Thanks, as always, for reading and reviewing the last chapter. I know I sound like a broken record, but you are appreciated and keep me motivated to continue writing. R&M are pretty good motivation, too. I know a lot of you were frustrated with Michonne-I'm sorry. Just keep reading. Also, dancer4life5, this story is from her POV, but I think you'll get more insight into Rick's thoughts in the next few installments.
Michonne came down the stairs in full uniform to find Rick, with Judith propped on his hip, setting up the coffee maker. He was dressed down in jeans and a tan button up shirt which she was surprised to see.
"Good Morning," she said walking into the kitchen to join them. She pulled out 2 mugs from the cabinet and set them in front of the machine so that she could pour a cup the minute it was ready. This was one of the small luxuries she was happy to have back in her life.
"Morning," he said in a soft voice, sleepiness still lingering.
"You want me to take her so you can finish getting ready?"
"I am ready," he said looking down over his outfit. "I was gonna come up after I got the coffee going to let you know you wouldn't need your uniform today."
"Why?" she asked suspiciously.
"Special project. You'll be more comfortable in something else. You'll probably wanna bring your sword, too. Just in case."
"Okay..." she replied dragging the end of the word out with obvious irritation as she turned and headed back upstairs to change.
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Rick and Michonne left the Armory where they had just checked out their guns and headed toward the gate where were met by Sasha who was there to let them out.
"You on watch today?" Rick asked.
"Yeah, I'm heading up to relieve Spencer in a few minutes."
"Good. We'll be out there a few hours."
"No problem. I'll keep an eye out for you," Sasha said as she opened the gate for them.
As soon as it shut behind them, Michonne turned to Rick, "So what does this special project entail?"
"Just gonna check the perimeter, scope out the area, see what we can see..."
"Did Deanna ask us to do this? Is there a specific concern?
"No, just thought it would be a good idea. We don't know this area and should."
"Fair enough," she said as they walked along and took in the new surroundings. She'd never been an outdoorsy type prior to the turn; her experience in the woods had been limited to a few bonfires in high school. They were practically a second home now, however. There was something comforting and familiar about being outside again. She started to smile to herself as she looked around her.
"What's up?" he asked noticing her smile.
"Nothing really. It's just, you think the woods are the woods, but it actually feels different from back home."
"Yeah, it does. You miss Georgia?"
She sighed thinking about it, "I miss it, but it's better we're gone. It was hard to see a place you knew so well become just a shell of what it was. I don't know anything different up here, so it feels like this is just how it is and always was. What about you?"
"I don't know. I feel like I should miss it, but I don't really feel one way or the other about leaving."
"Well, what do you think of this place?"
"It's good for the kids. You were right, we couldn't be out here anymore."
Michonne scrunched her face at his non-answer. "I asked what you thought about this place."
They had slowed to a stop and Rick stood looking at her with one hand on his hip and the other tugging at his lower lip distorting what she knew was a smile. "This is ironic coming from you, y'know," he said from behind his hand.
"It is. That being said, I'm sure you understand why I'm asking then..." she responded with a slight smirk of her own.
He dipped his head in deference. "Yes, I do." He paused for a second before answering her question, "I just don't think much about the place. I think about the kids. You. Our group. Our safety."
"So you don't like that we have a proper house, food on the table, and warm showers every night? None of that makes you happy?"
"Of course it's nice, but I don't need it. Doesn't matter where we are, the world isn't changing. The game is still the same."
"You're not wrong, but I don't see why you can't say that facing it from inside our community's walls is at least a little nicer than facing it from behind a prison gate or some other makeshift home."
He chuckled and shook his head, "You seem pretty defensive about this place. Weren't you telling me last night you were having trouble with the change and fitting in here?"
"Did you do this on purpose? Some kind of reverse psychology?" she asked begrudgingly.
"No, I wish I was that smart. I was just being honest. Seems you like this place more than you realized, though."
"It's not really a question of liking it. I do. It just brings up things..." she trailed off.
"Things?" he asked teasingly.
"Yeah. Things," she replied with finality. She knew was trying to cajole her into elaborating on her issues, but as cute as she found him at that moment, she wasn't going to do it, particularly since she was sensing for the first time that he wasn't as comfortable as she thought he was here. "We need to keep moving anyway. Come on."
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They continued walking quietly through the woods on the perimeter of the community for the better part of an hour, checking out the area and conversing here and there about anything of interest they saw which was not much at all. They finally heard the familiar rustle of leaves in the distance and turned to see a single walker about 20 feet away heading toward them. Rick glanced at his watch before resting his hand on the handle of his red machete.
