Deep in the nesting lab, Zim sighed as he lowered his head down on his crossed arms. He was sitting at the table that held his egg, watching the bundle closely through half-lidded eyes. It would hatch soon, very soon. The computer notified him earlier that it would hatch within the day. Zim spent most of his time down in the lab since the early morning, watching and waiting. There was a small twinge of anticipation deep in his squeedlyspooch. Every once in a while, the egg would twitch ever so slightly and Zim would lock his eyes onto it. Though, the smeet inside would settle back down and the egg would once again remain still, leaving Zim with nothing to do but wait. He wanted to be close by when the egg hatched so he could quickly address any problems that might arise with the pak integration. The smeet's new body may not be able to handle the surgical procedure on its own and it may need extra support while the pak is installed.

Zim could feel himself starting to doze off and for a moment he was just content to let his mind slip out of consciousness. At least until the computer brought him news from above. "Uh…Dib's broken into the base again…"

The computer's bored drawl was enough to snap Zim back to life. Somehow he just knew it was going to happen sooner or later. Dib was due for another break-in. Gritting his teeth and growling Irken obscenities at the human, Zim stood and marched for the doorway that would lead to an elevator down the hall. Though before stepping out of the lab, he stopped abruptly and turned back to face his egg laying on the table. Don't you hatch just yet. Wait for me, he mentally told the smeet within the blue shell. Zim continued into the elevator, catching one last glance of the bundle before the door shut behind him.

When Zim arrived at the top level of the base, he found Dib in the living room, trying desperately to throw Gir off his leg. The little robot clutched tightly onto the human, apparently causing the boy a lot of pain as Zim could see from Dib's expression. Perhaps this would be easy this time. Zim grinned and barked his order. "Gir! Finish him off now!"

"OKAY!" the robot saluted and Zim's powerful stance melted away when Gir screamed happily and proceeded to run out the door without looking back.

Dib panted, cringing with his aching, abused leg. "Thanks…he nearly cut off my circulation…" Then, in a blink, he suddenly straightened up as if nothing had happened. "And now, Zim! I have you!"

Dib pulled a pair of familiar looking metal handcuffs out of his coat pocket and lunged at Zim without warning. Zim, who was still fuming at Gir's incompetence and Dib's insult, barely snapped out of it in time to dodge the attack. Dib stumbled to the floor, catching himself and whirling around on the alien once more. Zim was ready for him though and the Irken landed a solid punch to the boy's face, leaving a nice purple bruise on his cheek. Zim delivered the blow with enough force to send Dib falling backwards and once the human was on the ground, Zim sprang at him, intending to get another punch in with his other hand.

Dib could see the hit coming through the crack of an eye, and he countered as best he could before the alien was on top of him. He swung his right leg up and to the side, putting as much strength into the move as he could manage. Zim lost the lock on his target and was struck to the side as Dib's leg hit his torso.

"Gah!" Zim grunted while he was thrown away from the human. He rolled and oriented himself onto all fours, ready to pounce again, but a painful throb shot through his side where he'd been hit and Zim unwillingly flinched. Dib seized the Irken's moment of weakness to his advantage and tackled the alien to the ground. Dib slammed his forearm hard against Zim's chest, placing all of his weight on it. Dib had learned from past experience that this little maneuver forced Zim's upper half to balance on the curve of his pak and put a painful amount of pressure on his spine, making it hard for him to utilize his pak's defenses. Zim cringed under Dib's weight. He couldn't kick his legs out as the human made sure to sit on them. One of his arms was pinned and the other was used to try to ease some of the pressure on his back. The Irken stared up into the human's face, sneering as best he could while trying to hide his pain.

Dib grinned victoriously. Zim had nowhere to go. "You're mine, alien scum. You'll be coming with me to the Swollen Eyeball now."

Zim really, really wanted to do something bad to the horrible native creature pinning him to the floor. Though before he could even spit in the human's ugly face, the computer chose to chime in. "Master, the egg is hatching…like, right now."

Great…Zim growled to himself. It just had to happen at this very inconvenient moment.

Dib's expression turned to confusion but he didn't let up his hold on Zim. "Egg? Just what are you trying to grow now Zim? Some evil alien monster that will devour the city!?"

Zim sneered at him but forced himself to try to reason. He needed to get out of this mess and get down to the lab. "Dib, you have to let me go." He figured he'd first try the calm, polite way of asking.

"Why would I do that?" Dib scoffed at him. "Especially after so easily catching you."

The Irken ignored the insult, knowing Dib just wanted to be as obnoxious as he could and rub it in. Instead Zim went on. "This isn't about a plan to destroy this pitiful planet!" Well, it will be eventually. "It's something that doesn't concern you at all."

"You expect me to believe that? The computer said 'egg.' That means there's something alive down there and whatever it is, I know it can't be good for Earth!"

