Part Two

Leon reached up to take both of her hands in his. It was then that she felt her heart plummet to collide violently with her stomach. Not because of his actions, but because of what she saw on their entwined fingers. Matching gold rings. She snatched her hand away as if he had burned her.

Oh my God.

A delicate giggle from the doorway caught Ada's attention and temporarily banished her first instinct, which had been to run like hell.

'You're awake!'

A tiny bundle of energy in the shape of a small girl dashed into the bedroom. She had long black hair tied loosely into two ponytails, wore pale yellow pyjamas and clutched a large piece of paper in her tiny hands. She couldn't have been more than four years old. Ada watched in a daze as the girl scrambled onto the bed beside her. Without thinking, she reached over to pull the young girl onto the mattress and felt the child's fingers clutching gently at her arm.

'Mommy I'm glad you're back,' the girl smiled broadly and Ada noticed she was missing one of her bottom teeth. And the child's smile…it was just like Leon's. Eerily so in fact- wide, bright and disarming, 'I made you this picture.'

Ada, in a stunned silence, accepted the piece of paper with trembling hands. On it were several brightly coloured splashes of paint resembling a tall shed beside a turquoise puddle with a group of slim figures lined up beside it. With confident authority, and talking far too noisily, the girl pointed a chubby finger at each one in turn.

'That's our house and that's daddy, me and you.'

A strange and desperate impulse to laugh overtook Ada, but all she could do was stare at Leon and then at the girl, which only heightened her awareness of their physical resemblance. That wasn't helping matters at all.

The little girl gazed up at her expectantly as Ada struggled to think of a response. A strange compulsion to appease this little girl filled her mind but she had no idea what she should do.

'Mei Li, mommy's just woken up. She's still very tired from her trip,' Leon phrased his sentence carefully as he reached for the child.

'Mei Li'? That was her name? For some reason she had yet to understand, Ada couldn't imagine this little girl being called anything else. 'Mei Li' was a Chinese name, meaning 'beautiful'.

'It's…it's okay Leon,' Ada gave the girl a shaky smile and pulled her closer. Somehow it felt like the right thing to do. And with only instincts to guide her, Ada decided to let herself learn the rules before attempting to play this game, 'That's… very good sweetheart.'

Mei Li smiled triumphantly and pressed herself into Ada's stomach for a clumsy hug. Ada slowly rubbed circles across the girl's back and took a deep, steadying breath. She had never been great with children. She had been an only child and then an only adult all her life. Children were what other people had. Starring down at the bundle in her arms, she was caught be an overwhelming sense of uncertainty. Suddenly the girl snuck under and out of Ada's arms and began climbing over the bed, feeling the softness of the quilt and marvelling at its size. She had the universal and irrepressible curiosity a child feels in her parent's bedroom, when everything seems so big and smells so different.

I… We have a daughter and I couldn't even remember her name. This can't be real. This is insane. I'm either dreaming or this is some kind of hoax. If Wesker's behind this I'll personally put a bullet into his head. It wouldn't be enough to kill him but it'd hurt and I'd get to do it over and over again. But why do this? He's a sick son of a bitch but even this is a little too dramatic by his standards.

Leon rose and sat beside her, 'Ada?'

She turned to him with her best poker face intact, 'I'm fine. Honestly, I'm fine.'

He averted his eyes for a moment and she could tell that he didn't believe her, but he sure wanted to, 'You'd tell me if anything was…bothering you, right?' he whispered.

She nodded and turned back to the girl bouncing gently on the mattress behind her. Leon stood and held his hand out to the little girl, 'Come on Peanut, time to let mommy get dressed.'

Mei Li quickly complied, but Ada detected a slight pout on her pink lips as she waddled over and grasped her father's hand. Leon leaned over and kissed Ada's cheek, his slight stubble grazing her chin. She didn't react. As he slowly walked Mei Li out of the bedroom he shot Ada a worried glance over his shoulder.

