A/N: so I really don't know what their kid's name is, but I really liked Elijah/Eli and I went with that.
Also, this is dedicated to Allie, Kristen, the beatirskly gc on twitter, and literally everyone else who's excited about rick and michonne having a kid. BASICALLY THIS IS FOR EVERYONE WHO'S ON THE WINNING TEAM.
Eli climbed up on his bed and Michonne could sense something was wrong with him. She could always tell. He had the same look of frustration that Rick always had.
Everything about Eli reminded her of Rick. They had the same beautiful curls, the same smile, and even the same nose. Hell, he even thought like Rick at times. Sometimes it surprised Michonne just how much Eli was just like his father.
"Eli, what's wrong?" She asked her son as she ruffled his hair.
He let out a sigh and shrugged. "I don't know."
Michonne cocked her head to the side. "I think you do," she accused.
Eli rolled over to try to avoid his mother's questions.
"Elijah…" Michonne said, pulling out his full first name. She hardly ever used it. and whenever she did, he knew that she meant business.
He immediately rolled over to face her and sighed again.
"Do you remember what the rule is?" Michonne asked him.
"We don't keep secrets about our feelings," he muttered.
That was a rule Michonne had come up with after Judith had turned seven. Michonne had realized that she had began to keep her feelings locked away and refused to talk to anyone about certain things. And Michonne knew that it was bad to keep things like that hidden; she knew that more than anyone.
She knew all too well about how it felt having the whole weight of the world on her shoulders, and she would die before she would let her children feel that way.
She just needed them to realize that she could be the one person they could always trust if they ever needed to talk about anything.
"That's right. You, Judith, and I… we always tell each other how we feel, no matter what… so, are you gonna tell me what's wrong?"
"Everybody always tells me that I look like dad," he said.
Michonne didn't know to respond to that. She waited for him to continue.
"It makes me really sad."
At first, Michonne couldn't possibly think of a reason why people telling him that he looked like his father made him react in such a way. But then, it hit her. It's not that he hated it, it was all just so strange to him. People told him that he looked like his father, a man that was taken from him long before he was born.
It all made him sad because he couldn't even picture Rick in his mind when people said that he looked like him.
"Mr. Siddiq says I have his smile…." He trailed off.
"You do," Michonne told him.
Eli's smile could light up the whole world, just like Rick's did.
"But I wish I could see dad's smile… I just wish I could see dad," Eli whispered.
"I wish you could… too," Michonne said. She had to swallow the lump in her throat.
"And Carl," Eli added. " I want to see him too."
If there was a way that she could've brought Rick and Carl back, Michonne would've done it. She would've turned the whole world upside down if it meant that they could have them by their side.
Michonne could literally feel her heart break every time she looked at Judith's face because she knew she was slowly forgetting them more and more every day.
And Eli had never even had a chance to meet them and that killed Michonne.
But honestly, all Michonne wanted to do was curl up in a ball and cry, especially when she thought about something happening. If she died, then they would definitely forget Rick and Carl. It would almost be like they had never even existed.
God, she couldn't let their existence be forgotten.
She wouldn't let that happen.
Michonne would do her best to tell her children how amazing Rick was: the love of her life, the sweet, caring man who would've done anything to save his family… the man who helped create the world into what it currently was.
And Carl, her son. She would tell him about how he was the very definition of hope and how he was one of the very few things that brought light to their very dark world.
And Michonne would tell Judith and Eli all of that and more. She would never forget to mention how Rick and Carl had literally saved her life.
"Why did they have to go? It's not fair," Eli whispered.
Tears started to roll down his cheeks and Michonne grabbed Eli. She wrapped her arms around him.
"It's not… fair," she said, her voice cracking.
Michonne's grip on him tightened as he began to sob. She couldn't stop her own tears from falling, and she began to cry too.
She hug him until he pulled away from her. Michonne would've really sat there and held him all night if he needed her to.
He looked up at her and his tiny hand touched her cheek.
"I'm sorry, Mommy. I didn't mean to make you cry," he apologized.
"You didn't. I miss them both lot... but do you know what though?"
"What?" He asked.
"You said that you wanted them to be with you, right?"
Eli nodded.
"They may not be with you physically, but they're with you all the time."
Eli's brows raised and he was obviously confused. Michonne thought of a way to explain it so that he would understand.
"Do you remember when you could finally draw a cat… and you refused to give it to me until you had drawn it perfectly?"
Eli nodded.
"Well, I'm sure that your dad and your brother saw that and they were so proud of you for working so hard."
"How did he they see iit?" Eli asked.
"They're with you in spirit. They're around us all the time."
"Everywhere?"
"Everywhere," Michonne confirmed. "They're here when you're happy, and when you're sad. They're the sun when it shines. They're the clouds that keep you cool on a very hot day. They're even the stars that light up the sky at night. They watch over you every second of the day. They're always here."
Eli nodded in understanding. "So, they're really proud of me?"
"Always, and they'll never stop being proud of you. They both love you so much."
"I love them too," Eli whispered.
Michonne smiled and hugged him.
"How are you feeling?" She asked after they separated.
"Okay," he said with a shrug.
"Just okay?" Michonne questioned.
Eli nodded. "I'm not happy right now because I'm sleepy. I'm going to get grumpy," he said with a smirk on his face.
Michonne smiled. "We don't want that, do we?"
"No. I get grumpy like you when I don't get enough sleep."
"I don't get grumpy," Michonne argued.
"Yes, you do… you look like this," Eli said, making a really mad face.
Michonne made the same face as long as she could before she started smiling. She began to tickle Eli.
"No, not the tickle monster!" He shouted as he tried to push her hands away.
"You've let me no choice!" Michonne told him.
Eli giggled and that made Michonne laugh. By the time that she had stopped tickling him, tears rolled down both of their cheeks.
At least they were happy tears.
Michonne gave him a minute or so to catch his breath. He continued to giggle the whole time.
"You're so silly," she told him.
"You are too," he said.
Michonne smiled and shook her head. "I guess I am."
"Okay now, I think it's time for you to sleep," she said after a few moments.
He yawned. "Me too."
Eli laid down and Michonne stood up so she could easily cover him up. She bent over to kiss his forehead.
"Goodnight, my beautiful boy."
'Goodnight."
Michonne walked to the doorway of his bedroom and turned around one last time to look at him.
"Mom, can I ask you something?"
"Anything."
"I know it's past my bedtime, so I don't want you to read a story to me... but can you tell me a story about dad and Carl?" He asked.
Michonne gave him a smile. "I can do that."
She made her way over to the bed and he scooted over so she could sit down beside of him. Once she was settled, he moved over and rested his head on her lap.
"What kind of story would you like to hear?" Michonne asked.
"A happy one."
Michonne smiled. "Okay."
She began to think about all the good times she had with Rick and Carl. She smiled when two memories came into mind: when she used to read comic books with Carl and the time when Rick had gave her the cat statue.
Michonne ruffled Eli's hair and began to tell him about two of the happiest moments of her whole life.