A/N: The quote from the last chapter that belonged to the comics was, "I feel like I should just move in."/"That's pretty forward of you." Also, Carl's story about his Uncle Jeff? He exists! In the comics lol Now, see if you can spot the LOST quotes. I used a bit of dialogue from my favorite LOST ship in here, so I don't own it. 

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Annie lightly knocked her knuckles on the doorway of the kitchen. "Hey, Hershel?"

"Annie." Hershel set aside the dish he'd been drying and wiped his hands. Turning to face her, he cautiously asked, "What can I do for you?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to apologize," she answered. He looked at her, perplexed, and she walked closer as he waved her to join him. "That night at the bar, I didn't mean to jump down your throat the way I did." Hershel bowed his head, remembering her harsh words. "I've been a little on edge for long time now and, after Carl just getting back on his feet, and finding out he might be at risk again, I panicked. I got mad at you and I was way out of line."

Hershel nodded his head and smiled. "I understand. We're all a little on edge," he pointed out. "Its only natural. I didn't take offense." Annie quirked a brow at him and he chuckled. "Well, I did but, once I sobered up, I understood."

"Still," she said, "I just wanted to let you know that I really do appreciate all you've done for us. Allowing us to stay here, even though we've caused you some trouble." Although "some trouble" was an understatement.

"Don't mention it. Like I said, I did the Christian thing." Annie wanted to roll her eyes but didn't. It wouldn't do to offend or upset him more than she probably already had. "I'm just doing what I can to help my fellow man. In any case, you were right. You all were and I'm sorry my...foolishness," he stated with a sad shake of his head, "put all of you in danger. I truly am."

"I think we best call it even," Annie replied. Hershel nodded his head and held out his hand, which she happily shook. "I also wanted to ask a favor." Hershel took a breath and braced himself. "I know we've intruded on you, but I was hoping you could make space for two more?"

"I don't understand. I thought all your people were here?"

"Before I met Rick, I was with a man and his son. Morgan, he saved my life. Ricks, too, actually." Annie told Hershel that when she'd left with Rick to go to Atlanta, hoping to find her friends, that they'd left Morgan with a radio so that they could keep in touch with him. She quickly explained that she hadn't heard from Morgan since they'd left him. "I'm worried. And I'd really appreciate it if, after Randall is dealt with, you'd let me go get them, bring them here. Rick said he'd go with me, so the farm wouldn't be left unprotected. Everyone would be safe, even more so when Morgan's here."

"Annie—"

"Hershel, please!" Annie pleaded. "Duane, his son, is the same age as Carl. When I left them, it was only walkers in the neighborhood but what if people like Randall's found them?" Hershel sighed and ran a hand over his mouth, stroking his chin. "Even if they are..." She swallowed the lump in her throat and composed herself. "I need to know, Hershel. I need to be certain." Hershel watched her carefully, remaining silent. Annie nodded, resigned to the fact that Hershel wouldn't allow Morgan and Duane onto his farm. Perhaps Rick would have better luck than her. At the very least, he'd back her up. "Okay. I won't disturb on your home any longer." As she turned to leave, Hershel's voice stopped her.

"You're a good woman, Annie. Your people are good, too." Hershel paused before adding, "Most of them." Annie sighed and nodded, telling him she couldn't agree more. "I'll give your request some thought," he told her.

"Thank you." Annie bid the older man goodbye and left him to the privacy of his home. She stepped out onto the porch and let out a deep breath, feeling much better about the situation with Hershel. He understood that he'd been wrong for keeping walkers in the barn, and he understood that her people were wrong for handling the situation the way they did. There was peace, for the moment, and Hershel even understood that their "guest" had to be dealt with. As the thought of Randall entered her mind, she headed back towards the camp and noted that everyone had gathered together.

"So what you gonna do?" Lori asked later that afternoon around the fire where everyone in their group had gathered. Everyone but Daryl who had disappeared early in the morning to interrogate Randall. "I think everyone would feel better if they knew the plan."

