Chapter 12: Let's Call Him Bertie

Author's Note: Fair warning, there's more than a handful of dialogue in here. Prepare yourselves!

The beautiful melody of the songbirds played in the long forgotten greenhouse, their chirps filling the space that used to glow with colorful flowers and sunshine. The sun had long since abandoned the greenhouse let alone this part of Ireland. Now dead vines and empty pots with old soil filled the space, the songbirds being the only thing to indicate that this place had once been beautiful.

Piper's chirping wasn't nearly as pleasing to the ear as the birds, Sheva's admitted only to herself, though she confessed she liked Piper's easy way of speaking. She was confident without treading the thin line of an ego. Piper had the ability to paint images with words, to dream with her eyes open. Sheva guessed she was either very smart, creative, or both; a Spencer trait that everyone disliked to acknowledge.

With the sigh of tiresome, Sheva eyed the wine glass she held, seemingly intrigued as the bubbles raced to the surface. Piper's image through the glass warped her figure, her bum looking as big as a wedding cake. Sheva snickered at the sight, evoking Piper to stop her chatter and turn her attention to her biological sister with a curious look on her face.

"What's so funny?" she asked politely.

Being caught, Sheva shook her head with blush in her cheeks, not wanting to admit that she was laughing at something so immature. "It's nothing," she told her, hiccupping between words. Piper laughed and sat next to Sheva on the stone bench.

"I think I fed you too much wine."

With a shrug, Sheva took another sip of the zinfandel, happy with the sweet taste on her tongue. To be honest, it was rare when Sheva would drink alcohol at all in her young life. There were the few times when she came to America for college, when she would get a drink with the guys back in Africa, and so few times after that she could count all occurrences on one hand. The boys on Josh's team used to tease her about being a lightweight when it came to liquor. They'd called her a good girl until they saw her deal with a B.O.W. Then they shut their mouths.

When Sheva realized Piper had finished talking, she sat straight and looked around the greenhouse, listening to the songbirds. A conversation long forgotten reappeared in Sheva's train of thought, the memory of Wesker telling her that the reason he had called her Little Bird was because she reminded him of the chirping birds when he was young. The thought made her smile with nostalgia, the corners of her lips tugging to think of something affectionate that Albert actually managed to do.

Wesker was still slightly affectionate. That was if you counted kissing like a wild animal with hungry and starving lips loving, then Wesker was very affectionate. Whatever had possessed him to attack her the way he did, Sheva knew he must have been just as shaken up as she had after he fled from the scene and from her presence. She had yet to see him since that last encounter. And though she knew it was inevitable, her nerves tingled with fear of what his next move would be. Kiss her again, ignore her, or maybe even kill her. If one thing could be said about Wesker, it was that he was unpredictable.

"I feel like I've been the only one talking," Piper broke Sheva out of her trance.

Because you have been, Sheva thought. "Sorry. I just have a lot on my mind."

"Oh, is it something bad? Do you want to talk about it?" the curly haired blonde inquired with big eyes that were lined in black eyeliner. No makeup decorated her face except for her eyes. They were big blue orbs, stylishly surrounded in smudgy black and thick lashes. Sheva was once again stunned with how pretty Piper was.

"Um, it's nothing really. Stupid stuff, you know?"

Piper wasn't an idiot. Whatever it was on Sheva's mind it was bothering her and Piper believed the only way to relieve such a bother was to speak it aloud and then forget it. Well, most bothers, not all. "C'mon, Shev. Tell me all about it. I'm running out of things to talk about and now it's your turn to speak anyway. Out with it, girl."

Eyeing her carefully, Sheva thought maybe she could run away to avoid talking about Wesker; the last topic she wanted to discuss. But to contradict everything, all she wanted to do was talk about Wesker. She wanted to talk the gossip of the man ripping her heart apart with every encounter yet somehow making it beat a mile a minute. Piper was waiting, so Sheva chose the latter of the two options.

"It's really stupid, but I'm kind of stuck in the middle of a situation. A really, really stupid situation that I don't know how I got myself in. You see, there's this guy that I have a past with and I hadn't seen him in quite a while. Let's call him Bertie.

