A/N: I've written this short prologue for those readers who have stuck with the fic The Way Forward. This explains how they got to the Settlement and how Rick and Michonne first started their sexual relationship. Can basically be read at any time while you're reading The Way Forward; or you don't have to read it at all (but there's early stages of Richonne in it, so my advice is to read it lol).

Planning on a three-part story and here's the first instalment; please let me know what you think. I hope you all like it!

The water from the creek felt cool as Michonne used both of her hands to scoop it up and splash it on her face. She then removed her headband and dipped it into the stream, pressing it against the skin on her neck and chest. She had lost count of the days, but it felt as though they had been walking for almost two weeks after their escape from Terminus. The rest of their group was resting a short distance away from where Michonne was; she was alone when she heard what sounded like a person stumbling and falling. She silently stood and reached for her sword when she heard a female voice call out.

"Hey! You there, come here. Please."

Michonne glanced in the direction of the voice and saw a young woman leaning against a tree. Her clothes were torn and she looked to have been beaten.

"There're dangerous people around here. You shouldn't be out here on your own," she said as Michonne stepped closer.

"What dangerous people?" Michonne asked.

"Look, I don't have much time. I've been bitten, but you have to listen to me. It's not safe around here. I'm from a camp not too far away from this place; we call it the Settlement. You go there, ask for John and the Council and tell them you met me. My name's Roberta. You warn them about the ones who took me."

"What are you talkin' about?" asked Michonne, overwhelmed by the information she was receiving. "Who took you?"

"There was a group of men, they killed the two guys who were with me on a run and then took me. They, they did things to me," she faltered slightly. "They were talkin' about takin' me back to their camp, then we were attacked and I was bitten. They just left me for dead. Please, you have to go back and tell my group what happened to me. Please. They'll offer you a place to stay. It's safe there. Please."

Michonne looked at the young woman and searched her eyes; she appeared to be telling the truth, and the bite mark was visible on her forearm. She thought quickly a moment before speaking.

"Listen, hold on a while; I'm with a group and we have a leader. I'll go get him, and you can explain everything to him."

Michonne said as she turned to head back to the group.

"You think it's worth checkin' out?" asked Rick as he and Michonne walked hastily in the direction of where she had left the young woman Roberta sitting.

"I don't know. She seemed genuine. And from what she said about some men takin' her, it's not safe for us to be wandering around here. We need somewhere to rest, even if it's for a little while."

Michonne offered contemplatively.

"We don't know if we can trust her," Rick said.

"I just don't think she'd be wasting her dying breath on tryin' to lure me off to be killed, Rick. She just wanted her people to know what happened to her," was Michonne's reply.

"Okay. Let's find out where this place is," said Rick as he glanced sideways at Michonne. "I trust your judgement.

Rick's group had been at the Settlement for almost two weeks; the information Roberta had given them was accurate. The place had been established as a refugee camp soon after the Turn and had a working system to keep law and order and an Advisory Council that dealt with the day-to-day running of the community. There was also strength in numbers and they took in survivors. The Council spoke to each adult member of the group individually, and when they were satisfied that their questions had been answered, they offered the group a few tents and showed them which areas of the grounds they could set up in.

"I can't wait for tomorrow," said an annoyed sounding Carl; he was laying in the tent the Council had given to Rick with Judith sleeping between him and Michonne.

The solar-powered camping lantern lighting the small space on that cool evening.

"Why's that?" Michonne asked sleepily.

"Well, Glenn, Tyreese and Daryl will be back from the run and hopefully there'll be a good haul so I can trade something for an extra tent," he explained.

"Oh, you don't like stayin' with your dad then?" she asked smiling.

"I just need some space, and with the four of us in this tent it ain't exactly spacious. Do you like it here with my Dad?" Carl queried, a teasing grin playing on his face.

"It's okay. Feel safer with your dad around and I like being near you kids. But I get what you're sayin', it's a little cramped and Rick's snoring is terrible!"

At this they both began to laugh quietly, so as not to disturb Judith.

"Do you like bein' near my Dad?" Carl asked, trying not to giggle further.

"Dude? For real? I see what you're doin'. You're teasin' me again!" Michonne said.

Carl chortled once more.

"Sorry. I can just tell he likes havin' you around. I'll shut up now, I can hear him comin' anyways."

Just then Rick unzipped the opening of the tent and peered inside.

"What's funny?" he asked, looking from Carl to Michonne as he removed his boots.

"Your snoring!" Carl offered. "It keeps Michonne up at night."

