Author's note: Happy Holidays, guys! However you celebrate the holidays, please be safe. I miss Richonne, so here's a little offering.

"What do you mean Christmas is ruined?" Sasha's voice boomed over the phone, attempting to make sense of the conundrum her best friend wholeheartedly concocted up today. "Your man almost didn't make it home in time for Christmas. He landed himself a Christmas miracle getting to you and you still think Christmas is ruined?"

Michonne couldn't deny Sasha's claim. Rick practically flew to her on gossamer wings with his very own Santa by proxy a day ago. She tugged at her candy cane scarf, matching perfectly with her candy-striped nails. She knew she still had a lot to be grateful for despite her current dilemma. But still...

"Sash, you're not listening to me! Rick's presents were delivered to the wrong address! Amazon confirmed they shipped the packages to Drury Lane. Where is Drury Lane? Who the hell lives on Drury Lane?"

"The muffin man?" Sasha contributed, trying her best to bring some levity to whatever was happening on the other end of the line.

Michonne huffed. Twice. She was about to send a ridiculously long email to Amazon expressing her ire. She needed everything to be exactly, perfectly right and all they'd delivered was a fiasco. Christmas was the best time of the year. She needed her life to reflect the same. She and Rick were celebrating their first Christmas as a couple, she could barely contain her excitement.

"He doesn't strike me as the kind of guy that's into all the flare, Chonne. Maybe the disasters are all happening for a reason."

Sasha hoped her friend would see Christmas was more than lots of expensive gifts under the tree and excessive food on the table. Maybe this was a lesson she had to learn on her own. After all, experience was the best teacher.

"Mich, you have a knack for being a fanatic this time of the year." Sasha could hear Home Alone playing in the background. Kevin Mc Callister screamed out - loud and lengthy, probably signaling the scene where he'd just felt the sting of the aftershave. Michonne usually had the epic Christmas movie playing on loop from October.

"I do not!" she exclaimed, shooting glimpses around her heavily decorated two-bedroom home. Sasha was exaggerating, she hadn't even blown up Santa to put him on the roof yet. The Chestnuts Roasting On an Open Fire scented candle she'd bought on Etsy was burning strong and bright in the living room. Everything around her spelled Christmas in bold letters.

"I'm sure you have something baking in the oven right now."

Sasha knew her too well, she should've called Maggie or Andrea to vent instead of the practical newlywed. There was a pregnant pause between the friends.

"Tell me...," Sasha prompted.

"Christmas cookies."

"And...?"

"A ham," she shrugged.

"Figured," Sasha snickered.

"Can we get back to my crisis please?" Michonne asked her friend. She needed someone to calm her down and tell her everything was going to be okay. Rick and Glenn had gone out searching for more ginger ale for her famous punch, so Sasha would have to do.

"Christmas isn't ruined, Michonne. Rick will understand if his gift is a day or two late. Does he know?"

"Of course he doesn't know about his gifts being delayed, Sash." She stretched from the chair and righted an awry string of lights on her very real, non-fake, 8-foot evergreen tree.

"I meant about you being a Christmas freak."

"I'm. Not!" Michonne ground her teeth, not so much insulted by Sasha's quip, but by the fact Sasha didn't fully understand why she loved Christmas so much or why this was The Christmas that meant everything.

"You named your dog Christmas!"

Said dog entered the living room as though he knew he was being beckoned. He sauntered in and sat down between Michonne's legs like he did every day.

"I practically got him during the holidays." She and Maggie visited the pound three times before she could decide on her brown and white, bushy-tailed baby.

"You got him in February."

"Touche."

In spite of the jarring, Michonne wanted her and Rick's first Christmas together to be a special one. A perfect one. So, yeah, maybe she'd gone off the deep end with the decorations, the food, and definitely the gifts, but she had good grounds. She knew she was ridiculously over-programmed given that Christmas was essentially one day, but the day wasn't going to be a flop. Not on her watch. Rick was a protector at heart. It was why he was one of the best cops in King County. He wanted people to feel important and protected; two things his parents weren't able to give him when he was a child. She knew he liked Christmas, but there was always a sadness in his eyes the few times he'd brought up his childhood Christmases. She wanted him to forget those bad memories and give him new ones to cherish.

Her application, however, wasn't going so well.

"I'm just saying Christmas will still be Christmas without gifts."

