A/N: Thanks so much for everyone who read and reviewed, as well as the lovely silent readers. I'm feeling good about where Richonne are at in this stage of the story. This instalment is approximately a little over a month after the previous chapter. I think you're going to dig this, but let me know either way. Cheers!
"Are you sure 'bout this, Rick?" asked Sheriff Sinclair.
"Yes, sir," Rick replied as he sat across from his superior and wrung his hands together; and he was certain.
"You've done some great work with Turning Point these past few months," Sinclair offered as he leaned back into his chair. "You've represented our Department well and I appreciate your effort. It'll be a big loss for them to have you leave. What did Michonne say?"
"I haven't told her yet," he admitted. "Thought it would be best to fix things on this end first. I've really enjoyed working on this Program, but I would like to focus my time back on policing. Of course, I'll still volunteer and help out where I can, but I think it's time for me to step away."
Sinclair nodded with understanding.
"I'll have to start thinking of replacements, any suggestions?" the Sheriff asked, trusting Rick's judgement in all things.
"Glenn Rhee comes to mind," said Rick. "He's young with a good, positive outlook on things. I think he'd make a fine replacement."
"All right, Grimes," said the Sheriff. "Check in with Anita this afternoon for your new roster."
"Thank you, sir," said Rick as he stood and left the room; he stopped outside of the door, inhaled and exhaled deeply, and took comfort in knowing he was one step closer to his plan.
xXxXx
The evenly timed clicking that the overhead fan made with each revolution seemed to be mere fractions slower than the seconds hand on the large, circular wall clock. Michonne let out a quiet sigh and gathered the stack of files up into her arms. Maggie, her newly hired personal assistant, quickly typed a note into her tablet as Michonne stood and moved away from the bulky boardroom table.
"Catering's finally taken care of," Maggie said as she placed her device into her purse and then held her hands out to Michonne, gesturing that she would help carry the files.
The older woman handed half of the files over before offering a sincere thank you.
"One less thing to worry about," said Michonne as the two women made their way towards the exit.
"Trust me, you don't have anything to worry about," said Maggie. "Those big wigs are already impressed; them comin' here to actually see the work you've done is just gravy."
Michonne offered a small smile.
"You're right," she replied. "I know it's still early days, but we've been going strong. This will mark the official end of our probationary period and I, for one, am so happy."
"I hear ya," Maggie said. "I don't know how you do it."
"With a lot of help from you!" Michonne said in response as they walked down the steps of the Town Hall.
"I am pretty amazing," Maggie said happily, causing Michonne to grin just before her phone started to ring; Rick's name flashed on her screen.
"Sorry, Mags," she said. "I have to take this. Hello?"
"Hey," said Rick. "Is this a good time?"
"Sure," said Michonne. "What's going on? We missed you at the meeting earlier."
"Sorry 'bout that," said Rick sincerely. "I, uh, I wanted to talk to you about somethin'…"
"Okay, sorry, hold on a sec," said Michonne. "Maggie, grab these for me, please."
She handed the files over to her assistant, who then walked away to give her privacy.
"Sorry, so much to do before the directors get here next week," said Michonne. "Now, what were you saying? Are you okay? You sound a little off. You're cancelling our date, aren't you?"
"No, no," said Rick reassuringly. "Nothin' like that. We're still on for next weekend, trust me, I'm not gonna cancel that. I waited too damn long to get some quality time with you."
She smiled before saying, "Good, because I really need this."
Now Rick smiled. "I know what you mean," he said. "I need to see you, too."
Michonne bit her bottom lip, "You're distracting me, Rick, but in a good way."
"Sorry," he said with a little laugh. "Like I said, I need to talk to you, but not like this; can we catch-up in person?"
"I might have a half hour later on this afternoon," she said. "I could pencil you in."
Rick furrowed his brow, "What about later tonight?"
"Dinner with Andrea and Shane," she explained.
"Damn it," said Rick. "I almost forgot, I agreed to work a shift tonight."
"Can you drop by?" asked Michonne.
"Yeah," said Rick. "Yeah, I'll do that."
"This sounds kind of like a big deal if you need to say it in person," she said, crossing her free arm over her abdomen.
"Well, yeah, it kind of is," he explained.
"I'm a little worried now…"
"Don't be," he said quickly. "It's a good thing, I think."
"Not too convincing, Deputy," she said, thoroughly intrigued as to what Rick had to tell her; he sighed.
