A/N: Thanks Shirahane Aikawa for your regular reviews that kept me going so far.

Disclaimer: I don't own Resident Evil or any of its characters. They all belong to Capcom.

Chapter 11

"Why the long faces guys?", Sherry broke the silence rubbing her eyes a bit as if waking up from the sleep.
Claire hugged her first followed by Leon, who was followed by everyone else. They screamed happily forgetting that they were in hospital expressing their happiness. They only quieted down when the dean of hospital scolded them for their immature behavior, who was coincidentally passing by. Rebecca apologized on their behalf.

"Hey what are you mumbling back there?" John asked David as he noticed the latter mumbling something.
"9 45 36" , he said to John in not more than a whisper.
"What?" John asked again. David pointed at the wall.
"David, please make some sense will you?" John said annoyed.
"She said 9 45 36. Don't you remember guys when we asked her about Sherry", David said to guys who were in interrogation room with him. They all nodded.
"What's that's supposed to mean?" asked Jill a little confused.
"She told us the time when Sherry would wake up right down to seconds. Look its 9:46:45 PM", he said pointing at the clock.
"What she told you when Sherry was going to wake up?! Why didn't you tell us?", Rebecca demanded.
"Because we didn't get it at that time", David replied.

"Uh… can I ask you where is Kathleen. I want to see her", Sherry who was listening to this conversation asked everybody.
"Why do you want to meet her she tried to kill you?", asked Sheva.
"Hey if she would've tried to kill me would I be speaking to you guys right now?", Sherry said being rational.
"But she hurt you Sherry, didn't she?", Claire reminded her.
"But she also busted me out 10 years ago from Wesker's lair", Sherry told them.
"What are you saying she busted you out alone", Ark asked.
"Yes she busted me out all alone and since then she's been taking care of me. At first we moved frequently but after 4 years of moving she finally made me stay at that apartment where you found us while she infiltrated a number of Umbrella research centre's or similar to stop my non-periodic convulsions", Sherry told them.
"What are you talking about Sherry?", Chris asked her.

"Claire do you remember my father implanted me with G-virus right?", after Claire gave her nod Sherry continued, "well the vaccine my mum made was incomplete and it only kept the G-virus latent within me not destroyed it completely. So that was the reason why Wesker wanted me and I had these convulsions and sometimes I converted into a mini G-virus tyrant of course not going mutations but losing self conscience and hurting anybody that got in the way. She was always by my side when I needed her. She somehow always calculated when I would have these attacks and showed up in time."
"Yeah I remembered when those Umbrella guys were tailing us she begged me to get her here because she felt that she was running out of time", Leon supported Sherry's explanation, as he remembered Kathleen's words.
"You mean to say Sherry would have had convulsions or would have transformed and attacked us if she hadn't given her that shot", John asked
"Yes, probably ", Sherry answered John instead of Leon, "now will you please tell me where she is?" Sherry asked again.

"We are keeping her prisoner, locked her up in a room with two agents guarding outside", Leon told her.
"What keeping her prisoner?!", Sherry said and then started laughing it was more of a statement then question.
"What's so funny about it", John asked crossing his arms.
"Tell me John does this room of yours have a window?", Sherry asked between her laughs.
"Yes every room has a window", Jill answered instead of John.
"And have you placed guard outside it as well?", Sherry asked again.
"No, its impossible its on the 12th floor", Ark told her in an obvious tone.
"Then you are not keeping her prisoner she is staying because she wants to", Sherry told them.

"What do you mean sweetie?", Claire asked a little confused.
"Well you see Kathleen is not fond of using doors. She always used windows to enter a flat or house to meet me wherever we went", and noticing that Leon was about to say something she continued, "it doesn't matters if there is a ladder or fire escape at the back of building near the window. She is simply not bothered by heights and can climb anything and as you all know every building has a pipe therefore…", she made her point clear.
"Okay I'll go and get her", Leon told them.

As he walked out, "Hey kid", John called to him. Leon turned to see John approaching him "Kid apologize to her about that night okay", Leon gave him a nod and John walked back to Sherry's room.

Leon reached her room and told the guards to disperse as it was clear that they were of no use against this woman. Leon opened the door and saw that she was not in the room and the window was open he looked outside and saw a pipe just on the left side of window. 'So Sherry was right' he thought. He didn't know what to do when he notice her coming back. He ran to street which was seen by the window as fast as he can.

