"So, who is coming out for my birthday on Friday?" Andrea asked, excitedly. She was perched on the edge of Daryl Dixon's desk, swinging her high heels from her toes, counting down the minutes until she was officially off the clock. She was already pulling her blonde curls out of the clip that held them behind her head.

"You know I'm always up for a reason to imbibe, honey," Shane flirted from the aging metal desk across from her. He was leaned back with one foot up on the desk and the other pushing his rolling chair back and forth across the beige tiled floor and the corners of his dark brown eyes scrunched up in a mischievous smile.

Andrea grinned back at him having never doubted he would be attendance. She glanced back up at the clock. Ten more minutes and she could justify going straight home from the local police precinct instead of stopping back at the D.A's office. She had been there reviewing evidence for a case and, as was her custom, she stopped at the cluster of desks in the front, right hand corner of the room to chat with a few of the officers whom she knew outside of her official court duties.

"Grimes? Dixon?" She swung around to face Officer Dixon who was lounging in his chair behind her, staring at his phone. She figured his answer would affect the next man's.

"I ain't doing nothin' else," he said, without looking up from the screen. The three of them turned to Rick Grimes who was pretending to be interested in something on his computer screen. "You in?" Daryl nodded in his direction.

"Yeah, I don't know. It's hard with Carl…" he started.

"I'll call your mom", Shane interrupted with a large grin, "see if she can watch him. She can't say 'No' to me. See, I'll just explain to her how you were given a perfectly good reason to come out on a Friday night but you continued to use your son as an excuse to not have any life whatsoever. I'm sure she will be as disappointed in you as we are."

"Shane", Rick sighed, pushing a hand through his short, brown, waves of hair that begged to curl if they were allowed to grow just a little longer. "Do not call my mother. I'll think about it."

"That's all we ask, Brother," he winked. It was Shane's turn to look up at the clock. "You headed to the parking garage?" he asked Andrea.

"If you're willing to be my escort," she smirked, hopping down from Daryl's desk and grabbing her bag. "I'll see you ALL on Friday," she called over her shoulder as she headed for the door, Shane following close behind.

Daryl turned to his partner once they were alone. "It's only a couple drinks, man. It won't suck. I'll take care of any nosy citizens." He could tell Rick felt uneasy about it, understandably, given the looks he got from people whenever they recognized him from around the small town or from the newspaper. People liked to talk and his friend, through no fault of his own, had given them a lot to talk about recently. The way he dealt with it gave them even more reason to talk.

Rick looked over at him with one eye still on his computer screen. Shane and he had been best friends since middle school but, in the last couple years, Daryl had proven to be the friend he needed in his adult life. Shane always had to fill the silence, a trait which used to entertain Rick but, especially after everything that had happened, he was glad for the silent camaraderie his partner offered. Daryl didn't need to talk all the time and Rick preferred not having to pretend to listen. It had been a rough year for him to say the least and Daryl was always there, silently and patiently waiting for him to come back from whatever rabbit hole his dark thoughts brought him down. "My mom will be pissed if I miss an opportunity to give her Carl for the night," he reasoned.

Daryl looked back down at his phone giving his friend time to work it out on his own.

"Who's drivin'?" Rick asked, finally.

"Just come to my house at 8. I'll drive and we'll get the night shift guys to drive us home." A smirk played on the corner of his mouth.

Rick shook his head, wearing his own smile. He knew Daryl had done this before. "Fine."

...

"Andrea, it's a two hour drive," her friend reasoned, holding the phone with her bare, brown shoulder while trying to shrug on her blazer.

"Ok, so cut out at five like normal people do and you'll be here by 7. We'll get ready fast. The place is right down the road from my apartment."

She sighed loudly for dramatic effect, trying to think of her next point.

"Michonne, don't you want to meet some people before you move here next month? I mean, this is as much for you as it is for me. Maggie will be there. You'll be working closely with her. It will be good to have a friend in the office on day one." Andrea took a long sip of her wine as she paced her kitchen. She was intent on having a good time and the more people she gathered to celebrate, the better the potential for a fun night. Michonne was her best friend and she was not letting her off the hook. "It's my birthday!" she reminded her.

"Your birthday is Tuesday," Michonne sighed, pulling her dreaded locks into a ponytail before wrapping her scarf around her neck.

