AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hello! Not much to say, this chapter was a challenge for me, because it's different than what I'm used to. However, I feel like if something makes you uncomfortable, maybe you should try it... especially with writing. I'm glad I did it! Mostly, I'm excited to write the next chapter. Some of you might be asking how Wheatley ended up back on earth, and how he became human, so make sure you read the next chapter. Thanks for reading!

"Is this really necessary?" Wheatley groaned, laying on his side on the ground, bike still straddled between his legs. They'd been at this for over an hour, now, and he was covered in all types of bandaids, as well as a thin layer of dirt. "Don't you have a motorbike?" he asked. That was what she usually drove in to town.

Chell pulled the bike away from him, before reaching down and offering her hands to him for the thirtieth time that day. "I do, but I don't have a second helmet for you," she explained.

He sighed, grabbing on to her hands and awkwardly clambering back to his feet. Wheatley reached down and dusted what dirt he could from his pants. "I'll be fine," he tried, "I can just hang on really tightly! I've got some very long arms, here, I'm sure I'll be fine."

"No," Chell said, giving him a pointed look, "there's no way I'm letting you on that thing without a helmet."

Wheatley straightened out a bit at the look she was shooting him, before sighing and conceding, "fine, alright. It's a bit too far to walk, I suppose, eh?" She nodded, and he looked over at the bike cautiously, readjusting his glasses. He could always vaguely feel how they weren't quite sitting correctly on his face, and the tape was scratchy against the skin on his nose. He reached for the handlebars, taking the bike from Chell and swinging his leg back over, taking a seat. Wheatley kept one foot on the ground, and another on the pedal. "Right, on three," he said hesitantly, hovering over the seat and pressing down on the pedal. "One, two... three," he immediately sat back down, shaking his head, "that's, that's... I don't want to fall, again."

"Counting gives you too much time to think about it," Chell said, grabbing the back of the bike's seat, "I'll help, but you have to pedal as fast as you can."

Wheatley looked back at her in vague disbelief, "are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, I know, I don't know much about good ideas, but this doesn't sound like a good idea." He dug both feet down in to the dirt road, "in fact, that's a good point, innit. I'm not very good at, well, things in general... do you really think it's a good idea to put me on this, this contraption?"

Chell gave him another pointed look, though this time, the look made Wheatley flinch. She seemed rather bothered by what he'd said. She went around to the front of the bike, grabbing on to his forearms and saying firmly, "you are not a moron." Wheatley looked away for a short moment, before forcing himself to look back at her. The voice she was using was oddly similar to when she'd spanked him, and that made him shift on the seat a little. While he was trying to think of what to say, Chell squeezed his arms and said, "you don't have programming anymore, Wheatley."

"...What?" Wheatley suddenly asked, not understanding at all. That concept didn't really make any sense to him.

"You're built differently, now," Chell explained, "you're organic, and organic bodies work differently than robotic ones. Sure, we have 'programming,' but it's different than yours was." Wheatley stared at her in confusion. What did she mean by that? What was so different about his brain? She sighed, squeezing his forearms and explaining, "Wheatley, you don't have to stick to the programming the scientists gave you. You can change things, learn things. You're not a moron."

Wheatley's eyes widened in shock at what she'd just said. To be honest, it had never really dawned on him that his brain might work differently, now... he'd just assumed his body was different. "I... do you," he stuttered, "do you really think that?"

"I do," Chell confirmed, squeezing his arms again, "and I think you can learn how to do this, too."

He bit down on his lip, studying her face, looking for any signs of a lie. Her face held its usual stoic position, but her eyes said that she had faith in him. Wow, she really did think he could do this, huh? Wheatley took a deep breath, before saying hesitantly, "alright, then... I'll give this bike thing another go."

Chell smiled, letting go of his arms and going back around to the rear of the bike. She grabbed on to the back of the seat, saying, "remember, pedal as fast as you can. When you want to stop, squeeze your breaks on your handle bars." He clung on tightly to the handle bars, back going rigid and expecting to fall over the moment he started pedaling. "Alright, on one," Chell exclaimed, and he felt his shoulders tense in anticipation. "One!" she called out, and against his better judgement he began pedaling, just like she'd said, as hard as he could. He almost immediately squeezed his eyes shut, expecting to fall over again... but he soon noticed that not only was he not on the ground, but he was moving!

He opened his eyes, smile swiping across his face as he watched everything around him pass by at a rather fast pace. "Would you look at that, I'm doing it!" Wheatley exclaimed.

"You are," Chell said, voice labored from running, with what sounded like a hint of pride. He wasn't sure if it was pride in him or pride in herself for convincing him to do this, she did like a good puzzle. Either way, he was doing it!

