Then – Age 10
Girls were annoying. Talking all the time, always raising their hands in class to show off how smart they were and never wanting to bait the hook when they fished.
His mom would have accused him of 'generalizing' and 'stereotyping' and then he would reply that he was just speaking the truth. As a boy entering fifth grade in just a couple of months, he knew enough about the world to know that girls...were...annoying.
And now he had to meet yet another one. And to make it worse, she was his absolute closest neighbor. Just a 'stone's throw into a bucket' as his granddaddy always said. Closer than his best friend Shane and way closer than Nick or Bobby John and miles closer than the only girl on his approved list, Lori Phillips.
And the only reason she was approved was because Mr. Phillips owned the drugstore in town and gave him free pixie sticks when he stopped by on his way from school to visit his dad at the police station.
His mom would have made that clucking noise with her tongue if he told her that and said friendships need to be earned not bought but he was only ten and didn't know much about earning yet.
Well, that's what he'd say anyway.
As his Dad rang the doorbell, Rick pulled the scratchy collar of his brand new golf shirt away from his neck and moved restlessly from foot to foot, his 'church sneakers' feeling tight around his feet.
"Stop fidgeting Rick. This is the first time you're meeting the Payton's and first impressions are lasting impressions."
Stopping a huge eye roll just in the nick of time, Rick stood tall and still with a small smile on his face as the door opened and Mrs. Payton greeted them with a friendly grin.
"Welcome, Grimes family, welcome!" she said in a musical accent that he'd never heard from a real person before, just on TV or in the movies. His mom said Mrs. Payton was born and raised in Jamaica and moved to America after going to college here.
As he followed his parents and their new neighbor through the house to the back patio, he could hear music playing through speakers and the loud voice of Old Mr. Harris going on about the bad season the Braves were having. He sure did love to complain about baseball.
Just as they neared the glass door leading to the back, Mr. Payton, a tall man with a shaved head, entered and smiled when he saw them, shaking his parents' hands. "Hey there! Nice to see you again. And you must be Rick, right?" At Rick's nod, Mr. Payton replied, "Well, nice to meet you Rick. Our daughter is around here somewhere so I'm sure you'll meet her soon."
Rick bit back a groan.
Mrs. Payton waved them through the door with a smile and they spent the next few minutes greeting their neighbors. Rick looked around but didn't see Shane or any of the other kids who lived nearby.
Looks like he'd have to deal with the new girl on his own.
As his parents walked over to chat with one of his dad's deputies, Rick sat down at a nearby table and helped himself to a handful of potato chips. With his mouth full, he looked out onto the large backyard, trying to think of excuses to leave before it was too late.
"Hi, I'm Michonne. Are you my new neighbor?"
Darn it. It was too late.
Still crunching on his mouthful of chips, Rick could only nod and grunt 'mmhmm' in response.
Michonne, a tall skinny girl with big brown eyes and braided hair flashed a grin as she waved a hand in greeting.
"Nice to meet you, 'Mmmhmm'. You're the first kid I've met so far since we moved in so this is an exciting moment for me."
Rick's eyes widened briefly in surprise at how grown up Michonne talked but he shouldn't have been because his mom had told him that her dad was some super smart engineer who built buildings and bridges for the Defense department and her mom was a doctor. Not a medical doctor but a college doctor who knew a lot about books and writing.
Feeling the urge to catch up, Rick swallowed the remainder of his food, stood up and returned the wave. "Name's Rick. There are a few kids around but most of us just got back from overnight camp yesterday so that's probably why you haven't seen anyone."
Michonne nodded, "That's what my mama told me. She's always telling me to be patient but I wasn't born with a whole lot of patience and I think I've used most of it up since then so…." She finished with a shrug and another grin.
Rick shoved his hands into his khaki shorts and tried not to think about the fact that he was making 'small talk' with a girl.
"Well you live in King County now so you better hunt down some of that patience because everything moves slooowww down here."
When Michonne let out a giggle in response and gave him what looked to be an approving nod, Rick's cheeks grew warm. He shouldn't care about what this new girl thought of him but in the few seconds he had known her, she just gave off this feeling of having figured out a whole bunch of stuff already and that made her just a little bit interesting.
