This Night

Chapter 182

Author's Note: No worries, Joey is going to understand! Like Rick is paralleling Shane in season 5 (Jewel has a line for that, don't you worry) Summer kind of mirrored Carol by doing what needed to be done to protect the family. And, I did write it where Carol killed her, but it didn't feel right in this respect. Remember, Summer 'killed' Lori by saving Judith, and she was in a dark place after that for a bit. Her mother is out there alone, ready to give birth, and someone is threatening her baby sister. Yeah, the heat of the moment hit her. Please review.

Joey, Tyreese, and Carol's POV:

Carol walked in between the two men. "I know why you and Summer have to go, Joey. I get it, but the girls like it here, we can build it up, plant more food. We should find a car, for an escape route, just in case," she offered.

"We can find more materials, build more houses, if you find everyone, and if Terminus isn't safe," Ty offered.

"It's a good plan," Joey simply said.

Tyreese nodded. "It's just…when we were getting closer and closer, I wasn't ready to be around others yet."

"You don't have to be," Carol said.

"You can take as much time as you need, but don't forget about your sisters. That's why Summer and I are doing this, so the two of you don't," Joey explained.

"I dream about Karen, I see her every night, and every night I forget she's dead. Sometimes…we just talk. And sometimes I see her in a crowd…in a city I've never been to. And it's back before everything happened. And then….some nights…the bad ones…I see someone kill her. Some stranger. Then I lose her all over again. But that's the deal right? The people who are alive are haunted by the dead. We are who we are, and we do what we do cause they're still here. In our heads, in the forest. The whole world is haunted now. And there's no getting out of that, not until we're dead," Ty told them.

Joey and Carol exchanged glances. "Tyreese, maybe they're not haunting us, maybe they're just teaching us. Helping remind us….so that we can live with what we have to do," Carol said.

"To be able to live with what we've had to do," Joey added.

"Hey don't ever be ashamed who you are. Carol, you've done right by those girls, by all of us. Joey, you love Summer, you'd do anything to get her back to her mother," Tyreese told them. "Don't worry about not getting a deer, we'll get one. Probably not even deer season," he told them.

"My husband used to hunt, he'd tell the same stupid joke every year," Carol told them.

"You gonna tell it?" Tyreese asked.

Carol gave a small laugh. "Guess I have to now right?" she asked.

"You do," both Joey and Ty answered.

"Okay what's the difference between beer nuts and deer nuts? Beer nuts are around 1.79 and deer nuts are just under a buck," Carol said with a laugh.

Joey shook his head as Tyreese laughed. "That's good stupid, but in no way is it stupid good," Ty said.

"Told you, there's more where that came from," Carol said.

"Please keep them to yourself," Joey said as they walked to where they could see and hear the girls.

"Lizzie!" Summer yelled as she grabbed the younger girls wrist putting down Judith. "Lizzie, don't make me do this," she begged the younger girl as the knife came close to her neck. Summer quickly over powered the girl and took the knife out of her hand, and without hesitating put the knife through the girls skull. "I tried to understand you, Lizzie. I tried to convince myself that you would come to understand what they were," she said as she let the tears fall cradling the young girls body. "I could forgive you for killing the mice, and feeding the walkers. We managed, even with the fence coming down, we managed. But you…killed Molly, you were going to kill Judy," she said. "I couldn't let you…be that close to Judy again. No one was safe around you….not Carol, not Ty, not Joey….and Molly….it's my fault that she's dead, I shouldn't have left her alone with you," she said as she let the tears fall.

"Summer?" Joey asked from behind her.

Summer turned her head and looked at them. "I fell asleep….Judy was beside me, I woke up…" she said in between tears. "I came out here…Molly…she had killed Molly, she was threatening Judith…she raised her knife….I didn't even think…I'm sorry. I..had to protect Judy…I promised Lori…" she explained. "You all hate me, I hate myself."

Joey shook his head as he went over. "Hey no one hates you, Princess," he said as he touched her face. "Ty take Judy inside the house, Carol and I will handle the girls."

Carol bent down beside Summer. "You did what you had to do to keep Judy safe, to keep you safe, to keep us safe. Don't ever second guess that, it'll drive you crazy."

