Peachy

The warm morning sun shone through the bedroom window onto Michonne's face and forced her eyes open. She thought that maybe last night was a dream but then, she felt Rick's arm around her waist. She closed her eyes again and smiled. It wasn't a dream. For the last two nights she had slept in Rick's gentle embrace and for the last two nights she had slept peacefully and without the agonizing nightmares. Was this real?

Life for the last two years had been plagued with death, running, hunger, pain and despair. Even over the span of the last two days, with the repulsive degenerates who held them captive and the herd of walkers, they were fighting for their lives.

But today, they were safe in the upstairs room of the cottage, all of them. Michonne had awoken in the arms of a man she loved and that loved her back.

Michonne kept her eyes closed. She replayed it all in her head, each kiss, each word spoken, each look exchanged. She let out a joyful sigh. Last night had been beautiful. It had been a very long time since either of them had passionately kissed another person. Although there had been a lengthy interlude for both of them when it came to matters of love and romance, things couldn't have felt more natural. Rick and Michonne were in perfect sync. Their lips met for the first time and for the rest of the night, their lips were seldom apart. They kissed, held each other, talked and then fell asleep clinging to one another. It was innocent and perfect.

Michonne opened her eyes again and looked at Carl, still sleeping. She quickly slipped out of Rick's arms and stepped out of the bed. She didn't want Carl to see his dad and her lying in bed together. She wanted to talk to Rick before they brought Carl into the picture.

"Hey where do you think you're going?" Rick whispered as Michonne sat in the chair adjacent to the bed.

"I don't want Carl to see us just lying in bed together," Michonne answered.

"Why not? We didn't do anything wrong...we still have all our clothes on," Rick chuckled.

"I just want to clarify everything before we talk to him."

"What's to clarify? I love you and you love me. Right?" Rick said as an impatient grin appeared on his face.

"Right. But don't you want to talk to him first?" Michonne asked.

"Not right now. Right now, I want you to lie back down next to me and let me kiss you some more."

"Was last night even real?" Michonne asked looking up and smiling,"This feels so surreal. I feel like I need someone to pinch me."

"Well pinching you would be my job now, so come here so I can get started."

"Well not before I use the little girl's room and I brush my teeth," Michonne flashed him a toothy grin as she walked towards the bathroom.

"Fair enough. I guess I'll do the same." Rick sat up and leaped out of bed jumping in front of Michonne and blocking her way to the bathroom,"just one little kiss first."

Michonne complied giving him a peck on the cheek as she giggled like a school girl.

"I can hear you guys," Carl shouted from the other side of the room, surprising them both.

"Well how long you been listening kid?" Michonne looked over at Carl.

"Long enough. I heard it all," Carl replied,"You guys are in love, blah, blah, blah. I get it. It's cool."

"Well the cat's out of the bag. So I guess we don't have to have some long drawn-out conversation about our feelings," Rick said to Carl.

"Thank God!" Carl blurted out.

Michonne walked into the bathroom, squeezed toothpaste onto a toothbrush and began to brush her teeth. She looked in the mirror and smiled. It was a glorious morning!

…..

"I need to get out of this room," Michonne told Rick,"I need fresh air and sun."

"So you're feeling up to it then?" Rick questioned her with concern,"I don't want you to push yourself too fast."

"Trust me, this is better. I had some time to rest and now it's time for me move."

"I trust you. I just don't want you to..."

"I promise Rick, I'll be alright." Michonne cupped his face,"Stop worrying."

"Okay," she was right and Rick knew it. It's not that she was healed one hundred percent. It's that she knew herself, knew her limitations and knew her abilities. Michonne's instincts were impeccable and that's why Rick trusted and valued her opinion to the extent he did,"well let's go then."

Michonne slipped her boots on and threw her sword across her back. Rick held his hand out to hers to escort her out of the room. Michonne was slightly surprised. She smiled shyly and took his hand. The feeling of her hand in Rick's just walking down the hall, down the stairs and outside was, foreign but nonetheless, exhilarating.

The last time she felt those butterflies was almost 9 years ago when Mike kissed her at her doorstep after their first date. She couldn't fairly compare the two men though. It was apples to oranges. What she felt with Rick, was like nothing she'd ever known before. She felt honored, protected and loved by him beyond what she'd ever known. It made her feel like a woman but also in a peculiar way, like a child.

The gravity of their day to day lives made the depth of their relationship all that more serious too. To have someone who truly loved you and had your back, was not the same as it was a few years ago. To really love someone now meant doing things that might have been unthinkable before. Sacrificing your own well-being, comfort and even your life were all things she knew they were willing to do for each other. Love was not the same.

They exited the house through the kitchen door. Carl was walking Winnie in close proximity to the cottage. He was keeping her on her leash per Rick's instructions. Winnie walked through the yard sniffing at everything before she spotted a butterfly and bounded forward to eat it. She licked her lips and the three of them laughed.

"As soon as she knows for sure that she belongs to us, maybe we'll try lettin' her off her leash," Rick stated,"Who knows, maybe we could teach her to hunt."

"Dad, I know I kept saying we should stay here but I think you were right about moving on," Carl looked at Michonne with a look of guilt and remorse,"This place isn't as safe as I thought it would be."

Michonne walked up to him and put her arm around his shoulder,"Hey, none of us had any reason to think this place would be as dangerous as it's been. Your Dad and I made the choice to stay here and we probably would make the same choice again. Truth is, really safe places are pretty hard to come by."

"But we still have to keep looking," Rick chimed in,"I know we'll find something eventually."

Michonne looked at Rick with admiration. She appreciated the refreshing optimism in his statement,"We will find somethin'." She looked down at her arm,"I think I'll be well enough to leave tomorrow or the next day."

Michonne eyed the peaches dangling from the branches overhead. She pulled one down and took a generous bite,"These are ripe. If I start right now, I can slice up these peaches and sun dry them. We can have dried peaches in our packs for months."

"I'll start picking,"Carl said as he tied Winnie up.

"While you two are doin' that, I'm gonna gather some more supplies and get our packs ready." He focused on Michonne,"Dryin' peaches, that's a good idea," Rick said,"and it'll be a chore you can do while you're taking it easy."

"It usually takes more time than what we have to completely dehydrate fruit but it's pretty hot and we'll make do," Michonne looked Rick in the eyes,"and yes, I promise I'll take it easy, Rick."

The sound of his name from her mouth was different today. Different than it had ever been before. Rick looked at her, moved towards her and kissed her gently, slowly. He could still taste the sweetness of the peach on her lips. He lingered close to her face and whispered,"Do you know how good it feels to do that?"

"Yeah, I do."

The bliss Rick and Michonne felt was palpable. They would have loved to stay in the moment but as always, there was work to do. Rick looked at Michonne and Carl and stated with exuberance,"Let's get started!"