A/N: Happy Easter everyone! Thanks for your incredible response to this story. Hope you enjoy the update!

"Did you hear me?"

She let out another breath and rolled her neck around. Strangulation, stabbing, drowning…all were different ways she could take Maggie out.

"I'm so sorry, she's drunk," she explained to his obvious delight. "What did she say to you?"

With one hand on the steering wheel and the other draped across the back of her seat, he pondered what to reveal and what to keep to himself. Instead of speaking he simply smiled at her. It was completely disarming. His lips, his eyes, all of it did things to her body she was not prepared for. There was something there she hadn't seen before and she didn't know whether to continue to nudge him on whatever Maggie said to him or bolt like hell up to her apartment.

She decided to nudge.

"Come on why won't you tell me?" she asked in a voice that was much higher and flirtatious than she intended it to be. She mentally scolded herself. This was Rick Grimes.

Her colleague.

Her bowling partner.

Her friend.

No. No. She didn't flirt with Rick Grimes.

Ok, maybe she did a little light every once in awhile but there were normally people around and it wasn't when she was alone in a car with him. And it definitely wasn't when she was a little tipsy and he was looking at her like that.

He lightly tapped the steering wheel before answering. "Just what I told you. She thinks we should hook up for a night."

"You're lying through your teeth Grimes but it's fine. Good night."

Rick wasn't ready for her to go. He didn't want to come right out and tell her so he decided to divulge. "Ok you wore me down. She thinks we have a lot of sexual tension and are too hot not to be together." He put up air quotes at the word hot mocking Maggie's incessant use of the word earlier.

Sighing, Michonne settled comfortably back into the seat. "Good grief."

"So are these the things you two talk about on girls night because if so I need to join in more often."

"We don't get to hang out much because work is hellish but when we do, yes it gets like that and no you can't join us. It's called girls night for a reason," she teased. She leaned back and noticed the hand across her seat was dangerously close to her locs.

"You can at least tell me if my name comes up often."

"Not as often as you wish," she said, trying to read his mood. He was clearly stalling for time because Rick never engaged in this kind of conversation. To get him talking was a rare commodity but she thought she would give it a try. "How was your visit tonight with the kids?"

He shifted in his seat and to her disappointment moved his arm. "I told you it was fine just couldn't do much."

"I know that's what you told us but I just want to make sure. I'm your friend. It's my job to worry about you."

He sat silently figuring out how much he would share. Of course, he didn't want to burden her with his messy personal life but sometimes holding it in was suffocating.

"I'm just trying to get used to having to visit my kids or having my kids visit me. I still haven't gotten used to going home to an empty apartment. Hell, I just got used to calling the apartment home."

He scrubbed his hand down his face in frustration and tapped anxiously on the car door.

This was the most candid he'd been in a long time and her heart broke for him. "Rick are you sure? Are you really sure that you can't talk to Lori and work this out?"

His head was shaking no before she finished the sentence. "No. It's over Michonne. That's not the part I'm struggling with. Actually, the Lori part is what I'm the most certain about, it's just hard not to have my kids whenever I want. It will get better though," he assured himself and her.

"Yes, it will. I promise," she offered putting her hand on his knee. He placed his hand on top of hers and squeezed.

"Thanks Chonne. I need to get used to the bachelor life anyway. How else am I going to be able to entertain all these women at the precinct according to Maggie that find me irresistible?" Rick winked and the atmosphere shifted again. He was really okay and that's what she needed to know more than anything.

"On that note," she grinned and tugged on the door handle. "Good night Grimes. See you tomorrow."

The next morning they were right back to normal discussing cases and fighting over food whenever she would try and take something off his plate and vice versa. However, later that afternoon Rick abruptly went undercover to entrap one of their main suspects Phillip Chandler who called himself the Governor. She worried because she didn't have contact with him and Shane wasn't much help. Although his work was a distraction from his personal life, Michonne was concerned that he was throwing himself too much into his cases. Lately he had an unhealthy obsession with bringing the Governor down.

While grabbing coffee one morning on the way to the precinct to get an update on Rick's case she ran into Ezekiel Johnson, a handsome stockbroker whose office was a block away. He bought her coffee and made polite conversation while she waited for her order. Typically she would be more talkative because he was her type but she was worried about Rick. He noticed her distraction and gave her his number to call sometime for dinner if she was interested.

In less than a week the case was over but she decided to give Rick a few days to unwind. She texted him to make sure he was fine and every day she asked if he needed anything but he always said no. It was an unspoken rule between them to give each other space to come down after a difficult case. By the fourth night, she was getting antsy and decided to text him to see if he needed her to bring dinner over. While she waited for a reply she heard his familiar knock on the door.

"Hey." He held up two plastic bags filled with food. "I brought dinner."

She smiled and motioned for him to come in. "Feeling better?"

"Yes, I am. I bought a movie too if that's ok," he announced feeling a bit uneasy about the gesture. It was late and he hadn't called first but he really needed some company. And if he was being honest with himself he didn't want to spend time with anyone else.

She helped him open the boxes. "It's fine Rick."

