Little Slices Of Death (A/n: I don't know why, but this is my favorite chapter so far! Enjoy!!)

"Hey Dib, there's something I'd like to tell you."

"What is it?" In a daze.

"Zim... he's here." Dib's eyes lit up immediately.

He just about jumped out of the bed in surge of extreme shock and excitement, but instead, coughed violently and laid back down.

"Oh Dib," Betty chided coolly, "Try to keep relaxed, its not good for your condition to get so excited like that so fast. Though I don't blame you."

Dib was breathing heavily in profound restlessness; his eyes wide and dilated.

"Wh-...whe...when ca-can I see hi-..." He gasped out. His whole body was sore and it was painful and tiring to move even slightly, and even worse, he had a seemingly ongoing migraine.

And he hardly slept.

Dreams seemed to never come, but life always found a way to delude him, and in some twisted way, his life became his dreams, and everything seemed to want to point at him and laugh, laugh, laugh.

Sleep, those little slices of death; oh how I loathe them.

Light and Darkness.

Oh you Joker, sleep doesn't make you feel dead...

Sleep and dreams and dreams and sleep, reality and subconscious, memories, the only way to know if anything is real...

Well, who knows, right?

Laugh, laugh, laugh.

Swirl.

"Dib? ... Dib!" Betty's voice fell into deep concern, trying to snap Dib out of it, whatever it was.

"I'm... ok." He managed to say.

"Ok, well." She sighed in relief. "As to your question, you can see him after dinner tonight. But the thing is, he may or may not be the same as he was before... well you know."

Dib nodded slightly, he didn't really care, he was so sure Zim had died, or had been captured, he had so many things to discuss with his love.

Laugh, laugh, laugh.

Swirl.

"Before you see him," Yolanda sighed, "Well, I'm sure that Betty warned you, but he might get hysterical, he might..." She trailed off, and looked as though tears would soon pierce her jade eyes. "I don't know, just be careful..."

Just as Dib thought he was going to get to go in the room, the two woman started talking up a storm.

Dib was getting irritated and very tired, he thought he might as well just roll his wheelchair into the room, and just as he was about to; their loquacious conversation came to an end. Yolanda already was wheeling him in.

Swirl.

Zim looked ghastly. His skin was pale and sickly, his antennas were drooped lowly, patches of discolored bruises, and my god... it was horrendous. 'Did I look like this?'

A surge of rapid and intense emotions swept through him, and he exhaled sharply in the surreal nature of his reality.

Dib looked like shit to say the least, his longer, dark raven hair, usually so soft and easy to manage and style, looked like it was sticky and clumped. He guessed he hadn't had a real shower since he had been under. His skin was a pale yellow, and his jaw was bruised and dislocated, his left eye was a dark purplish color, and the rest of his body was just sore and tired. But, slowly, he was recuperating.

Yolanda wheeled him up to the bed slowly. "Hey, Zim... wake up sweetie, you have a visitor. And I know you don't sleep..." She teased lightly.

"Why... no one... comes... see Zim..." He mindlessly garbled.

"No, Zim, listen, Dib's here... he's here for you!"

Zim, in a instant, shot up from bed and glared at Yolanda, not even noticing Dib was sitting right there next to him.

"Do NOT lie to ZIM!" He growled, "You will RUE th-"

Yolanda flinched and took several steps back, ready to call for help at any moment.

Dib, in a frenzy, unconsciously took Zim's hand and pulled him toward the pillows. Zim fell back immediately at the strange pull, and was forcibly faced with the tired, familiar golden eyes of his...

"DIB!" Zim gasped, flabbergasted and he felt as though the wind was taken out of him within an instant, only to be put back in him. His whole body hummed with quickened excitement.

Dib was overpowered as Zim took him in his arms, pulling him on top of him.

The two ladies looked in slight amusement as Dib's stunned expression was countered with Zim's extremely content expression.

Zim wrapped his arms tightly around Dib.

"Oh Dib, I thought you were dead! I thought I'd never see you again.." Zim said painfully.

"I know baby, I'm here. If I could've seen ya sooner, I would've."

"Dib, I love you." Zim said only Dib could hear, so gentle and so passionate. He wondered if Dib had heard him that day, when he first had said it.

Dib nodded and kissed Zim's neck.

The two ladies took this as a sign to leave.

A few minutes later, which seemed like an eternity, Zim remembered the news he had to tell Dib.

"Hey.. uh Dib." Zim started nervously.

"Yeah?"

