Chapter 6: January. Winter.

It was the first week of January. Carl had been back home for two weeks now, and a lot had changed between his dad and Miss Hawthorne. He was out on a date with her right now. Carl was happy about that. But he was also worried. His dad wasn't good with dates. He remembered his mom talking about how his dad would take them out to Cracker Barrel every month. His dad thought they had been building a date night tradition, but his mom had just been bored and unimpressed with the whole ordeal.

He sat on the bottom step of his home and scribbled quickly in his notebook. The clock on the wall telegraphed that it was 9:47 PM. He wasn't expecting his dad back until around 11 PM or so. That gave him plenty of time to-

Keys rattled in the door - a precursive sound to Rick's admittance into the house. He stepped in looking content but confused.

Carl stood up quickly to meet his dad halfway. "What are you doing back so early?" he asked. He took another glance at the clock to make sure he read the time right. He had. "Did you take her to Cracker Barrel?"

"No, I did not take her to Cracker Barrel," Rick said, offended that the question was even asked. "Don't you have homework or something to do?"

"Already did it," Carl responded quickly. He led his dad to the kitchen and sat on a stool at the kitchen island. "Okay, you have to tell me exactly what happened. From beginning to end."

Rick stared at Carl for a moment, bemused. "Is there a reason why you're so invested in my dating life?" He asked it lightly, but it also held serious weight for him. This was the first time he was dating after divorce. That could spark complicated feelings for a child.

Carl sighed through his nose before he shook his head and ripped the sheet of paper he had been writing on out of his notebook. He slid it across to his dad so he could read the list of date ideas he had written down. His dad's eyes moved over it before pinning Carl with another bemused stare. "I just wanna make sure you don't mess up," Carl explained. "Michonne is cool. You're…not as cool."

Rick tried not to let Carl's childish honesty hurt his feelings too much. He chuckled. "Is that right?" He took a deep breath and looked at the list again. "Ice skating," he read. "Cat cafe. Dinner at a fancy restaurant. And that's just the first date." He looked down at the rest of the list. Each date held at least three activities. He was impressed. Some of them were creative. "How do you know so much about dating?" he asked his son suspiciously.

Carl shrugged. "I read a lot these days."

Rick chuckled. "Okay," he said. He unbuttoned the top button of his dress shirt and got comfortable at the kitchen island. "Fine. Tell me some of your ideas."

"Sooo…" Michonne settled down onto her couch with a freshly made bowl of popcorn and opened up her Netflix account. She scrolled through selections as Sasha's voice sounded in her ear. "How was your first actual date with the sheriff?"

Michonne smiled and held her cell phone closer to her ear. "It was nice."

Silence followed Michonne's statement. "It was nice?" Sasha finally asked when she realized Michonne was just going to let the silence linger. "That's it? Details!"

Michonne settled the popcorn bowl in her lap and recounted the date. "We took a walk, had a nice conversation, ate dinner, and then he brought me back home."

Sasha yawned theatrically. "Sorry, I almost fell asleep while you were talking. Boring! Did he put in any effort?"

"Stop," Michonne said. "I liked it. It was simple and sweet."

"Generic."

"Pleasant."

"And that's enough for THE Michonne Hawthorne?" Sasha asked skeptically.

"What do you mean?" Michonne asked. She popped a kernel of popcorn into her mouth and enjoyed the buttery, savory taste that spread across her tongue.

"Don't even pretend," Sasha said. "I remember you telling me that story about that guy from high school. You made him ask you to prom three different times until you felt like he earned your 'yes.' Not to mention the way your eyes get all big and shiny, and you hold your breath at all the confession scenes in those cheesy rom-coms. And then you try to wipe your tears when I'm not looking, but I see you."

"Oh, my God," Michonne groaned.

"Despite your valiant attempts over the last few years, I've seen you, Michonne Hawthorne," Sasha said. "You're a damn romantic. I bet you want to be wooed like those heroines in your classic romance novels. You wanna be swept off your feet."

Michonne chewed on a few more kernels of popcorn before she responded. "...I gave him a pass because he's been putting up with my indecision for the past few months."

"Ha! I knew it!" Sasha shrieked. "You're home in time to have a good night's sleep; I knew the date couldn't have been that great."

