Disclaimer:

Carol Peletier, Sophia Peletier, King Ezekiel, Henry, Jerry, Shiva, and any other recognizable character or plot of The Walking Dead belong to AMC Network and Skybound Entertainment, Image Comics and Robert Kirkman.

In no way is the author claiming ownage of any of the characters nor is there any economic/monetary gain at any time. The author is extremely respectful of the original creators and is willing to take down this work of fiction if requested.

No copyright infringement intended.

Original characters are the property of the author.


Chapter 9: Custody


"Edward Peletier has filed for child custody."

Carol feels her world tilt and for a second she is pretty sure that she's going to pass out. Her knees buckle and she slumps against the sofa, all color draining from her face. She had been so afraid of this very thing happening. She knows how it will end; Ed will get custody of Sophia and take her far away so that Carol will never see her again or he will use their daughter to get her to come back. Either way, she is out of options.

"No man that wields the power of law would give Sophia to that monster!" Ezekiel exclaims.

"He is her father Zeke." Carol hears Michonne try and reason with Ezekiel but the ringing in her ears overpowers the sound of her voice. Her chest feels tight as if she can't take in enough air to fill her lungs. There is an invisible fist within her throat, tightening its hold around her trachea, preventing her from drawing in much-needed air and stopping her from exclaiming. She leans her head back, realizing that she's about to go into a full-fledged panic attack, and focuses on the ceiling.

Ezekiel must have noticed the state she is in because the next thing she knows is the touch of his hand on her legs as he takes away her shoes and socks, then on her hand as he pulls it towards his chest. She turns her head slightly, enough to see him. "I can't…"

"Worry not." He begs her, his eyes as wide as hers probably are. "Focus on my breathing. Do you feel it? Can you feel my heartbeat?"

Carol nods and presses her hand even harder against his chest. His heart is steady, thumping against his chest and her hand. She slowly matches her breathing to his, taking in air when he does and letting it out slowly just like Ezekiel.

The ringing in her ears slowly disappears. In its place, she hears Ezekiel's breathing and it's all she can focus on. The fist around her throat slowly releases its hold and little by little her chest fills with even more air. Her feet are cold against the floor but it helps ground her, helps remind her that her mind is going a mile an hour but she's still in Ezekiel's home, she still has her daughter.

"I'm sorry Carol." The couch dips as Michonne takes a seat beside her. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"Tact is not your forte, my dear friend." Ezekiel reminds her.

"They… they are going to give her to… him, aren't they?" Carol manages to ask through the knot in her throat.

"Not if I can help it," Michonne assures her.

She watches as Michonne takes something from her briefcase and leaves it on the coffee table in front of her. "Your husband is not a stupid man. He's filed for custody to retain his hold on your daughter but I filled a counter order, the restraining order, and in cases of spousal abuse the custody hearing will not take place until the spousal abuse case has concluded."

"We still have hope." Ezekiel reminds her as he squeezes her hand reassuringly. "It is that very hope we must hold on to."

"Cases aren't won on hope." Michonne reminds him. Carol quickly turns from looking at Ezekiel to look at Michonne whom she catches mouthing 'we?' in a question meant only for Ezekiel to see.

"No, they are fought and won on facts, but what are facts if there is no hope in our hearts to fill us with strength for what lies ahead?"

Michonne lets out a sigh of defeat and turns to look at Carol. She gives her a tightly closed-lip smile. "I've petitioned for your medical records to be sent to me from all the hospitals you listed. I should be getting them soon. I'll be combing through them and presenting them to the court, filing based on what we can prove. Meanwhile, he cannot get near you, not lawfully. He cannot approach Sophia either."

"It won't stop him." Carol laments. She knows her husband, she knows that this will only infuriate him even further. Now more than ever they are going to have to be vigilant. She wouldn't put it past him to try and snatch her daughter.

"Then we fight with what the law gives us," Michonne assures her.

"He doesn't care about the law."

"He'll have to because I won't be going light on him. I plan to use the full extent of the law that is available to me."

Carol can't help but shake her head and close her eyes. A piece of paper is not going to stop Ed. A piece of paper is not going to prevent him from using his fists on her or Sophia. A piece of paper is not going to prevent him from dragging them home if he sees them. A piece of paper is not going to stop him from killing her.

"I've filled for divorce on your behalf." She perks up at Michonne's words but refuses to get much of her hopes up. "The papers are here, you need to sign them and call me when you are ready so that I can turn them in. There will be a hearing, sooner rather than later. I filled as an emergency divorce. I'm optimistic things will go our way. The Judge whose court I filled it in doesn't take kindly to wife beaters, especially when kids are involved. He granted the restraining order after all."

Something in Michonne's expression makes Carol doubt that that is all the lawyer wants to tell her. Not wanting to keep feeling like the other shoe is about to drop, Carol asks. "But?"

"You are definitively going to have to testify." Michonne reminds her. "And… I know you are not going to like this, but there is a high chance that Sophia might have to testify as well."

"No," Carol says quickly. She pulls herself away from Ezekiel, standing as quickly as she can only to face Michonne who remains on the sofa. "No, she's a baby."

