"Yes, it was... well, it helped with the baby coming and everything," Jade agreed in a shy voice. I put a small strand of her hair behind her ear and allowed my hand to linger by her temple as I did.

The house choice was a little cozy. Jade and I had bought a little place in the same neighborhood as Bobbi.

My zombie and I would be neighbors.

It was surreal beyond words.

I'd let Jade pick it out (actually, that was a lie, I'd hand-picked the list). It was a little cottage bungalow built in the teens of the last century. I'd gone behind her back and read up on historical houses, insisting that I needed something old-fashioned. Jade's Aunt's house hadn't sold for much but it was enough for a significant down payment. The new place had a full basement (I was already dreaming man-cave) and a small attic. It had three bedrooms and a great but small family room with a fireplace that burned real wood. Gramps and Clyde had loved that feature.

The guys razzed me about the house being like my hang-up for wearing a wristwatch, riding a bike, and owning a vintage car.

Somebody had to care about history, they could get off my dick about it. Somehow I knew that wouldn't happen, I thought ruefully.

It'd felt right the minute we'd walked inside. But it was Jade's eyes getting round and wet that let me know we'd struck gold. I'd put my arm around her small shoulders, her belly still flat and perfect and kissed her head, soaking in her happiness as my own.

Mom and Mia cleared the plates and I got up, stretching, my thoughts disrupted.

The girls and Mom all grouped together and began planning the next event.

The Wedding.

I glanced down at Jade's hand and admired the ring I'd gotten for her. It was what she wanted. No diamonds for my girl. It had been in the velvet box she'd never gotten around to opening. Sometimes timing was everything.

An emerald to match those eyes. It was also emerald cut, a deep true green, capturing the color and shimmering with clarity. The band that matched was in a small drawer of my now clean room. The salesperson had called it an eternity band. It was what I'd wanted. A diamond band that never ended, a circle of forever.

Jade had protested and I'd ended that in my usual fashion. She hadn't refused as I was so convincing.

I smiled remembering it.

"Get that shiteating grin off your face, Hart," Alex said with a grin.

"He's in looovve," Jonesy said, making smacking noises and cracking the invisible whip.

"Yeah, I am, so piss off Jones," I said, in no mood for his bullshit.

Dad laughed. "So when do you leave?"

I shifted my weight, putting my foot on the edge of the coffee table, covertly looking around for Mom then realizing she'd vacated to talk about Bridal Crap.

I'd told the guys and Dad about helping Parker.

"Tomorrow," I said.

"You don't owe him, Caleb," Lewis said, his light gray eyes serious.

I met his eyes. "I know." I looked at the group gone solemn. "But she needs him. Especially with what we know now...."

"Are you scared, Hart?" Bry asked.

I thought about it. "Yeah."

"You're gonna have a flipper baby maybe?" Jonesy said in a low voice.

"Shut up, doofus," Alex said, punching him.

"Hey!" Jonesy yelped. "You're still strong even if you're not the Incredible Hulk anymore."

Alex grinned. "I'm keeping up my manly ways."

"Right," John said in a droll voice. I gave him a chin lift and he acknowledged it. It was cool that once a Null, always a Null. The HC hadn't been able to undo that gene alteration. No one knew why.

In fact, it was funny but the Js and I ended up with our abilities. Just a series of strange circumstances had gotten us off the hook. The rest of the group hadn't been that lucky. Jade was the only other paranormal besides the Js that retained her ability. Sure there were others, some I knew from school and just other Randoms (as we were now calling them), but out of the core group, that was it.

"I don't miss mine," Randi said thoughtfully. "I mean, we did a good thing in the dome world but," she lifted her narrow shoulders, "we just about got sold into some whacked out sex-slave ring."

The guys were quiet, thinking about the girls' near-miss.

"I wonder what happened to those women we let go?" John said, thinking out loud.

Tiff's face scrunched up. "Yeah, that girl you were tonguing? I so wonder."

Sophie laughed. "Are ya jealous, Tiff? I mean John's kinda The Man if you ask me."

Tiff looked at him and gave him a side hug. "Yeah, he is. Rescuer of females in distress."

"There's only one female I love," John said with total seriousness and I watched Jonesy die.

"John!" he wailed, "can you just pretend to have a nutsack?"

"Oh no, he's definitely got one," Tiff said innocently and Bry did a dry retch in the background.

Jones grinned and we were back to talking about Parker.

"Is it safe?" Bry asked, folding his arms over his chest as a peal of giggles erupted from the living room where some of the women were clustered. We'd lost most of the chicks to our Guy Talk.

Except Tiff... of course. She was with the guys. We'd never even noticed. She just fit.

"Hell no it's not safe," I answered Bry then looked at Clyde.

"I will attend you, Caleb," he said.

"Yeah, okay," Jonesy said. "I heard you have your own weirdness going down, Clyde."

He quirked a brow at Jones and John translated while Dad got a little red in the face.

Clyde's brow dropped like a brick and Jonesy backed up. "I am not yet accustomed to the strange vernaculars of this era. However, to discuss one's intended in a manner that is on par with weirdness is evidence of a much needed flogging."

"What?" Jonesy squeaked.

"He's gonna kick your ass," Alex guessed.

"Hey," Jonesy put his hand on his chest. "I wasn't trying to be offensive, like, on purpose."

"I would hate to see what an effort on your part might produce," Clyde said.

Jonesy got sullen.

"You gotta grow up sometime, Jones," Bry said.

