Wesker fell over catching himself on the computer desk. He placed a hand over his heart. It had been the third palpitation that had severely affected him in the last seventy-two hours. No matter what he did, or how many tests he ran, he could not find the source of the uncomfortable pangs. They had started small since the day he ran into Claire Redfield at the holiday party, but they were becoming stronger and more painful as of late. The first time he felt them subside was at the cafe in Paris. There was one common factor that he found when the murmurs in his heart started and became more abrupt and when they became calm, and that factor was Claire.

He had tested the theory after she had completed her first test. The actual physical contact with her body had caused the pains to stop completely. His theory was once again proven correct just two days ago when Claire had fought with him. The closeness of their bodies had made him forget all about the condition of his heart, and he felt invincible once again. But now it had been a day and a half since he had seen her, and the latest abnormal palpitation had caused him much discomfort.

It had been years since he had been able to feel any level of pain, so the new rush of feeling came unexpected. He had a few more theories to experiment with, but one thing was for certain. Claire Redfield had become more than just a pawn in this game. He needed her close to him for the time being until he was able to break this odd connection between them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Gross," Leon said as he inspected an oozing purple vial he had taken from the tray that Rebecca had set up. The young girl snatched it from his grasp and clicked her tongue at him.

"Didn't your parents teach you not to mess with things you don't understand," Becca said, but her tone was far from harsh. She gently set the vial back down, and continued to look through the microscope she had been immersed with for the past three hours.

Leon looked over her shoulder. "Anything interesting?"

Becca leaned back and pinched the bridge of her nose trying to ease the pain that seemed to build up. "Not really. I wish I had a sample of what Claire's blood, and then maybe I could get somewhere with all of this." She picked up some paper and a pen, and began jotting down several notes. "The best that I can even hypothesize is that Claire is in no real danger, virus-wise. Like I said, according to these notes, she should be in top shape." Becca realized she had been droning on, and Leon had started dazing again, but there was more of a worried look in his eyes. The poor guy was worried sick, and he hadn't been sleeping or eating much. She poked him in the ribs. "Least you don't have a tyrant as a girlfriend," Becca joked.

Leon gave her a small smile when he snapped out of it. "Yeah, wouldn't that just be my luck."

Chris came through the main entrance, setting his keys aside. "Found something you might like," he smirked at Becca.

Becca saw a tall man behind Chris, a baseball cap covered his eyes. When Chris stepped to the side, she knew exactly who it was. The man raised his chin, his eyes immediately finding her. She couldn't stop the smile from growing wider, and jumped to her feet. She rushed over to him, but stopped herself before she threw her arms around him.

Billy took off the baseball cap, and ran his hand through his now short dark hair. He set down his bags and leaned down to give her a light hug. "How you doing, princess?" he asked, giving her a wink.

"Don't call me princess," Becca said, trying to act like she was upset. She finally found enough courage to meet his gaze. They had met up in the strangest time and place, but nothing could have prepared her for the joy she felt when she saw him. He was alive and well, and best of all, the search for him had been called off due to all the attention Umbrella had received. Viral outbreaks and secrets of underground laboratories were far more important than finding an escaped fugitive.

"How was your trip?" she asked him, attempting to calm her pulse. She wasn't in denial that she had become attracted to him initially back on the Ecliptic Express, but she had learned to deal with her feelings with every year that went by. Now that he was in front of her, those feeling resurfaced, and whether it was for good or bad, she had no idea.

Billy shrugged off his jacket, and she could see the bottom of the Motherlove tattoo on his arm. She heard Leon whistle. "Wow, she wasn't kidding when she said you had a massive paint job done."

Becca rolled her eyes, and took Billy's jacket from him. She was glad when Billy didn't take any offense to the statement. "Trip was fine. I'm a little jet lagged though." He stuck his hand out to Leon. "Billy."

Leon accepted the handshake. They seemed to stay locked on each other for a few moments longer than needed. Finally, Leon stepped back, giving Billy a sly smile. "Nice to have you aboard. Chris, I need your help out back."

"You got it," the older Redfield said, before leaving out the back door.

Becca scoffed. "Boys." She hung Billy's jacket on a coat rack and grabbed him a glass of water. "Just take it easy for a while, Billy."

He found himself a spot on the couch, accepting the water graciously. "Thanks." There was an awkward silence that loomed over them. When she really thought about it, they didn't have the time to play catch up. She had broken into the main executive offices of the building that served as the the information technology source for Umbrella back in the day. It took some time, but she was able to track down old records of Umbrella's and some new ones as well. And surprise, surprise, there were some offices that even the higher ups didn't know about, and Becca made an extra trip to the hidden lower levels. It was there that she learned about Billy.

Apparently, Wesker had kept tabs on Billy since the incident with Dr. Marcus, but everything had been kept a secret. The ex-captain was intent on either annihilating or buying out anyone who had witnessed the effects of the virus up front. Billy, of course, had refused the money, immediately placing him on a list of names that were to be sent to the research labs for testing.

While she had been scanning through the files, his name caught her attention. With a bit of negotiating, she had persuaded a guard to free Billy. She didn't think she had it in her to keep a human being hostage while pointing a gun to his head, but her performance even made her believe she was a deadly assassin.

"I said give me the keys!" Becca snapped, shoving the barrel of the gun into the guard's head. She disguised her voice as best as she could, and she kept a scarf wrapped around most of her face.

The guard was too scared to move; he just kept shaking and praying that she wouldn't kill him. She couldn't waste anymore time, so she just swung as hard as she could and knocked him out cold. In a matter of minutes, another guard could walk by, so she dug into the man's pockets, searching desperately. Her fingers wrapped around a group of small keys and she jumped for joy.

