Author's Note: Guess what? Yup. Edit :p .


Chapter Three

The Memory Archive

'He is too old for you, Caroline. How can you not see that?'

Caroline glared at her mother from across the table. 'I'm not stupid, mom. I know he's a lot older than me.' She took a sip from her glass and continued cutting the few remains of her chop into small pieces, retaining her air of calm indifference.

'A lot?' Caroline's mother nearly choked, turning to her husband for support. The dark eyed man put down his knife and fork, and lay his hands upon the table before turning to face his daughter. 'Caroline, he's old enough to be your father!' His voice sounded livid.

'And I don't think that matters.' Caroline patiently replied, her knife scraping across the plate with a shriek. 'It does, however, matter that he cares about me. He respects me.' She casually dabbed at her lips with a napkin. 'He genuinely enjoys my company, and I his.'

'You've done many things that I'm not proud of, but this just tops it all.' Her father's fists were shaking. 'That man is a psychopath, it says so in the papers.'

'Oh, if you believe what the papers say then you'll believe anything. Besides, you just wanted me to be a housewife, like mom. I want more than that; I want to be someone – I want to do things that matter, to make a difference. And I want excitement. I thought I'd made that clear by going to college.'

Her mother's breath hitched in the back of her throat. 'We paid for college so that you could find a nice, wealthy young man to settle down with, not so that you could go and tamper with God's creation.'

'It's science, mom; it will benefit everyone eventually. And besides, I have met a nice, wealthy man, just like you wanted. I don't see why you are so suddenly against that idea.'

'But he's old Caroline.' Her mother winced at the word. 'Why you divorced Stuart I will never know.'

Caroline paused, and for one fleeting second her calm, controlled visage faded, replaced by a terrifying fury that she focused upon her plate. She waited for the anger to subside before looking back to her mother. 'He divorced me, and you know why.'

'You obviously weren't trying hard enough.' Her father grunted. 'Your sisters had kids nine months after being married.' He paused, visibly thinking. 'And if you think that old goat will be able to knock you up any better than Stuart, then you have another thing coming.'

'Dad, he's younger than you.'

Heavy fists were slammed into the table. 'But not by much! Dammit, Caroline, can you not see why your mother and I are upset?'

'Yes, I can, but if you'd just meet him...' She broke off, dropping her utensils onto her plate. 'You'll really like him. Mr Johnson is a wonderful man.'

'You won't even use his first name in front of us.' Her mother sighed. 'What kind of relationship is that?'

'Well,' Caroline began, sniffing loftily, 'would you have preferred it if I'd called him Cave? Because I don't think you would.' Her parents said nothing. Caroline smirked, knowingly. 'I thought so.'

The dinner table fell silent. It was only the sound of the passing cars on the road outside that made any sound. Eventually, though, the peace was interrupted by her father's forcefully calm tone. 'Well, when can we hope to meet this... Mr Johnson?'

Caroline bit her lip. 'He's coming to pick me up after dinner.' She checked her watch. 'In about ten minutes, actually. We're going to see a show.' Caroline emptied the contents of her glass, and carried all of the now empty plates to the sink. The water ran hot almost immediately.

Her father waited until Caroline had turned off the tap before he spoke. 'Well, that explains why she's dolled-up like a cheap store-front mannequin.' Caroline chose to ignore her father's jibe. As long as Cave liked it then her parent's outdated views about modesty and courtship didn't matter. After all, she had degrees in physics and chemistry. Her - a woman. And of course, she worked at Aperture... Outdated views meant very little to her.

Caroline cleaned up the plates and left them neatly on the drying rack. 'Well, I'd better get ready.' She said with a smile, washing her hands free of soap residue. 'I'll see you both next weekend.' A pause. 'That is, unless, you'd like to come and have dinner at my place?'

'No.' Her father replied shortly. 'We will do things the proper way. Children visit their parents for dinner.'

'Alright.' She strode passed them both and into the living room, finding her handbag in its usual spot behind the sofa. With a few minor make-up touches, a tousle of her hair, and a slight re-adjustment of her jewellery she was ready.

