Wheatley awoke to the sound of Chell talking to someone else. She had left one of the windows in the bedroom cracked open to let some air in (they were having surprisingly warm weather for late autumn), but apparently said window also allowed for easy eavesdropping. Not that Wheatley would ever purposely eavesdrop on Chell, he would never, but if she had been the one to leave the window open, and it just so happened that Wheatley could somehow hear her conversation from where he was laying in bed, well, that wasn't his fault. Was it?

"What do you say?" The voice was firm and teasing at the same time.

"Hello Michael." Chell giggled.

Once the voice had a name Wheatley dropped eavesdropping and settled for spying. He sprang out of bed and plopped down beside the window to see a man with blonde hair and bright green eyes looking expectantly down at Chell. So this was the infamous Michael.

"Nope."

"Hi?" Chell offered.

"No."

She hesitated and when she spoke again her voice was softer. "Sorry?"

"Sorry because?" Michael prompted.

"You're so pushy?" Chell asked innocently.

"Do you honestly think that's what I was going for?" Michael asked dryly.

"Maybe."

"Oh 'Shell," He sighed dramatically. Inside the house Wheatley made a face of disgust. 'Shell? That wasn't her name. Why did Michael call her that? "Why do you have to make everything so hard?"

"It's fun." Chell smirked.

Michael sighed again as he made his way up the porch steps and stood beside the porch swing Chell was sitting on. "Let's try again." He settled beside her on the swing and took her hands in his (Wheatley didn't like that either). His voice was doing the annoyed and amused thing that Chell's used to. "Why are you sorry?"

"Because I left?"

"And?"

"I came back?"

"And?"

"I didn't tell you?"

"Bingo."

Chell turned away and took her hands back. "I'm not sorry for those things."

"Really?" Wheatley couldn't help but notice that the amusement was leaving his voice. "Because if I took off to God knows where and disappeared for a month without telling you I was ok, I am 100% sure you would murder me. Yes?"

Chell snapped back around with a fiercely determined glare. "Yes."

"But when you do it it's ok?" He poked her on the shoulder, seemingly un phased by the glare.

"Maybe." Chell mumbled.

"No. The answer is no." Michael lifted Chell's chin so she was forced to look into his eyes. His expression was serious but his voice was soft. "Would you ever forgive me if I did something like that?"

Chell gave an exaggerated sigh. "Probably."

"Are you sure?" Michael smirked. "You're pretty stubborn."

"Me?" Chell pressed a hand over her heart and batted her eyelashes at him. Inside the house Wheatley almost fell over: that was the exact same thing Chell had done with him the day they had visited the farm. And that wasn't the only similarity. Whatever had been in Chell's voice that day, that sort of smug happiness she had boasted, this entire conversation was dripping with it. "What about this?" Chell offered. "Do I earn forgiveness if I tell you what happened?"

"Maybe." Michael said teasingly.

Chell shifted. "I went back There."

And to think that Wheatley had disliked the conversation before.

As if it wasn't bad enough that this man was here sitting so close to Chell and holding her hands and making her laugh, it sounded as though he knew about Aperture, too. And if he knew about Aperture, he might know about what had happened there.

"Really?" Michaels voice was a mix of apprehension and awe.

"Yes."

"And does your return have anything to do with... Something falling from the sky?" Wheatley froze.

"Someone." Chell said quietly.

"Someone." Michael repeated. "Is it who I think it is?"

"Yes. And no."

"Uh oh." For some reason Michael had suddenly decided this was all very funny, because he was smiling almost uncontrollably.

"What?" Now Chell sounded annoyed.

Michael leaned back and smiled at her playfully. "You've gone soft, haven't you?"

Chell looked insulted. "Soft?"

"It's finally happened! 'Shell the mighty has fallen!" Michael snickered.

"Will you hush!" Chell snapped as she smacked him on the arm. "She left him There to die! I am not a killer!"

"She might disagree with you." Michael sang.

(Wheatley pressed his hands to his face. Had Chell told him everything?)

"And you agree with Her?" Chell asked stiffly.

"Of course not," He took her hands again. "I'm just worried about you."

"You don't need to be."

"You sure?" Michael asked. "You may have done the right thing by saving him, but you're now living with a man who has repeatedly tried to murder you." Inside the house Wheatley was beginning to feel sick. "I don't take that lightly. You shouldn't either."

"I don't." Chell smirked. "I'm stubborn, remember? I remember what he did, but I also remember that he didn't do anything bad until-"

"Until he was given the option." Michael said solemnly. "He did what he had to do while he had to do it, but once he was given a chance to choose, he turned on you."

"Absolute power corrupts absolutely." Chell said firmly. "I don't think that was him. It was Her."

"Are you sure?" Michael asked seriously.

"No." Chell smiled. "But I haven't been sure of anything in a very long time, and I've still made it this far."

"That's why I'm worried." "You made it out of There and lived to tell the tale. You've got a shiny new life, a town full of people who love you, this lovely little house." For some reason Chell giggled. "I don't want you to lose it all." Wheatley could see him squeeze her hands. "Because of There. Because of him." To Wheatley's horror Michael looked at him square in the eyes, though only for a second before he turned back to Chell. His voice softened. "I don't want to lose you."

"Now who's gone soft?" Chell asked gently. "I can take care of myself. Besides, he's been nothing but kind to me since he's been back. If he meant to hurt me he would have done it by now."

"Did he mean to hurt you before?" Michael asked quietly.

"We aren't There anymore, and you were never There to begin with." Chell said firmly. "I appreciate your concern, but you don't understand what happened then or what's happening now."

"Right as usual," Michael sighed as he rose from the swing. "But I still don't trust him. I don't think you should either."

Much to Wheatley's dismay, Chell didn't argue.

Author's Note:

I am so sorry! This was supposed to be post on Christmas Day (and it was, on Wattpad) but in my Christmas morning rush I forgot to post it here! I didn't realize this until today, so you do get a Friday update! Whoops!

Michael is one of my oldest ocs. He is one of my favorites, though he may not be yours. XD He isn't always too much of a Wheatley fan but he's just looking out for Chell.

Merry belated Christmas!

I was pretty scared this one wasn't going to get done in time. I got up at eight in the morning on Christmas Eve to finish this! I'm happy I got it done.

We made it through 2015! And what a wonderful way to end the year! I managed to write eight updates for the month of December, and you guys helped get Pieces to over 1000 views!

Pieces will not be updated at all during the month of January (except for this chapter), but weekly Friday updates will return in February. Hopefully I'll be able to continue those regular updates until January of 2017. Around this time next year we will only have one chapter left!

Have a happy holiday, and be sure to read the Christmas fic for Pieces if you haven't already! Thank you!