This is a revised, and slightly different version of "How Can I Not Love You?" which I posted from a different account. If any of you have read that before and liked it enough to read the whole thing, feel free to read this. I feel it's a bit more detailed and it may differ a bit in storyline so it's worth a read. Those who have not, you're welcome to read also, but be warned. This is incest, Claire x Chris incest to be specific. So if that sort of thing grosses you out, hit the back button to return to the long list of fanfictions to choose from to find something that doesn't give you the same reaction. Anyways, R&R!

The room was dark, the only light in it was coming from the window, and it was dim glow at that. Claire lay in bed, on her left side, gazing

out into space deep in her thoughts. She hadn't been able to sleep, and hadn't even bothered to change out her clothes since she got

home. She still wore her basic black scoop neck shirt underneath her red embroidered vest, curve-hugging blue jeans, and red sneakers.

She hadn't even let her hair down; loose from its constraints of the ponytail she usually wore it in. She was much too preoccupied to even

think about sleeping. Though the full sized bed she laid on was quite comfortable, and she hadn't been able to sleep in one in a while due

to the recent outbreak on Rockfort Island. She couldn't get someone off her mind. Someone who was actually only a room down from her

in the apartment. Her brother, Chris, who had saved her from the island. When he had rescued her from the cocoon that that sick cross-

dressing man, Alfred Ashford had put her in after knocking her into unconsciousness, she felt something. Something she had never felt

before. When he whispered gently to her slumbering body to "wake up" and how he just wanted to take her home safely from this

nightmare. When he embraced her as soon as she awoke and sat up slowly. When he grabbed her hand as he thought of an escape

strategy in his mind, then threw her out of the way when the staircase collapsed. He had always protected her. Ever since their parents

died. But this particular time… she recognized her feelings toward him to be different. Much different than those she had remembered

previously.

She couldn't explain it really. With the outbreak at the time, she hadn't had much time to think things through. But now she did, lying in

this bed without a bit of exhaustion in her eyes. Well, at least not that she could tell. She probably was exhausted, so much so she could

probably sleep till noon the next day if she allowed. But she had so much on her mind. How would she explain this to Chris? She shook

her head to herself, her brown leather gloved hands balling up into small fists. She couldn't. She wasn't crazy. She wasn't stupid either. It

would ruin their relationship forever. She couldn't bear to lose him. She had no one else really. Leon was off in Spain doing some sort of

mission he was assigned the last she had heard. And Steve well… she didn't want to think about that right now. She had enough

emotions swimming around in her body right now. She curled up on the bed in a fetal position, closing her eyes as she rubbed her

temples for a moment. All this was just giving her a headache.

She got up from the bed, walking over to her door and pushing it gently forward as she proceeded to the bathroom, careful to keep her

footsteps quiet and slow to not wake her brother who was slumbering on the couch in the living room. He had fallen asleep watching TV.

She could hear him snoring, and a small smile tugged at her lips in response. It was nice to hear him resting; she wasn't used to hearing

it very often. Her brother seemed to do more work than anything else. She grabbed the bottle of pain killers, and popped two pills into

her mouth. She walked to the kitchen, grabbing a glass from one of the cabinets, and filling it with cold tap water from the faucet. She

swallowed the pills with a hearty swig of water, and then returned to her room, closing the door quietly behind her. She finished the rest

of her water, placing the glass on the night stand near her bed, and resumed her position on the bed, lying down on her side. Deciding

that her headache was a sign she needed to stop thinking about all this, she decided to take in the sights outside her window instead. It

was raining hard. She heard the drops of rain hitting the pavement and whatever else it collided with outside, as well as the honks of

cars in the streets. She smiled at the familiarity of this. She had missed the city life. Being on that island she felt so disconnected from

everything. This calmed her enough to finally fall asleep, and her body thanked her for it.

