Hey, guys! Sorry I'm so slow at updates. And i hafta say, thank you all SO much. you are all so sweet, and if i could bake you all a lemon cake with 'ZADR' written on it in pink frosting, I so would. Thank you for not flaming me for my weird fetishes, but instead embracing them! We still got a lot to go, so hopefully you're not bored with Zim and Dib just yet.

Dib

Before I went back down to the lab, I gathered some clothes. I had found some in the cupboard of the bathroom-stacked up like towels. Weird. I took a shirt out, realizing it was my size. They were for me. I supposed Zim had planned for me to stay for quite a while.

With my eyes stinging anew, I rushed downstairs. Gir waited for me by the toilet, uneasy about descending down at all. I gave him an assuring glance.

I stalked through into the lab. "How is he?" I asked, Gir in my arms. He was as still and silent as I'd ever seen him.

Membrane stepped aside to let me see a huge horizontal tube filled with glowing blue water. Zim floated inside of it, seeming to sleep. He was so peaceful. "I've done it. He must spend twenty-four hours in there. The small metal bulb on his back seems to be helping a great amount. I don't know what it is, but without it, his chance of survival would be extremely slim. When he gets out, he will still be terribly weak. But he will live, I know it."

I felt like weeping with joy, but I only nodded curtly.

Professor Membrane touched my shoulder. "I know I've made a lot of mistakes, Son-"

"Dib." I cut in.

He shifted uneasily. "…Dib. But I hope I can make it up to you this way."

I bit my lip with anger. "You made him this way. It was your fault he died."

"I know. And I am sorry. I didn't know he meant anything to you."

I shrugged his hand off. I cast my eyes on the ground and sighed silently. "I can't forgive you. Not yet. But…I might be able to. Someday." I looked up, and I felt like Dib Membrane again, a normal human defending his own race. If only it could be so simple again. "Can…can I see him?" I stuttered.

Professor Membrane nodded once, and moved aside to let me through the door where Zim was being nursed back to life.

The men must have harvested some of Zim's equipment for the miracle to work. Inside was a large glass tube, and inside, was Zim. The tube seemed quite small for Zim's long, lean body. It lay on it's side, acting like a bed to him. The liquid he was submerged in gave off a faint glow. Dozens of tiny stickers with thin wires drawing from them were attached to Zim's flesh.

I pressed a palm to the glass, gazing at him. I had held him dead in my arms just a few hours ago. His antennas laid on his smooth, green head, his brilliant ruby eyes shut from the world. I was once again thankful that he appeared so peaceful.

I pulled up a chair, knowing I would be here for a long time. The professor's men were out in Zim's lab, and Gir was off doing something carefree, probably to ease his simple mind. I stroked the glass, imagining it was Zim's skin. "Zim."

It seemed silly, talking to him, but it also seemed terrible not to. Even an awake person couldn't hear through the glass, and yet, I spoke to him in a low, loving tone.

"You will be okay, Zim. I'm sorry for all of this." I licked my lips, feeling guilt burrow within my gut. "I hope you are at least having good dreams. About world conquest or whatever." I chuckled to myself, and stopped. Maybe Zim didn't find the same fascination about death anymore, about crushing human life. A few things might have changed him, after all.

"I hope you are dreaming about me, then. About us." It felt good to say that instead. I smiled sadly and leaned forth more. I pressed my forehead to the glass for a moment, muttering, "I really do love you, Zim. Isn't it strange?" I paused, as if he would reply. "We hated each other in elementary school. If someone told me that someday I would be hugging you, kissing you…making love to you…I would have died in laughter. Or sadly, in disgust." I clenched my teeth. "But I know I shouldn't be ashamed. I wish I wasn't…there are a few things being stacked against our relationship, you know. Like gender…and species." I smiled softly.

I was quiet for a while, then began to tell Zim stories about us in elementary school. I laughed at silly juvenile antics, felt a pang of regret when I recalled ever harming Zim, or a black emptiness when I remembered him returning the favor.

And now, he had taken a bullet for me? It was almost not comprehendible. He had also saved my life by picking me up on the side of the road. A single tear slipped behind my glasses; the ones Zim had fashioned just for me. "I hope you wake up soon, Zim. I miss you already, and you are sitting right here in front of me. I just want you to wake up. I want to help you get better." I hung my head, and slid my hand from the glass. I wheeled away from the chamber where Zim lay in a floating slumber, and felt the need to sleep myself.

