ArktosFTW-Oh my friend if you only knew what I have planned, let's just say that so far this story has just been the calm before the storm, and the storm is indeed coming.
smeake-Thanks, Hope you enjoy this one.
Guest-Thanks, I have some plans for Molly and Matthew and of course big plans for Lee.
Worker72-I have to agree that Pete is definitely what held Luke's group together, Luke took leadership after he died but he really wasn't cut out for it. I also think that Nick was a good character, he was going through a lot but was starting to come out of it when they just killed him off. As for Caver and Lee I have an idea on how they are going to interact as well as Howes in general. Basically just expect some things to be different and yeah if Kenny realized where he was he could have had the group stay there instead.
darknessarising-Thanks man, glad you liked it.
Guest-I don't think Lee would kick his ass but he'd be pissed.
Guest-Well read on, it's funny that two people wanted to see this scene when I was already planning it out.
MMendez-She may or may not die, only time will tell. I'm glad that I'm writing her character well enough that she continues to have a good presence.
Enjoy
"Clementine, oh god. You're alright, you're alive." Lee whispered out as he walked over to her and crouched down,
"You're suppose to be dead, you died. I remember." Clementine said as tears rolled down her face,
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry you had to think that." Lee said slowly reaching his hand out,
Clementine suddenly slapped his hand away causing both Kenny and Molly to look at her shocked, "You left me! You told me to leave! Why?! Why would you do that to me?!" She shouted out into his face while crying hardly,
Lee's lowered his head, "I know, if I could change it I would have." He said as he felt a tear roll down his cheek and a weight pushing down on his heart,
Clementine was taking short ragged breaths before looking back up at Lee, "Lee." She choked out and leaped forward wrapping her arms around him, "I'm sorry, I love you Lee. I didn't mean to make you cry!" She exclaimed through her tears as she squeezed her arms around his neck,
"It's okay, shhh, it's alright sweetie." Lee whispered out as he ran his hand along her back,
"I-I almost killed you, it was my fault. You lost your arm because of me." Clementine wept out into his shoulder,
"No, don't you think that. Don't think that for a minute." Lee said quickly, "It was an accident, but we're both here now, we don't have to ever think about that again." He said trying to reassure her. A few minutes past as Lee and Clementine held an embrace just then they heard the door open and the rest of the group made their way inside.
"Dad, look! A Christmas tree!" Sarah exclaimed as she pointed over to the tree Lee and Kenny had just chopped down and brought inside,
"Not now Sarah." Carlos replied firmly,
Walter who had been leading the group stopped at the top of the stairs and turned back to them, "Please make yourselves at home, you can leave your things right there." He said pointing to a small bench,
"The hell we will!" Rebecca shot out aggressively,
"Yeah, I think I'm gonna hold onto my rifle, thanks." Nick said in agreement,
"Come on, no worries guys. I mean after what you buddy did on the bridge...doesn't that earn us a bit of trust." Matthew said trying to ease the tension,
"And what happened on the bridge?" Kenny quickly asked as he walked back over. Lee and Clementine both stood up and walked over to the stairs,
Matthew rubbed the back of his neck, "N-nothing, it was just a misunderstanding. Right Molly, that's what you'd call it right?"
"Not to many misunderstandings start with me getting shot." Molly said crossing her arms,
Lee quickly pulled out his gun and aimed at the group, "You need to put your guns down now!" He shouted out shocking most everyone in the group, Kenny didn't even flinch he too aimed his rifle down at the group. Luke and Nick aimed their guns up at them while Alvin shielded Rebecca as did Carlos to Sarah.
"What the fuck is this!?" Nick shouted out quickly putting his finger on the trigger and aiming at Lee,
"Everyone stop! This is not happening right now!" Sarita shouted out as she pushed herself in between both of the groups,
"Lee, Kenny! Listen to Sarita, lower your weapons! We do not want to fight these people!" Walter shouted out with a worried tone, "There is no reason for this to happen, please!"
"How about this, you put your guns down and we put ours down!" Nick said while his hands shook slightly,
"Please, Nick didn't mean to fire at your friends. He thought we were getting robbed, hell I stopped him too! Matthew, tell 'em!" Luke said pleadingly,
"He's right, if it wasn't for Luke I could be dead." Matthew said with a nod causing Walter to look at him in shock,
Kenny looked around the room and stopped at Clem, "Clem, you were with them. Do you vouch for this people?"
Lee looked down to Clementine who was looking at him in confusion as she never saw Lee be this aggressive to new people, "Tell us the truth Clementine, are these people good?" Lee asked firmly,
"Hey, leave her alone." Luke said defensively to Lee causing Lee to give him an extremely cold glare,
"No it's okay." Clementine finally spoke up, "They are cool, everyone is cool." Clementine said with a nod. Kenny stared at Clementine then back to Luke's group before finally walked down the steps and laying his rifle down. Luke let out a small nod and pulled out his machete placing it next to Kenny's rifle.
