A/N: These two won't leave me alone, so here's another humble offering.

Enjoy

Sophia

PROLOGUE

He could tell the incomparable Michonne Duke was overwhelmed by the busy chatter around her. Even under the dim of the old led bar lights Rick could see it clear as day on her face. There was a pretense in her smile and a dullness behind her eyes. He figured her forefinger circling her thumb in a constant motion was probably a nervous tic of hers. Granted, she had buried her favorite aunt the day before, there wasn't only grief present on her face.

The conversation around them hadn't skipped a beat since the entire gang had finally arrived at Merle's ready to catch up with Michonne, ready to savor the last few moments before she had to leave them again. Rick didn't know Michonne really; they had met briefly at Sasha's house last Thanksgiving but she was as usual here today, gone tomorrow so there hadn't been much time to get acquainted. He figured with the dismissive way she had greeted him that first time was a clear indication she wasn't too keen on his recent induction into her old circle of friends. He took a swig of the cold beer in his hand as he tried to be incognito about his silent observation. Her red bottom stilettos looked out of place in Merle's bar, but he wasn't going to deny that she had the sexiest pair of legs he had ever seen.

Despite being home grown Michonne seemed to love the city where she lived, he could see she wasn't pleased about having to return to King County, even if she was solely here for her aunt Yvette. Her old friends had been glad when she extended her trip by a few extra days. When Rick got the call that they would be hanging out at Merle's that evening he agreed to pass through, just to get a glimpse of the famous Michonne's pretty face again. He attributed her celebrity status to the way his friends rolled out the red carpet for Ms. Duke whenever she was in town. Her visits were few and far between since he'd been living in King County, but it was her absence that gave him insightful tidbits of why she was so loved by her friends. It made him curious; if they were all so close, whatever the catalyst that made her leave home at twenty one must've been great.

He was surprised by her request for a martini, sans the vermouth; he pegged her for a wine drinker, assuming if she ever got tipsy it'd be a classy kind, but he was wrong about that. The thought about getting to know all the things he was wrong about where she was concerned excited him. He needed a reality check, there wouldn't be anytime to find out; not with the way she was avoiding his gaze or the unavoidable reminder of her imminent departure.

She sipped her martini while Daryl and Shane pummeled down memory lane, reminding her how she promised to marry them both if she was single by the time she hit thirty. She tried to laugh with them, tried to stay present in the conversation about the past, but Rick could see her struggle. She was like that memorable song on Sesame Street; she was one of those things that didn't belong, but he empathized with her disconnect.

Taking a break from Michonne watching, Rick eyed Merle's over confident flirting with Andrea, promising to slip the uninterested blonde some of his famous moonshine if she gave him time of day. Rick laughed, the man was resilient to no end. The overhead speakers were belting out tunes about the sweetness of new found love. The soulful singer dropped a line about a smile as bright as the sun. He knew all too well about getting too close to the sun; disintegration was always imminent.

Rick shook his head, he didn't give Michonne wrong for cringing at the corny lyrics. It looked like they both had an aberration to love. He wasn't looking for it and she didn't even want to hear a song about it. Maggie was about to launch into another story from 'the good old days' when he saw Michonne finish off her drink, ramble off some excuse to Sasha and beeline for the front door.

There wasn't much lull, everyone slipped back into their conversation as Michonne slipped outside.

Rick noticed her black jacket thrown over the back of the bar chair, he figured with it being early February she would need the protection from the cold. Moving towards her vacant chair, already deciding he couldn't allow her to freeze, he grabbed her jacket.

He would question the true motive behind his chivalry later.

Michonne chided herself for not grabbing her jacket in her mad rush from familiarity. Now she was stuck outside for the next few minutes chilling out in forty degree weather while she pondered on why it was so difficult to be in a room with the people who knew her best. She pegged her desire to flee from under Rick's gaze as secondary. A minute longer at the bar and she'd give into temptation and face his penetrating stare which might've encouraged him to initiate some conversation.

Panic seized her at the thought, the last thing she wanted to do was connect. If only Rick was the type of man she could ignore; he exuded so much testosterone, yet had such control over it. She knew if she gave into whatever magnetic pull she was trying her best to ignore she would be captivated by the sweetness of his smile or the smoothness of his voice. The mesmerizing night sky was calming for her, she felt like she could breathe easier in the open space. The moon always looked two times bigger this side of the state and she always felt as small as an ant when she was home.

"Thought you might need this." Rick eased the jacket over her shoulders with a certainty of its necessity. Michonne didn't protest at the sudden warmth, she didn't let her surprise for his consideration show.

"Thank you." She was grateful for the warmth though, cognizant of the trail of heat his fingers left on her shoulders.

"You alright? You looked like a deer in headlights right before you darted outta' there like a bull was at your heels." Rick's midnight blue eyes were potent under the glare of the streetlight. There was that magnetic force again, trying to suck her in.

"I was just a little claustrophobic is all." She was surprised they were conversing. She had left the bar to avoid him. She had no right to feel thrilled that he was seeking her out.

