Disclaimer: William Birkin, Annette Birkin, Sherry Birkin, and Resident Evil belong to CAPCOM. The song from which the title comes from is entitled 'The Scientist' by Coldplay. I make no profits by writing this. It if pure fiction, and is intended solely for entertainment.

Characters: William Birkin, Annette Birkin, and Sherry Birkin

Random Author's Note: I, personally, LOVE the song I based this on. I first heard this it years ago when my friend begged me to listen to it because it was sooo 'good'. He was right lol. I fell in love with it the first time I heard it. I look at the song's meaning as a relationship that has fallen apart because of one person and that same person is trying to get the person they lost back. When trying to brainstorm a fic, the name of the song immediately reminded me of William Birkin. Then I analyzed the lyrics, wrote down some ideas to relate it to the Birkin family, and this fic was the product. If you want to give the song a listen once you're done reading, here's the music video for it on Youtube: /watch?v=EqWLpTKBFcU

"The Scientist"

William Birkin sat at his desk that lay inside the 'safety' of his underground lab. He rested the tip of his folded elbows on the desk and had his face planted against his palms in frustration. His hair, in it's state of messiness and greasiness, was pointing in all directions. As the sounds of computing machines chimed in the background, he drove his thoughts to the one place that they hadn't been to for as long as he could remember; his wife and child.

He had unknowingly neglected them in all his line of work. Days, weeks, and months would pass by him and he still wouldn't give any care to the family he formed. His wife, Annette Birkin, had been supportive of him throughout all his years of research and hard work. He was aware of the fact that no matter how far he was away from her, both mentally and physically, she still had the same amount of love for him that she first had when they married each other.

Then there was his twelve year old daughter, Sherry Birkin. The beautiful life he created together with his wife, Sherry had also been suffering from his neglect. She was only a girl and she needed the affection of both her parents. He felt a knot form deep in his stomach as he acknowledged the fact that he was pushing her away just as much as he was pushing away his wife, as well as reality.

For several months now, he's been all caught up in his research. Filing in paperwork, driving from place to place, checking on various samples, making perfect observations, etc. It was all taking too much of his time for him to have any left to spend with his dear family at home. He hardly even spent nights at his home anymore. Instead, he'd rest inside the lab or rent a room closer to the lab than his home. Days would go by without him calling home and giving his whereabouts, which obviously would worry them.

He was actually surprised that Annette or Sherry hadn't even complained about it. They didn't get angry or even upset with him – at least they didn't show it. Any little time he would spend with them they would adore sincerely, and even if a longer period without him awaited them afterwards, they'd still cherish every moment they had with him while they could.

William's wife and child loved him, and here he was, sleepy, tired, and stuck at his lab again at 2 in the morning thinking about how much he's emotionally forgotten about them. He didn't want to lose them or their ever lasting love. He'd go mad if they were to ever leave him behind and alone.

He slowly brought one hand down to the paper-covered desk and rested his head on his remaining hand while he began to quietly sob. He pushed his lips together so as to not allow a tear to escape his eyes, but it was to no avail. A single teardrop rolled down his cheek and silently hit the corner of a paper that was along a pile of more paperwork. It made a moist, tiny circle, and smeared ink as it began to dry up. His eyes were now turning slightly red but he contained the urge to pour out any left over tears.

The thought of his wife and child leaving him sure shook him up a bit because it was the one thing he was truly afraid of - even more than losing his work on the G-Virus. He remembered how happy he'd lived his life with them even before his obsession with his work began.

They'd go out and have fun times together, they'd spend holidays together, they'd go visit places when Sherry was on school vacation, and a lot of other things that the typical happy family would do. He'd see the joyful grins on their faces and he'd grin back at them. They were the envy of every other family on the block, and they were proud of it. However, when you begin to fiddle with viruses, all that happiness you once possessed could all slip on through down a drain.

He knew that although he was aware that Annette still supported him, she was at the same time disappointed in him and his constant absences.

"Where did I go wrong, my dearest Annette?" William asked his wife. He was kneeling down in front of her as she sat down crying in their living room couch. He was holding his hands in hers securely as she sobbed uncontrollably. "When did things begin to go astray?"

