"Dad! Come on, we're gonna be late," Carl called from the foyer.
It was the first day of fall tryouts and he was eager to get to his high school football field to secure his place on the team's varsity roster.
He momentarily stopped tossing his practice ball in the air to check his cell phone for the third time in five minutes, and sighed. If only his father understood his urgency.
"Dad!"
"I heard you the first time. Hold your horses," Rick said emerging from the upstairs hallway.
"Yeah, Car, hold your horsies!" his five-year-old mimicked from his arms.
Rick smirked at his baby girl and gingerly took the steps down to the foyer. He pressed a kiss to her forehead before setting her down once they reached the bottom step. As soon as her bare feet touched the floor she made a beeline for the nearby family room to watch her morning cartoons.
"You sure you got everything?" Rick asked his son while retrieving his car keys from the mantle hook. "We're not turning around once we're on the road."
Carl nodded, impatiently. "Yes. Can we go?"
"You sure about that?" Michonne asked, descending the staircase with a football helmet under her arms.
Rick looked at Carl unimpressed and lightly swatted the back of his head.
Carl grinned sheepishly, meeting his stepmother halfway to retrieve his helmet. "Oh yeah, I might need that," he muttered in chagrin, stuffing it into his gym bag with the rest of his equipment.
Michonne smirked knowingly at him then looked around, noticing someone was missing. "Where's Andre?"
"Coming!" came the muffled reply as the lanky fourteen year old emerged from the kitchen with a mouthful of bagel, shrugging his own gym bag over his shoulder as he did.
"Better take your time with that," Rick warned him, "you don't want to get sick on the field, trust me."
Andre stopped beside his mother with a closed mouth grin as he chewed.
Michonne reached up to smooth his twisted locks back from his face. "Good luck today," she told him before pulling him into a hug.
Andre gave her an easy smile. "Thanks, Ma."
"That goes for you too, Superstar," she said to Carl, letting go of one son for the other, trying to ignore the fact they were both taller than her now.
"Not that we need luck," Carl said, casually tossing his football in the air, "we've been training all summer."
Rick snatched the ball mid-air before he could catch it. "Prove it on the field," he said, then tossed him the car keys. "Practice drive?"
Carl's eyes lit up as he caught the keys and rushed out the door without another word.
"Shotgun!" Andre called, following after him.
"Yeah, I don't think so," Rick muttered under his breath as he ventured over to his wife, wanting to take advantage of their brief solitude.
He wrapped his arms around her robe-clad waist and pressed a lingering kiss to her lips. "What time will Judy and RJ be back from their sleepovers?" he asked, pulling back only slightly.
Michonne slid one arm around his neck and pushed his baseball cap back with her free hand to see more of his handsome face. "Maggie's dropping RJ off a little later and Judith will make her way home from Gracie's at some point," she told him, absently toying with the curls at the base of his neck.
"You sure you don't want me to take Maya, so you can enjoy the peace and quiet while it lasts?" he offered for the second time that morning.
"No, we're good," she assured him, "I'm looking forward to our mommy and me time."
Rick nodded, pulling her closer for what he intended to be a chaste kiss good-bye but when she didn't pull away, he didn't stop.
Michonne purred softly from his affections and pushed him lightly when she felt herself getting a little too excited. Their boys definitely would not have the patience for where her mind was going.
"You better go before you start something you can't finish," she murmured against his lips.
Rick chuckled, giving her ass a squeeze before pulling away with a grin as he readjusted his cap.
Michonne smirked at him then called over her shoulder, "Maya, Daddy's leaving."
It was a well-known fact that the youngest Grimes would be inconsolable if her father were to leave without telling her.
The tell-tale pitter-patter of her footfalls announced her arrival as a rush of dark brown curls and pink pajamas crashed into Rick's knees.
He scooped her up easily. "You be good for Mama," he reminded, bouncing her in his arms as he ambled towards the door.
"I will, Daddy," she replied, kissing him soundly on the cheek.
Rick gently eased her back on the ground before stepping outside. "Looks like we're getting new neighbors," he said to wife, nodding his head towards the house next door.
Michonne followed his gaze to the recently added Sold poster added to the real estate sign grounded in the yard. "Hm, so we do."
"Dad, we're going to be late!" Carl called from the driveway.
"You better get going," Michonne advised him, taking Maya by the hand.
