Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Resident Evil characters, Capcom does. (this doesn't include the OC's that will be mentioned along the way.)
"They're all looking really healthy.", Dr. Scott remarks as she does a quick scan of the babies, before she turned the ultrasound machine off, it is the 3rd maternal check-up of Claire's pregnancy, the obstetrician gynecologist smiles at the soon to be mom and dad, "You're almost ready to meet your triplets Ms. Redfield, Mr. Kennedy. But I'm sorry to spoil the fun of the ultrasound scan, but today's check-up is more about the discussions now, to make sure that mom is healthy and ready to deliver in a few weeks.", Leon and Claire nods, listening attentively, she sat up from the bed with minor support from Leon and wipes her belly with paper towel to remove the remaining gel and she rolls her shirt down, it barely fits her now, well- all of her clothes pre-pregnancy doesn't fit her anymore as she usually likes fit tops, skinny jeans, and a pair of boots. Now she's so out of her usual fashion as she bought maternal clothes the last minute in her 7th month, she hadn't thought of buying earlier even though she knows she's going to grow bigger than those pregnant with a singleton, she couldn't even see her feet now, and both her breasts had gotten larger and rounder, that she had to buy H cup sizes, far from her original size which was just a D cup. She felt very heavy, that she has to support her belly with her hands every time she stands up, and she can't even lean down anymore, so she wears either slippers or sandals now. It's also embarrassing when she walks, she waddles and she hates it, but these are all the sacrifices she chose to have with her body the moment she continued the pregnancy, for her babies, and she doesn't regret it one bit.
The doctor asked for consent to touch her baby bump and examine certain sides, and she nodded. Leon on the other hand could only watch in curiosity as he sits on the stool behind Claire, seeing her physical appearance change within months was fascinating to him and also overwhelming, she had always been petite, never gained weight for the 23 years that he's known her, and also guilty once more. But sensing Claire's personality, she'll think more about others rather than her own self, but then again, he doesn't know what's going on in her mind at this moment or how she feels about her body changing. When Dr. Scott was done with the brief examination, she finally talks to them, "Seeing the physical examination earlier of Ms. Redfield...I will admit that your health kind of deteriorated compared to the last appointment and I advise you to still continue to eat the foods and take the supplements I've recommended you, considering that you're building up your health to prepare for your scheduled C-Section, we wouldn't want complications during the operation.", although a very direct and harsh statement, Claire takes it with a grain of salt, she's nervous, the mention of surgery makes her fearful, although she's had it several times before. But this operation is different since it's not only her, but also three other humans involved, her kids.
"Don't worry about the triplets, they will be okay, all A, B, and C seem to have the strength they need, who we need to focus on is you Ms. Redfield.", the doctor points out, Claire sighed of relief though, that motherly instinct already kicking in her system as she heard that her babies are healthy, she isn't worried about herself at all. Who's more worried about her is the man behind her, thinking of the possibilities of what might occur during the operation scares him more than the biggest of monsters, "Please Mr. Kennedy, once again- I'm asking you, look after the mother of your kids.", Leon concentrates on her words, at that instant, and he didn't know why he admitted, why he said that phrase, "I will-...I love her.", it just came out of his mouth and he was brought back to his right mind when she looked at him, her blue eyes looked at him, shocked and hopeful, soon realizing what he said, he stuttered, "I-I mean- of course I will...you're my friend, I care about you.", he took it back, oh how dumb he is, and he could see the light in Claire's eyes fade to gray, as she looks down, this made him confirm that she still does- love him. It is also awkward though, that now their doctor knows their real status now, they're not lovers- just friends, but she didn't mention it...it's none of her business anyways, she continued on to explain more about the procedure on the operation day, and advised them to contact her every week to update the OB/GYN about Claire's condition and none of them could focus after what he told about her, the lecture ended soon after and the appointment is done.
Leon and Claire are once again put in an uncomfortably silent scenario, as he drives carefully, while she looks out the car door window on the other side, they haven't spoken since they left the clinic and obviously, Leon can't let this happen again, especially when she needs to be in a good mood, as promised to her doctor, "Have you thought of any names yet?", he glanced quickly at Claire, and in the corner of his eye, he noticed her head turn towards him, "Names?", she asked, visibly not focused enough at what he meant, her mind was still back at the words he said earlier, it was such a big deal to her. He focuses on the road, glancing at her every once in a while, "For the babies...I think we should start discussing it now since we have three, have any ideas?", he asks once more.
Claire rubs her baby bump, looking down at it, "I haven't really thought of any yet...how about you?", Leon thinks for a second as if it was timing that he stopped at a traffic light that just turned red.
