Author's Note: Hello lovely followers. Thanks so much for taking the time out of your busy lives to read my story. I know you can pick any FF you choose so I am so thankful all of you who chose to read my FF. I'm trying something different with this chapter. As the plot thickens each characters POV chapters are becoming longer and longer. Long chapters are nice, but when chapters are too they become a chore to read, so I'm going to be posting Michonne, Rick and Carl's chapters separately.

11. Another Bride. Another Groom. Another Apocalyptic Afternoon

Michonne lay in postcoital bliss absolutely stunned by Rick's proposal. She knew that Rick loved her but she had no ideal he wanted to marry her.

"This isn't some crazy the world's ending let's throw caution to the wind kind of thing." Rick said after Michonne's prolonged silence.

"Stop acting like you can read my mind." Michonne said. "That was a stunned silence."

"Oh, is that a yes then?" Rick asked.

"Yes! Of course it's a yes!"

"Good because I don't want to play house anymore. I don't just want to marry you Michonne, I want you to adopt Carl and Judith and become their mother legally. If anything ever happens to me I don't want there to be a reason that the three of you are separated."

"Of course I will."

"After everything we've been through I can't see spending the rest of my life with anyone else." Rick told her.

"Michonne Grimes. Mrs. Michonne Grimes." She said testing the sound of the name out on her lips.

"I like the sound of that." Rick said taking her hand.

"Me too."

"We're going to be happy flame lily."

"Flame lily? What happened to angel face?"

"You still have an angel face, but I think flame lily is a more fitting term of endearment."

"Tattoos really turn you on, hun?" Michonne asked.

"They do when they're on you. Hey maybe I'll get Michonne tattooed across my chest."

"Please don't ever do that."

Rick laughed. "Don't think I can pull off the tatted up rock star look?"

"I love you just the way you are."

Rick didn't say anything he just pulled her into his arms. She listened to the steady beating of his heart. Every time Rick held her in his arms it felt right.

"Let's stay like this forever." Rick said with his eyes closed.

"I wish we could, but it's time to get breakfast started. Shane will be bringing Judith home any minute now." Michonne said as she reluctantly got out of bed. After a shower and a change of clothes she headed into the kitchen.

A few moments later Rick joined her. His hair was still wet from his shower. "I'm mak-in bac-on." He sang and danced over to the refrigerator.

"Promise me you'll always be this cute so long as we both shall live."

Rick crossed his heart and then handed her a carton of eggs. She started cracking eggs into a bowl while Rick fried up the bacon.

Their front door clicked as Shane let himself into their apartel. Michonne noticed a large scratch on his cheek.

"What happen, pick up line gone wrong?" Michonne asked.

"Carley Nguyen did this to me." Shane said as he let Judith down to the ground.

Michonne stopped whisking her eggs and looked up at Shane. "The investigative reporter from WABE?"

Shane nodded. "Turns out she lives four doors down from me."

"Really? I can't believe I've never run into her." Michonne said.

"Wait, you haven't heard the best part yet. Jude was actin real cranky when I brought her to my place yesterday I don't think she wanted me to watch her." Shane said.

"I'm sorry." Michonne said. "We should have warned you. She and Carl had a fight that day."

Shane shrugged and continued with his story. "Jude starts hollerin', I don't want you! I want daddy I want Mimi, Carley was down the hall takin all this in. I'm trying to calm Jude down but the poor little thing is having a melt down. She just keeps screamin how she don't like me for taking her from her daddy and Mimi, an' finally Carley comes over and she starts hitting me with her bag an' yellin cuz she thought I kidnapped Jude."

"Only you." Rick said as he closed his eyes and shook his head. "Something like this could only happen to you."

"S'ok, I got a date with her."

"What happened to Layla?" Rick wanted to know.

Shane shrugged. "Same thing that always happens."

Michonne rolled her eyes and went back to whisking the eggs.

"What, I can't help it if the ladies love Shane."

"Right, I forgot I was talking to LL Cool Shane." Michonne said drolly.

"Oh man, don't go bustin my balls like that on an empty stomach."

"Is that your not so subtle way of asking to stay for breakfast?" Michonne asked him.

"If you're offering."

"If your staying make yourself useful and set the table." Rick ordered Shane.