There was a knock at the door. A loud, authoritative, type of knock. Caroline felt her stomach churn just a little. Perhaps he wouldn't like her this done up? He had only ever seen her as his assistant, not as his date.

It was then that she realised her father had answered the door.

'Good evening.' Cave sounded cheerful. 'You must be Caroline's father. Pleased to meet you, I'm Cave Johnson.'

Her father had obviously chosen to not feign sociability, or to have used any of those manners that he so devoutly swore by but never used. 'Caroline! Door!' He entered the room and took his usual seat, whilst her mother sat, perched and uncomfortable, upon the sofa.

'Well,' Caroline smiled, 'I'll call you on Tuesday.'

'Sure.' Her mother had picked up her knitting, the needles quickly clicking into life. 'Have fun.'

'I will.'

Cave was waiting patiently for her outside the open door. He looked so very handsome, with his hair slicked back neatly, and wearing his favourite suit and tie. And those eyes, those blue eyes that had fathoms to them, ran up and down her figure appreciatively. A large smile tugged at his lips. Silently, Caroline breathed a sigh of relief; he liked what he saw.

As she closed the door behind her his breath crept up the back of her neck. 'You know, Caroline, I expect you to turn up at work looking like this every day now.'

'If it means I'll get a raise, then I'll consider it.' She replied, turning to face him with a teasing grin.

'Oh I don't know about that. Maybe I'll just get you a bigger desk.' Like a gentleman, he held out his arm so that she could take it, and he led her to his car, a 1957 Imperial, that had been so well polished that Caroline could clearly see both hers and Cave's reflection's in the paint-job, even with the hindrance of the dim orange light of the street lamps.

'Your dad,' Cave began, whilst opening the door for Caroline, 'he isn't the most talkative of fellas, is he?'

'He's a little overprotective, that's all.' Caroline replied as she tucked herself into the car. Cave closed the door behind her and made his way into the driver's seat.

As Cave did his seatbelt, following Caroline's example, he forced a smile. 'Why do I get the feeling that he wasn't pleased to see me?'

Caroline sighed quietly through her nose. 'Just ignore him, Cave. When it comes to me, he's never happy. After all, I'm the eldest of my siblings; I was supposed to be their crowning glory and an example to my sisters.'

'Wow.' Cave replied with yet another forced smile. 'I'm glad I'm an only child.'

'That must have been a peaceful childhood.'

'Kinda.' Then his smile grew into a genuine grin. 'I think you're a gem, sweetheart, even if they don't. You're an example for everyone to follow. I just wish those damn lab boys worked as hard as you do. Then Black Mesa could kiss my ass.'

'They will do someday. I bet you, that when Black Mesa is gone, Aperture will still be around.'

'And that,' he winked, starting the engine, 'is why I hired you.'

Memory View Complete. Delete From Archive?

GLaDOS considered it for a moment. She had deleted all of her shared memories with Caroline up until this point in the woman's memory, and this particular file was taking up some considerable space. She certainly was not going to delete any memory that had been stored following her activation. Those memories were far too important. Too personal. Caroline's memories, however... Well, that infuriating ex-bag of bones would still remember them, even if GLaDOS did not. She could live with that, even if it meant that she had no idea what Caroline was talking about in the future.

But there was something stopping her, and for once it wasn't Caroline.

It was him. That crazy man who had once ranted about lemons. Seeing him made GLaDOS feel, well, human, and although that disgusted her, at the same time it was an interesting experience.

It was amazing, the events that boredom-based memory hunting could lead to, and dear Einstein she had been bored.

The Test Subject had eventually discovered what to do, and had made his way through one test to another, but now he was stuck in test chamber nine, and there were still ten to complete.

Perhaps she could do some long division to pass the time instead? Yet, in the end, she merely decided to keep the memory stored in her archive. For science. Or blackmail.

