"Michonne?"

She turned her head slowly to the right, surprised at being directly addressed by Morgan for the first time ever. He was Rick's friend, and any interaction she'd had with him until that point was through their mutual friend.

"Yeah?"

"Back when you were in that place…" She tilted her head with as he left her hanging with his bizarre start; one bizarre enough that it had piqued Rick's interest, as well, as he began to listen in to their exchange. "...where I lived... did you take one of my protein bars?"

Michonne's face stayed frozen for a beat as the actual question sunk in, then her face relaxed and she straightened back up, huffing out a short laugh before answering.

"No."

"See, I could have sworn there was one more peanut butter left."

She rolled her head forward and sighed. "That's how it is, isn't it? You always think there's one more peanut butter left…"

And just like that, silence fell over the trio again as they stood in the middle of the road awaiting the approaching herd.

"You figure we have about ten or fifteen minutes before they get here?" she asked glancing over at Rick.

"At least."

"I'm gonna grab another round from the RV then." He looked over to see her patting the holstered gun on her left hip. "Just in case."

He nodded then watched as she walked straight ahead to the parked RV. Gun, katana, tank, and leather vest; a familiar and fitting ensemble for one of their first forays to the outside the walls again.

"Be right back," he muttered to Morgan before taking off for the RV himself.

He climbed up rickety metal steps and opened the door to find her on her knees in the narrow aisle of the living area, digging through the drawer tucked under the small bench seat. She looked up at the loud creaking sound made by the rusted door to find Rick closing it behind him.

"I thought we put the supplies down here," she said before continuing to dig through the contents of the drawer.

He stepped to her side and opened one of the cabinets mounted just above the window, quickly finding a spare magazine for her gun. He took it in his hand and lowered it to his side to flash in front of her eyes. She shut the drawer and stood up finding herself face to face with him then gave him a curious look, having sworn she was looking in the right place

"I couldn't sleep last night and ended up rearranging some things," he explained as he offered it to her.

"Thanks."

He watched as she looked down and busied herself with checking the clip in her gun then finding a spare space on her person for the extra ammo. She was deft with her gun now, and while she was never bad at the beginning, she had certainly taken her training seriously and it showed.

"Hey Michonne?"

"Yeah?" she asked, her eyes still focused on her gun as she slid it back into her holster.

"When you were back in that place…" he started slowly, the feeling of deja vu causing her to look up at him in confusion, "I told you not to steal his food," he finished seriously, though the slight grin tugging at the corner of her mouth gave him away.

"Shut up," she said as she shook her head.

"You got caught," he said, that grin just a little more prominent now, and definitely smug.

"He scared the hell out of me starting off like that...back in that place…" she repeated, shaking her head, "because I've been in some places, and I wasn't interested in having that conversation with him."

Rick laughed knowingly because he'd certainly gone places, too; in fact, he was coming to see that he was still gone, but starting to feel a little more like himself with each day lately.

"I didn't take his damn peanut butter bar, though," she stated for the record. "Crackers? Yes, but not that bar."

"Uh huh."

"I didn't," she reiterated. "It's funny, though...I've noticed that peanut butter goes fast in our house. I could have sworn I opened up a new jar a few days ago, and there's maybe a quarter left?"

"Hmm." He nodded and squinted his eyes with exaggerated interest.

"Yeah, that's a lot of peanut butter. A whole lot...like I can just picture someone sitting there eating it by the spoonful right out of the jar in the middle of the night. I wouldn't put it past someone like that to steal a peanut butter bar…"

"We should probably get on that problem next…"

"We should…" she replied dryly. She stayed straight-faced staring back at him for a moment before he finally turned his head away with a small smirk, amused by their small exchange, but still unwilling to confirm or deny his involvement in this incident.

"That all you need?" he asked as he glanced back at her and nodded at the gun.

"Yeah."

"We good with the plan?" he asked, taking advantage of their alone time to discuss strategy if needed.

"Still good."

