An Awakening

by a.bones

When a connection forces you to recalibrate your views on love, happiness, commitment, sacrifice, and second chances. Michonne has to come to terms with the challenges of this reality - she may be falling in love, but this isn't what she imagined, this isn't what she thought she wanted. Rick has to ask himself how much he's willing to risk for the love of his life. A Richonne story

1. Prologue

"Loyalty to a petrified opinion never yet broke a chain or freed a human soul." Mark Twain

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This wasn't supposed to happen.

I like her. I like them. Their kids.

I didn't want this to happen. But, I suppose like with most things in life, the best laid plans…

It was supposed to be an easy way to make some extra money while I was toiling through law school. Babysitting two adorable kids a few nights a week for a seemingly happy couple.

I never expected to fall for their dad. Or maybe…was that naive? Is it even true? I mean, who wouldn't fall for those eyes, those curls, that walk. But it was a harmless crush. It was supposed to be harmless, it was harmless. Until that night he drove me home.

18 year old Michonne would be so disappointed in 28 year old Michonne. I was more idealistic a decade ago, my moral compass knew true north. I hadn't yet learned that that black and white I thought the world existed in was really just shades of a thousand different grays.

Affairs? Bad. Fidelity? Good. It was simple. At least, that's what I thought. But where does happiness fit into that equation? Don't we all deserve a chance at that? I mean murderers and rapists and animal abusers - let them rot, but I'm not talking about them. I'm talking about the average, hardworking, decent individual. Is there an expiry date on our own happiness? If we haven't found it by say, 30 or 40, do we lose out on another day with a chance? Do we only get to try once? No. The answer is no, I'm sure of that. We get to try, over and over and over again. And I don't believe responsibility and happiness are mutually exclusive either. But what if our happiness and our partner's happiness are mutually exclusive? And here's another question - you know how when you fly you're reminded to put on your own oxygen mask before helping others - how can you take care of others, if you aren't taking care of yourself?

I promise I'm not trying to excuse a cheap or illicit affair. He called me "an awakening" and I can't just walk away from that. That's gotta mean something, it has to. God, I probably sound ridiculous. But let me try to start from the beginning.