[The Orphan]

Cave Johnson's newest assistant drew a deep breath.

"Sir?"

Her voice came out much softer than she'd intended, but the head of Aperture Science Innovators looked up from the papers strewn across his desk all the same.

"Caroline! Just the girl I wanted to see," he nodded with a warm smile. "Get that memo?"

"Yes, yes I did, sir," she bobbed her head quickly in response, perhaps for a bit too long before finally stopping herself. "That's, ah… that's why I'm here, actually."

"Oh yeah?"

As Cave stood and rounded the desk, likely to put distance between himself and his unfinished paperwork, she held her ground, straightening her back and taking another shaky breath.

You can do this, Caroline. You've practiced. Firm but polite voice, squared shoulders, direct eye contact. Knees bent, not locked…

"What's wrong?"

He's looking at you, say something, don't keep him waiting—

"Sir. With all due respect, I'm... I'm not sure if this is a good idea," she ventured with all the confidence her two weeks at Aperture had afforded her.

He let out a sudden bark of a laugh and, to her credit, she only jumped a little this time.

"I never have bad ideas, kid," he assured her, leaning back against the edge of his desk and folding his arms across his chest. "You think that thing's worth keeping around, we'll keep it around, but it'll be your responsibility to look after it until the lab boys've finished the new cage."

"Of course it's worth keeping around, Mr. Johnson, their report said it's the first viable member of the F1 generation they've seen since the project began," she answered quickly, fighting to keep her restless hands from smoothing and re-smoothing the cloth of her skirt.

"Whatever that means, it sounds promising!" His face creased with an infectious grin, his eyes glinting with excitement, and she couldn't help but mirror the expression.

"It is, sir—"

"Then what's the problem?"

"I just don't see why I have to be the one to take care of it."

That same rasping laugh again—she permitted herself a few seconds to observe the way the skin crinkled around his eyes before looking away.

"Caroline, you know you're the only skirt we've got running around this place!"

Her smile fell.

"...well, other than the big nasty ones that tried to eat the poor thing this morning," he added with a chuckle.

She lowered her gaze to study her hands folded together in front of her.

"Sir, the fact that I'm wearing a skirt doesn't make me any more qualified to do this job."

"And anyway, sweet young thing like you—you should get some experience while you can! You know, for when y'get, ahh…"

Caroline's eyes widened as his hand shot out to gesture vaguely around her middle, and her hands flew to shield the spot from his scrutiny.

"Plus, you studied bugs, didn't you? Ants or something?"

Caught off-guard by the comment—he actually remembered the subject of her undergraduate thesis?—she stammered out an inelegant response.

"Y-yes, well—no—fruit flies, sir, but really they're completely different from—"

"Great! Just take care of this little tyke the same way you took care of that ant farm of yours." He stood suddenly and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, guiding her back toward the entrance of his office.

"It was fruit flies, sir. I studied X-ray-induced chromosomal aberrations in fruit flies."

"I don't see what you're so worried about, you'll do fine! I'm sure it'll all come naturally. Womanly instincts and all," he patted her shoulder reassuringly.

"Sir, I didn't actually take care of the flies, I—I can't even keep a plant alive," she protested as the pair paused at the wide doors leading to the rest of the administrative offices.

"You go on out there and take care of that precious little nugget of science. I have faith in you," he soothed, guiding her through the door with an emphatic push.

She spun around to face him.

"I appreciate that, Mr. Johnson, I really do, but—"

"They've already set up an empty lab downstairs with everything you'll need. Now all that's missing is the babysitter."

"But what about my work?"

"I'll get one of the bean counters to fill in for you up here in the office. Won't even know you're gone!" he assured her with a wave of his hand. "Now scoot."

The man let the door fall shut with a resounding click, leaving Caroline standing alone outside.

She sighed.

"…yes, sir."

She shouldn't have worn heels that day.

They hadn't even lasted five minutes into the ordeal. The heel of one had snapped clean off as Caroline executed a particularly sharp turn in her pursuit, sending the woman tumbling to the floor and nearly twisting her ankle in the process. With a growl of frustration she had torn them both off and tossed them away then scrambled back up to continue the chase.

Standing with her stocking-clad feet spread wide, she panted heavily as her eyes followed the abomination still tearing around the lab. Her every muscle was tense, coiled up tight and ready to move at a moment's notice—by pure chance the thing passed within her reach and she sprang forward with her arms outstretched only to land empty-handed and with a painful thump on the floor.