"I'll keep that in mind. Hey, do you want to see our basement? I set it all up before I even unpacked my bedroom stuff. My daddy told me I could use the finished part for my playroom. You wanna come see?"
With visions of dollhouses and coloring books littered about a big room dancing in his head, Rick bit back a groan and nodded as the good manners he was raised with took control.
Two minutes later, Rick's visions materialized in front of him as he surveyed the basement from the bottom step and saw the card table set up with painting and drawing supplies. Out of the corner of his eye, he then spotted a Barbie townhouse with a box overflowing with dolls stationed next to it.
It was like a bad car crash. He was frozen and couldn't take his eyes off of it.
"Rick, you okay?"
"Uh…I'm fine. So, um, what did you want to do?" Words spoken from a mouth reluctant to do anything but say bye and run home.
Turning his head from the doll corner, he saw Michonne on the other end of the room turning on the large television set. An older model but one suited to a basement rec room. Breathing a sigh of relief, Rick hurried over to the couch in front of the TV, figuring they'd watch a movie, which was way better than playing with dolls.
And then he saw it. Or should he say them.
Two PS2 controllers being placed on the table by what was suddenly the most awesome girl on the planet.
"My daddy doesn't let me have shooting games cuz I'm still a kid but I have Harry Potter and NBA2k. You wanna play?"
Rick could only nod and smile as he took the controller from Michonne.
And as Michonne started up the game, she looked at him out of the corner of her eye and said with a small smile, "The art supplies are for me to keep my drawing skills up because all of the best engineers draw really well and the dolls are for when my little cousins come to visit. So don't worry, I won't force you to do that stuff."
Rick's cheeks pinkened with embarrassment over being caught making judgments but he recovered quickly and returned her smile as he fingers manipulated his controller with lightning speed.
"Nah, as long as I get to drive the Barbie corvette, we're good."
After a surprised snort of laughter, fingers moving her controller just as quickly, Michonne responded with a grin. "I think we're gonna get along just fine Rick Grimes."
Rick just smiled.
The next day
Maybe this small town living won't be torture after all, Michonne thought as she walked across the street to Rick Grimes' house. She was excited to have a new friend living so close to her, especially at the very beginning of the summer! Rick hadn't left her side the whole night last night, even when other kids had joined them downstairs. He introduced her to all of them: Shane, a dark haired boy who liked to crack jokes and embarrass Rick; Lori a tall, pretty girl who had looked over at the box of Barbie dolls while the rest of them played video games; and Andrea, a blonde girl with a sassy mouth just like hers that she knew she would get along with.
All of the kids were cool but Rick was the coolest. Actually, he wasn't even cool but they got each other even after just one night and she knew she was going to have a fun summer. As she rounded the corner of his house into his backyard, her eyes immediately lifted to the super tall oak tree and what was nestled in between its branches fifteen feet off the ground.
A completely awesome tree house. At least ten feet by ten feet, well built and sturdy.
Returning Rick's wave, Michonne sprinted to the ladder and climbed up, excited to explore the inside and see the view.
As she entered through the doorway, she surveyed the inside and it lived up to everything she hoped it would. Solid wood with no gaps for wind to blow through, a high roof for good ventilation and three windows for a view from all angles. Running her hand appreciatively along the walls, Michonne nodded in approval.
"This is an awesome house. Your daddy built it?"
Tilting his head in curiosity as he watched Michonne inspect the club house as carefully as his dad's roofer friend did, Rick then stood a bit taller in response to the compliment.
"My dad and I built it with some help from my grandpa."
Well, a lot of help as his dad didn't have a whole lot of tools in the garage for this kind of stuff. But it had been a ton of fun to build and made last summer fly by.
Michonne's smile grew bigger as she saw the bean bag chairs in the corner next to a stack of comic books and two walkie talkies. What a cool place! If she were Rick, she'd live in here the whole summer. Walking over to the comics, she picked the first one up and almost squealed with excitement.
"You read Spiderman?"
Rick nodded. "I collect a lot of the Marvel characters. That stack is just the most recent stuff. I've got more in my room."
Michonne grinned as she dropped into the bean bag chair behind her. "I'll bring over some of mine tomorrow, okay? And we'll look and see what we each have and what we're missing?"
Rick dropped into the bean bag next to his brand new friend, officially the coolest girl he'd ever met and grabbed the next comic in the stack.
