— ZOE COULD TELL THAT CARL WAS acting strange, and she knew that he had been like it for a while, now. Ever since witnessing Shane come back as a walker, the boy had changed, and she hated to admit it. He liked to think that he was grown up, now, and that he could take care of himself without any help from the others, and that wasn't good. He was acting reckless, and he thought that he didn't need any help from the group. Zoe knew he was growing up, and she was quite sad about it - he was her little brother, and he will always be her little baby brother. She just didn't want him acting this reckless now he thought he could handle it. So, when he came back to the cell block with a duffle bag full of medication, having gone to the infirmary without bringing anyone with him or even waiting for their dad to get back first - it was dangerous, and Lori wasn't happy about it, one bit. But, when Carl snapped at their mom, shouting at her, Zoe wasn't happy with her little brother. Squeezing her mom's hand softly with a sympathetic smile, as Lori looked like she was about to cry, she got up and followed Carl out of the cell where everyone was, her anger rising up at the fact he had upset their pregnant mother. "Carl!" She shouted out, jogging to catch up with him as he stormed out of the cell block to get some privacy.

Carl stopped in his tracks, sighing in annoyance at the fact she had followed after him, as he wanted to be alone, before turning to face his sister, "What, you're going to give me a lecture, too?" Carl snapped at her, fed up with everyone treating him like a child when he wasn't, he thought that he was clearly able to do the things his dad did.. Zoe scoffed at his rude tone, knowing that she wasn't her mother and she wasn't going to take this from him, she never will take this from him, she didn't deserve it. She grabbed his arm, making sure not to hurt him too much, and dragged him to a private area, where the others couldn't hear them both and they could talk. "What are you doing?" He asked, "Get off." He snapped, trying to pry his arm out of her grip, having no success with his efforts.

Once they were in a room away from the others with Hershel, she shut the door, before turning to him with her arms crossed in annoyance, glaring down at Carl. "I get that you think you're growing up and don't need help anymore. I get it." She began, "But if you talk to mom like that again, you're gonna wish you hadn't." She told him sternly. She didn't like that she was being harsh to her younger brother, but she needed to get it through to him that his behaviour wasn't on, and that he couldn't talk to Lori like that, and he couldn't treat her like garbage, she was still their mother, and he had to treat her with respect. "I know mom and dad are on the outs, and I get it, that you've taken dads side. But that does not mean you can treat mom like shit, okay?" She ranted, as Carl looked to the floor in guilt, avoiding her eyeline, ashamed that he had upset her, "She's pregnant, with our sibling, and she doesn't need your attitude right now." Zoe said, knowing that her mom was going through some stuff and it wasn't good for the baby.

"Are you done?" Carl asked, looking back up at her with a bored look. He just wanted to leave and be alone.

Zoe scoffed, "No." She told him, "No I'm not." She said, pointing towards the door and to where Hershel was currently lying, near death, "Hershel's in there right now fighting for his life because he got caught by a walker, with the whole group. You don't go out on your own, you bring someone with you no matter what, do you understand me?" She asked him, wanting to get it through his head. Since her mom wasn't able to give him a lecture, she took it upon herself, not wanting Carl to be so stupid with recklessness. Carl needed to understand that he couldn't just wander off on his own, or go and get some resources on his own - it was dangerous, especially if it was just him on his omen. She didn't know how he hadn't realised that by now with the amount of time they had been trying to survive in this hell of a world. "Carl." She snapped, when he wasn't answering her, letting her know that he understood her.

"I get it!" Carl shouted, just wanting to get this conversation over and done with. "Now can I go?" He asked.

Zoe crossed her arms over her chest and looked down at her brother with a raised brow, examining his facial expression, trying to figure out if her words had actually gotten through to him and he understood her. When she saw slight guilt wash across his face, she sighed, before finally stepping out of the way so that he could leave the room. Carl instantly rushed forward and left, not wanting his sister to see him cry. He knew that he shouldn't have shouted at their mom, and now that he had, he was worried that Zoe was going to be disappointed in him. He just wanted to help the group, he didn't mean to upset her. Zoe's opinion and approval meant everything to him, it always had.
Zoe sighed as Carl ran out of the room, leaning her head against the wall behind her, before she heard the door open once again, before her mother waddled in, her hand on her large belly. She gave her daughter a soft smile. "Thankyou." She told Zoe, after hearing her daughter stand up for her and tell Carl it was wrong to treat her like this, she nearly cried - she didn't have any energy in her right now, and she knew that if she didn't make it through the childbirth, Zoe would be able to bring Carl up well.

