A/N: Wow, I'm so sorry about how long it took to upload this! I was in America for 2 weeks without my computer, and I didn't get to finish this chapter before I left. So, here it is now. I'm sorry I couldn't make it longer, I'll try to make up for it with the next chapter ;3

Disclaimer: The Walking Dead and its characters belong to AMC/Robert Kirkman. Lana Fitzpatrick and Sheriff are my own fan characters and belong to me.

Chapter 3

After her work with the fence, Carol was exhausted. The scavenging group had been gone for a few hours now, so it was unusually quiet. Barely a sound was heard throughout the school, other than the occasional echo of footsteps or distant squeal from Judith from outside. There wasn't much else that needed to be done, so Carol decided a small nap was in order. After grabbing a book from the pile of possessions atop a desk in her room, she settled herself in on the mattress.

She wasn't quite sure when, but at some point she must've dozed off, because she found herself being woken up by a giggling two year old by the side of her bed. She grunted as she moved herself up, the book falling from where it lay crumpled across her lower face down to her lap. Sleepily, she rubbed her eyes, pushing a few loose curls from her face before turning to the girl scrambling onto the mattress.

"Hey Ass Kicker, who's looking after you?"

Carol had taken to calling Judith by her nickname more often than her actual name, a habit picked up from too much time spent with Daryl. She smiled at the girl, then picked her up under the arms and settled her into her lap.

She was different to how Sophia had been at her age. Sophia had been a loud baby, always waking up the neighbours. Ed had hated it. She had always been afraid of what he would've done had she not been there to quiet the girl down. However, Judith was fairly quiet. As a newborn, anyway. She had become a bit more vocal as she grew, in the same way Sophia had become more shy and quiet. But they both had big hearts, and seemingly unending optimism even in the worst circumstances. Even though she had been scared after the apocalypse began, Sophia was still rarely seen without a smile on her face. She adored that about her.

Carol felt a pang of sadness at the thought, but she still found joy in those old memories. Sometimes she wandered what Sophia would've been like if she was still here. It had crossed her mind more than once over the past few years. She would've become strong, capable, selfless. But there was also the chance it could have gone completely wrong, and the world could have ruined her little girl. Like Lizzie.

Her face hardened at the thought. She pushed the memory out of her mind and returned her attention to Judith, who was trying to make herself comfortable in Carol's lap. With her hand she stroked the girl's hair, light reddish-brown curls smooth under her fingers.

Her hand was moved to her temple as an ache throbbed in her head. She must be coming down with something. The ache amplified quickly, and she thought it best to get some medication for it.

"Come on Jude, we're going on a walk" she said, allowing Judith to clamber off the bed before getting up herself. Her bones cracked and popped as she stretched out with a groan. Judith reached up to grab her hand and the pair left the room

Lilly had been standing by the bench in what was once a nurse's office, sorting through the gathered supplies from the most recent run, when Carol walked in with Judith trailing closely behind her. The bottle of pills she held rattled as she placed it on the tabletop.

"What can I do for you girls?" she asked with a smile.

"Could I grab some Tylenol? I think I'm coming down with something. I've got this killer headache, and this morning I was having trouble keeping my breakfast down" Carol explained as she walked over. She leaned her hip on the bench and pressed her hand against the edge.

"Sure" Lilly answered with a quick nod. She opened a cupboard over her head and grabbed a tattered red box marked 'Tylenol'.

"Is anything else up? Any other symptoms?" Lilly asked as she handed her the medication.

"Not at the moment. I'll get back to you if something else shows up" she said, before pausing and glancing to the ground.

Carol furrowed her eyebrows as her eyes swept the room. Lilly tilted her head a little to the side, confused, before following her gaze.

"Where's Judith?" Carol uttered, peering around the side of the bench.

Lilly pulled herself upright, a concentrated look on her face. A small knock, nearly undetectable, found her ears. She tapped Carol's arm, bringing a finger to her lips as she turned around. Sure enough, another noise came from one of the lower cupboards on the other side of the room. Both women smiled. They crept over softly, the sounds of toddler giggles becoming clearer as they neared. Carol pulled open the door to reveal the small girl, nestled amongst bandages and towels.