Wheatley announced, "this is almost as fun as riding the tubes! Whale of a time!" When she didn't respond, he asked, "Chell?" No response again. He looked over his shoulder, noticing that Chell was several yards back and no longer holding on to the seat. He panicked a bit, and looking over his shoulder caused his arm to jerk and turn him back around, somewhat. Suddenly, he'd forgotten everything she'd taught him. "What do I do?!" he called out, "what do I do what do I do what do I do what do I do?!"

"Squeeze your handlebar breaks," Chell called out, "slowly!"

Wheatley only really heard the first part, squeezing the handlebar breaks tightly and bringing the bike to an immediate, sudden stop. He yelped as he felt momentum rip him off of the seat and send him flying through the air, about five feet in front of him. He screwed his eyes shut tightly, wondering just what surface he was going to hit, when suddenly he slammed in to something. That something was not the ground, or a rock... it felt squishy, almost, though it had still hurt. He slowly opened his eyes and realized he was laying on top of Chell.

"You, you caught me," Wheatley exclaimed in surprise, before looking down and noticing she was grimacing. He frowned, stuttering, "b-but, but I'm quite a lot bigger than you, aren't I?" He never thought he'd say that. "I'm sure that didn't feel good, probably didn't tickle," he muttered. She probably hadn't even been trying to catch him, he probably had just landed on her by chance. He crawled off of her and winced as he raised himself back to his feet. He offered his hands down to her like she had been for him, asking worriedly, "are you alright, love?"

Chell nodded, taking his hands and slowly getting to her feet. She winced and looked down at her arm, there was a bit of a gash. Wheatley frowned more deeply, saying wearily, "we should get you cleaned up."

She cradled her arm a bit, nodding and heading back to the house, Wheatley not far behind. He looked her over, frowning and saying sadly, "I'm sorry I landed on you like that, I should have been more careful. Should have listened when you said to squeeze slowly." He sighed, shoulders slumping as he said again, "I'm sorry."

Wheatley looked at her in surprise when she suddenly glanced up at him and smiled. "It wasn't your fault, I put myself in your path," she explained.

"What, what do you mean you put yourself in my path?!" Wheatley twittered, "are you mad? You could have gotten seriously hurt! Why did you do that...?"

Chell shook her head, explaining, "you were headed head first for a big rock, and you don't have a helmet on. I couldn't let that happen." She smiled wearily for a moment, before explaining, "plus, I never caught you, before. Thought I could make up for that."

There was a long pause, and Wheatley stopped dead in his tracks. "What," he asked quietly, feeling something in his chest tighten. Chell stopped, turning around to face him. "Do you really think I still care about the fact that you didn't bloody catch me?" he asked, voice laced with disbelief.

"I don't know," Chell admitted, "you were pretty angry about it before, and it's not like we really ever talk about it."

Wheatley reached up and pushed his fingers under his glasses to rub the bridge of his nose. "I was angry about a lot of ridiculous things, Chell, that doesn't mean I still feel that way," he said, voice uncharacteristically serious. "Promise me you won't put yourself in danger just to make up for some perceived past wrongdoing?" he asked, reaching out and gently grabbing on to her wrists, "because honestly, you didn't do anything wrong... the entire time you were there." Right now, Chell was his entire world. He had no one else, and she'd shown him kindness he'd never expected of her. He didn't know what he'd do if he lost her.

Chell stared up at him in surprise for a moment - she looked utterly shocked by what he'd said. She stayed quiet for a moment, before saying seriously, "I promise." She smiled a little, "but the main reason I stepped in your way was to keep your head from hitting a rock. I knew I'd only get a little cut up, but you could have really hurt yourself."

Wheatley listened to her explain, trying to find any signs of a lie on her face... but he wasn't able to. He was never able to. He let go of her wrists, "well, alright... if that was really your reason. It's probably a rather good reason, actually." He looked down at her arm, "we should get you inside."

She nodded, turning on her heel and heading for the house. He imagined she was probably eager to bandage up her arm. He followed behind her, looking back wearily at the bike.

After first aid was completed and another hour passed of Chell making sure Wheatley understood how to properly steer and stop his bike, they were finally on their way in to town. Wheatley let Chell ride ahead of him, not really sure which way they were going. He noticed the huge fabric bag she'd slung over her shoulder, wondering if they would really need a bag that big.

