#ashcroft protocol

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Fun fact! If anybody who's not Grace, Leon, or Sherry tries to pick baby Emily, baby Emily will start screeching at the top of her lungs in pure, unadulterated rage.

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A sneak peak at chapter five. No biggie.

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Previous

Interlude: Photographs

Leon’s Cabin, 2026

There were photos on his wall in the hallway. This was nothing new. His wall had had the photos for a while. Sherry had walked into his cabin after they’d reunited, intent on hosting a Survivors-of-the-Government’s/Umbrella’s/Various-Terrorist-Organizations’-Bullshit-Party—which had quickly become welcome parties hosted every time someone new survived such bullshit—and been horribly insulted by how empty his walls and shelves were. Sherry, Claire, Chris, everyone really, had taken the opportunity to fill his house with everything from little knickknacks and treasures to colorful blankets to the aforementioned photos on the wall. What was new was the photos had changed.

They had blurred out faces in some, new people added in others and there were new photos entirely. The one that had his attention could’ve only been taken immediately after Raccoon City as he’s still wearing the RPD uniform. He can see the edges of his tactical gear off to the side, his belt and boots and utility belt piled on top. There’s a giant Tatami bed set up on the floor of a different cabin. The couch behind it indicating a living room. There’s cups of tea on the edge of a coffee table that’s been pushed to the side. There are blankets and pillows on the tatami scattered haphazardly about.

Cool morning light drifting in through the windows sets a gentle glow on the people in the photograph. Claire and another woman(Alyssa Ashcroft?) are both sprawled on the couch limbs askew. On the tatami there are four people. Sherry, 12 years old, lying sideways and snoring like a truck, her head hanging off the side, her legs thrown over his. Leon himself spooning a mystery woman. The mystery woman on her side, back to him, face obscured by her hair. A baby, with white-blonde hair sticking up haphazardly and cataracts and redlines in the face left by the folds of the blankets, trying to climb over the mystery woman to Leon. And all of a sudden Leon knows that the woman is Grace.

His Grace. Except, she can’t be. But she is. Leon remembers what her perfume smelled like even after being rained on. Magnolias, river water, and apricots. He remembers her shampoo as well. Oranges, orange blossoms, and vanilla. He’d buried his face in her hair after Ada- after Ada what? Grace hadn’t been in Raccoon City. Only she had. She’d been walking on the side of the road, and he’d picked her up, and then it had carried on from there. Leon had been avoiding thinking about his attraction to Grace considering the age gap (Sherry had called him up one day, cackling about how he wouldn’t need to worry about the age gap. And then she hung up. Rude.), when he saw the photos on his walls had changed.

Now, he’s looking at them and there’s two more that he can see have clearly changed. One is a photo he took with Sherry when he first got custody of her. They’d gone to a diner his favorite foster mom had taken him to when he was in high school after he’d gotten into a fight with a bully. She’d grinned at him widely, “Officially, I’m upset with you. Unofficially, did you win?”

In the photo, Leon is wearing a blue t-shirt with the mystery machine on it, and washed out jeans. Across from him, Sherry is wearing a yellow sweater with Snoopy dog on it tucked into frayed jeans. She’s wearing one of those obnoxiously large butterfly clips that he bought her in his spare time. Claire had wanted to meet up with them but hadn’t able to make it because one of her college friends was sick and notoriously bad at taking care of themselves. So, it had just been him and Sherry. There’s two more people in the photo now. Grace sitting right next to him, tucked into his side. She’s laughing in the photo at something he said, her head falling against his shoulder. She’s wearing a green sweater with embroidery she did herself, the words ‘If I shenan once, I’ll shenanigan’ circling a frog playing a banjo and a blue knee length skirt patterned with frogs. Emily is in her lap wearing ‘90s Strawberry Shortcake overalls over a matching t-shirt. Her white-blonde hair in little pigtails. There’re pancakes on the table alongside bacon, eggs, and sausage. His and Sherry’s original order. There’s more food on the table now. Fried tomatoes, hash-browns, and French fries and milkshakes. Leon remembers eating a French fry dipped into the milkshake and wondering if Grace would taste like the fried tomatoes when(when?) he kissed her.

The third is a photo that used to be of Ada. Leon had almost no photos of Ada, and the few he did have, she only let him take if her face was obscured. After they’d run into each other during Las Plaga, they’d gone on a date, if you could even call it that, to the Grand Canyon. It was sunset in the photo, casting a golden pink glow over everything. Ada was standing ahead of him in a red backless tank top, skinny jeans, and black leather heeled boots. She had her back to the camera. With the lighting in the photo Ada had looked mysterious, even unreal. It’s not Ada in the photo now. It’s Grace. She’s facing toward him, grinning wildly. Her hair is longer, wavy, blowing in the wind. She’s got a large sunhat that she’s holding in place with both hands, wearing a green sundress with a sweetheart neckline, and sandals with ankle straps. And she’s looking right at him. In the rose gold of the sunset she looks ethereal, goddess like. And Leon doesn’t remember any of it. Except that, he kind of does. It’s blurry and muffled, but there are bits and pieces here and there. Emily’s guide dog, Snowy. Grace asking about how his mom’s been doing. Sherry rolling her eyes at something he said while he helps her with an art project.

