Thanks to gaara king of the sand for the help.
"What's wrong with her?" Kenny asked.
"We think she has something called bronchopulmonary dysplasia or BPD for short." The doctor explained.
"BPD?" Clementine furrowed her brows. "What's that?"
"It's a chronic lung disease. It's not uncommon in children, especially a child born premature. It is basically when a child has abnormal development of lung tissue." The doctor responded.
"Can you fix her?" Clementine asked.
The doctor sighed. "It's not something that can simply be fixed. It's not like a cold-"
"Fix her! You better fix her!" Clementine exclaimed, causing Aleena to cry.
The doctor gave a flinch at the child's sudden outburst.
"Clementine, calm down, please." Christa said.
"I want him to fix her! Tell him to fix her!" Clementine yelled.
Christa sighed and hugged the little girl. "It's okay. She's going to be fine."
"H-How do you know. She has BDP." Clementine sniffled.
"BPD..." The doctor corrected.
"I want her to feel better." Clementine said.
"She will. Trust me..." Christa said. "I need you to calm down and take some deep breaths."
"B-But..."
"You got to calm down for Leena. When you're upset, she's upset too." Christa said.
Clementine frowned at that but nodded. She started taking deep breaths, until she calmed down. "I'm sorry, Leena... I didn't mean to scare you." She rocked Aleena until the baby eventually calmed down.
Christa looked to the doctor. "What's the treatment plan?"
"Well... we have a few options…" The doctor started.
"What are they?" Christa urged him to continue.
"The main thing would be starting oxygen therapy and making sure she has certain medicines. If things take a bad turn, we'll have to think about giving her a tracheostomy." The doctor said.
"What's that mean?" Kenny asked.
"It would be a surgical procedure where we create an opening through Aleena's neck and place a tube through the opening to provide an airway and to remove secretions from her lungs." The doctor explained to them.
Clementine and Kenny exchanged confused looks while Christa frowned.
"Again, in English this time?" Kenny said.
"We would create and opening-"
Kenny stopped him. "Hold on, you're saying you want to cut a hole in that baby's throat?"
Clementine gasped at that, holding her daughter closer. "N-No! I won't let you…"
"It's not what you're thinking, this would only be to help her breathe." The doctor said.
"She's breathing now, ain't she?" Kenny inquired.
"With the help of oxygen. She's been having sleep apnea, but we also noticed her oxygen levels dropping while awake. BPD isn't uncommon in premature babies." The doctor explained. "However, there are a lot of risk with this illness. She's more at risk for respiratory infections, such as the flu or pneumonia. And when a child with BPD gets an infection, they tend to get sicker than most children do. Another complication could be excess fluid in the lungs."
"Stop it! You're lying! Leena's fine!" Clementine snapped.
"Clementine…" Christa sighed.
"I don't want you to cut my baby! Go away!" Clementine said to the doctor.
"Clem, calm down..." Christa sighed, rubbing a comforting hand over the child's shoulders. She looked to the doctor. "I'm sorry about this."
The doctor gave an understanding nod before he spoke again. "The tracheostomy will be the last resort. We'll do oxygen therapy and see how that goes. We have to be patient for now. For Aleena in particular, she has asthma like symptoms. She could also possibly have asthma, but right now it's too early to diagnosed her because she's so young."
"So, if you know what's wrong with her, can she come home now?" Kenny asked.
"Actually, I think it'd be best if she stays here for a few more days." The doctor said. "We just want to make sure she's healthy enough to go home."
"She needs to come home now! I miss her. And… And Crystal misses her." Clementine said.
"Who's Crystal?" The doctor questioned.
"Aleena's twin…." Christa answered.
The doctor hummed. "Has Crystal had any breathing problems?"
"She's had different problems. More so when it comes to certain formulas…" Christa replied.
"Allergies?" The doctor asked.
Christa nodded. "Exactly."
"And she's been checked out here?" The doctor asked.
"Yeah, both the twins were checked by another medic." Christa said. "Plus our previous group had a doctor."
"Okay… That's good." The doctor said.
