another snapshot! about 2 more left, I think. hope you all enjoy this fluffly piece :)

title from "dear theodosia" from Hamilton


Chapter Four

(look at) my son

Michonne heard the giggles from the kitchen getting louder as the two boys got closer to her bedroom. From the empty space next to her and the smell of bacon and cinnamon rolls coming from the kitchen just down the hallway, Michonne knows Rick is in the kitchen.

She also knows that Rick most likely told their boys to leave her alone and allow her to sleep, but the order was proving futile as it does every weekend in the decently sized apartment they all called their home. The boys were always eager to wake her on weekends, almost as if they co-conspire to get her the way she gets them throughout weekdays. This is especially true for Andre, who is sluggish on the best school mornings and cranky on the worst, but always seems to have energy on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

Usually, however, the boys manage to shake her and Rick awake to ask for cereal, something that seems to be their favorite meal. They would have it everyday if they could, but Rick and Michonne compromised and allowed them to have cereal on Saturday mornings while they will have a cooked breakfast on Sundays.

Which is today and typically sees her in the kitchen with her boyfriend as they cook breakfast for their children together, but alas, that is not the case this morning. And she has a feeling on why.

Michonne quickly turned her back to the door and closed her eyes as she heard the boys slowly creak the door open. She heard Carl attempt to assuage Andre's giggles with a loud shh! Picturing the boy's wide blue eyes with a finger to his lips as he looked down at his younger companion almost caused Michonne to break cover.

She heard the boys' feet as their toes dragged across the carpet to her mattress in the middle of the room. Finally making it to the bed, one boy stayed planted on the side behind her while she heard the other make his way around to Rick's side of the mattress to climb on top of it.

Feeling the heat of her boys' bodies just as they were about to shake her shoulders, Michonne popped her eyes open and said, "Boo!"

Being slightly older, and beginning to become something like a prankster himself, Carl jumped slightly but laughed almost directly afterwards. In front of her, Andre looked panicked and genuinely scared.

"Oh, Peanut," Michonne cooed as she pulled her son into a hug. "I'm sorry, baby, I didn't mean to scare you."

Andre instantly relaxed in her arms, also beginning to let out some giggles when he noticed Carl's amusement of the situation, "It's okay, Mommy. G'morning."

Michonne reached an arm around Carl and pulled him into the embrace as well, "Good morning, Bubbas!" She gave each boy a big, wet kiss on the cheek.

Carl chuckled as he wiped his hand down his cheek, "Morning, Chonnie. We made breakfast."

"Oh yeah?" Michonne raised an eyebrow. The two boys let go of her and she sat up to take the two in. The two smiled at one another with wide grins before nodding enthusiastically.

"We made your favorites! Pancakes and bacon and cinnamon rolls and strawberries," Carl rambled away as he attempted to pull her out of the bed, Andre trying to aid Carl's efforts with his 3-year-old body.

"Okay, okay," Michonne let out a snort and pried the boys' hands from hers in order to toss her comforter from atop her legs. She swung her legs to the side Carl stood on and offered her hand for the 5-year-old to grasp. He did just that and used all of his might to pull her up. He looked accomplished when she did-definitely wasn't because she helped him out or anything-and was ready to drag her out of the bedroom door when Michonne stopped him.

"Hold on, Boo," Michonne called. "We have to wait for your brother." She reached for her other son's hand and the toddler bumbled his way down the bed set and grabbed his mother's hand. The two proceeded to lead her into the kitchen.

The sight she was greeted with was one for sore eyes. A tray of freshly baked cinnamon rolls sat on a cooling rack atop the counter, a bowl of bright red strawberries sat a few inches beside them, a plate of pancakes behind those. The only thing she didn't see was the bacon, which she assumed was sitting in the microwave in an attempt to keep warm.

The best part of the view however was her boyfriend who was, sadly, wearing more clothes than he fell asleep in the night before. He wore plaid pajama pants and a gray t-shirt, his back turned to his family as he pulled out four plates.

Without turning he spoke, "Boys, I told you not to wake up Chonnie."

Carl pouted, "But, Dad…"

"It's Mother's Day!" Andre exclaimed. "She can't sleep!"

Rick turned around and met her eyes, "The point of Mother's Day is to let her sleep. And y'all left me cooking by myself." He gave a fake pout as he turned to begin plating food.

Michonne let out a soft grin as the boys instantly dropped her hands to give Rick hugs. She heard him accept their apologies and tell them to get forks and cups. Already on it, Michonne grabbed cups from the cabinet and handed them to Andre to set the table while Carl did the forks.

While the boys were occupied, Michonne snuck behind her man and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing a gentle kiss between his clothed shoulders, "Good morning."

Rick chuckled under his breath, "You told me that this morning, remember?"

"Hush," Michonne playfully admonished. She remembered alright. She didn't want him to get out of bed to make breakfast, regardless of the holiday. She felt like she was getting a pretty great gift already.

She helped Rick fix plates and the family of four sat and ate their meal before heading into the living room, Rick and Michonne deciding they'll wait a tad longer to clean the kitchen.

"Can we give Mommy her gift now, Rick?" Andre pleaded. He'd been asking since the family sat down to eat.

"Yes, Dre," Rick appeased. "We can do Mommy's gift now."

"Yay!" the boy sprung to his feet. "C'mon, Carl!"

The two boys went to get the gift from their secret hiding spot-a small corner in their bedroom closet-and Michonne was actually quite anxious. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get any of the boys of her life to spoil the gift for her.

Carl and Andre came back, both of them holding their hands behind their back before Carl moved his arms in front of him to reveal a jewelry box. Michonne's interest piqued.

The boy went to hand the gift to her when Andre complained, "You said I could give it to her!"

"Dre!"

"You promised!"

