Breakfast was quiet that morning. Neither really wanted to acknowledge what was happening.

Finally, Zed spoke. "You really don't have to come with me this morning. It's just going to be—"

"I'm going. Someone needs to hold your hand."

"And if I bite your hand off?"

"I'll let you hold my left one. I don't need it as much."

Zed raised his eyebrows and tilted his head.

Addison raised her eyebrows and widened her eyes right back. "I'm going. There is no way you are doing this alone."

"Steve will be there. Maybe your Dad."

"Steve will be busy and my Dad is hardly comforting. I'm doing this."

"Ok, ok. We should probably get going then," he relented as he stood from the table.

Once they arrived at the Containment Center, Dale took them to Zed's "room."

"Wow, Dad," Addison said sarcastically. "I hope you didn't go to too much trouble."

They looked around at the cell. It wasn't in the basement, like most of the units, so Zed was thankful for that. But it looked like a holding cell in a sitcom jail.

"Hey, I got a TV put in there and there's Wi-Fi, so I did the best I could!"

Zed put his hands up in peace-keeping. "It's fine, Dale. It'll work just fine."

"There's still time to back out of this," Addison sighed.

Zed put his arms around her. "There's really not. We're going to do this." He kissed her and whispered "I love you" in her ear. Then he went into the cell.

Dale locked him in and Addison began to cry.

"Addy, we've got this," Zed told her. "I'm only strong enough to do this because of you. So, everything is going to be fine."

He scooted the bed as close as he could to the bars so Steve could administer the IV through them.

"You've gone over the notes, too, right?" Addison asked him as he set it up.

Steve smiled. "Yep, I truly believe in this, just like he does."

She nodded. "Let's do this."

Steve apologized as he began the IV, knowing this would likely hurt… a lot.

Addison pulled up a chair and sat by Zed's head.

As the solution began to drip, Zed began to scream.

"I'm right here, Zed. Focus on my voice," she murmured.

"Zod zizzy got!" Zed yelled.

"He's speaking in Zombie!" Dale said in a panic.

"He's swearing in Zombie Tongue," Addison clarified as she spun to face her father "He's in agony!"

She turned back to Zed and tentatively put a hand through the bars onto his face, hoping his Z-band was still soothing him enough. "It's ok, Zed. I'm right here. We're going to make it through this. You just have to be as strong as you can now."

His screams died down into whimpers and Addison didn't know what broke her heart more.

"Can you hear me, Zed?" she asked quietly.

"Addy…ska," he moaned.

Addison wasn't certain if he was fighting the use of Zombie Tongue, or giving into the fact that it was easier for him at that moment. Didn't matter to her, though. She just wanted to get him through this.

"Grit'iz baz. Gar'zm zigorz zaga," she said, stroking his hair. (It's me. I'm right here.) "Gar-gargiza, Zedka. Zroth grut gri, grenbrim. Broo've grong quig." (Just hang on, handsome. You've got this.) She turned to Steve. "How much longer?"

"A couple of hours, probably. It has to be enough to change all his blood," he replied. The guilt for putting his friend through this was obvious on his face.

Addison put her head on the bars. She didn't know if either of them could last that long.

"Zozig, gorgeous. Zoll sorry," Zed muttered, switching between languages. (Sorry, gorgeous. So sorry.)

"Sorry? Zra'ot zin zozig. (Don't be sorry.) Zeg've grong quig! (We've got this!) Zeddison for the win!" she said as positively as she could.

Zed tried to smile. "Krazabek Zeddison," he murmured. "Broo'at zbonga, Addiska." (Team Zeddison. You're amazing, Addy)

"Broo'at zot zoll zir zaregar." (You're not so bad yourself)

"Gazar por zaga, rye gargiza." (Thank you for being here, my love.)

"Zongraga bregzarot gar'zo zin." (Nowhere else I'd be.)

Dale placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "You should go home," he said, obviously not knowing what Addison had just said. "This will take a while. And I need to get back to the office. This guy will be here," he said, motioning with his thumb to Steve.

