A/N: Enjoy!
Chapter 22: A Family Affair (part 2)
"Gam!" Nugget squealed excitedly.
Maggie's face instantly softened at the sight of him. "Hey, Carl!" she cooed, stepping into the house to give him a tummy tickle and kisses all over his cheeks.
When he puckered his lips and demanded more kisses, Maggie's eyes sparkled and her lips turned up in the prettiest smile.
Yes! Yes! Yes!
My baby's cuteness was about to save the day!
But after Maggie gave him another flurry of kisses, she took a small step away from him and the exuberance drained from her face.
No. No. No.
"Hello, Michonne," she said with an iciness in her voice that would have made Fucking Lori Grimes proud.
"Muhmuh!" Nugget shouted, clapping his hands.
Maggie put her hand on her hip and looked me up and down. "I see you're not dead. Wasn't sure since you never called."
She glared at me with steely, green eyes.
Show no fear, Michonne.
"Did you get my text message? The one where I very politely asked you to call me?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.
Her text—"Call me later slut!"—was neither polite nor formatted as a question, but I wasn't about to point either of those things out.
"I did get your text," I answered casually.
Her face tightened back into its scowl. "So then you didn't spend the night in jail."
"I did not," I said casually.
She put her other hand on her hip.
Show no fear, Michonne.
"Were you fu-"
"Use your safe words, babe!" Glenn interrupted from the porch.
Maggie looked slightly flustered but recovered quickly. "Were you… havin' naked fun time with Rick?" she asked.
Naked fun time?
That was an interesting choice of words, but was she seriously asking me if Rick and I had sex when Glenn and all of the Greenes were actively listening and while I was holding Nugget?
I rubbed the bridge of my nose for what felt like the hundredth time today.
"I'll take that as a no," Maggie seethed, slowly turning a light shade of dark red. "Let me get this straight… you weren't dead, you weren't locked up and you weren't knocked out from naked fun time with Rick... but I didn't hear from you all day? Not one call! Not one text!"
"Maggie, I can explain," I said calmly.
Her face crumbled, her eyes got teary and her hands fell from her hips. "Save it," she whispered dejectedly. "Carl, I just can't right now with your mama."
She sniffled and walked away from us.
"Muhmuh," Nugget cooed, resting his head on my shoulder.
"Maggie, just hear me out," I said when she plopped down on the couch.
"Not. Interested." And in classic Maggie fashion, she threw her arm over her eyes. "You obviously hate me! Just leave me alone so I can die!"
Oh my God.
Maggie was so dramatic. But also...
Thank God!
If she'd moved on to declarations of dying, then her fury had passed.
"Eht!" Nugget squealed.
"Hey, cutie!" Beth said, grinning at Nugget and shaking one of his feet. "Michonne, oh my God! I'm so proud of you!" she screamed, hugging me. "You had some form issues, and you might wanna work on your upper body strength, but you started strong and finished strong. That's what counts!" she said in an excited rush.
Started strong and finished strong?
It sounded like...
"You were here?" I asked.
I'd zoned out when I was using LuLu, so it was entirely possible Beth was in the crowd watching me. But I also didn't believe for one second that Beth Greene wouldn't have joined in on the destruction if she was here.
"I wish I was," she said, skipping merrily to the couch. "Daryl sent video."
"Daryl sent what?!" I screeched.
Nugget threw his hands in the air and imitated my screeching. Beth sat down on the opposite end of the couch from Maggie and threw her hands in the air, imitating Nugget imitating me.
"Eht!" Nugget giggled.
Beth laughed and blew Nugget a kiss. "The video was kind of grainy, but it was still awesome! Maggie watched it, and she's more proud than I am. She's just in a mood. She called Birdie to put a curse on me because I ate the last piece of bacon this mornin'."
"I called dibs on that bacon, Bethanne!" Maggie growled with her arm still over her eyes.
"You called dibs on everythang, Margaret! The bacon, the sausage, the hashbrowns, the pancakes, the eggs, the juice! Other people get to eat, too!" Beth snapped.
"Peeboo!" Nugget shouted, putting his hand on his face and flinging it off.
Annette stood in the doorway and covered and uncovered her eyes. "Peek-a-boo!"
"Peeboo!" Nugget shouted again when she stepped into the house.
She gave Nugget a big smile, and similar to Maggie, her face fell before she addressed me. "My dear, dear Michonne, when you have a chance to take a demon down, you take the demon down, not the demon's SUV," she scolded. "But I will say, I enjoyed watchin' you take the SUV down!" She grinned, giving me a loving pinch on my cheek. "And Maggie is in a mood," she confirmed while giving Nugget a loving pinch on his cheek. "You know she loves you like a sister."
"An older sister," Maggie unnecessarily pointed out.
I narrowed my eyes at her. She sat up to narrow her eyes at me.
If she wasn't pregnant...
"Ersh!" Nugget shouted, joyfully kicking his little legs.
"Hey, partner," Hershel said to Nugget in his oh-so-soft voice. "Hey, Slugger," he said to me with a wink.
"Hi, Pop Pop!" I moved to the side so he could more easily get past me on his crutches. "Where's your wheelchair, old man?"
"We made a deal," Annette said, sticking to Hershel like glue as he made his way to the other couch in the room. "He gets to use his crutches today and today only, and then it's back to his wheelchair for the next three months like the doctor said. I'm still decidin' if I'll allow him to keep secretly practicin' on the crutches."
"Oh, she will," Hershel said after Annette helped him sit down. "I have ways of convincin' her to let me," he added with an eyebrow waggle.
