It was Friday night which meant it was girl's night; this time the hostess was none other than Michonne, that said, Rick was on papa duty so he packed up the kids and himself together and went to Glenn's house because Carol too was a part of the ruckus going down at his house. The men knew better than to argue with their women realizing they too needed a much deserved downtime and between the crises they have had to forgo many small pleasures.
The men hunkered down at Glenn's having ensured the kids were down for the night and security was on patrol, the watch towers manned and the community was secure, a civilized poker night began. They knew they would not be seeing the women till at least noon the next day and they needed to be at the ready should all hell broke loose so drinking would be light.
As the women: Carol, Maggie, Sasha, Tara, Rosita, sat around the coffee table drinking the bottles of wine scored from their last run for this specific purpose, swapping stories of various things that happened in Alexandria, old war stories on their path along the way, their relationships and so on but notably two were rather quiet, them being Carol and Michonne who discreetly ended up in the kitchen busying themselves with something. Their actions were not entirely lost on their friends so the hen parade took their various glasses and mason jars to the kitchen and cornered them there.
Maggie being the ring leader and a little tipsy herself, pipes up, "So? What gives with you two?" "Y'all think that you're not part of this group or what?"
Carol and Michonne exchanged a look amongst themselves and Carol says, "What do you mean? Most of us have been together since the prison and then shorty thereafter, of course we're part of the group".
Maggie replies, "Why is it y'all never want to talk about the personal stuff? I don't get it, even Sasha who's lost so much is just now coming out of her shell and I know it can't be easy for her but she's talking about losing Bob and Tyrese. Hell she's even got a new admirer, don't yah Sasha?"
Sasha who was feeling relatively no pain raises her mason jar and says, "Bottoms up y'all".
Seemingly oblivious to the mood around Maggie looks directly at Carol and continues her tirade, "But what I don't get ever is why neither you nor Michonne ever talks about your lives".
Carol and Michonne were speechless for their own reasons. Sasha saw that Tara and Rosita didn't know what to say being the newcomers to the group they felt a little uneasy; so in the interest of continuing the party and changing the subject Sasha pulled out a bottle of Tequila she had found and challenged everyone to shots. It worked but the drunker they got Maggie's unabridged tongue became looser. "So, Choone, what was up with you and Rick at Diana's party? If he was trying to make you jealous girlfriend I'd say he succeeded; the look on your face when he kissed Jessie, I thought she was gonna turn up dead but then all the shit went down and we were so busy it slipped my mind. Hell, it's the first girl's night we've had in the past three months".
The others took a collective breath not knowing where Michonne was at with this personal talk given her earlier reluctance to contribute. But what Michonne didn't expect was the betrayal from her former ally Carol who said, "Michonne sweetheart, you really have to let him know how you feel about him".
Michonne's head snapped to her left looking at Carol pleading with her to stop but Carol obviously missed the cue or it was the wine because she continued, "Rick doesn't have a clue. Jessie means nothing at all to him. In fact, I asked him to help her, she is or was me before the Farm, before the Prison. I was Jessie, married and abused". The revelation caused a collective gasp amongst the women.
Michonne seemed to soften at this and forgave Carol realizing that what she saw as a betrayal was less that and more a confession of Carol's life. Michonne walked towards her older friend and hugged her, which caused the other women to look at her differently. Michonne is not big on PDA, in fact, the only time they've noticed her with her guard down was around Rick's children Carl and Judith.
Carol was obviously drunk because she wouldn't shut up or maybe she was she just trying to get Michonne to open up. Carol oblivious to the change in the room continues, "You know Rick is just that guy, he'll help you if you asked and if you're family he won't deny you". She looked directly at Michonne, the two women just looked at one another; "Michonne, you're his family. You're his wife but neither of you realizes it yet. You're the mother to his children, which he has yet to realize but you have. I've been with Rick since he caught up with us in the refugee camp outside Atlanta. I was there with Lori, Rick and Shane. I saw the break down in that marriage and even after Shane they were never the same he shut down and then she was gone. Michonne, you know what I'm saying is true; you've been more of a wife to Rick than Lori was from the time he came back to her". With that Michonne shook her head and stepped away from Carol.
Maggie adds, "Yeah, exactly, Glenn and I have wondered why y'all haven't figured it out yet. He listens to you and defers to you. You're the reason we're here in the safe zone, even though Rick knew we were out there too long he was reluctant to come here and try. You're the reason he agreed on pushing forward to Washington; he doesn't listen to the others the way he listens to you. He doesn't even realize that he's a royal ass when you're outside the walls. I mean, he's still Rick but his fuse is short. I see the relief in him the moment you return from runs when he's stayed behind" and he allows himself to breathe again".
Feeling sorry for her overwhelmed friend Sasha butts in and says, "What the hell, this is beginning to feel like an intervention; what gives? Give Michonne a chance to answer".
