Michonne yawned and streched her arms as she leaned back in her office chair. It had been another long day. Her desk was filled with papers from her newest case and she was having trouble making it bullet proof.

"Still here?" Sasha peeked inside her office from the door.

"Where else would I be?" She yawned again as she stared at the papers in front of her.

Sasha walked in, "I know it's a tough case, but you need to sleep," She crossed her arms, "Are you sure you don't need anyone to cover for Connie?"

"It's only been two weeks," Michonne looked at her friend, "I can manage a couple more days until she comes back from her honeymoon."

"You afraid she is gonna want to stay there?" She asked her.

"Nope," She dropped her pen on the table with a chuckle, "I know Connie misses everybody. I just talked to her. She is happy there to see his world, but eventually she will want to be back here with us."

"And if she decides she doesn't?"

"Then I will look for another employee," Michonne smiled, "Thanks for sharing Kelly with me."

Sasha hadn't noticed anything weird about her behavior since they got back from Las Vegas. She was surprised she didn't speak a word about a certain Sheriff or the trip itself. Though, this was Michonne. She rarely would let anyone see a glimpse of her vulnerable side.

"You know if there is anything-"

Michonne raised her hand to stop her, "I've told you for a couple weeks now that you need to stop coddling me. I'm fine."

She smiled back at her, "Fine. You get your ass home in an hour or two. We have a meeting at eight am so you need to sleep."

With that she was out of her door.

She watched Sasha turn the lights off in her own office across from hers and waved back at her when she left.

Her phone rang. Right on time.

She answered it, putting the call on speaker as she leaned in her chair, "So did you catch him already?"

"Nah," Ricks voice came from the other end, "I keep missing him."

Michonne asked casually, "What did he write this time?"

She could hear him sigh loudly, "Turd."

She laughed hard, "Well you have royally pissed off someone."

He chuckled, "It's some punk kid who is trying to impress his friends."

"Well he has impressed me," She kept laughing, "You gotta admit, it's pretty funny and he definitely has balls. It's not easy to regularly vandalize the Sheriffs car."

"Oh it's easy enough since I keep fucking missing him." He pointed out, "What about you? You got the witness you wanted?"

She swirled around in her chair, "No, it fell through."

"Sorry about that," He emphasized, "I know how much that would have helped."

Michonne closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, "Yeah, I'll find another way. I always do."

"I know." He answered immediately.

"Did you talk to Carl?" She changed the topic.

He groaned, frustrated, "I tried, but he just shuts me down. I don't know what's up with him. He only wants to hangout with Negan and Daryl because they are teaching him how to ride a motorcycle. I'm not really invated."

"Don't take it personally," Michonne adviced as she shuffled through her mountain of papers, "It could be something that doesn't even have anything to do with you."

"I don't know," She could tell he was as defeated about it, "He has been stranger than usual since Vegas."

She paused for a moment before saying, "Vegas will do that to you."

He was surprised that she had something to say about it. She usually changed the subject quickly. Rick stared at the coffee cup that had been on his desk all day long and sighed, "I don't know. I just got a feeling he is avoiding me."

"Maybe she told him?" Michonne said before thinking it through.

"No," He was quick to interject, "Lori isn't that stupid to drag our kids into it."

"You're probably right. Sorry." She mumbled back.

"I know you didn't mean it like-"

"like a bitch? Yeah, I didn't. I just think it's a weird coincidence. You tell her about us," She was uncomfortable even saying it aloud, "swapping spit and all of a sudden your son is acting like he hates your guts."

"Swapping spit?" He laughed, "That sounds unnecessarily nasty."

She ignored his remark, "Anyhow you need to talk to him. Man to man. Get to the bottom of it."

"Why is it that I'm almost two hundred miles away and you get to boss me around."

"That's on you, not me." He could tell she was smiling.

"Sure." He smirked to himself and without thinking about it drank from the coffee cup in front of him.

She could hear him gulp loudly and laughed at the sound, "You just drank that stale ass coffee didn't you?"

