A/N: Thanks for your patience as I work on bringing my stories to their ends. Enjoy the update!

"RJ, are you there? Over."

…

"RJ? Over."

…

"RJ, wake up. Over."

…

"RJ!"

RJ, startled awake by the sound of his name being shouted, instinctively reached for his knuckle knife. It was given to him by his Tía Rosita on his sixth birthday and was always stuck in the wall behind his bed, in case of emergency. When his fingers couldn't find the finger holes of the weapon or feel the wall it should have been stuck in, RJ jolted upright in a disoriented haze.

"R! J!"

"Ezra?" RJ groggily mumbled.

He yawned as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, wondering how his bestest friend Ezra was in Alexandria.

"Ez?" he groggily called out.

RJ looked around expecting to see Ezra and gasped in delight when he saw the Christmas tree. The way it was all lit up with colorful, sparkling lights and a shining gold star on top looked like magic to RJ. He smiled at the magical sight but gasped loudly when he realized he was in the living room and not his bedroom. He gasped even louder when he remembered why.

Last night when his mama said it was bedtime, he begged her to let him sleep on the couch. He told her it was because he wanted to sleep close to his new go-kart, but that was a fib. He really, really didn't like fibbing to his mama and knew it was really, really wrong, but he had to do it! He wouldn't be able to sneak out the house to go see Santa to get his one wish if he slept upstairs in his bedroom. The stairs were so creaky, and as soon as he stepped on the third step down, his mama and Jude would wake up.

"RJ! Wake up!"

Ezra's voice boomed from the walkie-talkie on the coffee table, startling RJ and making him jump. He quickly grabbed it before Ezra woke up everyone in both their houses.

"Shhhhhhhh! I'm awake! Over!" he whispered into the walkie-talkie.

"Dude," Ezra sighed with relief. "Over."

Ezra knew how bad RJ wanted to go to the North Pole. They'd spent most of the night working on a plan to get him there while all the adults were busy singing DJ Fun Guy's Christmas songs. Ezra wished he had a bigger part in the plan, but he lived in the Kingdom and couldn't get to Alexandria in time to be RJ's backup. The only thing he could do was make sure RJ woke up early enough to sneak out.

"You still gonna do it? You still gonna go find Santa?" Ezra asked. "Over."

"Yep," RJ answered without hesitating. "Santa owes me. Over."

"He does, RJ," Ezra agreed. "You were so good. You ate so many vegetables. Over."

RJ nodded, but he'd do everything all over again because it meant he was getting his one wish!

"You still want me to ask Santa to change your new baby sister into a baby brother?" RJ asked. "Over."

Ezra gave it some thought before answering, "Nuh uh. Over."

"You sure?" RJ asked. "Over."

Ezra thought about it again before answering, "Yeah, I'm sure. Everybody already likes the new baby. And mama and papa said my job as a big brother is more noble and more important 'cuz I have three little sisters now. Over."

RJ rolled his eyes. "If they say so," he deadpanned. "Over."

RJ didn't care what Miss Nabila and Mister Jerry said… having a sister wasn't noble or important. It was a pain in the butt. Ezra had three sisters. Ezra had three pains in the butt!

"Be careful, RJ! Over and out!" Ezra suddenly whispered in a hurry.

RJ froze and stared at the walkie-talkie. He was so scared he was about to hear Miss Nabila or Mister Jerry ask to talk to his mama. A few minutes of quiet passed, but RJ waited a few more to be sure his North Pole plan wasn't busted. As soon as he was sure it wasn't, he turned the volume of the walkie-talkie down to low and hid it under a couch cushion.

He listened real hard for any sounds coming from upstairs from his mama and Jude. When he didn't hear any, he giggled quietly to himself and popped up from the couch. He had to get ready for the North Pole!

But first, he had to pee.

He quietly ran out the living room, past the front door and the dining room, and through the kitchen to get to the bathroom next to his Uncle Daryl's old bedroom. The house grew darker and darker the farther he ran from the Christmas tree, but his eyes quickly adjusted to the dark and he easily made his way to the bathroom. He'd left the door open and the toilet seat up last night, and he was awfully glad he did, or he would've had a messy accident. He barely made it to the toilet after turning the light on.

When he was all done, he pulled back the shower curtain to get the three cups of water hidden in the tub. He hid them last night when his mama and uncles were singing along to a song called "Let it Snow" by a group called Boyz II Men. One cup of water was for washing his hands, one cup was for brushing his teeth, and one cup was for rinsing his mouth. His mama always said they had no good reason for bad hygiene. Good hygiene was the first thing he thought about when he and Ezra were coming up with his North Pole plan. They agreed it would be too risky to run water when the house was so quiet and that hiding the cups was the smartest thing to do.

Once RJ's hands were clean and his mouth was fresh, he turned off the bathroom light and listened for any sounds coming from upstairs from his mama or Jude. When he didn't hear anything, he giggled to himself and hurried to the kitchen pantry.

His mama wouldn't be happy that he didn't flush the toilet, but he knew she'd understand once he got back from the North Pole!

