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It was finally over.
The worst night of Grace Ashcroft’s life had ended in an explosion of viscera and rot, but Grace still felt like she was unable to breathe as she was led out of the collapsing facility and to the back of an ambulance to be checked out. She felt like she was on autopilot as her wounds were dressed and a blanket was draped around her shoulders, the sun beginning to peak over the horizon. Blood clung to every inch of her skin and no amount of scrubbing her skin raw would make her feel clean again, an unfamiliar but deep seated feeling of exhaustion clinging to her bones like a second skeleton.
“Hey.” Grace looked up to see Leon standing in front of her, wearing a pensive look on his face. Despite how she felt, she still managed to muster a smile, feeling like she owed the older man her life and so much more. Grace knew she would have likely never made it out of Rhodes Hill without his guidance, and she felt a deep sense of gratitude to him, but there was something else there too.. Something she was certain that Leon felt too. A never ending sense of responsibility, a burden they would both have to shoulder likely for the rest of their lives.
“How are you holding up?” Grace couldn’t help but ask, knowing he was cured of the virus but still being unsure of any internal injuries he could have sustained while fighting Gideon and who knew what else. Leon shrugged at the question, and she couldn’t help but frown at the action. Leon Kennedy wasn’t a man of many words, she wasn’t either, but she still felt like there was more left to be said. She felt herself scooting to the left, leaving a space for him to sit down next to her, and Grace waited with baited breath as she waited for what he would do next. After a long stretch of silence, he finally took a step forward and stepped up, claiming the divot she had carved out for him. Neither of them said anything for a long time, choosing to sit and revel in the calm that had finally befell them, but Grace still felt deeply troubled.
“Does it get any easier?” The question flew from her lips before she could take it back, but Grace knew it wouldn’t have been right to keep all that she was feeling inside. There was so much guilt and shame, and she had no idea where to put it all. She had never felt this way before, like her insides were molten lava, her body and limbs betraying her every step of the way. She hadn’t been able to save her mother or Emily or any of the other lost souls scattered across Rhode Hills and the ARK facility, and it was slowly eating away at her. Tears sprang to her eyes and she blinked them away, silently hoping that Leon hadn’t seen her weaknesses yet again.
“It takes time, but the feeling of failure is harder to shake.” Leon responded quietly, his eyes finding hers as he spoke. Grace saw her own feelings of shame and guilt reflected in his irises, a pain he never spoke aloud but carried silently within everyday. In that moment, Grace discovered a new admiration for him. The older man had lost more than she probably knew; the gravity of the implode of Racoon City something he would never be able to fully leave behind, but Leon felt a sense of duty to protect the innocent, and that's what kept him going despite it all. Grace knew she could never understand all of the horrors that Leon had gone through throughout his lifetime, but she could attempt to be there for him as he had been for her.
“I don't think anyone will ever be able to understand what happened tonight, I barely understand it myself.” Grace sighed as she spoke, knowing with absolute certainty that her words were truthful. Anyone in her life after this would never fully grasp why nightmares would come for her every night as she slept, sinking their gnarled fingers into the hollow of her throat and keep her trapped within the blood soaked memories against her will, or why she would never stop looking over her shoulder whenever she did the most mundane of tasks. She felt more like a liability than a person, and she didn’t know what could feel worse than that.
“I understand, and sometimes just one person understanding makes it easier to process. I'm always going to be here for you, Grace.” Leon patted her knee in reassurance, and Grace felt herself exhale a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. All Grace needed was for someone to understand, to be there whenever the nightmares came for her, and she felt immense relief in knowing that she wouldn't be alone.
“Thank you for everything, Leon.” Grace smiled at him, knowing that no amount of words could ever measure up to the gratitude she felt in her heart, but she knew deep down that he understood.
“Don't you mean mom?” Leon responded with a chuckle, and Grace felt herself blushing deep red as she vaguely recalled the memory he was referring to. She rolled her eyes in an attempt to unshoulder the deep embarrassment she felt at the situation but it only made the older man laugh harder, fondness etched onto his features. Once it became quiet between them again, Grace felt the night's events finally begin to take a toll on her physical body. Her eyes drooped with heaviness and her head fell against Leon's upper arm, snapping herself awake immediately once she had realized what had happened.
“Sorry.” Grace mumbled sleepily, yawning loudly as she struggled to keep herself upright. Leon watched her closely, the urge to still keep her safe at the forefront of his mind. This fight would never be over for him, but he could provide Grace with the comfort and support he should have received when he was in her place back in 1998, which is why he allowed her to rest against him whenever the weariness got too heavy and she was no longer able to fight the sleep threatening to overtake her body.
“I'm just gonna rest my eyes for a minute.” Grace mumbled as her eyes grew heavier and heavier, the first tendrils of sleep calling out to her like a siren beckoning a sailor to the shoreline.
“Reat kiddo, you need it.” Leon sounded far away, but she had heard him all the same. If someone had told Grace Ashcroft she would be in this position a week ago, she would have laughed in disbelief. If someone had told Grace Ashcroft she would be fighting for her life against zombies and scary monsters a week ago, she would have rolled her eyes in annoyance. If someone had told Grace Ashcroft that she would gain a mentor, a friend, and a father all in one a week ago, she would have shrugged it off. But all of those things were her reality now, a reality that would take some getting used to, but there was plenty of time for that. Grace fell asleep on his shoulder, and Leon let her, and Grace figured that it was a good place to start.