Chapter Text
Grace wanted to think she had things under control. As best as anyone could given the circumstances, gaining another being to watch over. Especially one who was a clone of herself and had spent a brief stint as a mutated monster. Even with all of that dumped into her lap, on top of the chronic anxiety, Grace thought she was doing at least a decent job at raising Emily. The girl was reading far above others around her age. Verbally, she was leaps and bounds ahead of their first meeting. Working from home allowed Grace to nurture all of these areas as much as possible in a short amount of time. Six months after the incident at Rhodes, Emily seemed like a normal girl. Or would, if her face hadn’t been plastered all over the news. Adults recognized the child more than those her own age but it was only a matter of time. Grace hadn’t wanted to put Emily in public school or even a private one. That was a life she knew all too well. Moving so often friends were impossible, never having a real home, social skills vastly lacking. She didn’t want that for Emily. After much consideration, it seemed like the perfect school just fell into her lap. Not too far from the apartment and on the path to work. Great ratings from other parents, good after school programs, an overall ideal place for Emily to nurture her intelligence.
Nearing the one year anniversary set Grace’s nerves on edge yet Emily seemed no different than usual. The younger blonde had a few close buddies at school but no “best friends” at the time. It didn’t seem out of the ordinary, at least according to her own research on the subject. Everything seemed fine. Until one Tuesday evening, Emily comes storming in, bookbag roughly being thrown to the floor. Eyes that were once clouded now held a fury the likes Grace had never seen. This was new territory, one that left the elder on unsure footing.
“How was school?” was apparently the wrong question to ask.
The girl turned on her, anger fully targeted at the taller blonde. “Do you know what it’s like? For everyone to know you’re not a person but the failed product of some company?”
Grace had never fallen into a frozen lake, but she imagines this is what it feels like. The two had always been honest with one another, even about Emily’s existence. They had had a long talk about it, both of them cried but, again, it seemed fine. Panic rose in her throat like bile. “I-I don’t…”
“My life is ruined all because someone tried to make another you! And for what? You’re not even special.” Emily, deep down, knew her words were said in anger. It was a lesson they had gone over early in her homeschooling. She grasped at the thing that would hurt Grace because she was hurting too. That didn’t mean she meant them. This was a lesson Grace didn’t remember quite as well. The words cut so deep it knocked the air from her lungs, tears burning and threatening to fall, but instead she just smiled. Nodded. Went back to making dinner. Emily huffed, stomping off to her room and slamming the door. Grace’s hands shook, shoulders flinching at the violent sound.
When Leon had given Grace his number, he’d also introduced her to Sherry, the all knowing voice in his ear who happened to be his adopted daughter. The two had never met in person but had spoken at length on the phone a few times, mostly about Emily. It was no different this time. A few days had passed since the girl had furiously entered the apartment and Grace had been spiraling ever since. Every instance of failure, every mistake. Everything falling in line like a row of dominoes. It all became clear. Emily wasn’t safe with her, could never live a normal life. She needed better. Deserved better. Which led to an early morning call with Sherry, her hands still trembling even days later.
“Kinda early, even for you, Grace.” The woman answered on the second ring, par for the course.
“Hi, Sherry.” Her voice sounded tired. Not physical exhaustion but something heavier weighing her down.
“You doing okay?” Though the two had never met, Grace could imagine the frown on Sherry’s face.
“Fine.” Too fast, too clipped. An answer Sherry was more than used to from Leon on the field, not Grace. “I need a favor.”
The elder sighed heavily, fingers pinching the of her nose, “What kind of favor?”
“I need you to find a family for Emily.” The silence that followed made Grace think the phone disconnected but the number counting up said otherwise. Sherry stared at her monitor, hands frozen above the keyboard in shock.
“I’m sorry, I think you’re breaking up, can you say that again? Because I know you didn’t say what I think you just said.” Her words had a bit of a bite at the end. Not only had both Grace and Leon regaled her with the events of Elpis but she read the report. Knows what lengths were gone to for Grace and Emily to be where they are now. Something was off.
“Emily needs to be with a stable family. One with no connection to any of this.”
“Grace,” Sherry treaded carefully, “Emily has that. She has you.”
Even though Sherry couldn’t see, Grace shook her head, “She’s with the reason for her existence.”
Dark brows furrowed, processing the other’s words. “Did something happen?”
Sherry swore she could hear Grace swallow through the phone, “Kids at school found out, started picking on her.”
“Shit,” the curse hissed out, fingers rubbing her temples, “That’s still no reason to give up your kid.”
“She’s not my kid.” Oh, that was a tone Sherry knew all too well. It was one a person used when they were trying to convince themselves what they’re saying was true. Leon was guilty of it quite often.
