As Claire emerged from the room, Carlos's gaze quickly honed in on the unmistakable signs of exhaustion etched across her face. The subtle motion of her hand rubbing her temples indicated the presence of a pounding headache, something that had come to substitute her waves of morning sickness for the past weeks.. Carlos couldn't help but pity the young woman, recognizing the weariness that often accompanied political engagements, especially, considering the additional challenge of carrying growing babies while navigating her through the questions of a bunch of ignorant politicians.

"You ok, Red?" Carlos asked sympathetically, as she approached him with a surprised look.

"You are still here!" Claire said, surprised. "I thought I told you to go back since this was going to be a long meeting."

Carlos shrugged.

"I am supposed to be watching your back," Carlos replied. "How do I do that if I am not around?"

"You sound like Leon," Claire sighed. "I am ok. The meeting was more tedious than I expected since there were a lot of redundant questions. Now the headache is killing me, and the nausea is coming back."

"You know, maybe they would be a little more considerate if they knew about the issue," Carlos suggested.

"Maybe," Claire replied. "Or maybe they will snitch me to Mobius and the next thing we have is another attack."

"Fair point. Are you done here? Because you look like you could use a break and probably some food."

"Yeah, I don't think they will taunt me with more questions for the time being," Claire nodded. The woman sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Right, you don't look too chirpy. Need anything for the headache?"

"Nothing I can take. It's fine. I'll get some rest when I get home and hopefully, this hellish headache will go away."

"Well, sure. Our next stop will be your place anyway, but I don't suppose your husband is making dinner, is he? How about we stop for take-out? The man needs to eat too."

"Your treat?" Claire snorted.

"Sure, but I expect your husband to return the favor at some point."

"Of course, but he needs to recover first," Claire snickered. "Before that, it might be a little difficult."

"I'm sure he'll be up for action in no time. I mean, if he's like your brother, his regenerative skills might rival a BOW."

"Oh, very funny," Claire said, rolling her eyes, and Carlos chuckled softly.

"Just saying. You don't call him "super-agent" for nothing, do you?"

"Pretty much it's the same way you call Jill super cop, I am sure."

"Touche," Carlos smirked. The two got into the car, and Carlos drove it out of the parking lot and took onto the main street."So, what's today's craving?"

"Frankly, I don't have much appetite today," Claire sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "That meeting killed any wish I had for food."

"That bad?" Carlos asked. "I don't think I've ever seen you affected by those."

"I guess hormones have messed up with my bureaucratic immunity," Claire said. She turned to her cell phone, typed a quick message, and leaned back into her seat with her eyes closed.

Carlos couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for the young woman. He knew that the past few days had been nothing short of arduous for Claire, yet she had chosen to shoulder the burden silently. She had gone to great lengths to clear Leon and Helena's names in front of the high-ranking executives, even facing stubborn opposition from one particularly adamant individual. This person insisted that both agents were potentially contaminated with a dangerous biological agent and needed to be subjected to strict surveillance.

The entire plot seemed like a load of nonsense to Carlos. Aside from a few minor injuries, neither Leon nor Helena showed any significant deviation from their usual selves. It was clear to him that this particular individual harbored a personal grudge against them, and he believed their so-called "cautious" stance was merely a cover for their personal issues.

Claire found herself collaborating closely with Dr. Chambers to debunk the notion of a potential epidemic agent involved in the Waterford incident. Both ladies worked tirelessly to gather evidence and analyze the situation. Their findings pointed to a different explanation: a psychoactive chemical agent that had either been intentionally released or had accidentally leaked from one of the labs.

As Claire put it, she was a virologist, not a chemist, so things were a little more complicated than usual, thus the investigations were going slow, which seemed to be fueling up these tiresome meetings. Some of them even seemed to accuse her of stalling on behalf of her husband's sake.

"Right," Carlos sighed. "They are still doubting you?"

"Don't they always?"

"I don't know. Since they call you for all those outbreak investigations, one would think they would trust your words."

"Well, they usually would, if not for Andrew Mercer. His dislike for Leon wins over my scientific reputation."

"Ah, that's why I don't like politics," Carlos grunted. "What's the deal with him and Kennedy?"

"Who knows? I guess Leon's charms aren't that effective on males after all."

"Or... maybe it is the contrary. Perhaps his charms are so good that the guy is spiteful that he couldn't win him over," Carlos said, wagging his brows at her with a smirk.

Claire snorted, shaking her head. She pulled out the tablet from her bag and began scrolling through it.

