DARYL AND CAROL CAME BACK THAT NEXT NIGHT.

Without Marcie. 

But they had someone else with them, Noah.

He explained what happened, how they had a lead on where Beth was, how Marcie got hit by a car before being taken by the same group that Noah had escaped from.

They were in Atlanta. 

It was a huge detour, a dangerous one, but it was Marcie. She had saved all of them multiple times, and now it was their turn to save her.

Daryl wanted to leave right away, but Rick refused. He wanted to fortify the church first, make it safe enough for the others before leading another group to the city.

He wanted to split them up even further.

Vivian knew she had to go to Atlanta. Without Glenn there, she was the only one with the most experience getting in and out of the city.

But she didn't want to leave the kids behind. She couldn't.

It was up to Rick, she knew that. And she was sure he was gonna force her to stay behind.

"He wants to go to Atlanta," Rick sighed from next to Vivian as they nailed some board to the window. Carl and Noah were at the next window feet away, Rick wanted to keep an eye on him and make sure he wasn't dangerous, "but I can't have that."

"Then you stay." Vivian lowered her hammer and looked over at the group's leader, "I'll go."

"I owe it to Marcie."

He had internal conflict, Vivian could tell just by looking at him. He had left Marcie behind before, and they all saw how that turned out. 

"We all owe Marcie." Vivian responded,

"I owe her more."

Once again, he was right. Marcie was the person who brought him to his family, right at the start. She kept Judith safe after the fall of the prison. She sacrificed herself for him so many times.

He had left her behind once, at Woodbury. And she ended up with permanent physical and mental scars because of it.

Vivian stared up at him, trying to read his eyes, "You want me to stay behind... don't you?"

"I know you'll be safe here. And I know you'll protect them." Rick reasoned,

Vivian sighed, placing her hands on her hips, "How many times are we gonna separate? We're all over the place, Rick. Glenn and Maggie are gone now, so is Marcie, and what if you guys don't make it out? What are we supposed to do?"

Rick stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on her neck, "You'll do what you have to."

She searched his eyes again, trying to find the reassurance that they'll be okay. But she knew that even he wasn't sure what was going to happen.

Vivian spotted Carl watching them from over Rick's shoulder and she stepped back.

When she was younger, her dad would bring all sorts of women back to the house. Some tried to play mommy, some just ignored the Davis kids all together.

She didn't want Carl to look at her like some temporary woman in his dad's life.

"You guys should go. You're losing the light."

They went into the church to say their goodbyes. Rick kissed the top of his daughter's head before handing the baby over to Vivian.

He turned to his son, "We'll be back soon."

"I know."

Once the doors was shut, Carl went back to fortifying the church. Liam was playing with his toys in the corner and Vivian walked over to Gabriel, who was staring down at his destroyed pew,

"I'm sorry." Vivian apologised as she bounced Judith on her hip, "I know this place means a lot to you, but trust me, it's necessary." Judith tugged on Vivian's sun necklace that Carl had given to her back at the prison, "I'm surprised you lasted this long just by locking the doors."

Gabriel stared at her for a moment, "Your apology... it means a lot."

She gave the man a comforting smile before walking over to Liam.

"Mama, can't we play outside?" Liam asked, waving his car toy around,

"Not right now, hon." Vivian told him, letting Judith swing her little bunny stuffed animal around and trying not to get hit by it,

"But why?"

"Because of the monsters." Liam seemed to except the answer and continued with his toys, making car noises,

Gabriel began scrubbing at the wooden floor, trying to get rid of the blood. Carl had finished boarding the door up and grabbed the remaining weapons that Rick and the others left behind, lining them up by the priest, who was too busy scrubbing to notice, 

"Pick one."

The priest shook his head and continued with his cleaning,

"You need to learn how to defend yourself." Carl continued, "We can teach you."

Gabriel paused and looked up at the younger boy, "Defend myself? They said they'd go."

"They were liars and murderers." Carl reasoned,

"Just like us."

Gabriel wasn't wrong. Vivian had taken her first life back at the prison, but she was protecting the children.

But she shot them from the distance. She didn't beat them to death, it wasn't bloody or grotesque. It was a simple bullet to the head.

