Chell and Wheatley stared down at the small creature, arms linked between them. It stared back up, wagging it's small tail and rear end.
"Um... Wh-what is that?" Wheatley asked, subconsciously scooting backward. He jumped about half a foot in the air when the small thing barked happily at him.
"D-O-G." Chell finger-spelled at him (they had been working on his sign language). Sliding her arm out of his, she crouched down and stretched out a hand. The puppy was hardly bigger than her hand, and looked like it had been on its own for a while. It hopped over and sniffed her hand before starting to gently chew on one of her fingers. She took her finger out of its mouth and scratched it's head as Wheatley looked on in horror.
"It's attacking you, get away! No, wait, maybe not..." He crouched down next to her, and she grabbed one of his hands. Wheatley tried to pull away, but Chell rolled her eyes and pulled him forward. The puppy licked him, and he immediately started grinning hugely.
"I think it likes me!" He turned to smile at Chell, who smiled back but shook her head and stood up.
"Not keeping it." She signed and Wheatley's face fell. He stood up, much to the dismay of the now yapping puppy.
"No, I s'pose that's not a good idea. But he just seems... so sad..." They both looked down at the dog, who looked back up at them with big puppy eyes. Chell slowly reached down and picked it up, bringing it to her chest.
"Not a good idea." She echoed, turning to walk home. Wheatley followed, looking solemnly at the thing in her arms.
"We'll just have to leave it here then, I guess." They continued walking until they made it to the house, and Wheatley opened the door for Chell. She casually walked in, still holding the dog. Neither of them acknowledged this fact as she set it down on the floor.
"Sorry, Wheatley." Chell signed at him, patting his shoulder. "I wish we could've kept it." Wheatley nodded sadly as the dog started chewing on his shoe laces.
They named him Apple.