A/N: Alright. So I think some of you probably saw this coming, but we've reached the end of the story! This is the last chapter (the epilogue, tbh) and I'm super sad about it. I didn't expect to enjoy writing this as much as I did, and I certainly didn't expect you guys to like it, considering the time frame we were dealing with. (I think most Richonners can attest to Alexandria being a bit of a dark period for us, haha.) But I guess that's why it was fun to create a different narrative, and I'm so thankful to you all for coming along for the ride. This is somehow my most popular story to date, and that's just… whew. You guys are so freaking awesome. Like I can't put into words how much I enjoy hearing from you all, and a special shoutout to y'all that share your thoughts every chapter – all the guests, blackwomanwriter, charrrmed, HeartToSteel, lanie-love09, Bizzie106, birdnmouse, Tobi-Is-Fluffy-Chan, severelybabykryptonite, focusedOnProsperity, LadyLuckAJ, Alex311, snuggy29, Siancore – you the real MVPs! I'm sitting here like an idiot trying not to cry, but it really means everything that you've taken the time out of your lives to read and review. Seriously. Every one of you has given me a reason to smile, and I can't thank you enough.
I plan to start my next story fairly soon, which will be the sequel to Don't Let Me Down (I'm equal parts scared and excited about this, lol), so I hope to see you there! But if not, all I can say is, thanks for this amazing ride, you guys! I love you! –Ashley
Epilogue
"I guess we're doing this again, huh?"
3 months later.
"Shit." Michonne was attempting to step out of her closet, toting a large box, but nearly tripped over Rick's shoes, inexplicably in the middle of the floor. For nearly two years, those things were always on his feet, and now, they were constantly in her path. Rolling her eyes, she picked them up, grabbed her own heels from her bed, and continued downstairs.
There, she found Carl leaned over the kitchen table, listening to an iPod he'd borrowed from Mikey, which made her frown immediately. She dropped her box and shoes, and pulled one of the earbuds from his ear, looking at him expectantly.
He gazed up at her, both confused and surprised. "Whoa, you look awesome," he marveled, taking in the sight of her.
"Thank you," she answered begrudgingly. She was trying to be mad at him, and here he was complimenting her. "Aren't you grounded?"
"You mean I can't listen to music either?" he exhaled sharply, frustrated with his parents beyond belief.
She eyed him suspiciously, knowing that he knew exactly what his punishment entailed. "Your dad said no electronics."
"He told you that?"
"He tells me everything." She held out her hand, waiting for him to hand over the MP3 player. He did so about as slowly as humanly possible. "You mad?"
"I'm just tired of being on punishment," he sighed, stretching his arms over his head. "I think I was way worse at the prison, and no one ever said anything."
"Yeah, well… this ain't the prison, my friend."
"No kidding."
"Listen," she smirked, wrapping the headphone cord around the iPod. She made a mental note to return it to Mikey at the party they were headed to. "Nobody told you to skip school. If you'd stop doing stupid shit to make Enid like you, maybe you wouldn't keep getting in trouble."
"Well then what am I supposed to do?" he frowned. "How did my dad get your attention?"
She had to smile as she thought back to where she and Rick were a year ago. She remembered it well, the night she began to really pay attention to Rick Grimes, the person. The two of them out looking for the Governor, making small talk and big talk. Becoming friends. The randomness of his conversations always made her forget about the rest of the world. It took her a long time to figure out whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, and even longer to stop punishing herself for deciding that it was good. But she got there. "He just talked to me," she eventually revealed with a small shrug. "Which, I know, isn't the easiest thing for a teenager to do, but... you're never gonna get her attention if you're never allowed to see her."
He chuckled at her advice. Indeed, being grounded didn't bode well for him trying to get to know Enid. Even with her and Ron having broken up, he just seemed to be failing on all accounts. "Do you think we could have her over for dinner one night?"
"In a week," she nodded, "we can definitely discuss that as a possibility." She was trying not to be amused with how nervous he seemed. "Are you coming to the party?"
"Do I have to?"
"No," she granted, shaking her head. "If you do, at least you'll get to see your friends. But don't think you're gonna sit here and watch movies while we're gone, Carl. I'm gonna feel that TV the second I walk in."
"Fine." Another frustrated sigh escaped his lips and he shot up to go throw on a decent shirt and grab his jacket.
