Chapter 17:

"Now, maybe it's just me, but I feel like we got a little ahead of ourselves here…"

Michonne covered her hand with her mouth as she giggled beneath Rick, and he took great pleasure in seeing her laugh, especially from something he said, "Yeah. I think we did…"

"Where does it hurt?", His eyes roamed all over her body while he rested on his hands above her.

"Uh, well, just about everywhere…", She winced, shifting her hips slightly.

"I can take you to go and see Rosita? She can check you out-"

"No. It's fine. I know it's just a few sore spots, they'll probably clear up in a couple of days"

He examined her for a few more moments, looking from her shoulder, down to her hip, before nodding, "Alright then…"

"This was nice though. Well… until we got up here…"

He chuckled, "Yeah it was… I think next time, we should probably-"

"Next time, huh?", She raised an eyebrow at him, flashing him a teasing smile, "You're really getting ahead of yourself, aren't you?"

He bit his lip as he tried to suppress a chuckle, "I'm sure it was you that said 'Bedroom'?"

"That was just a test"

"A test? What kind of test was that?"

"To see if you were a true gentleman", She mocked, tapping him on his arm.

He snickered, "I think I was a gentleman, I carried you up the stairs, didn't I?"

"You did…"

"Exactly"

The moon projected the perfect amount of light into her room, and her eyes appeared to shine as she looked up at him. He didn't even care about the raging hard on that was being crushed in his jeans, his focus was purely devoted to recording every expression she made when she talk to him.

"So…", She sighed, still wearing a faint smile, "What happens now?"

"Uh, well, we kinda skipped a few thangs…"

"What? Like a few dates?"

His eyes darted to the pillow beneath her head, then back to her face, "Well, yeah?"

She rolled her eyes playfully, "We don't have the luxury of all that, I'm afraid"

"What do you suppose then?", He challenged, tilting his head at her.

She gave a one sided shrug, "Maybe we should just see each other… more"

He nodded casually, though the possibility of seeing her more made his pulse race, "That sounds good to me"

"Then that's what we'll do"

"Alright… let me just get off you-"

"You don't have to…"

He raised an eyebrow at her, causing her to chortle in way that he found adorable. He wasted no time leaning down and pressing his lips against hers. He had discovered that kissing her was his second favourite thing to do, with the first being to stare at her. She was a sensual kisser, her tongue moved tenderly around his mouth and little moans would leave her occasionally. Her lips were so soft and warm, and he was sure he could continue the contact until his mouth went numb.

Her good arm wrapped around his shoulders, while her other hand sat comfortably at the base of his neck. He was sure they could continue this way without hurting her, until she took his lip between her teeth, leading him to press his hips against her crotch.

She moaned at first, before grimacing, "Ouch!-"

"Okay, I'm getting off now", Rick didn't need to be told twice, so he pushed himself up and moved to sit on the edge of the bed, helping her to sit up too, "I think we should leave all that alone for a while…"

"Yeah", She smirked, fixing her halter top. They sat in a comfortable silence for a moment before she sighed, "Dinner was nice-"

"It was", He quickly agreed, "Shame we missed desert"

"I know. Apple pie is my favourite" .

"Mine too. And Carl's. Probably Judith's when she has it".

She seemed to struggle with her words for a moment, "I met her today. I saw her with Carl… in the street"

"Yeah? She was probably giving him hell"

A light chuckle left her, "She's… lovely"

Rick peered at her, noticing the mixed tone of her voice and the way she toyed with her pendant. The reason for her change in demeanour soon dawned on him, and the next question flew out of his mouth before he had a chance to consider it, "Is the 'A' for…"

She glanced at him for barely a second, her hand dropping to her lap, answering quietly, "Yeah."

"Alright…", He ran his tongue over his teeth as he tried to think of a different topic, not wishing for her to close up to him, "So... he wanted the two of you to leave?"

Her eyes crept back over to him, "Yeah. That was his plan"

He slowly began to nod, then stopped "Can I ask you somethan'?"

She raised both eyebrows at him, "Depends on what it is?"

"Well, it's a about you and… him?"

Her eyes studied him hurriedly, "Go on..."

He bit the inside of his cheek as he considered the next question, "Do you think thangs between the two of you will be the same after earlier? I mean, you beat him up and didn't run away with him?"

Her gaze dropped from his face, "I don't know"

He figured that would be her answer, "Well, I think he'll realise that you did it to protect him one day, because if I had found him first, I would have killed him"

"I know… and then I would have had to kill you", She looked him dead in the eye when she made the comment.

"I know…", He was tempted to snort at her, but he decided against it, "So, I'm glad we got that out the way for the tenth time…"

She snickered, shaking her head at him, "Yeah."

