2 YEARS LATER

*Minnie's POV.*

"Beloved son and brother. Sacrificed his life serving his country. He will be missed and remembered." These were the words written on the tombstone of Finn McCauley. This isn't the first time I visit Finn's grave and it's not the first time I've read these words. I come here every year to pay my respects. After all, if it wasn't for Finn, I'd be dead. Since Finn was a soldier, he was buried in the soldiers' cemetery. There was a simple white cross for a tombstone, just like all the others in the cemetery. Normally, you wouldn't even notice this particular grave among all the others, but to me, this grave meant more than any of the others.

Every single time I come here, I would drift off to my thoughts and lose track of time and everything else around me. I felt a single raindrop land on my face. It was the middle of November, so the autumn rains were often, and you could feel the upcoming winter.

- We should get going. – A female voice behind me said.

- Yeah. – I answered to the red-haired woman who walked up to stand beside me. – You know, Claire, I never stop to think how would have Finn's life turned out if it weren't for the events in Edonia.

- No one can answer that question, sweetie. But I'm sure that he would have turned out into a great soldier and an even greater man. But you can't change the past. He died saving you, it was his choice. He will always be remembered as a hero and no one in our family will ever forget him. And the best way for him to live on is to live your life to the fullest, Minnie.

- Yeah. – I whispered as I laid the bouquet of white flowers, that I was holding in my hands, down by the grave.

- Come on, let's get back to HQ. Everyone's probably already waiting for us.

I nodded and the both of us walked out of the cemetery and towards Claire's car. It was almost 6 p.m. and I was supposed to be at the BSAA headquarters around 6:15 p.m. Piers finished work at 6 and since I had a few things to take care of in the city, he told me to meet him there so that he could drive me home. Of course, Claire offered to do so, but NO, Piers just had to have it his way.

The cemetery wasn't too far from the headquarters, so 10 minutes later Claire was already parking her car in the parking lot. We got out of the car and went straight to Chris' office on the second floor. When we entered Chris' office we saw a rather annoyed Chris sitting at his desk, buried behind a pile of various papers, Jill sitting in front of his desk and Barry standing not too far from the two, enjoying a cup of coffee.

- Hey there, big bro. – Claire greeted him with a grin. – Is the paperwork already killing you? – This earned a laugh from everyone in the room except for Chris, who was obviously in agony.

- I hate paperwork. – He mumbled like a child. – It was better when I was off on the field, killing creatures of all sorts.

As Chris had told Piers in China, he turned in his gun after that mission. Well, sort of. Since he had been in the military almost all his life, he stayed with the BSAA as an Advisor/Combat Specialist, alongside Barry. He was warned about all the paperwork that he would have to take care of, but still agreed to take the position.

- Do you know where Piers is? – I asked the people in the room.

- Obviously having more fun than me. – Chris mumbled once again under his breath, which made me snicker.

- Probably still torturing his Team. – Jill answered smiling at me.

After Chris resigned from his position as the Team Captain, Piers took his place as the new Alpha Team Captain. A couple of weeks from now, his Team will have to go through some sort of special Training Camp and Piers is making all of his Team work their butts off in order not to fail Training Camp. I once had the possibility to see the last 20 minutes of their training here in HQ and honestly I felt a little bad for them. Piers was demanding a lot from his Team. Not the impossible, but a lot nonetheless. At first I thought that maybe it was too much but Chris said that he was doing a great job as the new Captain. 'A true Captain has to be demanding' he told me, 'He has to know what his Team is capable of and he has to be able to make them achieve the best they can. It has to be done through inspiration, hard work and sometimes even punishments, but everything has to be done at the right time'. According to Chris, Piers did exactly what he had to. And if Chris said that Piers was doing a great job, who am I to argue with him?

- You know, sometimes I think that boy is having a bit too much fun making those kids run around and work out all day long. – Barry said with a chuckle.

