A/N: Thank you all for the reviews; Beautiful77; literaturechick; SBK; Guest; KK; kdthle23; simple1234; reneicygirl; zeejack; songbird11; sleepywitchysamurai; CodeName-M.e; thelisa17; Guestz; RichonneSlag; shipnation; Guest; and crypticnotions.
Rick, Rick, Rick; where do I even start? Lol you're all so right in saying he needs to get it together and actually talk to Michonne.
I love Carl so much and I think he sees a lot more that the adults think he does; he is so intuitive.
Okay, let's see what our faves are doing…
The sharp blade sliced through the air before severing a head from a rotting body. The walker fell to the ground as its still animated head rolled away a short distance; Michonne then drove her katana into the temple. It stopped chomping its jaws hideously as she placed her foot to its head and withdrew her sword. A rustling noise from behind Michonne caused her to spin swiftly and swing her sword, effectively lopping off the top of the head. She flicked her wrist and then the blood and brain matter flew unceremoniously from her blade.
Michonne squinted as she scanned the immediate area for any more threats that might be looming; there were no more walkers in sight and the sun was quickly setting. She felt serene after exerting her energy and focussing on felling walkers. She did not even feel as angry as she had before; it seemed to have faded away slowly like the light of the dying sun.
She placed her trusted weapon back into its sheath, looked over her shoulder once more and began to walk. If she had any intention of sleeping that night, the walk back to the Safe-Zone would help her weariness encompass her when she finally returned home. That is, if she even desired to return home to where Rick was. Maybe, she mused, she needed a little more time away.
…..
Sasha turned her head slightly as Michonne entered the watch tower. She was seated by the window and had the butt of her rifle resting against her lap. The women greeted each other.
"Mind if I sit a while?" Michonne asked.
"Not at all," replied Sasha. "I'm just not feeling too chatty right now."
Michonne nodded and slid down to the floor with her back to the wall.
"Neither am I," she laughed in response.
"Trouble in paradise?" Sasha asked.
So much for not being chatty, Michonne thought as she sighed.
"Something like that," she answered, knowing her friend was referring to Rick.
"Is Rick alright?" Sasha asked, her eyes still focussed outside.
Michonne thought about brushing the question off like she normally would have, but knew Sasha had accompanied Rick on their pre-emptive strike. Since they had not had the chance to discuss details of the mission, Michonne thought she might be able to gain some insights from Sasha.
"I don't know," she answered Sasha, who now chose to look at her with eyebrows raised.
"What?" Michonne asked.
"I find that hard to believe," she replied. "You can read him like a book."
Michonne laughed.
"That maybe so, but I'm not sure right now. How was he on the run?"
"Focussed. Intense. Same as always," said Sasha. "Though he did say somethin' that was a little odd."
"Really? What did he say?" asked Michonne.
"Did he tell you about what we ran into?" Sasha asked.
"Yeah, he mentioned a few of their people waiting to ambush you guys and then Aaron was grazed by a bullet," Michonne replied.
"Right. Well, we caught one of them and started asking some questions. They weren't gonna give anything up to us, but Abraham has his ways of getting someone to talk. The guy was finally talking when Rick came over and asked him if he knew someone named Morgan Jones."
"What did he say to that?" Michonne asked.
"He said he didn't know the man. Rick stuck him with a knife, twisted it and asked again. He still said he had no idea who that was. He seemed satisfied with his answer," Sasha said.
"And you wanna know why he was askin' that in the first place, uh?" asked Michonne.
Sasha nodded.
"This new guy, I thought he was Rick's friend…"
"He is. He saved Rick's life in the beginning," Michonne answered, seemingly quick to leap to Morgan's defence; something that Sasha did not miss.
"Well why is Rick asking if those Wolves knew him? Can we trust him?" queried Sasha.
"Rick is being Rick. Who knows why he does the things he does?" Michonne replied.
"You know why he does what he does, more than any of us. If Rick doesn't trust his friend anymore, should we?" Sasha asked.
She realized now that Rick's paranoia surrounding Morgan was most likely getting the best of him and impacting on others in the group.
"Look. All I know is that Morgan saved Rick's life, so he's one of us. It would have to take him threatening one of our lives to change that. I trust him. I can't speak for Rick, but my word must be worth somethin' around here," said Michonne.
Sasha nodded.
"It is," she offered.
xXxXx
I keep it all inside, and I keep going, Rick thought as he waited for Michonne to return home from her dinner date with Morgan.
That's what I do; I don't talk about what I'm feeling.
He checked his watch again and noticed that the time was passing and Michonne had yet to waltz through their door.
That's gotta change.
The slight throbbing in his temple began to increase as Rick reclined on the sofa and closed his eyes. He practiced all of the things he was going to say to Michonne in his head. How he planned on telling her he needed her and that he wanted her. How he was sorry for causing her to suffer any added stresses. He was determined not to stand in front of her and remain silent; he would speak his mind and from his heart when next he saw her.
…..
There was a crick in Rick's neck as he stretched out on the sofa; in his tired state, he had slept right through the night. That had not happened in some time. He chalked it up to being exhausted from the events of the past few days. He glanced towards the window and noticed that the sun was just beginning to light the sky.
He knew right away that Michonne was most likely not home; she would have woken him and told him to go to bed if she was. Maybe she was still too upset with him, he mused. Rick sighed and sat up. He would endeavour upstairs and see if she was home; he silently promised himself that he would not argue with her when he saw her that day.
…..
Michonne clenched her eyes shut tightly and let her head roll backwards at the start of her pleasure. An eager, hungry mouth explored her skin, eliciting a small whimper from her. Her own mouth fell open into a small 'O' shape as a firm hand travelled over her body. Soon, the mouth caught hers in a heated kiss as it supressed an even louder moan that escaped her throat at the sensation of being entered. Only, it was not Rick that was pleasuring Michonne in his mind's eye; it was Morgan.
