All Blaine could do was listen to the cries of pain and the shooting of bullets raining upon his father's followers. He was trying really hard to forget that Marlee was out there in all the chaos. Kenzie was still attached to his side and he lifted her, sat her on the hood of his father's – probably stolen – car and checked her over. She seemed a little paler and he put it down to hunger. "When was your last tube?"

"School, they tried to give us whole brain, but neither of us ate it." She told him. He nodded and looked behind her as a car pulled up. Chase stepped out of the car and ran over to Kenzie.

"Oh, thank God," he hugged her then pulled back, Marlee was missing. "Where's Marlee?" He turned to Blaine.

"They took her, the zombie who had Kenzie untied her feet and she kicked and ran, Marlee just got carried. Chase- I-" Chase hugged him tightly and Blaine collapsed against him slightly.

"It'll be OK." Chase told him, it wasn't much, but it was all his brain could think of.

Blaine pulled back, "do you have any tubes? Neither of them have eaten since yesterday."

"In the car," he nodded, left and brought a tube for Kenzie and a second one, knowing Blaine wouldn't have eaten either. Blaine took it, despite not being in the mood to eat. Chase got a call. "It's Lambert, Graves," he answered. "Take him alive," he looked at Blaine he nodded as the bullets stopped firing. "We're coming now, get in the car," he instructed. Chase drove as close as he could before bodies littered the streets. Blaine climbed from the car, the smoke bombs were clearing and he could hear the deranged cries of his father.

"Marlee!" He called, desperately.

"Kenzie, stay in the car," Chase instructed getting out and jogging over to where Lambert stood.

"She 'as not been spotted," Lambert told Chase, "she's not among the bodies." Blaine took little comfort in his words, Marlee was still missing.

"Marlee!" Voices called, calling out for the lost little girl.

"Marlee" muffled voices penetrated Marlee's blocked ears. Having been temporarily deafened by the smoke bombs and showers of bullets it was a relief she could hear anything. "Marlee!" The voices came more into focus now, voices she recognized. Opening her eyes, she blinked as the world came back into focus. The cold, hard tarmac under her and the imposing underside of a car above. Crawling towards the bright edges she was almost blinded by the daylight. Standing, she leaned on the hood of the car to steady herself. The ropes around her legs had loosened enough for her to kick out of them, but the ones around her wrists remained tight. Still she pulled the scarf from around her mouth and breathed in cleaner air. "Marlee!" The voice was closer.

"Daddy!" She called out, seeing Blaine she ran, weaving between the bodies towards him. Blaine heard her voice and broke into a sprint, meeting her halfway he wrapped his arms around her, falling to the ground, they both started to cry. "Daddy," she cried, the sobs wracking her body.

"Oh, Marlee, thank God you're safe," he stroked her back and pressed kisses to her hair as she buried her face into his shirt. His brain then processed what she had called him. He pulled her back slightly. "Did you just?" She nodded.

"Well," she sniffed, "you are, aren't you?"

"Yeah baby, I am," he agreed pulling her back to him. Slowly Blaine stood, Marlee in his arms, he took her over to the car and untied her hands. The skin around her wrists was a little red, but it wouldn't take long to heal. Chase brought her a brain tube from the car and she ate it quickly. Blaine watched over her head as his father was taken into custody, screaming and cursing the whole time.

"Kenzie, sweetie, I said stay in the car."

"Your phone keeps ringing," she said to Chase, holding it up.

"Thank you, honey, sorry, come here," he lifted her beside Marlee and the girls shared a hug. "Graves. Major, slow down, I never ordered such a thing. They're doing what? Where? I'm on my way." He hung up, "get in the car," he told the girls and Blaine. "That was Major, he asked me to stop Ms Moore's execution. I told him she wasn't being executed. Looks like the board's gone behind my back again," Chase explained as he drove. He skidded to a stop and turned to the girls, "stay in the car." He and Blaine ran from the vehicle and joined the crowds trying to pry open the doors to the warehouse.

