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It was just like old times: Ravi, Liv, Major, and a whole lot of shovels. Only this time, they were digging up the body of a famous cat burglar so Ravi and Liv could eat his brains and go steal back the cure from the CDC. A hare-brained plan if Major had ever heard of one, and quite likely to get both of them thrown in jail … or worse. He wished he thought there was a chance in hell that he could talk them out of it—and a chance here on earth that New Seattle could survive if they didn't succeed.
The night was dark, and of course it was rainy, and it was hard to forget that he was surrounded by dead bodies.
The cemetery was a spooky place, Major reflected, even if you were a being who belonged in one.
He focused on tossing shovelfuls of mud over his shoulder, trying not to think about what it would be like to be in one of these boxes … or what it would be like when the government finally decided to nuke them all out of existence.
At least he was with Liv. He stopped shoveling and looked down at her as he tried to catch his breath. "I'm really glad we're at this place in our relationship where we can dig up graves together without having to talk."
"We are easy like Sunday morning," Liv agreed. In the shine of the headlights from Ravi's car, she looked as glad for an excuse for a momentary break as he was.
"Let's take a moment to honor how far we've come."
She smiled. "From fresh-faced kids picking out china patterns to zombie exes grave-robbing felon brains."
Grinning, Major held up his shovel. "Cheers."
Liv tapped it with her own. "Cheers." Major started to go back to his digging, but stopped when she spoke again. "I don't think Clive thinks we're making it back."
Major didn't want to admit to his own fears about it. "He's just nervous. He doesn't want to see you get hurt."
"Isn't that your thing?"
"Hey, you're not itching for me to get hurt."
"Of course not!"
"Exactly." He looked away from her, to hide how much he wanted to hold her and beg her not to do this.
"I … I know what Ravi and I are doing is crazy, but …" Liv shrugged. "We have to try."
"You have to do more than try, Liv. You have to succeed." All of New Seattle was counting on her, even if they didn't know it. "Fate of the world and all that."
She laughed hesitantly, not quite sure if he was joking. "Yeah. Sorry, I guess I am kind of waiting to get his over the head with that shovel and wake up duct-taped to a chair in your basement 'for my own good'."
"One time!" he protested. "I kidnapped you one time." And if he didn't need her to do what she was doing, he might well have considered doing it again. But they were past that. He had to trust her to take risks. She and Ravi might be the only ones who could carry out this insane plan. He turned to her. "Lest we not forget, you turned me into a zombie to save my life."
"And you stopped bitching about it never!"
They grinned at each other as thunder rolled above them. "All right. Let's just say that, um, we've both done a lot of well-intentioned crap to each other, but … here we are. Still here."
Liv smiled. God, she was beautiful. She'd always been the most beautiful woman in his world, since the day he'd met her.
He tapped the shovel into the muddy ground beneath him. "Let this be our official restart."
"Sounds good. Fresh start before I head off to meet my untimely end." She bent to dig up another shovelful.
"If I didn't know better, I'd think you were nervous." She stopped and looked at him, and he told her, "I'm not. I feel much safer knowing that you're going to do this. Think of all the things you've done! Your alias is freaking Renegade. You are a badass."
She laughed a little, but then the smile faded and all that was left was the fear.
"You got this," Major told her. Not just because she had to … but because she really did. In all of this, Liv had never stopped moving toward what she believed was right. She and Ravi had never given up hope of a cure, had never knuckled under to the blows life had handed them. Liv Moore had saved countless lives, and made even more lives better. In Major's view, there was nothing she couldn't do.
Liv stared up at him, her eyes huge in her pale face. Then she took a step toward him, dropping her shovel, took his face in her gloved hands, and kissed him.
It was like coming home, kissing her. Like here in an open grave in a dark muddy cemetery was where he had always been meant to be. Major dropped his own shovel, wrapped his hands around her waist, and kissed her back, letting the kiss say all the things about the love that had never died, the hope for their future that had never truly left him, that he had never been able to tell her properly.
She drew away, looking up at him, and then they pulled each other closer and kissed again.
Dimly, Major heard the squelch of Ravi's return, and with reluctance he broke the kiss.
"Major. If I come back—"
"When you come back," he corrected her.
"We'll talk. Is that okay?"
"Very okay. So okay. Liv." He wanted to tell her that he still loved her, but she shook her head.
"Not now. Please. Let me … let me save it to be what will bring me back."