A/N: Heartfelt apologies for the long wait. I had to regroup and think about where I was taking this story. I know some of you are eagerly anticipating Richonne but as I said, this is a slow burn. Will get there very soonish. Thank you guys for your patience and lovely messages of support. Thanks to Audrey for pointing out glaring mistakes

Chapter 11

Michonne drew back slowly, torn between wanting to chase that impulse and press her lips against his, just for a taste. Her eyes widened marginally at her train of thoughts and she hastily stepped away from him.

"Michonne?" Rick's hand fell at his side when she backed away out of reach. "Hey…"

Unable to meet his gaze, she looked somewhere over his shoulder. "I have...its kinda getting late and I'm meeting Sasha in the morning."

"Well, ok," Rick said, slowly and hesitantly. "Are you ok?"

Michonne met his concerned gaze and almost faltered but pasted a smile onto her face. "I'm fine, why?"

Rick opened and closed his mouth seemingly lost for words, then sighed, "Nothing I guess, well, goodnight," he finally said.

"Night," Michonne responded, hating the stilted atmosphere between them.

She was the first one to leave, walking at her steady pace and refusing to look back. Michonne found her self standing at her door so deep in thought that she hardly realized she was home.

Michonne closed her eyes, her forehead resting against the door as she tried to settle her thoughts. Her mind kept on replaying the way he'd gently touched her hair, the way her skin had tingled beneath his fingertips and his whispered words, 'giving me what I need'. A shiver ran down her spine and she bit back a moan.

It was no use denying that she had been seconds away from kissing him and though enjoyable, it would have been a bad idea in the long run. They'd been at odds for so long; the Andrea thing on her part and his apology for the way he'd treated her went a long way in mending their friendship. She didn't want to ruin that or her relationship with Carl or with any of his extended family.

Michonne let out a shaky breath, uncertain about what she would do. She let herself into the house and navigated her way in the darkness to the stairs, and up to her room. The handle of the katana peeking under the pillow caught her eye as she changed into her nightwear and her brows knitted together. There was also the infuriating matter of Merle's continued presence in Alexandria. Rick had made that decision, a decision she didn't agree or was happy with.

Even though she overslept, Michonne was still rubbing sleep from her eyes as she made her way out of the house. Her dreams had been a combination of sweat sleeked bodies, rubbing and grinding against each other. Nightmarish moments were Rick ruthlessly exiled her, his cold voice instructing Merle to close the gates of Alexandria in her face, needless to say it made for a restless night.

Finding the man himself half-sitting on her porch railing so early in the morning, making unintelligible conservation with a bright-eyed Judith and a red solo cup in his hand, gave her pause. The sun's golden rays basking them in a cliché like beautiful glow almost made her roll her eyes at the universe's idea of a joke.

"What are-" She began only to stop abruptly when she also heard him talking at the same time.

"Wanted to catch you before-" Rick paused and smiled sheepishly. Judith who was studying her father's every reaction with a curious look in her eye, burst into giggles.

They stared at each other in silence that most likely lasted for just a second in reality but felt longer in her mind.

Michonne could feel her cheeks burning, the more intimate moments of her dreams attempted to push themselves to the forefront of her mind.

She was determined to act like nothing was amiss, that his unexpected presence and the inviting picture he made with his beautiful baby did not stir up any longing or memories within her.

Michonne gestured with her sheathed weapon in the general direction of the stairs. "I'm meeting up with Sasha…am probably running late."

Rick stood up and approached her slowly, holding his daughter protectively against his side. "So you said last night. We were passing by and wanted to wish you a good morning." He held her haze, his eyes searching hers. "And I wanted to check on you..."

After you ran off last night, remained unsaid but there was no doubt in her mind that's what he was thinking. Michonne looked away from him to the already bustling community with a sigh, torn between explaining her behaviour but also not comfortable revealing her thoughts and feeling to him just yet. From the corner of her eye, she saw him stiffen, his back ramrod straight and Judith began to fuss as if sensing the tension.

Michonne felt some relief when she heard her name being called, she walked around him to check, sliding the strap of the katana over her head as she went. Upon spying Sasha waving at her a few houses down the street, two long-range rifles on each shoulder. She waved back and indicated with a raised finger that she wouldn't be long.

Michonne turned back to face the unhappy father and daughter duo and she relented. "Look, I meant to say thank you, what you said last night meant a lot to me and after everything, I needed to hear that".

Rick casually handed the solo cup to Judith who immediately relaxed and started gnawing at it, his lips twisted into a humourless smile. "But?"

"Merle." She waited but when he didn't say anything and just fixed her with a look of displeasure, she shrugged and made to leave.

"Hey..." She felt his fingers putting pressure on upper her arm and letting go when she halted her progress down the stairs. "I came here because everyone is coming over for dinner." She opened and closed her mouth, intending to decline his invitation and he probably could tell because he immediately followed up with, "That's if you want to?"

"Rick, I can't be in-"

"Carl misses you," he cajoled.

Michonne laughed a little bit in disbelief, puzzled by the level of effort he was putting into it. "Well, I can't argue with that," she conceded, "I'll be there." She nodded, turned and walked away.

888

"But, Cherry Ripe?" Carl bleated, his voice projecting his disbelief.

Michonne laughed. "You almost sound offended, it's actually nice," she insisted.

