Safety, Security, Sanctuary

Soooo...I haven't written anything Walking Dead related in like, months. Sorry, college has kept me hella busy. But I'm back! This is a one-shot based on a roleplay I did with one of my friends on Tumblr. This is just a short, simple AU that I desperately wish was canon. But it's not. Damn.

Clementine's dialogue was written by Tumblr user nctbitten. The * is where the roleplay began, and runs through the rest of the story.

Disclaimer: The Walking Dead belongs to Telltale Games and Skybound Entertainment

All was quiet in the house. The room was dark, except for a small lamp that was plugged into a wall. But Clementine, for once, didn't have to worry about anyone - or anything - jumping out at her, to rob her of her things or attempt to kill her.

No, there would be no more of that.

It had been nearly a week since Clementine, Sarah, and baby AJ had made it through the harsh conditions of winter and into the gated community of Wellington, albeit with hardly any room left despite the fact that they were children. There was food, electricity, and houses safe enough for people to live in. Kenny had been right about its existence after all. So was Christa. If only they were here now.

If only Lee were here now.

Clementine closed her eyes briefly and let out a low sigh. She had many regrets involving him, involving everyone who had died in her presence, but unfortunately, there was nothing more that she could even try to do. She was still only a little girl, after all, whether she wanted to admit to that or not.

Presently, AJ was asleep in his new crib and had been for a few hours now, and Sarah was in the bedroom she and Clementine were sharing, having claimed that she was going to read. But Clem wasn't too sure if she was actually reading. The world hadn't been kind to Sarah these past few weeks; she was still grieving pretty hard over the loss of her father, and she had been exposed to the very things - and beyond - that she had been sheltered from. Clementine cared about her immensely, and worried for her a lot these days.

It didn't exactly help that Sarah hadn't been sleeping much, and when she did, her dreams were plagued with horrible memories among other things.

Clementine decided that now was not the best time to process her regrets, and decided that she might as well go to bed for the night. She stood up from the couch, turned off the lamp, and padded into her and Sarah's room.

As predicted, Sarah hadn't been reading after all. The older girl was quietly lying on her side, covers pushed back, slightly curled up. She was still wearing her red glasses - which had been fixed by a real ophthalmologist who lived close by. A sad, very forlorn look still rested on her features. She didn't even seem to notice her friend walk in and quietly close the door.

Clementine hesitantly approached the other's bed, hoping that Sarah wouldn't mind if she tucked her in. She pulled the blankets over her friend, tucking them around her shoulders.

"Goodnight, Sarah," Clementine whispered, brushing some hair out of the other's face. (*)

After all they'd been through, all the people they'd lost, the two girls definitely deserved a break. They were both lucky that Wellington was providing that for them. A sanctuary. No more losses. No more pain.

Well, a little less pain.

Sarah still thought about her father quite a bit, and missed him. It wasn't until Clementine said "Goodnight" that she was pulled from her thoughts. She hardly realized that the little girl had tucked her into bed for the night.

"Huh?" She finally looked up. "Oh, sorry. Goodnight, Clementine."

"I-…how are you feeling? After…everything."

So much had happened. It was crazy to think that, at least for now, both girls and little AJ, were safe. It was even crazier once she realized that no one else had made it to Wellington. To safety. Not Jane, not Kenny, not Luke…

Not Carlos.

"You've been through a lot."

Sarah didn't say anything for a few moments, just rubbed the blanket between her thumb and index finger solemnly. She still wasn't used to the fact that it was only them now, that everyone else was gone. That her dad was gone.

But she didn't want to worry Clementine, so she gave a short, honest answer. One that didn't quite quench her sadness.

"I miss my dad."

Of course she would miss her father. The answer didn't come immediately, but it was one that Clementine expected. Carlos had warned Clementine about this around the time they first met. Sarah wasn't like her, and the knowledge of what the world was like and what sacrifices she'd have to make came way too late for her.

Now it was all just too much, probably.

"I know you do. I'm really sorry about what happened to him."

Maybe it would be easier if she tried to take Sarah's mind off her own griefs.

"Have I told you about how I met Lee?"

