Lee looked thoughtfully at Clementine. The girl was sleeping soundly, pulling up a part of her blouse and sinking her small, delicate face into his chest. She refused to sleep alone that night, even though her bed and Lee's were side by side.

He knew it wasn't exactly out of fear, Clementine was a smart girl, and she already had it in mind that the St John's wouldn't be coming back, she herself had seen him take care of them, both of them.

Knocking Danny out with several blows to the head, and beating Andy to near death, abandoning them both on the farm soon after, watching the power generators go off, and the walkers begin to pass through the now powerless electric fence.

Maybe it was a way to console him, or maybe she was afraid that he would get hurt, or it could be because she simply felt safer on his chest, than covered by a thin blanket.

Clementine was a smart girl, and Lee mentally thanked her that she hadn't asked any questions when they arrived at the motel, he didn't know if he would have the strength to answer them, and if he did, she wouldn't like the answer.

Lee sighed softly, he wasn't feeling very well, and he knew it, his mind was a mess, his being was trying to piece together the people inside his head with a certain desperation, although he didn't let it show. The physical fatigue was nothing compared to the mess inside his mind.

Although, physically, he wasn't doing very well either. A scar cut across his left cheek, this one had been there for some time, and a new scar was added to his right cheek, a side cut below his eye, the result of the fight with Andy, in which he had tried to electrocute him at the fence.

His hands were wrapped in some bandages, since he had hurt them when beating the men, ironic as it was, he felt no pain in the bandaged places, even though they were bleeding a short time ago. It would just be another addition of scars on his worn body.

He mentally thanked Carley for taking his shift on watch, he could enjoy a few hours of sleep, and according to the girl, God knew how much he deserved a rest.

Although tired, he couldn't sleep. He squeezed Clementine tightly to his chest, holding her as close to him as he could, as if he was afraid that something might try to take her from his arms if she fell asleep, afraid that he would wake up, and she would no longer be there.

And with this fear, he didn't sleep, didn't close his eyes for a minute, just stayed there, protecting the girl from the demons of the night, the beings of darkness.

Protecting her from the consequences of his actions.

Even though he did it to protect the group, Lee knew he didn't have to go as far as beating the two men almost to death, he did it because he wanted to, because he was angry, nervous and irrational. And he was afraid that these actions would someday catch up with him.

He was not afraid for his own safety, but for Clementine's safety.

And he didn't let her out of his arms until she awoke in the morning, feeling the sun's rays through the window gently touch her face.

Clementine's eyes, those golden eyes so beautiful, so unique, so her, stared into Lee's tired eyes for a while.

Clementine was never like other children, although she was still a little girl, and often acted like one, she always had a little more maturity, perhaps it was the influence of her mother's books, which she picked up without her mother realizing it, and spent sleepless nights glued to the stories they provided, many of which were recommended for adults, whether for the more difficult vocabulary, the more serious themes, offensive language, or any of those adult "tags".

She saw through Lee's actions, through his words of comfort, through the always unwavering pose he always held when he walked, his effort, his struggle.

And she knew he was tired, his eyes evidenced it, his voice, increasingly carrying, delivered it. She got tired of watching him with an exhausted look on his face, with a more slumped posture, and she got tired of watching him always send her a look of comfort, always pretend to be fine when she showed up, all so she wouldn't worry.

But she did worry. She knew how much he risked, sacrificed.

He was always the first to go out in search of supplies, always the man who had to do the dirty work, the hard work. Always the man who sacrificed his meals to leave her with a full belly, both with her and with Duck.

She got tired of seeing him go without food so that she and her friend would not starve.

She got tired of seeing him always being caught in the middle of Kenny and Lilly's fights, always being the man who had to make the final decision, always being the one who got overwhelmed.

And it was killing her inside.

What was worse, what hurt her the most was the fact that he always tried to show her that everything was fine. Always keeping his cool, even when others were being unfair to him. Always trying to show that he was not tired, and doing things thinking of others, putting them above himself.

And the main person he did this with was none other than her.

But what could she do? She was just a little eight-year-old girl.

She could only watch him, and pretend to believe his lies. Although, deep down, she suspected that he already knew that she didn't believe him when he said "It's okay," "I'm not hungry," "I'm not tired."

Watching Lee's face, with hard expressions and scars spread across his face, her mind falls back to the night before, where she had seen Lee angry for the first time.

She had seen Kenny angry before, which happened almost every day.

Lilly irritated, and just like Kenny, it happened almost every day.

Angry Carley, though rare, she had been a beast before, with many of her reasons being the fights between Kenny and Lilly.

Larry, who always seemed irritated.

Katjaa, who always seemed so calm, had also gotten angry several times, and she didn't like to see a normally so calm face contort into anger.

But she had never seen Lee angry, which frightened her, since his voice was much deeper than Kenny's, or Larry's, or anyone else's in the group. She couldn't help but feel intimidated, afraid, the intonation Lee used was imposing, he even sounded like another person for a moment, and for a few moments, she thought he would start a fight with Kenny right there.

But she didn't blame Lee, she didn't scold him for losing his mind, in fact, she understood. She didn't need to ask him anything, she could see the answer on his face every moment.

He, like her, was tired.

Sick of dealing with that agonizing feeling in his chest all the time.