"She's two, a little young, I agree, but she's been witness to what has happened and she knows what her father has done. If anyone can help us win this, it is her."

"No."

"Carol, we need to hear her. The Judge needs to hear her if you want to make sure that Edward doesn't get her, if you want to make sure that she remains with you after the divorce. Children don't lie, not at this age, and if I can't prove that the hospital records coincide with his beatings then the sole witness of everything he's done to you is her. It's important to get her side of the events in court documents because then we can use it against him."

"She's not a tool." Carol quickly tells her.

She doesn't want to use her daughter for or against anything. Sophia has gone through enough in her life, she doesn't need to add the stress of court proceedings to her already fragile emotions. "I won't allow anyone to use her."

Michonne turns to look at Ezekiel as if to plead with him to help her. Carol can see from the corner of her eye that he shakes his head. She's glad that he knows she will not change her mind and that he doesn't try to curve her.

"We can do a video testimony. She will be at the courthouse but not in the same room as her father if that's what you are afraid of."

Carol still shakes her head. Silence falls around them but Carol refuses to break.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." Ezekiel breaks the icy silence with soft words. "She might not need to testify."

"The only way I see that not happening is if we can somehow gather enough evidence of his abuse to ensure that there is no room to question it."

"You better find a way to do it because I'm not letting you put her on the stand," Carol warns Michonne. "Sophia is not going to testify."

Later, when Michonne has left and Sophia has wakened for the day ready to have breakfast and help feed little Shiva, Ezekiel approaches her solemnly. She knows that Michonne tried to convince him to help dissuade her because she heard the not so soft whispering, but she won't budge, not even coming from the man who has stolen a little piece of her heart.

She cradles a cup of coffee against her chest as she leans against the kitchen counter. She's looking at Sophia who munches on her cereal, doing that little happy dance she does every time she eats as she hums to herself and looks down at Shiva who is sitting on the floor beside her, tiny tail wagging as she looks up at her playing companion.

How can someone want to put her baby on the stand?

How can Michonne even think that she would allow Sophia to be put on the spot and questioned?

Carol is her mother and she's always tried to protect her. Perhaps she hasn't always been able to shield her little eyes from catching a glimpse the violent man who helped create her, but she will ensure that she won't have to relieve the agony and fear of that very violence.

"Before you say anything; I haven't changed my mind." She informs him as soon as he comes to stand beside her.

She can see him from the corner of her eyes as she leans against the kitchen counter and turns to look at her. "I did not believe you would." He admits with a sigh. "You are correct in saying Sophia isn't a tool, I despise the very idea of putting her in such a situation, but Michonne might be correct in preparing you for it."

"It's not going to happen."

"And what is the alternative? For you to return to the husband who has treated you as inferior all through your marriage? For you to jump back into a life that would end in your very death? In Sophia's death?"

Carol keeps looking at her daughter. Sophia is completely oblivious to everything that has happened and Carol wants her to remain that way. She doesn't want her daughter to feel threatened by the thought of her father fighting to keep her. She doesn't want Sophia to feel like everything will be taken from her in a heartbeat, like the life they are starting to form will be swept from right under their feet. She needs Sophia to remain happy and excited about the future. She also knows that what Ezekiel is saying is true and that she is caught in the middle of a situation that leaves her very little choice.

"It was too good to be true." Carol finally whispers before turning just enough so that she can lay the cup on the counter. She pitifully chuckles at herself, at the situation, at the expression Ezekiel has. "For a moment I actually believed this would happen, that we would be out of his reach, that I could rebuild and give Sophia everything she deserves. I actually believed that I could love and be loved and maybe, if I was lucky enough, have you by my side without you feeling like you had to stay. I even believed that Ed wouldn't hurt us anymore. He's not even here and he's already destroying everything."

"No," Ezekiel states, his voice low so that Sophia will not hear. "You are still safe. He doesn't know your location, Sophia's location, and he will not find out. We'll find a way to prevent Sophia from testifying. There must be a way. I will not allow harm to find either of you."

"Stop," Carol begs him, her eyes instantly filling with tears. She quickly wipes them away, ashamed that she's crying yet again in front of him. "Just stop."

"Carol." He turns towards her, his hands reaching for her. She knows he's just trying to calm her, to show her she still has a chance, but everything is so raw within her that she pulls away from him instinctively. She has to close herself off if she wants to survive this, just like she has done so a million times before.

"Don't." She begs him, raising a hand to stop him. "Thank you for everything you've done but I can't... I can't keep pretending everything will turn out all right because it won't. Ed will not let it be all right, he'll never let it be all right." Carol wraps her arms around herself, holding herself together as best as she can. Ezekiel moves away from the counter, taking a step closer but once more she takes a step away. Before he can say anything else, Carol decides to put even more space between them.

In a swift movement, she crosses the kitchen and picks up Sophia who stares at her mother with a surprised expression on her face, for the first time realizing that something might be going on. "Mama?" She asks. "You otay?"

"Carol..." Ezekiel tries once more to assure her, but she shakes her head yet again, closing herself off completely.

The door of his bedroom, which she closes behind her and Sophia, serves as the final physical barrier.

In an instant, their future is gone.