"Don't read on the car," Carlos advised. "You'll get dizzy."

"After morning sickness," Claire said, reading some files. "Motion sickness is nothing. Rebecca sent in that last chemistry report. Whatever it is, it seems to be some sort of artificial pheromone."

"A pheromone? Aren't those...a sexual thing?"

"Although pheromones are commonly associated with sexual attraction and mating behavior in animals, they serve other important functions as well, including communication," Claire explained, her thoughts focused on the topic. "In the animal kingdom, pheromones are utilized to indicate alarm, establish dominance, or demarcate territorial boundaries. In humans, it is believed that certain pheromones play a role in social bonding and can influence our mood and behavior. While the exact mechanisms and effects of pheromones in humans are still being explored, there is evidence to suggest that they can have subtle yet significant impacts on our interactions and relationships.".

"So the people in Waterford got affected by a human pheromone that made them go hostile?"

" ''Aggressive'' would be the word, but that's the tricky part. The molecule we found is artificial, therefore, it was bioengineered and seems to have proteic properties.."

"So let me guess," Carlos grunted. "It's a complete jig-saw of other pheromones."

"More or less," Claire nodded, "Elucidating the structure is going to take some good effort, but since it artificial we can't pinpoint the source or determine if it was released or leaked out. Something is for sure, though. It definitely seems to incite aggressive behavior and its highly volatile."

"So you mean it could have been released like a gas grenade?"

"Cleaning team didn't find any canisters, so it was either released by some other means or it simply leaked out from one of the labs during the building collapse, or… something else…"

"You think a BOW could have released those?"

"In this line of work, nothing would surprise me anymore, right?"

"Didn't BSAA do a countdown on the BOWs in the place? There wasn't any new one, was there?"

"No, there wasn't..." Claire sighed. "Unless it was unaccounted."

"What?"

"It's nothing. I'm just tired."

The rest of the ride back to the apartment was uneventful, filled with a comfortable silence. They made a quick stop at a local shop to grab some food, and soon they were back in the apartment. Leon was engrossed in his work on the laptop, appearing much more composed than before. It seemed that Carlos's lighthearted comment about Leon's impressive recovery speed held some truth after all.

As they entered the apartment, Leon warmly greeted Carlos. The exchange of looks between the two men spoke volumes, a silent understanding passing between them. Leon then shifted his attention back to Claire, his gaze softening as he focused on his wife.

"You look tired," Leon said with a frown. "What did they make you do at the meeting?"

"Just the usual," Claire shrugged. The three sat around the coffee table, and prepared to eat. "I feel better after ranting it off on Carlos."

"Hey, I am all ears, and if you need to throw off some punches, I don't mind, either."

"Really? Not sure your punch bag line will get you many ladies, Oliveira," Leon snickered. "And Claire's punches can rival Chris's."

"How do you even know? I've never punched you," Claire complained.

"No, but I've seen you punch."

Leon and Carlos laughed, and Claire rolled her eyes.

"It must be genetics. Redfield punched me once by mistake; it hurt like hell," Carlos laughed. "And Claire punched me the very first time we met."

"She did?" Leon snorted. "What did you do to deserve that?"

"I did nothing," Carlos said dramatically. "I was just going to ask her if she needed help."

"He was a mercenary working for the guerilla, and we were in a dark jungle. How was I supposed to know if you were a friend or a crazy psychopath? It was self-defense."

Carlos laughed jovially. Yes, the circumstances of their meeting hadn't been the best ones. At the time, they were more or less on opposing sides, but they ended up warming up to each other. Carlos didn't regret befriending Claire that day.

"Well, young lady. You always manage to find trouble in your way," Carlos laughed.

"I don't," Claire pouted. "It is trouble, who finds me first."

"Now that I think about it, weren't you in trouble the first time we met, too?" Leon said with a smirk. " Getting cornered by zombies at a gas station?"

"I heard whimpering," Claire said. "I thought someone needed help. How was I supposed to know there would be zombies in there?"

The group laughed.

"I forgot you were in Raccoon that day, too. We missed each other by a few minutes."

"Yeah," Leon nodded. "Honestly, we could have used a hand."

"Yeah, well. We had our hands a little tied up, too."

"Tyrant?"

"Well, you could say so. That fucking bastard was a Tyrant, right?"

"Nemesis?" Claire asked. "Oh, yeah. He was. I don't envy you. He was far worse than Mr. X."

