Rick Grimes looked through the peephole of the door, saw Michonne and was immediately filled with relief, joy and gratitude. She stood outside with a hopeful expression on her face, but her hand on her katana, ever the warrior. Rich smiled and let out a short chuckle of release.
"It's for you," Rick laughed sliding back down onto the couch.
Rick helped Carl pull the couch away from the front door and watched as Carl excitedly untied the coaxial cable to let Michonne in.
"Michonne!" Carl exclaimed as he threw his arms around his beloved friend and squeezed her tightly around her waist.
Fighting back tears, Michonne rested her chin on Carl's head and whispered, "I missed you too, Carl." She hugged him back and attempted to walk into the room with Carl clinging to her.
"Give her some air, Carl," Rick laughed, wincing slightly.
When Carl finally let go of Michonne her eyes turned serious as she surveyed Rick's appearance.
"You okay?" she asked softly.
Rick reached for her hand and squeezed it. "Yeah, I'll be alright. Glad to see ya."
"Good to be seen, "Michonne said as they all shoved the couch back in place against the door.
Carl ran to the kitchen to get her something to eat and she and Rick sat on the couch.
"Feels like a lifetime ago, doesn't it?"Rick said after awhile.
"It seems like one long bad dream, but I'm here and I'm awake," Michonne said leaning back into the sofa.
"I can't tell you how glad I am to see you, Michonne. We didn't think we'd ever see anyone again," Carl said handing her an opened can of refried beans and a spoon.
"You can't lose me that easily," Michonne laughed pulling Carl down next to her.
She sat between her two guys; that's what she called them in her head. The two men who brought her back from the brink of madness were a little worse for the wear but they were real and they were back in her life and she was happy.
"You eat anything?" Michonne asked, holding a spoon of beans to Rick's mouth.
"No. Dad was passed out cold since last night."
Michonne jumped up and said, "Have you tended to your wounds properly, Mr. Grimes?"
Rick shook his head in the negative.
Michonne pointed upstairs and said, "Well, let's get to it!"
Carl and Rick exchanged an amused look and Rick obeyed his warrior-nurse.
"I'll be back down in a bit; don't go anywhere, Carl,"Michonne said rubbing his back as she walked by.
Carl picked up a paperback book and leaned back into the couch with a wide grin. He could finally relax; the team was back together.
Upstairs, Rick sat on the bed in the master bedroom. He couldn't help himself but he felt suddenly nervous and bashful. He smoothed his unruly hair and sat up as straight as he could given his bruised ribs. Hearing Michonne's footfall caused Rick to smile to himself. She was incredibly loyal and powerful; she could also be silly, goofy, and unreasonable and…sexy. He wasn't sure if she was aware of the effect she had on men – him especially, but he wasn't positive she wasn't aware of her allure either.
"Okay, let's see if we can fix you up."
Michonne's voice brought him back from his thoughts and he looked at her with a shrug.
"Take off your shirt, "she commanded with her hands on her hips.
Rick complied; there wasn't much of a shirt left, to be honest. He dropped it to the floor.
"We're going to burn that bad boy, that's for sure, "Michonne said as she stepped into the adjacent bathroom.
Rick heard running water and braced himself as he watched Michonne return with a basin of soapy water, which he was certain, was cold.
"You need to relax, Rick. I'm not going to hurt you."
"I know, it's just the cold water," Rick started as Michonne washed his face so tenderly that he was at a loss for words.
"What?" Michonne asked, pausing to look at him.
"Nothing, it's not as cold as I thought."
Michonne put the washcloth back in the basin and left the room. Rick heard her going downstairs and regretted speaking at all. Had he offended her?
Moments later, Michonne returned with a bottle of vodka and another bowl of fresh water.
"I'm not much of a dri…"
"It's for your wounds; we've gotta clean 'em and this is as good as anything else. It's still gonna sting, though," Michonne said retrieving another wash cloth from the bathroom's linen closet.
Rick shook his head and released a long sigh. Just relax. Everything's fine.
