Chapter 13: Favors

A/N: Hey everyone. I'm so, so sorry for how long it's taken me to update this story! I've had a massive writers block on how to progress with the story and I was just stuck. I kept researching the game timelines and was trying to figure out how to work Rachel into the story and how Leon will play a part when we get to the Village timeline. Hopefully now I can post this story in a timely matter so I don't leave you guys hanging.

Last time we saw Rachel, she was about to ask Leon for a crazy favor. What is Leon going to say about this?

Also, I know zip to none about medical school and how they intern/work at hospitals and clinics while they're studying. I'm still researching this so if I get something wrong please don't yell at me. Or if any of you readers are in the medical field please feel free to PM me and explain how it is so I can be accurate.

Disclaimer: I don't own Resident Evil; I just own my characters.

Enjoy!

/

"You want me to what?!"

Rachel gave Leon a helpless smile as she clasped her hands together.

"I know what I'm asking is super rude and ballsy but I'm literally out of options" she said.

"You're that desperate that you're asking a person you barely know to use for your final?!" Leon said.

"Like I said, I'm desperate! I literally have no other options at this point"

"May I remind you that I work for the President which means most of what I do is classified. You honestly think I'm going to let a med student look at my medical files?"

"I'm not asking for anything crazy like a gunshot wound. It could be something simple like a dislocated joint or even a papercut"

Leon buried his face in his hands and sighed. There was a millions reasons why he didn't want Rachel or anyone to look at his files. For starters, he wanted his privacy. But most importantly it was because of all the crazy shit he endured over the years. The most notable case was his stint in Spain. After he was injected with the Las Palgas virus, his body had changed from it. It wasn't anything noticeable but he didn't want Rachel to read up on that. No one was supposed to know about that or the various viruses the Umbrella company and other bioterrorist groups were trying to spread.

It should have been a simple no. He didn't need to help Rachel with her final. He didn't owe her anything. His brain was screaming at him to say this yet somehow his body was fighting against such a simple urge.

"Listen Rach, I don't want you to fail on your final but I'm not the best choice for your project. I going to sound nasty about this but you're going to have to find someone else" he said.

"Your professor will want to know how you know someone who works for the President. And I don't think the President will be happy if he found out you were using one of his men who have seen a lot of classified stuff for a college final. Let that sink in"

Rachel made a face and slumped her shoulders. Leon had a point. Her professor was a no nonsense kind of guy. If she used Leon for her project, she had a feeling her professor would look into Leon and see how he had connections to her. Plus she didn't think it would make her look good if she explained that she met him at a bar a few months ago.

"Yeah, you're right" she said.

Leon was relieved that she didn't try to push him further but he felt bad that he told her no. But it was for her own good. She didn't need to see or know what he had endured.

Rachel's phone alarm went off, breaking the silence. Looking at it, she made a face when she saw the time.

"Crap I'm going to be late for work!"

She grabbed her bag and hurried off.

"See you later!" she yelled.

Leon watched as she hurried off. He was glad that Rachel didn't argue with him about using him for her final and backed off right away. He didn't want anyone to invade his privacy. Yet part of him was scolding himself for being so heartless. She wasn't a spy or wasn't doing anything shady. She didn't know any better. She was just looking for help. He quickly shook his head. Nope. He was going to stand his ground. He had helped people in the past and it only caused him more grief. Ada was a perfect example of that.

He was sure Rachel would find someone else for her final. Someone who she would have to find out personal information about…and learn more about their body.

It was no big deal, right?

/

"Ah, ha, ha, ha! You *snort* Y-you seriously asked Prince Charming to *snicker* be your project for our final?! Bwa ha ha ha! Oh my god, I'm going to pee my pants!"

Rachel felt her eye twitch as she heard Isabella cackle on the other end of the phone.

"Yeah, yeah fucking hilarious" she snapped.

Isabella finally calmed down but still chuckled here and there.

"You got balls, Rach. But it's probably for the best that you didn't use him. What if the big man found out about it? Then they'd kidnap you for finding out too much and make sure no one ever saw you again"

"Leon pretty much said the same thing minus the kidnapping part. I can't believe how stupid I was for asking that. Of course he would have said no!"

"Hey, if you still need someone for the project, you can always use the crack head that's camping out by the dumpster near my apartment. You kinda know him since he's always spewing his life story to everyone who passes by"

"You know what, I'm at the point where it doesn't sound like a bad idea" Rachel said.

"I was about to pull out my medical files and just use those"

Isabella was silent for a long time. She knew what Rachel was talking about.