The next morning, Claire awoke to smell of coffee brewing in the pot from the kitchen. She stirred in the bed, before sitting up groggily,

and then finally getting up to go out the door and proceed to the kitchen where the smell led her to. Chris sat at the table, which had four

chairs, and a checkered cloth across it's wooden surface. He was dressed in a black basic tee, green camouflage cargo pants, and was

barefoot. His dark brown mop of hair was a bit tousled from sleeping. He looked up at her from the newspaper he had been reading

beforehand. "Claire…" He paused in his train of thought as he took in her appearance. "Why are you wearing your clothes from last

night?" Claire had to look down at herself to see what he meant. She was still half sleep actually. "Oh… um. I guess I was really tired."

She lamely explained. She hoped he wouldn't see through her. But as he continued looking at her, still searching for answers to his

question, it seemed he wasn't convinced. She didn't notice though, as she averted her gaze away from him, and instead focused on the

coffee pot, which she made her way over to. "Mmm, I'd love a cup of coffee." She mused, pouring herself a cup full into her red mug. "Sure

sis, help yourself…" He trailed off. Chris gazed at his sister, concern swimming in his eyes. Just what was she hiding from him? It wasn't

like her to keep secrets.

After her cup of coffee, Claire went to her room, gathered some clothes, and headed for the bathroom to shower. After taking her hair

down and undressing, she entered the pouring warm water. She sighed as she began to lather herself in her Japanese cherry blossom

scented body wash. She couldn't keep acting as if everything was alright. Even if she did, Chris would see through her "I'm fine"

demeanor sooner or later. From the feeling she got when she went to pour herself some coffee, that feeling that he was staring at her

with suspicious eyes, he already had. He was on to her, and she wasn't sure how to handle it. But what could she do? Tell him? No. That

was out of the question. She shook her head, and began to focus more on bathing. She didn't want to give herself another headache.

The one she had last night was pretty rough. Thankfully the painkillers that they kept in the bathroom cabinet were strong. She

eventually emerged from the falling water, and dried herself off, then proceeded to blow dry her hair and get dressed. She wore a black

leather jacket embroidered with orange flames on the sleeves and on the back of it. The jacket was left unzipped. Underneath her jacket

was a red cropped tube top underneath. She wore matching black leather pants, and on her feet was her favorite pair of high brown

boots. She tied her long brunette hair in a ponytail like she always did and emerged from the bathroom.

"Sis, you hungry?" Chris asked, turning around to face her from the stove where he stood cooking breakfast. The aroma of bacon, eggs,

and toast filled the air. She smiled, nodding her head. "Sure." She joined him in the kitchen, grabbing plates and glasses to set on the

table. Claire sat down while Chris began to pour some scrambled eggs onto each of their plates, along with a few slices of bacon and

toast. "What you want to drink?" She put her left hand to her mouth as she thought for a moment. She had already had a cup of coffee,

one was enough for right now so she decided on something else. "Mm, orange juice for me." He walked over to the fridge, retrieving the

freshly bought carton. "A good choice. I think I'll have the same." He poured the both of them a full glass, and then put the carton back

into the refrigerator. As they both began to eat, she took a moment between bites of food to say, "Thanks Chris. You didn't have to do

this." He shook his head, smiling from ear to ear, "It's no problem. I love doing things for you. I don't get to usually." She looked down for

a moment, and then resumed to eating her food. It wasn't exactly a topic she liked to talk about, let alone even hear about.

"Claire, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up." He paused, putting his fork down on the table. "Is that why you slept in your clothes

last night?" She looked up at him, her lips slightly parted, and wondering what in the world to say. She didn't want to say the wrong

thing. But she didn't want to say nothing either. He would only suspect further that she was hiding something. "Yes." She looked away

from him again before continuing. "You're always gone, Chris. How am I supposed to enjoy you being back with me if I don't even know

when you'll be called back to the force for another top secret mission that I can't know anything about?" He sat there motionless, as he

took in his sister's facial expression, as well as her words. He had been the one hurting her this whole time. He felt awful. He stood up