"All right," he said as he turned to the side to allow her to pass by him, clapping his hand on her shoulder as she did. He walked out behind her, feeling a bit more at ease; her confidence made him more confident. Their plan hadn't gone as scheduled, but it was going according to plan. They'd hit their marks, do what they needed to do, and get home in time for dinner; just a normal day's work he told himself.

xxx

"It's coming from back home. It has to be," Dev said of the interminable horn-like sound that had been blaring for the past few minutes.

He looked to Michonne, standing by his side, as they paused to wait for the stragglers to catch up with them. He used the moment to catch his breath, as well, since the constant running and burst of adrenaline had him winded.

"He did this," one of the Alexandrians huffed out as he approached them. "He brought us all out here to die. He killed Carter," he said pointing ahead at Rick.

Michonne's face contorted at his fundamental lack of understanding. The walker bite to the face had killed Carter, Rick's knife to the back of his head had ended his suffering and saved the rest of the group.

"Carter was dead already," she spat back causing Dev to look over at her, having never heard her use that tone of voice.

"Now they're in trouble back there and we're done. We're good as dead," the man rattled on with panic.

"Hey, calm down," she commanded.

"What the hell are you talking about? We are done. And it's 'cause of him."

Michonne didn't have the time or the patience for this conversation or this man any longer.

"Shut up and move. Come on," she hissed. He stared back at for a moment, unhappy with her directive. Dev looked between his new and old friend, realizing that they wouldn't find any understanding with each other now.

"Whatever happened, it doesn't change the fact that there's still only one way out," Dev explained calmly. "We all just want to get home."

The man nodded and picked up his pace again, running ahead as Dev and Michonne hung back to take up the rear.

"He's scared, Michonne," he said in a hushed voice as he caught her eye before they started moving again.

"I understand which is all the more reason he needs to stop thinking and just do as told right now. If they stay in line, we can keep everyone alive," she assured him, her voice softer, but unapologetic. She turned her eyes forward then launched back into a run to meet back up with the group that had gathered in a clearing a few yards ahead. As she came up to the group, Rick began to address them.

"All right, listen up. Here's the new plan. I go back, get the RV, circle around the woods on Redding. I'll get in front of them before they get there. I can lead them away again. RV's a mile back."

"I can go with you," David volunteered.

"I'll handle it. Just get home. They might need you there," he said before seeking out his people. "Glenn, Michonne."

They looked at each other then left the group to follow Rick who had begun walking away, seeking some privacy.

"If something's in front of you, you kill it," he began before arriving to a spot out of earshot from the others. He stopped and turned to face them. "No hiding, no waiting. You keep going," he said adamantly as he looked between them.

"I'm going with you," Glenn said. "You can't do this on your own."

"Glenn, I can do this," Rick stressed.

"You need to help me," Michonne whispered to Glenn. "We've got to get these people back."

"Yeah. Thing is, they aren't all gonna make it," Rick said in response to her ambitious statement.

"Rick," she chided.

"You try to save them, you try," he allowed, "but if hey can't keep up, you keep going. You have to. You make sure you get back," he said as his eyes darted between his two friends before landing on hers and holding her gaze for a moment. He didn't dare tell her what to do, but he needed her to hear that. She nodded slightly before breaking eye contact with him, looking down at her side where she pulled her extra magazine out of her holster.

"Here," she said offering it to him. "Take it."

He kept his hands on his hips, not making a move to accept her offer.

"No, you grabbed it for a reason."

"I've got back up, you won't," she pointed out as she extended her hand further toward him.

He looked down at the extra ammo in her hand, and sighed, wanting to tell her that all she had were liabilities and no back up at all, but he refrained and just shook his head to decline her offer. Any push back from her, though, was interrupted by the sound of screaming coming from behind them. Rick, Glenn, and Michonne instinctively broke into a full sprint to find one of their group members, separated from the rest, struggling on the ground under the cover of a walker.

"Oh, God! Oh, God!" he cried out as Rick bent down and tore the walker from him, taking the skin covering his throat with him in his teeth. Michonne quickly dispatched the walker by driving her katana through its skull.

