Where Do We Go From Here?
It was dark in the hotel room and the only other sound in the room besides the sounds the breathing of the little girl at his left side was that of the air conditioner running in the room. Looking over, Sierra Kennedy, the former Sherry Birkin was sleeping peacefully with a big smile on her face. To Sierra's right, Claire Redfield lay on her back with her arm draped over the little girl. Leon's hand moves a lock of Sierra's hair from her content face before bringing it down to take hold of Claire's. Claire smiles at Leon and she motions her head to the adjoining door. Leon releases Claire's hand and the pair carefully slip off the bed without rousing the young girl. Claire is currently wearing a pair of dark blue sleep shorts and a dark red camisole tank top with simple spaghetti straps. Leon was currently clad in dark blue sleep shorts and a grey t-shirt. Padding quietly from the bed, Leon unlocks the door and the two slip out of the room so as not to disturb their young charge.
Being the gentleman, Leon allows Claire to go first and once she is through the doorway he makes his way through and begins to shut the door.
"I never knew playing house as an adult could be so fun," Claire whispers just in case the little girl were to overhear them before the door was closed.
"Well, honey..." Leon says in a playful tone. Holding Claire's left hand in his right he pulls her to him, twirling her like they were dancing, and wraps his arms around her. Claire is grinning and blushing as they stare into one another eyes. "Whatever shall we do now that our daughter is sound asleep?"
"Hmmm... I was thinking..." Claire says tapping her cheek with her finger, "We could have a little adult time."
Leon didn't even get a chance for any more playful banter. Claire pulls herself from his tight embrace, reaches for the hem of her camisole, and pulls it up and over her hair. She lets the dark red top fall to the ground and Leon is looking at her topless form. Claire pulls off the band holding her ponytail in place and her long hair falls loose. Leon follows suit but when his t-shirt clears his head he finds that Claire has already dropped her sleep shorts and is now completely naked. She moves forward and slips her hands into his waistband, Claire grins wickedly as she sinks down to her knees pulling his shorts with her.
Leon groans as the woman he has come to care for deeply doesn't say another word, she lets her actions speak for themself. Taking his erect member into her mouth Leon stns still and lets her work him over until his legs feel like they are going to give out. When Claire begins to pull backward Leon does so as well, slipping from her mouth. A trail of saliva dangles from the head of his cock to Claire's mouth which swallows.
Claire has excited Leon so much with her oral skills that he can no longer able to contain himself, Leon reaches, for Claire, lifts her up, and feels her legs wrap around him as he kisses her and carries her to the bed. Claire scoots back and spreads her legs inviting Leon to come hither and claim what she has to offer. Leon is no fool but he does not rush in. He slips his body between her thighs and rubs his engorged member between her lower lips. The two kiss passionately while he grinds himself against her. Claire is moaning quite loudly but neither care at this point if they wake the young girl in the next room. Their door is locked and she doesn't have a key to unlock it.
"Ahhhh..." Claire groans as Leon slowly feeds her body his warmth.
Leon remains still and in place, holding her tightly to his body. Only when Claire urges him to continue does he do so? It takes a bit of trial and error but the two new lovers soon find their rhythm. They lose track of time as they eagerly explore one another bodies. Soon their passion has their bodies so warm that they are covered in sweat but not because of the temperature of the room.
"Mmmmm... oh gawd..." My auburn-haired lover moans as my cock slips in and out of her.
Claire Redfield is beneath me and her body is just as sweaty as mine. Even more so as beads of sweat from my body fall onto hers. She is on her back, her legs spread and her hips raised slightly off the bed. She grins as she savors the pleasure she is experiencing. I lean down and kiss her lips, earning another moan of contentment. If you asked me a few days ago if I would be in bed with this amazing beneath me I would have had to say no. I had a girlfriend before Claire. Prior to graduating from the police academy, I thought she was "the one" but as it turned out she had plans, grander plans than to be the wife of a police officer. We grew up together and she knew how smart I was, and how well off my family was. She stood by me after my family was killed and seemed to support my decision to become a police officer after I finished college.