"I help!" Judith cried.

After washing Judith's hands Michonne sat her down on a stool and let her push the button on the toaster and then stack the toast on a plate.

Carl woke up just as breakfast was finished cooking and Michonne laughed. Rick always teased Carl about his knack for showing up just as the food got finished cooking.

"Morning Dad, morning Michonne." Carl greeted.

"Good morning Carl." Michonne said and handed him a platter of scrambled eggs. "Take this to the table please."

"Hey Shane."

"Mornin sleepy head." Shane said and ruffled Carl's hair. "Doesn't look much different now that how you usually wear it."

"I've seen your high school pictures. I wouldn't talk." Carl replied and sat down at the table.

"The skillets not on but you still got burned." Rick said.

After everyone had sat down, Rick cleared his throat. "I have an announcement to make, Michonne and I are getting married."

Michonne looked at Carl's face. She wanted to see his reaction. His honest reaction.

"Really?" He asked.

"Really, really." Rick replied.

"So we'll be like an official family, like the Grimes family 2.0." He said smiling just as wide as the two of them were.

Michonne smiled her moment of panic over. She was worried that Carl might have been upset, but she realized that just like her he wanted stability and normalcy when and where ever he could get it.

"Congratulations!" Shane said.

"How bout being your old man's best man?" Rick asked Carl.

"What about Shane?"

"Yeah, what about Shane?" Shane echoed.

"I can have more than one best man."

"Calm down everyone." Michonne said. "Weddings take planning one doesn't just throw a wedding together over night."

"Michonne when I say get married, I mean get married here and now. When all of this is over I promise you can have the wedding of your dreams."

"How are you going to get married when we're stuck in here?" Carl wanted to know.

"The fishbowl is a government building there's bound to be someone there with the legal authority to marry us."

"So you gonna go for it?" Shane asked Michonne.

"If we can find someone to preform the marriage, yes."

"We'll find someone." Rick assured her.

"I'll get the ball rolling, Michonne said, tomorrow at work I'll talk to Deann and see if she knows anyone with the authority to marry us."

Michonne had just read her students to sleep when Staff Sargent Deann came to relieve her for break. As she tried to figure out how to bring up the question of wanting to get married she realized how truly strange her life had become. How did she even go about framing such a question?

"Is there any way to be married while we're in quarantine?" Michonne asked. She figured honest and direct was the best way to go.

"A wedding?"

"No a marriage."

"How about having a wedding?" Deann asked. "Everyone here is at an all time low, and I think a wedding is just the sort of event people need in order to remember that life has a purpose, and that there's hope. I'll talk to a few people and see what we can come up with."

For the rest of the day all Michonne could think about was the possibility of having a wedding. She was happy enough just to be getting married to Rick, but if they could pull off a wedding she wouldn't object. Who knew when things were going to be normal enough to have a wedding out side of the Q.U.A.D. There were certainly enough places to have a wedding. One of the ballrooms in the convention center. The reception room in the hotel. The small patch of fenced in woods within the Q.U.A.D'S grounds.

She made a mental checklist in her head of what she had on hand for a wedding. She had packed her nicest dress when she went back to Possum Holler because Rick was going to take her out for a fancy dinner. She even had a ring! Michonne had taken her great-great-grandmother's antique ring because she'd been too nervous to leave it in an empty house for three weeks. It was an irreplaceable family heirloom and her mother would have never forgiven her if she lost it. Rick had a nice suit for the same reason she brought her nicest dress. He would need a ring though. Perhaps they could find something suitable in the gift shop. If she did have a wedding here and live to tell about it, what a story it would make for their grandchildren!

Michonne didn't hear back from Deann until the end of her shift, but the wait was well worth it because Master Sargent David Wolf was on board with the idea. He agreed to not only let them use the grand ballroom for their wedding, but to marry them himself. He invited everyone to their wedding, even the military personnel. Michonne didn't mind really nothing in life was free. This wedding was quid pro quo, she and Rick were getting a free wedding and as for the Staff Sargent, well what better accolades were there of the success of people being able to maintain a normal life inside of a Q.U.A.D than a marriage?

