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C(hris) Redfield: how old is your kid
Leon frowned at his phone, for once genuinely confused. It was rare that Chris contacted him directly- they occasionally texted, but it was more usual for him to message Claire things to pass on than for them to communicate. Not that they had any issues between them, it was just that neither of them were regular texters and Chris was difficult to get a hold of at the best of times. The only thing stopping him from assuming that Chris’s phone had been hacked or stolen was how uptight he and his security were on the damn thing.
L.S. Kennedy: Which one?
C(hris). Redfield: the youngest one
L.S. Kennedy: Seven. Why?
A few seconds passed before his phone rang, and Leon’s confusion continued as he picked it up.
“Is she a good kid?” Chris’s voice came through the speaker and Leon fought the urge to reach through the phone and shake him for answers.
“Yes? Why?” He replied, finishing wiping down the kitchen counter with his phone held between his shoulder and ear.
“I’m transporting Rose somewhere for some tests in a few days and we’ll be travelling through your city on the way. Thought we could organise a playdate.”
There was a few seconds of pause before he spoke again.
“This feels weird.”
“Yeah, it does.” Leon confirmed, moving on to clear the table. “Refer to her with a codename, that’ll feel more natural.”
“Funny.”
“Tell your sister that. She shoved me off the bed for making a pun last night, I think I have a bruise.”
“Ha. You want her to kiss it be- no. No. Shut up.”
“I didn’t say anything-”
“Whatever, just-” Another pause as Chris clearly considered something. “Look… Rose has been struggling to make friends. It’s like the other little monsters can tell there’s something different about her, she’s… it’s difficult. And Mia’s been working more so she’s barely seen her mom lately, and I just… I don’t know. It’d be nice if she could feel normal for once.”
“Sure.” Leon saved him the pain of actually asking for what he wanted, checking the calendar hanging from the fridge door. “When will you be around?”
“Saturday, if everything goes to plan.”
“That works, the girls are all out that day so I’ll have Emily anyway. Probably going to the park at some point.”
“You sound more domestic every time I talk to you.”
“You want this playdate to happen or not, asshole?”
“Did I say that was a bad thing? Anyway, I’ve gotta go- I’ll keep you or Claire updated on when we should get to yours.”
“Can’t you just-” The muffled tap of a screen came through the speaker before the call ended and Leon rolled his eyes. “Typical.”
~*~*~
Leon had done many things over the years. He’d been a cop (for a day, but he counted it), a soldier, he’d saved lives and lost people and had managed many a crisis while battling disease, the infected and mutants, sometimes all at once.
Leon was very unprepared for introducing two small, shy children.
It did help him feel a little better that Chris was too, and they made the rather comical pair of two fully grown men trying to figure out how to get two shy kids to interact without just planting them in front of each other until one of them spoke.
“So uh,” Leon spoke up, feeling Emily’s small hand clench where she was gripping the back of his t-shirt as she hid behind him. “You seen Jill recently?”
“Oh, yeah.” Chris replied, pretending that he didn’t see the tiny head of white hair peeking out from behind his brother-in-law. Rose was similarly hidden behind him, and he could feel where she’d pressed herself against the back of his chair as she listened intently to them. “Ended up in the same city as her a few weeks back, she had Carlos visiting too.”
“Really? She always sounds annoyed whenever she talks about him, I’m surprised they still meet up.”
“It’s their whole thing, they just like pissing each-other off. Been like that for thirty years, I don’t think they’ll ever change.” Chris shrugged, sipping his coffee and glancing behind him. “Rose, you want a drink?”
“No thank-you.” She whispered, and Chris levelled Leon with a look and a shrug that said, ‘What do we do now’.
What would Claire do if she was here? She was amazing with kids, there was a reason why Sherry had attached herself to her so quickly after they first met.
“Say, Emily,” He started, looking over his shoulder to see bright eyes already staring up at him. “Didn’t you get a new coloring book yesterday?”
“… Yes?” She replied quietly, and Leon made a show of rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
“It looked like a pretty big book,” He continued, glancing over at Chris to see him staring at him, an eyebrow raised in clear questioning. “You think Rose could help you with some of it?”
“… Maybe?” Emily had stepped back a little from being pressed against his shirt, and Leon shot her an encouraging smile.
“You wanna ask her?”
A few seconds passed before Emily took a step around his chair, leaning sideways a little so she could see Rose from behind her guardian.
“Um.” She began, rubbing at the hem of her pinafore dress in a move that was so clearly picked up from Grace. “Would… would you like to color? With me?”
Leon and Chris barely moved an inch as they waited for a response, almost as if they reacted then they’d trigger both girls to snap back to hiding mode.