Rick quickly spit the liquid back into the mug, "Yeah. I did, just like yesterday and the day before that."

Michonne giggled at him, he was often unintentionally funny, "I can't with you."

He wiped his collar that he had just stained and decided to be bring up the subject he knew she would dislike, "I need your advice."

She could tell from his voice this wouldn't be the usual light hearted conversation that she was used to, "What is it?"

"Lori and I have our first counseling session tomorrow," He sounded nervous, "I'm not sure how that's gonna go considering I'm still talking to you."

"I don't see the issue," Michonne chuckled, "We talk sure, but we are friends right? So what's the problem exactly?"

Rick couldn't have rolled his eyes harder, "Michonne."

"No," She was irritated and wanted to nip this in the bud, "There is nothing wrong with us talking. You need to stop feeling guilty over it."

"Then why don't you tell Sasha about it?"

"The same exact reason why you don't tell your friends or wife."

"Well I don't tell them because I know they would think it's," He swallowed, "Inappropriate."

She closed her eyes and sighed, "Rick. Let's not."

She could hear his chair creak as he leaned back, "Fine."

"You go and do your counseling," She tried her best to sound supportive, "I'm sure it will help."

Rick didn't say anything.

"Seriously? Silent treatment?" Michonne snapped at him.

"I was just writing something down," he clearly made up on the spot, "And I know, you're right. Counseling will probably help."

She yawned loudly.

"You really should get going," He sounded a bit concerned, "It's not safe to drive home when you are that tired."

"I'm fine," She told him, "Besides tomorrow I only have a meeting in the morning and the rest of the day I'm sitting at the hairsalon and answering emails."

He chuckled, "So that's basically a day off."

"No, it really isn't," She explained, "I mean if you consider sitting still and getting your scalp yanked for like eight hours a day off then..."

"Eight hours? Jesus," Rick wondered and joked, "What are they doing, sewing a new head?"

Michonne could just imagine him proudly smirking over that line, "No, Rick. We black folks actually have to sit and do our hair for hours."

"I was just joking," He clarified, "I didn't mean to sound ignorant."

"I know, don't worry about it." She knew he was playing around and she loved to mess with him. He always freaked out.

He yawned himself this time, "But your hair is great. Why change it?"

"I want something new," She was packing away her purse as she finally gave up and decided it was time to go home, "I love my dreads don't get me wrong, but just for this summer I'm thinking I need a change."

"Don't tell me you're gonna buzz it all off?"

"You think that would take eight hours?" She grabbed her keys and grimaced, "And what's that supposed to mean? You think I wouldn't pull off a bald head?"

"No!" He was flustered, "of course you would. I didn't mean it like that."

Michonne enjoyed torturing him over the phone, "Typical man, maybe I should just shave it off."

"Oh come on," He groaned back, joking, "I'll shave it for you. I won't even take eight hours."

"I would rather get hit by a truck than let you touch my head," She joked back before warning him, "and before you say anything dirty-"

"Friends!" He interrupted her as he mimicked her shrieking.

She couldn't help herself, but smiled once more. Their conversations were always this off the wall and funny.

"Please explain to me what you are doing to your hair and why it takes eight hours?" He was tapping his pencil against the desk as he yawned, "I have two more hours to go, so I only have time to kill. Plus I would like to learn."

Michonne turned the lights off in her office, "Sure if you have nothing better to do."

"I'm sitting here all alone," He sighed, "Just me and my boots."

"I hope not just the boots."

"And you accuse me of dirty talk."

"Oh you think that's dirty talk?" She could feel her face heat up as she laughed softly.

"You're something else." He chuckled.

She locked her door and continued from their previous conversation, "I'm doing braids this time."

He got comfortable in his chair, "Go on."

"So the first thing they do..."

Rick pulled into their drive way, the sun was slightly peeking in the skyline, but the world around him seemed to be still in deep slumber. He grabbed his phone and walked inside the house quietly as possible.

