Third Time's the Charm

Rating: T

Summary: Rick and Michonne's lives intersect three times over the span of seven years. They walk away from each other the first two times their paths cross. Will serendipity lead to love the third time? (AU)

Part 1 of 5.

A/N: Special thanks to Sophiasown for your summary help (because I suck at summaries) and to Semul because a prologue saved my life (not to be dramatic or anything)! Enjoy!

Part I: Prologue

July 2012

Michonne Greenleaf sat slumped in her seat on the bus with her head resting against the window. Her audition was a disaster. She hadn't meant to ruffle any feathers when she asked to speak with the script writer, but the line "The anti-fungal treatment for your pro-fun feet!" didn't make much sense. And she hadn't meant to clash with the casting director over the delivery of that line, but did she really need to put her hand on her hip and roll her neck?

Apparently, yes. Her audition was cut short with a curt "Thank you. Next."

Not landing the lead role of a young, urban, female podiatrist in a 15-second commercial spot for some foot cream didn't matter to Michonne. Missing out on the $750 paycheck did. That money would've gone towards her fall semester tuition at KC University.

The last thing Michonne wanted to do was put off another semester of school, but the payment deadline was right around the corner and she was still $1200 short. She was starting to think commercial acting wasn't a good side hustle to get her back in the classroom. She'd come up with the idea a few months back when, just for fun, she attended a BigKat commercial casting call and ended up being cast as the BigKat-eating, roller skating girl in the park. She made a very nice chunk of change for just a few hours of her time, she just hadn't had much luck booking anything since then.

"35th and Market Street!" the driver shouted over his shoulder, easing the bus out of traffic and pulling up to the stop.

Michonne sat up listlessly and looked out the window at The Saviors Bar & Grill across the street. She may have been having a day, but the one person who always made her bad days better was waiting for her inside that crappy restaurant. With a smile blossoming on her face, she stood and made her way to the exit.

Maggie Greene was sitting at her favorite table inside her favorite restaurant waiting for her favorite person to get off the bus across the street. A huge smile filled her face when the bus pulled away and she saw her bestie walking to the crosswalk. Maggie thought Michonne looked so doctorly in that brand new white lab coat she was wearing. She'd easily convinced her daddy to let Michonne borrow it from the hospital for her audition. She would've also convinced him to let Michonne shadow one of the podiatrists on his staff, but Michonne thought that was overkill.

"But why him?" Maggie heard the man at the table next to her ask. "He's a jackass! Why him?"

Maggie's ears instantly perked up. She'd been listening to the drama unfold between the man and the woman sitting with him for the last ten minutes until the woman excused herself to use the bathroom. The woman was back and the drama was picking up where it left off.

From what she'd overheard so far, the two had been on a monthlong break because the woman needed time and space to figure things out. That sounded like a load of crap to Maggie, but the man had waited the month out. Now the woman was dumping him for some guy named Philip.

Maggie reached for her iced tea and slowly stirred her straw around, trying to appear as inconspicuous as possible while she waited for the woman to answer the man's question.

"Philip is not a jackass!" Maggie heard the woman say. "After just a few months of working in the mayor's office, he's already Mayor Monroe's right hand man! He's ambitious, he's driven, and he's making a difference in the community."

"And I'm not those things? I'm not making a difference?" Maggie heard the man ask. "Because I've been fighting crime in our community for ten years. I took a bullet trying to keep the streets in our community safe. You know that, Lori."

Maggie heard the woman sigh. "Please don't do that. Philip said you would… He said you would use your hero complex to try to manipulate the conversation."

"Lori, if I even knew what a hero complex was, I would never use it to manipulate you. Never! You know that," Maggie heard the man say.

"But Philip says I'm the hero, too. He says the way I took care of you after you were shot shows an innate altruism that he rarely sees in people," Maggie heard the woman say. "He says women like me deserve badges of bravery for all the nights we spend waiting up for our men and worrying if they'll come home in one piece. He says he's planning on talking to Mayor Monroe about establishing a Day of Acknowledgement to celebrate unsung heroes like me."

Maggie took a sip of tea to stop herself from gagging at all the things Philip had said.

