Hi everyone,
Thank you for your extraordinary support and requests to know more about our extraordinary couple. It had been my intent to revisit them all along after starting another project. However, I heard your pleas so here we are. I hope I will do them justice once again. Y'all are amazing and I truly appreciate each and everyone of you.
As always, I don't own these characters but I love some more than others.
...
The Couple
Rick
Rick woke up feeling more exhausted than when he went to bed. These past few weeks had been extremely physical and the fatigue persisted. He needed to hold on a little longer because he was in the final stages of the certification process at Quantico to become a Special Agent, the next step in his new career and life.
Rick was a new man. He was essentially rebooting his life. Recently divorced with a sixteen year-old son and the love of his life. His thirty-fourth birthday was mere months away but he felt very much his age after the gruelling training over the past five weeks.
He forced his lids open because they weren't doing it willingly. It was going to be another caffeine fuelled day. He dragged himself out of bed, grabbed his phone and sent his son and his girlfriend his usual morning greetings and wished them a good day.
It was five a.m. the morning drill was at six, rubbing his hands over his face he pulled on a pair of his FBI issued training gear: pants, tee shirt and pullover then brushed his teeth. Looking at himself in the mirror he examined his bloodshot eyes and wondered just what the hell was he thinking when he decided to change careers mid stream as he did. Why couldn't he have just settled for being a lawyer? it certainly would have been less taxing on his body.
If he was a lawyer, he'd be in the damn Caymans right now spooning his girlfriend. Waking up at five a.m. in the Caymans would have a different connotation all together and a hell of a lot more pleasant too; there was nothing like jump starting one's day with morning sex. A thought which caused his lips to curve into a smile remembering their weekend together some two months ago. He had to keep the faith only four more days to go.
Five a.m. in Virginia was another story, where he was having his ass handed to him on a regular basis by some fresh ass college graduates who made him feel like a damn dinosaur after completing ten kilometres on the track. They didn't even break a sweat whereas he'd just be happy to to have an oxygen mask affix to his face.
He was first on the tracks this morning. Lately, he had this bizarre sense of smell which was rather off putting since he had never paid much attention to odours before. He figured his sense of smell worked as good as the next guy. However, his olfactory nerve was in overdrive this morning. He picked up her scent before she walked up next to him. She had a pungent smell and he did all he could do to keep himself from gagging. He tried breathing through his mouth but that made him feel as if he were choking.
Her name was Déchets or some such thing. She was of thin build about his height, brown eyes, one hundred and twenty pounds. Her hair was interesting it's what he could only describe as the Three Stooges Supercut's Special, with chestnut bangs in front while rocking a blonde bob cut in the back.
"Hey Grimes!" She said by way of greeting. "A bunch of us are getting together later to cram for the finals, you're more than welcome to join us."
"Déchets, thanks for the invite but I'll have to pass on that; it's the only time I can schedule to reach out to my family and they're kinda scattered at the moment. However, if I wrap it up within a reasonable amount of time, I'll catch up with y'all." Looking to extricate himself from her before he woofed his cookies he said, "I'll catch up with y'all later." As he ran off behind the nearest annex, where he came to a stop hunched over with his hand on his knees and puked.
…
He had just arrived in the mess hall area where they ate their meals and was thankful for the varied array of foods because the smells helped make him feel a lot better, it masked the earlier pungent smell.
These past few months had been a special kind of hell for him. He almost didn't follow through with coming to Virginia, the only saving grace was knowing if he hadn't come now it meant that he and Michonne would spend less time together later because she was already wrapped up in a case. However, going back to Atlanta without seeing her for six weeks only to be alone for another few weeks was not even an option for him. He was going to the Caymans to see her.
Sitting at a corner table by himself he realized he hadn't receive his usual good morning text from Michonne and hoped she was okay. He hoped the change in his itinerary didn't spook her. He really needed a good night sleep. In as much as he'd love to make love to her all night long just cuddling her would suffice because he had not been sleeping well. He longed for their bed. Almost absentmindedly, he had been massaging the tension from between his shoulder blades when he detected a flowery scent. He heard the soft steps but a definite click of what he thought might be boot heels.
"If you want, I could help you with that later. I was a certified Massage Therapist before changing careers mid stream. Mind if I join you Grimes?" She asked as she lowered herself into the chair across the table from him. She was a petite blonde with blue eyes about five foot seven if that, a hundred and thirty pounds. She was curvier than Déchets with an ample rack as Shane would say. If memory serves him correctly this one was Anderson. Where Déchets was brazen this one was clingy, at least that's what the chatter was. She was a divorcee with two young boys and he certainly did not want her drawing any parallels with himself so he figured he'd let her down easy.