"No, it's a good thing," he replied. "But we'll talk about it later."
"Okay," said Michonne. "I believe you."
xXxXx
The aroma of coffee drifted from the mug that sat atop the desk and into Rick's nostrils. He was reading the news from a web browser on his computer. The website, belonging to a local newspaper, was running yet another story on the success of Turning Point. Michonne, Paul Rovia and Father Gabriel were pictured with a couple of the participants. Rick smiled at the sight of Michonne and bookmarked the page. He checked the time on his computer monitor and then sighed; he would be meeting with Michonne that night at Andrea and Shane's place where he would tell her about his decision to leave the Program. His only hope was that she would not be too upset with him.
…..
The night air was cool and the sky was not yet completely dark as Michonne waited out the front of her friends' home for Rick. The squad car came to a halt and Michonne patted her hair down. Rick smiled when he saw her sitting under the soft glow of the porchlight; she beamed back at him and stood.
"Hey," said Rick, as he made his way up the steps.
"Hey," said Michonne, as she moved forward and accepted Rick's embrace.
They each lingered in the hug a moment before Rick hesitantly relinquished his hold on her and stepped back.
"You look nice," he offered while they both took up a seat.
"Thank you," she said. "So, what's goin' on?"
Rick took a deep breath, looked to his left and then back at Michonne.
"I, ah, I've got somethin' to tell you, and I don't want you to get upset…"
"Rick?"
"Please," he said softly. "Just hear me out."
"I will," said Michonne.
"The reason why I wasn't at the meeting today is because I went and saw Sheriff Sinclair," said Rick.
"Okay."
"I went to see him and asked that I be reassigned back to my regular shift work," said Rick.
Michonne's expression looked a little confused.
"Okay," she said again. "So, what does that mean exactly?"
"It means I won't be rostered on to work with you at Turning Point anymore," he said carefully, holding her gaze. He noticed that the confusion in her eyes quickly turned to displeasure with a hint of hurt.
"Okay," she said before standing. "Wow. Okay, what's changed for you?"
She leaned against the railing and crossed her arms; Rick stood as well and shifted towards her.
"I just want to get back to police work…"
"This is police work, Rick," she stated a little sharply. "Helping your community is police work."
"You're upset with me."
"What changed for you? Is it something I did or said?" Michonne asked as her eyes narrowed.
"No, it's nothin' like that…"
"So you're not invested anymore? Or you want me to fail?"
"What?" asked Rick incredulously. "Of course not. Why would you even ask that?"
Michonne pressed a finger to her temple and sighed.
"I'm sorry," she said, feeling somewhat deflated. "It's just that I've got a lot going on right now. The directors will be here next week and now you're sayin' you don't want to work with me anymore. It's just…a lot. Look, I should probably get back to dinner…"
"Don't do that, Michonne," he said, stepping closer to her. "Don't shut me out."
She inhaled deeply and then stared at Rick.
"Why?" she asked. "Why now? After all of the work; the time and energy we've put in, why do you want to stop?"
Rick hooked his thumb into his belt. "You want my honest answer?"
"Yeah, Rick," she said. "I do."
"It's because of you," he offered, causing Michonne to give him a questioning look. "This is your thing. Don't get me wrong, I've loved workin' on the Program with you; I love workin' with the kids. It's been one of the best experiences I've had."
Michonne remained silent.
"But this is your thing. And I've had the last couple of months to really think this through and I know that I need to step away. And it ain't to make things harder for you, Michonne," Rick said earnestly. "But it is because of you."
She waited to hear the rest of his explanation.
"It was hard for me at the start of this whole thing to be around you at work knowing full well that I had feelings for you," he said. "But I stuck it out, and we're in a good place now. What I'm sayin' is, there's a real chance for us to be us, if that makes sense."
"Yeah. Go on," she said.
"You're ready to take that next step, right?"
"Yes, Rick, I am."
"Well, I've been ready for so long, and now I just…I just don't want anything to stand in the way of that," Rick said. "Of us bein' together. I don't want even the small chance of a conflict of interest between us because we've worked together. I want you to keep succeeding, I really do; and I don't want there to be any possibility of your work, our work, coming between us."
Michonne uncrossed her arms.
"This is your dream, right?" he asked, inching closer to her.
"Yes."
"You've wanted this for years?"
"Of course," she replied, her expression softening. "You know that."