"Sure that's it?" Rick asked, pulling his denim jacket closer to his frame feeling the chill of the night air swirl around them.

She sucked in a breath, the last thing she wanted was for an almost stranger to pretend they knew what she was feeling. Rick didn't know her, they were curious acquaintances at best, so his probing made her feel defensive. Even if she knew his claim wasn't that far off, gathering he was more observer than talker. No wonder he and Daryl were best buds.

In defiance she rewarded him with an irritated laugh.

"Was feeling a little outta place. I'm not the Michonne they're expecting." She shrugged her shoulders, unimpressed by her blatant honesty. Her resolve was slipping and she didn't like it.

"Is that why you ran? You'd prefer to remain a stranger to them?" He nodded his head towards the door and folded his arm as he turned to face her.

"Stranger?" she said incredulously, as though his words weren't full of truth. "These guys don't take too well to strangers." Her tone was intentional, trying to imply he was exactly what he was accusing her of.

She knew it wasn't true, from all appearances Rick was the leader of the lot now. She had gathered over the last four days he was the go-to-guy and a trusted friend. He seemed to share a good rapport with Daryl, Shane and Glenn. The girls loved him. He was the man around town, everybody had something nice to say about their new-ish Sheriff's deputy.

However, his charm and good looks weren't going to sway her resolve to remain indifferent towards him.

"Funny, the only stranger I see here is you."

She felt the burn throughout her body, all the way down to her toes. The feeling of wanting to ignore him was back with a vengeance. The rationale part of her brain suggested that her irritation with him lay in the fact that he had easily taken her place, and also that his good looks and manly disposition had her uneasy and too self conscious for her liking. She opted to remain silent, unsure how to respond. Accepting defeat, she figured now was a good time to call it a night.

Before she could turn to head back inside, Rick placed a tender hand on her shoulder.

"Michonne, I'm sorry. I know what it's like to be the new guy in town. So I could only imagine what being back here after all this time is doin' to you."

She heard the empathy in his voice, saw a hint of sympathy in his eyes, but what arrested her was the way he said her name. It felt like a prayer and a curse on his tongue and she knew which one she wanted it to be.

"You have no idea," she said, taking in another deep breath. Maybe she didn't have to pretend with him.

"Wanna get out of here? My truck is parked over in the lot."

She did want to get away, but Sasha was her ride. Now that Daryl had arrived she knew her friend wasn't leaving anytime soon. Right now Rick seemed like a viable option to her runaway plan. She glanced back at the entrance door to Merle's bar, it was only a few feet in distance, but she felt miles away. The thick wooden door was good imagery for how closed off from her friends she felt. She wanted to unlock whatever it was that was keeping her from them but she wasn't ready, not yet.

There wasn't much deliberation, she turned and smiled at Rick.

"Lead the way."

"So that makes that guy the Big Dipper," Rick said, pointing to the large handle and bowl like shape of stars in the night sky.

"Which means the North Star is..." Michonne pointed her finger to the left of the sky's intricate art, "right there."

"You know your stars." Rick was impressed with her knowledge of the sky's large clock. They were lying comfortably on the bed of his Ford F-150, head to head, looking up at the black carpet. As the hours of the night ticked by, they had slipped into easy conversation taking in the breathtaking view from the top of Pine Hills. There were a lot of tall trees in eyesight before they got a good grasp of the entire County still alive at night. The true eye catcher was the brightly lit sky above, Michonne couldn't pull her gaze away from it.

"Gorgeous isn't it." Rick wasn't talking about the lights above, he wanted to let Michonne know that Ursa Major had nothing on her luminous smile.

"My mom used to love star gazing," she volunteered, unsure of how or why she felt free enough to mention her mother.

"Your mom's gone too?" Rick asked, his voice soft.

"Yeah," she said sitting upright, enjoying the view from the hill one last time. It was time to get back to reality, she was enjoying the escape too much, but everytime she thought about sleeping in her dead aunt's house she felt overwhelmed. She didn't mind prolonging the easy conversation she had surprisingly found with Rick. She couldn't have been there for her ailing aunt, by the time she got to King County it was too late. Guilt and sadness lay still in the background of her thoughts like a memory that wouldn't go away.

"She died when I was twelve. I miss her every day." Confessing that to Rick lightened her.

"I'm sorry." He placed his hand over hers.

"What about you? Your mom alive?"

Rick nodded.

"I hope you treat her right." His hand was still touching hers, she kinda liked that his palm covered hers like a warm blanket.

"We have dinner together every Sunday."

Having chatted with him for almost three hours, she didn't doubt that Rick was that wholesome good guy who still opened doors for women and visited his mother once a week. He was holding fast to all of his southern virtues. The knowledge gave her a sense of happiness amidst her pain. She eased her way closer to him, insisting to herself that it was the coldness and nothing else that made her want to get closer to Rick.

"I'm glad to hear." She tucked her hair behind her ears as a distraction while he made room for her to get more comfortable. "I gotta question, but you have to answer me honestly."

Rick didn't want to ruin the moment, but Michonne was so close to him now he could smell her perfume and her pomegranate body wash. Her scent was as intoxicating as her beauty.

