Chapter 9: Waiting
Michonne was awaken by gentle kisses on her shoulder from Rick. She sighed happily, "Rick…" She said softly.
"Hmm?" Said Rick as he continued kissing her shoulder.
"You're kids are gonna be home soon Grimes…" said Michonne turning so she was facing him. "And I would like to change before they get here."
"Or you can stay in the clothes you came here in and we can get…." He turned back to look at the clock on his night stand "...30 minutes before they come home…" He said, as he leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips.
Michonne accepted his kiss but pulled back when she felt the kiss becoming more intense. "I'm gonna go pick my shirt off from your staircase and go home and change. And you are gonna get this house ready for your kids."
Rick sighed but nodded, "alright...go before I make you stay." He said with a smirk.
Michonne chuckled lightly and slipped out of bed, "don't miss me too much Grimes."
"I'll try." He said with a smile.
A little under an hour later Michonne had made her way back to Rick's house and was now standing at his door and could hear Judith's high pitched screams from inside. She rang the doorbell and smiled when Carl opened the door. "Hey kid." She said, entering the home.
"Hey Michonne." Carl said with a smile. "Judy! Guess who's here!" He called out to his sister.
Judith rounded the corner and squealed seeing Michonne and ran towards her. "Aunt Michonne! I missed you! Daddy is terrible with hide and seek! Can you teach him later? Can we play later? How long are you staying for? I missed you!" Judith said quickly as Michonne swept her into her arms and held her.
Michonne laughed lightly at the excited child, "I missed you too! And yes we can play hide and seek later don't worry. Speaking of dad, where is he?"
"In the kitchen." Carl responded as Michonne set Judith back down on the floor.
"Please don't tell me he's cooking." Michonne said, playfully.
"Thankfully not...what are the chances of you cooking dinner for us tonight?" Asked Carl hopefully.
Michonne chuckled lightly, "yes I'll cook dinner for you guys. Let me go talk to your dad real quick." She said with a smile, then turning away to meet Rick in the kitchen. "Hey…" She said softly.
Rick turned to her and smiled, walking over to her. "Hey...you ready?"
Michonne shrugged a bit, "not really but we just gotta do it. Like ripping off a band aid."
Rick nodded and kissed her gently on the forehead, "they will be happy. Trust me. Come on." He said, walking out of the kitchen with Michonne following behind him. "Carl! Judith! Come to the living room, we gotta talk to you!"
Judith ran into the living room with Carl walking behind her. Carl walked over to his dad and Michonne and spoke in a low voice, "Uh I'm not about to get double teamed with the sex talk right? I already got dad's version I don't need another."
Rick sighed, "No Carl we are not going to give you the sex talk now go sit down."
"What's sex?" Asked Judith curiously as she looked up at her father.
"Oh my god…." Mumbled Rick.
"This is turning out great…" Said Michonne in a low voice to Rick. She turned to Judith, "Judy if you sit down on the couch right next to Carl once me and your dad are done talking you can get chocolate!" Judith gasped excitedly and hopped onto the couch quickly forgetting about her previous question as she waited patiently.
Rick sent a glance over to Michonne that read thank you and he took seat in front of his kids on his coffee table with Michonne sitting next to him. "Alright so uh…you guys know dad has been single for a while..."
"A long while…" Said Carl.
"A longggg while!" Said Judith mimicking her older brother happily.
Rick sighed and shared glances with Michonne again. She shrugged as if to say I don't know what you expect me to do here and Rick turned back to his kids. "Well uh...I started seeing someone...recently…"
Carl squinted slightly and glanced at Michonne then back at his dad. "And uh...just how recently dad?" He asked, quizzically.
"How recently dad?" Judith asked, clearly not connecting things like Carl did but still mimicking her brother.
Rick ran his hand through his hair and sighed slightly. "Recently…"
"Who is she?" Asked Carl, his glance was now fixated on Michonne and she was now glancing at Rick beginning to get slightly uncomfortable.
"Uh well...she is...sitting next to me so…" Rick said a bit awkwardly.
"But daddy that's Aunt Michonne!" Said Judith clearly confused.
Carl broke out into a wide smile, "that's right Judy...that is Aunt Michonne!"
