Parallel Hearts (Chapter 3)
"Hey. You don't look ok to me. Are you sure you're alright?" Rick feels the compulsion that something is bothering her and he refuses to let it go.
She finally looks into his eyes, searching them. I never noticed how blue his eyes are. "Can I….can I trust you?"
He frowns at hearing that question. "Of course you can."
T-Dog walks up, leading with a greeting, then slows down as it looks like he may have interrupted something. "Hey. Don't mind me. I'll just…."
"Hey. What do you need?" Rick asks, turning his attention to T-Dog.
Michonne attempts to turn and walk away, but Rick places a hand at her shoulder and asks her to wait.
"I was just gonna see if I could go ahead and start watch duty tonight. I can't sleep so I might as well try to do something productive," T-Dog states.
Rick smiles as this will give him an opportunity to talk with Michonne. "That would be great. You got a weapon, right? You remember everythang we discussed?"
T-Dog nods. "I got it. Thanks for letting me help you out. Y'all have a good night."
Rick and Michonne bid T-Dog a good night and move off to the dining area towards the front of the camp. It only consists of a limited number of bench tables, but it's deserted and gives them some privacy for the talk Michonne needs to have.
She calmly relays her conversation with Lori and asks him not to say anything to her about it.
"I think I should say something. That was not her place to come to you like that. I understand Mike is concerned but he should talk to you, not Lori."
"I know. I plan to talk to him, but I just can't right now. You'd think something like this would pull people closer together. I'm in a relationship and I've never felt more alone," Michonne admits.
Her look is so downtrodden that Rick is willing to do and say anything to see her smile.
"Hey. You're not alone. I'm not much, but you got me." He gives her a slight smile, hoping she'll give him one in return. When she does, his heart swells with happiness.
"Thanks for listening," Michonne offers.
"You'd do the same for me, right?" Rick asks. After she nods, he continues with, "Don't be concerned about what these people are thinking. That's the least of our worries and as long as you know the truth, nothing else matters. You're doing the right thing here, so don't let anyone convince you different."
She allows his words to sink in, glad that she decided to trust Rick with her feelings. He really is a good guy.
"Well, we don't get many opportunities like this, so you'd better get some sleep while you can," she reminds him.
"Only problem with that is I'm not sleepy at all," Rick returns.
Michonne nods. "I'm sure Lori would enjoy some time with her husband."
Rick really looks at the woman in front of him and wonders how she can still consider others even when they haven't been as considerate of her.
She stands, prompting him to do the same. "I guess we should call it a night."
They walk down the lane quietly and Rick stops when Michonne stops in front of a tent that is clearly not hers.
"See you tomorrow." She ducks in and jerks around when Rick ducks in right behind her.
"Uh…this isn't your tent." He looks around, taking in the boxes of supplies, a variety of weapons and ammo. He surmises that this must be some sort of storage, but doesn't remember Aileen pointing this out on their tour.
"I know, but there are a couple of cots in the back. I'm gonna sleep here tonight," she states.
"What? Why?"
She sighs. "I've already had words with your wife. It'll be more of the same with Mike and I'm just not in the mood."
"Well, what are you in the mood for? I mean, what else can we do besides talk?" Rick cringes just a little, hoping that didn't sound like he was suggesting anything other than what he was suggesting.
She moves over to one of the boxes and after a few minutes, retrieves a deck of cards. She holds them up with a smile.
They try and keep quiet as they are having the best time, playing Go Fish and I Declare War…..games from both of their childhoods. From there, they spread out on the cots, facing each other and continue to talk about their favorite movies, mimicking certain lines and trying not to laugh too loud.
Rick can't remember the last time he has had this much fun, especially since the world changed. He realizes it's only temporary but wishes the lightness of this moment could last forever.
Michonne looks over at him, taking in the way his entire face has changed. He appears so carefree to her, the huge grin causing crinkles at his eyes, the mass of messy curls, the way he grabs at his stomach when he laughs like he's trying to hold it in. She continues to listen to him talk, enjoying this moment like none other.
At the same time, Rick is watching Michonne, allowing his eyes to travel innocently from her head down to her mud encrusted boots. He likes the highlights of red, light brown, and some sandy color threaded through her hair, her long lashes encasing doe-shaped eyes, her full heart shaped lips…..
He pops up suddenly with a slight frown. "How old are you?"
Michonne props up on her elbows, turning her head to face him. "How old do I look?"
"Don't play. Tell me."
"You. Tell. Me," she responds with a devilish smile.
Rick drops back to the cot, looking up to the tent's ceiling. He turns his head toward her. "Some days you look to be in your 30s, but sometimes I look at you and you look so young to me….20s maybe. So which is it?"
"I should let you keep wondering." She pauses as he pouts playfully. "I'm 31, Rick. Satisfied?"
He gives her a genuine smile and nods. "Just in case you're wondering, I'm 35."