"So, Bertie and I had…reconnected recently and he has treated me like dirt under his shoe. Now, this is how he generally treats people. He thinks he's some great godly person and claims superiority. Well, when we first got to know each other, he had actually gotten off his high horse and became someone that… I don't know. Someone that I fell in love with. And I thought he loved me too, but now I see how ridiculous that fantasy was."

Sheva shook her head, not wanting to relive the shame of knowing that Wesker never loved her and never would. Whatever it was that Wesker felt for her, she knew it wasn't love.

"We had parted not on the greatest of terms. He pushed me away, but he felt he had to. I don't really understand why he did that, but he did. So, it had been a long while and then by chance, we had…bumped into one another. Since then, he's been rude and grumpy. But just yesterday, he kissed me. And I don't mean something sweet like something you see in a romantic comedy. I mean he kissed me like he hadn't in years and as if I was his only lifeline. He's confusing the crap out of me and all I want to do is cry until I can't no more and then go back to him."

Piper remained silent for a small second, her eyes squinting in thought. She shifted in her seat and looked to Sheva with an arched brow. "He kissed you yesterday? Who is this guy? It has to be someone in this mansion… Who's Bertie, Sheva?"

"Uh," she stalled, knowing she had said too much. The only person who knew of her love for Albert was Isaac. And of course, Albert. Would Piper really poise as a threat if she knew of Wesker and Sheva's love for him? She prayed she didn't. "You can't tell anyone, Piper. Not even Flynn. Bertie is Albert Wesker."

There was a moment of surprise on the Australian's face, her eyes widened just for a moment before they gazed to something else besides Sheva. Piper recovered with a quiet hum and a half smile as she met Sheva's expectant expression with her gape.

Sheva was never particularly good at waiting or patience. She screamed mentally as she waited Piper's response. She wasn't quite sure if Piper knew who Wesker was or if she simply disapproved like Jake did of Sheva's love for the sadistic man.

"Albert Wesker, huh?" Piper sat back, her eyes looking up to watch the songbirds.

"Do you know who he is?"

With a nod, Piper kept from rolling her shoulders or simply twitching at the thought of the man. "I read about him in the files back in the Spencer Australian estate. I read what he's done while employed with Umbrella and after. I'm not going to lie. He's not a good man, Sheva."

"I know that," was Sheva's immediate, irritated, and reflexive response. It was how it always had been; everyone hated Wesker and she was the only one who cared for him. "You disapprove, too."

"I didn't say that. What I'm saying is that he's dangerous. But I can't say that I've never fallen for a bad boy. Look, Wesker is a danger in many aspects, but if you love him…then don't give up on him. You've gotten this far for a reason. You can't give up when something might actually happen. You can't lose that chance. Sheesh, I hate love stuff, but… Don't give up on love."

What felt like whiplash had Sheva replaying Piper's assurance in her mind, decoding every word as if it had a hidden meaning. But she found none. Did someone actually support her feelings and relationship with Wesker? Pinching herself was an option she almost took, but when Piper laughed at what must have been a funny look on Sheva's face, she huffed a heavy breath and slouched in posture, chugging down what was left of the wine as she grimaced at the wave of flavors invading her taste buds.

"You're the first person to support me in my choice with Wesker," Sheva admitted. Piper patted her on the back and refilled her glass with more wine, telling her to drink slowly this time. "So I guess you're a believer of love? An endangered species," she mused, sighing at the thought of love.

"Not endangered. We're modest people who hide because others think we live in fantasies," Piper said with a sad chuckle. "Plus, I'm not much of a romanticist, I just know what love can mean and if it's worth it or not."

"When did you know Flynn was worth it?" Sheva chose to change topics. The thought of worthy love brought Chris and Wesker to mind, a reminder she really didn't want to think of right now.

"Flynn…"

It was quick, but there was a moment Sheva saw something on Piper's face that made her shiver. A look of pure hatred, a resentment that only something of deep anger could bring on. But as fast as it came, the look on her face was gone. Replaced with an emotionless expression that looked neutral, but had Sheva leaning away in case something might transpire that'd be a continuation of her previous condition.

"Flynn and I have had our ups and downs."

