KK: You're right they do need therapy. A physician and psychiatrist would be blessings for them right now. You'll see what happens as a result of the coup.

Kam: It took me forever, but we will finally see what happened as a result of last chapter.

guest Guest: I know. I'm really ashamed at how long it took for me to update.

ttgranger: Thank you for such and amazing review. It has given me so much insight. At first I was going to make Michonne actively ignore what she knows about Rick and Jeffrey, but she reflects on it again in this chapter and her status in his life. This clearly bothers her so maybe they should talk about it. It's hard to determine whether Michonne should trust more or keep herself guarded. I am beyond thrilled that you see Rick's disconnect with his promise not to hurt her and to make her happy. I'm flattered that you said I kept Rick's brutality consistent. I agree with your analysis on Rick. I wonder what you could find out if Rick were to go to therapy.

Chapter Eight: Ten to Two

Michonne lay awake in bed with Rick's arms tight around her waist. She looked at the ceiling and thought about her current status. She was the wife of a dictator. Neither titles were over-exaggerations. Rick had Alexandria watched and locked. He had eyes everywhere. Sasha was in the tower. Daryl and Tara were on two different roofs. They were visibly armed, the same as Chenelle, Carol, and Glenn who were in three different quadrants. All the Alexandrians were accounted for. They noticed the looks people were giving them. They could hear the whispers; they could feel the aura of disapproval. It didn't matter to Rick. Nobody fell out of line. It shouldn't have surprised Michonne that Rick seized power. It wasn't the first time he'd done this. This time bred uncertainty. There was no Hershel to keep them in check or to ease Rick's mind. Rick's mind needed easing. Just as her eyes were on the ceiling, his were on her. This fascination, his obsession with her seemed to grow more now that they were having sex. She continued having sex with him mainly to keep it that way. She'd knew the moment she reunited with Rick that he was off; the last week showed her more into his insanity. She didn't know whether to call it robotic or animalistic. He didn't sleep for the first two and a half days of his coup. He had his allies patrolling rigidly; those he knew, but didn't side with him were treated like strangers. He occasionally allowed Carl and Michonne to patrol, but it was noticeably less. He wanted them home and he wanted them close.

"You're clingy."

"I wasn't always able to do this. I like knowing it's real."

Michonne spread her legs and pulled Rick on top of her. "Is this real enough for you?"

Rick grew hard instantly. He eased into Michonne and groaned. She was still slick from their first rendezvous. Her sex seemed to caress him. His worries were temporarily forgotten. He could barely pull out; he only did because of her wishes. He put his face in her hair. He was relaxed, content. He felt more at ease now that he ever had in Alexandria. He wondered if she was happy too. He looked her in her eyes unable to read her. He pulled her close. He could feel her heart beating against his chest. "Sometimes this feels like fantasy."

"Make it count."

Michonne couldn't help but think about Andrea. Andrea was so naïve to the Woodbury and the governor; she should have killed him. Many people could possibly be alive if she had. The similarities of her current situation and Andrea's wasn't lost on her, but she didn't think they were exactly the same. Michonne could see Rick for the man he was when Andrea refused to see the Governor's true self. Michonne knew Rick was dangerous, deadly, even to her if it came to it. She hadn't forgotten Tara's story about the death of Jeffrey Grimes. It was such a savage death. At first, Michonne ignored the story of Jeffery. He was a rapist and chalked it up to Rick taking out a threat. She talked herself into think that she didn't have to think about the how. She wished that she had paid more attention, maybe she could have predicted this coup. She wondered what would happen if someone stepped out of line. He might think one bad apple spoils the bunch and kill all of the Alexandrians. This had to end.

Michonne rubbed the goosebumps from her arms and covered herself for warmth. Michonne pulled away and sat up. Rick pushed his brown curls out of his sweaty face. She looked at Rick. It seemed almost unfair that he was so attractive. How many times had she fantasized about being with him? She should have added sanity in those details. She was sure he craved her even more than she wanted him. She could see him slowly becoming aroused again with slight twitches of his dick. She stopped looking below and looked Rick in the eyes. "This needs to stop."

Rick's eyes grew dark. Was she breaking up with him? "What needs to stop?"

"This hold you have on Alexandria. You know this has to stop."

"There's no other way. Those people... They're weak. I can't leave my family around people like that. It's a liability. I'm doing this for you, for our kids. There's no other way."

"This isn't sustainable. Your guards need to live. This routine only allows them to eat and sleep. And if there are more of the weak ones than us. They could rise up against you." Michonne continued before Rick got the idea of killing them. "There's strength in numbers. We could make them stronger. Before you got here they didn't even carry weapons or have the ration policy. A few walkers came through the gates when it was left open one day. Two people died and things I said was taken seriously. Changes were made. You could have just talked to them."