"I'm not a nurse, but I remember most of my First-Aid, so relax. I'll fix you up best I can and you can sleep here tonight," Michonne muttered as she continued to bathe Rick gently.
Soon, Rick closed his eyes and surrendered to Michonne's ministrations. Was she humming? He opened one eye and she smiled at him.
"I must be channeling my mother."
After rinsing him the best she could, Michonne dried Rick off and began to bandage his side. Within a few minutes, Rick felt almost like new, given the fact that at least two of his ribs were badly bruised if not broken.
Michonne fluffed up the pillows and pushed Rick back onto the bed.
"Now, you get some sleep. I'm going to clean up and find something to wear. Then Carl and I are going to have a little fun, "she said grinning. "Safe, non-walker related fun."
Rick closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. He woke up with a start as he heard voices coming from downstairs.
"That was out of bounds!"
Rick slowly moved to the stairs and watched from the landing as Michonne and Carl played a version of balloon volleyball with an inflated rubber glove. Laughing to himself, Rick entered the room and held up a hand.
"What is this?"
Carl and Michonne stopped and stared at him.
"What is what?" they asked simultaneously.
Rick shook his head laughing and walked to the kitchen to retrieve a bottle of water.
"This is for all the marbles; the championship. You've gotta understand," Michonne called to him with mock severity.
"If…when I win, Michonne has to…hey, we didn't decide on terms, did we?" Carl asked Michonne.
"Hmm…no, but we'll discuss that later. Don't try to distract me, boy!"
Rick leaned against the door frame and sipped his water, marveling at how just a few hours ago; Carl had been sullen, angry and afraid. Michonne worked some kind of alchemy with him, something he was unable to fathom; something he was increasingly impressed by and that he found a kind of comfort in. When he'd first seen Michonne he was suspicious, but intrigued. He'd wondered how she could stand at the gate with a bullet wound and unafraid of the walkers surrounding her. She had taken more than her share down by the time he and Carl had reached her and she finally succumbed to blood loss and fatigue. She had been defiant and mysterious. Part of him was wholly aware of her attractiveness, but the other part of him was wary and he remained that way for longer than he was comfortable admitting, but now he couldn't imagine a life without her in it.
Rick had always been concerned about what other people thought of him that he'd never been able to feel any sense of freedom, but since the turn, he'd thought less and less about perceptions and more and more about survival. It was only logical; he had people who looked to him for answers. It seemed that only Michonne followed him without question. It was a rare and precious gift that she offered him and it did not go unnoticed.
"Prepare for the…spike!" Michonne said, missing the glove-ball dramatically.
Carl fell down laughing.
"The sun was in my eyes, "Michonne pouted.
"The sun?"Rick asked tilting his head.
"Dad, we're playing beach volleyball," Carl explained matter-of-factly plopping on the couch that had served as their "net".
"Of course," Rick chuckled.
"You beggin' off?" Michonne asked leaning forward, resting her hands on her knees.
"A time out, that's all," Carl answered sipping from his bottled water.
Michonne sat next to Carl, resting her legs on his lap.
"Aah, that's nice."
She leaned back and looked up at Rick smiling. The look he gave her in return made her look away suddenly and swing her legs off of Carl. There was something about Rick that made her nervous, but at the same time, being near him gave her a sense of peace. She was grateful for his kindness, for the simple way he accepted her silence. He respected that she was in her head just as much as he was and they could sit in silence comfortably. Still, she would catch him looking at her with a curious expression on his face, with a question in his eyes and a sad smile on his lips; she didn't want to admit that there were times when she would have given anything for him to just hold her until she fell asleep. Of all things, Michonne disliked sleeping alone the most. She missed waking up next to Mike. He may have been a weak man, but he was devoted to her and that had to mean something. R
ick was brave, loyal and strong; he was also emotionally honest, which in addition to his personal appearance, was a lethal combination. Michonne found herself watching him as he moved around the prison when they still had a home. She was drawn to him and was just as excited to see him as he was to see her each time she arrived back through the prison gates. There hadn't been enough time for them to speak about their relationship before- they barely had time to get to know one another. Maybe this was a fresh start for them.
