"Maggie and I will go to the roof," Sasha told Ty and Michonne. "You two check downstairs and see if you can find anything useful."

"Is splitting up such a good idea?" Michonne asked.

"She's right. We should stay together." Maggie pulled her hair back. "Let's go together. Daryl can keep watch."

They all agreed to their jobs, Daryl picked at the tip of one of his arrows as they left to check the roof and basement. He was left to his thoughts. What Carol had said really hit him hard. He wasn't like Ed. He would never put his hands on her. He wouldn't be a man like his father. Why would Carol ever say that he was? She knew the type of man his father was, and she knew just how much Daryl hated to be anything like that, how hard he fought to keep his father's blood from taking him over. He was a Dixon, but he was a good man. Carol used to tell me not to let Merle get him down, that Merle was bad for him. Now she's calling him Ed. Guilt doesn't make you turn on your friends, and he thought he'd helped her through all of that. How much guilt does she have? It's only been about seven months since Rick abandoned her. What the hell did Martinez make her do? What did she do to herself? She never talked about it, always said it was nothing new. That didn't mean much. She was with them for months, so that shit would seem old. What the hell was it?

Chewing his lower lip, he watched Beth teach Lizzie how to feed Judith, and Carl watched them both from a distance. Daryl could see Carl's feelings forming for Lizzie like they'd formed for Beth. Carol wouldn't be too fond of that. Or maybe she would. Hell, he didn't know anymore. He wasn't even sure he knew her anymore. He didn't want to abandon her like Rick had. It was her, but it wasn't her. He'd have to get past her walls, and as intimate as sex was, it wasn't helping to break down her walls. He needed a damn wrecking ball to get through her thick ass walls.

He almost laughed to himself. Now he was the one was trying to get through to her. All the roles have been switched. Sasha was leading, Michonne was more the motherly type, Carol was distant, and he was there for them. He needed that role to change, because Rick got one thing right: They got through this by pulling together, not apart.

––

Carol woke up to the others talking and eating and laughing, a figure was coming over to her, and she sat up, her ankle numb. She removed her other boot and drew her legs in as Lilly sat down on the bed beside her, holding out a plate of squirrel meat possibly and some canned beans and two slices of tomatoes and a glass of cooled boiled water.

"Have you eaten?" Carol didn't take the food.

"As much as I could swallow, yes. I gave what I couldn't finish to the kids. Here, you need this."

"I'm not hungry. Give it to Lizzie and Carl for me." She did take the glass of water. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me. You're eating this. Daryl wanted to bring this, but I took it and brought it for you, so you're going to eat it. If I leave with a full plate, Daryl will come over here and force-feed you."

"I'm gonna, even if you is here." Daryl stopped by the foot of the bed. "You're eatin'."

"I'm not hungry," she protested. "I'm tired."

"I got this, Lilly."

"Okay." She set the plate down on the bed and went to see if Rick was awake, so she could get him his plate.

"I'm not eating. I'm going back to sleep."

"Woman, just eat the damn food." He picked up the plate, grabbed her empty hand and set the plate on her palm. "You'd best not drop this plate."

"I can't hold it," she murmured. "My hands are too weak. That's why I need to go back to sleep."

"That's why you need a damn fork." He sat in front of her. "Open your mouth."

"Excuse me?"

"Open. Your. Mouth. It ain't so hard to listen." He grabbed a bit of the meat. "I'm gonna feed you either way."

"Fine, but don't be mama bird. I refuse to eat ABC food."

He's lips twitched as he held back a smile. "Then open your mouth."

She did as he told her to, and he was glad she was listening for once. She usually cut him off when he brought up something she didn't want to talk about or do. He knew if anyone could bring her back, it was him. He was the only one here who'd been by her side from the beginning. Rick was by Carl's, and Glenn's was with Rick and Daryl. It was only later that they all were there for each other, after Rick's pissed speech about pulling together. They needed Rick back too. They needed Rick and Carol back to themselves, and that would take time. He was willing to put time into them both, but he had a feeling only one person could bring Rick back to who he needed to be.

