Agent Tunaghost of the Swollen Eyeballs was sitting at the computer, checking her email for new messages. There was only one and it was a file full of blurry and obstructed pictures where all you could see was maybe a gloved hand here and a red eye there, but nothing that would provide concrete evidence of the boy's alien status.

"Agent Mothman again?" Agent Darkbootie appeared over her shoulder.

She nodded and continued scrolling through the pictures. She stopped at a photo of something green with an antennae sticking out of it, but she couldn't tell what it was due to the smiling, green dog jumping at the camera and blocking the view. "Last I heard, he was in the hospital. Got stabbed or something," she smiled half-heartily, "again."

Agent Darkbootie nodded and stepped away from Tunaghost. She stopped him by saying, "do you think he might actually be on to something? I know he can't come up with proof, but..."

"He may be a little annoying at times, but I still want to give him the benefit of the doubt."

"I wish we could help him in some way."

"We can't be there 24/7 with him to watch that alien boy."

"But maybe we can send someone who can," Agent Tunaghost said. "Someone with a lot of free time. Someone like..."

They both became alert, the same person coming to their minds.

"Agent Dreamcatcher," they said together.

"But he can't know she's part of the Swollen Eyeballs," Agent Darkbootie said. "It would crush him if he thought we didn't have faith in his abilities."

"She's from a different branch, so their paths never crossed. We'll just tell her to keep quiet and Mothman will be none the wiser."

Dib was in the hospital, again. Gaz and professor Membrane were sitting in the waiting room, again. Dib's failed attempts at exposing Zim usually ended with him getting beat up, burned, impaled, or something that would send him to the hospital and Gaz was sick and tired of it. Anger burned in her heart at the thought of all her precious free time being spent playing her video game in some stupid little waiting room when she could be playing her video game in her own, less-stupid, bedroom with the TV on. Her father, however, was a nervous wreck over his little boy, again.

The door opened and a nurse in a clean, white lab coat stepped into the waiting room. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail and her blue eyes sparkled with child-likeness and joy. She checked her clipboard, looked over to Gaz and professor Membrane, and walked over to them. Gaz scowled. Even her walk was preppy.

"Professor Membrane?" The nurse shook Gaz's father's hand and beamed at him. "I'm happy to tell you that your son will be just fine."

After that, Gaz tuned her out. It was always the same song and dance with these people. Your son's fine blah blah blah, very lucky boy blah blah blah, could've been worse blah, and would you care to see him?

Like always, the professor went in to see Dib and, like always, Gaz chose to stay in the waiting room. The doctors and nurses have long since learned not to waste their time trying to get the little girl to show any sign of feeling towards her brother and to just let the girl be. Usually, they just talked to her father. Usually.

Apparently, this nurse was new.

"You know, your brother is very lucky," she said after the professor left.

Gaz didn't look up from her game. It was a war game and she was in the middle of enemy territory. "Uh huh."

The nurse's smile wavered, but soon perked back up. "It could have been so much worse."

"Got it.

"I know if something like that happened to my brother, I'd be worried sick."

"Yup."

"One more inch and your brother would be dead."

Gaz's finger slipped from the button, costing her character his life.

No nurse had ever used that word with her before. Gaz was sure the word was used with her father, but words like that were taboo around children her age. Of course, Gaz knew how hurt her brother always got. She knew he had brushed with death almost all the time. She knew death was inevitable for everyone at some point.

But to have it spoken.

Intrusive thoughts flashed through her mind as she started the level over. Her father's shouts of 'where did I go wrong?' transformed into cries of 'why didn't I treat him better?', walking by her brother's room only to find it empty and dark, having no one to fight over the remote with when Mysterious Mysteries was on, but most of all, her father's cries. Hers would join his.

The nurse cleared her throat and brought Gaz back to reality.

"Would you like to see him?"

Gaz hesitated.

Gaz closed her gaming console.

It wouldn't kill her to see the little brat for a second.