This story takes place in season 6 around episode 5. It assumes that Daryl, Abraham, Sasha and Glenn all made it back to the ASZ.

Michonne needed to get out of the house to get some fresh air. The events of the past few days had taken a toll on her. All of her family was accounted for but she still felt a heaviness in her spirit. The walkers had been put down and their bodies sent to be burned. The community was focusing on treating the injured, burying their dead and refortifying the walls.

Lately, it's been hard always being the strong one as she was slowly feeling her spirit break. The katana on her back got a little heavier to carry as the days went by. As her mind raced with thoughts of the past few days, she could only think of him. The one person who could read her and see past her strength and tough exterior. He, along with his children, were the main reason why she got up every morning with fire in her bones determined to give them another day with a chance.

As she walked through the streets of the ASZ, she enjoyed feeling the night air on her skin. The moon light soothed her soul like the songs her mother used to sing to her and that she sung to her precious boy, Andre. She began to softly sing to herself a song that her mother taught her. As her mother would say, "an oldie but goodie".

He's the kind of guy that would say, "hey baby, let's get away.

Let's go somewhere huh? Where I don't care."

He's the kind of guy that you give your everything

Your trust, your heart, share all of your love

Till death do you part

As she sang this tune, her feet got a little lighter and a smile slowly spread on her face. A smile that held memories of her mother singing this song while in the arms of her father. She even did a little two step and added a twirl at the end. She continued singing.

I want to be what he wants

When he wants it and wherever he needs it

And when he's lonesome…

But before she could get out the next line, she saw the lights on in a garage and two people standing in front of each other. The man standing there leaned into the woman and kissed her with a passion that made Michonne angry but incredibly sad. Her daydream just turned into a nightmare. Feeling like her feet were stuck in quicksand, she tried to will herself to move. How could she feel this way, when he didn't belong to her? They lived together and raised his children together. She treated Carl and Judith like they were her own flesh. She loved them dearly and would gladly die for them, Rick included. She always thought that if they found a more secure and safe environment for themselves, she could reveal her feelings to Rick. Daryl knew how she felt and often times encouraged her to express her feelings to Rick. Daryl and Michonne became like brother and sister. She felt a closeness to him that resembled her own relationship, with her older brother Marlon. Yet even at Daryl's persistence for her to reveal her true feelings, she knew that she needed to be patient because in this world, this god forsaken land where the dead and the living were a constant threat, there wasn't really anytime for love or romance. They were always alert, always fighting, always surviving. She saw the possibilities in his eyes from the moment she saw him on the other side of that prison fence. Her mind, body and soul yearned for him as they went from adversaries to friends. Even when he forcefully grabbed her thigh where Merle shot her, she felt a surge go through her body like she was struck by lightning. Even though she told him to never touch her again, all she wanted since then is for him to touch her over and over again.

But in this moment, he was sharing his touch with Jessie. The married woman he pursued since they stepped foot in Alexandria. She saw the kiss he gave her at the welcoming party. At that time she chose to ignore it. She figured that he just saw something familiar in her. And after all, she wasn't his mother. Who was she to dictate to him how to live his life? As they say, hindsight is 20/20. In this moment, she wished she would have spoken up and pulled him back from the brink. His obsession led him to engage and enrage Jessie's now deceased husband. She had to knock his ass out after he was ranting and waving a gun in the streets of Alexandria. She never thought she would have to take that kind of action against him. But she did it for him. She wanted to save him and make sure that he lived to fight another day. It did no good because Pete was the ultimate douchebag in Alexandria. And even though Michonne had to knock Rick on his ass, that hit did nothing to stop him from obliging Deanna once she gave the word for Pete to be killed. And because of that, she kept her longing for him to herself.

As she stands in the shadows watching the love of her life, she blinks back a tear. Michonne can't believe that she just admitted that she loves this man. Quickly gathering herself, she wipes away the tear. The sadness is now being replaced by indifference. She refuses to let herself be overcome with anger because, what's the point? He made his choice and now she will make a choice for herself.

Michonne quickly leaves through the shadows, no longer feeling soothed by the moonlight. The night air has become stifling to her now. She quickly makes her way to Carol and Daryl's home. She knows there is a run scheduled tomorrow and it would do her good to stretch her legs and hopefully, her katana.

Michonne runs up the steps to their home and knocks on the door. She attempts to remove any trace of stress from her face. Carol and Daryl can tell the mood of a mosquito 50 yards away if they needed to. Carol opened the door and gladly greets her friend.

