Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the below piece of fiction, Capcom does.

Warning: Nothin!

Authors Note: I just want everyone who read the rules to the contest to go over them again, because I made a typo on the EMAIL of all things. Yeah, I spelt my own email incorrectly. So if you could just re-read the email again and send it to that address, I would really appreciate it... oy vey! With that aside, I just want to thank you all again for the awesome reviews and feedback you're giving me! Seriously, I wish I could send all of you cookies or something! I guess you'll have to make due with another chapter, though... So here it is!

Chapter 19- Family

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind.~Dr. Seuss~

"I think she grew out of her polka-dot dress stage when she was eleven."

Standing in the middle of a huge department store in the women's clothing section, Chris held out a white and red polka-dot dress with ribbons sewn on the back, a style that would have no doubt been fabulous back in the early 1950's but had since moved out of fashion. His aunt Lily stood before him, arms crossed over her chest as she lamented the fact that Chris had no fashion sense at all.

It was just a little over two weeks before Christmas, and Chris was being forced to go shopping for a gift for Claire when he figured he had already gotten her a perfectly acceptable one. His aunt, unfortunately, did not agree with his choice and dragged him out of the comfort of the family home and into town to look through all of the latest ladies' fashions.

After being put on leave for a month, Chris packed up his bags and went to his aunt and uncle's for the holidays- trying to make the best of the situation. He was still upset with the fact that he wasn't working, but his leave couldn't have really come at a better time. Now he was able to visit his aunt and uncle, as well as see Claire when she could finally come down after final exams.

"Well, I think Claire will like it…" Chris mumbled, shoving it back on the rack with a heavy sigh.

"Do you really think she'll like it, or are you just trying to pick something quickly so that you don't have to shop all day?" his aunt asked.

"Well we wouldn't have to be shopping if you just agreed with the gift I got her in the first place," Chris said, following his aunt to another set of clothing racks.

"A knife is not a gift for your sister, Chris. It's a gift for a hunter or an outdoors man."

"But it's a STARS issued knife- made especially for the Redfield clan! Besides, it comes with a handy case and everything so she can carry it around and not get hurt! Think if it as a self defence gift- a gift that keeps on giving." Chris moved out of the way of a disgruntled shopper and tried not to jut his bottom lip out too much in an obvious pout as his aunt gave him a level stare.

"How about we come to a compromise- you can still give Claire the knife, but you also have to give her another gift, a nice one and something a girl would appreciate."

"…Fine… but just remember, Claire's a tough girl and she doesn't like super girly things," Chris said, trying to remind his aunt that although she was female, she loved motorcycles and explosions.

"Yes, and I need to remind you that you have horrible fashion sense," she said as Chris fiddled with the sleeve of some baby blue sweater monstrosity.

"Fashion isn't that important to me… I leave that up to my Captain," Chris said without really realizing it. His aunt perked up when he said Captain, and he soon realized he would have to elaborate. "My Captain Wesker's always wearing the latest men's fashion- sharp fitting suits and dress shirts all the time… but he's into that sort of thing."

"You know, since you arrived back home for the holidays I've heard you talk all about your other teammates, yet you barely elaborate on your Captain," she said as she dragged Chris away from the horrible sweaters and towards some nice, simple dresses she thought looked good for spring fashion.

"What's there to say? He's my Captain and he likes sunglasses."

Truth be told, Chris didn't want to talk about Wesker in fear he might let something slip, if not through his words, then through his actions. He had begun to miss Wesker since he left a week ago, and he was afraid if he talked about Wesker too much he'd begin to look and sound like a love-sick puppy. After seeing the man almost every day for months on end, it was strange to know he wasn't going to be going to work to see the man sitting behind his desk, an irritated look accompanying his good morning greetings as Chris stumbled in five minutes late.

