Rick Grimes knew that Michonne was concerned. It was the third night in which no sleep would come to him, his mind working a mile a minute trying to figure out how to get his community out of the crisis it found itself in. It was the second night back in ASZ that he decided to leave the bedroom and endless pace in the living room, trying to escape nightmares and his fighting his own demons. He suspected that Michonne knew about the hallucinations that were starting again, visions of friends he'd lost and loved ones but they needed him strong. No time for doubt.

He could feel her as he stood by the window, gazing out at the community that had become his home. A place he never thought would be his home in his last life or this one. He knew she had finally gotten Carl to sleep in his room after days on the porch, Carl's scowl firmly attached to his face as he looked at his father. Rick had heard him earlier talking about how his father was acting like a coward and how Michonne had defended him. Now she was here with him again. She went to the other side of the window and he could feel her warm brown eyes on him, waiting.

"I'm okay."

"You haven't slept in three days. You need to rest. We need you strong."

Rick stayed focused on the street outside the window and the quietness of the town. He could see shadows moving in the dark but didn't react to them. He knew it was in his head. He knew that Daryl was out there, his quietness searing into his soul, accusing him. That Jessie was out there with her children, broken promises in her eyes. Hershel with his kind continence turned vicious with accusation. Shane was there, teasing him and harassing him, his smile going all the way to the gums. Sophia was there lost and alone. And Lori was there, her face sad and bereft. She was holding a baby. Maggie's baby. Someone he had failed who hadn't even made it into the world. Were Morgan and Carol out there too? Were they the other people he failed?

"Hey, we're in here." Rick felt her palm on his cheek and turned to face her finally. "We're all here."

Rick stayed quiet at that and she moved her hand down to his chest and then finally met his own, grasping it.

"Come to bed."

She lead him through the living room and then up the stairs. Rick followed the sway of her hips, the unwavering confidence in her steps, and wondered how she did it. How could she keep it together when he was a mess?

Michonne opened the bedroom door and let him in first and he took in their room. Their room. It was both an exhilaration and a revelation every time he thought of them together, a couple, a unit. Rick went to his side of the bed and sat down, unsure of what to do or how to get to sleep. He was slightly startled when Michonne stood in front of him, taking off her white button up shirt. It suddenly came to him that she hadn't dressed for bed as she has said she would do earlier in the night.

She was waiting for me.

The thought made his heartache as she removed her bra and he pulled her between his legs, his ear touching her bare stomach. Michonne froze for a minute and then put her fingers through his hair in the way he loved.

"I need you, Rick."

Rick was taken aback by her confession but he blurted out his own confession as he looked up at her face.

"I need you too, 'Chonne."

She leaned down and kissed him, her lips plump and pleasant. Michonne hadn't kissed him this way since the morning before they lost Daryl, when he thought he was invincible. That they were invincible. Now he knew better and kissed her like some fragile thing and she melted in his arms.

She needs this just as much as me. Rick thought as she gently explored his mouth with her tongue, tracing the outline of his with a smooth precision . He moved his hands up and down her back and then moved forward to the front of her jeans, carefully unbuttoning her pants.

If there was one thing he could do it was to please her. Make her feels safe and protected. She had went through the pain too, his memory creating the picture of her with blood over her face and horror in her eyes. Daryl's blood was all over her and when they had went to clean in one of Gregory's rooms at Hilltop, she scrubbed her body as if the blood would never come off. Rick slipped his hand into the front of her pants and inside of her panties and she stopped kissing him long enough to moan her contentment as he played with her clit.

He had found in their short time together that her moans were the sexiest thing he had ever heard on this planet. His usually stoic samurai would break under his touch, become vulnerable and girlish during their love making. It was happening here too as she dug her fingers into his shoulders as he used two fingers to rub over her sweetest spot. Her wetness was becoming apparent as he explored her folds.

"Fuck." was her simple word as he moved his hand to push down her pants, bringing her panties with her. Michonne stepped out of her clothes and then began to help him remove his shirt. Rick wrapped his arms around her waist, rose slightly, and then flipped her onto the bed, their kisses urgent and needy.

Rick's jeans and boxers soon joined hers on the floor as he licked on her neck and sucked on her nipples, his tongue lapping them up and then sucking. He lifted himself to see her fully, to wonder at her below him, and was touched by the tears in her eyes.

"I can't…" Michonne grabbed his hair, bringing him closer to her, and he wanted to drive her tears away. He pushed himself inside of her, biting his lips at the feel of her wet intensity. Michonne's legs wrapped around him as he plunged inside, over and over, not knowing where she started and he stopped. He felt her tug him deeper inside and almost let go, his control barely there.

She was soon on top of him, flipping their places, palms flat on his sweaty chest. Rick sat up and hugged her to him, their breaths intermingling with each thrust. Their foreheads came together, he never felt closer to another human being.

Michonne. My Michonne.

He could feel her shuddering, her climax close, and he was shocked by his own tears at the feel. He'd almost lost her. She'd almost been one of those shadows. He couldn't lose her. He couldn't.

He felt her kiss his tears and then he returned the favor. They kissed urgently as the pace speeded up.

"I love you. I love you, Rick." She whispered in his ear as she shattered. He followed her over the cliff, knowing there was nothing but them in this moment. Them and their love.

They both collapsed, her head on his chest, and Rick went to remove himself from inside her but Michonne stopped him.

"I want you close."

He nodded his head and kissed her forehead. He moved her hair from her face and gazed at her.

"Rick, you have to promise me if you see people...if you see things that aren't there, you need to tell me."

The fear in her voice made everything in him want to destroy the world. Rick nodded his head and she took in a deep breath of relief. He held her closer, his lips near her forehead, and breathed her in.

"I love you. I love you, too" Rick whispered, returning her earlier words and she closed her eyes. He could feel her heartbeat on his body and is member slowly softening inside of her. His eyes were becoming heavier and as he drifted into the first sleep he had since this ordeal had begun he thought of the woman in his arms, the son in the next room, and his baby sleeping peaceful dreams in her crib.

Before the night claimed him he thought of one thing that gave him inspiration and hope.

I have a plan.