“… Okay.” Rose replied just as quietly, and she too took a step away from Chris so both girls were standing independently.
Emily’s face lit up and she nodded, before running from the room to grab her bag from where she’d left it by the front door.
“Thank fuck.” Chris mouthed at Leon, who made a ‘shut up’ gesture in return as Rose turned to look at him.
“Can I have some juice, please?” She asked politely, and Leon knew for a fact that if Claire was there that she’d be warning him against ‘adopting’ yet another young blonde girl.
“Sure thing. Orange or apple?” He stood from the table, fetching two plastic cups from the cabinet.
“Apple, please.” She definitely hadn’t picked up her manners from Chris, that was for sure.
Leon poured two cups of juice for the girls before taking them to the attached living room and placing them on two coasters, clearing the rest of the table for the books he knew were incoming.
Emily returned a few moments later with her newest book- she had become obsessed with coloring books a while back, and her collection of pens and pencils had been steadily growing by the day. Approaching the coffee table, she placed the book and a bulging pencil case down before turning to Rose and suddenly remembering she had been feeling shy.
“I have pens and pencils.” She started, pointing at the case on the table. “You, um, you can choose first if you like.”
Glancing up at Chris for reassurance, Rose approached the other girl and hovered by the table for a few moments before she settled on the floor. Emily copied her, folding herself down and opening the pencil case to spill it’s contents out onto the table.
“What’s your favourite color?” Rose asked quietly, looking at the selection covering the wooden surface.
“Hmm…” Emily thought carefully, leaning her elbow on the table as she considered the question seriously. “Brown.”
“Really?” Rose looked up, seeming surprised.
“I- I think?” Emily’s confidence dropped slightly and she looked a little lost. “Is that bad?”
“No! No, not bad. I like brown. But most kids would choose like, red. Or blue.” Rose went for a brown pencil, before hesitantly picking up an olive green one laying nearby. “This is my favourite.”
“I like green.” Emily replied amicably, taking the pencil and opening the book. “My bear is brown, that’s why I like it. And my grandpa’s coat.”
~
“Thank fuck they’re getting along.” Chris whispered over at the dining table, running a hand through his hair and sinking back into his chair in relief as the girls chatted quietly.
“You were really that worried?” Leon settled back in his own seat, keeping an eye on the two sitting on the floor.
“God yes. It’s been rough for her at school, there’s this group of little shits that just hate her for no reason.” He managed to keep his voice low enough that the girls didn’t hear him, thankfully- Mia would have his head if she returned from her work trip to her little girl telling her that Chris had taught her bad words. “I don’t know how to help, Claire always managed to make friends with anyone and if they were a shithead to her, I taught her how to deal with them. I’d take ten B.O.W’s over dealing with elementary school kids any day.”
“Jesus.” Leon supposed that they’d gotten pretty lucky- minus one or two kids at Emily’s school who were just set on being little assholes, the other kids there were all pretty well-behaved and she’d been taken in by them easily. “That’s one hell of a statement.”
“Yeah, well. I can shoot a B.O.W and it’s dealt with, talking things out with kids is a whole other story.” Rubbing his hands over his face, Chris sighed. “Anyway. What’s the plan?”
“Emily wanted to go to the park today, there’s a cafe there we can get lunch at.” Leon checked his watch- it was approaching late morning, and the older girls wouldn’t be back until nearly dinnertime. “See if we can wear those two out, then she usually has a nap after. Claire, Grace and Sherry should be back just before dinner time.”
“You ever feel outnumbered in this house?” Chris raised an eyebrow, and Leon snorted at him.
“All the time, man. All the time.”
The two men finished their coffees and talked mostly about work as the time approached midday, and Leon looked over to where the girls were talking quietly between themselves.
“Hey,” He called to them, watching as both their heads snapped up in almost perfect sync. “You two ready for the park?”
“Yes!” Emily jumped up, taking a few steps away from the table before she turned back to shove all her pens back into their case. “I want to find a new rock.”
“Why?” Rose asked, getting up next to her and glancing over at Chris as he gave her a thumbs up.
“I like rocks. I collect some that I like, but my mom says I can’t keep all of them so I have to find only the best ones to bring home.” Emily explained as she straightened up, habitually going to reach for Rose’s hand and pausing when the other girl drew back from her sharply. “Um, would you like to help me find a good rock at the park?”
“Okay.” Rose followed as the girl headed for the hallway to put on her shoes. “How do you know if a rock is a good rock?”
“You’ve gotta collect a bunch of them and then look really close, and then you can tell.”
