I know its a little late but this is a Christmas chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 5

December 1978

Albert didn't particularly like the holidays. He couldn't decide if this dislike was a product of how he had been raised, as a foster child living with a woman who didn't like to celebrate a holiday for a religion she didn't support, or if he was just against the unwarranted cheeriness that everyone began to exhibit.

It had all begun when the snow first fell the second week of December. The employees began decorating their workstations with miniature Christmas trees and various religious depictions of the birth of Christ. Christmas carols played on the radio all day long and the coffee was replaced with hot coco. They spoke to each other in lighter tones and smiled more often, a bizarre notion considering they were all Umbrella Employees.

To coincide with the cheery mood, everyone was looking forward to the week of vacation they were given for the holidays. Plans of family gatherings, skiing trips, and excursions to exotic places filled the workplace chatter. Albert tried not to think about these holiday plans because he didn't have any.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. There was his empty house in Martha's Vineyard to go back to and perhaps Alex, would be there to spend Christmas with him. As soon as this thought passed through his head, he blocked it out. Alex was a top Umbrella Official who worked on may different projects; there was no way she'd be free for the holidays and it was foolish to believe that he would spend the holidays with anyone but himself.

There was always the option to stay at Arklay for the holidays. True the labs shut down for the week, but the dormitories would still be open for him to use. Perhaps Spencer or even Marcus would be here as well and he wouldn't be entirely alone. Although the idea of staying with either of them for the holidays didn't have much appeal either.

He almost wished that they were only given three days off like they did at the Training Facility, rather than the whole week. Due to how intense Marcus's training program was, the trainees were only given the weekend off and most of them, including William, chose to remain behind at the facility because it wasn't long enough to return home. For the first Christmas in years, he wasn't alone.

Though he didn't want to admit it, he was semi hopeful that William or even Victoria would also remain at Arklay so that he wouldn't be the only one here. It wasn't that he was bothered by being alone, no, he quite enjoyed it. He just couldn't help the stupid feelings of loneliness that crept over him during this time of year.

Albert checked his watch and felt an instant wave of relief. It was almost six in the evening, which meant that they would be able to take a break for dinner soon. It was only a few days till their vacation and everyone was working twice as hard to finish all the work that needed to be done before it started. At the moment, he was alone in the lab. Twenty minutes ago, William had left to call his family and Victoria was in the next room filing some papers he gave her.

Taking a deep breath, Albert walked over the phone and slowly dialed Alex's private number. The phone rang three times before Alex picked it up.

"Alexandra Wesker."

Albert felt the words he planned to say die in his throat at how bored and irate her voice sounded. He could see her, sitting at her desk, rolling her eyes at the fact that someone interrupted her work.

"Hello?" Her tone when from being irritated to borderline angry.

"Alex," Albert said, clearing his throat and regaining some of his confidence. "It's Albert."

"Albert," Alex repeated, her voice sounding as if the name was foreign to her. He was about to remind her that he was her adopted son when she sighed. "Yes, Albert. Do you need something?"

"No, I just-"

"What do you need?" Alex cut him off. Albert could hear the noise of glass and items being shuffled. "Money? A favor? Did you do something stupid and get fired?"

"No, I-"

"Then what?"

"Are you going to be home for the holidays?" Albert said quickly before she could interrupt him again.

"No."

"Oh," Albert mentally kicked himself for making this phone call. All of their conversations went in this manner and it was stupid of him to expect something different after all these years.

"I have important work to do in France," Alex told him coldly. "Now, Albert, I'm very busy. Don't interrupt me again unless you actually have something important to tell me."

"Of course," Albert worked to keep out the bit of hurt that was creeping into his voice.

"Doctor, who is that?" A second voice came onto the line.

Alex laughed darkly and answered the man. "Oh, no one important. How have the experiments-"

The line went dead with a loud click. Albert clenched his jaw and slammed the phone down on the receiver. That was one thing he never understood about that her. She was the one who took him in as a child, if she really didn't want the job, why had she done it? He was five years old at the time, it wasn't like it was his choice. "Bitch."

"Everything ok?"

"Fine." Albert didn't turn around because he knew his cheeks were red and he didn't want Victoria to see him hurting. He kept his back to her and cleaned up his papers. "Have you seen Will?"