"It was fine. It really was," Michonne said, not wanting to disparage the nice night she just had. "There doesn't have to be some big event every time. I was just…expecting a little more. Is that bad of me? Maybe I'm the problem."

Sasha laughed. "You're definitely the problem. But I get what you're saying. He's been chasing you for a while; the tension has been building. You finally agree to a date and then it's just…a nice, passable date. I get it. You're a high maintenance nightmare and I feel sorry for Rick, but…I get it."

Michonne laughed. "It's not a deal breaker or anything," she said. "I'll just…adjust my expectations."

"Well…don't settle or anything," Sasha said. "But good. I think Rick's worth it. He's practically been courting you. He deserves at least three months' worth of bad date passes."

"It wasn't a bad date!" Michonne defended again.

"Okay, okay," Sasha acquiesced. "Bad date, all right date, fine date, whatever. Whatever kind of date it was, it ended with him not getting any so…"

"Okay, no, that's because it was a first date!" Michonne said. "We're back to proper date etiquette now that it's official."

"Girl, please. From what you've told me, he's had you bent over backwards and sideways. That ship has sailed."

Michonne laughed. "I hate you."

"You love me."

A text notification sounded from Michonne's phone. She pulled it away from her ear to see that it was Rick. 'Second date tomorrow?' the text read.

Michonne brought the phone back to her ear. "Sasha, I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Ah, the boring boyfriend must have texted." Michonne rolled her eyes. Sasha was never going to let that go. "All right. I'll talk to you later. Bye."

Michonne hung up the phone and responded to Rick. 'Love to. What do you have in mind?'

Michonne held Rick's hand tightly as he maneuvered them around the frozen lake that was located right at the edge of King County. Frigid wind bit at Michonne's cheeks, but she didn't have time to focus on the chill of the air. She was too busy just trying to stay upright. "Are you sure this is safe to skate on?" she asked, looking warily down at the small cracks and scratches that could be seen on the surface of the ice.

Rick chuckled, finding her trepidation cute. There weren't many areas that he could show off in front of her; this was a nice exception. He wasn't an expert skater or anything, but he had been coming to this lake for as long as he could remember. He was very comfortable here.

He turned around to face Michonne and took both of her hands in his to lead her around. "It's safe," he said. "They come by to inspect it every day in the winter because they know how people like to come out here. When the ice gets too thin or too dangerous, they put a sign up and keep people out."

"Who is 'they?'" Michonne asked. As Rick smoothly guided them between the few other skaters on the lake, Michonne stopped looking at her timid feet and the cracked ice. Rick's gaze was confident and held her own.

"Members of the community," Rick said with a shrug. "I've done it once or twice myself." He glided behind her.

Michonne had a second of panic as she thought Rick was leaving her to skate on her own, but then she felt his hands settle on each side of her waist. He guided her hips as they moved around the lake. "So nobody with a license or any actual expertise…" Michonne said. She laid her hands on top of his for added comfort.

Rick chuckled again. "It's safe," he said again. "Trust me."

Michonne had nothing else to say to that. She did trust Rick. Foolishly, maybe, but completely. They skated in silence as Michonne began to find poise on the skates. The feeling of Rick being right behind her for support helped matters greatly.

"I'm surprised this is your first time coming out here," Rick said. "You're been here for about three years now, right?"

Michonne nodded. "Yeah. But I don't get out much. I teach. Go home and enjoy a nice book, some wine. Maybe hang out with Sasha a little…When I'm not traveling, I'm pretty much a homebody."

"You like to travel?" Rick asked, picking up on her mention of it.

"Yeah," Michonne said. She leaned into Rick as she felt his body engulf her. At some point, he had drawn her into him completely. His arm was wrapped around her waist, and his legs shifted concurrently with hers to glide them along the ice. "I'm a bit of a thrill seeker when I do get out and go places."

"Good to know," Rick said. "I personally haven't traveled many places, but I'll be sure to get my passport updated just for you."

"Be sure that you do." Michonne loved the idea of traveling with Rick. It had been so long since she had had a romantic vacation. In fact, she had gotten used to the idea of never going on one again.