Rick thought about that for a moment. He could understand the logic of her words. Fear would only last so long. He couldn't imagine how bad they were before if this was the improved version. What he didn't understand was how nothing was done about Pete if they were so understanding. Rick suddenly realized something. Michonne must have never suggested anything to punish Pete. "..."

"What?" Rick looked at her with disgust and disbelief.

He searched her face for the truth. "Did you know?"

Michonne didn't back down. Without shame, she replied, "yes."

"Michonne."

"He was the only doctor."

"So that allowed him to do what he wants? He could have killed his family." His head tilted. "You're not the kind of person to just let that stand. You were the same woman who exposed Woodbury." Michonne rolled her eyes, dismissing the conversation. "What happened to you?"

Michonne laughed. "I know that's hard to picture because you've never seen her starve; you've never seen her face swell from ant bites; and you've never seen her gasp for air when she has an asthma attack!"

"..."

"You could see her ribs when we got here. She needed medical attention, not a haircut. So no, I didn't care what happened to Jessie, Ron, or Sam. Only me and mine." Before he could protest she cut him off. "I was attacked by a wild pack of dogs. My wounds kept reopening. The ones Gabriel stitched filled with pus and got worse. It needed surgery. Guess who did it?" She forced Rick to look at her. "You must like Jessie a lot. Otherwise you would see it from my perspective."

"Are you saying I shouldn't have shot him?"

"He hurt one of mine; so yes, he had to go. Chenelle's been through enough. I truly thought she was just a nurse, patching up Jessie and the kids." Michonne leaned back onto the bed. "She can't be your guard. She's going to have to step up in his absence. After what we did to her father, do you see her agreeing?" Rick thought about it. He burnt a bridge with the closest thing to a doctor. "There are other territories: Ezekiel's Kingdom and Hilltop. Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll have extra doctors."

"..."

"If you don't let the town go, I'll fight you for control. I'm not going to make Andrea's mistake."

"Do you love me, Michonne?"

"...maybe, but in the same way you love me. To the extent that I won't let anything happen to you, but I can take you down if I have to." They both tensed. "End this Rick."

"I never imagined thangs getting to this. Seizing a town. The kids on lockdown. You." Rick rubbed his face. He met her eyes again, but for the first time in a while he understood what was behind her eyes. She was serious about killing him if necessary. She wasn't the Michonne he envisioned. "I don't know you. I did everythang to get you, get you to be mine, but I don't know you. I don't even know your last name."

"...if we end this, I'll tell you. Shit, I'll tell you anything. We can make this work, all of it."

Rick cupped her face. "I do love you, Michonne."

He must have felt something; she'd threatened him and was still alive. She knew it wasn't love. It was possession, but she could use whatever feelings he had to her advantage. Also, she couldn't say she felt nothing for him. She wanted him around more than gone. They had potential. It would never be what it was, but it could be something. "My last name is Anthony."

Michonne arranged a meeting between the Monroes and Rick. At first, she wasn't comfortable with him going alone, but he let her know that he had Sasha in the tower just in case things didn't go well. Unbeknownst them, he also had Maggie watching Sasha. Rick ran his hands through her locs. "Go home," Rick told her calmly. "Everyth'en will be fine." Michonne frowned. She didn't know what either party had planned on for each other. She trusted Sasha though. Against her better judgement, she left. When she got home Daryl filled Michonne and Carl on the secret weapons around Alexandria and their plans for an escape or massacre should Rick die. Michonne didn't react, but nothing would make her leave Alexandria. She found herself again out of sync with Rick.

Meanwhile...

Rick sat and watched the four Monroes suspiciously. He could tell they were trying to be careful with their words. Deanna cleared her throat. "When your group came here they were dirty. They were malnourished, dehydrated, sick, and they didn't trust us enough to even sleep in separate houses. It was a mess, they all carried weapons frightened everyone honestly. And when your Michonne passed out from infection we all felt like we knew more than them, until Spencer left the gate open. Meredith Vaughn and her sister Tracey died in front of all of us. They turned. The only people who could actually act were your group. I'd never seen anything like it. Tyreese and his hammer, Michonne and that sword, Carl, Sasha, Smythe and Chenelle, everyone from the outside was amazing. Michonne and Abraham straightened us out. We aren't as oblivious. That group brought ideas for securing Alexandria and it's worked."

Reg interjected, "What Deanna's trying to say is that you could have talked to us. You didn't even try like Michonne and Abraham. You just acted."

"And while you're painting us to be bad people, your family knew too and did nothing about it." Douglass mentions. Rick's nose flared, but he sat back with his chin resting on balled fists. "Or did you not know."

Rick had already made his peace with that. It wasn't the bomb Douglass thought would drop. Rick was beginning to wonder why he was doing this. "You all talk a lot for people who have no options."

