Someone To Watch Over Me

Summary: Carl decides to talk to Michonne about what happened in Woodbury, why his dad made the decision to bring those people to the prison... this is what I'd want to see.

Rated: pg-13 aka T

Disclaimer: Please, again, I do not own these characters in any way, shape or form. They belong to their respective owners.

A/N: The plot bunnies didn't leave me so clearly so it seems that I'm not 100% in the fic hibernation stage yet. This has no connection with my other Rick/Michonne fic "Clearer" but it might work out in a way of being a two parter.

Carl wasn't speaking to his dad. This was the longest they haven't spoken, Carl was counting the days. There was some tension in the air, especially when either party was in the room, everyone could feel it, especially Michonne.

She was the silent type, observational but she knew that deep down, Carl was probably confused more than angry. She bit down on her bottom lip and gave quick glances around... good, no one will spot her leaving out the yard where Carl was currently keeping watch. It would be her time after his, he only had ten minutes to spare.

The prison, it was so alive with so many souls, it almost frightened her. When her feet landed outside, it was as if she was in a different world, a more typical and predictable kind of world. The dead were active, she spotted three new fresh ones behind the gate. The sun was bright, the few times she missed sunglasses, but she spotted the young boy staring off into the distance, gun in hand and hat on the top of his head, tilted ever so slightly. "Hey kid," she announced herself, moving over to where he was, giving him enough room.

Carl didn't say anything but looked in her general direction before looking back out onto the landscape. It seemed as if everything was dying out in these weather conditions, the grass didn't even look like grass anymore. It looked more like straws of hay.

"You have about ten minutes before I relieve you." Michonne had been learning how to use a gun properly, Glenn had offered up that task. She knew she wasn't great at it, something long and sharp was her cup of tea. But if push came to shove, she would be ready to use a gun. In her hand was a rifle, something she did feel more at ease with using and it was loaded with bullets.

The silence fell between them, in the distance, you heard some birds chirping but the noise was drowned out by the walkers moans and groans. One got too close to the fence, Carl took care of it by a bullet to the middle of the head, and it exploded. It was quite reminiscent of what had happened earlier, when Carl shot the boy from the Governor's army. Even the walker itself looked a bit younger. Michonne only made a slight face of disgust at that. And then, she heard him speak.

"Can I ask you something?"

Michonne didn't say anything but glanced down at Carl before looking back out. It was her way of saying "I'm listening."

"Why did... why did my dad bring them here?" Shit, that was a loaded question. The darker skinned woman liked her lips and made a sad face at the markers that weren't too far away from their sight. Many of their close ones had died for doing the right thing, and that included Andrea... she wasn't ready to deal with that just yet.

"Your dad, he did the right thing by bringing them here. I know that wasn't the answer you wanted to hear but it's the truth. What this world needs right now is hope. Hope that... that things will get better you know? The people at Woodbury, they didn't know what kind of man was in power. They had no clue that right under their nose was a man who didn't give two shits about them. What your dad did was noble, he's offering them hope and security," Michonne paused, taking note that even Carl was now focused on her.

"Yes, taking on that responsibility of a large group of people is risky, hell it is, but I'd rather be around good people and protecting them than being surrounded by someone who doesn't care about your life and wel lbeing." She noticed that Carl took a few steps closer to her, closing the gap that they had on the walkway. "And I know about you did, kid. What you did to protect everyone, especially your sister. But you have to remember, you're a kid. You're a kid in a very grown up world where there are no rules, no structure. And what your job is to protect those who can't... like what you did. You protect your family but only you will know when to trust that gut instinct, alright?"

Michonne didn't intend on giving a speech but sometimes, it's what people needed to hear. This time, Carl needed to hear the truth from someone who wasn't directly in his life. He trusted her and right then, she knew that he truly did. He didn't say anything but nod his head and moved to wrap his arms around the darker woman, giving her a hug that took her by surprise. She was stunned for a moment but wrapped her arms around the young boy, returning that hug. "Your ten minutes is up, kid. Go in there and talk to your dad."

Carl let go and he gave a smile, a smile that she had seen him give the photograph of his mother, Rick and he before the world had changed. His legs moved around her and led him to the door to get back into the prison. There was still a lot of chit chatter that Michonne heard when he opened the door but once it closed again, her shoulders slumped down.

