"Listen ... Thanks for taking the time to do this, I know how busy a lot of you guys are since half of you are graduating with us." Addison said as Wynter put the finishing touches on her hair.

Addison had gone with a French braid that was wrapped around her head in a beautiful spiral for the occasion.

"Addy for the last time, we are happy to do it, that's what friends do ... Especially when that friend is almost six months pregnant with their second kid." Willa said as she walked up to join them at the large full length mirror.

Addison blew out a weary sigh as she put a hand over her now very obvious baby bump, she had been up since six this morning, she knew it wasn't good for her but she had no choice, tonight was graduation, and a lot of things needed to be done, plus she had another kid to look after. It didn't help that this pregnancy had NOT been easy, the nausea had been twice as bad, and had lasted twice as long.

Of course, Zed had been awesome, and helped as much as he could, but he also was busy getting ready for graduation, and with preparations for his new coaching job. Which would start next fall.

"At least I am not as big as I was with Zachary, though the doctor says this one will likely be tall, too." She said with a laugh.

"You should've expected to have tall kids,, look at their dad." Willa said with a laugh as Addison stood, and immediately had to grab into the arms of the chair as a wave of dizziness hit her.

"Hey ... You okay?" Wynry said as she caught her by the arm

"Yeah ... Sorry ... Just stood up too fast, it happens sometimes." She said as she waited for the room to stop tilting and spinning.

Wynry shot Willa a worried look as they both took Addison by the arms

"Really this isn't..."

"... Necessary? " Willa finished for her as she shot her a grin

"Too bad." Wynry said as they helped her to the cave entrance.

"Really guys, I'm good." She tried to assure them.

In reality, she still felt a little light headed, but Zed was picking her up, and if he saw them helping her like this, he would go off on a tangent of worrying for SURE.

"Oh damn." She cursed under her breath as she caught sight of Zed in the dimnlight of the cave, striding up to meet them.

'Too late.' she thought as she saw the worry plainly evident in his handsome face.

"What happened?! Is she okay?!" He asked as he jogged the rest of the way to meet them.

"Yeah ... I think she's just tired." Willa said

"Thanks again guys."

Willa waved her hand dismissively

"It was our pleasure." She replied

"See you tonight!" Wynry said excitedly as they bid Zed and Addison a final farewell.

"Don't start." She said as he gave her a look

"Addy, the doctor said that you had to take it easy, and once again... You're NOT listening!" Zed said, his voice rising in frustration.

"This time is different, Zed! I have another kid who needs me, I have graduation tonight to get ready for!" She bit back irritably before she could stop herself.

Zed deflated slightly

"I'm sorry, Addy, I know it's kind of my fault, too. I haven't been home to help you like I should be." He said

Addison stopped walking and cupped his face in her hands, forcing him to look into her eyes.

"No! You're an amazing husband and father, and I don't EVER want to hear you say otherwise again, got it?" She said as she caressed his cheek with a feather light touch.

Zed suddenly bent down and scooped her up, bridal style, earning a surprised giggle from her.

"What are you doing?" She asked, still laughing

"Carrying you to the car." He replied

"Zed no! It's like ... Half a mile!"

"What? Do you doubt my strength?" He growled as the dark grey veins began to rise to the surface of his skin, and his eyes took on a red tint

"She traced her finger along the veins that edched their way across his face.

"Never." She replied

He grinned at her.

"Good." He replied as the veins slowly disappeared, and his eyes returned to their normal deep shade of brown as he carried her down the hill to their SUV.

"Addy!" Bree said as she waved to her.

"Hey!" Addison said as they met each other half way and embraced one another at the auditorium entrance.

"It sucks that we all have to sit in alphabetical order, I wish we could sit together." Wynry said disappointedly.

"Me too." Bucky echoed as he put his arm around her shoulders.

"At least, thanks to being married, Addy and I get to sit together." Zed said with a wink as they heard the announcement to take their seats

"Well, this is it ... After tonight, we'll all be high school graduates!" Addison said excitedly

"See you at the after-party?" Wynry offered

Addison's face fell

"No, unfortunately, we couldn't find a sitter for tonight, Zach is with my parents, then he'll need to get home and into bed right after the ceremony."

"One of the FEW downsides to being parents, and TRUST me there aren't very many." Zed added with a grin as they heard the announcer call again for everyone to take their seats.

"Well ... This is it." Wyatt said

"See you guys in a bit." Addison replied.

Addison watched, clapped and cheered as each of her friends crossed the stage until finally, it was her turn.

She stood and paused as an unexpected wave of dizziness hit her, she gripped the back of the chair in front of her for support as she waited for it to subside.

"Addy, are you okay?" Zed's voice, tinged with concern asked from behind her.

"Yeah ... I'm good ... Just nervous, that's all." Addison said as she offered what she hoped was a convincing smile.

She let out an inward sigh of relief when Zed offered a grin

"Yeah, I'm pretty nervous myself." He replied

Addison took a deep breath and started forward

' Come on, baby girl , just a bit more and then mommy will rest ... I promise' she thought feverishly to herself as she made her way towards the stage.

'So far, so good.' she thought as she climbed the stairs at the edge of the stage and waited for her name to be called.

As cheer captain, and one of the top students in her class, she was expected to give a speech, which she held clutched in her hand.

"Addison Necrodopolis." She heard Principal Lee say.

Addison's heart swelled with emotion at the sound of her married name. She wondered if that feeling would ever go away? She hoped that it wouldn't.

"Go get em!" Zed whispered into her ear from behind her.

Addison took a deep breath as she slowly walked to the podium, she took a deep breath as she laid her speech out in front of her as she looked out into the crowd, filled with her family and her friends, and people she knew.

She gripped the sides of the podium as she suddenly felt like she was standing on the deck of a boat in a choppy ocean.

Black spots danced in front of her vision, and she felt like she was in a dark tunnel.

There was a familiar voice ... Zed's voice calling her name, why did he sound so far away?

It was the last thing she remembered before everything went black.