Four and a Half Years Later

"It was Christmas Eve babe...in the drunk tank..." Michonne laughed to herself in the kitchen as she heard Rick singing to himself in the shower. "...an old man said to me... won't see another one..."

"Urgh does he ever stop?" Their four year old daughter dramatically slumped on the breakfast counter, her eyes rolling so hard they practically disappeared into her head.

"You don't think daddy has a good singing voice?" Michonne was pouring batter into the waffle maker.

"Nah uh." Elodie rested her chin in her hands. "I think that's why the baby's staying in your belly."

"Me too." Michonne smiled and rubbed her nine-month pregnant bump. She had hoped to have had the baby before Christmas, but on Christmas Eve it was looking less and less likely. "Now, we have an important decision to make... strawberries or banana on top of your whipped cream?"

"Both!" She grinned.

"Both?" Michonne's eyebrows raised, but the smile on her daughter's face let her know she'd already lost. She couldn't resist that wide smile and those big brown eyes. "It is Christmas Eve I guess."

"...the boys of the NYPD choir were singing Galway Bay..." The singing was getting closer, Rick was moving downstairs.

Michonne and Elodie rolled their eyes at each other.

"...and the bells were ringing out for CHRISTMAS DAY!" For his grand finale Rick burst into the kitchen, his curls still wet and his white and black plaid shirt still hanging open. "Merry Christmas!"

He bent down to kiss Elodie on the top of her head, before heading over to Michonne at the stove. He kissed her lightly on the lips, gently running a hand over her bump as he did so.

"Why are you so happy, daddy?" Elodie frowned.

"Why would I not be happy? It's Christmas Eve, my two favourite girls are here, my baby boy will be making his appearance any day now...and does it look like it's waffles for breakfast?"

"It is indeed." Michonne placed Elodie's plate down in front of her. "But you'll have to make your own I'm afraid. I gotta head into the city for a meeting."

"I thought the office was closed until new year?" Rick tended to the leftover strawberry and banana slices left on the countertop.

"Yeah it is, but we got a call from a huge client last night." Michonne smoothed the front of her black smock dress, the only item of her business attire that still fit. "Can you do me up though? I've not got the range of movement I once had." She swept her braids over her shoulder to allow him access.

"Is it worth me mentioning that you work too hard?" Rick kissed her shoulder before doing her zipper.

"You can mention it." She shrugged. "Not gonna change anything."

"You still wanna meet me and El for dinner after we're done ice skating with Carl?"

"Sounds good."

"Call me when you're done."

"I will. Love you baby."

"Love you."

Michonne grabbed her keys from the countertop and kissed Elodie and Rick goodbye before heading out to her car. At least the commute into the city wouldn't be too bad today, it was the only downside of moving to the suburbs. It was a 20 minute car ride to the station and then a 30 minute train into the city, and that was on a good day. But as Michonne came home to their double fronted clapboard house with acres of land and a view of the ocean it all seemed worth it.

She'd never ever imagined moving out of Manhattan, but then a lot of things had happened in the last five years that she'd never imagined before. And all of them had worked out well, she was happier than she had ever been. She still made partner at the firm, just a few months later than she would have liked. Rick stepped down his hours at work to take care of Elodie and he loved it, taking her to school and dance classes, the two of them always excited to tell Michonne about their day.

On the days Rick had to work, Michonne's mom took over childcare duties. They'd go to the park, bake cookies and cupcakes together or just hang out in the pool before making dinner.

Rick managed to convince Sherry to relocate from Georgia and she lived in a retirement complex 10 minutes away, she loved having Elodie stay the night at the weekend. Their lives were so close to perfect it was sickening.

Carl went to Florida for college and grew back into the sweet natured boy that Rick had told Michonne about. He got a job at a research lab after graduating and visited home often, Michonne always caught Rick smiling still whenever Carl called him "Dad". Her and Carl had forged their own little relationship, bonding over their shared love of what Rick described as "nerdy books". She had never told Carl that it was thanks to his surly teenage attitude that he now had a little sister and baby bother on the way.

Lori took Rick up on his offer and moved to upstate New York with Judith. The last update Rick had from Carl was she had found a job in a school and was dating one of the teachers. She was happy.

It seemed like fate that on their first and only adults only holiday for Michonne's fortieth birthday that they came home with more than just a holiday glow. Less than one month later she felt the familiar tender breasts and nausea, picked up a test on her way home from work and surprised Rick at the dinner table with the news that their second baby was forthcoming that December. Rick naturally took it in his stride and was just as excited as he had been with Elodie.


"How much farther?" Michonne puffed as Elodie and Rick strode along ahead of her. She was doing what at best could be described as a waddle. "When you said you knew a great place nearby I imagined about a couple of blocks walk!"

"Sorry sweetie." Rick slowed down.

