TW: Character death (canonical)

Steph and Chris stood outside of a utility closet; an eighties rock ballad playing softly through the wood paneling.

Steph looked to Chris, who wrung his hands nervously.

"I think Lisa's in there." He spoke in a low voice, and Steph furrowed her brows.

"And if she's not? Chris…"

Before she could finish, Chris stepped forward; knocking tentatively on the door.

"Erm… I-It's Chris. Chris Wise…Can I come in?"

The music shut off. Steph held her breath, backing away slightly and readying herself for the worst. Chris stood at the doorway, frozen; and the two of them watched as the door was slowly pulled open- revealing a wide-eyed and bedraggled Lisa standing on the other side.

"Chris?" She breathed out, door creaking open as she threw herself into his arms. The two of them embraced, clutching at each other for dear life as Steph side-stepped off to one side; busying herself with keeping a lookout for any potential threats as she looked away from Chris and Lisa's tearful reunion.

Chris held onto Lisa, burying his face in her hair. He'd been so worried that he'd never get to see her again- that she'd end up zombified like John. But she was here- she was safe.

Lisa sniffled, pushing herself out of the embrace but immediately grabbing his arms. She wasn't ready to let go just yet.

"I… I-I thought you were…" Her voice broke, and Chris held onto her tighter as she looked up at him with teary eyes.

"The show, we were… We were all getting ready to leave and then someone screamed, and we all ran and no one… no one knew what was happening and Tony and Bea and me, we…we all escaped b-but…"

"But, you're safe. You're okay. And I'm sure Gran and Tony-"

"-No, Chris," Lisa shook her head, voice heavy.

"Chris, I-I'm so sorry…W-We…Tony and I, we tried-"

Chris felt his heart sink. His Gran wouldn't have just left Lisa, and Tony would've known that she wouldn't have been able to walk any far distance- not with her heart the way it was. If his Gran wasn't here, then that meant-

"We really tried Chris, but the zombies, a-and her heart…"

His Gran was dead. Lisa couldn't say it, but he knew what she meant. The woman who'd raised him for nearly all of his life, who was the only family Chris knew, was dead.

He blinked, attempting to process the news as the three of them stood in the hallway. He gripped onto Lisa's arms, brows furrowed; trying desperately to reason what to do next. He'd planned on finding Lisa and his Gran, alive- he'd found Lisa, but depending on what had happened he might never see his Gran again. He'd never see her again, just like he'd never gotten to see his parents, just like they'd never get to see John again…

"Chris? Baby," Lisa pulled him out of his downward spiral; loosening her grip on the sleeves of his jacket as she placed a comforting hand to his cheek. He closed his eyes, breathing shakily as he leaned into Lisa's embrace.

"I'm so sorry…"

He nodded, sniffling slightly as he fought back the tears; cupping Lisa's hand in his as he formulated the words he needed to say.

"W-What… What happened to her?"

Lisa dropped her hand, lowering her gaze as she stepped back; revealing the space where Bea's body lay on the floor inside the closet. She wrung her hands, not looking back into the closet.

"It was… I-I don't know what happened, T-Tony thinks it was her heart… we got her up here, but…"

Chris stepped into the closet, tears pricking at his eyes.

"At least she's not one of them." He spoke softly, walking further into the closet and bending down to better be able to reach his grandmother.

At least she looked peaceful. And she wasn't a zombie.

He knelt down beside her, tears pricking at his eyes. Bea had always been faithful about going to church- when Chris was younger she'd encouraged him to pray to his mother; Chris, unsure of whether or not there was anything to be praying to, had complied. After a while, it became a comfortable routine- and he stopped worrying whether or not whoever was up there was listening, and instead focused on the comfort he found believing that he could somehow still speak with his parents; however gone or distant they were from him. Now, there was certainly a modicum of comfort Chris felt at the idea that his Gran could still hear him.

"Hi Gran…" His voice wavered slightly. He didn't know what to say.

"I'm, erm… I'm really glad you got to hear Lisa's song… I-I bet it was great."

Steph, who was standing guard outside the door, blinked hard; rubbing a hand across her eyes as Chris continued.

"I-I'm sorry that I wasn't here, but… I-I'm sure Lisa and Mr. Shephard did a good job, a-and I'm really glad you're safe… Erm…" He paused, looking back at Lisa and Steph before placing a tentative hand on his grandmother's shoulder.

"Say hi to mum for me, yeah? I love you, Gran."

He bent over, kissing her on the head before turning away and getting to his feet. Almost immediately, Lisa was at his side- wrapping both her arms around one of his and resting her head against his shoulder.

He sniffed, eyes clouded slightly as he looked towards Steph.

"Right. Your keys?"

Steph breathed in sharply, eyes meeting Chris's gaze before giving him a quick nod. There was little time to grieve- not if they wanted to keep moving and avoid detection from the zombies.

"Right."

Lisa let go of Chris, turning back to regard Bea's body once more before reaching around and locking the closet door from the inside; turning off the light, and pulling the door shut behind her. She laced her fingers between Chris's, squeezing his hand tightly.

"Let's get the hell out of here."