Rick waited beneath the vent in an old testing chamber at Aperture, listening for the tapping sounds that would signal his lover's approach. He'd been dating her in secret for a few weeks, but he'd fancied her long before that. Even back when he was still just the Adventure Sphere.
Finally, a tapping sound reached him and Rick looked up expectantly, waiting for her face to appear at the grate. He always looked forward to meeting her, especially when they went on adventures exploring the forgotten rooms and testing chambers of Aperture.
"Hi, Rick", she smiled down at him, her dark brown braid falling over her shoulder and down through the grate slightly. Ever since her mother had been separated from his mother's mind, she'd been happy to have her mother back and even happier to finally feel like a daughter.
"About time you showed up, pretty lady", he grinned up at her, "I was beginning to think you weren't going to show up".
"Don't be silly", Chell laughed, her blue-grey eyes sparkling, "I was just talking to mum, that's all".
"Gotta love some good old mother-daughter bonding time", Rick noted as he reached up and opened the grate for Chell to climb through.
"Yeah, especially after not having it for so long", Chell agreed, jumping down onto the floor to stand beside Rick. He steadied her and she smiled at him, thanking him with a kiss on the cheek.
"And now for boyfriend-girlfriend bonding time", Rick laughed, "Bonding through adventure".
"Yep", Chell agreed with a grin, and they made their way to the old elevator shaft they used to get to the older parts of the facility that were no longer used.
A single camera caught them walking off together holding hands, but it went unnoticed by them. Behind the camera, GLaDOS growled and walked off to confront her rival.
"Caroline", she called out, stepping into what was once Cave's office, "Are you in here?"
"Of course I am", Caroline replied, spinning her chair back around to face her visitor, "I'm always in here".
"Has your daughter told you anything about what she's been up to lately?" GLaDOS asked, getting straight to the point.
Caroline hummed thoughtfully for a moment before replying, "No, only that she's been exploring some of the old testing chambers with a friend. Why do you ask?"
"Do you know who that friend is?" GLaDOS growled, walking right up to Caroline's desk.
"No", Caroline shrugged, "I just assumed that it was a friend from somewhere around here. After all, since you humanised almost everyone, she's bound to find a friend somewhere".
"He's not even a 'friend', he's more than that", GLaDOS revealed, standing with her arms crossed over her chest, "He's her boyfriend".
"What's so bad about that? She's found someone special", Caroline smiled.
"But there's more", GLaDOS continued, "Hey boyfriend just so happens to be my son".
"Which son? You have three, you know", Caroline laughed, though she became a bit more serious when GLaDOS growled in frustration and slammed her hands down on Caroline's desk.
"It's Rick, she's dating Rick!" GLaDOS shouted at her, "You know who that one is, don't you?"
"That promiscuous monster?" Caroline was disgusted at the thought.
"She's the monster and he's not promiscuous, he just doesn't have very good pick up lines", GLaDOS retorted.
"So what do you expect me to do about it?" Caroline asked, shrugging, "Tell her to break up with him?"
"Exactly", GLaDOS replied, "I don't like him being with her".
"And I suppose I don't like her being with someone like him. She's so innocent and he'll ruin that", Caroline decided.
"She can't be innocent forever", GLaDOS countered, "But I'll talk to him later. I just saw them heading towards an old elevator shaft so I don't know what they could be doing".
"I'll talk to Chell later when she gets back", Caroline decided, leaning back in her chair, "Go now, I'm done with you".
"You don't order everyone around here, especially not me", GLaDOS huffed, but left the room anyway.
Meanwhile, in another part of Aperture, the couple in question were making their way through a tangle of old wires and computer parts.
"Haven't seen one of these in years", Chell laughed, kicking aside a potato battery that had seen better days. It was actually fossilised.
"Not since mum got put into one, anyway", Rick agreed. Chell had told him about that shortly after they'd begun dating a few months ago, and he had found it both somewhat humorous yet at the same time just a little pathetic.
