The Trotting Dead: VG

E 1 Ch 5: Family Ties

-Edited by Solar_Flicker

Rainbow Dash slowly massaged her wing, trying to sooth the strain she felt in it. She smiled as Lee aproached her, Clementine, and Twilight.

"Hey, there." Lee bent down to sit with them.

"Hey, Lee. Listen, I just want to say thanks, for having my back and all." Dash was straight forward with her gratitude.

"Don't mention it. It was the least I could do after you saved Clem. How's your wing?"

"It's doing okay, just a little achy from that walker." She flapped it a few times as the soreness had subsided.

"What about you, Twilight?" Lee nodded to her.

"...I'm...fine...I... just want to go home." Twilight's tone was melancholy. "I thought I could get us home sooner, but now...I'm scared I won't be able to before...something happens." Twilight hinted at her friend's close encounter. Lee moved closer to comfort her.

"Don't worry, we'll..."

"How can I not worry?! One of them almost got my friend!" Twilight interrupted him.

"Twilight, calm down. Lee's just trying to help." Dash glanced at the unicorn. Twilight sighed, and let her anxiety melt.

"I...I'm sorry..." Her ears drooped.

"It's okay, I understand. I can empathize; wanting to go home and all." Lee was understanding.

"Wait a minute, didn't you say something about your family being here in Macon?" Dash picked up on Lee's statement.

"Yeah, I uh...I grew up here." Lee replied. "It's just...been so long since I've been back." He added, talking to no one in particular.

"And your family?" Twilight pressed.

"...I...don't know. I can only hope that they're safe, or that they got out somehow." Lee wanted to dismiss the other likely possibilities.

"Oh, I'm...sorry, Lee." Twilight spoke softly.

"There's no need." Lee waved his hand. "But what I was going to say is we'll help out however we can until you guys can go home." Lee smiled at Twilight. He wasn't sure just how many people he was speaking for, but knew that he and Clementine were there for them, for what it was worth.

"Thanks, Lee. We appreciate that." Twilight smiled to him.

"Of course. Ponies or humans; we're all in this together." Lee chuckled. He noticed Twilight still looked down, but wasn't sure what else to add to help her out of her funk. "Clementine, is there anything you need?" He turned his attention to her.

"No." She shook her head. "Well, maybe I'm a little hungry." She changed her mind.

"Oh, well, it's not much but here." Lee reached into his pocket for one of the energy bars he had found while looking around the store beforehand. "I've been looking around for any supplies we may need."

"Thank you." Clem smiled, and took the snack.

"Of course." Lee caught Rainbow Dash giving him an approving smile.

"You're a good caretaker." She nodded.

"I do my best." Lee replied. He stood up to end the conversation. "I'll be back in a bit. Oh, and Clementine, you should know that I gave Glenn the other walkie-talkie so he could stay in touch. Be listening for him, okay." Clem nodded in understanding. Lee left, and went to join Kenny and his family, along with Applejack. He caught sight of the office door again, but again waited until later to head inside.

"Hey, Lee." Kenny greeted as Lee approached. "You really gave that old man hell." He smirked.

"Yeah, we got pushed you know." Lee responded.

"You don't have to tell me; I was ready to tear the man's head off." Kenny added.

"Well, as fired up as ah was, I'm kinda glad it didn't come to that. He's a biggin." AJ chuckled.

"Yeah, but it ain't the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog." Lee grinned.

"Too true." Applejack replied, crossing her hooves.

"Well, you both should know that we, Kat and I, appreciate your support." Kenny thanked them.

"How's Duck doing?" Lee carried the conversation forward.

"He's okay, it was just a shock." Kat answered.

"We're lucky as hell nobody got nabbed on the way in here." Kenny spoke.

"And that Rainbow didn't get hurt." AJ added.

"No kidding." Lee nodded. It had been a close call for the pegasus, and strangely enough, Lee had been feeling an odd sense of responsibility for her afterwards, kind of the way he did for Clementine.

"How is Rainbow doin' by the way?" Applejack looked around the corner of the aisle.

"Don't worry, I checked in with her. She's doing just fine." Lee reassured.

"Ah figured; she's never really been big on showin' fear, even when it's most appropriate." The farm pony smiled.

"What about Clementine, is she okay?" Kat glanced over at Clem.

"She's good, I think." Lee hoped his words rang true.

"She's a tough one, right there." Kenny chimed.

