#and then once luke left and it was just lee he really became tired dad figure

[freddie-77-ao3]

Connor, Drew, and Malcolm: Are we in trouble? Lee: Take a guess. Connor, Drew, and Malcolm: . . . No? Lee: Take another guess.

[twdgfanfiction]

Chapter 33 - Exile

"Lee… Leeeee…. Lee!" His name being called out brought Lee out of his slumber, his eyes slowly opening as he closed his open mouth, rubbing the saliva from the corner of it whilst sitting upright. His back ached terribly, and he could feel a piece of paper stuck to his face. Peeling it off, he looked over it, noticing it was one of the food reports from Frank, and just let it drop onto his desk. Glancing over to the source of the sound that woke him up, he noticed Omid standing there, an amused look on his face as he stared at the mess on Lee's desk.

"Had a long night, Sleeping Beauty?" he asked, crossing his arms whilst his friend just groaned groggily. Rubbing his hand over his face, he blinked, and listened as Omid continued, his voice softening. "Everyone's downstairs. It's the trial for Luke."

"Shit… Fuck, alright, give me a minute." Lee swore, standing up slowly, his back clicking from the uncomfortable position he slept in for hours. Stretching his arms upwards, he let out a quiet yawn, rubbing his back as he glanced out of the window behind him. The sunlight beamed in from outside, highlighting all of his office up, and he saw clouds rolling by, sometimes blocking the sun for a few moments before it peaked out once more. Turning around to Omid, he made his way over to his friend, his voice stern as he asked. "How's everyone doing today?"

"As well as you could expect. Nick's really chewed up about this. I don't blame him, I mean, Luke was meant to be his friend for going on twenty years! Poor guy." Omid explained, looking behind his shoulder as he added. "I gotta ask, what do you think the people will vote for?"

"I don't know. It was hard to tell yesterday, and I don't know if sleeping on it had helped much. What do you think we should do with him?" Lee muttered, scratching his facial hair covered chin.

Omid appeared surprised with the question, rubbing the back on his head as he confessed. "Honestly, I could do without any more death. If we have the option to send Luke on his way… I say we take it."

"I doubt Christa feels the same way." Lee sighed.

Nodding, Omid revealed to him. "She's still sore over the betrayal, and him nearly killing you. She doesn't like thinking about what might have happened if he succeeded. Carver would still be in charge."

"I know where she's coming from, but I agree with you. I'm tired of people dying." Lee agreed, walking past the other man, exiting the office whilst Omid closed the door behind them. Despite being on the floor above, he could clearly hear people loudly discussing what to do downstairs, listening to tempers getting worse over the suitable punishment. No one besides the two male survivors were on the first floor, all congregating down below, and the thought of dealing with broken people who wanted revenge was not something that Lee wanted to deal with. Nonetheless, he started walking towards the staircase with Omid beside him, the two sharing a look when they heard Ellie's voice snap, the words intelligible amongst the cacophony of the community.

Reaching the top, they quickly made their way down. Able to see the community gathered in a large crowd from the staircase, Lee paused, Omid carrying on, and just stared at the scene before him. Luke was standing in front of the crowd, his back to the main front doors, and just stared at the numerous faces staring back at him. The guards did all they could keeping the people at bay, making sure that they didn't do anything rash before Lee could come and give the final judgement. Knowing that they needed him quickly, he rushed down the rest of the steps, taking care not to trip and fall, before he reached the bottom.

Pushing through the noisy crowd, he noticed that his group were standing in the front, Omid rejoining Christa's side as the couple watched their old friend appear. When he got close enough to hear them, Christa started to explain the situation. "We got a situation here. People are still pretty mad over Luke's betrayal, and you're gonna have to go out there and give the final vote."

"No pressure then." He retorted sarcastically, ignoring her heated stares at the seriousness of the situation around them, instead walking away from the group to settle the matter. Reaching Luke's side, he ignored the glances the younger man gave him, rather turning back to the crowd, looking over their faces. With the appearance of their leader, heated debates had settled down, and they awaited for his verdict. Loudly, he addressed them. "Has the people come to a conclusion on what Luke's punishment should be?"

"I wish they did, but they've all been talking circles around each other all morning." Alicia sighed, walking over to Lee's side as she added. "If this continues, we're just gonna have to take the matter into our own hands. I already know I want Luke to be exiled, but Christa wants execution, and we couldn't even get an answer from Jack because of the workload."

