Cass could still feel the sting on her arm from where the doctor had taken some of her blood. Doctor Birkin had seemed nice, and Cass had been surprised at how well he got along with the captain. If she didn't know any better, she'd have thought they were old friends. As she excused herself from the office, she contemplated how she was going to get home… or rather when she could even go home. The only news she'd heard was that Joy had been taken to a hospital out of state. They would need more time to process her apartment. Probably to make sure it wasn't contaminated, Cass thought with a sigh.

"CASS!"

Chris' voice shook her from her thoughts, and soon she was in his arms.

"You're okay, right?" Chris asked and held her close.

Returning the hug with misty eyes, Cass whispered, "Of course, I am, you dolt. Just who do you think I am?"

That got a small laugh out of Chris, but although he relaxed, he didn't let go.

"I should have gone with you. I should've been there."

"Oh… so you're psychic now?" Cass asked and gently pushed him back to look in his eyes. "Chris… you couldn't have known that was going to happen. And I'm fine. Or at least I will be. I'm here and unhurt, and more importantly I'm not alone. You don't have to always be the hero."

"Because you're already the hero?" Chris asked with a small smile.

"Of course. Well, I'm glad someone respects me and all the work I do around here… Let's get some dinner, okay?" Cass asked hoping to change the topic, and Chris' mood lightened. Truthfully, Cass wasn't hungry, but she knew that Chris would be. She could force down a few bites to ease his worry.

"Ah, Chris." The captain had left the room followed by Dr. Birkin. The doctor gave Cass a wave before leaving as the captain seemed to be deep in thought. "Chris, why don't you take tomorrow off? Make sure our friend here is okay."

"Yes, sir," Chris replied quickly. "Come on, Cass. You can stay at my place tonight. I already cleaned up the place."

"By 'cleaned' do you mean stuffed everything in a closet?" Cass eyed Chris as Captain Wesker hid a smile.

"Hey now… let's not focus on the negative. Getting something to eat was a great idea, so let's start with that. I'll go ahead and pull the car around back. Give me a few minutes before you meet me, okay?"

"Okay." Cass gave the captain a knowing smile as Chris began walking to the stairs. "Thank you, Captain."

The captain tilted his head in confusion and said, "I don't believe I did anything more than necessary, but you're welcome."

"You helped me with the chief, and you listened to me. I hope I'm wrong. I hope Joy is okay, but… thanks for listening."

Captain Wesker nodded with a smile and offered, "Would you like for me to accompany you? I suspect the chief is already speaking with the media."

"Ah, yes, if you don't mind."

The captain opened the door for her, and they walked down the staircase together. Reporters could be heard asking the chief about the incident. Cass stiffened and froze for a moment, but the captain gently nudged her to walk beside him, which would block her from view. She obliged and let out a sigh of relief as they exited the back of the building unnoticed. Chris wasn't there yet. No doubt he'd been harassed in the building or the parking lot on his way.

"I do have a question… if you don't mind me prying."

Cass looked at the captain with surprise but answered, "No, sir. I don't mind."

"You and Chris seem very close, and you hold him in such high esteem. I was curious about how you two met. I heard that you two are childhood friends, but he isn't from this area. But you went to school here, and you were working for the animal control unit before S.T.A.R.S. was even founded. Was it just luck that brought you together again?"

"Uh, I'd guess so. We were neighbors when we were kids, and then my dad got a job as an instructor at the academy, and that's when we moved here. As for how we met… I suppose that might have something to do with how I 'hold him in such high esteem'."

"How so?"

"Well, we'd just moved to the area, and I snuck off into the woods. Probably trying to find a new pet or pest to bring home. A log I was standing on was rotted causing me to fall and hurt my ankle. I remember freaking out. Wondering if I would need to crawl back home… when he suddenly appeared. He carried me home, and we became best friends," Cass said with a smile before continuing thoughtfully. "Honestly, I'm incredibly grateful to Barry. We'd lost contact after he got out of the army, and I doubt I would have ever seen him again if not for Chris joining S.T.A.R.S. That's why I'm more than happy to help you guys out however I can."

"Hmm. How lucky." The captain's voice sounded strange for a moment before he gave her a reassuring smile. "I hate to tell you this, but it would be in his best interest if you kept your suspicions between us. Chris is… not known for strictly following protocol. He may do or say something that puts him in danger. Even though I am the captain of S.T.A.R.S., he is the chief of police. I may not be able to help him if he does something drastic."

A cold chill went up Cass' spine, and she quickly agreed, "I won't tell him anything. Besides, you already said that you would look into it. If anyone can find something, it would be you, sir."

The captain pat her on the head gently before heading back inside as Chris' car approached. Cass touched her head tentatively before getting into the car. Chris gave her a curious look. While Cass felt bad already about keeping a secret from Chris, she also knew about his cowboy cop tendencies.

"Is something wrong?" she asked keeping her cool.

"Just… he treats you differently. That's all."

"Differently? How? Oh, well, he still calls me 'Miss Walker' even though he's known me the same amount of time he's known you… I think he just feels sorry for me if anything."

"He calls us squad members by our first names but not really anyone else. Truthfully, I always thought it was to keep focus on our job. I've never seen him doing anything aside from work, and no friends have ever come by to visit him… but I may be overthinking it. After all, you've had it tough lately… and that's putting it lightly."

"Yeah," Cass murmured and looked out the window. Maybe she was cursed. Everyone around her seemed to be getting hurt or ill. Glancing back at Chris, she noticed his brow furrowed in concentration. Suddenly his eyebrows shot upward, and an excited look spread over his face.

"We've got an entire day to recuperate tomorrow, and I've got an awesome idea."

"It's not the waterpark, is it?"

"Hey! I thought you loved the waterpark."

"When we were eight, I loved the waterpark. You talked about it last year too… and I said no."

"You never said why," Chris said defensively in a hurt tone. "I thought maybe you just didn't want to go with a bunch of guys."

"That too," Cass retorted playfully.

"Well then, missy. What do you want to do?"

"Well, right now I want to get a burger."

"I can get behind that," Chris agreed as he noticed a drive thru. "But what about tomorrow? Do you just want to stay inside all day?"

"Don't judge me for my introvert tendencies." Cass narrowed her eyes at Chris, but he just laughed in response.

"I just think… it's been a long time since the two of us did something together."

"We just went to a Fourth of July celebration together."

"Just the two of us," Chris corrected himself with a slight reddening of his cheeks. "It used to be just the two of us… and sometimes Claire."

"And sometimes you left us for Autumn…"

"That was one time! Maybe twice," Chris admitted bashfully. "And I already admitted that was dumb of me. How long are you going to hold that against me?"

"I'll let it go after your eulogy," Cass said with a smirk. "Ditching me for my sister. That was a low blow, man."

"Okay, I get it. I made a terrible mistake. Will you please forgive me?"

"Sure," Cass said breezily. "But I know what we're doing tomorrow."

"Oh, cool. What?"

"You'll find out tomorrow." Chris gave her a mock frustrated look, and Cass laughed.

After they picked up their food, Chris focused on the drive to his house while Cass looked out the window. A warm feeling made her feel lighter, and it wasn't the hot food in her lap. She wondered how despite going to an unfamiliar place she could feel so at home.