"He said he was going to your room to make a phone call," Victoria answered. Albert could hear her heels clicking on the linoleum as she approached him. She placed a number of papers onto his desk and a hand on his back. "Are you sure you are ok?"

"Yes," Albert said, stepping back into her touch. For some reason, it took him more effort then he thought to do so.

"I am going to dinner. If I see him, I will tell him you were looking for him."

"I was actually about to head there myself. I'll walk with you."

Victoria nodded and the two of them began walking to the dining hall. While they still didn't talk much, Albert had come to the conclusion that she could be included in the very small list of people he could stand in this facility. If anything, she was another buffer between him and the other morons of this place.

"Do you have plans for the holidays?"

He rolled his eyes at her question. This was not particularly something he really wanted to discuss with her or with anyone now, just after his phone call with Alex. When people found out that he had nothing to go home to except an empty house, they felt sorry for him and seeing the pitiful looks they gave him only angered him. Albert Wesker didn't need pity from anyone. "Nothing worth noting."

"That sounds exciting," Victoria gave him a sly smile. "Do you always go into such detail when describing your plans?"

Albert cast a sidelong glance at her. "I don't have any family or friends to go home to, so no, I don't have any plans."

The bluntness of his statement caused her to blush but it served her right. She was always asking too many questions and while it came in handy, he hated when this skill was turned onto him. "Oh...I...had no idea..."

They continued on their way in silence and before long reached the dining hall. It was decorated with strings of garland and a small Christmas tree was in the corner near the buffet table. Albert noticed the spring of mistletoe hanging over the entrance to the dining hall, draped in Christmas lights. He wasn't sure if Victoria noticed it as the two passed under the doorframe but he pretended not to.

William was already sitting at the table, playing with his plate of food and sipping his overly large cup of eggnog. Albert rolled his eyes, hoping no one spiked the eggnog with how much his partner was drinking.

"Did the phone call with your family go well?" Victoria asked him as she and Albert took their usual seats beside him.

The younger scientist let out a large sigh. "I suppose...I really don't want to go home though."

"Why?" Albert asked, genuinely curious. In the year and a half that he knew him, he never heard William mentioned his family. He knew William had a family-it was impossible to exist without one-but he never associated his partner as a person included in a family unit. In a way it made him feel a stronger sense of kinship with William because they both lacked any familial ties.

"Being at home is difficult," William admitted quietly. He pushed his mash potatoes back and forth across his plate awkwardly.

"How so?" Again, Albert was genuinely curious.

William shrugged. "It's mostly my dad…"

Albert tilted his head to the side and studied William. He never understood families because they always seemed to cause problems for each individual person. The people he knew also didn't have much in the way of families. His Princeton roommate's parents were divorced and he never saw his father and Umbrella Employees never had time outside the labs to start one. The only time he ever saw a family unit that worked were the ones he saw in the movies or on television.

"Hey, Al," William said, bring him back to the present. "Did you ever call Alex to see if she will be home?"

"Alex?" Victoria asked, eyes darting back to Albert. She gave him a look and he realized that she knew exactly who he talked to in the labs.

"Albert's adoptive guardian," William answered for him. "Not that she is ever around though, she's a top Umbrella employee. The last time he saw her was-"

"When I agreed to work here," Albert offered, realizing just how long ago that was. "I did call her and she's going to be in France."

"So you don't have any plans?" William asked quickly.

"No, I don't," Albert confirmed. "I'll be sitting here, with Spencer and Marcus, enjoying the wonderful holidays, while all of you are spending it with your family."

"Then we can both stay here!" William said excitedly. He was grinning widely and his manner suddenly reminded Albert of an excited puppy. "I have been looking for an excuse to not go home and the fact that you're staying here is perfect. I'd rather spend Christmas with you than with my family."

Albert stared at William from behind his glasses, at a loss for words. "I'm going to get my dinner," he said quickly before standing and making his way over to the buffet table.

He needed to get away to collect his bearings. No one had ever chosen to be with him over anyone before. The only time it ever happened was in his science classes where everyone only wanted to be with him to take advantage of his higher intelligence.

He shook his head to clear it and focused on fixing his plate for dinner. For the last week, the cooks had made a special meal every night in light of the holiday season. Today there was a large turkey, mashed potatoes, yams, stuffing, salad, and much more. It was so much better than the usual selection of pasta and hamburgers they usually had to chose from.

"Good evening, Wesker," Doctor Johnson said, coming up behind him and taking a plate.