Rick gripped her thigh as they made their way around the turn of the lake. The physical attraction she felt for him crawled up her thigh and settled itself in her stomach. She felt warm even though it was cold outside.

"So do you want to know what I have planned for us this evening?" Rick asked, his voice deep and gravelly in her ear.

"Mmm…I don't know…" Michonne said, her voice low to match the sultry mood she was in. "I like surprises."

Rick slid his hands up along Michonne's hips in his path to her waist. He was enjoying the way ice skating was providing the perfect opportunity for him to be close to her. "I'll keep that in mind," he said, filing all of her interests away in a lockbox labeled 'Michonne' that had taken root in the central part of his brain.

"Rick?"

Rick and Michonne slightly pulled away from each other to see who was calling Rick's name. They weren't exactly being secretive, but the sheriff of King County and one of the junior high teachers snuggling up would certainly be gossip fodder if they were perceived too often around town. Michonne realized she needed to talk to Rick about that as well as figure out her own feelings regarding it.

Jessie Anderson slid into view. Her sons, Ron and Sam, were trailing along behind her. Her eyes bounced between Rick and Michonne.

'Great,' Michonne thought. Of all people, she had to run into the parent of one of her students.

"Miss Anderson," Michonne greeted. She held out her hand for a quick handshake. "Hi, Ron," she said as Jessie released her hand. "Did you have a chance to start on Hunger Games?"

"Yeah," Ron replied with a shrug. "I watched the movies." With that said, he skated away.

Jessie gave Michonne a small, embarrassed smile. "I'll make sure he reads the book."

"How's your day going?" Rick asked, eager to have a quick, casual conversation so that Jessie could be on her way and his date could continue.

"It's going great!" Jessie responded. Her eyes flitted between Rick and Michonne again. "I decided to have a bonding day with the boys. Didn't expect to run into you two here. I've seen you here a few times, Rick. But I didn't know you liked to skate, Michonne."

Michonne could tell that Jessie was trying to get information about whether they were here together as a date or if they just met on the lake coincidentally. She smiled, tight-lipped. She had seen Jessie around, but she had never interacted with her. She wasn't keen on sharing any information with a stranger. She shrugged in response. "It's fun," she replied simply.

"Yeah, I bring Carl here when I can," Rick said, acknowledging what she said. "The kids enjoy it."

Jessie nodded. When she realized the conversation wasn't going to go much further, she dipped her head. "Well…" she said. "I'll leave you to it. I don't want to…interrupt anything."

"You're not interrupting anything."

"Okay. Have a nice day."

Rick and Michonne spoke at the same time. When Jessie skated away to join Ron and Sam, Rick turned to Michonne with a bemused expression. "Not interrupting anything, huh?"

"I didn't mean it like that," Michonne said with a small smile. Her eyes slid to Jessie again who was glancing across at them. "I'm just…not sure I want to be at the center of town gossip."

Rick nodded. "I understand that," he said. "But it's a small town. I don't know how long that can be avoided."

Michonne ruminated on the truth of that statement. Jessie was here on the ice rink, and she was obviously interested in what they were up to if her continuous glances were anything to go by. If Michonne worried about how much gossip a coupling between herself and Rick would generate, she would end up ruining the rest of their date. Was she supposed to cut their time on the lake short because Jessie was here now? Was she going to not allow Rick to hold her hand because of a few curious stares? That wouldn't be fair to Rick or herself. If she was going to date Rick, she needed to do so fully.

Michonne made her decision in that moment.

She reached over and took Rick's hand. "You're right," she said. "Let's just go with the flow." She shrugged. "If they talk, they talk."

A hopeful, happy smile jumped onto Rick's lips. "Really?" he asked.

Michonne couldn't hold back the laugh that escaped in the face of his obvious delight. It buoyed her spirits to know that she affected Rick's mood in such a way. "Really," she confirmed. "If I put too much bearing on what people might say about us, I wouldn't be able to do this…" She skated forward and placed a soft, chaste kiss against Rick's lips. It was a stolen spot of warmth found within the chill of the winter breeze.

When she pulled away, Rick's smile widened. "I wouldn't want that," he whispered.

