Part 1

Santiago's lips mashed against Michonne's as his hands stroked the smooth skin of her belly just above the waistband of her jeans. The two had been talking and indulging in a bit of cuddling on his couch after their lunch date, and as the kiss deepened, she sensed that matters were quickly progressing. When his hand dipped a little lower, just inside the gap between her stomach and her jeans, she pulled away.

"I'm sorry, Ti, but I really have to go," Michonne said, glancing at the clock above the fireplace. "I'm going to be late as it is if I don't hurry."

A mischievous grin on his face, Santiago replied, "Skip it. Just this once. I'll make it worth your while."

That's one of the reasons I need to get out of here, Michonne thought, but she said, "No, you know how important his training is. It's been nearly six months, and he's really started showing some improvement. He has to practice every day. Now is not the time to get lazy."

"So let Rick do it. Carl is his kid, anyways, not yours," Santiago grumbled, pouting slightly.

She was quiet for a moment before pointing out, "He's as good as mine, Ti. I love him like my own."

"Michonne, I didn't mean —", Santiago said quickly.

"Besides," she interrupted, "Rick does do it. He trains him with guns one day, Morgan's on the bo staff the next day, and I teach him melee weapons and hand-to-hand combat the third day." Michonne sighed and stood up, straightening her clothes. "We all have our jobs to do." She walked towards the front door on the other side of the living, but Santiago remained on the couch, his foul mood evident from the stormy look on his face. "You could help, Ti," she offered. "You know a hell of a lot from your Army days. Semi-automatics, grenades... You could teach him."

Picking up their lunch dishes and heading into the kitchen, he said shortly, "I've got better things to do."

Michonne rolled her eyes and closed the front door behind her. Not the best ending to a date, she surmised grimly as she jogged towards the Grimes' house. She knew Carl would be waiting for her in the backyard.

Part 2

"Fuck that shit," Carl growled as he and Michonne entered the kitchen through the back door. He slammed it behind him as hard as he could. The noise didn't even make Judith jump as she sat in her high chair, munching away at some apple slices. She had become accustomed to such loud, sudden sounds over the last few months. At the stove, Rick stirred the meat he was cooking and waited patiently to find out what was the problem now. He, too, had become accustomed to Carl's outbursts.

"Don't pander to me like a motherfucking child," Carl continued, adjusting the bandana that wrapped around one side of his head.

"I was serious," Michonne responded calmly. "I said you did a good job in training today, and I meant it. You've come a long way, and you've learned to protect your blind side almost as well as the other one. I didn't touch you once while we were sparring."

Carl's one good eye glared ferociously at her. "That's because you didn't want to. You were taking it easy on me," he spat. "You could have loped my head off any time you wanted."

She was unmoved by his accusation. She simply raised an eyebrow and noted, "I've always been able to kick your ass, Carl. Do you really expect to beat me?"

The question hung in the air for a moment before the tension melted away. Carl hung his head sheepishly and grinned. "Nah... not yet," he emphasized impishly.

"That's right. And I'll kick it again the next time you accuse me of going easy on you," Michonne teased. "Now, get up to the shower. You smell terrible."

As Carl kicked off his shoes and trudged up the stairs, Michonne walked over to Judith. She kissed the toddler on her ginger head, then greeted Rick at the stove by pressing her lips to his cheek. His eyes widened in surprise.

"What was that for?" Rick asked, a smile tugging at his lips.

"For putting up with that day in and day out," Michonne nodded toward the ceiling, from which the sound of the upstairs shower turning on emanated. "He knows all the right buttons to push, and some days, it's like all he wants to do is push them."

"Yeah," Rick agreed quietly as he stirred the meat on the stovetop. "I'm sorry he was so rough on you today."

"Hey," Michonne lightly grabbed his chin and directed his gaze toward her. "Don't say that. Don't apologize. You know I'm right where I want to be, doing what I want to do. You and Carl are the two most important men in the world to me. There's nothing else I'd rather be doing."

The two most important men... Rick repeated in his head. He could have kissed her for saying that. As she stood next to him, her skin glowing in the late afternoon sunlight streaming in through the window, her eyes on his, he thought of how natural it would be to lean over and give her a little kiss on the lips. How right. He knew that she wanted him, perhaps even as much as he wanted her. He'd known for a while, having realized it not long after Carl was injured. She was his best friend, and they'd been through hell together since the accident.

