AN: This chapter begins a few in a series of fluff/character development chapters. I hope you enjoy. There are a number of things I'd like to explore here, so that's where we're going. Some will be shorter, others will be longer, most depend in length on what's going on in my real world.
1111111111111111111111111111111111
Michonne stretched in bed for a moment, savoring how soft the sheets and blankets and pillows felt. The mornings that she woke up, on her own, when she wanted to get up, the bed felt absolutely heavenly. She rolled around in it for a moment, hugging the pillows, smelling Daryl's sent on his abandoned pillow. She got up, pulled on her robe and tied it shut, slipping out the bedroom and into the nursery. Both of the girls were gone and it appeared the house was empty. Michonne slipped back into the bedroom and fumbled through the clothes that she had that fit right now, trying to find something she felt like wearing.
When she was dressed, she slipped out the house and headed toward headquarters. Entering the door she found Sadie lying on the couch with the baby she'd claimed tucked in her arms. She smiled at Michonne and Michonne walked over a second, leaning over her.
"You've taken up residence on the couch at headquarters?" Michonne asked. Sadie didn't respond to her immediately.
"Someone decided to wake up this morning with a raging fever," Carol called from the kitchen area. Michonne could hear the clink of things that Carol was apparently putting away. "Mark dosed her with antibiotics, but she seems to think that she can go trotting off to the fields to work. Keeping her here is the only way that I can make her let me keep an eye on her."
"It's better not to fight with her," Michonne said to Sadie. "Somehow you always end up losing."
Sadie giggled.
"I know," she said.
"Where is everyone?" Michonne called to Carol.
"Those who are only slightly injured are mostly in the fields. Mark and Rachel are checking on the injured," Carol answered. It had been three days since the battle and people were just starting to seem recovered from the fatigue, less likely from their injuries.
"Where are Hope and Judith?" Michonne asked.
"Your daughter," Carol started, "is with her Dada because apparently he's the only one whose soul she doesn't think should burn right now."
"What?" Michonne asked.
"She's cutting a new tooth, I think," Carol explained. "She's completely inconsolable and thinks that I am Satan incarnate. Daryl's the only one that she wanted anything to do with at breakfast this morning, and she's still made him feel guilty for not doing anything to fight the cruel injustice that's being done to her."
Michonne laughed. Carol walked over, putting her hand on Sadie's head.
"You feel cooler," Carol said.
"I feel fine," Sadie responded.
"You may, but you're still staying put," Carol said. "Hope has her mother's temper, doesn't she?"
Sadie laughed and looked at Michonne.
"Oh no," she said, "I'm not getting into this."
Michonne wasn't bothered by the comment.
"Where do you want me?" Michonne asked.
"Actually, I could use you here a bit. I'm stocking the kitchen area as a medicine room, or something like that. Can you help me finish putting away everything that's left in the bags? We never got it all put away, but now we can afford the luxury of being organized," Carol said.
Michonne followed her back into the kitchen area and took over with one of the bags, putting things where they should go as best she could. She was mostly trying to match things to what Carol had already started putting away. The bags had been stuffed, and there was still a lot left, despite what they had used to treat everyone after the battle.
"If Hope's with Daryl, where's Judith?" Michonne asked, packing some bottles onto a shelf.
"Tyreese took her. They went with Rick and Glenn down to examine one of the columns. It seems that a herd must have passed through and tried to push in. It crumbled part of a column and they've gone down to see about reinforcing it, making sure it can stand up to such a threat," Carol explained.
Michonne snickered to herself, realizing that discussing things like battles and Walker herds had become as ordinary to their everyday conversation as discussing office gossip had once been to her life.
Mark came through the doors a few minutes later, stopping to check on Sadie and then passing into the kitchen.
"Maggie's looking better," he said. "I saw Glenn too. I know he went down to look at the fences with Tyreese and Daryl, but if he knows anything he'll listen to me and take it easy a few days. His wound isn't serious, but he could use a break."
"Glenn's not too hard headed," Carol said. "Sadie's fever broke and she seems less loopy than she was this morning."
"Good, that's what I like to hear," Mark said.
"What about Maggie?" Michonne asked. She knew that Maggie's injury had everyone a little worried at first. It had kept her firmly inside her house since the battle.
"Looking much better," Mark said, eating a granola bar he rummaged out of a box on the counter. "She's going to be fine, but she'll need some rest and then a little therapy. I don't think the damage is going to be anything lasting. Now that Seth fellow I'm still not sure about."
"Seth?" Michonne asked.
"New guy," Carol responded.
Ah, yes, Michonne thought. The new guy, the lone ranger. The man had been the only one they'd actually rescued from the other group, though he hadn't come from Sadie and Mark's group. Daryl had thoroughly interrogated him once, but his wound was pretty serious and they didn't want him to go through too much until he was a little stronger. Michonne thought that his wound, sadly, wouldn't have been very serious once upon a time, but given the skill of their two resident surgeons, things were more touch and go than they once were.
"Rachel is with him now," Mark said. He caught Michonne's eye and gave her a smirk. "She's quite the nurse to Seth," he added.
Carol also looked smug for a moment.
"You don't think," Michonne started, "not with that injury…"
"No, no, nothing like that," Mark said. "At least not yet. I'm just saying that they're awful chatty."
"What about Rick?" Michonne asked.
Carol looked at her smugly again.
"Rick seems to have developed some interests of his own, let's just say that he's been extra concerned about others himself," she said.
