ZADR Orange Chapter 88

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Not wanting either Rose or Dib to hear him, Jack dropped his voice down to an even lower whisper. "Actually, at the time, I hadn't been thinking about having kids at all yet. Rose was the one who wanted them in the first place. I was just going along with it because my mind was too far into the gutter to realize we weren't using any kind of protection, if you know what I mean. It wasn't until she first told me she was pregnant and after we lost our first baby that I actually started concentrating on trying to have children with her." he said, trying to get across the point that that first mistake had changed his life for the better.

"Oh..." Zim totally missed his point, now starting to have horrible thoughts about Dib losing the babies. His eyes became wide as he reached up out of habit to yank on his antennas.

Noticing this, Jack quickly reached out to stop him. "Woah, woah, woah, Zim. I'm not trying to make you worried over it. I'm just saying that sometimes things work our for the better when you don't plan them. I never would have realized that I was ready or even wanted kids at this point in my life if Rose hadn't gotten pregnant for the first time. And I'm certain Dib won't have any regrets over having these babies once they've been born. And I can tell just by looking at you that even though it wasn't on purpose, you're happy about having the opportunity to have children with Dib." he said, lowering Zim's hands back down to his sides.

His antennae drooping again, Zim sighed. "I-I am...But...I don't think Dib likes it..." he said, knowing how unhappy Dib was currently with the situation.

"Nobody likes being pregnant, Zim. Nobody likes putting up with all of its symptoms, at least. But that doesn't mean they regret it and would necessarily take it back if given the opportunity. I can tell you right now that Rose absolutely hates everything about being pregnant. But she doesn't regret it. Because she knows what it brings just like Dib knows what it will bring. If he didn't want the end result, then trust me, he probably would have already told you and tried to get out of it."

Sighing, Zim looked up at Jack. "I hope so..." he said before looking away again. "What if they hate us?" he then asked, throwing Jack slightly off guard.

Regaining his composure, Jack smiled back at Zim reassuringly. "Zim, if they hated us, they wouldn't be sticking around. They're both strong-willed people, and I know they'd both be long gone if they really hated us." he said, thinking Zim had been referring to Dib and Rose.

Zim shook his head. "I know Dib loves me...He wouldn't leave...But what about the smeets?" he rephrased his previous question.

"Hmm? You think the smeets would hate us?"

"Not you...But me...Or Dib...If they hated him, it would kill him."

Jack sighed. "Zim, they couldn't ever possibly hate you. You're their parents. They're going to love you no matter what. And besides, they're not even out of the womb yet. How could you think they would hate you?" he said, knowing Zim was exaggerating now.

"Well...They never calm down...Dib has trouble sleeping most of the time..."

"Hmm? Is that all? Well, what do you expect when you have three babies growing in an enclosed space? That's perfectly normal, Zim."

"...So, nothing's wrong then?"

Jack smiled at him again. "Of course not. They're probably just shifting into a more comfortable position whenever they move. And kicking is just something that all babies do when they're still in the womb...and sometimes even after they're born they continue to kick." he said, not wanting Zim to worry about it.

"Oh..." Zim blushed, feeling stupid now as he looked up at Dib and then back at Jack. "S-So are we ready to go get stuff?" he asked, quickly changing the subject.

"I think that's up to Dib and Rose." Jack said, looking back over at them as well.

Talking softly to Dib, Rose had by now at least managed to calm him down for the most part.

"Hey, you two. Are we planning on leaving anytime soon, or should Zim and I wait for you in the kitchen?"

From where she was talking with Dib, Rose looked up. "No, no...We're ready." she said, smiling before turning her attention to Dib and saying something in a quiet voice to him. She then gestured towards Zim and gave him a little push towards the Irken.

Eyes still wet and puffy, Dib glanced back at her before slowly making his way over to Zim, antennae drooping and gaze to the ground. Coming to stand right in front of the other, he then lifted his eyes slowly up to look back up at Zim after a moment and sniffle. "I'm sorry..." he apologized. "I-I-I didn't mean to hurt your feelings...or yell..." he said before instantly dropping his gaze back down to the ground, antennae drooping even more.

Wrapping his arms around Dib, Zim smiled and pulled him close. "It's okay, Dib." he kissed his cheek. "I love you." he sang out the words softly to the other.

Going to stand next to Rose, Jack grinned at the scene. "Well, it looks like everything worked out. Ready to go shopping, my dear?" he asked, holding his arm out for Rose.

Taking his arm, Rose smiled. "I believe we are." she said as Jack proceeded to lead her and the boys out into the garage.

"Heh...I still have yet to clean this car out." Jack said, letting go of Rose's arm to dig through it and pull out a few things so they wouldn't be so crowded in. "Alright. That should do." he said before opening the passenger door for Rose to climb in front with him then pulling open the back seat door for Zim and Dib.

A little nervous, Zim slid into the car seat next to Dib. He never had trusted these clunky human vehicles.

Starting up the car, Jack noticed this as he adjusted the mirrors and turned to look back at Zim. "Hey, are you okay, Zim? You look a bit pale." he said, not realizing this was Zim's first car ride.

"Hmm?" Dib's antennae perked as he turned to look at Zim, who was currently sitting very stiffly next to him. "You're not going to get sick on me, are you?" he asked, sending the other a concerned look now.

