When they finally arrived back to the house it was quiet. They had assumed everyone would be up and about, but they were wrong. It was a pleasant surprise. Carl had done a good job.
She yawned as she took off her heels, "God, you wore me out."
"I was going to say the same thing," he drawled quietly, "I think my back is gonna be killing me tomorrow. Remind me not to suggest that anytime soon."
She had been nervous about being intimate after a break, but clearly there was no need for that. He was still obsessed with her.
Michonne did her best to contain her laughter, "Sure grandpa."
"Oh you loved it." He grabbed her and kissed her neck from behind. She shrieked quietly as possible.
The lights turned on in the kitchen and they pulled apart. He walked behind her, cupping her backside lightly and she swatted his hand away as he kept teasing her.
Carl was leaning against the kitchen counter with his headphones on and glued to his phone. He raised his gaze and smiled at the two of them. They seemed to be having fun. He was happy to see his dad like this.
"Hey," Rick loosened his tie, "How was it?"
"Did Andre give you any trouble?" Michonne asked from the fridge where she was retrieving a water bottle.
Carl took his headphones off, "Actually they were good. Both of them. We watched home alone and ate all the possible junk we could find."
She smiled wide, "He is obsessed with that movie."
"Yeah, well he is the one who picked it out."
Rick gave his son a squeeze on the shoulder, "Thank you for tonight."
Carl could smell the alcohol in his breath and raised his brows, "You sure had fun."
"He had to endure a lot," She parked right across from Carl and smiled, "Let's go easy on him."
He saw this as an opportunity to give them a moment for themselves. Michonne and Carl shared a deep bond after what happened with Pete. It was very clear to him. During these weeks apart they kept in touch daily. They could talk about it and they would understand each other. She never violated his privacy by telling him what they shared with each other and he didn't pry. Rick took his suit jacket off and tossed it over his shoulder, "I'm gonna take a shower and crash."
"I'll be right up." She quipped happily.
They were left alone in the kitchen and she whispered, "I got you something."
He raised his brow at her while she opened the refrigerator and retrieved a box. She opened it, quietly as possible and handed him a spoon, "I'm happy you guys didn't find this while we were gone."
"You did not." He looked at the box and took out one of the yellow cups.
"We never got to have our jello time," She explained while taking a spoon for herself and took out the red cup, "Lemon for you and cherry for me."
He smiled happily and started eating, soon his mouth turning into a over exaggerating frown, "I didn't remember how these taste like shit."
"I know." She laughed back and pushed the cup away.
Carl was glad he had a friend in her, she was suddenly one of the most important people in his life, "It feels nice to be here."
She watched him politely finish his jello and smiled back, "It's nice to have you here."
"Enid is literally dying," He showed her the snapshot she had sent of her sad face, "I've never seen a house like this."
"It's a nice house," Michonne agreed, but had to clarify, "I've worked my ass off for this house and the stuff in it, but it's not what really matters in the end."
"I know," Carl put his phone away, "Andre wouldn't be like that if you thought all of these nice things were the most important part in life. He is a normal kid, not some snobby little asshole."
She had to laugh at that and changed the subject carefully, "Speaking off life in general, how's things? Like really? I know you had family therapy."
He didn't feel uncomfortable about the question, he was used to being honest with her, "School is going. Therapy is good. Enid is fine. Mom... not so much."
Michonne didn't understand Lori. She couldn't because she wouldn't know what it felt like. She really frustrated her at this point. She had seen her hugging Shane and being stuck on him like they were glued together at the hospital. All of a sudden after Shane went back to his life and whatever drama ensued between them it was once again back to square one. Lori was unhappy, so it felt like everyone around her had to be as miserable. Rick was the furthest thing in her mind before the problems with Shane rose to surface. Then all of a sudden Rick was the center of Loris world again and it irritated her. She just couldn't stand the thought that she harbored any feelings for him, even though everything had happened fast since Las Vegas.
Michonne couldn't hide the nervous look from her face. He was staring back and could see exactly what was on her mind. She tried her best to sound neutral, "Your mom has had a alot of change happen in her life. It's understandable that she is still figuring things out and in time it's gonna get easier."
No matter how much Lori brought up negative feelings she would never want her kids to hear her thoughts.
"Yeah, sure." Carl was holding back and she could see it.
"What?" She asked.
He didn't want to be the one who brought it up, "Eh..."
