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Leon rubbed absently at his wedding ring. The glinting gold of the jewel had previously been obscured by the festering black marks that webbed his skin, seeping deep into his nerve and muscle bone as his body decayed and fell apart.
But he had healed, his body free from the pain for the first time in decades. The black rot on his skin had receded instantly, only making the ring on his finger glimmer even more.
He couldn’t resist, raising his lips to kiss the cool metal. If Claire wasn’t here, Leon would make do with what he had left of her before he returned home.
“Leon you there?” He could hear Sherry’s voice ring pleasantly in his ear, voice calm yet worried, possibly at his silent contemplation.
But Sherry had no reason to worry, Leon had never felt so relieved in his life, not since before Racoon City, almost a lifetime ago.
He gave a faint chuckle, it was common for Sherry to worry, his daughter in all but name, worrying about her gruff old man.
“I’m fine Sherry, better than I’ve ever been, you will be here too.” Leon smiled at Sherry’s faint sigh; he could hear the smile in the sound itself.
After so many years Sherry would heal to and Leon was elated, after so many years she would get the happiness, peace and pain-free life she deserved.
“Thank you, Leon.” Sherry said softly, her voice wasn’t quite tearful, but it was with a gratefulness that Leon couldn’t even begin to discern.
He responded instantly, “Thanks but I barely did the work, it was all Grace.” He paused and swallowed.
“She saved me, she saved us Sherry.”
Sherry chuckled, wistful and soft.
“Yeah, she did but I’m sure you jumping on a Nemesis and bashing it with nothing but hatchet was barely any work for you.” Sherry responded, voice teasing.
Leon couldn’t help but laugh.
“Yeah, just a regular Tuesday for me...” Leon looked up, blue eyes darting around the scene of armed forces, cars and the colourful ambience of blue and red sirens until he came across Grace, shivering and alone, covered in a medical blanket.
“…But I can’t imagine how hard it was for Grace.”
He didn’t give a chance for Sherry to respond, voice purposeful.
“I’ll speak to you later Sherry, I’m gonna go check on her.”
Leon barely heard Sherry hum in affirmation before he turned off his earpiece, movements purposeful as he walked towards Grace.
****
Grace could barely process what had just happened. In a span of only a few moments she had gone from a terrified young woman in an impossible situation, to almost certain that she had been trapped in her demise.
But now she was here, alive.
The speed of such transformative events was making her feel faint, her heart racing painfully against her chest, her lungs constricting.
God her entire torso fucking burned, no doubt from the anxiety.
“Miss Ashcroft? Are you alright?” Grace flinched as the flashlight hit her vision, her arms automatically reaching to cover herself, her movements defensive.
“Please s-stop I-I can’t.” Grace muttered, voice sore.
Whoever seemed to be near her vicinity seemed to have understood her and complied. ‘not an enemy then’ Grace thought, her mind instantly easing, if only slightly. Red rimmed eyes darting around the room before they focused on the figure in front of her.
It was a man, unassuming, he looked like a doctor, a medic of some kind and Grace immediately thought of Gideon, his frightful laughter, his hands on her throat, constricting, draining her blood.
- -Stop, she just wanted this to stop…
“Miss it’s okay, you’re okay.” The voice reached out again, soothing, breaking Grace away from her induced nightmare.
She focused on the voice, the man in front of her, her breathing steadying again, her lungs still constricting painfully.
‘You’re safe Grace, you’re safe so stop panicking’ Grace repeated in her head, a soothing mantra to keep her stable.
“If it’s okay with you, I’m going to just retrieve a blood pressure cuff at the back of the ambulance, I’ll just be a minute, okay?”
Grace nodded, her hands, bloodied and bruised fidgeting together nervously, anything to try and settle herself in her own skin.
She could feel goosebumps prickle at the sore scabs and wounds on her skin, the small blue blanket on her shoulders doing little to shield her from the frigid air.
Grace could feel the medic’s hesitance at her nonverbal response, but to her relief he sighed in finality, his gaze sympathetic and worried if the furrow of his brow was anything to go by before he sighed and seemed to relent at her despondence, his frame disappearing as he climbed into the van, the steps of the vehicle shifting slightly under Grace with the added weight of another figure entering it.
But she wasn’t alone for long, although it was with someone, she felt more relieved in seeing, someone who had protected her, who would have died to keep her safe.
Leon…she could trust Leon.
‘Leon won’t hurt you’ Grace thought to herself, if only to ease the burning thumping in her chest.
