NOTE: The closest I've ever come to being in the UK was the time I went to Plymouth, Massachusetts, which doesn't really mean much. Please excuse any errors on my part, and I hope you enjoy the story despite the. :)
The plane was relatively quiet the day they disembarked. Wheatley looked out the window at the blue sky which he hadn't seen in so long. He remembered the last time he'd been in a plane; when he'd made his voyage from Britain to America. And now he was going back. Not only that, but he was going with the woman he loved. Chell was equally amazed at the view, though it was obvious that she was anxious. "Are you sure I'll like it there?"
Wheatley took in the sweetness of her voice, which still broke from time to time from lack of use. "Trust me, you'll love it." Ever since he had been put back in his human body, he had been able to feel emotions. Not the cheap, simulated emotions he'd had when he was a core, but real, sometimes frightening emotions. And those feelings existed only for the woman sitting next to him.
She nodded, but her worried expression never left. He took her hand in an effort to reassure her, which appeared to work.
"Attention, passengers. We will be arriving at Gatwick Airport in about fifteen minutes. Please buckle your seat belts and gather your belongings."
Wheatley smiled. "It's time."
"Are you sure this is the right place?" Chell asked the cab driver as they pulled up.
He nodded. "Yep. This is it." She and Wheatley gawked up at the structure before them. Wheatley paid the driver and the two exited the taxi. When they'd been informed that GLaDOS had personally chosen a place for them to live, they both had expected a run-down flat, yet here in front of them was a huge victorian-style house. Surely it was a trap? There was no way that it could be this nice. But somewhere inside his memory, Wheatley knew that the part of Caroline that still lived on inside of the A.I. would never do anything to harm the child. Not anymore, anyway. Aperture had also funded their trip to Britain. That was how much GLaDOS had wanted them out. They entered through the kitchen and quickly made their way through the maze of hallways and rooms, which were all filled with furniture. As they stepped into the dining room, a surprise was waiting for them on the oak table.
It had no personal significance to Wheatley. There was no explanation, either. It seemed rather suspicious to him, but Chell approached the black forest cake and gave a sad smile. "It's not a lie anymore, sir." Wheatley had no idea who this "Sir" was, although, Chell wasn't exactly sure herself. Chances were, they never would.
"So the eight can turn into anything, right?"
"Yes."
"Alright! So, it'll be... an ace of f- no, wait, there isn't an ace of fours, is there? Then... ace of spades!" Wheatley didn't understand this game at all. Chell had taken it into her own hands to teach him how to play cards. So far, it wasn't going so well.
Chell put down a seven of spades. "You know, I was thinking about it-" Wheatley started.
She threw a card at him. "Focus." This small act of humour kept them laughing for almost ten minutes.
When the game was over (which took quite a while), Wheatley stood. "What do you say I show you around a bit?"
Chell looked up. "What do you mean?"
He took her by the hand and led her to the door. "Didn't I tell you? I grew up not to far from here." They smiled at each other and left, each excited to explore the world around them.
They didn't drive. (Neither of them had a license.) They wandered the streets on foot, Wheatley pointing out a familiar landmark every so often. Chell was mesmerized. When was the last time she'd been outside? It was with her adoptive father, who cared for her as if they were blood related. It was the day she'd been taken captive, the day he'd been murdered. Bring Your Daughter to Work Day. Though neither she nor her love knew it, Wheatley had once been close with both her real and adoptive parents. One he owed his life, one his job, and the other had tried to kill him multiple times.
Dr. Michael Anderson had been a shy man, always keeping to himself. Wheatley had been an Aperture employee for a few years at the time. He was an engineer, and he was known as more than a single name. Dr. Stephen Wheatley sat in his room, reflecting on all of the terrible things that had happened in his life. He was not the carefree, happy man he would later become. His parents had always told him that he would never amount to anything in his life, and he was beginning to believe them He'd never had any friends, so his teenage Friday nights had been spent reading, researching, and experimenting instead of playing football or seeing a movie with a girl. He didn't want to live with the pain and the sorrow anymore. He pulled a gun out of his desk drawer, and just as he was about to put an end to it, Michael had opened the door by simple coincidence. He'd torn the gun from his hands, and they'd been friends ever since. It was an odd meeting. Enter Caroline, who quickly (and unintentionally) stole Michael's heart. Upon Cave Johnson's death, she had asked Michael to take care of the child she was carrying when she was put into the computer that would later become his death.
Noticing a secluded path leading through the woods, Wheatley told Chell to follow him. The trek lasted for about a half an hour. "Where are we going?" She asked, clutching his arm in mock-fear.
"We're almost there." He smiled down at her, his sapphire eyes meeting her blue-grey ones. This was perfect. She had held him ten years ago while they were trying to make their escape, but he wasn't human back then. He hadn't felt the softness of her skin or the wonderful sensation of his rapidly beating heart. They stopped, and Wheatley whispered three words. "Close your eyes."
Carefully leading her a few metres ahead, he told her to look.
The woods were behind them, and there was a huge cliff, a river flowing slowly at the bottom. "My parents used to bring me here. It was a long time ago, of course. They figured it would make me want to get into painting, or something. Yeah, that didn't go so well. But I guess the reason I brought you here... is that it's almost as beautiful as you are." Chell responded the only way she could; whispering his name and wrapping her arms around his neck. He followed her example, taking her waist. As soul gazed into soul, a single thought passed through his mind. Things are never going to be the same again.
They made their way to the water's edge via a hidden staircase carved into the rock. Wanting to be the first to be the first to take advantage of the warm late Spring weather, Wheatley took off his shirt and glasses and dove into the river. Wait. What if I can't swim? Oh, I didn't plan for that. What am I saying, of course I can swim! Not a moron, remember? He proved himself right and urged Chell to join him. At her refusal, he emerged, but not for long. He took her and prepared to throw her in, ignoring her laughing protests. Knowing that she was going in whether she liked it or not, she decided to take her revenge. "Fine! But this is coming with me!" She grabbed his dry shirt off of the branch it had been hanging on.
"Oh, what!" But by then it was too late, and his only piece of dry clothing was submerged. The returned to the surface of the water, and kissed for a long moment.
