Greetings Fellow Readers and Writers,

Happy New Year, I hope this year bring us all many blessings. its been a rough couple of years but here we are. Here is a quick recap of last chapter- Rick confront Michonne for leaving the group to fight the governor alone. Glenn get to know Michonne and realize there is more to her story and she was someone he wanted to protect. We see a flash back on how the Governor found Andrea and Michonne and how quickly he became infatuated with Michonne.

"Welcome to Woodbury Michonne" The governor announced as he opened the front gate to a community that was filled with life. He watched her closely and waited for her reaction. It was thrilling for him to see her beautiful brown eyes filled with wonder, not knowing that her savior, her king was right beside her. He had been waiting for the perfect woman that would become his wife and the mother to his only daughter and he knew he found her the moment his eyes landed on Michonne. She was a beauty to be reckon with and nothing was going to stop him from having her. He smiled with satisfaction as he whispered her name underneath his breathe. "Michonne" Even her name sounded as beautiful as she looked. He continued to watch her as she took a few steps forward to take in more of her surroundings.

"How is this possible?" Michonne asked as she watched children chased each other in what seem to be a community garden. She was surprised and in disbelief to see a community that look exactly how the world was before people started turning into flesh eaters. She could not believe her eyes, seeing people of all ages just walking around like there were not monsters outside of their walls waiting to hurt them. It was like she stepped into a different universe.

"If you are willing to surround yourself with the right people, anything is possible Michonne." The governor told her with a smirk that made her skin crawl. She knew something wasn't right with the way he stared at her, but she knew in order to help Andrea she needed this community even if it meant dealing with this man that she didn't trust. She made sure to take a mental note of every face, house and building she passed while she followed the governor. She watched him as he paraded himself down the street as if to show her that he was the one that made all this possible. He wanted to show her that everything that came into existence was because of him. He turned to face her with a prideful look and announced "We needed a strong community, so we build one. We needed a place where we could survive and work, so we build one. We needed a place where we could live our lives without fear, so we build one. We were able to make this nightmare livable. Everyone here had to worked together to make this dream possible and we are always looking for more people to help us keep this place going." The governor told her with great confidence. "How about I give you a one-on-one tour later when you are well rested, but I think for now its best if you and your friend..." he paused for a moment realizing he was so mesmerized with Michonne that he forgot her friends name or that she was still here with them.

"Andrea" Michonne reminded him.

"Yes, Andrea of course, you and Andrea should head over to the infirmary and get check by our doctor." He told her while pointing out the infirmary which was located behind the community garden.

"You have a doctor?" Michonne asked as she glance over to Andrea that was still passed out and being carried by one of the governor's men.

"Yes, we have a lot of people living here with different professions. We have Scientists, gardeners, builders, fighters, mechanics and many more." He told her as he pushed his chest out displaying the pride he felt. "They all bring strong skills to the table; without them we would not have been able to come this far." He wanted her to know how strong and valuable his community was. He wanted her to fall in love with his community the same way she would fall in love with him and his daughter. He knew having her by his side would finally give him everything he was looking for.

"What does it take to be a part of this community?" Michonne asked not trusting any word that was coming out of this man's mouth. Something did not sit well with her. She knew that there was more to this community than he was leading on. She could sense that the governor was not who he pretended to be. She would be a fool to let her guard down and a fool she wasn't.

"It doesn't really take much to be a part of this community. You just need to be willing. If your past profession or hobbies are not valuable here, we will find you other roles that is more suitable for you and in return our community continue to thrive. There is a place here for everyone"

She could tell by the way he was looking at her that he already had a position in mind for her, a position that she was not willing to take.

XXX

Rick, Maggie, Oscar, Merle and Daryl were able to escape Woodbury with the help from a white middle-aged man name Eli. He helped them make their way through the smoke filled room where the governor had Merle and Daryl fighting for their lives. Eli knew from the moment he heard Andrea crying out for Daryl that he had to do something to help Daryl escape. He knew no matter what happen to him, he would never be able to return to Woodbury. They would soon figure out who he really was and what he did behind their back, so it was time for him to leave. Now he stood in the middle of the woods watching in disbelief a woman he thought he would never see again. "Michonne?" Eli whispered as he took a few more steps towards her.

