Doctor Birkin!"
Claire couldn't help but snicker at that. At least she wasn't considered an old person by this little girls standards. Still though, why is Sherry still here at nearly midnight? and why is she awake at this time? If I was home I'd be in bed by now watching whatever movie was in the video player. Poor thing must have a workaholic of a dad.
sighing as she stretched out, Claire couldn't help but grumble at how tired she was. I feel like I just took a ton of sleeping pills.
"Do you want something to drink?" Sherry asked as soon as she'd blearily opened her eyes.
"That would be nice actually, is their a cafeteria around here?" Claire stood and instantly Sherry held her hand and began leading her through the door Wesker had gone through. "Right in here! Daddy will make you coffee!"
Before Claire could protest Sherry had thrown open the door and instantly had the attention of her father and Wesker, neither looking too impressed by the interruption. "Daddy! Claire wants coffee!"
William minimized a window open on the computer in an instant and the annoyance William showed towards his daughter instantly dissolved as he spied Claire standing awkwardly behind her. An awkward cough escaped him as he stood and motioned for Wesker to take Sherry outside, and Claire stood like a deer in the headlights as Wesker walked towards her and gently placed a hand on Sherry's back, leading her out of the room and leaving just herself and Doctor Birkin.
"Can I get you anything?" was William's first words to her.
He looked nice enough. Blonde hair similar enough to Wesker's, not as tall, and a more friendly demeanor about him. Most likely because he has a kid. He stood casually beside his desk, sipping a Styrofoam cup of coffee as he sized up the redhead. "A coffee would be nice actually." Claire finally answered, even though she hesitated slightly when Williams friendly smile melted into a flat line on his face.
Instantly he spun around to the coffee pot and began pouring her the drink. Almost solemnly, he began. "Claire, I'm not going to lie to you today, and for all I know, I may or may not have bad news for you."
Even though he had his back to her as he sat the coffee pot down, Claire nodded slowly. She hadn't really expected for their to be any sort of bad news. If she was slightly nervous before, she was shitting bricks now. As William turned around he must of spotted her pulling her jackets draw strings because he couldn't help but smile at her.
Claire raised a brow at his smirk as she unknowingly continued, much to the scientists amusement. "My daughter has the same nervous habit." he clarified as he handed her her black coffee. "Oh." Claire mumbled as she sipped her black coffee, face scrunching up at the bitter taste without her usual milk and sugar, but she decided not to push her luck and deal with it.
William walked around the labs island and patted the black marble at the other side with his pen. "If you could sit up for me then Claire, we can get started."
Claire took a large gulp of the scorching liquid and sat up on the cold surface without so much as a nod. She watched with curiosity and mild impatience as William fiddled on the computer for a few more beats, writing down information onto a clip board and ignoring Claire altogether. Feeling a little awkward about the silence hanging over them, she decided to break the silence herself.
"So um.. am I in danger of dying or anything?" Claire asked as she watched her legs swing back and forth.
William was quiet for a moment, mumbling to himself as he counted something on screen, then quickly shut down the computer and turned to her. "Well, that's what we're here to find out today." He said in a joking tone, though that didn't make his answer less scary than it was. Aren't doctors meant to lie to their patients to make them feel better? He snickered as her face contorted into a face of surprise, then mild anger. The scientist let out a soft laugh as he watched her. "So much like Albert." he mused. "Just a little better to hide his anger. And that's not saying much." he chuckled as he came over to Claire with his stethoscope. "If you would?" he motioned to the zip on Claire's hoody.
"Right." Claire huffed as she unzipped her hoody and then undid the top 3 buttons of her shirt, though regretted it when she felt the unusually freezing sensation that accommodated being checked with one. After a few slight movements of the stethoscope, William nodded and wrote down a few notes. "Heart beat is completely normal." he informed as he placed the stethoscopes top back on her chest.
Claire nodded and was relieved to hear her heart was still ticking away.
"So are you Albert's new girlfriend?" he asked out of the blue.
"W-what?!" Claire stuttered. "No! No I'm not his girlfriend! I work at the RPD as an assistant! I'm way too young to be going out with the likes of Albert! I'm-"
William chuckled. "Claire, I just needed to see how your heart would react to a surprise, no need to get so defensive." he teased as he jotted down notes. Quite pleased with himself Claire imagined. William shook his head with that damn smirk on his face. "Normal reaction, by the way." he informed as he set the stethoscope and chart aside.
"Great." Claire sarcastically drawled.
William snickered. "Good to see your sarcasm still works as well." Standing up from his seat, he pulled Claire up to stand beside him. "Now for the more.. intimate portion of the exam."
Claire's cheeks went instantly red and was about to punch the man in the face when he quickly interjected. "I meant its time I check your body for any physical abnormalities! Sheesh!"
Claire sighed in defeat and shrugged off her jacket and shirt all together. This is going to be a long night.
"So have you had any discomfort or strange pains?" William asked as he gently pressed his fingers into Claire's collarbone, gradually leaning harder to feel for any bone mutations - as was something high predominant in many experiments with the dogs.
"Just you pressing down on my collarbone." Claire laughed, attempting to lighten the stuffy professional air around them that she always hated.