At the same time, he was beginning to miss the intimacy with Wesker that he had just managed to re-capture. As soon as he had been given the okay that they could continue with their relationship, he was dragged away to spend the holidays with his family. While Chris loved hanging out with his aunt and uncle, he wished at the same time he could also run his hands through short blonde locks while being embraced against a wall, strong hands ripping open his pants to grab his aching cock in a tight hold, teeth biting along his neck and—

"Chris, are you alright?" His aunt's worried face came into view, and Chris had to snap himself quickly out of the daze he had put himself into.

"Uh, yeah, sorry… just getting hungry, I guess."

Hungry for a certain blonde man, that was.

"Well let's go get lunch and maybe go to a different store. Maybe you could buy Claire a nice pair of shoes?" she suggested, a worried smile gracing her features as she led Chris out of the store.

"Yeah, okay, that sounds great," Chris eagerly agreed, quite ready to sit down and eat something while not thinking about sex.

**XX**

"Wow… you all look so… professional."

Sitting in the living room on the couch, Chris and Claire were cuddled under blankets as snow fell outside in the middle of the night, carpeting the ground in a heavy mass of the powdery white stuff that was sure to cause some transportation issues tomorrow. But that didn't matter, because Claire had arrived later that evening before the snow began to fall and no one was really looking to go anywhere. Finally the entire family was together again after months of separation.

"Well it was done a few weeks ago to showcase the teams properly- it's mostly going to be used for press releases and other random things," he said, resting his arm on the back of the couch while Claire looked at the picture of STARS- all of them lined up in their official gear, smiles gracing most (but not all) of the members' features.

"So… can you point them all out to me?" she asked, passing the picture off to Chris, who held it carefully in the corner.

"Well, the right half is Alpha team while the left is Bravo," Chris began, pointing to the sides before he began going in order. "We have Edward Dewey, Forest Speyer, Kenneth Sullivan, Richard Aiken, Joseph Frost, and finally Enrico Marini on the side of Bravo Team. And on Alpha team we have Jill Valentine, Brad Vickers, Barry Burton, Albert Wesker, and finally… me!"

Chris smiled and passed the photo back to Claire, who continued to look through all of the members, a smile also playing at her lips. Chris was elated to see how proud Claire looked. Despite being the older one, Chris lived off of his sister's approval, constantly trying to prove his worth to the one person who mattered the most to him. So to see Claire so happy for him was what really made this holiday season for Chris.

"I'm still amazed, Chris… you guys look like a really good team- although I feel sort of sorry for Jill, seeing as how she's the only girl." Laughing softly, she watched as Chris nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, well she holds her own. She could probably kick all of our asses in one go if she really wanted to."

"That's my kind of girl- someone who can finally kick your ass!" she said, laughing as Chris rolled his eyes and snatched the photo back.

"Yeah, well, she wouldn't because she's nice and kind, completely unlike you." Sticking his tongue out, Chris tossed the photo on the coffee table and stretched before flinching after Claire kicked his side gently. "See! You just proved how heartless you are by kicking your big brother."

Rolling her eyes, Claire curled further into her blanket and ran a hand through her messy hair. "So… do you like Jill?"

"Yeah, she's pretty cool… why?"

"Well I don't know… it's just for all I know you're still single and… well…" Claire shrugged and sent Chris a winning smile, knowing he knew what she was getting at.

Yes, Chris did know what she was getting at, and be damned if he knew how to answer it.

"Uh, well… no, you see, I think she's already got someone she's interested in… and it's not me. B-besides, she's not really my type."

"Not your type? Come on, Chris, she looks cute and you said she could hold her own!"

Chewing at his bottom lip, Chris rubbed the back of his neck, deciding how to best go about this. He wasn't going to tell her about Wesker- that would be bad. It wasn't that he didn't think Claire would be okay with it (he actually didn't know her stance on homosexuality, but he figured she was so open-minded it wasn't an issue), but he didn't know if it was something he should mention, especially given the nature of his and Wesker's relationship outside of the bedroom.

"I like blondes," he finally said, shrugging. "She's not blonde, so, you know…"

"That's a stupid reason," Claire shot back, but seemed to back off with the questions when she rested her head on the back of the couch, eyes falling shut.

