KK: Yeah, it was a journey. I'll bring it up in flashbacks. You're in luck because Rick's reaction is in this chapter.

Kam: That was my favorite thing about season four. Michonne becoming a mother figure. When she made it back to them Rick/Michonne/Carl were forever a family in my eyes. Gabriel's reaction to Rick is partially in this chapter.

Thank you for reviewing!

Chapter Three: Friends

Rick was surprised when Carl offered to show him around the Safe Zone. He was very proud of the way his son turned out. He was hardworking, strong, and brave. Everyone who found out that Carl was his son was eager to tell Rick how much Carl helped their harvests or that he was the first to arrive for his shift at the fence and the last to leave. The praise that had him proudest was that Carl taught some of the children how to defend themselves despite their height. He was surviving and helping others. He remembered that was something he tried to teach to him before they became separated. Carl was becoming an honest man. What more could he want?

In honesty, Rick already knew all the areas of the Safe Zone. Before he and Daryl could sleep, they had to know their surroundings. He knew rotations, population, and everything that was in the armory. He wasn't going to deny Carl though. Carl scarfed down his breakfast and ran to get ready. Rick looked at Michonne who was sitting across from him and smiled.

"Am I dreaming?"

"Want me to pinch you?"

"Nah, 'cause if this is a dream. I don't wanna wake up." Michonne chuckled and went back to her breakfast. "I thought he hated me."

"No, Carl never hated you. Funny thing is he was scared that you hated him." Rick looked at her confusedly. "He was scared you wouldn't come looking for us because of how disrespectful he was to you."

Rick sat back and let that process. The amount of time it took to find them probably validated that insecurity in Carl. He would make sure that he spent more time with his kids. He found that he had a lot more time on his hands now that he wasn't the leader. He was very content being just a father. He wouldn't mind fulfilling the title as husband again; he'd love more kids. He smiled at the image of Michonne round with his child, her touching his face with love like she did when they reunited. Rick would always love Michonne for what she did for him and his kids. She was perfect by his side. She was the only woman he could tell anything; she was also the only woman he didn't have to tell anything to. They were so in sync that nonverbal communication was second nature. She was still angry, but he knew that would take time to heal. He didn't care; he was determined to have her.

Michonne started clearing the table. She moved leisurely; he doubted she had work because of it. "What are you gonna do today?"

"I still haven't seen Glenn and Maggie. Tara... It's been a while."

Rick nodded. "They'd like that."

Carl came back, dressed and still excited. "You ready, dad?"

"Yeah, course."

"Good. Michonne, I'm working until dinnertime today." She nodded. The Grimes men left for Carl's tour. "Actually I'll take you to meet my friends first. They're mostly cool, but I have to warn you, Chenelle is a little odd. She lives with Gabriel, do you remember him?"

"Not really," Rick admitted. Befor he could say more they were already at her door. The barking of a large dog could be heard through the door. Rick was surprised. There weren't that many pets since the turn. He knew Tyreese had one, this made the total numbers of pet dogs he'd seen since the turn become two.

A short teenage girl opened the door with a knife in her hand. Rick lowered his eyes. He was instantly ready to shoot. Her eyes didn't even meet theirs before she put her weapon away. "Hey Carl!" She said with a high pitch. Rick knew immediately that she had a crush on the younger Grimes. The girl never met their eyes; her face contorted with mistrust. "Who is this?"

"This is my dad. Chenelle-dad, dad-Chenelle." Carl gave her a brief introduction. "Hunter here?" She shook her head no. Chenelle's gaze wouldn't leave Rick's person. She analyzed him, but was too intimidated to meet his eyes. Her dog sensed her nervousness and started growling. "Relax Chenelle. Don't take it to heart dad. She's always been shy around people."

"Meeting you didn't make it any better Carl. Can you blame me for being scared of your dad too."

Carl put his arm around Chenelle laughing. She gazed at him in clear adoration that Carl missed and Rick could see. "When me, Michonne, Gabriel and Judith were out there we broke into her house."

"They robbed me a gunpoint!" Chenelle started laughing, albeit still nervously. "I thought you were going to blow my brains out Carl!"