As they rode, Wheatley took the time to take in his surroundings. The road was bumpy and mostly made of dirt and pebbles, and the grass around them spanned on for miles. This was not a heavily populated area, though, from what Chell had explained nowhere was heavily populated, anymore. The most beautiful thing, Wheatley felt, was the lake they had just ridden by. He'd seriously grown a love of water in all of its forms, and the huge, fleshy lily pads floating on the surface intrigued him. Chell made a turn, and he followed, looking up at all the trees - they were cutting through the woods. Luckily, there was at least one dirt path, making it easier to travel through. Wheatley had never seen a tree before leaving Aperture, and he honestly found them a bit strange. He found most organic life a bit strange, including his present form. It was just mind boggling to him that something could physically grow and change on its own.

"Not far, now," Chell called out as they exited the woods. Soon they could see a large, worn down sign that read, 'Engadine,' as well as the beginnings of a paved road. Wheatley watched Chell as they got closer to town, noticing how her shoulders were tensing... he wondered what was wrong.

Once they reached the city's border, Chell hopped off of her bike and began walking with it at her side. Wheatley did the same, swinging his leg off of the bike and grabbing the handlebars, trying to walk with the strange metal and rubber contraption at his side, without his legs tangling up with it, somehow. The moment they got inside said city, rather than walking on the sidewalk, Chell dipped behind the nearest house. Wheatley was following close behind, not really wanting to get left behind to talk to the other humans. Other? When did he begin considering himself human?

Wheatley assumed that Chell was ducking behind the houses so he wouldn't become overwhelmed, since it was his first time here. "Where are we going?" he asked.

"I need to stop somewhere before we get your glasses fixed," Chell explained, "need to stop at friend's place."

"You have friends?" Wheatley asked in surprise. Chell raised an eyebrow, and he quickly twittered, "oh, I mean, I'm not saying you're not capable of making friends! Or, or saying that no one would want to be your friend! You're very... friendly! I just didn't know you had any friends here, in town... where we are now." Oh, smooth, Wheatley. Tell your only friend that they have no friends. Just tremendous.

Chell stared at him for a moment, before breaking out in to quiet laughter. "Just the one," she admitted, "I'm not very good at talking to people... he helps me get the products I need, when I visit."

Wheatley figured that Chell's first time in to town must have been a bit difficult, since she wasn't much of a talker. He was sure she was probably better at it now, though, after how many trips in to town she'd made. He followed behind her, stopping in his tracks when she propped her bike against a building, opened a door and walked in to one of the buildings.

Chell peeked out the door, asking, "you coming?"

Wheatley looked at her nervously, before nodding and heading inside after her, leaving his bike with hers. They passed through a small room filled with boxes and metal parts, before entering in to a much bigger room. Wheatley looked around, marveling at all of the large, metal machines and their huge, rubber wheels. Cars, he'd heard of them... just never seen one in person.

"Hey, Chell," a voice called out. Wheatley looked around for the voice, struggling to find it before bothering to look down. Sticking out from underneath one of the cars was a pair of feet.

Chell grinned down at the feet, "how'd you know it was me?"

"You're the only one that uses the back door," the voice said, chuckling. The man finally slid out from under the machine, on some kind of wheeled device. He was in a plain white t-shirt and blue jeans, along with tattered old sneakers. He seemed to be about Chell's age, maybe slightly older, and had bright red hair, along with a bit of five'o'clock shadow. He appeared to have this slick, black substance smeared all over his skin and clothes. He grabbed a cloth, hastily wiping his hands and getting to his feet. "Who's your friend?" he asked, nodding to Wheatley.

"This is Wheatley," Chell said, before gesturing to the man and looking to Wheatley, "this is Carter."

Carter grinned, "nice to meet you. I'd shake your hand, but mine are covered in oil."

Wheatley stared at Carter for a moment, freezing up. He'd never met another human, other than Chell. Sure, he'd seen plenty of humans at the Relaxation Center, but they weren't conscious. There were also those five other test subjects he'd tried to escape with before meeting Chell, but that had ended terribly. Wheatley found himself struggling to talk as a human far more often than when he was a machine. He stayed frozen, unable to breathe and beginning to think the words would never come, until he felt a hand gently patting his back. Wheatley finally let out his breath, before taking in a deep breath and saying, "y-yes, yes, nice to meet you too, mate."

"What brings you guys in to town?" Carter asked, beginning to wipe more of the oil off of himself.

Chell gestured to Wheatley's face, "we uh, had a bit of an accident. His glasses broke and he doesn't have a spare pair. Do you have anyone here that can fix them, or maybe get him some new ones?"

"You're in luck," Carter said, tossing the cloth down on to a nearby metal table, "Chris got his degree right before things went to shit. I'm sure he could help your friend. He's just across the street, two doors down." There was a long pause - Wheatley looked over at Chell and saw a deep look of discomfort forming on her features. She looked... scared? Chell could get scared? Well, that was a stupid question... of course she was probably scared when She tried to kill her. She was also probably scared when he tried to kill her. Wheatley had never actually stopped to think about that - that Chell was probably terrified of him, at one point. He tried to shove that to the back of his mind, just trying to focus on right now.

