A/N: Hi everyone! I am pleased to say I am back from a long stint of not updating this story. I still can't believe after all these years readers are still enjoying this story and leaving such lovely feedback. Thank you all again, so much for your support, you guys truly are my motivation to continue writing.

Now, I would like to note (as always) that I cannot promise when my next update will be after I have posted this, however, I will try to take advantage of the free time I have over the next few weeks and maybe even produce another chapter for you guys to read. Therefore, please don't be disheartened with my long absences, as I have every intent to update this story until the very finish.

As a final note, some of the flashbacks in this story may not be entirely accurate to how the scenes were depicted in the actual game. I have manipulated the scenes to fit the fic better. I also would like to note in this chapter that I want to delve a little deeper into my adaptation of Leon as a character, and show a more complex and explained side to him as a person. I hope you guys enjoy reading this and my interpretation of him as a protagonist!

*I DO NOT OWN RESIDENT EVIL OR CAPCOM, THIS STORY IS PURELY FAN BASED*

Chapter 6..

There we were. In this large vacant room with walls that resembled polished steel. The place was eerily calm for what we had both been through. She and I had seen horrors that were unimaginable. I thought racoon city was bad – boy, I didn't even know what bad meant anymore. Our footsteps pattered lightly across the smooth floor, desperation apparent in our pace. We were so close – so close to safety. Hunnagan had set the rendezvous point where a chopper would be meeting us to take us back to the United States. If all went to plan now, we would finally be able to get out of here.

My eyes were growing heavy, I was exhausted from lack of sleep, extreme hunger and un-attended injuries but I held Ashley's hand and continued to lead her with as much determination as I had from the moment I found her in the Church.

Ashley…I could only imagine how she felt in this moment.

I looked ahead at the staircase leading up to the large metal door which would take us to our path out of Spain, my heart quickening with each step closer we grew to it. Within moments the door flew open, my breath hitched, I let go of Ashley's hand prompting her to stand closely behind me as I readied my Red 9 pistol for whatever was coming through that door.

'Your resilience has surprised me, my American friend.' A familiar voice spoke as a figure emerged through the doorway ahead.

'Saddler…' I almost whispered, trying not to let the fear of unknown show through. I felt Ashley's fingers grasp tightly at the fabric on the back of my tactical shirt.

'Time is spreading awfully thin at this point, so I must act with some haste. The girl must come with me now.' Saddler said in this usual sly tone.

My brows furrowed as my mind raced. The pressure was becoming too much, and at this point I had no idea what he had planned for us so I had to improvise with each second that passed.

That was when it all happened before I had any time to process it. Saddler had raised his hand loosely, causing some form of interaction with the parasite that was inside Ashley and I. I felt an intense indescribable pain erupt from within my chest area, causing me to drop to my knees on all fours gasping for air as I felt every last bit of it being knocked out of me. I looked up at Ashley, she was standing there as though she were under some kind of mind control by Saddler; her expression completely blank.

'Come here, Ashley.' Was all Saddler uttered as he gestured with his hand.

I watched as she mindlessly began to slowly leave my side and walk to him. I felt an immense fear pump through my body that almost overrode the pain of the parasite – if I lost her now I was not so sure I would be so lucky to get her back again.

I grunted and lunged my hand forward, grabbing her wrist as firmly as I could to try and stop her from walking while under the parasite's spell. 'N-no!' Was all that I could yell out as I gripped onto her slender forearm, using all the adrenalin I had in that moment to hold her from walking away.

'You really are a nuisance, aren't you Mr. Scott.' Saddler chuckled lightly as he made a fist with his raised hand, signalling the pain in my body to grow even stronger that I couldn't help but cry out at the initial wave of it. My hand grew weak, eventually slipping from its grasp around Ashley's wrist, and falling weakly to the ground. Tears welled up in my eyes, stinging as I watched her walk into the arms of danger, knowing full well she had no control to stop it. Even though I had given her those pills Luis had gave me to supress the parasite's growth, it was clearly too mature now that the treatments were no longer working. My heart was pounding so hard I thought it may burst.

'Ashley!' I called through gritted teeth as I watched her and Saddler walk back through the steel door as it closed behind them.

I stood as best I could, my legs like jelly shaking as I ran to the door which they had exited through, trying everything I could to open it. I tried to kick and even shoot the large steel bolts holding the doors closed but to no avail. She had been taken from me again, and this time I wasn't feeling so sure that I could get her back.

