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Claire Redfield stood before the crowd of students on the University’s auditorium stage, trying to take deep breaths and not let the pressure get to her.
This should’ve been easy — how many horrible, fucked up nightmares had she faced in her life, how many times had it been that a single slip-up, one simple mistake, would’ve spelled her imminent and grisly death. And here she was, standing in a room with spotlights on her in front of college students who were probably too bored to care to listen to her speak, feeling scared stiff.
But it had to be her — for more reasons than one. The personal experience, of course… but also because she was the one in Terrasave that Rebecca Chambers knew. Maybe not “personally,” since they’d only interacted on a few fleeting occasions before everything went to shit and S.T.A.R.S. went belly-up with the rest of Raccoon City, but at least through association by Claire’s brother, Chris.
Claire cleared her throat, both to prepare herself and to check that the microphone clipped to the lapel of her maroon formal jacket was actually on and functioning properly. At hearing the sound echo around the auditorium, as well as the heads of a few students popping up to pay attention, her experiment proved a success.
“Uh… hi,” Claire said with an awkward smile. “Guess this thing’s on after all.”
The rather pathetic attempt at humor did at least win her a few sympathy chuckles if nothing else. It did seem to break the ice a little too, so that was a plus.
Claire took a pause, stealing another breath as she tried to pull the memorized words of her lecture that were floating around her head into cohesive sentences. “I’m Claire Redfield — as I’m sure you’re all already aware, I’m here on behalf of the Terrasave organization today to speak on a topic that’s become more and more relevant in our world. Bioterror.”
There was some shuffling in the seats, a few yawns… the difference between those who knew all too well what Claire was talking about, and the ones who still saw it as an “other people” problem.
“What once was a few isolated incidents has grown into a worldwide issue. I know some of you out there are thinking one thing — ‘it’ll never happen here, though, so why does any of this matter?’” Claire felt her mouth go dry as she pulled the memories back up… memories of a city that was already dead the moment she stepped into it. “I’m here to represent Terrasave, that’s true… but I’m also here as a survivor. I was there during the T-Virus outbreak in Raccoon City, and… and I’m one of the handful that survived.”
That got everyone’s attention. These students would’ve only been kids back in 1998, but they all knew about Raccoon City.
“Bioterror is a real threat, and it’s one that can strike anywhere at any time. We need people to not turn a blind eye to these things — this isn’t the monster under your bed that you can just ignore. This is real, this is happening now, and there are people out there that need help because of it. That’s what Terrasave is here to do.”
After her opening, Claire’s lecture continued without a hitch — she talked about prior bioterror outbreaks, the efforts of the BSAA to combat them, and Terrasave’s own recovery efforts in the aftermath. Claire wasn’t really trying to get them all to sign up, but she did want them to at least think about things, to be more aware of what was going on outside of their own small worlds.
When Claire stepped off the stage to polite applause, she found Rebecca Chambers there waiting for her.
Rebecca… it had been years since Claire had seen her. Not since before the mansion incident. Barry Burton used to hold get-togethers for the S.T.A.R.S. at his home in Raccoon City, and Chris had pulled Claire along to a few whenever she happened to be visiting him at the same time — though she was fairly sure now that Chris probably just told Barry when she’d be there so he would schedule them when Claire was around.
Rebecca had been someone that Claire had only met on one such occasion, given that she was so new to the team. Claire always felt a bit out of place at the functions — she was younger than everyone there, and she couldn’t help but feel like the little kid sitting at the grown-ups' table. They did try to make her feel welcome, but there was only so much they could do.
However, that one party where Rebecca was in attendance was different. Someone there — who wasn’t one of Barry’s daughters — was actually younger than her, though only by a year. Someone there who looked like she felt just as awkward and out of place…
They’d chatted that night, actually hitting things off pretty well. Claire had been blown away that Rebecca was already a college graduate at eighteen, while Claire was struggling through her own school at nineteen. She never did end up graduating — after Raccoon, Rockfort, and Antarctica, Claire hardly saw the point in it anymore.
“You did great — wasn’t expecting you to pull the Raccoon City card, though,” Rebecca said, pulling Claire out of her memories.
“Oh, uh… yeah, I thought a personal touch might help get people’s attention. Audiences love a sob story.”
Rebecca frowned, her features softening. “Are you… okay? I know that probably wasn’t easy to bring up.”