Daryl took the plate over to Beth, who was washing dinner plates at that point, and he went for a walk, Lilly decided to help Beth while the kids played in the game store, talking about how much they used to want this game or that. Carl wasn't with them, and neither was Lizzie or Judith. Lilly knew the baby was with Rick, so the kids must be keeping watch? It made her stomach tighten to think of them carrying, but that's what it took nowadays.

Carl looked over at Lizzie, who was staring at a stuffed animal as she sat on the bench by herself. She looked so impassive, so he figured it had to do with Mika. He walked away, but he heard something rip and he turned as Lizzie tore up the stuffed animal. She brushed it off her lap and pushed her bangs back, taking a deep breath.

"Hey, do you wanna patrol with me?"

She looked up. "Yeah." She slid off the bench and fell into step beside him.

They walked in silence, their boots echoing off the floor, and it was almost uncomfortable. He wanted to talk, he was willing to talk about anything to keep the silence from drowning them both, but he didn't know what to say. She wasn't like Beth, and he didn't know how to make her talk. Possibly take over the conversation as he listened. He wasn't one to talk unless he had a point to prove. He mostly talked to his dad and Michonne and whoever was on watch with him. He doubted bringing up walkers would make her feel any better. What would?

"Did you ever play?" Lizzie asked, pointing to the other game store ahead of them.

"Yeah. I spent a lot of time on video games. Used to drive my parents insane."

"I liked war games. Dad never approved, but I got them on every Christmas and birthday." She crossed her arms. "Mika liked games were you could dress them up and stuff. They were so boring to me, but she was always younger than me, so...I guess that's why."

"I miss her too," he admitted.

"I have Carol now, but...I miss Mika so much. It's not fair." She stopped walking. "If we'd only stayed inside. If I hadn't been so stubborn and made her go outside with me—"

"You can't think about that." He met her eyes. "Think about the good things, like when you played video games and holidays and birthdays. Remember her that way."

"That's easy for you to say. You're sister's still alive. I've had a little sister almost all of my life, and now I don't. Don't you dare tell me what to think." She stormed off.

Smooth, so smooth. Thanks a lot, Carol. He should've never used her advise. He was about to walk away when Lizzie screamed. "Lizzie!" He took off running after her and found her pinned down by a man with two younger men arguing behind her. "Get off of her!"

"Oh, shit! The kid's got a gun!" the younger blond one backed up, hands up. "Man, get off her now!"

Carl aimed at the man's head. "I said get off her!"

"It's a kindergartener holding me at gunpoint." He barked a laugh. He had black hair with scars on his arms and tattoos. He was one massive muscle, and he could take down this little runt.

"Silas, let her go." The brunette boy demanded. "This ain't right. You said you wouldn't do this no more."

"A man's got needs, bro. Get that boy."

"Carl?" Michonne ran over to them with Daryl and Sasha behind her. Her katana came out when she saw Lizzie pinned down, her jeans undone. "Hell no!"

Daryl tackled the man before Michonne chopped his head and balls off, Sasha helped Lizzie to stand, holding the other two with her gun as Daryl wrestled to get control of the muscled rapist.

"I got you." Sasha rubbed her back as she sobbed. "Who the hell are you? And who the hell checked this store?"

"No one. It was locked." Michonne set her blade on the base of the brunette's throat. "You have answering to do."

"I'm J—Jeremiah. That's my brother, Silas. This is Tom." He closed his eyes tightly. "We aren't bad people. We aren't."

"You were going watch him rape a little girl." Michonne added pressured to her katana. "Who knows what else when he was done."

Daryl punched Silas hard in the face for about the fifth time, finally knocking him out. "Asshole." He kicked him to the side. "You all right?" He eyed Lizzie.

