Rick had never seen a woman like her. He watched as she moved, her sword cutting through the air, cleanly slicing the head off one walker, popping open the head of another, and then sending a third head tumbling to the ground with a graceful swipe of her arm, as if she were dancing. Rick had been staring, unblinking, for at least 40 seconds when he realized his people were waiting for his signal.

He held up his hand, and the people hiding in the cars turned their headlights on simultaneously, blinding their attackers. He watched as the woman froze, and the walker she was about to kill got the jump on her. She couldn't see, and was trying to fend off the attack of the undead.

Rick pointed his gun and easily blew out the brains of the walker that had been attacking her. The woman looked stunned for a moment, but she pushed the walker off herself and kept her sword raised, shielding her eyes as she glanced around.

Rick came up behind her, his Colt Python pointed at her head. She was distracted, she didn't even see him.

"Drop it" Rick growled. He expected her to freeze, or drop her weapon, but instead she swung around taking him by surprise, her blade inches from his face. It was then that Rick got a closer glimpse of her appearance.

Her eyes were beautifully large, the most expressive things on her face, and they were even larger as they stared at him in surprise. Her brown eyes looked almost amber colored in the light. Her hair had grown intertwined into brown locs that hung down to her breasts, and were held in place and out of her face with a gray headband. Her nose was wide, and her lips were plump and full, but her skin… it was just flawless. He couldn't believe he was noticing all those things at that moment, not when these people had just attacked one of his outposts.

'She's the enemy Rick, focus.' he thought. But she was staring at him just as much as he was staring at her, her gaze never wavering, her eyes betraying the utmost focus and concentration. And to his surprise, a lack of fear. This woman was different.

Finally, she lowered her katana and laid it on the ground.

When she stood back up she faced him with her back straight and her head held high. He could tell she could take care of herself.

"Put your hands up" Rick ordered her. Her eyes were still boring into his and he swore she could see his soul. Slowly, she lifted her arms above her head.

"Turn around. Turn around." Rick commanded. She turned away and Rick had a second to check out her rear view, but he quickly pulled himself together.

'She's the enemy.'

He patted her down roughly to see what was in her pockets. Her jeans were so tight he was pretty sure she wasn't hiding anything, but he checked anyway. When she turned back around she was glaring at him, her forehead wrinkled in rage.

"Get on your knees" he ordered, his gun still pointed in her face. The woman narrowed her eyes and stared at him defiantly for a few more seconds before sinking to her knees slowly.

Rick's people dragged and pulled the other captives forward, pushing the rest of them to their knees until they made a line in front of him, joining the woman.

Rick walked down the line, examining each of the prisoners as they stared up at him. Most of them were trembling in fear except for the woman and another large man with a salt and pepper beard and a smirk on his face. 'He looks like a prick' Rick thought. Rick walked back over to the woman and saw that she was still glaring at him.

"Who's in charge here?" Rick asked. His jaw was clenched so tightly that his question came out more like a growl. There was silence, and everyone on their knees just looked at him. Rick raised his gun and pointed it at one of the men.

"WHO'S IN CHARGE?!" Rick yelled.

"I- I am" Jesus said shakily.

"The fuck you are" the salt and pepper bearded man growled. "You wanna talk to someone, you talk to me", he declared to Rick.

Rick ignored the man and advanced on Jesus. "I know you" Rick said, using his gun as a finger to point in Jesus' face. "Jesus, right? You're from Hilltop. You wanted me to end the deal with that town."

Jesus looked up at Rick nervously but he didn't say more.

"You wanted to end the deal so you attacked us?" Rick asked, his voice raising. "You attacked my fucking people? My family? Do you know who you're fucking with?"

"I was trying to protect my people" Jesus said softly.

"My people cleared your roads, kept you safe. All we asked for was some food and supplies. You had plenty, you could spare it. And you attacked us at night like a little sneak" Rick said, the vein in his neck throbbing violently. When Jesus continued his silence, Rick raised his gun to the side of Jesus' head and clicked off the safety.

