"We need to make a plan." Her voice was a whisper in the darkness, "You need to talk to her."

He stroked her back slowly with his fingers as he mumbled, "I don't want to."

"Rick," She turned around in her soft sheets and looked at him, "It's not about what we want. You need to, for the kids."

"She'll find a way to get under my skin."

"And you will handle it." She had made up her mind.

After the day they had he really didn't want to be the bigger person. He hated it, he didn't want to be nice to her after her actions. Michonne almost gave up on them because of her.

In the end they were even more close and fused together seamlessly. This set back cemented their relationship. He didn't know how to go back to his life without her. After their alone time in her office, they got Andre and played board games. There wasn't a better way to finish up the evening together. He only wished his kids were there to witness him getting his ass handed to him in monopoly by a little kid.

He pulled her into his arms more tightly, "I don't know what to say to her."

"Just be honest with her." She encouraged him, "I don't want this to be a fight that lasts for years. I don't want that for your kids."

As they waited for the sun to rise and their time together was coming to an end Rick tried his best to engrave every little detail of her in his mind.

Michonne could see him staring and laughed, "What now?"

"Being with you for years sounds pretty good to me."

A bright smile crossed her face, "You're so damn corny."

Rick rolled on top of her and buried his face in the crook of her neck, teasing her with kisses, "I'm corny?"

She tried her best to contain her laughter as his hard scruff tickled the side of her face, "Stop it, Andre will wake up."

"Then you better keep quiet." He murmed as he hovered above her.

Even in the darkness she could see his blue eyes gleaming with happiness. They were drawn to each other again as her toes curled at the feel of him. Never had she in her life been so deeply affected by a man. This was unexplainable.

"Would you ever consider moving here?" Michonne asked quietly, she knew the question was scary, but she needed to know what his thoughts were.

He still hovered above her, his eyes firmly on her and other hand on her inner thigh, "I don't know how that would work. I mean I would, but my kids need me."

His answer was honest and she appreciated the fact that he didn't sugarcoat it.

"It's okay," Michonne raised her hand to caress his cheek, "There's no rush. We will figure it out."

Rick felt blissful. She was not running away from the difficulties they would face. He leaned in to kiss her and it seemed to ignite the passion that brewed between them.

She whispered lowly against him between kisses, "You are wild man Rick Grimes."

He knew what she wanted as her body shuddered underneath him. As her small, quiet moans for him to act filled the room he didn't hesitate to grab her hips. Her hands were on his back, nails digging into him, guiding him to be close as possible.

Her need for him did the trick everytime. He was ready to give her everything she ever wanted. As he roughly buried himself inside of her again, she could only gasp. Each time it made her feel like she was on fire and each time it meant more.

"It's not gonna be always like this. I promise." He whispered in her ear, a whisper that got lost in their breathing.

"I know. I trust you." She groaned back as she grabbed on to him tighter and kissed him again.


Michonne couldn't help herself. She smiled at the sight of Rick trying to help Andre with his complicated Lego battleship as they sat on the carpet and worked around the coffee table. He stared at the tiny pieces with tired eyes and really tried his best to focus. He raised his gaze and locked eyes with her as Andre kept on directing him.

He grinned wickedly and winked at her. She really didn't know where he came from, but for once in her life maybe everything worked out. Maybe, she finally had a partner in this endless chaos she called her life.

She could see Andre craving Ricks attention. He would act shy around them both and complain to his mom about lame Rick, but in reality he sought his company. Like this morning, the first thing he did was ask for him to help him. It proved her worst fears right. He missed his dad. He wanted desperately to be seen and noticed by a male figure. Andre was her pride and joy and she would never forgive Mike. He just vanished into thin air. She messaged him and gave him an ultimatum. He never answered and she was not going to chase him. Not now, maybe one day.

"Momma," Andre broke her out of her thoughts, "Can Rick stay here longer?"

They were both visibly surprised by his question.

"Baby, Rick has to go home," She approached them, "But you can call him and he will come for a visit again."

"Yeah buddy," Rick looked at the little boy, and saw a tinge of disappointment on his face, "I would be here all the time if it was up to me."

"Momma, why don't you let him stay?"