Once the door had closed behind them Ada shot up from the bed and made a beeline for the wardrobe. Swinging the doors open she systematically inspected every item of clothing and every shoe. They were all her size and more to the point they were the kind of clothes she'd buy- red summer dresses, deep blue jeans, black pencil skirts, soft, form-fitting sweaters and silky elegant blouses. Undeterred, Ada crossed the room inspecting every ornament and every piece of furniture for a hidden camera or microphone- anything that could explain all this. But she came up empty. She reached the vanity and slid her hands over the array of perfumes, creams and colognes. As she was about to begin her second sweep of the room, her fingers paused abruptly over a stylish silver frame that took pride of place on the centre of the vanity. She must have been too disorientated to notice it before. The frame held a large colour snapshot of Leon and her. He wore a dashing black suit and bow tie, while she sported a strapless white gown. The two of them were beside each other in an embrace, his forehead was pressed against hers and she was smiling, perhaps laughing at something he'd said. Ada fought to remember what he had told her at that moment in time, but to both her frustration and relief she couldn't remember a thing. All she could see were a pair of passionate newly weds who weren't even aware their photograph was being taken.

'Handsome isn't he? I must say I'm relieved you have developed better taste in men than your mother ever had.'

Ada dropped the frame and heard it clatter on the vanity. She had always hated being crept up on. But after the day she'd had it was fast becoming a serious nuisance. Ada looked up at the polished glass in front of her and caught sight of a pale reflection in the distance that made a mockery of every second of the past ten minutes. A tall and imposing Chinese woman in her early sixties stood with an expression on her face that was a mixture of amusement and impatience. The lines around her eyes crinkled like tinfoil and she wore a white high-necked blouse with dark green flowers embroidered onto its long sleeves. Her hands were clasped behind her back and her gaze smouldered at Ada as their eyes connected on the mirrored surface.

'Aren't you going to give your grandmother a hug?' the old woman asked.

Ada turned to face her and pursed her lips together, 'You don't do hugs.'

'Well you never asked for one. I'm not psychic you know,' the woman condescendingly replied.

'But you look pretty good for someone who died 25 years ago.'

The woman laughed sharply, 'It seems death, for some of the women in our family, is simply a minor inconvenience rather than anything binding.'

Ada gave her a fierce glare, 'That's it. I've had enough of this. Tell me what this is all about. Now!'

The old woman tutted to herself, 'Even as a child you always found it very easy to give out orders.'

'Am I dead? Are you real or am I dreaming?' Ada demanded.

'You're perfectly alive little one. As for real or dreaming, well…it's a little of both. You've always carried a bit of me inside you anyway so perhaps this is just a dream.'

'So if this is a dream, are you here to guide me? I'd have preferred some kind of spirit animal- a python would have been easier to handle. Considering the day I'm having the Mad Hatter and the March Hare wouldn't be too out of place either.'

'I'd take offence at that if I wasn't so proud that you've taken after me rather than that father of yours.'

Ada turned away and stalked to the wardrobe hastily snatching out a pair of shorts, 'Why do I expect any help from you? You were never any help when you were alive.'

'Fine. I'm sorry Ada,' the woman sighed but the tone of her voice stayed as hard as ever. Ada paused for a moment but then continued to riffle through the wardrobe for a matching blouse. The woman continued regardless, 'This is… it's a vision, you're right. You have some things you need to sort out inside.'

'No. I have a mission outside to take care of. One that my life and so much else depends on. If this is just some kind of dream, then send me back.'

'I'm sorry I can't do that.'

Ada gripped the clothes tighter till her knuckles turned white, 'Is this my future? How real is all this?'

'As real as you want it to be.'

'Alright, now that's getting irritating.'

The woman paced slowly around the bed, her small grey eyes locked on Ada's face, 'What is this mission really about Ada? Is it about the virus, Umbrella, Wesker, "The Organisation"? Or is this just about you? What are you really fighting for? You brought yourself here and you brought me here. This is your party, Little One; I'm just your guest.'

Ada turned away, slowly closed the wardrobe doors and pressed her head against the cool surface of the wood. A hundred possibilities charged through her mind. Perhaps she was dreaming or drugged or going insane. Perhaps all three. But one thing was for sure, she didn't feel in any immediate physical danger and that was a small blessing at least. Either way she couldn't afford to stay here.

