Thanks to all who reviewed! (Also...psst..Invader Johnny...it's me, Feebop, writer of "Feast of Doom". I just can't remember my login for that profile.)

Anyways, enjoy!

"Master! Dubya!" GIR waves at me as I fling open the door with a fainted Zee in my arms. "I invited my pig over for a sleepover -"

"No time, GIR!" I yell. "Computer, take me to the lab and remove Zee's disguise! HURRY!"

"Alright, geez."

We're taken down on a teleporter, our disguises gone by the time we reach my lab. Though the superficial burns are gone, she's still smoking and still smells like an ashtray. And, to my horror, she's still unconscious.

I lay her on an operating table. "Zee! Wake up! Wake and look upon ZIM."

She lays there.

"Computer! Jump Zee's PAK!"

My computer sends out two wires and attaches them to Zee's PAK. "Reactivating." Zee's sleeping body is probed with electricity, and she immediately begins to cough.

Relief bubbles within me. She coughs and wheezes, splattering water on my clean floor. "Talk to me, Zee," I command.

She continues to cough. "I'm ... sorry I made you go to the party."

"Hush, do you think that matters now?"

Her breath still staggering, she calms herself and smiles at me. I decide idly that it's nice to see her eyes open again. I almost feel like smiling back, just so she knows I approve of her survival.

Oh no. Maybe I already am.

Oh no. I AM.

I am smiling! And not only am I smiling, I'm holding her in my arms! So... *close* to her! As if I *cared for her*!

"Heh? Ah!" I pull back and turn away from her. "Can you walk at all?"

"Of course," she replies, her voice still weak, and gets up from the table. As soon as she hits the ground, she stumbles. I catch her before she hits the ground.

"You're still weak from the burns, and you stink," I say. "Computer! Draw a paste bath."

A basin full of paste appears in the place of the operating table. I pick Zee up onto her feet and remove her boots. When I go to remove her uniform, she makes a noise.

"I can do this," she says, slipping off her uniform.

"You have been on Earth too long, Zee," I tell her. "On Irk, we're not ashamed to see one another naked."

Her uniform is off now. Completely nude, she drops it to the ground and the computer drops it away to the storage room. "I know. But the humans associate a lack of clothes with vulnerability. I suppose this way of seeing things has rubbed off on me."

"You're impressionable," I explain as I help her into the basin and grab the sponge.

Instinctively, I begin to scrub her with paste. She stands there, face blank of expression, as I wash her head, her forearms, her chest, her stomach, and her armpits. Her skin is cold, and still burnt, but the smoking has stopped, and in between the burns is soft skin that feels pleasant beneath my gloves.

I jump when I hear her speak. "How did you come up with paste as an antidote to water?"

"I've gotten wet dozens of times, and came out perfectly fine. But then again, I am ZIM! And you are smaller than I am," I add, cleaning her bony shoulders. "Once the Dib found out about my intolerance to water, I simply averaged the boiling points between water and the filthy adhesive from skool and created a shield."

"But did you test it?" Zee asks. "I wouldn't think the cyanoacrylate adhesive was compatible with hydrogen oxygen. Did you run a - ?"

"Yep, that's exactly what I did," I reply. "Praise me after I've finished bathing you."

"Zim?"

"Eh?"

She's silent. I look into her eyes, ready to ask what she wants; she looks grave, as if she's about to tell me a secret.

But then, to my utter shock, she grins. "Thank you."

"Heh? For what?"

"For saving me from the pool, reviving my PAK, and giving me this paste bath. I'd be dead, or revealed, or both, if not for you."

She smiles again. Ugh, this HORRIBLE feeling in my squeedilyspooch! I can't stand it. I'm a stranger to it. Zee's big, pleading purple eyes suggest it's pity, but I think I've felt a hint of pity for GIR before during one of his tantrums. This is much more painful and foreign, and it does not feel like my Tallest would approve of it. Yet it's so natural, and it kind of tickles...

"It was easy," I assure her quickly. "You're a wee thing, as I said before. All I had to do was jump in and pull you out. Yup, yup, all in a day's work for the almighty Zim."

Zee's smile vanishes. "You jumped in, too?"

"Of course."

"Is that where that mark is from?" she exclaims, pointing to my upper right thigh; sure enough, my uniform is ripped and a dark gash stains my fine green skin.

I prod it with one finger - and instantly groan in pain. How hadn't I noticed that before?

Zee has tried to stand again and is leaning against the basin to get a look at my leg. "I'm so sorry, Zim! I didn't even think you'd get burnt, it slipped my mind completely. I'm so, so sorry -"

"Your mannerisms grow less and less Irken, Zee. We mustn't apologize," I chastise her, lifting her up again and wrapping her in a towel courtesy of Computer. "The burn isn't too bad. And anyway, I wouldn't have done it unless it was worth it."

"Worth what?" she asks.

"Worth saving you, of course! What did you think I -?"

Uh oh. What have I just said? Whatever I said is causing her to smile at me again. I can't take the smiling. I CAN'T TAKE THESE FLIPS ...

"Zim, shall I get an operating table for Zee? Her PAK needs to recharge." Thank Irk for Computer! But somehow, I don't like the idea of her PAK getting recharged while she lays alone in my lab.

"No, Computer," I reply, picking Zee up again and causing her to squeak in shock. "I shall let her recharge on my couch."

"I don't think GIR will like that," Zee says as we're teleported up to my living room. Sure enough, GIR sits there with his Suck Monkey, watching one if his favorite and most annoying programs.

"GIR!" I yell.

GIR glances at me. "'Swrong with Dubya?"

"She needs to take a rest on the couch," I explain. "Go make her some waffles."

GIR salutes, his eyes flashing red. "Yes, sir! Right away!" he says before skipping away to the kitchen, humming with glee.

I groan. "Why can't he act that way all the time?"

"What are the waffles for?" Zee asks as I lay her on the couch.

"They're rich in carbohydrates. Good for burns," I explain. "They'll ease the pain." My heart jerks, and I quickly add, "Not that I care about your being not in pain, of course. I am larger and older than you, so I consider it my duty to make sure you are not harmed, my little Zee."

"Can you stay with me?"

I blink. "Stay with you? Why?"

"Well, as you just said, you're larger and older than me. Perhaps I'd feel scared without you here to protect me."

I look around, searching, in vain, for something else in the base that needs I be taken care of. I even forget that I need to probe the ostrich to stop it from flying away. I can't make myself so vulnerable as to obey Zee; but a large part of me has these urges to be near her.

What in Irk's name is happening to you, Zim? I ask myself as I cover Zee with a blanket and stare once again into those perfect eyes.

The End