Chapter Two: Work Song
"Michonne."
"Not too tight," Michonne directed over her shoulder as her younger sister laced her up in a simple day dress. Her sister finished hurriedly at the sound of their mother's voice and Michonne went to the living room to find the older woman waiting for her.
"Yes ma'am."
Michonne's mother's eyes flitted over Michonne's dress and then back to her eyes. "You're going into town for flour and medicine. That's it."
Michonne nodded. "Of course."
"Yeah, mama, you don't have to tell Mich twice," one of her younger sisters said, coming up behind her. "She's not like Marsai who always finds some stable boy to flirt with."
A worn shoe came hurtling out of the bedroom to hit Sara, the younger sister, square in the bum. "Hey!" Sara yelled. "It's true!" She threw the shoe back into the bedroom, hitting her target judging by the thud and shriek that followed the action.
"Hey. Stop bothering your sick sister," the aged mother said, not even bothering to raise her voice. She didn't need to. The children would obey for she had raised them well.
"The only reason you're going," her mother continued, looking at Michonne once again. "Is because your older sister is sick. And Sara and Mara are too afraid to go by themselves."
"Mara is afraid; I'm not," Sara interjected. She hushed when her mother gave her a stern look.
For twenty-four years old, the twins Sara and Mara always got into trouble by their mother for being too immature. Marsai found them to be a bother and always got into arguments with them so that left Michonne, the middle child, to be peacemaker among the family.
"I understand, mama," Michonne said. "I'll go there and come right back."
"I'm just worried," her mother said with a sigh. "I'm worried that maybe we acted too hastily. A vision was given to me that the baby that's now in your womb would save this family." She walked forward and placed the back of her hand lovingly against Michonne's abdomen, who covered the older woman's hand with her own. "But what if those 'visions' were just this old woman's foolhardy imaginings. The older I get the less I can be sure of the things that I see. Now I'm having the strangest dreams. Where that man...he turns into a snake and swallows you whole."
Michonne was surprised to hear about these new dreams but she didn't let it show on her face. "I wouldn't worry," she said. "Your visions have never been wrong. If you no longer trust in yourself, I always will." She gave her mother's hand another squeeze and then released it. "Don't worry. I'll come right back."
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It was another sweltering hot day and Rick Grimes was overseeing the building of a general store at the front of town with his deputy Shane Walsh. It was hot and it was hard work but Rick was thankful for it. It was a reprieve from his thoughts and his imaginings.
It had been two weeks since his encounter with the dark priestess Michonne in the forest and she had been on his mind constantly ever since. There were moments when he felt like it had all been a dream but then he remembered the way her nails felt clawing into his back and the moments when their eyes would meet and he knew that what he experienced had been real.
"You okay there, Rick?" Shane asked, bringing his thoughts back to the present. "The heat gettin' to you?"
Shane held a toothpick between his teeth and watched Rick with concern. "Your mama's been tellin' me how you've been takin' long walks in the woods these days. Not comin' home until nighttime. Said your girl, Jessie, has been feelin' neglected. That you're breakin' her heart."
A flush caressed Rick's cheeks as Shane relayed his mother's words to him. He knew he could never tell his mother, Shane, or especially Jessie where he walked to every evening.
Everyday he just found himself going back to that creek. Back to that patch of land where he had laid with an exquisite, forbidden creature. And he would lay there again. Sometimes until nightfall. Just thinking about the moments they had shared.
And maybe...hoping that she would appear again at the creek bed...
There was a part of him that feared he would never see her again. And a part of him that feared he would. He knew where she lived and he increasingly felt the need to go and visit but he also felt that he couldn't. Or he shouldn't.
"I don't know if marrying Jessie is the right thing anymore, Shane," he said.
"What?" Shane asked. "A beautiful girl like that? Why not?"
"I don't know. My heart's just not in it."
"A man's got more to tend to than his heart," Shane said with raised eyebrows. He chuckled when Rick sent him a stern look and then he got serious. "Oh come on, buddy. She's a nice girl. And she likes you a great deal. You were broken up after Lori's death. It's time you got back in the saddle."
The image of chocolate brown eyes and smooth, dark skin emerged in his mind's eye and his breath caught. He shook his head. 'What's the matter with me?' he wondered. "Yeah..." he said softly to Shane. "Maybe you're right..."
But Shane's attention had been drawn to something else. "Well, well, well. Look what the cat done dragged in. Just comin' into town haughty as anything."
Rick looked to where he was looking and his heart stopped then and there. There she was. Michonne. In a brown and red-laden day dress with her head held high. Her two twin sisters stuck close behind her, following in her wake, dressed in two simple blue day dresses of their own.