Chris glanced at Leon, who shrugged helplessly. If Emily wanted rocks, then she was gonna get rocks, even if it was usually him to had to carry them home.
~*~
Thankfully, the weather had been better than usual recently and the sun was actually shining as the four walked down the road that lead to their local park. Emily and Rose walked ahead by a few steps, Rose glancing behind them occasionally if to check they were still there.
It was a little overcast, which was probably for the best- due to Emily’s strictly indoors upbringing, she was incredibly sensitive to the sun and spent most of the time when it was out with sunglasses on her face and completely smothered in sunscreen. Thankfully she rarely complained about it, and had amassed quite the collection of tiny sunglasses that she and Grace kept in convenient places.
When they reached the park, Leon called them both to a stop and crouched before the two girls, who were watching him attentively.
“Right, you know the rules. Run all you like, don’t talk to strangers, you need anything then you come straight to us. Okay?”
“Yes!” Emily chirped, followed a little quieter by Rose.
“Okay, off you go. Oh- Emily, no more lizards. Please?” Leon raised an eyebrow at his granddaughter, who avoided his gaze as the others stared at her.
“… It was a newt.” She corrected with a small smile as he sighed, although it was impossible for it to not sound fond.
“Okay, no more newts please. You scared Grace enough with the last one, now go.” He gestured to the park and the two girls ran off, Rose following Emily close behind.
“A newt?” Chris echoed, getting a head shake from Leon in return.
“Don’t, man. It took long enough to catch the little asshole when they got home.” Locating the nearest bench, Leon headed to it and took a seat where he had perhaps the best view of the park and everyone in it, the two girls at the centre of his vision.
Chris sat next to him a few moments later, propping an arm against the back of the bench so he could lean against it comfortably.
“So… how’ve you been.” Chris asked, and Leon slowly turned to stare at him a few seconds later.
“You’re making small talk now?” He replied, bemused, before deciding to go with it. “Yeah, fine. Everything’s fine. You?”
“Yeah, the same. Nothing too crazy lately.”
“Good. Great.”
A few minutes passed in silence- the two weren’t exactly used to making small talk, and usually when they were in the same room they had Claire around to naturally connect them.
Leon was considering making one of them go get some coffee when Chris broke the quiet, currently only occupied by the distant shouts of some teens playing soccer and the occasional birdsong.
“I’m glad, y’know.” Chris glanced over at Leon before turning back to watch the two girls run around.
“About?” Leon prompted after a few seconds of silence, not sure where this was going.
“That’s you’re… still here. After New York-”
“After you crashed my vacation.” Leon cut in, and was immediately levelled with an unimpressed glare that rivalled Claire’s. He wasn’t exactly sure why Chris was bringing this up now.
“After New York,” Chris repeated, fingers tapping on the arm of the bench they sat on quietly. “I was… worried. That you’d do something stupid. Something you wouldn’t come back from.”
They sat in silence for a few moments, watching as Emily and Rose crouched by a small mound of grass in the park.
“Claire told me you contacted her after that.” Leon spoke up, unsure if he really wanted to have this conversation. They’d been having such a nice day.
“Yeah. I was pretty damn surprised when she told me she brought you home that same day.”
“Tell me about it, I was getting hammered in a bar one second and then an angel was picking me up the next.”
“Don’t be sweet about my sister where I can hear it.” Chris deadpanned, making Leon snort. “Seriously though. Glad you’re still here.”
“Thanks, Chris.” A slightly awkward silence settled over them before he broke it. “Good talk.”
“Fuck you man, I’m trying to be nice.”
“You are nice, even if you are chronically late to everything.”
“Wow, thanks. What a compliment.”
“Maybe try being on time for once.”
“Jesus, I don’t know what Claire sees in you.”
“Yeah, me neither.”
“Oh, so now you’re questioning my sister’s judgement?”
“For fucks sake, make up your mind!”
The two men glared at each-other for a second before they both broke into grins and Leon shook his head, eyes returning to where the girls had found the nearby slide.
“Just like old times, huh.” Chris aimed a kick at his leg and Leon didn’t bother dodging it.
“Some things never change.” He sighed, tipping his head back to look at the blue sky above them for a few moments. “… How’s Mia?” He attempted, looking over as he heard Chris sigh.
“She’s doing alright. It was pretty tough when Ethan… yeah. But having Rose there has helped her, even if she has to go away for work sometimes.” Chris picked at the cracking paint on the arm of the bench, staring into the distance.
“You seem to be pretty good at babysitting duty.” He nudged his brother-in-law’s arm, who huffed.
“Yeah, well. Least I can do.”
