6.

Ice is cold. They all knew that. But they had no idea how cold it could really be.

"Gordon, the readings say it's fifteen below here! We're gonna be Combine popsicles if we don't hurry up!" Barney yelled through the radio.

The helicopters had made it as far north as they could go. Ice was an inch thick on every blade. The technicians said that if they attempted to fly any further, it could be disastrous; therefore Turma and the rest of the team decided to stop just a few miles short of the target at a major resistance hold up. Dr. Wallace said this place was where he was stationed for a while, and that they kept snow and ice vehicles handy.

He also didn't have a great reputation at the lab.

Years ago, when the Combine first came to power and Dr. Breen branched off into his own little experiment world, Dr. Wallace started experimenting on his own, much to the dislike of everyone else in the lab. It's rumored he created some violent things, and that people were afraid he would be like Breen, or that he would help Breen out. He didn't, thankfully. Everyone in the world should be glad, too. Eventually, everyone realized he had made these things so that other people couldn't. He knew that by making them, he could prevent it falling into the wrong hands, so to speak. Afterward, his prototypes and models were destroyed by other people in the lab who thought he was fake, and everything returned to normal.

Nevertheless, everyone at the lab was happy to see Wallace return, and they were even more gleeful when Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance walked through the doors.

The place was full of so many people once Gordon's resistance movement was inside. The head personnel at the base gladly allowed them all the use of anything they might need to do anything for the resistance. They even offered Gordon refuge for the troops he didn't need at the moment.

Barney, Griffith, Alyx, and doctors Wallace and Kleiner met in a war room of sorts to talk things out. Gordon's main thought was about what could be on that island. It could be Mossman herself, the Borealis, what was ON the Borealis, or even something different... but yet important to what they were doing.

"Another portal. That's what it could be. Breen did say he wanted to go somewhere when Freeman got there," Kleiner pointed out. "With the electromagnetic field stronger up here, it would make an ideal place for particle transportation."

"If that's so, Dr. Kleiner, then we could be in for a mess. Everywhere there's a portal, there's a big building. And everywhere there's a big building with a portal, there's Combine," Barney deduced.

"It's a thought," Gordon said. "We can't rule anything out. Wallace? What technologies could be there? Could we use it if there was anything?"

Wallace sat dumbfounded. There was nothing that he knew of that would be curious enough to be stored on its own island. "I concur with Kleiner. We might be facing a portal. If we are, then Kleiner and I will have to stay behind, here, while you and the group of soldiers tackle the forces there."

This was not a bad idea. Having the doctors safe behind would allow for a cinch of an overtaking. If there indeed was a portal on this island, Alyx could just electronically signature a map over to the lab, and Kleiner could walk them through the place. With a large enough group like Gordon had, Taking over a building the size of the Citadel would take a third of the time that it took he and Alyx.

At the conclusion of the meeting and all greetings, all the fighters settled down for a night's rest before heading out to brave the cold. With warm food in their stomachs, this night of sleep would be the best they had gotten in a long time.

"Gordon, want to be roomies?"

A cheerful Barney peered around the corner of the underground shelter's slumber room. "I'm pretty excited about what we'll find tomorrow. What do you think it'll be, man? I'll bet it's an automatic cake baker. Or a waffle maker. Either one." Gordon laughed at this statement. "Either way, Barney, we'll have some dinner."

Meanwhile, in the next room, Alyx was resting on her cot. She was thinking of things in the past and things meaningful to her, all in the same time. Her father and Gordon were nearly always on her mind... they were the two things she cared about the most. Of course she cared about the resistance, but her heart and mind always wondered to smaller things... things that held her dearly. She wanted to talk to Gordon. She just wanted to tell him how she truly felt; that if something happened to him, she would be lost... that if he left her to do any of this by herself, she would not be able to do it. There was something about him that kept her going. Eli had always said how perfect he was for her, and now she was starting to believe it.

Alyx finally managed to get up and walk to Gordon's room. From inside, Gordon and Barney heard a soft knock at the door. Gordon instantly knew who it was. He got up to meet her at the door as she opened it. "Gordon? Can I talk to you? I just..." Her voice drifted as Gordon followed her out of the room. Gordon heard Barney mumble something behind him, but he didn't mind. It bothered him none.

Alyx and Gordon sat down on her cot.

Gordon had been thinking too. There were times when Barney would talk to him, and he wouldn't respond, because his mind was on Alyx. He couldn't leave her alone; he always wanted to have her in his sight... he just couldn't let anything happen to her under his watch.

"Gordon, I need to talk to you. There's something I need to tell you... I can't wait any longer..."

Gordon knew what Alyx was talking about. He had felt it too. He was glad Alyx decided to say something... he didn't know if he could. Not now.

"I want you to know, Alyx, that I feel like you do. There are times when I just can't get a grip on things. Times when all I think about is the future, and sometimes what you and I have been through. We've done a lot, Alyx. You've been there for me a long time. Will you be with me a bit longer?"

Alyx broke down and buried her head in his shoulder. He held her until she stopped to look at him, and with a smile she said, "Gordon, I could be beside of you forever. We're a team, Gordon."

"That's not what I mean, Alyx." Gordon lifted up her chin to look at her. "I mean... I think that what Eli said about us is true... that we are what we need in each other. Will you complete me? As both a fighter and a person?"

They both hugged each other for quite a while. Alyx knew that Gordon was what she needed to get through everything. She was overwhelmed that this moment had finally come.

After some time had passed, Barney yelled from across the hall. "Goodnight you two... I knew this would happen." He was late, however, as the two had already collapsed from exhaustion and lied comfortably in the same bed.