Tears chapter 5

The next morning, Rick woke up to Michonne shifting slightly in his arms. She looked so peaceful that he didn't want to wake her. He'd just wait here until she woke up on her own.

After a while, his gaze shifted down to his hands around her. He started to run his hand over her hair softly, when he noticed he was still wearing his wedding ring. He'd honestly forgotten that he still wore it. It had been out of habit. He'd loved Lori with all of his heart, and thinking about her made him feel guilty. How could he have moved on so quickly? Shouldn't he still be grieving her loss? It had been six months since she died. In the old world, he'd be criticized for falling in love again so soon. But maybe things were different now. After all, who knew how long either of them had left.

He took a deep breath and slipped the ring off of his finger. It felt strange without it on, but it was almost a relief. He wasn't committed to Lori anymore. Yes, he missed her, and he would always love her, but he had to move on. It was for the best for him, and his children.

He reached over and set the ring on the nightstand, then turned back to see Michonne staring up at him.

"You took it off," She said, reaching for his hand to rub her thumb over the pale spot on his finger. "You didn't have to."

"I know," he said, cupping her cheeks. "It was time."

Michonne smiled slightly and moved up to kiss him gently. His arms wrapped more tightly around her as he held her against him. After a moment, she pulled away.

"I almost forgot," she said, grabbing her pants that had been discarded on the floor. "I picked up some more stuff for our stash." She reached in the pocket of her jeans and pulled out a couple of packages of condoms. They'd been grabbing them whenever they could find them. There was a big box full of contraceptives in the storage room, for anybody, but condoms usually disappeared as fast as they came in.

"I grabbed a couple of boxes while I was out," she said, putting the packages in the drawer of her nightstand. "I figured it was a good idea, for us and the others."

"Yeah," Rick said, brushing her hair out of her face. "As much as I'd love to have another kid, that's the last thing we need right now."

Michonne looked up at him, an ache filling her chest. She would want children with him, some sort of normal life in this crazy world, but she couldn't. It wasn't that she couldn't get pregnant, it was because she was afraid of losing another child. Her pregnancies had been tough. She'd even miscarried once. After that, her cycle had been irregular, and the doctor had told her that her chance of having another successful pregnancy was almost impossible. Even if she managed to give birth to a child, how would she protect them? She'd failed before. And she wouldn't be able to deal with that again.

"What are you thinking about?" Rick asked, noticing that she seemed far away.

Michonne shook her head, not wanting to upset him.

"Just how crazy things would be with more little ones running around."

"Nothing would get done. I mean, we already have our hands full with Judith and the kids from Woodbury. Adding babies to the mix would cause chaos. I just hope the other couples are being responsible."

"They are, Rick," Michonne said. "Do you see how quickly the box is emptied? There has to be at least ten couples to go through all of those."

He chuckled and pulled her in for a kiss. "I'm just glad everyone has a chance to be as happy as we are."

...

Four days later, Rick approached Michonne while she was eating breakfast. She smiled as he sat down next to her and stole a piece of fruit out of her bowl. She didn't mind it, since she wasn't one to eat meals at this time in the morning, but she pretended to be insulted by his actions.

"I'm going on a run today," Rick said after a few moments. "I want you to come with me. It's for baby stuff for Judith. You in?"

"Of course," Michonne answered. "Where are we headed?"

"A few miles north, there's a small commercial area. There's a few stores there and one's a Babies R Us or somethin'. I figured it's got more than anyone could take. All we need are some bigger clothes and diapers for her."

"Sounds good. When are we leaving?"

"As soon as you've finished your breakfast," he said, swiping another piece from her bowl.

After about fifteen minutes, Michonne met Rick outside, by the cars. She got in the green Hyundai and buckled up, much to her companion's amusement. She just shrugged. Old habits die hard.

It didn't take long before they were on the road, and once they cleared the prison gates, Rick reached over and took her hand, pressing a kiss against her soft skin. She enjoyed these little moments of intimacy, when Rick would be gentle and loving with her. It made her forget about the world outside of their little space. For a short while, she could believe that everything would turn out alright, that her and Rick could continue their relationship without worrying that it might be cut short by a bullet or a bite. She would cherish these little moments.

She only took her hand from his so she could search the glove compartment for a CD to listen to. Coming across a collection of Johnny Cash's greatest hits, she smiled and put it on. Instantly, the sound of a guitar came through the speakers and she closed her eyes, listening to the music.

"You like Johnny Cash?" Rick asked, glancing over at her, wondering if she liked it or put it on for him.

