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.)
Holding his crying daughter in his arms, in a room his triplets were transferred in since they do not need to be in the NICU anymore and for him to have privacy to spend time to care for the three...he had been doing it for a day now without any assistance or help since the only available other hand is Chris and he is busy with monitoring Claire and occasionally leaving for his job, he had volunteered to help but Leon told him that he could handle it- and he regrets not taking the offer as he now struggles with only one newborn. Leon is standing up as he bounces and sways her to hopefully calm her down, he doesn't know what he's doing yet and the nurses have taught him how to change their diaper, bottle feed them, carry them over the past day and still- he can't seem to make his daughter to stop crying for minutes. He may consider himself a professional top secret agent of this country who may think that he knows everything...but when it comes to his own children- he can't apply those skills he was taught at the military training, the years of missions were useless and he is back at the stage of being a rookie.
"Shh now princess, daddy's got you so please stop crying now.", the new dad cooed at his little girl but still to no avail that she stopped, while both his sons are well behaved in their respective temporary cribs, "What's wrong my girl, you've just woken up, been fed, burped, and I've changed your diaper.", he continues to bounce and sway her as he pats her back gently, he sighs, he loved his daughter with all his heart but he's too exhausted now. He hasn't slept for almost a day as he had filled up a bunch of paperwork and certificates for his children yesterday so he had nothing to worry about tomorrow when he brings them home, also been trained to handle his kids for the time left of that day and him going back and forth Claire's apartment to get them the baby car seats he bought with her...he was also thinking about Claire who hasn't woken up still, "Is it because I'm not mom, Chloe? But dad is doing his best baby girl...and I hope mom will be here soon to help dad with you because you seem to be the whiniest compared to your brothers.", he teased the newborn despite the tiny human not understanding a word he said.
But also not noticing the other person in the room behind him who had been there for minutes now being too focused on his daughter as his back was faced to the door, the most unexpected one so far, "Guess she took after her dad then...", Leon's ears perked up as he hears the familiar voice and he turns his head gently and the rest of his body follows while he secures his daughter but not too tight in his arms still distressed and the woman speaks once more, "Cause I don't ever remember their mother being that "whiny".", she remarks and he could only scoff and grin at her.
"You won't ever change, won't you Jill?", he replied to her while still bouncing his baby lightly.
Jill smiled at him, shaking her head, "I can't see why I should to be honest...and you guys need at least one friend who could do so.", he giggles at her before going back to look down at his crying newborn, while she noticed her friend struggling, "Do you need any help rookie?"
"Rookie?", Leon repeated her words, confused as to why she called him that.
Jill crossed her arms, gesturing at him, "Well...you're a newbie father aren't you? Is there a problem I referred to you like that?", she asked, and if he isn't comfortable then she will stop.
"N-no, it's just- I haven't been called that since 2004...and I'm just now realizing how old I am to be a rookie dad.", he stated, gazing at his daughter and turning to his sons once to glance at them.
Jill nodded, understanding his point- they are in their early-mid 40's...Leon and Claire- and only now did they have kids, Jill is also reminded her age, "Don't tell me that Leon...makes me sick to say that I'm older than y'all...", she joked and they laughed a bit.
"But...you still look young tho.", he remarked, and she can't comment on that- she looked young...ages slower because of a bad reason where she almost died, only she shakes her head to observe the baby in Leon's arms, "Anyways, aside from your whiny ass, she inherited your looks...Claire may have carried her for 8 months but it looks like you did all the work.", she commented and Leon shaked his head, not agreeing.
"Well- I don't want to take that much credit...plus if you look at the boys, they're very much Redfields.", he says, gesturing at his behaved sons. Jill walks over to the babies behind Leon, but looked at him again for approval that she can do so and he permitted her, focusing on them as she looks at both boys, "I can't deny that they do, but the youngest looks like both of you combined and the other...he does look like Chris.", she said pointing at the oldest of the three.
"Well- it's a good thing Claire named him after his uncle...he's Christopher Lee.", Leon shared, not recalling that his friend already knows as Claire had told them the same day she went into labor...
Jill turned to her friend, "I know Leon, Claire told us the same day she gave birth, if you don't remember because you were too busy daydreaming about your personal problems...that's right, we all noticed that you were mentally absent that day, it's not just her...and you probably wouldn't even notice til' now if she didn't bleed to childbirth.", she said the truth, wanting to talk to him about it, the same exact time Chloe had started to calm down from her long cry and had slowly transitioned into sleeping peacefully in her father's arms, much to his relief as he kisses her small head before walking over to place her back in her crib in between her brothers, but after it all, he looked back at Jill, sitting down at the hospital bed, gazing down at the floor as he grips his hands on the side of the sheets.
