Chapter 21

"Marco."

"Polio"

"Andre, it's Polo. Polio is a disease," laughed Carl as he swam towards his brother.

"You're a disease!" Andre quipped back, flicking water towards him. "Ahhh! HELP ME!" he screamed as Carl pulled him under the water by his feet. Popping back up he shrieked, "The disease has me! Help me!"

"Andre and Carl calm down," Rick called from the side of the pool. He was sitting in a lounge chair, slightly shaded from the sun. "And be careful Carl, Andre's smaller than you. Remember that."

Shane took a long drink of his beer. "You would never guess those two had only met a few days ago. It's crazy how they've come together so easily. It's like Andre's grown up with Carl. Amazing!" He turned to look at his best friend. "And look at you smiling like a proud papa and shit. Smug bastard."

"I am a proud papa, Shane. The sun is shining. The weather is great and I have my two beautiful boys with me by a gorgeous pool. It's been a great day so far." Rick said, with a smile that was plastered to his face and had no chance leaving anytime soon.

The day had been great so far. Rick and Carl had picked Andre up promptly at 830. Michonne informed him that Andre had not eaten his breakfast because he wanted to quote "eat bunny pancakes with Carl," unquote. Since the older Grimes had only indulged in a cup of coffee and Carl was at the age where he could and would eat anything that wasn't nailed down, the Grimes clan had traveled to the diner and ate a wonderful bunny pancake filled breakfast together.

When breakfast was finished, they had traveled to the Kings County Children's museum. All three of them had enjoyed themselves immensely, probably Rick most of all. Many activities were completed including walking through a giant replica of a human head, connecting a circuit causing an electrical current to flow and making rainbows using prisms. Rick was amazed at how much his youngest son knew at his age. Not only could Andre count and knew his shapes and colors, but he also knew the continents, the seas, most of the states and quite a few countries. He also spoke some French, plus some words in Spanish. Whoever was teaching his son was doing a fantastic job. Rick had no doubt it was Michonne with help from those people around her like Andrea and her parents.

After a few hours they left , with Carl once again in a state of ravenous hunger. Deciding on burgers and fries, Rick's group had stopped off at the KCC (Kings County Café) for lunch. There were a few looks at the trio from the other patrons, many that Rick had known for years. Rick could tell that they were trying to figure out why Andre was with himself and Carl. While Andre looked so much like Rick that it was head turning, his light brown completion had them scratching their heads; no one in town was aware of Rick Grimes dating anyone other than Lori or Jesse and Andre was clearly neither of theirs. Shelby, their normal server, had tried to go about it in a casual way.

"So who is this handsome young man Rick?" she asked walking up to the table.

"I'm Andre Anthony," he chirped before Rick could say a word. "I'm having spending the day with my best friend Carl and his daddy, Officer Rick, while my mommy is at work. We went to the museum this morning. Have you ever been there?"

After that, Shelby had no way of asking the relationship between the group because Andre would engage her in conversation every time she approached the table. Rick had inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. He knew Andre's parentage would come to light sooner rather than later but he had way too much going on to deal with that as well.

As they were leaving, Carl pointed out the picture of his mom, dad and himself to Andre. "You mom's very pretty but I think my mommy is the most beautiful woman in the world," he promptly told Carl.

"Your mommy is very beautiful," Carl readily agreed, earning a side eye from Rick before he glanced at Andre. Rick thought he detected a hint of sadness in the boy's grey eyes but it quickly disappeared when Carl said "Who wants to go swimming?"

Once they had returned to the hotel, Rick had put Andre down for his nap, which lasted for about an hour. As he slept, he and Carl watched Sportscenter on ESPN in the living room. Michonne was staying in the penthouse suite and it was absolutely fantastic, more like a high end apartment than a hotel room. It had a washer and dryer, full kitchen, 2.5 bathrooms, and two bedrooms. Rick reasoned that staying there had to make things easier on Michonne, considering her and Andre still had a few weeks left in town. She could still do their laundry and prepare home cooked meals for their son.

"What you got planned for tomorrow?" Shane asked taking another swig of his beer. Rick had invited him to spend the rest of day by the pool with his two nephews since he had the afternoon off. " You know I'm off tomorrow too."