Well, we all call it that, Rick thought grimly, but we know it was no accident. He lowered his head back to the pot on the stove before him, and just like that, the moment was gone. Michonne walked towards Judith, and Rick pretended to be engrossed in making dinner. He hated to withhold anything from Michonne that she wanted. Not that she had ever said that she wanted it, not in so many words. But from the glances, the softness in the tone of her voice when she spoke to him, the way they held each other in the roughest portions of Carl's recovery, Rick knew. I won't allow it, Rick lectured himself for the thousandth time. She deserves better than me. Better than an adulterer. Better than a man who's so engrossed in a woman he has no business being with that he nearly gets his own kid killed. He was thankful, though, that she had decided to stick around, even when everyone else had moved out and gotten houses of their own, to help with Carl's recovery and all the other responsibilities a single dad has to carry. They managed the Alexandria Safe Zone together, and it was easy to conduct business and maintain order when they were nearly always available to one another. They had worked so well together rebuilding the community after the herd attack, some people around town joked that they might as well be one person. Rick didn't want to think about her being anywhere else besides close to him. Despite his resolve to keep Michonne free from romantic entanglements with himself, he had still been somewhat unprepared when Santiago asked her out a month ago. Rick hated any idea of her with someone else, but he knew he had to be fair and hold his tongue. He couldn't simultaneously hold on to her and let her be free. If he wasn't going to make a move, Rick reasoned, it only made sense that some other guy would, sooner or later, and he forced himself to behave reasonably.

Michonne grabbed a few board books off the shelves in the hallway, picked Judy up from her high chair, and settled her on the kitchen floor with the books. The toddler happily flipped through her favorite book, pointing at the pictures while she babbled away, as Michonne rejoined Rick at the stove. "So, what smells so good?" she asked. "Mmm... spaghetti?"

"That's right," Rick affirmed with a smile. It was one of the few dishes he knew how to make well. After the walls had been repaired and order returned, Daryl had taught a few of the Alexandrians how to hunt, and there was now a steady supply of meat to the Safe Zone. Olivia, the community pantry manager, had turned the wild boar into some amazing sausage, and the savory smell of the meat cooking now filled the Grimes' kitchen.

Carl tramped down the stairs, his hair still damp from the shower. He gently picked up his little sister and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Judith jabbered at him and yanked on his hair, and Carl laughed. She was the only one in the entire world with whom he was always tender, patient, and loving. Everyone else was a target for his scorn and foul language, but he loved Judith unconditionally. "Dad, I'm taking Judy and going over to Daryl and Carol's," he said matter-of-factly.

Seemingly out of the blue, Daryl and Carol had announced one day four months ago that they would be getting married the very next week. When someone had objected that they hadn't even been dating, Daryl had shrugged, and Carol had said, "It didn't really feel necessary." Father Gabriel had presided over the ceremony, Carol had worn a simple but lovely white dress, and even Daryl had cleaned up shockingly well. Michonne smiled now at the words, "Daryl and Carol's." Her heart warmed at the thought of her friends happy and settled down with one another.

"Oh?" was all Rick's reply.

"Yeah... Daryl's still teaching me how to fix the engine of that car. And Carol said it's been way too long since she had some time with Judy. We're gonna eat dinner there." It was a statement, not a question, and Carl headed straight for the front door, Judith in his arms.

Rick sighed. "Looks like I'm eating this alone tonight."

"What about me?" Michonne teased, bumping him lightly with her shoulder.

"Oh, yeah? I figured you'd be having dinner with Santiago," Rick replied, a slight sneer in his voice at her boyfriend's name. He always said it that way, as if he were incapable of pronouncing the man's name with any real respect.

Michonne shook her head at his attitude but chose not to address it. "No, we had lunch together already. Besides," she grinned. "You wouldn't really expect me to miss your spaghetti, would you? I'm going to grab a shower, too."

Rick watched her walk away, admiring the fluid motion her body made with every step. Indulging in a few thoughts of Michonne in the shower, Rick attended to the sauce again.

Part 3

Michonne had only been upstairs for a couple of minutes when there came a loud knock on the front door. Setting down his wooden spoon, Rick strode into the other room to answer it. When he swung the door open, he saw Santiago standing on the other side.

"Yes?" Rick said shortly. What is he doing here? She said she just saw him earlier today, Rick grumbled inwardly.

"Is Michonne home?" the other man asked just as shortly.

