Clouis One-shots

Words Almost Left Unsaid

SUMMARY: basically what I feel kind of happened when Clementine was brought back to the school. Reference to a scene that never happend.
WARNINGS: swears, feels, maybe some tissues? Also includes reference to a scene that didn't happen. Really long (sorry for all the angsty stuff lately, I've just been in one of my moods. Just got out of my 'no talking to anyone outside of my family unit, do any of ya'll go through that?)

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Pacing the dirt ground just outside of the fence, Louis kept his gaze on the ground and his ears open. He never should have left them, not when they were escaping the Delta ship's carnage, nor after the damn bridge fiasco. No matter how great his faith in them was, a big part of him still worried, worried that the next time he saw his Darling and their little Goofyman was when they were shumbling corpses. No matter how many times he tried to shake the possibility, it still kept moving to the front of his mind. Just as he was about to go inside, a small figure was approaching the school, and Louis was just able to notice a very familiar afro. "Louis! Louis help!"

Dashing to the boy, he found him pushing a wheel burrow, occupied by a quickly paling Clementine. "Go get Ruby, we'll be in the music room," he gently ordered in a broken voice as he hurried to their special room. She was too pale to be closer to opening her eyes, one of her legs was missing, having been chopped off and... her breaths were barely audible to his ears. His ears that had become accustomed to hearing her voice, her laugh, her breath, and her heartbeat. His tears were instantaneous as he dropped to his knees. "Clem, Baby, I need you to wake up now. Please... please..." Louis begged as he placed her on the ground and moved some of the hair matted on her forehead away from her so as not to disturb her eyes when they opened.

Before he could remove her coat or run to get a pillow, Ruby burst in, "Good Lord. Sug, I need ya' to leave, I cain't work when yer in histarics, now git." It was never lost on any of the Ericson's kids that Ruby was Southern born and raised -for the most part- it was most prominant whenever she was sick with worry over a critical medical condition, and hearing it caused an icy chill to seep into his bones, as she shoo'ed him out of the door and pulled Aasim in before shutting the doors.

Outside the music room, stood a terrified AJ, tears and snot running down his face. "I- I'm sor-sorry Louis!" He hiccuped through his sobs as he tried to swipe his tears away unsuccessfully. It was the first time Louis saw him cry like the nearly seven year old he was.

In that moment, it occured to Louis, that not only would he be losing the love of his life should she be lost to this, AJ would be losing the only family he'd ever known. A woman who, in everything but blood, was his Mom. Alvin was just a kid, and already having to make such big decisions for the better of those around him, with bad enough consequences that would scar him for the rest of his life. Louis bent down, and picked AJ up, sitting him on his hip, and starting to wipe away his tears with the sleeve of his free hand, then the snot. "It isn't your fault, Little dude, in fact Clem would have had to cut her leg off eventually because of the gash. Minerva gave her on the bridge. It would have gotten infected from the things around her out there, the difference was-"

"She was bit, after Minerva cut her leg, a monster got her. I couldn't stop it," the child wailed and Louis found it hard to keep his own tears at bay. "What if I didn't cut it off in time? What if she dies? I'll be all alone, and everyone will hate me even more, even you..."

Louis frowned once more at that, "Little Man, listen to me. I will never hate you, I could never hate you kiddo, in fact I love you so much that seeing you in pain is hurting me."

AJ sniffled at that, "Clem says that whenever I'm upset."

"I know, and do you know what?" Alvin Junior shook his head, "when Clem wakes up, you need to be careful. She'll be tired and she'll need all the water she can, and if she's in pain, it'll take all of her tears away. So I need you to promise me not to cry in front of her the day she wakes up, any day after should be okay, but no tears on the day she opens her eyes okay?"