I guess she was hoping that I would fail or quit and follow in my father's footsteps. She was wrong, and so I was about her.
Maybe that's why I was so trusting of Ada. She was even more beautiful than my Ex and so I opened my wounded heart to her. That was a mistake, one of many. However, what wasn't a mistake was saving Claire Redfield and hoping as I fought my way through the R.P.D., the Raccoon City Streets, the sewer system, all the way down to Umbrella's NEST facility beneath the town. Zombies, monsters of various shapes and lethality, and one hell of a giant crocodile stood between me and safety.
Looking back I think it was Sherry's question as to the nature of our relationship that first made me open my eyes to what, or should I say who was right in front of me. I had to kick myself when I thought back to standing in front of Claire at the police station. It was a simple fence with a lock separating us. Hindsight is 20/20 but I should have just shot the lock. Better to let the zombies have free range of the back of the station than risk never seeing her again. I can still picture the smile on her face as she openly flirted with me despite our harrowing situation.
Now, now she was in my bed, giving herself to me and I intended never to let her go.
"Ahhhhh..." Claire groans as her legs and arms encircle me. I can feel her body gripping me tightly as I feel myself reaching my limit.
"Leon... oh Leon..."
"CLAIRE..."
~ Saturday October 3rd, 1998 1:25 PM ~
"Leon!" Claire repeats her partner's name as she shakes him awake.
Leon's eyes fly open and he looks about. he reaches for his sidearm but Claire stops him from doing so. "Leon... are you ok?" Claire asks her companion.
Leon had fallen asleep during the later part of their bus ride. Claire, and Sierra (he had to remind himself that was her name now) were occupying the very back of the Greyhound bus with him. Sierra was sitting on the right side by the window while he and Claire occupied the two middle seats of the back row. As no one else was utilizing the seat they had the bags with their weapons in the vacant seat to Leon's left. They both had their sidearms holstered, Leon's HK VP70 was slung under his left arm while Claire had her Ruger Blackhawk in a holster behind her back.
"Yeah... just... just dozing I guess," Leon answered feeling a blush come over his face.
"Do you think we have to be worried about the package we liberated?" Claire asks Leon referring to the bag of money.
"No, we covered our tracks pretty well." He replied. However, the more he thought about it the more he thought they needed to take extra precautions. Not quite sure how best to go forward, it seems God was looking out for the trio.
"On second thought... we're getting off at this stop," Leon informs the girls.
"What? Why?" Claire asks worried.
Leon smiles and points to the big billboard on the right.
"You're kidding?" Claire asks in surprise.
"If you were thugs looking for two to three people... would you think to look in one of those?" Claire couldn't argue with Leon's logic.
When the Greyhound bus pulled into the next stop Leon and his traveling companions disembarked ahead of schedule. Collecting their belongings from the luggage area, Leon and his (pseudo) family left the bus station and walked several hundred feet to Hank's Motor Home Extravaganza. Leon's logic was pretty sound. A motor home was not flashy, thus very inconspicuous. After all, once they were out on the open road the Kennedys would look like any other family out on a family vacation.
"Oooohhh let's look at this one!" Sierra excitedly says to her "parents".
Hank was sitting in a plush executive chair in his small office looking out the large window. The AC was blowing and he was snoring as he hadn't had anyone walk up all day. After hoping for a customer for hours he order then ate his lunch from the local diner and then propped himself up and took a nap. All of the keys to the motor homes were locked up in the lockbox so he didn't have to worry about someone stealing one. Besides, who hotwires an RV?
Hank was roused from his slumber by a little girl's excited squeal. Lifting his cowboy hat (a gift from a relative), he watches as the little girl and he guesses her mother enter one of his newest motor homes. The father is doing a once around the vehicle's exterior. Hoping beyond hope that this will be a sale and not a waste of his nap time, Hank lifts his hat, and wipes his brow and his eyes. He dusts himself off and straights up his clothes to make himself presentable and heads out to greet his customers.
