Sorry for the delay. I have been sitting on the next few chapters since the season started. The actual show has been frustrating me to no end and killing my creative and editing process. Sigh.

Chapter 14

Rick sat in his truck, looking out his window at the green grass in the park. It was a beautiful, sunny, Saturday afternoon; a perfect day to enjoy nature and be outside. While he was looking he wasn't really seeing anything. His mind kept going back to the reason he was there: Michonne's phone call last night.

"Hello?" Rick said as he answered the phone. It was late and he didn't recognize the number.

"-"

"Hello?" he said again more insistent this time.

"Hello? Is this Rick?" said a female voice. Rick's heart stopped. He knew that voice. It was smokey and silky, a voice that had haunted him for so many years.

"Yes? Is this who I think it is? Is it..?"

"Yes Rick. It's me. It's Michonne."

It was her. His Michonne. Mother to his newly found son. He didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or scream; so many emotions were playing in his head. Remembering the other night when he tried to call HER, the one that rose to the surface was anger. "Are you sure this time? Cause I remember bein told I'd dialed the wrong number."

She let out a small, sad sigh. "I'm sorry about that. More than you know. But you have to understand that I had just gotten over the shock that my baby could have been taken from me because of some stupid tramp. That I would never see him again." Michonne's voice broke and he knew she was trying to hold back her tears. "Anyway, I know that is no excuse to be rude, but hearing your voice was such a shock. I couldn't process that with everything going on that day."

Rick wanted to bring up the fact that because of her, he hadn't been able to see his boy for more than 10 minutes. That he could have been lost to him before he ever knew he existed but he didn't. He knew the worry that Michonne had been feeling, that any parent would feel. He had felt it that same night when he hadn't heard from Carl until hours later. Besides, he wanted to see why she had called and couldn't afford to have her hang up on him. "Why are you calling now Michonne?"

"I wanted to know if you were available to meet me tomorrow and talk."

"About what? What do you want to talk to me about after all this time? You finally gonna tell me why you disappeared on me?" the anger coming out in his voice.

"Yes Rick. I will answer your questions . But I can't do this over this over the phone. It's a lot and I don't want to wake Andre. So is tomorrow okay?"

"Sure. I was supposed to pick up Carl from his mother's but I can figure something out."

It was 12:25. They had agreed to meet at the park at 1pm, or rather Michonne had suggested it and he had agreed. Kids ran all over, playing games and swinging, their parents watching as they sat in the shade of Oak trees. Rick closed his eyes and leaned his head back on the head rest. While Michonne hadn't mentioned if she was bringing Andre or not, he hoped that her choice of meeting place meant that she would. He couldn't wait to see his boy again.

Rick felt his phone vibrate and looked to see who it was. "Hey Shane."

"Sup man. When are you leaving to drive over there?" Shane had called Rick last night after his dinner with Andrea and had promptly been told about Michonne's phone call and desire to meet . He was happy that Michonne had taken the first step by calling Rick and wanting to talk things over. He also knew she was smart to suggest a public and family place like the park so that things couldn't get too heated between her and Rick. Shane had even volunteered to meet him there for support, which Rick had gladly accepted.

"I'm already here. Just sitting in my truck waiting."

"I thought you said you were meetin at 1. Why the fuck are you so early?"

Rick sighed, rubbing his fingers together as he looked out at the families once more. "Michonne's always early. She's a lawyer Shane. And…And I wanted to see her before she saw me."

"Well brother, I'll leave my place in a few minutes then," he replied understanding. He waited a beat before asking his next question. "You think she's gonna bring Dre?"

"I hope so Shane. See ya in a few. And thanks. " Rick ended the phone call but scrolled through until he found the picture of Andre again. "I hope so."

As if on cue, he saw a white Mercedes-Benz with dark tinted windows pull into the parking lot. No one departed from the car for a few minutes. Finally the drivers side door opener and Rick sat up straight, willing the cars occupant to get out of the vehicle, his heart beating a thousand miles an hour. "Michonne," he whispered as he saw her rise from the car, her dreads pulled into a ponytail and designer sunglasses covering her eyes. The passenger side door opened and Andrea stepped out, saying something over the roof of the car to her. Michonne tossed the keys to Andrea before shutting her door and opening the back to retrieve something. Rick let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding, when he saw her lift a smiling Andre on her hip.