Andrea sneered, "Is there a plan?" Glenn shuffled his feet nearby, wondering if they were going to keep Randall on the farm.

"We'll know soon enough," Rick told them, nodding at Daryl. The hunter walked towards them, knuckles bloody. He told them that Randall confessed to being part of a gang, about thirty men with heavy artillery. They weren't looking to make friends, he said. According to Randall, when his gang rolled through the farm, the men would be dead and the women would wish they were.

"Charming," Annie muttered sarcastically, shifting on her feet and crossing her arms.

"What did you do?" Carol asked, looking at Daryl's bloody knuckles.

Walking away, he shortly said, "Had a little chat."

"No one goes near this guy!" Rick ordered and Lori confronted him, asking him what he would do. "We have no choice, he's a threat. We have to eliminate the threat."

"You're just gonna kill him?" Dale questioned incredulously.

"It's settled! We'll do it today." With that, Rick walked away and Dale chased after him. Annie thought about following him but knew his mind was made up. If he wanted to talk to her, he'd come find her just like he always did. Picking up her rifle, Annie decided to go search the perimeter. If Randall had a group that was that close to the town, then she wanted to be sure that they had more than just a watch on the roof of the RV.

"Annie!" She turned around and bit back an exasperated sigh as Dale jogged over to her. As he caught up with her, the pair continued walking side by side. "Rick, he's given me the day to talk to everyone, give me time to discuss the issue."

"What issue is that, Dale?" Dale lightly grabbed Annie's shoulder, pulling her to a stop.

"I'm going to talk and you're going to listen." She stared at him, brows raised and stunned into silence. He'd never talked to her like that before. "I'm an old man, too old for arguments. So I want you to know that I really don't want this to become one. I'm going to say what I have to say and then we're done." He looked at her questioningly, waiting for a signal, so she nodded her consent. "The issue is about killing Randall." Annie shook her head and shouldered her rifle, starting to walk away but he grabbed her arm and stopped her. "You said you'd hear me out, so you're gonna! You can't let Rick do this," he pleaded.

"Rick is a grown man. He can make his own decisions," she pointed out. "Beside, we discussed the possibility last night. He's doing what he thinks is right to protect the group."

"And you think he's wrong."

"Quite the contrary," she immediately answered, shaking her head. "You heard what Daryl said! Rick is right. Randall needs to go and, if the way to keep us all safe is by killing him, then so be it." Annie tried to walk away but, once again, Dale pulled her to a stop and forced her to stay. The action itself made her close her eyes and sigh.

"Rick is the backbone of this group. He's the one stable thing we've all got. And now, with Randall, Rick believes he's guilty by association but I think he's scared."

"We're all scared, Dale," she pointed out.

"But you can't tell with Rick, can you? You know he's scared, but he doesn't show it." Annie nodded at his observation, knowing how true that statement was. "We need that. We need him. The world isn't like it was, I know, and I also know we have no clue how long this thing'll last but, do you really want to say you let it tear you down? Take you to hell along with everything else? Keeping our humanity? That's a choice," he insisted. "Rick is a humane man, that's why he's giving me this chance, and I think you're humane, too. Otherwise, why help him save Randall that night?" Annie shook her head and chuckled. Truth be told, Annie had no interest in saving Randall. That had been all Rick and Hershel. "Annie, please. You gotta see reason!"

Looking the older man square in the eye, she told him, "Dale, I stand by Rick's decision." He deflated, disappointed, and started to protest but she raised a hand to cut him off. "I see your point, I do. We have no right to make decisions like this but..." Annie shook her head, shrugging helplessly. "Like you said, the world isn't like it was. This is the way the world is now. And it's awful, but it's just how it is." She shrugged helplessly, unsure what else to say to him. "I'm sorry. I know that's not what you want to hear, but it's true. We can't trust him to join us and we can't let him go because, if he does find his people, he'll lead them to us and we're dead anyway. Randall is a threat and he needs to be dealt with." Patting the older man's shoulder, Annie walked away from him with an apologetic smile. She was about to continue on with her search when she saw Shane go into the barn, Andrea behind him. The very barn that was holding Randall hostage. "Shit," she muttered and ran as fast as she could. If Shane killed Randall, the shit would well and truly hit the fan. She burst in, rifle raised to shoot the cop but was distracted by the sight of Carl. What was he doing in the barn?

