A/N: Hehehehe sorry. Your reviews make me laugh and give me life. Awesome stuff. So glad you're still with me!

"Thank you, but I don't think I'll be able to make it," she offered.

Rick remained silent.

"Is it at your place?" Michonne asked. "I could maybe swing by later…"

"No, look it's fine. Really. It's, uh, actually at Carl's friend's place. His family's house. His friend's family's house. He, well, we…we were invited, I guess…and, uh, I thought it might be good if, if you wanted to come with us," Rick stammered, realizing his idea to invite Michonne to Jessie's place for a cookout may not have been the best; she chuckled.

"Okay, but was I invited, Rick?" she asked, sensing that she, in fact, was not.

"No, but kind of. By me. I guess you could say you'd have been my, what do they call it? My plus one," he offered; Michonne smiled at how adorable Rick could be.

"That's sweet of you, but like I said, I don't think I'll be able to be your plus one this time," she explained.

"Ah, well," said Rick as he leaned against the wall. "I thought I should ask. To be honest, I don't really wanna go, but Carl wants to so..."

"Just drop him off over there," Michonne said as she reclined in her chair at her desk. "He wants to hang out with his friend, why do you need to be there?"

"You know what? You're right; you are absolutely right. I don't need to be there," said Rick, more to himself than to Michonne. "So, what are you up to?"

"I'm working," she replied. "As per usual. You?"

"Watching that movie with Carl; thinkin' about you."

"Rick…"

"I know what you're gonna say," he interjected. "But I gotta go. The DVD is still paused. Sorry to bother you…"

"You're not bothering me, Rick," she offered sweetly.

"I know," he replied. "Just feels like I am sometimes. Anyhow, I really better go. Don't work too hard."

Michonne smiled, "I won't."

"That's good."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Rick," she said quietly, not really wanting their conversation to end, but needing to finish what she was doing.

"Yeah, all right," he answered. "Goodnight."

xXxXx

The hour was relatively early as Michonne placed the necessary documents into her briefcase and set it down near her purse, keys and phone. She patted her hair down, even though it was pulled back in a tidy chignon, and then smoothed her skirt down. Though she doubted anyone else would be at the office, Michonne maintained an air of professionality. She draped her jacket and purse over her arm, picked up her briefcase and phone and checked herself in the mirror once more before leaving her home.

…..

Carrying only her phone, keys, and a brown paper bag, Michonne walked briskly up the pathway to the door. She fixed her hair, took a deep breath again before ringing the bell and waiting. Soon thereafter, the door opened and a surprised looking Rick Grimes stood there wearing an old t-shirt and sweat pants.

"Good morning," Michonne greeted cheerfully.

"Mornin'," said Rick. "What're you…what's goin' on?"

"I can't stay long, but I felt bad because I had to run off from you and the kids so suddenly yesterday," she explained.

"I understand," said Rick. "You're busy, Michonne. I get it. I'm not askin' anything more from you than you can give."

"I know, and that's what I love about you," she offered; his heart skipped beat when she said love. "But let me try to make it up to you."

"Okay," he said with a crooked grin, stepping aside to let her in. "What'd you have in mind.

She held up the bag and smiled, "I brought some breakfast for us to share."

…..

Judith ate her oatmeal happily, as Carl wolfed down another croissant before thanking Michonne and informing his father he was going to take a shower. Rick topped his coffee mug up again.

"This is nice," he said, smiling at Michonne. "I'm glad you stopped by."

"Yeah, me too," she replied.

"Why are you goin' into work again?" he asked.

"One of the background checks wouldn't go through because of some issue with identification. I'm chasing it up and making sure everything is above board, among other things. It's too late in the process for any more mishaps…but you know what? I have fifteen minutes before I have to go so let's not talk shop," she offered sincerely.

"All right," Rick said with a smile.

"What are you and gorgeous Judy doing today?" Michonne asked, beaming brightly at the little girl.

"Well, we're goin' to the park a little later."

"Is that right, sweetie?" Michonne asked the little girl.

"Yup," she said excitedly. "My Daddy said we're goin' to the park and I can go on the swings and lotsa other things too. But if we see puppies, I not allowed to pet 'em 'cause they might be mean."

"Oh, yes," said Michonne. "You've gotta be very careful. But you'll be okay because your Daddy will protect you."

"Yup, my Daddy is the bestest," Judith replied.

"He sure is," Michonne said as she looked at Rick.

…..

Frustrated, Michonne pressed her fingers to her temples as she squinted at the computer screen once more. The tedious, monotonous side of the job gave her a headache; she was the type of person who loved to be engaged with other people, not stuck at a desk. But someone had to do it, and if it meant the Program's progress would not be impeded, Michonne would get it done. She picked up her pen and scribbled something on her notepad: find budget for PA. Just then, her mobile phone rang; it was Andrea.

"Hey, what's up?" asked Michonne.

"Not much. Where are you?" Andrea queried.

"At the office. I've got a ton of paperwork to sort through and organize that should have been done two weeks ago. Why, what's going on?" Michonne asked.

"Oh, nothing much," she said. "I was just wondering how your date went with Rick."

Michonne leaned back in her chair.

"It wasn't a date, but yeah, it was really fun until I got called into the office," Michonne explained.

"And you went? What am I asking? Of course you went," said Andrea.

"We were finished fishing."

"Not the point."

"I know," Michonne sighed. "But he was okay with it."

"No shit," said Andrea.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Michonne, a little defensively.

Now Andrea sighed, "Mich. Listen to me. Of course he's okay with you skipping out on the non-date…"

"Because it wasn't a date…"

"Because he's walking on eggshells to please you," Andrea offered.