"Ok, so you're out of reasons not to come. I'll see you at 7. Bring something cute to wear and your drinking shoes."

"I do not know what that means but I will come," she laughed as she grabbed her car keys from her desk. "Bye, Andrea."

"Bye!" she sung, excitedly.

...

The rest of the work week came and went with little to no fanfare. By 8pm on Friday Andrea and Michonne were walking through the front door of what looked to Michonne to be a typical country dive bar that also happened to be the only one in town. She was feeling a little over dressed in her tight black pants and grey blouse. Andrea quickly spotted her friend by the slightly dingy and definitely crooked pool table.

"Maggie! I knew I could count on you to get us started." She gestured to the pink cocktail in the younger woman's hand. "This is my friend Michonne. She is starting next month with Mayor Monroe."

Maggie's green eyes sparkled in the exact same hue as her satin sleeveless top she had paired with a pair of dark jeans and black heels. She wore her hair in a bouncy bob cut that curled in every direction on the ends and she seemed every bit as fun as Andrea described. "Michonne! So nice to meet you! I'm very excited to have some new blood at work." Maggie was the public relations manager for the mayor and was making a nice career for herself despite the small town. "You'll love working with Deana. She's got great plans for her second term." The brunette's smile was infectious and Michonne liked her right away. "Andrea says you're a lawyer too. Tired of the courtroom scenes?"

"I just got sick of bearing witness to people's worst days," Michonne smiled shyly. "I'm excited about the opportunity to do something positive."

"And what about the change in scenery? Won't you miss the city life?"

"I needed the change there too."

Picking up on Michonne's vagueness, Maggie decided to steer the conversation in a different direction. "Well, Andrea says you're the life of the party," she smiled widely. "Want to get a drink?"

Michonne gave her friend a sideways glance but her tone was light. "Andrea hasn't been around in a few years" she said, matching Andrea's grin. "But, it's Friday night, so let's get a drink."

"I'll meet you over there. I see Shane coming in so I'll just wait for him to buy me a drink." Andrea winked at the other two ladies and headed to the restroom.

Michonne and Maggie shook their heads at their friend and saddled up to the corner of the bar attempting to flag down the bartender. It was a busy night at the town's only tavern and the music was louder than usual, signaling the end of the work week. People pushed in a few at a time; girls dressed up for the weekend, men in small packs setting up behind the dart boards. Occasionally, a couple would saunter in looking every bit the part of being on a first date.

Maggie grinned at each person that passed by, recognizing many and just being friendly to the rest. "So, have you got a place already?" she started, waving again at the man behind the bar.

"I think so. I put a deposit down on a small house down by the lake for rent. As long as my references check out, which shouldn't be a problem, it will be mine."

"Oh! Lake house party!" Maggie gasped. The bartender finally noticed her. "I would love a Cosmo, please, Morgan." She looked at Michonne expectantly.

"Can you make a Sidecar?" she asked him, trying not to sound too out of place.

The man's face crinkled into a smile that danced all the way up to his dark eyes. "Surely." He set about rimming her glass with a lemon and whistled a quiet tune while he worked. Michonne could see why the wait was so long. Everything seemed to move a little slower here.

Just as she pondered how the bartender was going to keep up with the rush, two men appeared at the other side of the bar corner and Maggie jumped off her stool to greet them. "Rick?!" She squealed as she hugged the first man, throwing her fist out from behind his back to bump the other man's. "I can't believe you came!". Michonne took in his button down shirt, a faded blue, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. She was still unsure of the Friday night dress code in these parts. His jeans were dark and he had boots on, of course. The other man looked equally casual in a black, long-sleeve henley with slightly lighter jeans. She was going to have to buy some more comfortable clothes.

"Yeah, well, Andrea has a few of my cases so, I need to stay on her good side." He gave her a quick kiss on the forehead and then promptly mussed her hair up, earning him an arm punch that looked like it actually hurt.

Maggie fixed her hair in the mirror above the bar feigning offense. "Don't start, Daryl," she warned the other man who was snickering at her, pretending to fix his own strands. She finished her primping and turned to Michonne with the intention of introducing her when a bubbly woman with long blonde hair, slid in between the two men, facing Rick. She placed her hands on his chest and threw her head back to look up at him.

