Hello all! :D I have returned! Sorry for not posting in a while. I am happy to report...I am over Sims!...sorta...okay, not really. But I am willing to take a short break to update. Decided it would be fun to see what would happen if I broke off Dib and Zim's marriage in the game (I hadn't done it before and I was curious).

Zim was crying for days DX I felt awful and was very thankful it didn't save. So they are still a couple, with their new daughter Hope (and another soon to come. Can't believe they want mroe children :O)

Speaking of which, off to the next chapter. It is REALLY long (just for you guys :P) and is actually, to me, a little sad :(

Well, it starts off badly if anything...

Dib sat by his desk, flicking a pencil between his fingers as he red through the article on stem cell research his superior wanted him to look over. It was a very slow day. All his patients had been pawned off onto other doctors because his last week of work was nearly up. He sighed, sitting further back into his seat, bored.

He hated this. The only thing he could do this week was catch up on case reports, which he had already done, or help out in the clinic which was always such a bore. Nothing but runny noses and coughs to deal with down there. He wished it would be a case of 'House' where a rare and exotic disease would be discovered and he could spend days with a team, trying to figure out what it was.

But life was never like what it was on TV, now was it?

Dib sat straight, looking over at the clock on his desk. It had only been an hour now since he arrived at work. Dammit.

Zita slammed open Dib's door, "Dib, we need you."
Dib stood, following the rattled nurse, "What's going on?"

"Surgery downstairs has gone completely wrong. We need you there now!"

Dib and her rushed down the hallway, coats flying.

Dib was a substitute surgeon when there were not enough hands or when surgeons were out on other cases at other hospitals in the area. He preferred being a normal 'check-up' sort of doctor in the hospital because surgery was too dangerous for his mental health, in his mind. Too much could go wrong with surgery for Dib, even though he was very gifted at it. He always worried he'd kill a patient.

He ran his hands under the tap in the sink, trying to see through the window what was going on in the O.R before him. It wasn't very well lit today so it was hard to tell. Zita pulled on a pair of scrubs and handed a set to Dib. He quickly put it on, grabbing a pair of latex gloves next to the sink as the two headed in.

Zim could hear an erratic heartbeat on the monitors as frantic doctors and nurses dashed around the room, grabbing towels, tools and anything else they could. Dib could hear a baby crying in the background somewhere. He went over to the table, yelling over to the other surgeon who looked equally as flustered as he held down cloths against the paling body, "What happened?"

The light was making it hard to see the open torso properly. Dib basically saw a lot of blood. The surgeon looked up at Dib, "Delivery gone badly. Baby is being looked at by the doctors, but this guy isn't doing too well," he grunted as blood squirted. Dib's eyes went wide, "An artery got nipped and they're bleeding out. I don't know if we can get to it, it's too far down."

Dib raced over to the front of the table, looking for the person's face. That green blood, "Please! God…!"

There Zim lay, a breathing mask strapped to his face. Dib's face fell completely, "No."

The baby's crying was unbearable. Something was not right. The heartbeat stopped. "NO!"

Dib ran over to the surgeon, "Do something! Please! Do something!"

The surgeon shook his head. Dib ran over to Zim's face again, "Please, Zim. Hang on! Hang on! You can't die! Please…!"

The baby's crying stopped completely. Nothing but the sound of the flat line could be heard.

Dib fell to his knees, covering his face, screaming. Surgeons and nurses froze around him as he howled, a feeling of utter hopelessness and emptiness hitting him.

His love…was…gone. He didn't know how else to react, what to do.

"Dib…" Zim's voice called weakly.

Dib's head jolted up. He sprung to his feet, tears across his face, "Zim?!"

"Dib…" Zim mumbled.

Wake up.

Dib jolted up in the bed, gasping loudly as sweat jumped from his forehead. He jumped, feeling a pair of hands rest themselves on his shoulders. He turned and saw Zim looking at him worriedly, "Dib? What is it? What's wrong?"

Dib twisted himself around in a hurl and wrapped his arms around Zim tightly, "Oh God."

Zim cringed, "Honey, please. Gently."

Dib pulled away, seeing Zim's pale face. He looked down, happy to see Zim's round tummy was still there under his black shirt. Dib looked back at Zim, "You okay?"

