Chapter 17
Miracle (Christmas Wishes [Part 2])
Piers had been awake for a while when Helena joined him. He didn't want to wake her when he untangled himself from her thirty minutes before so he ambled quietly to the living room area to survey the early morning city, wondering what he could plan for the day after they opened gifts and things.
"Merry Christmas." Helena purred, flopping down on the couch beside him. She cuddled up next to him, her face buried at his nape and her arms tightly wrapped around his middle. His cheek was pressed against the top of her hair, he had pulled her close with one arm and the other resided on the armrest of the couch.
"Merry Christmas, sweetheart," he replied, embracing her warmly and then positioned her so he could begin sucking on her cheek affectionately. She groaned in response and tried to push away from him but he laughed and wouldn't release her. She submitted quite quickly and he allowed her to shift into a more comfortable position.
His focus traveled upon the unlit Christmas tree in the center of the room, many thoughts were going through his mind at the time but he remained silent; simply enjoying the moment of peace.
"Oh, and good morning, Honey." he whispered softly in her ear after a long silence; a hint of humor to his words.
"Hey..." she mumbled, planting a kiss where his skin was exposed on his neck. "I'm gonna go take a quick shower, mind making some tea while I'm in?"
Piers smiled and kissed her forehead. "Sure, and then you can open the gifts I got you."
She nodded and made her leave while he started for the kitchen. Before he went there, he pulled a small box from his coat pocket in the closet and discreetly took it with him into the kitchen. But not before pushing a tall package further inside the closet to prevent it from falling out.
Sometime later, they reunited in the kitchen where they sat and drank tea whilst nibbling on some breakfast Piers took some time to prepare. He reached over and placed his hand over Helena's once she reached for more sugar. "Say, would you like to go out for a while today? I mean, if you're feeling cramped up inside maybe the fresh air could help some?"
"I'm fine, Piers," she said and a sigh followed. "I don't mind spending today with just the two of us. In fact I'd like it to stay this way. Sheva's a doll and all but I'm tired of making you clean up puke and I'm also tired of putting off our time together."
Piers chuckled. "I agree... so, what should you and I do together?"
She smirked, a light came to her eyes as she stood from her chair and came to straddle him. "We should have a little fun..." she breathed into his ear and Piers wrapped his arms around her.
"That sounds amazing..." he said, running his fingers along her spine. "But first, you should check the table."
She furrowed her brow and followed where he gestured. There was a small black box on the table right by the empty plates she'd stacked. She reached for the item and immediately opened it to see a beautiful, sterling silver necklace with the letter 'H'. She stared at it with a raised brow. "Pretty..." she whispered. Who am I kidding it's gorgeous! But, I'm really not used to getting gifts like these… She thought and shook the thought away.
"I'd love it if you would wear it." Piers said softly kissing her cheek. "It should go well with the other things I got you."
Her interest was piqued but she was hesitant, so he led her to the living room with the other few gift boxes he'd gotten her lined around the tree. She sent him a look over her shoulder. "Piers I... I haven't gotten Christmas gifts in such a long time, I..."
"It's okay, just open them." he said calmly.
She hesitated once again; she told him the truth about her history with gifts and even that didn't help her feel much better. She and Deborah had only given gifts to each other for Christmas and usually they were things like shoes or clothes so she didn't really know how to react to being given jewelry or anything else he may have gotten her.
She felt like she owed him for it. Every gift she was ever given came with a price... "I'll pay you back for whatever you've -"
"Stop it," he said with a slight frown. "You don't have to do that. I didn't do this for you to repay me; I just want to make you smile. Please just open the gifts - I'm sure you'll like them."
What did I ever do to deserve such a wonderful man? Helena wondered as she crouched down to take one box in her hands. "I'm sorry, I'm just not used to getting gifts from anyone other than..." she trailed off and Piers knew who she was referencing but quickly decided to change the subject to keep her in a lighthearted state.
"Not even Jake?" he asked with a raised brow.