"Look, his dad died because of his actions, so why not give Luke the same treatment!?" Ellie asked, a deep frown on her face as Walter placed a hand on her shoulder, keeping it there as they both stared at the leader and guards.

"Because, Ellie, you can use the defense that Luke did what he did to avoid his father's wrath. I know what Carver was like with his son, just like he was with me. If we exile him, we wash our hands of him. What happens to him is of his own choice." Alicia explained, glancing around the community as she added. "Please. There's been enough death as of late. Killing Luke will not bring any of our loved ones back, and it won't make their passing any easier to handle!"

Lee noticed some of the face changing, the people agreeing with each other, but some remained stubborn in their views. Crossing his arms, he sighed as people started to argue amongst themselves once more, glancing at Alicia before both of them decided that, as the leader, it was for the best if he took control of the situation. With an angered tone, he barked. "I agree with Alicia! I'm tired of killing and watching people die, and I know all of you are! We still have our humanity, it's what makes us different from the walkers, and we'll have nothing if we decide to just kill everything in our way! I vote we exile!"

Shocked with his decision, he noticed that people were mumbling to themselves and their companions, a gentle hum around them before it all fell silent, Alicia waiting for their word. Slowly, someone from the back yelled out. "We vote exile!"

"No! I don't care about humanity, all I want is for that bastard to pay for what he's done!" Another survivor yelled out, thought they were quickly outnumbered by the vast majority of the community agreeing with Lee. Glancing beside him, he watched as Luke's face fell grim, his hands clenched tightly as they were tied behind his back, preventing him from fighting against his captors. Not even sparing a look at his former friend, the traitor looked up at the people, a scowl on his face as it became apparent what the community wanted as his punishment.

Alicia scanned the entire crowd, nodding slowly as she turned to Lee. "The people have voted exile."

"Luke," he started, turning around to face the bound survivor as he gestured for the guards to come closer. "The people at Howe's have decided that you are to be exiled. You'll be sent out with the clothes on your back and your machete for protection. What you do from then on is no concern to us."

"Fine. Let me just say something." Luke asked, shuffling closer to Lee, squaring off with him as he spat. "No one is safe forever. Eventually, you're gonna have to make a choice, and no matter what you pick, someone will lose."

"Give him a coat, so he doesn't freeze to death at least." Alicia ordered a nearby guard, looking back at Luke and Lee as she added, a stern tone to her voice. "You brought this on yourself, Luke. Don't go looking for someone else to blame for your actions. This is a chance for you to turn a new leaf, find a new group and start over. Just… don't make the same mistakes."

"You're only here 'cause Dad took a shining to you! Now that he's gone, you've decided that you're gonna start cosying up to Lee!" Luke accused.

Lee scowled at those harsh words, enraged when he saw how hurt Alicia was at those words. Grabbing hold of Luke's shirt, he brought his face closer to his and snarled quietly, eyes piercing into the younger man's. "Don't you ever talk to her. Alicia is a good person, and she could do a lot better than your asshole of a father!"

Throwing him back, Lee added venomously as he watched Luke stumbling. "Don't make me regret sparing you."

"Either way… I'm a dead man." Luke scoffed, glancing over at his old group. Following his gaze, Lee watched as Christa glared at the bound survivor, a scowl on her face, whilst Omid frowned disappointingly at his harsh words. Ellie could match Christa's intense glares, staring the traitor down whilst Walter could only manage a saddened look, truly sorry for how the events have gone to bring them to that moment. When Luke turned to Nick and Sarah, Lee could see the utter betrayal on their faces, and he understood their pain, having been long friends with Luke even before Lee and his friends entered the picture. To watch as the only person left of their original group being exiled, it must have hurt them deeply.

Sarah seemed to have said all she wanted last night, instead looking away from Luke with a hurt expression on her face, standing close to Nick whilst he never broke his stare with Luke. Broken over what had happened, he finally glanced away when Luke called out. "Nick? Nick, I'm sorry for what I did."

"Save it. I don't wanna listen to your lies anymore." He spat, watching with a cold glare when a guard returned, coat and Luke's machete in hand. Lee glanced down at the item of clothing and the weapon, nodding slowly as he turned back around to Luke, both of them knowing that the time had come for him to leave.

