A/N: Hi all! Thank you all for the tremendous feedback. I was so pleased to read everyone's different views on it. I know it's a little ambitious of me to incorporate topical issues in my fics, but I wanted this one to be close to real life, and sadly, things like this happen; racism; broken homes; troubled teens etc.
Let's check out what's going on now…
The frustration doubled as Rick looked across the table at his ex-wife. Lori wanted them to discuss what Carl had done and what their next steps would be, but as soon as Rick started talking, it was as if she did not want to hear what he had to say. The dull throbbing intensified in his head as he recalled one of the downfalls of their marriage; miscommunication. It was like nothing had changed in that department; Lori still had a knack of trying to shut Rick down.
"See, Mom! You never listen!" Carl interrupted, much to his parents' annoyance.
"Carl, stay outta this," said Rick. "We're talkin' here."
"No, you're trying to talk and Mom's cutting you off, as usual," the teen said. "Same old bullshit."
"Carl!" warned Lori. "You're in big trouble already so watch your mouth."
"That's right," said Gerry.
The teenager rolled his eyes.
"Whatever," he mumbled.
"Carl!" said Rick. "Stop bein' disrespectful. You've already taken Gerry's car, now you wanna talk to him like that? I don't think so, buddy. I've had enough. Go to your room!"
The boy sat with his head down.
"But Dad…"
"Now Carl!" Rick's voice boomed. "I ain't gon' tell you twice. Move!"
Carl stood and skulked off slowly to his bedroom.
"Now, Lori, we're gonna have to do somethin' here. Y'all are gonna have to meet me half way," said Rick.
"The courts said he can't live with you," she reiterated.
"I know that, but we all need to come to some agreement here about what's best for our son; not what's feedin' our egos," he said in earnest.
"I don't want Carl to have the impression that he gets what he wants after he fucks up," said Lori.
"I'm with you on that one. He's gotta learn that there are consequences to his actions," Rick said.
"What do you suggest?" asked Gerry.
"Leave it with me," Rick offered. "I'll come up with somethin', but for right now, he's stayin' put. I'm gonna go see Noah and his family before I head back home."
Rick stood, and so did Lori and Gerry.
"I'll say goodbye to the kids first," said Rick as he headed up to Carl's room.
…..
"Thanks for takin' the time to see me," said Rick as he and Roger stood on the front porch.
"Yeah well, I've known you for years, Rick," Roger offered.
"About what happened, I know we can't talk about specifics, but I wanted to say I'm sorry for this whole mess. It was bullshit how your boy was treated at our station. Shouldn't have happened that way; there's no excuses," said Rick.
"I appreciate you sayin' that, I really do; but it don't change the fact that my son is in serious trouble now," Roger replied.
Rick nodded his head.
"I'm so embarrassed of my colleagues," Rick offered sincerely. "It ain't right."
"I'm not angry at your kid, Rick. Boys their age are clumsy asses who make bad choices. They're always gonna get into some stupid shit, even when we've tried our best to raise 'em right. I know we've raised our kids right. I know it ain't your fault what happened," said Roger.
"Thank you," Rick replied.
"I'm just pissed at this system," Roger explained while Rick listened. "The system ain't too kind you our black boys, especially down this part of the country. I'm not stupid and while I know things have changed, there are still some things that haven't."
"I hear you," said Rick.
"I know you're good people, Rick. I know you got a good kid and when all o' this blows over, I got no problem with them still bein' friends," Roger said.
"That's good," said Rick. "I know my boy would like that. He's got a few things to learn in the meantime."
Roger nodded.
"Mine too," he said.
"You're in good hands with Michonne," Rick suddenly offered. "She's a real good lawyer. Smart. Dedicated. She'll help y'all out."
"I hope so," replied Roger.
"She will," Rick said as he stared off into the sleepy street. "She's great."
xXxXx
"Woah, wait up. Slow down and say that again," said Andrea into the phone.
Michonne sighed.
"I got called in to work on a case I can't talk about because a minor is involved and then I snapped at Rick and you're thinking, so what? Right? I always snap at him; yeah well, it's different now because I slept with him," Michonne said in one breath.
"Who did you sleep with? A minor or Rick?" asked Andrea, completely confused by her friend's frantic phone call.
"Are you still drunk?" Michonne asked.
"No, are you?" asked Andrea.
"Whatever. I'm telling you I had sex with Rick last night," she said finally.
Michonne pulled the phone away from her ear as Andrea squealed into it.
"Mich! Are you serious? Of course you are; you're always serious!" said Andrea. "What happened?"
"We fooled around in the cab on the way home from your place and he invited me inside and yeah; we had sex," said Michonne.
"Oh my god! Okay. Okay. So how was his…"
"It was, ya know, nice..."
"And he was…
"Good, well better than good; he was great," said Michonne with a smile.
"So what's the drama now, bitch?" asked Andrea.
"Bitch, three words: conflict of interest," said Michonne.
"Bullshit," said Andrea. "You don't have to tell me the details of your case, but come on! That's a cop out."
Michonne sighed and leaned back in her chair.
