trindap76 – I agree! The song R Kelly's When A Women's Fed Up should definitely be on the Michonne's playlist.

Any other suggestions for Michonne's playlist? I'm thinking Christina Aguilera /Alicia Keys' Impossible. It shows how unlikely Michonne feels a future with Rick is.

Theycanstillgrow & Nay766 – hahaha yes I wanted Daryl to be the truth teller in chapter 4. As well as having the opportunity to stir. He doesn't have enough fun in TWD. I love Daryl and he is another character I would like to get more airtime.

Songbird11 – you are exactly right! I will always think Richonne is end game but Michonne deserves more than being the side kick. Rick needs to recognise that his actions have consequences.

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CHAPTER FIVE

Deanna's party was in full effect. People milled around the tables for first dibs at the food and drink. The lone males in Alexandria slunk around in corners, eyeing the women. The women of Alexandria preened and acted like this was the soiree of the year. But for them, it probably was. The immediate threat of the hoard and the wolves had gone. They thought they deserved an opportunity to live again. Michonne agreed.

But contrary to her comments to Carl earlier, it was weird for Michonne to be in this setting. It was one thing to dream of a normal life. It was another to actually be in it. Eating canapes and drinking alcohol made a nice change, but was still really weird.

"Hey Michonne, you look sweeter than a cherry pie tonight" said Abraham as he sauntered over to her with Rosita following.

"Thanks Abe. You look OK yourself. Rosita, you look as fierce as ever" and she did. Rosita wore a skin tight black dress that hugged her curves. Her hair was lightly curled and lay down her back. Abraham was a lucky man.

"Please! You look beautiful. I have to borrow your dress." Rosita said as she moved to get closer to Michonne to whisper.

"Your little friend Jamie is here and he already asked multiple people in our group if you were here too. He had the misfortune to ask Rick. That was hella awkward but amusing to watch." Rosita moved back with a wry smile on her lips. Michonne smiled in return. It was nice to feel pursued, to be wanted. If Rick had a problem with it, it wasn't her concern.

She had arrived late to this party. Not because she wanted to be fashionably late but because she felt out of step. Getting dressed had felt like a new experience. Looking through the previous occupants' wardrobe and having a choice on what to wear had been hard enough. Getting the courage to leave her home was another. She had identified as this warrior women, xena hear her roar, badass for such a long time she forgot who she used to be. So she gave herself time to adjust. She dressed slowly. She chose her outfit slowly. Booze helped as well.

In the end, she wore a knee high plain cream dress with a spaghetti straps that fitted like a glove. Her long hair was curled into a chignon placed at her back of her head. Her makeup was minimal, just a little lip gloss. The look was clean and simple. Before the new world, Michonne had liked to wear creams and whites. She liked the crispness of the colour against her dark, brown skin. Now she liked them because it told her she had had a calm day. There had been no walkers to kill; there had been no despots such as the Governor to stab. There was nothing to stain her lovely outfit. Daryl stepped into the party and immediately joined Michonne's group.

"Did you see the memo about getting dressed up, D?" Michonne said as she smiled at her housemate and friend.

If looks could kill, Daryl would have wrestled Michonne to the ground like he did that one time with a crocodile. But his response tickled Michonne that much more.

"I ain't no performing monkey. This is how I dress. This is what I like. If anyone has anything to say about it, they can talk to me. I showered goddammit." Daryl muttered.

Daryl walked off to join the group hanging around the beverage table. He returned back quickly however and brought Michonne a drink.

Suddenly the light and frothy atmosphere of the party changed. Michonne knew Rick was making his way to their group. She breathed deeply and placed an even bigger smile on her face. When she was a child, her mother told her a story of how she had won a beauty queen competition. It was the only time her mother had entered such an event but it taught her one important lesson she passed onto her daughter – never let them bitches see you squirm.

"Hey Rick. You look good. Nice chequered shirt. And your face has finally won the war." Michonne said. No longer was he going for the crazy, psycho killer look. He was going for the good looking southern gent. And it worked, she thought unhappily.

Rick's eyes couldn't stay still. He looked at her hair, the fact he could see more of her beautiful face than he could ever see before. He looked at her sweet but form fitting dress. He knew she was lithe and fit but the dress did thangs to her body he didn't dream possible. And it was the first time he had seen her legs. Rick gulped audibly. Of course, Michonne didn't see this. She was so caught up in her head she missed all the signals. All she saw was the future she wanted, gone.

"Wow you look amazing Michonne and I….." He stopped when another females voice called him from across the room. Jessie. Jessie walked over the join the group and smiled, a lot.

"Hey everyone, how are you doing?" Jessie said.

"Good… good." The group mumbled back wondering when this clusterfuck would end. Michonne ended it for them. It took a lot to get her here so she didn't want to waste time going over old heartbreaks with his new one.

"Oh look, there's Tara. It looks like she's being cornered by the pasta lady so I am gonna rescue her. Daryl, do you fancy coming over and wrangling an octogenarian with me?" Michonne didn't wait for his answer; she was already half way to her destination.

Daryl and Michonne stood together, looking intently at each other. Both had a smile on their face, well Daryl's was more of a smirk.

"Dudes! Thank you saving me from the pasta lady. She haunts my dreams, man!" said a pretty looking Tara. She had also dressed for the occasion and looked surprising in a floral dress. Her pretty as a picture look was dampened while she looked around the party for her new beau, Dr Cloyd.

"Your girl will be here." Michonne said, feeling almost maternal watching Tara wait for her lady love.

"God! Will you women stop! This is not the Young and the Restless. This is a party. Drink and stop mooning." Daryl rasped as he downed his drink and looked pointedly at the women standing next to him. He put down his empty glass and reached inside his jacket and pulled out a bottle. Moonshine.

Michonne and Tara quickly got with the programme and downed their drinks. No more talk about love and relationships, they were here to have fun. Daryl filled their empty glasses with the new liquor. They sniffed at it gingerly.

"Damn. That smell just burnt my nose hairs. This is good shittttt." Tara said, already choking back the liquid and screwed up her face in pain/pleasure.

Michonne, being the lady she was, sipped her drink but still felt the fire coursing down her throat. Daryl smiled at the ladies, like his work had been done. He handed the bottle to Michonne and walked out of the house. He had some traps to check on.

Rick looked over to his group. He was stuck with Deanna talking about fortifying the wall. Rick had seen Daryl ply the girls with homemade liquor before walking off. Daryl literally dropped a grenade and left before the explosion. The group was going buck wild on the hard liquor but damn, they looked like they were having fun.

Deanna, can you excuse me please. I just need to check on something." Rick said as he moved closer to the people in the corner of the room, not even waiting for Deanna's response.

Rick felt good. For the first time in a long time, he wasn't injured. He didn't have bandages all over his face. He didn't ache as he walked. He looked and felt healthy. When he got dressed for the party, he looked in the mirror for a long time. The man in the reflection was the man he was 2 years ago, minus a few grey hairs. This was the old boy that was a deputy's sheriff and enjoyed serving the community. The man who married his college sweetheart. The man he was then, looked like the man he was now. But deep down they weren't the same. And he was finally ok with that.

The experiences of Terminus, Joe and his gang and living life on the road had changed him. It had hardened him. He was now the type of man to shoot first and ask questions later. But he had to be. He had to protect his children, his family, his love. Why had he ever felt that his renewal to Rick Grimes 2.0 was anything less than perfect for this new world?

Daryl and Glenn were right. He was a dumbass.