I am very nervous about this one. It is my first attempt at a more serious story. Be gentle with the reviews! I do funny much more naturally than this so I hope you all will not be too disappointed. To those out there writing serious Richonne stories, much much respect! The first chapter is mostly narrative with a bit of dialogue. The rest of the chapters have much more dialogue.

The first three chapters are more introduction getting to know the Grimes family and some background information. The next three chapters sets up the problem the final four the action and resolution.

Enjoy!

Chapter 1—The Promotion, The Girl and The Ex

"Chonne, I finally got my Captain assignment!" Hollered Rick excitedly as he entered his home depositing his work jacket and boots at the door as usual.

"That's great Rick, now you can stop annoying me and the kids with all your daily complaints about when you are going to be next in line!" yelled Michonne from the kitchen, but very excited that her husband's dream of being Captain was coming to fruition.

Rick gave major side eye to his wife of 17 years but decided to ignore her comment and keep his celebratory mood intact.

"Kids!" yelled Rick, "I am officially a Captain!"

"Finally," said the exasperated kids.

"Will you stop complaining and moping around the house now like one of the triplets?" Carl pleaded as he walked past his father patting him on the back.

Rick shook his head and balked at the flippant attitude of his family, all ten of them including his wife. He often held a quiet amazement that he and Michonne ended up having nine kids, and three of them, the triplets, happened after his vasectomy. But he would not trade his three youngest, Mia, Miles and Major, for the world. The three 3-year old triplets kept him on his toes and feeling young and energetic. So did his wife, who he simply could not get enough of. That is why they had nine kids. Mostly however, it was because they kept having multiple births. They had three sets of multiples and two singletons.

His two oldest were their first set of twins, Carl and Andre, who are fifteen. Carl took after his father, including the baby blue eyes. Michonne was always annoyed when people falsely assumed she was his stepmother because he looked like a white kid that might have a teeny tiny bit of sumthin sumthin, mixed in. He was the splitting image of Rick except Carl's hair was straight and he kept it long and swept over his eye. Michonne wanted to snatch that faux bang and cut it while he slept. His sister called him cyclops because of it and Carl would just shake his head and move on without comment. Andre was a perfect blend, he had Ricks eyes but a caramel coloring and big bouncy curls which he kept short. Not too short as to not see the curl pattern, but not long enough to hang like his brother. If the two twins stood apart, and you did not know them, from a distance one would never guess they were related. But when they stood together, they were both all Rick Grimes. They were not identical twins, but if you started at them both long enough, they could be. Their piercing blue eyes, the bridge of their noses, and the way they both squinted like their father when they were thinking about something, or mad about something, or confused about something. Hell, they squinted for everything. The head tilt, the way they walked, only Rick was bowlegged, but they all sauntered the same way. They even rubbed their fingers together when they were anxious like their father. One morning Michonne walked in on all three standing with their hands on their hips and squinting at the directions on the tree house they were building for the little ones. Michonne just shook her head and laughed. Both of them, all Rick Grimes.

Judith was next at twelve, she was spunky just like her mom and full of charm. Judith was fair skinned with honey brown and tightly coiled curly hair and those Grimes eyes just like her two older brothers. She was he boss of the kids. She told everyone what to do and when to do it, even Andre and Carl, and they usually listened and did what they were told. She was no nonsense and knew what she wanted and when she wanted it. Her personality was all Michonne. Then the next were another set of twins, Abigail, and Jackson, who are nine. They inherited their mother's eyes, or close to it, a pretty hazel that almost matched their skin color. They both looked remarkably similar, had it not been that one was a boy and one a girl, you would think they were identical twins. That, however, is where the similarities ended. Jackson was all humor and energy. He was talkative and social and often sticky for some strange reason. He really was not keen on washing up. Abigail was quiet and often stayed to herself, Michonne was always worried she was getting drowned out in madness and commotion of the other eight kids. Michonne would watch her work on things alone while her siblings were running around acting like fools.

RJ or Rick Jr. is 6 years old and spoiled rotten, at least all the way up until the triplets came along. He held some resentment at first, he was only three when they appeared, but eventually he was so excited to be the big brother to someone he got over not being the center of attention fairly quickly. He replaced it with being the domineering older brother, telling them what to do and trying to get them to constantly do his bidding. Rick and Michonne had to regularly remind RJ that he was not in charge of the triplets and they were not his personal servants and he absolutely could not tell them what to do. RJ nodded his acceptance of this in public, but in private that rascal continued his antics. RJ was another Rick clone, but with caramel skin. RJ had the same eyes and same unruly curls. And of course, finally the triplets, all three fraternal although Rick could never tell the boys apart until Michonne dressed them in specific colors. Miles was blue, Major was green. Major and Miles were caramel colored with soft curls and brown eyes, and Mia had the same curls, except her eyes were just a touch lighter than her brothers. Where there was one triplet, the other two were somewhere close. Michonne thought it was because of RJ, there was safety in numbers. Rick felt blessed to have his family, attitude, and all.

He reflected on how he almost made the worst mistake of his life when he proposed to the wrong woman. He had dated Lori Wayne since junior year in high school and throughout most of his time at Emory. He loved her, but not passionately. He really did not know what being truly in love felt like, the passion and intensity of it, because all he knew was Lori. He thought that was what love was, and it saddened him a little. He always thought being in love would feel euphoric. At the time, he blamed books and movies for perpetuating that propaganda. He became engaged to Lori the first semester of his senior year, out of what he now knows was simple obligation as a sort of consolation prize for all their years together. The plan was to wed after his graduation and start a family. Lori was on top of the world when she looked at the small one carat diamond engagement ring. Rick was surprised that she was happy with the small bauble at first, she always talked about having big rings, big houses, big cars, big everything except a big family. She was adamant that she only wanted one child, whereas Rick wanted three or four. Lori said she did not want to risk ruining her slender figure. Rick could have sworn he saw the wheels turning behind her eyes, already thinking about upgrading the ring the moment she said, "I do." Lori was ready to be a stay at home mom and raise a kid and be the typical King County wife. Deep down, Rick wanted more.

