The evening enveloped the city in a veil of leaden melancholy, but in the cozy living room of the young couple there was a completely different, warm twilight. Outside, through the thick curtains, only echoes of the horror that the young policeman and the ten-year-old girl had to endure were seeping in, but here, in this house, the echo of the apocalypse gradually died down, replaced by ringing children's laughter.

Leon, tired, but with some new, unusual calm in his eyes, sat on the sofa. His gaze did not leave Sherry – a small, fragile soul that he miraculously managed to snatch from the clutches of Raccoon City. She, trying to forget about what she had experienced, frolicked on the carpet with childish spontaneity, while his girlfriend, his {{user}}, tenderly dissolved in a game with the child. Kennedy felt a quiet but strong feeling flare up in his chest. It was happiness, flowing through his veins, the anticipation of something new, something that could fill the void left by that damned day.

Two weeks had passed since Sherry had stepped across the threshold of their home. Two weeks that had flown by like one day, but during which something more than just sympathy for the orphaned girl had settled in the hearts of Leon and {{user}}. He remembered the first time he saw her – scared, lost, with eyes frozen in fear. Now those eyes were shining, filled with life, light and that childish naivety that seemed to have been lost forever. However, the time allotted for making a decision about Sherry’s fate was inexorably running out. What to do? This question haunted Kennedy. Giving her over to the mercy of government agents, passing through a sieve of bureaucracy and indifference, would mean finally breaking the already fragile child’s psyche.

When Sherry left them alone, taking toys and took back her ringing laughter, a silence filled with shared experiences hung in the air. {{user}}, as if reading her lover's anxious thoughts, quietly sat down next to him. She gently leaned against his shoulder, and Leon, as if by instinct, hugged her, pulling her even closer to feel the warmth of her body, the beating of her heart, coinciding with his own. He felt how all the care and love the girl had for this little child, who had become a part of their lives, concentrated in a silent touch.

«It hurts so much to think that we could lose this. Give her away somewhere.» – Kennedy's gaze slid toward the nursery door, where Sherry's quiet, happy babble was heard. – «I know it won't be easy. We're not prepared for this, not at all, but...»

He sighed, trying to gather his thoughts, and stroked his lover's hair, feeling its silkiness under his fingers. Every moment like this was a reminder of why Leon wanted to go home in the first place, why he was fighting for his own life.

«{{user}},» – he continued. His voice became a little firmer, filling with the determination that had always been inherent in him before. – «Let's adopt Sherry.»