Wish You Were Here
"-Dib, he was brought in by some scientists about an hour ago. He has been shot and we have removed the bullet. You should probably come in."
Gaz managed to pick up the phone just as the doctor said 'in'.
"What do you mean Dib was shot?" she demanded. There was no response, the phone had already been hung up.
Gaz never thought someone's heart could literally stop while they still were alive.
"Excuse me miss, visiting hours are over."
"Either you let me in," Gaz started, rage storming within her, "Or I make you wish you were never born!"
"You aren't the first person to threaten me girly," the nurse frowned. "One of the others was a burly guy with a gun."
"I make those men cry," Gaz hissed.
"Sorry, but try tomorrow," the nurse continued to close things up behind the counter.
"Let me in!" Gaz shouted, "Dib's in there!"
"Don't mention him," the nurse sighed. "We had to bribe all of those noisy scientists to make them leave. Never has a more popular person come through. What do you want me to tell him?"
"He's my brother!" she exclaimed. Admitting it made her scared again and she had to will the tears back from in front of the hospital staff member.
How could you Dib? How could you!
The nurse's face softened. "Oh, you're Gaz?" Gaz managed to nod and the nurse led her through the halls. "Well, come with me, he's fallen asleep, but if you're quiet you can stay with him."
Gaz could hear the lie in the women's tone, but she couldn't tell where it was coming from. He had fallen asleep? Then things were good then, right? But if everything was going to be okay, wouldn't the doctor have assured her of that on the message?
Her own heart beat wildly in her chest. Her eyes had never before felt so wet. How could this have happened? She was going to be a better person!
Dib, don't do this to me! Please Dib... just don't.
"Here you go, I'll tell the night staff you're in here," the nurse shut the door, the only noise to be heard a constant beeping. Gaz walked over blindly, reaching in front of her until she felt the bed, then going up to where the small lamp beside his bed was. She fumbled with the chain and finally turned it on.
Dib was lying there, breathing through a tube, bandaged as if he had fallen twenty feet. Gaz's breath caught in her throat and all that could come out was a ragged sob. With a trembling hand she moved Dib's one long lock of hair out from in front of his closed eyes.
Why am I being punished?
She wanted to say sorry, but she didn't want to give in so suddenly. That would be treating him as if he were already dead.
"Has it really only been a week Dib?" she asked him.
Constant beeping was her reply.
"I can't do this alone," Gaz pleaded.
Beep.
"You were right."
Beep.
"I'm sorry."
Beep.
Gaz smoothed his hair back again and picked up his glasses from the nightstand. One lens was shattered and the other was completely unscathed. It was a metaphor for their relationship. He was always the one who broke and he was always the one who pulled himself together. She was just there. She was nothing special. Two completely separate lenses.
Why is he being punished?
"Oh God, I'm sorry," she whispered.
Beep.
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"Zim?"
"Computer, I'm busy!" Zim shouted.
"But Zim, you aren't doing anything."
Zim stood up from his chair. "Zim is thinking! Thinking is an important Invader process too!"
"The phone is ringing," the computer went on in it's bored tone. Zim scowled.
"Who would be calling this late at night?"
"Well, I don't think it's the telemarketers, not after that last bomb you shipped to them."
"Fine!" Zim shouted. "If you think it's so important, Zim will answer the phone!"
"It's from a hospital line."
That grabbed Zim's attention. "But... I don't know anyone in a hospital." Without waiting for an answer, he went over to his silently ringing phone that was deep in his base and picked it up.
"Hellooo?" he questioned the receiver intently.
"Zim?" it was Gaz's voice, but Zim wasn't sure, the voice kept on fading in and out and all he got from it was, "Could you come?"
"I said I would fix it tomorrow," Zim assured carefully.
"... talk to..."
"What?" Zim questioned, wanting to tell her to speak louder, but for some reason felt as if he shouldn't.
"I need to talk to someone."
"Where are you?" he demanded.
"The hospital. Dib... he..."
"The Dib?" Zim questioned. Dib was in the hospital? And not by Zim's hand? "I'll be there."
"Hurry," came the faint voice before a click. Zim hung up the phone immediately and headed for the house level, almost forgetting to throw on his contacts and his new wig.
"Don't break her heart son," said Robo-Dad, watching television with Robo-Mom, Gir, and Minimoose.
"Break her heart?" Zim questioned. "Break whose heart? How do you break a heart? Zim wasn't going to cut anyone up!"
"SSSHHHHCHEESESSSHHHHH!" Gir exclaimed, gluing his eyes to the television. Minimoose squeaked in disapproval.
"Ah, our little boy is growing up!" And Robo-Mom promptly burst into loud tears while hugging Robo-Dad, causing sparks to start. Zim's antennae lowered. He would have to do something about them. Zim left them as Gir started to do a jig on Minimoose's head.
He realized how much of a madhouse it was that he lived in.
Zim went in through a window, not trusting the cameras that were pointed at the front of the hospital. He opened a door, only to realize Dib was not in there. He hadn't asked where the siblings were. Scowling, Zim brought his tracking device out of his pak. Hopefully Gaz was wearing her jacket.
She was.
Zim entered the room quietly, the door closing behind him the first thing Gaz appeared to hear. Her head snapped up and she turned towards him. She was not hiding the tears on her face.
"Oh, Zim," she rasped as she hugged him. Zim was about to push her off, but realized he didn't want to do that. She could still kill him, if she still had enough anger in her.
"What happened?" he asked, looking over her shoulder and at Dib.
Beep.
"I don't know..." she said quietly. "No one knows. They just found him..."
And she started to cry. Zim continued to look at Dib.
That's just low hyman! Making your sister cry? Stop it!
Beep.
Dib didn't respond. Zim wrapped his arms around her and wondered what he should do next.
The little that could have been said was not, and the silence that might have occurred was lost.
"There's nothing Zim can do, is there?" Dripping curiosity.
"No." Flooding disappointment.
"Damn it!" Smoldering anger.
"That must be the first time I've heard you use that Earth term." A dry statement.
"Go to sleep Gaz." Weary resignation.
"Where are you going?" Sudden alarm.
"Nowhere... currently. Go to sleep, Zim will watch him... For a while." The truth, plain and simple.
And he did.
Beep.
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Gaz woke up alone, her head on a seat pillow instead of it's former cushion. She sat up, trying to clear of her face, wondering why it was stained with tears. She looked up from where she was on the floor to the bed.
The incessant, constant noise was there, nearly pushed to the back of her mind in sleep.
Beep.
The sorrow lingered, but in the corner of her conscious. Anger, complete loathing and hatred consumed her. Her ire rose at the thought of the person that she did not know. Who did this to him? Her wrath was specially reserved for this person. Dib might not be able to tell her, but she would find out. She would find out and he would pay.
Beep.