"Let's see if he has this same energy when school starts next week," Rick muttered, leaning over to kiss Michonne once more before jogging down their front steps.
Michonne and Maya watched from the front door, waving them off.
"Bye, Car! Bye Dre!" Maya called from their front steps.
"Pay attention to the road, Carl," Michonne added for good measure.
"Dre, back seat," Rick instructed as he approached his Range Rover, overhearing their debate over which playlist should go along with the ride. "You might as well cut that off. You need to concentrate on the road."
The boys only mildly sulked at his request but otherwise complied.
"Hey Dad," Andre started, buckling himself into the back seat, "when can I practice behind the wheel?"
Rick glanced at him over his shoulder. "Same deal as your brother. Get your learner's permit and I'll take you out," he told him before shifting his attention to Carl. "Check your mirrors, adjust them if you need to."
Carl nodded, sitting up straighter in his seat and making minor adjustments to the mirror to suit his height.
"Legally, yes," Andre replied in a way that suggested he was looking into ways around that. "But, if I practice now, I'll have enough hours to take the driver's test as soon as I get my permit."
Rick nodded, indulging him for a moment, "But, you're forgetting one thing."
"What?"
"You need your permit for the hours to count," Carl answered for him as he started the engine.
Andre rolled his eyes. "But I drive the ATVs at Uncle Daryl's all the time. That's gotta count for something, right?"
Rick laughed at his stepson's expression. "I suppose, if nothing else you'll understand the basics when the time comes."
"Less bumpy and more people on the road but other than that it's pretty similar," Carl added, slowly navigating out of their driveway and pulling onto their street.
"It's a little more to it than that," Rick amended before they could get too carried away. "Don't forget your blinker," he reminded Carl as they came up on a stop sign extending to the main road.
Carl flicked on the blinker and took a deep breath, immensely thankful that practicing behind the wheel under his father's tutelage was not a stressful ordeal. "I wonder if Mom would be as calm as you are about this," he wondered out loud, causing Andre to snort behind him.
Rick chuckled thinking about it as well. Michonne was the embodiment of calm, and it took a hell of a lot to ruffle her feathers. So, it was hard not to notice when she would purposefully remove herself from the conversation whenever the topic of teaching the kids how to drive came up.
"She might be ready by the time RJ and Maya are of age," Rick said, in defense of his wife.
Andre and Carl laughed harder. "So we're just skipping right over Judy, then?" Carl pressed with a grin.
Rick exhaled a laugh, picturing Michonne and their oldest daughter in that kind of scenario. The likelihood of the both of them losing their perpetual 'cool' was definitely a funny thing to think about.
"Focus on the road," he eventually said as he turned to look out his window, hiding his grin.
The drive to the boys' high school didn't take long and Carl handled the road pretty well. He was getting confident but not cocky, a healthy place for a sixteen-year-old behind the wheel.
When they pulled up to the field parking lot the fanfare of fall tryouts were already underway. The varsity prospects were warming up on the sidelines while Coach Douglas sounded the whistle for the freshman and sophomores to line up for the junior varsity tryouts.
Rick tugged on the front of Andre's facemask, ensuring it was secure before looking him in the eye. "Remember not to stay too long by the pocket. A receiver's gotta have room to maneuver the field."
"And don't get distracted," Carl reminded him, his own helmet pushed back on his head.
Andre nodded. "I got it, no worries."
Rick lightly smacked the top of his helmet. "Good luck, son."
Carl watched his brother descend the field, silently hoping the drills they had been practicing all summer would pay off.
"He'll be fine," Rick assured him, as if reading his thoughts.
"I just don't want him to feel pressured," Carl admitted.
Rick arched an eyebrow, tilting his head to consider his son. "You set a pretty high bar, but Dre's got talents of his own. Either way, Michonne and I are proud of you both."
The corner of Carl's lips twitch up a little. "Yeah, I know."
Another whistle sounded and Rick patted the top of Carl's helmet, sending him off. "Good luck, and follow your own advice. No distractions!" he called after him.
Carl acknowledged his father with a nod as he headed down to line up with the other varsity hopefuls.
Rick was about to take his place with the other parents on the sidelines when the sound of a familiar motorcycle roared into the parking lot. Rick leaned against his own vehicle as the Harley pulled into the space beside him.
"Yo," Daryl greeted after removing his helmet.
"Perfect timing."