Michonne jumped up from the ground where she was sitting next to Glenn and ran into Eli's arms. She hugged him tightly not wanting to let him go. "I thought you were dead" She whispered. "I thought he killed you for helping me."

"No, he never suspected it was me." He replied as he moved the dreads away from her face to look at her closely. "I can't believe you made it. You don't know how relieve I am to see you again. I felt so guilty for letting you go out there alone. I really wanted to go with you, but I knew if I left it would leave the others in danger and I'm sorry for staying behind." Eli tried to explain, trying to let go of the guilt he been holding on to for days. A guilt that was eating away at him each night that passed not knowing if Michonne was safe. He knew his choice was an inevitable, there was no way he could leave his people behind to follow Michonne.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, you save my life Eli" Michonne replied. "We agreed I would go alone. It was the only option, and you know it." Michonne reassured him. "You risked your life to save mine and by you taking that risk you help me get something back that I never thought would be possible. I owe you more than my life Eli and don't ever forget it."

Eli slowly dropped his hands away from Michonne face and bowed his hand in shame as he thought about the risks he took when Michonne left, how he almost ruined the plans they set forth for the rest of his people back at Woodbury.

"Michonne, when you left, I found out that Philip send Merle and his men to look for you. I was so worried that they would catch you, so I went out there looking for you. I searched for hours, but I couldn't find any trace of you. When I got back to Woodbury, Merle told me you were no longer a loose end because he finished you. I was devastated. I blamed myself for not going with you. I felt like I failed you and that I would not be able to save the others if I couldn't even save you." Eli told her as he continued to try to speak calmly even when all the anger he felt was slowly coming back to surface as he explained his actions.

"I did some terrible things out of anger, Michonne, I almost risk everything we were fighting for because I lost faith in our mission because I thought we lost you. Each day that Phillip sends his men to go on a run, I would leave and hunt one of his men down. I could not live with the thought that these bastards hurt you and they got to continue to live their lives like nothing happened. They had to pay Michonne, they had to pay for everything they let him do to you. I was saving Merle and Philip for last but then I saw that these people needed my help." He told her as he pointed to the group that consisted of Rick and the rest of his people behind him that was staring at them in silent. "I didn't know helping them would lead me back to you."

"Listen to me Eli, you had no reason to blame yourself even if I did die that night. You must remember this was not only about me. We had to stick to the plan for everyone back at Woodbury and you have nothing to feel ashamed about. They all deserved to die; I won't pretend otherwise. I would have done the same if I had the chance. Eli, I will forever be grateful to you for risking your life to help me escape. You give me the chance to be reunited with my son. My son, Eli, he is alive and if it weren't for you, I would have never found him."

"I thought you told me he died with Clarence."

"I thought he died too, but Clarence saved him, and this whole time he been living with Rick and his people." Michonne stated as she points towards Rick. "I can't wait for you to meet him."

"My son is not meeting anyone without my say so" Rick informed them as he marched to stand in front of them. He wasn't too happy with how friendly and close Michonne was with this guy. He didn't like the familiarity they had with one another making it seem like they had a more intimate relationship, a relationship that he would love to put an end to.

"Michonne, are you sure you safe with these people?" Eli asked trying to ignore the deathly stares Rick was sending him.

"I don't think that's a question you have the right to ask because from what I just heard you left her out here alone and we were the ones that save her life." Rick told Eli. "I should be the one asking the questions here not you. I don't know who you are and if you can be trusted around my family."

"Rick, he just saved your life, so I think he just showed you that you can trust him." Michonne responded as she rolled her eyes with frustration.

"Who is he to you Michonne? Rick asked as he came closer to Michonne, staring down intensely at her.

"He is my family." She responded as she stepped away from his tense body.

"What do you mean by that? Are you and him together?" Rick asked.

"No and if we were that wouldn't concern you." Michonne answered while she grabbed Eli armed and pulled him towards where the rest of group that was waiting for them to finished.

"You are the mother of my child, so you better understand that everything you do is my concern." Rick replied as he followed her toward the group.

