Thanks everyone for continuing with this story.

fithola - I'm glad you found this story again and are enjoying it.

Chapter Seventeen

"How did you get this number?" Michonne fiercely questioned.

"Rick didn't tell you?" Lori retorted. "I'm not surprised." She proudly asserted. "He may be calling and texting you, he may be screwing you, but he's still my husband and there are things we share that are deeper than anything he could ever have with you."

"Oh really?" Michonne scoffed. "He's your husband, even though he's filed for divorce and hasn't lived with you for months?"

"That doesn't mean a dam thing. He may be with you now, but he'll realize what he has with me and come back to our life together." She claimed, baffling and angering Michonne. "We still share a bond. We will always be connected…"

"I think you're confusing bonding through your child with bonding with each other."

"We, me and Rick, bonded for more than 16 years, that's something that's not so easily broken." Lori argued with wrath.

"And yet after 16 years of "bonding" of trying to make your marriage work, he's walking away." Michonne boldly countered. "Why do you think that is? Why is it that you need to call me, his fleeting lover, to boast about your bond if it's so indestructible?"

"How dare you!" Lori angrily exclaimed. "You know nothing about our marriage."

"You're right. I don't." Michonne conceded with ire. "I don't know what you and Rick shared and honestly I don't care, but I do know that whatever it was, it's over. Has been for a while, long before I came into the picture. So why the hell are you calling me?!"

"Because I need Rick, I need by hus…"

"And what does that have to do with me?" Michonne interjected, increased.

"Our son is in trouble. Carl is in trouble!" Lori proclaimed with frustration. "Our son could be dying and I can't get in touch with MY husband because of you, because you're keeping him from me!"

Nine Days Later…

How was it possible for things to be going so well, only to get fucked up so quickly? Rick thought. More than a week ago, he and Michonne had just finished spending an incredible few days together, had worked through some lingering issues surrounding her break up with Mike and committed to moving forward with their relationship. He'd been excited, hopeful, happier than he'd been in a long while. Then the unexpected had happened. It had started with him being pulled from a workshop at the Summit, a continuation of the discussion between law enforcement and community leaders. The organizers had asked all attendees to turn their phones completely off, so that they could be fully engaged with the discussion at hand.

As a result, Rick had not known that something had happened and thus he was being sought, until he'd been quietly tracked down in the workshop. As soon as he emerged from the room he was told that there was an emergency call waiting for him at the security desk. He'd immediately rushed over, already with many devastating scenarios running through his mind to find that it was Michonne on the line.

Without delay, he'd asked her what had happened and she'd told him that he needed to call home, that Lori had reached out to her in search of him due to a family emergency. On the surface, Michonne had been calm and concerned, but he sensed in her tone that words had been exchanged during the call with Lori. He'd wanted to know what was said, what Michonne thought, about what he knew had been an unpleasant conversation, but he needed more to learn what the family emergency was that had precipitated Lori contacting her.

Knowing this, Michonne had ended their call, but not before wishing him a safe drive home and him vowing to let her know when he was back in Palmer. After hanging up with her, he'd turned on his phone to more than a dozen voicemails and texts. He didn't even have to read or listen to them all before learning what had happened. There had been a fire, and as a result, the house he'd shared with Lori and Carl had burned to the ground. Right away, he'd reached out to Lori, and she'd answered the phone, completely hysterical, barely able to coherently inform him that Carl was in the hospital and her fear that he wouldn't survive. Those were all the details he could get out of her before he'd got her to hang up the phone due to her being too inconsolable to provide more information or give the phone to someone else who could.

Rick had been beside himself with worry and despair and quickly got on the road, leaving Atlanta to return to Palmer. The drive had seemed agonizingly long, and could've been so much worse without the support of Michonne. She'd talked him through the drive, assuring him that Carl would be okay, that in no time he'd be back to being his ten-year old self, playing baseball and driving him crazy. The thought of which gave him hope and made him love her more.