"Well yeah, but Jake's like a little brother for me so he doesn't count and... for some reason I keep forgetting to put in him in that category." she laughed and Piers had to admit that he found that hilarious. As tall and muscular as Jake was, it's hard to imagine her still thinking of him as a little brother.
So, she's just not used to receiving gifts from men. And it's probably because of that bastard, Simmons. Piers thought to himself but thought better than to push the topic.
She peeled back the wrapping and was baffled to see a pair of red and black boxing gloves. She sent him a wide eyed look but was physically stiff as a board. Piers smiled sheepishly at her. "I thought you would think the necklace was girly and so I wanted to give my sweetheart a gift that expresses who she really is... a fighting girl." he came to her side and kissed her hair. "Try them on!" he beamed with a grin.
"I can't believe you would be so thoughtful…" she whispered and he rubbed her back soothingly.
"Try them, Helena – please, for me?"
While she slipped on the red and black boxing gloves, Piers moved towards the closet nearby to retrieve that tall something concealed inside a black bag. He lifted it into his arms and returned to her side to drop it gently to the floor. It wasn't heavy for him in the least bit but he knew the floor would definitely have an issue if he dropped it.
Her brows elevated with interest as he let out a quiet phew once it was safely on the floor. "I'd say those gloves would go perfectly with what I've got for you in here." he said with another handsome grin. "Why don't you tear the bag away?"
She did as asked and for the first time in a long while, the lovely brunette's face lit up in glee. Helena threw herself at her boyfriend and kissed him abundantly. "You got me a punching bag too?!" Piers was surprised by her reaction; it wasn't often [if ever at all] that Helena Ann Harper displayed such a cheerful and yet endearingly childish behavior. "Thank you so much!"
He laughed. "I knew you would like it! I got it so you could still do what you love without hurting anyone!" his laughter turned to a nervous chuckle when she glared at him.
Helena pulled away to admire her new punching bag and gloves some more. "Where could we hang the bag?"
Piers stroked his chin for a moment, "Hm, I could have it set up right here whenever you like, I'll just have to remove it any other time."
"That sounds fine, thanks." She eyed the symbol on her gloves and it clicked for her that the necklace and gloves were made with the same letter: an 'H' for her name perhaps? "You... You have no idea how much this means to me." she said softly.
"There are many reasons why I chose the letter 'H', sweetheart." Piers told her while taking her hands in his. "The first was because of your name, the second was because you're my Honey," she twitched and he just laughed it off. "And then there was the fact that you're so hardcore... I almost went with triple H's on the gloves and necklace but I remember there was a wrestler with that name..."
She laughed, delivering a featherlike punch to his shoulder. "I loved that guy as a kid!"
"Yeah, I know... but it was at that moment when I almost chose Triple H that I remembered that there was one more 'H' that fit you more than anything."
"And what's that?"
"Hero." Piers said earnestly, a warm smile graced his handsome features. "You're a hero to a lot of people, Helena... and one in particular told me just how much of a hero you truly are..."
"Deborah." Helena finished with a doleful smile.
Piers nodded and enveloped her into a loving embrace. "I know this is your first Christmas without her... and I'm sorry."
She shook her head. "She's still here, remember? Like little Mai told you, she's always here so long as we remember her."
The former BSAA member felt like an angel had touched his soul when he saw the most honest and serene display come to his lovers face. Her eyes sparkled, her mouth pulled into a warm smile and her cheeks flushed just a pinch.
He was certain it was the most heavenly picture to have graced his mortal eyes.
The lovers took a nice stroll about London's streets flourished with Christmas likeness; their arms looped together. Snow fell quietly around them, light and feathery to the touch and so thin it barely touched the ground without turning into water. Helena watched with a childlike semblance as people exchanged gifts on the street, shouted holiday merits to one another and sang songs of flamboyant endeavors.
Christmas was such a merry time of year indeed.
Piers beckoned her inside a small coffee shop that was down the street from his apartment at a rounded corner. It was surrounded by many others on either side of the street. Cars carefully drove over the brick pavements separating them.
Most stores were closed for the day but a select few were open until 15:00 [3:00 pm] so Piers figured it would be a good idea to just escape the house before everything closed.
