Early in the morning Carl sat up on the couch and looked out the window for the third time. He didn't sleep well due to his encounter with Pete the other night. The only thing that mattered now was to protect Michonne, even if that meant giving up sleep. After changing Judith's diaper Rick walked into the living room and seen Carl yawning and rubbing his eyes.

"Carl, you only slept for two hours." He said.

"Michonne's in trouble and I'm not gonna let anything happen to her. It's not like it matters to you" Rick sat on the couch and forced Carl to make eye contact.

"That's not true. We have our issues, that's my fault. I miss her just as much as you do. There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about her and how she's doing. But you have to trust me that I'll fix things"

"You two haven't spoken to each other for weeks. If you love her so much why haven't you made an effort to repair your relationship? She still hurting dad and that alone hurts me the most. You know she doesn't deserve that. I want things to go back to the way they were. If your not willing to put your life on the line for Michonne then I will"

Listening to his sons words Rick felt ashamed of himself. This whole time he lost site of what truly mattered; his family.

"You say someone's trying to hurt her, is it Pete?"

"...Yeah"

Rick patted him on the shoulder and reassured him that he'll handle it. After hearing the details about his sons encounter with him was the last straw, this couldn't go on any longer. He walked outside and planned to confront Pete later in the day. Rick figured this would be the first step to make things right, even if Michonne didn't want his help. Carol noticed him coming down the block and approached him. They haven't talked about their alliance for a while.

"Sam came up to me earlier. Pete hit her again. Earlier he asked for a gun"

"You're concerned about Jessie?"

"It's Pete, I don't care much for him"

"Carl mentioned a run in he had with Pete and he thinks he might try to hurt Michonne"

"Things have gotten out of hand, you know what needs to be done" She gave him the smaller revolver in trade for his original pick.

"Just keep the act up. I'll confront Pete later after I talk to Deanna" She nodded her head. She hope Rick would finally get his priorities straight and cut things off with Jessie.

"And Michonne?"

"I got her. Just keep those guns, we might need em" He walked off the porch.

XXX

Daryl and Michonne were lying down in bed trying to wake up. Gathering some energy she finally got out of bed and took a shower. As Daryl freshened up he though about never being home during the day. Him and Aaron went out everyday to find people but always end up bringing no one back. He met her in the kitchen to have some cereal. He wanted to bring up the topic of her possibly staying home for a few hours but he couldn't get enough of seeing her smile. Suddenly there was a knock at the door.

"What's up Carl, I thought we were suppose to meet later on" She ate more of her cereal.

"I know, but this is important" She closed the door and sat on the porch with him. She offered him some of her cinnamon squares which he happily accepted. She waited for a couple of minutes to pass by before asking Carl a question that's been crossing her mind.

"Does Jessie live with you guys?"

"No, If she did I would of kicked her out myself and slam the door behind her. She just visits in the mornings for " She was relieved but at the same time pissed off. Not wanting to think about it anymore she changed the subject.

"You look like you haven't slept, what's going on?"

"Last night, i seen Pete peeking through your window. He said he was gonna hurt my dad but I think he's really after you. I'm just trying to look out for you"

"Listen, i appreciate what you're trying to do but I don't want you to lose sleep over this. I can handle this, just take care of Judith." He understood where she came from and how she could handle her own but he wasn't gonna let this situation go that easily.

"I will" He put his bowl down and gave her a quick hug.

"Carl, I'm not playing" He nodded and continued to walk.

Michonne got up and went back into the house. Her talk with Carl has her thinking about how she might have gotten comfortable too soon. She met Daryl back in the kitchen to talk. He explained how he overheard what Carl said and blamed himself because he hasn't been home lately. She knew both of them have been occupied with their jobs lately and couldn't deny they needed some alone time. She agreed to stay behind but wanted to talk to Glenn first to make sure they would be okay going without her.

"It's time to leave Daryl" Aaron said. Daryl went to the door but didn't open it.

"Tell Deanna I'm staying home"

"Alright but that'll be double shifts for tomorrow then"

"I don't care" He looked back at Michonne and smiled.