"Carl?" Michonne frowned as she tried to figure out what was on his mind.
He felt awkward, "I know."
She narrowed her eyes at him and rambled, "No you don't. What do you mean you know? "
"You know dad talks in his sleep right?" Carl explained quietly, "first I thought he was having disgusting dreams about you, but then I figured the baby is actually a literal baby after he went on and on about the baby being okay."
If there was a hole she could crawl into she would. Michonne looked away and then at him,"And Judith?"
"Knows, dad really shouldn't take naps in the living room," He confirmed, "That's why she is being bratty."
She naturally panicked, "Shit. Shit. Shit"
Carl chuckled, surprisingly joyous, "You were gonna tell us this weekend weren't you?"
Michonne nodded and lifted her gaze, "Why didn't you say anything?"
"I figured you weren't ready," He shrugged, "Judith didn't want to talk about it anyway, and I know you were scared."
"We didn't plan for this," She murmured softly, "I swear."
He smiled at her,"It's not the worst thing in the world."
"It isn't?" Her voice was shaky.
"It's a bit crazy," Carl whispered, "But we'll live. The more the merrier right?"
Michonne hadn't realized she was crying. Emotions from today were spilling over big time and his acceptance was the thing that pushed her over the edge.
"Don't cry, it makes me uncomfortable," Carl joked, "Dad is gonna barge downstairs any minute now and I'm gonna get yelled at for making you cry."
She wiped the tears from her face and laughed softly.
"Or he is going to go out and buy you another ten blankets," He went on sarcastically, "And we do not need that insanity again."
"Yeah." She laughed more.
"It'll be fine," Carl spoke the words with calmness, "I know people are doubting you two because everything happened so quick. Dad dropped the ball pretty much soon as you two met, but after what we went through... I know life is short. Anything can happen, so you can't live life for anybody else. You guys shouldn't be ashamed over it and hiding it. I know dad is happy, truly happy and he loves you. So, don't let other people get in your head."
Michonne was astounded by his level headed response. It was unnerving to carry this secret around and soon it was impossible to do that.
"Thank you Carl."
He raised his cup of jello and smiled, "No, thank you."
Michonne didn't sleep much. She tossed and turned while Rick snored peacefully next to her. Then after a few hours she gave up. She was scrolling through her phone and smiled at the photos Connie had sent into their group chat. They seemed happy. She and Daryl were out there conquering the world. Dog was there too of course.
She felt guilty for not telling Connie before she left, but she knew she and Daryl would understand. They faced similar scrutiny from people over their quickly evolved relationship. She also had a feeling Connie knew, she had sixth sense when it came to this type of stuff.
He could see the bright smile on her face as he opened his eyes, "Morning."
"Morning." Her voice was velvety smooth.
Rick yawned, "God your bed is heaven. I missed it."
Michonne slid back under the covers after putting her phone back onto the nightstand, "You do not want to know how much it cost me."
His arm draped around her, "Probably three times my salary."
She relaxed in his arms, "Probably more."
"I'm sorry I fell asleep before you got in bed," He drew circles on her stomach with his finger, "Did you guys have a good talk?"
Michonne moved closer to him and searched for his eyes, "Your kids know."
"What?" He asked with a scratchy voice, confused and half asleep, "Know what?"
She smiled, "What do you think?"
Rick gazed back with hesistation, "The baby? How?"
Michonne laughed against his skin, "You told them yourself."
"What?" He repeated himself.
"Apparently they heard you talk in your sleep," Her hands found his hair as she played with his wavy curls, "Multiple times."
"Shit."
"That's what I said," She shifted her body even closer, "Carl was sweet about it. He is all aboard, but Judith..."
"We need to talk to her," Rick sighed, he was exhausted. It was one thing after another, "That's why she's been off. They should have just asked."
"It's a tough thing to bring up," Michonne could understand the kids, "I mean I don't blame her if she feels some type of way. We went head on into this without caring about other people. We were insensitive."
Their eyes met and he felt tense, "Well yeah, sure, but-"
"It's not the end of the world Rick," She propped herself upwards, "we can admit that we were being selfish assholes. It doesn't change the fact that we are now trying to be better."
Rick was longing for peace. It felt like emotions were running high all the time. Carls therapy, Judith adjusting, Lori acting up, their living situation, the baby and all worries that came with that. He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. Just once, he would want to start his day without a care in the world. He wanted to enjoy this feeling of being in love and waited eagerly when it was possible to be excited over this baby. He wanted to look at names, buy the bottles and pacifiers. He wanted to bask in that baby bliss. It was time to make that happen.
