If I Was Sincere, Whispered My Fears, Would You Still Be Here?

Title is from Stay by Michelle Featherstone. As always thank you reviewers, means a lot to me. And now for the people I can't thank personally...Jane, my dear, you make me blush. I'm so happy you still like it, you're too kind to me! And Miss Redfield, I'm glad you enjoyed it, I hope you accept my portrayal of you. Haha.

Enjoy the slightly longer chapter.

Thirty years had passed, and perhaps unbelievably, she was now happy. Her life was never one of bliss; things seemed to deteriorate from the death of her parents and just became that bit worse whenever she was involved in Raccoon City. Although she never voiced it, she never thought she'd ever led a normal life. Truth be told, she was scarred since those days, but she found a way to overcome it, and with that, happiness followed suit. Of course, the appearance of a certain man certainly helped out with that too.

Claire rolled on her side in the large bed to take a peek at the man lying next to her. She wasn't one for love at first sight, or love at all, but she could tell the minute she laid eyes upon him, that he was something different.

"Good morning." Claire whispered with a little grin on her lips.

"Happy Birthday." Luke replied groggily, and rolled himself over to his side, to face her. She was comfortable in his presence, usually in these situations she would be freaking out that she had morning hair and smeared make up. But this time she didn't mind, and he certainly didn't either.

The nicest thing about their previous evening and the morning was they weren't intimate. Claire was never comfortable enough in herself to ever move that quickly. Besides it was nice to just spend the night talking to him again. She just refused to let him sleep on the sofa. But Luke respected her boundaries, hell he didn't even steal a kiss.

"I have to apologise, I don't have your present with me...I suppose I'll give it to you tonight." Luke said to her, moving a stray piece of auburn hair from her eyes.

"Don't be stupid, I'm just happy your here."

"Come here." They both let out a slight chuckle as he wrapped his arms around her waist to tug her into his body. He rolled unto his back, and she rested her head and hands on his chest, gently closing her eyes in the process.

...

"Happy Birthday!" The door of her bedroom was swung open, allowing Claire to look at Leon standing in the doorway. His big smile soon faded into a coy one as he saw she wasn't alone. "Oh...Nice work, Claire."

She laughed in response, but felt Luke tense up beneath her. He wasn't really too sure what to do, and he couldn't move, because Claire was still rested upon him.

"It's not what you think..." She replied, ripping the bed sheets off herself and Luke, showing Leon both were fully clothed from the day before. Leon shook his head, but laughed lightly.

"Well in that case, since you haven't started... mind if I join?" Leon said seductively, running his tongue along his top lip. Claire laughed at him, while Luke winced slightly.

Claire sat up brightly, crossing her legs on the bed, while patting the free area next to her for Leon to sit.

"I thought you had to be away for the weekend?" She asked, as Leon sat on the edge next to her.

"Nah, I fiddled around so I could be back for today. After all, you're getting old Claire Redfield!" He joked, pulling her tightly into a bear hug; she didn't hesitate to wrap her arms around him. The two were very good friends, and it was just a shame he seemed so busy at the moment.

Luke had sat himself upright, feeling uncomfortable if he kept lying down. He presumed the man was Leon, it was the only person that would make sense, especially considering he had a key to the house.

"Oh, by the way...Your present's waiting in the kitchen." Claire squealed in delight at his words and hoped off the bed to run downstairs.

Leon moved his gaze towards Luke, looking him up and down. He was protective over Claire, he had to make sure this man was good enough.

Luke removed his gaze from Leon, as he felt Leon's wandering eye over him. He felt incredibly awkward considering Claire had left, and it was now only the two of them sitting on the bed. And from the previous joke, he began to believe Leon wasn't exactly the straightest man.

...

"I don't swing that way..." Luke coughed out in attempt to remove Leon's gaze over him. Leon blurted out a laugh, and slapped him on the thigh.

"Relax. Neither do I." Leon said, continuing to chuckle. Luke just sighed in relief.

"I'm Luke Johnson by the way." He introduced himself, holding his hand out to Leon, who graciously shook it.

"Leon S. Kennedy...I've heard a lot about you."

"Likewise... Well I suppose we should go down to see Claire." Luke said, standing off the bed and heading towards the door.

"Luke." He stopped in his tracks and turned to Leon. "Claire's been through a lot. Treat her right...Otherwise you'll have me to answer too... And Chris I suppose."

Luke nodded, he appreciated that Leon looked out for her. Plus, there would be no way he would argue with Chris and Leon, they were both much more muscular than he was.

...

Claire couldn't conceal her giggling when she laid eyes upon a small little chocolate Labrador puppy with a bright red bow around its neck, sitting prim and proper in the kitchen. She immediately got down on her knees to pet and cuddle it... Leon definitely knew what she loved.