Rick thought for a minute. "Park most likely, then grill out for dinner. You're welcome to join us. I want to have Andre over at the house to see how he likes it. Find out if he's comfortable taking his nap in the spare bedroom that'll be his now."

"Andre's got a room now? Aren't you moving a bit too fast? Who said Michonne's gonna let you see him anymore after she leaves town?"

"Michonne wants Andre with me just as much as I do," he returned giving Shane the most murderous of looks. Shane hadn't seen anyone, save criminals, receive a stare like that from Rick in years. "I'm sure she'll bring him from Atlanta on the weekends if I ask her too. Or I can pick him up. It's not like the city is that far away. I really don't want to get lawyers involved."

"HEY! TWO OLD GUYS! You getting in the water or what?" Carl called from the pool, causing Andre to fall into a fit of giggles once again.

"You called them old!" the littlest Grimes laughed.

"Who you calling old, boy?! I'll show you!" Shane jumped into the pool shouting "CANON BALL!", causing water to splash everywhere, narrowly missing Rick. Shaking his head as he ascended from the water he called to his best friend. "Hey you curly headed fu…"

"Shane! Andre!" Rick said sternly as he took a drink of water.

"Curly headed old man," Shane amended. "Get your old butt…Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Would you look at that."

Rick turned to see what had made Shane lose his train of thought and immediately lost his as well. Gliding towards them as if she were walking on air was Michonne. Wearing a one-piece bathing suit, with a matching white sarong around her waist, she looked like the sexiest angel that Rick had ever seen. Her long dreads were lose, falling around her face like a halo, while her ebony skin shone in the sunlight as if she had been dusted with gold. Once again designer shades covered her eyes. The sudden throbbing in his loins made Rick happy that his swim trucks were extra baggy today. He was so enthralled by Michonne that he didn't notice Shane had sat next to him again.

"Okay, now I can see why you want Andre to have a room at your house. You're hoping mommy will stay over too but not in the guest bedroom. And I don't blame you one bit," Shane whispered to his best friend with a grin."

"MOMMY! ! MOMMY'S HERE!" Andre quickly swam over to the ladder to climb out of the pool. Michonne met him there, enveloping him in a big hug.

"How's my Peanut today? You having fun?"

"Yes, yes, yes! I got to walk through a head, make rainbows, have bunny pancakes, and Carl is a disease!" he rattled off.

"Oh really? Hey Carl," Michonne called out with a laugh. "I was just informed that you're a disease?"

Carl laughed back, floating on a swimming noodle in the water. "Hi Michonne. Evidently I am. Or at least to Andre. I told him the game was Marco Polo not Polio add he just went with it."

"Interesting. Well, I'll just have to school both of you on Marco Polo in a minutes but first I'm going to chat with your dad okay?" she stood up from her crouching position. "One more thing? Catch this for me?" in a flash she had picked up Andre and tossed him gently towards Carl in the pool, where he landed with a splash.

"Ugh! Mommy the disease has me again! He's tickling me!"

Michonne looked, laughing at the two boys for a few more seconds before turning towards Rick. "Hey there Sheriff. Shane. How are you guys doing this fine sunny afternoon?"

Rick took a minute before answering, trying to clear his thoughts of all the treacherous thoughts he had just been thinking about Michonne. "We're good. I hope you don't mind that I invited Shane. It gets a little lonely being the third wheel with those two over there," he said with a smile.

"Oh, I don't mind at all. Maybe Andrea will come down after she gets back from her spa day. Would you like that Shane?" Michonne said with a wink.

Shane looked shocked and then cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable . "I think I'm gonna go play with the boys and let you guys talk. See you soon Michonne." Shane practically ran to the pool.

"What's that all about?" Rick asked Michonne. He motioned to the now empty chair next to him. "Here, sit in Shane's seat."

Michonne laughed as she sat next to Rick, stretching out her long lean legs. "I guess he didn't know that I know that him and Andrea have been texting and calling each other since they met. And by the look on your face, you didn't know it either."

"I sure as hell didn't. Guess he figured he didn't want to bother me, even though that's never stopped him before. Maybe he figured since Andrea's your best friend he would keep his mouth shut and not tell me all the details."

