A/N: Hi, everyone! This is my first story in quite awhile. I hope you all enjoy it! This takes place in season two episode five, right after Clementine got shot by Arvo. I do not own any of The Walking Dead Game characters.

xxx

Clementine didn't register at first what was happening when Arvo pointed his gun at her, but by the time she had understood her fate, the bullet was whizzing towards her, knocking her flat. The young girl had imagined a few times over the past two years how dying would feel like. At one point, she thought death would be like a burning fire, igniting her bones until she felt like she could see nothing but light. A few months later, she changed her mind and thought it would be cold, like a shock of ice water through her body. But no, when it was happening, really happening to her, Clementine finally understood what Kenny had told her, that death was like floating into a paradise. Clementine now felt like she was floating away to some unknown place, but instead of feeling scared, she felt safe and free.

After a few moments, Clementine's eyes fluttered open. She was surrounded by white light and everything around her was clear. The blue skies were bluer than she had ever seen and any trace of the destruction the pandemic had caused was nowhere to be found. She looked down at herself. She had no scar on her arm from the dog bite, no pain from the bullet, and no blood or evidence from the shot. Her hands instinctively searched her head to feel her familiar baseball cap still there and she sighed in relief.

Suddenly, a soft voice pulled her from her daze. "Hey there, sweet pea." Clementine's head turned, facing the man in front of her. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw her guardian, Lee Everett. The last time she had seen him, he was dying from a bite, a bite that she could only blame herself for, no matter how much he assured her it wasn't her fault. He had only one arm remaining and no strength left to move. The last time she had seen him, he asked her to do the impossible - to shoot him. But now here he was, in his signature blue shirt, no more bite or blood marring his features. He had both his arms and a gentle, mischievous smile on his face.

Clementine swallowed a lump of tears and leapt right into his open arms and the man chuckled. "Lee! Lee!" She cried, repeating his name over and over again. She could hardly believe what was happening, that he was right there, holding her like he used to do. With each year that passed after his death, she had greatly missed his hugs. They were the only ones that made her feel safe. And now, she was hesitant to let him go in fear that her guardian would fade away if she did.

The young girl paused, realizing she sounded like her younger, innocent eight-year-old self again and she looked up at Lee. "I never thought I'd see you again."

He winked at her before tapping the brim of her cap. "It's good to see you too, Clem."

Clem clung onto him for a little bit longer before pulling away and looking about her. "Where am I?"

"Where do you think you are?"

Clementine's brows furrowed and she wrinkled her nose. "Heaven, I think."

Lee smiled again and nodded. "Safe."

Clem's pondering gaze didn't waver as she stared up at him. "But, Lee, if I'm in Heaven, where's everyone else?"

As if on cue, she felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around. "You didn't think you could walk on in here without giving me a hug, did you?" Clementine squealed and wrapped her arms around her second guardian, who had knelt down to meet her height.

"Luke!" She beamed, noticing he still had on his signature faded sepia colored sweater. The last time she had seen him, he was drowning in the depths of icy cold water but now he was fresh-faced and not a hint of the scars that Clementine had once seen adorning his body. For the first time, Clementine saw him for how she knew he must have looked like before the pandemic broke out. He looked youthful and full of glee and Clementine could imagine him being quite the prankster. He smiled and wrapped a hand over the back of her head, pulling her in towards him.

He pulled away and looked at her, his smile growing. "So this is how you looked like before. I really like your hair, kid." He ruffled her big hair and looked up at Lee. "Hey, Lee."

Lee held his hand out and Luke grabbed onto it, hoisting himself up onto his feet. Clementine stood in the middle of her two guardians. "You guys know each other already?"

"Well after all your talks 'bout Lee," Luke gestured his thumb in Lee's direction, "I had to meet him."

"Did I ever say thanks for taking care of her, by the way?" Lee asked.

Luke rubbed the back of his head and laughed. "It was nothin'. I'm glad to've done it."

Clementine piped in, "Thanks for saving me, Luke."

"Toldja I'd come back for you, didn't I?" The boy smirked before puffing his chest out. "Plus, I think it made me look pretty damn good, didn't it?"

Clementine smiled and shook her head and Lee frowned. "Oh, so you're okay with the swearing now?" He teased his sweet pea. Clementine looked up at her previous guardian and stuck her tongue out at him, and Lee rolled his eyes and pushed her hat down over her eyes.

"Hey!" She yelped, pushing her cap up out of her eyes as Luke and Lee laughed.

