21. Leon

Leon's body felt weightless, as if he were suspended in the air, carried by an icy current. Pain pulsed through various parts of his battered form, draining his strength, yet, as he attempted to move, he felt as if a heavy force pressed him down, making movement impossible. Amidst this disorienting mix of sensations, a familiar voice reached his ears in soft, whispered tones. Its melodic cadence was unmistakable, a voice he had grown intimately acquainted with in recent years, and the very same one he'd grown so attached to.

"So, 11-cis-vaccenylacetate and hexadecanol derivatives, are you sure?" Claire whispered with a frown. "Well, there is a chance someone was doing a pheromone research project in one of the labs, but the concentration is just ridiculous."

It couldn't be. Leon's last memory was of him, alongside Helena and Angela, fending off hostiles amidst the crumbling remains of the building. The deafening explosion had engulfed them, leaving him with the vivid recollection of chaos and destruction. Claire's presence was impossible. Was he possibly experiencing a near-death encounter, traversing the boundaries between life and the unknown? But then again, Claire sounded too real to be a fidget of his imagination.

"Is there anything odd about the compound? No, Carlos is working on that, but he hasn't returned yet. Leon is still knocked out, so I stayed back. Yeah, everything went well with the surgery, thankfully. As long as he behaves, he should be recovered in a few weeks. Ok, let me know if you find anything else. Thank you, Rebecca."

Leon watched Claire as she ended her phone call and let out a weary sigh. She ran her hand through her hair, a familiar gesture that revealed her underlying anxiety, and that Leon had learned to read like a book. Sitting with a stack of papers on her lap, Claire seemed lost in thought. The agent attempted to shift his head to catch a better glimpse of his wife, but his neck felt stiff, and his limbs remained numb, leaving him immobilized.

"C-Claire?" he mumbled softly.

Claire's wide eyes locked with his, brimming with a mix of relief and concern. Leon couldn't help but feel a twinge of confusion at her expression. He noticed her eyes appeared slightly swollen, suggesting she had either been crying or fighting back tears. The weight of her emotions hung in the air, and Leon instinctively knew something significant had transpired in his absence, which instantly made him worry. Claire wasn't one to cry easily, point taken, she had been more prone to spontaneous bursts of emotions since her hormones seemed to be a mess lately, but those bursts didn't look as grave as how she looked right now.

"Leon! Thank god, I'm so glad to see you awake," Claire said. She put the papers aside and rushed to his side. She rested her hand on his cheek as her clear eyes scanned him. "How are you feeling? Are you in pain?"

Pain? The question caught Leon off guard, causing him to pause and reflect. It was at that moment he became aware of a peculiar realization: he didn't feel any sensation of pain at all, only a subtle numbness permeating his body. The absence of pain struck him as both unsettling and perplexing, leaving him with a sense of confusion in the young agent.

"No, in fact. I don't think I feel anything at all. W-where am I?" Leon asked.

"Waterford University hospital," Claire replied. "You might be a little disoriented and numb. The anesthesia hasn't fully metabolized yet. Are you dizzy?"

"Uhg, a little? How did I get here?" Leon grunted, trying to move, unsuccessfully.

"No. You shouldn't move yet," Claire said, placing her hands on his shoulders. "You came out from surgery recently. If you move too suddenly, you might get the stitches ripped."

"Surgery?"

"You don't remember what happened, do you?"

His memories were a little foggy, but he remembered everything.

"Helena and I were investigating in Waterford. There were these explosions, then BOWs appeared and..."

People. They had gotten attacked by hostile survivors, and then, that third explosion happened. The room had collapsed on them, and after that, everything became dark.

"Ok, that's enough," Claire stopped him. "It's clear your memory seems alright. Thank God."

Claire sighed in relief.

"Uh.." Leon grunted. He felt sluggish and nauseous; the typical sensations of waking up from anesthesia induced sleep. "Why are you here? This place is dangerous..."

Claire looked at him with a frown.

"Ingrid called me. She told me you'd gotten hurt, so I asked Carlos to get me here," Claire explained, taking his hand. "You were under the debris for almost two hours before BSAA got you out. You were in pretty bad shape."

"Helena," Leon repeated. "How is she?"

"Frankly," Claire replied. "She is better than you."