You have no idea at all, you wretched beast! He was running out of time. He had to make sure there were no complications with the smeet's pak. Zim clenched his teeth. "Please, Dib. This is personal." Zim was hoping that polite little statement would throw Dib off enough to confuse him and let him go.

"Personal?" Dib suddenly took on a look of something between fascination and disgust. "Is it your egg?"

"…Yes." Zim answered quietly. He didn't want to give more information than he had to.

The scientist in Dib was awakening again. "You actually, uh, laid an egg?"

Zim scowled. Dib and his questions! "No, you ignorant Earth-monkey! We do not reproduce asexually!"

Dib stared at him for a few seconds. "So, then…that means there's another Irken on Earth?" He shook Zim by the arm somewhat but still held him down.

"Yes, Dib, the one that just hatched in my lab! I have to get down there now!" Zim was just about fed up with him.

Dib drew up a serious look. "Fine. You can go, but only if I get to go with you."

"You are such a pain Dib, you know that?" Zim growled.

"I like you too, Zim," Dib answered, dripping with sarcasm. "I'm going to let you up now. Make any weird moves and you'll be stuck in these handcuffs and off to the Swollen Eyeball. Got it?"

Zim grunted something incomprehensible back, but relaxed once Dib lifted his weight of him. The Irken began to stand slowly and carefully, watching Dib as he did so. His spine hurt and the place where Dib kicked him still throbbed. Though he felt somewhat better when he saw the swelling Dib was getting on his face from his own punch.

Keeping his eyes locked on the boy, Zim turned for the elevator that had brought him up. "We need to hurry," he said, motioning for Dib to follow. He had the feeling Dib was more curious than hostile at the moment, but Zim wouldn't let his guard down, not until he was sure he had the human contained in a defenseless manner. He could simply trap Dib on the way to the lab, but that would take more planning and stalling in order to succeed. And right now, Zim's main priority was tending to the smeet. If there was anything wrong and Zim could not fix it in time, the little Irken may not survive. Zim needed the smeet to live if he was to see his conquest through, and for his own personal reasons.

"Dib, put those handcuffs away and I won't harm you in any way while we're down there."

Dib eyed him suspiciously. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't see past the Irken's solid stare. Reluctantly, he put the cuffs back in the inner pocket of his coat and waited for Zim to take them down. Over the years he had grown much taller and stronger, and even though the same happened to Zim, Dib still had the advantage of brute strength over him. If he detected Zim making any suspicious moves, he could easily force the alien to the ground again.

Zim led Dib into the elevator and activated the control to descend. After several seconds the transport stopped at the level that Zim wished, and both of them stepped out. Zim walked down a short hall with a single doorway at the end, Dib following him closely. The Irken pressed his palm against the entry panel and the door slid open with a slight hiss. Zim stepped in and immediately his eyes locked onto the table that the egg was perched on. Except now, instead of a whole teal blue shell, there were broken fragments. Within the pieces was a small green figure lying on its side, its wet skin glistening in the light from overhead. The smell of birth and the distinct new scent of his smeet hit Zim's senses. He quickly strode over to the table, leaving Dib in the doorway.

The last time Zim had seen a smeet was when he was one himself. Looking now from an adult's view, this smeet seemed so very small. Curled up, he could hold the newborn in one hand. The smeet had its pak attached while he was gone, just as Zim had programmed, and now the miniature Irken lay still in the remnants of its egg. As Zim peered closer, he could see its tiny chest moving in and out as it breathed. He's alive. "Computer! Run a scan!"

The computer hummed for a few seconds and then presented its findings. "Irken smeet is four minutes and thirty-eight seconds old. All life signs are green. Pak integration successful. Bio scanners show smeet is fully healthy."

Zim felt relief wash over him. His smeet was only asleep from the anesthesia shot of the pak installation. It would reawaken soon.

Throughout the computer's scan, Zim hadn't noticed Dib walk up beside him. Dib now stood, watching, as Zim picked up one of the blankets that was used to keep the egg warm and carefully wrapped the garment around the smeet, wiping away the liquids left over from the hatching off the smeet's skin. He pinched a pieced of the blanket between his fingers and patted the infant's wet antennae, which were still flattened against its skull. They would perk up after a few minutes and the eyes would open as well.

Dib watched Zim with interest as he picked the smeet up and brought it close to his chest. The little creature stirred lightly at Zim's warmth. Dib didn't think an infant Irken would be so small. He was amazed by the hatchling's size but he was also surprised by Zim's gentleness with it. For awhile, it seemed the larger Irken had forgotten about him, until Dib decided to draw his attention again. "Um, so, is it a boy or a girl?"

Zim glanced at him, his expression unreadable. He didn't like the human being so close. "It is a male," Zim answered, gazing back down at his smeet. Dib was full of Earthen-germs. Zim unconsciously took a step back.