"Hey, I told you, you talk to me!" salt and pepper beard yelled. "He didn't want to hurt your people. He just wanted you all to leave Hilltop alone. This attack was my idea."

Out of the corner of his eye Rick caught the woman's gaze dart from Rick, to salt and pepper beard man. She seemed to be willing him to shut up. This aroused Rick's interest enough for him to take a step back from Jesus and look more closely at the other man. Rick strutted over to him.

"Who the fuck are you?" Rick asked.

"My name's Negan. I assume you're Rick?" Negan asked. Rick tilted his head to the side, eyeing the man.

"I've never seen you at Hilltop. Where did you come from?"

Their conversation was interrupted when a message came over Rick's walkie talkie. It was a man's voice.

'Rick… they're all dead. All of them. Every last one.' the voice reported.

Rick's face went pale. He felt like he might vomit, or faint, or both. These people killed everyone. Everyone. The rest of Rick's people who had guns on the prisoners gasped in anger and surprise.

Michonne didn't miss a single one of the emotions that appeared on Rick's face as it drained of blood. He registered confusion, shock, realization, and then anger. She could tell the news that was just relayed was unexpected and heartbreaking for him. She feared what would happen to them now.

Rick stormed over to Jesus in a fury. Before Rick could think or reason, he cocked his gun, pressed it to Jesus's temple and fired. Jesus collapsed to the ground in a heap.

The others from Hilltop and Alexandria, jumped, or screamed, shaking in disbelief that their friend had been executed.

Rick, in a rage, walked back over and pressed his gun to Negan's temple. "You want to take responsibility for this?" Rick shouted in his face. "You want to be the leader? Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you all right now."

Negan stared at Rick defiantly, even with a hint of amusement that made Rick itch to shoot him as well.

"Wait! Don't."

Rick was shocked that the woman who had been watching him the entire time had spoken. She seemed surprised that she'd spoken as well.

Rick and Negan both snapped their heads to stare at her. "We come from a community too, we have people to feed. That's why we attacked you. We didn't know who you were. I can see you care about your people just like we do. You can kill us and get your revenge, yes, but besides revenge what will you get out of it? There's a better option, a better way, so that there is at least a positive outcome of the deaths today."

Rick was still staring at the woman, and when she saw that he hadn't shot Negan yet she continued speaking.

"We can make a deal with your people. We can trade something with you." she said calmly.

"Trade?" Rick scoffed, tilting his head to the side. "Trade. After you killed 25 of my people? One of my best friends were in there. I don't take chances anymore. You're murders, why would I even trust you pe-"

"I'll stay with you as a hostage. As insurance. My town will trade with your people, give you something you need. In return, you'll trade with us. That way we'll both get something out of this. If my town attacks yours, or goes back on the deal, you do what you need to do to me."

"Oh hell no!" Negan declared, "Michonne have you lost your fucking mind?"

'Michonne, that's her name' Rick thought. It fit her, the way it was slight and eloquent, yet unique. But this man, Negan, had to be put in his place.

Rick pressed his Colt Python to Negan's temple hard enough to push the man's head down a few inches.

"Shut up" Rick growled to Negan. Rick's eyes then flicked to Michonne. "What authority do you have to make that kind of deal?"

"Do you see anyone coming up with a better idea?" Michonne asked. "Either way, you win. What do you have to lose? Enough people have died today, don't you think?"

She did have a point. Killing these murderous strangers would be satisfying, but how would it help his people who were still alive? How would it help his children? His people needed things, that was the whole point of the deal with Hilltop, and if this new community had supplies that were worthwhile, they could benefit his people as well. And if they didn't? Well, he could always come back and kill them all anyway.

Rick removed his gun from Negan's head and took a step back. He held his walkie talkie up to his mouth. "Send two teams to the back road to pick up prisoners. I need a convoy taking some prisoners to the Hilltop, and another convoy heading to another community. Gather the bodies and take them home, and put everyone else on red alert." Rick directed his eyes to Michonne and narrowed them as he continued to speak into the radio. "We need to prepare for another attack, they could be comin' for us."

