Chapter 7: Story of My Life

A few nights passed, and Louis was sleeping a little bit better now that he shared with Clementine what had been troubling him. Some nights he would wake in terror, and Clementine would wake up and try soothing him the best she could. Clementine is running out of ideas to comfort Louis during his PTSD episodes. She will ask Aasim for some help or suggestions. Clementine knows he is the best logical person to talk to on this sort of thing.

In the early hours of dawn, Clementines watches Louis sleep. She knew last night was one of the worst nights she has seen him wake with his terror dreams. All Clementine could do was stroke Louis's back to help him ease out of his episode. At least Louis is being honest with her about his troubles and isn't keeping it from her.

Clementine reaches out and strokes Louis's cheek tenderly and kisses his nose and forehead. She knows he doesn't have hunting duty, and it is Willy and Omar's job to hunt. Clementine looks at Louis's handsome face and turns to her side of the bed to get up and find Aasim for ideas. She doesn't know why Aasim has all the answers, but he does have a good sense of looking into people and finding what they need. Clementine slowly puts on her prosthetic foot, as it is becoming easier to deal with. She still has her issues at times and self-doubts herself, but the more she is around Louis he is helping her see the light more and more. Once her prosthetic foot is on, she looks over her shoulder at her sleeping boyfriend. She wishes she can climb back into his strong, comforting embrace, but she has to plan for today and talk with Aasim about Louis's PTSD.

Clementine slowly exits her room leaving Louis to sleep the morning away, as he needed it. Clementine just finished closing the door when Violet comes out of her room a few doors down. And seeing Clementine exit her own room surprised Violet a bit.

"Shit...I didn't realize you were up at this hour?" Violet asks.

"I couldn't sleep," Clementine said casting her to look down at the floor.

Violet nods as there is an awkward pause between them. Violet scratches her head in the discomfort of the silence. She looks at Clementine not meeting her gaze, "I thought Lou would be with you. He always is, as you two come out together."

Clementine looks at Violet's pale hazel eyes as they were a bit shadowed by the gloomy October dawn, "I am letting him sleep in today. He had a rough night."

Violet looks at Clementine then at the door that still had Louis asleep in Clementine's bed, then her gaze shifts back to Clementine, "What do you mean rough, like you and Lou…you know.."

"No nothing like that. He has been having night terrors of what happened on the boat with the Delta." Clementine softly spoke.

"Oh.." Violet looks at the door. Her eyes slowly go back to Clementine's face, "He wasn't kidnapped I was so what is his problem with night terrors."

Clementine vowed to Louis she would not disclose to anyone what he told her. She eyes Violet crossing her arms over her chest, "I can't discuss it because it is not my place to tell. Just something that you all have a fortune you do not have to deal with what Louis is going through and what I had to deal with when I was nine years old." Clementine casts her to look to the floor. "Louis is dealing with some post-traumatic stress disorder. I've seen it happen to someone in the past groups I was a part of. I sometimes can bring Louis out of his PTSD episode, but this last time, I couldn't reach him." Clementine looks up at Violet, "I know he is one of your best friends."

Violet looks away as she looks at the door behind Clementine, "He told you about my and his friendship I am guessing huh."

"Serval times." Clementine half smiles uncrossing her arms.

Violet nods in silence and her eyes slowly meet Clementine's this time. In genuine concern she asks the state of her friend, "How bad are his episodes?"

Clementine turns her head to look at the door, then her gaze shifts to meet Violet's, "Some nights it isn't too bad and he settles down when I hold and soothe him. But last night was the worst I have seen it. And I need to find Aasim for some help and advice on how to help Louis out when his PTSD is really bad, and I can't comfort him."

Violet nods as she too is concerned with her friend. Her arms crossed just then and she arches an eyebrow, "Why Aasim?"

Clementine looks down the hall and then back at Violet, "I get a sense he knows a thing or two about PTSD and can help me. He has that psychological vibe to me. No offense to anyone here at this school."

Violet looks at Clementine and for once in a long time had a genuine smile on her face as she sighs, "no offense taken. And your instincts are pretty spot on with Aasim having a psychological vibe. He comes from a family that is into psychology." Violet watches as Clementine gave her a friendly smile and she got nervous again with the awkward silence. "I should go, I need to talk with Tenn about something before I go fishing and checking the traps." Violet walks past Clementine and makes her way to the doors before she gets out of talking range Clementine stops her.

"Vi? Are we good with….you know what happened a few weeks ago. Me waking up, and you…" Clementine asks.

Violet turns to look at Clementine. Violet sighs, "I was just going through some shit…I didn't mean to come off as too hostile or pissed at you. Trusting Minnie, then losing her...I just didn't get a good handle on my own emotions. Seeing you happy with Louis reminds me everything of I had lost and never got a goodbye. I'm sorry if I pushed you away when you all were trying to help and care about my well-being." Violet looks at Clementine, "I guess it is my long way of saying we're good."

Clementine looks at Violet and smiles back at her, "Thanks, Violet."

Violet nods in return, "You're welcome. Now you got somewhere you need to be and so do I. Aasim should be by Ruby's horse. He usually gets up at dawn to feed her before he does morning lookout duty when he is not hunting."

Clementine nods as she watches Violet take off down the hallway to find Tenn Clementine heads out to the courtyard to find Aasim to talk about Louis and how to treat him when he has his episodes again.

Clementine approaches Aasim as he fed the last of the hay to Scarlet. Aasim turns as Clementine makes her way over to him, "We need to find more hay here soon, I don't have much left to give to Scarlet."

Clementine casts her eyes to the horse then back at Aasim, "Well, there is a whole bunch of hay in James's Barn that is up for grabs. I will let the next scavenge party look for some when they go out for a supply run. For now Scarlet can just eat the grass until we get more." Aasim nods to that plan. Clementine then shifts her weight to her right foot as she casts her eyes to the ground. "Can I ask you something or advice?"

Aasim casts a look at Clementine as he arches his right eyebrow a bit, "Clementine is asking me for advice. If it is anything to do with your romantic feelings for Louis, I want nothing of it. I don't need to know every detail of your romance."

"It is about Louis but not of my romance with him. Ruby told me you are good with psychology right, understanding people's state of mind and can read into people a lot." Clementine looks at him.

"I am good at psychology and reading people, like how you blush every time you say Louis's name, and how you glow when you are around him." Aasim snickers. "Like you are doing now."

"I do not." Clementine crosses her arms over her chest as she looks away trying to hide her blushing from Aasim of her love feelings for Louis.

Aasim chuckles at her shyness, then puts all joking aside, "Unlike Louis, I won't tease you about it. He is far game since he did it to me with Ruby for a while. Anyways how can I assist you with your advice."

Clementine took a moment to compose herself and then told Aasim what she has been dealing with the last serval nights, "Louis is having trouble sleeping at night. He wakes up shaking and crying. He is struggling with his trauma of killing a human being. Some nights I normally could calm him down, but last night was the worst I have seen, and took me a while to get him into a calm state." Clementine's eyes shift to her dorm room as if she can see Louis from there. She shifts her gaze back to Aasim as she continues to explain Aasim of Louis's condition. "What I need your help with is, a way to help Louis talk about his trauma in a controlled setting or help him through his worst episodes. I know it is a form of PTSD, from a Doctor I used to know back in my previous groups. I used to have bad PTSD when I was younger, and found ways to cope, but not sure how to help Louis, any ideas?"