"Goodbye, Luke." He simply said, watching with resignation whilst Joel and another guard pushed Luke forward, the door being opened to allow them to pass through. Winds blew into the building through the opened doors, Lee frowning deeply at the bite of the frost coming in, and he couldn't help but feel somewhat sorry for the situation Luke had gotten himself in. Pushed outside, Luke turned his head around, him and Lee sharing a final glare before the doors closed once more. It would be the last time he would see the younger man.

Turning his back to the closed doors, he looked over at his group, watching as Nick stared at the closed doors, a broken expression clear on his face before he just shook his head, walking away from the group. Sarah stood there as he walked away, staring at his back with an upset look, and when Omid went to call out to him did she shake her head. "It's just like before. Give him some time, I'll go and find him later."

"Are you sure? I don't feel right leaving him like that." Omid confessed, looking down at the young teen warily.

Nodding, she spared a glance at Nick, the older man disappearing into the crowd, before she explained. "He's my friend. I know how bad he can get, and after Luke… He's broken. I need to help him heal."

"Okay, Sarah. We'll trust you with it." Christa agreed, before turning her attention to Lee. "We should get the people to work."

Lee agreed silently, turning away from his friends to address the people who were still standing there, gossiping to each other over the events that just happened. Raising his hand, he quieted the people down with the gesture, and started to address them with a confident air around him. "The trial is over. Now, we should go back to work in improving the community. We'll need new survivors to bolster our numbers, and so I've decided that the scouts will be sent out to recruit, scavenge anything they can find as well."

"Some of those on construction will have to change jobs. We need a group to help in the greenhouse with Frank, and people are needed to care for the livestock with Alex's passing." Alicia added, pointing at a small group near the front of the crowd. "You three will be changed to greenhouse duty. Follow Frank and listen to what he says, the food we grow here is important."

"I can leave some notes for the people looking after the animals." Ellie offered, walking off to the paddock and her room after Alicia nodded gratefully.

"You all have your jobs to do." Lee ordered. The crowd dispersed, people moving in different directions to go and do their work, leaving their leader and his group alone for them to talk. Glancing over at Sarah, Lee's voice turned soft as he asked her. "What are you gonna do?"

Sarah thought about it, her eyes shifting after from him for a moment, until she decided and looked back at him. "I want to learn how to be a medic from Jack."

"I think you'll do well in that area. Go on then, he'll be in the infirmary with the patients." Sarah obeyed, turning around and making her way to the doctor's room alone. Pleased with her choice, Lee watched her leave for a few moments, feeling somewhat pride for how far she had come. He wondered what Carlos would have thought if he was there, watching his baby girl growing up. Hoping that he did well for the deceased man, Lee turned to the remainder of his group.

Walter smiled softly, pleased for Sarah just as much as Lee was, and yet his smile disappeared as he pointed out. "I should get my things ready. Ellie won't take long, and I shouldn't keep her waiting."

"We'll wait here for you. I don't think Nick is ready to handle goodbye, though." Christa sighed.

"It's alright. I don't want him to feel worse with this, not after just losing his best friend." Walter noted, glancing over at Lee as he added. "I won't be long."

Nodding, they watch as their friend walked off to his room, one of the stores on the ground floor being spared for temporary accommodation for him, and when he disappeared from their sight did silence fall over them. Listening to the gentle sounds of people working and talking around them, Lee glanced around the community, his community, and was inspired by how hard the people were working to make sure it thrived. Determined to make things right for them, he listened as Christa finally spoke up. "Thinking back to how we met, I never thought we'd end up like this. You sure bring people into crazy situations, don't you?"

"It's a gift." Lee joked, a smirk on his face as he added. "If you hadn't have stopped for my group that day, where do you think you guys would be?"

"I don't know, but here beats sleeping in the snow." Omid replied.

"My point is," Christa interjected, shaking her head at the humorous jabs the two men threw at each other. "I'm glad we did stop."

"Me too, Christa. I gotta admit, I don't think I could have kept going after Clementine. I'm glad you two were there to help me through." Lee confessed, handling the young child's memory better than he did before. He missed her dearly, but he felt like he could keep going, especially with the community depending on him.

"You think you'll be able to get past her?" she asked, clearly still missing the young girl.

With a frown, Lee thought about it, slowly answering the question after a few seconds. "I know that I can't stop missing her… but yeah, I think I can move on. She's gone, but that doesn't mean she's forgotten."

