Lily led Carl out of the food room and back toward his cell just trying to get him away from his father. She doubted he would try to hurt him but one could never be too careful.

"What was that?" he asked her.

"I don't know," she replied nervously. "He was having a break down or something. Here, take Judith."

"Why don't you lead us?" Carl said taking his baby sister.

"What?" she practically choking out the question.

"Why don't you and Hershel take charge? My dad is on the fritz and you probably just saved those people's lives all the while holding a baby in your arms. You and Hershel just talked my dad out of sending those people back out on the street and got him to do it before he lost it. You need to take control of this place!" He saw the uncertainty on her face. "Look, if Daryl was here, I'd ask him, but you're all we've got. You know everyone here. And you fought to keep Oscar and Axel in the group. You knew they were good. You could feel those four strangers were good. You can read people. We need someone like that leading the group."

"You want me to throw a coup against your own father? I can't do to him."

"He's going crazy. Someone else needs to take his place. At least until he's able to function again."

She leaned down and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Take Judith to bed, please. We'll talk about this more tomorrow if you're still interested in it ok?"

He nodded taking Judith back to her mail box.

'He wants me to take this place? Can I do that? Hershel could, but he'd need someone to help him move around. I can't do this! I can't.'

She walked back into the food room where everyone was still trying to figure out what had just happened to Rick. Nervous glances were cast around the room just wondering what had happened. Lily damped a towel and draped it across Rick's neck cooling him down. She was able to coax him to sit down at one of the tables where he hung his head in his hands.

"Hershel," she whispered. "If you could please get everyone out of here. Rick—"

"I'll be back shortly." He turned his attention to his daughters. "When was the last time Judith was fed?"

"Oh, uh a few hours ago," Beth said. "It's about time to feed her again." Maggie and Carol followed her out of the room while the men took a little longer to get the hint to leave.

"Rick," Lily asked softly removing the towel from his neck. "What did you see?"

He sniffed. He'd been crying. "Nothin'."

The doctors shared a concerned look. "You don't shout like that for no reason. What upset you? What did you see?" Hershel prodded.

"Lori. She's still here."

Hershel over heard this and cast a worried glance to Lily. Rick was officially having a mental breakdown.

"She's dead, Rick," she continued carefully.

"I know that!" he shouted slamming his fist down on the table.

"She's not here," Lily continued softly. "She can't hurt you or us. She's just a part of your imagination now."

"But why is she here?"

'I don't know!' Lily thought. "Because you can't let her go. You need to let her go."

"She is my wife."

"Yes, you and Lori married, but she has died." Hershel responded taking a seat at the table. "She's given you two beautiful children who need your help now more than ever."

"With the threat of the Governor coming, your children need you to protect them. You have to let your wife go or none of us will make it. You have to let her go."

"Who are you to tell me what to do?" Rick asked her angrily jumping to his feet and pushing her.

Hershel threw out his hand to stop Rick but it was too late. The push wasn't that hard but it pushed Lily to the floor. She fell with her bad leg caught on the bar under the table and her other one on the floor. Without getting angry, she retook her seat and placed the towel around Rick's neck again.

"I think it's time you got some rest," Hershel said calmly. "Sleep before we have to make you." The way Hershel said the last few words was unsettling but straight to the point.

Rick got up and walked to his cell.

"He's never struck one of us before," Hershel stated worriedly as she moved over a seat to sit directly next to him once Rick was gone.

"No, he hasn't but can we say it was his fault? We were pushing him."

"He's seeing his wife. That's not a good sign."

Now was the time to propose to Hershel what Carl had said. "No, it's not. Carl told me I need to take charge?"

He was silent for a few moments. "You think he's right."

"In the sense that someone else needs to run things for a while, yes. Rick has gone off the deep end."

"Are you asking for the job?"

"No. Not at all, I think you should take the job, but—"

"But I'm older and have one leg. I would need help."

"If you need help I could give it to you. Everyone here needs protecting and those people outside do too."

"Rick would not be pleased to hear he's been replaced."

"Would anyone? Look, we need someone of sound mind to take charge. At least until Rick is back on his feet."

"Daryl would have been good for the job."

A pang of hurt stabbed her heart hearing about something else that Daryl could do. "Yes, he would have, but he left. We have to move on without him."

"You miss him. Don't you?"

"Of course I miss him," she sighed almost too loudly. She was tired of everyone saying that she missed him out loud. It wasn't exactly a secret. Of course she missed him but that was't going to make him come back. "I've never missed anyone outside my family so much in my whole life, but he's gone. We have to move on and get back on our own feet. Without him."

"I think Carl was right in his decision. You are surprisingly stable considering you recent outing and losses. Rick will not be too happy but he hardly knows what's going on long enough to care."

"I can't take care of everyone," she said. "What about Glenn? He's angry and there's not much more I can say that will keep him from leaving. If I take charge and he wants to go kill the Governor and I say no, he's going to think I'm supporting the freak. But we're just not ready for anything right now."

"I agree with you, but we do need someone to lead us and if you feel up for the challenge I will help you."

"I can't lead these people. I will let them down. Not everyone will like me. People will be unhappy."

"Carl likes you. Beth and Judith do too. Carol and Axel. Darlin'," he placed his hand over hers giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Everyone likes you because you always give them an equal shot to speak their mind. Even with Rick just now, You didn't raise your voice or hit him back. You can read people and handle it without force. You have my vote."

"Thanks," she said somewhat unsure of whether or not to follow what Hershel said or to just let Rick run them all into the ground.

"Sleep on it?"

She managed to pull her thoughts together in order to respond. "Yeah. Tomorrow I'll tell you."

"You've still got my vote."

As Hershel stood up to head to bed, Lily stayed behind at the table just thinking for a little while longer. Remembering the group outside, she ran to her cell and ripped the pillow case off the pillow. Quickly, she threw some food items in it and dashed outside.

"Tyreese!" she called.

A minute passed before she saw him.

"What's wrong with him? Can we stay?"

She shook her head. "He had a mental breakdown. He was seeing his recently deceased wife. I don't think anybody will be joining for a while. I wanted you to have this though." She handed over the pillow case. "It's less than nothing but I didn't want you having to leave without something useful after that break down. We're not bad people, we're just going through a really tough time. I'm sorry."

"You don't have to do this," he said.

"No, I do. I can see you're not bad people, but he's the leader and he said no. Take care."

What surprised her was how he didn't try to bargain with her. He just let her leave. She fell asleep that night knowing she was going to take Rick's place the next day.

I want to thank everyone for the continued support and reviews. It means a lot and I just want to thank you again. Thanks everyone. Love ya!