In Another Lifetime
A/N: This started out as a ficlet under my Richonne Ficlets series. I was inspired by Carolina-bleus and encouraged by zeejack to make it into a multi chapter. Thank you all so much for your support. You are much appreciated.
Michonne is running late for work yet again. Thank goodness she is the Assistant DA and no one truly comments on her punctuality or lack thereof. She decides to stop in at the coffee shop/bakery just across the street from her work building. Everyone loves these donuts, so that can be her excuse for her tardiness.
She speaks jovially with Clara, the store's owner, who loves to talk to any and every one who frequents her business. Only minutes later, she is loaded down with her coffee and at least 4 dozen donuts. She slowly and meticulously balances the boxes as she makes her way to the door. She was wondering how she was going to open it when someone pushes it in and holds it for her.
"Thank you," she says as she looks up and falters.
The gentleman reaches forward quickly, grabbing two of the boxes as they were about to topple over.
She manages to hold on to her coffee and the other two boxes but quickly retreats and moves to a table to set her items down and regroup.
"Here ya go. Sorry about…." The gentleman trails off as she lifts her eyes to his. "Mi….Michonne?"
"Hi, Rick. How are you?" She takes in the brown Sheriff's hat, the uniform, those blue eyes and finds herself closing her eyes as her body starts to perspire lightly with her nervousness. What does this even mean that I would see him again like this? It doesn't mean anything, but…..She opens her eyes and smiles at him as he smiles at her….it does.
He sets the boxes down gently. "I'm great. I mean, I've been well. How about you?"
"I'm fine. How are Lori and Carl?" She inquires.
"They're doing good. Mike and Andre?" He asks.
"They're good. Andre still talks about the circus and that was months ago," she offers. "Guess it left a lasting impression."
"Yes. Yes it did." Rick wonders if her comment has a dual meaning because he sure took it as that. All sorts of questions flit through his mind as he stares down at her. "Do you have time to join me for some coffee?"
Yes. "I….I'm actually on my way to work. I should get going. It was really nice to see you again," Michonne tells him as she starts to gather the boxes.
"You too. Let me help you." Rick grabs all four boxes despite her protests and follows her to the door. He escorts her to her car in the parking lot and deposits the boxes in the back seat.
She stands in the door of the driver's side, wanting desperately to look away but finds that she can't. "Thank you."
"No problem. I'm happy to help you." He sighs as they stand there awkwardly, wanting to inquire about her but reluctant to do so. Work. That's always a safe topic. "I….so do you work close by?"
"Right across the street. I'm the ADA," she supplies.
He is clearly impressed as his eyes pop slightly and he smiles with a nod. He looks down at his uniform. "I guess you know what I do."
"Yeah, I figured it out pretty quickly."
They both laugh nervously albeit shyly.
Don't ask. Don't ask. "So where is King's County?" Michonne inquires despite her inner turmoil.
"It's about an hour from here. Take 75 and exit on 49. It's a straight shot," he answers.
She can't help but wonder if he was being detailed for a reason. "I really want that coffee with you but I don't think it would be the best idea," she admits.
"I honestly thought I'd never see you again," he states as he wonders what it means that he did see her again. "I'm glad I did though."
She nods in agreement. "Me, too." She swallows nervously, wishing she were still single, wondering what it would feel like to kiss him. "I should get going. Goodbye, Rick."
"Goodbye Michonne." He offers her his hand just as he did months ago, already knowing how soft her hand would feel, his memory serving him very well when it comes to her.
They shake hands, lingering just a tad longer than what is appropriate before pulling apart reluctantly as she moves inside her car, closes the door and starts the engine. She waves at him as he stands nearby, watching as she drives away.
One Year Later
Rick is beyond frustrated as he allowed Lori to talk him into coming to the city and things are just as bad here, worse, as they were in King's County. Their first stop was her parents' house. They didn't have any means of communication so they just showed up. He was checking his gun, making sure the safety was off and it was full of ammo. Lori hopped out of the car, pulling Carl with her, and ran to the house before he could warn her. They didn't know what they would find.
"Lori! Carl! Wait!"
His wife entered her parents' home with only a quick glance at him. It was like she was telling him it's just my mom and dad. Everything is fine. He opens the door of his police cruiser and exits, holstering his gun. Lori's scream and Carl running out of the house are simultaneous as Rick orders his son into the car, telling him to lock the doors. He races inside the house calling his wife's name, following her screams. He runs into the kitchen area and comes up short. His wife is pinned against the refrigerator, her mom clutching one arm, biting down and chewing, her dad at her neck.
"Noooooo…." Rick yells as he lifts his gun and shoots his parents-in-law in the head ending their undead lives. He watches as Lori slides down to the floor, her mouth still agape, her eyes full of tears as she stares up at him.
"Lori…..oh my god…..Lori. Please….don't…." he drops to his knees in front of her, dropping his gun as his hands go to her neck to stop the flow of blood. He stares into her eyes, horrified as Morgan's words come back to him.