"We'll all remember her, and our friends. They wouldn't want us sulking anyway, especially Kenny. He'd want us to keep going." Omid pointed out, a warm smile on his face as he said it.

Lee agreed. Thinking about Kenny, he could almost hear the Floridian's voice in his head, edging him on no matter what problems he faced. Whilst he was distracted with his thoughts, Ellie had returned with a backpack full of her things, a pistol sitting in a holster that she strapped to her hip. Walter was just behind her, holding onto his own backpack, and was seemed to have been given a rifle that was strapped to his back, a coat given as well to keep him warm in the freezing cold outside. The group turned to the two arrivals, Ellie's voice gentle as she smiled sadly. "Well, this is it."

"We can walk with you to the gates, say a proper goodbye." Omid offered, following after Walter and Christa when Ellie nodded silently, the latter staying put with Lee as she watched them go.

Still staring at the group as they walked through the opened doors, Lee could hear Ellie softly sigh. "You know, a part of me wants to stay."

"If you ever change your mind, Ellie, you and Walter are always welcome here." Lee pointed out, turning to face her. She was visibly tired, bags visible under her dull eyes, but with the adventure in front of her, she seemed ready to face it. Eager almost. With a grateful smile, she stared up at him as he asked. "Where's this Prescott you're thinking of going to?"

"It's somewhere in Virginia. Alex and I were gonna make our way up there before we got stuck in Howes, and if we managed to escape I woulda gone there." She explained, saddened by the mention of her brother. "Hopefully, we find Matthew before we go up there."

"I hope you find it. Come on, let's go before the others complain of the cold." Lee ordered, starting to move to the doors with Ellie in tow. Exiting the main building, the winds weren't as bad as yesterday, though his hands still shook from the cold. Snow that had fallen during the night crunched under their boots, leaving footprints behind them as they made their way down the path, spotting Christa, Omid and Walter waiting by the main gates. Guards were posted on watch above, keeping an eye out for any danger outside the safety of their walls. The two didn't share any more words, instead reaching the group as Walter smiled, Ellie moving to his side as he glanced up at the imposing gate.

"Good luck out there, man." Omid piped up, shaking Walter's hand before he then shook Christa's.

"I'll try. Thank you, all of you." Walter thanked, grateful for the group around him, before he turned to Ellie beside him. "You ready?"

"As I'll ever be. Are we gonna make our way back to the lodge you guys were at?" she asked, rubbing her arms through her thick winter coat.

Nodding, the two watched as Lee opened the gate, pulling it along the rails to allow access to the outside world. Grunting, he let go of the freezing pole, rubbing his hands together as he made his way back to Walter and the others, shaking the former's hand as he bid farewell. "Goodbye, Walter."

"Bye, Lee. I hope you lead this community to a brighter future." Releasing the leader's hand, Walter and Ellie walked outside the gate, making their way down the path leading into the vast forest. Lee closed the gate, shutting off any dangers, and made his way up a ladder that led to the pathway along the wall. Reaching the top, he stood tall, watching as Walter and Ellie grew smaller and smaller the further they walked, a saddened expression on his face as neither of them stopped to give him a final look, likely because of how hard it would be to keep going if they did.

Eventually, they were out of sight, having disappeared into the treeline without a single trace left. Whilst Christa sent Omid off to go and do his work, she remained standing on the ground, waiting as Lee made his way back down the ladder. Seeing his upset expression, she stared at him with sympathy and tried to cheer him up. "Don't worry. Ellie's a survivor, they both are. We'll see them again some day."

"I just hope they'll be alright." He confessed, glancing up at the imposing building that was his home. Breathing in deeply, he let his breath out in one long sigh, before turning back to Christa. "We should go back to my office. I want to utilize the Pen into something else, it doesn't sit right with me using it as a prison."

"I agree. You want to grab Alicia and Jack as well?" she suggested, walking alongside Lee as they both made their way back inside.

Nodding, he replied. "We won't take him from his patients for too long, but Sarah should be find for a while."

Both of them returning to the mall, they went on to collect the other two advisors before retreating to Lee's office, set on changing how things were run in their community. Sitting behind his large desk, he listened as the advisors discussed amongst each other on how to properly utilize the space they had, and he could feel a headache coming on from the stress of it all. Tapping his pen against the solid wood, he listened as Jack suggested. "I say we use it as a quarantine. People are gonna be coming here with all sorts of diseases, and they may have bite victims that they could be hiding. Allowing me and my helpers to check them over means they don't bring anything into the community."

