It was the first week of classes and Michonne had done a quick run through of her biological sciences curriculum. When she was offered the Tenure track position at Spelman, she was hesitant. She had been doing research for years at this point and wasn't sure if teaching would be something she enjoyed. After speeding through her PhD, she wanted to focus her energies on research and her child. Andre, whom her and Negan referred to as just Dre came into the world two weeks after defending her dissertation. It was a miracle of sorts to not only be a Doctor, but to have created such a perfect baby.

Hi folks! Thanks for the reviews. I know a few folks are not really into Negan, and I totally get it. But I think he;s an interesting Foil and also, just really messy. This chapter is all about Michonne. I've been picking up steam at work, so my writing/editing time has shrunk.

Thanks for reading y'all. I'm feeling the feels writing this and I appreciate y'all.

Michonne and Negan's relationship which was easy up until that point started getting more challenging. Michonne had decided to do a post-doc at Northwestern since their research facilities were great and after taking the summer to recover, she rushed into keeping up with her male colleagues. Being a woman in STEM was always a challenge, and she knew that being a mother in addition would cause numerous setbacks if she wasn't publishing research. Negan told Michonne that he felt constrained by her schedule. Where once he was grateful to have her be out and driven, having Dre made him want her home all the time. They hired a full time nanny and Michonne worked her way up in her field- attending conferences, international travel, long nights in the lab. When Negan would demand Michonne slow down, she refused. She told him she was too young to slow down, too hungry. Negan's initial frustrations towards her bloomed into full blown rage. Michonne had told him that she wanted to wait a few years before having another child, but he tried everything to get her pregnant even going so far as hiding her birth control.

Then she started noticing that he was taking more trips than usual. Michonne's work life got complicated as one of her colleagues from another university started stalking her. She was under a lot of pressure to perform, so she took a sabbatical to work on a book. The time brought her closer to her son and made her realize that maybe Negan was right. She had planned to tell him that she was going to take some time and was ready to start trying for another child when she found out their nanny was pregnant from a discarded pregnancy test. Of all the cliches, the fact that her husband was having a baby with the person who was watching their baby was beyond her. She was livid.

"She was suppose to be watching our child not giving you a new one!" Michonne screamed as Negan paced in their loft apartment.

"It just happened." he said.

"How does one just 'happen' to get the nanny pregnant Negan? What, is she your Wife now? Are we living in a harem?" she screamed.

"Mich, you weren't around and Catrine and I got close."

"So you've been fucking our nanny for how long Negan?" she asked.

"Did you also fuck Nora? Is that why she left and we had to hire snow white here?" Michonne looked in Negas eyes and knew the truth.

"How many?" she asked.

"How many what Michonne?" he asked, only calling her Michonne when he was angry.

"How many women are you sleeping with besides me?" she asked. Negan had at that point walked to the makeshift bar and poured himself a drink.

"Tell me now." she demanded, placing her hands on her hips. Her eyes caught the view of the sun reflecting off of Lake Michigan. They had decided to live in one of those high rise apartments with all of the amenities. Michonne loved the view of the lake, the selling point to the spotless, sleek home.

"Six." he said.

"And do they all know you're married?" she asked a little too calmly.

"Yes." he said.

"So why are they all with you Negan?" she asked

"Because I'm engaged to them." he said, taking a sip of his drink and looking Michonne straight in the eyes.

"You're engaged to six women and married to me. Do you see how fucked up that is? Do you even know how sick I feel! How long Negan?" she asked. Michonne didn't really want to know the answer, but needed to know the truth.

"Since the beginning." Michonne ran to the bathroom and threw up her entire dinner. She sat down on the floor as Negan walked into the bathroom, offering her some water. She hit his hand away.

"So why did you marry me?" she asked

"Because you're special Mich. I wanted you to be happy."

"Jesus, what is up with men trying to give me happiness only to break my fucking heart?" she scoffed.

"I'm leaving you." she said to Negan.

"You've been lying to me for almost ten years of my life and I'm done." she said "I'm taking your son Negan and I'm going. Don't come for me if you change your mind. There'll be no one left for you when you come looking."

Negan knew it was over so he did the only thing he could do, he let her go. Hell, he had six more women to occupy his time and even though Michonne had his only child, he knew she'd never come back. Ten years of a relationship with her had taught him that when she was resolute, there was no changing her mind. So he helped her get a place in Atlanta when she got the offer to teach at Spelman. He flew down with her and their son and helped them get settled. He even stayed for the week to help Dre adjust to the new city. At four Dre didn't understand why his Mother and Father were no longer going to be living in the same place, but he had always had a busy life for a child. One of his parents was always away on business or doing something that required their attention.

