Mothers Know Best (Chapter 9)
"Because everything seems to be falling apart around me and I'm afraid we'll fall apart too." She wants so desperately to hold him, but she can sense the anger in him and decides to keep her distance.
He walks further into the room, removing his hat and placing it on the dresser. "So, are you trying to help that along by staying away from me?"
Michonne sighs heavily. "Right now, I don't know what I'm doing. I basically don't have a career anymore. All my plans have gone to shit and I don't know what direction my life is taking."
"Well, I can't profess to ever going through what you're going through career wise. My personal life used to be crap, but lately things seemed to be pretty cut and dry for me. As long as I've got you and Carl, nothing else matters. I can't tell you how to feel or exactly how to make things better, but babe sometimes giving up is winning." He drops his head, then looks up, locking eyes with her. "I need something from you and I need it right now." He moves to stand in front of her, bending to his haunches, blue eyes still locked with brown.
She watches him, realizing just how much she loves Rick Grimes and how much she truly wants a life with him, no matter the circumstances. Being away from him, not seeing him helped to fool her into thinking she could be without him. Staring into those beautiful blue eyes, remembering when she saw him for the first time is reminding her of what she'd be giving up if she didn't try to make things work. Above all, she can't hurt him and she can't hurt Carl. If she was truly honest with herself, her stress was all due to the situation on her job. She was the one causing strife in her home life and what purpose was it serving?
"Do you love me?" He asks.
"Yes," she answers softly.
"Do you want me?"
"Always." She tries her best to stay focused on his eyes, but she hasn't kissed him in two days and his lips are looking so inviting.
"Then I don't understand what the problem is. I'm in love with you. I think I fell in love as soon as I laid eyes on you. I'll always want you, so why are we here, doing this? I don't want to do this. I don't want to guess about us. No more bullshit. When the lease is up, this place is gone. You're going into work tomorrow and putting in your notice. No more waiting around. I want us to come home to each other every day if that's possible. I want to lay down with you at night and wake up with you in the morning. I want my family together…me, you, and Carl. Please tell me you want that, too."
Michonne smiles. "Yes, I want what you want."
Rick is visibly relieved as he drops his head to his wife's lap and wraps his arms around her.
"I'm sorry." She runs her fingers softly through his hair. "We're going to make this work because I love you. I love you so much."
"I love you, too." He gives a slight laugh. "I didn't know I could miss you like that."
"I missed you, too." She cups his cheek with her hand, bringing his eyes back to hers and slowly leans down to touch her lips to his. She closes her eyes, relishing in the taste of him, feeling like she hasn't kissed him in weeks when it has only been two days. She grabs him by his jacket to pull him with her as she lies back on the bed. "I need something from you, too."
"Anythang."
"Just hold me and promise me that everything's going to be ok," she requests.
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The next day, Michonne puts in her thirty days' notice with her boss. She has enough accumulated leave that she is able to request a leave of absence leading up to her final day as lead attorney for the Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney's office. A few of her co-workers decide to take her out to lunch as a farewell. The decision to leave was bittersweet and she still hasn't forgotten the strife that Judge Martinez caused, but she can't contain her excitement as she drives home to King's County.
She didn't know what she was going to do with her time, but her mother and mother-in-law had plenty of ideas, especially with it being Christmas time. She decided she would take it easy for the month of December and get serious about some career plans at the beginning of the New Year.
For the next week or so, she is content to spend the morning hours with her Mom or Ms. Gladys and sometimes assisting her dad with one of his pro bono cases, then she would pick Carl up from school and the two of them would get into something if he didn't have any homework before going home to prepare dinner and wait for Rick.
Her husband was, of course, on cloud nine having her home every day. He was so happy that it was truly contagious.
They are spending what was supposed to be a lazy Saturday at home, but Michonne has put Rick to work in the yard, stringing up more Christmas lights. She has given him directions twice and is now in the kitchen, washing up a few dishes from last night's dinner. Carl is upstairs cleaning his room as she instructed him she hopes.
Rick sticks his head in the front door and yells, "Babe! The clear lights go around the tree, right? Can you send Carl out? I think I need a little help."
Michonne sighs as this will be her third time directing him. Now she just believes he is intentionally getting on her nerves, so she will give up getting him to do it and do it herself. No go, buddy. "Yes! The clear lights go around the tree and the front bushes." She reaches up to place a glass in the cabinet and sways as her vision starts to swim. The glass slips out of her hand and shatters as everything fades to black.
Rick hears the glass shatter and jumps. "Babe? Everything ok?" When he doesn't get an immediate answer, he walks into the house, moving to the kitchen only to find her sprawled on the floor, unconscious. He drops down to his knees, pushing her hair out of her face, calling her name.
