A/N: Just wanted to give a little note as to the timing of this chapter. It picks up present day which is about 3 weeks from the party flashback that was heavily featured in the last 2 updates. It's not too exciting, but it's a necessary transition for the next few chapters. Thank you to those of you who reviewed the story and fav'd it, it's honestly so flattering and motivating. I'm happy that I'm able to put something out that to help make the hiatus a little easier to bear. Enjoy!

A loud bang woke Michonne up from a dead sleep with a gasp. She could feel her pulse pounding in her head and chest, and she had a moment of complete disorientation before she realized she was safe in her new bedroom. The sound that woke her was coming from someone knocking on the front door. She reached over to check the alarm clock on her nightstand which read 4:45 PM.

"Shit," she muttered as she rubbed her eyes and hopped out of bed. She grabbed the jeans draped over the bench at the end of her bed and threw them on, zipping and buttoning them up as she raced down the stairs to answer the door. The knocking was growing louder and more incessant. "Coming!" she called out.

When she opened the door, the scene in front of her furthered her sense of disorientation. Eugene stood before her with Judith facing forward, feet dangling free in the air, as he gripped her with his hands at her sides. At the sight of Michonne, he extended the baby towards her.

"Rick is delayed at work and he asked me to return the children to their home. If you could please confirm receipt, I would be grateful and I will be on my way."

Before she could speak, Carl pushed passed her into the house clearly having no tolerance for this situation. She grabbed the baby from Eugene's hands and cradled her against her chest. "Did he say anything else? Is everything OK?"

"No ma'am, he did not give me any details, but he did not appear to be in any distress."

She furrowed her brow as she tried to make sense of what was going on, "But how...why..."

"Why me? I ran into him on the street. That is all of the information I have. If you'll excuse me, I need to get going. Good day, Michonne," he said as he turned around and walked away.

She shut the door and walked over to Carl who was sitting on the couch emptying the contents of his book bag on to the coffee table. "What was that all about?" she asked.

"I don't know. He was waiting with Judith when I came out of school. He said Dad asked him to walk us home. Why didn't he just send you?"

"I went home early, so I wasn't with him. Did everything seem OK out there?"

"Yeah, normal day. I wouldn't worry," he said without concern as he started on his homework. "Oh hey, can we have that stir fry you made the other night for dinner again?"

"Yeah, we can do that. We'll plan to eat in about an hour."

_

As they sat at the dinner table quietly eating their food, Michonne looked up to check the clock in between nearly every bite of food. Logically she knew everything was fine, but she couldn't suppress the urge to check. If there was something wrong, he would have figured out a way to let her know.

"I can watch Judith if you want to go check on dad," Carl said noticing she was distracted.

"No. No need. I'm sure it's nothing. Eat up."

"What is Judy thinking right now?" he asked with a smile.

Michonne let out a small laugh and smiled back at him. He was referring to one of the many made up games they had on the road to pass time and amuse themselves. She looked over at Judith who was using both hands to smear her food around on her plate.

"She's thinking, oh my god, I am so over mashed lima beans, people."

Carl laughed and added in, "Watch out because when I can walk and eat real food, I'm gonna destroy your candy stash."

Michonne gasped, "I did not even think about that. This could be a major problem. Hopefully she'll have your dad's lack of a sweet tooth and stay away from of our stash."

"We can start brain washing her now," Carl said turning his attention to the baby. "You love lima beans and peas. They are the tastiest foods in the world." The baby started to giggle which made Michonne and Carl laugh.

"This feels wrong," she said laughing while Carl continued trying to convince Judith of her love of vegetables.

In the midst of their game, the door opened and Rick walked in to find Michonne and his children laughing at the dinner table. As he made his way over to them, a smile spread across his face. "What's going on here?"

"Nothing, just having a little talk with Judith," Carl said.

"She talkin' back?" he asked as he took his jacket off and draped it over the back of an empty chair at the dining table.

"Not yet," he answered smirking.