"I can't be that bad..." Leon said, trying to scoff. The effect of the drugs was passing, and he was starting to feel the pain.

"Two broken ribs, a punctured lung, a broken arm and fractured leg," Claire replied, crossing her arms. "You tell me if that's not bad enough."

Those were more injuries gotten in a single mission than Leon had ever received in his whole career. He had to admit that.

"Six-hour surgery, Leon. That was a close call," Claire said, shaking her head. "Too close."

Claire's expression was what broke him. The woman seemed to swallow her tears as she spoke. Her voice trembled and broke slightly.

Claire wasn't a cry baby. If she had been crying, she'd been in a lot of distress, making Leon feel guilty. He wished he could move his arms, place his hand over her cheek and comfort her.

"I'm ok, now. I'm ok," Leon said, taking her hand and squeezing it.

"Yeah, you heroic idiot," Claire said, cleaning a tear from her cheek. "Don't do that again, ok? I don't want to be a widow."

"I wouldn't want that either," Leon smiled. "Now more than ever."

"Yeah, you wouldn't want to miss this," Claire said, pointing at her stomach.

Leon snorted, but that caused him a lot of pain in his chest. Sharp as she was as a caretaker, Claire had noticed right away and she was instantly rubbing his arm comfortingly.

"You shouldn't be here. This place is dangerous."

"It's fine," Claire replied. "The whole area is crawling with BSAA agents and WPD. Terrorists would have to be idiots to try anything."

"Still, you and the little ones shouldn't be here."

"We are fine," Claire replied. "No one has let me near the affected area which has been quite a bugger. The most I've done is lab work, which isn't too different from what I'd be doing somewhere else."

"They could attack this hospital next, " Leon muttered.

"Or there could be an attack back at home, as well," Claire said, shaking her head. "It's irrelevant. I am safe now, so you don't need to worry."

Safety was relative, but Leon decided not to think about it. He was happy to have his wife by his side, and to be fair, he did feel better if she was with him.

"How are things holding out there?" Leon asked.

"Not too good," Claire replied. "But everything is under control for the time being. BSAA is eliminating the threat, and Terra Save is assisting the injured. Rebecca and I started looking at the new BOWs, and now that you and Helena are awake. Everything is great."

Leon smiled, rubbing Claire's hand. Suddenly, someone knocked on the door of the room, interrupted the little moment they had shared. The door opened, giving way to Hopkins, who smiled at the sight of Claire and Leon.

"Oh! I should be surprised to find you here, Claire," Hopkins smiled. "But naturally, I'm not."

"Hello, Renard," Claire smiled. "I didn't think the DSO would send their chief to check on the situation."

"Well, two of my best agents are hurt. I couldn't sit in my office and do nothing," Hopkins replied. "How are you doing, Leon?"

"I've been better," Leon answered. "It's probably going to hurt, but I'll be fine."

"Yes, I heard you took quite the hit, Leon. I'm glad you are safe."

"I heard BSSA talking about an emergency meeting," Claire said. "Are you the DSO representative?"

"You seem well informed. Yes, I have to meet with the BSAA's ground command in a bit, but I wanted to check on you first. I just saw Helena."

"How is she doing?" Leon asked.

"She's doing well," Hopkins replied. "I spoke to her doctor, and she told me she would be back on her feet soon. So, what about you, Leon?"

"He will need several weeks to recover," Claire replied, stroking Leon's shoulder. "It was a heavy surgery."

"So I heard," Hopkins nodded. "I suppose I will have to handle it without my two best agents for a while."

"Hopefully, that's not a tragedy," Claire said.

"Not at all. Leon and Helena can use the break anyway," Hopkins chuckled. "I'm sure Leon will appreciate the chance of being pampered by his lovely wife, and other things, if you know what I mean."

Hopkins smiled, winking at them. Claire's free hand instantly moved to her womb and Leon squeezed her hand.

"That is if I can keep her out of the laboratory," Leon snorted.

"Oh, are you working on this case, Claire?" Hopkins asked.

"Kind of," Claire replied. "BSAA didn't ask, but they haven't complained about me snooping around. So I'm not gonna stop now."

"Why aren't I surprised?" Leon sighed.

Hopkins chuckled.

