Addison paused as her hand hovered just over the knob of her front door. It was fully dark out now. She had swung through Zombietown and through Bree's neighborhood along the way, ensuring that her friends made it home safely. The wolves had left from the hospital, running gracefully across the parking lot and into the brush running along the edge of the pavement.

Now, Addison was home, frozen as her hand refused to move forward and open the door. She wasn't sure she was ready to face her parents. She had learned a lot tonight, and hadn't even had a spare moment to begin to process her newly acquired family history.

What would she say to them? Should she tell them that she now knew about the circumstances of her birth? What would that mean for their family? What if her dad didn't really love her? Maybe he had just raised her out of obligation, and his desire to appear perfect. A lump formed in her throat as she considered it.

Addison jumped slightly as the door opened, just as her fingers brushed the doorknob.

Bucky stood inside her house's entryway, looking uncharacteristically disheveled. His perfect hair looked uneven, as though he had been running his hand through it on one side. He was still in his cheer uniform, and it looked rumpled as he stared at her with obvious distress in his eyes.

"Baby Cuz!" Bucky gasped, pulling her into a tight hug, the fierceness of his worry and fear taking her completely by surprise as it seeped into her brain. She felt his breath start to hitch, as though he were in danger of crying and was trying to gather his emotions. She pulled back slightly, looking quizzically at his distressed face.

"Bucky?" She said, not sure how to continue.

"I thought that you and Zed ran away together or something," He admitted, gripping her upper arms as though he were afraid that she might vanish. "I thought maybe you guy got fed up with all of the intolerance, or whatever, and were skipping town. And then I thought what if I never saw you again, or got the chance to be a better cousin to you. You're like my little sister, Addison. You know that, right?"

"Buck," Addison started, pulling him back into another hug.

"I know." She said, soothingly.

"You're my big brother, even if we are technically cousins. I'd never run off on you like that. Besides," she continued, pulling back again to look at him. "I don't care what issues Seabrook or our family has. This is my home. I'll never run from intolerance. I want to fight it. That's the only way to make Seabrook a better place."

Bucky nodded, a more confident grin crossing his face.

"But, if you weren't running off somewhere," he started, "where did you guys-"

"ADDISON!" Her mother's voice suddenly screeched from down the entryway hall. Apparently she had noticed Addison and Bucky as they hugged in the doorway."

"Addy!" Her dad's voice exclaimed, muffled from the other room. Footsteps thundered across the house, and before Addison could respond, both of her parents were shoving Bucky aside as they both enveloped her in a tight embrace.

"Where in the world were you, young lady?" Mayor Missy gasped, leaning back to grasp either side of her daughter's head.

"We haven't seen you since last night, or talked to you since this morning." Chief Dale chimed in, still hugging her tightly. "Then, your zombie boyfriend suddenly goes missing, and nobody hears from any of you for hours. We were worried sick!" He too stepped back, regarding her with a look that was a strange combination of relief and sternness.

"I hope you have a good explanation for us."

Her mom was running a hand absent-mindedly through Addison's hair.

The hair she always wanted covered by a wig. The hair, Addison now realized, that probably reminded Missy every day of the fact that she was basically manipulated, raped, and impregnated by some horrible stranger. All while engaged to another man. Addison had an entirely new perspective on her mother, and on the decisions she had made as a parent. It didn't mean that they had all been good decisions. But there was suddenly more depth to her mom that Addison had ever suspected.

However, right now, it was hard for Addison to focus on that, or on her parent's questions, because she was currently being overwhelmed with an unanticipated barrage of emotions.

She had read books and seen movies that discussed the complexity and depth of a parent's love. She knew that it was meant to be unconditional and all encompassing. It was strong and powerful. But until that moment, as her mother and father hugged her in the entryway of their home, Addison realized that she had never really believed that they truly loved her. She had always felt, always assumed, that their love was limited, and based on a series of both spoken and unspoken conditions. Wear your wig. Be the best. Be normal. All things that had been drilled into her head since before she could remember.

Now, though, she knew otherwise. She could feel their love, both of them, and it was as true and unconditional, just like in the books and movies. She felt their fear and relief, their joy that she was home, and their pride that she was their daughter. She felt her mom's anxiety, and her regret that her and her daughter weren't closer. And she felt her dad's protectiveness and concern, nothing indicating that he considered her as anything but 100 percent his child.

"Oh." Addison gasped, completely taken aback.

"Well?" Her dad asked.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Though she was certain it was not appropriate for the situation, Addison actually let out a laugh, giddy with the new knowledge of her parents' love for her. She made eye contact with Bucky, who was shooting her a look of complete exasperation. Gathering herself, but not able to completely banish her smile, she extracted herself from her parents and took a step back. Now all three of them were giving her the same look of exasperation.

"Sorry," She said, letting out another short chuckle.

"I just... I'm just really happy to see you guys. I'm so sorry I scared you, I promise it was a big misunderstanding."

Her mom crossed her arms, as her dad arched an eyebrow expectantly. Bucky was looking at her with confusion, his hands clasped in classic cheer position out of habit.

She sighed, continuing.

"Wyatt went missing," she said. "But since it had only been a few hours, Willa, me, and a few of our friends decided it would be a good idea to look for him, to see if he turned up. When Zed found out Wyatt was missing, he was really worried, and he came to help us. I should have called you guys. I'm really, really sorry."

"Is Wyatt okay?" Chief Dale asked, distracted by the concern of a missing teen.

"He's totally fine." Addison assured, waving her hands in front of her in supplication.

"We found him while we were out in the forest. We all came back right away, and Zed is back at the hospital. I swear, everything is just fine."

She briefly considered telling them about the Lunites.