She could see it all heavily influenced his thoughts and smiled warmly, "I love you."
The words made everything a little easier, "I love you too."
The morning started off roughly for Rick. He couldn't just lay there and enjoy this moment they had together. Everything they indeed had together was in a state of turmoil. He didn't want to waste time anymore. He watched Andre play on his tablet while Carl and Michonne cheered him on. Judith was in her own world as she stared at her orange juice and scratched the plate with her fork.
They all sat around her new beautiful round kitchen table and he coughed nervously before talking.
"I wanted to talk about some stuff now that we're all here."
All of the kids stared back at him. Andre was completely oblivious, but Judith and Carl could sense the direction this was going into.
None of it was planned and her head snapped towards him, "Rick maybe we should-"
He shook his head, "Nah, let's just talk. It's alright. We all care about each other so we can have an honest conversation like any other family."
"But I wanna play my game." Andre pouted.
Rick smiled at him, "This wont take long buddy. Just a few minutes. I promise."
Michonne smiled at her son who reluctantly agreed and shut his game. She could feel her feet shuffle under the table nervously. She hadn't imagined this to be so difficult. Everything was about to become more real and it was frighting to imagine Andres reaction.
Her eyes flickered to his and she nodded in agreement. She couldn't be the one who started it off.
"Andre, buddy, you know," Rick first turned to him, "I really love your mom. She is the best thing in my life right now," He then turned to his own children, "just like you guys are. I don't need to go on and on about how much I love y'all because you know that right?"
Both of them nodded uncomfortably.
"And we know it isn't easy," Michonne added, her voice even in tone, "Everything has happened very fast and we don't expect any of you to be fine with it."
"But I like Rick," Andre interrupted innocently, "I don't mind."
She turned fully to her sweet son and kissed his cheek, "I know you do and that makes me very happy."
Judith was staring blankly at her plate as she listened to what they were saying. Carl could see his sister having an inner struggle and comforted her with little nudge against her shoulder.
"Eh... " Rick muttered nervously, he was flushed and looked at Michonne. She could see that he was sort of dazed when it was time to really say it aloud. This was the part that she had to do.
She smiled hesitantly at her son and then at the Grimes kids, "We are going to have a baby."
"A baby?" Andre scrunched his nose up in confusion.
"Yeah," Michonne confirmed softly, "You're going to have a brother or a sister."
His little face was still giving only confusion.
Every single one of them watched his reaction intensively.
"But," His voice was small, "Daddy is not here for the new baby."
His innocent train of thought killed her. She quickly glanced at Rick who squeezed her thigh from under the table.
"No peanut," She was trying her hardest to figure out quickly how to explain this to him without making him more puzzled, "Rick is this baby's daddy, but it doesn't mean the baby is any less your sister or brother."
It was not clicking for Andre, "But Rick is not my daddy."
Michonne stared back at him with a little desperation in her face, "No, peanut he is not, but he cares about you just as much."
"But..." He was still processing, "Where did the baby then come from?"
Judith face palmed at this point and Carl chuckled. It was probably the most entertaining conversation he had experienced in a long time.
"Your mom and my dad had sex." Judith suddenly informed him, "They made the baby okay?"
If Rick wasn't red faced enough, he now was, he muttered to himself, "Jesus Christ."
Michonne raised her brow at the girl.
It took Andre maybe thirty seconds before asking, "What's sex?"
"My dad put his-"
"Judy!" He cut her off in panic.
Carl was trying his best not to laugh, "Why didn't I film this?"
Rick kicked him under the table.
Michonne buried her face in her hands while Andre went on and on, "How do you even make a baby? Momma, what's sex? I wanna know."
"Andre, buddy," Rick intervened finally, "It's grown-up stuff. I'll explain it to you one day okay?"
He nodded, happy with the answer. Thankfully Andre was a smart kid who didn't argue about every little thing.
"Do you guys wanna say something?" Rick turned his attention on his kids, "You can ask anything."
"Are you moving here?" Judith asked directly, her voice timid, avoiding her dads gaze.
"I don't know," He answered honestly, because it truly wasn't decided, "How would you feel if I do?"
Her lips twiched and her face fell, "Please don't."
Michonne felt horrible. She lifted her face from her hands and really looked at the girl. It was heartbreaking to see her so determined to hold herself together while her lip quivered.
