Slight AU that starts between 5x15 and 6x01. Heath and his crew return from their two week run to meet the new recruits of Alexandria. Pete is still alive, living in another house separate from his family. Michonne was never shot by Merle and didn't stumble upon the prison but she still spent 8 months with Andrea before deciding to leave Woodbury.
I couldn't get this plot out of my head. Hope you enjoy.
"Who the hell is that?" Scott mumbled as the chubby, white man sporting a mullet came into view behind the gates of their home, Alexandria.
Michonne looked up from the book she had been reading to take in the scene. They hadn't been gone that long. She knew Aaron was always out recruiting but to have a complete stranger on gate duty was very odd. It was hard to believe that Deanna approved this.
She watched silently as the guy unlocked the gate, allowing Heath the opportunity to move it so they could enter. Letting out a deep breath, she emerged from the vehicle, placing her katana on her back. Introductions happened quickly as they were informed of the 12, no 11 new members of their community.
"I'm sorry." Annie spoke up for his lost as everyone nodded in agreement.
"I'll lock up." Heath spoke as Michonne studied the newcomer. He seemed a little different but that was the world now. Everything and everyone was different including her. So she walked back to the car and began to unload the supplies. The quicker they got this task completed, the quicker she could get back to her house and take a shower.
But that was out of the question because as soon as they entered the pantry Olivia informed them that there were a lot of things they needed to know about the new people that infiltrated their home. So once they were done with all of their unloading, the group along with other members of the community were gathered around Scott's living room going on tangents.
"He is crazy. He came in here questioning everything." Monica spoke, trying to catch everyone up on the things that had happened since they were gone. "He doesn't want to do what has been working for us for the past two years. We've survived this long. We don't need his help." There was no way to miss the bite in her tone but Michonne had to disagree. Taking more safety precautions were welcomed. She had been trying to get the residents to take a weapons and defense class since she arrived six months ago, but everyone was entirely too comfortable and sheltered to think they needed the experience. "He even attacked Pete."
"Cause he wants Jessie. You saw the kiss at the party. You're the one who told me." Olivia replied, shaking her head.
Gossip had never been a thing that Michonne liked to participate in. She knew better than to turn down the information on the strangers but somehow this seemed wrong. Hell, they had probably talked about her too once she arrived and kept to herself barely speaking with anyone outside of Aaron, Deanna, and Heath. Now she was a little more open but not by much.
"You're a constable too. It's time to put on your uniform and speak with the prisoner." That's the only reason she was included in this conversation. It was clear everyone was scared of this new man, Rick and his group. But Michonne had been on the outside and knew how it changed people. If Aaron brought them back, they couldn't have been too bad.
"I still can't believe she gave that job to a newcomer." Carter scoffed. "She put damn near everyone from their group into a high position."
Hearing enough, Michonne snapped. "When have any of you wanted to be a constable or guard the damn wall?" Her tone shocked everyone, except Heath. He had been in Alexandria since the beginning but he wasn't sheltered like the rest of them. He knew what the outside world had to offer and he knew his friend had suffered great loss. "Exactly." She replied to their silence. "And I told Deanna months ago that Pete was abusing Jessie but she pushed it to the back burner because he is a doctor. Let's not act like he is a saint." She needed to get out of there and to the comfort of her own home before she went off even more. "You all don't know what it's like out there. Stop judging and do your fair share of work. They wouldn't have high positions to take if y'all stepped up."
On that note, she rose from the chair and made her way out of the house and down the block to their leaders'. It was obvious she shouldn't have gone on that run. Instead she should have stayed behind but she missed being outside of the walls. Being out there in the openness gave her comfort. She had wandered around by her lonesome for so long that this place suffocated her at times.
After Andrea's betrayal she was scared to let anyone get close to her again but Aaron had been there for her. He helped her get assimilated to the idea of being around people again. People that she could trust but she didn't trust these people. They were fickle. When she arrived, they welcomed her openly but once they noticed how closed off she was, they didn't understand and started to keep their distance.
"They probably had a damn meeting about me once I got my position." She mumbled, stomping up the stairs to the Monroe's house. Sadly, she had gotten used to it and began to let her guard down a little because being closed off helped her mentally and emotionally but it was draining. In her old life, she was lively and social. She wanted to at least get some of that back. She wanted to know these people and try to trust them, so once Deanna offered her the constable uniform, she took it and decided this would be the best way to do so.
"Hey," Spencer answered the door with a smile on his face, eyes trailing Michonne's figure. He was never discreet with the action and she was never annoyed with the fact that he admired her body but right now, she wanted him to be useful and get his parents. "They're in the living room."