"Smythe was about to attack us. I was going to shoot him, but she started bawling. She begged us not to hurt him and even promised to leave her house. That's when we knew she was alone." He smiled at her. "But not anymore"

"My sister was in college in Asheville when this started. Mom and my step-dad went to Fayetteville for supplies. It's just been me and Smythe for years." Rick had empathy for her. He'd lost his family many times. There was nothing worse than the unknown. It took him years to find Carl. Maybe her family was still out there. He hoped they were. Maybe she would be to look people in the eyes again. She read his mind. "Maybe I'll see them again. I love Father, but I miss them so much." A pale boy got Chenelle's attention despite her tears. They instantly dried. "I'm running late; Dr. Anderson is gonna have a fit. I have to go. So umm..." Chenelle to Sam Anderson before following him to the Anderson home. She didn't even bother locking her door. There was no need. Her dog followed her everywhere and would alert her if she had an intruder. Carl locked the door for her anyway.

They continued the tour of the Safe Zone. This was very satisfying. Rick was spending time with his son. He was also getting to know about some of the people in the Safe Zone. Any information was helpful.

"Enid, Mikey, and Ron are in school. I think Hunter might be on recon. You'll know him if you've seen him. He played football in high school, but he's not as big as Tyreese. He uses a bow and arrow, not quite like Daryl, but it was enough for me to be comfortable around him when we met. He can use any weapon though. Unlike others our age."

"I'm glad to see you have good friends." Rick nudged him. "I think Chenelle likes you."

"Come on dad. It's not like that. She's like to me what Michonne is to you." Rick was silent. Carl looked at his father. "Wait... You like Michonne?!"

"Can you keep a secret?" Rick asked playfully. Carl nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, I do." Carl's eyes lit up, but then the shine died. "What?" Rick turned around to see what Carl was looking at. Gabriel and Michonne were walking together. They were way too chummy to be friends. Rick stared for an unnatural amount of time. He didn't even notice Carl's attempts to get his attention. Eventually he swallowed his rage and asked the question. The man looked familar, but he couldn't put his finger on it. "Who's that?"

"That's Gabriel, Chenelle's adoptive father. Remember him? He was the priest from the church... before we seperated."

Now it was quiet and awkward. Things were no longer perfect. Rick's mind raced. It was all his fault!

Meanwhile...

Michonne was leaving Glenn and Maggie's new place when she ran into Gabriel. He gave her a large smile and waited for her to join him. Michonne didn't try to sneak away like she had done previously. A lot happened since she'd last seen him. She'd missed the simplicity of him. There were no secrets or walls between them. "I just got the day's rations before my shift. Would you like to walk home with me?" Michonne didn't answer directly, but walked with him. "I've never seen you welcome the new neighbors before. You're usually very wary." Gabriel didn't greet new neighbors either. Experiences made him wary of strangers. The first people he met after the turn, Rick's group, slaughtered people in his church. The rest weren't better.

"It was Glenn and Maggie." Gabriel didn't remember those names. The only one he truly remembered from her group was Rick. He was the children's father and a very scary man. He could remember Rick's threat like it was yesterday. Michonne could see he wasn't recollecting. "Rick, everyone's back."

"That's fantastic! I know Carl and Judy are ecstatic."

Michonne held Gabriel's rations while he opened the door. "Yeah, Carl's showing Rick around the Safe Zone."

"I hope he's able to show Rick around before curfew." Gabriel said thinking Rick was housed elsewhere.

Michonne shrugged. "Rick's staying with us."

"What?" Gabriel's happiness faded. Why would Rick stay in their unit. There were only two bedrooms in that house. He didn't want to ask where Rick slept. "Why would Douglass do that? How could he do that?! He's new. You have children!"

"Rick's children." Gabriel felt stupid for that statement. Michonne helped put Gabriel's rations away. She didn't want to think about Rick. They had a lot of unfinished business; there were things between Rick and Michonne unsaid. She needed a distraction. Michonne blocked Gabriel's reach for the cabinet. "I didn't come over here to talk about Rick" Michonne knew Gabriel couldn't resist her especially because Chenelle wasn't there. She slid her hands down his pants. He was certainly blessed. She hoped he had a condom. She'd never rely on pulling out again.