Leon glanced over at Chris, who was slightly turned away from him. He hadn’t spoken much about Ethan, confiding mostly in Claire who was like a steel trap when it came to keeping secrets. He knew how frustrated she got with him when he blamed himself for everything around him, and when he refused to talk about something truly bothering him.
“I’m sure Ethan would appreciate that.” He eventually spoke quietly, seeing Chris sigh and rub a hand over his forehead wearily.
“Thanks, man. I hope so.” They sat quietly for a few moments before he spoke again, clearly trying to change the subject but by the slight crack in his voice, Leon wasn’t going to call him out on it. “Where are the girls again?”
“Hm? Oh, something about a spa day. I think Sherry got a coupon for her birthday and it runs out soon, so.”
“Oh, Claire’s gonna love that.”
They managed to look over just as Rose’s foot caught on a root emerging from the ground and she fell forwards, hitting the ground with a thump.
“Oof.” Leon winced in sympathy, going to stand when Rose immediately pushed herself up onto her knees and looked at her hands. “She okay?”
“Yeah, Rose is pretty tough. Only time she’s stayed down was when she was running in sandals and whacked her head on the floor, never heard her cry so much before.”
~
“Are you okay?” Emily asked worriedly, crouching next to where Rose was staring at her hands.
“I think so.” The other girl replied, eyes widening when Emily reached for her hands and she snatched them back. “No!”
“Oh- I’m sorry!” Emily sat back on her heels so she was a little further away, tucking her hands between her knees and her chest so she wouldn’t habitually reach out again. “Um, are you bleeding?”
“N-no, I’m not.” Rose hid her hands where she could already feel the white mould creeping out of her skin. She couldn’t let Emily see- she couldn’t let anyone see, not after the other kids at school had seen and called her disgusting and hated her for it.
“Good! Oh- wait here!” Emily pushed herself up, running over to where Leon and Chris were watching them like hawks on the bench. “Grandpa! Do you have hand wipes please?”
Leon could feel Chris’s eyes land on him the second she spoke and he steadfast ignored him, reaching into the pocket of his jacket where he kept a small packet of baby wipes and handing them to Emily.
“Is Rose okay?” He checked first, and she nodded.
“Mmhm, I think she just got her hands muddy.” She replied, opening the packet and clumsily pulling out several wipes before handing the packet back and running back to Rose. “Thank-you!”
A few seconds passed before Leon deigned to acknowledge Chris again.
“Shut the fuck up.” Leon held up a middle finger towards Chris, knowing the exact expression he’d face if he turned to look at him.
“Grandpa Leon.” The other man exclaimed with genuine glee in his voice.
“Oh my god.” Leon muttered, rubbing a hand over his face.
“That’s the cutest goddamn thing I’ve ever heard.” Chris (fairly) gently punched Leon’s shoulder, as the younger man rolled his eyes. “Grandpa Leon, man.”
“I thought you were being nice to me today?”
“That was a one-off, don’t get used to it.”
~
Rose was still kneeling on the ground as she tried to wipe her hands on her sweater, startling when Emily appeared next to her again.
“Here! I got wipes.” She sat on the ground next to her new friend, holding out one of her hands. “Um, can I help?”
“… Okay.” Rose glanced at her hands- there were small smudges of white left on them, along with some bits of grass and some dirt from where she’d fallen, but nothing too bad.
“I fell over a bit ago,” Emily talked quietly as she gently took one of Rose’s hands, carefully wiping the pale skin down. “On the way home from school, and I got big cuts up my arm. You’re much braver than me, I cried a lot.”
Rose shrugged, unsure what to do under the eyes of the other girl. Suddenly a short distance away, a dog barked loudly as it chased a group of pigeons and she jumped, unable to snatch her hand back in time as she felt the white mould gather on her skin again.
“Oh!” Emily exclaimed as she watched a strand of white seep out of Rose’s skin, unsure of what to make of it. “What’s that-”
“Nothing!” Rose tore her hand out of Emily’s grasp, rubbing them desperately over her sweater to get rid of it as fast as she could.
“It’s okay!” Emily reached out and grabbed Rose’s wrists, who froze. “I’m, I’m sorry! I won’t talk about it, I promise.”
Staring at the other girl, Rose’s eyes crept over to her sort-of uncle and his friend, who were watching them closely. Chris would protect her if something went bad, right? And she wouldn’t have to see her new friend Emily ever again.
“It’s…” She started quietly, glancing up at Emily who was watching her with wide eyes. “It’s, um. Something I can do.”
“… Okay.” Emily replied, still holding onto Rose. “Is it… bad?”