Bites kill you. The fever. It burns you out, but then after a while….you come back.
"Sor…..so sor…ry…." Lori manages to say. She looks to her husband with anguish, the pain in her body, in her heart unbearable as she realizes what Rick has to do. "Love….you….love Carl." She can feel herself growing even more listless. She may pass out soon, so she does what she can to encourage him to end her. She grabs at his gun and tries to lift it toward her head.
"No, no, no….I can't," he tells her as the tears stream down his face.
"Have…..to," she reminds him softly.
Rick leans in and kisses his wife one last time. "I love you." He doesn't know how long she has….a day, hours, minutes. He contemplates retrieving his son, allowing him to say goodbye, but he can't let Carl see his mother like this. He lifts his gun, about to take the shot and remembers how Morgan's shot brought the walkers to their neighborhood. He has to hurry. Lori smiles at him as her eyes close and her body appears to dip even lower, relaxing forever in death. A strangled cry leaves him as he unsheathes his knife and stabs his wife in the head.
He tears out of the house, using his keys to unlock the trunk, shoving items to the side to make room. He moves back to the house, grabbing the living room curtains, ripping them from the rods as he uses them to cover and wrap her body. Carl watches him helplessly from the back seat, tears streaming down his face as he realizes what happened to his mother. Rick carries her to the car and loads her into the trunk, then takes his place at the wheel and drives away, looking in the rearview mirror at the ambling undead bodies making their way to the space he just vacated.
Only minutes away, Michonne, Andre, and Mike are at the CNN center where Mike's friend Terry works. The latter told them to meet him there and that was three days ago. They started out at Mike and Michonne's place but that soon became unsafe, so they moved. The camps that were set up were all filled to capacity no matter what part of the city they tried to access. Terry finally suggested his place of work but wanted to check on his brother on the way there.
They naively believed he'd be ok so they moved on, thinking they'd see Terry and his brother later that day. Some of Terry's co-workers are at the center with their families as well but Michonne is worried. Something must have happened to Terry. Otherwise he'd be there. They don't have a plan of any sort and are ill equipped to deal with what has been happening for the last few weeks.
The phones, the media, emergency personnel….everything has been shut down and they don't know what to do. The first few news reports they saw showed people actually eating others. It was a real live horror movie. Something Michonne never got into but Mike remembered every last zombie movie he ever saw. He relayed that in each and every one of them, killing the brain is what killed the zombie.
Michonne's mind works furiously as she wonders what they will do for food and water. They are almost out. This place should have a cafeteria of some sort, so she and Mike will have to do some exploring today and devise some sort of plan. All they've done is wait on Terry and they can't do that anymore. They have to move on. She feels a tug at her leg and looks down.
Andre looks up at her. "I have to go, but I'm scared."
"It's ok. Daddy will take you," Michonne assures him.
Her son shakes his head. "No. I want you to go with me."
She nods with a smile. "Mike, I'm taking him to the bathroom. We'll be right back."
Mike nods with distraction. Michonne grasps her son's hand and turns to walk away. A premonition of sorts tells her to wait and rethink something as simple as a bathroom break.
"Maybe you should come with us," she suggests.
Her husband looks at her, then smiles slightly. "Baby, it's fine. I'll be right here when you get back."
She nods and moves off with Andre in tow, wishing this nightmare would end.
The screams reach them inside the bathroom. Michonne cleans her son up and adjusts his clothes accordingly.
"Andre, when we step outside you hold on to me and don't let go. Do you hear me? Mommy's gonna hold on to you too and I won't let go ok?"
"Yes, Mommy."
She kisses him. "I love you."
Before she can reach to open the door, Mike bursts inside.
"We have to leave now. Someone turned and started biting others. They'll turn soon too so this place isn't safe anymore. We need to find a rear exit. Let's go," he tells them anxiously.
He opens the door and leads his family out to the common area and down a hallway. He has met Terry here at his work numerous times before so he knows this building. They come to an exit door and Mike moves to open it.
"Wait. How do we know what's out there?" Michonne whispers.
"We don't, but we can't stay here. Hold on to Andre tight," he instructs as he opens the door. They spring into a parking garage, walking to the exit cautiously.
The street looms ahead and Michonne prays that it is clear so they can make their way to another building somehow. It's not safe to be on the streets especially after dark. They step out onto the sidewalk and the zombies seem to come out of nowhere. There are at least 5 of them and they move towards Mike as he pushes Michonne and Andre out of harm's way.
"Run! Get out of here!" He yells.
"Mike!" Michonne screams his name as he goes down with two zombies on top of him. Her screams draw the attention of the others and they start walking towards her and Andre slowly. She picks Andre up and starts running, her mind screaming not to leave Mike but she has to save their son. She sees a police cruiser sitting nearby and takes a chance.
"Officer! Officer!" She glances behind her and keeps running, holding on to Andre tightly.
