Chapter 9:

"You punched my brother."

Rick shifted from one foot to the other as he looked at his friend, "I did."

Maggie shook her head with despair as she adjusted her hold on Carl, "You know I get it Rick. You're mad. You're still mad."

"I'm not anymore", He shrugged, leaning against Maggie's truck, "I just wasn't expecting him to turn up at my door"

"He wanted to apologize-"

"I don't want an apology from him. I don't want anythan' from him at all", Rick insisted firmly, "He just needs to go back to wherever he was and stay there"

Maggie cocked her head to the side as if she were about to present him with a counter argument, but she appeared to digress, and turned her attention to Carl, "Are you hungry, buddy?"

The little boy nodded, "Yup."

"Well let's get you somethan' to eat then", She declared sweetly, beginning to head towards the diner.

Rick followed behind them, feeling as if he should say something else to his dear friend, "I don't mean to put you in an awkward position, Maggie"

"I already was", She sighed, glancing at him from over her shoulder, "You know that I understand why you feel the way that you do, but I just wish you'd hear him out. He just wants to clear something's up with you"

He didn't like that idea, but he still nodded as if it were something he's consider, "Yeah…"

Like most early afternoons on the weekend the diner was busy with customers, keeping the waitresses rushed off their feet as the darted from table to table. Maggie led the way as they navigated themselves through the eatery towards an empty booth by a window, greeting familiar faces they passed until she slowed down considerably and hissed back to Rick, "Look who's here!"

He began to frown as he looked past her to see who had caught her attention, when his eyes fell on a beautiful set of brown ones, though unlike any other time, these brown eyes seemed to communicate nothing short of panic.

Rick was struck with a bolt of remembrance as he thought back to Michonne's earlier words. She had said that she was going to see her parents, but he was unsure if he had heard her mention that she was bringing them to that specific place. He could admit that his hearing wasn't at its best whenever he had Michonne in his arms.

Judging by the way she looked in his direction, then back at the man that Rick assumed was her father, he could tell she didn't want him to approach her while she was with her parents. Rick found that odd, but he still proceeded to gently push a confused Maggie past their table and to the booth next to them.

"Her parents", Rick mouthed to his friend once they were seated, trying to discreetly glance at the other table once more.

Maggie's dark brows sprung to life as she mouthed back, "Oh!"

Carl scooted up to the window and pressed his mouth against the glass as he peered out to the parking lot. Rick would have usually discouraged the young boy from licking surfaces, but he was glad that he hadn't notice Michonne sitting only inches away from him.

"So…", Maggie began with a grin, "How are thangs?"

"Fine. Thangs are fine", He answered tightly, his eyes falling to the laminated menu in front of him, "Couldn't be better"

"Oh, I bet", She snickered, "So… when will I be babysitting?"

Ricks gaze slid up to meet hers as he met her with an unimpressed look.

That only made her snicker even more, "I'm just teasing!"

He rolled his eyes playfully as he smirked, "Yeah yeah"

"What do you want to eat, buddy?", Maggie asked Carl as she took hold of his little torso and turned him to face her, "Fries?"

Carl's eyes roamed around the diner as he made his decision, and unfortunately for Rick, it was just then that Michonne and her parents began exiting their booth. Rick could almost pinpoint the moment his son recognised his new favourite person, as his blue eyes widened excitedly as he cheered, "Daddy! Look!"

It seemed that was all it took for Michonne to acknowledge the boy, and truth be told Rick was glad to see that she couldn't, and wouldn't, ignore him. Her face lit up as she turned to see Carl, her locks swinging through the air, "Hey there!"

Carl quickly wiggled free from Maggie's hold and climbed over her with arms raised, leaving the brunette to mutter, "So this is what rejection feels like"

Michonne scooped Carl up in her arms and looked to her parents nervously, "Mom, Dad, this is Carl…"

The older woman appeared confused, but soon began to giggle as she placed a careful hand on Carl's back, "Well hello there, you little blue-eyed angel!"

"And that's his dad… Rick", Michonne continued, her eyes glued to her father, "A… friend of mine"

Her father still appeared confused but held out a hand to Rick, "Nice to meet you"

Rick took the man's hand and shook it, "You too, sir. And this is a friend of mine, Maggie"

"Hey there", Maggie chirped, watching the scene in front of her with wide, pensive eyes as she was greeted with a warm welcome from the trio.

"Oh, he is adorable!", Michonne's mother cooed as she adjusted her purse on her shoulder. Everything about the woman radiated warmth, a warmth that was familiar to Rick somehow. Her smile was almost identical to Michonne's, and she shared the same almond shaped eyes that were framed with dark lashes. She looked at Rick as she slapped a hand on her hip, "How old is he?"

Rick cleared his throat, "He's three"

"Just look at him Donald", Her mother nudged her husband with her elbow, "I can't wait until we have some grandkids"

Donalds eyes bulged as he appeared to choke in nothing. The man was portly, but seemed to have been in great shape at some stage of his life as his arms stretched the sleeves of his shirt. He shook his head as he responded to his wife, "Don't give her any ideas"

Michonne side-eyed her father as she smoothed Carl's hair away from his face, while her mother made a joke to Rick, "You might have to call the cops on me because I just want to take this little boy of yours and run away with him"

"Lucky that I am a cop then", He replied with a warm smile, causing the women to chuckle in surprise, but only for a brief moment, as her eyes soon narrowed in Rick's direction, then at her daughter, and finally at Carl.