"Why can't Leena come home?" Clementine said. "It's been too long."
"Clem, listen to me, she needs to stay, so when she comes home she'll be healthy." Christa said.
"Then I'm staying too." Clementine stated.
Christa shook her head. "I want you to go home"
The child pouted. "I don't want to…"
"You have to. Crystal needs you. And Aleena needs you to be strong for her." Christa spoke in a calm tone.
"I... I want to stay!" Clementine said. "Please…"
Christa sighed. "Clem, no. You can't stay, sweetie..."
"Why not?" Clementine asked.
Christa paused for a moment. As much as she knew Clementine had the right to be around Aleena, she didn't think the child could handle it right now. She recalled how Clementine had acted when the twins were first born, how nervous she was around them. "Because I said so, Clem. I want you to stay with Kenny and Sarita until I come home…"
"That's not fair!" Clementine argued. "Leena's my baby."
"So you're going to leave Crystal home?" Christa asked.
Clementine frowned at that. "I… Crystal can come here too."
Christa sighed. "Clementine, no. Listen to me, you're going to stay-"
"I said no!" Clementine exclaimed.
Christa bit back a sigh as she said. "You're not allowed to tell me no. You're a child. I know you're Aleena's mother, but I'm your guardian. Which mean, what I say goes, understand." Christa didn't want to be strict with the child, but she knew sometimes it was necessary.
Clementine frowned and began whimpering.
Christa switched to a lighter tone. "I know you're upset, Clem. But what do you do when you're upset?"
"…Take deep breaths…" Clementine muttered.
"That's right. When you're upset it makes Aleena upset too, you know that." Christa said.
Clementine took a couple deep breaths before frowning. "When's she coming home?"
"It shouldn't be long, Clem… Just take care of Crystal like you've been doing." Christa said.
Clementine bit her lip but nodded. "…Okay…"
"That's my girl." Christa said.
Clementine didn't respond as she gave Aleena a kiss on the forehead. "Mommy loves you…"
Christa looked over to Kenny. "Take care of my girl."
"I will." Kenny nodded.
Upon arriving home, Clementine was a lot more anxious than before. Sarita had informed her and Kenny that AJ and Crystal had been put down for a nap, but Clementine felt the urge to check in on Crystal regardless. After seeing her daughter was fast asleep, Kenny convinced the child to go play with Sarah and Becca for a while.
Becca had set up a board game, but things felt awkward to say the least. None of the girls seemed too interested, Sarah and Becca had started playing a game of monopoly, while Clementine refused to touch her piece. She had her thumb in her mouth and was sitting silently.
"You're sucking your thumb..." Sarah muttered.
Clementine kept quiet.
"Are you sad?" Sarah asked.
Clementine still gave no response.
"What happened? Is Aleena okay?" Becca asked.
"I don't know..." Clementine finally replied.
"What do you mean you don't know?" Becca questioned, raising a brow.
"She keeps having trouble breathing. They said she has something called BPD." Clementine answered.
"What's that stand for?" Sarah asked.
Clementine paused before saying, "Broncho- something. It's a chronic lung disease."
"She's going to be okay, right?" Becca asked.
"My dad can fix her. Once he gets here." Sarah said.
Becca shot her a look. "Sarah, for fuck sake, get it through your skull that your dad's NOT coming."
"He is too!" Sarah claimed.
"No he's not! He's dead!" Becca replied.
Sarah covered her ears, not wanting to hear.
"When are you gonna grow up and stop being a baby?" Becca asked.
"Stop it..." Clementine mumbled.
"I mean, you act like more of a baby than Clem does." Becca scoffed.
"Stop it..." Clementine repeated. She didn't care that Becca had just insulted her, she just didn't want them to fight.
"I'm not a baby! I'm not!" Sarah said. "You're so mean…"
"You sure as hell act like one!" Becca said.
"STOP FIGHTING!" Clementine exclaimed.
Both of the teens jumped.
"What's with all the yelling?" Kenny asked stepping into the room.
"Make them stop fighting!" Clementine said.