"She's just a little girl, Ken." Katjaa figured Clem's capabilities were being overestimated.

"What you were saying, Lee, she spent days surviving on her own?" Kenny disputed his wife's opinion.

"That's right."

"Not just any little girl can do that." Kenny admired Clem's courage.

"Still, Ah can't even imagine how hard it could've been for the little one, even if she did hold out." Applejack shared her thoughts.

"I think her sense of optimism helps her with that. She's a unique kid." Lee praised her. "But what about you guys, are you all alright?"

"We're just fine, considering." Kenny answered.

"How about you Duck?" Lee asked. Duck didn't answer, as he appeared to still be shaken up from recent events. A timid expression was stuck on his face.

"We've been through a lot." Kat answered for him.

"Applejack?" Lee continued.

"Oh, Ah'm doin' just fine. For now, everything's under control, and no one's seriously hurt. Well, no one who didn't have it comin.'" The orange mare flicked her eyes at Larry.

"What's the plan?" Lee questioned, wanting to know what Kenny had in mind.

"Hang tight, I suppose." Kenny shrugged. "Seems pretty dangerous out there, so we oughta wait for things to clear up."

"You said your family was from here in Macon?" Katjaa remembered what Lee had said on the farm.

"That's right." Lee looked down at the ground, already despising being back on the topic.

"Where are they, should we go looking for them?" Katjaa prodded.

"They uh,...they owned this place." Lee trusted Kenny and his family enough to confess. Applejack was there to hear as well, but Lee didn't mind. "I think it's safe to assume they're...gone." Lee closed his eyes.

"Oh, sweetie..." Kat put her hand to her mouth.

"Wait, maybe not, Lee. How can you be sure?" AJ chimed.

"I can't be sure, but as bad as things are...I just don't know how long they could've lasted." Lee frowned.

"But, you just never know! M-maybe they're back at their house, or on the move somewhere." Applejack tried to keep Lee's hope afloat.

"It's okay, Applejack." Kat spoke up. "We know there's still a chance for Lee's family."

"Well, thanks, you guys." Lee brightened up a bit, but still couldn't shake his gut feeling that his parents were no longer with them.

"Lee, you got a second?" Kenny looked woefully at him.

"Sure." The two men left Kat and AJ to talk. Duck still remained frightfully silent.

"Ah know Lee doesn't want to get his hopes up, but he can't just give up hope completely." Applejack sounded almost frustrated.

"Give him some time, Applejack, everyone copes with things in their own way." Katjaa reassured.

Kenny and Lee got out of earshot in the store several feet away from Kenny's family, and stood in front of the office door. Kenny's expression carried extreme sadness, and a hint of regret.

"Back on Hershel's farm." Kenny started.

"Yeah?" Lee let him continue.

"We didn't even try to save him, that blood is on our hands y'know." Kenny grimmaced, referring to Shawn's demise.

"It happened pretty fast." Lee could tell where this was coming from, and tried to ease his friend's conscience.

"I guess, but I can't stop seeing him in my head." Kenny looked past Lee's shoulder and into the distance of the store.

"We can't kill ourselves over it."

"We killed that boy, we could've saved him together."

"We did what we could, bad things happen. We didn't make a choice that killed Shawn. You think you do when you look back on it, but in a moment when things are really out of control...You don't have any choice." Lee did his best to lift the guilt from Kenny.

"I guess." Kenny replied meekly.

"Try to let it go?" Lee consoled. Kenny gave him an uncertain look, and rejoined his family soon after. Lee left him to his thoughts, and went to talk with Lilly and her father.

Twilight glanced at Lee approaching Lilly while she made her way over to Carley who was busy working on a radio, not far from the front door. The purple unicorn smiled shyly as she stopped in front of her. Carley ceased her work, and raised a brow.

"Hi um...Carley, right? Listen, sorry for being so short with you before."

"Uh...don't...worry about it?" Carley hesitantly responded. "How's your friend doing?"

"She's okay. Rainbow Dash is pretty tough, she pulls through just about anything." Twilight grinned. "I'm Twilight. Twilight Sparkle."

"Well, I guess you already know my name, and it's nice to meet you." Carley was passive on the introduction. Her uncaring attitude made Twilight fidgety about asking her next question.

"Likewise, but uh...I actually came over here to ask you something."

"Yeah?" Carley smiled, finding it humerous that the talking horse had questions for her.

