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/Mission Success. Base destroyed/
/Medically compromised/
/With Blue Umbrella for treatment/
That was the last text from Leon over a week ago, and Hunnigan couldn't help worrying. It was not well known, but Blue Umbrella was under Dr. Albert Wesker's purview. His 'reward' for the testimony he provided to bring down Umbrella Corporation.
The ink had barely dried on Umbrella Corporation's bankruptcy filings before Blue Umbrella came into existence, having risen from those ashes. Now with direct funding under the US government, Dr. Wesker was only answerable to the commander in chief, President Graham.
Hunnigan couldn't deny that Dr. Wesker had been true to his word in the running of Blue Umbrella with their offerings of vaccine research thus far. Still-- with his history as a former Bioterrorist... This turn over to the 'side of good' wasn't-- exactly fully trusted. It was without a doubt that he still continued his super-soldier research, which was quietly funded by the US government at that.
However, Hunnigan knew she couldn't count on USSTRACOM to aid with an extraction. Simmons wouldn't care to condone it. And Graham and Bedford could only do so much when they didn't want to interfere with the man's control of the Anti-Umbrella Pursuit and Investigation Team.
Still... with Leon's continued worrying silence... Hunnigan debated reaching out to Claire Redfield.
The last she'd heard, Leon had a falling out with Redfield after the brouhaha with Defence Secretary Wilson and the narrowly avoided war with Penamstan. But she hardly thought Redfield would hold on to a grudge if Leon was in danger. And with her connections to Chris Redfield in the BSAA...
Also, given the infamous grudge the Redfields had with Wesker? Perhaps the BSAA could be persuaded to offer their protection and extraction if Leon really was being held against his will by the former bioterrorist--
The soft chime of an incoming email shook Hunnigan from her thoughts. She did a double take at the email which arrived in her inbox. She could not help staring in disbelief at the report Leon had just sent to her as if it was an ordinary submission.
She called him. But he declined the call, instead sending a text.
/You have my report/
She glared at the text suspiciously for a moment before carefully typing a response.
/So, are you looking forward to your vacation in Spain?/
The response was almost immediate.
/HELL NO!/
She breathed a sigh of relief. If Leon had replied with an affirmative, it would have meant he was in danger his safety compromised, and his communications probably monitored. This reply, however, meant he was safe.
/Then why aren't you picking up my calls?/
There was a slight hesitation before she saw the scrolling three dots on the screen, evidence that he was typing a response.
/Promise me you won't laugh/
Hunnigan frown at this strange request.
/Okay. I promise I won't laugh/
She answered the incoming video call immediately, barely letting it ring even once. And was left speechless at the sight that greeted her.
This softer featured woman on the call with her? It was unmistakably Leon S. Kennedy. That is-- if he had been born a woman...
She couldn't pick her jaw up from the floor. “Leon?!”
“Yeah-- it's me.” He/she sighed tiredly. “I had a-- biohazard mishap...”
“You have got to be kidding me?!”
“I wish... Please don't tell Simmons.”
She couldn't help it. Her lip involuntarily twitched.
“Hunnigan!” Leon whined at her. “You promised not to laugh!”
Another week passed with no resolution, though Leon was at the least checking in with Hunnigan every evening.
“Won't you let me arrange a call with Sherry? She's really worried about you.”
“I’ve been texting with her, and you've also told her I'm safe, haven't you?”
“And after that one time I let Simmons force me to lie about your near critical injuries, she hasn't dared to trust my word about your wellbeing since.”
Leon huffed a resigned sigh. “I don't want anyone who knows me, seeing me like this, Hunnigan.” She told her quietly. “And my voice is different like this too. So-- I can't exactly just call and be believed to be who I am.”
“Has there been no progress?”
Leon shook her head. “I mean-- Wesker's scientists will swear to me that-- that this *is* temporary. It's just-- they still can't figure out how to change me back.”
“So, what have you been doing all this while? It's been, what? Nearly three weeks since this-- mishap?”
Leon's lips twitched. “The entire physique is different. So, I've been figuring out the adjustments to my form in self-defence and weapons handling. Wesker and Krauser have been generous about letting me assess my limits and allowing me to beat up their security team.”
“Oh, Leon!” She scowled at him in amused disapproval. “With the training you've been through? You're not being fair to the normies.”
“It's one of the conditions of Blue Umbrella after all that Wesker isn't allowed a militia, but he can have a security team. And so, it is the best use of my time to train them on B.O.W. defence and take down.
“It's not like I can do anything else since I'm grounded on missions because of--” Leon waved a vague hand at herself.