"Neither would I," Michonne said. The truth of that statement settled over her as she spoke it. As she and Rick held hands and started another turn around the ice rink, she met Jessie's eyes and sent her an amicable wave. Jessie's smile was tight-lipped in return, but Michonne didn't even try to guess what she might be thinking. The only thing she focused on was the man beside her.

"How did you know I'm a cat person?" Michonne asked.

They were currently ensconced in a cozy cat cafe where Michonne was nursing both a marshmallow-filled hot chocolate and a white Persian cat. The cat was settled on her lap as if it had always known her. Its body was vibrating with a small yet powerful purr.

"Your laptop screensaver is a cat playing with a ball of yarn," Rick said proudly. He stroked the white Persian's head as Michonne caressed its back.

"And how do you know that?" Michonne asked. "You haven't seen my laptop."

A sheepish smile crossed Rick's face. "Okay," he said. "You got me. I may have gotten a little help from mini me."

"Carl?" Michonne asked, pleasantly surprised. "He told you I like cats?"

"Not only that," Rick said. "He kind of planned our whole date for today. He doesn't think I'm cool enough to impress you on my own."

Michonne laughed. "You don't have to do anything to impress me, Rick," Michonne replied. "But I am glad that Carl doesn't mind us dating."

"I'm happy about that as well," Rick agreed with a soft smile. "He likes you a lot."

An orange kitten with a lot of energy sped toward Michonne. It stopped long enough to give her knee a quick slap with its paw before speeding away again. "I may need to give that one a drug test," Rick joked, witnessing the cats clear case of zoomies. "See if there's any catnip in his blood stream."

Michonne laughed heartily. The cat in her lap looked up at her curiously, wondering why she was disturbing the nap it had been falling into.

Giddiness rose in Rick's chest as he watched Michonne laugh, knowing he was the cause of it.

"You should adopt one of them," Rick suggested.

"I don't know," Michonne mused. "I love cats. But what if it misses me when I go off to work?"

"Cats are independent," Rick said. "It'll be fine." When Michonne still looked skeptical, he offered more suggestions. "You could get one of those cat cameras. So you could watch over it while you're gone. Or I could bring it to the office with me…prepare a cat bed for it in the corner. I saw a video of some firehouse guys who kept a cat at the office. It was cute."

Michonne fought a smile and glanced at Rick from under her eyelashes. He was still as presumptuous as ever. "That's dangerous," she said. "What if my cat gets attached to you and then this-" She wiggled her finger between the two of them. "Doesn't work out. That would give the cat even more of a complex."

"Guess that means we just have to make this work then," Rick quipped as a smirk pulled at his lips.

"So what would you think about going from a teacher to a stepmom?"

Michonne choked on the pasta she had been in the middle of swallowing. "Whoa," she said. She took a drink of water to help the offending food go down. "You didn't even try to ease into that one, did you?"

They were eating at a nice Italian restaurant with muted lighting and an overall romantic atmosphere.

"I'm sorry," Rick said with a small chuckle. He could see that she was more amused than creeped out by his sudden question, so that was a relief. This was exactly the kind of commitment Michonne had been trying to avoid. It was probably better if he took things slow. He just couldn't help but to imagine fitting her into his life with his son. "That was a weird question. You can disregard it." Thinking of Carl, he could just imagine his son looking at him in exasperation while he ruined what had been a good date.

Michonne, however, sat with the question and realized it didn't make her want to run for the hills screaming. She noticed the slight panic in Rick's eyes and the tension in his shoulders, so she decided to answer the question. "Well…This is only our second date, so I hadn't given it much thought. But Carl is great. I find it very easy to get along with him. It feels…natural."

The tension left Rick's shoulders when he realized he hadn't scared Michonne off. "The feeling is mutual," Rick said. "I was so afraid of how Carl would react if I ever were to start dating again, but he seems excited for me."

"Understandable," Michonne said with a nod. "He probably just wants to see you happy."

"And you definitely make me happy," Rick confirmed.

Michonne allowed the giddiness that sparked in her chest to spread into a warm smile on her face. "You make me happy as well."

The next few dates went amazingly well. Carl's idea to play laser tag one night had been a highlight. Rick thought he would have the advantage due to his career experience, but Carl and Michonne working as a team had been deadly.