"Sounds like a plan."
Then - Age 12
She couldn't breathe. Her heart hurt and she couldn't breathe. Focusing on the Tennessee Titans poster nailed to the wall a few feet away from her spot on the fort's floor, she cleared her mind until her breaths came back and she no longer felt like she was going to pass out.
On her run from her house to Rick's, Michonne had passed the flowers her mother had planted this spring. Flowers that were brightly colored and as tropical as her mama could grow in Georgia. Bright reds, purples and yellows, they grew straight and tall under the tender care of the woman who wanted to keep a bit of her homeland with her.
Those colors flashed in front of her as her eyes became cloudy with tears.
Would those flowers be here next summer? Or would they just leave an empty patch of dirt to remember them by?
Drawing her legs to her chest, Michonne closed her eyes tight against the tears and buried her face in her knees, resolving never to look at those flowers again.
After a few silent minutes, there was a quiet thump of footsteps on the ladder to the fort and then silence again as the person sat down on the floor next to her. Knowing who it was, Michonne kept her face buried, wanting to keep her tears to herself.
Another minute of quiet and then, "I'm sorry about your mama, Miche. I'm sorry she's so sick."
Sick.
Such a small word that could mean so much. It could mean a cold, a fever, a stomachache.
Or it could mean cancer. Terminal cancer.
With anger fueling her, Michonne picked up her head and turned to scowl at the best friend who only wanted to comfort her. But he didn't know she wouldn't be comforted today.
"She's gonna die Rick. Die. She's past sick. She was sick a month ago and now she's dying. Do you understand?"
Rick took in a shallow breath as his fingers twitched helplessly and his eyes moved over Michonne's damp face, ignoring her angry words and only seeing her sad eyes. He had run home from school today, worried when Michonne didn't meet him at the doors to walk with him like she normally did. As soon as he entered his house, he saw his mom wiping tears from her eyes and hugging his dad. And when she told him about Michonne's mama, he didn't stop to think, but ran to his fort, knowing that's where she would be.
Feeling completely helpless, Rick responded the only way he could, with complete honesty.
"I understand and I know you're upset and I know I can't do anything about it. I'm sorry. That's all I can say."
When Michonne swiped the tears off of her cheek and let out a shuddering exhale of breath, Rick cupped his hand over her shoulder and squeezed, wishing he could make her pain go away.
"You're not alone with this. You're never gonna be alone, never. I can't make your mama better but I'm here if you need to yell or cry or kick something okay?"
Michonne's mouth curved into the tiniest of smiles and Rick sat up just a little taller at the sight. Her face turned down towards her legs that now rested flat against the wooden floor, she slid him a sidelong glance. "Are you giving me permission to kick you G-man?"
Removing his hand to join his other in the air as a sign of surrender, Rick returned her smile with a small one of his own. "Anytime. Just not with those work boots you wear when you go with your Dad to his job okay?"
Michonne's anger at the world deflated as she fell back into the easiness and comfort that was their friendship. Nodding her agreement with his request, she leaned back against the fort wall and clasped her hands loosely on her lap.
"Sneakers only. I promise."
Then - Age 14
This was supposed to be the best summer of his life. The last summer of his childhood and the last summer before he entered high school. Long hot days at the lake fishing, swimming, canoeing. Just being carefree and milking every hour for all its worth.
But that was all gone. Ruined. Instead he had days filled with too many hours, too many minutes of gray and boredom and suffocating regularity ahead of him. He had no idea how he was going to get through it and already wanted the distraction of school to start up.
She was leaving. Moving away to the other side of the world, to Japan, so her dad could accept another job building bridges with the military.
It was a great opportunity and a fresh start, Mr. Payton had told his parents as he and Michonne had sat like statues on the Payton's couch.
He was going to take down the fort as soon as she left and use the wood for a bonfire. No he wasn't. He couldn't do that to their memories. He was better than that.
Picking up a large branch from the ground, he threw it as far as he could into the small lake near his house, channeling his anger into the physical activity.
The brand new cell phone chirped from his pocket, letting him know he had a text message. His parents and Michonne's dad had surprised them both with the phones, telling them that they would still be able to stay in touch even thousands mile apart.