“I sense there's an 'And' here.”
“*And* I'm doing my best to discourage the persistent ones from trying to ask me out on a date.” Leon sighed. “Unfortunately, only Krauser's having any success on that front.
“It's like most of the buff guys here are just gluttons for punishment and seem to think it's hot having a-- a chick beat them up.” She confessed miserably.
Hunnigan valiantly stifled her laugh. “Well-- chin up, Kennedy. And please think about it. Sherry's already twenty-two, and long out from under Simmons' control. She can handle a secret.”
“I've seen her anime, manga and yaoi doujinshi collection.” Leon reminded her flatly, “She'll laugh in my face.”
“Undoubtedly, but she's really worried about you. And texts aren't enough.”
“I will think about it.” She promised quietly. “I'll-- call in a couple of days if nothing changes.”
There's a polite knock upon Leon's door, so the two take this as a prompt to sign off. There's really little else to say and they'll catch up again the next evening anyway.
The next evening that Hunnigan checked in with Leon, he's back to being a man and ecstatic about the restoration of his masculinity.
“Congratulations! Did Blue Umbrella's scientists figure out the trigger to change you back?”
To her surprise, Leon full on blushed and his expression went shy. “Er... not-- exactly?”
Hunnigan eyed him suspiciously. “So? How did--?” She waved at him.
“We-- don't-- really know. I just--” Leon closed his eyes tightly as his blush got impossibly redder. “That knock on my door last night was Krauser checking in on me. And-- he-- persuaded me to-- experiment last night.”
Hunnigan gave him a wicked grin and waggled her eyebrows at him. “Say no more. And you woke up restored this morning.”
“Yeah.” Leon had his hand covering his reddened face. “Can we drop it, please? Wesker's scientists already gave Krauser and me the third degree for the whole day trying to figure out what happened.”
“All right. So, what happens now?”
“Wesker asked me to let his scientists poke and prod me for another week then he'll have me dropped off wherever I want to go.
“We'll have a date set up with Sherry to meet for dinner after that too.” Leon quirked an amused grin at her. “Did you know he's Sherry's Godfather?
“He was remorseful about not making contact with her earlier and-- this was him being grateful to me for taking care of her when he wasn't able to.”
“That's-- Interesting...” Hunnigan mused. “We did know Albert Wesker was a close working relation with William and Annette Birkin.
“So, he was close enough to be asked to be a Godfather to their daughter, eh?”
“That's the story.” Leon smiled finally relaxed and not looking the frazzled and stressed-out woman he'd been the last few weeks. “I'll give Sherry a call after we hang up. And Hunnigan?”
“I won't breathe a word to anyone about your-- mishap.” She assured him.
“Thank you.”
The following week, however, had Leon showing a disturbing health decline.
“You look terrible.” Hunnigan observed of the haggard man at that evening's check in.
“And a good evening to you too, Hunnigan.” Leon grumped.
“Have you eaten recently?”
“Haven't managed to keep much of anything down lately.” Leon complained dully. “It's not the flu.”
“No one has given you a suspicious injection recently, have they?”
“Not at all.” Leon assured her. “Just taking blood tests and throat swabs. But they're not finding anything that I didn't already have when I arrived.”
Hunnigan's expression went tight at the reminder that Leon's medicals had never been straight forward. He had T-virus antibodies, plus Plagas hormones from that accursed Spain mission. It gave him a tiny boost in resilience, not too unlike Sherry's G-virus antibodies, though she had a much stronger healing factor.
“It's not the T acting up.” Leon assured her. “And Wesker did ask me for permission to study my antibodies towards vaccine research.”
“The week's almost up...”
“My doctors would like me to stay until I'm better.” Leon sighed. “And-- I'm inclined to agree. I would rather trust them than...”
Prudent. It was better that Leon could stay away from the doctors that were under Simmons's control. “I'm glad you're under trusted medical care, Leon.”
“So am I.” Leon sank his head into his arms miserably.
Hunnigan hummed at him consolingly. She truly had never seen him so sick and miserable before.
The next evening's call rang 10 minutes before Hunnigan was expecting it. This alarmed her. They had always followed a strict protocol of connecting on time. Not before. Not after. Unless there was an emergency...
“Leon?!”
He had looked drained and miserable the previous day. It was worse this evening. On top of the general haggard exhaustion, Leon was-- his eyes were wide with terror.
“Are you safe!” Hunnigan immediately leaped into crisis mode. In all the time she'd been Leon's handler, Hunnigan had never seen the man so consumed with fear before.