"Yeah," she answered. "I like all different genres, but I know good music when I hear it. And I love music from the fifties."

"Interesting."

His comment made Michonne open her eyes and look over at him.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Nothing," he said. "Just didn't expect you to like country music. You seem more like a jazz sort of person."

"And why's that?" She inquired, amusement showing in her voice.

"I don't know. You just seem like one of those artsy, sophisticated women. Like that's who you were before all this."

"You're pretty good at reading people, Grimes," She said, sitting back against the seat. It was quiet for a few minutes.

"So, what did you do? Before all this, I mean. You already know about me."

Michonne hesitated, her mind going back. She didn't want to think about it, didn't want to revisit those horrible memories.

"Doesn't matter," she said, taking a breath and looking out the window as she attempted to bring her thoughts back to the present.

Rick sensed that she didn't want to talk about it, so he didn't push it. While it was a bit frustrating that she wouldn't open up, he reasoned that in time, she would. He just had to be patient.

Fortunately, they didn't have much time to sit in silence, because Rick soon pulled into the parking lot of the baby store. So it wasn't a Babies R Us, it was some small boutique for babies and toddlers. The kind of store that catered to the parents with a little more money. Rick looked over at Michonne and nodded. She nodded back. They were ready to do this.

Getting out of the car, Rick held a machete in his right hand, although his gun was in his belt. He wouldn't use that here, though, it would attract too many walkers. That was only for emergency.

They walked over to the entrance of the store, weapons ready. When they reached the door, Rick banged on it and they both stood back and waited. Nothing happened. There were no sounds from inside.

Michonne tried the handle and found it locked. She stepped back, and they both kicked the door, busting the lock. Inside, the store was stocked full of baby supplies, and seemed empty of any walkers. The place must have fallen quickly and been passed over by scavenging groups. They were lucky.

Michonne went over to the shelf and immediately started filling her bag with baby clothes in Judith's size and as big as she could find. She didn't know how much longer they'd be able to find untouched stores, so she was taking advantage of the situation.

Meanwhile, Rick filled a shopping cart with cloth diapers, sippy cups, and toys. He also found medicine for infants, which he knew would come in handy. Eventually, Judith would get sick and they'd need this medicine to bring down a fever or help with a cold.

Once they gathered as much as they could, the duo took their supplies to the car and stuffed the trunk and backseat. It had been weeks since any other run had been this successful. In no time, Rick and Michonne were back in the car, driving off back towards the prison.

"We got lucky," Michonne said, looking over at him.

"Hell yeah, we did," he said. "Judy's gonna look so cute in all the clothes you grabbed."

"Of course she will," she said. "She'd look cute in a paper bag."

Rick chuckled at this, but his amusement faltered when he saw something up ahead. At first, he thought it was just a couple walkers, but as they got closer, he realized that it was two people walking down the road. He slowed down and when he got near enough for the people to hear the car, he saw them try to wave them down. He drove up and stopped about thirty yards away.

Getting out of the car, Rick kept his hand on his gun,while Michonne held the handle of her katana.

"Thank God!" One of the men said. He was young, maybe twenty or so. "We were starting to think we were the only ones left."

The other man was older, probably in his early forties. He seemed more cautious, but also exhausted.

"We don't want any trouble," the older man said. "We've been on the road for weeks and haven't eaten in two days. I know it's a lot, but do you have anything you could spare?"

Rick studied him for a moment, then looked at Michonne. She understood what he meant, and reached in the car. They kept some jerky and dehydrated fruit in the car for this reason. Michonne grabbed it and handed it to the older man, who took it carefully, trying not to make them feel threatened. However, Rick didn't miss the way the stranger's eyes lingered on Michonne a bit too long for his liking.

"Thank you so much," the older man said. He was a tall man with short brown hair.

"Is it just you two out here?" Rick asked, looking at the younger man, who seemed quite intimidated. It was obvious why. The man was thin and looked like he spent most of his days playing video games.

"Yeah, it's just us," he answered. "I'm Justin. And he's Barry." He motioned over to the older man.

There was a moment of awkward silence before Justin started talking again.

"Do you guys have a camp?" He asked.

"Yeah, we do," Rick answered. "We've got a good set up. It's as safe as it gets."

The two men looked at each other, seeming to contemplate this. It didn't take long for Barry to speak up.

"Is it possible for us to join? We'd pull our own weight."

Rick looked over at Michonne. They all knew the procedure, but he needed her opinion on whether to give them a chance or not. She just nodded slightly, so Rick asked the first question.

"How many walkers have you killed?"