Regular—regular speech

Italics—thoughts

Bold—chapters and changes

(words)—Bez speak

Chapter 23—Long Days but Right Ways—

Rachel's P.O.V….

The three of us went to the 'greenhouse' but it really wasn't much of one in my opinion. It had a few small budding trees, with winding grass paths between raised vegetable beds. A few plants I noticed were just flowering plants and nothing more than that. The whole greenhouse seemed to scale about two floors high and maybe a hundred feet or so wide. But that was about it. Definitely wasn't much.

Wren had decided to show the Sharshans around Bez since he was something they had never seen before and probably would never see again. They were taking longer than I had thought they would so I had sat on the grass beneath me and looked at the ceiling for the past several moments.

"How did Wren know their language?" I said to myself out loud to no one really in particular.

James looked at me from where he sat against a tree not too far away from me and asked, "You mean she never has spoken a different language?"

I shook my head no, "She never even took any foreign language in school. There were those times though when Wren and Justin suddenly burst out into a fight and started talking gibberish, but I always thought it wasn't anything."

"Zim, did you understand anything they said?" James asked the Irken looking in his direction. He was crouching about a yard from us looking at some of the plants.

From his crouching position Zim shook his head, "I didn't understand anything. I didn't have the injection like Rachel and Wren did."

I tilted my head to the side and tapped my chin thoughtfully. "You knew all those creature's languages?"

"I learned them. It took forever to learn them too." Zim replied plopping down to look at us. "Irken technology can help in learning languages but there's a level that we have to learn without it."

"So the Irkens aren't as great as many thought they'd be," James said with a snort.

"It doesn't matter how great we think we are; it's what we do with what we have," Zim muttered.

"Someone's snippy." James muttered back under his breath as he crossed his arms over his chest.

I rolled my eyes at the two and tried to ignore them. Boys and their posturing and trying to secure territory. I'd never understand the need for all that 'I'm-a-bigger-man-than-you' showing off. I turned my attention back to the ceiling, that was until James decided to start teasing Zim.

"So Zim," James said drawing out Zim's name. "Do you like her?"

He looked at James with a hint of confusion at the sudden question. "Like who?"

I turned to look at the two with a raised brow wondering how James was going to tease Zim now. And was now really a good time when Wren could walk in with our guests at any time?

"You know who I'm talking about Zim. Wren."

Zim scowled at James. "You humans and GIR are out to get me." He hissed.

"Wait a minute," I murmured. "GIR?" I asked louder.

As if by some odd deal of fate, the said SIR unit popped out of no where. He ran toward me and hid behind me shivering.

"Ack!" I squeaked. "What in the world do you think you're doing?"

"Rouk is after me!" he wailed and clung to my arm.

"What did you do this time GIR?" Zim asked some what exasperated.

Rouk suddenly burst through the doors snarling and my pet was following her. It was trying to stop Rouk by the looks of it by pulling on her tail and digging its feet into the ground.

"I will destroy that little SIR unit. I'll rip him to shreds!" Rouk howled lunging at GIR.

Before Rouk got very far though, my little dragon jumped in front of Rouk. The air around it shimmered and suddenly in its place was a snarling wolf. The wolf snapped at Rouk as she turned into a wolf also. They lunged at each other for several seconds rearing on their hind legs. Jaws full of teeth flashing in the lights.

"Ok, ok!" James shouted leaping up towards the fighting biomechs. He grabbed each by the scruffs of the neck mid fight risking injury. "Behave you two. Rouk, tell me what GIR did and then you might get to kill him."

Rouk stopped snarling for a few moments at the other mech. "I was creating a program for Wren, on a small computer vid screen so she could draw. But the next thing I know that little bastard ate it!" She locked her gaze on the shivering unit clinging to me and tried to make a lunge for him.

James caught her before she could break out of his grip. "No you don't muse."

"GIR! You know you aren't supposed to do anything like that!" Zim snarled standing up. "I should shut your shiney metal ass off!"

"But master!" GIR started to protest.

"But nothing. You've done this to me too. I don't even know why I keep you!" Zim shouted shaking his fist at the unit.

I blinked at everything going on around me and wondered why I was in the middle of a shouting match. Everyone suddenly stopped though when the doors to the room opened revealing Wren and our guests. Zim was in mid yell but dropped his arm and shifted into a more docile stance and coughed into his fist that had been raised a second ago. James let go of the two biomechs and straightened his shirt. I stood up as GIR fell off my arm.

Wren raised an eyebrow at us. She placed her hands behind her back, tilted her head slightly to the side and asked, "Did I interrupt something or did I just miss something?"

James, Zim and I looked between the three of us and just smiled in a we-didn't-do-a-thing sort of smile.

Wren scanned us with her eyes and the corner of her mouth twitched. "Right…." She said.

Wren's P.O.V….

"You guys cannot pull off the innocent look." I said smiling full out.

Rachel looked at me and pouted, "I was being good."

"By the looks of it I'd say you actually were this time. But the others within this room; that is a different story all together."

Rachel just looked at me and smiled like a cat with cream.

My ears twitched back suddenly to the whispered voices of the Sharshans. "I believe out of all the species we've seen and met humans have to be the oddest."

