Chapter 3:

'I'm trying'

"Now would you look at this"

Rick's eyes darted all over the warehouse that had been converted into a laboratory. He wasn't completely familiar with drug paraphernalia, but he knew well enough what was being made there.

"Should we call Morgan in?"

He nodded, though he didn't look at Rosita, "Yeah do that"

"That's a lot of meth" Daryl called out as he walked towards them, "There's a lot of money to made in this room"

"Whoever set this up will be coming back then and I want us to know when they do" Rick rubbed the back of his head as he walked towards the warehouse doors, "I don't want anythan' moved until we got it all on file, then I want all the materials cleared out but leave the equipment in place, I don't want them running off if they see this place empty"

"Alright" Rosita nodded, then walked in the other direction.

"Your brother still in town?" He squinted at Daryl and shielded his eyes from the sun.

"Yep. He's staying with his girlfriend. We gonna pay him a visit?"

"Yeah. He probably knows all the dealers in Georgia" Rick sighed as he took out his mobile.

"Hey! We found a vehicle out back" Shane informed as he walked over to them, "Leon's just checking the registration out now"

Rick looked up from his phone and nodded, "Alright, good"

"You wanna put me on surveillance? I can do it?"

Rick could have groaned as he looked at his ex-best friend. While he had let go of all hostility towards him and was over their checkered past, he faced a new challenge with him. Shane was incredibly eager to do everything, and Rick wasn't sure if that was because he wanted to do well at his department or because he wanted to impress him. Either way Rick knew it could become a problem as Shane wouldn't wait for instructions sometimes.

"Yeah, you and Eric can stake out on the west side"

"Alright, will do" Shane gave a single nod as he walked away with determined eyes.

"Aye, I need to pick up Sasha's dress from the dry cleaners on the way" Daryl informed as he walked around the squad car to the passenger side.

Rick nodded as he got in the vehicle himself, "We can do that"

"You got your speech ready?"

Rick groaned, getting comfortable in his seat before starting the car, "As ready as it can be. I don't even know why they asked me to do it. I hate stuff like that"

"Better you than me" Daryl snorted.

"How about nobody? Everyone's gonna be drunk anyway so what does it matter?"

His friend shrugged, "Somethan' for the snotty types to talk about I guess"

It was Rick's turn to snort.

"Y'all set a date yet? Do I have to give a speech to that again?"

Rick could have laughed at the anxiety in Daryl's voice as he questioned about their wedding, "No date yet, but we're aiming for fall, and I don't think you need to give a speech again but Michonne might feel differently so, I'll get back to you on that"

"Can't I just use the first one again? No one will remember it, right?"

Rick did laugh at that, "No man will remember but I bet you every woman would"

"That's the damn truth"

….

"And why do you want to be little miss country princess Judith?"

"Because grandma Sue said I'd blow the other girls out the water-"

"Judy, honey you can't say that" Rick's mother winced as she looked at the little girl, "That's somethan' we keep to ourselves okay? We don't tell the other little girls that you're better than them-"

"Mom" Rick warned from his recliner.

His mother clenched her jaw as she side eyed him, "What I mean is, you wanna tell them why you would like to win. Is it because you like the pretty crown?"

Judith gazed around the room, "It's not a real crown though"

Rick raised an eyebrow at his daughter, wondering how she knew that information.

"No it's not a real crown but it's still really pretty and you get lots of toys and-"

"Money. I want the money. Then I can buy and real crown with diamonds on it", Judith beamed excitedly.

His mother wore a tight smile as she turned to him, "You're gonna have the time of your life when this one gets older"

"I already do with her mother. That's who she gets it from" Rick dragged his hand over his face.

"She knows what she wants" Michonne smiled as she walked in the living room, "Speaking of which, we need to leave by seven the latest-"

"I know, I know. We're just prepping Judy before they leave" Rick's eyes never left her face as she stood next to him.

"Alright, I'm gonna go take a shower so give mama a kiss Judy" Michonne cupped her face and kissed her on the nose.

"Bye baby!" Judith called to her mother's stomach.

Michonne and his mother laughed, while Rick mustered up a weak smile. He didn't want his anxiety about the baby to be obvious to his mother, as he knew she'd want to sit down and talk about it, which was something he wasn't ready for, with anyone.

After sending Judith up to get her bag, and calling Carl downstairs, he bid farewell to his children and thanked his mother for taking them over to Michonne's father's home for the night. Rick was grateful that the older man was taking them, as he point blank refused to let Carl be alone in the house.

He sighed as he walked into his bedroom, a small part of him dreading the evening's festivities. He already had so much on his mind, and having to read the speech he wrote was the last thing he wanted to tackle.

