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Chapter Seven

Rick pulled on his trousers, then reached for his uniform shirt that lay on the bed and slipped it on, preparing for another day of training at the Sheriff's Deputy Academy. He'd been in Fitzgerald for nearly three weeks training new deputies on police protocol. Though Ben Hill county was not King county, the areas in which they lived were rural, and thus had limited resources for training. Therefore, several of the local counties would partner with each other to get their new recruits trained. This time around, the training was being held in Fitzgerald instead of King County. Most deputies in Palmer disliked conducting the new recruits training, but Rick enjoyed it. It made him feel like he was doing an additional service to the community by helping others learn how to properly enforce the law and keep citizens safe. It was a great experience. Unfortunately, it had delayed his plans to move along his divorce from Lori. Prior to the 4th of July, she'd convinced him to hold off on proceeding with the divorce, so that Carl's holiday wouldn't be marred by the official dissolution of their family. He'd adhered to her suggestion. However, when she and Carl returned after the holiday, Lori had immediately left for a week. She was in Statesboro, at a teacher's retreat with the school in which she taught. Something he'd not known about. When she'd come back, he'd had to leave for the training in Ben Hill.

Though during that time, he'd managed to visit with his attorney in Macon to review the divorce papers they'd started a while ago, things still seemed to be stalled due to what felt like Lori avoiding a discussion. However, that was going to change when he returned to Palmer. No matter what happened he'd decided he could no longer delay, proceeding with the divorce. Rick buckled his gun belt and instantly recalled Michonne lying beneath him, her soft curves molded perfectly to him, her beautiful dark skin glowing against the white dress she wore, her eyes shining with gentleness in the moonlight. Suddenly he felt an intense flush, at the memory of tasting her lips, the sweetness and heat, how close they'd come to making love. Rick made his way to the bathroom and splashed some cold water on in his face and neck, in an attempt to cool the hotness stirred by the thought of Michonne. His divorce wasn't just about closing a chapter in his life that had been finished many months ago, but exploring what he knew was something special with Michonne.

For the past month, they'd continued to carefully walk that delicate line between friendship and lovers. They talked at least twice a week and text more times than he could count. They'd learned each other's routines - What time they both got up for work. What time they got home, worked out, ate dinner, watched TV. They knew what was going on in each other's lives, from work to family to hanging with friends, the good, the bad, the complicated. She knew all about the delay in moving things forward with Lori, the difficulties he was having with the recruits at training and that Tuesday night was now Pizza night with Carl, per her suggestion when he'd bounced some ideas with her about more things he could do with his son. He knew about her delay in ending things with Mike, due to the unexpected circumstances that had come up and the changes she'd been dealing with at work, some reorganization, but thankfully her department and job wasn't affected, a house warming party she'd attended with friends, which she'd originally planned to skip, not feeling up to it with all that was going on, but he'd convinced her to go. She'd had fun and thanked him profusely afterward, for pushing her to attend. They still flirted, more times than they should, their exchanges teetering with temptation, but they'd kept it tamed. In the four weeks since they'd met, they'd become true friends, which made Rick excited for more but extremely happy with where they were. Cooler than he'd been moments earlier, Rick emerged from the bathroom, his mind heavily on Michonne with a deep desire to connect with her. He checked his watch. It was still pretty early, but he decided to take a chance and reached out.

~Good Morning…Thinking about you… ~

He started to type more then hesitated, unsure if he should say what he wanted, but decided to continue…

~Missing you. ~

Rick nervously waited for her response, wondering if he'd been a little too honest when his phone dinged.

~Morning…~

~Me too...~

She texted back, making his heart full.

~Shouldn't you be asleep? ~

~I wish. I have an early training session this morning with the recruits…~

~How are things there? Did you make it to Philly ok? ~

~I did…I'm going to rest a little longer, then head to the hospital. ~

~I'm sorry…Go back to sleep then. ~

~Don't apologize. You're fine. ~

~Ah finally she admits it. :)~

~:/ (smirk)~

~Seriously I just wanted to…connect…just for a minute...Get some rest…then have good day. ~

~You too~

The joy lingered strong within him, brightening his day, making him feel at ease about the tasks ahead. Rick took another glance at himself in the mirror and ran his hand through his curls, straightened his tie and badge, picked up his keys and just as he made his way toward the door his phone rang. He looked at the face of the phone and saw Lori's name. Concerned, he immediately answered and right away was struck by her voice, frantic and upset, fearfully screaming that Carl was gone.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