He sat down in the living room and crinkled his nose up as he smelled the dirty dishes that Carl probably had left in the sink. He decided not to be the one who cleaned after him again. He had to learn at some point.

He took off his uniform and boots with a sigh. Rick rummaged through the fresh laundry piles that were left on the kitchen chairs and grabbed a pair of joggers. He looked at the clothes and sighed again. They weren't exactly successful with managing their home after everything that happened. After coming home from Las Vegas he literally hadn't taken a day off. Neither had Lori. It was like they both were scared of just being around the house. They weren't talking. It was easier to go to work and escape their reality. He settled on the old sofa which had been his bed since the day they came back. Rick didn't know if his kids noticed that he was sleeping downstairs, but it wasn't exactly new. They often slept separately even before their marital issues.

When Michonne reached out on the same day she left, it had brought up a lot of mixed feelings. He felt guilty because he knew he wanted to talk to her. He also had promised Lori they would make their marriage work. The first message or two between them were very polite and distant. She just wanted to make sure he was alright and he wanted to make sure she made it home safe and sound.

They had their vow renewal which he completely wanted to erase from his mind. He wasn't really present in the moment, and he could tell that neither was she. They just went through with it for their friends and kids. It would have been embarrassing to cancel everything out of nowhere. So they had a nice evening, but it wasn't groundbreaking like he had wanted when they first started planning it. It fell flat like a pancake. Lori's behavior confused him. She told him how she wanted to fix their marriage and at the same time gave him the cold shoulder. She didn't want to talk about it. She just wanted to go on like nothing ever happened.

For Rick it was hard to behave in such a way because he was constantly yearning for Michonnes company. He couldn't go back to what he knew before her. So he kept in touch with her. First the texts were happening once a day. Then on accident he called her and blamed his clumsy fingers which made her laugh. It became a habit. Just like in Las Vegas when they met up at the bar. He always called her at the same time and they would talk for hours. He would drink horrible bitter coffee and she would have a glass of red wine. They often even ordered takeout and talked while eating. He found her job interesting, she would tell him about her cases, but in a very discreet way. He liked to listen her explain the gist of it all. They could bounce ideas off one another and it seemed to work. Rick didn't have a lot of exciting details to tell from his job. Right now there was only one trouble maker who kept messing with his car. It was oddly boring and it seemed like all the criminals were vacationing or something. So it was just a whole lot of paper work and petty thefts.

They just went back to whatever it was that had started between them. It made him excited for the day. He always waited for their maraton phonecalls, even when he knew what he was doing was wrong. Oh, and she knew it too, but she had a hard time accepting that it wasn't so innocent. They both lied to themselves. This habit of keeping in touch was hard to break. Neither probably even wanted that.

"Daddy?" Judiths small voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Hey," He smiled at her, "What are you doing up?

"I heard when mom left for work and couldn't sleep anymore," She walked up to him and sat on the edge of the same sofa, "She's been gone a lot."

He could tell she was holding back. There was something on her mind.

"I'm sorry," Rick scooted over and patted the space next to him, "I know we have been gone a lot. It's not fair."

Judith sighed and laid down, "It's not just that."

He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, "You wanna talk about it?"

She seemed to think about it before answering, "I want everyone to be happy."

He swallowed nervously, "Jude," he tried to find the most comforting words, "Sometimes life is not easy and we have hard days, but in the end it doesn't mean that we aren't happy. I'm always happy when I think about you and Carl. No matter what is going on."

She yawned against him, "So you're happy?"

"I am." He answered sincerely. In fact he was happier than he had been in a long time and he knew what was the reason behind it.

"I hope mom is happy too." She mumbled as sleep took over her. Rick covered her with a blanket and kissed her forehead.

He ran his fingers through her silky hair as he fell asleep himself.

Lori tried her best to keep her sleepy eyes open as she stared at the coffee in front of her.

"Are you trying to re-heat that with your mind?" Maggie asked after looking at her for a minute or two when she entered the break room.