"Hey, no one should be fighting." Kenny said.
"We weren't fighting. I was just telling Sarah the truth." Becca said.
"Truth about what?" Kenny asked.
"That her dad's not coming back." Becca said.
Sarah frowned, but said nothing.
"Okay, look, everyone settle down." Kenny said. "What matters now, is that we're safe. That's all."
"Whatever…" Becca huffed.
Kenny sighed and looked to Clementine. "You alright, darlin'?"
"I want my baby." Clementine said, not answering the question.
"Wanna hold Crystal?" Kenny asked.
Clementine quickly nodded.
"Alright, darlin. I'll get her." Kenny said.
"O-Okay…" Clementine stammered.
Kenny left the room.
Clementine waited until Kenny returned with Crystal in his arms. Crystal was awake and appeared to be in a good mood.
"Here's your mommy." Kenny said handing the baby over.
Clementine smiled and rocked the child. "Thanks…"
"You're welcome, darlin'." Kenny said.
Whenever Crystal was in her arms, Clementine seemed much calmer. Kenny just hoped things could stay calm. He definitely felt outnumbered with him and little Alvie being the only males in the house.
Kenny didn't know how Christa handled bedtime so smoothly. It seemed as soon as everyone had settled down for the night, Crystal decided it was time to wake up. The baby started wailing, Kenny and Sarita were quickly pulled out of their sleep.
Kenny quickly went to the room Clementine and Crystal were in to get the baby before she had the chance to wake anyone. He picked Crystal up from her cradle, which was stationed by Clementine's bed. He checked that Clementine was still fast asleep, the girl was clutching to her stuffed bear.
With Crystal in his arms, he headed into the living room where Sarita was now sitting on the couch. "I think this little lady was trying to wake her mama up."
"Did she?" Sarita asked.
"Fortunately, no. Clem's out like a light." Kenny said.
"Good. She needs her sleep."
Kenny nodded in agreement as he rocked Crystal. He tried to get the baby back to sleep, but she didn't seem tired anymore. AJ had always been easy to get to sleep, but Crystal was such a curious baby, any little noise seemed to grab her attention and she would be cooing.
"It's like she wants to start talking." Kenny said.
"Maybe she does." Sarita smiled. "She's so pretty."
"She looks just like her mommy." Kenny said. "It's so weird to think that little Clementine has two kids now… I… I just always wonder what Lee would say if he could see her now."
"What do you think he'd say?" Sarita asked him.
"I… don't know… I just know that if he was here things would be different." Kenny said. "He would've never let… what happened to Clem happen."
Sarita frowned at that. "Kenny, we didn't let that happen. It was a bad situation…"
"But we should've done more…. I should've done more…" Kenny said.
"What could we have done? We were trapped…" Sarita said.
"I don't know. Just something!" Kenny exclaimed.
Crystal let out a small whimper and Kenny rocked her. He took a breath to calm himself.
"Kenny, you need to stop blaming yourself for what happened." Sarita said to him.
"How can I?"
"You lost your eye for her, you did what you could to keep her safe." Sarita replied.
"Obviously I didn't do enough…" Kenny muttered.
Sarita opened her mouth to speak but didn't get the chance a scream filled the air. The scream was high-pitched and terrified, the two adults quickly recognized it.
Kenny handed Crystal over to Sarita before rushing towards the room Clementine was resting in.
Clementine's little panicked voice filled the dark room. He rushed to her side and reach out a hand to her. "N-No!" The child exclaimed, flinching back.
"It's me. It's just Kenny." He assured the young girl. "Everything's okay…"
Kenny sat on the edge of the bed and wrapped the child into a hug. He quickly noted the girl seemed to have another fever. Clementine buried her face into his shoulder whimpering. "It's okay… I got you…."
After a few moment the girl's whimpers stopped.
"You alright? Can you tell me what happened?" Kenny asked.
"Carver…" Was all the girl said.
"He's dead, darlin'. He can never hurt you ever again…" Kenny said. "I won't let anyone hurt you."
"P-Promise?"
