Sorry for the long wait, guys! I've not had as much time as I would have liked to write. Working in the hospitality field two weeks from Thanksgiving here in the US means I've pretty busy. In addition, this chapter is a bit longer than the others so far, and I did a few rewrites as well. Hope you enjoy!

Michonne had not imagined she would ever be getting ready for a party again. But things were different now. They were safe. They were around people that did not want to hurt them. They could relax and finally reflect on what had happened over the last two years.

For some of them, that reflection was painful. Michonne had struggled to get through the past two nights. Going to sleep on a cozy bed of her own after a hot shower, with a satiated stomach and a quenched thirst felt wrong. It did not help her mentally, either. Without the distractions of the outside world, the previous horrors she had experienced moved to the forefront. She would sleep for an hour or two, three if she was lucky, before waking up in a cold sweat with her son Andre's name on her lips and tears cascading down her cheeks. If her subconscious only hounded her at night, she would have been thankful. Even during the day, she would swear she heard voices from others she had lost or killed - Mike, Andrea, Gareth, Herschel, Terry, the Governor...It was the worst.

Luckily, Carol was staying in the same house as her, along with Rick and the kids and Daryl. Carol seemed to sleep as little as Michonne did. She had seen Michonne's visceral reaction to seeing a small boy similar to Andre when they first arrived. Having been a mother herself, she immediately knew why Michonne had reacted the way she did. It was incredibly comforting for both women to know that someone understood. Neither of them had to go through it alone anymore. However, Carol had not yet told Michonne what exactly was plaguing her. Michonne took no offense to this. Whatever had happened between the fall of the prison and the aftermath of Terminus was still too painful. Besides, they had had few interactions until now. They were friendly toward each other, of course, but back at the prison Michonne had not been keen to get close to people and Carol respected her space. Regardless, it was good to have her as a friend now.

Rick also seemed to be a difficult time adjusting to this cozy new life. He had spent a lot of time in the last couple of days just sitting in his room, staring outside of his window. A few times, Michonne had caught him fiddling with his wedding ring, twisting it around his finger and pulling it back and forth over his knuckle. It was like a nervous tic. She had not seen him even acknowledge its existence until now. Michonne chose not to say anything regarding his new habit. As curious as she was to see what was going on in his mind, this felt like something he needed to figure out alone first. She figured he would talk about it when he was ready.

However, now was the time to try to start anew. Michonne, Carol, Sasha, Beth, Rosita, Tara and Maggie had ransacked a boutique just outside of the safe-zone in preparation for the party. They could not help but feel a little excited to get dressed up and turn over a new leaf. After Michonne got back and finished showering, Carl offered to help her get ready. She was surprised that he took an interest. Something was up.

"Don't you need to get ready, too?" she asked him, hanging the purple strapless dress she had chosen on an over-the-door hook.

Carl made a small noise of disgust as he sat on the foot of her bed. "I'm not going to that party," he scoffed. "It sounds dumb. No offense."

Michonne rolled her eyes and chuckled. He had been particularly sour today upon learning he was required to start school soon. He could not see the point of continuing his education, and in his mind, he was already an adult and no longer needed it. However, Rick agreed with Douglas and put his foot down. Carl was to attend school for another year or so. There was nothing anyone could say or do to make him less surly about it.

"I've seen a couple of kids your age around. You should come and make some friends," Michonne told him, looking at herself in the vanity. She reached for a hair tie and pulled half of her dreads into a high ponytail.

"I've got friends," Carl protested.

"Friends your age," she amended.

"Beth's close to my age."

Michonne threw up her hands in resignation. "Fine, Carl," she laughed. She tugged open the drawers to the vanity table. The first two drawers were filled with makeup that Michonne would not dare to touch, even if it were in shades she could wear. The remaining four, however, were nothing but an assortment of rings, bracelets, necklaces, and earrings. "Wow. Sure loved jewelry."

"Lemme see." Carl got up and walked over to her side. "Woah."

"Well, no shortage of options. Gonna find me the right pieces?"

Carl shrugged. "Sure." He knelt down and began digging through the drawers.