He laughed at his demanding question and corrected his own words, "It's not up to your mom either. I have to go home to Judith and Carl."

"They can come too."

His innocent answer made him smile, "Maybe one day. I will try my best to make that happen."

Rick didn't feel any sort of pressure when it came to Andre. He just enjoyed being around him. It was also very important to him since Michonne trusted him enough to be around her son.

Their wholesome moment was interrupted when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Andre ran to the door.

She leaned over the coffee table and stole a kiss from him quickly before her son returned to the living room with Sasha who couldn't hide the confused look on her face.

"Grimes." She looked at Rick.

"Sasha." He greeted back just as dryly.

"What's up?" Michonne asked casually, she didn't want Ricks presence to be a big deal.

She didn't have time or the energy to even dive into this odd scenario she walked into and ignored the situation for Andres sake, "Jessie Anderson. We have problem."

Michonne looked at Andre and smiled, he knew exactly what she would ask.

"Yes, momma I will go and play upstairs, so grownups can talk." He dragged his feet and stomped all the way into his room.

Rick could only chuckle at the little boy who often reminded him of Carl. The boy was like a little grumpy teenager.

"Yeah, so I don't have time to even ask what's up with you being here," Sasha looked at Rick suspiciously and then at her friend, "Did you know Pete Anderson has ammo against Jessie? I mean serious ammo."

"What do you mean?" Michonnes whole demeanor changed after Sashas words.

Sasha reached for her bag and handed the papers to her. He cleared his throat awkwardly as he stood up and watched her face drop.

"Rick," She looked frustrated and handed him the papers, "Why on earth didn't your department have these on record?"

Rick took the papers and shook his head, "Well I wouldn't have these because it's out of my jurisdiction." He pointed at the stamp on the medical record, "See. North Carolina."

"Fuck," Michonne walked in circles, "So Pete has two medical reports that prove Jessie hit him and caused him to bruise like this. He hid them from you guys because he knew if one day someone pulled out all the records from Georgia there wouldn't be anything and he could blindside her."

"It doesn't really surprise me. His father is a big name in North Carolina. These could be something he arranged."

"Why didn't you follow up?" She challenged him head on, "For example this one time, it says here he was quote "Fine." even though she admitted to taking a baseball bat and swinging it at him. But you never took him to the hospital. So, that allowed him to create a false narrative when he went by himself."

"They both told us to back off. Besides I didn't even see anything on him. My men were only concerned over her and she is always rambling nonsense to get us off his back." Rick explained calmly, "We have to go by hearsay. We don't have the recourses to go back and check in on them everytime. We do our report and that's it. We all know he smacks her around. I've been trying to talk some sense into her for years. It's been no use."

"Now he has leverage because he looks like a battered husband and he didn't get any help from the local police." Sasha concluded, "It makes you look a little incompetent on paper."

"Well I didn't know he fucking went to the hospital." He snapped back, "We can only make the report and well, since she never pressed charges and there is no evidence to arrest him, there is nothing we can do. Jessie always took the blame or denied it."

"He filed for emergency custody." Sasha broke the news to Michonne and sat on the sofa with a big sigh, "What's our next move?"

Michonne rubbed her temples, she was agitated, "We need to get ready for a hearing. Keep her in hiding with the kids until a judge makes a decision. He will get those kids based on these if we don't present something credible. Right now it's his word against hers and he is the one with the physical evidence."

She turned towards him,"Is there anybody who knows specific details about what he has done to her? Someone she confided in? Someone who could have been smart enough to take photos."

Sasha threw her head back, "I still can't believe she didn't document anything against him. In this day and age you would think-"

"Pete is a scary asshole," Rick interrupted her, "He has people in the right places. His father sits in the goddamn senate. Jessie was dirt poor when she met him. Everything she got came from him. She is terrified of him. I've seen it get worse and worse. He knows he will get away with it and every single officer I have has tried to reason with her without any luck."

"Can't you think of anybody?" Michonne didn't know why, but this case infuriated her from the start.

He swallowed nervously, clearly remembering something.

"What?" They asked in unison with Sasha.

