Gladys sighed, and sat down on her couch. Today was a long day at work, but at last it's all over. After filing papers with Caroline, which turned out to be more emotional than expected, she was tired. Gladys glanced at the clock, and saw that it was 11:04.

Why would anyone be forced to work overtime for two extra hours? And get little to no overtime pay? Poor Caroline. Gladys thought. Caroline worked overtime many nights at Aperture, from what Gladys could tell. She isn't paid much money for the amount of effort and energy she puts into this job. She must be taken advantage of a lot.

After thinking it over, Gladys decided to get something from her fridge. It is a small, dirty thing, that decides to break down in the worst of times. When she looked into the fridge, she realized that she's almost out of food. Besides leftovers from earlier on in the week, and some milk, it's completely empty. Some sort of irritated growl escaped from the back of her throat.

Gladys decided to eat however much spaghetti is left. She ate it cold, and threw the bowl into her sink. No matter how much poise she may have around others, she is always completely relaxed at home. Nobody can interfere with the small amount of time where she doesn't have to worry about anything.

She crawled into bed, not even caring that she still has her clothes on. She could change clothes tomorrow. All she cares about is the black, empty nothingness that seems very welcoming to her. Her eyes close before she can even fully pull the blankets onto herself.

Stop it. That sounds annoying. Who dares interrupt my slumber. I want to stay sleeping. Go away.

Gladys slowly reached her arm up, and pounded on the top of the blaring alarm clock. She didn't want to get up. She wanted to sit in bed all day and feel nothing. But she had to get up, and go to work.

Work. The place where she could say that two people were remotely nice to her and where everyone else despised her. The wonderful place where she felt so very accepted, with massive sarcasm quotes.

Gladys sat up slowly, and stayed at her bedside for a few minutes, contemplating her grogginess. Finally she got up, and decided that she should have a slice of toast and a hot cup of coffee. She pressed on on the coffee maker, walked over to the toaster. A loaf of bread waiting by said machine.

She pulled out a piece of bread, a dropped it in the toaster, walking towards the couch. She decided to plan what her day would be like, so she could make sure everything works out fine. Gladys picked up a pen and started to write on the stack of papers that she always there, just for the purpose of planning her day. She began to write.

1. go to work obviously

2. go to office and stare at anyone who sets you off and make them uncomfortable.

3. look for any tasks on desk

4. go through the restricted files for the project

5. Awards Day wow sounds great I cant wait to be there

The list seemed pretty good to Gladys, so she folded it neatly and stuck it in her breast pocket. Then the distinct smell of burning bread filled the air. No no no no no no no.

She ran over to the toaster, ripped the now burnt toast out as best as she could, and threw it on the counter. Deciding that she didn't have enough time to make more, she left the burnt, rock hard toast on the counter, electing to clean it later. Coffee seemed filling enough.

After the coffee was poured into her mug, she quickly walked out her apartment door, being sure to lock it. Although she was pretty sure that no one would rob her sad excuse for a living environment, this area was a little bit shady, and not to be trusted.

She quickly went down all four flights of stairs, not tripping on her high heels at all. She strode out the door, coffee in one arm, her suitcase under the other, and headed towards her car.

She sat down in her car, and rested her head on the steering wheel. She just sat there for a second, before deciding to stop wasting gas and head off to work.

She pulled into the Aperture Science Parking Lot for Aperture Science Employees, and quickly headed towards the entrance. Today was Awards Day, which was apparently every three months. Gladys was confident that she wasn't going to get any awards, because although Caroline is in charge of these events and the awards available, everyone gets to vote. And if there was anything that she knew for sure, it was that no one was going to vote for her. She hadn't voted for anything yet, and wasn't planning to.

She walked into the the doors and headed towards her office, like she would on any other day. Except today, she had to leave her office early to attend Awards Day. There wasn't much of a problem with that, because she would get to see Caroline and Wheatley more that usual today. She was getting attached to both of them, but did not want to think about it at all.