Oh NoNoNoNoNo.
"Ew, Daddy!" Maggie shouted.
"Daddy, stop!" Beth yelled.
"Len!" Nugget squealed, trying to jump out of my arms and into Glenn's.
"Hey, bud! Look what I brought you!"
Glenn held up the cutest, baby-sized, navy blue baseball cap with the word "BOSS" embroidered on it. Nugget instantly reached for the cap, making it a bit of a challenge for Glenn to put it on his head. Once it was on, I handed Nugget to Glenn and watched in amusement as Nugget moved his head up, down, and back and forth trying to figure out what was on his head.
"Uhhhh, Michonne," Glenn said nervously, taking a quick peek at Maggie.
She was very loudly commiserating with Beth over Hershel's eyebrow waggle.
"No matter what Maggie may say, you're not on a pizza ban," he said in a low voice meant for my ears only. "Pizza's always on the house for you. She's just in a mood."
She… That little… How dare…
Margaret Josephine Greene had gone too far! I couldn't believe she'd try to get me banned from Mama Mia Pizza-Rhee-A!
I took a very deep breath to keep my eye from twitching.
But…
But if she was angry enough to try to have me banned from pizza, perhaps I'd also been banned from something else…
"What about maid of honor?" I asked Glenn in a low, hopeful voice.
"Sorry, Michonne," he mumbled, giving me a sympathetic pat on my shoulder, "that's still happening."
FML.
Glenn sat on the couch between Maggie and Beth, putting Nugget on his lap. But my boss baby pulled himself up using Glenn's shirt and demanded from Glenn the one thing I'd prayed he wouldn't demand from me today.
"Owcy!" he shouted.
Poor Glenn. But also, better Glenn than me.
"Michonne, where's Rick?" Hershel asked over Nugget's "Owcy! Owcy! Owcy!" chant.
That was a good question. Rick had certainly heard the entrances Gleggie and the Greenes had made, so I wasn't sure why he was still in hiding.
"He should be out soon," I let Hershel know.
I watched Gleggie and the Greenes look around at each other and give each other little nods of agreement. Then Glenn silenced Nugget's neverending chants by taking his new cap off his head. Nugget shot me a look of devastation that nearly broke my heart, but Glenn quickly sat Nugget down on his lap and handed him his cap. Once Nugget had his hands on it, all was right in his world again and we were owcy-free.
"So you're probably wonderin' what we're all doin' here," Annette said to me. "We could lie and say we're just droppin' off Rick's truck…"
"But we watched that video from Daryl, and we also talked to Birdie…" Beth said.
"And the rumors are flying…" Glenn said.
"And you never called me," Maggie huffed.
"So we're here for all the dirty details… or as many as you can spare," Hershel said with a lovable smile.
"And we're also here because we love Michonne, Rick and Carl and wanna support them in any way we can," Annette said to Hershel, lightly elbowing him in the side.
"Yes, that is true," he agreed, "but we're also very, very nosy people, Annie."
"Maggie was also really, really worried about you, Michonne," Glenn said to me.
Maggie was smoothing down Nugget's hair, avoiding eye contact with me.
"You know I don't hate you, Maggie. You know I would've called you if I wasn't so overwhelmed. There was just so much to take in."
"That's what she said," Beth said under her breath.
"Beth! Now's not the time for a 'that's what she said'," Annette scolded.
"I know," Maggie said to me, ignoring Beth and Annette. "I figured you were dealin' with stuff… thangs. I'm just in a mood."
"Because of Gleggie Jr.? Is your morning sickness getting worse?" I asked.
Beth laughed. "Maggie wishes it was mornin' sickness that has her actin' so salty! Now that she's been usin' her words, Glenn's helpin' her use safe words to get rid of her potty mouth before the baby comes."
Maggie glared at Beth, which only made Beth laugh louder. "She wants to tell me to shut up so bad right now, but she can't because 'shut up' isn't a safe word!"
Maggie looked at Glenn with the same devastated look Nugget had given me after Glenn took his cap.
"It's ok, Maggie," he said encouragingly. "Use your safe words."
She swallowed hard and looked at Beth. "Please… be… quiet," she whispered as if speaking each word pained her.
Beth laughed so hard she fell off the couch.
Maggie looked like she wanted to cry.
"Alright, Bethy. Leave your sister be," Hershel said, trying not to laugh. "Maggie, you're doing real good with your safe words."
"Yeah, Mag, safe words seem like a really good idea," I said supportively.
Her lower lip started to tremble.
I wasn't sure how much longer I could keep myself from laughing, so I turned away from Maggie to shut the front door. The familiar rumble of Daryl's motorcycle stopped me from closing it. I walked out onto the porch and watched as he pulled up and parked his bike.
"This shit's expensive," he grumbled on his way to the porch, holding up the baby formula.
I crossed my arms and blocked his path to the front door. When he was standing in front of me, I whisper-shouted, "You recorded me losing my shit?!"
"Huh?" he asked with a sorry excuse of a blank expression on his face.
"Don't 'huh?' me, Daryl Dixon. When were you planning on telling me?"
"Thought I did. Thought I sent the video to you," he answered with a nonchalant shrug.
I rolled my eyes. I hated that nonchalant shrug. Rick and Daryl had been driving me crazy with that simple little gesture since the fourth grade.
"Guess I musta told Rick and sent it to him," Daryl murmured. "Why don't you go ask him..."
I narrowed my eyes.
I didn't care for his tone.
Daryl shook his bangs from his eyes and smiled at me. "So you can look at his face…"
Goddamnit!
