Dib groaned, feeling drool running down the side of his lips and over the bottom of his cheek. He sat up, wiping it off before looking down at Zim, curled up next to him and still fast asleep. Zim's gloved hands clutched at the thin sheets, but he looked more relaxed than he'd been when he'd fallen asleep on the couch upstairs.

Dib was lucky he remembered which room in the lower base was the one with the bed. It had been a long day at work, he'd simply set Zim down and laid down next to him, falling asleep himself. Glancing at his watch, it had been nearly five hours.

Dib smiled at him. He'd almost never seen Zim fall asleep despite all the stalking he'd done, but this was the third time since Zim had become pregnant- his body must have been working overtime to keep the smeet healthy. Great, he was calling it a smeet now too. Well, it was kind of a cute word, and Zim insisted on it, so it wasn't that much of a problem.

He couldn't help setting a hand on Zim's side, feeling the bump under the fabric. It was still sinking in- they were really going to be parents in a few months. Absently, he wondered what the base would look like if Dib moved in for a while to help while it was an infant. The image of Zim in a housewife outfit and waving around a spatula had him muffling a snorting laugh. It would be a miracle if the kid grew up anywhere close to normal, but normal kind of sucked. As long as they gave it attention and love, it would be fine.

Probably.

Man, he hoped it wouldn't need a pak, it would be awful if it just died right after it was born. Hopefully the human half would cancel that out- or maybe paks only became essential after they were put on in the first place? He'd have to ask Zim about that at some point, although he kind of doubted he would know. The idea of everyone being connected to some kind of supercomputer thing that could probably mess with your brain at will made him shudder.

Zim's left antenna twitched and his grip on the blanket. "D-don't…" He mumbled, much quieter than he always was awake.

"Zim?" Dib's train of thought derailed from paks and domesticity as he set a hand on Zim's side, but the irken curled in tighter on himself, trying to make himself into a ball.

"No, mine!" Zim practically hissed. Dib started shaking him- and nearly got skewered by a furious pak leg.

"Woah- Zim, wake up!" Dib scrambled back, managing to catch himself before he fell of the bed. "You're having a nightmare!"

"Don't you dare-" Zim switched to the clicks and hisses of his native irken. Dib looked around, grabbing a pillow before chucking it at Zim's head.

"Come on, wake up!"

Zim shot up, breathing hard. His head swung from side to side, finally locking on to Dib.

"Dib! What are you- where am I?" His pak was glowing, and Dib held up his hands in a placating gesture.

"You're in the room in the lower base with the bed. You fell asleep upstairs, and I brought you down before falling asleep next to you. When I woke up, you were having a nightmare."

"Zim has no night-horses." Zim's eyes were still wide, and Dib approached slowly.

"Well, you were talking in your sleep, and you sounded mad."

"You shouldn't have been listening." Zim shot back.

"I have no idea what it was about, I think you were trying to keep people away from something of yours?"

Zim waved a hand. "Well, I can't remember it now, so it couldn't have been that important." His right antenna bobbed and he tilted his head. "Hey, do you have any chocolate?"

Dib rummaged around in his coat. "It's probably all gross and melted now, but here." He handed Zim a rather misshapen fun-sized bar that had melted and solidified again in his pocket. Zim tore at the wrapper with his teeth, eating it in one bite. "Well, at least you're fine now."

"Uh curse ah am-" Zim swallowed the chewed up candy. "No night-ponies will scare me ."

"Of course not." Dib rolled his eyes. "Anyways, I've got today off."

"Excellent! The cows should be ready for harvesting by now."

"Harvesting?" Dib raised an eyebrow. "What are they for, anyways?"

"Trying to create meat I can eat without having to order it from Foodcourtia. It's always so gross and dry by the time it gets to me. So dry…"

"Oh. Well, I guess that makes sense. You said they were merged with chickens, right?"

"Mhm." Zim slid off the bed, marching off, and Dib ducked his head to avoid it hitting the top of the doorframe as he followed.

"Well, that could be something useful for making a new strain of meats. Are they more cow than chicken?"

