Chapter 4: Healing the Body and the Mind

With a painful groan, Billy sat up in bed, his chest, back, and sides protesting the movement. Slowly swinging his legs over the edge of the bed he let his feet dangle just above the floor. Closing his eyes against the pain for a moment, he took a slow, deep breath, the burning tightness in his chest reminding him of the invisible damage his body was still fighting. He glanced down at the bandage on his hand where the IV had been for the past week and remembered Becca's warning that if the pneumonia started getting worse again, he would have to have another one. A haggard cough escaped him as he winced in pain, his breath catching in his throat.

"Son of a bitch that still hurts…." Billy muttered when the coughing fit passed, and he opened his eyes. He lifted his shirt slowly and looked into the large mirror that hung on the wall. Staring at his reflection for the first time in a week, it was no surprise he felt like he had been run over by a truck. It had been about a week since they had found him and though he was on the mend, he was not out of the woods yet.

The black eye was finally starting to heal, and he could at least see out of it now, but it still looked pretty nasty. His chest and ribs were still a patchwork of bruises, welts, and cuts. Moving was still quite painful and he was doing all that he could to avoid sneezing after the other day when he nearly passed out from the pain that a single sneeze had caused. Tenderly he touched one of the welts and winced. Becca was going to have to wrap them again soon. As much as she wanted to keep it easy for him to breathe, the damage was too severe. Rebecca had ended up having to wrap his ribs again because the coughing fits were still so bad, she was worried he would break more ribs before they could heal. She had just taken the bandage off the other day and while he was glad for the days here and there where he didn't have to have the wrap, he knew it would have to be done soon.

Billy sighed as he looked at his reflection. The last five years had not been kind to him at all to say the least. He knew he was lucky to even be alive, and that was totally thanks to Becca and Michael. His mind wandered as he thought about Becca. For all those years since they had last seen each other, he had thought of her often, though he would have never dreamt he would ever actually get to see her again. Now that they were back together, for at least the time being, he was finding himself thinking of her more and more often.

"Snap out of it" he scolded himself. "It's been five years. She's probably moved on, and would be better off if she has. She and Michael are probably a thing, so you're just wasting your time even thinking about it."

Billy shook his head, trying to push away the thoughts of Becca. He picked up the file folder Michael and left after their last visit and flipped through it for a moment then put it back on the table by the bed. Taking a slow deep breath, he slowly slid to the edge of the bed till his feet were on the floor and slowly stood. He had barely been out of the bed for more than a few minutes here and there Billy could feel himself beginning to go stir crazy. He had to get out of the bed at the very least or he felt he was going to lose his mind. Billy felt his chest ache and his lungs burned as he stood. Just then, he heard voices outside and the click of the door as the knob turned slowly.

Billy looked up from where he was standing by the edge of the bed as the door opened and Rebecca and Michael walked in. Now that he was on the mend, they were spending more time out on their patrols and working with the rest of the STARS team. Usually, it was just one of them coming by at night to check on him after their shifts, so there must be some news or something must have happened to warrant a double visit.

Billy nodded as they walked in and gave Rebecca a soft smile.

"Billy, what are you doing?" Rebecca admonished as she walked over to the bed.

"Just going for a small walk to the chair," he said, waiting for his legs to stop feeling like spaghetti. "Can't stay in the bed any longer."

"Well, at least let me help you so you don't fall and break the rest of your ribs," Rebecca said with a sigh as she walked over and started to take Billy's arm.

"Sorry doll face, but if I go down, you aren't going to be able to hold me up," Billy said with a wink.

"Then use the cane, that's what I brought it in for… for you to, ya know, actually use!"

"Canes aren't really my style" he quipped back with a smirk.

"Oh, Billy Coen! You are such a handful at times" she said in exasperation, but she saw the smile on his face and sighed softly. "Fine. Michael, can you help this hardhead over to the chair before he hurts himself even more?"

