A lot had changed in the years since they had all graduated high school. Maggie had been accepted to the University of Georgia's veterinary school after she finished her undergraduate degree in biology at the same school, and had moved to Athens. Her parents had felt it was bittersweet as they were so proud of her for following in Hershel's footsteps, but also missed her greatly. Glenn had insisted that he wasn't following her when he moved out there about a month after she started school. He was studying philosophy and delivering pizzas, and the latter was certainly more lucrative. Beth knew she wasn't cut out for college and really wanted to be a singer, but knew that wasn't realistic. She sang at open mic nights that her friends attended when they could, and became a manager at a local horse stable where she could ride horses all she wanted, and help teach kids who wanted to learn to ride. Tara wasn't sure what she wanted to do at first, but ultimately applied to the police academy two years after Rick. She admired what he did, and she figured it was her best shot. Eugene had moved away to Massachusetts to study at MIT, and had pretty much fallen out of touch with everyone due to the intense and involved nature of his coursework and the research projects they all knew he would get involved in.
Abraham and Rosita enlisted in the Army together. Actually, together was a relative term. Rosita enlisted and Abraham did so without telling her. After she found out, she was enraged. They were all at the beach together, and everyone was congratulating Abraham. Rosita's reaction was a stark contrast from everyone else's. She shrieked, in such a high-pitched tone that no one could even believe it was her, "You've been pining after Sasha! She decided she didn't want you. So now, now, you come crawling back to me, literally following me into the military!? You are disgusting. I swear."
"Negative," Abraham contradicted. "We all knew that my ambition was to always serve my country, defend our civilians in whatever capacity I could. This should be no real shock Rosita. If anything, I would think that you were following me."
They made out against a tree later that evening. The two of them were more or less together and typically appeared as a couple when they were on leave together.
Daryl and Carol moved in together about two weeks after high school graduation. Daryl worked for Dale, as he decided school wasn't his thing. He paid the rent while Carol spent any money she earned on her tuition for school. She wanted to become a social worker and work with teenagers so that she could teach them about healthy relationships and surrounding themselves with the right people. She didn't want anyone falling into the same unfortunate situation that she had with Ed. To this day, no one really knew if Carol and Daryl were together, but they did know that the two of them were always happy with each other. Daryl had confided in Rick that he liked living with Carol. There was something about it that made him happy, and he also felt more comfortable being able to give something back to her after their high school years where she had pretty much taken care of him, keeping him well-fed and clothed.
Shane and Andrea were a less happy story. About two months after graduation, Andrea admitted to Michonne that her period was late. Two weeks after that, Michonne finally convinced her to take a test. Eight minutes after that, Michonne and Andrea sat in the bathroom of a gas station looking at two blue lines. Four minutes later, Andrea cried and Michonne rubbed her back, not totally sure what to do other than wait. Michonne told Rick that night, and Andrea told Shane when she could no longer hide her baby bump. Shane had married her at her father's behest, forgoing all of his plans to play football at the college level. He instead joined the police force with Rick, knowing that he would get good benefits to provide for Andrea and their baby, who ended up being a little girl named Ashley Louise. Andrea and Shane both loved their little girl, but by the time she was two, they had divorced. Shane couldn't commit to Andrea the way she needed him to. He was however, able to commit to his daughter and accepted full responsibility for her when Andrea ran across the country to where Amy was going to school in San Diego.
Michonne considered all of these variables and moving parts as she stared down at Rick on his one knee. So much had changed, and yet Rick was a constant. The two of them never drifted from each other once she accepted his affections, and they never even took a break. Once they fell in with each other, they never fell out. He was always there for her; he listened to her ramble when she was spiraling about an essay, he told her when she needed to go to sleep, took her out for ice cream when her head looked like it would explode from all of the cases she studied, and gave her so much help with André that she would never really be able to thank him for. She realized at the same time, that she had been a constant for him as well. They always went to the same diner downtown when he had a rough day, first at the academy, and then at actual work. She was always there to run him a hot shower when he was so sore from doing physical conditioning during his first few months of training. She reminded him when he needed to shave, playfully teasing, "Your face is losing the war." He would smirk at her, and walk away only to come back clean shaven. These were the things that kept her sane during the most stressful four years of her life, and she knew these were the same things that would keep her grounded and most importantly, happy for the rest of her life. She knew that if she said yes right now, she would be saying yes to a lifetime of happiness with her best friend.
"Of course I will marry you Rick," she said, as though she couldn't believe he even felt the need to ask her this question. He slipped the ring on her finger and stood to kiss her quickly.
It was later that night, when they were laying in Rick's bed under the sheets the Michonne confessed, "I really thought you would never propose."
"Why would you think that?" Rick asked curiously, propping himself up on his elbow to look at her. Still just the slightest bit shy around him, Michonne clutched the sheet to her chest and explained how she had heard Rick ask her mom for her blessing when she was a sophomore and when he never asked she figured that he had realized Michonne wasn't a forever type of commitment.
Rick countered her quickly, sweetly, and sincerely with his own explanation, "I knew how much you thought you couldn't do because you were a mother. I knew how much you wanted that degree, and I didn't want to be the reason you didn't do it. I also wanted for it to be something you did yourself, not as my wife, as much as I like the sound of saying that you're my wife. I wanted it to be that you did this amazing thing without a man. You're amazing, and you deserve to feel that and to have everyone think that about you. I was going to wait until dinner, but then I saw you, smiling there like you do, and I couldn't wait."
"We did skip dinner, didn't we?" Michonne asked.
"Really?" Rick groaned. "That's what you got out of that?"
Michonne shoved him playfully and said, "I heard everything you said, and if I respond to any of it, I swear I will cry and I really do not feel like doing that right now."
"Yeah," Rick agreed. "Can't have you crying all over that ring."
Michonne smiled as she lifted her left hand in the air and the two of them admired the ring on her fourth finger.