RJ slowly opened the pantry door, turned on the pantry light, and grabbed two pillows. He'd hidden them in the pantry last night when his mama and uncles were singing along to a song called "Opera of the Bells"by a group called Destiny's Child. He hugged his pillows to his chest and quietly ran to the living room to place one pillow behind the other on the couch and cover them with the blanket he'd slept under. He tucked them in just like his mama tucked him in at night.

She wouldn't be happy when she found pillows under the blanket instead of him, but he knew she'd understand once he got back from the North Pole!

RJ took a quick look at the Christmas tree before rushing back to the pantry and sitting down on the pantry floor. He reached for the notepad and pencil he hid last night when his mama and uncles were singing along to a song called "Last Christmas"by a group called Wham!.He needed to write a letter to his mama and Jude so they wouldn't be sad or angry or afraid that he was gone. He'd already thought about what he wanted to tell them, he just had to write it down.

Dear mama and Jude,

Hi mama and Jude. I will bee back soon. Do not wurreey. By mama and Jude.

Love RJ

He drew a big smiley face and two hearts—one for his mama and one for Jude, and quietly tore the letter from the notepad. He folded it in half and set it to the side to get dressed for the North Pole.

Last night, he'd hidden his jeans, a belt, a shirt, socks, gloves, and a coat in the pantry. He hid it all when his mama and uncles were singing a song about the twelve days of Christmas. They started singing it after DJ Fun Guy paused the music to talk bad about Mariah Carey again, and it took them forever to get through all twelve days because of the seventh day. His mama and Uncle Jesus said the seven swans were swooning. Uncle Aaron said the seven swans were swimming. He didn't know what swooning was, but his mama was always right. The swans must have been swooning.

RJ thought it would probably be much colder in the North Pole than it was in Alexandria, so he put his clothes on over his pajamas, put his socks on over the pair he was already wearing, and then put on his gloves and his coat. His snow boots were by the front door between his mama's and Jude's, but he wasn't putting those on until right before he left. Jude always told him he sounded like a big clumsy baby when he walked around the house in his snow boots.

RJ rolled his eyes because he wasn't a big clumsy baby.

"I'm a big kid," he whispered.

Jude would think he was a big kid too once he got back from the North Pole!

The last thing he needed to do before leaving the pantry was pack supplies, snacks, and weapons. For supplies, he was taking a compass and a safety whistle. He'd hidden them in the pantry last night when his mama and uncles were singing along to a song called "Jingle Bell Rock" by a group called Alvin and the Chipmunks. RJ didn't think he'd need to use the compass or the whistle, but he put them in the inside pocket of his coat, just in case.

For snacks, he was taking deer jerky and cookies. He didn't have to worry about hiding them in the pantry because they were already there. He just had to reach them. He stood on the tips of his tippy toes to pull the canister of his Uncle Daryl's homemade deer jerky from one of the shelves and put three sticks of jerky in his front coat pocket. The cookies were on a higher shelf and couldn't be reached on his tippy toes. Jude normally lifted him up to get them, but he could still reach them on his own by stepping on the jerky canister. He put four cookies in his pocket with the jerky.

"O-re-os," he whispered, giggling at the silly name.

There weren't many Oreos left, and he didn't know when his Uncle Aaron would find another pack, but he did need to eat breakfast and the cookies smelled so good. He ate five of them.

His mama wouldn't be happy he was eating so many of her favorite cookies, but he knew she'd understand once he got back from the North Pole!

For weapons, RJ had to take his third and fourth choices. His mama kept the guns locked up in her room, so he couldn't take the Colt. He left his sword in Jude's room the other night when she was helping him sharpen it, so he couldn't take his sword. That left his sling shot and his switchblade. He hid them in the pantry last night when his mama and uncles were singing along to a song called "The Christmas Song" by someone named Nat King Cole.

RJ slid the slingshot into one of the back pockets of his jeans and filled one of his coat pockets with marbles for ammunition. He put the switchblade in the pocket with the compass and whistle, but once his snow boots were on, he'd hide his switchblade in one of the boots.

"Pillows, letters, clothes, supplies, snacks, weapons," RJ whispered to himself.

That was it! That was everything he needed to take care of in the pantry! He zipped his coat up and picked up the letter to his mama and Jude before turning off the pantry light and rushing to the front door. He placed the letter between the legs of the wire cat statue sitting on the entryway table. His mama stopped to rub the cat's head every morning. She would find the letter; RJ was certain.

He put his snow boots on as quietly as possible, dropped his switchblade into his right boot, and listened one last time for any sounds coming from upstairs from his mama and Jude. When he didn't hear anything, he very, very carefully unlocked the front door, very, very carefully slipped out the house, and very, very carefully closed the door behind him.

He really wanted to run back into the house to wake Jude up and tell her he just sneaked out the house all by himself! He would ruin his plan if he did, so he'd just have to wait to tell her all about it.

A cold gust of wind blew by, stinging his cheeks and reminding him that he forgot to hide a hat and a scarf in the pantry.

"Oh no," he mumbled.

He turned and looked at all the snow that had fallen in the neighborhood overnight. There was a lot of it, and it was very cold out, but he couldn't go back into the house for his hat and scarf. He sighed and watched his breath as it moved through the air. When it disappeared, he decided he would look on the bright side like his Aunt Connie always did.