"Can't they go to the next town over to shop?" Shane asked, his voice sounding distant to Rick's ears. "This always causes a lotta unnecessary tension."
"The next town over is at least twenty miles further away than this one," Rick muttered, his eyes still trained on Michonne. Somehow she seemed even more beautiful than the last time he had seen her.
She turned and their eyes met.
~ Boys workin' on empty
Is that the kinda way to face the burning heat?
I just think about my baby
I'm so full of love I could barely eat
There's nothing sweeter than my baby
I never want once from the cherry tree
My baby's sweet as can be
She give me toothaches just from kissin' me ~
Rick couldn't stop the smile that began to form on his lips. He was happy to see her.
His burgeoning smile faded, though, when someone came and stood directly in Michonne's path – stopping her in her tracks. She looked up to see who was blocking the road and took a step to move around him. He took a step to block her. Rick placed his hand on the weapon at his hip and started to move, sensing that there was about to be trouble.
Shane caught him by the elbow, stopping him. "Are you crazy?! That's Phillip Blake! Probably one of the richest men in Georgia! We don't wanna get on his bad side. Whatever's going on over there is not our problem."
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"Please excuse us, sir," Michonne said, keeping her eyes at the level of the man's Adams apple.
"Why should I?" the man asked, his Southern twang strong. His voice held a cold, hard malice that could only be bred through generations of hate. "Ahh..." he chuckled and Michonne felt her muscles tense. "If I don't, you and your nigger kin here will do some kind of voodoo magic on me and make my tongue twist or my eyes bleed or something? Yeah, see, I've heard about you all." He stepped closer and Michonne felt his breath hitting her face. "You sold your soul to the devil just so you could walk free out here? Act like you're one of us? Well, you can sell your soul a million times over. It don't stop you from being what you are." He grabbed Michonne's cheeks in a painful grip and lifted her face to meet his eyes. "And that ain't nothin' but a nigger."
Michonne shook with restraint. She knew from a lifetime of this kind of treatment that the safest way to handle it was to do nothing. Especially not with an unborn child and her younger sisters to worry about. She tamped her anger down and looked down again, even while she felt like her jaw would break with Phillip's grip.
"Is there a problem?" Another hard voice interrupted from the side and Michonne didn't even have to look over to know who it was. His voice had become familiar to her during their day in the forest. "Why don't you let her go?"
Phillip peered over at Rick and chuckled. "Well, if it isn't Richard Grimes. Is this the way you run your town? You play Sheriff and let darkies roam free just because they claim to know a little hocus pocus? You and your family are an embarrassment."
"Let her go," Rick warned again, his hand on his weapon which was still in his holster.
"Or what?" Phillip asked, his eyes flashing maliciously. "You'll shoot me? Over some nigger wench?"
At this point, people in the town were beginning to gather around the altercation. "I don't wanna shoot anybody," Rick said. "You just keep passing through town like you were doing. We have an agreement. They don't cause us any trouble; we cause them none. It's the way things have been for a while now. I can't have you comin' in here and messin' things up. That's not the way I run things."
There was a tension-filled moment in which Phillip continued to hold Michonne but then he released her with a rough shove, causing her to stumble backwards.
He then faced Rick.
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"You should get your town under control Sheriff. Or I'll let my father know you're just letting slaves run free, then he'll come in and clean up the town himself." He spit a wad of saliva at Michonne's feet and then sauntered off, leaving Rick to stare a warning after him.
Once Phillip was gone, Rick focused in on Michonne and let his hand fall away from his gun. "You okay?" he asked.
Michonne's sisters regarded him warily while she stood up straight again and nodded.
Seeing that she was at least not physically harmed, Rick turned his attentions to the gathering townspeople and began to dismiss them. "Okay, folks," he called. "Nothing to see here. It's all been figured out; go on about your business." They began to disperse with light mutterings while Shane approached.
"What was that, man?" Shane asked. "That was risky."
"I was just doing my job," he replied. "Why don't you stay here and finish overseeing the construction? I'm gonna escort these girls through town and make sure nothing else happens."
Shane regarded his friend curiously but nodded. "Alright," he said. "I'll do that." He looked at the three women and then Rick. "You be careful."
"I'll escort you women through town," Rick said to the women once Shane headed back to his position at the site of the general store construction. "Make sure there's no more trouble."
"You don't have to," Michonne replied.
Rick looked her in the eye, remembering the last time she had said those words. And he gave her the same reply.
"I want to."
