Prompt—"I have another prompt...Why not let Rick and Jessie really happen, but with a twist. Let someone take notice of Michonne, and see how it effect Rick..someone other that the usual characters." –ShunnieIsFine

DON'T SHOOT THE MESSENGER LMAO. I know how a lot of you feel about Ressie, I'm right there with you. I'm just responding to the prompt LMAO.

This is SO weird LOL but I went with Scott as Michonne's love interest, who is, of course, Sonequa Martin-Green (Sasha's) real-life husband LMAO. I need to stay in character because IT'S JUST FREAKING WEIRD hahaha. Most of this one-shot takes place during "Thank You" and the events before that episode.

UNFAMILIAR FAMILIARITY

Rated T

Rick stared at his group, but no one said a word. "I was out there," he continued. "I saw it. Tons and tons of walkers. We have to figure out a plan to move them away from the town, or else this place is at risk."

"The place you didn't even want to be at a week ago," stated Michonne.

"Well we're here now," Rick said, his voice slightly edgy.

"Some of us have always been here," stated Glenn, an edge to his own voice.

Rick took a deep breath. So they were still mad at him. That was understandable. He'd acted like a jackass from the second they'd arrived in Alexandria. He got that. But Deanna had left him in charge.

"Look, personal feelings aside, we need to do this. We need to call a town meeting, and let these people know that this community is at risk with all those walkers. The trap won't hold."

He glanced at all of them, but stared at Michonne. She stared back, and for the first time in a long time, he couldn't read her. She had closed herself off to him – well hell, it wouldn't be the first time someone had done that – but eventually she gave him a single nod.

"I'll spread the word about the meeting," suggested Morgan, and Rick nodded again.

"Anything else?" Rick asked.

"There are two other residents we didn't know about," exclaimed Eugene. "Heath and Scott. They're runners, apparently, and got back a little earlier today. Frankly I didn't wanna let 'em in but they made it pretty obvious they were from this community."

Rick glanced at Michonne. She stood up. "I'll check them out."

Without so much as a backwards glance, she was gone.

…

Michonne saw Scott – or at least she assumed it was Scott, he was someone she hadn't seen before, and she'd already met all the other residents; plus, he had what was a large bag of supplies in his hand – inside of Olivia's garage.

"Hey," she said.

He turned around and faced her, his eyebrows raised, a final jar of something in his hand. "You must be on the new members," he said with a soft smile.

"How could you tell?"

"I've never seen you before, and because you're someone I'd have remembered if I had." She blinked at him. "Scott." He held out his hand.

It was such a rare gesture in this world that she forgot what that was like.

"Michonne," she responded shaking it. "Eugene told us that you and Heath were back. I just met him, and he told me where to find you. I just wanted to introduce myself."

"You mean you wanted to check me out, probably like you've done with the rest of us." He nodded. "Understandable. I was the same way when I was brought in, and I came in at the beginning. It's obvious you've been out there a while."

She cocked her head to the side. "How so?"

He gave her a soft smile. "Your eyes? They've seen war." He placed the last jar on the shelf and grabbed his bag. "I'm sure I'll see you around. Until then, take care."

For some reason she was slightly speechless as she watched him go.

…

Breathing heavily Michonne walked through the forest, Scott next to her, Heath and Glenn behind her, along with a few others. The entire plan had gone to shit the minute those walkers broke free, and now there was a herd of walkers heading towards Alexandria because of some damn horn that wouldn't shut up.

Glenn told them that they were twenty minutes walking distance from home, and Michonne told them all to keep up the pace. Heath mentioned if they didn't then that would be it, and Michonne shot him a look.

"We're moving in the same direction everything else is," Scott pointed out. "We're gonna catch up to something."

"We're gonna catch up to a lot of things," corrected Michonne. "And we're gonna end them. We have no choice. We gotta keep going forward." He looked at her but she kept her eyes straight ahead. She knew she could talk to him like that, be real with him. He was different than most of the other Alexandrians, which she'd found out from random conversation throughout their time in the safe-zone.

He always seemed to pop up whenever she was around.

She had yet to decide if that bothered her or not.

A small herd of walkers up ahead distracted her. Her and Glenn started slaying them, and then Heath and Scott followed behind.

They were close to each other when she heard the gunfire, and then Scott went down.

It all went to shit from that moment on. Sturgees ran away like a coward after shooting Scott and then David got bit.

They took refuge in a small town, it was the only thing they could think to do, and made their way into an abandoned pet store. After sweeping the place and Glenn and Nicholas devising a plan, Michonne approached Scott.

"Let's look at the leg," she stated softly. He nodded and sat down and she ripped open the bottom of his pants, checking out his wound. She kept her face blank as she wrapped it with a cloth bandage.

"Annie, I'm gonna figure out a crutch for you," Heath said.

"Just leave me."

Michonne looked at her.

"What?" asked Heath.

"I'm slowing you down. We're gonna hit more roamers. It's that simple. Leave me."

"Leave us," Scott agreed, and Michonne looked at him.

Heath looked between them both. "No."