Major had Clive punch him in the face to send him into rage mode, he got the doors open and the crowds flooded inside. Major was leading the crowd, he leapt onto the platform and scuffled with a member of the board. Chase noticed it was Hobbs. Other board members littered the crowd of employees that had gathered. Chase watched as Hobbs tripped and landed under the guillotine, and the anvil fell, triggered by his own foot, his head crushed effortlessly underneath. Silence descended upon the room. Chase climbed the stairs to the platform, his footsteps echoing and uncuffed Ms Moore. He turned to Major, "get the names of these officers," he nodded and took a picture with his phone to identify them later. Chase turned to the crowd of humans and zombies.

"This was not an approved decision. This decision was taken from me and it's my responsibility that it doesn't happen again. Having seen the good and the lives that have been saved, Ms Moore is pardoned for her crimes, and will be made a registered scratcher, the crime of scratching unconsented, still stands. Expect a statement to be released soon. Ms Moore," he gestured for her to leave the platform, which she did, into the arms of her friends.

He followed her down and through the crowd, the Board members seemed to have skulked off, Chase made his way to Blaine. "Let's go home," he said softly, taking his hand and squeezing it comfortingly. He texted Major to have Liv come by his office tomorrow and drove his family home. Chase and Blaine gave the girls baths and each had a quick shower, dressing in their pyjamas. Kenzie and Marlee stuck close to them and neither minded a bit. Blaine prepared snacks while the girls chose a movie to watch where they fell asleep around five that afternoon. Leaving the girls on the couch Blaine and Chase ate a tube each for dinner and carried them upstairs to their bedroom, knowing they would end-up there anyway. Tucking them in they escaped to their bathroom to brush their teeth.

"Marlee called me daddy today." He told Chase, turning and leaning against the counter. "When we found her… I told her it was OK and I mean that. I know I let you sign me up to be a foster parent, but I can't imagine my life without her now."

"I feel the same way about Kenzie."

"Can we, I don't know, adopt them, is that allowed? I mean, technically they were abandoned." Blaine asked quietly.

"I'll look into it, the idea has crossed my mind once or twice before, but for me, maybe in the future a little. I spoke to Miss Maddison, shortly after Kenzie came to live with me, when she was really distant?" Blaine vaguely remember Chase saying he was struggling to connect early on in their experience, "turns out her mom went through 3 husbands in 2 years. All impulsive weddings." Chase cringed at the memory, "that's why she was so reluctant, and well, it's OK for her to be cautious. It's a big step in her life that she'd accepted me as her caregiver. We had a talk and we're gonna take life as it comes. Like we decided." Chase placed a hand on Blaine's folded arms and pulled him closer to kiss him. "Let's go to bed," he whispered softly and Blaine nodded.

Chase went into the office the morning, leaving Blaine asleep with the girls. On his desk, he found a file from Major, containing the information about the officers at the execution attempt yesterday. Standing from his chair in his office he went over to the private safe where he kept the more private documents. From it he took a cool box. Inside were the confiscated brains from the tube thieves. Truth brain. Major knocked on the glass door. "Come in Major." He said, staring at the box. "You remember this?"

"Yes sir, the truth brain." Major's cheek burned at the memories of what he had said.

"With this we could find out which members of the company are loyal and which are not. Starting, with the Board members and officers at that execution yesterday. Major I'm trusting you with this, I need to know I can trust that these men and women to have my back."

"You can count on me sir."

"Thank you," he pushed the box over to Major, "and if you could let Ms Moore I'm ready to see her when she's available."

"Of course." Major left, pulling his phone from his pocket. Chase unlocked his iPad and began typing an email to Peyton Charles, the acting mayor, inquiring about whether he and Blaine would be able to adopt the girls. He knew that zombies weren't able to adopt, however, that law specified human children. It said nothing about zombie children. He began more paperwork as he awaited her reply.

Olivia Moore arrived at Fillmore-Graves that afternoon, she pulled her jacket tighter around herself, guided by her roommate, to Chase's office. "Come in Ms Moore, please have a seat. Ms Charles." He nodded.

"Here's everything you'll need to know about what you asked in your email," she handed him a file, "as they're zombie children, it should be allowed."

