Authors note: Soooo it's been a long time huh? These next 3 chapters are going to be about friendship, and loyalty. Hopefully, we will get to see Rick and Michonne reconnect again. We could see a different side to Rick. Expect cute, fluffy overload in the next chapters. Nearly at 50 reviews. Thank you so much. Ok let's pick back up with our couple...

Chapter 7

Cabin In The Woods

December...

Kings County Georgia 12 miles, that's what the sign read...

A planned a trip to Rick's grandpa's cabin was going to be one of the best long weekends for the group. Since nearly everyone was going, they had to take two SUVs. Michonne rode shotgun with Rick, Sasha, and Daryl in one car while Shane, Andrea, Glenn, Maggie, Rosita, and Abraham rode in the other car. Aaron couldn't join them as he had planned months ago to be away at his boyfriend Eric's parent's house for the weekend.

When they made a pit stop for gas and a few snacks, Michonne leant in to Rick and placed a hand on his thigh.

"You know I love it when you drive. It's so sexy,"

"Yeah?" Rick asked, raising both eyebrows.

"Yeah," she replied. Rick pulled her in for a passionate kiss, lightly dipping his tongue in her mouth. The wetness and cool minty freshness from his tongue mixed with hers.

"God, you two need a flipping hose," Andrea said, walking back to the other car.

"Says you!" Sasha said, pulling her window down further and sticking her head out.

Everybody in the car started laughing; Andrea held her head high, ignoring them all.

Rick pulled out onto the street, exiting the gas station. Michonne looked at Rick from the side, the heat pulsating between her thighs she bit on her plump lip, trying to contain her excitement. This weekend was going to be good.

The only way to get to the cabin was to drive through King's County's main street. Michonne looked out the car window taking in all the scenery of the quaint town. It was so different than being back home in Atlanta. She bet everybody knew everybody and their business. The weather down here was fairly mild this time of year.

Over the last month Rick and Michonne had started to get back on track after dealing with all the drama with Lori. It had hit Michonne harder than she wanted to admit, so it put some distant between Rick and her. Rick gave her all the space she needed. He didn't want to smother her even though he wanted to be around her every day. They still talked and went for dinner, but little else. Michonne knew, after it all that Rick was worth it. The start of this weekend, she wanted to be able to reconnect with him again. Yet, there was still all the doubt about who had sent those mystery gifts for her birthday.

The car travelled down a long stretch of road. All you could see was grass and the surrounding scenery. At the top of road and down a path, there was a sign that read "Grimes ". Michonne moved forward in her seat, looked out of the window and smiled, her hand resting on her chin. Rick turned his head to look at her and he smiled too. He couldn't wait to see her face when she sees the cabin. Looking back onto the road, they drove down the wounding road and over a few cobble stones. A few minutes later, the cabin came into sight.

Michonne's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. He said he wanted it to be a surprise and not tell her any secrets about what it looked like. She was glad he didn't because what stood in front of her was nowhere near what her imagination had conjured up.

When Rick had originally told her about a cabin in the woods, she didn't expect this. She's a city girl and she imagined something really old, hillbilly, broken. But this? This wasn't anything like that. Rick pulled the car right in front of the cabin. Shane pulled up behind him. Michonne unbuckled her seatbelt fast and got out of the car, slamming the car door shut. She stood there for a few minutes taking it in. Rick followed suit, coming to stand next to Michonne. He was feeling proud of himself right now. Sasha came and stood next to Michonne and wrapped an arm around her. They all came to stand in front of the parked cars. The whole group was looking up at Rick's cabin in awe.

The lodge had this raw beauty about it and was a rustic style on the outside. It was full of heritage and charm. If the outside looked like this I wonder what the inside looked like, Michonne thought. The lodge had 7 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms, including 3 en suites, and was on several acres of land. There was a games room, cinema room, laundry room and a kitchen that was kitted out to the highest standard.

"Anybody want a tour?" Rick looked at Michonne and winked. His eyes locked with hers and she grinned. Rick started moving towards the grand steps. All his friends were nodding and cheering as they walked behind him.

As they climbed up the steps, there were small windows in the dark brown stone and timber door. Rick turned the key in the door and pushed it open. They all stepped inside into the grand foyer. There was a chandelier that sat on the soaring ceilings. In the middle, there was a grand wooden twisted staircase with black railing. There was also another set off stairs which led to a basement, she guessed. The main stairs that looked like they led to the second floor, which she guessed were where the bedrooms were located. There were more rooms to the left of them, and then to the right, then straight ahead; this place was like a maze.