"Of course, darlin'." Kenny replied. He hoped he was doing a good job at reassuring the girl. Katjaa was usually the one to sooth Duck back to sleep after a nightmare. In his past Kenny wasn't too good with reading bedtime stories, and he wasn't super coddling, but now that he had a second chance, he was going to do the best he could. "All better?"
Clementine wiped her eyes dry and gave a tiny nod.
"Good, how about you try to go back to sleep?" Kenny suggested.
The child quickly shook her head.
"Okay, what do you wanna do then?"
The girl was quiet for a moment before asking, "Where's my baby?"
"She's with Sarita." Kenny told her. "Wanna see her?"
"Yes please…" Clementine said, voice barely over a whisper.
"Alright." Kenny started to help the girl from the bed.
"I'll walk." Clementine said.
"Okay. Just let me help you." Kenny said.
Clementine didn't protest as he helped her to the other room. He helped the girl to the couch before Sarita hand Crystal to the child.
"I think you and Crystal should get back to sleep."
"I can't." Clementine said.
"Why not?" Sarita asked.
"Because… if I go to sleep, I'll see Carver…" Clementine said.
"Oh, sweetie…" Sarita frowned.
"Carver's dead, Clem. You know that…" Kenny said.
"That doesn't mean he's not scary…" Clementine said. "Walkers come back… He might too…"
"There's no way he's coming back. Trust me." Kenny said.
"…Okay…" Clementine said. "I want to put Crystal to sleep first."
"Alright, Clem." Kenny said.
"And… And I…" The child trailed off.
"You what?" Kenny asked.
The girl averted her gaze and shyly asked, "…Can you tell me a story?"
"A story?" Kenny raised a brow.
"A nice one…. About Lee." Clementine said.
Kenny gave a small yet sad smile. "Sure, hon."
Kenny took a seat by the little girl and started reminiscing with the child about her former guardian, while she held Crystal. Crystal eventually fell asleep in her mother's arms and Clementine was dozing off herself.
"Come on, hon. Let's get you two back to bed." Kenny said.
"Okay… Can you carry me?" Clementine sleepily asked.
Kenny was surprised by the question, the girl never seemed to want help. "Carry you?"
Clementine nodded. "Please?"
Kenny nodded and replied, "Sure I can, darlin'."
"Thank you." Clementine said.
When the doctor had dropped by the next day with "good news" Clementine had hoped that Aleena was coming home.
However, the doctor asked Sarita to come to the hospital. The child was confused. She quickly asked to go too and to bring Crystal along.
Sarita agreed. Once they got to the hospital Clementine asked if she could see Aleena.
Christa was once again surprised to see them. But she allowed the child to stay. Sarita left with one of the doctors, and Clementine and Crystal remained with Christa and Aleena for most of the day.
Clementine was happy to once again be with both her twins at the same time.
After several hours Sarita had finally returned and showed off a new prosthetic arm. As much as Clementine was glad for her, she couldn't help the slight anger she felt. Not towards Sarita, but towards the doctors. How come they could make a new arm for Sarita, but her baby was still in the hospital with a tube in her nose, struggling to breathe.
It wasn't fair. Life wasn't fair.
She quickly decided she hated those doctors. How much longer would it be before Aleena was healthy and come be with her again?
"Ready to go home?" Sarita asked, pulling the child out of her thoughts.
Clementine wanted to scoff. This place wasn't home. It would never be home.
"Go on, Clem." Christa spoke up.
Clementine didn't argue, she knew there was no point. "…Okay…"
When they got back to the house Clementine mostly kept to herself.
She tended to Crystal with help from Sarita. Made sure her daughter was bathed and fed before rocking her to sleep.
She felt an emptiness. It felt so strange not having Aleena around. Despite the shock she felt when she was told she was the twins mother, Clementine quickly grew more attached to her children and now it felt like one of them had been ripped away from her.
Clementine couldn't help but feel frustrated. The longer she was apart from Aleena the more worried she became. She didn't think she could handle being away from her for much longer.