"Well- I have suggestions, and the ones I'm thinking of are somewhat combinations of our names.", he says excitedly, but she looked skeptical, "I'm thinking of C being the initial of their first names and L for their second names...what do you think?", he watches her, waiting for an answer as the traffic lights turn green and he grabs on the steering wheel, putting weight as well on the accelerator with his right foot.
"It's an okay idea, I'll go with it.", Claire smiles, "What names specifically do you have in mind though?", she gazed at his side profile, seeing him grin from ear to ear and his eyes smile, she loved seeing him become so cheerful, forgetting about her call back to what he said almost an hour ago.
He eased his speed a little to ponder like it's the most important thing for him, "I already have a name for our daughter-...Chloe. Sounds a bit like a modified Claire and Leon."
"You really picked out "modified" as the word to describe it?", Claire giggles, Leon's vocabulary sometimes is so hilarious, and he glances at her, "But yeah...I love the name- Chloe, it has a nice ring to it.", upon hearing her approval, Leon continued on excitedly, he had been thinking of names over the past few days, "And Lianne for her second name, sounds unique and a little bit like a feminine version of my name."
Claire thinks about it for a bit, it actually sounded good, she didn't expect that from him, "So it's Chloe Lianne Redfield- Kennedy?", by the way she said what the full name of their daughter will be gave Leon chills, it sounded beautiful, "It's a long name, but it sure does stand out, you're really good.", she remarks, and he blushed, he turned away from her, pretending to scratch his cheeks with his right hand, "For the boys though?", she questions him and he raised his eyebrows, "I think I'll give them for you to name.", as he returns his hand on the wheel.
"Alright then, but I'm noticing- your favoritism for your daughter is starting to show...and they're not even here yet.", she jokes, and he laughs a bit.
Turning the steering wheel, "You know what Claire- I've always wanted a daughter, unlike other men- I guess who prefers boys most of the time...but then again, I don't really care about gender, I just want my children to be healthy.". "So, back to the topic- you have boy names you like?...you need two first names and two second names exactly.", he asks her, while driving concentrately.
"The pressure is on.", Claire sits up straight in her seat, as she sighs and thinks, "I haven't thought of these names recently, but I have had these thoughts back when I was in my teens? 20s, like questions of...what am I gonna name my future daughter? My son if I ever do decide to have children.", she pauses for a second, catching her breath, "And the first one I have that I really wanted was Christopher...it's actually Chris' full name- because I want to honor my brother by naming my son after him. He's gone through a lot for me when our parents died, he stood up to be my third parent and he helped me shape up into everything that I am today- so yeah.", she nods, she had promised this to herself a long time ago, she didn't think she would be given the chance to have a son back then and gave up on the dream, but now it came true and she is more than happy to finally do it.
"That's a great name Claire, I just hope he won't take after his uncle's stubborness, but instead, his nobleness.", he states jokingly, but sincerely speaking he had also at some point looked up to Chris' ability to be determined and fearless at his job, but balanced by his caring and selfless personality, "But about our baby C?, what do you want to call our behaved boy?", Leon requests.
Claire giggles, shaking her head, "Clarke or Clarkson...those were the names that my parents planned to give me when they thought I was a boy- you know kinda like superman but with an e and with a son. And once I came out and I was a girl, they just quickly thought of a name that sounded like a female version of those and called me Claire.", she looked away and out of the window embarrassed, but Leon smiled at her little backstory.
"Never heard of that from Chris before, there's certainly a lot to know about you Redfields.", Leon remarks.
Claire turned back at him, "You have no idea...and if ever I was born as Clarke/Clarkson, I can imagine that I would've been as tall and masculine as Chris and I kinda like it.", and both adults laugh for a second before calming down.
"But seriously, no offense to Clarke but Clarkson...sounds better for the tiny superman in there.", Leon gestures his head towards her stomach and she also looked down and unexpectedly, they saw a big movement and it was very visible, Claire also flinched feeling it, "That was strong, I'm not going to lie."
"And just like that, he's already trying to tell us that he likes his name.", Leon once again focuses on the road, but his right arm extends to touch her belly, palm on her midsection, "Hey there Clarkson, mom and dad knows you like your name now, and we love to see you active, far from your usual self. But please don't kick your mom too hard, same with Christopher and Chloe alright?", he coos at his babies, while Claire is amused at him. He then starts stroking his hand on her abdomen unwittingly, as he reached her hand that was also on her belly, and now intentionally, Leon holds her hand, she didn't even mind it, and this time around, he did not let it go like he did before...and thinking about the moment back at the clinic when he unintentionally confessed his true feelings- he now regrets that he ever took it back.