"That you really, really love."
I groan-screamed.
Rick and Daryl were the biggest gossips I'd ever met.
Move," Daryl said, easily pushing me aside and walking into the house.
He was greeted with a chorus of cheers, including Nugget's little voice shouting, "Dee!"
While Daryl greeted everyone, I envisioned what life would be like to have nongossipy, nonviolent, nondramatic friends who didn't make my eyes twitch or make me roll my eyes, or whisper-shout or groan-scream.
Instead of Maggie, maybe I'd have a Megan. Megan and I could go to the day spa without being asked to leave because Megan would never loudly complain about how low-class the spa was for not serving whiskey sours during deep tissue massages.
Megan would have a little sister named Bianca. Bianca would share random but interesting facts about pretty flowers and exotic plants rather than detailing the most effective ways to get out of handcuffs.
Instead of Daryl, maybe I'd have a David. David and I could go to a restaurant without being asked to leave because David wouldn't throw balled up napkins at me, initiating food fights.
Instead of Glenn, maybe I'd have a… well, I'd want to keep Glenn, but I'd fear for Megan's safety if Maggie found out about her, so instead of Glenn, I'd have Greg. Greg and I would go to Mama Mia's to hang out with Glenn.
My eyes drifted to the luggage on the curb, and I sighed.
Nongossipy, nonviolent, nondramatic friends definitely wouldn't help me set Fucking Lori Grimes's luggage on fire. They would probably judge me pretty harshly for even having the thought.
I sighed again, accepting my fate.
I was stuck with gossipy, violent, dramatic friends.
I could live with that.
"What's with the formula, man?" Glenn was asking Daryl when I walked back into the house.
"It's for the baby," Daryl told him.
I cringed as I closed the door. Daryl didn't know that Gleggie and the Greenes didn't know about Pumpkin, and now it was too late to warn him not to say anything.
"For Carl? Michonne, why's Carl drinkin' formula again?" Maggie asked.
"It's for the other baby," Daryl said, taking seat on the arm of the couch Annette and Hershel were sitting on. "'Chonne, where's Rick? And what did Lori do now?"
Damn! Damn! Shit! Fuck! Damn!
Before my thumb and index finger made it to the bridge of my nose, Gleggie and the Greenes were hurling questions at me at a nonstop, furious pace.
"What other baby?"… "There's another baby?"… "Whose baby?"… "What the fu—What the frick did Olive Oyl do?!"… "When are we lightin' her stuff on fire?"… "Is Rick ok?"… "Where the fu—Where the frick is she?"… "Did she do somethin' to Rick?"… "Where's Rick?"… "WHAT OTHER BABY?"
"This baby!" Rick shouted, silencing everyone as he walked into the room with Judith in his arms.
"Dadu!" Nugget shouted, happy to see his daddy.
Rick grinned at Nugget. "Hi, boss," he said, noticing Nugget's cap. "Hi, everyone," he said to everyone. "Hey," he said to me when he was standing beside me.
"Hey, stranger," I replied, smiling in relief. "Glad you could make it."
A new slew of questions was being hurled at us, but it sounded like background noise to me. I was more interested in finding out why Rick and Judith's outfits had changed. Rick was now wearing a black tshirt and she was now wearing a pink onesie with a sparkly crown on it.
"Hi, Pumpkin," I cooed.
I offered Judith my finger, which she grabbed hold of with her impossibly tiny hand. She was such a teeny little thing. Her hands were so much smaller than Nugget's were when he was her age.
"Sorry it took so long for us to come out," Rick said to me. "Right around the time Maggie was questionin' you about bein' in jail, Judy-pie spit up again. And once I got her cleaned up and changed, she needed a diaper change."
I laughed at the grimace on his face.
"Was it an old school, Carl-style diaper change?" I asked.
He slowly nodded with the grimace still fixed on his face. "S-H-I-T everywhere."
"Hey, Richonne! Pardon the interruption," Daryl said sarcastically, "but you wanna tell us what's goin' on? Or should we just sit here watchin' you two whisper and make googly eyes at each other? Cuz if we're doin' that, I want popcorn, extra butter."
Rick and I rolled our eyes in tandem at Daryl, but we really did need to fill everyone in on what was going on.
I looked at Rick and silently asked, "You ready to tell them?"
"Don't have much of a choice," he silently answered, "but I'm ready."
And then he winked at me.
He. Winked.
My inner teenage girl with a crush desperately wanted to pull Maggie into the bathroom, lock the door and squeal over the wink, but I stayed put and gave Rick a quick smile before we turned away from each other to face our family.
"Everyone, this is Judith," Rick began. "She's Lori's daughter, and Lori's claimin' she's also mine..."
I sat in the recliner in the living room, watching with tense anticipation as the Greenes made their determination.
"Look at that nose," Maggie commented while holding Judith up at eye level and studying her face. "No way is this baby Rick's."
Maggie handed Judith off to Beth, who was sitting to her right on the couch. Beth held Judith up at eye level, studied her face and turned her to the left and to the right.
"Look at those ears… This baby ain't Rick's."
Beth handed Judith off to Annette, who was sitting next to her. Annette held Judith up at eye level, studied her face and looked into her eyes.
"I remember that Walsh boy," she said. "She has his eyes. This baby isn't Rick's."
Annette handed Judith to Hershel, who was sitting next to her. Hershel cradled Judith in his arms and smiled at her when she yawned, stretched and reached up for his beard. She'd been fed her formula and burped before the Greenes started their examination, so she was a happy little camper in Hershel's arms.
