Princess Mia

A/N: This is a one-shot Richonne fluff piece largely inspired by the events of today; if you have been living under a rock, well, this story was inspired by the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry & Meghan Markle. I got the idea yesterday and started writing it on my way home. I just finished and hope you'll enjoy it.

Richonnelover1941 as you can see, I haven't forgotten about you. I intend to revisit the Grimes 2.0 which began in The Do Over very soon.

As always, I don't own these characters but I love them very much because they fuel my imagination.

Please leave a note in the review box below!

Michonne had just turned off the television and stretched. She was exhausted.

Her daughter Mia, however, had just bolted from her parent's king size bed, out of the bedroom on her way to the front door. Michonne shook her head. Her daughter's internal radar was going off again.

"Daddy! Daddy! " Mia exclaimed running and jumping into her father's outstretched arms shortly after he opened the front door.

"Hey, Princess. Did you miss me?" Rick playfully asked his daughter as he bent to scoop her up and showered her with kisses. He tickled her sides causing a fit of giggles as Mia's small honey curled head bobbed up and down showing off her toothless smile. The one her daddy promised only made her even more adorable.

The question was a rhetorical one because there were only two people who received that kind of reception from his daughter, himself and her older brother, Carl. From the day they brought her home, she had the uncanny ability to know whether he had left the house or was about to arrive. Her ability to predict her brother's comings and goings, however, happened later when he moved away for school. She was only two then and she was inconsolable for days, even though her father was present. Carl had spoilt her rotten the first two years of her life and then went off to college. Her spoiling, however, continued with her father who didn't seem to know the word 'no'. Truth be told, Rick often let his wife be the bad guy since she seemed impervious to Mia's sad blue eyes and heart-shaped pout.

Shortly after, Michonne finally appeared in the great hall to greet her husband who was now preoccupied with their daughter. The one who for all intents and purposes had long forgotten all about her. She wasn't jealous at all, there was this incredible bond between Mia and her dad. One her husband went out of his way to maintain given his knowledge of how her and her father's bond was severed. Her personal relationship with her daughter was special too, they did lots of girly things together but she knew she could never compete with the bond she held for her father and her big brother. Michonne's bond with her boys Carl and the twins, Andre and Alex, however, was equally as solid as that of the father-daughter duo.

Rick though excited to see his beautiful energetic daughter, he made sure he took the time to kiss his very beautiful and tired wife a proper hello.

"Hey!"

"Hey, yourself. Do you mind talking her down so she can actually get to sleep? I don't have the energy. I'm going to turn in", she offered.

"Nite, mommy!" Mia beamed, thrilled that her daddy was finally home.

Michonne was tired but even more so since her daughter insisted on watching the entire Royal Wedding of Harry and Meghan from start to finish for a second time that day. She had already put the twins to bed about two hours before because they had no interest in watching the wedding, just as well too, because Mia had no time for them either. It was something her mom and her watched and cried at when the couple finally kissed on the steps of St. George's Chapel.

Michonne cried because it was beautiful and romantic. It reminded her of their first kiss as man and wife after having overcome many obstacles and cementing their future together. She remembers the night his divorce was final and they were finally together… nine months later Mia was born and a year later she became Mrs. Richard Grimes. Their little Mia had been there from the word go… a part of their newfound reality which propelled into turbo charge what had been intended to have been a much slower courtship.

Mia, on the other hand, she had visions in her small head of herself and her Prince not yet known being driven around in a horse-drawn carriage. She had already done that in the big park when they visited her grandparents in the big city. She loved horses because they were beautiful creatures. She loved the carriage ride so much so, that both her grandpa and her dad had to each take her on an extra ride. In total, she got three rides that trip. It was her best trip to the city ever. Meghan, however, only got one.

