ZADR Orange Chapter 161

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

Holding Dib close when he refused the food she'd brought up to him, Rose pet Dib's hair softly in an attempt to soothe the sobbing hybrid some more. "You need to eat, Dib...You…and the smeets… need the nutrients..." she said in the hope that might convince him to at least try and get something down.

Shaking his head even more at those words however, Dib merely struggled a bit to pull away from her. "N-No...No...I-I'm going to be sick..." he whimpered, not even wanting to so much as hear the word 'food' as he curled in on himself, thoroughly upset now as he tried to keep from getting sick right then and there.

Rose looked over at him worried when he pulled away. "Do you need the doctor?" she asked, having offered the medical drone a place to stay while Dib was still recovering.

Not wanting anymore contact with anyone, Dib could only shake his head as he coughed hoarsely into his hands, a sharp pain stabbing into his chest at the action.

"Dib?" Rose reached forward a hand to feel his forehead. "Oh Dib, you're burning up!" she exclaimed before pulling her hand back.

Unable to stop shaking as he practically gasped for air now, Dib continued to cough into his hands even more. "I-I want to go h-h-home!" he sobbed, just wanting out of there.

"You can't strain yourself, Dib." Rose stood to turn towards the door, calling for the medical drone.

The medical drone entered the room a minute or two later. "Yes? Is something wrong?" he asked, having been keeping close tabs on Dib's condition ever since the incident.

"He's running a high fever."

Quickly making his way over to the bed, the medical drone placed a hand to Dib's forehead before pulling out some kind of alien thermometer from inside his PAK.

Rose watched worriedly. "Any idea what's wrong with him?" she asked, hoping he'd be able to offer a solution to the problem.

Forcing the thermometer into Dib's mouth, the medical drone held it there for a moment so the hybrid wouldn't be able to pull away from him. "Probably stress is weakening his immune system." he said as he waited for the thermometer to finish taking Dib's temperature.

"W-Well, is there anything I can do for him? Anything that might help?"

"Best now to start him on liquids before it gets any worse." the medical drone instructed her, holding the thermometer in Dib's mouth for another minute or so before finally pulling it out to have a look at for himself. "104.2 degrees Fahrenheit." he read off once it had finished.

Rose gasped at that temperature reading. "Oh Dib..." she grabbed the drink she had brought up with his meal. "Here, drink some of this." she said, trying to do as the medical drone had instructed her.

Looking away and curling in on himself, afraid he might not be able to keep any of it down, Dib could only pull away from the drink.

"Please, Dib? Just a little..."

Looking back at the drink being offered to him after a moment or two, Dib then hesitantly leaned forward just a bit to take the tiniest of sips from it before pulling back to curl around his belly as he swallowed down the liquid.

Rose pet him gently. "There, that wasn't so bad, was it?" she said before smiling down at him weakly.

Letting his eyes slip partially closed at Rose's gentle petting, no longer shivering quite so much, Dib couldn't help but continue sobbing to himself softly as he just wanted Zim in that moment more than anything else.

Rose offered the drink again. "Please drink some more, Dib?" she tried to get him to take another sip.

"Mmm..." Dib tucked his head in at the request, not wanting anymore.

"Dib…Please, you have a fever..."

Leaning forward a second time to take another small drink, Dib then took to shivering again upon returning to his curled up position.

Smiling sadly, Rose pet him some more. "That's good, Dib…Will you eat if I leave the room?" she asked, hoping that perhaps leaving for a while would encourage him to eat something, even if only a little bit.

His antennae drooping to rest against one of the pillows, Dib dropped his gaze away at that question as he lowered his head back down to rest. "I'm not hungry..." he said again, feeling too sick to his stomach to eat anything at the moment.

"Please, Dib? I'm not leaving this spot until I know you will eat."

Dib could only break down crying even more at those words. "I-I'm not hungry..."he repeated, holding his upset stomach and rocking himself back and forth uneasily.

"Ohh, Dib..." Rose sat back down to hug him in close again. "Please…I-If you don't want it now…at least eat it when you feel better. Just promise me you'll eat." she begged despite knowing already that she couldn't very well force the other to eat.

Doubtful as to whether that would even be anytime soon, Dib's antennas could only twitch unsurely.

Not wanting to leave him alone at all, Rose continued to stroke his hair gently.

Trying to curl up under the covers some more for more warmth, Dib shivered against Rose noticeably, his breathing quick and shallow now.

Frowning at this, Rose turned to look back at the medical drone. "Could you grab another blanket from the hall closet?" she asked, not wanting to leave Dib's side for a moment.

Nodding his head and heading on out of the room to locate the closet she was talking about, the medical drone returned a minute or two later with one or two blankets in hand. "Will these do?" he offered the blankets to her as he approached the bed to check on Dib again. "It's like he's cold despite the fever..." he noted when he noticed Dib shivering as well.

Taking the blankets and bundling Dib up with them, Rose nodded. "That's what happens when humans get sick a lot of the time." she said as she worked to make Dib more comfortable.

"Well, I know nothing of human illnesses. In fact, Irkens are known for having highly strong immune systems. So this is a little new to me. I don't usually treat patients for such things as this. Often times, it's either for injuries or, as would be the case I was called here originally, for delivering smeets."

Rose nodded. "Understandable... But I'm going to guess Dib is still human enough to get sick like one..." she said once she had finished readjusting the blankets on him.

"I realize Zim didn't want a human doctor handling the situation, but if he gets any worse, it may be better for him if you called one in. I don't have the equipment to cure alien illnesses."

Rose nodded sadly. "I hope he doesn't get any worse..." she said, not wanting to even think of how much more complicated things would become if they brought in a human doctor to the equation.

"Just keep on trying to get as much liquid as possible into him and keep him on bed rest. We'll see how he is in about 24 hours or so. If there's a significant worsening of his state before the 24 hours are up, then call in a human doctor."

Petting Dib sadly again, Rose nodded.

His head beginning to hurt as he pulled slightly under the blankets Rose had wrapped him in, Dib winced back at the small pet, only his eyes and antennae showing now.

Rose sighed. "I'm going to let you rest for a little while, okay Dib? Try to eat something if you feel better... Please?" she then added at the end, hoping he'd change his mind about not wanting any food.

Bringing his legs up to curl himself around his belly, Dib didn't respond save for closing his eyes tiredly and sinking into his pillow.

Rose sighed and nodded again. "I'll be back to check in on you later, okay Dib?" she said before standing up from the bed and leaving the room reluctantly.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 161. =3 Until next time~