The Sound of Silence, A Resident Evil Fanfiction

Chris and Cristi

He quickly hurried upstairs from the main dining floor and opened his room's door, finding his little girl squalling as loud as her lungs could let her. Her blankets were tossed about, her face as red as it could be, scrunched through a trap in a nightmare Leon knew well enough. He hurried over and picked her up, tucking her to his chest.

"Easy, easy," he hummed quietly. "I have you. It's okay, I'm here." He bounced her gently, rocking from one heel to the other; poor baby. Just what had she dreamed about that trapped her in fear?

He heard heavy footfalls following behind him. He jolted and turned hard on his heel, eyes fallen on Chris, the captain of the BSAA staring right back at him. Brown eyes widened with wonder, bewildered of the sight before him.

A silent breath escaped Chris, his posture relaxing. Leon, however, remained guarded, wary of the other man who had followed him. His mind raced with questions. What would Chris ask? How could he answer? He didn't want to lie, of course, but at the same token, he had pushed this moment to the back of his mind. He was not prepared for this. He was not at all prepared for what Chris would ask of him...and what he would share.

Chris was shocked, unquestionably, as the air became heavy with words unsaid. As moments that stretched to eternity and beyond, the other man finally found his voice, unable to look past the little girl's striking resemblance to him. That brown hair, those round cheeks...

"Leon......" Chris's voice began. "Is......... Is that....... Is she m......?"

Even when he thought he had the words, they still seemed to fail, though it wasn't hard to determine what the man was asking.

Leon's throat caught. He stared long and hard at him, the same man he shared that one brief moment in China. The one who had to help him end his suffering that night.

He wanted to answer. His heart told him that he needed to. Chris had a right to know. He knew that, and yet he was still fearful.

Trepidation in his voice, just like Chris', he finally made himself answer.

"...yes...she is."

Awkwardness hung in the air, Chris trying to figure out how to respond, what to ask next, and Leon waiting with bated breath for each question, though there was much to discuss. Yet, for as many words were left unspoken, there was an undeniable protectiveness in Chris' eyes.

"How...... How old is........" Chris took a deep breath, steeling himself. "My daughter?"

"...three months."

Leon answered him. He looked at the Captain, then repeated, "She's three months old..."

He peered down at her, seeing that she had quieted down, fallen back to sleep perhaps. He sighed, his shoulders slacking in relief. He looked back up at Chris. He added, "...I named her Cristiana Scotia...after you and me."

Chris stared just a little more, thinking of what to ask next. "Why.... Didn't you tell me?" He asked quietly, mindful of the sleeping child, _his_ sleeping child.

That was the hard one Leon was waiting for. How? How could he answer that? Why?

Why didn't he tell him? No...no, he knew that answer. He knew damn well what the answer was.

He kept his voice low, not realizing how it cracked as he managed to squeeze each syllable out.

"I...I was scared...I still am...I'm just...I'm scared of how you'd think of her...of me..."

He peered up at Chris.

"I didn't want you to think that I was..."

A freak, he mentally said to himself, A freak, an abomination. Everything not human.