Chapter 15

It had been a day and a half since Carl slipped into a coma. Michonne and Rick had been basically living in the infirmary taking shifts sitting with Carl, talking to him, trying to get him to wake up. Michonne found it hard not to blame herself. Every time she was left alone with Carl she started to cry as the events of the past couple days played through her mind. Everything had been going great before Carl got hurt. It's like the universe couldn't allow them to be happy. Her and Rick hadn't spoken much since he came back. They sat together next to Carl sometimes but it was usually in silence. She wondered if he blamed her at all for what happened. She remembered how she blamed Mike for letting Andre get killed. She eventually forgave him but it took a long time and she was scared to death that Rick would feel the same way. Every time he entered the room she held her breath waiting for him to speak up but he hadn't yet. She knew it was stupid to feel this way after he told her it wasn't her fault when he first saw her in the infirmary on the floor but this was a specifically hard situation for her because of how Andre died.

Denise was still optimistic about Carl's recovery. She had tried to convince both Rick and Michonne to get some rest while she looked after Carl but neither one of them wanted to leave Carl's side in case he woke up. The rest of the group had been in and out of the infirmary to check on Carl and offer to help Rick and Michonne with anything they might need. Maggie had brought them some food and Glenn and Daryl sat with Michonne for a little while last night while Rick was with Carl. There was a heaviness and a silence amongst the group since Carl's accident. Michonne figured that no one knew how to deal with it or what to say. They had all watched Carl grow up and cared for him deeply.

It had gotten dark out since Michonne had gone back to the house to take a quick shower and grab some fresh clothes for Rick. When she walked into the infirmary Denise looked up from her books. The door was still closed to the room where Rick was sitting with Carl.

"Has he come out at all?"

"Not since lunch. I heard him talking to Carl a little while ago."

Michonne nodded as she turned from Denise to look back at the door. Michonne was tired of the silence. With Rick's clothes in her hand she walked toward the door and quietly turned the knob. Rick was standing behind his chair, hunched over with his hands gripping the back of it and his head hung low. She was setting the stack of clothes on the bench by the door when she heard him sniffle. She was reminded of the Rick she found in the RV when he was afraid that Alexandria had been taken and possibly Carl and Judith with it. He had sat with his head hung in silence then as well. She was realizing this was how Rick dealt with grief. It wasn't because he was mad at her; he just had a tendency to shut down when he was scared. She walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his stomach, resting her head on his back. She felt him breathe out as his shoulders fell. He wrapped his arms around hers and held her hands tight against his stomach. Rick's obvious comfort at her touch made her relax as well. They had stood like that for a while, taking comfort in each other's arms when she felt Rick pull her hand toward his mouth to kiss it before turning around to face her. He held her hands together at his chest and looked at her like a broken man. He had dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep and his eyes were a little pink from crying. He looked into her eyes as he began to speak.

"I don't think I'll survive if he doesn't come back."

Hearing him say that broke her heart. She broke her hands free from his grasp to hold his face.

"You don't have to worry about that because Carl is going to wake up, you hear me?" She looked deeply into his eyes trying to make him see how much she believed her words to be true. She did believe Carl would wake up but she didn't know what condition he would be in when he did.

"You have me…and Judith…and everyone else out there that loves you and we are going to help you get through this until Carl wakes up because he will wake up." She stood on her toes and kissed his cheek before wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight hug. He rested his head on her shoulder and wrapped his arms around her waist as he pressed his lips lightly against her neck.

"I love you, Michonne."

She smiled for the first time in two days.

"I love you too."

A moment later there was a soft tap on the door as Denise peaked in. "Do you mind if I check on Carl for a few minutes?" Rick cleared his throat as he ran his hands through his hair. "We'll just be right outside." Michonne grabbed his hand and the pile of clothes by the door as she directed Rick out of the room, across the hall, and into the bathroom in the back, closing the door behind them. He had a confused look on his face. "What are we doing?"

She looked him up and down. "We are getting you cleaned up. You stink and you still have dirt on your face from your hunting trip." Before he could protest she interrupted. "Carl will be fine with Denise for a few minutes. Besides, she can do more for him right now than either of us can. Now take off your shirt." He looked at her with what she guessed was a mix of surprise and confusion. "Fine I'll do it," she said as she grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head. After she threw the dirty shirt on floor she noticed a small grin on his face. Looking at him quizzically she asked, "Are you just trying to get me to undress you?" With a shrug he simply said, "You volunteered."

"You're ridiculous." A smile spread across her face as she grabbed a bath cloth from under the sink and held it under the faucet.

"Are you going to bathe me too," Rick said with a hopeful expression.

"Oh shut up and clean yourself up" handing him the cloth she reached for the door.

"Michonne, wait."

She turned to look at him as he softly held her chin and kissed her lips before pulling away and whispering, "Thank you." She grabbed the hand that was holding her chin and brought it up to her mouth kissing the inside of his palm gently. "You're Welcome." She closed the bathroom door behind her and heard Rick turn the shower on. She knew Carl was going to wake up and she and Rick were going to be okay.