To say that the man reminded Leon of Bruce McGill from Animal House (in his later years) would be an understatement. Hank was very happy when he saw the small family walk up, bags in hand, and began perusing his newest mobile homes. He was even happier after looking over his newest model that Leon entered his office and without even hearing the man's sales pitch, requested his newest, most luxurious Gulfstream Tourmaster. Hank was all too quick to calculate the price of the RV (plus taxes and registration). Once the number was finalized Leon proceeds to drop a bag of cash in front of the man. Hank almost had a cardiac event when he saw the stacks of 100-dollar bills. He quickly pulls out the cash counter that a friend gave him as a gag gift as to who would be bringing that much cash into his shop. Who knew right?
After running the money through the cash counter Hank discovers that there was 40,000 more than the final price. Reaching into the bag Hank begins to grab a stack of bills when he hears the words every salesman wants to hear but rarely does.
"Keep the change."
Hank looked at Leon dumbfounded. He couldn't believe this young man had just uttered those words.
"Two things though..."
"Sure. What can I do for you?" Hank inquires.
"One, lose the paperwork," Leon states. "As far as anyone is concerned this RV was never here, and neither were we."
What else could Hank say to that but, "What RV?"
"Exactly."
"And two?"
Leon leans forward and whispers it to the man. Sure he is being overly precautious but better safe than sorry. With a nod of his head, he collects the items from his drawer that Leon asked for. Realizing that the young man just wants to drive off and disappear, for 40,000 dollars that paperwork went straight into the trash bin. He hands Leon his items and watches the young man make his way to his property.
Once Hank was all alone, he picked up the trash can, walked outside with the bin in hand, and set the contents on fire. Not only did the salesman/owner make a pretty penny on the Tourmaster but the "change" was enough to help put him in the black for a while should sales continue to be a little slow. Today was such a good day, he was going out drinking after he closed up.
~ Saturday October 3rd, 1998 6:12 PM ~
Leon slowly makes his way to the lake. As he slowly and carefully makes his way down the path he does his best not to step on any branches or large piles of leaves, anything that might alert someone to his presence. While Claire trusts her best friend with her life the situation that she, Leon, and their young companion are in is one that doesn't allow for them to be too trusting. As such Leon, while in normal clothing and a leather jacket is armed with his trusty HK VP70. The stock was currently in his weapon bag and he was wearing a normal shoulder holster. Leon was carrying a Beretta Cougar 8045 as a backup weapon that he had found in the money bag along with several other pistols. When Leon first saw it he laughed that it was in the thug's possession. Still, then the reality of the situation was that the druggies had a Law Enforcement variant that could only be purchased by Law Enforcement Officers implying that they might have friends in the police force. This was scary as the quartet might have made bail or been released before Leon, Claire, and Sierra had left the area.
As Leon made his way to the spot where Claire told him Janice would be waiting for her, Leon couldn't help but shake the feeling that there was more than one set of eyes on him. He currently had his two pistols holstered but as he neared the meeting point he reaches behind his back and draws his Beretta from its holster. He begins slowly moving, turning his body to the side to lower his profile and make it harder for someone to land a fatal shot (unless they were on his right or left).
"That's far enough." A distinctly female voice tells Leon. From the tone of her voice, she was not happy to see a man standing where Claire should be.
Leon can see the girl's silhouette in the darkness but can not make out her face. What he can tell is that she is standing with her arms crossed under her bust and while he doesn't see a weapon assumes she must be armed. The woman is smart as she is wearing dark clothes. She is adorned in a Midnight Blue hooded pullover sweatshirt as there is no zipper down the front. She has on dark blue jeans and is wearing black hiking boots. The woman in question takes two steps toward Leon and then stops. In the moonlight, he catches a glimpse of part of her face but the hood is doing a good job of hiding her features.
