They followed right behind the ambulance all the way to Containment, Addison tried to control her breathing, but every time she tried to slow her breaths to keep from hyperventilating she would start sobbing all over again.

The ambulance parked right in front of a set of double doors of the containment building, and Dale parked about ten feet away. Addison jumped out before the car even stopped moving and stood right by the doors as Zed was lifted out by a team of officers and doctors that surrounded his gurney and rushed him inside.

"Zevon, how is he?"

Zevon looked at her, blank-faced with lines of tears running down his cheeks. "His-his heart stopped again." His voice and whole body were shaking, "They got him back again, but, oh Izzy." He sighed quietly and looked at the ground.

"Zevon, who's Izzy?"

"What? Oh, I'm sorry Addison, its, it's nothing. It's just…everything." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath in as he stood up straighter. "Dale, you have to take his Z-band off. I know what it does to us when we get sick like this."

"Zevon, I know, but I'm not in charge, we'll do everything the doctors say we can."

"Look at me Dale. I know. Zed told me about his Z-band check and how they saved the Moonstone. And you were there at his checkup. I don't know why, but you know as well as I do that Addison can protect him if he needs it."

"Alright, Zevon. I promise, that if it falls to me, we will do everything we can to save Zed. I promise, both of you. Now let's go."

Addison didn't need to be told twice, she sprinted inside, but had no clue where to go when she entered the cold gray hallway, so she stopped and Dale took the lead, bringing them both through the medical wing of the facility and straight to Zed's room.

Addison couldn't even see Zed at first, he was surrounded by doctors all loudly discussing something. One of the doctors noticed Dale enter and walked over to him.

"What is it, Dr. Ross?" Dale asked him.

"We've gotten some samples for tests to see exactly what is making him sick sir, but the larger issue is his Z-Band is trying to overcorrect his body and keeps shocking him, we've had to resuscitate him three times so far. Without his Z-Band being reset, we can't do anything but, you know the policy."

"I'll tell you what your Ztergoge policy does," Zevon growled. "It… Krrlz zombies." Addison was shocked to see calm, loving, Zevon so angry his Z-band had to fight against his emotions. For a moment even his eyes were turning darker.

"Hold on Zevon. Dr. Ross, I'm giving you permission to remove Zed's Z-band if you think it can save him. In fact, I'm ordering you to do it. Now."

"But Chief, we never do that, the risks to the doctors and nurses-"

"Addison can keep him calm. We don't know why, but I've seen it myself, and we aren't going to let Zed…die by doing nothing! Addison, I trust you, and I know you trust Zed, can you keep him calm if he doesn't have his Z-band?"

"Yes, Dad! I've been telling you this forever!"

"Alright. Dr. Ross, remove his Z-Band."

"Yes Chief." Dr. Ross sighed, he took a key out of his pocket and slowly approached Zed's left side.

"Thank you, Addison, I know you can do this. You can save him." Zevon placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, the traces of darkness around his eyes gone once again, instead now his eyes were filled with hope.

Addison nodded and ran over to stand on Zed's other side and grabbed his hand, he was still pink and much too warm, and he was still twitching every few seconds as his Z-band continued to shock him. Addison prayed that this would work.

Dr. Ross inserted the key and the clasp on the Z-band opened up. He quickly removed it and gave it to another doctor who hurried out of the room. Hopefully to fix it. The two officers stationed in the corners of the room crept forward slowly, each holding one of the shock pads in front of them, ready to intervene, just in case.

Zed stopped his twitching once the Z-band was gone, and then he was still, but thankfully his chest was still rising and falling, still raggedly, but he was breathing, and the heart monitor beside him was still beeping in an elevated rhythm.

"Zed?" Addison asked, "Can you hear me?"

"Ad-Ad- Addie?" Zed whispered softly. His eyes were still closed, but he turned his head towards her voice.

"I'm here Zed. How do you feel?"

