Chapter 7: Approvals

Disclaimer: I do not own the Walking Dead

A/N: Thank you all for the nice reviews. You, dear readers, make it all worthwhile with your lovely comments. I am having so much fun writing this! The mood is a lot lighter in this instalment. Enjoy!

5 months ago

What is happiness but a harmony between a man and the life that he leads? In its simplest form, that's what happiness is, even if it is only for the briefest moment in time. Harmony meant things fit together nicely. Things fitting together nicely meant happiness. For Rick Grimes, it seemed that things had changed for him; he felt a shift in his life, yes it was different to what he was accustomed to, but it was still nice. Out of all of the pain and horror and loss emerged a different way of being, of relating to others, of harmony. Rick was pleased that he found a real and tangible type of harmony in his life; he was pleased that it was with Michonne.

Rick felt different today, he had put faith in his choice to shift the dynamic of his relationship with Michonne, and he was satisfied with the result. He felt he had a shot at some happiness in these uncertain times. He was not exactly too sure of how they would proceed, now that they had finally made love. At breakfast that morning, she did not seem uneasy around him he realized, so that was a good sign. She did not want to immediately steal a moment away with him to talk about it either (which could be a good or bad thing). He mentioned that he would see her later, and she seemed amicable and agreeable to his suggestion; they both possessed an unspoken knowing that things between them had changed in a major way and that this change could be a good thing. Still, Rick could not help letting his thoughts centre on the big question: what do we do now? He had always been a patient man; he had to be in his previous existence, and even now. As patient as he was, Rick also realized that they did not have all of the time in the world; things could go from good to bad in an instant. This was why he felt the sudden urge to define whatever this change meant for himself and Michonne. He figured the only way he would find out for sure is if they talked about what this change meant. Rick knew Michonne was a very private person, so she probably would not want her 'business' being spread around the prison. There was also Carl to consider in all of this, but that talk would come later; for now, he needed to know what Michonne was thinking. He accepted that and he would follow her lead; whatever Michonne wanted to do, he would respect it.

Amusedly, Rick felt somewhat like a high school kid again, waiting to see if the girl was going to check yes, no, maybe on his note that asked her to go steady with him. He laughed to himself a little. It was amazing how much of a great mood he was in; Daryl noticed this too as he approached his friend in the garden. The midday sun was high in the sky and Daryl knew if no one told Rick to join them for a meal, then he would not eat at all.

"Why so smiley, uh?" Daryl asked Rick, grinning himself now.

Rick shrugged, not giving too much away to the other man.

"Must be something in the water this morning 'cause Michonne's walkin' 'round sportin' a big ass smile and hummin' to herself. So, Imma say the same thing to you that I said to her: If I didn't know you better, I'd say you look like someone who just got laid!"

Rick let out a chuckle, placed his right hand on his hip and wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Yeah, very funny." Rick replied. "You did not just say that to her." He said, with disbelief flooding his features.

"Damn right I did!" Daryl exclaimed. "And you know what she said then?"

"What?" asked Rick, a little intrigued.

"She asked would I like to get laid so that I could be smilin' too."

Rick did not know if Daryl was serious, if Michonne would have really said something like that, but he continued to listen, more than a little interested in how the young man replied.

"Then she told me to piss off over to you and get a date with one of the pigs, then I'd be all smiles too!"

Both men burst out laughing.

"She's a fuckin' smartass sometimes." Daryl said, but then again, he could be as well. In the beginning, Rick enjoyed listening to the banter between Daryl and Michonne. She always had some wisecrack to respond to things that he said, and Rick imagined, did it to get a rise out of Daryl. That was until he started to become somewhat envious of their easy friendship. Now that he knew nothing had happened between the two of them and that Michonne's attentions favoured him, he was able to laugh at the stupid things they said to each other again.

"So," Rick began, "Which pig do you want? Violet's pretty keen!"

Another outburst of laughter filled the yard. Daryl punched Rick's shoulder.

"Screw you, asshole! Come on, it's eatin' time."


Present Day

Rick took his son to set the snares in the hope that they would be able to trap some small animals. They did not venture too far from their shelter but both Grimes men were glad to be outside of the cramped little space. Michonne, not feeling in the mood for outdoors activities, decided she would go through the place a little better now that they had sufficient light in the daytime; plus she was leaving the awkward conversations up to Rick. She was sure he could come up with an answer for the boy regarding their relationship. If the Carl was ready to know, then she was certain his father would do a fine job in explaining it to him.

Rick was showing Carl how to set the traps properly; how to tie the knot and where to place it on the floor of the woods. They spoke only a few words to each other.

"Quiet today, Carl?"

"Hmmm." Came his reply. "Just tired. I didn't sleep much last night."

Rick looked at his son, checking to see if he appeared to be alright.

"Were you warm enough? You can swap with me or Michonne if you want?"

"Nah it's okay, dad. I was fine. Plus I know how cold she gets," he let out a chuckle. "It's like she can't get warm and snuggles right up close. Gosh, and she can't stop wormin' around."

