"Hey, Leon, do you have any siblings?"

"Huh?" He finished filleting the side of bass before he looked up at Ashley. "Yeah, a sister. Why?"

"You seem like you'd be a pretty cool brother. You know all about shotguns and fishing." Ashley shrugged. "My brother is great, but he's just into football." Her cheeks suddenly flared, and she tucked hair back from her face in a self-conscious gesture he'd noticed before. "Not that I think of you that way—"

To spare her, Leon looked back down at the fish he was cleaning, flipping it to fillet the other side. Yeah, he was getting an idea of how she thought of him. Maybe her obvious attraction should have embarrassed him, but he couldn't blame her for having a strong emotional response to the fact that he was saving her life. Besides, she was so damn cute.

"Valorie is two years younger than me," he said. This wasn't the first time Ashley had conjured the image of his little sister's face. Of course, he knew better than to say that and hurt Ashley's feelings. "She lives in Ohio with her husband."

"Are you close?"

"We used to be. I haven't seen her much since she got married." It wasn't Val's marriage that had separated them, but knowing she had Patrick made it easier for Leon to justify immersing himself in his work. Aside from Christmas, he hadn't been home at all in the past few years. "Maybe if I get some leave, I'll go visit."

He held out a hand, and Ashley passed him one of the skewers he'd trimmed from a sapling outside the tumbledown hut where they'd found cover for a small fire.

"You should. Bet she misses you." Ashley watched, fascinated, as he threaded the meat on the skewer, then propped it over the fire on another pair of branches. Leon wouldn't have bothered with cooking it for only himself, but he imagined asking Ashley to eat raw fish would have been more demoralizing than restorative.

"You're really good at that," she said, admiration in her voice. "Did you camp a lot growing up?"

"Yeah, in Boy Scouts, actually." Back then, the idea of survival had still had romance to it, before the reality had proved itself much more grim.

"Hmm." She gazed at him thoughtfully, and he supposed she was trying to imagine a younger version of him in a scout's uniform.

"Cub Scout Kennedy must have been really cute," she said, confirming his suspicion.

Embarrassed at last, Leon turned aside and started on the second fish.

"When we get home, I'll put in a good word for you," Ashley said after a moment. Her voice had a slight waver in it, and Leon wondered if it was from amusement or contrition. Either way, it was charming. "I'll tell Dad you earned a vacation. But I'll need you to do me a favor, too."

"Yeah?" He glanced up, intrigued.

"Tell Valorie I said hello, okay?"

Leon smiled. "I can do that."

Jolted out of sleep by a cell-phone ringtone, Leon stared at an unfamiliar ceiling for a few moments before realizing where he was—the guest room of his sister and brother-in-law. Then he threw out an arm and scooped up the phone from the bedside table, mentally cursing the fact that evidently StratCom couldn't get along without him even during a few weeks of well-deserved vacation.

He blinked at the caller ID display, momentarily blinded by the backlight. The screen resolved into a single name: Ashley.

Annoyance melted, he flicked open the phone and held it to his ear. "Ashley, what's wrong?" he asked, sleep still heavy in his voice.

"Leon? Nothing. I'm sorry I woke you up."

He could hear relief in her tone. "I don't mind," he said. "You all right?"

"Yeah. I just—" He heard her draw a deep breath. "—just needed to hear your voice. I had a bad dream about—" There was another silence. "I wanted to know you're okay."

He understood; she'd dreamed about losing him. He'd had dreams like that, too. They were real enough that he woke in sweat or tears.

"I'm doing great. Still here with Val." He swung his legs out of bed and then crossed to the bedroom door. It would be better to take this conversation downstairs so he didn't wake Valorie and Patrick.

In something much closer to her usual tone, Ashley asked, "What'd you do today?"

"Patrick and I replaced some siding on the house."

"Woah, they're putting you to work."

"Uh-huh. It was a good day." He'd enjoyed doing something domestic and normal for once. "Val dug out a bunch of old tapes of our favorite movies growing up, and we watched one." At the bottom of the stairs, Leon turned aside into the living room and clicked on a lamp, but he didn't sit down. Sitting, at night, was letting your guard down, and he knew better than that.

"Oh, what movie?"

"Big Trouble in Little China."

"I've heard of that."

"It's a classic. Cheesy action movie with Kurt Russell as the wisecracking hero upstaged by his sidekick. I'll show you some time."

"It's a deal."

There was a pause, one that Leon didn't rush to fill. It was enough to know Ashley waited at the other end of the call. Eventually he said, "I told Val hello from you."

"Really? Good." He thought Ashley sounded like she was smiling now. "What did she say?"

"She thought you must be the Ashley Graham who's the president's daughter, but I told her I could neither confirm nor deny that."