She didn't want to get out from under his chest, didn't want to get away from him, even though she knew it didn't help much, she still tried to take some of the frustration he felt, some of the anger he held, and take it upon herself, thus, making the weight of those feelings a little lighter.

A few days passed, and the relationship between Kenny and Lee seemed to go from bad to worse. Lee even tried to make peace with his friend, tried to be civil, but Kenny made it very clear that he didn't want any kind of "reconciliation" with Lee, which made him sad about it, but if that was the price to pay for Kenny to finally open his eyes, then so be it.

If he didn't want to be friends anymore, fine, but Lee didn't let him treat him like anyone else, he stopped being a "calm and reasonable" man with Kenny, now, Lee just said what they had to do, if he didn't like it, or was against the idea, fuck him.

Kenny had threatened to leave with the RV with his family several times, but at this point, Lee didn't even care anymore. He wanted them to be friends again, God knew he tried, but unfortunately, that was not the case.

Carley had tried to comfort him a day ago, saying that even though Kenny didn't understand what he was doing, he still did the right thing, his head was in the right place, and he had his priorities straight.

Lee knew, Kenny didn't have to like his ideas, didn't have to like him, and that was fine, he would still keep doing what he thought was right, even if it meant being hated by someone he held dear.

Katjaa did not meddle in the fight between the two, as always, a faithful wife, but you could see she was confused, she did not know what to do, or what to think, her husband had killed Larry, and now, fighting with the one she thought was his best friend, anyone would be lost in a situation like that.

His relationship with Lilly had also changed, it was noticeable the change in the way she treated him now, not only him, but everyone in the group. She had become a little calmer, she tried to stay on her toes, not to start a fight with everyone, she even tried to have a civilized conversation with Kenny, her "father's killer", but he showed no interest in doing anything of the sort, and she didn't insist, she hated Kenny inside, she just did it, out of respect for Lee, who knew that things would only get better if the group stayed united.

Ben, well, he didn't have much to talk about, or meddle with, this wasn't his fight, and it was obvious his discomfort with the whole situation. Although he had a great relationship with Lee, he was nice, he knew how to listen, he knew what to say, he knew how to handle different kinds of situations. He was a good man, that much Ben could see, and of all the people there, apart from the children of course, he was the most reasonable to talk to, the calmest, despite the angry outburst he had had a few days ago, and the most rational.

At the moment, Lee came down from the trailer, finishing his guard shift, he had been up all night, again, and that morning, he finally got out of the chair in which he had sat motionless for hours, giving way to Ben, who was already weakly rocking in the chair with the rifle in his lap.

Massaging his neck, he walks over to Clementine, not realizing that she was staring at him a few moments ago, watching his movements, his expressions. Her golden eyes never looked so mature, and so childlike at the same time.

- Hey Clem, how are you doing?

He asked, trying to disguise the tired tone in his voice, which Clementine heard clearly, but decided to ignore, as she always did.

- I'm fine, Duck kept talking about batman and stuff, so I decided to draw him a picture.

She answered with a genuine smile on her face, she liked drawing, it made her calm, relaxed, and she hoped her drawings would make Lee relax too. She lifted up her drawing, which Lee picked up and looked at more closely, with a smile on his lips.

"She has talent."

- You are getting better at this Clem, this is great, soon you will surpass Van Gogh.

He said smiling, handing the drawing back to the girl, who looked happy at the compliment, but a little confused.

- "Van" who?

She turned her head to the side in confusion, causing Lee to let out a low laugh.

- He was a painter, a very good and famous painter, let's leave it at that.

He replied, being satisfied with the girl's understanding.

- Ok Clem, I'm going to lie down for a while, anything at all, just call.

He got up, receiving a nod from the girl and walked towards his room. He was so tired that he didn't notice the girl's piercing gaze on his back.

A few hours had passed since then, Lee stretched, sitting on his bed, his back against the wall, his eyes fixed on a random part of his room.

The door was opened, and through it passed a Clementine with something in her hands. Her brown eyes fell on the girl walking towards her.

- Hey Clem.

He greeted, watching as the girl sat down on her bed, facing him.

- I saw you awake, so I decided to bring you some cookies.

Her voice, so sweet and velvety, was like music to Lee's ears, who smiled warmly at the little girl's kindness.

- Ah sweet pea, you can share with Duck, I bet he'll like it.

He refused, his eyes fixed on the girl's expressions, now a bit downcast, but without lowering the arm that extended the cookies to him.

- he already ate, and I want you to eat them too.

She said, her golden eyes staring into Lee's brown ones, without blinking, without flinching.

- You can eat Clem, I'm not...

He tried to refuse again, but was interrupted by her insistent voice.

- Please.

This was almost a plea, and Lee realized it, the girl was looking at him seriously, unlike all the other looks she had ever given him, perhaps not a look a child should have.

He was confused for a few moments, wondering why the sudden seriousness, even more so, coming from the girl. Out of options, he accepts the cookies.

- Thank you, sweet pea.

The girl's face seemed to light up, and that seriousness around her seemed to dissipate completely, and now, she was the way she always was, the way she always should be. Happy, excited, smiling.

And that sight of the girl's spirits being suddenly lifted made an involuntary smile form on Lee's lips.