I want to thank all of you for your comments! They mean a lot to me, and I want to let you know that I appreciate you! I love reading the reviews and some have me cracking up! Timeout7 I am still laughing at your chapter 4 comment…Guest, I hollered at your little rhyme for chapter 7! Too funny. So Thanks again to everyone for the encouragement.
My goal for this story was to stay between 9,000-9999 words per chapter (y'all know I am wordy) and so far, have done it! Except for this chapter…so forgive me because there is a lot going on. A LOT.
So what had happened was, I had two chapter 8's. I misnumbered. Smh… so I combined both together and did the best I could do to edit it down without losing any intent or nuance… 19,000+ words to 14,000+ was the best I could do so please forgive all the goings on, this was meant to be two separate chapters.
I put a little 8B to show where it should have been split had it not been for the error.
Next chapter we have the time jump and I will also resume by word count goal!
Chapter 8-The UnInterruption of Rick and Michonne Part I
Michonne was terrified as she stood on the edge of the high cliff gawking at the thin string that was supposed to hold her weight as she zipped over the deep canyon below. Michonne shifted around anxiously, confused at how that line of rope was supposed to keep her from falling to her death. The sunny but cool mid- October weather did not match Michonne's dreary and frigid mood.
"You are not on a cliff Michonne. You are on a platform about thirty feet off the ground," Sasha chuckled about to take her turn on the zipline.
"It feels like a cliff Sasha! And this zips over that big ole lake! What if I drop? I CAN'T SWIM!" Michonne hollered desperately thinking of a decent excuse to get out of the activity.
"Technically it's thirty feet now because this is the starter zipline, but it will be about 500 feet at one point as we go through all the lines," Abe casually clarified as he impatiently waited his turn.
"ABE!" They all shouted and Michonne was upset that no one felt any sympathy for her plight.
No one except for Rick.
"I got you Michonne. You won't fall. It's pretty secure," Rick assured as he tugged at her harness, but Michonne was not eased.
"How in the hell did I let Carl talk me into doing this," Michonne whispered to herself but received a snarky answer from Darryl.
"Because you are Carl's easiest mark," Darryl laughed as he watched Michonne check her security straps for the umpteenth time.
Michonne rolled her eyes but gave Darryl a one-sided smile because she knew he was correct. Then she glanced over at the boy in question who was grinning from ear-to-ear at the zipline attendants. Carl was displaying the exact same enthusiasm now as when he woke up earlier that morning at the pre-crack of dawn. Carl tinkered around for a little while before, and despite his mother's firm instructions, he woke Michonne and Rick up extra early to start the day.
"Caaarrrlll…whyyyy! It's 5:45 in the morning!" Michonne complained as she eyed the time on her cell phone.
She narrowed her eyes at Carl who was running out of her room giggling. When Michonne stumbled into the kitchen for a cup of coffee to perk herself up, she smirked at the empty cereal bowl in the sink. It seemed Carl kept his little Saturday morning cartoon and sugary-cereal tradition intact, but just moved it up a couple of hours.
"Carl!" Michonne called and watched her son bound into the kitchen fully dressed and she pointed at the bowl in the sink.
"Sorry," Carl replied and rinsed the bowl and placed it in the dishwasher, "did you know there are not that many good cartoons on at 5:00 in the morning? A lot of really long commercials though. Luckily, I had some recorded on the DVR!"
"Is there enough coffee left for me?" Rick asked through a yawn and Michonne nearly dropped her cup.
Michonne elevator eyed a sexy as hell Rick up and down, from his bed head of disheveled curls to his shirtless chest, to his pajama bottoms that hung slightly below his hips, and finally down to his bare feet.
"Don't you want to put a shirt on," Michonne whispered quietly to herself.
"What?" Rick asked and Michonne had to shut her eyes tightly then turn around and grip the sink edge to get herself under control.
"Umm, yes. Cups are over there, the sugar bowl is there, and coffee creamer is in the refrigerator," Michonne muttered without looking directly at Rick, "How is your jaw?"
Rick nodded wondering why Michonne was turned away from him, but he certainly enjoyed the view. Michonne had on a tank top and the shortest little pajama bottoms he had ever seen. They were fitted too. Rick thought her ass aged like fine wine.
"Thanks, it's fine," Rick answered and walked so close to Michonne that his front was almost touching her back and it sent tingles through them both, "Does it look swollen?"
Michonne took a deep breath and turned around and was chest-to-chest with Rick holding his chin up for her to inspect.
"A little, but with your stubble, it's pretty well hidden," Michonne answered, and she could not help but to run her fingers through his beard, "It covers the purple bruise too."
"Good, then I won't shave," Rick decided and looked down at Michonne, "I'll go with the rugged look today. Seems fitting."
Michonne smiled at the sexy grin plastered across Rick's face and gazed at him for a few seconds too long. She needed to get a damn grip. Michonne slid out from in front of Rick and handed him a coffee cup from the cupboard then focused her complete attention on her now half-dressed son, who was staring at them both intently.
"What happened to your shirt, Carl? Michonne asked amusedly.
"Men don't wear shirts in the morning Mom," Carl stated with confidence then winked at his father.
Rick laughed out loud and Michonne smiled at Carl's morning antics. She thought it was cute that he was mimicking his father. Michonne also thought it was downright terrible that all of them were up so early in the morning.
"Carl, it's 6:00am. What did it tell you last night?" Michonne asked, trying to take her mind off a half-naked Rick who she knew was staring her down salaciously.
A small part of Michonne wished she had her robe. A larger part was glad she did not.
"That if I woke you up before 7am you would cancel the whole trip?" Carl answered reluctantly then looked at his father for help.
The Chattahoochee Nature Center did not open till 10am and it only took thirty minutes to get there. Even with the group's planned stop for breakfast on the way, being up at 6:00am was still entirely too early. Carl put on his best adorable face and Michonne shook her head.
"That face might work on your dad Mister, but not on me!" Michonne exclaimed and gave Carl a firm finger point to make sure he kept his morning shenanigans at a minimum.
Once morning did start, it was fast paced trying to get all their gear loaded into the car. Rick ended up hiding most of Michonne's unnecessary purchases including the trekking pole and her puffer jacket. On the way out, she surveyed the living room one last time.
"Carl, are you sure you didn't move one of the bags?" Michonne asked standing at the front door looking down at her trail runners Rick purchased.
"No," Carl answered looking at his own tennis shoes, "Ask Dad."
Michonne looked at Rick and he gave her an 'I don't know' shrug. Rick could honestly say it was not him that hid the items outside on her balcony. Darryl did in the middle of the night. Rick did not want to tell a lie to Michonne if she asked, so he solicited Darryl's assistance. In return, Rick placed some of Sasha's impractical purchases right next to Michonne's.
"Hmmm," Michonne uttered to herself before locking the front door and narrowing her eyes at Rick, "I guess in all the excitement last night I must have misplaced it.
Michonne was not convinced of her statement and Rick shrugged his shoulders and grabbed Carl's hand and moseyed to the elevator. Michonne figured she would just have to hope for the best without her critter poker and purple boots. The ankle high hiking books were supposed to protect her from a snake bite. Carl too.
They decided to take Abe's suburban because it could fit everyone comfortably along with all the gear. Once the car was packed, they were on the road by 8:15am. The women discussed their missing items and Abe winked back at Darryl and Rick when Rosita abandoned the idea of using all the useless stuff she had in the trunk. Rick was grinning, but he was definitely wary at first. It was intimidating meeting all of Michonne's friends at the same time. The only one he knew was Darryl, but Rick fit in like a hand to glove. Even Darryl was partial when he saw the bruise on Rick's jaw.
"You win?" Darryl grunted to Rick sitting to his left in the back seat.
"Yup," Rick stated with no further explanation.
"Why didn't you call us down!" Sasha exclaimed from the third-row seat next to Michonne.
"Because Rick knew he was gonna win," Darryl smiled and shook his head.
Darryl eyed Rick and chuckled at the fact Rick had not changed a bit when it came to fighting. Rick used to love to brawl. For the littlest things Rick would quickly throw up his fists. Most times, his opponents declined the invitation and backed away slowly.
"You are a crazy puta for not pressing charges on that Cabron," Rosita animated from the front passenger seat, then looked in the rear mirror at Michonne apologetically for cursing in Spanish within earshot of Carl.
