A/N: I am highly thankful to all the readers for showing their immense support to this story. And I am much more grateful to the anonymous reviewer and Adela, for leaving their lovely reviews! I am glad you all like this story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Resident Evil or any of its characters; they all belong to Capcom.

Chapter 37

(Kate's POV)

I descended down the stairs, checking my bag and making sure I had everything with me. I walked to the living room where Chris and Jill were busy putting names on the wedding invites, with Chris reading out name to Jill from a list of guests they prepared earlier and Jill writing them down on the invites. Chris was also holding Sam, who was making happy baby noises. I moved to take Sam from Chris and he let me have him but kept on telling names to Jill. And she was diligently writing it down in her beautiful handwriting.

"Don't you think you should be getting ready?", I said to Jill.
"For what?", she asked me not looking up from her chore.
"We are going to shop for wedding rings remember", I said reminding her rocking the baby a bit.
"Well didn't you say you were going with Kennedy", Jill said looking up now and giving me a confused look.
"Yeah and he'd be…", I turned to look at the clock it was 5:45PM, "here in 15 minutes or so, so you should better get ready."
"Well he's already going with you", she said almost snatching the list off Chris's hand because he had stopped calling out names, since we were talking, "you won't need me."
"What?!", I couldn't help but say puzzled; she didn't looked mad at me but her words made me feel so, "why are you saying that?"
"Saying what?!", she looked up at me again looking equally perplexed.
"That I don't need you and stuff", I repeated her own words to her.
She sighed, "I didn't meant it that way", she said relaxing, "I meant it be alright if I didn't go right?"

"No, I want you to come", I said pressing on it sitting by her side, "Your choice is important as well."
"No you're getting me wrong, Kiddo", Jill said shaking her head smiling at me, "If I go who's going to write these invites?"
"Chris can do it, he's not doing much anyways", I said in somewhat derogatory tone.
"Hey I am still here", Chris said pretending to be offended.
"Well he can't manage Sam and write invites at the same time", Jill gave me her reasoning.
"Well we can take Sam along, it'll be just a few hours", I said trying to convince her otherwise.
"Well it's getting too cold lately, it might not be good for Sam you know", she reasoned again.
"Okay how about, Chris looks after Sam, he doesn't have to write invites and you come with us", I suggested and Jill broke into a fit of laughs.
"I can't believe you're saying that", Jill said once her laughs died, "Chris can't handle Sam on his own, it'll probably be the other way around."
"I am still here you know", Chris pretended to be annoyed again.

"But you know invites are important and we have to do it by tonight only, so we can send them tomorrow", I opened my mouth to argue but she continued, "And besides Claire is going for a female opinion, so it's fine right? And if you're worried about me feeling bad, it's not so", she smiled warmly, "I want you to have a great wedding and unfortunately, guests are kinda/sorta important you know; the more blessings the better."
I couldn't help but smile and hug her, although she should be paying more attention to her baby but she was really chipping in to help with the wedding, "Thank you!", I said it from the deepest bottom of my heart.

"Looks like Kennedy's here", Chris said looking through the window and I handed Sam to Jill.
"I'll see you guy later then", I said grabbing my bag.
"Claire's not going?", Chris asked me as he and Jill walked me to the door.
"Uh she'd meet us there. She would have to travel in opposite direction if she goes here first", I told him opening the front door and was almost startled to see Leon there, "You scared me!", I said to him.
"Sorry about that", he said monotonously as I bent to greet Shadow.
"Hey Kennedy", Chris said giving his hand to Leon.
"Redfield", Leon said taking and shaking his hand.
"Thanks for helping us out", Jill said to him with a smile.
"It's no big deal, Valentine", Leon returned her smile.
"Don't let her buy an expensive ring for that guy", Chris said in an undertone to Leon.
"Chris!", I said a bit warningly.
"I feel it's waste of money", he said shrugging pulling up his usually frowned expression.
I shook my head at him in disbelief, "Shall we get going, Leon?", I said to Leon.
"Yeah let's go", he said with a nod and we both headed for his car.

We got in the car, put seatbelts and Leon started the car to head to the shopping district. Chris and Jill waved us good bye as we left. I looked at Leon; he seemed tired and was busy concentrating on the road. I felt a little uneasy for asking him to tag along knowing he's tired and busy, "Thanks for taking out time for me", I thanked him for his efforts, it was the least I feel, I could do.

"It's no problem", he replied with a smile not looking at me since there was too much traffic on the road with Christmas almost on the way.
"You seem tired", I commented.
"Yeah paperwork", he replied with a sigh.
"Still don't like paperwork", I said with a smile, remembering how exhausted he got whenever he had to do paperwork.
"Never will", he stated the obvious, "Anyways Claire's coming right?"
"Yeah, she…", I was saying when my phone rang, "Oh it's her, give me a moment", I said and he gave me a nod, "We're on our way!", I said to Claire on the phone.

