"Michonne." He whispered. "I need your help."
Michonne tried so hard to ignore the voice. She had been hearing this voice for over a month now and she tried so hard to close her eyes and will the voice away but she couldn't. He was calling out to her. He needed her help. But what could she do? She had never experienced this kind of thing before. What could she do?
"Please. This is real. I'm real." He whispered again. "Please help me."
Michonne sat up in bed and decided to take a shower. She got up and got her clothes ready. Walking into the bathroom, she turned on the shower and felt the hot water with her fingers. She took a deep breath, took her clothes off and got in. She had to relax.
Later on that day, Michonne was out with her best friend Maggie. Maggie had been her friend since college. They met and instantly connected. Michonne knew that she could talk to Maggie about anything but this particular thing was different. She couldn't tell anyone.
"You alright?" Maggie asked. "You seem distracted."
Michonne blinked and looked at her friend's face, "I'm fine." She gave her a smile and hoped her friend wouldn't ask anymore questions. She didn't and they continued on with their day. Michonne was in Maggie's car, listening to her friend speak about work when the voice came back.
"Michonne. I know you can hear me. I promise to leave you alone if you help me."
Michonne put her hand on her forehead and took a deep breath.
Maggie looked over at her and stopped the car on the side of the road, "Michonne? Is somethan' wrong?" Maggie asked, her thick accent was laced with concern.
Michonne decided it was best to tell her friend what was going on. Maggie was, after all, a therapist. She helped all kind of people with all kinds of problems and hoped that her friend could help her too.
"I keep hearing a voice. It's a guy, and he's asking for help." Michonne said.
"This guy… have you seen him?" Maggie asked and Michonne appreciated her not making it seem like she was crazy.
"No… I just started hearing his voice recently. He asks me to help. He said that he would-" She paused as she heard his voice again.
"Michonne? Why won't you talk to me? Why won't you answer?"
Michonne felt bad, she had been trying to push his voice out of her mind, "I'm sorry. It's kind of hard to wrap my head around this whole thing." She told him.
Maggie asked if she was hearing him and Michonne nodded. She told Maggie that he knew her name somehow. Maggie couldn't even tell what was going on with Michonne. There were no signs in the many years she'd known her that said something was wrong with her brain. Maybe she really was hearing a voice. But how?
"I know what you mean." He told her. His accent sounded a lot like Maggie's. "My name is Rick."
"Rick. It's nice to meet you." She felt crazy to say the least but she was determined to help him so that he could leave her alone.
"I need your help." He said again.
"Yeah, I got that. How come I can't see you?"
"Because I don't want you to." He sounded sad. "If you saw me, you'd think this was even more bizarre than it is now."
"Rick, I'll help you. I will. But I want to see you. I have to know that I'm not talking to myself here." She said. Maggie just looked on.
She watched as Michonne looked out of the windshield. Her friend's eyes got wide and then she got out of the car, "Michonne, wait!" Maggie said as she got out too. She watched Michonne raise her hand and placed it on what would be the man's cheek.
Rick closed his eyes as he felt her soft warm hand on his skin. He knew she couldn't feel him but man, could he feel her. When he opened his eyes he saw tears run down her cheek so he wiped them away.
"Why can't I feel you?" She asked.
"I think you know why." He whispered. "I can feel you though." He said with a small smile.
"Really?" She asked. He nodded and looked over at Maggie. Michonne followed his eyes and looked at her friend.
"She thinks you're crazy."
Michonne chuckled but then she looked at him as he looked at her and she frowned. She turned to Maggie, "You think I'm crazy, don't you?" She asked.
"Michonne, you have to understand what this looks like from my point of view."
She did.
Michonne nodded and told her friend that she'd catch up with her later.
"I am not leavin' you out here alone."
"I'm not alone." Michonne reminded her and walked away with Rick.
"Go ahead and ask, I know you want to." Rick said.
"How'd you… die?"
She watched him sigh before he spoke, "My best friend… shot me right through the chest."
"Why?"
