Although Lee wanted to lie and tell the man he was an idiotic, unsafe degenerate monster, he had to admit that he didn't look the part. Besides, his rational side told him to calm down. "We all do. Look at me, I look like a walker myself."

"Yeah, we all do. Some more than others." Lee's blood immediately began boiling again at that statement. The stranger took a peek down at a bag beneath his feet with a frown. Lee couldn't make out what was in it though. "A few months later and I had finished stockpiling supplies. I thought if I could just earn her trust back she'd finally forgive me for our son." He stopped talking, looked up at Lee in disgust and continued. "I left it in the station wagon and went back to camp to tell her about it. When we got back you had already stolen half of it."

"Yes, half of it. We never took all of it, and even then we left you with the essentials. Food, water, some gas, that hoodie-"

"You think it lasted? Tell me, Lee, how long did your food last? The food and water you took from me, do you still have it?" Silence. Lee knew that there was none left from the station wagon. They had blown through it with how many people they had. Luckily, the drug store helped quite a bit in terms of supplies and they still had much more of that stuff.

"..We finished that a couple of hours ago. The rest of my supplies are from elsewhere." He admitted, earning a sly smirk from the man as he realized his point was proven. This quickly dropped back to sadness.

"We lasted for a little bit. I still have some of the supplies. Then one day we got into an argument and she left with our daughter. She took most of our supplies, but.. They didn't get far. By then I had already met Clementine. What you didn't take, something that came in real handy, was this." The stranger put down a yellow and black walkie talkie, revealing it to Lee. "This is how I met Clementine. This is how I know so much about her and your group. She's nine years old, her parents' names are Diana and Ed, she's in the fourth grade, she still believes her parents are alive. Most importantly, I know all of the horrible things you've done over the last three months."

"She.. She told you about me?" Lee asked slowly, scared of what she had said.

"About every little thing. You left an innocent man to die for a pretty girl."

"I would have saved them both, I-I just saved Carley first!" Lee knew he was wrong, that he really did want to save both of them. But that memory haunted him and his current girlfriend, even now.

"You told her you were a murderer after a day of knowing her!" The Stranger raised his voice, eyebrows furrowed angrily.

"She had a right to know." Lee replied more calmly. There was nothing wrong with telling Clem in his mind.

"You brought her into a dairy full of sick people, and let them get their hands on her."

"And you're no better? You kidnapped her, who knows what would have happened if I wasn't here right now." Lee argued, his fist clenched over his pants. If only he had kept his gun with him, even if it did only have one bullet left.

"I'm better than you. How about the time you left her alone with two injured men, leaving the stupid kid with the rifle to guard her?" He questioned, raising his gun higher, his finger glistening the trigger.

"Ben did a fine job. Nothing happened."

"And the time you almost got her killed at the train station?" That's when he snapped.

"She isn't a baby, man! You can't baby her. This is life now, this is how the world works! You aren't young or old, dumb or stupid, male or female, you are alive. She needs to learn how to grow up or else she'll end up like everyone else." Lee must have hit a nerve, because the kidnapper didn't talk for several seconds after that. He just stared at the floor and allowed a few tight sighs to escape his throat. He was on the verge of crying it seemed.

"...You're a monster, a murderer and a thief and I'm going to hurt you so bad." Lee knew this was it, that there was no way out of this one. So, fuck it.

"Look, I was bitten, okay?" He doesn't exactly know why he said it. Maybe it made him feel better that someone who was for sure not going to die was gonna take care of her while he was gone. Maybe he was just terrified.

"What..?"

"Earlier today, I got bit by a walker. My people cut the arm off in time, so I might be okay but.. Yeah."

"Okay.. Wow. Uh, Lee.. Listen to me. I have an offer for you. Since you're in no condition to help anyone anymore.. Let me keep her. Let me take her away. I can protect her. I had kids, you had nothing. I can treat her right, I can save her from you." The stranger made an offer that Lee saw only one answer to.

"No. You can't have her. I'd rather die than let her stay with you." He stated, shaking his head. He knew he didn't really have a say, but it didn't matter. This is how he felt.

"...That's a shame. Looks like you've sealed it then." The stranger suddenly lowered the gun ever so slowly, still on Lee but at a lower angle. He looked back down into the bowling bag and began.. Talking? "Hey, honey.. I think this is all gonna work out."

"What are you-" The door behind the stranger interrupted Lee. Out of the corner of his eye, the ex teacher noticed the door slightly open. Clementine poked her head out, her short hair and scared face clearly visible to him. His heart filled with hope and adrenaline when he saw her. He made direct eye contact.

