"What the hell are you doing here?"

Suddenly this thin and tall boy scared her to death. It felt like the words got stuck in her throat.

Michonne shook the nerves off and answered politely, "I was just checking in on your dad."

There was no point in lying.

He looked at her with disapproval, "My mom has been gone for a day and you two are already playing house. That's just great." His words were laced with a bitter edge, "What's next? Huh? Next week you're married and have twins on the way?"

"I was here only as a friend. He is struggling," She made sure to keep herself calm, this was a child in pain, "You could talk to him."

He laughed, angrily, "Like I should take your advice?"

"Maybe you should," Michonne tried her best to keep the conversation casual, she didn't want him to feel pressured, "Nobody is asking you to forgive and forget, but maybe if you talked to him you would see that he is sorry. He never wanted to hurt anybody. Neither did your mom."

The teen just rolled his eyes hard, and looked away, "You know I'm not buying what you're selling."

"I'm not asking you to," She took a deep breath, "Carl, you know us parents we are way more than just parents. We do awful shit and make mistakes just like the rest of you. So, you can go on and be mad at them, but at the end of the day they are still your parents. They will be your parents tomorrow and ten, twenty years from now. It's up to you if you want to waste time on being angry when you could instead help them grow and help them learn to be better people."

He had his hands in his pockets and stared back at her with a determined gaze," It's not my job to help them grow. That's bullshit."

Michonne nodded, "You're right, absolutely, it's not your job. You still could do it for selfish reasons. Like I said they will be your parents forever. You want miserable parents then? Because that's what they will be if their own son doesn't want to see or talk to them. I know right now you don't believe it, but you are the most important thing in their life. So is your sister."

He didn't respond.

"Maybe you should give your dad a chance to explain," She wasn't hesitating when she defended Rick, "You live with a person who also lied to you. It looks like you are ready to give her a chance since you live under the same roof. She also told your family business around town. I'm not saying it justifies anything that your dad did, but maybe your dad deserves the same treatment."

Carl was uncomfortable. He still avoided her gaze and looked at the ground as he kicked the grass beneath his shoes," I know what Lucille did. I know what my mom did. I never said dad is the only one who was wrong."

"You're a smart kid," Michonne smiled softly, "Just talk to him. I'm very sorry you're going through this. You don't deserve to be in the middle of grownups who are shitty with relationships. You're not a little kid anymore, so I'm not gonna lie and tell you what happened was nothing. It was something, I guess it's still something, we just don't know what's going on. It's not exactly easy for anyone when there is a lot of people involved and nobody is ready to speak their truth. For your own wellbeing maybe try to be open minded towards your mom and dad. They aren't perfect people and they can only learn from this."

She turned around to go towards her car when he shouted, "Hey."

She looked at him and hoped they had reached common ground.

"Thanks for being honest. It's rare these days." He said quietly and walked back inside the house.

Rick opened his eyes as the sun shined through the living room window. He was still in his uniform, but his boots were neatly placed beside the sofa. He groaned as he got up and noticed how the laundry was in neat and cordinated stacks instead of the huge messy pile. Also the trash was gone.

Michonne.

Well now he felt embarrassed over falling asleep and she even picked up after him. He looked at his injured hand and wondered if he had time to go to the hospital and get it checked out. With a yawn he walked into the kitchen. She had clearly went through their cabinets, on the counter was everything he needed to clean his wounds up. Their minds seemed to be in sync. Unintentionally he smiled and did what was expected of him. With a clean and bandaged hand he got ready for the day.

The conversation they had was fresh on his mind. She was actually close by. It was actually terrifying. His whole world had turned upside down. He changed into his favorite jeans and a t-shirt. He was glad he didn't have to patrol this morning because his kids needed him.

He walked outside to get his mail when he noticed Lucille by the driveway.

"We need to have a word." He caught her by surprise. She looked up from her own mail and shifted her stance.

"I don't know Rick, I'm not really in the mood to hear your sob story," She fired back with a chuckle, "You have some nerve to bring her into Loris home."

"What?" He spat, on the inside he was fuming over her attitude.

"Carl ran into her last night. You could be a little considerate, your kids are right here. If you need to fuck, go to her hotel room." She smiled with fake innocence.