"Found me!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air.

Lilly breathed a laugh, and turned to Carol as the pair crouched on the ground in front of Judith's hiding place.

"My Meghan used to play this game all the time. Scared the shit out of me the first time" she recalled fondly. "I would always find her in the most bizarre places. Once she somehow managed to get into one of the top cupboards, I still have no idea how"

"Mmm, Sophia was the same" Carol said softly. Her face hardened, and she dropped her gaze to the ground. "But usually it was to hide from her daddy when he came home drunk"

Lilly looked at her sympathetically, placing a hand on her shoulder and giving it a small squeeze. Silence filled the room, with the exemption of Judith who was wriggling her way out from amongst the medical supplies. Carol blinked tears gathering under her eyes. Ed had taken away a part of Sophia's childhood, a part of her innocence, after he started laying hands on her too. And Carol hated him more for that than for anything he could've possibly done to her. Despite the circumstances, Sophia didn't crumble, or let that hopeful smile ever leave her beautiful face. She would've survived out here.

"Come on Kiddo, lets get you out of there" Lilly said as she grabbed the girl under the arms and pulled her out from her hiding place.

Once on her feet, Judith sprung into her energetic state once more, only stopping when she noticed the look on Carol's face. She tilted her head to the side, her bright eyes looking into Carol's with an innocence that was hard to come by these days. Even in children. A tiny hand grasped Carol's, snapping her out of her trance.

"Lets find Daddy!" she said happily.

Carol couldn't help but smile at the girl as she stumbled through the door, disappearing into the long corridor as a echo of small footsteps and childish cackles sounded through the building. She pushed herself up from the ground and hurried to the door, turning at the doorway to Lilly.

"Thank you, I'll see you if it gets worse"

With that she swung around the corner and briskly followed the toddler running excitedly down the hallway.

By the time she caught up to Judith, she had made it to the set of looming double doors at the entrance of the school. The heavy doors wouldn't budge for the small child. With a huff, she crossed her arms in front of her chest, sticking out her bottom lip.

"Need a hand?" Carol asked as she pushed the doors open. Judith scurried out, tailed by Carol, and stopped at the top of the steps.

Two figures stood by the fence, one in a sweat coated shirt and beanie, toting a hammer in one hand with the other pressed against a wooden board. The other man stood with hands on hips as he spoke, his soil covered hands leaving light stains on his light blue button up shirt. A hand came up to his chin, lightly grazing the overgrown stubble stretching across the lower half of his face.

"Daddy!" Judith exclaimed, but before she had a chance to run off again Carol grabbed her around the waist and lifted her up, balancing the girl on her hip with an almost natural ease.

"Oh no you don't. I think thats enough running around for today" she said, blowing out an exhausted breath.

She bounced her up once before walking towards the figures. The dry yellowing grass crunched under her feet with each step, the noise informing the men of her approach. Rick brought a hand up to shield his eyes from the bright sun harshly beating down on the yard, its brightness casting dark looming shadows across the ground. A smile crossed his face as he walked towards them.

"So thats where you went" the man chuckled.

He reached out his hands for the girl and Carol carefully handed her over. He pressed his forehead to his daughters, before turning to Carol.

"Thanks for looking after her"

"Its not the first time I've returned your daughter" she said, bitterness seeping into her words.

The distrust Rick felt towards her after the deaths at the prison had hurt, had torn her up inside. How he could just abandon her after all they'd been through was still nearly incomprehensible to her. Through the hardships, and the good times. They were family. And Rick had the nerve to throw her to the curb like a piece of trash, not intending to ever lay eyes on her again. And the worst part was that he didn't care. He didn't do it with remorse, no apologies for it having to be that way. All that mattered to him in that moment was 'protecting' her from Tyresse, and 'protecting' Carl and Judith from her. It was kind of ironic the day she found him and the group, Judith on her hip and Tyreese close behind.