Wheatley was beginning to get uncomfortable from the silence, when suddenly Carter's face softened and he said, "lemme get changed, and I'll take you guys over there, alright?"

Chell nodded slowly, saying with a touch of gratefulness in her voice, "thanks, Carter."

Carter grinned, "not a problem, just gimme a minute, I'll be right back." He headed to the back room, and they could hear him running up the stairs. He must live above the garage.

Wheatley looked over at Chell, cocking his head a little and staring at her. She noticed the staring, raising an eyebrow and asking, "what is it?"

"Are you alright?" Wheatley immediately asked, not hesitating.

Chell looked up at him in surprise, before grabbing on to her opposite arm with her hand and looking down. "Like I said, I'm not so good at talking to people," she explained, keeping her eyes on the ground for a very short time before looking back up at him, face back to its usual stoic features, "Carter knows that."

"You're awfully good at talking to me," Wheatley pointed out.

She chuckled a bit, "well, I've been living with you for six months. We've also both experienced Aperture." Her face went serious for a moment, "it's not easy to meet new people... they always ask questions - where you're from, how old you are, how you found your way to the city. I don't really want to tell people how I found the city and... I don't know where I'm from, or how old I am. I don't really have any real memories from before meeting you. I have some memories of fighting Her, and testing... but for the most part, all I remember is waking up in the Relaxation Center to you knocking on the door." She smiled sadly, "so what you said about me not having any brain damage isn't necessarily true, but I have always been able to talk."

Wheatley stayed quiet for a bit, trying to absorb all of this new information. All this time, he thought she was just being secretive... but she had no secrets to keep. "Chell, I-"

"All set," Carter called out as he made his way down the stairs. He looked much more comfortable... and less oily. He had a new pair of jeans on, and a clean, nicer looking blue shirt. "It's not far from here," he said as he came back in to the garage, "you ready?"

Chell looked like she was thinking very hard on that question, before nodding.

"Sweet, this way," Carter said, walking to the front of the store and gesturing for them to follow. He lead them out the door, on to the street. Wheatley looked around at all of the stores, eyes wide in excitement. So many new things! Soon, though, the excitement drained from his eyes as he noticed that the street was also full of people. He walked faster, walking closely behind Chell and looking around nervously. She seemed to be staring straight ahead, jaw locked and tense. She didn't appear to be any happier about this than he was.

Wheatley was relieved when they finally arrived at their destination, a plain white building, with a glass door. He read the writing on it - 'Dr. Christopher Abrahm, O.D.' He felt like he could finally breathe as they entered the building, even if there was a person inside of it - it was only one person.

An elderly gentleman slowly got to his feet, smiling warmly and exclaiming, "Carter! What brings you in here? Your eyes are fine."

"Got a friend that could use your help," Carter explained, gesturing to Wheatley.

Wheatley straightened up nervously as the old man came closer, taking a close look at his face. "Broke 'em in half, did you? Or are they just twisted?" he asked, voice thoughtful.

Anxiety raised in Wheatley's chest a bit, but he forced himself to say something. "They're, um, they're completely broken in half, I'm afraid. Forgot I had them on my bed, stupid, really... not sure how I forgot about them, since, you know, I can't bloody see without them."

The older gentleman blinked curiously, before saying, "I've not heard an accent like that in quite some time! How did someone so young get here from England?" Wheatley supposed he was talking about the fact that long range transportation was almost nonexistent right now.

Wheatley stiffened up even more, looking nervously to Chell. Somehow her jaw was set even tighter... she didn't appear to know how to answer that, either. He'd not been here long, but he was pretty sure no one would believe him if he answered with "oh, actually, I'm a former intelligence dampening sphere that just so happens to have an English accent, forcefully jammed in to a human body... but I happen to have been born here!" No, that wasn't an option, even he knew that. Why did they give him a British accent and a British dialogue, anyway? Seemed kind of... random. Oh, no, focus! This guy probably wants an answer.

The former core took a deep breath, pausing for a moment before saying, "I ah, I'd really rather not talk about it." Well, that wasn't a very good answer.

Chris nodded, "alright, we've all got our secrets. Come on over, we're gonna have to get you some new glasses." He motioned for him to follow, headed to the end of the long, clean room.

Wheatley looked back at Chell, and she nodded slowly to him. He swallowed, following the older gentleman and standing there awkwardly. He looked back at Chell again, just to make sure she was still there, and he wasn't disappointed.