"Who?" Michonne asked.
Carol didn't say anything, but she did nod her head in the direction of the living room where Sadie was occupying the couch and Mark snickered.
"How's that going to work?" Michonne asked.
Carol shrugged.
"I don't know, but I'm guessing we might get the chance to see the first voluntary end of the world break up that we've ever seen," Carol said.
"I just hope there isn't any drama," Mark said. "Let's face it, you can't get the distance between two people that you used to be able to get. There's no room around here for catty bitches."
Mark crumpled up the wrapper he was holding and put it in the trash bag with the rest of the stuff that Carol was planning on burning later. Without a word he plucked a few more things from the cabinets and trotted out the door.
11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111
Tyreese and Rick had done most of the work patching up the column and checking the fence. Glenn had been somewhat "overseeing" the operation, resting nearby, as had Daryl, who was busy keeping an eye on an all too busy Judith and soothing a grumpy Hope.
When they'd finished working on the fence, and dinner was on the horizon, Tyreese had gathered up the tools in the bag they had and had taken Judith and Glenn and headed back toward headquarters. Rick had slowed Daryl up, ignoring momentarily that Daryl was anxious to find Michonne and see if she could get Hope to stop chewing on her hand and giving him the evil eye.
"Daryl, what do you think about Sadie?" Rick asked.
Daryl looked at him, puzzled, and shifted Hope to his other side.
"I ain't thought much about her," Daryl said. "What do ya mean?"
"If Michonne wasn't your wife, what would you think of her?" Rick asked.
Daryl looked even more puzzled.
"But 'Chonne is my wife," he argued.
"I know, but if she weren't, would you think Sadie was someone that, well…that you might think about getting involved with?" Rick asked. They were slowly making their way back, staying a good distance behind Tyreese and Glenn.
"You interested in her?" Daryl asked after a minute.
Rick just looked at him. Daryl smiled.
"What about Rachel?" Daryl asked.
Rick sighed. "You know I don't care about Rachel," Rick said. "I never have, really."
"You gon' tell her that?" Daryl asked.
"I guess I'm going to have to tell her something," Rick said. He'd been putting off telling Rachel anything because until now there hadn't been anyone that he was interested in, but he had to admit that Sadie had his attention. She was beautiful, that much he was sure was obvious to everyone, and he liked her spirit. It was only an added bonus that Carl seemed to like her and seemed drawn to her.
"I reckon so," Daryl said. He didn't know much about women, but he hoped that Rachel wouldn't take it too hard if Rick told her that he'd found another squirrel he'd rather tree than her. "If you gon' lay a claim to her, though, you better get to it soon. I think Beau has his own interest in her, if you know what I mean," he added.
"Beau?" Rick asked. "He's interested in Sadie?"
Daryl smiled.
"He talks 'bout her enough that I reckon he is," Daryl said. "You just might get a move on it, that's all."
"Beau's just a kid," Rick said, smiling.
"He might be a yearlin', but he's ruttin' just the same," Daryl said. "Don't mean she won't take notice if she don't know you ain't interested."
Rick dropped back a moment, taking in what Daryl had said.
"You don't really think she'd be interested in Beau, do you?" Rick called at Daryl who was making good time in front of him, Hope's complaints spurring him on.
"I gotta find my woman, you just get ta thinkin' 'bout what you want. Things don't last long these days!" Daryl called back, not slowing down.
111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111
By the time that Michonne got Hope to go to sleep and got ready for bed, she was ready for some sleep. She came into the room and fumbled around in the lamplight searching for her night gown.
"You gon' wear somethin' ta bed?" Daryl whined.
"I'm tired, Daryl," Michonne said. "Even if I come to bed naked I'm not in the mood."
Daryl snickered at her.
"That's fine, 'Chonne, but don't put nothin' on. I like ya better at night when I can feel ya without all that other mess," Daryl said.
Michonne turned, smiling at him and stopped her search for a minute. She hesitated before heading to bed.
"I promise, 'Chonne, I ain't gon' try nothin'." Daryl said, grinning.
Michonne finally crawled in bed and Daryl ushered her to snuggle against him, which she did willingly.
"Can I rub ya?" Daryl asked. Michonne knew what he meant and reached around him, drawing his arm around her and leading his hand to her belly. The action was common and comforting. "I think Rick likes Sadie," he said after a minute.
"The grapevine says you might be right," Michonne said.
"What you think 'bout that?" Daryl asked.
Michonne thought about it a few minutes.
"Well, if everyone is right there's a chance that Rachel might be interested in the new guy. I just hope there isn't some kind of drama. I think Sadie could be good for Rick, though. She's pretty grounded, and life hasn't kept her down yet. Who knows what she could do for him?" Michonne responded, hugging her pillow tighter under her head.
"I'm glad we ain't gotta deal with that," Daryl said, after a minute. "I wouldn't like ya tradin' me out for nobody new," he added.
"And I wouldn't want you to trade me out," Michonne said, echoing his thoughts. "But I think we're a different kind of couple than Rick and Rachel were," she explained. "They were more a couple out of convenience."
"What are we, 'Chonne?" Daryl asked.
"We're lifers, Daryl. We're stuck with each other, I think," Michonne said.
Daryl hugged her closer and kissed the back of her neck.
"I sure do like it that way, 'Chonne," he said.
"Me too, Daryl," Michonne said, smiling to herself and placing her hand gently over his.