"How certain is Rick that this is his daughter?" Hershel asked me.
"Not very. He sees the same things we do when he looks at her."
"So we should tell Rick when they come back in? End the maybe-baby daddy drama?" Maggie asked.
I shook my head. I had all the confirmation I needed, but Rick wouldn't want to entertain anymore speculation. He wasn't going to make any decisions about Judith until the DNA results confirmed things.
"This shit's fucked up!" we heard Daryl angrily shout.
He'd been ranting and raving in the backyard for the past thirty minutes while Rick and Glenn listened and tried to calm him down. I understood Daryl's anger, but since my Nugget was also outside with him, I needed him to tone it down. I was giving him one more profanity-filled outburst before I broke up their bro time therapy session and got my son.
"Is Daryl ok?" Beth asked with concern, looking out the living room window and watching him stalk back and forth.
Gleggie and the Greenes had never seen Daryl react in this way. He'd come close to showing this side of himself at the farm with Panty Man, but hothead moments were truly a rarity for him. Because Rick and I had lost our shit over the last few days, it was only a matter of time before the asshole trifecta of Fucking Lori Grimes, Panty Man and That Piece of Shit Shane made Daryl lose his.
After Rick and I explained to everyone what was going on, Gleggie and the Greenes were in an uproar. Daryl was quiet. There was a lot to process: Fucking Lori Grimes's claim that Judith was Rick's; Fucking Lori Grimes's suggestion that Rick move to Florida without Nugget; Rick kicking Fucking Lori Grimes out; That Piece of Shit Shane's phone call to me; That Piece of Shit Shane's plan to arrive in King County tomorrow; Rick scheduling a DNA test.
Daryl stayed quiet, and then he lost his shit. He was ready to jump on his bike and head to Florida so he could cross paths with That Piece of Shit Shane on the highway and kick his ass.
Rick and Glenn had to drag Daryl to the backyard, mostly to talk him down but also to separate him from the Greenes. As stunned as the Greenes were by Daryl's reaction, they would get on board with confronting That Piece of Shit Shane on the highway and roll out before we could stop them.
"Daryl will be fine," I reassured Beth. "He just needs a minute."
Only Rick and I fully understood the emotion behind Daryl's reaction. When we were younger, he had a hard time feeling comfortable around anyone other than me and Rick because of how he grew up. He started to become less guarded around other people in high school, but when he met That Piece of Shit Shane, he let his guard down completely. Daryl liked him. He hung out with Rick and That Piece of Shit Shane when I was in Italy. He trusted That Piece of Shit Shane enough to convince Rick to finally set up our first date.
It spoke volumes that Daryl thought he could be a part of our circle, so I knew it was regret that was eating away at him right now. In his mind, if he'd never let his guard down, That Piece of Shit Shane never would have had the chance to betray, disrespect or hurt Rick in the way that he had.
"Michonne, where the h-"
"Safe word!" Beth shouted, interrupting Maggie.
Maggie shot Beth a murderous look that Beth completely disregarded.
"Where... the heck… do you think... Olive Oyl... is?" Maggie asked through gritted teeth.
I shrugged and shook my head. "No clue. Rick says she hasn't called or come back for any of her things out on the curb. He has no idea where she went after he kicked her out, and he doesn't care."
"Well, it sounds to me like a door has closed and a new window has opened for Rick," Hershel said to me with a twinkle in his eyes.
I smiled but looked away from him when I felt myself start to blush. Thankfully, it was something I was easily able to hide. The Greenes would have a field day if they could see how pink my cheeks were.
God bless you, melanin.
"What?!" Beth blurted out. "Daddy, that doesn't make sense! Why would a window open when a door closes? Another door should open."
"Bethy, you would understand what I meant if you had paid attention to any of my sermons when you were growing up," he calmly told her.
"I did pay attention, but what you're sayin' doesn't make sense!"
"Then take that up with the Lord, Bethanne, and let me know what He says after you do," he replied in a soft, sing songy baby voice, smiling at Judith.
Clearly annoyed that she couldn't argue with the Lord, Beth sat back and seethed. "God could be a She," she grumbled.
Though the conversation appeared to be over, the charged silence in the room said otherwise.
"Bethy does have a point," Annette pointed out, keeping the conversation going. "Goin' from a door to a window just isn't the smartest thang to do. God's word is God's word and all, but if a window is the only thang that's openin', it's probably best to pick the lock on the door or make a new door yourself."
"You literally use a door to walk in and out of a room! Now you have to climb in and out of a window?" Beth questioned. "That's dumb."
"Beth," Hershel said, using his stern dad voice.
"But it is," she whined.
Maggie scoffed. "What's dumb is why anyone is even mentionin' doors and windows. I already came up with somethin' for Richonne. It's 'Sh-"
"Safe word!" Beth interrupted with a diabolical little grin.
Maggie shot her another murderous look that Beth once again disregarded.
"It's... 'Poo... or get off... the pot'," Maggie gritted out. "It sounds like… Rick's... ready to… poo."
Using safe words was really taking a toll on Maggie, so I scooted over in the recliner and patted the space next to me, inviting her to sit with me. It was going to be a tight fit, but that didn't deter Maggie. She jumped up from the couch and squeezed in, draping her legs across my lap and wrapping her arms around my shoulders.
"Nevermind toilets, doors and windows," Hershel said to me. "What matters is that whatever Rick's doing, we're glad he's doing it with you."
"That's true, Daddy," Maggie said, being suspiciously agreeable. Then she whispered in my ear, "Rick wants to shit with you."