The others... they created a massacre.

'Didn't want to waste the bullets', Rick said. But she also thinks he wanted them to feel the pain. He explained to her that the people of Terminus, they were never good. They kept people in train cars before slaughtering them and eating them.

They weren't people. They were just as bad as the monsters who came back to life.

"We protected ourselves." Carl told him, "They wanted us dead. You're lucky your church has lasted this long. You can't stay in one place anymore. Not for too long. And once you're out there, you're gonna find trouble you can't hide from. You need to know how to fight."

Gabriel stared down at the armoury in front of him before reaching for the handle of a machete,

"Good choice." The Grimes boy commented, "But you're not holding it right. You've got to be able to drive it down 'cause sometimes their skulls aren't as soft and you need to be able-"

The priest stopped him, "I'm sorry." He attempted to collect himself before getting to his feet, "No. I need to lie down."

He went into his office and closed the door, leaving the Grimes children, Vivian, and Liam alone in the church.

Carl stared at the closed door for a moment, "It's hard to believe there's people out there who still don't know how to survive."

"He got lucky." Vivian commented, "If he wants to continue to live, he'll learn how to fight. Or, he'll die."

"Is he coming to DC with us?" The teenager asked as he sat down next to Vivian,

The older woman shrugged, "Dunno. Not sure if your dad wants him around but... we owe him. If we wants to come, we'll let him."

Hours went by with Vivian and Carl keeping the kids entertained. The priest stayed in this office, or so she thought.

Vivian was singing the alphabet with Liam when they heard cries coming from outside the church,

"Please! Let me in!" It was a familiar voice. 

She left Liam and Judith with Carl while Vivian rushed over to the office door, opening it to reveal an empty room with a large hole in floorboards,

"Don't leave me out here! Carl! Vivian!" He began to bang against the front door, "I had to see it! I know now! Let me live with it!"

Carl placed Judith in her basket before rushing towards the door, with Vivian close behind.

"Help me! Help!" Gabriel begged as the two tried to pull on the board that kept the door sealed, 

She could hear the walkers on the other side. Vivian ran over to the artillery that Carl had and grabbed the hatchet, "Get back!" She yelled at the teenager,

Carl took a step back and Vivian held the hatch above her head, bringing it down on the board. He held up his gun, prepared to shoot anything that came through the doors,

Once she got through, she pulled the door open and Gabriel ran inside. Carl shot the first few walkers that came in while Vivian raised her weapon once again, "Get back." She ordered the others, "Grab Liam and Judith! Now!"

Alone, Vivian took out any walker that got near. It was too many for her to count, and she knew she couldn't do it by herself.

Why did they all have to separate?

"The rectory, come on!" Carl took the kids inside, followed by Gabriel, while Vivian pushed a few of the rotters back and giving them some time.

Gabriel pushed the door closed, struggling to latch it as fingers reached through. Vivian grabbed the closest chair before helping him use it to keep the door as closed as possible,

"That's how I got out." The priest pointed at the hole in the floorboard, "Crawl under to the back. Just go. Take the little ones and go."

Carl quickly gathered their bags and held Judith close to his torso while Liam grabbed his free hand.

"Mama?"

"Everything's gonna be okay, baby." She tried to comfort the toddler,

Vivian helped Liam down first before helping Carl, "Hey." She stopped the teenager, "You wait for me, got it?" He nodded before she tapped his shoulder, "Go."

Once they were through, Vivian jumped down next and grabbed the last bag. She turned to look at the priest, who gave her a comforting smile, "It's worth it. I'm not going anywhere until you're gone."

She nodded before crawling through the tunnel, following after the kids.

Carl was already standing outside the church, holding his little sister with the bags on the ground. Once Vivian got to her knees, Liam ran over to her and wrapped his little arms around her neck.

She stood, picking the toddler up while she did. Vivian made sure Carl and Judith were okay before they waited for the priest.

They spotted the bloody blade of the machete first. Vivian set Liam down before walking over and helping Gabriel up,

"I can't run anymore." He panted, staring at her in defeat,

"We're not running."