"Alright, first thing we're going to do is have you read as much of this chart as you can," Dr. Abrahm explained, "but without the glasses." He pointed to some tape on the floor, "just stand right here on this line, and read from top to bottom."

Wheatley nodded, slowly walking over to the line and squinting at the poster on the wall. He took off his glasses and frowned. Oh, wow... he couldn't read much of that at all. He frowned, feeling a bit ashamed, and he wasn't sure why. He sighed, "E, F, P... T, um... C? And then... E? No! Z, I think?" He squinted a bit harder, before looking worriedly at the doctor and saying, "I'm sorry, the rest is a real mess, these things must be rubbish." He rubbed at his eyes in frustration, sighing.

"It's more common than you'd think," Chris assured him, "we just need to find you the right prescription. Take a seat for me, here."

Wheatley stared at the chair for a moment, before sitting down and looking rather concerned about the large machine right by him. What could these things possibly have to do with his eyes?

"Settle down, kiddo, nothing in here's gonna hurt you," Chris chimed, grabbing a strange looking tool with a light shining from it.

Wheatley's eyes darted back to Chell, still making sure that she was there. She was definitely there, and watching like a hawk. He relaxed a bit, nodding at the older man and sitting back.

Chell kept her eyes trained on Wheatley and Dr. Abrahm, not willing to take them off of them. She didn't know much of the outside world - most of the life she remembered had centered around Aperture or recovering from Aperture. Most of what she knew was danger, and fear. Survival.

"So," Carter asked curiously, "how'd you meet your friend? You're not exactly the talkative type."

Chell thought about that question for a while, wondering how she wanted to answer that. "He's... an old friend," she explained, slowly, "from Aperture." Carter was the only one she'd told about Aperture, though there were still a few things she hadn't told him. She had told him about what Wheatley did, but she hadn't told him his name - mostly just referred to GLaDOS and Wheatley as 'Her" and "Him". Hell, there were things she saw at Aperture that she hadn't even told Wheatley, let alone Carter.

Carter stared at her in surprise for a moment, "I thought you said you were the only human there!"

Chell sighed a bit, taking a deep breath and saying hesitantly, "...I was."

Carter's eyebrows drew together in confusion, before realization dawned on his face. "Are you saying he's not human?" he asked, whipping his head over to look at Wheatley.

"He IS human," Chell said firmly and finally looked away from Wheatley and at Carter - she wanted him to know that she meant what she said. Sure, he wasn't really all human, he was more of a hybrid - there was no way for him to think away several decades as a core. However, he was still human in many ways.

Carter looked at Chell, to Wheatley, and then back to Chell again. He looked like he was mauling over something huge in his mind. Suddenly his eyes flew open, "he's not... he can't be, right? That's not possible... but the English accent..." Chell could tell he'd figured it out, so she trained her eyes back on Wheatley. "Chell!" he whisper-yelled, "tell me that's not the guy that tried to kill you!"

Chell sighed, watching Wheatley as the doctor switched between different lenses. "It wasn't completely his fault," she muttered. She couldn't lie to Carter, and he'd figured it out.

"That wasn't your opinion a year ago," Carter said wearily, "what changed?"

"More time to think, really," Chell explained, "it was hard to think clearly about much of anything when I first got out of there, and hard to remember much more than all the times two different supercomputers tried to kill me. The longer I've been here, and he's been here... the easier it is to remember how the computer corrupted Her, too."

Carter frowned, crossing his arms and asking quietly, watching Wheatley, "is he living with you? Are you sure he's safe? I mean look at him, he's massive. He could do some real damage if he wanted to."

"Yes, he is living with me. Do I seem like someone that trusts easily? I spent the first three months practically sleeping with my eyes open," Chell admitted. "He's not going to hurt anyone. If I thought he was, do you really think I'd bring him to town?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Carter pursed his lips, before muttering, "I suppose not." He looked over at Wheatley cautiously, and then at Chell. She was busy smiling and chuckling under her breath at how intrigued Wheatley now seemed to be by the machine he was afraid of just moments earlier. Chell looked back at Carter just in time to see him staring at her face. "Alright," he said, face softening, "I trust you, and if you say he's not dangerous, then I believe you."

Chell smiled just a bit, looking back at Wheatley and saying simply, "you won't be disappointed." She gestured to the chairs that were lined up by the window, "I feel like this could take a while, want to sit down?"

"We could just go get your groceries while Chris checks him out," Carter suggested.

Chell immediately shook her head, sitting down and saying, "I'm not leaving him alone." Realistically, Carter's idea was good - it would save time, and boredom. However, she wasn't comfortable letting him out of her sight out here, and she had a feeling that Wheatley wasn't terribly comfortable with it, either.