Gabriel tensed when he felt Michonne kiss his neck. "Michonne..." He groaned. He hadn't had her pleasure in months. The possibility of being pregnant put that to a screeching halt. As enraptured as he was that Michonne wanted to find comfort in him again, he was tired of being incomplete. He pulled Michonne's hands out his pants and kissed her quickly. "I don't think we should. Rain check?" Michonne folded her arms before turning her back to Gabriel. She left his place and headed home. Gabriel buttoned his pants and headed to the gardens. He began to regret making that rain check. As he walked to the gardens he started to remember the chemistry between the ringleader and samurai. They were living together again. Something in Gabriel's gut knew Rick would gladly cash his rain check in.

Michonne unlocked the door and saw Rick sitting on the couch with Judith. "Chonne!" Michonne sat next to them as Judith gave Michonne her teddy bear to voice.

Rick watched them. It didn't take him long to notice the bear had a deep southern drawl. He couldn't place it even though it sounded familiar. He loved the sound of Judith's laughter. Michonne was a great mom. Andre was truly blessed to have her before he died. Rick was lucky to have her now. 'Do you have her' he thought to himself? Rick was eerily calm. He didn't want to unleash his anger. Gabriel and Michonne? What sick person could imagine that? Rick was doing everything he could to keep his emotions in check as he asked, "You and Gabriel."

Michonne looked at Rick. She knew what he was asking, somewhat demanding from her. Michonne gave Judith her teddy and matched Rick's gaze. "Yes?"

"Is that somethan'? Or..."

"Yeah. Something."

Rick grunted and didn't say anything to her. He didn't look her way for hours. Michonne let him be. She didn't owe Rick an explanation and he wasn't going to control her life. She didn't understand why he was so mad. His anger was so strong that even Judith noticed it. Michonne took Judith in the kitchen with her as she fixed dinner. Rick followed her. He silently watched as she made dinner. There was an argument brewing. Michonne was pleased that he wasn't going to do it in front of the kids.

Carl returned before curfew and they had dinner. Carl noticed the tension between his father and Michonne. Rick was looking at her almost as if she stole something. "Guys, what's going on?"

"Don't worry about it, Carl." Michonne said, giving Rick a glare of her own. She didn't like that his attitude got Carl's attention. He didn't need to be a part of Rick's hissy-fit.

"But-"

"Enough!" Michonne said cutting the teen off. Carl was always inquisitive. She didn't want to concern him with their arguments. This was a grown-up matter. Michonne continued eating, but didn't stop staring at Rick. She didn't think Rick blinked. "How was your day?"

"It was fine..." Carl felt awkward. He hated what was going on. He hated not knowing more. "I took dad to the wall, garden, and let him meet my friends."

"That's good..."

Carl took one more bite, but his appetite was gone. "I don't know what's going on, but I'm going to take Judy and go to bed early."

"Close your door," Rick said ominously.

That was the first thing Rick said in hours. Carl looked at Michonne fearfully. He'd never feared his father before that moment; now he was scared for Michonne. Why did Rick want the door closed? Michonne glared at Rick before following Carl and Judith to their room. Michonne put Judith in her bed and gave Carl access to her portable CD player. She told him not to worry about anything and to make sure his sister got to sleep. She closed their door and wasted no time storming back to Rick. "What was that?" She seethed.

"We have thangs we need to discuss-"

"I don't owe you anything."

"See, that's where you're wrong. You're raising my kids, Michonne. I have a right to know who they're around."

Michonne let out an outraged scoff. "He was obviously good enough for you to leave us with him in Georgia!"

"I know what I did!" Rick threw his hands up. "I know! I'm sorry, Michonne. I made the wrong call."

"Well, it's not your call now."

"I trust you, Michonne." Rick got closer. "I don't trust him. I've never trusted him."

"You should have just stayed put! Then none of this would have happened. You have no idea what hell we went through to stay alive!"

