The noise and smell of blood had attracted nearby walkers. Michonne watched in horror as a walker trudged its way into camp. She tried to call attention to it, but her captor ignored her. The walker took a bite into one of the men beating Daryl. Off balance from kicking Daryl, the man fell screaming, effectively falling victim to the walker's hunger. A second walker stumbled in and began tearing at the man's stomach, pulling intestines and flesh from his body. The distraction was what they needed. Rick ended up biting Joe's neck, ripping flesh and arteries, killing him almost instantly. Walkers instantly began biting away on Joe's fallen body. This had distracted Michonne's captor, which she then turned his own gun to shoot him in the head. She ripped the gun out of his dead hand to shoot the walkers around the camp. Rick killed the walkers clawing at Joe with a knife, efficiently jamming the knife through the skull before pulling it and moving on. Daryl had broke free and kicked the skull of his second attacker in. She saw him fall again, but ignored him for now.

She turned, and saw that Dan was holding Carl up in front of his body, knife to his throat. Carl's head laid on Dan's shoulder, revealing his pale neck easier. Red spots, hickies, littered across the pale expanse of skin. She saw that his legs wouldn't hold him, that the only reason he was upright was Dan.

"Stay, stay back. I'll kill him!" Dan threatened, his face was full of fear. His eyes were wide as they scanned back and forth through the clearing. No doubt he was trying to assess the danger he was now in.

"Let the boy go!" She told him, her voice close to breaking. She held the gun level with his head. Suddenly, Carl leaned forward and dropped. Dan struggled to hold him, but then he screamed. A walker had taken a bite out of his shoulder: the shoulder that Carl had been resting on. Michonne shot the walker and ran to Carl. She cradled him as she tried to put distance between Dan and them. Dan yowled in pain, blood rushing down from the bite. She ignored him. Let him suffer, she thought bitterly. Brushing away leaves from Carl's face, she wrapped her arms around him.

"Carl, baby, it's okay now. It's over." She said. He looked at her, blue eyes glazed over, before turning his gaze to his father. Rick was stabbing Dan. Killing him. Making him suffer. Daryl knelt down beside Carl, his face holding in pain.

"Hey, Carl. Wanna pull your jeans up?" He asked softly, trying to pull the boy's attention away from his father's violence. Michonne turned to look at Daryl. His lip was bleeding. Hell, he was bleeding everywhere. His eye already looked swollen.

"D-Daryl?" Carl whimpered, his breath uneven. His eyes closed for a moment too long, and Michonne's heart hammered in her chest.

"Yeah, buddy. Let's pull those jeans up. I bet you're cold, right?" Daryl rambled, looking at Michonne. She nodded, grabbing a side of Carl's jeans. Suddenly, Carl went ridged. His eyes widened, his breathing picked up.

"Don't. Please." He whispered, breaths becoming faster.

"Carl, you're okay." Michonne told him, a tear sliding down her dark cheek. She wasn't ready for when he started to flail. His arms whacking her face. He twisted and turned and cried out. Daryl had held him down, crying.

"I'm so sorry, Carl. I didn't know. I I didn't-" Daryl held Carl's arms down in an attempt to stop the boy from further injury. Michonne's tears trailed down her face as she hugged him. It took a while but yet not long at all until Carl's struggles slowed to a stop. His spent body going limp as his mind retreated away from the waking world. She held him and assisted Daryl in making sure Carl's clothes were in place. The two didn't say anything until Rick joined them. Covered in blood, he kneeled by Carl's side, sobbing softly. Michonne reached a hand out to Rick, catching his cheek.

"Hey, it's over." She said quietly. He looked at her, his ice blue eyes cracked and broken.

"Dad?" Carl whimpered. Michonne looked down to see Carl's confused face. His eyes followed the path of blood trailing down Rick's face. Rick looked anguished for a moment.

"It's okay, Carl." He spoke, voice low and gravelly. Carl huffed, much like he always does when he is treated like a child. The familiar gesture made Michonne crack a small smile.

"Everyone keeps saying that. Are you okay?" He asked. Rick looked down at himself, seemingly surprised to find so much blood staining his person. He nods his head.

"'M fine, Carl. Why don't you and Michonne go back to the truck and sleep a little?" Rick suggested, looking up at Michonne for her input. She nodded, looking over at Daryl. The three unspokenly worked to make Carl comfortable. Daryl wet a piece of cloth and wiped away dirt smeared on Carl's face. Rick made sure the truck's door was open and put down a blanket on the seat to cushion it further. He found Carl's hat on the floor, and made sure to put it on the front seat. The three adults lifted Carl together, hoping to lessen his pain. Michonne took note on how they moved him and what noises of pain fell from his mouth. She wanted to make sure he was as comfortable as possible. With Rick and Daryl supporting Carl, she climbed into the truck, seating herself in the farthest seat. Rick and Daryl worked to settle Carl onto her lap.

"We should let him sleep for a few hours, but then we need to go." Daryl explained in a hushed tone. He eyed Carl's sleeping form. Resting on Michonne's lap, Daryl could clearly see how much the boy was shaking. Michonne could feel it. Rick nodded absentmindedly.

"Yeah, yeah, we'll let him sleep," He said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He took a survey of their campsite. The bodies of the group and walkers littered around would surely bring more unwanted guests. "We need to move the bodies away, try to clean up, maybe search them for supplies."

"Yeah, that sounds good." Michonne agreed, making sure Carl was settled comfortably. She sighed, combing fingers through his hair, picking out leaves and twigs. She noticed Daryl linger for a moment, guilt evident on his face.

"Go," Michonne told him softly, nodding her head towards the older Grimes. "Help Rick."

Daryl nodded, casting one more glance at Carl before shutting the truck's door softly. She knew that Daryl recognised that she was asking for him to help Rick cope. Talk to him, she meant in a loud but unspoken way. Michonne watched the two men work. Rick dragged away the walkers, making sure that they were indeed dead this time, while Daryl took care of the group of men. They dragged the bodies in separate directions of each other. Daryl soon returned, holding clothes in his arms. He set them down in the hood of the truck.

"For the light. So he can sleep better, ya know?" He explained as he folded the laundry over the windows. She felt Carl shift in her lap, looking down, she noticed he seemed more relaxed. He brought his hands closer to his face, curling in on himself. A small moan of discomfort left his lips as he shifted the lower half of his body. Daryl finished placing the clothing in the windows, handing her some water as he left. Michonne smiled her thanks, thoughts wandering to how everything went to shit.