Chapter Five:

"I hate to say I told you so, but I told you so. You've been living off old candy for the last three or four days- I'm actually surprised that you haven't put yourself in a sugar induced coma at this point", Michonne stood above Mickey as she scolded him, watching him squirm on the couch in pain, "Your stomach is finally rejecting you as host"

Mickey began to smile through his groaning, "Is this what giving birth feels like?"

Michonne gave him a deep sigh, "Yes. It's actually a well known fact that women carry babies in their stomach. What you are feeling right now is a kin to giving birth"

Mickey groaned again as he rolled onto his side, "You're being sarcastic, aren't you?"

"Yes, you little ape!", She looked at him with disbelief, "Babies grow in the womb, Mickey"

"What's a womb?", He opened one of his eyes to look at her, "Did you just make that up?"

Michonne ran one of her hands over her face, then looked up at the ceiling, "I'm going to have to find an encyclopedia or some kind of maternity book for you to read"

"Do you think they have something I can take at the infirmary?", The teen questioned as he rolled onto his other side.

"Maybe", She gave him one last pitying look, "I'll stop by and check. Are you going to be alright on your own for a little while?"

"Where are you going?", Mickey whipped his head around to look back at her from over his shoulder.

"I have to pay a visit to an old friend"

"...Can't that happen here? I'm scared that I'm gonna' die, Michonne. I'm ninety percent sure that's what's happening right now"

Michonne began to glow with amusement, "You are not going to die from eating too much old candy"

"But that's what's happening right now¬"

"That is not what is happening right now. I told you; your stomach is rejecting you because you are a terrible host, and once it realizes that it can't escape you then it will stop trying. Until then you just need to lay down, drink lots of water and leave the candy alone"

"How long will you be gone for?"

Michonne sighed a second time. She could see that he genuinely didn't want to be left alone, even if it was for only a few hours but her plan was to spend some time with Carl before they left for the Hilltop, and after being a witness to Rick's son's new attitude she felt it would be best to spend some time with him alone. Carl was angry at the world and Mickey's mere existence seemed to annoy him even before they had spoken. She weighed up the options, "I won't be long, okay? We'll come back here, so just sit tight and stop thinking about death"

"Fine."

Residents were already out their homes when Michonne finally left. Some patrolled, while others tended to the crops on the lawns. She wasn't sure if she was just projecting her own problems but she felt as though she could detect some kind of tension in the air. She witnessed too much force being used to do little things by some residents; while others moved sluggishly, making a minimal effort to do anything. It made her wonder if they felt the same as she did about their current situation with the saviours.

She picked up a little speed in her walk when she saw that Rick was stepping out of his home as she arrived. Even though she had the greatest respect for Lori as Carl and Judith's mother, she didn't want to go through her to see Carl. She didn't want to cross paths with her at all if she could help it.

"Hey", She greeted lightly as she stopped at the bottom step of the porch.

He strode over to the top step. A smile grew on his face that she usually would have ignored but knowing what she knew about him made her feel uneasy under his gaze, "Hey yourself"

She tried to behave as she normally would, "I'm here for your boy"

"Yeah? He'd like that"

"He better."

Rick glanced back towards his home, then lowered his voice, "Uh, listen… I accidentally let it slip that you were heading to the Hilltop soon"

Michonne's faint smile slipped away, "Did you now?"

"It was an accident- he wanted to come over and see you when we got back and I let him know that you planned to spend time with him before you left…", Rick cringed and bit his lip as he waited for her reaction.

She exhaled as she looked past him to see his home, "Oh great"

"I'm sorry about that", He offered sincerely, "I hope he won't be too hard on you"

She shot him a disbelieving look, "You know your son better than that."

"...Yeah", He gave her an apologetic look, "He cares about you a lot. I know he probably hasn't shown that in the best way but I think you coming back really cheered him up"

Michonne felt her chest warm, "And I care about him. He's still my little partner in crime… He's just not so little anymore."

"Tell me about it", Rick looked exhausted with the fact, "...So you have somethan' planned for the two of you?"

She scoffed, "Of course. Hours and hours of endless fun planned. I actually saw a sign for Broadway show when we were on our way here. It's probably about three hundred miles away but if we leave now then we'll probably make it just in time to see absolutely nothing¬"

Rick groaned as he backed up towards his front door, then stuck his head inside to yell, "Carl! Can you come out here please?!"