"He was jealous of my relationship with my wife. Hated that we were married. He wanted to take my son." A tear escaped his blue eyes and Michonne reached up to wipe it away.
"I'm so sorry, Rick."
He looked at her and smiled, "That's why I need your help. You're an investigator, you're the only person left that can tell everyone the truth. That I was murdered, I didn't kill myself."
"That's what people think?" Michonne furrowed her eyebrows at that information. "Your son? He thinks that too?"
Rick nodded, "He hates me. He thinks I left him. He thinks I don't love him and I need him to know the truth." Their eyes connected and Michonne knew how important this was for him.
"I'll help you." She said. He thanked her.
They went back to her house. She went to make some food, asked him if he wanted some and felt stupid as soon as the words escaped her lips.
Rick chuckled as he sat on the island in the middle of her kitchen. Her house was nice. It had spiral stairs and the living room was as colorful as could be. So many different paintings and some had her name on them.
"You paint?" He asked.
"I did in college. Haven't really had time to get back into it." She responded as she cut up some chicken into small pieces and placed them in the pan.
"Your house is really nice."
She smiled and thanked him.
"So, what did you do? Ya know, before…"
"I was a cop. I lived in King County with my son."
"What about your wife?" She asked. "Sorry, don't answer that." She turned from him and began searching for something in the cabinets.
"No, it's fine. She and I divorced a year ago. She came to the funeral though, I was surprised."
Michonne nodded and continued to check on her food.
"So, tell me…" He began. Michonne looked up at him. "Why are you in this house all by yourself?"
"I had someone but he was an alcoholic and it got really bad. He started smoking weed all the time and he would come home late always… I couldn't deal with it so I left. I moved here and started a new life. I'm happy." She said.
"Well, I'm happy for you."
"Thank you." She said. "So, you never get hungry?"
"Nah, it's actually kind of annoyin'."
"How so?" She asked with a smile.
"I can smell everythang, so I want to eat everythang and then I do, and it goes right through me." He watched her face twist with disgust.
"Rick, that's disgusting." Michonne commented, her face was serious but her eyes were dancing with amusement.
Rick just laughed at her and she playfully slapped him with her oven mitt because she knew he'd feel it.
"Jerk." She said.
Later, after Michonne ate dinner and took her shower she got ready for bed. She climbed into her huge bed and got under the covers. She looked up at Rick and smiled at him.
"Goodnight, Rick." She said.
"Goodnight, Michonne."
Her eyes slowly closed and soon, she was in a deep sleep.
FLASHBACK:
Rick has just arrived home after a long shift at work. His 13 year old son, Carl, was with his mother for the week and he'd seen him over the weekend.
Rick changed out of his uniform and turned on the tv to the sports channel while he made dinner. He was making some spaghetti since that was one of the easiest thing to make so late at night.
He was paying attention to the football game when his favorite team, The Atlanta Falcons, missed a touchdown, giving the other team a point.
"Oh, come on! What kind of fuckin' pass was that Ryan!" He shouted at the tv. He shook his head as he continued to cook his dinner. Once it was done, he grabbed a beer from the refrigerator and his plate and went to sit down in his favorite chair. He continued to watch the game as he ate his food. Once he was done, he turned the tv off, grabbed his trash and disposed of it. He was about to head upstairs when he heard a door slam close.
He grabbed his gun from the counter and went by the front door. He looked out of the peephole and saw his best friend Shane. Rick holstered his weapon in the band of his jeans and opened the door for his friend. As soon as he greeted Shane, he heard a gunshot. He hadn't realized he was bleeding until he collapsed to the ground, with his hand gripping his chest. He was struggling to breath and everything on his body was hot. The last sight he would ever see was the angry face of his best friend and the sight of the gun that killed him.
Somehow his spirit was outside of his body and he was watching Shane make the murder look like a suicide. He wrote a note and everything, placing it on the counter and placing Rick on the couch with the gun in his hand. He watched Shane wait a while and then call the police. The ambulance and police arrived with firetrucks. He watched himself get rushed to the hospital where they pronounced him dead.