I woke from my sleep with a jolt. My forehead was covered in sweat, my heart pounding and my breathing shaky as my mind came to terms with the fact I had just had yet another nightmare about Ashley and I in Spain. I sat up in my bed slowly, running my hand through the side of my hair as relief washed over me that the horror we had lived was no longer real.

I looked over at my clock, it read 3:04am. I sighed in frustration, these nightmares about Ashley had become a relatively frequent occurrence since she and I had that massive fight a month or so ago. I felt completely estranged from her, and every time I would try to bring up our issues in conversation she would shut me down and avoid talking about it.

The only semi-decent thing that had come from Ashley and I becoming distant was that Claire and I had become closer than ever before. We would see each other on a regular basis along with Chris, and we had all become quite good friends. I still had my hang ups, but hanging out with a pair of outgoing and hilarious people like the Redfields was certainly helping me to feel more open with people, and enjoy socializing a little more.

I laid my head back down on my pillow, my heart rate finally slowly to a more regulated pace. My eyes stared off into the darkness of my bedroom, my mind going over everything that happened with Saddler and his cult. The fact Ashley and I survived that ordeal was enough to make me get chills down my spine to this day. No amount of fancy agent training could prepare someone for what we saw in Spain, and some days I really did wish I could find the courage within myself to open up about it to someone – to just remove the tough front I had put on for my job and admit that it really fucking petrified me at times.

But of course, I was an American agent. I worked for the President and I survived Racoon city, therefore there was a certain level of expectation from people. Someone with my experience and training doesn't show fear. We are the quick thinkers, the calm ones, the ones who don't so much as blink when staring pure terror in the face. People forget I am also human, and when I take the "mask" off at night, in my lonely apartment that is when the emotional trauma of it all begins to hit me like a brick to the stomach.

That morning, I awoke, my mood feeling slightly lifted at the knowledge that it was in fact a Friday. I didn't have any plans for the evening after I finished my rounds with Ashley, and therefore was quite happy with the thought of spending the night to myself at home.

I arrived at Ashley's apartment once again and like I did most other days and headed to her front door, knocking on it gently. Like usual, she let me into her place and made some small talk as she organised the papers and folders that she needed to take out with her for the day. I couldn't but find watching her flurry around amusing.

Ashley had always been very involved with her father's job as President. She had often been seen helping him at public events and even more frequently with certain areas in office. She had always taken enormous pride in working with her father - and it was probably due to her enormous profile because of her high level of involvement in the White House that Saddler had targeted in the first place. Yet, despite the fact she had been practically working in the White House for several years she still had not grasped the concept of proper organisation, such as arranging papers and files the night before rather than rushing to do it the morning of. Oddly enough, this was always a quality I found endearing about her.

Today I was expected to accompany Ashley to a public event that was being held for a local city fair at one of the city's new botanic gardens, where average people – like myself could show up, engage in fun activities, bring their family, purchase things from the surrounding pop-up stalls and checkout the various picturesque gardens. Naturally these types of events encouraged people to donate as much money as possible, and therefore the managers of the event would invite popular figures such as political people and even actors deemed as special guests for the day. Ashley held quite a positive impression amongst the public in the city, which meant having her attend the occasion was a no-brainer for publicity sake.

The drive to the gardens was a quiet one – to say the least. Ashley sat in the passenger seat of my car, her nervousness apparent in the way she sat with her hands in her lap, her fingers idly fiddling amongst each other. I glanced over at her trying not to draw attention to the fact I was looking at her. She was sporting a pale pink dress that showed off her slight figure, but not too much so that the dress looked inappropriate or revealing. Her hair was down, her blonde locks curled softly at the ends in a way that made them resemble spun gold when the light hit them just right.

I felt the need to break the silence; it was killing me.

"Don't be so nervous, you have done events like this before."

Ashley was silent for a moment, then she looked over at me. "I know. I guess it is just an involuntary reaction now…" She trailed off.

I quirked my brow slightly. "What do you mean exactly?"

She looked back down at her hands, avoiding any chance of eye contact. "After what happened in Spain. I…I just don't enjoy doing these public events like I used to."

My heart sunk slightly. The idea that what we went through together had affected her so much that it was impeding on her ability to thoroughly enjoy her life pained me.

I glanced at her again. I could see from Ashley's expression that she had practically resigned herself to the emotional toll her capture had put on her. What I did next was almost an innate response. I kept my left hand on the wheel of the car, and with my right, I reached across, taking one of her small hands in mine.