They were having another disagreement. Annette decided that she'd had enough of all that was happening. She didn't ask for a divorce, though, for she knew very well that she still loves him. But all the love and endearment she had for him was not sufficient to hide the negative feelings she was beginning to have towards the man she vowed to love until death did them part.

Annette took a moment to breathe in and control her shaking voice, "It began when you cared more for a stupid virus than for the two people who love you the most."

Words couldn't express the pain he felt when she told him those words. He was tumbling near the edge of depression, and if he heard one more thing like the one she said, he thought he'd fall over and lose all control. He was beginning to sweat now. The heat inside his body was becoming unbearable.

He moved his hand away and pushed away all the papers away that had been previously laying in front of him. When the desk was cleared of paperwork, he rested his head on the cool, metal surface of the desk. It felt somewhat refreshing to feel the cooling desk against his heated forehead, but it was no match for the boiling emotions inside his heart and soul.

Not only was Annette's faith in him starting to slowly fade away, but so was his daughter's. Sherry's grades in school had been falling a bit because she was arguing with her mother a bit more than frequently. Sherry was missing the presence of her father and her mother just didn't know how to cope with his absence either. They'd get into arguments, not talk to each other for a while, and then continue living their lives.

Undoubtedly, the lowering of Sherry's self esteem was William's doing. If he didn't know any better, he'd blame it on Annette. But this time, he had a clear view of who the fault belonged to and who the problems all traced back to; himself. In addition to his problems at work, he now had to deal with problems at home. The ambience in his home when he walked into it just wasn't the same as it was back when they were a perfect happy family.

There were no longer any goodmorning's or goodnight's said. As much as he tried to be affectionate with his family once again, it didn't work. Now it was him who was being pushed away, and it didn't feel good at all. It was his turn to learn what it felt like to be avoided.

"I can fix our problems, sweetie," William tried his best to make Annette feel like she was still a major part of his life. His words were kind and full of good, however, his actions in his work proved otherwise. "I can make this all better and we can work this out. You, Sherry, and I can go back to being what we once were; a big happy family."

Annette didn't believe a word out of her husband's mouth. It wasn't the first time he had said this and it wouldn't be the last. She was starting to get used to it, and that wasn't a good thing.

"I can change," William rubbed her hands affectionately and looked deep into her eyes.

"Oh, please don't be ridiculous, William," Annette wiped the roaming tears off of her already moist cheeks, "I know you won't change, Sherry knows you won't change, and YOU know you won't change."

William slowly released her hands from his tight grasp and shut his eyes in disappointment. He was still on one knee in front of his sitting wife. He pressed one hand against his head and began to massage the side of it. He had been having a headache throughout the entire day and this feud wasn't making him feel any better.

Annette readjusted her wrinkled gown and wrapped it around her body ever so tightly, holding it there. It was the only other way that made her feel comfortable; by holding herself when her husband wasn't capable of it.

"So this is what you've come to be, my William," Annette stopped sobbing in order to get her sentence through. She once again used the back of her hand to wipe off the remaining tears and stood up from her couch, looking down at her kneeling husband. "You've become nothing but a mad researcher; a scientist. You're no longer the man I married nor the father of my child. You're not even the man I fell in love with anymore."

And with those last words, she walked away, turned off the living room lights, and made her way into what was once THEIR bedroom. Now it was HER bedroom. No force in the world was strong enough to stop the load of tears that embodied him right after he was left alone in the dark living room.

William sat up from his rolling chair, grabbed a briefcase containing empty glass virus samples, and launched it across the room. As it flew across with force, it met it's destination by impacting the face of a computer screen and cracked it. William watched in anger as sparks began to fly out of the damaged computer and broken glass began to cover the floor.

"I love you Annette and I love you Sherry," William told himself. He then looked to his right, where another briefcase – this one containing samples of the G-virus – was resting. "But I also love the beautiful work I've created."

He began to walk towards the briefcase while stepping on remains of broken glass and sprawled paperwork that rested on the ground. The lights of computing machines shined against his face as he approached the work that he took so much pride in.