Claire shrugged a shoulder. “I’ll be fine.”
As stagehands bustled around, moving to not bump into Claire or Rebecca, Rebecca took a glance at the exit before looking at Claire again. “Why don’t we continue this conversation in my office? Getting a little busy around here.”
Rebecca passed a styrofoam cup of hot coffee into Claire’s hand as she circled around her desk, sitting behind it and setting her own cup down.
Claire took a sip, immediately making a face at the taste before trying to cover for it by quickly going neutral again, not wanting to look ungrateful for the drink. Rebecca chuckled. “You don’t have to pretend. I know it’s bad coffee. I keep a bunch of cream and sugar in here if you want any, helps make it potable.”
Claire cough-laughed, setting the drink down on the desk in front of her. “Well, if you’re offering.”
Rebecca retrieved the cream and sugar, pouring some into Claire’s cup before putting them in her own. Rebecca’s office was small, a bit cluttered, but ultimately cozy. Scientific awards and Rebecca’s Ph.D. were proudly displayed on the walls, bookshelves were filled with textbooks, and…
Claire’s eyes lingered on one thing, in particular, sitting on Rebecca’s desk. An old photograph, worn with age and a bit crumpled at the corners, set into a frame. It was of Rebecca… younger. Claire’s eyes recognized the S.T.A.R.S. office behind her, behind both the Alpha and Bravo teams of S.T.A.R.S. who were posing with Rebecca. This must’ve been when she became part of the team.
Everyone was there — Chris, Jill Valentine, Barry… other names and faces that Claire felt guilty not being able to recall now. They were all… alive.
Not just alive — they were happy.
But one thing didn’t look right to Claire. On one side of the picture, there was a void of black marker. Claire didn’t have to guess at who was behind the ink.
“I like to keep them close.”
Claire looked up, seeing the somber expression on Rebecca’s face after she had spoken — she’d noticed Claire looking. “I— I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”
Rebecca shook her head. “It’s fine. Wouldn’t put it out on my desk if I cared about people seeing it, would I?”
“Guess not,” Claire said, still shuffling in her seat with embarrassment.
Rebecca picked up the photo, slipping a thick-rimmed pair of glasses onto her face — apparently, Rebecca was farsighted. “I guess I didn’t really know any of them that long, but… hard to forget them now.” Rebecca sighed. “How… how is Chris these days? I try to call but sometimes I get busy and I forget. He doesn’t always answer, either.”
Claire exhaled. “I wish I could tell you, honestly. He throws himself into work all the time… it makes me worried. He’s never been the same since that night.”
“I don’t think any of us have,” Rebecca said, so quiet Claire wasn’t actually certain she was meant to hear it. Rebecca set the photo back down. “Him and Jill… I wonder if they keep throwing themselves at this stuff as a distraction. Me, I just… ran from it.”
“Nothing wrong with that,” Claire replied. “You moved on with your life.”
Rebecca smiled. Claire didn’t think it was an appropriate thought given the subject of the conversation, but she couldn’t deny that Rebecca looked cute with those glasses. “I did. You know, I never really wanted to be part of S.T.A.R.S. in the first place.”
“Really?”
Rebecca shook her head. “I mean what I’m doing now is what I’ve always wanted to do. But… not a lot of colleges would hire a professor younger than most of their students. S.T.A.R.S. was just supposed to pad my résumé, give me some experience — plus, mom said that I might pick up some useful skills along the way. I guess it worked out, in a way. My studies on the T-virus ended up getting me here in the end. Helped that I was one of the few living people to ever see what it could do firsthand and live to tell about it.”
“Yeah,” Claire said, unsure of what else to say.
Rebecca gave a nervous laugh. “God, I really brought the mood down, huh?”
“No, no, it’s fine,” Claire insisted, waving her hands out in front of her. “It’s… honestly harder to avoid talking about it.”
“Speaking from personal experience?”
“Let’s just say that it hasn’t been great for my love life,” Claire said with a laugh. “Not a lot of people out there up for talking about living through the zombie apocalypse.”
Claire took note of the nigh-imperceptible quirk of Rebecca’s eyebrow at Claire’s choice of words — “people.” No gender specified. “I know what you mean. Some days it really gets exhausting pretending that I’m just… a normal person. People sympathize, sure, but I don’t think they can ever really understand what it was like.”
