Inspired by and dedicated to Zeejack.

Never Will I Let Go – Part 4

Something suddenly jolted Rick out of his sleep. He could have sworn he heard a light tapping on the window pane. So, he got out of bed and checked the windows. Nothing. He crawled back to bed while taking extra care to lay down without waking Michonne up. Once he settled back in, he spent the remainder of the night staring up at the ceiling and thinking. Thinking about Negan. Thinking of what he and Michonne had planned to do. They had come to terms with dealing with the Saviors, which was to fight. The both decided that they were not going to let Negan win. This man and his followers needed to be eliminated. It wasn't going to be easy as his forces still outnumbered theirs, even taking into consideration Gregory's and Ezekiel's volunteers combined. Rick planned on heading to Hilltop the very next day, but he decided to put it off as he felt proper and careful planning of the battle against Negan was needed.

He gingerly turned on his side and looked at his love sleeping soundly next to him. He watched her as she slept on her side facing him. He couldn't help think about what she told him a few hours before, about her whole ordeal at the camp where her, her boyfriend Mike, Andre, and, their friend Terry were staying. How, upon her return from a run she saw that the fences were down and her son was dead. She also told him what she did after that. How she made Mike and their friend turn, chop off their lower jaws and arms and for months traversed the land leading them in chains everywhere she went. It didn't phase him what she'd done to those two men, not at all as he'd done horrible things too. But, most of all, what he couldn't imagine was the kind of pain that she suffered from losing her young son. He believed that parents are not supposed to bury their children and something like this ought to be quite devastating. She lost her whole family and still, here she was. She survived. As he looked at her, he wanted nothing but to gather her into his arms and hold her close. He wanted to protect her and keep her safe. Instead, he let her be. She needed her rest.

Then, she opened her eyes slowly and found him staring.

"Rick? Is everything okay?", she whispered softly gradually raising her head up from her pillow a few locs of hair covered her face.

"Hey. Sh-shh. Everything's fine. I'm not going out tomorrow.", he said softly and gently moved a two locs aside.

"Yay. One more day with you.", Michonne said groggily and smiled slightly. Her eyes felt heavy.

"You sleep now.", Rick ended and leaned in and planted a light kiss on her forehead.

She looked at him and gave him another smile before closing her eyes again. For the first time in a long while, she fell asleep just as quickly as she had woken up.

~~0*ooo*0~~

The next morning, the four sat at the table over large bowls of warm oatmeal porridge and mugs of hot chocolate.

"This is delicious. I've never had oatmeal that tasted this good before.", Carl complimented while giving his usual easy smile and heaped more of the creamy glop into his mouth.

"It is a wonder what you can do with dried milk powder and a few spices.", Michonne said while she fed Judith who seemed to be enjoying it too.

Rick had intended on feeding Judith but Michonne had insisted on doing it. He didn't want to bog her down with the responsibility of looking after the baby plus he wasn't sure how ready she was. She wanted to so he let her and by the looks of it, she was doing a good job of it as Judith cooed and giggled at her funny faces and readily ate from her.

"So, the plan is that you go to Hilltop and I stay here and keep an eye on everything.", Michonne began. She reiterated what they both discussed earlier while they both got ready for breakfast.

"While there, I will train the volunteers, proceed to Kingdom and train Ezekiel's. I'll take Sasha and Daryl with me.", Rick said.

"How long you think this'll take?", Michonne asked dreading the answer he was going to give.

"Two weeks, maybe three.", Rick replied.

"Three weeks.", Michonne sighed.

She didn't like being apart from him and he could see it in her eyes.

"Honey, I know. Being away from you all won't be easy. It's my plan so it is on me. It has to be done this way.", Rick said.

"Wish there was some way of knowing that you're okay. That you got in safe.", Michonne said giving Judith the last of the porridge from out of the bowl.

"Pity we don't have carrier pigeons.", Rick said.

"What about a raven?", Carl asked.

