Richonne (Short Love Stories) Coveted (Chapter 17)
A/N: This is a request from literaturechick. Hope you enjoy this.
The hour is past midnight and Michonne can't help but worry as Rick has yet to arrive home or call. She hates to be a worry wart and she refuses to call him although she has picked up the phone several times. She assumes he is working a case and is too busy to call home. That happens a lot, but not so often that it would cause a problem between them. They have to be understanding as they both have demanding careers, her as ADA (Assistant District Attorney) and him as Sheriff, both of King's County, GA.
She barely hears the garage door opening, announcing his arrival. She sighs heavily, thankful that he is finally home and safe. She sits in bed, trying to wait patiently but he is taking too long, so she gets up and quietly walks down the stairs to the kitchen just as he is entering from the garage. She smiles as she drinks him in with her eyes. Eleven years of marriage and she is still very much in love with her husband.
He returns her smile albeit tiredly as they meet in the middle of the kitchen and hug each other. "I'm sorry. There was an accident on 49 and…." He is silenced as she puts a finger to his mouth with a shake of her head.
"No explanation needed. I'm just glad you're home and you're safe," she tells him. "You haven't eaten, have you?"
He drops his head with guilt. "I haven't even thought about it."
"You want to go up and take a shower? I'll heat dinner up for you," she offers.
"Babe, I know you're tired, so…" Rick begins.
"Never too tired for you. Go on. I'll be even sweeter and bring it up to you if you want." She smiles.
"What did I do to deserve you?" He asks.
They share a short meaningful kiss as Rick walks tiredly up the stairs and Michonne busies herself in the kitchen.
Later, they are cuddled in bed together, trying to relax enough to fall asleep. He nuzzles her neck, softly. "Thank you. You always take care of me."
Michonne agrees softly, running her fingers through his hair. Not long after that, she is wondering how they went from cuddling to lovemaking in such a short span of time. She smiles and tells herself her husband is just skilled like that.
She moans softly and pops awake. Rick? She realizes she was dreaming about him, her worries manifesting into her sleep. She sighs heavily and nestles in between their two sleeping boys, Carl on her left and Andre on her right. Nine year old twins. She closes her eyes again and drifts back to sleep.
"Rick?! Where are you?! We have to go!" Michonne is frantic. She knows the yelling will only attract them, but she can't find him. She only walked away for a bathroom break and now he's not where she left him…them. Where is he? She hears a scream and tears off in the direction from whence the sound originated. The scene she runs upon rips her heart out. Rick is almost surrounded as he practically tosses the boys away from him. "Get them! Save them!" He yells before…..
Michonne snaps up, clutching at her chest. She is sweating profusely and can barely catch her breath as her dream comes to the forefront of her mind. She shakes her head vigorously, trying to make the images disappear. Lord, please….. She gasps as she detects movement in the chair in the corner. She looks over to see her husband slouched down in the chair, staring at her in silence.
She races over to him, going down on her knees in front of him, searching his eyes. "You're back. Thank God." She pulls him to her and hugs him tightly, not caring that he is covered in blood, guts, and who knows what else as the familiar metallic smell drifts to her. She moves back to search him more thoroughly, not having much success in the dimly lit room. "Are you ok? Rick, what's wrong? You aren't saying anything."
"We lost another man today. Gibson. He had a wife and a daughter. Do you know that makes three in one month? I should be used to it by now, but…." He holds his head down, tired.
Michonne gathers him to her. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, babe." She pauses, knowing he won't want to hear what she has to say, but she can't resist. "It's this place. I swear it is. Something's just not right here. We should leave…"
"And go where? I can't take my children out there again. Live out in the elements among those things. We were barely surviving when we found this place. It's not the best, but it's better than being out there." Rick is adamant.
Michonne remains silent. She doesn't want to argue nor add to his stress.
"You were having bad dreams again, huh?" He asks.
She nods slowly. "I think it's when you're not here with me. I worry more."
"I know and I'm sorry, but I've got to pull my weight around here," he informs.