Zim nodded slowly, his whole face looking sick, "Just…queasy. It's the start of month four, love. I've been sitting up for a few minutes now, waiting for it to pass."

Dib nodded. Zim held Dib's hand, "What happened to you? You were restless and were mumbling in a frantic manner in your sleep."

Dib took a breath, sitting back with Zim, "Just…very bad dream."

"Wanna talk about it?" Zim mentioned.

Dib looked at Zim, knowing trying to describe the dream would only put Zim in a panic as well, "I just…I've been working too hard. I'm fine. Sorry to scare you."

"You didn't scare me, you were just shaking the bed too much," Zim smirked weakly at Dib.

Dib sighed happily, "Just glad you're okay…sorta."

Zim smiled, resting his head against the wall as his face pointed upwards. God, the feeling was not going away. The last thing he wanted to do right now was lose his dinner.

Dib looked forward, then at Zim's stomach. He placed a hand on it, Zim looking down. He looked at Dib, "You sure you okay?"

Dib nodded, "I just…Zim, can we go for an ultrasound?"

Zim gave a slight shake of the head in confusion, "A what sound?"

"An ultrasound. It's a machine that we use to see things beneath the skin. Pregnant mothers use it to see the baby to make sure everything is developing properly and that the baby is okay."

"You think the baby isn't okay?"

"No, I just…I want to be sure. You know how careful I am."

"Yeah, careful," Zim moaned. He looked at Dib, "Look Dib, I don't know. Aren't those types of machines dangerous?"

"It won't be. I've used it on many pregnant mothers before," Dib said, sitting up.

Zim looked at him, not moving, "I doubt you've used them on a pregnant father, though."

Dib gave a look. Zim continued, "Besides, how would you explain that to your fellow doctors? Don't you have to right up a report or something?"

"I can file it under something else. We use ultrasounds to look for Kidney Stones as well," Dib tried.

Zim gave another confused look. Dib shook his head, "Never mind. Just…please can we do this Zim? I just want to be sure."

Zim could see it in Dib's face. That dream he just had had gotten him all rattled up. He knew if Dib didn't get this done, he would be a wreck for the next couple of weeks. And today was his last day to check this thing out…seeing as it was his last day of work before he went on leave.

Zim sighed, "O…okay. We can get the ultrasound done today if it means this much to you."

Dib gave Zim a smile, "Thank you, sweetie."

Zim gave him an unsure look, "I want you to know that I am still worried about it; and that we should just be caref…"

Zim jerked up, slapping both hands around his mouth as he felt something suddenly bolt up into his mouth.

Dib quickly jumped off the bed and grabbed the metal wastebasket they kept by the bed for papers and such. He emptied out their old receipts and pieces of scrap paper onto the floor and quickly handed his gagging husband the basket.

Zim grabbed hold of it and immediately began spewing into it. Dib placed a hand on Zim's back, using his other hand to hold Zim's antennae back.

Zim coughed, tears in his eyes. "One more month," he mumbled, "One more irksome month."

His eyes shut closed as the heaving continued, Dib rubbing his back slightly, feeling a guilt well up inside of him. At the back of his mind, that annoying little voice kept reminding him that all this suffering and pain Zim was experiencing was because of him. He couldn't help but feel responsible for this.

And what was worse: Zim was still not in favour of having this child.

This made Dib feel even worse.

Zim coughed once more, falling back onto the pillows as he took a few deep breaths. Dib took the wastebasket and placed it on the floor, looking back at Zim, "Do you need me to fetch you anything?"

Zim shook his head slightly. "I'll be fine. I think I'm empty," he said in a broken up laugh.

Dib placed his hand on Zim's cheek, "It'll be okay soon, my Invader."

Zim gave him a soft smile, "I know. And when it is, you better be prepared for me kicking your ass for this."

Dib gave a giggle, "Can't wait."

…

"Good morning, Doctor Dib. Ready for your month of leave?" the Receptionist greeted.

Dib waved at her, "Just about. How's Alan?"

"He's doing great. Thanks for asking. We're having a dinner party next month, actually. You and your spouse want to join us?"

"That sounds lovely. I'll be sure to ask him."

Dib and Zim walked down the white tiled hallways. Zim gave Dib a strange look, "Who was that?"

"The Receptionist," Dib mentioned, looking through and filling in the clipboard for his husband.

