Chapter 4:

Michonne

"Momma! I want pancakes!" Andre said excitedly. Michonne was going into work for a night shift so she was able to spend the day at home with him. They were currently both in the kitchen after Michonne was awakened to some light tapping to her face from Andre. Mike wasn't home, after a night of him sleeping on the couch he left a brief note in the morning saying he was out looking for jobs. Michonne wasn't sure if she believed him, as it always seemed to be his excuse, but she couldn't be bothered to ask him.

"Andre, is that how we ask?" She said, her eyebrow raised and her voice stern yet gentle

"Please, momma can I have some pancakes?" He asked, emphatically.

Michonne chuckled at his persistence, "banana pancakes fine with you?"

"Yes! Banana pancakes! …..please!" He said after a slight pause, remembering to say please.

Michonne laughed again and gave him a kiss on his forehead, "okay what do we need for pancakes hm?"

"Umm…..bananas!" Andre said excitedly.

Michonne smiled and nodded, "good job peanut! Let's get our bananas."

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A few hours later

Michonne was getting ready for work with Andre blissfully playing with his toy cars on her bed. "You're gonna go to sleep when daddy tells you to right Andre?" She asked him.

"Yes, momma." He said as he continued to play.

"And no whining when it's bed time right? Why don't we whine?"

"Umm…..cause big boys don't whine!" He said proudly, answering her question.

Michonne smiled and nodded as she put her locs in a ponytail. She sat next to Andre on her bed, "that's right you are a big boy."

After a few moments of playing with his car Andre looked up, "momma, your bed is comfy!"

Michonne chuckled and nodded, "I know baby."

"So you should sleep here more momma!" Andre said, innocently. Noting how often his mother shared his bed despite the definite comfiness of hers.

Michonne opened her mouth to speak but didn't say anything for a moment. Now incredibly aware of her son's observant behavior. "Um...well…are you saying that you don't wanna share your bed anymore?" She asked with a small smile, trying to make a joke out of it.

"But momma, sometimes daddy sleeps on the couch too! But the bed is way more comfy than the couch!"

Michonne bit on her lip for a moment and then spoke again, "um…." She was trying to think of something to say, she tried, to be honest with her son most of the time but there was no easy way to say that she simply didn't love his dad anymore. "Sometimes Andre things are complicated…"

"...adults are weird!" Said Andre, concluding his thoughts on the subject.

Michonne smiled a bit and nodded, "yeah I agree." She looked up at the clock on the wall and sighed a bit, "okay mommas gotta go to work now." She pulled him into her lap and gave him a tight squeeze and several kisses over his face causing him to giggle.

"Momma! No more kisses!" He protested while giggling.

Michonne laughed and pulled away, "okay I'm done. We're gonna have good dreams tonight right?" She asked him

Andre nodded happily and smiled, "and, you gonna have a good day at work momma, right?"

Michonne nodded, "yes I will." She gave him one more kiss on the forehead before taking him off her lap. "Momma loves you."

"Love you too momma."

Michonne smiled, "okay, come on let's go to the living room." She said lightly patting him as he got off the bed and walked out of the bedroom in front of Michonne.

As they both made it to the living room Andre jumped up onto the couch where Mike was. "I'm leaving, I'll be home late." She said to Mike as she was about to leave, grabbing her things.

"Bye." Mike simply said.

Michonne sighed slightly to herself rolling her eyes, "bye baby." She said directing it to Andre who was too busy playing with his toys.

"Bye momma!" He said, looking up at her and smiling.

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Michonne

Michonne had worked in the ER for a few hours now and had finally gotten a short but needed break. She was leaning against a wall nursing a coffee when she realized that she hadn't seen Rick at all. They had made a habit of seeing each other, at least for a short time, on days she had to work. She knew he was soon to be discharged and she wasn't sure how many more times they would see each other once he left. He had a job and while he won't be too busy in the beginning he would be eventually.

She looked up at the clock noting the time and decided to see if he was still awake.

Once she got to his room she lightly knocked on his door. She paused and assumed he was sleeping. She began to turn away but stopped when she heard his raspy come in. She smiled to herself before entering.

"Hey…" Rick said with a sleepy smile, despite being tired his eyes still lit up when he saw her.

"Hey," Michonne responded, "sorry I didn't see you earlier I'm on the night shift."

"It's okay, how is it down there?"

Michonne smiled a bit, "uh, crazy. But it's a Saturday night so what more can I expect. What did you do today?"

"Physical rehab saw my son earlier….and saw you tonight so...a good day," Rick said with a light smile.

Michonne smiled, "you know um...you are going to be discharged soon."

"I know," Rick said with a nod.

There was a small pause before Rick continued.

"I'm gonna see you...out there?" He said with a slight tilt of the head indicating that out there meant anywhere but the hospital.

