"Good morning, Kagome; how are you feeling?"
Kagome smiled at Beth and the others, "Good morning, everyone. I'm feeling better, Beth, thank you. Have you seen Rick this morning?"
Beth and the other women looked at each other, and Sophia quickly glanced at Michonne, "Rick and the others are outside, checking the perimeter," She informed Kagome.
Kagome instantly understood that Rick was talking to the others about Michonne. They were going to decide whether or not to let Michonne stay with them. Kagome nodded; she quickly kissed Judith's head and walked outside to talk to Rick and the others. When she got out, Kagome spotted Rick, Amy, Hershel, Dale, Glenn, and Daryl standing in the courtyard; they were in the middle of having an intense conversation. Kagome walked towards the group and heard them talking about Michonne.
"I don't know if she's trustworthy," Rick said, "She did abandon us as soon as we arrived at Woodbury."
"Yeah, Rick, but if Michonne hadn't, Kagome would have been killed by the Governor," Amy pointed out.
"That doesn't mean we can trust her," Daryl added.
"I think we should give her a chance," Dale commented, and Hershel agreed with him.
"Yeah, and if she does anything, we'll kick her out," Glenn added.
"Michonne won't do anything, Glenn, and she is trustworthy, Rick," Kagome said as she neared the group.
Rick turned around and smiled at Kagome as she walked towards him. He hugged Kagome tightly and kissed her head, "How are you, sweetheart?"
Kagome hugged Rick back, "Much better, thank you."
"That's good to hear, Kagome. Now, how can you be sure that Michonne is trustworthy?" Hershel asked his friend.
"I can feel it in her aura. She's had a rough time and is a little troubled, but I can tell that Michonne is kind and trustworthy, and she'll make a great addition to the group."
"Well, if Kagome is sure about her, I agree with Kagome," Amy said, "What about the rest of you?"
"Kagome has never been wrong, so I say we should let Michonne stay," Dale told the group.
The others agreed with him then they looked at Rick. Rick thought for a moment, then glanced at Kagome, who smiled at him. Rick nodded, "Alright, if Kagome doesn't see anything wrong with Michonne, neither do I."
Rick wrapped his arm around Kagome's waist as they walked towards the cell block. He suddenly paused and stared up at the walkway; Rick closed his eyes then opened them again; he could have sworn that he had seen Lori standing there.
Kagome looked up at Rick, concerned, "Rick, are you alright?"
Rick stared for a moment where Lori had been standing, then looked at Kagome. He smiled at her, but his smile looked strained, "Yeah, I'm fine, Kagome, let's go inside and let Michonne know that she can stay."
Kagome furrowed her brow but nodded and let Rick lead her inside. When they reached the door, Kagome glanced back got a glimpse of someone in a white dress. Kagome was sure that it was Lori's ghost, but she had to be sure; if it was, Kagome had to help the poor woman find peace so that she could move on to the netherworld.
When the group went inside, they found the others sitting down having breakfast. Everyone stopped and looked up at Rick, who cleared his throat to get their attention. He looked at Michonne, and she stared back at him impassively.
"Michonne, the others, and I discussed your living arrangements," Rick said, then paused, "We wondered if you would like to stay with us and become part of the group."
Michonne stared at Rick for a moment, then looked at the others. Her eyes landed on Kagome, who smiled encouragingly at her. A ghost of a smile spread across Michonne's lips, and she nodded, "Yeah, I'd like to stay with you all." She said.
Kagome beamed at the woman that rescued her, "Great! You can pick out any cell that you want, and later, we'll go on a run to see if we can find more clothes and supplies for you," Kagome said excitedly.
Rick glanced at Kagome with a worried look on his face. He didn't feel that Kagome was up to leaving on runs yet. Rick didn't want to risk anything happening to her again; besides, he had been thinking that the Governor was probably going to retaliate for what happened and that they needed to stock up on weapons and supplies before something happened. So, while Kagome, Amy, and Sophia got Michonne settled in one of the cells, Rick took the opportunity to talk to Daryl and the others. They agreed that they needed as many weapons as possible if they were attacked.
Rick decided that he, Michonne, and Carl should go back to their hometown and raid the sheriff's station for whatever guns Kagome and Rick had left behind. They would also search the town where Rick knew of other businesses that had firearms. After Michonne was settled, Rick told her what he was planning, and she agreed to go along with him and Carl, "Since we're going, Dad, we should probably hit the baby store for a crib for Judith and some other baby supplies. I bet no one thought of scavenging that place for supplies."
Rick nodded, "Good thinking, Carl. If we do that, we should take the pick up instead and see if anyone else wants to go."
"I'll go," Sophia volunteered.