"You seem to know her very well," Zim looked sceptical.

Dib looked at him, "Zim, I see her every day. Why wouldn't I be friendly with her?"

Zim gave him a look. Dib sighed, rolling his eyes, "Zim, if you're nice to the staff, you get the rewards."

"Like?!" Zim said in surprise and horror.

"Not like that, you overly-emotional Irken. By being nice and polite to her, she saves the best cases for me," Dib smirked.

"So you use the staff members to get what you want?" Zim said slyly.

"Not all the time," Dib mentioned, filling in 'Suspected Kidney Stones' for reason for visit, "Sometimes I'm just nice because I'm a nice person."

"Yeah, that makes more sense when it comes to you. You're so boring sometimes, Dib."

"Being nice does not make me boring, Zim," Dib laughed.

Zim gave him a look. Dib gazed over at him, "And that face?"

"Someday, you will have to learn to be a hard-ass like me," Zim mentioned.

Dib gave a look, "I am so using that against you when your pregnancy is over."

Dib opened the door to the room, leading Zim in. The Irken looked around, a bit unsure of this new environment. He didn't like that smell of anti-septic. His nausea had finally settled and he didn't want it making a surprise appearance.

Dib shut the door and locked it behind them before directing Zim over to the bed by the wall. Zim pulled off his vest, leaving his black shirt on. He threw it at Dib and sat down on the bed. Dib gave an annoyed look and pulled the vest off of his head, leaving it on the counter in the room.

He could see Zim wasn't looking very comfortable, "You alright? If you feel sick, please let me know. We have bins and such in here for when patients get sick. You'd be surprised how often that happens in the hospital," he joked.

Zim wasn't laughing. He looked over at Dib, "I say the quicker we do this, the better. I don't like this place. Why couldn't we have gotten the computers to do this instead?"

Dib went over to the side, pulling the ultrasound machine out of the corner, "They can only do a body scan. It doesn't actually allow you to see what is happening beneath the surface."

"Still," Zim moaned, folding his arms. Dib could see Zim was very uncomfortable now.

He pulled the machine up to the bed and placed a hand on Zim's shoulder, "If at any point you don't feel comfortable with the machine on you, let me know."

Zim nodded.

Dib helped Zim lay back slightly, the bed at a slight tilt. He pulled up Zim's shirt, revealing Zim's big belly. Dib grabbed the bottle of gel next to the machine and popped the cap, "I'm going to put a little bit of this on first. If it burns, let me know."

Zim gave a nod. Dib squeezed it on and waited. Zim scrunched his face slightly, "Must I take it off?"

"It's stinging slightly…but it's alright. Just hurry up with this," Zim mumbled in a tight tone.

Dib turned on the machine and placed the scanner bit on Zim's tummy, moving it around which helped spread out the gel a bit better.

Dib watched the monitor, as did Zim, waiting for the picture to become clearer. Dib moved the scanner around slightly, tilting his head in different directions, as though it would make a difference.

Zim's antennae perked beneath his wig as the weird sounding heartbeat came into play, "What is that sound?"

"The foetus's heartbeat," Dib mentioned, happy that it sounded so healthy. He wasn't sure if the baby was going to have a heart.

Zim looked confused. Dib turned to him, a small smile appearing, "That's our baby's heartbeat, Zim."

Dib turned back, the image finally clearing up. Dib moved closer to the machine, Zim trying to sit up slightly, both in awe.

Dib gave a half laugh, his face beaming, "My God."

"What? What's wrong?" Zim asked, confused.

"That…that's our baby," Dib smiled.

He moved the machine a little closer so Zim could get a better look from where he lay, "See?"

He moved his finger along the screen, "Look. There are its arms and legs. The baby's heart is right there."

His finger moved towards the head, "Hey, it even has little antennae. Look at that."

Dib looked over at Zim, noting the incredibly speechless look the alien had on his face. "That's…that's our baby? The one inside of me…right at this moment?"

Dib nodded, trying desperately not to cry in front of Zim. He turned back at the screen, "That's them."

Zim looked away, lost in his thoughts. Dib moved the scanner on Zim's stomach a little, "Unfortunately, I can't tell what sex it is because of the position the baby is laying in, but I don't think…"

Dib turned, again noting Zim's silence. Zim was looking away, a shattered look on his face.

