A/N: Barney's side of the story! This was cowritten with my twin, tumblr user dessin-chambre aka BunnyQueen and I've been itching to get this chapter along! It shows the consequences of Gordon's actions in Session 13, in which amnesia doesn't solve everything.
Recognize it? (c) VALVe
Extraordinary Session: [Broken]
When Barney saw his best friend being dragged off by the HECU soldiers, he desperately tried to reach out but he knew it'd do no good. Gordon seemed so...tired. Of course he was, he was at ground zero when the Cascade exploded. The guard had been stuck in an elevator with two employees, now dying if not dead. Just like Freeman, he too had been surviving the last forty-eight hours, looking for his best friend. Unlike the physicist, all Calhoun had to look for was the HEV suit he last saw Gordon wearing. The files read that there was only 35 fully operational suits at any time, about twelve were decommissioned, considerably better odds of finding each other. At first, Calhoun tried to contact his ex-girlfriend on the outside but, once he got the dial tone, he immediately hung up. His rational mind said it was to keep her safe, his irrational mind established different priorities. To see that priority be taken away made his heart ache that much harder...defeat that much painful. "Barney!" Dr. Kleiner called out and beckoned him closer to his office. Calhoun had no choice but let Gordon go...for now. I'll find ya, Gordon...I promise you.
Dr. Kleiner was scrambling about, barely able to reload his shotgun without the shivers. "Oh my, I-I can't seem to-" "Easy, doc," Barney said with a weary smile, loading the shells calmly and steadily, "if the aliens don't get you, a malfunctioning ticker will." "Thank you, Calhoun," Isaac apologized before asking, "What were you staring out so intently?" "I saw Gordon, doc, and he's in bad shape. Those HECU guys really did a number on him," Calhoun answered rather worried, "I think he's been taken to the Industrial Annex." For some reason, the balding doctor didn't seem that worried. "Don't worry, the Lambda Complex people are close by and they should be able to lock onto Gordon's position soon enough. Besides, that boy's got fight in him; he'll give 'em hell!" That blind faith, in some way, was triple in Barney's mind; he knew his friend would find his way back home. "Now, let's try and get Dr. Vance's lab up and running before more of those brutes come in."
One week before the Incident...
"Barney, what's wrong?" Lauren asked as he stared at the ceiling. He looked at her with gentle eyes, knowing something was wrong between them. He had been distant from her ever since that incredible one-night stand. Aside from kisses and hugs, he hadn't touched her since; the fact was that he wanted whoever he slept with more than anything in the world. "I'm not sure." He tried to rationalize why he could've forgotten this but, the pleasurable images were beginning to replace his girlfriend. In fact, the last time the couple had sex, it had been right after the suspicious event, only to discard the possibility that it had been a surprise visit from her. It wasn't; some stranger fucked him so well, his brain hadn't recovered from it. He thought of Gordon being the guilty party, to which he answered, "Nope." Gordon was just too easy a target to blame because of his sexuality. There was an intimate friendship that could not be broken over something so fleeting as sex.
Lauren's eyes shifted up to the ceiling with his, trying to understand what was bothering him so- "I had a one-night stand," Barney finally confessed, "A one-night stand I can't remember." The photographer was understandably caught off guard and hurt. "You did what?" "I don't know if it was real or not. I actually thought it was you but..." "You cheated on me." That hurt tone made the security guard swallow hard and sit up, "You deserve better." "I know." Unknown to them, said physicist had been listening to the conversation. He figured he could invite the two for a cold beer since Lauren was usually traveling and couldn't spend time with her beau. He stood there, outside the door and leaning against it. He felt incredibly guilty; he caused this rupture because of one stupid night. He knew that Lauren meant the world to Barney so he tried his best to erase his memories of their night together with a concoction he thought would work, but somehow it backfired.
When Lauren left the apartment, Gordon hid long enough to appear he'd just walk in. "Hey Barnes? You in here?" he called into the small shared room. Sitting on the bed was Barney Calhoun, reasonably sad and in need. "Yeah, I'm here. How long have you been there?" he asked sullen. "Long enough to know you, um, need a beer," the physicist tried to comfort. The gesture was not lost on the security guard, letting himself recline against Freeman's shoulder and sighed. "Lauren and I broke up, Gordon." "I'm sorry for your loss." The rest of the night, the scientist slept over in the bunk bed next to Barney; he could miss a day of work. The next day, while Gordon slept, the cop wrote down a small to-do list for that weekend: buy groceries, get permission from Otis, buy flowers for Lauren.