He had almost thrown the phone against the wall in response as texting was NOT the same as spending every day together, studying together, watching football games together, teasing each other, making each other laugh...A second chirp from the phone interrupted Rick's pity party and he pulled it out with a sigh, flipping the phone open with a flick of his wrist.
What did that poor branch ever do to you?
Whipping his head around, Rick saw Michonne a few yards away, matching phone open in her hand, a small smile on her face.
This isn't her fault. None of this is her fault. Be a friend. As Rick set his head straight, he turned his back on Michonne and let his fingers fly over the keys as he responded the way he knew he should.
Wrong place at wrong time. Shit happens.
Rewarded with the sound of Michonne's soft chuckle, he had to only wait a few seconds before she drew up next to him, closing her phone and sticking it back into her pocket. After a few seconds of companionable silence, she broke it.
"We leave for the airport in an hour."
Worst sentence ever and one that was a punch to Rick's gut. But he ignored it for Michonne's sake.
"Yeah I know. Are you all packed up?"
Michonne was silent for a moment as she gazed out at the lake, her full lips pulled inward as if suppressing emotion and censoring several sentences until finally turning to him.
"We have one hour left until I move almost 7,000 miles away and I don't want to spend it making small talk okay?"
Rick swallowed past the lump that suddenly lodged itself in the middle of his throat and nodded, unable to speak as the realization he was about to lose his best friend settled in for the duration.
And for the next hour, as their time together went by too quickly, Rick and Michonne walked the nearby trails in the woods surrounding their neighborhood and reminisced about their firsts for everything. Their first meeting, their first classes together in middle school, their first fight, their first canoe trip across the lake without their parents.
So many firsts. And then a thousand shared memories after. Memories that would have to sustain them and their friendship for the duration of their high school years. Memories that both of them knew they would never give up to time or the distractions of everyday life.
Finally, as the time neared for Michonne to leave, they left the wooded trails behind and Rick walked her to the steps of her back porch, the lump that he had forgotten for fifty minutes lodged back in his throat. While he wasn't going to cry, he sure felt like he could.
He just didn't want Michonne's last impression of him to be of a teary eyed fool. She deserved better.
She didn't want to go. But she couldn't let her Dad go without her. She couldn't let him be alone as he needed her as much as she needed him. They had been a team ever since Mama died and she would support him the best way she could.
Even if she was leaving a big part of herself back here in Georgia. Back here in this quiet neighborhood filled with both the happiest and saddest memories of her life.
Back here where her best friend in the whole world, the friend that knew her better than she even knew herself lived.
Inhaling a deep, shaky breath, Michonne looked down at her hand as it dug into the pocket of her shorts and drew out her parting gift to Rick. Looking back up, her gaze took in her friend's serious face and she knew he was having a hard time thinking about goodbyes, just like her. She held out her hand and forced a smile.
"Here, I want you to have this."
Rick looked down at the strip of three small pictures that came from a photo booth they had gone into last year when Michonne went with him and his parents on a trip to the big mall in Atlanta.
As he looked at their grinning, laughing faces, he felt a bubble of emotion well up from his stomach and his hand started to shake. He stared at his happier self and his best friend's pretty, smiling face and knew what it was to be grown up. To no longer be a child.
Only grown-ups could feel this type of pain and he couldn't imagine a day when it would go away.
Knowing Michonne needed a response, Rick lifted his head and was surprised to see her through blurred vision then realized those damn tears had come out after all. Swiping a hand across them and clearing his throat, Rick met Michonne's gaze and saw her blinking through her own tears.
"Thanks Miche. I'll keep it safe, I promise."
With a smile that Rick knew was forced, Michonne gestured toward the strip in his hand, "Just as long as that safe place isn't in that desk drawer with those slides of frog parts, okay?"
A hoarse chuckle escaped as Rick carefully put the gift in his back pocket. Michonne loved to tease him about his obsession with biology and his attachment to his microscope just as much as he teased her about her math geek status and subscriptions to engineering journals.
"It'll be on the top of my dresser, far away from the slides."
And, as Michonne quietly nodded, her smile fading, Rick remembered his goodbye gift and pulled it out of his pocket, his face growing warm as he handed it over to her.
Michonne gasped as she looked down at the small gemstone dangling from a delicate gold chain.