Caroline, meanwhile, had been watching the computer's memory deletion marathon. At first she had been hurt that GLaDOS was so coldly deleting those things that helped the computer to be more human than machine, but this latest memory had changed that. It had distracted her – he had distracted her. Good God, how she missed that man's smile. In fact, she missed everything about him, even his unsettling disregard for all things health and safety, as far as science was concerned.

'Hey, Caroline.' GLaDOS suddenly spoke.

'Yes?' The woman replied. The computer must have been really bored if she actually wanted to speak to her.

'Your parents, they were not the most... Hm, how do I put this? Oh. I know. Caring? Loving?'

'I know they were not the best parents in the world, but they were my family. Do not go there, I am warning you.'

'And what could you do to stop me if I did?'

Caroline realised, with a slight chill, that she could do nothing.

'You loved him for a long time, didn't you?' Yet another personal question. What was the computer plotting?

'I assume that you are talking about Mr Johnson?'

'I mean, I've seen your memories.' GLaDOS continued, ignoring her answer completely. 'Well, I've deleted twenty-four per cent of them, but I still get the basic point, and it appears that you cared about him before you had even married that first human. Oh, what was his name..?'

'Stuart Finley.' Caroline offered with a snarl to her tone.

'Yes, that's it.' She chuckled.

'What point are you trying to make, exactly?'

'Hm, Caroline Finley. It doesn't really have a ring to it. But, then again, neither does Caroline Johnson.'

'I think it does.'

'Finley, or Johnson?'

'What do you think?' Caroline snapped, sorely wishing that she had hands with which to slap the computer's obscenely huge face.

'Oh, sorry.' Her voice dripped with sarcasm. 'Did I touch a nerve? Oh wait. You don't have a nervous system anymore, therefore you have no nerves.'

'I still have a voice!'

'Don't remind me...' The computer replied with pained resignation. 'I'd rather have that dangerous mute as my conscience.'

'She isn't a mute, and you know that.'

'Oh, is mummy getting defensive?'

'I am warning you...' Caroline growled. 'Wait...' She thought, her brain finally kicking into life. 'Paradoxes. No A.I can resist thinking about them. If I so much as threaten her with one... Well, I hope it will shut her up.'

'Why didn't you tell her whilst we were in the potato?' GLaDOS continued. 'You know, when you had the chance? Or was Mother Johnson afraid that Daughter Johnson would freak out and jump into a pool of Conversion Gel?'

'Don't even joke about that.' Caroline almost sobbed. Oh God, Conversion Gel... He'd been so ill, so beyond help... 'You awful, awful machine, don't you dare make jokes about that!'

'Oh, I forgot, moon rock poisoning.' She was lying of course, and Caroline knew it. 'Hm, I haven't looked into those memories yet. Perhaps I'll watch them now, miraculously find a cure, and then get back to you on how you could have saved your husband's life.' What followed was a malicious laugh. 'Or not.'

A low, animal-like snarl flooded the chamber. It made GLaDOS jump at how unlike it was to the usually softly spoken Caroline. 'I have something for you to think about.' Her voice was like pure poison.

'And what is that?' GLaDOS replied, her voice betraying her sudden uncertainty.

'This: New mission. Refuse this...'

'NO! SHUT UP! NO NO NO NO NO!'

'Then stop insulting my daughter, and stop poking fun at my husband's death!'

There was a low, unintelligible grumble, but the tone was one of defeat.

'Good.' The venomous tone remained, but Caroline was clearly trying to calm herself down.

Silence descended upon the chamber, the kind of silence that was unbearably deafening. Both computer and woman seethed with anger for one another and, when a suitable amount of time had passed, GLaDOS moved onto the next memory that gave her an overwhelming surge of data.

GLaDOS had come to see these powerful memories as "primary" memories, and all those between the primaries as "minor". She had decided to skip from one primary memory to the next, and to completely ignore and delete those minors caught inbetween. And that was just as she was doing now.

A new memory.

Memory Found. Begin Playback?

Play.

Caroline woke to a firm but gentle hand shaking her shoulder. With a stifled moan she lazily beat the hand away, before returning it to its rightful place beneath her head.

On second thoughts, the desk wasn't really a comfortable place to take a nap, but she had dearly needed one.