Rick nudged Michonne lightly cueing her that is was now her turn to speak. Michonne sighed a bit, taking the hint. "Yes...your dad and I are in a relationship now…"
"So...daddy and aunt Michonne are gonna kiss now?" Asked Judith still trying to understand this new relationship.
"Um well…" Michonne started, "we do kiss now so…"
"And hold hands?" Asked Judith.
"Yes and hold…"
"Okay!" Judith said satisfied with these answers and now beginning to scoot off the couch. "Can I have chocolate now?" She asked, happily.
Rick smiled softly at her, satisfied that his daughter was easy to please. "Go wait in the kitchen and I'll give you your chocolate."
"Okay!" She said excitedly as she ran off to the kitchen to wait for her chocolate.
Rick watched her run off and then turned back to his son. "Carl…?"
Carl smiled widely, "its cool dad."
"Yeah?" Asked Rick.
Carl smiled and nodded, "I want you to be happy dad. And I love Michonne and I want her to be happy. So it's cool. Besides I need someone in this house that's at least kind of cool." He said with a smile.
Michonne smiled, "thank you Carl," she leaned in and gave him a soft kiss on the forehead. "And I'm way cooler then you don't get ahead of yourself."
Carl laughed lightly, "You're dating my dad there's no way you're cooler than me."
"Daddy! Chocolate! Please!" Shouted Judith from the kitchen clearly growing impatient.
Rick chuckled a bit at his daughter as he and Michonne got up from the coffee table. "Let me go get her chocolate….Thank you Carl." He said, with a smile.
"Yeah, yeah just don't go in for the kiss alright?" Carl said with a smirk.
"Daddy!" Judith shouted again.
Rick chuckled lightly at his son and turned toward the kitchen, "coming Judy!" He shouted back as he wrapped his arm around Michonne's waist and kissed her lightly on the cheek.
"And the PDA starts…" Said Carl with a playful roll of the eyes.
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A few days later
Rick and his friends were in their local bar waiting for the arrival of the mysterious girl Rick was now dating. "So...you dating someone now?" Asked Daryl squinting at his friend.
Rick nodded, "yup." He took a sip of his beer as his friend looked at him quizzically.
"...when you start seeing someone?" Daryl asked.
Rick shrugged a bit, "a few days ago."
"...hm." Responded Daryl attempting to figure out who his friend was now seeing, as it was unusual for their large group of friends to meet whoever he was dating just after a few days.
Rick noticed his friend eying him and decided a change of topic would be nice, "So, how's the pregnant wife?" He asked with a smile.
Daryl sighed and shook his head, "When she aint puking she's crying and when she aint crying she wants tacos at 3 in the morning. What's open here at 3am?"
Rick chuckled at his friend, "Nothing."
"Nothing!" Exclaimed Daryl "I said, 'girl, can't you let the baby know that everything closes at 10 here' She starts crying! Doc said it's gonna be like this for a while."
Rick chuckled again, "Once you get to hold your kid it'll be worth it."
Daryl sighed and nodded, "Yup just a few more months of 'Daryl why don't you love me enough to get me chicken tacos at 3 o'clock in the morning!'"
Rick laughed, "She is not that bad!"
Daryl eyed his friend, "Trust me she is!"
As Rick laughed at his friend the front door of the bar opened and Michonne stepped in. She had just gotten off of work and was still wearing her work clothes, a white pencil skirt and a dark blue blouse tucked into it. She smiled and gave her surrounding friends a kiss on the cheek, greeting them each as she made her way around the bar. She paused when she got to Sasha briefly talking to her stomach and then greeting her friend. Rick watched her as she moved around the room, she laughed brightly when one of them told a joke and nodded along to their stories to show that was paying attention. She seemed to fill the room with the little things she did and while they were simple he couldn't take his eyes off of her. She turned back for a moment as if she knew he was watching and gave him a smile and a small wave then turned back to her conversation. Rick smiled at her small interaction with him immediately feeling warm when her energy was focused on him.
"Rick! Hey! Hello? Anyone home?" Asked Daryl who was trying to get his friend attention for a few minutes now.
Rick glanced over at his friend and reluctantly pulled his eyes off of Michonne. "Yeah?"
Daryl sighed but brushed off his friend's moment, "Is this girl of yours planning on getting here anytime soon? Or are we just here for shits and giggles?"
Rick nodded and place one hand on his friend's shoulder. "She'll be here. I'm gonna go talk to 'Chonne." He said with a pat of shoulder, leaving his friend before he can say anything.