Aasim looks at her and he was in thought for a moment, "How often does he have set episodes?"

"I don't know, a few weeks maybe. He kept it from me for a bit until he told me what is troubling him... And he used to talk about his trauma after each time he wakes up from night terrors, but now he refuses to talk and he clams up." Clementine admits.

Aasim leans his back on the wall of the school. Then he spots Rosie by her favorite spot by the admin building napping by the steps. He smiles to himself as he remembers what his mother used to do with the patients she was treating. "You know my mom had a thing she was trying out with using animal therapy to get some wounded soldiers from the Gulf War and Korean war, to talk about their trauma during their most troubling time being in a war zone and seeing combat. Dogs especially can sense when we have trouble voicing what we can't voice ourselves. I think she called it service dog for PTSD therapy."

Clementine looks to Aasim, "What are you getting at?"

"What I am getting at is have Rosie sleep in your room for a night or have Rosie near you two, so if Louis does have an episode Rosie would help get Louis to talk about his trauma, and each time it will get easier for him to express it to you," Aasim suggested.

Clementine follows Aasim's gaze as she too gazes upon Rosie. She changes her gaze to go back onto Aasim, "Do you know if it works."

"From what I have seen what my own mother do with some tough men with therapy dogs, yeah I do believe it works. I haven't witnessed too many of them but when I did it was amazing to see." Aasim smiles remembering his past life.

Clementine looks at him, "How do you know so much about this?"

"My mother was a practicing psychologist for the wounded warriors coming back from combat zones, errr war. Had her own practice and everything, and group therapy sessions, where I watched from afar. Before the world went to shit and I got sent here, it was still being used as a trial run for therapy dogs, but the work and evidence I have seen with my mom with broken veterans, I can see it working for your boyfriend." Aasim explained. "Does that help at all?"

Clementine looks at him and nods, "Yes, and thank you. Will try and see if your mom's theory will work."

"No problem." Aasim led an encouraging smile to her. Clementine returns his gesture for a little bit then she drops her grin just a bit.

"Can you keep what I told you about Louis to yourself? I don't want others to know. He already has enough trouble voicing out his struggles with me." Clementien eyes Aasim.

"Of course Clem." Aasim then shifts his gaze to look at the watchtower, "I got to go do lookout duty."

"Sounds good, I got to work up a schedule thing anyways, or plans before winter sets in. May need your help with the food situation because you did this longer than I did." Clementine looks at Aasim.

"I would love to assist you. It will be better now that we don't have to worry about Marlon's safe zone rules anymore. Can scout out farther for food during the winter months. I can give you some good boundaries with what we did in the past that can help you out later on today if you want my input." Aasim nodded.

"That would be great." Clementine gives him a slight nod of approval. She eyes Willy and chuckles at his droopy eyes, "You better switch out with Willy before he falls asleep on you. We will talk later okay."

Aasim nods and turns and heads up the ladder to relieve Willy of his lookout duties. Clementine shakes her head as she heads over to one of the picnic tables and pulls out a piece of paper to jot some notes down as she brings out the map of Ericson. Already has marks she made of new hunting grounds to cover and the camp of the Caravan that Louis said where the camp is at. She wants to make sure she is doing a good job in leading the group and making sure everyone has a full tummy, but when it comes to winter, she knows their food situation will be not as plentiful as it is now. The sun was raising in the morning sky by now as it turns the courtyard from a rosy hue to golden. She looks up from her notes as she admires the beauty in the trees as autumn is now in full bloom. She wasn't aware that Louis is awake and coming out of the dorms making his way to her.

…..

Violet nervously approaches the graveyard to find Tenn attending his sister's graves. Violet needs to have closure of her grief for Minnie and she wants to heal what Minnie had broke in her heart. Violet was too ashamed to ask Louis or AJ where Minnie was last seen before the walkers got her. She has to do this, on her own.

Violet comes up to Tenn and kneels beside him and puts purple flowers on Sophie's grave, placing her white hand on her cross. Paying respects. Tenn looks over his right shoulder and smiles at Violet for still caring about his sisters. Tenn then shyly spoke, "Thanks."

Violet hugs Tenn close, "I know I will find you here."

Tenn looks at his sisters' crosses, "I just want to come here and pay my respects before I attend the greenhouse." Tenn then eyes Violet, "I know Minnie hurt a lot of people, you injured Clementine and almost got me and Louis killed, but I still love her. She is still my sister, a part of me. And I don't know….I feel I needed to visit her and Sophie's graves."

Violet was silent for a moment as her eyes were fixed on the word on the cross that marked Minerva. She cast her gaze aside and focuses on Tenn. She heaves a sigh before she spoke to him on her private matter about what she plans to do today, "I hate to bring this up, especially with you still mourning her, like you need time to reflect on the twins so do I. Do you know where you last saw your sister Minerva before she….before she got eaten by walkers? Where did Louis lead you all after our fight with the Raiders?"

Tenn looks over at Violet as he eyes her closely, "The old covered wooden bridge, why?"

"Because I need to have some closer of my memories of your sister. It pains me every day of what I had lost when I saw her on the boat….and I need to do this to get over the love I had for her." Violet admitted.

"You can do that here with her cross," Tenn suggested.

"As much as that is a sweet gesture of you to suggest that Tenn, I need something more than her grave marker to get over her. I need to see her body, to fully…..let go, and say goodbye to my memories. I read in a book that Ruby gave me on healing and loss after... after Brody broke the news to me that Minnie died the first time." Violet puts her hand on her knees to slowly push herself up from the ground.

Tenn looks up at her, "You want me to go with you?"

Violet shook her head. "No, this is something I need to do for myself. Alone. I will be back before sundown and still manage to do the fishing that Clementine assign me to do. Thanks, Tenn." Tenn smiles at Violet with a kind smile and Violet returns his gesture. She turns and heads out of Ericson to the pathway that would lead her to Minerva's body.

…

Louis makes his way over to Clementine with a smile on his face just admiring her beauty. He feels so damn lucky to have a girl like Clementine his first love and only love. After all the shit he went through the universe gave him the best gift he couldn't ask for more.

Louis comes up from behind Clementine and wraps his arms around her shoulders. He felt her flinch a bit, but soon she melted in his embrace, and he imagine her smiling a warm smile right now. "I missed you this morning." He whispered.

Clementine looks up at him and smiles. She read his eyes as he leans down to leave a tender kiss on her lips. Her heart swelled when their lips met. God, she loves the feeling he gives to her. The moment lasted about a minute or two then Louis pulls away but still maintained eye contact with her. She softly spoke, "I didn't want to wake you. You needed the sleep, especially after what happened last night." She caught Louis breaking eye contact as he looks down at the ground.

"Yeah…" Louis spoke softly.

Clementine eyes her boyfriend, "You want to talk about."