"Come on. We will start in the living room and then I can take you all to your bedrooms," Rick said, tapping the front door key in the palm of his hand.

They started off to the right with Rick leading the group into the living room. The high beams of dark brown wood were separated by coffee coloured shade panels. There were spotlights in the ceiling and grand crystal chandeliers in the middle. There were two big bay windows which overlooked more acres of land. Underneath the windows were two seating areas that were situated on each side. Between the big bay windows was a stone brick fireplace with candelabras decorating its ledge.

Above the fireplace there was a flat screen TV which was mounted on the wall. There was a plush, L-shaped dark brown leather couch, with the added touch of lighter brown cushions. Two arm chairs stood near threshold of the room. In the middle of the room was a beige coffee table with a big plant in the middle. Everything definitely had a rustic feel. When you turned around and looked up, there was a mahogany balcony that gave an overview of the living area from the second floor.

"I am impressed Grimes," Andrea said smiling, as she ran her hands across the back of the settee.

Michonne stood there smiling too, holding her "M" necklace, while running it along its chain. Rick went to grab her hand, locking their fingers together.

"Come on," Rick said, pulling Michonne's hand with him.

The girls were amazed and so were the guys. Shane had a smug grin on his face as he knew the finished work had definitely paid off.

Rick had explained to all his friends how his granddaddy came to occupy a cabin. How Rick had rebuilt and made it a lot more modern and added in a lot of new features.

"It didn't look anywhere near this when my granddaddy had it," he admitted.

"So it was..." Andrea started to trail off.

"Andreeaaaa!" Maggie scowled her.

Rick let out a small laugh. "Yeah, you could say something like that."

Andrea pulled an I told you face to Michonne, who just rolled her eyes and laughed too.

Michonne thought Rick definitely had money after seeing this place. They never discussed it and he wasn't one to be flashy. After seeing this place though she figured that he must be wealthy. She definitely wasn't with him for his money though.

They all walked into the kitchen, where the back wall was entirely made of stone. In the centre of the stone wall stood a cooker flanked by 2 big bay windows on either side. The windows gave a wonder view of the gardens. In the middle of the kitchen was a square countertop with cupboards underneath and brown leather bar stools all the way around. On the countertop was a large glass bowl holding fresh apples. In the right corner of the kitchen was a pantry with old style western saloon doors.

"There's plenty of food in here. I think my ma stocked up quite a bit. You can help yourselves to anything," Rick stated.

Next to the pantry was a big stainless-steel fridge which, no doubt, was stocked to the brim with food and drinks. Underneath an archway to the left side of the kitchen were floor-to-ceiling sliding glass door leading out to the grounds.

"Yeah, in the 1970's, all this land was my granddaddies," Rick spoke, glancing out the windows.

Michonne picked up on the was bit meaning past tense. Who did it belong to now? She wondered. Rick had never confirmed that this was his. He always described it as his granddaddy's cabin.

"There's a Jacuzzi outside," Shane said, winking at Andrea.

She clicked her tongue over her teeth and smiled wide. Everyone stood at the doors looking out at the spectacular view.

"Also there is an outside fireplace with seating around the big canopy frame," Shane added as he pointed towards the doors to the left hand side of the cabin. The entire group was happy about the prospect of hanging out by the outside fireplace.

Rick had known Glenn, Daryl and Abraham for years, yet he had never brought them up to the cabin until now. This would be a special time for their entire group. This would be a special time for he and Michonne.

"We have plans to build a swimming pool before next summer. We're going to get started in spring so that it's ready for summer," Rick said.

Leading the group back out to where they started at the cabin's entrance, they turned in the opposite direction and headed downstairs to the basement. As they descended the stairs, their chatter filled the once quiet home. At the bottom of the stairs, the group could see multiple rooms. Rick opened the door to the first room, which was the games room. The guys let out a cheer.

"Nice Rick!" Daryl said, running his hand over the deep green cloth of the mahogany-legged pool table, which stood in the middle of the room. Shiny playing balls that had never been used lie flat on the table next to cue sticks. There were several little lights that hung over the table. On the wall to the right was a flat screen TV. There were pictures on the wall of basketball players and baseball shirts in frames. This was definitely a men's zone.

In the corner of the room, something caught Glenn's eye. He ran over to take a closer look.

