Thank you for reading!


Peyton had worked some magic on Blaine—how or what kind Major didn't really want to contemplate-and he showed up in the morgue to be given the pitch on why he should take the memory cure. She went to go grab Liv, who was in an interrogation with Clive, while Major and Ravi entertained Blaine. Only Ravi was too pissed at Blaine to be entertaining, and Major was too scared to think about anything but how little time he had left, so Blaine yammered on mostly to himself.

"Later I'm off to the bar. It's actually a pretty sweet gig. Get to pick my own songs, play a little piano …"

"So … you're a lounge singer now." The part of Major's mind that was still able to listen thought that was pretty perfect casting for Blaine. He had that smooth, insincere way about him. Like he was constantly ready to break into Barry Manilow.

Blaine didn't seem so into the term. He ducked his head and practically blushed. "Uh … yeah, I guess."

Over Blaine's shoulder, Major saw the girls coming, to his great relief. He didn't think he could have kept up even this minimal level of small talk much longer, and the effort of trying to distract Blaine from the great black pit of Ravi's anger was taxing what was left of his good will.

"All right," Peyton said. "Gang's all here. Did I miss the big news?"

"Ravi was waiting for you," Blaine told her.

They all looked at Ravi, who wrung his hands and cleared his throat before finally looking up and at Blaine—with a reasonable lack of hatred, Major thought. It was somewhat impressive. "I've developed a serum that could potentially undo the memory loss that accompanies the second zombie cure."

Blaine sat up straight, finally taking something seriously. Major didn't miss the way Peyton glanced at Blaine while Ravi was talking, but it was hard to tell what she was thinking.

"Now," Ravi went on, "it could take several days to know if it worked. If it does, you'll get your memories back. Which would also mean we'd have seventeen doses of a viable cure." He was smiling at that, proud of himself. Well, he deserved to be.

Liv was smiling, too, looking at Blaine as though confident that he would see this as the unmitigated plus it was.

Blaine seemed unconvinced, however. "And … what if it doesn't work?"

Ravi wasn't prepared for that question. "Most likely risk is it doesn't do anything at all," he said slowly, as if he was thinking it through while he spoke. Even Major had to admit it wasn't much of a confidence builder.

"And the less likely risks?"

"There could be side effects," Ravi admitted reluctantly.

"Could it kill him?" Peyton asked, with a catch in her voice Major didn't much like.

Ravi clearly didn't, either. "It probably won't," he told her, in a tone that conveyed all too clearly how little he cared if it did.

"But it could?"

Hearing no answer to that one, Blaine hopped down from the dissecting table he was sitting on. "Sorry, guys. I gotta pass." He almost looked apologetic, too, as he glanced at all of them—except Major—before turning to go.

"Fear of death is the lock of humanity's prison," Liv called after him.

"I'm not afraid of dying, Liv. I'm afraid of remembering. Find a guinea pig who wants to remember his old life, huh?"

Pissed, Ravi said, "It's a chance to atone."

Blaine stopped at that, looking at Ravi like he was crazy. "Atone?"

"If you won't take the serum, the first person to take that risk will be Major. Who, let's be honest, is only a zombie because of you." He pointed at Blaine.

"That's not who Blaine is anymore," Peyton objected. "You're asking him to be the guinea pig so Major doesn't have to."

"She's right." Major didn't need Blaine affecting any more of his life than he already had. "When I'm dying, I'm going to take the cure. And when my memories start fading, I'm gonna take the serum. See, 'cause," he looked at Liv, and then at Peyton, "I'm gonna want to remember my whole life. I understand why you may not."

Blaine nodded, taking the offering for what it was—a thinly disguised way to call him a coward and still let him leave with his dignity intact.

Ravi, on the other hand, couldn't let it go. "A fundamentally decent person would realize you owe him," he snarled.

"Ravi."

Before Peyton could go on, or Ravi could snap at her, Liv said, "Let's take a breath. Try to visualize ourselves in one another's shoes."

"Okay," Ravi said with obvious sarcasm, "I'll try that. I'm Blaine. I killed people for money—"

"That's not what I—"

Ravi ignored Liv's objection and kept going, pointing at Major. "I tortured you. I literally killed you."

"Ravi! Enough!"

"Open your eyes, Peyton!"

"Oh, my eyes are wide open." She went around the table, going toe-to-toe with Ravi. "Why are you being such a dick?"

"It isn't obvious? It's because I'm in love with you."

None of them had expected that response. Peyton blinked at him, not knowing how to respond. Liv stepped closer to Major and took his hand. He closed his over her cold fingers, glad for the comfort of the simple contact. And Ravi stood there with his mouth open, not sure how to get around what he had just put out in the open.

In the middle of the silence, Blaine stepped forward, rolling up his sleeve and holding out his bare arm to Ravi. "I'll do it. Shoot me up, Doc."

Quietly, Ravi said, "Thank you," and went to get the serum.

As soon as his back was turned, Peyton said to Blaine, "You don't have to do this."

He nodded. "I know."

Ravi paused a moment after he had tied off the arm, before he put the needle in, looking up at Blaine as if to ask if he was sure.

Blaine nodded again. "Do it."

And the needle went in. Now only time would tell.