"I went through hell too!" He growled. "I was out there for for damn near three years. Looking for you! I never stopped looking. We never stopped looking!"

"Why couldn't you have just waited!" Michonne asked that question many times. Had Rick just waited one week, they would have had enough firepower to take out those arsonist. Carol and Beth would have probably still been alive for another week.

"I did what was best. For the group! You, you think I wanted to leave my son, my baby, my best friend behind?! I did what was necessary to keep everyone alive. Everyone! I'm not going to apologize to you anymore for leavin' because I had to!"

Michonne rolled her eyes. "'Course you won't."

"I damn sure won't." He got in her face. "My mistake was letting Glenn and Maggie chase after that fucking lie. My mistake was not killin' every single officer in Grady. I was not wrong in going to Atlanta! I was not wrong for leaving you with my kids."

"Fine! Let the past stay in the past. Things are different now. You are not my leader." Rick flinched. "You are not my best friend." She looked at him with disgust only fueled by the anger she felt. "And you are most certainly not my man." Michonne pushed passed him. Rick grabbed her arm. Michonne reached for the sword that wasn't on her back, she pulled from his grip. "Don't you touch me!" Her pointer almost stabbed Rick's nose. Rick thought about the time when they first met. "Don't you ever-"

Rick pulled her into his chest and kissed her. Michonne pushed him off and gathered her breath. Her dark eyes burrowed into his. His heavy breaths hit her face. Michonne tried to pull away. Rick still had her pressed against him. She felt good. The strength in her body did not change the softness of her breasts. Just as he could feel her, she could feel how sculpted he was, built from his time outside civilization. She was still angry with him. She still had unresolved issues with his decision to go to Atlanta and his assertion into her personal life, but she couldn't deny that Rick got under her skin. She wished she could hate him. Rick put his lips back on hers. After a while, Michonne kissed him back. She opened her mouth and let his tongue inside. After all, she had an itch to scratch. He held the back of her head and pushed their faces closer, devouring her. He'd wanted to taste her for years. Michonne put her hands through his curls and rolled her tongue around his. Michonne felt herself stirring; she wanted him badly. She couldn't help the moans that escaped her throat. She rubbed against his growing hardness, Rick moaned in her mouth and let the hand free from her dreads travel lower. He grabbed her ass and picked her up. He pressed her against the wall. Michonne wrapped her legs around Rick. She was applauding herself that she had the foresight to give Carl the portable CD player. She wouldn't be able to explain how she was in this compromising position.

Rick kissed her lips, the outside of her mouth and neck. He let go of her body and ripped the shirt she was wearing down the middle. Rick tried to do the same with her bra, but after failing he settle with lifting it over her head. Her locs fell down her face and shoulders. Rick sucked her neck and kissed her flesh downward until he reached her nipple. Rick opened and took it in his mouth. He lapped at the dark ripples until they hardened. Michonne was too restricted to play with him in return; Rick was also feeling too restricted. He wanted all of her and soon. He picked her up by her waist and carried her to bed.

Michonne flipped Rick on his back and started sucking and biting his neck. Rick unbuttoned his jeans and rubbed himself against her pants. Michonne knew he wanted to be inside her now. She wanted it too. She'd been curious for years. "Next time, I won't be so rough," Rick announced. She froze, starting to have doubts about this heat fueled tryst. She snapped back to her surroundings when Rick grabbed her throat. Without any gentleness, he forced Michonne on her back and slid his hand in her jeans. Rick glided down her panties into her moistened curls. He stuck a calloused finger into her folds and felt her sex. She was so wet it didn't cause discomfort.

"Damn it, Rick..." She was in ecstasy already. Rick started sucking her breasts again as he fingered her. The pressure and movement was causing her to twitch. She was surprised both at her submissiveness. She was usually the one to take control. Pleasure shot through her spine, surprised she'd gotten off with so little. She found herself trying to get on top. Rick made her stay put. Michonne was again surprised at the dominance. She didn't like it. She hated that she was dough in his hands. She hated that he had such a command over her body. This also reminded her that neither of them had a condom. "stop..." Michonne said in more of a moan than request. Feeling Rick pull her jeans further down made her gather her wits. "Rick, stop."