The word of their wedding spread quickly and the entire Q.U.A.D seemed intrigued by the idea. It made Michonne and Rick into something of celebrities. All day long people would stop them in the hallways and congratulate them on getting married. Others volunteered their services. A local DJ offered to provide music. Shane's current woman of the moment, Carley, told them that the camera crew from WABE would be more than happy to record and take pictures of their wedding. Others volunteered to help decorate the ballroom. Michonne was starting to see that Deann was right people did need this wedding. Their wedding gave everyone hope because it meant that people could still come together despite everything falling apart.

On the weekends Michonne, Amy and Annalise had started getting together at Annalise's suite for drinks, food, and to talk about anything but the end of the world. This weekend the topic of discussion was Michonne's wedding.

"I can't believe you're getting married. It's so romantic, like something out of a fairy tale." Amy said hugging a pillow from Annalise's couch over her heart.

"Too bad I can't say the same for the honeymoon. I don't know what where going to do for that."

"Forget the honeymoon, what are you going to do for a dress?" Annalise asked.

"Oh my god! Amy shouted suddenly and jumped out of her seat. "I can totally make you a wedding dress!"

"Really? Out of what?"

"Out of the beautiful silk chiffon peignoir I found in my room."

"It would be an honor, but please I don't want anything too fancy."

"I'm picturing an Edwardian ethereal princess gown with a long train, Amy said, I'll sketch it out so you can share my vision."

"If you want, I could help plan your wedding. I used to plan parties and charity events all the time. It will feel a little like having my old life back." Annalise said.

"Yes, please." Michonne said. "Thank you both so much. Dare I say that I'm actually starting to feel giddy about my wedding?"

"Go ahead and get giddy girl. Everyone deserves to feel that way about their wedding." Annalise told her.

Michonne allowed herself to giggle. She couldn't remember the last time she had. It wasn't as if she didn't have anything to be happy about, she did, but this was a celebration. She had beaten the odds and found that one person out of the billions of people on the earth who wanted to be with her, just her.

When she got home Carl's friends were over. They reminded Michonne of the watches in the Salvador DalĂ­ Persistence of Memory painting. His friends were lying around the living room floor, draped over the couch, or lying half on the couch half on the floor as if they'd melted into the carpet.

"Carl told us about your wedding. If you want we can make you a bouquet." Tamekia offered. "We're growing some flowers in our Horticulture class."

"We can make you a flower crown too, if you'd like." Keisha added.

"I would love that, thank you very much." Michonne said truly touched."If you wouldn't mind I'll need some flowers for my little flower girl too." She said pointing to Judith.

"Aww, does that mean our wittle bitty Carl is gonna be the ring-barer?' Duane asked in a grandma voice."Oh my, they grow up so fast." He added and pinched Carl's cheek.

"Shut up!" Carl replied and hit him with a pillow from the couch.

Michonne giggled again. She was going to be down right delirious by the end of the day. She needed that feeling though because tonight was her first class on how to kill biters. No matter how much happiness she felt, she couldn't forget that she was in the end of days.

Dinner that evening was just her, Carl and Judith. Rick was still at work, but was going to meet her in the training center after his shift ended, which meant that she had to be the one to lie to Carl about where she was going and what she was doing. She hated to lie to him, but Rick didn't want him to know about killing biters. Michonne wasn't sure if Carl should learn to kill biters or not, but she didn't think Rick should be lying to him about it. Carl was a lot smarter than Rick gave him credit for and sooner or later he would figure it out.

The training center was in the receiving dock of the convention center. With the concrete slab walls and floors and the high small windows Michonne could see why they chosen such a place. The unmistakable smell of decomposing flesh hung in the air like an unwelcomed visitor. Michonne wrinkled her nose against the smell. There was a young soldier who looked like Opie Taylor already in the room waiting for them. Behind him biters were being held in cages that reminded Michonne of the starting gates that racehorses waited behind. They were making those ungodly sounds deep within their throats that never failed to make the hairs on the back of Michonne's neck stand up.

"Where does Carl think we are?" Rick asked Michonne as soon as he saw her.