"That...thing you used to kill the walkers..." Twilight spoke softly.

"You mean my gun?" Carley pulled out her glock, making sure the safety was on.

"Yeah, your...gun. Is that what it's called?" Twilight began to levitate the device towards her. She rotated it in front of her, examining the fine metal that made up the weapon. Carley wasn't sure if she should snatch it back, but didn't like the device being manipulated by an obviously untrained...pony. She grabbed it from the air.

"That's probably not the best idea." Carley warned.

"Oh." Twi's ears drooped. "Well, can you at least tell me about it?"

"Why are you so intrigued by it?" Carley squinted.

"I've never seen anything do like what you did to those walkers. I guess you could just say that I'm inquisitive." Twilight shrugged.

"Tell you what, I'll tell you a little bit about how guns work, and you answer a question of mine." Carley proposed, wanting to learn a little bit more about why she was talking to a pony.

"Alright, sounds fair." Twilight nodded.

Lee had properly introduced himself upon speaking with Lilly. He didn't have much to talk about other than getting to know her, and partially her father. Larry had stayed quiet during their conversation.

"You're from here?" Lee wondered if Lilly was a local.

"I work at Warner Robins; the Air Force base." Lilly replied.

"Yeah, I know it. Pilot?"

"Nah, just mechanical admin stuff. I deal with a bunch of shitheads and bureaucrats all day, sometimes a plane if I'm lucky." Lilly joked. "You?"

"I work up at UGA. Was uh...anyone here when you guys got here?" Lee moved on to the next topic, and braced himself for Lilly's answer.

"No, this place was pretty wrecked. We pulled a couple of bodies out of the office." Regardless of expecting this kind of news, Lee still couldn't believe his ears and flinched upon hearing so. He blinked his eyes trying to calm himself. "Are you okay?" Lilly took notice.

"Yeah...I'm fine." Lee said blankly.

"Did you know anybody here?"

"Yeah uh, the owners, they were...we were close." Lee could feel the tears welling up, but held them back.

"I'm sorry, we found an older couple in the office. Dad hauled them out in case they weren't really dead." Lilly explained, but remained sympathetic. Lee nodded silently. "So, Lee. I've got to ask; what's the story with those candy colored horses?" Lilly crossed her arms.

"Oh, heh, there's not much to tell." Lee snickered. "I met them just this morning, but apparently they'd been mixed up in this since yesterday."

"But...why are they here? I mean, I don't get it." Lilly had trouble getting her confusion across.

"They're here because Twilight...the uh, unicorn, was working on some kind of invention, or something. Something went wrong with it, and that's all I really got. They're good company once you get to know them." Lee put in a good word for them.

"O...kay." Lilly was still unsure of what to make of them. "But they're trustworthy, right?"

"Do they really look that malevolent?" Lee found her suspicion of them kind of out-of-place.

"No, but just because they're cute and cuddly doesn't mean they're harmless. You saw what that blue one did to that walker, imagine if she had aimed just a little higher."

"All the more reason for you to understand that they're on our side." Lee reasoned.

"Geez, so quick to make friends with these oversized girl toys. I think this guy's a little too in touch with his feminine side." Despite his critical condition, Larry still spared the energy to take a jab at Lee, but Lee ignored him.

"I'm gonna go check in with the others." Lee turned to leave, but mentioned one last thing in regard to Larry. "Y'know, he's got a temper." Lee frowned at the short fused elder.

"Ah, fuck you." Larry spat.

"Yeah, he doesn't mean it." Lilly defended him.

"It's just that..." Lee was ready to voice his concern for the old man's character.

"Yeah?" Lilly tilted her head, expecting ridecule towards her father.

"...Nevermind, I'm sure he's a good guy." Lee let go of whatever negativity he had against this guy, for now at least.

"He is, he just has his issues." Lilly added. Lee left it at that, and walked down the aisle to find Carley working on a radio, and Twilight having a conversation with Doug at the front door.

"You're a pretty good shot." Lee greeted Carley.

"Well, you don't fuck with a reporter, especially one that's three days out from her last cup of coffee." Carley smiled.

"And it seems Twilight's made a new friend." Lee turned to see the purple mare and Doug having a friendly discussion.

"Yeah, she's pretty curious alright. Before she went to go talk with him, she was asking me about how guns work. Then Doug mentioned something about...ballistics or some other, and those two hit it off pretty well. Almost sounds like a couple of nerds finding common ground." Carley chuckled.