Carter looked at Wheatley and then at Chell again, and she could see the cogs turning in his head. She was sure this was confusing for him, trying to understand how she was suddenly so protective of the same person she'd been badmouthing the year prior. Hell, it was confusing for her, too... she didn't really completely understand it, either, and that bothered her. The mechanic sighed, plopping down next to her and stretching his arms and legs out in front of him. "Alright," he conceded, "we can wait."

Around half an hour had passed, but at least ten minutes of that half an hour had appeared to be Wheatley talking Chris' ear off, and asking dozens of questions about all of his machines and how the human eye worked. The two of them finally made their way back to the front of the room, and Wheatley practically had a spring in his step. "Chell!" Wheatley exclaimed, grinning, "have you ever seen a machine like that before?" Before she could answer he went on, "it's brilliant! Absolutely brilliant, and Dr. Abrahm says I can come look at it whenever I want! Oh, and I got to pick out new frames, and they're blue! Isn't that perfect?"

Chell smiled at how happy he was, it was a nice contrast to how scared he looked earlier. She nodded, and Carter chuckled lightly, crossing his arms and smiling at Wheatley.

"Call me Chris, no one here calls me Dr. Abrahm," the older gentleman said from behind Wheatley. He looked to Chell, explaining what he'd already explained to his patient, "I'm going to make him a new pair of glasses, and usually that would take around a day, since I don't have many customers. However, I'm not so young, anymore... so this might take a few days. I'm afraid he'll have to wear the broken pair for just a while longer."

Chell pursed her lips, unsure if she wanted to talk. She looked at Wheatley, who seemed to be more confident from his visit with Chris, despite his original nerves. She held her breath for a moment, before straightening her face out and saying evenly, "thank you, for taking the time to see him."

"Not a problem," Chris said, reaching out and firmly patting Wheatley's back a few times, "he's a good kid. Bring him back in, maybe in three days."

Chell nodded, not liking the idea of making another trip out to town so soon. She already felt like throwing up, just from being here. She looked over to Carter hopefully, and he clapped his hands together. "Right," Carter exclaimed, "how about we get some groceries?"

"Oh, is that what the bag's for?" Wheatley asked, finally realizing.

Chell nodded, "yeah, we haven't had milk in a while so I thought we should get some, and maybe some bread."

"We can get both of those at Olivia's," Carter suggested, before an idea flickered in his eyes and he asked, "you almost never buy any meat, other than the dried stuff... why not treat yourself?"

Chell shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, before saying bluntly, "we don't have electricity, so..."

"Wait, what?" Carter asked, "what have you been doing in the summer?"

Chell shrugged, "open windows, I guess." She was willing to speak in front of Chris, but it was in short answers, now and then.

"You don't have to live like that, we could find a way to hook you guys up," Carter said.

Chell raised an eyebrow, "all the power lines in the area were destroyed, and unless you've got a secret hoard of wires, I think we're out of luck."

"Who said anything about power lines?" Carter asked, grinning, "there are other ways to power a house. Mom's got all types of things saved up for an occasion just like this. You've got an awful lot of farm land, out there... I'm sure if, say, you offered to grow some of her favorite vegetables for her she'd be willing to hook you up."

Chell looked like she was going to turn that down, until she saw Wheatley's face light up at that idea. Her face softened from its tense expression before she asked, "you probably miss electricity, don't you?"

Wheatley looked surprised at her question, but also excited that she'd asked. "I do definitely miss electricity, but if for some reason you don't want it, I'd say we've been living fine without it for the past six months. Well, it's not been six months for you I suppose, try two years. So, whatever you like. It is your house, and it's a very nice house! Even without electricity. Much nicer than the last place I was living! Much more... furniture, and... and oxygen." She could see how hard he was trying to make her feel comfortable with either choice, but she could also see how hard he was trying to hide his excitement. Suddenly it was as if he realized he'd mentioned the moon, and she saw him look out the window worriedly. It would begin getting dark in around twenty minutes, shit, Chell hadn't planned this out well.

"Alright, Carter... if your mom is up to it, then we'd appreciate it," Chell conceded, knowing how badly Wheatley wanted it. "It's going to be dark soon," she said, "we should get those groceries."

Wheatley ripped his eyes away from the window when she said yes, face lighting up again.

"You kids have a safe trip home," Chris said, finally piping up. It seemed he'd just been quietly listening, "I'll see you in three days for your glasses."

Carter grinned, ushering Chell and Wheatley toward the door, "thanks Chris, I'll see you tomorrow."