When the house became quiet and everyone was asleep, Clementine couldn't rest, her mind was running too wild.
She glanced over to the bassinet by her bed. Crystal was asleep, pacifier in her mouth.
It wouldn't be too hard to go to the hospital, get Aleena, and bring her back here. After that she could rest easy, knowing her twins were both safe by her side.
Clementine sat for a few moments wondering if she was making the right decision. If she was fast and quiet Crystal wouldn't even wake up and she could be back before anyone noticed she was gone.
"Stay with Crystal, Promise." She placed her teddy bear beside her daughter's cradle and forced herself to her feet.
She managed to get into her wheelchair and made her way out of the room. Clementine was used to navigating her way through the darkness and got to the front door without a problem. However, upon opening the door, she was faced with a dilemma… Stairs. She couldn't get the wheelchair down the porch steps on her own.
She tried to think up a plan before sighing, "Fuck it." She muttered, pushing herself out the chair. She took hold of the railing and slowly began to guide herself down.
She stumbled down the stairs, crashing to the ground by the last one. The girl barely registered the pain as she forced herself back up. She braced herself against trees and walls, anything she could to help keep her balance. However, she lost her footing again and collapsed.
The girl fought back tears. She was frustrated with herself. All that physical therapy and she still could barely walk.
She didn't notice a beam of light aimed in her direction. Or the footsteps approaching her. "You alright?" A person spoke.
Clementine flinched at the unfamiliar voice. She furrowed her brows when a young man offered her his hand.
Clementine examined his face. He appeared to be eighteen or possibly nineteen. He wore a guards' uniform. Clementine wondered if she was going to be in trouble.
"Here, let me help you." The young guard said.
With some hesitation she accepted his help to her feet. She was unsteady, and he seemed to notice this as he helped support her weight.
"I'm fine." Clementine reassured. He nodded and released his grip on her.
"What are you doing out here so late, kid?" The guard asked.
"I'm not a kid." Clementine muttered.
"You look like one to me."
Clementine didn't respond to that. She was quiet before she muttered honestly, "I… I wanted to see my daughter."
The young guard's eyes widened in surprise. "D-Daughter?"
Clementine nodded.
"But… you're like ten…" Was the response.
"Christa…. said I'm twelve." Clementine said.
"Well, does this Christa know you're out this late?" The guard asked. "She's probably worried."
"No… But I can handle myself." Clementine said.
"You're a little kid." The guard said.
"Don't judge a book by its cover." Clementine said, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Uh, alright…" The guard replied. "Where's this daughter of yours?"
"At the hospital…" Clementine answered.
"She's sick?"
"Kind of… She's doing better, but they haven't let her come home." Clementine said.
"That sucks."
"Yeah…" Clementine agreed.
"Well, it's not safe for you to be out here like this. You should get back inside." The guard said.
"I'm not scared. I'm tougher than you think." Clementine said.
The young guard smirked. "I'm sure you are. What's your name, kid?"
"My name's Clementine. What's your name?" The girl replied.
"Name's Terrell." The guard said. "How about I walk you to the hospital?"
"I…"
"That's where you're going, right?" Terrell asked.
"Yeah, but… I don't want Christa to get mad at me?" Clementine said.
"Who's this Christa person anyway?"
"She's my friend… She takes care of me." Clementine replied.
"Where are your folks?" Terrell questioned.
"Gone… Like everyone else…" Clementine sighed.
"Sorry to hear that."
"Where are yours?" Clementine asked.
"Never really had any to begin with." Terrell shrugged.
"Oh…. I… I'm sorry." Clementine said. She could feel her leg trembling and her small body shivered as a cold wind blew.
"You should get back home." Terrell said again.
Clementine shook her head. "I don't feel like going home right now. Don't worry about me."
"I'm on guard duty. It's basically my job to worry about you, kid."
Clementine sighed at that. "Like I said, I can handle myself."
"Well, I'm not just going to leave you out here."
Clementine opened her mouth to speak but didn't get the chance to before she heard Kenny call out to her. The girl flinched. She knew she was going to be in trouble.