The mother daughter duo may be in the outs just as much as Lori was with her husband, but that didn't mean that Zoe thought any less of her mom - she still loved her as much as she always had, wether she was pregnant with Shane's baby or not. It was her mom. Nothing like that mattered. Zoe gave Lori a sad smile, "He's just growing up, I wouldn't take it personally." She told her mom, knowing that Lori knew this, but the lady needed to hear it. She was about to leave the room, only for Lori to hold her arm out, stopping her daughter from leaving. She needed to talk to her urgently.

"Zo.." She began, sighing.

"I don't want to hear it, mom." Zoe interrupted, knowing exactly what she was going to say to her, and she didn't want to listen to it, at least not right now, not with Hershel maybe being on his death bed.

"No, you need to hear it." Lori refused to stand down, now standing in front of the door to stop her daughter from leaving her behind. "I want you to know what to do if I don't make it." She started to say, as Zoe turned away, not wanting to listen to her mother's words - she couldn't. "You need to take care of this baby, your brother and your father." She told the young girl, not wanting to put all of this on the girls shoulders, but she had to, "You're going to need to step up." She said, as Zoe scoffed, "I know that's not what you want to hear right now.." She said, getting interrupted.

"You're not going to die, mom." Zoe told Lori, finally turning back around to face her, "Hershel's good, he'll make sure you make it out of this alive and healthy with the baby." She said.

Lori nodded slowly, "Yes, but if he doesn't make it.." She began to explain, only to get interrupted again.

"Then Carol will be able to do it. She knows how to, Hershel showed her." Zoe explained, talking herself into this whole scenario. She just couldn't think of what may happen instead of that - she had been keeping hope.. The fact that her mom didn't have any, but instead, had this whole idea in her head that she wasn't going to make it and that Zoe had to step up, didn't sit right with the young Grimes girl. Her mom was going to make it, no matter what - she was going to make sure of it.

"But, Zoe.." Lori sighed.

"Mom, please." Zoe begged, giving her mom a pleading look, she couldn't talk about this now, not with Hershel in the other room, fighting for his life. "I can't." She said. Lori simply gave her daughter a sympathetic look, now feeling bad that she had put this on her - but she didn't know what else to do; she was worried she wouldn't make it, and she had to make sure that her family would be okay without her here. They had to be, to survive together. She looked to the floor as Zoe moved past her and left the room, wanting their conversation to end. Lori didn't know who else to confide in and talk to about this - she was scared. Scared that she will have to leave her family behind, and scared at what they would do without her.. Just, terrified..

Hershel had stopped breathing, but with the help from Lori, she had saved his life, and he was now stable - all they were waiting for, was for the man to wake up. Zoe stood at the entrance of the cell with Glenn as they watched the others gather around Hershel, all afraid to leave his side. Zoe felt bad for Glenn, as before her dad had left with the others, he had told the boy to take Hershel out if he came back as a walker - not wanting his daughters to have to kill their own father. God forbid if he ever had to put his kids up to that task.. Zoe had stuck by his side, in case it were to happen, so she could help him - luckily for them, Hershel was stable, and it looked like they had the breathing under control.
It wasn't much longer after Lori had helped Hershel breathe again, did the men finally come back, covered in sweat and some blood that Zoe was hoping wasn't their own. The second Nate saw Zoe, he smiled and headed towards her, answering her silent question of if he was okay with a nod. "Hershel stopped breathing." Carl informed Rick as he stood besides his sister, "Mom saved him." He said, with a proud look on his face that their mother had managed to save Hershel's life..