She lifted her gaze and smiled at her friend, "I don't even care anymore if it's cold or warm."

She sat opposite of her and drank from her water bottle, "You've been doing a lot of doubles. Everything okay at home? I heard Carl is spending a lot of time with Daryl and Connie."

Maggie knew their routines. So she knew exactly when they were on bad terms with Rick because that's when Lori practically lived at the hospital.

"I'm not going to lie and say it's all good when it isn't," Lori was straight forward, "After Vegas... Things aren't the same. It's not easy."

"But we had your renewal. You looked so happy," Maggie said quietly, "What happened?"

She didn't know where to start, "Rick did something, I guess I did too. The renewal was sort of a bandaid and I think we both knew it. It just wasn't what I hoped it would be."

Maggie looked at her, confused, "I really thought you two had worked everything out."

"Me too."

"Then what went wrong?" She was curious.

"I'm not ready to talk about it," Lori said quickly as she stammered, "It's not that I don't trust you. I, I just haven't really figured out what happened even myself."

Her friend nodded, but she could see concern in her eyes.

"We are starting counseling again," She wanted Maggie to know that it was only a bump on their road, "I know it will help us like the last time. It's easier to talk to him when there is someone else to support me. Rick isn't exactly good with sharing his feelings."

"I hope y'all work it out." Maggie smiled genuinely. A friend like her was irreplaceable.

"We will," Lori nodded back, "We always do."

"Shit!" Michonne swore as she stepped on a lego while trying to pull herself together for the day.

Her big spacious kitchen was spotless, but somehow these darn legos ended up stuck on the bottom of her foot from time to time. There was million things to do before heading out of the door.

"Andre!" She yelled as she looked at her watch, "ten minutes, then we got to go!"

Thankfully, her son was very used to the mornings being chaotic. She could focus on her own stuff and count on him to get himself ready for school. He was so smart for his age, and even so responsible. She felt bad that she didn't have time to cook him breakfast and help him choose his clothes or even help him pack his bag. She could only manage a poptart on the go and counted on him with the rest.

Andre walked downstairs into their kitchen and sat on the bar stool while leaning over the kitchen counter, "Momma I think I want to stay home today. I'm tired."

She chuckled at her son, "Yeah? Me too buddy, but sometimes we have to do things we don't like. I promise, after aunt Connie comes back it's gonna get easier and then we'll have our day off. We can watch movies from bed and eat ice cream."

"That's a good idea," He brightened up and help up his little hand, "It's a date."

Michonne shook his hand and grinned, "Now you don't go canceling on me or I will be very hurt."

Andre grinned back, "I would never momma."

She kissed his forehead, "I know I can always count on you baby."

His smile made everything worth it. She pinched his cheeks and thanked heavens that one fateful time her birth control failed. He wasn't planned, but he sure was loved from the moment she knew he was coming. There was never another option for her, even when she was in the middle of law school and her relationship wasn't the easiest. Andre was the reason for her drive. He made her more passionate about her career. She wanted to set a good example and show him how a woman can be a powerhouse, like her own mother had shown her

"Who is Rick?" his curious voice interrupted her thought process and she saw him with her phone.

He was waving it at her and giggling. Apparently he had read his name from a message that popped up on the screen.

"He is mommys friend," She panicked and snatched the phone away, "like you have your friends, mommy has her own friends."

"Why are you friends with a boy?" Andre asked, tilting his head at her.

She wanted to laugh at the innocent question, but kept serious, "Boys and girls can be friends."

"Ew," he crinkled his nose up in disgust, "That's gross."

"Don't be silly," Michonne laughed, "You play with all of your classmates don't you?"

The little boy shrugged, "I try my best momma."

"See," She smiled at him, "so there is nothing gross about it."

He hopped off the bar stool and smiled back at his mom, "I'm happy you have friends momma."

She loved that tiny little smile more than words could express.

"Yeah, me too baby."

Daryl sat on his front porch. Well it was technically their front porch these days.