"I called you to tell you that I won't be able to make it", Claire told me; her voice seemed a little rough.
"You don't sound okay, what happened?", I asked her concerned.
"I am throwing up everything I eat since morning", she told me sounding annoyed, "the doc said it's fine, it happens sometimes."
"Yeah some people have prolonged morning sickness", I agreed with her.
"So I won't be able to make it; I feel weak and tired", she told me.
"It's fine I understand", I said sighing, "take rest then."
"I feel I am going to throw up again", Claire said hurriedly, "talk to you later."
"Ah yeah", I said and she disconnected.
"She alright?", Leon asked as I kept my phone in my bag.
"Yeah, pregnancy is no easy feat", I replied, "She won't make it", I informed him, "I hope you don't mind", I added knowing that didn't like to be alone with me anymore.
"Why would I?", he said with a shrug sounding confused.

(Leon's POV)

"No, it's just… well never mind what I said", Kate said in a casual tone waving a hand.
"Alright", I said in response.
"You know Mike has some very pretty cousins", she said to me sounding excited.
"Why are you telling me this?", I asked her with a laugh.
"Get a hint, Leon", she said with a sigh of disappointment, "There'd be lot of girls for you to hook up at the party."
"How about no?", I said to her, "one crazy guy is enough in the circle."
"What are you getting at?", Kate said defensively.
"You know this Mike guy is a bit crazy", I teased her.
"Hey, I am marrying him", she said pretending to be offended; "You have no reason to call him crazy."
"Well for starters he's marrying you, isn't he?", I teased her more.
"Grow up", she jabbed me, "and it's about time you get a nice girl for yourself. You know your mom is so concerned about it."
"I know I hear about it all the time", I told her keeping the detail that for my mom she's still a possible candidate for my wife.

"Don't you feel lonely?", Kate asked me very seriously.
"Not really", I lied to her flatly, "I always have company of beautiful women."
"Ah I see", she said raising her brows, "So you'd rather have one night stands than one person to love you?"
"Yeah I guess that's convenient", I told her even though I'd rather have the opposite but I felt she doesn't need to know that.
"You're bad at lying", she said to me with a little laugh and I didn't say anything, "I hope you get the person you're looking for and you deserve."
"I am not lying", I said still carrying on my act of playboy.
"Then I guess I don't know you well enough", she said with a shrug.
"Yeah how well can you know me over a span of a few months", I said trying to reinforce her doubt.
"Hmm true", she said in agreement as I pulled my car to a stop in the front of the jewelry shop.

We didn't talk on that topic anymore once we were inside. Kate got busy with choosing the rings but she kept looking at rings after rings and didn't like any of it. She would ask my opinion once in a while but I was as bummed as she was. And one could see that she was getting a little frustrated about it all. She almost slapped away the ring boxes and was holding her head.

"I should have brought Mike", Kate muttered to herself, "I don't know which ones are good."
"Well ma'am try some on and you'd have a better idea", the shop assistant suggested.
"True", she said with an appreciative smile. She took the rings and tried them on, "How is this?", she asked showing her hand to me.
"Too big", I gave my opinion, the stone set in it was too big, it looked like a shiny bug was sitting on her hand.
"Yeah it looks like a sparkly bug on my hand", she commented taking it out. She tried another one, "How's this one?"
"Yeah looks good", I told her and she removed it from her finger.
"Gah… its pair is so girly", she said totally irritated about it.

'She looks so cute!', I thought smiling and then realization hit me, and I shook that thought out of my mind.
"Not buying this one either", Kate scanned the other rings and I looked around too. And a pair of ring caught my attention and as if almost simultaneously Kate noticed it too, "Excuse me can you show me that one", she pointed it out to shop assistant, "this one is really pretty isn't it?", she asked me admiring those rings but she didn't try it on and it didn't take a genius to figure it out that she was in love with those pair of rings.

"Yeah they are", I agreed with her, "why don't you give it a try?", I said taking the ring in my hand, so that I could give it to her but she held out her hand to me and before I knew I was putting it on her finger.
"Ah it really looks even more beautiful when worn", she said looking at her hand, "And even its pair is classy as well", she added taking it in her hand. She looked at it thinking about something, "Leon, give me your hand!", she demanded.
"Huh?", I said confused.
"Your hand Leon", she said grabbing my hand and put the ring on my finger, and before I could figure it out and pull my hand away, the ring was already on my finger.
"What are you doing?", I couldn't help but say.
"Checking it for size of course", she said in an obvious tone," and it fits you perfectly! Hmm… but…", she removed the ring and put it on my thumb.
"You do know that these rings are not for thumbs right?", I said trying to pull out the ring off my thumb, "Great it's stuck now."
"I know, but you see Mike doesn't have lean fingers like yours; his fingers are stubby and if this ring gets stuck on your thumb then it would definitely be a little small in size for him", she told me trying to help to me pull out the ring.

We struggled with it for a bit and it came out after a significant effort on both of our parts. The shop assistant sighed out of relief as Kate put the rings back in the box. Kate looked at them for a bit and it seemed she really liked it just from the look on her face. The shop assistant began to tell her about the diamonds in the ring and Kate looked from rings to her. And with a snap she closed the ring box and pushed it away and looked around for more rings. She picked another one and tried the ring on.