She thanked him and made her way through the familiar layout. Reg was the first to spot her, greeting her right away and his wife followed. "A lot has been happening since I left." Her eyes looked around the house. "Sorry about Aiden." She spoke, sincerely, staring both of them in the eye. Unfortunately, she was no stranger to losing a child in this world.
"Thank you." Deanne spoke before getting right to business. "We have welcomed a new group and their leader, Rick has become a major problem." She shook her head. "I don't want to kick him out because he has two children but he has put my community in danger. He pointed a gun at us like a mad man. It was a miracle we got him into that cell." The memory was fresh and scary. Not only were they battling the dead but being at odds with the living was new and she didn't like the fear that coursed through her bones. "Rick Grimes is a problem and I don't think we can afford another slip up. He might pull the trigger next time."
"Rick Grimes?" Michonne repeated the name in disbelief. There was no way they both ended up hundreds of miles from Georgia in the same exact community. She didn't know the man but knew enough about his marital woes and personal life than she would like to admit thanks to Andrea.
"You know him?"
"No not at all. We just had a mutual friend back in Georgia but we never met." She admitted, not believing that the new world was this small.
Deanna hummed as she got an idea. "How about you go talk to him and see where his mind is? Speak on his behalf or against him tonight." Michonne opened her mouth to reject the opportunity but the other lady kept speaking. "I know you weren't here but maybe you can gain some insight into why he did what he did. For some reason, I feel like you two may be able to connect or relate in some way. If not, then it'll make the decision easier." A small smile left her face as she stared at Michonne. "You're our constable for a reason. We want to uphold some type of law and you used to be a lawyer. So that has to count for something."
"Okay," She let out a low breath to get Deanne to be quiet. "I'll do it."
An hour later, Michonne was showered, moisturized, and dressed in her uniform ready to meet the infamous Rick Grimes. He sounded nothing like the man Andrea painted for her during the eight months they were together. But change was unavoidable. She had changed since the last time she saw her friend. The new world had a way of turning the sweetest person hard and cruel. It turned her and she was trying hard to find her way back. There was no doubt that the things that happened to Rick and his people molded him into someone new.
Letting out a low breath, She placed the strap of the katana around her frame and walked out of her house, seeing someone waiting on her steps.
The person turned around, holding a beautiful baby girl. The boy didn't look older than thirteen but he definitely needed a haircut. His shaggy brown hair covered his striking blue orbs. "I heard your opinion holds a lot of weight around here."
"I wouldn't say that." She replied, easing down the stairs. "I haven't been here that long." But he was correct, Deanna and Reg valued her opinion more than they did any of the other residents. She had gotten them to see her way plenty of times due to her patience and ability to switch things into perspective. So in a sense, her opinion did carry a lot of weight.
His eyes were trained on her katana before he looked back at her face. "Eugene and Aaron said you had a sword but I had to see it for myself." He cleared his throat, realizing he sounded like an excited child. "I'm Carl. Carl Grimes."
"Ah," She almost smiled. "You're here about your father."
He nodded his head as his sister grabbed a piece of his hair. Michonne was trying hard to keep her eyes off of the child. It had been so long since she'd seen a baby and it hurt. If she looked slightly to her left, she was sure she would burst into tears at the sight of the growing girl. So she kept her eyes trained on the teenager. "He's not a bad guy."
"I'm sure he isn't but you have to understand the way this looks." She began walking towards the house that held the prisoner. "He came in here and challenged everything, the leaders, and attacked the doctor. They are painting him as the bad guy and it's not looking good." For some reason she didn't want to lie to Carl. There was no reason to because she knew that in a few hours his dad would be exiled. Which in turn meant he would be leaving Alexandria as well.
"We've been through a lot." He offered. "I'm not going to lie to you." It was obvious he felt the same way she did. "We've done bad things but if you really just got here then you know the type of people that are outside of these walls. You know we didn't have a choice." The sorrow and pain reflected off of the young man as he spoke, avoiding her eyes. "I'm not trying to beg but you can't judge him off of a few mistakes. It's hard to adjust to this after being out there for so long."
She was well aware. It had taken her a while to get used to the way things worked in the community but the way Rick went about things did not help his case. If she knew Deanna as well as she thought she did, Rick was on his way out with his family in tow.
Finally Michonne looked at the baby and felt a sob building in her throat because there was no way she could do that to this family. She had lost her own son at the beginning of this and if Rick still had his infant child, she knew he had to make sacrifices and do things that he wouldn't do in the old world. That didn't make him the bad guy but going after a married woman did not help his case.
"How old are you?"
"Twelve..I think." Carl answered, furrowing his brows. "I might be thirteen by now."