Michonne bit down on her lip smiling a bit, "it may still be complicated, Rick…"

Rick shrugged a bit, "I'll be around...waiting..." he said with a small smile.

Michonne smiled again, "uh...you should I know I have a son…"

"So do I." Said Rick with a grin.

Michonne chuckled a bit, "yeah but mine is young. 3 years old….may be hard for him to get use to a different man in my life…"

"I'm good with kids. Trust me." Rick said with a smile. Another pause, "...but you think I'll be in your life?"

Michonne giggled a bit, covering her mouth with her hand. "Rick…" She said with a wide smile.

Rick laughed lightly, "sorry, sorry I'll back off."

Michonne shook her head, "don't." She said softly.

Before Rick spoke her pager began to go off, "I gotta go. Um...what are the chances you'll be awake in the morning when I leave?"

"I'll be awake," Rick said, surely.

Michonne smiled and nodded, "see you in the morning then."

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Rick

Rick had awoken to the light shining through his windows. He looked at the clock through half opened eyes. Just a little past 6 am, the hospital had turned him into an early bird. When he had days off he would remember waking up at 10 with Carl trudging downstairs soon after with his hair a mess and eyes still half open. The two of them would discuss what was going in both of their lives as Rick would come home late for work during the week.

The weekend was a time for them to catch up and bond while eating slightly burnt pancakes. He couldn't wait to be home to start this tradition back up with his son. However, for now, he could get use to a morning visit for Michonne. Maybe they were in the midst of starting their own traditions, he thought. As if on cue he heard a light knock that he was able to always identify as Michonne's. Her knock was always light, similar to her disposition when she was with him.

"Come in." He said to the knocking and he smiled when he saw Michonne come in. She was no longer in scrubs and wore tight jeans, which Rick was always thankful for, and a loose fitting blouse that should have had (to Rick at least) one more button undone.

"Hey, you're awake," Michonne said with a smile.

"I told you I would be...How was last night?" He asked as she sat on the edge of his bed. He smiled at her level of comfort with him.

"It was crazy. I thought moving to a smaller hospital would have fewer nights like last night. Why are you guys so rowdy?"

Rick chuckled, "Now just imagine being a cop here on Friday night."

"Oh my god, I don't know how you guys do it. Someone came in so drunk with a huge gash in his stomach took 3 cops to bring him and he wouldn't lay down! We eventually had to use restraints but I would hate to have your job." Michonne said with a sympathetic smile.

"Trust me, we can't wait to hand them off to the surgeons."

"Oh, I'm sure!" She said with a knowing smile, as she got off of his bed. "I gotta go get some sleep...Or at least try depends on what my son wants."

Rick nodded, "I remember those days. You got a picture of him?"

Michonne smiled and walked over to him, taking out her phone. "Ever since I had him he's pretty much all I take pictures of now." She said as she showed Rick her most recent pictures of Andre, many of him with a wide smile. She scrolled through, pausing for a moment on each one until she stopped on a slightly out of focus picture of her, her smile small and coy. "Uh, sorry that one he took himself could you tell?"

"I like that one…" Rick said with a small smile that made Michonne smile at the floor. "What's your son's name?"

"Andre." She said, meeting his eyes again.

"Andre...that's a good name. He's a cute kid. Looks like his mother." He said with a smile.

Michonne smiled at him her eyes bright. They were both silent but he could tell that she seemed to want to say something. "I gotta go…" She said after a few minutes. "Too early for a mint?" She asked him as she dug through her purse for one.

"Uh...you tell me," Rick said with a half-smile.

Michonne laughed lightly, "I don't think there's ever a wrong time for one." She said as she handed him his mint and took one for yourself. "I'm on the night shift again tonight so I'll see you around midnight." She said with a smile.

"See you then." Said Rick.

She gave him a small wave and turned, leaving the room.

Rick smiled to himself watching her leave. He let his thoughts linger on her before they were interrupted by a knock from a nurse.

"Breakfast, Mr. Grimes?" She asked.

"Uh, yeah I'll take some breakfast thanks." He said with a small smile as his food was set in front of him.

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One week later

Rick

"Dad, are you excited to come home?" Carl said as he sat next to his father in one of his last hospital visits.

Rick nodded, "yup, just one more week. You excited to have your old man home?"

Carl shrugged, nonchalantly, "yeah I guess…"

Rick chuckled, "I'm gone for a little while and you become too cool for me?"

Carl laughed lightly, "yep." He said with a wide grin.

Rick chuckled again, "alright cool guy."

"What's gonna be the first thing you do when you get home?" Carl asked.

"Uh...eat something that's not hospital food. And sleep in a bed that's not a hospital bed."

"Real interesting dad," Carl said with a sarcastic smile.

Rick laughed, "Alright well what do you suggest I do?"