"Nah but thanks, nothing my girlfriend can't take care of in a few days." He replied hoping like hell the message was subtle enough for her. The message obviously hit a mark because her blue eyes grew wider and her mouth fell open in shock.
"Oh, I didn't realize you had someone waiting for you. The women here all said that you were available, that you just liked the chase. Grimes, you needn't lie … if I'm not your type just say so because from the stories going around here ... you're quite the ladies man."
"Anderson, I don't know who's saying what about me but I'm not interested in anyone here. I've got my woman and kid waiting for me. I have four more days of hell and when I leave here I'm on a jet to rendezvous with my woman. BTW, you got that straight from the horse's mouth so whatsoever pool y'all been betting on. You can bet against them and win. Excuse me." Frustrated, he got up and left Anderson at the table not knowing what to do with herself. Rick didn't mean to be harsh but his lack of sleep was catching up to him and he was edgy.
…
Michonne
Michonne awoke to the familiar ping. She had fallen asleep on the sofa, yet again. "Shit," Andrea had obviously found her there and covered her with a blanket. She had even plugged in her iphone to charge. Whatever would she do without her, she didn't even want to think about it.
This was honestly not how she had imagined their time in the Caymans. Months ago when she was day dreaming about it, she had envisioned something totally different, where they'd work four may be five hours a day, lounge by the pool for a couple hours before hitting the nightlife.
Since they'd arrive three weeks ago they were pulling eight to nine hour days combing through financial statements, no pool time. Andrea at least found some energy for a bit of nightlife for which she was grateful. Andrea was only supposed to be assisting her but the case turned into something else. There was virtually no evidence Stateside but here, there were mountains of it. Even with the aid of a forensic accountant it was proving to be a challenging task.
Reaching for her phone she read his morning text. She was elated to see that instead of going back to Atlanta he was coming down to spend the weekend with her. After that, he would then fly back home to move Carl to Atlanta with him permanently.
Michonne couldn't believe how much their lives had changed in the past three months. Rick had discovered that his wife was pregnant by another man, who just happened to be her Ex fiancé Negan. The latter's insecurities went into overdrive when he found out about her past relationship with Rick, he became threatened by their close proximity with Rick in Kings County to her based in Atlanta. Negan undertook a mission to learn about his perceived enemy, his endgame was to seek and destroy.
In short, Negan's obsession with Rick was what led him to her. It snowballed when Rick walked into her office one Friday afternoon in Atlanta. She had been praticising there and he was none the wiser until he discovered his wife had been unfaithful to him.
Rick had since divorced as was her father, who discovered her mother had been in a thirty year old relationship with Rick's father. Something he only found out recently because his mother withheld the information from him all this time. He and his mother's relationship was now in need of mending because of her activities during his divorce.
Closer to home the twins who were nicknamed as such for their thoughts and not because of their DNA; Sasha and Rosita were expecting. It was only herself and Maggie that still didn't seem to have anything on that front as yet. Andrea, was still doing Andrea but at least Shane got two drawers at her house, which if you knew Andrea like she knew her best friend … that was akin to a marriage but she would never let Shane know that. In her eyes, Shane still needed to be on his best behaviour before she'd green light him as a long term investment for her bestie.
…
Shortly after taking her shower, Michonne was eating breakfast when all of a sudden there was this pungent smell. It caused her to gag. She barely made it to the bathroom where she sat on the floor, holding her braids back and puked her guts out.
She heard Andrea's voice calling her name across the suite but she was too busy to answer. Eventually, she found her in a mess on the bathroom floor. "Mich, what the hell? What's going on?" Her friend was in panic mode. "Shit!" Andrea was busy calling the front desk for assistance to clean the mess.
Michonne was covered in cold sweat and looked worse than she really felt. "Drea, I'm okay. I was eating breakfast and I don't know if it was the food or what but there was this foul odour it made me sick. I'll just brush my teeth and jump in the shower again and I'll be right as rain you'll see. I feel much better already. I won't be long. Don't eat your plate … call for something else."
…
"What perfume are you wearing Drea?" Michonne approached her friend sniffing her while covering her mouth. She had a greenish look to her.