Almandine Garnet. Discovered by her and Rick while they explored the countryside around her dad's worksite a couple of counties over. It had been their second summer as friends when they were both only eleven. It seemed like a hundred years ago yet she remembered each moment.
Her daddy had to supervise a bridge construction on a job an hour away and a bored Michonne and Rick begged him to let them tag along. After getting approval from her mama and Rick's parents, they hopped into the back of his truck and went off on their adventure.
It had been a perfect summer day with a sky so blue and bright it hurt your eyes if you looked at it too long. She remembered the excitement in Rick's eyes and knew it was mirrored in her own. They'd get to spend the whole day at the base of a mountain near a quarry and her daddy told them he'd give them tools to dig for treasure.
They had both been old enough to know they wouldn't find actual treasure but still looked forward to the hunt.
And for hours they dug and used their picks, blasted the portable radio they brought and then found a mother lode of industrial grade almandine garnet. Michonne remembered how she and Rick had jumped up and given each other high fives as they scraped the dirt and pebbles away from their find.
It had been a perfect summer day. Spent with each other.
And now she was being gifted with that memory on a chain she would wear around her neck and never take off.
Her eyes welling once again with tears, Michonne reached out with trembling fingers to take the necklace from Rick.
"My dad helped me cut off a small piece of the chunk I brought home from the quarry and then I put it through the rock polisher at school. It shined up really nice. Hope you like it." Rick's voice was gruff and as Michonne looked up, she saw that he had his hands deep in his pockets and was studying the sneaker he kicked the grass with.
"I love it. I love it times a million. Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Michonne tried to undo the clasp on the thin chain but her fingers were shaking so she handed it back to Rick. "Can you help me put it on? My fingers aren't working."
Michonne could have asked him for the world in that moment and Rick would have jumped to say yes. With a quick nod, he took the necklace and fumbled with the clasp for a minute as his own fingers weren't that steady and then finally he had it open. By then, Michonne had turned her back on him, her braids already pulled up in a ponytail, leaving her neck bare.
As Rick walked a step closer, their similar heights putting his nose practically nestled in her ponytail, he felt his heart start to race, a familiar feeling whenever he sat or stood too close to Michonne lately. It hadn't always been that way, but this past year his body had become very aware she was very much a girl and not just his best friend.
He had been terrified of this awareness in the beginning. Now he was just frustrated and confused as he knew the feelings wouldn't go away just because Michonne was moving across a continent and ocean for the next four years.
As Rick's arms rose over her head and he moved to stand right in back of her, Michonne swallowed hard as all of the emotions of the day and the past few months warred with the tickle of awareness that she had no idea what to do with and, as his fingers brushed against her shoulders and neck, she closed her eyes, mute with the sense of loss overwhelming her.
She was losing her friend and...more. Family? Definitely not brother. But definitely more than friend.
"There. All set."
Michonne turned around with a soft smile as she looked down at the red gem sparkling in the sun. And when she looked up with shining eyes and a quiet, 'Thank you,' Rick was almost undone.
"Michonne, sweetheart! Time to go!"
Rick's hands clenched inside his pockets as he watched Michonne turn her head toward the sound of her dad's booming voice. "Coming Daddy!"
And with those two words, it was time to say goodbye.
Forcing a bright smile, Michonne touched her necklace once more and said, "Don't forget to text, okay? Even when you're super busy with classes and sports and everything, remember your poor lonely friend in Japan, okay?"
Rick returned her smile with a crooked one of his one, willing to force a lightness he didn't feel just to keep her smiling.
"Poor lonely friend? No way. You're gonna have twenty friends your first month there, just you see. You'll be the one forgetting me."
And with that, Michonne's smile disappeared and her eyes became watery once again as she shook her head vehemently no. "I'll never forget you Rick Grimes. Not in a million years." Then at the sound of her dad's car horn honking, Michonne raised her hand in farewell, tears coming down uninhibited as she turned to go.
Rick stood still as a statue, knowing that if he said anything, he'd lose it, as his best friend left him. Just as Michonne reached the corner of her house, she stopped, turned around and ran back to him, throwing her arms around his neck for a fierce hug that he couldn't return fast enough.
With each of them whispering goodbye in the other's ear, Michonne left his embrace and ran towards the front of the house. Rick should have stayed where he was and let that last embrace be the memory of her he kept with him but instead he followed her at a dead run, turning the corner of the house just as she shut the passenger door. As he skidded to a halt on her front lawn, Rick raised his hand, not even caring if she saw his tears.