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Michonne opens her eyes with several blinks and a yawn. She is just about to stretch when she looks over and notices Rick fast asleep in the cot across from hers. Damn. We fell asleep. She gets up slowly, rolling her shoulders and neck before moving over to Rick and shaking him gently.
He turns over to face her, taking in his surroundings. "We fell asleep?"
She nods. "Looks that way." She pauses. "Guess I better go home and face the music."
They both retrieve their weapons and Rick opens the flap entrance, allowing Michonne to step out first.
Just down the lane, Mike is walking in her direction, searching for her. He is about to call to her when he sees Rick step out of the tent after her. All Mike can see is red as he sprints toward them and shoves Michonne out of the way to confront Rick.
"Mike, what are you doing?" Michonne yells, then gasps as he takes a swing at Rick.
Rick deflects it perfectly, holding his hands up. "I don't want any trouble, Mike."
"You don't want any trouble?! You spend the night with my girlfriend and you don't want any trouble?!" Mike yells.
"Spend the night…" Rick trails off as he looks at Michonne, then at the tent they just emerged from and groans as the implications start forming in his head.
"This is not what you think it is." Michonne tells Mike, feeling a slight panic because coming out of that tent with Rick in the early morning hours may give the wrong impression.
Mike lunges at Rick again so Michonne places herself in between the two men. She is about to appeal to Mike again when Lori walks up.
Rick groans as Lori asks, "What's going on?"
"You wanna know what's going on? Your husband is sleeping with my girlfriend and I'm gonna kick his ass!" Mike promises.
Lori frowns as she looks from Mike to Michonne and lastly to Rick. "I thought you were on watch last night."
"I was but T-Dog relieved me so Michonne and I talked and…." Rick trails off as he realizes exactly how this is going to sound to his wife. He scrubs his face absently. "Lori, I swear to you this is not what it looks like."
"He's lying! I saw the two of them step out of this tent….together! What are they doing coming out of the same tent this time of morning?" Mike wants to know.
"Well, isn't that the supply tent? It would appear to me that if we're getting ready to go on a run, maybe we need to take inventory and see what's needed most," Jay intervenes as he walked up minutes ago to see what all the yelling was about.
"Inventory?" Lori asks.
"Yes, this is the supply tent," Jay explains as he pulls the tent's flap back to reveal what was inside. He then turns to the gathering crowd and tells them to get back to whatever they were doing.
Mike gently pulls Michonne to his side away from Rick who he continues to eye suspiciously. "Let's go."
Michonne shares one last look with Rick before allowing Mike to guide her to their tent.
Lori didn't miss the exchange between Rick and Michonne and immediately flounces off to their tent. Rick follows her slowly, regretting the questions she is bound to ask.
"I don't want you seeing her anymore," Lori tells Rick after he explains to her what happened.
Something tells him he probably should've gone with the inventory route that Jay ingeniously gave them, but he doesn't want to lie to his wife. He is trying to control his anger as he listens to Lori tell him to end his friendship with Michonne.
"My friendship with her is innocent and I can't believe you don't trust me," he tells her.
"Just tell me how all of this looks. These people think you're sleeping with her," she accuses.
"I don't give a damn what these people think or how you think it looks. Nothing happened. I talked to her because she was upset about the bullshit you spewed at her," Rick reminds his wife.
Lori's eyes pop as she recalls the conversation she had with Michonne. She shouldn't be surprised. She should've known Michonne would tell Rick all about it. "Her boyfriend came to me. I thought I was doing the right thing."
"Well, I think it would be best if you stayed out of their business," Rick states.
"I'll stay out of it, but I still don't think it's a good idea for you to remain friends with her." Lori jumps as Rick loses his patience.
"This is what you're concerned about?! Who I'm friends with?! There are creatures out there eating human flesh and we are living in a refugee camp and you want to come at me with this bullshit?! I'm going to tell you one last time, nothing happened between me and Michonne, but you can believe what you want because I'm tired of giving a shit!" He walks out of the tent, leaving Lori to ponder on his words.
Meanwhile, Michonne is sitting quietly as Mike asks her the same questions over and over again. It is almost like he thinks he can trick her some kind of way and get her to reveal that she actually slept with Rick. For all the crap she is getting, maybe she should've slept with him.
"I just can't believe y'all just talked and you ended up falling asleep. He didn't try anything?" Mike asks yet again.
"Why don't you trust me? I've been nothing but honest with you yet you continue to ask me about Rick over and over again. I did not sleep with him."
"But you wanted to, right? You thought about it?"
Michonne sighs with aggravation. "What's the bottom line here Mike? Either you believe me or you don't. I'm not going to continue to sit here and answer the same questions over and over again."
"I just don't know what to believe. How did the two of you stay in that tent all night and not fool around?" Mike asks.
"Because we're both in committed relationships and care about our significant others. Because a man and a woman can be friends without having sex. Because he was there for me when you should've been," Michonne explains.
That last statement really gets Mike's attention. He looks away from her, feeling the heaviness of guilt.
