A/N: Alright, I think it's about time I did a baby Clementine fic. I know Meg who was the author of the original Baby Clementine. This fic will have my own personal touches to it.

A/N: I do not own The Walking Dead. All rights reserved to their respective owners.

Lee huffed in relief as the gunshots were heard off in the distance. He wasn't sure what was going on. He had just been attacked and chased by walking corpses and now he was in the backyard of a house. The gunshots must have drawn the walkers' attention. The banging and thrashing on the fence ceased and the walkers' groans were starting to fade. They were going in the opposite direction. Lee groaned as he got to his feet. The pain in his leg reminded him that he needed to find help. "Hello? Anybody?" Lee called out.

He suddenly heard crying from within the treehouse. It sounded like a young child. Lee went over to the treehouse and he climbed up to the top. Inside, he found a young girl. She seemed to be a little over two years old. "Hi there…." Lee said with a kind smile.

The toddler opened her eyes and she said, "You not daddy." The girl whimpered. There was fear, confusion, and sadness in her eyes.

"I… no I'm not, but I'm good. I won't hurt you." Lee said.

"Pwomise?" The toddler asked.

"I promise. Come here. Let me hold you… You must have went to sleep and had a bad dream." Lee said.

The toddler obliged and she crawled to him. Lee picked her up and cradled her in his arms. She looked to him with wide eyes. She was analyzing everything about him. With the toddler content in his arms, Lee decided that it would be best if he looked her over. It seemed that she had been trying to live up here. Someone must have put her in the treehouse in hopes that someone else would find her. There was some food, water, and toys scattered about the treehouse along with some blankets that acted as bedding, a diaper bag, and a couple of pacifiers.

Lee looked down to the toddler who was still staring at him. She seemed like she was ready to cry again. The girl had spilt juice and applesauce all over her, and there was a terrible odor that accompanied it all. The girl must have not been potty trained yet, but it's not like she could have been. She didn't appear to be old enough to do so yet.

"Let's get you cleaned up." Lee said. He grabbed the changing mat and unfolded it using his free hand. He then placed her on top of it. He took off her small dress and tights. He knew both were dirty. He would have to go inside and fetch her some clean clothes. Lee started to change her as she laid on the changing mat. "Well… my name's Lee." Lee introduced himself. "What's your name?"

"Cwem… like fruit." The girl replied.

"Did you say Clem? As in Clementine?" Lee asked. He wanted to make sure that he got her name right.

The baby nodded in response. "That's a beautiful name." Lee said.

The toddler smiled in response. Lee finished cleaning her up and placed a new diaper on her. He checked the diaper bag for any new clothes, but there were none. He would have to go inside. He wasn't going to put her back into her old dirty clothes.

Lee picked her up and cradled her in his arms. "Will you be okay if you stay here so I can get some of your clothes?"

The toddler nodded her head and she said, "You be back?"

"Yes… I promise." Lee said. He placed the girl on the makeshift bed and started to climb back down to the ground. He couldn't believe his luck. He had always wanted to be a father and now he was going to get the chance. He was going to be a father figure to the baby until he could figure out what happened to her parents.

Lee went toward the house and went up the porch. He wasn't sure if the person looking after the toddler was still inside and if that person was hostile. He opened the sliding door and he said, "Hello? Anybody in here." Lee looked around and noticed that the kitchen had debris everywhere. There was also some blood on the ground. "Looks like these people need more help than me." Lee said.

He looked around the room for any signs of life, but it seemed abandoned. A loud beeping caught him off guard and he nearly jumped. Lee looked to the source of the beeping and was surprised to see that it was the answering machine. Lee groaned as he went toward it. The pain in his leg was intensifying. He pressed play and the machine's monotone voice was heard. "Message One. Left at five forty-one pm."

"Hey Sandra, this is Diana… We're still in Savannah. Ed had a fight with this crazy guy near the hotel. I had to rush him over to the ER. Anyway, he's not feeling well enough to drive so we're staying an extra night. Thanks so much for looking after Clementine and I promise we'll be home before the end of your spring break.

"Message two. Left at eleven fifteen pm." The machine announced.

"Oh my gosh… finally!" Diana said in a frantic voice. "I don't know if you've been trying to reach us. All the calls are getting dropped. They're not letting us leave Savannah and aren't telling us anything. I need to get back to the hospital to check on Ed."