Caroline groaned and rolled to her side.

Kids can't be left alone, the memo had read—they're helpless! She scoffed at the memory, surveying the wreck the 'helpless' thing had already made of the lab and its equipment.

Standing shakily, she leaned against a bench to catch her breath as it made another manic loop around the lab.

The confirmation that her day would be far less pleasant than she'd hoped had come when the previous caretaker—some poor sap of a lab assistant whose name she had not yet learned—had spilled out of the doorway of the lab just as she'd arrived, the legs of his trousers torn to ribbons and a look of wild relief plastered across his face. He had lurched forward to press a toy rattle into Caroline's hands, and with a breathless "All yours" had run off down the hallway and out of sight.

Clutching the rattle tightly enough to bleach her knuckles white, she had entered the lab and quickly secured the door behind her.

The creature, busying itself with the strips of cloth that had been missing from the lab assistant's attire, hadn't noticed her at first. Unsure of how to proceed, she had crouched down to approach slowly with the rattle held before her, but as soon as she'd given it the gentlest of shakes the creature had shrieked, thrown its claws up in the air, and extended its wings in a clear display of aggression.

Then it had started to run.

For the number of legs the little thing used to get around (four, with two on the ground at any moment) it was astonishingly fast and well-coordinated, though she felt that the pairs of wings on its back did give it an unfair advantage as it navigated the enclosed space of the lab.

As it turned out, the creature was far more mantis than man. The most humanlike quality it possessed was its size, roughly that of a human toddler, but the similarities ended there. Down to the bulbous, piercing eyes, the slender but vicious-looking claws, and the murky green of its exoskeleton, the child—she supposed it could be called that—was the very image of an exceptionally large adolescent praying mantis. Perhaps a bit shorter in the abdomen and with proportionately thicker lower limbs, but to what extent that could be attributed to its age and not its genetic modifications she wasn't sure—

Shaking her head furiously, she fought to focus on the task at hand.

She hadn't been asked to report on the anatomy of the thing. She'd simply been asked to take care of it and to make sure it didn't do any permanent harm to the facility before it could be safely contained away from the adults of its species, and that was precisely what she would do.

Caroline jumped, her breath catching in her throat as the green blur managed to bump into a large bookshelf nearby and knock it down with a jarring crash. It leapt back from the chaos with a shrill cry and turned to flee to the other side of the room.

She wasn't sure the exact value of the equipment the mantis creature had already destroyed in the lab, but she was willing to bet that it far exceeded her own monetary value to Aperture, and in its attempts to escape her the child was putting itself at risk as well. She knew she had to capture it soon, but she wasn't fast enough to catch the thing—the bruises she could already feel forming on her knees and elbows could attest to that—and her energy was fast fading.

Her eyes wandered to the corner of the lab where the previous caretaker had left a pile of supplies for the care of the child.

Picking through the items, she found toys and games, much of which had likely been borrowed from the mostly-unused daycare center a few floors above, as well as some blankets, bits of children's clothing, and—she paused, an idea striking her.

Food.

Caroline seized a candy bar from the pile, tore off its wrapper, and turned to face the lab.

The child had somehow managed to climb up onto a counter and was now flitting from end to end, emitting a strange chittering sound from its throat and tapping the hard surface with its oversized foreclaws.

She approached slowly, candy bar outstretched, speaking to the creature in the friendliest tone she could muster.

"Come on, you little monster," she soothed, shaking the treat in the direction of the suddenly interested child. "I know what you want. You want some chocolate, don't you? Some nice, sweet, tasty chocolate?"

Its head tilted to the side as she drew close, the tapping of its claws gradually slowing.

"That's right. A great big candy bar…" she was a few feet from it now. "And it's all for you. Isn't that nice?"

The child seemed entranced by her offering. It took a tentative step toward her and she froze with her hand still raised in the air.

"Just a little closer…"

It crept forward to inspect the candy bar in her hand.

Dropping the treat, Caroline lunged toward the creature and wrapped her arms around its abdomen to pull it close, pressing it firmly to her body and securing its claws against its sides with her arms. It screeched and struggled against her, tossing its head from side to side and kicking out against her with all four of its legs, but fortunately it was not as strong as it was fast.

But her sense of accomplishment at finally catching the miserable thing was short-lived.

