All right! So in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I decided to write this short story! I had posted it last year as a three shot, but I never finished it and I eventually took it down, so I decided to repost it this year as a oneshot! It's very random, but I hope you enjoy it all the same! Happy Thanksgiving! :)
DISCLAIMER: Everything belongs to Capcom.
Ahh, Thanksgiving. The one time of year where family and friends were the most important people to be with. And everyone knew that food was also a plus.
"It's that time again," Claire Redfield announced happily as she and her brother, Chris Redfield, walked around the grocery store, "What do you say, Chris? Do you want to have a Thanksgiving party again, like last year?"
"I don't see why not," Chris replied, picking up a small turkey and studying it, "This one's too small. If we're going to invite a lot of people over, we'll need a bigger turkey."
"I found one already," Claire said, using all her strength to pick up a larger bird and setting it in the cart.
Chris laughed. His little sister always seemed to notice things that he didn't. "All right," he said, scanning the Redfield shopping list, "So we have a turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, candied yams, and macaroni and cheese. Is there anything we're missing?"
"How about mashed potatoes?" the younger Redfield asked, "Everyone loves mashed potatoes."
"Yep, those too. I think they're in aisle seven."
"I'm on it!" And Claire was sprinting towards said aisle to pick up mashed potatoes.
Once they were finished shopping, Chris and Claire stood on the long line at one of the cash registers. "So," Claire asked slyly, "Who do you want to invite this year?"
"You know," Chris answered, "Leon, Sheva, Josh, Barry, Rebecca, Steve, and Billy. The usual suspects."
Hmm, Claire thought to herself. "How about…you know who?" she asked, waving her hands dramatically and grinning from ear to ear.
Chris paled, for he knew who Claire was talking about. "Uhh, Claire?" he asked, "We talked about that, remember?"
"Did we?" Claire retorted, even though she knew they had. For some inexplicable reason, Chris never wanted to invite you know who to anything. But perhaps things would be different this year. The younger Redfield would make sure of it. They didn't speak about it for the rest of the afternoon.
Hours after putting away all the groceries, Claire and Chris hovered over a list of invitations and were writing them to each of their friends. "Thursday at 3:00 in the afternoon," Chris mumbled, "I hope that's enough time for people to get ready to show up."
"It will be," Claire assured him, "Nothing will go wrong this year. I can promise you that." When Chris looked away for a minute, Claire snatched up one of the blank invitations and hid it away in her sweater pocket.
"I think we're done with these invitations," Chris announced, stretching his muscular arms over his head, "I'm going to go work out for a little bit."
"Okay." Claire saluted her brother, and he left the room. Perfect! Claire thought, grabbing a pen and writing out one last invitation:
Hi, Jill,
You are cordially invited to the Redfield Thanksgiving Party of the year on Thursday, November 24th, at 3:00 PM. Bring your good spirit and enjoy the holiday cheer! Hope to see you then!
-Claire
P.S. Chris really wants you to be there!
Perhaps this was wrong, but Claire figured that Chris ought to invite his partner. To her, it was stupid to leave her out of things like this, especially when Jill probably wanted to celebrate the holidays with her friends, too. Well, things would be different this Thanksgiving. Scooping up all the invitations, she left the house so that she could go mail them. However, none of them realized that this Thanksgiving was going to be a very interesting one.
Three days later, Jill Valentine sat in her apartment as she flipped through the different television stations, watching as all of them advertised Thanksgiving and Black Friday sales. She sighed, running a hand through her brown hair. Another Thanksgiving alone, she thought wistfully to herself. By now, who hadn't heard about Christopher Redfield and his annual holiday parties? The ones she was conveniently never invited to? She had learned to put it aside at this point. But all that would change when she went to retrieve her mail.
Of course, there were the usual bills and spam advertisements, but one piece of mail caught her attention. What's this? She thought, recognizing the Redfields' return address. Hurrying up to her apartment, she sat down and quickly opened the envelope, reading the invitation that was inside:
Hi, Jill,
You are cordially invited to the Redfield Thanksgiving Party of the year on Thursday, November 25th, at 3:00 PM. Bring your good spirit and enjoy the holiday cheer! Hope to see you then!
-Claire
P.S. Chris really wants you to be there!
"Wow," Jill gasped, feeling surprised and uplifted, "Chris really wants me to be there this year? This is different." She couldn't help but wonder what would be in store for her at this gathering. She couldn't wait for next week!
