Three years later…

"You know… I can always tell when you think she's been gone too long," K-Mart commented with a knowing smile.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Claire shook her head. The two were making the usual rounds about the city as dusk settled.

"Yeah right, you know exactly who and what I'm talking about," the blonde leaned over to nudge Claire with her shoulder.

After the fight with Wesker, the survivors aboard the Arcadia were able to reach the Alaskan mainland safely. Once they landed, they had to do some scouting and exploring to find a suitable place to stay.

Things had been rough at first, adjusting to the new settings and being around so many other people. Making a home from the ashes of society and keeping everyone organized was no walk in the park either.

It took nearly a full year – progress was hindered by the winter – to get everyone settled. As they had discussed, they stayed to the areas that had been less populated, just to be on the safe side. Once they got into a rhythm, things went much smoother. The group worked together to make sure they all survived. Civilization had broken down before because it was every man for themselves; the survivors from the Arcadia vowed not to let the same happen to them.

They had a handful ingenious mechanics and electricians that had gotten some solar panels going to power the city. There were enough fresh waters sources – streams and even a river nearby – that, with some work, they were able to take advantage of hydropower too.

Alaska was everything they could have hoped for and more. The wildlife population was uninfected and flourishing by all rights without human interference. With electricity, they could grow fruits and vegetables all year round. They had plenty of food, water, and company.

Chris and a few others had scouted the areas to the east, looking for points where their natural safety barrier wasn't as strong. They wanted to take every precaution to make sure the infection didn't find them again. Eventually, they managed to rig up an automatic system in certain places that they deemed unsafe. With some surveillance, it would offer them yet another safety net.

Alice hadn't taken to the settled life so well though. Umbrella had turned her into weapon and with the full reactivation of the T-virus within her body, that's exactly what she was. It hadn't taken long for her to get antsy. She wanted nothing more than to settle down and have a life with Claire, but there were other forces pulling at her.

"You're going to leave?" Claire demanded.

"Not for long," Alice answered. "There could be other survivors out there, Claire. They could need help. I can help them, but not if I stay here all of the time."

"We just got here… we're finally safe," the redhead argued stubbornly. Yes, it was selfish to want Alice to stay with her, but she didn't care. She wanted to know her lover was safe.

"And what about the other people that could be alive out there? They aren't safe. If I can find them and bring them back here, then they can be safe too."

"I hate it when you get this hero thing in your head," Claire stated. "What if you don't come back?"

"More than ever, I have a reason to come back. That reason is you," Alice answered. "You gave me the will to fight again and made that unbearable lonely feeling go away."

Claire moved closer, wrapping her arms around the blonde. "You're not alone, Alice," she said before leaning in for a loving kiss. "Tell me that you love me, tell me that I take your breath away," the redhead whispered against her lover's lips.

"I love you, Claire Redfield," Alice vowed. "And you are the very air that I breathe."

Alice took the Arcadia and went out to keep the promise that had originally been made. Jill accompanied her, along with a couple of others, to make sure she had enough help while out looking for other survivors. Sometimes they'd be gone little longer than a week, other times – usually when they actually heard from a pocket of survivors – they'd be gone for more than a month.

This time, Alice had been gone for over a month. They'd likely found someone in need of rescue, but that didn't mean Claire approved. She missed the blonde.

"Let's head back home, K," the redhead decided with a heavy sigh. "Everything's all quiet."

"All right," K-Mart agreed with a nod.

The two headed back for the house they had settled in. Claire always found it more lonely when Alice wasn't there to share the house with them. "Go on to bed, get some rest," she told the younger woman.

"Yes, Mother," the girl replied with a grin before heading upstairs.

Claire headed to the kitchen to clean up the dishes from earlier that day. The longer Alice stayed away, the more she found herself just going through the motions again. She understood why the brunette was hell bent on going and helping anyone else she could find. Despite Claire's best efforts to put a stop to it, the other woman still seemed to be on a quest for redemption.

At least she stayed home longer after these extended escapades – and she always thoroughly made up for the absence. If Claire rubbed it in enough, the brunette spent more time making it up.

No matter how much the redhead tried to deny it, K-Mart was right. And why wouldn't she be? The girl, more than anyone else, could see the differences when Alice was and was not there. She lived with the two older women, watched them interact with one another. Of course she was right.

After clearing away the dishes and putting everything back in order, Claire decided to retire for the night as well. She'd grab a quick shower, and then will sleep to bring her another good dream that would help tide her over until Alice's return.

Making sure that everything was secure before heading to bed was a force of habit that not even three years could break. She made a quick round of the lower level before going upstairs.

One of the best things about Alaska was running water. That was incredibly close to being heaven and was one of the first things they had set up.

Tonight she was painfully aware of how lonely her bed was going to be. She didn't know why the day had been so hard; it was just like any other day. Her main priority was to take a quick shower and get into bed. If Alice wasn't with her now, she'd be waiting in the redhead's dreams.

The first part to Claire's plan was easy enough to accomplish. Though she swore to never take hot water for granted again, she didn't take very long with it – especially when she didn't have a certain brunette to keep her company.

Ten minutes under the warm spray was all it took for her to clean herself up. She half-heartedly dried her hair before wrapping a towel around herself and stepping back out into the bedroom. Something was amiss though. The lights were out. Sure, they had little power outages every now and again, but she could see the lights on outside.

Claire tensed considerably as a pair of arms slipped around her from behind. Her apprehension didn't allow the familiar figure to register in her mind.

"You're a little uptight," Alice jibed playfully.

"Jesus," the redhead sighed, melting back against her lover. "I could slap you for that."

"I'm sure that's not the only reason you want to slap me," the brunette replied.

Claire carefully turned in Alice's arms to face the other woman. "You were gone a long time. I'm going to have to have another talk with Jill about keeping you away from me for so long."

"You can talk to her about it in the morning," Alice said with a nod. "For now, I just want to go to bed with you."

"And who says I haven't taken a liking to having the whole bed to myself?" Claire inquired, quirking a brow.

The brunette couldn't help the mischievous grin that formed. "Because I know you're not going to turn me out of the bed when I have so much time to make up for," she answered.

Claire considered it before smirking. "Then come make it up to me," she said, pulling Alice back toward the bed with her.

Well, dear readers, this is the end. I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing this story for you. I even added in this happy ending epilogue for you all.

If you wish to read more of my work, I do have another story in progress right now - Going Rogue. So if you want more action, go check it out.

Love it, hate it? Let me know what you thought of the end.