A/N: Another short one, guys. Checking in with Doug and Chell before things start to get really serious at Aperture.

2004.
Developments.

It took several months for Doug to really start trusting Chell, and to finally accept that she wasn't going anywhere. He was wary, having lost friends before, but she stuck to him like a bodyguard, offering a kind word here and a listening ear there. She was a generally kind person, although the sweet edge was sharpened by her blunt, sassy wit. As a pro in sarcasm himself, Doug appreciated her sense of humour.

Getting to know her was like meeting an entirely new person, as aside from her bright mind and curiosity, he recognised very little from the ten-year-old he'd known before. She even looked completely different, although her steely grey eyes hadn't changed. She'd grown into a striking young woman, he had to admit. Her athletic figure, milky-coffee skin, dark hair, and full lips drew her a lot of attention. Most it seemed to annoy her, barring one or two fortunate gentlemen. During their chats, she would tell him about her dates, usually how disappointing they were. Doug tried to be sympathetic, but there hadn't been anyone for him since Lucy, and he felt out of the loop when it came to what constituted a good date.

Chell was surprisingly frank about herself and her dates, but after picking up on his awkwardness she curbed the amount of information she shared. Their relationship wasn't that close, and there were details that Doug preferred not to hear. He didn't really mind it, though. Chell was completely comfortable with herself, and so could afford to speak plainly. It was something Doug couldn't relate to, but he admired it in her, and wondered what it was like to be so accepting of oneself.

She was his total opposite in the work place too. He liked to keep himself to himself, keep his head down and get on with things, and it never really bothered him if people didn't like him. (He was used to people giving him a wide berth by now.) Chell, on the other hand, wanted to be liked, and strove to be friendly to everyone, despite what her personal feelings might be. Although, she had admitted to him in private that she mostly did it to make her job easier, and really she'd prefer to be more honest. He could see her point of view, though. She needed to be approachable, as the majority of complaints and queries went through her, but on occasion, he'd passed her office door and seen her talking to people with a rather fixed smile on her face.

Occasionally, when they met up for lunch or a cup of coffee, they would report something they'd overheard, but most of the time they just talked. Doug eventually told her about his schizophrenia, something he'd been dreading doing in case it pushed her away, but she took it in her stride, listening patiently to his story. He wanted to tell her himself before she read it in his file. Not that he thought she'd go snooping, but it was a plausible assumption. The brief look of surprise on her face, however, dispelled that fear. He told her everything, from his diagnosis a few months after Bring Your Daughter To Work Day, to Lucy leaving him, to his failure to hold down a job, to eventually finding a place for himself at the very facility he'd initially wanted to avoid. He told her how the anti-psychotics he took kept most things under control, but how he still had one or two quirks, and how paranoia still occasionally haunted him on a base level.

Chell listened without interrupting, her expression showing brief traces of sympathy and curiosity. Then she thanked him for telling her and asked him what the weather was going to do at the weekend. He felt a wave of relief at her words. More and more, he was finding people that didn't define him by his condition, and every time it took him by grateful surprise.

In return, Chell confided in him about her concerns regarding her father, Simon, and how he was practically blanking her every time she saw him. Doug had seen him a couple of times himself, and the man had remained silent. He had always assumed that Simon didn't recognise him. Chell poured out the story of how she'd tried to go and see him at the only lab she had clearance access to, but how he'd almost shut the door in her face in his eagerness to get rid of her. In her hurt and anger, she'd avoided him for weeks.

Doug didn't have any helpful advice, but he tried to be supportive. Chell seemed to appreciate it. At least, up until the moment she realised she only had three minutes to get back to her office, and she trotted off as fast as she could in her high heels. (Which was considerably faster than it had been when she'd first started at Aperture.)

Seven months into their friendship, Doug got promoted to ASHPD Development, working on a modern version of the old Quantum Tunneller that had been used in tests back in the 60s and 70s. Unlike most of the other departments, which collected several scientists in one large lab, the production of the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device was to be kept highly confidential from the vast majority of people. Doug would be working largely on his own until he needed help. He was pleasantly surprised to get the job, as his application had been one among hundreds. Lazarus Grey had liked his ideas, and had approved of the rough blueprints he'd drawn up for the design of the thing. His clearance had shot up to level ten, which unfortunately meant that he couldn't even tell Chell which department he was working in.

She understood, but he could see that she was mildly annoyed by the development. Bizarrely, due to the system that tracked where every I.D. card was swiped, she knew the location of his new lab, just not what went on in it. It was irrelevant anyway, since her clearance didn't let her anywhere near it.

As time passed, Doug found working on the portal gun strangely rewarding. It was constantly challenging him and it rarely went well, but he was enjoying it nonetheless, and Lazarus was pleased with his progress.

He made friends with a scientist who worked several doors down the corridor, in a lab labelled Core Shell Development. It was the kind of surprisingly-vague, confusion-inducing name that Aperture liked to use for both its products and departments. The man introduced himself as Dr. Henry Stevens and cheerfully welcomed Doug to corridor 31-B with a firm handshake. Doug noted that his I.D. card read clearance level eleven, and he made a mental note to try and find out what Henry was working on when they knew each other better. He didn't think it would be too difficult, as the tall, balding man seemed to have a healthy disregard for the secrecy policy when it suited him.

Doug reported that back to Chell, who in turn told him that she'd once again tried to speak to her father, and once again had been hurried on her way. He listened with a growing frown, hoping for Chell's sake that Simon wasn't up to anything unethical. Somehow, he doubted it though. The thought left a heavy, cold feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Chell had encouraged him to reconcile with his family. After a few weeks of consideration, he'd taken her advice, now calling his parents and Julie a few times a month instead of just at Thanksgiving, as it had been for the past several years. The development had made them all happier, and Doug was hugely grateful for the push Chell had given him. It made him feel guilty, though, that her relationship with her own father seemed to be going downhill. He hoped that Simon wouldn't let her down, but Doug realised one day that he didn't trust him in that department. Chell put up a brave front, but Doug knew how vulnerable she was underneath it all, and how much Simon's attitude upset her. She was stubborn, though, and he knew she wouldn't give up until she had answers. With that, he could support her, and he would do for as long as she needed him.