"And let's not get into the Lickers," Leon chuckled.

"Ah, I didn't see any. I did get myself knocked down by a Hunter, though."

"Ah, Hunters. Don't even remind me of them. Had several encounters with them in Antarctica."

"You didn't mention that in the email you sent," Leon said, frowning.

"What? Would you have come to rescue me?"

"I would, if I'd had the chance. Got my hands tied up by feds, it was lucky I managed to reach Chris."

"And I highly appreciate that. You have no idea how bad it was to be trapped on an island with an obnoxious kid who couldn't stop staring at my butt."

"What? Both Leon and Carlos grunted. The first one sounded more annoyed than the latter. Carlos had to swallow a snicker as he saw the agent's expression.

"Teenagers. You can imagine how it went."

"Ok, you didn't mention that before."

"It wasn't relevant," Claire shrugged. "All in all, he was annoying. But he was an ally, and I'm really sorry he had to die."

"Burnside? " Leon asked.

"Oh, right. I should have known you read that report," Claire sighed.

"Looking back at it. You sure have had your share of terrorist shit."

"Yup, and somehow it usually ends with me getting kidnapped or trapped somewhere. Bad luck I guess..."

"That's not funny," Leon sighed. "Hopefully, that won't ever happen again."

"With you as my husband," Claire laughed. "They would have to be suicidal. Oh..."

Claire picked up her phone and frowned.

"What?" Carlos asked.

"No, nothing. Results of a test I was running..."

"Sounds like bad news."

"Depends on how you look at it. We found something with the little samples we had from Chris's excursion from last time."

"Oh?"

"Well, the samples had a high concentration of progesterone, estrogen, and oxytocin... "

"I'm not an expert but doesn't it usually point to..." Carlos said. "Pregnancy?"

Carlos saw Leon's expression darken, and truly he couldn't blame him.

"Either that or they were using fertility treatments, at least," Claire sighed. "I told Saya to run some extra tests to corroborate the most likely scenario."

"And so?" Leon asked.

"Inconclusive," Claire sighed. "It could be any of guessed scenarios."

"So, they could have been testing on pregnant women?" Leon asked.

Carlos frowned, sharing the agent's disgust. Claire sighed before saying.

"Could be, or maybe they were using hormonal treatments, or who knows. Although I don't want to put myself as Mobius, as a scientist, if I were in their position, I would also be attempting to address the fertility issue of LyMorphs, given that it is one of their limitations."

"So you think they might have been trying some fertility treatments to see if they could overcome the infertility problem?" Leon asked.

"Without a subject to corroborate whether there was a fetus, we can only speculate..." Claire shrugged.

"Well, it seems you two already beat them out at that, and you didn't even need help," Carlos scoffed, making Claire throw a cushion at him.

The man caught it with a smirk and put it aside.

"Carlos has a point," Leon said thoughtfully. "I was already worried what could happen if Mobius found out about the babies, but knowing they are actively looking into the matter makes things even more critical."

Claire rested her hand thoughtfully on her growing belly, a gentle reminder of the life they were nurturing together. As Carlos contemplated the situation, he couldn't help but notice the tension that surrounded the mention of Mobius. The bitterness in Leon and Chris's voices whenever the organization came up was palpable, indicating a deep-rooted animosity. While Carlos had never personally dealt with Mobius, he had heard enough from Claire and her friends to know that their encounters with the group were harrowing tales of survival. He couldn't help but wonder just how horrifying the events truly were, knowing that the stories he had heard likely only scratched the surface of the gruesome reality they had faced.

"Don't worry. There's no way I'm letting those bastards come near you," Leon said.

"Not that I doubt you," Claire sighed. "Rather, that worries me. Considering how dangerous it could be. I don't fancy being a widow."

"You underestimate me," Leon scoffed.

"I don't. That's why I worry."

"Fairly speaking, those guys will need to be suicidal to try to kidnap you. I doubt the president is more protected than you."

"I wouldn't know," Claire chuckled. "Leon, what do you think?"

Leon rolled his eyes, and Carlos guessed there was some inner joke.

"Jokes aside. Perhaps we are worrying over nothing. It might be a coincidence, and for all we know, there is no way they'd know I'm pregnant."

"For now," Carlos said. "Unless you're planning to go missing for a few months. When that bump has grown big enough , you'll have issues trying to hide it."

"We'll figure something out. I mean, my husband is an agent from the secret service and my brother is an elite soldier for an antiterrorist organization. I'm sure we'll work out some tricks, right?"