Meanwhile, in Umbrella/Tricell's headquarters, HUNK paced around in his gas mask and tactical suit anxiously. He wanted to find the others, since he had some interesting news for them about the holidays this year. He pushed the door open to one of the main rooms to see Albert Wesker staring out the window. Jack Krauser, Excella Gionne, Alexia Ashford, Ada Wong, and Alfred Ashford were surrounding him.
"It's Thanksgiving again," Wesker announced to them, "No doubt all those pathetic humans will be gathering together and celebrating."
"Ahh, who needs them anyway?" Krauser piped up, "You've got us. We'll do what we always do for the holidays."
"That's right, Albert," Excella purred, smirking and running her hand across Wesker's arm.
"I think the holidays are grand," Alexia intervened, "Remember all those years on Rockfort Island, Alfred? How we celebrated?"
"Yes, Alexia," Alfred responded, staring at his twin sister with wide eyes, "I miss those days."
From the doorway, HUNK cleared his throat, and the group faced him. "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation just now," he said.
"What about it?" Wesker asked.
"I just found out that the Redfields are hosting a Thanksgiving party on that day. I was listening to one of their conversations about it."
"Are they?" Wesker asked in surprise.
"You all want to celebrate Thanksgiving, right?" HUNK asked. Alfred and Alexia nodded excitedly.
"I think we should crash it."
Krauser snickered into his hand. "I like that idea, comrade," he said, grinning from ear to ear.
"Oh, this is ridiculous," Wesker interrupted, "Am I really willing to stoop myself that low?"
"Claire Redfield is helping to host it," HUNK announced, making both Wesker's and Excella's eyes flash. Excella looked annoyed, but Wesker seemed to contemplate the situation.
"Come on, Wesker," Krauser teased, "You know you want to."
"Very well, then," Wesker decided, "When is it?"
"In four days."
"We will be there! I must see what Chris is planning for this year."
Four days later…
"Wake up, Chris!" Claire cried happily, bursting into her brother's room, "Happy Thanksgiving!"
"Mmm," Chris moaned, turning in his sleep, "You too, Claire."
"It's time to start getting everything ready! Come on, let's go!"
As Chris rolled out of bed, he took note of how enthusiastic his little sister had been over the past few days, and he wondered what that was all about. There had to be something more than the usual holiday cheer.
Once the two Redfields were downstairs, they turned on the television in time to see the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. "So, what do you want to start with first?" Claire asked cheerfully, "The turkey or the stuffing?"
That was when Chris decided to bring up the million dollar question. "Claire?" he asked, "Is there something you want to tell me? You've been acting like this for the last four days."
Hmm, let's see, Claire thought, Jill's coming over. "Nope," she lied, "I'm just excited to see everyone again."
"Oh, okay." Chris turned and got back to preparing the turkey while Claire smirked to herself. He doesn't suspect a thing!
Two hours later, when most of the table was set, food was placed and bottles of wine situated, someone rang the doorbell. "I'll go see who that is!" Claire said, running to the door, "Keep an eye on the bird!" Chris saluted. Claire grinned and opened the door.
"Sheva! Josh!" she exclaimed happily, hugging both of them, "Come on in."
"Happy Thanksgiving!" Sheva replied, shrugging off her coat. Josh followed suit.
"You, too! How have you two been?"
"Fine," Josh told her, smiling and wrapping his arm around Sheva, "Things have been wonderful at the BSAA."
"That's good."
"We also brought this." Sheva held up some champagne that she and Josh had picked up on the way.
"Great!" Claire cried, "Chris will love it!"
"Where should we go?"
"Right this way." Claire led them into the house and over to Chris, who was just taking the turkey out of the oven.
"Sheva and Josh are here!" the younger Redfield announced. Chris looked up from the table and smiled.
"Happy Thanksgiving!" he said to them, hugging Sheva and shaking Josh's hand.
"You too!" Josh quipped, taking a seat on the living room couch.
In the next couple of hours, Leon, Steve, Billy, Rebecca, and Barry arrived as well, each bringing a bottle of wine or champagne and overall enjoying the feel-good attitude of the holidays.
"So, what have you got planned this year, Chris?" Barry piped up from in between Josh and Billy.
"This is going to be the best Thanksgiving ever!" Chris exclaimed excitedly.
"I can't wait!" Rebecca cried, "So it's dinner first and then who knows from there?"
Claire just smiled from where she sat.
