With each step came a giant pounding into his head. Zim groaned through clenched teeth; pain wrecked his body and sprung tears to his eyes. "D-Dib-worm . . ." He clutched feebly at Dib's shirt.
"I know it hurts," Dib cooed and soothed Zim as one might a frightened child. "Just hold on a bit longer. See? We're in the lab now." As the words fell into the air so did the elevator descend, and touched the floor of Zim's laboratory. A cold room filled by extraordinary alien machines, blue-prints and creations far beyond human understanding. A thick chair stood at the foot of the computer screen. Dib lay Zim into the seat. The sharp points of his army boots scrapped the floor and clacked into the sleeping GIR's head.
"MASTAH, MARY, YOU'S HOME!" Just like that he was awake, and clinging to Zim's legs in delight. "Mastah, what's wrong? You look awwwlll sick!" GIR's antenna drooped. His eyes swelled with tears, mere moments from screaming. Briskly, Dib eased GIR into his arms.
"Master isn't feeling well today." From his pocket Dib produced a jawbreaker and pressed it into GIR's mouth, silencing him. "You just enjoy the candy, okay? Let Mary take care of your master. Computer, run a scan!" Dib's head lifted. "Search for any viruses, diseases, or other abnormalities in Zim's body."
Once, the computer might have tutted, or made a rude comment – but time had become an asset to all. Anchored by its Irken master, the computer existed only as Zim did. "Scanning . . ." A bright line of red rained down from above; Dib stepped back, GIR in arms, and let the laser run across Zim. By now the groaning had stopped, but still Zim sweated, his eyes pinched from the pain. He reached a hand for Dib.
"I'm here, baby," Dib soothed.
"Scan complete!" The laser retracted from existence. "Master Zim, your PAK is attempting to abort a parasite within your squeedily spooch."
A parasite? Dib's heart dropped to his stomach and there, something churned inside, threatening to see him hurl.
"W-what?!" Zim opened an eye. "H-how?! My PAK sh-should've flushed any parasite from m-my system by now! This pain's been here for hours!"
Hours? "Zim, why didn't you say anything?!" Dib cried.
"Answer is simple," the computer drawled. "Your organic body is at war with your PAK. It's fighting to prevent the PAK from eliminating the intruder."
Dib's head whipped upwards. "Why would it do that? What the fuck kinda parasite is this?"
The computer sighed. "Scanning resume . . . Parasite is identified as a fertilised smeet."
The jawbreaker crashed to the ground and echoed all across the laboratory. GIR leaped from Dib's embrace to retrieve his prize. GIR couldn't see, nor understand, the surging terror that swept throughout Zim's bones.
"Zim . . ? Are you okay?" Dib squeezed Zim's shaking hand.
" . . . C-computer. Put a temporary block on my PAK to prevent the abortion." Zim's voice was so small, so weak and frightened, unlike anything that should belong to Zim. The fear was apparent and in turn, it swept over and consumed Dib too. A cable reached down from no where and attached to Zim's PAK.
"A-a block?" Dib's gaze fell to the machine, giving new commands to the PAK. "Z-Zim. . . What kinda parasite is this?" His heart skipped a beat as Zim slowly lifted his head. Never before had he seen Zim so pale. So very frightened.
"A-a smeet, Dib,"Zim rasped. "A baby."
And then, nothing. Silence echoed, but for the roaring inside Dib's head. The pounding of his frightened heart bellowed out like the drums of war. "B-baby? B-but you said . . ." He stepped away; terror ruled his bones and set them trembling. Trembling as Zim's hand trembled, and he reached out for security.
"Dib I didn't know, I-"
His words greeted empty space. "I'm sorry Zim." Dib ran. He turned from the sudden fear and bolted, GIR trailing at his heels. Zim's fingers flexed, they too yearned to follow.
"Mary? Its been so long now. When will you come and make Mastah happy again? I wanna play wiff piggies and eat burneded peanuts with you. Mary, Mary look! If you come with me to see Mastah, you can give my piggie a hug if you wanted!"