“I don’t know.” Rose whispered, relaxing her arms just slightly so Emily could draw them a little away from herself. The skin on the palms of her hands was red from her fall and from her ferocious rubbing of them against her sweater, and she felt a rise of panic when a tendril of white appeared on the back of her hand near where Emily was holding it. “My mom says it’s not, and so does Chris, but… the kids at school think I’m a freak.”
Emily’s mouth dropped and she looked genuinely upset as she spoke,
“That’s mean!” She exclaimed, looking more distressed than Rose felt herself. “You’re not a freak! My mom says that some people can do things that are different but that doesn’t mean they’re bad.”
“Really?” Rose let Emily take one of her hands and patiently start wiping it down again.
“Really. My aunt Sherry can heal from anything, even if it really hurts.” Sherry’s boyfriend had called her a mutant when they were visiting once, and it took several minutes to explain to Emily that it wasn’t him being mean and Sherry really could do things that no-one else could- and also that they regularly insulted each-other, but in a fond way. “And I was really sick before my mom adopted me, and I couldn’t see so I had to stay in hospital for a bit.”
“… Are you better now?” Rose asked, unfurling herself a little from the ball she’d hunched into.
“Uhuh. Sometimes my mom and grandpa take me back to a special doctor for tests, but she says I’m okay. My eyes might get bad again when I’m older though.”
“I get lots of tests too. The doctors look at me funny.” Watching as Emily wiped down her hands, she glanced up to look at her face. “You’re… not scared?”
“Why?” Emily countered, sitting back in a crouch. “You’re not scary. You’re my friend.”
“… I am?” Rose whispered, unsure what to make of such a confident declaration.
“Yes. And friends aren’t scared of each-other.” Pushing herself to her feet, Emily held out a hand to Rose, who stared at it. “You wanna come help me find some good rocks?”
A few seconds passed before Rose reached out, taking the offered hand and allowing her to help her up (although they did both nearly topple over in the process).
~
“You got enough footage there?” Leon asked as Chris opened the camera app on his phone, pointing it towards the girls gathered around the quickly growing pile of stones they’d found.
“Mia asked for evidence, get off my damn back.” Chris retorted immediately, although there was a definite smile on his face. “Never seen her warm up to someone so quick. Ashcroft found a great kid.”
“Yeah, we know.” Leon rested his head on his hand, arm propped up on the back of the bench. “I’ve fucked up a lot the last thirty years. At the end of everything at Raccoon City, all I could think was at least I could save them.”
“… I think the same thing when I see Rose.” Chris stopped recording, putting his phone away inside his jacket. “I failed her dad, but I’m trying not to fail her.”
“We’ve both had to make some pretty shitty decisions, huh.” Leon crossed his arms, sighing. The quiet peace of the park felt like the wrong place to talk about their darkest days.
“… You ever think about how fucked up our lives have been?”
“I try not to.”
“Yeah, probably for the best.”
~*~*~
The sun was beginning to set when Claire, Sherry and Grace returned home, having not heard from the two men in their family for the last few hours.
“… never been to a spa before, I think I liked it?”
“It can be pretty strange the first time you go, but you get used to it.” Claire smiled at Grace as they took off their jackets, Sherry going ahead to the living room to find her phone charger before she darted back into the hallway with a delighted look on her face.
“Come here!” She whispered, beckoning them to follow her. Placing their shoes aside in the dark hallway, they did so, and Claire covered her smile with her hand as they took in the sight in front of them.
The two small girls were fast asleep on the rug, Rose laying on her back in a starfish position and Emily curled up into a ball next to her. There was a cartoon playing quietly on the TV and a mess of pens around them, the crumpled pages of Emily’s new colouring book serving as a rather flat pillow to her as she slept.
Leon and Chris were sat at either end of the couch, Chris with his head tipped back on the back cushion and his eyes shut. Leon had an elbow propped up on the arm of the couch, hair flopping over his closed eyes with his legs out and up on a footstool he usually forgot they had.
“That is so cute.” Sherry whispered, pulling out her phone and taking several photos, immediately forwarding them to the two women present. “Does anyone have Mia’s number?”
“I do.” Chris grumbled, opening one eye to look up at them. “What are you planning?”
“Absolutely nothing.” Sherry smiled innocently, pocketing her phone discreetly. “Did you have a good nap?”
“Don’t trust her.” Leon muttered as he opened his eyes, sitting up and turning slightly to face them. “How was the spa?”
“It was great.” Sherry placed her jacket on the back of one of the chairs, stretching her arms above her head. “I’m glad we made it before the coupon expired, I would’ve been so mad if we missed out.”
Claire approached the couch, pressing a kiss to Leon’s forehead before reaching over to hug Chris.