The file said Billy was held in cell 308. She traveled down the hallway, avoiding cameras along the way. She had to go through two more sets of hallways, before she found the three hundred level. A large metal door marked with the large white numbers 308 stood between her and Billy Coen. The three by six inch window was too high for her to look through, but she had to place her faith that her friend was behind the door. She tried several keys before she found the right one that fit the lock. She pushed open the door and rushed inside.

It was empty. "No..." she said in disbelief. Suddenly, strong arms wrapped around her throat and her defensive reflexes kicked in. In a perfect one hundred and eighty degree angle, she kicked the face just above hers. Then she followed up by crushing her heel in the man's foot and elbowed him in the gut. She pushed forward, breaking free of his hold. In one solid motion, she whipped around, grabbed her weapon, and aimed her handgun at her attacker. "Billy!" she said in surprise, instantly recognizing him.

Billy wiped the blood that trickled down from his nostrils, looking at his hands, then at her. She pulled down the scarf, hoping that her hair wasn't too messed up. "It's me," she said, holstering her weapon. "It's Rebecca... do you remember me?" He continued to stare at her as though he expected her to disappear at a moment's notice. "The train-" was all she could get out before he picked her up in a massive hug.

"You're a sight for sore eyes," he said. She could feel his lips against the bare skin between her neck and shoulder. The years had been good to him as well. His muscles remained toned, and he looked as fit as ever. When he set her down, she reached up and touched his face.

"I can't believe it," she said on the verge of tears. She shook her head, trying to regain focus. "We're getting out of here. Come on!" she said, pulling on his arm.

Four levels of laboratory mazes, three guards, and a car jacking later, and they were at the airport. Billy said he had to retrieve some of his belongings, but he would rendezvous with her in a few days. She gave him their current residence and prayed that they would meet again. And here they were.

Becca blushed remembering what she had done to him. "Sorry about your nose.. and your foot," she said nervously.

But Billy just laughed. "Are you kidding? That was the most impressive thing I've ever seen you do." They shared a chuckle, but the tension came back. Billy leaned forward, interlocking his hands, resting his elbows on his thighs. "I tried looking for you," he admitted.

"You were?" she asked in surprise.

"Yeah... I knew you were part of STARS and ever since the incident with the Spencer mansion, I tried to look for you again. But, as you know, the mansion was completely destroyed, and the STARS were discredited. I knew you and the others had to have gone in hiding, but I never stopped trying to look for you." He looked at her with such an intense stare, it gave her goosebumps up and down her arms.

Memories of the past years went through Becca's mind, and she felt a bit guilty that she wasn't able to put in as much effort into finding him. "I tried to find leads on you," she said softly. "When we weren't destroying Umbrella from the inside, I tried to do a bit of investigative work, but I could never find anything. It was only by chance did I find you."

He held out his hand to her, and she placed her fingers on his palm. He pulled her toward him, asking her to sit next to him. When she nestled into his side, he wrapped his arm around her. "I never forgot what you did for me," he said. "I owe you my life, two times over now."

Becca smiled, bringing her feet up on the couch, enjoying his embrace. "Not bad for a little girl, eh lieutenant?"

Billy pursed his lips then laughed again. "Trust me, you're not the same as I remember. You've grown up. I think you should keep growing out your hair." When he turned to see her, the playfulness had left his features. "Do they still come at night?"

Becca nodded, resting her chin on her knees. "Sometimes. But it's gotten easier to deal with. Chris and the others have taught me a lot, and I've been able to control most of my nightmares. But I'll tell you, I can never truly look at a leech the same ever again."

He brought her closer to him. "Same here. Listen, I'll do what I can to help out your friends, but just know that I wanted to be here because I wanted to see you again." He leaned closer and placed a small kiss on her forehead.

She closed her eyes and took her time cherishing the one moment she had to herself, away from the nightmare she had placed herself in the middle of.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Claire's body was wracked with a searing pain, and she fell out of her bed. The pain seemed to spread throughout her entire body, pulsating in intervals of three. Her stomach, her chest, her head, her legs and arms were burning up in a high fever, and no matter what she did, she could not find any comfort. 'It has to be the virus!' she thought. Something had gone wrong with the virus in her blood, and now it was killing her. She tried to stand on her feet, but she stumbled over and knocked down a vase.

She writhed on the floor, screaming in pain. How long did she have to suffer before she could die in peace? It was the worst feeling ever to be inflicted upon her, and she believed she was transforming into a monster. She saw Wesker break down the door to her room and run to her. He had a syringe in one hand, and before she could blink, the needle had been plunged into her neck. Immediately, the pain had stopped.

He lifted her up and set her on the bed, but he did not leave her side. Instead, he kept running his fingers through her hair, trying to soothe her. Claire swallowed, "you should have just let me die," she said in between gasps.

"Your death would only be beneficial if your brother were here to witness it," he said.

It was a strange way of comforting her to say the least, but she couldn't have expected more from Wesker. She turned away from him, but he kept his hand on her. It traveled down to her waist, resting on her hip. "Any idea why my perfectly good dream was interrupted?"

She could feel his other hand playing with her hair. "And what was this perfect dream?" he asked, resting his chin on her shoulder.

Claire had no idea why she felt comfortable confiding in him, but she felt she deserved to have someone listen to her lifelong wish. "I was normal," she said. His silence told her she could continue. "Not just free of the virus. But the world I dreamed didn't have the T virus, it didn't have Umbrella. I was just riding freely on my motorcycle, and I came home to a loving family. And I saw my parents and Chris... Everyone was so happy..."

She felt her eyes closing, and her consciousness beginning to leave. Something about being close to Wesker gave her a sense of shelter. The fever left her body, and whatever invaded her earlier was now gone. She fell asleep to the tender touches she was receiving from the most enigmatic man she had ever met in her life.