"Hey Carol. Is Daryl here?"

"Yeah, he's in. Have a seat. Everything ok?"

Michonne rolls her shoulders and says, "Yeah, I know they have a run scheduled tomorrow so I want to go. I've been cooped up in these walls too long and need to stretch my legs." She tries to mask her feelings with a laugh.

Carol smiles but eyes her friend with suspicion.

"Hey Chonne!" Daryl came stomping down the stairs.

"Hey Daryl! Um what time are you all leaving in the morning for that run?"

"'Round 10. Why? You wanna come? We haven't been on a run together in a while Chonne"

"Yeah that's why I came by. I want to go with you guys."

Daryl smiled, glad that his old run partner was coming along. They worked well together and respected each other. Daryl knew that Michonne could take care of herself and would always have his back.

"Alright! Just like old times! We plan to be out for 3 days tops."

"Ok great. Well I'll see you in the morning. Good night you two". Michonne turns to leave hoping that she didn't give away anything other than her want to go on a run.

When Michonne closed the door behind her, Daryl looked at Carol who was staring at the door.

"The hell is wrong with you?" Daryl asked while raising an eyebrow.

Carol's brows furrowed and she tilted her head to the side. "Michonne hasn't volunteered to go on a run since we've been here. She always stays behind to help Rick and the community or watch Carl and Judith."

"Yeah well maybe she just needs some fresh air. No big deal. We won't be gone long. Besides, I'd rather have her with us than any of these other yahoos who don't know what the hell they're doin' out there." Daryl said with a glare.

"Hmm. I guess." Carol replied not fully believing Daryl or Michonne's reasoning.

As Michonne walked home, or rather to the house she shared with Rick, Carl and Judith, she began to feel perturbed. She resolved that once she came back from this run, she was going to have a life. If Rick can pursue happiness and the comfort of the opposite sex, then so can she. It's not like the ASZ had a wide variety of eligible bachelors but there were one or two that she could see herself becoming cozy with. Spencer was cute but a ditz. Morgan had the whole "not killing" thing going on which bothered her some. As she tried to think of other single men, she became frustrated. No one else would do except for Rick.

Besides, Michonne had never been the kind of woman to get in between two people and their relationship. As long as Rick was happy, she was happy. If he liked it, then she loved it.

As she bound up the steps to their shared house, she felt a sense of relief. All she wanted to do was eat, take a shower and get to bed so she would be well rested for tomorrow.

She walked in the house and found Olivia sitting in the living room playing Uno with Carl. Judith was just saying "UNO" and throwing cards everywhere. Recognizing that she was entertaining her big brother and Olivia, she kept doing it. Michonne smiled and laughed at the sight. Judith instantly turned around hearing the familiar laugh and reached out for Michonne.

"Michonne you came just on time. Now I can beat Olivia without Judith screaming uno!" Carl said with a chuckle.

"In your dreams young man!" Olivia retorted.

Michonne came over and picked up Judith. She immediately went for a dreadlock. Besides her plastic cups, Michonne's hair was her other favorite toy. Michonne coo'ed at Judith and her heart sang. Carl and Judith really gave her a sense of peace on her life. No matter what was going on outside, she could look in their face and have a little hope.

"Michonne, I left you a plate in the oven. And soon as we finish the game, I can put Judith down. She's already had her bath." Olivia said.

"Thanks Olivia. You've done more than enough but I can put this little one down for bed."

Michonne grabbed the food out of the oven and noticed there was another plate in there also. She figured that was Rick's and he hasn't been home yet. Michonne sat down at the kitchen island on a barstool to eat while Judith laid on her chest. Michonne was finding that Judith was becoming more attached to her. But she didn't mind at all.

Carl and Olivia finally finished their game with Olivia delivering an onslaught of Draw 4's and reverse cards leaving Carl baffled. Olivia stood up triumphantly and declared herself the UNO Champion. Carl rolled his eyes and demanded a rematch.

Olivia laughed mockingly at his request, said goodnight and left.

Michonne looked at Carl with a smirk.

"Don't say it Michonne!" Michonne was trying to hold back a cackle.

"What?! I tried to tell you that Olivia was a beast with Uno but you didn't listen." Michonne said

"I think she cheated. She was hiding cards or something!" Carl exclaimed.