"Judith," She tried to carefully connect with her, "We would never decide-"
She suddenly pushed herself away from the table and got up. She ran upstairs like she was trying to shield herself from the words that were about to come out of her mouth.
Michonne and Rick looked at each other helplessly. Carl was about to jump after her, but his dad stopped him.
"It's my job." He squeezed his sons shoulder and went after Judith.
Andre went back to his game, he didn't say anything else, but Michonne knew it was his way of processing things, she just wanted to be sure, "You alright peanut?"
He looked up at her, his expression shifted into an happier one, "Yes momma. I'm alright."
"Judith?" He knocked on the guestroom door and waited for a few minutes if she protested, but she didn't. He allowed himself in and saw her sitting there in the middle of this huge bed. It made her look even smaller than she was.
"I know you don't want to talk," he held his hand up and approached the edge of the bed carefully, "because you're like me. You don't like it when people get up in your space."
"Then why are you here?"She remained straight faced as she hugged her legs and pouted.
"Because," Rick said as he sat down on the same bed, "I'm your dad like it or not."
Judith was used being left out. It was an occurrence that kept happening since she was born. She had always figured she was sort of an after thought. No matter how much her parents told her they loved her, it felt like she was the child who came along to interrupt their happiness and the straw that broke the camels back.
"I don't hate her or anything like that," She finally said as she looked up at her dad, "Michonne is nice, but... What if it goes wrong?"
He narrowed his eyes at her, "What goes wrong?"
"You two," She voiced carefully, her eyes glistening with unshed tears, "Then you'll be unhappy again and we won't see you."
Judith had recently gotten glimpses of the dad she longed for. He had always been restless. Even before Michonne, when he was working nonstop. These past few months she had realized how much she missed him and it was hard to imagine him going back to his old ways.
"Judith," He said her name gently, like she was a little broken bird who needed comforting, "I promise you, I won't ever do that again. I'm sorry I didn't see it before, I should've seen it years ago. I am trying to be better."
It never ceased to amaze him how strong she was. Her daughter was a force of nature, she just didn't know it yet.
"I want you to be happy," She mumbled into her knees, "I want mom to be happy, but she is not going to be happy about this. It's gonna break her."
Rick didn't want her to see the dislike he felt towards Lori and covered his frown the best way he could, "Eventually she'll understand. I promise."
"You're making a lot of promises today." She stuck her nose upwards.
"Have I ever broken one?"
She looked away and smiled, "No."
Rick really wanted his children to feel safe and heard. No matter how much he missed out physically during their childhood because of his duty to the community, he never broke a promise these days. Not once.
"Why didn't you tell me you knew about the baby?" Rick inquired softly, "It's a lot to hold in."
"I don't know," She said back innocently, "I didn't want to talk about it. I think you didn't want to talk about it either."
"Jude," He really wanted her to know that there was no pressure, "We are not expecting you to be happy or accepting. We don't want you to pretend. If you want I'll drive you home right now. You get to decide."
He could see she thought about it. The girl sat there staring at her toes.
"I don't know what the future looks like. All I know is, I want that future with her and all of us," He went on, "This is different. I know it is. I wouldn't bother if I knew it was just...someone passing by. We didn't plan on having a baby. It scares me to death too, you know? I ain't young anymore. It's not what I had in mind, but I think it's a good thing."
They sat on the bed in silence and he waited eagerly for her to say anything. She didn't have a chance to reply when there was knock on the door. Michonne peeked inside very carefully. Her fingers shook against the door handle, nerves getting the best of her.
"Do you mind if I-?" She looked at the girl, her sentence was cut short because she simply didn't know what to ask.
Judith felt indifferent. She shrugged at first, but then nodded.
Michonne slipped inside the room, her steps like a whisper that traveled the wooden floors. She hadn't been this nervous in a long time. She stopped by Rick, her body immediately tensing up as the girl pinned her with her gaze.
"Judith," She didn't mean to intrude or make her feel like she owed her anything, "I would never allow your dad to move here if it was an issue for you."
Rick squinted his eyes at her.
Michonne took a deep breath and continued, "I never had a dad. It was just me and my mom," she articulated each word clearly, "I would never take him away from you when I know how painful it is to grow up without one."
Judith could see how sincere she was and she did believe every word she said. She nodded in return, "Thank you for saying that."