"Like I've been run over by a bus." Zed groaned, just loud enough for Addison to hear.

"Do you feel…your zombie?" She asked.

"Um, no? Why? Should I?"

"Zed, you aren't wearing your Z-band right now. But maybe its because you still look too human."

"Maybe? What happened?"

"I, you…I…don't worry about that now. Just rest."

"OK Addie." Zed finally opened his eyes and drew his lips back in a tiny smile.

Dr. Ross walked closer to them, "So Zed-"

"Raarrrrgh!" Zed suddenly roared, he sat up as high as he could, still gently holding onto Addison's hand he swiped out with the other one. His moonstone necklace around his neck started glowing a brilliant emerald and at once his skin lost all its color, returning to his natural gray shade. His hair still looked the same, but Addison could swear she could see hints of green returning one strand at a time.

The two Z-Patrol officers standing in the room stepped closer, holding their Z-pads in front of them, crackling with energy. This just set Zed off even more. "RRAGGRR! PROTEG ADDISKA!" Seconds later his eyes and veins turned black and his hair was shifting back to green even faster.

"Zed NO!" Addison shouted. "It's OK, I'm not in danger, you're safe. Everyone slowly step back!"

"Do what she says!" Zevon and Dale both ordered.

Slowly both the officers and the doctors standing in front of Zed backed up again, and the officers lowered their gear to their sides.

Zed was still growling, thankfully his legs had been strapped down so he couldn't attack them from far away.

"Zed, look at me." Addison said, doing everything she could to keep him calm.

"Addiska." Zed finally turned back to her.

"Zed, it's OK, they aren't going to hurt me. They're doctors. They want to help you feel better. OK?"

"OKZ." Zed sighed, he was still raggedly panting and looking suspiciously around the room.

"Can you stay calm so they can ask you some questions? I'll be right here with you the entire time I promise."

"Gra." Zed nodded, and to Addison and everyone else's surprise, Zed's dark veins disappeared back into his skin and his face returned to his normal gray color. Over the last minute or so, Zed's hair was finally back to its normal, emerald green hue, and Addison could feel his hand slowly growing colder again.

The glow of his moonstone seemed to disappear while he relaxed and he even grinned at her. "I'm good, I promise. I'm me."

"Wait Zed, what are you doing?" Dr. Ross asked, sounding mystified.

"I honestly don't know? Did you put my Z-band back on?" Zed lifted his wrist, but nope it was still empty, and the blistered red skin where his Z-band used to be looked even worse in contrast with his gray skin.

"I don't care, you're amazing," Addison said beside him. "You are not a monster. That's why."

"OK Zed, do you mind if we do a few more tests now? I promise Addison will be sitting right there as long as she needs to."

"Yeah, I'm cool. I promise as long as she's here with me." Zed gripped her hand tighter in reassurance.

So the doctors one at a time, to make sure they didn't bring his zombie out, checked all his vitals, and miraculously they seemed to be back to his normal levels, his heartbeat was slow, his temperature was cool, and his senses and reflexes seemed to be in working order, nor did he have any cravings for human flesh. Everything went smoothly, any time Zed did seem to get worked up, he simply turned to Addison's eyes to calm himself down again.

A few hours later, Dr. Ross declared that Zed seemed to be healthy again, but they would keep him under observation until tomorrow just to make sure. Plus they didn't have a Z-band ready for Zed yet.

"So, Zed." Dale started to explain the situation, most of the other doctors and officers had gradually left the room, so now it was only him, Zevon, Zed, and Addison. "The Z-band techs told me that while the cold from last night was the main reason your Z-band malfunctioned, they also noticed that it appeared to be slightly smashed and cracked against something. Some of the sensors were broken in the first place. Is there anything we should know about?"

"Oh, um, so a few weeks ago when all the wolves showed up?"

"Yes?"

