"How long?"
"Six months." Rick answered. Michonne looked over at the calendar that hung on the wall and mentally ripped the pages off as each month fell away.
"That's a long time Rick."
"It'll fly by." He hoped his reassurance was getting through to her, but the tinge of sadness in her eyes was telling him otherwise.
"I don't know if I can leave RJ for that long." Michonne looked over at RJ who was happily tasting the stuffed frog that one of her customers had given him a few months ago. She thought about all that had happened in the three months since she told Rick everything about what she and Maggie did to Philip Blake. She felt better that he knew everything, but she was willing to walk away from her boys in order to not spend the rest of her life behind bars. Rick had other plans.
"You got away with it."
"What?"
"I'm the only one who knows."
"But it's your case. You and Sasha… She doesn't know?"
"I'm the only one who knows Michonne." He repeated the words a little slower, stepping closer to her wanting her to understand just what he was saying.
"But this is your job. You solve the unsolvable cases and put away the bad guys."
"As far as I'm concerned, you and Maggie already did that for me." He placed his hands on her waist and pulled her into him.
"Rick."
"You don't have to go anywhere. The things that connect you to the murder, only I know about. I'm not losing you." Rick took a deep breath and stared deep into her eyes, "I can't lose you."
"What about…"
"You let me deal with the rest." He cut her off, lifting her chin to plant a soft kiss to her lips.
"I can't ask you to risk your career for me. You've worked so hard to get to where you are."
"You don't have to ask me for anything. You and RJ are what matter to me. Blake doesn't get to hurt you anymore. Let me take care of it. Don't worry about anything." He kissed her forehead and held her tight against him, counting the beats of her heart, until he was interrupted by the sound of a crying baby. "Except for the reason RJ's crying." He felt her smile in his arms before she looked up at him and chuckled lightly. They both walked to his room soothe the fussy baby, who stopped crying as soon as his little blue eyes, that matched his father's found the familiar faces of his parents walking towards him. His cries turned to soft whimpers and he stood up in his crib and reached for whoever would get to him first. "Hey little man. What's the matter." Rick asked, picking him up and kissing his cheek. RJ started to tell him what the problem was in the best baby babble that he knew. He was very animated and detailed in his telling, making sure that his parents heard each and every word that he uttered. As he "talked" he played with the hairs of Rick's beard and when he was done with his story, he laid his head on his shoulder and sighed.
"Wow RJ, that was an impressive story you told daddy." RJ smiled at Michonne, still not letting go of the hairs that grew from his daddy's face. "You want to get some food now?"
"Yeah. Let's go get some food." Rick pulled Michonne to him and held her and RJ, savoring the feel of his family in his arms. "This is how it's always gonna be."
Dinner was full of more RJ stories between bites of his food. He kept Michonne and Rick laughing, and they were grateful for the distraction. They did their best to draw out bath time and story time, but after RJ's eyes drooped closed for the last time, succumbing to sleep in Michonne's arms, they laid him in his crib and watched as his chest rose and fell with each breath.
"Leaving him...and you would have been the hardest thing that I've ever done. It probably would have killed me, but a life on the run is not a life I want for my family." Rick watched the turmoil in her eyes and knew that even with his promise, she was still scared and tethering with her decision.
"Come with me." Rick took her hand and wrapped his arm around her waist. Keeping her in front of him, he silently walked them both out of RJ's room and down the hall to their bedroom. When the door was closed he kissed her neck and whispered. "This is how it's always gonna be." He walked to the bathroom leaving Michonne standing there wondering what he was up to. She heard the shower start and saw him walk back in towards her. He said nothing, just held out his hand for her to take. Without hesitation, she placed her hand in his and was led to the bathroom. The steam from the shower had already started to fog the mirrors as it filled the room and surrounded their bodies. Still not saying anything, he started to undress his wife. "Lift your arms." Michonne took a deep breath and closed her eyes as Rick's hands touched the hem of her blouse. Her pants were next and she exhaled as they fell to the floor. Rick let the view of his wife, standing in front of him in only her bra and panties, invade his vision. She was beautiful, and even there in her vulnerable state of undress, she was strikingly strong and powerful, everything he had always seen her as and probably nothing that he deserved. Walking behind her, he kissed her shoulder and unclasped her bra, she stepped out of her panties after he slid them down her legs. She stood there as he started to undress himself behind her. This was a position that they had been in countless times before, but this time was different. Rick had demolished the last of the bricks that she had built up around her regarding Philip Blake. She was there in front of him with every secret she had laid out on the table for him to pick up and examine. He knew the truth and didn't run away and wouldn't allow her to either.
Stepping into the shower is when the tears started. Rick wrapped her in his arms and she laid her head on his chest and sobbed. "This is the last time I want you to cry about this. I got you. I'm gonna take care of everything else." They stood there together under the spray of the shower and it wasn't until the water started to run cold that they got out and Rick led Michonne to their bed. Wrapped in towels and words between them still few, he kissed her lips once and then again, deepening the caress of her lips with the introduction of his tongue, which she easily accepted while gently shifting to lay on the bed. Rick pulled her towel away, as his kisses moved lower over her body. The feel of her trembling belly beneath his hands made him more determined to ease her fears. Circling her belly button with his tongue, he peppered wet kisses further down her body, lingering when he got to her mound, but not stopping. He widened her legs with his shoulders, zeroing in on the scar that until today was just a scar, but now meant so much. The mark of an evil man. Rick kissed it like he'd done so many times before. This time desperately wanting to erase any remaining thought that she might have had about Philip Blake. "I told you that I could love you forever, and I plan to do that." He kissed her scar, removing more of the vileness that the violent act of a chain around her leg had left, "As many forever's as it takes for you to forget what he did to you." Replacing it with his love and unwavering promises of their everlasting life together.