As Wheatley headed toward the door, he looked over his shoulder, calling out, "thank you, Chris!" Dr. Abrahm chuckled and waved at him as they headed out the door.

"Looks like your appointment went well, then?" Carter asked. Chell smiled just a bit, happy to see Carter attempting to talk to Wheatley.

Wheatley grinned, adjusting his glasses and twittering, "tremendous, mate. I didn't know the human eye was so complicated, bloody amazing! Did you know everything you see was originally upside-down, in there?"

Carter chuckled, "yep, Chris loves teaching people that little fact."

"So strange, but brilliant!" Wheatley exclaimed. Chell stayed silent, just listening. She was getting emotionally fatigued and was beginning to shut down.

They eventually came to a larger building, painted a vibrant red from the outside. Carter led them inside, and a little bell sounded off as the door opened. The store was mostly empty, as it had gotten late, and Chell sighed in relief. She went straight to the milk, knowing where it was by now. Wheatley followed behind her, eyes wide, "Chell, look at all this food! I've never seen so much food in my life!" He looked up and down the aisles, ducking his head to see everything properly. "Oi, chocolate! I've heard of that, supposed to be good, innit?"

Chell grinned, coming over and grabbing two bars, "I think you'll like these."

"Haven't seen you in a while," a friendly voice called out. A middle aged woman hurried behind the counter, "sorry about that, was counting stock." Chell had met Olivia several times before, but she'd yet to say anything to the woman... though that never stopped Olivia from trying to talk to her. There was something charming about her, she was always disheveled and tripping over air, but always made an effort with everyone. It wasn't that Chell disliked her, she just struggled to talk to anyone except for Carter, and occasionally his mother. The only reason she made an exception earlier was because Chris had made Wheatley so damn happy.

Chell nodded in Olivia's direction, grabbing some eggs, as well as a loaf of bread before bringing everything to the counter, setting them down. Olivia looked up at Wheatley, exclaiming, "oh! You've brought a friend this time! Are you... married?" Chell's jaw locked immediately, feeling her throat tighten. As charming as Olivia was, she could sometimes get a bit intrusive.

Wheatley's cheeks heated up and he held his hands up in front of him, shaking them a bit and stuttering, "n-no! No, friends, old friends. On friendly terms, you know, not enemies. Not married! No, but not enemies, somewhere in between-"

Chell reached out and gently patted Wheatley's back, trying to tell him to slow down. He didn't need to specify that they weren't enemies. Olivia giggled, "alright, I stand corrected." She smiled hopefully at Chell, "you have those potatoes?" She looked downright giddy as Chell pulled the bag off of her back and handed it over. "Ooooh I've been wanting some of these!" Olivia exclaimed, emptying them out on to the counter, "these are perfect!" She took the milk, eggs, bread and chocolate, and packed them in to the bag. "You're all set, I'll see you in a few weeks?" she asked, handing the bag back to Chell.

Chell took the bag and slung it back over her shoulders, carefully - there were eggs in there. Olivia always tried so hard to talk to her, and Chell felt a little guilty for never saying anything back. She nodded, offering the older woman a small smile before turning around and heading toward Carter.

"All set?" Carter asked, before taking one look at Chell's face and saying, "yeah, lets get back to the garage." She was grateful that he could read her, because she needed to get out of this store, right now.

Wheatley waved good bye to Olivia, before following closely behind Chell and Carter. The former core was being unusually quiet, and it only took Chell a moment to notice that it was dark. She looked over at Wheatley, not shocked at all when she saw him wearily staring at the sky as he walked - it was an unusually clear black sky, completely littered with stars. It was beautiful, to Chell... but she had a feeling Wheatley didn't feel the same way.

"Thanks for helping us today, Carter," Chell said, voice serious. She struggled enough with worrying about herself when she'd come to town before, but this time she was also worried about Wheatley. She was exhausted and she wanted to go home.

Carter opened the door to his garage, ushering them inside and walking them to the back. "How about mom and I come over on Thursday, see if we can get you some electricity?"

"Thursday sounds good," Chell said, before adding, "if it's not too much trouble."

Carter chuckled, "you kidding? Mom'll jump on the opportunity to leave town for the day. She gets sick of sitting around."

Chell and Wheatley headed out the back door, grabbing their bikes. "That does sound like Quinn," she mused, "alright, I'll see you on Thursday."

"Have a safe trek home," Carter said, before looking over to Wheatley, and staring for a bit longer than was comfortable. Chell could tell that some part of him was still weary of Wheatley, and she didn't honestly blame him. "It was good meeting you, Wheatley," Carter finally said.