"We found the Moonstone under the powerplant while the earthquakes were happening, and right when we found it, one of the walls collapsed and trapped us inside, so I smashed my Z-band to take it off and get us out of there using my zombie strength."

"He was great Dad, he was perfectly in control the whole time, I kept him calm down there. He saved all of us and the wolves. In fact, he was too much of hero." Addison grumbled slightly.

"So yes, did I break my Z-band? Yes. But I had a very good reason. And I said I was sorry for that." Zed turned to Addison with a grin.

"Alright Zed, don't worry I won't press charges or anything for tampering with your Z-band, again." Dale chuckled, "You make it pretty hard to get mad at you whenever you do break the rules its for Addison. So anyway, they won't have your Z-band ready until tomorrow so, I think it will be best for everyone if Addison stays here with you. Or the other alternative is we strap you down in one of the Containment rooms, which I know nobody here wants to do."

"Of course I'm staying Dad."

"How did I know she'd say that?" Zevon chuckled. "Well, son, I better go back home and tell everyone the good news. I know Zoey will be worried sick until she sees you again."

"Oh, no Pops, I'm so sorry, I, was she, were you…?" Zed looked devastated suddenly for no discernable reason.

"Yes, I did, but I knew you would make it through this Zed." Zevon said, his voice cracking slightly. "I miss her too, and I know she misses us, but she won't let anything happen to us. I know that, and you're all better now. That's all that matters."

"Gar Gar Gaza Pops."

"Gar Gar Gaza Zed."

"Here you go." Pops handed Zander over to Zed. "Zoey wanted you to have him with you to keep you safe."

"Oh Zoey, tell her thanks, and I'll be back home as soon as I can."

"Alright you two, Addison will you be fine with that chair all night?"

"Yes Dad, I'll be fine." Addison nodded her head.

"OK, if you need anything, I'll have an officer stationed outside the door all night, or you also have that panic button to call a nurse if anything happens. I'll bring both you guys clothes for tomorrow, and Addison you can miss school tomorrow until they bring him his new Z-band OK?"

"Thanks Dad."

"I love you Addison."

"Bye Dad, I love you too."

"Bye Pops." They waved as their dads walked out the door. "Oh Pops can you dim the lights before you walk out? I'm sure I'll probably just go sleep soon."

"Sure thing Zed." Zevon dimmed the lights so that they were no longer glaringly bright, and now the room was just bright enough for Addison to still make out all of Zed's features.

They both sat in the room in silence for a few minutes, both gathering their thoughts.

"Zed, first off please tell me you're feeling OK." Addison said, she was less worried than before, but still looking at him like he was made of glass that could shatter again at any moment.

"Don't worry Addison, I feel fine. I have no idea how because this morning I woke up and felt absolutely horrible. I could barely walk downstairs to tell Pops I was sick, and then things just kept getting worse and worse, I felt so hot and dizzy and tired."

"What's the last thing you remember before you got here and they took off your Z-band?"

"Um…" Zed thought back for a few moments. "I asked you if I looked good as a human and you said I looked terrible and you wanted your zombie back."

"Yeah, and that was one hundred percent true." Addison leaned over and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

"So, how long was I out of it then, what happened after that?"

"Um…" Addison felt tears gathering in her eyes and running down her cheeks again.

"What's wrong Addison? You can tell me." Zed reached up to catch her falling tears.

"You…you…" Addison sniffled. Then she lunged forward and hugged him around his chest, placing her head in the crook of his neck, while she still stood beside the bed. "You stopped breathing, right in front of me and I couldn't do anything!" Addison sobbed right into his ear. "I…I thought."

"I did? Addie, I can't imagine what that was like but I need you to tell me more." Zed looked just as terrified as she did when she glanced up at him.

"The paramedics had just come up and moved you onto the gurney and then your whole body spasmed when your Z-band shocked you again, and they….they couldn't find your pulse and you weren't breathing and…and."

"But I'm here now right? I promise I'm not going anywhere." Zed rubbed circles around her back in reassurance.