Michonne looked up, saw Rick waving at her and she placed her hand against the window, a small smile curving her lips.
And as the car drove down the street and around the bend, Rick knew his childhood went with it. The lightness, the laughter, the carefree days left with Michonne and he could only hope he'd get them back someday when she returned.
Now - King County, Georgia
It was all gone. Everything. His home. The school and town he'd grown up in. His friends.
His family.
Rubbing his hand across eyes gritty with no sleep, he crouched over the two hastily dug graves, his heart a heavy weight in his chest, its insistence on continuing to beat something he now resented.
Why should he live when they didn't? What was he supposed to do now? What was the point? The world had gone away so maybe he should just lie down on the ground next to his family and go away too.
He could hear the moans and knew they had seen him, smelled him. Knew that they were going to reach him in just a few short minutes. More angry than afraid, he stood slowly, his eyes remaining on the graves at his feet as he blocked out the sounds around him. Folding his hands at his waist as he'd been taught since he was old enough to walk, he recited old words that may have been as much for him as it was for those he had just lost.
"The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul."
A lifetime of memories flooded his mind, memories filled with laughter, comfort and family.
"He guides me in the path of righteousness for His name's sake."
Noisy dinners. Football games on the TV. The quiet of every Christmas morning before dawn broke.
"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, They comfort me."
Arms wrapping around his shoulders with nothing but love. Nothing but love.
"You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the Lord – forever."
And with those last words, he unclasped his hands and looked up as the moans were practically in his ear. Without thinking, and ignoring the heavy gun holstered at his hip, he unsheathed the long hunting knife and stabbed the two intruders between their eyes, not caring that their rotted blood sprayed onto his hands.
The instinct to live was still present after all and he decided to honor his dad's dying words.
He would survive. He would carry on as long as he could just like his dad asked him to.
He was supposed to start his freshman year at Emory University next week, his Dad was supposed to be preparing to be re-elected as King County's Sheriff and his Mom should have been celebrating twenty years of teaching high school Biology.
Those milestones were never going to happen as the world had other plans. He was going be the last of his family until Death decided to call on him as well.
And the way the world was now, that visit could come any damn day.
Now – Outside of Washington D.C.
The house and the land around it were still quiet after two days of surveillance from the cover of trees. No sign of people and no sign of them.
The dead. The monsters. The walking blight that had killed her world, erased her future and made her nothing more than her ability to survive another day.
She felt like a fading shadow of her former self. The girl who was loved and cared for, who had just graduated top of her high school class. The girl who had all the possibilities of the world in her grasp to do with what she chose.
And now? Now she was a functional mind and two legs to walk or run with and two hands to fight. She was alone and the only possibilities in sight were survival or death.
Happiness, hope and gratitude were quaint memories that filled her with resentment as she decapitated and stabbed the enemy around her. The enemy that had taken the remainder of her family from her so viciously.
There were days that she considered walking into the large river that she had led her to this place. Just walk in and never come out. But they were never more than fleeting thoughts because she was raised by two people who showed her that life was precious. That she was precious and had worth and was here for a reason.
So she carried on. She survived but could not conceive of a future beyond that.
As rage, grief and helplessness all battled for control of her heart, her mind relied on instinct and its innate ability to plan, to calculate and to build from chaos. There would be time to indulge her heart once she had seen her plan come to fruition.
Time to claim my new home was her last thought before grabbing her backpack and stepping out of the shadows into the light.
King County, Georgia
It was time to go. Time to leave the only home he'd ever known and time to leave his family behind as death closed in around him. As he slowly packed up the few belongings stored beneath his cot in the high school he had just graduated from two months ago, he considered which direction he would travel and how little that decision really mattered.
He threw his clothing into his backpack without a thought but as he picked up the remainder of what was left of his former life, the emotions he'd buried these past few weeks came bubbling to the surface.
His dad's watch. Given to him as an anniversary gift from the wife he adored until the end.
His mom's first edition of Darwin's book on evolution, gifted to him as a graduation gift.
His dad's service weapon, a heavy gun he had always coveted and now would wear holstered at his hip.
