JESSE'S INTERVENTION

Carol and Maggie walked up the porch of the Anderson home. They wanted to talk to Jesse alone and they knew that Pete wasn't there. He was at the home he was placed in after his fight with Rick. They knew this would not be an easy task, but felt it was definitely necessary for Jesse.

Carol knocked on the door, her and Maggie looking at one another for a few moments before Jesse opened it.

"Hi Jesse," Carol started out. "We hope we're not here at a bad time."

"Hey Carol, hey Maggie. No, now is fine. Come on in." Jesse smiled, moving sideways and opening the door wider for them to enter. They entered and Jesse shut the door. "Come sit down. Would you like some coffee, I can make some?"

"Jesse, we'll stand here, we're not going to stay. We just came by to ask you to come to Rick's house tonight to discuss the fight he and Pete had today. We know Deanna wants to have a meeting tomorrow night for the community to discuss the fight and Rick's behavior, but us ladies, his family, would like to get together to talk before then. Maggie here can stay with your boys tonight so you can come," Carol said.

"I definitely don't mind staying with them tonight," Maggie offered, smiling.

"Oh, there's no need for a sitter. Ron is old enough to take care of himself and Sam. Now what time will it be and will Rick be there?"

"Uh no, Rick is in lock up remember? Now we'd like to start around 6:00." Carol said, squinting her eyes at Jesse.

"Oh yes, that's right." Jesse gave a timid chuckle. "I forgot where he is with all that happened today. Yes, yes of course I'll be there. Can I bring anything?"

"Just yourself," Maggie replied.

"See you there," Carol said as they turned toward the door to go.

…

Jesse walked up Rick's porch at 6:00pm exactly. She was really excited to go into the house that he lived in. She thought this was a perfect opportunity to get to know more about him as well as the women of his group since she planned to be with him. She could imagine making breakfast and dinner for him and eating it on the very porch she stood on since there were chairs and a small table there. If living here wasn't good or convenient for Rick then they could live at her house since he would keep Pete away

After knocking on the door she gave a big smile when Carol opened it. Carol returned it with a big smile of her own and invited her in.

All the women of TF were present. She sat on the loveseat with Carol while Maggie, Sasha and Tara sat on the sofa. Michonne and Rosita sat in chairs turned around facing them from the dining room table.

After all the pleasantries, Carol turned to her and started.

"Jesse, we're all here tonight because we want you to know that we are here to help you in any way can."

Jesse gave a confused smile looking at Carol. "You what? Why? Help me? I thought this was for Rick?"

"Jesse, I was a battered wife. Before the world changed, my husband Ed used to beat the hell out of me. He'd even hit our daughter Sophia. He kept doing it after the world changed too. The only time a change happened was when he got eaten by walkers in the camp we were in. That's when the beatings finally stopped."

"Carol, why are you telling this to me? I mean I appreciate you telling me and all and I thank you for letting Sam visit you, but I don't understand?"

"Jesse, Sam told me what happens at your house. I know about the lock on the inside of Sam's closet that he has to go into when Pete gets upset, and I know about him knocking you unconscious and letting you just lay on the floor. All the kids know that Ron can't raise his left arm over this head so he can't play certain sports but we all know why. We've seen how Pete talks to you and how he looks at other women and a lot think he's…" Carol raised the first two fingers of both hands representing quotes. "...creepy."

"We're not here to embarrass you, Jesse." Maggie smiled at her. "We just want you to know we're here to help you. We knew Carol when she was afraid of her own shadow due to Ed. But look at her now! A positive change can happen when you're away from your abuser."

Michonne looked into Jesse's eyes. "We've heard that Deanna knows what's going on but won't do anything because Pete's the only doctor in Alexandria. That's not right. Everyone should be able to live here in peace. You have that right too, Jesse. And we want you to know that we support you."

"You're not by yourself Jesse," Tara replied. "My sister was a battered girlfriend. I had a niece and nephew who saw her get killed by their father because we didn't do nothing. I mean, my family and her boyfriend's family didn't want it to seem like we were meddling so we did nothing." She looked at Jesse. "We were wrong. He got two years and served only one for killing my sister. I hope the walkers tore him apart!" Tara turned to look at the floor with tears in her eyes.

Jesse looked at all the women saying, "I told Rick, that when this happened before, I helped Pete through it and I could try to do that again."