Chris flickered his eyes open. As soon as they adjusted to the room, confusion took over him. He didn't recognise his surroundings, he was in a pitch black room and he saw no doors or windows. Anger crept upon him, and immediately he attempted to leave. His arms shook against the restraints. Although he couldn't see anything, it felt like thick rope wound around his wrists. Despite his greatest efforts, his arms and feet were permanently stuck. He let out a deep growl as he used all the strength he had to fight away. But all to no avail. Chris closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh.

He tried to make sense of the situation, tried to focus to understand what happened previously and where on earth he could be. But he came up short. He had no recollection of anything in fact.

The sound of stiletto shoes echoed through the empty room. And from a beam of light, a tall slender woman walked in, standing opposite him. He looked her up and down, she wore a black coat, buttoned up to accentuate her waist and bust. Long curls of platinum blonde hair lay either side of her face.

But as Chris glanced at her face, confusion and fear set in. Her face was completely covered by an expressionless white mask. Even her amber eyes were only barely visible to him. She didn't speak, just stared at him.

Chris's eyes moved from her, to the woman who was led behind her. His heart sunk as his eyes focused and he realised the woman was Jill. He tried once again against his restraints but his efforts didn't make a difference. Jill locked eye's with him, she looked petrified.

The masked woman turned to look at Jill, and she slowly glided her way behind Jill. Chris tried to talk but the words wouldn't come out. Light reflected off the shiny surface of the woman's knife as she ran it slowly along Jill's neck, sweeping Jill's hair from her face in the process.

Chris's gaze fell over Jill, but things were different. She was pregnant, very noticeably pregnant. The bump was prominent; she looked at least 6 months gone. His eyes stung with fear, and Jill just stood silent, her eyes were pleading for him to do something. But he was powerless. He opened his mouth to shout, but again no sound fell from his lips.

The woman moved her free hand around Jill, allowing her long thin fingers to creep along Jill's bump delicately. Chris watched in fear as she moved the knife down to Jill's bump. Gently, she pierced through Jill's skin and slowly brought the knife right along the width of her abdomen. Jill didn't scream or even flinch, but the colour drained from her face, and Chris watched as the life faded from her eyes and she took her final breath. Blood seeped through the gaping wound, coating the knife, and eventually the floor was covered in the bright blood of mother and baby.

Finally Chris could scream as he jumped up out of the sofa and out of his dreams. Sweat stuck his dark locks to his forehead. It wasn't the first time he'd had dreams about the masked woman, but every time it was as vivid as life.

Taking a deep breath, he calmed his racing heart and shaky hands. He glanced to the clock and noticed it was already six o'clock. He must have fallen asleep on the sofa, but now he had little time to prepare for Claire's.

Once he was more relaxed, Chris stood up and threw himself into the shower to get ready for the evening, hoping to forget his previous nightmare.

Jill arrived slightly late for Claire's party, as she walked in she already regretted coming. It wasn't her type of scene, the place was swimming with people, and very few of them she actually recognised. From what Claire had said, the majority were old friends of hers. If that wasn't bad enough, Jill's feet were killing her already in the stiletto heels, and she felt ridiculous wearing a short strappy blue dress. But that was the outfit Claire insisted she wore.

She saw Chris, Anna and the Burton family talking near the bar, but she wished to find Claire first. Chris caught her sight, and she gave him a slight smile, ensuring he knew she wasn't angry with him about the previous day. Before he had a chance to wave her over, she moved on. She hoped to avoid him until after the party because then she could tell him about the pregnancy. She wasn't going to ruin Claire's birthday.

Jill bustled through various people dancing, the music was blaring so loud she could hear very little. She saw a couple of tables on the opposite side of the room, and one of which Claire was situated at. Jill walked up and leaned down to give Claire a big hug at the table. It was quieter here, and it was only Claire and Luke really sitting down.

"You look great, Jill." Claire said, even Luke gave an appreciative glance over Jill. Well, she had made an effort; she put on more make up than usual, and decided to loosely curl her long chocolate locks.

"Thank you. And so do you birthday girl." Claire was wearing what looked to be a pretty black cocktail dress, but with her sitting it was hard to tell. Jill smiled as it was obvious Claire made up with Luke, and from the looks of it they were closer than ever, considering Luke's arm was placed around Claire's back protectively.

"Here, your present." Jill handed Claire a black leather jacket with a card on top. "I didn't have time to wrap it, I'm sorry...And I have the receipt if it's not the right size or you don't like it or anything."

"Relax, Jill, that's the one I loved..." Claire had admired the jacket on one of their shopping trips, but she complained about the price, so refused to buy it. Jill obviously didn't mind, and thought her friend was worth it. "But you shouldn't have, it was expensive..."