He'd walked through a blizzard once, and today was nothing like a blizzard. It was just cold. That was a bright side! The sun would be all the way up soon, and when it was high in the sky, it would warm him up a little more. That was another bright side! And the elves in Santa's workshop would surely share their hot cocoa and warm cookies, he just knew it! That was brightest side of all!

"Santa, here I come!" he whispered excitedly.

Rick Grimes didn't know exactly how much time had passed since he was kidnapped from Alexandria. By his best estimate, it had been about eight years, maybe nine. He'd been too heavily sedated at the beginning of his captivity to track that time, but as soon as he was lucid enough to do so, he tracked each and every day he was apart from his family.

Two things kept him going through the years. One of them was imagining his return home. Every day, year after year after year, he imagined his return to Michonne and Judith…

The second he arrived in Alexandria, he would start running to the house he'd built a life in with Michonne. Nothing would slow him down. His bad knees wouldn't. His bad back wouldn't. The surprised faces of his family as he passed them by wouldn't. He wouldn't stop running until he was standing outside his front door. He'd knock because walking into the house after being gone for so long might be too much of a shock for his wife and daughter. He'd knock, and he'd wait for Michonne to answer it. She wouldn't make him wait long. Michonne would open the door with Judith by her side, and for the first time in far too many years, he would see the faces of the two loves of his life and finally feel whole again.

Reality wasn't quite how Rick imagined it.

Now that he had finally arrived in Alexandria, he stood frozen in place, staring at the 15-foot wall from a distance. It looked so much different than he remembered, as if it had been rebuilt entirely in some places and patched up in others.

Those differences in the wall made all the difference to Rick. The return he'd imagined centered around the way things were, with no consideration for how things could be different. Seeing how the wall had so obviously changed over the years forced Rick to acknowledge that Alexandria on the other side of the wall must have changed, too.

And he had changed. He wasn't the same man who'd walked the streets of Alexandria as one of its respected leaders. His survival over the years meant reverting to the vicious and feral ways Alexandrians had initially feared and condemned. The savage nature that had nearly gotten him voted out of Alexandria had not only resurfaced but had become a very necessary second skin for a very long time. Alexandrians would see the traces of that savageness. They might view him as a danger again. They might turn him away.

And there was Judith, his babygirl who was no longer his three-year-old baby girl. He vividly remembered her sweet face framed by golden curls, but that was the only face he knew. He didn't think she would know his face at all.

And then there was Michonne.

Rick scratched his brow with his thumb and let out a shaky breath.

When he looked into Michonne's eyes, would he still see home? He was a little terrified that he wouldn't.

At his core, he still felt like the same Rick Grimes who anchored Michonne the way she always anchored him. He still believed Michonne was and would always be the greatest love of his life. But they had almost a decade of distance between them. He thought about who they were now… how she'd been raising their daughter alone, running a community, and flourishing from the love and support of family, friends, and a network of other communities while he'd been living as a monster.

Rick's shoulders tensed when a low growl rumbled from one of the walkers chained to a tree behind him. The walkers were a testament to the darkness he'd been forced to live in and the darkest things he'd done to escape it.

Fear churned deep within Rick's gut, triggering his fight or flight instincts. With his heartbeat racing, his breath shortening, and his fingers twitching by his side, he was a man on the verge of flight. His thoughts told him he needed one more day. He needed to rethink what he would say to his girls so that he got his words just right. He needed to prepare for the worst-case scenario of being welcomed as chaos or a disturbance.

His fear and self-doubt were poised to control his next moves, but the sound of a child's giggle changed everything.

The giggle took Rick back to the time he first pulled up to Alexandria with Michonne, Carl, and Judith. The giggle he just heard lifted the weight of his uncertainty just as the sound of children giggling had done the first time he found himself outside the wall.

"You ready?"

The memory of Michonne asking him that question rang as clear as a bell in Rick's mind. It pacified him in a way that only Michonne had the power to do, real or imagined.

"Yeah," he answered quietly.

He was ready to find out if he still had a home.

RJ giggled as he climbed up the wall to sneak out of Alexandria. He was thinking about how his mama was singing last night. She was so loud, but her voice was sooooooo bad! He giggled again thinking about the side-eye his mama gave his Uncle Jesus when he gave her the singing part of someone named Michelle, and gave Uncle Aaron the singing part of someone named Kelly, and gave himself the singing part of someone named Beyoncé before they sang "Opera of the Bells."

RJ easily made it to the top of the wall, giggling the entire way up, but he held a giggle in as he swung a leg over the top of the wall. He'd just made a big, big mistake.

Judith always told him he had to be real quiet and real focused when they were climbing up and over the wall. If he had remembered to do that, he would've seen the stranger and the two walkers before the stranger saw him. If he'd been more alert, he wouldn't have lost his grip on the wall. If he'd been paying just a little more attention, he wouldn't be grasping at air as he plummeted fifteen feet to the snow below.

A/N:

SPOILER ALERT - RJ's fine! :)

Reviews of this chapter are appreciated.