Lard narr was having that dream again. Zim was lying in bed next to him, and Lard Narr would always touch his stomach, where there was a slight bump from the smeet inside. He smiled at Zim and felt utterly at peace. Zim would then move his hand downwards, and...

The dream was cut off suddenly by Shloonktapooxis yelling at him to wake up, 'cause the Irkens were getting close, and they would need to move positions soon. Lard Narr told them to move to the outer rim of the galaxy, then said he was going to get some sleep. If the Irkens did catch up with them, it wouldn't be for hours, and he needed sleep to properly function.

When he entered his room, he noticed that Zim wasn't there. He had probably left the door unlocked. He would have to remember to lock it properly. He then collapsed on the bed and passed out immediately.

-----

Lard Narr woke up after a long fight to stay asleep. He was under the sheets on the bed, and there was a slightly cooler body next to his. He put his arm around the body and pulled it close. 'Where were you, Zim?'

'Zim was in this room.'

'No you weren't. I was in this room last night, and I didn't see you.'

'Zim was hiding, for a surprise.'

Lard Narr could tell Zim was worried. He always talked in third person when he was worried. 'No you weren't Zim.' He pushed Zim onto his back and placed a hand around his neck. 'You can't hide.'

Zim clawed at the hand, but stopped when Lard narr crushed his hands into his stomach, winding him, and held the hands there so he couldn't get good breaths.

'You weren't here at all, were you Zim? I think you were calling the Irkens for help.'

'I... wasn't.' Zim gasped. 'I was... out'
'Out where? What were you doing?' Lard narr pressed harder on Zims' windpipe.

'Can't... breathe...' Zims vision was blurring.

'Computer.' Lard Narr stated, to get the computer's attention. 'Where was Zim 6 hours ago?'

'Zim was in the medical bay, looking at the foetus.' The computer had been paying close attention to Zims' and Lard Narrs' actions. They were more fun to watch than the soap operas he occasionally picked up. He knew that Zim had been going to see the foetus for weeks, just staring at it. He also knew that lard narr had been, too.

Lard Narr cursed. He knew he should've gotten rid of it, but the doctor had wanted to preserve it for study. He let go of Zims' throat, and dragged him out of the bed. 'We're going to sort out this problem.'

Zim just stood there, gasping for breath. 'What problem?' he managed to get out after he had gotten his breath back.

'We're both still hung up over the, the, the mis, the miscarriage.' He stumbled over the word. It was hard for him to say, it was still hard to admit that they had had a smeet and he had killed it.

Lard Narr left the room, and Zim followed him. They both went to the medical bay, and when they got there, they stopped. It was hard enough to talk about, and now they were confronting it. Lard narr opened the door, and said 'I think you know the way.'

Zim made his way over to the cabinet containing the foetus, and opened the door, like he had done dozens of times before. He put his hand on the glass of the jar, like he had also done dozens of times before. Lard narr also put his hand on the glass, like he had done dozens of times before.

Lard narr broke open the glass, and both of them retched at the smell of the embalming fluid. Zim picked up the foetus in his hand. It was smaller than his smallest finger. He felt tears collect in the corner of his eyes. Lard narr put his arm around Zims' waist. 'What should we do with it?' Zim asked.

Lard narr shrugged. 'There's a matter disintegrator there.'

Zim looked at it. 'That seems acceptable.' He then put the body in the matter disintegrator, and pressed the button for disintegrating it. A blue light flashed and the body disappeared.

-- -- --- -

Have any of you smelt formaldehyde? It stinks. If you get it on your clothes, or your hands, it will smell for ages. A few of the preserving jars in the biology lab cracked, and the smell made everyone feel sick.

I seem to have misled you on the last author's note comment. It was not over. If the ending seems a bit sudden, I couldn't think of anyway to end the story without it becoming even more out of character.