We Don't Die

I Promised

Three Months Later

Jeremiah wakes up and notices Clementine isn't next to him. He looks to his left and notices AJ is gone too. "AJ? Clem?" He calls out. He removes the blankets off of him and immediately gets dressed. He searches the whole house and they appear to be gone. He storms out of the house looking for his family. He walks up to the guard tower. "Cory, have you seen Clementine or AJ? They're not in the house." Jeremiah says worried. "No, I haven't. I'm sorry." Cory responds. "Thank you." Jeremiah replies and runs off. He begins panicking. "Jeremiah, hey!" Rick calls out. Jeremiah stops and walks up to Rick. "Have you seen AJ or Clem anywhere?" He asks while breathing heavily. "Relax. Take some deep breaths." Rick suggests. Jeremiah inhales and exhales and calms himself. "They're not in the house and I've been looking everywhere." Rick glances around. "I haven't seen them today." Jeremiah nods and runs down the stairs and sprints around Alexandria. He comes across Derek's house and notices Clementine and AJ are there talking to him. Jeremiah instantly feels rage building up inside of him and fast walks to the house with an angry expression on his face. Clementine turns around and notices his expression immediately. Jeremiah reaches her and she stops him. "Hey, hey, hey, relax. We were just talking about running supplies to the Hilltop. They're low and asked us if we could deliver." She says while grabbing his face. Jeremiah's eyes stay locked on Derek and doesn't change his expression. "Look at me." She says firmly. Jeremiah snaps back and looks at Clementine. "I'm sorry, I just woke up and noticed you and him were gone and I panicked." He says breathing heavily. She hugs him to calm him down. Derek approaches him. "Jeremiah, I'm sorry for the things I said to you, and trying to fight you when I shouldn't have." Clem breaks the hug and watches Jeremiah closely. "I was in the heat of the moment and the heat just made it worse. I'm sorry." Jeremiah still stares at him and what he does next surprises Derek. He hugs him and Derek buries his face in Jeremiah's shoulder. "I love you, man." Derek says. They break the hug and Jeremiah places his hands on Derek's shoulders. "I didn't want to fight you, that's why I kept dodging." He begins. "The things you said to me only pissed me off more and that's why I started swinging. I could never kill you, Derek." He pauses. "You're my brother." He says firmly. This only makes Derek tear up. They hug again. "So you're going to deliver supplies to the Hilltop?" Jeremiah asks. "Yeah, they asked for medicine and some fuel. Said they were running low." Clementine answers. Jeremiah nods. "I got my own mission I gotta do today." He says. "What's that?" Derek asks. "I gotta check the bridge, see if anything needs fixing. But first, I have to check into the town to see if we left anything behind." He finishes. "Dad, are you going to be okay?" AJ asks. Jeremiah approaches him and gets on his knees and stares him in the eyes. "I certainly hope so, son." He says and hugs him. "If I run into trouble, I'll run or call for backup." He says to Clementine. She nods and he approaches her. "Be careful." He says and kisses her. "You too." They break the kiss and Jeremiah heads off to the car.

Clem's POV

Derek and Clementine are on the road with the supplies in the backseat. "I can't believe what I did." Derek says while staring at the road. Clem looks at him. "The shit I said, the fight we had, after Rick told me about his partner, I have been feeling the guilt build up and it's damaging me. Makes me feel like I'm becoming something I swore to never become." "We all say and do things that we don't mean." She tries to calm him down. "No, you weren't there. I damn near killed him because of how much I loved you and AJ. I just got jealous of what Jeremiah had and thought it should've been me with you and not him.." "You realized what you did was wrong, that still makes you human. You aren't on the verge of losing your humanity. You still care." She says firmly. "Yeah." He says quietly. They reach Hilltop. Derek stops the car and puts it in park and takes the keys out of the ignition. They get out of the car and Derek takes a box out of the backseat and walks up to the gate. "Let us in!" He calls out. The gate doesn't budge. "It's Derek and Clementine! We're here to deliver the supplies you asked for!" Derek yells. "Shit, I'm coming!" He hears a voice yell from the inside. The gate opens and the teen drops down. "I'm sorry about that, we didn't know you would be coming so soon. The guy who's supposed to be on watch is currently learning how to make weapons." The teen says. "I understand." Derek replies. He sets the box down on the ground. "Names Derek." He says holding his hand out. "Carl." The teen replies and they shake hands. "You're Rick's kid." Clementine says. "That's right." Carl responds and notices Clementine struggling. "Here, let me get that for you." He approaches her and takes the box. "Thank you." She replies. "You've been here before I'm assuming." Carl says. "Yes, your Dad showed us when we first encountered him. Said it would be important to know the locations of our allies." Clementine says. "Smart man, your father." Derek says respectfully. Carl smiles. "How do you contribute? And forgive me if that came off as rude." Derek says. "Blacksmith. I make weapons." Carl says. "How?" Derek asks. "By burning the metal and making it into a sword or a knife. I make spears too with Earl over there." Earl waves. They wave back. "I'm so used to using guns, I forgot swords and knives were a thing." Derek says and Carl chuckles. Maggie approaches them. "I see you made it here." She begins. She notices the supplies. "Thank you. We currently have sick people here and some are still wounded from the war with the Whisperers. This should make us last for awhile." She says with a smile on her face. Her and Carl take the boxes and go inside the main building. "You ready?" Clementine asks. "Yeah, lets go." Derek replies. They head to the car and they drive away.