"Having a few celebratory wedding drinks at the hotel bar." She replied. She was still feeling some type of way about having to lie to Carl, but now was not the time to bring up that sore subject. Instead she looked around the training room. On a long metal table beside her were a neat pile of gray jumpsuits for them to put on, and Michonne guessed it was to prevent blood from splattering all over them, It was not a comforting thought. As Michonne looked around she was shocked to see that Carley Nguyen was one of the people struggling to get into a gray jumpsuit. Shane must have invited her. Morgan, Tyreese, and Annalise were the only other people in the room, and Michonne had the distinct feeling that this class was not something the army knew about. She slipped into a jumpsuit of her own and Rick helped her to pull the hood over her head and cover her locs. She hoped that there wouldn't be problems if the Master Sargent found out.

"My name is Corporal Gavin Carmichael and welcome to bite club. The first rule of bite club is, you do not talk about bite club."

Michonne rolled her eyes so hard she wouldn't have been surprised if they popped out of her head and went flying across the room. This was the person that was going to teach them to kill biters? She had already had her doubts because he looked too young to be in the army, let alone commanding a group of people to kill something. If she didn't trust Rick so much she would have walked right out of the room.

"The first thing you need to do is forget everything Hollywood told you about maiming or killing. None of you are superheros with superhero strength. You won't be hacking limbs, cracking skulls or breaking necks, not without expending so much energy that it would make the fight counter productive. The second thing you need to know is if given the choice between fight or flight, choose flight every single time. I will teach you to kill biters, but the best plan of action is to always outmaneuver, outrun, outlive."

"I certainly won't have trouble with the outrun part." said Carley who was standing beside Michonne.

"You and me both." Michonne replied.

"Maiming to kill is the key to survival. This is not a video game where you'll be pulling off one hit kills. Take out the parts that biters need to hunt you or hurt you, eyes, hands, mouth, and then go for a blow to the temples where the skull bone is the thinnest. Crack the skull like the shell of a crab, and then the coup de main to the brains. Remember unless the biter is severely decomposing it's going to take a lot of effort to crack or puncture a skull. "

Michonne smiled at the fencing term and decided that her historical fencing training would be her key to killing biters. She would take out the biter just like an opponent in a fencing match.

"In a minute I'm going to release the biters, your first instinct maybe to run, but don't. Fear will kill you faster than anything else. Know that they're coming for you and they want to bite you. The the only time you fight instead of run is when you can't run."

Michonne braced herself. Gavin went over to the cages and pushed a button. There was a noise like that of an apartment buzzer and the doors swung open simultaneously and the biters slowly lumbered out. Even though Gavin told Michonne not to run she almost did. Even without their teeth the biters were intimidating.

"Don't be afraid that you don't have a weapon either. I've placed them all around this room. Find one and then take them out. The things in this room may not look like typical weapons, but you need to be innovative, anything can become a weapon if you know how to use it as one."

A biter came for Michonne she fought down her fear and panic and began looking around for a weapon, any weapon and the biter got too close to Michonne. She spun out of it's way to avoid being grabbed and then spotted an ice pick sitting on a table and picked it up. The weight of it felt good in her hands it was not long enough to be an effective long distance weapon, but in close combat it would do. The ice pick was lightweight and was easy enough to handle it reminded her of a misericord dagger, a weapon she had used before, and so it made wielding the ice pick that much easier.

The biter was still coming for her. The closer it got the more she wanted to scream and run. There wasn't a part of her that wasn't trembling in fear. It can't hurt you, but you can hurt it. She repeated to herself over and over. She waited for the biter to come with in striking distance, though the smell was enough to make her gag. The biter grabbed her and Michonne let out a scream. She couldn't help it! The feel of if's skin was one of the most unpleasant sensations she'd ever felt in her life it was like being grabbed by a piece of rotten flyblown meat.

Don't panic. She told her self. and stabbed it in the eye with the ice pick. It can't hurt you, but you can hurt it. She stuck the ice pick further into it's eye socket and left it there. Breaking the biters grip she went to go look for a weapon heavy enough to cause some blunt force trauma. She found an iron fireplace poker and swung it as hard as she could at the biters' temples like Gavin had told her. The biters head swung around and Michonne hit it in the head again and again and again until the biter fell to the ground. Stepping on the biters head to keep it from moving, Michonne grabbed the ice pick from it's eye and stabbed it repeatedly into the wound she caused on the side of it's head, and followed up with several heavy blows from the fireplace poker. When she was done she dropped her weapons to the ground with a clatter and sobbed.

