Chapter 5: She'll be alright

"Goodnight Judith", Jane says while putting her in the play pen. Jane walks over to Carl's bed and sits down. "Hey Carl, are you alright? I had no idea that you were tending to Michonne these past few mornings. How's she doing?"

Carl looks at Jane, "She will be alright." He says while turning his back to her.

Jane begins to walk toward the bedroom door, "Well I know she will be just fine, she's a strong woman, so as long as you and your Dad are around to protect her she will be good in no time, goodnight."

Jane goes downstairs to push the couch against the front door for security when she suddenly hears tapping at the back door. She immediately grabs the aluminum bat in the corner behind the front door then she slowly walks toward the kitchen.

Every now and then a walker somehow makes it way in to the neighborhood without detection. This has been a reoccurring problem and the neighborhood is constantly trying to come up with ideas on how to prevent these security breaches. Jane reaches the kitchen and she can see that the back door is secure but someone or something is turning the door knob. She gets a little closer to the door to see if she can hear any heavy breathing.

"Jane it's me. It's James." Her brother whispers at the back door window.

Jane, relieved that it's her brother; unties the knot and lets him in. "Why are you coming around the back door? Everyone knows who you are ", Jane whispers.

"It's dark out here I don't want to get jumped by walkers or anybody else for that matter", James says while closing the door behind. He sits down at the kitchenette with Jane.

"Everything alright here, where's Rick and Carl?" James asks her

"Rick is across the way and Carl has gone to bed." She answers.

"How are you doing?" he asks. Jane holds her index finger up to her lip and motions for James to stay put. She walks up stairs to see if Carl and Judith are asleep then she leaves their room to come back down stairs in to the kitchen. She walks over to the kitchen sink and starts to stare out the window at the blackness in the tiny backyard.

"You know when my so called mother in law, 'Mary that evil whore,' made that decision to…make use of anybody under sixteen…I knew what I had to do to keep you and Jimmy safe. Over and over again I made myself available to Gareth." Jane grabs a bottle of warm water on the kitchen counter and takes a sip. "I have saved the lives of my brothers three times already. Twice, with my own flesh and blood, the two of you owe me. I know that, I don't have to tell you how important this is to me. After Terminus…you owe me. I will never let either one of you go if the two of you don't get this done for me."

James tiredly places his elbows on the table closes his eyes and cradles is head in his hands, "I know Jane, I know", James says wearily as his voice gets a little louder. "You know we are your brothers and we love you," James lifts his head and looks up at Jane to see that she is holding her arm up over her head looking at something near her underarm. He gets up and walks over to her, "Janie you have to believe us, Gareth told us that…", just as James walks over to her, he sees that she is making long dash like cuts right beneath her under arm with a utility camping knife.

James grabs the camping tool away from her then slams it on to the counter. He grabs both of her arms and shakes her, "Please, please…hold on Jane", he whispers then gives her a big hug. But she doesn't hug back; she is in a catatonic state from having to remember her life while at Terminus. "We will make this right Janie, I promise me and Jimmy will make this right." He reassures her.

James releases her and begins to walks to the back door making sure the knot is good and tight. As he walks toward the kitchen entrance he stops, "Look Jane, I had better get going". Then he moves the couch enough to open the front, "I will see you and Judith tomorrow." He begins to walking away navigating the walkway with his flashlight.

Carl's watching James from his window as he leaves their front porch. He can hear Jane moving the couch back against the front door. Right before he releases the curtain to go back to bed he sees Daryl coming from between the two boarded house where Michonne was attacked. Carl watches as Daryl walks over to James, after a few minutes he sees Daryl walking toward the gate. Daryl told Carl earlier that morning that it was his turn to keep watch tonight. He lets go of the curtain and goes back to bed.

XXX

Michonne wakes up exhausted from yesterdays and last night's events. Slowly she rises up from her bed, her eyes clinch together from the pain in her ribs. As she manages to stand up she goes in the bathroom to washing her face and checks the cut on her cheek then walks down stairs. She finds Rick laid out on the couch sleep. She tilts her head a little so that her face is facing in is the same directions as his. With a tiny smile and furrow of her brows she shakes her head a little. To her, it seemed ridiculous to have this man sleep on the couch instead of in the bed with her after the Elysium incident. But she couldn't afford to assume that Rick's actions last night wasn't anything more than deep concern for a member of the group.

"Rick, Rick? ", Michonne says in a hurrying tone. He lifts his head up off of the couch arm rest and groans from the crick in his neck.

Rubbing his neck he grumbles, "I had better bring a pillow tonight."

"Why didn't you just come and ask me for a pillow," she questioned sitting down next to him. "Turn around", she gently instructions him.

Michonne begins to softly massage Rick's cramped neck and shoulder. As she presses in to his muscles he begins to whine, "Ouch!"

"Oh, I am sorry is that too hard," She chuckles.

"No no…it feels good. I needed someone to break up that tension." He says appreciatively.

Michonne feeling slightly offended at the "somebody" remark, pats Rick on the shoulder and cheerfully says, "See all better."

Just before she removes one of her hands, Rick grabs it and turns around, "Hold on… let me check that cut on your face?"

Michonne starts to feel a burst of flutters in her stomach being face to face with Rick. So she quickly responds, "No no, I checked it this morning."

When she goes to get up Rick again stops her from moving and tenderly says, "Just let me check Chonne, amuse me."

He removes one hand from hers and starts to lift up the bandage on her face. Michonne twitches her cheek a little as he lifts the tape. Rick pretends to look at her wound but he starts to smell the rosewater and olive oil on her skin. He looks Michonne in the eyes then at her delicious full lips. He softly kisses her, as if it was a test to see if his kiss is wanted. Once Michonne begins to return the jester she pulls out of the lip lock and gets up off the couch.

Rickgets up and walks over to Michonne and softly holds her face. She feels the flutters again but this time she also feels the heavy pulsating of her clitoris. She wants break out of his trance but she just can't.

He softly gives her a soft quick kiss and whispers, "No regrets, right?" then they lip embrace harder this time. Ricks manhood is getting longer and stiffer while Michonne's little man begins to drown in a river bed of her juices. Rick places his hand in the lower middle of her back while massaging the crotch of her pajama pants. And just when Rick is about to untie the draw string on her pants they hear Carl's key opening the door.

"Michonne it's me. You forgot to move the couch for me", Carl says through a slight opening in the door. Immediately Rick and Michonne stop their all so sudden foreplay.

"Ah…,hold on," Rick says in a rush. He starts to move the couch; the minute Carl can squeeze through the door he comes in then stops and stares at Rick quickly then looks at Michonne. Carl closes the door behind him gradually looking at his father on one side of the couch and again at Michonne. He can see that the both of them have beads of sweat on their forehead and are flushed in the face.

Michonne at first, bites the bottom corner of her lip then breaks the silence by blurting out, "Hey Carl, right on time. You want some cereal or oatmeal?" She turns and anxiously limps in to the kitchen.

Carl then looks at his father and sees he is noticeably uneasy as well. Carl squints his eyes at his dad and with a tiny smirk on his face and says, "Hey Dad". Rick awkwardly smiles then says, "Hey son", while putting his hands on Carl's shoulders walking him in to the kitchen.