AN: I know what you're thinking. "Holy crap! This writer is still alive?!" Hell yeah, I am! And I've written the rest of the chapters for this story, too! I'll try to post one per day, but if I miss a day, I'll just post two the next day. I promised you guys that I wouldn't let this story die.
Now without further ado, here is chapter 30.
Wheatley sat on the concrete porch and stared at the people working on the fence that encircled the city. He was amazed that these people could find ways to be productive without somebody telling them exactly what to do. There were no bots to guide them or give them any feedback.
They really like to keep themselves busy, though, he thought. I'm just glad to have a bit of a rest, but they're like ants, aren't they? Although even a pack of ants have a queen. Ants live in packs, right? Or flocks?
He continued to watch them work and was surprised by how quickly they advanced on the fence. They were skilled with their tools and seemed to know exactly what they were doing. He thought back to a certain human back in Aperture who had perfected her methods of solving tests. She was so intuitive and clever. Even when the euphoric release had worn off on him, Wheatley had to admit that he had enjoyed watching her solve the tests.
"Stop thinking about her!" he muttered to himself as he ran a hand through his hair. "Stupid humans! They cause nothing but trouble!"
Suddenly, the sliding door opened behind him and a small dog trotted over to him. The scruffy, little creature stuck its wet nose in his ear and sniffed him vigorously.
"Ah! Get off of me!" Wheatley exclaimed, pushing the dog off of him.
"Sorry, Wheatley," Valentine said from the door. "He needs to do his business out here. You can come back inside if you don't want him to bother you."
"No, it's fine," Wheatley grumbled. "I want some more time to think."
"Okay, suit yourself," Valentine said, and slid the door shut.
Wheatley looked back to the dog. What was its name?
"Your name's Timmy, right?" he asked. "Or is it Toby?"
The base of the dog's floppy black ears rose a little at this name. His muzzle was so messy from eating recently, and his panting only made him look messier as drool matted his little, doggy beard.
"Right, Toby," Wheatley said. "If you don't mind, I need some time to think about what I'm going to do. See, I've got a bit of a problem here. I, er….have feelings for a friend. But I don't want to, is the thing. I've got this fantastic friend back where I'm from and I'm hoping that maybe one day she'll want to be with me forever. Of course this would have to come after she forgives me for all of the rotten things I've done to her."
Toby started to look away and wandered off into the grass. He started sniffing around until he chose a spot to squat. Wheatley looked away, wrinkling his face in disgust. After a moment, Toby trotted back over to him and moved his head under Wheatley's hand.
"Uck! No!" Wheatley exclaimed. "I don't want to pet you right now! Not after that!"
Toby was insistent, though. He nuzzled into Wheatley's side, tickling the core and making him flinch away.
"Ah! Stop it!" Wheatley laughed. "Stop, you grubby canine!"
Toby's long, fluffy tail wouldn't stop wagging as he tried to cuddle against the ex-machine. Wheatley eventually gave in and patted the dog's head.
"Alright, you're sort of cute," he said to Toby. "Even if your mouth is extremely filthy and you defecate outside like an animal. Although I suppose that's what you are. It's so odd that humans will bring animals into their home and make them part of the family. How can they be so welcoming to other species? You can't even speak their language. Do you understand a word that I've said to you?"
Toby had gotten bored so he was now sitting down and looking off in the distance, sniffing the air every so often.
"Yeah, I didn't think so," Wheatley said. "At least you're a nice animal. I bet you wouldn't be so nice if you were a wolf. Do you even know about wolves? They're like dogs, but bigger and fiercer. And according to fairy tales, they like to destroy pigs' houses and eat grandmothers."
Toby lied down with his head in Wheatley's lap. Wheatley smiled a little. "For such dimwitted creatures, you seem to be very good listeners," he said. "Or maybe that's just you. Either way, I've decided that you're alright."
"I don't know if he can understand you."
Wheatley looked up and saw Chell approaching him. His heart felt like it jumped in his chest. She was smiling as she crouched down in front of him.
"I-It doesn't matter," he said. "He's a nice creature."
"I agree," Chell said, petting Toby's head. Toby stood up and turned around to rest his head on Chell's knee. "Have you ever even seen a dog before?"
"Before this one? Not in person," Wheatley said. "Although I've seen pictures in the mainframe. It seemed that perhaps GLaDOS had been thinking about using animals in her tests."
Chell frowned. "I hope she doesn't," she said. "I'd rather go back to testing myself than have her test animals."
Wheatley wasn't sure how to respond to this. He looked away awkwardly at the people working on the fence.
"So what are you doing here anyway?" he asked.
"I was wondering if you wanted to hang out tonight," Chell said. "We could have dinner at my place."
"Of course!" Wheatley said. "Yes, that sounds like a bit of fun. But, er, as long as it's not a date." He could feel his face start to grow hot again, and he wondered if Chell had noticed.
"It's not a date, Wheatley," Chell said, laughing a little. "Relax. I'll come around later to pick you up for dinner."
"There's no need for that!" Wheatley insisted. "I can meet you at your apartment."
"Okay, if you really want to," Chell said. "I need to get going." She stood up. "See you later tonight."
"Yeah, I'll see you later."
After she was out of sight, Wheatley put his face in his hands and groaned. "Uggh! Why did I say yes to this?!" he asked himself. "What's wrong with me?! I'm such an idiot!"
Toby trotted over and sniffed Wheatley's face, curious of his odd position.
