Zed's birthday was on a Tuesday. Zevon came in and woke him up at four in the morning. Zed managed to untangle himself from Addison and slip out of the room without waking her up.

"You're sixteen now," Zevon whispered. "Happy birthday son."

"Thanks," Zed said distractedly. "I'm gonna get a shower in."

Zevon nodded. "I'll get you some clothes."

"Try not to wake up Addy please. I don't want her to know when I leave."

"Alright."

Time seemed to move too quickly. Zed finished in the shower and got dressed, then sat in the kitchen and moved his cauliflower around on the plate. He ate enough to not be completely starving. The Z-Patrol would be there at five thirty to take him away for the day.

A little before they came Zed made his way upstairs and into Zoey's room. She was already sitting up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and smiled at her brother. "Happy birthday," she said quietly. "Are you leaving already?"

"Almost." Zed sat down on her bed and wrapped his arms around her. Zoey leaned into him, hiding her face in his side. "I'll see you later, don't worry."

"I have to worry, I'm your sister." Her voice was muffled by his shirt and Zed rubbed her back affectionately.

Zed laughed dryly. "I'll be fine. I promise. I'll come home and we'll eat birthday cake with Addy and Eliza and Bonzo like every year."

"Okay."

They both jumped at the pounding on the door. Zoey pulled back from her brother with a look of fear on her face. "It's okay, I'll be okay," Zed said and stood up. "I gotta go now."

Zoey stood up on her bed and threw her arms around his neck. "Goodbye," she said softly.

"Bye Zoe."

He pulled back from his sister and left her room. When he looked at his own room he saw Addison looking around the room in confusion. She spotted him in the hallway and sat up. Zed sucked in a breath; he had been hoping he could slip out without having to say bye to Addison. It was early enough that she wouldn't be awake, but he had forgotten about the fact that she had trouble sleeping without him.

His dad was at the bottom of the stairs with two Patrol officers. "Can I have a minute please?" Zed asked. All three nodded and Zed made his way to his room, while Addison made her way to the door.

"It's so early, why are you already dressed?" Addison asked.

"It's my birthday," Zed said sullenly. "They're waiting for me downstairs."

Addison didn't say anything after that. She just stared at him, a little sad and surprised and completely conflicted. "Um, what's gonna happen? Will you be back later so we can celebrate your birthday?"

Hopefully. Zed nodded and slowly wrapped his arms around her. "You still have time before you need to get ready for school. You should get some more sleep. I'll see you later, okay?"

Addison wrapped her arms around him tightly. She could tell that something was off in the way he spoke and how tense everything was in the house.

"Are you gonna come home later?" Addison asked. "Honestly. I need you to tell me the complete truth."

"I don't know," Zed said, sadly and miserably. "I don't want to think about what could happen. It's…it's scary."

Addison pulled her arms back and up into his hair, pulling him in for a deep kiss. When she pulled back she said quietly, "Remember that I love you. I love you so much and I'll be there with you. My heart beats for you and only you."

"My heart beats for you and only you," Zed repeated.

One of the officers called for Zed and they pulled apart. Zoey gave him one last hug before he went down the stairs and followed the officers out to the van. Zoey and Addison watched from Zed's bedroom window as he climbed into the van and it drove off.

Zed was the only Zombie who was born on March sixth. His examinations went faster than most, but it also meant they could do more to him. He rode to Zombie Containment alone and all the attention was on him the whole day.

There were only seven doctors and examination rooms for yearly inspections, and, since Zed was the only one going in, all seven doctors liked to be around him during his inspection. He was also the first Zombie to be born (a pretty big deal).

Usually, they would give him a Z-Band update, then test the intensity levels of the electromagnetic pulses to see how much he would need for the year. That was probably the most dangerous part of the yearly check ups, especially if the doctor was distracted (which they often were).

But because Zed had had so many Z-Band issues in the past year, and was wearing a temporary Z-Band, he got a whole new band. They tried to do something about the swollen veins and irritated skin on his wrist and gave up quickly after. The only solution they gave was moving his Z-Band to the other arm, which Zed said no to.

Zed made it out of the replacement stage a little worse for wear but alive. And it was pretty much smooth sailing from there.

Zoey and Zevon didn't leave the house because they were related to Zed. Addison had to go to school because she didn't have an excuse to skip. She spent the whole day distracted until they called her down to the office during the period before last.

Both her parents were waiting for her, looking both nervous and serious. Addison looked between them nervously. "You should sit," Missy said.

Addison sat down in one of Principal Lee's chairs immediately. "What's going on?" Addison questioned.

