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Chapter Thirty-three

Months had passed since that wonderful snow weekend in mid-March where they'd bonded as a family and Carl had gotten more comfortable with Michonne. Despite the attempts by Lori to control Carl's response to Michonne, to make him hate her, their relationship had only grown stronger, as had the connection between her and Rick. Though, from the start, her new job had little interference with their courtship, they'd taken their cues from Morgan and Jenny and developed a routine. During the weeks in which Michonne worked in New York, Rick, if off, would travel to Atlanta on those weekends for a visit, and when she remained in Atlanta, Michonne would spend those weekends in Palmer with Rick and sometimes Carl, if he wasn't with Lori. The routine had worked well until mid-summer due to Fashion Week quickly approaching. As a result, she had to spend nearly every week in New York as opposed to every other week, and occasionally had to work the weekends, which had cause issues with their intended plans. It had been a challenge, but they'd gotten through it, revisiting the creativity that had been their initial courtship, long phone chats and Skyped movie dates.

Meanwhile, Michonne and Carl came to an understanding. She was not trying to replace his mother and he was not determined to be her best friend. They, as she'd told him once before, were just two people who had one person in common, his father. Therefore, they should learn to respect each other, and they did. Since the snow weekend, Carl had joined his father a few times in Atlanta to visit with her, and they'd spent an enormous amount of time watching movies On Demand and at the theater, then touring and bonding over some of the highlights of Atlanta - the World of Coca-Cola, the Georgia Aquarium, Six Flags, the College Football Hall of Fame etc. The indoor soccer tournament had been rescheduled for late April and the boy had asked if she'd come, to Lori's chagrin, who'd also showed up to the event. However, her presence, in the end, failed to accomplish what she'd intended. For though the boy did show some awkwardness at the situation, he'd still been friendly with Michonne. He'd even taken up her offer to help him with his math and had in turn finished the school year with a better grade in the subject.

The six-month interview process that Rick had endured for the job with MARTA (Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority) was coming to a close, which meant he was starting the two-month vetting procedure of criminal and professional reference checks, with a start date of early January 2018. Rick had only worked one place in his entire life, the King County Sheriff's Department. Therefore, several of his trusted colleagues received reference calls which increased the risk of Carl learning what was happening from someone other than his father. Rick had planned to tell Carl once the boy returned from the week-long stay in Eastman at his grandparents and after the Back to School Festival at the lake, but had ultimately decided not to wait.

During the drive back from Eastman, he told Carl everything – how he'd received the job offer, why he'd been looking in the first place and how it would eventually lead to them moving to Atlanta. The boy had been quiet throughout Rick's disclosure, then asked one question when he'd finished speaking. "Does mom know?" Rick had explained that he planned to tell Lori within the next few days, but wanted to tell him first. The boy had then asked "Are you going to marry Michonne?" It had been a logical question considering how close he and Michonne were. At first, Rick didn't know how to respond. It wasn't that he didn't know the answer to the question, but that he didn't want to make a situation that was already difficult to process for his now 11-year-old son, more complicated with a confession of his intentions towards Michonne. Therefore, he'd provided the only answer he could, that he loved her. Carl had accepted that answer and then gone on to ask many questions about the move. When it would happen? Where they would live? Would it be with Michonne? Rick had answered them all which had led to more questions about what that meant for the local sports he played and friendships he'd established in Palmer. It had been a long arduous conversation, which Carl had still been processing when early the next day Michonne had arrived for a weekend visit.

Her initial meeting with Carl, had some minor tension, but was overall friendly. The boy had honestly confessed his uncertainty about the move, leaving his friends and such. Nevertheless, he was kind of excited about his father working for the "trains" as he called it and living in Atlanta, which wasn't a surprise to Michonne. Being as the boy had come to love visiting the city and often regretted leaving when he and his father returned to Palmer.

With Michonne in town, for the last time before she'd be gone for more than a month with work, they'd decided to do something fun – the Back to School Festival at the lake. It was a traditional event that included carnival food and rides, and activity booths that were manned by the teachers who worked at the local schools.

The event had gone well. They'd participated in some of the activities and enjoyed the great food. They'd even visited the booth, that as a teacher at one of the local schools, Lori had been manning. She'd been barely cordial and was clearly unhappy to see the three of them together. Regardless, they'd made it through the meeting, then went about enjoying the festival, when Lori had miraculously found them amongst the sea of families and stormed up on Rick. Somehow she'd learned about his new job.