Ty picked up Judy. "They're right, Summer. Come on Judy, lets go inside," he told the baby as he kissed the top of her head.

"Molly….Lizzie didn't…she didn't do it through the brain…she's going to come back," Summer informed them as she looked over at her still crying. "I understand, Carol…." she said softly, still cradling her.

"I'll take care of Molly," Carol assured her as she kissed the top of Summer's head.

"I should…I should have seen it coming Carol. I was to preoccupied with finding mom….finding everyone…I could have stopped her. I should have seen it coming," Summer insisted as she clung to Lizzie's body.

Joey looked at her. "Princess, no one could have seen this coming any more then we could have seen the dead coming back to make us bait. We all knew there was something wrong with her. We all tried to make her understand it, to get it, but she didn't," he told her. "I love you," he said as he kissed her. "I'm not going to let you blame yourself for this, I'm not going to let this eat you up. You did what you had to do," he assured her. "Go inside, get cleaned up, let Carol and me handle this. Then we'll leave like we planned."

"You still want to go? With me?" Summer asked surprised.

"Yeah, I'm not some crazy mice killing, walking feeding maniac that thinks I can talk with the dead," Joey answered with a grin. "We're alright."

Later that day:

Summer looked up from where she was leaning against the wall along with Joey who was checking there supplies as Tyreese came out of what was Lizzie's room. Carol sat at the table as he squeezed Summer's shoulder before he joined Carol at the table. "I found a shoe box of mice under the bed. That was her at the prison feeding the walkers'. At the tombs, before all this happened, Rick, Jewel, Daryl and I we found a rabbit pulled apart and nailed to a board. I was thinking, maybe that she killed Karen and Ridge. But I don't know how she could have dragged them away," he said.

Summer and Joey looked at each other then at Carol. "She wouldn't have killed them, Ty. She would have let them turn," Carol said. "Summer I know you think you could have prevented this, that you should have seen it somehow. I'm the one that was supposed to be looking out for all of you. I should have seen it."

"How could you?" Ty asked. "How could either one of you seen it?" he questioned.

"There was no way either one of you could have know," Joey insisted.

"If it wasn't Lizzie, who else could it have been?" Tyreese asked.

Summer looked at Carol and Carol nodded. "Tyreese, I killed Ridge and Karen. I had to stop the illness from spreading. It wasn't Lizzie it wasn't a stranger. You do what you have to do," she said as she pushed the gun over to him.

Joey and Summer both watched the two of them ready to make a move if something happened.

Tyreese looked at her. "Did she know what was happening? Was she scared? Was it quick?"

Carol nodded. "Yes. Do what you have to do."

Summer sat down beside Tyreese. "I understand why she did it, Ty. She did it to protect us, all of us. It may not have been the decision that any of us would have made, but for Carol it was the decision she needed to make to try and keep any of us from dying. Sometimes, you just don't…you don't have the time to think about right or wrong now a days. It just takes a blink of an eye, between life and death. To survive, I think we don't get to think about ourselves, it's about how to keep the people we love alive. I think that's how we get to survive, to think about keeping' everyone else alive, and hoping that they do the same for you. Sometimes that means, making unpopular decisions….but if you don't do it….then someone you love, risks dying. I don't like that I killed Lizzie, that I was forced to do it. That's not the type of person I want to be, but it's the person I have to be for Judy to be alive."

Joey nodded. "I don't remember the last time I thought about myself, it's about Summer, the group."

Tyreese looked at them then at Carol and pushed the gun back. "I forgive you. I'm never going to forget you. It happened, you feel it, I know you do. It's part of you now, me too. But I forgive you," he told Carol.

"Thank you," Carol answered.

"We don't need to stay, we can't stay," Tyreese answered.

"You two take Judy, we both take different paths to Terminus. We scout it out, meet here," Joey said as he put a map on the table.

"You think splitting up is a smart move?" Tyreese asked.

"I think it's the only move. Gives us more eyes on either side, scope it out," Joey answered.

"You spent to much time with Jes," Carol said with a smile. "But it's a good plan."

Summer nodded. "We'll split up weapons and supplies," she said as she got up and started off to get them ready to leave the Grove behind.