Disclaimer: Alas, I still don't own any of it. :(
AN: If anyone knows if the members of Microbe actually have names, please let me know what they are. I plan on bringing them into later chapters, and I want to use the right name if there are any. Please read, review, and enjoy!
Reviewer Responses:
SSC-backwards- Thank you so much for the review! You were my first reviewer ever, and it prompted me to post this chapter now. I hope you continue to enjoy the story.
Neviegirl- Thank you for the review. I promise you that I will finish this story and that it will be completed sometime during the summer if not sooner.
Previously: As though in response to his unasked questions, she looked up at him and spoke in such a tone that it made his heart break even more if that was possible. "My parents…and, and…the lab…it…they…they never…they died. Proto Zoa…my parents… they're dead!"
"No! This cannot be happening to her. And her parents…they were always such wonderful people. How can this be happening?" Proto Zoa thought as he tried to console Zenon. "Zee…darling, I'm so sorry…I'm just so sorry." He knew that nothing he could say right now would help her, he only hoped that his presence would offer her some comfort. He held her while she continued to weep; he only wished there was more he could do. He soon regained his wits and realized that they were sitting outside in the pouring rain, and he knew that her getting sick on top of everything else was not going to help her now. "Zee…Zee, you have to come inside with me. Okay?" he prompted gently, but she made no sign of having heard or understood what he just said. He gently shook her as he tried again. "Please Zee…we have to go in now before you become ill." Still she did not respond and continued to cry. He couldn't blame her though; he understood that this was tough on her.
Knowing that she couldn't remain outside, he picked her up and carried her bridal style back into his house. He brought her to his living room and placed her down carefully on the couch. He went to move away to grab a towel to try and dry her off when he was suddenly stopped by her hand clutching his arm. It was the only real movement that she had made for some time, and it startled him at first. She looked up at him with desperation in her eyes. "Please don't go. Please Zoa…please don't leave me." She pleaded. He knew that she needed him, but he also knew that if she stayed soaking wet that she would become ill. He was drawn as to what to do. "I'll only be gone a second, and she really needs to get dry. But then again how can I leave her." He thought.
"Zenon, I have to go get a towel so you can dry off. I'll only be a second love, and then I'll come right back. I promise." said Proto Zoa trying to convince her that he really would be back in a moment.
"Please…please don't leave me." was her only response.
"Zee…I'm not going anywhere. I just need to get a towel to dry you off. I'll come back right away." He tried again in vain to convince her that he would come back.
"Please…" was again her only response.
He finally decided that he couldn't leave her if she didn't understand that he would be right back. Trying to think of anything so he could get her dry, an idea popped into his mind. He chided himself for not thinking of it early. He carefully lifted her off the couch, and he carried her upstairs to grab some towels out of the hall closet. With towels in hand, he continued into the nearest room which happened to be his private office. It was decorated according to his rock star persona with few exceptions. The one that stood out was a wooden bookcase in the back of the room. Its shelves were lined with hard cover books and photographs of his parents. This was adjacent to the couch that he gently place Zenon on. He took the towel he had in his hand and began to dry her off. By this time her crying had nearly subsided, but now her face held a far off gaze. She seemed completely unaware of her surroundings. He wondered if she was even aware of his presence. He realized that she was as dry as he was going to get her at the present moment, but he was still not satisfied. "She can't stay in those wet closes. But what can I do…I doubt that she is coherent enough to even know she is wet. I need to get her to snap out of this long enough for her to change. I can't let her stay wet all night long..."
"Zoa…where are we?" questioned Zenon snapping back to reality for some unknown reason.
"We're in my office at Nova Linda Zee." Thinking this might be his one chance to really communicate with her tonight, he continued. "Zee, darling, we need to get you into some dry close. Do you think you can follow me so we can do that?" She merely nodded her held and went to stand to comply with his request, but she nearly fell backwards. Proto Zoa reached out to catch her before she fell backwards into the couch. He tried to steady her, but she seemed unable to support her own weight. He decided it was best to just carry her, so he lifted her up into his arms.
"Thank you" she said almost inaudibly.
He looked down to notice that she was starting to doze in his arms. "She looks so serene when she sleeps…just like an angel. I hate to have to wake her, but she really does need a change of close." He shook her softly trying to keep her up, but that only seemed to aid in her continuing in her state. "Zenon, you have to stay awake. Remember, you have to change into dry close." She started to stir, and at this point, he was in his guest bedroom and had already gotten some of his sweats to let her wear. He sat her down on the bed and put the close next to her. "Zee, change into this for me. I will be right outside the door. Just yell for me when you are done, and I will come back. Okay?" He looked at her expectantly, hoping that she understood what he had asked of her. She slowly looked up at him and nodded her head. He walk out of the room, and waited for her to call him back. He listened at the door attentively, but began to worry when she did not call for him to come back yet. He tried to listen harder, and he heard her soft cries emanating from within the room. He opened the door gradually, and said to her, "Zee, I'm coming back in now. Okay?" When she didn't respond, he continued in to find her curled into a ball on the floor in his sweats. He went to her and just held her. That was the only thing he could think of to do for her. He gently rocked her back and forth trying to sooth her, and that helped as she started to drift off to sleep. He picked her up and headed toward the bed. He pulled back the covers, careful not to drop his charge. He placed her in the bed and tucked the covers around her. He started to leave the room when he heard her soft cry.
"Please don't leave me. Please stay."
Knowing he couldn't refuse her, he simply replied, "okay." He grabbed a chair from across the room and pulled it toward her bed. Zee relaxed once he was positioned next to her. He propped his feet up on the bed next to hers, and he got comfortable in the chair. Once he was certain she was asleep, he let sleep take him over and drifted off to sleep, a rare occasion for him anymore.
AN: Well another chapter done. I was going to make this chapter longer, but I decided it would be better to make it another chapter. Please don't forget to review; your suggestions are quite welcomed.
Love & Peace
Cole