Daryl knocked down his kickstand and swung his leg over to hop off the bike. "Are the boys on the field already?" he asked.
"Just headed down," Rick told him as the two of them made the short trek from the parking lot to the bleachers.
They took up residence on their usual spot on the sidelines to cheer on their boys in what had become a tradition this time of year.
Rick felt a swell of pride watching Andre take his place on the field with the junior varsity's offensive line.
Football was a staple in the Grimes household, especially since it had something to do with its conception.
It was by some benign twist of fate that Carl and Andre were enrolled in the same peewee league almost a decade ago and instantly formed a bond on and off the field.
While Carl found a best friend in Andre, Rick had found a kindred spirit in his mother.
Like him, Michonne was a single parent struggling to navigate the world after the loss of a partner.
So while their boys developed their talents on the field, Rick and Michonne were developing a relationship that would eventually bring their families together officially.
Coach Douglas blew the whistle again and the ball was hiked, bringing Rick out of his inner thoughts.
Down on the field, Andre immediately side-stepped a defensive lineman, ducking lower to take off in a full sprint across the turf, maneuvering out of the way of defensive backs with practiced ease. He spun on his heel in enough time to catch the spiraling pigskin, gaining his scrimmage team a cool 30-yard advantage.
"Good job, Dre!" Rick hollered through cupped hands. He could hear Carl yelling to the same effect across the field.
Beside him, Daryl grinned. "Glad to see those summer drills paying off."
"I know I shouldn't take the credit for this one, but, I am," Rick admitted with a light chuckle.
"Ain't nobody born with that kind of talent," Daryl reasoned, "and you've been working with Dre for how long now?"
Rick widened his smile and accepted the compliment. "Fair enough."
"Besides," Daryl started with a shrug, "I've been here just as long. I'll take the credit, if you don't."
Rick snorted. "Shut up," he returned, shoving his friend with his shoulder as Daryl smirked, then they both immediately cheered on Andre's scrimmage team with the rest of the crowd as they scored a touch-down.
Michonne was in the zone.
It was uncommon for the house to be so quiet in the middle of the day, but she intended to take full advantage.
While Maya was distracted with the rare treat of eating her breakfast in the family room in front of cartoons, Michonne settled down at the kitchen island with her laptop to get a head start on prioritizing the week ahead.
In addition to caring for her five children and keeping up with her insatiable husband, she also had a full time job as an attorney. And with only a week left of summer vacation, she had precious little time to arrange a schedule in order to keep her family on track for the fall.
Thankfully, Michonne was something of a maverick when it came to organization, and today she was afforded the time and space she needed to get shit done.
Once she was satisfied that the kids' in-school and after-school activities each had their own color coded blocks in her iCalender, she pulled up her email to get a head start on her own workload.
It was then that Maya wandered into the kitchen, carrying her empty plate and juice cup in her hands.
"Mommy, I'm done," she announced, presenting her dishware.
"And you cleaned your plate, good job," Michonne praised as she turned to face her.
"Blueberry pancakes are my favorite," Maya told her needlessly while walking her dishes to the sink.
"Really? I had no clue," Michonne teased, turning back to her screen.
"Yes you did," Maya giggled back, wandering around the kitchen island to stand beside her mother. She stood up on her tiptoes to try and see her laptop. "What are you doing?"
"Getting ready for work on Monday," she answered, typing away.
"Can I go to work with you?"
Michonne smiled at her. "I don't think so, Munchkin. Besides, isn't someone starting kindergarten soon?"
Maya smiled widely. "Me!"
Maya would finally join her older siblings in going to school like a big girl. She had been talking about it non-stop ever since they had gone shopping for school supplies a few weeks ago.
"That's right. Soon, while Daddy and I are at work, you'll be at school with your brothers and sister."
"Can we go to school now?" Maya pressed, bouncing on her tiptoes.
Michonne chuckled, thinking of the fit her older children would throw at the prospect of their summer being cut short. "Not just yet."
Maya fell quiet after that and Michonne began the silent countdown until her next question. It didn't take long.
"Mommy?"
"Yes?"
"Can I ride my bike now?" Maya asked.
Michonne pressed send on her email response and closed the laptop. "I think we can do that," she told her.
It was only right after Maya let her have such a productive morning. Plus it was a beautiful day.
So twenty minutes later, mother and daughter swapped their pajamas for jean shorts and tank tops and headed out into the warm end-of-summer weather.