"We'll find a way," She then looked at Rick, "We'll go back and forth. Whatever you need Judith."
He found it a bit excessive that she was willing to give up on her own needs for Judith, but that was this fiercly intelligent woman in a nutshell.
"You want to stay for the rest of the weekend?" Rick asked her.
Judith nodded quickly.
They just needed time.
Carl was a lifesaver. After having an emotionally charged morning he wanted to give them a moment to reflect and discuss things alone. So, they hopped in the car and drove to get them lunch. He didn't say much. Rick was quiet and she knew why.
This was going to be hard. They were faced with the worst case scenario right now. Judith was not ready. She was too young and Michonne could've kicked herself for getting her hopes up. Of course she was upset. The baby wasn't even the main issue, it was the fact that he would move his life here. Rick looked outside and she could tell he was thinking about the same thing.
She parked where she usually did whenever she came to this small cozy diner. The place she had found after spending time in Georgia and it reminded her of the diner in there. This one just didn't have Lucille bringing the mood down which was win in her books.
They walked inside and he admired the fact that she ordered everything. He didn't have to explain what Judith and Carl liked. Michonne had clearly taken mental notes considering his children and it made him smile.
"What?" She asked when she noticed his face.
"Nothing." He whispered back and pulled her closer to kiss the top of her head.
They waited by the counter, equally defeated by events of this morning.
"I don't think Judith is ready," She noted sadly, "She needs her dad to be close."
Rick fiddled with the front of her long trench coat and sighed, "I'm not giving up on us. No matter how this goes. I'd drive here every single day if I needed to."
She chuckled at his declaration, "You think this," She took his hands, "Us, would end if we don't live in the same area code?"
He didn't want to sound insecure, but he did, "I guess I'm afraid you'll wakeup one day and realize what a moron I am."
Michonne protested with a laugh, "Stop it"
"You know the mayor Michonne," He reminded her, "I'm, well, I'm just Rick Grimes. I drink shitty coffee in my small office and sometimes there is nothing to do, so I just take a nap in that even shittier chair."
She kept on laughing while shaking her head back and forth, "Rick, you know I love you exactly for that reason. I don't need you to be anything else."
Before he could get a word in, the unthinkable happened. He could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as he registered quickly what was going on beside him.
"Anything you have, put it in the bag!" It was a desperate plea almost, the person sounded young as he ordered the waiter behind the register to empty out the cash while at gunpoint, "Everyone empty your pockets or she is dead."
He didn't really pay attention to the gasps of horror as customers anxiously tried to gather things to give out. He had on a dark hoodie, the gun was old, probably something he had inherited from an old family member. His attire was clean, but he could see his pants were a little short.
"Rick, don't." She whispered to him as she laid her late mothers necklace and ring on the counter. She emptied her cash on the counter next to her jewelry and stood by calmly. After everything she had been through with Pete it felt like nothing could upset her.
Rick didn't see red either. He was just a kid. Probably close to Carls age. He pushed past Michonne, in a way shielding her to catch the attention of this human who had lost his way. She tensed up soon as she realized he couldn't stop himself.
"Hey," Rick started, his hands up, gesturing he was not trying anything stupid, "Talk to me."
The dark hooded figure turned to face him with his gun now pointing at him, "Don't try to be a hero. This ain't like the movies, man."
He glanced at the kid and locked eyes with him, confirming his suspicions this was someone young with his life still ahead of him, "You know places like these are not worth the jail time. People don't really carry cash these days and the register probably has even less than all of us here combined. It would be stupid to do ten years for aggravated robbery when you get a lousy two hundred bucks."
Rick could see his shands shake as he held the gun pointed at him," Listen, I ain't trying to fool you here or distract you. I'm trying to help you out."
He was muttering something to himself and glanced at his watch nervously,"Quit stalling man!" he swinged his gun towards the waiter again, "Put everything in the bag now."
The young woman trembled and cried in fear as she started gathering peoples belongings. Michonne kept her eyes firmly on Rick. She could only do her part and keep her pulse steady for the sake of their child. In a strange way she didn't feel any sort of panic. She was there with him. He had her full trust. He would handle it.
"Listen, we all have been there. Life is not easy, okay?" Rick still kept his hands up, "And I'm trying to give you a way out, okay?"
He wanted to keep the communication going. The guy was listening as he took the bag from the waiter, "You don't know shit."