For a moment he wonders where Emily is in the photo. And the answer comes unbidden. Her grandpa’s; Sherry’s with him, too. This wasn’t a child-friendly trip, after all, if the hickies were anything to go by.

Three photos. A completely new one, and two that been changed. Grace and Emily at a time and place they couldn't have been. What the fuck?

Next

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Chapter 4

Previous

Hark! A surprise Marvin POV! I thought this was going to be Leon's perspective and then Marvin started talking, and needless to say, I like his perspective.

Marvin sat back, watching Grace and Leon, assessing. Before he’d recognized Grace, he’d assumed that they were a married couple with a kid. Hell, he was still having to remind himself that they weren’t. Even while helping Marvin, Leon’s attention never strayed from Grace and Emily. Finally, Marvin asked the question he’d been wanting to ask since he’d got there. “Where’s Elliot?”

Grace teared up, looking nauseous, and Leon grimaced, looking away. “He- I-I couldn’t-”, Leon cut himself.

Marvin sighed, “I’m sure you did what you could, Leon”— He turned to Grace—“Now what I would love to know, is why the hell Alyssa’s boss called you to tell you Alyssa needs to be picked up? I’m fairly certain she’s already out of the city.”

“What?!” Grace scowled, eye twitching. “For f-f-few-fucks’ sake! The hell is we-wrong with some people?”

Leon reached, running his fingers through her hair, and tucking it behind her ears, “Hey, at least you know she’s safe, right?”

She sighed, leaning into his touch, shoulders slumping, “That’s true.” Marvin watched as Leon cupped her cheek, stroking her cheekbone with his thumb. It was sweet, and while Marvin hated to interrupt the moment, he also didn’t want Leon or Grace running around without Kevlar,; he wasn’t sure what to do about Emily. His goddaughter deserved a shot at romance with a guy who wasn’t like That One Guy They Don’t Acknowledge. He cleared his throat. Grace flushed, a bright pink that Alyssa would tease her about if she were here. She grinned awkwardly, ducking her head. Leon ducked his head as well but, the rookie’s grin was smug and unrepentant.

Marvin smiled, pained, “There’s a uniform waiting for you in the lockers. They’re towards the back of the Lobby. Kevlar’s in the storage box. Welcome to the force, Kid. Sorry ‘bout the shitty first day.”

Leon nodded, “Yes, Sir.” He stepped back. Only he didn’t leave, yet. Instead, he turned to Grace and waited. Marvin watched as Grace smiled at Leon and gave a short nod. Only then did the Rookie leave. His goddaughter watched Leon leave with an expression so painfully smitten that Marvin was getting cavities by osmosis alone. She looked to Marvin, blushed, and curled in her shoulders. She aborted the movement, straightening her back, and lifted her chin to look him dead in the eyes.

She took a deep breath, “Uncle Marvin, I-I’m going to marry that man.” There was a loud clatter followed by a yelp from Leon’s direction, and Marvin got the unmistakable delight of watching Grace turn a red so bright she almost glowed from it.

“Oh my god”, she breathed, looking positively mortified. She giggled demurely. “Um… He’s just… a-am-amazing. And he’s so good with E-Emily. He’s it for me. There’s never gonna be anyone else, Uncle Marvin.”

If this were anyone else Marvin would be more concerned. It was Grace, though, and she’d always had good instincts. “Tell me ‘bout him”, he said. Good instincts or not, he was still going to be Grace’s godfather. Grace grinned brightly, and then rambled happily about Leon, swinging her feet back and forth the way she did when she was younger. Marvin sat back, listening to her talk. It was vaguely reminiscent of the way her father had talked about her mother in that same way; only more like her mother in diction.

If this was the last thing he heard before he went, he was more than at peace. Besides, he missed his wife and his best friend and he was sure they’d want to hear all about how things had been going on earth. He was sure Josie would love to hear all about her daughters when he got there.

Leon came back wearing his uniform gear and all, carrying more Kevlar as well. He looked at Grace and held up the Kevlar, “I have an idea.” He looked a little nervous, shifting awkwardly on his feet. She reached out lightly caressing his fingers, looking so completely enchanted that Marvin feel a little sick. Not ‘Ew, that’s gross sick’ more ‘had too much candy on Halloween at six years old’ sick. The good kind of sick. “Leon”, Grace’s voice was soft, breathy. “I trust you. I trust you.”