"Oh, my God, Rick. It is so good to see you. How are you doing? I haven't seen you back at the barber shop since and I just couldn't stop worrying after everything I was readin' in the paper.."

"Hi, Jessie." Rick could feel his palms start to sweat and he immediately regretted not taking his own car as the urge to exit the scene was strong. "I, I've been ok. I'm just busy with Carl and ya know," he trailed off, not knowing how to end the sentence.

Daryl stepped next to her putting his arm around the woman's shoulder. "Hey, Jessie, you know I think I hear your date calling your name." He pulled her off in the direction of a group of men whom she had come in with who were all staring over at Rick.

Maggie gave Rick a sympathetic look and followed after Daryl, worried about what he would say to the poor woman. "Dixon!" she whispered harshly as she followed.

Michonne watched her go and then looked around for Andrea who was nowhere to be found. Morgan had placed her drink in front of her and was currently pouring two rocks glasses of whiskey in front of Rick. She settled into her stool and sipped while she watched Maggie's friend pay the man and sit down. He nodded in her direction and held up his glass in lieu of a hello.

"So, you look like you don't want me to ask what that was all about," she smiled at him.

He smiled back, holding her eyes a little longer than she was used to and she was taken aback by the way his eyes seemed almost to glow, they were so blue. He looked down at his drink for a moment then took a sip, the ice clinking in his glass as he tipped it. When he was done he looked back over at her, squinting slightly as if he was trying to figure something out. "You're not from here," he said as he leaned back a little on his stool, his boots coming to rest on the bottom rung.

"Is it that obvious?" She laughed slightly, wondering if it was her lack of accent that gave her away. He sounded like a country song about a broken down truck and she was sure her inflection was out of place here, as well as her dreaded locks and boots that she couldn't ride a horse in.

"Nah," he drawled, "It's just that if you were from here you would know what that was about." A hint of a smile curled on one side of his face but his eyes remained serious.

She picked up that it wasn't something he wanted to discuss. She understood privacy. Andrea had never allowed her to keep anything to herself but she did understand the desire to so, she dropped it, choosing instead to smile back and hold her own drink up as he had just done.

….

"Dixon!" Andrea caught up to him at the jukebox after he had dropped Jessie off to her friends. Maggie remained with them, caught in a conversation she was too nice to excuse herself from.

"Hey, Andrea. Happy Birthday." He leaned in to a one armed hug, taking care not to spill her drink.

"I'm glad you made it. The night is young and it's gonna be a good one!" She held her drink up over her head as if to toast her statement. "Did you come alone?"

"Nah, Grimes is with me." He nodded over to the bar where Rick sat near Michonne.

"Wow, he actually made it out. I'm impressed," she smiled genuinely.

"I should probably get back over there. Told him I'd run interference on the well-wishers" He eyed Michonne, wondering what part of his friend's life she was inserting herself into.

"He's ok. That's my friend, Michonne. She isn't from around here so she's not gonna bring anything up. And she can handle Mr. "Angry is the New Black" Grimes." She let the punchline of her joke trail off as her eyes met Daryl's with one brow furrowed. She looked like a light had just gone off inside her head and he immediately read her mind.

"No."

"Wait, hear me out."

"No," he repeated, about to walk away.

She grabbed his elbow to stop him with a pleading look in her eye. "Seriously, Daryl, listen. She doesn't know him. She doesn't know Lori. Nothing about any of it. And she's beautiful, you have to admit that. Look at that ass!" She smirked at him, still holding on to his arm.

"Whose ass? What's going on? Thanks for leaving me, Dixon." Maggie approached them looking tired from the pleasantries she had been faking with Jessie.

"Andrea's tryin' to set Rick up with someone."

"Ohhhh, that's a bad idea." She scrunched her face up a bit like she had just tasted something sour.

"What? Maggie, I was talking about Michonne." Andrea smoothed her black jacket as if she was about to make an argument in the courtroom. "I think this is brilliant."

Maggie looked over her shoulder at Rick, trying to reconsider but she wasn't sold. "Andrea, I just don't know. This is the first time he has made an effort to come out. Let's not go too far too fast."