Stop wasn't the word Rick was expecting to hear, but there was no doubt that she meant it. He let go of her breast and took his hands of her pants. He hovered above her. He looked at her, trying to read her. Rick was sure he was making her feel good. His manhood was throbbing. He wanted nothing more than to bury himself inside her and fuck her until she could only scream. Michonne pulled up her pants and looked at his penis. Rick wasn't as big as Gabriel, but Michonne could tell he had more stamina. She doubted Rick would ever give her a rain check. Michonne slipped through his arms, turned and went back underneath him. She was on her hands and knees. Her butt was in his face. "God, 'Chonne." He knew what she was about to do. He hadn't had a blow job since Carl was Judith's age. Rick sat back so he could watch.

"Just to be clear, this changes nothing." Michonne said, cupping his balls. She prepared to give him the sucking of a lifetime; after all she wanted to even the score. She put her mouth on the tip when he grew limp. She looked at Rick with disappointment and confusion.

"What'd you say to me?"

Michonne sat up. What was it with these men wanting all or nothing? Her arousal was definitely gone. She rolled her eyes. "You should go back to the couch."

"Yeah I will." Rick took off his shirt and threw it on the spot he'd occupied. Michonne scoffed at his weird attempt to be both chivalrous and an asshole; she ignored the shirt and went to her room.

"Ain't that a bitch..." Daryl said lighting his Morley.

Rick leaned on the car Daryl was stripping. He didn't give Daryl specific details of last night; be he said enough. "I couldn't even touch her after that."

"Just let her cool off." Daryl didn't know what else to say. He thought Michonne would be as in love as Rick was. Daryl missed the old days. They made a great trio. It seemed natural that now that they were settled, Rick and Michonne would settle together and raise their kids. They were parenting Rick's kids. They lived under the same roof. They had obvious attractions. It was simple to Daryl.

Rick stared into the distance. "I essentially matched them. I should have known."

"You gon' take care of 'em?" Rick always destroyed threats to his family.

"Nah. It'd just make her hate me more."

Meanwhile...

"You didn't have to say that though." Michonne rolled her eyes at Rosita. She didn't spare the details when recounting her fight and rendezvous with Rick. "You have more self control than I do."

"Shoulda stopped it when it started..."

"You like Gabriel that much?"

"...there's something."

Rosita gave her a look of disbelief and judgement. "Enough to turn down Rick Grimes?"

Michonne looked at her friend suspiciously. Why was she emphasis Rick in such a way. "What's wrong with Gabriel?"

"Heh, you really do like him."

"Not as much as Gabriel would like, but not as little as Rick thinks." Michonne leaned on Rosita's couch. "Gabriel proposed to me the other day."

Rosita noticed Michonne wasn't wearing a ring. Even in the turn, it was common for engagements. "Did you say no because of Rick?"

"No. Rick hadn't even arrived when he did that." Michonne started to pry in Rosita's love life. "So how are you and Abraham?"

Rosita frowned. "I just have to face it that all he wants is sex." She sighed. "I put myself out there, I never felt this way about anyone before. I wish it was just a lust thing, but all I can see is the good in him. I hate it." Rosita threw a pillow at Michonne. "I sitting here pregnant and heartbroken while you have two men are begging to be with you. I should fight you."

Michonne got quiet. She smirked evilly at Rosita. "Daryl is back. He seems like the forever type."

Rosita grimaced "He'd have to wash his hair before I'd even considered talking to him like that." Michonne laughed.

Michonne thought about her situation. Gabriel was exaggerating what they have. Rick was exaggerating what they had. She didn't make it any better by messing with them. She needed to continue her celibacy. Her attraction to them was distracting her from what she had to do. She need to answer Gabriel's proposal. She needed to set boundaries with Rick. It was time for her to stop avoiding them.

(A/N) Size doesn't equal skill and stamina. Michonne was originally speaking to Sasha, but I thought Rosita matched better.

Next Chapter: Gabriel and Rick talk.