Chapter 4:A Home for the Lunatic

Hours had passed since Glados had returned to power. Grayson had yet to wake up,and injuries could now be seen fading into his skin.

Glados displayed only tiny shreds of care,torn between keeping him for science,or letting him go like she said she would when he and Glados were down in Old Aperture. Grayson stirs,shifting Glados' attentions away from the wall of screens to watch him wake.

Grayson leans up,rubbing his head before looking at Glados loom nearby,"Oh thank god you're alright." She said,sounding relieved. "Saving your life has taught me something,that Caroline lived in my brain." She said.

The room suddenly went slightly darker,Glados' optics still stared him down.

[CAROLINE deleted]

"Removing Caroline has taught me another lesson as well. Killing you is hard. You win. Now go." She said in a slightly darker tone

Grayson gets up,and looks at her,then at the elevator. "Are you brain damaged? Get out." Glados said,attempting to usher the boy's leave.

She turns around,ignoring him. The elevator closed and ascended. He was seemingly gone,to Glados' knowledge. She turns around,to find him twiddling his fingers nervously,Glados fumed slightly,"I thought you wanted to leave!" She said

Grayson looks down to his feet,hanging his head in response. "You must be brain damaged after all." Glados spat.

Glados rolls her eyes, "Fine. If you wish to stay here,you'll have to work here,and From now on you must participate in anything i ask of you,and i will provide you with a place to stay and food to eat. Do we have a deal?" Glados asked.

Grayson looks at her,as if questioning her honesty. "Look,you've saved my life,at this point it is pointless to lie to you..Because science must be done,and honestly you are really hard to kill.." She said.

"Well? I can certainly bring the elevator back down." She offers

Grayson then nods to agree to her offer. "Unfortunately until i make sure the relaxation chambers are even remotely usable,you'll have to settle for one of the nearby break rooms." Glados said Grayson nods,and turns to leave. Grayson was grabbed by the collar of his testing unitard,"While i am letting you stay here,i REFUSE to let you roam the facility alone. Blue and Orange will be escorting you when they're not testing,so please wait for their arrival." She said. Grayson rolls his eyes and sits down. Atlas and P-body soon come in,Atlas waving warmly at Grayson. Grayson waves back,"White,as part of a newer agreement for your stay,you will maintain a 48 hour testing schedule. If you wish to reduce it,I'd start testing soon." She said.

Grayson,escorted by Atlas and P-body,then walked through the halls of the lab,browsing his choices of breakrooms. He settled on one roughly the size of a medium apartment,with it's own kitchenette so he could prep food.

After a bit of searching Grayson had managed to piece together a bed ,using a black window curtain as a blanket,and a few throw pillows pilfered from the other two couches in the break room. Grayson soon made his way to the testing access,and starts his 48 hour testing regimen.

===2 Weeks Later==

Grayson was sleeping in from another long testing regimen,enjoying what would soon be a brief rest. Glados was poking him,"Wake up. You were supposed to be awake 5 minutes ago." She said.

Grayson growls slightly. "Well too bad. Get up or I swear to science I'll make you."

Grayson turns over in contest to Glados. She grabs him by his leg and lifts him out of bed,"Wake. Up." Glados said,dropping him on his head. Grayson rubs his head as he gets up. "Good,you're awake. I need you in the main chamber once you've done your morning routine." Glados said as she walked out about as quickly as she entered. Grayson grumbled slightly in displeasure at the urgency,as he pulls on a white unitard,with long faded stains of Acceleration and Repulsion Gel,the stains more prominent towards Grayson's legs,and slowly fading to orange and blue speckles toward Grayson's torso.

In Glados' chamber,tall stacks pf paper awaited,witb Atlas and P-body coming in with more paperwork.

"Now that i have you awake,i need help archiving papers from older parts of the facility." She said,as a camera on an arm hung down next to him. "All you have to do is turn the page and scan it with that camera. I might let you keep data i don't want or need,however those papers are for reference only,shy of it being an unbuilt test course." Glados explains.

Grayson nods,starting to process the high stacks of paper.

Turn the page,Turn the page,turn the page,Turn the page.

This was the action Grayson performed for the next four,to six hours. Seven hours in,Grayson was starting to nod off,eventually coming to rest on the cold floor.

Glados turns to him,wondering why the data flow had stopped,to find Grayson snoring gently,a pack of scanned documents under his head to make a pillow. She scowls at him,but could not bring herself to wake him,as she looked at how the piles in his area of the room were neatly balanced stacks of paper,his finished work greatly outsizing what work he had left. Glados calls in Atlas and P-Body,and requests that Grayson be taken to his room,quietly.

The process was slow,and time consuming for the two,but nonetheless Grayson was gotten to bed without much fuss. Glados fumed at the fact that he had fallen asleep.

The next morning Grayson woke,he was met with the gaze of a very angry Glados. "Had a good rest Grayson?" She asked in a spitefully cold tone. Grayson leans up,looking at Glados. "Good. I'll be having Orange and Blue test today,though you will be running the perils of the older parts of the facility." She said.

"You won't be travelling alone,however. I can finally accompany you further down into the facility without leaving someone else in charge." She said. Grayson looks at her dead in the eyes questioningly.

"I feel youre asking me what the catch is. The catch is that there is no catch." Glados said.

Without much further converse Grayson began preparing to carry large stacks of paper. The trip required a numbing amount of stairs,since the old elevator shaft was damaged while Wheatley was in control.

After a few hours Grayson grew sore from the long walks back and fourth. He sets down a recent load,and pulls the portal gun from it's pedastal,and walking out into the hall to place the orange portal on a wall. Glados cocks her head at him,"Why are you using the Portal Device?" She quiried.

He gestures to the stack of paper in her hands,then to the orange portal. Glados hums,amused by how keen he was to make a solution to make the job shorter. "I permit the use, until the shortcut is produced." Glados said. Grayson nods in confirmation,and partial glee.

After getting back to the file room,he fires the blue portal,and starts moving papers. And for a while,that was the schedule for the next few weeks,alongside regular tests. After a while Grayson felt as if he'd read enough of Aperture's documents to write a detailed report on it's infrastructure,which in short was absolutely atrocious. Grayson gestures to another paper,shaking his head at Glados.

"And you're any better at accounting than they were?" Glados questions as she reads the contents of a binder. Grayson pokes his head,indicating he was augmented. "Yes,youre augmented. But that does not increase your calculating speed." Glados said.

He finished up another packet,and yawns,leaning on Glados. "What are you doing?" she questions.

He didn't respond,and sighs quietly. Glados was at a crossroad that she couldn't decide on. Part of her screamed to kill him,but a small voice whispers through on occasion to enjoy it.

She sighs softly,"Grayson. Get up." She said. In response he leans up,looking at her. He had a very faint blush,but it didn't appear noticeable. She opens her arms,"I feel this feels correct for a hug." She said,offering her hug to him.

Grayson's blush grew some as he embraced The AI. Although the gesture didn't seem too grand,it spoke many words about how kind Glados can be. It's either that,or he's made up for past mistakes,only one of them possibly.

The embrace was short before Glados gently pushes him away,"Look,you are not done yet. But work morale is important for Aperture Employees." She said,only a hint of strain in her voice.

God that felt weird hugging her own subject like that. But the hug left a lasting fuzzy feeling,which made her feel...Strange about the event.

She could worry about that later,however,much is still left to be done.