"I could understand that, I mean, after getting to know them this morning I think Twilight is the "brains" of the group...no pun intended." Lee cringed. He could barely hear the two talking.

"So what did you use to even build this thing?" Doug was eager to hear about Twi's invention.

"Well, I had to work from the ground up starting with components I substituted from my old coo coo clock that didn't work anymore, but obviously it wasn't enough. Applejack let me use some scrap metal she had, and I was able to shape them into what I needed for the shell of the device, the only challenge afterwards was finding more obsolete everyday items." Twilight giggled, happy to share her enginuity.

"Besides the metals and parts that made up the exterior, what was the science behind it? Did the extrusion of um...'magical energy' involve anything such as centrifugal force of something already inside, or is it self generated within the compounds of the process, like a newly made potential mass waiting to be released?" Doug insisted for her to continue.

"Good lord, it's like their speaking a whole other language." Carley joked.

"Heh, I might've worked as a professor at UGA, but I was no egghead." Lee smiled. "You seem to handle yourself pretty well." He complimented her skills again.

"Ha, really? I'm a disaster." Carley glanced at the ground.

"I can't tell."

"My news editor was eaten about five feet away from me, and I would've joined her if it wasn't for that dorky guy on watch over there." She nodded at Doug.

"I'm sorry." Lee apologized for her loss.

"She was an asshole, but...y'know."

"Yeah." Lee nodded, then glanced back at Doug. "That guy saved you?"

"Yeah, can you believe it? Those creeps, or-or ghouls or whatever the hell they are, they were pulling our van apart and that guy, Doug, just came to the rescue."

"You can never tell who the heroic ones are going to be I suppose." Lee gave Doug props.

"He's kind of cute, in that parent's basement sort of way." Carley was mostly speaking to herself.

"Huh?" Lee hadn't caught that.

"Huh? Oh, nothing."

"You saved that girl all by yourself?" Twilight glanced at Carley, as Doug and herself held their own discussion.

"It...it was nothing really." Doug was modest. "Although...I couldn't save her friend." His shoulders sagged.

"Doug..." Twilight tried to catch his eye.

"I just couldn't do anything more...I couldn't..."

"You did all that you could, and that's what counts." The unicorn spoke for him. "I know what it's like to feel that you didn't do enough." She grimmaced, remembering Shawn yelling in agony as walkers made a meal out of him.

"What do you mean? Were there...more of you guys?" Doug nodded at Twilight's friends.

"No, he was a human, but he's gone now; all because I didn't do enough." Her ears drooped. Doug was getting uncomfortable. He had virtually no experience in giving moral support, but tried his best to find the right words like she had done for him.

"It's like you said, Twilight; as long as you did everything you could, then it was enough."

"That's just the thing, I didn't do everything I could've. I was scared, and I just...wasn't quick enough...I could've saved him." Her eyes were beginning to dampen.

"Don't let it get to you though, it will just make it worse." Doug's advice wasn't seem to be getting through to her, but he had an idea. "I'll tell you what, I'll stop dwelling over the loss of that girl if you promise to do the same for that guy. Deal?" He smiled and extended his arm. Twilight gave a wry smile, and brought her hoof up.

"It's a deal, and thanks."

"No, thank you."

"What are you messing around with there?" Lee and Carley carried the topic over to the radio on the shelf.

"A radio, I can't get it to work though." Carley looked at the object, puzzled.

"Here, let me have a look." Lee picked up the radio and examined the front. The first thing he tried was the power switch, but to his expectations nothing happened. He messed with the volume and tried once more; still nothing. Lee flipped the radio around to find the resting place of the antenna along with the battery compartment. He opened the battery lid to find it empty. "There are no batteries in this thing."

"What now?"

"You know that there are no batteries in that thing." He smirked.

"Yeah, of course, I...I mean yeah...no." Carley could feel a pang of embarrassment.

"I can try to find some, it needs two." Lee offered.

"Thanks, I wouldn't even really know what to look for." Lee nodded, and left her to her business.

'Not the most tech savvy, but she's cute.' Lee thought to himself. He thought about checking in with Doug, but left him to talk with Twilight instead. He returned to Clementine and Rainbow Dash.

"Hey Clementine, hear anything from Glenn yet?" Lee bent down.

"No, nothing. Is he okay?" She asked looking at her talkie.

"Yeah, I think so. You're doing a good job."