Taking a deep breath as he once again took control of his emotions, he zipped up his backpack but as he ran his hand along the outside of one of the smaller pockets, his heart raced as he remembered what was inside.
With hurried fingers, he unzipped the pocket and pulled out the gift from so long ago. Given to him when the world still existed and he thought the worst that could happen was the separation from a best friend.
Several minutes went by as he stared at that memento, as memories crashed over him, memories that made him smile so very briefly until grief took its firm hold once again as he realized he'd never have that reunion he'd craved for so long.
With a swipe across his eyes, he finally placed the reminder back into its pocket and threw the pack over his shoulders. As he walked towards the gym's exit, he said his goodbyes to the few remaining townspeople who were also packing up. Just as he approached the door, he stopped suddenly as one last memory played out before him. One last memory of an innocent time filled with adventure and laughter.
His eyes widened and his breathing came out in fast bursts.
It was a crazy idea. A dangerous and crazy idea.
But, what if?
A rusty bark of laughter escaped him as he repeated in a whisper to himself.
What if?
With renewed purpose, he ran outside towards the man packing his car, his wife and son already waiting inside.
"Mr. Jones?"
"Yeah, son?"
"Is your offer for a ride to North Carolina still good?"
"Of course. We'd love to have you. What changed your mind?"
He smiled. "I have a place to go to now."
Outside of Washington D.C.
One intruder. In the study directly above her head.
As she crept up the stairs from the basement, her hands raised to grip the sword slung on her back, preparing herself for a rare confrontation with the living after a month of only having the dead for company.
Opening the door silently on well oiled hinges, she stood still to listen and to determine where the intruder was now.
There! He was in the first floor bedroom, moving quietly and carefully but not quietly enough for someone who had lived alone with only the sounds of a 250 year old house to keep her entertained.
Removing her sword from its sheath, she moved quickly through the study toward the bedroom door.
No signs of life. There was a thick layer of dust on the old furniture and not one lamp, not one table had been moved. Suppressing the frustrated sigh from escaping his lips, he continued his examination of the old bedroom, impatient to discover something, anything to tell him his 600 mile trip hadn't been in vain.
Focusing on his fruitless search, he didn't hear the signs of life until it was too late. The moment he heard the creak of the floorboards behind him, he felt the cold prick of steel against the back of his neck, where a single thrust would impale his brain stem and drop him dead immediately.
"Hands in the air asshole. Now."
Three conclusions immediately raced through his head. Female. Young. Fearless.
Could it be her? He didn't recognize the voice right away but didn't expect to after so much time. If it wasn't her, was it someone he could reason with? Bargain with? Or were they too far gone?
Was it him? Why did she let herself have hope? Taller than her with broad shoulders and strong arms. Not medium height and slim. Disheveled, curly hair, not hair cut close to the head with military precision.
Dammit...she didn't know. So much time had passed. Could it be him?
She didn't have another second to debate as his raised hands shot down in a flash as he pivoted and turned to face her, holding a large revolver aimed between her eyes.
Head tilting to the side, he examined his foe closely, his breathing coming in fast bursts at first and then slowing as calm took over.
The lanky girl he remembered was now young woman with slim curves and lean, muscled arms that could hold a sword with confidence. And the braids were gone, replaced by dreadlocks.
But those eyes. Those big brown eyes were the same ones who had stared at him so sadly from the front seat of her father's car as it sped away all those years ago.
It was her. He had found her.
Her heart racing, she positioned her sword against his throat, prepared to defend herself. Prepared to make her first kill so she could continue to live.
And then she looked up from his throat to his mouth, his nose and then his blue eyes. Each feature was revealed in mere seconds but seemed to move in slow motion. Features as familiar to her as her own. The mouth that she had teased into laughter so many times, the nose that he had inherited from his father and distinguished him from boring handsomeness into something so much more interesting.
When she looked into his eyes, she saw them blur with emotion as she knew hers were.
She dropped her sword at the same time he holstered his gun and a second later strong arms wrapped around her as she buried her face into his neck with a sob.
"I found you Miche."
Another muffled cry and then...
"You found me, Rick. You found me."
Then - Age 13
"Okay, your turn, G-man. Ask away."
They had barely left their street behind on their walk to school and Michonne was already pressuring him to play their game. Jeez, didn't she ever want to just listen to the birds or look at clouds? It was always something with her and that big brain of hers.