- It's all done with good intensions. – Jill retorted with a laugh.

As they all chatted about how Piers is doing his job as the new Leader of Alpha Team, I walked up to Barry and pointed to his cup of coffee.

- Can I get a sip? – I asked looking hopefully into the contents of the cup.

- Umm… sure. – Barry answered a bit confused as he handed me the cup. – I can make you a new one, you know?

- No need. – I said as I took a sip. It felt as if I was drinking the nectar of the gods. – Oh my God. I haven't had coffee for ages. This one sip was like a miracle. – I said giving, now an empty cup to Barry.

- You didn't drink coffee for two months only, Minnie. – Claire said. – It's two months, not ages.

- To me it feels like ages. – I told her with a maniacal look in my eyes. – I was used to drinking at least a cup of coffee every day, and now I'm not allowed. It's like telling a smoker of 10 years not to smoke suddenly.

- Why are you not allowed to drink coffee? – Barry questioned, confused even more.

- Because… - I started, but was cut off by Claire.

- She has a very loving husband who takes care of her. – Claire finished my sentence not the way I meant it to end.

- Speaking of which, where is he? – I asked once again. As if he had heard my words, the door of Chris' office opened and in walked Piers. Yup, that's right. THE Piers Nivans is my husband. The so called cold-hearted sniper that had only interest in his sniper rifle had found a bit more interest in me.

- Hey, everyone. Oh, Minnie. You're already here. – He said surprised a bit. – How was your day? – He asked softly as he came closer and pecked me on the lips. Almost immediately his soft look turned into a frown. – Have you been drinking coffee?

- Piers, don't start. – I said as I rolled my eyes.

- The doctor specifically said that you can't drink coffee. – He said with a disapproving look on his face.

- She said that I'm not supposed to drink too much of it. A few sips of coffee in two months won't do any harm. For goodness sake, Piers, I'm not dying, I'm only pregnant.

Yup, you heard me right once again. I'm pregnant. I'm already 4 months, but Piers is acting as if I'll die tomorrow if I don't follow the doctor's orders. You probably want to know how everything happened, right? Well, soon after my graduation Piers had to go back to USA and continue working with the BSAA. He had lots of work to do after he took Chris' place. At first I stayed in England, trying to find a normal job for myself there, but the distance between me and the new Captain of Alpha Team was a very big issue to me. To him as well, might I add. Not finding (honestly not even wanting to find) a job for myself in England, I decided to move to USA and continue my search there. The real reason why I moved? I wanted to be with Piers. And since he couldn't move to England I had to move to USA. The moment my plane landed, Piers was already there waiting for me. He took me straight to his apartment to settle in. That's how we started living together. You should've seen the look on Chris' face when I went to visit him and told him that I moved in here with Piers. At first I thought that he'll kill the poor sniper, but with Claire's help he got used to the thought. As for the job, I somehow was capable to convince Chris to let me join the BSAA. He was against it at first, so was Piers, but with a little help from Jill and Barry I got a job as the new BSAA Operative and worked missions together with Jill. About a year later Piers proposed and the two of us got married. It was a rather small wedding, with the closest friends and family. You're all probably wondering where was Ada in all of this? Well, after the whole incident in Edonia and China she's been keeping a low profile. She calls me once in a while, but that's it. Once she heard that I'm getting married she was happy for me, but for obvious reasons didn't attend the ceremony. Even though I explained to Chris everything about her, he still doesn't really trust her and as far as the BSAA is concerned, she is still a criminal. The both of us sort of sorted things out in China, but she decided to keep her distance from me. Since she is usually involved with not the best of crowd, it was her decision to keep me away from her lifestyle in order to keep me and my family safe. Including her yet unborn niece or nephew. As for the pregnancy, about half a year after the wedding I got pregnant. You should've seen the look on Piers' face when I told him that he is going to be a father. The funniest moment in my life. He was so shocked at first that he just sat down and stared into the wall in front of him for about 10 minutes. After that was over he was filled with joy. He wanted to tell everyone that we will have a baby immediately. And then the panic started. He is scared of letting me do anything. I mean, seriously, I'm the pregnant one, but he's more nervous than me. Truth be told, Chris acted a lot like him when he heard the news. Because of Chris' position in the BSAA I was let out on maternity leave the next week. So basically, I've been on vacation for 4 months now and it's killing me. I've read all the books I have and all the books my mom gave me. I have nothing more to do. I started cleaning the apartment every day, because I have nothing better to do. Of course Piers lectures me after he comes back home, because 'I shouldn't strain myself and get enough rest, because I have to think not only about me but about the baby as well'. I know that he cares a lot, but sometimes it's really too much. But if you don't pay attention to all the unnecessary panic, he's a great husband.