"Hey! Hey! No one told me Clementine was going to be here!" An all too familiar screech echoed through the skies, causing Clementine to look around in the direction of the voice she thought she would never hear again.

"Wait, not fair! I saw her first!"

A distressed voice called out, "Duck, slow down!"

That was almost simultaneous with, "Sarah, watch your step!"

Clementine was suddenly sandwiched into a hug and she felt the giggles spill over as she saw Duck to her left, squeezing her tightly and Sarah to her right, hugging the pair of them. Duck had no bite marks, no bullet wound, and to Clementine's relief, he didn't look like he was sick or in pain anymore. He was back to being the hyper boy and good friend that she had known and missed greatly. He was still in his red plaid shirt and his hair was the mess that Clementine remembered it always was. Sarah looked bright and innocent like when Clementine first met her. She was not hysterical or lost anymore but was bounding with energy. Her red glasses were no longer broken but sat pristinely on her face.

"Hi, guys," Clementine giggled, realizing how foreign it felt to laugh again.

Kaatja and Carlos followed suit, shaking their heads at the children. "It's good to see you again, Clementine." Kaatja smiled and Carlos nodded at her before pulling Sarah away from Clementine.

"Thanks for always taking care of my daughter, Clem," Carlos remarked.

"Daddy, I told you, Clem always took care of me!" Sarah beamed in pride before slinging an arm around Clementine's shoulder. Not to be outdone, Duck slung an arm around Clementine's other shoulder.

Duck turned to Clementine, holding onto her hand. "Clementine, did Batman show you around Heaven yet? Did he?"

"Batman?" Clementine cocked her head to the side. "Who's Batman?" Lee blushed slightly and raised his hand. Clementine stifled a giggle before looking at Duck who was now focused on his mother.

"Mom, can I show Clementine around Heaven? Can I? Can I? Please?"

"Easy there, buddy." Omid replied, coming from behind Kaatja. Clementine's eyes widened as she saw more figures appear out of nowhere to greet her. There was Sandra, Shaun. Doug, Mark, Carley, Ben, Chuck, Pete, Walter and Matthew, Nick, Alvin, Sarita, and Rebecca, all looking as though they were in perfect health. They had no blood or scars, all their limbs restored, and they looked happy.

Carley shook her head but her voice was not harsh, only playful. "Don't you know by now that isn't how Duck works?"

"Seriously though, that kid has no off button." Nick grumbled before his lips turned into a small smile and he chuckled. Pete clapped him on the back and chuckled along with him.

Rebecca turned to Alvin, "Do you think little Alvie will be like that?"

Alvin chuckled. "I wouldn't doubt it."

Clementine felt like she was truly, truly happy. She hadn't felt so overwhelmed with emotions in such a long time. She heaved in a shaky breath and suddenly two people squeezed her hands. She looked up, expecting to see Luke and Lee holding her or Duck and Sarah but instead she saw two faces she really thought she would never see again.

"Mom! Dad!" She squealed, pulling herself away before throwing herself into their arms. the two of them laughed and cuddled their child close to them. From the day she and Lee set out to look for her parents, Clementine imagined how it would feel like to see them again and hug them. There was a little part of her that knew it might not happen but she imagined if it would, that she would give them the biggest hugs on the face of the planet and tell them how much she missed them and loved them. Now that she had that chance, she gave them that hug. It turned out to be even better than her imagination.

Clementine could not contain her joy upon seeing everyone that she loved. She couldn't stop the tears of happiness from falling from her eyes, from the heavy sobs that escaped her lips. She felt so much like she was home, right where she belonged with all of her loved ones.

Her mother had tears shining in her eyes as well. "We're so glad to see you, baby."

"Mom, I missed you so much." Clementine choked on a sob and her mother wiped away her tears.

Her father smirked. "I see you kept my hat in good condition, Clem." Clementine nodded and he continued. "I was going to give it to you officially when your mother and I returned. It did suit you better."

Clementine released herself from their hug and looked at each of them, from Lee to Luke to every person she met in between. She loved each and every one of them and it was the most overwhelming feeling to see them without any of their scars or without any of their pain. They all looked so happy and carefree. She felt as though she could burst from all she was feeling.

"How're you doin', sweet pea?" Lee's voice pulled the young girl from her thoughts and she turned to him, looking at his gentle eyes.

She shook her head and the tears fell faster along her face. Lee bent down and brushed away a stray one. "I'm just so happy, Lee!" She bawled and Lee pulled her into another bear hug.

He stroked her hair and whispered, "I know, sweet pea. I know."

She buried her face into his shoulder, trying to keep the scent in her memory. "I don't ever want to leave."