"Daddy is on business again?" Dre asked his mother as they packed for their move.

"Yes Dre. We are going to be moving to a new place so Daddy can take care of a few business arrangements" she replied sarcastically.

Michonne had taken the afternoon to organize her new office and meet her colleagues. She fortunately still had friends in Atlanta. Michonne had plans to meet with Maggie at her new house after Dre was put down for bed. She walked into the house with an excited Dre who was talking about his new friends from pre-school. He was happy that the kids were "really, really, really nice" he kept repeating. After eating dinner Michonne went to put Dre to bed when he asked "Is Daddy coming back from business soon?"

"Dre, Daddy is going to be gone for a little while longer. You'll get to visit him in a few months for the holidays. It's like when Mama went to Europe but a little longer."

"Do you miss Daddy?" he asked

"I'm sure you Daddy misses you very much and I do miss being in Chicago." she said deflecting the conversation.

"Are we going to be here for a long time?" he asked.

"I think your Daddy and I are going to be taking some time away from each other. It doesn't mean we don't love you, it just means that Mama and Daddy aren't going to be living in the same place anymore."

Michonne watched his face mill over the idea that his parents were not going to be in the same place for longer than was normal. Concluding something in his young mind, he replied "Ok Mama. I love you." Michonne smiled as Dre wiggled his body under his covers and yawned.

"I love you too, Peanut."

Michonne and Maggie sat on her couch sharing a glass of wine.

"So he just moved you in and signed the divorce papers?" Maggie asked.

"I didn't give him much of a choice. I told him to never come back and Negan knows I don't make light statements."

"I'm so sorry Michonne. I can't imagine how heartbroken you are."

"You know Maggie, I feel like a fool. I married a man I barely knew and spent almost ten years of my life with him. I gave him my 20's and he was sleeping with half the free world. I have a patent on a cancer drug for god sake and I didn't even deduce that my Husband was not only sleeping with six other women, but he was actively courting them. He was engaged to them. What kind of life is that? What do I tell my son when he gets older?" Michonne said feeling her eyes sting with tears. She felt like a fool, Negan had ruined their marriage and had then left her to pick up the pieces, how was she going to deal with her son's questions? What kind of man was her ex-husband showing their son how to be.

"You didn't know Michonne and now you do. Would you have rather stayed married to him and not known that he was a philandering asshole?" Maggie said "pardon my language."

Michonne laughed at Maggie's politeness.

"You're right Maggie. You and Sasha have been so good to me these past few weeks."

"We love you girl. So screw Negan, let's hear about this new job."

Michonne smiled at Maggie, knowing that if anything, she had friends and family that cared about her.

Michonne had managed to get around the awkward conversations with her parents who called Negan everything under the sun and swore that they would burn their condo to the ground. Her mother even called Negan to berate him and told him that she was going to keep Dre away. Negan called Michonne who had agreed that they should at least let Dre spend holidays with his father, even if he was garbage. Michonne was diplomatic in that regard, she wanted her son to still have a relationship with his father, even if she didn't. Negan was cruel, rude, and crass, but he loved his kid- he fought for that and Michonne wasn't going to turn that against him. She loved Dre and so she knew her feelings for Negan would have to come second to Dre's. She was a researcher, the data showed that even if all Negan's variables were trash, his relationship with his son was the outlier, those mattered in data.

When Michonne received the wedding invitation for Tara and Denises wedding she felt a tension she didn't know was there. The last wedding she'd gone to ended with her straddling Rick Grimes after sleeping with him and telling him she'd never forgive him for leaving her. And here she was seven years later going to another wedding with their group of friends a divorced single parent- what luck. She knew that Glenn had told Rick about her and Negan, since Maggie couldn't keep her trap shut, and that Daryl had probably said something too since she'd seen him in passing right when she got back into town. She hadn't thought much about Rick since their disaster of an encounter at the wedding, her life was so focused on Dre, her work, and her marriage. A familiar feeling crept into her stomach at the thought of being in close proximity to Rick, after all Sasha had informed her that Rick had gotten a divorce from his wife Lori- Lady Aerwn, and he had a kid that was almost seven. She didn't hate Rick anymore, she just didn't know how to feel about the two of them in one place together. She had intentionally avoided him since moving back home and had hoped to continue that until her very last day on this planet, but the universe always has other plans.