from his chair, and walked over to her, bending down so he was at level with her, as he embraced her closely. "I know I haven't exactly

been the best brother I can be. But I promise you… no matter how many missions I get called on, I will come back. I'll always come back

for you, Claire." She hesitantly wrapped her arms around him in return, and nuzzled her head into the crook of his shoulder. His fingers

began to rake gently over the locks of her hair. She closed her eyes, and felt heat rising to her cheeks, as her heart thumped rapidly in

her chest. She was enjoyed this a little too much, and for all the wrong reasons. But she couldn't help it. There no denying it now. She

was undoubtedly, and hopelessly, in love with her brother.

He let go of her, much to her dismay, and then noticed her reddened face. "Claire, are you okay?" She looked at him, feeling all the more

embarrassed over what she was feeling because of him. "Nothing. It's nothing." She quickly tried to dismiss his question, but the next

thing she knew, he was placing his hand on her forehead to check for a fever, only deepening the scarlet hue displayed on her pale face.

"You're a little warm. You getting sick, sis?" She shook her head "No", but he wasn't convinced. "Then why are you all red and warm?"

Inside she was screaming. He was reading her like an open book. She looked toward the window, and getting a quick but not thoroughly

thought out idea, she began to fan herself and said, "I think I'm just hot. It is sunny out. Is the AC on in here?" She bit her lip, as she

studied his face, and silently prayed that he would buy it and leave it be. He nodded, walking over to the Air Conditioner. "I'll turn up the

AC so you can cool down." Having turned it the cool setting down to 69 instead of 74, he then brought her a glass of cold water. "Here

sis, drink this." She placed her hands on the glass, and in the process, ended up brushing her fingers against his. "Thanks." She

muttered, and took a full swig as she felt the heat in her face intensify. Gulping down the cold liquid, she tried to calm her breathing, and

doing that caused her heart rate to slow. Putting the empty glass on the table, she took a deep breath. She just needed to stay calm.

Chris went to go shower and get dressed after making sure Claire's body temperature had cooled down. She sat on the couch in the

living room, grabbed the remote, and turned on the television. The News was on. Of course, they talked about the outbreak on Rockfort

Island. She rolled her eyes. The media would be talking about this for weeks. But of course, no one looked for anyone to blame. They

instead just called it a tragedy. After showing pictures of the bombed island, and talking about it for a few minutes, new pictures showed

up. One of them was of an old friend, next to a younger blond. "Leon!" Claire exclaimed. She was glad he was alright. He had been on a

mission in Spain, where some sort of outbreak occurred as well. He had also saved the president's daughter. Claire raised a curious

eyebrow at the blond, holding onto Leon's arm and smiling from ear to ear. The girl probably had a huge crush on him. She didn't blame

her. He was good looking, and a good person. On top of that, he knew how to handle himself in the worst situations. His heart belonged

elsewhere though. To some woman named Ada who he spoke to her about from time to time back during the outbreak in Racoon City

where they barely escaped with Sherry.

In the middle of her reminiscing, Chris had emerged from the bathroom, showered and fully dressed in light green button up, light blue

jeans, and brown boots. He sat down next to his sister, wrapping his arm around her as he asked, "When did you get this outfit? I

haven't seen it before. And it's not red." She jumped. Looking at him, she felt the all too familiar warmth rising to her cheeks. He looked

so good in his button-up. His eyes looked so curious. And he was smiling warmly at her. "Oh um… just something I found in Raccoon City

that I liked." She answered while quickly adverting her eyes back to the screen. He couldn't help but notice her distant behavior. His smile

disappeared, as he gazed at his sister in concern. Had he done something wrong? Was she avoiding him? He removed his arm from

around her frame, looking down sadly at the floorboards beneath the couch. Was it all the going away and not telling her first? He never

meant to make her feel like she came second to the job. That was absolutely not true. He looked over at her again. I'm sorry, Claire. He

needed to make this right. And he was going to. Tonight.