"I like the idea of that." Alicia agreed, sitting on Lee's desk with her legs crossed over each other, her feet tapping against the floor as she added. "It would help us if we see where they came from. Any information we can gather would be well used by the scouts."

"If we agree on this, then we should fortify the Pen, make sure it's comfortable enough that they don't catch anything during their temporary stay." Christa explained, having to sit down after the baby started kicking mid-way through the debate. Jack remained close to her, willing to step in if the kicking gets worse, or she started labour early.

"People on construction could start building a roof over the exposed half. Nathan's the engineer, he could be put in charge to make sure things are done right." The doctor noted, glancing over at Lee, noticing his pained expression. "You alright, Lee?"

"Yeah, yeah, just a headache." He shrugged off, looking at the three survivors in front of him as he continued. "Alright. I say we go with Jack's idea. I'll notify Nathan of his new job, and he can gather the people to make it happen."

"Good. We'll leave you alone now, you look like you could use a break." Christa smiled, slowly standing up as she grunted in pain, accepting Jack's offer to help her out of the office. With the door closing behind them, Lee was left alone with Alicia, the woman still sitting on his desk as she appeared deep in thought, her foot ceasing in tapping against the floor. Ruffling through the reports on his desk, he allowed her to stay there, preferring the company, and starting to arrange his reports into tidy piles, eager to take a break.

He hadn't drank since that bottle of alcohol he shared with Kenny in the attic, and he felt like he could do with some bourbon if he had any, wondering if he could ask Gabriel if he had anything. Whilst he was thinking about it, he heard Alicia's soft voice pipe up, somewhat hurt by something. "Lee, can I ask you something?"

"Sure. What is it?" he replied, placing both his hands on the desk in an informal fashion, looking up at Alicia's worried face, swallowing as he asked. "Alicia, what's wrong?"

"I know I'm being too sensitive, but I can't get what Luke said out of my head. H-He knew what his father was like… I didn't have a choice in the matter. Then he was suggesting I was using you, and I…" she paused, glancing up at Lee from her stares at the floor. "Be honest with me, Lee. Do you ever see anything between us?"

Stunned by the question, he felt his heart constricting, remembering how badly his last advance on love went. With a grim look, he sighed deeply. "I don't know. Not now, I'm still sore over… over my last attempt at love."

"I'm glad. After Carver, I don't think I'm ready to go straight into another relationship, especially with my daughter. She comes first." Alicia explained, somewhat relieved with Lee's explanation. The two fell in silence, somewhat awkward with their conversation, until she slowly added. "Maybe in the future, I wouldn't say no to a drink. A-As friends, of course."

With a small smile, he nodded and joked with her. "Only if you bring bourbon with you."

"It wouldn't be a party without it." She retorted back, appearing more relaxed with the conversation after getting it off her chest. Slowly, she stood up off the desk, stretching her arms out as she explained. "I should go and check on Kate. Hopefully, she's not too much for Nathan to handle."

"If you ever need someone to mind her, my office is free. I'm stuck here all the time." Lee offered.

Surprised by the offer, Alicia stopped in her stretching, glancing down at Lee before she offered a bright smile, her arms falling down to her sides as she nodded gratefully. "That would be a big help. I prefer her in a room rather than in the loading bay with all the tools Nathan uses. Would you mind if I bring her up later on?"

"I don't." Lee shrugged, watching as Alicia nodded and left the office as well, closing the door softly behind her. Left alone, Lee leaned back in his office chair, knotting his fingers together and rested his hands on his abdomen, lifting his feet up so that they were propped onto the desk. The sunlight from outside dimmed as the sun faded behind the clouds again, Lee watching the shadows flicker with the changing light. Looking around, he decided to sneak a peek in the drawers, opening them one at a time to see what was inside, before closing it once more. Opening the top drawer on his right, he paused, spotting something half hidden under papers.

Pulling it out, he held what was a picture frame in his hands, staring at the picture with a pitying look. Carver was standing there, more clean shaven than he was during the time here, with a young boy propped up on his shoulders, a bright grin on his youthful face that Lee could recognize as Luke. The young boy had his chin resting on top of his father's head, both of them looking like they were enjoying the time out together. Beside the two was a woman, with mousy brown hair matching Luke's and dashing green eyes, standing up to Carver's nose in height. Hand resting on the grown man's shoulder, he could clearly see the wedding ring, frowning deeply as he realised the woman must have been Luke's mother; the resemblance uncanny between her and her child.