Michonne couldn't hold back the laughter anymore and proceeded to cackle at Carl's loss in Uno.

Carl gave her an unimpressed look which didn't last too long and he ended up laughing with her.

Their relationship was such a remarkable one. When Carl felt he lost everything, Michonne was there to bring him back. She didn't baby him or try to pacify him. She talked to him like she understood. And she always made herself available to him to vent, cry, or just talk. Even in the times where he wasn't able to communicate with his dad, Michonne was always there.

Michonne sat at the island trying to figure out how she was going to tell Carl that she was going on a run tomorrow. Tomorrow being Sunday, she knew he would be upset because that's the day they normally spend together as a family. Regardless, she needed to get away for a little bit. If she had to see Rick after his late night booty call, she was sure that she would do or say something she would regret. Even if she didn't say anything, the look on her face would be enough to make a grown man cry.

"Umm Carl…I'm going on the run tomorrow with Daryl." Michonne said quickly.

Carl stood and looked at her. She could already see that he was becoming annoyed. He didn't like her going on runs. It reminded him of being at the prison and she was constantly gone. But he knew that she always came back so that gave him a little bit of peace.

He sighed, "does dad know?"

Michonne tried to stop herself from rolling her eyes but she failed miserably. "I haven't seen him in order to tell him. Besides, I just talked with Daryl about it and he's cool with it."

Carl didn't miss that eye roll she did. At the mention of his dad, that eye roll signified that she was annoyed with him. He didn't want to speculate on what exactly, but he had a pretty good idea. He saw how she looked at his father. She looked at his father with respect, kindness and love. He's seen it since they went to King's County looking for additional weapons. Carl hoped that his father felt the same way about Michonne. Carl knew for a fact that Rick found Michonne attractive because of the way he would stare at her. Sometimes Rick was too obvious which was hilarious. But he hoped that his father would see how special she is and how she had become a mother figure to him and Judith. Carl loved Michonne not only as a friend but as a mother. But how could he get his father to see Michonne as something more than just a friend? They were finally in a somewhat secure place. No more sleeping on the ground or the floor of some dilapidated building. They had a home.

"I'll take Judith and put her down, are you going to be up for a while? You know I can always beat you in Uno since you won't be around to make pancakes tomorrow." Carl said with a smirk. He took Judith from Michonne's arms.

Michonne looked at Carl like he sprouted two heads. "Umm you don't want me to have to put a hurting on you. The last time you challenged me in Uno I beat you and you gave me the silent treatment. Annndddd we're not leaving until 10 so I can still make pancakes!"

"Whatever! You cheated that time!" Carl deadpanned.

Michonned just laughed. "Excuses, excuses! I beat you fair and square! Go to bed and I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight Michonne."

"Goodnight Carl. Nite nite Judy Pie." Judith giggled and clapped her hands.

As Carl carried Judith up the stairs, Michonne finished her dinner and cleaned up the kitchen. Michonne left Rick's plate in the oven just in case he came home later but she had a feeling he wouldn't.

Michonne went to the bathroom and turned the nozzle in the shower to get the water temperature just right. She took a minute to look at herself in the full length mirror in her room as she undressed. She had maintained her figure since the world went to hell in a handbasket even though her weight dropped some. She prided herself on maintaining a high level of physical fitness. She had always been told that she was exquisite and breathtakingly beautiful in the old world. Mike always told her how beautiful she was. And he would become extremely jealous if any other man showed her any attention. But these days, she only wanted the attention of him. As she looked in the mirror at her rich chocolate skin tone, the muscles in her arms, her firm stomach, thick thighs, long legs and well rounded posterior, she nodded in approval. She was a damn good looking woman.

Michonne went back to the bathroom and stepped in the shower. She let the water fall down on her and wash away the stress of the day. She closed her eyes and immediately the scene between Rick and Jessie flashed in her mind. That kiss. In that moment, all of her regrets slowly can flooding back over her like a storm surge. For so long she had been logical and tactical in making decisions that affected her and those she cared for. She was always the one to see all sides of a situation and make a carefully considered analysis to come to a resolution. That kiss. The only solution she could see was to let Rick be happy. That's all she wanted for him, his children, her extended family and herself. Michonne balled up her fist and hit the wall. And before she knew it, the tears gently fell from her eyes and mixed in with the water from the showerhead.

"I waited too long."

Chapter song: Daydreamin' by Aretha Franklin