“They certainly never know about the smell,” Claire said with a smirk. “They tend to leave that part out of the zombie movies.”
Rebecca chuckled, a soft, delicate sound that made Claire’s heart flutter.
Easy girl, Claire chided herself.
Rebecca folded her hands on the desk, fiddling with her fingers. “Hey, um… Claire? It’s been so nice to catch up with you. I know we didn’t really know each other that well back in the day, but… I always thought we probably would’ve made good friends if it hadn’t been for everything that happened.”
Claire thought for a moment. “Who says we can’t now? Make up for lost time.”
Rebecca smiled at that, taking her glasses off and folding them before putting them back in their case. “On that note… do you have any plans tonight?”
Claire thought — her only plans had been to go back to her hotel room and maybe drink herself to sleep depending on how she felt after the lecture. “No,” Claire answered. “Why?”
“You… want to get dinner tonight? There’s a place I’ve always wanted to try, but I’ve never had anyone to go with.”
“Y— yeah, I think I’d like that,” Claire said, trying to not sound too eager.
“Okay!” Rebecca looked like she was also struggling to dampen her emotions. “I can write down the address — meet me there at six?”
“It’s a… yeah, that works.”
Claire pulled all her clothes out of her travel bag, laying them out on the hotel bed and wishing she’d asked Rebecca how fancy this establishment was. She didn’t want to underdress, but she also didn’t want to over dress.
Claire rubbed her hands over her eyes, dragging them down her face. “Calm down, Redfield, it’s just dinner between friends.”
It was easier to say than to believe. Claire wasn’t oblivious — she couldn’t have missed the hopeful glint in Rebecca’s eye when she asked about doing dinner. Claire wasn’t completely sure it was actually a date, but it seemed likely that it was at least more than a simple dinner.
Claire put aside a pair of dark dress pants, a white button-down shirt and a black jacket. She looked it over with a discerning eye, a hand on her chin — this could work. It was at just the right balance of nice enough to be inoffensive for most occasions, but not too much to come across as tacky either.
Claire set about taking her shirt off, trying not to psyche herself out too much over the night ahead.
Claire arrived early in front of the restaurant and waited. She looked down at her wristwatch — five minutes to six. Rebecca would probably be here any second now.
This was all… crazy. She was going to dinner with Rebecca Chambers — Professor Rebecca Chambers. Claire hadn’t ever thought that would happen on her way here. She’d been excited to see Rebecca again, sure, but she also hadn’t actually seen the woman in over a decade.
They weren’t the young kids anymore, flocking together due to that shred of common ground. They were adults, full-grown women who had seen horrors others could only imagine. Who had survived things that should’ve killed them both. And now they were going out to a restaurant, planning to have dinner together like…
Claire’s thoughts were interrupted by a taxi rolling to a stop along the curb, the door opening, and a woman in a dark green cocktail dress stepping out. The woman, Claire quickly realized, was none other than Rebecca. The dress fit her nicely, though it was clear by the way Rebecca was walking a bit awkwardly that she hadn’t worn the heels she had on in a long time.
Rebecca greeted Claire with a smile. Claire grinned back, raising her hand in a wave as the taxi drove back onto the road. Rebecca walked over, and Claire found herself questioning whether or not she should compliment Rebecca’s outfit.
“You look nice,” Rebecca said, beating Claire to the punch.
“Really? I just sort of threw this together with what I had,” Claire confessed with a nervous laugh.
Rebecca smoothed out the lapel of Claire’s jacket, which had been sticking up a little. “Well, it worked.”
Claire and Rebecca headed inside, getting brought to a table with two chairs. Claire, a step behind in missing the opportunity to compliment Rebecca’s dress, opted to show her chivalrous side and pull out Rebecca’s chair for her so she could sit down. Rebecca gave the gesture a flirt smile as she took her seat, Claire letting that look warm her as she made her way to her own seat.
The waiter came around quickly to take their drink orders, both of them getting the same kind of white wine without any discussion, which made them laugh. Claire wasn’t too worried about how much she drank — she didn’t want to get sloppy drunk, obviously, but her hotel was within walking distance so it wasn’t like she’d have to drive back. Besides, in the worst-case scenario, she could always just hail a cab.