"You're gonna be sorry when she does, son. She's gonna give you hell. You have to expect some trouble from a little girl with a nickname like Lil Asskicker," he said grinning as he made his way into the kitchen to fix a plate. Michonne followed him with her eyes trying to get a read on him.

"Everything OK?" she called out.

"Everything's fine," he said meeting her eyes and giving her a reassuring nod. "How was school today, Carl?" he asked as he walked back over to the table with his plate and took a seat.

After putting Judith down for the night, Rick made his way downstairs to find that Michonne had already cleared the table and was getting ready to wash dishes. As he entered the kitchen, he called out to Michonne, "I'll take care of those."

"It's OK, I got it."

"You made dinner. Get," he said as he came up beside her at the sink and nudged her to the side. She relented and handed him the dish in her hand, then stepped aside to lean against the counter.

"So what happened?" she asked unable to contain her curiosity anymore.

He paused and looked at her, "Hey, how are you feeling?"

She exhaled; frustrated that he was delaying the conversation. "I feel...better. Fine now, actually."

"Good. What do you think it was?"

She sighed again, "I don't know...just tired or a 24 hour flu or something."

"Hmm." He nodded and went back to washing dishes.

"So?"

"It was nothing, just broke up a little marital spat."

"Between whom?"

"You remember the doctor and the blonde woman from the party?" he asked. She nodded. "He had too much to drink, and they got into an argument on their front porch, so I broke it up. He's sleeping it off on the couch in his clinic, and she's cooling down at home. No big deal."

"Has this happened before?"

"Not that they'd admit to, but I'm sure it has. That's how these things go. We'll just keep an eye on it."

"You could have gotten me. I told you to let me know if anything happened."

"You weren't feeling well. I didn't have anything to do all day until I was about to walk out the door and their neighbor got me and asked me to intervene. No big deal. You know how many of these calls I've gone on before?"

"I know you can handle it. I just feel bad that I wasn't there."

"Well, don't." He finished the washing the last plate and placed it in the drying rack then turned to his side, resting his hip against the counter so that he was fully facing her. He looked at her intently enough that she had to turn her head to break their gaze.

"What?" she asked.

"What's wrong?"

"Rick..."

"What's going on lately? Is it this place? Me? The kids too much for you?"

She gave him a stern look for suggesting that the kids were a problem. She'd already promised him she was done taking breaks and had shown her commitment to his children.

"I know, but things change," he said acknowledging her look. "You gotta give me something, though. You don't like the job? The uniform?"

"I do hate the uniform,' she said with a small smile.

"So that's what's up? You don't like the uniform," he said smiling. He took a step towards her and lowered his head to look at her again. She wasn't off the hook.

I can't concentrate when you're standing this close to me lately? or I'm having trouble being your friend right now because I feel like I want more and I am afraid to fuck things up? These were the most truthful options, but she couldn't bring herself to say any of those words. She wasn't even that concerned about being turned down, but she would probably always question whether he just went with it for practical purposes and lack of options or whether he really wanted it, as well. She questioned whether it would even matter, but the fact that she worried about it only confirmed her answer. She wanted it all, but only if it was real.

"I just don't feel like myself right now. I don't know what else to tell you. I'm trying to figure out where I fit in here," she said simply. Vague, but not a completely dishonest answer. Rick just nodded quietly. "It's probably hard for you to understand because this feels more like real life for you, but it's a lot of change for me."

He looked to the ceiling and grinned, "I wouldn't exactly say that, but I could see why you would. Look, I want to help you however I can. You wanna talk? We can talk. You need space? Take it. Just let me know."

"I appreciate that, but I'm gonna work it out."

"OK," he responded looking less than convinced. "I'm gonna hit the shower and head to bed. I'll see ya tomorrow morning."

"Yep. Good night." He gave her a light pat on her upper arm, then turned to head upstairs. She watched him until he disappeared from her sight, then she turned and gripped the counter with both hands, cursing herself under her breath. Despite trying to keep their friendship intact, she felt as though she had just created a tiny crack that could grow if she kept down this path.