"So cool! I always wanted to have one of these," he said, excited about the pin ball gaming machine.

On the back wall was a bar with four red bar stools in front of wooden bar. Behind the bar, on the wall, was every drink you could think of.

Abraham wolf whistled and stood behind the bar looking at all the drinks. There was everything imaginable: brandy, whisky, vodkas, bourbon, gin, rum.

Michonne was very impressed by her man right now and swooned a bit. The fact that he put so much time and effort into building this made him even sexier to her. She needed to have him sooner rather than later.

"Sweet Mary, Mother of Jesus, I think I am in love," Abe laughed, his hand placed across his chest.

Rosita pulled her face.

"Oh you know you're still my sexy senoritaaa." Abraham said, walking back in front of the bar grabbing her, and kissing her neck.

"Alright, moving on..." Shane said, pointing towards the door.

They all moved onto the next room, which was the home theatre. On the wall was a huge projector screen with theatre seats surrounding the space.

Rick watched Michonne's reaction. He was staring at the woman who was his future and nothing and nobody could take that away from him. Not even Lori's shit.

Continuing on their tour, the next room housed an indoor heated pool.

"SHIT Grimes!" Sasha spoke out.

Everybody laughed. They was all thinking the same thing: this place is something else.

"You and Shane did this all by yourselves?" Maggie spoke, looking out into the pool.

"Yeahhh we got a little help, but the ideas mine and the interior might be some of my mother's," Rick spoke out to the group as they looked at him.

You could tell he was really happy and little smug at the moment, but he was allowed to be about this place. Michonne puckered her lips. Rick leant in and he whispered in her ear, "take a dip later?" He bumped his thigh with hers and she bit her bottom lip, grinning. She watched him walk off in front of her, not giving her any time to reply.

"Come on guys. Let me show you where ya'll are staying," Rick said, looking back over his shoulder.

After climbing back up the stairs, they moved to the left wing of the house, where the bedrooms were. At their first stop, Rick opened the door and stepped inside. The colour theme for the room was dark blue, oranges, greys, with some baby blues mixed in. Like many areas in the cabin, this room had dark brown wood features throughout.

"You have been holding out on us Rick," Rosita said, stepping inside.

He cocked his head to the side slightly and smirked.

"Glad you think that Rosita. This is yours and Abraham's room." They all left Rosita and Abraham to check out their surroundings. Rick moved onto the last room near the end, opening the door. The room theme was creams, turquoise, browns, with dark brown furniture added in. This was Glenn and Maggie's room.

"It's beautiful Rick, it really is." Maggie smiled at Michonne, placing her hand in hers. They left Glenn and Maggie to also check out their room.

Every room was unique and something special. Next, Rick took them up the grand staircase, starting on the left-hand side. At the top was a circular balcony where they could look down and see into the living room. They continued on and headed towards the next set of bedrooms. The first door on the right would be Daryl's and Sasha's bedroom. Their colour theme was dark reds, with beiges, blacks and hints of turquoise on the bedding. Daryl went over to the bed and lay down.

"Get your feet off the bed Dixon with your boots on!" Sasha yelled.

He did, hanging his feet off the bed and pulling his cap over his eyes. He was ready for a nap. Sasha laughed and walked them out the door.

Next, they headed to Shane's and Andrea's room. Their room had bull horns on the wall; this was very much Shane's style, his friends could tell. There was a United States of America flag above the bed.

Rick then took Michonne's hand and walked them back across the floor and towards the circular balcony to a room on the opposite side. He opened the door to a set of four wooden bunk beds. It was a definitely a children's room. She placed her fingers in her mouth, thinking. She looked up at him and he was smiling at her, then suddenly looked away with his hands on his hips.

"Are we having bunk beds?" Michonne's tone was laughing. He started to back out of the room shutting it behind him.

"No come on I er…saved the best until last," Rick said, opening the master bedroom door and letting Michonne walk in first.

When she stepped in to the room, her mouth dropped open. She had never seen anything like this before. Rick's and Michonne's room was the biggest and best so far. There was a four poster, dark brown, wooden bed in the middle of the room. There were different types of wood everywhere in the room, which took her back to that day in her office. He certainly did know about his wood. The colours were warm tones of reds and beige. They complimented the room well. Cushions were scattered on the bed, along with a throw with intricate detailing on it. Michonne stood at the foot of the bed, admiringly running her hands along the fabric. There was a stone fireplace in the corner.