She didn't want to be there, not like this, not as his lover and fiancé, not perpetuating a truth that was now a lie, but Mike didn't know what she'd realized, that she'd made a mistake when accepting his proposal, and decided, that their relationship was over. For as soon as he received the call from his family informing him of his father's car accident, he'd caught the first flight back to Philadelphia, and as a result they'd not had a chance to talk. He'd been there for the past month keeping a bedside visual with his mother and siblings, praying that his father would get well enough to move out of the ICU. Michonne had supported him from afar, due to work obligations which required she be in Atlanta. Mike had understood, and thus they'd kept in touch by frequent phone calls, texts and sometimes FaceTime, until a couple of days ago when he'd asked her to join him in Philly because his father's condition had worsened. Michonne hadn't hesitated to come. In spite of her decision, she cared about Mike and wanted to support him as much as possible during such a difficult time. So she'd closed out what she could at the office, but still brought her laptop so that she could do a little work when she had the time, and took the red eye from Atlanta to Philadelphia the previous night. She'd picked up a rental car when she arrived and crashed at a hotel until that morning. Then she'd gone straight to the hospital and had spent nearly two hours with Mike, who'd expressed the huge comfort he felt at having her by his side, before he'd again joined his mother in his father's room.

The waiting room was empty. Mike's siblings had left the hospital to get something to eat and freshen up and there were no other families doing the agonizing wait in the area. Michonne was alone, waiting for Mike to finish another visit with his father as she mindlessly flipped through a magazine in which she'd failed to notice the title. She felt sadden for him and his family, and anxious about what she needed to tell him. She wanted to support him and was glad that her being there was helping. Nevertheless, he needed to know the truth, but it couldn't be now. To break things off during this time would be extremely hurtful and selfish. Thus she would remain mum. She'd see him through this, then tell him the truth when he was no longer dealing with this family crisis. It was a difficult plan, but thankfully much less complicated with their engagement not known, and there having been no time for intimacy due to their separation for all this time. Although with her now being in Philly, the latter was bound to come up, which was something she had no idea how she was going to handle when it inevitably happened. Michonne closed her eyes at the stress of the situation, yet strangely comforted by her brief correspondence with Rick earlier that morning. It was hard to believe they'd only known each other for a few weeks because somehow it felt like a lifetime. Though they were keeping the amorous at bay, the friendship they were nurturing had become deeper. They'd shared more about who they were, their families, their friends, their triumphs and struggles. Michonne found that not only did she miss Rick when they didn't text or talk for a few hours or a day, but that she instinctively wanted to reach out to him when something good happened, she was having a tough time or just wanted to shoot the shit about nothing. Michonne softly smiled, recalling some of their recent conversations. She was particularly amused by their debate around the entertainment value of "X-men: Apocalypse." He thought it was great. She thought it was horrible. Even though he was hundreds of miles away and "just a friend" he was becoming entwined in her life in a way that was endearing, yet scary.

Michonne. She heard, the assertion interrupting her thoughts.

Mrs. Thompson! She exclaimed, then put down the magazine she was holding and moved to stand.

No. Sit. The woman directed, and she obeyed.

Is Mike still …

Yes. He's still in with his father. The woman answered as she closed her eyes in sadness.

How are you? Michonne then asked. Do you need me to get you anything? Coffee? Soda? Something to eat?

No honey, I'm fine. I just, needed to step outside of it for a minute. The woman sighed as she sat down next to Michonne. He has to come back to me. She then tremulously stated, almost inaudibly, breaking Michonne's heart, leading her to gently grasp the woman's hand and squeeze it.

So! Mrs. Thompson asserted, after being silent for several minutes and taking a deep breath. How are things with you and my son?

Michonne was somewhat taken aback at what seemed like an odd question in that moment, but deduced that the woman was likely trying to keep her mind off the situation at hand. We're good. Was the only way Michonne could answer, considering her plans to end the relationship.

Oh honey you don't have to lie to me. The woman countered with an anemic smile. I know that this situation has put a strain on your relationship...

Mrs. Thompson…

And delayed your wedding plans. She spoke over Michonne, shocking her. But I can help with that…

How do you know about our engagement? Michonne calmly asked while skillfully hiding her alarm.

