Author's Note: I never imagined it would be nearly two months before updating again. I was looking forward to writing this chapter, so excited about finding out the deal with Andre, but I had horrific writer's block. HORRIFIC! I had a big assignment at work, it was stressful, so maybe that played a role, and then last week I broke my ankle. I guess the injury broke the block, because I was finally able to get this chapter done after dribs and drabs for weeks and weeks and weeks.

Thank you, readers, for hanging in there. I appreciate your support and your thoughts.

Michonne left the bathroom with Rick and dropped onto the bed. A continuous loop of the last time she saw her first-born son kept playing in her mind. Andre was oblivious to the crazy going on around them. His sweet smile and peals of laughter had brought a welcome respite to the steady tension that hung in the air. Of course he knew things were different, gone was his perfect room and his favorite toys, replaced with an extended camping trip and lots of the quiet game at a moment's notice, but he was still happy. Even being a little stuffy from the remnants of a cold, he had remained energetic and joyous. Andre and his joy had been her motivation. A future for him, better, safer, had gotten her up every day.

Then, to her horror, her motivation was gone.

There was so much darkness for so long, and then along came Rick, Carl, and Judith and the blessing of their precious RJ. Throughout her wins and losses in this crazy new world, Andre was always with her, more since RJ's birth. Her boys didn't really look like her. They tended to take after their fathers, but she also noted her father in them. She saw Andre in his little brother, and now she could really be seeing Andre. He was happy the last time she saw him. Favoring her with his sweet hugs and kisses. "I love you, Mommy," she could still hear him saying. Would he be happy to see her again?

Rick loosened the towel and slipped one of his T-shirts over Michonne's head. "I'm sorry the shower didn't help," he said, untucking her damp hair from inside the shirt and sitting next to her on the bed, adjusting the towel around his waist.

"No, it did," Michonne answered, appreciative of Rick's care and concern. She remembered feeling water jets, but had no recollection of walking into the shower. Rick was there holding her, bathing her, and assuring her that everything would be okay. She believed that coming from him, but she honestly didn't know how. "My scattered thoughts are more collected."

"But you're still crying." He brushed away her tears. "You almost fainted right after you told me the picture was of Andre. It scared the hell outta me."

Michonne pressed a kiss to his palm. "I'm sorry," she said, now remembering how she got to the shower.

"You don't have to apologize. I just want you okay."

"I know." Michonne walked over to the couch and picked up the presentation book, staring at the picture. It was as if time froze. The picture had to have been taken soon after Andre was snatched away. He looked exactly the same. "This is…" She sat, trailing her finger across the picture, sniffling. "It's a lot."

"Hey, hey." Rick joined her on the couch, draping a comforting arm around her shoulders. "This news is a shock, but it's a miracle, too."

"You don't think I'm crazy?"

"What?" With a shake of his head, Rick pressed a kiss to her forehead, and held her against his chest. "Nah," he said. "Not at all."

"I feel like I'm losing my mind." Michonne released a shuddering breath. Her heart ached from the grief she'd endured and for all the lost years, yet it felt full and warm at the same time in rejoicing of the miracles she'd received today. Finding Rick, making love to him again, and then learning her son was alive was all the things she wanted and one big thing she never dared to imagine. If she wasn't wide awake, she would swear she was dreaming. "Here I am with you and Andre could be…"

"Not could be, Michonne. Is. Danny is Andre. I know it because you do. Your reaction to that picture was all the proof I needed, but I have more, because the boy in that photo is the young man I've known for eight years. In hindsight, it makes so much sense. I love Danny, and I felt close to him from the beginning, and that's because we both love you so much."

"Does he love me?"

"You don't need to question that."

"I do. I didn't know he was alive. I couldn't accept your death when I saw what I saw. But my son, my little peanut..." She covered her face in her hands, weeping. "I feel so guilty."

