Michonne slowly walked along the wide Alexandria road, distracted by her surroundings. She passed the giant cherry blossom tree that sat on the edge of the community pond. The beautiful colors of the tree took her back to a memory of her preparing to leave the prison to find the Governor.
Orange and red leaves crunched underneath Michonne's boots, as she shifted her weight from one leg to another, waiting for Rick to finish. This was her third time leaving the prison, but Rick still felt it was necessary to give her a safety lecture before releasing her. Rick stood a few yards apart from Michonne, not wanting to invade her personal space.
"You get tired, come on home. You get hurt, don't try to press your luck riding the horse back home like some mad woman. You hear me?" Rick's blue eyes contrasted from the backdrop of the autumn morning sky.
"Yes Rick." Her head leaned exasperatedly on her shoulder, as she halfway listened to his repetitive speech like a child. "I know how to take care of myself Rick." She readjusted her katana on her shoulder.
"Yea I know. I just want to make sure you come back in one piece Michonne. This isn't some silly game, the Governor is dangerous. I really don't like you going out there alone, but I can't chance leaving my kids here." He quickly glanced at the colorful floor of leaves and back into her brown eyes.
"I'll be okay." She grabbed the reigns of the horse and turned back to look at Rick. "Should I come back in several pieces, you'll be the first to know," she smirked. He couldn't help but smirk back at her dark humor.
"Okay." He nodded and watched her mount her horse.
She giggled to herself at the memory. Rick was so overprotective that day, it was annoying but she also found it kind of cute. Michonne opened the door of the Grimes house to see Carl sitting at the dining room table feeding Judith with a plate of his own in front of him.
"You've been gone for hours. Are you sure you're okay?" Carl asked.
"You are definitely your father's son."
"I'm going to go on a hunch and say that's a good thing."
"It is . . . I'm fine Carl."
He wasn't convinced with her answer so he continued. "Don't take this the wrong way but you've been seeming moody lately. Is it, you know, that time of the month?"
Her face deadpanned. "No, and what do you mean moody? I was moody when I first came to the prison, but as of late I would say I'm . . . reflective, not moody."
"I don't know. You seemed upset this morning outside the gates. Was it because of my dad?" Michonne panicked. She knew that Carl was protective like his father, but could he read her thoughts like his father too?! "He hasn't had to go on a run in a long time. I know it's a short one, but for some reason seeing him leave still made me a little nervous." She knew where the conversation was headed, and let out the breath she was holding, she was in the clear for now. "It almost felt like old times before the turn, you know, then I had to remind myself that he still has to go out there and we're not as safe here as the Alexandrians would like to think."
"And for some, they won't be able to understand it until they go out there and experience it for themselves. Believe me, I hate when your father leaves too." Michonne said.
"Well why did you walk off so fast before he could say anything back to you this morning? Are you still mad about the stupid plan he, Carol, and Daryl lied to you about?" He raised a spoonful of applesauce to his sister's chubby cheeks.
"No we've gotten past that." She moved towards the kitchen to fix her own plate of Carol's casserole.
Carl raised both eyebrows, waiting for Michonne to admit her aggravation with his dad. When Michonne noticed the long silence, she looked back at Carl and sighed, knowing he wouldn't drop the subject.
"Does it have something to do with dad and Jessie?" When Michonne grimaced at the sound of Jessie's name, she gave Carl all the answers he needed.
"No, no, it's not that." Michonne attempted to lie.
Carl had the widest grin across his face. "It's okay, I don't like her much either. She's nice but she comes off as desperate for attention. Plus, I've known for a while that you and my dad like each other. I'm young, but I'm not stupid."
Embarrassed that her little secret was out in the open, Michonne used her fork to play with the food on her plate. "That you aren't."
"I think it's cool. You take care of me, dad, and Judith so you're basically a mom to me already." His admission caused tears to well up in her eyes.
"Shucks kid, could you be any more awesome?"
"I think at this point it's pretty much impossible. But really, I've felt this way for a long time. I only found it weird that you and dad have been playing dumb around each other. But now Jessie's involved, I don't even know what's happening with that."
"That makes two of us." Michonne admitted.
"You should talk to him."
"Carl, if your dad is happy, who am I to break things up?"
Carl held his fork up to his mouth and mumbled, "Michonne Grimes, duh."
Michonne's eyes popped out of her head and almost choked on her food, "Okay, it's time for you to go to bed." Carl snickered. Judith had no idea what was going on, but she wanted to be in on the banter, she shrieked in pure joy. Michonne walked over to the high chair and grabbed the baby, she gleamed, "Judy your brother is insane, isn't he?" As Carl hopped up from his seat at the table, and marched up the stairs to his room. To no one in particular, Michonne said, "Maybe he has a point."