"There is so much bullshit going on all around us. Why are you trying so hard to create a pile of it right here between us?" She sighs again as she rises from her cot. "I'm going for a walk." She hesitates for just a moment, thinking Mike may try and detain her, that maybe he'd apologize and she could forgive him. When he remains quiet, she steps out of the tent and moves toward the front exit.
She notices Rick seated in the small dining area and everything in her wants to make a beeline straight for him, but maybe she should pull back. Maybe their friendship is causing too much strife for the both of them. She scoffs as she realizes neither of them have checked on T-Dog. That would be the perfect excuse to approach him but she decides against it, continuing on to her destination.
Rick looks up just in time to see her approach the guard on watch duty. He watches their exchange and swallows hard as she walks out of the camp. Everything in him is screaming for him to follow her but after his argument with Lori, he just wants some time alone. He needs to re-evaluate the situation and figure out what he has done wrong.
Glenn walks into his line of vision and that immediately reminds him of T-Dog.
Taking care of watch duty is the distraction he needs as he greets Glenn and asks him to walk with him. Part of his attention is given to Glenn and T-Dog as the latter gives a report about his uneventful night of watch duty. The other part is glancing at his watch and watching the lane to see if a familiar figure returns.
Glenn happily takes over watch duty for T-Dog who retires to his tent, finally feeling the draw of sleepiness.
Rick contemplates going back to the tent to check on Lori but is not in the mood for any more drama. He walks in the direction of his tent, but finds himself bypassing it and exiting the camp grounds after telling the watch duty guard he was going to check on Michonne.
He finds her sitting beneath a tree with her knees drawn up, a book resting on them as she reads. He can't help but smile at her boldness. He approaches her slowly.
"I really don't think this is the best setting for that Harlequin romance you're drooling over," he observes.
Michonne can't help laughing. What is it about this man that sets everything at ease? She looks away from him, not willing to explore those thoughts any further. "I don't think Lori would appreciate you being out here like this."
"No, she wouldn't," he agrees.
"Thank you for being there for me. I don't think I've ever had a true male friend," Michonne admits.
Rick leans back against the tree as he stands and looks down at her. "True male friend? What does that mean?"
"It means that every guy that I have ever considered a friend always tried to see if he could get into my pants first. They opted for friendship when they realized they couldn't get what they really wanted," Michonne explains.
"Sounds like you've had a lot of jerks for friends," Rick returns.
She laughs again and it is like music to his ears. "I hate to say this but maybe you should be inside checking on your wife instead of out here with me."
Rick frowns. "Are you buying into this 'what are people going to think' bullshit?"
"No, I'm not but you should consider if the roles were reversed and Lori had a close male friend. How would you feel if she was spending a lot of time with him and other people started to notice and…"
Rick cuts her off as he calls her name softly.
"It's for the best, Rick. It'll keep down confusion and maybe everyone will forget that they think we're sleeping together."
"So you're dumping me as your friend?" Rick asks, his voice laced with disappointment.
"Don't say it like that. We'll always be friends, but you should put Lori first."
"Is that what you're going to do with Mike?"
"I don't know what I'm going to do with Mike. I don't want to have to fight out here and inside too. That's way too draining, but how do you break up with someone now?"
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Two days later, the run team has assembled again with the addition of Glenn and T-Dog. They already know they are going to have to go out further than ever before and are prepared to be away from the camp for at least 24 hours, 48 max.
Michonne and Rick have managed to avoid each other much to Lori and Mike's satisfaction. They even sit in different vehicles as they prepare to move out. After scavenging all day and only procuring half of the supplies they need, Jay announces that they will secure a store or building of some sort to hunker down for the night.
Hours later, they are set up on the second floor of an abandoned building, watch duty assignments mapped out and the others branching off to do their own thing. Rick is unsure of his welcome, but seeks Michonne out just the same. She is seated in a corner, preparing to ingest a meager dinner of canned sweet corn.
"Mind if I join you?" He asks, holding up a can of green beans. "I'm willing to share if you are."
She smiles, trying not to show just how happy she is. She has missed him more than she ever thought she would.
"I've got a surprise for you," he tells her.
"What?"
He reaches into his back jeans pocket and retrieves a bar of her favorite candy. She gasps and practically yanks it from his hand. He quickly yanks it back.
"You gotta win it."
"Win it? You said it was a surprise….for me," she reminds him.
"Well, aren't you surprised that I have a Big Kat?"
She narrows her eyes at him and returns to the task of opening the can. "So how can I win it?"
He reaches into his other back pocket and produces a deck of cards. "Best two out of three I Declare War or Go Fish….you pick."
All she can do is smile.
A day later, they are on the return trip to camp, having had a successful run. Rick and Michonne are seated in a vehicle together and haven't stopped talking since they first got on the road. T-Dog and Jay join the conversation here and there, but for the most part it is just Rick and Michonne.
"What the hell?" T-Dog exclaims as Jay pulls the truck to a complete stop a few feet from the entrance of the camp or what used to be the camp. The undead are everywhere as several sections of the fences are down as well as some of the tents, no sign of human life evident.