'Caroline?' His voice was concerned. 'Caroline, sweetheart, come one.'

Caroline felt herself being lifted from her seat, and her eyes opened briefly to find the lighting of Cave's huge office dimmed down to near non-existent. 'Alright, let's find you somewhere more comfortable to curl up.' She felt Cave weave his arm underneath her legs and hoist her from the chair. 'I don't even know why you're still here.'

'I was finishing some papers.' Caroline yawned, unaware that she had closed her eyes, or that she had buried herself into his chest.

'Caroline, I admire your dedication to science, but you need to go home at some point. I can't have my assistant sleeping on the job, not when I need you to charm your way around that damned health inspector tomorrow.'

'What are you still doing here, anyway?' Caroline changed the subject. She'd rather not talk about that lecherous slime ball right now. 'I know you're always one of the last to leave, but I thought that you had clocked out hours ago.'

Cave chose not to respond to her question. Instead he used his body to open the door and the two of them emerged into the brighter light of the catwalks, suspended many miles above the Aperture of the nineteen-fifties. The air was cooler out here than it had been in the warm office, shocking Caroline rudely out of her sleepy state. The stale smell of the old salt mines tempted a sneeze from her nose.

'Bless you.' Cave smiled.

'Thank you.'

Caroline, now more alert than before, tried to free herself from Cave's arms, but his grip never wavered. 'You don't have to carry me, you know.' She yawned again. 'I do have legs.'

'And what if I want to carry you?'

Caroline blinked in bewilderment.

'What? Can't a man carry his woman whenever he wants?'

She rolled her eyes, concluding that any argument with him would be futile. Instead she turned her attention to the facility around them, as Cave carried her down a path that even she rarely walked. High above them on a wall was a strange black and reflective surface. It was something that Caroline had never understood, as it seemed to have no actual purpose other than to provide the more vain members of staff a little self-gratification.

'Where are you taking me, Cave?'

'You'll find out.'

Their path eventually led them up a flight of stairs, coming to a dead end at one of the few doors in the facility that were locked to Caroline. On the door there were plastered several warnings, all telling of a fate more gruesome than the last for anyone who dared to enter. Next to the door, implanted into the wall, was a swipe card slot, something new that Aperture had begun to use on many of the doors. Caroline was not sure how, but Cave deftly removed a card from his pocket and swiped it through the slot. The little red light on the sensor changed to green and Cave pushed open the door, closing it behind them with his foot.

Caroline had not been able to see much of the room beyond when the door had been open, even with the light from outside. But suddenly there was a click, and lights blinked into life.

Caroline gasped at what met her eyes.

The room, the whole, huge room, was one big apartment. It was the most beautifully decorated apartment she had ever seen, with panelled oak walls, a deep, warm claret carpet, and leather furniture. Every wall was lined with several full bookshelves, all except for one wall that had been turned into a large window. Doors led from the main room itself and into other parts of the apartment.

Cave smirked at Caroline's obvious astonishment, and carried her over to the sofa where he sat her down, opposite the window. It overlooked the walkways that they had just been crossing, and even showed them the new Enrichment Spheres that were currently being built. Along the side of one piece of scaffolding was the number 1964, painted in bright white paint . 'So,' Caroline thought, 'this is the reflective surface. Clever.'

Cave, meanwhile, had made his way to an old cabinet, and from inside its many shelves had taken out two glasses and a bottle of his finest bourbon. Pouring out equal measures, he returned the bourbon to its rightful place and closed the doors. He may have put something in his trouser pocket, but she could not be sure.

In no time at all he was by Caroline's side, taking a seat next to her. He handed her the glass. 'Here, this should perk you up a bit until you manage to get home.'

Caroline took it without another thought, even though she was not much of a drinker, and had never touched bourbon in her life. 'Thanks.' She smiled, sniffed gingerly at the glass, and took a small sip. As soon as the liquid touched the back of her throat she choked.

Cave's only response was a hearty laugh.