"That Cabron was out of control!" Carl repeated and giggled.
"CARL! The entire car yelled except Rick who looked confused at Carl sitting in between him and Darryl.
Carl winced when Darryl gave him a playful pinch.
"What does Cabron mean?" Rick asked and the car exploded in laughter.
"Hang around this one long enough, and you will be proficient in all the dirty words," Abe laughed, and Rosita pinched him too.
Rick thought Michonne's friends were a lively bunch and grinned. After having a hearty breakfast at a diner along the way, they arrived at the Chattahoochee Nature Center ten minutes before it was set to open, and Carl was so excited he ran to the closed gates and grabbed a map of the park. Abe spread the map on top of the car hood, and Carl stepped up on the front bumper so he and his uncle could map out a plan.
"What's first!" Carl bellowed as he anxiously eyed both the map and Abe.
They all decided to stay together and enjoy the nature center as a group rather than split up. They all thought it was a perfect cool October day for the adventure and were relieved they would not be sweating underneath the Georgia sun. Michonne was even more happy she would not be freezing either. It was the perfect time to visit the outdoor park.
"Ok!" Abe belted, "We are starting with the hiking trail to burn off some of that heavy breakfast, then head over to the ropes course and then the zipline for a few hours. Then we will break for a late lunch at that restaurant down the way, then come back and take a walk through the Discovery Center, then end with canoeing. We should be back on the road by 5pm closing. Everybody agree?"
Chants of yep, and yup, and yes abounded. Everybody was excited, except for scary ass Michonne. 'Be Open,' she said to herself over and over. When the nature center finally opened, Carl darted so far ahead, Michonne had to call her son back. The hiking trail was Michonne's first test of courage, and she failed miserably.
"What's that sound Rick?" Michonne asked nervously as she looked up listening to the commotion in the trees.
"Sounds like birds chirping Michonne," Rick chuckled and looked at the rest of the group who were snickering too.
Michonne's inner bravery was challenged as she gasped, hollered, and jumped every single time she saw or heard an animal scurry by her feet along the nature trail. She was upset that her trekking pole was missing, and evil-eyed Rick wondering if he had anything to do with it being misplaced.
"Ain't you from the country?" Abe asked perplexed, "You should be used to all this!"
"I am a city girl Abe. I was only in King County for a few years before I left back to a real city!" Michonne replied and it got a little quiet.
Rosita bumped Abe for bringing up that ugly time period and, on a whim, Rick grabbed Michonne's hand in support of both her scary ass, and the unpleasant memory. Rick held his breath wondering if Michonne would shake it away. She did not and instead, Michonne squeezed Rick's hand a little tighter than was comfortable. Rick did not care though, touching her again was worth the slight pain.
As they continued down the trail, hand-in-hand, Rick smiled at the memories of them holding hands constantly when they were young. Rick chuckled when he recalled their movie theatre antics. Michonne would hold the soda, him the popcorn and the straw, while clutching hands in the middle. Michonne always tried to unhand Rick so she could grab a handful of popcorn as they walked inside the dark theatre. Rick, however, would hold Michonne's hand firmly and not let go. Rick told Michonne he was trying to pace her eating so their shared snack would last at least halfway through the movie for once. Usually it was gone after the previews were done. Rick missed holding her hand. And when Michonne looked down at their clasped hands, she realized she missed it too. It was a lovely moment until their little stinker of a son decided to play a mean prank on his dear ole scary mama.
Carl jogged off to the side and found a stick that suited his purpose, then tossed it directly in Michonne's path.
"SNAKE!" Carl yelled and Michonne screamed so loud she could have raised the dead.
Michonne was on Rick's back distressingly surveying the ground for the slithering creature.
"CARL!" Rosita shouted trying not to laugh, "Not nice!"
Michonne jumped off of Rick and eyed her son with annoyance and Carl ran to give his mother a quick apologetic hug. While Carl was making amends with his mother, a real critter scurried past over her shoes and Michonne hollered again and hopped right back on top of Rick almost knocking Carl to the ground.
"Michonne, if you scream one more time, the animals are gonna think it's your mating call and come cuddle up to you," Rick teased with a very serious look on his face.
"Really?" Michonne's eyes grew big and when everybody laughed, she hopped down, sucked her teeth, and held her head high despite their mocking.
Every single one of Michonne's family was prepared to give Rick Grimes a hard time. Give him a few sneers and sarcastic comments, some rolled eyes, definitely a little tooth sucking, but none of that came to fruition. Rick was a good guy who obviously loved Carl. They could all see that. They also observed just how much he still loved Michonne. Their planned Let's Be Hard on Grimes scheme was put to bed as they leisurely went about the day. The sneers turned into genuine smiles. The sarcastic comments morphed into jokes of amusement, the rolled eyes, well they still rolled their eyes, just mostly at Michonne instead of Rick.
"Michonne, to get to the top you actually have to MOVE your ass!" Abe yelled at Michonne who was frozen halfway up the rock wall.
"SHUT IT ABE!" Michonne hollered as she began to panic.
Rick asked the attendant to belay him so that he could climb simultaneously with Michonne. Once he was side-by-side with her, Rick gave Michonne some encouraging words.
"Come on, one rung at a time. You can do it. I will be right beside you. You don't want to miss the view, do you?" Rick grinned and Michonne smiled, took a deep breath, and looked up the wall hesitantly.
Rick was a man of his word. He did not rush Michonne and was patient when she needed to break for a quick minute. By the time Michonne reached the top, she was invigorated as she gazed across miles and miles of the beautiful natural scenery.
"YOU DID IT MOM!" Carl cheered from below and Michonne smiled down at her son.
"See, it wasn't that bad, was it?" Rick asked with a smile, "now we are gonna rappel down."
"What?" Michonne whispered and Rick saw the terror in Michonne eyes.
Rick rappelled over to her and held her hand.
"Push off like this. The attendants got you from the ground and I got you from here," Rick assured and Michonne proceeded to rappel down the wall with Rick close beside her.
Carl ran up to his mother and gave her a big, proud hug.
"I knew you could do it mom!" Carl shouted, "Maybe next time we can climb that big hill over there!"
"No," Michonne stated emphatically and began to take off her safety harness.
Walking across the ropes bridge was tolerable and Michonne was able to complete the task without much fuss. The ziplines however took away any confidence that Michonne had mustered. She was standing at the edge of the platform in complete terror. When Michonne looked down, it appeared deeper than the thirty feet Sasha said it was. There were double lines, so if two people wanted to zip along at the same time, they could. One of the two attendants zip-lined first to help the group off the line once they got to the other side. Then Darryl and Sasha zipped together side-by-side, followed by Abe and Rosita. Rick went across by himself and the plan was for Michonne and Carl to zip together. The last part was not going to plan.
"Mom? Are you coming?" Carl asked impatiently shifting from one foot to another ready to take his turn.
"Just wait Carl! Give me a minute!" Michonne exclaimed as she gave her son some major side-eye.
Michonne smacked her lips annoyingly at her son for rushing her and closed her eyes tightly. Zip Attendant One giggled when Carl called him over to put him on the line while his mother was silently praying with her eyes closed. Rick was wondering what was taking them so long.
"Hey, can I get back over there?" Rick asked Zip Attendant Two.
"We don't usually do that but let me radio the attendant and see if you can," Zip Attendant Two offered.
One agreed, and Two put Rick on the green line. Halfway back, Rick shook his head when he heard shouts of "Whoo Hoo" coming from the yellow line as Carl zipped past him going the opposite direction.
"This isss sooo muuuuuch fuuuun Daaad!" Carl yelled in passing and Rick sucked his teeth at the fact that Carl had left his mother.
The rest of the gang laughed at Carl's savagery once he landed on the platform.
"Let's go to the next one!" Carl yelled to the gang.
"Let's wait for your parents Carl," Rosita ordered, "Hey can we both go back too?"
"Sure but you two have to be the last because we are supposed to go to the next line, not backwards," Two directed and hooked up Rosita and Abe then called for an all clear from One before allowing the pair to zip back to help a scared Michonne.
Attendant Two looked down at the last of the group.
"Don't worry about me going back," Sasha uttered a little nauseous and looked at Darryl wondering if it was her teeny tiny baby or the zipline that had her feeling sick.