Dib's look fell, "Hey."

Zim looked up at him. "What's wrong?" Zim asked a slight panic in his tone.

"You okay? You're very quiet. The baby's alright, Zim," Dib mentioned, turning the machine off.

Zim looked away again, "Yeah, I know. And I'm very happy about that," he quickly added.

Dib grabbed some paper towels off the counter by them, "Then why are you so quiet? Are you feeling sick, or…"

"No, no. I'm fine. Really," Zim tried, smiling falsely.

Dib wiped off the gel and gave Zim a look, "You know I don't believe you, right?"

Zim looked away again as Dib pulled his shirt back down. Zim placed a hand by his mouth, his lips quivering. His eyes shut as his eyes 'leaked'. His shoulder hiccupped as he tried desperately to hold back the tears.

Dib got the fright of his life and went straight over to Zim, sitting awkwardly on the edge of the hard bed, "Hey, hey, hey."

Dib pulled Zim up and held onto the crying alien, "What's going on? What's wrong, Zim?"

Zim kept a hand over his eyes and used the other to hold onto Dib's side.

Dib pulled out his handkerchief and handed it to Zim. Zim took it and wiped his face dry, "I'm sorry, Dib."

"Don't apologize. Crying isn't a crime, Sweetie," Dib smiled.

Zim gave a half laugh and nuzzled himself closer, holding onto Dib tightly, "I just…"

He stopped, sniffing. Dib rubbed Zim's arm, "Yeah?"

Zim shut his eyes, "It's so real now."

Dib gave a confused look, "What do you mean?"

Zim wiped one of his eyes with his hand (completely forgetting about the handkerchief in his other hand), and continued, "Seeing it. Seeing the smeet. It's just…it's a real thing, Dib."

Zim looked up at Dib, "The baby will be here in a month, Dib. I don't know…I don't know if I can do this. From the start, I knew this was a bad idea. I was hoping as time went on, I would get more excited, but…" Zim looked away.

Dib looked at Zim, "Sweetie…"

Zim sat up, holding onto the handkerchief tightly, "No matter how much you tell me it's going to be okay, I still feel it won't be. Dib, I can't be a parent. I mean, you spend most of your time looking after me anyway. How am I going to care for this child properly? I don't know the first thing about caring for smeets."

Dib pulled Zim back once more, "That's the fun of it, Zim."

Zim looked up at him, giving him a strange look. Dib laughed, "Zim, first time parents never know what to do for their kids when they have them. We learn how to care for them once they're born. It's instinct."

"You're just saying that," Zim pouted.

"I just say a lot of things, Zim. This is not one of them." Dib held Zim's hands, "Trust me on this. You'll do fine."

Zim jumped off the bed, going to grab his vest, "Well, there's no going back now, I guess."

Dib sighed. He then lifted his head, an idea occurring to him. He stood, a smile on his face as Zim turned around, just finishing off the last few buttons on his vest. Zim gave him a look.

Dib held onto Zim's hand, "Come with me."

Zim followed, "Where are you taking me now?"

"You'll see," Dib smiled, checking his watch. His shift was over, just in time.

Zim gave an unsure look. He didn't like the sounds of this.

….

Zim looked around in utter confusion. He kept a tight grip on Dib's hand as they went up to the counter, "Hey Gretch."

"Hey Dib. Hey Zim. Long-time no see. Wow, he got taller," Gretchen laughed, "What can I do for the two of you today?"

"We are here for our big shopping spree for our friend," Dib mentioned, "We need clothes, toys and gadgets, this time for the baby."

"Wow, I have a feeling I'm going to be making a small fortune today. Where would you like to start?"

"Let's try clothing first," Dib smiled. Gretchen nodded and jumped over the counter.

Dib looked at the curious Zim, noticing how freaked out the alien looked, "This place is very colourful."

"It's designed to be kid-friendly, Zim," Dib mentioned, pulling the alien along as they followed Gretchen.

"Why are we here?"

"Well, as you said, the baby is due in a month. We need to start preparing for it."

Zim gave Dib a look, "Why do I need to be here? You could have done this without me."

"I could have…but I think it's better now that you're here with me, Sweetie."

Zim's face turned muddled. Dib was not making sense again.

