Traveling through the desert means having to be good at adapting to your environment. During the days the scorching sun tends to try and melt you from the inside while at night it tries to suck all the warmth from your body. Turns out the end of the world just makes it harder to survive in the harsh environments. Lack of proper resources with the threat of death at every corner has made Claire more resilient to the horror of the world around her. As a leader of over thirty people, Claire has come to always expect the worst that could happen. Better to be prepared than not.
Yet even with thinking of every possible scenario she could muster Claire can honestly say nothing could ever have prepared her for Alice. A woman who appeared in a ball of fire saving her and the people who depend on her with ease. A woman who has bonded with the T-Virus and can control things with her mind. Who has better sight hearing and smell than any trained animal. Who can attack with such force and ease. A deadly weapon once sought for by Umbrella. A warrior, unlike anyone Claire has ever met before. One who only has to look in Claire's direction in order to make her heart race. Alice who always seems to surprise her.
Claire watches from a distance as Alice makes precision strikes with her kukris. The blades glitter as Alice twirls them with such speed that flashes are all she can see. K-mart sits on Alice's coat no doubt set up by the woman herself and watches in fascination at the way Alice's blades seem to form an extension of her arm rather than them being a separate entity. Claire has no doubt that Alice would be nearly unstoppable when faced with the undead. But seeing Alice like this. Seeing her look almost at peace as she works through her practiced movements like one would watch a dance. Just far more deadly.
It's almost hypnotizing to watch Alice so in her element without the threat of death hanging over her. Of course, K-Mart is just as effective as she is. K's eyes follow Alice's fluid strikes with nothing but admiration. Something Claire has grown to love on K-Mart. Yes, K had always looked at her and Carlos like that, but she had chalked that up to K looking up to her since she basically adopted her and she looks at Carlos like that because of the little crush she has on him. K-Mart is fond of everyone but the way she has taken to Alice surprised her and still worries her.
At first when Alice appeared K had been the first one of them other than Carlos and LJ who wasn't afraid of Alice. K's hero worship of the new woman had filled Claire with a sense of unease. Alice was dangerous. She was unpredictable. Claire had every right to be wary of the blonde. Not that K cared about that. She was team Alice from the moment she flew in on her motorbike and saved everyone.
After the first time, Claire had tried to warn the teenager to at least be careful when around Alice K-Mart also for the first time had shouted and lashed out at her before grabbing her backpack from her seat and storming over to where Alice was sleeping for the night. She watched from the front seat of her hummer as K through her bag to the ground and flopped down next to Alice who moved over on her blanket to better accommodate her new sleeping partner. She watched as K used quick and large hand gestures to vent to the older woman who seemed more than happy for K-Mart to do that.
When K was done Claire watched as Alice seemed to look over to her holding her gaze through the darkness before gently talking to K. To this day Claire doesn't know what Alice said but the next morning K-Mart apologized for what she said. But added she wasn't sorry for defending Alice.
Since that morning Claire had grown to accept that Alice was important to the teenager and tried to be more accommodating towards the older woman. An alliance. Alice only really interacted with K-Mart Carlos and LJ. She rarely talked during meetings other than offering suggestions on security or volunteering to do scavenging in the area. Betty had started to talk more to the blonde woman with LJ's encouragement. But other than that Alice stays away from everyone else. She doesn't eat with them. Doesn't join them around the campfire. She always stays apart from everyone.
The sound of laughter breaks Claire from her thoughts as she looks back towards K-Mart and Alice who are both now lying down on the sand. K is lying on top of Alice as she freely laughs about something while Alice tries to coax her back up but can't seem to get the words out between laughs.
It's the most open and happy Claire has ever seen Alice. The woman always seemed in a constant state of indifference but now seeing her smile and laugh with K-Mart does Claire comes to understand that Alice is lonely. Whenever she hangs around with Carlos LJ or K-Mart it's always away from the rest of the convoy. At first, she had thought that was due to Alice not really wanting to be around other people. That she didn't interact with anyone because she didn't really care for them.
But she was wrong. Alice didn't stay away because she didn't want to be around other people. She stayed away in order to protect herself from the rejection of them. To have to deal with them looking at her like they do. Like she's a freak or a monster. To have to deal with the constant whispers and looks.
