Chapter 1:

Late last night Rick had woken up from a month and half coma from a gunshot wound to the stomach. He was now surrounded by friends and family that were telling him the many things he missed in their world. He was overwhelmed by the amount of people and he nodded as they spoke, giving small smiles. He had been in what felt like was an endless dream and the sudden excitement around him was like sensory overload. Even his ex-wife, Lori, was there in his room which surprised him as they were barely on speaking terms before he landed in the hospital. He wondered if her being there was because she cared for him as he was the father of their child or if there was something more with her being there, a possible reconciliation. Rick heard the many words of the people around him but they went unabsorbed as he scanned the room and he began to wonder what day it was as he didn't see his son, Carl there.

"Is Carl in school?" He asked, breaking his seemingly unnoticed silence.

Lori smiled and nodded, "Yeah, he's in school I'll bring him over as soon as he gets out he doesn't even know you're awake yet he is gonna be so happy."

Rick smiled at the thought of seeing his son, he was 16 and while his rapid growth of when he was a baby declined he was still sure his son would look different than he did a month and a half ago. A sudden knock on his door quieted his thoughts and the chatter throughout the room. A female doctor entered, her smile was bright and welcoming and her locs were up in a ponytail. She wore a doctor's uniform, the brightness of her white coat contrasting against her dark skin, and if possible her voice seemed to match her smile. Soft, welcoming, intriguing. "Hi everyone. I hate to interrupt the excitement but I do need some alone time with my patient. If maybe we can come back in about…" She glanced at her watch, "3 hours or so? Just gonna run some routine tests."

They were some mumbles but with their goodbyes and see you soons everyone exited the room. The doctor smiled at Rick once they were only two left. "It's nice to finally get to talk to you Rick Grimes, I was starting to think of you as the silent type." She half smirked and continued, "I'm Dr. Michonne Moreau but you can say Dr. Michonne. I was assigned to your case." As she spoke she walked around his bed, testing several reflexes.

Rick watched her wordlessly as she moved through the room with a gracefulness as if she could have done this all in her sleep. He had been single for so long he was beginning to worry if and when he would feel a real attraction to a woman again but now watching her he could see that this wouldn't be a problem for him anymore.

"Still not much of a talker, huh?" Michonne asked with a smile as she took down her observations for his medical file.

"Uh, I-I'm sorry. This is all pretty overwhelming." Rick said, half of him meant the fact that he was now awake after over a month was overwhelming. The sudden presence of his loved ones surrounding him, but the other half meant that Michonne was overwhelming. Her ease, grace, and her beauty that he was sure she was aware of but didn't boast about.

Michonne smiled and nodded, not thinking anymore of his common answer. "Yeah, a lot of people feel the same way. I'll tell you a secret." She said as she walked closer to him and Rick wondered if one of the many machines hooked up to him would give away his growing heartbeat. "When you need some time to yourself just call for the nurse and tell her you're feeling a little tired. Put a few yawns in and she'll scurry them right out for you." She winked and flashed him a smile.

Rick chuckled, a bit nervously, not use to having this sudden onset of a crush since he was a teenager. "Uh, thanks I'll keep that in mind."

"No problem, now would you like to know how much longer you'll have to be here cause it costs money to hide from friends when you're in our beds you know." Michonne said with a small smirk and a raised eyebrow.

Rick nodded, of course he wanted to go home but he also knew going home meant he no longer had an excuse to see Dr. Moreau.

"Okay, well today we are going to give you lots of tests. It's gonna tell us how you're doing and what kind of rehabilitation you'll need and how long. So, once we have those results I'll come back and discuss those with you. But if everything is well you should spend one more month with me, maybe a little under two, and then you'll be able to go home." She smiled as she spoke, and her voice was soft but held authority as if she has spoken these words millions of times.

Yet, when she said with me Rick could feel a slight flutter within him. "Okay." He said with a nod.

"Do you have any questions for me?" She asked.

Rick thought for a moment and then began to ask his questions, "Did you get the bullet out?"

"We did, the problem was there were fragments as well that were more difficult. So there was infection and that's how you ended up asleep for a month. We were however able to remove all the bullet fragments as of now. Would you like to see the x-rays?" She asked him.

Rick nodded and Michonne brought his file over to him, she leaned against his bed slightly as she shuffled through the papers and Rick could get the light whiff of coconut and vanilla coming off of her.

"So, here is the bullet in you. And then when we took the bullet out, you see there's still some fragments there? And then when the fragments were removed." She said as she showed him three different X-rays. He looked over them and she placed them back in his file once he was done. "What else would you like to know Mr. Grimes?" She asked, still lingering by his bed.

"We're you the one that performed the surgery?" He asked.

Michonne nodded, "I did, I was the lead surgeon for all them. I hope you don't mind the little scar I left you." She said with a soft smile.

As she spoke Rick was trying to determine if she was just trying to be a courteous doctor or if there was an undertone to flirting in her words. "I'll take the scar over the coma any day." Rick said with a small smile.

Michonne chuckled and nodded, "look at you, you can talk and you've got some humor? Who knew?" She smiled at him as her pager went off. "I'm afraid I have to go, duty calls. Tell you what if you have any more questions jot them down and the next time I see you I'll answer them for you okay?" She said as she began making her way to the door.

"When would I see you again? Uh...just so I can let my family know." Rick said, recovering from his question that wasn't meant to be heard.

"Maybe a day or two. I know you aren't aware of it but trust me I've seen you every day for a little over a month, you need a break from me. I'll see you soon." She said with a smile and wave as she exited his room.