"Message three. Left at two thirty am." The machine said.

"Clementine! We love you… we love you… we lov-" Diana said with a sob in her voice. There was the sound of sirens in the background. It was soon interrupted by the sound of gun fire, then nothing. There was nothing left from the other end.

Lee sighed. "Damn…" He muttered.

He looked over to the stairs and he could hear the sound of a growl. There was a walker upstairs. Lee panicked. He had nothing to defend himself with. As soon as the walker got down the stairs, it would have no trouble in killing him. He wouldn't be able to overpower it because of his leg. He looked around the house for a weapon, but couldn't find anything. He ran into the kitchen and looked through the drawers.

Finally, he had found a cutting knife. It was something that he could use to defend himself with. He turned around and saw the limping horror approaching him. It was an older girl, probably college-age, but the body had since decayed into a hideous creature. It reeked of death and its eyes were milky white. "My gosh…" Lee muttered. The walker stumbled toward him but he killed it without much effort. He figured that the skull was important for the creature. After all, he killed one in the forest by shooting the head.

Lee breathed out a sigh of relief. He went upstairs and checked the rooms. He found Clementine's easily enough along with Ed's and Diana's room. He also found a bathroom. "Maybe I should give Clementine a bath. I just hope there's running water." Lee went over and turned on the faucet, but nothing came out. "Of course. I'll have to give her a bath some other time…" Lee muttered. He knew the toddler would feel better if she had a bath, but he couldn't just make water appear out of thin air.

He left the bathroom and went into Clementine's room next. He just needed to grab something for her to wear. It wasn't too cool outside, but he knew that it did cool off in the evenings. He looked through the closet and did come across a pair of shorts and a shirt for her to wear. It wasn't that cold out yet, and if she did get cold, he could wrap her up in a blanket. He also grabbed a pair of socks and shoes for her.

He took the clothing in his hand and began to limp his way down the stairs and outside. His leg was getting more and more irritated. He needed to find some form of medical treatment soon which means that he would have to risk the toddler's life to find help.

Lee climbed up into the treehouse and saw Clementine playing with one of her plush toys. She had her pacifier in her mouth. It was rather adorable. "Clementine." Lee said in a kind voice. "I got you some clean clothes. Come here."

The toddler looked over and smiled underneath her pacifier. She went over and mumbled something under the pacifier. "What?" Lee asked with a chuckle. He removed the pacifier so he could hear her.

"You back!" The toddler said with glee.

"Of course. I told you I would come back." Lee said.

"Sandra not come back." Clementine said with a frown.

"No she didn't… She's in a better place now." Lee said.

"Heaven?" The toddler asked.

"That's right." Lee said with a smile. He was glad that the toddler was taught about Christianity. He placed her on his lap and he helped her get into the new clothes. "There we go. Comfy?" Lee said.

"Yeah." Clementine said in response. "What we do now?"

Lee looked around and noticed that she didn't have much food left. "How about you go play with your bigger toys that are in your room and I'll gather some stuff for us like food, water, and some other things."

"But mommy an daddy aren home… I not leave." Clementine said.

"I know baby, but it's too dangerous to stay here. It'll be safer if we leave." Lee said. "I'll leave them a note and tell them what happened. Would you be okay with that?"

Clementine looked down for a moment before she nodded her head. "Good." Lee said with a smile. He looked around the treehouse and gathered up couple of the toys, the remaining food and water, and the blankets and pacifiers. He put them in the diaper bag, but it was a tight fit.

"Alright…" Lee said. "I'm going to take this stuff down first. Then, I'm coming up here for you, okay?"

Clementine nodded her head in response. Lee groaned as he went down the stairs of the treehouse. His leg was throbbing in pain, but he had to fight through it. Once he was low enough, he dropped the diaper bag on the ground below and went back up to retrieve Clementine. Once he got to the top, he picked her up and carried her down to the ground.

He continued to carry her and he went inside her house. It may have irritated his leg, but he didn't care. The girl's safety is what mattered to him more. If he set her down, she may bolt from him. Lee placed the girl on the ground once they reached the top of the stairs. The minute her feet touched the ground, Clementine ran into her room.