This was a man who would charge into a zombie hoard with a handgun and knife. Hunnigan had seen him attack a tyrant with little more than a knife and a hand grenade. Leon faced fear head on. Yet here he was, pale, nearly hyperventilating and practically shaking with fear and stress.
“Hunnigan? I-- I--” He was stuttering in panic.
“Leon, I'm here. Deep breaths now. I'm here. Are you safe?”
“Yes.” He choked out and tried to imitate her. Sucking in deep breaths to let it out again slowly. “Not-- not-- in danger. Safe-- Am safe.”
“Okay. Good to hear.” She breathed in relief. “Deep breaths. You're okay, right? Did-- did the Blue Umbrella scientists figure out what's wrong?”
“Y--yes.” Leon's breath started to hitch again.
“Leon, you're under trusted medical care.” She reminded him soothingly. “We'll face it together, okay? You're not-- dying, right?”
However, the words didn't sound right to her. She knew Leon wasn't afraid of death. The man had always been ‘matter of fact’ about death, understanding that when he went on missions, he never knew if it would be his last despite all their concerted efforts to stay alive.
He'd been up front about setting up a will, arranging legal representation for himself should he be unable to make his own decisions (and keeping that authority out of Simmons's hands). He'd even formalised and file an Advanced Medical Directive to outline his preference for future medical care and end-of-life treatments in the event he become incapacitated.
This man did not fear death. So, what--?
“Hunnigan? I'm-- I'm-- my doctors--” His mouth opened and closed repeatedly as he tried to speak but was unable to get the words out.
“Deep breaths, Leon. You can do it. I'm here for you.” She told him soothingly.
He swallowed hard and sucked in a huge, determined breath. “My doctors-- they say-- they say I'm pregnant.”
Hunnigan's jaw dropped. Her brain short circuited. She blinked once. Twice. Her mind was rebooting.
“H--hu-- Hunnigan?
She blinked rapidly at him. “I think-- I think I heard that wrong?”
Leon huffed at her before taking a deep shaky breath. “No. Unfortunately. I'm-- Well-- I'm pregnant.”
She swallowed before shaking her head hard enough to nearly dislodge her spectacles. She raised a finger to point it at the laptop’s camera. “You-- have got-- to be kidding me?!”
“No.” Leon leaned into his hands in front of the laptop. “Unfortunately-- It's real.
“I peed on the stick. And we-- we did an ultrasound. There's-- There's--”
“How--?” She connected the dots. “That night? With Krauser? You didn't use a condom?!
“Leon!”
“Wesker's scientists didn't tell me the changes went that deep.” Leon was pulling on his hair as he dropped his head upon the desk in front of the laptop, unable to meet her eyes. “I mean? I grew ovaries and a womb with that transformation? Really?!”
“But-- you changed back.”
“The womb stayed.” Leon sat back and Hunnigan saw that he had laid a hand over his belly. “I guess-- it-- couldn't be reabsorbed since-- it's now-- occupied?”
Hunnigan looked at Leon carefully. He'd calmed down while they talked and she did notice that the hand he'd laid on his stomach looked-- protective.
“Do you want this child, Leon?” She asked gently.
“I--” He looked up at her. “I--” He looked back down at his belly. “Yes.” He finally admitted softly.
“I mean-- growing up... Before Raccoon City, I did always want a family-- a house and the white picket fence...
“Just-- just wasn't expecting to be the one carrying the baby too, you know?” He gave her a watery smile as he looked up at her again.
He then sucked in a sudden deep breath at the statement. “Simmons. He can't-- he can't ever know.”
“He won't.” Hunnigan told him solemnly. “I will work with Wesker. He has been the most skilled in shielding you from Simmons's reach thus far.
“Knowing his relationship with Sherry? I believe he'll take an interest in protecting her other father too.”
Leon looked up at her in surprise and not without a little hope.
“We will protect the both of you.” Hunnigan reiterated firmly.
Leon's face softened as he finally began to relax. “You-- you do know-- I'd like it if you'd be a-- Godmother to my child, right?”
Hunnigan smiled warmly at him. “I'd be honoured.”
And before they knew or understood why, they began to laugh softly.
“Oh God... How am I going to tell Sherry to expect a little sister-- or a little brother.”
“She-- is going to laugh at you.”
“I’ll tell her-- if I live through the first trimester, that is.” Leon groaned as he laid his head on the desk in front of the laptop again. “The morning sickness and general nausea may kill me yet.”
Hunnigan smiled at him. Whatever could be said about Leon S. Kennedy, he was a survivor. She had little doubt he'd be on top of this and be a damn good father too.
End for now