Carl rounds the corner. "Dad, I thought I heard…." He trails off as he sees Michonne on the floor. "Dad?! What's wrong with Michonne?!"
Rick is unsure of what to do, but doesn't hesitate as he instructs Carl to grab his wallet and keys, lifts Michonne into his arms and races to the car, determined to get her to the hospital.
An hour later, Michonne is in an observation area still unconscious. The parents are in a waiting area with Carl as Rick refuses to leave her side. The doctor comes in to give Rick an assessment of her condition. She may have a mild concussion as she must have hit her head pretty soundly when she went down. As for what caused the fainting spell, Rick is pleasantly surprised. They plan to keep her until she awakes of course and maybe an hour or two after that to ensure recovery.
Moments later, Michonne slowly begins to stir, clearly expecting to be in her kitchen. She notices Rick first, then looks around in confusion. "Where am I?"
"At the hospital. You passed out in the kitchen," he informs her.
"What? I've never fainted in my life."
"First time for everything, I guess. Maybe you're still stressing about the job. I thought you had let all of that go," he returns.
"I have. I don't have anything to be stressed about, except you not putting up the Christmas lights like I asked." She gives a slight smile and tries to sit up only to groan and fall back to the bed.
"Just take it easy, ok? You're gonna be here for another hour or two, so just rest. I'll be right here."
Michonne sighs. "I am feeling a little loopy. Did they medicate me?"
"Nope. Must be something else." He smiles as she closes her eyes and drifts back into oblivion.
Another hour has passed. The parents looked in on Michonne, satisfied with Rick's explanation from the doctor and returned home. Carl, of course, is with Ms. Gladys and Arthur for the night.
Michonne awakens to Rick placing a small gift wrapped box on her tummy. "What's this?"
He leans over to place a kiss on her forehead. "An early Christmas gift. You need help opening it?"
"I think I can manage." She goes on to unwrap the box to reveal a small baby rattle. She holds it up, looking at Rick puzzled. "A baby rattle? This is a Christmas gift?"
Rick lifts his eyebrows, looking at her. "Yeah, for me and you. The doctor thinks you fainted due to your pregnancy."
Michonne gasps. "What? But I took a pregnancy test a couple of weeks ago and it came back negative."
"Must've been defective. I don't know, but I'm taking the doctor's word." He smiles widely, his eyes dancing with delight.
She brings a hand up to her face, the other still holding the rattle as she closes her eyes and the tears start flowing.
Rick gathers her into his arms, holding her tightly as his eyes begin to mist.
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Life returns to normal at the Grimes' home. Rick and Carl finally got all the lights up just as Michonne wanted. She and Rick are ecstatic about her pregnancy, but have decided to keep it a secret until she is further along. She makes an appointment with a local obstetrician for the following week as the emergency room doctor suggested she have an official checkup as soon as possible.
She has just left an interview with their pastor and the director of the church's children center. Ms. Gladys suggested that she use her free time to volunteer and spend time in the infants' center. The idea came as Ms. Gladys knows that she is still dealing with her failed pregnancy. She smiles, thinking of the wisdom in the suggestion as it couldn't have come at a better time. Her hand goes to her still flat belly as visions of a beautiful baby come to mind. Working in the infants' center will definitely help to prepare her for impending motherhood and she is quite excited about this new endeavor in her life.
"Excuse me? Can you direct me to the children's center?"
Michonne looks up as a young lady, holding a baby carrier approaches her. "Yes, right this way." She had also just taken a tour of the center as she was approved as a volunteer and would start training the next day. She can't help her curiosity as she notices a tiny little hand reaching up from the carrier. "Boy or girl?"
"A little girl. Darlene. I'm Sasha Dixon, by the way. I've been home with her for six months now and decided it's time for me to get back to work, so today is our first day of daycare and I'm a nervous wreck. My husband and I attend church here and I know I've seen the children's center before, but I'm drawing a blank or maybe I'm just flustered because…" she stops as she becomes a little emotional. "It's gonna be really hard to be away from her."
Michonne smiles politely as she takes the baby carrier from her, looking in on Darlene. She reluctantly rubs Sasha's shoulder as she feels it was something she needed in that moment. "It's going to be ok. I'm actually going to start volunteering here tomorrow, so any special instructions you have, I'd be more than willing to carry out for you. I'm Michonne."
Sasha sighs with relief, following Michonne into the church. "Thank you."
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It's a week before Christmas and they are getting ready to attend The Walshes' Christmas party. They alternate from year to year. Last year was a New Year's Eve party, so this year it's Christmas. Carl wants to wear his ninja turtles shirt (the turtles are wearing Santa hats) and jeans, but Michonne is firm when she tells him to put on the dress shirt and khakis she laid out for him.
"My clothes are laid out, too, so you better do what she says," Rick teases his son.