She sighs. "You're doing more than pull your weight. Why is it you're the only one who has been on every single run since we got here?"
"He made me lead on runs, so….." Rick trails off as Michonne interrupts.
"That doesn't mean you have to go out each time. You're going to have to start alternating with me or assigning someone else to take the lead. It's only right." She pauses as Rick nods. She pushes his hair back from his face. "Come on. I'll help you get cleaned up." She stands and offers her hand.
The next day presents better circumstances for the Grimes family or so it would seem. Rick is able to spend time with the boys while Michonne is assisting Milton, Woodbury's equivalent to a scientist, with one of his many projects. He is in between jobs as the Governor came to retrieve him for some other venture a few minutes ago. It gives her a much needed break and her mind can't help wondering to the past and her dream last night. That was the last good night she and Rick had together before everything went haywire. Some sort of virus or disease broke out and changed people into flesh eating monsters. She recalls driving by the local funeral home the next day and seeing corpses that had come back to life walking around aimlessly. They didn't know it at the time, but no matter how you die, if the brain isn't destroyed, you come back. You come back mindless and hungry for human flesh.
She, Rick, and the kids got out with their best friend Shane. They met others along the way and formed a group. They had to learn pretty quickly how to survive and how to deal with this threat. The journey has been hard and grueling, but they're still here.
She reaches over and touches her katana, her weapon of choice. Rick laughed at her when they were raiding a pawn shop and she noticed the sword in what had to be the owner's office. She was just drawn to it for some reason, so she grabbed it and it hasn't left her presence since. Using it every day, slicing up walkers all day has made her more than proficient with the weapon. She laughs now as Rick picked up a red handled machete not long ago. She is sure her katana inspired that decision.
The noise of the door opening draws her away from her memories. She looks up to see the Governor walking in, smiling at her. She cringes as he closes the door behind him, alerting her that he is alone.
"Milton will be in shortly. I just wanted a few minutes to go over something with you," he tells her.
She watches him like a hawk. "Ok."
"We have something good here with this place. You agree?" He asks.
Michonne nods cautiously.
"Well, I want to make it even better, so I need someone strong, someone resilient by my side, in my life. I need a woman like you." He waits for her reaction.
"Blake, I'm married. Happily married. I'm not going to be with anyone but my husband," Michonne states, hoping he will get the picture and leave her alone. She hasn't shared any of this with Rick, but she feels she will need to promptly as this man is getting bolder and bolder.
"And what would you do if your husband weren't here anymore?"
Immediate rage incites her to stand up, grab her katana, unsheathe it, and hold it to the Governor's throat, all before he hardly had a chance to blink. She narrows her eyes at him, menacingly. "Was that a threat against my husband?"
The Governor recognizes the killer in this woman as he raises his hands slowly. "That's not what I meant at all. It was a hypothetical question." He can feel the blade prick his skin, a small trail of blood trickling down his throat.
She kicks the chair she was sitting in out of her way and walks backward to the door, never taking her eyes off of him, still holding her katana at the ready. "You leave me and my family alone or you will regret it."
She slams the door open and walks out of the office, running to the apartment she shares with her family.
Rick is serving the boys lunch when she walks in. "Hey, I wasn't expecting you for lunch. I'll have to…" He takes one look at her and knows something is wrong. "Boys, sit here and eat. Mom and I need to talk."
They move off to their bedroom and close the door.
Michonne paces from one end of the room to the other. "We have to leave and we have to leave now. I just pulled my sword on Blake. He…"
"What?! Why would you do that?"
"He indirectly threatened you." She informs Rick of what she has been dealing with for the last month or two with Blake coming on to her and making subtle hints. "Today he asked me flat out to be with him and he asked what I'd do if you weren't here anymore. We have to leave. That man is dangerous and now, I'm thinking it's no coincidence that he has insisted you go on these runs. We need to gather the others and find out who wants to leave with us and just go."
"Babe, where are we going?" He moves over to her and cups her face, willing her to look at him, so they will be on one accord when they make a decision.