Rick opened the door and allowed Santiago to step inside. Michonne's boyfriend was no taller than him, but he was broader and more powerfully built. His biceps were easily the size of Rick's thighs. Sure, Rick thought snidely, if I had all that time to lift weights in that stupid home gym he's always bragging about, I'd look like that, too. If I didn't have an entire community to run, and if I were childless. If all I had to do was take care of myself.

"She's upstairs in the shower. You can wait for her down here." It was more of a command than an offer. Rick gestured toward the couch.

"Thanks, but I'll wait for her up in her room," Santiago replied, his eyebrows slightly raised as if daring Rick to object. He turned on his heel and headed up the stairs.

Sighing irritably, Rick returned to the kitchen and added the last ingredients to his sauce. He stirred, turned the heat down on low, and covered the pot. Now the sauce could simmer until it was ready. He turned toward the kitchen table where plans for adding new watchtowers around the perimeter of Alexandria were laid. He had just focused on details for the southwest tower when the sound of a conversation issued from the baby monitor on the kitchen island.

"Ti, what are you doing here?" came Michonne's voice. Rick groaned when he realized the other half of the monitor was still in her room. Judith often had trouble sleeping, but she seemed to rest well with Michonne, so the toddler often slept in her room. The camera of the monitor was pointed toward the inside of the playpen where Judith had slept, so Rick couldn't see Michonne and Santiago, but he could hear every word they were saying.

"Oh, mamacita, look at you! Come here, let me help you get that towel off!" Santiago was saying. Rick ground his teeth and walked toward the monitor to silence it. The last thing he wanted to hear was Michonne having sex with someone else. But he stopped in his tracks when he heard her response.

"No, I'm not ready for that. You can't just show up in my bedroom and expect me to —"

"Baby, I'll make it good, I promise. How long has it been for you? It's been way too damn long for me. Just let me show you. Now, c'mere."

"No," Michonne insisted firmly. There was a noise of drawers opening and closing. "I'm just... I'm not ready. You need to respect that. Now, I'm going to go get dressed. You can wait here, if you want, but we're not having sex, Ti."

Rick heard her close the bathroom door, and her bed squeaked. Santiago must have sat down on it to wait. The frustrated boyfriend grumbled, "The hottest woman in Alexandria is with me, or supposed to be, anyways, and a man still can't get some pussy. Goddamn it."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Rick debated with himself whether to turn the device off or leave it on. He knew listening in would be violating Michonne's privacy, but he relished the opportunity to hear first-hand evidence of the condition of their relationship. The fact that they evidently hadn't yet become lovers was a source of great relief to him, as unreasonable as he knew that was. Rick had just decided to turn the monitor off when Santiago started talking again. Evidently, Michonne had returned from dressing in the bathroom. The words he heard next kept him standing next to the monitor, his finger hovering near the switch without touching it.

Part 4

"Why won't you sleep with me?" Santiago demanded without preamble as soon as she walked back into the room.

"You just show up unannounced in my room, and that's all you have to say?" Michonne asked, her expression incredulous.

Santiago sighed and shrugged his shoulders irritably. "I wanted to talk to you. Is that a crime? I notice you never invite me up here to your bed."

"Is that really all that's on your mind today?" Michonne deflected.

"It's not fair to me. You should at least give me a reason why besides just 'I'm not ready.' You kiss me, but you only let it go so far. Why?" Santiago gestured towards his well-muscled chest. "You don't think I'm attractive? You think it'd be terrible to wake up and look at me the next morning?"

She sighed and leaned against her dresser, crossing her arms in front of her. "It's not that, Ti. You're very handsome." I think you already knew that and just wanted to hear it, she thought.

"Then what? You're scared you'll get pregnant? We'll just go see Dr. Cloyd, she'll take care of us, no problem."

"I'm a grown woman. I know a thing or two about birth control."

"I know what it is." Santiago's expression darkened.

Here it comes. "What?"

"You want Rick Grimes to pop your cherry, yeah?" A challenging look gleamed in Santiago's eyes.

Michonne drew in a deep breath and stood up tall. "First of all, do you really think I'm a virgin?"

He shrugged sullenly and wrinkled his nose in a dissatisfied expression. "Maybe. You act like one of the sisters from the convent."

"I'm no virgin, Santiago, and I'm no nun. I've had several lovers."

"Sure, and you want your next one to be that vaquero downstairs."