Piper almost laughed at what she'd just said. There were no "ups" in her relationship with the man others thought she loved. And those people actually thought he loved her, too. Amazing what people believed when they chose to be blind to the obvious.

"But we've managed to stay together this long. I lean on him and he leans on me."

"Has something happened between you two?" Sheva inquired with a soft voice, wanting to hear of Piper's love issues so she didn't feel so left out.

Before she could utter a single syllable, Piper caught herself from revealing a thing about her relationship with Flynn. That was dirt she had with him and him only. And by God if he even thought about telling others about their relationship… She kept from laughing. Flynn was too scared to tell anyone anything. He was a coward that Piper saw more than not as weak. If it wasn't for her, he'd kill himself before he could learn to take care of himself. Flynn didn't know responsibility, he didn't know pressure, he didn't know judgment. He thought he did, but whatever he felt was miniscule to what she herself had to go through daily.

"Everything's peachy," she lied with skill. Her well-practiced smile played on her lips as she let out a care free laugh. "Couldn't be better with him and I. We're happy together." She was so good at it, she almost believed her own lies. Sheva smiled crookedly and nodded, sipping from her glass.

"How'd you two meet?" Sheva asked. "I tried asking Flynn a few days ago."

"What did he say?" she tried to take a second before responding so not to seem anxious. Sheva told her how he didn't say anything, just simply told her to go to Piper because she told it better. "Ha, sounds like Flynn. It's not much of a story really."

A look of expectation decorated the brunette's features, a brow arching as she crossed her legs. Piper kept from sighing, knowing it would sound irritated because she had to play the "happy girlfriend" act.

"We met a few years ago at the college campus in Sydney. I had finished my classes for the day and I was ready to leave, except my car wasn't. That old piece of junk… The battery died and I was stranded. Well, before I was going to go take the bus, a nice young man asked me if I needed a jump for my car.

"He was so shy. You could see it the way he spoke and how he stuffed his hands in his pockets when I was talking. Anyway, I accepted but not even he could get that old junker to start back up. He apologized and asked to make up for his "poor mechanic skills" with a lunch on him. We went to eat at this really small diner and there I learned his name was Flynn and that he was a transfer from Canada. Then we became friends and soon after we became romantic. And so on, blah blah, you know that usual love story," Piper chuckled as she watched Sheva's expression. From what she could see, it seemed as if Sheva believed her story. Again, she'd always been a skilled liar.

How…typical, Sheva thought. With Piper's background, she assumed that the first encounter with Flynn would have been a real story to tell, a worthwhile tale to share and laugh over. But it was just so…plain. Then again, with the way Sheva had met the two men in her life currently, anything compared would seem dull. She gave Piper the benefit of the doubt. She had a crazy childhood and young adult life after that. Maybe having an ordinary story about her boyfriend was actually a blessing in disguise.

With a few questions, all Sheva got from her sister were just more plain answers concerning her relationship with Flynn. Was Flynn just actually that…simple? She hated to consider him that way, but their relationship had no fun, it seemed. As if shrugging it off, Sheva chose not to ponder over something as mundane as that. That was Piper's situation and not hers. She had her own dirty laundry to take care of.

Being yet again drawn back to ponder over Wesker, Sheva nibbled her bottom lip, frowning as she considered her next step with him. She didn't know what to do with him, nor did she know what she wanted to do with him. It was all a moment of fate. Maybe letting him take the next step would be a good idea. But would he even take that step?

"You're thinking about Bertie, aren't you?" Piper guessed, relieved to see Sheva had mentally wandered off into different territory that wasn't Flynn and their relationship. Sheva gave a sheepish nod, a breathy sigh escaping her lips as she sipped her wine.

"I'm going to wait for him to approach me," she claimed, trying to convince herself that that was the better decision. "Yeah, I'll wait for him." Sheva looked to Piper when she heard her scoff.

"You've been waiting for him for a long time, Sheva. Let's face it. Wesker won't just come to you. He's going to make it hard until you go to him. He's a controller. And though I think he should know what's good for him, maybe going to him now would be a decent idea. He's not going to come to you, at least not for a while. I think you should go talk to him, see what his problem is and move on, with or without him."