Michonne patted him on the shoulder and stood up. "I'm gonna go change. Be right back." She took the dress and headed across the hall to the bathroom. On her way there, she paused, hearing something coming from Rick's closed door. She took a small step toward his room. It sounded like...a razor? She ducked into the bathroom and smiled to herself. She could not wait to see Rick without all of that scruff.

She could not close the zipper on the dress completely by herself, but she had Carl around to assist. She went back to her room, throwing the jeans and t-shirt she had been wearing into a cardboard box she was currently using for laundry. "Carl, do you mind…?" she asked.

Carl stood up and walked over to her, beaming. "You look awesome!" he declared, fastening the zipper. "Dad's gonna flip out!"

"...Your dad?" she asked, laughing nervously and trying to figure out why he had brought Rick up. Was something going on with him? And was that why Carl had wanted to help?

"Uh...I think you know what I mean," Carl told her, grinning and giving her a look.

"No, I don't. And I'm not sure I want to find out."

"Pshh. Okay…" Carl giggled but luckily, did not push the matter any further.

Michonne tapped his hat playfully. "What'd you pick for me?" she asked to change the subject.

"Oh…" He went back over to the vanity. He had laid out some of the most god-awful pieces of jewelry she had ever seen in her life. Before her sat a gaudy and frankly frightening set of earrings with clowns on them, a heavy tarnished ring missing most of its gemstones, and a bracelet with a horrible clash of colors that looked like a bad LSD trip. She clamped her mouth shut and tried to think of something to say, staring at each item to try to figure out why on earth he had chosen it. After a few seconds, Carl started snickering.

"You jerk!" she laughed, realizing he had been pulling her leg.

Carl reached into one of the makeup drawers and pulled out a handful of jewelry. "This is what I picked." He laid out a set of gold bangles, a gold star necklace, and a gold ring embedded with an amethyst stone.

"That's more like it," Michonne said approvingly. She picked up the bangles and put them on. Not too flashy. Perfect. "Good work, Carl. We'll make a jewelry salesman outta you yet."

Before Carl could object to that career option, there was a slight cough at the door. He and Michonne both turned to the door. Before them stood Rick, sans beard for the first time since Michonne had known him. His curly hair, which she noticed he had not tried to cut, fell gently over his forehead. He wore a blue button-up shirt, fresh dark wash jeans, and his trusty boots. She was speechless, unable to move or even think clearly. He looked good. Like, damn good. Rick also seemed unable to take his eyes off of her. He probably had not expected to see her in a dress.

Carl, once he recovered from shock, started laughing. He unknowingly gave Rick and Michonne some time to collect themselves. "Holy shit, Dad!" he gasped between giggles.

Rick tried to give him a stern look, but failed and ended up chuckling, too. Carl's laughter was infectious. "Something wrong?" he asked, trying to be coy.

"You're all...baby-faced!"

At this, even Michonne started laughing. Rick glanced at her, grinning. "Y'all rather me keep lookin' insane?" he said.

"It looks good," Michonne offered, finally tearing her eyes away. She turned back to the vanity and picked up the necklace Carl had chosen. "It's just gonna take some time to get used to it, that's all."

"Yeah, it does look good, actually," Carl agreed.

"Good. I thought I'd made a huge mistake," Rick chuckled. He turned to Michonne. "Just 'bout everybody's headed out. You ready?"

"Oh, shit," she replied. She took one more look at herself in the mirror as she slid the amethyst ring onto her hand. "Y'all sure I look ok? Not too much?"

"You look great!" Carl grinned.

"Fantastic," Rick agreed.

"Alright. Let's do this," Michonne sighed, stepping into black flats. As much as she wanted to wear heels, she did not trust herself in them anymore. Nothing less attractive than stumbling around like a newborn giraffe. She started walking toward the door and by extension, toward Rick. She took immense pleasure in the way he looked at her. He had never looked at her like this before. Weird, since she used to hate being ogled.

Rick let her pass first and Carl followed close behind. "Judy's napping, should be out for another hour or so," Rick said as they headed down the steps.

