A/N: Thanks for the reviews everyone!
Michonne checked the time on her phone and then changed out of her work clothes. She did not have time for a shower, so splashed her face with some water, towelled it dry and then walked to her wardrobe. She stood wearing only her under garments and stared at the clothing that hung lazily; her suits for work were on one side of the wardrobe, and the rest of her clothes on the other. It seems as if her dark suits were taking up more space than her casual clothes; she sighed and reached for a teal colored sun dress. Holding it up, Michonne noticed it still had the tag on it; she tore it off and then slipped the dress on.
She stepped in front of her long mirror and twisted her body to the side, checking her backside. She reached for a small scarf hanging over the mirror and, after pulling her hair back from her face, used the scarf to fasten it in place; her petite diamond earrings sparked in the soft light of her bedroom as she turned her head. Michonne slipped on her flat shoes, scooped up her phone and then headed down to the kitchen to grab her purse and a bottle of cabernet sauvignon.
…..
The car came to a halt in Andrea and Shane's driveway as Rick turned off the ignition and removed the key. He twirled the keyring, a pair of silver cowboy boots, around his fingers a few times before checking his appearance in the rear view mirror. He normally would not do that, but Shane had told him that Michonne was going to be joining them for dinner. Rick, at first a little apprehensive, finally thought it would be good to see her and have a conversation about why there were suddenly at odds. They were playing it civil in front of other people at work, so he was sure they could get through one dinner at their respective best friends' house.
He fixed his hair, stepped out of his vehicle and made his way up to the front door; he was relieved to see that Michonne's car was not there. At least this way he could get situated and not be so unnerved by her as he would if he had to walk into the room and she was already there. He rang the doorbell and was met by Andrea; she gave him a quick hug and bid him to enter.
"Somethin' smells good," he remarked as they made their way to the kitchen.
"Yeah, he's making his famous chicken gumbo," Andrea replied as Shane turned to face them.
"Hey man, glad you made it. Shouldn't be much longer; there's some beer in the fridge," Shane offered. "Grab me one while you're at it."
"Thanks," said Rick as he took two cold bottles from the refrigerator, popped the top off one, handed the other to his friend and then took a seat at the kitchen table.
"Did you talk to my godson today?" asked Shane of Carl.
"I called him, but Lori took his phone from him; she answered and I ended up havin' to listen to her for half an hour. I understand the problems, it's just that she ain't got any of the answers," said Rick as he sipped his beverage
"Yeah because the answer is to let the boy live with his daddy, but she don't wanna hear that," Shane replied.
"Yeah," said Rick. "I just don't want him to go through his life bein' angry at us. He thinks she's punishing him and that I'm not fightin' hard enough to get him."
"He'll understand when he's older," said Shane, trying to make his friend feel better.
"I know, but I don't want his teenage years to be any worse than they have to be," Rick said with a sigh.
Just then, there was the soft sound of voices coming from the living room; Rick felt his stomach flutter as he knew it was Michonne.
"Michonne's here," said Andrea as she peered around the corner. "We're just going to set the table."
"Okay, baby. This is almost done," answered Shane as he looked at Rick.
"You all right, man?" he asked.
"Yeah," replied Rick before standing. "I will be."
…..
Michonne leaned against the railing of the porch with her arms folded over her chest, as if she was protecting herself from whatever it was that Rick had to say. He took a seat on the outdoors setting that consisted of a small round table topped with glass and two chairs.
"I'm sorry if it seemed like I was ignorin' you before," Rick started. "I wasn't. Things just got crazy at work and I didn't get the chance to get back to you."
"It's okay," replied Michonne. "I'm sorry that I upset you."
Rick bit his bottom lip while he contemplated what he knew he had to say next.
"Look, I feel like we haven't really had much of a chance to get to know one another. We started this thing, whatever it is, and never stopped to catch our breath," said Rick as he stood and shifted closer to where Michonne was standing. "I'm just not used to it."
She nodded her head, "I understand. I don't want you to think it's something that I do all the time, either."
"I know," he replied. "I'm just not cut out for it, this no string attached stuff, and I don't think you are too."
Michonne shrugged.
"I also don't think you're ready for something else deeper," Rick said in honesty. "So I think we should stop seein' each other all together."
She felt her stomach drop even though she knew it was coming; he felt his mouth go dry, even though he was planning on saying what he had said.
"I'd love more from you, I really would, but I don't think you're ready," said Rick softly. "I don't want to push you into anything you ain't ready for, but I can't keep seein' you like this. What we got goin' on isn't good for me."
