AN/ yaaay chapter 9 =). Keep an eye out for a new portal fanfic I might be writing with my best friend, I guess we'll start on that some time soonish ;). And you may know my friend as 'CompanionCube1410' hehe. Well, enjoy!

Chapter 9 - Unwelcome Memories

Wheatley POV -

"Morning, loser!"

I leapt a mile in the air, being awoken so rudely by some intruder. I blinked, allowing my eyes to focus. Oh. It was just Rick, standing by my bed with his sharpened hair and piercing green eyes. But his mouth was curved into a friendly grin, and I relaxed immediately. I've seen an angry Rick before, and he was just being carried around by Chell. I'd hate to see an angry Rick with controllable fists.

"How'd you get in?" I groaned, checking my watch for the time. "Chell must be at work."

"She let me in as she left," he winked, and jumped on the bed uncomfortably close to my groin. Apparently it hurts if you get kicked there, and I didn't really want to test that theory. Rick began jumping up and down on the bed, laughing.

"Lighten up Wheats! You're gonna be a daddy!"

"And you're gonna break the bed!" I replied, although I couldn't help but grin. I was, I was going to be a daddy. He jumped again, making a point of it. I couldn't help but laugh, because he looked like a mid twenties, reasonably tough man bouncing up and down like a five year old.

"So, you happy?" he asked, gauging my expression carefully.

"Of course! It's just... Just..." I stammered, wondering whether Rick would truly understand.

"What?!" He cried, fit to burst. His smile quivered, and I felt so guilty. Rick seemed so excited about this, I felt like I had crushed a perfect moment for him.

"I'm ecstatic, it's just... Well... Well what if I hurt it? You know, do something wrong, like not feed it properly or not play with it properly? What if I'm a really sucky dad, and I ruin its life? I couldn't bear that, I couldn't live with myself if I hurt our little human, be it emotionally, physically, or mentally."

Rick's smile faded, eyes filling with concern and denial. His legs folded underneath him, and he plonked down cross-legged beside me.

"Don't be silly Wheatley. You're going to be a great dad."

"How so?" I muttered, sitting up and looking at my hands anxiously. Rick snorted, knocking off my comment as if it were completely insane.

"Kids just flock around you, like you're some big beacon guiding them to safety and protecting them from the bogey monster or whatever kids are scared of nowadays-"

"What's a bogey monster?" I burst out laughing, it sounded ridiculous, something from a comedy rather than a horror.

"I have absolutely no idea, now let me finish! As I was saying, kids adore you, they love everything you do, and nothing you do is wrong - not ever. You're a natural. Your child will be the luckiest little boy or girl who has ever lived, they will have the number one dad."

I yanked Rick into a massive hug, close to crying with happiness and sentiment. He didn't push away.

"Thanks mate. You're awesome," I told him earnestly, although at times he was the complete opposite.

"Yeah, you're pretty good too... Sometimes," he teased, grinning smugly. "You must be great to Chell, she loves you so much, even when you go all overprotective moron on her. Loves you so much she wants a family with you, and she's so willing to forget your past, forget the bad things. I can tell, to her you're pure gold, without a single flaw - it's like any mistakes you make are instantly thrown out of the window and overruled. I wish I could have that with someone, I'm just going to be forever alone," he sighed, and I felt bad for flaunting all this family stuff in front of him. He really is an amazing best friend, like what humans call a brother I suppose.

"Nah, you'll have a family one day, I'm sure of it. And you know you're welcome here anytime, apart from at seven in the morning when I'm trying to sleep," I added, attempting to turn the situation comical and move on. It worked, because Rick laughed.

"It was funny waking you though! I'm going to go downstairs, so you can get ready, then we'll go out somewhere if you like?"

"Sure thing, but don't eat all of my food," I smiled, and leapt off the bed reasonably quickly. Rick left, shutting the door gently behind him, and leaving me alone with my thoughts. And good ol'Wheatley had an idea.