"Good evening," Albert replied, still conflicted but managing to remember his manners. "How are you?"

"Very well," Johnson smiled at him. "Excited for the holidays?"

Albert frowned. Did everyone have to ask him about his holiday plans? "I haven't thought much about."

"We close in two days and you haven't thought about your plans?"

"Yes, I know."

"If you don't have any, you can stay with me and my family," Johnson said, carving the Christmas roast and putting it onto his plate. "Ms. Wesker's dedication to her work and complete disregard for her personal life are well known."

Albert felt a slight blush creep onto his cheeks. He really didn't want to talk about this, not with anyone. It was bad enough that William knew but now Johnson as well?

"Your offer is very...generous..." Albert told him slowly and began picking out his food. "But I think I'll be just fine here. I'm quite used to being alone."

"Ah, I figured as much," Johnson said, giving him a small smile. "But the offer is still there."

Albert opened his mouth to form some kind of response but his mind failed him. He was not used to this amount of kindness from people who weren't expecting things in return. By the time his brain snapped back into action, Johnson had already returned to his table with Dr. Ross and Dr. Smith.

Realizing he was standing there like an idiot, Albert grabbed his food, making sure to take a large glass of eggnog, and walked back to the table.

"Sorry, but I stay with my uncle over the holidays," Victoria was telling William when Albert set his tray down next to William.

"Oh," William sounded more then a little disappointed. "Well, I think it would be fun if you stayed as well."

Victoria laughed softly and shook her head. "That is very kind of you."

William smiled awkwardly at her compliment and looked away. Albert rolled his eyes and dropped his tray down next to Victoria. He took a large gulp of eggnog and sighed. The bitterness of the rum burned his mouth and he quickly swallowed. The cooks always put more rum then necessary in the drink to help calm the nerves of all the tightly wound employees.

"I'm going to get dinner," Victoria said, standing up. "Please excuse me."

"I kinda wish she could stay with us," William said quietly, once she was out of earshot.

Albert snorted and took another large sip of his eggnog. "You really need to find a new hobby to look into if you have time to focus on a romantic relationship."

William made a face. "Well some of us have a normal and healthy libido. It's your anti-sexual behavior that deviates from the norm."

Albert didn't justify his claim with a response and instead finished eating. Sure, he found Victoria attractive because she was the only female under the age of thirty in this facility but that didn't mean anything would come of it. Relationships in this kind of work environment never worked out well and he didn't need any uncomfortableness between him and his assistant.

"You do remember company policy, don't you?" Albert asked, eyebrow raised.

"So?" William retorted. "Dr. Bouffard and Dr. Adey are always screwing each other in the broom closet during lunch breaks. That's much worse then what I am doing. I don't see how any innocent flirtation is going to get me in trouble."

Albert was about to say something when Victoria reappeared by his side.

William spent the rest of the meal trying in various ways to get Victoria to spend at least some of the holidays with them. Albert found his attempts quite pathetic and really wished the younger boy would stop embarrassing himself.

As they ate, the other scientists filed out, most of them leaving for an early start to their vacation. Eventually Victoria also departed, leaving William and Albert to head back to their dorm room.

"Hey, look!" William exclaimed, pointing upward as they passed under the main doors. "It's mistletoe!"

Albert looked upward and then glanced over at William who met his gaze. The younger scientist's cheeks turned red and he quickly averted his eyes, laughing nervously.

"What?" Albert asked exasperatedly. The holiday season really needed to end so people would stop acting like morons.

"You're supposed to kiss the person you are standing under it with," William explained, laughing sheepishly as he did. "And right now, we are both standing under it."

"I am not kissing you," Albert said flatly, walking away from him, leaving him under the door. Immediately, William ceased laughing.

"That's not what I meant!" William yelled, chasing after him. "Al! That isn't what I meant!"

In the next few days, the two of them quickly became the only people left in the facility. All the labs were locked, leaving only the cafeteria, library, and recreation room open to them. It reminded Albert of the first night they stayed at Arklay, empty and fun to explore.

"Can I ask you something personal, Al?" William asked their third day alone while hanging out in the recreation room. The room was fairly large with numerous couches, a television set, pool table, and a grand piano. It was one of the few rooms that wasn't science related and lots of the employees spent their break time in there.