"Carl," Rick stated.

The blue-eyed boy pouted just a bit before handing the gift to Andre, who then handed the box to Michonne. She grabbed the box from her son's hand and watched as the two boys eagerly sat in front of her. Michonne took a quick glance towards her boyfriend before opening the jewelry box.

Inside laid a beautiful golden necklace with an "M" pendant hanging from the chain.

"It's 'M' for Mommy!" Carl explained. Michonne almost dropped the box in shock as she met the child's eyes.

"F-for, for Mommy?" Tears started to form in Michonne's eyes. Carl nodded, "You're Andre's mommy and I want you to be my mommy too."

"Oh, baby," Michonne grabbed him into a hug. "I already am. I love you."

"I love you, too, Mommy."

"Me too!" Andre yelled and joined the hug, never wanting to be excluded. Rick simply took a photo with his Kodak.


"Rick!"

"Hey, bud!"

Rick bent down as Andre ran to him and crashed into his body for a hug. The boy squeezed with as much might his tiny body could possess, laughing when Rick produced a playful grunt in response.

"Were you good for your Grandma?" Rick asked.

Andre nodded, "We made cookies!"

"Oh, yum! My favorite?"

"No," Andre said. "They're peanut butter!"

"No what, Andre?" Nicole called from her perch on the porch chair.

"No, sir," Andre looked sheepish. Rick smiled and ruffled the boy's fro before standing to his full height, the little boy grabbing his hand right away.

Nicole nodded in satisfaction before turning her gaze to her daughter's boyfriend, "Hi, Rick. How are you today? How was work?"

The younger man made his way up the porch with Andre at his side, "The usual. Mrs. Niedermeyerwas trying to give us a hard time like always."

Nicole shook her head and grumbled under her breath. Though never meeting Mrs. Niedermeyer in the flesh, Nicole knew enough stories about the woman that told about her character and she did not like her at all.

"I'm glad I don't live in Kings County, Rick, cuz that woman,,," Nicole didn't finish the thought, simply raising her hands to Jesus before leading Rick and Andre into the home.

"Let me pack some cookies for Michonne and the boys," Nicole said, making her way into the kitchen.

"You should just give me the whole batch, really, Mrs. Hawthorne," Rick joked. Andre unknowingly added to the joke by going to the counter and trying to sneak one. His grandmother swatted his hand away, the little boy looking defeated.

"Dre, buddy," Rick called for his attention. "Go get your stuff so we can go home to Mommy and Carl."

Andre lit up at the mention of his two favorite people, hurrying to his room upstairs to gather his extra toys he brought from home.

Covering a tupperware filled with cookies with its matching top, Nicole slid the bowl across the counter to Rick. He noticed she left about five cookies out of the container, and he had no doubt absolutely none of those were for Mr. Hawthorne.

And she wonders where Chonnie gets it from, Rick chuckled to himself. "Thank you, Mrs. Hawthorne," Rick smiled.

"Anything for my babies," she waved him off. Rick knew Carl was included among that title and was eternally grateful for that fact.

Andre bounded down the stairs, his Go, Diego, Go! backpack attached to him as he gave his grandmother a big hug, "Bye, Grandma! I love you."

The woman gave him a kiss to his hair, returning the declaration of love before walking the two to the door.

"Y'all drive safe, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am, " Rick pulled his girlfriend's mother into a warm embrace that she returned and he kissed her cheek. "Thank you for watching him today."

"Of course, sugar," she replied as the two separated. "Bring Carl next time."

"Don't worry, I will," Rick promised . "He was bummed he couldn't come." Though Andre's preschool was closed for the day, Carl's elementary school was not.

Nicole smiled fondly, "Me too."

"Alright, c'mon, Dre," Rick grabbed the child's hand and before long, the two were on their way home. The first few minutes home were quiet, which was strange.

"Are you okay, Dre?" Rick peered into the rearview to see the boy nod. His face was contorted in thought. "Are you sure?"

Andre was silent for a few seconds, "Rick, why can't I call you 'Daddy?'"

Rick was glad they were at a stop light, "What do you mean, buddy?"

"I called you Daddy today and Grandma said I couldn't because I already have a daddy."

Rick processed this as the light turned green. Seeing they were by a gas station, he decided to do a quick detour to have a conversation with the boy. This was not a conversation to have while driving a car.

Pulling into a parking space, Rick sets the car in park and locks the door before turning to face his son. The boy was looking at him with wide, expectant eyes. Eyes so much like his mother's.

"Well, Dre," Rick started. "Grandma was right. You do have a Daddy."

"I know," Andre said. "But I love you the same way I love Daddy so why can't I call you that too?"

Rick thought about how to phrase this, "Daddy is only for one person. And your Daddy is that one person."

"But I want you to be my Daddy too!" the little boy's lip started to tremble. Okay, he was going about this all wrong.

He reached in between the seats to grab the boy's hands, "I am your Daddy, too, but only one person can have that name. You can call me something else that means the same thing as Daddy. What do you think?"

Andre thought about this for a moment before nodding, "Okay."

Rick smiled, "Okay. Do you want to call me Papa?"

Andre made a face.

"Well, that's a no," Rick laughed. An idea popped into his head.

"What about Pop?"

It was what Rick called his father. And Carl can say it when he outgrows 'Daddy,' if he wants.

"Pop, Pop, Pop," Andre repeated it like he was giving a test drive. "Like a lollipop!"

Rick chuckled, "Sure, like a lollipop."

"I like it!"

"I'm glad," Rick ruffled his son's hair before turning around and buckling his seatbelt. "Ready to see Mommy and Carl now?"

"Yeah, Pop, let's go, please!" Andre clapped his hands in anticipation.

Rick put the car into gear and started the journey home. He was grinning the entire time.