"Claire needed you that day, after you disregarded her for a week-", she was interrupted.
He looked up at her, this topic had him so guilty for weeks and he's been struggling with it being on his mind while he physically had to be strong for his children despite his worries on their mother, "I know- Jill...and I am very guilty about it, that's why I'm doing my best now for our kids while she can't...and may I remind you- you didn't see how much I panicked when she bled...you weren't there so stop-"
"Because you were required to panic- she was having your children, then what after that? Once she does wake up...you'll just leave her all alone again?", she adds, as if interrogating him, she doesn't like how he treated Claire those past days, where the woman would contact her and vent out to her about Leon not being himself, although she didn't tell her the reason, but Jill thinks that she already knows what it is about, "She was genuinely worried about you, even asking me if you contacted me and if some crazy possibility you opened up about your current situation to Jill Valentine...but she played it cool with you...if you even noticed, thinking about all that and stressing while 8 months pregnant with triplets- I can't imagine."
"...Please Jill- can we not argue in front of my kids...I don't want to either, but I understand if you're mad at me after what I did to Claire, I'm aware that I was in the wrong.", he begged her, he knows...she doesn't need to rub it in his face, but she was right, he didn't even think of how Claire felt during those days and it made him even more guilty than he already was, "I apologize for my words Leon but- Claire really needs me to speak for her right now, she's just too soft when it comes to her friends- Chris as well...but you should definitely see her bad side- cause she's much worse than her brother.", Jill quickly tried to loosen the tension with another threat as she sat beside Leon who seemed surprised about what she said.
"I think I may already have an idea of what her other side is like...I love her now Jill.", he remarked seriously as he glanced at her side, bobbing his head before looking at his children who are right in front of him, and by some miracle, they are all asleep now, also thinking if one of them inherited their parent's negative habits. "But will you love her if you knew her past?", she replied back and this caused Leon to raise his eyebrows.
"Claire- was popular amongst boys in her high school and college days...she was just that girl.", Jill unexpectedly shared and Leon turned his full attention to her as his ears perked up hearing this information for the first time ever. Seeing the man interested, she continues, "And she will in turn take the opportunity to date them one by one that you couldn't even count the amount of boys she had slept with...until Chris lectured her about it, he was the only one who could since their parents had already been dead for years...and I guess those boys just became her reoccurring coping mechanism whenever her brother wasn't there for her because of work, but she always said that he was enough and that she was the problem...that she wanted it. And even the bigger Redfield couldn't do anything about it so he lets her be.", she paused shaking her head, being Chris' old close friend, Jill was just like family to them and she witnessed almost all the sibling's hardships, from her partner's never ending addiction with smoking and the younger's pursues to be a manizer at such a young age.
Leon could only stare at Jill, processing what he had just found out about- Claire, that best friend, that girl he met in 1998, the one he had always pictured as the careful girl when it comes to love had been the opposite all along in her younger years? It was just too out of the picture for Leon to see that version of Claire...for her to have that kind of past before him that she never talked about. Yes, he knew that she might've dated her boss Neil Fisher or even knew of some of her previous boyfriends, and it was normal but- her? A man-eater? In no way in hell...but then again she did seduce him within the 24 hours that they've known each other and he can't deny that she was good at it- now he knows that it was not impossible...and considering that Jill was the one speaking- she never lies when it comes to the Redfields to whom she always described as stubborn.
"She was a wild one...but she's changed- and it stopped ever since you came into her life...", Jill's voice suddenly warmed up the tenseness she brought upon him, stopping about the topic of their comatosed friend as she had said too much, "Also going back- she's mentioned that she's gonna make me the godmother of one of the kids...just wanted to get that out there as well so we're transparent.", she stood up and also glanced at the babies one more time, "And it's still crazy to think that these kids are yours and Claire's, the two of you combined, never in my wildest dreams did I think you two would create such adorable little beings together...and I bet Chris is beyond thrilled that you finally did him the favor.", she said, referring to the inside joke they always have about the continuation of the Redfield bloodline, and Leon could only laugh, "Chris is- Chris, and I never imagined as well, but I can already see the three taking up a modeling career in the future."
Both adults laughed before going silent, "But jokes aside- tell me now after learning about her life before you came along, do you still love her? Will you still love her?", she asked the man, looking at his face, searching for an answer.
Leon turned his head to her, "I still love her, her past is in the past for a reason and it's best to leave it there...all that's important to me now is that she's Claire and she makes me happy."