"But we're just gonna run and play in the backyard. Shane's dad lets us shoot fireworks back there. I was just trying to save you a lot of laundry work," Carl relays.
Michonne scoffs. "Well, thanks so much for thinking of me. How about you stay inside with me and Dad and just forego the fireworks this year?"
"Huh?"
"Quit while you're ahead, son. Get a move on. We need to leave in a little while," Rick directs.
Carl hurries off before Michonne puts her foot down about the fireworks.
Michonne laughs as she hears his bedroom door close with a bang in his rush to get dressed. "You and Carl are going to look so handsome tonight."
"Yeah, just don't be surprised when those khakis of his are caked in mud and grass stains," Rick suggests.
"Nothing I haven't handled before. I didn't know someone so small could get that dirty. What in the world does he do at school?" Michonne wonders. She is in the mirror, putting on her jewelry.
Rick laughs as he walks up behind her, his hands gravitating to her stomach. He places a kiss to the back of her neck. "Little boys are just rough like that. You feeling ok?"
She turns to face him, placing her hands on his shoulders. "I'm feeling pretty good. The nausea is horrible, especially in the afternoon, but I haven't been throwing up all over the place, so there's a positive."
"Well, the doctor said it's still pretty early, so maybe it just hasn't hit you yet," he reminds her.
"Or maybe it won't be as bad as it was last time….." she trails off, realizing that her words may have brought unpleasant memories for both of them. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean…"
Rick stops her as he says, "Babe, it's ok. We can't pretend like it didn't happen, but we've been blessed with another baby and everything's going to be fine. I know it is. I'm claiming that it is."
"Me, too." She smiles as Rick pulls her into his arms, hugging her tightly. "I love you. Now, would you please get dressed so we won't be late?"
Rick laughs as he kisses her quickly and moves to the closet to get ready for the party.
An hour later, the Christmas party is well under way. Michonne is pleasantly surprised to see Sasha and her husband, Daryl, who is the counselor at Carl's school. She is also surprised, but not pleasantly to see that Lori and Phillip have decided to make an appearance. Their parents are having a good time and Carl disappeared with some friends as soon as they arrived.
Shane walks over to them with yet another busty blonde on his arm. "Hey, hope you guys are having a good time. This here is uh….what was your name again, darling?"
Michonne rolls her eyes and looks to Rick who just shrugs as Shane's date reminds him of her name.
"Lana. That's right. Well, Lana, this is Rick and Michonne Grimes, some very good friends of mine," Shane introduces.
The three of them exchange pleasantries and watch as Shane moves on to show off his arm candy.
"I'll be glad when he settles down. It's getting harder and harder to keep up with his girlfriends," Michonne tells Rick.
"Well, I think you're in for a wait. Shane has been like this ever since high school, so I don't see him settling down any time soon."
They go on to mingle and converse with others, truly enjoying the atmosphere and the company.
"Think our moms have noticed that you're not drinking anything?" Rick asks as he sips from his champagne flute.
"Don't you get started, Rick Grimes. I know you've been chomping at the bit to say something, but we agreed, remember?" She reminds him.
He leans toward her with that goofy grin of his and kisses her lightly on the cheek. "Soon though, right?"
She can't help but laugh at her silly husband. He is so happy and he is just ready to shout it to the world. "Soon, babe."
They are interrupted as Lori saunters over and asks Rick for a dance. Michonne is just as surprised as Rick and to show that she is not threatened by Lori in the least, she speaks before Rick can refuse her.
"Sure. Have fun." She takes Rick's champagne as he questions her with his eyes and allows Lori to lead him to the dance floor.
Michonne second guesses herself for a brief moment, but wants Rick to know she trusts him and she wants Lori to know that nothing she does will affect what she has with her husband. She can't help but keep a close eye on them as she can't bring herself to trust Lori. She was about to move to the dessert table when Ms. Gladys taps her on the shoulder.
She looks pointedly at the dance floor. "Something I need to handle?"
Michonne has much love for her mother-in-law as she is always there to help her. She has to hold back her laughter as Ms. Gladys' partner in crime, her mother, isn't far behind.
"Are y'all seeing what I'm seeing?" Ms. Mae asks.
"Before you two get started, I agreed to let her dance with him."
"You did what?" Ms. Gladys asks.
"No, you didn't," Ms. Mae exclaims.
Michonne sighs. "It's ok, really. I'm just letting her know she'll never have Rick again. She can look, she can fantasize, but she'll never get a taste of that again."
Her mother and Ms. Gladys look to her with genuine respect shining in their eyes.
"Well, alrighty then. Guess we're not needed here, Mae. Let's go see what Lottie has pulled from the wine cellar."
Michonne shakes her head as she watches her mother and mother-in-law go in search of Shane's mother and the wine collection.