"Look, I was just telling Daryl, he's sick of all the sympathy and the stares, right? Well, she doesn't know a thing about it. Plus, Michonne is tough, she can handle him and his attitude and his brooding and all that Rick Grimes angst."

Maggie's face turned into a frown, sympathetic to her friend. "That's harsh, Andrea, after all he's been through."

"So, what's in it for her? You think he's such a tough sell." Daryl glared at her.

"Hey, guys, wait. Don't paint me as the bad guy here. You know I love Rick. I really do feel for him and I want him to be happy. I wouldn't suggest it if I didn't trust her." She was feeling a little outnumbered under their matching stares. "We've all got our shit, right? He doesn't want his being everybody's business and I don't need to be spilling hers. I just think they could be good together. She's steady, unexcitable. He could use a calming presence and she could use another friend here. "

Maggie looked like she was thinking hard. She recalled how vague Michonne had been when she brought up her leaving the city. Maybe she did have stuff she was working through, too. "He won't allow it if you're obvious. It will have to be organic."

"Ok, ok. I won't actively try to set them up, but there is no reason we can't work both sides of this thing." She looked up as if she was trying to formulate a plan. "You guys work on him, I'll work on arranging the opportunities. Just opportunities."

"Ya'll are on your own. I don't want no part of this." Daryl looked hard at his two friends making his objections clear.

"Plausible deniability, Dixon? You're smarter than you look." Andrea winked at him but was met with a cold stare. "Wow, you guys are loyal. I hope y'all would have my back the same way."

"Yeah, well, we'll see how this thing turns out. You may need someone to have your back after this." Daryl left them, finding his way back to his friend at the bar.

Rick greeted Daryl with a nod and pushed his now watery whiskey over in front of him.

"Thanks." Daryl took the drink and then nodded toward Michonne, looking her up and down as if he was trying to size her up for a fight. "Hey."

"Hi," she smiled back looking again for Andrea. These local cops were a little too intense for her right now. She wondered how her friend came to know them personally, as they didn't seem like they were having much fun.

"Hey, sorry about that." Maggie rejoined her, picking up her cocktail that was next to Michonne's almost empty glass. "Andrea found Shane," she said to the three of them, "they're headed over in a minute."

...

"So, then I said 'Hey, man, you wanna rob a liquor store, next time try one where the cops are a little less fun.' I cuffed him and made him wait while I picked out all the booze for the party and loaded it in my trunk. Dropped him off at the station on my way home." Shane's voice was booming over the music and they all laughed at his story. They had moved to a large table, finding the bar to be a bit crowded for their growing group.

"So, how do you all know each other?" Michonne asked, still giggling at the story. "Just work?"

"Well, Maggie and I met at a fundraiser for Monroe. She was the only other person in the room with a cocktail in each hand and I knew we would become friends." Andrea recounted, earning a laugh from Maggie's boyfriend, Glenn, who had joined them late. He stood behind Maggie's chair, having a conversation with a woman who had not yet greeted the group, while still keeping an ear at the table.

"I'm not gonna not partake in the open bar," Maggie shrugged. "And Tara works with Glenn." She gestured toward a younger looking girl with dark hair who was seated next to her.

"And they both work for me." The large, red headed man, standing next to the boothed side of their table, opened his arms wide to punctuate his point.

"And what is it they do for you, Abraham?" Michonne giggled at her drink and the man's odd mustache.

"They run these boys to the hospital, mostly." He gestured to the three officers seated next to each other in the booth to Michonne's right.

"Paramedics," the woman who was speaking to Glenn interjected. "And we don't work for him, he's just the loudest so he thinks he's in charge. I'm Sasha." The dark skinned woman extended her hand to Michonne looking like she had thrown on an after hours outfit without having time to pull her hair from the tight bun she probably wore from work.

Michonne smiled and shook her hand introducing herself. "So, in a little town like this, you still manage to get hurt on the job?" She directed her question to Daryl, Shane and Rick. "I would have figured you for a lot of running red light incidents."

"I think he's referring to the time Shane got bit by some lady's chihuahua while he was trying to show off his billy club," Daryl offered as he took a sip of his beer. Rick and Maggie both laughed out loud as Shane waved him off.