"Yeah, I'm good too," Darryl grunted and helped his wife take a seat on a nearby boulder.
Sasha wanted to complete all seven lines, and her baby was making that difficult. Sasha suspected she was about four or five weeks pregnant and prayed it was just the spin of the first line and not morning sickness which would ruin her trip. They had a doctor's appointment to confirm the pregnancy next week, but all their home tests pointed to YES. When Sasha did the math in her head, if she was correct in her assessment of weeks, she was due late June/early July.
"That kid of ours is something else," Rick proclaimed proudly to Michonne.
"You don't even know half of it. Just wait!" Michonne warned with a chuckle.
"Looking forward to all of it," Rick admitted sincerely staring into her eyes and Michonne blushed, "you gonna go with me," Rick smiled and then asked One a question, "Hey, can we tandem?"
"Yes, but the maximum weight is 235lbs, so you going with her is a no-go," The attendant answered then shrugged apolitically.
"Nope. Firm No. I will just walk back to the center lobby and wait for lunch," Michonne answered with finality.
When Michonne began to try to take off her harness, Rick stepped to her and grabbed hold of her hands to stop her. He bent down a little to look her directly in the eyes.
"Michonne, you are the biggest, baddest person I know. You can do it. Trust me. You will love it! And I will be right by your side," Rick encouraged and rubbed his thumbs over the top of Michonne's hands soothingly.
"Come on Michonne, it was really fun," Rosita assured her reluctant friend.
"And if that line can hold me, it can hold anybody!" Abe added to help make her feel a degree of safety.
"Come on Mom!" Carl shouted through the radio from the other side as he anxiously waited, "I want to go to the next line! It's even higher up than this one!"
"Give me that!" Darryl hollered and took the radio from Carl, "That is not helping."
"I can't believe he just went without me," Michonne breathed as she cut her eyes at her son through the walkie.
"I tried to have a talk with him about listening yesterday, but I don't think it worked," Rick replied thinking that Carl was probably trying to get Two to let him continue along the lines alone.
"You think? Or you know Rick?" Michonne answered with a heavy dose and sarcasm and Rick rolled his eyes.
"Come on now, let's see if you can make your adventurous side match that sassy mouth of yours," Rick goaded then looked from her eyes to her lips and back to her eyes.
"Ma'am, there is another group due in 15min. We need to get going," The attendant urged in the hopes of hurrying Michonne along.
It did not work, Michonne just nervously folded her arms across her chest and pursed her lips. Looking at Michonne's seductive mouth, Rick wanted to kiss her badly, but he needed to remember where he was, and he chanted his mama's mantra for him over and over in his head, Bless his heart. Michonne still looked hesitant, and Rick remembered something about Michonne that was sure to work. He kicked himself by not thinking of it in the first place and he dared to use the name he called her in their youth when he needed Michonne to throw caution to the wind.
"Come on, Michy, it's a smooth ride. Hop on," Rick grinned and Michonne raised her brow and smiled.
"That exact statement is how we got Carl, Rick," Michonne reminded with a chuckle then looked back at the zipline and blew out a breath, "I don't want to slip out!"
"I think you not slipping out is what actually got you pregnant," Rick teased and Michonne chuckled.
"Save the dirty talk for the other side unless the zipline is too challenging for you?" Abe stated knowing how competitive Michonne was.
Michonne's left brow rose almost to her hairline and Rosita caught on. They knew Michonne hated to lose.
"Yea, no worries amiga. I will tell you how all seven of the lines were at lunch," Rosita slighted with an evil grin.
Rosita moved in front of Michonne to go next and Michonne stopped her in her tracks.
"HOLD IT," Michonne hollered and pulled at her straps to make sure they were tight, "Come on Rick, I refuse to them beat me!"
Next thing Michy knew, she was zooming on the line next to Rick screaming with both terror and excitement as the cool wind whipped around her face. The last time she felt that free was that last good day she had with Rick when they were seventeen. It was exhilarating. When they zipped from out of the tree line and came into view, Carl started cheering and so did Darryl and Sasha. Rosita and Abe were hooting and hollering from behind her and Michonne agreed that Rick and the rest were right. Michonne loved it!
"Thank you, Rick!" Michonne grinned when she stepped foot on the other side of the canyon.
"Anytime Michy," Rick smiled lovingly and Michonne blushed.
"MAKE ROOM CUZ WE ARE COMING!" Abe yelled, snapping Rick and Michonne from their daze and jumping out of the way.
The group zipped through only four of the remaining six lines, including the highest one over the lake, before breaking for a late lunch. Sasha was relieved when her nausea quickly passed. Afterwards, they hurried through the Discovery Center because it was already 3pm and they wanted to spend the last few hours on the water before the center closed at 5pm. As they trotted to the canoe area, they were ready to wind down and relax after the strenuous pre-lunch activities. Even Michonne was more at ease about boating down the river. Carl wanted to canoe on his own since the group's numbers were odd, and Michonne laughed at her son like he had two heads.
"You are not going on that little boat by yourself Carl. I know you think you are grown sometimes, but you are a child," Michonne disciplined and watched Carl slightly narrow his eyes which caused Michonne to slightly raise hers, "You will be with me and Rick. I can't swim well so I will not be going alone either."
After they put on their personal flotation devices, they stepped into their waiting canoes with their guide taking the lead. It was calm as they leisurely floated down the Chattahoochee River, pushing their paddles gently through the water every few minutes. Michonne was enthralled watching Rick interact with Carl. When Rick was not pointing out a fish that was swimming at the surface, or detailing the type of trees that littered the shoreline, or modeling the correct way to paddle the boat, he was just smiling and taking in his son. The group became fully immersed in the serene environment and Michonne wondered what she had been so afraid of all this time. She had the best time with her friends, son, and…Michonne went blank. What was Rick? Michonne settled on baby daddy and closed her eyes and enjoyed the rest of her trip. By the time they returned home, they were drained, and the plan for an evening of pizza, beer, and chicken wings with the whole group was cancelled in lieu of each going home, showering, and crawling into bed. The trip had them all exhausted.
"Hey, he just might be a keeper Michonne. Don't let evil win. We all think he's pretty great!" Sasha advised and the sentiment was repeated in various ways as each separated to their own homes.
Michonne looked at Darryl, his opinion mattered the most to her and when he nodded and grunted his approval, she figured she could relax and open up a little more with Rick. Go with the flow. Abe gave Rick a fist bump on the way out, and he got a hug from Rosita and Sasha. Darryl gave Rick a grunt of approval too. It seemed Rick made a very good impression on all Michonne's extended family. Michonne ordered takeout while she sent Carl to her bathroom to bathe, while Rick used Carl's. By the time Michonne finished her own bath, the food had been delivered. They ate in silence more from exhaustion than not having much to say. When Carl nodded off mid-bite, they knew it was time for bed.
"I will take him. Tuck him in if you don't mind," Rick requested and Michonne nodded in approval and watched Rick carry their son to his room.
"Of course," Michonne whispered to herself as she watched Rick disappear down the hallway.
That evening, both Rick and Michonne tossed and turned. Their bodies were tired, but their minds were racing. They were each thinking of one another. Rick flipped back the covers and got out of bed and walked to the closed guest bedroom door in just his bare chest, bare feet, and pajama bottoms. He hesitated, then opened the door and made his way out towards Michonne's bedroom. A few feet from her door, he stopped and took a deep breath and remembered Ella and Herschel's words of advice. He needed to calm down and take what was happening between them slowly or he might scare Michonne and set them back to square one. Rick touched her bedroom door, then turned around and went back to the guestroom, slid underneath the covers, and thought of Michonne all night.
Twenty minutes after Rick's little walkabout, Michonne got out of her own bed and slipped on her silk lavender robe and crossed the room to her door. She hesitated, then took a deep breath, opened it, and walked towards the guest room. She placed her hand on the doorknob but did not turn it. She needed to take what was happening between the two of them slowly. And although it had seemed like she could pick up right where she left off with Rick before his father's nefarious schemes broke them up, a small part of her did not trust that Rick would not make the same mistake twice. What if someone else made up a lie about her, would Rick walk away from her again? Michonne never stopped loving Rick, but the trust she had in him wavered. Michonne took a step back from the door and went back to her room and wondered if she could ever trust Rick with her heart again. She got back under her covers and despite her wariness, she dreamed of him.
