Clementine's head pounded as she returned to the world of the living. Her dream of Lee had shaken her a bit. In a good or bad way, Clementine didn't yet know.

Was that really Lee or just a dream?

She groaned in pain as the light assaulted her eyes when she tried to open them.

"Clem?"

Clementine turned her head and squinted at the person seated next to her.

Luke was seated next to her, looking a bit disheveled but still alright.

That's when she remembered.

She sat up so quickly, she almost gave herself whiplash. She attempted to speak but all that came out was a hard cough.

Luke patted her back as she coughed.

"Easy now," Luke started, half expecting her to pass out again, "we almost lost you back there."

Once Clementine's coughing fit ended, she looked up at Luke.

"What happened?" she asked, voice hoarse.

There was fear in her eyes. For herself or the others, Luke did not know.

He reached down beside him and grabbed a water bottle he had managed to get from a scavenging trip. He figured Clem would need something to drink once she woke up.

He handed her the bottle which she took gratefully with a small "Thank you" as she started to chug down the water.

Luke sat forward in his seat.

"What exactly do you remember?" Luke asked her.

Clementine took some time to answer that, eyes unfocused and staring at the ceiling.

What DID she remember?

"I...I remember a flash," she recalled, the memories returning to her a bit foggy, "and...my-"

Clementine's eyes widened in horror once she remembered the Abomination biting her leg and pinning her down.

She was bit!

Clementine, wasting no time at all, ripped the sheet away from her body that had been placed on her during her comatose state.

Her left leg was wrapped up in white cloth, a faint red color showing through.

Clementine just stared at her leg, mouth slightly agape in astonishment and confusion.

How was she still alive?

"You got lucky Clem," Luke said from the side, "those new lurkers can't infect people yet..or at least that's what Carlos thinks."

Clementine looked over at Luke, just now noticing the dried tear tracks on his face. His eyes seemed sad and on the verge of spilling fresh tears once more.

Without an ounce of hesitation she leapt into Luke's arms, who quickly hugged her back as if she may disappear, being mindful though of her left arm in a sling.

"You were caught in an explosion kid." Luke started.

He smiled through the tears that were forming as Clem playfully kicked him for calling her a kid, as he knew she would.

As he continued though, his smile turned into a worried frown.

"You were out cold and we grabbed you and ran, we got here and that's when I noticed your...bite."

He said bite as if it physically pained him to say that simple word, but Clementine knew that losing another group member would devastate him after Pete.

Luke continued, "We got lucky when we figured out that the bite wasn't fatal, but..."

Luke hesitated and Clementine noticed.

"What?" Clementine asked him.

Luke tightened his arms around her slightly.

"You were out-cold for three days."

Clementines eyes widened in surprise.

"Your injuries were worse than we thought, Carlos said that there was a chance that-"

Luke took a second to compose himself before continuing.

"There was a chance that you weren't going to wake up." Luke whispered with sadness, looking away from Clementine.

Clementine separated from the hug and used her uninjured hand to turn his head back towards her.

"I'm here, I'm okay," Clementine stated seriously and then grinned slightly, "we're a family, we look out for each other...which is why I'm there to hit you when you do something stupid."

Luke laughed for the first time in a while.

Clementine really was something else.

But things got serious again when he remembered something.

"When the explosion went off, it kind of..," Luke took a deep breath, "it destroyed your hat."

Time seemed to stop for a moment for Clementine.

She reached up to her head where her hat should be but only grasped her hair.

She bit her lip as she held back tears. That hat held so many memories.

Her parents and Lee being the most it held.

Surprisingly though, she wasn't as sad as she thought she would be. Yes, she was saddened by the loss of her hat but deep down, she knew that in the world they lived in today, there would be some moment when she loses her hat and won't be able to get it back. She will always remember the people in her life and while her hat comforts her, it didn't mean that without it, she wouldn't remember those people.

Nevertheless, she accepted the hug Luke gave her as she cried into his shirt.

After a few minutes Luke separated from her and helped her stand up. She was a bit clumsy at first, being bed-ridden for so long, but she got the hang of it and could stand on her own after a few attempts.

"Come on," Luke told her with a smile, "let's get you something to eat, you haven't eaten in days."

Clementine accepted his help walking into the back of the diner, even though she didn't really need it.

A long table was set up in the back room with everyone sitting around it.

Apparently the appliances in the diner still had power because Alvin was cooking what looked like beans and handing them all out on plates to everyone at the table.

When they noticed Clementine and Luke, they all smiled at them.

Sarah got out of her seat and almost knocked Clementine off her feet when Sarah hugged her.

"Clem your awake!" Sarah exclaimed happily.

"You gave us quite a scare." Alvin told her as he approached and handed her a plate, "you must be starving."

Clementine's stomach growled in response, making everyone in the group chuckle as she smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah, you could say that." Clementine said with a smile.

Alvin smiled in response and guided her to a seat between Sarah and Luke.

Clementine's recovery seemed to improve everyone's mood as they all started telling jokes and sharing stories. Clementine observed all of this quietly with a soft smile on her face.

Even with the loss of her hat, she could still have the memories she held close to her heart.

As well as the new ones she will create with the cabin group.

Her family.

Their family.

I HAVE RETURNED! Told you I wasn't going to leave you hanging ;) As always, review and let me know what you think. Sorry that not much happened this chapter but I am official out of college until August, which is PLENTY of time to finish this story! I really appreciate you all being patient with me and I thank you all for that! Until next time my readers...