Mike told the family over the 4th of July weekend. He knew you wanted to tell us together, but he couldn't wait.…Congratulations. The woman said as she took her in an awkward hug, unknowingly giving Michonne a moment to manage her disbelief. John was so happy to hear the news. We both were. Mrs. Thompson continued. And, we decided right then that we'd like to be a part of the planning.

Mrs. Thompson, I can't think about a wedding right now. Michonne tried to dissuade the woman.

Oh nonsense. She rejected. Just because we're dealing with this…crisis doesn't mean your wedding plans have to be put on hold. Now I hope I'm not stepping out of line, but I've already obtained a woman who can consultant on the ceremony. She's done some fabulous spring weddings and will do the same for yours…

Spring?

Yes. The woman answered, oblivious to Michonne's aghast expression. Mike told us you're leaning towards an early spring wedding. Now I haven't talked to her since the weekend of the 4th, she came to our grilling party but I'm sure she's still onboard to help… She continued on a tangent, completely focused and distracting herself with the wedding, leaving Michonne with no choice but to indulge the woman's much needed reprieve, while she contemplated the implication of her now public engagement, that could drive her to do the unthinkable.

It had been an exhausting day. After Lori told Rick that Carl was missing, he'd spent nearly 15 minutes trying to get her to calm down and detail to him exactly what had caused her to reach that conclusion. She'd told him she'd gone to Carl's room to wake him for breakfast and discovered his bed to be unfolded, but not slept in. His favorite back pack, t-shirt and shorts were gone, and upon inspecting the rest of the house she'd found that snacks and drinks were missing from the cupboard. The only thing it could be is that he's run away! She'd worriedly exclaimed. Rick had then asked her had she called the police. She'd replied that she hadn't that she'd called him first. He'd then told her to take a breath and head to Jacqui's, a neighbor's house. He wanted her to be with someone, otherwise she'd go crazy, waiting there alone. Once she was with Jacqui, he'd instructed them to call the police and return to the house to wait for their arrival. As soon as Rick hung up with Lori, he'd called Shane and told him what was going on. Right away, his friend had volunteered to go to the house to meet the other sheriff's deputies and support Lori. From there Rick had informed the Sheriff's Academy that he had a family emergency and had to return home, then immediately got on the phone, calling the parents of Carl's friends. He'd spent the nearly two-hour drive home on the phone with parents and his colleagues, to no avail. He'd discovered no viable leads on Carl's whereabouts. By the time he arrived back in Palmer the search was in full swing. He'd joined a group of searchers on the west side of town who were already scouring a large patch of woods close to the middle school.

The woods were a dreaded task, because of the denseness, deadly snakes and other critters that could be dangerous to anyone, but especially a young boy. They'd combed the land, starting with the area closest to the school then worked their way out. They'd come across a few abandoned houses and barns, but still nothing had turned up. Rick had done everything in his power to remain strong and hopeful, but with every passing moment his concern became heavier, making it difficult for him to focus in the humidity, heat and brutality of the Georgia wild. Time seemed to go on and on, quickly and impatient, bringing them one false lead after another, until finally something was spotted. One of the searchers found Carl's backpack at the top of a hill, about 5 miles from the closest business or resident. The searcher had explored further, making his way over the hill to discovered who they'd been so desperately looking for all that time. When the word came, Rick had been relieved. However, when he'd conquered the peak in the land, on his way to where they'd found him, he'd been shaken with a fury of fear and grieve, at the sight of his son, unconscious near a stream, with one of the sheriff's deputies, a colleague, administering to him CPR.

Two Hours Later

You were great today. Lori said as she slipped her hand over Rick's, while she, he and Shane waited in the hospital lobby for the doctor to finish up with Carl. Though he'd awaken in the ambulance, the doctors needed to do a thorough examination - bloodwork and a few tests to make sure he'd not suffered a serious injury.

He's my son. Rick replied as he moved his hand away from hers, failing to notice Shane's dark and envious stare. I'll do whatever it takes to save him.

I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about how you took care of me. Lori quietly countered, then gently touched his knee, making him uncomfortable.

You all want something to drink? I'm gone make a vending machine run. Shane interjected his tone edged with agitation.

No. Rick stated, then stood, mystified and irritated by Lori's gestures. He walked to the nearby window, his back to her and Shane and listened as she answered their friend, telling him she didn't want anything.

What do you think set him off? Caused him to do this? Rick questioned aloud, turning to face Lori after Shane walked away following a long hesitation.

What are you talking about? Lori questioned in bewilderment.

What do you think caused Carl to run away? He clarified.