It was now we'll pass Mia's bedtime but Michonne couldn't resist the indulgence of watching the wedding a second time. After all, how often does one get to witness history in the making? The union of Harry and Meghan, a person with whom Mia seemed fascinated because like her, Meghan had the same colour skin but she had the blue eyes like her daddy. Plus, she was already a Princess. Her grandparents and father all dubbed her Princess and Meghan, of course, married a Prince. Yes, she had some questions for her daddy, like when would she marry her Prince and ride in the carriage again?

Little did her mother know, Mia had been biding her time with her till her daddy got home because she knew exactly what she wanted for her birthday.

"Okay, babe… go on to bed. I'll tuck her in. Come on Princess, give mommy a kiss."

Michonne leaned in, to both hug and kiss her daughter. "Nite, sweetie."

"Nite, mommy." She squealed with delight.

"I'll see you in a bit… love you." He added stealing another peck and gently slapping her on the butt as she walks away looking back at him with a small smirk despite her fatigue.

Rick found himself weak to his wife's charms especially now that they were finally on the same page again. It had been a long day and from what it appears it'll be an even longer night since his little Princess showed no signs of fatigue, instead, Mia seemed rather energized.

After reading three stories about Princes and Princesses, Mia asked her father whether she was truly a Princess. Her poor unassuming father confirmed she was in fact, her daddy's Princess which made her tiny heart swell with pride.

Finally, the day was catching up with her as she yawned and eventually gave up her resistance and fell asleep under her father's watchful eye but not before eliciting a promise that he'd watch the wedding with her tomorrow.

After showering and pulling on a pair of boxers and a tee shirt, Rick crawled into bed next to his sleeping wife. He ended up settling himself to become the big spoon, gently wrapping his arm around her delicate midriff. It was still early but he was able to notice and appreciate the subtle changes to her amazing body. He relished in the feeling of finally being home… months before they weren't this close.

Laying next to her, he inhaled her and the scents of the essential oils which perfumed her bath. He was intoxicated by the smell but her rest outweighed his needs so he allowed himself to let go of his thoughts and drift off to sleep.

He woke early the next morning to prepare a surprise breakfast of funny-faced pancakes for the kids.

After breakfast, the children were left in the custody of their nanny while he made a special order of eggs benedict, orange juice and coffee which he served to his beautiful wife in bed. This time alone together gave them a few minutes of reprieve before having to tackle their day with three very active kids under the age of seven.

"Breakfast in bed?" She asked with a raised brow. "What has Mia gotten you into now?"

He blushed, she was almost always right, ordinarily, this was his modus operandi. He always tried to smooth things over with his wife after he'd gotten himself into a fix, which incidentally enough almost always stemmed from some sort of request from his daughter. At present, however, as far as he knew his hands were clean. He hadn't dug himself into any holes in the last twelve hours. He just wanted to appreciate the woman before him and let her know that he' was grateful to have her at his side.

"Can't I do something nice for my wife? I just wanted to surprise you, that's all. I knew you were exhausted and I want you to take it easy." He answered sitting the tray down on her lap and kissing her forehead.

"Thank you, babe. It looks delicious… and I'm starved."

Later that evening, Rick was saved as he negotiated to only watch the video from the time the Royal family arrived at the church. Shortly after the ceremony, Mia began her own negotiations.

"Daddy, I know what I want for my birthday." She beamed with a twinkle in her blue eyes. Her eyes danced in her head from her excitement and her dimpled cheeks revealed a bright smile much like her mothers except hers were missing a few teeth. He loved when his daughter looked at him as though he hung the moon. This was the feeling he often wondered what it had felt like when they were kids and Michonne's face lit up on the rare occasion when her father was around. It was a good feeling it made him so proud that his daughter looked to him to solve things. He loved being a doting dad. He was right too… he loved his three boys too but they didn't seem to need him the way his little girl did. His dreams had given him a clue but when the doctor confirmed they were in fact, having a girl, he was overjoyed.

"Oh yeah? What would you like daddy to get you? Another doll or a bigger dollhouse... maybe both?"

"Na… ah. Silly daddy, I want a Princess tiara just like Meghan's because I'm gonna marry a Prince."