Rick ran a hand over his face, "Lori. She stitched her once when he cut her hand bad and she refused go to the hospital, so I asked Lori for a favor. Years ago they were practically friends."

Sasha snorted in disbelief, "Your wife? Your soon to be ex-wife Lori?" She cackled now, "Oh this is just perfect. She holds all the cards in her hands meanwhile our clients lawyer is fucking her husband. I bet she wants to help us."

"Not us, but Jessie," Michonne murmured as her mind worked on overdrive, "You think she would be ready to testify for her?"

"Lori knows what a monster Pete is," He looked at Michonne now, "I can't speak on her past, but there is a reason why she tried to talk to her about it and always helped her if she needed help. Jessie never listened. Lori then created distance because...it was too much for her."

Michonne thought about it. It was the worst possible witness to have right now, but for her clients safety she had no choice. She was determined to be Petes karma.

She looked at Rick and then at Sasha,

"Looks like we are going back to the farm."

He hid his smile terribly and Sasha chuckled, "I wouldn't get too happy about this if I were you."

"I'm gonna make arrangements for Andre and talk to him," Michonne looked at the two of them, "Don't start anything in my house okay?"

"I'm not the one you need to be worried about." Rick smiled and pointed at her bestie.

"Oh, please." Sasha rolled her eyes.

Michonne gave her a look of "Don't-do-anything-stupid" before going upstairs.

They stood on the opposite sides of the kitchen isle, staring at each other. It was clear they needed to talk. Sasha knew she had to be the one who started this awkward conversation neither probably wanted to have.

"Okay, listen," She set her hands on the counter and stared him down, "I'm not sure about this. I'm not a hundred percent sure if this is genuine and I'm only cautious because she is my priority. Andre is my priority."

"Then we agree on something because they are equally my priority as well." Rick was firm with his stance and words.

"I hope this goes well," Sasha kept her dark eyes on him, "I really do because I haven't seen her like this in a long time. Maybe ever, and it's a big deal. I want this for her, but you need to promise me you will do your best-"

He frowned and interrupted her, "I don't see why I need to convince or promise-"

"No," She raised her finger at him, stopping him, "You do. Michonne has been through enough and I need you to promise me you will be good to her and Andre because they mean the world to me."

Rick said it quickly as possible, "I promise."

Sasha nodded at him.

He nodded back.

They had a deal.


Everything happened quickly after that. Michonne was fascinating when she focused on her work. Rick watched her closely as she did her best to memorize details of the case. She would bite the inner corners of her mouth nervously and tap her pencil against the car window.

They were sitting in this massive uhaul he had promised to deliver for Connie and Daryl. She packed a bag and hopped on board like this was always the plan. Andre was understandably sad as they both left and he stayed behind at Connies folks, but Rick was glad his promise to visit soon lifted his spirits.

"You think I should have done more?" Rick asked, anxiety present in his voice, "about Jessie and Pete."

She dropped the papers on her lap and said gently, "Of course not. "

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he kept his eyed on the road, "I..I once did something that I shouldn't have done," He opened up vaguely, "I was in over my head and thought I could be above the law. It didn't keep me up at night. I didn't get nightmares about it. I still feel like a monster for it."

Michonne stared at him intensively, he could feel her hand give him a soft comforting squeeze on his arm," I believe in the system, but I also know how it can fail sometimes. There are real monsters out there and Rick, you are not one of them."

He quickly glanced at her, relieved that she didn't shy away from him in this moment.

"You can't blame yourself for Jessies situation," She continued, "I'm sorry if I made you feel like you're somehow responsible."

"Nah," He shrugged, "You're right though, I should have been more through."

Michonne felt crappy about him feeling this way, "Rick. I'm serious. You did everything by the books. You couldn't have known he would use her shitty excuses to his advantage and conspire against her this way."

"I shouldn't have brought you into this," Rick took a hold of her hand and kissed it as he kept his eyes on the road, "You have enough to deal with and now Pete... He is unpredictable. I don't like this at all."

"Pete Anderson doesn't scare me," She announced firmly, "he is the one who should be scared of me."

He grinned behind the wheel and kissed her soft hand again, "Yeah that's true."

Michonne leaned back in her seat and yawned.