Michonne awoke to the smell of bacon, vanilla, cinnamon, and coffee and she seemed to float out of her bed towards the delicious scents. She stopped when she heard laughter, and it made her heart swell.
"Carl! Easy with the vanilla buddy," Rick laughed as he switched the tablespoon measure with the teaspoon one.
"It smells so good!" Carl declared delightedly, taking another sniff of the bottle.
"It does, but too much will be overwhelming in the pancakes and give them an alcohol flavor and a bad aftertaste," Rick explained and laughed as Carl scrunched up his nose.
Rick noticed that Carl had a few very light freckles scattered across his nose just like he did himself. From a distance, you would not be able to tell, but up close, Rick smiled at the faint dots that marked his son's face that was almost a mirror image of his own.
"The bacon smells good too. Mom always gets turkey bacon. We only have real bacon on special occasions," Carl blanched, "Turkey bacon doesn't smell good or taste good!"
"Well, it's healthier and that's a good thing. Maybe I will save the real bacon for special occasions too from now on," Rick laughed watching Carl's face turn incredulous.
"I thought we were on the same side!" Carl stated in humorous bemusement.
"We are son, and that side happens to always be your mama's side," Rick chuckled and fluffed his son's hair before getting back to pouring the pancakes in the hot pan, "why don't you go see if your mother is awake. The bacon is done. The grits are cooked. Once the pancakes are done, I will scramble the eggs and then we are ready to eat!"
"I'm up," Michonne answered strolling into the kitchen, "I see you have a shirt on this morning."
Rick noticed Michonne's robe and eyed her lasciviously wondering if she was wearing her tiny pajamas from the morning before. Rick's face turned red before refocusing back on the pancakes.
"Yeah, don't wanna burn my chest," Rick grinned.
"Yeah mom, we don't wanna burn our chests!" Carl repeated plucking at his shirt and Michonne chuckled and kissed her son on the forehead.
"What can I help with?" Michonne offered as she looked over at all the cooked food.
"You can crack the eggs mom, then I will mix them up, and Dad can scramble them!" Carl stated enthusiastically.
"Teamwork!" Michonne laughed and pulled the carton from the refrigerator, "How about some cheese added to the eggs?"
"I like cheese, we can add it," Rick smirked remembering that was exactly how she always ate her eggs when they were younger along with, "hot sauce too."
"I like cheese too! Hot sauce not so much," Carl blanched sounding more like an eight-year-old rather than the eighteen-year-old he pretended that he was.
Breakfast was light and easy. The conversation flowed and Rick learned more about Carl and Michonne's lives over the last eight years. He was flabbergasted at how she managed to stay focused, get her GED, deliver a baby, go to law school, and buy an expensive condo. Michonne made it sound easy, but he talked with Darryl a few times and heard the stories of all the struggles they encountered. Rick told Darryl that he was grateful for him, and no matter what the biker thought of him, Rick would always consider Darryl family. The sentiment touched Darryl immensely.
"That Rick," Michonne sat back in her seat and patted her stomach, "that was the best breakfast that I ever ate. Those pancakes were divine! Give me twenty minutes to get rid of this Itis, and I will do the dishes."
"Itis?" Rick asked with a humorous smile.
"Mom gets itis a lot, Dad. She always eats too much then gets sleepy. That's called Itis," Carl explained shaking his head and chomping down on his last slice of savory bacon.
Rick threw his head back in laughter and Michonne looked at both with faux disappointment.
"Is this how you treat your dear old mother?" Michonne asked Carl, placing her hand over her heart dramatically.
"You are not old mom. You are only twenty-five years old!" Carl laughed at her antics.
"Almost twenty-six. Your birthday is coming up in four months," Rick remembered shyly and Michonne was stunned that he did.
"You remembered my birthday," Michonne whispered quietly.
"I remember everything about you Michonne," Rick answered, and Carl looked between his two sappy parents.
"Yours is in two weeks," Michonne grinned as they stared at each other longer than Carl felt comfortable with, "The BIG TWO-SIX. You will be officially closer to thirty than twenty!"
"Well, I might just have to start working out more then. I have a lot to look forward to," Rick grinned.
After looking at Rick bare abs and chest the morning before, Michonne figured Rick did not have to do much. His body was damn near perfect. Rick eyed Michonne, and silently came to the same conclusion about hers. Carl looked between his two parents and smiled.
"Ok. I'm out! And to think, I was going to help clean the kitchen until you two ruined it!" Carl lied running away to the living room to plop down on the couch and watch some cartoons.
Michonne shook her head at her son, then looked back at Rick and he was still staring intensely at her, and she felt those tingles again.
"Alright, what's on tap for today?" Michonne asked, trying to cool down her heated body.
"Abe mentioned he might throw some ribs on the pit if he was up to it. Let me text him," Rick answered leaving to get his phone from the guest room.
"You have Abe's number," Michonne asked perplexed.
"I have all of their numbers, and they all have mine," Rick grinned widely then left to retrieve his phone.
Michonne sat there dumbfounded. All her friends seemed to already welcome Rick to the crew with open arms. She smiled at the ease of it all. By mid-afternoon, they were sat on Ford's couch.
"Now Rick, you tell me if those ain't the best ribs you ever tasted," Abe asked staring intently at Rick as he bit into the tasty meat.
"Abe, I will give it to you. These are really good. Well-seasoned. The best though?" Rick questioned with a laugh.
Abe waved him off.
"See, I told you they were not the best," Sasha cosigned with a giggle and garnered a kiss on the cheek from her husband in support.
"I don't see how you can Bar-B-Que on that little balcony," Michonne uttered as she eyed the small space, "pass me another rib and some of that sausage. You have any more beans?"
"Just wait till we get a real backyard, then you will experience my A-game. And this is your third plate Michonne, no more beans. I need lunch tomorrow greedy," Abe teased, and he bit into his own rib.
Rick laughed at a pouting Michonne, and he gave her the sausage from his plate and watched her grin. When Rick turned his plate, beans towards her, Michonne scooped a forkful from his plate straight into her mouth and did a little dance.
"I need the recipe for these beans Abe. I don't even like baked beans except for these," Michonne requested through a full mouth.
"Like I told you before, it's secret," Abe replied with a sly grin.
"He adds smoked sausage, BBQ sauce, and bourbon," Rosita laughed when Abe pursed his lips, "I won't tell them the last two!"
Abe nodded and Rick laughed but was a little bummed that he would not see the group for possibly another few weeks. He was miserable that it might also be two weeks before he could see Michonne and Carl again. Their trip to King County the following weekend most likely would have to be rescheduled because of a work issue at Michonne's firm. Rick figured he could work a few extra shifts to keep his mind occupied if that was the case. Rick was relieved that Hershel allowed the flexibility considering the circumstances.
Once Monday came around, Rick was gloomy that the weekend was over. It seemed to fly by and after a final hug at the parent drop-off at Carl's school, Rick made his way back to King County. Rick's thoughts went back to a conversation with his mother about moving to Atlanta in the near future, and figured it was time for the conversation to be had as soon as he made it back to town. The Greene Farm was going to be Rick's first stop.
8B
"Rick, good for you. King County holds a lot of sorrow for the both of you, maybe a change might be for the better," Ella smiled at Rick as he buttoned up his deputy uniform shirt.
Rick was surprised at Ella's easy response.
"You sure mama?" Rick asked looking his mother over for any indication she might be upset about his potential plans, "You can come too, you know."
Rick worried about leaving his mother, especially with her separation and pending divorce. Rick was positive that Richard would try and lurk around and try to win her back. Ella assured her son that she was fine. She was in her prime, she had plans, and Richard was out of her life for good. Ella had some big ideas she had yet to disclose. Ella was more than fine. She was great.
"What plans?" Rick asked curiously.
"I will tell you later Rick. Go, you are gonna be late for work," Ella ordered, and Rick watched his mother closely before looking at his watch, "I am gonna stay at my place tonight."
Ella nodded and Rick left and made his way to the Sherriff's station.
"Welcome back. How was your trip? Jessie asked and Rick grinned so widely that her smile faltered a bit.
"It was great. After I dropped Carl at school, I decided to come to work a little early to catch up on paperwork," Rick explained and proceeded to tell Jessie all about his weekend.
