Chapter 17: Solace with the Enemy

They eyed each other, their gazes roaming from face to feet as one waited for the other to speak. Sheva still waited for an explanation to Wesker's appearance let alone his unexpected visit to her quarters, but he offered no insight as he expected her to speak first. With a sigh, Wesker leaned back, resting his head on the glass window behind him and closed his eyes. The adrenaline slowly left his body, the blood in his veins pumping at normal speeds again and his excitement settled. All he needed was a moment to catch his breath, steady his heart, clear his mind, and to be away from his son.

Sheva shifted slightly, holding the book she'd been reading earlier to her chest as she watched Wesker's relaxed figure. There was a decent amount of blood on him. But what worried her was that it wasn't his. Dried and caked blood smudged under his nose, lip, a small patch of it on his left shoulder, and there was some on his right hand knuckles as well.

Carefully leaning towards him, Sheva pinched his shirt where the patch of blood was on his shoulder and pulled it away from his skin, tugging the fabric to see what kind of wound had been inflicted to cause the bleeding. But she found no injury. The skin was slightly dirty from the soaked patch of shirt on him, but otherwise there was not a mark on him.

Wesker's head had snapped up when he felt her hands on him, his eyes going back in forth between where her hands were and her face. He watched as she leaned closer, getting a better look at the skin where he'd been injured moments before, and as she hummed inquisitively to see his skin unmarked.

"Who'd you get in a fight with?" she inquired with a soft voice, sitting back and looking to his face.

Remaining silent, Wesker didn't bother to answer her question, not really in the mood to relay his encounter with Jake so soon after the spat. He snatched the book from her hands, turning the cover to look at the spine of the literature and read the title.

"Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?" he arched a brow, turning the book back over in his hands to look at the printed papers.

"I found it in this trunk," Sheva stated as she patted her hand on what he assumed to be a bench but apparently acted as a chest as well. "It's a first edition, I think. I also found these photos and letters."

Reaching behind herself, she handed him a picture of a middle aged man that must have been taken over a century ago. Then she gave him a letter with beautiful handwriting, the words reading a love letter from an admirer. She then handed him an old illustration that depicted the three little pigs of the old tale.

"That one kind of reminds me of Oswell, Elliot, and Bollard," she mumbled, shuffling through other photographs. She glanced at Wesker when he chuckled at her comment.

"I must agree that Elliot and Bollard were swine indeed," he agreed, tossing the photos and letters she'd given him to the side as he inclined back again but kept his gaze on her.

"Not Oswell? You favored Oswell?"

With a shrug, Wesker ran a hand through his messy blond locks and combed them back in place. "He had his moments, but for the most part was a fool."

Silence had reappeared as she looked to her hands in thought, leaving Wesker with no reply. Leaning forward, his elbows rested on his knees as he eyed the dog at her feet, its head on her foot but its eyes wide open and staring right at him. Wesker tilted his head to the side, an idea appearing to his head as he considered how a St. Bernard would react to a virus. They had experiments with a variety of canines, but never such a large and burly dog. Really, it'd be more for fun.

Pinto seemed to understand Wesker's thoughtful gape, rising to his feet and stepping back as his lips curled, a low growl rumbling in his throat. A whimper escaped him when Sheva laid her hand on his back, commanding him to lay on the bed as she scratched behind his ear. He kept his eye on Wesker as he followed orders, jumping to the plush bed and finding a comfortable position.

"Whatever you're thinking, don't," Sheva ordered, analyzing Wesker's face.

"I didn't do anything," he claimed, crossing his arms as he kept her scrutiny with his own. She shook her head as she closed the book, setting it behind her and clasping her hands together as she looked away from the man before her.

"Bertie?" she called him, not seeing how he held the need to roll his eyes at nickname. "Do you know anything about Piper Mulligan?"

His ears perked up, the mention of another Spencer spawn gaining his interest as he considered his memories of the middle child of Elliot's. "I know some things. Why?"

"I'm just curious. Enlighten me perhaps?"

He thought for a moment, trying to recall his earliest memory. "She was one of the easier children to test on, that I remember. You see, I as well as Oswell and Elliot only knew her as an infant before she was handed over to her mother. I never paid attention to her. I only watched over you and Isaac. She'd been able to live a life of normality with her mother while Isaac was stuck with his father and you… Well, you were practically hunted until Elliot finally gave up."

Taking all that in, Sheva nodded slowly at his answer. Maybe it was wrong of her to be unsure of Piper, but she knew nothing about her. At least she knew Isaac and could trust him. But Piper, there was still that level of strangers that still remained between herself and her sister. She hoped she'd gain something from Wesker's insight but didn't find anything that gave her solace.