It was silent as Rick slowly made his way into the cell that Hershel was lying in, Zoe looked up at Nate with a nervous smile, who responded by placing his hand on her lower back and rubbing circles on it to bring her some comfort. It definitely helped, as she sunk into his touch, instantly calming down as the scene played in front of them. The day had been incredibly stressful, for everyone, but especially Zoe.. With Hershel being bit and his leg being amputated, finding the other prisoners in the cafeteria, arguing with her younger brother and her mother telling her that she practically thought she was going to die in childbirth - Zoe was no shadow of a doubt, exhausted. The group watched in complete silence as Hershel grunted in his sleep, Maggie and Beth was shocked, thinking that he would wake up, but the old man never opened his eyes, indicating that it may never happen, as much as no one wanted to admit it..

It was heartbreaking that they may loose Hershel, yet another one of their group, their family. But, when the old man's eyes began to flutter, everyone's heart stopped, with Zoe perking up alongside her mother, and the rest watching him in confusion, wondering if he was waking up. After what felt like hours, Hershel finally opened his eyes, and the whole group could see that they weren't cloudy in the slightest, indicating that he wasn't a walker. He had woken up. "Daddy?" Maggie asked, the first to break the silence throughout the group. Beth echoed her sister with a gleam, crouching down besides him to give him a hug, incredibly happy that he had made it through this.

Zoe couldn't help but smile along with them, glad that they hadn't lost another family member. Hershel was like a father to all of them, and it would have been a huge dent in the group if he had passed away, and not just because he was a veterinarian. Rick was quick to take the handcuffs off of the man, knowing that he was now okay, and Rick took his hand when Hershel held it out, causing everyone to smile. Rick looked around at the group and how everyone was practically crying in happiness. Maggie and Beth were in an embrace, with Glenn comforting the both of them - Lori was smiling from her place in the corner, a matching look to his son, and his daughter was leaning into Nate with a huge smile, while Nate held one of his own, both looking equally as happy that Hershel had made it through this. After this, he looked back at Hershel, and handed his hand to Beth, who gladly took it, before he followed his wife out of the house.

Nate and Zoe knew that Maggie and Beth should have this time with their father alone, so with a smile sent to the group, and Daryl, who nodded at the two of them, they left the cell and headed up to their own cell, needing to relax after this stressful day. Zoe sat down on their bed with a huge sigh, wiping the sweat from her forehead before leaning back against the wall, closing her eyes briefly. Nate sat in front of her, taking her hands in his own, wondering what was in this girls mind. He may be able to read her like a book, but he couldn't exactly read her mind.

"Carl went to the infirmary by himself today." Zoe informed Nate, unsure of what he would think about what her brother had done, but not exactly caring, she just needed to get this off of her chest. "Then snapped at my mom.. He's growing up, and I don't know how to help him." She told him. When she opened her eyes, she saw him listening intently to her words, wanting to hear everything so he could talk to her and help her get it out of her system. "Then my mom.." Zoe carried on, laughing humourlessly, "Basically told me she thinks she won't make it through childbirth, that I should step up if that were to happen." She explained.

Nate sighed, squeezing her hands, "She's pregnant, she's bound to have thoughts like that. She'll be fine." He told his girlfriend, the love of his life.

"What if she does?" Zoe couldn't help but ask, "Die? I don't know what I'd do. I've never even thought about it before, I never thought it would happen so soon, not while I'm so young." She admitted.

Nate didn't exactly have a good experience with his parents - his mom left when he was just a baby and he grew up with an abusive father who didn't care for him in the slightest. But he had seen how Zoe interacts with her parents and she could see how much she loved them and vice versa. "She won't die." Nate told her, placing his fingers underneath her chin and forcing her to look at him, "We won't let that happen, okay?" He reassured her. Nate knew for a fact that Rick wasn't going to let his wife die, no matter how annoyed he was with her at the moment - it wasn't going to happen. That man will always protect his family with his life, and will always put them in front of him.

Zoe sniffled, keeping the tears at bay, before swallowing hard, "What happened with the prisoners? I forgot to ask." She asked him, wanting to know how the whole thing went.

Nate sighed in annoyance, remembering what had happened with the inmates. "Two died. One of them got scratched, the other tried to kill your dad." He informed her, watching as her eyes widened in shock, "One of them ran off after that, so there's only two left. We cleared a cell block for them, we shouldn't see them again if Rick has anything to do with it." He said, as she nodded along to his words. Zoe knew that the prisoners couldn't get to them, not with the protection of her dad, Daryl, T-Dog, Nate and Glenn. They were safe.

Or were they?