“You’ve been raising her for almost a year. Taught her to read and speak properly. Took care of her when she’s sick.”
“That doesn’t make me her mother.” Her words were firm, convinced. “She deserves normal.”
“She has normal.” Sherry stressed, peeking over her monitor to make sure no one was listening in but it was hard to keep her voice down. “You’re reacting to something she said in anger.”
“Children and fools speak the truth.”
“Don’t quote Mark Twain at me.”
It was Grace’s turn to sigh, “You don’t understand.”
A dry laugh, “Try me.”
“People around me get hurt, Sherry.” Well, shit.
“Grace. . .”
“My moth-” she cut herself off, “Alyssa died because of me. Umbrella, the cloning, all of it. Emily is just another victim. All because they were trying to make another me, for nothing.”
Sherry’s voice was soft now, “That’s not your fault. Sending her away isn’t protecting Emily.”
“Emily deserves a normal life after all she’s been through.”
“You are her normal life.”
“I can’t be.” Sherry could hear Grace’s voice catch on a small sob. “I just need you to find a family that can get her away from all this.”
Another sigh, “You asked me once what it was like growing up the way I did.” A pause. “You know what messed me up the most?”
“. . . what?”
“People deciding what was best for me without asking what I wanted.” Silence filled the air again, Sherry allowing her words to sink in before continuing, “She’s going to think you don’t want her.”
The barely contained sob from before broke through, Grace’s hand flying to her mouth in an attempt to hide it. “I know, but I’d rather her be alive to hate me.”
Sherry had dealt with stubborn people her whole life, knew when it was a losing battle, no matter how much she didn’t want to give in. “I’ll find a placement, but Grace?” She heard a soft hum from the other end, “If I do this, I’m calling Leon.”
A sharp inhale, senses on full alert. “No.”
“Yes.” The tone was final, no room for arguments. “I think he deserves to know.”
“He doesn’t owe me anything.” Well, Sherry knew where this was going, best leave that for Leon.
“Just one more thing. When Emily asks why, what are you going to tell her?”
Grace glanced at the crayon drawings on the fridge. Most of the two of them, a few including Leon. The words nearly choked her. “The truth.”
It was nearing the week's end when two of the least intimidating agents showed up at her apartment. Emily would be home from school any moment. Grace thought she was ready, that this was the right thing to do. It was but that didn’t make it hurt any less. The soft click of the front latch pulled Grace from her spiral, but eyes continued to stare out the window, disassociating. Emily froze in the doorway, bookbag slipping off her shoulder as the child stared up at the agents in confusion. “Grace?” her small voice called out, concerned. The agents, both two middle-aged women, gently approached Emily, one kneeling to her level.
“Hi, Emily. My name is Beth, this is Zoe. We’re here to take you to your new home.” The agent, Beth, tried her best to be soft and kind to Emily, knowing how unpredictable these situations could be.
“What?” The small blonde looked to Grace, who still didn’t meet her eyes. “Grace, what’s going on?” Leaving the two agents to move towards Grace, Emily took one of the elder’s hands in both of hers. “I didn’t mean what I said. I was mad. I didn’t mean it, I swear!”
Grace cleared her throat to prevent the sob caught in it, “You deserve a normal life, Emily.”
“I have one!” Though she wasn’t looking, it was clear Emily was crying now. “With you!” The soft steps of the agents approaching went unheard to both of them, the small blonde startling when hands gently touched her shoulders, attempting to separate the two. “Grace, please!”
As soon as Grace glanced down she regretted it, the look on Emily’s face like a stab through the heart. Tears spilled down her face as well, “I’m not good for you. I only hurt people.”
“That’s not true!” Emily shook her head violently, “Grace!” The other agent, Zoe, picked Emily up under her armpits, though the girl had an iron clad grip on the adult blonde’s hand. “I don’t want another family! Grace, please!” She eventually lost her grip, the agents able to move Emily away and head towards the front door but that didn’t prevent the girl from crying out.
“Grace!” Her young voice cracked on the scream, hands reaching out for the woman. As the three crossed over the threshold into the hallway, door slowly closing, Emily continued to cry but this time was worse, so much worse.
“Momma!” Her knees gave out, hands clasped over her mouth as the sobs cracked her chest. Even once the door was closed she could still hear Emily call for her repeatedly, growing more desperate the further she went. Grace told herself this was the right thing to do. If she said it enough times, maybe it would hurt less.
Leon was finishing up a report from his most recent mission, nothing compared to the events of Raccoon City the year prior. He could live with that, now officially in his fifties. While Elpis had definitely revitalized him, made him feel younger than ever, that didn’t mean he wanted to go around doing unnecessary backflips and tear a muscle in the process. Sherry would never let him live that down. Speaking of Sherry, seeing her face stare back at him from his phone screen was a welcome yet odd surprise. Swiping the answer button, he heard the phone connect in his ear piece. “Now I know I’m not late on this report, Sherry. I may be old but I’m not senile.”