Once I was showered and dressed, I armed myself with a comb and brushed the little tiny knots and tangles from my hair. Then I ruffled and messed it up a bit, defining my big fringe that swept across my face to the left. It shone in the light from the open window, glistening blonder than ever. With a vain smirk, I charged out of the room to see if I could salvage some food from my kitchen that Rick hadn't devoured. The crime scene wasn't too bad, just some crisps and some bread missing. I grabbed a bowl, filled it with coco pops, and drowned them in milk, carefully listening for the magical popping sounds it made and waiting for the milk to turn chocolatey. When both needs had been filled, I joined Rick on the sofa, and began to dig in. He was eating a crisp sandwich, and I rolled my eyes. So healthy... Although I guess I couldn't talk, eating a bowl of chocolate smothered cereal and milk. Still, I loved it, and nothing could ever make my skinny body gain an ounce of weight. I am obviously doomed to be as tall and thin as a spindly lamppost for the rest of my life. Or one of them creepy stick insect things that look like something from the apocalypse, or a horror film. Shuddering violently, I pushed them away from my mind, imagining I could feel little insects crawling all over me now. Yuck.

Chell POV - "You're pregnant?" Melanie squealed for about the hundredth time today. I groaned, this was obviously going to take longer than I'd hoped. Why couldn't she just accept it and move on, instead of going all high school on me? I mean, seriously!

"Yes. I'm pregnant."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't know till yesterday!" I lied. In truth I had had my suspicions for a while, but nobody needed to know that.

"What did Wheatley say?" she smirked and squirmed, expecting some hugely romantic scene probably.

"I dunno. Just kinda... Questions. And disbelief. And then joy."

"What about you? What do you think of it all?"

"I'm really happy, but I wish people would stop asking so many questions!" I hissed, annoyed. The fewer questions people asked me, the better. Mine and Wheatley's relationship wasn't exactly... Normal. Same goes for our past. Nobody on the outside can ever know about Aperture, they wouldn't be able to deal with it for starters, then they'd get everyone involved, and Wheatley and I could get done for about a hundred different crimes. If our secrets stay locked up, we can at least try to be normal. That's all we really want.

"I'm sorry," Melanie whispered, patting my arm. "I just got a little bit excited."

"A little?" I laughed, sitting down to play with the kids. They just got a new dollhouse, and were swarming it like bees. I had to rescue one from getting his hand stuck in the little plastic doorway, then continued helping them 'decorate' the roof with pink sequins and tiny plastic guns the boys had ripped off the soldiers in the army bucket. I love children, but the things they come up with can be so strange. Soon, soon I would have my own little boy or girl to play with, I thought serenely.

"Is Wheatley coming here today?" Tommy suddenly popped into my vision, looking hopeful. He had really taken a liking to Wheatley, and they only met for all of five minutes. He asks the same question every day, and everyday it's the same reply.

"I don't think so sweetie, maybe another day."

"Oh..." He muttered, and wandered off miserably to sit alone in the corner. I'd have to bring Wheatley in some day, the poor boy was getting really down about it.

Just at that moment, my phone rang. I answered, worried I would get caught chattig on my mobile during my shift.

"What is it Wheatley? I'm not supposed to be on my phone right now!"

"When's your lunch hour?"

"Midday."

"Cool, cool. How long is it?"

I laughed, "An hour..."

"Okay, nice, see you then!"

"Wait what?" I called, but he had hung up. That man is so unpredictable.

As promised, Wheatley showed up at twelve, leaning against the doorway. The light behind him glittered through his hair, turning it a beautiful golden colour. His blue eyes shone with anticipation, and he grinned my favourite lopsided grin as I picked up my bag and headed towards him.

"Where are you going?" Melanie called after me, looking slightly dejected and lonely. I shrugged, motioning towards Wheatley. He looked up at my friend, and smiled his kindest smile.

"You wanna come?"

Melanie's face lit up, I had never seen her so bright and cheerful. I don't think many people were that nice to her. She grabbed her handbag with one lithe movement, and jogged after me.