Rick shook his head, and took a step closer, "First of all I don't know what the hell you are drinking these days, but clearly it got your mind messed up. Second of all you need to stop spreading lies over the goddamn town. Third of all it's none of your damn business who I have over at my own fucking house! "

The door opened and Negan walked out with his coffee mug and robe, "It's too early for this shit! Stop yelling at my mother fucking driveway."

Rick didn't have the patience for Lucille today. He looked over at his friend, "I appreciate you being honest and taking the kids Negan, but Judy is coming home today and we need some space. We don't need this fucking hostile gossip your wife keeps spreading around town. Judith and Carl are gonna be the ones who suffer from that," He could only laugh at the miserable attempt to make this into something it was not and he turned towards Lucille," You think you can hurt me like this? You think I give a damn about what people think?"

Lucille scoffed and looked at Negan," You're gonna let him speak to me like that?"

Negan just shrugged, like it was any other casual morning, "You and Lori went too far. Let the man say his word."

She gave him a venomous side eye, "Of course dogs have each others backs."

"Just like bitches do." Negan snapped from the porch.

She wasn't letting go and turned towards Rick, "Y'all are acting like this normal. None of this is normal. You don't just give up on your marriage and the mother of your kids because suddenly you like another person. That's insane, that's so fucking wrong."

"I'm not the one who gave up Lucille!" He shouted back, "Lori gave up long time ago. She told me she wanted to leave, but stayed for the kids. You know what I'm talking about. She must have told you."

"Yeah, that was years ago," Lucille defended her friend, "She really wanted it to work. She was excited for Vegas and thought the renewal was a fresh start! You broke her heart in the worst possible way."

"Lucille." Negan warned.

"No Negan, I'm going to say what's real," She looked at Rick, "Lori was wrong for hiding the texting with Shane, but it wasn't like they were declaring love for each other. He asked about you and the kids. He wanted to know how Carl was."

"If they cared about Carl, they wouldn't have watched by as he got depressed," Rick interjected, "I don't care what they talked about, they talked regularly. She was happier because she had him in her life. That's what she is afraid to admit. She made the wrong choice back then and she knows it."

Negan sighed loudly. The conversation seemed to be going in circles.

Rick crossed his arms and stared her down, "Tell Lori she has a week, then I'll get the papers in order and file for divorce," He got his mail and waved it in his hands, "And tell Shane I said hi."

Michonne was in work mode. She was answering emails left and right and at the same time calling in different directions. She stared at the screen and then at the papers Sasha had sent for her when there was a knock on the door. Completely sucked into her case she didn't think twice about it and went to open the door.

"Hey." He basically walked in without having a chance to invate him in.

She watched the back of his head as he was already walking the hallway, "Come on in then."

He didn't look as bad as yesterday. He had taken a shower, but his beard was looking wilder. He saw her laptop on the table and papers everywhere, "I'm only gonna take a couple of minutes. Where is Andre?"

Michonne put her phone aside and tried her best to clean up the mess on her kitchen table, "He is actually fishing with Daryl while me and Connie handle a couple of work things. What's up?"

Rick leaned against her kitchen counter, "Thanks for cleaning up last night, uh, you didn't need to."

"No problem," She shrugged and then noticed his hand, "Good, you did something about that."

He felt anxious about the topic he wanted to bring up, "I heard you talked to Carl."

"We ran into each other when I was about to leave," She explained, she didn't seem too worried about it which made him relieved, "It wasn't hostile or anything like that."

He nodded, it seemed like a good conversation, "I'm just surprised he even opened his mouth to have an actual conversation. I thought he would curse you out."

"He did at first," She laughed softly as she walked closer to him than she intended, "But I think we reached an understanding. He is a bright kid."

His eyes scanned all of her. He tried his best not to be noticed, but she did. She always did. He didn't say anything, he just stood there transfixed on her. She could feel the atmosphere turn. The heat was impossible to ignore at this point. With determination her eyes drifted elsewhere and she walked past him to her refrigerator. It was like breaking a spell, soon as there was distance the desire to do something irresponsible was at its minimum.

"You want something?" She asked casually as she grabbed herself a bottle of water.

Rick suppressed his smile because it was so obvious how she tooth and nail avoided his presence and she was terrible at it, "Nah, I'm fine."

She closed the refrigerator and noticed the way he smirked at her, "What?"

"Nothing." He looked at his feet and chuckled to himself.

Michonne rolled her eyes at him and changed to topic, "Did you hear from Lori already?"