"…You sure you'd want the whole class to see that? You don't like it when I look at them either"

Rachel gripped her phone tightly. No one liked looking at things from their past for various reasons. Some were embarrassing, some were bad, and some reminded them of past trauma. Rachel's files were the last part. Every time she looked at her medical file or anything that dealt with her childhood, it brought back horrible memories.

Memories of her mother to be exact.

"Why can't you be better?!"

Rachel let out a shaky breath. She didn't want to remember the past, but she didn't want it controlling her future.

"Maybe this will help me move on" she said.

"It's been a while now so maybe this will help me"

Isabella sighed and muttered something in Spanish.

"Don't do this just because you want to pass our class. You shouldn't have to reopen wounds just for a fucking grade…but if you think this will help you then I'll have your back"

"Thanks, Issy. I'm at work, so I'll talk to you later. Get info on the crack head just in case I change my mind"

"Heading downstairs right now to get info on him. Have fun dealing with crabby people!"

Rachel hung up and headed inside the clinic to start her shift.

The clinic worked with her college by having med students intern with them. They would get credit by working here as well as getting experience. They couldn't tend to patients but they could shadow the doctors that work there. Rachel had been working at this clinic for two years now. Once this semester ended and she passed her classes that meant she could move over to one of the bigger hospitals and work under some of the top doctors in the state. And since she had experience working at a clinic already, that would look good on her file. It wasn't like hospitals would take medics fresh out of school and have them tend to people. They needed to know the ropes before they could be on their own.

So for now, Rachel was content with shadowing her instructors and scheduling appointments. This would help her grow a tougher skin when she had to deal with troublesome people who would want to argue about why they couldn't get in sooner or why their insurance wouldn't work at this place.

That was how Rachel's shift was. She answered the phone and put in people's appointments into the computer. Wasn't crazy but it made the day go by and put money in her bank account.

"I'm sorry you have to do office work, Rach. I know that isn't part of your job but since Nancy is on maternity leave we don't have anyone else who can fill her spot until she gets back" one of the receptionists said.

"Oh don't worry about it! I'm just grateful you guys were able to adjust my schedule due to the curfew they placed on the school. Plus I'd have to learn how to file a patients medical records anyway if I was tending to them" Rachel teased.

"How's it going with your school by the way? Have they found those missing girls?"

Rahcel shook her head sadly.

"No. They've searched everywhere on Campus and the dorms but they haven't found anyone. No one else has gone missing but it' still scary that a few students are missing to begin with"

"I can't believe things like this are still happening. You would think with all the new security measures places have put into an effect that kidnappings wouldn't happen on college property. It almost makes parents not want to send their children away"

"Sadly that's just the world we live in. Doesn't matter how much we try to improve on stuff, there will always be a blind spot somewhere" Rachel said sadly.

"Well, you better be careful. I heard the students that are missing are girls around your age. You should get a ride home so you don't have to walk when it gets dark out"

"Sadly it's either pay for a taxi or pay my rent. College students aren't rolling in dough" Rachel tried to joke.

The receptionist grumbled how things were different now than when she was Rachel's age. Rachel just shook her head and went back to work.

She was nervous about the kidnappings and missing students but there wasn't much she could do. She didn't go anywhere except for work or classes. There was no way someone would be kidnapped in broad daylight but that never really stopped crazy people. She just hoped the missing girls would be found so things could go back to normal and so the families could be at ease.

The rest of her shift went by without any problems. It was an oddly peaceful day which Rachel was happy for. When her shift ended, she logged out of the computer and gathered her stuff.

"You guys enjoy the rest of your day. I'll see you on Friday"

"Be careful, Rachel. And we mean it when we say get a ride instead of walking home. There are too many crazies out there"

Rachel waved them goodbye and left the clinic. It was still light out so she wouldn't have any problem getting home. She should have called for a ride but she didn't want to wait for a taxi to show up and she just wanted to go home. She could have always called Isabella so she was on the phone with someone while she walked.

She needed to figure out who to use for her project. She was running out of time and she really didn't have any options. She really wondered if she could use her own files. It wasn't someone she knew but she could always talk about how she would have treated her injuries differently than what the doctors who healed her did. She was sure her professor wouldn't care at this point. What bugged her was if she was ready for strangers to see her past and what she endured as a teenager. She tried so hard to forget that part of her life but maybe if she talked about it, it might help her.

Or make it worse depending on how people reacted.

'Maybe I'll go with the crack head that Isabella mentioned. I don't think I'm ready to open that can of worms' she thought.