Rick walked Michonne into their en suite bathroom, which had a massive shower. Definitely room for two, she thought. A big bath tub sat in the middle of the room. Yes, she could get used to living here. Michonne couldn't wait to take a bath in there later. Rick looked to catch Michonne's eyes. He could tell that she was happy. He couldn't help but admire her beauty in that second. The way her eyes was lit up.

"It's beautiful Rick."

They walked towards the bedroom's balcony and opened the doors onto a small sitting area. While the view was breath-taking, the cold sent a chill through Michonne's body. Rick walked up behind her, placing a hand on the small of her back and rubbing his hand up and down. Michonne looked out across the grounds.

"All this land is it yours?" she asked, wrapping her arms around herself to keep her warm.

"Yeah. Shane helped me to rebuild after Lori and I got divorced 5 years ago. My ma and pa, they've keep on top of it for me since I moved away. We added a lot to it and extended both upstairs and downstairs. There's also a lake at the back, but the trees are covering it so you can't see it."

Michonne smiled and nodded.

"It will be nice in the summer up here. We just finished it late last year," Rick said.

"I want to make it a real tradition with our friends and family going forward. I want to bring Carl here. Also, if we ever have any children of our own…" he continued.

Michonne's eyes shot up to meet Rick's smiling face. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his chest. After a few minutes, they moved back inside as it was getting too cold.

Walking back inside their bedroom Michonne spoke,"you know, all my friends our very, very impressed by you?" She grinned at Rick.

"Yeahhh...did I impress you?" Rick looked at with a cocky smile on his face, placing his hands on her waist.

"Yeah you did." Michonne moved in for a kiss. It had been so long since their lips had connected. It was a passionate, deep kiss from the start. Rick slipped his tongue in her mouth, where they ended up tangling. Rick pulled Michonne closer to him until there was hardly any space between them. She could feel his erection straining against his jeans. It was growing for her.

Rick's hand slowly sneaked up her sweater, caressing her hardened nipples through her bra. She moaned into his mouth. Hmm. She thought about how much she missed his touch and being with him like this. Rick's left hand reached around and grabbed a handful of her rounded bum. He gently squeezed her ample ass with his strong hand. This earned him another moan from Michonne's seductive lips. Hmm. He was sending shivers down to her core, making her wet. Michonne moved her hands to the back of his neck, weaving her fingers through the back of his hair.

Before it could go any further, there was a knock at their bedroom door. Rick pulled back and kissed her lips one more time.

"Later?" Rick whispered to her. Michonne nodded her head, licking her lips and savouring his taste.

Rick opened the door slightly, standing behind it to hide his full-on erection. Shane stood on the other side. Whilst Rick talked to Shane, Michonne fixed her sweater by pulling it back down. She took a seat on the edge of the bed and tucked her feet underneath her bum. She bit on her thumb and listened to their conversation.

"Hey man, shall we go into town for dinner tonight? We could show everyone the town."

"Yeah, sounds good idea," Rick said.

"Alright. I will round everybody up and we can go in about an hour," Shane said, clapping his hands together with a smile on his face.

After Shane left, they all went back to the cars to unload all their bags and suitcases and unpack. About an hour later, they climbed into the two black SUV'S and Rick and Shane drove them into town. They parked their cars in the nearby car park and walked a few minutes to the restaurant.

They opened the doors and walked into Bonnie's Big Bbq Smokehouse.

"Table for 10 please," Shane said.

"Deputy Shane Walsh, is that you?" The waitress asked, chewing the gum in her mouth.

"Ain't seen you around these parts in a while... how you been?"

"Good," Shane said, starting going red as Andrea side-eyed him. She bet this was only one of his many conquests living in these parts. Andrea tutted and folded her arms across her chest. Shane chose to not look at her, already knowing exactly what the expression on her face would be. He did not want to play into the waitress flirting, since yes, he thinks she was someone he might have had a thing with years back.

The waitress walked them over to a big table. It had been refurbished recently as it didn't look like this before. But then again, it had been a few years since he or Rick had been back in Kings County.

"Well! If isn't Rick Grimes! Long time no see or speak. I thought that was you coming in."

"Morgan?"

"Good to see you pal." Rick stood up to shake his hand.

"You too," they both moved in for a hug.

"So who is this with you?" Morgan said, looking at the many faces at the table.

Rick introduced everybody to his and Shane's old friend.

