As the group watched Daryl leave in a fit of rage, no one said anything. Tensions hadn't run that high among them since, well, since the barn scene. Maybe that day there was no physical damage, but Daryl's words had torn wounds open inside of all them, ones that they'd all been denying or trying to pretend hadn't happened. But there they all were, lost, broken, damaged. Seems as if Daryl wasn't the only one angry that day.

Finally, Dale spoke up. "We can't...we can't let him do this to us, not now. We all know we've been through hell and back tearing up these grounds and beyond looking for that little girl. It's not Rick's fault. It's not."

Andrea glared at him. "Dale...has it ever occurred to you that maybe, just maybe, Daryl is right- about all of us?"

Dale started to speak, but Andrea wouldn't have any of it. Not then. "No, Dale. You let me speak my mind. I know you worry about me, and for whatever reason you've taken it upon yourself to be my protector, but you know what that's done? It's made me weak. That's right, I said it. Not letting me have my gun for a long time, not wanting me to learn to step up and be a part of this group, to contribute, to help out in any way other than just watching things that anyone could do...it's not right what you've done to me, Dale. You had your reasons for stopping me at the CDC. I was mad, and I tried to get over it. So here I am. I'm alive. But what good is being alive if you make me doubt my every move, my worth to the group? You remind me all the time how the group doesn't see me as one of them. Has it ever occurred to you that I want to be one of them? That I want to be able to fight and protect and make sure that what happened to Sophia never happens again, not to any of us?"

Dale, visibly shaken, put his hand in the air. "I'm sorry if you...I'm sorry that if by me caring about you and wanting what's best for you even when you aren't able to see it..."

"Stop!" Andrea shouted. "Don't you see...if I'm not one of them, if I'm an outsider- it's because you made me that way! I'm not your wife, Dale. I'm sorry you lost the woman you loved, I really am. But I can't be her. And Daryl was right about another thing- not only haven't I been able to protect you guys, but I haven't been a good friend. To anyone here. I can sit here and blame you for my problems with everyone, but what good would that do? Ultimately, I chose not to look after Sophia, to look after Carol. And maybe, just maybe- the more we look after those of us who are hurting, the more we'll be able to offer not just them but the whole group!"

Hershel spoke up. Maggie looked at him, anxious to hear what he had to say. "For my part, I've also been wrong. About everything, really. The world just...it isn't what it once was, and for that, Rick was right. But I just couldn't- wouldn't- accept that the way we see others has changed. My daughter Maggie reminded me- now, more than ever, we need one another. What good is it to let this large group stay if one of us is hurting? My wife, both of them, really, she always complained I wasn't a good listener- I wasn't sensitive enough, she would say. Maybe she was right. I realize I don't know most of you very well...Rick, we have our differences. Glenn- maybe I was too quick to pass judgment on him. Maybe I'm just a blind, foolish old man who doesn't know what he's talking about..."

"Daddy," Maggie sighed, squeezing his hand.

"No. No. Maybe that Dixon boy, maybe he's a bit rough around the edges. But I do think he's a lot smarter than all of us give him credit for. Maybe he sees things- he can put things in words the way most of us were brought up too polite to say. As you all know, my profession before this, I was an animal doctor. But along the way, I guess I forgot how to care for my fellow man. Or woman, in this case. That young lady is missing her daughter something awful. I love my girls so much- I couldn't imagine...My daughter, she has Glenn, and I thank God for that every day. But who does that young lady out there have? She has no one, and none of us have done anything to make her see any differently."

Maggie, with tears in her eyes, hugged her dad. She'd never been so proud of her daddy than she was right there in that very moment.

Shane cleared his throat. "I know, I know you all hate me, want to make me the bad guy for taking care of that barn. But someone had to. Who was going to step up to the plate and take care of those things in our own backyard? Rick...did you think if you just thought real long and hard they would all go away? Come on man, you can't be that stupid."

"He's not stupid," Lori spoke up softly. "He's not."

"Whatever, Lori. I ain't arguing with you, not now. But what about Daryl's question? Would you-Rick, I'm talking to you- would you have left Carl alone with those walkers even for a second? Would you have? Cause I have to tell you man, I wouldn't have. I don't think Lori would have wanted you to. But you did...hell, you all hate me anyways, so I don't have nothing to lose, right? In your effort to rescue that little girl, you pretty much signed her death certificate. Carl ain't even my kid, just like Sophia wasn't yours, but there's no way in hell I would have turned my back on your son. You think Carol's supposed to just forget what you did to her daughter? And you know what- you all don't have to like what I did, but I did to what Rick wouldn't- what he couldn't do. I found Sophia. So go ahead, make me the bad guy if you want. But now we're not going around putting ourselves in danger every day for something that was right under Rick's nose the whole time."

Everyone looked around, waited for someone, anyone to speak.

"Dale," Shane challenged. "You got something to say now? For someone who always has the answers- here you go. Here's the platform you've been clamoring for."

"I think...I think it's possible that we've all made mistakes. All of us. I'm not looking to crucify Rick here. But a little girl, a quiet, shy little girl who none of us really paid much mind to before- is gone, and I think her death speaks louder than any two words that might have come out of her mouth in her entire lifetime."

"I know..." Rick spoke up. "I also know I've made mistakes. I've let you all down. I let Carol and even worse, I let Sophia down. I'm not proud of that. Time and time and time again, I ask myself, what could I have done differently, should I have given her a gun, should I have carried her on my back, should I have ...I don't know. I really don't. I wanted to keep holding on to hope about Sophia, that somehow bringing her back would give us all hope. I wanted- I needed- something to believe in! If you all feel I was weak, maybe you're right. I just …" Rick started to tear up, and Lori put a hand on his shoulder.

"I know you all look to me for answers, but guess what? I don't have them. But I have learned one thing since meeting you people...it's not just about one or two friends or family members anymore. We're a group. We're a family- every one of us. We have to look out for one another. If one of us is hurting- we all hurt. We all help them carry that load until they can get on their two feet again. What we have, call it a family, call it a group, I don't know what we call ourselves. But we're all we have. We're only strong as the weakest one of us. If one of us is hurting- Daryl's right. We all set aside our problems, our differences, our pride- until we all become strong again. Every one of us counts. Let's not forget that again."

Rick ran his fingers through his hair, then wearily turned to Hershel. "What can we do...what can we do to help you, to keep this farm safe, to help your family, what...what can we do?"

Hershel thought about it. "It's noon. Time to eat. I don't know nor do I care what any of you believe, individually. I think we need to do something that I think most of us have forgotten how to do...before we eat, we bow our heads, and just ..just be grateful for what we do have. Just remember, there's a young woman out there, scared, alone, tired, beaten. She can't see what we can see, that we do have something to be grateful for. We have each other. But that lady, who as that Dixon boy pointed out, who takes the time to cook and clean for us every day without question, what does she have? It's up to us to make sure she knows she's not alone, even if we can't bring that precious little girl of hers back."

Hershel didn't look back, and the rest of the group slowly followed him into the house. It looked like losing Sophia, as horrible and unfair as it had been- wasn't entirely in vain. Rick's wanting to find her had meant to much to all of them. And in some ways, losing her now meant even more. Who knew that the key to their entire group's salvation would come in the form of a shy little girl and her mother, who most of them hadn't paid the time of day to? And Rick vowed to himself to make sure that not one of them forgot Sophia, or Carol, ever again.

tbc