"Adjust your attitude," she advised as she headed into the living room, where she'd left Rick and Judith nearly an hour ago. She hadn't heard a peep from them, and the television was off, so she figured they must have fallen asleep. But the actual sight of Judith snuggled into the sweet spot between her father's neck and chest nearly killed Michonne. "That's my spot," she playfully whispered to their baby girl. She then leaned over the back of the couch to run her fingers through Rick's hair.
His eyes fluttered open and he stared up at Michonne, looking like a goddess beneath the warm glow of the sunset filling the room. "Hey," he greeted her groggily.
"Hey," she smiled back at him. "You ready?"
Those two words always managed to light up his face and he nodded. "I guess we're doing this again, huh?"
"Come on." She began to gently stroke Judith's back as well, coercing her awake. "Everyone deserves their welcome." Aaron and Daryl had brought in a couple nearly two weeks ago, and this was the community's first opportunity to give them their party.
"Where's Carl?" he wondered, sitting up from his position. It was then that he noticed Michonne's plum-colored dress, and how absolutely perfect she looked in it. It was long-sleeved and backless, and it contoured to her immaculate shape, causing Rick to just stare at her. "Jesus," he declared in awe.
"What?"
"You look incredible."
"Oh." She self-consciously looked down at herself and gave him a half smile. "Thank you."
He approached her with a devilish smirk on his face as he handed over Judith so that he could retrieve his shoes. "This is disrespectful to our neighbors, you know."
"What?" she laughed.
"You're gonna have everyone jealous. The women, of you, and the men, of me."
She smiled flirtatiously in response as he moved towards the table, her eyes studying him bent over to step into his boots. She loved and hated how sexy she found him, even doing the simplest things. She could already tell it was going to be a long night, just based on the way they were looking at each other. They hadn't even left the house yet, and she was already squeezing her thighs together, trying not to think about fucking him. Having to wait until they got home again would truly be a feat.
"I see you actually found some stuff," he called out to her, thankfully interrupting her rampant thoughts. He was referring to the box that she'd brought from upstairs, full of baby clothes and a couple of small, knitted blankets.
"Yeah, the attic was a goldmine," she confirmed, her focus shifting to the toddler she had perched on her hip. She smiled at her in her adorable gold dress, and her black and gold headband to match. "Maggie will have plenty to work with by the time the baby gets here."
"She keeps asking me for Judith's crib," he chuckled, returning to where the two of them stood, near the door. He handed over Michonne's chocolate-colored pumps in exchange for the baby, once more. "I wanna give her a phone book and tell her to leave our kid's stuff alone."
"She knew better than to ask me," she laughed back, holding onto his shoulder as she put on her shoes. As they waited for Carl, it was Daryl who came trampling down the stairs with his usual boorish scowl on his face.
"Don't y'all look like a happy couple," he commented casually. And they did look rather perfect together. Rick's tan button-down complemented the color of Michonne's dress well. They looked like autumn personified. They smiled at one another knowingly, but said nothing in reply. "Carol oughta be down in a minute," he added.
"We should head over," Michonne said to Rick, having little interest in waiting for or arriving with her. She began to grab jackets for everyone, thankful when Carl finally appeared, so that she wouldn't have to. "Morgan said he'd meet us there."
"All right," Daryl nodded, understanding the chasm between Carol and Michonne, and that it wouldn't be fixed anytime soon. "I can wait for 'em both."
As Carl came into the circle, Michonne noticed that he had not only put on a fresh set of clothes, but also brushed his typically messy hair. "Did you take a shower?" she teased him.
"I washed my face and put on some deodorant," he admitted shyly. "And maybe brushed my teeth."
"And combed your hair," Rick chimed in, amused as well.
"Well you guys got dressed up, I figured it couldn't hurt."
Michonne smiled at him and squeezed his shoulder lightly, urging him out of the door. "I'm sure Enid will think you look great."
Together, the four of them continued out of the house and up the street towards Deanna's. The night was cool and the streets were quiet, aside from their footsteps against the pavement, and Judith's light babbling as she tried to pull out of her father's embrace. It seemed that she wanted to get down and walk, just like everyone else.
"All right, all right," Rick relented, setting her down on the sidewalk between himself and Michonne. He took her right hand into his left and they all watched with smiles as she shakily set forth with the rest of them. It didn't take long before she was practically running, dragging him along with her.