"Hey, Lee." Rainbow addressed. "I went to talk with Kenny, Applejack and them...They told me...about your parents...and the store." Her rosey eyes were heavy with compassion. "I can't find the words to tell you how sorry I am."

"It's okay, Dash. It's okay. My folks were good people, and that's how I'll always remember them." Lee nodded.

"Good, that's good." Dash smiled. Lee stood up, and stared at the office door. On the door was a message scribbled on yellow notebook paper containing two large words. "ALIVE INSIDE" it read. Lee looked at the ground, his imagination racing to predict what he'll see behind it.

"I'm gonna check out the office, see if I can get into the back of the pharmacy to get those pills." Lee left Clem and Dash.

"Wait, can I come?" Clem stood and walked over with Lee.

"Yeah, is it okay if I come too?" Dash hovered next to him. Lee looked at both of them, contemplating their company.

"Yeah, I suppose, c'mon." Lee shrugged. He stared at the handle for a few more painful seconds, and then turned the knob.

Glenn smiled as he caught site of the motor inn, a few abandoned vehicles prooved ripe for the gasoline he needed. He parked his car at the front by a low brick wall, and silenced the engine.

"No walkers, good." He thought out loud. Glenn first spotted the hulking RV in the inn's lot, and quickly went to work. The large vehicle held plenty of gas, at least enough to get everyone out of downtown Macon. Glenn's mission was already turning out to be a cake walk. "Too easy." He moved on to a car elevated by a ramp, but placed in park. The car was recently being worked on, and didn't contain hardly a fraction of what the goldmine of the RV had.

Lastly, he opened the gas lid of an abandoned truck sitting under the balcony of one of the upper floor rooms. He prepared to scavenge whatever he could get from the pickup, but before his task was done, Glenn could hear crying coming from one of the upper rooms. It sounded like a woman. He took his attention away from the truck, and jogged down to the far stairs at the corner of the parking lot. Glenn hurried up the steps, and jogged to the door; now standing on the railed balcony above the truck. The crying was much more audible, as Glenn pin pointed it behind a door with a single wood plank nailed to the door, and the outer wall.

"Hello? Is someone in there?" Glenn pounded the door.

"NO! GO AWAY, GO!" A panicked woman screamed through the door.

"Miss, please, I'm here to help!"

"NO....................WAY..........................BITTEN!" The woman mumbled some of the words making only bits and pieces audible. Glenn caught the word bitten, and figured she was talking about him.

"No, you don't understand, I'm not bitten! I can help you, please!"

"NOOOO!" The girl cried. Glenn used all of the strength he could to pry the board away with his hands, but the nails prooved tougher. He kicked the door a couple of times, but no visible progress was shown.

"Miss, please, let me..." Glenn stopped midsentence, and slowly turned his head to the unmistakable noise of a walker. Only it wasn't just one, the snarling became like a small symphany as several more walkers appeared from the woods just across from the inn. Glenn stared in horror, but snapped himself out of it, and made a break for the stairs. He descended them even faster than he had gone up, and sprinted for his car, but stopped short as the walkers stumbled past his ride, and growled at the sight of fresh meat. Glenn looked around for a weapon, or maybe a hiding place. The walkers stumbled over the low brick wall, closing in fast. "Ah, shit." Glenn muttered.

Lee stepped into the office with Clementine and Rainbow Dash in tow. The door closed behind them, and Lee's heart sank even deeper as he spotted a sleeping bag heavily stained with blood. The red liquid reached from the bag to a large pool on the floor around it. A stricken path of blood indicated where Lee's parents had been dragged out prior to his arrival.

"I cant...I can't think about them in here." Lee closed his eyes.

"Lee...I...I'm..." Dash brought a hoof to her mouth as she scanned the generous amount of blood.

"Let's just see what we can do about the pharmacy." Lee waved it off. He noticed the door that led to the back alley where Glenn had gone through. Lee then turned his attention to a photo adorned by a shattered frame near the sleeping bag. Rainbow wandered over to an iron door blocked by a wide desk, and a wooden pallet.

"Is this the pharmacy door?" She pointed with a hoof.