Helena walked inside the small shop once Piers held the door open for her. The shop was small but comfortable in its own way; painted in shades ranging from black to mocha and cream; the place was cute and attractive to individuals looking for a spot to just indulge themselves. There were a few tables by the window to the right, the cashier's station straight ahead along the counter separating the back kitchen from the rest of the shop and there was a narrow hallway beside the cashier's station that led to a unisex restroom.
Like the town, this place too was adorned with the holiday spirit. Mistletoe hung in a few areas, lights dwindled from the ceiling as well as other ornamentations.
The waitress greeted them by the door and led them to their seats; the shop was empty besides them so this wasn't a problem. "Merry Christmas and welcome, can I get you anything?" she had a slight French accent to go along with her melodic voice.
"Merry Christmas," Helena replied with a small smile, she opened a menu on the table and studied it. "I'm gonna need a moment, it's my first time here."
The waitress nodded and directed her attention to Piers, her glasses almost slipped from her face but she caught them and giggled nervously. "I am sorry, are you ready monsieur?"
Piers took a look at the menu briefly but already knew what he wanted for the moment. "Merry Christmas to you as well, and I'll take a vanilla latte."
She copied his order onto her notepad just as Helena decided on her choice. "Okay, I think I'm just going with a cappuccino."
"Very good, I'll return in just a bit." she chimed and departed from them.
Once the waitress returned with their beverages, the two struck up on some lighthearted conversation until the topic changed to the investigation. "Why haven't we heard anything...?" Helena wondered aloud.
"Not sure, it's been a week..." Piers replied with a slight huff. "But who would have thought that Professor Sera was withholding information..."
"Yeah, do you think Simmons threatened him?"
Piers considered it greatly; it wasn't stretching in the least bit – but, what exactly could Deborah's professor know that would put him in the crossfire was what caught his interest. If Leon and Ada knew anything about why, they certainly weren't speaking of it.
All they told them was that Luis Sera; Deborah's former Spanish professor didn't tell the whole truth.
"He might have," he said finally. "If the professor saw something incriminating then I imagine he would have blackmailed him."
Silence emerged between them for a moment until Helena sighed. "Listen Piers, I just want to thank you for sticking with me through all of this."
"Helena, you -"
"Please let me talk." she interrupted calmly, her hands wrapped around her porcelain cup. "You and I have been through a lot throughout these years - from being split up to us meeting again. I take responsibility for my indifference to you at first, I know it was cold and I'm sorry for that but I was going through a lot."
"I understand." he said.
She smiled. "Seeing you after all this time made me feel happy and that scared me at first but now I'm really glad that you and I are together again. While I would have loved for Debbie to be here with us and I know you would have liked it that way too... I am glad that you have shown me a way to cope with her physical absence and yet still feel her with me in spirit. You are one of the best things to ever happen to me, Piers... so I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you for not giving up on me and for fighting with me... and for loving me."
Piers blushed a bit. "Um... are you okay? You're really fuzzy today, dear." he put his palm to her forehead and in that second - she twitched, fighting the urge to punch him for being silly during her moment of weakness. "Joking sweetheart! ... and believe me when I say you're the best thing to ever come to my life as well - and thank you for opening up, it means the world to me."
She released the breath she wasn't aware she was holding and took his hands in hers. "Now, do you think we could go back to your place and... fool around a bit?"
His face turned scarlet. This would be an excellent time to do that... He thought and a grin came to his face. "Sure..." he almost purred.
Piers woke up to the sound of someone knocking. After listening for a minute to register if they were knocking on his door or maybe his neighbor beside him and upon discovery it was in fact his door, he groaned quietly. He mentally debated should he ignore them and cuddle closer to his lover or just be considerate and see who it was.
Being the refined man that he was, he decided to respond to the visitor, but first he had to slip away from his sleeping girlfriend. He was lying on his back, Helena's head was on his shoulder, her chest pressed against his and their legs tangled together.
