"how serious is it?" Rick asked, looking outside of their livingroom window. It was sunny, kids were playing outside and he was supposed to be rubbing his wives feet, but again there was problem that needed him. He had a big responsibility to be a voice of reason and to make the best decisions that served everybody. People looked up to him.
"It will collapse. One day, two days we don't know, but it will collapse." Eugene informed him.
Rick cursed under his breath. That bridge was important to all of them. It was a way to keep their communities connected. If they needed each other it allowed them to be there in a time of need.
"We need to fix it, before everything goes tits up." Abraham voiced his opinion, "We have the workers, but we don't know If that thing will turn into a pile of shit before we get anything done."
Eugene looked at his best friend, "We don't know If the ground-"
"Zip it," Abraham stopped him and turned to look at Rick, "Your ray of sunshine will be born soon, so you don't need this bullshit to cloud your mind. Let us handle it."
"I'll radio the Kingdom and the Hilltop, we will make sure everyone who can help is sent to work. This is our priority number one right now," He instructed the men, "Grab our crew, I'll be at the front in an hour."
"You don't need to come."
"I know, I know, but I can't stay here and do nothing," He tiredly rubbed his eyes, "She will understand."
"33.3381 procentage of births-"
"No statistics." Abraham stopped Eugene and pushed him towards the frontdoor.
Rick could hear them bicker outside as they left. He sighed, he had to tell her that he was leaving. Yet again. He climbed upstairs to their bedroom and stopped by the doorframe. There she was reading a book with a pillow between her legs. For a week now the pain was getting too much for her. He could tell she was frustrated and tired. She couldn't walk without getting contractions and it pained her that she couldn't take care of her daughter. He could tell the nights were very uncomfortable as she shifted million times and got up to the bathroom every hour.
"Hey." She lifted her beautiful deep brown eyes from the book and smiled, "How long have you been standing there?"
Still, even as she was running low on energy and felt defeated- he could only see how beautiful she was. The uncomfortable big belly looked good on her. She was softer all around and he found her even more hard to resist, that glow just radiated from her and it was intoxicating.
"Long enough to want to change my mind about somethang'" Rick climbed on the bed and murmured into her neck, "The bridge."
Michonne exhaled, "It's worse?"
"Yeah, we should have done this a week ago, but with the constant rain that was not gonna' happen," He leaned against her, inhaling her scent, "I hope we are not too late."
"I'll be fine," She turned her gaze towards him, "You need to help them. We both know that. We need that bridge. There is literally nothing to do at home."
"I know," He grunted and kissed her shoulder, "I can't even do you."
She laughed and playfully nudged him with her elbow, "Stop that."
"What?" He lifted himself enough to hover over her.
"Don't start something you know we can't finish," Michonne warned him, "It's been hard enough."
"You know what's hard-"
"Rick!" She shrieked, and laughed at the same time.
He laughed with her, and then stopped to really look her in the eyes, "I miss you."
"I miss you too." She buried her other hand in his curls and played with his hair, "I now totally get why Carl thinks we are obnoxious."
"Yeah," Rick smirked down at her and rubbed her belly, "hopefully the next one will be easier."
Michonne pushed herself more upwright, "The next one? How many do you want?"
"I was thinking three or more." He declared innocently.
She looked at him like he had lost his mind, "You do realize I have to push this baby out of my body right?"
"And you will do amazing."
"And you can go find yourself a new wife to make those other babies." She playfully patted his cheek.
He gently caught her wrist with his other arm and smiled back at her, "Then no more babies."
"Let's get this one out safely and then we can talk about it," She held his gaze, turning the converstation more serious, "I'm guessing you won't be home tonight."
Rick did not want to lie to her. He knew this was easily going to take a few days, and it would be impossible to go back and forth. They needed to get it done swiftly.
"You can always reach me," He pointed at the walkie talkie on their night stand, "If there is anything, I mean anything at all that makes you feel like she is coming you let me know and I'll be home."
"I'll be fine," Michonne knew she needed to support his decision to go, "I have a whole village of people here to help me."
"Still," He gave a suffering sigh and frowned, "Carson will be here in five days, then I might be able to relax."
"We have Siddiq."
"And I appriciate him being here, but I don't want to take any chances. I want him here because he is the most capable to deliver her."
