•Thicker Than Blood•

•Chapter 12•

The sun barely had time to rise as Leon returned home from work. It was around 3:30 in the morning when he got home. Usually both of the girls would have been asleep by this time of day. However, when he opened the door, he spotted Claire sitting at the table. A cup of coffee could be seen right beside her. From the looks of it, she hadn't slept since he left. Considering he had just given her the news of where her brother had gone before he disappeared.

Claire had different newspapers spread across the table with a red marker in her hand. She seemed to be circling bits of information on the newspapers that she deemed worthy of looking over once again. Not only that, but she had a map with the Umbrella logo on the corner of the page. Leon tilted his head, slowly making his way over to Claire. He stood behind her and looked over her shoulder.

She had been frantically looking over the map, putting Europe in a big circle. Meanwhile, she was circling all the different locations within the continent. She circled the main facility in a more bold fashion, signifying she thought this would be the main location that Chris would have gone to. Leon cringed slightly at the sight of her like this. He set a hand in her back and she immediately turned around to look at him.

"Leon- so I was doing some research-"

"I see that-"

"And I found-"

"Claire."

He cut her off before she could go on a ramble about her findings. He picked up her coffee mug and took it over to the sink. He dumped out the coffee and washed out the cup, drying it and setting it down on a towel to air dry for a little while. Claire seemed highly offended by this, to say the least. Leon made his way back to her, leaning on the back of her chair, both hands resting on the back of it while he looked down at her.

"I think you've done enough research for tonight. How about we head to bed? Get some rest before we take Sherry to school tomorrow." He suggested.

Claire scoffed at him and looked to the side. "You have no idea what it's like to lose a family member like this. You have no right to tell me how to handle the situation."

"Hm. You're right, I wouldn't know. But I do have an idea of how sleep deprivation can hurt a person. Last warning, Redfield. Let's head to bed." Leon warned her.

Claire turned right back around and picked up her marker again, ignoring Leon as if he wouldn't do a single thing about it. She was determined to find her brother. Her brother meant the world to her and she wouldn't stop searching for him for the world. She was determined to get him back. She couldn't bear the thought of sitting back and doing nothing while she got a lead about him. Lord knows what could have happened to him in these last five or six months. He could be in danger and they wouldn't even know it!

Though, Leon wasn't going to have it. He shook his head and sighed under his breath, plucking the pen from her fingertips. He capped it and tossed it aside before wrapping an arm around Claire and hoisting her up over his shoulder. He kept a secure hand on her back while she dangled over his shoulder, hitting his back with balled fists in response.

"Leon! I am not in the mood for games! Put me down!" She barked.

"Tsk, Tsk. This isn't a game, red. You need your rest. We both do. It's been a long day. I can continue the research for you while you work today." Leon assured her, walking up the stairs and heading to their shared bedroom.

"Seriously? I don't have time for this! I need to figure out where Chris is! He could be in danger, I can't let him down-"

"Shhh. Sherry is trying to sleep, remember?"

That managed to shut her up. Leon carried her the rest of the way to their bedroom. Then, he let her down off his shoulder, picking her up normally and resting her on her side of their bed. Claire refused to look at him, though her expression seemed to soften despite her frustration. Leon sat down on the bed beside her.

"Get some rest. You need it. I can take Sherry to school while you sleep in."

"Listen, I appreciate it. But, I really don't need your pity. I appreciate your help enough as it is. You've gotten me another step closer to finding my brother."

"And if you let me, I can continue helping you make those steps. It's my job to help people, Claire. It's what I'm best at."

"Aside from pestering me?"

"I'm pretty good at that too."

There was a brief moment of silence. The calm before the store of their routine. Bicker. Laugh about it. Be friendly again. Claire tried her best to keep a deadpan stare at Leon, however her corners of her lips were curling against her will. She looked about ready to laugh. Leon knew this pretty well, seeing his signature cocky smirk appear on his face. Claire shook her head and looked to the side, resting her hand over her mouth to hide the forming grin.

"I already know you're good at it. I'm the one who deals with it everyday." Claire finally laid down.

"I know. I'm there to witness it."

Leon moved to lay down as well. He laid on his side, his palm resting against the side of his face while he watched her get comfortable. She barely had enough time for her head to hit the pillow before falling asleep. Clearly she had only been running on the energy from caffeine. He reached for the covers and pulled them up and over both of them. He made sure Claire was comfortable before himself.

He brushed the hair out from the view of her face, combing it to the side while she slept. For the first time that evening, she finally looked calm. She was finally at peace after a long day's worth of stress. Leon couldn't help but smile at the sight of her. It was good to see her happy. Being able to help her become closer to reaching her goal meant the world to him. He'd do just about anything to help her. Even if he wasn't fully conscious of that fact yet.