The drinks were brought to the table, set before each of the women. Claire looked around at the place — it was nice but not overly ritzy. The music playing was classy and calming, and the soft glow of the lights was a perfect mood-setter. Claire was also thankful that their table was off to the side, affording them a small amount of privacy from the other patrons.
“So, what have you been up to all this time?” Rebecca took a sip from her glass.
Claire shrugged. “I’ve been keeping busy with Terrasave mostly, trying to clean up the messes where I can. It’s… depressingly busy. I try to expose the people responsible when it’s possible too.”
“You guys do a lot of good work.” Rebecca leaned forward over the table. “Sounds like you don’t get a lot of time to yourself, though.”
Claire chuckled. “I honestly don’t know what I’d do with it if I had it. Sort of like a dog chasing a car — wouldn’t know what to do if it actually caught one.” That wasn’t the total truth — the real answer was that Claire had an unhealthy tendency towards filling the spare hours of her life with alcohol, but it didn’t exactly paint her in a flattering light.
Rebecca nodded, tracing a finger along the rim of her glass. “I know what you mean. They keep me pretty busy here too — this is the first time in a long time I’ve actually gone out for myself.”
Claire smirked. “So I’m a special exception, am I?”
“You could say that — not every day that a familiar face drops by like this.”
The waiter came back around, interrupting the flow of the conversation to ask for Claire and Rebecca’s entree orders. The food came surprisingly quick after, and when they both had eaten — and drank a bit more — Claire felt like they both were loosening up, conversation flowing a bit easier.
Rebecca was trying to tell a story, while also attempting to not break into laughter. “The look on Enrico’s face — oh my god, I knew Richard was up to something when I saw the super glue, but I didn’t think he would actually glue Enrico’s wallet to the table.”
Claire laughed as well at the tale. “Oh, man.”
Rebecca fought down a snicker. “He would always forget it by the vending machine and leave it there — it was Richard’s way of saying not to forget it anymore.”
“I bet he was pissed.”
Rebecca shook her head. “Not really — he’d needed a new wallet anyway and even though he was a little mad at first, he thought it was funny too. He would’ve left it there if Wes…” Rebecca cleared her throat awkwardly. “If the… other captain hadn’t told him to get it off.”
Claire’s smile turned to a frown for just a moment. Wesker was clearly a sore subject for Rebecca — Claire couldn’t blame her. He was responsible for the deaths of comrades, of friends… and it was now that her memory was jogged and she’d remembered something from back in Raccoon City, Leon searching Wesker’s desk and finding something he wouldn’t show Claire, looking a bit disturbed. He’d never shown Claire what he’d found — Claire hadn’t really pushed him to either, since she was more concerned with getting out of the police station and the city alive — but she had noticed the peculiar way he glanced over at Rebecca’s desk after.
“Chris always used to talk about you all the time, y’know?” Rebecca was clearly searching for a change in topic now, and Claire was willing to oblige her — they were supposed to be enjoying themselves after all, and Claire had no desire to force Rebecca into having an uncomfortable conversation.
“Oh boy,” Claire said with a chuckle. “I can only imagine.”
“Actually, he never had anything bad to say about you — even as a joke. He would talk about how strong you were, how proud he was of you… he really cared about you a lot.”
Wish it still felt that way. Claire wanted to smack herself for the thought — she knew it wasn’t fair. Chris had been through a lot too. It didn’t stop her from wishing that her brother was around more, though. Claire only realized that she’d been sitting in silence for a few seconds when she saw Rebecca looking at her. “Yeah, we— we were always close. Our parents died in an accident, so he sort of took care of me after.” Claire smiled at the memory. “He always fought to make sure we wouldn’t be separated. And he taught me how to shoot a gun and some self-defense so I could protect myself even when he wasn’t around.”
“Sounds like he was a pretty awesome big brother.”
“The best.”
“I never had any siblings,” Rebecca said. “But when I joined S.T.A.R.S. Jill sort of took me under her wing — she said that since we were the only girls on the squad we had to stick together. I felt like that was close to what it would be like to have a cool older sister or something.”
“Jill is pretty cool,” Claire concurred. “Snuck me a beer at one of Barry’s gatherings once when Chris wasn’t looking.” Claire grinned to herself. “I used to have the biggest crush on her back then if I’m being honest.”
“Really?”
“Oh yeah,” Claire said. “I mean I was still… figuring things out back then I guess, but she was just so… so strong and cool and confident. Everything I wanted to be, really. Hot as hell on top of all that too.”
