A/N: Thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, or followed this story. Thanks for your ongoing support and for joining me on this journey. This chappie sees Richonne spending some time together. Enjoy!

The cool lemonade quenched Michonne's thirst as she sat on the front porch of her family's home and looked out across the field. She had her phone placed on the table as Sasha's voice came through the speaker, responding to her friend's news that one Rick Grimes would be helping her clear the old house out.

"You can't see my face right now, but I am giving both of y'all the side-eye," said Sasha.

"He's just helping," she replied. "Since your big ass can barely move."

"Hey!" said Sasha, pretending to be offended. "If my big ass could move, I'd be the first one over there. Slick Rick thinks he's slick. I know what he's doin'."

"Being the neighborly type?"

"Yeah, well, I can't fault you on that 'cause he is exactly like that, but that isn't what I meant," said Sasha. "He's trying to reconnect with you. You're important to him; he just wants some quality time with you."

"I love you, Sasha Stookey, but you've got it all wrong," said Michonne. "Rick is a nice guy, always has been, he's just helping out an old friend, that's all."

"Old friend?" Sasha replied incredulously. "Old friend? You were each other's first love, Michonne. Old friend my ass. You were so much more than that."

"Yeah, when we were teenagers."

"Doesn't matter that you were young. Don't you feel, I don't know, a little excited about this?"

Michonne would be lying if she said she was not feeling the slightest hint of enthusiasm.

"I don't know," she answered honestly. "Maybe I'm feeling grateful that someone offered to help. And, possibly nostalgic from seein' him after all of these years, but I'm not reading too far into any of it. We were kids then, and it was never gonna last, no matter how much we loved one another, so it's best to leave it in our past. I know that; he knows that."

"Yeah, but it's this amazing love story," said Sasha. "Like the two main characters in those novels you write."

"Uh, you do know I haven't written a novel, yet, don't you? You know I'm a journalist, right?"

"Bitch, you're the editor-in-chief," Sasha replied. "And I'm talkin' about those novels that you've drafted and never sent to the publisher. You know which ones I'm talkin' about. Tell me you haven't written any novels; I know you have."

Michonne rolled her eyes playfully and then sighed, before saying, "Can't hide anything from you, can I?"

"Not at all," she replied. "So don't even think about lying to me when I ask how the date went."

"Sasha," said Michonne. "It's not a date; we're getting the house ready. Which reminds me, I gotta go find some boxes for tomorrow. I'll talk to you later."

"Alright," Sasha replied. "Love you."

"Love you, too."

…..

"So, daddy reckons Carl'll be ready to start workin' full days here next summer," said Jeff, as he and Rick sipped from their beers while the cool afternoon breeze whipped up around the barn.

Rick let out a small chuckle, and said, "Took him long enough. How old were we when he put us to work?"

"Same age as Carl?"

"Ya think so?"

"Yeah, maybe," Jeff replied, drinking more from his bottle.

"Nah, I'm sure he had me out here bustin' my ass long before he put you to work," Rick offered with a smile.

"Well, ain't that what big brothers are for?" Jeff asked. "Doin' all the heavy liftin' so the little brother doesn't have to?"

Rick rolled his eyes just his phone vibrated. He saw that it was a message from Michonne. He could not help the smile that spread across his face when he saw her name on the screen. She was asking if he knew where she could find some boxes for packing; he asked his brother.

"We got any spare boxes layin' around the place?"

"Should be some in one o' the barns," said Jeff. "What you need boxes for?"

"I don't need 'em," said Rick while typing a reply. "They're for Michonne."

"That who you're texting now?"

"Yep," he answered. "She needs 'em to pack the old house up."

"Take as many as she needs," he supplied.

"Thanks," said Rick. "I'll take 'em over tomorrow."

Jeff sipped from his drink and eyed Rick.

"I didn't realize the two of you stayed in touch," said Jeff. "I was only a kid, and don't really recall much, but I do remember that one summer when y'all were thick as thieves."

"We were," said Rick. "For one whole summer."

Jeff nodded his head.

"We didn't keep in touch," said Rick. "Not really. Didn't talk to her after I got into the Academy."

"Why not?"

"Long distance thing didn't work out between us the first go 'round," Rick explained. "And then, when she did have the chance to be closer to me in Georgia so we could give it another try, she chose to go to school in New York. I can't blame her for it, though. She did what was best for her future."

Jeff eyed his older brother, noticing the somber look that crept over his face.

"Plus, we were just kids then," Rick added, before sipping once more. "We didn't really know what we wanted or needed. Didn't know where life was gonna take us."

"Well, y'all both ended up back here," said Jeff. "So that's gotta count for somethin'."

Rick shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Yeah. Maybe."

…..

There seemed to be a new sense of awkwardness as Rick and Michonne greeted one another out the front of her family's home. He gestured toward his truck that was filled boxes and said, "I'll bring these in for you, then head on over next door to grab a lawnmower."

"Oh, we can just unload them here," she offered. "You don't need to go to the trouble of bringing them all in for me. You're already doing more than enough."

"Have you lug all o' these on your own? I won't hear of it, Michonne," he said. The way he said her name caused her stomach to do little flips. There was something about the cadence of his voice; there was an appealing gravelly tone that came with maturity. She took a moment to regard him: Everything about Rick was appealing in maturity. She remembered him being a really cute boy, but now, as she really looked at him in the bright sunlight, she realized he had grown into a very attractive man. Memories of his soft, attentive lips came back to her, causing her to lose her train of thought.