"She's shaken," Sasha answered when Lizzie didn't. "Carl, take her to Carol, but don't tell Carol what happened."

Carl didn't want to leave. He wanted to shot these asshole in the face for what they were going to let Silas was going to do to her. He felt Lizzie's hand touch his arm, he broke eye contact and looked over into her big, frightened blue eyes. He lowered his gun and took her back to camp, holding her hand as she shook.

Once out of earshot when Lizzie's breathing was becoming very erratic, Carl stopped and gripped her shoulders. "Lizzie, breathe, just breathe. Like me." He took slow breaths in, and she did as he did. "I'll protect you, Lizzie. I will." He searched her eyes. "We protect family."

She nodded. "What—would he have done?" She stared down at her broken zipper. "Would he have—?"

"No. I wouldn't have let him." He pulled her in for a hug. "Just breathe. He won't hurt you. I will never let him." He looked over at where the others stood. Never.

––

"Get on your knees." Daryl kicked the back of Tom's leg, forcing him down, and Jeremiah dropped before Daryl could touch him. Daryl put his gun to Tom's forehead. "You got one chance, asshole."

Tom smirked. "Okay." He looked up into Daryl's eyes calmly. "I wasn't going to touch that little girl. She's not my type, and I had a little sister before this shit started. Silas's is a sex offender, raped ten schoolgirls before they finally caught him. World went to hell, and here we are, same as you." He dropped his head. "Jeremy's all I got now."

"And you?" Michonne asked.

"Nobody crosses my brother," he stated, shaking. "I would have helped her. I would have, but nobody crosses him. I don't even got a weapon, and I'm not strong enough. He would've had her by the time I got close to him." He started to cry, already guilty for a crime that hadn't happened. "I'm sorry."

Michonne scoffed and walked away from him. "This all you have?" She grabbed the gun from Silas's waistband.

"No." Tom grabbed the machete that was hidden on his leg. "Here." He held it out to her. "That's it."

"Why does he have no weapon?" Sasha asked, referring to Jeremiah.

"Too pussy to do anything that needed done."

"Get up." Daryl grabbed Tom by the back of his shirt. "I don't like this asshole."

"I ain't fond of you neither." He glared.

"Daryl, they could be...useful." Sasha frowned at Jeremiah. "We'll discuss what to do with that one."

"Leavin' him here," Daryl said. "Locked up."

"I'll stay with him." Michonne sheathed the katana. "Go. Make sure she's okay."

Daryl grabbed two belts from the shelf and tightened them around their wrists, Sasha led Jeremiah to the other end of the mall, Daryl had his crossbow on Tom's back the entire way back, and Michonne bound Silas and kicked him onto his back, hovering over him. He would wake up soon, and she would be there to "fix" his problem.

They set Tom and Jeremiah down, Glenn, Daryl and Maggie decided what to do with them, Carl and Lizzie weren't back yet, so Carol snuck out to look for them. She heard what had happened, and she wasn't going to let anyone touch her daughter. She protected Sophia from that, and she would protect Lizzie from that.

"I say we keep them," Maggie whispered. "Toughen 'em up and keep an eye on Tom."

"Silas isn't coming back here," Glenn tossed in. "We're getting rid of him. In the morning, Sasha and I will drive him out of here, leave him somewhere."

"Do you think he'll stay away?" Sasha asked. "Phillip didn't. We lost the prison and nearly our lives."

"If he found his way back," Daryl shook his head, "it ain't gonna be pretty."

"Think he's from Randall's group?" Maggie asked. "We never did find them. Could be them."

"So, we're going to kill him?" Sasha leaned against the wall. "I think it's best. What he would have done to Lizzie—I can't have him coming back to finish."

"I agree." Daryl eyed the boys. "Jeremiah ain't like the other two. Big crybaby. He's terrified of his own damn shadow."

"And Tom?" Maggie repressed a shudder. "I don't like the vibe I get from him."