"You too," Wheatley echoed, before adding on, "oh! And thank you, for helping me with my glasses." He looked like he was about to ramble just a bit, until a frown came to his lips as he looked at the sky yet again.

Carter watched Wheatley stare at the sky... looking up at the sky himself as if trying to figure out what was so damn worrisome. Suddenly, a look of realization came to his face. His features softened, and he looked at Chell and said, "I won't keep you, you guys get on home."

Chell wasn't sure how Carter put two and two together as often as he did, but she was grateful that he could. "Right, thanks again, Carter," Chell repeated, "get some sleep."

Carter grinned and gave her a little salute, before heading back in to the garage and shutting the door. Chell exhaled, beginning to walk her bike behind all of the houses. She looked back, seeing Wheatley tailing behind her with his bike, still occasionally glancing at the sky. "Maybe talking will get your mind off of it," she suggested, knowing that it was one of his coping skills.

He looked like he wasn't completely sure that would work. He frowned, forcing himself to look straight ahead. "Alright, um... how did you meet Carter?" Wheatley asked.

Chell chuckled a bit, "it was during one of my first trips in to town. I was on my way out of town, walking behind the houses to avoid talking to people, when I heard a girl... she sounded like she was in pain. I followed the sounds, and came to the house next door to Carter's."

"Was she okay?" Wheatley asked, curiously.

"I looked in the open window and, well," Chell said bluntly, "she was getting spanked, by this guy."

"Oh, OH," Wheatley exclaimed, "is that how you learned that?"

Chell nodded, "but at the time, I just thought he was hurting her." She chuckled, "I dumped all my groceries and grabbed a crowbar that was sitting against Carter's house. I was ready to barge in there, when suddenly Carter showed up behind me... and I almost hit him over the head."

"That, well... that's a lovely first impression," Wheatley said, obviously trying not to laugh. Well, at least he wasn't staring at the moon.

"Yeah, it took quite bit of explaining, but he eventually convinced me to put the crowbar down and not kill his neighbor," she said, chuckling, "the rest of the story is kind of boring... it spans a few months and mostly involves him trying to convince me to speak." Chell finished her story as they reached the limits of the small town. She swung her leg over the seat and pushed off, heading down the hill toward the woods. She looked behind her to make sure he was following, and he was. He seemed to be in better spirits, though still a bit concerned. Well, the faster she got him home, the better... for both of them, it seemed.

It was so quiet, all they could really hear were crickets, and the occasional breeze. It was a relief, to Chell... the quiet, the open space. She let her mind wander for the first time all day, now that she wasn't in high alert.

Chell was sitting at the kitchen table, reading a book by candlelight, when suddenly she could feel a pair of eyes staring in to the back of her head. She put the book down, turning around and raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, hello!" Wheatley twittered nervously, "sorry to disturb your... your book reading. I just had a small question, probably should have asked it a while ago, really." He bit down on his lip, looking down at the ground, before looking back to her, and then back to the ground again. "Do you have a name?" he finally blurted out, before slowly looking up at her again. Chell looked at him in disbelief for a moment, and he hurried, "it just doesn't feel right to just keep calling you 'lady'... but if you prefer that to, to telling me your name, I'll understand!"

He'd been here for a month, maybe it was time she told him. She still didn't completely trust him, but he was right... she didn't want him to keep calling her 'lady'. Chell got up from the table, opening up a cupboard and pulling out a large fabric bag. Carter had given her this, a gift to make carrying her groceries easy.

"Erm," Wheatley said, looking down at the bag in confusion, "your name is... 'Bag'?"

Chell shook her head, pointing to the fabric tag Carter had attached to the bag, with 'Chell' embroidered in to it.

"Chell?" Wheatley asked. She nodded, looking off to the side - she still wasn't really making any form of eye contact with him most of the time. Part of her still occasionally felt ill when she looked at him. In fact, this entire situation was becoming horribly uncomfortable.

She looked up at him for just a moment, before grabbing her book off of the table and hurrying past Wheatley. She slipped in to her room, shutting the door and exhaling. Having him here was exhausting... she never knew whether to feel fear, pity, or anger. She sighed, going over to her bed and throwing her body down on to it. She could hear Wheatley walking down the hallway to his room, but the footsteps suddenly stopped outside her door. There was a long period of silence, followed by an unsure voice.

"Good night, Chell."

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Auuuugh, so excited to write the next chapter.

So, yesterday while I was writing the part of the story with Olivia, I happened to leave my computer on the couch, unlocked. My husband decided to write his own interpretation of my story, and I thought I'd share -

Wheatley's cheeks heated up and he held his hands up in front of him, shaking them a bit and then he punched a hole in to the planet, killing everyone.

The End.