Rick couldn't believe what he had just witnessed. He saw his own friend cover up the murder and made it look like a suicide. He watched his family cry for him, asking him why and there was nothing he could do about it. Nothing at all.
END OF FLASHBACK
Michonne woke up the next morning. After brushing her teeth, getting dressed and fixing her hair, she walked down the spiral stairs, grabbed an apple off the counter and left her home. She got into her car and called out to Rick but he never came. She prayed that it wasn't a dream. She didn't want it to be a dream. She wanted to help him.
She arrived at work and immediately went to her desk and searched the web for the incident. She found an article that said 'Cop commits suicide in his home.' She narrowed her eyes at the article in disgust because it was a lie. He was murdered.
Michonne clicked on the article and his picture popped up. She ran her fingers over the screen and sighed, "He's not getting away with this." Michonne promised.
During lunch time, Michonne went to the library for some more privacy as she dug deeper into the case. It had been closed for awhile but she had connections. She was typing on her laptop when Rick suddenly appeared next to her.
She gasped and jumped, clutching her chest, "Shit, you scared me." She whispered.
"Sorry." Rick said with a small chuckle. He watched Michonne look around to make sure no one was looking.
"We can't talk here, let's go to my car." They both got up, though from another person's point of view, it was just her and left the library.
Once they were in the privacy of the car, Michonne spoke.
"Where were you this morning?" She asked, putting her laptop in its case and setting it in the back seat.
"What do you mean?"
Michonne furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, "I called your name this morning and you didn't respond."
"Oh, I was checkin' on my son, didn't know you called."
Michonne nodded, "And how is he?"
"He's…" He sighed. "Not good."
Michonne placed a hand on his back and removed it quickly when she remembered she wouldn't be able to feel him. It kind of sucked.
"I should've seen the signs, ya know? I should've paid more attention and now…" A single tear dropped from his eyes, "Now my son has to live without his father."
"What happened was not your fault, Rick. I'm gonna make sure people know that."
He looked up at her and smiled and she noticed he was starting to fade away.
"Rick? What's happening?" She asked, frantically.
"I get a certain amount of time here… but I'll be back tonight." He said right before he disappeared into thin air.
Michonne was with Maggie, Glenn (Maggie's husband), Sasha and Daryl. They were sitting in a restaurant for dinner since the next day was a saturday and no one had to work. Michonne hoped Maggie wouldn't bring up the incident from the other day but her hopes were crushed when Maggie said,
"So Michonne, how's your friend been doin'?" She asked, and raised her eyebrow with a nod of her head.
"He's fine." Michonne responded, dryly as she sipped her glass of water.
Sasha was waiting for her to continue but she didn't, "What friend?"
Everyone at the table looked at Michonne but she rolled her eyes and glanced out the window. She saw a woman outside talking to… Rick? She excused herself and left the restaurant. Her friends were watching her.
"Rick? What are you doing?" She asked.
The woman turned to her, "You… you can see him?" She asked. She looked to be in about her mid-twenties. She had black long hair, her eyes were kind of sunken in, along with her cheeks and she looked sick. She was probably on drugs.
"Yeah…" Michonne said. She confused.
"He's been harassing me for a week!"
"Oh stop lyin'!"
"Alright, how about we all just walk away and forget what happened here?"
The woman huffed and walked away. Michonne turned to Rick and sighed. Before she could say anything, Rick spoke.
"I gotta go." Was what he said.
"Wait, why?"
"I'm not supposed to be here right now, but I promised I'd see you tonight. I'll be back later." And just like that, he was gone.
Michonne rolled her eyes and walked back into the restaurant. All eyes were on her as she sat awkwardly back down in her seat. Maggie began to speak and she told their friends everything much to Michonne's annoyance. She really didn't need anyone judging her.
"Michonne, are you sure this guy is… actually here?" Sasha asked.
"I believe he is. I did my research after he told me about the cover up and it's true. There was an article that said that he 'committed suicide'. He told me that he was murdered and I believe him."
Maggie sighed, "I've searched and searched for explanations and I can't find any." She told their friends. Michonne looked confused but caught on quickly.