Billy winked at the petite brunet and smiled as he saw Becca smile back. Michael helped Billy over to the chair and Rebecca helped him get situated a bit more comfortably. She saw that the cane was beside the bed but not where she had left it a few days ago, so he was obviously using it when they weren't there. Billy was just being his usual smart-ass self. She laughed to herself and shook her head as she adjusted the pillow behind him and then took a seat at the desk. A few minutes later she picked up the folder Michael had put there when they came in and opened it.

"So, what do I owe the pleasure of a double visit?" Billy asked, his face and tone more serious now. He knew something had to be going on for them both to come by at the end of their shift.

"We have had our first real breakthrough in regard to A.W." Michael said as he took the folder from Rebecca.

"STARS was able to apprehend several of the gang members in a drug sting operation yesterday. Today we got the case files for the three men who were detained."

"We need you to take a look and see if you recognize any of them as being associated with Wesker, and if they are, we need to know everything we can about them," Rebecca said as Michael handed the folder to Billy.

"What are you going to tell the police chief?" Billy inquired. "I mean, it's not like I can hop downtown and testify or anything. I still got that annoying death row sentence hanging over my head."

"I've already told the chief that we have an anonymous source that has been in contact with us with information about the drug and gang activity," Michael said. "Course, that means any information from that source will be taken with a grain of salt but…"

"But it is better than noting" Rebecca finished. "And if I am going to put my time and energy to convincing the chief to at least look into leads he will see as nothing more than rabbit trails most likely, I at least need to know there's a good lead there to keep pushing for."

Billy nodded as he opened the file and looked at the first profile listed. He stared at the photo a minute and then looked up at Michael.

"You guys have anything about this guy in your system yet?" he asked as he held up the photo.

"You recognize him?" Michael asked as he took the photo and looked at it. "He actually is part of Wesker's gang? We thought he may be but haven't been able to get anything out of him yet."

"Yeah, he's one of Wesker's lead recruiters. Goes by the name Mad Dog. Don't know what his real name is. He's a nasty guy, bad temper, and one of the strongest guys physically in Wesker's team. I think in a way Wesker was a little afraid of him because he made the rule that the recruiters couldn't use A.W. They were free to use anything else they wanted but A.W. was off-limits. Wesker claimed it was to keep them focused on the recruitments, but I think he was at least a little worried about someone like Mad Dog going berserk on it and getting out of control and turning on him. He is one tough son of a bitch. You probably won't get him to crack at all. Maybe for a plea deal… but even that I think would be a long shot with him."

Michael handed the photo to Rebecca who had been jotting down a few notes and clipped the paper to the photo. Billy picked up the next photo and gave a soft sigh.

"This one is Sean Birkin," he said as he handed the photo to Rebecca.

"He's just a kid, Billy," she said as she stared at the frightened face shown in the photo. "He can't even be out of high school yet! What is he doing caught up with the likes of Wesker?"

"Wesker goes after them young if he can. One of his favorite places to go to try and get new recruits is the abandoned drive-in where the high school and college kids like to go hang out to drink or make out. Sean was his newest recruit. I met him his first day, which come to think of it, was only a few weeks before Wesker turned on me. Anyways, Sean likely won't know much information since he hasn't been with the gang for long, but he will likely be easy to break. From what I was told when he joined, he's never had a criminal record or really gotten into trouble of any kind. Not sure how he even ended up with us… Probably was a pressured recruitment or hell could have even been a forced enlistment. Wesker isn't beyond abduction and kidnapping to get his recruits and test subjects. But anyway, you likely won't have to push too hard to get whatever he knows out of him."

Rebecca looked at the photo again and added notes to it as Billy looked over the last photo. He stared at it a moment then looked over a Becca.

"You said you got these guys during a drug sting?"

"Yeah, we had been stationed at one of the places we have been watching for a few weeks now and nabbed them there" Michael said as he pulled a page out of the folder and looked it over.

"Over by the docks, right? Near the rundown side of the shipping yard?"