“Did you both get here okay?” She asked him, leaning against the back of the couch with her arms over Leon’s shoulders. He reached up and laced their fingers together, smirking when Chris rolled his eyes at the action.
“Yeah, it was fine. More importantly,” He gestured to the two girls, who were still out cold. “These two both have a new best friend.”
“It’s gonna be hell separating them later.” Leon leaned his head back against Claire, who looked down at him.
“Do you have to get where you’re going tonight?” She asked her brother, who thought for a few seconds before shrugging.
“The only ETA I gave was by Sunday, technically. As long as I send updates, we’re fine.”
“How about a sleepover then?” Claire suggested, glancing back to Sherry and Grace. “Grace, would you mind?”
“No, no,” The youngest woman shrugged, leaning against a nearby wall. “I’m sure she’d love that. The only thing we have to do tomorrow is get some groceries, that’s all.”
“Am I invited to this hypothetical, or?” Sherry teased, achieving an eye-roll from both of her adoptive parents.
“Do you need to ask?” Leon made to get up, stretching with his arms above his head for a few seconds before he turned to the others. “Dinner?”
“Absolutely.” Chris also stood, turning to face Grace and Sherry where they were standing nearby. “You must be Grace.”
“O-oh, yes! You’re Chris?” Leon had mentioned that Claire’s brother would be dropping by with his… whatever Rose was to him, and Grace was definitely curious about the man who she’d somehow heard so much and also so little about. “Um, Claire a-and Leon have told me a lot about you.”
“Good. Don’t believe anything Leon says.” Chris smirked at her, ignoring Leon’s scoff. “Or Claire if she’s talking about when we were kids, I swear she was the troublemaker.”
“Oh please, who was it who raised me?” Claire reached over and poked him in the forehead before she was gently swatted away.
“Lack of respect in this house, I swear to god.” Chris grumbled before pulling out his phone. “Pizza? It’s on me, unless Leon orders eleven garlic breads again.”
“I told you that was a mistake, I don’t know how you didn’t notice when you placed the order.” Leon called from the kitchen, and Chris raised an eyebrow at Grace and mouthed the word, ‘sure’.
~*~*~
After absolutely demolishing their dinners and spending some time watching cartoons, Rose and Emily ended up back on the floor as they told the women about their day. About halfway through the story- which thankfully did not contain a newt this time, much to Grace’s relief- Chris’s phone rang and he glanced at the screen to see Mia’s name.
“Rose?” Chris called, waiting for the girl to look up at him before he continued. “Your mom’s calling to say goodnight.”
Rose perked up, climbing up from the floor and going to take Chris’s phone.
“Hi mom!” She held it to her ear with both hands, swaying a little in place as she listened to Mia speak. “Uhuh, we’re best friends now. We went to the park and found rocks, and a frog, and I fell over but I’m okay, and Emily helped me clean my hands ‘cause they got dirty.” She fell quiet as Mia spoke, inaudible from any further distance away, before she nodded a few times. “Yes! It happened, but Emily says it’s okay and I’m not a freak. She helped me clean my hands, and then we found a good rock for me.” Her mom spoke again and Rose tilted her head, digging the toes of one foot into the carpet below her. “Uhuh, I know. That’s why we’re best friends now.”
Now that her new best friend was occupied elsewhere, Emily pushed herself up from the floor and wandered over to Grace before clambering into her lap. She was already getting a little big to be doing so but Grace wasn’t going to say anything, even if it meant she took a knee to the kidneys on occasion.
“You tired?” Grace asked quietly, brushing Emily’s pale hair back from her face as she nodded.
“I had the best day.” The little girl replied, laying her head on Grace’s shoulder and yawning. “Can Rose come over every week?”
“I think she lives a little too far away for every week, Emily.” Grace murmured, already seeing Emily lose her fight against sleep. “But we can ask Chris if you can call her, okay?
“Okay.” Emily replied, covering her mouth as she yawned again. “We saw a frog today.”
“I heard. Thank-you for not bringing it home this time.” Grace gently stroked Emily’s hair, glancing up to see Chris watching them with a faint smile on his face. She’d definitely been a little intimidated by him at first- he was even bulkier than Leon, which was saying something, and stood just slightly taller than him but she could absolutely see where Claire got a lot of her traits from. Everything they’d told her about him held up, and she was happy to have met him that day. Plus Rose seemed like an absolute sweetheart, having been apparently almost immediately taken under Emily’s wing the second they got over their initial shyness at new people.
“Chris, mom wants to talk to you.” Rose appeared at the end of the couch, holding out the phone to her guardian who took it and stood to take the call outside.