She'd tried to forgive him, she really had, but that was a feat easier said than done. It was too easy for him to do what he did. Heartless. The reason she'd been let go. Pretty ironic.

Rick's smile faltered, his eyes breaking contact with hers but she refused to look away.

"Carol, you know I'm sorry for what I did. I was wrong. I shouldn't have let you go"

"Because I had Judith" she stated, her tone sharp but calm.

A sigh escaped Ricks mouth as he looked up at her, squinting as the sun's light beamed into his face.

"No. Thats not it" he said slowly.

He shifted his weight and repositioned Judith in his arms, before turning and walking to Tyreese, who had busied himself with hammering nails into a large piece of wood, securing it to the iron fence.

"Could you take her for a minute? I'll be right back" he said quietly as he offered the toddler to the large man.

"No problem" Tyreese responded with a brisk nod. He set down his tool and took Judith in his arms.

With an appreciative nod Rick turned from the man and rejoined Carol, tapping her on the elbow as he walked past in long quick strides.

"Lets go check the perimeter"

Hesitating a little at first, she turned to where Tyreese stood with Judith. He nodded slowly to her, indicating it was a good idea to talk, no matter how much Carol didn't want to continue on the topic. With a drawn out sigh, she reluctantly followed Rick across the yard.

It was a large place they had found, especially for a school. From what Carol could tell, the property as a whole seemed to be around the same size as the prison. Despite not having as many fences as the prison, the big black iron gates that surrounded the perimeter were in a sense better than the prison gates, stronger and thicker. Schools hadn't been like this when she was younger. It was more like a prison than the prison.

The sun had dried out a great deal of the grass, and it crackled under their feet with each stride. Patches of dirt, where the grass had been torn away, were scattered across the yard every so often, giving it a sort of desolate appearance. Apart from the main building, there was gym and auditorium, square buildings made of dirty white brick, which were currently being used for training and artillery storage.

"You've been doing a good job fortifying the fence. I saw you out here this morning" he said.

"I'm just doing my job" Carol said, pausing. "Y'know, stepping up"

There was a hint of malice in her voice, something she wished wasn't even there to begin with. It was easier to forgive and forget, the same had been done to her for something much worse. Though she wouldn't blame Tyreese if his feelings towards her were somewhat similar to hers towards Rick. But she and Rick had been through so much more, they were family.

"Carol, I get you're still mad at me, but what you did for me, for Judith, I can't ever repay that. You kept my little girl alive. You're the closest thing she has to a mother now that Beth—"

"Rick, its fine. You know that I've forgiven you" she said, desperately trying to end the conversation.

Rick stopped walking and took a step in front of Carol, forcing her to stop in her tracks.

"Carol. You and I both know that you still have a problem with me and I get that, but you have to see that I'm trying here" Rick continued, after placing a hand on her shoulder and forcing her to look him in the eye.

She remained silent for a moment, breaking eye contact and shrugging off his hand. Her teeth grazed her lip as she thought, and her expression hardened.

"Its just— I try to forgive you, I want to. God knows I've done worse and still given another chance. But its hard. You just… cast me aside like I was nothing, like I meant nothing. As if the that past year and all our group has been through together meant nothing. You were my family, and I thought I could trust you and rely on you"

The words tumbled from her mouth in an endless flow as Carol finally, after months of bottling up her thoughts, let it all out. She looked up at Rick desperately as he gave a knowing nod, allowing himself to glance away from her.

"I don't blame you" he said.

Carol took in a deep shuddering breath, the tears welling up in her eyes about to spill over. She wiped at her face with her sleeve. She didn't want to cry, not now. Not in front of him.

"But, I'll try" she said in a voice not too far from a whisper.

"Well, I think the fences are all holding up nicely. Thanks again" Rick said, his mood seeming to lighten slightly. Carol nodded, and Rick started to head back over to where Tyreese had Judith.

She let out a sigh, once again wiping away the tears in her eyes, and brought her hand up to her head. She would try.