Ignorance is bliss, so they said, and rightly so. Truly GIR knew nothing of the harsh truths of the world. He knew nothing of strife, nor anxiety. His world was full of food and fun and little else. He saw his beloved master and how he wept. That was all GIR saw. He saw no rhyme nor reason, he couldn't comprehend the fright of both Zim and Dib, or what it might mean.
Lucky jerk. Dib cast his eyes to the prattling GIR, briefly, and returned gaze to the ceiling. It seemed an eternity and longer since last he'd spoken with Zim. Since the discovery.
. . . A baby . . .
"D-Dib-worm . . ?"
Zim's voice sounded so far away, so very small, yet he stood before Dib. The shaking had long since passed but still, it did nothing to soothe Zim nor Dib. The Irken bit his lip, and perched on the edge of the couch beside Dib.
And then, silence.
What could be said? Involuntarily, Dib's gaze fell to Zim's stomach. Perfectly flat, and resting Zim's own palm. Nothing seemed different. There was no visible sign that anything had changed.
"I. . . I thought you said Irkens couldn't get pregnant." Dib broke the silence. He tried to sound calm and composed, but it was the wobbling of his voice that betrayed him.
"I didn't think we could." Still, Zim's voice was so small, insignificant, almost. It didn't suit him. "My kind hasn't given natural birth for tens of thousands of years. There's no records of it. I . . . I thought . . ." Zim's voice trailed away. He couldn't bring himself to look at Dib, let alone his own belly. Truly, Zim was lost.
"W-what are we going to do, Dib?" Zim whispered.
All at once every thought and option crashed into Dib's head, and all but made the world spin. He saw his own life, long and happy with Zim. He saw himself studying, and flying across the stars with his beloved. He saw himself and so many planets before his eyes; he smiled. Such tranquillity.
And then he saw a baby, and his previous life was over.
Slowly, Dib opened his eyes. ". . . I had plans, ya know?" He buried is face into his palms; a brief moment of distress. And then it was over. "I'd been accepted into Princeton University. Remember Zim? I was gonna start next September, study forensics and biology. You said you'd come with me, that we could go out into space on the weekends, and just play." A sigh escaped his lips, but with it, Dib was laughing. "I guess that plan's out the window."
"No! It doesn't have to be!" Zim lurched forwards and grabbed Dib's hand. "We can still do those things!"
Another laugh, this time lower, sad almost. "Can we, Zim?" Dib finally turned his gaze to Zim's, and the Irken marvelled at what he saw. In the window to Dib's soul Zim saw sorrow, he saw fear.
But most of all, he saw love.
"I couldn't leave you all week to look after a child. It wouldn't be fair." He looked to GIR, ignorant GIR, playing with his food on the floor, and Dib sighed. "My dad .. . When I was growing up, he could always afford the best things for me and Gaz. Food, toys, clothes, holidays and games. We were well off, but he was never there. And it hurt. I always wanted Dad to pay us attention, to act like he cared."An ancient tremor of bitterness, forgotten not even by time, clung to Dib's throat. He wiped his eyes and looked to Zim again. "I always promised myself that I'd never be like him. That if I had a child, I wouldn't put my own selfish wants above the welfare of my baby."
"But . . ." Zim sounded strained. "It's not fair that you have to give up your dreams! I can't have my dreams, I can't be an invader anymore, so I have to settle for second best." His thoughts fell briefly to all his experiments and blue-prints down in lab. They were fun and all, but certainly not Zim's first choice of career. "Trust me worm, settling for second best isn't a good feeling. You . . . You should follow your dream, forget about the smeet."
It was here, when Zim averted his gaze, that Dib sensed something more to this. Something that resided deep with Zim's heart. "Zim . . ." Dib reached a hand and turned Zim to face him, and oh, how his eyes spoke to him. The eyes of an Irken, so mysterious, so utterly dazzling, and Dib had learn to read Zim's. ". . . D'you not want this baby?"