Lori had angrily confronted him stating that Chief Deputy Bratton's wife had just informed her and had brazenly told Carl that his father was running off to Atlanta to be with his girlfriend, expecting the boy to share her fury. However, she'd been stunned after deducing that her son was aware of the news and was mostly embarrassed by the scene she was causing. Rick had tried to calm Lori down and take her some place private to discuss, but she'd become more belligerent and demanded that they talk about it right there. Livid, Rick had walked away leaving Lori yelling behind him, ridiculing him for running away from their discussion. The incident had been ugly, and had resulted in them immediately leaving the Festival.

The ride back to the house had been incredibly uncomfortable, with Carl barely speaking to his father and not having a word to say to Michonne when they weren't there 15 minutes and Lori had shown up. She wanted to continue their "discussion" about his new job and inevitable move out of Palmer, but Rick had made her leave stating that he was not having the conversation at that time because she was too angrily. He was too angrily and didn't want to further upset Carl. At first Lori had refused to leave, and only when Rick had threatened police action had she finally left the premises.

Michonne had planned to stay the weekend, but had left a few hours later, frustrating Rick, who'd wanted her to stay. She'd let him know that she had no desire to go, but that he needed to talk with Carl about this alone.

"Me being here will only inflame the situation." She'd said.

"But that's what she wants, to cause trouble and drive you out." Rick had argued, not wanting her to go for so many reasons the main one being it would be the last time they'd see each other, touch each other before she was gone for a month working Fashion Week.

"She's not driving me out." Michonne had strongly countered. "I'm with you. I'm not going anywhere. But you need to work through this with Carl, get him to open up, tell you where his head is. He's not going to do that with me here." She'd explained; therefore, Rick had accepted her leaving and had found that she'd been right.

After she'd left Carl had been ready to talk, but it wasn't what Rick wanted to hear. The boy wanted to remain in Palmer, with his mom who was lonely. He'd said, excusing why she'd been so upset. He'd also mentioned his friends, stating that he'd never see them if he moved to Atlanta. This rhetoric had quickly gotten worse as Carl spent time with Lori. She'd even had him fearing that Rick wouldn't let her see him again, which had been very upsetting to the boy. Rick had convinced Carl otherwise, but not before tearing Lori a new one, letting her know if she kept up her antics she would lose Carl but not due to anything he'd done. Yet and still there had been a strain on his relationship with Carl that hadn't started to ease until weeks later.

Michonne had returned from being out of town, two weeks earlier. Therefore, this was the first time she, Rick and Carl would be spending a weekend together since the incident at the Festival. Rick had come to Atlanta the week before, picking her up from the airport, when she'd arrived home from France. They'd spent several days alone – making love and talking about what they couldn't address too deeply while she'd been away in Europe – one subject in particular, his move to Atlanta. With Rick due to start his new job in three months, they'd decided it would be a good time to begin looking for a new place. So, he'd brought Carl with him being as he'd be living at the new apartment too.

With her car being repaired, needing brakes and tires, Michonne had caught the train to have breakfast with her friends Maggie and Glenn, who had then dropped her off at the apartment complex where she was meeting Rick and Carl to take a tour. Michonne nervously walked into the clubhouse and immediately saw Rick and Carl, happiness soaring within her, then made her way over to them. She walked up to Rick, giving him a hug then chastely kissed his lips before turning her attention to Carl, who despite his less than welcoming greeting, she was happy to see.

"She can't hear you mumbling." Rick firmly stated after Carl had barely grumbled "hello". "Open your mouth and speak." He commanded, to which the boy reluctantly obeyed, telling Michonne "Hello."

"How have you been?" She'd asked the boy.

"Ok." Carl replied with an awkward shrug, but she could see that he was struggling, wanting say more, but instead he'd asked. "Can we see the apartment now?" Rick had said yes and they'd then gone to the Leasing Agent who'd gotten copies of their IDs, then directed them to the model apartment which was only a few steps away from the leasing office. As soon as they were through the door of the place, Carl had moved to put as much distance between him and them as possible, escaping to one of the bedrooms.

"He'll come around." Rick assured as he returned his attention to Michonne.