The butterflies in her stomach settled down and Michonne stood.
"Okay, Carl. Whattaya say we call it a draw until tomorrow? I'm wrecked."
"Yeah, once I sat down I realized I'm kinda tired myself."
"It's gonna get dark soon, "Rick offered.
Michonne looked around the house for candles, brought them back to the living room and lit them.
She sat on the floor and stretched, rolling onto her stomach and proceeded to do some slow push-ups.
"How can you do that every day?" Rick asked casually.
"Just habit; sit down, you're making me nervous standing over me like that, "Michonne replied never missing a beat.
Rick complied and watched her with Carl leaning against his shoulder.
"It won't help you in our next match, "Carl teased.
"Ah, be quiet."
"I thought you were gonna get cleaned up. Have you and Carl been playing all this time? He didn't even give you the chance to rest?"
"We had some catching up to do, y'know." Michonne said finally finishing and rolling to sit with her legs pulled up to her chest. She smiled at Carl. "It's private, if you don't mind. And it's just a little rude of you to mention a lady's appearance." She rose and walked up the stairs in a mock huff.
"Dad," Carl said, hitting his father on the arm.
"What?"
"Not cool, Dad. She came all this way to find us and you tell her she looks like a wreck?"
"Wait- I didn't say…"
"Forget it." Carl yawned and stretched."Just be nice."
Rick sat in shock, realizing his son had just schooled him about women.
"Damn," Rick muttered.
Slowly, he rose and stood at the foot of the stairs. He looked back at Carl who stretched out on the sofa.
Without hesitation, Rick took the stairs two at a time.
Michonne was in the bathroom with the door closed. She stood before the vanity mirror washing her face. She had taken her vest and shirt off and was only in her bra when she heard a knock on the door.
"Are you decent?" Rick asked immediately regretting that expression.
"And thrifty," Michonne joked from behind the door.
Rick smiled to himself as he opened the door.
Michonne stood with her shirt pulled up to her chin.
"I didn't say I was dressed, "she said sounding like a teenager.
"Oh. Gosh…okay…look, I'm sorr…" Rick backed out of the room.
"Just give me a minute, okay?" Michonne said closing the door after him.
Rick sat on the bed feeling like a fool. "You're an idiot. She's gonna shut down on you now. Good going, Grimes."
Michonne nervously washed up, dried off and slipped on an oversized shirt. She stood before the mirror looking at her reflection; there was no way to cute-ify the shirt. She shrugged and opened the door.
"I look like I'm twelve, but at least I'm clean." She said flatly. "I really did need that; even if the water was like ice." She shuddered and hugged herself.
"You look great. I'm sorry I barged in – I just…wanted to say thank you for coming back to us, "Rick stammered as he looked at his hands.
Michonne stood looking at him from the bathroom doorway, dressed only in a shirt, the sleeves rolled up, the neck of it loose enough to reveal her naked shoulder. She fussed with the shirt and smiled at him as she approached the bed and sat next to him.
"I told you; you guys cannot get rid of me. I'm in for a penny in for a pound."
She smelled of lemon verbena and Rick inhaled deeply.
"You didn't wash me up with that soap, "he teased.
"Wouldn't waste this on a man, I'm sorry, "Michonne said crossing her legs.
Michonne's bare shoulder proved irresistible to Rick and he leaned down to kiss it lightly.
"Be patient with me, "he said as he sat back up, looking deeply into her surprised eyes. "I'm glad you're back and I don't want you to leave us- me again, so just please…"
Michonne nodded in the affirmative and looked down.
"I don't want to go away again- I feel so…"
"Me too, "Rick murmured taking her hand in his.
"Would it be…can we…?"
Rick held her in his arms and they lay back on the bed, with Michonne's head on his chest until she fell asleep.
Carl crept up the stairs and stood in the doorway, smiling. Rick looked over at his son and ushered him in.
"She's kinda cute when she's sleeping," Carl whispered as he looked down at her.
Rick couldn't help but agree.