"In no way am I implying that what you do isn't honorable in some respects," Maggie heard the woman say, "but most of your job is spent in an air conditioned car with Shane. When's the last time you played chess in the park with the homeless? Or made banners welcoming home our troops? Or organized a community festival? Those are the things Philip does. That's how he's making a real difference. It's all so inspirational. He's so inspirational."

Maggie took a longer sip of tea.

"Someone like him is going places in life," she heard the woman continue to gush. "Like Philip always says, it's the mayor's office today, the governor's office tomorrow."

"The governor's office," Maggie heard the man repeat slowly. "And what about me, Lori? Am I someone who's going places?"

Maggie put her tea down and took a quick peek at the man. She wished she hadn't. Seeing someone's face right as their heart was being broken wasn't a pretty sight.

"I love you and I'll always love you," Maggie heard the woman say. "Being your girlfriend these past four years has been so special, but… but… bu—Rick, I have to be honest with you. I met with Philip last night to talk, just like you and I are talking now. He knew how important the conversation was and wanted me to be comfortable expressing my feelings, so he reserved a table for us at Le Bilboquet in Atlanta. You also know how important this conversation is, but you asked me to meet you here… at The Saviors Bar and Grill. So you tell me, are you going places? And how does that possibly compare to anywhere a future governor can take me?"

Maggie gasped but quickly cleared her throat and reached for a packet of sugar to play it off.

"I'm not saying any of this to be cruel because I want us to always be friends," she heard the woman say, "but how is it fair to either of us if I'm the best you can do in a relationship but I can't say the same about you?"

A silence stretched that made Maggie too uncomfortable to want to continue listening. With her heart aching for that poor man, she picked up her phone and called Michonne.

Not one to dwell on life's disappointments for too long, Michonne started looking on the bright side as soon as she stepped off the bus. She had five weeks to come up with enough money to pay her tuition. Most people would give anything to have one more day with a chance; she had thirty-five of them. Thirty-five days for her will to find a way. And if she couldn't find a way, well then at least she had a good jump on saving for spring semester's tuition. That was still something to be very excited about after a year and a half hiatus from school.

Optimism fully restored, Michonne crossed the street at the crosswalk with a giddy pep in her step. She was only a few giddy steps away from The Saviors Bar & Grill when her phone started ringing in her lab coat pocket.

"What's up, Green with an E?" she asked into her phone, grinning.

"Michonne, keep walking," Maggie said in a low voice.

The grin on Michonne's face collapsed into a frown. She couldn't remember the last time Maggie hadn't said, "The sky, Green with a Leaf. What's shakin'?" in response to her phone greeting. Equally as troubling was her instruction to keep walking.

Michonne's steps slowed to a stop near the entrance of The Saviors Bar & Grill.

"Maggie, do I need to call 911?"

"No! Everything's ok in here," Maggie swiftly answered in a quiet voice.

"Then why do you sound like that? I can barely hear you. And why do I need to keep walking?" Michonne questioned.

Maggie would fill Michonne in if she could, but she didn't want to risk being overheard by the man and woman at the table next to her. They were still sitting in silence.

"Michonne, believe me, there's no need to call 911. Everything's ok," she whispered.

"And you're ok?" Michonne asked.

"Yes!" Maggie answered in a firm, low voice. "And no," she added, taking another peek at the man. "Yes and no. Just keep walking. Don't come in the restaurant. Don't call the police. I'll meet you around the corner in a minute to explain."

Michonne didn't like this one bit, but she didn't think Maggie was in any danger, so she would do as instructed and wait around the corner.

"If you're not outside in sixty seconds, I'm coming in," Michonne warned.

"I'll be there," Maggie promised before ending the call.

She held her breath until she saw Michonne walk past the restaurant. She walked at a snail's pace and had the unhappiest frown on her face, but Maggie was relieved that she hadn't called the police or come into the restaurant. Either of those things would've ruined her plan to save the man with the broken heart from his broken heart.

Michonne knew it hadn't been a full minute, but she couldn't wait for Maggie any longer. The only thing that stopped her from storming back to the restaurant was Maggie herself, who almost ran into Michonne after rounding the corner.

