CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
MICHONNE'S POV
Kyra had been sitting on the porch when the little white car had rolled up. She was drawing something, Bonnet on the swing beside her, head in her lap. She had never liked that dog, but now they were inseparable. Maybe they comforted each other, Daryl's girls. His wife and his dog. Kyra slowly lifted her head to look at the car, her face showed no expression.

I had seen out of the window and ran out, my katana ready, in case this white car held unfriendly people. I looked between Kyra and the car. She seemed so calm. She hadn't talked much since we made her spill about the trip. I hadn't expected her to. She went to bed early, woke up even earlier, and would normally spend her days on the front porch, drawing whatever it was she was drawing, Bonnet's head in her lap.

It had been three days since she arrived and it had seemed to me that she had given up all hope of finding Daryl. That saddened me. The first day, she sat on the porch and continually looked down the driveway, expecting him to come walking up. After a few minutes she would give up and go back to her drawing for thirty seconds before looking up again. The second day she did it every ten minutes or so; she would pause and stare down the driveway and I could imagine the pain she felt after realizing he wouldn't come up it.

Today, I hadn't seen her look at all. Had she accepted he wasn't coming? Or was she just so numb her body wouldn't let her know the difference. She was definitely in shock and I didn't know when exactly she would come out of it. Did she even really realize he wasn't there? Did she play pretend with herself?

'He's just upstairs asleep, he's tired from working so hard. He's there, in the sheets of our bed, where I had occupied them with him only moments ago. He'll be expecting me to come up soon and lie down with him. But I'm not finished with my drawing and it's a surprise for him, so I'm going to finish it before I go up there. And I know that something with distract me once I get finished with the drawing. Oh, yes, Robert needs me to draw with him. He likes to draw with me, but Morgan told him to leave me alone...'

I could almost hear her making up excuses in her mind. It broke my heart. I thought when they were fighting it was bad. But no. When I thought she was heart broken and sad, that was nothing. That was just small little fights here and there. This was so much worse. She had lost him. And she blamed herself.

Morgan had tried talking to her, but Kyra began sobbing every time she got around to mentioning him. So nobody talked about him. He never existed for now, until she admitted that he was gone. Then, maybe, she would slowly start bringing him up. Then Morgan could work with her.

'He's out on patrol. Wow, you guys keep missing him. He'll be back in a few hours, but he'll probably be sleepy. He'll probably go to bed without coming down for supper. But that's ok. He'll have an early breakfast, Morgan, don't worry. He's not going hungry.'

The car door opened and Kyra stared at it. What was going on in her head? She looked so calm, eyes slightly squinted from the sun, slouched over Bonnet and her multiple stacks of paper, arms crossed. She wasn't wearing shoes. She hadn't in a few days. Her stomach was obviously at the three month mark, just getting where you didn't have to guess if she had a gut on her or was just pregnant.

I stood on the steps to the entrance of the porch, knowing it was him. I could barely see him through the window. He got out of the car, still in the clothes he left in. He was just as sweaty and dirty as he always was. But, if he saw me, he took no notice.

I stepped back and looked over at Kyra, who's face was as blank as it was before. I was waiting for it to register to her that he was standing before her. But she only stared. He stared back, his face pained. Did she completely make her brain forget him?

He moved past me, walking to the porch swing. Bonnet jumped off and ran to him, but he ignored her.

"Kyra?" he said quietly, barely loud enough for me to hear. The passenger door opened and Beth Greene got out, looking sleepy and like she could stretch. I gaped at her only for a second before turning back to them. Why was she so calm? Calm or numb?

Then it showed that she wasn't so calm. She was crying. Silent tears were streaming down her face, she tried to blink them away but it wouldn't happen. They were running and she just stared at him, completely mute.

She got up from her swing and all but threw herself in his arms, crying against his shoulder. He held her to him, and my heart broke a little. But they were together. They were good. I turned away from them and looked at Beth.

"Michonne-" she began, knowing I was fixing to let her have it.

"You come with me," I said silently, going down the stairs. She nodded solemnly. She knew I knew.

I walked down towards the barbed wire fence, just out of ear shot of Daryl and Kyra. No need in ruining their awkward little moment they were having. Maybe now she would talk, maybe she would go back to normal.

"Michonne-"

"Don't 'Michonne' me!" I spun around, voice low. "What did you do, Beth?" I hissed.

"I didn't do anythi-"

"You better not lie to me! She's been through a hell of a lot. And if you laid one finger on him-"

"I didn't, ok?" she whined, blue eyes wide. "We took care of each other. That was it!"

I squinted at her skeptically.

"You took care of him, huh?"

"Not like that, Michonne!" she cried, her face screaming to be forgiven. She looked tired.

"If I could kick you out, I would. You pretended to be her friend; you acted innocent-"

"And you never told her."

She silenced me with those words. She was right. Beth may have done all the terrible deeds, but I was just as in the wrong. I never warned Kyra, never told her.

"Listen," I whispered low and fast, "you stay away from them. You can stay here, but you don't get to talk to him. You don't get to look at him. You can be polite, but you won't have conversations with him. Understand me?"

"Michonne-"

"I'm serious!" I nearly roared, making her flinch back. Good. "And the same for her," I jerked my chin in the direction of the porch.

She looked so upset, her eyebrows high, her mouth in a slightly open frown.

"I didn't mean to hurt her," she whimpered.

"Well, you did. And it's not going to happen again. Whatever may or may not have happened while you and Daryl were alone no longer happened. Understand?"

She nodded her head, her chin quivering.

"I thought you didn't cry anymore?" I hissed, before pushing past her and heading back to the house.