"He seems all right," Glenn argued. "And we need more people to help secure the building. The sooner that's done, the better. One entrance, one exit."

"So, these two live and Silas dies?" She glanced around at their faces. "Anyone disagree?"

No one said anything.

––

Carol found Carl and Lizzie standing in front of a store, and she hurried over to them. Lizzie held Carl's hand tightly, and Carol stopped behind them, seeing Michonne standing with her back to man who had tried to rape Lizzie.

"Everything all right?" Michonne asked Carol.

"Yes. I think the other two are staying." She turned to Lizzie. "Honey, are you all right?"

"Yeah." She met her eyes. "I—I'm fine. He didn't touch me."

"We made sure." Carl released Lizzie's hand. "The others will be back soon, you two should go. Daryl's gonna be pissed if you're out of bed, and you need to rest, Lizzie."

"Carl—" Lizzie began.

"No, he's right." Carol set her hand on Lizzie's shoulder. "Let's go back."

They left, Michonne turned to see the man waking, and she and Carl's eyes met.

– – –

Daryl, Sasha, and Maggie went on a run for something no one but the council knew. Lilly prayed it was for Tara. Ty was rounding up people to finish securing the mall while Michonne taught Jeremiah how to use a gun, without any bullets for now. Tom didn't want a weapon. He stuck around Beth, which Hershel didn't like. Hershel made sure Beth was with Lilly, who was helping the others as they got their strength back.

"Look who's up." Lilly smiled at Rick. "How are you feeling?"

"It's nothin' new," he assured her. "Who are you?"

"Lilly Chambler." She offered her hand out of habit.

"Rick Grimes." He shook it. "Are you the one who did this?" He gestured to his cleaned wounds.

"No. No, Carol did that." She sat on the bed and looked over his injuries. "Your son and daughter are fine, too."

He nodded. Thank God. "What have I missed?" The group seemed smaller, but two more unfamiliar faces were staring at him.

"They found a small group of men. One of them tried to rape Lizzie."

"What?" He swallowed. "Is he here?"

"He was gone when Daryl and the other went to get rid of him. Michonne and Carl seem confident he won't be back." She met his eyes. "You're healing well."

"I do that."

She smiled. "I'll get you some water." She left and found Beth in the food court with Lizzie and Carl. Those two were almost inseparable. It was rare to see him without her and vise versa. Carol was glad Lizzie had someone there for her when Carol couldn't be there. Daryl ordered her to stay in bed all day, but she was already out of bed. "Beth. I need some water for Rick, please."

"Here." She handed her two bottle of water. "For Carol."

"Thanks." She went back to him as Carl and Lizzie and Beth went for a walk, all carrying. "I need to find Carol, but here." She handed him the bottle. "Small sips."

"Thank you."

She nodded and went to find Carol. She noticed that Tom had disappeared from his place on the couch in the resting lounge. She had a sickly feeling about his disappearance, so she went over to were Michonne and Jeremiah were, leaving the bottle and taking a gun, hiding it in the waistband with her shirt covering it.

"So, how long are we staying here?" Lizzie asked Beth.

"I don't know. It won't be forever." She crossed her arms. "I miss the farm."

"Don't look back," Carl told her. "It's not going to make you feel any better."

She nodded. "Hey, a stroller." She went over to it. "How cute. I think Judy would fit in it too."

"Let's go see."

They took it back with them, Carl fitted Judith into the stroller, and they took her on their walk. Beth pretended they were a family, shopping, but she kept that to herself. She didn't want Carl to worry about her. She was still having nightmares, but that was her problem. One day, she'd get over them. Hopefully.

"Hey, Beth?" Jeremiah jogged over to her, Carl and Lizzie were in the store, getting the useful items and putting them in bags. "A baby?" He crouched down. "She's beautiful. Looks like my kid sis." He smiled and met her eyes, she was glaring. "Uh, sorry." He backed up.

"What do you want?" She pulled the stroller back.