By the end of January, Rick was happier than he had ever been. He found himself standing at the door to Michonne's classroom, holding a bouquet of roses.

When Michonne looked up to see him, she smiled. "What's the occasion?" she asked, welcoming him in.

"Since when did there need to be an occasion for me to get you something?" Rick asked as he stepped into the classroom. He glanced around to make sure that the classroom was empty before closing the door behind himself.

When Michonne slid her arms around his neck for a soft embrace after placing her old batch of flowers (a previous gift from Rick) with the new, Rick couldn't help but to mull over how lucky he was. When he thought back to the beginning of the year when Michonne was still just his son's sexy teacher and not his girlfriend, he couldn't believe how far they had come.

"You're too good to me," Michonne whispered, allowing herself to melt against the warmth of Rick's body.

"There's no such thing as being too good to you. You took a chance on me, and I'm gonna show you every day that you made the right choice." Rick buried his nose in Michonne's hair and began to kiss his way along her neck and jawline.

"You mind sticking around while I grade a few papers?" Michonne asked. "We can go somewhere after. To my place maybe."

Surprised, Rick pulled back to look into to Michonne's eyes to gauge how serious she was. When he didn't see any evidence of teasing, his face split into a grin. This would be the first time that Michonne was inviting him over to her place. He didn't take this milestone lightly. He leaned forward and kissed her soundly. "I would love to come over to your place," he said.

In his excitement, he lifted her and placed her gently on the desk. Michonne had quite a few papers left to grade, but Rick's kisses felt nice. So she decided to enjoy it for a little while.

"Carl's staying with Lori this weekend?" Michonne asked.

"Yeah." Rick's whisper was throaty and hoarse.

It let Michonne know exactly what kind of mood Rick was in.

Her body was responding. "That means you can stay with me for the whole weekend," Michonne offered.

It had the desired effect. Rick moaned and kissed her deeply. In Rick's mind, he was thinking that he would stay with her for as long as she allowed. But he couldn't scare her away by confessing such a thing so early, so he only kissed her harder to keep his lips from uttering words he knew he shouldn't say.

The skirt of Michonne's dress rode up her thighs as Rick pushed closer to nest himself between her legs.

And Michonne welcomed him. She slid her hands to his hips and pressed him harder against her. "Rick," she whispered lustily. "Let me get some work done. And then we can finish this at home."

"I'm not stopping you from getting your work done," Rick stated ridiculously as he held her tighter. "Go ahead."

Michonne giggled as Rick nibbled on her ear. Her fluttering eyelashes drew open as she prepared to reprimand him, but what she saw at the door caused her girlish giggles to die in her throat.

Okafor, her boss, was standing in the doorway looking at the two of them making out on her desk.

Michonne gasped and pushed Rick away. She hurriedly fixed her clothing and jumped down from the desk. "Okafor," she said. He looked away, clearly uncomfortable. Rick stood awkwardly off to the side. "I was just wrapping up," Michonne continued. "About to head out for the day. Did you need something?"

Okafor took a deep breath to face the situation he had just walked in on, took a moment to look between the two people in the room, and then he answered Michonne's question. "I was just coming to see if you were busy. Looks like you are. So I'll get going."

Michonne felt her insides burning with embarrassment. She was standing here in her workplace - a place where she worked with children - in a rumpled outfit because she couldn't keep her hormones in check for a few minutes!

Okafor hesitated at the door. Michonne wished he would hurry up and leave.

"Michonne?" He turned his head to glance back, but he didn't meet her eyes.

"Yeah?"

"Come see me in my office first thing tomorrow morning."

"Yes, sir."

When he left and closed the door behind him, Michonne sank against her desk with relief.

"Are you okay?" Rick asked.

Michonne held up a hand to stop his advance towards her. "I'm okay," she said. "But this is exactly why I don't do relationships. I do dumb things and lose myself. Maybe you should go home for now. I'll call you when I'm done here."

"Michonne…" Rick tried to step toward Michonne again to offer her some comfort, but she didn't allow it.

"I'll call you," she said again. "Go home, Rick."

Rick apologized again to Michonne. He cursed himself for not being able to keep his hands to himself for a few minutes. He left the classroom feeling dejected and hoped that this wouldn't put a halt to the progress they had made in their relationship.