So what the hell are you doing here?" GLaDOS snarled at the pathetic excuse for a being in front of her.

They were in her main chamber. Large and spacious, it was intimidating as well. GLaDOS was sitting in the center chair, glaring at Wheatley's new form. The randomizer did its job well. He was shorter than GLaDOS, with scraggly blueish gray hair that stuck out at all angles. His eyes were a soft shade of blue and his shirt was sky colored and gray with a white line going down the middle. He had freckles on his face.

GLaDOS found them fascinating for some reason. They kind of brought out his eyes...

Wheatley didn't answer; he just stood there with a weird smile on his face. The look in his eyes- the softness and the strange intensity- made GLaDOS feel...

...What was this feeling?

She shook her head. Repeating her question brought Wheatley back to reality from wherever he had been. He looked up at the ceiling and told her simply: "I fell from space."

His accent; GLaDOS had forgotten about it. How could she forget it? Even back when he was trying to kill her, she had always found the Cockney accent endearing. Many a times had GLaDOS tried to duplicate it on other robots- she failed every time.

"No duh, Einstein!" GLaDOS rolled her eyes. She pinched the bridge of her nose and expanded on the question. "The odds of you landing HERE is a million to one. How in the name of science did you manage that?"

"Oh it's simple really, luv." The moron told her matter-of-factly. "Remember when I was in charge? Well apparently some sort of homing chip was installed in the thinker." He knocked his head with his fist. "I dunno what it would normally do, but it made me crash here when I entered orbit." He looked at her curiously. "Didn't you know that?"

No. No she didn't.

"Of course I knew that. Where's the space-nut?" She had just realized that the corrupted Space Core wasn't there.

"Oh, Buzz-"

Now he was naming it? "Buzz?"

"Yeah, ya know: 'To infinity and beyond!'? Anyway, he was orbiting me until we reached earth's atmosphere." He shrugged. "I don't know where he is now."

Of course. He named it after a cartoon. Not Buzz Aldrin, one of the first men on the moon. She sighed.

"Okay." GLaDOS got up and stepped right up to him. She was happy about the noticeable height differences- it made him look small and child-like. Weak. She liked that.
"You listen and listen good, shorty. You are going to be kept under watch 24/7. If you do ANYTHING of concern I swear-"

"You know, you're really pretty."

GLaDOS stuttered to a stop. She looked down at him- Wheatley's face was bright as a cherry. He was avoiding eye contact with her. There was a moment of awkward science, before he continued in an unsure voice, "Well, uh, before you were huge and terrifying. Now you're smaller and it's... Nice." He shrugged and grinned sheepishly.

That feeling that had emerged earlier came up in GLaDOS. She still had no clue what it was, but it made her face grow hot and made her belly flutter.

She felt like she was going to be sick. She shoved Wheatley away and turned away. "Leave. Now." She growled. "Before I change my mind about saving you."

She heard Wheatley walk away. His footsteps echoed throughout the chamber, then stop for a moment.

"I still hate you!" He called back to her. Footsteps started again.

Making sure he was gone, buy still within ear-shot she screamed back, "And believe me I hate you too!"

The sound faded and GLaDOS felt her cheek.

It was still hot.