Oh my God.
"We've been rooting for you two for some time," Annette said. "It's real good that somethin' is finally happenin'."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah... sunshine, and rainbows and unicorns, but what about Olive Oyl?" Beth asked. "We need to track her down! Won't she need to be there for the DNA test?"
"I don't know." I wasn't really sure how that process worked. "We'll have to give Dr. Cloyd a call tomorrow and find out."
"Don't you worry, Michonne. One way or another, I'll make sure you have her DNA," Maggie promised, resting her head against mine.
I didn't want to know what she meant by that, so I didn't ask.
"And what are we doin' about that Shane guy?" Beth asked.
We?
If the Greenes were planning on meeting That Piece of Shit Shane tomorrow, there were going to have to be restrictions in place. The first being that no more than two Greenes could be in attendance.
Everyone's attention turned to Glenn, Rick, and Daryl, who was carrying a very tired-looking Nugget, when they finally came back inside the house. Glenn took a seat next to Beth, while Rick and Daryl sat down on the loveseat across from the recliner.
When I was waving hello to my sleepy little boy, Maggie whispered in my ear, "Do you think Rick walks like that because he has a big Rick in his pants? I bet he does. Look at how he's sittin'."
I tried to shrug her arms off of me, but Maggie just held onto me tighter.
Oh my God!
I refused to look at how Rick was sitting. If I did, my eyes would search for the big Rick in his pants. I cleared my throat and focused on Daryl.
"Hey, crazy. You good?" I asked.
He gave a barely-there shoulder shrug and grunted. It wasn't a good grunt.
Fucking Lori Grimes.
That Piece of Shit Shane.
I hated how they had Daryl grunting like that. I hated how he was sulking over something he truly had no control over. I hated how Fucking Lori Grimes and That Piece of Shit Shane's selfish, disgusting behavior was bringing out the worst in us.
Maggie, who undoubtedly felt how tense I'd become, whispered in my ear, "Do we need to go light some shit on fire?"
I appreciated the offer.
She and I could easily excuse ourselves, get the lighter fluid, find some matches and sneak outside to light Fucking Lori Grimes's shit on fire, but Daryl needed me more than I needed to burn something, and I knew exactly what to tell him to put a smile on his face.
"Have you heard the rumors, D?" I asked.
"Oh my God!" Beth squealed. "They're the best! Me and Maggie popped up in one! Tag team champions of the world!"
"And they all end with Rick hulkin' out on Lori's SUV!" Maggie cheered.
Rick gave Daryl a look, which I noticed after quickly checking for the big Rick in his pants.
"What?" Daryl asked Rick, giving him a nonchalant shrug. "You said to come up with three rumors, so I came up with three rumors."
Wait, what?
"You made those up?" I asked Daryl.
"Mmhmm," he hummed with a proud smile. "I told 'em to Birdie. It only took her ten minutes to spread 'em for me."
Suddenly, the "dumbass, douchebag, asshole boyfriend" in the first rumor made perfect sense. That was such a Daryl thing to say.
"But why all the hulking out?" Glenn asked. "Rick kind of comes across as unstable."
Daryl smiled a little bigger. "That's on Rick. He said we needed to get a jump on the rumors. I did. He said he wanted to protect his lady's reputation. I did. By the way, you're welcome and you're welcome," he said to Rick and then to me.
And there he was... my smug, eyeroll-inducing Daryl.
But I was very happy to see him less agitated. And finding out that he'd started fake rumors at Rick's request was doing a number on my heart. Rick making himself look bad so that I didn't look bad was…
My heart beat faster and louder, creating a rhythm that had never before pulsed through my veins.
I swallowed hard.
This was much more intense than my inner teenage girl with a crush feelings, but I wasn't sure if I was ready to acknowledge what that intensity meant.
"I didn't… I wasn't… I never said she was my lady," Rick stammered.
"Might as well have," Daryl said, smirking.
When Rick's cheeks burned a very bright red, the Greenes pounced. Hershel, Annette, Maggie and Beth started making kissy faces at Rick. Even Nugget, the little traitor, reached out for his Dadu to give him kisses on his cheek. Rick took him from Daryl and accepted his kisses.
I thought I was in the clear of their ridicule until Maggie and Beth started singing, "Rick and Michonne sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in a baby carriage!"
The Greenes had a hearty laugh, and even Pumpkin, the little traitor, giggled along with them.
"But if you think about it, that song doesn't really work since the baby came first," Beth noted.
"And if you two get married before me and Glenn, I will murder you both," Maggie warned.
"Has there even been any kissin' yet?" Annette not so innocently asked.
"And kissin' only counts if there's tongue!" Beth clarified.
"Richonne hasn't done sh—anythang. When's the last time you even kissed anyone, Rick?" Maggie asked. "Like a year ago with Olive Oyl?"
Beth shuddered. "I can't believe you kissed that." Then she shuddered again. "I can't believe you married that. What was so awesome about Olive Oyl anyways? Can't be her sparklin' personality. And when I tackled her, all I felt were bones. Why were you with a crazy ass bag of bones, Rick?"
"Seriously," Maggie mumbled. "And why didn't you ever get with-"
"Alright, girls, that's enough," Hershel interrupted.
"But, Daddy," Beth whined. "We just wanna know why Rick never-"
"Girls, I've been on this earth for over sixty years," Hershel said softly. "I can honestly tell you that the whys and hows of love aren't some great, complex mystery. I fell in love for the first time at sixteen years old with your mother. And after she passed, God rest her soul, I was blessed to fall in love again with Annette. She's taken care of my heart for over twenty years, and it is my sincerest hope that she will continue to do so until the day this old ticker gives out..."