Louis shook his head, "It hurts too much to talk about it. Honestly, I don't have words to say how I feel. When I have those dreams, it is like a bad movie I can't escape from, and it always feels like it is in a neverending loop. I relive every moment on the boat. And each time it becomes more and more real."

Clementine sets her pencil on the table and comes near him. "I wish you didn't have to suffer the way you are. I wish I would have been the one to kill not you. I'm used to it when you are not."

Louis felt her soft tender warm touch on his chest and he looks deep into those amber eyes, "I hate this pain too, but you help me more than you know darling, and I mean that." He then clears his throat, "So what are you making there?"

Clementine then shifts her gaze to look at the map, "Oh just ah…plans for the winter, and what to expect. And mental notes to keep our group far from you know what. If you have time later on today, would love your input along with Aasim's on expanding the hunting grounds for the winter. Since I know the fish intake will be hard to come by because in dead of winter the river will be frozen. And would like to know how you guys managed the food situation during winter before AJ and I came along."

Louis looks at her and was hesitant, "I think you should ask Aasim about that one. He thought out of a plan….me I just…"

Clementine nods. "You were irresponsible and only lived on day-to-day tasks."

"Yes…but that was before I knew you. Anyways I am not the best at thinking long-term about what the group needs. I try not to take charge because I don't want that responsibly if I do fuck it up." Louis admitted. "Which is why I relied on Marlon to do the shitty calls and I will support him on those calls and have his back. Will do the same for you my darling."

Clementine smiles her cute giddy smile when he calls her his darling. A little chuckle escapes through her lips, as she spoke to Louis, "You know you don't have to keep referring me to 'darling' all the time."

"I know, it was a bit of a pet name for you. Unless you are not into those, I will stop." Louis nervously smiles. Clementine shakes her head and nudges his gut a bit in a teasing fashion before she turns her attention to the map and her notes.

Louis looks down and sees she is writing names and saw she wrote his name, Louis curiously asks, "So what are the names for?"

"The next day chore schedule. I usually make them up in the morning." Clementine smiles.

"I see, and you have me where?" Louis eyes her paper.

Clementine flips it over as she looks at him, "You will find out in the next few days okay? I normally post it on the wall to the doorway in the dorms so everyone knows what they will be doing."

"I am guessing no special privileges of being the leader of the group's boyfriend huh." Louis shrugs and pouts a little.

"No sorry darling, I need to be fair here with the other kids in the school and can't favor you." Clementine smiles the look on his face was so priceless and adorable that she wanted to kiss him but held back. Instead, she tenderly touches his hand, "But you do have some privileges that no one else does."

Louis looks up and eyes her closely. Louis then cautiously asks, "And that is?"

Without an explanation, Clementine eyes him with teasing eyes, and a bit of flirtation goes along with it as she looks into his chocolate eyes. Louis then catches her drift, and he smiles a goofy smile, "Oh that…yes, very much enjoy that."

Clementine giggles at his reaction as she finds his dorkyness so damn cute at times, and she wonders how she gets so lucky to find a charming guy like him. In a million years she never thought she would find someone and have a chance at romance and falling in love. But here she is sitting beside a man who would go to the end of the world for her to see her happy. She gazes into his eyes a little bit longer then flips to a new page and studies the map a bit further.

Just then AJ comes in through the gates with Omar carrying wood. After he drops off the wood for Omar to use the fire and cook the meals he heads over to where Clementine and Louis are sitting. He looks at the two of them as if they are really happy. AJ loves seeing that he is not the only one who can bring out Clementine's happiness and seeing her happy with Louis made AJ's day. He soon drops his jealousy over Louis and accepts him as part of his and Clem's life now.

AJ then sits on the opposite side of Clementine and Louis as he looks at the map, "Going exploring today Clem? For supplies?"

"Not exactly bud, more so looking at options for winter months," Clementine said as she eyes the map and jot down words on the notepad she borrowed from Tenn.

AJ looks at the map then scans the area around him then back at Clementine, "But we don't have to worry about it now. It is still nice out. Some days are colder than others, but the air is warm still. And hunting will be fine."

Clementine looks up from her notes as she eyes her adoptive son, "It is fine now AJ, but as the seasons change so does our food supply. Remember what it was like being cold and hungry before our home."

AJ vaguely remembers, "A little. So what do you have planned out so far."

Clementine looks up from the map and is starting to get annoyed with the constant interruptions for her plan-making and strategizing for the group on how to survive the winter months. Louis picks up on her annoyance a bit and then came up with an idea to distract AJ so Clementine can focus on her task. Louis decided to keep AJ some company while Clementine works out plans for the upkeep of the school and plans for winter. He can tell AJ was becoming bothersome to her, so he decided to step in and be AJ's buddy and parent for the day while Clem worked.

"I can take him off your hands, Clem." Louis offered.

Clementine cast him a look as she arched her brows a bit. "Really?"

"Yeah, I like that. Can't I Clem?" AJ pleads to Clementine to go with Louis.

"Really darling I can look after him. I'm great with kids. Remember I took care of him when you were unconscious the day we first met, and nothing happened to him." Louis reminded her. Clementine looks away shyly, smiling at the memory of their first meeting.

AJ rolled his eyes at the two teens flirting. But at the same time he is happy that Louis makes Clementine happy, and seeing her like this makes him happy as well.

Clementine then readjusts her eyes to Louis, "How can I forget that." Clementine smiled at the memory. Then she eyes him and AJ carefully and gave him the ok as he won his case, "Ok." but before Louis can celebrate with her adoptive son she reminds him of her strict rules with AJ. "But on one condition. Don't do anything stupid to get you or him in trouble. Do I make myself clear here?"

Louis nods as he looks into her amber gaze. He knows she is being stern here, as she tries so hard to be a responsible leader for Ericson and a parent to AJ. Louis took a breath and answers her, "I promise I will keep him safe inside these walls. Scouts honor." As Louis holds up his three fingers like in boy scouts, doing the scouts' honor pledge.

He knew that got to her as she rolled her eyes and a smile came across her lips. She then plants a kiss on his cheek before he gets up from the table to lead AJ away from Clementine as she works. Clementine held onto his left forearm a bit as she whispers in his ear something that she didn't want AJ to hear, "I should be done this evening. And thank you personally for taking him. He loves you, you know."

Louis smiles at her and plants a small kiss on her lips. Every time they kiss Louis melts and his heart flies. Clementine and Louis share a loving gaze look before the two part ways. He loves getting her to soften her heart a bit. Louis felt a yank on his arm that snapped him out of his love gaze from Clementine's beautiful golden eyes.

"Ok, so what do you have planned for me music man," AJ asks.

"Music man?" Louis cocks his head to the side a bit at the notion that AJ called him.

"Yeah, that is what Clem kind of refers to you as," AJ admitted. "I hear her talking in her sleep a bit, whenever I pretend I am sleeping."

Music man, that is a new one. Louis thought. I kind of dig it. Music man.

Once they left Clementine to plan for today's work with food and plans to patrol, AJ walks alongside Louis. AJ asks, "So what is scouts honor?"

