Chapter 10:
"Have you seen outside? It looks great"
Rick looked up from feeding his daughter, "Really?"
"Yeah. They really went all out with the decorations", Carl nodded as he opened the kitchen door.
"That's great then", Rick breathed, spooning another load of applesauce in to Judith's mouth.
"Maggie found a dress for Judith, she brought it over earlier"
"I'm sure she'd love to get it dirty", He teased, grinning at his messy daughter, "She's gonna need a bath before we put her in it"
Carl stopped and looked at his father, "You know she can feed herself, right?"
"I know, but I just wanted to do it. I missed doing stuff like this", He admitted.
Carl rolled his eyes as he smiled, "Alright"
"How y'all doing?" Daryl strolled in the kitchen with his crossbow over his shoulder.
"Hey", Carl greeted.
"What's going on?", Rick turned to him.
"Nothing, thinking about heading out tomorrow"
His eyebrows rose, "Really?... you taking someone with you?"
Daryl shrugged as he stroked Judith's hair, "Maybe. Dunno who though"
"I think Tara might be up for the challenge?"
His friend seemed to mull over the idea as he took a seat opposite them, "I'll keep an eye out for her"
Rick scooped Judith out of her highchair as he and took her over to the sink, "You gonna hang around today?"
The other man snorted, "If they have anythan' strong to drink, sure"
Rick chortled as he wiped Judith's mouth with a wet paper towel, "I'm sure you can find somethan' to drink"
"Dwight's group coming?"
His smile slowly began to fall, "I'm not sure. I told, uh, what's her name… so we'll see"
It was a childish move. He knew her name, he'd gotten comfortable using it, but after their last encounter, he didn't wish to mention her.
"Alright", Daryl watched him for a moment from beneath his hair, before looking elsewhere.
Rick wasn't particularly looking forward to the festivities, but his family were, so he tried his best to match their spirits.
Once he had washed and dressed Judith in her special occasion wear, he handed her over to his son so he could get himself ready. Outfit choices were limited, so he settled for a black and white checked button down that was almost tight, with a pair of grey jeans. It felt strange for him to appear to dress up, as he'd gotten used to putting on anything that was clean and could fit. The temptation to shave his beard off again was rife, but he settled with a trim instead. When his miniature transformation was complete, he almost felt as if he was in his past life, and the thought was a sad one.
The community did look well decorated and Rick found himself very impressed with it all. He didn't even know where they would have gotten a majority of the tablecloths and streamers from, but he admired the scene all the same.
Socialising wasn't a strength for him. The idea of 'small talk', made his eyes roll. He would try his best to interact with the people around him when they approached him, but it was difficult to behave, what would have been considered as normally, when they were living in such a time.
"Hey"
His attentions turned to Jessie, who stood a foot away from him, offering him a polite smile, "Hey Jessie"
"This is going well…", She motioned the rest of the street, "It was great thing... what you did... stopping the Savior's"
Rick shook his head as he looked over the crowd of people, "No, It wasn't down to me at all, I just helped"
She sighed, her attentions turning to Judith, "She looks great"
"Yeah…", He agreed, smiling as his daughter kept craning her neck to look at everyone.
"I hope you can see that I'm trying here…"
Rick exhaled, losing all patience, "Jessie why don't you go enjoy the party?"
Her eyes widened a fraction, "Oh yeah, of course… Uh, you two enjoy yourselves"
"Thanks", He watched her walk away with a shudder, whispering to his daughter, "Sorry for leaving you alone with her before"
Judith looked at him with her big brown eyes and smiled excitedly, though Rick doubted she knew what he was saying.
"How you holding up?", Maggie nudged him as she stood by his side, her hand resting on her rounded stomach.
Rick bounced Judith on his hip, hoping no one realised he was using her as shield, "Good. You?"
"Same", She smiled as she took hold of Judith's hand and kissed it, "Hey pretty girl!"
"Thanks for the dress. She seems to like it too"
"No problem… hey, have you spoken to Ezekiel yet?"
Rick's top lip almost curled, "No. Not yet"
"Come on. Let's get this over with", Maggie insisted, resting her hand flat on his back as she urged him to walk.
Rick groaned, but still did as he was told. He respected the younger woman greatly, and if it had been anyone else pushing him to do something he didn't wish to, they would have soon regretted it.
Ezekiel was sat at one of the tables, engrossed in conversation with Jesus, his hands flailing as he spoke. Rick couldn't barely stand the man, and found his eccentricities draining, but he did his best to appear friendly.
Maggie prayed Judith from him, "How are you doing Ezekiel?"
The grey haired man grinned at them, "Fantastic! And how are you all doing?"
"Good", Rick nodded, wishing he had his daughter back.
"Rick I'd love for you to join us", The man pulled a chair around, between he and Jesus.
"Go right ahead, I've got her", Maggie slowly stepped away, leaving Rick with no choice but to join them.
