Hi All! This is my first time writing Fanfiction. I haven't written any fiction since my undergrad writing classes so I'm excited to get my ideas out there. I'm a big fan of The Walking Dead. Rick, Michonne, and Daryl are my favorite characters. I was happy when the writers (FINALLY!) created Richonne. However, I still feel there were many areas that the show didn't and couldn't cover. So here I decided to create my Walking Dead Richonne world. This story begins when the group arrives at Alexandria. The first part of the story will be a build up to Negan.

Part I

Chapter 1 - The Gate

They arrived at the gates of Alexandria just before sundown. Tired and weary, but ever alert, the group parked their cars and waited. Rick Grimes sat in the passenger seat of the old beat up Oldsmobile. He didn't want to drive. He needed to be alert. He needed to see. He needed to know that he wasn't leading his group into a trap. His son sat behind him. Like his father he was skeptical. Carl Grimes was all of 15 years old, but life added years way beyond his youth. He watched just like his father. His hand on his hype, ready to draw at the first sign of danger. His little sister, Judith, lay blissfully in her car seat. Her little chubby fingers were stuffed in her mouth. She didn't cry, but she was hungry. But she didn't cry.

Rick watched and waited. His fiery blue eyes darted from tree to tree. Scanned every inch of the fence in view. He looked up at the three men at the top of the gate. He read their body language. They looked more afraid of him than he was of them. Why wouldn't they be scared? The only thing visible behind his shaggy head and growing beard were those blue eyes. They burned a hole where they gazed.

He was tired. Tired of running. Tired of hiding. Tired of scavenging. Tired of being tired. He needed this place to work. If it didn't work, he would make it work. He would take it. He would make it his. Conquer. He needed to conquer. For his son. For his daughter. For his people. This would work on his terms or he would take it.

"Shall we go?" she said. Pulled from his paranoid trance, Rick turned to face his driver. The sunlight hit her dark-skin making her shine like she was engulfed in some eternal light. Michonne was Rick's right-hand. He trusted her. He listened to her even though her words were few. She wanted, needed this place to work too. Although she never complained, he knew that she was tired because he was tired. And if he wasn't okay with this place, she couldn't be either.

When Aaron found them huddled together in an old barn, she was the first to believe his offer of a home that they could theirs. This surprised Rick. He always thought she was like him. Skeptical. Yet in this moment, she was hopeful, trusting. This wasn't like the Michonne that Rick had come to know. He trusted that their thoughts were the same. Even when they didn't speak, he knew they were thinking the same thing. But she surprised him. He wasn't prepared to believe in Aaron. He planned to kill him. Months on the run made Rick's temper these days short. The inability to provide for his family made it even shorter.

"Give me a minute," Rick replied. "I need to take this all in." He was planning their exit before they entered. He could easily take out the three guards. This made his a little more comfortable.

"Are we going to do this or what?" Daryl asked. He rolled his motorcycle up to Rick's lowered window. "Either we're going or we're not." Daryl didn't like being in the open this. Rick didn't either, but he couldn't ease the feeling of entering the unknown. They had been fighting, running for so long. Could this place offer the solitude that Aaron had offered?

"Rick, either we're going to inside or we're leaving. We can't just sit here all night. I know you're afraid. So am I, but we won't know what's on the other side unless we get on the other side," Michonne said. She looked him directly in the eyes. Her deep brown eyes were confident.

He swallowed and ran his hand through his beard. He hadn't shaved in months and his beard was starting to touch the collar of his white shirt. Rick knew she was right. She normally was. "Okay," he said. "Let's go." He raised his hand out of the window and signaled to the rest of his group that they were going in.

Aaron called for one of the guards to open the gates. As they parted, Rick looked out of the side-mirror behind him. He could make out the face of Carol in the car behind him. Her eyes met his and she gave him a nod. Rick turned his head and looked at Daryl. He was looking forward, but his face was tense. They all were ready. Ready for what was inside.