"BSAA would be ridiculous to reject your help, Claire," Hopkins smiled. "Have you found anything?"

"Well, I did the autopsy of two bodies. and isolated some potential samples for virus identification. Carlos retrieved some vials from Addum's lab, so I sent them to Rebecca for further analysis, and I'm running tests on blood samples taken from the hostile people that BSAA captured. Hopefully, we will have something soon."

"Sounds like you've been busy. When did you do all that?" Hopkins asked, surprised.

That was a good question. Leon wanted to turn his head to look at Claire, but his neck was too stiff to move. However, he felt her stroke his hand.

"Leon was in surgery for six hours," Claire answered.

"What does my surgery have to do with it?" Leon asked.

"Those were six hours in which I needed to get distracted, and I tend to overwork when I'm anxious."

Leon wasn't sure if he should find that adorable or feel guilty at the implications of what Claire had said.

"Well, I see you make good use of your time," Hopkins snorted. "But now that Leon is awake, that might change a little. I'm sure you'll be more interested in remaining by his side during his recovery."

"We'll see that. I don't know if Leon will stand my presence that long."

"I couldn't ask for a prettier nurse," Leon replied.

"Oh, you are feeling better if you can be flirting like that."

Hopkins and Leon chuckled. The latter had a coughing fit that made his chest complain of the pain.

"Oh, god," Claire said, alarmed.

"I'm ok," Leon gasped. "I'm ok."

"Well, I should probably let you rest," Hopkins said, checking his watch. "BSAA command is probably expecting me."

"Of course," Claire nodded. "Let me know if you need anything."

"I will. Get better, Leon."

Hopkins waved them goodbye and left the room, shutting the door behind him and leaving the couple alone. Claire fixed the blanket and Leon's pillow before sitting down on the seat beside the bed.

"This is weird, isn't it?" Leon said.

"What?"

"Usually it's the other way around," Leon said, turning his head slightly.

"Me in bed while you look after me?" Claire asked, leaning on the bed. "Yeah, usually it is, but you're not superman, Leon. You get hurt, too."

"Yeah, I know," Leon sighed. "So you said you did the autopsy of two bodies?"

"Uh, yeah. Jill sent us one of those new BOWs and a survivor that attacked them."

"Ah, yeah. " Leon said thoughtfully. "It could be a parasite."

"Oh? How come?"

" people reminded me of the Ganado."

"Ah, well, the subjects didn't show any phenotypic changes," Claire began. "So I thought of a parasite as well, but we found no evidence of a parasitic infection: no larva, cysts, or eggs."

"So, no plagas?"

"No, I'm testing for viruses, but I won't know until tomorrow."

"Of course," Leon sighed. "But if it is a new virus, you shouldn't be here."

"You're not getting rid of me that easily," Claire snorted. "But I know what you mean. I won't be stepping into the warzone, ok? I'm mostly doing desk work, and from what I see, you might get stuck in desk work for a while, too. "

"Yeah, awesome."

Leon got released from the hospital after three weeks under observation. He was a fast healer, and since the surgery didn't have complications, he got the green light to finish his recovery at home.

Claire, as expected, proved to be an excellent nurse, and even though Leon enjoyed getting pampered by his wife, he had to admit that his limited mobility was starting to rub on him. He had broken his left arm and fractured his right leg, so doing daily tasks and walking around became challenging.

"Come on, open up," Claire said, raising the spoon to Leon's mouth.

"I could eat on my own, you know? I still have an arm."

"Yeah, but it's fun to feed you," Claire snickered. "Come on."

"I'll only do it because you seem happy."

The agent ate up what Claire was offering him with the spoon, and he saw his wife smile. Deep inside, Leon enjoyed it, too.

"Maybe I am," Claire shrugged. "Chris never let me feed him when he broke his arm."

"Yeah, I can imagine why," Leon scoffed. "Do you have any news from him?"

"No, Jill told me he was on a secret mission, but she couldn't tell me more. I just hope he's ok."

"It's Chris," Leon said. "He's ok."

Claire nodded.

"How are those analyses going? Have you found anything yet?" Leon asked.

