Chapter 15:

Michonne slowly paced her living room as her mind raced, still reeling over her last conversation with Negan. The man's request for her to raise Sherry's child bothered her to her core, and it was part of the reason that she had stopped seeing him regularly. She hoped that having him in a cell would help preserve their friendship somehow, but all it did was lead her to question it.

A knock at the front door snapped her from her thoughts, and she sighed as she went to answer it.

"Hey", Maggie greeted, a hand resting on her rounded stomach, "How are you?"

"Good", Michonne chirped back, "You?"

"Can't complain", She shrugged, "I was just stopping by to see if you were still on for tonight? And if you were, do you have any special dietary requirements I should know about?"

Michonne had honestly forgot that she agreed to attend their dinner party, "Oh, yeah. I can make it and, I'm a vegetarian so I guess I'd be fine with just a salad or something-"

"Oh, good. Meat isn't something we run across often… well Daryl will bring back squirrels sometimes…"

Michonne tried not to recoil at the thought, "Oh. Nice"

"Don't worry, it's just going to be pasta… hopefully a pie for dessert, but I'm still working on that"

"That's fine by me. Time?"

"Six?"

"No problem. I'll be there at six"

"Great! Alright then, see you then"

Michonne felt as if she was living in the twilight zone. She had become so accustomed to her new life that talking about attending a dinner party left her feeling strange.

It didn't help that she was desperate to leave the community. She knew Rick didn't agree with her reasoning, and she appreciated his offer to go with Daryl, but she wanted that time to herself, that time to escape from everyone else was precious to her.

She grabbed the key to Negan's cell off her mantel piece and stalked out of her home. While she was becoming friendly with a few of the other residents, there was only one person she could completely let her guard down with.

The socially awkward man that Michonne knew to be Eugene, was guarding her friend again. She sent him on his way when she arrived, and she could tell from the look on his face that he was grateful to be relieved.

Negan was doing sit ups when she walked into his cell, and he didn't stop his work out when he saw her take a seat on his mattress, "Two days in a row after three days of nothing? You're spoiling me 'Chonne"

She stretched her legs out in front of her, "Guess I am"

He glanced at her, "You got ants in your pants don't you? You wanna go out. Don't let me stop you"

"Trust me. You're not, but they have rules here"

He did one more sit up, before stopping completely, "You can't go out can you? That killer farmer won't allow it?"

"It makes sense. I don't disagree with it"

He chuckled as he stood up, "I would have never have taken you as the type to follow rules! I remember having to almost beg you to stay, and yet here we are… You're in here, dying to run away-"

"Nobody is running away.", She rebuffed, shaking her head, "So stop being a jerk-"

"What the hell has he done for you? For you to respect his rules?"

"He allowed me to live here with you. He didn't have to do that-"

"Yes he did. Otherwise I would have made his life hell from here"

She sighed, dropping her head back against the wall.

"When are you going to talk to Sherry?"

"When I go to the Sanctuary-"

"When's that?"

"When we're scheduled to trade. That's when", She bit at him, "And if she doesn't want to see you, then you have to respect that-"

"What do you mean 'If' she doesn't want to see me? She says that baby is mine so she has to-"

"No. She doesn't. Ideally it would be nice if she did but, sadly, you were an asshole to her so it won't be that simple"

He growled, stretching his arms over her head, "What's that piece of chicken shit Dwight got to say about it all?"

Michonne smirked, "He was going to beat you with your own bat"

Negan's face fell, "He has Lucille? Are you fucking kidding me 'Chonne?!"

"I have the bat, so calm down", She rolled her eyes at him.

"What the fuck was he doing with it, anyway? I would have loved to see him try to use it on me-"

"You got the man's wife pregnant. He would have put up one hell of a fight", She bit her lip as she tried to suppress a smile.

Negan stared at her, "So you're sitting there, secretly rooting for him?"

"Can you blame him? Can you honestly blame him?"

He rolled his eyes at her, "There you go again, trying to get me to sympathise with people that I don't give a shit about-"

"I'm not asking you for that. I know you well enough to not even bother with such a thing. You like the way you are-"

"And you don't. I got that memo when you cut off my fucking hand", He paced the cell, walking around in a circle, "So you came down here today because the killer… what did I call him before? A farmer right?... the killer cowboy won't let you out-"

"They don't like people leaving unless it's necessary. It makes sense, and I imagine they have less casualties, saves on gas-"

"Are you defending him?", Negan's lip curled at her, "You're fucking defending him aren't you?"

"I agree with the rule. There's a difference", She shrugged.

"But let's look at the facts here. He's not an idiot, he knows you can handle yourself-"

"That doesn't mean anything. I know he knows that, but it doesn't mean I should get preferential treatment-"

"I bet he has the hots for you. He let you move in, gave you the key to this piece of shit cell, he probably left you in charge of everything to do with me", Negan began to chortle, "All because he likes the way your hips swing when you walk"

She sent him her best glower, "Are you finished?"