Jill shrugged, and gave a smile.

"You should sit." Claire suggested.

"No, I've only just arrived, and I am itching for a drink." Jill laughed. Honestly she didn't want to interrupt the two, and she knew people would be coming in and out to wish Claire happy birthday, and Jill didn't want to get in the way.

"Are you not going to dance?" Claire joked, knowing it wasn't Jill's thing.

"I think I'll pass on that one..." Jill laughed and waved a goodbye, as she headed to the bar.

...

"You got a name for that mutt yet?" Luke asked Claire sitting next to him. He immediately received a punch on the shoulder.

"Abe is not a mutt, he is a lovely little puppy..." Claire warned.

"Abe?" Luke laughed, "Are you serious?"

"After Abraham Lincoln, and yes I am serious." She replied glaring at him, "Do you have a problem with that?"

"No, no, of course not. It makes perfect sense to name a Labrador puppy after a former president of the United States..."

"Good to know you understand my reasoning behind it..." She joked. A small smile played on her lips as she decided to try teasing him, "So you gave Miss Valentine a very...long glance?"

"Oh, well Miss Redfield...Am I sensing a bit of jealousy?" If she was going to play, he certainly would too. He sent her a coy wink.

"No." She replied quickly. He smiled at her, and leaned closer to her ear.

"If it's any consolation, she looked good, but you look much...sexier." Luke whispered in her ear. He really was good at this flirting business. Claire chuckled and blushed ever so slightly.

"Down boy." Claire warned him jokily.

The night went on, and it seemed the amount of people didn't shrink. It came to a point where a slow song was played and as a bit of fun everyone got up to dance. Old Barry and the wife Karen led the way, saying they were going to show the young ones how to do it. Even Leon took Anna up for a little jokey dance, not without receiving a death stare from her watchful father of course. But it was probably for the best, meant no drunk men could leer at her due to her young age. Also meant the two previous women Leon had already teased and kissed couldn't fight over which one was going to get to dance with him.

Luke reached around and placed one arm to rest on Claire's waist while the other interlocked with her hand. Claire smiled and placed her free arm to rest over his shoulder and swayed with him to the music. Even with her heels, he was still much taller than she.

"Never thought I'd get to dance with the birthday girl...Aren't I lucky?" He said, a smile playing on his lips. Another blush appeared on her cheeks, he was definitely a cheesy man, but she liked it. Tough, brooding men never won her over anyway.

"I'd say I'm luckier. I never thought I'd find someone like you." She said honestly, gazing into his hazel eyes.

Luke unclasped her hand and used his to gently tip her face upwards towards him. It was the moment she had been waiting for, but for her it had been quite a while, she'd be lying if she said she wasn't nervous. He edged his face down slowly towards hers, brushing his lips against her own briefly. A smile formed on his lips as he savoured her sweet taste.

Her eyes remained closed, and he brought their lips to meet again, but this time for longer. It was an electric feeling for Claire, but she was still slightly hesitant. For him, her lips were soft and light just as he imagined. He darted his tongue out to run along and tease her lips. She complied with his wishes and parted her lips ever so slightly, allowing his tongue to slip carefully into her mouth. She soon melted into the kiss and began her own exploring. The two kept as close as possible and separated only for the occasional need of breath.

...

Throughout the dance, Jill remained seated at the bar, sipping her drink. She knew she was probably the only one not dancing, but she really didn't feel the need too. Besides she was not willing to give the three drunken horny men who asked her to dance, any form of satisfaction by actually doing it.

"Care to dance?" Jill sank her head, and sighed. Yet another random man she'd never met, asking for a dance. She supposed some people would be flattered by the attention, but she definitely wasn't.

"I'm sorry, but I can't, I broke my foot..." Jill threw the same excuse as she swivelled in the chair to see the latest desperate man asking her. Her face dropped as Chris stood before her with his trademark lopsided grin and hand held out for her.

"Really?" He asked jokily. She closed her eyes and sighed,

"Oh Chris..."

"It's just a dance Jill. Just as friends..." Chris tried to argue. Her plan of avoiding him obviously didn't work, but one dance wouldn't hurt. She gave him a smile and placed her hand into his as he helped her up, and led her towards the crowd of others dancing.

Jill cautiously wrapped both her arms around Chris's neck, to rest on his shoulders. Her heels gave her the advantage of height, and so she was much closer to his height than usual.

He didn't want to push her, so once she was comfortable, Chris brought his hands around her thinning waist, and pulled her body up close to his. She buried her head into the crook of his neck and gently closed her eyes, as the two moved with each other to the music.