"How's this?", Kate asked me again.
"The one you tried previously is better", I told pushing the box in front of her.
"Well it's not the right size", she told me, "Now answer my question."
"I already did", I said to her, "size can be altered you know", and I looked at the shop assistant for confirmation.
"Yes, it can be sir but it would take one day", the shop assistant said with a smile.
"See", I said to her, "buy this one it's the best."
"I can't really have it", she said shaking her head and she sounded a little sad about it
"Of course you can", I said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"It's just too expensive Leon! I can't afford it", she said in a same tone as mine, "Mike won't like it, if I bought something this expensive you know."

I looked at the price tag and it wasn't really that expensive, "I'd chip in and help you buy this because it really suits you", I really wanted her to have that ring, "Consider it a wedding gift."
Kate turned to look at me and smiled, "That's really thoughtful of you but Mike won't like that", she looked away and her hair hid her face from me and she spoke again, "Sometimes you have to settle for things because you can't just have those better things even if they suit you", she again turned to look at me and smiled a fake smile. I wondered if her words meant something more, "So is this one fine then?", she showed me the ring that she chose previously.
"Anything you choose is fine", I told her with a smile, "Everything you choose looks great on you. You should be concerned about your to-be-husband."
"Well its pair is fine and it seems it won't get stuck on Mike's stubby fingers", she said with a sigh, "I'll take this one only", she said to shop assistant.
"Come this way ma'am", the shop assistant said and Kate followed her.

I watched them walk away and then looked back at the pair of rings. I really wanted to buy that but I really didn't have any purpose for them. It wasn't like I had a girlfriend and even if I had one I wouldn't be buying this particular pair of rings for her. The person I really I wanted to buy it for was already getting married to someone else and now that Kate liked them as well, it sort of put a sentimental value on them, as if that ring belonged to Kate and no one else. If Kate and I had come to the point of getting engaged or married, I wouldn't have thought twice about buying them but that was a path I never took and wasn't really having any seconds thoughts about taking it either. I heard my name being called making me look in the direction and Kate was at a distance. She beckoned me with a wave of a hand and I left the thoughts behind with the set of rings.

I walked to Kate and she raised her brows in question and I shook my head to tell her it was nothing. She didn't say anything and we walked to the counter to make the payment. I stood there while she made the payments, "Thanks for shopping here", the lady at the counter said out of formality.

"Thank you for the service", Kate smiled earning a genuine smile from the lady. The moment we stepped out Kate's phone rang and she pulled on my Jacket to make me stop. I looked back at her and she seemed nervous, "It's Mike's mom, talk to her!", she said holding her phone out to me.

"Me?! I offended her big time", I made her remember.
"Same here, she still holds a grudge about it", Kate spoke really fast to me.
"Well I don't think she'd take it well that you are out shopping with me and that I am taking your calls", I told her laying down the facts as I saw them.

"True", Kate said and let out her tension with a sigh, "Here goes nothing… Hello?", she answered the call just before it got disconnected, "I am doing fine, hope you're doing good as well", she spoke on the phone and waited, "Yeah it's all going well… No, I am not busy at the moment", she looked at me, "Oh I see, okay no problem. I'll go have a look at it tomorrow", she again waited as she listened to her, "Okay understood… yeah good night and take care", she pulled away the phone, disconnected the call and sighed out of relief, "It went well I suppose."

"I couldn't tell a difference from a normal conversation", I told her trying to ease her up.
"But I need a favor off you", she said biting her lip.
"How can I help you?", I asked her with a smile.
"Take me to this boutique", Kate said keeping her phone back, "Mike's mom called me and said that they called me for a dress fitting and she made an appointment for tonight at 7:30 PM."
"Didn't she tell you a little too early", I couldn't help but state sarcastically since it was something like 15-20 minutes to 7:30 PM at the moment.
"Please?!", Kate requested, "It's a posh boutique and with the holiday season, it's all rushed up, if I miss this appointment I won't get another. So please take me there."
"You don't have to be like that, it's not like we have any other choice", I said and we both started towards the car.

"By the way this boutique is really working on a short notice, isn't it", I questioned as we both got in the car.
"Yeah well Mike's mom had some connections at the boutique; she knows the owner, I guess", Kate said putting on seatbelt.
"So where is this boutique?", I asked her turning on the engine.
"Oh she'd text me the address in few", Kate said and I looked at her in shock.
"Just tell me the location and we can go there", I said to her, "You've been there, right?"
"Actually I haven't", Kate replied, "Mike's mom just took my measurements and selected the design for the dress."
"I see", I was so speechless that I could only say this.
"Oh here's the address", she showed me the address that her to-be-mother-in-law sent and I put my foot on the gas pedal to head there.

A/N: Thanks for taking out time to read. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and I apologize for any mistakes and grammatical errors. See you all next week!