"What about that place you and Daryl found? The prison?"
"I told you it's overrun," Rick reminds her.
"You said if we had enough ammo, we could take it. Maggie and Glenn work the supply store. They could get what we need. Blake is going to have to deal with me. What I did today is punishable by banishment. He'll hold a meeting or whatever. That gives us two days tops before he kicks me out of here. We can gather what we need and get the hell out," Michonne suggests.
"Do you really think it's going to be that easy? He's just going to let us walk away?"
"Well, somebody's gonna die and it's not going to be you."
Rick recognizes that tone in his wife's voice. She is now on a mission and he'd better get in line or risk sabotaging everything. "Ok, we're doing this, but we need to talk to the others first. Blake is probably sending men to retrieve you right now, so we'll have to…." He trails off as there is a knock at the front door.
He can hear the boys moving in the kitchen area, probably to answer it. He moves quickly to the bedroom door, opens it and yells, "Boys, leave the door to me!" He then retrieves something from a nearby dresser drawer.
Walking over to his wife, he places a hand at the small of her back and offers her a pocket knife. "They're going to take your weapon, but you're not going in defenseless. Take it just in case."
She accepts it as the two of them move through the apartment to the front door. Rick answers it to find Martinez and Shumpert on the other side.
"The Governor sent us…" Martinez begins.
Michonne steps forward. "I know. You don't have to say anything. I'll cooperate."
"We're not here for you. The Governor wants to see you, Rick," Shumpert informs.
"What? Wait. No, he's not going anywhere," Michonne tells them.
Rick sighs and places his hands gently at his wife's waist, moving her aside. Michonne looks up into his eyes and knows she shouldn't argue. She steps behind him and quickly places the small knife in his back pocket.
The kids didn't miss any of it, so they rush to their mother's side, knowing that something is not quite right. Rick turns to face them, plastering a smile on his face. Michonne reaches out and fists his shirt, finding it hard to let go.
"I'll be back soon, ok? Take care of your mom while I'm gone." He places a hand over his wife's and prompts her to let him go.
Michonne does so reluctantly as she kisses him quickly and watches as he faces Martinez and Shumpert and leaves with them. As soon as they are gone, she springs into action with the help of her boys. They are both more than proficient with guns and knives, so she arms them with both, then packs up what she can for her family and leaves for Maggie and Glenn's place.
An hour later, the group is together and Michonne has informed them of everything. Shane agrees that they should leave. He senses something off with the Governor and Woodbury as well. They devise a plan to split into two groups. Shane will lead team 1 (Maggie, Glenn, Beth, Herschel, Carol, and the twins) and Daryl will lead team 2 (Tyreese, Sasha and T-Dog). Maggie and Glenn will hit the supply store to retrieve the ammo then Tyreese will make a way for them to escape through a back exit. It's up to Michonne to try and get to Rick and get him out and meet Daryl, Tyreese, Sasha, and T-Dog. Shane will get team 1 out and head to a nearby shopping plaza as the meet up point. If the others aren't there in a day's time, team 1 is to move on to the prison and take it. The plan is to be executed first thing in the morning.
Michonne leaves the twins with Herschel, Carol, and Beth as she seeks out the Governor to find out what is going on with Rick. She meets Martinez on the way who abruptly tells her that Rick is being held in the community jail. Of course, no valid reason was given, but Michonne knows all of this stems from Blake's so called infatuation with her. She arrives at the office building where the makeshift jail exists, noting that it is being guarded by two men she is not familiar with. She inquires of the Governor's whereabouts and is told he is inside, interrogating the prisoner.
"Interrogating the prisoner?" She scoffs. "Excuse me, my husband is not a prisoner. Let me by so I can see what's going on."
"Can't do that. We were given strict instructions. No one in or out unless the Governor ok's it." One of the men informs her.
"Well, do you think you could trouble yourself to go and ask him if I can see my husband?" Michonne is quickly losing patience. She narrows her eyes as the man reluctantly enters the building, closing the door firmly behind him.