"Okay," Carl said. "I'll probably just read until you get back."

Daryl was stretched out on the couch, wiping down his crossbow. He did a full blown triple take when they reached the ground floor. "The fuck is this?" he said, trying to suppress a smile as he took in Michonne and Rick's cleaned up appearances. He pulled himself into a sitting position. "Y'all spiffed up."

"You're not comin' to the party, Daryl?" Michonne asked, noting that he was dressed in the same type of attire he normally wore, which was not necessarily suitable for social functions.

"You kiddin' me?" he scoffed. "Ain't never been my type of thing. I'll stay here with Carl and Asskicker." He looked at Rick. "You finally got rid a' that mangy possum camped out on your face?"

"Shut up," Rick laughed, opening the front door for Michonne. "Y'all keep an eye on things."

Daryl and Carl followed them out, snickering. "You kids have fun. And be home before ten!" Daryl said. They all broke into laughter as Rick and Michonne headed down the steps and toward Douglas' house.

"First time I've heard Daryl laugh like that," Michonne said thoughtfully.

"Me too, now that you mention it," agreed Rick. "I reckon bein' able to rest easy for the first time in a while does that."

"I guess so." She paused, looking at him. "You didn't seem excited about this party. I'm surprised you're going."

"Yeah," he sighed. "Would rather spend the evening with my kids. But it seems appearances are important around here. At least, that's what I got from Douglas. He's still got that politician mindset. Smile enough and shake the right hands and everyone will look past your flaws."

"Seems to work for him."

"Seems that way." He looked back at her for a few paces. "You excited?" he inquired.

Michonne shrugged. "I was excited to get dressed up. Now that I am, I just want to curl up with a book."

"Well, you do look great," he smiled at her. "I guess we all gotta get used to stuff like this again."

"It's weird to have strangers around again." She sighed, looking ahead as they rounded the corner. Douglas' house was now in view. Michonne remembered how she and Mike used to love throwing house parties and inviting friends over for dinner. She missed them. She started to miss who she used to be. She pushed those thoughts aside and glanced over at Rick again, who was staring at his feet while he walked. "So, what made you decide to shave? New start?" she asked.

"Somethin' like that. Hope for this place. Mostly just to get all of that shit off my face." He nudged her a bit with his shoulder. "Sorry I didn't use those clippers you brought me before...you know."

Michonne nodded, reminiscing. "It's okay. Shaving has been the least of your worries. I think you look great all clean-cut, though."

Rick gave her a shy grin and went back to staring at his feet. She thought she saw a blush creeping across his cheeks as well, but that may have been her imagination. She smiled to herself as they walked the rest of the way Douglas' home in comfortable silence. It seemed like the entire settlement had converged on the one house and were spilling out into the yard. A few kids were playing in the grass, and Michonne stopped abruptly.

"Alright?" Rick asked gently. He put a comforting arm around her waist.

She stiffened at the contact at first. She had been getting used to having her hands and arms touched, but this was more intimate. Michonne took a deep breath and allowed herself to slowly relax against him. "Yeah. Just gonna take some getting used to," she said quietly, averting her eyes from the children and looking at him instead. The look in his eyes right now was surprisingly gentle. Hard to believe she had watched him rip a man's throat out with his teeth only about a month ago. "I guess we should find the others?"

"Yeah…" Rick started slowly walking toward the house with her. "I doubt anything will happen, but...keep an eye out for anything suspicious," he whispered to her.

"Okay," Michonne muttered, glancing at him. She realized his arm was still around her. She opted not to say anything about it.

"Just don't hurt anyone if they annoy you. I remember you stabbing that hermit in the forest that one time."

"I can't make any promises, Rick."

He grinned at her and walked her to the door.

Michonne regretted her decision to come to this party almost instantly. Luckily, it didn't seem like she was alone in that sentiment. She sat with Beth and Tara among a group of 5 other women from the settlement, who seemed to be obsessed with gossip. How she found herself in this group, she was not sure. Rick had left her side early on to speak to Douglas, and she looked for the first familiar faces she could find, which happened to be Beth and Tara''s. So here they sat, faking smiles and laughs and pretending to be interested in the inane conversation happening before them. Thank God there was alcohol.