"Thank you. Now, Ms Moore, I would first like to apologise for yesterday, after reviewing the documentary I was reminded by something the first Renegade said to me. Saving people feels human and I believe her. I'm granting you, under the title of Renegade, a licence to scratch and turn humans into zombies. Fillmore-Graves won't be stopping you anymore, so you just have to get past the US army." He held out a certificate with the license on it.

"Thank you." She nodded and read it over.

"If there's anything else I can do Ms Moore, let me know." He told her.

Olivia and Peyton left, leaving Chase with the file Peyton brought him. He put it aside and went back to his paperwork, the sooner he finished it the sooner he would check up on Major's investigation. First however, he needed to set a date for Brother Love's execution.

Blaine rose shortly after Chase left. Leaving the girls asleep he got dressed and headed to his office, leaving the door open so he could listen for them. Don-E turned up shortly before 9 with the documentation from his businesses. "Marlee and Kenzie OK?"

"They slept through the night, which is a start I guess," Blaine told him. "Where's Karl, he hasn't answered texts in a few days."

"Well, you know I told you about his wife, with the like, mega-rack?"

"Vaguely."

"Well, he murdered one of her co-workers for impersonating her in a degrading way." Blaine's eyes widened.

"And I'm only just hearing this now because?"

"Well, honestly, would anytime over the last few days been good timing?"

"Touché." Blaine sighed, now he needed to find new security, rolling his eyes he figured they could cope for a couple of weeks with his other staff.

When Chase arrived home at 8:30 that evening as his statement was being re-shown on the news that Blaine was watching. The girls were sat at the island in the kitchen with brain tube burritos and Netflix while he watched. Blaine looked up as Chase entered, Chase joined him, stood behind the couch silently as his recording released the execution date for Brother Love. Later that year. "You don't have to go," he said quietly to Blaine, knowing the pain the man had caused him.

"Oh, I do. If I don't see it with my own eyes I might never believe I'm free of him for good," Blaine replied. Chase nodded, accepting his excuse.

"Ms Charles dropped these off. She says it's very possible if you want to go ahead with adoption." He said handing over the forms, "take some time to read them, I'll start getting them ready for bed when they've finished eating." Chase pressed a kiss to Blaine's cheek and headed towards the kitchen. Blaine shut off the TV and retreated to his office, starting the news broadcast on the small TV in there and playing it quietly. Sitting at his desk, he opened the file pertaining to himself and Marlee and began reading.

Sometime later, Chase opened the door to Blaine's office, light flooding the room. Blinking in the bright light, Blaine looked up at his partner. "It's getting late," Chase said, walking over and rubbing his shoulders. Blaine checked his desk clock, it was quarter to 11. Blaine groaned, stretching his arms above his head. He made sure the outside door was locked and followed Chase to their room. Chase helped him undress and change before they settled for the night. The girls were sleeping in their own beds, however soon Kenzie crawled between them, followed under an hour later, by Marlee.

Three weeks later school ended for the girls. Their teacher had given them a booklet to work through over the Summer. Some activities were academic, others designed for fun. Fillmore-Graves would be running activities through the Summer for any zombie children in Seattle as some childcare services would not take zombies. Marlee's birthday was in the second week of the vacation. Blaine had asked her what she wanted to do, prepared to throw a party, however, she told him she wanted to have fun as a family. Which, to be fair, they hadn't done a lot of. Blaine had three businesses to run and Chase was still dealing with the fall-out of Brother Love's breakout. They had both been busy. He spoke to Chase who arranged to get the day off to spend with Blaine and the girls, telling Major to contact him only if it was 100% necessary.

The night before her birthday Blaine and Chase put the girls to bed and returned downstairs to prepare some last-minute details. Don-E dropped off a cake with brain flavoured frosting from a zombie bakery, decorated with penguins. Upstairs, around midnight, Kenzie who had been watching the glow in the dark clock-hands on her wall kicked back the covers and crept out of bed and across the playroom. Gently she shook her friend awake. "Marlee," she whispered.

"What?" Marlee groaned, opening her eyes.

"It's after midnight. Happy birthday. I just wanted to be the first to say it." Marlee smiled.

