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Chapter Twenty-two

Four days had gone by and the secret was still her own. For her appointment with Dr. Robinson had been rescheduled for that morning, which had further delayed her informing Rick about the situation. Michonne could've still told him, giving him the news about her pregnancy over the weekend, but she needed a little more time, to sort through her feelings, run scenarios of her choices, none of which eased her mind. Thus, that morning she'd stopped in for her appointment on her way to work, still no clearer on the choice she'd make, hoping to get the one thing she was certain she wanted, a green light to return to work.

To her relief, she'd received the release from her doctor. The woman had reluctantly consented to her returning to work due to the hemorrhage having healed, some, and the pain and bleeding having completely subsided. However, the doctor had reiterated that she should spend minimal time on her feet and shouldn't do more than 4-5 hours in the office. Michonne had accepted the recommendation and was prepared to leave, to embark on what she knew would be a busy work day, when Dr. Robinson had stopped her, asking if she wanted to hear the baby's heartbeat.

Michonne was taken aback by the unexpected offer, that stirred a storm of conflicting feelings. Did she want to hear it? Risk the experience causing an attachment to take hold, when an opposing choice might be made? Or did she decline the request and walk away? The fact that she'd been laying there, debating what to do, gave Michonne her answer. She'd hesitantly accepted the suggestion, and minutes later, she still lay on the table, her flat stomach, showing no signs of pregnancy, covered in a cold gel with the room echoing the sounds of the baby's heart, steadily beating at what the doctor described as a low rate.

Michonne had instantly broken down, her tears seeming to come out of nowhere at the implication of it all, that there was a life growing inside of her, that she and Rick had created, unintentionally, yet out of genuine and infinite affection. Dr. Robinson had assured her that the pregnancy still had a chance of success. However, she'd warned that the subchorionic hemorrhage would have to be closely monitored and the baby's heart rate would need to significantly increase. The doctor had not entirely understood the source and full scope of Michonne's emotions, but Michonne had continued to uncontrollably cry, at the magnitude of what she'd just realized.

She knew in that moment that she had to make this work, even though the thought of having a child scared the shit out of her, because it was uncharted territory for her, territory in which she hadn't the faintest idea how to navigate, territory that wasn't planned. She wasn't even good with kids, and she still had a career that she couldn't imagine giving up, but she also couldn't make the alternative choice. She had to see this through, and she could no longer delay what she had for days. She had to tell Rick.

However, what she knew, what she had to do, had been deferred once more. For as soon as she walked out of the doctor's office, still emotional and shaken, feeling that it was all so surreal, yet planning to call Rick that instant, her cell phone rang and it had been work. She'd learned there was an issue with one of her clients. From there it had been nonstop, one call and meeting after another, dealing with the client, the printers, then re-strategizing how they were going to go live with the campaign after dealing with the unforeseen crisis. Michonne had not had time to breath, to revisit the epiphany she'd had at the doctor's office, much less act on it by calling Rick. For she had to keep her head in the game, set the happenings in her personal life aside, to focus completely on the trouble at hand.

Furthermore, in addition to the dire circumstances surrounding the one client, she'd had other clients and projects to manage, and had just completed a meeting with Mike and his colleagues, finally getting to a lull in her schedule, when she started to feel a little unwell. Michonne had pushed past the ripple of sickness to walk Mike and his team to the receptionist, who could validate their parking, when he'd asked to speak to her privately about a business item that was not related to the project she was working on for his firm. She'd granted his request and led the way back to her office, wondering if this was truly about business, tempted to tell him they could speak at another time, but conceded to giving him the benefit of the doubt.

"Thanks for taking a moment to meet with me." He said while waiting for her to shut the office door, then taking a seat in the chair before her desk, when she sat down. "I know your schedule must be crazy with you returning to the office today."

"It is." Michonne confirmed. "So what business did you want to discuss?" She asked.

"The firm." He answered. "This is highly confidential information and only a selected few know. I had to get clearance from the higher ups to speak with you about this." He continued, peaking Michonne's curiosity. "We're buying The Brandon Group." He revealed, surprising Michonne with the announcement of his employer's plans to buy one of the biggest technology consulting firms in the industry.

"What? When?"

"It's pretty much a done deal. Everything should be finalized within the next week." He detailed.

"And why do I need to know this?" Michonne asked.