There weren't many papers on her desk, so she would probably be done done in a short time. As she filled them out, she thought about what Caroline had said about being a secretary. As much as Gladys didn't want to believe it, she couldn't help but think that it's true.

Shaking the thought from her head, she finished up the last of her papers, and decided that she was going to visit Caroline. She got up from her desk, walked out of the door, and headed towards Caroline's office. Gladys hoped that Caroline would be surprised. She couldn't wait to see the look on her face when she walked through the door.

When she could see her office door only a few feet in front of her, she began to panic. What if Caroline was too busy? What if Caroline didn't want to see her? What if Caroline didn't like Gladys anymore, but was just trying to be nice to her? As these thoughts made their way to the front of her mind, she decided that she would best find out by going inside and figuring out herself.

Walking the few foot distance, she finally made it to Caroline's door. She paused a moment, then opened the door and swiftly walked into the room. As soon as she saw Caroline's face, she was instantly comforted. Gladys couldn't describe it, but when she was around Caroline or Wheatley, she felt safe. She decided not to question it.

"Gladys! What are you doing here?" At first Gladys was worried she didn't want to see her, until she reassured herself that she was only surprised, not angry.

"I finished up my work, and I figured that I would come to see you. How are you doing?" Caroline smiled, as if she was extremely glad this was asked.

"I'm doing great, actually. Today I don't have nearly as much work as I usually do, and now I just have to organize who's winning what. For awards day, I mean."

"Oh, well, is there anything I could do to help? If you need it. Because I have nothing else to do, and I don't feel like going through restricted files today."

"Not rea- Oh! You could actually say who gets what and I'll write it down. I don't have anything to do either after that. Here." Caroline handed Gladys a list full of crosses, circles, and lines connecting people to labels.

Gladys read the list as best she could, while Caroline wrote down what she said. After the last name was written, Caroline led her over to her desk. There was an extra chair off to the side, which she pulled over so Gladys could sit. The chair is probably for Cave. Gladys thought. I can tell he thinks she's his doll.

"So, tell me about a day in the life of Gladys."

"Oh, you know. Eating. Working. Doing stuff." Caroline pouted.

"You're being difficult! I just want to know what you do!" Gladys immediately gave in, and figured it would do no good to resist. After all, it is Caroline, and she is quite persistent.

"Okay well I woke up. That was interesting. It involved opening my eyes, and getting up. I wouldn't put it under the list of things I like to do. Then I made a list of things that i'm going to do today, like I always-why are you looking at me like that?" Caroline laughed.

"Do you always do that? Make lists? I mean, a list here and there is fine, but everyday? Can I see it?"

"Do people not make lists? Now I know why I think i'm better than most people. It's because I really am. Does no one make lists to keep organized? Honestly, they wonder why we get nothing done around here."

"I mean, I love Aperture and all, but sometimes, I have to agree with you. Not the lists, but not getting much done. I feel like no one here really tries hard enough. Except you, of course. You are the best scientist here! I wonder what everyone's problem with you is.

"I can make an idiot watch my work, but I can't make him realize how much of an idiot he truly is. They don't like me because I threaten them. 'Oh no, a girl! Whatever shall we do?!' idiots." Gladys chuckled a bit. "It's funny how amusing people are when they're completely ignorant."

"Hey Gladys," Caroline started, changing the subject. "what time is it? I think the awards start soon, and I have to be there ten minutes early."

"It is…" She paused to look at the clock. "11:48. Doesn't it start at-" But before she could even finish that thought, Caroline had bursted up from her desk, picked up the small box containing the ribbons and papers, grabbed Gladys by the wrist, and headed towards the door.

As they quickly made way down the halls to the room where the "ceremony" was being held, Gladys noticed how many people were also getting ready to head towards the ceremony room, and how awful it would be if she and Caroline didn't make it on time. She suddenly became aware of what she was thinking.

