Both Wheatley and Chell are fully human, and have managed to incapacitate GLaDOS temporarily so that they can escape the facility. Wheatley has only recently gained his human body.

Blanket disclaimer for entire story: I don't own Portal.

He stumbled out of the shed and tripped on the uneven ground, shaking nervously. Trembling, he sat for a moment on the beaten earth and looked around at his surroundings, uncomfortably taking in the scenery. Finally, his eyes landed on her, and then his vision blurred. Waves of emotion overcame him, and he buried his head in his hands as tears streamed down his face. She left him for a moment, gauging the environment around her, then turned back to find him sobbing uncontrollably. Carefully approaching him, she extended a cautious hand and touched his shoulder.

Flinching spastically, he cowered before her and quieted, staying on the ground before groveling before her, babbling nonsense as he pleaded with her for…something. He clutched at his chest as emotions writhed and coiled inside him, twisting his mind into terrible loops. She stood, surprised for once, and again tried to reassure him, encourage him to stand. The relative silence of his sniffling emboldened her, and she reached toward him again.

Again he recoiled, but stood this time, one hand to his face and another outstretched to force her away. "Leave me!" he screamed. "You don't-you can't need me-just go!"

When she refused to obey he gesticulated frantically, stumbling further away as fresh tears scrubbed away the dust on his face. "You're-stop standing there, just-oh, I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry, I've done it again-after all that's-please, go!"

The tall stalks of wheat waved around them as they stood, semi-facing each other, his lanky body cowering despite the huge distance between them. Wiping away more tears, he turned to face her and balled his hands as he saw her as resolute as ever.

"Why? You don't need me, don't-you can't want me, after everything-" He looked at her one last time, his frighteningly blue eyes still moist with tears as he looked her in the eyes and read what he saw there. With another hiccupping sob, he followed behind her as she set off along the path, attempting to quiet himself but failing miserably. She trudged on with the resolution of a soldier, looking for anything different about the field she had left only a few days ago.

"And…your body-I hope…I can't hope for anything now, but-bloody hell, is it alright? I have no place to ask, but is it alright? Are you alright?"

She didn't respond, then winced internally as she realized that might not have been the best way to handle him. She was his anchor, his new management rail, although she doubted he realized that yet. She was the only thing keeping him here, his remorse and abject apologies, his…concern. Continuing on, she was unsure on how to deal with his constant mumbling, the refreshed sobbing, the unintelligible babbling he continued to spout, but her concern was more for him than herself. His confusion was only a matter of annoyance to her. It was a maze of unconquerable proportions to him.

She stopped as her feet began to stumble slightly, then frowned as the light above her still shone with the brightness of midday. Turning to face her companion, she watched helplessly as he again knelt before her, re-enacting a pledge of service from a knight to his lord, and again begged for anything she could give him. Her silence, though involuntary, seemed only to drive him away, and he wildly glanced around him before plunging into the wheat field and disappearing from the track. She made a movement to follow him, but saw the futility as he disappeared completely beneath the plants. Surprisingly, for such a tall body he was able to move rather quietly beneath the tall stalks, and she had no indication of what direction he was heading. Away from her was a certainty, but out of fear and need, rather than disgust. The sound of the wind echoed across the golden plain as she helplessly looked across the flat landscape, fruitlessly searching for any sign of him.

-0-0—0-0—0—0—0-00—0-0

Still tripping and stumbling as he ran beneath the shadows of the plants, he reached up to wipe the tears away from his eyes as he blundered on, every mistake he ever made flashing through his head. The core body wasn't this hard, not all these aches and pains, and especially not this pain. He had been classically optimistic at first: the splinter was gone. That crack running down the center of his mind-gone. He was free. Then came the moment of uncertainty. Could he function without the splinter? Could he think? Did he even work properly?

Once assured that he did, then, and only then, came the chemicals. Shooting through his system, making his new heart pound in his ears and his palms sweat, making his eyes tear up and his throat clench. The-the guilt, the overarching, unbearable guilt that consumed him and tore him apart, and the only way he could express it was this horrible blubbering mess. Running until his legs gave out beneath him, he tumbled into the mess of plants and cried out pitifully, mumbling to himself as he tried to make some measure of comfort, talking nonsense to himself. Wiping tears from his eyes, he looked up at the sky to see it darkening rapidly, and various noises came into focus around him. Fear gripped him; and with the shock of fear came the need for her. And with the need came the pain again, redoubled with his brief moment of rest. Fear and remorse warred within him, and he burrowed into the crushed plants, softly crying himself to a fitful sleep as the stars twinkled overhead.

If anyone has a better name for this fic, go ahead and throw it my way. First chapters are always perilous.