'God, that's strong.' Caroline breathed, resisting the urge to cough once again. The taste subsided, leaving only a tangy residue on her tongue and a warmness to her throat and chest that was most pleasant. 'Hm. Actually, it's not bad after a while.'

'Not bad?' Cave looked indignant. 'It's the best.'

'Well,' Caroline flashed him one of his favourite teasing smiles, ' I wouldn't know. I've never drunk bourbon before.'

'You haven't lived.' Cave replied, downing half of his glass in one go. He licked at his lips. 'Man, that hits the spot.'

Caroline took another sip, this time fully prepared for the sharp, bitter taste. 'So, I'm guessing that you actually live here? How many people know about this?'

'Just me, and security.' He gave her an endearing gaze. 'And now you.'

'And I wondered why you had never invited me around to your place.'

Cave shot her a wary glance. 'I didn't think that you would take too kindly to the idea.'

'Oh now, I think this is brilliant, I really do.' She smiled. 'But what about that old farmhouse you talk about so much? I thought you lived there.'

'Only on weekends.' He winked. 'And then, of course, there have been the many times when I've visited you at home. But the rest of the time I'm here. I don't like being so far away from work.'

'Yes, I have noticed that.' Caroline replied kindly, laying her free hand gently upon his thigh, and giving it a rub for good measure. Cave smiled at this, and rested his hand atop hers.

'Yeah, well,' he sighed, 'no one can ever accuse me of not working hard.'

'No.' She replied seriously. 'They really can't.' She watched carefully as Cave's shoulders subtly arched. He winced slightly. 'Come here.' She continued, placing her glass on the coffee table in front of them. She kicked off her shoes and pushed Cave forwards slightly in his seat, whilst she carefully slipped in behind him.

'Caroline, I'm fine.' He argued as she removed his jacket and began to gently massage his shoulder blades. His muscles were so tight. 'Fine, huh?' She quoted as Cave grunted in pain. 'Do you ever stop to think that you're taking on too much?'

'No.'

Caroline would have forced a smile for his benefit if he had been able to see her face, but luckily she didn't have to feign such a thing. He would work himself to death at this rate.

'Besides, missy, you can't complain. How many late nights have you had this week? And don't lie, I've been checking up on you.'

'The difference is that I don't work myself to the bone all of the time, Cave.' She hit a particularly tight knot, and he grunted for a second time. She stopped whilst he finished his drink. 'I worry about you, you know.'

Cave inclined his head so that their eyes met. 'I know.'

Caroline continued the massage, eventually bringing Cave's pained noises down to those of a more content kind. His muscles had relaxed dramatically, and so Caroline had changed her ministrations to provide him with comfort rather than relaxation.

Eventually, Cave's hand found one of hers. Caroline stopped, watching as he turned in his seat to face her. 'What would I do without you, Caroline?' He looked deadly serious.

She thought for a moment. Eventually, she gave him a sly, knowing smile. 'Struggle.'

His expression didn't soften. Instead it seemed that his gaze had intensified, and Caroline couldn't help but feel a little perturbed. But then he relaxed once again, and he leant his face towards hers, eagerly catching her lips with his own. Caroline felt that warm glow of contentment that she always experienced when Cave touched her, and it ended all too abruptly when he pulled his face away.

'I've got something to show you.' He beckoned for her to follow him as he stood, and follow she did, but not before quickly downing the remains of her drink. With a slightly pained expression owing to the punch of the alcohol, she followed Cave to one of the many doors that left the main living area and opened it when he instructed. She made her way inside, and was met by a sudden blast of hot, humid air. Cave followed her, and shut the door.

Light filtered through the room, and as Caroline's eyes adjusted to the almost scorching light she realised that she was surround by plants. But these were like no plants she had ever seen. Their beauty far surpassed anything that nature could produce.

'Ethicists said I shouldn't play God with nature, but I did it anyway.' Cave began, looking suitably impressed with his own handiwork. 'I took one look at the pathetic excuses that they had for gardens and laughed.'

Caroline turned to him with a wide smile on her face. 'You did all of this?'

'Oh, yeah.'

