"Do you know what I've been through? Do you know what he did to her? What he did to my brother and sisters? I was just a kid. I didn't want to leave my home. I had all my stuff in my room, and I loved my room. I wanted to go back to normal. He was always yelling. When we were at our home, just you me and mom, I'd hear weird noises at night. When I went to look for the noise, it came from your bedroom. One time I looked in. You didn't see me but I saw you. I'd hear you laugh. Back then I didn't know what it was, but since you laughed I thought it was okay. Then I'd hear the same noise when we got here, but mom would be crying. I could hear him hitting her."

Rick shifted in his seat, acing to get up and hold his son. Lori was on the couch, right next to him, wiping away the never-ending stream of tears. They both watched as their son paced the floor, the memories and emotions flowing out.

"Mom didn't know so don't blame her. I started about a year ago. It just got too much. I missed my dad. I missed my home and my room. I wanted to go home. Shane was screaming all the time. I tried to help mom, but when I did he'd punch me. He hated Mikey. He always said he's kill him and he always called him a little shit. I'd share a room with him and sleep in front of the door so Shane couldn't come in during the night. I just wanted to go back to the way it used to be. Just the three of us in our home."

Rick hung his head. He wanted to erase all the pain his son had. Over the past year Carl consistently wore long sleeves and pants, despite the Atlanta heat. Now, in front of his parents, he wore a tee shirt and shorts. Lori was transfixed, looking at the healed but still visible marks on each of his legs, from ankle to thigh, and his arms, from shoulder to wrist.

"Nobody knew. Gramma and pop pop were so nice. I'll bet you never had to help your mom clean up her own blood." He looked at Rick, spite and venom in his eyes.

"The way he treated my sisters. I tried to stop, and they'd hug me and cry. I couldn't tell them it'd be okay 'cuz I knew it wouldn't. I wanted to die but if I did nobody would protect them or mom. When Shannon was born she was crying all night long and he was mad. I heard thumps and went into the kitchen. Mom was doubled over on the floor, holding Shannon and Shane was whipping her back with a belt. I tried to stop him but he was too strong. He stopped being Uncle Shane. When we left our home we went to Fort Benning but it was taken over by those things. He was mad and punched mom. A soldier told him about a cure in Washington and he shot the guy before driving away."

Carl paced the floor, his parents sitting in stoic silence. The younger Grime's gaze landed on Rick and his stare bore through the officer, right to his soul.

"I didn't want this. I wanted to go home. I just wanted to go home and be in my room. I missed you so much. Shane was so mean. Mikey and my sisters….they never even had a coloring book or toys because Shane didn't want the mess. He didn'want any noise because it would make him angry. I'd go see Ron and he'd have DVDs. We'd watch them but at that house Shane never let them see anything. My four year old brother never saw a cartoon. Never used a crayon. I just wanted everything to stop. I wanted to go home. I wanted it to be the way it used to be. Just you, me and mom in our house. You and me, dad. Like, after dinner we'd go in the back yard and you'd help me work on my baseball swing. Remember? I missed playing with Duane. I even missed school. Every day, right before I open my eyes, I want to wake up in my old room, with the Star Wars poster on the door and all my stuff around. I'd cry myself to sleep and sometimes I still wanted to die because I felt trapped. Mom did everything she could, because she was just as scared as him as I was. But he never cared. He told me you were dead and he never asked me if I was okay."

Carl's wobbly legs carried him to the couch on the other side of the room, where he flopped down, put his elbows on his lap and rested his head in his hand. Both Rick and Lori came over and sat on either side of their son, each enveloping him with their arms and holding him tightly as he sobbed.

"All that time I just wanted my dad back. But you moved on and had another family. Did you even look for us?"

Rick's red face was streaked with tears as he nodded yes. There were no words he could say at this moment.

"I'm sorry." Carl sobbed, holding his dad's hand and his body wracked with deep, heart wrenching sobs as he poured his heart out into the crook of his mother's arm.

xxxxx

They sat together until Rick got up to answer a knock at the door. Michonne had taken all of the children to Daryl and Beth's, allowing the three privacy. She left them in the care of the Dixons for just a moment when she knocked on Pete's door and let him know he was needed.

She stood on the porch and watched as Pete briskly walked down the street, dropping off his sons with the ever growing Alexandria family. Michonne closed her eyes, hoping for the best when she watched the doctor enter the Grimes home. The hangover had to wait. More important things needed attention.

xxxxx

"None of the lacerations look too deep, and most have healed." Pete said somberly and he carefully examined Carl. He looked the boy in the eye and asked "You alright, buddy?"

Rick had showed compassion during the week he was back, but in the four years before he started cutting nobody, other than his mother, had shown concern for the teen. Nobody understood what was going on in his mind.

xxxxx

The two Grimes were in the master bedroom, giving Carl privacy to talk freely to Pete.

Lori sat quietly as Rick was pacing around the room, the same way their son was moving just an hour earlier. Both parents were trying to digest what their son experienced. Lori was quiet, wiping away the tears that flooded out of her eyes.

"I didn't know. I didn't know. I'm sorry, Rick. I didn't know. I'm sorry." She repeated herself, wracked with guilt. "How could I not see it?"

Rick noticed she started rocking back and forth and pulled at her hair.

"I had no idea. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't know."

He quietly walked over and sat next to his wife. She was trembling and flinched when Rick put his arm around her. Out of habit she moved away and started to pull handfuls of her hair out. The long, black strands landed on the floor, and Rick watched in sadness as she stood up and walked to the corner of the room, moving her hands from her hair to covering her ears. She sat on the floor, her back against the wall, legs bent and close to her chest.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Panic and hysteria started to control her sentiments, and she lost all control of her emotions.