"It's stupid for you guys to wait on me," said Scott. He glanced at Michonne but then his eyes rested back on Heath. "We'll all go down. Come on, man. Wake up." Heath turned away. "You don't do it now, you'll do it out there. We get into trouble again, you run. And you don't look back."

"No, if we go, we go together," Heath interrupted. "We got each other's back, just like always. We don't leave people behind." He stared them down and then turned to Michonne. "Not us."

Michonne glared back at him. "No one is leaving anyone behind." She stared at all of them to let them know she was serious, and then she looked back at Heath.

Turning away from her he rose. "I'll find something for you, Annie."

Scott watched him go and then turned his attention back to Michonne. She met his gaze and then got up and followed Heath.

They tried to wait for Glenn, until they started hearing the gunfire back in Alexandria. The plan was to keep quiet until the walkers passed, and it worked, for awhile, until those two damn walkers ended up being in the closet.

And then the herd arrived.

They fought their way out, but they lost Annie. The rest of them ran, as fast as they could with Scott's bad leg, and they made their way down an alley where they had to climb over a fence. Michonne made sure that Heath and Scott were over the fence and she and David started climbing next.

David didn't make it. He got pulled down by the walkers.

Taking a deep breath Michonne grabbed Scott and wrapped one of his arms around her neck, Heath doing the same on the other side.

Together, they made their way home.

…

Michonne watched as Denise attempted to patch Scott up, her heart pounding softly. Heath had already gone back home after being looked over by Denise. Scott groaned in pain.

"I'll try and save your life," and if Denise thought that that would reassure Scott, she was wrong.

"You will," Michonne said, and both Denise and Scott stared at her. She kept her gaze on Denise, though, until the doctor nodded and left the room. Finally, she turned to him.

"Thank you," whispered Scott, clearly in pain.

"For what?"

He took a deep breath, grimacing, as if talking hurt. "For risking your life to save mine. And Heath's. You didn't have to. You were told to get back by any means necessary."

Michonne sighed. "Not everybody thinks like that."

"You mean like him."

Michonne remained silent. Rick was in a dark place, yes, but she would not betray him, not when the residents' trust was so low. "You can't judge us as one group," she finally said. "We are all different individuals. I was never going to leave you."

He stared at her for a long time and then nodded.

And then in a strange yet bold move, he reached out and slipped his hand into hers.

For reasons beyond her control, she kept her hand in his until he drifted off to sleep.

…

Rick was standing on the porch when the front door opened. He turned around to find Michonne with a book in her hand and a backpack on her back.

"Goin' somewhere?" asked Rick.

"To the infirmary," Michonne stated without shame.

Rick raised his eyebrows. "Who's there? One of our people?" Panic started to sweep in almost immediately.

Michonne rolled her eyes. "I'm going to go see Scott, who, contrary to what you may believe, is one our people now." She paused and stepped closer to him. "They're all our people. The sooner you get that through your head, the better off we'll be."

Rick blinked at her, stepping back and then turning away from her. "Scott, huh?" Rick paused. "He likes you?"

Michonne scoffed. "You make it sound so juvenile."

"Well he doesn't know you," countered Rick. Not like me. The thought was in and out of his head so fleetingly that he wasn't even sure he'd actually thought it.

"He knows as much about me as Jessie knows about you, or as you know about Jessie."

That shut Rick up. He had no response to that, and apparently Michonne hadn't expected one. She started to walk off and he watched her go, not all sure why he was bothered.

He just felt this strange feeling, in the pit of hi s stomach. It felt foreign, yet familiar, like he had felt it before, but hadn't for a long time. His stomach was tied and he found it hard to breathe. Unfamiliar, yet familiar.

It hit him, full in the gut, the first time he'd felt like this, the only time he'd felt like this: finding out about Shane and Lori.

It was possessiveness taking over him, but he knew he had no right to feel that way, so he pushed the thought as far from his mind as he could.

…

In the infirmary Michonne found Denise hovering over an unconscious Scott.

"He's getting worse," Denise said, her voice wavering.

Michonne took a deep breath and then let it out slowly. "You'll figure it out. You will. You have to."

"What if I can't?"

"Do you think I woke up one day and knew how to use my katana? Do you think Morgan woke up one day and knew how to practice Aikido? Nothing any of us do is easy. You can do this, Denise. You can save him. You're just going to have to learn how." She laid a reassuring hand on Denise's shoulder and left.

This is why she didn't hope, Michonne realized as she left. Because the let down was too great. She hadn't had time to think about basic human needs like human contact and relationships.

She wasn't sure she was ready for that, but it was certainly nice to have options. That's what Alexandria offered them: options. That's what Scott offered her.

And if he ended up being okay – if they all ended up being okay – maybe she'd make him an option.

A/N: Wasn't exactly a Richonne fic in my mind, but I took special care to add that possessiveness feeling inside of Rick. Deep down, I think he knows it's Michonne, he just needed someone to open that door for him again. That's what Jessie was. People have claimed that Michonne is a rebound, but technically, Jessie was.

Hope you enjoyed.