"So what do you suggest?" And she really wanted an answer. She wanted someone to tell her what to do in this situation because she was too nervous to deal with it on her own.

"Go to him, talk to him, and work this out. If he makes it hard on you, slap him. I don't know, but just try to work it all out," Piper told her, trying to encourage her as best she could without actually pushing her in the direction of Wesker.

"What if he wants something?" Piper eyed her confusedly. Sheva whined under her breath with frustration, but settled herself so she could receive advice from the only person who seemed to give it that wasn't saying to get rid of Wesker. "He wants something from me, that's how we got in that little…argument yesterday. What should I do if he asks for it again?"

"Is it something bad?"

Sheva snorted at the question with humor. "If Wesker wants it, it's gotta be bad."

Piper agreed, knowing what Wesker could do with so little. She stood straight and urged Sheva to stand as well. "Consider what it'd cost you. If you think he'll cooperate after you gave him whatever it is that he wants then maybe it's not so bad? That sounds wrong. Look, just think about the possibilities and the situation at hand. If you think Wesker will do something bad, then don't give whatever he wants to him. If you trust him enough to know he won't use it for evil then trust that he'll be fair to you about it all. Does that make sense?"

Sheva nodded, standing only to wobble a little on her feet, her head a little dizzy as she set her wine glass down on the bench she had just been sitting on. Piper frowned, telling her that maybe the wine wasn't a good idea.

"I needed it," Sheva stated. "Liquid courage to face Wesker."

She was going to collect what she needed, then the real brave act, approach Wesker. What was she going to say? How was she going to even talk to him without bringing up their last encounter? Was he even going to let her speak? Don't overthink it, she told herself, turning to walk back into the mansion. Before she entered the interior, she looked back at Piper with a panicked look on her face.

"It's not sex, by the way," Sheva announced, making Piper double take and choke a little on her own wine. "I mean, it's not sex that he wants. I wouldn't sleep with him just to make him cooperate. I want you to know I don't do that."

With a goofy smile, Piper laughed with gusto. She waved Sheva off, telling her she would never take her as that kind of woman, let alone think Wesker would ask for something as "human" as sex. With blushing cheeks and an embarrassed chuckle, Sheva left the scene to retrieve what she needed and then head to Wesker for what she anticipated to be a dreadful meeting.

Authors Note: I hope this chapter didn't come across as forced. Not only is this a necessary filler, but I was trying to type it up quickly so I could post. I'm not too happy with it, but I'm going to let it slide because I want to get to the next chapter. So, Piper seems a little…resentful of Flynn. This couple just seems to be getting curiouser and curiouser, yeah?

Auktober: I love any time Wesker and Sheva spend together. But love the times they bicker for some reason even more. Alyssa will have to discover something, but there is still time for the Shesker scenes. Thanks! You get my vote, too. :)
Sasusakui: Wesker's been celibate for four years, he's gonna be an animal! Haha. Alyssa will do her best to behave because you're watching her. Yes! Sheva should just lock Wesker and Chris up and have them take turns or something. I'm kidding. :)
Ultimolu: WESKER WAS BORN SCARY! He'll jump your bones or just creep you out…maybe both. Thanks! Chris is going to have to get at least a clue about what's happening. Maybe shit needs to hit the fan. We'll call it progression if it does. :)
Comix777: Agreed. "Hate/die/stupid glasses/I need you blood" is always the best kind of sex. Very passionate. Anyway! Thank you. :)
Lollipop Lolli: Sheva is definitely stuck in the "love triangle". Who would you have her pick? Bertie or Chris? Piper's dirty laundry will be slowly unraveled, but some dirt on her situation will be revealed next chapter. Thank you, I'm glad you liked it! Oh, wasn't that episode of The Walking Dead good? I was so queasy when Clem had to stich her arm. D:

Its official, I have procrastinated so much that I've run out of pre-written chapters. So I apologize if updates are a little slow, but I'm going to do my best to keep on top of it. :) Like I said, I want to get to the next chapter because I'm really excited for it. I'm not going to give too much away, but we're going to get some dirty dirt on Piper and Flynn… I'm so excited because then the story is going to be really set in motion! At least I hope so…

-Sarai