When he stood in front of it, he entered a code on it's dial pad. When the code was accepted, the cover lifted itself, and a small door containing the samples opened up with a hiss, and William marveled at what he saw. Inside the briefcase was his creation. It was what could turn a simple living man into a ravenous monster in a matter of time. It was deadly, but it was also glorious to him.

William may have been a researcher, a scientist, but there was one more thing that could not be denied about him; he was good at what he did.

"It's sheer perfection," William pulled out a single sample and examined it gracefully, "My precious G-virus. No one will ever take you away from me.

Just as he finished admiring the work he created, two strange men cloaked in black and gas masks bursted into his lab.

In retaliation, William closed the briefcase, snatched a gun that was attached to the bottom of his rolling chair, held his briefcase against the table's surface with his hand, and aimed his own weapon at them.

The men with the gas masks did the same thing and aimed their weapons back at him.

"There he is!" one of them told the other.

William slowly started walking backwards, switching the aim of his gun back and forth between the two intruders. "So you've finally come," William told them in an emotionless voice.

"Doctor," one of the masked men began to walk towards William, still aiming his weapon at him, "We're here to collect the G-virus sample."

"Sorry," William started to slide the briefcase backwards along the table to match the momentum of his own body movements, "But I won't just hand over my life's work."

Against William's will, pictures of Annette and Sherry began to flash in his mind. Their smiles, their loving hugs, their affection, and everything they would do to make him feel loved flashed before his eyes. It was almost as if it was a sign that something horrible was about to happen...

While William was sliding the briefcase along the table, he didn't realize that there was a canister about to make contact with the briefcase if he didn't stop moving it in it's current path. By the time he realized his mistake, it was too late. The briefcase hit the canister, causing it to tip over from the table and fall to the ground.

The echoing sound it caused startled William and made the closest intruder feel threatened, so he opened fire. What stopped the masked man from riddling William with even more bullets was his companion, who warned him, "Stop it! You might hit the sample!"

William was now filled with bullet wounds all along his torso as he sat down on the ground with his back against his desk. As gravely injured as he was, he still managed to lift his head, open his eyes, and catch sight of one of the masked men taking the briefcase that William had dropped.

"That's it alright," the man said, "Okay, let's move out!" He and his comrade left the lab and all that was remaining in it was a mortally wounded William Birkin. This time, it was the strange mens' turn to leave without realizing something first; a remaining sample of the G-virus was still in the hands of the scientist.

The sound of a door opening caught his attention, and he looked to see who it was.

My dearest Annette...

Annette walked into the lab, looked around to see what had gone wrong, and gasped when she caught sight of the wounded body of her husband.

"William!" Annette rushed to his side and inspected his wounds closely. They were bad, really bad. "Oh, my! Hold on darling, I'm taking care of that bullet wound first!" She gave him one last affectionate look before running off to search for immediate medical attention.

After Annette departed, William slowly brought up the sample he was still holding onto in his hand. Seeing his wife's worried expression brought back his previously saddened emotions about his family.

She still loves me even after all the wrong I've done...Annette...you don't know how lovely you are...

William knew that there was no way out of the problem this time. He'd bleed out to death if he didn't do something soon. He already let down his wife and child by not being there enough for them and he's let himself down for allowing those men to take away his work.

William Birkin now believed that he had nothing left worth living for.

Forgive me, Annette. Forgive me, Sherry. I hope you find someone that will give you two the love that I refused to give.

William slowly placed the G-virus sample in front of him with both hands.

I'm nothing more than a scientist and I'm nothing more of a man. It's such a shame for us to part. Goodbye, my darlings.

William quickly injected the virus into his torso, and his eyes turned into a sudden bloodshot as his own creation began to rapidly overtake his body and soul.

Once more, memories flashed before his eyes. The day he married his wife Annette while they were both dressed in white and the day his daughter Sherry was born. How he wished so badly to go back in time and change everything.

If there was one thing he was wishing right now, it was for the virus to help him forget about all his memories so he wouldn't have to see them again. Or, perhaps, take him back to the day he first met Annette so he could take a completely different path with her than the one he took to lead them where they were right now. Maybe if he took that path he wouldn't have hurt her and their child as much.

Oh, take me back to the start...