"Uhh...uh, yeah." Lee's mind was somewhere else as he slowly reached down, and removed the photo from the shards. He held it in his hands, and smiled. In the photo stood his brother, B and himself. Between them were his parents, smiling back at him through a memory. Lee took his time to reminisce on his parents success with the store as the front door acted as the background, but soon his smile faded, and Lee only looked on with regret. He held the photo with his right hand while using the left to rip himself from the picture, ashamed of his past, and also weary of anyone else finding out about it. Dash hadn't noticed his emotional state, and started work on moving the barricade from the door. Clementine stood by the exit, clutching her talkie waiting for any news from Glenn.

Lee lowered the photo, and nearly flinched as a new voice entered the room.

"Find anything?" It was Carley. Lee turned around, still holding the torn segment of himself out of view.

"It's a photo of the family that owned this place. It might help us track down the keys to the office." Lee didn't reveal the whole truth.

"I know who you are." Carley stated blankly in return. Lee gave her an unsure look, and Dash was now listening in as well as Clementine. "You're Lee Everett. You're a professor at Athens who killed a State Senator who was sleeping with your wife. This is your parent's store; folks around town know the owner's son got himself a life sentence, but I'm a reporter for WABE in Atlanta. I paid attention to that trial; maybe you're a murderer, but I don't really care. Frankly that's a skill that might come in handy."

"Hmmph." Lee crossed his arms, angered by her insensitivity to his past and openly revealing it for whoever cared.

"Have you told anyone who you were, or that you were tied to this place?" Carley pressed.

"He told me." Dash spoke up. "A-and my friend Applejack, we know."

"I also told Kenny and his family." Lee added.

"I understand why they would be oblivious as to who you are by only telling them that." Carley nodded to Dash. "But I guess that Kenny guy doesn't watch the news much." Carley crossed her arms.

"That's not the case." Lee objected. "I trust them enough, and that's the only reason they know."

"What is she talking about, Lee?" Rainbow chimed.

"Look, you seem like an okay guy, and the last thing we need is drama out there. You've got this little girl to take care of and...Just don't make me wrong on this." Carley eyed Lee.

"I don't plan to." He responded.

"Good, because if this lasts longer than a few days and you're a detriment to the group, then we'd have a problem." Carley made sure that Lee understood his position.

"I hear you."

"I'll just keep it to myself." Carley insisted.

"Thanks." Lee put his faith in her word.

"Don't worry about it." Carley smiled, and left the office, leaving Lee with a confused Clem and Rainbow Dash.

"Lee, what was she talking about?" Dash repeated. Lee glanced at Clementine, and then waved Dash over to him for privacy. She hovered to the back of the room while Clem messed with her talkie.

"Look, Rainbow...I know that you're probably full of questions, but can we please save this for later. Right now I want to focus on looking for the keys."

"Lee, that woman said you murdered someone. How...how do I just ignore that." Dash shook her head.

"You don't understand, I...it wasn't...intentional..." Lee's voice grew quiet.

"Lee..."

"I never wanted for it to happen, but sometimes shit happens anyway." Lee almost sounded angry. "I don't expect you to understand, but the least you could do for now is not make things any worse, for me...for Clementine." He stated. Rainbow considered heavily everything Lee had done since she met him. She never would've seen him as a cold blooded murderer if the subject had never come to light. With all things considered, Lee made himself out to be a caring individual, at least in her perspective, and she had already been saved by him once. Despite his past, Dash trusted his character as she saw him now.

"...I don't think you're a bad guy." She gave him a stern look. "But this is serious. Clementine's going to ask you about this, and you know that." Lee looked at Dash, then to Clementine. "Like I said, I don't think you're a bad guy, but...there is still one thing I need to be sure of."

"What?"

"Are my friends safe around you?" The cyan pegasus kept her eyes locked on him, waiting for his honest answer.

"Of course they are. I'm not some serial killer, Rainbow. I have absolutely no reason to hurt anyone...Living, that is." Lee was truthful.

"Good." Dash moved closer. "I trust you."

"And I promise not to betray that." Lee replied. "Come on, let's get this door clear." Lee returned to the wooden pallet that leaned against the desk, Rainbow followed him.

"Is everything okay?" Clem looked at Dash.

"Yeah, yeah everythings fine." Rainbow nodded. Lee moved the pallet, and from behind it fell a walking cane. He picked it up.

"What's that?" Clem examined the stick as Lee held it.

"This was my dad's cane. He'd zip around here on it from time to time." Lee smiled, remembering his father's goofy nature.

"Was he sick?" Clementine asked.