Dib didn't say anything right away, mostly because he didn't know what to say. The whole situation was kind of awkward. He was excited to be there, to actually see a newborn alien, but there was also the sensation that he was intruding on something very personal. This was a critical moment for the bonding of two Irkens and he felt as if he, the human, didn't belong there-as if his very presence would disturb the process.

But he didn't want to go away either. So he tried to make himself feel better by asking simple questions. "What are you going to name him?"

"His name is Senari."

"Se-nari," Dib repeated. "Is that Irken for anything?"

Zim thought for an adequate equivalent for the human. "In your language, it can best be translated as 'one's star.'"

"Oh. That's a nice name then, I guess." There was another question Dib was wanting to ask, though he hoped it wouldn't ruin the fragile moment. "You said Irkens don't reproduce asexually. So where's his, uh, other parent?"

Zim sighed and closed his eyes as if deep in thought. "I don't know," he said somberly.

Dib nearly kicked himself for prying. He shouldn't even be there. But it was all so fascinating.

The little Irken suddenly cooed and mewled, moving its head around lazily and turning its face into the warmth of Zim's chest, grasping his Invader uniform with its tiny claws.

"He's waking," Zim said, explaining to Dib. "He'll open his eyes soon." Dib watched the smeet and sure enough, its eyes slowly began to creak open. From what he could tell from this distance, the smeet's eyes were the same color as Zim's: a bright magenta-red.

As Dib studied the small Irken, his own eyes widened when he saw Zim do something very odd. Zim licked the top of the smeet's head with the front half of his tongue, gliding the tip of it along the base of one antenna. The smeet cooed softly and warmly in response, pressing closer to the other. Dib concluded it was some Irken way of a parent kissing their child and it was probably completely normal in their society. He was surprised again when the infant lifted its head and lashed its own tiny tongue out in an upward motion as if to give a kiss back.

"Ka-ru een sa-lae de ka's sa-mare."

"What?" Dib snapped out of his thoughts as he heard Zim speak in Irken, apparently to Senari. "What did you say?"

"Nothing," Zim replied. He kept his eyes on his smeet, and he whispered in English, "Yes, you are."

Dib was confused. He had no idea what Zim was talking about, but it obviously had something to do with the little Irken in his arms. Dib committed the words he managed to catch to his memory. Ka-ru. Sa-lae. Sa-mare. He would use the computer from Tak's old ship to translate them later.

"I must discuss something with you Dib."

Dib turned to Zim again, curious. "And what's that?"

Zim shut his eyes and drew in a deep breath. Letting it out in a sigh, he continued. "I wish to make a truce with you."

"Truce?"

"Yes. Until Senari is able to better look after himself, I will have to stand by as his caretaker and guardian. In other words, I don't have time to deal with you and your annoying Dib-ness."

Dib looked at him skeptically, cocking an eyebrow. "So you want me to leave you alone?"

Zim held his gaze, locking their stares together. "In return, I won't spend as much time as I 'd like working on any major plans that are an immediate threat to this planet. But you understand I can't cease my duties completely? I'll take to observation and research instead of direct action. Is that pleasing enough for you?"

Dib thought about the offer. What would he get out of it? A lot of rest, probably. But he still believed he deserved something better. "Okay Zim, I'll accept. But only if I get to keep an eye on you. You have to let me come here every now and then to make sure you aren't doing anything evil."

Zim bared his teeth. "You don't trust me?"

"I'm sure you understand my reasoning."

Zim considered it. Whatever he offered, he was sure Dib would find some way to still be a bother. He didn't really want to have Dib wandering about his base all time, he needed to train Senari in private. Perhaps if he offered to learn Dib on simple Irken culture? Maybe then the human would feel he's been treated fairly enough? Dib wanted to come to the base but that didn't mean Zim had to let him down into the labs. He could keep Dib occupied on the top level for a good amount of time.

"Fine Dib," Zim said. "You can come here, but you only get to go as far as the ground level."

"What!? Why?" Dib growled.

"You may think I'm a mindless savage, Dib, but I like having my privacy as much as you do," Zim sneered. "You can go only where I say you can. This is my base after all."

"Fine." Dib decided he wouldn't get anything better from Zim. "Shake on it?"

He held his hand out to the Irken. Zim eyed it warily before muttering something about strange human customs and then used the hand that wasn't holding Senari to grasp Dib's in agreement.

Dib shook Zim's hand lightly so he wouldn't scare the alien or anything with his weird human ways. Satisfied with their deal, Dib asked, "So, I guess we're on friendly terms now, right? You uh, need any help with him?" He nodded towards Senari, whose eyes were now fully open and were beginning to explore the surroundings.

Zim glanced down at his smeet, glad to see him looking about and alert. Zim looked back up at Dib. "He'll be hungry soon."

Reviews make me happy. :)