"I would have thought this lazy boy would be out by now!" She shook her head as she tried not to slip in the thick covering of snow on the ground.

"He's got the Grimes man gene already.." Rick offered her his arm. "You should've seen how long Aaron could sleep for as a teenager"

"Mommy were you serious when you said he'd be called Jesus if he's born on Christmas day?" Elodie piped up.

"No sweetheart, I was just joking with uncle Jesus."

"Ok good, because I didn't like that name remember?"

"Oh really?" Michonne raised her eyebrow. "So we have to consult you about the name as well?"

"You better had." She nodded earnestly. "Or we'll end up with daddy's choice."

"I still don't see what's wrong with Rick Junior." He shrugged. "RJ for short."

"He wouldn't be Rick Junior, you're Rick Junior." Michonne nudged him.

"Don't remind me." He growled. "Rick Grimes the third then?"

"Rick HAWTHORNE - Grimes." Michonne iterated.

"Doesn't have the same ring to it, I guess." Rick relented.

Michonne and Elodie shared a look and an eye roll before dissolving into giggles.

"Can't wait to not be outnumbered." Rick shook his head.

"He'll be on our side, I bet." Elodie smirked as she slipped a hand into Rick's.

"Do you know where we are yet?" Rick turned to Michonne as they came to the entrance of a cocktail bar.

Michonne couldn't help but shake her head. "It's the bar where we met? With all those awful shots."

"You know I wasn't even gonna go out that night?" He reminisced. "Daryl...and Glenn forced me to celebrate Glenn's new job. But I'm so glad I did. And I'm glad I met you. And I'm kinda glad I got you accidentally pregnant..."

"I'm glad of that too." Michonne stroked Elodie's hair.

"A chance meeting changed everything. It gave me everything. I didn't think, in a hundred lifetimes, that I'd find someone like you to share my life with. Hell I didn't even know people like you existed. I just wanted to say thank you, for you, for everything. For us."

As planned meticulously, and practiced several times earlier that morning, Rick winked at his daughter.

"Daddy..." She beamed up at him. "My shoes untied."

Rick knelt down, giving his daughter another wink as he unzipped her coat and hoodie. He fumbled with her shoelace a little, before retrieving the little square box that had been burning a hole in his pocket for days.

Elodie turned to face Michonne, puffing our her chest as she did so. Michonne looked between her daughter and her boyfriend. Rick down on one knee holding out what was unmistakably an engagement ring, Elodie wearing a t-shirt adorned with pink writing, her favourite colour: "Mommy, will you marry daddy?"

"You two!" Michonne shrieked at the pair, looking up at her with identical smiles; the crinkles at the side of their eyes, the little dimples in their cheeks.

"Well? What do you say?" Rick prompted.

"Of course...yes...!" She laughed as Rick rose to his feet and took her leather glove off her hand. He slid the ring onto her finger before kissing her hand softly. "Baby..."

"I am gonna make you so happy." He whispered as he gently pulled her in for a kiss.

"How long have you been planning this?" She fiddled with her new ring. "And a Tiffany ring?!" She was impressed, but guessed that he'd had help.

"I went shopping with Jesus last week." He confessed. "Do you like it?"

"I love it! I'm surprised he kept it quiet though!" Michonne giggled remembering Jesus's two hour lunch break the week prior where he'd stumbled his way through a vague response when she had asked if he'd enjoyed lunch with his mom.

"Ha!" He chuckled. "I may have promised him middle name privileges."

"We don't even have a first name!"

"I've been thinking about that." He gestured to Michonnes belly. "How would you feel about calling him Andre? Like your grandfather?"

"Seriously?" Michonne rubbed at the bump.

Rick nodded. "I know how close you guys were, and it's a great name."

"I love it." She said softly before Rick bent down to give her another kiss.

They never made it to the restaurant that night, halfway there Michonne's waters broke and Andre Richard Paul Hawthorne-Grimes made his entrance just after midnight on Christmas Day. They managed to get a swift discharge and were back in time for Elodie to unwrap her gifts.

Rick wrapped his arm around Michonne who was absent mindedly twirling her engagement ring around her finger. Andre slept soundly in his basinet next to them and Carl was teaching Elodie how to play snap. The fire was roaring and the room still filled with the remnants of the day, open chocolate boxes, unfinished plates of food and the odd piece of wrapping paper that they'd neglected to clear up during their sweep. Not to mention all the toys and gifts that were still dotted around. He realised why he waited so long after Lori to meet someone again, why he never settled for anything less than extraordinary. He realised he was waiting for this.

"What you thinking about?" Michonne turned to him and asked softly.

"Nothing." He smiled, knowing he could never put it into words. "I love you."

"I love you too." She smiled and rested her head on his shoulder to join him in surveying their little family.