"Someone needs to break it to him that that ship isn't taking any passengers", He declared, ignoring her, "Fucking little prick"

She exhaled in an exasperated manner, preparing to change the subject, "I think Andre's birthdays coming up… I don't think it's past… I think we're in the middle of summer now so… it should be coming…"

He friend looked down at her, slowing his pace.

"I've been trying to think of a way that I would know… like if I could find one of those alarm clocks with the time and the date but… I figured the batteries probably died in them a long time ago…"

His eyes bounced off the walls as he thought, "Someone must know here. A creepy little town like this probably has someone like that… keeping track of time and dates to make them feel 'normal' in a fucking apocalypse"

She glanced at him, her fingers toying with the pendant on her necklace, "Maybe. I might ask…"

Negan sighed, stepping over to her with his hand extended. She took it, and he pulled her into a bear hug. It wasn't something they did often, but it was the only kind of physical contact that she had with anyone, and she accepted it.

"Thank you", she huffed against his chest.

"Yeah, don't mention it".

"...You stink"

"Fuck you 'Chonne"

She left his cell shortly after their hug, feeling a little more comfortable with herself. He was the closest thing she had to a home, and she knew she offered him the same feeling, though he wouldn't admit it, and neither would she.

With plans for the evening, she made a quick trip home to retrieve some clothes for Negan to have a shower. She returned to his cell and handed Tyreese the key, informing him of her whereabouts for when they were done. She knew Rick trusted the large man, and she could tell why, even though she had only a handful of conversations with him in passing.

She strolled back up the street, intending to go straight back to her house when she saw Carl, pushing his sister in a stroller towards her. Her body became rigid and her heart seemed to have migrated to her throat. She was sure to smile, though she imagined it wasn't the warmest.

"Hey!", Carl greeted, "You finished with..."

She nodded, her eyes glued on him, "Yeah, all done"

"Cool. This is my little sister Judith by the way. She's… I don't know how old she is. Maybe two?"

Michonne gave a dry chuckle as her eyes dropped to the girl. She gave a little wave to her, "Hey there… tiny person"

"I was trying to get her take a nap but no luck, so I thought a stroll might do it"

"Should do…", She answered weekly, "Maybe some warm milk?"

Carl frowned, "I know we got milk from the Hilltop before but we ran out at home and with the rations and everything-"

"I can ask? I haven't asked for milk so if they have some I can just give it to you?"

The teen's eyes lit up, "Really? Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I don't really eat dairy, but I think for this to work, we can't tell them that"

Carl chortled at her, "You're probably right. Thanks"

"Come on, let's go try this out"

Being in such close proximity to the toddler wasn't as daunting as Michonne expected it to be. While she wasn't completely ready to interact with the little girl, she didn't mind being in her company. Luckily for her, Carl didn't seem to pick up on her reserved behaviour towards his sister.

Once she was able to get a bottle of milk from the pantry for Carl, she walked the two of them home before setting off to her own house to get ready for Maggie and Glenn's dinner. She was proud of herself for keeping track of the time, but she didn't factor in how long it would take her to actually get ready.

After taking a quick shower, she scurried through her home in a hurried pace. Her clothing choices were limited, as everything was either black and leather or black and cotton. She didn't own a dress, so found herself recycling her black halter top with a pair of black leather pants, finished off with her biker boots. She left her hair down, hoping to keep her look somewhat casual, though she kept her hair band on her wrist just in case.

By the time she was done, she glanced at the clock in the living room and growled, "Shit!"

It dawned on her that she would be expected to talk with others at the dinner as she power walked down the street. She wouldn't classify herself as close enough to the people in attendance, and she could only hope they would do most of the talking for the evening.

She knocked gently on the door and took a step back as she waited for someone to appear. For reasons unbeknownst to her, she suddenly felt nervous, and found herself taking long, deep breaths to sooth herself.

"Hey!", Glenn greeted with a smile, moving aside to let her in, "Glad you can make it"

"Sorry I'm a little late, I underestimated how long it would take for me to get ready", She explained, stepping into the home.

"It's okay, foods almost done anyway so you're technically on time for that. Come on through"

Sasha, Abraham and Rick were all already sat around the dining table, laughing with each other. All eyes landed on her as she followed in behind Glenn, and she felt only a little nauseous.

"Hey! It's ninja lady!", Abraham teased as he held up his glass to her.

"Hey", She smiled, giving a pathetic attempt at a wave.

"Glenn! Can you help me please?!"

Glenn glanced towards his wife's voice in the kitchen, "So, take a seat, help yourself to whatever you'd like and I'll be back shortly"

"Okay, thanks", She breathed weekly.

Sasha and Abraham had sat together on one side of the six seater table, while Rick had sat on the opposite side of them. She quickly made the conscious decision to take the seat next to him, to avoid making the arrangement awkward.