"Oh…. ah…its umm…. It's an honor pledge or oath you do in either boy or girl scouts. And that is when boys or girls join a group back before the world turned to shit and learn how to survive in the wilderness and be honoree to protect the forest and all that crap." Louis tries to explain but is not sure if he is explaining it right.

"Oh, so Ummm, like you are doing now with hunting for the school and doing chores," AJ asks.

"Kind of. It makes better sense in the old world." Louis said, "But we don't have to worry too much about old traditions. At least that is part of the old tradition." Louis leads AJ to the admin building where his piano is. "So you want to play some music or read? Or have me read a story to you."

"What kind of story?" AJ asks.

Louis smiles as he goes over to the old dusty bookshelf. "Have you ever heard of The Lord of the Rings before?"

"But there is no such thing as Lords of rings," AJ said as he cocks his head as Louis pulls out the book.

"Oh but in this book it does, which is the greatest story ever told to mankind, at least I think so," Louis says as he plops on the couch.

AJ is a bit intrigued with this idea and asks, "So what is this book about?"

"It actually is a trilogy, but we will start off with The Fellowship of the Ring. And fellowship means company or friendship that bonds a group of people together. It is about this dark lord named Saruon, who wants to control all of Middle Earth so he creates a master ring, known as the one ring to rule them all, and bind the world into darkness. Middle Earth also has elves, dwarfs, mankind, wizards, orcs, and creatures known as hobbits. The main character in this book is a hobbit, named Frodo." Louis explains.

AJ's eyes lit up at the idea, "cool. What are Hobbits?"

"Short people, like midgets but not. They are like this high." Louis demonstrates the height of what hobbits are like with his arms. This made AJ giggle as AJ settles himself down to get comfy and allowed Louis to tell this story. Louis took it, as he wants to learn about Lord of the Rings.

Louis starts off reading the book and decided to act out the voices of each character in the book to give it a more dramatic effect, which seems to light up AJ's world as he never will know of the old world before the age of walkers of the beauty and magic of the film is. So to give it more effectiveness, he will take it upon himself to bring AJ a little bit of the old world to him in his reading of Lord of the Rings. It might drive Clementine crazy, but giving this to AJ will be worth it.

"So it starts off as a preamble of the story of how this one ring is the most powerful ring in middle earth and everyone who comes in the procession of it, gets corrupted by its power. This ring is cursed with evil. " Louis explains.

"Why is it cursed?" AJ asks.

"Because the Dark Lord Saruon, cursed it and made a master ring that rules all others. Saruon is not a good person." Louis explains.

"So….he's a monster. They should kill him." AJ got on his knees.

"Hold on little dude, let me get to it. " Louis chuckles. He then reads off the preamble to the story that gives the whole backstory of why the one ring is so powerful and drives everyone into darkness,

Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,

Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,

Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,

One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne.

In the Land of Mordor where Shadows lie.

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them.

One Ring to bring them all and into the darkness bind them.

In the Land of Mordor, where Shadows Lie.

Louis looks at AJ as he leans closer as Louis began the epic story. It tickles him that AJ is interested in one of Louis's favorite books as Louis reads the first few chapters of changing his voice to match the different characters AJ laughs and giggles and keeps on pushing Louis to read more. AJ made the comment he really loves Pippin as he is so funny.

…

Violet trucked along the pathway leading to the bridge where Tenn said that was the last time Louis, Clementine, AJ, and Tenn all met up with Minnie and fought her as they all try to escape and head back to the school. She rounded the corner of the woods, and she can see the outline of the roof of the old bridge. Every step was dreadful to take. She didn't want to see her former lover zombiefied or worse, but she knows she needs to heal her heart from what Minerva broke a few months ago.

Every step felt like lead, and a sharp knife dug into her heart. She never let anyone see her cry. She tried to hide it from Louis back in the pasted, but he was the only true friend Violet had. She sometimes plays it off like she is annoyed with him and tells Louis to shut it, but deep down Louis has been the only one in the school to care for her, and be the only friend she can rely on. One time after hearing about walkers getting Minerva, Violet cried in Louis's arms for hours. Louis held her until the sobbing stopped. Violet wipes the tears from her eyes as she approached the big rifted cliffside.

Violet's heart raced and aches at the same time to find what her heart wishes it didn't have to see. Violet closes her eyes as droplets of water flowed out of her eyes. Violet counted to three and regains her breathing some, as she opens her eyes to look across the bridge of her dead lover.

From afar where Violet stood on the old roadway she saw Minerva's rotting body of bits and pieces of her body eaten and gone. What was left made Violet's stomach churn. Violet can barely recognize Minerva's body what stuck out was her coat and boots. Violet crashes to the ground. She threw her hands forward as she let out a sound of despair. She sobs on the old asphalt road her heart from what Minnie left behind. When Violet got control of her sobs she closes her eyes as she softly spoke to her former lover.

"I am sorry I wasn't there for you when Marlon and Brody gave you up for safety. I lived with that guilt of never saying goodbye to you then Minnie. I won't repeat that action twice, so here is my goodbye to you." Violet reopens her pale green eyes, but she can't view to see Minnie like that so she focuses her gaze on the rocks in the river down below. "You have been my first love, my only love I have ever known, probably in my lifetime. For a year I hide away my heart after Marlon gave you and Sophie up. My heart was lost that day of hearing about your supposed death. And since then, I've lost who I was and pushed everyone away whoever carried or tried to care for me or give a damn I was still alive and breathing. I wished it was me who Marlon traded away, not you." Violet pauses as she looks up at the bridge cautiously then looks away and rubs the snot from her nose onto her sleeve. " When I got the word you were not dead, my heart burst with happiness, and hoping to reunite with you. Then when I got kidnapped and looked to you for help, you deceived me. You betrayed our love and the trust I once found in you. What I thought you were my light and hope, turns out to be my nightmare and darkness. I loved you, Minnie. Then my heart broke when you chose to stand by Lilly and the Raiders instead of fighting for me, for us." Violet angrily shouted into the empty air.

Violet musters up her courage to say the words she wished she had spoken when she last saw Minnie alive. "I am letting go of my memory of you. You lost the right to my heart, and my love, and call me mine when you chose to become a monster and betray everything. At least this time, I can finally say goodbye to you and not at the stupid cross I made for you back at school. Goodbye Minerva." Her mind is telling Violet to say hope you rot in hell, but Violet's heart can't bring her to say those words. With a silent sigh, she releases her breath and looks down at the water.

When Violet looks, she sees someone down by the water's edge collecting something in the water. She knows it is not a walker. It is a girl with long dark brown hair. What the….who is that? Violet thought. Violet tracks her eyes to the strange person down the river. She is moving northward up the river. Violet gets up and follows this figure.

Violet stumbles over rocks and roots as she keeps the figure in her eyesight. She wants to keep out of sight, so the stranger doesn't know she is being tracked. Violet watches as the figure carefully wades into the water to look at something. Violet tilts her head to one side and squints her eyes as to what this girl was looking at. Violet thought she was taking fish, but the water looks too fast to catch anything useful. The girl stared at the water searching and found nothing that she was seeking. So the girl pressed onward, and Violet follows.

