In the Dark…

"Honey, should I use this tie or this one?" Rick has a neck tie in each hand. One is black and the other is navy blue. He is expected in court as an expert witness regarding an arrest. Michonne is in bed as she gives her advice.

"Well, let me see…I really feel the navy blue is best. Either way, you look great." Michonne shares with a wide smile as she watches her husband put on the tie and quickly checks himself in the mirror.

Rick finishes dressing up and walks over to where Michonne is laying down and leans in to place a soft and loving kiss on her waiting lips.

"I love you so much." Rick sighs as he softly sits next to her and caresses her growing baby bump. He looks in her eyes. "I'm just going to testify and then do some paper work at the station …Then I'm coming right back here."

"Oh, you don't have to rush… Besides, Jacqui is coming over as usual and she will help me." Michonne insists because she wants enough time to do what she wants without Rick's knowledge.

"I know she'll come, but I want to be here with you." Rick kisses Michonne again. He looks at his watch and sees that he has to leave. He says his farewells and then goes downstairs to gather the kids so he can leave them at their schools. Michonne watches as Rick leaves through the door and closes it behind him. She is about to get up when she hears Carl and Judith running up the stairs calling her name. Judith bursts in the door and jumps on the bed to kiss Michonne and Carl follows smiling. Michonne holds her breath and smiles, knowing that she was almost caught.

"Hey, see you later." Carl says. He wants to kiss her good-bye, but he feels that it's not cool. Michonne extends her arms and Carl bends over and concedes to the gesture of affection he secretly wants. The children leave when they hear their father call out to them from downstairs. Michonne waits until she hears the car pull out of the garage. She stands from the bed and watches as the car goes down the road and is out of sight. Michonne quickly calls Jacqui and tells her not to come over that Rick will be with her today. Michonne gets her clothes ready and takes a bath.

XXXXXXXX

"Grrrrrrrr…..Vrooooooommmmm" Sasha quickly walks to the window and sees her new neighbor siting on his motorbike. It is Daryl Dixon and he is about to put on his helmet when he looks up from where he is sitting and sees Sasha staring from the window with her mask on. He waves at her, but she does not do the same. He smiles and places the helmet on his head and rides off. At that very moment she hears her door unlock. It is Michonne who comes in with some food in a couple of bags.

"Hey girl, what are you doing near the window?" Michonne asks as she closes the door behind her and then walks over to the kitchen to put the items she brought on the counter.

"Just looking." Sasha replies in a low tone.

"Looking?...You wouldn't happen to be looking at some cute stranger on a motorcycle?" Sasha doesn't respond but continues to look out the window. "Wait!...Is it that guy?" Michonne rushes to where Sasha is standing.

Sasha turns her gaze from the window to Michonne. "Mich…How long are you keeping Rick in the dark?... He won't be happy if you keep putting yours and the baby's health at risk."

Michonne nods and gives her friend a small smile. "Hey, come to the kitchen. I brought lunch, your favorite."

XXXXXXXXX

Daryl rides up to the parking lot of the local Veteran's Hospital and parks his bike. He gets off his bike, removes his helmet and walks as he greets people. He enters the hospital and changes into scrubs. He goes into the portion of the facility where there are veterans who are receiving care as they rehabilitate from injuries sustained in military service.

Daryl continues to walk and passes a veteran in a wheelchair. He is Latino and is in his late fifties. He is missing his left leg. His name is Leo. Daryl extends his hand to greet the vet.

"Hey, how's things today?" Daryl inquires as he shakes the man's hand.

"Not too bad…but he still won't come out… He can't stay there forever."

"Yeah…I know, thanks though."

The two men nod to each other and Daryl enters a dark room. There is a bed, a chair and a night stand. A man is sitting in the chair with his head down, not acknowledging that Daryl has entered the room. Daryl slowly approaches the man and then sits on the side of the bed adjacent from where the man is sitting. The man looks up at Daryl.

"How ya doin' baby brother?" The man asks in a low tone.

"I'm okay, you?...Leo tells me ya don't want to come out of the room today… Merle, ya know you can't stop the therapy sessions."

Merle looks at Daryl and then down at his lap. He sees the void where his legs once occupied. He shakes his head. "Rehabilitate what baby brother?"

Daryl gets up from the bed. "I am goin' to help the others get ready. Come out when ya ready." Daryl walks to the door.

"When I told our old man that I enlisted…the drunk bastard laughed at me. He told me that I was tryin' to run away… He was right…When I came back like this… he laughed again…Do ya know what he said?" Merle asks.

"Nah…what he say?" Daryl asks.

"I tried to get so far…I lost my legs on my way back." Merle sighs deeply. "Don't wait for me."

Daryl turns the nob. "I always will." And walks out.

XXXXXXXXX

Rick is on his way to court but is stuck in traffic. The time keeps moving, but the cars are stuck in a long traffic jam. Rick sees people getting out of their cars and walking up towards what could be causing the gridlock. Rick gets out of his car and follows the crowd to assist in any way he can. He reaches the cause which is about twenty cars away and sees that there was a crash. He walks up to the situation and checks on the people involved. He sees a car that he recognizes. He approaches it to see that Jacqui is in the passenger side. She is hurt, but coherent. His heart quickly drops; he knows that she was supposed to be with Michonne. He wonders if Michonne had gotten ill and she was trying to take her somewhere. Otherwise, why would she be here? He looks in the car and sees that Michonne is nowhere to be found.

"Jacqui… What happened?...Where's Michonne?" Rick asks Jacqui.

"Rick?...Oh, hi…Um, she told me not to come in today, because you were going to stay with her."

XXXXXXXXX

"That lasagna was really good." Says Sasha, while taking her last fork full as she sits at the kitchen table. She doesn't remove the mask fully. She lifts it up slightly in order to eat.

"Thanks, Giovanni's makes the best Italian dishes." Michonne declares as she finishes her meal. "So, what's his name?"

"…Who?" Sasha is caught off guard and swallows hard.

"You know…The guy on the bike." Michonne retorts with a smile.

"He said his name is Daryl Dixon." Sasha shares.

"So you spoke to him?" Michonne exclaims.

"Mich…It was quick in passing and that's all…I don't get my hopes up anymore."

"You shouldn't feel that way. You're still the same beautiful person, in every way."

"Really?…apparently not to Kevin." Sasha stands up from the table.

"He didn't deserve you anyway." Michonne concludes.

"Looking like this didn't help either… Besides, I doubt we could have made it last either way…Not like you and Rick."

Michonne looks at her watch when Sasha mentions Rick and sees that she should be going. She quickly gets her stuff to leave.

"Mich…Thanks for coming, but please…Don't keep this from Rick."

"I know…You're right." Michonne smiles and hugs her friend. They walk to the door together.

"Knock…Knock." Someone is at the door.

"It's probably Tyreese." Sasha ensures.

Michonne opens the door and Tyreese is on the other side.

"Hey, how are you doing? I was about to leave." Michonne says.

"Mich…Um…" Tyreese is looking at Michonne with wide eyes.

"What are you waiting for? Come in." Michonne says to Tyreese who complies. She is about to leave but suddenly stops when she sees Rick standing behind Tyreese with a very stern stare.

_0_

OMG! Michonne got caught! More to come.

Thanks for reading!