Ashley looked up at me, surprise written on her face.

"I wish I could take the pain they caused you away." I said softly without giving it a second thought.

Her hand tightened around mine, causing her knuckles to almost show white from the grip. I looked over at Ashley again, noticing how her expression had hardened, her honey eyes resembling amber crystal as she tried to hold back the tears threatening to flow.

I continued to hold her hand the whole car ride to the botanical gardens. When we arrived at the venue, I parked the car in a private parking lot that was sectioned off with security operated gates for important staff, special guests and security personnel. I pulled the car into our reserved parking space, taking the key from the ignition.

Despite the fact we had made it to the venue neither of us broke the contact between our hands. We just sat there silently for what felt like hours, but in fact was only mere seconds. I looked down at our hands, joined so perfectly resting a-top of the centre console between our seats. My eyes followed upward to her face almost hesitantly, my heart nearly skipping a beat when I saw she was already looking at me, our eyes looking straight into each other.

In this moment, I had never felt so exposed to anyone. I felt like this woman…Ashley…was staring into my very soul. For the first time in what felt like decades, the wall I had built around myself was being melted down – and yet, we weren't saying a single word. In this small moment, I felt that deep love I had always felt for her resurface with such a strength that it was causing my cheeks to flush and my mind was racing.

My heart was pounding so hard I was almost certain Ashley could hear it.

'Tell her again, Kennedy.'

Tell her how much you love her.'

'Tell her of how a life without her is no life at all.'

'Tell her of all the nights you spent imaging what your future would be like…'

'All the times you silently wept alone in your home, regretting for never having the guts to tell her the truth.'

'Tell her…'

I felt like my head was spinning. I tried every day to live my life without her, to pretend that I didn't need to have her to be happy. I didn't want this moment to slip by, I needed to show her how much she meant to me just one more time.

I wasn't used to feeling this out of control emotionally, so I reacted quickly without thinking. I leant across to Ashley's seat, my right hand still intertwined with hers and my left gently cupping the side of her face as I kissed her. She leaned her body away from me as our lips pressed against each other, her hand breaking away from mine and coming up to gently pressed against my chest, telling me she wanted me to back off – so I did. As much as I loved Ashley, and as much as I was confused by her reaction I would never be forceful with her, ever.

I moved back to my seat, my hands trembling slightly as I came to terms with what I had just done. I couldn't even look at her right now, I felt so embarrassed by my impulsiveness.

"Leon…" Ashley breathed, seeming a little in shock.

"I'm sorry." Was all I could muster at the time. She cleared her throat, smoothing out the front of her dress, preparing to exit the car.

"I can't think about this right now…" Ashley said quietly before grabbing her purse and stepping out from the car. I felt my heart sink into my stomach. I took a deep breath, composing myself as best I could be knowing that now I had to get back into an alert mindset for her - to protect her if she needed me.

Once we were inside the venue I followed Ashley closely. I took my job as her guard seriously and that meant actively watching the surroundings by her side while she did her part at the event.

Sure, I wasn't the only agent there to protect her at this place, but I was her personal agent. I worked so closely with her that some may even deem it unprofessional for a bodyguard to be around her as much as I was, but at least that way we could all rest easy knowing Ashley was always safe now.

People approached Ashley to get pictures taken with her and ask her all kinds of questions. I noticed that whenever the groups of people would become a little too crowded she would always quickly glance over at me to make sure I was still there watching over her.

The way Ashley looked over to me, my mere presence giving her such relief from her fears reminded me all too much of Spain. The way her eyes would look up at me when it all started to become too much was something I would never grow tired of – in fact I lived for it.

I stood there for what felt like a few hours, watching the crowds of families and other people coming and going, some approaching Ashley and some not. I could see why people were drawn to her, she had such a humble and down to earth way about her that made you feel like you weren't even talking to the daughter of the President. The whole time I was with her I tried my best to keep my mind on the job, but at the same time my mind would fleet back to moments earlier, when I kissed her, and the way she reacted…it made me wonder if perhaps she truly had stopped loving me.

I watched our surroundings carefully, examining each person who passed Ashley, doing what felt like a second nature to me. It all felt like an endless routine at this point, even during the quiet periods when Ashley had a moment of peace from the public approaching her. I watched as more people passed, and this time a man and woman headed over toward Ashley and I, however this time I felt twinge of uncomfortableness when I realised it was Chris and Claire.

