AN: I apologize profusely for not submitting this chapter sooner; it should have been here weeks ago. I have just been very busy and kept forgetting to log in and upload it. Thank you to everyone who has stuck with the story this far, and to those who have left me comments, thank you. All your criticisms and comments have been taken into consideration and I will remember them next time I attempt a story of this magnitude. There may be an epilogue, but it will be a while until it arrives. Until then, I hope this will do. Sorry again for the long wait, and thank you for reading.

Chapter 18

Soft beeping was one of the first things Gaz was aware of as she woke up. The next thing she noticed was that she was lying on her back. That was odd. Wasn't she on her front before? Her back was sore, but not too bad. It was a dull sensation, like the pain couldn't quite reach her, even though she knew it was there. Her right arm felt kinda weird too, but she could look at that later.

She was content to just lay there for a while so she could wake up more fully. This was a comfortable bed, and besides that mechanical but rhythmic beeping, it was nice and quiet.

Then she began to remember things. Seeing her boyfriend dragged screaming away from her. Living on Earth as it was ruled by another species. Hard labor, insults yelled in an alien tongue, even a little bit of fear...

And very recently, pain, lots of pain. On her back, her arms, and there was lots of blood... she remembered vividly being struck over and over again on the back until she passed out, and when she woke up, it continued, as her tormentor laughed at the pain of her and her family.

She could feel the ghost of those strikes, making her back itch now, and she tried to think of something else. She had been saved. Her partner had returned with a group of unfamiliar aliens, three irkens and one that she believed was a Vortian. They had rescued her and her family, and taken them to safety, enduring laser fire just to get them there.

And... one of the lasers...

Her fingers clenched. She had been hit by one. It had hurt so much, and when she looked, half of her right arm had been missing...

Her eyes flew open and she sat up, breathing deeply and covered in a cold sweat. She looked around and saw that she was in a small room, with strange equipment around her and closed cabinets. There was a door leading out to a hallway, but it was partly closed, most likely to give her privacy. There was a chair near her bed, inhabited by a sleeping irken. She realized it was Zim, and smiled for a moment, but she had more pressing matters. She was in a hospital of some sort. Didn't seem to be on Earth, since she's seen plenty of medical machines on TV shows and none of them looked quite like these. The machines around her were sleek and sophisticated, and the ones that were on were recording information from her without even needing to be hooked up.

The only thing actually attached to her seemed to be a tube they were using to feed her through, and another that maybe passed on medicine, but that was it. Heart rate, oxygen levels, and all that appeared to be monitored remotely. Maybe there were patches on her skin. After checking her chest, she saw that that was the case.

Okay, so... she seemed to be okay. Zim did have minor scratches on his face, but they were nearly healed. So she's been here a while.

Wait, her arm. The right one, she could feel a hand resting on the bed underneath the covers, but that was impossible, right? She pulled it out and stared. Past her elbow, the skin melded smoothly into some kind of shiny white plastic. She touched it, finding that it was firm, but also flexible like skin. It was shaped exactly like her other forearm was, with a hand at the end of it, complete with five fingers in the same shape and length as her normal ones. Looking closely, she could see no joints on the outside of the plastic. She flexed her right wrist up. It was a natural movement, something she hardly had to think about. The arm understood, and the wrist moved. There was no hesitation; it was as if her normal arm was still attached.

She put her left hand on the wrist while she moved it. Okay, now she could feel the metal joints working in there, but from the outside, it wasn't visible. She tested the fingers, and they all worked fine. So, she had a robotic arm. That was actually pretty sweet. Apparently whatever planet they were on right now had some amazing medical technology, and didn't mind using it on any species.

After getting used to her situation, she finally leaned over toward Zim. "Hey, Zim? Are you awake?"

"Mm..." He muttered something in irken, and thanks to her lessons from various irken supervisors, she was able to understand him. Something about 'not now the cat is there with toast.'

"Zim, wake up," she ordered, using irken. It was a strain on her dry throat, but she was able to say that simple phrase.

"Huh?" He opened his eyes, sitting up. "I'm awake... Gaz!" He stood, coming over to hug her tightly. "Oh, you're finally awake... I am so glad..."

"How long was I out?"

"Oh, a couple of days. You didn't need to be, but the doctors said you would be in a lot of pain otherwise, so they just kept you on sedatives while your back healed. They have some awesome medicine here, your back looks way better than it did when I found you."

"Is that so?" She tried to look at her back, and Zim helpfully found a mirror and held it behind her. She wasn't wearing any clothing, but it didn't really bother her. She was in a hospital, it didn't matter right now. She twisted around so she could check out her back, and saw that there were only faded red marks now, some brighter than others, but most were going away. There were lots of them, though, and she shook slightly at the memory of how she got them.