"What?"

"Maybe that's not the best way to put it," Andrea admitted. "I mean, he is being so, so patient with you. He invited you to spend time with him and his kids. It would've been nice if you could've told work to wait and finished the non-date with him. That's all I'm saying."

There was silence as Michonne contemplated her best friend's words.

"You know I'm on your side, right?" asked Andrea.

"I know," said Michonne.

"That's why I want the best for you, and honey, that's Rick Grimes," she said with a chuckle.

Michonne breathed deeply before saying softly, "He's amazing. But I'm so scared."

"Scared of what?" asked Andrea.

"That I'll fuck it all up. That I'm not what he really wants," she said honestly. "That I can't give him what he really needs."

"Mich…"

"I'm stubborn. Set in my ways. I'm all about the job," Michonne continued. "What if I let him close, and then I let him down? He's too good of a person for that bullshit. You know what? He's a great dad and those kids love him. He deserves to have them with him fulltime. He deserves someone who's going to be with him fulltime. I don't know if I can be that person. I want to be, but I just don't know if I can be."

"You're too hard on yourself," said Andrea, surprised by Michonne's candidness.

"Maybe so," Michonne said quietly. "But I just don't want to hurt him."

"So you're content to keep hurting yourself?" asked Andrea.

Silence.

"Look, babe, I gotta go. I'll call you later," said Michonne as she ended the call. She placed her phone down on her desk, exhaled loudly and wiped her teary eyes.

xXxXx

"Is that the right time?" asked Carl. "My phone's flat."

"Yeah," said Ron. "When's your dad picking you up?"

"He was meant to be here ten minutes ago," said Carl. "My baby sister's probably asleep."

"My mom will take you, dude," said Ron. "Just go and ask."

…..

Rick had just finished brushing his teeth, went downstairs to the living room and checked his phone again; Carl had not responded. Judith fell asleep so he sent a message to his son to advise him to ask Jessie to bring him home. He should have called Jessie, but felt awkward after declining her offer to attend the cookout.

Rick sighed and tried to call his son; the call went straight to voicemail. Hesitantly, he scrolled through his contacts until he found Jessie's number; he was about to call when the front door unlocked and his son stepped inside, followed by the blonde woman.

"Hey," said Rick, a bit surprised that she had chosen to come inside.

"Hi, Rick," said Jessie.

"I was just about to call. Thanks for bringing him home," said Rick. "Tell Mrs Anderson thanks, Carl."

"Thanks, Mrs Anderson," the teen offered as he made his way towards the staircase. "I had a nice time."

"It's no trouble, Carl. You're welcome anytime," she said before turning her attention back to Rick. "We were wondering what happened to you."

"Oh, the baby fell asleep," he offered, feeling like he needed to justify himself.

"We thought as much," she said. "It's a shame you both couldn't come along tonight."

"Yeah," he said, not knowing what else to say.

All of a sudden, there was a knocking at the front door, even though it was open; Rick looked past Jessie and saw Michonne standing there. He smiled instinctively and stepped towards her.

"Michonne, hey," said Rick happily.

"Hi," she said in reply. "Sorry to interrupt…"

"No, it's fine," said Rick quickly. "Jessie was just dropping Carl off."

"I'll be going now," said Jessie as she offered Rick a wry smile.

"Thanks, again," he said as she walked out the door; Rick closed it behind her.

"So she was the cookout hostess?" Michonne asked, knowing who she was.

Rick rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah."

"She's so…pretty," said Michonne as she clasped her hands in front of her body.

"I never noticed," Rick said as he sat down on the sofa.

"Bullshit," said Michonne with a little laugh as she sat next to him. "So, the two of you. What's going on there?"

"Nothing," said Rick, surprised by her question.

"Just seems like a little tension between you two," said Michonne as Rick looked at her. "So you haven't tried dating her again?"

"Why are you so interested?" he asked in an attempt to get Michonne to admit to whatever she was trying to imply.

"Well, I just wanna be sure," she said.

"Of what?"

"That I don't have any competition."

Rick snorted.

"Trust me, you don't," he said. "There's no competition."

Michonne gave him a playful smile; Rick waited for her to come to her point.

"Rick, can I ask you something?" she said while searching his eyes.

"Anything," he replied quietly; his heart rate quickening.

"Once the Program is up and running…"

"Really? A work question?" Rick asked incredulously.

Michonne playfully slapped his arm, "Hear me out!"

"Okay," he said. "Sorry."

"Like I was saying," she said evenly. "Once the Program is running, would you like to go out with me on a date? An official date?"

"Yes," said Rick right away. "Yes. I'd love to. You just say when, and I'll be there."

Michonne smiled widely and felt a warmth spread through her chest; Rick was overcome by such joy that he could not help but chortle. Both sat on the sofa staring at the other; Michonne, pleased that she had finally gone after what she wanted and put her fears aside. Rick, elated, because after waiting so long, she was finally ready to give them a chance.

"I can't stay," Michonne said as she stood; Rick following behind her.

She opened the door then turned to face him; he stepped closer to her, still grinning jovially.

"But I'll see you soon," said Michonne quietly.

"Yeah," said Rick as he reached out and gripped her waist before leaning in to place a peck to her cheek. "Can't wait."

Michonne used her hand to gently capture his face and stop him from giving her the chaste kiss. Instead, she shifted his face towards hers and caught his mouth in a tender yet passionate kiss. They then, with eyes still closed, pressed their foreheads together and relished in the moment.

A/N: The end.

Just kidding! Official date in the next instalment!