A gray fog descended upon me, then it began a soft, black sheet. I slept.

I awoke to a soft suctioning sound. It was almost like a clumsy slurping, like someone was trying to get all the contents of a drink through a straw. I rubbed at my eyes, feeling a major crick forming in my neck from sleeping on a swivel chair. I groaned low in my throat, and willed my eyes to open.

There was a large hose connected to Zim's liquid chamber, but the liquid was going down rapidly. I felt my eyes widen as I saw Zim's head turned slightly, his glassy eyes confused and frightened as the men who killed him busied themselves around him.

Zim was alright. He was awake.

I lunged up from my chair and hit the glass with a thump. Zim twitched in fright, but his eyes cast upward slowly, and a sense of relaxation wracked his thin frame. He attempted a smile, but it came out as a mere twitch of his cheek.

"Zim." I whispered, though he probably still couldn't hear in the tube. The liquid puddled under him, there was almost none left. I noticed he was shivering slightly in his wet skin.

"Thank you for your work, gentlemen." I turned to see the professor watching from afar as his men worked on leaking out Zim's resting place. I bit my lip when I saw one of them had a purple bruise on his face, forming from his nose bridge to his under eyes. I decided I didn't feel that bad about it.

I felt a twang of restlessness when the men unscrewed the hose and began to wheel away the stored goo. Zim's head lolled to the side, his eyes questioning. "Excuse me?" I said levelly. "Aren't you going to take him out?"

One of the men shook his head, and I glanced at Membrane. "Take him out, Professor. He doesn't want to be in there." I said firmly. The man wrung his black, gloved hands together.

"He needs to rest."

"I know." I insisted. "But I want to see him. He doesn't want to be trapped in there. He needs me."

Professor cocked his head. "You see him, do you not?"

I clenched my fists. "That's not what I mean."

"He needs to rest in there, Zim. Outside, he is subject to be harmed. Like that wild robot flailing about this lab." Membrane insisted. I bit my lip with anger.

"You get him out of there or I will break that glass." I hissed.

"Do that and you will shower him with shards, are you unaware of that?" Professor said tauntingly, it seemed. I shook my head in frustration. "It's for his own good, Dib. He needs to recover." The tall man turned, his hands clasped, before pausing. "I'm sorry, son. I know he means a lot to you. Perhaps…more than I approve of."

Anger surged within me. "I don't care if you approve or not. You aren't my father."

The professor whirled around. "Yes, I am, Dib! Say what you want, but I made you, and you are my son!"

"I am not your son! I am a freaking creation, made by your sick mind! Get out!" I screamed.

"If you won't call me your father, I won't call you my son!"

I reeled back, my face burning. The man in front of me smoothed out his coat and hissed, "I wouldn't want a fag for a son, anyway."

Bitter ice surged through my veins, and sweat broke out along my brow. My knees buckled. I opened my mouth to scream back, but I couldn't even muster a squeak. My eyes pricked with tears. How could he…?

Professor Membrane turned around and the two assistants followed with their heads hung low. I swallowed what felt like a lump of glass, and stared at the ground, his terrible words pounding inside of my skull. I felt nauseous. I gagged for a moment, and fell to my knees.

Why should I care?

Because he was the only father I'd ever known, and he didn't accept me. No one would.

I heard a faint, soft pattering. I turned my head to see Zim, raising his small green fist, tapping it to the glass. I crawled over stiffly and rested my hand on the glass.

Zim's eyes were wide and bright, but perhaps not as shining as they used to be. He looked so tired. And sad.

I noticed that the hole where the assistants had withdrawn the tube was agape, about half a foot in radius. I clamped on my jaw. Zim had heard everything.

I reached inside, my eyes blurring, and was able to touch Zim's bare shoulder. He looked up at me, unblinkingly. Concern crossed his smooth features.

"It's alright, Zim. We're fine." I said thinly. Zim reached up, with a few tries, to touch my hand. I carefully wrapped my fingers around his own and sighed. I wished I could hold him. I wished I could be held in return. I pressed my cheek to the glass and smiled sadly at Zim. "You okay?"

He nodded once, slowly and weakly. I stroked his hand. "You can sleep more if you want." I offered when his eyes began to lower. He didn't raise any response. He only tilted his head and began to sleep in the blueish liquid.

I didn't let go of his hand.

Moral of the story: Professor Membrane is a douche. I never liked him.