Meanwhile, the Governor is propositioning Rick who is behind bars and wondering how he is going to make his escape.
"It's quite easy really. I'll let you and the boys live. All you have to do is leave here. Just walk away," the Governor tells him.
"You expect me to just leave my wife here with you, so you can do God knows what to her?" Rick is trying not to let his anger get the best of him. He knows he has to keep a level head to deal with this man's degree of insanity.
"Believe me she'll be in good hands. I always take care of my women," the Governor returns.
"But she doesn't want to be with you, so what are you gonna do? Force her?" Rick asks.
"She'll come around. They always do." The Governor smiles as if he knows something Rick doesn't.
Just then, the guard walks in and whispers to the Governor who looks over to Rick and says, "Excuse me" and proceeds to follow the guard outside.
Michonne is beyond pissed as she walks away from the Governor. He promised her that she would be able to see Rick tomorrow. He also warned her that if she caused any problems what that would mean for her husband.
Her frustration level is at an all-time high but she manages to stay busy helping the others with the preparations for their escape. Later, she makes her way back to the twins, assuring them that their dad is ok. That night, she couldn't get any sleep, so she kept watch, looking out over Woodbury from Herschel and Beth's apartment. Unbeknownst to her, Rick is wide awake as well, wondering what tomorrow will bring.
The next morning, everyone is up bright and early and ready to execute their plans. Team 1 follows Tyreese toward the rear area of Woodbury, keeping low and quiet as they make their escape. Once Tyreese sees them off, he joins Sasha, Daryl and T-Dog to wait for Rick and Michonne, all of them hiding on an old bus by the escape exit.
Michonne arrives at the jail, waiting patiently to see Rick. The Governor is already there and escorts her inside.
"You're going to have to leave that right here outside the door and I'll have to check you for other weapons." The Governor informs her as he reaches for her katana.
She hurriedly removes it herself, placing it on a desk by the door that is separating her from her husband. She turns to him and says, "Don't you dare put your hands on me. I don't have any other weapons. You're just going to have to take my word for it."
The Governor is slightly flustered as he is quickly losing patience with Michonne. He's not used to being rebuffed, but he has plans for her. She'll be begging for more in no time flat he tells himself. He grabs her by the arm, holding tight as she tries to jerk away, and leads her into the holding area.
She rushes over to Rick as soon as she lays eyes on him, reaching through the bars to hold him and kiss him. He assures her that he is fine as he returns her affection as best as he can.
"Well, I'm glad you two got that in as it will be the last time you'll see each other or touch each other again," the Governor states.
Michonne turns around to face him, shielding Rick with her body. "You're going to let my husband out of here….right now."
"Oh, that's no problem at all. He and your boys will be leaving today, but you, my beautiful Nubian Queen, you get to stay here…with me by my side." The Governor watches her with a knowing sneer on his face. He walks over to her slowly, looking down at her, undressing her with his eyes. "Let's just show Rick what he's going to be missing from here on out."
He grabs her by the arm, pulling her away from her husband and slams his mouth against hers.
Rick shakes the bars with rage as he yells for the Governor to let her go.
Michonne tries to yell and almost gags as the Governor forces his tongue into her mouth. She bites down as hard as she can, drawing blood then finds herself flying across the room as he backhands her. She lands against a desk and quickly turns around to face him as he is on her before she can clear her head. She can hear Rick yelling and rattling the bars in his anger and helplessness.
The Governor laughs as he gropes her breasts, moving his hands down to her waist, her hips. He reaches for her belt buckle, but Michonne punches him in the face and moves to land another blow, but the Governor grabs her arm and twists it behind her back. She cries out with the pain, but doesn't stop fighting. She kicks at him and uses her free hand to the best of her ability. Her eyes widen as he grabs her by the throat with one hand and releases her arm to unbutton his pants with the other, revealing his stiffened manhood.