Even mediated by the phone connection, her laugh sounded just as Leon remembered, and for a moment she seemed physically present. "Wow, so sneaky," she teased.

"I dunno. I think she's figured it out. She does know I work for your dad."

"Uh-huh."

"Actually, she loved knowing I'd been assigned to find you. Obviously I can't tell her about my work, but since you'd asked me to say hello as a personal favor, I thought that was different."

"That was sneaky," she said, serious and approving this time.

"So how are classes going?" Leon asked. "Did you make up that English project?"

She heaved a sigh. "Not yet. I had two midterms last week. I'm hoping I can get to it over fall break. You know, along with like three other late assignments."

"I believe in you. The girl who can outsmart a crypt full of live armor won't have any trouble with a few essays."

She giggled. "Thanks. Hey, you don't suppose your merchant friend could hook me up with a research paper on Shakespearean comedy, do you?"

"I wouldn't rule it out."

"An odd request, stranger," she said, dropping into a convincing imitation of the mysterious arms dealer's singular accent. "But you'll find that for the right price, I can procure almost anything."

Leon laughed. "That's pretty good."

"Haha, yeah?" Ashley yawned, long and vocal. "Sorry. Guess I should let you go back to bed," she said with obvious reluctance.

"Hey, I'm not hanging up till you do. You sure you're okay now?"

"Yeah, I promise." She sighed wistfully, and Leon knew she was simply sorry to hang up on him. "I should go to sleep, too. My alarm's gonna go off way too soon."

"You can call me tomorrow," Leon said.

"Okay." She hummed in amusement. "You mean today? It's three."

"Right. Later today."

"I will." She paused, as if there was more she could say. "Thank you, Leon," she finished at last.

"Any time, Baby Eagle. Sleep well."

"You, too." Ashley's voice was warm. "Good night."

Leon smiled as he snapped the phone shut. Making Ashley happy felt like one of the more worthwhile things he'd done lately.

He turned, and there was Valorie standing at the foot of the stairs. In the half light, her blue eyes looked dark and intent as she watched him.

"Sorry for waking you up," he said.

"It's okay." She combed a handful of tangled honey-brown hair back from her face. "I just wanted to make sure you weren't getting called away for work in the middle of the night."

"Nah, it was personal."

"Baby Eagle, huh?" She smiled. "Is that Ashley Graham?"

He stared at her for a second, startled. "Er, that was her mission code name," he finally stammered, aware that context for the nickname didn't make the last few moments of his phone conversation any less revealing.

Her face broke into a triumphant grin. "Oh my word, Leon, you've got a crush on the president's daughter."

"I'm twenty-seven, not fourteen."

"Yeah, and you're blushing."

"No, I'm not." Perhaps it was a lie, but only one by way of wishful thinking.

"Did she ask for your number?" Valorie prompted, eyes sparkling. "She's in love with you, isn't she."

Leon had to fight back a smile at this matter-of-fact pronouncement. "She's had a rough time after what happened."

Valorie shook her head, dismissing his evasion. "You're sweet, Leon, but I don't believe you give your number to just anybody. It's three a.m. I'm lucky if you answer my calls during the day."

"I'd pick up if you called me at three, Val."

"You're avoiding my question," she said, clearly amused.

"Was it a question? I thought you had it all figured out," he teased, easily falling into the lighthearted banter that was so natural with his sister even after years away.

"Yeah, pretty sure I do. A handsome special agent sweeps her off her feet in his strong arms and saves the day. She's smitten."

"Damn, I should let you write my reports."

She smirked. "Bet they'd be more interesting to read than yours."

"Sure, losing my job would be real interesting."

"Oh?" Valorie raised her brows. "What else should that report say?"

"Nothing." He knew he was definitely blushing now; his cheeks felt hot.

She giggled. "That's not what your face says. Did Ashley kiss you?"

"That's classified."

"I see." Crossing into the living room, Valorie sat down on the edge of the sofa and looked up at him with hopeful anticipation. "Well, what's Ashley like? Or is that classified, too?"

He crossed his arms and regarded her with mock sternness. "Depends on why you want to know. I'm afraid I can't grant you that kind of security clearance just so you can tease your big brother."

"Leon," she pleaded. "You know I'm not gonna tease you."

Yeah, he knew. She wanted him to be happy. Thankfully, for once he didn't have to hide the fact that he wasn't.

Leon sank down on the opposite end of the sofa and angled himself to face his sister. "Ashley's really cute," he said. "She laughs at my jokes. She can drive a bulldozer."

"What?" Valorie looked at him in amused disbelief.

"I'm serious. She really took to it; the girl's a menace with a wrecking ball."

"Not your typical damsel in distress, then?"

He shook his head, smiling. "She tried to knock my head off when I found her." Momentarily annoyed as he'd been to find himself attacked by the girl he was trying to rescue, he'd readily admired her courage.