"It's up to your mom, Sophia," Rick answered.
Sophia looked at Carol for approval; Carol thought for a moment then agreed. She knew that her daughter could take care of herself now. Sophia had grown stronger these past few months with Kagome's help and was more confident in herself, "As long as you stay with Rick or Michonne," Carl stipulated.
Sophia agreed, and with that, the group got ready to leave the prison. As they drove down the deserted highway, Rick decided to talk to Carl, sitting next to him in the passenger's seat.
"Carl, how do you feel about Kagome?"
Carl glanced at his dad, "I think Kagome is the greatest, and I love her very much. She is kind and considerate, she takes care of the group, especially Judith, Sophia, and me, and I know that she loves you, Dad."
Rick glanced at his son and smiled, "How would you feel if I asked Kagome to marry me?"
Carl grinned at his dad, "I think that would be great! I already think of Kagome as my mom, and I know that Judith will also. I mean, I intend to tell Judith about Mom, but Kagome will be the one raising her so that she will see her as her mother," Carl told his dad.
"Good, because while we're in town, I'm going to see if there are any rings in the jewelry store and get a wedding ring for Kagome. Then if Kagome accepts, I'm going to ask Hershel to marry us."
"Of course, she will accept, Dad; you have nothing to worry about."
Rick glanced at his son and smiled. He hoped that Carl approved of him asking Kagome to marry him; with everything that had happened, Rick knew he couldn't live the rest of his life without Kagome in it. The thought of asking Kagome to be his wife made Rick feel almost giddy. He couldn't wait to get to town and get a ring for Kagome.
When the group finally arrived in Kings County, the first place that Rick drove was the sheriff's station. He and Kagome had taken some guns, but there was still a few left. Unfortunately, the gun bin was empty; now, they would have to scour the locations Rick knew had firearms and hope they were still there.
Rick, Sophia, Michonne, and Carl made their way downtown, where Rick knew about some firearms, but when they got there, they found that it was fortified to keep the Walkers out. They got out of the truck, and Rick drew their weapons.
"Stay sharp, everyone," Rick instructed as they cautiously made their way through the booby traps.
Suddenly the group heard a voice from one of the buildings demanding that they drop their weapons or he would open fire. When Rick and the others didn't comply, the masked stranger opened fire, pinning Rick, Sophia, Carl, and Michonne down behind a car.
Michonne looked at Rick, "Keep his attention focused here; I think I can take him out."
Rick nodded and laid cover fire for Michonne as she ran towards the building. She got on the roof and snuck up behind the shooter. With one thrust of her sword, Michonne stabbed the man through the back into his heart, killing him instantly. Rick and the kids stood, and Michonne came down with the shooter's assault rifle.
"He must have been who cleaned out the armory. Sophia and I will look for his stash while you and Carl get what we need for Judith," Rick ordered.
Carl and Michonne nodded, and Carl led the way towards the baby store. Once they were gone, Rick and Sophia searched until they found the man's hideout. They were surprised by how many guns the man had. The duo began loading the duffle bags with ammunition and firearms there. It took several trips to clean out the apartment, but Rick and Sophia didn't leave anything behind, including the food.
While Rick and Sophia were doing that, Carl and Michonne snuck into a local bar so that Carl could get a picture of him and his parents for Judith. He wanted Judith to know what her birth mother looked like. After that, they went to the baby store and got a crib, clothes, diapers, formula, children's medicine, toys, and anything else they could think of for Judith. The pair loaded everything into two shopping carts and returned to Rick and Sophia.
When Carl and Michonne were shocked to see all of the weapons they had, Michonne and Carl looked at each other and smiled. Rick told Michonne and Sophia to load the items while he and Carl ran another errand. Michonne and Sophia agreed, and Rick and Carl left for the Jewelry store. When they got to the store, they were surprised to find that most of the jewelry was still there. Rick and Carl cautiously entered the shop, but no one was inside.
Rick and Carl began looking through all the wedding rings. Rick knew that Kagome wouldn't want something large or flashy, so he decided to get simple matching wedding bands. After searching for a while, Carl called his father over, "What do you think of these?" Carl asked.
Rick looked at the set; it was a sterling silver set with small silver branches around the rings. They were simple but lovely. Rick looked at Carl and smiled, "These are perfect, Carl," Rick told his son, then ruffled his hair.
Rick jumped over the counter and opened the case, and took the rings. He put them in a ring box and put them in his pocket. After that, he and Carl left and joined the girls, and made their way back to the prison.
**Author's Note:**
**I wanted to remind you all that Rick doesn't know Morgan. It was Kagome that told him what was going on and they never met Morgan, so that's why it was easy to kill him.**