Work Text:
The sound of rain hitting the window echoed through the dimly lit room, sounding almost enough like a lullaby. There was a stale taste in Chris’ mouth as his eyes shot open. The hum of a phone vibrating on the table beside him broke him out of his sleepy haze. The crisp January night air was a shock to his system as he sat up in bed. Pain radiated through his hips as he forced his legs over the side of the bed, reminding him that he wasn’t as young as he once was. Perhaps his years of fighting monsters, both literal and figurative, was catching up to him.
“Yeah?” His voice gruff with sleep as he pinched the bridge of his nose. There was a slight shuffle on the other end of the line. A steady beep in the background took the place of anything spoken. Chris waited for the accompanying words to fill the awkward silence, to no avail.
Chris looked to the bed beside him, Jill’s sleeping figure illuminated by the clock on her bedside. Her blonde hair falling gently down her back as she slept, and for once she finally looked at peace. Chris longed for the comfort that Jill’s touch brought him. She was enough to stop his world from falling apart. He wasn’t cruel enough to wake her and bring her into a panic at this time of night.
Since their fight against bioterrorism began, sleep had become hard for them both. A vital bodily function had been a daily battle for more than a decade. Jill’s time under Wesker’s control had made the ordeal an even more frightening task. Jill’s trauma had been a slow recovery. The actions she was forced to commit and its outcomes haunted her. She had to learn to trust her body again. The trauma was chipping away at her slowly. She was struggling. She wasn’t making the progress the doctors wanted her to. It killed Chris that she was suffering. He hated that he couldn’t do anything.
The bold red numbers of the clock showed 02.47. It’s too early for this shit, Chris grumbled to himself. He took a steadying breath before his heart beat wildly out of control. He’s lived this moment too many times, an early morning phone call could only mean a couple of things, none of them good.
“Get on with it,” Chris snapped, “what is it?”
“Chris.” A voice finally spoke.
“Barry?” Guilt washed over him, suddenly regretting his tone. Without warning, awareness hit him, this wasn’t just work, this was personal. He felt his heart beating against his rib cage, slamming harder and harder, until Chris was worried it would break a rib. Barry was silent again, sending a million thoughts to run through Chris’ mind. He couldn’t keep up.
“Barry, what’s going on?” Chris’ voice was louder than he expected, echoing around the room, jolting Jill awake. Her blue eyes full of alert, darting around the room. Adrenaline flowed through her, almost as if her body was in a permanent state of flight or flight. Jill noted the silence that followed Chris’ question. Without meaning to, she held her breath, anxious about what would come next.
“It’s Claire.” Barry finally said the words that Chris was dreading. The world around him began to spin. Chris kept the phone pressed firmly against his ear, desperate to hear that his baby sister was okay. He could only make out a few words in his anxious haze. Attack, kidnapped, bioweapon, escape, ICU, alive.
“Why the fuck was I not made aware of this sooner?” Chris shot up off the bed as if he had been shot. Anger coursed through his veins. Chris could feel his blood boiling. He hung up the phone when Barry failed to find the words to answer him. Chris threw the phone to the bed. His body radiating rage.
“Chris,” Jill’s voice was gentle, “what’s going on?” Chris made a failed attempt at a deep breath, before giving up to get changed. He marched out of the room with Jill on his heels. She grabbed his hand, forcing him to stop for a moment.
“Claire was kidnapped.” Chris’ tone was sharp. “She’s in the ICU and no one told me.”
“I’m sure there’s a reason Chris.” She placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. Chris closed his eyes, trying to allow himself to ground for even just a second. Jill was capable of many things, but in that moment she was unable to take away his anger.
The drive to the hospital was almost silent. The steering wheel was clutched in Chris’ grasp so tightly his scarred knuckles had turned white. Jill’s pleas to let her drive fell on deaf ears. His focus was on the road, the rain hitting the windshield doing little to calm the fire spreading through his muscles.