"And to think that your dad did that", Chell shrugged, "At least we know he's not too much of a moron if he can manage that".
"He's actually quite smart when he wants to be", Rick pointed out, "But enough about my parents. Let's just find somewhere quiet to sit back and enjoy the view".
At that, Chell blushed and crossed her arms over her semi-exposed chest.
"I meant your beautiful face", Rick laughed, and moved closer to her to cup her face in his hands.
"It's not that beautiful", Chell replied, "But I'm glad you think so".
"As long as I think you're beautiful, that's all you are", Rick grinned, and kissed her once before leading her away to an area that was clear of computer parts and cables.
"I guess now you can show me how you earned your black belt in bedroom", Chell giggled, blushing.
"Of course", Rick agreed, and enjoyed the view as he watched her undress.
Much as she hated to have this discussion with Rick, GLaDOS knew that she had to- after all, she didn't want Caroline to hate her for any other reason.
"Look, Rick, I know you're probably very happy with Chell but you just can't be with her", GLaDOS sighed, sitting at her desk.
"Why not?" Rick asked, "You weren't supposed to be with dad but you still ended up being with him".
"Because do you know who her mother is?" GLaDOS asked, getting straight to the point as usual.
"It's Caroline, isn't it?" Rick guessed, and his mother nodded.
"She doesn't like the fact that you're dating her daughter. She thinks you're going to tarnish her or something", GLaDOS shrugged, "That and the fact that Chell tried to kill your father and I".
"But didn't Caroline have Chell when she was young?" Rick pointed out.
"That still doesn't change the fact that Chell tried to kill me", GLaDOS said somewhat bitterly.
"But she's been very non-murderous since we started dating", Rick complained, "We've been going through the ruins of old Aperture and finding adventure".
"If that's all, then I'm okay with it", GLaDOS finally decided, and Rick hugged her gratefully.
In the former CEO's office, Caroline was having almost the same awkward conversation that GLaDOS had with Rick.
"I know that Rick makes you happy but he's the son of the woman who tried to kill you many times", Caroline gently told Chell.
"But he's different to her, mum. He's not murderous at all, he won't even eat the random birds we find lying around. And he never speaks of killing anything or anyone", Chell replied.
"Not to mention that he's very promiscuous", Caroline sighed, "He'll ruin your innocence".
Chell wanted to say that she'd already lost her innocence a few hours ago but waited for her mother to finish making her point first.
"But he makes me happy, mum. He gives me something to do all day every day, and ever since we started dating a few months ago he's really brightened up my life", she said instead.
"He may brighten up your life now but he'll take your innocence from you. And when that happens, he might want to try even more things with you", Caroline replied, though she wasn't speaking from experience.
"He's more interested in adventure, mum, believe me", Chell assured her mother.
"And what if, like me, you get pregnant and then you have to give the baby to someone else so you can continue work?" It was Caroline's biggest worry that her daughter would someday suffer the same heartbreak she had.
"That won't happen", Chell laughed, "We found some protection in that old room". Realising what she'd just said, she looked away nervously chewing on her bottom lip.
"He's already taken your innocence", Caroline sighed sadly, "I was afraid that this would happen".
"I didn't want to tell you like this but it just slipped out", Chell muttered quietly, her hand over her mouth.
"Well, there's nothing we can do now but wait and see if anything happens from this. I can't forbid you from seeing him, I guess, because I know that you're always determined to get what you want", Caroline decided.
"So I can stay with him?" Chell asked, trying to keep the excitement from her voice but being unable to hide the sparkle in her eyes.
"Yes, you can stay with him", Caroline confirmed with a small smile, "But just don't go making GLaDOS and I in-laws anytime soon, okay?"
Chell laughed in her happiness and hugged her mother gratefully before she ran out of the room to find her lover. Finally, they wouldn't have to sneak around anymore. Finally, Chell knew that her relationship with Rick could be more public. And, by the happy look on Rick's face when she found him and hugged him, it seemed that GLaDOS had agreed to their relationship as well.