"I got something to tell you. Please don't be angry. I was going to tell you that day... and-"

"Just tell me, Zim. Please." Dib's eyes shone with understanding.

"Dib, we have a... daughter." Zim flinched without reason, and when Dib saw that, Dib took Zim's hands and smiled brightly, but inside he was shocked beyond words. Zim opened his eyes and saw that smile, breathing in slowly. He took it well. Thank Irk.

"Oh Zim! Really? Have you seen her? What did you name her? Well, how is she? Healthy?"

Zim almost laughed at Dib's string of questions, it showed he really did care. But of course, Dib was the one who wanted kids in the first place.

"Her name is Mariko Guinevere, as we agreed on," Dib's eyes smiled. "She's not too bad health wise. Um," He really didn't want to worry Dib too much. "I haven't got to see her yet."

"Why not, they should, you are the... mother!" Dib blushed.

"Well, Dib, if you want to know the truth, she's very much undernourished and is under something called, 'Intensive Care'... but I was informed she will survive."

"That's great! I'm so happy!"

"Yeah..." Zim flinched a little.

Dib stopped smiling.

"What's wrong?"

"So much has gone on... I really thought you died. I saw them put a sheet over your body! And I was taken by your Swollen Eyeball thing! They were gonna kill me, expose me, they were gonna do horrible things.. If the authorities didn't come, me and our daughter would be dead..."

Dib gulped, taking it all in. He realized he couldn't digest it. He couldn't do anything but listen. He had to be there for Zim.

"They pinned your murder on me! Me! God, Dib... I wanted to die..."

"What matters is that your safe now, and so is Mariko." Dib said very quietly, his eyes wet. "I'm so sorry..." Dib said so softly, Zim barely heard him.

"How do you know! Do you think they'll just let us go, Dib! We're aliens, we'll be experimented on the rest of our lives!! And though our daughter's only half-Irken.. it doesn't matter to them!"

Dib firmly asserted, "No, I won't let that happen to our daughter, or you... never." He softly kissed Zim's temple. "Ever."

"Please just stay with me..." He sobbed horribly. Dib caressed him softly, deliberately slow, trying to calm him down, because Zim's behavior was making him very nervous and it unsettled him deeply.

"I'm here."

Finally, the two left, giving them some time to just be together.

Zim relaxed slightly, pulling Dib closer to his frail frame. "Don't go..."

Dib leaned over to the side of the bed to get more comfortable, but Zim wouldn't let him.

"This bed is big enough for us, Zim, I'm just gonna lay-"

"NO!"

"Ok, ok..."

"Just... gonna rest.." Zim garbled again.

"No, Zim! Please," He leaned his lips gently upon Zim's cheek, brushing passionately against his weathered flesh. Zim shuddered, his antennas flexing and relaxing as Dib's soft hand reached to stroke it gently from his fingertips. "I've missed you more than you can imagine Zim, don't close those beautiful eyes... I want to see them." He whispered sensually along his flesh, lower to his neck.

"Zim.. tooooo..." He purred.

He opened his eyes half-lidded, and frowned slightly.

"You belong to me, so don't scare Zim like that again..."

"I won't." He said apprehensively, because in the back of his mind, something told him not to make such a promise.

"I don't believe you." Zim said immediately. "There's something wrong, isn't there?"

'Damn it, Zim just had to be perceptive at a time like this...' He stopped his ministrations, and though Zim whined slightly, he got over it quickly.

"I... don't know," He answered honestly. "I just have this horrible feeling."

"Zim too."

Swirl.

A doctor came in a little later, announcing, that within a few weeks, when everyone, including their daughter was healed, they could be released. Zim was wary of this, but Dib was happy enough. Everything seemed in order.

(A/n: I have some interesting news reguarding Zim, earlier to-day I looked him up on wikipedia, and something caught my eye, it said Zim was 16 when he arrived at earth, well sixteen in Irken years, but 159 in earth years. Oh that made sooooo excited! Cause lots of people think their relationship, if they had one, would be pedophilia, cause supposedly Zim's wayyy older than 16, perhaps even an adult. But certainly that's not the case. In my story, Dib's 23 now, so if Dib was 11, not sure about that, when they first met, ummmm... Zim's 17-ish as one of my reviewers said, and thats only about a 6 year difference! Not that much at all!! Oh, I tell you, I was so happy, hehe, I ran upstairs to tell my sisters, which, they don't really support it, but they tolerate it. Anyway, that is all. Hopefully I got my facts straight! And if your a ZaDr fan... SPREAD THE WORD!! unless ya already knew hehe)