Gretchen stood in front of rows of tables filled with baby clothes, "Here we go. From new-borns to a year and everything in between. Knock yourselves out. Let me know when you're ready, and I'll take you to see the toys next."

Gretchen moved away, going back to the counter to help another customer. Zim was still clutching onto Dib's hand for dear life, "Um, honey?"

"Yes, Zim?"

"What are we supposed to be doing?"

Dib gave a smile. Okay, Zim was slightly hopeless. But this could be helped. Dib pulled his hand out – with great effort – and went over to the new-borns' table, "Well, we're going to look through these clothes and find ones that we would like for the baby to wear."

"Human smeets wear clothing? Like, all the time?" Zim followed Dib over to the table, looking around.

Dib gave a look, "Well, you can let them roam around in diapers only, if you want to. But because the baby is still small and vulnerable, we need to keep them warm and toasty."

Zim picked up a little sweater, his eyes wide, "This is so tiny! This won't fit the smeet!"

Dib smiled, pulling out a few clothes, not liking what he was seeing so far, "They are small when they're born, Zim. That's about the size you're gonna get when ours comes out."

Zim gave a look. He looked down at his stomach, "Then why is my stomach so huge?"

Dib looked up, seeing the annoyed look on Zim's face. "It's the egg and the fluid and stuff," wow, if his fellow doctors heard him say that, he would be ridiculed for the rest of his career. In all actuality, he wasn't sure how to explain in detail everything that was happening to his body now because of the baby. Even he didn't know due to this being a mixed species pregnancy. He had to at least try.

He shook his head, "There's an egg that protects the baby and fluid which helps give it nutrition."

Well, he hoped that was right.

Zim looked down at his flat tummy, "Well, that's annoying."

Dib looked back at the table, "Do you see anything you like?"

Zim shifted his gaze to the table, seeing hundreds of clothes in a variety of colours. Nothing was really jumping out at him.

Dib wasn't really looking for clothing for a specific sex. He was looking for colours he and Zim liked, such as blue, black, pink and purple. White was also a good base colour, in his mind.

Dib pulled out a very cute onesy that was light blue and had a little yellow star in the middle. He gave a bright smile, "Aw, isn't this cute?"

Zim looked at it. He wasn't really sure what counted as 'cute' on this planet. He wasn't even sure if cute was in his vocabulary, "It looks really nice, Dib."

Dib nodded, folding it up and placing it to one side, "That shall be our pile of clothing, Zim."

A few minutes passed. Zim was still searching and had yet to find anything. Dib had managed to find about ten pieces of clothing by now, and was still searching for more.

Zim sighed, "Dib, this isn't working. I'm just not as into this as you are…"

Dib looked up, noticing Zim had stopped his sentence. Zim was looking at a pink and black onesy on the end of the table in intense curiosity. Dib walked up to Zim, "Do you like that one?"

Zim walked over to it and picked it up, "It looks…adorable."

Dib's eyes shot open. Did that word just come out of his husband's mouth?

Dib wasn't going to leave room for doubt, "Then I'll add it to the pile."

Zim held it over his flat stomach, "You sure it's not too small?"

"For you, yes. It's kinda small. But it will fit the baby perfectly."

Zim hit Dib with the piece of clothing on the arm, trying to hide the grin that was surfacing. He handed it to Dib. He placed it in the pile of clothing, noticing Gretchen was walking up to them, "Wow, you guys really went to town there, huh?"

Dib laughed. Gretchen took the pile, "I'll leave these by the counter for you two in the meantime. Just shout when you're ready."

"Thanks, Gretch," Dib nodded.

Zim looked at Dib, "Aren't those enough?"

"Well, you finally picked something. Maybe there's another one we missed," Dib mentioned.

Zim gave him a look, before catching a glimpse of something at the side of his eyes. They went bush-baby wide and he dashed behind Dib. Dib turned, "What are you doing?"

Zim, still behind his husband, pointing to something in front of Dib. Dib turned and saw it, "Shit."

Gaz, holding onto Johanna's hand tightly, walked into the store looking around.

RUN ZIM and DIB, RUN! XO

Oh that is awkward. This is going to end well.

R&R and I will check you guys soon ;)

(Oh, and a shout out to AngelofDoom :3 Hope you're doing better)