A/N: Hi, everyone! Here is the next chapter. I hope you like it. Once again thank you for sticking with me.

Chapter 12- Travel to the Kingdom

Two days later

"Sierra, Noah, and Colton! Let's go!" yelled Michonne. Michonne was standing at the bottom of the stairs becoming impatient with having to wait.

She soon heard the rumble of feet running down the hall and one by one they came down the stairs each with their back packs slung over their shoulders.

"Finally, do you have everything?"

"We do. Why do we need to bring everything? Aren't we coming back?" asked Sierra. She had her light brown hair pulled into a messy bun on top of her head.

"I don't know Sierra that is up to your folks. I kept you well over the time I said I would have you back and I'm sure your mom is worried about you."

"But we can come back… right.?" Colton chimed. Michonne knew why Colton and Sierra wanted to return so quickly, but that will have to wait.

"Yeah you can but it may be awhile, but we will see what happens." Michonne knew that vague answer would only placate the kids for a little while.

There was a knock at the door. Michonne turned and walked the short distance to the front door. She opened the door to find Rick and Carl standing there looking like twins. Both wore a semi fitted black t-shirt with blue jeans the only difference in their choice of dress was Rick had on his brown cowboy boots, and Carl was in a pair of black hiking boots.

Rick was the first to speak "Good Morning. Are y'all ready to hit the road?" Ricks bright smile was catching. Michonne smiled back as she opened the door wider to let them both into the house.

"Almost I've been waiting on these 3 to hurry up and get ready." Michonne looked towards Carl as he entered the house. Carl was glancing around the house looking for something or someone. He saw Sierra hanging out at the bottom of the staircase with Noah and Colton. Sierra waved at Carl, and he smiled. Michonne cleared her throat drawing his attention back her way. "Well good morning to you too." She said teasingly.

Carl gave a small wave to Michonne "Morning. Where's Ila and Luna?" he asked quickly.

"They are in the backyard."

"Cool. I'm going to see them real quick. When will y'all be back?"

Michonne glanced at Rick and found him staring at her. "I think by tomorrow afternoon." Rick nodded his head in agreement.

"K well I will see you when y'all get back." Carl began moving in the direction of the backyard.

Michonne placed her hands on her hips as she fretted over what the hell may happen "Play nice with Ila and Luna. I don't want to come back to everyone having some injury."

"Tell that to Luna. I'm surprised she hasn't tried to climb to the top of the stairs and jump on me."

Michonne groaned and shook her head "Knowing you two it won't be long. Maybe I need to leave a babysitter to watch all of you."

Carl crinkled up his face at Michonnes statement "Uhm no."

"Promise me all of you will play nice." Carl rolled his eyes but said nothing.

Carl took a moment to hug Sierra and fist bump Noah and Colton "Not making that promise. See you when y'all get back. Bye, Dad." He waved to his dad and hurried towards the backyard.

Michonne closed her eyes and rubbed her hand across her forehead. She hoped that no one had any broken bones by the time she got back but she knew it was time for them to hit the road.

Rick had moved from the front door and was standing next to her glancing in the direction Carl went. Michonne began reaching for her backpack that was on the floor near her feet. "Let me help you with that," Rick seeing the movement bent down and grabbed the bag first. Michonne gave him a half smile silently thanking him as he slipped her bag on.

"Are they that rough with each other?" Rick queried as he adjusted the straps to the bag.

"You have no idea," groaned, Noah.

Two vehicles left ASZ heading NE towards the Kingdom. In the black SUV truck, Colton was driving with Noah in the passenger seat and Sierra in the back. Michonne and Rick were in a small white cargo van. Michonne was happy to be in a separate vehicle from the kids since they tend to talk constantly when on the road. Rick was glad about the separate vehicles for other reasons. This trip would be his best chance to continue to speak to Michonne without any interruptions.

Rick gazed out the passenger side window and watched as the landscape changed as they drove. Scattered remnants of abandoned cars blended into the over grown foliage that lined the side of the roads. Vast open areas of land would have a lone walker or two wandering but would turn in the direction of the quickly disappearing vehicles and attempt to follow. Ricks attention was pulled away by the sound of the radio being turned on.