Jessie was a few weeks away from marrying Pete Anderson who just completed medical school and was currently about to start his residency at King County General Hospital. Jessie knew her future husband liked to drink, and after hitting her the one time while he was drunk, she was ready to leave, but her unexpected pregnancy had her second guessing her plans. Jessie hoped it was just an isolated incident, but something deep, deep down inside her, that inkling that she refused to acknowledge, was screaming at her that it was not. Jessie had always hoped she would catch Rick's eye and he would sweep her off her feet and away from Pete. Jessie thought she had a solid chance after Lori left town, but Rick never gave her a second glance. Now, with the return of his ex-girlfriend, her plans were finally squashed. The grin on Rick's face however had Jessie realizing her plans were not squashed, rather they never existed in the first place.
"Wow, that sounds like it was fun!" Jessie muttered as she pictured herself riding inside a canoe with Rick.
"Yeah, it was." Rick said mostly for himself than for Jessie, "Look you have a good day, I need to go talk to the Sherriff.
Jessie nodded and Rick lightly slapped the edge of the desk before heading back to the Sherriff's office. Before Rick could get out a single word, Hershel gave Rick some news first.
"I found Shane. He and Lori live in Alabama, and he works for the Montgomery County Sheriff's department. I contacted him and told him you wanted to talk to him. He was reluctant, but he finally agreed to come down in a few weeks. I told him it was important, and he said he would try to work things out to come down earlier if he could. He called back this morning and said he will be here Wednesday," Hershel informed, and Rick was both relieved and anxious.
"Wednesday, as in two days from now?" Rick uttered both nervous and delighted that he would soon make matters right with Shane too.
Rick was ready to put all the bullshit behind him. Ask for forgiveness and live a happy life with Michonne and Carl if that was in the cards.
"Yes," Hershel answered eyeing Rick to make sure he was okay.
Rick thought for a minute.
"Is he bringing Lori?" Asked Rick curiously.
"I don't know son, but I guess we will find out Wednesday when he gets here," The sheriff stated leaning back in his chair, "You worried about her coming?"
"No, it would be good if she came too, I guess. Lori is just as much a victim as the rest of us and I want her to know that everything is ok with her and I," Rick disclosed anxious to get all aspects of the situation discussed and resolved.
Rick walked to his desk and blew out a breath, then called his mother. Ella informed Rick that she wanted to be there when he talked to Shane too.
"Ok, I will come by and get you before we meet," Rick agreed and noticed the hesitation, "something wrong mama?"
"Your daddy is out of the hospital. He's back home at the farm. He wants to talk to me. I told him to expect divorce papers soon and hung up the phone. He has called me twice again since," Ella expressed tiredly, "I don't think he is gonna let go of you and I as easily as we assumed Rick. Hold on Rick. Let me let you go. Someone is pulling up with it looks like horses and cows. That damn Hershel must of purchased more animals and didn't tell me."
"Ok, mama, and like I said, I will take care of Richard, tell the girls I said hello," Rick stated about to end the call, but his mother thought of something else.
"Oh Rick, speaking of the girls. Maggie got accepted into the Agricultural Sciences program at Georgia Tech for spring semester. Hershel is so excited!"
"Good for her, but I thought she was going for veterinary? Ain't that what she's been studying for at that college for the last three years?" Rick asked curiously.
"That's her daddy's dream. You know Hershel was just a couple years from getting his before Patricia died, then he stopped and went into law enforcement instead." Ella explained and Rick furrowed his brow and was about to ask for details, but a deputy interrupted his thoughts when he dropped a backlog of paperwork on his desk.
"Ok, mama, I have to get to working. I will pick you up Wednesday, meanwhile, don't communicate with Richard. I will take care of him, today," Rick spat and looked at his watch and decided to pay his father a visit.
By 4pm, Rick was pulling up to the house that he used to call home. When Rick got out of his deputy cruiser, it was quiet. Too quiet for a farm. He walked over to the stables, and they were empty, and the cows were gone too. Rick eyed the rest of the property as he walked up the porch steps and knocked on the door.
"Come in," the feeble voice of his father rang out.
Rick walked into the dark house and immediately noticed a sour, rancid smell. Rick opened a window and noticed dirty dishes piled high in the sink. As she stood in the living room, Rick could tell Richard had been sleeping on the couch.
"Son," Richard stated with a small smile.
"I stopped being your son the day you ruined my life eight years ago," Rick spat and watched as Richard nodded, "And I don't want to hear another sorry. I just need you to stop calling mama. You are pretty much dead already to her too."
Rick saw tears form in his father's eyes, but Rick was not moved.
"I know that…Me being completely alone here after having a heart attack proves it. I have some strangers in my house a few hours a day to help, but no family," Richard expressed with a severe depression in his tone, "I just wanted to tell your mama that she can have the house. The land. I asked Dale to sign everything over to her."
"Why?" Rick asked wondering what his father's angle was.
"She deserves it and it's too hard for me to get around anyway. My heart is bad, and this farm is too big for me to run alone. Gonna try and move into something smaller, found a little cabin I might buy," Richard explained and was hurt when Rick showed no sympathy concerning his situation.
"Where are the horses and cows?" Rick asked, thinking his father never really had a heart in the first damn place so why worry about it now.
"I asked our hand to take them to the Greene farm before I let him go. Told him to ask if they might be hiring. I wanted to tell your mother directly, but she wasn't answering my calls, so I just sent em. I can't tend to em anymore. I sold two of the horses though. I needed the money for my living arrangements. The other three are at the Greene farm along with the rest of the animals. In a few weeks this will all be solely your mother's," Richard informed looking fatigued as he took a seat on the couch.
Rick watched his father. Just a few weeks ago, they were the epitome of father and son and Richard seemed to be at the pinnacle of health. Now, at forty-nine years old, his father looked and moved like a man twice his age. There were wrinkles where before was smooth skin. He was pale, whereas before he had a slight tan from working the farm. Richard looked like an eighty-year-old man.
"Don't call mama again," Rick finished and left the house without another word then called his mother and told her about the horses and the land.
Rick was curious when his mother sounded overly delighted, but he was in a rush to get back to the station to ask why. Rick felt like his life was finally starting to come together and by Wednesday, he was about to settle some more old business. When Rick picked up his mother Wednesday morning, unlike his father, he noticed Ella looked younger and happier than she has been in years.
"Well son, I am happy. I wanted to do something for a long time, and now, I think I will be able to finally do it. I can see the beginning of my dreams falling into place, "Ella smiled and that made Rick smile too.
"What dreams mama?" Rick asked curiously but Ella wanted to wait before saying them out loud.
Ella wanted more out of life, but she had made her choice when she willingly married Richard. Ella had a business degree, and she was the one that ran the business end of the farm from the finances to the hiring and firing.
"Rick, you don't worry about me," Rick heard her say, "I got my grumpy old brother to keep me company and his youngest daughter Beth to look after. That oldest of his is a hellion, I will need to keep an eye on Maggie too when she is home from college. God knows what she gets up too in Atlanta."
"Is that your plan mama? To look after Hershel and his kids? You are too young for that. You need to get back out there and live life! And Hershel ain't old either. He is only two years older than you!" Rick suggested worried his mother would start to grow old before her time.
Ella blew out a deep breath. The last thing she wanted was for her son to start worrying about her when he had Carl and Michonne to think about.
"You remember Letty? Morgan's mother?" Ella asked her son.
"Of course, they moved shortly before graduation," Rick answered curious where this conversation was headed.
"Well, she will be moving back soon. With Morgan Sr. passing, and her son being a professional cheese maker," Ella started and Rick broke in.
"WHAT? Morgan makes cheese? WHAT?" Rick asked with a chuckle, not believing the words coming out of his mother's mouth.
"Oh yes, Jones and Jones Cheese Company. Evidently it is both nationally and internationally awarded," Ella stated with high regard, "Very successful. Anyway, Morgan travels quite a bit so Letty decided to move back and settle in King County. She called me and I talked with her about possibly opening a bed and breakfast with me here in King County and she cackled because she always wanted to own a health spa."
"Health spa?" Rick asked, trying to picture in his mind what his mother was describing.
"You know, with all the green drinks, yoga, seaweed wraps," laughed Ella who had no clue what a seaweed wrap even was, "She said they are very popular destinations spots, always booked months in advance."