"You know," Michonne started to Carl as the two of them fell behind a bit, "some girls really love seeing a guy with a baby."
"Really?" He looked over at her, understanding that she was giving him pointers for his courtship with Enid.
"I'm not saying it always works, but…" Her words trailed off as she focused in on Rick and just how adorable he was with his daughter. It got her going every single time. "But when it does…"
He nodded thoughtfully at Michonne's advice, happy to have something he could latch onto. He took care of his sister anyway, but if he could use that to his advantage, he was definitely going to take it.
"Hey," Rick turned around and stopped in the sidewalk as they began to approach Deanna's walkway. He had already forgotten the names of the guests of honor. "What are these people's names again?"
"Denise and Heath," she shook her head, reminding him for what had to be the third time since their arrival. "Denise is our new doctor, so it'd be nice if you could at least remember her."
"Dr. Cloyd," Carl nodded in agreement. "She's super nice."
"How would you know?" he asked his son as he picked up his daughter.
"Michonne took us for check-ups yesterday. She said I'm in perfect health," he declared proudly. "And she said Judith is shockingly healthy, considering she was born after all this started."
"Did she now?" Rick was both glad to hear it and confused as to why Michonne hadn't informed him of any of this, before or after. "I guess I didn't need to know about this, huh?"
"Sucks to be excluded, doesn't it," she winked playfully. "But it really did just slip my mind since they both got clean bills of health."
"I don't know how I feel about that," he eyed her suspiciously, then looked down to his giggling daughter. "No one tells me anything around here."
"Well I can tell you that you're scheduled for an appointment on Tuesday. Now you know something."
"Me?" He sounded terrified by that idea. "I'm fine."
"Yes, you are," she joked. "But let's just make sure the doctor says so, too."
"And what about you? You just get off scot-free because you make the arrangements?"
"Actually," she retorted as they reached the steps of Deanna's already lively home, "I signed us both up for Tuesday, so you wouldn't have to do it alone."
"Oh."
"Yeah, 'oh,'" she mocked him with a smile. She watched Carl run up the short staircase, and she placed her hand on Rick's back as the three of them entered the home behind him, surveying the room for people they knew. She immediately spotted Maggie and Sasha near the kitchen, Deanna in the living room with Glenn and Heath, and then she noticed Jessie standing near the window of the den, pretending she hadn't seen them come in. She made the deliberate choice to head in the opposite direction of her, towards the kitchen. "Should we grab something to eat first?" she suggested to Rick.
"Yeah, that's a good place to start," he agreed. He knew all the people he could see in the kitchen and therefore wouldn't have to make awkward small talk. He really hated these parties.
But as soon as they began to retreat from the foyer, Jessie found herself trying to get Rick's attention before she could stop herself. She just couldn't bear the thought of him ignoring her all night, yet again. "Rick?" she called after him, though she felt a bit nervous when Michonne turned as well. But she only took Judith from him so that he could speak to Jessie alone.
"Stay close," he requested of her quietly, nearly inaudibly, before turning toward his neighbor. He was hesitant to speak with her, as they hadn't had a conversation longer than twenty seconds in months, but he made sure to look her in the eye as he approached. "What's up?"
"Hi," she greeted him.
"Hey."
Her warm hazel eyes searched him for any of what she used to see, but it was so far gone, she didn't even recognize him. She'd known it for weeks, even months now, but it was hard to accept, all the same. "Look, I understand that this isn't... that we can't ever be anything substantial. You and Michonne are... " She was nodding as she glanced down at his left hand, noticing, yet again, that his wedding ring was gone. That he'd moved on to something else entirely. "And that's fine," she assured him. "But I'd like it if we could be friends."
He squinted, trying to get a gauge on what she was trying to actually say – that she wanted to be in his life, regardless of the circumstances. But it just reminded him of when Pete said the same – that they should be friends, essentially because they had to be. And that just wasn't true. "Is that really what you want?"
"What?" she blinked, taken aback by his response.
"We can try that, if that's really what you want," he stated honestly. He couldn't help but glance back to make sure Michonne was still nearby. "But I don't know what you get out of that. What a bunch of forced interactions will really do for you. Because at the end of the day, that's all they'll be."
"I-." She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing was coming out.
