A/N: Thank you so much for the amazing feedback and quick approval of the chapter! I wasn't too sure about it when I first wrote it, but with some help from my amazing friends I got there in the end!

The three remained good friends over the course of a few months; having dinner at each others houses at least once a week. Although the two adults hadn't made a move on each other, glances were often stolen and sometimes matched with intense but eye contact. Neither would say anything in fear of ruining their new friendship so they both buried their attraction to one another and soon there was an unspoken mutual agreement to leave it that way.

Michonne and Carl were constantly trading comics and fan theories whist Rick was working. The two were becoming close and Rick was glad Carl had an important female figure in his life. It was difficult after Lori left. One day she just upped and left with his best friend. He lost two of the most important people in his life that day, but a bigger hole was torn in his son's heart when he found out Uncle Shane and Mummy left him without even saying goodbye.

Michonne heard the familiar tone of her phone ringing across the room. With a small sigh and a smile at the realisation at who it was likely to be; she saved the current edit of her most recent assignment and moved the laptop off her legs.

"Hey Chonne!" The butterflies were back.

"Afternoon officer! Shouldn't you be working or something? Keeping me safe?"

"Of course Ma'am, but it's Daryl's turn to protect and serve today, finally got a day off."

"Oh Lord, I defiantly need you to keep me safe today then" She let out a laugh which made Rick's ear twitch. She had such a beautiful laugh and he lived to hear it, let alone to be the one to elicit it.

"Well, that was the idea of today. Carl is at his friends all day so I was wondering if you wanted to go for lunch? My treat, a thank you for looking after him whilst I'm at work. I know you're busy with the books and thangs, but you always let him come over and feed him. So yeah, what do you say?" Michonne was taken back by his words. She enjoyed having the boys company, he reminded her of herself when she was his age; nerdy, but self sufficient.

"I mean I have a lot of work to do, Mr Winchester wants the first ten chapters done by Monday." All she could hear was a sigh the down the phone and immediately felt guilty. "But I guess I could just do it tomorrow, spending the day with you will probably be better." When Rick heard her giggle he knew that she was winking with the comment. He gasped with mock offence and told her to wear something casual and he'd be at her house in twenty minutes.

Michonne put the phone down and looked at herself in the full length mirror by her door and sighed. "I should probably get changed quick for my date." Date. Was it a date? Was it just a friendly meeting? Where are we going? What should I wear? Panic flooded through her body as the questions clouded her mind. "Shit, shit, shit!" She ran up the stairs, searching for clothes. "Denim skinny jeans? No. Too casual. Black? Perfect!" She threw the jeans on and rummaged through her draws for a decent T-shirt until she found her Queen tank top and assessed her look in the mirror. Is it too much? Too casual? He thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. Crap.

"Hey! Sorry I'm a bit early, got a bit excited." He shone a bright but nervous smile at her. "You look great by the way, perfect for today."

All Michonne could do was smile and blush a shade of red almost as red as the rose Rick had behind his back for her.

"Here, I saw this when I was on my run this morning and thought of you." Shit, was that too much? Look at her! How did she take it? He looked up nervously and Michonne noticed his shyness in contrast to the statement.

"Thank you very much, Rick, it's beautiful and I'm glad you're thinking of me." Now it was Rick's turn to blush as he was lost for words. Knowing she had gotten her expected reaction she nudged his arm gently. "Haha! You ready to go then?"

"Uh, oh, yeah! There's an amazing coffee shop that not many people know about, you'll love it!" With that the two got into Rick's jeep and they drove to the coffee shop with good conversation and the occasional lingering look. When they arrived at the coffee shop, Michonne was taken back by the autumn themed small coffee shop. It was quaint, yet homely, she could see why Ricked loved it so. It was just like him. As they entered a small bell chimed above them in the doorway her heart rang in response to the close proximity of her friend. "So what would you like?" His southern drawl making the simplest of questions dreamy to her.

"Just a latte please."

"Can take a girl out of the city, but can't take the city out of the girl, eh?" He flashed that amazing smile again.

"Hey! What you saying Grimes? I bet you're just gonna have black coffee, mister boring!"

"Okay, okay, we're even" he replied chuckling.

The two shared their coffees and spoke like they had known each other forever. They shared stories of their childhoods until it came to the topic of their ex partners. Rick explained how his wife had left him for his best friend a few years back and in return Michonne shared her experiences with Mike. The two looked at each other with a new found respect for one another and were grateful to have someone to talk to.

"You finished then?" Rick said, looking at his mug, and then hers.

"Yeah, so we heading home then?"

"I mean, we can, but I was thinking we could go for a walk? There's a certain hill where you can see the entire horizon and we could watch the sun set? But if you have work to do that's okay."

Michonne felt an unfamiliar tingle in her stomach at the romantic nature of this man. She had never felt this with Mike but was unsure of what those feelings meant as she looked at this man staring back at her.

"I'm still good to go, to be honnest, I've always wanted to watch the sunset with someone I l- a friend" Shit. Did you nearly just say like? Or love? You've only known him six months Chonne! You always do this! Get too attached too quickly, that's how you get your heart broken!

"I'm glad, so, should we get going?" Was she about to say love? Wait, why does that not scare me? I mean, she's beautiful, funny, caring but we're just friends, right?

After Rick had paid for the coffee, they once again got into the jeep, but the conversation was slightly more awkward. When they arrived, they both got out the car and found the path in the decreasing light of the day. Rick noticed a shudder through Michonne as she tried to play it off.

"Here" He said taking off his coat; "Take my jacket" He draped the black bomber jacket over her shoulders, his fingers lightly touching her skin and sending an electric shock through both of them.

They continued to walk up the hill in the growing darkness, causing Michonne to trip as a result of the poor lighting. Rick thrust out his hand to catch her, finding her hand clasped to his. "Sorry..." Michonne was thankful for the night as it hid her blushing cheeks.

"Better hold on, just to be safe", the flirtatious tone evident in his voice as they continued walking the final stretch of the path, hand in hand.

"Wow. It's beautiful..." Michonne got no response; only Rick looking back at her in awe. They looked deep into each other's eyes for a few seconds as they moved closer together, to meet for a tender kiss. It wasn't rushed, or too slow; but gentle and paced to match the nervousness of the two. Although, it only lasted around ten seconds, it was enough for the two to stop, purely from smiling too much as they looked at each other in a new light, other than the amber sunset.