Part 27- Home (end)

Clementine POV "I'm here, Louis." Was all I said. He sat before me, hugging his knees. He looked horrified, I must say.    He grabbed my hand and got up. I felt the same spark I've always felt with him...love. I felt human again. I felt like I could live and laugh. I felt like I could forget the past and all the scars on my face. I felt free.     He just looked at me in awe. Of course I gave the same look back.    Breaking the tension, Kate said we had to leave. I nodded in reply.    We made our way down the wide hallway in front of us.  Louis was by my side the whole time with Kate, Gabe, Vi, Minnie, James, and the rest behind us.    As we made our way down the hallway a women with short black hair stopped us. "Who are you and where do you think you're going?" She said. She seemed miserable to say the least.   "None of your business." I replied back. She seemed pissed now. I mean, of course, she was pissed. Great job, Clementine.   "Help!" She yelled down the hallway to the left of her. Fuck.   Sophie turned around and yelled for us. "Guys c'mon!" She yelled. We all turned around and followed her.    We kept running until we meant a stoping point in front of us. Four tall soldiers stood in front of us, two men and two women dressed in identical outfits. The men stood in front of the women and the women had their guns up and ready to shoot. The same black haired women came out behind the two women, the same stern look on her face.   "Who are you and where are you going?" One man asked.    I replied with the same answer as before, "None of your business."    Suddenly one of the women soldiers shoot a bullet. It pierced Javi's shoulder and just like that he put his hand over it and ran. We all followed him.    We all ducked down beneath a stack of wooden boxes.     "Ok guys," he pulled out a pistol from his back pocket, "Take his and go one without me."   No, no way we'd leave Javi. We need Javi. Suddenly I realized something, where were Ruby and the kids?  Kate lifted the duffel bag that I packed off her shoulder. She opened it and searched through it. She grabbed a med kit and started to open it. She looked at me and handed two pistols to give to the others. I nodded and gave one pistol to Vi and another to Minnie. "Your best bet it to make a run for it." She said. "We aren't leavening you behind." I said. I couldn't leave them behind. "Yes you are!" She yelled in a whisper. "It's the only way any of us are going to make it! Now go before it's too late." I nodded and wiped the sweat off my forehead. I looked behind me and gave the rest a nod too. They all nodded back knowing what to do. The guards before us were somewhat scattered now, one to the left, one to the right, etc. I knew this was risky. I knew there was a chance we weren't going to make it. I knew all these risks and yet I still ran. I ran as fast as my stubby legs could take me, with the others behind me. The guards shot shots and yelled as we continued to run and yet, we still ignored it. Eventually we made it back to the same hallway we were at before and ran down it, shooting any guards in our way. It was definitely a courageous move, as most would say. We got to the same entrance we came in through, through a matter of time. We all ran out of it and onto land. We continued to run until we where a safe distance from the boat. Once we where settled Violet spoke. "Oh my fucking god! We actually did that! Just like that! Like we hardly had any problems and look Clem's got her boy toy back!" We all laughed at this dumb comment of hers. Everything was fine until we heard it. In front of us the whole boat went boom! I can't even describe how it was. Like the whole boat just exploded. It lay in pieces in front of us. All of us were nothing but shocked. All of ours breathes came heavy, lumps filled our throats. With this information I must assume that Kate, Javi, and Ruby and the kids did not make it. But who planted the bomb? Javi and Kate were with us most of the time...so it must have been.....Ruby and the kids. Interrupting my thoughts I heard Louis's voice was besides me. "Clem?" I looked to my left and there he was, sitting on the ground, trying to catch his breath. We locked eyes for a bit until he fell into my arms. I wrapped my petite arms around the boy, my lover and friend. He continued to say how much he had missed he and how much he missed us as I held him. I wasn't really paying attention to what he was saying until he pulled away from the embrace and whispered the same three words that always could make everything ok. "I love you." And just like that, everything in the past was erased, starting a new and clear future for all of us.

Epilogue~ It's been a whole year since we rescued Louis from the delta. Time does fly they say. Violet delivered her baby a few months after saving Louis. She named it 'Louise' after her best friend, Louis. And yes, it was a girl. After she delivered her baby her and Minnie decided to get married and raise Louise together. We had a ceremony for both of them. And, I must say, it was beautiful. Now I'm sitting in the grass alone and admiring the sunset. The orange and yellows combined together to make one of my favorite sites.   I heard footsteps behind me and looked to see who it was. Louis.   "Hey." He said and sat down besides me.   "Hey." I said back. He seemed nervous, a different kind of nervous though.   He scratched the back of his head. "So I wanted to uh...ask you a question."   I giggled. "Alright, Lou, what question do you wanna ask the almighty and powerful Clementine?"   He laughed back. "You can be so stupid sometimes." He said, sarcastically. I rolled my eyes. "Hypocrite."   "Ah ok ok, you got me there." We both laughed. "But in all seriousness" he got up and stretched out a hand for me. I accepted it and got up. He just looked up he in awe, just like he did at the delta. I returned the same look, this time no one could break the silence. Lucky enough for us, this was our spot. Our spot to look at the sunset and make new memories. Our spot to be goofballs and tease each other with dumb jokes. This was ours. "You know I love you, right?" He suddenly said breaking my train of thoughts. It was an odd question but I just went along with it. "Well...yeah. I love you, too." I said we the same old red blush across my face. Of course, I was flustered. "So then," he got on one knee and pulled out a small black box, "Will you marry me, Clementine?" My heart stopped. I couldn't believe it. I mean, after everything we've been through...but still. Inside the black box was a beautiful ring, big enough for my finger. "Yes." Was all I said. He got up and slipped the ring in my finger. And then there we were kissing by the sunset. After we got through all the mushy gushy stuff I decided to ask him a question that's been on my mind ever since we first became friends. "Louis, can you promise me one thing?" I said. "Hm?" He said back. "Promise me you'll always be here. Promise me you'll always have my back. Promise me you'll never give up on me. Promise me you'll always be here when I have my ups and downs. Promise me you'll always be here to hold me when I cry. Promise me you'll always be here when I need you. Promise me that you'll always be here when I need someone to talk to. Promise me you'll always be here to hold my hand when it's shaking. Promise me you'll always be here to support me. Promise me you'll always be here to care for me. Promise me you'll always be here to love me. And when I say this I mean always." I said the last part silently, but just loud enough for him to here. He looked at me with the same look of awe. And then said one word that changed everything that was ever in the past, numbed the pain, healed the wound, and sealed it shut.

"Always."

A/N: I know the ending took forever to get done and I'm sorry but please tell me it was worth the wait. But anyway thank you for reading "always"! It was such a wild ride writing this. And if you're wondering, the ring Louis used is the same one from Chapter 6.