"Because after the acquisition is complete, the firm is going to want to do a rebranding campaign, and we'll likely want you to lead it."

"How would that work if I'm offered the job I'm interviewing for next month?"

"It would be one of your first campaigns."

"And if I don't receive an offer or don't take the job?"

"We'll still want to bring you on." He replied. "The campaign is going to be too big to be done exclusively in house. We'll need an outside firm to do the work. Lawson and Lewis will be the firm selected to do that work, I can guarantee that, which means whether you take the Art Director role or remain here at Lawson, you'll be a big part of this campaign."

"This is great news!" Michonne stated with controlled excitement, not wanting to come off overly enthusiastic for something that was not yet a given, but this was everything she'd been striving for, a dream come true with regards to her career, but what of the baby? She suddenly thought, the reminder somewhat deflating her excitement. How would her being pregnant and eventually a mother fit in to her ambitious and demanding career goals?

"Isn't it?" Mike concurred, invading her thoughts. "We've been incredibly impressed with your work on this current campaign and want to keep you on board for other projects, whether it's through Lawson or with us."

"I can't tell you enough how great that is to hear." She honestly replied, even while still struggling to reconcile how her career and pregnancy could work cohesively. "Not only will this be great for me, but for Lawson. I really appreciate Davidson giving us this opportunity." She added.

"Well it's well deserved." He declared, when there was an awkward silence in which Michonne moved to end by kindly dismissing their meeting, but Mike had spoken again, stopping her. "So how have you been?" He asked, instantly changing the mood from the excitement of business to the sensitivity that was her personal life.

"Fine." Michonne answered, uncomfortable with where the conversation was now going but feeling that after everything that had happened, how Mike had helped her, the least she should do was assure him that she was okay.

"Chonne, we were together for four years. I can tell when you're not well." He contended.

"I appreciate your concern, but I'm okay." She maintained.

"You sure? Because with your…condition this may all be too much."

"You should go." She stiffly replied, instantly miffed by his implication that she couldn't do her job in her "condition," unknowingly striking a nerve at her own uncertainty about the situation, and annoying her with his sly attempt to finesse an update out of her on the pregnancy.

"I'm sorry." He quickly apologized. "I stepped over the line."

"Yeah you did."

"I just care about you, so much." He expressed with emotion. "And I want to help you through this."

"Mike, I appreciate you seeing me through the visit to the ER, and your discretion about my condition, but that's all I can give you – my thanks..."

"Chonne, I'm not asking you to give me anything." Mike interjected. "I'm asking you to let me help you, to let me take care of you."

"I don't need you to take care of me." Michonne firmly spurned. "And the best way you can help me is by letting this go, respecting that my personal life is my own, and accepting that…we're not together." She countered. "Now if you can't do that, if you can't keep our relationship professional, then I won't have any choice but to resign from this project." She seriously added, upon seeing the disquiet in his eyes, revealing how much he wanted to dispute what she was saying.

"That's not an option." He declared. "If you walked away it would throw off the project timeline and hold up the campaign rollout for weeks. We can't afford for that to happen. Furthermore, your work is unmatched."

"Then you'll resign?" Michonne posed.

"Me resign?" Mike uttered with shock.

"If you can't put your feelings aside, then either you resign or I do."

"I never said I can't put my feelings aside." Mike decisively replied. "I can put my feelings aside." He vowed. "I will. This campaign is one of my biggest projects." He said. "To step away from it would cost me money and professional credibility." He disclosed. "I can't afford to walk away from this, and neither can you." He stated what she knew aloud, that she had just as much to lose as he, if she resigned from a project which the client specifically asked her to lead. "So we'll have to see this through, together." He proclaimed in a tone that seemed to infer his words meant so much more, filling her with concern.