Rick is seated inside his cruiser, tears streaming down his face as he realizes Lori is gone. She's fucking gone. The yelling pulls him out of his reverie and he looks to his right to see a lady running with a young boy in her arms. Her face is screwed up in panic and fear as she runs toward him. She turns to look behind her and Rick realizes she's bringing walkers with her.
She arrives at the passenger side door and he unlocks the car just as she grabs the handle. She opens the door and practically tosses the boy inside. She screams as she is grabbed from behind, the walkers catching up to her. She throws her head and her body back, trying to dislodge the walker's hold on her. She slams the car door shut, ensuring the child's safety as she turns to face the walkers and kicks out with all her might.
Rick exits the car, grabbing his gun from its holster as he takes hold of one of the walkers by the collar and slams the butt of his gun against its skull. He rounds on another one, clipping the thing as hard as he can in the face. It goes down with a groan and a thud. He slams the butt of his gun against the side of its head, ensuring incompetence for that walker as well as the first.
Michonne kicks at the other zombie again, knocking it to the ground. She sees the officer taking care of the other two and it gives her the courage to kill the one in front of her. She drops to her knees and grabs the zombie's head, smashing it against the asphalt over and over again.
"We gotta go," the officer tells her as he makes his way back to the driver's side. His son and the other little boy looking on with frightened expressions.
The female moves to the car and climbs in hurriedly. She grabs the boy to her, kissing him soundly, assuring him that she's ok. She looks over at him as he starts the car and they both gasp with recognition. Of course, there is no time for any type of heartfelt reunion. They have to get out of the city and they need to leave now.
Michonne allows herself to relax against the head rest, closing her eyes. Her mind is whispering Rick while her heart is screaming for Mike. Andre lays his head against her chest and the tears start to come for both of them. She feels warmth on her hand as it rests against the seat and opens her eyes to see Rick's hand over hers. She looks to him and sees tears in his eyes as well. Something bad has happened to him, too. Lord, help us. She is so thankful for him in that moment but all she can manage is a firm squeeze from her hand to his, letting him know she is glad it was him.
Rick keeps his eyes on the road, not sure where he is going or what he is doing. He looks back to check on Carl. His son sits in the middle of the back seat, staring straight ahead. The world has dealt them one hell of a blow and he's not sure how they will recover, but they have to. He steals a glance at Michonne, not even questioning the fact that she has come into his life once again. He notes the tears on her cheeks and wonders what has happened to her and her son. He can't help but notice that Mike is not with them. Oh no.
He thinks back to when this entire thing got started. They didn't know what they were dealing with. The calls started coming in and they would respond only to witness people eating others, attacking others. No amount of force or body shots would stop them. They just kept coming. The Sheriff finally gave up trying to find out what this thing was and if they were going to get any help from the government or the military. He ordered his men, the ones who remained, to go home and try to save their families.
It was his neighbor, Morgan Jones, who educated him and told him how to kill those things if they were attacked. He was into pop culture and equated this with those zombie movies he saw. For some reason, he called them walkers and despite everything he knew, he couldn't save his wife, Jenny. They all stayed at Morgan's place together for at least a week before Lori put her foot down about going to Atlanta to see her parents and find shelter.
Morgan and his son, Duane, had walked them out to the police car to say their goodbyes, all of them praying they'd see each other again. His wife Jenny showed up and Morgan didn't think, he just acted. He pulled his handgun and shot her right on the spot. He knew the shot would draw other walkers to them, so he told Rick to hurry and get his family safely out of the neighborhood. That was the last Rick saw of his neighbor and friend. He prays that Morgan and Duane are somewhere safe.
He's not sure how long he has been driving, but he sees a sign for a rest area and decides to take a chance. He opens the glove compartment and retrieves another loaded firearm. He hands it to Michonne who accepts it reluctantly. He gives her a quick lesson, releasing the safety and telling her to be sure to aim for the head.
She looks at him with a question in her eyes, never having handled a weapon before.
"You have to protect yourself….and Andre," Rick tells her.
She nods as the four of them exit the vehicle. The boys remain with her while Rick makes sure the bathrooms are clear. When it's safe, he and Carl go to the men's area while Michonne and Andre go to the women's.
The four of them meet again moments later and Michonne asks where they are going.
"I don't know. I was just trying to get us away from the city. We need to find food, water, and weapons. We may have to sleep in the car for the night, but I….I need to do something first."
She watches quietly as Rick and Carl choose a grassy area beneath a tree to bury Lori. Rick retrieves her body from the trunk while she grabs a couple of shovels. The boys sit nearby, watching sadly as Rick starts to dig a grave. Michonne takes hold of the other shovel and starts to help him.
"You don't have to do that," he tells her quietly.
"I know," she returns as she continues to dig, unable to stop her thoughts from wandering to Mike and the sacrifice he made to keep her and Andre alive.
A/N: Please comment and let me know if you're interested in this story. Thank you.