They'd made love as soon as they returned from the coffee shop not once but twice; the first time was slow and gentle but passionate, the second was a lot wilder – especially on Helena's part and the two were so exhausted they had fallen asleep in each other's arms. Piers smiled as he studied his lover's sleeping face. She looked peaceful, a direct contradict to her almost animalistic endeavors when they made love the second time around.
Quietly giving her the slip, he pulled on his robe nearby and started for the door once the visitor was on the third round of hammering it with their fist. He sighed and cracked the door open a bit and was stunned to see none other than Ada Wong.
He yipped and backed away from the door with a comically surprised expression as she stepped inside with an amused grin. "Didn't mean to interrupt you two in the middle of your ministrations." she cooed while fighting back a chuckle. "But I've got some things to share with you."
"Oh no worries," Piers chuckled sheepishly. "We were just resting is all…"
Moments later Helena was awakened by her fidgeting boyfriend and after slipping her own robe on she joined the two in the living room area.
"Miss Wong," Piers started once Helena settled on the couch beside him. "What is it you need to tell us?"
Ada studied them for a moment before speaking. "First of all I need to clarify that Leon is unable to join me at the moment for the very thing I'm about to tell you." The two were tense as they waited for her to finish, Helena took hold of Piers' hand for support. "The other day when we shared with you that your sister's teacher was withholding information, it may interest you to know that your sister did in fact come to the classroom for her exam, but she was completely disheveled and frantic to the point that the he dismissed the class and the exam to speak with her alone."
"Oh my God..." Helena whispered anxiously.
Piers swallowed hard, this news was a real breakthrough and it was comforting as well as disturbing. "Please tell us that he told you what was wrong with her."
"Of course he did, after we assured him he would be kept in a witness protection program." Ada said while shuffling through the file folders and papers in her hands. "You understand that Leon and I aren't supposed to share these things with you, but since you are so closely involved we feel you can be of more assistance if you learn more... so what I'm about to tell you two must be kept in confidence at all times."
"Yes, ma'am." they said in union.
"Luis Sera informed us that Deborah was hysterical and crying – after he got her to calm down, he managed to convince her she was safe and that no harm would come to her because he is also in law enforcement."
"He is?" Helena asked in disbelief.
Ada nodded. "Agent Sera is undercover investigating an unrelated crime involving foreign policies but upon seeing her this way he had to act fast and see to it that if he could assist her – he would do just that."
"And risk his cover?" Piers inquired.
"It's never easy to watch a crime happen when you're undercover," Ada replied with an emotionless expression. "Some of us are willing to risk it all to stop another crime from occurring. But moving on; Agent Sera was able to break through your sister's moment of terror just enough for her to reveal that she was attacked by someone and managed to escape."
"Oh my God...So you mean... Deborah really was running from someone!" Helena said with an expression of absolute confliction. "Was it Simmons?"
Ada held up her hand. "Unfortunately, no it wasn't Simmons." the two were completely taken aback. "We tracked down the camera footage and were able to make out a different silhouette. The man we saw on tape with your sister was much taller and definitely more muscular. Witnesses never got a name but from the people we talked to, Deborah was presenting him as her boyfriend..." she pulled a picture from her file folder.
"Does this man look familiar to either of you?"
The two took turns studying the picture. It was taken from a fuzzy security camera on the outskirts of the library Deborah had visited. They could make out Deborah's silhouette beside a very tall man with burly muscles and a baseball cap on his head. The lovers looked at one another helplessly and shook their heads at the Asian woman before them.
Ada hummed. "Well, that's quite alright. You see, we were wondering was he her actual boyfriend but we asked around again and most people who remembered seeing her with him could recall her appearing nervous and fidgety... but here's the catch – she wasn't afraid of this man in particular, she actually seemed comfortable beside him but something else was bothering her."
"We've never met a man like that before." Helena said quietly. "I don't recognize him at all... so why would she be comfortable with him?"
"Hm, we figured that much." Ada said, placing the picture in its original spot. "So we decided to track down her ex, Peter. We wondered did he actually have an issue seeing her with another man and maybe attack her when the two were split up..."