Michonne was talking to Sasha about her latest tribulations with her pregnancy, "Sasha, you are not going to get tacos in this town at 3 in the morning you need to let your man sleep." She said, playfully scolding her friend.
"Okay but hear me out. Atlanta is like an hour away. He drives there at around 11 they have that great taco place there. You know, they're always open late! So anyways, he drives there, comes back, and then when it's taco time you pop them bad boys in the oven and boom! Happy pregnant lady getting her 3 am tacos." Sasha said with a smile.
Michonne laughed at her friend, turning when she felt two familiar fingers pressed against her arm. She smiled and turned around, greeting Rick. "Hey Grimes."
"Hey...am I interrupting something?'
"No, talk! I'm going to go tell my husband my taco plan. Tell your girlfriend she better hurry up or I won't get my tacos for tonight!" Sasha said, pointing a finger at Rick and then walking over to her husband.
Rick chuckled at Sasha and turned to Michonne, "I thought Daryl was just being dramatic when he told me about her taco craving."
Michonne shook her head, "Oh no she's serious about tacos." She said with a smile. "So….what's up?"
Rick smiled, lightly brushing his hand against hers. "I missed you."
"You saw me last night."
"Doesn't change the fact that I missed you."
Michonne smiled brightly, "You think they figured it out yet?" She asked, pointing her chin in the direction of their surrounding friends.
Rick shook his head, "Daryl looked kind of suspicious but I don't think he knows." He paused, looking her up and down and then returning to her eyes. "You ready?"
Michonne nodded and smiled, "No more waiting Grimes." She gently cupped his face with one hand and leaned in, giving him a gentle kiss on the cheek and then dropped her hand from his face. "Come on, they're getting restless." She said, leading Rick to the middle of the room.
Rick blushed a little and followed behind her, their fingertips lightly touching. He cleared his throat a bit to get the attention of his friends, "Uh sorry for the wait guys." He spoke to his friends.
"The babysitter has the kid tell your girl to take her time!" Responded Glenn, gaining light laughter from their friend.
Rick chuckled a bit, "Thanks Glenn but she just got here." Rick said with a soft smile, glancing over at Michonne.
"Where is she then?" Asked Glenn looking around, besides the usual's who were always in the bar the only other people in the bar were them.
Michonne stepped in front of Rick and smiled gently at him. "No more waiting." She said in a low voice so only he can hear.
Rick smiled and nodded at her, "No more waiting." He wrapped one arm around her waist and leaned in, kissing her softly.
At first the bar was quiet only a few soft gasps as they kissed and then finally the silence was broken. "I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!" Said Sasha excitedly jumping up and down.
"It's about damn time…" Said Daryl with a smirk on his face.
"Wait, when did this happen?" Asked Glenn, glancing over at Maggie.
"Glenn, this was a long time in the making." Maggie responded with a smile as she looked over at the new couple.
"No one told me! You guys really should let me in on these things." Responded Glenn.
"Honey, now you know you just don't pick on some things sometimes." Said Maggie.
Glenn shook his head and sighed slightly, "Okay but the next time someone wants to date someone in this group I want to be the first to know!"
Maggie chuckled at her husband, "Sure Glenn."
Michonne pulled away from Rick and smiled. "That was good, Grimes."
Rick smiled and nodded, still holding her close to him. "I agree."
"Um, excuse me!" Sasha said, walking up to her friends. "Michonne if I'm not mistaken I was right!" She said with a wide smile.
Michonne laughed lightly and nodded, "Yes Sasha you were right."
Sasha sighed a bit and shook her head, "I really should have betted on this I would have made so much money! ….How far along would you say marriage is?" Sasha asked, trying to gauge if she can make a bet off of the possibility of a marriage proposal.
Michonne chuckled, "Goodbye Sasha!"
Sasha smiled, "Alright, I'm going...but I'm watching for the signs." She said pointing to her eyes and then pointing at them before walking off.
Rick and Michonne laughed at their friend as she walked off. Rick turned back to Michonne and smiled, "I think they are happy."
Michonne smiled and nodded, "I think so too….I'm happy." She said softly.
Rick smiled and kissed her softly again, he pulled away a bit. "I love you."
Michonne smiled at his words and slipped her hand in his hands, "I love you too Grimes."