~ When my time comes around
Lay me gently in the cold dark earth
No grave can hold my body down
I'll crawl home to her ~
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"So, what have you three come into town for?" Rick asked casually. "Or is that none of my business? I'm sorry."
"Flour," Michonne replied. "And medicine."
"Oh," Rick said with a worried expression. "Is someone sick?" He turned over his shoulder to see the twins glancing at each other and Michonne just staring at him as they followed him through town. "None of my business," he realized. "Sorry."
"Our older sister," Michonne supplied. "She's got a fever."
"Oh. Sorry to hear that. I hope she gets better." They got to the general store in town and Rick held the door open for them. Michonne and her sisters stopped short. She consciously glanced around at the staring townspeople that were walking by and then she quickly walked in. Rick stepped in after them. "If you need help reaching anything, let me know."
Michonne's sisters giggled and Rick knew he was being laughed at but he didn't know what for. "I'll be fine," Michonne replied. "Come on," she said to her sisters, tugging Sara along behind her reprimandingly.
Rick sighed and waited while the girls went about shopping. He looked up to see the storeowner, Merill Dixon – mother of Merle and Daryl Dixon – staring at the women in her shop with obvious scorn. "...Merill," he greeted her with a nod.
Her eyes slid to him and she gave him a tight smile that she obviously didn't feel. "Sheriff."
When Michonne and her sisters finished gathering what they needed and went to pay for their things, Rick went to the counter with them.
"That'll be sixty-five cents," Merrill said.
"The price sticker says the flour is ten cents and the medicine is twenty," Michonne said. "I owe you thirty cents."
Merrill's lips pinched together. "You tryin' to educate me on 'rithmetic, girl? I said it's sixty-five. The prices listed are for our normal customers."
Michonne sighed. "Thirty is all I have."
"Well, that's too bad isn't it?"
Rick felt his heart pounding in anger at the blatant disregard and disrespect. "Just give her the fair price, Merrill," he said.
Merrill met Rick's eyes, old and stubborn in her ways. "This is the fair price. For them!"
Rick moved the items on the counter to his side. "Here," he said. "I'm buying them. So what's the price?"
Merrill's lips pinched together once again and her skin flushed red with subdued anger. "...Thirty cents," she said.
Rick reached into his pocket, pulled out thirty cents, and put the coins on the counter.
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When they exited the store, Michonne took the small bag of items from him and put her thirty cents in his hand. "You don't have to-" he started.
"Yes, I do," Michonne said. "I don't want to owe you anything."
Rick looked down at the small coins in his palm and felt the urge to clear something up. "I'm not like them," he suddenly said, catching her eyes. He wanted her to understand how beautiful he thought she was. How important. How she had changed his life. But he couldn't find the words. He could only repeat, "I'm not like them".
"And what makes you so different?" Michonne asked, her voice steady and hard. "We've been living in this town since we were children. Until you kicked us out. This isn't our first visit and this isn't the first time stuff like this has happened. But this is the only time you've done something about it. So I guess you feel like you deserve a pat on the back and you get to feel good about yourself. Well congratulations. Thank you. Truly."
"But maybe you should think about why you're doing this now. Is it because you're really not like them or is it because you want something from me?" Michonne shook her head. "I'm not foolish." She glanced around at all the townspeople who continued to slow down and stare as they passed. "Don't do this again. Your fake kindness will only be trouble for us in the long run."
She turned on her heel and left with her sisters following after her. She fought the urge to look back.
"What did you do to that man?" Sara teased, oblivious to the heavy atmosphere. "If you asked him to jump, he would've said 'how high'".
Michonne elbowed Sara in the ribs, telling her to shut up.
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That night, Rick visited the pub. Michonne's words were stuck in his mind.
For years, she had gone unnoticed by him. Every time he thought back, she was just on the periphery of some of his memories even though they had grown up in the same small town together. She had just been a part of the negro family that no one bothered because they were "witches" and "cursed". Even when he had kicked them out, he had first and foremost been worried about what was best for the town and not necessarily what was best for the family that had to leave.
Rick put back bottle after bottle.
It was true that he had never really "seen" her until that day.
He wasn't aware of when he left the pub. Or how he got to the forest. But he ended up stumbling there where he and Michonne had made love. And he was convinced that that was what it was. They had made love.
Rick finished off the bottle of whiskey in his hand, threw it aside, and laid on the very spot where it had happened. The wind brushed gently across his skin and he imagined that it was her.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
He felt Michonne's hand against his skin and he opened his eyes to see her stroking his face with a concerned expression. "I see you," he said in wonder. "I see you." He tried to hold her in his sights but the pull of sleep was just too great. His eyelids fluttered shut and then there was darkness.
