VIVIAN CLIMBED UP INTO THE UPPER LEVEL OF THE BARN, WHERE RICK HELD A ROPE IN HIS HANDS,

He glanced over at her, "The nights are getting colder and we're pretty exposed. I was thinking... Maybe we could clear this place out, station lookouts up here."

She nodded, "Or instead of living like farm animals, we could talk to Hershel about staying in the house."

Rick paused for a moment, "All right. That works, too." He moved away from her and kneeled down,  twisting the rope around to make a noose,

"Is that really the best way to do this?" Vivian asked, crossing her arms over her chest, "To... string him up?"

"I have no idea. It's my first time." Rick responded before pausing, "Look, I don't know how you feel about the death penalty, but-"

"What I do know is that the world has changed. And, after everything that's happened, you and Shane agree on this." Vivian interrupted,

Rick looked up at her, "So you support this decision?"

She maintained eye contact for a moment before glancing out the barn window towards the house, where Liam was. She wanted to support Rick on this, he was the closest thing to a leader they had. But she had to think about what Lillian and Trevor would want for their child. 

To grow up in a world where you could believe in people. A world where murder and death wasn't the only way.

"I have to think about Liam." Vivian stated,

Rick stood, "You don't think those people would kill him without a second thought?"

"The world only ended a few months ago, Rick. Do you think humanity faded away that quickly to the point where they would murder a toddler?"

"There are no laws anymore, no authority. There's nothing to stop them." Rick insisted,

"Except us." Vivian stepped towards him, "Like you said, they left this kid for dead. No one is looking for him. We drive him away from town, away from the farm, alive, and he'll owe us. Tell him if we ever see him again, he's a dead man."

"Why are you so against this? The world has changed, just like you said." Rick argued,

"Because I'm trying to raise Liam to not be a murderer. That when things get tough, death isn't the only option.  You have a son, too, Rick. Surely, you don't want him to turn cold." Vivian said, "You once said that we don't kill the living, Rick."

He stepped closer to her, leaving a very small amount of room between the two, "That was before the living tried to kill us."

Vivian stared up into his bright eyes, searching them for any sign that he didn't want to go through with killing Randall, "Since when did Shane have any influence on what you believe in?" She whispered,

Rick broke away from her, continuing with tying the rope.

"You never did say what happened on the road with you and Shane." Vivian stated, trying to change the subject,

He tightened the rope as it formed a noose, "He won't be a problem anymore."

"I find that hard to believe." Vivian grumbled,

Someone cleared their throat and the two turned to see Lori standing at the bottom of the barn, "I'd like to speak to my husband... alone, please."

Vivian nodded, "Of course." She gave Rick one last look before passing Lori and heading into the field.

She spotted Carol by Sophia's grave, glaring towards where Carl was walking away, "Hey, what's wrong?" Vivian asked when she saw the tears in the mother's eyes, "Did Carl say something?"

"Something cruel about Sophia." Carol sniffed, "He said-"

Vivian placed a hand on Carol's shoulder, "I'm sure he didn't mean it. He's mourning her, too." She sighed, "I'll talk to him." She squeezed the woman before following after the young boy.

She knew deep down, he didn't want to hurt Carol. But he was hurting too, and seeing Carol being okay on the outside made it worse. He wanted her to hurt with him.

It didn't take long for her to catch up to the boy, who was walking between the trees that separated the field from their camp and the farmhouse, "Hey, punk!"

Carl stopped, turning towards her, "What?" He spat, crossing his arms,

She paused in front of him, "Did you talk back to Carol?"

"No." He answered, avoiding making eye contact with her,

Vivian snatched the hat from his head so he could look up at her, "She says you did." She kneeled down in front of him, "You can't talk back to people like that. Especially not people in our group. And if you talk back to dangerous people, they might just hurt you."

Carl stared at her for a moment, "I told her it's stupid to believe in heaven. 'Cause it is."

Vivian sighed. Carl reminded her of her younger siblings. Always having something to say, even when it's not wanted,  "Well, just think about that for a minute. She just lost her daughter. She wants to believe she's still alive in some way."

 "But she-"

"Don't." Vivian interrupted, "Don't talk. Think. It's a good rule of thumb for life."

With a smirk, she placed his hat back on his head, "Apologise to Carol." She told him before walking back to camp.

Vivian grabbed Liam from the RV before sitting on the swing that was on the porch, reading a children's book to him.

"And the boy loved the tree very much." Vivian read as Liam sat in her lap, "And the tree was happy. But time went by. And the boy grew older. And the tree was often left alone."

She spotted movement and looked up to see Rick approaching her. She moved Liam off her lap and onto the seat, "Keep looking at the pictures, buddy." She whispered before standing up,

"Did you talk to Carl about what he said to Carol?" Rick asked, standing on the top step of the porch,

Vivian furrowed her brows, "I saw Carl and her talking and she looked upset. I asked her about it and I told Carl to correct his mistake." She placed her hands on her hips, "Why?"

"That's my kid. Okay? Mine. I don't need you parenting him. You should've came to me or Lori or-"

"Or what? Neither of you were exactly around, Rick." Vivian defended,

She wasn't trying to parent Carl, that was never the intention. But there was an issue and she helped squashed it immediately.

Rick held up a finger in her direction, "Just... don't tell him what to do."

"I didn't!" Vivian had a malicious smile, "I gave him advice. I have a lot of younger siblings, I thought I could help. And I did."

"Don't give advice without consulting Lori or I first. End of discussion." He began to walk down the steps, 

"Hey, Rick!" Vivian called out and he paused, turning towards her, "Where's Carl right now?"

He narrowed his eyes at her before walking away.

"Jesus." Vivian ran her fingers through her hair. Rick had never snapped at her before, not like that. But he was under a lot of pressure from everyone right now.

She glanced over at Liam once more to make sure he was okay before she went and jogged towards the sheriff, "Wait!" He didn't stop this time and she had to grab his arm, "Rick."

She forced him to stop and moved to step in front of him, "Look, I'm sorry, okay? You're doing a lot right now and I'm sure it's getting to you and I'm not helping. The situation had just happened and Carl was right there and I stepped in. It wasn't my business, so... I apologise. I won't step in again, not when it comes to Carl."

Rick nodded, glancing down at the ground for a moment, "Carl told me he took your advice. He apologised to Carol."

"That's good. That was the right thing to do."

"It was." Rick held eye contact with her, "It takes a village."

Vivian gave him a toothy grin, "It takes a village." She brushed some hair behind her ear, "It's almost time for the meeting. You should take a walk and think things through." She squeezed his arm before heading back to the porch to grab Liam,