“Hey Mia. Yeah, she had a great time. We’re gonna stay here tonight, could you let them know…” His voice faded out as he entered the hallway, pulling the door almost closed behind him.
“Is Emily okay?” Rose approached Grace cautiously, having only been introduced to her when she’d woken up a few hours earlier.
“She’s fine, she’s just sleepy.” Grace smiled at the small girl who hovered at the edge of the couch. “Um, we should probably get you two to bed.”
“Can we share my bed?” Emily spoke up from Grace’s shoulder, opening her eyes a little. Her bed was a single in one of the spare rooms of the house which had very quickly become reserved just for her, and whilst it would be a tight fit for anyone around Grace’s height, it should fit the two girls just fine.
“Is that okay, Rose?” Grace asked, waiting for her to nod in confirmation before she sat up a little. “We’ll double check with Chris when he’s done with his call, okay? Let’s go get ready for bed, c’mon.” Standing, she gently placed Emily down so she was standing independently before leading them out of the room and almost walking directly into Chris. “O-oh, sorry!”
“You’re fine, I didn’t hear you coming.” He waved her off, looking down at the two girls who were holding hands. “Bed time?”
“We’re going to share Emily’s bed.” Rose announced, her friend nodding next to her.
“I-if that’s okay.” Grace followed up- she had some small knowledge of Rose’s ‘condition’, and whilst the girl seemed very sweet and cautious, she did want to double check with Chris that they would both be safe in case anything… happened. She’d had similar worries about Emily when the girl had initially been cured with Elpis, that one night she might just re-mutate and hurt someone around her, or herself.
“Are you now? You sure there’s enough room?” He propped his hands on his hips, raising an eyebrow at the two girls.
“Yes! I promise.” Emily piped up, barely shying away when his gaze turned to her, which was a big improvement over how she was around most adults.
“Well, if Grace says it’s okay. D’you have your toothbrush, Rose?”
“Uhuh, it’s in my bag.”
“And where’s your bag?”
“Uh...”
~*~*~
Laying in Emily’s bed a short while later, Rose shifted for the third time in a few minutes before she sighed.
“… I’m not sleepy.”
“Me either.” Emily replied quietly, laying on her back with her arms above her head. Her bear was sandwiched between them, soft fur brushing against her pyjamas.
“… Do you have dreams?” Rose whispered, waiting until Emily turned over to look at her to do the same.
“… Sometimes.”
“I dream about monsters sometimes. But they just kinda stand there, and stare at me.”
“That sounds really weird.”
“Right? I always think they wanna hurt me, but they just look. I dunno why.”
“Maybe they’re friendly monsters?”
“Maybe…”
“… I have bad dreams, sometimes.”
“What are they like?”
“Sometimes… sometimes I dream that it’s really dark, like when I couldn’t see. And that- that I’m scared, and confused, and I can hear my mom screaming. And some really loud bangs.” Emily whispered, running her thumb over Bear’s soft fur in search of comfort. “And she sounds so scared, and I’m trying to find her, but I can’t. And then I wake up.”
“That sounds scary.” Rose whispered back, rolling onto her back so she could look up at the slowly rolling stars projected by the nightlight above them.
“… Yeah. I don’t like those dreams.” Shaking herself off, Emily smushed her cheek into the pillow under her. “But I don’t have them much anymore.”
“Good. And if you do, then you can tell me, and then my dream monsters can fight your dream monsters.”
“What if they team up?”
“Hmm… then we have to team up against them. Because they’re only in dreams, and we’re real.”
“Uhuh.” Emily held out her hand, tucking in all her fingers bar her pinky. “Promise?”
“Promise!"
~
Outside the bedroom, Claire shut her eyes for a moment as she heard the two girl’s conversation begin to peter out.
She hadn’t seen Emily when she was infected, nor Ethan when he was crumbling to dust with his daughter in his arms. She hadn’t been there when the two girls had been in danger- she hadn’t even known either of them existed at those points in time.
She did know that she could never, ever tell Leon or Grace that Emily even slightly remembered her mutation.
Leon had come so far since they’d reunited just over a decade ago, but she starkly remembered the flat, almost dead look in his eyes when he’d told her how much he’d lost and what he’d had to do to others, civilians, his friends. She remembered how close she’d felt she was to losing him.
If he knew that his granddaughter remembered even just the sound of him shooting her, if Grace found out that her daughter remembered one of the worst moments of her life...
“Hey,” Sherry’s voice broke through her thoughts and Claire straightened from where she’d been leaning against the door, offering the girl she’d ‘adopted’ so long ago a smile. “You okay?”