"You have enough time to take a nap. I'll wake you when we get there."

She laughed, "Well, I have barely slept this weekend and I can only blame one person for that."

He shot her a look, and chuckled, "Really? You're putting all that on me?"

She kept laughing with him, before turning serious, "I like having sleepovers with you."

"Yeah, me too."

They glanced at each other quickly and both smiled.

"Thank you." She mumbled suddenly.

"For what?"

"For everything." Her voice cracked a little as all the feelings of appreciation bubbled to the surface.

He smiled back at her and kept one hand intertwined with hers as sleep finally claimed her.


When they pulled into Daryls driveway she felt nervous. She hadn't been back since everything had happened and it somehow triggered a nervous reaction. Michonne was very aware of the fact that she would be viewed as the other woman until the end of time. Their relationship was intense and unfathomable for most people. It just sounded and looked bad no matter how you viewed it, but nobody else had to understand.

"Y'all staying here for the night?" Daryl hopped out of the other truck, "We ain't unpacking this shit so there is still room."

"Yeah, I think that's for the best." Rick agreed.

She was typing an email and figuring out how Pete managed to get a judge to view his case so quickly.

"Fuck." She cursed as she read the documents Sasha had forwarded her.

"What is it?" Rick walked up to her.

"We have twelve hours," Michonne informed him, "We need to talk to Lori soon as possible."

"How do you wanna do this?" He asked.

Daryl looked at them both, "I don't know what y'all are doing, but going together to see Lori sounds like a shitty plan."

Pressure was piling on as the clock ticked away.

"Let me talk to her first." He suggested.

Connie walked into the conversation and signed to Michonne, "You should go together."

"Huh?" Daryl was sometimes not sure if he understood his wife correctly and right now he seriously doubted his sign language skills.

Connie smiled at her husband and continued signing towards Michonne, "Be honest with her. You need to sit down with her at some point anyway. So, do it now when there is a good reason for it."

Rick stared at Connies hands and wished he knew what she was signing because her face didn't give any clues.

"Connie has a good point," She looked at him with eyes that conveyed tranquility, maybe she was loopy from the ride, but it felt good to just let go of the doubts and do this head on, "We need to sit down with her. Talk about us and tell her honestly where we are headed. We can't ask her any favors if we are not on mutual ground."

Rick was not easily shocked, but her words surprised him "You want to sit down with Lori?"

"We need to. She could realize how irrational she is being about involving the kids."

He wasn't over her scheming which involved their kids. It never slipped from his mind. Reluctantly he nodded. It felt like a suicide mission.

"If you're serious about me-"

He stopped her, "You know I am."

"Then she needs to hear it from us. We need to stop the games and let it all out. Regardless if she will testify, I think it's important to have this conversation. Then if she still decides to be petty, it's on her."

Rick could only admire her problem solution skills. She didn't shy away from issues, she was the type of person who wanted to deal with things head on, unlike him. Her inner strength hopefully rubbed on him eventually.

"Y'all aren't normal." Daryl chuckled and pulled Connie from the hand towards the house.

"Y'all aren't either." Rick hollered after him.


"You nervous?" He asked as he approached his house.

"I would say more overwhelmed than nervous," This wasn't the relaxing weekend she had in mind, "I know it's gonna be bad, but I guess we kind of have to face her at some point if we want this to go somewhere."

"Aren't we already somewhere?" Rick asked carefully, his eyes quickly glanced at her from behind the wheel.

Michonne was smiling warmly at him, "I didn't mean it like that. Of course we are somewhere."

Each time she told him directly how she felt and won the struggle against herself, he felt incredibly appreciative of how she allowed him into her heart. He knew it wasn't easy to push all the fear and hesitation aside.

"I really wanna kiss you right now." He admitted with a wide grin.

"And we have plenty of time to do that after this is all done."

Rick could feel his chest tighten at the thought of seeing Lori after what she had done. It was so reckless to tell his mom about everything. It was selfish and stupid to use the kids as leverage. He didn't know what he was walking into, but he would never be afraid of her.

As they approached their driveway he stopped the car suddenly, surprising Michonne.