He had a craving for her small frame in his arms. It was strong and intense, something he didn't seem to have any control over. When he witnessed her dejection at the bar he wanted to help in any way he could at the time. She didn't know he was an expert in pain. He knew what it was like to lose people.

She brought out that protective urge in him. It was a feeling he hadn't felt for a woman in a very long time. The compulsion was heightened now that her walls were down. There was something foreign driving him to know her better, a longing inside to be a listening ear to her affliction. He resigned himself to being whatever she needed for tonight. Even if it was just someone to talk to. His body had started betraying his intentions, all he could think about doing right was kissing her full lips, needing to find out how that sexy pout felt against his.

"How come a nice guy like you isn't married with two point five kids?"

Her smooth voice broke his lustful thoughts. "Nice guy huh?" he shrugged, it was the last thing he was expecting her to ask.

"Yeah I mean, a handsome guy like yourself. The way the girls talk about you, you seem like quite the catch."

"You think I'm handsome?"

She saw him blush at the indirect compliment, she couldn't quite explain why that excited her. "That's all you got from what I said?" She couldn't help but laugh at his failed modesty.

Seeing Michonne laugh was like witnessing the sun appear after a rainy day.

Rick raked a hand through his curly mass of hair.

Michonne's hands were itching to feel his waves through her fingers.

"I'm not sure if that whole wife and two point five kids thing is for me." He said it so nonchalant that he might as well have been talking about owning a cat.

"Why not?"

Rick shrugged again, unsure of how to answer her question without sounding like a complete jerk.

"For starters most women around here want the whole nine yards. They white picket fence. The house. The babies." He gave a subtle shake of his head, at least she didn't move away from him. "I just don't think kids are in the cards for me. Not sure I'll be any good at fatherhood." It was always something he felt strongly about. His father was an old drunk that never paid him no mind. That deficit left him feeling defeated. His father not wanting to stick around left him feeling like a failure. He was usually left to his own devices without a crucial male influence.

He didn't have any example of what a good father was really, he just knew he didn't want to risk bringing a child into this world and failing them too. It was part of why he became a cop, he could control disappointing people while on the job by knowing what he had to do and executing it to the best of his ability.

"I get that." She knew everybody came with some kind of baggage, she gave Rick ten points for owning his. She knew there was a deeper story behind his words but she didn't want to pry further, nor did she want to get too invested in his sorrow. She preferred the land of the unknown, that way she didn't run the risk of wanting to trade his sadness for joy.

When her hand brushed the side of his head, it surprised the both of them.

"As long as we're going with the truth, I have a confession to make." He inched closer to her, she knew what was coming. Even in her anticipation she was trying to persuade herself to take things for what they were.

"Yeah? What's that?" He was leaning in and her palms grew sweaty, her heart rate hiked up a notch.

"I really wanna know what your lips taste like."

She had one more weekend in King County, she couldn't think of a better way to prolong the sadness of her leaving than by kissing Rick Grimes.

"Well what are you waiting for?"

Never beyond his wildest imagination did Rick think one kiss at the back of his truck would've lead to four of the most memorable nights of his life. He and Michonne had gotten so twisted up in each other he didn't know where he ended and she began. Their love making turned soul finding had shattered his perceptions about heart matters. Michonne made him reassess his purpose in the world.

He knew what they had wasn't meant to last. It was a mere four days, but in those four days he found out she was a coffee junkie, loved her mother and her aunt, even if she had trouble expressing it. She loved it when he kissed her belly. She loved Chinese food, sweet and sour chicken to be exact. Her appetite for him was insatiable; she was naughty in his bedroom as much as she was nice out of it.

If he had a choice in being the kind of man to settle down with someone, he didn't mind if Michonne was that someone. They didn't discuss anything that would've consisted of the real world, probably with good reason. Michonne stated plain and simple to him that King County wasn't her home, after their time together was over she'd be returning to her life as he would his.

He was in agreement, mostly. He was in shock too, after only four days with her, he was rethinking what contentment meant for him. Her reticence to speak on future visits to King County was enough to reinforce what they shared wasn't anything promising. He knew what they were doing and although he didn't want her to leave he knew she had to. He was okay with the time they did have with each other. She gave him great memories if nothing else.

Still, nothing prepared him for Tuesday morning when his hand stretched across the expanse of his large bed only to be met with the coldness of his dark sheets. It was in direct contrast with the warmth Michonne had brought to his home. They had spoken about her return flight to the city somewhere between eating takeout in bed and the addictive passion they lured out of each other, so he knew she had to leave soon.

Now that she was gone, he felt the loss like a weight in his belly. Flashes of them making love on his bed, in the shower and that one comical evening on his kitchen counter didn't ease his surprising disappointment.

After all they'd shared, he didn't think for a second she'd leave him without at least a proper goodbye. The loss of her warmth was great, but the impact her sudden departure had on his heart was indelible. He realized now that he had lied to her. He told her he wasn't a forever kind of guy, but now that she had slipped out into the darkness leaving him with a bottomless void, his aching heart was begging to differ.