As she stood with the slight weight of it wriggling in her arms she quickly realized that she hadn't quite planned as far ahead as actually capturing it—what was she supposed to do with it now? As long as she held it in her arms, it couldn't hurt itself or any more equipment, but she knew she couldn't hold it for the hours it would take for its enclosure to be completed.

What did one do with mantis children?

For that matter, what did one do with human children? She certainly hadn't ever cared for a child herself, let alone one with such a unique genetic makeup. And despite what Mr. Johnson and the researchers seemed to believe, she hadn't yet felt any womanly instincts stirring to life within her to tell her what she was supposed to do with it next.

The child shook its head feverishly in her arms, its cries softening to an intermittent whine.

She felt a sudden urge to join in.

What was she doing?

She'd dedicated four long years of her life to pursuing a degree in genetics solely to fulfill Aperture's ludicrous requirement that all of its employees—from its researchers to its cooks and plumbers—possess at least a bachelor's degree in some scientific field. In the end, she'd completed an impressive body of research during college, graduating with honors and subsequently fighting off dozens of other highly qualified applicants to earn her position at Aperture Science Innovators—and for what? To play babysitter to a freak of nature while the men conducted real science?

Caroline swallowed heavily, pushing down the sense of despair rising rapidly in her stomach.

No, that wasn't right.

She'd been entrusted by the head of the company with the care of a very precious specimen, one that held great promise in understanding the nature of mantis-human hybridization. After spending her first two weeks at Aperture typing reports, scheduling meetings, and delivering coffee, this was the first time she had been allowed near any of the projects, and if she had any say in it, it wouldn't be the last.

There was no room for failure.

She craned her neck to observe the child still fighting her grip. In all its struggling, it had rubbed a fine layer of dirt into her blouse and skirt. The child was filthy, likely from the time it had spent in the pen dodging the adults of its species.

That was a start.

"How about a bath? Children love baths!" she enthused with as syrupy a tone as her throat could produce and patted the creature's back reassuringly. She wasn't sure if that was true, but the child certainly couldn't correct her.

In response it took a chunk of her blouse into its mouth and began to chew on it, still kicking feebly at her stomach.

Trudging across the lab to the industrial-sized sink, she leaned down to plug its drain and allowed the water to fill the basin. Thankfully, soap and rags had been left nearby, and she gathered the supplies in preparation for the task. Dumping some liquid soap under the running water produced a reasonable imitation of a bubble bath, and she cut off the water as it reached the proper level.

Pulling the moistened, torn shoulder of her blouse from its mouth, she carefully lowered the child into the makeshift tub, sure to maintain her hold on its abdomen in preparation for its inevitable break for freedom.

To her surprise, though, the creature made no move to escape as it was immersed up to its narrow waist in the lukewarm water. Caroline pulled away and stood over the child, watching in amazement as the nervous energy left its limbs and it sat completely still, head tilted down to stare at the soapy water.

"…you… you like that?"

Its eyes darted upwards to focus on her for a few seconds, antennae twitching restlessly, before refocusing on the water.

"You do, don't you?"

It lifted a claw to tap at the water and an odd whirring sound spilled from its throat as the bubbles moved in response to its influence. The other claw soon joined the first and the creature busied itself by making waves in the water and watching the bubbles travel along its shifting surface.

"Well, I'm... glad you like it," she continued, wetting a rag in the soapy water. "Now let's get some of that dirt off."

She pressed the rag gently to the child's back and paused to wait for its reaction, but it didn't seem to mind much—it tossed its head in her direction to emit a quick chirp then resumed its efforts at puzzling through the waves its movements were creating in the water.

Caroline shrugged and began to scrub the back of its thorax. The grime washed away without much effort, and she moved on to clean the outer wings folded over its abdomen.

One of the wings, she realized as she removed layer after layer of dirt, had been damaged. There was a long, deep scratch across the wing that rested on top of the others, undoubtedly a souvenir of the time the child had spent in the adult enclosure. It had begun to heal over, but it still looked rather painful.

The researchers had told her that they would never know its true age. Given that it had been the first surviving offspring of the mantis men, they had no standard by which to judge it. But they had hypothesized that at least a week must have passed between its hatching and the day when the researchers had discovered it cowering in the corner of the cage.

According to the report, it had only barely escaped becoming a snack for the stronger, more vicious adults.

She supposed parental care was not a concept the mantis creatures had much use for.

"I don't know how you survived as long as you did," she sighed as she began to clean the area delicately.

