The days passed quickly, each one seemingly easier than the last. Hershel assured me that in time, I would find it in my heart to forgive Merle. I wasn't sure if I believe him or not, but I did everything in my power to try and find peace with the man that ultimately took my daughter from me.

It was almost a week after everything had happened that Hershel deemed me well enough to sit through one of the debates, as long as everyone was mature and acted as adults should. Daryl and I filed out of the cell in silence, his arm wrapped protectively around my waist as we slowly joined the others in the common room.

"You don't have to do this," he whispered in my ear. "You've done enough for Merle."

"I want to do this," I replied in a shaking voice. "He didn't do it out of cold blood."

"Rick's not going to see it that way," he responded.

"He will if we make him," I disagreed. We silenced our conversation as the group assembled in the middle of the room. Glenn carried a chair out for me to sit in, since I was still too weak to stand for too long.

Sad looked passed around the group. Over the last week, everyone had made it known how much they regretted their decisions. But who wouldn't? We'd lost some great people when the shit hit the fan, no thanks to poor leadership decisions.

"Before we get into the matter at hand, I want to speak in favor of the entire group," Rick said slowly, his eyes training on Daryl, Michonne and me. "I'm sorry."

"Apologies aren't going to change what is, Rick," I said softly, my voice barely above a whisper. "If we had been here, we wouldn't have lost Carol or Alana. Fuck, we probably wouldn't be overrun by walkers right now either."

"Easy," Daryl warned in my ear.

"You're right," Rick said slowly. "As for Carol, you weren't here. You don't know what happened in her last moments."

"Excuse me?" I said, my eyes widening.

"Glenn, fill them in," Rick said, turning on his heel, either overwhelmed with emotion, which I doubted, or truly ashamed.

Glenn looked at the three of us with sad eyes, before looking at his feet.

"Carol would still be alive if it wasn't for the argument that happened before she bolted," he sighed.

"Rick! Glenn!" she shouted, running through the twisting hallways up to cell block C. Her heart was racing in her chest as she slammed through the door, her eyes frantically searching for the men she had put all her trust in.

"Rick! Glenn!" She cried.

"We know!" Glenn shouted as he ran to her side. "Did you see who did this?"

"The Governor?" Maggie suggested, grabbing her gun, making sure it was loaded.

"I don't think he'd attack in broad daylight," Carol shook her head. "Merle and Harleigh maybe?"

"No," Glenn said, shaking his head. "There's no way Daryl would let them do this."

"Unless he turned against us too," she hissed. "Harleigh had him wrapped around her little finger."

"How can you even say that?" Maggie spat with disgust. "They're not killers, Carol!"

"How do we know that?" she retorted. "Harleigh was able to convince Daryl to leave, he told me so himself!"

"What?" Rick asked, coming into the conversation, his eyes wild. "Carol, are you insane? We're the reason they left!"

"Don't you see it?! This is exactly what they want! They want us at each other's throats!" she cried. "They want to weaken us so the Governor can take over the prison!"

"You really are a moron, Carol," Glenn said angrily. "There's no way they're to blame. I'd rather put my money on the Governor than our own!"

"They aren't part of us anymore!" she screamed. She advanced, her hands twitching into fists.

"Back up, Carol," Rick said, his tone bitter, his eyes glossed with something no one could understand.

Then it happened. Carol sprang at Rick, her fist colliding with the side of his head. He responded by doing something he said he'd never do. He hit her. Hard. She flew back, her eyes wide. Without another word, she turned quickly and ran from the cell block. No one followed. They were all too stunned. So a moment later, when another bomb went off, they all broke off to protect the prison. They'd deal with Carol later.

By the time the Governor pulled his men out, leaving behind a large herd of walkers in his wake, it was too late. Glenn found her first. Her body covered in cuts, chunks of meat missing from her body. She turned on him, her hands reaching for his body.

No one had the courage to end the poor woman. No one had the strength to put a bullet in her head. Not until Harleigh took on the task of ending the very woman who put the final nail in her coffin a week before.

"She tried to blame us for the attack?" Daryl growled, his hands balling into fists.

"She was convinced Harleigh and Merle were still working for the Governor," Glenn sighed, looking at his feet.

"That's ridiculous," I said, shaking my head. "We were held up a few miles out. I was down for the count," I went on. "But what I don't understand is why the Governor attacked the prison but left the cabin unscratched. I mean, it's not like we covered our tracks."

"What do you mean?" Maggie asked, giving me a bewildered look.

"A…Alana was able to find her way back to the cabin and vice versa with no problem whatsoever. And she was barely 4 years old. There's no way the Governor and his men didn't know we were there," I said slowly. A thought occurred to me then, setting me up for a lot of trouble. "Unless…"

"Unless what?" Glenn asked, his expression hardening.

"I need the keys," I said to Daryl. Rick had handed the key to Merle's cell off to Daryl earlier in the week. Daryl gave me a concerned look but offered the keys anyway. I walked slowly towards the cell, not at all surprised that Merle was listening to our conversation.

"I had nothing to do with that!" he said loudly as soon as I came into sight.

"I'm not saying you did," I hissed. I slid into the cell, locking it behind me. "But you knew the Governor better than anyone. Is there anything, any reason, you could think of that would prevent him from attacking us on his way to or from the prison?"

Merle looked as if he were lost in thought for a long time and I almost decided to leave, having no energy to waste on his deliberation, but to my relief, he answered a few minutes later.

"No clue," he said simply, shaking his head.

"Fine," I nodded, leaving the man in his cell to rot away. I was still angry and hurt and being around Merle made everything feel all too real. I locked the cell behind me as I left, my head fuzzy with a fog that rarely left most days. Within seconds, I was overly aware of how much my side hurt and how exhausted I was. I leaned against the wall, not having the strength to cross the room.

"Harleigh, you good?" Glenn called from where he stood on the far side of the common room. His question caused Daryl to look up. I sank to the floor, wrapping my arms around my knees, taking deep breaths to calm the churning of my stomach. I knew I was just overwhelmed. I knew it was all the stress of worrying about another attack, topped with the loss of my daughter. It was still too much for me to handle. Now, matched with the news that Carol honestly thought Merle and I were to blame for the attack, it made everything that much worse.

I didn't realize Daryl had crossed the room until he was kneeling next to me, his arm around my shoulders, pulling me towards him. I sank into his chest, letting his warmth remind me of what good was left in the world, even if all that there was rested on one man.

"It's gonna be okay, Leigh," he promised me, resting his chin on the top of my head. "Everything's gonna be okay."

Against my better judgment, I believed him. What was it about that man? He could make me believe anything.