"Michonne? Michonne asked me to help y'all. I'm not carrying." He lifted his shirt, emptied his pocket and lifted his pant legs all to show her he wasn't carrying. "I just wanna help, make up for Silas."

"Well, I am carryin'." She pulled her gun out of her holder and pressed it into his neck, he flinched. "You make one move on me or Lizzie, and this bullet is your brain's new best friend."

"Y—yes, ma'am."

She replaced it as Carl and Lizzie came out of the store, Lizzie gripped her knife, and Carl demanded to know why he was here. "Michonne sent him." Beth took the bags they were holding and tossed them at Jeremiah. "He's the mule."

He shouldered the bags, one in front, and one on his back. "Where to next?"

"Over there. Glenn and the others need books to entertain themselves." She led the way, Carl kept Lizzie and Beth close, and Jeremiah walked beside Beth so he wasn't behind her and Lizzie, and they wouldn't think he was staring at their backsides. He always looked down when he was nervous. Beth made him nervous, Carl honestly scared him, and Lizzie didn't make him feel anything but bad. He wanted to make up for whatever mental damage Silas had caused her. No one should ever have to go through that, especially now. He was beginning to believe humans, not biters, were the biggest threat. Biters don't have guns and minds, they just do. Humans were the truly horrible ones.

"Hey, kid, you okay?" Beth eyed him as Lizzie and Carl bagged canned goods in the cabinets in the back room of a store.

"Not really," he admitted. "Silas... He was a son of a bitch—sorry, Mom—and I should've done something...anything to stop him." He saw the kids come out and stopped talking.

Beth searched his eyes. "Carl, take Lizzie and Judy back. Here." She took the bag off Jeremiah's chest and handed it to Lizzie. "We'll be back soon."

"No." Carl shook his head. "We should stay together."

"I can handle myself. Judy needs to be fed anyway, so go." She pointed down toward their camp.

"Let's just go." Lizzie put the bag on and pushed the stroller.

Carl eyed Beth and Jeremiah as they walked away, Lizzie waited for him with Judy, and he caught up to her. "I don't trust him."

"She's got her gun. She'll use it if she needs to."

That was a slight comfort.

They walked back, Lizzie noticed some of the clothes left behind, and she remembered how no one had any when they rushed out of the prison. She decided to pack a bag of extra clothes for her and Carol, just in case. You can never know.

Carl went and prepared something for Judy to eat, Lizzie offered Judy one of the stuffed animals she'd found that Mika would've loved, and she smiled when Judy accepted it, chewing on the ear, but still.

A hand brushed across her back, she looked up and met the green eyes of Tom. He smiled warmly and glanced at Judy. "This your sister?"

"No. She's Carl's sister. My sister's dead." She glanced over and wondered why his hand was still on her back.

"Mine too. It's horrible, ain't it? I knew her all of her life, and...now she's gone." Tears prickled up in his eyes. "'Cause of one open door. Just one." He was the only survivor, the dead were too busy devouring on his parents, his sister, hell even his dog.

"I'm sorry." She felt her skin begin to crawl. "How old was she?"

"She would've been your age." He moved his hand and touched her hair. "She and you mighta been friends."

"Don't touch me." Lizzie shot up. "Back the hell off, right now." She pulled out her knife.

He held his hands up. "I didn't mean nothing by it."

"You aren't supposed to be here." Carl stopped behind Lizzie, his hand on his gun.

"Just talkin' to the little lady." He stood up. "Either of you seen Jeremy?"

"He's with Beth." Carl nodded down the hall. "You can't go to him, so I'd suggest you sit down in the resting lounge and keep your mouth shut."

He smirked. "I'm sorry for your lose, Lizzie." He turned on his heel and walked off, thoroughly annoyed with the man wannabe.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes." She turned her head to him. "I can handle myself."

"I know." He smiled at her. "But I like to help when I can."

She blushed and turned her head. "We should feed Judith."

"Yeah."