The child ignored her in favor of continuing to splash at the water, but tensed with a quiet yelp of surprise when Caroline's hand came too close to the scar tissue.

"…poor kid," she murmured, careful to avoid putting too much pressure on the sensitive area. "I guess the others really didn't want you around."

The researchers hadn't either.

Unprepared for the burden of caring for the offspring of the mantis creatures, they had at first planned to get rid of it, but she'd intercepted the request before it had reached Cave Johnson's desk.

They were shortsighted, interested only in the behavioral and sociological implications of their work. Caroline could have screamed at them if it wouldn't have cost her her job. Aperture possessed some of the most advanced technologies for genetic engineering in the world—the mantis men were proof enough of that—yet somehow they hadn't seen the opportunity the creature presented to advance their research.

The mantis-human hybrids had laid eggs before, but none had hatched—none until this one. What was different about it? By what fluke of nature had this particular egg survived? The men had grudgingly accepted that those were, in fact, interesting questions, but they had all shied away from the task of caring for the child while a safer enclosure was being constructed.

"Nobody wants to deal with you, do they?" she continued as she gave the creature's back a final scrub. "Well, it's not your fault. Nobody was ready for you. Nobody knows what to do with you yet."

Caroline took hold of one thin arm and lifted it up, smoothing the soapy cloth along the hard exoskeleton covering the limb. The child made no effort to stop her, content to simply sit still and swirl the water with its free arm.

"But it's alright."

She reached the long, sharp curve of its claw and carefully guided the cloth around the rigid structure, cleaning the dirt off of each developing spine.

"You're tough."

The child's claws were nowhere near as deadly as those of the adults were, but she knew that in time they would sharpen and it would learn to defend itself.

After cleaning the other arm, she moved on to wash the front of the creature. It raised both arms up and away from the flat plate covering its belly.

"Thank you—" she stopped mid-scrub and pulled away.

The child looked down at itself, then scooted forward to move its body closer to her hand. Caroline resumed her task, a small grin tugging at her lips.

"Smart, too."

It trilled quietly and leaned forward to swipe a wispy antenna across her upper lip. Wrinkling her nose, she scratched at the spot with her free hand.

"Stop it, that tickles!"

The child responded with a few short chirps. As Caroline reached around to clean off its side, the final chirp escalated into a long, loud squeak and it jerked away, staring down at her hand with its head tilted to the side.

She laughed.

"See how that feels?"

The creature chattered irritatedly and scratched at its side with a claw.

"I think you're clean enough," Caroline nodded, submerging her arm in the murky water to unplug the drain. "Now all that's left is to rinse you off."

Reaching over the child, she turned the water back on and washed away the suds as it sat and watched the water spiral down the drain.

She stepped back from the sink, quickly realizing that she would need a towel—hadn't there been one with the supplies the researchers had dumped in the corner of the room?

Caroline hurried over to fetch the towel and returned just as the child scrabbled its way clumsily out of the sink and onto the counter beside it.

"Wait, wait—you're not dry yet!" she rushed to its side.

The creature turned its head to face her and regarded her silently for a moment. She took a step closer but stopped short as it lifted its arms up into the air and extended its wings behind it.

"What are you… no. No, please, don't—"

With no more warning than a brief preliminary shiver, the mantis creature leaned forward to brace itself on its claws and flapped all four of its wings violently, shaking the water from its body like a little green six-legged dog.

Caroline wiped the droplets from her face with the towel then glanced down—she'd been drenched.

"Are you finished?"

Its wings fluttered one last time to wet her face again before folding neatly back over its abdomen.

Sighing, Caroline wrapped the towel around its body and patted the remaining moisture away from its exoskeleton.

Outfit-destroying behavior aside, the warm bath seemed to have had a calming influence on the creature. It wasn't trying to run from her anymore, and it seemed much more interested in investigating her than in further destroying the lab. Eyes following her every movement, it chirped and chattered softly at her as she worked—it almost sounded like a baby bird.

"…come on, let's get you something to wear."

She leaned forward to take the child back into her arms, one arm supporting it beneath the abdomen as the other pressed its thorax to her chest.

Though it wriggled restlessly against her, its movements were far less frantic than they had been before. It shifted in her arms to hook its claws up and around the back of her neck, the not-yet-sharp points pressing lightly into her skin as it hung there, and nudged at the underside of her chin with its mouthparts.

She smiled despite herself at the odd sensation.