He'd arrived in Palmer in record time, a little under three hours and gone straight to the hospital, where he'd learned that Carl had been admitted due to smoke inhalation and a concussion. They wanted to watch him for 48 hours to make sure there was no serious damage to his lungs and monitor his concussion. When Rick had gone to his room, he'd found him sleeping peacefully, but also Lori, who'd immediately ran into his arms, burying her face in his chest and breaking down, while Shane sat in a corner of the room, watching with undisguised rage, infuriating Rick.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Rick had tartly asked as he pulled away from a disappointed Lori.

"Saving your family, my family again." Shane had bitterly stated.

"Get the fuck out!" Rick then ordered, his tone quiet as not to wake Carl but severe. "Now!" He'd commanded when his former friend failed to move, holding his vicious gaze. Shane had then slowly stood from his chair then walked towards Rick as if he would challenge him, and Rick had responded in kind making no move to back down. If Shane came for him he would not hesitate to show him he was not be toyed with, but the man had wisely walked away, leaving the room, but not before giving him the most vengeful of looks. Rick had then heard Lori sigh in relief behind him then express to him how glad she was that he was there while attempting to draw physical comfort from him again.

"Is it true?" Rick had asked, interrupting her effort to touch him, to distract him from what had just happened with Shane. "Did he save your life? Did he save Carl?"

"It doesn't matter." Lori had said. "All that matters is that you're here with us now." She'd said as she tried to caress his cheek, but he turned his face away.

"Answer the question." He'd demanded, and Lori had no choice but to reply. She'd confirmed that Shane must've been in the neighborhood, which Rick suspected was a lie, and had come just in the nick of time to save them. Carl had been downstairs, in the basement, reading comics and watching television and got trapped down there. Shane had to break out the window to get him out. She'd said. "What started the fire?" Rick had then asked.

Lori had told him she didn't know, but from what little she'd heard from the firemen at the scene they couldn't find an obvious source right away and thus there were thoughts that it could be suspicious. That information had worried Rick, made him wonder about the timing, with him being out of town and Shane conveniently being there to mount a rescue, made him recall Morgan's warning, but his mind didn't linger there too long, for the doctor had come in to check on Carl, and Rick had questions for the man.

He'd asked about Carl having another concussion within weeks of the previous one, but the doctor had assured that his son would be fine, that his youth and the resilience of the brain, would guarantee a full recovery. For the most part, the man had been right. By the time Carl had been released from the hospital he was breathing fine and had little affects from the concussion. However, the doctor still recommended he rest his mind for a few more days, no school or sports at least for another day or two and as little stress as possible. The latter had been difficult to avoid.

Though Carl was physically better, he was terrified of being alone and wanted to remain especially close to his father. Thus, Rick's plan to have him and Lori stay at an extended stay motel or with her friend Sara had been abandoned. Carl had become extremely upset at the thought of staying some place separate from him, and even his mother, which Lori had fully embraced and encouraged, vehemently declaring that she wouldn't be away from "her son." As a result, Rick was left with no choice, but to have her join Carl in moving into his home.

Rick sat on the porch of his home, with his head down and took a deep breath, thinking how Carl and Lori were inside, settling in for the evening, settling back into his life when the only thing he wanted was to be there for his son and move forward with Michonne. Rick breathed out and watched the frosty air leave his lungs. It was well past 5 and with all that was going on at her job, he was certain she would still be working. He could wait, one more day to give her the full scope of what was going on, but it wasn't right to keep waiting. It hadn't been right for him to delay it this long, but he was trying to figure a way around it. She knew everything that had happened with Carl for he'd called her that night after he'd returned to Palmer and let her know all that had gone on that day.

