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[yessirmrjohnson]

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."

Comments

[paysthebills]

He cleared his throat, not sure of how to continue.

"I..er..you wrote a letter. Don't you remember?"

[yessirmrjohnson]

"Oh. Dr. Hastel warned me this might happen. Part of the experiment was also selective memory elimination. There were a few things I elected to forget, but I obviously don't remember what they were. Should I go over everything that I remember, Sir?"

[paysthebills]

"That.. won't be necessary, Caroline. That can wait until I get back. Man the fort while I'm gone, eh?"

He laughed, hanging up the phone. After hanging up, and showing the first rage he'd allow himself since she'd been in stasis in the first place, he threw the phone overboard.

What was he even angry about? Did he know? He was happily married, right? Right?

[yessirmrjohnson]

When he'd get back, everything was perfect like normal and there Caroline sat at her assistant's assistant desk. As soon as he came in, Caroline stood and came out from behind her desk to shake his hand. "Welcome back, Sir." It was a perfectly polite smile, but it was one of a..a secretary and not a friend or partner.

[paysthebills]

He entered looking...well, terrible. He just didn't appear to be himself, lacking in his usual vibrant aura.

Cave nodded a short greeting to Caroline on his way in. He'd been briefed on her status, and could take a guess as to what memories she'd erased. But, she was healthy and she was happy. He wasn't in a position to want anything more from her.

Elena took her seat at her desk, looking haughty as ever.

"Well, well. Good to see you! So glad you made it out of that test okay. What are the odds? You missed an absolutely beautiful wedding, with a honeymoon to match."

[yessirmrjohnson]

"I wish I could have seen it. I'm sure it was lovely. So, what can I do for you today Mrs. Johnson?" There was no stifled pain, no struggle, just an honest cooperative attitude.

[paysthebills]

"Tch. How boring. I was hoping to have at least a little fun at your expense considering this is my last day and all.

That's something I'm sure you're happy about, isn't it? I don't need to be here anymore. I won. I got my white picket fence. Well, its more like a large golden mansion. You get the idea. I don't need to work anymore, I can just sit back and spend his money, and you get your dinky little desk back."

[yessirmrjohnson]

Caroline pressed her own desk's intercom button as she moved into a better position to hide it.

"But, you love him, don't you? You and Mr. Johnson seem happy." Whatever she said would be broadcasted straight into Cave's office.

[paysthebills]

Elena laughed at the question.

"Love? Wouldn't every women love such a lifestyle? The money. The power. The decadence. What's not to love?"

[yessirmrjohnson]

"But do you love him as a man? Are you interested in anything he stands for, other than his profits?"

[paysthebills]

"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."

[yessirmrjohnson]

"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."

[paysthebills]

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."

[yessirmrjohnson]

"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.

[paysthebills]

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!"

[yessirmrjohnson]

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

[paysthebills]

"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.

[yessirmrjohnson]

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.

[paysthebills]

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.

[yessirmrjohnson]

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

[paysthebills]

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."

[yessirmrjohnson]

"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."

[paysthebills]

"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.

[yessirmrjohnson]

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.

[paysthebills]

"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?"