"No, no." Rick pulled her hands away and wiped her tears. "Don't do this to yourself. If anyone should feel guilty it's me. I have done to other mothers and fathers what was done to you. More often than not, I led those parents to their death. I still feel a lot of things about what I've done, but you've helped me with the guilt, because even if I had said no, the fates of those people were already sealed. The only fates I could control was that of my loved ones. I had to see people as obstacles keeping me from my family. As terrible as doing that made me feel, you wouldn't be here with me and reuniting with Andre if I hadn't." He pressed his lips to her forehead. "This is the light in the darkness, Michonne. The years we've lost and the things I've done have to mean something."

"It means what it has always meant. When it comes to your family, to protecting the people you love, there is nothing you won't do. No line you won't cross. I discovered that a long time ago, and I wouldn't change that about you. It's why I love you so much and I resented the hell out of Mike for not being that for Andre and me. You not fighting for your family is like expecting water not to be wet. It's impossible, which makes guilt unnecessary. Being who you are, Pride didn't give you any choice in the torment you've endured. You're not cruel, Rick, you're determined." She raked the curls at his temples. "It's because of you that I'm this close to having Andre back. If he doesn't hate me." She shook her head, sighing. "I don't want him to hate me."

"He won't hate you, and you don't need to feel any guilt. You told me what happened that day. You went on a run and when you got back the fences were down, Mike and Terry were high and bitten, and Andre was gone. He had just turned three years old. A baby. There was nothing left and there was blood everywhere. What else could you think? It was like the prison with Judith. It was the world we lived in, being out there. You didn't do anything wrong, and you don't have to doubt Andre's feelings for you. You are his mother. He loves you. The CRM destroying the camp and taking him couldn't take that love away."

"How about his love for Pride? He loves him, doesn't he?" The discomfort on Rick's face spoke volumes. Michonne shook her head. "I don't understand. What made him get so close to you if Pride was good to him?"

"You, Michonne." Rick brushed his knuckles against her cheek. "Yes, he loves Pride. For Andre, he's the father that chose him. But you were always in my heart, and that connected Andre and me. I'm his father, too, because the little boy I met and watched grow into an incredible young man, who I loved like my own, is my own. He came from you, and what's yours is mine. He is mine."

"You watched him grow? So, those years you were relocated…?"

"Pride showed up with him a few days later. My whole time overseas, we were together. I saw him almost every day."

Michonne nodded. "That makes me happy. That you were there. It's comforting." She glanced at the picture, wondering about the experiences of the boy in this picture. "Was there a woman, a nurturing female in his life?"

"Pride had a revolving door of women, but the closest thing to a constant mother figure for Danny was the housekeeper. She traveled with him. The grandmotherly type. She died a couple of years ago."

"Hmm," she said with a nod, her gaze still locked on the photo. "Danny? What is that? Andre knew his name, did Pride change it?"

"Him or someone else, I don't know." Rick held her hands. "I know you have a lot of questions, so do I, but I think we can find out some things if we read whatever this project is. Understandably, you've been focused on this picture, but he told me this assignment was personal. With this picture involved, it could likely provide some answers or maybe more. He didn't let Pride read this."

"You think Andre suspects something?"

"Maybe. He knows he's adopted, but there's only one way to find out anything more." Rick removed the picture and handed it to Michonne. "You hold on to this, and I'll read on." A few minutes later, Rick spoke the last handwritten sentence. "Okay, what do you think?"

"'When it comes to the battle between your head and your heart, there is not always a victor.' He's conflicted," Michonne said, upon reciting the final line of the presentation. "There's something on his mind and has been for a while."

"I think he suspects the connection we have, and the wondering is becoming too much. He wants confirmation, but is afraid of what the truth means."

"I'm afraid, too." Michonne started pacing. Her tears refreshed. "If we tell him…"

"When we tell him," Rick said, leaving the couch and standing before her. "He needs to know."

"Then what?" She stared at the picture and whimpered, thinking of all the things that could go wrong when the truth was revealed to Andre. "What if this news angers him? He could hate me, resent me, and not want to leave, but I can't leave without him."

Rick cupped her cheeks. The pads of his thumb brushed her tears. "Hey, you won't. We won't. He's our son, Michonne, and when he gets back here, we're going to tell him, and then the three of us are getting the hell outta here and home to RJ and Judith. This is the last day I'm spending in this place. Pride has taken enough from us. He's not taking another damn thing."