But in order to do that, she'd have to explain everything, including the fact that she had learned about her unique lineage. And she'd have to bring up Charon. And Mayar. She wasn't sure she was quite ready to have that conversation.

Though she'd have to find a way to ask them about the second moonstone, and soon, if Mayar was right about her hunch that Charon was up to something. For now though, Addison let her parents and Bucky lead her back into the brightness of the Wells home, and allowed herself to bask in the feeling of being loved by her family.

ZzZzZzZ

Despite his break-out escapades, Zed was still released from the hospital the next morning.

Since his family didn't have a car, he and his dad caught a ride at the bus stop across the street from Seabrook Medical. As Zed took his seat, followed by his dad, he glanced around that the few others gathering onto the bus. The group seemed to be mostly composed of nurses and other medical workers, just off of their shifts. He recognized a few of them from the zombie ward, and exchanged tired smiles with them as they filed into the various seats.

The medical staff had been mostly human in the hospital, but for the first time, he noticed a few zombies, two females and a male, wearing scrubs with "student nurse" stamped across the right shoulder of their shirts. Zed felt his face break into a grin, as he realized he was looking at something historic. Until very recently, zombies had never been permitted to work in healthcare, aside from mechanical or janitorial work in parts of the hospital where no patients were housed. They had never been trusted around injured or sick humans, due to the false but common belief that the scent of "weakened" humans could cause a zombie to go feral.

In fact, until two months ago, zombie students were not permitted to attend college or to achieve any sort of degree after high school. All zombies, beginning at the age of 16, used to attend a mandatory technical school in Zombietown. There, they would be evaluated based on their skills and knowledge. Once this was determined, zombie kids were then assigned to the career or trade that they would most likely do for the rest of their lives.

Now, thanks in part to Addison's mom, Mayor Missy, this had recently changed. While zombies still couldn't leave Seabrook, or the state, they were now able to attend online colleges. Even more appealing, zombies could now apply and attend Seabrook University. Recently, legislation had even been put forth to relax the rules regarding zombie dress code. If it passed, they would still be required to wear certain colors, but would no longer be required to wear actual uniforms. While Zed had known these things, and been excited about them (though not nearly as excited as Eliza), actually seeing zombie nursing students in person was almost like seeing a miracle.

Everyone shifted slightly as the bus lurched forward, and those who were standing grasped tightly to the metal poles that helped maintain their balance. The hospital quickly faded behind them as tall, green trees overtook the landscape on either side of the bus.

One of the nursing students, a lanky female with short hair, shot him a tired grin. He returned the smile with one of his own. Despite the recent devastation in Zombietown, his people were doing amazing things. Every time he saw something new or different, Zed was proud all over again of the community and the future he and his friends were helping to build.

As the bus rounded a sloping hill, the wall of trees the bus windows had been facing suddenly opened up into a bright, splendid view of the coast. It was mid-morning, and while the early golden glow of the sunrise was long gone, it was still beautiful. He could almost hear the roar of the waves, if he listened hard enough. In the distance, he could see a few humans and zombies milling about, and even a couple of werewolves, who seemed to be playing catch with a frisbee.

He grinned gently as he recalled the last time he and Addison had taken Zoey to the beach a couple of weeks ago. They had made a pretty impressive sand castle. As always, Zed ended up covered in sand, since Zoey was particularly fond of burying her older brother. While he could do without the grit of the sand in his teeth, it was worth it to make his little sister laugh. She would probably be at the beach every day, if she could.

Until this past year, most zombies had never even seen the ocean, despite living in a costal town.

It was crazy how much things had changed in such a short amount of time.

Crazy, but awesome.

As they neared the turn-off that lead into Zombietown, the road sloped down, closer to the beach.

The Seabrook Pier and the surrounding area was currently bustling, as the city workers prepared for Shore Day. A giant, collapsible stage was currently being set up further inland, and a series of carnival rides were being lined up for assembly at each side of the pier. The pier itself had a few staple rides that were permanent residents of the beach, such as an old wooden roller coaster, a carousel, and a large set of slides that people rode down on weathered old mats.

Zed felt a small jolt of excitement as he remembered the upcoming Shore Day festival. Luckily, his dad had decided not to ground him, so his plans with Addison were still on. There was also a good chance that he would have his shoulder brace off by then, so he might still have a shot at winning his girlfriend an oversized stuffed animal after all. Maybe once the sun had set, Mayar and some of the other Lunites would decide to come and spend time with them on the beach.

In addition to his excitement about Shore Day, Zed was also looking forward to tomorrow evening.

Apparently, Wyatt and Willa had persuaded Mayar and a few of her fellow Lunites to meet up with them for an "emergency" bonfire meeting outside the wolf den. This way, they would have a better chance to get to know one another. They would also be able to discuss tactics and form a plan to keep Charon from the moonstone.

It was still hard to belive that Addison was part alien.

To be honest, though, Zed wouldn't have cared if she was part mermaid.

While she was beautiful with her flowing white hair and piercing blue eyes, he would have loved her no matter what her lineage was. She was kind, smart, and funny. Most importantly, she not only believed in equality, but had proven over and over that she was willing to fight for it. As a human, or, half-human, she could easily have chosen to just sit back, blend in, and ignore the plight of Seabrook's unusual groups of minorities.

But not his Addison. She was a good person, through and through.

He loved her more than life itself.

Just thinking about her made Zed blush lightly, a small grin spreading across his still-bruised face. He rested his arm against the bottom of the bus's window, and continued to watch the waves crashing relentlessly against the sand.

Zed was so lost in thought, in fact, that he completely missed the sleek black car with it's dented side door, parked in the lot next to the pier. He also failed to see the man with the braided white hair as he spoke animatedly with several men, who were unloading a large crate from a nearby truck.