Valorie laughed. "That's not what she— I mean, in the press footage she looks so . . . dainty." Leon wondered what other words Valorie had considered before settling on that one.

"Yeah, she's not what I expected." Nothing about the girl in the photos, with her perfect face and expensive clothes, had said that she would be prepared to handle the horrors they'd discovered in that godforsaken village. "The stuff we faced—I wouldn't have blamed her if she'd been paralyzed by it all. But she was really brave. She even put in stitches for me."

"Oof." Valorie winced. She never liked thinking of him getting hurt.

Leon swept a hand through his hair, a half-conscious movement that brought his fingertips against the scar that was physical proof of the different ways Ashley had mended him.

"Ashley never acted like I was only her ticket out of there," he mused. That had been perhaps the most unexpected thing about her. "I had to remind her to keep running and let me look out for myself. She was gonna get hurt worrying about me."

"Aww, really?" Valorie smiled warmly. "Okay, you can like her."

He laughed. "Glad I've got your permission."

"I just want to be sure she deserves you."

She said it lightly, but Leon knew how deeply she meant it. Valorie had been all holy outrage when his last real girlfriend had dumped him, two months before he went to Raccoon City. He'd known even then that he'd been partly at fault for dating a girl who didn't want him to be a cop, but to nineteen-year-old Valorie, Sarah had been wholly to blame for not valuing everything that he was.

Maybe that was part of the reason he'd stayed away: he hadn't wanted Valorie to see the dark, broken parts of him that were no longer intrinsically noble or heroic. He'd been afraid of disappointing her. But maybe that had been foolish of him. Ashley had glimpsed those inner wounds and still found him worthy. Surely it would be the same with his own sister.

Valorie's eyes turned soft, thoughtful. "I'm glad you're looking out for her. I'm sure Ashley needs someone who understands what she's been through."

"I just want her to be happy," Leon said. Even if it turned out that all he could do for Ashley was ensure she healed and moved on, it would be . . . well, almost enough for him. "She doesn't deserve to be messed up for the rest of her life because of what happened."

From Valorie's wistful look, Leon wondered if she was thinking the same thing about him. Ashley was the same age he had been at Raccoon City. Would things have been different if he'd had someone to lean on afterwards?

Tucking her feet up on the sofa, Valorie turned to face him more directly. "Leon, what I said earlier about Ashley's feelings: I didn't mean I think she cares about you just because you saved her. You're a good man."

"Thanks, Val." Ashley was the first person in a long while who had made him feel that he was good enough. Maybe if he'd stayed in touch with Valorie, he wouldn't have needed reminding.

"I mean it," she insisted warmly. "You're kind and loyal, and you do the right thing even when nobody else will. A girl doesn't have to be traumatized to fall in love with you."

"Now you're trying to embarrass me again," he said, touched and self-conscious at once.

"C'mon, you're tough; you can survive a compliment."

He laughed. "Maybe."

After a few moments of comfortable silence, she stood. "I'm going back to bed. See you in the morning."

"I'll be here," Leon said, rising as well.

Her expression turned mischievous. "If you're not, I know where to look for you."

"Hmm?"

"Ashley goes to Harvard, right?"

"Yeah, but—" He smiled, pleased with himself. "I already visited on my way here."

"Oh, I know. You were on a flight from Boston."

Leon huffed, amused. "Nothing gets past you, does it?"

"Not really." Valorie gazed up at him, and for a moment, he saw the adoring little sister proudly bidding him farewell on the day he had left for his first post at RPD. "I'm glad you're home," she told him.

"Me too. Sorry I was away so long." If he had needed her, surely she had needed him.

"It's okay." She lifted her arms, and he stepped into her hug. She was shorter than he remembered, or maybe it was simply that the only person he could remember the feel of holding was taller.

"I love you," Valorie said, squeezing him tight.

Leon nudged her head with his chin. "Love you, too."

Author's note:

I love the idea that Leon is so gentle with Ashley because he's got a younger sister. While the collective canon seems to be that he doesn't have any immediate family, I think it's interesting and equally tragic if he does have family who worry about him and he just doesn't see them much anymore. But as you can probably tell, I like happy endings.

With his cheesy quips and unflappable confidence, OG Leon seems cut from the cloth of '80s action heroes. That's why I instantly loved him. I think it makes sense that even remake Leon grew up on those movies; it would explain his sense of humor.

I'm pretty certain the game's black bass are not native to Europe. I guess the game explains the fish as artificially stocked in the lake, but that seems like an irresponsible wildlife practice. Still, there's enough other weird shit happening in Valdelobos that the fish are the least of anyone's worries.

This story fits with my other Resident Evil 4 fics, which are, in order:

Shelter

Incarnation

Absolution

Redemption

Homecoming