It's so dark out that Leon can't make out her features. Claire had shown him a recent photograph of the pair taken at the beach so he would know if the woman in question looked like Janice. With the money that Umbrella possessed, it wasn't far-fetched that they created a mask ala Mission Impossible that would allow one of their operatives that had Janice's physique to masquerade as her. That was partly why Leon was making first contact.
The woman unties her hood and draws it back allowing Leong to see her face. Despite the darkness, he can now make out her facial features and she is a dead ringer for the woman in Claire's photograph. With a sour expression on her face, she raises a tiny Beretta handgun. If Leon were to guess, he would guess it's a Beretta Jetfire but at this distance and in the dark, it's hard to tell."Who are you and what are you doing here?" The girl demands.
"Easy..." Leon requestions. He isn't raising his weapon as it would more than likely cause her to shoot at him. "I'm a friend of a friend." The rookie cop informs the person in front of him.
Leon twitches his left hand and a small flashlight falls from the sleeve and he catches it. Clicking the button he aims the light at the person before him and the girl brings up her right hand to cover her eyes from the blinding light.
"Hey..." The girl says raising her gun hand to block the light as it is her dominant hand. She quickly realizes the mistake she made and swears profusely at her stupidity.
"Easy..." Leon informs her. He slowly raises his weapon and then brings his left arm up to brace his right arm, keeping the light on the girl. His right arm comes down and rests his right wrist on top of his left wrist. He keeps his weapon trained on the girl as he slowly inches closer to her. Before he gets within arms reach Leon hears the very audible sound of a pistol hammer being cocked directly behind him. "That's close enough." The unmistakable sound of a gruff man's voice calls out. "Drop it." The voice commands the former police officer.
Not knowing if the person is truly a friend or foe, Leon lowers his weapon and flashlight so that the woman in front of him can see again. "If you're Janice," Leon begins, "Who was your first crush?"
"What?" The girl asks dumbfounded.
"If you are who you're supposed to be, our mutual acquaintance gave me a few questions to ask you. I know the answers to these questions. If you answer correctly and you get a face-to-face meeting with the person. You get a wrong answer, your friend behind me gets a 9-millimeter lobotomy."
"Nice try slick... you're not that fast." The male counters.
"No... but my partner is."
The man in question thinks Leon is bluffing. However, Leon points at his head as if to show the woman something. The perplexed woman doesn't register what the gesture is supposed to mean until she peers behind Leon and looks at her partner's head.
"Billy..." She says with worry in her voice.
"Easy Jans... he's bluffing."
Billy watches as his companion first shakes her head at his bluffing comment. She then points a finger to her temple. Billy turns his head to the left and while there is no red line like in the movies, he does see a red dot emanating from the laser pointer attached to the weapon aimed at his head. Billy knows he was in someone's crosshairs and turns his head back to the man in his sight. "That doesn't change anything slick."
Leon knows the situation is tense so he does his best to defuse. He lets out a heavy breath and says, "Ok, we can do this one of two ways. One... we can start shooting and almost everyone dies. Two... we put our weapons away and ascertain if we are who we believe we are."
The scene is very quiet for several long, very tense moments. The only sounds are the ambient noises from the wilderness. Finally, the girl in front of Leon says, "Chris Redfield."
Leon, satisfied with the first answer decocks his weapon and slowly places his pistol in his back holster. He crosses his arms in front of his chest (just in case he needs to go for his other weapon). Taking his action as a sign of good faith, Billy decocks his weapon and lowers it but does not holster it.
"The dot is still there." The girl tells her companion.
"Not surprising. Just continue."
Leon then asks three more questions. Each question is answered satisfactorily. With his final question answered he motions for Claire who was covering the mysterious Billy from afar. Claire comes down from her perch and moves to the girl in question.
"Hands behind your back please." Claire requests.
The girl, seemingly recognizing Claire's voice, does as she is asked. Claire slings her weapon and cautiously makes her way to the girl. When she is within arms reach of her supposed best friend, she brings her hands up and pinches and pulls on the girl's cheeks.
