A/N: Hey, everyone! Thanks for the incredible feedback. I appreciate it so much. Just a few things, I know some people were a little concerned with why Jessie behaved the way she did and I am glad that you saw it as odd. That's all I can say without spoiling anything. Also, what's up with Rick? Remember what Michonne said about him caring about people to a fault? Well, yeah; that's him. Okay, let's check in.

The overnight bag fell unceremoniously to the hardwood floor and was kicked along by Michonne's plain black shoe. She closed the front door, shifted the bag to the wall in the entranceway and then ambled tiredly into the living room. After placing her purse and laptop bag onto the coffee table, she slipped her shoes off of her feet and then slumped into the sofa. She closed her eyes and took in the serenity of the silent house. Her mind drifted back to the events of the day; she was certain she had decided on who would be the new intern so that was one less thing to worry about. The road trip home was nice and she enjoyed Rick's company, even flirted with him, but then they got home and that woman was there.

Michonne sighed and opened her eyes; maybe she was feeling too strongly about the whole situation. She was not a party to the goings on in Rick's personal life; she had not wanted that from him. And now, as she pictured the blonde lady and him in an embrace, she felt silly once more. She felt silly for even caring who he was seeing; she felt silly for even entertaining the idea of something further happening between her and Rick after their first failed attempt; and she felt silly and completely entitled for even assuming that he would wait around for her.

The whole thing seemed so complicated. Rick had basically told her that if she was interested in him, then he would be happy to pursue the relationship with her. But now he looked to be still involved with someone else. Michonne felt confused; she felt a headache coming on. After sitting up, she checked her phone and then went to the kitchen. Opening the fridge, she sighed loudly at its contents and decided she would order take out and get her reports from the trip written. She did not have the time to thinking about Rick Grimes now.

xXxXx

Rick changed into his grey sweatpants and white t-shirt before wetting a washcloth and wiping his face. He had tried calling Jessie a couple of times, but she was not taking his calls. He wanted to know what she meant by the things she had said to him. He felt guilty that she thought he was leading her on, and maybe he was. The guilt was what was driving him; he did not want Jessie to think he was playing her by being with her and Michonne at the same time.

Michonne.

"Shit," said Rick as he realized how the whole thing must have seemed to her.

He had assured her that when she was ready for a relationship that she should seek him out, now it looked as if he was seeing Jessie. He cursed himself for being so thoughtless and left the bathroom in search of his phone; when he picked it up, he saw a message from Jessie. Upon opening it, he read that she had seemingly calmed down and wanted to talk to him. Rick closed the message, scrolled through his contacts list and called Michonne; after a couple of rings, she answered.

"Hello?" said Michonne, wondering why he was calling so soon after they had parted ways.

"Hey, Michonne. Are you busy at the moment?" he asked, knowing that she most likely was.

"Ah, kind of," she answered as she placed her pen down. "But I can talk a minute. What's up? Did you leave something in the car? I checked it over before returning it…"

"No, it ain't anything like that," said Rick. "I, ah, I wanted to talk to you about what you saw when you dropped me off."

"You don't have to explain anything to me, Rick," she offered. "It's none of my business what you do and who you do it with."

"I know that," he replied. "But I still wanted to talk to you about it and let you know that I am available. I'm not seein' Jessie. We had a couple of dates and it didn't work out. She was there to tell me she didn't wanna see me anymore, so whatever it was is over before it even started."

"Okay," said Michonne.

"I wanted you to know that I meant what I said," he said softly. "When you're ready, come and find me. I wasn't feeding you a line or anything. I'm a one woman man."

"I know," she replied. "To be honest, I was a little thrown when I saw you with Jessie, but I'm glad you explained it to me.

Rick smiled.

"I'm glad we can talk about things and get it all out," he offered.

"Me too," she answered.

"Look, I know you're probably sick of the sight of me, but there's somethin' that I wanted to tell you and I don't think it's best to do it over the phone," said Rick as Michonne felt her stomach do little flips. "Can I come around and see you?"

"Right now?" asked Michonne.