Maya shakily biked ahead while Michonne kept a short distance behind to avoid helicopter-parenting her efforts.
The child had inherited a healthy dose of stubbornness from both her parents. So when gifted with the pink and purple tricycle for her birthday last month, Maya was adamant about being able to learn how to ride on her own.
Of course, when it was time to take the training wheels off she would likely change her tone, but for now, Michonne was happy to encourage her independence.
The duo had traversed the entire block and were making their way back around when Michonne's cell phone vibrated in her back pocket.
"Hi Judy Bug," she answered with a smile after swiping to accept the FaceTime call from her oldest daughter.
"Mom, I need a new camera," Judith rushed to say.
Michonne arched an eyebrow, looking at the screen unimpressed. "I'm fine. Thanks for asking."
"Sorry," Judith said, tamping down her excitement, "hello mother, did you miss me?"
"A little," she responded back with a casual shrug, feigning indifference at her daughter's absence.
"It's the lack of estrogen," Judith quipped, "there was an unbalance in the Force."
"A week away will do that," Michonne laughed. "So what's this about a new camera? What's wrong with your old one?"
"It's old," Judith deadpanned, "and Gracie's dad just got the Nikon D780. You should see the resolution quality, Mom. It's built around a 24MP sensor and 51-point AF system and-"
"And, it sounds expensive."
Michonne loved and encouraged Judith's passion for photography, but her zeal for the latest equipment was a lot to process at times, especially when she got technical.
"I've been saving my allowances," Judith insisted proudly.
Laughably, Gracie's dad - Aaron, could be seen passing by behind Judith on the screen, mouthing an apology to Michonne as he went.
"We can talk about it with your dad later," Michonne told her, shaking her head at her friend.
"He's gonna say yes," Judith knowingly replied, and she was probably right.
When it came to his girls, Rick Grimes was a complete pushover. But, that didn't mean they should just expect to be spoiled.
"We'll talk about it tonight," Michonne reiterated, looking up from the screen just in time to see Maya about to ride directly into an unsuspecting person a few feet ahead of her. "I gotta go, baby. I'll see you later," she said to Judith before disconnecting the call as she jogged ahead. "Maya, slow down!"
Braking wasn't Maya's strong suit. Luckily the stranger she was about to accost saw her coming, and reached out to hold her handlebars in place before she could ram into his legs.
"I'm so sorry," Michonne hurried to apologize once she caught up to them.
"Mommy, the brakes don't work!" Maya pouted, looking up at her mother.
"Remember, you have to pedal backwards to use them," Michonne reminded her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulders as she turned to address the man. "She's just learning to ride."
"No need to apologize. No harm done," he said with a casual shrug.
"You must be our new neighbor. I'm Michonne and this is Maya, we live next door," Michonne said, extending her hand.
She was pretty familiar with the names and faces of their neighbors and since they were standing in front of the only vacant house on the street, it was easy enough to deduce.
"So it would seem," he said with a smile, accepting her hand. "Dr. Pete Anderson."
Although she wasn't sure why he felt the need to make the assertion up front, Michonne forced her expression to remain neutral.
"Are you moving in all by yourself?" she asked as she withdrew her hand, noting the absence of moving trucks.
"Nah, just scoping the place out. We don't move in until tomorrow," he said, stepping off the curb towards the white pick-up truck parked there.
"Do you have a dog?" Maya curiously asked, looking at the large metal cage sitting on the bed of his truck.
Pete glanced at the cage and chuckled. "No, I'm afraid I don't have a dog," he said, kneeling down to Maya's eye level, "but I do have two boys, one of them isn't far from your age."
Maya pinched her face into a frown. "Boys? Ew."
He chuckled. "Smart girl."
"Don't take it personally, she has three brothers at home," Michonne explained with a small laugh.
"Full house, huh?" he said, appraising Michonne with his eyes as he stood. "Good for you."
Michonne chose to ignore his subtle leer, pushing forward with an amicable smile. "Is your son enrolled at Smith? That's where my little ones go."
Pete shrugged noncommittally, "Couldn't tell you. My wife handles all that."
Michonne pressed her lips unsure how to respond to that. "Well, I'd love to meet them," she eventually said, "my husband and I are throwing a cookout next Saturday for Labor Day weekend, if you all are settled by then you should bring them by."