The Waterford University Incident left 56 casualties, 67 injured, and numerous structural damages. The general conclusion was that it had been a terrorist attack, but Claire was skeptical, and Leon agreed. No terrorist group had claimed credit for the incident. No criminal groups wouldn't claim credits for something like that aside from Mobius. However, the incident didn't match Mobius's modus operandi.

Claire had managed to identify the virus isolated from the BOWs as a mutation of the T-Virus strain that circulated in the black market. Based on her results, there were no hints of manipulation, so the mutation happened naturally. What was still a mystery was the survivors' odd behavior. His lovely wife still had no idea of what had caused the sudden aggressiveness from the survivors.

"Well, I have six theories, but the sad part is that I can neither confirm nor deny any of them. At least not without a living test subject."

"You're doing what you can, Claire."

"Right," Claire sighed, resting her hand on her belly. The baby bump had grown a little in the past weeks. Now, in her seventeenth week, it was a little more noticeable if someone looked carefully, even under the loose clothes that she'd began to wear to keep it conspicuous. Overall, it wasn't too revealing, which was good news. "My check-up with Bella is next week."

"Yeah, I need to speak with Hopkins and tell him I need to go to Chicago. On the bright side, my current state actually makes things easier, excuse-wise."

Since Leon was still recovering from the injuries from the last mission, he had been put on desk duty until he got a clean bill for action. Desk duty was boring, but it was something he could do by teleworking.

"He asked me about it the other day that I was in his office, " Claire asked, scooping another bite for him. "I'm sure he'd be happy to let you accompany me on those check-ups."

"Well, Renard has bugged me about family since I've known him. I'm not surprised he's as excited as the Burtons about them," Leon admitted, taking the food Claire was offering him. "Looking at how fast those babies are growing, we might not be able to keep the secret for too long anyway."

"You think they are growing fast?" Claire asked, looking at her belly. "Kathy said the bump looked pretty small for twins. I hope that isn't a bad sign."

"Well, I don't know much about babies," Leon admitted. "But my sister wasn't that big either. It surely is fine."

Claire sighed.

"Sorry. I guess I'm a little paranoid."

"You are acting like a mom," Leon snorted. "Don't you have a meeting with the WHO representative today?"

"CDC," Claire corrected. " and more than a meeting, it's an audience."

"An audience?"

"Some people suspect that a bioagent caused the survivors' hostility," Claire replied, tying up her hair. "Since I handled the first samples, they want to ask me some questions about my results."

"Well, that sounds unnerving."

"It is unnerving," Claire sighed. "I should go. Hopefully, it won't take long, so I'll be back soon. Will you be ok on your own?"

"I broke some bones, but I can still move," Leon replied, amused by Claire's mother-hen behavior.

"Well, you haven't fully healed up yet," Claire pouted. "So behave while I'm out."

"Of course," Leon snorted. "Be careful, Claire."

Claire smiled. She planted a kiss on his lips and walked out of the apartment as Leon watched her back.

It felt a bit strange now that the roles got reversed. Usually, Claire was the one who got hurt, and Leon was the one who spent worrying about her. His work was dangerous, and getting injured was not a rarity, but Leon had always been lucky, and, usually, his injuries did not go beyond scratches. It was the first time in a long time that Leon had been relieved of his job while he recovered.

The agent opened his laptop and began looking through files that Hunnigan had sent him the previous day. Office work felt boring, but it could be worse.

A notification tag popped up on Leon's screen.

"Good morning, Leon," Hunnigan greeted him.

"Good morning, Hunnigan. To what do I owe the honor?"

"This has become a routine now," Hunnigan snorted. "I don't know why you keep asking that."

"I'm not used to this," Leon shrugged. "Being idle isn't my thing, is it?"

"Well, you always complained about not getting any vacations. Forced vacations aren't too bad, are they? How's Claire?"

"She just left. She had a meeting with the CDC."

"She, too, huh?"

"Someone else got called, too?"

"A formal summon came in earlier. For you and Helena."

"Us? We wrote down everything in the report. Why would the CDC want to see us?"

"Well, let me rephrase this. They want to run some test on you."

"Pardon?"

"There is a suspicion of a bioactive compound involved in the Waterford incident. Since you and Helena were on site, there is a high chance you two got exposed."

"And they think we might have caught something?" Leon asked with a frown. "Is that why they called my wife, too?"