I knew that I should not have felt that way being that they were my friends, and they were good people, but I couldn't help but want to keep my life with Ashley and my life with my friends separate, especially being that I had divulged small amounts of information to them about my feelings regarding Ashley.

"Shit! Leon, what a surprise to see you here." Chris grinned, walking up to Ashley and I, shaking my hand firmly. I smiled, trying to contain my unfounded uncomfortableness.

I looked over and saw Claire, her jade coloured eyes looking at me then glancing quickly at Ashley.

"Hey Leon!" She said warmly, wrapping her arms around me in a quick embrace. I was a little taken aback as I hadn't expected her to hug – particularly when I was on duty.

I said hello back, feeling the level of comfortability lower by the second between us all. I knew that now I would have to introduce them to Ashley, I mean, she was looking at us all - she knew they were friends of mine, and it would be rude of me to not do so.

"Claire…" Chris trailed. "Leon's on the job! You can't just hug him." He teased her, prompting her utter a 'sorry' before Chris changed the subject.

"So, this is the president's daughter I have heard all about!" Chris piped, gesturing over to Ashley, causing her to give me a quizzical look. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Graham. My name is Chris, and this is my sister Claire – we're old friends of Leon's." Chris explained, shaking her hand gently with Claire doing the same not long after.

"It is lovely to meet you both – but please, call me Ashley." She smiled demurely, her eyes looking at Chris firstly then at Claire. At that moment, I could tell she realised that Claire was the friend I had been seen at the bar with all those weeks ago.

"So, you're one of the special celebrity guests today, huh?!" Chris asked Ashley - his level of ease at making conversation and avoiding awkwardness was almost enviable.

Ashley nodded shyly. "Yes, but I would be lying if I said I didn't want to come and see the gardens for my own enjoyment too." She chuckled lightly. Ashley had never been one to consider herself a 'celebrity' even though she was a face that was known around the whole country, and deemed by many as 'America's sweetheart' due to her wholesome charm.

I felt the need to help break the short silence. "So, uh, what brought you two here today?" I quizzed Chris and Claire casually.

Chris rolled his eyes in a joking manner and gestured toward Claire, "Well, old' green thumb over here has a secret obsession with gardening, so when she heard that the city was opening a botanical garden today I practically was forced to come along."

At that moment, we were interrupted by one of the garden's event managers approaching Ashley, speaking to her quietly about various relatively unimportant details about the event.

"What did the manager want?" I asked Ashley. She waved her hand dismissively and smiled, "He just said it is time for all the special guests to head back to the V.I.P area – but there is no rush to leave, we can stay and talk to your friends."

"Oh no, no! Please, you probably have a schedule to follow – don't let us hold you up." Claire spoke up for what seemed like the first time during the whole conversation. Then the auburn-haired women looked over at me, with almost a flirtatiousness to her smile. "Text me when you get off work."

I just nodded shyly, but in my mind I knew how that must have looked to Ashley so I tried to change the subject almost instantly.

I checked the time on my watch, knowing that Ashley had an appointment later that afternoon she had to get to after she was finished with her appearance at the gardens.

"Perhaps we should move things along, Ashley." I suggested politely, as I already knew her schedule for the day back-to-front.

Ashley complied, so we then said our goodbyes to Chris and Claire. I wished them well, and genuinely hoped that Claire would enjoy her day out.

After that, I escorted Ashley over to the VIP room, where she could spend half an hour or so mingling with some of the other special guests and be approached by any media persons who may want to question her for their magazines or websites in a type of low-key 'after party'.

The VIP area was a beautiful indoor reception room, equipped with a bar, tables and waiters attending to the guests every request. The walls were lined with stunning floral wallpaper and French style windows. Once we made it inside the building Ashley's demeanour toward me changed. I could see from her body language that she was upset with me about something, so I wasted no time in quietly asking her about it now that we had a little more privacy to speak.

"Is everything okay?"

She scoffed lightly at me, her eyes looking everywhere but at me. "I would rather not talk about it now."

I moved a little closer to her this time, so that I could speak quietly without those around us listening in. "Please, don't be like this…just tell me what is bothering you." I almost begged.

"Claire, that is what is bothering me." Ashley said bluntly to me. "What are you talking about? Claire is just my friend; you could clearly see that today." I rebutted, but she wasn't buying it.

"I'm tired of this, Leon. I could clearly see she was coming on to you." She interjected, trying to end the conversation entirely, but I couldn't, not now, not after what happened in the car earlier.

"No, okay, you need to listen to me. There is nothing going on with Claire – or anyone else!" I said in frustration, trying to keep my voice to a minimum to avoid attention being drawn to us.