That revelation pulled her eyes away from the babbling baby to her brother's face. He didn't seem like the type to open up. She knew it took a lot for him to come to her with his concerns and she listened. She took note of the protective hold he had on his sister and the way his eyes were on a constant swivel for trouble. He was aware.
She liked this kid. He wasn't anything like the ones in the community but it broke her heart that he had to grow up so fast.
It's kept him alive. She reasoned with herself, seeing his eyes staring curiously at her.
"What's your sister's name?"
"Judith." He beamed, seeing his sister turn at the sound of her name. "I named her." Carl furrowed his brows again, wondering why he felt compelled to share this unnecessary information with this stranger.
Michonne closed her eyes and let out a low breath. The kids might be the sole reason she fought for Rick to stay but that all depended on the conversation she was about to have with the man in question. "I just need to speak with him to see where his mind is." The worried looked that flashed over the teen's face was not lost on her. If she would have blinked she would have missed it but she didn't. "Go home." She encouraged. "I might be able to bring him by before the meeting tonight."
"Okay." He mumbled, reluctantly turning around to be met by a concerned woman. She was thin with short, white hair dressed like a housewife. Her stare landed on the samurai for a brief moment before she ushered the children down the street. The look in her eyes didn't match this persona she was trying to put on and Michonne caught on to that fairly quickly as the lady turned back to look at her.
She shook her head and opened the door that led directly to the cell.
There he was seated on the cot with his back against the wall. His eyes slowly left the floor as she entered and took a seat outside of the cage. "Who are you?" The gritty and raspy Southern drawl took her by surprise.
"Michonne."
Rick tilted his head running his tongue over her name as he repeated it. "The woman with the sword." His eyes landed on the handle as she removed the weapon and leaned it against the wall. "You were part of the recruitment package. Aaron said you were beginning to take over the security of this place. Imagine my surprise when I got here and the blade-wielding warrior was nowhere in sight." The sarcasm was not missed and she had to chuckle. He was mad at her absence and he didn't know her from the man on the moon. "They don't even know how to carry out runs properly. One of my people got killed a few days after we arrived because your people don't know what the hell they're doing." He rose from the mattress and made his way over. "Then another member of my family is in the damn infirmary because of their neglect and naivety."
"I understand your frustration and I can't apologize enough for what happened." She spoke sincerely not intimidated by the anger he was releasing. He had a reason to be upset. Losing people was no easy feat. "But the way you've come at these people," she cleared her throat. "The way you've come at my people is not how you get people to cooperate, Rick. You're doin' the opposite. They think you're unstable and dangerous." There was no need to lie.
"And I think they're weak and incompetent." He retorted with a scoff.
"That's fair." Michonne spoke, surprising him. "I haven't been here that long myself. I don't know if Aaron shared that piece of info. I have been here for about six months and I'm still getting used to it. When I arrived, there were a lot of things I wanted to change and a lot of it did change because I went to Deanna and Reg respectfully. I made them see things my way. It wasn't easy but persistence is the key." He didn't respond so she continued. "They didn't have anyone on guard at night, I fixed that." Rick scoffed loudly and shook his head. "They didn't do perimeter checks and I changed that as well."
Rick listened intently to the words that left her heart shaped lips. His eyes were fixated on them but once he actually stared into her brown orbs, he couldn't pull away. "What else did you change?"
She was taken aback by his question but ignored it and asked one of her own. "Where did you get the gun?"
A small smirk played on his lips before he chuckled. "Why don't we carry weapons inside of these walls? There are people out there. People that are willing to do whatever to get what we have and take it." His mind shifted to the conversation he had with his friend, Morgan from over a year ago. "No one can give me a real answer. Saying you didn't need to carry before does not suffice." His eyes landed on her katana. "But you get to keep yours? Huh."
"I couldn't part with it. I keep it mounted in my house unless I travel outside of the walls."
"Or when you come to meet the crazy, dangerous new recruit." There was an edge to his voice that sent a chill down her spine but she still wasn't scared. More than anything she was intrigued. All of the hurt, pain, and anger was easily detected but the sorrow, the worry, and the guilt were also there, hidden.
"Rick, I'm not your enemy." She broke away from their heated gaze, her body was growing hot under his stare. "I am here to understand why you did what you did and I think I have enough information." His eyes were trained on her as she stood from her seat and made her way to the cell door. "I'm going to take you home for a few." Her eyes traveled over all of the bandages scattered over his face. It honestly looked a mess and very painful but after hearing how they crashed through a window, she understood.
She made her way down to the scar on the bridge of his nose wondering about that story. It was newly healed. That she knew for sure. Rick cleared his throat before his tongue swiped across his bottom lip. Her eyes landed on the pink, full objects before meeting his sad cerulean orbs.