"Yeah… how… how did you know that Billy?" Rebecca asked curiously.

"Because the third guy you nabbed is Carlos. He's one of Wesker's go-to drug mules. Usually comes in to load up with A.W. to ferry it out of the city to wherever else Wesker is sending it. I know he's not sending a lot out and is keeping most of it in the city for his own use and his experiments. But I know Wesker has used A.W. as payment to other gang leaders and drug smugglers who have helped him out with certain things now and then. Carlos was probably there to pick some up to take off to whatever gang leader did Wesker a favor last."

"Do you think he will talk?" Michael asked as he took the photo and handed it to Rebecca.

"Hard to say. I've never actually met or spoken with Carlos. I just know him and have seen him a few times meeting with Wesker at the shipyard. He'll probably take some time, but I'd guess he will crack easier than Mad Dog will."

"Appreciate the info," Michael said as Rebecca finished the notes and added them to the folder.

"Hey, not a problem. Least I can do after what you two are doing for me" Billy said as he shifted in the chair, trying to hide the pain that washed over him.

"How are you holding up Billy?" Rebecca asked as stood from the desk and walked over.

"I'm fine doll-face," Billy said, his voice tight, betraying the pain that he felt.

"Take off your shirt," she said as she went into med-mode. "I need to check how you're healing up."

Billy flashed her a playful smirk but winced as he leaned forward in the chair and with Becca's help got the shirt off. He bit his lip against the pain as she gently poked and prodded his battered sides and back, her brow furrowed with concern.

"Sorry.." she muttered as a hiss escaped his lips when she came to one of the worst bruises on his back. "You're healing…slowly…but for the most part, it's looking better than it was a week ago."

"Well that… good… to hear…" Billy muttered between clenched teeth.

"I am going to need to wrap it again though…"

"I know… I'd actually feel better about these coughing fits…. with at least some protection against…. breaking another rib during one."

Rebecca nodded and a few minutes later was finishing applying the clean bandages and was securing the wrap in place. When she was done, she set her med kit aside and looked at Billy, his eyes still shut against the pain, his breathing ragged and shallow as he tried to control each breath.

She had found her mind drifting back to Billy often over the last five years and had often wondered what he was doing and where he was. This wasn't what she had wanted though when she let him go rather than reporting him to the chief that night that seemed so long ago now. She had hoped he had managed to get out of Racoon City and have a decent life. This wasn't what she wanted, for him to have gotten tangled up with Wesker and having to fight for his life. He deserved better. Rebecca sighed and put a hand on Billy's gently. Opening his eyes, he looked at her a gave a weak smile.

"Thanks… Becca…" he muttered softly as he slowly leaned back in the chair.

"Want to get back to the bed?" she asked.

"Nah, I'm… I'm fine doll-face" he said as he slowly started to relax.

Rebecca nodded and began packing up the med kit again and got everything put back away. Michael stood a few minutes later and put the last of the papers on the desk with the folder. Reaching for his jacket he turned to Rebecca.

"Well, I'm going to turn in for the night. You going to be ok without me, Bec?"

"We'll be fine Michael," she said as she stood and handed the files and notes back to him. "If you could give these to the chief in the morning for me…"

"Sure. Anything else you need?" he asked as he looked over at Billy who had fallen into a light sleep.

"I'll be fine Michael, stop worrying," she said with an appreciative smile. "I'll call if I need anything."

He might seem rough around the edges at times, but Michael was the perfect partner and was always looking out for her. In many ways, they had developed almost a big brother and sister relationship over the years, and he was always looking out for her. She knew he wasn't quite sure yet what to think of Billy, but she also knew Michael trusted her enough to trust her decisions. With a nod, Michael turned, the door soon closing behind him, leaving Becca standing beside the chair, Billy still sleeping, his face tight with pain.

"Oh Billy…" she whispered as she gently brushed the hair back from his face.

Billy groaned in his sleep as the dreams and darkness taunted him yet again…