Albert looked up from the book he was reading, The Origin of Species, in confusion. The younger boy was holding Albert's glasses and twirling them by the stem in his hand. The owner of the glasses reached out to take them back but William stepped away, keeping them out of reach. "If you must. Give those back."

William turned his back to Albert and walked to the other side of the recreation room. Albert frowned, knowing he only did so took keep him from stealing the glasses back.

"Why do you wear these things?" William asked, slipping them onto his own face. Albert resisted the urge to cringe as his partner's too long dirty bangs put grease streaks across the lenses. The rectangle frames did not fit his round face and made him look utterly ridiculous.

"Because they make me more appealing to the fairer sex," Albert answered dryly, holding his hand out for them.

William laughed loudly. The boy stood up straighter, making sure to keep his shoulders back and tilted his chin down, mimicking Albert's stance. The older boy really hoped that he didn't look as, well, dumb as William did in that stance. "No, really. Why do you always wear them?"

Albert sighed. "Because people say the eyes are a window to the soul. As soon as people can see into your soul, they can read you. Once they can read your emotions and intentions, you are vulnerable. That's why."

"That's..." William tilted his head to the side. Albert couldn't tell where William was looking due to how dark the glasses were. Not knowing where William's gaze was unnerved him a bit. Granted, this was why he wore the glasses and having this turned on him irritated him.

The older boy took a few swift steps and snatched them off William's face. He groaned when he saw the dirty streaks left from William's bangs and wiped them off on his sweater. "Do you have something better to do besides stealing my personal effects?"

William laughed and dropped down at the piano. He rested his fingers on the keys and after a moment, began to play. Albert immediately recognized Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.

"Play something else," Albert told him, leaning lazily against the piano. As much as he liked Moonlight Sonata, the melody was starting to get on his nerves. It was Spencer's favorite song and it could be found everywhere in the facility. It was also the key to get out of the facility, meaning that it was played every time someone left. Hearing it eight or nine times a day in a row got the song on his nerves. "Fur Elise or something like that."

"You like Mozart?"

"Mozart? We have something on the music rack other then Beethoven?" Albert asked, quizzically looking over at his partner. William smiled and began playing Mozart's Rondo Alla Turca. Albert watched in slight awe as William's fingers rapidly danced across the keys, playing the song in perfect tempo. His partner's blue eyes were fixed off into some distant point and Albert realized he was playing this all from memory.

"Was that better?" William asked once he finished playing the song.

Albert raised an eyebrow. "Too cheery. Doesn't fit your personality, or mine."

"Hmm," William pursed his lips into a tight line and then smirked. He placed his fingers on the keys and played the beginning dramatic notes of Toccata and Fugue. Sine he was playing it on a piano, the song lacked the intensity that it would have on an organ and Albert shook his head.

"Wrong season for that, isn't it?" Albert said, pushing off from the piano and falling back onto the couch he was previously sitting on. "Besides, it needs to be played on an organ."

"You wanna play something?"

Albert shrugged. He was nowhere near as musically inclined as the other boy and the extent of his musical knowledge was limited to all the Beethoven songs that he had to use for admittance into various rooms about the mansion. If he really wanted to, he knew he could improve his skill but he didn't see any real use for it in his current line of work.

"We could play chess," William suggested.

"And let you beat me? I don't think so." Albert shook his head. "I'm bored of this anyway. Let's go."

"Alright, whatever you say."

Albert pushed out of the recreation room and started walking to the dormitories.

"I can't believe we've been here for six months," William commented, catching up to him. "It doesn't even feel that long. Remember when we first got here?"

"This season isn't good for you, Will," Albert said, slightly amused as William fell into step. "It's making you nostalgic."

"You know what we could do?"

"What?" Albert glanced over at him.

"Remember when we went exploring and that one room was locked?"

"Yes," Albert said, slowing to a stop. "What about it?"

"Well, I thought that since we are the only two people here, we could try breaking in. I want to know what is so off limits in that room," William said, taking the stairs upward to Spencer's private offices. As they discovered their first night here, their keys could open any room in the building except for Spencer's private office and another room that was directly next to it. The door was completely unmarked and they had tried everything short of breaking the door down to get into it.

Sighing and figuring there was nothing better for the two of them to do, Albert followed William up the stairs and down the hallway to Spencer's Office. "And how exactly are we going to do this? It isn't like he's given us access you know."

William smiled and produced a key from his pocket, smaller then the normal set they had.

