Chapter 2: Ethereal
ethereal (adjective) – unworldly, spiritual; very delicate
Michonne wanted to talk to Carl alone, but everything happened so fast. Rick's offer. Her acceptance. Then the keys were in their hands and the four of them were on the porch about to walk inside their new home. Home. Her chest swelled. Four walls. A roof. A kitchen. Two bathrooms. Living room. Bedrooms with beds and mattresses. She looked at Rick and he nodded for her to walk inside first. Carl followed. Rick with Judith in his arms claimed the rear, closing the door behind them.
Of course the space wasn't nearly as decked out as her Atlanta condo, but she wasn't fool enough to turn it down. Carl moved past her to run down the hall. Rick's heat warmed her from behind.
"See," Rick said, "he's fine with you being with us. It's where you're supposed to be."
"He doesn't realize I'm staying." She turned when Judith grasped one of her locks. The baby reached for her and Michonne accepted the offer.
"You unlocked the door," Rick said with a faint chuckle, handing the baby to Michonne's open arms. "I think he's figured it out."
The boy's loud footsteps thudded on the hardwood floors to announce his return. "Everything works! The lights! The water! The toilet flushes! It's like a real house!"
"Everything worked in the barracks," Rick said. "You know that."
"I know, but it's…different," Carl said. He gave Michonne a big smile. "It's home."
"It can be," she said, still feeling uncertain. "Is there a crib for Judith?"
"Yeah," Carl said. "Follow me." He headed back down the hall.
Rick stepped forward. "I'll take her."
"No, we just need a minute," she said.
He nodded. "They're giving out work assignments. Want me to wait or go?"
"You can go," she said. "We'll be okay."
He clasped her hand. "I won't be long." Then in a sudden move, he bent forward and kissed her cheek. The fine hairs of his beard pricked her cheek. "It'll be fine."
"Michonne?"
She followed Carl's voice. The door clicked close upon Rick's exit. They understood so much about each other, but it was clear that the senior Grimes had no idea how his invitation moved her. She was scared to admit to herself how much she wanted this to work, but if Carl was not okay, she would leave.
The teen stood in the master bedroom. A perfect cherrywood crib stood against the wall adjacent to the queen-sized bed. The other furnishings included a dresser, two nightstands, lamps, and a mirror. The bathroom and closet seemed just as appealing as everything else.
"Wow," she murmured under her breath.
"There are probably sheets and stuff in the hall closet. I can check," Carl offered.
"Wait." She sat on the bed and patted the space beside her. "Sit."
He joined her and turned so that he faced her and the baby. Judith grabbed his fingers and pulled them into her mouth.
"Your dad invited me to live here, too."
"Yeah."
"Carl…" She frowned. Hesitation struck her. Why did she let Rick leave?
"Of course, you're staying with us," Carl said.
She sighed. Maybe if she wished hard enough, Rick would magically return with all the right words and explanations for what was about to happen. Yeah, right.
"Why are you being weird?" Carl asked.
"You think so?" She searched her mind for the right words. Stalling had never been her way. Not before or since. "Your dad… I…"
"You're gonna sleep in here with him, right?" Carl asked.
"How did you…? No." She inhaled a deep breath. "Maybe. Or on the sofa."
"Why not in here?" Carl asked. "He wants you to."
Michonne should have expected his bluntness, but she hadn't. The words scrambled in her mind for the right way to continue this conversation. Their relationship was just as important as the one she had with his father. "Would you be okay with that?"
His eyes widened. Then a thoughtful frown creased his forehead. "Do you want to?"
The question surprised her. "I don't know."
"You don't have to," he said. "There's an extra bed in the other room. You can sleep in there with me."
She smiled and a laugh erupted at the thought of Rick's reaction. It wasn't that she didn't want to share Rick's bed or his home. The act of it was a big step. With children involved, she had to be sure. Only a short time had passed since they lost the prison and the others. Prior to that, she and Rick had danced around their attraction. The devastation of their losses had changed their outlook, as a group and Rick's in particular. She understood his urgency, but was the timing right or forced?
"Michonne?" Carl said, "We're family. All four of us. I'm gonna look for sheets." He stood and headed to the hall. In the doorway, he paused to add, "I've been hoping for this. We'd find a place. And it'd be all of us together, and it happened."