Claire wants to hit herself for being so stupid. Of course, Alice would be wary of other people. Who would want to be around people who acted like you were about to snap and murder everyone. Fuck even their first conversation involved Claire telling Alice people were scared of her. If someone had told that to her she would have stayed away from everyone as well in order to give them some peace of mind.
K-Mart eventually manages to push herself up on to her feet and offers her hand for Alice. When both women are standing Alice messes with K's hair which has her laughing again as she bats the older woman's hands away. K looks and sounds happier than Claire has seen in years.
That is until Claire and Alice's eyes meet, and all that happiness seems to evaporate right in front of her. Alice's face drops back into it's mask as she takes a few steps away from K-Mart her hands going behind her back as if trying to show Claire she isn't going to harm her. The warmth and joy that was surrounding the two blondes disappears when they realize Claire is near them.
In response, Claire grits her teeth in anger and frustration. Something Alice notices as she takes a few more steps away from K-Mart is misunderstanding. Claire isn't angry with Alice for making K laugh. No, she angry at herself for how's she's been treating the older woman. K herself looks down at the ground avoiding Claire's gaze but even then, she can see the young teen is upset at the change in atmosphere. No doubt the younger blonde is already building some kind of defense for Alice against whatever accusation or warning they suspect is coming towards them.
Alice is powerful and dangerous. But that doesn't make her a monster. So, matter what has happened Alice is still human. And it's about time she starts to treat her as such. K-Mart has taken the time to get to know Alice. Maybe it's time she does as well.
There haven't been many moments in life when Claire freezes or doesn't know what to do. But the moment Doc called her babe asking her who the new people were would definitely be one of those moments. She hears Chris sigh from behind her. He has never liked or approved of her relationship with Doc. She isn't particularly fond of when he calls her babe either. But that's not what makes her stop functioning.
No that would be the way Alice and K-Mart's overjoyed expressions of seeing her both drop. The way Alice slowly follows Doc's eyeline to her. The way it looks like Alice has just been destroyed in front of her very eyes. She knows that look. It's the same look Claire had when that Axe man slammed his axe into Alice back in the prison shows and she was thrown into a wall and for the first time in all that Claire could remember of her Alice stayed down. Unmoving. For a moment Claire had truly believed the giant monster had killed Alice. And when it lifted its axe to cut the unresponsive Alice in half Claire had just reacted. She screamed firing shot after shot into it's head wanting it to feel a fraction of the pain she felt in that moment.
It had confused her at the time. How deeply she felt for a woman she had only known for about a short time. She knew they had known each other. Had been friends before Alice left to take on Issac. No doubt her feelings from before she lost her memory still lingered but Claire wasn't aware of how strong they were until that moment she watched Alice being smashed into a wall. Gun's thrown around her leaving her completely defenseless. A word that is far from describing Alice.
Yet as confused as she was about the terror, she had felt in that moment there was a part of her memory trying to force it's way to the surface. The way she felt at that moment seemed familiar. So familiar that she didn't want to remember what had caused such a reaction. The still locked away memories were pushed away as the Axeman turned his attention towards her. She buried down everything she felt and thought at that moment just in order to survive the giant axe hellbent on slicing her in two.
Then when it was all over the memories that tried to claw out of her head were gone. The feeling was gone and so was the chance to understand more of her past. A past no one could fill her in on. But the feeling of something warm splattered against her face and coating her hands remained. She's never understood why that was the only thing she could remember. Whatever it meant must have been important if it was the only thing that stayed with her.
"Oh." Alice's quiet response seems to echo in her ears as she meets the dark-haired woman's eyes. She thought Alice was dead. She saw her caught in an explosion and be blasted into the ocean. She was so sure Alice was dead. That K-Mart was dead.
Chris had argued with her that both of them could still be alive after Doc and the rest of the survivors here saved the two of them after they forced the helicopter to crash. That after everything Alice had survived, she wasn't going to be taken out like that. K-Mart and the other members of her convoy must have been taken to a facility somewhere. A facility hidden away God knows where it would be fully stocked and defended by Umbrella soldiers and infected.