He took off his shirt and jeans before he headed to the bathroom, a large part of him excited about having the house child free. It wasn't something that happened often, if at all, so he wasted no time stepping out of his boxers as soon as he entered the room.

"They haven't even been gone an hour-" Michonne stuck her head out the shower with a frown.

"I was ready as soon as that front door closed" He grinned as he stepped in with her, closing the door behind him.

"You have no shame" She smirked as she moved her dreads over her shoulder.

He held her waist from behind and kissed along her wet shoulder, inhaling the vanilla scent that radiated from her, slipping his already hardened length between her thighs. He turned her to the adjacent wall so she could rest her hands against it, away from the stream of water.

"You can scream all you want now"

His stroked up and down her torso as he lazily rubbed his shaft along her slit, his hands stopping at her breasts and cupping the fuller mounds.

Her head fell back against his shoulder as he teased her, soft moans rolled from her lips. He slipped one hand back down to her waist, while he used other to guide himself to her entrance. She gasped and arched her back as he eased inside her, both her hands up against the wall.

Once he was completely buried in her passage, he steadied himself, placing one hand on the wall, and using the other to snake around her front and between her legs.

"Oh god, Rick"

She pushed her ass back against him when his index finger and middle finger found her clit, his mouth sucking and biting at her neck.

"Rick, do it"

He smirked against her skin as he refused to move within her, "You know what I wanna hear"

He was sure she tried to groan in annoyance, but instead moaned as he continued to play with her bud. She bounced her ass against him and he almost lost the will to continue on with his little torturous game.

"Stop that"

He pressed his middle finger against her bud and made quick little movements against it. She rested her forearms on the wall as she panted, still grinding on his length.

He bit his lip as he watched her, her subtle motions sending sensations through his core, "Come on, Michonne"

"Just do it" She huffed into the air.

He leaned forward and planted his mouth of her neck, right on her sweet spot. She cried out as she bucked her ass against him again, the action causing him to bite her skin harder than he intended.

"Oh god, fuck me Rick!"

He was surprised to have learnt something new about her, as he made a mental note that she likes to be bitten with more pressure. He quickly straightened up, with both hands on her hip, holding her in place as he slowly withdrew.

"You want it, huh?"

"Yes!"

He drove into her and pulled her hips back to meet his thrust, causing her to yell out. He did it again and his eyes nearly rolled back, but he didn't dare to even blink. He loved seeing her dark, smooth skin glisten when he took her from behind. The way her cheeks would jiggle when he entered her hard could make turn him into an imbecile.

He picked up the pace as the sight of her excited him more. He wanted to hear her cry out, after all, it would be a while again before he did.

"Turn around" He rasped to her as he withdrew himself and tapped her ass lightly. She weakly did as she was told and pressed her back against the wall. He hooked his hand under her thigh, raising her leg up so it could hang over his forearm. He aligned himself again and slid back into her, her arms wrapping around his shoulders.

His lips brushed hers as he began pumping in and out of her. He locked on her with hooded eyes, examining every square inch of her face. He felt a tightness in his chest as he gave his all to the woman he loved, but he knew there was something between them, both physically and mentally that was pushing them away again. He rested his forehead against hers as he looked down between them, her rounded stomach peeking out between her breasts. His eyes snapped shut and he dropped his head on her shoulder.

He felt her walls begin to grip him, and he was grateful for it. She called his name as she shattered, and he followed her lead, emptying himself deep within her. While it was physically satisfying, his mind was elsewhere.

"I'm trying, Michonne"

All he could hear was her breathing as it returned to normal and the stream of water beating down behind him.

"I know you are"

He sighed against her neck.

"What are you afraid of Rick?"

He frowned, unsure of how to answer the loaded question. He wanted to, he truly did, but it was almost as if saying it aloud will bring life to his fears, and he didn't want that. He wanted the irrational side of him to disappear on its own, and the new wall between them to come tumbling down.

She stroked the side of his face with the back of her fingers.

He took his hand in hers and kissed the centre of her palm, "I'm sorry… but I'm trying"

"I know"

…

"Hey! Both of you put that away now!"

Rick groaned and handed Daryl back his small flask of scotch after pouring a fraction in his champagne flute. Sasha narrowed her eyes at the two of them before she turned back to face the stage. He and Daryl shared knowing glances at each other before following suit.

"Thanks for leaving me with Mrs Smith, you jackass"

Michonne smacked his shoulder as she sat down, frowning at him in the process.

He rubbed the targeted area, "I warned you, I said this woman can talk, and what did you do? You asked her how her family was doing-"

"How was I meant to know she had a big family?!"