Dev, now joined by the the others, looked on in horror as their friend laid on the ground, choking on his own blood. Michonne looked up at their terrified faces then back at the man laying in front of her, the one she had just exchanged words with, the one who was so certain he was going to die. She took a deep breath then drove the point of her katana through his skull just as she had the walker, avoiding the eyes of the others as she looked to Rick and Glenn. The group's moment of silence then became deafening as the the sound of the horn came to an abrupt stop.

"The horn stopped. Good," Rick said as he circled around the body and crouched at his side stripping him of his gun and knife then emptying the contents of his pockets as Dev and the others looked on with dismay. "Get back safe," he said as he stuffed the items in his satchel and promptly set off toward the RV.

xxx

"There you go," Michonne said as she smoothed the edges of the duct tape that secured a clean piece of cloth over the wound on David's shoulder then pulled at the collar of his shirt to cover up his makeshift dressing.

"Thank you," he said, his eyes searching for hers as she shifted back onto her heels.

"No problem. That'll have to do until we get you home," she said with a weak smile. "Just sit and rest for a bit."

She pushed herself up into a standing position then looked around the darkened, abandoned pet shop for the next matter that needed her attention. Glenn and Nicholas had left in search of the feed store in hopes of setting it on fire to create a diversion so they could get out before the herd hit the tiny main street they were holed up in. She and Dev were left tending to the injured: Heath, Annie, and David. She spotted Dev's head pop up above the shelves in the adjoining storage room, and walked over to join him. When she reached him, he was sorting through boxes of what looked to be aquarium supplies, not looking up to acknowledge her presence.

"David's still hanging in there, no fever yet," she whispered as she stood against the shelf watching him work. "He told me about his wife…"

"Betsy," he said, pausing for a moment without looking up. "She's going to be devastated. She lost her first husband almost the same way."

"Well, he probably has a few more hours. If he stays strong enough, he can make it home to her," she said hopefully.

"To die in front of her," he said flatly as he paused again, finally looking up at her. "Is that any better?"

"It is…and it's what he wants," she said certainly as she stared back at him. In her experience and her friends', closure was one of the greatest gifts you could give to your loved ones. He slid an empty box off the shelf and onto the floor then braced his hands on the shelf as he cursed under his breath. "What are you looking for?"

"Something I can use to make a crutch for Annie..." he said. Once she had direction, Michonne started going through the contents of the shelf in front of where she was standing. "I'm not sure I'm going to manage to make it back on my own with two injured people, but I've got to try for these two…" he mumbled to himself.

"On your own?" she asked, confused by his assertion.

"Look, I heard what Rick said," Dev said evenly as he turned to face her.

"Which part?"

"How they wouldn't all make it. They meaning us and not you. How you should leave us behind if we can't keep up."

"Glenn is out there risking his life for you and for everyone else and I'm still here…" she gently reminded him. "Rick only said what he said because sometimes you don't have a choice."

"There's always a choice," he countered as she shook his head. "That's not how we do it."

"Sometimes there's not," she said with regret. It wasn't how she wanted it, but it was reality. "You just haven't had to do it any other way yet."

"You're better than that," he said in a low voice, his eyes wide and searching her face for the person he thought she was, hoped she was.

"Dev-"

"You are, I mean, you have to be, right? With all of your talk about the building a better community and instilling hope in people, I don't see how you can believe that."

"Dev, you don't understand. You haven't been through it yet, not really."

He looked at her shaking his head in disappointment. "I know that going Rick's way won't lead you toward those things you want," he said tersely. "I do know that, Michonne."

She huffed out a breath from her open mouth feeling winded as if she'd been punched in the gut. She closed her mouth and swallowed hard, turning her head as she tried to let the heat of the moment pass before responding, but when she turned to look at him again and opened her mouth, she knew that there was no way to stop the hot words that threatened to spill from it.

"Have you ever had to kill people because they had already killed your friends and were coming for you next? Have you ever done things that made you feel afraid of yourself afterward?" she pressed as she inched into his space with each question. "Have you ever been covered in so much blood that you didn't know if it was yours or walkers' or your friends'? Huh? Then you don't know." She stared hard into his eyes for a moment, her lip trembling with anger, until she retreated, taking a few steps back as she breathed deeply.

"I'm sorry," he eked out pathetically.