Rick pulled her into his arms. "Sssh it's all right. You got it. You did good."

Michonne continued to sob into Rick's chest.

She had done it. She had learned to kill a biter. This morning she'd been planning her wedding and now she was bludgeoning skulls. She looked back at the mess she made, they could call them "biters" all they wanted to, but all Michonne could see on the floor in a heap of blood, bones and tissue mass was a human. All over the floor there were dead bodies with their heads smashed in. The blood and carnage reminded her of the school shooting. So violent so senselessly violent. At one point in her life she thought that she could escape from violence, but now she realized what a pipe dream that was, this is what the world was coming too.

"I want to go Rick." Michonne said. "Please let's get out of here." She was still shaking all over.

"You OK?" Rick asked.

"No."

"I'm sorry Michonne, maybe that wasn't such a good idea."

"No, I needed to learn, but it's just hard. Can we leave now, please?"

"Of course let's go."

They left without saying anything to anyone.

Carl and Judith were asleep when Michonne and Rick got back to their apartel. Michonne was glad because she didn't think she would have the strength to lie to Carl right now. Sighing softly Michonne brushed the hair out of Carl's eyes, and took the book he was clutching on to through the debts of his sleep and put it on his nightstand. Next she went over to Judith and pulled her covers around her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. It broke her heart to see how innocent and vulnerable they were in their sleep. If anything were to happen to them she didn't know how she'd be able to handle it. Let them be safe Michonne prayed. No matter what happens to me, please keep them safe. She took one last look at the sleeping children before leaving the room and then stepping into the shower. She stayed in the shower until all of the hot water ran out, and yet she still could not wash away the feeling of the biter's blood off of her. After she dried off and put on her nightgown she climbed into bed and curled up into Rick. Neither of them spoke as they watched the news. The reporter on TV was talking about another spike in the number of deaths the Cadere Virus had caused. It had now claimed the lives of fifteen percent of the world's population.

"Are you sure you're going to be OK?" Rick asked. He was rubbing her arm softly with the tips of his fingers and she loved it when he did that. It was such a soft delicate touch and yet it made her feel so protected.

Michonne nodded at the TV. "Watching the news I realized just how lucky we are, but luck doesn't last forever. I hated what I had to do today, but I did it because I'll do anything to keep all of us safe. Whatever it takes to keep us safe to keep us alive, I'll do it."

"So will I." Rick said.

"I know you will." Michonne said. "It's one of the many reasons I'm marrying you. We're better together."

It made her sad beyond words to think of her own mother out there somewhere wondering what had become of her children. The pain she was going through must be unbearable, if she was even still alive. It was only a few rare times she let herself think about what might have happened to her family out there, to dwell on it would mean to lose it completely, but the love and the strength of her new family is what kept her going.

"Did I tell you that I have a ring?" Michonne asked.

"You've got a ring? That's not right aren't I supposed to drop three months salary on an engagement ring?

"Even if we weren't stuck in here I wouldn't want you spending three months salary on a ring because De Beers told you to. Besides my ring is an antique passed down from my great-great grandmother." She rolled over and pulled the ring out of the lock box she kept in her nightstand.

"It's beautiful." Rick said examining the ring.

"It was my mom's dream to see me walk down the aisle with this ring on my finger." Michonne told Rick.

"I'm sorry she won't be here to see it, but if we get to meet up when all of this is over, I promise you your mother will get to see you walk down the aisle wearing that ring."

If you can hear me momma, dad, don't worry about me. Michonne thought. She allowed herself to be swallowed up by Rick's hug. His embrace felt like a promise of security. I'm safe and surrounded by people who love me. I'm getting married to the most wonderful man in the world. I wish you could meet Rick he's a good man and he will protect me with his life. He's got two amazing children. Carl and Judith, I know you and dad would love them. They're my new family and they need me and I need them. We take care of each other just like you and dad took care of me. I wish you where here so I could thank you in person for teaching me to be a good enough person to be able to tell when a man is good enough for me.

Rick got up off of the bed. "Now that I have a ring I want to do this right." He dropped to one knee. "Michonne would you do me the honor of making me and our children the happiest people on the planet by becoming my wife?"

"Yes." Michonne replied.

Rick slid the ring on the fourth finger of her left hand and then kissed her.