Michonne wanted to break up the mind-numbing sound of the tires rolling across the asphalt. The hypnotic sound was causing her to become sleepy. As the CD player loaded the current disk, she glances towards Rick who was now watching her as she adjusted in her seat. The smooth voice of "the man in black" begin to sing to Michonne and Rick.

"So I see you drive this van a lot."

"What makes you say that." Rick smiled and started snapping his fingers in time with the song playing.

Michonne chuckled "Cash seems like the type of music you would listen to while driving. "

Rick stopped snapping and tilted his head towards her "Are you judging me by the type of music I may or may not like? That's kinda wrong don't you think. Don't want to give the wrong impression."

"Touché. I will give you that one."

He lifted his shoulders in a half shrug. "But you are right I do use this van a lot." His admission caused Michonne to chuckled again. "So how long till we make it to the Kingdom," Rick asked as he adjusted his position in the seat so he could comfortably sit and watch Michonne as she drove.

Still smiling she gave him a little wink "It's not very far so don't worry you are only stuck with me for a little bit."

"Well, that's a shame just when I was enjoying your company."

Michonne chortled "Whatever. I'm surprised you even agreed to come since just four days ago we were at each other's throats."

Rick scratched his beard and also gave a small chuckle "Yeah, not one of our finer moments, but it was all for a good reason. But we have moved past that and onto better things. I hope."

"Yeah me too."

A comfortable silence passed between them. As they continued towards their destination, Ricks' eyes wandered to the white tank top and black vest that Michonne wore that gave Rick a side view of her supple breasts. Her brown skin looked so soft and glowed under the morning light. His eyes began to trail a path up her lean muscular arms to her hands. Michonnes hands were casually gripping the steering wheel as she drove. He could see that her long fingers gave the impression that she was delicate or maybe even reserved when she handled things but he knew that was far from the truth. Her hands glowed like the rest of her skin that was exposed. Rick began to wonder what it would feel like to feel those delicate fingers running through his beard. Her soft hands gently cupping his face would she tease me he thought. He also wondered if those same hands would find their way into his hair and gently massage his scalp or lightly tug at his long curls and guide his face toward her full lips.

Rick cleared his throat as his thoughts of kissing Michonne began to envelop his mind.

"Are you ok?" she raised a brow as she glanced at him from the corner of her eye.

Rick shift in his seat a bit. "Yeah… yeah, I'm okay. Just have some things on my mind."

Michonne took her eyes off the road and smiled at Rick "Well don't keep me in suspense. What were you thinking about?'

Rick could feel his face begin to flush a bit at the thought of revealing to Michonne his strange mental image of her hands playing with his hair or the thought of him kissing her full lips. "I was thinking about you and your sisters." He stated.

Michonne was observing the road again but gave a quick side glance towards Rick "You were thinking about my sisters and me?" her eyebrows raised as she wondered about his statement.

Rick raised his hands up "No nothing like that," He blurted out as he flushed an even deeper shade of embarrassment.

"Like what Rick? "

Rick could tell she was teasing him. "Ha ha very funny,"

Michonne chuckled at how worried he was, but she knew she didn't have to worry about anything like that from Rick. He was a respectful and honest man this was something she learned about him from her many brief talks with members of his group or from the small social gatherings that have had at his house.

"Well there is something that I have wanted to ask you about but I know it's a touchy subject but if you are ok with talking about it.," Rick paused before he continued. Michonne held her breath and silently prayed he would not ask about what she has been dreading talking about, but she knew he would be curious one day. "Carl has said a few times that you and your sisters have had to kill for him. What does that mean?"

There it was. Michonne took a deep breath and slowly released it as she slid her hands up and down the steering wheel. She could feel the somber memory drape itself over her shoulder. Rick notice the immediate change in Michonne.

"You know what let's forget about it. I didn't mean to bring it up."

"No, it's ok. I was going to tell you eventually. I guess this would be the best time."

Michonne sat straighter in the seat as if preparing herself for the emotional rollercoaster she was about to reveal. Rick regretted his decision at asking her this obvious painful question. He was curious to know, but at the moment he would rather see Michonne smiling and joking again.