Taking a few deep breaths, Jill Valentine approached the front door to the Redfields' house. I hope this isn't too awkward, she thought as she rang the doorbell. She only had to wait a few minutes before Claire Redfield. "Hi!" Chris's little sister greeted, hugging Jill, "Come on in! You're just in time!"
"Hey, Claire," Jill responded, "It's good to see you, too. Happy Thanksgiving! I brought cookies!"
"Thanks. You too!" Taking Jill's hand, Claire pulled her inside and shut the door behind her.
"The others are already here. We're just getting started." Jill nodded and followed her friend. What she wasn't prepared for was the awkwardness that was to follow.
"Everyone!" Claire announced, "We've got our last guest!" The rest of the group fell silent as she moved aside to reveal Jill.
At first, nobody said anything, least of all Chris Redfield, who had a look of complete shock on his face.
"Jill!" Chris gasped, making the brunette blush in slight embarrassment, as it dawned on her that Claire had lied. Chris hadn't known she was coming today.
"Jill!" the others cried, jumping up to greet her, "Happy Thanksgiving!" She hugged Sheva, Leon, Steve, Josh, Barry, Rebecca, and Billy all in turn, but didn't advance towards Chris.
"Guess what I'm having for Thanksgiving, Jill?" Barry asked with a grin on his face.
"What?" Jill asked.
Taking something out of his pocket, Barry announced, "A turkey sandwich, that's what!" Everyone laughed, as it was pretty clear that Barry was only joking in order to make the situation less awkward. However, Jill couldn't help but shoot a glance at Claire, who was glancing at her brother, who was looking back at her. This Thanksgiving was going to be interesting indeed.
"Claire," Chris began as calmly as he could, "I think we should go check the table to see if everything's all right."
Claire had an inkling to what this was all about, so she nodded and announced to the others, "Excuse us. Make yourself at home, Jill." Jill nodded and sat down next to Leon. As soon as the Redfield siblings were alone in the kitchen, Chris shut the door and rounded on his sister.
"Why didn't you tell me you invited Jill?" he demanded, trying not to raise his voice, "You know I told you not to invite her!"
Claire sighed. "I'm sorry," she apologized, "But I was getting sick of you not inviting her to any of our parties! How do you think that makes her feel? To invite everyone but her?"
"I have my reasons. She knows that."
"Oh yeah?" Claire folded her arms. "And what are your reasons?"
Before Chris could open his mouth, both of them heard a knocking on the kitchen door, and when Claire answered it, she saw Jill standing there. "Jill!" she cried, surprised.
Narrowing her blue eyes at her friend, Jill growled, "I'm going to kill you, Claire."
"Why?"
"You told me Chris knew I was coming! But you made me look like a fool instead! Nobody here knew I was coming today, did they?"
Claire looked down at her feet. "Well…no," she reluctantly confirmed, making Jill frown.
"Well, this has gotten awkward," she piped up, "Thanks again, though. Happy Thanksgiving!" And without so much as glancing at Chris, Jill was out the door and into the cold weather.
"See?" Chris asked, pointing at his sister, "This is why you shouldn't have gone behind my back!"
"Chris," Claire began, but Chris was gone already, leaving her by herself in the kitchen to contemplate on what she had done.
From outside the Redfield household, Wesker, Krauser, Alfred, and Alexia watched as Jill stormed down the stairs and began walking down the street. "I wonder what happened there," Krauser mused, taking note of the angry look on Jill's face.
"It doesn't matter," Wesker replied, "Now is the time to strike."
"This is going to be good," Krauser snickered as Wesker signaled to HUNK, who approached the front door with Ada and Excella in tow. With a graceful hand, Excella rang the doorbell, sending Alexia, Alfred, and Krauser into fits of laughter.
At the front door, HUNK, Ada, and Excella waited patiently as the door opened to reveal Claire Redfield. "Surprise!" HUNK exclaimed as Claire gasped and widened her eyes in confusion.
"What the hell?" she cried loud enough for her friends to hear her, "What are you doing here?"
"It was my mission to lead my friends here to join your party," HUNK explained, "As you know, the mission always takes top priority over everything else." Claire raised an eyebrow skeptically.
"How did you know we were having a party today?" the younger Redfield demanded.
"I listened in on your conversation with tools that Ada had given me a long time ago." The woman in the red dress smirked.
Frowning, Claire snapped, "Well, you're not invited. Leave!"
"Claire?" a familiar voice rang out from inside, "What's going on?" The door opened even wider and Leon Kennedy appeared.