Michonne choked on her last shot and was fighting frantically trying to control her coughing, as the liquid went down the wrong way. Secretly thanking god for the distraction as she tries to compose herself. Unbeknown to her, their family have been secretly observing her and Rick for well over a year now. Michonne's thoughts were all over the place, Rick, the children, their family. She felt overwhelmed with her friends scrutiny and needed to breathe.
Meanwhile back at Glenn's, the boys themselves were holding a more tranquil get together with much less booze given that the women would never be combat ready on a girl's night.
Eugene being one of the newest to the family and by far the most ignorant of social etiquette notwithstanding his brilliant mind; he's also the least tolerant to liquor pipes up during a game of cards and says, "Rick why did you kiss Jessie at Diana's party that night? I can't imagine you had a pleasant night thereafter. I was actually surprise to see you alive the next day. I may not understand the intricate interactions between relationships per se but I'd dare say Michonne is not a female I would want pissed at me anytime soon nor would I cheat on her either".
During his tirade Daryl, Glenn and Abraham were just about pissing themselves with laughter while Morgan shakes his head. The men were all looking at Rick who had a deer in the head lights look about him.
"Excuse me? Michonne and I are just friends and co-workers, there's absolutely nothing going on with us", Rick answers.
Euguene blinks, he thought about apologizing for having misread the situation but thought the better of it by saying, "Rick that makes absolutely no sense; why would Michonne react the way she did after seeing you kiss that woman? A woman who is not interested in you would not have watched you and Jessie with daggers in her eyes. The pain visible on her face when she tore out of that party was palpable. I'd dare say if you both believed that you are just friends that night she realized she wanted more from you".
Rick at a lost for words looked to his buddies who had known him longer for assistance but found none. He turned his head to each one who in turn looked toward the floor instead of meeting his eyes. He finished his beer and went to get another. As he opened the bottle he looked around the room at his friends and said, "Really, just how long y'all believe there's been somethang going on between me and Michonne?"
"Daryl?" The latter shrugs his shoulders, got up and walked towards his buddy, placed a hand on his shoulder, and tells his friend, "Rick, since the Prison. Once you got over your trust issues with Michonne and she stopped tracking the Governor something changed in you. It was little by little but when you realized that she was staying you let your guard down and little by little you leaned on her more. She had your back no matter what. Man you've been gone a long time".
Rick shook his head refusing to believe his friend. "Nah, you're wrong, Michonne and me are not like that, she's my friend".
"Glenn?" "Rick, what do you want me to say? I saw the same thing Daryl did. Hell we had bets riding on just how long before you tell us y'all were a couple but thanks to Eugene no one will win. I mean it was supposed to be a self-realization thing".
"Abraham?" "Aw shucks, man this thing between you too is so damn evident I'd hazard to say within a day of meeting your group Rosita and I knew. We waited y'all out before bringing up Washington and we knew Michonne was more open to change than you would be so when she decided you followed her. You would follow that woman to the end of the earth as long at it meant you were together. She calls you on your shit too and that's why you love her".
"Morgan, you met me before these yahoo's tell them they're wrong".
"Rick, what do you want me to tell you that you haven't already heard? Not including the gun raid back in Kings County, I just met Michonne here at the Safe Zone but from what I can tell I thought y'all were a couple. What single woman saddles herself with a widower and two young kids when she has options? By options, I mean there are young men here in the Safe Zone and single too with no baggage. I understand y'all first nights here y'all remained in the same house even though two were made available to the group. Hell since then the family has branched out but she remains with you. She could have taken up residence with Sasha and Tara and have their own place but she didn't; so man you've got to ask yourself why Rick? Why did she choose to stay with you and your children?"
Rick could not believe what he was hearing, he didn't see what these men saw. Him and Michonne? His thoughts got the better of him though, that kiss was nothing he didn't want Jessie; she was in a bad situation that's all. Maybe he was a little attracted to her but she was married, sure Pete was a douche but I'm no Shane. Could it be why she asked me, whether or not I would do this for someone else? I told her no but in fact, I didn't want her to know that Carol told me about her situation and had asked me to protect her.
"Hey Rick, are you in there? Are you hearing me? What are you going to do about Michonne?" Morgan asks his friend. The name Michonne registered in his conscious mind; it brought him back to the present looking somewhat perplexed at his friends who were waiting for an answer … one he didn't have so he continued to drink. His friends let him be.
Rick was stunned at the direction the night took. The cards were long forgotten and he and Michonne were the topic of the night. How the hell did poker night become an evening with Dr. Phil? He find himself cursing this damn girl's night hoping at least that Michonne was having fun because she really deserved it, they had been through a lot in the past three months. As he thought of her, he asked himself, 'could the guys be right, was there more to Michonne and me that I didn't see?'