•Thicker Than Blood•

•Chapter 37•

While Sherry left with Claire and Leon, Genevieve was left downstairs alone. She sighed, sinking into her seat with her journal in her hand. Her pen laid capped on the table while she re-read over her writing. Her cursive seemed to grow lazier as she got further down the page. Her mother was always on her for writing in cursive because it was more sophisticated that way. That memory stung more than it did annoy her now.

She sighed, setting her hand over the page. The silence was deafening. She hated to be alone at this point. She had grown accustomed to life at the military bases. They were always bustling with shouting or alarms. Beeping or announcements. She was used to the noise while she waited for Chris's return. Now that it was nearly dead silent, she had no idea what to do with herself.

The most noise she heard was an occasional gust of wind from the outside. That or if she focused hard enough, she would be able to hear the ticking of the clock on the wall. Though, she seemed to have tuned that out on instinct. She was snapped out of her daze  when the door knob could be heard turning. Her head snapped in its direction as it opened.

There was Chris, coming in. He had a bundle of purple and yellow flowers in his hand. He seemed to jump when he realized Genevieve was right there. No time to prepare, he headed over towards her. The girl was even more confused by the sudden action. She tilted her head, standing and setting her journal on the table. She wanted to know what this was all about... considering Chris never left her in the dark. They always had an open line of communication.

"Chris? What's going on here?" She asked.

"Listen, Genevieve, I've been wanting to talk to you about this for a long time now." He said.

"Well... I'm listening."

Chris then held the flowers out towards her. Genevieve glanced at them, slowly taking the flowers into her hands. She never really was given flowers before... she had dreamed of it before, but she never thought the day would come. What was the occasion? She looked up towards him again, tilting her head slightly as if to ask why he was giving her this gift.

"I've got an important question." Chris set his hand on her shoulder. "We've been a team ever since we got out of that god forsaken Umbrella facility. Not only have we spent most time together, but you've even been accompanying me on my missions. I couldn't really imagine you not being there." He said. "I may not have raised you or anything like that. But, I would love it if you were to stay in my life."

Genevieve hesitated, her eyes widening a little. Has it finally come?

"I wanted to know if you would be interested in having me... as a legal guardian. You could become part of the Redfield family. As my daughter." He held his hand out. "What do you say, Genevieve?"

She froze up, looking down at his hand and she began to tremble. Saw much as she had been wanting this to happen... She was still really scared. She clutched the flowers close to her side in one arm. Tears formed in her eyes as she could only stare at him. She sniffled, memories of her original family flooding back. Even if it wasn't good, it was hard to imagine they were both truly gone.

She wasn't going to be alone anymore and that was a huge relief. She had never had a stable family life before. There was never a moment where she didn't live in fear and now Chris was offering her a sense of relief and protection. She wouldn't be alone anymore. She could have a stable feeling of knowing Chris was going to be there no matter what. As her father... her heart strung as if it were being squeezed.

Chris seemed to panic over this reaction. He had never intended for her to panic. He figured she would have been happy, based on what everyone else had to say about their situation. Had he asked too early? He bit the inside of his cheek. No matter what she would say, he would respect it. He knew it was still worth a shot. Though, the thought that she wouldn't want to be his daughter nagged his head. He didn't want to lose her either.

In the moment, Genevieve finally grabbed onto his hand and came toward him. She wrapped her other arm around him while she held onto his hand with a tight grip. Her hand nearly crushed him, though it didn't feel like that to him. He barely realized the force being used at the moment. He returned the hug, feeling himself get even just a little bit teary eyed.

"I would... love to, Chris." Genevieve finally managed to whisper.

"I always told you that you had a place with the Redfields, Vieve.." Chris kept her close while she cried against his shoulder. He had knelt down so she could reach his shoulder.

"I thought you would never ask... I had no idea what was going to happen. The thought of being alone again... is so scary to me." Genevieve whispered.

"Frankly, I couldn't imagine a life where you weren't my kid. You know how difficult finding the words could be in this situation."

Genevieve chuckled. "You're right, I certainly could." She said,

Then, the two laughed to themselves. Genevieve set the flowers on the table while she fully hugged Chris now. He stood up fully, lifting her up in the process of it all. They just stood there for a good moment, holding onto one another while they managed to stabilize their emotions. Genevieve clung around his shoulders while he set one hand on the back of her head.

Meanwhile, the other three were poking their heads from around the corner. Watching the scene as it happened.

"I told him she would love it." Leon whispered.

"Of course, we all knew how close they were." Claire added.

"Even I told Genevieve this would happen... crazy how she almost didn't believe me." Sherry giggled under her breath.

"Damn right." Claire grinned.

Soon, Chris turned his head toward them.

"Hey, stalkers. Don't ruin the moment!"

Soon enough, the house was filled with a bright energy and laughter. Truly, the family had become one. Brought together by the force of the world. None of them could have ever dreamed of having a bond such as this one. They all came from vastly different places yet somehow all managed to fall beneath the same roof as one collective group. That was something beautiful about the world.

You never knew what could happen or who would come into your life.

It could have been a blessing or a curse.

Though, it was definitely a blessing that came out of a curse in this situation.