"You found Peter?" asked Piers.
She nodded with a smirk. "You can't hide from Ada Wong." She then returned to her mask of indifference. "He was staying with an aunt in another town. We just wanted to have a look at him before excluding him from the suspects list based on our concern that the police did a half-assed job. Turns out they really didn't - Peter really didn't commit this crime because while he was hurt that he and Deborah were over, he'd been on the streets working and selling drugs with some more of his buddies. A customer of his took the liberty to provide an alibi for him - how unpredictable."
"So Peter is indeed excluded?" Helena asked giving Piers' hand a squeeze.
"He was." she said slowly.
"What do you mean?" Piers implored not too gently.
"When we met him in the other town, he was in prison - had been there for almost three weeks now. The last time we spoke with him was a few days ago and now well... the reason why Leon is not here with me right now is because he's investigating Peter's... death."
The room went silent.
"P-Peter's dead?" Helena echoed, her lovely face marred with astonishment. Piers was quiet, but he was visibly feeling the same as his girlfriend.
Ada nodded slowly. "He hung himself while in prison from what the guards have told us... but that's not the worst of it." the two said nothing as they waited for her to speak. "They found his suicide note, declaring himself as the murderer of all the women... including the assault of your sister."
"So Peter really did do it..." Helena confirmed breathlessly.
Ada's mask was as hard as ever. "A few days ago when we spoke to Peter, and he shared some very disturbing news to Leon and myself." this caught the lovers attention again. "He informed us of the very reason why he and your sister broke up. He says it was because she was pregnant."
Both of their jaws dropped. "P-Pregnant?" they both repeated in disbelief.
"Yes and apparently the child was not his. She told him she met a man and fell in love with him. He worked alongside Simmons for a while and would share little bits of information with her. For some reason, she actually told Peter that should anything happen to her, she wanted him to share this information."
"Was he lying about this?" Piers asked.
"We wondered about it so Leon and I called in a favor to a friend who searched Simmons database for workers fitting the description in this picture. Turns out Peter wasn't lying at all... that man used to work alongside Simmons up until six months ago."
"Who is he?" wondered Helena.
"Jack Krauser." Ada answered. "He is the man from the library photos."
"So if Peter told the truth about that..."
"Then he told the truth about her being pregnant as well." Piers finished for his lover.
Ada agreed with him. "We can actually confirm your sister was indeed pregnant. So, if he told the truth about all of that, then is it too much of a stretch to think he was honest about not being responsible for the crimes?"
Helena was stunned. "This is just getting bigger and bigger..."
Piers agreed with her. "Peter was a coward, he would never have the guts to kill himself. That said, I'm willing to bet that his handwriting doesn't match his penmanship, now does it? It was forged by his killer."
Ada took in some air. "Absolutely correct, and there's more to it. In the letter, Peter was confessing to crimes that he simply could not have committed because they occurred while he was imprisoned. Whoever framed him is trying to cover their tracks but they did a poor job and failed to keep tabs on him to succeed in it."
"What the hell could that Krauser guy have told Debbie? Could that have put her in danger?" Piers pondered aloud.
"I'm afraid that information isn't available just yet as Krauser has disappeared suddenly. More importantly, I must tell you now that we can no longer keep in contact over the phone as our lines could very well be tapped. Instead, I we will meet up in different locations from this point on."
"Should we be concerned?" Piers asked.
"I wouldn't be. If Simmons is in fact responsible for all of this then he will not target Helena because he knows he'll instantly become the suspect." Ada replied rising to her feet.
"Could Simmons have killed Debbie just to silence her from speaking anything she was told?" Helena asked.
"Killed her you say?" Ada smirked. "Funny you should mention that because it's the most important matter of my visit."
The two sent her a puzzled look and she continued. "Fortunately for us, Simmons doesn't have many if any at all followers who are absolutely loyal to him. Something more, Claire Redfield and Steve Burnside are very good at offering a special hand – they were able to call in a favor with someone Claire works alongside and she's a fantastic medic; her name is Michaela Schneider. Meanwhile, Mr. Burnside is pretty good with protective detail."