Oh my God! NO! She fights with everything she has, trying to get away from him, but he holds fast. She claws at his hand at her neck as he is cutting off her air supply and she is growing weak. She feels her shirt being ripped from her body and then his hand moves down to her belt buckle again. She takes the heel of her hand and slams with all of her might into his nose.
He staggers back for only a moment, but it allows her to breathe in deeply, gaining some of her momentum back. Her head explodes with pain as he punches her in the face, splaying his hand across her chest and slamming her back against the desk. She grabs at his other hand as he goes back to working on getting her pants off. Mustering all of her strength, she pulls her knees toward her chest, simultaneously knocking his arms away, and plants her feet in his stomach. She pushes off with everything she has and sends him sprawling in Rick's direction.
Rick reaches out and grabs him around the neck, holding on for dear life as the Governor struggles to be released. He squeezes with all of his might to ensure the sick bastard can't call for help.
Michonne lifts herself off the desk and reaches down in her boot for the knife she placed there this morning. She is silent and her look is lethal as she walks over to the Governor and stabs him in the stomach.
Rick reaches up quickly to cover his mouth, stifling any noise he makes. They both watch as he slowly slips down to the floor in a sitting position, holding his wound.
Michonne grabs the keys from his belt and unlocks the door, freeing Rick. He pulls her into a quick hug, noting her busted lip and bleeding nose. He removes his shirt as he is wearing a t-shirt underneath and covers his wife protectively.
"We have to go. The others are waiting for us," Michonne tells him. They both look down at Blake, suffering as the blood slowly seeps from his body. He makes a horrid gurgling noise as he looks to them, begging them with his eyes.
Michonne moves to the door, putting her ear to it to listen before she opens it and grabs her katana. She stands over Blake, frowning as she notes that his manhood is still exposed. She unsheathes her katana as she hears Rick call her name cautiously. In one swing, she reduces Blake to eunuch status, castrating him mercilessly. He can barely scream as blood pools in his mouth and he collapses completely to the floor.
She looks to her husband. "Let's go."
"We can't leave him like this. He'll turn," Rick informs.
"Exactly," Michonne states. She turns her back to him, moving to the door.
Rick places a hand on her arm. "Babe, there are innocent people here. They don't deserve this. He was the bad one, not them."
She looks back at him, realizing that he is right. She nods slowly as he takes her katana from her hand. She keeps her back to them as she hears Rick put the sword through Blake's skull.
At least two hours later, they are reunited with the others at the meet up point. Rick and Michonne hug their boys tightly, thankful that their family is together again. They do the same with the others and decide to push on to the prison, putting as much distance as possible between them and Woodbury.
Michonne is downtrodden, but hopeful once she gets a good look at the prison. Walkers are rambling through the overgrown grass and the look of desertion is desolate, but it has fences that can keep the walkers out. If they can take it, they can make this place work for them. She is sure of it.
The group makes their way down the hill cautiously as Glenn cuts his way through the fence. Everyone crawls through quickly and takes a breath as Tyreese uses cable wire to secure the cut in the fence. They make their way to another gate and assess the prison yard full of walkers.
Rick looks even further up the hill to the main gate leading to the actual building of the prison. He notes the crowded courtyard and realizes he has to get to that gate and close it securely so more walkers won't make their way into the main yard. He tells everyone the plan, placing teams of two in different guard towers to start clearing the yard. "I'll go for the gate."
"I'm coming with you," Michonne tells him. She's using her no argument voice, so Rick does just that. He doesn't argue. He admires her tenacity as she unsheathes her katana, getting ready. Herschel is there to open the gate for them as they move into the yard, Michonne in front of Rick slicing a clear path for him as they make their way to the gate and Rick secures it. He makes his way into the guard tower as Michonne continues to cut the walkers down efficiently.
In no time at all, the yard is full of dispensed walker corpses. They have secured the prison yard. Michonne laughs as she hears T-Dog let out a victory yell. Shane rushes over to her and gives her a hug as Rick joins them. She smiles at them both and says, "We did it."
The boys come racing over, grabbing onto their parents in their excitement. Rick looks on, feeling secure for the first time in a long time.