What do you think Rick? Us. Lori retorted as she stood. He wants us to be like we were. He wants us to be a family, that's why he's acting out this way.

I get that. But why would he do this now? We've been separated for months, and I've been in Fitzgerald for almost three weeks. Did something happen last night after I spoke with him?

Rick hadn't received a response due to the doctor emerging from Carl's room. He and Lori immediately dropped their discussion and greeted the doctor. After which, she'd given them the good news, that Carl was fine. He had a sprained ankle and a mild concussion. Consequently, they planned to keep him overnight for observation. Following their discussion with the doctor they'd gone in to see Carl. Rick couldn't help but notice how his son smiled more than he had in weeks, when him and Lori walked in the room.

Hey Little Man. You gave us quite a scare. Rick said as he walked up to the bed and stood at its side, relieved to see with his own eyes that Carl was okay.

I'm not a little man. Carl playfully rebuffed the nickname his father had called him as long as he could remember. Rick smiled as Lori sat on the bed and kissed him on the cheek, causing Carl to sighed with exasperation. Lori had then asked how he was feeling to which he'd responded that he felt a little tired, achy and wanting ice cream. His reply had opened up a discussion about ice cream and Tylenol. Rick and Lori had agreed to talk to the doctor about some acetaminophen to help with his pain and no ice cream unless he'd had some real food.

Still tough as nails after your little adventure? They heard and looked towards the door to see that it was Shane walking into the room. Carl's mood instantly changed from the lightheartedness of the moments before to somberness and quiet. He'd completely shut down, barely responding to Shane, prompting Rick to question his flat response, when Lori had interjected stating that Carl had a long day and was just tired. Rick didn't really buy that excuse and was about to question it, but the nurse came in. She'd informed them that visiting hours were over. However, he and Lori were welcome to stay. They could share the sofa bed in the room.

You stay. Rick told Lori. I'll sleep in the waiting room.

Can't you both stay? Carl looked to Lori whose expression indicated her support of the suggestion, before he turned his attention to Shane who was struggling to mask what appeared to be discontent, then returned skeptical eyes to his son. Please. Carl begged.

The sofa should be fine. Its plenty big enough for both of us. Lori finally spoke, usurping his planned reply.

Rick gave her a look that bordered on frustration, but she ignored him, suddenly remembering something she needed to retrieve from her purse. Rick didn't think them sleeping in the same bed in front of their son was a good idea considering where their marriage stood, and why they were at the hospital in the first place. Such a choice, would only encourage Carl's behavior, make him believe that what he did worked to bring them back together. But arguing with Lori over this right now wasn't wise, for many reasons, the main one being Carl's health. The doctor had told them that Carl's brain needed rest to recover from the concussion which meant no stimuli of any kind, most especially not his parents arguing over sleeping arrangements. Rick had reluctantly agreed to sleep in the room, to Carl's elation and Shane's irritation. The man had then announced his departure, with Carl giving him a muffled goodbye and Lori thanking him for all his help while barely looking his way.

Rick walked Shane out, stopping in the hall to shake his friend's hand, thank him for helping with Lori and the search then asking him if he was alright. You seem upset. Rick had pointed out. I'm fine. Shane had replied. Just tired. But Rick didn't quite believe his response. Something was going on between him, Lori and Carl and whatever it was, he was certain it was related to the events of the day. Letting it go, for now, Rick wished Shane a good night and suspiciously watched him go. Closing his eyes and releasing a breath Rick attempted to banish the tension he still felt from all that had happened, when his mind went to Michonne.

He hadn't heard from her since that morning, which was unusual, they were normally in contact several times a day. He hoped that she was okay and that her day was going better than his. Rick walked further down the hall while briefly debating whether to call, but ultimately decided to text since she was likely still with Mike and his family.

~ Hey. Checking in to see how your day went. I hope better than mine. ~

He waited for her to reply, but had to cut his wait short when a nurse happened by and informed him that he couldn't hang out in the halls now that visiting hours were over. She also reminded him of the hospital cellphone policy that phones should be shut off while in the patient wings. Disappointed that he'd not yet received a response and concerned that she'd been so quiet, Rick had hesitated a little longer, hoping to at least see a read receipt on his message indicating that she'd viewed his text, but he saw nothing.

~I'm out for the night. Sleep well. ~

He then added to his previous text. Waited a few moments more, but when he'd still received no response, he'd reluctantly turned off his phone and returned to Carl's room.