"You don't know me, Jessie. Not the real me. And I'm not sayin' this to be callous, but just because it might just be easier on us both if we keep it that way."
"Wow," she nodded, her eyes beginning to well with tears. She wasn't sure how she managed to conjure up so much emotion for a man that, admittedly, she barely knew. But with her husband gone, she thought her life was taking a different turn, and Rick just kept cutting her off at the pass. "You'd think I was the one that initiated this whole thing."
"I will take the blame for that," he nodded as well. "Just like I did the last time I said this. But you gotta believe people when they tell you it's over. They don't wanna say it, so it's usually the truth."
"You're right," she exhaled nervously. "I'm sorry."
"You don't have to apologize," he said, already stepping back from their conversation. "I wish I'd come to all these conclusions sooner…"
"Me, too," she retorted sarcastically, her eyebrows raised as she took a sip of her drink. "I guess I'll see you around."
"Enjoy your evening," he finished. He instantly turned to where Michonne was sitting on the steps, playing with Judith, pretending she hadn't been listening to every word they said. He moved to take a seat next to her, sighing heavily as he rested his head against the bannister and looked at her.
"That was brutal," she commented, keeping her eyes on the baby walking across her lap. "But I'm proud of you for saying it."
"I feel like an asshole," he chuckled quietly.
"Well, you are one. But… you never really pretended to be otherwise," she had to admit. "People tell you who they are, and we ignore them, because we want them to be who we want them to be."
"This is fact."
"Plus, you have this way about you," she said, sitting Judith in her lap. She looked him in the eye as she spoke now, remembering all the reasons she loved him. "When you love someone, Rick… it feels like the sun was shining on you," she explained, speaking from experience. "And when you took that away, it felt… cold. All of a sudden. It's very hard to adjust to."
"Michonne, I never stopped loving you."
"Well, it felt like you did."
"And I never loved her."
She brought her hand to his face, tenderly holding his cheek as she often did when being candid with him. "It probably felt like you did."
"So guess who was at our house 'til after midnight," Maggie teased, her eyebrow quirked as she gazed across the kitchen counter at Michonne.
"No!" Michonne slapped the marble surface excitedly, her smile wide as ever. "Again?"
Rick stood beside Michonne, looking at Maggie and Rosita's expressions of giddiness, feeling lost in their conversation, yet again. He'd been standing in Deanna's kitchen with the three ladies for over an hour, and every topic of discussion was something else he had no idea about. The gossip had apparently been running rampant in Alexandria. "Who?"
"And he had lunch there too," Rosita added, sidestepping Rick's question. They were so engaged in their chitchat, they were all ignoring him, really. "She made sandwiches, they shared a couple of beers..."
"So they basically had two dates in one day," Maggie appended.
"Who?" he pressed, an endearingly confused frown taking over his face.
"That's not adorable," Michonne was grinning. "So are we all on board that this is an official thing now?"
"I wasn't sure," Rosita admitted, pulling up from the counter to take a sip of her wine. "But I think you guys were right."
"We're always right," Maggie beamed, pleased with herself and Michonne's prowess. "We called this one way in the beginning."
Rick exhaled in exasperation, in disbelief that no one was going to answer him. "Somebody is gonna have to start defining some pronouns here."
"Sasha and Spencer," Michonne hushed him. "Keep up."
"Spencer Monroe?"
"Yes," the three of them hissed back at him in unison.
"He's been tryin' to talk to Sasha since our welcome party," Maggie added. "She obviously wasn't into it for a while, but it seems like she's finally started respondin'."
"Well wait," he wondered obliviously. "What was he doing over there until midnight?"
Michonne gave him a curious frown, feeling like he should know the answer to that better than anyone. "What do you think?"
"No fuckin' way."
"Did you think everyone was celibate around here but you?" Rosita joked.
"Well obviously not," he retorted, gesturing towards Maggie's barely-there baby bump. "But I thought she was still doing her 'I love Jesus' thing."
"That's been over forever, Rick."
"Well no one told me." Shaking his head, he took a sip from his own glass just as Tara and Eugene came traipsing into the kitchen, with Glenn not far behind. Night had fallen, and everyone was appropriately tipsy for the ongoing festivities.
"What's this powwow about?" Tara greeted the foursome, taking position beside Rosita. "What'd we miss?"