Dog was faithfully following Connie around the house as she prepared dinner.

His life had been turned upside down in the best possible way after Las Vegas.

He had never been more proud of himself because this time he actually did something his gut told him to do. He didn't think about it. That nagging voice in his head that reminded him from time to time that he wasn't worthy of anything good had disappeared.

He lighted up a cigarette as he saw Ricks truck pull up into their driveway.

He and Judith hopped off and walked up to him.

"You promised you would quit!" She called him out.

"Fine," He grunted at the little girl and stumped the cigarette, "Better?"

Rick laughed at them.

She nodded proudly and looked around, "Where is Connie?"

"Inside, fixing dinner with Dog." He barely had finished his sentence when she ran past him and went inside the house.

Daryl chuckled, "Somehow I feel like nobody comes around for me anymore."

"I always come for you, brother." Rick patted his shoulder and sat next to him.

"You took the day off?" He hadn't seen his friend out of his uniform in a long time.

"I'm probably going to the office later," He explained, "I need to do some paperwork."

He nodded at him and looked over his shoulder, "She ain't coming out is she?"

Rick chuckled, "Nah, I think you're good."

With that Daryl lighted up another cigarette.

Rick waved the smoke away from his face, "have you two decided on what to do with the living situation?"

His friend nodded, "I was going to text you the details like everybody else, but yeah, we are having a barbecue the next Saturday so that we can tell everyone."

"You invating all her friends and family?" Rick knew Daryl could sense the underlying question.

"Yeah," He answered simply, not wanting to bring up the one person he knew Rick was referring to, "I hope they have the time to travel here. Connie is going to Atlanta in a couple of days, so she can invate everybody face to face."

The idea of seeing Michonne was thrilling, but at the same time it was the scariest scenario he could think of.

"Im assuming since you're hosting here-"

"Assume nothing." Daryl interrupted his friend.

Rick knew that he was not moving anywhere. He would never leave his hometown, so it was funny that he even tried to play it off like he would actually move away.

"You alright?" Daryl asked him suddenly, "Carls been hanging around a lot. I tried to ask him what's up, but that boy is not a talker."

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair that desperately needed to be cut, "I don't know. It's just... bad at home right now. Carl can't take it. You can always send him home if he bothers y'all."

"Nah man," He stumped the cigarette, "He is family, he can come and go when he wants. We don't mind."

Rick nodded, appreciating his words, "We messed up in Vegas. We should have never renewed our vows when we don't even know what we want."

They sat in comfortable silence as neither knew what to say after his confession.

Laughter filled their little dining room as Rick and the kids enjoyed Connies cooking. Even Carl was in better spirits and wanted to join. He barely talked to his dad, but for Rick it was progress. He could sit around the same table as him.

Daryl licked his fingers and got up to go to the kitchen, he looked at Rick, "You want a beer?"

"I'll have one." Carl told him casually.

He smacked the back of his head playfully, "Your dad would kill me if I even offered you one."

Rick chuckled, "I'm good."

Daryl walked into their kitchen and was surpised to see Connie standing there with a confused look on her face.

"What's wrong?" He signed her.

She walked next to him and showed him her phone. He was a bit confused as he wasn't sure what he was supposed to see. Then he realized he was looking at a calender.

She knew it was too complicated to explain by just signing so she took a sticky note and wrote for him, "This is Michonnes calender that I can access online. I was checking something for work and noticed this."

She pointed at the certain saturday. Under it was a note.

"Connie and Daryl bbq?"

Daryl was confused. He looked at her and asked, "Did you tell somebody?"

She shook her head and wrote down, "You know I didn't want to invite anybody over the phone. How does she know?"

Then it clicked inside his head. Goddammit.

"What?" Connie signed him.

"Rick." He pointed at his friend who was sitting there care free with his kids.

Her eyes widened as she understood what he was saying, "Shit."

That word he could definitely recognize from her hand movements and had to agree, "I know. Shit."