Rick shook his head in an attempt to force the images from his mind as he stepped out of the shower. He towelled himself off roughly and hurriedly and sought his clothing. After dressing, Rick checked the time on his wrist watch once again, put it on his left arm and exited the bathroom.
He soon found Carl and Judith in the living room after Carl had tidied up what was left over from breakfast.
"She home yet?" Rick asked his son.
The teen shook his head.
"No. Not yet. What the hell, Dad? She's never stayed away all night before. What did you do?" Carl asked of his father.
"Excuse me?" said Rick. "What are you tryin' to say?"
Carl shrugged.
"I dunno; it's just that I know she was upset with you yesterday…"
"That ain't your business…"
"Fine. But you better fix whatever it is that you did; I'm about to take Judith to Maggie," Carl said as he took his little sister to his father so that he could offer her a kiss.
Rick embraced his daughter, passed her back to Carl and watched the both of them head for the door.
"Son," Rick called before Carl stepped outside. "I'll fix it."
xXxXx
Rick took a deep breath as he approached Morgan's front door; it was almost nine-thirty in the morning and Michonne had still failed to return to their home. Rick was beginning to grow more worried. He figured since she had dined with Morgan the night before, maybe she was still there. Rick shuddered at the thought of why she might have spent the night at his friend's home; the images from earlier flashed in his mind. Part of him hoped that she was there so that he did not let those other thoughts invade his mind. Thoughts of her lying injured somewhere after having run away, like she had done so many times back at the prison. Rick lifted his fist and knocked firmly on the door.
After waiting a short moment, Rick was greeted by Morgan who was dressed and ready to begin his day; he was rostered on perimeter check and knew Abraham and Tara would be seeking to be relieved of their duty soon.
"Come on in," said Morgan as he stepped aside and let Rick through his door. "I'm almost ready to check the perimeter but I got a minute to talk."
"Who are you partnered with?" Rick asked, looking around the small living space for any sign of Michonne.
"Aaron," replied Morgan. "Say, Rick; was there somethin' I could help you with or is this just a friendly visit?"
Rick shifted his weight from his right leg to his left.
"Is Michonne here?" Rick asked, getting to the point of why he was there.
"No. Why would she be here?" Morgan responded, confused.
"Because this is where she was last night, right? Y'all had dinner plans or somethin'," said Rick.
"She blew me off. Said she needed time alone. I haven't seen her since yesterday afternoon. What's goin' on, Rick? Is Michonne in trouble?" asked Morgan, clearly concerned for the wellbeing of his new friend.
"I don't know. She didn't come home last night, so I thought she was here with you tryin' to get back at me," he offered as he placed his hands on his hips and began to pace.
Morgan understood what his friend was implying.
"Look, Rick, I'm not sure what you're thinkin'…"
"I'm thinkin' you're screwin' Michonne," Rick said bluntly.
Morgan dropped his head.
"I'm not. But if I was, I don't see how that'd be any o' your concern," he replied.
Rick squinted his eyes and closed some of the distance between them.
"Is that right?" he asked flatly.
"Rick, what's this about? You obviously care about her…"
"Obviously. So why are you goin' out of your way to spend time with her?" he asked.
Morgan shook his head.
"Because I like her company. It's good to have someone to talk to. I'm not doin' it to spite you, if that's what you think. I thought we were all friends here," Morgan said.
Rick sighed.
"We are all friends. I'm sorry. I don't know what I'm tryin' to say here," he offered as he rubbed his creased brow.
"You care about Michonne, don't you? You have feelings for her?" Morgan asked, already knowing the answer.
Rick nodded his head and then looked at the floor.
"Yeah, I do," he proffered. "Of course I do."
Morgan smiled a little as Rick chortled slightly.
"Shit. That's the first time I admitted it out loud," he said, glancing back at his friend.
"Does she know this?" Morgan queried, fairly certain he knew the answer to this question as well.
"I don't think so. I mean I haven't told her. Hell, I haven't even been civil with her these past couple o' days," Rick explained.
"She cares about you too. I can tell by the way her eyes light up when she sees you. You should find her and talk to her," Morgan said just as there was a knock on his door; it was Aaron who had come to collect him.
"I will," replied Rick.
xXxXx
The obvious places to look for Michonne were Maggie and Glenn's house and the watch tower. Rick knocked two times on the door of the former before opening it and entering. He sighed with relief when he saw Michonne sitting next to Carl on the sofa; she was holding Judith while Carl looked upset.
"Hey, what's goin' on?" Rick asked. "Where were you? I was worried sick."
"Sorry. I was with Sasha taking watch. I should've said somethin', I know," Michonne explained in an attempt to quell Rick's anger before it started.
She was tired of arguing with him; she just wanted some peace in her life.
"It's fine, as long as you're okay," he offered softly to her surprise.
Carl stood, looked at them both and rolled his eyes before stomping off in a fit of displeasure, but not before he shot his father a disdainful glare. Rick watched his son leave in a huff, before he threw Michonne a questioning glance.
"He's upset," she said.
"No shit. Should I go after him?" Rick asked.
"No, he just needs some time alone. Which reminds me, can we talk?" Michonne asked of Rick.
"Sure. I was just gonna say the same thing to you," he replied while taking a seat next to her.
"What did you want to talk about?" she asked, pleased that Rick seemed calmer than he had when they had their last conversation.
"Oh, no, you go first," he said with a small smile.
Michonne did not smile back at him as she drew in a deep breath.
"Okay," she started. "Rick, I think I'm gonna find somewhere else to stay."