Lee pulled away then, gently grasping onto both her arms and pushing her from him. She looked into his eyes, the ones she could now read very well and noticed they had lost a little bit of their glimmer. She remembered that look once before. It was the same look he had given her when he was dying, when he was leaving her. A sick feeling came over her and she could feel a fresh wave of tears overwhelm her. She pulled away from Lee and tried to keep herself from crying.

"Clem..." Lee began.

Clementine shook her head. "No! No!" She looked to Duck and Sarah. "But I thought you guys were going to show me Heaven." Duck and Sarah looked up to their parents but Kaatja had a firm hold on Duck and Carlos was hugging Sarah close to him.

"Luke...?" She asked, turning to her second guardian but he bent down to her level and gave her a sad smile. He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and pulled her closer to him.

"Clem, I know this is hard. It's hard for all o' us..." Luke began. "But now isn't your time."

Clementine looked to her parents but they remained silent, with tears streaming down their faces and so she looked back at Luke who had sighed. He took a deep breath before looking up at her. She remembered his look too. It was the same look he gave her that night by the fire when he promised he would come back for her. "I'm sure you don't understand right now but you gotta trust us, kiddo. Your time isn't up yet. You gotta go back."

Luke was right. She didn't understand. She was shot straight through the chest by an angry, panicked Russian teeh. There was no way she could have survived that. After all, at this very moment, she was in Heaven - or close to it, anyways. How could she not be right where she was supposed to be?

Clementine pouted and shook her head. "No."

"Clem -" Luke started, but Clementine cut him off.

"No! You told me you would come back for me and now that you did, you're just going to leave me?" She cried, with fresh tears blurring her vision.

Luke frowned, trying to pull Clementine back into a hug but she pushed him away. "Clementine..." Luke trailed off, sounding like she had just kicked him, Clementine was torn then between slapping him and hugging him but instead she turned away from him.

Lee came then, circling his arms around her and she screamed, pounding her tiny fists into his chest. No matter how hard she hit, Lee remained wordless and continued to stay in the position he was in, holding her tightly until she was spent, sobbing angry tears against his shirt. "You promised me you would never leave me! You promised, Lee! You promised!"

Clementine continued to cry and shook her head. The bad thoughts were coming back and she hated it. "It's my fault, it's all my fault." The young girl choked through her sobs as she clutched her guardian.

Lee pulled away slightly so he could see her face. "Clem, what are you talking about?"

Clementine looked at the familiar, loving faces around her and she could barely contain her sadness. She drew away from Lee then and felt so ashamed of herself. "It's my fault... If it weren't for me, you all would be alive right now. If it weren't for me, you'd be happy. I couldn't save any of you. I couldn't do anything! I'm so, so sorry..." She looked to each of them, if she had gotten to them sooner, helped them sooner... If she had not gotten in others' ways or hadn't been so stupid... If she wasn't so clumsy, if she wasn't so naive, they would have all been alive. They would never have gotten hurt. They would still be with her, happy.

Sarah frowned and drew closer to her friend but Carlos held her back. "Don't cry, Clementine..."

"Yeah, cheer up!" Duck beamed and Kaatja gave her son a look that told him to keep his mouth shut.

"Clem, none of this is your fault." Luke said in a hushed voice, drawing close to her. Clementine looked down and Luke cleared his throat. "Clem, look at me." She didn't at first. "Clementine, please." And when she still refused, Luke gently tipped her chin up so she would face him. Her cheeks were red and stained with tears. "None of these things that happened were your fault. It was just our time, kiddo."

Clementine sniffed louder and Lee placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't be sad, and don't you ever blame yourself. We're okay. We're all okay. I mean it." Lee gave the young girl's hand a squeeze and she nodded, sniffling. "And, Clementine, I never left you. None of us did." Lee continued with a small smile. "We're all up here watching out for you and keeping you safe. And," Lee took hold of the young girl's hand and placed it over his chest while his other hand rested against her heart, "we're always with you right in here, sweet pea."

Clementine smiled through her tears, and Lee smiled back at her. "Never forget that, okay?"

"I won't, Lee. I promise." She whispered before sucking in a shaky breath.

And one by one, they gave her hugs (well except Duck and Sarah who practically tackled her into death grips for what seemed like hours until Kaatja and Carlos had to pry them away from her).

Sarita and Kaatjacame over to Clementine and Sarita spoke. "Can you tell Kenny we're okay?"

Clementine nodded again. "Of course. I will, I promise."