"Wait what does he mean by that?" Eli asked as he let Michonne dragged him toward Glenn.

"Exactly what I said, Andre is my son, and I raised him like he was my own flesh and blood, and no one is taking him from me." Rick replied with contempt that forbade any further discussion.

She was driving him insane. He didn't know how to control himself when he was around her. It's like she had a strange pull on him. He knew it was more than her being Andre's mother, but it was not something he was willing to admit to anyone, he wanted her, and he was trying his best not to let it show.

"Rick, we really should head back. We can't sit out here any longer." Maggie told them as she helped Glenn get to his feet. She knew she needed to put an end to this conversation and get her people back home before any more harm came to them.

"Let me give you a hand" Oscar told Maggie as he slowly transferred Glenn weight onto his shoulders leaving Maggie free to carry the bags of weapons that were left on the ground.

"Glenn, you need to know something before we head back home, there's someone here with us" Before Maggie could finished breaking the news to Glenn, Michonne was already racing towards a tree screaming with her samurai sword lifted above her head.

"Stop" Eli yelled as he quickly grabbed Michonne around the waist stopping her from reaching the tree.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Michonne demanded as her eyes landed on Merle. Merle was leaning behind a tree trying to stay out of site.

'Let's just calmed down" Rick told them.

Glenn struggled to get out of Oscar arms, pointing his gun towards Merle. "He tried to kill us, why would you bring him here?"

"He helped us get out of there" Daryl told Glenn

"Right after he beat the shit out of you" Rick reminded Daryl

"If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't be there in the first place. I will kill you for what you did to us you bastard" Glenn replied in reckless anger.

"I wanted to leave him back there, but he helped us fight out way out of there" Eli told Michonne while standing between her and the man she wanted to put her sword through.

"Move out of my way Eli" Michonne told Eli while trying to make her way around him. He could see the anger running through her body and knew that she had every right for wanting to kill Merle.

"Everyone put your weapons down" Rick told them trying to get everyone to calm down. He raised his gun at Michonne and repeated himself again. "Put it down now"

Michonne slowly put her sword down and took a few deep breaths to help control her anger. She needed to think clearly and killing Merle was not going to help her get back home to her son.

"Get that thing out of my face" Daryl yelled at Glenn while standing between him and Merle.

"I see you gone native brother!" Merle told Daryl with a huge grin plastered across his face.

"No more than you, hanging out with that psycho back there." Daryl replied, angry at his brother for siding with a such a violent man.

"Well, we all had to do what we could to survive out here, the same way Andrea had to survive when y'all left her to fend for herself, Right Michonne? You left her just like they did, but lucky for her, Governor been putting the wood in her for the past few days, loving every inch of her." Merle told Michonne with a hint of mockery.

"Andrea in Woodbury?" Glenn asked

"Right next to the governor" Daryl replied

"You know Andrea?" Rick asked Michonne

"Yep, she does, her and blondie spend all winter cuddle up in the forest. She had these two pet walkers with no arm and jaws, kept them in chain, very ironic if you asked me." Merle replied with a chuckle.

"Shut up Merle" Daryl yelled

"We snagged them out the woods and save Andrea life." Merle continued.

"Is that why she with him?" Maggie asked Merle

"No, she's with him because my Nubian queen here decided to run away. She belonged to the governor, governor's wife they called her, but she wasn't woman enough to handle him, so she did what every coward does in your group, runaway and leave other behind to fend for themselves" Merle told them as he reminded them of how they left him on the roof to cut of his own arm to survive.

"I am no Coward" Michonne replied through clenched teeth. She was so furious she could hardly speak. She wanted to kill this man that stood in front of her.

"If it wasn't for me telling him you were dead, he would have still been out here looking for you. Show me some fucking gratitude you little bitch!" Merle yelled furiously at Michonne while taking a few quick steps towards her.

Rick quickly knocked Merle out with the butt of his pistol before he could reach Michonne. No one was ever going to put their hands on Michonne. She was his and nobody had the right to claim or hurt her. Rick needed to get control over his feelings before he did something he might regret.