Why should I care if Caroline gets in trouble or not? Why do I? This 'friend' concept is a little hard to understand. I don't like not understanding things.

Finally, they made it into the ceremony room. Gladys now realized that it was the largest meeting room in all of Aperture. At least, the largest one she had ever seen there. Quickly, they began to organize the ribbons in order on the table, and kept the list closeby.

As they waited for everyone to show up, they saw Wheatley walking through the door. He waved, smiled, and quickly made his way across the room, but not without bumping his knees on at least two tables. He laughed it off, but was obviously nervous, considering that there were others watching.

When he finally made it over to them, he hugged both Gladys and Caroline. Caroline reacted as if this was normal, but Gladys couldn't move as she was paralyzed from his tight grip. She felt heat rushing to her face.

"Allo! How's it going? Did you have enough time for girl chat, uh, time?" Caroline laughed, but Gladys was still frozen. Stop it! She thought. Move, for god's sake! What is wrong with you?

"What's wrong, luv?" She realized he was talking to her, and snapped back to attention. "Did I hug you too tight? I- Oh. Did I ever hug you before?" She shook her head. "Oh, sorry if I uh, caught you by s'prise. Didn't mean to scare you."

"No, it's fine. I just... didn't expect it." All of this friendly affection is making me an idiot. I'm still not used to all of this.

"So how's the stuff?" He asked.

"Oh you know, we did stuff, finished things, the usual." Caroline chimed in, with her normally cheery voice.

"I meant the awards! Is everything all sorted out?"

"Well gosh, I hope so. Considering me and Caroline just worked on it."

"So," He started, leaning in and whispering, "did I win anything?"

"Yes," Caroline said, matter-of-factly, "you won…" She looked around the space around her for a few seconds, and found something of interest. A sticker sheet. "This!" She said, sticking a sticker on his forehead. "It's for being extra smiley and sweet."

He tried to look a bit angry, but that lasted only a few seconds. He suddenly burst out in laughter, and soon the rest of the group followed. They talked about their day and caught each other on the latest gossip. While Caroline and Wheatley were talking about how dreadful Susanne looked in her new dress, she was still thinking about him hugging her.

Oh my god. He hugged me. And he didn't even make anything of it! Does he usually just walk around and hug people? Sometimes he can be such a lunatic!

A few minutes later, Caroline poked her. "Gladys? It's starting. You should go sit by Wheatley now."

Gladys snapped back to attention, and headed towards the small table in their section. The room was split into forty circular tables, each with eight seats. Some of the tables were moved away from the front of the room, so a long, rectangular table could be placed there. That was the table that housed the ribbons and the papers that helped organize who got what. It was a miracle that they could fit most of the Aperture employees in one place.

At Aperture, Awards Day was taken very seriously. Not only was it a celebration of people working hard, which Cave Johnson greatly appreciated. It was also a show of how they could fit so many people in one room. The founder of this particular arrangement claimed that it was science that aided him in creating this 'marvelous, perfect room', but many others claimed that they could have thought of this in their sleep.

Caroline made some sort of wide gesture with her arms, signaling what probably meant for everyone to be quiet. When the chatter finally slowed to a stop, she began talking.

Gladys zoned out after she began to announce the winners of each award. Every time someone was called up, Wheatley had some comment about them, whether it be "I knew they would win. They win every year." or "Wow they won that? I would've never expected." After a while, he began poking her in the side. After she ignored him one too many times, he began jabbing. She quickly whipped her head around, and glared at him. The look on his face could only be described as true terror.

"Um, you've got to go up there, I think." He received a confused look from her. "You got an award, luv!" After taking two seconds to process this new information, she looked at Caroline and realized that she truly was called up there. Gladys instantly stood up, and headed towards the front of the room.

When she made it to Caroline, she grabbed her ribbon, and stood still for the mandatory clapping. Cave says it builds self esteem. Everyone in the room clapped slowly and drawn out, while a very enthusiastic Wheatley clapped as hard and fast as he possibly could. Gladys leaned towards Caroline and whispered.