Lee and Nick held a long glare before Molly put a hand on his shoulder, "Hey, come on put it down." She said softly,
"He almost shot you." Lee hissed back to her,
"But he didn't, it's alright. Just put down your gun." Molly replied easily. Lee stared at her and finally his eyes went soft. He lowered his arm and slowly made his way down the steps laying his gun down and Nick in return dropped his rifle,
"Good. Now please let's just forget this hiccup and have a good night." Walter said with a relieved smile,
"Rita why don't you show them to their rooms." Matthew said as he put his rifle down,
"Of course follow me." Sarita replied leading Luke's group up the stairs to the second floor,
Lee, Kenny and Clementine walked into the den and took a seat on the couch. Kenny let out a warm smile and tapped the bill of her hat, "So you still wearing this dirty old thing huh?" He said with a little grin,
Clementine let out a little laugh and nodded, "So, where did you end up sweetie?" Lee asked curious,
"I was with Christa and Omid for a while." Clem replied with a small smile which quickly faded, "Omid...well." She said holding back a tear, "C-Christa and I were alone after that bit she's gone now."
"Oh hell." Kenny said sympathetically,
Lee reached out and wrapped his arm around her pulling her in letting her head rest on his chest, "I'm sorry, I wish you didn't have to go through that." He said with a drop in his voice,
"What about you two?" Clementine said with a little sniff as she wiped her eye, "Christa said you were dead Kenny and Lee…."
Kenny let out a small chuckle, "Back in Savannah when we went out looking for you, that fucking shit-bird Ben got himself trapped in an alley. I went to save him but it wasn't gonna happen." He said shaking his head, "I just got lucky in the end, was able to get outta the city some how til I met Sarita." He said with a smile as he looked over to her as she walked by,
Clementine let out a small smile and nodded, "But Lee, I don't understand. I thought you died." She said looking up at her,
Lee let out a small smile and shook his head, "Molly...she saved me. She found me and helped me get out of the city." He lowered his head and let out a sigh, "I looked for you honey, I searched all over but I just couldn't find you."
"It's okay, I'm just glad you're back." She said squeezing him with a tight hug,
"Me too." Lee replied warmly,
"Hey, think I could steal Lee for a second." Molly asked walking over,
Clementine let out a smile and nodded as Lee got up and walked away from the den with Molly upstairs. As Lee left the area Clementine's face dropped a bit, "Kenny?"
"Yeah darlin?" Kenny replied looking down at her,
"Lee seems different. Is he okay?" She asked a bit sadly,
"Yes sweetie he's just fine. He's just missed you like hell." Kenny said with a half smile, "Don't you worry now that you're here he'll be right as rain soon enough."
Clem let out a small smile and nodded before they both finally got up. Clementine walked around the lodge exploring and introducing herself to the group while Kenny and Lee both did a few minor things before dinner was finished. After ten minutes Walter called out to the lodge from the dining room, "Alright everyone dinner is served!"
Slowly everyone headed into the dining area, Luke's group and Lee's group sat at separate tables making Clem pause while heading over to sit down. She looked between the two tables while Kenny called her over and Luke waved her over slightly. Lee raised an eyebrow as he was curious about who Clem was going to sit with. He let out a small sigh as he watched her walk over to their table and sit down while Luke watched a bit sadly. Lee let out a smile and pushed a bowl of food over to her, "Here you go sweat pea."
Clem shook her head and smiled, "I actually really missed that." She said causing everyone at the table to smile,
"So Clem...we we're talking. What's the deal with the kid, Luke right? Is he in charge do ya trust him?" Kenny asked curiously,
"Kenny please." Sarita said with a small shake of her head,
"Yeah c'mon man, don't need to do this now." Matthew added with a nod,
"Hey we don't even know these people. Hell all I know is they took shots at you and Molly." Kenny said a bit coldly,
"Yes I trust him." Clementine said with a small nod,
"With your life?" Kenny asked quickly,
"Jesus Kenny." Lee said with a scoff, "Calm down man."
"C'mon Lee, you did the right thing earlier. Don't stop now, we need to make sure these guys ain't dangerous." Kenny replied,
"I don't know man." Lee said shaking his head, "I don't want to start any trouble with them."