"Dad, I'm not going anywhere. I don't care how long this will take!" Addison protested.

Her father sighed. "Fine. We're monitoring the entire thing, just to make sure everything is on the up and up."

Addison held her tongue and didn't yell that they wouldn't fake this, whatever he wanted to think. He didn't know that she also had a camera recording the process, just in case someone on the Patrol tried to deny or destroy the other recording.

"That's perfect. Once this works, we want everyone to know it."

"I'll check back later then," Dale sighed as he left.

Steve glanced up from the chart he was reading to avoid the awkward father/daughter conversation. "Sooo, that's your dad."

"Yeah… that's him," Addison replied. "Sorry he treated you like that."

Zed groaned. "You get used to it," he muttered.

Addison whirled back to see her husband. "Zed! How are you feeling?"

"Like I got hit by several trucks."

"Yeah, that's about what we figured," Steve said. "Is it getting better?"

"'Better' being a relative term. I only feel like I'm on fire now, as opposed to being on fire and being dragged down the freeway."

"Well, you're back to English, I see," Addison teased.

"Yeah, it was just easier in the moment to speak in Zombie Tongue. Plus, it probably really freaked out your dad," he replied with the smallest of smiles.

"There's the Zed I love. And yeah, that was kinda fun," Addison said, feeling just the slightest bit more at ease. "Just rest, zombie," Addison told him, stroking his hair once again. "I'm not going anywhere."

"I didn't want you to see that," he sighed.

"Well, too bad. And now I'm here for the long haul."

"You'll need to eat," he said softly.

Steve stood up. "I'll bring back some food."

"Thanks, man," Zed replied as Steve left, giving the couple some privacy.

Addison gently tapped Zed's nose. "Stop talking and get some sleep."

"Not that easy to shut me up, cheerleader. Besides, I'm a little too uncomfortable to sleep right now."

"Uncomfortable, sure. You're shaking, Zed."

"This is going to be worth it." He sighed. "Can you just talk to me in soft tones? You can yell at me all you want when this is over, but for now, just talk to me?"

Addison felt guilty. Of course she needed to be more supportive. This was almost like the homecoming game; she needed to calm him.

"I know it might be crazy, but did you hear the story?" she asked.

"I think I heard it vaguely," he replied with a choked laugh.

"A girl and a zombie," she sang softly.

"You took my lines," he said with a small smile.

"Oh tell me more, boy. Sounds like a fantasy," she sang again. "Better?"

He winked at her and continued to quietly sing the song with her.

"Thank you," he sighed as they finished. "That was a nice distraction."

"I'll sing for the next 4 days if you need me to. I could serenade you with some Bamm, maybe a little My Year?"

"No, for now, just stay with me. I think I'm going to take my band off today."

"Really?"

"Gotta see if it's working, you know?"

Addison nodded. She was terrified, but she trusted his judgement, his hard work, and his knowledge.

"Let's give it a little more time, ok?" she asked. "But I know where a key is, so whenever you're ready."

He nodded. "Once I'm done with the IVs."

"Steve needs to get back and change the bag," Addison noted.

"Yeah. He'll be back soon. I know he wanted to give us some time alone."

"It's going to be lonely at home without you."

"You're strong, Addy. We'll get through this."

She tried to smile. "We've survived everything else. What's a little Containment separation again?"

"Always me and you against the world."

"And we always win."

"Gribar zave," he whispered. (Always have)

"Gribar wril," she replied. (Always will)

Steve returned then. "I'll be honest, I didn't know what to get, so I got a bunch of stuff." He put 4 different bags on the table. "You both are going to need to eat, so I got variety. I saw a mini-fridge and a microwave over there, so I figured we've got dinner too."

"You're a good man, Steve," Zed said.

"I try. So, how's our patient?" Steve asked as he pulled some burgers out of the first bag and put the rest in the fridge.

"He's stubborn," Addison replied, taking the food Steve was handing her.