"Well, between the dog bites and this one getting shot, we spend a lot of time givin' em free rides downtown." He gestured at Rick and Michonne noticed he was biting his full, lower lip looking like he hoped the conversation would end there.

Maggie noticed as well and decided to help his cause. "Rick's daddy was a friend of my daddy's so we've known each other a long time. Shane too." She briefly thought of the two of them as teenagers and smiled.

"Her dad would make us walk her to school," Rick remembered, looking to extend this change of subject. "Always in trouble, that one."

"Yeah, Yeah," Maggie waved at him. "And you never told so you were just as bad."

"That's why we became cops, you opened our eyes to all the bad deeds being done in this town."

"Like I said, I knew we would be fast friends as soon as I met her," Andrea laughed. "I'm ordering a round of shots." She got up and walked toward the bar before anyone could object, Shane following her.

As the night wore down, Glenn and Maggie settled into their own booth after a time on the dance floor and Abraham drove Sasha home. Tara was at the bar talking with Morgan while Michonne and Andrea sat with Shane and Rick, still holding onto the larger table. Daryl was back at the jukebox looking disappointed as he scrolled through the selections.

"I don't know why he thinks he's gonna find something new in that thang," Rick drawled, pointing at his partner with his beer bottle.

"Morgan likes the atmosphere a certain way in here, man. He ain't havin nothin' Dixon would be playin'." Shane laughed quieter now that the alcohol had hit him. "How you ladies gettin' home?"

"Walking. And you should be too, Officer." Andrea smiled across the table at him. Her chin in her hands.

Rick looked over at Michonne, suddenly feeling like he was intruding on their moment. He laughed inwardly at the look she was giving her friend. She was probably staying at Andrea's that night and the possibility of Shane working his way there too had her raising her eyebrow. He had noticed immediately that she was the more responsible of the two friends. Not that she wasn't just as fun, she just seemed more aware of herself and her surroundings. Taking everyone in around her. "So, Andrea said you were moving here. What are you going to be doing?"

"Special Counsel to the Mayor," Michonne answered, the words sounding too mature for the age she felt in the bar that night.

"Really?" Rick said. "So, you're replacing Olivia? She won't be missed," he deadpanned, finishing his beer in one sip.

Michonne laughed. "Is that so? Well, Olivia is still around. She is actually moving to the PR department so she's Maggie's boss now."

His eyes crinkled up into a smile at the thought. "Not for long, then."

"Rick, Leon is on his way to pick us up," Daryl called as he returned to the table.

Rick looked at his watch, 1am. "Alright. I'm gonna settle up with Morgan. You ladies are really walking?" He turned to Michonne and then looked back at Andrea and Shane.

"It's alright, man. I got em'," Shane said to Michonne's rolling eyes.

Rick laughed again. "Well, it was good to meet you, Michonne. Good luck."

"Thanks. I'll see you around," She said as she picked up her bag to follow Shane and Andrea on the walk back to Andrea's apartment.

Rick's eyes followed her out, thankful for the lack of explaining he had to do that night. After Daryl had dealt with Jessie the night had gone better than he had thought it would.

"Grimes, Dixon. Let's go." An annoyed looking officer came in through the front door letting them know their ride was here. "You guys are gonna get me in trouble."

Daryl laughed as he and Rick settled their tabs and followed the officer outside, hopping in the back of the cruiser for their ride home.

...

"So," Andrea started, while pouring coffee in two mugs on her kitchen island, "what did you think of everyone?" Shane had left sometime in the night or early morning as far as Michonne could see. Both women sat in sweats and t shirts, their makeup still on from the night before.

"It was fun. I'm glad I came. It will be nice working with Maggie."

"Yeah, she's a blast. So, how about everyone else?" Andrea walked around and took a seat next to her friend.

"Everyone seemed nice." Michonne scrolled through her email on her phone as they spoke.

"Besides Maggie, did you get along especially well with anyone else?"

Knowing her friend all too well, she put her phone down and looked her in the eye. "Are you trying to ask me something specific, Andrea?"

Andrea remembered her deal with Maggie. "Nope. Just wanted to make sure you knew that you'll have plenty of friends when you arrive."

"Well, thanks. I just got an email. I got the house. Looks like everything's going according to plan."

"Sure is," she smirked.