"Is that a fact?" asked Rick as he looked at her questioningly and continued in a flirtatious manner. "I keep you awake at night?"

Michonne did not miss the tone of his question and felt her face begin to grow warm.

"Yep, sometimes," was all she said before Rick smiled at her; after everything they had been through, he found her shyness to be surprising and endearing.

"Well, if it makes you feel better, I can't get much sleep next to you either," said Rick playfully.

"Well maybe we should do somethin' about it," Michonne said, before realizing how it sounded.

"Maybe we should," said a grinning Rick as he settled in beside her.

They shuffled closer together before Rick extinguished the light. He was faced towards Judith, but made sure his back was pressed firmly against Michonne's. Their proximity once again caused Michonne's face to burn. She did not think she could handle much more of this sleeping, or at least trying to sleep next to Rick Grimes. It was not that she did not want to be near him, it was that she was afraid of the feelings that his closeness stirred within her.

Michonne closed her eyes tightly and bid the boy and his father goodnight. She lay there in the dark thinking of what would happen if she and Rick were alone in the tent and then tried desperately to shake the thoughts from her mind. What she was unaware of was that Rick was thinking the exact same thing.

Carl approached the rations store the following morning while he was taking a break from his gardening duties. Their group had chosen work assignments and Carl followed his father. While Rick did not necessarily want to work the garden, he did have the experience. He had to at least be at the Settlement for a year before they would consider him to join their ranks of law keepers. His duties ensured that he could stay in the Settlement, so he did what he needed to do.

Carl knocked on the door of the rations store and was met by a young man, his name was Brett, if Carl remembered correctly.

"Hey, is Michonne here?" the boy asked, rearranging the strap of his bag as he waited.

"Sure, hold on," came the young man's reply.

Soon, Michonne popped her head outside to see what Carl wanted; she ushered him inside when she saw that he had come to trade.

"I've got three packets of batteries, a flashlight, some candy bars plus this bag. Is that enough for a tent?" he asked hopefully. Brett stood nearby pretending not to be listening to their conversation.

"I dunno, Carl. You might be comin' up a little short. What d'ya think, Brett?" she asked as she turned to her new friend.

"I only need a small tent for me, and maybe Judith. Please, tell him Michonne. The four of us are cramped in my Dad's tent," Carl said, speaking to Brett now.

"The four of you? You too, Michonne?" He asked curiously.

She nodded.

"It's just until I get the chance to go out on a run to get stuff to trade," she offered. "But I don't mind stayin' with Rick. We just don't have enough to trade with yet, but we're gonna head out tomorrow."

Brett looked perplexed, he had not realized Michonne was with Rick. Actually, he could have sworn they were not together. He had hoped she was single because he was interested in her; he had gone to some lengths to find out if she was single. That would change if she had to remain in the same sleeping arrangement with Rick Grimes, he was certain. He knew what men like Grimes were like; they always got what they wanted. Always got the girl; no, he could not have this.

"Okay, Carl, you've got a deal. I have two small tents left, how about you take one as well, Michonne?" Brett offered. "Can't have you all squashed up with Rick."

"I can't give you anything for it, Brett," she said.

"It's fine, really. Just bring what you wanna trade when you get back from your run," said Brett.

"You sure?" Michonne asked.

"Positive. It'll be fine," came his reply.

With that, Carl made his trade and took both his and Michonne's tents to where their group was camped before finding his father.

"I got a tent, Dad," said the boy as he walked up to Rick. "Well, we got two actually."

"Two?" asked Rick, not looking up from his task at hand. "I thought you only had enough stuff for maybe one? Did Michonne cut you a deal?"

"That's the thing; I barely had enough stuff for one tent. Then that Brett said I could just take it, and then he told Michonne she could take one too. She didn't even have anything to trade, he just said to trade later. I think he likes her," said Carl finally catching Rick's interest as he looked at his son.

"What do you mean likes her?" Rick asked, failing at being subtle; Carl noticed this before answering.

"Ya know, like he has a crush on her. Actually, makes sense now. No wonder he wanted her to have her own tent."

"Carl," Rick warned.

"Not like that, Dad. I mean, so she's not near you," the boy said quietly.

Rick sighed.

"What does it matter if I'm around?" Rick asked, finding himself becoming increasingly annoyed.

"Well, he won't try anything if you're there, ya know, 'cause you protect us," Carl reasoned as Rick just nodded; he remained quiet signalling to Carl that the conversation was over. Carl knew his father had a dislike of gossip so he said nothing further. The boy walked over to grab a gardening implement as Rick felt a slight headache setting in.

