CHAPTER 3
Claire led Alice by the hand, tugging her around the crowded halls. Alice did not mind; she was enjoying the physical contact with Claire. She snuck a peek at their intertwined hands and realized how well they fit together. A blush crept over the usually stoic Alice. Before she could push it down, Claire felt Alice twitch and looked back to see the remnants of red leaving Alice's face. Slightly embarrassed at pulling Alice around, she forgot that she was still holding her hand and dropped it as if it were suddenly burning her.
"Sorry," Claire said sheepishly.
"Don't be." Alice, realizing Claire was slightly embarrassed, added, "I get excited about food too."
Claire laughed, silently grateful for Alice ignoring her sudden need for touch. Together, they walked into the mess hall where the resistance gathered when not on duty. Alice was overwhelmed by the various smells wafting around the room, especially smelling something sugary.
"Let's find a…" Claire began, but a little voice interrupted, tugging on Alice's hand.
"Mommy! You are back!" Becky looked up at Alice, smiling. Another familiar voice trailed behind Becky.
"Becky do not run off! Your mother will…" Jill looked up to see Alice and Claire. "Oh? "You are back," Jill said, relieved at the sight of Becky and Alice.
Claire's defenses were raised at seeing Jill, but she noticed Jill no longer had the scarab attached to her chest and was in the care of a child. A faint bruise at the bottom of Jill's jaw caused Claire to smirk a little. That, and the fact Alice was calm, told Claire things were friendly now. Despite this, she still did not trust the former Umbrella operative and was scowling at Jill.
K-Mart came up behind, worried. "Oh, thank God, you found her." K-Mart suddenly squealed at the sight of Alice and gave her a giant sisterly hug.
"It is good to see you too, K," Alice's raspy voice replied to K-Mart's excitement.
Claire's heart was full at seeing her family back, but she had a lingering question looking between Jill, Alice, and the child that was still clinging to Alice's hand. She also took in K-mart as she noticed her right hand was starting to bruise. She smiled inwardly and frowned at K-mart's burst of violence. She was never known to be like that. Claire was going to speak up on what caused K-marts bruise and instead decided to clear her throat.
"We have a table. I can go stand in line and get you and Alice some food," K-Mart offered to the women, one confused and the other looking guilty.
"That would be nice, thanks, K," Claire replied.
Becky and Jill walked ahead of Alice and Claire, escorting them to the table they were sitting at. Claire leaned into Alice and asked, "Clone?"
Alice simply nodded, relieved that Claire was not too upset at the news. As they sat down, Jill, feeling the awkwardness of the situation, got up and offered to help K-Mart.
Claire watched Jill line up behind K-Mart, who scoffed at Jill, annoyed. Jill smiled saucily.
"Fancy meeting you here, Dahlia."
"Fuck you. For the last time, that is not my name."
"Yes, it is Dahlia. You just do not remember, you will soon enough."
K-Mart grunted in response, trying to get away from Jill.
Jill laughed. "I really do come in peace." She moved past K-Mart and grabbed a tray.
Alice smirked, watching the interaction between K-Mart and Jill, wondering what the history was between those two. She also frowned at the obvious squabble between the two women and hoped it would be the end of it. She looked over at Claire, who was also watching the interaction, not as amused but curious as well. Smiling after K-Mart told Jill off was enough confirmation that K-Mart could indeed handle herself. She turned back around to see Alice watching her intently.
Smiling nervously, "So, um… This is Becky, my daughter. She is deaf but she can hear you if you face her while talking," Alice offered as she introduced Claire to Becky.
Claire smiled and shook Becky's hand. "Pleased to meet you, Becky."
Becky smiled and took Claire's hand. Alice smiled at the interaction and gave Becky a kiss on the head. "Did you eat yet?" Alice asked Becky, looking at the remnants of maple syrup and pieces of pancakes in front of them.
"Yes, Mommy. Auntie Jill got me pancakes," Becky smiled proudly.
K-Mart returned and sat down next to Claire, handing her the tray of food. "Oh, thank you so much, K."
"No problem. So, are we going to address the purple elephant in the room? Or are we going to pretend she did not try and kill us?" K-Mart said conspiratorially.
"Is this why your wrist is sore" Alice pointed at K-mart's right hand. K-Mart stood her ground feeling punching Jill was justified wearing her bruised hand as a badge of honor. Figuring out K-Mart was not going to answer. Alice decided to go a different route.
"It was not her fault; K. Umbrella was controlling her. You saw she had a scarab like you did. We are all friendly now," Alice replied, trying to quell K-Mart's worries. "We are all on the same side."
K-Mart scoffed. "Yet, I didn't try to kill my friends."
Claire had stopped eating, suddenly interested in the reasoning that Alice was giving K-Mart.
"Mommy, purple elephants aren't real," Becky chimed into the conversation, reminding the other women they were in the presence of an impressionable child.
"You are right, sweetheart. K was just making an expression, saying something that is obvious," Alice looked pointedly at K-Mart in warning.
"Oh, ok." Becky bounced excitedly at the arrival of Jill with another tray of food.
"Auntie Jill!"
Jill beamed at Becky, handing Alice a tray with an assortment of food. Alice smiled in thanks, not really feeling hungry since she was reinfected but wanting to eat to thank Jill for her thoughtfulness. There was a comfortable silence as Claire resumed eating and Alice started to engage with her potatoes.
"Purple elephants! Like the color of Auntie Jill's clothes," Becky exclaimed suddenly.
Jill looked up at Becky, and Claire spat out her drink, coughing, trying to feign innocence.
Puzzled, Jill looked at Becky, then at Alice, who just shrugged. K-Mart was beet red and got up in a hurry. "Let me go get some more napkins."