"OUCH! Janice yelps.
Claire just grins and immediately draws her best friend into a big bear hug. "I'm sorry Jans... I had to make sure it was you and not someone that was wearing a mask. What... what if they were holding you somewhere and forcing you to answer those questions."
"You make a good point," Janice states. She brings her hands up and pinches Claire's cheeks and then pulls on them a bit harder than Claire did.
Claire yelps at Janice's action. Once her friend lets go of her face, the two hug one another happily. Billy, content that everything is copacetic holster his Taurus Raging Bull Revolver behind his back. Leon gives the two friends their time and space and he makes his way over to Janice's companion.
"So... Billy is it..." The stoic figure beside Leon simply nods his ascent.
"You're pretty good. I suspected you were around but I didn't hear you until you were cocking your revolver." Billy says nothing. he is simply keeping an eye on Janice and her so-called friend.
"Just a stab in the dark... you're military. Judging by the way you carry yourself... I'm guessing you were a Marine."
"What gave me away?" Billy asks, impressed. He is also worried that this guy knows who he really is.
"I can see the chain from your dog tags. Most sailors and airmen aren't built like you. So that means you were either Army or Marines. So I took a guess with Uncle Sam's Misguided Children."
Billy actually chuckled at the use of the U.S.M.C.'s nickname. Whoever this guy was he seemed to know his stuff. As young as he appeared, this guy didn't have the look of someone in the military. A wannabe military guy maybe... or worse, a cop.
"What about you?" Billy asks. He remains relaxed but ready to draw his weapon should the need arrive.
"Former police officer."
"Former?"
"I was a rookie cop for one whole day."
"One day?" Billy repeats almost in disbelief.
"Yeah... in Raccoon City."
This set off several red flags with Billy. He doesn't make any moves, but he is now on edge. Trying to figure out what is really going on here, he decides to engage Leon in a bit more conversation. "Raccoon City... isn't that the place that had some kind of... what was it... viral outbreak?"
Leon can see that Billy is suddenly very talkative. Ever since he mentioned Raccoon City. This puts him on edge. "Yeah. I was only an officer for one day. I showed up shortly after the virus had infected most of the general population. It, well... it wasn't pretty. I met Claire on my way into town and she found my daughter who was hiding in the police station."
Everything was going very smoothing despite Leon and Billy being on alert. That is until a branch broke from behind the quartet. Billy and Leon both hear the snap and Billy is the first to react as Leon guessed what caused the sound. Billy's course of action was to go for his revolver and take aim at the sound. However, he wasn't prepared for Leon's 5 ft 10-inch frame to slam into him. Billy can feel the air being forced from his body as Leon's 155 pound frame slams into him and sends the former Marine to the ground, his chrome revolver flew from his hand and landed in a pile of leaves with a soft thud.
The pair tumble for a bit before Billy finally catches his breath and launches Leon away from him. Billy is quite pissed but as he gets back up to her verticle base he finds Leon has already beaten him to it and he has drawn a weapon on him. Billy notes that this is a different weapon than the one he previously had as it is a different shape.
"Leon..."
"Billy..."
The two men see Janice and Claire have made their way toward them. In addition, Claire is clutching a young girl in her arms.
"My daughter broke the branch," Leon informs Billy who looked at the former cop like he wanted to kill him.
Seeing the scared expression on the little girl's face as she clutched Claire he exhaled and looking the little girl squarely in her face said, "Sorry," Sierra can see the sincerity in the man's face and nods her head and releases her tight grip on her protector.
"Why don't we all go to our RV, have a bite to eat, and you girls can continue to catch up," Leon states.
~ Sunday October 4th, 1998 4:25 PM ~
The sun was slowly starting to make its descent as the Kennedy's Tourmaster pulls into Las Vegas, Nevada. In two hours the sun would be down and the city would be illuminated by the numerous lights on every building. That's when the real party in this town would begin.
