•Thicker Than Blood•

•Chapter 29•

The day went on as it usually would with its new changes. While Claire set off for work, she dropped off Sherry at her bus stop. She waited for the bus to pick her up. When it did, she waved her goodbye and drove down to the auto shop. She put on her gear and grabbed her tools, heading out to get started on the work for the day. She was the apprentice of the mechanic for a long enough time now that she was able to maintain the jobs herself.

At home, Leon did his usual routine of sleeping for a few hours after work. Considering he didn't always get the chance to sleep during the nighttime with his job, he slept during the day while Claire and Sherrybwere out doing their own business. Not that he wouldn't occasionally get called in during the day for any important things. After a few hours, Leon would wake up.

He got up, changed, showered, and got ready for the rest of his day. He already knew he had an important chore to do that day. He picked up the paper he had been given by the government agents. He read over the paper once again before finding their phone number. Deciding he would need to give them a call. Heading to their house phone, he dialed the number on the keys. The phone rang a few times before turning over to the call line.

"Hello?" The voice on the other end spoke.

"Hello, this is Leon S Kennedy." He responded.

"Ah, Mr. Kennedy! Have you made your decision?"

"I have. I've decided we can put the training grounds on my property. We'll have the trainer come here for training sessions once the grounds are put together. I'll go through with the training at home so I can remain close to my family. That's my only acceptable option."

"Very well, Mr. Kennedy. We'll send some workers your way by tomorrow. Please be sure you're present when the team arrives."

"Yes, sir. I'll see them tomorrow. Good day."

Leon then proceeded to hang up the phone. With a deep sigh, he watched the clock. Only two hours till Sherry would be returning home from school. He went to the kitchen and went to make her a snack. Claire had left a note in their bedroom, warning him that she wasn't feeling too well today after hearing their little tiff. So, why not do something nice for her?

Though. His time was cut short to do that when the phone rang again. Confused, he returned to the phone. He took it off its block and answered it. Though, he had no idea why he would be getting another call. Did the agents need something from him? Was I a confirmation? Well, it could have also just been a spam call but that didn't seem like too necessary of a thing.

"Hello, am I speaking with a guardian of Sherry Birkin... Redfield.... Kennedy?" A feminine voice asked on the line, seeming to struggle with the mouth full of last names.

"Yes, this is Leon Kennedy. What's going on? Everything okay?" He questioned.

"Unfortunately Sherry had a medical emergency. She ended up having a panic attack in the middle of class. I have her here in the nurse's office with me. She gave me this number to call. Are you available to pick her up?"

"She had a panic attack?" Leon nearly choked on his words. "Yes, I'll be there right away." He said.

"Thank you, Mr. Kennedy, safe trip." The nurse hung up the phone.

Leon set the phone in its resting position once again. She had a panic attack? Claire had told him she was struggling that day... but panic attacks? Was it really that bad? Why would Claire send her to school if she was displaying signs of panic attacks? Did she know? These were questions he would have to ask later when he saw her again. Right now, the only thing that mattered was getting Sherry home.

He quickly made his way out the front door. He didn't have the pickup truck, so he ended up jabbing to run a few miles down the road to the nearest town where her school would have been. It took quite a bit of time, but after a brisk run, he made it. He was buzzed in and he headed inside, sweat dripping down the side of his face from both the cardio and heat of the outside. It was only September, but it was still hot outside.

He checked himself into the front office as Sherry's guardian, saying he was there for pickup. They pointed him to the nurses office, where he quickly jogged to it. He knocked on the doorframe before walking it. Sherry was sitting on a bench you'd see at a doctor's office, paper over it. She had crossed her ankles and barely lifted her head to look at him. It seemed she was scared of how he would respond to the situation.

But, of course it was nothing negative. He set his hand on her shoulder gently. Tear droplets dripped down her cheeks then collected at the bottom of her chin. Until they were heavy enough to plunge towards the ground. Leon patted her shoulder then held his arms out towards her. Sherry hesitated, but just as quickly, she jumped towards Leon. Clinging onto him for dear life.

Leon jumped slightly, but he returned the hug. Even when he moved, she didn't let go. He stood up straight, holding her up while she clung to him. Weakly, she cried into his shoulder. Leon swayed lightly, rubbing her back while shushing her under his breath. He attempted to console her as if he was consoling a fussing baby. Sherry didn't seem to care, she just clung to him.

Glancing towards the nurse, Leon smiled and nodded. This seemed to be a quiet way of saying "thank you for taking care of her.". The nurse nodded back as a way of saying he was welcome. With that, Leon left the nurses office, then went out through the main office. He started walking down the street, heading off to walk the miles way home. Considering Sherry didn't show any signs of letting go.

"Sherry, do you know what triggered this attack?" He asked her, keeping his tone low in case she didn't want to talk about it.

"I- I was just... worried, is all..." she mumbled under her breath.

"What exactly were you worried about?"

"I...heard you and Claire talking this morning."

"Well.. I can clear anything up for you that you may need. What's going on?"

"It just sounded as if the both of you were fighting. You guys almost never fight and it really worries me... I don't want you to end up like my parents. When you get this new job... What's going to happen? It's so much heavier. What if you start disappearing more and more often like they did? What if Claire and you become distanced? What's going to happen to our family-?" The more she explained, the faster she spoke. The faster she spoke, the morm panicked she seemed to get. The more panicked she got, the sicker she felt.

Leon stopped her before she could cross the line into a panic attack. He set his hand on the back of her head while she walked. Sherry gasped for breath, slowing down soon enough and taking some slower, more deep breaths. After a moment, she was able to calm down to where she could no longer feel her heart pounding through her chest. As if it were trying to break from the hold of her flesh.

"Sherry, I can tell you this. Every good partnership is going to argue ever so often. It's how we handle it that matters. In the end, we were able to agree on common ground. She may not like what I'm going to be doing, but she's going to support me regardless. Not only that, but I made some promises too. I'm going to do everything I can to stay around you both. Hence why I'm training at home. I'm not going to lose that drive to make the best decisions for people. My heart will always be with the individual people. Sherry, things will change. But, that doesn't alway mean it's a bad change."

She nodded slowly, listening to him. Soon enough, she laid her head against his shoulder again. Just closing her eyes while she held on. For the rest of the walk, he was quiet. Once he took her home, he placed her on the couch. The pickup truck was already parked outside the house. That meant Claire was inside. He glanced around and looked for her. She was coming down the stairs when she spotted the both of them.

"Hey, what's happening? Sherry isn't meant to be home yet. Did you walk to the school?" She seemed to have a million questions at once,

Leon o put his hands up. "Claire, this is serious. The school called. Sherry had a panic attack and I had to pick her up."

"A panic attack? What-?"

"We can talk about it later, okay? I'm going to make Sherry a snack. I've talked to her." Leon said, heading into the kitchen.

Claire frowned slightly, looking at Sherry.

"Everything's going to be okay, Sher. I promise."