"Then I thought we'd stop by somewhere and get a burger. I'm sure we passed a burnt out Diner somewhere along this route", Michonne continued to go to great lengths with her irony, "I'll let him decide"

Rick came back to her and sighed, "Are you done?"

She sighed back at him, "My plan was to take him back to the house and annoy him for a few hours. That's all I can offer."

"He won't have a problem with that", He retorted dryly, though the corner of his mouth curled up in a lazy smile, "How's Mickey doing?"

"Fine. He finished most of his candy last night, so he's laid up on the couch convinced that he's dying."

"He told me that you guys raided a vending machine", He raised an eyebrow at her, "Are you really still surviving off junk food alone?"

She feigned offense, "Not that it's any of your business but I am not surviving off junk food alone. I have a healthy balanced diet now."

He smirked, "So no more chocolate for breakfast?"

"No more chocolate for breakfast", She lied.

He stared down at her with his piercing blue eyes. She knew that he didn't fall for her act but he still agreed for argument sake, "Alright. I'm pleased to hear that."

Her sentence came to a rolling stop when she saw Carl step out the home. He looked so uninterested in the world around him that Michonne was beginning to think he'd had no interest in her too soon enough. He trudged over to them and looked her dead in the eye, "So you're leaving again?"

Michonne felt her nostrils flare as she tried to hide her exasperation, "Hey Carl, I'm fine, thank you for asking. How about you?"

Carl was unamused, "Hey. So you're leaving again?"

Michonne raised her eyebrows at Rick as if to say 'told you so', and he responded by clearing his throat, "Uh, can you let your mother know that you're heading out, please?"

Carl looked as though he wanted to roll his eye as he turned back around and walked to the door. Michonne hated his new attitude and planned to question about it when she got the chance until then she faced his father again as she asked, "Are you going somewhere?"

"Not far", He squinted as he looked down the street, "Gonna' see what else we can do to secure this place"

Michonne followed his line of sight, "You could probably start by getting some guns"

Rick sighed, "...Maybe"

Her dreads swung through the air as she whipped her head back up to look at him, "Maybe? You think guns are a 'maybe'? Guns are a must, Rick. You can't protect this place without weapons"

He let his gaze fall as he scratched his peppered beard. It looked as though he had something to say in response but Carl came stomping out of the house again. Michonne didn't want to continue the conversation with his father in front of him so she gave Rick a knowing look before she walked away with the teen.

"So why are you leaving again?", Was the first question out of Carl's mouth, "I don't get it"

"Because… I want to help Maggie and Sasha", Michonne answered simply, "They don't want to abide by Negan's rules so they're going to need a lot of help fighting back"

Carl began to sneer, "So everyone else wants to fight back except my mom and dad"

"Your mom and dad have a good reason to be doubtful, Carl. You know that it's not easy to go up against other people because a lot of people can get hurt¬"

"People have already gotten hurt and people have already died", He replied coldly as he frowned at the ground, "But we haven't let that stop us before. We kept going because we had to."

Michonne couldn't agree more with him, but she didn't want him going against his parents, "That's true, but if you disagree with what they say then you talk to them properly about it. Don't be a brat."

"I'm not being a brat", Carl argued, "I'm just sick of everyone thinking that I'm useless"

"What? Who thinks that?", Michonne frowned as she eyed him.

"Everyone. Ever since I got shot… it's like they pity me or something…", Carl's voice was strained as if he were trying to keep all the emotion out of his tone, "My mom… she never really trusted me but dad did… now they look at me like I'm a freak"

Michonne stopped dead in her tracks, causing Carl to do the same. She took hold of his bicep as she said, "No one thinks you're a freak. Your parents don't pity you. They're worried about you and you know why? Because they love you and they don't want you to get hurt. They worried about you before but when you started acting erratic and going on suicide missions alone, that made them worry more and that makes them want to lock you in the house all day"

Carl cast his gaze elsewhere, "Maybe…"

"No, not maybe. When the people we love and care about start behaving in ways that we don't recognise then it scares us, even if we understand why they're acting that way, it still scares us and we just want them to go back to being the people we know and sometimes we think forcing them to be close to us will magically fix everything but it doesn't", She tilted her head to one side as her eyes scrutinized his face, "And that's not easy to accept. You have to cut your parents some slack and they will cut you some slack. Show them they can trust you and they will show you that they trust you. It's a two-way street."