"What did he say?" Michonne asked.

"Well, he didn't want to hear that part, but he did say that if it got worse it meant I would be dead."

"Believe him," Michonne answered. "He was a Deputy Sheriff. He saw a lot of cases like yours."

Jesse once again looked at the women in the room. "I appreciate this, I really do, but Rick's gonna help me. He said today that he wouldn't do this for anyone else but me. That's when he and Pete started fighting. Pete saw Rick wanted me and got jealous. I feel like I..., uh, we'll be safe staying right here or at my house with Rick there protecting me...um me and my boys, from Pete and everything outside the wall.

All the women glanced at Michonne.

"Jesse what do you know about Rick?" Rosita asked her.

"He's the leader of y'all's group and he's strong and he's not afraid of Pete. He's very good looking and he kissed me at y'all's welcome party. He needs a good woman to care for him. He looks like a worrier, I can help him with that. You know, keep him calm."

Everybody looked at Michonne. They all expected her to say something.

Michonne answered, "He IS our leader and he IS strong. And no he's not afraid of Pete. But you don't KNOW him, how he feels, what his outlook on this new world is or what he'd have to do in it. Can you accept what he will do or what he won't do for his family? How does he feel about your kids…?"

"But when we get together, when he's with me...um, us, I can find out about him then," Jesse reasoned.

"What happens to his children? Is he supposed to leave them to go to you? Or put them in danger because of Pete and take them with him to your place?" Rosita asked looking straight at Jesse.

Carol stated, "Don't forget, some of our family still live here. It's their house too and it's full! They're not just gonna move out real quick because you want to be with Rick."

"Michonne is his children's mother figure, their mother. They've been with her a while and they're very very close to her." Rosita said.

Jesse looked at Michonne, her mouth open with surprise.

Michonne looked at Jesse and after a few seconds said, "Rick would help anyone in this situation. It's who he is. Would you have agreed to leave if he'd said yes he would help someone else? You had been KNOCKED OUT. Jesse you were UNCONSCIOUS with your kids in the house with their abuser!" Michonne continued, "Rick helped Sasha, Tara and Rosita. He helped Carol and Maggie. And he helped me. That's WHO Rick Grimes is and it's what he does!"

"Had Rick had anything to drink when he kissed you at our party?" Sasha asked.

"Yes, but…"

Sasha interrupted, "You know we had no alcohol all the while we were on the road, right? That was his first taste of alcohol in a long time."

"But the way he looks at me. I know when a man wants a woman," Jesse stated confidently.

"Have you seen the way he looks at Michonne? Have you seen how they stare at each other? How he always looks for her in a room? How she lives here and takes care of their children?" Asked Tara.

Jesse looked at Michonne who stared back at her stoically.

Michonne spoke quietly, "Jesse, what we're trying to say is we'll take turns staying with you day and night and watching the boys until Deanna intervenes. The person that's there during the day can teach you how to kill walkers using a blade. This is something you HAVE to know in this day and time. You can learn to protect yourself AND your boys. We'll teach you how to shoot a gun. This will help you to become more self-sufficient."

Michonne continued, "I will go and talk to Deanna myself about Pete and what to do about him. I'll present to her that Pete could be exiled if he touches you in a violent way or without your permission. Same goes for your sons. They'd decide if they want to see him or not. He'd have to continue his job at the infirmary keeping his statistics for patients the same as now. That way he can't slack off on his job. Another female has to stay with him at all times when he's with a female patient. If anything deviates without Deanna's okay (except for with you and your boys) from how he does things now he'd be held for an undetermined amount of time and/or he will be exiled. I'm sure he'd rather stay away from you in here than be walker food out there. His job as a doctor is important but not at the expense of people's health and/or safety. That applies to you too. The supply runners and Aaron and Daryl can be on the lookout for another medical professional. Plus, Denise Cloyd, who already lives here, is a psychiatrist. She can shadow Pete for a while to give us an alternative and take some pressure of being the only doctor off him. If Pete is exiled she will be ready to take over and be our medical doctor."

Carol took Jesse's hand. "I grew as a person without Ed. I couldn't do that when I was with him. He held me back."

Sasha reminded Jesse, "Money doesn't mean anything anymore. We all have the same things here. We all have a house and clothes we didn't pay money for, and we share our food in the community. The children attend the same school. His kids don't go to a better school because he's a doctor. The money he had on the outside doesn't need to keep you tied to him in here."

