yessirmrjohnson | (no subject)

(no subject)

There was something off about Cave. It bothered her as she made his coffee and plagued her mind as she went about typing up his reports. By time she had to bring him his lunch, she was convinced she had to ask him. It was probably all in her head, the lack of that personal smile in the morning, the quietness on the radio between her desk and his.

No, it was probably all in her head. Not worth worrying about and certainly not worth bothering him over. With a deep breath, Caroline lifted his lunch tray and knocked twice before stepping into his office.

"Here is your lunch, Sir."

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"Stands for? What's to stand for? He makes money. That's enough, isn't it? I don't think I understand what you mean."

"Science, innovation. You've worked here for months. You didn't see anything that interested you? These are the things he's dedicated his life to."

She paused, and took a moment to seriously consider this.

"Hmm. They're cute hobbies I guess. Not really much of a point in them without the profit, right? Science is kind of pointless in the long run.

Still, good to have hobbies. Something to do."

"I don't recall our working relationship before this day, but I can tell you this, Mrs. Johnson. You are a gold digger who doesn't deserve such an amazing man. That hobby is what's paying for your golden palace and is changing lives everywhere. It's his life and his passion. Or it was. It's what Aperture is. With as much respect I can offer, I am happy this is your last day. If that's all you have to say, then you can leave if you'd like. I can take care of the rest of this hobby while you waste the money that he works hard for." With that, Caroline sat in her seat and let go of her button, ending the transmission.

Caroline's intercom buzzed to life.

"Caroline?"

Elena's face grew three shades paler as she realized what had happened.

"You...How dare you?

Cavey! Cavey I didn't mean it like that!"

She couldn't help her smirk as Caroline leaned in "Yes Sir, Mr Johnson?"

"That was a damn fine broadcast, Caroline. If you could be a dear and call security have Mrs. Lawson removed from the premises, I'd appreciate it."

"Cavey, I'm Mrs. Johnson now."

"Only for the next five minutes. Enjoy them. I would personally recommend the whiskey. You can keep the ring."

As the com quieted, Elena's eyes darted wildly back and forth from the intercom to Caroline.

"You. This is all your fault. You... bitch."

With a vicious shriek, she dove at Caroline.

Caroline managed to catch Elena's fist but the momentum was still enough for the two of them to topple to the ground. All Elena managed to go was get a scratch on Caroline's cheek before Caroline managed to pin her to the floor.

She was squirming, still clearly enraged as Cave stepped out of his office. He let out a low whistle.

"And it's not even my birthday. Don't worry about it Caroline. I'll call security for you. Don't get up on my account."

Security guards Rick and Nathan arrived shortly, dragging off one kicking and screaming soon to be ex-wife. Cave helped his ex-ex-assistant up from the ground.

"Are you alright? Looks like she got your cheek a little. I should have come out before breaking it to her like that. I wasn't thinking."

Cave wiped the blood with his thumb.

She blushed slightly. "It's nothing, Sir. I'm sorry that things turned out like this. Is there anything I can do for you?"

He smiled sheepishly. It was like being a teenager all over again.

"Caroline, I think you've done enough for one day.

But, if there's anything you wanted to do, I suppose I would be able to hear you out. It's the least I can do, I would think, considering the circumstances."

"May I speak with you privately in your office?"

Once they got inside, Caroline sat in one of his office's chairs. "I'd like to go over with you the boundaries of my memories. That way there won't be any misunderstandings. I recall working for you for over ten years. I have extreme respect for you and your accomplishments, Sir, all of them clear in my mind. The past few months are missing, but other than the element synthesizer and the stasis pod, there weren't any other accomplishments to speak of." She fiddled with her hands a little. "I understand that you were recently married and possibly soon to be divorced, but I. I am happy to see you and proud to be here. I'm very lucky and honored and whatever trouble we've had in the past, I promise not to do those things again...even though I don't really remember what they were."

"That all sounds pretty accurate-- extreme respect? Really? How extreme we talking? Happy to see me? Really?"

A bashful glow crept across his face.

"Er. Anyway. Maybe I can help reinforce things. You didn't do anything wrong. Well, one thing, but if I'm honest that was something all parties were wrong about."

He walked over to a shelf, with a tattered photo album.

"I thought you might want this back. I tried to restore it. I really did."

Should she open it, when would find everything kept immaculately, minus a relatively beat up album cover, some faded images, and several lines of illegible text.

She hesitated. "As much as I would love to open this, I was warned about looking at pictures right away. I appreciate the offer." She passed him the album back. There was something kind of nice just being around him.

"Are you...sure? You could just-- Ah, of course you're sure. My mistake. Sorry."

He took the album in his hands. He stared at it dumbly, as though waiting for her to change her mind. Eventually, he came to terms with it, nodding.

What was he supposed to do? She was happy not remembering. It wasn't his place to force anything onto her, regardless of how much he'd want to. All he could do is wait, and hope that the experiment was a failure.

"Did you want anything else? Anything? Anything at all?"

"Just to work for you, Sir."

A week later Caroline showed up a little late for work. She looked like she hadn't slept and slumped heavily at her desk. His coffee was late, his reports were late, everything was running late and there she was, typing one finger at a time, the other hand holding her head.

He called Caroline into his office. Better to keep some discussions behind closed doors.

"Caroline. Are you alright? You look...pained. Have you been working too hard? Do you need a vacation?"

"Just headaches, Sir. I'm...I'm going to catch up, I promise I.." She burst out into tears and covered her face before sinking to her knees.

"Caroline!"

It was like he was back at that night months ago. She came to him, drunk and sobbing at 2AM. He hadn't known what to do or say then.

Unfortunately, some things never change. With very much the same level of awkwardness, he attempted comfort her.

"Talk to me. What's the matter Caroline? Is it a medical issue? Is it the staff? Someone need to be fired? What do I need to do for you, Caroline?"

"I-I feel this just.. absolute sadness and I don't know why. I just want to curl up and..." She rubbed at her eyes. "I'm sorry, I might need the day off. Or a drink. Or a doctor. Is this normal? Should I be worried?"

He rubbed the back of his neck.

"I don't know...psychology isn't exactly one of the most respectable sciences. I don't know all too much more than I need to sell a pitch.

But if it's bothering you, then take all the time you need to sort yourself out. Maybe check with the lab boys to see if this is a side effect from the stasis chamber test."

She managed to her knees and pulled him down to her level before pulling him in for a hug. She just clung to him trembling, burying her face into his chest. "I-I'm sorry. This is. Is unprofessional but I just..."

He was surprised by her sudden pull, returned her embrace our of sheer reflex. He stroked her hair, kneeling there with her.

"Don't. You don't have to explain anything. Just take all the time you need."

She kissed him before he could barely finish his sentence. It was forceful and full of passion she couldn't remember. It was short, however and when they parted, She covered her mouth. "I-I'm so sorry, I..I don't know why I did that."

I'm sorry. Cave isn't here right now. Could you please leave a message?

"Wow."

Please leave a message after the beep.

"Wooooow."

Beep.

It took all his strength to restrain himself. She still couldn't remember, despite the emotions that lingered.

The full, red, pouting emotions. Cave shook his head a bit, hoping the world would come into focus.