Carl met his gaze wander up to hers, "...I get it."

"Good. And yes, you are being a brat", She deadpanned, "If you were on that boat with me and you were acting like this then I would have thrown you overboard"

The corner of his mouth curled up into a smile, "You wouldn't."

"Maybe not, but I'd dangle you overboard by your ankle", She countered easily.

"...Yeah, you would."

"Exactly", She gave him a playful nudge as they continued to walk up the street. It pleased her to know that she could still make him smile occasionally, but hearing him throw around words like 'useless' and 'freak' to describe himself made her sad for him. Even though he usually listened to her opinion on things, she had a feeling that her little speech would take some time to hit home.

"So is that really why you're leaving?", Carl eventually asked, "I know you want to help but… You could just stick around and change my dad's mind? And I know people around here aren't happy with Negan so… so you could have a meeting about it or something?"

Michonne liked his idea, "...That's not a bad suggestion but if we were to do something about it then we'd need everyone on board, and I wouldn't want to rally everyone into doing something that your dad was against"

"...I think you can talk him around", Carl insisted.

"I hope somebody can", She glanced in his direction, "I hope you don't mind hanging out with me and Mickey at the house"

Carl shrugged, "Sure. Whatever."

She narrowed her eyes at him as they climbed up the steps to the townhouse, "...I actually think the two of you might find that you have a lot in common… He also has an obsession with junk food…"

Carl rolled his eye, "Most people do. Besides my dad."

Michonne frowned as she thought about his statement, "That's true… He's so weird."

She managed to make the teen laugh once more before they entered the home, and little did she know it would be the last time for the next hour or so.

Mickey and Carl reminded her of two adolescent dogs trying to navigate their way through the world on their own; accept Mickey was rather bright eyed and bushy tailed while Carl was moody and snarky. Mickey tried to chime in on their conversations here and there, and Carl did nothing to hide his disinterest in the other boy. Mickey was either a great actor or completely oblivious to his attitude.

"...Judith actually talks a lot but mostly to my mom", Carl confessed as he sat at the island in the kitchen, "...She calls me 'Car'..."

Michonne began to smile as she stirred a pot filled with pasta, "Car?"

"Yeah."

She snickered, "I think I need to start calling you that, too. It has a nice ring to it."

"...I actually wanted to ask dad to teach me to drive", Carl confessed, "But with everything that's going on… I don't think he will"

Michonne glanced back at him, "I don't see why he can't let you go up and down the street one evening. Start you off slow."

"Or you could show me?... Before you leave again"

She gave him a pointed look, "Brat."

Carl shrugged his shoulders innocently, "You said so yourself; we can go up and down the street one evening¬"

"With your parents, that means your mom or your dad¬"

"You're not just anybody, though", Carl stressed, "They wouldn't freak out"

Michonne couldn't imagine Rick having a problem with her doing just about anything with Carl but she couldn't say the same about Lori. She shrugged in return, "Talk to them about it politely and see what they say. If it's a 'no' then it's a no… And if I do teach you how to drive then you better not race out of here on a whim again¬"

"Michonne's a good instructor", Mickey joined the conversation as he wandered into the kitchen with an empty glass in his hand, "She taught me how to drive in a week"

Carl's eye shot over to the other teen, then back to Michonne, "I think I can learn in less than a week"

Michonne ignored Carl's swipe as she repeated her earlier comments, "Ask your parents first"

"Pasta?", A sour expression formed on Mickey's face as he peeked into the pot, "I didn't know they had that here"

"I'm not going to ruin it like your dad did", She smirked, "No anchovies"

"I can still remember the smell", Mickey made a gagging sound as he set his glass down on the counter.

"Are your parents dead?", Carl asked bluntly, causing Michonne to spin around slowly and shoot him a questioning look.

Mickey's big brown eyes hovered on the other teen before he replied, "Yeah"

Carl's expression was hard as he said, "Oh. Sorry."

This wasn't the first time that Michonne had wanted to wring Carl's neck, and she had a feeling that it wouldn't be the last. She turned back to the pot and tried to lighten the mood again, "Did you finish all your chocolate, Mickey?"

