Thank you for reading!

Major sat, sipping coffee, wishing he could enjoy the pleasant night and the peace he felt. But no. Because across the restaurant, finishing his own coffee while he read the paper, sat a zombie. And Major had to kill him, because freaking Max Rager had him over a barrel. As much as he was glad to have Liv back in his life, glad to have her weird coach brain tough love help him turn his life around and get himself back on track, he hated this part. He didn't want to be the zombie stalker of Seattle.

But there was nothing for it. Vaughn du Clark wouldn't hesitate to act on his threats if Major didn't start dealing with the zombies on the list. He put his cup down and got up, making his way across the room.

He asked the zombie for part of the paper he was reading, picking it up and watching the hairs rise on his arm from the proximity. It was weird, spending so much time with Liv recently, he had come to feel this as a familiar sensation rather than a sign of danger, which made it even harder to see this man as someone he was supposed to take care of. But as he walked away, resigning himself to what he had to do, a woman and a little boy came past him, the little boy shouting out "Daddy!" as he ran toward the zombie.

Watching the zombie lift his child in his arms, Major made a decision. There could not be any more killing. These were people, men and women who were suffering from something they didn't ask for. He was not going to be responsible for taking their lives. On the other hand … if he didn't take them out of circulation, Vaughn du Clark would. And he would start with Liv.

So if he couldn't kill them, could he talk them into disappearing? No, they would never go for that. They wouldn't want to leave their lives and families behind, they couldn't hide well enough to evade Max Rager's long arms entirely. It just wouldn't work.

He shook his head impatiently, shoving his hands into his pockets as he walked along. It was getting chillier out as the fog set in. Later tonight he was sure it would be freezing …

Then it came to him. The freezer where Blaine had held him. Those kids from the shelter had been there, too—some of them de-brained, but others just … waiting to be thawed out. If you could freeze a zombie, then in theory, he could kidnap them and stick them in freezers. Keep the freezers in storage units scattered around town, rented in someone else's name, until he figured out how to deal with Max Rager and Vaughn du Clark? It was worth a try, anyway, and far, far better than what he had been doing.

God, he almost felt like himself again. It felt good. He didn't want to lose it. Never again.

The next day, he caught up with Rita in her office, handing her the list he had doctored. "Checked off eight potentials this week. None were zombies." He didn't expect that to hold her, or du Clark, off for too long, but all he needed was to buy himself a little time in order to get the freezer plan in motion.

Rita flipped through the pages. "You're sure? None?"

"Yeah." He took a deep breath. He thought she was going to take this next part okay—they had never pretended any emotional entanglement—but you could never be sure how "I don't want to sleep with you anymore" would go over. "I don't think it's a good idea for us to mix business with … whatever we were doing."

She looked at him, her face unreadable, and gave a little nod. "We'll play it by ear."

Taking the papers, she took the seat behind her desk, tapping keys on her laptop. Major stood there a moment, having expected more … sarcasm, if nothing else, then turned and left the room, glad to have escaped a scene.

Rita's voice followed him out into the hallway, stopping him in his tracks. "I'm not sure Vaughn explained to you the full extent of how our list is generated. There are statistical probabilities attached to each of the potential zombies we've given you. And the likelihood of these eight names all coming back negative is … low." She looked up at him, and Major could see he wasn't fooling her. Well, he hadn't really expected to, not for long. All he needed was a few days to figure out exactly how to make the freezers work.

He smiled. "Never tell me the odds."

Leaving the building, he thought it likely that Rita had no idea where that line had come from. Too bad—she was a smart, beautiful, capable woman. A little less evil and she'd be very good for someone. But not for Major. She never had been good for him.

Liv was, though. Having her back in his life was better by far than any high he had ever gotten from Utopium. He remembered the look the kid from Helton had given him, and shuddered. There was no way to be Major Lilywhite, to be Liv's Major, and take that stuff. He should never have started. Going home, he dug out the last vial he had. No question, he craved it. The oblivion, the rush, the sensation of flipping off the world by actively screwing up his life that way … there was a temptation in all of it. But compared to the way Liv had looked at him when they were coaching those kids on the basketball court? Utopium was and always would be a distant second.

He could give up the Utopium, but there was no way he could give up Liv again. Not ever. She was what made him who he was. He loved her, more than he had known before that damned boat party, more than he could have imagined. And he wanted her back not just in his life, not just as his friend, but as his love, his partner, his … everything.

Major dropped the vial in the toilet and flushed it down, breathing a sigh of relief when it was gone and no longer even a possibility.

Then he did a few things that had fallen off his personal hygiene list lately—he shaved, and he put on cologne, and he gave some attention to his nose hairs and his eyebrows. Liv was coming over tonight, and he wanted to be her Major, top to bottom.

Downstairs, he found Liv crouched in front of Minor, ruffling the dog's ears. He hadn't known Liv was an animal lover. She'd always been so busy, so driven, when they were together. Maybe there were some hidden bonuses in this zombie thing after all, he thought, watching her. God, how he loved her.

Looking up, she saw him and her face lit up. "Hey! Sorry, I knocked, but no one answered, and this guy was talkin' trash so I had to let myself in and show him who's boss." She came toward him, the smile widening on her face, as if she was as happy to be with him as he was to be with her. Reaching a hand up, she stroked his cheek. "There's the Major I remember." She reached into her purse, digging around for her keys.

"Are you leaving?"

"No. We're just … going to get a bite? Pizza, maybe? What do you feel like?"

The words tumbled out. Not the way he had practiced, but he couldn't hold it in, not standing here in front of her like this, so close. "Liv, I don't want to do this anymore."

She froze, looking alarmed. "Do what?"

"Pretend I'm okay just being your friend. I want more. I want us to be together again."

Her eyes searched his, and he could practically see her thoughts written on her face, the worry about being a zombie and what that would mean, the fears of whether they were still the same people and if they could be to each other what they had once been. "Major, nothing's changed," she said at last. "I still—"

He couldn't let her finish, putting up more obstacles between them. "I know all the risks, and all the reasons it can't work, but I don't care. I'm a better man with you in my life. Do you want to give it another shot?"

"Major …"

"Liv. Please."

"But—"

He put his fingers over her lips. He couldn't let her say no. She loved him, he could see it in her face. "I know what I'm asking. I really do. And we can be as careful as you want, take … things as slowly as you want. As long as I'm with you, that's what matters."

"Major." The word came out in a faint whisper as she stretched up toward him and he leaned down toward her. And then she was kissing him and all was right with the world.