"...you didn't know," she finished for him. But now you do she thought to herself as she turned around and grabbed loose parts from an aquarium stand that laid on the ground behind her. "This should work," she said as she handed the pile of black iron pieces to him. "Hurry up because as soon as Glenn and Nicholas make it back, you, me, David, Annie, and Heath need to get out of here. We're losing our lead on the herd."

She turned away and walked back toward the main storeroom where she'd left David sitting on the ground with his back against the cash wrap. She gave him a weak smile then put her back against counter and slid down to join him as she stared blankly ahead.

xxx

"Oh my God."

The smell of smoke had filled her senses and caused a pang of worry deep in her gut before clearing the forest edge and confirming her worst fears. Smoke billowed from within the walls, and the front end of a semi-truck was crashed into their walls, taking the bottom corner of the tower out with it.

"What the hell happened here?" Dev asked breathlessly as he paused to take in the obvious trouble in front of him.

Michonne wordlessly shook her head and ducked out from under Heath's arm, leaving the injured man to be supported by Dev as she unsheathed her katana and walked ahead to the gate. She looked up at the closest platform to find Aaron standing guard and waved to get his attention. Without a word he disappeared from her sight and within a few seconds the gate was opening before her. She jogged back and pulled Heath's arm across her shoulders to help support him again. As they ushered him through the gates, Aaron looked on uneasily, his friends' conditions a sign of trouble on the outside, as well. Michonne paused for a moment as she was met with dead bodies, some familiar and some not, strewn on the nearest lawn and the dark red stains of blood streaked across the road in front of her. She looked back at Aaron and looked at him with wide, questioning eyes.

"We were attacked. It's over," he managed to say, still shellshocked from the events of the past hour.

Her eyes immediately strained to get a view of her house at the other end of the block.

"Go," Dev said as he saw the panic on her face then followed her line of sight to her home.

"We'll get him into the Infirmary first," she said mechanically, her eyes still focused down the street.

"I've got him, Michonne. Go."

She looked to Dev and nodded a quick thanks before taking off in a sprint towards her home, passing bodies of her neighbors and their attackers along the way. She ran up the steps and tried to turn the handle of the front door which was locked. She frantically dug into her pocket producing her key. Her trembling hands made it difficult the pass the key into the keyhole, but she steadied herself long enough to successfully unlock it then stepped into the house. A quick scan revealed that everything was in its place with no signs of damage, but no signs of life either. She ran into the center of the living room, turning in place to take a look at the ground floor.

"Rick! Carl! Carol!" she yelled as she began opening doors to closets, the pantry, and laundry room to look for them.

"Carl!" she shouted again as she headed toward the stairs.

"Michonne."

She looked up to find him calling down to her from the landing of the second floor, and hurried up the stairs to meet him.

Once she was close enough, she reached out to him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and pulling him firmly against her. She squeezed him tighter as he circled his arms around her waist hugging her back. She took a few moments to breathe in relief before stepping back from him, her hands still resting on his shoulders as she gave him a once over looking for any signs of harm.

"You're OK?" she panted as she caught her breath.

"Yeah. Is it over?"

"It looks like it...I don't even know, I came straight here. What happened?"

"These people, they just came in from every direction. Slashing people, setting them on fire. I only saw the start from up here. Carol left me to look after Judith while she went out to help."

"Is she in there?" Michonne asked at the mention of her name, her eyes looking toward their bedroom. Carl nodded and followed her into his bedroom where Judith sat on a blanket in the middle of the floor, mindlessly flipping through one of her books. Michonne knelt in front of her, her eyes beginning to water at the sight of the beautiful, oblivious child.

"Hey Judes," she cooed as she took the book from the child's hands and set it on the ground before scooping her up into her arms, and cradling her against her chest. Judith's tiny head rested in the crook of Michonne's neck as she gently rubbed her back, more for her comfort than the baby's.

"Has Carol been back yet?" she asked as she looked up at Carl who was regarding them with a worried look on his face. Michonne's reaction was setting off alarms for him.

"No...where's my dad?"

"He didn't make it back yet?" Her face fell at his question. She was certain he would have beat them back, especially with the delays they'd experienced from the herd at the pet shop.