"What did I win? I don't remember seeing my name on the list."

Caroline smiled. "You won the hard worker ribbon. I hid it from you. I'm not allowed to tell anyone what they win."

She quickly strode back over towards the table, and sat down next to Wheatley.

"You did good, mate! I'm glad that people voted for you. At least some people here admitted that they are lazy. That could possibly include me. That's prob'ly why I didn't win anything. I'm pretty lazy, i'd say."

"No. You won stuff."

"How would you know that?"

"I helped Caroline finish her list, Wheatley. Of course I would know."

"Yeah but, you didn't seem to notice your own name on there, now did you?" Gladys grunted a bit.

"I'm just saying, Wheatley, I may or may not have noticed someone on the list whose name was spelled the exact way yours is."

As if she was waiting for Gladys to tell him, Caroline called up Wheatley to receive his prize, which happened to be "Most British". He probably didn't remember that Caroline was in charge of the categories that went up and that everyone has to vote, but he seemed very pleased. But there was one more thing he didn't realize. The sticker.

Caroline noticed it, and so did Gladys, but they were both too late. He didn't seem to notice that everyone was laughing and clapping over the sticker, not of being proud of him. There was nothing that they could do to help him. He was stuck to be humiliated with no help, and he wasn't even aware of the situation.

As he walked back to the table, he noticed the look of concern on Gladys' face. He shot her a questioning look, and she pointed to her forehead. After carefully inspecting her forehead from afar, he realized what she meant. He quickly ripped off the sticker and sat down as quick as he could.

Wheatley smiled nervously, and Gladys just nudged him. She had no idea what to do. She had never had to help anyone with emotions, and now that the opportunity to practice arose, she could find no shred of common sense to help her in this situation. She just sat there, hoping her vibes of sympathy would go to him. I wouldn't know, Gladys thought, I usually don't have sympathy for anyone. And now the fact that most of humanity sickens me is coming back to bite me.

Once the ceremony was over, everyone was welcome to leave work early. In Aperture, the Awards ceremony was a big deal, and was almost like a holiday. Through the buzzing and swirling of the crowd, Caroline made her way over to Wheatley and Gladys.

"Hey! You both got ribbons! How exciting!"

"Yes, all thanks to your scheming." Caroline batted her lashes innocently.

"Why, whatever would you mean by that?" She smiled sweetly. "Anyways, we get to go home! Me included. Thank god I get a break. But now I don't have anything to do. You'd think that after doing so much work for a month that I'd want to go home and take a nap, but now I just don't know what to do with myself."

"Well maybe…" Wheatley chimed in. "We could go out? I mean like when a group of friends all go out and have fun! How about that?" Of course Caroline and Wheatley were up to the idea, so they both looked at Gladys.

Oh god, they look like puppies. I can't say no.

"I guess it sounds fun. What are we going to do though?" Both Caroline and Wheatley cheered.

"Wait, that's a good question." Wheatley chimed in after the small celebration was over. "Uh, what should we do? I mean, we can't just go to a random place, now can we? We've got to have proper planning, yeah?" The whole group suddenly became stumped. No one knew what to do.

"What are we supposed to do in this sort of situation? Visit each other's houses? Go to a restaurant? Trade blouses? I haven't done this before. Honestly, do you really expect me to know where to go?"

"We could go to an arcade, right? Y'know, where you play games and stuff. I heard that they're bundles of fun!" The two stared at Wheatley.

"Honestly, Wheatley, why would you get the idea of-"

Caroline immediately cut her off. "That sounds great! When should we go?"

The group planned for a little while, while everyone else filed out of the room, and until no one was there but them. Finally, them came to the decision that Wheatley would pick all of them up, so they gave him a paper with their addresses on it, so he'd know where to go. It was agreed that they'd be picked up around 5:00 They all waved goodbye, and went on their way to get ready.