“She’s in the best place she can be right now. The doctors will make her better.” Jill felt as though she was trying to placate a child. “But this, what you’re doing, isn’t going to help her. You need to stay calm. You can’t help her when you’re like this.”
Jill knew that there was no getting through to Chris when he was like this. He was as stubborn as a mule, it was a Redfield trait. Like brother like sister Jill often found herself thinking anytime the two were in each other's vicinity. Chris didn’t say a word to her the whole drive to the hospital, leaving Jill to sit in silence.
She noticed that her hands were shaking. Jill closed her eyes and tried to breathe, Claire needed her to be the level headed one. Jill tried to stay calm, for Claire. She allowed the raindrops hitting the window to ground her. She’s alive, she tried to remind herself.
Chris’ anger never dissipated. He felt his anger grow as he marched down the too bright hospital corridors. The fluorescent overhead lighting illuminated the white corridor. The walls lined with health information and warnings that Chris was all too happy to ignore. He could faintly hear Jill behind him, pleading with him to calm down, her voice being drowned out by the sound of his heart beating in his ears.
Barry and Leon were in the waiting room, anxiously anticipating Chris’ arrival. Barry was seated in the hard hospital chair, his weary muscles aching against the contours of the plastic. His gaze was fixed onto the ugly green stained carpet by his feet. Leon was leaning against the wall, his eyes unfocused and his hands shoved into his pockets. His knee shook anxiously.
“You both knew?” Chris spat as he barreled into the waiting room. “You both knew that Claire was kidnapped and didn’t tell me?” Chris’ calloused fists were clenched tightly, holding them by his side. Barry and Leon looked at each other sheepishly, without saying a word. Barry was the first to approach. His eyes were bloodshot and filled with tears.
“Chris,” Barry began, his voice shaking with guilt. He opened his mouth to speak but couldn’t find the words to continue. He took a shaky breath. He couldn’t quite meet Chris’ glare. He looked toward Leon for help.
“You didn’t think I had the right to know?” Chris’ voice shook with rage. Jill placed a hand on his shoulder, rubbing gently, desperate to do something to help.
“Chris, you need to calm down.” Leon sighed. Chris’ eyes narrowed.
“Don’t you dare tell me to calm down.” Chris roared, shoving his finger in Leon’s face. Leon’s face was stoic, he didn’t flinch. He let Chris do whatever he needed to do to make himself feel better.
“Claire didn’t want us to tell.” Leon said at last. Chris’ breath hitched; he couldn’t quite believe that his sister would hide something like this from him. He was almost grateful for the hospital setting, because he knew without it, he’d probably punch Leon right now.
“Bastards.” Chris muttered, his voice laced with venom, as he pushed past the men. He approached the door with C. Redfield written on a board with a black marker. He immediately sought Claire lying in a bed in the back of the room. The room was dimly lit by a single yellowed overhead light in the corner.
His knees almost buckled when his eyes locked onto his sister. His strong and resilient sister looked so small in her hospital bed. Her body battered and bruised. He was torn between relief that his sister was okay, and rage that she tried to hide this from him. His head spun so fast he felt as though he was going to faint.
He saw Leon’s jacket on the chair next to Claire’s bedside. His fists clenched tightly once again, it should have been him by her side. Chris was her big brother, her protector. He failed to protect her. He’s dedicated everything to fighting bioterrorism, and now here was his sister, far too close to death because of it.
Chris threw the jacket to the floor, and sat in the chair, where he should have been all this time. He noted that it was warm, and Chris couldn’t help but feel a small amount of gratitude for Leon being there for Claire while he wasn’t. He was glad that Claire had someone like Leon in her life, someone to look out for her and care for her on the few occasions where Chris couldn’t. Why Chris wasn’t there for Claire sooner on this occasion, Chris still couldn’t work out.
The machines gave off a steady melody of beeps that on most occasions would have normally driven him mad. He fought the urge to hold her hand, not daring to wake her. Chris watched Claire’s chest rise and fall; relief coursed through him. She’s alive, Chris reminded himself, she’s okay. He sat there, watching her sleep, acting like the protector he wished he had been the last few days.