"YOU LIKE TALKING!" Shane shouted at Randall, gun in his mouth as he pressed him against the wall.

"SHANE! BACK OFF!" the women screamed. Sighing, the cop pushed Randall away from him and marched to Carl. He grabbed the boy's arm and told him to get his ass out. Carl whimpered as Shane asked him what the hell he was doing, tossing him away from the barn.

"Hey!" Annie shouted as she helped Andrea close and secure the barn door.

Stumbling, Carl cried, "Don't tell my parents!"

"Carl, that ain't cool, man. You could've gotten hurt in there!"

"I can handle myself!" the boy told him.

"Let me tell you something. You do not go near him again, do you hear me?" Shane ordered, pointing at Carl's face. Annie ran from the door, seeing as Andrea had it covered, and rushed over to protect Carl. She slapped Shane's hand out of Carl's face and pushed him away, gently easing Carl behind her. If Shane wanted to keep yelling at the boy, he'd have to go through her to do it.

"You won't tell my parents, will you?"

"Carl, man. It ain't about getting in trouble," Shane angrily retorted, shaking his head.

Annie put up a hand, gesturing for Shane to back off. "You made your point, Shane."

"A guy like that," he continued, "he will say anything to you. He will try to make you feel sorry for him, try to make you get your guard down."

"Shane, you made your point. Just back off!"

"You let your guard down out here, people die."

"I said that's enough!" Annie shouted, shoving him away from Carl. Shane shook his head at her, sneering, telling Carl to go find his mother. "Come on, Carl, back to camp." He nodded at her, walking away from them with her arm around his shoulders.

"Carl! Quit trying to get yourself killed, man!" Annie stared at him in shock and gently nudged the tearful boy back towards camp, promising that she'd be right behind him. Andrea walked past the other woman, assuring her she'd made sure Carl got back okay with Annie's thanks. Finally alone with Shane, she whirled on him in a rage.

"How dare you!" she snapped at Shane. "What the hell is the matter with you?!"

"Me, really?" Shane laughed. "How dare me? What about you? You come along and you just fit in, don't you? You just slip right in," he whispered, getting directly in her face, "and don't even care that you're breaking up a marriage."

Brow raised, Annie scowled at him and replied, "Pretty sure you broke it up long before I came along. Ain't that right?" Shane glared down at her, taking a step closer but she put a hand on his chest and pushed him back as hard as she could. "You don't scare me, Shane."

"That'd be a mistake," he informed her. Annie just scoffed and walked away.

"You'll be the one making a mistake if lay a hand on that boy again," she threatened. Annie turned her back on Shane, not caring if he was watching her or not. Let her catch him putting his hands on Carl again, she wouldn't do him the courtesy of showing restraint.

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Annie had hoped to find Carl and bring him with her on her perimeter search. He'd been feeling left out and useless the past couple days, especially since the adults didn't want to involve him in the situation with Randall, but the boy was nowhere to be found. She'd asked Glenn to keep an eye out for him, concerned that he'd taken off, and he promised he would. So she went on her perimeter check and ended up being bored nearly to the point of tears. Honestly, she had hoped a walker would show up just so she could kill it. Not only would it have broken up the monotony of the day but she also would've been able to vent all her frustrations.