Violet saw a gap that she needs to cross, and there is no easy way if she wants to follow the stranger. Violet took a breath and jumped to the other side of the ravine. Violet scrambles to find a hold, and she thanks her lucky stars that a vine was there to pull up on. Once she is on solid ground, she pants to catch her breath and moves on until a walker comes out of nowhere and surprises Violet. Shit. Violet reaches for her meat cleaver, but the walker comes at her too quickly. Violet pushes back the walker avoiding the jaws and punches it to give some distance. Violet takes hold of her meat cleaver again, but the walker grabs at her making Violet lose her balance, and she plunges into the fast-flowing river.

Violet was taken under the current of the river and fought her way up for air, she came to the surface and was swimming desperately to safety. Boulders were everywhere as she tries to avoid them, but it was too late. One hit her in the side the other her leg. Just when she thought she would be knocked out when she was heading for a bolder that would do a number on her, she felt a tug on her hoodie as someone was helping her on the shore. Violet crawls to safety with the help of the unknown force of something. Violet coughs up water as she shakes with weariness. She slowly raised her eyes, and the person she least expected to save her was Maya as she was standing a few feet from her. "You!"

Maya looks at her "a thank you would be surfaced to hear right about now."

Violet eyes her coolly, "Thanks for saving me, but I could have handled it." Violet shifts her weight onto her quads, to get up.

Maya just shook her head and rolled her eyes a bit at Violet. Then her eyebrows knitted together as she saw Violet struggling to get up and noticed she was injured. Something came over Maya as she felt compassionate toward Violet, as she had never felt this feeling about anyone before.

Violet tries to get up but sinks back into the sandy dirt as she rubs her leg, where she must have badly bruised it in the rapids. "Fuck."

Maya then kneels in front of Violet and inspects her injury. "Here, let me take a look."

Violet looks at her and then shifts her gaze away, "I'm fine just got to rest."

"You are not fine, your hurt and I can help," Maya said in a calm and soft voice, which she had never voiced to anyone. "Please."

Violet eyes her with her sharp gaze and looking into Maya's soft brown eyes frightened and comforted Violet all at once. Violet was hesitant to trust her, but she could tell by Maya's face and eyes she isn't going to harm her. Non-verbally Violet raises her pant leg to her injured leg for Maya to examine her injury.

Maya looked down at Violet's bruised leg, and a sad frown came on her face. She reaches in her leather bag for a jar of ointment and what looks like handmade gauze. Maya met Violet's eyes and softly spoke to her, "Do you mind if I put this on and wrap up your leg."

Violet looks at Maya and then at the jar in her hand, "What is it?"

Maya smiles, "An ointment I made to soothe cuts and burses. And gauze."

Violet looks at her with caution and then nods for Maya to do whatever it takes to fix up her leg. Maya slowly reaches into the jar and places the ointment on Violet's leg. She felt Violet flinching when the ointment made contact with her skin, but Maya worked to rub it in deeply for the healing properties of her meds would do wonders. There was some heat and tension brewing between them, and Maya felt something stirred in her heart of helping Violet. This girl has a hold on me, I don't know why. I look at her, and I feel….I feel drawn to her. Her pale green eyes are like a soothing meadow of a distant land. God, what is happening to me? Why do I have these feelings when I look at her…Christ, she is eyeing me. Think of something else, Maya….God, why does she look at me like that?

Violet looks at Maya as she works the ointment on her leg. Something about her captures Violet's attention. She studies Maya's focused face and her crisp brown eyes looking down at her hands. Those brown eyes made Violet feel strange inside. She doesn't want to admit that there is a spark between them. She doesn't want to fall and have her heart broken once again. Violet was too stunned to say anything. She doesn't know what to say to this stranger. But seeing Maya be all soft and concerned for Violet's well-being shifts Violet's cold, distant opinion of her from her first meeting.

Maya takes the gauze and wraps Violet's leg, and uses some duct tape to seal the gauze in place. Maya then puts the jar of ointment back in her bag and moves a pace or away from Violet.

Violet rolled down her pant leg and looked at Maya, and a genuine soft voice flowed out of her mouth to this girl, "Why did you help me?"

Maya looks at her with soft eyes, "Because you were in pain and a person in need, and I wanted to, and hate seeing someone in pain." Maya then sits down across from her. Violet hugs her knees close to her body and shivers from the cold wind lapping at her wet clothes and skin. Maya then looks at her and looks over where she started a small fire, "You want to sit by the fire to get warm? I started one not too long ago. You don't have to stay if you don't want to. I know you probably have your group to get back to."

Violet was hesitant, but the fire did sound good. She closes her eyes and then silently nods. Violet gets up to try and walk. When she got up, her bruise leg made her collapse to the ground again. Maya notices this and then comes to Violet's side. Without the words being spoken, Violet accepts Maya's help with the fire Maya made.

Maya's stronghold on Violet's shoulder was strangely comforting. Violet looks over and starts to see Maya differently. She tried to hide it, but there was a slight blush on her cheeks seeing Maya in the soft sunlight. She doesn't want to fall for this Indian warrior girl. Not this soon after…after letting go of Minerva.

Maya eases Violet down on a small log by the fire. This was strange for her to do by sympatric and compassionate for a stranger. Maya knows something is forming in her heart towards this blonde hazel-eyed girl. And she, too, wants to hide this feeling.

Violet looks at Maya as she puts a kettle over the fire and drops some leaves in the water. "You making some tea?"

Maya shakes her head as a cheeky smile forms on her face. "No. More like abstracting the juices from this plant to make some medicine."

"Medicine?" Violet asks.

Maya looks up from stirring the pot as the glow of the fire illuminates her copper skin. "I make my own medicine instead of relying on pharmaceuticals all the time. I use my grandmother and my tribe back in Jackson, Wyoming, knowable and learn to use the earth for healing properties."

Violet looks at Maya. God, even in the firelight, she looks strangely beautiful. Stop it, Vi. "Healing properties? Tribe? Are you Native American, like part of the Chippewa or something?" That got a chuckle out of Maya.

"Oh, you are cute at times to make assumptions that all of us Native Americans belong to one tribe only." Maya looks up and flashes Violet an invitation of flirting.

"That is the only tribe I know from one of my books in school," Violet replies in her defense.

"Okay, fair. Chippewa tribe were a famous tribe and more popular." Maya said as she sat down on the opposite log facing Maya.

Violet felt this heat growing inside her and not just from the fire, but something else. She dares to ask, "So what tribe are you from, or where?"

"Lakota originally. Before the world got like this." Maya replies.

"What are you doing over here in these woods and not by your group?" Violet eyes her and tries not to let Maya get to her.

"Collecting plants along the river or near it. I was scouting one day for supplies and found a patch of these marigot gold flowers upriver and these near or by the river where my group is. I was running low in my spot. I usually pick them, so decided to wander a bit until I found more. I am not stealing any food, I promise. I know my group and your group are competing for a food source, and I respect another person's terriroty and not hunt when every food counts. But I am guessing no one in your group takes into herbal therapy and looks into plants, so I decided to scavenge what I can with plants to take back to my group so I can make different medicines when we run out of our main supply." Maya explains. She doesn't know why she is this open to Violet. But something about her makes her want to be open a little and not so closed off and conservative of what she shares.

