Chapter Text
It had been a very long night for Leon Kennedy. He and Grace had made it out of the underground lab against all odds.
With a miracle cure in their possession. A cure he had ordered Grace to destroy. He didn’t even want to think about the outcome if she had listened to him. Leon wasn’t sure if he would ever be able to thank Grace enough for her actions.
He couldn’t help but see a reflection of his younger self in Grace. Thrown into a world full of monsters without any clue of what to do. She must have been scared. He remembered he was. The first time in Raccoon City. Leon hoped Grace wouldn’t get stuck with the memories weighing her down. No, he would make sure she didn’t. She wasn’t going to be alone in this. He would make sure of that. Not like he had been all those years ago. Cast from one hell to the next over and over for years.
Leon pulled the glove off his left hand as he was walking.
The infection really was gone. No more black tendrils on his skin. He took out the wedding ring from his pocket and put it back on his finger. Where it belonged. He’d taken it off to keep them out of his mind. His family. The two most important persons in his life.
Leon had been sure he wouldn’t make it out of this alive. If not by the hordes of the infected and BOW:s, the T-virus that had been laying dormant for decades would have killed him. Leon had been on the doorstep of death tonight. Again. This time had felt closer than it had for a long time. But he was still here. By dumb luck. Again. If there was some kind of overworldly pot of luck, Leon’s had to be empty by now.
He took out his phone and checked the time. It was early. Really early. Somewhere between morning and night. Leon dialed the number anyway. She most likely was awake. If the roles were flipped and it was his wife out here Leon would not be able to sleep.
The phone call connected after only two rings.
“Hi” Claire’s voice came over the speaker. He couldn’t really read her tone. Tired, definitely. Worry? Relief?
“Hi” Leon didn’t know what else to say. So much he wanted to put into words, but nothing came out. It felt like an eternity just listening to Claire’s breathing, but it couldn’t have been more than a minute.
“Are you ok Leon?” Claire’s voice soft and caring. Leon took a breath before answering.
“I’m not dead”. It was like a wave of everything that had happened finally caught up to him.
“That’s good,” her voice again reached his ear. “I will kill you if you end up dead on one of your missions.”
Leon let out a laugh. “Good to know.” He smiled as he continued talking. “I don’t know how you kill someone twice, but if anyone can do it it’s you honey.” He knows how capable the woman he’s loved for close to three decades is.
“I’m guessing Sherry told you where I went” Leon continued, “since it was the wolves of Captain Redfield that pulled us out”.
“Hmm” Claire let out a sound that wasn’t quite a yes.
“Thank you. I don’t know how me and Grace would have gotten out of there without their help.” Leon would have to remember to thank Chris the next time he saw him.
“Grace?” Claire asked him.
“Grace Ashcroft,” he answered. “She’s FBI and got dragged into all of this too.”
“FBI you say?” Leon could hear a streak of teasing in Claire’s tone.
“Ha, yes. Actually FBI.” He didn’t really mind the teasing. It keeps him grounded. “She saved my life. That kid managed to get us the cure for Umbrellas viruses.” Leon paused. “She cured me from the infection”.
Another silence between them. More comfortable this time. More normal.
“Mom?” Leon could hear a sleepy voice in the background of the call.
“Sorry, did I wake you up?” Claire turned her attention to their daughter.
“Claire, can you let me talk to her?” Leon’s voice was almost trembling as the memories of earlier came rushing back. The little girl Grace had tried to save, Emily, had reminded him so much of his baby. Different hair and eyes of course, but when he helped carry Emily it had felt just like his own daughter. He had seen flashes of his girl in that burning hellscape.
“Emma, your dad wants to talk to you.”
Even the names were similar. God, if they even exist, has a sick and twisted sense of humour.
“Hello dad.” A very sleepy Emma said as she was handed the phone.
“Hello angel.” Leon replied. A warm sense of calm and relief spread through his chest. She was safe. “Dad’s sorry he woke you up. You can go back to sleep after this.”
“Okay,” he could tell she was yawning while talking. “Do you still have to work?”.
“No, I’m done with work for now.” Well except for his report, but that could be done wait. “I’ll come home later today.”
“Okay…” Emma sounded like she was falling back to sleep.
“I love you Emma.”
“Love you too dad.” Leon could hear Emma handing the phone over to her mother.
“So you’re all done for now” Claire asked him as she retrieved the phone.
“Yes, all done here.” Leon stopped for a bit.
“What?”
“I’m not sure how I’m gonna get home.”
“Huh?”
“Well...” Leon said, “I left my car in the middle of Raccoon City.”
“Leon.”
“Yes?”
“I don’t care how just get your fucking ass home as fast as possible”.
Leon could hear a dramatic gasp in the back of the call. “Mom, you said a bad word!”
Claire let out an annoyed grunt.
“You did.” Leon added with a smirk.
“Candy, candy, candy” Emma started to chant.
Leon could feel laughter bubbling up from his stomach.
“The candy swear jar was your idea honey.”
“Leon. Don’t”
“Yes, ma’am”. He was smiling wider than he had for ages. “I love you Claire.”
“Just get home.” Claire ended the call.
Leon put away his phone and started walking towards one of the helicopters. He wasn’t going to argue with his wife. He was sure someone could get him a ride home. Hopefully Claire would have calmed down a bit by that.