"Intelligent, strong flyers, can handle themselves in the wild. Yeah, a raven could probably be more reliable carrying messages than a pigeon. But, even if we had one, wouldn't we have to train it?", Michonne said wiping specks of porridge from Judith's mouth.

Busy with Judith, she didn't notice when Carl got up from the table and exit the dining area. She got up and proceeded to pick Judith up from her high chair.

"I'll send Jesus with a message.", Rick said.

"And put him at risk? Remember what happened to Andy the last time?", Michonne reminded patting Judith on her back as she stood before Rick and spoke with him.

The night of their friend's murder, Andy, from Hilltop had already been on his way to Alexandria with some produce when he was intercepted by Negan's men. He was dragged out of his vehicle and beaten. They took all of the food he was bringing. They sent him back to Hilltop with a message for Gregory that Negan says thanks for the food.

Carl returned and this time with an obvious bulge under his T-shirt. The moment Rick and Michonne noticed, they both stopped talking instantly and looked at him curiously. Then suddenly, a head popped up from under his shirt and settled right under his chin. It was a raven. Completely black. It had a black heavy beak and black eyes that stared back at them.

"You've got to be joking.", Michonne said looking at the bird.

Judith squealed and clapped her little hands together with glee. "Eeee!", she rang out excitedly.

Michonne looked at the toddler in awe wondering how she is not afraid of this large imposing looking bird.

"Meet Odin.", Carl announced.

"Carl, what is a bird doing under your clothes.?", Rick asked. He was just as surprised as Michonne.

"I found him in the woods months ago. His wing was broken so I took him to Denise and she wrapped it.", Carl said. He stroked the bird's head.

"Can he fly?", Michonne asked walking up to him with Judith in her arms.

Judith reached for the bird wanting to touch it and the bird didn't flinch or try to peck her. Still, Michonne calmly stepped back to keep the toddler from harm's reach. The bird didn't show any signs of aggression. He came out of hiding, climbed and mounted Carl's shoulder and ruffled his jet black feathers, it's plumage was remarkably shiny. He was a considerably good sized bird. Twice the size of a pigeon and sturdy looking. Standing tall and proud he gave a small caw and cocked his head from side to side while looking at Rick and Michonne with peculiar curiosity.

"Yeah. He can fly. His wing is all better now. Thanks to Denise.", Carl said.

His voice fell thinking about Denise. He missed her and was angry when he learned that Dwight, one of Negan's men had killed her.

"He seems tame. But, will he peck?", Michonne asked.

Her eyes did not leave the bird as she was enraptured by its majestic profile. She seemed particularly interested in the animal as well as the safety of Judith around this bird. She had seen a raven before but not up this close.

"He is extremely gentle. He even lets Judith touch him. Watch.", Carl began and moved in closer.

Rick and Michonne looked on with guarded expressions on their faces. The bird made an unusual soft puttering sound when Judith stroked his chest with her fingers. He playfully responded and lightly touched her hand with his beak and she didn't mind. His beak was almost the same length as her whole arm and just as thick and yet he didn't frighten her one bit. Smiling and at complete ease, it was obvious that she was used to the animal.

"That's amazing. He likes you Judith.", Rick said smiling at his daughter.

"How do you know it is a male?", Michonne asked and gingerly reached out and stoked the raven's wing.

The bird allowed her to touch him and seemed to like all the attention he was getting.

"Denise said so. She had one as a pet. She told me what kinds of food he eats and how to care for him while he was laid up.", Carl said.

Rick joined in and began touching the bird and was amazed by the softness of his dark feathers. A bond began to form and the bird now regarded the entire family as a part of his flock.

"Can he be trained?", Michonne asked. She made small circular strokes on the large black bird's cheek prompting him to close his eyes and slightly ruffle his feathers. He liked when his cheeks are stroked.

"Me and Enid take him out for walks all the time and he always finds his way back home. Maybe he can do the same from Hilltop.", Carl added.

~***000*ooo*000***~