"I'm not wearing any. I was on my way into the shower when I heard you being sick. Mich whats's wrong with you? You're acting like a damn bloodhound … are you sure you're okay?"
Michonne found herself constantly rubbing her nose. It bothered her that her friend thought she was loosing her mind. "Fine damn it ... I'll text Maggie, I'm not crazy Drea."
Michonne: Mags, can a person develop sudden allergies?
Maggie: Mich, what the hell are doing up at this hour? You know there are medical professionals on that damn island right? What do you think you're allergic to? How long has it been going on?
Michonne: Although Drea won't say it she thinks I am crazy. I was eating breakfast and there was this pungent smell, which cause me to gag and Drea found me puking in the bathroom. Says she didn't smell anything. She even ate the identical stuff and she's fine, so far. Now, I'm smelling this god awful perfume and she said she ain't wearing any. I sniffed her and it's true. I don't know really, I never really noticed it till this morning. Why?
Maggie: "I'm calling you babe."
Answering the incoming call, Michonne sat on the leather sofa. Andrea ordered, "Put it on speaker," so she did.
"Mich, I want you think long and hard, when was your last cycle?" Maggie thought she had a fairly good idea as to just what was going on with her friend but she needed her answers first.
Rolling her eyes at Andrea, she replied, "I don't know Mags maybe six weeks, my cycle gets messed up when I'm stressed even with the implant why?"
"Michonne! Have you slept with Rick?" Then there was the long pause and Andrea's accusatory eyes pinned her where she sat … suddenly the air was sucked out of the room and she couldn't breathe.
"You did … didn't you?" It was rhetorical. In that moment, the realization of what was happening …. dawned on her and she ran to the bathroom to puke. All the while listening to her two friends blame each other for not keeping a closer eye on her. Really, she thought, the way they spoke, one would think she was a wayward teenager. After brushing her teeth she returned to the living area but said nothing.
"You do realize that man could impregnate you just by looking at you, don't you? You spent what, Friday through Sunday with him and he's knocked you up again. Is there any birth control method that won't get you knocked up?" Andrea was ranting. She was mad at Rick considering they talked about how important it was for Michonne to return to therapy. She was mad because she was there last time, she was the one who picked up the pieces.
"Drea, I'm sorry … I truly am." Andrea gave her best friend a hug and their tears flowed.
Maggie on the phone chimed in. "Mich, this is what you get for holding out on us. Your lying ass thought you could take a piece without giving up the deets … gurl your ass got busted. Dang I' must be channelling the twins because that sure as hell didn't even sound like me. It should be a very interesting weekend indeed. I'm just gonna sit back and watch that shit all unfold because it's gonna be good. I'm not even gonna tell the twins. Imagine that, three pregnant couples. I'm going back to bed y'all."
…
The Dreams
"Babe, you can do this you're almost there sweetie. I see can the head. Another good push babe … bare down babe. Yes! Yes! Omg, babe she's so beautiful! She looks just like you babe." Rick awoke drenched in sweat and tears.
Rick's sleep for the past few weeks had been broken. Each night he had a dream about the same theme which caused him to wake up drenched in sweat and tears. It wasn't a bad dream if it was true he'd be ecstatic but it's not a subject he wanted to broach in their new relationship as yet.
The most important thing at present, was for Michonne to become strong again because she had been suffering in silence for years. She recently returned to therapy and soon as he was back in Atlanta he would participate in couples therapy so that they could get pass this hump together.
Since he and his mom were still not on speaking terms, he felt lost. When he wasn't dreaming of fish, he'd be dreaming of coaching Michonne through the delivery and sometimes it was his son telling him just how much his sister resembled himself and her mother poking fun at his father's expense asking where was he at when she was conceived.
Rick had no either where to begin, there were so many conversations he needed to have that he felt unhinged. His mother's absence in his life was noticeable. He thought of her stubbornness and shook his head. It was just like her to expect him to offer the olive branch though it was her actions which caused their rift.
The dreams were powerful and while he often woke drenched in sweat and tears, it was never the content which he feared but his inability to broach the subject. He didn't want the subject matter to place undue pressure on Michonne. He felt certain if she was indeed pregnant she would tell him because they'd be in it together this time.
At one point, he even considered speaking to Maggie about it but quickly dispelled the idea because the girls talked about everything. However, this once, he believe Michonne did not share the fact they had spent the weekend together because he was almost certain he would have heard from Andrea by now.