Rick was left with a small smile plastered on her face as she left. He had just gotten out of a coma but his doctor, Michonne Moreau, had made him feel incredibly alive.

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A few hours later

"Dad!" Carl said excitedly as he saw his father for the first time, out of his coma. The two of them embraced before they pulled away and Rick looked at his son, noticing how he seemed taller, his hair a bit longer than before. "I missed you Dad." Carl said with a smile.

"I missed you too, son. You look older." Rick said as he took in his son.

Carl chuckled, "Dad, you weren't in a coma for that long."

"I don't remember you being this tall!"

"That's because you're laying down." Carl said with a slight smirk as he sat down across from his father, placing his backpack on the floor.

"You were keeping up your grades?" Rick asked him.

"Yeah Dad...it was hard with you here though. Mom stayed in the house a few nights other nights Grandma and Gramps stayed. Still though..." Carl said quietly.

Rick nodded understandingly, "I'm not going anywhere, son. I promise you."

Carl smiled a bit and nodded, "So when will you be home?"

"Well today I did a lot of tests so the doctor is going to let me know in a day or two. But she said if all is well then I should be home in a month."

Carl nodded happily, "I missed you dad."

Rick smiled softly, "I missed you too Carl."

The two of them shared a silence before Carl broke it, "so, you met Michonne then? She's pretty cool right?"

Rick raised an eyebrow at his son, "you two on a first name basis now?" He asked with a slight smirk.

Carl chuckled, "she told me to call her Michonne! Anyway she's so cool! She gets to do all these crazy surgeries! She said if I ever think of medical school to let her know so she can make some calls for me." Carl said proudly even though he had no aspirations of going to medical school before his father's stint in the hospital.

"What happened to joining the force like your old man?"

Carl shook his head, "dad I'm not really going to go to medical school but it's just cool! Do you think you we can change Michonne to my main doctor?"

"You've been going to Dr. Beck since you were a kid!"

"Yeah but dad Michonne is cool. Dr. Beck is nearly a 100!"

Rick laughed and shook his head at his son's exaggeration, "you cannot have as your main doctor son she's a surgeon. You're gonna have to do a few more years with ."

Carl let out a large exaggerated sigh, "alright I guess….I'm still gonna talk to her about it though!"

Rick chuckled at his son's insistence on the topic. "Don't you have homework you need to be doing?"

Carl groaned, "dad, you just got out of coma can I please get out of doing homework today?"

Rick chuckled, "not today son."

Carl groaned again as he unwillingly took his books out of his bag.

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It was now nighttime and family had come and gone, including Carl who had made a failed attempt at getting out of school the next day. Despite the fact that Rick had been sleeping for a little over a month today was exhausting. With the many tests and visitors he had gotten he had welcomed the silenced and enjoyed it.

He could feel his eyes becoming heavy before he heard a soft knock on the door, "come in." His voice accurately portraying his sleepiness.

Michonne peeked her head in and gave him a soft smile. Her locs now flowing down to the middle of her back since they were now down. She was no longer in scrubs but instead tight blue jeans and a loose fitting orange blouse. "Just popping in to say goodnight. Surprised you're not sleeping yet."

Rick immediately sat up straighter when he noticed her and a small smile appeared on his face, "I was just starting to get tired." He said, not wanting to admit he was almost fast asleep before she knocked.

"It was long day." Michonne said with a nod as she entered the room but stood by the door. "I hope you don't mind me stepping in for a minute, I just saw one of my nurses and if she knew I was still here I would never get home."

Rick smiled and nodded understandingly, he would take any excuse for her to stay a little longer. "Uh, so my son is really fond of you." He said with another small smile.

Michonne chuckled lightly, "He and I spent a lot of time talking about some pretty cool surgeries. When your wife wasn't here sometime it was just he and I, he's a good talker when you're trying to hide from the nurses." She said with a smile.

"Oh, uh I'm not married...anymore. We got divorced a few years ago." Rick said a bit taken back from her assumption even though to anyone else it was a logical one.

"Oh! I apologize then. I just assumed but now the nurses can finally stop gossiping about why you don't wear a ring." She said with a small smirk.

Rick watched her as she spoke, trying to decipher her words was her oh! A happy one? Did she take part in the nurse gossiping or did she frown at it and call them unprofessional? As he thought and was silent Michonne peeked her head out of the door.

"Okay, coast is clear! I'm going to get out of here." She dug threw her purse for a second before taking out a small pack of lifesaver peppermint mints and popping one in her mouth. "You want?" She asked shaking the mints at him.

Rick nodded, "uh, yeah sure. Thank you." He said, as she walked over to him and placed a mint in his hand the tips of her finger lightly grazing his palm. Rick swore he felt something at their brief exchange, a feeling he hadn't felt since the first few years of his relationship with Lori, and he wondered if Michonne also felt it.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Mr. Grimes." Michonne said with a smile as she turned to walk to the door.

Rick watched her as she left and his eyes fell down her body, landing on her ass, and then rolling back up. His daze was broken as he heard her opening the door and quickly called out, "you can call me Rick!" The door closed and he muttered to himself, annoyed that he waited till the last minute until he saw the door open up again.

"I'll see you tomorrow Rick." Michonne said with a smile, poking her head in and then back out as she closed the door.

Rick smiled at the way his name fell out of her mouth, it sounded comfortable like it was meant for her to say. After just a few minutes he could feel his eyes becoming heavy again, as he fell asleep finally a smile stayed planted on his face. There were many things he missed in his coma, his son, his friends, work, sports, but he hadn't felt a spark like this in years. And it made him incredibly happy to have it back.