"I think it had been six or maybe seven months after we found Carl and we were just wandering from camp to camp. Each one promising to be safe and a brand new start. But they all ended up being the same. Too many egos and not enough common sense. We would usually only stay for a short while. Every camp we left there would be one or two people who would join us. At one point there were over 10 of us in our group." Michonne slowed the van down as she made a left turn down a side road. The smooth asphalt was now replaced with a dirt road. The van rocked as it traveled over the loose gravel and stones lining the dirt road. Rick noticed the road would be easily missed by someone just driving by.

"A Spanish family was traveling with us. The husband I think his first name was Elias and I only say that because he had a daughter who was named Eliza and I remember his wife Miranda saying they named her after her father. They also had a son named Louis who was eight years old at the time. They were a lovely family. So when they asked if they could come with us, we immediately said yes." Rick tried to pay attention to Michonne while also paying attention to his current surroundings. The dirt road was surrounded by trees on all sides so it gave great cover to anyone traveling on it. The vehicles were kicking up a lot of dust and he could hear the pelting of the gravel under the van.

"The military held this camp, so we thought we would be safe there, but there was this megalomaniac Lieutenant Colonel there named Negan who loved to hear himself talk and brag about creating 'a new world.' We were at that camp the longest. I think maybe a week, but we were forced to stay because Carl had developed a fever out of nowhere and we didn't want to travel with him being ill. Miranda helped with nursing Carl back to health." Michonne smiled at the thought of her old friend helping with Carl, but her smile was brief as she continued "At night we all spoke about leaving as soon as possible because we knew things were about to go to hell soon. When Carl was well enough to travel we snuck out that night. We stole a case that had a pair of night vision goggles for everyone." Rick body tensed when she said Carl was sick at one point. He could feel the punch of guilt at not being there for his son when he should have. He pushed that feeling to the side by reminding himself that they were together now and that is what mattered.

"The last camp we came across we met Andrea and her sister Amy. They were traveling to Maine to visit their father when everything happened. The two sisters were close. Andrea being the oldest of the two. She was always looking out for her sister. I think that's why I asked her to come with us. We needed people who still understood how important family was even in these horrible times. It turned out to be a good decision because we learned pretty quickly that Andrea was able with a gun. We also learned that Elias taught boxing back in his hometown somewhere in Central America."

"Is that how Ila learned to throw a punch," he began rubbing his jaw as he remembered their first encounter and Ila knocking the hell out of him. Michonne nodded her head.

"She still feels kinda bad about that just so you know." She gave a quick glance to him, but when he looked into her brown eyes, the bright sparkle was dimmed a bit.

"Only kinda huh?

"When it comes to my sister kinda is a big deal." Michonne once again slowed the van as she made another turn. This time back onto the paved road. Michonne began speaking again once they were on the road.

"We all began to show each other what we knew. My sisters and I showed everyone how to turn anything they got their hands on into a weapon. We taught simple tosses and defensive kicks. Elias showed us different boxing styles and techniques. We had been on the road for a while. We were avoiding large camps as much as possible. We traveled by foot or in a running car we would find. We found a nice abandoned ranch-style home in this neighborhood that was almost untouched. Once we made the home as safe as possible, we started looking for food in the abandoned houses nearby. We always left the younger kids Eliza and Louis at the house with Luna and Andrea's sister." Michonne paused as she thought about what she was going to say next.

"I only brought Carl along because I wanted him to learn what things to look for when he looked for supplies. Plus I figured with all of us there he would be fine." Rick nodded his head as if letting Michonne know he understood her reasoning. "We had only been out for about an hour when we stumbled upon Harold. He was perched atop a big boulder and surrounded by eight walkers all trying to climb the boulder to get to him. When I think back on it now, I wish we would have taken a moment to look at what was happening before we reacted but hindsight is 20/20. We all ran to help him killing each walker with no problem. Harold climbed down the rock thanking us for helping him. Once down he fell slightly losing his balance. Elias and Carl helped to steady him. Harold looked like your typical old man. He had the long white beard and short cropped white hair. He walked slightly bent over with a cane. We were all so damn concerned with Harold and making sure no other walkers were coming that we didn't even look at the now permanently dead handless and jawless bodies."