Hershel gazed at Annette with such love and adoration that I was nearly moved to tears.
"I've experienced the most gut-wrenching and the most breathtaking parts of love," he said. "Those experiences, my experiences with being in love, have taught me the same thing..."
We all listened intently, ready to soak up his words of wisdom.
"The love glove is a powerful thing."
The love... What?!
I was so mortified I almost pushed Maggie off my lap.
"Daddy!" Beth screamed in horror.
Maggie jumped up from my lap and put her hands on her hips. "Daddy, I swear to God, if you're talkin' about vaginas..."
Glenn's eyes bulged.
Daryl turned red.
Rick's jaw dropped.
"'Ginas!" Nugget shouted.
"Maybe we should talk about somethin' else, guys," Glenn suggested. "Literally anything else."
"Yes, Maggie, when I speak of the love glove, I speak of the vagina," Hershel said as if he wasn't mentally scarring us all.
"Daddy, stop!" Beth screamed, running out the room.
"Ew, Daddy!" Maggie said with disgust. "I will never, ever, ever, ever, ever forgive you for talkin' about vaginas!"
She held her hand out to Glenn and pulled him to the kitchen. It sounded like she headed straight for the pot of chili mac & cheese.
Annette whispered something in Hershel's ear, making his cheeks flush a rosy red, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Daryl, why don't we go check on Gleggie and Beth," she said as she got up.
"Yep." He jumped up and rushed out the room.
"Daryl," I called out before he could make his escape, "are you good? Not with the…" I trailed off, not wanting to repeat "love glove." None of us would ever be 100% ok after hearing that. "But are you good from earlier?"
Daryl looked beyond annoyed that I stopped him from leaving, but he managed a shrug and a grunt before hurrying out the room.
I smiled at Rick. That was a good grunt.
"I apologize for the love glove talk," Hershel said when it was just the three of us with Nugget and Pumpkin. "Rick, my girls were about to start demanding answers to questions I'm guessing you want to discuss privately with Michonne. So, I cleared the room for you."
Maggie and Beth did tend to be aggressively relentless when they wanted answers. There were only so many effective ways to get them to back down.
I quietly sighed to myself.
I'd never admit it to anyone ever, but Hershel talking about the love glove was a necessary evil.
"Michonne, why don't you sit next to Rick and Carl," Hershel requested. "I want to talk to the both of you."
"Ok," I said with a polite smile, warily getting out of the recliner. "Are we in trouble?" I silently asked Rick.
"I think we are," he silently answered. "What did you do?"
"Nothing!" I silently told him. "What did you do?"
"Nothing!" he silently told me when I sat down next to him.
"Muhmuh!" Nugget smiled and reached out for me.
I took him from Rick and held him close when he rested his head on my shoulder. After Hershel was done talking to or disciplining us, Rick and I would need to give the kids their baths and put them down for the night. It had been a long day for the both of them.
"I remember when my girls where this tiny. They were so delicate. So new," Hershel said quietly, looking down at Judith. "Children don't know it until they become parents themselves, but a child steals a parent's heart when they're born. They steal it with a blink or a smile or some other unassuming thing and think nothing of it when they do."
I smiled and gently rubbed the back of my little heart thief.
"But in them, we get the greatest miracle and joy of life," Hershel said, grinning. "It's a fair trade-off, I suppose."
He rocked Judith in his arms, but his soft voice had already lulled her to sleep.
"Rick... Michonne… you know you mean the world to me, Annette, the girls and Glenn. We will always be here for you when you need us."
"You all mean the world to us, too," I said sincerely.
"We can't imagine you not bein' a part of our family," Rick added.
Hershel's face lit up with an appreciative smile. "Thank you. Now, I can't imagine how stressful the last few days have been for you two, so I hope I'm not adding to that or overstepping my bounds when I say what I have to say."
Rick stretched his arm out on the back of the loveseat behind me, and I leaned into him, wanting to be closer before Hershel shared what was on his mind.
"After all of the anger, and drama and chaos dies down, I'd like you to remember something," he proposed. "Regardless of the DNA results or who's raising Judith, she's part of the miracle and joy of your lives now because she's Carl's sister… Rick, even if you're not this little girl's father, she will always be Carl's sister, and in a way, that makes her one of us."
I leaned away from Rick and sat up straight, feeling uncomfortable with where this conversation was going.
"You may want to tread lightly with Shane tomorrow, and also with Lori when you see her again," he continued. "At some point, the four of you are going to have to put aside your differences and work together for Carl and Judith's sake."
No.
The idea of working with Fucking Lori Grimes and That Piece of Shit Shane for any reason, even if the reason was for my Nugget, was out of the fucking question.
I shook my head and stood up. "I love you, Pop Pop, but I can't have this conversation. Rick, I'll be in the nursery getting Nugget ready for bed."
I left the living room with my eye on the verge of twitching.
I was kneeling beside the tub in the nursery's bathroom and watching Nugget babble to his rubber ducky when Rick knocked on the bathroom door with a sleeping Judith in his arms.
"Dadu!" Nugget shouted, holding his ducky up.
"What does a ducky say, Carl?" Rick asked, walking in. "It says, 'Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack!'"
Nugget giggled at his daddy's quacking and started babbling a mile a minute to his ducky again. With Judith still in his arms, Rick carefully eased himself down next to me and sat with his back against the tub.
"Hey," he said to me.