Michonne sat at her desk, her hand to her head, having just finished an unexpected call with a client, her mind briefly going to another client – Davidson and subsequently her former fiancé and liaison there – Mike Thompson, wondering what she was going to do about him. Though she'd been initially concerned about them working together due to their history, thus far things had been going well. He'd been extremely professional, going out of his way not to make her feel uncomfortable, but today things had been different. She knew because of the assistance he'd provided when getting her to the hospital after she'd fainted. The incident had given him an access to her life that he hadn't had since before they broke up, and therefore reignited feelings, that he'd never settled, and thus his desire for reconciliation. She shouldn't have let him help her that day. She mused, but what else could she have done? It happened. If Mike continued to push for more than a professional acquaintance, she would deal with it in the appropriate manner, but right now she couldn't dwell on it. For she had bigger issues at hand. She needed to do what she'd been avoiding doing for nearly two weeks and hadn't time to do earlier that day. She needed to call Rick…

Macon, Georgia

Rick walked out of his attorney's office, feeling a great sense of relief, and pleasance, that he was on the brink of what he'd been wanting for months, a life that wasn't in chaos and a true chance at happiness. Lori had stalled and hadn't signed the papers the following day like he'd demanded, calling his bluff. He'd responded without delay, ringing her father and leaving him a voice message, when his former in-law didn't pick up, telling him it was important that they talk. The man had in turn, reached out to his daughter to learn what was going on, which had subsequently scared a furious Lori into signing the papers. Rick didn't want to stoop that low, to pull her father into their mess, but he needed more to get her to sign the papers. Thus mission accomplished. She'd dropped the signed papers off the previous night and he'd driven to his attorney's office to personally hand off the documents and get details on when the divorce would be finalized with the courts.

In route there, he'd received more good news. Sheriff Bratton had informed him that he'd been reinstated to his position in the Sheriff's department, but Shane had been fired for conduct unbecoming of an officer, which Rick feared would fuel the man's wrath, along with the restraining order he'd obtained against his former friend, barring the man from coming within 300 feet of him and Carl. Rick knew that it wouldn't stop him, if he tried something, but it would ensure that he'd receive a criminal charge if he showed up at Carl's school or tried to visit with Lori while the boy was around.

Shane was a lingering concern, but at least Lori was now out of his house and no longer connected to him through marriage. What's more, though Carl was still struggling with the end of his parent's relationship and the lingering trauma of the fire, he and Rick had become closer. Though he missed living with his mother, Carl was generally happy, responding positively to spending the majority of his time with father. Rick could see that things were turning for the better, save for the situation with Michonne, which was still fucked up. They'd been playing phone tag and hardly texting for the past couple of weeks, which he felt was purposeful on her part, due to her barely answering his attempts to communicate. Something had changed with her. He could feel it. He could sense her drifting away and he could not let that happen.

She was the best thing that had ever happened to him outside of Carl, and thus he couldn't give this more time, for his divorce to be finalized with the courts, in what his lawyer predicted would be early December. He felt, in the deepest part of his being that he could wait no more. He had to act now, tell her that he was free to be with her. Free to love her. Free to explore a future he so vehemently wanted with her. He just hoped that she was still waiting, that she would still have him. Rick began to pull the phone from his back pocket, set on calling her right then, when it suddenly rang. Frustrated by the call that would disrupt his plan, he sighed then eyed it's face to find that it was Michonne. Shock and joy thundered in his heart, inflaming his yearning, quickening his breath, when he then picked up the call without hesitance.

"Hey" He quietly uttered.

"Hey" She shakily answered in the same hushed tone.

"I was just thinking about you." He admitted, feeling nearly overwhelmed by the incredibly wonderful feeling of speaking to her again, after what had seemed like so much time. "I'm always thinking about you." He confessed with ardor, filling Michonne with tenderness.

"Me too." She softly replied, stirring him with hope, touching him deeper than she knew. When there was a long, quiet moment, both knowing what they wanted to say, but struggling with how to say it, how to express with words the emotion that was smoldering within.

"You've been ok?" Rick then gently questioned, suspending the silence.

"Yeah. Ok. And you?" She answered with a mistruth and questioned what the hell she was doing.

"Ok." Rick echoed her response, before another tense quiet permeated the mood. Why was he hesitating? Rick asked himself, not knowing that Michonne was asking herself the same. She didn't call him to sit there on an open line and angst over what she needed to say. She called to tell him what was going on, that she was pregnant with his child, but what would he say to that? What did she want him to say? She didn't know. For she had no clue as to where things were with his wife. Were they still living under the same roof? Were they trying to reconcile? Or was he still doing it for his son? And how would she fit into all of that? Michonne didn't know, but Rick did. He loved her. He'd waited long enough to tell her his truth, struggled long enough with his fear that she'd moved on. That she'd found things too complicated to give him another chance. He was ready to face it all, whatever she may say. He was ready to fight for her. As was Michonne, who harnessed her fortitude and was ready to confess what he didn't yet know…

"I…" They both said at the same time. Then stopped. "You first." They stated in unison and uneasily laughed, the warmth now intense in their hearts, diffusing their anxiousness and calmed the mood.

