The Sound of Silence, A Resident Evil Fanfiction

Furlough

"Leon?"

The soft voice urged gently as a hand shook his shoulder. He groaned quietly, rolling his head over to peer up at the face of the blonde nurse who gave him Cristiana before. The baby herself was on his chest, sleeping her day away while listening to the calm beats of his heart. He asked the nurse, "Yes...?"

"Someone is here to see you."

Leon's brows knit. Who was here to see him? He sat up slowly, his spine still very much sore and constantly darting with sharp spasms. He held Cristiana to his breast, the baby still very much asleep. He nodded to the nurse.

"Let's see who it is..."

The nurse opened the door, letting in a woman with dark brown hair and hazel eyes behind a pair of pristine glasses adorned in a fine cut suit and skirt. The woman gave the nurse her thanks, and the two were left alone. For almost a moment they didn't say a word. However, the woman watched him, her eyes kind and concerned.

"How're you feeling, Leon?" she asked him. Her voice was soft, enough for Leon to remember who she was. Hunnigan, another DSO agent, and one Leon knew for several years. He relaxed.

"Like shit," Leon answered her. Hunnigan gave a soft snort and a shake of her head as if she knew to expect that answer. She walked over and sat at the edge of the bed. Her eyes fell on Leon's newborn, completely in disbelief. She muttered quietly, "I can't believe she survived. I can't believe you both survived that bombing."

She looked at him.

"You're really lucky, Leon. Otherwise, the President would have fired you."

Leon felt a sting in his heart. He frowned and ducked his head. However, Hunnigan continued, "He's not going to. He's worried about you, yes, but he's not going to fire you."

At least that was a relief in that knowing. 

He asked her with a wince, "...does he know?"

Hunnigan at first gave him a questioning look, then frowned. She sighed and nodded, answering, "Yes...he knows now."

Leon grimaced. He shook his head. He looked down at Cristiana, then back at Hunnigan. He muttered, "...I was trying to keep it from being obvious..."

Hunnigan nodded. She told him, "But when you took the assignment, he..." She frowned. She took a breath, then explained, "...when you agreed to take the assignment, he asked about your...condition. I didn't want him to be left in the dark, so I told him everything."

Leon's eyes darted up to Hunnigan. His eyes gleamed a bright, cold blue, his fury showing.

"I'm sorry Leon," She told him, "I didn't have a choice. You and I know we can't lie to the President, especially in concerns with your...circumstances."

Leon frowned, infuriated. He trusted Hunnigan with this secret. However, he let out a breath and nodded; no, it was not worth losing tempers over. He conceded, "...it's fine. I wish you asked me first but..."

"You'd have already gone anyway," She told him, "And that brought you..." She gestured to the baby. Leon corrected, "Her... and her name is Cristiana."

Hunnigan cocked her head; she didn't quite understand. She asked, "Cristiana?"

Leon nodded. He admitted, "...it's close to her father's name. It was what I could think of while I was carrying her at the time." He grumbled, more to himself than out loud, "...maybe something to do with the pregnancy hormones..."

Hunnigan hummed. She asked him tentatively, "...speaking of Chris Redfield...do you want him to know about this?"

Leon considered the question with apprehension and care. He bit his lip, then shook his head; no...Chris Redfield shouldn't know, as far as he was concerned. There was no telling how the BSAA captain would react if he found out. He replied, "...I'd rather he not. I don't want to saddle him with more trouble than he's already dealing with."

Hunnigan agreed, but reluctantly. She asked, "...so what will you do?"

"I'll...have to take furlough," He explained, "...unpaid or not I don't know...but I have to take care of her. I don't want to bring her into the office so soon and raise questions. The other agents don't need to know how or why..."

"But you and I know," Hunnigan reminded him as she leaned forward, "As does the President. It won't stay under the rug forever..."

Leon nodded. His eyes darted, thinking. What could he do?

Hunnigan, of all people, suggested an idea: "...you could take a vacation. Give yourself about three months."

Leon looked up at the woman in disbelief. He asked her, "Since when would you be suggesting such a thing?"

"Technically," She reminded him, "You've accumulated a lot of vacation time, so it'd make sense to make use of maternity leave, then your vacation time."

Leon thought about it. He took a moment to deeply consider the idea. Taking maternity leave was unpaid, but vacation? Paid? 

He looked at her. He asked, "Is the President willing to give that time?"

Hunnigan replied, "He'd have to. Considering you just had a baby, he'll have to."

Leon thought about it. After working for so long, and his vacations constantly interrupted, it would be nice to have some time off. He would need it after all; he had a lot to learn about raising a child. What she could eat, how often her diapers needed to be changed, how often she needed sleep...

He slowly nodded.

"All right Hunnigan," He decided. "...when do I start?"