Claire’s eyes open slowly, struggling to adjust to the light in the corner. She winced as the pain in her body returned. She squeezed her eyes shut, wishing that she was still asleep to escape the pain. When she opened her eyes again, she saw Chris sitting in the chair that had seemingly belonged to Leon the last couple of days.
“Chris?” She whispered, hoping that she might still be dreaming. “How are you here?”
“Barry called me.” Chris muttered. Claire sighed and looked away, not feeling brave enough to face her brother. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, Chris, I’m fine.” Claire’s voice was small. She could hear Chris’ breathing intensify.
“Why the hell did you tell Leon and Barry not to call me?” Chris growled. Claire averted his gaze. She took a shaky breath as her lip trembled.
“Chris, I'm an adult,” Claire mumbled. “You didn’t need to know.”
“You didn’t think I needed to know?” Chris snapped, his voice louder than he intended. “I have a right to know when my sister is abducted and in the ICU!”
Claire’s lip trembled violently as she fought back tears. She could feel anger radiating off of her brother as he sat forward in his seat. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Chris shaking. She wished she was anywhere else instead of being there having this conversation.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Chris’ tone grew angier. Claire refused to look at him, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She felt a fat, salty tear roll down her cheek.
“Look at me Claire!” Chris boomed, his voice echoing in the room. She finally turned to look at Chris. Chris’ face was red, his eyes rimmed with red. He wore a look of pure desperation in his eyes. Claire felt her heart break into a million different pieces.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Chris pleaded.
“I couldn’t have you worrying about me.” Claire’s confession came out meek. For the first time since getting the wounding call, Chris softened.
“What are you talking about?”
“I wanted you to focus on Jill.” She said gently. “You’ve been drowning in anxiety since you got her back from Wesker. I know that she’s not recovering like the doctors want her to.”
“That’s nothing for you to worry about Claire.” Chris’ voice broke.
“I needed you to worry about Jill to get her better.” Claire hushed. “I couldn’t have you worrying about me. So when you returned from Africa with Jill, I asked Leon that should anything happen to me, not to tell you right away. You’ve been protecting me my whole life, it was time I protected you.”
“Not like this Claire,” Chris sniffed. He roughly wiped away a tear that had begun to fall. Claire held out her hand, seeking out Chris’. He took it, wrapping his rough scarred hand around hers. “You’re my baby sister. You’re the only family I have left. When Barry called, it felt like my world was ending.”
“I’m so sorry Chris.” Claire’s voice came out in a whimper. She sat up slowly, the pain in her ribs almost blinding her. She pulled Chris by the arm closer to her. She wrapped her arms around Chris’ neck, sobbing into his shoulder. Chris held her gently, crying softly against her. His baby sister wasn’t a baby anymore, she hadn’t been for a long time, something he struggled to remember. All this time he thought he needed to protect her, and here she was protecting him so that he could protect Jill.
“Please don’t ever hide things like this from me again.” He whispered into her hair. “I can be here for Jill and still be there for you. I can take whatever you give me, so please Claire, give it all to me.”
Chris sat back down in the chair, giving Claire’s hand another squeeze. He felt his anger slowly begin to dissolve. He took a deep breath, the weight on his chest beginning to lighten.
“Jill’s here, when you’re ready for another visitor.” Chris watched Claire’s face lighten. “Looks like Leon did a good job of looking after you for me.”
She smiled weakly, though she was struggling to keep her eyes open. Chris gave her hand one final squeeze before helping her lie back down. He tucked her into bed, just like he used to when she was a kid. She allowed herself to close her eyes.
“I’m really sorry Chris.” She mumbled sleepily. Chris bent down to kiss her on her forehead.
“You don’t need to worry about that anymore.” Chris said softly. “Just get some sleep so you can get better, I’ll be right here.”