Chapter 50:

'I like the sound of that'

"I don't like my hair like this, daddy"

Rick sighed for a countless time, trying his best to braid his daughter's hair for bed, "Well, your Mama's not here, so I'm the next best thang-"

"That part doesn't go there", Judith moaned, pointing at the strip of hair he held, "You have to go over that one"

"Like this?"

Judith watched her father in the bathroom mirror with a bothered expression, "No"

"I'm trying my best here, sweetie", Rick strained with a light tone, "Can't you just leave it out for bed? Or put it in a ponytail?"

"No, because it'll hurt when mama does it tomorrow"

"I'm sure we didn't have a problem this before when we lived in different houses", Rick muttered, referring to when he and Michonne was divorced, "You used to sleep with your hair out all the time-"

"Mama didn't like that…", Judith ejected dryly, "Where is Mama?"

"She went over to your aunt Drea's for her birthday"

Judith's mouth fell open, "I want to go to a party!"

"No kids allowed, sweetie", He huffed whilst giving up on the task, and instead just adding an extra hair band, "Besides, didn't you have fun watching a movie with me?"

She tilted her head to look at him, "You didn't watch it, daddy"

"I did. It was about a mouse that couldn't cook-"

"It was a rat! And he could cook!"

Rick frowned at her, "A rat that can cook? That's just silly"

Judith began to giggle, "It's not! It's cute! Can we get pet rat?"

He recoiled from his daughter, "If you can find one that can cook, then yeah. You can have it"

"Daddy!"

"Judith, sweetie, you always want a pet after you watch a movie and pets aren't toys. You have to look after them and care for them for the rest of their lives"

Her blue eyes studied his face for a moment, "...So can I get one?"

He inwardly groaned, "How about I get a pretty dress instead?"

She was immediately torn, "With glitter on it?"

"All the glitter you want"

Judith dropped her gaze as she weighed up her options, and Rick was both proud and saddened by his daughter's resolve, "...No. I still want the rat, daddy"

He outwardly groaned, "Fine. We'll get you a pet rat-"

"Thank you!", She beamed, throwing her arms around his waist.

"Don't thank me yet, we still need to get this past your mama", He exhaled tiredly, rubbing the girl's back, "Come on, let's get you to bed"

"Carl! Carl! Guess what?!", Judith called bolting out the bathroom after releasing her father.

"What?!", Carl called back from his bedroom.

"Daddy's getting me a pet rat!", Rick shook his head as he followed her out the room.

There was a moment of silence, before Carl slid into view on his desk chair, looking at his father strangely from the doorway, "What?"

"A pet rat! Like in Ratatouille-"

"Rats can't cook in real life, Judith", Carl deadpanned, tilting his head at her.

"I know! But I still want one, and I'll love it and I'll look after it and I'll get it a little bed-"

"Speaking of beds, let's get you in yours", Rick gently pushed her into her room.

"Night Carl!

"Night, Judes!"

Rick wondered when the spell that his daughter had him under would wear off. He couldn't help but what to give her everything she wanted, even if it ran the risk of spoiling her rotten, but luckily, his wife wouldn't stand for having a rodent in the home, so he wouldn't have to be the one to turn her down.

Once Judith was in her bed, Rick went over to Carl's room, hovering by the bedroom door, "You finished your homework?"

"Almost", The teen sat back in his chair at his desk.

"Good. When your done, I want you to clean this…", Rick's eyes trailed around the room, "Cesspit"

"You and mom always exaggerate about my room"

"What's that over there?", Rick squinted at the white dish that poked out from beneath his bed, "Is that a plate? Does that plate have food on it?"

Carl spun around to see what his father was talking about, and the boy offered a shrug, "I don't think so"

"Forget your homework. Clean your room, now", Rick instructed, his top lip curling in disgust, "I'm surprised you have been carried off by ants"

Carl closed Michonne's computer, "It's really not that bad-"

"Don't even bring any cups or plates you have in here, downstairs. Just throw them out", Rick was too busy examine the mess to pay attention to his son, "And anythan' that's stained stiff, can go in the trash too"

He didn't trust his son to clean his room properly, and so Rick oversaw the mission to find Carl's floor. It was a good way for him to pass time until his wife returned home from her night out, as well as talk to his son about other things.

"So have you spoken to… Lauren?"

Carl shook his head as he sorted through a pile of magazines, "No."

Rick slowly nodded, sitting on his son's desk chair, "What about your cousin?"

"No."

"Well you don't have to anytime soon but-"

"What did you do after you found out Lori went off with Shane?", Carl asked, squinting at his father.

Rick stilled, trying to recall the memory, "I couldn't really do anything about it, I had you to worry about?"

"So you didn't get mad?"

He scoffed, "I didn't say that. I just couldn't do anythan' about it. I was mad, and hurt, but I had your grandparents there to help… your aunt Maggie was a big help too… Daryl… they all just stuck around, tried to help me cope"

Carl's gaze fell to garbage bag on the floor, "...I feel like an idiot"

"Why?"