"Thank you, Kenzie," Marlee yawned.

"Night."

In the morning, Blaine and Chase woke Kenzie early so she could help them wake Marlee up. Downstairs Blaine lit the candles on her cake and Chase picked up the gift bags. Kenzie turned up the dimmer switch on the light as they entered her room, singing happy birthday. Marlee sat up in bed, grinning ear to ear and blew out her candles. "Happy birthday, sweetie," Blaine said, setting the cake down on the desk.

"Thank you." They watched Marlee open her cards and presents. Her favourite was from Don-E, who had adopted her a baby penguin from the zoo. He had run it by Blaine first, but it had been entirely his idea. Once she had opened her presents Blaine lifted the cake into his hand and told the girls to taste the frosting. "It tastes like brains." Marlee said.

"It does, which means today, and only today, you both get cake for breakfast. Downstairs," he added at their delighted looks and Chase's amused face.

The four of them spent the morning in the pool and the sunshine before going bowling in the afternoon. As they changed back into their sneakers Chase produced two arcade cards. "These have $20 on them and are for you guys in the arcade. "You can go on whatever you like and spend your tickets later." They girls thanked him and raced ahead into the large arcade. Blaine and Chase followed them around, helping them with the harder games, like Ski-ball, which Chase was quite good at and broke the high scores on both machines, winning each of the girls a jackpot ticket pay-out. Marlee was also very good at the games, as was Kenzie, but by her own admission she also bored of them easily. Marlee spent almost 20 minutes on the arcade version of crossy-road, a game which she had often drained the battery on Blaine's phone with.

The girls both spent their tickets on stuffed animals and candy before returning home, where they ran upstairs to play with some of their new toys and the adults made dinner. After dinner they took turns in the bath and started their nightly period of no electronics before bed. Blaine checked on Marlee while Chase bathed Kenzie. When he entered her room, she quickly scrambled to hide the paper she appeared to be colouring with her crayons. "Whatcha got there?" He asked concerned by her red-rimmed eyes.

"Nothing," she said, her voice breaking a little. She looked into his eyes and sighed, bringing the paper back into view. On the paper Blaine saw two unfinished drawings of women, he assumed her mommies. "I missed them today," she told him softly as he knelt by her desk.

"It's OK to miss them Marlee, never worry about that, you're allowed to miss your mommies. You love them." He kissed her temple, "do you want me to go while you finish it?"

"I can't finish it," she told him sadly.

"How come?"

Marlee blinked and hot tears ran over her cheeks, "because I'm struggling to remember what they looked like," she sobbed. Blaine pulled her into his arms, pushed the door closed and sat on her bed with her. Not knowing what to say he simply held her, stroking her hair and fought back his own sadness at what she had told him. After a short time, she calmed down, yawning against him. "Daddy?" she whispered.

"Yes sweetheart?"

"Could you please read me a story from the book your grandpa gave you?"

"Of course, I can," setting her on the bed he told her to get settled while he went to find it. Returning to her room, Blaine sat beside her, reading to titles to the stories until she picked one, reading it until she fell asleep.

Blaine descended the stairs, finding Chase reading his iPad on the couch. "Everything alright?" He asked, noting his troubled appearance. Blaine sat beside him, leaning into his shoulder.

"Something Marlee said. She was trying to draw her moms, which I told her, obviously, is fine. So, I offered to give her time to finish and she broke down crying telling me she can't, because she can't remember what they looked like." Chase put his iPad down and his arm around Blaine, leaning back he moved so they were leaning back against the couch, Blaine in his arms.

"I'm sorry to hear that," he said softly, stroking Blaine's shoulder. "Is she alright now?"

"Yeah, I read to her and put her to bed. Just breaks my heart to see her upset."

"I know," Chase soothed. Blaine yawned.

"Are you coming to bed?"

"Let me finish replying to Major and I'll be right up." Blaine stood, kissing Chase deeply.

When Chase got to their room Blaine was already under the covers, laid on his side. Chase changed and climbed in behind him, wrapping an arm around Blaine he kissed his shoulder and whispered his goodnights.