It was as if these people had forgotten that the world had turned upside down. Michonne could not forget that, or everything that had happened since then. As she toyed with her wine glass, she tried to understand these women. Maybe they had not seen as much as her group had. If they joined the settlement early on, they may have avoided some of the horrors others had seen. Maybe it comforting for them to act as though it had not happened. Maybe...Shit, no matter how she spun it, Michonne could not relate. Before the turn, she would have been able to tolerate this. She did not love it then, but it was not as mind-numbingly stupid as it seemed now. She could not go back to this.

Michonne tuned back in to the conversation just long enough to ensure it was as vapid as it had been before. It was. She glanced at Beth and Tara to her right. Beth was fiddling with the cast on her arm, a small grimace on her face. Tara glanced back at her and gave her a small smile before gulping her beer as though hoping it would whisk her away from this mortal coil. The other women seemed too busy talking amongst themselves to even notice how bored their new neighbors were. Maybe they had given up trying to pull them into the conversation. Michonne was just glad she was spared from having to force herself to smile politely at least for a bit. Her cheeks were hurting.

She let her gaze wander around the room. Just a few feet away, Sasha was chatting with Douglas' handsome son, Spencer. She looked happier than Michonne had seen her in weeks. Unfortunately for Spencer, it was certain that she was not emotionally ready for a relationship so soon after Bob. Not far away from his sister was Tyrese, who was sitting on a couch chatting with a couple of guys. He caught Michonne's eye and they nodded to each other. Michonne was glad at least a few people were enjoying themselves. Glenn and Maggie hovered by the drink table, near the kitchen entrance. They both looked about as done with the party as Michonne felt. In the middle of the room was a makeshift dance area, filled with couples swaying to the jazz music that was playing from a boombox. One of those couples was Abe and Rosita, although they looked to be having a heated discussion. Next to the staircase, Eugene watched them with a sour look on his face. He had not said much to anyone since his lie had been revealed. Staying silent and out of the way was probably his smartest move yet.

Not far from Eugene, Rick stood near the front door with Aaron and two other men Michonne was not familiar with yet. She was surprised to find him already looking at her when she glanced his way. He smiled at her and she felt a smile slide across her lips in spite of herself. Whatever was happening between them was creating a ton of conflicting emotions in her. Part of her wanted to just go for it. Why the hell not? Another, larger part of her still did not feel like it was the right time. They needed to settle down, and she needed to adjust and work on pulling herself out of her depression. But most of her was simply scared. Scared that she did not deserve him. Scared that if she let herself fall for him, she would lose him like she had lost Mike. She could not go through that again.

Michonne turned away and back to the women in front of her. They had roped Beth into their conversation about the eligible bachelors in the settlement.

"-but he's with Grace right now. She's such a hussy," one of the women, Lynn was saying.

"She'll stab you in the back without a second thought," the woman named Renee added.

Tara had clearly had enough by this point and politely excused herself. Beth and Michonne looked at each other warily. The women continued on and on about Grace's character flaws. Finally, Michonne had had enough.

"So, we need to watch out for the one woman who can't keep her legs shut instead of the millions of walkers outside the walls?" she snapped.

The women gaped at her as if she had grown an extra head.

"Sh-She's our concern because she's within the walls. And...and we don't want you to get hurt by her," Renee stammered, sounding as though she did not quite believe that statement herself.

"If that's what you're concerned about, you're either clueless or lyin' to yourselves," Beth chimed in. The women looked between her and Michonne in awkward silence.

Michonne put down her wine glass and stood. She helped Beth up as well, and they made her way through the crowd toward Maggie and Glenn. "Can't believe them," Beth shook her head, gripping Michonne's arm as they navigated their way across the room.

"Probably just ruined our chances of makin' any friends outside our group," Michonne grinned at her.

Beth shrugged. "If they're all like that, I don't mind."

Glenn and Maggie smiled at them as they approached. "Y'all havin' a good time?" Maggie asked.

"Not really," Beth replied honestly.

