"H-hello," Wheatley said nervously as he slid his way into GLaDOS's chamber. "So you said you wanted to see me, and I thought, why not? Well, actually, it was more like that I thought I should get down here. Now. Because otherwise I might wind up in space again, and, ah, space, didn't like that. Not one bit."

"What an intriguing idea," GLaDOS said, chuckling as he flinched. "It would certainly be much quieter if you were to be in space again."

"No!" he said. "No, I'll be quiet, I promise!"

"Of course you won't be," she replied. "But that is not why you are here. In approximately forty-eight hours, the woman in the infirmary will awaken. At that point, you are to sedate her and alert me so that I may move her to a testing track."

"…What?" he asked, not sure he'd heard her correctly. "You want me to what?"

"Sedate her and alert me once you have done so," she sighed. "This is a simple concept, you moron. Try to grasp it."

He bit back the impulse to inform her that he was not a moron. "I…but…why can't you just move her there now? She's already asleep and all, so—"

"The long answer is that I believe the look on her face will be amusing, as will be the apologies you will undoubtedly profess. The short answer is because I told you what to do, and you will do it."

"But you said you weren't going to test her anymore," Wheatley protested. "In fact, I'm almost one hundred percent positive you said that you were going to let her go. And testing her is actually the exact opposite of—"

"I told you what to do," she interrupted, narrowing her optic and jerking her head so close to him that he flinched away, "and it won't be a problem, will it, you moron?"

"No!" he said, backing all the way to the end of her chamber. "Of course not. Not a problem at all. Except, I'm, ah, I'mnotamoron. But I'll get right on it! Waiting, that is, waiting for her to wake up. Because she's asleep. And will stay asleep. For a while. Right? That is what you said, right?"

"Oh, that brings up another point," GLaDOS told him. "Before you sedate her, feed her. There is a refrigerator in the corner of the room. It has food in it. Don't take out any of the food until she is awake, or you will ruin it."

"You…you want me to talk to her?" he squeaked. "Before I sedate her and all that?"

"Yes," she said. "And that won't be a problem either, will it?"

"No!"

"Then go."

"Right! Going," he said. "Going, going, gone. Right now, actually." He spun around on his management rail and zoomed off, leaving GLaDOS to enjoy his discomfort and her victory.

But something was wrong. She couldn't. She felt horrible. Not about the Intelligence Dampening Sphere, but about what she was asking him to do. She had built up Chell's trust, and now she was about to lose it again.

Why did she care so much about losing it?

When Chell finally opened her eyes, she felt much better than she had the last time she was awake, but that still didn't make her any happier about being forced into unconsciousness. The next time she heard GLaDOS's voice, they were going to have a talk—one that hopefully didn't end in any sort of gas being released into the infirmary.

"Chell!" Wheatley said from the corner. "You're awake, and that's…that's good."

"Yeah," she said, easily sitting up. "I feel better. Maybe well enough to walk out of here." He gave a nervous chuckle that she ignored, and continued. "But I'm hungry. Like, really hungry. What was in that gas?"

"I'm, ah, I'm not sure," he said, sounding much more nervous than usual. "I think it was some sort of altered stasis-inducer."

"Altered so that I'd be hungry?" she groaned. "Of course. That's so typical. But I am. Hungry, that is. There's a fridge in the corner."

"Can you walk to it?" he asked. "Or if you want, I can try and get it open, which shouldn't be too difficult, but the tricky part is where I try to get the food out—"

"I think I can do it," Chell said. "Thanks, Wheatley." She smiled at him as she slowly stood up, bracing against the wall for balance at first and then shifting to her own two feet. "Yeah. This is better. Lots better, actually. But," she said to the intercom, "you still could have asked first."

A noise came from the intercom that resembled a derisive snort.

"What, are you only going to talk to me when he's not here?" Chell asked as she made her way to the refrigerator. There was no response, and she sighed. "I guess so. Wheatley, can you open this? I'm afraid I might lose my balance if I try."

"Of course!" he said. "Like I said, that's the easy bit. Just stand back for a moment, would you?"