"What?" She asked him, urgency in her voice. She could tell something was off with him.

Rick suddenly looked wide eyed and out of place. She saw that one vein on his forehead pop out and his face turned red.

He was ready to explode.

He pointed at the red rusty jeep, that same fucking jeep that he had been in countless times and it felt crazy to see it there, on his driveway, just like back in the day.

"Shane." He gritted out and stormed out of the car, not caring that it was practically blocking the road.

Michonne jumped out after him and rushed to stop him from doing something he would regret.

She stood in front of him, seeing all the pent up rage bubble up to the surface, "Hey. breathe, just, breathe okay?" her voice was epitome of calmness.

Rick looked at his house and then back at her. She brought him back to earth, his blue eyes locking with her brown ones. He kept looking at her and suddenly he felt a bit more clear sighted. This wasn't a solution.

"It's not worth it," She grabbed him into her embrace and whispered in his ear, "You got this."

His arms tightened around her, agreeing without words. He pulled away to look at her beauriful face once more before covering her mouth with his. It was a slow electrifying moment as they kissed on his front yard, not caring a damn if anybody saw.

"Ready?" She whispered against him as the kiss ended.

Rick met her determined gaze and took a deep breath, "Ready."

He led the way, grabbing her hand and going up the stairs, that he had gone up many times before.

She nodded at him once more as he turned his key in the lock.

Michonne prayed to God they weren't walking into something that would scar her for life.

As he stepped inside, his boots stomping on the old carpet they should have thrown out years ago.

"Lori?" Rick yelled out.

Michonne stood by the door, not comfortable walking further.

Then out of nowhere Lori rushed downstairs with no idea what was about to face her. It looked like the words were stuck in her throat as she looked at him first and then at her.

"What the fuck is this?" Her voice was hard, she was hugging herself in her grey cardigan.

"Where is he?" He demanded, ignoring her question, "I know he is here, his truck is right there."

"Shane was here, yes," She explained it quite casually, she still stood by the bottom of the stairs, "He went out to get us food since Carl is coming home in a few hours and he took my car because he didn't want folks to stop him." Lori stopped her gaze on her. Michonne didn't look away.

"What do you mean went to get food?" Rick practically spat, "Like this isn't fucking weird for Carl to walk here and, hey son! here is Shane!"

"Carl already knows he is here visiting," Lori was like a statue as she explained, but then her feelings poured over, "He came here as a friend. If you got your head out of her ass, you would know I've been pretty upset over this," She pointed at the two of them, "fucking romance of the century. So yeah, Rick. I asked my friend, a friend who has always been good to me to come here, so I don't fucking jump from the roof! Give me a fucking break."

"I didn't come here to start anything." Michonne opened her mouth to speak, and tried to be respectful in her home, "I know it's a lot, but for the kids-"

"The kids?" She cut her off with a loud bitter laugh and stormed into the hallway, "You still want to act like you care about my children. How dare you come into my home after tearing everything apart!"

Rick stood defiant between the two women, blocking her way, "Oh stop with the sob story, okay?"

"Rick..." Michonne didn't want him to go so low.

"What do you want! What is this!" She yelled out.

Emotions were running high, but for Michonne these were the type of situations she was used to. That is why Connie wanted her to be here. She had settled disputes with ex couples so many times and right now she had to remind herself this wasn't really about her or her personal feelings. She couldn't just ask her to do her a favor in the midst of all of the chaos she had caused with Rick. They were on a tight schedule. It was insanity actually. She had to get everyone on the same page first, then it was time for business.

"I'm gonna step out for a second," She said matter of factly, "You two need to talk. Really talk about everything. I know, you think I'm the devil right now, but I do care about those kids because he loves them more than life itself. So, figure it out, so that we can co-exist," Before slipping out of the door, she looked at Lori once more with a steely gaze,"And fire your awful lawyer who allowed you to file for full custody. You're going to lose."

Rick smiled tightly and hoped Lori took some of her words to heart.

" Listen... "

Soon as he started to speak she practically ran into the kitchen and opened up a bottle of wine, pouring her glass full. Her world was collapsing in front of her.