"We found the town gossipers," Michonne added.

"...Seems to be a lot of those," said Maggie. "Ran into a few ourselves."

"Which is why we're currently hiding in a corner and drinking heavily," Glenn said, raising his glass of whiskey.

"Can't blame you. As for me...I think I'm gonna call it a night," Michonne told them with a sigh.

"Sure you don't want any more drinks?" Maggie asked. "We've been experimenting with mixers."

Michonne chuckled. "No thanks."

"I want one," Beth piped up, looking at Maggie eagerly.

"You've never had alcohol," Maggie frowned at her.

"Yeah, I have. I had moonshine with Daryl."

"...WHAT?"

"That's my cue to leave. Goodnight!" Michonne laughed. She left behind an irate Maggie with Beth and Glenn laughing hysterically. On her way to the door she passed Tara, who was standing with Eugene by the stairs, and Rick. Rick gave her a questioning look as she passed, but she just waved at him and walked out of the door. They would talk later. She just really wanted to get out. Michonne sighed and crossed her arms as she made her way back...well, home. It felt weird to think of it that way.

Carol was on the porch when Michonne walked up, still in her blouse and maxi skirt. She was leaning against the railing and looking dreamily up at the stars when Michonne walked up. "Left early too, huh?" Carol said as she got close.

Michonne nodded, climbing the porch steps. "Yeah. Lotta bullshit in there," she explained. "I didn't even see you there."

"I only stayed for a half hour or so," Carol told her. "These people are too relaxed for what the world is."

"They act like nothin' happened. Like everything is still fine. I just can't relate."

"That's why I left so early. Also...Douglas is a sleezeball."

"What happened?" Michonne stood beside her, leaning against one of the posts. She had heard Douglas was a bit creepy around Sasha when they first arrived, and had avoided the man accordingly.

"He was tryin' to flirt with me right in front of his wife." Carol shook her head. "He had a lot of nerve. It's no wonder she's so angry all the time."

"Wonder why she puts up with it. His power?"

"Has to be. Can't figure out what makes him a good leader. Seems like he's as jaded as some of the others around here. That's the last type of person I'd want in charge of protectin' me."

"He's good at illusions. Keeping people happy but ignorant of real problems."

"Spendin' all this time and resources on parties when they should be buildin' more defenses. The larger this place gets, the more of a target it becomes. But I guess he'd rather not think about that."

"Until it's too late." Michonne shook her head sadly. "Hopefully Rick or someone will be able to set him straight."

Suddenly, there was raucous laughter from inside the house. Michonne looked at Carol questioningly.

"Daryl and Carl found a ping pong table in the basement and decided it needed to be in the living room," Carol explained, chuckling. She paused for a moment, then looked at Michonne and smiled. "Y'know, speakin' of Rick...the two of you looked good tonight."

Michonne snorted. "And…?"

Carol gave her a knowing look. "I'm just sayin'. Anything goin' on?"

"I could ask you the same about you and Daryl. Don't think I didn't hear him go into your room last night and not leave until this morning."

"...I asked you first!"

"Fine, fine." Michonne sighed. "Honestly, I dunno what's goin' on between us. I think we both feel somethin', but...we've got other stuff to deal with."

"Mmm," Carol nodded. "Have you talked about it?"

Michonne shook her head.

"I think you should...when you're ready."

"That's the key - 'when we're ready.' Can't tell when that's gonna be."

"Not tempted to just leap and see where it takes you?"

"I'm...too scared to. Don't wanna ruin what we have."

"I don't think you'd ruin it. For what it's worth, I think the risk is worth it. We could all use some happiness."

"Like what you've found with Daryl's Dixon?"

Carol gave her a look and they both giggled. "We're not to that point yet."

"'Yet?'"

"Oh, goddammit."

Carol was saved from any more teasing by a large crash from inside, followed by a cry of "Uh oh!" from Judith. Daryl and Carl started laughing again. The two women began laughing and headed inside to assess the damage.

Thanks again for reading and for all of your support thus far. It keeps me going! Hopefully the next chapter won't be too far away!