Fair warning: My family is moving at some point during the summer, so there will be a hiatus, especially since we're building our house. I'm also taking an interior design class, so updates will be a little slower. And then it'll take me a little bit to get back into the swing o' things once everything's settled. Just wanted to give you all a head's up, so...

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Chapter 5

Previous

In this chapter we have... EMOTIONAL DAMAGE!!!

Leon gets an important reminder and a new mission.

Grace has a breakdown about the decisions "she" made in her new memories.

Marvin is Marvining

Notes: Lowkey, I forgot Marvin has daughter who snuck into Raccoon City to find him. She does find him. He loses track of her after that when he makes her get out of the city. On the bright side, no one know what happens to her so I've decided she makes it out alive and is Alyssa's future wife. Lesbians for the win!

This chapter is shorter than I thought it would be.

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“Uncle Marvin, I-I’m going to marry that man.” The words loop continuously through Leon’s mind as he offers his hand to Grace. She grips it tightly as he pulls her up, her fingers soft against his callused ones. “I trust you. I trust you.” He lifts the Kevlar over her head, adjusting it so that it covers Emily. He’d grabbed a larger size, so that he could fit it over the both of them. As he buckles it into place, he finds that it doesn’t close over her sides completely. It wasn’t warping at least. Grace reaches over, making adjustments to Leon’s gear.

He checks on Emily. Out cold. She wasn’t kidding when she said Emily sleeps like a rock. He looks back up, making eye contact with. He leans in, brushing his lips lightly against her ear, “We should go ring shopping after this, shouldn’t we? Or is that moving to quickly?” She squeaks and when he pulls back Leon can see that Grace is bright red. He grins, feeling smug. Pleased, too. He turns to find Marvin looking absolutely done, but not upset.

As much as he hates to kill the mood, he turns to Marvin. The conversation he and Grace had with Claire lingers in the back of his mind. Getting answers is important. “Does anyone know what started this?”

“Not a clue.” He goes on to say something else but, Grace interrupts.

“I h-thee-think I might know something”, her voice hitches into that stutter, as her face scrunches up with distress— and guilt? “Uncle Marvin, do y-you rem-me-member when I was kidnapped a few weeks ah-ago?”

Leon is left reeling at the information. It’s jarring to be hit so suddenly with information like that. It’s also a pretty harsh reminder that they’ve only known each other for what? A couple hours? And there he was in the locker room imagining her sitting on his couch in her pajamas with a cup of coffee, wedding ring on her finger, and Emily in one of those baby walker things. Like she’s his wife already. Slow down, Kennedy.

Then again, “He’s it for me. There’s never gonna be anyone else, Uncle Marvin.” And, “Uncle Marvin, I-I’m going to that man.” She’d sounded soft and breathless. A dreamy quality to her tone that had Leon tripping over his feet on the way to his locker. When Leon had come back he’d been intending to say something flirty. Some marriage themed pick-up line to get Grace to glow that pretty pink she did every time she was flustered. He’s still going to, of course. It’ll just have to wait until a little later.

He tunes back into the conversation, “-have to do with your kidnapping?”

Grace swallows, inhaling sharply, eyes flickering around like she could find the words she needed floating in the air. When she answers her voice trembles and chokes slightly, “The f-fa-facility I was ta-taken to was an Um-Mum-Umbrella Corpora-ration lab-laboratory. They were exp-experiment-menting with stuff like this. My boss sent me al-alone to an unsecured crime scene. Wanted ‘an analyst’s eyes on the scene’. I found som-something that Umbrella didn’t want getting o-out. Something ht-they'd sent a retrieval team for. The retrieval team f-found me. Wh-whe-when I woke up, I was st-strapped upside down t-to a table and my bl-blood was being drawn. Still don’t know why they w-wanted it. When I-I-I escaped, they created an outbreak in the fa-facility. To kill mm-me, I think.” — Grace shifts uncomfortably, avoiding eye contact, like she’s afraid of what she’ll see when she looks at them— “That’s w-wh-where I found Em-Emily. Sh-sh-she was uninfected. Kept in this gl-la-ass cage thing. When I got us-us and out of the building the-there was a S.T.A.R.S team get-ti-ing r-r-ready to storm the building. They def-definitely weren’t expecting a-a-a woman an-and a baby. I was given paid l-l-leave to make it-it-it-it es-easier to adjust t-t-to having Emily, and was nnn-not to worry-y-y-y about the ‘on-ongoing invest-stigation’. That e-e-e-e-everything was being t-t-t-taken care of a-a-a-and to rest. I-I-I-I left the city to stay with Dad f-f-f-for a few days, and I didn’t give it a-a second thought. Th-th-this is all my fault!”