"No options! Michonne-"

"Leave her out of this. She came to my aid, not yours. She had her sword at your neck, not mine. If you all want to continue pussyfootin' around, I'll leave and life will return the way it has been since I've taken over."

"How dare you!" Regina said, outraged. "You call this life?!"

Rick tilted his head and glared at her. "I've been to places that use women as breeding stock. I've been lured to places run by cannibals. I could have been a slaver and worked you to death. I could have burned this shit down. I could have executed every last Alexandrian and used your bodies as camouflage. You're lucky it was me."

"Luck? I wouldn't go that far..., but we can't fight you." Deanna leaned back in her seat. The look on Rick's face sent a bolt of caution through her body. She should have been more careful. She shouldn't have let such a dangerous man inside the walls. In her mind, there was no way a man who's been through the things Rick went through could function in society. "How do we compromise?"

"Our groups won't accept the other as leader. Not without force, no. So we'll share it."

"Or-"

"I'll slit your throat right here and now if you interrupt me one more goddamn time, Monroe." The four of them became silent. Rick leaned back. " And I've been doin' a lot of thankin'. And I see that death isn't always going to be the solution. Not for everythang." He looked up at Reg. "So you'll make a prison."

"...That's actually a good idea."

"We need better surveillance. We've been in and out the walls, raiding the armory, and commissary since we've arrived. Replace Olivia with Tara, or at least keep her fulltime. And everyone will leave the wall eventually. We're as strong as our weakest link. It makes no sense that upteen people have to protect almost a hundred. Lastly, more communication with the other communities. Your allies should have sniped me. Closeness with them will make us stronger."

The Monroes nodded. Deanna stuck her hand out in sign of a truce. "I can see why you were the leader, Rick." Rick didn't share her sentiments. When the Counsel of Alexandria left, the community was gathered outside the door. Michonne was right again; he WAS outnumbered. Perhaps they were there to overthrow him if he didn't give up. Deanna calmed the crowd. Everyone was buzzing and asking what was going on. However Deanna had a solution. "We've reached an agreement. Our sheriff warned us we lacked proper defense. And though it was NOT the proper way to show it, we've agreed to accept the changes. And his addition to the Counsel."

Everyone muttered under their breath. Michonne looked at Rick. Her face was stoic, but her mind was racing. She didn't know how the five of them would be able to work together; she felt like they were plotting against each other.

"So we were a social experiment?! I was terrified!" "What are you people saying?!"

"You can't be serious!" "He's a monster!" "No!"

"Watch your mouth!" "Fuck you!"

"Maybe it was worth it. I don't ever want to experience that again."

"Stop it!" Rick stared at everyone. "We're going to make this work."

"Oh so now we're compromising?" Aiden yelled out.

Carl advanced on him, but Michonne stopped him. "Fuck you, Aiden!"

"No, let him say it. If y'all need to hear it, fine... I was wrong for killing Pete. I'll," Rick motioned the Monroes. "We'll be better leaders from now on. Starting now, I'm doing the right thing, instead of the easy thing." There were murmurs. "We're better than our emotions; we're better than our rage and fury, our anger and hatred. We're civilized people. If we lose that, if we ever go back to how it was before, kill to survive, all that, that's when all this starts to fall apart." Everyone looked at him. Justifications for killing Pete organically began to blossom. "No more executions, no more exile. We're going to establish, rules, a prison, and then we're going to live."

After Rick's speech, the new leaders of Alexandria were met with handshakes, tears, and hugs. The crowd dispersed and went to their jobs or homes. Douglass begrudgingly held his hand out for Rick. "I look forward to working with you, Grimes."

"You too, Monroe."

Rick walked to Michonne and Carl. He rubbed Carl's hair and held Michonne's hand. Carl looked at it and felt confused. He knew his dad liked Michonne, but he didn't think that Michonne liked him back. He couldn't ask her. She constantly told him to stay out grown folks business. Perhaps, he supported it, if she was happy. It was odd he viewed his father with the same indifference he had for Gabriel when he and Michonne were romantically involved. Overall, he couldn't believe today's events. He assumed there would be a fight. If it were the other way around there would be. "I can't believe that worked. We held the town for days. How'd they forgive everything after a speech?"

"That's not unbelievable," Michonne replied. "People have turned a blind eye to a lot of things because of a few words." Michonne thought about the corruption of the American and international governments; she even thought of the small scale of people who take back cheaters and abusers after they promise to change. "Always watch action, not words."

"She's right." Rick stopped walking and grabbed Carl. "Do you remember what I told you back at that church?" Carl's eyes were still wide from surprise. He nodded yes. "It's true more now than ever. You are not safe."

The Grimes went home. Only Judith slept.

Next Chapter: With a shocking Grimes pregnancy, Rick decides to go back to Grady to recruit the only doctor he knows.