"Michonne?" he said again, with his slow, raspy drawl. "You okay?"

"Uh?" she asked, before gathering her wits. "Sorry, yeah. I'm okay."

"Good," Rick replied. "Let's get started on the boxes, and then I'll be back with the mower. Carl, hop on out of truck and give us a hand."

The door opened and the young teen climbed out. He walked around to where his father was standing, and kept his head down while he waited for Rick to introduce him.

"Carl, this here's Michonne. We're gonna be helpin' her out today."

"Hi, Carl," she said happily, as he lifted his gaze; she noted that he and Rick had the same blue eyes. "Thanks for coming with your dad and helping me."

"Hello," he replied. "And you're welcome."

"My son, André is around here somewhere," she offered as Carl nodded his head but said nothing else. Michonne looked at the boy's father and gave him a small smile.

"Right," said Rick. "Let's get started."

…..

Carl and his father worked mostly in silence. The lawn was cut, and the grass and other clippings were placed in the back of the truck. Once they were done with loading it all, Rick stopped and wiped his brow with the back of his arm. He squinted as he looked up at the roof of the house. He imagined the gutters had not been cleaned in a while.

"Son, go to the shed and get the ladder for me, then meet me around the back while I tie this canopy down," said Rick; Carl trotted off and did as he was asked.

As Rick threaded the rope through the holes of the tarp, he heard the screen door of the house open, and then close. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Michonne standing there.

"Everything good out here?" she asked.

"Yes, ma'am," he replied. "Just gonna haul this load off over to our old place. Jeff'll burn it up in the back paddock with his tree clippings."

"You're going now? Take a break first," she said. "I've got iced tea and cake."

"Tempting," said Rick. "But let me do this first, and I'll be right back."

…..

The sun hung low in the afternoon sky. Rick and Michonne sat out in the backyard and watched Carl and André play with the puppy Rick had returned from his family's farm with.

"Thanks for this," said Rick as he finished off the cool drink.

"Oh, please, it's the very least I could do," Michonne replied. "You and Carl have been amazing today. We got so much done in such a short amount of time."

"Yeah, don't even mention it," he said. "Things run at their own pace around here."

"I remember that," she said nostalgically. "That's one of the things I miss the most. I was never in a hurry here, not like where I am now. It's always deadlines and schedules, ya know what I mean?"

"Absolutely," said Rick.

"I miss just taking it easy," she said. "Even now, there's a deadline to get the house packed up. But having you and Carl here has been so helpful. I miss that, too."

"What's that?"

"The small-town generosity," she explained. "How people are willing to help without getting a thing in return."

"Yeah, I look at it this way: We're all we've got out here, so we might as well share."

Michonne smiled at Rick and nodded her head.

"I like that," she said. "I'm gonna write that down."

She took out her phone and started typing into her notes.

"Oh, so you're quotin' me now?" he teased.

"Yes," she replied with a flirtatious tone. "You've got some deep wisdom, Rick Grimes. Someone should record it."

"Hey, anytime you want to interview me, just say the word," he responded happily.

"I just might," said Michonne, as they both held one another's gaze.

"Mama!" said André, interrupting the moment the adults were having.

"Yes, baby?"

"Can we get a puppy?"

"Oh, honey, we don't have a room for a puppy," she said with a frown.

"Well, can we move here and that way we'll have all the room for all the puppies?"

Rick watched their interaction and smiled, thinking that Michonne's young son had some really good ideas.

"André, we'll talk about it later, okay?"

"Okay, Mama."

Michonne glanced at Rick who was sipping from his iced-tea.

"You're gonna have this child pestering me for the rest of our visit," she said.

"What?" he asked.

"Bringing that cute puppy back here," said Michonne. "Now I'll never hear the end of it. Thanks, Grimes."

Rick shrugged and Michonne pretended to be annoyed with him.

"You're welcome," he said with a teasing grin. They were flirting and he was thoroughly enjoying the moment. They stared at one another for a while longer, until Michonne finally spoke.

"I tell you what," she said. "I do not miss the heat out here."

"At least there are ways to keep cool," said Rick.

"That's true."

"Have you taken André to swim in the river yet?"

"Oh, no," she said seriously. "He's too little."

Rick nodded and then said, "Yeah. When I think back to the things I got up to as a kid, I'd be horrified if Carl ever did half of those things."

"He's a really nice boy."

"Yep," Rick agreed. "He's a good kid. So is André, so if you ever need to get him outta your hair for a minute while you're here, me and Carl'd be happy to take him fishin' or something like that. A ride in the squad car could be fun."

"That's really nice of you to offer, Rick," she replied in earnest. "But he can be a handful and I wouldn't want to trouble you."

"Well, in that case, you could come too," said Rick. "We could all go spend some time together. Down by the river sounds good considering the heat. Y'all wouldn't have to swim. The boys could skip rocks and me and you could just dip our toes in a little. What d'ya think?"

He tilted his head to the side and kept his eyes locked on hers.

Wow, Michonne thought. Was he always this damn charming?

"Just our toes?" she asked, unable to keep the smile from her face, and already eager to take him up on the offer.

"Yeah," replied Rick, as he licked his lips. "We'll dip 'em in – just a little."

A/N: The next chappie sees Richonne back at the river where they had some enjoyable times in their youth. Will it stir up those familiar feelings from the past? More to come soon!