Wheatley was going to have to learn how to walk.

Chell had been helping him around the house when necessary, but he had been here for over a week now and all he had done in all that time was sit on the couch. She knew that he was bored out of his skull (a bored Wheatley is a dangerous Wheatley) and he needed to learn how to get around on his own. She wasn't going to baby Wheatley forever; he needed to be more independent.

He also needed to stop hogging her couch.

It wasn't going to be easy: Wheatley was clumsy, and awkward, and his sense of balance was practically nonexistent, but Chell did enjoy a challenge. She was every bit as determined as he was hopeless, and if she could teach him to get around on his own it would make things a lot easier for both of them. All it would take was a little bit of correspondence and they would be done in no time.

Chell decided that there was no time like the present. That morning she strode into the living room with her usual air of confidence, stopping in front of Wheatleys' place on the couch and looking down at him with her arms crossed.

"Uh oh." He didn't even know what she wanted but he could tell that there was going to be trouble."Did I, am I in trouble? Not that I want- I don't want to be in trouble- and I- I realize that I'm in trouble from, well, from the last, er, thing, but, am I in, new trouble?" Chell gave him a funny look. "It's just because, you, you've got that look. You know the one? The one you gave Her sometimes- not the angry one- but the other one. The, um, I'm-about-to-break-something-that's-really-expensive-and-I'm-excited-about-it, look."

Chell gave a devilish little smile. 'I do enjoy wreaking havoc.'

"Oh God." Wheatley tried his best to scramble away from her, but, considering that he couldn't walk, he didn't really have anywhere to scramble away to. Before he knew it Chell had hoisted him onto his feet and was dragging him into the kitchen. "What- What are you doing?" Whatever this was, it vaguely reminded him of when she tried to help him walk; although if that were the case, she was deciding where he wanted to go instead of him. "Okay, um, are you trying to pick me up, or something? Because, I know that worked back when I, when I was a core, but, um, I don't think that'll work anymore. Not- not that I'm saying that you're weak or, or anything! I'm not saying that at all! You're the strongest human I've ever met. The, the bravest, too. I just- I don't understand what you're doing."

Chell stopped at the end of his monologue and plopped him down in one of the chairs around the kitchen table. "Oh, um, you want me to eat?"

She shook her head to the side, standing up and making a point of bracing herself against the table. Then she pointed to him. "No? You want me to... you want me to stand?"

At that she gave a nod and another little mischievous smile. 'Bingo.'

"Okay... um, I'm sure you're already aware of this, but, I tried this whole 'standing' thing earlier, and it, it didn't work out too well. So, if it's all the same to you, I think I'm gonna pass. Thank you, though." Chell was aware of his previous attempt to stand up. She had been in her room, on the other side of the house, and she had still heard his scream as clear as a whistle. He had only screamed because he's scared himself when he fell. Hurt feelings aside, he was fine. Wheatley would be fine now, too. He just needed to stop being scared and dramatic. Besides, even if he didn't want to try and learn to walk, it wasn't like he could go anywhere else without her taking him there.

'You can't get back to the couch without my help.' Chell thought smugly.

"Oh... wait a second." Wheatleys' blue eyes widened as he realized his dilemma. The return of Chells' devious smile didn't help calm his panic. "Wait, lady- Chell- wait, please? I don't- I can't do this. I'm going to fall, and then I'll hurt myself, and then I could die! I don't want to die! You- you don't want me to die! Do you?" He visibly cringed after the words had left his mouth, wincing and cautiously peeking back up at her."Actually- on second thought- maybe you shouldn't answer that."

Chell huffed out a sigh and crossed her arms.'Wheatley. I don't hate you; you're not going to die. Stop being so dramatic.' Once again Chell helped him to his feet, this time helping him stand in front of the edge of the table. Which... would have been quite a lot easier if he would stop squirming and yelling in her ear. "Lady- lady please don't do this, I'm gonna fall, I'm gonna die, you're gonna kill me!"

Chell still had one free hand, and she used it to snap her fingers. That, along with her signature Chell glare, shut him up.'Stop talking. Just watch.' She used her free arm to make a point of leaning on the table for balance.

"You're... you're leaning on the table. So you don't fall, right?"

Chell nodded. 'Right. If you ever feel like you're going to fall, just lean on the table to catch your balance.'