"Yeah, I did. Sorry.", The teen leaned back on the counter, "I should have saved you some for breakfast"

"No, that's not what I wanted it for", She shook her head, "And for the sake of my sanity; Never mention that ever again"

Mickey gave her a strange look, "Okay…"

"I wanted to see if I could make some cookies or something. Do they have chocolate here Carl?"

"Yeah. In the pantry", Carl answered flatly, "Might not be any left though since Negan takes everything"

She batted her eyelashes playfully at Mickey, "Would you mind doing me a small favor…"

He pushed off the counter, "Sure. I'll go ask."

"Thank you", She gave him a genuine smile before turning serious, "But don't eat it all on the way over here"

"I'm never eating chocolate again", He protested as he started to leave the kitchen, "Never, ever again"

Michonne didn't believe that. If she did succeed in baking cookies then Mickey would be the first one to inhale them. She waited until she heard the front door shut before she spun around and faced Carl with an unimpressed look on her face. He shrugged innocently for a countless time, "What?"

She crossed her arms over her chest, "His mother died a long time ago from Cancer and his father was bit while trying to save the both of us, so if you're going to touch on that topic again with him then you better use a little more tact or else you can kiss any future driving lessons from me goodbye"

Carl tried to remain stone-faced. His lips were pressed together firmly and so much defiance radiated from his remaining eye, but he wasn't fooling Michonne. She could see right through his attitude and she refused to entertain it. It took him ten seconds to crack, "...Got it."

"Good. Now get a knife and start cutting these tomatoes", She issued firmly.

Carl lazily got up from his stool, "...So am I allowed to ask when are you leaving?"

"...Maybe the day after tomorrow", She answered dubiously, "I want to help your dad out here first."

Carl grabbed one of the smaller utensils from the knife block, "...Are you going to live there?"

"Maybe for a little while. It all depends on what everyone plans to do."

"So take me with you", The words sounded as serious as he looked, "I want to help too"

"I know you do", She gave him all of her attention, "That's why you need to stay here with your dad¬"

Carl scoffed as he looked away from her, "Whatever."

"No, not 'whatever' Carl.", She grabbed hold of his arm and made him face her again, "I mean it. If we do start something with Negan then this place might become a target too. You have to help your dad protect this place because he can't do it on his own, so you have to stay here"

The teen softened up as he registered her point.

"...I want Mickey to stay here, too", She confessed in a quiet voice, even though the other teen was out the home, "So there."

Carl gazed away from her as he replied, "Fine. I get it."

Even though Carl's behavior wasn't that outrageous in her presence, she could tell that his parents probably dealt with a lot worse from him and it made her pity all involved, especially Rick. It was bad enough that he had a whole community to protect and care for, but he then had to return home to an angst-ridden teen who was bold enough to go toe to toe with Negan. Then there was Lori. Rick's wife could be a handful just as much as she could be a wallflower, and Michonne learned later that afternoon that Lori had decided to be a handful that day.

She had managed to keep the teen boys at bay by giving them a batch of almost burnt cookies when Lori came knocking at the door with Judith on her hip. She was there to collect her son, and seeing Rick marching across the street towards them confirmed that he didn't agree with his wife's actions. Michonne inhaled deeply as she greeted the brunette, "Hi Lori."

"Hi", Lori huffed as she adjusted her hold on her toddler daughter, "I'm here to get Carl? He's been here almost all day so… I'm sure you can use a break."

Michonne noticed Rick stop at the bottom of the steps. She slowly nodded her head, "...Sure. Hold on."

Luckily for Michonne, she didn't have to go far because Carl was already coming down the hall. He must have expected it to be his mother, and judging by the look on his face the teen wasn't happy to see he was right, "...What are you doing here?"

Michonne scolded him with her eyes while Lori spoke up, "Come on, it's time to go home. You've been here all afternoon and I'm sure Michonne would like some peace and quiet now"

Michonne didn't like being used an excuse for the woman's paranoia, but she kept quiet. The air between them all was growing unnecessarily tense and she didn't want it to escalate any further. Especially not on her front step. She tried to defuse the situation, "Maybe you can stop by tomorrow for a little while, okay?"