The boy smiled as he thought of how Michonne tossed and turned when she was cold. They had gone on a few overnight runs in the past, and others from their group knew it as well, don't bunk with Michonne. She was the worst person to sleep next to in winter because she was always moving around, or shivering, or making sounds with her chattering teeth to declare that she was indeed cold.

"Ha! She is wormy." Rick added.

"And she hogs all the blanket!" Carl retorted and both of them began to laugh. Rick missed laughing with his son because their relationship had become so strained lately.

"Besides," Carl began, "Michonne looked pretty comfy last night. I think she likes sleeping next to you better anyways."

The boy pointed out while looking at his father, searching his face for some kind of answer to the question that he was presently preoccupied with. This was not missed by the older Grimes. Rick thought for a moment about how he'd respond. He cleared his throat and asked, "Oh yeah, why would you think that? She likes you just fine, Carl."

"Yeah, I know that, but she doesn't like me the way she likes you." He said in a matter of fact way.

Rick raised his eyebrows and asked "the way she likes me?"

Carl rolled his eyes. Goodness sake, grownups were hard to talk to sometimes!

"The way you like each other then. Come on dad, I'm not stupid, I know how grownups are. Besides, she told me that she really, really likes you."

Rick stopped what he was doing, tilted his head, barely hiding his grin and replied, "Did she now?"

"No! But I had you thinkin'!" Was Carl's cheeky response. Rick pretended to be offended, and playfully shoved his son.

After Carl had finished laughing at his father's expense, he became serious. He stood still and faced Rick, remaining silent for a while.


5 months ago

The men walked up to the prison building. It was a lovely day outside, and being so far away from the fences, you could actually ignore the hideous moaning coming from the walkers that were pushing against the wire. Most of the group were seated or standing around the outdoors kitchen area that they had set up to accommodate the growing population of the prison. Rick removed his gloves, washed his hands and splashed some water over his face; it felt cool against his skin where the unremitting sun had caused the pale tone to develop a tan.

What did I do to have the good lord bless me? Thought Rick as his eyes fell on Michonne. She's even more beautiful than before.

Michonne was seated next to Carl, slowly picking at some of the food that Carol and another woman had prepared. She and the young boy were engrossed in conversation; Carl's face animated with excitement as he exuded a fervent glow. Rick approached them and took up a place beside her. He began to eat his food.

"Dad! Dad! You have to hear this!" Exclaimed Carl elatedly.

"Alright son, calm down. What is it?" Rick asked, somewhat intrigued by his son's eagerness.

He looked at Michonne, who seemed to become extremely embarrassed.

"Oh no, Carl I can't do it now! Not in front of Rick."

"Why not?" Asked the boy. "It's only my dad. Go on, do it! Please Michonne! I'll love you forever!"

Rick looked at them a grin appearing on his lips, wondering what they could be talking about. Michonne frowned, looked at the boy and said "Damn it! Okay. Okay. Only because I love you, Carl. Rick Grimes, don't you even think about laughin' at me!" She warned, as she took a huge drink from her water bottle.

"I wouldn't dream of it." He responded, in an almost flirtatious manner.

Great! He's flirting with me and that's not gonna help, she thought. Won't flirt with me after I do this though; he's gonna think I'm disgusting. He's gonna think I'm immature and disgusting.

She placed her water bottle back on the table, looked around to see if anyone else was listening and began to burp the alphabet. Carl clapped his hands and laughed so hard that his face went red. The laughter was contagious and soon Rick was laughing as well. Michonne punched Rick's arm playfully.

"You said you wouldn't laugh, Grimes!" She chastised.

"I'm sorry." He offered. "It's just once Carl started, I couldn't help myself!"

She could not stay mad at him for long. It was so refreshing to hear the both of them laugh, so she joined in. Carl now tried to emulate what she had done while she chuckled at his attempts.

Daryl Dixon sat across from Rick and company wondering what was so funny. He caught Rick's attention, and then motioned to Michonne, raising his eyebrows and throwing Rick a mischievous wink. Rick looked questioningly back at Daryl. Daryl nodded towards the woman next to Rick and mouthed the words, laughin' like y'all just got laid. Rick did not catch on, so he excused himself and walked over to Daryl.

"Shit, Rick. Y'all two seem mighty friendly. I was tryin' to say y'all were laughin' like ya just got laid."

Rick's face felt hot as Daryl noticed the change in hue.

"No, it's not like that…" He started.

"Hey." Daryl cut him off. "Whatever it is, keep it up. It seems good for you. Shit, y'all have my approval."

With that, he chuckled, tapped Rick's shoulder and took his plate to see if there was any more food left.


Present Day

"Hey dad?" Carl asked.

"Yeah, son." Rick responded, busy with setting the snares.

"It's okay with me."

"What's that?" Rick asked as he looked at his son who stood wearing a very stoic appearance.

"If you and Michonne like each other, it's okay with me."