Rick didn't fully understand why he didn't just shoot all of these people and call it a day. He wasn't completely sure why he was considering making a deal with a group who had just murdered people that he'd known for years. He couldn't understand why he was even listening to this mysterious woman with a sword, but he was.

"Get up!" Rick snarled at Michonne. She stood, her eyes wide in uncertainty. He pointed the gun at her and Negan spat, "you hurt her and you're a dead man." Rick still couldn't understand any of the things he was doing, but he removed his handcuffs from his belt.

"Put your hands behind your back" he demanded.

"Rick!" Laura, one of his people yelled. "Rick you can't be serious, you're gonna trade with them? They killed everyone! They killed Glenn!"

Rick tensed up. He was trying not to think about Glenn who was stationed at the radio station, but that was the first person he thought of. His friend, who had saved his life way in the beginning. These people murdered him mercilessly, along with so many others. It was unlike him not to kill those who were threats, but in this case, he couldn't. At least not Michonne. And he'd take responsibility for the consequences of those actions.

The look he gave Michonne made it clear to her that she needed to comply, and she turned around and placed her hands behind her back. Rick clicked the handcuffs on her and addressed the rest of the group from Hilltop and Alexandria.

"You will be escorted back to Hilltop, and whatever other place you people are from. Hilltop will continue their deliveries of supplies as usual. The other town will be appraised by my people to see what you have of interest. Whatever that is, you will supply to us. Both of your towns will be watched closely by my people. If any of you breathes in a way I or my people don't like, I will kill her, and the rest of you won't be far behind. That's how it's gonna be."

Negan's whole body was tense, and Michonne knew he wanted to do something rash. Michonne stared at him and slightly shook her head. Pleading with him to stay down. This was not the time for him to jump in and save her. Rick noticed the interaction between the two of them, and it pissed him off that Negan was still acting tough.

Rick stalked over to Negan pulling Michonne, who was handcuffed, along with him.

"You got a problem with that?" he asked Negan, tilting his head.

"No Rick. Not at all." Negan said a little too quickly, but his jaw was clenched, and his eyes were on Michonne. Rick could tell he would have trouble with this man. It was in Rick's nature to kill all threats, but for the sake of the agreement he just made, he didn't. He hoped he wouldn't regret it.

***can08writer***

Michonne was locked inside of a metal storage cage in Rick's compound, which was a huge factory. The cage, which had a small wooden bench and a few lockers inside of it was probably designed for employees to lock up their belongings during the day. Now, it was being used to imprison her.

She didn't know the location of the factory, as she had been placed in the back of a van with no back windows. When they arrived they'd brought her to the cage still handcuffed, and left her there.

She could see what was going on around her though, people bustling past the cage but taking a moment to look at her, others purposely staring and yelling insults at her like she was a dangerous animal in the zoo. And why wouldn't they? She had killed their people. She wasn't really bothered by the insults they were hurling at her, it was more the staring. She felt open and exposed in this cage, and she was surrounded by enemies.

Michonne was shocked at how many people were in The Family. She, Negan, and Jesus were fools for thinking the people at the radio station were the only ones, and now Jesus was dead.

She wasn't sure why she made the deal she did with Rick. Surely she could've come up with something better, something that made a little more sense, something that didn't involve her being a prisoner. Rick said he didn't take chances, but bringing her back to what she assumed was his home was a big chance, wasn't it? What if she managed to escape and tell everyone else where his base really was? Or how many people he had? Unless he was planning on killing her? She didn't have the answers to any of those questions, as she sat handcuffed in her cage.

Out of the corner of her eye, Michonne noticed one particular person staring. A young boy was off to the side, throwing daggers at her with his bright blue eyes. He was standing on top of a metal box to see her over the heads of the adults, and he wore a sheriff's hat that was much too large on his head. When he saw that she'd noticed him, he squinted his eyes more, in an obvious attempt to intimidate her. When he tilted his head to the right, she instantly saw the resemblance. This was Rick's son.

