Gil's Pitstop: Preparing to leave, Lee wakes Clementine inside the diner. Outside the group readies to depart, taking what little they have with them.
"Wake up, sweet pea." Lee cooed, waking Clementine from a dream where she sat silently outside while her parents argued inside. It was an unpleasant dream, but the young girl still smiled sweetly and pulled herself to her feet. The diner was empty except for the two of them.
"Where is everyone?" Clem asked groggily, scanning the faded steel booths for any other sleeping survivors.
"They're all outside, honey. We're about to leave." Lee reached out his hand for Clementine and she took it gently. Guiding the girl out of the deteriorated station, Lee immediately locked eyes with Eddie. The younger man had an anxious look about him, and slowly trotted to his former partners side.
"Hey." He yawned, shrugging his shoulders as he scratched underneath his beanie. Lee nodded back, looking out across the rest of the group. The crew had mostly separated into two separate groups: Carley, Stephanie, and Shel on one side, and Christa, Eddie, and Doug on the other.
As Lee led Clementine over to their people, Omid and Christa shared a drawn-out hug. As Christa pulled away, she smiled at Omid through a nearly invisible veil of tears. The two nodded and Omid turned to stand by Carley.
"What's going on?" Clementine asked, still groggy from being woken up. Lee look down and smiled.
"We have to go, sweet pea. It's not safe here for us, but we can't leave without looking for Shel's sister."
Clementine looked at Shel quickly, seeing the woman standing at the ready far from the rest of her group. She looked back up to Lee, who had dropped his smile.
"You're not going to leave again, are you?"
Lee looked away with guilt. "I am."
"I'm coming with you, then." Clementine said desperately, squeezing Lee's hand in an effort to make the man feel worse about leaving again. Lee closed his eyes, but stood his ground.
"I can't let you do that, Clem. It's too dangerous." He looked back at the wincing child and knelt down. "I need you to go with Doug. Keep an eye on him for me until I get back, to make sure he's safe."
Clementine was young, but she wasn't stupid. She pouted, and attempted to pull her guardian into a tight hug. As the two embraced, Eddie walked up to the pair and Lee stood slowly.
"I can't go, man." He said defeated. "I don't wanna leave if Bonnie's out there, but I-"
"Eddie." Lee said sternly, gripping the stoners shoulder so hard it made the man jump. Lee looked into his eyes and silenced the younger man. "She needs you. You can't run from this- not now."
Eddie nodded and hung his head with his hands in his pockets.
"I know man, but…" He trailed off for a second before continuing. "She's all I got, and if I saw her dead then I'd have nothing else to go off of."
"You have us." Lee assured. Eddie scoffed, looking off into the dark, empty windows of the diner.
"I'm serious, Eddie. You saved me and made sure I get a second chance at finding my family. You're a good man, and there's no reason you would have to be out here on your own."
Eddie ignored Lee's reasoning, prompting the former professor to squeeze his shoulders and regain his attention.
"There are things people do that we think you can never come back from, but you can. You can always come back." Lee smiled. "Right now, Bonnie needs you. She needs all of us. I won't think less of you if you leave with the others, but you don't have to run to survive anymore."
"Roamer!" Stephanie alerted, moving quickly towards a single roamer before putting it down. Lee looked back to Eddie and smiled. Finally, the man returned it sheepishly, and Lee let go.
"I'm still gonna stay, man." Eddie repeated, looking down at Clementine. Lee nodded and unhooked the knife from his belt.
"Then take this. I need you to watch Clementine for me while we're out looking."
Eddie took the knife and attempted a smile for Clementine. She was still torn up by the thought of leaving Lee again, but waved at the bearded man.
"Yeah, okay." He said, watching as Clementine released her grip from Lee's hand. She hugged tightly around Lee's leg one final time before joining Eddie at his side.
"Clem, Eddie is gonna help keep you safe, alright? Listen to him and watch his back, too."
Clementine nodded and smiled up at Eddie. The two nodded, knowing the responsibilities given to them by Lee.
"Okay. I'll see you soon, sweet pea." Lee assured, watching as Clem looked meekly over her shoulder at her friend.
Clem walked beside Eddie and eyes him curiously. She loved meeting new people, and this was no exception. "I like your earrings." She complimented, finding something to break the silence.
"Thanks. They're gauges." He said, remembering to smile.
"What're gauges?"
Without saying a word, Eddie cocked his head playfully to the side and stuck his pinky finger through the center of the earring. Clem recoiled slightly, staring in awe as the finger slid through and back out effortlessly.
"That's so scary." She murmured, wishing he would do it again. "Did the doctors cut the hole out of your ear?"
Eddie chuckled, shaking his head. "No, uh there weren't any doctors. My buddy Jonas did the piercings a while back. It was a while ago."
Clementine picked up on the man's hesitation and dropped her excited demeanor. "Did he die?"
"Huh?"
"You said it was a while ago. Was he with you when all the scary thing started happening?"
Eddie stared off again, surprised at the sudden intensity of their conversation.
"Y-yeah, he died. A lot of people died in the first few days. It was because of all the chaos, I guess."
"Oh." Clementine looked to Doug and Christa who were waiting patiently across the lot. "I'm sorry he isn't here anymore. It's weird to think about people before, but it's also kind of nice."
Eddie nodded, and looked down at the girl with a genuine grin. "You're a cool kid, Clementine."
Clementine beamed back at Eddie. "Thank you. You're cool too."
"You ready to head out, guys?" Doug asked loudly, smiling down at Clementine as the four of them stood together. The girl nodded, as did Eddie, who tucked his new pocket knife in his back pocket.
Doug winked at Clem and pointed to the bag on his back. "I grabbed your notebooks, Clem."
"Thank you!" Clementine cooed, clenching her fists with joy.
"You sure you want to come with us?" Christa asked Eddie. "You're more than welcome too, but we understand if you have other plans."
"I'm coming with you all. I could use some good people for a change."
Christa smiled and nodded, waving the others on as the four carried on to the edge of the highway road. As they walked, Clementine turned around to see Lee leading the others in the opposite direction. She wanted to run across the lot and stay with him, but she was given a job. She wanted to make Lee proud, and she knew he would find her again once he helped the others. That's what Lee did best- help those who needed it. Clem smiled and faced forward again, following Christa as she led the trio down the highway and into the unknown.