“What are you going to feed him?” Dib asked curiously. He followed Zim down a few more levels of the base, where they entered a simple living area. This place was separate from the many labs above, sitting in its own little sector pod deep underground. This was Zim’s home on Earth.

Zim, who was still holding Senari, made his way over to a storage cubicle which sat in a small room that resembled a kitchen to Dib. “That depends,” Zim answered him, looking through the cabinet. “I’m low on Irken nutrient supplements.” He glanced around the room, not finding what he wanted. “I should have had enough foresight to send for a restock,” he muttered to himself.

Dib stared at him, the slightest bit of concern on his face. “So what will you do?”

“There is one thing,” Zim said, gently stroking one antenna on Senari’s head when he made a frustrated noise. He was already becoming fussy with his oncoming hunger. Out of options, Zim rummaged through another cubicle. He pulled out of it a metallic, rectangular box about the size and shape of a briefcase. With it, he entered into another room through a side door and Dib followed after him.

This new room was smaller and had a circular mattress in one corner. Dib realized it was a bedroom as he noticed folded up blankets and other storage cabinets with small little gadgets and objects sitting on their surfaces.

Zim set the metal box on the edge of the round bed and then carefully lay Senari down amongst the pillows. He then opened the box and pulled out a short syringe, filling it with an orange liquid kept in a small bottle within the box.

Dib grew nervous at the sight of the alien needle. “Uh, Zim? What are you doing?”

“This is an Irken medical kit,” Zim answered. Then he looked up at Dib. “Were you  worried I was going to poke you with something?” he grinned.

“N-No, just wondering,” Dib said, still a little nervous. “Medical kit?”

Zim nodded to the syringe. “This is a hormone-enhancer. We Irkens have special glands in our abdomens to nurse our smeets with. I’ll have to feed Senari myself.”

“Feed him yourself?”

“I haven’t been eating enough to create my own, uh, what you call ‘milk.’ This injection will stimulate my body to produce some from my pak’s energy reserves.”

Dib was stunned. “But…aren’t you a guy?”

Zim stared at him. “Yes. I don’t know what you mean, Dib. What does that have to do with anything?”

“N-Nothing…just never mind.” Dib decided to just deal with it. Irkens were so strange.

Humans are so strange, Zim thought. He set the needle down and removed his gloves and then his uniform. He had on a black undershirt made from a light but sturdy material. He lifted the shirt up on one side, exposing a small patch of green skin. Dib, who was watching closely, flinched slightly when Zim jabbed the needle in his side and injected the liquid.

Afterwards, Zim set the syringe back in its place inside the kit and closed the box, setting it off to the side on top of a small dresser. He sat on the bed next to Senari with this back against the wall. He lifted his shirt just enough to show his stomach and studied his own flesh.

Dib gazed at the Irken’s smooth abdomen, watching Zim trace small patterns over it with his fingers. Dib was confused though. He saw no sign that any kind of glands were present. “There’s nothing there,” he pointed out.

Zim continued brushing his fingers over his skin. “They only become visible once we’ve prepared ourselves to rear a smeet,” he explained quietly. “I haven’t been physically readying myself for it, there’s been too many things on my mind lately. That’s what the injection was for. I’ve actually lost weight rather than gained any.”

“Then is it a good idea that you even do this?”

Zim sighed. “I have no choice. I might come out of it a little weak, but I’m not going to starve Senari. Not after getting him this far.”

Dib glanced over at Zim’s smeet, who was moving about quite a bit. He was surprised when Senari pushed himself on his arms and sat up straight, looking around curiously. “I can’t believe how strong he is already.”

Zim grinned. “Irkens are superior to humans in more ways than one, Dib. Our young are not completely helpless after birth. Smeets develop very quickly.”

As Zim said this, Senari went back to all fours and fumbled with his limbs for a bit before shakily crawling over to the other Irken. He supported himself on Zim’s thigh and sat up straight again, looking up at his father’s face.

“That’s amazing,” Dib commented. Senari stretched his neck out and sniffed at Zim’s stomach, instinctively knowing that something would be there for him to eat. Zim smiled and placed him in his lap, supporting him with one hand. Dib watched as the smeet started sniffing and nipping at the four small nubs that were slowly starting to form on Zim’s skin. Senari looked up at Zim as if to question why there was no food yet.

The larger Irken chuckled. “Be patient, little one. You’ll have your fill soon enough.”

Senari gave a little sigh and leaned his head against his father’s stomach, waiting for the time when he could eat.

Dib found the whole exchange very interesting. “It’s like he already understands what you’re saying. Is it because of that pak thing?”

Zim smiled. “This actually has nothing to do with the pak. Smeets can naturally be very acute to their adult caretakers. It’s just how we evolved.”