"Ada?" he cried, "What are you doing here?"
That was when Ada decided to run off and get the others. "Ada, wait!" Leon shouted after her. Claire hit him across the arm.
"Leon!" she hissed. Facing HUNK and Excella, she continued, "If you three are here, then Wesker must be close by."
"Wesker?" Leon echoed, "We've got to tell Chris!"
Claire shook her head. "Not yet. Let's see if we can get them to go away first."
"Claire? Leon?" Steve Burnside asked, appearing at the door behind his friends, "Who are you talking to?"
"Guests who aren't welcome," Claire announced, moving aside so that Steve could see.
"This is crazy," the redhead commented, "What are they doing here?"
Before anybody could move, another voice echoed and greeted the trio. "Happy Thanksgiving, Dear Heart," it quipped, and Claire looked up to see none other than Albert Wesker standing in front of her. Behind him were Jack Krauser, and Alfred and Alexia Ashford.
"Wesker!" Claire gasped.
"How could Claire embarrass me like this?" Jill muttered to herself as she drove back to her apartment, "She knew Chris didn't want me there, yet she still invited me anyway." She sighed as she slowed to a stop at the traffic light up ahead.
While she was waiting for the light to turn green, she remembered how this tension had started in the first place, and then cleared it out of her mind. Instead, she decided she would go home, put her feet up on the couch, and watch some holiday movies that were on television.
Chris shouldn't feel awkward around me anymore, she thought, It was a long time ago.
However, when she arrived at another red light, she felt something snap inside of her. Claire had invited her this year, after all. Maybe it was time she let her wall down and confronted the older Redfield about their awkwardness around each other every holiday season. Making a left onto the street to her left, she made a U-Turn and drove right back to the Redfield house.
"What are you doing here, Wesker?" Claire asked.
"I've had a change of heart this year," Wesker replied, moving forward and taking Claire's hand in his, "I realized I wanted to share a lovely dinner with you, Dear Heart."
"Not by my watch!" Leon thundered, "Leave! Claire's made it clear she doesn't want you here!"
"What's going on?" Chris's voice echoed as Steve moved aside. The older Redfield gasped upon seeing his archenemy.
"Wesker!" he snapped, "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Wishing your lovely sister a Happy Thanksgiving," the madman replied, flicking his sunglasses and grinning widely. From behind him, Krauser, Alfred, and Alexia sauntered up to the stairs.
"You!" Leon cried, pointing at the bulky mercenary.
"Comrade!" Krauser replied, "I didn't think you'd be here!"
Leon wrapped his arm around Claire. "Well, Claire invited me," he replied, "Of course."
"Alfred! Alexia!" Steve shrieked in recognition, "You both are here, too?"
Alexia laughed. "I figured you would remember us," she replied, "Remember two Thanksgivings ago? When you were our prisoner on Rockfort Island?"
"Oh, no," Steve mumbled to himself, "Oh, God, no. Don't remind me!"
"What happened two Thanksgivings ago?" Chris asked.
Steve shook his head, but all he could stammer was, "Alfred…made me eat…turkey!"
"What's wrong with that?" Krauser asked, scoffing.
"I'm a…a vegetarian!"
"Damn," Leon growled, "Poor Steve. How could you do that to him, Alfred?"
"It was Alexia's idea," Alfred chuckled, wrapping his arm around his twin sister, "She was always the brains in our family."
"Oh, Alfred," Alexia whispered, lightly slapping his arm, "You're too kind."
"Oh, give me a break," Claire groaned, rolling her eyes.
"So," Excella piped up, "May we come in?"
"No, you may not," Chris responded, "Leave now!"
"Oh, Chris," Wesker sighed, "You never were much fun."
"Damn right I wasn't. Now leave!"
"I suppose we could let them stay for half an hour only," Claire decided.
Leon, Steve, and Chris all gaped at her. "No!" Steve snapped, "Why, Claire?"
"They can stay as long as they don't eat our food," the younger Redfield decided, glaring at Wesker's allies.
"All right!" Krauser cheered, pushing past everyone to go inside. The others followed suit as Ada returned after running away for no apparent reason.
"Looks like we have a few unwanted guests," Sheva commented from next to Josh as she watched Wesker and his friends enter the living room.
"If any of them touch my sandwich, I'll kill them!" Barry vowed, but Rebecca grabbed his hand before he could get up in anger.
"Relax, Barry," she coaxed, "Your sandwich will be fine."
"Oh, yeah? How do you know? Are you psychic?"