"N-No." Zim said a little uncertainly, still gripping the seat tightly, his eyes wide. "L-Let's just go, okay...?" he said, just wanting to get this car ride over with already.

Nodding his head at Zim's words, Jack put the car into reverse. "Alright. I'll drive as smoothly and carefully as possible." he said, opening the garage and backing his way down the driveway and onto the street.

Zim didn't lessen his grip on the seat however when he felt the vehicle beginning to move.

Noticing this, Dib reached out a hand to take Zim's, giving it a small, reassuring squeeze.

From the front seat, Rose tried to offer him some comforting words. "No need to worry, Zim. Jack is a very safe driver. He won't let anything bad happen to us." she tried to reassure him.

Gripping tightly to Dib's hand, Zim nodded at Rose's words, trying to ignore the rest of the car ride.

Deciding then that perhaps changing the subject would be a better approach to easing Zim's uncomfortableness, Rose tried to make idle conversation with them. "I-It certainly is a nice day for shopping, don't you think?" she asked, directing her question to either Dib or Zim in the back seat.

The summer sun shining brightly, Dib shifted his gaze to look out the window. "Y-Yeah..." he responded quietly as the car continued along its way.

Staying quiet, Zim could only nod, starting to feel like he might throw up.

"So...Is this the first time you two have gone shopping since Dib got pregnant?"

Looking over at Zim who was by now a very pale green, Dib considered requesting Jack to pull over the car so Zim wouldn't get sick in it. "Ummm...Yeah...We haven't done much shopping since then...In fact, we've hardly gotten out at all lately. We're basically living off of leftovers back at Zim's base." he said, not mentioning the fact that they hardly even left their bed nowadays.

"Oh, well that's no way to live."

"Yeah. You should come visit us more often. I'm a great cook."

"Heh...Well, we were planning on hopefully buying some healthier foods to eat so the smeets aren't living off of pure sugar and junk food...But I have a habit of pouring sugar on everything I eat nowadays. And Zim is kind of allergic to a lot of other foods. But I guess that would be nice, coming to eat with you guys. Maybe we'll start doing that every couple weeks or so."

"We'd like that." Rose smiled back at him.

"Hey, is Zim okay back there?"

"Err..." Dib glanced over at the Irken who was holding his stomach, eyes closed and antennae drooping down low. "To tell you the truth...H-He's looking pretty sick to me right now..." he said, his own antennae falling as he sent Zim a worried look of his own. "Y-You might want to pull over the car when you get the chance. He stuffed his face with waffles earlier this morning." he said, not wanting to risk Zim getting sick in Jack's car.

"Oh my." Rose covered her mouth, looking at Jack.

"Don't worry. We're almost at the mall."

Rubbing Zim's back soothingly with his free hand, Dib ran his thumb gently over the other's hand. "Hang in there, Zim...We're almost there..." he said in a quiet voice to the Irken, trying to ease his car sickness.

Refusing to talk in case just opening his mouth would cause him to spew, Zim sat stock still.

Looking up so he could get an idea of where they were in relation to the mall, Dib just continued to rub Zim's back gently. He could see it off in the distance, but they still had a ways to go, and he imagined it would take them at least a few minutes to find parking.

Doing his best to keep himself calm, Zim breathed slowly, knowing he could make it so long as nothing bad happened.

Glancing back at Zim and Dib momentarily, Jack then returned his gaze back to the road. "If you'd like, I could park the car and we could walk the rest of the way, Zim. It's not that far and parking will probably be hell over in the mall's parking lot." he offered.

Still not trusting himself to talk, Zim shook his head. He didn't want any of them to walk so far on his account.

"Are you sure, Zim? We wouldn't mind if you wanted to."

Jack sighed. "Forget I even mentioned it, Dib. We'll just park when we get there. If Zim doesn't want us to walk, then we won't." he said, knowing for a fact Zim wouldn't agree to parking.

Clinging tighter to the seat, Zim looked away from Dib.

Feeling horrible now for putting Zim through this, Dib's antennae drooped. "...I'm sorry...I wouldn't have made you come if I had known you get car sick..." he said in a whisper to the other, taking Zim's hand in both of his own and holding it close to his lap, his belly pressed against it as the smeets moved.

Closing his eyes to focus on the feel of his children moving inside Dib, Zim blushed.

In a soft voice, Dib whispered quiet words to him. "I think THEY want you to feel better too..." he said, tracing his fingers gently along the surface of Zim's hand.

Pushing his hand closer to Dib's belly, Zim smiled a little.

Smiling when Zim pressed his hand more up against his belly, Dib leaned up against the other a bit to nuzzle him affectionately. "This time they're kicking for you...and only you...I think if they had the choice, they'd even want to come out right now so they could give you lots of love..." he said softly.

Rubbing his belly gently, Zim nuzzled Dib back. "Love you..." he said in a weak voice.

Dib sent Zim his own small smile. "I love you too..." he said, placing his hand over the hand on his belly.

From her seat, Rose couldn't help but notice the small display of affection happening in the back seat. "Awww. You two are so cute!" she cooed happily, interrupting their moment and causing them both to blush.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 88. =3 Until next time~