"They, they started C-CPR and the whole time all I could think about was how I couldn't live without you. I thought…I thought. That was the longest 5 minutes of my entire life and this whole day I was worried sick about you and every time I talked to your dad or Eliza it only got worse and worse and I thought I was going to lose you. Thank God they saved you. And then when we got here Zevon said you stopped breathing again on the way, and then they apparently had to save you again once you got here when none of us were in the room yet. Then Dr. Ross didn't want to take off your Z-band, even though it was obviously the problem, until my dad ordered him to, and then you woke up."

"Addie. I'm so sorry I put you through this."

"I could never blame you Zed. I know you would never do anything to hurt me. Even if you're a little stubborn sometimes. You could never plan anything like this, it was just bad luck."

"No, I'm serious, I…you don't deserve to go through this, ever. No one does. You know what come here." Zed scooted over to the other side of the bed.

"What?"

"You really think I expect you to sleep in some crappy office chair in Zombie Containment all night?"

"But, are you sure you're OK?"

"I don't know why, but I promise you I honestly feel perfectly fine right now."

"OK." Addison smiled and climbed up beside him, the bed was pretty cramped, but neither of them minded the closeness they had to share. Zed threw one of his arms over Addison's shoulder and adjusted the bed higher so they could have a better sitting position. Addison reached out to grab Zed's hand again after pulling the blankets over her legs.

"There's something I should tell you…" Zed started slowly. "I know exactly what you're feeling right now, because…because I've seen this happen before."

Addison was stunned into silence, but just looked into Zed's eyes and nodded for him to continue.

"My…my mom, Izabelle, she was the best mom you could ever ask for, she loved Pops, and me and Zoey so much. She was the light in all our lives. She was the one who made me Zander for my second birthday. And she was the one who taught me how to play football. And there are just…so many stories that I could tell you, that I want to tell you and I will. I promise. So many stories that are better than this one, but I want you to know it."

Zed took another deep breath in. "Mom worked in the factory that makes all our uniforms. She liked her job enough, she was really good at sewing and said she knew how every single machine worked, but of course, since she was a zombie she never got any promotions or anything, she just stayed in the same place on the assembly line for her entire life, but she never let anything bring her down."

"When Zoey was three and I was twelve, one night in the fall it was unusually cold and rainy when she got off work. She tried to get home as quickly as possible, but she was stopped by a Z-Patrol as a random security check to make sure she wasn't doing anything wrong which of course she wasn't. So that held her up for at least five extra minutes in the rain. So by the time she did get home, her teeth were chattering. Then when she tried to warm up with a shower, the hot water wasn't working at all so she ended up making herself even worse. Pops tried his best to warm her up with every blanket we had, but it didn't really help."

"She laid in bed for two days and she felt terrible, she didn't have the energy to do anything around the house, she couldn't go to work, she couldn't play with us. Pops only let us in to see her about three times. I knew something was wrong but I could never imagine how bad it would be."

"After two days, she finally told Pops that her Z-band had been shocking her, she hadn't wanted him or us to worry even more about her. Pops called the Z-Patrol because, despite Mom's protests, he knew a malfunctioning Z-band was a big deal."

"The Z-Patrol took her away in an ambulance, but before she left, she hugged me and Zoey one last time and told us both Gar Gar Gaza. Those were the last words I heard from her." Zed sighed as tears continued to fall from his eyes."

He looked back up at Addison. "Three days later, an officer showed up at our door. He…he said she had died in containment. Her Z-band had continued to malfunction, and the rule was that they wouldn't take it off because then she'd be uncontrollable and she'd hurt any doctors that tried to help her. So they just kept it on and waited for her to…to die. Because it was too dangerous for the humans to do the one thing that might save her."