"But I do," he drawled slowly, "I'm gonna reach for my pocket, okay? I'm not trying to harm you or screw you over. I just wanna give you my information."
He kept his gun firmly on him and the customers stared at them nervously. Others sobbing and others sat there paralyzed from fear.
Rick pulled out his wallet and took out a card. He smiled at the waiter politely as he grabbed a pen from her uniform. He wrote on the card and then held it out to him, "There is my name and phone number, also a number for a good friend of mine who helps people like you. People who have no options." He kept holding the card out to him, "You can leave this stuff behind and choose a better way son. None of this ever happened. I promise you, I've seen it so many times. You don't want to fall into that rabbit hole. You can still make a change and choose a different path. We're all humans here."
It felt like seconds streched on as he stared back unblinking. Rick took all the cash he had with him and laid it down on the counter with his card. It wasn't much, but he figured it would help him out of the tough spot he was on.
The boy kept staring at him, nervously trying to decide what to do.
"Just take it," Rick encouraged him, he could see the goodness in him, "That's all you need. Choose differently today."
He finally tucked away his gun. He dropped the bag with a loud thud. He hurriedly took the card and the cash that Rick had put down for him. He was already dashing towards the door when Rick took a hold of his thin forearm. The boy tensed up and looked up at him.
"Go through the kitchen, there is a door," He adviced him, "Someone here has reported you already. You'll have a head start. Toss the hoodie and blend in the crowd. Call the number, he'll help you out. I promise."
He nodded quickly before storming out of there. There was silence, you could have heard a pin drop.
Rick looked behind him. Michonne was trying to wrap her mind around what had just happened. She couldn't have been more impressed by him. She rushed to him and kissed him. This was the moment of realization for her. This moment solified her thoughts she had been having about how to maneuver their future together.
He smiled at Michonne and then turned to the waiter who had mascara stained tears falling down her cheeks "We're sort of in a hurry. The kids are waiting, if you could tell the chef to move a little faster I'd appreciate it."
"I can't believe you guys were almost mugged," Carl shook his head as he whispered, they didn't need to upset Judith and Andre, "Why didn't you just punch his lights out?"
Rick leaned against the kitchen counter, "He was just a kid Carl."
Michonne, Andre and Judith were in the middle of the living room playing scrabble. It was funny to see how Judith was trying her best not to like her, but there were glimpses of laughs and smiles that indicated something entirely different. The day had been eventful. Only they could have experienced all of this in twenty four hours and as the sun set, they were there care free living life to the fullest.
Rick drank from his beer and took in every moment with gratitude.
"You guys decide what's gonna happen next?" Carl asked curiously, "Like what's the plan? The baby is gonna be here and then what?"
"I don't know Carl." He admitted. He really had no idea. It was tough.
Michonne approached them with a frustrated yawn, "Those two are kicking my ass and I've never felt this humiliated in my life."
Rick smiled at her. It was surreal to share this with her. He felt a little goofy over how his emotions for her were so strong and overwhelming at times. She was his. This was very real. They would have a family together. It kind of hit him all over again.
Her, in those simple grey sweatpants was something to die for.
"Jeez dad ," Carl nudged him, trying to wake him from his trance, "Stop staring and get a grip. That's embarrassing even for you."
He playfully nudged him back, "Gimme a break. I can't look at her after the day I had?"
Michonne laughed at them and then sighed.
"What's wrong?" The teen catched the change in her demeanor.
She forcibly plastered another smile on her face, "I don't know. I guess it just makes me sad that this will end eventually."
Rick walked up to her and kissed her shoulder, "It's not permanent, remember?"
Michonne nodded, and leaned into him, "Yeah."
Carl abandoned his post and joined the two younger children in the living room. She had never heard Andre laugh so much. These two days, even with the shocking baby news, were filled with happiness for Andre. He wasn't alone anymore. He was almost rolling on the floor as Judith reprimanded him for cheating. Carl was naturally the best referee.
"This is good." He whispered in her ear.
"No, it's perfect." She concluded.
Michonne climbed into bed and tossed Rick her lotion. She didn't need to say anything he was already on it. She moved her feet in his lap and he smiled back.
This moment of total peace and tranquility was needed. She couldn't keep her eyes off of him as he rubbed her feet.
"Back in the diner," She hadn't talked about it earlier, "Is that how you usually approach the situation when someone tries to commit a crime?"
The question caught him a little off guard, he lifted his eyes to meet hers, "I guess."
