Best Friend (Part IV)

Carl laughs as Michonne quickly grabs a dish towel and starts wiping the counter. He clutches at his stomach and says, "It must be true! Michonne you actually spit out your tea!" He knows his friend is normally calmer than that, so the question must have really surprised her. He now wonders why that question would garner such a reaction. He smiles knowingly, watching the two of them squirm.

Michonne licks her lips and looks nervously at Rick who returns a look that is just as nervous. She gives a light laugh. "I just wasn't expecting that question is all."

"So is it true?" Carl reiterates.

Rick shares another look with Michonne before turning to Carl. "Would it be a problem if it was?"

"I guess not, but I thought you guys were just friends," Carl supplies.

"We are friends….best friends and sometimes friendship turns into something more," Rick offers.

Carl grabs a couple of apple slices and pops one into his mouth, feeling more relaxed than he has in days. "So Michonne, are you like Dad's girlfriend now or do you guys plan to get married?"

Michonne is ready to run for the hills. She has yet to have such a deep discussion with Rick and to have Carl putting the questions to both of them was a bit overwhelming. Carl's tenacity and straightforwardness are two things she has always admired about him. She just wishes he wasn't exhibiting those traits now and certainly not towards her and his Dad about their relationship.

"We really haven't discussed that…yet," she supplies slowly.

"Does that mean it's a possibility then? That you could be me and Judy's Mom if you marry Dad?"

Michonne drops her eyes in an effort to hide that tears that formed so easily with Carl's question. The sincerity and hopefulness in his voice is so tangible that it makes her heart swell with happiness. She realizes he just wants a family again.

Rick clears his throat, trying to corral his emotions. "Michonne and I will have to discuss that later, son."

"But if it affects all of us, shouldn't all of us talk about it?" Carl rushes.

"Who is all of us? If you're talking about the others, then…" Rick trails off as Carl shakes his head.

"No, I mean, us…the four of us…me, you, Michonne, and Judy," Carl states. "We should all have a discussion about what we want for our family. Well, I'll have to speak for Judy, but I already know how she feels about it."

Rick tilts his head as he swallows nervously, wondering what is going through Michonne's mind at that moment. "I'll make a deal with you and your sister." He smiles as he looks at Judy and she smiles right back. "Michonne and I will discuss this first and then we'll have a family discussion about it. How's that?"

Carl contemplates for just a moment, then nods. "Ok and if it makes any difference, Judy and I want Michonne to be our real mom, not just a pretend one. So, if you marry her, she'll be our real mom."

With those words, Michonne looks up and allows the tears to spill down her cheeks. She looks at Rick, then Carl, and finally Judith and says, "I'd like to be your real mom, too."

Rick pulls her into his arms and hugs her tightly as he places a kiss to her forehead.

Carl looks on with a smile, wondering if Maggie and Carol know how to plan a wedding.

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Two weeks later, Rick and Michonne are pleasantly surprised that Carl hasn't attempted to revisit their conversation about marriage. They hadn't had much time to talk about it as some community issues took precedence over their personal lives and once they would arrive home in the evenings and could spend quality time together, they didn't utilize their communication skills.

It's a quiet evening at home as Carl and Judith are enjoying time at Maggie and Glenn's place with Beth. The weather is still bitterly cold, but the snow has relented for the time being.

Rick and Michonne are in their bedroom as he moved his things a few days ago. They are lying in bed, naked save for the sheet covering them, basking in each other's body heat.

"Are you ready to talk about this or not?" He asks as he entwines their fingers.

"I think we owe it to ourselves and to the kids," she replies.

"Well, I just need to know the really important thing first." He looks at her, almost unsure of the response he will receive. "Do you want to marry me?"

Michonne smiles as Rick looks so young and vulnerable to her in that moment. "Yes, Rick, I want to marry you, but there are a couple of things I need to share with you first."

She laughs at his slight frown. "It's nothing bad. I wasn't a serial killer or anything in my former life. I was a wife, a mother, a daughter, a friend, a colleague, a mentor, a lawyer….." She takes a deep breath as she starts to relay the story of her previous life, sharing Andre and Mike with him for the first time.

Rick is speechless as she ends her story in tears. He hugs her tightly, never knowing the true pain she suffered and wishing he could go back in time and change it for her. "I'm sorry, babe. I'm so sorry."

She takes a deep, calming breath. "It's been hard, but you and Carl and Judith have made my life so much better and I can't think about being anywhere else or with anyone else. I love you, Rick."

He rolls his eyes upward, trying to contain his tears. "You are so amazing. You know that?"

She can't help teasing him as she lifts a finger and wipes a tear from his cheek. "Yeah, I guess I do but I like to hear you say it."

They both laugh as Rick drops his forehead to hers.

"I don't want our future to get stuck because of our past, so I put it all out there. You know everything now. I'm wide open and I want you to come in."

"I'm right here with you, ok?" He reassures.

"Ok."

Rick sighs softly, knowing this is what he needs to do not only so he can love her freely just as they both deserve, but so he can finally let go of the past and embrace his future with her, with their children. "Well, you already know I was married with a kid, I was a sheriff's deputy, and we lived in a small town. I thought we were happy, but apparently Lori and I weren't reading the same newspaper so to speak."

Michonne smiles at his corny joke, but grows serious as Rick relays to her what happened between him and Lori and his best friend, Shane, Lori's pregnancy, her death, his guilt.

"I need to get it right this time," he tells her.

She cups his face with her hands. "No comparisons, Rick. We can't base our relationship on what went wrong in the past. You and I….we're different so nothing is ever going to be the same again. We're going to make new memories….together."

He nods, accepting her words before he moves in to kiss her lightly. He rears back. You know I love you, right?"

Michonne smiles. "I know, but tell me anyway."

He kisses her again. "I love you." He moves down to her neck with another kiss. "I love you." He continues to make his way down her body with an "I love you" after each kiss.