"When's the last time you went an hour without seeing a walker outside?" he asked.
"Never?" she said as she reached back to pull her katana out of its holder. "I got it."
As she brought the sword around front, she felt Rick's hand rest upon hers on the sword's handle.
"Can I?" he asked. His face had an almost mischievous look that she had seen on his son before.
"Sure," she said smiling back as she let him take it from her hand. He held it out in front of him, turning it in his hand, taking a moment to admire the feel and design of it. He bounced his hand up and down twice to appreciate the weight of the sword which must have been different than he expected because she heard him let out a small 'huh' as he did it. He looked back at her with a small smile which she couldn't help but match two- fold. Something about watching him with her katana made her swell with unexpected emotion. Her face was taut with the kind of smile that you can't repress no matter how hard you try. He hung back matching her gaze and returning her smile until she urged him on. "Well, go get him before he gets us."
Rick took off in a light jog and took a quick crow hop for momentum before using his right hand to bring the blade through the walker's neck. The head came clean off with no resistance at all and fell to the ground quickly followed by the body. As Rick followed through with the swing of the blade, he lost his balance and had to bend his knees and brace the ground with his left hand to keep himself from falling to the ground.
"You don't need to use that much power. Let her do some of the work for you," she called out from behind him.
"No shit," he said as he steadied himself and stood admiring the blade in his hand. He looked up at her and just nodded, completely speechless, looking impressed with, if not in awe of the weapon.
"You're forgetting something," she said pointing to the blood dripping from the blade. He grinned when he realized what she meant and promptly dropped the blade to his side and with a flick of his wrist, cleared the blood. She nodded in approval as he made his way over to her. He was about to speak when the sound of leaves and grass rustling pulled their attention away again.
"Here come his friends,' Rick said in a low voice spotting about a dozen walkers moving toward them. "Here," he said handing over the katana.
"No, you take it," she said pushing his hand back toward him. She then reached for the machete hanging from his belt. "May I?"
"Please do," he said with a gravelly voice. She hadn't heard that tone in weeks. She used to think it had become his normal speaking voice, but in its recent absence, she realized it came out when he was in fight mode which they had been in perpetually for the past couple of months.
They stood side by side facing the small herd and quickly assessed the best tactic. "Let's split 'em straight down the middle. Half for me, half for you. Pull back and call if you need me," he said.
"Got it," she nodded. He looked at her square in the eye, and then gave the nod to go forward. They descended upon the small group and made quick work of taking them out with ease. As routine as it was, it still got the adrenaline pumping through them and took a fair amount of physical exertion, particularly since these were the first kills in a few weeks for both of them. They walked around the slayed walkers and back to their starting point where they stood side by side, weapons in hand both still breathing heavily.
Rick lifted his free hand and placed it at the nape of her neck, giving it a squeeze. She looked up and gave him a small smile, shaking her head, "Did we always get this winded?"
He looked down at her shaking his head no and they both started to laugh between breaths. "Come here," he said as he pulled her against his chest into a hug, one arm tightening around her upper body and the other still holding the katana at his side. She leaned into him without hesitation, circling her left arm around his waist, and slipping his machete back into the sheath hanging from his belt before wrapping her right arm around him as well. She turned her head so that the side of her face was flush against his chest and closed her eyes. Her breathing slowed in sync with his and she felt herself relaxing completely in his arms. She had been so stuck in her head and anxious around him for the past few weeks as she wrestled with her feelings for him, but she wasn't thinking at all right now and it felt completely right.
"Don't move," he whispered into the top of her head as she felt his hand drop down and grab hold of the sheath on her back. He raised her katana up and out to the side, then slowly and carefully placed it back in its holder. With both arms free, he wrapped them around her upper back and let his head sink down to rest on her head. With her head still resting against her chest, she opened her eyes to get her bearings and she was met with the site of decapitated walkers. She laughed to herself as she thought of what how fitting this moment was for them. Her eyes focused on the head closest to her which had the clean, signature mark of a kill from her katana. She was impressed with how well he did his first time with the sword, but she honestly wouldn't have expected anything less. Her eyes were drawn from the neck to the forehead of the walker which seemed to have a marking on it. She placed her palm against his chest and pulled her head away as she strained to get a better look.
Rick was jarred by the movement, "What's wrong?"
"It's forehead, is that some kind of mark?" she asked as she broke their embrace and walked over to kneel next to it for a closer look. He followed and took a knee as well, brushing the debris from its forehead to reveal a 'W' carved into it.
She looked at him, her jaw clenched and a pained look on her face that he'd seen before outside the gates of Shirewilt. He looked back at her and nodded showing that he recognized this marking, as well.