XXX

Later in the day Rick made the walk to Jessie's house. He noticed how everyone was just sitting around calm like everything was normal. After his conversation with Deanna he knew that Alexandria would soon fall apart. Jessie was caught off guard when Rick unexpectedly showed up.

"Rick"

"Just hear me out. Sam asked for a gun to protect you" She didn't know what to say.

"You can't keep ignoring this. He's hurting you. It's not gonna go away because you want it to that's how people die. You have to fight, now or never. I can help you and your kids stay safe, just say yes"

She admitted to herself that she desperately needed Rick's help to keep her and the kids safe, but at the same time felt conflicted about giving up on Pete.

"...Yes" She wiped her eyes, feeling a little more at ease.

" Would you do this for someone else?" She asked.

"Yes I would"

"What about me and you?" Before he could respond Pete entered the room and saw Jessie near Rick.

"What are you doing here? I'm gonna have to ask you to leave" He asked him. Rick glared at him.

"No... you need to leave" She said as he approached her.

"What did you say to me? What the hell have you been doing" He shouted.

"Pete we're gonna leave now" Rick said.

"You come into my house, try to put stuff into her head " Pete stepped closer to him.

"I advise you to step back" He said aggressively.

"You actually think you have a say in anything that goes on here" He paused for a second.

"I know what this is all about, you're mad because I'm spending time with Michonne. Man she has the most incredible body, I watch her work out almost everyday. You never did tell me she was flexible"

"What did you say?" Rick stepped closer.

"Woah officer, she's not your woman anymore considering you've been sleeping with my wife; Yeah I knew all about it. You left Michonne all alone and now she's friends with me. I listen to her, give her extra food, Whatever she needs I'll make sure I'm there since that's what a man does"

"Stay the hell away from her" He said.

"Early in the morning she'd cook you and the kids breakfast, help change the baby. Then you kiss each other goodbye. You would patrol the streets while she hung out with Maggie and the others. Late in the night after everyone's asleep you two would take a shower together, rubbing soap on her back, kissing her shoulder. Does that sound about right?" Rick was close to blacking out. Everything that's happened was hitting him all at once. He realized Pete's been spying on the group since they've been here.

"I see you couldn't handle a woman like her. That biker friend of yours doesn't know what he's doing. It'll only be a matter of time before I can show her how a real man can fuck, that's what you called right? A slut" Rick clenched his fist tighter.

"You and your group have been ruining our town" Pete walked over to the fireplace and starts talking to himself.

"He won't hurt you again, and I'll make sure of that"

He quickly swung his fist towards Rick, missing by an inch. He grabbed his hand and punched him in the face. Pete punched him with his free hand and pushed him against the wall.

"You can't have her" He shouted, smashing Rick's head into the wall. Rick kicked him in the knee and pushed him off. Pete landed another punch and ran to the door to grab a piece of glass from the broken frame. Rick quickly tackled him, causing both of them to crash through the door.

Carol heard the loud thud and quickly ran towards the scene, Sam immediately hid behind her. Pete had Rick on the ground and squeezed his throat tightly. From the corner of Rick's eye he saw Jessie try to pull him off. When he backhand her Rick punched him in the stomach and forced him onto the ground. His mind went numb as he continued to choke Pete. Everything that's happened up to this point hit him all at once, he failed his group and most importantly his family. A red ballon floating up in the air caught his attention. Things are going to change immediately, starting with himself. Suddenly he snapped back into reality.

"Rick stop" Deanna said.

"Go near Michonne or my son again and I'll kill you"

"Damn it Rick I said stop"

"Or what" He pulled out his gun from inside his jacket.

"Put the gun down" She said.

"You still don't understand. Everyone of you think you know what you're doing but you don't. You're way of doing things is done... Starting now we're gonna control who lives here"

"That's never been more clear to me than it is right now"

"You mean me?" He chuckled "Your way of doing things are gonna get people killed and destroy this place. You have to fight or else you will die. I'm not gonna stand by and let you ruin this place. I'm not gonna stand by-"

Out of the blue Michonne quickly punched Rick on the back of his head. Deanna took into account how many of his group members have taken control so far, she didn't want to accept that he could be right. Carol and a few other group members surrounded Rick's unconscious body, trying to figure out the next move.