"Pops read the medical report they gave us, he never let me read it, but that was the angriest I had ever seen him, and the first and only time I ever saw him start to go full-zom against his Z-band. All he said was her Z-band was what killed her. I finally read it one day about a year ago. In the end, her Z-band shocked her into cardiac arrest, and they tried to save her with CPR, but they couldn't. So she died."

"We had the funeral a week later and I was in denial at first. I just kept saying to myself that we're zombies, we're already undead, we can't die. That was the only thing keeping me going. I was barely eating during that week, and both Zoey and I slept in Mom's bed with Pops. I just stared blankly at the wall during school. It was only thanks to Bonzo and Eliza I wasn't sent to detention for acting too much like a full zombie because I really was, but I was just empty of everything."

"Pops, obviously was just as destroyed as I was but after the funeral we finally had a long, long talk about everything we were both feeling, but the thing that helped me was, he told me, Zed, Mom's gone. I absolutely hate it, but I know she is still with us. In our hearts. I know she is still watching over you and Zoey, because she loves you. She will always be a part of us. Its natural to feel sad right now, you may feel sad, and angry for a long time. But she will want us to live the best lives we can. Can you do that?"

"And I did. Everything I do is to make her proud. From football to changing everything as president and helping the wolves, she's always the one telling me good job Zed in the back of my head. Actually, before I told Pops about you, I told her first, just how you made me the happiest person on the planet every time you smiled at me."

"She sounds beautiful Zed." Addison said quietly, resting her head on his shoulder.

"She would have, no I know she's still watching over us, and I know she loves you just as much as I do."

"So you're saying, this really has happened before? Eliza warned me about some of the worst-case scenarios but told me they were super rare."

"Yeah, Mom was the first person that I knew died, hence why I figured if we were already undead we couldn't die. That was also the first time Eliza, Bonzo and I learned that our Z-bands could be dangerous. We actually talked about smashing our Z-bands to make sure they wouldn't ever hurt us like they hurt Mom. Thank God Eliza's mom heard us talking in her room and absolutely forbid us from ever thinking about doing that ever again."

"I don't blame you." Addison's eyes glanced at Zed's wrist, now covered in several layers of bandages. "I almost don't ever want you to put on one of those things again. But how are you acting like you? I know you're always calm if I'm with you, but this is different than your Z-band check, and when we saved the Moonstone. You're acting just like you always do."

"I have no idea." Zed closed his eyes for a moment. "I can still feel my inner zombie inside of me, but he's perfectly calm too, which he never is when I have my Z-band off, I know I still heard him freaked out by all the doctors earlier, but I feel perfectly happy right now. He's really happy you're with me. But he isn't hungry or angry or anything. It's like the two sides of me are for once in total agreement and one isn't forcing control over the other like Zombie Zed understands that he isn't needed and he's fine with me running the show."

"But when they took your Z-band you were full zom for a few minutes until I calmed you down, and then you were back to your normal self right away. You had the black veins and eyes and everything but once I started talking to you, you were normal Zed again. It doesn't make much sense. But I don't care, as long as you're safe."

"I know I am because I have you here with me." Zed smiled, he turned his head and lightly kissed her temple. "You know, we do finally have guaranteed privacy all night." Zed said with a wink.

"Um, no, Dad said there'd be a guard right outside the door." Addison reminded him.

"HELP! THERE'S A ROGUE ZOMBIE!" Zed loudly shouted. They both watched the door for a few moments but no one burst in. "I'd say we have the room to ourselves."

"Are you absolutely sure you ok though?"

"Yes. Do I need to prove it to you?" Zed said, his voice deepening slightly.

"Sure, Zed, prove to me just how…healthy you are. So what is your zombie thinking?"

"That he wants to make out with my beautiful girlfriend."

"Oh does he? Are you sure that's him or you?"

"Who says it can't be both? I seriously can't explain it but I know I'm in control Addison."

"You think I care about that? I will always trust you. But maybe there's a zombie inside me because I think that sounds like a great idea."