Privacy, it was something she was craving. She didn't like to break down in front of people, she didn't want to appear weak, but she did when she, Daryl and Rick found Andrea, bitten by a then dead Milton. She didn't know the whole story about Milton, except that in the end, from Andrea's lips, he was doing the right thing, too. The sun hit her eyes and she groaned, and as she blinked her eyes to refocus, she almost thought she had seen Andrea.

Almost.

Her eyes were playing tricks on her again. But her eyes spotted two walkers, her imagination wasn't making that up.

Michonne remembered what Glenn had taught her, no rushing, go with the instinct of when you have them in your sight, that's when you strike. Her finger pulled the trigger once, the sound of the bullet leaving the weapon, hitting a walker in the head. She smiled in happiness to herself, repeating the same process once more. Two walkers down on her watch without using the katana, perhaps it wasn't a bad thing at all.

She didn't hear the footsteps that shuffled a little in the distance and her stance straightened up immediately. She didn't like being stalked upon. Michonne preferred to be the stalker and not the stalkee. But it was only Rick, she knew how the man walked whenever he came around her. Everyone had something different, unique about their footsteps, the way that they walked and carried themselves. "Here to chaperone?"

Rick laughed softly. "If you're interested in that, I'll be glad to set that up." The man moved closer to Michonne, making her feel almost small. It was as if now Rick had been shot with self esteem, he was certainly in a different mood. A different mind space perhaps. "I knew it was your turn to uh, to be on watch but I saw you didn't have your sidekick." Her sidekick was the katana sword. "Imagine my surprise seeing you out here with a gun."

"Glenn's been teaching me... I ain't fully used to it yet." Michonne leaned the weapon against the fence of the walkway that they were protected on. "What's the real reason you're out here?" It's like she could read him, read him like he was an open book and it continued to impress Rick constantly.

"Look, I don't know what you said to Carl but whatever you did, thank you."

"I doubt I said anything significant. I told him the truth, I suggested a different way of looking at things." Michonne shrugged her shoulders, obviously not really used to taking credit or even accepting a thank you that was truthful. But she felt his hands press down onto her shoulders, he was right behind her. Right up against her, she could feel his breathing down on her neck, counting how many times he breathed in and out.

Rick, in response, didn't say anything but simply nod his head. His touch was heating her up, especially when he started to massage her shoulders. She wasn't going to break, she wasn't going to break... a soft sigh had escaped her lips, and her shoulders relaxed. His hands had moved down her arms, resting there for a second before moving down to rest on her waist.

The walkers seemed to have died down, no pun intended there, but the silence was welcoming to both parties.

"I saw her," her voice broke through, interrupting the silence but she had to speak up. She knew that out of all people, he would understand what she meant. "I saw her near the markers. For a second anyway."

"Maybe she's tryin' to tell you something." Rick offered up, his lips were pressed right against her neck. "What do you think it was?"

"Maybe," Michonne paused for a moment, hoping to see the ghost again but it didn't come. "Maybe that... that it's alright to let myself open up some more. She was trying so hard to let me trust her like she deserved to be, and I did, just never said it to her. Now look at what happened. I'll be damned if I let it happen again." Michonne's right hand had found his that was still sitting on her waist, and her fingers brushed over his knuckles.

"You're not alone anymore, Michonne," Rick said to her and she realized right then and there that she was truly wasn't. She had lost a friend, a best friend but she had gained so much more. The prison was her home, and the occupants inside were her team. She was a part of a team, something bigger than herself now.

Michonne didn't say anything after that but turned on her heel to look up at the man who was currently tempting her. Hm, she enjoyed being tempted. She felt his eyes roam over her body, it wasn't the first time he did it obviously either. It made her feel... powerful.

His gaze did last, he started at the top of her head, down to her chest and landed to her feet before rising up to meet her own gaze. "Kiss me." It was a demand he couldn't resist, not anymore. He tried to not fall into the temptation of going after someone, especially after Lori's untimely death, but he wasn't seeing her anymore, he was seeing this woman before him.

Their lips had met in a quick second, a passion kiss had flourished quickly. Michonne felt herself being pressed up against the fence, it could almost dig into her skin, leave a mark but their pent up aggression was finally getting released. She learned that he liked to nip at her lips, playfully tug on them before he kissed her once more, capturing her in a kiss that seemed to have left Michonne breathless.

All the while, they didn't see the smile from a young boy watching them from the door. Carl just knew something was happening between them, this just confirmed it. He might have been just a kid, but he knew more than he was letting on.

At the same time, another pair of eyes from the distance had spotted the newly formed couple.

Well, just one eye behind binoculars.