A/N: Intense last chapter, right? Enjoy!
Gir promptly picked up Zim and Dib, and rocketed them back to the base. The little robot started crying hysterically as soon as they set foot in the house, as Dib was not moving, and had his eyes shut tight in fitful unconsciousness.
"Hush, Gir!" Zim yelled, rummaging through a drawer until he found gauze. "I need to focus." The Irken went over to Dib, who was lying on the couch, and picked him up gently before heading down to the lab. Once they were down there, Dib was laid out on an exam table, and Zim off his bloody shirt to check for wounds. Seeing none other than the bite wounds, he set about cleaning Dib's neck and wrapping it gently. He then gave the boy a shot of morphine to hopefully ease his pain, and another shot of adrenaline to hopefully boost his immune system. With that, there was nothing more to do, so the alien pulled up a chair next to the table and waited. He fervently hoped that Dib would turn out fine.
Morning crept up slowly, but as the lab was underground, Dib could only guess the time as he awoke with a start. Rubbing his heavy eyes, he squinted and looked around, spying Zim asleep in a chair next to him.
Dib grinned lightly. 'Pushover,' he thought, slowly stretching. His neck throbbed gently, and he had a headache. His body felt pretty good, albeit a little stiff. On the whole, his pain was minor. 'Last night could have been so much worse. I can't believe I was stupid enough to trust her; letting my guard down is what helped her glamors take effect. But damn, she sure used a lot of them,' he thought, wincing as his head pounded from the magical manipulation. 'If it weren't for Zim, I'd be dead . . . well, dead-er. I'm so lucky that he saved me.' The half-vampire's eyes shone in the dim laboratory as he smiled at the sleeping alien and quietly got off of the table. He crept up to the occupied chair and smiled down at it, and he knew his heart would be racing if it were still beating.
"I don't know what it is about you," he whispered, "but I can't hate you anymore. I feel like we're connected somehow, especially since you keep saving my ass. But-" he sighed. "But I'm putting you in danger. What if other creatures come looking for me? I don't want to endanger you. I," his voice cracked and his crimson eyes teared up, "I think I should go." The Irken's antennae twitched ever so slightly. "I can't have you hurt. G-goodbye, space boy." Dib turned to leave, but jumped in surprise when he felt a firm grip wrap around his arm and pull him backward. "Zim?!" he cried, quickly twisting his body to keep from falling. "What the hell?!"
The Irken flashed his zipper-like teeth menacingly. "If you EVER talk like that again, Dib-thing, I will not hesitate to strap you to that table!"
"You heard me? I though you were asleep!" Dib wailed at the injustice of it all.
"There aren't many sounds that can get past these," Zim said, proudly gesturing to his antennae. "You would do well to remember that. Now, why would you want to leave me?"
Dib blinked; that sentence had sounded . . . awkward. But he didn't have time to over-analyze it, as an angry Irken was still looking at him expectantly. "I . . . I don't want you getting hurt if others like Ela come. Besides, I've been a burden to you ever since I came here with all the surgeries you've done on me. I like staying here with you, but I don't think I can keep being here if it means you'll get hurt." He bit his lip; he was being pretty straight forward.
Zim raised his brow."Dib-meat, if you think you're getting away that easily, you have another thing coming. You're my guest here, and you're staying so that I can fix you more. Got it?" His antennae flattened against his skull in an intimidating manner, and he hoped that he had convinced the boy to stay. 'If Dib leaves . . .' Zim thought worriedly, 'If he leaves, I'll be . . . sad.'
"I- yes," the half-vampire sighed. "I won't try leaving again, I promise."
"Good," the alien sighed. "Now, how are you feeling?"
"A small headache, but other than that I'm fine," Dib shrugged. "I'd like to change, though," he said, blushing as he realized his shirt was gone. "But we left the clothes at the park, didn't we?"
"I sent Gir to retrieve them last night," Zim said, "knowing him, they should show up in a few hours."
Dib chuckled; the robot was crazy, but he was cute, too. Zim stirred, and Dib watched out of the corner of his eye as the Irken came to a stand before him, looking worried. "What is it?" Dib asked softly.
"Last night, when I carried you in here, you were bleeding so much . . . I suppose I was worried."
"I'm fine now, thanks to you. You saved me." Dib smiled genuinely. "Really, thank you."
"Just don't do that again," Zim rasped, emotions overwhelming him. Between the terror of the night prior and Dib almost leaving, he was feeling stressed and confused. "You know, you called me something for the first time last night . . ." he began, hoping to spark Dib's memory.
"I called you my friend," Dib said with a sweet smile. "Because it's true. Even when we were kids, I think I always knew we'd end up together . . . um, as friends," he flushed, cursing himself for tripping over his words. "Are you my friend?" he asked nervously, fearing the answer.
'I've never really had a friend,' Zim thought. 'And this is Dib; how can I say no?' "Yeah," he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "We are."
Without thinking, the teen leaned forward to hug the alien, only realizing what he had done after his arms were around Zim. "Uh," he said, stepping back. "Sor-"
"I've never had one of those, except from Gir," Zim said. "It . . . is okay to do that, Dib." The Irken flushed happily, and the half-vampire smiled and showed his fangs. "You said my name right!"
Zim snapped out of his haze. "Well, don't get used to it, Dib-fangs," he drawled, heading to the chute. "Come, your clothes should be up here." The teen followed him and did an inner dance of joy. He didn't know how, but somehow the morning had gone from bad to perfect.
~~~Reviews make me happy!