"But I love gifts, Sash..."

Sasha gave a hearty laugh. "We exchanged gifts at the ugly sweater party!"

"I know. I just want this to be a good one for Rick, you know." It was her one wish for the holidays.

"Aww, honey, you're all the man wants. You're the only one he sees when you're in the room. Don't overthink this. He loves you." Sasha somehow was always the voice of reason.

"You're right, Sasha. Maybe I won't blow up my giant Santa this year." Michonne conceded, but with baby steps.

The conversation segued to their up and coming Caribbean vacation and Rosita's graduation when Michonne realized how much time had passed.

An odd scent tickled her nostrils causing her to leap off the couch.

"Sasha! I have to go! I think I burned the ham!"

Sasha hung up the phone unable to contain her laughter.

Rick's gifts were late, the ham was now burnt to a crisp and even the twinkling lights around the tree had stopped twinkling.

Bah humbug!

"That's a lot of ale, Rick." Michonne had run out of room in her now messy kitchen to store all the items Rick brought in. The sight of the kitchen made her cringe. It was warm and festive before with the scent of Christmas cookies and a glorious honey glazed ham, now the charred remains of the ham rested on the counter reminding her of her dereliction of duty.

Not wanting to disappoint his girlfriend on the eve of Christmas Eve, Rick purchased all the ale bottles available at Eugene's, just in case. He assumed Michonne would've been overjoyed with his good tidings of ginger ale, but the sullen expression on her face and her slouched position on the living room couch left his heart aching. He joined her, tugging her to his lap.

"What's wrong?"

Michonne tried to keep her face in check, but her facial expressions were always a good marker for her mood. Rick saw right through her. The feeling of letting him down grew stronger inside her chest.

"I ruined our first Christmas together."

"What do you mean?" Rick was unsure of her strong conviction. His return to King County two nights ago was miraculous in its entirety. He didn't believe in Santa, but something greater than both of them was lighting their path. He couldn't argue with faith given the plane was broken and flying back to Atlanta was out of the question that day. Maggie's father showed up just in time. This holiday was already significant for him. Even with the charred ham resting on the counter, to him, Christmas was wrapped in his arms and smelled like cinnamon and mint.

"I planned everything down to a T. The decorations, the food, the events, the gifts, but it's all falling apart right in front of me." Michonne dipped her head on Rick's shoulder. "Your gifts aren't even here yet."

Rick let out a chuckle, Michonne was too adorable when things didn't go her way. "It's alright. You're the only gift I want this Christmas, Chonne." He held her tighter, savoring their proximity and the fact that they were off to a great start in making their own Christmas memories.

"You really mean that?" She touched his face, losing herself in the blueness of his gaze. "I know you don't talk about your childhood often. I know you don't have a lot of fun Christmas memories..." She trailed off. Her motivation to make that right for him was indelible.

"You're right, I don't." Rick's eyes grew dark, as though the bad memories were pulling at him. Not that he wasn't able to open up to Michonne about his life growing up with a drunk father and a mother who treated him more like a friend than a child. He knew she never judged him, he just didn't want his yesterdays always shoving on his tomorrows taking up space where he was trying to create his own with the woman of his dreams.

Rick didn't want to dwell in the past. He didn't want his past experiences to dictate where he was headed in life. Now that he had Michonne he wanted to show her they were their own thing. He swept his hand in the air.

"I love everything you've done, babe, but all of this doesn't mean anything unless you're by my side. That's all I need."

The sincerity of his tone and the steady capture of his gaze held Michonne prisoner. Amidst the crazy and chaotic turn of events, Rick was narrowing in on the beautiful and meaningful aspects of the holidays. They didn't have a perfect Christmas, but they had each other. It was a defining moment for Michonne, discovering that somehow the chaos was the memory, the burnt ham created the laughter, and the man at her side brought the joy.

Michonne shook her head, commiserating over the newfound knowledge that her fanaticism could never repay Rick for all he'd endured as a child. What they had now was the present, which was a present in itself. She had to cherish that. Her focus was elsewhere for all the wrong reasons.

"I'm sorry, Rick."

"You don't need to be. We're still going to have a great Christmas."

He kissed her, warming her up inside like she'd just drank a cup of hot chocolate. Michonne threw her arms around Rick, a different wave of excitement sweeping her from head to toe.

"I think you're absolutely right, Rick."