A/N: This was written for the 42 Days Round Robin Challenge for Richonne Just Desserts on Tumblr. I was tagged by shipnation to write Day 3. We're filling in the days from when Carl was shot to canon Richonne! Enjoy!

Michonne stood atop the guard post and looked out into the darkness that enveloped Alexandria; the light of the full moon bathed her tired limbs. The lingering smell of rotted corpses and burning flesh still hung in the air, yet she had grown accustomed to it. She was still exhausted from having fought off the herd and then the clean-up that followed. It was slow going but she and the other residents were getting much done; the only drawback for her was that she did not have much time to spend with an injured Carl. She had stayed all day with Rick by his bedside until he had regained consciousness, and every free moment she had gotten thereafter; but free moments were few and far between when one was trying to help a community recover.

Rick's eyes felt heavy and his body weary as he sat beside Carl's bed at the infirmary. He had made it a habit to visit with his son before he went to sleep.

"I should get goin', son," said Rick, yet he remained seated. "Make sure your sister's bein' good for Morgan."

"Sure," replied Carl. "Hey Dad, where's Michonne? I thought Judy would be with her."

"She's takin' watch tonight," Rick answered. "Okay, can you ask her to bring a few comic books for me when she comes by tomorrow? It's so boring here," said Carl before he yawned.

"I'll let her know," Rick said. "She knows where I keep my stash," Carl added.

Rick nodded and smiled at one of the things he found completely endearing about Carl and Michonne's relationship: their mutual love of comic books. Shortly after, he bid his son goodnight and went to find Michonne.

Keenly aware of her surroundings, Michonne heard Rick approaching before he climbed the ladder to join her at her post. An instinctive smile washed over her face when he stepped up to the platform; a smile he returned in spite of his lethargy.

"Hey, what's up? Everything okay?" asked Michonne after her initial pleasure at seeing Rick passed.

"It's all good," he replied, hearing the concern in her tone. "I just finished visitin' with Carl and he had a request."

Michonne listened quietly.

"He'd like some comic books 'cause he's bored," Rick explained, causing Michonne to laugh.

"That took quicker than I thought," she offered. "I'll get some together for him when I get home. Drop 'em off in the morning when I change his dressing."

Rick registered what she had said.

"You been changing his dressing? Since when do you work at the infirmary?" he asked, quietly pleased with the information.

"I figured I had to get used to it for when he comes home. Besides, I needed Carl to know it was okay. That he didn't need to feel any certain way about the wound or be shy because he's still the same kid I love," she said softly.

Rick looked at her in utter amazement; she was so patient and caring with his son that it almost hurt to think about how happy it made him.

"You know, he asked me what if he's not as good as he was before," Michonne said as Rick folded his arms and tilted his head to the side. "What'd you say?" Rick asked, grateful for their openness.

"I told him it was gonna be tough for a while, but he's a tough kid. I told him he's got you and that means he's gonna be okay," she smiled, catching Rick's gaze. "It sucks what happened, but he's lucky because Rick Grimes is his father."

Though weary, Rick smiled brightly and remained silent a moment longer.

"He's lucky he's got you too," Rick finally said. "Same applies to me. If you weren't here, Michonne I…I don't know what would've happened or how I'd have gotten through."

Michonne felt her eyes well with tears at the sincerity of Rick's words and the tremble in his voice. She reached forward and pressed her hand to his shoulder in a comforting manner; she ran her hand down his upper arm and gave a gentle squeeze.

"Thank you for being here with me," Rick offered. "Don't mention it," said Michonne. "I'm still with you, Rick. And I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."