"I've never seen anything like that before."
"After," He cleared his throat, the subject making him feel awkward, "Huntley. I kind of... I don't know, I felt like I was an animal for doing what I did. He deserved it, but..."
She listened as he went on.
"I wanted to be a better man, so I've been trying to find other ways. I noticed after a couple of times, talking is a safe bet. Some can be saved from themselves."
Michonne knew him, but today she felt like she saw something that ignited even stronger feelings in her, she was proud, "I don't think you understand how amazing that was."
His eyes were bright and vivid,"Nah. That was just me being human."
"It just caught me off guard," She admitted, feeling a little ashamed over how she misjudged his intentions, "I haven't seen that side of you."
He chuckled mostly to himself, "Don't get me wrong, I'll choose violence when it's necessary. This time it wasn't."
Michonne saw him in a different light. It was eye opening. Rick wasn't just this hotheaded - zero to a hundred masculine energy he had. He was so much more and it made her realize how much he meant for his town.
She couldn't hold it in any longer, "I have something for you."
Rick had to stop what he was doing, "What?"
She hopped off the bed and retrieved a few papers from her nightstand drawer. He didn't know what he was looking at as she pieced them together on the bed.
"What is this?" He asked, narrowing his blue eyes at the image in front of him.
Michonne was waiting for him to catch on.
"Wait," Rick read the tiny little font on one side of the paper, "This is Hershels lot. Why am I looking at this?"
She smiled, her face lighting up, "I offered to buy a part of his property."
"What?" He repeated, shocked, "What do you mean buy?"
Michonne crawled closer to him, and looked him in the eyes, "Rick you showed me something today... I thought didn't exist in this world anymore. I don't think I would be fair to our child if he or she didn't get to grow up in an environment where their dad is the one who shows the way and leads his community with that kind of strength and compassion. That's not possible in Atlanta."
He was speechless.
"I remember when I first got to Hershels farm and saw that open field behind his guesthouse. I felt like I was home. It just stuck to my bones. That was the place that changed my life," She reached up at him, tracing her finger against his jawline, "Maggie sent me the blueprints after I talked to her dad. He is willing to sell all of this land if we are building something meaningful and lasting. It could be ours if you want that."
"How? what? What about your job and this home and-" He rambled in a hurried whisper.
"We could break ground soon as I sell my home. And of course we need Lori to settle with your divorce. All of that land in the back of his property would be ours. We would build our own home from scratch, have our own entrance to the property. It's going to be complete madness with a baby coming and we won't probably have it done by our due date, but Connie and Daryl are fine with us staying in their home while they are gone," Michonne trailed off, before smiling and continuing,"but we can do it. I know we can."
Rick was still shocked, "What about your life here?"
"I'll have time to finish up all my big clients while we build," She said confidently, like this was a walk in the park, "I can do most of it from behind the computer anyway. I know I can make it work and I can be apart of this company no matter where I live. Sasha might kill me though."
Rick muttered absent-mindedly, "Yeah, and Abe is gonna kill me."
"Huh?"
"Nothing." He said quickly and asked, "What about Andre?"
"I talked to him," She had covered all of her bases, "He is willing to move if he gets bunk beds."
He laughed at the condition, "Well that's adorable and specific."
Rick really couldn't believe what she was saying. This could actually work.
"It's going to be chaos. The baby, building, moving, my job, your job, our kids and we are gonna be broke as hell, " She took a deep breath as she looked at the blueprints, "But I want to do it. I want this for us Rick."
She knew he would guide her through this. This was her, really trusting this man in a way that was unheard for her. That strong feeling in her heart was unstoppable.
He closed the distance between them, his strong hands on her, his fingers tracing over her beautiful serene face.
"Then you'll have it Michonne."
400 reviews. So much gratitude here.
I apologize for mistakes or errors in advance I broke my right hand at work lmao. Just my luck, so it was a bit of a task to write when I knew this would be a longer chapter overall. Got through it though. And it was exactly what I visioned. You see I always imagine these moments in my head. I never write it if I dont see it. Does that make sense? ... Anyway,
The events of the world make me sad at the moment. I hope as you read this you could forget that pain and worries, or whatever is going on. I wish we could have peace and the slaughtering of innocents would stop. Not to get too political, but yeah, I'm thankful for my home, my baby, even my broken hand. I'm alive and breathing.
Please be kind to other people. We are all equal. Thank you.