Among the clothing the researchers had left for the child were several dresses that were far too small—they may have even been intended for dolls, and frankly that level of incompetence wouldn't have surprised her—as well as a few pairs of trousers that could never be made to fit the child's legs in any fashion. But with a bit of digging, she soon uncovered exactly what she needed: a slightly baggy child's shirt with short sleeves and the words "Aperture Junior Science Innovators" emblazoned proudly on its front.

She knelt beside the clothing and set the creature down on the floor, indulging in a private moment of triumph as it did not run away from her but rather stayed at her side, watching her curiously. It took some cautious maneuvering to guide the shirt over the child's head without irritating its antennae or eyes, and threading its arms through the sleeves was much more of an ordeal than she'd expected, but soon enough she had accomplished her task and it stood before her, practically swimming in the ill-fitting cloth of the shirt, but properly clothed.

It hopped past her onto the pile of supplies and began to dig, pushing clothes and toys to the side with its claws.

"What's wrong?"

The child leaned down to seize a rubber ball in its mouth then spat it out and away. Further digging produced a stuffed bear that received similar treatment. Caroline watched as the child sorted through the objects one by one, holding each in its mouth for a moment before rejecting it with a low hum of frustration.

"Oh!" the realization struck her suddenly. How could she have forgotten that? "You're hungry!"

The trick with the candy bar must have worked for a reason, after all.

"I'm sure they sent some more food up here for you," she murmured, taking a spot beside the child to search for something for it to eat. Apart from the candy, she knew she'd seen a brown paper sack somewhere—there it was!

She plucked the bag from the pile and scooted back to sit against the wall, spreading a blanket across her lap.

"Not sure who gave up his lunch for you today," she laughed as she opened the bag. "But I'm sure he didn't mind sharing."

She surveyed the bag's contents: a paper-wrapped sandwich, some sliced carrots, a cookie, and a bottle of Coca-Cola. Not quite the same diet the adults of its species typically enjoyed—herds of plump rats released intermittently onto the floor of the enclosure, the report had stated—but it seemed far more appetizing to Caroline.

She unwrapped the sandwich, tore a piece off, and held it out to the child. It crawled into her lap without hesitation and lifted its arms to draw the offered hand closer to its mouth. Releasing the food, she pulled her hand to safety and settled back to watch it eat.

Its mouthparts were really very complex—the triangular shape of its head ended in a sort of rounded snout that opened somewhat like a human mouth, but within that structure sat another, sharper set of jaws oriented perpendicular to the first. On the outside of the mouth, two delicate armlike extensions situated above the opening curled toward the inside to guide the sandwich into its waiting jaws, and beneath a tiny set of fangs sat waiting to catch any food that escaped.

She fed it another piece.

The assembly moved together like a well-engineered machine, twitching and shifting and undulating constantly as it processed the food with a noisy relish. She couldn't help but feel a tiny stab of guilt at having denied it food earlier.

Caroline raised the last bit of the sandwich to its mouth, but the child grunted and shoved the food away with the dull outer edge of its claws.

"What's the matter? Aren't you still hungry?"

It reached out to push her hand toward her own mouth.

"You're… giving it to me?"

The creature watched her intently, a single antenna waving in the air.

She smiled and popped the food into her mouth, making a show of enjoying it.

"Mmm! Thank you!"

It responded with a stream of excited chirps and squeals.

Caroline studied the child squirming on her lap. According to the researchers' reports, the mantis creatures were hostile and wholly unsociable, more likely to bite each others' heads off than engage in any sort of friendly interaction. But this young specimen was not only docile—at least when provided with the proper environment—it could even conceive of the concept of sharing.

She fed the carrots into the child's waiting mouth, watching it with a new appreciation.

Such behavior was unprecedented for the mantis-human hybrids. It pointed to a level of intellect similar to that of an ape, perhaps even a human child. She could only wonder what other humanlike traits the offspring of the hybrid had regained.

She made a note to tell the researchers of her findings later.

The creature devoured the cookie within seconds of first tasting it, this time making no effort to share.

Caroline turned the bottle of Coca-Cola over in her hand.

"I don't think they left us a bottle opener," she shook her head. "Too bad. Maybe you can try it another—"

The child snatched the bottle from her hand with both claws. Holding it precariously, it nipped and gnawed at the metal cap, quickly prying it off and dropping it into her lap. She took the bottle back and tilted it to guide some of the carbonated drink into its mouth.