"You are not a zombie, just a zombie whisperer. And the most beautiful girl on the face of the planet."

"You know, you're right, there is just something about your quick wit and charming smile, it definitely won me over."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Zed rolled onto his side and Addison turned to her side so they were nose to nose, barely an inch separating them. They moved in perfect sync, one of Zed's hands gently cradled Addison's head, his fingers slowly moving through her hair, and his other hand was thrown over her back, pulling her whole body closer to him.

Addison reached around Zed with both of her arms circling around his neck, bringing her lips as close as possible to his. They paused for a moment, their lips barely a centimeter from contact.

"Gar Gar Gaza Zed."

"Gar Gar Gaza Addie."

They finally closed the gap, and none too soon, both of them quickly forgot all their worries from the past twenty-four hours. They started slowly, merely pressing against each other with more and more pressure, eyes closed in pure bliss. After a minute or two, Zed opened his mouth as his tongue lightly pressed against Addison's lips. She didn't hesitate for a moment, and soon their tongues were dancing together.

They continued to pull each other closer and closer, until they were pressed chest to chest, their hands running circles over one another's backs or tangling in their hair. They could hear the other's heart beating against them, and they didn't even notice when they began to beat in perfect sync.

Zed's brain emptied of every thought except for Addison, he didn't worry about himself, his memories of his mom, the cold and the fear and the terror, all he cared about was her because he knew as long as he had her, he was safe, and he wanted to show her just how much she meant to him. Even though he felt cool and normal again, her could feel a fire burning in his chest that he never wanted to stop.

"Addie, I love you." Zed whispered as they separated for only a moment to breathe.

"I love you too Zed." Addison whispered against his lips, and then pressed against him again.

This time Zed firmly grabbed Addison around her waist and flipped himself over so she was now resting on top of him. He opened his eyes and paused for just a moment to make sure she was OK, and Addison met his eyes and smiled, moving her legs so she was straddling his hips.

"You good Addison?"

"Oh yeah," Addison nodded. "Are you good with this?"

"As long as you are."

That's all it took for them to meet once again. Still, Zed felt just like he always did whenever he was around Addison, even without his Z-band he was still in control, even if he was taking some suggestions from the zombie side of his brain, they were still in perfect harmony, just as much as he felt with Addison.

They did break apart occasionally so that they could trail kisses along their beloved's neck, and a few times Zed gave in to his zombie's suggestion to lightly nibble her ear, earning himself a squeal of delight from her, and then her kisses became even more heated.

There was one other part of Zed's body that was also getting heated by everything going on, but he did his best to try to ignore it. And even though he continued his endless kisses, he hoped Addison wouldn't notice what was going on further down.

They broke apart one more time for air and even in the near darkness brown orbs met blue pools and they seemed to read one another's minds. They slowly met for one final, drawn-out kiss, and then when they broke apart, Addison simply relaxed and placed her full weight against Zed's torso, her head resting against his shoulder. Their faces were turned just enough for them to smile at each other.

"Gar gar gaza Zed."

"Gar gar gaza Addison." Zed still had his arms wrapped around her and still held her close, but much more relaxed than before.

"I'm so happy you're ok again. You are not allowed to ever leave me."

"Nothing will ever keep me away from you I promise."

"Do you still feel fine?"

"Yes Addie, you don't need to worry."

"I'll always worry about you."

"I know, just like I will always worry about you."

"And I know I will always sleep the best when you're beside me." Addison finally rolled herself over to lay beside Zed again, but he still had his arms lightly circling her.

"I love you Zed, goodnight." Addison whispered to him.

"Goodnight Addison, I love you too." Zed let himself relax even further. He closed his eyes and breathed in, with Addison's head right under his nose all he could smell was her, hear her heartbeat that was slowly falling into a peaceful sleep with his matching it beat for beat. He pulled her just a bit closer again, and he was soon lost in dreams that couldn't ever hold a candle to reality.