"We'll do that," he said absently while his attention was suddenly drawn to the open front door of his new home.
Michonne followed his gaze, thinking she had also heard something but saw nothing but an empty doorway.
"You'll have to excuse me, I was in the middle of something before I narrowly avoided collision," he said, drawing Michonne's attention back to him.
"Of course, we'll leave you to it. Come on, Maya," she said, leaning over to help steer her daughter in the right direction. "It was nice meeting you," she called over her shoulder.
"You too," Pete said more to himself than anything else, watching the two of them leave with interest. So much so that he called out to her again once they reached their driveway, "don't be a stranger, Michonne."
She gave him a friendly wave as she and her daughter continued on their path.
Pete kept his eyes trained on them until they disappeared behind the confines of their home. Then, he returned to the task of getting the large metal cage off the truck bed and into his own house.
He quickly checked his watch before hefting the heavy contraption into his arms and briskly taking it through the open door of his house, kicking it closed behind him.
He deliberately ignored the quiet whimpering coming from the kitchen as he crossed the room for the basement door and descended the steps.
He returned a few short minutes later, walking leisurely towards the blonde woman sprawled across the kitchen floor.
"Now where do you think you're going?" he calmly asked.
Either she was ignoring him or did not have the wherewithal to know he was there. She was cognitively subdued and barely in control of her extremities but that didn't stop her from using what little strength she had to drag her listless body in a desperate attempt to escape her predicament.
"No," she whimpered through dry, cracked lips when Pete stepped into her path. "No...no...no."
Pete stooped down in front of her, watching her curiously. "What's the matter? Don't you like our new house?"
She uselessly tried to move away from him and Pete clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "You see this, this is why we have the cage," he whispered to her. "Up you go."
He suddenly and roughly grabbed her by the hair and dragged her across the floor. Her soft pleas went unanswered as he hauled her down the basement steps.
"I want you both to hit the showers," Rick instructed after parking in their driveway.
Carl and Andre quickly hopped out to unload their equipment and gym bags from the back of the Rover.
"We don't smell that bad, do we?" Carl asked, taking a whiff of his jersey before pulling a face at his own B.O.
"You want me to answer that or your mother?" Rick asked as Daryl pulled up on his bike behind them.
"Can we run through the shotgun drill one more time?" Andre asked. "Coach said I should work on my downfield passes."
Rick didn't see the harm. "20 minutes, then showers."
"Yes sir!"
The boys made their way to the backyard as Rick and Daryl headed for the front. They entered the home to find the Grimes household in the midst of its usual evening commotion.
RJ and Mya could be heard from the family room, likely in the middle of an intense game of Mario Kart (the one game Mya was actually good at) judging by the siblings' trash-talking. There was also soft music and the delicious scent of a home cooked meal wafting from the kitchen.
"Something smells good," Daryl commented, following his nose.
Rick fought the urge to follow him long enough to check on his youngest children.
"I got a 'shroom!" Maya cried out, her full attention dedicated to the game on the television and the brutish avatar squished comically in a car that was too small for his size.
RJ shook his head, "I should have never told you how to use that," he lamented, doing his best to out drive his sister.
Rick grinned at their banter. "Who's winning?" he asked, announcing his presence.
"Daddy!" Maya cried, momentarily forgetting about the game altogether as she ran to him.
"I am now," RJ quipped, taking advantage of Mya's one-track mind to secure first place. "Hey Dad."
"You cheated, RJ!" Maya pouted, hugging her father only briefly before running back to reclaim her controller.
"You left!"
"All right, settle down," Rick chastised them gently as he reached down to rub RJ's downy curls, "Time for a haircut, son," he told him.
While his older brothers preferred to grow their hair out, Michonne liked to keep RJ's close shaven, saved for the curls on top. There had been some debate over the summer, but so far RJ has not been able to overrule his mother.
"Mommy said I can wait until school starts," RJ told him.
"I'll call Tyreese," Rick said, making a mental note to contact his son's favorite barber.
"Okay." RJ turned back at the flat screen just in time to see Maya attack his avatar with a mushroom causing him to spiral all the way down to 9th place. "Maya!"
Maya only grinned, adorably biting down on her lower lip as her focus on the game intensified.
Rick slowly backed away, deciding he wanted no parts of his daughter's competitive side, especially if it was anything like her mother's and left them to finish their virtual race.
