AN: Sorry this one took a bit longer to post. My son just started school for the first time and we had a lot of meetings and preparations that had to be taken. It took me a bit to realize that I hadn't posted this already. My apologies. :)
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"You may get out of bed now."
Wheatley had waited all week to hear the physician say that. He fought the urge to jump up. He didn't want to aggravate his shoulder. It wasn't completely healed, but mostly. It still hurt a bit if he put to much strain on it.
"Thank you for taking such good care of me while I've been here. If there's anything I can do for you..."
The physician held her hand up and smiled. "No need I assure you."
Wheatley smiled and nodded, leaving the room. Everyone was eating breakfast when he walked into the servants dining room.
Chell saw him and immediately ran to hug him.
Wheatley laughed. "Glad to see someone's happy to see me."
Eliza smiled. "Of course. She looks up to you like a father you know."
This filled Wheatley with a great deal of pride. "Well her and Doug are the closest I've ever had to kids."
Chell beamed and hugged him again. Vincent chimed in on the conversation.
"I guess that makes me and Daniel like uncles then." He laughed.
Wheatley laughed as well. "I guess so."
He sat down and enjoyed breakfast with his extended little family.
...
Several hours later, he stood in GLaDOS's chamber. He knew his break was long over. He had quite enjoyed it, but he supposed it was back to work for him. Something good had come out of the break. He learned he could trust Vincent and that GLaDOS even liked him. Perhaps not in the way he would like, but he wasn't going to complain.
After a few moments, GLaDOS came out of the back room. She wore her usual white and gold dress.
"Hello, Wheatley. How are you feeling?"
"My shoulder still hurts if I put too much strain on it, but otherwise I'm pretty good."
She smiled. "I'm glad to hear that. Wheatley, I've been thinking. There is an assassin after me and you saw him before the guards did. If you hadn't I'd have been the one in the infirmary. You saved my life."
Wheatley blushed. "Well, I just reacted on instinct really."
GLaDOS smiled."Well you have good instincts. What would you say to a promotion?"
He wasn't sure if he heard right. "Promotion, my Queen?"
She nodded. "Yes. You would be my personal bodyguard. You'd be responsible for escorting me on trips outside the castle, even trips out of the kingdom. The pay is significantly better."
Wheatley wasn't sure if he could be a good bodyguard, but after what happened, he didn't think he could refuse. He didn't want anything to happen to her. GLaDOS continued.
"You would be trained to use a sword and shield. I suspect it wouldn't take you long to get the hang of it. You already proved you have sharp eyes."
"Thank you, my Queen." He bowed. "I'd be honored to accept the job."
GLaDOS smiled. "I'm quite happy to hear that. You begin your training tomorrow morning. I will see that your new room is prepared immediately."
"New room?"
GLaDOS nodded. "Yes. As my personal bodyguard, you will occupy the spare room in my personal chambers."
Wheatley could feel the heart in his chest beat faster. He'd be sleeping in the spare room next to her's.
"Well, I'm sure you want to get prepared for the morning. I'll see you tomorrow, Wheatley." She gave him a smile.
"Indeed you will, my Queen." He bowed and exited her chambers.
...
"Her personal bodyguard?" Eliza said, shocked.
"Yes. I start sword training tomorrow morning."
"Have you ever even used a sword before?" Daniel asked.
Wheatley nodded. "We used to fend the wolves off the sheep back home with them. I might be a little rusty these days though."
"Well at least your not going in blind." Eliza said.
Wheatley laughed. "That may be, but I was never too good at using the sword in the first place."
Vincent put a hand on Wheatley's shoulder. "I'll pray for you."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence."
Vincent laughed.
Eliza stood. "Well, I have to pack for our trip, so I'll talk to you guys later."
Wheatley stopped her. "Your going on a trip?"
Eliza nodded. "Yes. We'll be gone for a week, maybe two."
Wheatley looked at her, worry written on his face.
"Don't worry, Vincent has agreed to come with us. We'll be safe, I promise." She placed her hand on his arm.
He nodded. "You better be." He gave her a smile.
She smiled back. "We will. Now if you'll excuse me."
Once she was gone, Wheatley walked to Vincent's door. He knocked three times.
"Yes?"
Wheatley opened the door. Walking in, he closed he door behind him. Vincent was packing his bag.
"What's this trip your going on?"
Vincent continued to pack his bag as he spoke.
"My informant has managed to get us in to see the Mages council. They are going to see what they can do about Chell's voice."
Vincent stopped packing. He turned to look at Wheatley.
"I have to wonder if you said something to my informant to give them such an idea."
Wheatley shook his head.