"We were just discussing trades, what we could all start growing-", Jesus began to inform.
"How we can stop the chance of us all handing over the same things", Ezekiel briefed.
"Right", Rick scratched his brow with his thumb, "What do you have in mind?"
"Where is the Savior's new leader? I expected her to be here so we could include her in this?"
Rick tensed involuntarily, "Don't know"
"She'll be here", Jesus confirmed, leaving Rick to wonder how he could be so sure.
"Great", Ezekiel beamed, clapping his hands together.
Rick would have felt so much better about the conversation if they hadn't discussed Michonne. To say the woman confused him, would be an understatement. He genuinely believed the two of them had found mutual ground, but she was so defensive about Negan that it was putting them back on rocky ground.
He understood that she had a child, and that Negan had had to kill that child for her, which was a predicament he would never wish to be in himself, but it seemed she wanted to keep it all a secret. While he wasn't expecting her to broadcast her past, he just wanted her to know that he could see why she bound herself to the man, even though he didn't agree with their friendship. He thought Negan was the least deserving of such a person in his life.
He found himself stuck beside Ezekiel for quite some time, and he was grateful to have Jesus there as some kind of buffer between the two of them. The loud man was in the middle of telling then another tall tale of his, when Rick started to notice residents from the Sanctuary sprinkled in the crowd. Evening was rolling around and he wasn't expecting and of the Savior's to come, despite Jesus's assurance. It was then he saw her.
Her dreads where in a high ponytail, and she wore a black halter top beneath her leather jacket. Her black, ankle length skirt had a thigh high split in it, exposing her leg as she strolled beside Dwight. Rick's eyes snapped shut for a second, and he forced his gaze elsewhere.
"Dwight!", Ezekiel boomed, raising both hands in the air.
Rick could have killed him. The two Savior's approached them, and they all stood to greet their late arrivals.
"Michonne, isn't it?", Ezekiel took her hand in his.
"It is", She looked amused with the man who seemed to fall in love with the very sight of her.
"Ezekiel", the grey haired man was almost drooling over her, his eyes locked on her face.
Rick was repulsed, to say the least.
"How are you guys doing?", Dwight asked, trying his best to ignore the flirtatious display beside him.
"We're good", Jesus answered, biting back a smile.
"Sorry we arrived so late, we've been having trouble with walkers all morning"
"At the Sanctuary?", Rick's ears perked up.
"Yeah. We think there's a bigger herd heading our way or somethings drawing them in", Dwight sighed, "We got the fence fixed, parked a few buses around the entrance just in case"
Rick nodded as he stored the information away for later.
"What a woman", Ezekiel sighed as he shamelessly watch Michonne walk away.
"Where'd she go?", Dwight frowned.
"To go see that pig, Negan"
A small smile tugged on the corners lips, for several reasons. The first being was Ezekiel reaction. The second, was knowing that he had the key to both the front door and the Negan's cell. It was another childish move, but the fact that she would have to come and ask him for it made him snicker. If she thought she could come to Alexandria and ignore him in his own home, Rick was going to show her otherwise.
"So what was you saying Ezekiel?", Rick grinned, taking a swig of his beverage.
The other man wasted no time jumping back into his story, and Rick tried to listen, but once the man's exaggerated arm movements began, he lost all interest.
"Hey Rick", Maggie approached him, holding a sleeping Judith on her shoulder, "I'm gonna take her inside"
"Oh no, let me do that-"
"No need. I'm tired too, is alright if I take her home?"
He hesitated for a moment, "Sure, if you want but if she wakes up-"
"I got her Rick, I can use the practise anyway", She tapped his arm with her free hand as she turned and walked away. Glenn was stood a few feet away, and gave him a nod as he waited for his wife to join him.
Rick's line of sight was interrupted by Michonne, as she stood in front of him with an unamused expression. He raised an eyebrow at her.
"I want to see him", was all she said.
"I'm sure you asked me not to talk to you?", Rick tilted his head at her in a mocking fashion.
She scowled at him, "May I have the key to go and see Negan please?"
He shook his head, "I only trust the key with a few people"
"Then find one of those people so they can let me in to see him"
He looked around, his eyes sailing past Sasha, Daryl, Tyreese and Abraham, all who were near enough for him to call over, "I can't see anyone I usually trust"
She squinted at him, her lips poised to object.
"If you'd like for me to escort you over there, then I don't mind, as long as you don't have a problem with where I stand?"
She rolled her eyes, spinning on her heel and marching away. Rick bit his lip as he placed his cup on the table and followed behind her. He wished he knew what it was about her that made him act so out of character, but he couldn't help himself. He was starting to like watching her come unhinged, it was as if he was drawing her out of her shell, forcing her to show him another expression, other than just stoic.
When they reached outside the basement, Michonne stood aside so he could open the door. He shoved it open, allowing her to step in first.