"Because I… I thought this would be my first serious relationship"

Rick didn't mean to laugh, but he did, and Carl was far from amused, so he held his hands up in surrender, "I'm sorry. I am. But I just want you to remember that you're not even sixteen yet. You're not even halfway done with being a teenager. I'm not saying you can't find someone special because you're young, what I'm saying is, that shouldn't be somethan' you're focusing on right now, because you are still very young"

Carl sighed, "I know"

"You've done some stuff that you don't have any business doing at this age, and I don't know why you're in a rush to do these thangs, but I need for you to slow down and enjoy being a kid for a little longer. Go outside and play in the dirt or somethan'. Chase your sister around a tree. Ask me for money for a damn comic book or some weird action figure", Rick exhaled, raking his fingers through his hair, "Enjoy all that now, because one day you're going to wake up and find yourself with a mountain of bills to pay, a bunch of little mouths to feed, and a wife that likes to play hide and seek with your credit card"

Carl chuckled, shaking his head at him, "We love you too, dad"

"Of course I love you all. I wouldn't know what to do without any of you", He smiled adoringly at the teen, before standing up with a groan, holding his hand out for one of the garbage bags beside his son, "But if you let your room get like this again, then next time I'm cleaning it myself and you'll have nothing but-"

"A mattress and a candle. Got it", Carl finished, handing him over the garbage bag.

He narrowed his eyes at the teen as he chortled, "That's right"

Several garbage bags later, his son's room was clean, and Rick was free to have a shower while Carl went to bed.

It was deep into the evening, and he was beginning to wonder what time his wife would return home, when he heard movement in their bedroom as he crossed the landing.

Michonne was closing her closet door when he appeared, and she gave him one of her plastered on smiles, "Hey. What are you doing?"

He eyed his with suspiciously, "Nothing, just came out the shower. What are you doing?"

"Nothing", She shook her head, resting her hands at her sides.

"How was the party?"

"Good. It was good", She insisted, still not moving from in front of the closet door.

"Yeah? What did you-", Rick stopped when he heard the sound of something falling in the closet behind her. Michonne continued to stare at him as if she heard nothing at all. Rick tilted his head at her, "What was that, Michonne?"

"Probably nothing", She shrugged.

"What's in the closet?", He quizzed, taking a step towards her, leading her to take a step back, and Rick could tell by the look on his wife's face that she wasn't going to say anything further, so he moved closer to her, "You got a dead body in there? A few skeletons?"

She pursed her lips, trying not to smile.

He reached out to grab the handle, when she whacked his hand out of the way, "Did you forget that we had to be nice to each other?"

"I am being nice"

"You just hit me-"

"That was a loving tap"

Laughter burst from Rick's lips, "A loving tap? That's what that was?"

"Yes", She nodded innocently, in a way his daughter often did when she was trying to be deceitful, "How about we just go downstairs-"

"What's in the closet?", Rick was never so easily swayed.

"It's nothing-"

"Then let me see what's in there? What are you hiding from me?", He challenged, but keeping his tone light.

She slowly inhaled, "I told you, Andrea had a girls party-"

"You got a girl in there?"

"No", She was still trying not to laugh at his terrible jokes, "...It's a gift bag"

"A gift bag? From a forty year old woman's birthday party?"

She couldn't hold back her laughter any further, "Stop that! It was just a parting gift…"

"Let me see", He urged, tipping his head towards the closet door.

She hesitated, not moving immediately, but when she did, she spun around and cracked the door open. Rick peered at her with squinted eyes, watching as she bent her knees to retrieve whatever fell, before turning back at round with a pink gift bag.

"Why would you hide this?", He frowned, trying to take the bag from her.

She quickly tucked it behind her, "Now, just wait-"

"Let me see"

"Rick!"

"Open it"

"Oh my god, you're worse than your eight year old daughter", She huffed, holding her hand out to stop him, "Just remember, it was a gift, from my very unconventional and occasionally drunk best friend, okay?"

Rick was bewildered as to why his wife was behaving so guarded, but he agreed, "Fine"

Michonne held the bag up between them, and opened it for him to see, and Rick curious expression turned to a horrified.

"What the hell is that, Michonne?", He rasped, pointing in the bag, "Is that what I think it is?"

"A gift from Andrea-"

"Well she can have it back-"

"Rick-"

"You think you need that?", Rick didn't know why his heart was beating so hard in his chest, but it was.

She tilted her head at him, "No, I don't think I need it"

"Then why would you bring it home?"

She shrugged, "Well, why not?"

Rick knew there was a chance that he was sounding quite selfish, as he hadn't been intimate with his wife for weeks, and he knew she probably missed him as much as he missed her, but to know she could find satisfaction with something else, bothered him greatly. He shifted his stance, "Are you thinking about using that?"

She visibly cringed, "Would it be a bad thing if I did?"

Rick's mouth fell open.

"Okay, look, let's just talk about this properly", She rested her hand on his bare chest, her tone soft, "Would it seriously be a bad thing if I did… try one of these out?"

His gaze dropped to the bag again, then crawled back up to her eyes, "Are you thinking about using that?"

"I asked first", She responded firmly.