Shane getting in her face the way he had, the dirty looks Lori had been giving her, Dale's comments from the previous day. Annie should've known others knew. Hell, Glenn had been a stuttering mess around her lately! He could barely look her in the eye when she spoke to him earlier. Compounded with the whole Randall situation, it just seemed like it was bringing everything to a head. Shouldering the rifle, Annie walked back into camp and froze. On the porch of Hershel's house was Rick and Lori. They were speaking in hushed tones and Lori caressed his face before kissing his cheek and hugging him. The man had been avoiding Lori like she was a walker for days and, now, here he was, accepting her kisses? Hugging her back? Shaking her head, Annie turned away and immediately left the camp, brushing by T-Dog as she went.

"Its almost sundown," T-Dog called after her. It was a subtle reminder of the meeting the group was having, to decide Randall's fate.

"I'll be back in time," she replied. Although, if she was really honest, Annie wasn't sure she would be.

Eyes on the ground, laser focused, she just kept her head down and kept walking up the road. She traveled along the wooden fence until the farmhouse was just a speck behind her. Settling the rifle down beside her, she leaned against the fence and tried to breathe. Her chest was tight and her heart was pounding. She didn't have any real right to be jealous, but she was. Damn, she was jealous and she was angry. They'd been together. He'd all but told her that he didn't love his wife anymore, and that he only stayed with her out of an obligation to Carl. Rick had told her he cared her, multiple times, and it was real. She knew it. She felt it. What they had, no matter how little the time, was very real. And her heart was breaking because he'd suddenly, out of nowhere, chosen his wife over her. Head in her hand, she tried to stop the burning behind her eyes but the moment she caught sight of Rick walking up the dirt road, she couldn't hold back anymore.

"I just wanna talk."

"There's nothing to talk about," she retorted. When he got close, a few tears escaped down her cheeks and she immediately brushed them away. "I think I know what you're trying to tell me. And, I think that we can avoid—"

"Well, maybe you should've told me you had a change of heart," he replied, perplexed. Walking closer, he reached out to touch her but she just backed away. "I need you to tell me where all this is coming from. I mean, one minute we're...we're together and, the next, you're running away." Annie shook her head, looking out at the sunset blankly. "I have a right to know what's changed your mind."

Quietly sighing, she told him, "I never changed my mind. But I saw you with her. The way you looked at her." Looking at him, she saw him shaking his head, stunned. Rick reached out but she shrugged him off. When he started to try and explain, she shushed him. "Don't. Don't..."

"I don't care who I looked at," he argued fiercely. "I...you know how I feel about you."

"And you would stay with me...if I let you. And that's why I'll always love you," she quietly told him. The first time she confessed her love to him should've made her feel elated. Instead, her heart was breaking. "What we had, it was brief and..." Biting her lip, she managed to tell him, "Just because we care about each other, it doesn't mean we're meant to be together." She wanted to say love each other but her heart broke even more when she realized he had never said the words to her. Not yet, perhaps never. And yet she wished he did.

"Why are you doing this, Annie?" he questioned frantically, desperately.

Shaking her head, she replied, "I'm sorry. I never should have followed you."

"You just gotta trust me. Lori and I, we're done." But did Lori understand that, Annie wondered. "We can make it work," he promised. Moving closer, he brushed away her tears and she leaned into his touch, closing her eyes as he kissed her. He could say they could make it work all he wanted, but she didn't believe it. Deep down, she didn't think he really did either.

"Its sundown," she told him. "You need to go take care of Randall." Gently pushing him away, she nodded for him to go. He hesitated, asking her if she was coming. "You know how I feel about it, just go ahead without me." Rick walked back to her, reached out for her, but she pushed his hands away. "I'll be fine. I just need some space."

"Annie..."

"Rick, please." Slowly, hesitantly, he nodded and headed back to the farm. The moment he was out of earshot, Annie let her face collapse into her hands.

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"You're late for the meeting," Carl observed. His tone was sullen and glum as Annie approached the porch. He was sitting in the far corner, knees up against his chest. She'd been about to go inside and join said meeting when he stopped her.

Nodding, she walked over and said, "I am. What are you doing?"

"Mom told me to wait with Jimmy," he answered shortly, although it wasn't exactly an answer. Nodding slowly, Annie laid the rifle on the porch and sat down beside the boy.