"Andre's head and heart conflict is real. He loves Pride, and getting out of here is going to be more complicated because of that."

"Not necessarily. You being here makes it better, because I don't have to worry about the threat with Jadis dead. I have way more freedom now. Judith and RJ are safe, and you're with me. When we take on a situation together, we're unstoppable. Pride is a monster, you're not. Mother love is powerful. We are getting out of here with Andre."

"There might be something more to improve our odds." Michonne took Rick's hand and moved back to the couch. She set the picture on her lap. "I got a bit sidetracked telling you how I got here, and then the whole shock of Andre, but I had some help."

"Help?"

"Jadis wasn't alone when I found her, but I didn't know that until the soldier that was with her came out after my sword plowed through her chest. He heard our entire conversation and thanked me for killing her. He said Jadis had been terrorizing and threatening his community for years. He knew I was desperate to find you, so he provided directions to the clearing, shared what to do when the helicopter flew over, and promised assistance from at least one soldier to help us get out."

"You have a connect with a soldier here?"

"No, I don't. Riley, the man I met, does. I found your letter in Delaware, soon after I left Eden. I was watering Millie and looked down to see that bottle, and I just knew it was a sign. You mentioned Jadis and New Jersey, and a few months later, I found her near the border of Pennsylvania. Riley was here when you beat Jadis, they'd been here a couple of months by then, but after your encounter with her, they were immediately sent to Pennsylvania where she was tended to for a bit, and then they were on to more recruiting missions. Jadis had recruited Riley, but he only went with her to help destroy the CRM from within. He's a part of a larger group, a secret society of individuals at nearly every level of the organization, trying to end the reign of the CRM and its plans for the world. He didn't share many details of what the CRM was doing, because he knew I wanted to infiltrate, and not knowing would be better for me and for his connects if anything was to go sideways. If caught, I couldn't provide information if I didn't have any."

"That was smart."

"Riley provided generalities, but you've shared way more details about the CRM. He did say that Pride was a charming demon." A humorless laugh rumbled in Michonne's throat. "My son loves and calls a charming demon his father. Along with many lives he's taken, destroyed, or held hostage for years, Pride has a hankering for destroying bridges. Riley told me my travels would be difficult, and he shared locations for shelters and helpful communities, but it took months to find a way to cross over into New Jersey."

"But you did it."

Michonne raked the curls at the base of his neck. "I was determined to get to you, and I've done that," she said with a kiss. Her gaze drifted to the picture. "Now, I need to get to Andre and…"

"Hey." Rick lifted her chin, turning her gaze to his. "We will," he said, handing her the picture. "I didn't think there was a soul here who shared my way of thinking. Did Riley explain the exit strategy?"

"He said he would get my description down the pipeline. If I found you they would know, and within twenty-four hours someone would make contact."

"If more than twenty-four hours passed?"

Michonne shrugged. "I knew getting out would be harder than getting in, but I also knew if I got in I would find you, and together we would find a way. Just like we always do."

"Damn right," Rick said with a kiss. "This will be the ultimate fight, and looks like it'll just be us."

"I'm ready." Michonne sighed, she didn't want to think about the struggle they might have getting Andre to leave, but he couldn't stay, and she and Rick would do whatever it took to get him out. She glanced at the picture and then back at Rick. "What's the plan?"

"I've had something in the works for years. It was very detailed and involved all the placed I'd been, but "Danny," he said with air quotes, "was the only person here that I trusted, and I couldn't tell him for obvious reasons, so I couldn't make the plan work without the extra piece. You being here changes everything." Rick hustled over to the small dresser and pulled on a pair of blue jeans and returned with a small stack of folded sheets that included a map of the base. "This is what I have in mind."

Over the next couple of hours, Rick detailed his original strategy and together they deconstructed that plan into a new two-man battle plan with backup scenarios for any possible obstacles they could encounter. With the plan in place, they finished getting dressed and waited for Andre to return.