"No real details yet I'm afraid. Which surprises even me! Considering what you told me about Shane in D.C and knowing Andrea, I'm shocked nothing happened the first day they met! Unless Shane has changed."

"Nah, he hasn't. It'll take a special woman to lock his silly as down!"

They laughed and looked at each other. Rick's heart fluttered and he remembered feeling the same way he did five years ago when she asked to sit at his table. "So what brings you to pool today? Didn't you have to work? You checkin up on me?" he said with a grin.

"Something like that," she said elbowing him in the side. "Actually, I was sitting in that boring office with the sun shining down on me and the birds singing. I thought about how even though I'm paying these resort fees, I haven't set so much as a big toe in this pool and that was one of the reasons I chose this hotel! So I called my supervisor in Atlanta and told him that Andre needed me." She turned to Rick with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "He told me to take care and to tell Andre that Pop Pop can't wait to see him for his birthday in two weeks." Michonne then fell into a fit of laughter.

Once again, the sound and sight of Michonne in a fantastic mood was like if the heavens had opened up for Rick. He'd never seen anything as beautiful as her smile. "So you're 're not checking up on me?" he said still smiling.

"Not in the least Rick. I just…I wanted to be here, you know? With Carl and Andre. With you." she turned to look at him, but he couldn't see her eyes through her sunglasses and he felt the mood shift. "Rick, what did you mean yesterday when you said that you were upset by the DVDs?"

Rick took a deep breath and looked at the pool where his boys were playing with Shane. He didn't want to ruin the moment but she'd asked. "I meant that it sucked to hear 'I love you' for the first time from my son on a damn television screen, Michonne. Through speakers instead of his own mouth. It sucks that at lunch today I had to hear him call me 'Carl's daddy'. I'm his father Michonne and he doesn't even know it! I get that it's going to take time and I have to wait but it hurts." He paused, running his hand over is face in frustration. "I know that this is mostly Lori's doing and I understand that you were doing what you thought was right for Carl and myself, but the fact that you kept my child from me? For so long? I'm hurt and paying the price for all this secrecy. Andre, Carl and I are all paying the price."

He looked over at Michonne again and sighed. She was staring straight ahead, her glasses still hiding her eyes and therefore her feelings. At least she hadn't gotten up and walked away yet. 'I guess that's an improvement,' he thought to himself. As soon as he said that, he saw a tear slip down her cheek and his stomach dropped. As mad as he was, he never wanted to make Michonne cry. "Chonne, please don't cry. I didn't mean to upset you."

"I'm so sorry. I didn't think of it that way. I thought you would like it and be happy. That it was a step in the right direction," she whispered. "I'm trying but I don't know what I'm doing. How to make it right." Tears were now streaming freely down her face. She lifted up her sunglasses to wipe her eyes.

It was at this moment, that Andre looked towards his mother and saw her tears. He quickly swam to the ladder, climbed out and ran over to his mother. "Mommy, what's wrong?" he asked, placing both of his tiny hands on her cheeks. "Why are you crying? Are you sad?"

Michonne took both of his hands and kissed them. Seeing the deep concern in his eyes, she answered with a smile and false cheer. "I was just laughing at a joke and it was so funny it made me cry. Don't you worry your sweet little head. Mommy's fine."

Andre wrapped his arms around her and closed his eyes. "I love you mommy." Rick's heart broke as he watched mother and son together. Andre pulled away and looked at her, smiling. "Let's go in the water," he said taking her hand. She stood up and started walking towards the pool when she felt that Andre wasn't walking. She looked down at him and saw he was staring at Rick. Holding out his hand towards his father, he tilted his head to the side. "Will you come and swim with me too?"

Staring into those bleu eyes that were much like his own, Rick swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. "Of course I'll come swimming with you Andre." He stood, taking the tiny hand that was extended out to him and walked towards the pool with his son and Michonne.

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A few hours later at Michonne's hotel

Andre splashed in the tub as he took his nightly bath, wetting his mother in the process. "I'm sorry Mommy," he giggled.

Michonne smiled back."It's okay Peanut, but its time for you to get to bed. Your going to have to move a little bit faster if you want me to read you a bedtime story."