“I’m fine,” She nodded towards the cracked door. “Just checking on them.” Putting an arm out, she waited for Sherry to duck under it before leading them both to the kitchen. “Have Chris and Leon killed each-other yet?”
“I keep expecting them to but no, they were just arguing about the rules of Jenga.”
“… We don’t even have Jenga?” Claire replied, bemused as they approached the doorway.
“- and I’m telling you that that is not how you fucking play Monopoly.”
“Oh, they’ve moved on.” Sherry exclaimed in surprise as they entered the living room. Grace was on the couch with her head in her hands, and she looked up thankfully as they entered.
“Are they always like this?” She whispered as they came within earshot, the two men managing to not hear her.
“Oh god yeah. I wouldn’t say it’s gotten worse since we got married, but they’ve definitely been arguing more about dumber stuff these days.” Claire crossed her arms as she looked at the brothers-in-law, who seemed to feel her eyes on them and looked up simultaneously.
“What?” They both spoke at once, making Sherry snort.
“There’s a reason we burned the last Monopoly set we had after someone,” Claire eyed them both, making them both glance away guiltily. “Decided it was a good idea to use underhanded tactics.”
“Sherry was the one who hid one of my hotels in her mouth, I don’t know why you’re staring at me.” Chris held up his hands defensively, and Sherry scoffed.
“I wouldn’t have had to do that if someone played by the rules!”
“Burning that set wasn’t enough.” Leon muttered, rubbing a hand over his forehead wearily. “Should’ve exorcised the damn thing beforehand.”
“Monopoly is now banned in this house.” Claire leaned over a little towards Grace, who nodded. It sounded like it was for the best.
“What was the last board game we played?” Sherry mused as she settled on the couch next to Grace, who tucked her legs up habitually.
“Battleships, I think?” Chris turned to Leon for confirmation, who nodded. “Made me sure to never put Leon in charge of a squad of boats.”
“That’s rich coming from someone who can’t sink anything on a Battleship board but calls himself ‘Alpha’.” Leon shot back, making Grace choke on her drink. “You okay Grace?”.”
“’m fine-” She wheezed, wiping at her chin with the cuff of her shirt and avoiding everyone’s eyes. “Sorry, I uh, coughed.”
“Sure.” Sherry smirked at her when she looked up and Grace went red, avoiding her gaze.
“... Yeah, I’m not askin’.” Leon muttered before he turned to Claire. “Do we have anything to play where no-one ends up dead?”
“And where Sherry can’t eat the game pieces.” Chris cut in, making Sherry throw up her hands in exasperation.
“That was one time!” She exclaimed, shooting Grace a grin that made her think that it might not have just been one time.
Claire went to have a look on the shelf in the room that held their games, and Grace excused herself for a second to go and check on the girls. As she creaked the door a little open and peered around it, she smiled as she took in the two on the bed, curled around each-other like puzzle pieces. The poor bear was squished between them, and she wondered if they would each have a slightly mark on their foreheads where they were pressed so close together.
Best friends indeed.
From downstairs, she could just about hear Chris and Sherry talking about something followed by the sound of laughter. Pulling the door almost shut, Grace took a moment in the quiet of the upstairs before heading back down to the lounge. As she entered, Leon caught her eye and raised an eyebrow in question. She gave him a thumbs up, settling next to him on the couch and barely even feeling the old urge to flinch away as he settled an arm around her, patting her shoulder.
“You okay?” He asked quietly as Sherry sat on her other side, leaning over her slightly to grab her drink from the nearby table.
“Yeah. I’m great.” She replied, smiling softly as Claire entered with their puzzle board that still had half of a large puzzle on it from a week earlier.
“New rules,” She announced, placing it on the coffee table.
"On a puzzle?" Grace questioned, before Claire continued.
“No eating the pieces,” She pointed to Sherry, who rolled her eyes. “No pulling rank.” She pointed to Chris, who shrugged. “And no bringing up your vacation.” Leon sighed, sounding forlorn.
"He already has today, he's hit his limit." Chris jabbed, making Leon huff but not rebuke it.
“What about Grace?” Sherry piped up, pointing at the woman sitting directly next to her.
“Grace has never done anything wrong in her life and you know it.” Claire deadpanned, making the older woman snort.
"Favoritism." She muttered, although she winked at Grace to prove she was joking.
Glancing around, Grace considered how lucky she and Emily had been since the horror of the previous year. Even as Chris and Leon kept trading thinly veiled fond insults, as Sherry managed to hide various pieces that the others were looking for under the table, even as Claire shot her exasperated looks as she witnessed all of it, Grace smiled fondly.
It had been a long time since she'd had a family, but she sure had landed a great one.