Maggie added, "One man, even a Rick Grimes, can't do all you need him to do with all the responsibilities he has. Let us help you. You'll feel so much better about yourself. You're putting ALL your eggs in the basket of a man you've just met; who was drinking alcohol and kissed you on your cheek WITH your husband in the next room. Who looks at you in a certain way and said he'd only help you and nobody else when trying to get you away from an abusive man who beats you and at least one of your children. Your abuser then started a fight with the man trying to help you. The longest time you've spent by yourself with this man was less than 30 minutes while you cut his hair when you first met him. Does that really sound smart?"

Tara questioned, "You're talking about someone leaving their home and family, who has a baby no less. You want him to stay with you and take care of you while he works as our constable, goes on runs, repair and expand things in the Safe Zone and protect our community on top of being a father? And this would be happening while your attention would need to be on your boys, who would be going through a huge change and up-heaval in their lives with their father leaving. Jesse is that fair to them?"

"Let us help you Jesse, Carol implored. "We can do this as discreetly as possible and with the least amount of change for your son's. We understand your situation. I've been in your shoes. We are willing to work with you. Will you let us do this?"

Jesse lowered her head. She was silent while tears rolled down her face. She had listened to and heard all they said. But Pete told her if she ever left he would always find her no matter where she was. He said he'd never let her go. He fought Rick. What if he were to fight one of the women? Could they take him? They couldn't take him could they? Pete was a big man. But they were all fighters. They all fought walkers so, maybe? Would Ron accept his father living away from them? Could they all live in the same community? Would Pete stay away from the boys to spite her? Would it be better if he did stay away from them? Would the kids blame her if that happened?

But what about Rick? Was it all in her mind. She was sure he wanted her and that he would help her leave Pete to be with him! But it seems he already had some kind of romantic tie. With Michonne no less! She thought they were just friends! Michonne carried a sword and could hurt her if she blamed her for Rick leaving. But Michonne actually said she'd talk to Deanna with a plan that just may work. Pete couldn't last two minutes outside the gates! But maybe she should talk to Rick herself. If he was with Michonne why was he after her? She was so sure he wanted to be with her! But these women have known him longer and seem to know how he is.

She'd heard what Rick said too, right after his fight with Pete about being prepared to 'defend ourselves and Alexandria'. These women could teach her how to protect herself and in turn protect her children and the community. Rick said everyone needed to know how to do that. But if Rick was her protector maybe she wouldn't need to do all of that. He could teach her all she needed to know. She was a housewife, always had been. Rick knew that but still seemed to want her. But Michonne knows how to protect herself and the community and she takes care of the kids too. But from what they were hinting at she had Rick, so of course she'd be strong!

If she left Pete it would be her first time being alone. She left her parents house when she married Pete. Could she be alone, without a man, just her and the kids? It would be scary being alone; no one to depend on but herself. But maybe it was time she got stronger like Carol did. Maybe she would feel better depending on herself.

If Pete did come home he would be very angry. But maybe she could help him like she did before and stop him from drinking? That's when most of the abuse happened, when he was drunk. Pretty soon there may not be any more alcohol for the runners to find.

So many thoughts were bombarding her. This was a major decision that would affect her and her boys whole world. But the next thought that came to Jesse's mind really scared her. What if she got sick or hurt herself? Would Pete refuse to treat her? Would he actually let her die? He is the only doctor. Who would know what he did or didn't do? What about the boys if something happened to her? Ron could be on his own, but what about Sam? Could Deanna take away Pete's right to be his guardian? To be his father?

All these thoughts swirled around Jesse's mind. She had to make a decision, maybe the biggest decision of her life.

…...

All the women were patient, giving Jesse time to grapple with herself to decide her own fate. They understood the gravity of the situation and hoped that Jesse would let them help her.

When Jesse had made up her mind she addressed all the women. "Ladies, first let me say thanks for coming to me and offering your help. This has never happened to me before. I kept this 'our little secret'. No one knew what was happening in our house, not family or friends. Even when people found out they did like Deanna and didn't do anything. Pete was always bigger than life as a doctor and I didn't matter. He always took care of us. Rick was the only one to actually challenge Pete for how he treated me, and now he's in trouble because of me. But, I have made up my mind about your offer. At this point I choose to…"

END