None of them really had to prepare much, except change from their work clothes. Gladys wasn't very sure what to wear, since she hasn't ever done this before. She just threw on a skirt, sweater, and a scarf, since it was mid September.

She sat in her car in the driver's seat, and waited until Wheatley came to pick her up. She slowly drifted into her own thoughts.

I wonder why they're taking the time to make me happy. Of course, it probably get some sort of joy in one form or another, but i'm completely baffled. Why would they want to go anywhere with me? After all this time, I still can't imagine why anyone would want to talk to me. Why do they care?

Soon, she saw light illuminate her car, and stepped outside. Wheatley stuck his head out the window, and waved.

"Hey! Gladys! How's it going?" Wheatley screamed as he pulled up behind her car.

Gladys feared that someone might hear him screaming bloody murder, and shushed him. She headed towards his car, and got into the passenger seat. She realized that Caroline was not in the car.

"So, you live in an apartment?"

"No. I just decided that I was going to walk over to an apartment complex and sit in someone's car."

"I was just asking a question, silly." He poked her firmly in the nose, and began talking. Today was the day she learned that when he starts talking, he never stops. She had never noticed it before, since he would only talk this much to Caroline. But now that i was just the two of them, everything he was talking about was directed towards her.

"So, how do you like my clothes? I think I look sharp, if I may say so myself. You look nice in those clothes too, you know that? I've never seen you not all dressed up before. Not that I would have, considering that I always see you at work. Because we both work at the same place. Coworkers, yes, that's the word! Was on the tip of my tongue, it was. Oh! We're at Caroline's. Didn't realize you two lived so close. Let's go up to her door together, yeah?"

Gladys nodded, and got out the the car, following Wheatley to Caroline's door. She looked at the large house before her, and realized how valuable the job of being the CEO's favorite secretary is. To her, though, it almost wasn't worth it. For all of the work Caroline does, and the small amount of sleep she gets, Gladys probably wouldn't do that much work for any amount of money.

They approached the door of the house together, and rung the doorbell. They heard the cheery voice of Caroline say something that could not quite be made out, but probably meant she was coming. After a few seconds, this was confirmed when she showed up at the door with a smile on her face.

"Hey! Are you guys ready to go?"

Wheatley cheered, while Gladys just tried to look excited. She failed.

The three of them got into the car, and began to drive towards where Wheatley said an arcade was. He said that he'd heard all the "cool kids" go there. Caroline had insisted that she sit in the back, so Gladys could sit in the passenger seat.

Wheatley turned on the radio, and Caroline and Wheatley soon were very loudly singing the words to the songs that came on, causing Gladys to crack a small smile. To her, there was very few things that were more entertaining than seeing them sing off tune and off beat to a song, like their lives depended on it. Most of the time, once the song was over, they would be out of breath and exhausted, but get a sudden burst of energy once the next song would start.

As if no time had passed at all, they were suddenly at the arcade. Wheatley pulled into a parking space, and pulled a large sack of quarters from the glove compartment, and got out of the car. The other two quickly followed, and they all walked towards the arcade.

Gladys could feel inexplicable excitement rising in her stomach. She had never gotten to go out anywhere much as a kid, and definitely not to an arcade.

Wheatley walked into the door, and everyone looked in their direction. Suddenly, the kids swarmed them, both with bodies and with questions.

"Wheatley!"

"Who is your girlfriend?"

"I wanna see you beat your high scores!"

The sudden ambush did not seem to faze him at all, but Gladys pinked at the nose a bit at the second question. Very tall 6'7" Wheatley look gigantic compared to the kids who were there.

"Wheatley?" Gladys started, nudging his arm to get his attention. "Do you… come here often?" He smiled down at her with a big, toothy grin.

"Yeah, actually. They love me. Can't get enough. Alright guys!" Wheatley yelled, turning to the group. "Off to play Pac Man!" Every kid in the arcade cheered. Gladys stood right next to each other, shocked, before the scurried towards Wheatley and the others.