By the time he made it to the kitchen, Daryl was nowhere in sight but Michonne was bent over in the perfect position as she checked on dinner's main course in the oven. He quietly sidled up behind her, running his hands along her jean short clad ass to grip her waist.
Michonne slowly erected her form to relax against him.
"Daddy's home," he whispered against her ear before nipping at her neck.
Michonne reached back to run her fingers through his hair. "Welcome home."
"Come on," he pressed, nuzzling her neck as his grip on her waist tightened, "you gotta say the whole thing."
She rolled her eyes with a smile. "You have plenty of other people to call you that every day."
"Yeah but Daddy really likes it when Mama says it," he growled in her ear in a low voice.
Michonne snorted at him, unable to decide if he was being sexy or cheesy or some Rick Grimes accumulation of the two. "You're a mess."
"You love it," he told her, returning his attention to the skin between her neck and shoulder.
"Don't you guys have a bedroom for this?"
Rick turned to see his oldest daughter enter the kitchen with a look of mild exasperation at her parents' public display of affection. "So the prodigal daughter returns," he greeted her.
Judith smirked, taking a seat at the kitchen island with an iPad in her hands. "Mom, did you talk to him yet?"
"Not yet," Michonne replied without turning from the stove, "he just walked in the door."
"You know, 'he' is standing right here," Rick lamented, looking back and forth between the two.
"Judith wants a new camera," Michonne told him over her shoulder.
"What's wrong with your old one?" Rick asked coming to take a seat beside his child.
"Dad, I am an aspiring filmmaker. How am I suppose to improve my craft with outdated equipment?" she asked, conspicuously keeping the screen of the iPad close to her chest, away from his view.
"Your craft, huh?"
"Yes, my craft," Judith insisted. "It's no different from the time and energy you put into Carl and Dre's football. But mine won't drag you out of bed at 8 AM on a Saturday morning."
Michonne chuckled under her breath. "She makes a good point."
"Too good," Rick added, thinking his daughter sounded more like a lawyer than a twelve year old, no doubt thanks to Michonne's influence. His wife never made a case unprepared and it seemed like Judith would be the same way.
If his experience with Michonne had taught him anything, he already knew the conversation would likely end with him giving in to her request so he nodded to his daughter to proceed. "Okay, what do you got?"
Judith beamed at his acquiescence and finally set the iPad down on the island counter revealing her desired purchase. "So I've been doing some research on the best cameras for students and I found this."
She showed him the display page for a DSLR that, to Rick, closely resembled the old one she had in her room. She rattled off the details of its range and exposition and bunch of other technical terms that flew over his head, but she was clearly excited about it.
"What do you think?" Judith asked.
"How much is it gonna cost me?"
"She's been saving her allowance," Michonne offered as she ventured into the refrigerator.
Rick raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Is that right? So what do you need me for?"
"To cover the rest," Judith said, smiling sweetly at him.
Rick chuckled and shook his head. "Yeah alright, go ahead and order it," he told her, "but keep your allowance. You can pay me back when you're a famous filmmaker."
Judith squealed in delight, wrapping her arms around his neck and smacking a kiss to his cheek. "Thank you, Daddy!"
"You're welcome," he laughed.
Judith promptly released him and snagged up the iPad. "I'm going to call Gracie. We have to start planning our next shoot," she said, breezing out the kitchen on a lighter foot.
Rick watched her leave, shaking head but overall happy that she was happy. He turned to find his wife's eyes on him with a knowing smirk in place. "What?"
"Nothing," Michonne replied, turning back towards her dinner on the stove.
"You could have just ordered the camera when she asked you earlier," Rick said to her.
"I could have," she allowed with a nod, "but it's fun to watch her work you over."
Rick laughed self-deprecatingly.
"How did the tryouts go?" she asked, coming over to the island with a cutting board and knife.
"They did good," Rick informed her proudly. "Judging by the way Coach Douglas was talking, Carl and Dre will likely both start in the fall."
That was an understatement really. Coach Douglas had spent nearly an hour after practice discussing the boys' one on one potential with Rick. Carl would undoubtedly be a start as a wide receiver for the varsity team, and Andre was looking like a promising player to fill the position void on the junior varsity roster.
"I knew they'd do well," Michonne said, smiling at the news, "they've been working so hard over the summer."
"And now that hard work is paying off."