"You should go to bed. You look dead tired," he said, letting her take up most of the space on the couch.

"Nah, I don't wanna go to bed yet. I just got here and I missed talking to you like this."

"I'm not leaving tomorrow, Claire. We have almost two weeks together."

"Yeah, but those two weeks will just fly by and I'll only be left with your occasional phone calls…"

Sighing, Chris fiddled with the edge of one of the pillows on the sofa, frowning.

Silence took hold of them for a while, both in their own little worlds before Chris decided to break the silence. Standing up, Chris shuffled off, telling Claire he'd be back in a second, and took off upstairs where he went to his duffle bag under the guest bed.

Taking the thin and long white box out of the bottom, Chris tapped it against the palm of his hand a few times, wondering if he should give Claire her gift right now. It was two weeks before Christmas, but he wanted to teach Claire how to use it, which would take more than the day they would have after Christmas before Chris had to go back to Raccoon City.

Deciding he would go forward with his idea, Chris took the box with him back downstairs and into the living room where Claire was sitting, a dazed look on her face.

"You fall asleep for those minutes I was gone?" Chris asked, ruffling her already messy hair.

"No, I was just dozing," she replied, watching Chris sit down with the box in his hand. "What's that all about?"

"It's for you- an early Christmas present."

"Why are you giving this to me now?" she asked, taking the object with care as Chris sat back on the couch.

"Because I need to teach you how to use it, so we need these two weeks to do that." Winking, Chris watched as Claire gave it a suspicious look before opening it slowly. Sitting in the middle of the box was a knife concealed by a brown leather case, the grooved black handle sticking out of it. Picking it up with care, Claire moved it around in her hand before removing it from its sheath to reveal a long, perfectly polished blade with the STARS logo etched on the bottom, catching the light every so often.

"Oh, wow… Chris, it's… beautiful."

Chris knew she would like it- her aunt just didn't understand girls sometimes…

"So you like it?" he asked, watching as Claire moved the blade around slowly, looking at the grooves and sharp angles carefully.

"Oh, Chris, I love it!" Smiling, she put the blade back in its leather sheath and went to hug Chris tightly, a kiss on the cheek accompanying the action. "Thank you so much."

"No problem," Chris said as they pulled away. "See, now we need those two weeks to properly train you on how to use a knife like this effectively. Never know when you're going to have to use some sort of self defence moves, right?"

"We're going to practice outside in the snow?" Claire asked, eyes wide as she looked outside to see more snow piling up.

"Yup, it's the only way! But hey, soon enough I'll be having you throw that knife perfectly in order to hit something in the head if you need to… like a zombie!"

Laughing, Claire nodded and hugged Chris once again. Early Christmas gifts were the best.

**XX**

"So… another successful Christmas come and gone."

Looking over at his uncle, Chris nodded from his position at the kitchen island counter, a half eaten chocolate cookie in his hand. It was getting late and after the long Christmas dinner clean-up and subsequent 'family time', the ladies of the house had retired to their bedrooms to sleep off the food and excitement from all of the present-opening earlier in the morning.

"Yup, I'd say it went by well. Claire liked her new clothes, books, and shoes, Aunt Lily liked her fancy smelling soaps and soft bathrobe, and you liked your new tools and shaving kit." Finishing his cookie, Chris brushed his hands together to dust off the crumbs before leaning against the counter across from his uncle.

"I hope you like those new boots we got yah- we figured you'd already have a nice pair but that these would breathe better for when you have to work in the spring and summer heat," Sam said, tossing a Christmas orange from one hand to the other.

"No, they're perfect! I love them a lot, and you're right that they will come in handy. I also like the new shirts you guys got me; I don't have nearly enough dress shirts I can be seen somewhat put together in."

Sam hummed in agreement and put the orange back in the bowl before leaning his hip against the counter. They both looked outside for a while, the light from the moon catching the snow on the ground, making it appear brighter outside than it actually was.

"So I'm heading back on the 27th… back to Raccoon City to try and get back into the swing of things," Chris said, making his uncle snort.