"You said sixty seconds!" Maggie laughed after avoiding the collision. She threw her arms around Michonne and the two friends embraced.

"A minute was too long," Michonne complained. "I was worried."

In hindsight, Maggie realized she should've just texted Michonne to explain what was happening and then met her around the corner. "I'm sorry," she murmured, "but I'm so glad you're here! And look at you," she smiled, taking a step back to check Michonne out. "You stole daddy's look!"

Michonne put her concern aside to smirk at Maggie's observation. She had definitely patterned her audition look after Hershel's everyday look of brown loafers, brown slacks, a blue, button down, collared shirt, and a white lab coat. She even styled her locs in a neat, low bun similar to how he wore his hair in a low ponytail.

"Don't tell Hershel! He'll have me arrested," Michonne giggled.

Hershel Greene was a very literal man. When Michonne spent the night at Maggie's house for the first time and they were lounging in the pool singing their thirteen-year-old hearts out to "A Moment Like This", Hershel waved at them from the grill to get their attention. Maggie very sweetly asked him what was up, and he very seriously told her the sky. Then he told them to get out of the pool because it was time to eat. Ten years later, Hershel still took questions and comments just as literally as he had that day.

"I won't say a thing," Maggie said, crossing her heart. "Now, tell me about your audition. Did you get the part?" she asked in an excited rush.

Michonne's subtle pout told Maggie everything.

"But the lab coat… and you learned so much about feet... and you look just like daddy," she rattled on, shocked that things hadn't gone better. She knew how much Michonne was counting on that money.

Michonne wanted to tell Maggie all about her disaster audition, but first she needed to know why they were having this conversation standing under the afternoon sun instead of sitting in the restaurant.

"Maggie, what's wrong?" she asked.

Maggie wasn't ready to stop talking about the audition. She wanted to know everything that happened and she wanted to go over all of the opportunities Michonne still had to make $1200, but Michonne was due an explanation.

"I'm so sorry about the audition," she said, giving Michonne a heartfelt hug, "but I have faith everything will work out, Green with a Leaf."

"Everything will work out," Michonne agreed. "Tell me what's wrong."

Maggie trusted her very best friend to listen to what she had to say with an open mind, so she looked her in the eye and told her, "There's a man in the restaurant who needs our help. We have to help him."

"Then let's help him," Michonne said without giving it any thought. She trusted Maggie's judgment, and if Maggie said someone needed their help, then she wanted to help. "Who's the guy? How do you know him?"

"I don't," Maggie answered honestly.

"You've never met him?"

Maggie shook her head.

"But he asked for help?"

"He didn't, but he needs it!" Maggie stressed. "And Lori needs to be put in her place."

Michonne already disliked Lori without knowing why. "Who's Lori?" she asked.

"The ex-girlfriend," Maggie huffed. "She's leaving him for Philip."

"Who's Philip?" Michonne asked, already disliking him, too.

"A jackass," Maggie huffed. "Michonne, it's daddy and Annette all over again! You know the story... she never thought daddy was good enough because he was born here in King County and not in some hoity toity suburb of Atlanta. She spent their entire relationship ashamed of him, and the second some guy from the right zip code showed some interest, she ran off.

"Annette broke daddy's heart into so many pieces, and he's never been able to put it back together," Maggie said sadly. "Lori doesn't get to do that! She doesn't get to hurt someone honorable and decent by making him believe he's not good enough! She told him she was the best he could do but that she could do better, Michonne. She doesn't get to mess him up like that!"

Michonne gave Maggie a minute to catch her breath. Talking about Annette always upset her, and not just because of how deeply Hershel had been hurt. Maggie and her younger sister Beth had been hurt as well. Annette was their mother.

If helping the guy in the restaurant helped heal some of the hurt in Maggie's heart, then Michonne was even more dedicated to the cause. She just wasn't sure how they would be able to help.

"I'm with you on this, Maggie, but it sounds like the damage has already been done to the restaurant guy. What can we do at this point?"