Violet nods and eyes her chocolate eyes, "Well, I appreciate that. Respecting my group's food resource."

"No problem." Maya gave Violet a warm smile, and for the first time, Violet reciprocated the warm smile gesture back. Maya saw Violet's cheeks flare up with a little red hue. And Maya had a warm fuzzy feeling in her hands and feet. Maya shook her head and apologies to Violet on their first meeting each other, "Look, sorry if we may have gotten on the wrong foot when we first met. I might have been prying a bit too much, but I wanted to know if you were part of the correlation up north with the Delta or the bandits, the Scythe Lords. Sorry came off as aggression towards you."

Violet looked away, and her eyes slowly came back to Maya's, "Yeah, I am sorry I came off a bit too harsh as well. I had a bad experience meeting new people in the woods, and I can't trust that they are good or mean well when they say they are not a threat."

It is now Maya's turn to blush some. She shakes her head to clear such emotion, then she turns and faces Violet and extends her hand out, "Okay, let me make it formal then. I am Maya Kadoka from a misfit group of survivors."

Violet looked at her hand that was outstretched and then cautiously took Maya's hand and shook it. A smile broke open on Violet's face when she touched Maya's hand. Her eyes slowly meet Maya's as she repeats the introduction back at Maya. "I'm Violet Miller, a survivor of a group of kids in this woods." She felt Maya squeezing her hand as they shook hands to establish a mutual friendship. However, something is starting to form between the two of them that is more than just friendship.

Maya felt Violet letting go of her hand, and she, too, looked away, feeling a bit coy about shaking Violet's hand. Violet looks at her and asks, "Are your group members going to come and find you?"

Maya tends back to the pot over the fire, "They don't know I am out this far. I do this when I am not scouting for supplies or hunting. I make my own medicine."

Violet looks at her as she arches her eyebrows, "Really?" Then she glances around and looks at the leaves on the trees turning reddish brown, "With what?"

Maya smiles and pulls her leather animal skin bag out to show Violet, "With plants I find and herbs I know. This way, my group will not run low on medical supplies, and there will always be backups in case something happens."

Violet looks down at the ground to ponder on that, then she looks back up at Maya, "I don't believe in herbology thank you. I rely on medicine I find when I scavenge."

Maya looks into Violet's eyes, "Not a believer in herbology huh? Then how is your leg feeling with the medicine I put on."

Violet took her eyes off Maya and then shifted them to her leg that she patched up. She doesn't want to admit that Maya's medicine is helping ease the pain in her leg, but she plays it off as Maya catches onto that, "You probably use something else to patch up my leg."

That response got a chuckle from Maya as she looked at Violet, "take it you are not a healer in your group."

"No, that is…that is someone else's job, not mine. I don't tend to the sick or the wounded." Violet huffs.

"So you are not your group's leader or their healer. What do you do in your group exactly." Maya eyes Violet closely this time.

"I am not going to tell you because…as far as I know, we are enemies." Violet huffs, and she shifts her gaze to look at the embers of the fire.

Maya then drops the teasing act as she can sense Violet is closing up. "I can sense you are not the trusting type, and you came across a group of strangers that took advantage of you or your group."

Violet slowly raises her eyes to Maya's rich brown ones, "How do you know that as I didn't say anything?"

Maya gave a kind, sweet smile to her, "When I said I had a gift when we met, I really do have a gift. I have a gift of insight. It is like looking into a window of someone else's life. And I get that by touching, and sensing the air around me or feeling someone else's pain like yours. It is a gift and a curse. I got it from my ancestors and a bit from my mother and grandmother. They both had the gift of insight as well."

Violet gave a scoff of disbelief, "Okay…now you are crazy."

Maya then takes the pot off the fire, "I've been called that. A kook too."

"Well, at least you own the title," Violet said and immediately wanted to take those words back as soon as they left her mouth.

"You don't believe me do you." Maya looks over at Violet.

"Not really, no. Sounds a bit farfetched." Violet replies.

Maya nods and then sits next to Violet. Violet was surprised by this as she felt warm feelings in her heart flaring up when Maya sat next to her. She hadn't felt this way since she started to warm up to Clementine when she first came to the school. Violet looks at her. "What…are you doing?"

"Proving to you my gift is real. Give me your hand." Maya said.

Violet was hesitant, but she did what Maya said. Maya touched Violet's hands and felt enormous pain from her. Heartache, betrayal, loss of love, abandonment from a friend or friends, death of a friend or lover. "Wow…I can see why you have such trust issues. People you loved either betrayed you or left you feeling abandoned." Maya then opens her eyes and looks into Violet's hazel green eyes. She can tell by the depths of those green pools that it is all true. Violet looks away from Maya and not wanting to confirm it.

"You get all that by the touch of my hand," Violet spoke.

"Yes. And I can hear your voice as you voice your hurt. Someone named Minnie kept popping up. Ex-lover I am presuming." Maya looks at her.

Violet turns to look at her with shocked eyes, and her mouth agape a bit from what Maya just said out loud, "I never mentioned her name to you. Ever."

"I told you, I have a gift of insight, and I get a glance of another person's life through a window of time. Where I hear voices and sometimes see fragments of what happened." Maya said. "And this Clementine, you felt abandoned because she didn't save you, and you got kidnapped by the Delta."

"I was….I was hurt and angry with everything being thrown at me. I was confused and my heart broken. I now understand it wasn't her fault…" Violet looks away.

"But you still have resentment," Maya spoke the words Violet was trying to say.

"yeah…I don't know…maybe." Violet looks at the ground and then at the fire embers. "I guess part of me resents her not saving me, so I don't have to get traumatized by losing someone I loved twice. I wished I didn't have to see…didn't have to have my heart be deceived by the one person in this world I gave my heart to."

Maya knows she is referring to this girl named Minnie, "Minnie."

Violet closed her eyes and nodded in silence as tears streamed down her face. Violet looks at the fire and tells Maya of her past lover, "Back before Clementine came and became my group's leader, we had another guy who I learned recently gave my former lover away to a raider group called the Delta, as you may have encountered before. They turned my beloved Minerva into a soldier and brainwashed her. So when I got captured, I had to see my former lover betray me and our love for the sake of her new home. I wished Clementine would have saved me, so I didn't have to…look into the eyes of my lover and be betrayed." Violet looked over her shoulder as Maya was close to her. Too close for Violet's comfort, but she strangely felt calm in her presence. "I feel like I am sharing a bit too much with someone I don't even know or trust."

Maya looks at her, "Well….we can be secret friends if you want, and I am a vault. Whatever you share with me, I won't blab to my group. I am not that kind of person."

Violet can sense Maya is true to her words, but she still holds reserves of telling her school's location, "Thanks, appreciate it. But I still will not tell you information on my group's whereabouts. For safety reasons, so I don't endanger the few people I still care about."

"No problem, and I respect and admire that. Looking out for your group's safety is smart and noble of you." Maya smiles. "I, too, think the same way. For now, until trust is established between us, we will keep our group camps low-key."