"Okay," Rick stuttered still trying to understand what was happening.
"I have money and now the land," Ella explained, and Rick interrupted.
"The land yes, but the money? How much is this little venture gonna cost?" Rick asked curiously.
"I have the money, Rick. I have saved every single dime I ever made, and I have a healthy bank account. But where most of the money is coming from will be from Otis Wilber. He has always wanted to expand his small dairy farm, and our land, well my land now, pushes up against his. Otis made multiple offers to Richard over the last few years, but Richard always declined. I saw the offer, Rick; It is too good to pass up and it's only for a third of my land. There will be plenty land left for Letty and me to build our retreat, plus some. While I am in town, I am going to get Dale to extend the offer to Otis again," Ella explained, "And Letty is the other Jones, in Jones and Jones, so she was excited to invest and partner with me."
"How much?" Rick asked, eyeing his mother.
Ella smiled.
"Enough to build the spa, and bed and breakfast with enough money left in my and Letty's account to bankroll our venture until its profitable. And I will still have more than enough to put away a little trust for Carl," Ella smirked, and Rick eyebrows rose.
"Well alright then," Rick ginned and headed to the station where Shane Walsh and hopefully Lori Wayne/Grimes/Walsh was too.
While Rick was sitting at the small table in the interrogation room eyeing an irate Shane and a despondent Lori, his phone buzzed alerting him he was getting a text. When he pulled out his phone, Rick smiled when he noticed it was from Michonne. Then he frowned at her message.
Michonne: Sorry Rick, I have to work again. And I think Carl is getting sick. I am on my way to pick him up from school now. I may have to keep him home from school the rest of the week. Bad timing for the weekend trip down there.
Rick: What's wrong? Let me come down in the morning and I can stay with Carl so you won't miss work. And Maybe you can come down next weekend, or the weekend after.
Michonne: Rick, if you can come down and stay with Carl, that would be great. I am swamped at work. Leaving early today put me even more behind.
Rick showed the text to Ella, and she took the phone.
Rick: Michonne honey, this is Ella. I am gonna send some chicken soup with Rick. In fact, if you let me, I can trade with Rick and drive down Friday and stay and help with Carl through the weekend. That way neither you nor Rick will have to miss work. I can stay until Sunday.
Michonne: Ella, that would be great. While you are here, we can plan the trip to King County.
Rick took his phone.
Rick: I will be there before you leave for work in the morning. Can you leave a list of things I need to do for Carl? Does he have a fever? Is he taking medicine? If so, how often do it give it to him?
"You think you can stop texting so we can get back to this conversation man?" Shane hollered, "I'm this close to possibly getting my best friend and brother back and I am on pins and needles!"
"Sorry, It's Michonne. Carl is sick, and I need to go up to Atlanta," Rick responded amazed at how easily he slipped into telling his old best friend everything.
"Man, I am so happy for you. I always felt so bad knowing you had a kid out there but wasn't anything I could do about it as long as my father was alive, or yours. I felt selfish for it, but Richard's threats against me and my father," Shane muttered with true sadness in his heart.
Michonne: Don't worry Rick. Besides, I will be a phone call away.
Rick: Ok but I will feel better with a list.
Michonne: I will make a list. Lol. I am glad your mother is coming. You are an easy mark for Carl.
Rick: Let Darryl tell it, you are too!
Rick showed Ella the text and she snorted. Carl was indeed a handful.
"Look Shane," Rick started finally taking his eyes off the phone, "all is forgiven with me. A part of me wants to blame you for what you did, but Richard threatening to send you and your father to jail," Rick shook his head, "Hell, I did the same thing with Michonne. I can't judge you without judging myself and believe me, I judge myself every day. I am grateful Michonne is giving me a second chance, so I am just returning the favor."
"Yeah, Michonne was always good people," Shane agreed.
"I am just grateful that it is all working out. I would love to catch up with you. And Lori," Rick uttered and made direct eye contact with her, "I am so sorry for what my bastard father did to you. He knew you loved Shane, and I want you to know that we are good. How is Vivian?" Rick asked about the daughter he once thought was his for her first month of life.
Lori burst into tears. Happy tears. And Angry ones too.
"Rick, what I did and how I did it, staying with you while I was pregnant then just running off with Shane like that. It weighed heavy on my heart. Shane's too. I am just so glad we can move on from this. All forgive each other. Well not your Daddy. I hope his heart stops beating with every word I speak. What he did…" Lori continued with anger in her tone by Ella stopped her.
"Lori, just in case your words are stopping his heart right this very minute, I'm gonna stop you because you do not need the guilt of killing that rat bastard," Ella laughed and so did the rest.
"I do want to say this to you Rick. When I found out I was pregnant, I knew it was Shane's and I felt guilty about that. I was going to break it off with you immediately, I really was, but somehow your fa...Richard," Lori corrected seeing that Rick was no longer claiming that motehrfucker paternally, "he somehow found out about Shane and I and the baby and came by my apartment. He told me the whole story of you, Shane, and Mishawn.
"Michonne," Rick corrected, and Lori nodded, "So Richard knew Vivian was not mine from the beginning? Before we got married?"
"Yes. As disgusted as I was with myself, I did not want to fool you into believing Vivian was yours. But Richard made it seem that if I left you. If I went back to Shane, something bad was going to happen to Shane. He did not make the threat outright, but I clearly got the picture, and then he threatened me and the baby," Lori shared, "between the guilt and the threats against Shane and the baby, I stayed."
"That evil bastard. Threatening a baby?" Ella stated with repulsion.
"I never knew that?" Shane bite even more pissed at Richard and Lori smiled at him with sympathy, "what exactly did Richard say to you?"
"That you did worse things than messing with Rick's girlfriend. Then Richard laughed and looked at me, and I saw the threat coming. Even though he was laughing, his eyes were darker, sinister, and he looked at me with so much loathing that it made me shiver. And I remember exactly what he said, word for word. I thought about it often," Lori informed as she rubbed up and down her arms as if she was cold all of a sudden.
"What did that motherfucker say to you?" Shane spat and wrapped his arms around his wife.
"He said, Good Lord, if anybody ever found out about the criminal things Shane did, well let's hope I can still protect him and keep him out of prison. Protect that baby too if Shane chooses to do the wrong thing," Lori revealed, "Then he looked down at my stomach and smiled."
"That fucking asshole," Rick uttered and looked at Ella who was stunned that Richard's evil deeds could still surprise her.
"Then he told me he knew people who would make sure Vivian's paternity test would say it was yours and not Shane's, and he could make it so I would never see my baby. Before Richard left, he stopped at the front door, smiled, and said, "Whores usually get what's coming to em if they don't do as they are told. Be careful. You have a good rest of your day Lori."
"Is that why you didn't want to settle in Manville? Why you were so adamant to start fresh in a different state?" Shane asked and Lori nodded.
"After I called you to come get me. After leaving Rick against Richard's wishes, I didn't want you or our baby to be anywhere near Richard after that. I wanted us to disappear somewhere. I was so glad when you talked about your distant cousins in Alabama. I didn't care where we went, just as long as it was not Georgia," Lori finished glad to get that off her chest.
Shane jumped up from behind the table infuriated.
"I am gonna put an end to that fucker," Shane shouted and Rick stopped him.
"Don't lose your freedom behind that piece of shit, Shane," Rick advised, and Shane paced around the small room instead.
"I am so sorry Lori. That man has no shame. No morals. No values," How did I miss that, Rick?" Ella asked her son and she tried to breathe away her tears.
"I missed it too mama. We trusted him and we saw what he wanted us to see," Rick answered and pulled his mother into a hug.
After a few minutes, Shane calmed down a bit and wanted to test the waters with Rick.
"Hey Rick. I know this is soon. But King County is my home. I always wanted to come back here. Lori too. She would love to see her parents more over in Manville, and they would love to see Vivian more too. Would you be okay with me, with us moving back here?" Shane asked tentatively.
"I would not have a problem with it brother," Rick smiled and looked at his buzzing phone again.
Michonne: Thanks again Rick. You and your mother are a lifesaver.
Rick: No need to thank me Michonne. I told you I was all in. For both Carl and you. In sickness and in health.
Michonne smirked at the mention of marriage vows. Ella started her own text thread with Michonne.
