This is ch 2 of a Collaboration done with the talents of Tigerwalk and Cranesinthesky, the story tells of how Rick and Michonne reunite in their love after losing Daryl in All Out War.
Feel free to read the entire story on We're the ones who write's FF page.
Sophia
Michonne roused from a deep sleep to the loud banging on their bedroom door, she hastily glanced at the clock beside the bed and winced at the attack of the glare. The sun had long since greeted them with strokes of its rays cutting through the room but the two tired souls were ignorant to its debut. Rick's strong arm rested over her belly like a lover's guard and she had to gently remove it to focus on the time which read 8:15 am. She shook herself fully awake, disappointed she had slept in. Sleeping in was not something she ever did, especially these days.
As of late her body's tiredness seemed to overtake her in large doses and there wasn't anything much she could do about it. She craved sleep and it seemed like it had overdosed her this morning.
"Michonne?" Carl called again concern laced in his tone, reminding her what pulled her from sleep in the first place. His voice sounded faint from the outside and she sought her unused voice to return some normalcy to him.
"I'm coming. Is everything okay?" She searched the floor for her shirt and jeans.
When Rick finally got to bed last night, he filled her in briefly on his day. Their conversations had become more routine than she was accustomed to. She indulged him, not wanting to miss any opening he gave her to his affliction. It was a pain she wanted to share equally with him but she was still a window washer to his contrition, only able to touch him from the outside. After he briefed her on the wall expansion and the new guarding posts, he reached for her urgently and their bodies met in a cyclone of need where heat stripped away their clothes and desire tore at their pain. No words were required for the release, he spoke to her in a language only their bodies understood.
Michonne knew it was the one time in his day he felt whole and because he wasn't opening up to her like he usually did, she craved the connection too. There was still a wall between them but she refused to view it as insurmountable. They were still a natural force even in their silence; coming together still produced lightning. Which would explain her overslept state.
"Judy is calling for you. Should I bring her to you?"
She and Judith had a fun, albeit simple routine every morning as they prepared for their day. Guilt washed over her at not getting to her babygirl on time. She glimpsed at Rick's naked form next to her and opted to go to Judith instead. Rick was still a few hours away from sobriety. Sleep had been his other lover for a while now. He seemed to get the reprieve he needed from slumber that not even their once unencumbered connection could give him.
She was glad he had a momentary amnesty from his grief, even if it was eating her up inside, causing her physical body to be just as drained as her heart.
"I'll come get her in five minutes Carl." She responded, then heard the growing teen march down the staircase. She leaned back on the pillow as she finished buttoning her favorite purple shirt, taking a needed breath before the demands of the day wreaked havoc on her tired body and soul. Her lethargy was beginning to concern her and she hoped she wasn't coming down with something. Now would not be the time. Everybody had jobs to do and above all Rick needed her, even if he couldn't say so right now.
One minute he was transporting the wood they had found at a nearby lumber yard to the new expansion area and the next he was being flagged down by a flustered Tara to stop the truck. They were inside the walls so he was driving at a snail's pace, taking into consideration the kids that sometimes played in the streets. His heavy booted foot landed on the brakes and the truck stopped close enough for him to stick his head out the window.
"What is it?" He asked, hoping it was another problem he could throw himself into fixing. Restoring doors and windows helped him feel useful and allowed his thoughts to stay on task. The more things he busied his mind with, the less empty he would feel about the absence of his brother, the less of a burden his grief would be on Michonne. He could handle the sympathy and even pity from the community he lead as he arbitrated Daryl's death with his conscience but he couldn't deal with that look from Michonne, it would break him.
"It's Michonne. I was over at your house and she just fainted. Aaron has Judith and I took her to the infirmary. She didn't even want us to tell you. She insists she's fine."
Panic gripped him with its cold, dreadful hands. The terror in Tara's voice and the worry in her ramble set him on edge. More guilt balanced with fear at the sudden rush of news. He had promised he would be home for lunch but the tasks at hand absorbed him, trading his hunger for work, for a non-working appetite.
"What do you mean she fainted?" His voice had found clearance, she looked normal when he left home that morning, even though he wasn't sure what normal looked like anymore. He placed the truck in park. By the time he hopped out and headed in the direction of the infirmary he was four paces ahead of Tara and she had to jog to catch up with him.
"She's with Tara. She's probably ok by now." Her resonance was unconvincing.
When he approached the house they utilised as their hospital, he walked straight in, his gait fast and determined. He entered the back room that held two beds, two cots and some medical equipment when he saw her lying on the bed with her eyes closed. Rosita was a far off dropping some things into a bottle.
He looked at her before he announced his presence, her parlor was pale and he chided himself for not picking up she may have been ill sooner.
Michonne had more than taken up his slack at home and with their extended family within the past couple weeks and he had taken it slightly for granted that she was doing okay too. She had the strength of a warrior that he often envied but that didn't render her unaffected by their recent tragedy. She was more overworked than he thought ;drowning herself in the things she could control.
"Michonne.." Her name a desperate whisper as he sat on the chair that was already waiting at the side of her bed. Her eyes opened slowly; her brown orbs looked dull in comparison to the brightness he grew accustomed seeing.
"Tara came to get you? I told her not to interrupt you at work. I'm fine." He wasn't buying it, even her voice sounded feeble. Had he gone home for lunch as she requested he would have picked up on her lackluster disposition and been there for her when she needed him.
Was he ever going to not wear his failings like a cloak when it came to the people he loved?
"You're kidding right?" He soothed her forehead with his hand. "What happened?"