'I'll leave you to figure this out on your own, Little One,'

'Stop calling me that,' Ada murmured.

'I used to call your mother that, and she in turn used to call you that when you were a baby.'

'Another family tradition that died with her,' she glanced over her shoulder to ram her statement home with a cool glare but found the room empty. The woman…her grandmother was gone.

'Curiouser and curiouser' I suppose.

Ada wasted no time throwing off the white robe and darting into the ensuite bathroom she had spotted during her hasty ransacking of the room. It was clean- well if this was supposed to be her house that wasn't too surprising. The room was simply decorated with small purple tiles subtly accenting the crisp white walls. Every item in the cabinet- shampoo, cologne, razors- illustrated that this was a place for adults. The shower was fairly tiny but big enough for two. Nipping that thought in the bud before it developed any further, Ada slipped under the hot spray of the shower and slowly ran her hands over her hair attempting to get used to its new, unfamiliar length. This was unlike any other dream she'd ever had. It felt so real, so sensual. It was as if her awareness had been jolted to life and she could hear every drop of water colliding with her bare skin. The downy texture of the bathmat made her stop to curl her toes into it and the sharp fragrance of moisturiser tempted her to inhale it deeply. Ada pulled on the pair of denim shorts she'd scavenged and a deep red blouse before grabbing the coffee Leon had left for her on the dresser and taking a long breathless sip. In that single, sweeping motion she spotted the ring on her left hand once again. She placed the empty mug down and moved to rip the ring from her finger but paused before her hand even made contact with the cool metal band. Taking it off would only cause Leon to ask questions, and that wouldn't do. She had questions of her own after all. Ada took a split second to compose herself and slid quietly out of the bedroom.

Walking on the balls of her feet to reduce noise, she wandered from room to room in an effort to make sense of all this. Her career had lead to her infiltrating so many different buildings, some public, and some private. She remembered the 'first time' she had visited Jon's home and the fact that she had felt very little guilt over the cameras and microphones she knew were already hidden in every room. She had surreptitiously installed them the previous evening when he had been out of town. It had been her job, so it wasn't a personal concern for her.

Jon's apartment had been one of many temporary bases containing just enough suits and just enough ties to last the month- 30 days, no more, no less. All other signs of life included a solitary jar of mayonnaise in the fridge and an out of date TV guide by a television that had never worked. How can you think about consequences in a place locked into an eternal stasis?

But this house on the other hand was a lot harder to rationalise. It was a beautiful home. Fairly tidy though anyone would be able to spot the presence of a child in the house due to a tiny pair of shoes, or a well-worn doll scattered in intervals throughout almost every room. On desktops and walls hung framed pictures of a life she couldn't remember and was sure didn't really exist despite the overwhelming evidence. Leon pressing a kiss to her lips as she sat on his lap, a baby girl fidgeting under a pink blanket, the three of them blowing out the candles at a third birthday party, Mei Li wearing several layers of clothing giggling up at the camera whilst standing proudly in the snow. The eyes in every picture seemed to inspect her with blatant authority. They practically glowed with laughter and emotion, a dynamic force bouncing from frame to frame. Ada felt like an intruder into someone else's life. But despite this, she couldn't prevent tiny smiles pulling at her lips whenever she caught another glimpse of that little girl's developments. She was cute.

Remember you need to find a way out of here. This isn't real Ada. She isn't real either.

Ada shook her head and began to descend the stairs. Laughter was the first thing she heard as she entered the kitchen- Leon's husky chuckle and the girl's delighted squeals.

'Daddy! Please one more,' Mei Li stood on a tall steel chair at the table with Leon standing protectively behind her. He reached over to the oven where a pan of batter was frying. Lifting the pan carefully he brought it over for his daughter to see.

'Okay, just one more sweetie,' Leon replied, 'Don't touch it though. It's hot.'

'I'll be careful. Promise.'

With a quick flick of his wrist, Leon flipped the pancake about a three feet into the air. It span once, twice and then fell like a lead weight onto the table. Mei was definitely amused as she watched her father curse under his breath and scoop it off the tabletop and back into the pan.