This is what Jill had missed, the spontaneous and romantic actions he used to do on a regular basis. The actions that made her realise why she fell in love with him in the first place. Because, although he was a rough man, he was as gentle as anything when he touched her. Her heart raced that little bit faster when he held her tighter. It felt so wonderful to be back in his arms, she felt safe again. Against her efforts, she could feel her eyes beginning to well, she couldn't take it. She missed him so much, and she was so desperate to just latch onto his lips and hold him forever again.

"You look beautiful." He whispered the compliment into her ear, laying a small kiss on her cheek after.

That was the last point for her, she couldn't take it anymore. Tears trickled along her fine features. She suddenly felt embarrassed in front of so many people. She mumbled an apology and regrettably moved her hands to his chest to gently push him away. She turned on her heels and jogged out of the room. Chris looked dumbfounded, and began to worry he had done something wrong.

The night was clear but cool. Jill had found a small bench out the back of the pub, away from the noise of the party. It was peaceful for her, only slight noise being that of the nearby traffic. She took the time to admire the bright stars which shone in the moonlit sky. She had had the time to pull herself together, and all form of tears had left. She really was getting weaker, but that was love. Chris made her vulnerable.

"Am I that bad a dancer?" Chris chuckled stepping out behind the bench. He followed the direction she had taken, and found her out here. It didn't surprise him; she always did love seeing the stars anyway. She just rarely did it after the mansion incident due to acquiring a fear of the dark.

Jill smiled and shook her head. Chris noticed her shivering, after all it was a cool night and her dress was just spaghetti straps. He slung the jacket off his shoulders, and draped them carefully over hers. He was wearing a black long sleeved shirt so he was more protected from the cold anyway.

"Thank you." She whispered. He always was quite the gentleman. Chris walked around and sat down next to her. "I'm sorry for running off like that, I just..."

"I should be the one apologising. Jill, I didn't know Sophia was going to barge in like that earlier..."

"I know... But why did she come to you?" Jill asked out of curiosity, she didn't believe the unborn child would be Chris's. But it wouldn't hurt to check.

"Not for the reason you're probably thinking...She was just scared." Jill could sympathise with her on one thing obviously. "But she was pretty stupid, she hadn't even told Carlos, and she's known for a couple of days. But I think she's telling him today..."

Jill nodded. Fear began to boil within her again; clearly Chris wasn't going to be happy that she had kept their news for so long from him. Chris noticed she looked distant.

"So what is it you wanted to tell me?" He asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"I...I don't want to say here. But can we go to yours and talk?" Chris saw fear in her eyes, and it worried him deeply.

"Of course. I just have to give Claire her present and I'll meet you there..." He gave a slight smile to try to reassure her. But it didn't do anything to help her. She was going to miss that smile, because she honestly thought he'd never forgive her once she told him.

Chris gave a slight pat on her leg, and stood up to leave.

"Chris, wait." Jill called standing up, and successfully stopping him in his tracks. He turned to face her. "Do you want to finish our dance first?"

Jill gave him a little shy smile as she asked. A broad toothy grin appeared on his lips, as he moved towards her, wrapping his arms around her. She didn't really want to dance; she just wanted to be held by him again...To feel him close to her once more. She knew it was selfish of her, she figured after their talk later on, he would pretty much hate her. But she wanted to hold some memory of what it was like when things were good between them.

Eventually they stopped swaying and Jill merely latched on to him, hugging him tightly around his waist. He could feel dampness through his shirt, although he couldn't hear her sobs. Without a fraction of hesitation, his hands came up to stroke her hair soothingly. He thought Jill was crying for them, and everything they had to go through, little did he know, her tears were that of guilt.

After presenting Claire with a pendant of their late mothers, Chris headed home, in hope to speak to Jill. It was late so the roads were pretty deserted. He could feel his eyes sinking as he drove. Probably wasn't in the best condition to drive, but he was nearly home anyway.

Chris brought the car up into the drive, but squinted at another car parked slightly up from his house. He shrugged it off, and figured it was a neighbour. Had Chris have been more alert, he might have noticed he had seen the car before. And that it was more familiar with him than he believed.

Chris stepped up to the porch and as he put the key in the front door, he realised it wasn't locked to begin with. He cautiously pushed open the door, and saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"Jill? Are you in here?" He asked the empty room. With no reply, he laughed slightly at his nervousness.

As Chris threw his keys down and entered the hall, a blunt object collided with the back of his head. He didn't say a word, and just fell silently as his world was enveloped into darkness.

I had this whole chapter planned out for a long time as well. And yes, it's a little cheesey, but honestly I don't care. The story isn't exactly meant to be terribly serious, so I think cheese is acceptable, haha. XD

Also, as for naming the puppy Abe, it was either that or Khrushchev, so I went for Abe...Though I'm now quite tempted to name my next pet Khrushchev. My mind is a strange one.

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