"I think he was asking me," Zed told her, gingerly accepting the sandwich.

"I was asking both of you," Steve replied as he sat and started his lunch. "Let's get a new bag going after you eat. Hopefully this one won't be so painful."

"Can't wait," Zed mumbled.

The three chatted as they ate, mostly about the accommodations and Addison's dad.

"Honestly, he's not as bad as he seems," Zed said. "He's just… Dale."

Addison rolled her eyes, but decided to not to argue with him at that moment.

As Zed finished his lunch, he looked to Steve. "Round 2?"

Steve reluctantly nodded and got the new bag ready.

As soon as the new drip started, Zed seized up. "Yeah," he said through gritted teeth. "Still hurts."

"As bad?" Steve asked.

"It's better than the first."

Addison rested her head against the bars again. She wasn't sure how she'd make it through another bunch of hours, let alone how Zed would.

"So, Addison," Steve said, hoping to break some tension. "Tell me a crazy story about our boy Z here."

She sat up at that. "A crazy story, eh? Did he ever tell you how he hacked his Z-band to look human and take me on a date?"

"You hacked it the other way?" Steve asked, shocked. "I know you played with it for football, but never to look human."

"I might have," Zed answered with a groan. "In my defense, it impressed my girl's parents and I got my first taste of ice-cream out of the deal."

Addison shook her head. "It's a wonder he lived to tell the tale he transformed himself so much for those weeks."

"Well, I did live. And it was Seabrook's first undefeated season, ever."

Addison scoffed. "And at what cost? You're wrist looks like a burn that never healed."

Steve coughed, hopeful to stop a fight. "Ok then, so is Zed a blond or a brunette under that green hair?"

"Dark hair," Addison answered. "Truth be told, though, I prefer the green."

Zed smiled a little at that.

The three spent the rest of the afternoon talking and eventually heating up some dinner. Addison could see why Zed enjoyed working with Steve.

Dale returned a little after dinner to check on the progress. Steve had just changed the bag again, and Zed was barely affected by it.

"How are you feeling, Zed?" Dale asked, genuinely concerned.

"Feeling better. And anxious to see how this goes."

Dale nodded. "Addy, can I drive you home?"

"I want to stay here tonight."

"Addison, really, I'll be ok," Zed said.

"I'll go home every other night, but tonight I want to be here," she insisted. "Dad can get me another cot."

"Addy—" Zed began, but her sharp look cut him off. "Or, ok."

She shot the same look at her father, who sighed. "Fine. I'll have someone bring one up."

He left to order the bed and Steve turned to Zed. "Dude, is there a mirror around here?"

"Doubtful. Why?"

"I think you'll want to see this."

Addy took a closer look at her husband and gasped. She dug into her purse and found her compact. "It's not big, but you'll see."

Zed accepted the mirror from her and looked. "Whoa."

Staring back at him was his own reflection, but he definitely looked a little more pink. Still very pale, as predicted, but there was true color as well.

"It's working," he whispered.

"Let's finish this bag," Steve said. "But then I think we're done."

"How are you feeling?" Addison tentatively asked.

"I feel pretty good. A little achy, but I'm feeling… alive." He paused for a moment. "Addy…" He grabbed her hand and put it over his heart. "Is that…?"

"Zed, oh my God, it's beating!"

He grabbed her face and pulled her in for a kiss as best they could in the situation.

Steve cleared his throat. "So, I'd tell you to get a room, but I'm kinda stuck here with you."

The two broke apart. "Sorry, man," Zed mumbled.

"No, it's really ok, Zed. You, my friend, are blushing."

Zed looked into the little mirror again. "Ahh! Nana E was right! She said I'd blush someday!"

Just then, Dale returned with a roll-away bed. He stopped short when he saw his son-in-law.

"Zed? You look different."

"Yep, I do! I think it's working. Next stop, taking off the Z-band."

"Are you sure?" Dale asked.

"Gotta do it sometime. Might as well rip off the bandage."