"Why are curious about your Spencer sister, Sheva?" he bowed his head to get a better look on her face, sitting straight when she looked up to him with a small strange smile pulling at her lips.

"You called me by my name. That's a first in a long while," she admitted. However, she preferred the nickname Little Bird over any. When he scoffed and told her he could just call her Alomar, she shook her head. "No, Sheva is fine with me."

"So, why the curiousness?"

With a sigh, she tucked hair behind her ear and bit the inside of her cheek. "I want to know more about her so I can learn to trust her. I don't know anything about her besides what she's told me, but I have this unsettling feeling in my gut. Isaac feels it too."

"Why would you need to trust her? Have you met her?" he asked with a dangerous inquisitiveness in his voice.

"She's here. She discovered she's a Spencer and she came here to meet her only surviving siblings. Isaac really doesn't like her and I'm not too sure how I feel."

His back went rigid and his jaw clenched. Three Spencer's in one mansion was just too much for him. He could handle Isaac and Sheva, but this lost Piper he didn't like. Out of the three, then one of them had to have been crazy. Isaac had his moments, Sheva was as sane as one could be, and he hadn't seen Piper since she was a harmless baby. But she was a full grown woman now, capable of things that possibly her father was. Maybe it was being overly paranoid, but Wesker knew one thing over anything; never trust a Spencer completely.

"Has she done anything to harm you or threaten you?" he glanced at Sheva, stroking his chin as he looked to her from the corner of his eye. She replied 'no' with surprise on her face, shaking her head and explaining that she'd only had pleasant encounters with her sister. "Maybe nothing is wrong, but keep your guard up for good measure in case. She could very likely be harmless, but if you feel so unsure of her, be careful with her."

Nodding tiredly, Sheva agreed as she twisted her engagement ring around her finger in nervous habit, her eyes roaming the stone floor. She didn't catch as Wesker sneered at the ring, his disgust evident on his features as he tried looking away but found himself mesmerized at the same time.

"He's out there looking for you. You know that, don't you?" he questioned. Sheva followed his gaze and looked to her ring, surprised by his choice of conversation.

"Chris?"

"You don't have to say his name," he muttered, keeping himself from snarling at the girl.

"Yes, I know. I don't know if I want him to find me, though," she whispered. When Wesker hummed in query, Sheva hesitated with her words as she realized what she'd said. "I'm just not sure he's ready to know who I am. And I don't know if I'm ready to go back just yet."

She began to ramble, her explanation turning into mumbles as he pulled her closer and sliding nearer to her at the same time. Her cheeks reddened as he pulled her to his lap, laying his hands on her hips as she gasped at his actions. Her heart thumped in her chest as she shivered when he leaned in close to her, brushing her jawline with his lips.

"You're not going back to him," he stated possessively into her ear. When she protested, he pulled away until he looked squarely into her eyes, his gape intense against hers. "You are not going back to him. Understood?"

Anger rising in her veins, Sheva scoffed at his bossy demands, not once appreciating his controlling nature. "You can't tell me what to do. I decide what I'm going to do. I can go back to him if I choose. I'm not your pet, Wesker. I'm not going to just stay here because you demand me to."

He sighed with aggravation burning in his throat, forcing his annoyance down as he pulled her closer. His hands slipped under her camisole and rose to her waist, slowly turning to her back as he reached to her shoulder blades and then back down, gently dragging his fingernails on her skin and sending waves of pleasurable shivers all over her body.

"Perhaps I can persuade you," he murmured against her lips until he pressed his against hers, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her as close as possible.

When a sweet gasp escaped her, he knew he had her. She wasn't going back to Redfield, for that he was certain. She didn't belong to Chris or anybody but himself. Redfield would never have her because Wesker was going to make sure she was his until his last breath. The only issue was making Sheva realize this and letting her come to him willingly. It would prove to be difficult when Chris finally found her and Wesker knew he would. Cockroach Redfield always was chasing him so no doubt they'd meet again and soon. But if he was sure about anything, Chris wasn't getting Sheva and he never would.

Another tissue was snagged from the box, the last used one being thrown to the floor with careless action as the weeping continued without relent. Sherry rubbed slow circles on Claire's back as the latter sobbed, her mumbled words coming out disjointed and incoherent. It was around one in the very early morning that Claire came knocking on Sherry's door, the redhead with a red nose and puffy eyes asking if she could come in. Claire had become that older sister that Sherry never had, taking on the role of family that was never asked of Claire, but she took Sherry in happily. So, when the older arrived on her doorstep so dejected and sad, Sherry pulled her inside and soon learned what had gotten her in such a miserable state of mind and body.

