A concerned father held his smeet in his arms. Not ever letting go for as long as the child was ill. The proud father cradled his boy close to him, feeling the boy shiver uncontrollably, his teeth chattering.

"Aba," ZIM whined. "My body hurts everywhere."

"You're having muscle aches, ZIM. That's normal." Red shushed him. "It'll be alright, Pup. Hang in there."

"The medicine didn't work." ZIM said. His eyes were closed tightly as if trying to find rest. Red's eyes softened immensely.

"Don't fret, Pup. It takes awhile to get better sometimes." Red kissed the boy's antenna, gently stroking ZIM's cheek with the back of his fingers to sooth him as much as he could. Red shifted him, being able to feel just how sweaty the kid was.

"Aba, I'd rather be in school." Red cooed sympathetically.

"I know you hurt, Pup. Just hang in there." Red curled his smeet up closer to his face and nuzzled the ill child. The two remained like that until a knock was heard at ZIM's door. Red perked his antenna, lifting his head. He then looked back down at his son. "I'll be right back, Pup." Red set the little Irken down on his bed and got up to answer the door.

"My everywhere hurts." ZIM mumbled.

"It's just body aches, babe. Hang in there." Red whispered, reassuringly. The father rubbed his tired eyes as he made his way to the door. He pressed his palm to the scanning pad and the door slid open to reveal his slightly older brother. "What brings you here?" Purple crossed his arms.

"Red, can you part from your son for an hour? You have a duty, ya know. We need to be at a maintenance and staff meeting right now." Red bit his lip, shifting his eyes to the bed where the shivering smeet lay.

"I need for someone to watch him."

"Tak and Skoodge can talk with him for a the hour. They'll be fine as long as they keep their distance from him." Red looked down, sighing heavily. After a moment he nodded in agreement.

"I just don't understand how he got sick. Everywhere he goes on the Massive is clean and tidy. The only unclean parts of the ship is the engine room . . . Wait a minute." Red was struck with realization. Purple cocked a brow.

"What?"

"ZIM's tutor works in the engine room. He always complained how Mr. Retchaw smelled and he'd always leave from his sessions coughing." Red stated. Purple tilted his head to the side.

"You think he may have gotten pneumonia from his teacher?"

"If Mr. Retchaw works in the engine room, he's probably covered from head to toe in foreign bacteria." Red said. "And the engine workers only get to bathe three times a week."

"If your suspicions that Mr. Retchaw may have indirectly gave ZIM a virus prove to be correct, how do you plan on going about with the situation?"

"Well I'd have no choice but to relieve him from the extra duty." Red scratched his head. "Call for a nurse, Pur. Have him or her take samples of ZIM's saliva to see if the bacteria is from the engine room." Purple gave his brother a curt nod then took off down the hall.

"Be in the conference room in three minutes, Red. We don't want to wait like last time." Purple said, before disappearing from sight. Red groaned. He just wanted to stay by his son. The poor boy sounded like he was dying every time he went into a coughing fit. Occasionally blood would be found in the tissue ZIM was sneezing and coughing into. It hurt Red to see the child like this.

Red looked back into the room. Ara was on ZIM's bed now, snuggling up behind the boy in a warming manner. Like a mother holding her newborn, Ara was careful with ZIM. The animal was quite aware of the size differential between her large being and ZIM's small frame. Only once has the Kurunge-Dai accidentally laid atop ZIM and that was when he hid himself under a blanket on his bed so the beast did not see when she jumped upon his mattress. This incident did not hurt ZIM. He was lucky to be able to shake it off and laugh about it.

"Pup, I have to go to a meeting for a little while. Do you want to rest or have Tak and Skoodge keep you company?" ZIM weakly opened one eye.

"I wanna see my friends." ZIM mumbled. Red rested a hand on ZIM's forehead to see if his temperature went down any. It hasn't. If anything, it felt like it was climbing.

"We need to get you more antibiotics." Red whispered, mostly to himself. He leant down to kiss ZIM's sweaty cheek. "Tak and Skoodge will be here in a minute. You just hang in there, Pup." ZIM didn't say anything. He just closed his eyes once more and curled up alongside the beast in his bed. With one final look at his precious smeet, Red turned on his heals and headed out the door and down the corridors of the Massive to the conference room for the meet.

...

"Wanna play tag?"

"Nuh."

"Hide and seek?"

"Nuh."

"Invaders and soldiers?"

"Nuh!"

"Skoodge, don't you see? He's sick and he's tired. He doesn't want to play, he wants to rest. We're only here for his comfort."

"I'm sorry! I thought he was bored."

"I am. But I can't move without feeling the need to faint." ZIM went into a raging coughing fit. His two friends cringed at the painful wheezing emitting from ZIM's throat. Once the coughing subsided, ZIM rested his diaphragm once more, his eyes slipping shut. Ara licked his face in a loving manner. "The doctor gave me more medicine but it's not helping." ZIM whimpered.

"It takes time to feel better from pneumonia, ZIM. You'll recover in a few more days, I'm sure of it." Tak reassured. ZIM's eyes opened ever so slightly. He licked his chapped lips, sighing heavily.

"I hope you're right."

...

". . . and what's the child's name?" A voice hissed, lowly. An eerie sound coming from an unidentifiable being on a unrecognizable ship.

"ZIM." Another voice with the same tone answered.

"ZIM? That's what the Tallest named him? I would think he'd have a more royal name. Is it short for anything?"

"No, sir. Just ZIM. After the late General Hyacinth's father. ZIM the First." A grunt from the listener. "ZIM is the pride of the Irken race, milord. He'll be worth a bountiful amount of monies."

"Their Empire would give much to keep him safe." Another voice chimed. "Me thinks the child is worth more than two ships full of platinum."

"Tallest Red would give the Empire up for the well being of his son. His brother would do the same."

"Indeed they would, Colonel . . . Arrange plans for his capture." The first voice ordered.

"Yes, sir." Was their response.

"I want the Tallest's son by dawn."

This was short. And I apologize for that. But I must warn ya guys, I have two jobs and I'm kinda struggling with school right now. But here ya go for now!

Thanks for reading!