He felt awful for putting her through this. After everything she had done, he still felt bad. Shane being there was another example of her hypocrisy, but for Michonne he would ignore that hate he felt in his heart and would try to create common ground.

"Lori." He tried again.

She held her finger up as she drank the glass quickly and poured some more.

"Talk."

Rick hoped this wouldn't be a disaster, "When I met her and I realized it felt different... the first thing that crossed my mind was you," His voice was quiet and steady, "I knew I was wrong for acting on it, and for hoping for it, but it made me realize how you felt five years ago."

Lori looked at her wine glass and winced at his words as he went on, "Five years ago when you realized you loved Shane I should have been the one to say I don't forgive you. Instead I didn't talk about it and bottled that all inside and hoped you would realize to leave. I didn't want to be the one who broke this family apart. I ruined us then when I decided to pretended that it didn't happen and I was fine. I cried, Lori. I cried at the office when you didn't see. For losing you, for losing Shane and then when I got home I pretended nothing was wrong because I was selfish. I was afraid of change. Like you are now."

She raised her teary eyes to him and swallowed to stop the tears from falling.

"I'm sorry Lori, I really am. I never wanted you to be hurt, " his voice was low and he sincerely hoped she would understand he meant every word, "I don't want the kids to be in the middle. You can take this out on me all you want, I'll give you everything, even the clothes off my back, but please don't make them go through something that isn't necessary."

Lori hated that Rick was still the same Rick he was almost twenty years ago. She looked at him with different eyes these days. The years they had together had proven how different their needs and wants were. Logically she knew that, but accepting his new path was hard.

"I don't trust her," Her voice trembled, stress evident in her voice, "You don't even know her and the thought of Judith and Carl spending time with a complete stranger-"

"It's hard, I know." Rick nodded slowly, "But you gotta trust me Lori. I wouldn't be here with her if she was a bad person."

"How can I trust you after everything you've done?"

"Because you know I would never intentionally hurt you or the kids."

Silence took over as Rick stared at her blank face. He didn't want this animosity between them to extend to his kids.

"She got Pete cornered," He announced proudly, "Lori, if she was a bad person she wouldn't be the one who got Jessie out."

Lori shook her head, confused, "Wait- what?"

"Jessie," He cleared his throat, "Michonne convinced her to leave him. She is her client, and now Pete..well he is coming after them."

"Where is she?"

"She is safe, but she needs your help."

She narrowed her eyes at him, "I don't understand, what do you need me for?"

"She needs a witness. A credible witness and you are one."

Lori was relieved that Jessie was finally making moves to leave her husband behind, but it made her crazy that Michonne had to be in the center of it.

She sighed loudly, "So she only came here to make things nice because of her own agenda."

"No," Rick denied instantly, "I mean sure, we didn't plan on barging here like this, but she wanted to be respectful and make you feel heard."

"But I don't feel heard," Lori insisted, "I feel like she had no right to come here with you and act like this is normal. Like what you two are doing is fine. It's not. We are not even divorced yet."

"I know, I know," He grumbled, trying his best to find the right words that wouldn't trigger her, "I should have given you the heads up, but Shane being here, in our home, behind my back proves that you don't give a damn about my feelings."

"That's not true," She drank a sip from her wine, "It's not that black and white Rick. I know we are getting divorced and it's fine by me, but I'm not okay with having her around."

Rick wearily dropped his head into his hands. They were going in circles again.

Then she heard her laugh.

Her snort, the sound she made whenever she found something extremely funny. Their kitchen window was open and he walked towards it.

He moved the green curtain and peeped outside, the sight on their front poarch caused him to break out in cold sweat.

Michonne leaned against the porch railing while Shane stood next to her. Him, in his plaid shirt and jeans. He had longer hair now and a beard. That stupid smirk on his face caused Rick to feel that same rage that had raised its ugly head before.

"I'm gonna kill him." He muttered to himself.


I just wanna say thank you for the constant support. Im going through difficulties with my stupid-ass-babydaddy (Can you guess which character is inspired by him lmao) ,

This story is like my safe haven and it means a lot that I can dive deep into this, not having to think about my own problems for a second. But yeah, I'll be fine. I always am.

ILY. Have a nice week!