After seeking the assistance of several coworkers, Nola was now cheerfully pushing Wheatley in a cart down the endless hallways of Aperture Laboratory.

"Nola? Quick question. Will it hurt?" he asked hesitantly.

"No, of course not, Wheatley. It won't hurt at all!" she replied "Are you really that nervous about it, love?"

"What, me? Nervous? Noooooooo," he awkwardly guffawed as he felt his wires cringe within him.

"That's good."

They continued in silence for a few moments until Wheatley heard a second pair of footsteps join them.

"Hey, Nola, if you don't mind I think I might join you," an obviously masculine voice said.

"Oh really, John, it's not necessary. He'll do just fine," Nola replied.

Wheatley realized that his cart had been suddenly stopped. He strained to see what was going on behind him but the most he could view was the ceiling. He had to be satisfy himself with hearing the maddening conversation taking place behind him.

"Nola, come on. I'm not just talking about Wheatley, I'd like to be with you," John emphasized.

"Well, I really don't need help with this. Besides, he's used to me and I can talk him through it."

"You're missing the point completely. Maybe you won't let me go in the chamber with you but I would like to take you out sometime."

There was silence and then Nola answered, in a soft tone Wheatley had never heard before, "I know. And I would love it. I just think it would be bloody awkward."

"What makes it awkward? We work together but that doesn't mean I don't see you as a woman. A very beautiful, interesting, kind woman who I happen to be very attracted to." Another pause. "And I think she might be attracted to me too."

Wheatley couldn't hear what Nola said back because an intern had taken it upon himself to carelessly shove the cart out of his way. The little core took a few seconds to right himself again after the dizzying spin but when he did he was facing Nola and John. That is, Nola who had her arms wrapped around the tall man's neck and John whose hands were resting on her arms. They remained like this for a few seconds before she tipped her head up just enough so that her lips met his.

Wheatley felt a strange pang as he watched them….do whatever it was they were doing. Seeing them interact in this odd way caused him to feel highly uncomfortable and perhaps even some pain. But why? What did that gesture of touching lips mean? And did she speak like that to him? What made this…this "John" so special anyway?

After a little while, the two separated and, with their faces reddening, promised to have dinner together. Nola went back to the cart and continued pushing Wheatley down the hall, not noticing that her passenger was remaining steadfastly silent.

"Oh great, what do you want? I've never seen you here before. If you're trying to steal me, I'd strongly advise against it. With your build I think even my eye could smash you," a bored feminine voice announced as Wheatley was wheeled into a large chamber.

"I work here, GlaDOS and I'm here to put something special on you," Nola replied patiently.

"Oh, goody. Tell me, is it a new neural-toxin dispenser? I hear they're all the rage. If you got me one I promise I'll demonstrate it to you."

"Thank you for your generosity but it's not neural-toxin. Come along, Wheatley," she added as she pushed the cart close to GlaDOS's frighteningly huge body and began to prepare to plug the core in.

"Will you go out to dinner with me?" Wheatley asked impulsively.

"What?" Nola asked completely taken aback by the strange request.

"Dinner? Will you go out to dinner with me?" he repeated hopefully.

She turned around suddenly and stared at him before quickly stammering, "Wheat…Wheatley, you don't eat."

Wheatley nervously fidgeted his handles as he replied, "Well, yes I figured that would be a bit hard but…but you could eat and I could watch. Or better yet, you could pretend I'm eating and put a plate of stuff in front of me and you could actually eat your stuff so it's almost the same thing."

"What?" Nola repeated incredulously "Wheatley, I don't quite understand what you're trying to…"

"DINNER!" Wheatley cried "Just like what you're going to do with that man in the hall. The one who had his arms all around you and bit your lips!"

"Love, he wasn't biting me, he was kissing me. Biting is mean. Kissing is, well…"

Nola's face was quickly turning scarlet as she rubbed her head in confusion and tried to explain. She didn't get the chance.

"Kissing is that nasty thing that humans do to each other to show affection, Moron!" GlaDOS snapped "My god, you're plugging that little IDIOT into my mainframe? I don't think so."

"Listen here, Lady!" Nola growled as she whipped around to face her "First of all, he is not a moron. He just has a lot of creative thoughts. Second of all, you're not the boss here. It's me and he is going to be plugged into you whether you want him or not!"

"Why don't you ever kiss me?" Wheatley cried emphatically "Don't you have affection for me too? Or is it only for that man?"

Nola now whipped around to face him and exclaimed, "Wheatley, his name is John not "That Man"!"

"It doesn't matter. You never kissed me and I'm the one who had to do all those tests. I'm the one who always tried to make you happy. But you never talked to me like that and you never kissed me. I thought you liked me," he replied his voice suspiciously sounding like it was filled with tears.

Nola stared at him for a long time. Finally, she got up and ran out of the room.

"Nola, wait! I didn't mean…" he called after her.

"Way to go, Moron," GlaDOS said "You're a machine. You can't love her and she can't love you. To her, you're just a lump of metal that just happens to talk."

"I'M NOT A MORON!" Wheatley screamed at her.