AN: Gotta love the review I woke up to..."I was all set to like your stuff until I found out from Richonne fandom what racist scum you are." Thank you for proving my point that (most) Richonners can't think for themselves.

Rick tried to hold on to his emotions. His hands were shaking, still smeared with Michonne's blood.

"I didn't know." He whispered, his voice cracking.

"I know, baby. You thought they would help. Nobody could have known."

He sat back, the back of his head hitting the wall of the bedroom.

Lori's voice was comforting. After everything they've gone through, and how he treated her, she was always there when he needed her.

"Don't go banging you head." She said firmly.

He smiled tightly before adding, "Michonne and I. We got a ton of guns. Maybe we shoulda just come back here."

"I know. You had no idea."

"Me and Michonne…we're together."

"I know, baby." She said, happiness in her voice. "You deserve to be happy."

"I shoulda known. Looking back, they threw me into a pit to fight that walker with the spikes. I shoulda known then."

Silence blanketed the room. Rick adjusted his legs. Sitting on the floor was calming, going back to how it was when he was a child and he had to hide from his father's rages.

The sunset was turning the room from a soft, amber light to cold darkness.

Visions of all the events from the past two weeks clouded his memories. Abe and Glenn. Spencer. Olivia.

The time he spent with Negan.

"I don't know what to do." He said, his voice breaking as tears slid down his face.

"Baby, listen. You'll be fine. Everything will be fine. Michonne just needs rest, but I'm sure she'll be okay. She's so good with the kids. Seeing her with Judith…the way she holds her. She's a natural."

Rick let the words sink in. Getting Lori's approval to be with Michonne was comforting. The woman he loved since he was a teenager was giving her support for him to share their children and his life with another woman.

"I love you, Lori."

"I love you too, baby." She said, softly.

He sat quietly, his emotions finally calming.

He was startled when Carl suddenly knocked on the bedroom door, telling him Michonne was awake.

"Seems like you gotta go." His wife said.

"Okay. I love you." He repeated.

"I love you too, baby."

"Bye."

"Goodnight, love."

He slowly put the handset back in its cradle of the old-fashioned telephone before pushing the it back under the bed.

Rick stood and went to the bathroom to rinse the blood off his hands before leaving the room, heading to the infirmary.

...

AN - My apologies to those who took this story as offensive, racist, out of character for all those involved or if anyone thought this one-shot was anti-Michonne/Richonne.

The premise was, what I thought, easy - after the events of episode 716, he was on the "magic telephone" with Lori again. In his mind, she was giving him what he thought was her blessing to move on and "share their children and his life with another woman" and to hear her voice again after being betrayed by the garbage pail kids and being shot in the side. Keep in mind - this is only 2 weeks (or so) after Abe and Glenn were killed, and Rick was just a little crazy.

Basically, Rick was on the phone with Lori, who is still dead and gone, just as he was in the prison. Just a little bit of a comic book reference.

This story seemed to have pushed buttons. (RIP the horse, you will be missed.) If someone could, please show me where I wrote anything as racist or OOC I'd appreciate it.

To sum it up:

Richonne is still an item

Rick was "on the phone" with Lori...who is still dead

Rick blamed himself for placing so much trust in the trash kids

Rick still loves Lori, but has moved on with Michonne

Thanks to one of my reviewers, it has been 200 years since Jim Crow, in case anyone was interested. And this story is anti-woman.