He sighed and closed his eyes, "I told you. I warned you she can talk"

"Yeah well, you're still a jackass"

He rolled his eyes as he handed her the glass of water he poured for her.

"That was a great speech sheriff"

He looked over his shoulder, and gave a tight smile as Rosita stood beside he and Daryl's chairs. He didn't have a problem with Rosita in the slightest, but with Michonne sat beside him, he found himself all of a sudden feeling nervous. While he'd admit that Rosita was a pretty girl, his mind was trained to see only two women, Michonne and everyone else. He didn't care to focus on anyone but his fiancée and mother of his children. But he was hell bent on not giving her fuel to feed her outlandish assumptions about he and Rosita.

"Thanks, Rosita" He gave her a single nod, before he sat back and motioned towards Michonne, "You remember my fiancée, Michonne?"

Rosita smiled warmly at her, "I do! Nice to see you again, how's the precious cargo doing?"

"He's doing great, thank you" Michonne rested her hand on her stomach as she answered the younger woman.

"You guys enjoy yourself, I'm off to find something stronger to drink" Rosita huffed as she looked around the room, before disappearing again.

Rick raised his eyebrows at Michonne.

She scowled at him, "Yeah yeah"

"You gonna stop calling her my little girlfriend now?"

She rolled her eyes at him, "Oh whatever-"

"Michonne?"

They both looked over their shoulders to see who had called her, and Rick nearly frowned at the tall brunette man smiled down at her.

"Oh hey Spencer! Oh my god, how are you?" She turned around to face him.

"I'm great, thanks, and you?"

"Yeah I'm great, are you all done with Med school now?"

"I'm am, and now officially training at Grady… I'm just here with my date, Rosita, I saw you talking to her so I had to come over and say hey-"

"Spencer is Carl's principal's son" Michonne quickly explained to Rick, "Spencer this is my fiancé, Rick"

"Nice to meet you sir" The other man held out his hand.

Rick took it firmly, resisting the urge to break it off and put it in his pocket, "You too"

"So the two of you are expecting I see?"

Michonne rested her hand on her bump, "We are"

"That's fantastic, you look absolutely radiant"

"She does, doesn't she?" Rick agreed, in a tone that seemed to have a hint of threat to it, as he stared him down.

Spencer eyes darted over to him, then quickly back to Michonne, "Well I have to continue my search for my date but it was great seeing you... and nice meeting you, hope you two enjoy your night"

"You two! Great seeing you" Michonne waved to him.

Rick gave him a single nod and a ghost of a smile.

They both watched him walk away for a moment before they turned to each other. Michonne whacked him on the knee.

"You have some nerve to call Rosita my little girlfriend when she and I barely even talk about anythan' outside work and then along comes this prick-"

"Stop it-"

"You look absolutely radiant" Rick mimicked as he pulled a face, "How the hell do you even know him? Carl's my kid too and I didn't even know his principal had kids-"

"Well if you bothered to turn up at the career day instead of sending someone-"

"The career day he had, what, two years ago? That's how you met him? That's how you greet someone you met once, two years ago?-"

"I've seen him around when he was back in town! He's actually very nice and he-"

"The last person you called nice turned out to be a creep-"

"Oh and you never had a creepy girlfriend? That was obsessed with me?"

His pursed his lips at her while she raised her eyebrows at him.

"Can we get a picture of y'all?"

They paused their quiet battle to look at the middle aged man who held the camera up across the table. Rick slipped his hand around her waist and she leaned in to him, both smiling as if they didn't have all the care in the world.

"That's great, thanks!"

Michonne attempted to pull away from him when the camera man walked away but he held her close.

"Get off me, you ass" She sang through her teeth baring smile.

"No. I will never get off you" He shook his head as he gazed at the side of her face.

Her smile turned from tight to shy. Her eyes glistened when they met with his.

"Don't try to run from me. Cause I'll catch you. I'll catch you like a cold" He grinned at her at her as he gave her hip a squeeze.

She covered her mouth as she laughed heartily, the kind of laugh she reserved just for him. It made his heart swell to see her that way.

"You are something else Grimes" She sighed as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Yeah but you love me"

"I do"

He gently placed his head on top of hers and looked and around the room aimlessly. He was in a great mood, a confident mood. He discreetly took a deep breath as he moved his hand from her hip to her stomach. He was expecting his heart to race in his chest as he did but, it didn't. He felt fine to touch her. His thumb stroked over fabric and he was calmer than he thought he would be. He turned his head and placed a soft kiss just above her eyebrow. She rested her hand on top of his and for the first time since she told him about the pregnancy, he didn't feel any kind of anxiety when he thought about his new son.