Rick met Michonne in the second semester of his senior year in college when she was taking a class at Emory that was not offered until the following semester at her Spellman campus. Rick was immediately drawn to everything about her. The way she wore her hair in locs that cascaded down her mid-back, the sway of her walk, the way her skin shined whether by moonlight or sunlight, and the way her smile lit up the room. Her perfectly round backside was also a huge draw. He was not aware that he was an ass man until he met her. He stared at that thing as often as he could and for long as he could without getting caught. And if it was not her flawless derriere he was ogling, it was her impeccable lips that were perfectly heart-shaped and plump. He would grasp his chest when the tip of her tongue would run across her luscious lips as if they controlled his own heartbeat. It was love at first sight for Rick and the way Michonne looked at him, he knew she felt the same. Their eye contact was electrifying. Her deep chocolate eyes would mesmerize him, and her lashes seemed to defy ordinary time because every time she blinked, he could swear time slowed when they stared at each other. Rick finally experienced what real love felt like, the books and movies were right, but it was also so much more, but, because of Lori, he had to push back feelings for her and concentrate on making his relationship with Lori work. That was easier said than done, because Michonne was all he thought about, day and especially night. As he got to know her, his feelings for her grew exponentially and next thing he knew, he was in deeply and thoroughly and maddingly in love with Michonne Jackson.

It was his best friend, Shane Walsh, that encouraged him to live his best life and not settle for less. Shane and Rick grew up together and were best friends since third grade. They balanced each other. Where Shane was wild, Rick was steady. Shane loved woman hopping, and Rick was a one-woman man. The only trait they had in common was their tempers. Rick edged out Shane in that category. If Rick felt anyone was messing with is family, or anyone or anything that he loved, he would go full on savage. Shane often had to hold him back in those situations, but luckily, they were few and far between. As they grew older, both Rick and Shane expected they would grow apart, especially after graduating high school, but the opposite happened and now they are closer than ever. Rick would forever be in his best friends' debt for that advice he gave that day. To this day, Rick firmly believes that Shane saved him from living a miserable life.

Rick had the hard conversation with Lori and she did not take it well at all, which was to be expected but he held firm. He sometimes had the propensity to waiver when Lori would cry, but not this time. She tried it though, cried, then hollered, then cried some more. Lori accused him of cheating, which technically nothing had happened yet between him and Michonne, but Lori was partly right. Emotionally he had already left Lori for Michonne. Once he decided to make Michonne his, there was no turning back. He could not live a lifetime without the passion he had for Michonne. As a last-ditch effort, Lori claimed she was pregnant to try and keep him, but he knew better. He was always careful, and it had been a while since they had slept together. It did not feel right to have sex with Lori when he knew his heart belonged to Michonne, but it was not that long ago where it was out of the realm of possibility. So when he drove her to the clinic to get a blood test to confirm the pregnancy, she refused to get out of the car and finally admitted that she lied. Without a word, he got back in his old truck that him and his father rebuilt his senior year in high school, and with a sense of relief , drove her home and that, as they say, was that, the end to their relationship. He never spoke to her again and he felt free and joyful at the prospect of spending the rest of his life with his true love and soulmate.

After graduating with his degree in Criminal Justice, he joined the police academy and continued his whirlwind romance with Michonne. They married two years after he completed the police academy when he was a deputy in the King County Sheriff's department. Michonne had just started her third and final year of Law School in Atlanta and they decided to split the 90-mile difference distance in the middle and rented a home halfway between King County and Atlanta. They had good times, especially when they "practiced" law protocols, to help keep them sharp. Rick's favorite drills to run-through with Michonne was the pat down (he did that thoroughly and in-depth), the search and seizures (he would look over her body meticulously and painstakingly seize almost everything he touched), the police chase (often running around the house either in their underwear or completely naked, most times Rick would mimic the sounds of the sirens as he chased her) and Michonne's favorites were being overruled (dominate rick was the best rick in her opinion) and being in contempt of court (punishments were always rough and wild). The "criminal proceedings" always had them panting and screaming each other's names in fits of uncontrollable passion. Once they had the kids, they still "practiced the law" often and with wild abandon, they just made sure to confine their activities to their bedroom when the kids were home.

They had Andre and Carl after two years of marriage and by the time he successfully ran for Sherriff when he was thirty-two years of age, they already had two sets of twins and a singleton. After RJ, Michonne convinced Rick he needed a vasectomy; six kids were more than enough. When he finally relented after two years of begging and convincing by Michonne, she found out that she was super pregnant about a month after the procedure. Rick teased her saying she jinxed herself and if she had not made him get a vasectomy, they would probably would have still had only six children. She often sucked her teeth and rolled her eyes every time he shared this logic with her. Once Michonne made partner at her major corporate law firm, they packed up the family and officially moved to Atlanta. Rick worked his way up through the ranks in Atlanta PD and at the age of 41 has been married to the most beautiful woman both inside and out for seventeen years, had nine rambunctious children and an appointment to Captain's position within APD. His wife a partner and him a soon to be captain, they were both living the dream. He could never imagine having a life this fulfilling and joyful with Lori. He smiled as he thought he needed to take Shane out for a beer soon. He would always owe his best for convincing to reach for the stars instead of settling for a set of fake twinkling lights. His life was perfect.