"O-Okay. I can do that." Wheatley took a deep breath before shakily rising to his feet and grasping onto the table with an iron grip. After a moment his posture straightened out and his grip relaxed a bit. "I think I'm getting the hang of this!" He laughed.

'Good. Then maybe you should let go of the table.' Chell smirked as she removed his hands from the table. Wheatley wobbled a bit when she first removed his hands, but other than that he stayed put.

"Alright! Yea! I'm standing! Can I go back to the couch now?" He asked hopefully.

Chell smiled and shook her head. 'You can go back to the couch when you can walk yourself over there.'

"Drat."

'Now you know how to balance while standing still. Do you think you can balance while moving?'

"Now I suppose you want me to walk, don't you?" Wheatley asked flatly.

'You're pretty good at this guessing thing.'

"Alright... so... what do I do?" Chell now dragged Wheatley into the kitchen, releasing him next to the counter top that ran along the wall. She made a point of holding onto the counter ('You can use this to catch your balance just like the table top.' ), and after she had gotten that across, she motioned to herself.

Wheatley gave her a blank stare for a moment before piecing things together. "Oh. Just... copy you, then?" Chell gave a little nod. "Brilliant!"

A few feet away, Chell slowly began to walk up and down the floor of the kitchen. One of her hands ran along beside her on the counter in case she needed to catch herself (though Wheatley knew she wouldn't). On the other side of the kitchen Wheatley inched along the cabinets at a speed so slow it was nearly laughable. Chell could tell that he relied heavily on the countertop for support, and when he tried to loosen his grip on it he took an immediate downward plunge.

"NO IMGONNAFALLIMGONNAFALLIMGONNA- Oh!" Wheatleys' panicked cries came to a halt he realized that he was no longer falling. His bright blue eyes blinked in surprise to find that he was looking up at a slightly alarmed Chell. "You caught me!" He laughed.

Chell helped him to his feet and tried her best to ignore the pain in her chest at how familiar the lightness and friendliness of his voice sounded. It was just like before. She didn't know whether or not that was a good thing.

"Um... thank you." Wheatley said softly.

Chell shook her head. 'No problem. I should've done it the first time.'

After Wheatley had regained balance and focus, he returned to slowly pacing the kitchen floor. He picked up a bit of speed and tried to rely on the counter less and less. Eventually he got the hang of it. "Okay. I think I'm pretty good at doing this while holding on..." He ventured cautiously.

'Let go.'

Just as he had done at the table, Wheatley wobbled a bit when he initially let go, but after that he was fine. Wheatley paced up and down he length of the kitchen without incident. The longer he practiced the faster he went, the more balanced he became, and the less he relied on the counter for support. Soon he was walking around the entire kitchen without help.

"Hey! Look at me! I'm walking!" Wheatley cheered, flailing his arms so dramatically it was a wonder he didn't fall. "Now I can explore the rest of the house, and get around on my own- oh!- and I can follow you around so you don't have to be alone all the time!"

Chell rolled her eyes and gave a tired smile. 'Great.'

His gaze turned to his feet, which were now much more useful. "Thank you, Chell. For everything." His voice was as soft and timid as it had been since she'd brought him here.

Chell gave a soft smile and nodded, though she didn't say anything. She knew that Wheatley wanted her to speak: to say that he was forgiven and everything could go back to the way it had been before he had ruined it; but Chell wasn't willing to go that far just yet. Yes, Wheatley had been much nicer and more cooperative than she expected, but he was probably only acting that way because he knew just as well as she did that he was completely at her mercy.

Or lack thereof.

Chell had no intention of harming him, physically or emotionally, but she wasn't going to forget that he had done both to her, either. Chell would give Wheatley a second chance. She would share her house and teach him how to function as best she could. Maybe if the two of them made it to a point where he could function without her help, the truth would come out. Maybe then she would see whether or not he treated her the way he did because he had to, or because he wanted to. Chell was by no means ready to forgive Wheatley for what he had done, but maybe today had brought her one step closer.

- Authors Note: The prompt for this was correspondence... I'm not sure if the story fits. I was going for correspondence as in working together. *shrug* I hope you guys liked it! Please review!

EDIT: I fixed the formatting! Sorry about that! Thanks to iammemyself for notifying me that it was off!