For Those You Love

Chapter 10

Carley awoke to the sound of laughter coming from outside her bedroom door. She stretched and checked her watch, seeing it read 09:10.

"Holy shit, I've slept in!" She exclaimed, practically throwing her vest and jeans on and opening their front door a crack. She saw Lilly sat on watch while Katjaa and Ben relaxed on the sofa by the RV. Kenny was banging a large rock against the fence, obviously trying to reinforce it at least some more. The thing that melted her heart, though, was the sight of Lee playing soccer with Clementine and Duck. They two youngsters were running circles around the much older man, laughing happily as they passed the ball between them. Lee seemed to be working up a slight sweat, running his arm across his brow often and puffing out breaths. Clementine looked up for a millisecond and screeched with happiness when she saw her mother.

Lee quickly told the kids to keep playing without him and walked over, unbuttoning his shirt so it hung loosely at his sides.

"I hope you don't mind me asking." He started, taking her hand in his and squeezing it gently. "But those pills…did he… you know?"

"Yeah, I think so." She replied, knowing exactly what he was talking about. "I can't really remember much."

He nodded, not exactly knowing how to reply. Here was a woman who had been to hell and back, all for a warm meal. His first thing to do when he was nervous was to put up his so-called 'humour shields'.

"Well, it seems like forever since you last took the morning after pill." He laughed, seeing her give a slight chuckle, too. She nodded, moving her hair away from her face with her slender hand.

"True. The last time we had to was before we started trying for Clem." She agreed, hugging into her husband. He kissed her forehead and squeezed her gently.

"Yeah. And we both remember how that turned out." He shrugged. His voice seemed monotonous. Carley mentally scolded herself.

"God damn it! You know how touchy he is about that!" She inwardly spat. Numerous tests had revealed that Clementine was a one-in-a-million chance. He definitely couldn't have any more children, despite them still never using contraception.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-" She started to apologise, when…

"Don't apologise. I should be apologising to you." He muttered, scratching the back of his neck and running his hand through his hair. Had his face not been so serious, she would have laughed at how similar he was to his father when he did that. "You went through all sorts of shit, all because I couldn't control my temper. I know he did it to get revenge at me. I threatened him when he grabbed Clem. If it wasn't for me, you would have made it out of there completely unscathed."

"Lee, look at me." Carley said quietly, locking eyes with him and cupping his cheek. "There was nothing you could have done to stop it. I know it feels like it, but even if you did, he would have went after Lilly. I'd rather me, an old decrepit, have to go through it that a young girl. Don't ever blame yourself because I know you couldn't have done anything." She insisted, tears brimming in her eyes. This thoroughly worried him and he pulled her into a tight hug, smiling when she returned it.

From somewhere to their left, Kenny shouted in celebration and the sound of radio static came to life. Everyone turned their heads, just as a masculine voice started talking.

"WABE: Atlanta has other news from around the country. It is not, repeat, not just Georgia that is affected. Other parts of the world have succumbed to the plague. So, hold your loved ones close and keep living."

"Steve…" Carley whispered, bringing her hand up to cover her mouth in shock and grief. "Oh my god Steve…"

Lee just brought her further into the embrace, kissing the side of her head and allowing her a while to adjust.

Two Hours Later

Lee sat on his old lawn chair, reading one of his books. It was quite interesting, as it was about the Holocaust and Adolf Hitler. After all, he wasn't a history professor for nothing. Carley was up on the RV, keeping a look out for any unexpected visitors while Clementine had ran to the toilet not long before. The others were in their rooms, spending time with their families or sleeping.

"Daddy!" He heard, snapping him from his thoughts with a jolt. Clementine was sprinting towards him, tears running down her face and her arm wrapped around her stomach. Worry flooded through him and he ran to her, kneeling to her level and hugging her in tightly.

"Hey, it's okay baby girl." He soothed, rubbing her back and taking her cap off so he could see every detail of her teary, scrunched up face. "What's wrong?"

Carley ran over from behind them, clutching her chest and looking concerned.

"Honey, it's okay." She said, taking the cap off her husband and setting it on the floor next to her. "You can tell us."

"I… I t-think I'm turning into a w-walker!" She sobbed, clutching her father's shirt desperately. Both of their hearts dropped and they looked at each other, their eyes wide.

"No…" The woman breathed, becoming still and terrified. It had to be wrong. Their daughter couldn't die.

"Sweetheart, look at me…" Lee said softly, moving her away gently. She did as he asked, looking up at him through watery eyes. "I need you to tell me if you were bitten or not."

"No…" She said after a while, wiping her tears away forcefully. She winced slightly, gripping her stomach tighter. "I wasn't bitten…"

Carley visibly relaxed, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Why did you think you were gonna turn into a walker, sweetheart?" She asked, taking her tiny hand in her larger (but still quite small) ones.

"I… My stomach really hurts and there was a lot of blood when I went to the bathroom…" She admitted, looking downwards at her shoes, obviously embarrassed.

Lee blanched. If this was what he thought it was… he was screwed. How were they supposed to explain what periods were to an eight year old?! He looked over to his wife who looked like she was positively high off happiness and relief.

"You want to help me with this, Lee?" Carley asked, nudging his arm and smiling mischievously.

"I… I'm… Uh…" He stammered, a blush quickly creeping up his neck and he pointed to the abandoned lawn chair that was perched atop the RV. "I've got to take over your watch."

She chuckled and started leading Clementine to her motel room, only looking back at her husband to send him a small, proud smile.

As soon as they were gone, he grimaced. His daughter was going through puberty. He had always said he'd do anything for his little girl. That he'd die for her if need be. But what happened when boys came into the question? This was surely not going to be fun.

A/N- Okay guys, quite a family-oriented chapter here XD I thought you'd want a bit of funny after the doomed pit that was last two chapters. Please R&R? HPTwin OUT!