He firmly shook his head, "I'm not really interested in hearing anything. I ain't calling after her and begging her to come home."

"That's a bit cold," She sipped her water, "she is your wife."

"Thanks for reminding me."

She could hear the agitation in his voice, "I'm just saying, you will have to communicate at some point, maybe it doesn't hurt to ask if she is okay. You have a bad habit of leaving her stranded with her feelings."

He wasn't having it, stubborn as he was, "I don't have any desire to ask that when she has someone else doing her dirty work and it affects the kids."

"Lucille?" Michonne crossed her arms.

"I talked to her, well mostly we yelled at each other," She could feel the animosity he had for her, "I got a lecture. What a joke. Her and Negan have fought for the last decade and she wants to lecture me about my relationship and how I handle things," Ricks face was stern, the veins on his forehead popping out in anger, "Then she goes around town starting this nonsense. I don't know if Lori put her up to it, but it hurts the kids. Other kids will talk about it. I guarantee you."

She was nodding along him, totally understanding his frustration, "Just don't blame Carl for talking to her. He will come to you when he is ready. You need to have patience."

"I guess so," He sighed and stopped to think about it all, "It's day by day right now. It will work out eventually. It has to."

Michonne knew she didn't have any words that would bring him the kind of comfort that he needed. She could see how worried he was. She could hear her phone ring, "I need to take this."

Rick watched her face twist into total focus as she answered her phone. It must have been a stressful call, he could see her back muscles tense up underneath her cream colored dress. She closed the phonecall and tossed it on the kitchen counter next to him.

"I need to grab a few papers from the car," She rambled as she looked through the folder she had grabbed from the kitchen table, "I'll be just a minute then I'll make you some coffee, okay?"

"I thought you didn't drink coffee." He chuckled.

"Well I figured I might have guests who drink coffee." She said and looked at him, subtleness out of the window.

The woman was a mystery. One minute the signals were direct and the next minute she was avoiding him like the plague. As he analyzed her behaviour, her phone light up. He didn't want to see it, but it was practically right next to him. There was a message that popped up on her screen. Rick scratched the back of his neck. This was wrong. He knew it, but he did it anyway. He leaned enough so that he could look closer.

And it was a big mistake.

Marcus: You need some bugspray before those things eat you alive lol. That's what you get, you should've came to Vegas.

Rational part of him knew, he shouldn't feel his chest tightening and mind get fogged like this, but with Michonne he had a hard time staying rational. After the confrontation with Lucille this seemed to get him more riled up. He was pissed off.

She walked in talking about something that he completely missed because he was so caught up in his own feelings over a simple message that had nothing do with him.

"What?"

She put the papers from her hands on the table. It was written all over his face.

"Marcus? You two are keeping touch?"

Michonne thought it was a joke. Soon as she noticed the way his arms tensed up she knew this was far from a joke. Million things went through her mind. She sure wanted to repeat that Las Vegas punch right now.

"Are you serious?" She narrowed her eyes at him, "You went through my phone?" She dashed towards the counter and grabbed her phone quickly, "What the hell Rick?"

His voice cracked with sarcasm, "I didn't even touch it. Kind of hard to miss it."

This was certainly a flaw in his character, he knew it himself.

Michonne had to look away because she was fuming, "You are unbelievable."

"I asked a simple question."

"And you don't deserve an answer." She snapped back.

"Why is it a secret?" The atmosphere was futile now, "You think it's funny to lead me on?"

She couldn't deal with this foolishness and snapped again, stepping suddenly into his space, "I'm sorry, but did I miss a chapter, but aren't you married?"

He laughed, wallowing in self pity, "Oh yeah, that's funny. Act like you don't know what I'm talking about."

"Maybe you should direct this kind of energy towards your wife." She shot back and pointed towards the door, "Get out."

Rick wasn't having it, "You can't just throw me out because I asked you a question."

"Yes Rick, I can," They were practically nose to nose, panic rose inside of her because of the intensity he had, "You don't own me. You don't decide who I talk to. So please, get out."

He could see in her brown eyes she meant it. He had hurt her. He had crossed a line, his jealousy got the best of him.

His jaw clenched and he stared back, "You don't want that."

"I really do." Her voice was ice cold, "Go."

Rick didn't want to argue. He could see how she held her composure with determination even though the anger inside of her was bubbling over. At the same time she made him feel so frustrated and conflicted.