"No, I just know. They're too preoccupied with the television." She, Barry, Billy, Sheva, and Josh fixed their gaze on Krauser and Alfred, who were fighting over whether or not to watch football or Miracle on 34th Street.
On the other side of the room, Alexia was trying to force Steve to eat meat again in which he somehow ended up cowering against Claire's leg, earning a glare from Leon in the process.
And in the middle of all this, Claire couldn't help but wonder what was going on with Jill. She had to admit she felt bad for hurting Jill's feelings, but she hoped things would work out for the best. However, what she didn't know was that Jill was on her way back now.
Outside the Redfield house, Jill remained in her car as she took some deep breaths and tried to figure out what she would say to Chris. She didn't want to overwhelm him, but at the same time, she wanted to let him know how she felt. All right, here goes nothing, she decided, getting out of her car and approaching the house.
The Redfield household was in a state of pandemonium. Chris sighed as he watched Wesker and his allies take over the entire party. Krauser and Alfred were still fighting over the television while Alexia had moved on from the roast beef and was now trying to get Steve to eat cranberry sauce.
"Alexia!" Claire snapped, "Why must you torture Steve like this?"
"Because I can!" Alexia replied, laughing heartily at a shaking Steve.
"Stop that before I kick you out of here," Claire ordered, and Alexia only smirked as she moved away from the table and went to go find Alfred, who was now tugging the remote out of Krauser's hands.
"Enjoying the party, Dear Heart?" a voice behind her asked in a low whisper, and Claire whipped her head around to see Wesker eyeing her as he tilted his head to the side.
"I thought you hated the holidays," she snarled, frowning.
Wesker smirked. "I have decided to make an exception this year," he explained smoothly, "For you." He tried taking his hand into hers, but she pulled away and glared at him.
"This is the only reason you came here with the others, isn't it?" she realized.
Wesker was about to answer when suddenly, the doorbell rang, and everyone stopped what he or she was doing. "Who's that?" Barry asked through a mouthful of his sandwich.
"I'll get it!" Claire decided, moving as far away from Wesker as possible. She sprinted over to the front door and opened it, gasping at the guest on the other side.
"Jill!" she cried, getting everyone's attention.
"Hi, Claire," Jill replied, stepping into the house, "I decided to come back. Just because things were awkward with Chris doesn't mean the holiday should be ruined."
Claire widened her eyes. "Really?" she retorted, "You're not mad at me?"
Jill ran a hand through her hair. "Well, I'm still annoyed at the way things went," she admitted truthfully, "But I don't hate you for it." The younger Redfield didn't know what to say at first.
"May I come in?" the brunette asked.
At this question, Claire paled. "Uhh…are you sure you want to?" she inquired.
Jill narrowed her eyes. "Why? What's going on?"
"We have some unwanted guests."
This got Jill's attention, so she followed Claire inside to find everyone staring at her. Her mouth dropped open when she realized just who the unwanted guests were.
"Wesker!" she cried, "What are you doing here?"
Wesker just smirked. "Why do you think I'm here, Miss Valentine?" he asked, making Chris fume.
"All of you, out! Now!" he snapped, pointing at all the villains in the room.
"But we didn't get to have any turkey yet!" Krauser groaned.
"There will always be another year," Alfred assured him, "Right, Alexia?"
No response. "Alexia?" the other Ashford sibling repeated.
Suddenly, Alexia reappeared from the kitchen, even though nobody had seen her disappear into that room in the first place. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news," she began, "Well, that's a lie, I love it, but…how long have you left the turkey in the oven?"
Suddenly, Chris, Claire, and Jill froze where they were. "Oh my God!" Claire yelled.
"The turkey!" Chris added, and with that, the two Redfield siblings and Jill hurried into the kitchen. Stupid Redfield, Wesker couldn't help but think to himself.
Meanwhile, a little bit of smoke was starting to seep out of the oven, and Claire fanned it away, reaching for a fire extinguisher while Chris and Jill opened the door and rushed to remove the large bird, which was starting to turn black from being overcooked.
"Oh, no," Chris groaned, quickly letting go of the pan the turkey had been in, "It's ruined."
"Chris," Claire whispered, putting her hand on her brother's shoulder, but he shook his head.
"I'm sorry, you two," he apologized, "I should have kept a more careful eye on this. Stand back. I'll clean the oven once it's cooled down."
"Do you want us to help?" Jill offered.
"No, thanks, I've got it. You two go inside and try to get Wesker out of here."