"And where is Jimmy?" she wondered, looking around the empty porch pointedly.

"Sitting with Beth." Annie nodded.

"So you snuck out," she observed. Carl nodded and she nodded back. Leaning close, she whispered conspiratorially, "Trying to eavesdrop?" Carl glanced at her before looking at the ground, nodding shortly. Annie let out a low breath and nodded together. She figured as much. "You weren't invited, huh?"

"I'm a kid. No one cares what I think," he spat despondently.

Annie shook her head and calmly said, "I'm sure that's not true."

"Yes it is," he argued with a scoff. Annie bit back a smile.

"Okay, well, why don't you tell me what you think?" Carl looked up at her, caught off guard, and she just waited patiently.

The boy was quiet for a moment, eyes focused on the wooden porch, before hesitantly saying, "My mom told me this story about my dad and Uncle Jeff once. Uncle Jeff was Dad's little brother. I didn't see him much." Carl shrugged, thinking of his uncle who was probably dead. "He broke his ankle one time when he was a kid. He walked with a limp for months, Mom said. The kids in Dad's class would make fun of him, call him names, and Mom said Dad couldn't handle it. So he picked a fight with four or five boys to make them stop teasing his little brother."

"Did he win?"

"No," he answered with a smile and the pair shared a laugh at Rick's expense. "But Mom said he didn't care, as long as Uncle Jeff was okay." Carl looked up at her and said, "That's the kind of man my dad is."

Annie agreed, "He tries to do what he believes is right. Even if it's going to hurt him." Carl nodded and looked back at the porch a moment.

When he looked back up at her, he said, "I think he should do it." Annie swallowed nervously, not sure how she liked the sound of Carl agreeing to kill someone. Despite the fact that she herself agreed killing Randall was the right thing to do.

"Why don't you go ahead back to your tent and, when it's all over, I'll come read with you for a bit. Okay?"

"You won't tell my parents?" he asked, echoing his earlier words to Shane.

"Not as long as you promise not to sneak out like this again," she told him. "Your safety is important so if someone tells you to stay put, you stay put. All right, buddy?" Annie held out her pinky for him, grinning as he smiled back and pinky swore with her. She rose to her feet, pulling Carl up with her. Before he ran off the porch, he hugged her tight and thanked her. All he wanted was someone to listen to him and treat him like an adult just once. Annie didn't see the harm in doing that.

"This is a young man's life! And it is worth more than a five-minute conversation!" Those were the words Annie heard as she walked into the house. She wandered in quietly, not announcing hereslf. Rick looked at her but she just shook her head. Now wasn't the time. "Is this what it's come to? We kill someone because we can't decide what else to do with him? You saved him! And now look at us. He's been tortured! He's gonna be executed! How are we any better than those people that we're so afraid of?"

"We all know what needs to be done," Shane announced.

"No! Dale is right," Rick argued. "We can't leave any stone unturned here. We have a responsibility—"

"So what's the other solution?"

"Let Rick finish," Annie calmly told Andrea, making her presence known to the others. Rick nodded at her as she crossed her arms and leaned against the doorway.

"We haven't come up with a single viable option yet!" Andrea argued. "I wish we could—!"

"So let's work on it!" Dale exclaimed.

"Stop it!" Carol cried. "Just stop it! I'm sick of everybody arguing and fighting! I didn't ask for this. You can't ask us to decide something like this. Please decide – either of you, both of you," she said, looking at Rick and Shane, "but leave me out."

"Not speaking out or killing him yourself," Dale remarked, "there's no difference."

"All right, that's enough!" Rick stated, waving for Dale to back off. "Anybody wants the floor, before we make a final decision, has the chance." No one spoke up. Rick looked around the room as Dale fiddled with his hat. He couldn't believe these people!

"You once said that we don't kill the living," he pointed out.

Rick plainly retorted, "Well, that was before the living tried to kill us."

