Chapter Text
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“Hey cap, someone here for you.” Someone says, Chris looking up from his computer screen where he’s typing up reports.
He looks to the door and sees Sherry, smiling before standing up. Chris walks over and hugs Sherry, getting a hug in return.
“To what do I owe the visit Sherry?” Chris asks, closing the door behind her.
“I was cleaning up the old house and found a bunch of old boxes in the attic. It was mainly a lot of my mom and dad’s research, I dropped it off with the forensics and research team so they have it. What I did find that got my attention was this. It’s my dad’s handwriting but it’s addressed to ‘that Redfield boy on Albert’s team’. My dad never once visited the RPD station as far as I know.” Sherry explains, passing the moderately sized Manila envelope to Chris.
“If he did, I never saw. If anyone visited Wesker, it was in his office after hours. Do you mind if I open it?” Chris hums, looking from the envelope to Sherry.
“Go for it, I’m pretty curious myself.”
Chris opens the envelope as carefully as possible, reaching in. The first thing he feels is a bundle of some sort, pulling it out. It’s a rubber banded stack of printed photos. The top one is one Chris had seen in the past, a photo of Wesker and everyone on the Umbrella research team. He pulls off the rubber band and flips the photo over to see if anything is written on the back. “1977 T-virus research team photo” is written in swooping handwriting, familiar to Chris. The next photo makes Chris freeze, staring at the picture. It’s all of the old Alpha team members, the photo had been taken for a news article.
“What is it?” Sherry asks, moving to stand behind Chris. “Oh…the old team. He kept the photo from back then.”
“He did. I never expected the man to be sentimental.” Chris laughs, setting the team photo to the side.
For the most part it’s just photos of Wesker in the research facility, Sherry laughing when she sees the next revealed photo. The photo shows Sherry’s mom and dad sharing a kiss while Wesker is dramatically gagging in the background. Chris flips the photo over, hoping to get some context for the picture. “Albert has more than 1 emotion it seems. 1979” is written in what Chris assumes is Sherry’s dad’s handwriting. The two continue to look through photos, Chris and Sherry shocked when they get to a photo they never expected to see. It’s Wesker doing a handstand, not entirely unexpected. What does get Chris is that he’s doing a keg stand to be specific. Sherry is quick to flip the image over, looking at the date. “New Year’s Eve, 1979” is written in blocky marker, someone else’s handwriting below it. “Beer sucks” is written in Wesker’s writing, probably an afterthought of the evening.
“Albert Wesker did a keg stand on New Year’s Eve. Who would have thought.” Sherry laughs, Chris snickering at the fact.
Chris moves the keg stand photo, tilting the next picture more towards Sherry. It’s a picture of her parents on their wedding day, Sherry tearing up at it. Wesker is actually the one officiating the wedding, standing between Sherry’s parents as they hold hands. “Birkin wedding, 1984” is written in a corner on the back, surrounded by three different signatures. William Birkin, Annette Birkin and Albert Wesker had all signed the photo, Sherry smiling at the fact her dad and Wesker were so close. Sherry moves to the next photo, seeing her mom in the research lab while clearly pregnant with her. Chris moves to the next picture, seeing just born baby Sherry cuddled against her mom’s chest. The back says Sherry’s name, birthday and how much she weighed.
“Tiny Sherry.” Chris laughs, remembering how much he weighed as an infant.
“We aren’t all born massive Chris.” Sherry scoffs, looking at the next photo.
This picture causes Sherry and Chris to freeze, seeing a picture of Wesker gently cradling baby Sherry. He doesn’t look uninterested, disgusted or anything of the sort. Wesker is actually looking down at Sherry with a soft expression and a smile, Sherry’s small hand reaching out of her blanket towards Wesker. Sherry flips the picture over, looking at the back. “Uncle Albert meeting his goddaughter Sherry, August 1986”.
“He was my godfather? So he was supposed to be an emergency guardian if anything happened to my parents…” Sherry asks, looking to Chris.
“That’s typically what a godfather does. I think he knew deep down he couldn’t be the guardian you needed and kept going with the path he had…as a result the government and Claire got involved.” Chris explains, squeezing Sherry’s shoulder as a sign of comfort.
“…I wonder if there are more photos of us together.” Sherry hums, Chris shrugging.
The two go back to flipping through the photos, Sherry smiling when Chris passes her one. It’s a picture of Wesker holding her on his hip while at the beach, the two of them wearing more or less matching sunglasses. Another few pictures show Wesker at Sherry’s birthday parties, one showing him in a corner with a party hat on. He looks torn, arms crossed while he looks at Sherry. “Albert at Sherry’s birthday, August 1998” is written on the back of the photo.
“…it was before the outbreak…before my dad got infected and before the virus got into the sewer. He probably knew something was going to happen…and he knew it involved me.” Sherry frowns, looking at the photo again.
“Hey, he did what he could to keep you safe. Only so many failsafes can do so much. Claire found you, got you treated and now you’re here. We have your back.” Chris explains, patting Sherry’s back as he talks.
Sherry reaches into the envelope again, pulling out two different flash drive. One has a label of “photos” and the other “videos”. The two agree to look at the photos and videos with the entire group, getting a day set up. When the day rolls around, the group meet at Leon’s house since it’s the best option for everyone to fit. Leon and Chris take a while to figure out how to get the laptop attached to the TV, Rebecca stepping in to help. After a few test runs, the laptop works fine and a mouse can be used to pause and play the videos or to move to the next photo.
“Okay, I made popcorn!” Claire smiles, holding up two bowls of popcorn as she walks into the TV room.
“It feels weird seeing this more…human side of him. We never knew he had this side to him and it’s almost like it’s not him.” Jill adds, holding a beer while sitting beside Carlos.
“Well, maybe it’s for a reason. It was listed for Chris.” Sherry hums, sitting on the floor while Leon sits in one of the chairs.
Chris walks to his chair and starts the first video, the video buffering a little. Eventually it’s starts playing, someone laughing in the background. The video pans to Wesker squatting in a corner with his head in his hands.
“THEY THREW THE SAMPLES AWAY.” Wesker yells into his hands, the person recording laughing a little.
“Don’t you have duplicates of the samples?” The voice asks, Sherry realizing it’s her dad.
“That’s not the point WILL, that was the first batch in a MONTH that survived the incubation period!!” Wesker groans, falling onto his back.
“Well…you know what worked, try and replicate it.”
“…are you suddenly new to this?”
“No, I’m trying to find the positive, you ball of anger.”
Wesker groans from the floor, digging the heels of his hands into his eyes. The video ends, Chris moving to the next one. It’s another video in the research area, William walking through the frame. While William stands at a table, Wesker rolls through the frame in a chair. Rebecca snorts and laughs a little, Wesker rolling back the way he came. It repeats for a while, the group entertained at how childish he’s acting.
“What exactly are you doing Albert?” William sighs, turning to watch Wesker.
“Waiting for the centrifuge to be done. Here, spin me.” Wesker groans, pulling his legs to his chest as William raises an eyebrow.
“…spin you?” William asks, watching Wesker.
“Think of it as an experiment on how many g forces I can take.”
William looks at Wesker before grabbing the back of the chair and moving in such a way the chair starts to spin. It isn’t necessary fast but that doesn’t mean it’s not effective. William spins the chair a few more times, Wesker essentially thrown from the chair as it slides and hits a desk. Wesker is lying on the floor, William looking at him for a moment before going back to his own research. Wesker eventually gets to his feet, a little unsteady but steady enough to check on his work. The clips ends, the group snickering at how unsteady Wesker's footing is.