"I know. I'm just sorry we're at this stage again when so much progress had been made." She sighed, frustration in her tone, thinking of Lori's vengeful efforts to sabotage any positive growth they make with the boy. Rick then lightly kissed her lips, somewhat easing her exasperation, before they proceeded to tour the apartment. It had two bedrooms with large walk-in closets and a living /dining room of average size that could easily entertain a small group. The amenities of the complex were the standard – laundry room, pool, playground, but nothing particularly outstanding. The location was good. It was minutes from the airport and not terribly far from the nearest MARTA station – East Point. Therefore, Rick would have quick, easy access to work. There were plenty of restaurants and shopping in the area and the schools were average, on target for the most part with the Metro Atlanta Area, but certainly better than what was offered in Palmer.

"I like it." Rick stated a hint of apprehension as they came to stand on the small balcony.

"But you don't love it?" Michonne deduced.

"I feel like I need more space, and it's what? 30-35 minutes from your place in Buckhead?"

"But it's in budget." Michonne countered. "And it's not far from MARTA."

"True, but I didn't move all this way up here for there still to be a commute to see you. We've done that for the past year." He pointed out as he gently pulled her to him. "I don't want to have to do it again." He softly said then hungrily caressed her mouth just as Carl stepped outside, interrupting them.

"What do you think Little Man?" Rick asked with ease, his arm still around Michonne, whose head was now down, due to the shyness she felt at the boy witnessing what he rarely did, a passionate kiss between them.

"Dad, I'm not a little man anymore. I'm 11." Carl griped.

"Well you're not a man." Rick lightly countered. "So I've got to call you something."

"Babe, I don't think he wants a nickname anymore. He just wants be called 'Carl'." Michonne chimed in, then gave the boy a wink, which he for an instant responded, exhibiting a scant of a smile, before seeming to remember that he was not supposed to be enjoying her company.

"Thank you but I can speak for myself." The boy then asserted with uncertainty, still looking at Michonne.

"Carl…"

"It's okay." Michonne interjected, stopping what she knew would be a scolding from Rick. "You're right. You can speak for yourself. I'm sorry for speaking for you." She said and watched the boy flinch, his expression briefly softening, before he turned away from her and to his father.

"I don't like it." The boy stated, answering his father's earlier query.

"You sure about that?" Rick asked the loaded question which spurred conflict in his son's eyes.

"I'm sure." The boy weakly answered, his eyes glancing at the floor, frustrating Rick. He could see that Carl was so close to just embracing this new life they were starting and accepting a friendship with Michonne, but his mother's spitefulness against them was a constant in his mind, serving to conflict him and thus make their time together difficult.

After leaving the apartment in East Point, they'd headed to a few more properties, the drive uneasy and silent, save for a few brief exchanges between Michonne and Rick, and his hand gently stroking hers, wordlessly easing her ongoing concern about the situation with Carl.

The other apartments they viewed were all within the perimeter – I-285, weren't a significant distance from Michonne's condo and were at the very least close to a MARTA station. Most had been alright, with varying amenities and school districts that were satisfactory. As the viewings had gone on, Carl had become more communicative. He was speaking more, openly voicing his opinions about the properties they were touring and occasionally airing his grievances – upset that he was moving away from his friends and the sports teams in which he was a member. Still he'd not had much to say to Michonne and avoided her in an effort to keep from yielding to his instinct to be friendly to her. However, he'd become slightly more amendable when they toured a property that had been a standout to all three of them.

It was about 20 minutes from Michonne, near Aker's Mill Road. The schools in the district were good. There were plenty of shops and restaurants around, even a mall down the street. It was close to the highway and wasn't too far from the nearest MARTA station - Sandy Springs. The property was very trendy with lots of young tenants which meant few kids. The amenities were wonderful. It had the standard offerings but also had a nice size gym, car care center, beautiful clubhouse and outdoor space with a rooftop entertainment deck that provided a view of downtown Atlanta in the distance.

The apartment itself was great, stainless steel appliances, glass counter tops and wood flooring. Rick had been awed as had been Carl. However, there were drawbacks. Though Rick would be making significantly more money, several thousands of dollars more than what he had in Palmer, the rent was over budget. Furthermore, the traffic would be hellacious due to it being so close to SunTrust Park - the new Atlanta Braves Stadium and the I-285/I-75 interchange. Though Carl absolutely loved the location if for nothing else, because the Braves were close by, Rick had started to question whether he liked the idea of apartment living for him and Carl.

"Maybe I should just scratch the apartment and keep my place in Palmer." He stated, thinking as he brought her hand to his lips kissing it.