"Funny." he smirked as he continued to press down. After a beat he stepped back and nodded. "No physical mutation that I can see anyway." he jotted down something on a nearby chart. Claire didn't even bother to look. "With these types of virus's we can usually pinpoint where mutations would occur in their early stages, but you're perfectly healthy." he concluded.
"I am?" Claire inquired. Sure, it was highly relieving to know she wasn't going to mutate into some alien like creature, but she was a little.. surprised to learn that she was perfectly healthy. "No neat super powers?" she smirked.
"Ha." William laughed sarcastically. "Sadly no." though his short lived smile quickly faded. "Speaking of that though.. Albert told me about the night you had an unfortunate... run in with that man behind the bar."
"Oh." was all Claire got out before dropping her gaze to her knees.
"Tell me.." he began as he stood up from his chair and took the chart up in his hands, tilting it away from her and preparing his pen so she couldn't see what he was writing. "How did you feel.. after the encounter?"
Claire looked up at him with interest for a moment, but quickly cast her gaze to the window on the far left. During the fight she had felt so much at once. Her fear dissolve into excitement. Her role of the damsel in distress change to the predator. Her raw, almost unnatural strength. Her heart pumping. It was disgusting to feel so invigorated by it, it was unnatural.. but it was so exciting.
But after? Claire caught the sight of a moving shadow getting closer and closer from down the hall. She saw Sherry first, then Wesker with a coffee in tow. She gulped. When me and Wesker.. No. In the car. Right after when you were in the car. I Felt.. "Vulnerable.. like I'd wasted all my energy and I needed someone there.. like I was lonely."
Claire thought she saw Williams eyes widen at that very moment, but couldn't of been sure.
"I see." was all he got out before scrawling more on the chart without missing a beat.
Not before taking a sample of Claire's blood and tissue, William had to leave, stating he needed to take Sherry home for the night to bed. Before bidding her adieu, he handed her a slip of paper with his house telephone's number on it. "If you need anything Claire, have any questions, or feel strange in any way, don't hesitate." he assured her with a soft smile before speeding off.
Wesker had stayed behind at the lab per Williams request. He purposely dropped Claire home and brought his shocking results with him in the car just to bait the damn man into staying put while he dropped the girls home.
But when he walked into the lab with the chart an hour later, he was certain that the information he had was both a breakthrough in what Claire's virus really did, and something Wesker would most certainly be proud of.
As Wesker read the paper and finished off his coffee, William slapped the chart right in front of him. "I couldn't make this up if I wanted to." William started. leaning back on the counter and folding his arms with a slight frown. Sure he had made a breakthrough tonight with Claire, and the results were fantastic, they were not going to be fun for Wesker.
Wesker held the chart with little interest as he scrunched up his face in annoyance at Williams notes. "Your writing is abysmal William, I can't read a damn thing." Wesker scoffed and he slid he chart over the table back towards him. "Just tell me what it means."
"In short?" William couldn't help but smile. Oh sweet, sweet irony. "Claire Redfield is a Queen bee. Just like I said."
Wesker growled. "Tell me something I don't know."
William snickered. "You've really shot yourself in the foot, Al." He began dramatically fanning himself with the chart. "It seems Miss Claire seeks refuge with you when she's in trouble or scared, so that means that the queen bee has a favorite."
Before Wesker could interject with some description of an insult, William continued. "See normal alpha males - of females in this case - among the T-Virus's survived infected usually choose to mate with who's ever close at hand at the time of need to carry on their blood line and continue to grow and populate, usually using their superior blood and will to control those beneath them to do what the alpha wants."
William couldn't help but chuckle. "But your little game of making her fall in love with you has just backfired, because, while you're not weak minded, Claire doesn't have a bunch of others to use her influence on. Only you. So saddle up Al, because if Claire gets into another pinch, she wont stop at anything to get you to mate with her."
For once in their lives, William was able to smile victoriously as for the first time, perhaps ever, he had told Albert something that had simply left him speechless.
"Damn Redfield's." Wesker growled under his breath as he pushed his stool out roughly and dashed out of the lab. I finally get her to develop feelings for me, and now it seems its become possibly deadly for me. If she uses her influence on him and he gives in.. and what if she got pregnant? what if James.. or even Spencer found out he was being intimate with his insubordinates younger sister? shaking his head, he kept up a speedy pace to get to his car. No. I won't let it happen. Something needs to be done.
William sighed happily as he took in the empty and silent lab. Sweet, sweet karma.
I've started college! Yay! Progress review Tuesday though. ICK! I'm sorry this took so long to get out. Please still love me ): I'm not giving up on this story, I promiseeeee
Sorry this time I can't respond to all of your wonderful reviews (again) but trust me, I appreciate and love all of them. You guys are so fantastic to put up with my BS and I love you all! Please leave me reviews, they make me so happy! ;w;
Also.. I was thinking of doing a fanfic all about a son of Jake and Sherry's.. trying to do it from the point of view of him being an asshole exactly like Wesker, and him being very like him, and how Sherry and Jake sort of struggle with it, but it all works out don't worry!. I'll have more of an actual description to give you the next chapter of this where I may sneak in a preview! My question is what would Jake and Sherry name a son of theirs? Leave it in a review for me! :)
