A/N: Set in the ASZ after the Wolves attack; Rick suffers from amnesia.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead.

"If in the twilight of memory we should meet once more, we shall speak again together and you shall sing to me a deeper song."

-Khalil Gibran

xXxXx

"Another quiet one, I hope," said Rick as he stepped nearer to her; the evening sky had just fallen under the shroud of darkness and the moon was already beaming brightly.

"It kind o' feels different tonight," Michonne offered warily as she and Rick stood out the front of their home in the Alexandria Safe-Zone.

She was about to take up sentry duty in the watch tower, but Rick could tell she was uneasy about something and wanted to be in his presence a moment longer. They somehow calmed each other without even having to breathe a word.

"It does," he replied as he stepped closer and took her hand. "Be careful out there, okay?"

She smiled coyly at him and nodded; ever amazed by how gentle he could be given the fact that he was a stony-faced killer who would do anything to protect those he loved. Both Rick and Michonne were somewhere in between being more than friends but not quite lovers, and neither had made a shift to take it to the next level. All of their time spent together saving each other's lives and getting to know each other had culminated in this; a more than relationship that they were slowly exploring. They were both more confident in sharing a fleeting touch with the other, but had yet to share a kiss. The way that Rick stared into Michonne's dark brown eyes in the light of the full moon told her that that was about to change.

She squeezed Rick's hand as he glanced from her eyes to her lips; slowly, Rick cupped her face and then pressed his lips to hers, tentative at first and then with more vigour. They relished in the feeling a moment before Michonne pulled away and offered him a tender smile which he returned.

xXxXx

Two hours later…

The smell of blood filled the night air; metallic, unforgiving and relentless. The sound of wails pierced the evening as the thundering of gunshots seemed distant to her ear amidst their battle with the Wolves. It was as if time had stood still in the moment that caused her heart to drop. Her voice strained and her throat felt sore, but she could not hear her own cry as she called his name; her legs felt heavy as she ran towards him. By the time she had reached Rick, the stranger had dealt his head a third blow with the piece of lumber as he lie motionless and bleeding on the ground. Michonne, with her katana already unsheathed, forced her blade through the man that had attacked Rick; taking his life with one deft swing of her blade. She then dropped to her knees beside Rick; he breathed softly and with difficultly, but he lived. She could not shift him and no one heard her cries so Michonne waited. When the screams and blasts had subsided; when their enemy had been defeated, they found her in the light of the early morning still kneeling next to Rick. She was covered in his blood and her fearful tears.

xXxXx

Almost two weeks had passed since the attack on their community had left them trying to rebuild. It had been tough going as they had suffered a number of casualties and welcomed a number of new recruits. Rick was in the infirmary in a coma; there was nothing they could do to effectively remedy the swelling to his brain that had occurred as a result of the assault he had endured. Luckily, Denise Cloyd, a doctor, had joined their ranks and was taking care of Rick. Her face was the first one that he saw when he had woken up; she shifted her glasses, pulled a small flashlight from her pocket and checked his eyes. A groggy Rick surmised he was injured from the throbbing in his head and the horrible taste in his mouth; this somehow felt familiar to him.

"Rick? How many fingers am I holding up?"

She must be talkin' to me, he thought as he answered correctly; his voice croaky from underuse.

Denise looked at the confused countenance he wore, before asking: "Do you know where you are?"

"No," he answered.

"What do you remember? What do you know?" she asked while checking his pulse.

"There's monsters here. We were fightin' 'em. I can remember some faces, but I don't know any names. I'm Rick, right?" he asked trying desperately to remember something that made sense.

"Yes, you are," the doctor answered.

"Well, that's all I know," Rick replied feeling some panic rise from his stomach.

xXxXx

"So I have amnesia? That's memory loss, right?" Rick queried as he took a drink of water; his dry lips cracked and eager.

"That's right. It's from the head trauma you sustained…"

"The night we were fightin' to protect our community?" he said, trying to get the new information to remain in his mind.

"Exactly, you're in a safe place now…"

"Alexandria…"

"Right. You'll be ready to go home soon," Denise smiled.

"Home? Where do I live? I…I can't remember. Who do I live with?" he asked, feeling utterly lost and slightly embarrassed.

"With Michonne and your kids. Carl and Judith," she explained.

Rick smiled.

"I have kids?" he asked. "Carl and Judith?"

The doctor nodded.

"That's right. Michonne's waiting to see you, she'll take you to them shortly."

"Michonne?" Rick said, getting a feel for her name.

xXxXx

Michonne could barely hide her emotions as she waited to be let into the room to see Rick. The doctor had explained his condition and was unsure of when, or if the amnesia would pass; luckily, there was no apparent damage to his intellectual or physical capacity. For now, he just could not remember. It was a confusing time for Rick presently. He could only recall some faces but no names; he did, however, seem to recall fragments of feelings and emotions.

Michonne took a deep breath, entered and smiled widely at him. There was no recognition in Rick's gaze at all, but he returned her smile.