In an instant the liquid was returned, spat with force all over her blouse. The child knocked the bottle away, spilling still more down her front.

It gazed silently at the mess it had made.

Seconds later, something very much like laughter bubbled up from its throat, short, lilting bursts of sound erupting from its mouth as it shook in her arms.

Caroline soon joined in.

When the humor of the moment had passed from the child's mind, it moved closer to her. Wrapping its arms around her waist, it pressed its chin—or whatever structure it had that corresponded to its chin—against her chest and stared up at her, the pinprick pupils of its enormous eyes trained on her face.

"Oh! Ah…" she wasn't sure how to respond to the new gesture. What else did the child need? She'd bathed it, clothed it, fed it…

Its arms squeezed tightly around her body.

A quiet few seconds passed, and the child shivered briefly against her. Caroline snapped her fingers in the air as understanding dawned on her.

"Of course! You're cold, aren't you?"

The lab was a bit chilly, Caroline decided. Most of Aperture was, thanks to its highly secure and highly inconvenient location miles underground. If the temperature felt at all uncomfortable to a warm-blooded creature capable of regulating her own heat, she couldn't imagine how it felt to a being with no source of warmth but its environment.

With the mantis child still clinging to her, she rose onto her knees to gather the bits of clothing the researchers had left for it and construct a small nest from them. She lowered herself to the floor, shivering a bit herself at the its chill against her legs and arms. Lying on her side with her head propped comfortably on the soft material, she reached down to adjust the creature and draw it nearer to her warmth.

"Let's see how long it takes to warm you up—" the woman interrupted herself with a yawn. "…then maybe we'll try out some of these toys."

She pulled the blanket over herself and put an arm around the child's back, pulling it towards the heat of her body. It burrowed its head against her and extended a fragile arm around the woman's middle in an imitation of her own embrace.

Within seconds the exhausted pair had fallen asleep.

Hours later, the researchers sent to collect the child discovered Cave Johnson's newest assistant curled up on the floor of the half-destroyed lab, huddled beneath a blanket with her head resting on a pile of children's clothes and toys.

They exchanged a nervous glance. The braver of the two sent out a foot to nudge her in the side and she woke with a start, jerking upright as she searched for the source of the sensation.

Her gaze landed blearily on the two men.

"Oh... it's you."

Caroline yawned, arching her back in a long stretch, and the blanket shifted to uncover the specimen resting beside her. It stirred and sat up as well, watching the woman then imitating her movements.

"Did you see that?"

"Remarkable!"

"You've already finished the new enclosure?" she asked, kneading her aching shoulders with her hands as the child burrowed its way back under the blanket.

"Miss, it's… it's been six hours."

"Oh! Oh, my," her eyes widened at that. She scooped the blanket-wrapped creature up in one arm and struggled to stand. "It is ready, then?"

"Big enough for it to grow, secure enough that it can't escape, and far away from the adults," one of the men nodded.

"Good... good."

She ran her fingers through her hair, then looked down at herself.

The disheveled woman—barefoot but for her ruined stockings, face smeared with mascara, dark hair spilling messily from its once-perfectly-maintained bun—reached down to smooth a small wrinkle in her torn and heavily stained blouse.

She lifted her chin and regarded the men calmly.

"It's, ah… it's… not running around anymore," the second man noted, carefully avoiding the subject of her appearance.

Caroline nodded.

"Or attacking you."

She nodded again as she suppressed another yawn.

"I'll submit a report to you tomorrow morning. I believe this specimen has great potential but will require special care." She paused. "I would like to contribute to it, if I may."

The researchers glanced at each other again.

"Ah—we'll have to get Mr. Johnson's okay on it—"

"Wow, kid, you look like hell!"

Caroline's heart skipped a beat and all four heads turned at the sound of the young CEO of Aperture Science Innovators entering the lab. After a quick appraisal of the chaos in the room, Cave joined his employees, planting his hands on his hips and giving each a brisk nod of greeting.

"Thought I'd come down and see how things were going—hah! Well, I'll be damned!"

The man grinned when he noticed the small bundle resting calmly in Caroline's arms.

"Sir?"

"I think she likes you, Caroline," he teased with a wink.

"She, sir?"

One of the researchers piped up in response.

"Yeah—see those markings on the side of the abdomen? It's a girl."

"Mazel tov!" Cave raised his arms in mock celebration.