None of them were ready for what awaited them on the other side of the gate. Sure, Aaron had said his group lived in a new housing developed, model homes left empty. Ready for new occupants that never came. But Rick never expected this. Beautiful two-story homes lined the streets. Each home had its own character, but the theme was the same. This was suburbia. This was meant for the SUV's, Starbucks, and soccer moms. Not a battle-torn group that once called an abandoned prison home. As they drove deeper into the compound, Rick watched as children played in the driveway of a large tan house with a bright red door. People walked down the streets deep in conversation. Women sat on porches sipping lemonade. This was the world before the world ended. And this worried Rick even more. It was one thing settling into a new camp, but this was a whole new world. More so it was the old world before this new one started. One that Rick Grimes never thought he would never see again.

Aaron pulled on the side of Michonne and motioned her to pull over. She stopped the car in front of a large brick house. It was the kind of house that could be in the Mid-West or New England. It was colonial. Made to look like it had been there for a hundred years even though it was barely two years old. It looked important. Like it was designed to be home to someone important. Five windows lined the bottom flower. Each was decorated with black shutters. A yellow floral reef hung from the black door. A light was on in one of the upstairs windows. Smoked was coming from the chimney. This was a family home. The type of home that Rick would have wanted for his family before the world ended. This wasn't what a group that once called a prison home was expecting.

Aaron got out of his car and waited on the sidewalk in front of the house. He looked to his new settlers to do the same.

Rick hesitated. He still wasn't sure. The gates had already closed and he knew there was no turning back. As much as he was afraid, he needed this to work. Judith was starting to get fussy. He knew she was hungry. He couldn't leave now. He couldn't risk sending his group back out there. Back out into nothing. He glanced at the house one more time. This was the kind of house he pictured him and Lori growing old in. He rarely thought of Lori these days, but this house brought back thoughts of her. He looked down at his wedding ring. He still hadn't brought himself to remove it. As much as he resented her, resented what she did and how she hurt him, he still couldn't remove it. This place reminded him of her and that made him even more nervous.

Michonne placed her hand over his and gave it a squeeze. "Let's do it," she said. Rick opened the car door slowly. Carl mimicked his father. They stood side by side and gazed at the house in front of them. Rick looked up and down the street. No one took the time to look at the strangers. The residents of Alexandria were too caught up in their own day to day lives. This made Rick nervous.

The door swung open and a young man stood smiling. He was in his late twenties. Tall and handsome, he looked like the ivy league type. Rick never got on with that type of guy. He was a good ole country boy.

"This is Spencer," Aaron said as he made his way up the path towards the door. He extended his hand and Spencer shook it.

"I see you brought in a big haul," Spencer said with an apprehensive smile. "I'll go and get the boss." He turned around and went back inside.

Aaron motioned for the Rick to follow. Aaron had told him about their leader. He said that she was a former Congresswoman. She was fair, but she was firm. She was used to being underestimated. She was used to it being a man's world, but this new world belonged to whoever was strong enough to take it.

"Stay here with Carl and Judith," Rick said to Michonne. She nodded. He knew she wanted to join him inside, but he didn't trust anyone besides her and Daryl with his children's lives. This place was still new and until he met this leader, he wasn't going to put his kids in further danger.

"Maggie, Glenn, and Carol follow me," Rick said. He thought that they would be the best people to accompany him. Maggie and Glenn were rational, Carol was good at observing. He didn't even need to tell Daryl to stay outside. He hadn't bothered to get off his motorcycle. He wasn't the guy to bring to a first meeting.

Rick, Maggie, Glenn, and Carol followed Aaron inside the house. Although they had been through so much over the last two years together, they weren't ready for what they saw when they entered the house. They all let out a quiet, "oh" when they entered the foyer. The room was large and bright. A mahogany table filled with fresh white flowers sat in the center of the room. It had been so long since they smelled something as fresh as flowers. These days the rotting flesh of the walking dead had become their signature scent.

The walls were a pale yellow. Black framed photos hung from the walls. They looked like the picture frames Lori used to buy in the hopes of filling them with family photos. Instead, they remained occupied by the stock photos they came with.

They waited in the foyer with Aaron for a few minutes until Spencer returned. "She's ready to see you," he said. He looked at Rick in curiosity but quickly turned away when Rick met his eyes. In his haggard state, Rick was intimidating. For a guy like Spencer, he was terrifying.