"I've got some back up plans, yes," Leon nodded. "For the time being though, I'll need you to watch over her."

"Hey, no need to ask me that," Carlos scoffed. "It's a job I'm happy to take."

"How come I have a pack of men worrying about my safety 24/7?"

"A pack?" Leon said, frowning. "Should I worry?"

"No,it should be the other way around. You didn't mention meeting Angela Miller. She came to the audience today."

"Angela? Why?"

"Give testimony of the events," Claire replied. "She seemed hopeful to meet you. I can't say I didn't see her disappointment."
"Yeah, we met Angela during the outbreak. I didn't mention it because I figured it was important."

"Who's that? Ex-girlfriend?" Carlos asked.

"Why does everyone assume that?" Leon said, rolling his eyes.

"It's your fault, for your flirting antics," Claire replied. "Angela was the sister of a man named Curtis Miller. He worked for Wilpharma. He wanted to expose the company's dirty laundry and ended up getting infected by the G-virus."

"Sounds like you were there."

"I was. I think that was the first time we saw each other after Racoon, right, Leon?" Claire asked.

"Yeah, our contact was limited to mails at the time. You were finishing college and I was on heavy training with the government."

Carlos looked up with a hint of curiosity. He had heard snippets of the story from Saya, but he still wanted to know how exactly did the two people sitting across from him grow so close to each other to end up marrying.

"Yeah, I never asked, but how much in contact were you after the event?"

"Uhm, I think it was a little limited," Claire admitted. "We did some sporadic phone calls, but Leon was always busy flying around the globe."

"Me? What about you?"

"Face to face meetings were rare. I think the next time we met was in…White House?"

"Yeah, let's not talk about that…"

"Why? Another ex-girlfriend situation?" Carlos asked.

"Mmmm…" Claire said thoughtfully. "Debatable. If you consider me ex-girlfriend material."

"What?"

"We had a fall apart over some differences in philosophy," Claire shrugged. "Leon had other views."

"That's her nice way of saying I was an idiot."

"Ok, so were you?"

"I was, but it took me like 10 years to figure it out."

"So you two broke up."

"Break up sounds a little too romantic. I think we weren't on the wave back then."
"We just stopped talking for a while."

"And then gave me some reason and we patched up," Claire shrugged. "Of course that was after I got myself kidnapped, I think."

"First or second time?"

"I think first. You were running around chasing Ada at the time."

"I wasn't chasing Ada, I was chasing Simmons," Leon said, rolling his eyes. "It was Chris who was chasing Ada."

"Right…"

"Are we having this talk again?"

"I don't know, are we?"

Carlos looked at the couple who seemed to be exchanging a silent conversation with their gazes. Perhaps he had missed the memo, or there was some part in the story that Saya had not told him.

"Ok, I'm getting confused now."

"Don't worry. You're not missing anything. Our ''love story'' isn't that interesting," Claire shrugged as she finished her food.

"Well, I don't know what it is about, but if it is in the past I wouldn't duel too much on it, right?"

"True," Claire nodded. "Uhg…"

Claire grabbed her head and grimaced.

"What's wrong?" Leon asked. The heavy note of worry was clear in his voice.

"Oh, nothing; just my headache. I don't know what I prefer anymore. Headaches or morning sickness."

"Don't summon it, or you'll end up having both at the same time."

"Don't curse me, Carlos."

Carlos shrugged, his hands raised in a gesture of surrender. His eyes met Leon's, and he saw the worry in the blond's gaze. It was a subtle indication for Carlos to step aside, allowing the couple to have their space and time. Recognizing the unspoken cue, Carlos nodded and quietly withdrew, giving them the solitude they needed.

"Well, I should go and leave you to rest," Carlos said, standing up. "No need to see me out. I can do that myself."

"Right," Claire sighed. "I need to go to the Alexander Institute tomorrow. There's a set of samples that Rebecca needs, do you mind picking them up tomorrow?"

"Sure, I don't mind," Carlos shrugged. "But are you sure you can deal with that after the marathon from today?"

"Oh, please. I prefer spending my hours in the peaceful lab rather than dealing with a bunch of politicians."

"Alrighty. Ah, you are leaving for Chicago in a couple days right? Do you need me to drive you to the airport?"

"That would be helpful," Leon nodded. "I'll mail you the details later."

"Sure, get some rest, both of you. I'll see you tomorrow."

With that, Carlos made his way out of the apartment, leaving the pair to themselves.