It was a pipe dream to ever find them again. Something she has struggled with at the start but came to accept. Yet here they are in front of her. Both alive and have been looking for her for the past nine months. And the strongest feeling Claire has in seeing them other than overwhelming joy is guilt.
After the crash, she was so sure she would never see them again. That they were forever lost to her. She gave up on them. Her actions have hurt them. She can clearly see the pain in Alice's eyes as Alice looks between her and Doc. The way the joy and happiness slipped from her face, and she retreated back behind her mask. Her shield against other people in order to protect herself from being hurt and betrayed but others. The same one Claire had slowly broken down. She sees the heartbreak and acceptance in Alice as she nods to herself, and Claire already knows Alice will be telling herself awful things about herself to make this seem for the best. Alice somehow has her powers back which means she feels like a monster again. Alice will tear herself apart to make Claire innocent in all this. That somehow Alice is the one at fault for this messed up situation.
Claire wants to stop all that. Wants to protect Alice from destroying herself in order to make her feel less awful about all this. She knows Alice. She knows she will bury her pain in order to make her feel better, but she won't let her do this. Claire may not remember everything that happened between them, but she remembers enough to know she was hopelessly in love with Alice. She spent all that time in Alaska, the prison, and Arcadia relearning what it was to be with Alice. To love and be loved by the dark-haired woman.
Fleeting memories of their time together in the desert slowly started to emerge during their time together and has been coming back even more ever since they were separated. She knows a lot of memories still haven't returned. That they may never return. But for those that do she cherishes each and every one of them. For nine months they were all she had left of Alice and of K-Mart. The last remnants she could hang on to of the two people she loved the most.
Blood starts to drip down Alice's nose and Claire's rapidly beating heart stops as the memory of the last time Alices had a nose bleed flashes through her mind. Claire watches as Alice's eyes roll into the back of her head. Claire screams out Alice's name and turns to run down the steps to her right before Alice's knees buckle. She hears K-Mart calling out for Alice as well as the shouts from the other survivors. Chris races behind as the shouting grows louder.
Sprinting around the corner after barely missing running straight into the wall the two Redfields emerge behind K-Mart who is holding an unconscious and profusely bleeding Alice onto her lap with one arm secured around her waist. Her other arm is waving a gun at everyone who is trying to get closer with their own blades drawn.
Razor is making his way to reclaim his gun after Alice disposed of all their weapons. Chrisitan draws his swords and marches towards K-Mart in his usual untampered anger. Claire wastes no time in dropping down next to Alice levelling her gun at Cobalt while Chris moves to stand in between Christian's rage and their family.
"Back off," Claire demands eyes flicking from Cobalt, Chrisitan Doc, Razer, Samson, and Gretha. Six people she has come to care about during her stay at the Raccoon City settlement. Six people she would be more than willing to kill if they posed a threat to Alice and K-Mart.
Doc puts his hands up in a surrounding gesture. Trying to make himself come across as less threatening as he tries to inch closer. K-Mart points her gun directly at him glaring daggers at him. "If you move any closer, I will shoot you." Even Claire is stunned to hear the deep level of venom coming out of K. Her sweet and loving child has never come close to sounds as cold or dangerous as right now.
The closest Claire can remember is when Markus in their convoy made a remark about her and Alice. But even then, K was angrier and louder than she had ever heard from the young teen. Not this quiet promise of violence. What has happened in the past nine months for K to become colder towards others.
Chris's words of them being taken to an umbrella facility ring in her head. Claire dreads to ask but needs to know what happened to the both of them after they were captured. How long were they there. How did they escape. Are they ok.
Please God let them be okay.
"Claire," Doc says softly not daring to move any closer with the look K-mart is sending him. "I can help her. Let me help her." He pleas with her and for a second Claire lowers her gun slightly looking towards Alice who lies still on K's lap. Shallow breaths being the only indication of life as blood continues to leak from her nose.
Seeing Claire let her guard down a little Doc tries to take another step closer. Only for a single gunshot to echo in the open room making everyone jump. Doc swears his hand instantly moving to his arm. K-Mart lips quirk at the corner. "I told you not to take another step." She eyes the five other people in the room. "The next time won't be a warning shot" she promises reaching for the discarded backpack which must have fallen off when Christan tried to grab her.