She drew in a breath to calm herself. Patiently, she said in a more gentle tone, "I get that you're angry and jealous. But you shouldn't make baseless accusations. There's nothing going on between Rick and me, not like that. I'm your girlfriend, aren't I? I wouldn't cheat on you."

"Yeah?" Santiago said challengingly. "I don't know that. Maybe you don't want me because you already get plenty of dick right here at home."

Michonne felt her patience dissipate at the challenge to her honor. Her eyes reflected her anger. "First I'm a nun, now I'm a whore? If this is really what you think, you don't know me at all, Santiago."

Shaking his head irritably, he insisted, "It's not right that you live with him. If he was gay, sure. But it's not proper for you to share a home with a man in this way."

"We're going to discuss this again?"

"I know I said I would drop it, but I can't. It eats away at me. Why should you be here with him?"

"I've already explained —"

"Yeah, he's your friend, he needs your help. But he doesn't need you to be his live-in servant!"

"I am no servant! I do as I choose!"

"So you choose to be here?" Santiago demanded, his eyes flashing.

"Rick took me in when he had no good reason to do so, and he's been a friend to me every moment after that. I've lived with him since... since I came back to my senses," she struggled to explain it to him. There was so much about herself that he didn't know, that she had chosen not to share. How could she expect him to really understand? "This is my home, Santiago. It doesn't feel right to me to leave."

"Move in with me," Santiago pleaded. Michonne's eyes widened at this because they had never discussed such a possibility before, but he plowed ahead. "You can still help with his kids. Train Carl, watch the baby, whatever you want. We'll be friends with Rick. We'll have him over for dinner every damn night of the week, if you want. Please, just come with me."

She looked deeply into his hopeful eyes and realized she could do this. She could walk away from Rick and build a life for herself elsewhere, with someone else. Rick would act as if he were understanding, of course. He wouldn't try to keep her from going. And for a while, they would probably stay close friends. But the sadness in Rick's eyes would grow deeper, and he would pull away from her to protect himself. Already, he was careful what he said around her about Santiago so as not to offend her. His guardedness only disturbed her, however, for he had never kept his opinion to himself before, not with her. As she silently stood there, gazing at the attractive man before her, she asked herself what she really wanted her future to look like. Santiago wasn't going to be satisfied with afternoon dalliances on his couch, and she had a decision to make.

"No," she said softly. "This is where I belong."

Santiago's eyes suddenly flashed with anger. "Then you leave me no choice. Him or me," he demanded, pointing to his chest with his thumb.

Lifting her chin defiantly, she replied, "An ultimatum? You sure you want to make that play?"

"Him or me?" he repeated emphatically.

Part 5

"Him."

Rick nearly fell over when Michonne's one-word reply came through the baby monitor's speakers. A moment later, her bedroom door slammed so hard he could hear it clearly in the kitchen without any help of the device. As Santiago's heavy steps came thundering down the stairs, Rick quickly flipped the off switch.

Santiago stormed into the kitchen and got up in Rick's face. "Why don't you grow a pair, huh? Treat her like a woman and not like your damn niñera!"

"You wanna step back?" Rick returned icily. His opponent, as he saw him, was already clearly defeated, and Michonne would probably rather he not break his face right after she broke his heart.

The other man only snarled in response and stomped out the front door.

After waiting a few moments to steady his breathing, Rick turned off the heat under the food and headed upstairs to Michonne's bedroom. He knocked on the door that Santiago had slammed shut, and waited for her muffled consent to enter. Gently, Rick swung the door on its hinges to reveal Michonne sitting on the edge of her bed, her elbows on her knees and her chin resting on her clasped hands. She looked deep in thought.

"So, uh," Rick began, trying to sound casual. "Santiago just left. He seemed pretty pissed. Everything okay?"

"No. Yes. I don't know. I..." Michonne's voice trailed off as her gaze met Rick's. She cleared her throat and said more strongly, "I broke up with him."

Rick tried to inject the right amount of surprise into his expression. He walked over to her bed and sat down next to her. "Wow, that's... what happened?"

She was silent for a long moment. "He tried to make me choose between him and you."

She stood and faced Rick as he sat on her bed. All of a sudden, she placed both hands on his shoulders and shoved him hard so that he landed on his back on the mattress. Sliding one knee into the gap between his legs, she leaned over him, supporting herself on her arms, and moved her face in close to his. She looked deeply into his wide, surprised eyes and stopped her face only millimeters from his. In fact, she was so close he could feel her lips barely brushing against his.

"I chose you," she whispered.

To be continued...