The pitch pitch of her voice heightens rapidly into a whine as she explains. He’s a little turned on by her steadily growing rage. He ignores it. Leon is more horrified by the misplaced guilt. He’s gripping her shoulders, turning her to face him. He needs to keep her present so she’ll hear what he has to say. “Grace. Look at me. Please.” She does, hesitantly at first, but she does. Her eyes flecks have of green in them, a light delicate shade. “This is not you’re fault. You trusted that this would be investigated, and that trust was betrayed. And we don’t know if that’s what led to the outbreak, this could’ve been caused by a separate incident. I know you probably don’t believe me, and that’s okay. So, I’ll say it until you do and then even more after that. This is not you’re fault. You couldn’t have known. You did that best that could and Emily needed you more. Emily still needs you more.” Her eyes are so wide and watery. She looks stunned, like she’s never had anybody tell her that something out of control wasn’t her fault. “Okay?” She doesn’t answer, just stares at him, so he reaches over and gently tugs at a lock of her hair.

She swallows, inhales slowly. “Okay”, She breathes it out, soft and feathery, as though the word has come from some far away place where it was hidden in her soul. Leon cradles the word in the hands of his mind, tucking it away into his own soul, putting it somewhere it can never be taken away from him. Leon turns to Marvin. Before meeting his girls, he might have said something about wishing he’d shown up sooner. But, if he’d shown up sooner what would’ve happened to Grace and Emily? If he’d shown up sooner, he might’ve died or been turned and become a threat to them or what if he’d survived and they died or turned because he wasn’t there to pick them up. Could he have shot them? A pretty woman and her baby? No. He would’ve let them kill and turn him, too.

Marvin clears his throat, bringing their attentions away from each other and onto him, “Leon’s right, Grace. And anyway that doesn’t matter now. Honestly, all you need to know is that this place will eat you alive if you’re not careful.”

Leon frowns, remembering to check his gun, “Yeah… well, I supposed to start last week. But, I got a call to stay away. Otherwise, I’d’ve been here sooner.”

“You’re here now, Leon. That’s all that matters.”

“OK, Lieutenant. I’m ready.”

He walks over to Marvin. Whatever orders he’s given, he’ll take. Though, he doesn’t want to. He’d much rather stay by Grace and Emily. Marvin looks up at him, voice firm, “Hopefully, you’ll be able to find yourselves away out of this station. That officer you met earlier—Elliot. He thought this secret passageway might do the trick.” He hands Leon the notebook back. Leon had given it to him earlier, wanting him to take a look.

Leon looks at him, “This is good news. We can get you to a hospital.”

Marvin shakes his head, “No, no, I am not the priority here.”

Leon’s heart drops, “Lieutenant, we can’t just leave you here—”

“I’m giving you an order, Rookie”, Marvin snaps. “You save yourselves first. I’d come with you but, I’d just slow you down. Now…you’ll need this.” He tried to hand his combat knife to Leon.

Leon shook his head, “I can’t take—”

“Stop.” Marvin’s voice was firm. Leon grabbed the knife and Marvin pulled him in sharply, “And don’t make my mistake. You see one of those things—uniform or not—you do not hesitate. Grace and Emily are your priority, now. So, you take it out. Or you grab them and run. Got it!?”

“Yes, Sir.” Leon’s chest feels heavy, in a way he’s not used to. Still, Leon has a mission, now. Grace and Emily. If he’s lucky that mission could become his new life. He’d really like for them to become his new life.

When Marvin sits back down his groans of pain have Leon looking away. His gaze lands on Grace. She looks… anguished and unsurprised. Like, she already knows there’s nothing they can do for Marvin and has succumbed to the reality of it. “Oh, Sweetheart…” He walks back over to her, pulling her into his side. He rests his cheek on her head. “Grace and Emily are your priority now.” Truthfully, they’ve been his priority since he met them.

“Grace”, Marvin says.

“Y-yeah?” Her voice trembles with the force of her grief.

“You stay with Leon. Do not leave his side unless you absolutely have to. If you do have to…get back to him as quickly as possible. Understand?”

“I understand.” Her voice is steadier now. More mournful than anguished.

Next

Notes: Leslie is being very insistent about being heard. I don't know if I want her appearing in this fic, tho. Should I give her a chapter or a oneshot?

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Ashcroft Protocol Playlist Masterlist

Echoes of Grace

Holly and Light

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Echoes of Grace Playlists

Echoes of Grace: Grace

Echoes of Grace: Leon

Echoes of Grace: Kennecroft

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Guys, chapter 3 is gonna be loooong. She's gonna take a bit.