# #
With every fallen walker, Sasha remembered the sight of Tyrese as he tore into a herd one last time. His hammer swung and blood splattered. How many times had he protected her and others using the same technique and skill? Her brother had never been a violent man, not even before the dead returned to life with an insatiable vengeance. But her brother had always had a protective streak. Always wanting the best for her. Regardless the cost to him. Except that last time, it wasn't her he took his last breath for and she was not fast enough to have his back.
"Ugh!"
She drove the homemade spear into the walker's eye with all her might. A trail of truly dead walkers marked the path that she and Daryl had taken deep into the woods. He didn't waste bolts on these runs. Instead he used his knife. Standing back to back, they worked through walkers like kids punching balloons.
Conversation was limited on these excursions. Since their arrival in the Alexandria Safe Zone, the two had slipped out a few times to release their urges beyond the constricting walls and gated entry. Bypassing the guards in the tower offered some difficulty, but they managed. It was the return into the barracks that had proven the most challenging. Now that they had their own space, there came the promise of freedom to come and go without too many hassles.
"Could go deeper," Sasha suggested.
"It'll be dark soon," Daryl said.
They headed back without hesitation. Maybe tomorrow or the day after, they'd go farther out. She felt better knowing that she was doing her part to eradicate the pestilence that killed her brother and Bob. There was nothing she could do to bring them back, but a dead walker was better than one free to roam and destroy families. The adrenaline rush felt good, too. Out there, slaying walkers with Daryl, was the only time she felt truly alive again. Then, the blood pumped through her veins and her senses came alive. Otherwise, her body seemed to float along and her thoughts drifted far too much for her to claim any peace of mind.
"Fuck," Daryl muttered, squinting as he paused to stare at the guard tower.
"What's wrong?" The sun was starting to set. She raised her hand to shade her eyes from the light. "I can't see it."
"Look like that fucker Linc is in the guard tower," he said. "Sumbitch damn near caught us last time."
"We can go 'round back."
Daryl shook his head. "Take too long. Looks like they changed the schedule. Who knows which asshole is back there?"
"You scared?" She grinned at the hard look he gave her.
"No. You?"
"Nope," she said.
"C'mon."
Sasha followed him. Despite the temptation to tease him, she had to admire his ability to find the loophole. The ASZ was airtight, but every time they needed to leave, Daryl found a way. He got them out and he got them back in. In a world where her trust had been sorely tested time and again, Sasha trusted Daryl. It was something she wouldn't let herself dwell on. It just was.
# #
The sign read 'Employment Office' and Rick had to laugh. He wondered if they'd want to check his urine, too. The building was nothing more than a trailer. A line of his people trailed from the front. Eugene and Gabriel were at the door. Noah stepped out and Eugene went inside. Rick moved in behind Glenn. The younger man gave him a faint smile and quick nod.
"Where's your place?" Glenn asked.
"About two houses from you, I think," Rick said. "Daryl and Sasha are between us?"
"Yeah," Glenn nodded. "I think so."
"How's…everything?"
"Maggie's resting," Glenn said, straightforward. "Tara offered to stay with her. I needed a break."
"There's nothing wrong with that."
"I don't know what to do anymore."
"You're doing alright," Rick said. "It just takes time."
Glenn blinked and rubbed his eyes. "How much? How long?"
"I don't know. You're not in this alone," Rick said. "Just because we're here now, doesn't mean anything's change. We're still family."
Glenn nodded. "Hershel would know what to do. He'd know what to say."
"He loved you like a son," Rick said. "Never forget that."
Rick patted Glenn's shoulder. The loss of two Greene family members and Sasha's brother were constant reminders of just how important family was. Bloodlines didn't matter. The bond between all of them was spiritual. Few could understand it. Rick noticed how the current residents of the safe zone regarded his group. The habit to look toward Rick for guidance hadn't changed in the week since they arrived and they had been granted admittance inside the gates. Even the Cassidy family that joined them a few days after the Grady tragedy had managed to slip inside. Although expanded since the prison, the unit was strong.
A few minutes later, Glenn and Rick had their assignments in hand as they left the trailer. Nik Cassidy and his daughter, Noelle, joined them. They also carried sheets of paper.
"We're split up," Nik said. "School, clinic, and farm duties. How did you make out?"
"Constables," Glenn and Rick said in unison.