- Exactly. You're pregnant and you need to take care of yourself more than usually. – Piers pressed on.

- I do. And a cup of coffee once in a while won't do any harm. Tell him, Jill. – I asked help from Chris' longtime partner.

- Oh no, you're not getting me in the middle of this. – She answered shaking her head and laughing a bit. I just rolled my eyes at this.

- You know, she's right, Piers. – Barry spoke with a smile. – I have two daughters of my own, went through everything you are going through twice. And if I learned anything from those 18 months of my wife being pregnant is that the woman knows better what she can and can't do during this time. – I nodded my head with a triumphant look on my face. – But this doesn't mean that he will stop worrying about you, Minnie. If my wife were to get pregnant the third time, I know that I would be just as worried and scared as I was the first time she was pregnant. Just like Piers is now. So get used to it, sweetheart, because for 5 months more you will have a personal bodyguard, cook, cleaner, driver and a lot more. – Now it was Piers' turn to smirk triumphantly at me.

- You two are priceless. – Chris said finally standing up from behind his desk. – Sometimes you act like you hate each other and sometimes it seems that you can't live without each other. It was easier back in Edonia when you both hated each other, although the bickering between the two of you were enough to drive me mad. – All of us just laughed at this and Piers gently wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

- Let's go home? – He asked softly.

- Hey, why don't you all come over to my place? – Barry suggested. – It's Friday and Kathy and I were planning on having a barbeque tonight. Kathy keeps bugging me about wanting to see the three of you. – Barry motioned towards me, Jill and Claire. – Also, the girls don't shut up about it. And since being in a company of 6 women is too hard even for a man like me, I'm in need of back-up, men. – All of us cracked up in a wave of laughter after Barry's speech.

- Isn't it a bit chilly to have a barbeque? – Claire asked.

- I'll only cook the meat outside and we'll eat inside. – Barry answered. – I'm not a sadist, you know. I won't make you stay outside and freeze your asses off.

- I'm in. – Jill laughed as she raised her hand. – I missed Kathy and the girls.

- We're coming, too, right Chris? – Claire asked.

- Anything to get away from all this paperwork. – Her brother answered, which made me giggle once again.

- What about you two? – Jill asked looking at us.

- We should go, what do you think, Piers? – I asked him.

- Sounds like fun. We'll be there.

- Great. Then I'll see you at my place in about an hour, deal? – Barry asked.

- Deal. – All of us answered in unison and left Chris' office to get ready for the little meeting at the Burtons.

Hi, everyone. I know it's been ages since I last updated, but I had a huge deadline on May 18th, and after I delivered my thesis (funny, I know), the first thing I did was writing the final chapter of this story. That's right, the story is complete. I really hope that everyone who read it enjoyed it as much as I did writing it. Thank you all for all of your reviews, comments and suggestions, they were great. I really hope that if people will read this story after it's completion, they will also review, because your reviews help me get better at what I do. I have a few ideas for a couple of new stories for Resident Evil, so I really hope that when I start posting them we will meet (sort of speak) again. A big thanks to all of you ^_^