"I might wait until morning to talk to him… I gotta get home and check on Carl and Judith…", He sighed as he stood up, and she did as well, "We can talk about a punishment and all that tomorrow too"

"Yeah, that's fine"

He left the bedroom first and she followed after him, and he managed to suppress the urge to pat himself on the back for not panicking about being in her bedroom.

"I can, uh, drop by tomorrow night, if Carl ain't over here raiding your comic book collection", Rick suggested as they approached her front door.

"I'll be sure to see him in the day then", She smiled, and Rick had to stop bite his lips together to stop himself from giving her a goofy smile.

"Alright. Well, goodnight"

"Night"

His hand was on the doorknob, ready to leave but he didn't move. Now he knew what it felt like to kiss her, touch her, even talk to her about more than just the trivial things, he didn't want to move. He didn't want to leave her just yet.

"Uh…", a bashful smile formed on his face, "I'll just-"

"Yeah", She laughed, resting her hands on her hips, "Bye"

"Bye"

He finally left her home, and the night breeze on his skin worked wonders to cool him down.

Everything made sense to him the moment he saw her after her fight with Negan. The image of her sat beside the man's body, looking completely downtrodden, made him want to comfort her, and care for her, the way she never failed to do for Negan. Her strength and her resolve were qualities he didn't look for in the women he found attractive. He would pride himself on being the knight in shining armour to a damsel, as that was the dynamic he was used to. However, this alpha female was the complete opposite of everything he knew, and he found himself reduced to a fumbling moron from her fortitude, as well as her eyes.

He didn't think he could have an obsession with someone eyes, but he learnt he was grossly mistaken.

The next day, he all but skipped around his home in the morning. He bathed his daughter and fed her breakfast as he had grown accustomed to doing. He even sang to her while she sat in her high chair, and he made breakfast for he and Carl.

"Did something happen last night? You came home late?", His son quizzed as he trudged into the kitchen, his hair still damp from his shower.

"Yeah, Negan got out", Rick answered in a tone that didn't quite translate the seriousness of the situation.

"What?", Carl stopped dead in his tracks, his hand on the fridge door, "Why-how-"

"Don't worry, he's back in his cell. He managed to get Tyreese's weapon of him when he was on watch, but we got him… well, Michonne stopped him"

His son didn't move.

"We handled it. I mean that"

Carl seemed to only relax a fraction, after a few moments, "Good. I didn't think that would happen so soon"

"It won't happen again. It was just a slip up but, still."

"You don't seem that worried?"

Rick adjusted his tone, "I was when it happened, but, he's back in his cell"

"At least you don't look as bad as you did after the first fight you had with him", Carl's eyes scanned over his father, "Except for those little bruises there"

Rick's eyes followed his son's finger, where he was pointing at his neck. His chest tightened, and he ran his hand over the area that Michonne had almost devoured the night before, "Yeah, uh, he got me..."

"What are you going to do now then?", His son pressed.

"We're working out some kind of punishment for him", He turned to face his son, noting the concern look her wore, "Don't worry, we're gonna a tighten thangs up. And if he tries anythan' like that again, I'll take care of him. I can promise you that"

The teen shifted uncomfortably, "Michonne probably won't like that."

He reluctantly nodded, "I know"

Carl finally opened the fridge, while Rick continued to cut fruits for breakfast, "Should I give Judith her bottle?"

"We're out of milk-"

"No, we're not, I hid it so you and Daryl wouldn't use it in your cereal", Carl informed evilly, taking out a bottle of milk from the fridge, "Michonne doesn't eat dairy, so she said we can use her share from the pantry"

Rick's eyebrows rose, "Really?... I'll have to thank her for that then"

The day had barely started and yet, he found himself saying Michonne's name multiple times, though he wasn't complaining. He knew his son had found a new friend, and he would occasionally drop her name in conversations anyway, but now Rick was in a position to comment, positively.

He left his home shortly after eating breakfast with his son, and he made a beeline for Negan's cell. The idea to just end the man's life had crossed his mind many of times, but he knew it would only open up a new set of problems for him. He did want to make him suffer however, and the cell was the best place for it. He knew he hated it in his little prison, and the was the only comfort he could take away from their arrangement.

"Any problems?", He questioned Scott as he walked down the steps to the basement.

"None", Scott informed, looking up from the book he held in his hands.

Bruce was sat by the cell door, also reading a book, though he perked up when he saw Rick.

"Give us a minute", Rick instructed, tipping his head to the front door.

Bruce nodded, standing from his seat and stretching his arms as he stepped out the house. Rick took his seat and faced it towards the door, where he had a clear view of Negan. The man was sat with his back against the wall, on the floor, with a cut on the corner of his mouth, and another on the lid of his eye, with a light purple bruises surrounding it. He snarled at Rick.

