Disclaimer: I don't own Resident Evil
Claire Redfield steadily rounded the corner and made her up through the street. It was a small residential area with two-storey detached houses and cleanly designed roads and pathways with rows of trees and grass to compliment it. It was also where her brother Chris currently resided.
Claire wasn't entirely surprised that Chris had chosen the place. It meant he lived in an isolated space and was a thirty-minute drive away from BSAA headquarters where he and several of his former STARS friends now worked. The area also provided him with a way to defend himself in the event of an attack. Oh yes, ever since Arklay and Rockfort Island he had become (justifiably) paranoid. Her being caught up in Raccoon City during the outbreak had not helped matters either.
All that aside, the reason she was driving to meet him was one she didn't even understand yet.
It all started with a very short phone call she received the previous night.
Flashback
Claire finished writing up a report for her boss at TerraSave when her phone started to ring. Recognising the ID, she answered immediately.
"Chris?" she said quizzically.
It was weird for her brother to call this late.
"Claire?!" Chris's voice nearly yelled through the phone. His tone was a mixture of relief, fear, and exhaustion. "Oh, thank God you're there! I need you to come around to my place now! It's an emergency, a very big emergency!"
Claire was instantly alert. Her brother never sounded like that, ever.
"What kind of emergency? A new outbreak? An upcoming attack? Wesker?" she listed off all the possibilities.
"No, to all of those. I can't explain over the phone, it's better I do it in person," Chris sounded like he was on the verge of collapsing. "Just please, get here! I really need your help!"
Flashback end
The way he sounded and phrased everything frightened Claire. Whatever happened must have been serious, especially if he was calling her for help.
Coming up by the address, Claire parked her motorcycle in the driveway and proceeded to the door.
Using the key her brother left her, she went in and heard a shuffle in the living room.
"Claire?" Chris called out weakly. "Is that you?"
"Yeah," Claire noticed several bags on the floor. "It's me."
Chris let out a huge sigh of exasperation. "Oh, thank God!" He let out a small sniffle.
Okay, Chris never sniffled. Never!
Claire ran into the room and was met with a sight that would be forever burned into her mind.
The room was very messy with bottles and diapers (unused) littered across the floor.
Chris himself looked haggard. Dark circles were under his eyes, his face looked like someone during a hangover (the perfect image of exhaustion), and he was breathing very slowly and heavily. To put it simply, he looked like he'd been through hell!
That wasn't what shocked her though.
What shocked her was the tiny figure her brother was cradling in his arms. Dressed in a yellow onesie with a small twinge of blonde hair on its head, it turned to stare at the new arrival. And when it did, Claire saw her brother's eyes staring straight back.
"Claire," Chris said slowly. "This is Ethan. Apparently, he's my son."
It was a credit right then and there that she did not swear.
And that's it! What did you think?
I got this idea from another fic where Ethan was a kid and friends with Eveline. I started getting ideas for one where Chris acts as a dad to Ethan, but then I thought, what if he was his dad? That's where the idea for this fic was born.
Ethan's eyes are a different colour in the canon, however, I wanted to give him some resemblance to highlight that he is Chris's son.
It will mostly follow the timeline of the canon; however, I will be doing things differently with both events and characters.
Also, while this will focus on Ethan and Chris, I have plenty of ideas for other characters.