"You first." Rick encouraged once more.

Excitement and fear rushed through Michonne, and the questions she'd been asking herself for days, just seconds ago, the adrenalin of it all, briefly conquering the feeling of an ill stomach, accompanied by some discomfort in her lower belly, when she pushed all the distractions from her mind, that were threatening to decimate her determination and unleashed her tongue, releasing the news she'd kept secret for nearly two weeks... "I'm pregnant."

Rick stood in the hallway outside of his lawyer's office stunned into silence. He couldn't believe what he'd just heard Michonne say, that she was pregnant. He didn't know what to say, what to do and thus did the only thing he could. He uttered her name with love and awe, but when she didn't respond, he called her name again to no avail. He then looked down at his phone to see that he had no bars and as a result, the call had dropped. Rick immediately rushed outside, and like he expected his signal sprung back to life, prompting him to speed dial her back. The phone began to ring, which ignited his heart with eagerness and anticipation, when mid-ring the call dropped again. He quickly eyed his phone, thinking the signal had failed once more, then saw that his phone was powering down. "Shit!" He exclaimed in frustration and quickly ran to his car, jumping in the front seat, turning over the motor, then immediately plugging his phone into the charger.

Rick sat quiet and impatient, watching his dark phone, willing it to turn on, to light up with power as his mind reeled at what Michonne had just told him. She was pregnant. She was pregnant with his child, their child. Or was it their child? The unanticipated thought invaded his mind. Was that the reason why Mike answered her phone? Why he'd claimed they were back together and therefore why she'd been pushing him away? He questioned within, nearly devastated by the thought, but he quickly forced the musing away, knowing in his soul that the baby was his. Now understanding the unexplainable urge he felt, powerful and deep, that was driving him more than usual to see her, to speak with her. It was due to the profound connection they already shared, growing deeper due to the child they'd created, and she was now carrying. Rick realized, as emotion welled in his chest, swelling in his throat and stinging his eyes, just as his phone lit up and powered to life.

Michonne 'spoke' to Rick, leaving a message, her voice sounding foreign, not like her own as she nervously asked him to call her when he had the chance. She'd told him the truth, finally confessing that she was pregnant, only for her to look down at her phone, and discover that the call was gone. Had he heard what she'd said? She'd immediately questioned. When a ridiculous part of her had wondered if he'd hung up the phone upon hearing the news, but she'd known that was bullshit. The call must've dropped. She'd deduced, but had he heard her? She'd been sure the line was still open when she'd said the words. Michonne had then drawn a breath, feeling so incredibly emotional at speaking with Rick, feeling so much, so deeply for him, then regained her courage and dialed him again.

However, his phone had gone straight to voicemail, which meant his battery was likely dead or maybe he was working and was on a call. Whatever the reason she'd left a message. Michonne now sat back in her chair, then closed her eyes, exhaling slowly, then swallowing back a strong bout of nausea that was rising within her, coinciding with the dull ache that seemed to be growing sharp in her abdomen. She lightly touched her stomach, willing the pain to subside, breathing deeply to calm her anxiety which was in part fueling her discomfort, thinking, hoping that if his phone just needed charging, he'd likely call back any minute, when her boss suddenly popped in her doorway, nearly startling her.

"I need you now!" The woman exclaimed with urgency.

"What's going on?" Michonne asked with concern, her relaxed stance instantly becoming more rigid.

"Lee Sanford is here and he's pissed." She said, announcing an executive from the firm whose campaign they were having to re-strategize at the last minute, due to an error at the printers. "Bring your project plans and files…."

Michonne listened intently as the woman instructed her on what all they needed for the impromptu meeting. Then engaged in a dialogue with the woman when the topic of messaging to Mr. Sanford surrounding the debacle with the printers had come up. The intense conversation, coupled with her focus shifting to gathering the materials needed for the discussion, distracted her from Rick, from all that was happening with her and between them, causing her to completely forget her phone, leaving it laying on her desk as she rushed to the meeting, and thus missed his call just moments later.