“Hey, how are you?” Leon spoke softly, his voice had dropped an octave, almost gentle and serene. It’s what Grace appreciated most about Leon, he could sense her anxiety and automatically adjusted. Didn’t treat it as an inconvenience or burden, but rather a part her character that he adapted to.
The same way she did with his brazen one-liners, his sorrowful regret, his survivor’s guilt masked with quips and light jokes.
“I trust you” Leon had said, voice firm even as he fought to stay alive in her arms. And Grace would forever be thankful for his trust, for allowing themselves to be vulnerable with each other in turn.
It was why she wasn’t afraid to unveil her thoughts, her fears and her pain to him now.
“I-I don’t know.” Grace replied, before she let out a weak cough, her voice choked with emotion, sore from screaming.
She heard Leon sigh, tired and weary, his eyes closed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose before his shoulders slumped almost in sorrowful acknowledgement.
“Yeah, I know, but you’re going to be okay.” His hands reached to gently pat her shoulder, his fingers moving to adjust the blanket slipping from her frame.
“You’re not alone Grace I promise.” Leon smiled, it was playful, a light-hearted smirk, his expression almost proud.
Grace couldn’t fight her own smile before she curled in on herself, hands clutching her chest as she coughed voice weak and hoarse.
“A-ah Fuck!” Grace rasped, hands clutching her chest. Her heart and lungs burning.
What the fuck was happening to her? This pain, Grace could hardly breathe through the sensations coursing her veins.Her vision was bleary, eyes looking up at Leon’s figure, his broad frame now crouching, both hands on her shoulders.
“Grace, you, okay?”
She couldn’t respond, couldn’t breathe. Her vision getting spotty as she felt the faint tang of copper fill her mouth, blood seeping through her lips as she coughed.
“L-Leon.” She choked.
Her eyes shut and the last thing she felt was her body collapsing.
****
Leon couldn’t hide his concern as he watched Grace’s body sway, eyes dazed before she muttered his name, her voice regretful and pained, almost seeped in agony before she collapsed.
“Grace!”
Leon didn’t even think, arms automatically moving to catch her, her body sinking into his frame. Leon noted how pale she looked against the dark blue of his shirt, her body shivering, her breathing shallow and pained.
His heart froze when he saw the blood ooze from her lips.
“Shit! I need a Medic!” Leon shouted, frantic but commanding, a figure quickly emerged from the ambulance, his eyes assessing as he immediately acted.
“Lay her down here.” He patted the medical bed and Leon immediately obliged, body shifting to bridal carry Grace before gently placing her down on the gurney, gently shifting the pillows so her head rested comfortably on them.
Grace only whimpered, but her eyes remained closed, breathing raspy.
Leon watched, tense, fists clenched as the medic immediately grabbed a pair of scissors, gently cutting away the fabric of Grace’s bloodied and worn top.
The sound of the fabric painfully peeling away from Grace’s wounds made Leon internally wince. The medic seemed to share the same sentiment, voice hushed, addressing Grace as she whimpered eyes now fluttering open, rousing from the pain.
“Shh it’s okay, just relax.” Leon watched as the medic retrieved the stethoscope from around his neck, the cool metal placed against Grace’s chest making her shudder and wince.
“What’s her first name?” Leon blinked, realizing that the question was directed at him. The medic gaze intently gazing at Grace, even whilst addressing him, Leon thought he seemed to be trying to find something within Grace, an internal issue that Leon himself couldn’t decipher.
God he felt so fucking useless, he had wanted to save just one person and he thought he had with Grace, but even she was slipping away.
“Grace, her name’s Grace.” Leon replied, voice soft as he sat beside Grace’s bed, watching her breathe, the rise and fall of her chest seemed stuttered and pained. He noticed the raw wounds on her collarbone, the top of her bra coated in dried blood, the bitemarks and piercing wounds now blistering and oozing on her skin.
Leon looked away, mostly for Grace’s sake, he knew she wouldn’t want him to see her like this, but he also did it for his own, his heart squeezing at seeing Grace like this, so broken down and injured after she was the one that reignited his hope and spark.
Leon forced himself to look at her and reached out his hand to hold Grace’s, the pad of his thumb rubbing the scabbed bruising over Grace’s knuckles as he watched over her, his blue eyes flickering back and forth between Grace and the medic.
The doctor nodded as he continued to work. “Grace…Okay Grace, your breathing is weak, and your pulse ox is low so I’m going to give you some oxygen, okay? Just relax.” The doctor soothed, quickly moving around the vehicle, focused and determined even as the ambulance jostled as it seemed to drive faster to it’s destination.