"..I do too. ..Mhm, I know. I'm glad this is all over, isn't it?" The pale man asked Lee, looking up at him for a split second before peering back into the bag.

"Just about." Lee whispered, directing Clementine with his eyes to his bag. She tried picking up his axe but gave up almost instantly. She then noticed Lee's wrench and grabbed it, making her way over, slowly and quietly.

"I miss you so much, Tess. You're gonna like Clementine a lot though. She's not Lizzy but she's sweet. She wouldn't hurt a fly." SLAM. He was hit right in the temple with the weapon, causing him to flinch and yell in pain. Looking back, he became distracted at the sight of 'cute and innocent' Clementine hurting him. Lee responded by standing up and tackling the man out of his seat.

Clementine watched as her capture and father figure began battling, with the stranger on top of Lee. She was terrified out of her mind, watching as Lee got punched repeatedly in the cheek, opening up a cut on his left cheek. Eventually, he was able to garner enough strength to kick him hard, sending the stranger into the foot of his bed. Stunned, he looked around for a weapon to finish the job with. Lee and him noticed that the stranger's gun had landed on the floor near the closet door and began approaching it.

Lee was barely able to get up from the floor in time, shoving his elbow into the man's nose before punching his mouth, blood beginning to drip down his lips. He then took grip of his neck, but since he only had one arm he couldn't keep pressure up for long. The stranger headbutted Lee in the nose before tackling him down to the floor.

"You ruined everything! Just go away! DIE!" Out of nowhere, a bullet hit the main in the side of his skull, killing him instantly. What color was left drained out of him as he went limp on top of Lee. He pushed his corpse off of him, panting heavily. How the hell did he get out of that without a serious injury? Clementine, that's how.

"I..I..I… I shot him." Clementine mumbled, shaking as if she were in a blizzard. Lee got up, walked up to her and leveled with her, opening up his arms for a hug. That's when she noticed his missing limb. "Y-your arm's gone.. Why? That's so scary." She looked terrified, almost assuming he had been bit.

"I.. I'll tell you in a second, okay Clem? I need to ask you a few questions first."

"O-okay.. What is it?"

"Did he hurt you?"

"No.. Not really. I'm so sorry, Lee.." She was starting to tear up and he could tell.

"Hey, it's.. It's okay, honey. Come here." She ran into his arms, wrapping her own around his body. He let a few tears of his own slip out. Oh, and here, you forgot this." He grabbed his bag from the table and searched through, finding her hat. He gave it to her with a warm smile.

"I thought it was gone!" She stated happily, grabbing it from his hands and eagerly putting it back on.

"I thought you were gone." Lee replied, the fear in him slowly fading away.

"Thank you." She replied sweetly. "Where are the others?"

"They're waiting for us on the rooftops. We gotta get going." He answered, filling his pack with the strangers gun.

"Okay.. Even Duck?" Clem questioned, excited to see her old friend again. Lee sighed.

"They uh.. He left with the boat already, sweet pea." He admitted sadly. Her mood dropped off.

"Oh.." She said, staring at the floor quietly.

"I'm sorry. You still have Omid and Christa."

"Yeah.. I'll miss Duck."

"Me too, kiddo. Me too." Lee looked around the place, at the stranger, the adjoined rooms. He felt disgusted that this sick man could get to Clem so easily. "Why did you run away, Clem?" He knew she might not be up to answering that question, but it was important to him to know.

"He said he had my parents, Lee. I don't know why, but.. I believed him. I'm so stupid." She shook her head, annoyed by her rash actions.

"No, you're not. You just made a mistake. Remember the train station? You'll get better." Lee reassured, smiling down at her. She smiled back. Now, is there anything else we need?"

"You still haven't told me about your arm.." She said, pointing at his bandaged nub. He sighed.

"..Alright. Don't panic, I'm sure it's nothing, but.. I got bitten." Her eyes went wilder than a deer in headlights. Her lip pouted and she took a step back.

"What? No, no, no, t-that's not true!" She stuttered out, getting ready to let out the water-works. Lee looked at the nub and without missing a beat, grinned. She looked confused and sad now.

"Calm down, it's fine. I cut it off so I could stay me. I'm not going anywhere, sweet pea." He assured her, kneeling down to put his right hand on her shoulder.

"O-oh.. G-good.. I don't know what I would do if you.." She didn't finish that sentence.