"Alright, gawd!" He pegged Clyde with his dark eyes. "I heard that you can get married, and play house and all that."

Clyde nodded. "We are betrothed and will be moving into the house that has belonged to Roberta's relations for the better part of a century. And it is not 'weird'. It is a second lease on life, my mouthy young friend."

Jonesy sulked at his new name. It did fit him, I thought.

"Your new government believes that everyone who can produce children, should. With or without the wedded component." Clyde said with scorn laced in his words.

"Are you telling us you're... viable?" John asked slowly.

"I am," Clyde said, his dead eyes looking very much alive.

Holy shit, this was just a year for revelations.

"Okay," Jonesy said, thinking what was certainly weirdness through. To the best of his abilities. He looked warily at Clyde and Dad said, "Tread lightly, Jonesy."

Jonesy swung his head to Dad. "Right." Then he looked back at Clyde. "So... you're going to have a dead baby?"

Wow.

Clyde grinned, it broke across his face so quickly Jonesy gave a nervous laugh. "I think not, Mark. However," Clyde said, pacing in front of us, "he or she will be our child. Roberta's and mine."

He stopped, his large hands going to his perfectly pressed hips. "And as you are wont to say: for the record, I believe it is the woman of the pair who gives birth."

We cracked up and Jonesy was left sputtering, that dark skin taking on a decidedly red undertone.

Dad held up his hand. "I will not elaborate to your mother what the acquisition plan is for this..."

"Nevaeh," I interjected.

"Nevaeh," Dad repeated. "However, I have become aware of some basic facts that have come to light. Actually," he gave me a look, "the depressant did more than limit the HC's efforts to detect the true limits of your AFTD."

I waited.

"It rendered their sterilization ineffective. In essence, the depressant diluted the component necessary for the full dose to both manifest correctly and negate your procreative potential."

We stood there, some wiser than others. I got it, Jones did not and John said, "Kyle neutralized the booster when he used the counter drug to keep Caleb's five-point status under wraps."

"Okay," Jonesy glanced at my dad. "You could've just said that."

Dad smiled, then continued, "The world is now in a desperate situation." His eyes got serious and when he looked at me I knew his next words were all for me, "We need strong men that are willing to safeguard families. Families that are now a rarity."

I didn't need the embedded lecture. Most of my problem had been my overprotectiveness of Jade. Now it was warranted. Of course, I'd always felt justified in my feelings toward Jade, that had never been a tough thing to embrace. Now others were feeling that same sense of entitlement and stewardship. Well good for them.

It was the same tune that had always played for me.

That's about as serious as things got that day, the guys going back and wolfing down the rest of the pizza as the women carried on about the big day.

I sat watching Jade without her knowing, Onyx at her feet, her happy face swinging from one face to another as she spoke, a flash of emerald fire would sparkle when she lifted her hand to push an ebony strand of hair from her face.

Jade turned and caught me staring at her from across the house and smiled when I didn't look away.

I got that feeling in my chest, that weight.

It was solid.

Felt like joy to me.

*

reconnaissance

We trudged through the long grass of the Washelli Cemetery, one of the largest in Seattle.

Of course, it was night and raining. That was a prerequisite condition for looking for an AFTD in a cemetery.

Parker stopped as if he was listening. All I could hear was the soft drone of the water sweeping the landscape, causing the headstones to darken as they became saturated.

Parker tapped his LED flashlight against his thigh with a thwack, his rain gear sloughing off the misting water. "She's not here, Caleb."

"Yeah, she is," I disagreed in a low voice. Clyde stepped up beside me, his eyes scanning the dimness in this antique section of the cemetery. Then I saw it.

"Caretaker's cottage," Clyde said for me.

I nodded.

We moved in.

When the zombies erupted I about pissed my pants. I couldn't believe I could still be startled by corpses but I guess so.

Nevaeh exited the door of the caretaker's cottage, dim light haloing around her thin body and her eyes found Parker's, narrowing on his figure.

"Leave me alone!" she yelled, grasping a decaying post with a bony hand. "Leave me alone," she said again, barely more than a whisper and the horde shambled a collective step forward.

"Do not," Clyde instructed the dead and they swung their hastily raised faces to his. One in the front of the line slapped a pesky eyeball that kept trying to pop out, pushing it back in its socket.

"Brother," Eyeball popper addressed Clyde in a hiss and I swore I heard disdain in that rotten voice.

Hell, was there like zombie prejudice now? Maybe it hadn't been such a stand up idea to bring Clyde along after all.

Too late.

"Nevaeh," Parker started, his palms out at his sides like superman with a cape, "we need to talk."

"No," she said. "We didn't do enough talking last time and look where it got me." She folded her arms across her narrow chest.

The zombies took another step closer. They were practically within arm's reach.

"Now would be a great time to beg forgiveness or whatever your plan was, Parker," I said. We were all five-point C-Ms and it was about to get ugly.

"Yeah," he agreed then like a dumbass he ran to the door where she stood and her eyes got wide. It was the IQ drop again, Parker wasn't any more immune than myself.

The zombies turned and a few of the spry ones launched themselves at his feet.

Clyde waded right in and popped the jaw of the one who was closest to Parker.

"Can't ya call them off?" I yelled over the grunts and howls as Clyde knocked them down like a bowling ball in a alley full of pins.

"Nope!" Parker bellowed over his shoulder.

Shit, figures.

He was almost on her when Zondorae walked out from behind Nevaeh. It caused my feet to falter and it stopped Parker in his tracks.

"What the fuck?!" Parker bellowed, his hands curling into fists.