"Addison, if you're going to spend the night, I need someone else to stay here too," Dale told her.

"I understand," she replied. And she did. Precautions had to be taken. She knew Zed would be fine, but any witnesses were fine with her.

"I'm going to see if Gus will stay." And he left again.

"Bag's empty," Steve declared as he stood to remove the IV. "How you feeling?"

"Good. I'm feeling good. Let's get rid of this," Zed said, lifting the wrist with his Z-band.

"Do you want me to do it?" she asked.

Zed was still feeling a little shaky (even if he would deny it), so he nodded and raised his left arm up and over himself for her. Oh so gently, she removed the device from his wrist. He hissed and winced as the red skin beneath the band hit the fresh air.

Steve kept from gasping. Addison wasn't wrong, his wrist looked terrible. He had never seen underneath the band.

"Well?" Addison asked.

"I feel… ok. I really feel ok," Zed said happily.

Dale and Gus returned to see Addison holding Zed's band.

"You took it off?" Dale asked.

"Yep. And I'm feeling fine!"

"Well, I still want Gus here."

"And he's welcome to stay. But I'm confident in this," Zed told them. "I don't feel any different."

Dale kissed the top of Addison's head and took his leave, promising to return in the morning.

Gus asked her if he'd be ok monitoring the situation from the next room where the video feed was being watched. Addison invited him to do whatever made him comfortable.

Steve decided it was time for him to leave as well. "I'll be back first thing in the morning to see how things are going, but Zed, you look great. And as long as you keep feeling great, I think we have ourselves a cure."

The lab partners shared a gentle high-five and Steve started to leave, but Addison grabbed his arm. She hugged him tightly and thanked him for everything.

"No problem," he said. "Maybe now this one will stop talking about how he worries about you."

"Not likely, dude!" Zed called from his bed.

Steve rolled his eyes and waved as he left.

"And then there were two," Zed laughed. "Why, hello."

"Hey, keep calm in there. We're still being watched," Addison said with a giggle as she sat down on her own cot. "Be honest with me, Zed. How are you?"

"Compared with this morning? I am a lot better. I'm still a little achy, but I've had my band off for a while now and I don't feel a single urge that I know I would have earlier. I don't have the black veins, and your brains are not what I'm thinking is delicious about you."

She ducked her head in embarrassment and he stuck his hand through the bars to raise her face back up. "Ooh, look, now we're both blushing!"

"Weirdo."

"Your weirdo."

"We should call your Dad. He's probably dying for an answer."

"Can you? I am feeling a little tired, finally."

"Yeah, I'll go out in the hallway."

He grabbed her hand. "No! Stay with me? I just want to hear your voice anyway."

Addison smiled. "Of course." She kissed him gently and gently pushed him to lie down. "I love you, Zed."

"I love you, too, Addy."

And he fell asleep to his wife's happy voice.

Four days later, after Dale was mostly assured that his son-in-law was, in fact, not going to eat his daughter or anyone else, Zed was released from Zombie Containment.

Once they returned home, Zed and Addison found their family and friends all waiting for them at the apartment.

"Surprise!" they all cried.

There were hugs and tears and stories told. Zevon told his son that he had never been more proud of him. Zoey kept hinting that this meant she needed a niece, stat. Missy and Dale finally started to look at him like maybe he could be ok. Eliza kept looking like she was holding back tears. Bree and Bonzo kept sharing smiles that made Zed wonder if maybe he didn't need to help with a proposal after all.

And Addison, his sweet Addison. She looked exhausted but was just as beautiful as ever. Once their well-wishers had all finally left, she led him into their bedroom.

"Remember that reunion you talked about?" she whispered.

He dumbly nodded.

"Now's a good time," she said before pulling him down into a heated kiss.

What Addison didn't know was that he managed to sneak his Z-band into his bedside table, just in case. He knew his wife was going to ask for this, and it was his final test: to get his emotions this fired up and not require his band. But he wanted it close, just in case.

And as it turned out, he didn't need it. And that was an amazing feeling.