"Harold asked us to help him back to his farmhouse where his family was staying. He told us that his son was going to be furious that he wandered out by himself but with us with him to say what happened it may help with calming things down."

"We all were hesitant to travel too far from the house and the kids, but when Harold said that his place was only about half a mile away, we gave in. His farm was about two miles away, and we had to travel through some slightly dense forest to make it to the clearing that led to his home. By this time Ila and I were questioning how such a supposed frail man was able to travel so far from home. We got to the farm about midday I remember because the sun was still high in the sky and I was beginning to become thirsty from being out all day."

Michonne reached for the bottle of water that was in the cup holder and opened it. She took a long drink from the bottle till the bottle was empty. She wiped the back of her hand across her mouth before she continued.

"The farm was pretty big from what I could see there was a large Barn that appeared locked on one end of the farm and a two-story farmhouse on the other. I think it was Harold's son who came out first his name was Edward. We all played polite and he thanked us for bringing his dad back safe and sound. He offered us drinks, etc. I think we all declined since we didn't know them. The first thing that I notice was there was no woman anywhere to seen. I mean after we met Edward about six other men came out the house and just hung out on the patio. That was our cue to leave, but it seems Old man Harold had other plans. For some reason, he decides he would pass out and fall to the ground. Well, this caused everyone to panic a bit. His son Edward asked if Carl and Elisa would help carry Harold into the house. Before I could suggest, they have someone from the porch come to help. Carl and Elias were rushing Harold into the house. A few of the men from the porch followed them into the house. Ila, Andrea, Miranda and I waited outside for them to return."

"I think it had only been a few minutes, but we began whispering amongst ourselves on how we were going to get out of here. Andrea suggest we just bolt and come back when we have a plan. I almost shot her right there on the spot because she was ok with leaving Carl and Elias because her sister was somewhere safe. Edward came back out the house followed by a pregnant woman who looked to be far along in her pregnancy and several men. I asked him if his dad was ok and he looked at me with his black ass eyes and smiled 'Yes he is. He is going to be fine now that he has a new toy to play with.'"

Michonne was gripping the steering wheel tightly now. Her face contorted into anger, and Rick could see the amount of pressure she was applying. "That asshole was talking about Carl. His fucking father was a god damn pedophile, and we just handed him Carl." she seethed. Ricks' stomach sank as the realization hit him that some asshole may have violated his son.

"Michonne you don't…" his voice cracked.

Michonne continued to speak as if she didn't hear Rick. She was staring straight ahead. She remained focus on the road even as her mind replayed the horrible memory "Ila was the first to make a move, but before she could raise her gun, the pregnant woman raised hers first and pointed it at Ila. The men that came out also pulled their weapons out. They forced us to throw our weapons on the ground. The pregnant woman who was called Jadis led us to the barn on the property. When they locked us inside, we saw there were six other women in there. They were all terrified. At the far end of the barn, there was a cage full of walkers that were chained to the barn wall all armless and jawless. One of the women named Brittany said they used the walkers to trick people into helping them. The women stated that they all had been locked in there for some time some a week others just a few days but they were all held for one reason only. They wanted to breed the woman; Those assholes wanted to repopulate the world with their fucked up sperm. They killed all of the men except for the ones who agreed to join them." Rick was now rubbing his hand up and down his face as his frustration grew. He wished he could have been there to help Michonne and her group somehow.

"I don't know how long we were in that barn, but it was way too damn long. We began looking around the barn to find some way out, but we couldn't find one. Miranda suggested we try the loft and see if we could find a way up there. Miranda and I were able to make it to the top by making a human ladder. We found some loose boards near the back wall of the barn. We pried the boards off and jumped to the ground. It was now getting dark outside. We went to the front of the barn just as one of the men were coming to hand out dinner. I surprised him and knocked him out with two blows to the head. We got everyone out of the barn when we heard the single shot come from the house. We didn't know if it was Carl or Elias. Ila and I snuck our way to the house. We took out the guards quickly and took their guns and knives. We split up so we could search the house faster. I found Elias first." Michonne sighed, " They beat him pretty badly and then just sliced his throat. I think the shot was after he was dead and turned. I found two guards who were sitting in the kitchen laughing about Elias begging for his life. I cut each of their throats and let them bleed out like they did Elias. Elias was a good man who didn't deserve to die the way he did but those men they deserved nothing, not even a quick death." Michonne used her index finger to wipe away the tears that were forming. Rick leaned over in his seat and rested his head in his hands. He didn't know how much more he could take of this story. He wanted just to ask her about Carl and end it right then and there, but he knew he had to let her continue.