"I checked in on Zed an hour ago," Dale said. "He's fine. Right now, at least. I already talked with Zevon about what's going on and we want you to know too."

They sat down on both sides of her which made her feel a little angry. She didn't need to be coddled by them, she just wanted to know what was going on with Zed.

"They've started a new initiative at Zombie Containment," Dale explained. "Remember when you learned that in prehistoric times, humans would use their wisdom teeth to chew raw meat?"

Addison nodded, not necessarily following the conversation.

"Well they've decided that, unlike humans who's wisdom teeth grow in, Zombies are born with theirs." Dale said. "To help with the eating brains process. So this year they're removing all four wisdom teeth in any Zombie who's twelve or older."

"The long term goal is to get everyone," Missy added. "The point is that they're gonna remove Zed's wisdom teeth today. It's a pretty serious surgery. Zevon said he'll take you with him to pick Zed up."

"I thought they would drop him off?"

"Transportation is only provided for basic check ups," Dale said. "Budget cuts."

"That's bullshit," Addison grumbled.

"Language young lady."

Addison rolled her eyes at her mother. "So they're pulling his teeth against his will?"

"Basically," Missy said. "You've heard of how miserable it is for humans to get their teeth pulled, right?"

Addison nodded. "Let me guess: something will be horribly unpredictable because Zed is a Zombie?"

"Zed is usually the test subject in these cases," Dale explained. "Because—"

"He's the first Zombie to be born and they're too petty to use Bonzo even though he's the actual first Zombie to be born."

Her parents exchanged looks over her head. "The point is, there are a lot of things we aren't certain of. So many outcomes can happen, since Zed is the first patient to get his teeth pulled."

"He could go offline and attack you and we don't want that."

"That's where this was going?" Addison asked with folded arms. "I've been with Zed for a few months, he's gone offline like, three times. Technically two because the States game doesn't count."

"Two?" her parents asked incredulously.

"It's not like you guys ever ask about what happens in my life anyway," Addison grumbled. "And before you ask, I will not go back to your house. I trust Zed more than I trust either of you. I know that he will never hurt me. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to class."

Addison didn't go back to class. She went to the computer lab and did research on questions she couldn't bring herself to ask her parents. She texted Bucky and asked him to cover for her in gym and stayed through the remainder of the school day.

When the last bell finally rang, Addison grabbed her bags and left through the front of the school. To her surprise, Zevon and Zoey were waiting for her in an old truck. She squeezed in and gave them a small smile.

"Where'd you get this truck?" Addison asked.

"It was Mommy's and now it's Zed's once he gets a license," Zoey answered with a bubbly smile. "We aren't supposed to be driving it. Daddy doesn't have a license."

"Ssh," Zevon said with a smile as he drove off.

It was clear everyone was in brighter spirits than the morning and Addison couldn't help but smile. "We're gonna stash the truck a little before we get to Containment and you'll wait here with Zoey while I get Zed."

"What? No." Addison stated. "Why can't Zoey and I go down?"

"Zed says you aren't allowed anywhere near Zombie Containment," Zoey said slowly.

"I'm a big girl," Addison argued.

"You don't wanna see Containment," Zoey assured her. "It's not fun. Plus we could have some car fun."

"I…Okay." Addison agreed. "If you guys say I shouldn't go, then I won't go."

"Good," Zevon said.

The drive to a few blocks away from Zombie Containment was silent after that. Zevon put the car in park and got down, leaving the two girls alone. Zoey turned to Addison and smiled.

"When I go in it takes all day," she said. "There's like ten people there on my day. I don't go home until super late. But Zed goes super fast and I'm so happy because everything is fine! He's good!"

Addison smiled. "Today was so stressful," she admitted. "My parents came to school and told me but I was so worried something bad might have happened."

Zoey grinned. "We saw Eliza and told her to go get a birthday cake. But Daddy said that Zed won't be able to eat anything for a really long time. Like, until the holes close."

"Okay." Addison said with a nod. She was still a little confused, but figured Zoey wouldn't have the answer to all of her questions.

A few minutes later, Zevon came back with Zed, who was leaning heavily on his father and looking a little worse for wear. He got squeezed in on Addison's side and Zoey moved to sit in her lap to make enough space (when Addison asked if it was even safe she was just reminded that they weren't even supposed to be driving).

Zed was high off his ass on nitrous oxide. He spoke in a mixture of Zombie Tongue and English that Addison couldn't decode.

She understood when he showed off his brand new Z-Band (instead of upgrading the system they released a whole new band which is why he didn't take as long).

Because Zed was drooly and his jaw was still pretty numb and he himself was pretty out of it, they decided to celebrate his birthday the next day (when he could actually try to blow out his candles).