"Maggie-"
"I know what you're gonna say, Michonne. I'm just tryin' to help. It's my job."
Michonne nodded and got up and left. To avoid confrontation. She loved Maggie like a sister but sometimes she wanted people to agree with her point of view and see things from her point of view rather than listen to someone else and get a different side. Everything was always 'my way or the highway' with her and it got old.
It was late, Michonne was sitting on her bed with her laptop in her lap as she searched for more articles on the 'suicide'. There were none that even suggested a murder which meant that the person who did it, was great at covering his tracks. It'd be a hard case to solve but Michonne was determined to get it done.
While she was at work, she had to focus on so many other things but this case had filled her mind. She was a hard worker though, and most of her cases were solved in due time so she had no problem believing that this one would be solved too.
Just as she was about to click on another article, she felt a swoosh of wind. She looked up and saw Rick.
"Oh, hi." She said as she closed her laptop and put it to the side.
"Hey." Rick said back.
"So, I can't find any articles where people might've believed it to be a murder. It means your… killer must've covered his tracks really well. Does anyone still live in that house?" She asked.
"No, my parents still pay for it though, they go by there once a week."
"Well, Monday I'm gonna go by there if that's alright with you. See what I can find."
"Okay…" Was all Rick said before he sat down on her bed. It didn't even dip and it was so weird.
"I know this isn't going fast enough but I-"
"That's not the issue…" Rick interrupted. "I appreciate your help, I really do."
"You didn't give me much of a choice." Michonne said with a genuine smile.
Rick smiled back. "No, I guess I didn't."
Michonne asked him to lay with her for a little while. Rick was surprised but he obliged.
He climbed into the bed and laid on his side. Michonne turned over and mimicked his position. She placed her hand on his head but she still couldn't feel him. She sighed and removed her hand.
"This is so backwards." She said.
"What's that?" He asked.
"You're not supposed to be able to feel me. I'm supposed to go right through you."
Rick sighed, "It's because I'm not completely gone yet."
Michonne sat up, "What do you mean?"
"As long as my death continues to be a lie, I can't be at peace. A part of me is still here… until my murder is solved, I can still pick up objects and feel human contact."
"So… once I solve this case you'll be… gone?" She asked, tears forming in the rim of her eyes.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you this before…"
"I'm never…" She took a deep breath and released it. "... never going to see you again, am I?"
Rick didn't respond.
Michonne blinked several times so the tears wouldn't fall and then she got out of bed and left the room. Of course she knew that this would happen. He was a ghost and ghosts were supposed to be at peace. But hearing him say it, it made everything so real. The first guy she had talked to for a long time… the first guy she genuinely felt connected to was a ghost that was never meant to last forever.
Rick appeared at her side and by then she was used to it, she didn't jump.
"I know how you're feelin', Michonne. Believe me, I do. No matter what happens I'll never forget you." He hesitantly put his arm around her waist and pulled her against him. She fit so perfectly in his arms it was amazing to him. He wished he knew her before he died.
Michonne looked up at him and gave a small, sad smile. "I'll never forget you either, Rick." She closed her eyes as she cherished this moment. She wished she could feel it. His strong, secure arms but just being there with him was enough for her.
It had been a week since Michonne realized that Rick wouldn't be there forever. She tried to prolong his stay as long as she could but she knew she was being selfish. He wanted peace, he deserved it and she'd make it happen. She was sitting in Maggie's office, while her friend just looked at her sympathetically.
"Michonne, honey. Talk to me."
Michonne looked up and tears were streaming down her face, "I don't know how." She said, her voice filled with so much sadness and emotion.
"Then just tell me what he's like… don't talk about the obvious. Tell me about his personality. What you think of him." Maggie said.
Michonne paused for a moment, collecting her thoughts, "He's… very kind." She began and Maggie started writing. "He makes me smile, all the time. It may sound crazy… I'm sure it does but I get so happy when he's around and I feel special because I'm the only one who can see him and when we're together it's like we're the only two people in the whole world."
Maggie reread her notes, her friend was falling for this… ghost.