Sensing they were talking about her, Jill awkwardly got up and offered to clean up. Before she had the chance, K-Mart was already on the way back with napkins. Claire started to clean up when she felt the effects of being full for the first time in two days. She watched Alice clean the remaining food left on her tray and offered to take it back to the kitchen. K-Mart intervened and took their trays, saying she was going to meet up with some friends anyway.
Alice noticed Becky was getting sleepy and suggested taking her to their room. Claire decided to join them since she still wanted to take her shower. Jill wanted to change her clothing, especially after Becky's blatant observation. So, Jill excused herself and bid everyone a good evening.
Surprised but very pleased that Alice would now be sharing a room with her, K-Mart, and Chris, Claire suddenly felt nervous about her shower. How would the planning work since there were only two beds? Where would Chris sleep? As if her thoughts were being read, Chris entered the room with a duffel.
"Now that Alice is here, I got myself another room to bunk in. Not that I do not enjoy your company, just too much estrogen here," Chris said as he started packing his extra clothing and some toiletries. "I'll just be down the hall," Chris winked as he shut the door behind him.
"Well, that settles the bed problem," Claire said, cleaning up her side of the room.
"You don't have to straighten up, Claire," Alice said as she waited to see where Becky should sleep.
"No, I usually do not have it this messy. I was just so eager to go out on a run with Chris that I did not bother putting my stuff away, and then I was gone for a few days, etc.…" Alice went up to Claire and placed her hands on Claire's shoulders to stop her from moving. Alice noticed Claire's heart rate increase but chose to focus on Claire's eyes. "Stop, really," Alice reaffirmed offering a lopsided grin.
Claire smiled sheepishly. They stared at each other, gazing into each other's eyes, not moving. Claire strained to keep her eyes on Alice's, but the temptation to look at her lips was becoming too much.
"Mommy, I am tired."
Alice was the first to look away and turn to Becky. "Ok, sweetie, let us get you ready for bed. Which bed can Becky sleep in?" Claire blinked away at the trance she was in and pointed to the bed on the right.
"It was Chris's, but since he is gone, I guess it is yours and Becky's."
"Great, thank you."
Claire needed something to do, "I am going to take a shower," while grabbing a towel and some clothes.
"Okay, I am going to get Becky settled in and then see if I can find a charger for her earpiece."
"Oh, if you want to wait, I think I have one in my office that could work."
"You have an office?" Alice asked.
"Yes. It is where I keep all my tools," Claire smiled proudly.
-/-
Jill found her way to the utility closet, where she discovered clean polo shirts, cargo pants, and standard-issue combat boots. Not bothering to find a room to change, she stripped off her purple romper and quickly shimmied into her new apparel. Feeling like a new person, Jill walked out and was greeted by a fresh-faced recruit who blushed and avoided eye contact.
"Can I help you?" Jill asked in a tone that meant business.
"Ma'am, Agent Valentine, President Wesker requests your presence, ma'am."
Jill rolled her eyes at Wesker's self-imposed title. "Sure, thanks." She walked past the saluting recruit.
-/-
Without bothering to announce herself, Jill walked past the guard standing by the oval office where Wesker is currently occupying. Wesker waved off the recruit guarding the door. "It is fine, recruit. I am expecting Agent Valentine."
"Yes, sir," the guard said, closing the door.
"You rang, President?" Jill's voice was laced with mockery.
Wesker smirked at the tone in Jill's voice. "Straight to the point, I see. Very well. Agent Valentine, you are to train recruits and help with our defenses as needed. With your background, it will prove invaluable to our cause."
Not lost on Wesker's implication at the word background "Great. Will that be all?" Jill asked, clearly annoyed while starting to walk away.
Wesker noticed the act of defiance and countered, "You are dismissed, Agent Valentine."
-/-
Jill left the oval office in a cold sweat. Wesker's office triggered something in Jill that made her feel nausea. Running to the nearest bathroom or anywhere that would afford her some privacy, she ran into the last person she wanted to see.
"What. The Fuu..." K-mart was catching a falling Jill. Her breathing was becoming shallow. "Jill are you all, right?"
"I... just... ju" Jill was trying to finish her sentence. Flashbacks of seeing red and blinding white were becoming too much. K-mart sat Jill up trying to quell whatever Jill was going through. Jill was not having it. She was trying to worm out of K-mart's grasp, but K-mart held her tight. "Jill let me help you."
"Let me go I'm f-fine"
"Do you see yourself? You are soaked with sweat, and you are pale."
Jill tried to get up on her own and told K-mart to back off. K-mart gave Jill her space but stayed close in the event she would pass out. Jill was hunched over placing her hands on her knees. K-mart willed her body to stay in place but the overwhelming urge to help Jill came with a tentative step forward.
"Alice said we are all on the same side. If that is the case, then let me help you." K-mart implored. The words K-mart spoke got through to Jill and she looked up to see K-mart's concerned eyes. A much different encounter from earlier. Jill nodded and took K-mart's offer. K-mart circled her arm around Jill to help keep her steady and they started to walk to no where in particular until they found themselves in the gym turned training room. No one was around at this hour, so K-mart led them to the bleachers and kept Jill company.
-/-
What seemed like a while, K-mart tried not to stare at Jill, but she also was worried for she had never seen anything like what had happened before. Waiting patiently, she noticed Jill's breathing was starting to steady, and offered to get Jill water.
"No, just please stay here with me."
"Okay, do...do you want to talk about it?"
"No."
"Okay. I am not going anywhere. I will be here for as long as you need me."
Jill looked up at K-mart with a shy smile.
"Thanks Dahlia."
K-mart grunted the corner of her lips hiding a faint smile, and Jill laughed for the first time in a while.
-/-