"I ain't talking about starting trouble, I just want to know what their deal is. That guy, Big Al. He said they are on the run from someone." Kenny said pointing to Alvin,
"They are being chased by someone." Clementine said with a nod,
"Well you ain't gotta worry about that no more. Tomorrow they can leave and you can stay with us." Kenny said happily,
Lee noticed Clementine's eyes go wide and a worried look grow across her face. "Hey it's okay honey, we'll talk to them." Lee said comfortingly,
"No, it's okay. I want to stay." Clementine said with a smile,
"Good." Kenny said with a full smile,
Molly reached her hand out and ran it across Lee's jaw, "Sorry just had to make sure you were still Lee. I can't believe that you are actually talking about trying to talk this out." She said with a sarcastic smirk. Lee peered over to her with narrowed eyes, "Calm down, just a joke." She said with a little laugh and leaned in kissing him, "Thank god your beard is gone." She said with a little smirk,
Clementine let out a little laugh, "What?" Lee asked with a smirk,
"You had a beard?" Clementine said while holding back a grin, "Like a big beard?"
"Oh yeah he did, a huge bushy beard." Molly said with a nod, "But not to worry, I got him to shave it down today."
"I can't imagine you with a beard Lee." Clementine said as she took another bite of beans,
Lee shook his head and continued to eat with a huge smile, "Hey now, what about me?" Kenny asked with a smirk,
"You look better with a beard." Clem replied with a shrug,
"I agree." Sarita said with a chuckle.
A few minutes after silently eating Luke and Nick both stood up and walked over to the table. Sarita, Matthew, Molly and Walter all got up leaving Kenny, Lee and Clem to try and talk things through with them. Luke and Nick sat down a bit awkwardly, Luke looked at Clem a bit hurt at her decision while Nick avoided Lee's direct eye contact, "Hey there." Kenny said with a bit of a nod to Luke,
"Hey." Luke said as he rubbed the back of his neck,
"You guys like the food?" Lee asked as he took another bite,
"Oh yeah...it's uh, it's great. Thank you." Luke replied with a bit of a shrug,
"Yeah peaches and beans. Great for nutrition but not too good on the way out." Kenny said then let out a bellowing laugh causing Clem to look at him oddly. Lee shook his head ever so slightly and continued to eat, he wasn't exactly sure if he was ready to talk to them yet. "So Luke...and Nick. Luke and Nick. You guys sure do look like a match."
Luke jumped back in surprise at the quip while Nick angrily leaned forward, "And what the hell is that suppose to mean?" Nick asked staring Kenny dead in the eyes,
"Easy guys." Lee said looking up, "I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it."
"No, no, I just meant you looked like good friends." Kenny said holding back a grin,
Luke took a deep breath, "So what's the plan here? Hold out for the winter?" Luke asked the pair,
Kenny raised an eyebrow, "Actually we're thinking of moving somewhere up north."
Lee narrowed his eyes, "No we're probably gonna be staying here." He said firmly.
Kenny looked over at him and gave him a little shrug, "I said we were thinking about it. I mean we heard of this place Wellington, you heard of it?" He asked looking around,
"Wellington? The hell is that?" Luke asked confused,
"A place." Kenny quickly shot back,
"What kind of place?" Luke asked with a roll of his eyes,
"A good one, Einstein." Kenny replied with a scoff,
"Kenny, enough!" Lee yelled out,
"What?" Kenny asked with an agitated tone,
Clem's eyes went a little wide with some fear, "I've heard of it!" She called out getting everyone's attention, "Christa and I were heading to it when we got separated."
Kenny let out a smile and nodded. Lee let out a slow breath calming himself, "Yeah, it's somewhere north of here, probably on the Michigan line." Lee said with a nod,
"Michigan?" Nick asked,
"Yeah kid Michigan! You got a hearing problem or something?" Kenny snapped out,
"Alright Kenny enough." Lee said firmly before looking back to Nick, "So it's up north, food, supplies. Wide open spaces and cold winters to keep the walkers slow."
Nick let out a scoff, "Sounds like bullshit."
Kenny narrowed his eyes, "Listen Vanilla Ice, I don't know what your problem is but-" Kenny started to say,
"Alright!" Lee boomed out slamming his fist down, "You are gonna stop that shit right now!"
Kenny looked at Lee a bit shocked, surprised he wasn't backing him up. He slowly narrowed his eyes and looked over to Clem, "Pass me that can Duck." Kenny said quickly let let out a gasp before lowering his head,
"Duck? Who's Duck?" Luke asked confused,
While Lee put his hand on Kenny's shoulder Clem whispered to Luke, "Duck was his son." Luke looked over at Kenny with a bit of sympathy.
Alright so we have another chapter down, and already we are having some tension between the groups. Lee is also have many conflicting thoughts right now, with Clem back he's trying to be the person he used to be but his loss of temper he's developed is making it a bit hard and Clem seems to have noticed this. Next chapter things are really going to pick up so I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I looked forward to your reviews.