"Nice seeing you here, Michonne. We haven't really had a chance to get to know each other."
She turns around to see Lori's husband, Phillip, smiling down at her.
Meanwhile, Lori is unsuccessfully trying to put some moves on Rick.
"It used to be so good between us. The sex, I mean. Wouldn't it be nice to have that again?" She asks.
"I don't know what game you're playing at here, but you know that's not going to happen. Besides, aren't you trying to work things out with Phillip?" Rick returns.
"Oh, we've worked things out. We've decided it's best that we have an open marriage. I figure my first go round should be with someone I'm familiar with. Come on, Rick. It'll be our little secret." Lori tries to move closer to him, but he steps back, maintaining a good distance between them.
"I don't even know who you are anymore. Maybe you should be concentrating on spending time with your son. Your parents called and asked to spend Christmas Eve with him. I agreed as I hadn't heard one word from you about seeing him."
"Don't try and guilt trip me, Rick. I've been busy working things out with Phillip. We finally agreed on something that works for both of us and I think it will save our marriage." She looks over to where Phillip is standing with Michonne. "Looks like Phillip has already found his conquest for the night. I knew he was a little smitten with her. Guess I just can't catch a break when it comes to your wife. Everybody wants a piece of her."
Rick follows her line of vision, witnessing Phillip actually reaching out and brushing his fingers down Michonne's arm. His wife moves away immediately, about to walk off, but Phillip grabs her arm and brings her back to his side.
Rick's eyes narrow menacingly. "Excuse me." He tries to move away from Lori but she detains him.
"We're not done here, Rick. Phillip can have her while I have you," Lori tells him.
"Get your hands off me." He walks away, making a beeline for his wife.
He can see that Michonne is visibly relieved to see him. "Is there a problem here, Phillip?"
"Oh, not at all, Rick. I was just trying to get to know your lovely wife here. She is gorgeous and you are one lucky man."
Michonne notices as Rick's entire body tenses up and he takes a step closer to Phillip.
"Lori told me all about what you guys have going on now. Let's get one thing straight. I'm off limits to your wife and my wife is off limits to you. You got it?" Rick demands.
"I just thought you'd relish having another night with your ex-wife. The way you were ready to run after her at the hearing, well….I just thought some of those old feelings were still lingering." Phillip looks pointedly at Michonne as if he is trying to plant some sort of doubt in her mind.
"Well, you're absolutely wrong. Now, if I were you, I'd just walk away while I still can," Rick threatens.
Michonne grabs his arm. "Let's go, babe. This has gotten beyond weird."
Phillip smiles at her. "I'll see you around. Just give me a call when Rick can't quite hit it like he should."
Oh no! Michonne grips Rick's arm tighter, trying unsuccessfully to pull him away from Phillip.
"What'd you say? You actually think you can talk to my wife like that and not get your ass kicked for it?" Rick is beyond angry right now.
Michonne waves to get Shane's attention, then places herself between Rick and Phillip. She touches Rick's cheek, trying to get him to look at her, but he only has eyes, angry eyes for Phillip.
Shane arrives, gently moving Michonne aside as he takes a stance between his friend and Lori's husband. "What's going on here?"
"I'm about to flatten this asshole to the ground," Rick informs.
"Let's just take it easy here. No need for any drama," Shane says as he turns to Phillip. "Why don't you just take a walk, man? Go on. Get out of here."
Phillip smiles. "Sure. I'll leave. I just have one more question for you, Rick. How are you gonna feel after I've fucked both your women?"
Michonne gasps as Rick lunges for Phillip and Shane places both hands on his chest to push him back. She can't believe how vile Phillip is and that Lori chose to stay with him.
"I'm gonna knock that shit eating grin right off his fucking face." Rick almost shouts in his anger.
By that time, the commotion has drawn the attention of Lori, their parents, and other party goers.
Shane shakes his head. "No, brother. You're not going to hit him. Coz I'm gonna do it for you." He turns around and lands a hard right to Phillip's nose, sending him to the ground.
Lori goes to his side immediately, looking at Shane, Rick, and Michonne with disgust. "Assholes!" She helps Phillip up and they are escorted out of the party by some of the staff Shane's parents hired for the occasion.
"Damn! That felt good!" Shane exclaims.
"I don't need you fighting my battles for me, Shane," Rick retorts.
"Man, you gotta start thinking. Maybe that's what Lori wanted, so she can get Carl back," Shane offers.
Rick looks to Michonne who is just as surprised as he is as neither of them were thinking along those lines at all.
Michonne feels a new respect for Shane as he probably just prevented something awful from happening to their family. "Thank you, Shane."
"Aw, girl. I needed some excitement like that in my life. Besides, we're all family and family takes care of family, right?" Shane reminds them. They all agree as Shane pulls Rick and Michonne in for a hug.
