Reunion

Summary: After the prison falls, Rick and Carl are reunited with Michonne. Can they rebuild their lives together?

….

Chapter 1 – It's For You

Rick and Carl sat side by side on the floor leaning against the ratty couch. The house was a mess. That and the broken lock clearly indicated it had already been ransacked at least once or twice already, though it was impossible to know how recently.

"There was some more food," Carl said, "but I ate it."

"Oh," Rick said.

Carl was a little worried that he might be reproached for this admission. He really should have brought it back to share, but he'd hardly been in the state of mind to do that.

"What was it?" Rick asked.

Even after everything that had happened to them, even when Carl was hurt and angry, he never lied to his dad, and for that Rick was incredibly grateful. He'd really meant it when he told Carl that he was proud of him.

"A hundred twenty ounces of chocolate pudding," Carl said with a slight smile.

Rick considered that for a moment then nodded approvingly, "Good."

"I found some cereal and something that looks like rice puffs," Carl held up the plastic bag in his hand.

Together they munched on the stale cereal flakes, passing a water bottle between them. Softened with a sip of water, the crumbly flakes were barely edible.

A loud knock at the door nearly made Rick jump out of his skin. Startled, they both jumped to their feet, guns in hands.

Rick couldn't remember the last time he'd heard the sound of someone knocking on a door. It probably hadn't happened since before the world had changed. He moved painfully to the door and peeked through the peephole.

He could make out a familiar face smiling back at him through the fuzzy peephole. Relief fell on him like a surprise downpour. He fell back on the couch laughing in disbelief.

"What?" Carl asked, now becoming seriously concerned that his dad had lost his mind for good this time.

"It's for you," Rick answered, nodding towards the door.

Carl frowned in puzzlement. Why couldn't adults ever give a straight answer? He stepped over and pushed aside a ragged curtain from the window beside the door.

"Ohh! Michonne!" he yelled out in joy, banging on the window.

"Dad! She's alive!" he yelled, throwing his arms around his dad's neck.

"Well go let her in," Rick said, smiling.

Carl banged on the window again, calling, "Hold on! I'll come around the side to get you, okay?"

He ran through the house to the kitchen and threw open the door, racing along the wrap-around porch to the front of the house. He barely slowed down before wrapping his arms tightly around Michonne.

"I thought you were dead…" he cried in relief.

Michonne squeezed her eyes shut and hugged him back, resting her chin on top of his head, momentarily overwhelmed. It'd been so long since anyone had hugged her. Michonne felt something click into place in her heart.

Finally Carl pulled back and wiped his eyes with his sleeve, asking, "How did you get out? I saw you down there by the…by the tank. How did you find us?"

He didn't really want to think about what happened back at the prison, didn't want to look back, but couldn't help asking everything all at once.

"After I got loose and helped you dad up, there were walkers all over," Michonne retold a much abbreviated version of the events in question, "When I turned around again he was gone and I couldn't see anybody."

"Eventually I saw your footprints on the dirt trail and here you are," she concluded with a smile.

"Are you okay, Carl?" she asked in a softer voice, her smile giving way to concern.

He nodded, hoping she wouldn't ask any further.

"I'm okay, but my dad's pretty beat up," his voice came out quieter than he wanted. He glanced up and down the street, ostensibly to check for walkers, before the moment became too heavy.

"Come on, let's go inside," Carl said, leading the way back around the house.

Back inside, Rick stood awkwardly attempting to keep most of his weight off his injured leg.

"Boy, am I glad to see you," he told Michonne warmly, resting his hand on her shoulder.

She nodded, "You too, Rick."

Moving on impulse, Michonne stepped closer and hugged Rick, draping her arms around his neck.

"Oh," Rick said, eyes widening in surprise at his second unexpected hug of the day.

Thinking she'd made a mistake, Michonne started to backtrack but then Rick's reflexes kicked in and he hugged her back. The closeness felt good.

After a moment, Michonne pulled back and for the first time got a good look at him. His face was red in places and badly swollen.

"Are you in pain?" she asked, knowing the answer but wanting to gauge how bad it was.

"Absolutely," Rick replied, not quite smiling.

"I got punched, you know," he drawled, pointing vaguely to his face, "right here."

"Yes, I know," Michonne said, nodding, "I was there."

"I was shot too," Rick said. Now he was outright bantering with Michonne and Carl was smirking, but he didn't care. "Grazed my leg, right here."

Michonne bent to check his makeshift bandage. She'd have to find something better later.

"Hey, now we match," she teased, "I was shot almost the same place, remember, that very first day I found the prison."

"I remember," Rick said, sitting back down on the couch, wincing involuntarily at the movement.

Carl looked up at Michonne and asked, "Have you eaten?"

She shook her head no. Suddenly she realized how empty her stomach was. She hadn't eaten more than a few handfuls of berries since well before she and Hershal were kidnapped.

"Here, we've got a couple things of cereal," Carl said as he rummaged for the stash, "This sugary one is alright."

"Thank you," Michonne gratefully took a bag and the two sat on the floor to eat.

"Maybe tomorrow we can go look for more," Carl was saying.

"Mhmm," Michonne agreed around a mouthful of some very crunchy Fruit Loops.

Rick slowly laid himself back down on the couch, stretching his legs out carefully. The adrenalin of the sudden reunion was rapidly giving way to exhaustion.

'The first day I saw the prison, you could have left me where I fell out there, surrounded by walkers, but you saved my life,' Michonne thought as she watched Rick fall asleep, 'Then I saved your life on the last day I saw the prison. It was far too little, much too late…'

She looked at Carl and Rick. They were the closest thing to a family that she'd had in a very long time.

'But maybe, if the three of us can stay together, maybe it's enough.'

…

TBC!