Carl shook his head. "Why would anyone want chocolate mostly filled with fruit. It's not even chocolate!"

They'd been taking turns playing a lighthearted version of twenty questions and Carl's turn had descended into an argument over their favourite foods.

Michonne took a sip of her juice thoughtfully. "Ok, ok, my turn." Carl's raised his eyebrow expectantly. "If you could have any magical power, what would it be?"

Carl went quiet, a frown appearing on his face. Michonne was taken aback at the dark look that flashed in his eyes before his gaze fixated on the table. Confused, she caught Rick's eye directly across the table and he also seemed just as lost.

Rick himself had been quiet all night, unlike the man who had showed up to her house that morning. He'd been the one to let her into the house that evening- clad in a black shirt with its long sleeves rolled up to the elbows and a familiar pair of jeans- the two had not had a moment to finish their talk. It had taken her the whole day to come to the conclusion that leaving things unsaid between them only fostered further misunderstandings. Currently, they had an issue in common so that's where she would start as soon as the opportunity arose.

Returning her focus back to Carl, she sensed that her question had unwittingly dredged up a painful memories for him.

Michonne tried to rectify her mistake. "It's not a magical power or anything but if I could turn my katana into a lightsaber, that would be really cool," she ventured carefully. Her efforts were rewarded with a slow smile that grew as Carl looked up at her. "Just imagine, walkers cooked to perfection," she carried on.

"Ewww, gross," Carl yelled, laughing.

When he wasn't looking, Michonne exchanged a relieved look with Rick.

"Really Michonne, Star Wars, really?" Glenn chimed in from where he sat next to Maggie, causing everyone to join in on their conversation as they ventured to talk about movies.

After that the night progressed relatively smoothly after that with only one hiccup. Carl had tried to pass Judith off into her arms but Michonne pretended not to notice until he was forced to hand her over to his father.

Later on in the evening, when almost everyone else had gone and there was a lull in the conversation, Michonne stood up from her chair and piled the dirty dishes for her to take to the kitchen.

Trying to gather her thoughts for the conversation she needed to have with Rick, Michonne concentrated on filling the sink with warm water and squirted some dishwashing liquid into it. She gathered her locs up into a bun and used a scrunchy from the pocket of her pants to hold it in place. Familiar sun-kissed arms came into her line of vision as they dipped more plates into the water, he wiped his hands with a dish rag and leaned against the counter.

"You don't have to do that," Rick said, softly.

Michonne glanced over at him, he was playing with the dish rag pulling at the fraying strands of fabric, his brow furrowed. "It's the least I can do". She flicked the tap shut, squeezed some more soap onto a sponge and grabbed a plate. She was on her third plate, covering it up in soapy suds before she spoke again. "Are you okay?" She felt his probing gaze land on the side of her face.

"You've done a lot for me tonight".

Michonne cocked her head at him, questioningly.

"I've not heard Carl talk that much or laugh like that in a long time," Rick confided and held her gaze. "Thank you," he said, his voice gravelly, suffused with strong emotions.

Overwhelmed by his sincerirty and not trusting herself to speak, she nodded.

Rick grabbed a plate from the other sink and proceeded to wipe it down.

Michonne gasped and reacted without forethought, she grasped his wiping hand, halting its movements and blinked up at him.

Rick looked from her face to their joined hands and back to her face in apparent confusion. "What?"

"No," Michonne laughed disbelievingly, "you, what are you doing?" She said with some emphasis and stared at the plate in his hands. "Aren't you going to rinse that first?"

"No…"

Michonne caught his lips twitching which turned into a full-blown, playful smile.

"You should have seen your face," he sniggered.

Michonne slapped the hand that she had been holding, the sombreness of their earlier mood forgotten in light of his teasing mood. "It's unsanitary," she grumbled good-naturedly. She had to bite her cheek to keep from smiling too wildly and turned back to her task with haste.

"Right". His laughter petered out then gave way to a sigh, he turned to face her. "I told Daryl that Merle had to leave by the end of the week, his leg is mostly healed and we'll give him a supply of food, and a knife. It's more kindness than he deserves". He paused while rinsing off the soap suds from one of the plates. "I wanted to kill him when you told me what he did to you" he spoke candidly. He pushed away from the counter and started pacing. "Then Daryl tells me his brother wants him to return to Woodbury with him, like hell he is!" His eyes flashed in her direction.

Michonne watched him as he continued to pace the length of the kitchen, his fist clenched in obvious frustration. "I'm guessing that's why he wasn't here tonight," she surmised. She refused to feel bad that in addition to their argument, her presence at dinner had also meant Daryl couldn't attended as he was duty bound to guard his brother.

"We argued," Rick admitted, stopping in his trek across the kitchen, raking his hand through his hair. " He thinks it's his duty to be his brother's keeper".

Michonne wiped her hands on the rag and turned fully to face Rick, her arms crossed at her chest. "I don't know what's Merle's angle but I don't need to tell you that if you let Daryl go with him, he will be walking towards his probable death."

It didn't add up, why would Merle want to go back to Woodbury? Michonne assumed that someone had wanted him gone and to stay gone, they had even shot him to deter him from returning. Martinez- although almost as corrupt as the Governor had been- had let her escape the night she killed the Governor. She wondered if he'd been the one to exile him.

"Fuck! What do you think we should do?" Rick asked.

Before Michonne could respond, they both froze at the sound of gunfire.