Looking at his watch he saw it was 12:30 and smiled. She was indeed early as he knew she would be. Rick watched as the threesome moved to an unoccupied table under a tree and Michonne finally set Andre down, rubbing his hair. She had dressed him in matching colors, as if to show everyone that he was her son. Andre had on a black polo shirt, little white cargo shorts, white tennis shoes and tiny sunglasses. Rick then turned his attention to Michonne and swallowed. If possible, she looked better than he remembered her. While she was still thin, motherhood had rounded out her hips and breast in the best possible way. Her mahogany skin emitted a glow, as if it had absorbed the sunshine she had just been standing in. Her black tank top showed off her defined arms, shoulders, and swan like neck. The white jean shorts highlighted her fantastic behind and emphasized her long runners legs. He felt a stirring in his body as she bent over to pick up something that had fallen off the table, her ass on full display. As if feeling herself being watched, Michonne slowly stood up and turned around, looking straight in the direction of Rick's truck. It was as if the world had stopped as they connected across the distance, through the windshield and sunglasses, staring at each other. The only sound he could hear was his heart beating. The spell was broken when Andre grabbed his mother's hand and pulled her towards the jungle gym.

"God damn! That is one hot woman there. Actually two," Shane exclaimed sliding into the seat next to his best friend, looking at Andrea and Michonne as they chased Andre around. "THAT is the true definition of a MILF my friend. And Andrea is one in training."

"Come on Shane," Rick said shaking his head with a laugh.

"I'm just saying, of you go back to tapping that, you will be my new hero. Now I can visualize everything you never told me about. And I must say that with my imagination, I'm a jealous man." While he was speaking the truth, Shane was also trying to lighten the mood. It was always better to go into these things with a positive attitude. It had been his goal to get his best friend to laugh and he had succeeded. After a few minutes Shane looked at his friend and partner. "Hey man, go easy on her. Let her talk first. She has been through somethings too. Not saying that all of it is right, but I understand where she was coming from."

Rick just sat there staring at his son and Michonne on the jungle gym. Shane had told him about meeting up with Andrea the night before and some of their conversation. While he hadn't gone into detail, Shane had come back with a much better understanding of why Michonne had disappeared. However, Rick was still in the dark and that frustrated him. He always seemed to be the last to know everything; that she was in town, that she had Andre, that Andre was his son, why she had disappeared.

"I'll try Shane. For Andre's sake I will try but I can't promise anything."

"That's all I can ask buddy. You ready to go?"

"Just give me a few minutes, okay?"

"Okay. I'm gonna go talk to Andrea," he clapped his hand on Rick's shoulder. "Don't be too long." Shane got out of the truck and jogged over to Andrea. Rick watched as they talked and smiled at each other, before focusing on Michonne and Andre again. He saw Michonne look at her watch and then look around for him. 'It's now or never' he thought to himself. Taking a deep breath he got out of his truck and started towards the field, Michonne and his son.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Michonne saw the man rise from the truck she knew he was in. She now understood what it meant to feel a ghost from your past. Even though she couldn't see him, she had known that Rick Grimes was staring at her from that truck. It was the same feeling she had when she caught him staring at her in the hotel bar those many years ago. She heard people calling out 'Hey Rick' or 'Nice day huh Sheriff' as he walked towards her.

"Andrea!" she called for her friend who was engaged in a conversation with a person she saw was Shane, Rick's best friend. Like Andrea, he was probably there to provide support for his friend. Michonne wondered how the two knew each other or if Shane had just approached Andrea because she was pretty and started a conversation. She made a mental note to ask her later that evening. When Andrea looked up, Michonne motioned for her to come get Andre. "Baby, go to Aunt Andy okay? Mommy will be over in a minute."

Andre took off running towards Shane and Andrea. "Officer Shane!" he cried holding his hand up for a high five. Shane promptly gave the little boy five and began a lively conversation with him. Michonne watched from a distance wondering what they were talking about.

"Hello Michonne," said a deep southern voice said behind her. Michonne turned around and almost lost her breath. Rick Grimes was standing behind her, looking better than she ever though he could. He was dressed in a simple bleu tee shirt and jeans but the shade of bleu made his eyes pop. His hair was a tad bit shorter and now had a few streaks of grey as did his facial hair. Like a fine wine, he had aged very well. Whenever she pictured him in her fantasies he didn't look this good. She debated hugging him and decided against it.

"Hey Rick. Long time, no see." She replied keeping her cool, she was a lawyer after all.

"It's been awall" Rick replied as he casually checked her out. "You ready to talk?"

Michonne looked behind her and saw that Andre was totally engrossed with whatever Shane was telling him about the monkey bars as Andrea stood next to him. "Sure. Let's walk towards our table." She started to move and noticed that Rick was still looking in the direction of the monkey bars. "You coming?"

Rick shook his head and jogged to catch up with her. "How've you been?" he asked.

Michonne shrugged as she walked, looking at the ground. "Life took an unexpected turn for me with Andre coming along but he is my great accomplishment. He's everything that I never thought I wanted. When you talked about Carl, I never understood that type of love until I heard his first heartbeat. All of a sudden it wasn't just me anymore. Another life depended on my life." She smiled and Rick could see that she was remembering the months of pregnancy she had experienced. "Anyway, on a career level, I am now a junior partner at my law firm. Doesn't hurt that my dad's one of the senior partners! One of the reasons I was sent here to assist. How about you?"

