Submitted by Anon via tumblr: Coming Home by Skylar Grey

Coming Home on YouTube: watch?v=IRCQKFIqNYQ

Word Count: 907

Wind whipped through the ghostly sheers as she sat on the floor beside the window intently looking out, awaiting his return. Ten more minutes. She'd give him ten more minutes before she'd weather the brewing storm outside and begin searching for him. He'd been gone almost five hours longer than she expected and worry began to form into knots in the pit of her stomach.

She never thought it would be like this. That after all that she'd been through with Andre and Mike, she'd be able to love like this again. The thought was staggering, confusing and here she was in the thick of it, head over heels in love with a man and worried about his safety. Rick going out on runs was nothing new. It was just the way things were now and she was okay with that. She easily accepted it, even contended that she should go in his place but for some reason he was adamant this time, insistent even, and she didn't know why which caused her much grief when he didn't return when he said he would.

A blurry figure from the woods emerged, deflecting her current thoughts to its presence. It had to be him. She needed it to be him. Tightly gripping the katana laced across her back, Michonne stood up from where she sat, sliding the sheer curtains aside to unobstruct her view. It was Rick, tattered and torn, bloodied and bruised stumbling from the thick mass of greenery.

"Rick," she gasped aloud as she burst forth through the door of their tiny home, studying his busted lip and the deep gash at his temple as she approached. "What happened?"

He grabbed and held her close, his bloodied lip resting on her bare shoulder.

"I barely got outta there," he mumbled into her skin.

"We were ambushed. Damn near fought off five guys. All I could think about was Carl and Judith and," he stopped, lifted his head and stared into her eyes. "And you. I just couldn't leave you."

"Let's get you cleaned up and then we can talk about it," Michonne whispered as not to allow her voice to break at the thought of Rick having to fight yet again just to live another day.

"Carl and Judith are with Glenn and Maggie," she called over her shoulder as she trudged towards the tub in the bathroom, drawing warm water for a bath.

Rick stood motionless in the doorway, staring at Michonne with sad eyes as she stood up and strolled towards him. Not a word was spoken as she aided him in the removal of his clothes. Not a word was spoken as she examined his bruised ribcage. Not a word was spoken as she lightly touched the peeling skin from his lip. The unspoken language between the two remained. He just stood there, studying her face when they happened to make eye contact and obliged as she motioned with her head for him to get in the tub.

His eyes narrowed in as she came to rest on her knees beside him. She soaked the towel and began to wash away the dirt and blood from around his busted lip before making her way to examine the deep gash at his temple. Pouring some peroxide on a cotton swab, she brought the solution to his head and immediately began to blow to cushion the sting as she applied it to the wound. Rick winced but stayed still as the burn seemed to overwhelm his torn flesh.

After the long silence Rick finally spoke, "Why'd you have your sword?"

"I was gonna go look for you," Michonne answered quickly, soaking the dirty towel in the water, washing it of its contents.

"I'm glad you didn't," he whispered back. "I can't afford for something to happen to you."

"Like I can afford something to happen to you," she rebutted. "Don't put less value on yourself. We're in this together s-"

"But I can't let Carl lose like that again," Rick started to protest, his voice raised ever so slightly.

"And he needs you. Judy needs you," Michonne cut Rick off. "Just as much as I need you."

She scoffed and a small laugh escaped her lips. She shook her head and threw the towel in the water. "Look, Carl, Judy, you… you're all I've got. And that's always going to be worth searching and fighting for. Not this house. Not ASZ. But you all. You're my home. You're my family and I will always come back to you. I will always look for you. No matter what."

A heavy sigh escaped as she wiped her eyes clean of the fresh forming tears. She moved to get up from where she sat when Rick gripped her wrist with his wet hand.

"I'll always come back to you too," he admitted before releasing her and placing his hand behind her head, bringing her face towards his. He rested his forehead to hers for a long while as she submitted, accepted his truce. He pulled away slowly, placed a kiss on her forehead and released her to do what she needed to do.

She went to the medicine cabinet to grab a needle and thread to stitch up his head wound and a small smile appeared before her in the bathroom mirror. It was a smile of peace, joy and relief. He was home and so was she.

A/N: Anon, I hope I have the right version of this song for you. It's very beautiful and I hope you enjoy the ficlet.