"Rick, don't make me call Daryl," Michonne said quietly, "I need you to get out, right now. I'm not playing."

"Michonne." He tried to reach out to her with his hand.

She swatted him away aggressively, "Don't touch me."

He could recognize the way she looked at him. The night they met, it was the same furious flash in her eyes. He had shot him down. Without a word, he turned around and walked out.

She could feel herself relax soon as she heard the door slam shut. The stress was starting to hit her. Maybe this was karma for her bad judgment on the situation. It was just asinine to even be there. She couldn't shut off the want or need to be around him, no matter how hard she tried. They both were crossing lines that were never supposed to be crossed. Life would be easier without him in it. She took pride in the fact that her decisions were based on logic. She felt like she had failed herself. With that in mind she grabbed her phone and answered Marcus.

"Man that's just psycho." Daryl muttered as Rick told what had happened. When he took Andre home he could tell his mom wasn't in the best mood. He now understood why.

They were sitting on his porch and watching Connie and Judith throw a stick to Dog. It was turning darker as the sun was settling down.

After leaving Michonne he got home and cleaned around so that it was nicer for Judith to come home. He could tell his daughter was distant. She avoided his gaze and kept her answers short, but she was happy when he suggested they would visit Daryl and Connie. It made her feel like things were a bit more normal. As hours went by he realized how wrong he was for his behaviour earlier. Rick wanted the ground to open up and swallow him whole. He had fallen to be the victim of his own mess. He knew his impulsive behaviour had gotten the best of him, yet again. He was simply jealous. So jealous that he didn't think it through. Jealous over a woman who he had no claim to. She wasn't his.

Rick sighed and crossed his arms, "I know, I fucked up. What else is new?"

Daryl chuckled, "You gotta stop this."

"How?" He asked with sincerity, he really didn't have the means.

"Get a divorce. Sort that out first."

"I don't know."

Daryl was surprised how clueless he was over his own feelings, "Man. You know what you need to do. Stop being a chicken and get it done."

"I'm not a chicken." He grumbled back and ran a hand on his face in exasperation

"No, you're a big ass chicken."

Rick punched him in the arm playfully.

Carol stepped outside from the house, "Now boys, behave." She had a tray with her and placed it on the table. She handed Rick his coffee and stopped to look at him, "You look miserable. Maybe shave once in awhile."

He snorted, "Thanks."

She then returned to the tray and handed Daryl his coffee, "I tried calling Lori. She didn't answer."

"She knows you tell everything to Daryl." Rick knew how Loris mind worked, "You're the last person she will talk to."

Carol took her own seat with the warm coffee in hand, "Yeah, I guess you're right. She was stupid to leave like that."

Daryl had to agree, "Kids are worried."

Ricks eyes dropped to his wedding ring, "She probably felt like she had to."

"Yeah well, ultimately it was your fault," the grey haired woman was blunt, "You can't go around kissing people and expect it to just work itself out."

"You should hear what he did this time." Daryl chuckled at Carol.

She was teasing her friend, "What? You proposed already?"

Daryl laughed hard, almost spilling the coffee in his lap.

"Oh come on." Rick deadpanned.

Daryl and Carol shifted the subject towards the upcoming wedding. Rick sat there and smiled at his daughter who was laughing in the distance. That laughter always brightened up his spirits. Soon he heard a familiar sound he didn't expect to hear.

Carl arrived with his skateboard. Surprising everybody. Even Judith gasped aloud and yelled out to him. He walked slowly towards the porch. He seemed nervous and uncertain about what to do.

Rick knew as a father it was his job to show him the way. Carol and Daryl stopped talking, everybody around knew how important this was for them. Also this could be a big disaster.

Rick placed the mug down and got up. He walked down the few steps from the porch and walked over to his son.

Carl swallowed. His eyes didn't really say anything. Rick wasn't sure if he was there to rip him a new one or was this a step forward. He wanted to believe it was the start of a new chapter. There had to be hope.

"Hey son." He said, almost whispering. He waited a second before grabbing him into a hug.

To his surprise Carl, the boy who had not hugged him in a long time returned the hug gladly and said, "Hey dad."

Thanks for the love and nice words. I read every review and enjoy the insight. Still on vacation. It's actually nice to write here. Thank you for being interested and reading. This story is my escape and I love it to bits. Until next week!