When the group was talking over dinner Janice handed Claire a letter that her family received from her older brother Chris. It had arrived the day Claire left to go find him and no one had opened it until the following day when word about Raccoon City being under Martial Law following some kind of viral outbreak that infected the majority of the populace. Claire quickly reads it and learns that her brother had left town several weeks before the viral outbreak. He knew she would be worried and told her not to come looking for him (everyone laughed at that). He stated that he will send updates every few weeks if possible. He suggested for her own good that she keep a low profile.
"So... what are your thoughts on keeping a low profile?" Janice asks the girl who is like a sister to her.
"I can't go back to school, or even to your house. Doing so would cause Umbrella to take an unhealthy interest in your family." Claire states.
"You'll need a new identity. New Social Security Number, birth certificate, the works." Billy chimes in.
"Do you know how she can get those?" Leon asks looking the former Marine over.
"I know a guy," Billy replies.
Taking out his cell phone, Billy makes a call. He tells the person on the other end of the phone what he needs and then lowers the phone.
"He can do it, he has one on hand but it's gonna cost you Five Grand."
"Have him bring it to the gas station just before our location. Give him my description."
With the details finalized, Leon sits tight and waits for the appointed time. he and Billy leave the girls while they go to meet Billy's "guy".
"So... what are you running from?" Leon asks as they sit in the car waiting for the rendezvous.
"What makes you think I'm on the run?" Billy calmly inquires.
"It's one thing to have a friend into this kind of shady stuff," Leon states. "It's another matter entirely to know someone in this line of work. If your "guy" was a friend you would have called him so. Calling your acquaintance a "guy", he's someone you've used before."
"I like you, Leon," Billy admits. The former cop is very bright and not as straight-laced as some would be as a rookie cop. "I know you're keeping things from Janice and I as you don't completely trust us. I respect that. As such I'll tell you this, without going into detail. I was accused and convicted of a crime in the Marines that I did not commit. I was to be put to death for this."
"They don't hand out death sentences for light offenses," Leon states matter of factually.
"Again, I didn't do it. I give you my word."
"All right..."
"I was in Raccoon City too... it was around the time that the media was reporting those bizarre murders."
Seeing that he misworded that sentence Billy quickly states, "The murders happened before I was being transported through Raccoon City."
"Ok, go on."
"I survived an encounter with Umbrella myself. I saw things... things that shouldn't have been possible."
"I met a S.T.A.R.S. member, Rebecca Chambers..."
"I know her... or should I say, I know of her," Leon states. Having been in the S.T.A.R.S. office during his time in the R.P.D. building he went through her desk and saw several photos of her.
"We survived Umbrella and afterward she reported that I was killed, my body mangled and identification was only possible from my dog tags which she took off my neck. I made my way from Raccoon to California and found work as a mechanic in a small town off the beaten path. I met, well, you can call him Joe Cool."
"Joe Cool... really?"
"Anyways... he hooked me up with the new life. I owed him a lot of money for quite a while but eventually, I paid him off and now I'm living the quiet life on the down-low."
"How did you meet Janice?"
"Her cousin is my boss. We met shortly after I arrived in town when she came to visit him at the shop."
"She's very cute," Leon stated for the record.
"Yeah... she and Claire look a lot alike."
"Yeah, I noticed," Leon replied.
Before any more small talk could happen an old Chevy Impala pulls up, right on time. Out came a guy that reminded Leon of Joe Pesci. He could tell why Billy referred to him as Joe Cool as it was dark out and the man was wearing sunglasses, just like Snoopy. Joe hands over the envelope and Leon looks at the contents. Everything looks legit but he had to chuckle when she saw the name on the documents.
"Claire... really?"
"Hey... this was a rush order. I had a set from a girl that died recently but the death certificate was... how should we say... lost." Leon laughed and thought, God, he even sounds like Pesci.