Leon reached just in time to see Kathleen giving her burger to a poor and hungry child. She was wearing her combat suit again, which was like the one she wore when they met for first time and the time when she fought him and John in alley. She also was carrying bags. He walked up to her and Leon made her notice him by clearing his throat. She looked at him but didn't say anything so Leon said to her "I see you have got back your combat suit."

"Yeah I thought I needed it, so I bought another", she told him.
"So what's in those bags?" Leon asked.
"This one's for you", she said handing the bag to him..
He took the bag saw that it was the dress which he had bought her yesterday, "It's a dress, what am I supposed to do with it?", he asked.
"Well it's the dress which you bought me yesterday I didn't have money that time otherwise I would've paid for it. It was you who paid for it, so you are its rightful owner. Give it to your girlfriend or someone else. I got it dry cleaned and they wouldn't notice someone wore it", she replied monotonously.
"Why don't you have it, I bought it for you", Leon said extending the bag towards her.
"I don't want it that's why", she told him plainly.
"Look if you are mad about yesterday night then I must say sorry. I apologize for what I did but I was a bit mad", Leon apologized to her.
"Oh it's not that, I guess anyone would have reacted that way. It's okay", she told him but something told him that she wouldn't had done the same thing or she simply didn't mean what she said.
"Then why are you not taking this dress, you know I am not a cross dresser and even if I was it wouldn't fit. Please take it consider it as a gift from me and if you still don't take it I would think that you haven't forgiven me and it's not like I have bugged this dress or anything", Leon said. She raised her left eye brow and looked at him and Leon thought 'God she looks beautiful'.
Then she finally accepted the packet sighing in defeat mumbling, "Okay, if that would stop you from bugging me."

Leon smiled at her but she didn't mirror him so he asked "So what are in those other bags for?"
"I got myself some clothes I think I'll be staying here long", she told him as they started walking towards the Hospital building entrance.
"Is that the reason why you're not telling what we want to know about Umbrella?" Leon asked her.
"What makes you think that?", she asked him back.
"I know its not the trust issue if it would've been then you wouldn't have brought Sherry to us, whom you have protected this long. And for your information Sherry woke up and told us how you helped her and also she wants to see you", Leon told her.
"I know", she gave him the short reply.
"Oh yeah right you even predicted the time when she would open her eyes down to seconds", Leon said in 'yes-so-obvious' tone.
"Can you give this bag to Sherry, she always kept it close but that day she left it because of those Umbrella guys", she said changing the topic.
"Why don't you give it to her? You're the one who got it for her", Leon asked her.
"Hey Leon what took you so long?" John who was waiting for them called out to them "I went up to her room and found that she wasn't there so I thought like Sherry had told she must have used window and you went after her so I was waiting for you guys. C'mon Sherry wants to see you."

They went to Sherry's room. Everybody fell silent when they saw Kathleen stepping in the room, "They said you wanted to see me" Kathleen stated to Sherry without any emotion.
"Yeah I wanted to thank you. So THANK YOU", Sherry thanked her.
"Its okay and here, its your things which you always kept with yourself", Kathleen said handing the bag to Sherry.
"You went into the trouble of getting me these. Thanks again", Sherry thanked her again.
"Its no problem, I went there to get some stuff, saw it there so picked it up", she said casually. When nobody said anything she said, "Well if you don't need me then I am off to my room or cell, whatever you call it."
She turned around and started walking out when she reached everybody except Sherry screamed in chorus "Hey wait!" and then said "Why didn't you guys say that before?"

"What?" she asked coldly.
"We wanted to thank you for everything you did", David said before anyone else could speak.
"I didn't do that for you guys", she made herself clear.
"But you helped us", Rebecca said to her.
"But didn't knew I was helping you", she told them shrugging.
"But you knew you would be helping somebody, Sherry for matter of fact", Claire said to her.

"Hey before you guys make any assumptions I'd like to clear your doubts, you know I hate when people misunderstand me if I don't want them to. Look the only favor I did her was to bust her out 10 years ago. When I noticed she had fits and when she nearly killed me then I thought if I want to survive I should keep her away from Wesker and also get her antidote for G-virus. That's the main reason why I got her antidote also I never leave anything in between that's why, even after handing Sherry's responsibility to you I gave her the antidote. So in all actuality I was working for myself", she completed her explanation coldly.