She saw all of the worries written on his face. She understood that this happiness they had could possibly fade away very quickly. They once had talked about how losing each other was possible, but they would never give up. Then, it was different. They were grasping for life under Negan's thumb. Now, that they had been enjoying stability for a longer period of time it was harder to accept the fact that everything could fall apart. They could lose each other, their kids, their home and their extended family. Could they still continue and hope for the better? Probably not. Michonne knew he had nightmares and she found herself anxious because she did not want to be another addition into his trauma. She wanted live and love this man until they were old and grey.
"I, did something," She confessed as she reached for the three envelopes on her dresser drawer, "I wrote letters to Carl, Judith and Jolene. If something happens-"
"No." He protested and stood up quickly.
"Rick," Michonne moved slowly to sit on the edge of the bed as she held the envelopes in her hands, "I know. You don't want to think about it. I don't want to, but for them I had to. I don't want to leave them behind without goodbyes."
He broke. Tears filled his eyes as he kneeled down in front of her and took the letters, "I'll take these, but only so I can burn them after she is born. They won't need your goodbyes. Not like this."
She felt their daughter kick away soon as he came closer to her stomach. Her eyes welled up as they stopped to stare at each other, "I know."
He kissed her stomach and whispered, "We are the ones who live."
Rick sat on the passenger seat, deep In thought. His mind raced in the worst possible way. He wanted to just jump out and run back home. Something felt wrong.
"You alright?" Aaron asked from behind the wheel.
He wasn't sure what to say. He was over the moon that soon he was going to be a dad again. Then again, the worst possible scenario played In his mind on a loop. He wasn't there for Lori and her last moments. He did not hear Judith's first cries. It was one of his biggest regrets. No matter what went on with her and him, he would have wanted to be there for Carl and say his goodbyes.
But, he had decided he was never saying goodbyes to Michonne when she was having their child. That was not an option.
"I'm fine," He grunted back and kept staring out of the window, "I just wanna get this done quickly."
Aaron nodded. He was very aware of the anxious mood he was in. He understood it after having Gracie. Every fibre in his being shouted for him to stay back, but he knew his people needed him. So staying back wasn't an option when everything they did was for their children. A simple fix of a bridge now could mean a whole lot more for their future.
"I remember the day I met you guys like it was yesterday," Aaron chuckled as he kept his eyes on the road, "I knew you were the leader, but I also saw how you looked at her for approval. I knew she was the one I had ton convince, to convince you. "
Rick looked at Aaron and smiled slightly, "Yeah, well nothing has changed from those days. She still knows better than me."
"So..." He was curious, "When did you realize she was more than a stranger?"
He thought about it. He had never experienced a friendship, or a relationship form so naturally like theirs. It was so easy, they just had that undeniable connection.
"She was never a stranger. I remember feeling like I always knew her," Rick explained, as he thought back at the day they met each other, "She was meant to be."
Aaron could tell how deeply Rick loved her. He had seen it the moment they met. They even moved in sync. He remembers how he had asked Daryl how come Michonne lived with Rick If they weren't an item when they first arrived in Alexandria. Daryl had grunted in his usual manner and said "you'll see."
"I know it will work out for you two." He wanted to encourage him, "if someone can make this world and this situation work, it's you two."
Rick gave a slow nod as a thank you and returned to looking out of the window. His heart pounded in his chest, he hadn't felt this anxious in a long time. Every mile they rode further just made him more numb.
Aaron watched him. He knew he was the one who had to show him the way this time around. He slowed down and stopped, in the middle of the road, In the middle of nowhere.
"We run out of gas already?" He was confused as he leaned from his seat to check the meters, but noticed that was not the case.
"No," His friend answered and looked at him with a determined gaze, "I'm taking you home."
"What?"
"I'm taking you home," He said with a bit more confidence, "Listen, Rick. We don't need you like Michonne needs you right now. We will fix this bridge and you will go home to your wife who is days away from giving birth. She deserves to have you at home after everything she has done for us. Both of you do."
Rick stared at him and Aaron did not know what he would get. He hoped he did not cross any boundaries because he truly admired him and what he had done for Alexandria.
"I guess I'm going home then." He shrugged back, smiling to himself.
Silence set in while Aaron turned the car around.
"I want us to form a council inside Alexandria," Rick announced, "From this day forward we make decisions fairly and together."
Aaron looked at him and smiled, "We can do that."