Leon, happy with the documents, had Billy give Joe the large envelope with fifty 100 dollar bills. Joe counted the bills, as Leon expected and happy with the transaction, Joe bid the pair goodbye and went to spend some of his ill-gotten gains.
A short time later the group was once again all at the Kennedy's RV. They were sitting around a firepit built by the girls while their companions were away. Sierra sat holding a stick with two graham crackers, a marshmallow, and a piece of chocolate. Yes, young Sierra was having the time of her life as she, Claire, and Janice roasted smores in the firepit.
"So... where will you go?" Janice asks.
"It's probably best you don't know," Claire replies. "For your own safety." Janice was worried about Claire but realized that she had to think of herself and her family as well.
"Hey..." Claire says patting her best friend and surrogate sister's hand. "I'll be all right."
"Correction, we will be all right," Leon says taking Claire's hand. Sierra comes over, sits in Claire's lap, and hugs her. Janice can't help but smile.
"You should get married," Sierra states from her spot.
The four adults all look at the young girl. "What?" Claire asks her young ward.
"If Claire Thompson marries and becomes Claire Kennedy no one will think to look into it. They will be too busy trying to find Claire Redfield. You buy a ticket to... Europe," Sierra says pausing to catch her brother. "Yes, Claire Redfield buys a ticket to Europe, you check in, then disembark in a wig and glasses before the plane leaves."
"No... I'll go in your place." Janice states.
"What?"
"Give me your passport. I'll go wearing a hat and glasses. Once I arrive and get your passport stamped, I go to the bathroom, change clothes and ditch the hat and glasses. I then buy a ticket home and with my passport, fly home."
"If you go, then I go." Billy insists. "I can get a seat near you... just in case."
Janice is about to argue that she doesn't need a bodyguard but Claire insists. If Janice is going to do this then that is what needs to happen.
"Soooo... what about the wedding?" Sierra asks.
Silence reigns for several long moments before Leon chimes in his thoughts. "Claire Thompson... will you marry me?"
Claire blushes once Leon's words leave his mouth. She never in a million years thought that Leon would take Sierra's idea seriously. "Leon..."
"It's a good plan," Leon states. "Both parts that is. Jancie looks enough like you that she can pull off impersonating you. Billy can go along as her bodyguard."
Claire thinks about what is being proposed. Since meeting the young police officer Claire has quickly been falling for his good looks, his due diligence, his compassion, and her generous nature. He took it upon himself to take on the role of surrogate father to Sherry/Sierra and now he was willing to take part in a faux marriage to ensure the girls and her own safety. What else was there to say but...
"Yes."
~ Monday, October 5th, 1998 12: 35 PM ~
With the proposal accepted it was decided that the group would venture to Las Vegas so that Leon and Claire could get married someplace where questions were seldom asked. Janice and Billy traveled with them, deciding that they would fly out of Vegas the next day. Leon used his discretionary fund (the stolen money) to pay for their trip. Claire told her bestie that she didn't need to be a witness but Janice wouldn't miss seeing her best friend get married for anything. While Sierra slept in the bed CLaire and Janice chatted. Janice asked Claire if she was doing this solely for Sierra and her own security. Claire blushed and with a heavy sigh admitted that while that was her primary reason for going through with this, she had to be honest and say that she was very attracted to Leon. Claire had looked toward the front and Leon was listening to music as he drove toward their destination. She wondered if Leon was doing this solely for the sake of her charges or if her feelings were reciprocated.
Sure, the ceremony was all for two reasons. One to give Claire a new last name to throw off anyone looking for "Claire Redfield". The second she learned was to give Sierra a stable family life, something that she had never had growing up. While Claire did worry that Leon might need a new identity, Leon assured her that they were ok. Even if they were looking for Leon Scott Kennedy, he knew how to lay low and stay under the radar. Heck, he had been trained to find people who used similar methods. After the ceremony, Janice and Billy would stay the evening and were planning to head home the following day. On their journey, the group stopped so that Leon could buy two pre-paid mobile phones and program the numbers into each phone. The phones were for monthly contact for quick updates and to make sure everyone was ok.
