I do not own The Walking Dead or any of its characters.
Michonne can't help but admit to herself that the warmth of the fire is more than welcome. Even though the day was so hot, they have reached that strange time of year when it can still get chilly at night. And though the "fire" is nothing but glowing embers it still gives off enough heat to be better than nothing at all.
The food is not great, but she is the last person to be heard complaining, and what can she expect from post-apocalyptic food anyway? She can't deny that it's better than her own diet of late. She has been living off of an assortment of nuts and berries since her own supply of food ran out. She has trained herself over the past few months to eat less and less, and once she was on her own the food went much slower anyway. But she chooses not to think about the reason she has had more food to herself.
Instead she brings herself back to earth and begins listening to the conversation she had been previously tuning out. The new man, another former cop who used to work with Shane it seems, is talking. She thinks he may be telling the group about his experiences before coming to Atlanta and finding them again. She is interested, but doesn't let on. Not that anyone is paying much attention to her anyway.
Well, except Shane that is. Though she has been tuning the conversation out, she has not missed the fact that he is keeping a sharp eye on her. She once again fights the urge to make a face. What does he think she is going to do? Attack them all with her spoon?
She focuses instead on the new man and his family, forcing herself to listen to the conversation. His wife and son are all over him and he doesn't seem to mind in the slightest. She understands. As she watches him stroke his son's hair she can't help but think that she would give just about anything in the world to have her own two babies back, climbing all over her and pulling her hair. She tenses at the unexpected wave of sadness that washes over her, looking back down at her food and once again blocking out both the conversation and the sight of the man's family.
She stays tuned out, something she has discovered she is very good at, until she hears them begin bickering about a man that got left behind on their trip to Atlanta. She looks up suddenly, surprised to hear them talking of such a thing. She has gotten the impression from their lighthearted attitude (or at least, as lighthearted as people can be nowadays) that everyone had made it back safe and sound. At least, there had been no mourning that she saw. She soon comes to learn that they did leave a man behind, chained to the roof of a department store.
"One thing's for certain," says Shane. "We're lucky that Daryl went back out to finish his hunt after bringing her in." He gestures haphazardly toward Michonne as though she isn't even there. She gives him a glare that is lost on him completely. It's not lost on Andrea, who gives her a 'just ignore him' look without saying a word. Michonne ignores her too, looking back down at her food. She is getting irritated again, both at Shane for acting as though she is some sort of dangerous animal who needs to be locked up, and at Andrea, who seems to have decided they share some sort of bond just because she brought her water when she was thirsty. Which also just happens to have been Shane's fault.
She can't get away from this group fast enough.
She chooses not to tune back out of their conversation this time though, and soon learns that the man was making himself into some sort of threat to the rest of the group and that they handcuffed him to the roof as a safety precaution. Then another of their men dropped the key to the handcuffs. She listens to them argue back and forth about who is to blame and is relieved when the boy starts yawning and his mother decides it's time for bed. Her declaration seems to apply to the whole group because everyone begins getting up and clearing their places. Shane stomps out the fire and turns to Michonne. He sighs and reaches for his handcuffs.
Before he can speak a word or even take a step toward Michonne the boy's mother looks up.
"What are you doing?" she asks. Several of the others look up, their attention regained.
Shane turns to look at her and lets out an exasperated chuckle. He moves in closer to the woman and Michonne wonders if she is reading into their proximity. When he speaks it's in a low tone as though he is trying to keep the rest of the group from hearing their conversation. "What's it look like I'm doing? I have to restrain her. You heard how she was lurking around out there. Don't tell me you want me to let her go?"
By this point several of the others have completely abandoned all pretenses of cleaning up and are listening intently.
"You can't just leave her there all night," Andrea speaks up. She sounds as though she is gearing up for a disagreement like the one she and Shane had earlier over the exact same issue. Her sister steps up next to her and agrees, making Shane's face darken a little.
"I dunno man," says the man who is responsible for losing the keys and leaving another human to the mercy of walkers. "Shane has a point here."
"Shane does not have a point," the boy's mother says. "Think of the other things that could be lurking around out here at night. If not a walker, then what about wild animals? You want to leave her restrained and unarmed against whatever might feel like coming out of these woods?" She puts her hand on her little boy's shoulder in a comforting gesture and drops her voice so it's almost a whisper. "Shane..."
"And it gets cold at night," pipes up the younger blonde, looping an arm through her sister's. "You can't leave her out in the cold."
Shane is getting aggravated and clearly feels outnumbered. He looks down at Michonne who looks back up at him without saying a word. She has not gotten up from her place on the ground. "Look," he says, and his voice has raised a few notches. "I can only do so much! I'm only human. And I will do what I need to do to keep this camp safe. I—" He falters and looks to the other cop, his partner. "Come on, man, what else am I supposed to do?"
The other man opens his mouth to speak but before he can he is interrupted.
"You can let her stay with me." The speaker is a thin black woman Michonne hadn't paid much attention to before. There are too many people for her to take in and this woman has a soft voice.
Shane sighs and runs a hand through his hair. Michonne is beginning to notice that this is a bad habit of his that makes it really obvious when he is exasperated. He looks at the woman and visibly deflates. "Jacqui, come on. You can't be serious. Do you really think we would let you—do you know how dangerous that is?"
When she looks at him her eyes are hard and full of defiance and Michonne doesn't know why she didn't notice her before. There is a strength that radiates off of her that she can't help but respect. She is strong, but she is not cold. "I'm the only woman in this camp with a tent to herself. I don't have have anyone to look after but myself. And I know how to take care of myself. Let her stay with me. She won't pull anything." She looks Michonne directly in the eye when she says this, as though she is challenging her to say otherwise. Michonne says nothing but holds her gaze. She doesn't glare. Not like she does with Shane.