‘Mhh!” Grace’s breathe hitched in pain as his body jostled with the ambulance’s turbulent movements. Leon only gripped her hand tighter.
“It’s going to be okay Grace, just trust me okay?”
Grace who had now fully roused from the pain, could only nod shakily, her face half obstructed from the O2 mask strapped to her, her breathing foggy and weak.
Leon watched as tears streaked down Grace’s face, her voice shaky and muted through the mask, but the fear was still clearly visible to Leon.
“L-Leon I’m s-scared…what’s h-happening?”
Leon lips thinned at the question, unsure whether to comfort Grace and reassure her or to be truthful.
He normally would have felt obliged to crush his instinct and told her the blatant truth, his job hardly allowed for emotions and vulnerabilities, decades…years of pain and loss had hardened him to the fact.
…But Grace… he stared again at her wounds they looked worse against her sickly pale skin, but she was still breathing, still alive.
He reached out to stroke her hair, ignoring the grime and dirt that coated her blonde locks, it wasn’t like he was any better.
He allowed himself to embrace his paternal concern, his voice soft.
“You’re hurt Grace, but it’s going to be okay.”
He breathed, then paused before continuing, voice even softer, almost as if it were a whispered confession.
“I promise.”
“P-Please don’t leave me.” Grace whispered, breathing weak, eyes unseeing and dazed. Leon couldn’t tell if she was talking to him, the medic or some other force within the room, the echoes of the memories of her mother perhaps?
Leon didn’t even blink, his response automatic.
“I won’t leave you Grace I promise, I’m staying right here.”
Leon watched Grace’s eyes flutter with effort, trying to stay awake, to stay present and alive in the moment before her body slumped on the gurney, eyes closing shut and body going lax. Leon still held her hand even in its now lax grip.
He wouldn’t allow Grace to die, he couldn’t not after all the bullshit they went through.
“We’re here.”
Leon looked up to see the medic nod at him, his eyes kind and tired, Leon imagined in his line of work grief and sacrifice was a regular occurrence.
He stared at his badge…A DSO medic – it seemed every member of the DSO had experienced grief and loss in some substantive manner.
‘Comes with job description I suppose.’ Leon thought, his hand reflexively holding Grace’s tighter.
No, Grace was here and alive, he didn’t want to entertain the possibility of losing her when there was no reason to speculate.
****
Grace was in surgery for five hours.
Leon had resorted to pacing around the hallways which had taken on a dark and eerie gloom, all too much like the hallways of The Rhodes Facility Care Centre. It was only the signs of the bustling activity of the nurses and surgeons crossing back and forth between rooms that avoided Leon from pulling requiem from its holster.
He sighed, fingers rubbing the bridge of his nose tiredly.
‘Claire’s gonna be pissed.’ Leon thought grimly. He had already told her that this mission wouldn’t take as long as it did and like usual, she had kept him at his word.
But then again Leon imagined that given Claire’s easy and often fiercely protective nature that she would understand why he was staying here and would even stay with him as he waited for Grace to recover.
‘It wouldn’t have been the first time’ Leon thought, flashes of Racoon City entering his mind, only this time it wasn’t of Lieutenant Branagh’s words, nor the officer who was split in half in front of him.
Rather it was Sherry, young and bright-eyed skipping back and forth between him and Claire. And although Grace herself was an adult, Leon still felt that same protective paternal surge of affection towards her as well.
Perhaps it was due to the shared trauma they endured, or it was just Leon’s natural instincts. He wasn’t entirely sure, nor did he care to know.
He cared for Grace and that was all that mattered.
It was after all Grace that had saved Leon in the end, not only physically but mentally as well.
Now he was all too willing to return the favour however long it took.
“Mr Kennedy?”
Leon paused his pacing to see a nurse approach him, clipboard held tight to her chest, not in a nervous gesture, but rather someone who was calm and self-assured.
Her demeanour, however calm did little to stir the worry in Leon’s chest.
“Grace, is she alright?” Leon asked, voice gruff, throat tight. The nurse seemed to sense his impatient urgency as she barely blinked at his question, her response calm and measured.
“Miss Ashcroft is out of surgery, she had multiple contusions and blunt force trauma but our biggest worry is her extensive chest injuries – it’s critical but she’s young and healthy, we have no reason to believe she won’t pull through.”
“…I want to see her.”
The nurse hesitated “Mr Kennedy I –”
“Now.” Leon said, voice forceful. He couldn’t take the nurse for her word, not until he saw Grace himself.