She was lost in thought that she didn't notice someone had approached her from behind.

"Hey, Sunshine"

Rachel jumped and quickly turned around to see who was behind her. She sighed with relief when she saw it was Leon.

"You trying to give me a heart attack?" she snapped.

"You should be paying attention to your surroundings" Leon retorted.

"What if someone was trying to mug you or worse?"

"Yeah, like they'd get a lot from a college student" Rachel said flatly.

She sighed and looked up at him tiredly.

"What are you doing out here anyway? Shouldn't you still be on the clock or something?"

Leon scratched the back of his neck and looked away.

"Listen…about earlier today" he said.

Rachel's eyes grew wide when she realized what he was trying to talk about.

"Oh, don't worry about it! I shouldn't have asked you that. We barely know each other and that was rude of me to ask about your personal info like that. I'd be freaked out if someone did that to me. I'm sorry I put you in an awkward spot"

"It wasn't that, it was more…I didn't want to freak you out with what I had to endure in the past" Leon slowly said.

"When I say you wouldn't be able to handle it, I mean it. Some of the other guards who watch over Nathan freaked out a bit when they found out some of the things I went through. I'm sure you'll see your fair share of gruesome stuff when you become a doctor but I don't want to scar you right off the bat, Sunshine. And I don't want you to have to explain to your professor how you were able to acquire some super classified files without both of us getting into trouble. My boss won't be very understanding if I told him you were just using them for a final"

Rachel bit her lip. She felt like crap the more Leon spoke. If she felt awkward about presenting her medical files to complete strangers then of course he would feel the same about his. How could she be so stupid to ask him to help her like that?

Leon sighed and looked at her.

"I can offer an alternative" he said.

"I got injured before I became a cop let alone working for the President. It was back when I was young so it shouldn't be a problem since it doesn't have ties to my line of work. I'm willing to let you use that for your final"

Rachel looked surprised at Leon's offer. He was really going to help her?!

"R-really?!"

"Yep. However I have a list of ground rules you need to follow no matter what. One: you cannot take those files with you or make copies for obvious reasons. Two: you don't ask about the situation that lead to those injuries or anything personal. Three: I get the final say on what you can and cannot talk about in your final. And lastly: You can't use my full name because of rule one. Deal?"

Rachel just stared at Leon. That was super generous of him. He had every reason not to help her and yet he was doing so.

"Why did you change your mind? You have every reason so say no" she said.

Leon gave her a weak, lopsided grin.

"I used to be in your shoes, Sunshine. I wished someone had helped me when I was starting off and I don't want to see that to someone who's trying to do good in the world" he said.

"And I'd hate to see you freak out over failing your class. Can't have you drinking cheap beer in the park again"

Rachel scowled and flipped him off.

"It wasn't that bad! I don't know why you keep brining that up"

"I've tried cheap beer and that one shouldn't even be considered beer" Leon joked.

He tilted his head to the side and looked at her.

"So? What do you think of my offer?"

Rachel gripped her bag and bit the inside of her cheeks. This was the perfect chance! She could finally have someone for her final and be able to pass her class. She just wondered if this was too good to be true.

"Are you sure you're ok with this?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. I know you won't go blabbering about my personal life, so I trust you" Leon said.

Rachel thought about it for a moment then slowly held out her hand.

"You got a deal. I owe you big time for this"

Leon took her hand and squeezed it. Rachel noticed like last time, his hand felt warm and safe as he held hers.

"Oh, I plan to cash in that favor. You owe me big time for this" Leon said.

"Whatever you need from me in return I'll do it. If it's crazy, unconventional, or over the top, I won't back out of it and will do it. I promise" Rachel said.

"If that's the case, then I'll have to think of something crazy" Leon teased.

Reluctantly, he let go of her hand and stuffed it in his pocket.

"Let me know what your schedule for school and work is like so we can plan to meet up for your final"

"You got it. It's a date!"

The moment those words left Rachel's mouth, her face went red. What did she just say?!

"Crap would you look at the time? Gotta go before it gets dark out"

She quickly ran away, screaming inside her head.

'Why the hell did you say it like that?! A date? Really?! I'm going to flunk my final before I even start it!'

If she was worried about what she said then she wasn't ready for the kind of favor Leon would ask her later down the road.

/

A/N: So Leon caved in and decided to help her out. Hopefully she doesn't find out too much about his personal info. Don't think she's ready for that yet.

Sorry if this was a short chapter but I wanted to give you guys an update and not wait any longer lol.

Please tell me what you think!

Take care!