"Bad move yesterday, huh?", Rick sighed, sitting back, bringing an ankle up to rest on his knee.

"Nah. It was fun", Negan sniggered, "Bet I had you fucktards pissing your panties-"

"Doesn't look like you had fun", Rick squinted at him, "You definitely didn't look like you were having fun when you were getting carried back in here. In fact, I have a question... you had all that time to find a way out of here… but you stayed? Why?"

The other man pursed his lips, "I had some shit to collect"

"You could have just taken what you wanted from Michonne's house", He shrugged, "Got what you wanted and left, but you didn't?"

Negan titled his head at him, "What the fuck are you digging for you piece of shit farmer?

"I'm just trying to help you figure out where your plan went wrong. That's all", He replied in a nonchalant tone.

"You're lucky I didn't find out where you and your little piss stain of a kid lay your heads-"

"But you didn't. You went to Michonne's… hoping she'd leave with you, but she didn't want to do that did she? She put you right back here where you belong", the words fell from Rick's mouth like bricks, "Doesn't that tell you somethan'?"

Negan's eyes narrowed, his attitude taking a turn for the worse, "Oh, I was right about you. I was right on the bull's nuts. The fucking cowboy is trying to lay claim on somethan' he can't have-"

"I don't lay claim on anyone", Rick corrected firmly, "But she's a resident here now, so that means she's one of our people-"

"Oh please, save the speech for those assholes-"

"She stopped you didn't she?", He cocked his head at the man, "She stopped you hurting Tyreese? One of our people?"

Negan sniggered at him, "Oh you're good. You're really fucking good, but cut that leader bullshit out. You know exactly what I'm talking about you bag of shit, and let me tell you something, she'd slit your throat and pull your tongue through the wound to make it look like you're wearing a fucking tie, before she'd let you anywhere near her"

Rick stared at the man with utter glee, before a taunting smile spread across his lips, "Well, she did somethan' to my neck, but as you can see, it wasn't that"

To see Negan's face contort in confusion and anger brought Rick great joy, "What the fuck did you just say?"

"Oh, you heard me", Rick stood up with a happy sigh, "Now, just a little reminder, that if you do try to pull a stunt like that again, it will be a bullet that takes you down"

The man glowered, barely blinking.

"So, if you don't mind, I've got a community to run, and you… well, you don't"

He left the man fuming, and Rick felt content at being the cause of his rage. He knew it was childish, and the more he thought about it, the more he hoped that his admission wouldn't add to Michonne's burdens, or have a negative impact towards what was forming between them.

"Hey Rick!"

He turned to the sound of Glenn's voice, and to his surprise, he was with Jesus, strolling towards him from further up the street, "What's going on?"

"Hey", Jesus greeted, wearing an expression that Rick struggled to read, "We just arrived. I thought we'd see how things were going over here"

"Good", Rick nodded as they met each other on the curb, "The Hilltop?"

"It's coming along even better than before. Much better. We expanded the wall a couple yards, more space to grow crops. And we found two more trailers"

"Yeah? Well that's good then"

"I told him about what happened yesterday", Glenn confessed, tucking his hands in his pockets.

"Oh yeah, Negan", Rick exhaled, tired of the man's name.

"I understand that it's probably not easy keeping him", Jesus's eyes darted to the home where Negan was kept, "But I don't think this is something you want getting out…"

"Believe me, I don't. It was a slip up, and it's not happening again. Two people are staying by his cell from now on, and I've instructed them all that if he even tries anything like that again, then they shoot him"

Jesus slowly began to nod, "Reasonable"

"I was reasonable when I didn't kill him last night. I'm done with that now", Rick's eyes scanned the area behind the two men.

"There was actually something I wanted to talk to you about…"

"Go on?"

Jesus took a small step back, "We came across a small burnt up town when we were out on a run...and at first we thought it might have been left over from when Negan was in charge… but it looked fresh, there was still smoke coming off one of the buildings… and there were heads lined up on the fence…"

Rick's eyes narrowed at Jesus, "Heads?"

"Maybe thirty? Men, women… even children… And they weren't walkers, they looked like they had just been killed, their mouths were clean…"

"Where was this?"

"About fifty miles west from us"

"Could be another camp?", Glenn removed his hands from his pocket and crossed his arms, "Or just a little group… Like the wolves?"

Rick looked to Glenn for a moment, then back to Jesus, "We have a trade with the Kingdom tomorrow, we'll ask Ezekiel about it, then go check it out ourselves"

"Alright. I can come along? Lead you there?"

"You'll do that then".

After everything that had happened with the Savior's, Rick wasn't taking any risks. If there was another community that posed a threat to them all, then he wanted to know sooner, rather than later, and unlike previously, he would be prepared from the beginning.