"Are we still gonna check that roadhouse?" Michonne asked as she and Rick drove up the gravel road on their way back to the Settlement.

"Yeah, can't hurt to have a look,' was his short answer.

Michonne noticed he had been quiet today, unlike other times they had gone on runs. She thought it might have had something to do with the fact that she had moved out of his tent the previous day. Rick genuinely like having her close, it seemed; she just did not think he would be upset with her for leaving. Or maybe it was because Carl had moved as well. She was not sure; either way, she did not like seeing Rick in a foul mood.

"I just wanna make sure I get enough stuff to pay off the tent. Candy bars, salt and pepper are always good. Sure there'll be some in here. Just don't like havin' the tent without trading for it," she said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, well you could've stayed with us longer. I don't mind," he offered sounding disappointed as they pulled up at the back of the roadhouse.

They glanced at each other a moment before he spoke again.

"Ready?"

Michonne nodded and they exited the vehicle. They gained entry though the back door, cleared the building, secured the front door and looked around; it appeared to be untouched, as if someone had locked up for the night and no one ever came back. The blinds were closed and everything was packed away. There were still containers full of salt, pepper and sugar on the tables. Michonne and Rick began filling their respective bags. They also grabbed coffee, napkins and cutlery before checking the kitchen area. There they found cooking utensils and non-perishable foodstuffs. Rick dumped an entire set of chef's knives into his bag along with two meat cleavers and a heavy-duty can opener; Michonne stocked up on the food.

"Shit, this bag is gettin' heavy; I hope I've got enough stuff here to give to Brett. Don't know if I can haul much more," Michonne said, thinking out loud.

Rick stopped what he was doing, turned and looked at her a little disbelievingly.

"This place is pretty well stocked, we could always come back. Besides, I'm sure he'd just let you keep it without tradin' anyways," Rick offered, trying to hide his disdain for the young man.

"Yeah right," she reasoned, throwing Rick an incredulous look of her own.

"It's true," Rick replied while moving his almost full bag to the floor of the kitchen and stepping closer to Michonne; he held her gaze and she ceased her actions and faced Rick.

"He's got himself a little crush on you," he laughed. "Stupid little asshole."

"Why's he gotta be stupid, Rick?" she asked, intrigued as to where Rick was going with his analysis of the situation; he seemed different today so, while she wondered where this was coming from, she was not completely surprised.

"Well, it's obvious, ain't it? He likes you, but you wouldn't be interested in some boy like him," Rick calmly stated, stepping closer still to her; Michonne stood up straighter and kept her eyes locked on to his.

"What am I interested in, uh Rick?" she answered so quietly it could be mistaken for a whisper.

Just then, Rick held his finger to his lips to get Michonne to be quiet; he had heard something familiar outside. He stepped up onto an upturned crate and peered out of the small window. The sound was what he had surmised it to be; a herd of walkers ambling along slowly. There could easily have been one hundred of them staying in their unintentional formation and blocking the back entrance to the roadhouse.

"Shit!" he said as he turned to Michonne. "It's a slow-movin' herd. Best to let 'em pass. Looks like we'll be here for a little while."

With that they picked up the bags and moved to the front of the roadhouse. Rick moved the blinds slightly and noticed that the heard was still moving, albeit at a painfully slow pace. It was now a waiting game for himself and Michonne.

Rick looked back at her and felt something come over him; it was something he had not felt that strongly for a long time. Desire. Arousal. Lust. He was aware of his own growing attraction to Michonne, he just always pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind. Even if he openly admitted this attraction, there was never any time, or space, for him to act on his feelings and he was never the type of man to initiate anything to do with sexual matters; but now they were alone and, after everything they had been through, Rick was a different man. He was not indecisive anymore; he went after what he wanted and would deal with the consequences later.

Right then, Rick knew that he wanted Michonne; it was building up for weeks, for months even. He realized now was the time to act on it; there was at least one other person at the Settlement who was showing he was interested in Michonne, so it was time for Rick to make his move. It was time to stake his claim; time to do what he had thought about for over a year. He would show her that he desired her; he would be so resolute that she would not even think about some other man, let alone that boy Brett, he thought.

Michonne moved toward Rick to get an assessment of the situation outside. Suddenly, Rick closed the distance between them, placed his hand to the back of her head and drew her into a kiss.

A/N: Their first time together will be next!