Anna stumbled backwards until her back hit the corner of the lab. Slumping down to the floor, she covered her face with her hands. If her body had still be capable of it, she would've been crying.

Wayne wasn't much better, staring at his distraught wife while wondering about the ultimate ramifications of his infection. As a few ideas passed by, he grabbed hold of them in his mind and began putting them together into cohesive thoughts. It wasn't a perfect plan, but it was enough of a start for him to do something about it.

Leaving his work chair, he came over and crouched beside Anna, taking her hands by the wrists and pulling them away from her face. He hid her hands in his own while speaking gently to her.

"Anna, don't be upset," he soothed. "This is actually a good thing."

"Good?" she demanded. "How is this good? I've killed you!"

"You didn't kill me," Wayne denied. "I've been infected, and I'll turn and be restored just like you were."

"I only turned you into a flesh eating corpse," Anna sneered. "That's so much better."

"Now you listen to me," Wayne said, putting an edge on his tone. "We were going to need another zombie eventually in order to determine if your restoration was repeatable or a singular event. Additionally, I would've needed to wear gloves and other protective gear, always in fear of possible contamination when around you; now, we don't have to bother."

"Goodie for you," Anna muttered.

"Further," Wayne went on, ignoring her sullen attitude, "There was always the possibility of you reverting and trying to make me into a meal. Since I'll be turned, I don't have to worry about that either. We can work on the cure together without fear. As awful as this may seem, it's actually a good thing it worked out this way."

Wayne turned slightly, putting his back up against the wall beside her and using it for support as he slid down to sit on the floor with Anna. He put an arm around her and pulled her close. He had to stop breathing for a moment and concentrate to keep the contents of his stomach down as he got a deep breath of her decay. After a moment, the nausea passed.

"We're still alive...in a way," Wayne offered. He managed to get a slight chuckle from Anna. "We're together. The rest is details."

Anna slipped her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly.

"I love you so very much," she whispered.

"Right back at you," Wayne returned. He tried to stroke her blonde hair, but when some of it came loose, he stopped. "Do you remember anything from the time when you were a full zombie?"

"No," Anna denied. "I remember the sickness and passing out, but nothing until I woke up in the containment area looking at you filing your report."

"Good," Wayne replied.

"Why is it good?" Anna questioned. "Did I do something else?"

"No," Wayne quickly answered. "I was thinking of those outside the barrier. Some of them may have killed and eaten friends and family members. It would be terrible to revive them only for them to remember such things."

"Could those memories resurface?" Anna queried.

"I don't think so," Wayne responded after taking a moment to consider it. "The deteriorating condition of the undead would seem to indicate new cells are not being produced, otherwise the rot would regenerate with healthy cells. If the theory holds, no new brain cells would be made either, preventing new memories from forming in the neural tissue. If I'm right, the horrific memories of being a zombie won't come to the surface later because there aren't any in the first place."

"If that's true, how do you explain me?" she asked. "I'm in the same condition, but my memory is currently functioning. Why is it working now but not then?"

"I don't know," Wayne admitted. "I've never examined a living zombie before. It might have to do with not getting enough nutrients to the brain during the hunger frenzy. It may have to do with some change that occurs when sufficient food is provided. It's one of the many things we may never know about this condition."

"I just don't want them remembering those horrid things," Anna told him.

"The two of us will find out before we subject anyone else to this particular experiment," Wayne promised.

"What do we do now?" she asked.

"I'll need to familiarize you with everything I did for you during your transformation and return," Wayne told her. He felt tired and leaned his head back, knowing it was the initial exhaustion accompanying his immune system being strained trying to fight off the disease racing through his bloodstream. "I'm not sure how safe you'll be from me during the change. Because we've never had a restored zombie before, I don't know how the undead will react. I might see you as food or as one of my own kind. You'll need to keep me in the containment area until you're sure."

"We've switched places," Anna mused. "I'm now the doctor, and you're the patient."

"I'm getting sleepy," Wayne mentioned. "We better get me inside while I still have the strength to move. Don't want you to have to drag me over there."

Anna smiled as she got up, offering her hands to him. He took hold of them while she provided a countering balance to help him stand. Once he was back on his feet, he let go of her hands only to wrap her in a bear hug.

"Don't you worry," he assured her. "I'll be back before you know it."

Anna put Wayne's arm over her shoulders and helped him walk over to the medical bed in the containment area where she'd spent her time during the transformation and restoration process.

"Hope these linens have been properly sterilized, I might catch something," Wayne joked as he sat down the medical bunk.

The tension broke, and Anna and Wayne shared a laugh. She eased him down on the bunk and crouched near the head of it to look him in the eye.

"I'll be right here the whole time," she promised. "I'm not leaving you."

Wayne took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Together forever," he told her.

She squeezed his hand in return and affirmed his statement of devotion.

"Forever, my love."