"Hey why are you so cold towards us", Sheva asked her barely keeping the annoyance out of her voice.
"Yeah are you not human? Don't you have any emotions", Ark supported Sheva.
"If you'd just said you're glad to help or something it would make us feel better", Claire, who seemed to be on verge of punching her, said.
"Is your hair red because you are so short-tempered?", she said coldly to Claire.

This made Claire angry and she jumped and threw a punch at her, she caught in just nick of time "If you think you have a raging anger wait till I lose my patience", Kathleen said to Claire and looked in her eyes which Claire felt as a deathly stare at once dropped the idea of punching her, "And you there if you care about your sister too much don't just curse me under your breath; you're worse than her", she dropped Claire's hands. She again started moving outside the and turned around when she reached the door and said, "Just to tell you I can kill you all and you won't even feel it, the reason why you're alive is because I don't kill without a reason, so don't give me one." With that she walked away.

"She is kidding right", asked Percy now shivering from head to toe.
"I don't think she is", replied David.
"David you know we thought of saving her from the government but I guess she deserves it", Bruce tried to convince David for the thought.
"You know she could run whenever she wants", David told Bruce.
"She can run from here and she can run also from their custody it's a piece of cake for her", Leon told him that she almost escaped under his nose twice and third time she could have pulled trigger but what stopped her was unknown to him.

"Hey why we are ruining a moment of celebration let's get to HQ and party guys, we've got Sherry back" , John said in excitement.
"Yeah you're right John c'mon let's party guys", Jill agreed with John.

So back at the base they all first gave Sherry a room, then went to get ready for party, they bought junk food, beers and consumed them, played various party games and John cracked jokes.

"Hey where's Sherry?" John asked after telling yet another joke.
"I think she's in her room; said she wants to settle her things which Kathleen gave her", Claire told him.
"I'll go and get her", Leon said and got up to moved towards Sherry's room.

After knocking on door once Leon heard Sherry call, "Come in", Leon entered and noticed that she had already cut her hair short, like the way she had it when she was a kid.
"I see you changed your look", he couldn't help but comment.
"I don't like long hair", Sherry told him, "I couldn't go to a salon while running with Kathleen so I couldn't get a haircut. Claire said she could give me one, so you have my new look."
"Suits you very much", Leon complimented her, "anyways everyone's been waiting for you after all it's your Welcome party."
"Yeah I'd be there in a bit. I just wanted to keep these possessions of mine. It wouldn't take long", she told him.
"So what kind of stuff you got there", Leon asked.
"All that stuff which my parents and you guys gave me like this pendant and Claire's jacket and some souvenirs which I got from different place when I and Kathleen was on run", Sherry told him.
"Do you need help?" Leon asked her being courteous.
"Ah… No but thanks for asking", Sherry replied with a sweet smile.

Leon saw her pull different souvenirs, dried flowers and various stuff out of the bag and place them around in her room. While she was decorating her room they talked pretty random stuff as if Sherry had never been abducted, "Sherry I am sorry because of my stupid deal you ended in hands of Wesker", Leon said apologetically.

"It's no problem Kathleen busted me a day after that and I didn't have to go through any tortures. I am happy, that I met her", saying that she put photo frame on table by which Leon was standing.
Leon noticed it was Kathleen's picture. He picked it up and looked at it studying the details, she was laughing in the picture, "She looks happy", Leon said.
Sherry who was busy placing other thing looked at him and noticed the picture in his hand, "Yeah she must be very happy when that picture was taken."
"How did you get it?" Leon asked.
"I got it from her home where we stayed a couple of days before fleeing, I thought she would leave me after busting me out so I took that as a memo", Sherry told him. Leon didn't say anything, "Isn't she looking gorgeous in this picture."

"Yeah", Leon answered not taking his eyes away from the picture, she was definitely beautiful. And as he studied the picture, he again got that feeling that he knew her and then he noticed that the picture in the frame seemed to be folded from once edge, "Hey can I take it out?"
"Yeah sure, just put it back though", Sherry said with a smile. Leon flipped over the frame and before he could work it to get the picture out the sirens started blaring over ground, "What's happening?", Sherry asked looking up.
"There's trouble over ground", Leon said setting the picture down and rushing to address the situation.

A/N: Thanks for reading!