"Alright guys, i'm totally going to beat the high score. You just wait, you bunch. Prepare to be amazed." He plopped his bag down on the board with the controls, and popped a quarter into the slot. Gladys couldn't tell what he was doing, but he seemed good at it. His fingers flew, pressing buttons, and wildly moving the joystick. When he finished a level, he would do an odd little dance, and most of the kids would join in with him, only for him to hurriedly continue playing.

To Gladys, it looked like some sort of cult.

After a while, he finally lost all of his lives, and a collective sigh of disappointment could be heard. Gladys firmly poked him on the side, which easily made him pay attention to her.

"I don't know what this is, or how you play, but i'd like a try. I'll probably beat you though. Prepare to be ashamed at your own inadequacy."

"I don't know, I'm doing pretty good today. I don't think Pac Man is ready for you anyways, luv." A sudden disagreement could be heard throughout the crowd. One kid could be heard distinctly:

"Come on, let your girlfriend play!" All of the kids nodded like it was some sort of religion and that particular kid was a preacher.

"I am not his girlfriend!" Gladys shouted, but it was too late. The kids had already determined it, and Wheatley was laughing to hard to notice the death glare she was sending him.

"You're blushing!" Wheatley said in between giggles, while pointing at her.

"I am not!" Of course, his comment only made her face even hotter. She pushed him by the shoulder and took the controls. She had been observing long enough to know what the controls even were, and had a vague idea of what she had to do.

She put a quarter in the slot, and started the game. At first, she was a bit confused, but after only one death she was flying. Nobody said a word as they watched an adult who had never played Pac Man in their life doing just as good as Wheatley. Not to mention this particular adult was a woman.

Soon, she was right up to where Wheatley previously was. Then she surpassed it. She played on and on until, when she finally lost all of her lives, she was number one on the scoreboard. The whole room went into an uproar.

"Wheatley? What do I do? I mean about the score screen. Am I supposed to do something?" Wheatley laughed a bit, then took the controls again.

"Here, luv, you've got to put your initials here. I'll put 'GYS'. It sort of looks like Gladys a bit, don't you think?" She just nodded.

"I told you I would beat you." She smiled a little bit, and leaned on the arcade machine. "You thought I was lying, didn't you? And I, a girl, beat you."

After Wheatley stopped around and showed off his other favorites, Caroline and Gladys just chatted for a while. Gladys was finally having pure, unrestricted fun for the first time in many years. And she was happy.

Finally, the night ended three hours later, when everyone was dropped off at their house, and Wheatley headed back home. Gladys just sat on her couch, thinking about how much fun she had.

That was the most fun I've ever had in one night. And it was amazing. I didn't think I would ever have great friends. And now I do. And it feels amazing.

That night, she fell asleep smiling.

AUTHORS NOTE
Yay! Happy Gladys! Yes I realize that I'm a bit late on publishing this chapter too. Sorry ;-; BUT, I did make this chapter longer than any of the other ones, so there's that.

Yes, I imagine Wheatley being like the gang leader of a bunch of kids. Once I imagined the idea, it was to amusing to pass up. And, yes, I did get the idea that he was 6'7" from Stephen Merchant. I will never get over the fact that he is 6'7". Never.

Caroline (much like me) ships WheatDOS. She just doesn't show it often. I think that her house would be pretty nice (not a mansion) because she is very highly respected by Cave. I mean, seriously, there's a painting of the two of them together. He must like her to a certain extent for that to happen.

Happy Gladys! She's still pushing her thoughts and feelings back, because she doesn't quite know how to face them, or what they even mean. She is, however, figuring out that Caroline and Wheatley aren't aiming to hurt her, and just want to be friends with her. She doesn't quite understand that yet, though.

Thank you for reading! I hope you liked this chapter, and a review would be greatly appreciated! Sorry for the long wait. Have a nice day!