After the introductions, Morgan left with his family. The group decided to share and ordered various foods from the menu: ribs, corn on the cob, pulled pork, and the chicken wing platters.

A few hours later, they were all thoroughly stuffed. Rick paid, leaving a hefty tip. They made their way outside the restaurant and onto the side street.

"Do you think the bar across the street still has the bucking bronco?" Shane asked, looking at Rick.

"I don't know. Why don't we take a look?" All the girls cheered as they had always wanted to do something like that. They walked over to the bar. This was definitely feeding into Andrea's typical southern cowboy fantasy.

At the bar, the guys ordered beers for everybody and they went to take a seat.

"You got anymore of those hats cowboy?" Andrea said, flirting with the bartender. She was clearly annoyed with Shane's interaction with the waitress and was getting him back.

"I am need 5 for me and my ladies here," Andrea said, pointing to Michonne, Rosita, Maggie and Sasha, who stood around her.

The barman came back with 5 cowboy hats and handed them to all the girls. They laughed while placing them on their heads. All the boys sat at their table, with beers, cheering their girlfriends.

Andrea placed the money on the counter, including a tip, as they went to see about riding the bull.

Michonne was the first to ride the bull. And the way Michonne rode that bull…Damn, Rick thought. She was flipping her hair back, holding on with one hand, while holding onto her new cowboy hat with the other. She managed to keep on top and not fall off. That laugh of hers though, how he loved to hear that laugh. Michonne was definitely enjoying herself up there.

"Girl, you know how to ride! Huh, bet your good at riding other things," a guy at the bar shouted, whistling at Michonne.

Rick stood up from his chair, sending it flying back. He was looking at the guy, cocking his head to the side, rolling his shoulders back, and clenching his jaw tight.

"You wanna say that again? Or do you want me to kick your teeth in?" Rick snapped. The guy's face dropped. He shook his head from side to side in a fast motion.

"Better watch your mouth sunshine," Daryl spoke up. He wasn't about to let none of their women been spoken to like that.

"Yeah that's what I thought. Now get the fuck out of here," Rick said, nodding his head towards the exit.

The guy ran out the door so fast. Abraham, Glenn, Shane, and Daryl were laughing at how protective Rick is as a boyfriend. Rick took his seat back down taking a sip of his beer.

"I don't want anybody disrespecting Chonne like that," Rick said, clearly pissed off.

Rick's mood changed as soon as Michonne was done with her ride. He helped her down off the bull, telling her how well she did. A few more hours of drinking and Abraham was getting too loud. They were playing darts, which Sasha and Daryl were both pretty good at. The group were laughing so hard at Shane's jokes. All the girls eventually had a go on the bull. About an hour later, it was time for the bar to shut. All of them were making their way back outside into the cold night. They could see their breaths while walking back to the car park.

Michonne wrapped her coat tighter around her waist, holding it closed with one hand while holding Rick's hand in the other. The wind was raw and chilling. They were too busy talking to each other to see the person walking up the pavement. The person bumped into Michonne's left shoulder.

"Sorry," the person mumbled.

"Its fine," Michonne said, carrying on her conversation with Rick and taking no notice as to who just accidently knocked into her.

It was close to 12am by the time they reached Rick's cabin. They made their way back inside and said their "goodnights" before retreating to their bedrooms. Rick and Michonne just about managed to climb up the stairs. Rick went to the bathroom to freshen up. Michonne was exhausted and was trying her hardest to hide a yawn with the back of her hand. The bed looked so damn comfortable. She removed her boots, jeans, purple knitwear top, and her bra. She piled all her clothes neatly on the brown leather chair in the corner of the bedroom. Pulling back the bedding, she slide into the soft, white, linen bed sheets.

A few minutes later, Rick came out of the bathroom. He stopped at the sight of Michonne, who was fast asleep on the bed. Rick started removing his clothes, leaving his grey boxers on. He slid in behind her, pulling the covers over both of them. Rick wrapped his arms around her small waist, snuggling his face into her locs, inhaling her scent. This helped him fall into a deep sleep.

Authors note: So, did anyone pick up on a clue in this chapter? Actually, I dropped quite a few.

Hope you liked this. Just a bit of fluff and all around goodness. More to come. We're still in the cabin for their weekend away. Please like, share, and follow. For those who have already, thank you for joining me on this journey and following my story. Appreciate it so much.

Please leave a review. I love reading your comments. Thanks again.