"Have you met Sasha?", Rick asked, putting his glass down on the table.

"Not formally", She admitted, "But she was kind enough to escort me to the bathroom when you held me as a prisoner"

Abraham turned his head away from the table as he began to splutter, and Sasha pounded the man on his back with a flat hand, all while Rick stared at Michonne with a hung jaw.

"Nice to meet you, Sasha", She smiled.

"You too", Sasha smiled back, rubbing the man's back as he calmed.

Rick released a long suffering sigh, sitting back in his seat, "I'm sure I apologised for that"

"You did"

"And you said you didn't take it personally-"

"I don't"

He looked at her through narrowed eyes, as if he was trying to figure her out.

She raised her eyebrows at him innocently, crossing her legs beneath the table, "So, I wanted to know when you plan to trade with the Savior's…"

His brow furrowed, "We're trading with the Kingdom first. Why? You want to come along?"

"Well I needed to go to the Sanctuary anyway but… if you're going to the kingdom first then I don't coming along if you can spare the room?"

He slowly nodded, "I'm sure we can work somethan' out…"

"Hey Michonne!", Maggie welcomed as she walked into the room, carrying a bowl of salad, "Glad you can make it, just in time too because dinner is ready"

"It smells great", Michonne responded, though her eyes were primarily on the salad.

Glenn soon approached them with plates of pasta, and set them down in front of Michonne and Sasha first.

"Wish we had some garlic bread or something to go with it", Sasha sighed sadly.

"I noticed you don't grow wheat here?", Michonne frowned, looked from Sasha to Rick, "Your soil seems good enough"

"We don't have the seeds", Rick breathed as he sat back, allowing Glenn to put his plate down in front of him.

"We- the Sanctuary does. We found an old Mill next to a warehouse a while ago. They had dozens of bags of the stuff"

He raised his eyebrows at her, "Yeah?"

She nodded.

"I'll have to ask Dwight about that then"

Michonne was beginning to feel a little more at ease, and while she tried her best to engage in conversation with the others, she found herself branching off into other topics with Rick, which wasn't part of the plan at all. She was meant to be steering clear of him, and she wanted to kick herself for not having the willpower to do so.

"So how'd you get so good at wielding that sword of yours?", Sasha probed from behind her glass of wine.

Michonne put her fork down on her plate before she spoke, "Self-taught. I've always had an interest in it"

"That's cool. And handy", Glenn joked beside her.

"What made you want to teach yourself that?", Rick queried, resting one elbow on the table as he faced her.

She slid her eyes over to him, "I used to read a lot of comic books"

"Used to?", He raised an eyebrow at her.

"I don't own anywhere near as much as I used to. And even less now that your son's around"

His gaze dropped as he snickered.

"I heard the Anderson lady probing you about starting a school?", Abraham quizzed Rick, "Not much of a good idea considering she's proved herself to be a crappy babysitter?"

Rick sighed, "Yeah. I don't think it's a bad idea in general but to have her as a teacher just doesn't sit well with me"

"Damn right it doesn't. I wouldn't trust her to watch my favourite rock if I had one".

Michonne couldn't help releasing a little chuckle at the man's analogy, leading Rick to look over at her. She had noticed he would glance at her whenever she laughed, and it knocked her off centre when his cloudy eyes zeroed in on her.

When everyone had finished their meals, the sat patiently waiting for Maggie to bring out dessert. Sasha and Abraham had started their own hushed conversation, leaving Rick and Michonne to speak to each other.

"So where we're you before this?", He peered at her before taking at sip of his water.

"Before the walkers?", She looked at him for clarification.

He nodded.

"Atlanta. You?"

He sniffed as he put down his glass, "Not far from Atlanta, actually"

"Really? Small town?"

He nodded again, "Yeah, Kings County"

She smirked, "Really small town"

He frowned at her, his lips poised to question her remark when continuous banging rang out from the front door. Everyone instantly stood from their seats as Glenn sprinted from the kitchen to open the door.

"I can't find Tyreese or Negan!", Scott announced, panting in the doorway, "The cell was empty!"

Michonne was already around the table as soon as she heard her friend's name, running past Glenn and Scott in the doorway. She couldn't have ran faster if she tried, but that didn't stop her, she knew she needed to move quickly.

She pounded up the stairs of her porch and burst through the door to retrieve her Katana, heading straight for the mantel piece. She grabbed her weapon of choice off its hooks by the handle, and picked up its case from against the wall.

"Alright, calm the fuck down"

Negan's voice made her jump, and she spun around to see she man sat on her couch, with an unconscious Tyreese in front of him. His boot was resting on the man's head while a rifle hung loosely in his good hand. He had Lucile resting across his lap, wearing his favourite leather jacket and a smile on his face.

"Close the door please 'Chonne. I don't want anybody interrupting us"