"Yeah, it was a lot of work for them to clean those up, but they did well." Zim put the mirror down. "And this arm!" He touched it, and Gaz found that she could easily feel his hand, including its temperature. "It's an amazing piece of work, robotic, but it behaves exactly like your natural arm. How does it feel?"

"Like it's supposed to. I mean, this arm doesn't really feel much different from this one."

"Great. The Fellas are really good with medicine, and science, and the two things just go hand in hand. They have excellent robotics, including biorobotics. Giving organic creatures mechanical body parts that work exactly like the old ones? Simple, to them."

"That's a relief." Gaz leaned against him, happy to finally be in his company again.

He held her, smiling widely. It had been difficult, but it was worth all the pain just to have her in his arms. Then he remembered something else. "Oh, yes... how is our smeet doing?"

She glanced down at her stomach. "Haven't really felt much yet, just the occasional sickness... but I have put on some weight, and I feel... crampy, I guess. There is definitely discomfort in that general area sometimes."

"So... no movement, or anything?"

"No, not yet." She put a hand on her abdomen, rubbing a little. "I really hope they're okay in there... that was a pretty intense day..."

That got Zim worried. "Right, there was a lot of tension, and you were probably in a lot of pain and stress... I hope that won't lead to complications."

"Hey, I'm still early in the pregnancy, I'm sure they're nice and protected in there." She lifted her hand and laid back a little, pulling the covers up higher to stay warm. "If anything changes, I'll tell you, all right?"

"Heh. All right." He kissed her on the lips, and she was firm in her response; she's really missed this. Liking her enthusiasm, he moved closer, arms sliding around her to hold her closer.

They made out for a while, taking occasional breaks just to laugh and trade flirty compliments, before getting back to it. Zim kept drifting his antennae across her face, just enjoying her unique scent, reaffirming his bond with her and making her smile when they tickled her.

Finally, they pulled apart, and Zim said, "Quite a reunion."

"Yes, and at least I'm not bleeding everywhere this time." She looked around the room once more. "So, where exactly are we? And how is everyone else? Dib and Dad, and your friends?"

"We're in a hospital on the planet Felicif. It's neutral territory here, which means none of us can be arrested by irkens or Vortians or anyone. Only the Felicif legal system matters here, and as far as it's concerned, we're just refugees who really need some help after facing injustice. They took us in when we arrived with three very hurt aliens, and have been taking care of all of us. We have a few houses nearby to live in, which are free for now, but we are expected to pay them off by getting jobs while here, and doing various community work. As long as you do your part, the Fellas are very hospitable." He smiled. "My friends and I are all able to live near each other, and we're happy about that. We really grew close while in prison, and the escape just cemented our bond. They didn't hesitate to come help me save you. And they're all fine, they're just resting up at home."

"Yeah, that's really sweet. So, we're on another planet and we'll be safe here, that's good. Dib and Dad, how are they?"

"Oh, right. Well, neither lost any limbs, but they've had to undergo serious treatment as well. Those cuts were very deep in all three of you, especially in places where you had been hit multiple times. Dib is awake now and is recovering well, but won't be able to leave for a while. Neither can you, actually, your tissue needs more time to heal apparently. Even though I think it looks fine already. But your father..." Zim looked uncomfortable. "He's still under heavy sedatives, it's not looking good for him."

"What do you mean?" She sat up, giving him a stern look. "What's wrong, he was awake before and was talking just fine, I could hear him asking that one guy questions."

"Yes, he did have the strength then to talk for a little bit, but the physical trauma finally took its toll. He had passed out shortly after you did, and didn't wake up all the way to Felicif. We had to keep checking his pulse to make sure he was still alive. All his vitals stayed weak, though. Especially breathing, though his blood pressure was extremely low as well. He's stable right now. I mean... his health isn't improving, but it's not going down either. Just... the man is old, Gaz. And he was beaten particularly harshly, with some of the cuts reaching muscle tissue. It could have gotten infected, and he suffered heavier blood loss than you or Dib. So he's still in the emergency care, and they're doing all they can, but they're not that familiar with human health. They've had to learn from observation and tests, and right now I think they're trying to get information from Earth, but authorities there are pretty determined not to release anything. I think I know why."

"Yeah..." Gaz sighed, rubbing her forehead. "At least they're alive. I'm sure Dad will be fine, he's pretty strong. Hopefully I can see them soon. When can I leave?"

"I think they said you can go in about a week... Which is like eight days here, which are equivalent to almost two weeks on your planet."

"Ah, what?"

"Yeah, slow rotation, slow orbit compared to Earth. Sorry. But it's nice once you get used to it. Long days, and then long nights... very peaceful. Anyway, I think they also want to have someone do some physical therapy with you, so be prepared for that. They don't know English, they're trying to learn it and other Earth languages now that they've met humans, so I'll be around to help translate until they figure it out. But hey, how's your irken?"