Rebecca laughed. “You’re not wrong there — and I think practically any gay woman in Raccoon City probably had a crush on Jill too.” Rebecca looked to the sides, leaning forward conspiratorially as if Jill herself would suddenly appear out of nowhere. “And from what I heard, she had a bit of a reputation with them too.”
Claire leaned forward as well, mouth hanging open. “ Really? ”
Rebecca nodded. “Ironic that she was such a heartbreaker with that last name, right?”
“God, I never knew any of this — Chris never said anything.”
“She tried to keep it a secret I think,” Rebecca said, now leaning back into a normal sitting position. “I mean back then… it could’ve ruined her career. I think Chris was probably the only person she’d told.”
“Right,” Claire said, solemn. “How did you find out?”
Rebecca flushed red. “I, uh… may have been around some of the same circles as her and heard some things.”
“Same circles, huh?” Claire smirked.
“I mean, is it really that surprising with this haircut?” Rebecca pointed to her short brown hair.
“Didn’t want to assume — they have a saying about that.”
Rebecca was smiling, but it dropped slightly. “I really should call her more — after Kijuju she’s… she’s been going through a lot. I feel like I should’ve kept in better touch with everyone that made it out, really.”
“I know how you feel,” Claire said. It had been a while since she’d talked to Leon… she didn’t exactly plan to change that, either. He’d changed — both of them had — and the person Leon was now wasn’t someone she really had any interest in maintaining more than passing contact with.
“I still wonder what happened to Billy.” Rebecca said the words almost as an aside, looking away from Claire.
“Billy?”
“Yeah. He helped me survive after I lost my team, in the Umbrella training facility. He didn’t go to the mansion with me though and after that, I just… never heard from him again. Don’t even really know if he’s still alive.”
“Sometimes all we can do is hope.”
“Yeah.” Rebecca picked up her glass, swirling the drink inside before raising it. “A toast?”
Claire picked up her own glass. “To what?”
“To the people we’ve lost, the ones we don’t know about, and the ones we haven’t lost yet.”
Claire nodded, clinking her glass against Rebecca’s. “To them.”
They swigged their wine, Claire setting her glass back down on the table. “I wonder if it’s better not to know.”
“What?”
“To know if… if someone made it or not.” Claire was starting to feel a bit unsteady — she hadn’t intended to drink that much, but with the company and the passing time she hadn’t really been paying that much attention. But it was pretty clear now that the alcohol was hitting, words beginning to dribble out of her mouth like water from a leaky faucet. “There was this kid… Steve. When Umbrella caught me breaking into a lab in Paris, they brought me to this— this prison island. And I met this guy there, Steve Burnside. He was… he was a handful, honestly.”
Rebecca was listening attentively, a look of concern on her face.
Claire ran a hand over her face. She usually made an effort to not think about Steve. Despite the years that had passed, that nerve still felt raw. But she couldn’t stop herself from continuing to babble on now. “His dad had landed him there — worked for Umbrella but was selling data about them. He got caught, and they killed Steve’s mom and threw him and his father into the prison. Steve helped me escape, and in the end…” Claire dropped her head in her hand. “Fuck. I— I couldn’t save him.”
“Claire—“
“I should’ve saved him,” Claire said, tears in her eyes. “That bitch — Alexia Ashford — she infected him with the T-Veronica virus, made him try to kill me… and he turned on her so she— she killed him. God, he was just a kid, Rebecca. We… we both were. And the last thing he ever said to me was that he loved me.” Claire let out a sob. “I don’t even know if he meant it or if he— he was just so scared that… he was dying. He should’ve had more time. Fuck.”
Rebecca got up from her chair, putting her arms on Claire’s shoulders. “It’s not your fault, Claire. You hear me? This is never your fault.”
Claire leaned into Rebecca, needing to feel someone there… to know that she wasn’t alone.
“Let’s get you back to your hotel, okay?”
Their meal had already been paid for, thankfully, which meant there was nothing stopping Rebecca from helping Claire out of her chair and leading her to the exit, all the while giving her soft assurances and comfort. As soon as she was up on her feet Claire knew that she had had a lot more to drink than she’d thought.