The child cringed at the movement, turning away from the man and his booming voice. As Caroline hefted the weight to her other arm, it—she—nestled closer.

"Now what was that about somebody needing my okay on something?"

"Mr. Johnson, I have reason to believe that this specimen may be even more valuable than we originally thought," Caroline beamed at the man.

One of the researchers scoffed.

"And how would you know? You're not a scientist—"

"Let the lady have her say, will ya?" Cave growled and turned back to her. "You were saying?"

Caroline smiled gratefully.

"She was frightened at first, but after a while she calmed down. Sir, she didn't behave at all like the reports suggested she would. She interacted with me socially and even tried to share her food with me."

Cave nodded, his brows lifting.

"I thought those things were all wild animals!"

"They are, or at least the others are, but this one is different. There must be some mutation in her genetic makeup that differentiates her from her parents, but it could be anything. We need to take samples, sir, and bring a genetics team on-board, perhaps a psychologist or a specialist in child development—"

"Whoa there, darling!" he laughed, putting his hands up in front of him. "Hold your horses. That's great stuff, it really is, but I think we need to meet with the rest of the team before making any big decisions."

"We, sir?"

"Of course. You think I can explain all this hooey to the researchers?"

"I'm—I'm sure you could, sir," Caroline blushed and looked down at her feet.

"That's real sweet of you, kid—"

The other researcher turned on him.

"Mr. Johnson. We've been working on that project for years—you can't just change everything because some skirt batted her lashes at you—"

"I'm Cave Johnson! I can do whatever I damn well want!" he snapped. Both researchers shrank back. "And Caroline's got a good head on her shoulders, whether she's wearing a skirt or pants or her birthday suit!"

Caroline could feel her blush deepen at her employer's words.

The first researcher stammered a response.

"Y-yes, sir—of course, he didn't mean—"

"If I hear that any one of you eggheads is giving her trouble, your ass'll be out on the pavement so fast you won't even know what hit you. Got that?"

"Yes, sir," the men chimed in unison.

"Now scram, we can take it from here."

The pair stumbled over each other to exit the lab.

Cave turned to Caroline, focusing his attention on the child in her arms.

"C'mon, Sport, we got a whole new pen ready for you. No big scary mantis ladies to bite yer head off," he soothed. His eyes rose to meet Caroline's. "Write up a report tonight, we'll figure out what to do with her in the morning."

She nodded.

"Yes, sir."

"Enclosure's not too far from here," he noted, guiding her through the door and toward the entrance of the laboratories. "Let's get her home."

She renewed her grip on the creature—she seemed to be falling asleep again, her head resting against Caroline's chest—and followed him down the hall.

"How was the office today, sir?" She held her breath, prepared to hear the worst—that she really hadn't been missed.

"Goddamn awful. Didn't get a damn thing done," he grumbled.

"But what about the, ah—the beancounter?"

"Idiot broke the typewriter when I told him to type up some reports. So I sent him to collect data from the human testing labs—he got lost. We had to send someone after him. Then I asked him for a cuppa joe, he couldn't even do that right."

He sighed.

"Tasted like socks."

Caroline nodded politely, suppressing a satisfied grin at the tale of the poor man's misfortune. So she hadn't been supplanted—far from it.

"Not to mention he's nowhere near as pretty as you," he added with a sideways glance.

"I'm glad to hear that, sir," she laughed as they arrived at the pen.

"Home sweet home!" He unlatched the door and stepped back.

Caroline entered the enclosure and set the drowsy child down on a pile of fresh straw, tucking the blanket tightly around her. She paused for a moment, then pressed her lips to the flat spot between her antennae and withdrew to rejoin Cave in the hallway.

The pair walked for a while, navigating the halls back toward the office in silence until Cave cleared his throat.

"You know, you're still my secretary. You're not getting off the hook that easily," his voice rose over the sound of his shoes and her feet against the floor.

"I know, sir."

"It'll be a lot of work," he warned. "Balancing the office and the lab."

"I know, sir."

"You'll have to work overtime," he added.

"I'd be happy to, sir."

"Starting today. Somebody's gotta fix what that moron did to those reports."

"Yes, sir."

Cave paused in the hallway, turning to scrutinize the woman.

"Don't you ever take a break, kid?"

She shook her head firmly.

"No, sir. Not when there's science to do."

He laughed, putting his arm around her shoulder and giving it a quick squeeze.

"I knew there was a reason I hired you."

Caroline simply smiled and kept walking.