"I told you that I'd let you." Her sigh told him that she trusted him fully to take care of everything. She was his, and he wasn't going anywhere. This was just the beginning.
"The case is now closed. Looks like you'll be honeymooning with one less thing to worry about." Sasha looked up from the computer screen to see Rick waving a few folders around in his hand.
"I wasn't planning on thinking about anything on my honeymoon except whiskey and what Abe has under his kilt."
"Wow. That's a little more information than I needed to know." He set the folders down on his desk and sat in his chair, angling towards her. "Where did y'all decide to go again?"
"Jura. A quaint little Scottish island where the deer outnumber the locals. We'll be there for two weeks. Sun and fun."
"You expect to see a lot of sun on your honeymoon?"
"I have to give Abe a break sometime. He's a large man and no matter how much he tries, he can't always keep up with me."
"I'm gonna try and forget you said that." Blowing out a breath, he quickly thought about what a real honeymoon with Michonne would have been like. He was sure he would of kept up or died trying.
"What case are you talking about anyways? Which one are we closing?"
"Philip Blake." Rick answered cautiously.
"You want to close it without naming a suspect?"
"Yeah. Our only suspect is dead." I think Libby's family has gone through enough, we don't need to add her being a murderer to the list."
"You're right about that. Finding out she might have murdered a man and the reason why, would devastate them even more."
"Sheriff talked to the higher ups and they agree that it's best we go ahead and close this one. With all the evidence we found in that basement, Libby did us a favor." Rick exhaled knowing the real truth about who killed Blake. "Who knows what I would have done if I ever got my hands on him." As gruesome as Blake's murder was, he was lucky it was Michonne and Maggie that handed him his fate and not him. They might not have ever found the small pieces of his body he would have left him in.
"You can't take these things so personal Rick." She started to close pages on her computer and straighten her desk.
"Sometimes you can't help it." He opened and closed the fist he had made with his right hand and closed his eyes, bringing a vision of Michonne to his mind so he'd stay focused. He changed the subject to keep from bolting from his desk and going to look up where Blake was buried so he could dig him up and crumble his remains with his bare hands. "So you all packed?"
"Almost. I've got a couple things to pick up from the store and then I'm sitting my suitcases by the door so they're ready to go on Sunday." I can't wait to marry Abe, but I'm more excited about inhaling the Jura air."
"You're cutting it kind of close aren't you? I thought women, especially you, didn't like last minute stuff. Don't tell me you're working tomorrow."
"I had planned to take Friday off, get a manicure, but with the case closing, I can come in for a little bit and help you with the paperwork." She looked at him with pleading eyes hoping he wouldn't agree and would let her off the hook.
"Don't worry about it. I can handle the paperwork all by myself. Go do what you need to do."
"I told you we can take him with us." Rick smiled at Michonne as she looked at RJ.
"He's too little. What if he eats the sand. Do you know what's in sand?"
"We have a host of friends that wouldn't mind keeping him while were in Montenegro for two weeks."
"We do, don't we?" She sighed and looked at him. I'm gonna be huge Rick." Michonne followed his hand as he reached for her belly, placing it flat against her. They found out a few weeks ago that they were expecting another baby. They were over the moon excited, especially Rick who couldn't wait to have a yard full of playing laughing kids that were the perfect blend of him and Michonne.
"You'll be the sexiest thing in a bikini on that beach. Belly and all."
"Bikini?"
"Oh yeah. I won fair and square. You do remember me leaving you in my dust on the track? I've got video if you forgot." His smug look was annoying and sexy at the same time. She couldn't help but laugh.
"It probably won't even fit right. I'll be busting out of it all over." She cupped her breasts to show exactly where she she would be busting out.
"Oh, I'm well aware of that, and looking forward to it." He removed her hands and pressed his lips to the space between her breasts that was exposed with her low cut shirt.
"Don't start anything…." She lost her train of thought the moment his tongue replaced his lips. "We can't finish." She gently pushed him away and they both looked over at RJ who was happily playing with his frog.
"It's almost nap time. We'll finish in a little bit." Michonne watched Rick walk over to RJ and get on the floor with him to play. Her happiness was wrapped up in them and the new life that was still growing inside her and all the other ones to come. Her smile grew as Rick's words ran through her mind. "This is how it's always gonna be."
Five months later
"Do we have time to make a stop before we head to the airport?"
"We've got plenty of time. Just tell me where."
"I want to leave these with her." Understanding what she meant as she held the bouquet in her hands, he nodded and continued the pack the car with their luggage.
"We can do that."
"I want her to have these." Michonne said as they pulled up to the cemetery. They got out of the car and walked to find the headstone. They stopped when they saw Libby Steinman etched in a smooth white granite with a butterfly printed on the bottom corner. Rick stayed standing while Michonne knelt down in front of the grave marker. She laid the flowers on the ground and ran her fingers over the name. "I want you to know that I'm sorry about what he did to you. We took care of it and I hope you've found peace on the other side." Bowing her head she said a silent prayer and the stood up with Rick's help.
"You ready?" He asked her, holding his hand to her belly and feeling a few flutters.
"Yeah." Michonne answered covering his hand with hers. They both looked up as a monarch butterfly flew above their heads then between them, slowing down long enough for Michonne to see all the black stripes on its wings, then just as she was reaching for it, it flew away. "I'm ready."
Thank you so much for rolling with me on this one. It was so out of the box for me, but I enjoyed writing it and reading everyone's reviews. Special thanks to The Man for not kicking down my door after a few questionable google searches. Now bring on the FLUFF!