Leon expected a snarky retort back, more of their playful banter. That wasn’t at all what he got. Instead, he got the floor dropped out from under him. “Grace surrendered Emily.”
His jaw dropped, brow furrowed in confusion. Those words made sense separately but not all together. “What?”
“Grace asked me to place Emily with another family.” Leon stared at his laptop but the words didn’t register. This had to be a dream or some kind of weird head injury. There was no way that Grace, who nearly died to protect Emily, would give her up just like that.
“Ashcroft. Grace Ashcroft.” He confirmed. “That’s who we’re talking about, correct?”
“One and the same.”
“When did this happen?” Despite the clock on his laptop, Leon instinctively brought up his wrist to glance at the watch there.
“She asked me earlier this week but Emily officially was removed from Grace’s custody an hour ago.” He could hear Sherry typing away at her keyboard, more than likely confirming her words.
“Why did you wait till now to tell me?” If he had known Grace’s intentions he could have gone and talked with the two, see what was going on.
“I’d hoped she’d changed her mind.” A rough sigh. “Clearly, I thought wrong.” Leon glanced down at his phone, swiping away from the active call to look at his phone log. He hadn’t spoken to Grace in months. Hadn’t texted in a few weeks. “She still lives in the same apartment.”
“Sherry, you gotta stop reading my mind.” He teased, saving the progress of his report before closing the laptop and heading towards the door.
“What would you do without me?”
The doorbell pulled Grace from her deep pit of self-despair, a bottle of beer absently dangling from her hands. Legs stretching, she headed toward the door, glancing through the peep hole. It wasn’t a shock to see Leon there. Sherry had said she’d call him. Deciding to face the inevitable, she cracked the door open, eyes tired and hollow. “Leon.”
He’d been expecting her to look rough, but not like this. She looked as bad as he felt with stage three infection, that’s saying something. “You gonna invite me in?” The pause spoke more volume than any words could but Leon felt a great relief when Grace finally stepped aside and let him in. Even though Emily had only been gone a few hours, the absence was immediately noticeable. Drawings on the fridge were gone. Toys hidden somewhere. Any sign there had ever been a child in the apartment were nowhere to be found. “Sherry told me about Emily.”
Grace put space between them, moving to the kitchen and leaning against the counter. “I did the right thing.” Punctuating her words with a sip from the beer bottle.
Leon could tell the walls were up, moving closer but keeping the kitchen island between them. “You went through hell to keep that kid alive.” Grace nervously tapped the bottle in her hands. “And you just send her away?”
“I’m not good for her.” She didn’t meet his eyes, staring down the neck of the bottle.
“Grace. . .”
“Alyssa died because of me.” Leon was confused by her words.
“Your mother?”
“Alyssa wasn’t my mother. You saw the same footage I did. My mother abandoned me. She didn’t want me. Knew I was nothing. I got Alyssa killed all because people thought I was something special.” Her small hands gripped the bottle so tightly, Leon feared it would crack under the pressure.
“That’s not what happened, Grace.” He wanted to reach across, take the bottle from her but knew any sudden movement could startle her. Like a deer in the woods.
“I killed Emily, too. I ruin everything, Leon.” These words were becoming commonplace, Grace was starting to believe them.
Hair fell into his eyes as Leon shook his head, “You don’t believe that.”
Finishing off the bottle, Grace roughly slammed it down on the counter, the sound doing nothing to startle the older man. She slowly moved towards the front door, swaying a little as she walked. “You don’t have to keep checking up on me.”
Now that was out of left field, “What?”
“You don’t owe me anything just because I saved your life.” Leon opened his mouth, stunned by the sudden boldness of her words. “If anything, saving you makes up for everything else I screwed up in life.”
The fact that Grace believed he stuck around simply because of her curing him hurt. He didn’t do that for just anyone. Didn’t help babysit Emily or have dinner with them for the first few months out of some type of debt. “Grace, that’s not why. . . “
The sound of the front door opening cut off his words, “You should go.” She couldn’t stand to hear the excuses. To build hope where there wasn’t any. Emily didn’t need her. Leon certainly didn’t either. No one did. Leon didn’t move but Grace refused to meet his eyes. He knew they weren’t going to make any progress tonight. Not with the wounds so fresh. He’d lost this battle, but as they say, he didn’t lose the war. With a sigh that heaved his shoulder, Leon headed out into the hall. With one last glance at Grace, the door came in between them. This wasn’t over. This was just the beginning.