A/N So this really was supposed to be a two part thing, but some of you asked so nice so here is another, and really last, chapter. It's a sequel to chapter 2. So if you haven't read 2 it will make more sense if you do. Hope you like it :-). Love you guys!

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"Rick, is the bag packed?" Michonne called from the kitchen, as she shoved some crackers and peanut butter into a plastic bag and sealed it.

He came around the corner just as she finished, and took a spot leaning on the doorway with a grin. "You sure you're up to it?" he asked, staring down at her round belly that was trying desperately to break free from the hem of her tank top.

The humidity was gaining on her and small beads of sweat were forming on her chest as she moved about the room. "I promised the boys we wouldn't miss the fireworks this year," she sighed.

He crossed the room to meet her and used a hand to lift her locs off of her neck, placing a light kiss to her jaw. "I can take 'em. You can have the night to yourself."

She smiled up at him, thinking of how lucky she was to have found her way to the top of the hill in the center of town, three years ago. Despite her swollen ankles and aching hips, there was no way she was going to miss their annual trip to the place and night where it all started. "I don't want the night to myself," she said, leaning her head on his shoulder. "I want the night with you."

"Alright, but you're not walking," he said. He pulled away and went to the fridge to grab a couple of bottled waters, handing her one. She rolled the cool plastic on her chest before taking a sip and he pressed his to the back of her neck.

"Rick, that's how you get to the top," she said with a roll of her eyes.

"We're gonna make a stop first," he said, taking his bottle back and leaving a quick kiss on her now cold skin. He took off into the other room, yelling up the stairs. "Carl, Andre...you guys ready?"

Michonne waddled into the room just as the two boys came rushing down the stairs. Carl had just turned twelve and she was getting used to that pre-teen apathy that seemed to cloud everything he did lately, but tonight he seemed genuinely excited. Andre, being five years younger, was still bubbling over with child-like excitement.

"Everything's ready," Rick said to Michonne. "I'll get them in the car and start the A.C., go use the bathroom first, cause you know you're gonna need to." He gave her a sly grin and if he wasn't completely correct, she would have given him an equally smug retort.

Once she climbed into the car, the frosty, dry air of the cabin helped her lungs to expand and she started to feel much better. She looked over her shoulder at the kids, chatting happily with them as Rick drove. Before she knew it, he was pulling into the parking lot of the Sheriff's Department where he worked.

"What are we doing here?" she asked, turning her attention back to her husband.

"I told you, you aren't walking up that hill tonight." He got out of the car just as his best friend, Shane came out the double glass doors at the front of the building, in uniform and obviously on duty. Rick came around to the passenger side door and opened it, offering his hand to Michonne to help her step out.

"Jesus, girl. You ain't gonna pop that kid out in my car are ya?" Shane laughed.

"Funny," she said, giving Shane an unimpressed look. She was used to the man's mouth by now, but being back in the humid air had her patience thinning.

"Shane'll take you up on the closed road, in his cruiser," he said, shooting Shane a look that warned him to tame his sense of humor for the trip. "We'll meet you up there."

"V.I.P access," Shane smiled as he walked over to his cruiser, a few spots away, to start it up.

Michonne turned her gaze back to Rick, relief finally hitting her that she wasn't going to have to make the trek on foot. She smiled brightly at him, glancing at the two boys still in the back of their car, before leaning in to kiss him. "Thank you. This is sweet."

"You're welcome," he said, smoothing his hand over her belly and then discreetly patting her behind. "Sorry, you'll have to deal with Shane for a little bit, but he was assigned to the area so, it's the best I could do."

"I'll be ok," she laughed. "But, why aren't you all riding up? We could fit."

"That would be a gross misuse of power, ma'am," Rick replied, reminding her of the lecture she had given him the night they met. "Besides, these boys can walk." He gestured over his shoulder at the kids before leaning in to kiss her.

"I'll see you up there, then?"

"See you in a few."

…

The familiar sound of a hot summer evening was riding along the breeze at the top of the hill, while Michonne smoothed out a blanket on the grass. She made herself as comfortable as she could and settled in to watch the kids playing in the dusk, waiting for the main event. She couldn't help but think of Carl and Andre bonding on this very hill and subsequently bringing two families together like missing puzzle pieces. Next year, God willing, they would be back at the same magical spot, with a third child between them, the glue that bonded them forever. The emotion the holiday was suffused with since they had all come together, and the hormones that couldn't let her experience a moment without succumbing to it, had happy tears threatening to spill from her eyes. She was shaking her head at herself when she heard Rick's voice over her shoulder. She turned to see him, wiping sweat from his brow while Andre's arms nearly choked him from his position on his back.

He scooched down, letting the boy off and motioned behind him where Carl was ambling along at a casual pace. "Come on, Carl," he said, while Andre ran to the blanket and plopped down next to Michonne.

"Hey momma," he said, snuggling against her side.

"Hey, peanut. Did you make daddy carry you the whole way up the hill?"

Andre nodded as he began digging through the bag she brought, looking for snacks.

Rick finally made his way to the blanket, taking the seat on the other side of her and leaning back on his arms. She reached up to move a stray piece of hair off of his forehead and smiled at him. "Long walk?"

"Be glad you weren't there," he sighed.

The dusk had finally given way to full darkness and after Rick had rested for a few moments he sat back up as if he had just remembered something. "Carl, give me your backpack," he said, stretching over Michonne's round belly to get it from him. "I almost forgot."

He rustled around in the bag for a minute, finally pulling out two rectangular boxes and handing them to her.

"You found them!" she exclaimed. After an unsuccessful trip to the store that morning, she had resigned herself to going without their favorite tradition for the Fourth of July.

"I did," he smiled, digging in his pocket and pulling out a lighter. He took the box back and pulled out the sparklers, just like the ones Carl had been playing with that night, and handed some to Carl and Andre. Carl rolled his eyes, pretending that he was only going along with the tradition to make his parents happy, but Michonne knew he liked it just as much as she did. She and Carl had formed a special bond and she could read him like a book.

The two boys held their sparklers out and Rick lit the ends. Little sparks started shooting from them immediately and the kids waved them around, painting pictures of light in the night air.

Michonne leaned her head onto Rick's shoulder with a smile and he craned his neck to kiss her cheek. Overcome by the moment, she cupped his face and brought their lips together, kissing him as if they were the only two people on that hill. Just as she pulled away, the first streak of light burst into the air with a loud hiss and exploded into color, while the crowd cheered. Once again, she couldn't help but think this night existed just for them.