"Where did you get that?"

"The maintenance man," William explained causally. "He left his keys on the desk one day and I asked Victoria to make a copy. I really want to see what's in that room."

"Oh good, you'll get all three of us fired."

William rolled his eyes and got to the door. "I know you've been thinking about it too. Think of it as a Christmas present from me."

The younger boy pushed the key into the door, the latch clicked and the door swung open. It was larger than one would initially expect and lined with file cabinets. Some of the cabinets had padlocks on them that even William's small key didn't open.

"What do you think is in here?"

"I'm not sure," Albert said, slightly in awe at the number of file cabinets. "Clearly something important." Albert skimmed the labels on the rest of the cabinets. Quickly, the cabinet labeled "Personnel" caught his attention and he opened the drawer for employees S through Z.

Each of the folders had a strip of tape that was color-coded; blue for the pharmaceutical branch of Umbrella, white for the bio-organic weapons department, and red for top officers. The name of the employee was written under the tape in big bold letters.

Albert skimmed them until he got to his own folder, Wesker, Albert that placed right in front of Wesker, Alexandra. He grabbed the folder and flipped it open.

The first page had a recent picture of him and a list of all his basic facts; his birthday, height, weight, hair and eye color. It also listed his home address, the schools he went to, and his accreditations for his current job. Flipping the page, Albert found his school transcripts from every school he attended and his picture from every school grade.

"What are you looking at?"

The older boy looked over at William who was still elbow deep in the file cabinet Victoria had been looking at. "Folders on all the employees."

"They have files on us?" William asked, cocking his head to the side. He dropped the papers back into the cabinet and walked over to Albert's side. "What do they say?"

"It's a little unnerving," Albert said, looking through more of the pages. Umbrella even had a copy of his birth certificate, medical information, social security card, and driver's license.

"Wait!" William suddenly exclaimed as Albert flipped through the papers. "Hang on, I saw something!"

"What?"

William took the file folder from Albert's hands and began looking through the papers. Albert watched as he stopped at the page labeled 'relationships.' "Father, Alan Smith…your last name was Smith?"

"Yes," Albert wrinkled his nose. As much as he didn't like Alex, he liked the name 'Albert Wesker' over 'Albert Smith.' It had a stronger feel to it than Smith. "When Alex adopted me, she had my name legally changed. I was so young at the time, it didn't really matter."

"Oh," William said, lowering his eyes to the paper and continued reading. "Mother, Paulette Smith. Both were Umbrella employees, killed in an accidental fire in 1965. Intimate relations with Samantha Nennes in 1977…how do they know this stuff?"

Albert cringed when William read that last line out loud and shrugged. "I don't know and I don't want to know."

"How come you never told me you had a girlfriend?"

"It lasted for all of a night and there was too much alcohol involved for it to be considered a relationship," Albert said, shrugging and taking the folder away. "Besides, it isn't relevant to our work."

"Tell me about it," William said, looking a little too interested.

"What do you want to know?" Albert asked, hoping that William wouldn't ask too personal of questions. It wasn't like he was embarrassed talking about this kind of thing, because, really it was a natural part of life, but he liked to act as if he was above that petty need of the flesh. It wasn't like he needed it, he did it solely out of curiosity.

"What happened?"

"I wanted to know what the big deal about sex was," Albert explained, casually leaning against the filing cabinet. "I went to a college party and she was relatively attractive. Both of us were pretty drunk and she ended up inviting me back to her room. The next morning, she yelled at me because her boyfriend was coming home and she didn't want to be seen with me."

"Oh," William said, obviously hoping Albert would go into more details. When the older boy didn't offer anything, he starting to go through the A through F drawer. "I want to see mine."

William pulled his out but before he could look at it, Albert snatched it from his hands. He smirked and cleared his throat before reading. "William Joseph Birkin, born July 10, 1962. You showed high intelligence beginning in the first grade and were boosted up four grades. Your parents are Adam and Lillian. You have two older brothers, Alex and Josh…makes sense; you act like the youngest child-"

"Do not!" William snapped, crossing his arms over his chest. "What else?"

"Both your brothers followed your father into the military career and are accomplished soldiers. Your mother died in a car accident in 1969 going to pick you up from school, something that your father consistently blames you for …" Albert trailed off after he read that.