Before she knew what was happening, her little boy grabbed the shampoo and poured it over his head. A good third of the bottle was gone before she could grab it out of his hands. "Andre Anthony! What are you doing?"

"I just thought if I put more shampoo in my hair, it would get washed faster," he said with his eyes squeezed shut, frantically rubbing his hands in his hair. "I don't want to miss story time!"

Michonne couldn't help but laugh as she dried her hands off and reached for her phone. She quietly snapped several pictures of her son wearing a head full of suds, his eyes still shut and his tongue sticking between his lips as he worked the shampoo in his hair. "Come on baby. Let me help you." She helped him rinse all the shampoo out, then wrapped him in a big fluffy towel.

Once he was dried and dressed in his Captain America pajamas, she held up two books. "So, are we reading 'Go Dog Go' or 'Goodnight Moon'?"

"I think I want to read 'Go Dog Go' tonight. "

Michonne moved to sit on the bed and patted the place next to her. "Come on up here. You have to be in bed for it to be a bedtime story right?" Andre climbed up and got under the covers, leaning against his mother as she began to read the story.

When Michonne was finished, she closed the book and sat it down on the nightstand. "Did you have a good time today baby? Do you like hanging out with Carl?"

Andre nodded enthusiastically. "I LOVE it! Carl is my best friend!"

"I thought Jacob was your best friend. He's going to be sad when we go back to Atlanta to find out that you have a new best friend."

"I don't want to make Jacob sad." He thought for a few minutes, a frown crossing his features. Suddenly his face lit up in a smile. "I can have two best friends, can't I? Jacob can be my best friend in Atlanta and Carl can be my best friend here!" He smiled at his new plan.

"I think that sounds like a wonderful idea. Now it's time for you to get to bed. Carl, Officer Shane and Rick are coming to take you to the park tomorrow." She kissed him on the top of his head and was about to get up when Andre stopped her.

"Will you stay with me until I fall asleep Mommy?"

"Of course I will Peanut," she said rubbing his still slightly damp, curly hair. She turned down the lamps to the dimmest setting and climbed in bed with Andre. Wrapping him in her arms, she rubbed his back as she hummed a quiet melody. It wasn't long before he broke the silence.

"I saw a picture of Carl, his mommy and daddy in the place we ate lunch. Carl's really lucky. His daddy is really nice and I like him a lot. Mommy?"

The tone of his voice caused Michonne sit up and turn on the light. "Yes baby?" she asked looking him in the eyes. What she saw broke her heart. Andre's eyes were a stormy grey, the color they got whenever he was upset.

"Am I…Am I ever going to get a new daddy?" His tears began to fall down his chubby cheeks as his lips trembled. "All my friends have daddy's and I want one too.. I know daddy died, but of I'm good, will I get another one?"

It took everything in Michonne's power to keep herself from crying. She pulled Andre into a tight embrace on her lap, rocking him back and forth as she rubbed his back. "Andre. Baby you are a wonderful boy! You don't have to do anything at all to have another daddy. You're already the best child a mommy or daddy could ever want. Remember when I told you that you were special because you have two daddies?" She loosened her grip on him and lifted his chin to look at her. She wiped his tears from his face with her thumbs as he nodded. "Well, soon you'll get to meet your second daddy. Very soon okay? Now can you stop crying for me and smile?"

Andre nodded, snot running down his face, a tiny smile on his lips.

Michonne wiped his nose with her shirt and pulled him to her again. Silent tears fell and she rocked her child to sleep. "Don't be sad Peanut. Mommy loves you…Daddy loves you too."

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Later that night at Rick's house

Rick walked into his bedroom, turning on the lights and closing the door behind him. Unbuttoning shirt he let out a long weary sigh. It had been a long day, full of highs and lows. Things that he definitely wanted to remember and things he would give anything to forget. He took his watch off and placed it on his dresser before walking into the bathroom to turn on the shower.

As he brushed his teeth waiting for the shower to warm up, he smiled when he remembered Carl and Andre in the pool.

'The disease has me! Help me!'

He laughed as he spit then rinsed his mouth and finished undressing, throwing his clothes in the hamper before he climbed in the shower. The warm water felt so good as if massaged his tired body. Even though he was a cop and exercised on the regular, keeping up with an almost four year old was a different challenge all together. He couldn't remember the last time he was so sore.