Negan was curled up on his bed and appeared to be sleeping. She looked at the door, then at Rick, expecting him to open it.
Rick barked, "Hey! You got a visitor!"
Michonne sent him another glare.
Negan groaned as he rolled on his back, "Can you please, shut the fuck up?"
Rick opened the cell door, letting Michonne in, before slamming it shut, causing Negan to curse a few more times. He stepped to the front door and leaned on the frame as he gave them a little privacy. He didn't mean to eavesdrop previously, but they were arguing within earshot, so he listened. She was sure to talk in a more hushed tone this time around, while Negan didn't.
"What the fuck are you wearing?"
Rick snarled at the other man's comment, and hoped Michonne put him in his place for it.
"Look. I get it now, you can go run around with that fucking killer cowboy and his tree hugging, sandal wearing, hippie fuckwit friends, and just leave me alone, alright?"
"Stop being ridiculous!"
Rick inhaled slowly, tipping his head as he tried not to listen to their argument further. He was figuring out the dynamic between the two of them, and while he understood that it was platonic, he still struggled to understand why their friendship bothered him, and why he was so interested. He peaked over his shoulder when he heard footsteps at the door. He cautiously stepped over, opening the door for a visibly annoyed Michonne. She rushed past him, and he pulled the door closed.
He scowled at Negan, "I don't think you need this light on. Let's see if you can piss in that bucket in the dark".
"Your days coming, you fucking parasite", Negan growled at him.
"So is yours!", Rick called as he switched off the light and slammed the front door, locking it behind him.
He skipped up the stairs and was surprised to see Michonne hadn't gone far. She stood on the sidewalk, her arms folded as she looked over at the party down the street.
Rick huffed, shoving the keys back in his pocket, "You should probably leave him alone for a while"
She didn't attempt to say anything, or even look at him.
"He knows he can count on you. You stop going for a while, he might appreciate you for coming the next time".
She sighed, shaking her head, "I don't want to talk to him about him anymore"
Rick frowned, "Well I guess there's nothing else I can say to you then"
Her eyes slid in his direction, and for a moment, he was sure he saw her smile, "That's right."
Rick watched her walk ahead, unsure as to why it took so long for his legs to work, but he was glad when they did. They went right back to their original table, where Ezekiel was still talking everyone to their graves. The man's eyes lit up when he saw Michonne again, and it annoyed Rick to see him fall over himself to speak to her. She barely gave the man a smile and yet he was already picking wedding dates.
It made Rick uncomfortable to watch.
The four leaders and Michonne all sat discussing future plans for their communities for the remainder of the party, while their residents enjoyed themselves around them. Rick was able to bare it all, as he had more than one person between he and Ezekiel. He tried his utter best to only look at Michonne when she spoke, and tore his eyes away from her when she finished. He learnt that she had the ability to make rational and reasonable decisions, and seemed quite the capable leader, and he struggled to comprehend why she hadn't taken over the Savior's. Dwight seemed to look to her for approval of his plan a the man obviously needed her.
As the day came to an end, so did their discussions, and Rick informed their visitors that they were welcome to stay the night, as they had the room to accommodate them, since most of the Hilltop residents had moved back to their home.
He was surprised when Michonne agreed to stay, and he personally walked she and Dwight to the Monroe's old home.
"Everything's pretty easy to find", He explained as he walked up the steps, "But if you need help with anythan' then just come and ask"
"Haven't slept in a house like this for so long", Dwight sighed, looking around as Rick opened the door.
Rick strolled inside first, flicking on the lights as he did, "It has five bedrooms so… hope you don't mind if we send a few more people over if they run out of space over there"
"That's fine with us", Dwight shrugged as he looked back at Michonne.
She nodded as if her mind was elsewhere, "Fine"
"Bathroom?"
Rick pointed up the stairs with his thumb, "Up there"
"Thanks", Dwight slipped past him and rushed up the stairs.
He turned back to Michonne, "The fridge should have-"
"I want to be able to keep a close eye on Negan", She announced, her eyes landing on him, "Would you allow me to stay here?"
Rick took a small step back, not expecting her to request such a thing, "You wanna move to Alexandria?"
"...If it's possible?"
"Well it is, but we'd have to come up with some ground rules-"
"Fine", She gave him a single nod.
Rick raised an eyebrow at her, "You don't have a problem with that?"
She rolled her shoulders back, "No, I don't have a problem with that, Rick"
He inhaled slowly, "Alright then. You can stay here"
"Thanks", She casually stepped into the living area, leaving Rick to stare at her back.
The prospect of her moving to his community left him feeling strange. He wasn't against the idea, but he didn't know how he'd fare seeing her every day, especially as her reason behind moving was down to being closer to Negan. He was sure that man would be the reason they wouldn't see eye to eye, and he refused to have Negan interfere with his life any further.