To Which Our Future Holds (A ZaDr Story)

Chapter 30

Zim scrambled up the stairs and bolted down the hallway running past Ash's door when an odd sound stopped him in his tracks.
Stopping and glancing between Ash's door and the window at the end of the hall, he took a wild shot and crept towards the Ash smeet's door and pushed it open with a slight glance over his shoulder.
"Ash smeet?" Zim asked into the void of the room.
Ash was sitting on his bed with a pillow in front of him and a blanket wrapped around him, he was tightly gripped onto an astronaut teddy bear and his soft sniffles were barely audible.
With another glance over his shoulder Zim slipped through the small gap of the door and walked over to the whimpering smeet. "Ash Smeet, what's wrong?" He asked, tilting his head.
Clutching onto his bear Ash sniffled "Are mommy and daddy fighting?" He asked helplessly "I heard a lot of yelling and got scared" he whimpered. Climbing up onto the bed Zim pulled Ash into a comforting hug "No Ash smeet, your mommy and daddy aren't fighting." Zim purred, trying to calm the Smeet down. Looking up into Zim's magenta eyes Ash whimpered. "Then why is there a bunch of yelling?" Zim glanced away for a second his mind trying to figure out what to say when he rubbed Ash's back and looked down at the little smeet. "I don't know Ash smeet, it's just that when people are hurt they tend to say a lot of bad things that they don't mean." Gazing into the Ash smeets eyes, Zim gave him a sympathetic look. "Right now I think they are all just really upset."
With another furious yell coming from downstairs Ash gripped onto Zim and his teddy. "Hey Zim?" Ash whispered "Can we go on another spaceship ride?" With a nod and a smile Zim agreed "Yea, let's go on another Spaceship ride."

Dib yelled furiously at his sister "I Don't Want To Hear It Anymore Gaz! I'm Done!" He roared, turning away and walking off. "Dib!" She yelled back as he marched up the stairs, his coat a whisp behind him. With a furious huff Gaz turned to Lizzy who still stood silently at the door, her face showing how truly confused and hurt she felt. Gaz felt a string of sympathy for her friend "I'm sorry you had to see all that, I really thought he would have talked to you about all this."
Lizzy bit her lip trying to hold back her tears. "I just don't understand," Lizzy whimpered. "Dib was in a relationship with Zim? But how old is Zim?" She questioned trying to wrap her head around the situation fearing the worst of her husband. Gaz looked at Lizzy realizing the concern. "He's at least as old as Dib, they went to school together." Lizzy looked up in shock, "How, Zim just seems so-"  "Small? Young? Immature?" Gaz questioned, finishing her friend's sentence.
Lizzy just stared at the ground, her arms wrapped around herself in a tight hug. Gaz let her voice drop, not finding herself the best at comforting "I'm sorry Lizzy, I really am."
Dib bolted down the stairs panting. "Lizzy!" He begged holding a worried expression on his face. Lizzy gripped her chest tighter and turned away from her husband, beads of tears behind her eyes.
Shifting uncomfortably Dib glanced away. "Listen I know the past half hour hasn't exactly been, great." Lizzy turned to her husband "No Dib, no it hasn't." She choked out. Dib rushed over his words "Okay but despite that, Lizzy please tell me you know where Ash is." He begged. Wiping away her tears Lizzy felt a twinge of guilt as she'd forgotten about her son in the heat of the moment. "I put him in his room before you got back." Placing a hand over his mouth Dib furrowed his brows, his eyes wide with horror.
"Dib?" Lizzy questioned.
In a small voice Dib whined "He's not in his room."

The two girls turned to each other with worried expressions on their faces "Have you checked anywhere else?" Gaz questioned. Dib nodded "I've checked everywhere upstairs which is why I was hoping one of you had seen him." With equal looks of worry the three looked around the house checking every nook and cranny, inside and outside, up and down, calling for Ash desperately  hoping he would come out.

Dib walked across the balcony watching nervously at the night sky, dark clouds rolling in from the east. "Oh Ash, where are you? Please tell me that friend of yours-" Dib stopped and his breath fell silent. Lizzy opened up the door and looked at her husband "Dib have you found anything yet?" She asked. Dib stared out at the woods his voice just barely over a whisper "I know where Ash is." Lizzy looked at him in surprise "Where?" She begged him.
"It was Zim." her husband muttered, "What?" Lizzy asked, questioning what Zim had to do with her son. "It was Zim the whole time," he muttered. "What are you talking about Dib?!" Lizzy yelled, feeling frustrated with her husband. Dib turned to Lizzy, his hand resting on the rail.
"His friend, the one who came through his window to read him stories, or tell him about space and spaceships. It was Zim."
Lizzy looked at her husband in horror. "Your telling me that for the past month it has been Zim who was stalking Ash! And we let him stay in our House! What if her hurt Ash!?" Lizzy yelled at her husband. Dib glared to the side "He wouldn't hurt him." Lizzy looked at her husband "How can you be so sure of that?" she begged. Dib looked down in silence, his shoulders dropping. Lizzy stepped back from her husband, her voice quivering "You can't can you?" She asked him.
Dib looked at his wife with a sorrowful look in his eyes "I'm sorry sweetheart" he said. Lizzy shook her head as the tears she had tried so desperately to hold back began to drip down her cheeks. Dib slowly walked forward and wrapped his wife in a pained hug. Lizzy sobbed gripping onto her husband as her mournful tears soaked into his shirt.
Dib held onto his wife, a great pain in his heart for both her and his son. But yet despite all he felt, there were no tears left for Dib to shed.
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