"I haven't told anyone about Chell or magic or anything. I have no idea how your informant got the idea. Maybe if you told me who your informant is..."
"Not a chance." Vincent said, cutting him off. "Good try though." He gave Wheatley a smile.
Wheatley sighed. "Can't blame a guy for trying."
Vincent laughed. "Actually I could."
Wheatley's face froze.
"But I won't." Vincent smiled.
Wheatley sighed in relief, then laughed. "Well, that's good to know."
Vincent laughed. "Indeed it is. Now if you don't mind I'd like to be ready for this trip so we can leave on time."
"Oh, of course. I'll get out of your way. And Vincent?"
The man looked back up.
"Please take care of them."
"I will guard them with my life."
Satisfied, Wheatley left the room.
...
The nest morning Wheatley was in the back courtyard. He tried to block the swordsman's attacks. He was straining to do so.
"Hold your shield higher. It's too close to the ground. The enemy could easily disarm you."
Wheatley complied and kept trying to block the swordsman's attacks. After a while the swordsman called for a break, and Wheatley was more than grateful for it. Suddenly one of the archer's approached him. He was smoking a cigar.
"Would you like a drink? You looked like you were going to pass out there for a minute."
Wheatley laughed, the fatigue apparent. "Yes, please."
The archer handed him a mug of water.
"Hey, you look familiar. Aren't you the Queen's jester? What are you doing out here training with that swordsman?"
Wheatley gulped down over half the mug. "I was the jester. Now I'm the Queen's personal bodyguard. She said I have sharp eyes."
Before the archer could say anything else, the swordsman returned and continued Wheatley's training.
The archer went back to his post.
So she's training the jester to protect her. That might complicate matters.
...
By the end of the day, Wheatley was exhausted. He dragged himself back to the servants quarters. As he entered his room, he found it empty.
What the...? Oh, that's right. I have a new room now.
He felt a bit sad. He wouldn't be next door to Eliza and the kids anymore. He was going to be all the way up on the fourth floor.
With a bit of sadness filling him, he slowly drug himself up to GLaDOS's chamber. Once there, he knocked.
"You may enter."
Wheatley opened the door. GLaDOS looked up at him, the sadness evident on his face.
"What's bothering you?"
He tried to put of a brave face. "Nothing, my Queen. Just a bit tired after today's training."
She put her book down. "Your not fooling me, Wheatley."
He looked down at the floor.
She stood up and walked towards him, sat down on the couch, and motioned for him to follow.
"Will you please tell me what's wrong?"
Wheatley looked up. Her voice was so full of gentleness he almost wasn't sure it was her.
"It's just, I realize that with this new job, I'll miss my friends. A lot of us servents have become like a second family. I'm going to miss them."
GLaDOS smiled. "You're not moving out of the castle. You will still get to see them. Maybe not as often as you did before, but when I'm not outside of the castle, your free to roam the castle at will, and that includes being able to spend a bit of time with them."
Wheatley looked up. "Really?"
GLaDOS laughed. "Yes. You won't have to follow me all the time. Inside the castle I'm safe. There are dozens of guards to protect me. I just need you up hear at night, because we have less guards on duty then and if someone tries to breach the castle, I'll need you to protect me." She placed her hand on top of his.
Wheatley blushed. Her hand felt good on top of his and it was nice to hear her say she needed him. It also made him feel good to know he'd still get to see his family.
Sensing his change in mood, she stood up. "Well I hope that little talk helped you. Now if you'll follow me, I'll show you to your room."
He stood up and followed her. She led him through the door on the right of the room. When he walked in, he couldn't believe how big the room was. It was probably bigger than his and Eliza's rooms combined. The bed was even big enough for two. There was a desk and chair, a large wardrobe, an armor/weapon stand, and a large storage chest. Even the living area was bigger with a full sized couch, fireplace, two chairs, coffee table, and side tables. The side tables even had a lantern on each of them.
Wow! I wouldn't know what to do with all this room.
"What do you think?" GLaDOS's voice broke him out of his thoughts.
"I think it's big."
She chuckled. "Well I'm sure you'll get used to it."
She pointed to the door they entered. "Whenever you leave or turn in for the night, it is to be locked."
She pointed to a second door. "That door leads directly to my room. It does not have a lock. That way if something happens you can get to me faster."
Wheatley nodded.
"Well I'll let you get acquainted with your new room. I'm going to turn in for the night." She handed him a set of keys."Don't forget to lock up."
He nodded. "Yes, my Queen."
She headed towards the second door. Before entering, she turned to look at him with a soft smile.
"Goodnight, Wheatley."
He returned the smile.
"Goodnight, my Queen."
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Reviews are always welcome.