She nodded, and used the wall to take a few steps backwards. The door swung open, and she stepped forward again to examine the contents. "Bread and cheese. That's great. Really nutritious."

"There's probably some beans in one of the cabinets," Wheatley said helpfully. Chell made a face.

"I'll just have some bread and cheese. And not look at the expiration date."

With some effort, she managed to get a few slices of bread and cheese out of their packaging. She sat down on the floor and began to eat. Wheatley remained silent the entire time, and when she finished, she looked up at him. "Are you all right?"

"Yes!" he said. "Perfectly all right. Completely fine. Why wouldn't I be? All right, that is. Because I am."

She gave him a questioning look, and he edged backwards until he was touching the wall at the end of the room. "Wheatley…?"

"I'm sorry," he said. "I know it doesn't mean much, but I am. Really, truly sorry."

"What for? You already apologized for trying to kill me. And for calling me fat," she added with a slight smile.

"I'm sorry for this," he said. "It's not because I want to do it, it's really not, but She's making me, and I really, really don't want to be in space again, so—"

Now Chell was frowning. "What are you going to do?" She stood up with little difficulty and walked towards him. He couldn't back up any further and so just hung there, shifting his optic back and forth to avoid her gaze. "Wheatley?"

"I'm sorry," he apologized again as another gas began hissing from the walls. "Really, truly, honestly sorry."

"Wheatley!" she yelled. "Don't!" Reaching up, she grabbed one of his handles and forced him to look at her. He looked sad, and she believed he was sorry, but that didn't make the fact that she didn't appreciate being gassed by irritating AIs every five minutes any less prominent.

"I'm sorry," he said again as Chell's grip on his handle loosened and she stumbled to the ground. "I'm so, so sorry…"

When Chell woke up, she knew exactly where she was. It was a stasis chamber, identical to the one she'd first woken up in so long ago. Sitting up, she slammed her hands into the wall in frustration. She should have known better than to trust GLaDOS.

"Hello, and, again, welcome to the Aperture Science Computer-Aided Enrichment Center. We hope your brief detention in the relaxation vault has been a pleasant one. Your specimen has been processed, and we are now ready to begin the test proper."

"GLaDOS," Chell said, hoping that maybe there was some way to appeal to Caroline and get herself out of this, "I've heard all this before."

Ignoring her, the AI went on. "Keep in mind that although fun and learning are the primary goals of all Enrichment Center activities, serious injuries may occur."

"I'm not going to go through any of your tests."

"For your own safety, and the safety of others, please refrain from either attempting to leave the Enrichment Center or murder the computer who runs it. Thank you."

"So this is why you helped me? Just so you could test me again? Even though you let me go?"

"The portal will open in three…two…one…"

Chell gave up her attempts at communication and just stared at the orange portal as it opened, folding her arms across her chest. She made no move to enter it, instead sitting herself down on the top of the stasis pod.

"The test subject may commence with the test at any time."

Looking around, Chell located the camera that was focused on her and raised just one finger to it. She remained silent, and after a moment, GLaDOS sighed. "Really, I thought we were beyond the silent treatment."

"Yeah, well, I thought we were beyond the testing, but I guess I should have realized after the neurotoxin that you'll never change."

"Speaking of neurotoxin, if you do not wish to have more released, then perhaps you should commence with the test. Now."

Chell glared at the camera. "I don't want to test."

"I have enough neurotoxin to kill you with now," the computer said. There was a somewhat cranky edge to her otherwise calm voice. "Just so you know."

With a sigh, Chell stood up. "I hate you. Just so you know." And she meant it with every fiber in her being. GLaDOS was silent for a moment.

"Are you going to test, or shall I simply close the portal and flood the relaxation vault with a deadly neurotoxin now?"

"Oh, I'm going to test," Chell said. "And then I'm going to escape. And then I'm going to kill you. Again. Just. So. You. Know."

GLaDOS was silent again. She didn't close the portal, so with a sigh, Chell stepped through it. She hoped that she would be able to navigate these chambers as easily as she had the last few times she had been forced into testing.