"I don't understand?" Michonne frowned, despite the heat his caress stirred, at his assertion, while they watched Carl standing across the way in wonderment at the view from the rooftop deck.

"I could commute to work…"

"All the way from Palmer?" Michonne interjected with severe skepticism.

"Here me out." He countered. "My schedule will be pretty set. So, on the days I have to work I can remain in Atlanta, then go home on the days I'm off." He said. "That way, I don't have to upset Carl's life right away. He can finish the school year in Palmer, get one more year with his soccer and softball team before moving up here."

"But your schedule with MARTA is gone be two days on, one day off which means you won't have any time to spend with Carl." She contended. "Your off days would be spent driving between here and Palmer. You'd be exhausted. And where would Carl stay while you're up here? With Lori?"

"I really don't want to take him out of school mid-year." He voiced what he had in the past, his conflict with getting this job now. "That's the least I can do considering how quickly things have changed for him."

"Well you can't delay your start for 6 months until school is over for Carl. So, your only choice would be to leave him with Lori for the rest of the school year. Then move him up here next summer."

"I can't leave him with Lori for 6 months. Who knows what she'd try to pull if he was left to live with her for that long. She'd probably go back to court and say I abandoned him then try and gain full custody."

"Then I think you know what you're going to have to do." Michonne stated then gave him a lingering smooch.

They looked at one more apartment before calling it a day and gone to dinner at the Hard Rock Café downtown. Carl was again in complete awe, loving the music and the iconic celebrity memorabilia on the walls. His stance had further softened during dinner, tentatively asking Michonne about Paris, what it was like to be on a plane that long. Did she have to speak French while there? She'd answered all his questions, even revealed that she'd brought him a souvenir from there. "I was gone give it to your dad last week, but decided to give it to you myself." She'd told him and added that she would give it to him that evening when they went back to her condo. From there, the boy had gone silent. Perhaps not wanting to stay the night at her home, preferring to stay with his father at a hotel? Or maybe remembering that he'd been too friendly with her? However, things had not completely reverted to what they'd been in the beginning, for he did not take issue with her and Rick sitting on the same side of the booth, getting in a chaste kiss or two and flirting with one another. Nonetheless, he was still quiet through most of the dinner, not having much to say until Rick had abandoned the table at the end of the meal, to go to the restroom.

Michonne attempted to restart the conversation, stay the awkwardness between them by asking if he'd seen the new season of The Flash. The discussion had started slow, but had eventually gone deep into all that was currently happening, could happen and what would be incorporated from the comics into the show. It had turned into an exciting chat that was free of the tension that had plagued them before, when the discourse had eventually quieted and Carl had made an out of the blue assertion.

"I'm sorry." The boy said, surprising Michonne.

"For what?" She asked.

"Being a jerk." He stated, then shamefully looked down. "My mom wants me to hate you, to…blame you for my dad…divorcing her." He confessed, leaving Michonne completely stunned and thus not knowing how to respond. "But I can't…hate you. I like you, for you, and because…you make my dad really happy." He continued, filling Michonne with joy. "So…I won't give you any more trouble." He vowed in a childlike tone.

"You sure about that?" She lightly quipped, which caused the boy to barely smile and shyly look down. "Thank you, for the apology." She then seriously stated. "It means a lot. But know that I understand that you're in a tough spot between your mother and father, and sometimes that can cause a little animosity."

"What's animosity?" The boy softly asked.

"Feelings of dislike and anger." She answered driving him to divert his eyes again. "I know this is tough." She reiterated. "But if there is anything I can do to help, a talk with your father, an escape to SkyZone to jump out some of your frustration." She said, making him laugh. "Anything, just let me know."

"Okay." The boy sighed, a weight appearing to have lifted from his innocent features, when Rick had returned.

"What did I miss?" He tentatively asked.

"The Flash, we were talking about the new season." Michonne asserted as Rick slid into the booth beside her then kissed her lips, warming her.

"And how it sucks." Carl declared after taking a long sip of his chocolate milkshake.

"It's not that bad." Michonne lightly countered, astonishing Rick who was pleased with the mood of the dinner improving while he was absent.

"I wasn't feeling the Savitar stuff." Rick had agreed with his son, which had led to a long retread of what she and Carl had discussed earlier, then many topics surrounding TV, movies, and various other things, signaling a slow return to normalcy, and thus a wonderful close to what had started as a challenging day.