"Just don't go pissing anyone else off, alright? I know this was a nice vacation for you, but don't be trying that again- I think your boss will fire you the next time." Despite the joking tone in his voice, Chris knew that his uncle was somewhat serious. He wanted what was best for his nephew, and Chris wasn't making that very possible at the moment with his current attitude and record at work.

"I actually think he'll kill me and then fire my dead body," Chris said, making his uncle laugh.

Scratching his bearded chin, Sam nodded and took a moment before looking at Chris carefully. "You're awfully fond of your Captain… Wesker was his name, right?"

Well that was an unexpected turn in the conversation. Chris sometimes wondered if his uncle could read people's minds.

"Y-yeah, that's his name. And he's just a good Captain, I guess. I admire men who can lead even though they sometimes piss me off. Why do you ask?"

"I'm just trying to open up the conversation about him, seeing as how he's directly in control of your actions. You've got trouble with authority, and I don't want you to mess things up with him and lose your job."

"Yeah… that makes sense. I think we've got a stable partnership though… I mean, sometimes I don't agree with him, but in his own way I think he… respects that? I don't know, but he understands me and I understand him- it works well." Chris looked down at the counter, deeply fascinated with the way the cracks in the granite make patterns of their own.

He was tempted to tell his uncle- tell him everything about his relationship with Wesker. Maybe his uncle… maybe his uncle would give him advice. He was the only man Chris really trusted with this sort of thing, especially seeing as how he was the only direct link to his parents he had besides Claire. Maybe if he told someone about it- someone closer than he and Mindy were- he could begin to accept it as more than something that had to be hidden and secretive.

"I… well… Wesker and I… we're… in a relationship," Chris finally said, voice low and eyes downcast as he swirled his finger along the top of the counter, following the patterns. When he didn't hear his uncle say anything, he raised his head and looked at the man before him, face unreadable.

"Relationship… as in…" Sam's voice was low, a gruffness in there that hadn't been apparent before.

"Yeah… as in physical," Chris said, trying to own his words. Swallowing thickly, Chris could see the colour in his uncle's cheeks rise- pink replacing his regular skin tone. Maybe this had been a mistake.

"Chris… I… I don't know what to say other than you've gotten yourself in a right fucking mess." There was anger in his voice, but it was controlled and reigned in. Chris figured that if Claire and his aunt weren't asleep upstairs right now, his uncle would be dangerously close to yelling.

"It's not a mess," Chris said, standing up straight as he looked at his uncle. Despite seeming strong, Chris could feel his knees about to give way.

If his uncle didn't accept…

"Yes it is, Chris. Firstly, this man is… this man is your boss. He's your superior and you work under… you work below… you work for him, alright!" His uncle was clearly struggling with what he was saying, perverse thoughts seeming to invade his thought process as he stumbled over terms. Chris felt like dying right now. "Secondly… it's wrong, Chris. Two men shouldn't belong together- a relationship like that is between a man and a woman, not two men. Not to mention Wesker is so much older than you."

"Only thirteen—" Chris began, only to have his uncle slam his fist down on top of the counter, making the container holding different spoons and cooking utensils rattle.

"Thirteen years is a lot, and that doesn't excuse this… this perversion you're committing with this man. Jesus Christ, Chris… do you have to make everything difficult for yourself and your family?"

"I don't see how you're all included in this. This is my life and my body, and I can do what I want with it," Chris said, embarrassment showing on his cheeks mixed with anger and bitterness. He wasn't about to have his uncle, no matter how much he loved him, tell him what he could and could not do.

"Whether you like it or not, you're responsible for the people in your life- including your family. How are… how are you supposed to find a stable relationship with another man- have kids, get married, and carry on the family line? Don't you owe your parents that much, to have kids and continue the Redfield family?"

Chris bit his tongue to keep himself from yelling and instead took a few steady breaths, the taste of copper becoming apparent in his mouth. "I think my parents would be a little more accepting than you're being. B-besides, you're talking like I'm going to be with Wesker for the rest of my life."