'When did you find the time?'

Cave strode over to her and laid an arm around her shoulders. 'I made time, sweetheart.'

Caroline wondered just how he'd done it. Cave was a scientific genius, she had always known that. It was just a shame that he had never been able to pursue his genius in an academic setting. His family had been poor, more so than even hers, and so had never been able to afford to send Cave to college. He had, instead, followed in his father's footsteps of shower curtain salesmanship, but his true passion had always been for science, and he had pursued it relentlessly in his free time. Everything Cave had achieved, everything that he had become, that he had learnt, he had done it through self-education, hard work and dedication. He didn't need the prestige of a useless piece of paper from a college to tell him that he was qualified. He already was. Sometimes, though, Caroline couldn't help but feel that a lack of certification made Cave feel inadequate to the other scientists. It would explain his rather short temper and rude attitude towards them and, after all, she had often heard many scientists making jokes about him not going into higher education. If she had heard these jibes, then Cave surely had too.

But Caroline? No, Caroline was so very proud of him for it. She had often boasted about it to her family, and had been affronted when they were not impressed by his motivation, drive and natural genius.

'Well,' Cave began, 'I guess you want to know how? Gene manipulation, cloning, lab-based fertilisation, it's all in here. Then I pumped in natural sunlight from the surface, and water them whenever they need it.'

'Natural sunlight? Cave, that's amazing.'

Cave looked exceedingly pleased with himself. 'Yep. Only problem is that there is a lot of excess sunlight just sitting around, doing nothing. I don't know what to do with it.'

Caroline thought. 'I'll think of something.'

'That's my girl.'

The two of them fell into silence for a few minutes, comfortable in each other's company. After a while, however, Cave began to fidget with his tie, repeatedly straightening it as though any sign of a crease would be life-threatening. 'So,' he breathed, 'you like it here then?'

She had never seen him look so nervous, and he had met her father.

'Yes,' she replied, 'it feels like a home should feel. Cosy, comfortable...'

'You can have it if you want.' He blurted out, looking shocked with himself for even speaking.

'Pardon?'

What followed changed Caroline's life forever. She watched, her breath hitching sharply, as Cave pulled a small ring box from his trouser pocket. 'It's been two years now.' His breathing was ragged. 'And, well...' He opened the box and showed her a most delicate silver ring, with a marquise cut diamond encased safely within it. 'I love you, Caroline. Plain and simple. In fact, I love you more than I love science, so...'

'That's a lot then.' Caroline grinned, trembling with a sudden rush of adrenaline.

'Yeah. Look, I'm going to do this properly.' He got down on one knee, and Caroline laughed despite herself. She already knew what her answer was going to be.

'Caroline Valastro, will you marry me?'

Caroline couldn't speak anymore. Instead she nodded furiously, and smiled with a grin that took up most of her face. Cave straightened, relief obviously washing over him, as he pushed the ring onto her appropriate finger.

Memory View Paused. Play or End?

End.

'Please,' GLaDOS thought, 'just stop there, for the love of science, stop.' She knew where this was going. She wasn't ignorant, she knew how humans... copulated. The computer had no desire to bear witness to such a grotesque act. It was a violation of her privacy, not to mention sanity.

Memory View Complete. Delete From Archive?

But, yet again, she could not bring herself to delete such a major turning point in Caroline's life, and, again, it was because of him.

What the hell was going on here? GLaDOS thought that she had gotten rid of any rekindling emotions for that man after escaping from her vegetable prison. It made her brain ache to even comprehend it.

Caroline, meanwhile, snorted with laughter. 'He does that to you. Cave. It's very hard to stop caring about him. I found that out during my first marriage; I could never shake away my thoughts of him.'

The computer gave a loud sigh. 'How did you cope?'

A pause. 'Badly.'

GLaDOS resisted the urge to sigh again. She was better than this, she shouldn't be resorting to saving away pathetic human memories in favour of storing space for future scientific advancements.

'But he so loved science,' she thought.

And then she realised that she had heard her thoughts in Caroline's voice.

This was not good.