He got her usual order from their favorite Chinese restaurant and they settled in on the sofa to watch the movie.

"What movie did you bring?"

"A Star is Born."

She knew it well. "Is this the Lady Gaga version?"

"Yep."

"Do you think it's true that they are messing around? Rumor has it they have insane chemistry and she seems pretty smitten."

He arched his eyebrow at her. "I never figured you for one to be into Hollywood gossip."

"I'm not," she began, "It's all over the magazines I see everyday. Who knows if it's true. Just a rumor."

"Well, you are no stranger to rumors so you should know not to believe everything you hear. If you did then you would believe we have been sleeping together for years and you are the reason I'm getting divorced."

It was meant playfully but Michonne abruptly stopped eating. He closed his eyes and silently cursed himself. He knew that she would be sensitive about something like that and wasn't thinking. "Sorry, that was a bad joke."

"No no, it's ok. I just didn't know you knew about that rumor".

"Chonne, everyone has heard that rumor."

Picking up his chopsticks, he kept eating completely nonchalant about all of it. She shook it off and continued to pick at her food as the movie started. They ate in comfortable silence occasionally making comments about the songs.

"They look good together. I guess it makes sense they would hook up," she blurted out.

"That's what Maggie said about me and you."

Michonne started to choke on her sesame chicken and he handed her some water. "You ok? Do you need the Heimlich?"

While he laughed, she smacked him on the back and drank the water. "Very funny." She caught her breath and regained her composure while he continued to watch her with a smirk.

"You can be such a jackass sometimes," she said and he held his chest like he was wounded. "Why do you find this so funny?"

"It's funny to me because it makes you nervous."

"It doesn't make me nervous Grimes. Why would it?"

Unbothered was the mood she was going for but he wasn't buying it for a second. She had to create some distance and get away from the conversation.

"Would you like another beer?" She hurried to the kitchen.

Michonne didn't hear his answer but grabbed two beers from the fridge anyway. Before she closed the door, she took a deep breath to gather her thoughts when she felt it. His heat totally contradicted the cold air from the fridge. One way or another, they seemed to always be attuned to where the other was if they were in the same room. Usually she found it comforting. Right then she felt like it was a curse.

When she stood up, he was on the other side of the fridge door with his arm perched right above her.

"What are you doing? I was going to bring it to you." Her voice was breathy and even she could hear the anxious tremble.

When he didn't answer, she put the beer in his hand. He twisted off the cap and took a swig without moving his stance. She closed the door causing him to stand up straight and she could sense that something was different within him again. Him and those damn mood swings.

"We're missing the movie," she said trying to break the silence.

Rick stood in front of her and his presence was intimidating. Watching her closely, she wilted under the penetration of his gaze. "We can go back and watch the movie when you tell me why the thought of us together makes you so nervous."

She huffed and tried to move around him but he stood his ground, effectively blocking her. "It doesn't make me nervous," she said defensively. "It's just dumb."

"Wow so the thought of us together is dumb. Tell me how you really feel."

"No I didn't mean it like that. It's—just—why are we talking about this?"

With every passing second, she was getting more and more uncomfortable. Desperate, she opened her beer hoping that alcohol would help take the edge off.

"Oh come on. Don't tell me you haven't thought about it before."

His voice was low and husky, sending chills up her spine. She had never heard him sound like this before. "Ok, the fact that you are even talking like this means you've had one too many of these."

She took the beer from his hand and put it on the counter. Amused, he picked it back up and drank from it again. The muscles in his arm flexed and the way his shirt fit against his hard, lean chest was making her dizzy. Rick was sexy. There was no doubt about it. Of course, she had always noticed but at the moment with alcohol swimming through her veins, alone in her apartment, this line of questioning was treading in dangerous territory.

"Clearly you are thinking about it right now," he joked effectively catching her in the act of staring at his upper body. She opened her mouth to protest but he cut her off. "Lie and tell me you weren't."

The denial was on the tip of her tongue but she decided against it when their eyes locked and there they were. Those blue eyes she always loved. They were how she could read every emotion without him having to say a word and how she knew if he was hurt or angry or depressed. None of those emotions were present. She saw something else that made her heart start to race.

Desire.

He was clearly getting a kick out of watching her squirm but Michonne was never one to let anyone have the upper hand on her, especially Rick. Closing her eyes, she mustered up every bit of her courage to turn the tables on him.

"Tell me you haven't thought about it," she shot back raising her eyebrow at him and smirking.

"Will it make you feel better if I admit it first?"

"Yes," she flirted. "So have you?"

"Yeah." His answer was simple and unexpected. She expected him to change the subject but tried to play off her surprise.

"Really." She took another sip of her beer to buy herself some time. He won that round and by the shit eating grin on his face, he knew it. So she struck back.

"So what specifically about us have you been thinking about Grimes?" Purposely she spoke in a low rasping voice and he swallowed hard.

His dick twitched and he smiled to let her know she won that round. "Oh no, you still haven't admitted that you've thought about it before."

Rick was actually nervous at her response and took a sip of his beer while he waited for her to answer. In his mind and also Shane's, it was obvious that he was attracted to her but she, on the other hand, was always tough to read.