"Nothin'," Rick answered for the group. He liked knowing something other people didn't, and he wanted to keep it that way.
"Nothing you don't know already," Rosita informed her, ignoring Rick yet again. "We talked about the new couple, and then Olivia's crush on Daryl, Jon hitting on Michonne, Daryl and Carol, Sasha and Spencer. The usual shit."
"Nice," she nodded coolly. "You guys are also welcome to talk about me and Holly outside of my presence. And in fact, I insist."
The small group laughed in reply, but Michonne couldn't help but notice that they were all still stuck together, even after being at Alexandria for months now. They still gravitated towards their own. "We're really shitty at this mingling thing," she proclaimed with a drunken laugh as she leaned in to Rick.
"We all end up grouped together every single time," Glenn agreed, shaking his head, taking Maggie's hand into his. "We're the worst."
"It's clearly because we're the best," Tara inserted. "Birds of a feather and all that…"
Rick discreetly rested his hand at the small of Michonne's back, grazing her ass in the process. He was suddenly interested in being grouped with just her. Seven was feeling like a bit of a crowd. "I'm ready to go home," he whispered into her ear.
Smiling at the sensation of his warm fingers on her bare back, she lightly swatted his thigh and then refilled each of their glasses with the Pinot they'd been drinking all evening. "Be good," she whispered back to him. She wouldn't have minded getting out of there either, but it was barely 8:00pm. It would've been rude.
"Well that's no fun," he was smiling back at her, doing a very bad job of not giving their private conversation away.
"What are you two whisperin' about," Maggie noticed Michonne giggle. "We're supposed to be sharin' secrets together."
"This one's for just the two of us," she shot back, the grin not leaving her face. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Carl on the couch with Judith in his lap, and Enid sitting next to him, which made her smile even brighter. Her mind instantly drifted back to the prison, and those wonderful autumn days when she and Rick were just getting to know one another. "Do we have any cards?" she proposed rather suddenly. A good poker game would be a perfect way to pass the time.
"I can ask Deanna," Maggie nodded. "And if not, we have some back at the house."
"Are we playin' poker?" Eugene asked hopefully. He was already prepared to head home for their cards, if need be.
"Yes," Glenn patted his back reassuringly. "We should find Abraham and Daryl and Carol to see if they wanna join."
Rick looked at Michonne, hoping that she was thinking the same thing he was in that moment. It was a perfect opportunity for them to sneak away, even if just for a moment. She gazed up at him perceptively, letting him know that it was all right to proceed. "While y'all are doing that," he declared, "we're gonna go outside for a minute."
"For what?" Eugene frowned, confused.
"…To smoke," Rick returned as they grabbed their glasses and hightailed it towards the garage.
"Since when do they smoke?" Rosita wondered, equally puzzled by their sudden departure.
Maggie only chuckled knowingly and shook her head. "They don't."
The two of them entered the empty garage with giant sighs of relief, Michonne immediately stepping out of her heels while Rick used a vacant shelf to lean against as a seat. He watched her as she walked in circles around the fairly large space, examining all the other shelves full of food.
"Why are you all the way over there?" he called out to her. He gulped down what was left of his wine and sat the glass on the floor. "Get over here."
She immediately sauntered his way, turned on by the way his eyes were narrowed on her, and as always, the way he licked his lips. She approached him coolly, standing between his legs while he held her hips. "What do you want?" she grinned.
"You," he retorted simply and sincerely.
"Here?" she pressed, already knowing the answer. She ran her free hand along his thigh, amused by the look on his face in response to her touch.
"Yes." He pulled her in close so that she could feel his bulge as he squeezed her ass. "Now."
"There are forty people in there that could walk out here at any moment, you know."
"I don't care," he whispered. He was already lifting her dress as he watched her finish her drink as well.
She leaned into him, setting her glass down behind him, and then cupped his face. She ran her fingers through his curls as she gazed into his lust-filled eyes. They both knew that the thrill of possibly getting caught was half the fun. She went in for a fast and messy kiss before pulling back to look at him once more. Her man of many words had so few when it was time to get busy. She smiled at him sexily as she touched her thumb to his mouth. "We've gotta be quick."
She didn't have to say anything else. With one more lick of his lips, he pulled her thong down her legs, and lifted her dress above her waist. "Deal."
End