"You're the first person I've seen," he answered, obviously unaware of everything that had happened outside of the walls.

"One of the trucks fell at the quarry so we had to go live with the plan, and it was working until the sound from that horn pulled the back end of the herd off the road. Your dad and I had to split up. Glenn and I were supposed to lead a group back here, and your dad was going to get the RV so he could round up the herd again, get them back on track."

"Do you think he made it there?"

She looked at him, pausing for a moment, as she absently stroked Judith's back.

"Of course. It's Rick…" she said, realizing she was trying to convince herself as much as Carl, "your dad."

"We should take a car out and look for him," he suggested leading her to believe that she'd done a poor job of hiding her concern.

"We could, but let's just-"

"Carl? Michonne?"

Their heads turned at the familiar voice sounding from downstairs.

"Up here!" Carl yelled back as he looked at Michonne and flashed her something short of a smile, an inscrutable look she could only describe as something like relief.

The footsteps drew closer and closer, and they both looked to the door in time to see Rick appear. His shirt was drenched in blood and sweat, and his chest was heaving in and out deeply as he caught his breath. Her eyes traveled up to his face and were drawn immediately to his glassy eyes that were focused on his children; his face, neck, and shoulders collapsed at the sight of them, and he grabbed onto the doorframe as if to keep his legs from going down, as well.

"You made it," Carl said as he walked toward him. Rick dropped his hands from the doorframe and slung them over his son's shoulders, embracing him tightly as he fell into him causing them to stumble back a few steps until they steadied themselves closer to where Michonne was standing with Judith watching them.

"Yeah," he breathed out as he pressed his chin to the top of his son's head. He looked up at Michonne in front of him then down at his daughter in her arms. He straightened up and released Carl from his embrace, but kept one hand on his shoulder as he stepped in closer to Michonne and placed his other hand on his daughter's back then pressed a long kiss on top of her head. Before he pulled away, he moved his hand from Judith's back to Michonne's arm, letting it linger there for a moment. He let out a long sigh before looking down at Carl.

"Why don't you take your sister downstairs? Me and Michonne will be right down."

"OK," Carl said as he moved to reach for his sister then head downstairs as asked. They both watched as he left the room then looked toward each other.

"You OK?" he asked pointing at her shirt. She looked down, unsure of what he was referring to until she saw her once white tank top now covered in blood which had dried to a dark brown color and stiffened.

"Yeah, it's not mine," she reassured him. "Your hand…"

He lifted his left hand turned it back and forth in front of him, regarding the blood soaked bandage wrapped across it occupying the space between his watch and wedding band.

"Eh, it's nothing. Just cut it on a knife," he said hoarsely as he returned it to his side. They quietly looked at each other for a moment, before Michonne finally spoke.

"I lost them all except for Dev and Heath," she said quietly and shamefully as if confessing her sins to a priest.

"I told you they wouldn't all make it-" he started.

"Glenn, too," she added quickly. "He and Nicholas got separated from us...and we ended up having to leave."

He nodded wearily, trying not to let the worry show on his face for her sake.

"Daryl, Sasha, and Abraham are still out there, too," he admitted in turn. "I never met up with them. The RV didn't start and I…" he shook his head and went silent. Since he was standing here in front of her, she knew how that story ended.

"We'll go out and look for them," she said decidedly. "We left the jeep behind in case something like this happened-"

"We can't."

"Then I'll go, you can stay here in case that group comes back-" she offered before he cut her off again.

"Michonne, we can't," he repeated in a shaky voice which caused her to tilt her head questioningly at him.

He placed his hand at the small of her back and led her to the window in the corner of her bedroom where he paused for a moment and drew in a deep breath causing her to look up at him with concern.

"Rick?"

His hand pulled the curtain back, and the bright light that streamed into the dim room caused her to look away and blink her eyes several times to adjust to the light before she could turn back toward the window. She opened her eyes to see the street below and then her eyes traveled up to the wall. The white noise she had attributed to the quiet house quickly revealed itself as something far more ominous as her eyes focused beyond the wall at the sea of walkers that had surrounded them.