"Ok fine Rick. I may have thought about it once or twice. There. Are you happy now?"

"I am actually." He smirked triumphantly and walked with his chest poked out back to the sofa. She followed close behind and picked up the remote to mute the television since it was evident they weren't paying any more attention to the movie anyway.

"So you didn't answer my question." She leaned back into the corner of the sofa. "What specifically did you think about?"

"Careful Chonne," he warned. "Don't ask questions you aren't ready to hear the answer to."

Sonofabitch.

He was trying to knock her off her game again or maybe he was serious. It was hard to tell but she stood firm.

"If I wasn't ready I wouldn't have asked."

Mirroring her posture, he pulled one of his legs under the other. "I thought about what it would be like if we—you know—"

"If we what?" She was goading him and he knew it.

"If we had sex Michonne. There I said it."

He used her full name. He was starting to get edgy which is exactly what she wanted.

"And how long have you been having these thoughts?"

"Now wouldn't that be telling," he smiled and winked at her. Rick Grimes actually winked at her and was being flirtatious. She couldn't fucking believe it. "So what specifically did you think about? Us having sex?"

"No Rick I thought about us building sandcastles, what do you think?"

He flashed a wry smile thankful that he had the upper hand again. "Where were we when you had this fantasy?"

She huffed, starting to feel nervous. Her beer was empty and she didn't remember finishing it. When she stood to grab another, he stopped her.

"Ill grab it, I need to get another one myself."

He came back with two more and she didn't waste any time taking a long drink.

"Whoa whoa slow down Chonne." He put his hand on her arm to still her and could feel the goosebumps. "Then again keep drinking. I may find out all kinds of stuff tonight."

She rolled her eyes and grabbed the remote. "Do you want to watch the rest of this movie or not?" When the movie resumed it was in the middle of a love scene. Rick tried everything not to laugh at her shocked face but the third beer was beginning to take its toll. He erupted and she got pissed and threw the remote at him.

"You're a jackass."

"So I've been told." He set the remote back on the table. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"No seriously," he said. "Thank you. Chonne this is the most fun I've had in a long time. After the past week, I really needed this."

Another about-face.

"It's my pleasure," she replied sincerely.

"And speaking of your pleasure—"

"Oh my god," she shrieked hitting him with another pillow.

Absorbing the blow, he laughed and put the pillow behind his head to get more comfortable. "Don't you want to hear more about the sex thoughts I had?"

"No I don't," she lied.

"Well tell me about yours."

"Uhh no, you aren't telling me so I'm not telling you."

"But I offered to tell you and you just didn't want to hear it," he reasoned.

She kept shaking her head no. "Doesn't matter."

"We were in the cribs, no one else was at the precinct," he began in that voice that made her weak and she hurried to put her hand over his mouth. Her body was sprawled over his, her side leaned into his chest and her hip landing square in his groin area. Once she noticed their position she tried to pull back but was held by his grip around her waist. When his eyes dropped to her lips she felt panicked and nervous.

And very aroused.

Her beers were starting to catch up to her too so her reflexes weren't as fast as usual. Rick didn't make a move and she ultimately gathered her wits and moved back to a sitting position.

He cleared his throat and shook his head trying to come back down to earth. Immediately he regretted not taking the chance but he didn't want to spook her. To take the awkwardness out of the moment, he didn't know if he should apologize but decided to be honest with her instead.

Rick sat up straight, clasping his hands together while he searched for the words to say. He wasn't used to bearing his feelings but she deserved to know the truth.

"You know...When Phillip had me on the ground choking me," he started. Her body language immediately changed, listening intently. "I didn't know where Shane was or if anyone could even find me. Everything sorta flashed before my eyes."

His leg grazed hers as he continued. "I feel like my life has just been all about responsibility and trying to do what I should do and I try and try and I still end up in a place where I fail and everyone around me is disappointed. I'm disappointed."

His brow furrowed and he picked at his jeans while he poured his heart out. "I thought that maybe I need to just say fuck it and do what I want to do instead of what's expected of me. Maybe at least then I would be a little happy even if it may just be temporary."

"That makes sense," she agreed placing her hand on his arm for comfort. "Now you just have to figure out what you want to do."

"I already know." He looked at her and his gaze dropped again to her lips.

"Rick—"

"I just can't imagine not knowing just once what it would be like to kiss you, to hold you." He leaned in and she was in a daze. His words were intoxicating. "To-"

"Don't say it." Her heart raced and her palms were sweaty. She couldn't bear to hear Rick say anything about them being intimate or she would lose all sense of self-control.

"Michonne. It's just one night," he smiled flirtatiously but she could see how serious he was. His blue eyes were suddenly darker. "You know it would be good. Don't you?"

She did. There were many things she wasn't sure of but how good Rick was in bed wasn't one of them. The reason they connected from the start was because they had one big thing in common. Doing what everyone wanted instead of being true to themselves. She was never spontaneous. Everything was planned out, thought through and by design. Not this time.

"Don't you?" he asked again.

"Yes."

And in the blink of an eye, Michonne decided to be reckless. Her lips were on Rick Grimes.