Ella: Do you know a lawyer who could help me get some business paperwork in order? I am building a retreat with a bed and bed and breakfast and Health spa. I don't really know where to start. Put that on our list of things to chat about when I get down there if you have time!
Michonne: oh wow! Good for you. I do! Sasha is a business lawyer, but it sounds like you would need more of a corporate lawyer. There is a new lawyer at my firm that might be able to help you! Andrea. She is a powerhouse. And Abe's weird cousin runs a phenomenal architectural firm who can…oh I will just call you!
Rick wondered who was calling his mother and chuckled when Ella answered her phone.
"Michonne! First, how is Carl? Oh you have not made it to his school yet? Ok text me when you know dear. Oh you do! Good, and Andrea can help me with a business plan? It's not just me, I have a business partner and…" Ella rambled until she was out of earshot and walking towards her brother's office.
"Looks like everybody is headed towards a happy ending," Shane smiled and stood up, "You mind if I hug you man. I missed you."
Rick nodded and got taken over with emotion and Lori happily watched a joyful Rick and tearful Shane embrace.
"Go on and talk to Hershel about everythang Shane. I have a feeling that there may be more deputy openings soon," Rick smirked thinking about how he might be moving within the next year and how the town might just be expanding with his mother's new business venture.
While Shane was talking to Hershel, Ella informed Rick what Michonne thought about her idea. According to Michonne, If Ella and Letty's business venture is successful, that will bring more businesses and restaurants, more retail shops, more boutiques, more everything to King County. Within a year of successful operations of the retreat, Michonne could see King County doubling or tripling in size in the next three to five years and become an even more diverse town.
As Rick listened, he thought about his own plans to move. If the town did expand, they would definitely need a larger police force. Rick had a fleeting thought that opening up King County's two new businesses might just flip the script. Rick had no problem moving to Atlanta, but maybe that might just be temporary. Once the town expanded with more stuff and thangs to do and with more opportunity for other business such as law offices, auto mechanics, paramedics, and medical examiners, maybe the whole crew might decide to make the more laid back, relaxing King County their home.
"Bless my heart," Rick uttered getting way ahead of himself, "Let's start with getting Michonne to be my girlfriend and go from there."
"That sounds like a good plan son," Ella stated in amusement, "come on. I need you to take me home. I need to go grocery shopping so I can make my grandson some chicken soup," Ella requested, leading Rick out of the station.
When Rick arrived Thursday morning, Michonne had just about enough time to shove the paper in Rick's hands with directions on how to take care of Carl before she darted out of her condo.
"Oh, I will be in around 8pm. Save me some of that chicken soup! Call me if you need me!" Michonne hollered as she ran out the door.
Rick went to check on Carl and he was fast asleep. He sat on the edge of his son's bed and read the list.
"Ok, make sure to check Carl's temperature every few hours. It was 100.1 last I checked. Normal for Carl is 97.9. Give Carl his medicine at 8am, then again at 2pm, then if I am not home, again at 8pm. There are electrolytes in the refrigerator and try and get him to eat some soup. Call me if you need me!" Rick read and wondered where the thermometer and medicine were located.
Rick found everything laid out on the kitchen counter. He took Carl's temperature; it was 99.5 and he breathed a sigh of relief before trying to shove the spoonful of medicine in Carl's mouth. A few hours later, Carl had not stirred and Rick was worried so he called Michonne.
"Michonne, a couple of questions. What is the syringe for? Do I need to give Carl a shot?" Rick asked as he held up the tool with the missing needle.
"That is what you use to give Carl the medicine Rick. Did you read the directions on the medicine bottle? Plunge it into the medicine bottle until you hit 5mL. It's easier to shoot it into Carl's mouth than using a spoon," Michonne instructed, and Rick nodded thinking about how much medicine was spilled onto Carl's shirt when he used the spoon.
"Oh ok. Also it's 11:30am and Carl is still knocked out. You got a small handheld mirror anywhere in the house?" Rick asked as he paced around the Condo.
"Carl just needs to rest. Is he drinking the Pedialyte? Why do you need a mirror, Rick?" Michonne asked as she busily looked through the stack of briefs on her desk.
"I gave him some of the drink after he took the medicine. Then he went right back to sleep. When I check on him, he is so still that I keep shaking him to make sure he is breathing. I hate to keep waking him up like that and I figured I could hold a mirror under his nose and check instead."
Michonne took a deep exhale.
"Rick, do I need to come home?" Michonne asked worriedly.
Thankfully Michonne did not, and Rick got himself together. He even made sure to have Michonne's dinner ready for her along with a glass of wine when she got home. Michonne was impressed as they sat and filled each other in on their day. When she woke Friday morning, Rick was up fixing her breakfast to-go. Michonne was so grateful, she unconsciously gave Rick a kiss on the lips on her way out the door. It all felt so domestic. Michonne stopped for a quick second stunned at what she did, then kept it moving. Rick was grinning all morning.
By Friday afternoon, Ella arrived, and after the kiss, Rick was hesitant to leave, but he had to go to work.
"You got the easy part. Carl is up and about a little more now," Rick muttered to his mother on the way out the door.
"I am the grandmother Rick. I'm supposed to get the easy part. The hard parts are for parents," Ella countered and shoved her son out of the Condo.
The rest of the weekend went off without a hitch. Friday evening, Ella met with Sasha and on Saturday, while Michonne and Sasha were at work, Andrea met with Ella with Letty listening in on the phone. By Sunday, all was well, including Carl who was trying to convince his mother to let him have his Saturday morning sugary cereal and cartoons on Sunday since he was sick in bed the morning before. Michonne put a big ole veto on that and allowed Ella to fix her and Carl a light, healthy Sunday breakfast before seeing Ella off.
Two weeks later, the first week of November, Michonne was still submerged in work and the Greene Farm trip was still not looking good. Rick was at the Greene farm eating dinner when the text came in and ruined his appetite.
Michonne: Rick, I am still swamped. Can we try next weekend instead?
Rick was disappointed and showed the text to Ella, who grabbed Rick's phone.
Rick: This is Ella, would you consider letting Carl come down and stay at the farm with me and his cousins? Well cousin, Maggie is at school.
Michonne: ….
Rick took back the phone.
"Bless your heart mama," Rick uttered with snark and shook his head.
Rick: Michonne, I know you think it's too early for that, so scratch that idea. My mama can wait till next weekend.
Michonne: Will you be staying at the farm too? Carl is a handful, Rick. That boy might be all over that town if he is not watched. I would need to talk to him, no, threaten him if I let him go without me.
Rick: I just have one shift Friday night that I could not get out of, I took off the rest of the weekend in case you and Carl came down. But I will have a firm talk with him too. Yes, Carl will be on the farm, and STAY on the farm unless he is escorted off by me. Hershel already said we can all stay at the farm anytime, so I will stay here too.
Michonne: Carl really wants to go, so ok. Can we meet halfway on Friday evening?
Rick: I have to work Friday evening, Damn. What time, maybe I can work something out. I go in at 8pm, maybe I can push it back?
Michonne: Let me see if Darryl can bring him down.
Rick: That would be great. Tell him to bring Sasha and they can stay overnight on the farm, so they won't have to make a turn-around trip. There is plenty of room.
Michonne: Will do. I will text you once I talk to Darryl and Sasha.
Ten minutes later, Rick was halfway through his slice of pecan pie Ella made for dessert when his phone dinged.
Michonne: Sasha asked if there would be goats. Darryl laughed and said she had a thing about goats. Anyway he said he would bring Carl and wondered if they could just stay till Sunday, and they could bring Carl back also?
Rick: That would be great. That way I can take a double shift on Sunday. I am trying to open up my days for the holiday season so I can spend them with you and Carl. So that would be perfect. No goats. There are horses, cows, and chickens though! Lol.
Michonne: Ok. I will call you with the plans by Thursday evening.
"This is perfect! I can let Sasha look over Letty's and my business plan that Andrea helped me with!" Ella hooted as she took Rick's unfinished pie from in front of him.
"Hey mama, I was still eating that!" Rick laughed as he watched his mother dance around the kitchen.