But Jill remained where she was. "I insist, Chris," she insisted, and Claire suddenly realized why she was being slightly more forceful than usual; she wanted to have a talk with her partner.
"I'll try and make Wesker leave," Claire volunteered, and with that, she exited the kitchen.
At first, there was only silence between the two of them, but Chris eventually broke it. "Look, Jill," he began, "I'm sorry I didn't invite you for Thanksgiving."
Jill scoffed. "This year?" she asked, "Or all the other years?"
Chris glanced away from her. "All the times, I guess," he answered, "It was never anything against you, I promise."
"So why didn't you?"
As the two of them began to scrub down the door on the oven, Chris thought back to the other years, when it always seemed like Jill had other things to do on this holiday. He had always wanted her there, but he had never been sure how to convey that.
"Jill," he replied, "I always wanted to invite you. I was just afraid you'd say no. You didn't act like you wanted to be a part of anything." He glanced away from her as he focused on another part of the oven. The smoke was finally starting to dissipate a little bit, but the smell was still strong.
"And this year, when Claire invited you…I didn't know what to think at first. After I got over the initial shock of you being here, I realized how glad I was that she decided to do it."
Jill didn't know what to say in the beginning. Chris Redfield had thought she would decline his invitations? That was why he never invited her?
"You should have just said that," she told her partner, and Chris only shrugged.
"I didn't know how to say it," he said, "But I'm sorry. Forgive me?"
Jill finished her side of the oven door and shut it, standing up straight to face Chris. She lifted the towel she had been holding and suddenly swatted him with it. "I'll let you off the hook this time," she joked, "But next time, I might not be as lenient."
Chris saluted her. "Yes, m'am," he retorted, and Jill only smirked.
"Well, there's still some roast beef and the rest of the dinner," Chris announced, "Let's eat that instead. Can you believe Alexia Ashford, out of all people, told us what happened?"
Meanwhile, in the living room, Claire was just showing Wesker, Alexia, Alfred, Krauser, Excella, Ada, and HUNK to the door. "Goodbye," she was saying to them.
"Thank God they didn't touch my sandwich," Barry mumbled, clutching the sandwich tightly in his hands.
"I wouldn't have wasted time on your mere sandwich, Burton," Wesker replied from the door.
"I don't believe this is fair, Alfred," Alexia was saying to her twin brother, "I essentially saved the day-"
"Most unusual, Alexia," Alfred quipped, "But you did. If you hadn't, Redfield's house would have burned to a crisp."
"Not that I would have regretted it," Alexia whispered low enough so that the good guys wouldn't hear her.
"It was his fault for leaving the turkey in the oven for too long," Wesker said to them, overhearing their conversation, "But that is most typical of Chris. Everything else goes out the window when he sees me."
The arrogance, Alexia thought to herself, It hurts. Only I have the right to act that way with my inferiors.
Right before Claire shut the door, she caught snippets of the Ashford twins' conversation. She heard Alexia make a comment about how she had saved the day, and she sighed to herself. Somehow, that had been true, and something she would have never expected from the enemy. "Wait," she said. All the villains turned around.
"I suppose you all can stay for a little while," she conceded, "Alexia did stop the house from burning down…" Alexia beamed, choosing to ignore the fact that the younger Redfield said all this reluctantly.
"See?" she asked, "I knew she would understand."
"We can stay?" Krauser asked excitedly.
"For a little while," Claire reasoned, "Then we never want to see you guys again."
Wesker smirked. "That is all we were asking for, Dear Heart," he told her smoothly as they all reentered the house.
And so, friends and foes all gathered around at the Redfield table, eating roast beef instead of a turkey, and watching the annual Purina Dog Show that came on after the Thanksgiving Day Parade. Steve sat as far away from Alexia as possible so that he wouldn't have to taste any of the roast beef, Krauser and Alfred eventually made a compromise on their television schedule, and in the middle of all this, Jill, Claire, and Chris all smiled at each other, thankful that they were all together celebrating this holiday.
"Well, this didn't turn out to be so bad," Leon commented through mouthfuls of cranberry sauce.
"Damn straight, comrade," Krauser muttered, violently stabbing some mashed potatoes with his fork and shoving them into his mouth.
"No," Sheva agreed, nodding at Leon, "But it was one of the strangest ones. I wonder if next Thanksgiving will be anything like this one."
"We can never know for sure Miss Alomar," Wesker piped up, smirking to himself, "But there's always Christmas…"