The closer the time grew to seven the more anxious Michonne became. Her fingers tapped against her leg as she paced the small room. Glancing from the picture to the door, she wondered how Andre would react. Would he look at her and know, say she's lying and run out, or would it be something in between? She couldn't take it if he denied her or he offered resistance and a desire to stay with this crazy man who took him from her and kept Rick away from her and their family for eight years.

"Michonne." Rick's arm curled around her waist, halting her pacing. He turned her toward him, stroking her cheek.

"You're going to say I shouldn't worry." She buried her face in his chest, sighing. "I'm trying, Rick, I am, but I can't help it. It's been so long and you say he loves this man. I'm so…" A knock on the door interrupted her words. Her heart raced. "That's him."

"It's going to be okay." He kissed her softly. "I promise."

Rick made his way to the door while she stepped into the bathroom, out of the sightlines, and waited.

"How did the tutoring go?" Rick asked.

"Easy for me, not so much for my tutees, but productive," Andre answered. "Did you read it?"

"I did. Come on in, I want to talk to you about it."

The moment the door closed, Michonne thought to come out, but she decided to wait a little longer. She wanted to listen to Andre speak. It felt strange how she didn't notice before, but he sounded like Mike.

"Rick, before you say whatever you want to say, can I ask you something?" said Andre. "Something that's kinda been bugging me."

"You know you can ask me anything. What is it?"

"Was someone here when I dropped by earlier? A woman?"

"Yes," Rick answered.

"You did her, didn't you? I could tell."

Rick cleared his throat. "You could - - You could tell?" he stammered as Michonne died a death of mortification, having a flashback of when Carl and their friends found her and Rick coming out of his bedroom getting dressed after their first time together.

"From your behavior and because I'm not an idiot, yes. I can't lie. I'm disappointed."

"Why are you disappointed that I slept with someone?"

"Because for all these years all you did was talk about your wife. How much you loved her and missed her and your daughter. What would you say when I asked why you never looked twice at another woman when there was ass for the taking?"

"I hate when you talk like Pride."

"You would say, 'She might think I'm dead, but I know I'm not, and I won't betray my wife.' That was admirable, and today it changed. You hooked up with some rando chick. So, yeah, I'm disappointed. I don't know why I'm disappointed. I wish I wasn't, it's not my business, but I am."

There was no stopping Michonne's smile after hearing his reasoning. He had to know on some level. Maybe he wasn't completely cognizant of it, but he had a feeling about something because he was defending her honor. Her son was defending her and it made her feel wonderful and hopeful.

"I think you do know why you're disappointed," Rick said.

"You're a man. My dad says men have needs. I guess you went too long without your needs being met. I have my own needs, and a good handful of girls waiting to fulfill them, but you're the one always telling me I should wait until I'm in love. That I'm too young and shouldn't let hormones dictate something so important. Hmph. Hormones," Andre grumbled. "What did you want to tell me?"

"You don't have to be disappointed in me."

"Look, you don't owe me an explanation, Rick. Who you do is your business. I shouldn't have said anything. What did you think of the paper?"

"I think you have questions, and now is the time you started getting some answers."

Receiving an unexpected but perfect cue, Michonne stepped into the room and her heart skipped a beat. Standing a few feet away was a younger version of her father. Andre sounded like Mike, and being as tall as Rick and still growing he would have his dad's height, but he looked like his grandfather. New tears flowed fast and furiously. He was so handsome. So beautiful. Present and alive.

Her Andre.

It took every ounce of her strength not to run to him with open arms and never let go. But she couldn't do that. She had to wait. She had to see his reaction.

"This is who I was with today," Rick said, making his way to her side and pressing a kiss to her temple. He wrapped his arm around her, stroking her back, giving her the support she desperately needed. "This is who I will be with forever. My wife. My Michonne."

Piercing brown eyes held hers, watching, staring. The quiet moments that passed seemed like an eternity, but then Michonne noticed something in his eyes that erased every fear and worry she had since seeing that picture hours earlier: familiarity. "Mommy."

~Thanks for reading.~

More to come!