Ella was excited. With Abe's cousin Eugene already getting involved, and his connections with quality construction companies, Andrea's plan had Ella and Letty breaking ground after the new year. Or rather demolishing ground. Phase one was tearing down everything from her old home. The stables, the barn, the ranch hand quarters, and of course the house she raised Rick in. Eugene was already drawing up plans for both the bed and breakfast and the spa. Andrea was a dynamo and was going full speed ahead. Ella was already looking for a storage facility once she cleaned out the house.
Rick was elated that Carl was finally coming to King County, properly coming this time, and the following day, he was proudly telling everyone at the station about his son's upcoming visit. Jessie found herself happy for Rick and was smiling ear to ear at Rick's excitement. Jessie thought about Jenna and texted her the new information. Jessie wondered why Jenna was so interested in the goings on of Rick Grimes and would make sure to ask her next time she saw her. Jessie figured it was just the old gossip mill rolling with a bunch of nosey nellies. Had Jessie known the information was being used for nefarious reasons, she would have kept her mouth shut. After Jenna causally told her brother Bud the news, he filled in on both Merle and Joe. Bud was surprised at Joe's response.
"Glad I could trust you. I knew about the trip and was wondering if you were going to fill me in," Joe grinned and slapped Bud on the back, "I have plans and I need people I trust to help with its successful implementation. Oh, and I hope you are not telling Merle anything about me? Are you?"
"No..no of course not Joe," Bud stuttered now deeply worried for his own safety.
Bud watched Joe walk away and took a deep breath. His life just got a lot more complicated. Bud thanked God that he decided to tell Joe, because initially, he was not. It seemed there was someone else keeping Joe updated, which meant Bud needed to watch is own ass. Bud needed a plan fast because he had a feeling that whatever was going down, he was probably going to be Joe's scapegoat.
"Shit!" Bud spat to himself wondering how in the hell he went from an unsuccessful small-time pimp of a woman with a herpes sore, to a potential kidnapper and, if Joe had it his way, murderer, and prisoner.
Bud was in a bad place. Merle, he suspected, wanted to use the kid as ransom to get his money back from his brother, plus interest. But Bud knew Merle would never hurt the kid, but kidnapping was kidnapping, and shit could go wrong and hit the fan and next thing bud knew, him, and Merle would be sitting in matching jail cells. Joe, however, was more sinister, and he meant harm to come to whomever got in his way. Joe would step on the throat of his own baby if it meant he would win. Joe also did not like loose ends. The boy and his parents would be just that, loose ends. Bud was picturing himself lying on a prison table readying for his lethal injection. Then Bud figured he just might be a loose end too, and Joe would make sure he would never make it to his execution.
"Double Shit" Bud uttered then thought about his old nemesis that was bringing Rick's son to King County.
Bud had an idea. He could get help from the same person that blew his ass up with firecrackers back when they were ten years old. Darryl Dixon. Bud never forgave Darryl for all the second degree burns he sustained and was pissed that Darryl didn't give a shit. Darryl told Bud he should not have brought his little crew of idiots on their little bicycles to threaten him in front of his own home. Darryl had something for their asses alright. One of them got a bottle rocket straight to the eye and almost lost it. The kid walked around with a swollen purple eye for months. All of those little hoodlums left that day with damage to their bodies, but they learned to never mess with a Dixon again. Bud thought Darryl would know what to do, just like he knew exactly what to do that day when Darryl lit his whole ass on fire.
And then there was Rick.
Joe knew of Rick but was not in town long enough to really know the blue-eyed deputy. Bud did though. He saw the savagery Rick Grimes was capable of when someone messed with him or his own. Everybody saw Shane after the fight. That boy was still swollen in places three months later at high school graduation. Merle missed it all being in and out of prison, but had he witnessed Rick's level of brutality before and wondered why Merle would try and fuck with Rick's kid.
Shane was a wildcard too.
Shane could be brutal. When Rick and Shane were friends, nobody messed with them out of pure fear. That's why racists at the school pretended to love Michonne, and some eventually liked her in earnest. Rick and Shane changed a lot of young minds with just the mere thought of a beatdown if they uttered one slur against Michonne, Morgan, Scott, and the other nonwhite students. Bud's mind was one of them that changed for the better. Being forced to play nice with the brown kids actually helped him see they were actually good people. With Shane possibly being back in town, he might be able to help too. Rick, Shane, and Darryl together, fuck, Joe and Merle would not stand a chance.
Bud smiled and decided to try and talk to Darryl as soon as he made it to town but frowned immediately. Bud had no clue who Joe's inside man was, and one slip up could have him buried six feet under. Joe might also get jumpy which would get even more people killed. Bud needed a way to temporarily halt what Joe and Merle were planning until he could get to Darryl. He also needed a way to do it so that it looked like he was just an innocent bystander. Bud had an idea, and he blew out his breath. A few days in jail was better than years in prison Bud thought as he left for the local library and did the only thing he could think of doing to stall for time.
"Yeah, I would like to anonymously report a crime. Several of em," Bud spoke quietly into the library's public phone.
By Friday Morning, the first week of a crisp November, Merle's trailer was raided by King County Sherriff department and Atlanta PD, based on the tip that Merle might possibly be selling drugs. They did not find as much as they thought they would, but enough to put Merle back in the clank for the next seven months for parole violation forcing him to serve out the remainder of his original sentence. Merle was pissed as he was escorted from his trailer and wondered who turned him into the cops. His first thought was Bud, and was already plotting revenge, but once Merle got to the station and saw Bud handcuffed and sitting like a sad sack right with him, it threw Merle off his scent. Bud knew had he not offered himself up to the police too, he would have been a dead man walking. Bud did make sure his offence was a minor misdemeanor so his time would be minimal, a month max.
Meanwhile the Claimers, whose camp was closer to Manville than King County, were all being rounded up for their small prostitution and drug ring, along with a multitude of illegal weapons charges. Joe was smart. As they placed Joe into the back of the police car, he fingered one of the crew as the leader and Rondo kept his angry mouth shut. Rondo knew what Joe was capable of and if he protested, he would not survive his first night in jail.
"I heard there was a bust up here earlier today," Darryl inquired to Rick as they were unloading the car while Sasha and Carl followed Ella and Beth around the farm on a tour.
After going to the nature center, Sasha was not at all surprised how much she was going to like the farm and even more surprised it did not smell like goats and shit.
"Yeah, Manville took care of a small biker gang of idiots. Their little clubhouse or whatever they call it was Manville jurisdiction, but sometimes they come down here to frequent the bar on the edge of town, then end up coming into town starting shit. The one here was for parole violation," Rick proffered staring at Darryl wondering if he knew it was his brother that was arrested.
When Darryl did not appear to be in the know, Rick added that information.
"Merle," Rick uttered, and Darryl eyed Rick confused.
"Last I heard he was in prison?" Darryl grunted.
"Got out early a few months ago. Sorry, with all the excitement with Carl and Michonne, it totally slipped my mind to tell you he was out," Rick informed.
"Nah, don't worry. We don't keep in touch," Darryl replied with a nonchalant hand wave in the air, "I haven't talked to him for eight years since I left that day with his money. When it comes to drugs and money, my brother aint the forgiving kind. I'm glad he ain't around with Carl and Sasha here."
"Yeah, me too. Same with those bikers," Rick uttered knowing that if they were around and even so much and thought about approaching Carl or Michonne, that might be the last time they did anything in this life.
Rick added Sasha to that equation in his head. Then his mama, and cousins and Rosita. Rick would not hesitate to pull his red-handled machete to play.
"I need to go get that," Rick sputtered out loud thinking about his machete's current location inside the barn on the Grimes property.
"Get what?" Asked Darryl.
"Nothing, come on. Let's get this stuff in the house and see what my mama got cooking. Maybe we can sneak a taste before she comes back," Rick smiled and grabbed half the bags and headed into the house.
A few weeks later, Rick was informed that Rondo ended up getting three-to-five years. Joe got a little less than a year and would probably be out just after Merle served his seven months. That made Merle's possible release date early June and Joe's anywhere between June and early August.
Bud got five months in the county jail and was surprised. His court appointed attorney was shit. Bud thought for sure it would be no more than one month, two at most, but since this was not his first offense, his misdemeanor charge caused him to serve more time than he expected. Bud figured he would be out before Joe or Merle so the plan would still work and that would be the best time to approach Darryl in the hopes of preventing whatever both had planned for Rick and his family. After that, Bud could not guarantee shit.