He considered his answer carefully, "No. It wouldn't be a bad thang if you did-"

"Good-"

"But", He quickly added, "Are you thinking about using that?"

She rolled her shoulders back, lifting her head a little higher, "Maybe."

He clenched his jaw, slowly nodding as he backed up towards the door, "Alright. Fine"

"Rick-"

"Go on then", He encouraged, closing the door with his foot, "Use it"

His wife's head reeled back an inch, "Excuse me?"

"You heard me", He tipped his head towards the bed.

Her eyes darted from Rick, to the bed, then to Rick once more. He knew he had left her stunned with his order, as her mouth opened and closed a few times, before she finally spoke, "You want me to use this… right now?"

He raised his eyebrows at her as he folded his arms over his chest.

She opened her mouth again to say something, then snapped it shut. He could only imagine what was going through her mind as she strolled over to the bed and dropped the bag down on the comforter. He barely knew what was going through his own mind, other than the fact that he was going to be very jealous of whatever she took out of the bag.

His eyes fell to her waist as she pulled her blouse over her head, exposing her rounding stomach. She turned to face him, her eyes locked on his as she peeled off her jeans and thong in one go. She seemed to finally hop on board with his request, unhooking her bra seductively slow and dropping it by her feet. Rick's member almost jumped with excitement when she turned and bent over, exposing herself to him briefly, then taking a seat on the bed.

She retrieved a white box from inside the bag, freeing the dark purple toy and discarding the packaging away from her. Laying back with her legs spread, she used it to stroke at her folds, all while her eyes didn't leave him and Rick soon realised that he couldn't think straight. One part of him was so undeniably turned on that it physically hurt him to watch her, but the other part of him was fearful.

A breathy moan left her when she slipped the toy in her heat, and Rick found he was correct, he was jealous. He tugged the towel from his waist, allowing his rock hard erection to spring free, and strolled over to the bed, his eyes glued to the scene in front of him. He loved the way she bit her lip when she rolled her hips, the toy disappearing inside her every so often.

"I want you instead…"

Rick's groin fluttered with anticipation, so he climbed on the bed, positioning himself over her, as he ignored the urge not to. He leaned down and kissed his wife softly, and she released a guttural moan, her hand clasping the back of his neck. He shifted his weight to one forearm, so he could reach between them and retrieve the toy, chucking it away from the bed, which earned him a giggle from Michonne.

"Have you missed me?", She whispered, stroking his thigh with her calf as her other arm rested on his shoulders.

"Of course I have", He insisted, aligning himself at her entrance, not taking his eyes of hers as he slid into her wet centre.

Rick could have shuddered from the feel of his wife, and he was instantly reminded why he loved that aspect of their relationship so much.

He drew his hips back and thrust deep within her, forcing a high pitched cry from her lips, her back arching off the mattress. It dawned on him that he wasn't prepared, "It's been a while, Michonne"

"Just do it", She all but growled, and Rick did as he was told.

With both hands flat on the bed on either side of her head, he leaned above her, scanning over her body with lust filled eyes. He took a deep breath, muttering to himself, "Alright"

The first thrust sent Michonne's eyes rolling shut. The second thrust almost made Rick do the same, and by the third her nails were digging into his forearms. He picked up the pace quickly, pounding into her with such a force that the sound of skin slapping together echoed in the room.

"Oh God, Rick!", She cried desperately.

Despite being in the midst of their tryst, Rick was fearful that his wife would slip up again, and so his eyes never left her face. He wouldn't know what he would do if he heard Mike's name in his bedroom again, but he wouldn't rule out having to kill the man.

"Rick..."

Rick snapped out of his thoughts and peered at his wife with a raised brow. She had a look in her eyes that told him everything he needed to know, "You like that?"

He felt her walls tighten around his length as she moaned, "Yeah!"

"You wet for me?"

"Yes!", She cried out, her legs trembling around his waist as she reached her orgasm, "Oh God, yes Rick!"

A primal growl escaped as Rick's met his own release, emptying his load in his wife's pulsing heat. The feeling was beyond euphoric, and he could barely hold himself up, so he buried his face in her neck, in a drenched, panting mess.

"I guess… we need to thank Andrea"

"No."

Michonne giggled a second time, her fingers combing back and forth through his damp hair, "How was that?"

He frowned, his heart beat returning to normal, "...Were you trying not to say his name again?"

"No. I wasn't thinking about anything else but you"

Her words did help shrink his fear to a degree, although not completely. He shifted, about to lay his full weight on her when he stopped himself, "Oh, shit, let me get off you"

She watched him move onto the bed, rolling over to face him, "I've been thinking about something"

"What?"

"Names…"

His eyebrows shot up in shock, "Yeah? Like what?"

"...Andre William Grimes"

A smile crept on his face, "I like the sound of that"

"You do?", She rested her hand on top of his when he placed it on her stomach.

"I do…", His smile was short lived, as realisation hit him, "Wait… Andre, as in Andrea? Is that where you-"

"Yes"

"No."

...

A/N: I've had to decide to update my fics every weekend just because life has me by the throat right now lol if I get any updated sooner then I will upload sooner. Hope you enjoyed! xoxo