He also didn’t want to leave her alone; Grace didn’t deserve that after all she’d been through. Grace had refused to leave, stubborn and determined, it was only fair he returned the favour.
The nurse only sighed, voice relenting but thick with caution.
“Fine, she’s in intensive care, I’ll lead the way, but she’s sedated and, on a ventilator so please be careful.”
‘Ventilator but no mention of an infection.’ Leon thought, slightly relieved even though the circumstances were severe.
Grace could recover from internal bleeding and lung issues, but Grace potentially catching the T-virus in some way had been Leon’s greatest fear. Unlike him and Sherry who could be cured, those at the DSO had already surmised that Elpis was at least partially comprised of Grace’s own bio-genetically engineered blood samples, so if she had been infected with a mutated strain of the T-virus it was unlikely she would ever be cured.
The fact that she had no sign of an infection seemed to settle the worry in Leon’s chest, but even so he had to see for himself, to make sure that Grace was alive and would live.
When they arrived at the intensive care unit, Leon paused outside the room, hardly acknowledging the nurse leaving him as he stood by the doorway, eyes staring at the bed.
“Grace...” Leon murmured before entering the room, the sounds of his footsteps seemed to go in tandem with the beeps of the monitors and the compressive breaths of the ventilator as the device forced Grace to artificially breathe…keeping her alive.
Now standing over Grace’s bedside protectively, his blue eyes staring sadly at her frame as he watched her with bated breath.
Leon could see the bandages though her hospital gown, cleaned and wrapped tightly, better than the shabby job that Grace had on earlier. Nevertheless, her skin was mottled in bruises, gashes on her neck, scabs and bruises over her face and hands, wires seemed to surround her frame, the ventilator taped to her mouth, each movement of her chest seemed painful as air was forced into her lungs.
Leon could help but think how incomprehensibly small and fragile she looked, and he couldn’t help but let the guilt overtake him.
Grace shuddered, and Leon noted with some relief that goosebumps seemed to form up the expanse of her bruised arms which eased his mind somewhat.
‘Sustained nerves.” Leon thought. It wasn’t ideal and Leon would prefer much better news like seeing Grace awake and healthy, but in the circumstances, it was something he could latch onto.
He gently reached out and drew the hospital blanket, which was currently pooled at her wait, up to her shoulders before all but collapsing on the chair, both hands reaching out to gently hold Grace’s, careful to avoid the IV taped to the back of her hand as he rested his forehead against her bruised knuckles, eyes closing unwillingly as his body succumbed to sleep.
***
“Mom I’m home!” Grace entered the room, bag over her shoulder, a jilt in her step.
“Mom?” Grace paused, hands fiddling with the tassels of her hoodie, nervously pushing back her glasses as she surveyed the room, dim and empty, not a single sign of her mother’s presence in the house.
Grace continued to walk forward, steps wary, suddenly afraid, her voice now taking on a note of petulant worry.
“Mom, you there?”
“You can’t save her Grace...”
“Wha-” Grace turned around, jumping slightly as she saw a man, voice cold and cruel, mocking and joyful in turn as he delighted at Grace’s wide-eyed expression. Grace stood frozen as the man, ‘Gideon’ her mind supplied walked towards her, cracked lips pulled into a blissful smile as he approached her, the snakeskin of his coat shuffling as he moved, his grimy hands on her shoulders, face merely inches from her own.
“You can’t save anyone...” He crooned.
He turned her shoulders, gently shifting her to turn around.
Grace’s eyes widened and she stumbled forward, collapsing to the ground.
“No! No! Please No! Mom, Emily please no!”
Their bodies lay on the ground, mangled, lifeless and bleeding. Grace could only sob as she held them, hiccupping as she struggled to breathe.
“Mom, Emily! Please don’t leave me – please wake up!” She cried, her frame reaching out and curling up over their lifeless bodies as she held them, her face burrowing into the crook of her mom’s bloody broken necks, tears streaming down her face.
She sobbed over Victor’s laughter, his cruel jabs and mockery as she continued to plead, voice breaking, ragged with exhaustion.
“Leon! Leon please!” Grace screamed, automatically, desperately.
Victor only laughed, now appearing before her, large dirty hands cupping her cheeks, his sunken face alight in amusement.
“Ah but don’t you see Grace? He’s dead too…look.”
Grace looked down, blood now coating her knees as it pooled around her, beside her Leon’s body lay still, broken and lifeless, his blue eyes unseeing, his blonde hair matted with blood.