I wonder who she is, Rick thought to himself. She's a looker.

She took up a seat next to the bed and took his hand.

"Rick," she said with a shaky voice. "Do you know who I am?"

His smile fell away as he took note of the intimate way the stranger stroked her thumb over his hand.

"No. I'm sorry, I don't," he offered sadly as her eyes filled with tears and she smiled weakly.

"I'm sorry, I…"

"It's okay," she offered gently. "It's okay. My name is Michonne."

"I know your name, the doctor told me. So, are we friends or somethin' like that?" Rick asked in his slow southern drawl and Michonne felt her heart sink lower inside her chest.

She nodded as a tear ran down her cheek.

"Yeah. Somethin' like that," she offered sadly.

"That's good, I was hopin' so," he said and his sincere beam caused more tears to fall.

"Hey, hey. Don't go cryin' now. You're too pretty to be cryin'," Rick said as he squeezed her hand.

She wiped her eyes and her nose with a tissue she grabbed from the side table.

"I'm sorry. We just didn't know if you were gonna make it, and now…"

She faltered slightly as Rick watched on; it was obvious that the beautiful woman before him cared deeply for his wellbeing. He was trying to remember what they meant to one another. He knew it had to be something special, he could see it in her eyes.

"The doc's gonna check you over again, and I'm gonna take you home, alright?" asked Michonne.

"Okay," Rick smiled. "So we live together? Me, you, Carl and Judith?"

Michonne nodded, desperately hoping that this affliction would pass.

"That's right. They can't wait to see their daddy," she said happily.

Rick felt warmth in his heart and an indescribable anticipation, even though he could not remember what his son and daughter looked like.

Michonne stood, informed Rick she was letting the doctor do what she had to and would return to collect him soon. She leaned down to place a kiss to his cheek and Rick felt some recognition of how deep their connection must have been, though he remembered nothing of their relationship.

xXxXx

It all seemed like a bad dream for Rick as he walked through the streets of Alexandria and saw people looking at him with relief and pity; he did not know any of them. He felt so self-conscious as Michonne gripped him by the arm and led him to their home.

Before she unlocked the door, Michonne informed him that she had explained to Carl what had happened. When he queried why she had not told Judith, she relayed to him that Judith was a baby. Rick felt frustrated that he did not know this and the shame of it covered his face.

"Hey, it's not your fault," Michonne said sternly as she rubbed his arm comfortingly.

He felt consoled by her words as they entered; he recognized nothing of their home. Rick took a seat inside as Michonne called to Carl; he and his sister came into the living room. The teenager wore a huge smile as the tiny girl reached for her father.

"Carl?" asked Rick, a tiny memory flashing in his mind as a familiarity set in.

"Dad," the boy said happily as they fell into an embrace.

Rick looked at Judith without any recognition; he looked to Michonne and she nodded. Rick was muddled as he took the child from Carl.

"It's Judy, Dad," Carl said, noticing how disoriented Rick looked.

"It'll come back to me buddy," he said sadly while kissing her forehead lovingly and patting her hair down.

"Carl, go get Judy dressed and then we'll let your dad have some rest before we go to Glenn and Maggie's, okay?" said Michonne as she took Judith from Rick and handed her over to the teen.

The children left the adults as Michonne took a seat next to Rick; she could not read the expression he was wearing as he reached for her hand. He found it soothing, and even though he could not remember anything about their relationship, he could sense the deep love between them. He felt strangely safe with her around.

"I know my mind's pretty fuzzy at the moment and I hope this doesn't come out sounding crazy or stupid, but why's our baby girl white?" Rick asked in earnest.

Michonne let out a chortle.

"What? They said I lived here with you and our kids. Carl's all mine I take it, but they said we had a baby…"

"Judith's your baby, Rick. She's your daughter," Michonne said a little sadly.

"But we're a family?"

"Yes," said Michonne.

"And you and me, we're together?" he asked as he marvelled at how beautiful she was.

"We're… complicated," she said, not knowing what else to say.

Michonne wanted to be with Rick, but she did not know how he ultimately felt. It would have been easy to say they were in a relationship, but it would not be the truth.

"Complicated? How? Because whatever I did, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I can't remember someone as lovely as you," he whispered, causing her to smile.

"No, it's not complicated like that. It's just that the night you were hurt, we were just. I don't know, Rick. We were takin' it slowly," she explained as he stroked her hand absently.

He nodded.

"So we were workin' it out?" he asked, unable to draw his eyes from her.

"Yes. We were tryin' to see what would come of it," Michonne offered.

"When you say it you're talkin' about a relationship?" he clarified.

"Yes," she answered softly.

"Good. I'm glad to hear that 'cause what I'm feelin' makes no sense to me. I may not remember you," he said tenderly as he searched her eyes. "But here in my heart, I feel a connection; I feel like I know you. Somehow, I know that I care about you."

With that, Rick held her hand to his chest.

A/N: Thanks for checking this out!

More to come if you're interested.

It's like Rick rebooted lol