Shane looks around at the others as though silently asking for backup. When no one says anything he sighs again. "Fine," he says. "Fine. But be careful. If anything happens, shout for one of us. There's always someone up on watch." He steps closer to her and lowers his voice. "Don't let your guard down."
Jacqui shrugs him off and approaches Michonne. The others begin to disperse to their own tents. Andrea squeezes Jacqui's shoulder as she passes and gives Michonne a smile that she ignores.
"Come on," Jacqui says, offering Michonne a hand which she also ignores. The woman doesn't seem fazed, instead turning toward a small grey tent that sits in a cluster of other ones. "We'll find you a sleeping bag."
Michonne rises to follow her but stops in her tracks when she feels someone tap her on the small of her back. She turns, fully expecting some kind of argument, to see the little boy standing behind her looking up with that innocence only children possess. Innocence she knows won't last in a world like this.
"My dad says you have a sword," he says, getting straight to the point. His eyes are bright with curiosity and he seems completely unfazed by her hard demeanor that alarms the others so. "Can I see it?"
"Carl," his mother says abruptly, realizing that her son is no longer by her side. She looks at Michonne and there is fright registering on her face. Michonne barely spares her half a glance, her full attention on the boy and his incredible childishness that she finds she has been missing a lot more than she thought. "Don't bother her, come on. It's time for bed."
Carl turns his head to look at her, but his feel remain firmly planted where he stands. Michonne can see the excitement fading from his face and she crouches down so she is on his level.
"I don't have my sword right now, but I do have one," she says, looking him in the eye. His face brightens and she allows the ghost of a smile to emerge. She missed that so much—the smile of a child and the chance to let a smile grace her own lips.
"Where is it?" he asks. His attention is on her and only her. He completely ignores his mother who is looking increasingly nervous as she watches the exchange happening before her. He looks up at Michonne as though she is the most fascinating person he has ever met and her heart warms at the sweetness of the child standing before her. She reaches out to put a hand on his shoulder.
"Your friend Shane borrowed it for a little while," she says, managing to keep the bitterness out of her voice for the sake of the boy. "But when he gives it back I'll be sure you're the first to know." She gives his shoulder a light squeeze and he absolutely beams.
"Sweet!" he exclaims. "I'm going to tell Sophia!" He turns and runs back to his mother's side. Suddenly remembering his manners, he turns back to her. "Thank you!" he says, and she gives him a small nod. The boy's mother is looking at Michonne with wide eyes, and Michonne meets her gaze as the smile slowly fades from her lips. After a moment of uncomfortable eye contact the woman turns and follows her son into the tent the freshly reunited family shares.
Michonne stands up from where she was crouched on the ground and turns to see Jacqui watching her intently.
"So you do know how to talk," she says with a smirk on her face. Michonne says nothing, only follows her back to where her tent is. She ducks inside after the other woman and looks at the space. It is a small tent, which is understandable being that it usually has only one occupant. Michonne doesn't take up much space when she sleeps anyway. Normally she curls up as tightly as possible, both for the feeling of protection and to keep her body heat in.
Jacqui is busy preparing another sleeping bag for her new tentmate. Michonne watches her silently.
"You know, the group would probably accept you a lot faster if you would just speak up," she says, not even bothering to look at Michonne. She is straightening the corners of the sleeping bag so that they will be able to fit side by side in the small tent. "I heard you talking to Carl. If you let Shane see that he would be much more willing to trust you." She meets Michonne's eye and notices the look she is getting. "Or give you your sword back and send you on your way." The statement resonates with Michonne, though the only way she shows it is by furrowing her brow. "It's a good group of people," Jacqui continues speaking despite her companion's silence. "I mean, if we take in people like the Dixon brothers there's no way we could be anything but a good group."
Michonne doesn't know or care who she is talking about. She is too deep in her own thought by this point. She sits down on her sleeping bag and begins slipping her shoes off. Though she doesn't show it, she is thinking about what Jacqui has just told her. And about the little boy who was just looking at her as though she were some kind of superwoman.
"Michonne," she mumbles after a long silence. Jacqui looks up in surprise at the sound of the woman's voice. "I'm Michonne."
A small smile appears on Jacqui's face, though she tries unsuccessfully to hide it. "Glad to hear it Michonne," she replies. She avoids trying to shake hands or comment on how pretty the name is. "I'm Jacqui. We never officially exchanged names."
Michonne nods and lies down on top of her sleeping bag. It's chilly tonight but she is not used to being restrained at all while sleeping. So instead she uses it as a cushion between herself and the ground. She rolls to face away from the other woman, wondering why she is here and why she has chosen to trust her enough to sleep by her. She feels that she should be more on her guard, but the haze of sleep is coming to take her over already and she tries to give in to it. She can hear Jacqui rustling around behind her and soon the small lantern that was their only light dims and winks out.
Jacqui herself is almost completely at ease. Seeing Michonne with Carl proved to her that though the woman has some very thick walls built up, she is still just as human as the rest of them. Before she drifts off, she smiles, thinking that maybe Michonne isn't quite as bad as Shane thinks she is.
Alright, there's another chapter down! I'm sorry things are moving a little slow at the moment. This is all kind of filler and character development to get the story going. And Andrea and Michonne will interact more soon! I figured that if they met in a different situation they might not gravitate towards each other immediately. So I'm gonna explore a little bit. ^.~
Anyway, I love reviews! Let me know what you guys think. =D Until next time! (Oh, and I hope you like the new cover! The image is not mine, it came from /tv/thewalkingdead/)