However, over the past five days they'd continued to text, but the correspondences had been limited and brief as had been their calls due in part to her being busy with work. She'd had to travel to Seattle unexpectedly, but was now back in Atlanta, had been, since that morning. Thus, it was time. Far past time for him to tell her the rest. God he just wanted to call her and ask her about her day, to plan what was supposed to be her visit to Palmer that weekend, but he couldn't, not yet, not until they got passed this. Rick unlocked his phone and speed dialed Michonne. She picked on the second ring, uttering 'hey', her voice so pleasant and peaceful, stirring a comfort and joy within him.

"You busy?" He queried with caution.

"I'm still at work, but I'm wrapping things up here. Is everything alright?" She asked the question to which the answer she already knew.

"No." He quietly sighed, closing his eyes.

"Is it Carl?" Michonne questioned with concern, recalling what she knew about all that had happened, and the resulting danger to Carl that could be ongoing to his health.

"No. He's fine."

"I'm glad to hear that… but, I feel like there's something you're not telling me." She stated as Rick tried in vain to find the words to speak what he needed to, but didn't want to say, what he'd delayed in telling her for fear of what it would do to their relationship.

"There is something, you need to know." He admitted with hesitance. "With, the house being gone, everything being gone…Lori and Carl, have moved in with me."

There was a long silence, a tension suddenly between them, stifling and heavy, even with him in Palmer and her in Atlanta. Dread pounded in Rick's heart, robbing him of words, robbing him of breath as he waited with unease for what would come next.

"Are you back with her?" Michonne asked with strength, giving nothing away, even as trepidation accosted her within.

"No. Never." Rick uttered with emotion.

"Then help me understand why?"

"The fire shook Carl up pretty bad. He needs me…and Lori, maybe more than he ever has."

"How long will she be staying?"

"I don't know." He answered with difficulty.

Michonne leaned on her desk, her hand to her head, her heart in anguish, her mind racing. As soon as Lori had called she feared that there would be something coming, something that she hadn't prepared for, that would threaten her relationship with Rick and now here it was. It was horrible what had happened to Carl, being caught up in a fire and now having to deal with the emotional aftermath of nearly dying. As much as she hated to admit it, Lori was right.

She and Rick would always be connected by the child they shared and thus always be brought back together for some crisis or crowning achievement with him. This is what happens when you get involved with a married man. She could hear in her head, Angela's words, what her friend had said when she'd mentioned to her the call she'd received from Lori. Sasha had tried to warn her about this as well, about getting too close to him with his divorce being unfinished, but she couldn't help herself.

It was like breathing, being enthralled by this incredible man who made her feel beautiful, who understood her and cared for her, who she connected with on a level she'd never experienced in her life. No matter how much she'd fought it, she couldn't stop herself from…falling in love with him. She finally tortuously admitted to herself what she'd been denying for months. She was in love with Rick Grimes. The angst deepened in heart seeming to sharpen and twist at her silent admission and what was now happening.

"So what does that mean for us?" She then quietly, shakily asked. Rick drew a deep breath, not wanting to answer her question, knowing that it would change things between them, but having no other choice but to be truthful.

"Lori, won't sign the papers." He sighed, revealing what he knew she was really asking, thinking how his Ex seemed more invested in saving their marriage than ever. "And with all that's going on with Carl I can't push right now for the divorce, but I want you to know that it will happen. Not today or tomorrow, but soon. And I want you to understand, that I don't want what's happened to get in the way of what we have. I want us to continue moving forward." He stated with emotion, his words hanging in the air, touching, yet disheartening, precipitating a long period of quiet in which Michonne contemplated his declaration, the implication in it.

What it would mean for their relationship. While he was waiting for Carl to work through the trauma that was the fire, with his wife again living under his roof, she knew what it meant for them, that he would not be coming to Atlanta or she to Palmer like they'd planned, that even their Skye dates would be reduced to nothing. Their relationship would become what she never wanted it to be, an affair, with then sneaking stolen moments via sporadic phone calls and texts, to ensure he was beyond the fragile eyes and ears of his son, and the judgement of his wife.