"Hey," I said softly, keeping my eyes on Nugget.
"Soooo..." he said after a beat, "I think we have to scrub 'love' and 'glove' from our vocabulary now."
I looked at him and laughed. "I think you might be right about that."
I was giving Nugget a little mohawk when Rick lightly bumped my shoulder with his.
"Michonne, it's ok to not be ok right now… It's ok to not wanna think about the thangs Hershel talked about. Honestly, I don't wanna think past what's happenin' right now. I don't. We have a house full of people who love us, Carl's havin' the best time with his ducky, Judy-pie's sound asleep, and you and me are here together. We don't have to have everythang else figured out just yet. We can still be not ok together, ok?"
I sighed and nodded. "Ok."
"Ok," he said. "Let's get these babies to bed and get rid of the house full of people we love and call it a night. Sound like a plan?"
"Sounds like a plan," I whispered, smiling.
I opened my eyes to the sounds of my family sleeping with one thought on my mind:
Fucking Lori Grimes.
That Piece of Shit Shane.
The thought had infiltrated my sleep and forced me awake, and judging by how dark the living room was, it had forced me awake entirely too early. I hugged my blanket around me and burrowed deeper into the loveseat.
Once upon a time, sleeping was one of my favorite things to do. But after waking up feeling angry or guilty or hungover or frustrated or distressed or anything but rested over the past few weeks, sleep was about to be added to my list. At least I could take comfort in knowing that those who I loved the most were sleeping easy.
Rick and I expected Daryl to stay the night, but when we thanked Gleggie and the Greenes for stopping by, they declared squatters' rights and refused to leave. We were touched that they wanted to stay and too tired to argue with four Greenes and a Rhee about leaving, so we ended up having a family sleepover.
Everyone agreed that Hershel and Annette would sleep in the guest room.
Beth called dibs on the recliner and then disappeared to take a call from Noah.
Rick decided to sleep in the living room because he wasn't sure if Fucking Lori Grimes had done anything in his bed that would require burning the sheets. I hadn't told him yet, but in the very near future he would be getting rid of that bed.
I wanted to be close to Rick but didn't want to ask him to sleep in my room in front of Gleggie and the Greenes. I decided to sleep in the living room as well.
Gleggie wanted to sleep in my room, but I didn't trust Maggie to keep things PG in my bed, so they were voluntold to sleep in the living room.
Daryl was planning to sleep in my room, but when Maggie was five minutes into a very impassioned speech about how unjust it was that she, a pregnant woman, wasn't able to sleep in a bed, he agreed to sleep in the living room to shut her up.
I sighed and wrapped my blanket around me tighter. I didn't want to go back to sleep because thoughts of Fucking Lori Grimes and That Piece of Shit Shane would probably just wake me up again. There was nothing to do except wait for the babies to wake up. I stared into the darkness of the room and listened to the sounds of everyone's slumber.
I heard Gleggie's in sync breathing coming from the couch. I heard Beth's buzzsaw snoring coming from the recliner. I heard Daryl's softer hum of a snore coming from the floor. I heard Rick's...
I didn't hear Rick.
I found my phone lodged between the cushions of the loveseat and turned on the flashlight. When I saw Rick's empty airbed, I got up and used my flashlight to walk to the nursery, thinking Rick may have been looking in on the babies. Nugget and Pumpkin were sleeping peacefully, but there was no sign of Rick. I walked past the guest room and past Rick's room to my room and flipped the light switch up. My room was empty. I flipped the light switch back down and walked to the front room.
That's where I found Rick. He was standing in the moonlight, staring out the window.
Wow.
Rick bathed in moonlight was breathtaking.
He didn't seem to notice that I entered the room until I set my phone down on an end table.
"Hey," I whispered.
"Hey," he whispered back.
Pulled by a magnetism I couldn't fight, I seemed to glide to him. But there was a troubled look on his face that I hadn't seen from across the room. Instinctively, I cupped his stubbled cheek. Rick closed his eyes and nuzzled his face against my palm.
"I still owe you," he whispered, slowly opening his eyes.
Wow.
Even in the moonlight, those blue eyes were just too damn gorgeous.
"What?" I asked, realizing he said something.
"I still owe you a massage," he whispered, turning his head slightly so that his lips brushed against my palm as he spoke.
My toes curled against the hardwood beneath my feet.
"Oh yeah," I breathed out. "You do."
Now was as good a time as any to collect on it.
My bedroom was empty...
Everyone was asleep...
But I couldn't sprint to my bedroom after seeing that troubled look on Rick's face, especially since I knew who caused it.
Fucking Lori Grimes.
That Piece of Shit Shane.
"You'll still owe me a massage tomorrow," I told him, lightly rubbing his cheek and pulling my hand away. "Why are you up so late? What's on your mind?"
"I… It's nuthin'."
I knew that he knew that I knew that wasn't true. "Are you worried about seeing Shane?" I asked.
He scoffed. "I wouldn't call it worried."
"Then what would you call it, Rick? What's wrong?"
He rubbed the bridge of his nose and shook his head.
I gently pulled his hand down from his face. "I know I haven't always been receptive when it comes to listening to you talk about Lori, but whatever you have to say, I'll listen."
His face hardened. "She cheated. She left. She hates Carl," he growled. "She wants me to raise a child that might not be mine. She threatened you with my bat! What's there to talk about, Michonne?"
Fucking Lori Grimes.
I fought the urge to get the lighter fluid, find some matches and head outside. Rick needed to get something off his chest. I put my hands on my hips.