"Oh Lord", The women breathed as she visibly grew tense but tried her best to compose herself, "Well, Rick 'the cop'- we need to get going- Uh, Michonne, we need to- it's time we left… traffic and all- it was nice meeting all of you!"

"It was", Donald agreed, appearing none the wiser as he gave a little parting wave, "Enjoy your afternoon"

Michonne blew out a breath as she handed Carl back to Maggie, "I'll see you soon, little guy"

Her mother began ushering her father away, giving Michonne a chance to throw her hands up with exasperation. Rick froze, his brows furrowing as he asked in a whisper, "What just happened?"

She barely looked in his direction before whispering back, "Nothing. We'll talk later. Bye Maggie"

"Bye", The brunette returned.

Rick watched Michonne skip away to catch up with her parents, his face still contorted with confusion as he replayed the moment in his head once again, repeating a little louder, "...What just happened?"

"It looked like her mom knew who you are", Maggie chimed, letting Carl sit on her lap as he slid his father's menu towards them, "You see the way she looked at you?"

Rick squinted at Maggie, "But why would she react like that?"

His friend shrugged, "I don't know… maybe she was just surprised?"

He sat back with a blank mind, unable to figure out what would make Michonne's mother rush to leave, and what he did wrong to make Michonne look at him the way she did. It hadn't even occurred to him that she may have even told her parents about him, as she was so reluctant to ignite anything between them in the first place.

With the waitress at their table, Rick was forced to put his questions away and focus on his lunch with his son and Maggie. The toddler went back to paying attention to Maggie with Michonne gone, sitting on her lap and playing with the cutlery, while she announced in a sing song voice, "So, guess who has a date next weekend?"

Rick raised a brow at her, "Who with?"

"This guy that came by the farm the other day, he wanted to buy daddy's old tractor for parts", She explained sweetly, "He seemed nice, daddy liked him-"

"Give me his details", Rick requested dryly, "I'll check him out"

Maggie's smile fell, "Fine."

Even though Rick hated Patrick, it was through his old friend that he even met Maggie, and while he considered her to be one of his closest friends, a part of him also saw her as a little sister that he would fight tooth and nail to protect, so he would use his position in the community to make sure that the men she got involved with were in deed 'nice men'.

They enjoyed their meal together before Maggie had to get back to her home to help her parents, leaving Rick and Carl to get on with their day. He really hoped that Michonne would return to his home later that evening, so he stopped by the grocery store to stock up on food for the night, and the morning. Just in case, of course.

"Cookies!", Carl exclaimed excitedly from within the shopping cart as they passed the sugary treats, "Da-dee!"

"I see them", Rick smirked, grabbing a bag of cookies from the shelf, "See? I got them"

"I wan' one?", Carl held the handle bar with one hand as he reached up for the bag with the other, "Peas?"

"Peas?", He chuckled, tilting his head at the toddler, "Do you mean 'Please?'"

"Peas?", His son repeated sweetly.

"You can have one on the ride home, okay?"

Carl began to frown, "I wan' one?"

Rick blew out a breath as he sensed a tantrum in the near future, "How about you hold onto the bag, then when get in the car I'll give you one, okay?"

His son didn't look to please with that response, and he was soon reaching for the bag again, "I wan' one, peas?"

"Oh, just give him the cookie now", Came a familiar voice from behind Rick, and soon enough Andrea appeared at his side, looking less than impressed, "One cookie won't hurt"

"Hey there", Rick forced a smile on his face, "Andrea"

"So, did you enjoy your sleepover?", She asked with a small grin, looking him from head to toe. Rick's smile quickly faded away, leading her to cackle evilly, "Of course you did. You got to have her all to yourself for a little while"

"All to myself?"

"You heard me", She snorted, her green eyes rolling over to Carls direction, "Cute kid by the way. He looks like a likeable version of you"

Rick narrowed his eyes at the backhanded compliment, "You have somethan' to say to me, Andrea?"

"I am so glad you asked", She snapped, "The roses, the chocolates, the wine, the sleepovers-"

"You have a problem with that?"

"My twenty-one year old best friend is way too young to be a stepmom", She hissed, tipping her head in Carls direction, "And I hope you remember that we like to go out and we like to have fun, so you can't be surprised when we want to do just that"

Rick was taken aback by her comments, but still managed to respond, "You think I'll stop Michonne from having fun?"

"I think you'll be the reason she feels like she can't have fun with me", She pointed out firmly, "In fact I think you'll be the reason she feels like she can't do a lot of things, so keep that in mind"

The blonde looked at Carl and gave him a warm smile before marching down the aisle with her basket on her arm, leaving Rick to mull over her words with uncertainty. He knew that Michonne liked to go out to bars and parties, but he had naively looked over the fact that it could be an issue the more they saw each other.