"Yeah, right now," Rick replied. "If that's okay with you. It'll only take a minute."

"Okay, sure," she said. "I'll be here."

"Great," said Rick. "Give me ten minutes."

…..

After putting on some shoes, finding his keys and sprinting out to his car, Rick's phone rang; the caller was ringing from a private number.

"Hello?" said Rick.

"Rick, it's me," Jessie said.

"Jessie?"

"Yeah," she responded. "I'm sorry for how I acted before."

"I don't have time to talk right now," he said. "But you were right for callin' it off between us…"

"Rick, please. Can we talk about it?" she asked, sounding a bit desperate.

"No, Jessie, you were right to dump me," he said while climbing into his truck. "I gotta say that I wasn't leadin' you on. We tried and it wasn't what's good for me at this point in my life. If I did anything to hurt you, I'm sorry and I hope you'll be okay. But I know it's best for us to go our separate ways and chalk it up to experience."

"But, Rick…"

"I really have to go. I'm sorry it didn't work out and I hope we can be friends in time," Rick said as he started his car. "Goodbye, Jessie."

There was silence on her end at first, but she finally said goodbye; Rick hoped that it was done and dusted and that he could move on with his life.

…..

Rick saw the light through Michonne's curtains as he made his way up the garden path; for some reason, he felt nervous and excited at once. He was only there to ensure that she was fully aware that he meant what he had mentioned in their phone conversation. He sprang up the steps and onto the porch, fixing his hair and smoothing down his clothing before he knocked thrice. After a moment, Michonne answered the door; she smiled warmly, though a little shyly, at Rick and offered for him to enter her home.

"Oh, thanks but this is only gonna take a sec," he said, still standing in her doorway.

"You're makin' me nervous, Rick," she said while leaning against the doorjamb and folding her arms over her chest; he let out a small chortle.

"Nah, it's nothin' to be worried about," he replied. "I just thought, actually I knew it was somethin' that should be said to your face."

Silence.

"Well, Grimes," she said. "Spit it out."

"What we spoke about when we were on the trip, you sharing that part of your past with me, I appreciated it. I was wrong for not takin' the time to even ask you why it was that you wanted our relationship to be that way," said Rick.

"I should've been more forthcoming," said Michonne.

"No," he replied. "You don't owe me anything. You decided to tell me when you were ready, not because I needed to know or because I pressured you into it. I never wanted you to feel pressured, so I appreciate you bein' open with me. I know it can't have been easy for you to talk about and I can see how much it, the whole thing with your ex, set you back emotionally and with relationships and all o' that."

Michonne dipped her head a moment; her gaze wondering to the floor.

"Hey, I'm not trying to upset you," he offered gently, causing her to look up into his eyes. "I ain't good with words, but I needed you to know a few things: firstly, I'm sorry he hurt you. You didn't deserve that and I hope that someday you'll be able to open yourself up emotionally again."

She felt the tears well in her eyes upon listening to his words.

"I'm sorry if I ever made you feel bad or pressured because I was bein' needy. That wasn't my intention, but I could see now how it could've come across that way," he offered sincerely.

"Thanks," she said quietly. "I appreciate you saying that."

Rick smiled at her, searching her sad brown eyes and stepping slightly closer.

"I think you're great," he whispered. "I think you're amazing. And I need you to know I'd wait for you, until you're ready. I will wait for you, Michonne. For as long as it takes, I'll wait for you."

His words and the earnest, gentle look in his eyes made her heart swell. Michonne stepped forward and pressed her lips against Rick's; he quickly used his tongue to deepen the kiss as he cupped her face in his hand. His heart felt as if it was going to leap from out of his chest. It did not matter how many times he kissed her, it always felt the same; he was overwhelmed by such a feeling of desire and adoration that he thought he might implode. His head spun and his stomach did hundreds of little somersaults. No one had ever made Rick feel this way before and he knew right there and then that he was completely and utterly in love with her.

They broke their kiss and Michonne gave him a sweet smile.

"Thank you for being patient with me," she whispered. "And I promise, when I am ready, I'll come to you."