Dib was wishing he had his notepad right now. He was getting more out of Zim in just a few minutes than he usually got in six months. He’d have to remember to write everything down when he got home.

Finally, Senari found a tit that was ready to give him food and he started suckling on it, closing his eyes in content as he received his first meal in life.

Zim shut his eyes too as he felt the smeet nibbling on him, letting his head thud against the wall. “I do hope I receive new supply stores soon.”

“What about Earth food?” Dib asked.

Zim sighed. “It’s not the best thing for me right now. His pak will protect him but I don’t want to chance him becoming ill.”

Dib thought about it for a moment and then something occurred to him. “Actually, maybe it will be good for him. I mean, you’ve been here for along time already. You’ve had to have built up some immunities by now to our food and environment and stuff. So you’ll most likely pass those defenses on to him when you feed him like this, don’t you think?”

Zim considered it and Dib did have a valid point. He hadn’t thought of that before. “Possibly.” Dib might be right but Zim didn’t have to admit it.

Dib could already sense Zim’s stubbornness. The Irken knew he was right. Oh well… They remained in silence for awhile, Zim on the bed and Dib leaning against the wall as he had nowhere else to sit except the floor. He watched the little Irken in Zim’s lap, happily suckling away, pulling back every now and then for a quick breath.

Senari. A star. He wondered why Zim had chosen a name like that. Not that there was anything wrong with it. Dib actually liked the name. I guess I’ll never quite figure him out. Then, he thought of something else. Though I wonder…

“Hey, Zim?”

“Yes?”

“You said Senari means ‘one’s star.’ I was wondering, what about your name?”

Zim let his eyelids flit open and he gazed across the room to the far opposite wall, staring at nothing. Softly, he answered Dib. “My name is Zimaris. In the ancient Irken language it means ‘loyalty.’”

“Loyalty, huh?” Dib smiled. “Well, I think whoever named you, named you good, heh.” His smile faltered when Zim sighed, almost sounding defeated. “I mean, you seem very loyal to your people and planet.”

“Yes,” was Zim’s only response. He looked down. Senari had finished his meal and was licking his lips dry of any leftovers. Zim gently picked him up and set him on the mattress again. Then Zim laid himself down, curling his legs up and drawing Senari close to his chest. He covered him with a soft blanket, placing his arm around him. “Sleep now, hitu,” he whispered to him. “I need to rest Dib. You can take the same elevator back to the surface.”

Dib frowned. He wasn’t expecting to get thrown out so soon. “Um, alright.”

“And don’t even think of getting off at any of the other levels,” Zim warned. “I’ll know if you do.”

“Sure, no problem.” Dib stepped away from the wall and went slowly to the doorway, pausing to look back at Zim. “I’ll be back sometime soon. Ya know, just to make sure you’re not doing anything evil.”

“I know,” Zim said, letting his eyes slip closed.

Dib studied the two Irkens a minute longer and then exited the room.

-----

Once home, Dib went straight to his computer. He wanted to record the massive amount of new information he gathered on Zim. But first, he input the words the Irken had spoken earlier. The computer in Tak’s ship was still connected to his own systems, giving him easy access to an Irken translation program.

Dib entered the three words together, in the order he heard them, spelling each one out as best he could. The computer searched through its database of Irken words and phrases, looking for the best possible matches. It presented him with its results fairly quickly.

Ka-ru: you are, you’re
Sa-lae: beautiful
Sa-mare: mother

You’re…beautiful…mother…Dib thought about the words Zim had said. These three by themselves didn’t make much sense, but there were other words that were said in between them, ones that Dib wasn’t able to catch. Hmm…Zim had said “Yes, you are” right after his sentence. Dib considered the many things Zim was saying to Senari but one seemed to stand out as the most logical answer: You’re beautiful like or as your mother.

At least Dib now had some inkling of what Zim had been talking about. Next time he went over there, he would be sure to bring his notepad in case Zim let slip any more of his native language.

Then, Dib remembered one other thing that was said before he left. He typed in ‘hitu’ and waited for the result. On screen, he saw the word dearest come up.

-----

She didn’t remember when she had dozed off but she did recall the dream she had. She had been standing in a wide, golden field back on her home planet. She felt something at her feet and she looked down. There was a small child sitting comfortably in her shadow, protected from the bright sun that shone overhead. He smiled up at her but she couldn’t remember if she smiled back. She picked her head up and saw someone approaching them. The person stopped in front of her and the child and smiled, extending a hand out to her. She took the hand without question as she stared into his beautiful red eyes.

That was when she awoke. Tak looked around her lab, still a little lightheaded from her sleep. She rubbed at her eyes and temples, and went back to her work.