He continued to read the rest of the paragraph, learning about how William's father constantly berated him and his achievements due to his belief that William was the sole cause of the accident. At times, he even ignored William and only seemed to be interested in his two older brothers.

When he was finished reading, the older boy looked up from the page to look at his partner. William's face was red and he refused to meet Albert's eyes.

Albert closed the folder and studied his companion closely. He could see the hurt and embarrassment radiating off of William from his hunched shoulders and shrunken stance. He could understand William's pain but he couldn't sympathize with him nor didn't know how to make him feel better. Finally, he reached out and squeezed his shoulder. "Forget about him. You've already accomplished more then he ever will."

William nodded his head slowly and rubbed his eyes. "Thanks, Al."

The older boy gave him a small smirk, trying to make it seem like a friendly smile. William seemed receptive to this and he pushed the file cabinets closed. "I think I've had enough rule breaking for today."

Albert nodded his head in agreement. He held the door open and silently followed William back to their room.

"Al?"

Albert moaned as consciousness slowly started pulling him awake. He did not want to be waking up and he quickly rolled over onto his side, away from the direction of William's bed. As long as the other boy didn't keep bugging him, he could probably fall back asleep…

"Albert?" William said, this time a little louder.

The older boy's eyes snapped open and he flipped over, glaring at William with all the annoyance his tired self could manage. His partner was wide-awake, sitting up in bed, arms wrapped around his knees.

"What?" Albert hissed. While they usually would get up early in the morning, it was their vacation and he wanted to take advantage of the week they had to sleep in.

William snorted and smiled. "Your hair is sticking up on one side."

"I seriously hope that critiquing my hair is not the reason you decided to wake me up," Albert snapped, smoothing down his hair.

"No, it wasn't," William said, pulling the sheets around himself. "It's Christmas today, you know."

"I am aware as yesterday was Christmas Eve," Albert said, sitting up. The cool, morning air chilled his bare torso and he shivered as goose bumps appeared across his skin. "What does that have to do with being up now?"

"People usually get up early on Christmas," William explained, resting his head on his knees. "You know, to see the presents?"

Albert raised an eyebrow. "I think you forget that Alex and I didn't actually celebrate Christmas."

William nodded and got out of bed. He went to the dresser and rummaged through it before taking clothes and heading to the bathroom. A moment later, the door closed and Albert could hear the shower running.

The older boy leaned back against the headboard of the bed. He wondered what kind of Christmas tradition the Birkin family had. Did they act like a normal family and put all their troubles aside for one day? Did they bond over the fireplace and sing Christmas carols? He wondered if those were actually traditions or just the imagination of someone who wrote television shows.

Alex stopped celebrating Christmas with him when he turned eight. According to her, it was time for him to grow up and be mature because he was a special child who didn't need Christmas to make him happy. He was above all that.

There was a knock on the door and Albert stared at it, eyeing it curiously. There was someone here besides the two of them? It happened so suddenly that he almost wondered if he had heard it until the knock came again.

He kicked off the covers, wincing a bit as his feet touched the cold linoleum floor, and opened the door a crack.

"Ah! Albert!"

"Doctor Johnson?" Albert asked, opening the door fully.

Johnson was smiling widely, his warm brown eyes had a sparkle to them that Albert had never seen before. He was dressed in a bright green holiday sweater that was clearly knitted by hand and there were flakes of snow in his greying hair. "Please, it's the holiday, call me Mark."

"Good morning, Mark," Albert said, giving him the best smile he could manage. "To what do we own the pleasure of your visit?"

"It's Christmas!" Johnson said, cheerily. "Anyway, my wife and daughter are upstairs making some breakfast. So get William up and then the two of you come up to the dining commons."

Albert nodded. "That is very kind of you. We'll be up in a few moments."

He closed the door and turned around. William was standing in the doorway of the bathroom, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, wet hair sticking to his head. "Who was that?"

"Doctor Johnson," Albert answered, grabbing a black sweater and jeans out of his own dresser before heading to the bathroom. "He and his family are here to spend Christmas morning with us."

"They are?" William titled his head to the side. "Why?"

"It's Christmas," Albert quoted, closing the bathroom door behind him. He quickly stripped and turned on the water. When it was warm enough, he climbed into the shower.

Johnson was a man Albert could not figure out. In a lot of ways, he acted as a surrogate parent to both him and William. Even more confusing to Albert was that Johnson seemed to genuinely like him and William. True the other employees acted nice to them but they always had an obvious contempt for the young employees. Only Johnson treated them kindly without seeming to expect any type of reward.