The name Lee made Sarah look back up. She remembered - vaguely - hearing about him back in the trailer, as well as a couple of times in passing. All she knew about him was that he kept Clementine safe, and that he was gone.

"No…you've never told me," Sarah answered softly.

"Close your eyes. Try to imagine."

She just wanted Sarah to relax and maybe get one decent night's sleep for once. Maybe if she thought of something else other than the horrible things she'd seen… Clementine decided to give it a shot.

"I was eight. Things had just started getting…bad. With, you know, everything. And my parents weren't home. They went on a trip to Savannah and left me back home with the babysitter. But…bad things happened. She was attacked and turned into one of those things…but you know what I did? I hid. In my tree house. I grabbed one of my walkie-talkies and just stayed up there where no one would catch me. Did you ever have a tree house?"

Sarah had obliged, closing her eyes when asked to. She tried to envision what it had been like for Clementine during those first days, and she immediately concluded that it hadn't been easy. There was also a nagging assumption that the little girl's parents had never returned, but she didn't ask.

The part about the babysitter being attacked made Sarah visibly flinch and squeeze her eyes even more tightly shut. However, they opened up again curiously when the tree house was mentioned.

"A tree house? Um…no. I-I didn't, but I remember wanting one." A pause. "Then what happened?" Did she need to close her eyes again?

"Maybe we could build one, someday. Talk to someone here about it. It was fun. And we could make a bigger one than the one I had."

She smiled, trying to make Sarah think good thoughts. Even if she wasn't the most skilled person ever to survive in this world, Clementine still loved her. Like a sister, like a true friend. She was the only one that opened up to Clementine as soon as she laid eyes on her, and treated her as a friend, staying by her through everything. So she wanted to help.

"Close your eyes. Well, after spending some time in my tree house, Lee found me. Well, first I found him. He was in a car accident, near where my house was. I heard the noise and went over to see what was happening. But I didn't know if he was a good guy, so I just ran away. He followed me and went into my house. Once I got a closer look, from my tree house, I thought…I thought he was my father. He told me his name through the other walkie-talkie, and after that my babysitter appeared. She had turned, but I helped Lee take care of it. And from then on, we were together. He…protected me more than anyone else in my entire life."

At the suggestion of building another tree house, Sarah was able to smile back. That did sound like fun. She wondered what some of the adults would say to that. Hopefully, they would say yes.

She closed her eyes again, keeping them closed as she listened to Clementine's story. She tried to picture what this Lee person might have looked like, but that was a hard task. But he seemed like somebody Sarah would have liked. The more Clementine talked about him, the more Sarah was beginning to wish she could have met him herself.

"He was really nice, wasn't he?"

Clementine didn't really like her own tree house, but it did come in handy after all. It kept her safe when things went bad, and she didn't see any harm in maybe having another one. Specially if Sarah would like it. She cared about her so much. It was so difficult to make true friends during those horrible times.

"He was. You would have liked him. Sarah, why don't you try to sleep now?"

If she were honest, Sarah didn't really like sleeping since her dad's death, because of the memories that haunted her dreams, but maybe things would be a bit different tonight, with new thoughts in her head.

She settled further into the bed - a very nice change from the cold forest ground - and nodded, not realizing how tired she'd been for so long. "Okay, Clem…"

"Don't worry. I'm here. If something happens, just call me. I'm in that bed right there. Everything will be alright. I promise. We're best friends. Remember? A pinky swear is forever." Clementine left the side of Sarah's bed and walked over to her own, getting under the covers and sighing in relief one her head hit the pillow. That was a nice change.

"Night, Sarah."

"Night, Clementine."

Sarah was probably more tired than she realized, judging by her practical whisper. She sent a smile Clementine's way, having remembered saying those same words when the two had met that night, back in the cabin.

She sat up briefly to remove her glasses before returning to a comfortable position in the bed and closing her eyes again, this time for sleep.

Surely there wouldn't be any nightmares tonight, right?

So I hope y'all enjoyed that. I'm gonna try and get another story out sometime in the foreseeable future (ideas are nice too *wink wonk*), but we'll just have to see what college does to me. Midterms sure are fun. Anyway, I'll see you guys next time, and be sure to let me know what you think!