"Still a Sheriff and loving it. Maybe if I was in a big city like Atlanta I might hate my job but Kings County works for me. Actually divorced now. Lori has a little girl now with her new husband but my boys are doing great. They are smart, healthy and happy." Rick looked at Michonne as he said the last part, wondering if she had caught on that he was speaking of Carl and Andre. When she didn't respond, he decided to ask her the question that had been on his mind for years. "Why did you disappear Michonne? Why didn't you even say good bye?"

Michonne took a deep breath as she stopped, turning to face Rick. "I will get to that Rick but first there is something I want to tell you. I have to tell you" She sat on the picnic table and looked down at her hands, not able to look him in the eye. "When I was in Paris, I wasn't feeling well. I was crazy tired and I couldn't enjoy anything, especially the nicoise salad that I had been looking to forward to having again. I'm an intense person but when my French coworkers started calling me a bitch, I knew I was being extra moody. I found out that I was pregnant with Andre."

"Hmmm," was all Rick said as he stood to the side of her.

"It was such a shock! I couldn't believe it. I left Paris soon after, when I was about two months, instead of the four I was supposed to stay. Being that I was only a few months and I didn't want to take any chances, I only told a few people. Rick..Rick… What I have to tell you, it's about Andre. Andre is…He is.."

Before Michonne could finish, a small body slammed into Rick's legs knocking him backwards into the table. "Carl's Daddy! What's up? I knew that it was you! Officer Shane is over there talking to Aunt Andy!" exclaimed Andre, his arms wrapped around Rick's legs.

"Hey Dre. How's my deputy in training doing?" said Rick, picking Andre up. "Keeping the world and your mom safe?"

"My mommy doesn't need anyone to keep her safe. She puts the bad guys away all the time because she's a lawyer," declared the little boy. "Everytime she wins, she gets a chocolate croissant just like the one you got her. It's her reward."

"Oh really? So I guess we did good by getting her most favorite thing ever besides you,"

Andre smiled. "Ummhmmm. She smiled all day." He put his hand around his mouth and whispered in Rick's ear "She had two but she doesn't know I saw her!"

Michonne looked on in a mixture of shock and happiness as the two carried on a conversation as if they had know each other for years. Evidently father and son had met each other and she had no clue when or how. She figured it must have been when Andrea had woke her up with the big box of pastries. Pastries and tea that she now knew were courtesy of one Rick Grimes based on the conversation going on between the two of them. 'So much for me worrying about them not getting along.' Looking around she saw Andrea and Shane sprinting in their direction.

"Meesch! I am so sorry! He got away. You know how fast he is!" Andrea turned to her nephew who was still being held in Rick's arms. "Andre Anthony! How dare runaway like that! What have I told you about staying close to me?"

"I wanted to say hello to Carl's daddy!"

"That doesn't make it okay! You get a time out now. Come on."

"No! I'm staying here!" Andre protested, turning his face onto Rick's neck. "I'm not going anywhere with you!"

Before either Michonne or Andrea could say anything, Rick spoke up.

"Andre look at me." The young boy removed his head from its position and peered at Rick. "We need to have a talk, man to man." He sat Andre down and crouched in front of him, looking him straight in the eye. "You know, a good deputy does what he is told. If not, someone can get hurt and we don't want that do we? I'm glad you wanted to come say hi, but you should have waited for your Aunt Andy. "

Andre began to pout, tears rising quickly in his eyes. "I'm sorry I was bad. Are you mad at me?"

"I could never be mad at you," he said softly, brushing Andre's curly hair out of his face. "But what if you had gotten lost again? Everyone that loves you so much would be so sad and worried. You know as my deputy in training that you have to be punished because you did something wrong. How about after you say sorry to your aunt, you have to sit under the tree for five minutes with her and Shane? But you can't talk to them. I will come and talk to you after I'm finished talking to your mom."

"Okay," Andre said as he wrapped his arms around Rick's neck in a hug. He looked at his aunt. "I'm sorry for running away from you Aunt Andy. I will never do it again. I love you."

Andrea just stood there for a few minutes trying to comprehend what had just happened. "Its okay sport. I love you too. Just don't let it happen again. Now lets go. The sooner you get out of time out, the faster can play on the monkey bars again." She held out her hand to Andre who took it and led him away, Shane by her side.

Rick stood and watched the trio walk to a large tree and sit down. Andre put his head down on his bent knees, arms crossed in front to begin his time out. Shane and Andrea were whispering to each other, probably about what had just happened. "You don't have to tell me Michonne. I already know that Andre's my son." Turning around to face her, his bleu eyes dark with anger. "And you kept him from me for the past 4 years."