She inwardly smiled. He seemed like a tough little kid. He must've been, to survive in this world for so long. This wasn't a world for children, of that she knew first hand. He continued to glare at her, his dislike for her showing clearly on his face.

And then, a commotion drew her attention away from the boy. Someone was arguing or yelling loudly in a far corner of the room. Many of the people around Michonne turned to look. She could hear a woman yelling something frantically, and a male voice seemingly trying to calm the situation. Then she heard the woman shout three words clearly. "Where is she?"

Michonne watched as a head made its way through the many people in the room, the people parting to get out of the way. Alarmed, Michonne stood from her seat on the small bench inside of the cage. As the person got closer, she could make out a head of brown hair pushing past people who didn't move fast enough. Finally, a young woman in her twenties stood in front of Michonne, with long brown hair and green eyes that were narrowed in hatred. But beyond the hatred that Michonne could recognize, there was grief. Michonne could see it in the redness of the woman's eyes, and the slight tremble of her lips. Michonne could recognize grief because she had felt it for so long. She still felt it every day.

"You." The woman said, her voice revealing a southern accent. "You bitch. You killed my husband. You killed my husband!" She screamed, her voice echoing off the high ceiling and walls.

Michonne stood staring at her, not knowing what to do or say. That was when Michonne noticed the woman's rounded belly. She was pregnant. Realization washed over Michonne when she recognized the woman from the picture of that couple she'd seen at the radio station. Her husband must've been the Korean man from the picture.

"Nothing to say bitch?!" The woman asked loudly. She quickly reached into a holster strapped to her thigh, and pulled a gun, aiming directly at Michonne's head.

Michonne wasn't afraid of the woman. She looked like she had every intention of pulling the trigger, and Michonne accepted that. She probably did kill this woman's husband, directly or indirectly, but the only feeling she felt was pity for the woman. Pity that the woman was pregnant in the first place and had to bring a baby into this, pity that the woman had lost her husband and the baby's father, and pity that the woman now had to raise the baby alone.

The woman moved closer to the cage, Michonne's silence enraging her further. "I want to string you up and watch you die" the woman said softly, her hands shaking.

Michonne said the only thing she could. "I'm sorry, about your husband."

"You're sorry? You're sorry? Is your sorry going to bring him back?!" The woman yelled. She clutched her belly with her left hand, while pointing the gun at Michonne with her right.

Michonne moved closer to the front of the cage, in plain sight of the woman. "No. You're right. Sorry won't bring him back. But I am. And if you need to shoot me I understand that. But it won't make you feel better. Not really. Because either way, he's gone."

"Shut up!" The woman screamed, tears rolling down her face. Michonne said nothing further, and did nothing but stand in front of the woman. Rick suddenly appeared behind the woman and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Maggie, put the gun down" he said softly.

"She… she killed Glenn. She…" Maggie stuttered, the tears coming even faster.

"I know Maggie, I know, but just put the gun down okay?" he asked in a calming voice.

"I can't" Maggie sobbed, the gun still pointing forward at Michonne's head.

As Michonne watched intently, Rick slowly reached out and took hold of Maggie's right arm, gently pulling her arm downwards. He then unclasped her fingers from the gun and put the safety back on. Rick wrapped his arms around the woman, Maggie, and she sobbed in his arms.

"I know Maggie" he said trying to comfort her, "he was your family. He was my brother. But we're here for you, for your baby. You still have family. You're not alone."

Michonne watched mesmerized, as some of the other people who were watching this exchange came over and hugged both Maggie and Rick, creating a large group hug. These people were not who she thought. Rick was not who she thought.

The Governor had made these large public displays and speeches, to showcase himself as a fearless, loving leader, but Michonne was able to see through it every time. She knew that Rick was not making a display. He really cared about this woman, these people. These people weren't her enemy, not completely, they were just on the opposite side of the fence.

Michonne's eyes caught the eyes of the boy who was still standing on the box looking at her, the brim of the Sheriff's hat putting half of his face in shadow. He gave her one last grimace before he turned around and walked away.

Author's Note: I hope you're enjoying this story, please leave me a review and let me know what you think!