"But don't you see? If we do this, the people we were, the world that we knew, is dead," Dale argued. "And this new world, it's ugly...harsh, it's a "survival of the fittest"! And that's a world I don't wanna live in! And I don't –I don't believe that any of you do! I can't!" Looking at his group, he pleaded, "Please! Let's just do what's right!" Dale gripped his hat tight, twisted it, and stared at everyone. "Isn't there anybody else that's gonna stand with me?" Carol put her face in her hands while Glenn looked at the floor, unable to look at him.

"He's right," Andrea spoke up, moved by the older man's words. "We should try to find another way."

"Anybody else?" No one spoke up. Most of them just looked at the floor, unable to look anyone else in the eye. Rick turned to Dale silently.

"Are you all gonna watch, too?" Dale asked mockingly. "No, you'll go hide your heads in your tents and try to forget that we're slaughtering a human being." He sighed sadly, disappointed, and shook his head. "I won't be a part to it." As he walked away, he stopped at Daryl long enough to tell him that the group was broken.

When the sun had fully set, Annie sat by the fire and watched as Rick, Shane and Daryl retrieved Randall from his little holding area. They blindfolded him, tied him up, and dragged him out, leading him away to the barn where the walkers had once been kept. Annie kept put her hands to her mouth, waiting for the single gunshot to echo into the night. But it never came. She heard a banging sound and saw Shane storm out of the barn, having hit the door. Daryl come out behind him a moment later, dragging Randall with him. When Rick walked back into the camp, Carl was with him. Everyone stood up and looked at Rick, waiting for an explanation. Rick told them that they were going to keep Randall in custody, for now. Smiling in relief, Andrea left the fire and said she was going to find Dale. Rick ordered his son to go inside the tent. Once he was out of sight, Annie overhead Rick confide in Lori that Carl had followed him. That he'd told him to kill Randall, how he wanted to watch.

"I couldn't..."

"It's okay. That's okay." Rick let his wife hug him and looked at Annie over her shoulder. Softly, she smiled at him and nodded in approval. Despite her opinion on the matter, she didn't want him to kill the kid with Carl watching. It wasn't right and Rick did the right thing in holding off. A scream suddenly reached the ears of everyone in the camp.

"Get Carl," Rick ordered, pushing Lori away as everyone scrambled to their feet. He ordered T-Dog to get his shotgun while Lori made Carl go to the house and lock the door.

"What's happened?" Annie asked, running next to Rick towards the screams, gun in hand. "Who was that? Whose missing?"

"I don't know!" he shouted, pushing open the gate.

Both of them heard Andrea scream out Dale's name and both pushed themselves to run even faster as the sound of his screams increased. Daryl suddenly shouted out to them and they spotted him waving his arms, flagging them down. Everyone arrived at the scene to see Daryl kneeling beside Dale, trying to comfort him. The elderly man's stomach was ripped open, his blood and intestines spilling out onto the grassy ground. Annie looked around the field and spotted the dead walker, knowing instantly what had happened. Rick knelt down beside the older man, telling him to just listen to his voice and demanding someone get Hershel. Andrea was on his other side, crying her eyes out and telling Dale to hang on but he started going into shock.

When Hershel finally arrived, he demanded to know what happened while Rick needed to know if they could move him. Hershel told him that the man wouldn't survive the trip. Rick tried to make Glenn go to the house and get Hershel's tools; they'd do surgery right there in that field, if that was what it took. Hershel stopped the young man and shook his head at Rick, silently reporting that Dale couldn't be saved. As Dale writhed on the ground, everyone cried at the realization that another of their group was going to die. Carl suddenly buried his head into Annie's stomach, crying as he gripped her tight. Crying herself, she hugged him back and closed her eyes. She couldn't watch this.

"He's suffering. Do something!" Andrea begged. Rick unholstered his gun, but couldn't shoot. He just couldn't do it. Daryl stepped up and took the gun from him, aiming it at Dale's head.

"Sorry, brother."