"We'll take that as a compliment," I said turning to look at them amused.

"What did they say?" Rachel asked.

"They said that we are the oddest species they have every met."

"I'm not part of your species though," Zim said frowning a bit.

"So, you've been around long enough to be considered one of us." Rachel grinned.

In the background James had busted out laughing and under his breath murmured, "One of us…one of us…"

I started giggling recognizing where James got the little quote he was murmuring.

Zim narrowed his eyes ignoring what James was saying completely. "What, I've been around humans for how many days? Four? If that? And now I act human?"

"You said so yourself, you're a fast learner," Rachel retorted.

"A fast learner in many fields by the looks of it," James muttered loud enough for everyone to hear.

Rachel started giggling, Zim started blushing and I blinked slightly confused. The Sharshans looked at one another quizzically and sat down puzzled on the grass below them.

"What exactly does that mean?" I asked.

"Nothing," Zim said hastily.

I narrowed my eyes at the three and snorted. "Nothing my foot. What the hell are you guys talking about?"

"You'll find out later," James said cryptically.

Zim glared at James. I glared at James. I crossed my arms and hissed, "Bastard," under my breath.

"What was that?" James asked.

"Nothing," I snapped.

Several hours and two meals later….

It turns out that about an hour after talking to Rachel, she had begun to understand the Sharshans. She started to speak their language without even knowing it until James mentioned it. James too was learning their language a bit. Zim had picked it up just a little more than James by the end too.

The head Sharshan, her name was Tsarsh, shook my hand, smiled and said in her own language, "I'm glad that we became friends."

"So am I," I replied grinning. "I truly wouldn't want to have you as an enemy."

Tsarsh chuckled. "We should go, we still need to map this sector. If you need help just call us and we'll try to help you in any way we can. This also goes for the rest of our people too. They'll help where they can."

"Thank you," Rachel said and shook hands with her too.

"We thank you also," Tsarsh said with a smile turned to board her ship.

We watched as the hatch closed and we felt a small tremor run through the ship as their ship detached from ours.

(They have sent a message,) Bex said, (they warn that we should be careful of the next sector because there was a radiation storm going on when they came from there.)

"Alright," I said yawning, "anything else?"

(Nope.) he added.

"Yay!" I cheered. I stretched and smiled at the others. "Not bad for a day huh?"

Zim shook his head, "Not bad at all."

"We have a treaty with the Sharshans and the beginnings of an alliance. We have help if we need it. And," Rachel said.

"And I'm going to bed. Anyone have a reason why I shouldn't sleep yet?" I asked with a slight glare to those around me.

"No…" Rachel drew out, "but if we do we'll send GIR to wake you up." She added with a grin.

"Like hell," I growled and walked to the lifts without a second glance back.

Rachel's P.O.V….

I grinned again and looked at Zim out of the corner of my eye.

"What now?" he groaned tiredly at me.

"Nothing." I replied innocently.

He made a clicking noise that I took as a 'yeah, right' and turned to the lift. I shrugged and stifled a yawn as James and I followed him. We took the second lift as Zim took the first. It seems the lifts were faster than I thought they were in returning.

As the door closed to our lift James asked, "Do you think Wren and Zim will ever get together?"

"I don't know James-kun," I replied. "But it is starting to get annoying."

"Very much so," he agreed.

The lift stopped on our floor and we stepped out. We headed to our room; past a screaming GIR on our way. He was screaming about pigs I think but I was too tired to comprehend all of what he was screaming about. I shook my head as I watched him run into a wall. He jumped up giggling before turning with a squeal.

"I also believe we need to find that thing some help," I added as the unit ran past us again screaming this time about dust bunnies or something fuzzy.

"I don't think there is any help for that SIR," he said and tripped him.

GIR fell on his face with a yelp. He jumped up and squealed, "Yay! I met da floor! Bye floor!"

James shook his head, "See." He watched as the SIR ran in circles.

"Oy," I muttered and watched GIR run into Wren's room.

"Come on Rachel. I prefer not to watch whatever happens to GIR if he pisses her off," James sighed pulling me toward our room.

"Aww…" I whined, "but I want to know what happens." I followed James anyway with a pout on my face.

James' P.O.V….

I shook my head as Rachel headed toward the kitchen area of our room. "Rachel, what are you doing?"

Rachel shrugged, "I'm in the mood for something."

I grinned at her. "Oh really…"

She turned and scowled at me, "James. I didn't mean it that way!"

"Too late," I said continuing to grin.

"Why do you take everything I say and turn it against me?" she asked with a slight frown upon her face.

I walked up to her smiling now, "Because it is fun and…"

"And…"

I hugged her close to me, "because I love you more than anything else in the world."

She blushed and smiled at me, "I knew that."

"Then I'm jut reminding you and will continue to remind you for as long as we live." I said and kissed her forehead then her lips.

"I love you James," she whispered against my lips.

"Love you too Rachel," I whispered back and kissed her again.

Blah, another chapter looked through. I can't believe all the little typos that I find in these things. It's like I ignore or just don't see them when I first type them. I'm also just not sure what I should do about some of these chapters. Should I leave them or just add more. And where would I add more? Again, blah.