“Oh God…Leon, Leon!” She began to shake his shoulder’s frantically, pleading and desperate before her head collapsed against his blood-soaked chest as she lay there surrounded by the dead bodies of her loved ones.
Grace only screamed and cried over Victor’s laughter, her vision whitening as the scene in front of her shifted.
***
Leon’s heart jolted in his chest when he heard to sound of the monitors around him beeping frantically, immediately rousing him from his sleep. He sharply looked up to see Grace still on the bed, eyes wide in fear and trembling, choking on the ventilation tube.
He could feel Grace’s hand shaking in his own.
He barely had any time before a flurry of medical personnel entered, each swarming and fluttering to Grace’s bedside as they attended to her.
“Mr Kennedy you need to leave.” One doctor said firmly, eyes intently focused on gauging a needle as he inserted it in Grace’s IV.
Leon only complied, as an agent he knew his presence was a hindrance rather than a benefit in these sorts of situations but even as he stood by to doorway, he could only watch with a heavy heart as Grace panicked, struggling to breathe.
“It’s alright sweetheart, it’s okay you need to relax so we can take the tube out.” One nurse said softly to Grace, gloved hand resting over Grace’s trembling one, just where Leon had been previously.
Grace, for as much pain and stress that she was in, seemed to be in her senses as Leon noted how she forced her body to relax somewhat only trembling as she tried to contain her choking to no avail.
Leon felt both a surge of pity and pride for her, for how brave Grace was in the face of adversity but at the same time never wanting Grace to experience those things again.
The doctor then addressed Grace, leaning down slightly so his face was in Grace’s vicinity and to appear more friendly. Leon would know, he had done the same back at the Rhodes Care Facility, making his large frame seem smaller and more self-assured if only to temper Grace and Emily’s hesitance and fear.
“Okay Grace, my name is Dr Molloy, you’re at a secure hospital run by the DSO. I know it’s hard to breathe right now but try to relax your throat, we’re going to pull the tube out.”
Leon watched Grace only nod, tears streaming down her face even whilst she complied.
To Leon’s surprise the doctor looked up to stare at him before staring back down at Grace, his voice soft he addressed her.
“I have a man called Leon Kennedy here as well Grace, do you want him with you as we take the tube out?”
His name alone seemed to reignite something in Grace as she only nodded frantically, tears pooling down the sides of her face.
Leon didn’t need a verbal cue, already approaching Grace’s bed as he gently sat by the head of Grace’s bed, the pillow shifting with the added weight. His hand gently rubbed soothing motions on her shoulder, voice soft.
“I’m here Grace, it’s me Leon, it’s okay.” Leon said, his deep voice, soothing and hushed as he tried to calm her.
His voice appeared to make Grace settled as Leon noted how her trembling reduced somewhat. He captured a passing glance between the doctor and one of the nurses, something unspoken as they both moved, the doctor now moving, gloved hands at Grace’s breathing tube, voice calm and firm as he addressed her.
“Okay Grace, try and relax your throat for me, it’ll be over soon.” The doctor said voice soothing, his smile warm but tight in an attempt to be reassuring.
Grace didn’t seem to mind, nor care, her eyes focused on Leon’s, as if his gaze calmed her.
Leon spoke, hand moving to clutch Grace’s.
“It’s okay Grace, I’m right here…”
With that, the doctor slowly removed the tube. Grace immediately choked, her grip tightening painfully on Leon’s hand, nails digging into his skin. Leon hardly noticed, nor cared, his voice measured and reassuring as he continued to soothe Grace. The nurse also rubbing gently at her shoulder.
Grace immediately coughed and heaved as the tube was finally removed, whimpering as one of the nurses immediately placed an oxygen mask over her nose and mouth.
“L-Leon.” Grace croaked, as Leon gently lay her back down from her semi upright position, noting that the medical staff were slowly shifting out the room.
Leon only gave a smile, a half teasing mask to his worry.
“Well, hello you, nice of you to join us.”
Grace only gave a wet chuckle, face collapsing into Leon’s chest, loose limbs wrapped around his neck as she held him in a pacifying embrace.
‘She wants comfort’ Leon thought, hesitating as he gently wrapped his arms around her back, mindful of her extensive wounds and her fragility after her operation.
“Le-on” Grace muffled voice spoke out as she sobbed into his shirt, the hard plastic of the oxygen mask digging into his sternum.
Leon merely held her, chin resting on top of her head as he spoke, gentle and determined.
“Shh it’s over Grace, It’s over I promise.”
“I’m staying right here.”
Fin.