Grabbing his loofa, he squeezed some body wash on it before working the poof over his body, scrubbing off the chlorine. He could have taken a shower at the hotel like Carl but thought it was best that he didn't. Being naked in anyway while Michonne was around was not the best idea, even if he was locked far away in the bathroom. As irritated as he was with her about the situation they currently were in, she was still Michonne.

Rick let out a frustrated breath as he thought about her. He knew why Michonne hadn't told him about Andre, but it still made him want to scream to the heavens. He had missed so much in his baby's life! However she was trying to right the wrong she had done by editing that video for him and allowing him to have access to his child anytime he had requested. She had even taken off of work to spend time with them at the pool and schooling them in how to play Marco Polo.

He closed his eyes as he pictured her rising out of the pool, water running down her firm but curvy body. God how he envied that water! She was a vision as she stood by the diving board, pulling her dreads into a high pony tail before executing a perfect half turn dive. There really was nothing that Michonne couldn't do and she was teaching Andre to be a determined as she was, never accepting defeat.

As the warm water cascaded down his body and he thought of Michonne's body bouncing on the diving board, Rick was confronted with a feeling he hadn't dealt with in a long while: desire. No one from Lori to Jesse had come close to making him feel the way Michonne had within the first five minutes of seeing her again. His craving for her had been building since her saw her at he park, continuing as she stood in his living room, finally coming to a head as she walked around today in her wonderful white bathing suit.

As he washed himself, Rick began to imagine that his hands were Michonne's, working their way down his tired body. Her soft hands rubbing over his shoulders as her nipples rubbed against his chest, lips lightly kissing down his neck. He ran his fingers over his erect nipples, flicking them as she would with her soft, warm tongue. "Ummm" he moaned, breathing deeply as he worked his hands down over his firm stomach.

His hand drifted down to his ever lengthening cock and began to stroke, picturing Michonne's plump lips wrapped around it. Earlier at the pool, he had watched her indulge in a cherry popsicle while he was supposed to be swimming with the boys. He had learned years ago that she was extremely talented in giving head and was immensely jealous of that popsicle. They way her tongue had licked up the sides, catching the drips as it melted, then circling the top before taking it all in her mouth and sucking slowly.

In his fantasy, his cock was that popsicle. He stood in front of Michonne by the pool as she sat in the lounge chair devouring him. Rick's cock was in her mouth as she used one hand to play with his balls and stroke him while the other gripped his ass. He used his hands to hold her dreads back from her face so that he could watch her take him repeatedly into her wonderful mouth. Turning away from the water, he rubbed the precum that had begun to steadily drip from his tip over his cock. Rick tightened the grip on his penis, pumping faster with long determined strokes. Only it wasn't his hand but Michonne's talented mouth driving him to the finish line. His balls began to clench as the pulsing in his cock intensified. He placed his unoccupied hand on the tile wall to help hold him up, his heart now racing, sweat falling down his face.

"MICHONNE!" he cried out as he felt his stomach seize up and his cock jump in his hand from the force of his release. " Ugh!" he grunted, legs twitching as he rode out his orgasm. He opened his eyes just in time to catch the last of his cum swirl down the drain.

Taking a deep breath, he turned back to the water, washing off the sweat that had blossomed on his body. After a through rinse, he turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. He wrapped a towel around his waist and walked back into his bedroom. He said a silent thanks that Carl's room upstairs on the opposite side of the house as he pulled on fresh boxers and a tee shirt.

Exhausted even more than he was before, he pulled back the sheets and crawled into bed. He turned off the light and was almost asleep when he heard his phone buzz on the table, indicating he had a new message. "What now?" he said out loud as he reached for the phone. Unlocking it he saw he had a new message from Michonne. It was a picture of Andre in the tub, his hands and a crown of suds on his head. Rick smiled until he saw the words underneath. "Please call me Rick. We have to talk."

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Thanks for all the reviews and PMs about the last chapter. It really lifted my spirits and made me edit this chapter faster so that I could have it up sooner rather than later. Over a 100 follows and 50 favorites? I never would have thought that was possible when I started this story on the day it popped into my head. Thank you ALL for the support!