"Nah, he was okay. I actually saw him whoop shoplifters with it, this cane's protected this place better than any guard dog ever could." Lee set the pallet against the wall and then rested the cane against the pallet. "Plus he knew how to make it look cool, like you with your hat."

"My dad gave it to me." She adjusted her headwear.

"See, dad's are smart like that." Lee nodded.

"Your dad sounds pretty rad, Lee." Dash added while inspecting the desk.

"He was a pretty cool old man. Easy to get along with and everything." Lee concurred.

"And Clementine, wherever your mom and dad are, I'm sure they're someplace safe, waiting to see you." Dash gave her hope.

"Yeah, I think so, too." Clem agreed.

"Alright, you two ready?" Lee grabbed the front of the desk. Clementine grabbed the other end at the front, and Dash waited to get some room to push from behind. As they moved it, Lee took the time to see what was on Clem's mind. "How are you doing?"

"Yeah, it's not that heavy." She misunderstood his question.

"How about with everything outside?" He tried again.

"It's not good." Clementine looked away.

"No, it's not." Dash agreed.

"But I think it'll be okay." Clementine let her optimism show.

"I think so, too." Dash shared her outlook. "We have to keep a positive outlook on this, after spending so much time with my friends, that's just become second nature." She chuckled.

"That's a good attitude to have." Lee complimented. "Okay, here we go." The three continued their chore and rotated the desk to push against the adjacent wall.

"Do you have kids?" Clementine stopped to ask.

"No." Lee answered bluntly.

"You don't have a family?" She pressed. Lee was quiet for a moment.

"Lee, is everything..." Dash began.

"It's okay, Rainbow. Uh...what do your parents do?" He asked Clem, trying to avoid her question.

"My mom is a doctor, and my dad is an engineer."

"Those are good jobs." Lee added.

"What's your job?" Clem returned the question.

"I uh, teach history and writing, things like that."

"Like, um, social studies?" Clementine recalled her grade school course.

"Yeah, like that."

"Man, Lee, I don't see how you do it. I was never much for sitting through class, but TEACHING it?" Rainbow joked.

"Yeah, I didn't really take you for the type to sit still very long." Lee smiled.

"You already know me too well." Dash grinned.

"Alright, a little further." They worked together to turn the table the rest of the way, and got into position to push.

"Why don't you want to talk about your family? Do they like, hate you?" Clem pressed the sensitive topic. Dash wasn't sure if she should say anything to stop her.

"I hope not, it's just complicated, that's all." Lee frowned.

"Why?"

"It just is." Lee couldn't explain much further.

"But you love them, right?" Clem asked.

"Yeah, of course." Lee let go of the dresser, and came face to face with Clementine. "Look, my family is gone and I just wish things would've been different." Lee glanced at Rainbow who looked back, unsure of what to do or say. Lee faced Clem again. "I...I ki..........I got into a fight, once." Lee remembered what Dash had said, and figured he might try his best to gently give Clementine a better understanding.

"And what happened?"

"And it ended really badly. After that I wasn't allowed to talk to my family." Lee frowned.

"That's so sad..." Clementine sympathized. The three of them were quiet for a few moments.

"Lee?" Dash spoke up. "Do you...need anything?" She landed next to him.

"No. Let's move this thing." Lee stood back up and placed his hands on the front of the desk. Rainbow put her hooves on the front as well, and Clementine pushed at the other end. The desk easefully shifted to the wall, but Clem wasn't paying attention to where her finger was.

"OW!" She flinched, and held her finger, as a small trickle of blood formed at the base of the nail.

"Clementine?" Rainbow trotted over to her.

"Are you okay?" Lee took a knee.

"I hurt my finger."

"Is it bleeding?"

"A little." Clem wimpered. Lee picked up Clem, and sat her on the desk.

"Rainbow, can you look in that first aid kit and get a bandage?" Lee nodded to the kit on the counter a few feet from the desk.

"Can do." Dash lifted the cover.

"Let's have a look at that finger." Lee took her hand and examined the small scrape. "Does it hurt when I do this?" He put a very small amount of pressure on it.

"Yeah." Clem flinched.

"Don't worry, we'll get it covered up." Lee reassured. Rainbow stuck her head in the kit, and moved around the supplies with her muzzle. She soon found what she was looking for, and clasped the bandage in her mouth. She looked to see Lee making sure Clementine was calm. When she saw how good he was with her, no matter what anyone might say or suspect, she knew at that moment that without a doubt, Lee Everett was a good person.