Leon was following the directions to the outskirts of the city to the wedding chapel that Claire had selected. The chapel was quite large as it also housed a wedding apparel store. Guys could rent a tux and women could find a nice dress and have the adjustments made by the onsite tailors. Of course, if you already had your clothes that was fine too. While Claire couldn't say it was her dream wedding she knew this was largely for appearance's sake and to ensure Sierra (Sherry) and her own safety. Leon parked the Tourmaster in the section for large vehicles while Billy parked his 1998 Jeep Wrangler in one of the normal spots.
Claire, Sierra, and Janice went into the chapel first to check in as they would all need dresses. Billy and the groom-to-be, Leon then made their way in and were immediately escorted to the Tuxedo section. Leon didn't need anything fancy, he simply selected a traditional Black tuxedo with a white shirt, vest, and tie. As the best man, Billy was given a matching suit.
"Did that hurt?" Leon asks the former Marine, referring to the tattoo that travels the length of his right arm.
"I was drunk when I got it. So... maybe."
Leon simply chuckles at his response.
It was an hour's wait for the guys from the time they finished getting their suits adjusted. Sierra wandered out of the dress section to go find her father and see how he was doing. Since adopting the persona of Sierra Kennedy, young Sherry has quickly adapted to seeing Leon as her father figure. When she broached the notion of Leon and Claire adopting her as they made their way down the highway from Raccoon City she never dared to hope that it might actually happen. For twelve years she had a father but in all that time she never truly believed that he loved her. Sure, he said that he did but the proof of that love was never there. He missed birthdays and special events, if there was something to miss, he missed it. Her mother wasn't much better. There were numerous times that she wondered why her parents even had her. She recently discovered the facts of life and it was hard for her to envision her parents taking a moment to stop working on their research to conceive her.
"Are you ready Daddy?" Sierra asks Leon.
"Yes sweetie," Leon informs his surrogate daughter. He gives the 12-year-old girl a big hug and enjoys seeing her smile. She has been doing a lot of that as of late and it brings a smile to his face to know that he and Claire have changed the little girl's life for the better.
"Claire and Janice are almost ready. As soon as they call me I'll go get dressed. Wait till you see Claire, she's so beautiful!"
"She was always beautiful sweetheart... now she'll just look extra special." Before Sierra can make any further comment the seamstress opens the door and calls her back into the room so that she can get ready. Leon and Billy take that as their cue to go get into their own formal wear.
Leon and Billy return to the room and begin changing. As they do, Billy feels compelled to comment on the scene that just played out.
"I have to say, Leon, for two people putting on an act, you guys are going all out," Billy comments.
"Who says it's an act, Billy?" Leon asks.
"I'm not following you?"
"Just because Claire and I decided to get married as a way to throw off people looking for Claire Redfield doesn't mean I don't genuinely care about her. Claire is kind, sweet, caring, and very beautiful... I've met two beautiful women since I arrived in Raccoon City and while I thought I cared very deeply for the second, in reality, she was faking. She was a facade, pretending to be the woman I believed her to be. Claire on the other hand is very honest, and forthright. What you see is what you get and I want to be with that person."
"Ok..."
"What I'm saying is that if Claire wants to just play husband and wife, I'm fine with that. If our lives eventually go back to normal and she then wants to call it quits then we will. If she doesn't... if we fall in love, like I could see happening, and she wants to be Mrs. Kennedy, then I am all for that too."
"Really?" Billy asks almost dumbfounded by Leon's answers.
"I know you haven't told me everything, but after facing what you have and surviving... life can end very quickly. Isn't it better to live your life with someone you care about... maybe even love than to waste your time looking for someone better that might not exist?"
Before Billy can say anything further one of the chapel workers knocks on their door. "Ok gentlemen, It's show time gentlemen."
To Be Continued