"Yeah. That's fine", Lori agreed as she pulled a strand of hair from Judith's fist, "So say thank you"

Carl couldn't look anymore disgusted if he tried. Michonne felt as though she could see a giant fuse attached to his back and he was coming so close to exploding with anger that she reinstated her offer, "Tomorrow, Carl. And don't forget to talk to your parents about that thing we were talking about, okay?"

The angry teen glowered on the spot for a moment or two before he mumbled, "Whatever"

Michonne watched him stalk out of her home. He passed both of his parents without another word. Rick almost looked as annoyed as his son. Lori adjusted her hold on Judith again, "...Thank you… Uh, I hope he wasn't too much trouble."

"No. Not at all.", Michonne shifted her stance from one foot to the other as she tried to figure out what was fueling the woman's worry. Knowing what she knew, she could understand why Lori would be reluctant to see Rick anywhere near her, but not Carl. She'd always taken care of her son and even saved his life on multiple occasion, so Lori had no reason to believe that he wasn't safe in her company.

"Great…", Lori began to turn around, "...Thanks again."

The tension between Rick and his wife was painfully obvious when she passed him on the steps. Much like his son, Rick's mood was always written all over his face. He said something brief, something that made Lori give him an incredulous look before she stormed after away, all while Michonne watched awkwardly from the front door.

The idea of abandoning the Grimes family during their hour of need didn't sit well with Michonne, but she was starting to look forward to leaving. They might all benefit from her swift exit.

"...I'm sorry about that", Rick offered out of exasperation, "I saw her heading this way and tried to catch up with her but¬"

"Don't worry about it. It's fine", She insisted.

"No. It's not. She's just…", He paused, "Just worried about Carl. After everything that happened when he snuck out on here… I guess she wants to keep a close eye on him."

"...I was just filling him up with burnt cookies anyway. Well, there was more dough than chocolate chip but… you get the idea", She shrugged as she leaned on the door frame. His lie would have been plausible if she didn't already know different, "It's fine though. Really. You might want to talk to Carl though."

"I know", He raked his fingers through his damp hair as he sighed, "..I know."

Michonne eyed him suspiciously, "Why are you sweating?"

He wiped his brow with the back of his hand, "Uh… We were fixing up the wall next to the watchtower."

"So why didn't you leave it to the young men? I don't know if you forgot but you almost broke your hip the other day"

He raised an eyebrow at her as he took his time loading up his come back, "...I want you to know that if for any reason I'm in or near Atlanta ever again, the first thing I'm doing is looking for a copy of your birth certificate"

A little gasp escaped her lips, "You wouldn't dare"

"I'd frame it", He cocked his head to one side as he gave her one of his teasing looks, "Put it on the mantle"

"I'd burn that damn mantle down before you could say 'I'm an old man'.", She hissed, causing him to laugh at her reply but it wasn't just any laugh; it was a snort. She liked to believe that only she had the sacred skill to make the usually cool and collected Rick Grimes snort.

"You'd risk burning down my entire home just so people don't find out your real age?", He raised his eyebrows as he asked the question.

She smirked, "Don't ask me what I'm willing to do to keep that a secret"

"Right", He shook his head as though he despaired, "Well I'll leave you to enjoy your burnt cookies"

"They weren't completely burnt and you're offspring still loved them"

He turned around and took his time descending the steps, "Well, save me one. I'll be back later for it… I gotta' finish off helping with that wall"

"Let the youngster's do the heavy lifting, old man!", She sniggered at her own joke.

"You're not twenty-seven Michonne!", He called back a little too loudly for Michonnes liking. She looked around the hallway for something to throw at him but there were only picture frames and a coat stand nearby so she gave up. He flashed her one of his charming grins from over his shoulder as started walking up the street and it made her stomach twist and turn from delight, and out of guilt.

It was no secret that she cared about him. He was one of the few people she had left in the world that she truly valued, but ever since Lori had spilled the beans on her husband's feelings for her, Michonnes mind battled to accept it. Knowing that it was something they might have discussed was bad enough, but the fact that Michonne knew how he felt only made matters worse. Somehow his big secret had become hers.

"I saved you some cookies", Mickey announced from behind her as he chomped away on one of the treats, "They really aren't that bad"

She tore her gaze away from Ricks back and faced her young companion, "Thanks… Now come on, I need to talk to you about something…".