"Eeeh, it kinda varies, but they're real smart. Yeah, real smart."

"You bred something to just be slaughtered and decided to give it intelligence?" Dib grimaced.

"Oh, don't make that face, Gir taught them to enjoy going to their graves, it's no… problem…" Zim blinked, tugging at the collar of his uniform. "Computer, did you start fiddling with the temperature control again?"

"No."

"Did Gir?"

"Nope."

"Where is Gir?"

"Right here!" Gir popped up from under a control panel, bits of stuffing ripped out of a plush doll stuck to the nutella smeared all over his suit.

"Ugh, Gir, you're gross." Zim mumbled. A small radio-like thing appeared from his Pak. "Full evaluation."

A monotone voice started listing off, with static buzzing every few words. "Base temperature is .0045 zzzt two heats more zzt usual. Smeet is growing zzzzt same pace as before. Body is zzzzt to generate optimal gestation environment. Sweat is beginning to form at base zzzt antennae, and near the bottom of zzt abdomen-"

"Alright, that's enough." Zim shoved the radio back into his pak. "Right, computer said it was going to mess with temperature…"

"It sounds like it's supposed to help, though, so that's good…" Dib gave Zim a once-over. "Feeling sticky?"

"None of your business."

"It is if you're going to get sick."

"I can handle a few extra measly heat units."

"Really? Because humans die if they get six or seven degrees above normal."

"Pssh, that's humans."

"You smell like burgers." Gir stared up at Zim. "I'm gonna eatchya."

"No, you aren't." Zim rubbed his forehead. "Computer, get me… ehh, what do I usually do when I'm sick?"

"Whine about it and blame Dib for infecting you, usually, before curling up in the med bay."

"Eheheh… oh, yeah."

"Seriously?" Dib planted his hands on his hips.

"Well, you're the meatbag that graces my presence most." Zim shrugged. "It must be you."

"Gir literally rolls around in trash."

"I sure do!"

"Gir is irken technology, he wouldn't poison me!"

"It's not poison, it's your body trying to deal with- look, do you want to go back to bed?"

"I won't let a few units ruin my plans for the day." Zim declared. They walked in silence (well, except for Gir's whistling of some cheery tune, and Dib absently wondered how he could whistle without lips) until Zim's usual steady marching started to stumble.

"Zim?"

"I'm fine!" Zim's antennae flicked, and Dib swore he saw a dot of liquid flip off the end of one. Sweat, probably.

"It's not weak to need a break if you've got a fever," Dib raised an eyebrow. "I know the one I got senior year knocked me out for almost five days. Dad kept trying experimental cures for it." He paused. "You know, that might be why it lasted five days."

"Feh, you worry too much." Zim said, even as his cheeks dotted with a flush. Dib narrowed his eyes before leaning over, scooping Zim up in one easy motion. "RELEASE ME!"

"Nope, not until you say you're going to lay low for a few hours."

"Never!" Zim was very, very squirmy, and also very, very strong, but years of practice had taught Dib just how to pin him when he needed to. His pak was settled between Dib's arms, at just the right position that if he tried to use any weapons or the legs in it, the entrances were either forced shut by Dib's chest or would completely skewer the human if used, something Zim didn't want. (Usually. Dib had close calls, especially the first few times.) "You use your aged tallness against me?"

"Yeah, if it stops you from passing out on the floor instead." Dib said. "Look, I'll make you something if you ditch dealing with the experiment for a while, how's that sound?"

"You shall not bribe the mighty-"

"Gaz taught me how to make those doughnuts you were drooling over before."

"...I do need to keep my energy up. But only if you put me down!"

"Heheh, Master's tinyyyy."

"Gir, shut up."

"Aw, don't be mean! It's cute, you's a big dolly." Gir had a wide grin as Dib cautiously set Zim down.

"No, Gir. Not cute. I am an invader!"

"I mean, he's got a point. You are kind of adorable." Dib said, holding down a hand for Gir to high-five, something the robot eagerly did.

The moment was a bit spoiled, however, by the fact that Zim took the distraction of the high-five to kick Dib right in the shin.