Not that he really minded but he liked to pretend once in awhile that she didn't completely rule his world.
With a small smile at that thought, Rick looked up at the sky and scrunched his face like he always did when he tried to think of something clever when they played this one.
Oh here's a good one.
"What if the world ended and you were one of the last people on earth and you could live anywhere. Where would you live?"
Michonne came to a dead stop and pivoted to face her best friend, mouth agape and hand on her hip.
"Rick Grimes that is one dark question. Way too dark for a sunny June morning."
After stopping briefly beside her, Rick shrugged as he once again walked toward their middle school.
We've played this one so many times, I'm running out of ideas."
Sigh...Michonne stopped again, this time her eyes wide with surprise instead of her mouth.
Girls were so dramatic sometimes.
"Running out of ideas? How about 'What if Destiny's Child invited you to join them for their world tour as a stage hand but you had to repeat 7th grade?' 'What if Lori Phillips beat you in Math League?' 'What if...'
Rick's raised hand stopped Michonne mid-tirade as she raised an indignant brow.
One did not raise a hand to Michonne Payton without some level of risk to one's person but dammit, they had to get to homeroom on time.
"I concede to your far superior grasp of the 'What if' game. Now answer my question."
With a huff and an eye roll, Michonne thankfully started the walk towards school once again.
"Okay Goth boy, I'll answer your doom and gloom question, jeez." After a few moments of silent consideration, her lips curved into a sly smile as she slid her gaze toward him, not slowing her steps at all.
"There's really only one answer, of course."
Rick returned her gaze and smile, always enjoying her creative responses.
"And what's that?"
"Mt. Vernon."
"George Washington's home?"
A brisk nod and then, "Yup. Think about it. If you're end-of-worlding it, you have to go to our nation's capital because that's where all the important people live and if I'm one of the last people around? I'm pretty damn important."
Rick responded with a contemplative nod, enjoying how a silly game to pass the time opened the door to so many interesting discussions. "But why not the White House? Why Mt. Vernon?"
Michonne's smile was now joined with a twinkle in her eye which meant she had all the answers.
Michonne often wore a smile and a twinkling eye.
"Mt. Vernon has a great location right on the Potomac so I'd have a water supply and all those fancy rooms to sleep in. Not to mention I could visit the old Prez at his tomb now and then for company."
"Ew…now who's being dark?"
"Hush…and there are all those livestock animals just hanging out waiting to provide me with meals…"
"Talking to a dead president and butchering Bambi? The end of the world is revealing an interesting side to you."
Michonne rolled her eyes as they made the last turn towards school. "Says the boy who hunts Bambi's mom and dad and Thumper every fall…."
"Point well taken. Continue."
"In addition to all of those totally awesome, logical reasons to settle at Mt. Vernon, you know what the best one is?"
"If I did, I wouldn't be pretending to listen with baited breath."
Michonne let out a chuckle, always enjoying her friend's quick wit.
"Irony."
"Say what?"
Michonne stopped walking once again so she could finish her awesome answer with a proper flourish.
"Irony. A girl with a Jamaican mother and a father born and raised in the south side of Chicago becoming lady of the manor that had once relied on the backs of slaves? Sign me up for that job."
Stopping as well, Rick faced his friend with a grin, enjoying her cocky stance and smug expression. "You know what? I could totally see you doing exactly that. Mt. Vernon would never be the same."
And with a final grin, Michonne took off once again for their school. "You got that right. And all the wood from those slave cabins would keep me warm over winter."
Rick shook his head in amusement as he picked up his pace to keep up with Michonne.
"Well if it ever comes to that, I hope you'll have a guest room saved for me."
"It's the end of the world, G-man! You can have your pick of the rooms."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
A/N: I'm so happy to be sharing this story with you all as it's the one that dragged me out of my hiatus. While the focus will be on teenage Richonne, there will be occasional visits to their childhood to build up their history together. I've always loved the idea of them growing up as best friends and have finally found a vehicle with which to explore that idea.
While this is a very AU story, I just can't stay away from the apocalyptic setting. It's too great a backdrop for the Richonne love story!
Thank you all so much for checking my story out and I hope you come along for the ride because it's going to be a wild one.
Please leave a review and let me know what you think!