Violet is beginning to like this Maya person and respects Violet's boundaries of not pushing to get information. "Secret friends, you say, huh."

"Yeah, unless you do want your group to know." Maya comment.

"No, not really," Violet said. She then looks at Maya and blushes as her warm smile gets her. She then coughs a bit and looks at the sky as she needs to head back to do some fishing before dark. "I need to get going and head back before it gets too dark, and people in my group will wonder where I am. Thanks for the help and patching me up, and for our….talk. You are a nice person Maya. Not what I expect coming from another group."

"You want help to get to where you need to go." Maya offers.

"Thanks, but I think I can manage," Violet said. She pushes herself up from the ground and staggers backward.

Maya gets up and lends Violet a hand to get up. Violet shyly takes her hand, and Maya helps Violet up from sitting. Sparks flare up in their hearts as they look into each other's eyes for a moment. Violet turned her head slightly, and her cheeks were flaring. She knows Maya caught her feelings for her as she told her she has the gift of insight, but Violet can't figure out if Maya has the same ones.

"Well, Nice meeting you, Violet, hope to cross paths again sometime," Maya said as her cheeks were flaring from the rush of feelings Violet was giving her.

Violet looks at her and smiles a real smile, this time to her, "Me too. You are a good person, Maya, and someone worth getting to know. Secret friends does have a nice ring to it. Maybe we can meet around the river as you find the needed herbs. I will be fine with that."

"And get to know more about each other if you want. You seem to have a lot of history behind those green depths of your eyes, and that is the kind of history I would love to learn about if you want." Maya said and accidentally came out as a pickup line if that is still a thing, and maybe a slight flirt. Whatever she said made Violet blush more, and a genuine smile broke on her lips. Maya displays the same action.

Violet chuckled this time, "I would like that. And would love to know more about your culture and your gift. You seem like someone I can learn from too." Violet casts her gaze into Maya's eyes one last time, then she slowly parts her way back to the school, "Well, I got to go. Bye, Maya, until next time."

"Yeah, until next time. See you around, Violet." Maya turns and quietly says to herself, see you around, Violet. What is wrong with me? Why does she make me feel so flustered? Why do I have feelings for her…am I.. Maya casts her to look to see Violet disappearing into the forest. Am I falling for a girl my age? Why do I have these feelings for her, or that they exist when I am with her? Why do they priest when I am around her? Why do her eyes gets into my soul, and I act all nervous around her. Maya wanted to go after Violet and make sure she got to her camp safely, but from the vibe Violet was giving her earlier, she knew Violet wouldn't be okay with it. Maya can tell Violet still holds her reservation about trusting her. When Maya offered, she got the notion of Violet's hesitancy to allow her to follow her into her territory. But still, she can't help but be worried for her, and her eyes still linger in the direction where Violet disappeared.

"Stop it, Maya. You know it is forbidden love to fall for someone the same gender as you." Maya said out loud. Maya closes her eyes and tries to distract herself from her on-set new feelings forming in her heart for Violet. "It's just a crush. You can get over a crush." She plays with the fire some more and finishes making her medicine for her group. But the more she keeps distracting her feelings, the more they grow, and she can't get those green spring meadow eyes off of her mind. Violet made her way into Maya's heart, and she didn't want to, but she couldn't stop her heart that day from falling for her.

…..

It was mid-evening when Louis had to stop for dinner. "Well, little dude, this is a good place to stop now."

"But I want more, like what happens to Frodo, Sam, Marry, and Pippin in the prancing pony. And Gandalf. Does something happen to him?" AJ asks so many questions as Louis laughs a bit.

"I will read more later, but now it is time to eat." Louis glances outside as the evening shadows peer through the windows casting a shadow into the music room.

"Can you read me to sleep with this story?" AJ asks as Louis and he makes their way outside.

Louis looks down at him and smiles "of course."

AJ hops a bit and then scampers off to where Willy and Tenn are at as he tells them about this cool new story Louis introduced him to. Louis made a silent motion with his arm yes! a win for Louis. I got AJ hooked on my favorite book. Clem is going to kill me.

He sits down a few picnic tables away from AJ while waiting for Clementine to join him. He spots her as she makes her way to him. They settle down and enjoy their evening meals. She looked at him and held his hand as he scooted closer to her feeling her body heat radiating into his. Clementine looks at AJ and then to Louis, "Well, whatever you did today got him happy and talkative."

Louis shyly smiles, "I may have started something with him."

Clementine looks at her food, then back up at her boyfriend with a curious glance, "Like what."

"I read him my favorite book." Louis smiles at her innocently.

"What book?" Clementine presses on.

Before Louis can answer her, AJ comes over along with Tenn and Willy. "Louis, can you share Tenn and Willy of the book you read to me this afternoon? You know about the magic ring that is cursed with evil and Frodo and the dark lord. Oh, and Gandalf the gray."

Clementine turns slightly to look at Louis as she arches her eyebrows at him. Louis then turns away in embarrassment and blushes a little. Louis was silent for a moment, then smiled at AJ, "Maybe sometime tomorrow, ok, bud." AJ gleefully jumps and rushes over with Tenn to draw and make pictures as he makes pictures of Frodo, Sam, and the evil ring of Mordor.

Once the kids left, Louis cast a glance at Clementine as he innocently confessed what he did with AJ today, "Yeah….I may have introduced AJ to Lord of the Rings this afternoon."

Clementine looks at him, and he thinks she will be mad, but she shakes her head and giggles. Louis looks at her, "What is so funny?"

Clementine eyes him after she settles herself down from her giggling. "I just never have pictured you to like those books. Doesn't seem to fit your nature."

Louis chuckles at her comment. "Well, it is. One of my favorite books, to be honest." Louis eyes her, "When I had a bad time here at Ericson, back before the walkers came and things went to shit, I would spend hours upon hours reading the full trilogy of Lord of the Rings. I took inspiration from Pippin, believe it or not, which is a character in the book. I guess I can relate to him the most. I don't know I guess it was my source of comfort. And I want to give AJ a little bit of what I loved about the story and try to give him a little slice of what we grew up with in the film, so I acted out the different characters as I read to him." Louis admitted. He looks back at Clementine, who is eyeing him in awe. He loves that look on her face when she is like this.

Clementine looks at him, then unexpectedly leans up and kisses him tenderly on his lips. She loves this quality of him, of giving her little boy and herself comfort and joy in this shitty time and still bringing joy and fun into their lives when every day it was a struggle to do and keep each other alive. After they share a tender kiss, Clementine pulls away and tenderly strokes Louis's freckled face, gazing into his beautiful chocolate eyes.

Still breathless from that kiss, Louis took a breath, "What…..what was that for?"

"A thank you." Clementine answers as she continues to gaze into his eyes. Louis squints his face as she giggles a little when she replies, "For giving AJ something special that doesn't remind him of this life and gives him a bit of the old world, something I never can give to him. You have a gift, Louis, I mean it. A gift to make people smile and be happy and forget about this world for a moment. It is what I come to love and adore about you."

Louis melts at her words and embraces Clementine in a warm embrace. And he laces his hands to hers. They held each other for a moment then Clementine parted ways to finish their meal.