"Maybe, but I believe they also wanted Claire's science point of view."

"Right, so how come I haven't seen any notice about those summons?"

"I don't know. All I got informed was that it was in the talks."

"If Helena and I were affected, wouldn't we have shown violent behavior already?"

"I don't know. You know it isn't my place to say."

"I just hope they won't bother Claire with unnecessary questions."

"I'm sure she can handle them. Also, I don't suppose you need to file for a short vacation next week."

"You know my schedule so well that I should be perturbed."

"After these many years, I honestly doubt that would surprise you, but for the record. It was my guess. Claire told me she had to go to Chicago. I assumed you would go with her."

"Fair enough," Leon nodded. "You don't think there will be issues, do you?"

"Frankly, I think Hopkins would feel relieved. He's still a little bothered about you working right now."

"Good to know."

"However, Hopkins might be delighted to give you the time, but the rest of the council will start to ask questions and you will run out of excuses at some point. Not to say, it will be difficult to hide it unless you plan to keep Claire in a bunker."

"No, I need to figure out a way to break the news discreetly."

"It will be challenging but not impossible. I'm sure many people will be happy to hear the news. "

"Yeah, that includes Mobius as well. Did you get the BSAA report on the incident?"

"Yeah, but it isn't informative at all. I think you will have better luck with your brother-in-law."

"Right," Leon sighed. "If I could contact him. Just where did Chris disappear to?"

Leon hadn't been able to contact Chris since the incident at Waterford University. When he had asked, he got told that Chris was on a special mission and that his return date wasn't clear. It felt odd since Chris hadn't even tried to contact Claire before leaving.

It wasn't unusual that Chris came and went without reporting to Claire, but the habit had become less frequent since Claire returned from her kidnapping three years prior. Chris usually called to say he'd be out for a while.

"Any clues of Mobius activity?"

"No, nothing. I heard people suggest that the group's return was only speculation," Hunnigan sighed. "they are questioning whether Mobius can really be considered a threat to date."

"Nonsense," Leon groaned. "Well, nothing there to do. If the situation arises, we will take matters into our hands."

Hunnigan let out a sigh. She looked around her cubicle and turned back to Leon.

"Work aside," she said softly. "How are things family-wise? Claire is doing ok?"

"I think so. She's been busy taking care of me instead."

"That's a new one," Hunnigan snickered. "But you don't sound bothered. "

"I can't deny it feels nice."

"Right. I guess it's a nice change from your usual goings, right?" Hunnigan chuckled.

"Yeah, it's nice being home with good company."

"What did the doctor say?"

"I'm healing well. Ribs are healed, the leg is doing well, except for my limp. The only thing that's taking time is my arm."

"Well, at this rate you'll be back to field work in no time. At least I know Helena is dying to do so."

"How's she doing?"

"Last time I checked she was bored," Hunnigan laughed. "In her words the only interesting thing she looks forward to is whenever Claire comes by to have tea."

"Right, I can picture that."

"Oh, now that I remember. There was someone inquiring about you…"

"About me?"

"Yes, you don't happen to know someone named Angela Miller, do you?"

Leon sighed. He wasn't naive. He could see through Angela's intention, and although it was an innocent thing, he found it a little annoying. He wasn't interested in her, and whatever happened back in Harvardville was only something he did out of good will and as part of his job.

"I assume your silence means you do," Hunnigan said. "Another of the flirty rolls of your past?"

"You sound like Helena."

"Your reputation precedes you. I wouldn't be surprised if Claire said the same thing."

"Claire is the original source of the teasing, you two learned from her," Leon scoffed. "I met Angela during one of my early missions as an agent. She might have gotten the wrong impression about me."

"That seems to be your issue. I believe the president has the same mistaken impression."

"Let's not talk about that."

"Well, I'll leave you to repent about your past flirts. I have to check on Helena, too."

"Sure, say hi for me."

The call ended, leaving Leon lost in the silence of his empty living room. The agent looked around, taking notice of the bits of redecoration that Claire had done in the past three years. It was funny. For a long time, Leon had avoided his apartment as much as he could, but now he felt at home. He was starting to understand Barry more and more. He couldn't help but wonder how it would be when they had a child running around the place. They would need a bigger house.