"You'll need to clean up as much as you can."
"I need to speak with my people too."
"I can't promise that." She answered, knowing there must have been an ulterior motive to that. "Please don't make me regret this."
Carol stood from the couch as Rick and Michonne entered the house. He looked at her and nodded. They had already met earlier to discuss taking the leaders hostage if they tried to exile Rick. They did not expect the katana warrior to be a new addition and they both knew she could handle herself. She had become a quick complication and that irritated the older woman.
"Hey, where are the kids?" The sentence could barely leave his mouth before Carl emerged from the kitchen with his sister, who reached for her dad. "Hey sweetheart."
Michonne noted the softness he used with his youngest as he pulled his oldest into a hug.
"Hey Michonne," Carl spoke, surprising his father.
"Carl." She flashed a small smile, keeping her eyes off of the youngest member of the family. "I don't remember telling you my name."
He shrugged, running his hand through his hair. "I already knew it. I thought you were cool before I even met you." He admitted, smirking. "The name, the weapon..it's pretty badass."
"Carl, language." Rick chatized, narrowing his eyes with a slight tilt of his head.
"Sorry," The young boy looked at his feet, embarrassed. "It is pretty cool, though. Have you always had it?"
Michonne smiled at the curiosity. "No. I found it in the beginning." She admitted feeling everyone's eyes on her. "I just got better. All I had was time. It was just me and them out there."
The teenager nodded, feeling sad that she didn't have any family left. His dad messed up a lot but he had gotten them so far. He couldn't imagine being alone in this world. "Well I'm glad you made it here. I would love to see your skills one day."
A genuine, full smile appeared on her face. "I would love to show you. If it's cool with your dad."
"Hopefully he doesn't get us kicked out before then." Carl mumbled, causing the other woman to call his name. The teen didn't say anything else as Rick handed the baby over and headed up the stairs to shower and get ready for his fate in the community.
"Carol," The older lady finally held out her hand. Michonne gave it a firm shake before placing her hand back at her side. "Have a seat." She nodded her thanks and made herself as comfortable as she could with her weapon on her back. It wasn't lost on her that the older woman kept staring at it. "You're the constable but you also go out on runs?"
"That was the first time I have been on a run since I got here a few months ago." There was something about the lady that rubbed Michonne the wrong way, causing her to keep her answers short and precise.
Carol already knew this information. Aaron shared it with them. She was a new member with a high position like their crew. "You missed being out there?" She asked, looking around. "I understand. This is all too surreal."
"Eventually you get used to it."
Soon Carl joined them and took up all of Michonne's attention by asking questions about potentially training him. But Carol's stare was making her uneasy.
"I'm going to go home and get ready for tonight." She replied, deciding that Rick was a grown ass man that was ultimately going to do what he wanted rather she guarded him or not. He was no longer a prisoner. "Tell your dad to be there at 7 and not to be late." Her eyes were on the teen purposely avoiding the other woman.
After she changed out of her uniform and into her usual attire: a pair of skin tight jeans, a tank top, a black leather vest and her combat boots, she placed her katana back in its rightful place and exited her house. Everyone was in attendance except the man of the hour. Her eyes landed on Deanna, who was already staring at her. Rick was making it harder to defend him.
"He's not even on time. He doesn't think this is important. He has been doing what he wants since he got here. Kick him out already." Carter's rant was cut off by Rick, who looked impossibly dirtier than earlier carrying a dead roamer.
He threw the creature at their feet and went on a rant about the breach and the weak walls before he was cut off by Pete, who stumbled in carrying her katana.
Michonne saw red. He broke into her house and stole her most prized possession. He had a lot of nerve because there was no way she wasn't going to beat his ass worse than Rick had earlier.
"Pete put it down." Reg called out. He took a step closer and grabbed the man's arm, causing Pete to flinch and slice his throat. It felt like everything was happening in slow motion. The remorse flashed across Pete's face as Deanne dropped to her knees, covering her husband's wound as best as she could but Michonne knew he wasn't making it.
Instead of the drunk man dropping the weapon, he held the bloody katana up to Rick. She could see Rick's hand flinching at his side and the gun in the back of his shirt. Before she could see what was happening, Pete moved the weapon even closer to Rick's throat. "Don't move."
"You better kill me." Rick gritted out, flexing his fingers.
The crowd began to plead with their troublesome doctor as Michonne slowly made her way behind Rick, removing the weapon. He felt the motion but didn't turn around in fear that he would cause himself to be sliced. Her eyes landed on Deanna, who nodded once she realized what was about to happen. Michonne cocked the gun and pointed it at Pete's head before she fired.