Violet comes in through the gates carrying the fish. She knew she was a bit behind schedule, but the fall and then meeting Maya again set things back. She took a bit longer to fish as she was still processing what went on between her and Maya. The whole time fishing, she couldn't shake Maya's intense stare, and her eyes sparked something in her heart. She didn't want to fall for someone else and let her heart be broken. She is still trying to recover from Minerva's betrayal of what she did to her heart.

Violet dropped off the bucket of fish at Omar's station. Ruby was dishing out her seconds when she saw Violet come back, "Where have you been?"

Violet looks up at Ruby, "was fishing and checking the traps. Took longer than I suspected and lost track of time." Violet said. She lied because she didn't want anyone else to know what she was doing with her time.

"I see. Well, dinner has been ready if you want some. We can use the fish tomorrow." Ruby said. She looks and sees Violet limping, "What happened to your leg?"

"Oh, ran into some walkers when checking the traps and fell and fucked up some. But should be fine in the next day or two." Violet said as she avoided Ruby's gaze.

"You want me to look at it?" Ruby asks.

"No. I said it should be fine in the next day or so. I'm fine, really." Violet said as she turned to walk away and not ask any more questions.

Ruby thought that was rather strange, and she noticed Violet was acting a bit squirrely. She shakes it off but will keep an eye out for her behavior.

Violet takes her bowl of stew and heads over to where Tenn and AJ are drawing. Violet loves to see them get along, and she feels a lot more comfortable with Tenn being around her. Violet was eating her stew as Tenn looked up from his drawing, "How was your thing you had to do?"

Violet looks at Tenn and slows her eating, "It went well. I felt like I had a goodbye. Thanks for allowing me to do that on my own. I needed that." Tenn smiles at her and then looks at AJ's drawing and shakes his head as he goes into his own.

Violet looks at AJ's drawing and then looks at him, "What are you drawing there, AJ?"

"Hobbits," AJ said, too focused on his drawing to glance up.

"Hobbits?" Violet arches an eyebrow. "What the fuck is that?"

AJ looked up from his drawing and pointed at Violet, "Swear, and it is a creature…from Middle Earth. Frodo and Sam are on an adventure to destroy the ring of power."

Violet looks to Tenn as he shrugs and shakes his head as her eyes refocus on AJ, "Ah huh, are you making up tales again."

"No. It is from the book Louis read to me this afternoon. Lord of the Rings." AJ exclaimed.

Violet now picks up what AJ is saying and glances over at Clementine and Louis, and rolls her eyes, "He got you into his geeky nonsensical book, did he."

"It is not nonsensical…it is awesome," AJ said as he went back to drawing.

Violet rolls her eyes again but chuckles a bit at how well AJ loves Louis's ideas. She thought to herself, Louis is in trouble for bringing his geeky things into Clem's life. AJ is going to drive her crazy. She looks at AJ, "Well if you ever want a real story, I will tell it to you sometime if you want."

AJ looks at his drawing and eyes Violet, "Does it have magic and wizards or a dark evil Lord trying to take over the earth!"

"No, no magic. It is about a young man named Nick Carraway and his interactions with a mysterious millionaire named Jay Gatsby. And Gatsby's obsession with reuniting with his former lover Daisy Buchanan. It is set in the 1920s the Jazz age of America." Violet briefly describes her favorite book.

AJ made a face at her and shook his head, "That sounds kind of boring. Lord of the Rings is so so awesome and more exciting."

Violet shakes her head, "You just don't appreciate good ligature when you come across it."

"I do too, or getting exposed to it by Louis. And Clem." AJ said.

"Louis doesn't have real taste in literature. Just immature geeky things." Violet said.

"Lord of the Rings is not immature. It is awesome and deals with the ring of power, a dark lord taking over the earth, and young heroes trying to save the world. And Elves and wizards…" AJ tries to explain.

"Okay, enough, I get it. Well, maybe after Louis reads Lord of the Rings to you, he will expose you to Harry Potter." Violet replies.

"Harry Potter, what is that," AJ asks.

Violet looks at him and then waves her hand, "Never mind another geeky book series."

Just then, Clementine signals AJ for bed, "Okay, Alvin Jr, time for bed. You have hunting duty with Aasim and Louis tomorrow."

"Okay." AJ finishes his drawing and thanks Tenn for sharing his pencils with him and paper and runs up to Clementine, "Look what I made!"

Clementine looked at it, and she was confused with the two figures on a pathway. "Okay, bud, you are going to have to help me out on this one."

"That is Frodo and Sam from Lord of the Rings. Frodo is crying the cursed ring to Mordor to get it destroyed to save Middle Earth." AJ explains. "I can't draw the dark Lord himself, so I made Frodo and Sam leave the Shire."

Clementine looked at AJ's drawing, and a smile broke as she glanced back at Louis, who was finishing his bowl of stew. AJ looks at her, "Do you like it?"

Clementine smiles and touches his cheek, "I do. And I adore you have an imagination, even though I have no idea what this story is."

"It is an awesome story. Louis said he would read more to me for bedtime. He is a good storyteller, does all the characters' voices." AJ said.

"I'm sure it is." Clementine then walks in line with AJ to their room.

AJ looks at Clementine and notices Louis isn't by her side, "Where is Louis?"

"He is finishing up supper. Then he will be joining us for sleep," Clementine said.

"Oh, okay." AJ walks a pace or two ahead of Clementine. AJ hops in bed, waiting for Louis to tell him what happens.

Clementine shakes her head at AJ's excitement and hangs AJ's drawing next to the one he made for her. She giggles at his goofy drawings and finds them adorable. Clementine makes her way to her bedside and finishes taking off her prosthetic foot when Louis comes in. He smiles at her warmly, and she tilts her head in AJ's direction.

Louis follows her gaze and sees AJ getting ready for the next chapter, "Can you read me one more chapter from that awesome book you read to me this afternoon."

"Sure, little man, just one thing first," Louis said as he held up one finger. He turns his gaze from AJ then onto Clementine, walks slowly in her direction, and gave her a light kiss on her cheek, and then eyes her with his eyes; she gets the message and smiles at him. He turns and sits on AJ's bed and pulls out The Fellowship of the Ring. Louis opens up to the part he last left off from this afternoon. He looks up at Clementine, "Okay, don't laugh when I start to read when I switch from characters."

"I will try not to," Clementine responds. She was genuinely curious about this book that got AJ so animated. Louis started reading aloud to AJ, and Clementine's heart melted. She never knew this from him of reading so well to AJ. And she looked at Louis differently. And something in her heart told her she wanted this for her future kids if she wanted some. She never thought Louis would be fatherly material, but he is. Seeing how he is with AJ and caring for him made her heart soar with pride. Clementine is starting to admit that she has fallen hard for Louis. I think I am falling in love with Louis.

***Sorry for the long overdue chapter, going kind of long. Comic con happened then me falling a bit behind in my studies, almost having a mental breakdown from being too overwhelmed, with my job and school work. I'm all good now. Anyways hope you all enjoy it. Had a lot of fun writing Maya again as I am exploring her character and being a match to Violet. A better match. ***