"Well, for the better part of a year now, my dream has been to be with you," Rick said in hushed tones; Michonne felt her heart flutter.
"Without anything to hold us back," he continued. "And if that means I gotta go back to what I was doin' before; if that means not workin' with you, then I have to do it."
Rick reached out and took hold of Michonne's hand.
"The Program's a success now, and it's gonna stay that way; you'll succeed at this, Michonne. I just want us to succeed as well."
Michonne nodded her head.
"Your work is everything to you, right?" he asked.
"Yes," she replied.
"Well, you're everything to me," he said, almost in a whisper.
"Rick…"
"You are," he said softly, gently. Stepping closer, Rick lifted his free hand to Michonne's face; he brushed her hair away from her cheek. Slowly, he leaned in and offered her a tender kiss to her lips. He drew back slightly, and said once more, "You're everything to me."
xXxXx
"If it's urgent, you find a way to get a hold of me, you got that?" asked Michonne of Maggie. "I don't care if you have to send a messenger pigeon to find me."
"I got it," Maggie replied at the other end of the phone. "It's only one weekend off, Michonne. Enjoy yourself. Let me handle your calls and everything else."
"Sorry," said Michonne. "I know you're more than capable. It's just been so long since I've had any real time off."
"You deserve it. I wish I had a romantic weekend away camping."
"We're not camping," said Michonne. "It's his family's place out in the middle of nowhere."
"Well, it's romantic either way," said Maggie.
"Yeah," smiled Michonne. "It is."
…..
The drive to Rick's family's property took a little over an hour. He spoke about how he would spend his summers there as a child; he rested his hand on Michonne's thigh as he drove and reminisced. She smiled and pictured a young Rick Grimes riding horses and chasing after his puppy.
When they came to a stop at the secured gate at the end of a dirt driveway, Rick got out of the car, found the keys in his pocket, and removed the padlock and chain. They continued on their way as Michonne took in the scenery. Tall trees lined the road and long grass covered the ground. There was a quaint farmhouse, a water tank and a barn; the garden was unkempt, but the drabness was remedied by the vibrancy of wildflowers that bloomed everywhere.
"This is it," said Rick as he turned off the engine and glanced over at Michonne; she offered him a warm smile before they got out of the car.
"When was the last time you were out here, Rick?" she asked, taking in her surroundings.
"Well, to be honest, I kind of came out here the other day to do a quick clean up," he admitted.
"When?" Michonne asked, slightly surprised.
"After I asked you to make the date a weekend thing," he said as they walked up onto the porch; Rick unlocked the front door, opened it and let Michonne step inside before him.
"So, there won't be any cobwebs then?" she asked as Rick followed along behind her.
"Well, there shouldn't be too many," he replied as he flicked on a light switch.
The living room was tidy and fitted out with a vintage furniture; though it was inviting, you could tell that no one had lived there for many years.
"This is nice," she said, walking to one of the breakfronts that housed an array of family photos; she saw Rick and members of his family. Smiling, Rick walked up behind Michonne and wrapped his arms about her waist. He gently rocked her from side-to-side before placing a kiss to her bare shoulder.
"That's my ma and daddy," he said of the picture Michonne had picked up to examine more closely; she smiled.
"You look like her," she said as he nodded. "Same eyes."
"Everyone says that," he offered happily before reluctantly letting her go. "I'm gonna unpack the car then I'll give you the grand tour."
…..
The water swathed her soft skin as Michonne rested her head against the end of the bathtub. The soft glow from the candle light caressed her shimmering face. The smell of jasmine fanned through the air and helped her to maintain her relaxed state. A small smile played on her features as she turned her head towards the doorway; she knew Rick was standing there before she even opened her eyes.
"Hey," she said dreamily.
"Hey," he replied, as he watched her adoringly. "You look so peaceful there."
"Hmmm," she replied. "After the week I've had, I needed this."
"I kind of feel bad for coming in and interrupting you," he said as she sat up a little. "But dinner's almost ready."
"Okay," she replied. "I won't be too much longer. Or, you know, you could join me."
Rick bit his lip. "Tempting," he replied. "So tempting. But I gotta finish cookin'."
Michonne pouted in his direction.
"Besides," said Rick. "We've got the whole weekend together, remember?"
A/N: Sorry to end it there.
This evening will continue in the next instalment. And just a heads up, there's gonna be Richonne smutty smut!