Little Surprise

Premise: Chell, at 5yo, was adopted by Cave and Caroline after several failed attempts to have a child of their own. Turns out, Caroline probably should have taken that pregnancy test- 8 months later, Glados Johnson is born. What does Chell think?

[ChellDOS, sisterhood]

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Chell had been under the impression that babies were loud.

But so far, this one- her little sister, she reminded herself- was very quiet. She'd barely made a sound.

Chell stepped carefully over to Mama to see her. Mama gave her a tired smile and angled the newborn cradled in her arms so Chell could get a better look.

Her sister was sleeping now, but earlier she'd noted her eye color (she was a much more observant girl than most gave her credit for)- deep brown, like Mama's. She had soft, wispy white hair, which had slightly confused everyone until Mama had announced that her mother had naturally white hair.

Chell smiled slightly. Her baby sister was kinda cute.

"Glados." Daddy announced. "Her name's Glados."

Mama looked slightly confused. "Dare I ask where you got that from?"

"Y'know. Like Gladys, only with an 'o'. Sounds better that way."

"Mm."

Chell liked her new sister's name. It did sound better with an 'o'.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Chewl!"

Chell looked up from her schoolwork to see Glados toddling over. Three years old, white hair, brown eyes, and still adorable.

"Hi, Glados." Chell smiled at her sister. She still couldn't pronounce 'L' very well, Chell noted. Ah well, at least she was trying.

"What awre you w-writing?" She asked, and Chell looked down at her worksheet.

"Math." She sighed. "Negative numbers."

Glados's face screwed up in concentration. "-4+8=4?" she asked.

Chell stared. "Say that again."

"-4+8=4." Glados stated as naturally as if she had just pointed out that cows moo.

"What's..." Chell looked over at the problem she'd just finished. "3- -9?"

Glados blinked. "12."

"Mom! Dad! Come here!" Chell yelled out to the living room.

"What is it, hon?" Cave asked as he walked into the kitchen, looking quizzically at Chell.

"Glados is doing my homework. Correctly." Chell said, grinning.

"5+-3=2!" Glados sang. "1- -6=7! 5- 8= -3!"

"You're kidding me!" Caroline dashed in, looking amazed.

"No! Not joke! I can do ma-math!" Glados said proudly.

"Oh my god!" Caroline swept Glados up into a hug. "That is so good, honey!"

Sweet. Chell thought. Who else in school can say that they've got a genius for a sister?

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Chell! Chell! I'm home!" Glados burst in the door to their apartment, out of breath from the long run from Aperture Elementary to the small underground apartment building.

Chell paused her game and ran into the front hall, grabbing her seven-year-old sister in a powerful hug.

"Man, I've been waiting for you to be home, like, forever!" Chell exclaimed. "I found this cool new place out back a little. It's got a tonof old supplies! We could totally make a fort!"

"Then let's go right now!" Glados smiled, bouncing from foot to foot excitedly.

"Have you got all your homework done?" Chell said in a mock stern tone.

"Yes, Mama, I finished all three of my textbooks again before I got home, and I snuck Daddy's old calculus book to school so I could finish that too. Can I go outside now?" Glados whined playfully before tagging Chell on the arm and dashing out the back door.

"TAG! YOU'RE IT!" she yelled as she disappeared from view.

"Oh yeah? WELL, I TAKE THAT AS A CHALLENGE!" Chell shouted before barreling off after her.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Who, dear?" Caroline asked confusedly to her excited daughter.

"Hallie! She's really nice, and she says she's my age too!" Glados was practically bursting with happiness.

"Hall- Oh. That android project Gail and Josh are working on." Caroline finally puzzled out, only to see Glados' face fall in a frown.

"She's not an 'android project'! She's my friend!" Glados' voice began to raise.

"Hon, she's a robot. She's not really a-"

"Yes she is! Everyone says that to her, and it hurts her feelings!" Glados was yelling now.

"Glados. She's not a person. She's an A-"

"SHE IS! SHE IS A PERSON!" Glados practically screamed, yanking her arm free from Caroline's grasp. "Her name is Hallie, and SHE'S MY FRIEND!"

"Gla-"

"How would youlike it if people laughed at you when you tried to talk, or-or never listened to you, or treated you not nicely because you were made of metal?" Glados was crying now.

"..." Caroline had no answer.

"Well? I bet it feels pretty awful!"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, honey. I didn't know Hallie was so sad about that." I didn't even know Hallie could be sad about that. Caroline thought as she hugged Glados gently, wiping her tears away. Have we created a life...?

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Needless to say, not more than a year later, Caroline suddenly knew how Hallie felt.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Neither of them could have predicted Daddy's death in just two months, or Mama not coming home three months later, Chell reflected as, 450 years later, she watched the rain pound down on the glass of her window.

She knew Hallie was 'the chassis'- bereft of her old android body, of course. She'd realized Wheatley's sudden evil was nothing more than Hallie rejecting him. She knew her mother was still in there somewhere.

And most painfully of all, Chell knew that her sister- her precious, innocent, seven-year-old sister- was in there too.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"NO! You- you can't take her!" Chell struggled, kicking at the men's bits, trying to keep them away from her and her crying, terrified sister encircled in her arms.

"Sorry, kid. Orders." The man grunted as he made another swipe for her.

"From who? Daddy's dead! You already took Mama! Hell, Glados is the one in charge!" Chell shouted.

"Oh, sure. GLaDOS is the one in charge. And that's who she'll be in a few minutes." He said nonchalantly as he tripped her and ripped the child from her arms.

"NO!" Chell was screaming as they carried off her baby sister, still sobbing, in the direction of the Central AI Chamber. They killed Mama there.

"I- I'll save you, Glados! I swear, I will! You get these guys, and I'll get you out! I will! No matter how long it takes! Just- oh, please! Don't take my sister! Don't take my baby sister! Don't- don't take her!" Chell continued to yell as they dragged her down the hall...

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Chell stood at the shed, that familiar determination shining in her eyes.

You get those guys.

Glados held up her end of the bargain.

And I'll get you out.

Time for her to hold up hers.

Chell dove into the elevator, plan repeating itself endlessly in her head, ready for anything that might come her way.

Glados was her baby sister, her little surprise, her cara mia, her absolutely everything.

And Chell would give anything- anything- to see her again.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

A/N: Love for new AU's. Welp, review if you liked. Imma go do homework now.

/eee I LOVE little sister GLaDOS~ ^^/