"Tell him that we're watching over him and we love him." Kaatja continued with a shaky smile.

Duck skipped over to them and beamed at Clementine, giving her another bear hug. "And can you tell my dad that Heaven has all the candy you can eat and the coolest cars and - oh - Transformers! They're so cool! There's a t-rex version and it's got really sharp teeth and-"

The young girl giggled. "I will, Duck."

"Thank you, Clementine." Kaatja whispered.

Rebecca and Alvin approached Clementine next. "You take good care of our boy, Clem - though, heck - I know you will." Alvin chuckled.

"You'll be a great big sister, Clem." Rebecca beamed at her. "And tell our little Alvie about his mother and father, okay?"

"Okay."

The last people she needed to hug were her parents, Luke, and Lee.

She dove into her parents' awaiting arms and her mother hummed into her ear, "I am so proud of you, my Clementine."

Her father nodded against her head. "We love you, Clem."

"I love you guys too," She sighed before throwing herself into Luke's arms.

Luke chuckled and ruffled her hair. "You know, you're the strongest kid I've ever met in my entire life, Clem. You'll be alright. I know you will. I'll make sure of it." Luke smirked, puffing up his chest once more. Clementine laughed and Luke hugged her once more, rocking her tiny body back and forth. "I'm really glad we met, Clementine."

Clementine felt a huge lump form in her throat again and she mumbled against his shoulder, "I'm really glad we met too, Luke."

She let go of Luke and looked up at Lee, ready to hug him but he had his brow raised and a teasing smirk on his face. "You didn't think you were going to go all the way back by yourself, did you?"

"You can come with me?" Clementine asked a little too hopefully.

Lee's smirk softened into a smile. "Not all the way, but just enough to make sure you get back to where you need to be, where your spirit and your body can rejoin."

Clementine nodded and looked back at every face, feeling a renewed, strengthened love she never thought she would feel for all of them. She felt a lot safer and stronger knowing that each one of them was with her and for once she allowed herself to feel a newfound forgiveness for herself and for what had happened so far. She knew by going back, things would not be easy. She would go back to the destruction and to the desolation but she felt less fearful of it with her guardians by her side. She could get through it with them.

"I wish I could stay with you, with all of you." Clementine spoke, her voice still soft and childlike.

"One day you'll be able to, Clementine." Luke replied before winking at her. "But not quite yet." Clementine nodded and tears filled her eyes again.

"Ready to go, sweet pea?" Lee asked, holding his hand out and Clem grabbed onto it. His hand was warm and safe.

Clementine nodded and looked around at the faces around her one more time, remembering how everyone looked like without their injuries or scars but rather how they looked like now - happy. "Bye, everyone."

"It's not a 'bye,' it's a 'see ya later!'" Duck hollered.

"See ya later, Clementine!" Sarah waved and everyone else followed suit.

"Take care, honey." Her parents called.

Luke smiled. "We'll keep you safe, kiddo. Promise."

Clementine smiled back before walking with Lee. "Don't look back, Clem." He said and she cocked her head to the side.

"Why?" Lee didn't answer Clementine's question and at that moment, the little girl wanted nothing more than to look back - no - run back to everyone and stay with them forever, but if Lee told her not to look back, she wouldn't. She trusted him.

They walked together in silence, with Clementine holding tightly to Lee's hand with her own and her other hand clutching his shirt. She wanted to remember how it felt to feel this safe. Lee held just as tightly to her as though he was also afraid to let her go.

However, after a few moments, Lee stopped. Clementine didn't want to let go. "I can't go any further, Clem." He said and stooped down to meet her eyes. "Hey, it's okay." He said, and brushed her face with the pads of his thumbs. It was then that Clementine realized she was crying. She threw her arms around him and cried and he rocked her back and forth against him, humming a soothing tune.

"I'll miss you, Lee." She said as he started pulling away.

Lee smiled, his eyes watery. "Me too, sweet pea. I'll miss you too." He let go and Clementine felt another rush of tears. She bit her lip in an attempt to hold them back. She took a deep breath and Lee gently pushed her forward with a ghost of a smile.

"Go."

Clementine nodded and squeezed his hand once more before he let it go. She took her first step away from him, then her second, towards her motionless eleven-year-old body which was now becoming more visible through the clouds and skies. She took another step and another before almost looking back when she heard Lee's voice echo in her ears. "Don't look back, sweet pea." Clementine took another shaky breath and kept pushing forward until she was in front of her sleeping form.

And just as she was entering her body again, she swore she heard a voice whisper, "I'll be right here."

I know, Lee. I know.