Sighing deeply to himself, he shoved the frame back into the drawer and slamming it shut, carrying on sitting there in his thoughts during his short break. Weeks had passed, the construction coming to a close, and the scouts that were sent out had returned with survivors desperate for a haven. Jack's idea for the quarantine worked wonders, as people were checked for bites and diseases, having to wear gloves and a mask to prevent himself from becoming ill. Those that were cleared integrated into the community well enough, some having skills needed for the animals and the crops, whilst other former builders and engineers were a god send for Nathan, the latter showing the ropes around.

They even came across someone who used to work as a paramedic, knowing first aid that would be vital for their community's survival. Sitting behind his desk, he went through the reports that Jack had composed for the new arrivals, frowning when he saw that they had found a bite victim amongst a small family that made their way here, the doctor having to put the victim down. Resting his chin on his hand, he continued reading through the reports, somewhat relieved when Frank noted that they managed to find a jackpot in seeds and fertilizer on a survivor's farm, convincing the woman to come with them and to give her supplies to help the community. It was evident that he took a shining to the woman, Lee could see it through their interactions, but Lee knew that Frank still missed Beth.

Wellington even surprised the community with a visit, the leaders coming to discuss trading with Lee with Edith as proof that they were from the northern community. It was enjoyable getting back into touch with the woman, both of them enjoying a short break after talks just talking about what's happened in their lives after the rebellion against Carver. Hearing that Walter and Ellie had left, she offered her condolences, before revealing that she decided to take a relationship up with Huan, both of them deciding that it was now or never regarding the relationship. By the time the leaders were ready to return to their community, having traded medicine for food and water, she bid farewell to Lee. With her gone, he had to admit that he missed the talks that they had, and noticed that Sarah missed being able to talk to Edith as well.

It wasn't just the community that changed over the weeks. Nick had become more shut off because of what happened with Luke, only coming out for Sarah, and even she was finding it difficult to convince him to keep going. Christa, Omid, even Lee were worried what would happen. Their group of friends had gone down to just five, and he didn't fancy losing anyone else. Sarah seemed to have grown more sure of herself however, taking a shining to becoming a doctor like Jack and the others who were learning, and he was proud in how far she came.

Leaning back into his chair, he glanced over at Kate, the young child colouring in on a piece of paper that they found for her, the crayons she was using sprawled over the floor. Breathing deeply, he stood up from his chair, making his way over to the busy child as he crouched, glancing down at her paper as he asked her. "What're you drawing, honey?"

Looking up at him with large eyes, she glanced down at her drawing, slowly picking it up and showing it to him clearly. Staring at it, he noticed one of the people wearing a blue jacket, black hair drawn to above her shoulders. Smiling, he pointed at it and asked. "That your mommy?"

Nodding, she smiled softly, and watched as Lee pointed out another person, their bright blue ski jacket and red glasses sticking out. "Is that Sarah?"

Nodding again, she then placed the paper back on the floor, pointing her small finger at another one, a person drawn with a large belly, and next to them is a laughably small person with facial hair. Chuckling at that, he watched as she stared at him, waiting for him to guess. With a shrug, he questioned. "Christa and Omid?"

Smiling at that, she let out a small laugh, clearly enjoying the game she was playing with him. They continued to play it, the young girl pointing to people that she drew, waiting silently for Lee to guess who it was. When she pointed at a brown coloured person, a black jacket over them with thick squiggles over their face for facial hair, he raised an eyebrow, finding it to be uncanny, and laughed. "Is that me?"

When she replied with a nod, he glanced back down at it, and complimented it. "Looks exactly like me!"

Suddenly, the door opened quickly, shocking both of the survivors as Lee moved in front of Kate, adopting a protective stance until he realised that it was Sarah that came into the room. Breathing heavily, she looked like she had ran a marathon before coming to his office, glancing over at the two as she gasped, her face relieved and excited. "Lee!"

"Sarah, what's wrong?" he asked, confused on what could be wrong to warrant her behaviour.

"It's Lilly," she revealed, taking a moment to catch her breath. "She's awake."