"That's easy," Maggie said with a small smile and glassy green eyes. "We show him that Lori's shit stinks. He must think it smells like roses if he's still sitting at that table with her right now. All we have to do is open his eyes. Or his nose."

"Still with you but still not seeing how we do that," Michonne replied.

Maggie tucked her long, chestnut brown hair behind her ears and folded her arms across her chest. She wasn't sure how much longer Michonne would still be with her.

"Maybe if he had a girlfriend," she said with air quotes, "show up at the restaurant who was all the things Lori wasn't… drop dead gorgeous, smart as hell, witty, charming, kindhearted... he would see that Lori isn't the best thing since sliced bread. He'd see he can do better," Maggie proposed. "Lori would probably spit nails. Maybe she'd even cry!"

Michonne tilted her head back and forth, processing Maggie's idea. "Not bad, but how would he have a girlfriend," she said with air quotes, "if they just broke up?"

"That's easy," Maggie said with a broad smile and a sparkle in her green eyes. "They were on a monthlong break, so technically they were already broken up. That's when he met his new doctor girlfriend. Lori would probably die if he had a doctor girlfriend!"

Michonne started to nod in agreement but stopped and looked down at her outfit and then back up at Maggie.

"Me? You mean me? You want me to pretend to be his girlfriend?"

"Yes you! You're the drop dead gorgeous, smart as hell, witty, charming, kindhearted, doctor girlfriend!" Maggie enthusiastically proclaimed.

"But I'm not a doctor, Maggie!"

"They don't know that, Michonne. You already look the part so just throw out some of those feet facts you Googled. And you're an actress, so you know how to wing it!"

Actress was a stretch. Michonne was a full-time sales associate at a boutique clothing store who only auditioned for commercial acting gigs when her schedule allowed it. She didn't even consider the BigKat role to be acting. All she'd done was skate, smile, and eat BigKats. She and Maggie did that at the Roller Palace on a regular.

"You can pull this off, Michonne, I know you can!" Maggie said encouragingly. "I would do it myself, but I've already been sitting next to them all this time. It wouldn't work if it was me."

When Michonne looked skeptical, Maggie hit her with the puppy dog eyes usually reserved for her daddy.

"Put those away. They only work on Hershel," Michonne laughed. "I'm still with you. But," she said before Maggie could start celebrating, "there are three pretty big problems with this plan. Number one, how do we know this guy will even go along with this? He'll probably think I'm some crazy chick."

Maggie twisted her bottom lip between her thumb and forefinger as she thought that over. "Well, we don't know that he will go along with it, but he seems like a smart guy, so I think he will. If he doesn't, then play it off with, 'My bad, I thought you were someone else'."

Michonne laughed again. "Right. 'My bad' my way out of it."

"Works every time," Maggie winked. "Next problem."

Michonne didn't consider the first problem to be solved, but problem number two was even more of an issue. "Number two, we don't know this guy's name. How can I be a good fake girlfriend if I don't know his name?"

"But we do know his name," Maggie grinned. "It's Brick."

"His name is Brick?" Michonne asked with a scrunched nose.

"Mmhmm," Maggie nodded. "That's what I heard Lori say. And you don't have to like his name, Michonne, you just have to know it. And now you do! I'm two for two."

"Ok, Dr. Seuss, calm down, there's still one more problem," Michonne reminded her. "We don't know anything about Brick for me to sell myself as the new girlfriend. If Lori doesn't buy it, the plan doesn't work."

Maggie grinned so hard her cheeks hurt. If that was their biggest problem, they had no problem at all.

"Michonne, you know how tuned in to drama my ears are. I heard plenty about Brick for you to be able to sell this!" she grinned, bouncing excitedly in place. "We can do this! For daddy! For Brick!"

And for Maggie. Michonne was also doing this for Maggie.

"You're three for three, Green with an E. Tell me everything I need to know to become Brick's girlfriend."

A/N: Thank you for reading! Reviews are appreciated! This is a short story with four chapters total, roughly 3K words per chapter. Updates should come weekly. In Part 2, Michonne meets her "boyfriend" Brick and his ex Lori.

(If you're waiting on the next Contractions of the Heart update, I'm still working on it! There should be a September update.)