Zim's gaze widened. " I . . ." He flinched away; shame had never suited Zim. Now with one hand pressed to his belly, it seemed all the more ugly. ". . . I don't know," Zim admitted quietly. "I told you, Irkens haven't given natural birth for many millennia. I don't know if we lay eggs or give live birth. I don't know how long we carry for, I don't even know if we're-" He froze on the verge of panic; a deep coarse blush invaded Zim's face. He looked away.
"Don't know what, Zim?"
Zim didn't answer. He only sighed. He looked so very frightened. For the first time since he'd left the Irken Empire, Zim was lost.
"Zim. Look at me." Dib called, and of course, Zim could only look at his mate. "Forget about me for a moment. Forget my wants and dreams. Do you want this baby?"
It caught him of guard; never had Zim ever been asked his wants before. At least, not before Dib came along. After three years of friendship and more, it was something he still struggled to comprehend. ". . ." Words failed him. Zim looked to his belly; gently, he stroked the material of his tunic, where beneath and deep inside his spooch his smeet was growing. Their smeet, made together, sharing blood and bone and life with Zim. The thought was both disturbing, yet beautiful.
Zim thought of Earth babies. Smelly, dribbling, constantly screaming for food, attention and more. He didn't want that. What Zim wanted was Dib. For an Irken's mate was their whole world, the bind that kept them tethered to life. He wanted for Dib to be happy. He wanted to see and insult Dib everyday, to make love and chase one another like they used to. He wanted to give Dib a PAK, so they could be together eternally. All Zim wanted was Dib's happiness.
It was this that made Zim's choice. Because he could see in Dib's eyes that Dib wanted this baby.
". . . Yes, I do."
That alone saw a change in Dib. His heart missed a beat, it filled with love and hope, and it was all he could do not to laugh. "A-are you sure?" He choked back delight. "Remember Zim that this is a baby. We can't just see how things go for a few years, and get rid of it if things don't work out. This'll be our child forever."
Zim closed his eyes. "Yes Dib, I'm sure."
And with that, the excitement could no longer be contained. Dib gasped like a child at Christmas and pulled Zim into a deep embrace. "That's wonderful Zim, I love you!" He covered Zim's face and antenna with kisses. "I just know you'll love being a mother! God we have so much to plan now, and I need to figure out what I'm gonna tell Dad and Gaz. He'll be so excited to be a grandfather!"
"Can I be da uncle?" GIR chirped in. Dib highly doubted that GIR had any idea what was happening but his didn't care.
"You bet you can!" Dib scooped GIR into the air and swung him like a baby. "You can be the uncle and pet puppy combined!" His words meant nothing but GIR squealed with laughter anyway, delighted by the attention. He laughed and hugged at Dib's chest, and all the while Zim forced himself to smile.
". . . The abortion block on my PAK is only temporary," Zim rose to his feet. "I'm gonna head to the lab and make it permanent."
"Okay! Don't be long!" Drunk on delight, Dib couldn't see inside Zim this time. He only continued to celebrate with the delighted GIR.
Truly, ignorance was bliss.
". . . Computer, switch the setting on my PAK. Make the abortion block permanent." Zim scratched his arm. A cable fell from the ceiling above and got straight to work. When Zim remembered Dib's smiling face, he too smiled.
"Not so smart of you to avoid the whole story." The computer remarked. "You have no idea if Irkens are maternal, do you?"
The thought alone was terrifying. On Earth, people had babies all the time and loved them on sight. Dib was already in love with the fetus. But Zim . . . He didn't know how to feel. Irkens never learned emotion, it was blocked out completely. Zim himself would never had experienced emotion's wonders, had his PAK not been defective.
Zim loved Dib without question. Once upon a time Irkens took mates, they mated for life. That was recorded, but no information remained about natural births. This smeet could quite easily be born, and Zim wouldn't feel a shred of emotion for it.
"I don't, you're right." The block was now permanent, the smeet was safe; Zim rested his hand to his belly and closed his eyes. "I pray to Irk that we are, or I fear this'll tear Dib away from me."
Dun dun dun! And so we have the smeet! Truly, I am utter trash :D