My arms ran around Wheatley's waist, then stroked my fingers through his soft, shiny hair, and his gentle hands lifted me off the ground slightly so he could kiss my lips without bending down. I kissed him back, then slid down his body to the floor again. Wheatley interlocked his fingers with mine, and Melanie followed, grinning like a Cheshire cat. However, when we got outside, there was Rick, peering at us anxiously. I wasn't attracted to him in anyway at all apart from as a friend, and sometimes maybe even family, but I could confirm he looked more handsome than he did usually. His t-shirt was clean for once, pure velvety black in colour and clinging to his muscular arms and chest. His jeans were also clean, and weren't ripped. I had never seen his eyes so bright, they were like cat's eyes in the dark, and his hair was a deep chocolate brown, obviously covered in some form of colour enhancing gel. Of course it was shaped into little spikes, and they framed his pale face like a proud mane.

"You haven't killed the baby yet then?" He chuckled jokingly, mock punching Wheatley's arm. "Hey Chell. Hey Chell's friend," he winked at Melanie, and I gave Wheatley a judging look. Were the boys in on some form of hook up between Rick and my friend? He smiled in reply, kissing my nose affectionately. I rolled my eyes, but did not utter a word of their silly plan.

"Melanie, this is Rick, Rick, this is Melanie," I muttered offhandedly.

"Hi," Melanie smiled, relieved she wasn't going to be a tag along whilst Wheatley and I went all lovey-dovey with each other. "So where are we going?"

"Park?" Wheatley and Rick replied in unison. Yep, this was definitely planned. I beckoned for Wheatley to lower his head to my level, and he obliged instantly.

"This is never going to work you know!" I whispered quietly in his ear.

"Yes it will!" He replied, out loud. Rick and Melanie looked at us with confused and weirded out expressions, and he blushed dark red. What an idiot.

We walked slowly behind Rick, who was chatting in an endless stream to Melanie without breath, holding hands and giggling quietly between ourselves. It wasn't far to the park, and it really wasn't the height of romantic scenes, but it would do. A long stretch of dark green grass lay beneath us, and trees and bushes surrounded the whole thing. Several little children with their mothers were playing in the tiny kiddy playground, but they were the only people here. Orange and brown leaves scattered in the wind, flying around us like a mysterious fog. Rick nodded to Wheatley, and Wheatley made a shushing motion, placing a long finger on my pink lips gently. Before I had a second to react, Wheatley picked me up, and bolted over a nearby bush, so we could hide behind it and leave a confused Melanie with an eager Rick. They wandered off in the opposite direction to look for us, and Wheatley finally removed his hand from my mouth and set me on the ground.

"What was that all about?" I demanded, arms crossed in a sincere manner.

"To give them some space! Anyway, it's fun back here," Wheatley replied, kissing me lustfully.

"Cut it out you overgrown buffoon! You could have really hurt our baby!"

"What do you mean?" He replied, pulling away and eyeing my stomach suspiciously as though it could explode any second now.

"Well, jumping over the bush, it could have jolted the baby and made me have a miscarriage or something!"

"A miss-what?"

"Miscarriage. The sudden unplanned death of an unborn child."

"Oh my god I'm so sorry I didn't know please forgive me!" He rushed, tripping over words like a dog would hurdles.

"It's okay, just be careful next time," I responded, kissing him lovingly. He returned it, and then started up his regular banter about nothing in particular that always made me giggle. By the time we had to leave, we were both guffawing so hard our sides hurt.

Melanie POV -That was a strange outing, and I can't help but think it was all planned. Coincidental that Wheatley would suddenly disappear with Chell and leave me alone with this boy claiming to be named Rick. One second they were behind us squealing like little piglets, the next they were gone! Rick suggested we look on the other side of the park, and I stupidly agreed. As soon as we had taken not three steps, he began hopelessly flirting, and when he finally got somewhere with me, he completely blew it!

"Should we go look for them?" he asked, motioning for the opposite side of the park. Opportunity took his fancy as I agreed, and he tried to pull off a seductive smile.