Gaz gave him a sullen glare while replying in his language, "Unfortunately, I had to learn it because of the large number of irken supervisors and coworkers I had. Your stupid language hurts my throat."

He grinned and replied, "Yeah, well your choppy English words hurt my throat, so we're even. Also, you're way too formal, relax a little."

"We kinda had to be formal, or they would yell at us for being disrespectful."

"Well, the more you speak it, the more casual it'll become. A lot of Fellas know it, though, so you could just talk to them in that. I'm sure they'd love to practice."

"I'll keep that in mind."

They returned to using English, and talked for several minutes, until a nurse came in.

"Oh, you're awake," she chirped at Gaz in her natural language. When the other gave her a blank look, she tried irken.

"Yes, I'm awake," Gaz replied, using that language.

"Good, we can talk to each other," the nurse said happily, bouncing over to check the monitors, and Gaz was able to get her first impression of a Fella.

They looked like birds. That was her initial thought, just a big fluffy bird that could talk. Almost like an overgrown chick. The nurse had a beak and large, intelligent eyes. Soft lavender feathers covered her body, with blue tips to many of them, giving a nice dapple pattern. She had wings, but they seemed small compared to the rest of her body. Her legs were long and ended in thick toes with very short claws on them. These were feathery all the way down, unlike a typical Earth bird's. They also looked very strong.

And finally, she had short tail feathers that shifted as she moved, perhaps helping her keep balance.

Gaz wondered how she was able to type on the machines or even hold anything, but then she looked more closely and saw that the wrists of her wings had fingers. They had a thumb and three fingers, ending in short claws like those on her toes. Interesting.

"How are you feeling?" the nurse asked kindly. Gaz hadn't known that anyone could make the irken language sound kind.

"I'm okay," she replied. "I feel much better than I did before coming here."

"That's good. You're making a nice recovery, both you and your brother. You'll be out of here in no time. You're so lucky to have someone who cares about you so much, he's barely left your side since you got here."

Gaz looked over at Zim, who smiled. "Well, what can I say? The guy's hopelessly in love with me."

"Who wouldn't be? You're amazing," he replied.

"It's always nice to see an irken show affection, so many of them are so cold and distant," the nurse commented.

"It's the way we're raised. We're not supposed to let emotion get in our way, but... I don't care anymore. I'm in love and there's nothing wrong with that."

"Bless you. And I can see how much in love you two are." The nurse turned to look at them. "Do you know of your mate's current condition?" She lowered a wing toward Gaz's stomach.

"Yes, I know," Zim replied. "We're expecting."

"How wonderful. I think you'll be happy to know that we checked in on the fetus recently, and it seems healthy. We can't determine a sex right now, but it's doing fine. Hopefully you don't have any complications, those sometimes arise in hybrids."

"Hopefully," Zim agreed.

"Well, if there are any complications, you can fix them, right?" Gaz asked.

"Most likely, yes. Though sometimes they only arise during the birth, but regardless, we always try to keep deliveries as safe as possible. If anything goes wrong, you can bet we'll be sending our best doctors to save the parent and child. We have a very low, almost nonexistent, infant mortality rate."

"Oh, that's good. I've never been pregnant before, this wasn't even planned, so we're both a bit nervous..."

"I completely understand. Well, Gaz, since you're awake, we can start feeding you the normal way. What kind of food do you like, I can go get you something."

Zim nudged her. "Hey, ask for some of the kriles. They're a kind of animal native to this planet, and you know how I hate meat? Well, I love kriles steak and it is delicious, try it."

"Okay..." Gaz looked over at her nurse. "Some of that, if you have it."

"Certainly. And maybe some nice cold vegetables, and seeds... I'll just bring you some things to try, since you're new to this planet. I'll be back soon, and please, don't hesitate to ask for anything." The nurse left the room, and Gaz leaned over against Zim to wait.

"She's nice, but I really want to get out of here soon. I hate hospitals."

"I don't blame you. But I'm sure you'll make a speedy recovery and then we can all go home. There's enough room in my house for you and me, and your family will be in the one next door. There's two bedrooms in ours, though I'm hoping you don't mind just sharing a room with me. You know, so our kid can have the other one day."

"Heh, sounds nice." She kissed him. "I'll look forward to sleeping with you."

"That sounds a bit suggestive, Gazlene."

"Exactly, Zimmy."

They held each other close while they talked, just happy to be with each other. The distance may have been hard, but it has only made them realize how much they loved each other. And soon, Gaz could check out of this hospital, and go to live with her mate. She would be able to raise their child in a peaceful environment, and while there would always be things to worry about, at least she knew they would be safe.

She was looking forward to finally living an easy life.