"I don't know. I was so pissed off about the case. Let's just say there were a couple of kids joyriding in a car that one borrowed from their stepfather. It was reported stolen and the black kid who was the passenger was charged when the other kid, the white cop's kid, got sent home," said Michonne.
"Wow, that's some bullshit," said Andrea. "Did Rick and his hick friends book this boy?"
"Rick didn't, he was with me at the time," she explained. "But he got a late call to go to the station and I didn't get a call to go down there until the next day."
"Shit," said Andrea, piecing it all together. "Rick's son stole the car and his friend is your client? They did Rick a good ol' boy favor and you lost your shit at him?"
"Yeah, that sounds about right," said Michonne.
"I'm sorry, babe," Andrea said. "It's shitty that there are still assholes around like those dicks at the station, but you gotta know Rick's not like that, right?"
Michonne sighed.
"I know, I was just so angry. That boy had to stay in the cells with actual violent criminals. The douche who was on duty didn't call my client's parents or me; he left it with the officer who was relieving him from his shift the next day," said Michonne.
"You're advising your clients to sue, right?" said Andrea.
"I've told them it's an option after we clear their son's name," Michonne replied.
"Good," said Andrea. "That's fucking pathetic of them."
"He's just a kid with his whole life ahead of him; he doesn't need this. You know, we talk so much shit about the city, how we needed to get away and all that; but there, I forgot that people still have that hate in their hearts because we we're absorbed into the whole thing. There were so many different types of people. Somehow the city walls have protected me from the shit, or the everyday grind made me ignore it. I don't know," Michonne sighed. "But out here, all the bullshit is so in your face and people constantly remind you about the differences."
"Hey, you keep fighting the good fight. Don't let them try to drag you down," said Andrea.
"I won't," Michonne smiled.
"So…"
"So?"
"Rick, uh? What're you gonna do now?" asked Andrea.
"I don't know. He's got a lot on his plate right now," said Michonne.
"Are you at least going to talk to him?" Andrea queried.
"Yes," said Michonne. "I'll call him."
"Good," said Andrea. "If he has a lot going on in his life, he probably needs a friend right now."
xXxXX
Rick saw her number flash up on his screen and he felt his stomach flutter; he took a deep breath and then answered the phone.
"Hello?" he said steadily.
"Rick? It's me, Michonne," she offered softly.
"Hey, what's goin' on? Are you okay?" he asked, worried that he might say the wrong thing and upset her once more.
"I'm fine, thanks. I…I ah, just wanted to call to apologize for earlier," she said.
"It's okay. You were right to be upset; it's a shitty situation. I'm sorry for trying to force the conversation with you when you were right about the COI," said Rick.
"Right, I also wanted to say sorry for giving you the wrong impression," she said and Rick felt his heart sink.
"What d'ya mean?" he asked.
"What happened between us, it was probably a mistake…"
"Probably? You don't sound convinced, Michonne," Rick said with a little chortle, trying to lighten the mood.
"It's just you've got a lot going on with work and your family and…"
"No, this has nothin' to do with what I have goin' on; it's about you and what you want, right?" asked Rick.
Michonne was silent.
"Are you still there?" said Rick.
"Yeah, sorry. I'm here," she answered. "I just…"
"Where are you now?" asked Rick.
"I'm at home," Michonne answered.
"If you're gonna quit me before we even have a chance at figurin' this out, can you at least do it to my face?" Rick asked, fearful of her answer.
She felt vulnerable, but decided to give him what he wanted.
"Okay. Let's talk face-to-face," she replied.
Rick exhaled, relieved.
"Great, give me ten minutes. Bye," he said and ended the call.
Michonne sighed and then bit her bottom lip hoping she was about to do the right thing by ending whatever it was that they had just begun.
…..
Feeling slightly anxious, Michonne sat on her sofa and waited for Rick. She thought he was a great guy, but everything was moving fast and they were faced with obstacles already. Maybe when she did not have to deal with the new case she had acquired, they could start again; well, that was if Rick would be still interested after she said what she needed to say.
She heard his truck come to a halt just after the lights shone on her curtains. Fighting the urge the jump and run to the door, Michonne stayed seated until Rick rang her doorbell. She then stood, smoothed down her clothes and answered the door; she greeted Rick amicably and asked him to step inside. She closed the door, turned and started to speak but stopped when she saw the intense expression of desire on Rick's face. He looked as if he were ready to devour her and she felt a heat between her legs as she recalled what they had done the night before.
Without warning, Rick stepped forward and grabbed Michonne by the waist; he drew her body close to his and captured her mouth in a fervent kiss before she knew what was happening. She responded by throwing her arms over his shoulder as he walked backwards towards the sofa. Rick felt the piece of furniture at the back of his legs and broke their kiss so he could sit; messily, he drew Michonne on top of him as she straddled his lap.
His hands searched her body as she caught his mouth with hers once again; his hardness already pressed achingly against her centre as Michonne instinctively ground herself against Rick. Both wanted to ease the throbbing they felt. His hand hiked up her skirt as his lips sucked and nipped at her neck. Michonne's eyes rolled shut as a heated moisture pooled between her legs. By the time Rick's rough fingers slid inside of her damp panties, Michonne had forgotten what she wanted to talk to him about.