'Need a little help?' Ada stepped into the kitchen hugging the coffee mug to her chest.

Leon put the pan back and dusted his hands off on the front of his pants, 'Ahh. We'll clean this up eventually. Our little girl just wanted to know how to make pancakes.'

'And now I guess she does,' Ada replied nodding her head towards the little girl with a face covered in streaks of batter. The entire kitchen looked like a war zone. In fact, Ada had probably left war zones in better condition than this. Flour lined the work surfaces and table. Several saucepans filled the sink and various packets of batter mix lay abandoned, spilling half of their contents onto the counter.

Leon smiled tightly and turned off the oven. When Ada walked towards the table he quickly reached out to take her empty coffee mug and, without making eye contact, placed it into the sink. Ada was an expert at it was reading people, and Leon was so very easy to read. He never could handle rejection very well. Of the emotional kind anyway. She recognised that look in his eyes- when they'd darken to a deep shade of midnight and she could see disappointment, hurt and confusion swimming in their depths. Ada had seen it in Raccoon City when she had confronted him on that walkway in Burkin's laboratory. Then once again at the castle when he'd asked her why she was working for Wesker. She'd made a show of tossing her head dispassionately and averting her eyes because she hadn't been able to bear seeing him like that again. She hadn't had the time…she hadn't had the strength to drown in that look again. Stepping closer to him she could see dark rings around his stormy blue eyes and the stubble on his chin looked a day or so old.

Leon nodded in the vague direction of the kitchen counter, 'There are some pancakes left if you're hungry. They're a little…malformed but they taste great.'

'No. Thanks,' she shook her head.

'Are you alright?' he glimpsed at her as he busied himself with the clean up.

Ada briefly considered telling him the truth. That she had no idea how she'd got here, she couldn't remember the last eight years that this house was a shrine to and that she had no choice but to leave as soon as possible. However, as she opened her mouth she realised that she just couldn't find the words. It seemed wrong somehow. He was just a man worried about his wife; he was missing her. There was an entire world buzzing around her and a foreign part of yearned to understand it. Watching Leon interact with that little girl had made her smile despite herself. It was as if she was watching those photos come to life and at last, for a moment, she had felt like a part of them. And if she left now, where would she go anyway?

'I…had a bad dream. About Spain,' Ada replied, 'I'm sorry I scared you. When I woke up I was disorientated and still exhausted I guess.'

Well it wasn't a complete lie. And Leon seemed to buy it. Nightmares were a way of life for people like them.

Some things never changed.

'Do you want to talk about it?' he asked.

'No.'

Oblivious to the tension between her parents Mei Li smiled and hopped off the chair, 'Mommy?'

Ada felt her pulse bounce in her throat. She wondered if she could ever get used to hearing that from anyone. Or if she'd ever have to. Mei Li raised her arms up to her and Ada frowned in confusion. The girl tugged gently at Ada's fingers.

'Mei Li, you know Mommy's tired. She can't pick you up right now,' Leon told her. His voice was calm and firm, but out of the corner of her eye she saw him rub his face wearily.

Ada reached over to him and brushed off the flour and batter he had inadvertently rubbed onto his cheek. She shuddered slightly at the tactile sensation of her fingertips against his coarse chin, 'Perhaps I'm not the only one who's tired Leon. You have been taking care of a child on your own for the past five days.'

Not waiting for a reply, Ada bent down to meet Mei Li at eye level, 'Do you want me to pick you up? What do you say?'

'Please!' Mei Li gave her a toothy grin.

Gingerly, Ada gathered the girl into her arms and slowly rose. She was heavier than she looked. Mei Li pressed a hand to Ada's hair undoubtedly covering it with batter and crumbs.

'Soft,' she whispered pressing her face to Ada's shoulder. She smelled like sunshine.

'Thank you,' Ada whispered back.

She looked up at Leon, 'I'll just…take her to get cleaned up and dressed if you like. Just take a moment will you? You look like hell, Kennedy.'

Leon chuckled and threw his hands up in defeat, 'Sure.'

Perhaps she'd stay for a few hours to help out. It seemed that this was where she was needed right now at any rate. Ada turned away and carried Mei Li up the stairs.