Christan had grabbed her. Chrisitan had hurt her. He had threatened to kill K-Mart. Something deep within Claire stirs at that. And once she is done making sure Alice and K-Mart are safe she will be having words with Chrisitan.
As K-mart roots through her backpack, Claire takes this chance to look over Alice. Her hair is a little longer than the last time she saw her. As much as she had loved the dark blonde look Alice used to wear in the desert in an attempt to hide who she was. Alice definitely suits the dark burnet look. Gently Claire brushes a few strands of loose hair from her cheek savouring the feel of Alice under her again. She's missed this. She's missed her.
Razor and Cobalt call her name, but she ignores them. Instead, she leans forward placing a lingering kiss on Alice's forehead. "You're here." She whispers almost relevantly. As she looks towards K-Mart who has paused in her search it looks at her Claire lets out a small laugh in disbelief. "Your both here." K-Mart's features soften at her words and Claire leans forward on her knee kissing K-Mart on the forehead as well. "You're here. Your alive."
K-Mart pushes forward sinking into Claire holding her tight wrapping one arm around her. "We're here Mom. We're safe. And we found you." A sob leaves Claire at hearing this making her pull the teenager tighter into her. Safe. Her daughter and Alice are safe.
She had spent many nights dreaming of this moment. Thinking of all the ways they could be reunited. How each time she woke up it seemed her dreams of seeing the two of them again drifted further and further away. She had given up on them. She had lost all hope of ever seeing them again. Hope was always such a fleeting feeling in this new world. An emotion that only the three people with her now could ever really inspire within her. Her brother, daughter, and lover are all safe with her again. The pressure that had been pressing down on her and growing for months lifted from her in one sharp breath. Relief floods her system as she holds her girls.
Looking down at Alice Claire cups her face tenderly. Her heart flutters as Alice leans into her hand. "How… How are you here." Claire breathlessly asks. She feels K shake her head into her neck burying herself deep into Claire.
K-Mart mumbles something into Claire's shoulder that she can't quite make out. Pulling back K-Mart offers her a watery smile before pulling out some bandages. "That's a really long story." The blonde says softly as she tugs Alice's shirt up. "Can you help me with this." At Claire's nod, she passes over the bandages. "We're pretty sure they managed to break her ribs, but we haven't had the chance to wrap them yet. Alice said she's pretty sure her ribs didn't puncture anything but after the second crash, I want to be sure. She also has a few more injuries that need to be looked over." Worry dips into K's voice but she doesn't falter in gathering the supplies she needs to check Alice over.
I'm sorry about the second crash. Second crash. And who is K talking about. Who managed to maybe break Alcie's ribs. Fuck they have some explaining to do.
Chris chooses this moment to crouch down next to them. "Maybe we should move her to the Med Bay." K-Mart looks uneasily towards the rest of the group. Seeing her hesitation in bringing Alice deeper into the place that just threatened both of their lives Chris places a hand on her shoulder giving her his best reassuring smile. "No one but will go near her. I promise she will be safe."
"It would be better for Alice if we can to some place, where we can better assess her," Claire adds on and K-Mart nods her head in agreement. The teen picks up her gun again and Chris carefully lifts Alice up into his arms. Claire keeps her hand on top of Alices and pulls K-Mart into her side. Sparing her group, a glance she sees the various looks of fear confusion, and annoyance on their faces. They have questions but Claire has no time for them at the moment. Looking towards Razor she says, "Can you make sure no one disturbs us." When it looks like he is going to demand answers she quickly adds on. "I'll explain everything later. Right now, I need to make sure my daughter and Alice aren't hurt."
Razor looks between the four of them a sad but happy understanding passing through his eyes. So many people have lost their entire families due to the T-Virus umbrella created. Razor lost his wife and son so if anyone can understand her need to make sure those, she loves are okay it will be him. His face softens as he nods. "See if they know anything about what's coming."
The others turn to argue with him, but he waves them off. "Thank you," Claire replies shooting him a grateful smile as the four of them start to head up the stairs. She can feel Doc's eyes following her all the way, but she doesn't turn back. She has more important things to deal with right now.
Number one being finding out what the hell happened to her two girls.