Lee chuckled a bit as he watched her. He wished that he had some of her energy. He went into the parents' room and looked around. Perhaps Ed had a gun somewhere in the room. After going through a couple of drawers, he noticed that one of them was locked. "That has to be it." Lee muttered to himself. He searched the bedroom for a key. It didn't take long until he found the key in a pillow case. He used the key to open up the drawer, and he found a handgun along with some ammo. "That'll work." He picked up both items and went back downstairs. He laid the gun on the counter and made sure that it was out of Clementine's reach.

Lee went back outside and grabbed the diaper bag. He would have to find something to replace it, like a backpack. He would need to pack some extra clothes, diapers, wipes, and a few more toys, and the diaper bag was just too small to contain it all. Lee went inside and went to Ed's and Diana's room. He smiled when he heard Clementine having fun. Some of it was baby babble, but there were some audible words. It made him smile.

Lee limped into Diana's and Ed's room and looked around for a backpack as the toddler could be heard in the next room giggling and playing. She was an adorable baby. If he could, he would go in the other room to play with her, but he had to get everything packed up and ready to go before nightfall. Plus, he needed to find help.

Lee huffed as he got downstairs with the heavy backpack. It had everything he needed for Clementine. It had food, water, sippy cups, a couple bottles, a couple toys, summer clothing, winter clothing, diapers, wipes, a changing mat, a couple pacifiers, a couple bibs, some plastic spoons, a blanket, and surprisingly a handheld leapfrog device. "Alright… I guess that's everything." Lee said.

"We leave now?" Clementine asked. She had started to follow him once he had gotten some of her clothes out.

Lee crouched down so he didn't seem as intimidating to the toddler. "Yeah… I'm sorry hon." Lee said in a gentle voice

The toddler whimpered a little and she said, "I scared. I not want to leave."

"Aww… it's going to be okay." Lee said and he brought her in for a hug. The girl cried a bit as Lee held her. "It'll be okay. I'm going to do my best to look after you."

"I not want to leave home." The toddler said with a sob in her voice.

"I know, sweet pea. I know it can be scary, but I'll be there. I'm going to help you." Lee said.

"You be like daddy?" The girl asked.

"Yeah… in a way. I'll be your guardian, sweetheart." Lee said.

Clementine sniffled and she said, "Otay."

"That a girl." Lee said. "I'm going to grab the backpack, and then I'm going to come back over and pick you up. We need to find help for my leg."

Clementine nodded in response. She released her grip on Lee and the man went over to pick up the heavy backpack. He grunted as he did so. "Okay… your turn." Lee said and he walked over to Clementine. He picked up the light two year old girl and placed her on his hip. He made sure to use the uninjured side to carry her. "Alright. Let's go…" Lee said. He limped to the door and opened it. To his surprise, he saw two men outside. One was stocky and the other was skinny. They were in front a car which was one of many cars that were blocking the road.

"Aw man!" One of them exclaimed.

"I ain't ever going to get to mama's at this rate." The stocky man said.

"This stinks." The first man said.

"Ah man… It's hot dish night." The stocky man said. They were leaning in against a car. Lee's eyes widened. He knew what they were trying to do. They were trying to move the car. Lee grunted as he walked forward. His leg was throbbing in pain. It wasn't good. Regardless, he approached the two men from behind.

"They good?" Clementine asked. He had forgotten to tell her that she needed to be quiet. Both men jumped upon hearing the voice. However, they calmed down when they saw it was just Lee and Clementine.

"Holy shit… You scared me half to death." The first man said.

Lee chuckled and he said, "Yes honey. They're good." He looked to the first man and he said, "We need help."

The man sighed in relief and he said, "Sorry about that… I had no idea you were there. I'm Shawn. Shawn Greene."

"I'm Lee and this is Clementine." Lee said.

The stocky man smiled at Clementine and he said, "I'm Chet."

Clementine gave a shy smile in response.

"Do you know what's going on here?" Lee asked.

"I don't think anyone knows completely." Shawn said. "Look, if you can help us move this car out of the way, we can get you and your daughter out of here."

"She's not my daughter. I'm just… some guy." Lee said.

"Just some guy? She's alone?" Shawn said.

"Um excuse me…" A voice was heard. All three men jumped upon hearing the voice. Lee looked over and shielded the baby in his arms. He wasn't sure who he was dealing with.

…To be continued.

A/N: These chapters are going to be a little short. They'll average around 2500 to 3000 per chapter. I just think that works better than the 5000 word chapters that I've done in the past.