"We're not going anywhere until you tell me what's wrong. If you want to stand here the rest of the night staring at each other, then we'll stand here the rest of the night staring at each other."
Rick ran his hand through his hair and sighed because of how serious I was.
"Michonne, I just… I keep thinkin' about if I did somethin' to push Lori away without realizin' it," he confessed. "Did I talk enough? Did I listen enough? Did I do enough? Was I there for her enough?"
"I don't understand. Are you blaming yourself for how things are? Do you regret how things are?" I asked, crossing my arms.
"No! That's not it, Michonne."
"Then what is it?" I asked, feeling myself growing frustrated. Despite his denial, it was sounding an awful lot like he was blaming himself and regretting things.
"If… if I did somethin' to push her away, I..."
"You what?"
"I wanna know so that I don't... so I don't..."
"So you don't what?" I asked, feeling my frustration rising.
"So I don't make those same mistakes with you," he said softly. "I'm thinkin' about every misstep I may have made because I don't wanna screw this up, Michonne. I don't wanna screw us up."
Oh.
"Oh," I whispered.
I stared into his anxious blue eyes while my heart beat in that special rhythm just for him.
"Rick," I said, placing my hands on his chest, "your marriage isn't over because of what you said or didn't say or because of what you did or didn't do. It's over because Lori is a whore, a liar and an exceptionally cruel person."
I took a step closer and slid my hands up to his shoulders.
"You are a good man, Rick Grimes. You have your flaws, but you are a good man. And I'm not her. I'm not Fucking Lori Grimes. I know you. I know your heart," I told him, wrapping my arms around his neck and gazing up at him. "You won't ever push me away. You can't. And I would never hurt you like she did, Rick. Never."
He let out the breath he'd been holding in and wrapped his arms around my waist. "Thank you," he said.
He tilted his head as his eyes roved over my face.
"You're so beautiful," he whispered. "So beautiful."
His words made my heart beam.
Rick Grimes thought I was beautiful.
I eyed his lips, still so perfectly pink in the moonlight, wanting nothing more than to taste them.
"Michonne," Rick whispered.
I tightened my arms around his neck and moved my lips closer to his.
"Michonne, wait," he said, pulling his head away from me. "We can't do this. This can't be it... This can't be our first kiss."
Huh?
"Thangs aren't settled yet, and you and me still need to talk."
Huh?
I truly had no idea what Rick was talking about.
"Lori's a whore and Shane's a piece of shit. That's settled. And we just talked," I said, staring at his lips and starting to feel a little frantic over not getting to taste them.
He gently pushed me away by my waist to create space between us, though my arms remained wrapped around his neck and his hands continued gripping my waist.
"I want everythang about our first kiss… your last first kiss, to be perfect, Michonne."
"Imperfection isn't a dealbreaker for me, Rick. And come on… 'I know you. I know your heart. You won't ever push me away'? That's perfect first kiss stuff," I argued.
"It was," he said, smiling bright, "but Lori's still a problem right now. I don't want her hangin' over our heads. I don't wanna be married to her when we kiss."
I felt a groan-scream building.
Fucking Lori Grimes.
"Stop poutin', sweetheart," Rick whispered softly.
I was about to deny that I was pouting, but I saw the way he was looking at my pouting lips.
I poked my bottom lip out just a little more.
"Michonne," he breathed out huskily, digging his fingers into my waist.
"You two ok in here?" Daryl's gravelly voice asked from out of nowhere.
I nodded without looking at him.
"Yeah," Rick answered, not tearing his eyes from my pouting lips.
"Jesus. Get a room, assholes," he grumbled. "But I'm takin' your room, 'Chonne. Beth sounds like a goddamn lawnmower and Maggie has gas. Smells like a barn in there," he continued grumbling. "Chili mac & cheese is banned from my house."
I didn't think about what he said until my bedroom door was being closed and locked.
Wait…
"Maggie has gas! And he just stole our bed!" I whisper-shouted, dropping my arms from around Rick's neck.
"And he's bannin' chili mac & cheese!" Rick whisper-shouted, giving my waist a squeeze before dropping his hands. "What an uh-sole."
I rolled my eyes. If Maggie's gas didn't kill our first kiss, then his use of "uh-sole" absolutely did.
"Let that word go, Rick. Please," I begged, grabbing his hand and walking back to the living room.
"It's a good word," he whispered.
"It's not a good word," I whispered back.
"It'll catch on," he whispered.
"It's not catching on," I whispered back.
When we were in the living room, I cracked a window and Rick lit a candle. He tried to wake Beth up get her to stop snoring, but that just made her snore louder.
"I can kick Daryl outta your bed if you wanna sleep in it," he said, tucking me in when I was back on the loveseat.
I scoffed. "I can kick Daryl out of my bed if I want to sleep in it."
"I know, I know... but I like protectin' you," he said softly.
I smiled at him, very much liking that he liked protecting me.
"You do realize you'll have to dress up as the Hulk this Halloween, don't you?" I asked.
"Yeeaaaah, I know," he said with a sigh. "But maybe you can dress up as Black Widow… wear one of those tight-"
"Don't let Marvel be the thing that breaks us up before we even get started, Rick. You know I'm a DC girl," I grumbled, turning my back on him.
"That's right. You're my Bat Girl," he teased.
I groaned and pulled my blanket over my head.
"Goodnight, Michonne," Rick said, pulling the blanket back to kiss the top of my head.
"Goodnight, Rick," I whispered, grinning.
A/N: Thank you for reading! Please take the time to leave a review. It's appreciated!