As they followed Spencer further into the house they passed a dining room that looked like it was used as a conference room. There were no plates on the table. Instead, there were notebooks, pens, and maps. So this was like their White House Rick thought. The room across from the dining room was a small sitting room with a fireplace. There was a modern glass desk with neatly arranged papers and folders. A coffee mug was still steaming on it while the fire place burned brightly.

The group entered the family room. It was a large white room that faced the backyard. Plants and silver trinkets adorned the coffee and side tables. The walls were covered with replica artwork supposed to give potential buyers' inspiration. The whole room was like looking at a luxury real estate listing. The soft Persian rug in hues of reds and blues blended well with the soft recessed lightening. In the centered of the room, seated on a rather large oatmeal tinged sectional, was a small woman. She was shorter than Carl, but what she didn't have in height she made up for in presence. She looked to be in her late fifties. Her face was one of determination. Her medium length red hair was neatly parted to the side. A pair of gold hoops dangled from her ears. She was dressed smartly: crisp white blouse, black trousers, and black flats with a gold buckle. Her blue eyes darted from face to face until they found Rick's blue ones. She knew he was the leader. Not by his face but by his presence. Like her, he left an impression.

She stood up and extended her hand to him. "Hello, I'm Deanna." Her hand wavered a bit as she waited for Rick to return her greeting. She noticed he was still armed. In fact, they were all armed. This did not intimidate her. She stared back into Rick's eyes. He felt like this little gesture was a test. His grandfather always told him that first impressions were what people remembered. He could tell she was the kind of woman that felt that way too. Even though he wasn't sure about this place, he knew that this first meeting would be what she remembered tomorrow.

"Um, hi," Rick said extending his hand to clasp hers. "I'm Rick. Rick Grimes."

...

Michonne stood next to Carl while Rick and the rest went inside. When she first met Carl, he barely reached her shoulders. Now he almost towered over her. He leaned against the car and crossed his arms. His gaze was steady. He had grown so much since they first met. He had been forced to grow up too fast. He was a soldier, son, brother, and at often a part-time dad. He wore many invisible hats, but he always kept his father's old sheriffs hat on his head. He had already seen more than anyone should ever see in ten lifetimes. But underneath all of it, he was still a child. It was Carl that made the call. He was the first of the group to welcome her. For this, she always felt an affection towards him that she had not shared with many people. In the world, they knew before their paths might not have ever crossed. Now in this new world, their lives were forever intertwined.

She needed this place to not only work for him and Judith but also Rick. They wouldn't survive life on the road much longer. Food was becoming scarce and they were running out of options. Michonne watched as Rick became more withdrawn from the group. While the rest of the group thought it out of frustration, Michonne knew he was starting to crack. For over a year he was their fearless leader. He pulled them out of the darkness. He sacrificed so that they could survive. But now Rick was tired. The events of the last several months were catching up to him. Michonne knew this because she felt the same. If he was okay, she was okay. If he was starting to crack, it would only be so long before she did the same.

It bothered her that he doubted her decision to follow Aaron to Alexandria. Rick rarely went against her and she never went against him. They were always in sync. They had formed a bond different from his relationships with others in the group. There were levels to Rick Grimes and she was one of the few he allowed at the top. But this time he didn't like her call. It was not like her to trust strangers he said. She knew he thought she was getting soft. He stared at her intensely when she invited Aaron in. She could sense his anger, but she was never on the receiving end of his wrath. But that stare hurt more than words. In that stare, she saw that for the first time since she stood at the gates of the prison, that Rick doubted her. This hurt her deeply. Somehow they had formed this surrogate family. She loved Carl and Judith like they were her own children. She went hungry so that they could eat. She had been there for them when Rick could not. She had been there for Rick. She saved his life on more than one occasion and she sided with him when she knew he was wrong. She was loyal to a fault. To think Rick would doubt her judgment, her instincts, and most importantly that she would do anything to put Carl and Judith in harm's way hurt her. But she would never tell him this. She would bottle up the hurt and leave it to ferment. It would resurface on another day.