He could admit that he selfishly wished to spend as much time with her as he could, even more so now that he had seen how much she and Carl enjoyed each other's company. He liked to think that he could handle the matter rationally if it did ever pose a threat to their blossoming romance, so he dismissed Andrea's unfounded accusations.

Once he had completed all his errands he returned to his home with his son, and once he had put away all their purchases and provided Carl with a snack, he took a seat on the couch to call Michonne and swallowed all the anxiety he was still feeling from earlier.

"Hey", She greeted him in a slightly colder tone than usual, "Sorry about earlier"

"It's fine", He insisted, sitting up a little straight, "Is everythan' alright?"

"Yeah. Fine… I've just been doing some work… How's Carl?"

"He's doing alright", Rick replied, glancing in his son's direction.

"That's great"

He shifted uncomfortably, "So uh, earlier? What happened there?"

He heard her sigh, "It's nothing, it's just I had told my mom a little about you, just that you were a cop, and I guessed she worked out that it was you…"

Rick frowned at the wall in front of him, "Well why is that-"

"I didn't tell her that you had a son…"

"Oh.", His eyebrows sprung up, then back down, "...Why would-"

"It's a lot to explain but… my dad doesn't like the idea of me dating… I think he was glad that I my last relationship ended… my mom thinks I'm too young- both of my parents want me to just focus on college"

Rick slowly inhaled through his nose as he considered what she had said, "And what do you think?"

She took a moment to respond, "I think… we should just take this slow. Get to know each other more and just see how it goes"

Rick gave a slow, understanding nod to himself. He was glad to hear that she wasn't discouraged by her parent's wishes, though he couldn't help but think back to what Andrea had said "I can agree with that"

"You can?", She asked in sarcastic tone.

"I'll think I'll do anythan' you ask", He confessed with a smirk.

Her sigh told him that she was hiding a bashful smile, "Anything?"

"Anythan'."

"..So you'll be okay with me staying home to study-"

"Not that", He blurted out dryly, "You can come here and do all that"

"You said you'd do anythan' I asked!", She argued, sounding highly amused.

"I know I did but what I meant was-"

"What you meant was that you'd do anything I ask as long as you could still have your way with me"

Rick rolled his eyes shut as his mind was flooded with images from the previous night, "...Well, when you put it like that-"

"Daddy, look!", Carl called from his miniature dining table and chairs, "My juice"

Rick squinted at his sons table as he tried to figure out what his son was calling his attention to, and he quickly spotted the steady stream of orange liquid dripping to the floor below. He huffed, "Did you spill it?"

Carl nodded in reply as he continued to eat his sandwich, tipping his head to follow the trail of juice off the table.

"Alright", He huffed again as he stood up, "So... tonight?"

Michonne hummed as she thought, "Well it doesn't sound like I'd get much work done over there so why don't you let me finish up here and then I'll come over?"

He grinned to himself as he made his way to the kitchen to grab some paper towels, "That's fine with me".

Knowing that three of the most important people in Michonne's life could possibly be on the opposing side of their relationship made Rick think twice about brushing off his earlier thoughts. He was almost certain that the two of them could share something special together, and he hated to think that it could all be spoiled before it even started. She wanted to take things slow, so he would have to hold back on the declarations of love for the time being, until she felt they had progressed into something stable, and worth going against her family's wishes.

Luckily for Rick, by the time Michonne finally arrived at his home he had to wait his turn to speak to her, as Carl was over the moon to be reunited with his new friend, "You have dis' one"

Michonne happily took the stuffed toy animal from him as she sat on the floor next to the toddler, "Thank you, and which one will you have?"

"Um... dis' one", Carl reached for another toy and cuddled it to his chest.

"And which one are you going to give to daddy?"

Rick hated the way all his nerves stood to attention when he heard Michonne say 'daddy', but he was brought crashing back down to earth when his son peaked in his direction and shook his head, "None for daddy"

Michonne gasped, "Why not?"

"No", Carl repeated firmly, shuffling closer to her.

She looked up to Rick, who was leaning on the door frame watching the sweet but cutting display, then back at Carl, "Well will you give one to daddy for me? I'd like him to have one too? And I think he'll be a little upset if he doesn't have one"

The toddler didn't move for a moment, leaving Rick to wonder if his son had truly disowned him in favour of Michonne, but eventually he stood up and grabbed hold of a toy giraffe. He took his time to cross the room and hold it up to him, "Here daddy"

"Why thank you, buddy", Rick smiled as he took the toy from him, "I'm glad you decided to share with me"

Carl wasted no time running back to his seat beside Michonne, leaving her to mouth to him, "Sorry"

"It's alright", He chuckled lightly, "I'm glad he feels comfortable enough to make his preference clear... I'll just go check on dinner"

He could feel her gaze on him as he turned and left the room to get to the kitchen, feeling truly pleased that his son had taken such a liking to Michonne. As far as he was concerned, that reason alone was enough for him to believe that she was truly destined to fill the missing piece of their family, and in spite of what everyone else thought, she seemed to want to fill that place.