Michonne saw the way Rick was taking things. She wanted to stop, but she wasn't telling this story just for Rick. She was talking about it for herself also. This was the first time that she has ever spoken about that night and she hoped that finally talking about it would lessen some of the weight she carried. She cleared her throat as she continued. "I went upstairs to see if Ila had found Carl. I knew there had to be only one more guard and Harold and his son left. I heard them before I saw them. I found Harold's son and the other guard using the pregnant woman Jadis one on each end. I shot them both. Jadis tried to fake like she was a victim in this whole shit and I almost believed her till I saw a picture of her and Harolds son together laying on the dresser. I shot her twice once in the head and then in the heart. I said a prayer for the baby." She said coldly.

Rick closed his eyes. Those people deserved to die Rick thought to himself. He knew he would have done the same thing that Michonne had done. "What about Carl? Was he ok ?" his voice was hoarse as he spoke.

Michonne slowed the van down. Rick looked up to see they were approaching what seemed like some abandoned warehouses. Rick turned his attention back to Michonne waiting for her to continue.

" Carl was in a room at the end of a long hallway. I entered the room and saw Carl gagged sitting in the corner of the room with his hands and feet tied together. He was watching Ila. Ila had the old man Harold pinned in the opposite corner with her knife buried to the hilt in his gut. When she removed it, he slid down the wall, and he started laughing as he collapsed to the floor. Ila was so angry, and I saw why. Harold had cut Ila vertically along the right side of her abdomen, and she was bleeding pretty bad. Ila stomped the hell out of him till his face wasn't recognizable." Michonne put the van in park and leaned against the steering wheel while staring out the front window not focusing on anything "Carl wasn't hurt. Ila got to him in time, but after that day he was a different kid. He never trusted strangers again."

"Thank you for telling me."

Michonne leaned back in her seat resting her head against the headrest. She felt so drained now after telling that story. "You're welcome," she whispered. Rick leaned over and took her hand and placed it in his. He stared at her hand as he held it. Rick started rubbing his thumb across the top of her knuckles. Her skin was just as he imagined it warm and soft.

Rick raised his head his blue eyes glistening as he stared into Michonnes brown ones "You and your sisters took care of my boy, and I can never thank you enough." He raised Michonnes hand to his lips and placed a light kiss on top of her hand.

Michonne held her breath as Rick kissed her hand. Once his lips left her hand, she breathed again. Michonne smiled at Ricks warm gesture. Her hand remained in his even after the kiss was over. She knew that they should get out of the van, but she didn't want to end this moment with Rick just yet.

There was a sudden rapping of knuckles on the driver-side window. Michonne removed her hand from Ricks grasp and turned to find Noah at the window. Michonne rolled down the window and scowled at him.

"What is it, Noah?" she growled at him.

Noah instinctively took a step back from the door even though it was closed. The way Michonne was now shooting daggers at him with her eyes he knew he interrupted something "Uhmmm….. I was just wondering if you were going to get out of the van sometime soon."

Michonne shook her head and sighed and rolled the window back up without answering Noah who was still standing near the car door " Come on. Let me take you inside so you can meet King Ezekiel."

Rick was upset that the small moment with Michonne was interrupted, but he couldn't help but smile at the progress they were making. Rick nodded his head as he reached for the door to get out. Michonne stopped him as she remembered a little detail she needed to tell him.

"Oh and one other thing. There will be a Tiger."

"Did you just say a Tiger?"

" Yep and her name is Shiva, " she beamed.

A/N: Sorry that this was kinda dark but I had to find a point in the story to tell a little bit about their past. Well, now that is over. Next chapter I promise more Richonne action while they are in the Kingdom. Comments are always welcome.