"Bullshit! You say this every time – with every woman that I catch you out with, you deny it, but frankly I can't keep trying to win you anymore. My life isn't some contest to try and win you." She hissed at me lowly.

I was going to respond, but she continued, her demeanour showing that she was upset.

"For three years I didn't so much as look at another guy. I denied every opportunity to date or even hang out someone else because I tried so hard to make you love me, yet all you ever did was flirt with other women and tell me that you saw me as nothing more than your friend." Her voice shook slightly as she spoke.

I knew she was right. I had made many mistakes over the course of our lives after Spain. I had feared that admitting my feelings to her and pursuing a relationship would ruin my professional life with her, and that there was a good chance I would have to resign from my position as her bodyguard due to conflict of interests. So, I had tried to be with other women in the past, I would meet a woman, I would try my best to fall for her, but it didn't work.

In addition, each time I would do this, if Ashley would find out it would devastate her. I even recall her once begging me to tell her what was wrong with her…begging me to tell her what other women had that she didn't that was stopping me from loving her back, but what she didn't know was that I loved her all along. What held me back was fear. I couldn't honestly recall a time in my life where I felt like this about another person, and that scared the heck out of me. Spain had messed us both up badly, and reflecting on it made me realise that my inability to tell her how I felt was due to me being in a bad headspace for a long time after we got back to the U.S.

I didn't want anyone to see the real Leon - the one who was suffering, because telling Ashley that I loved her would mean I would have to let her in, and she would see more than my strong side. I didn't want to be vulnerable to anyone.

My brows furrowed, I could feel this whole thing coming to a head in the worst way possible.

"I've made a lot of mistakes, I'll admit that. I'm really sorry." I said, my voice dripping with nothing but remorse and sincerity.

Ashley's face softened, perhaps she would finally forgive me and we could move past this.

"I'm sorry too." She smiled at me in a dismal way that it made my stomach sink to the point I almost felt nauseous. "I'm sorry for wasting so much time on you, Leon." The blonde added coldly.

I stared at her, my mind not knowing what to say. "N-no, Ashley… don't say that." Was all I could muster.

"I will get one of the other agents to take me home. As for now, I want you to leave. I don't think having you as my protection is going to work anymore, Leon." Ashley spoke in a sombre manner, her voice sounding utterly defeated.

I gently shook my head at her words. She couldn't do this, not after what we had been through together. Ashley was my everything.

"No Ashley, I-I won't let you do this." I pressed, my voice showing raw emotion at this point.

She looked up at me, her thick lashed fluttering slightly as she did so. "I am doing this for both of us, Leon. This is for the best."

My body language grew more tense this time. "We went through hell together; does that mean anything to you!?" I questioned, my voice sharp with hurt.

Ashley's eyes fell to the floor. She stood on her tip-toes and gave me a soft hug. "I will never forget what you did for me, Leon. Ever." She whispered to my ear as she hugged me, my heart bleeding as she let go.

"You have been so good to my family and I, which is why I will be in touch with you in a few days to set up another arrangement for you." She said softly, sincerity in her voice as I saw her eyes pool lightly with tears that she refused to let fall.

I was lost for words. Ashley wanted to set up another arrangement…what other arrangement could I possibly be placed in? Protecting her meant everything to me, and the thought of her taking that away from me almost destroyed me.

I stood there, nearly having to grasp at my chest as I felt my heart slowly cracking into a million pieces. Ashley walked away from me, gesturing for one of the other guards to follow her out.

I headed back to the parking lot, getting into the driver's seat of my car. I placed my hands on the wheel, yet the key wasn't even in the ignition – my eyes just staring blankly in front of me. I looked downward at the passenger seat, noticing something small and pink placed there. I leaned over and picked up the item, examining it. My eyes instantly began to well up with hot tears when I realised it was one of Ashley's hair clips she had accidentally left behind. I sat there for at least ten minutes in my car, weeping at the painful reality as it washed over me.

A/N: Oh wow! Okay guys so this was one of the longest chapters I have ever written. I really hope you guys enjoyed reading it. I wanted to continue, but I felt I would leave some more drama for the next chapter I write up

Another special thanks to everyone who reads this story. Please guys, I would really like to know your thoughts on the latest chapter, so let me know if you liked it/have any suggestions for improvement. Also I am happy to explain any questions or concerns you may have with the update, so feel free to ask away.

Thanks for reading guys, until next time!