"I understand," was all Michonne said as she let her head fall; she felt tears well in her eyes and then felt angry at herself for being upset over something she knew was imminent.
"For way too long I've let the women in my life set the terms of my relationships with them and I always ended up lookin' like a fool…"
"I'm no trying to make you look stupid, Rick," she interjected.
"Maybe so, but that's how I feel," said Rick. "We've had our fun; let's just call it off before we end up resenting one another. I do want to be your friend, maybe more in the future. But if you ain't ready now, I don't think I can go on like this. No, I know I can't go on like this, so let's end it."
"Okay," said Michonne. "We're done."
She straightened her posture and looked Rick in the face.
"No hard feelings," she said with a smile that was courteous but did not quite reach her eyes.
"Friends?" asked Rick hopefully.
"Friends," replied Michonne plaintively.
…..
Dinner was well underway and Andrea was doing most of the talking; she asked Rick about how things with Carl were going.
"You know, Rick, I could get someone I know in family law to have a look over your case again," Andrea offered. "I mean, how did the courts not take into consideration what was best for Carl?"
"It was down to the hours I work," Rick said, trying not to look at Michonne though he felt her eyes on him as he spoke. "That was the whole basis of her argument. It didn't matter that I was doing it to support them, she saw it as me bein' absent, I guess."
Noting that she had brought up a sore topic, Andrea quickly tried to change the subject.
"Well, that's not cool, but the offer is still there if you want," she said as Rick nodded in her direction. "Mich, how's the Program going? I feel like I haven't had time to even ask you about it."
Michonne wiped her mouth with a napkin and smiled at her friend before quickly glancing at Rick and Shane.
"It's progressing nicely, wouldn't you say, Rick?" she asked as Rick nodded his head; Michonne felt her face grow warm at his seeming disregard. "It's ah, yeah; it's getting there."
Andrea looked at her guests and furrowed her brow; they had greeted each other amicably enough, now there was obvious tension in the room and she knew it from their pre-dinner conversation.
"We did the media stuff, and that went well. They said to watch out in the next couple of days for the coverage, so that's exciting," said Michonne before sipping from her wine.
"That's so great, Mich," said Andrea.
"I met with Morgan Jones yesterday because he had this great idea about how we could get more work done with more people at no cost," said Michonne.
"What was his plan?" Rick asked in spite of himself.
"He said we should check with some colleges and get interns to do their placement with us," Michonne explained.
"God, that's smart. You'll consider it?" asked Andrea.
"I've already submitted a change of scope request, so we'll wait and see," Michonne answered.
"I'm so happy for you! This will make it easier for you. Guys, you see Michonne here, this has been a dream of hers since we were still at law school. All she ever wanted to do was help people who were running out of options."
Michonne smiled at her friend who was absolutely beaming with pride.
"What was it you always said, Mich?" asked Andrea. "About second chances?"
"What did I say?" she asked with a small chortle, trying to play it off.
"You know, about people and chances and opportunity. She's being modest. Michonne is one of the most forgiving, kind-hearted people you'd ever want to meet," said Andrea, much to Michonne's chagrin; Rick listened intently. "Most of our mentors tried to tell her again and again that some people are beyond redemption, but what did you say, Mich?"
Michonne gave her friend an unreadable look.
"I said that was true for some people, but not all people. The thing is, with the line of work that we do, we're not in it to judge people, we're here to serve our communities by making them safer. My mother taught me that if it's not in your job description or your title, then you don't pass judgement. So when those individuals who have found themselves in trouble or serving a sentence need an advocate, I want to be there to help them see that it's not the end for them," she looked at the faces around the table who were focused on what she was saying. "Our past actions shouldn't dictate our future."
"That's true for life in general," Shane offered. "You're good people, Michonne."
"She's the best," said Andrea. "Tell 'em what you tell those young offenders who sit across from you, all slumped in their chairs and avoiding eye contact."
"You make me sound like some kind of hero when I'm not," Michonne said.
"Just tell 'em," Andrea said with a wink.
"I get them to look at me in the eye and then I ask: don't you want one more day with a chance? They usually ask what I mean by 'chance' and I tell them that's the easy part. Me advocating for them is the chance, what they do with it afterwards is the real reward. I'm not there to save them, but I am on their side until they find their way."
"Amen," said Shane. "Girl, I want you on my side all the time. That's some good shit right there."
Rick offered Michonne a small smile and felt his stomach drop; she was everything he thought she was. Kind, caring, patient, steadfast and passionate; he was just a little saddened that he might never get to experience all of these things for himself in another time and place.