Her brother, Chris, had told her the news of Steve Burnside and the likelihood that he was alive. Healthy or not, no one was sure. Sherry had only heard very little of Steve. Claire never really chose to speak of him, the reminder of losing someone she loved was not a topic that Claire ever cared to talk about. But Sherry was aware just how much Steve meant to her, dead or alive, and now with the strong possibility that he'd been alive this whole time… Well, it was a shock to Claire that she almost collapsed as Chris told her.

"What did they do to him?" Claire wept, morbid thoughts of things that could have happened to Steve under the care of the Spencer's swarmed her mind.

"At least he's alive, Claire," Sherry tried to comfort her only to jump when the redhead loudly declared.

"But at what cost, Sherry? The last time I saw him I thought he died. And the thing he mutated into just before… Then those people—those Spencer's took him and he had to suffer being in their care. All the while I'm here; safe."

Deciding to keep her lips shut, Sherry let Claire cry. She'd whisper soft and comforting words to her, hugging her tightly and actually getting her to drink some of the tea she had made. Sherry could only imagine what had happened to Steve. With his case, it was just so bizarre. He'd been infected with the T-Veronica virus, mutated, but then fought the infection and took control of his own body again. Everyone assumed T-Veronica killed him, his broken body lifeless in Antarctica. But apparently the Spencer's got to him somehow.

Sherry knew that Wesker had a part in it. It was reported that Wesker had extracted Steve's blood and handed it over to Javier Hidalgo in order to treat his ailing daughter, Manuela. But that was the last mention of Steve and his whereabouts. Most probably, Wesker took Steve to the Spencer's in exchange for something. It was a mystery that ate at Sherry and she only grew more irritated as more questions appeared.

"Are the BSAA going to look for him?" Sherry inquired after a small while.

Claire sniffled and sighed, taking a big gulp of tea before she fell back into the couch and mumbled her reply. "Chris and some lady with a small team are going to Ireland to question Isaac something. I guess he's a Spencer or some bull shit. There leaving in the morning or something. I don't know. They're hoping they'll find out more as to where Steve is."

Claire missed Sherry's surprised expression as she blew her nose in a tissue, Sherry's eyes growing to the size of saucers as she considered Claire's information. The first person to come to mind was Jake. He was staying at Isaac Tate's home along with Wesker and Sheva. Sherry nearly screeched as it all hit her just what kind of mess Jake had gotten himself into.

Looking up from her tissue, Claire observed as Sherry shot up from the couch and raced for her bedroom. She shrugged as she snatched the television remote and hoped old reruns of The Golden Girls would get her mind off what was happening to Steve at this very moment and where he was. A sigh slipped past her lips as she curled into a ball, pulling the heavy blanket that'd been thrown over the lip of the couch and sunk into the cushions.

"Oh, shit," Sherry muttered under breath, clamping a hand over her mouth when she realized she'd just cursed. She was stabbing her fingers into her phone and continued to screw up the number to Jake's disposable phone. When she finally got it right, she held her breath as he hugged the phone to her ear, listening to the ringing as her heart thumped hard in her chest.

When Jake answered, Sherry spoke in a flurry of words, her worries and fears spilling from her gut as if her nightmares had come true. Jake simply stayed quiet until she ran out of breath and when she did, he calmly told her to repeat what she said but slower. With a scoff, Sherry said what she needed to.

"Jake, you need to get as far away from Isaac's place as soon as possible."

Author's note: Huge apologies for not updating in two weeks. I'm afraid the next update will probably take as longer if not a little shorter because I've been working a lot lately and I can't seem to find the time. Also, I'm sorry this is so short!

Sasusakui: Oh, gurl, your review made me so happy! I think Jake could have thrown a few more knuckle sandwiches in there for good measure. I imagine that Wesker would have been semi fond of Kayla. I mean, he didn't kill her so he must have liked her to a certain degree, yeah? I think Jake has inklings about Sheva's lovey feelings towards Wesker, he's just disgusted by it, haha. Ha, Alyssa apologies for sort of flirting with Chris! :)
Comix777: Imagine Wesker taking his clothes to dry cleaning and his only explanation for his BDSM suit is that it's his "work clothes". I can see that actually happening! :)
moonlight8267: Indeed I did! I hope you like it so far and that it's a good follow up. Thanks for reviewing. :)

Fun tidbit: 'Beauty and The Beast' was the theme of the first story whereas 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' is the reference theme in this one. I think it's fairly obvious where that theme lies and in whom. Just thought I'd share that with you all. :)

Well, Isaac better set out the nice china because he's going to be having even more guests soon. So what's going to happen with Jake? Or with Wesker and Sheva? What about crazy Piper and Steve? Oh, the questions… Please review!

-Sarai