His daughter's response caused him to spill the cup of mint tea which was about halfway to his lips. Shit! He said out loud as he sat the cup down on the nearest coaster and brushed absentmindedly at the wet spots on his plaid shirt and jeans. His heart was racing, like the fuck just happened. Where did that come from? Did he hear his daughter right?

"Daddy, mind your language. Mommy doesn't like it when the boys say things like that."

His wife snickered as she relaxed on the sofa across from them in the entertainment room. Their repartee had caught her attention now so she set aside the book she was reading. She just couldn't wait to see how her husband would get out of his current mess. She knew her daughter was building up to something but what she didn't quite know. However, when her husband confessed he would be watching the wedding with Mia while her brothers were at the Rhee's for a sleepover, she knew her daughter was going to pounce on the opportunity to get whatever it was she wanted.

The Kirkman's were away on a family vacation so Logan her best friend wasn't around. Hence, the reason why she was home alone with her parents.

Michonne could clearly recall Ma's words telling her son, that he spoilt Mia. She also told him that need to say no to the child but whenever he tried, Mia's sad blue eyes and pout would break him.

The current scenario was shaping up to be a very interesting life lesson for both father and daughter. One, she had no interest in fixing but did elect to stick around for the entertainment and secretly, started recording function on her phone.

"Sweetie, you're going to be seven years old. Where's this talk about marriage coming from?"

"I want to wear a tiara like Meghan, daddy. You said, mommies and daddies get married and make babies. I wanna marry a Prince because he won't leave like you do and he doesn't carry a gun. You leave mommy all the time. If I marry a Prince we can live in a castle and we'll have horses."

"Yes, I did say that but mommies and daddies aren't six-years-old. Plus, mommy goes to work just like I do."

"But mommy always comes home. Can I have a tiara for my birthday, daddy? I promise I'll take care of it until I'm all grown up and I marry my Prince."

Michonne couldn't help snickering which cause her husband to roll his eyes at her. "Tell you what sweetie, do you remember when daddy promised you he would help you to find your dolls when your brothers hid them and I did? Well, daddy promises to find the perfect Prince for his Princess, okay? But you have to be all grown up and finish school first. If you do that, daddy will take you to New York City and we'll find the tiara of your dreams… then we'll find you a Prince and go for a ride in the horse-drawn carriage."

Mia didn't see herself winning anything from the current discussions. Her head tilted to the side and her tiny arms folded before her as the tears welled up in her beautiful eyes and her beautiful heart-shaped lips turned down. The hurt and disappointment in her eyes were very real when she got up from the sofa and told her father. "Fine… then I don't wanna be seven," and ran from the room.

Rick was crushed, his daughter had never looked at him that way before. He had to fix this mess. He got up to follow her but was stopped by his wife.

"Don't, let me…" What Michonne thought was going to be a rather entertaining spectacle between them had ended with both parties hurt. She knew Rick was thrown by Mia's sudden discussion about boys and not just a crush but like relationship goals. He treasured his daughter but refused to acknowledge she was no longer a baby; truth be told, Mia was hardly ever a baby. She grew up fast and was always very mature for her age. Her husband was having a hard time accepting Mia's increasing independence. He was afraid of losing his baby girl.

Michonne and Mia returned home with goodies. No one could stay mad over ice-cream. They had gotten several different flavours and picked up some bananas, caramel, chocolate and butterscotch sauce, whip cream and Maraschino cherries.

She sent her daughter off to wash up while she went looking for her husband, who she found in his study nursing a Scotch and wallowing in self-pity. She walked over to him and gently massaged his shoulders.

"Hey, if you're interested… I have it on very good authority that all will be forgiven if you make your awesome banana splits. Are you willing to fix this mess?"

He looked up at her… one eyebrow raised. "Really?"

"Yeah, ice cream fixes everything at this age… not so much in another seven years."

"Do you think a pony could buy me some more time?" He asked reaching back and pulling his wife in for a very grateful kiss.