Michonne smiled at how obviously satisfied he was with the events of the day, and he deserved to be. Rick had been out there all summer with the boys helping them with their training and conditioning. She knew it was partly because of her husband's own love of the sport, but she also knew it was just one example of many that proved what an attentive and supportive father he was.
"I met our new neighbors today," she told him, thinking back on Pete Anderson's dismissive nature with his own children during their brief exchange, "well, one of them."
"Oh yeah?" Rick returned, looking over the spread of her meal prep and plucking a sliced cucumber from the cutting board.
"The husband's name is Pete," she told him, "he seemed...nice."
Rick chuckled at her expression as she searched for the word. "Uh oh."
"Maya and I probably caught him off guard, she almost ran him over with her bike. But I did learn that he has two boys who may or may not be enrolled in the kids' school."
"I see you had an illuminating conversation, then."
"Ha, ha," she dryly returned. "I invited them to the cookout next weekend."
"Then I look forward to meeting them," he said, leaning over to kiss her cheek. He caught sight of a football being tossed in the backyard and realized he hadn't seen Daryl since they came in. "Is Daryl out back?"
"He said he was going to show the boys a thing or two but I think he just wanted to get out of helping me cook."
Rick looked from the simmering pots on the stove, to the ingredients spread out on the island before them. She seemed to have everything under control, but he wanted to make sure to avoid being seen as abandoning her as well. "Do you need help?"
Michonne flashed him a brilliant smile and shook her head. "I'm good, baby, thank you."
He left her with a quick kiss before heading for the sliding glass door that led to their backyard. He found Daryl sitting at the bottom of their deck stairs nursing a beer as he watched Carl launch an impressive spiral. "Nice cock-back, Carl!"
"Is this you showing them a thing or two?" Rick asked, taking the proffered beer from Daryl as he took up residence on the step behind him.
"Uh huh," the other man grunted, taking a swig.
"Dad, can we get a game of two-on-two?" Andre called over to the older two men.
Rick exhaled. "I dunno, y'all are gonna need to get cleaned up soon."
"Come on," Carl pressed, tossing the ball over to Daryl who caught it effortlessly. "Us against you and Uncle Daryl."
Daryl had already put down his beer and Rick chuckled knowing he was outnumbered in his logic.
"One game, then showers," he reiterated, following Daryl into the yard.
It was nightfall by the time Pete finally emerged from his dark house.
He had just finished arranging the basement to his liking, then ensured the space was secured so as not to be disturbed while his family moved in the next day.
As he stepped into the night, he inhaled deeply and cracked the joints in his neck before slowly making his way back to the pick up truck parked on the street.
His cell phone vibrated as he settled into the driver's seat. "What?" he answered with a tired sigh.
"Where are you? You've been gone all day and there's still a million things to do."
Pete rolled his eyes upwards impatiently. "You can't handle packing a few boxes, is that what you're telling me, Jesse?"
Jesse huffed indignantly on the other end of the line. "Don't give me that. You said you would help. Where are you?"
"I'm on my way," he snapped.
Jesse paused before asking again, "Where are you, Pete?" her tone suggested she didn't really want to know the answer.
"I said, I'm on my way," he sneered before disconnecting the line.
He tossed the phone aside and reached in his glove compartment to retrieve a half drunken pint of vodka.
As he uncapped the bottle his gaze wandered towards the couple standing in their driveway a few feet away from him.
They were talking good-naturedly with a man on a motorcycle, unaware of Pete looking on.
After a few moments, the man on the motorcycle said his goodbyes and pulled off. The couple continued talking among themselves as they slowly made their way back towards their house hand in hand.
"Michonne..." Pete said to himself as he watched them leave, liking the way the name tasted on his tongue.
He took another swig of alcohol, then started the truck's engine.
His dark gaze lingered on the house next door for a moment longer before he slowly pulled away.
A/N: So that's chapter one! What do you think?
The Grimes have a full house. I really like the idea of Richonne being together with ALL of their children (plus Maya- because why not).
I tried to drop hints, if not flat out state the kids ages but here's an index just in case:
Carl 16, Andre 14, Judith 12, RJ 8, and Maya 5
And for those concerned about this being a torture-fest, I get it, but I won't include anything that isn't necessary to the context of the plot. That being said, some parts will be graphic and I understand that isn't everyone's cup of tea.
For those still here with me, thank you, I hope you enjoy taking this ride with me.