"Do you plan to be?" his uncle shot out quickly, making Chris want to physically back away from all of the hostility his uncle was displaying.

"N-no… I mean yes… no, I don't know! It's just something fun right now- something I want to try. I don't know where it will go, but I never know where anything will go! That's what life is about though, right? Trying new things and seeing where that path will take you!"

There was silence, both of them looking at each other. Chris was desperate at this point in time to have his uncle say it was okay, that it wasn't perverse what he was doing and it was okay to do this and that it didn't matter if he was with a man or a woman because he was still the same person.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. He wasn't supposed to hear such ill-founded, homophobic, hate-filled messages from someone he loved. You aren't supposed to tell someone that you care about how horrible they are for what they do- you are supposed to accept them no matter what…

But instead of making it all right, his uncle shook his head and moved to leave the kitchen, not looking at Chris.

"Don't expect me to follow and support you on this path, Chris… just don't."

**XX**

It was early in the morning and Chris found himself shoving all of his clothes, gifts, and other assorted objects in his duffle bag with more force than necessary. Claire sat on his bed, watching him move from one end of the bedroom to the other in search of items he had unpacked and moved into a corner or onto a desk.

"Why won't you tell me why you're leaving a day early?" Claire asked after ten minutes of just watching.

"I just… it doesn't matter. I need to get back a day early anyways in order to get things settled again before I start work. I heard rumours of a police New Year's Gala taking place that I have to attend. It's going to be fancy and I don't have a tux, so I should rent one."

"You and Uncle Sam are the same size so why not borrow his?" Claire suggested, trying to stop Chris from leaving. Only what she said made Chris angrier, and he zipped up his duffle bag with more force than necessary.

"He's got a bigger gut than I do- it'd be too baggy in the shirt and waist department." Swinging the bag over his shoulder, Chris left the room with Claire trailing behind- that usual bounce in her step missing.

Taking two steps at a time down, Chris saw his aunt standing near the door, a weary smile on her face.

"Are you sure you won't stay another day?" she asked as Chris went to put his shoes and jacket on. Either his uncle hadn't told her, or she was good at hiding what she did know. It didn't matter to Chris at this point in time. The damage was done and he couldn't stand being in the house anymore.

"I would love to, but I should be going. Thanks so much for everything, Aunt Lily- I had an awesome holiday this year and I hope to be back sometime in the spring to see you, okay?"

Nodding, his aunt grabbed him into a tight hug and kissed his cheek before holding onto him for a little while longer. Once they had pulled away, Chris was once again embraced, this time by Claire.

"Stay strong for me at school, alright? And remember to always keep your eye on the target," Chris mumbled while Claire just nodded, refusing to let go until Chris finally untangled himself. Ruffling her hair once again for good measure, Chris was almost out the door when he saw his uncle standing inside the doorway of the basement, covered in sawdust from his woodworking shop that had been set up in the basement.

A moment passed between them in which they both gave each other a level stare. Nodding his head once in acknowledgment, Sam then turned around and went back into the basement while Chris turned around to leave the house for the last time.

"Call both of us more often, okay?" Claire called as Chris trudged down the walkway to his parked jeep.

Turning around, Chris saluted the two women standing at the door before hopping into his jeep to finally go home.

It had been an eventful holiday- one that left Chris with a hell of a lot of questions he didn't want to answer. One thing he did know for sure, though, was that he would need to rent a tux soon.

Yeah... so the interaction between Chris and his uncle didn't go over so well, did it? Like I said, homosexuality isn't all super happy joy joy in America, and there will be some ignorance that Chris is going to have to get over. The conversation between Chris and his uncle was actually based upon a conversation I had with my Grandmother, only she was upset with my SISTERS lesbian lifestyle and decided to tell me all about it... -sigh- But, another chapter done! I know this one didn't have any WeskerxChris interaction, but trust me, the next chapter will have some awesome scenes with them... well, at least I think they're awesome! And again- thanks for the reviews/favorites/etc. I really, really appreciate it!