"Maggie is helping out with the farm, too. Tara has the commissary," Glenn said. "Who's farming in your family?"
"Dad, Dominik, and me," Noelle said. "Mama is at the clinic."
"You and your brother are at the school, too," Nik said. "As students."
"Oh fun," Noelle complained. "Mr. Grimes, have you seen Daryl?"
Rick bit back a smile. "Not since this morning."
"We're inviting everyone over for dinner tomorrow," Nik said. "You can bother him about more crossbow training then. We'll see you later."
"Later," Glenn said.
Rick nodded. Father and daughter walked to their new home.
"Think Daryl knows she's his biggest fan?" Glenn asked.
"He'll figure it out sooner or later," Rick said, "but she is good with that crossbow."
Glenn smiled. Rick realized that weeks had passed since he had seen his friend with a happy expression on his face. Michonne had been optimistic that this place would make all the difference for everyone. He hoped her faith wouldn't be misplaced.
The aroma of dinner welcomed Rick when he opened the front door. Lullabies played on a battery operated toy and his daughter sat transfixed in a playpen. Michonne wore her hair pulled into a ponytail and had an apron tied around her tiny waist as she diced carrots and hummed to herself. He set the assignments on the counter as he paused to ogle her, knowing there'd be hell to pay when she spotted him.
"I didn't hear you!" she said. "How did it go?"
"Fine." He joined her in the kitchen with one thought on his mind. In a fluid motion, he removed the knife from her hand and pulled her into his arms. Their bodies fit together as if they were meant to. "Hey."
"I talked to Carl." She rested her hands on his upper arms. "He's okay with…with us."
"I knew he would be."
"He says that he hoped for this," she said. "The four of us together."
Rick smiled. "Me too."
"He also—"
"Ssh…"
He kissed her. Nice and slow. Deep and thorough. Until her sighs filled him and her fingers dug into his flesh. He pulled away only when the need to breathe outweighed his desire to taste her.
"Something's burning—" Carl said. "Oh." He stared but his expression wasn't displeased. "Well, it's still burning."
"We got this," Rick said, reluctantly releasing Michonne. "Dinner'll be ready soon."
"If it's not burnt to a crisp," Carl mumbled as he left the kitchen.
"How can I help?" Rick washed and dried his hands.
"You may be more of a distraction."
He laughed. "I'll finish the carrots. You do whatever you were doing…"
"Thanks." But there was a smile in her voice. "What did you get for us?"
"Constable for me," he said. "School for Carl and farm for you."
"Stop playing."
"I'm not." He frowned. "I wasn't sure if you'd want something different so I didn't push. I'll go back after dinner or in the morning."
"Farm?" she asked. "Really?"
"You wanna be my partner?" His tone was flirtatious and he knew from her smile that she heard it.
"Maybe. Did you get Daryl?"
"Nope," he said. "Glenn."
"Good. Either Daryl or Glenn is fine with me."
He laughed. "Maybe I should head back to the farm. I was pretty good at it."
"You were." She checked a small roast that was in the oven. It was a little crispy around the edges but not too bad. "You were a great farmer. If that's what you want to do, you should."
"I'll think about it," he said the words but his thoughts were consumed with the coziness of their living arrangements.
This was special. They weren't outside, cooking over a fire and worrying that the small rabbit wasn't enough to sate their hunger. Soon, they would sit at a table and eat dinner until they were full. Later, maybe he and Michonne would share a bed. Even if she decided against it, at least the four of them were together with walls around them and a roof overhead. Maybe his misgivings had been wrong about this place and Michonne had been right. He could live with that. Right or wrong aside, so far this had turned out far better than he had ever hoped.
[A/N: Thank you all for your wonderful response to the first chapter! Talk about motivation and inspiration! I try to respond to reviews, but with school stuff, I've gotten behind. However, you will hear from me. Maybe just slower than usual. FYI, there's a minor discrepancy in a detail between this chapter and the first. If you didn't catch it, I won't tell you what it is. If you caught it, please know that I'm aware of it and decided to let it fly. I prefer the history that this chapter created so I'm going with it. Last night's return of TWD was grueling. The Richonne moments were lovely, as usual, but wow on the rest. I wasn't ready. In future chapters, I think there'll be a healthy combo of angst and romance, but your thoughts/ideas are always appreciated. Thanks for reading! ]