Albert shook the soap out of his hair and turned off the shower. He quickly dried off and dressed, opting to leave his sunglasses in their room.

"Ready to go?" Albert asked, stepping back into their bedroom.

William nodded and the two started up the stairs to the dining halls. When they opened the door to the dining commons, Albert's eyes widened in surprise.

One of the long tables had been set with a tablecloth and miniature Christmas decorations. The tree that had been sitting in the far corner of the room was now next to the table and there were presents under it.

At the table, a woman with ash blonde hair was placing plates of hot pancakes on the dishes lined around it. When the two entered, she turned around to face them and gave them a smile. "Hello! Mark is in the back getting the rest of breakfast. I'm his wife, Rose."

"I'm Albert," Albert held out his hand and Mrs. Johnson shook it happily. Just like Johnson, she had a warm smile and kind eyes. "Pleased to meet you."

"Likewise," Mrs. Johnson nodded her head and held her hand out to William. "And you must be William."

William smiled widely. "It's nice to meet you."

The door from the kitchen opened and Johnson walked out followed by a teenaged girl. The girl had long ash blonde hair and pale blue eyes. Her bright pink lips were a stark contrast to her pale skin. She also wore a knitted sweater like her father but hers was a bright magenta.

"I see you've already met my wife," Johnson said, putting down the syrup holder he had in his hands. "Albert, William, I'd like you to meet my youngest daughter, Annette. She's a senior at Raccoon City High."

"Hi guys," Annette said, smiling as her eyes traveled over Albert's face then William's. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas," William replied, grinning from ear to ear.

Albert's eyes skimmed over Annette. She was pretty, that is for sure, but he never really liked blondes. He tended to be attracted to brunettes like Victoria…Albert blinked in surprise as the thought crossed his mind and then quickly got rid of it. He shouldn't be thinking about this kind of thing.

"I had been hoping my older daughter, Vanessa, would be here as well but she's with her boyfriend's family right now," Johnson explained. "But please, come eat."

"Thank you," Albert and William said, taking their seats on one side of the table. Johnson and his family took the other side, putting Annette in the middle of the two of them.

Conversation quickly filled the dining hall as the five of them ate. Mrs. Johnson seemed to be especially fascinated with Albert and William being Chief Researchers so young. She asked them about their schooling and was happy to hear how William attended Berkley, the same school she went to. Annette also asked a lot of questions. She was interested in the science career and began asking about their different experience in college sciences. Out of the two of them, she seemed more interested in what William had to say over Albert.

"That was very good," William said, once they all had finished eating and Johnson and Rose began clearing away the dishes. He glanced over at the Christmas tree and the presents under them. "The decorations are nice too."

"Those aren't decorations," Annette laughed. "They are for you."

Albert suddenly wished he hadn't left his sunglasses in the room. He never received presents before and he was again unprepared to deal with this kind of situation. Letting out a deep breath, he pinched the bridge of his nose. This holiday was putting him through so many different emotions that he did not want to deal with.

"They are sweaters that my mom knitted," Annette explained. She indicated the one she was wearing. "You don't actually have to like them, just pretend."

Albert snorted and crossed his arms over his chest. If his sweater looked anything like the one Johnson or Annette was wearing, he would sooner offer to be a test subject than wear it.

"Sweaters?" William asked, crinkling his nose.

"Yes, they are a family tradition," Annette replied, looking amused at William's disgusted face. "Everyone has one."

As soon as Johnson and Rose came back from the kitchen, the two of them insisted that Albert and William open their presents. As Annette had warned them, they were sweaters knitted by Rose. Albert's was a deep wine red and William's was a cerulean blue that complimented his eyes well, something that Rose felt very proud of.

After modeling their sweaters and downing a few cups of hot chocolate, Mrs. Johnson announced that the family had to get back home to get ready for their own Christmas party. Albert and William bid them good-bye, thanking them sincerely for the surprise.

Albert was amazed by William's heightened spirits due to the brief gathering. While he had never really been gloomy about spending the holiday with just Albert, there was something about him that was lighter and happier. The more he thought about it, the more Albert realized that he too, felt slightly since Johnson had shown them such kindness. Perhaps the holidays weren't so bad if you spent it with people like William Birkin and the Johnsons.

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