"You have nice hair."

"Errm... Thank you?" I replied awkwardly. This wasn't so fun.

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

"No."

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

"No!" I shrieked, deeply offended. "I'm straight."

"Cool, cool. Me too," he replied, delving his hands into his pockets and kicking the toadstools out of the ground, sending them flying across the cloudy sky.

"Do you like sports?"

"Not really, I mean, it's okay I guess. Baseball's pretty good though, I have to admit," I said honestly, managing a small smile. Rick blatantly meant well, but he could have been talking to a wooden post for all the effect he had on me.

"Awh! I love baseball! I used to play it with Wheatley... Until I broke Chell's window. But it was all Wheatley's fault really, I mean he threw the ball at a weird angle, and my natural response was to hit it, but it went into a curveball and smashed the window. S'okay though, I fixed the window straight away, only took a few minutes."

"How'd you fix the window so quickly?" Awe filled my voice.

"Duct tape," he grinned, running his hand through his hair as casually as possible. Hm, not quite the mechanical genius I had in mind. Still, this guy had potential as a comedian. Maybe not a boyfriend.

"I should go really," I started, then saw his face drop. "Maybe another time?"

"Yeah that sounds fanta-"

Suddenly, his voice cut out, and his eyes went big. Rick was staring at something behind me, and whatever it was it bloody scared him.

Like a clap of thunder, his hands flew to his hair, tearing at it with frantic fingers. His eyes darted between two points behind me, and he went as white as a sheet. Emitting choked sounds, Rick's eyes clouded over, and every single hair on his body visibly stood on little goosebump podiums. In a blink-and-you'd-miss-it flash, this strange, scared man bolted off, nearly tripping over in the process. All I could do was stare after him in shock, not completely aware of what just happened.

Warily, I spun around, but no object immediately struck fear into my veins. There stood a boy, maybe about sixteen, with pointy black hair that gleamed, even in the sudden lack of sunshine. His eyes were emerald, with a brown stripe in the left iris. He walked alongside a woman, maybe about mid-thirties. She looked tired, weary, exhausted. The poor woman's eyes were sunken into her head, her mouth lined with the wrinkles of a ghost smile that no longer existed. Her long brown hair and fudge-coloured eyes still held some beauty though, this was obviously a once stunning girl. Not anymore. As odd as this pair appeared, there was nothing freaky about them. Rick must have been looking at something else, there was no way these people could have frightened him so. Releasing a confused and rejected smile, I turned and headed back towards the nursery, completely alone.

Rick POV - Oh God. Oh God no. I ran, ran until my heart was pounding, and even then I continued. My legs set themselves into a rhythm, one-two, three-four, so that I truly was unstoppable. My brain screamed at me, thumping at the inside of my skull with its old gnarled fists. My jaw clenched, unmoving like a sheet of metal. My shoulder blades twitched restlessly, and my legs kept charging. One-two, three-four, unstoppable...

The memories that I so long ago tried to push away wouldn't stop haunting me, scratching at my heart till it was no more than a bloody pulp. And there was nothing I could do. I was trapped, trapped in this limbo of my mind, nobody would set me free. The woman, the woman, I knew her. I know her. Yet she doesn't know me, not anymore. Trapped in limbo, trapped... I screamed aloud, ignoring the strange looks people gave me, and sprinted even faster, acknowledging the uncomfortable feeling of a racing pulse in my throat and chest and wrist with a subdued sadness. When I could not run anymore, I slowed to a stop, collapsed in a corner, and cried till I could not cry anymore.

"Trapped, trapped in limbo..." I murmured, till all life ebbed from my tormented body, and I fell into a troubled form of semi-consciousness.

AN/... Heheheh sorry to leave you hanging on Rick there ;) I have to desert this side of him for a few chapters, so apologies. I guess if you really really do want spoilers, ask me! Otherwise, be patient little people and wait haha. Please review, they just kinda cheer me up and make me want to write more! =D