"Michonne…" She suddenly heard in the distance, Rick calling her name, his voice uneven and disquiet, drawing her back to the present, driving her to speak…

"I told you once, that I'd tell you…if…if I was ever uncomfortable…" She struggled to state. "Well, I am…uncomfortable …I can't…I can't… continue our relationship this way." She sadly, brokenly confessed, shattering Rick's heart.

"No…" He rejected with devastation.

"You're a married man." Michonne continued with angst.

"Who is in the process of a divorce." He strongly countered.

"Yes, but a divorce you're putting on hold due to your son and wife moving back in with you for an indefinite amount of time."

"Divorce or not, my marriage is over." Rick argued.

"How? When she and your son just moved back in with you?" Michonne questioned with frustration and woe. "When I have no doubt that she will do everything in her power to make this situation work to her advantage, to bring you and her back together." She pointed out, thinking of all the stalling tactics Lori pulled to delay the divorce, and the woman's insistence that the marriage was salvageable during their angry exchange.

"She may try, but she will fail." Rick vowed.

"I know she will, but I won't be apart of the drama that will inevitably stir while she's still your wife and living under your roof." Michonne declared. "I will not be that woman."

"We can work through this." Rick contended. "If I can trust you to be by Mike's side when his father died, if I supported you through that how can you not support me through this?" He aggrieved.

"Rick that is not the same thing and you know it!" Michonne disagreed. "I went to Mr. Thompson's funeral to lend my support to Mike, I wasn't moving back in with him."

"I can fix this. I will fix this." Rick emotionally pledged.

"I know you will." She stated, her voice unsteady. "But until you do, I can only wait for you, not with you." She agonized. Rick knew she was right. He'd promised his divorce would be final by now and it wasn't, and he had no set time when it would be. It was completely unfair for him to expect her to try and continue their relationship while he and Lori were again sharing the same home, but he couldn't accept it. He couldn't let her go.

"Please, don't do this." He pled.

"I don't want to, but I have to…" She tearfully said. "I gotta to go…"

"Michonne …"

"I'm sorry…"

"I love you." Rick uttered with angst, but his words were too late for she'd already hung up the phone.

Rick sat on the edge of the chair, the phone still glued to his ear, even though no one was there. Pain, deep and pointed, tore through him, pushing a tear from his eye, driving him to close them and tremulously exhale. He then drew the phone from his ear, but still held it tightly in his grasped, his head down in anguish and defeat.

"I can't believe your nerve." Lori stated with annoyance, driving Rick from his heartache to look towards her, who he'd not even heard come onto the porch. "Your son is inside, still struggling with what happened and you're out here on the phone with your mistress?!" She accused.

"Is that what you think she is to me? A mistress?" Rick exclaimed as he sat up straighter, the hurt that was consuming him quickly turning to indignation. "I love her…"

"I heard." Lori asserted with disgust. "And it sickens me. How could yo…"

"How could I what Lori?!" Rick angrily asked. "Find someone else? Love someone else? Not love you, not want you? I haven't loved you or wanted you for a very long time so why do you keep pushing this like there is something still left of us to salvage, because there isn't! There's nothing left Lori!"

"There will always be something between us!"

"You mean our son?" Rick scoffed. "Don't you think he's been used too long as excuse to continue this marriage?"

"Isn't our son enough?" She countered with ire.

"Carl deserves better than to be used as a pawn in your game!" Rick seethed.

"This is not a game!" Lori denied. "This is our marriage!"

"Spare me the bullshit Lori! You may be in my house today, tomorrow, hell even a month from now, but this marriage is OVER! No matter how much you stall, borrowing money from your father to prolong the process, for whatever your agenda may be, you will not win this." He said, holding her resentful gaze. "You will NOT win this." He emphasized again, then left the porch re-entering the house and failing to hear her defiant response.

"We'll see."