"Well, I think first you make some of your spaghetti…"

"Wait, wait it's my first day back and I'm already cooking for you?"

Carl thought for a moment, "...did Michonne say you can't cook?"

"I'm gonna make sure she does!"

Carl shook his head, laughing as he did so. "Okay, if Michonne says you can cook you make spaghetti first and then we can watch a movie. One of the ones you missed when you were still asleep!"

"And would one of those movies happen to be about one of your superheroes?" Rick asked with a smirk, already knowing the answer.

"...that's really beside the point dad!"

Rick chuckled, "alright, alright I'll watch your superhero movie this time."

"And make spaghetti?" Carl asked hopefully.

"We'll see about that one."

Carl nodded, "I can work with that."

"Yeahh, I bet," Rick said with a smirk.

There was a small pause between them. "It's gonna be good to have you home dad."

Rick smiled softly and nodded, "I know son. It's gonna be good to be home."

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One week later

Rick

Rick was finally leaving the hospital. He was packing the few things he had there and was excited to go home. However, he had also wondered if he would see Michonne before he left. And now that he was leaving what were the chances of them seeing each other outside of the hospital.

"Has, uh, Mr. Grimes been discharged yet?...Okay, thanks." Said Michonne from outside of his room.

He smiled to himself when he heard her, specifically hearing her talk about him. He heard her light knock soon afterwards and invited her in as usual.

"Hey, I wasn't sure if I missed you or not. My surgery went on a little longer than I thought it would." Michonne said with a smile as she entered his room.

"Hey, it's okay. Your surgery, it went well?" Rick asked.

"Yeah, it did actually. Thanks for asking." She paused for a moment, "you ready to go home?"

"Ready to leave here, yeah. But umm...not ready to stop seeing you." Rick said with a smile as Michonne attempted to hide her smile.

After a moment she looked up at him again, "you would umm…like to know the rules for you when you leave here?"

Rick smiled at her obvious subject change. "Yeah."

"Okay so, you still need to come here for physical rehab twice a week. And for now only office work at the station, you'll need medical clearance to be back in the field so we'll give you that when your people at work and our people here feel like you're ready. No heavy lifting. And you'll need to make a follow-up appointment for next month."

Rick nodded, "Carl wants me to make him spaghetti can I get a doctor's note out of that?"

Michonne laughed and nodded, taking out a small pad from her pocket. "No...spaghetti...cooking...for...a week?" She asked, writing down as she wrote.

"Let's make it two," Rick said with a grin.

Michonne smiled and nodded, "no spaghetti cooking for two weeks." She ripped off the paper and handed it to him. "Doctors orders."

Rick smiled, "thanks for this." He felt his pocket buzz from his phone and glanced at it. "That's my ride…" He said, getting up.

"Okay...it was nice having you as a patient Rick," Michonne said softly.

Rick nodded, "it was nice having you as a doctor…" As he stood, a few feet between them, he made sure to actively tell himself to avoid looking at her lips. Now being so close to her the urge to kiss her grew stronger. He felt his phone buzz again, interrupting him from his thoughts. "I gotta go."

"I think that's my line, Mr. Grimes," Michonne said with a smile and Rick enjoyed the flirtiness that came with her calling him Mr. Grimes.

Rick chuckled a bit and nodded. "It is…" He paused for a moment. "Uh, look. When things aren't...complicated anymore give me a call. Come visit the station when you have a free day...you get free days right?" He asked with a smirk.

Michonne laughed and nodded, "yeah I get free days." She took her pad back out and handed it to him along with her pen. "What's your number?"

"This mean you're gonna call?" Rick asked with a smile as he wrote it down.

Michonne giggled a bit, "Maybe I need your number for emergency situations."

"Isn't that why y'all have files?" Rick asked with a grin.

Michonne smiled again and shrugged, "maybe."

Rick chuckled and nodded, "...I'll see you around Michonne?"

"You'll see me around Rick."

"Alright…" Rick felt his phone buzz again and chuckled to himself. "You figured they would have more patience with a guy who was in a coma."

Michonne chuckled and nodded, "I think they wasted all their patience in that month and a half you were asleep."

Rick nodded, "I think you got a point there." He paused again. Taking her in for what he hoped wasn't the last time, "don't be a stranger."

"I'll try not to be," Michonne said with a smile as Rick began walking to the door. "Get home safe. Make sure you get some rest."

"Make sure you do the same," Rick said with a small smile, walking backwards as he exited the room, making sure to get as much of her as he can. "Goodbye, Dr. Moreau."

Michonne smiled, "goodbye Mr. Grimes"

A/N: yay new chapter! Rick is out of the hospital! When will they finally go out? That's for me to know and you to find out! :) glad you guys are enjoying this as always thank you for the faves/follows/reviews.