"I don't know what I would do without you." They stayed like that for a minute or so, enjoying each other's company. This was the moment Lee realized everything would be okay, and the moment Clem accepted that he and the rest of her group was her family now. A zombie groan coming from outside brought them out of their trance. Banging on the door was also a bit frightening to the girl. Lee grabbed the gun the stranger had used and walked toward the door. "Stay behind me." He ordered Clementine. She nodded and tip toed back.

Once Lee reached the door, he pulled it open, revealing a walker. He expected this. What he didn't expect was for it to just stand there. It didn't even bother attacking him. Once it set sight on Clementine it began moving and Lee tossed him to the ground, firing the last round of the gun into its head.

"It didn't attack you!" Clementine exclaimed, surprised and scared from the noise.

"Yeah.. It didn't." Lee responded, panting from the adrenaline that pumped itself inside of him the second he laid eyes on the milky white pupils of a walker.

"You're covered in all of that gross stuff." She pointed out.

"Oh yeah, that would explain it. I had this idea initially but we're going to need to spread it on you, too." Lee explained, looking down at the hollow shell of a human on the floor.

"Okay, yeah. Just make it quick. Last time Chuck did it it was really gross." She pleaded, cringing at the thought of getting covered in guts again.

"I'll try." Lee grabbed his axe and gently cut into the walker's stomach, ripping open it's dead flesh. The smell hit him like sour air conditioning, but his intestines were a great tool for spreading walker blood. He grabbed the organ and began rubbing it on his face, legs and as much of his back as he could. "Clem, your turn." She reluctantly walked closer to him, turning around so he could get her back. He smeared the guts as quickly as possible, but the cold, dirty feeling still unsettled her. It would probably unsettle most people.

Once they finished, Lee reached down to her. "Hold my hand the whole time. Don't let go and act like you belong. Okay?" She took his hand and gripped it hard.

"Yeah, I'm ready." The last thing Lee heard before leaving was the sound of another walker groaning inside of the room, something he didn't hear before. It came from the strangers bag.

It began raining when they left. They saw the group waving them down at the jewelry store as they walked through the street. They fired a few shots to get the walkers attention, which helped quite a bit. The two continued walking as these shots were fired, until a walker bumped into Clementine. He was bigger than most of the other walkers. The nine year old looked up at him and began shaking in Lee's hand.

"What's wrong?"

"D-daddy.. He's.. You.." She began crying softly, being pulled into a hug by Lee. The two men looked at each other, right in the eyes. It's almost as if Lee knew exactly what the walker was thinking, and the walker knew exactly what Lee was thinking. That was Ed alright, and he didn't move a muscle after seeing the two. Lee didn't move his mouth, but he did nod at the man. Just then, Clem's mother appeared next to him, looking up at her husband before walking away with him. Clem's crying only became sadder. Lee successfully got them out of there and up to the rooftops.

Upon reaching the rooftops, the group rejoiced, hugging each other and planning some huge party to celebrate (Omid's idea). Clem was still sad, even while talking to her new family. Still, she embraced this change all the way to the edge of Savannah. Upon leaving the state, they found a car that was running on fumes. Luckily, they were able to get it to work and made enough progress on the road to make it to some decent forestry near the countryside. It wasn't exact, they had no roof, but they had gotten to a safer place.

Where would they go from here?

Thank you for reading Season 1

Relationships:

Clementine has never been happier to be with the group. She loves you. 10/10

Carley has high hopes for the future of this group, and of your relationship. 10/10

Omid is ecstatic that Clem and you are safe. 10/10

Christa is more than happy to be a part of such a responsible group with such a responsible leader. 10/10

Chuck is in it for the long haul. He's certainly Molly's best friend. 10/10

Molly adores Chuck, but has a special place in her heart for the entire group. You're stuck with her for as long as she's alive. 10/10

Your Lee was a straight forward, smart and responsible leader who always tried to be on top of things. He was always looking out for others, such as when he volunteered to work on the fence over Mark in case of a fluke, or when he confronted Molly about her past with kindness and respect. He is still alive and happy with his new family.

((QOTC: Well.. What did you think of the finale? There's still 400 days, but after that and Kenny's story, season two is upon us. I would like to thank everyone for reading, especially those who were critical of me. It's helped a lot. Special thanks to Welcome to the 404, Reader 67, Worker72, Sokol848, DoTilaTiDo and many others for helping me out during the tough times and harder decisions of the story. Alt choices will be posted with the finale of 400 Days))