"If he were here right now, what would you say to him?"
"I don't know. After last week, there's nothing left to say that doesn't pertain to the case." She revealed sadly.
"You and I both know that's not true. You care about him and I'm sure he cares about you."
"If I told him what I was feeling, what would it help? He's still leaving after I finish the case, Maggie and nothing…" Her voice got softer, quieter. "Nothing I say will change that."
"Maybe not, but you'll never be at peace with this, if you don't tell him. He will never be at peace if you don't tell him, Mich." Maggie's heart broke as she listened to the silent cries of her best friend. After everything with Mike, she deserved all the happiness in the world and after finding a small percentage of it, it's being taken away.
"Michonne?" She looked to her left and saw him standing there. Maggie looked at her friend and she knew this, Rick, was there.
"I could hear you cryin'... you alright?" He was checking on his son when he heard her crying. She sounded so upset so he had to make sure she was okay.
She didn't say anything but she nodded and wiped her face.
"It didn't sound like it."
It had been a week. She was pushing him away and everytime he tried to visit her, he'd get blocked out. He hadn't seen her since the day he heard her crying. He knew she was upset over what he told her. He was upset too.
"Where'd you go?" She asked and he knew what she meant.
"You blocked me out. You were pushin' me away."
"How?" She asked.
"Everytime I would try to come see you, I wouldn't be able to get anywhere near you. I knew it was because you were sad, I just didn't realize how sad… until now."
"I'm sorry. I just… I don't want you to go." She told him.
"I know." He ran the back of his hand down her smooth cheek and she closed her eyes. She just wanted to feel him one time. Just once.
Maggie didn't have any words. This was real for her friend and all she could do was support her, especially after Rick was gone.
Michonne didn't open her eyes, she was praying that God would let her feel her saving Grace one time. Before he was gone forever. She was begging him and then it happened, his hand was running down her cheek when she felt it. His hand was so cold but it was so soft.
She gasped and opened her eyes.
"Did you feel that?" He asked, hope was laced in his accent.
Michonne smiled that beautiful smile and then stood. She wrapped her arms around him and he wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her tightly before the feeling went away.
"Wow." She whispered.
"Wow, indeed." Rick responded as he released her.
A few moments later, Rick was saying goodnight and he pressed his lips to her cheek. She felt his cold lips and she smiled.
"I'll see you later, Michonne."
"See you later." She said and watched him disappear.
Maggie cleared her throat, "Well, that was… somethin'." She observed.
"I could feel him, Maggie." Michonne said happily. "He was so… cold but so soft." She sat down, smiling lovingly.
"How is that even possible? All this time you couldn't feel him."
"I asked God to give me a chance to feel him." Michonne said.
Getting back on track, Michonne was working really hard on the case. It had been a month since she met Rick and he was starting to be her very best friend. Right next to Maggie of course. He even asked her to take a little break from the case so that they could spend more time together. It worked for awhile and then Rick began getting sick. It took a lot of energy for him to go to Michonne and stay there. For a week he didn't show up at all. Michonne began to worry. She called Maggie and Maggie did research, telling her that it was time for him to find peace before he got stuck there forever. Michonne didn't want that for him, he would have to watch everyone he loved grow old and die and he wouldn't be able to join them in Paradise. Michonne had to finish the case. She had to. For Rick.
She was just about to leave work when he appeared in her office.
"Rick, are you okay?" She asked.
"Don't…" He coughed. "Don't finish the case."
"What? Why?" She asked, confused.
"It's not safe. More people are involved than I thought and I don't want you to get hurt."
"But Rick, if I don't finish this, you could be stuck here forever." Michonne told him.
"Maybe I was always meant to be."
"No, we already started this…" She said. "And we're gonna win. Both of us." She was determined to help her friend find peace.
"Michonne, please." Rick begged her. "If I get stuck here, at least I'll be stuck here with you."
Michonne was conflicted, "I made you a promise." She said and smiled. She had to send him back so she blocked him out and he disappeared. Michonne got to work to make sure her friend got the send off he deserved. And the people who took his life, would pay.