"I put Judy down for her nap and the next thing I know this dark cloud hovered over me and I couldn't fight it…..I fainted." She replayed the imagery in her mind and remembered the dread she felt at not being able to control her body.
"Thank God Tara came over to update me on Oceanside after her last visit. She got me here."
"Why didn't you tell me you weren't feeling well?"
She was a bit taken aback by his question, deciphering if there was any subtle impunity to it. She had been asking him to speak for days if not weeks about what was going on in his head but now he made her lack of communication feel like a disservice to their unity.
Before she could speak Rosita approached them, a chart in her hand. She was the closest thing the Safe Zone had to a doctor. She spent some time interning with Doctor Carson at The Kingdom which yielded great results.
Their community was thriving; there were more food and homes being built. Their hospital was still a house with numerous beds but it did provide them with agency for minor and major incidents.
"How are you feeling?" She asked checking her vital signs again.
"Much better. I think I probably need to eat. I skipped breakfast. Not having much of an appetite these days." She knew Rick would be part of why she wasn't eating. Concern for the man she loved was taking its toll.
Rick carried around guilt for the people they lost like a jaded lover, unable to let it go. He was stuck on it, thinking about what they'd loss. She told him before it wasn't his fault when people died. She wished this was one of those times he regurgitated her words back to her.
Daryl was gone, but they were still alive.
"Ok. Well I'll send you home only if Rick agrees to babysit you." Everyone knew Michonne was allergic to sitting still. She needed to move. Period.
"Done." He eyed her seriously, he had been away too long. His family needed him to keep an eye on them. It took Michonne's fainting for him to realise that. Had it been something worse, he would've never forgiven himself.
A while later she began to gather herself off the bed. A slight wave of dizziness hit her as she attempted to stand. She played it off easily, attributing it to the fact she had been lying down for too long.
"Oh and just for the chart, when was your last period?" Rosita already had the pen to mark down the dates waiting on Michonne's answer, but her response never came.
Rick's hand paused on her back and so did she. She couldn't recall when was her last period. She sat back down on the single bed slowly, jogging her memory for an honest answer.
Rick eyed her with concern, he too couldn't recall the last time he had been asked to massage her back as her cycle drew near. They had missed something.
Michonne's memory snapped back and she remembered it was right around the time Daryl died which was almost two months ago. Which meant she had missed two periods and hadn't even noticed. She had gotten caught up in helping her family grieve, rebuilding their community and reconciling Daryl's death to herself.
She lost a brother that day too.
"Two months ago." She shared a coming to gaze with Rick. They had been making love most nights, it helped dull the pain of their loss and kept them connected physically and emotionally even if the couldn't connect with deep conversation. Throw in her lack of appetite and dizziness and they had a good recipe for a baby.
She couldn't believe the connection went over her head completely. She felt Rick grasp her hand as a form of solidarity. Whatever comes next, they would face it together.
"Is there any chance you two could be pregnant?" Rosita asked as though the answer was already staring the three of them in the face.
"Yeah. I think there's a good chance of that." Rick was silent, which meant his mind was traveling at warp speed, concern marinating on his face.
"There are a few pregnancy tests here still. Expiration date isn't for at least three months. You wanna take a gander?" Right now it was the only way they would know.
Five minutes and two clear lines later her heart was about to burst out of her chest.
She was pregnant. She was going to have Rick's baby.
There had been a blessing in their burdens.
A new life in trade with the passing of another.
Rick looked shell shocked, even as the tears burned his eyes. "A baby?" He still couldn't wrap his mind around it. He was mourning the loss of a life when he and Michonne had created a tiny one. The circle of life was still applicable to the world they lived in.
He had been consumed by his grief and forgot this is why they fought, this is why they bled; so they could live.
"Michonne I'm sorry." His eyes were honest and she was glad she could read him clearly for the first time in weeks. He forgot he was the one thing she needed.
"For what?"
"For not being where I was needed. For not being as strong as you." His hand laid on her flat belly, caressing their baby inside. He felt humbled and more blessed than someone should be, even at the end of the world.
"You think I'm strong because I'm not grieving too? Daryl was like a brother to me. I miss him every day. He should've been here with us to -" she felt choked up. "I'm strong because that's what we do. When you're down, I gotta be up. I know you would do the same for me Rick." Her hands glided to his hair and she caressed him into a smile.
"I love you Michonne." She was right, as always. He lost sight of the fact that in her eyes he found no judgement, only love and hope. When he lost his footing she steadied him back. Whenever he grew weary she carried him. He wasn't entirely certain of the direction they were headed in but even if they lost their way they would never lose each other.
"I love you Rick."
"A baby?" He still couldn't believe they were expecting. The more he spoke about it the more he felt it settle in his heart. Michonne was going to make him a father again. He smiled when he thought about how amazing she would look with a bump. She wouldn't lose the katana, she would be the Apocalypse version of Demi Moore. He was looking forward to this journey with an ardent desire to be in the present, every day with his family from here on out.
This is what Daryl would want for him, for them.
This is what they fought for. Fought and lost. Fought and won.
"We can do this." It was a decree because she never fantasized about failing. Together she believed they could do anything.
Her words of affirmation had gotten him through some tough times since he'd known her.
"I know we can." She said and her tiredness seemed to be replaced with a glow that he was basking in. It warmed him from the inside, he felt like he was returning from the dead.
"When do you think we should tell Carl and Judy?" She laughed heartily at his question, his bright countenance filling her with light and life. For once they weren't thinking about what they'd loss but what they had gained.