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The next time his eyes began to flutter open, he heard whispers.
"You shouldn't have brought him here."
"I didn't know what else to do."
"I told you what I dreamed!"
"He was just laying out there in the middle of the field."
"He will be your ruin. I feel it."
"Shh!" another voice whispered. "I think he's waking up."
His eyes opened completely just as someone moved into his sight. His vision cleared to see Michonne standing over him with the same concerned expression he had seen before he passed out. "You're here," he whispered.
~ That's when my baby found me
I was three days on a drunken sin
I woke with her walls around me
Nothin' in her room but an empty crib
And I was burnin' up a fever
I didn't care much how long I lived
But I swear I thought I dreamed her
She never asked me once about the wrong I did ~
Upon further inspection, Rick noticed that the room was small and simply furnished. And four other women stood in the room.
He sat up quickly.
The twins he recognized from town. Then he noticed the older sister wrapped in a blanket and their mother who was wearing a scowl.
He immediately felt lightheaded upon sitting up so quickly and he winced. "Where am I?" he asked, although he had a pretty good idea.
"I found you laying out in the field near the creek so I brought you home," Michonne explained.
"I'll fix you some hot porridge," the mother said, even though her scowl was still firmly in place.
"What were you doing out there?" Sara asked. "Seems pretty foolish to sleep out in a field. Even if you're drunk."
Michonne stared sternly at her sister. "Can you guys leave us alone for a minute?"
Sara scoffed but she agreed pretty easily. "Fine," she said. On her way out, she made kissy faces before closing the door quickly. Michonne heard her giggling on the other side of the door and shook her head.
Rick felt embarrassed when it was just the two of them. His clothes were unkempt, his hair was probably a mess, and he could feel that his eyes were bloodshot. "I'm sorry," he said again. His voice was raspy because he had a dry throat. "I'm sorry for my ignorance, my inaction, for...everything. I feel like...I've been asleep and I'm just waking up." Rick met her gaze, imploring her to understand him.
"Why were you in that field?" Michonne asked.
"...I miss you..." Rick answered.
"You don't even know me."
"I still miss you." Rick knew he was making no sense, but he didn't care. "Why were you in that field?"
Michonne was quiet before answering. "...I miss you too."
Rick smiled. The pounding in his head went unnoticed. He reached out to take Michonne's hand. "I want to be with you," he said. And as the words left his mouth, he knew that they were true. Thirty-five years of life and he had never been more sure of anything.
Michonne took her hand away. "That's impossible."
"Why?"
"You know why." Michonne took a step back. "Besides...we're leaving."
Rick felt his heart drop. "Leaving?" he asked. "Where?"
Michonne shook her head. "I'm not going to tell you that. But once Marsai gets better, we're going to leave this place. You should know."
Rick had an immediate adverse reaction to Michonne's revelation. "Well...take me with you," he said suddenly. Michonne's brows drew downward in shock. "Yeah!" Rick said, inspired. He stood up from the bed and approached Michonne. "Let's all leave together." He put his hands on her waist. "There's nothing to keep me in that town anymore."
Michonne's brow cleared and she placed her hands on Rick's chest, gently pushing him back to the bed. He laid down agreeably and Michonne stroked his face with her hands. "You need to get some more rest," she said. "Go back to sleep. You have your friends, your mom, your job, your fiancee. Responsibility. You'll remember all of that when you wake up in the morning. So go back to sleep."
"When I wake up in the morning, nothing will have changed," Rick said. He ran his finger along her jawline.
"We'll see..." Michonne said. "But thank you for saying that, whatever happens."
She leaned down and pressed her lips against his. Their kiss was gentle and sweet.
~ My baby never fret none
About what my hands and my body done
If the Lord don't forgive me
I'd still have my baby and my babe would have me
When I was kissing on my baby
And she put her love down soft and sweet
In the lowland plot I was free
Heaven and hell were words to me ~
Michonne climbed onto the bed with him and laced her fingers with his. And the two fell asleep just like that, wrapped in each other's arms. What tomorrow would bring they didn't know. But tonight there was this.
Michonne's mother opened the door to with a tray of porridge in hand and sighed when she saw the sight before her. She shook her head, placed the tray on the table by the bed, and then left the room quietly. That night she would pray for the heavens to look favorably upon the two foolish lovers.
~ When my time comes around
Lay me gently in the cold dark earth
No grave can hold my body down
I'll crawl home to her ~