Rebecca got them a taxi and managed to coax the address of Claire’s hotel out of her. Rebecca definitely wasn’t entirely sober herself, Claire could tell, but her need to help Claire was overpowering the intoxication for the time being. The entire drive Rebecca just held onto Claire’s hand, silently reassuring her that she was still there.
At the hotel, Claire did manage to use her key to get into the room, Rebecca still sticking by her side as they went in. She helped Claire sit on the bed, trying to step away for just a moment — but Claire held onto her hand.
“Claire?”
“Don’t leave.”
Rebecca looked at Claire sadly. “I’m not going far, Claire. I’ll still be in the room. I’m just getting us some water, okay?”
Claire’s grip didn’t release. “Please. Don’t leave.”
Rebecca sat down next to Claire, facing her. “Claire… I know how this feels. I promise I’m not going to go anywhere, okay? I’ll stay here all night if you need me to.”
Rebecca was so close now. Claire could smell the sweet perfume coming off her, see those soft eyes looking at Claire and seeing only her, caring only about her at this moment. It was all so overpowering, all feeling like a dream that couldn’t possibly be real.
But it was. The infinitesimally small details on Rebecca’s face, the way Claire could feel the weight of her sitting on the bed close to her… it was all too specific to be fake.
They were getting closer now, Claire leaning forward. Rebecca’s breath caught in her throat as Claire put a hand to her cheek, running it along to the back of her neck. “Claire?”
Claire surged forward, kissing Rebecca on the mouth. It wasn’t graceful, and it couldn’t be called “romantic” either — it was the pure, primal need to feel someone close to her that overpowered all of Claire’s reason, made her act without thinking. But she didn’t stop, even when what she was doing caught up to her mind, slowed by alcoholic influence.
Rebecca put a hand against Claire’s shoulder, breathing into the kiss and making a half-hearted effort to pull back. “Claire, we… you’re drunk, we shouldn’t…”
A kiss at the nape of Rebecca’s neck seemed to stop the “argument” there as she let out a gasp, her hands moving to Claire’s back, her body moving closer as well. Rebecca pulled herself over so her legs wrapped around Claire’s waist, Claire moving her mouth to Rebecca’s collarbone as her stumbling fingers struggled to get the dress off.
Rebecca’s hands ran through Claire’s hair, and there were now no other thoughts going through Claire’s mind. There was only her, only Rebecca, only this room in the entire world.
And right now, that was all she needed.
Rebecca’s dress had somehow ended up falling over the lamp next to the bed, various articles of clothing finding other strange resting spots in the fervor to get them off. The sheets were pulled up over Claire now, Rebecca resting with her head on Claire’s chest, eyes closed.
The night had certainly taken a turn that Claire hadn’t been expecting, but she couldn’t say it was a bad one — even though she may have had some regrets about how this all came to be.
Rebecca stirred, not opening her eyes but snuggling in closer to Claire. Their legs were intertwined, Claire’s arm around the smaller woman. “Becca?”
“Mm?”
So, still awake it was. “Just… checking to make sure this is real.”
Rebecca still didn’t open her eyes. “I’d be really disappointed if it wasn’t,” she mumbled against Claire’s skin.
Claire smirked.
“How do you feel?”
“Better,” Claire answered. “I’m… I’m sorry for freaking out like that.”
Rebecca finally opened her eyes, moving to lay next to Claire so she could see her, interlocking their fingers. “Don’t be.”
Claire smiled, but it was a hollow one. “I just wish I could’ve kept it together… not be a broken person for just one night.”
Rebecca let go of Claire’s hand, before putting both on either side of Claire’s face. “You’re not broken, Claire. Okay? None of this is easy for anyone to deal with, and… and you shouldn’t feel like you have to bury it for anyone’s sake. Especially not mine.”
Claire put one of her hands over Rebecca’s. “Thanks. Thanks for saying that and… and for being here.”
Rebecca pressed her forehead to Claire’s. “Survivors like us have to stick together, right?”
Claire kissed Rebecca on the forehead. “Didn’t realize we’d be sticking together so close, but I get what you mean.”
Rebecca laughed softly. She lifted her head, giving Claire a gentle kiss on the lips before settling down again.
“So… what does this mean?”
Rebecca looked right into Claire’s eyes. “What do you want it to mean?”
“I… I don’t know,” Claire admitted.
“Well… we can find out. Together.”
Claire wrapped her arms around Rebecca, pulling her closer. “Together.”