"What does all this have to do with Simmons and my sister?" Helena asked skeptically.
"Miss Harper, if I told you that your sister is alive… would you believe me?"
Meanwhile in Finland, Sherry and Jake were enjoying the day after Christmas with a city tour alongside Rachael and Raymond. Stephanie offered to watch Marlowe for the day; she was planning to help him study some math so he wouldn't have to go out in the cold.
Raymond rode over the thick snow into a town bustling with activity and lights. "You two don't mind if we stop by our place for a moment, do you? There's someone there that I'm sure you'll be surprised to see, Jake." he said with a ghost of a smile.
Jake was in the backseat with Sherry, his arm wrapped around her while she showed him the pictures she'd taken on her cell phone. He furrowed his brow with interest to his uncle's words. "Me, surprised? Heh, not often."
"You'll see!" Rachael chimed with a giggle.
They stopped by their temporary residence; a large building with impressive design. It was a luxury hotel that fit the couples tastes with its indoor restaurants and saunas and other leisure activities. They weren't planning to stay in Finland much longer; in fact they were arranging to leave within the next two weeks.
Their room was on the fifth floor along the back of the building. The two pairs took an elevator to the floor where they got off and entered the room three doors to the left.
It was a nice place to crash, one bedroom, a kitchen, living room, dining area, and a bathroom with a hot tub and sauna room. The colors varied from white, green, violet and teal in each room.
Rachael offered them a seat while Raymond walked into the back area towards the kitchen. He returned a moment later with a look of confusion. "Huh, he's not here. He must have stepped out earlier… oh well; you two want to try the sauna until he returns?"
They exchanged looks before consenting to his proposal. Just as Rachael beckoned them to follow her, a knock came to the door. Raymond excused himself to respond to the sudden interruption and upon opening the door, Jake visibly stiffened.
"Jake? What's the matter?" Sherry wondered with a look of concern etched on her pretty face. Her eyes followed his to the tall and muscular figure stepping into the room. His eyes were narrow and seemed to pierce through her. He had an impressive jaw line and scars scattered across his face. Sherry stepped closer to Jake when the man approached them.
"Well, there you are boy – it's been a while." the man said with a small smirk. His voice was raspy and loud enough to make Sherry flinch.
Jake's eyes darkened just a bit. He sent a questionable look to his uncle Raymond before directing it back to the stranger. It's been years since he's shown his face… what could be the reason he's here now? Besides, isn't he in hiding from Simmons? Jake wondered quietly to himself.
"What do you want, old man?" he asked nonchalantly.
The man chuckled softly and turned his eyes to Sherry. "Wow, you've got yourself a little lady don't cha? You've come a long way from the good ole' days, haven't you son?"
Jake growled and pulled Sherry against his chest by wrapping a protective arm around her waist. "I asked you a question."
"Jake, who is this man?" Sherry asked meekly.
"This is my old mentor from when I was a merc..." he started slowly as the male before him extended his hand for Sherry to shake. "This is my girlfriend, Sherry." Jake introduced when the two's hands met.
Sherry blushed. "N-Nice to meet you, sir."
"It's nice to meet you too, sweetheart. Like the boy here said, I'm his former teacher, the name's Jack, Jack Krauser." He directed his attention back to Jake and his hardened expression seemed to turn into one of grief. "I know this is sudden but I need to talk to you, Jake."
A/N: Short chapter yes and I apologize but I hope you liked it! I tried to tell you guys/girls I had something planned for Debbie but I didn't want to spoil it – now you see why the details of her 'death' were so strange. But the question is… what the heck is going on?! XD
So, what does Krauser want with Jake and what's their history? What about Deborah's situation? Everything to be revealed in the next coming chapters because everything is about to start unfolding like crazy!
Thanks for the reviews that were given, I appreciate them. :) I'll try to update sooner for next chapter but now I've gotta finish working on Memoirs from the Garden. In the meantime, Read & Review! :D
If you have any questions or concerns feel free to let me know.
See ya soon!
-Vio