Mothers Know Best (Chapter 1)

Michonne entered the courtroom well before 9 am. As lead attorney at the Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney's office, she wanted to support her protégé, Brian, at his first official court hearing. She took him under her wing, so to speak, only a month after he was hired and the mentorship flourished from there. She knows he will do well, but wanted to be there for encouragement all the same.

She smiles as she notices Brian already seated at the prosecutor's table, studiously perusing his documents. Preparedness. Yes, I have taught him well. She thinks to herself. The courtroom door opens again and she looks back curiously as she moves to take a seat on the first row behind Brian. She falters slightly as her eyes connect with the bluest eyes she has ever seen. The officer removes his hat, but not before tipping it to her in greeting. She nods in return as he and another officer walk into the courtroom and take a seat.

She quickly faces forward as she realizes she may be staring. She reaches to tap Brian on the shoulder, alerting him to her presence. She can tell he is engrossed in the case, as he should be, so she doesn't engage him in any conversation as she does not want to distract him. She sits back against the bench and turns slightly to the side as she searches her purse for her cell phone to check any messages before the proceedings are underway. Slyly, she takes a glance to the rear of the courtroom and is immediately connected with those blue eyes again. She looks away, pressing in the code to unlock her phone. Was he staring at me? Hmm….tan and brown uniforms. Sheriff's Department. Haven't seen him before, though.

Several inmates with police officer escorts are now filing into the courtroom. She is thankful that Brian's hearing will be first as it looks like this is going to be a long day in court with the number of inmates she is detecting. She sends a couple of work related emails, then puts her phone away as she prepares to give her full attention to the hearing.

The two officers from the Sheriff's Department get up to confer with a couple of police officers who escorted the inmates inside. She is so engrossed in checking out the one with the blue eyes that she almost misses the commotion. An inmate in an orange jumpsuit takes one of the officers by surprise, grabbing his gun from the holster. Several officers rush him but not before he gets a succession of rounds off. She sits in total shock as a bullet flies right through the bench by her arm, splintering the wood. She immediately ducks down, praying that this nightmare will end. She notices Brian underneath the prosecutor's table and is thankful that he wasn't injured.

"Miss, are you alright?" She looks up to see those blue eyes again.

"I…..I think so," she tells him.

"Come on. Let's get you out of here." He offers her his hand and she takes it, allowing him to pull her up from the bench.

She grabs her purse and looks behind her to see Brian following them.

The officer leads her to a bench in the lobby and goes back in to help others. She and Brian sit there for a moment, trying to process what just happened. In all of her courtroom days, she has never had an experience like that. It has made her nervous, especially having a bullet fly right by her. At that moment, all she wants to do is go home, but she understands protocol. All courtroom visitors, attendants, staff, officers, inmates…everyone has to be accounted for and they will probably have to give witness statements.

Moments later, everyone is lead outside to the sidewalk in front of the courthouse to ensure safety and for an investigation team to come in. It makes for an extremely long day as other police personnel, media, and curious onlookers mill about. All court proceedings are canceled for the day.

Michonne and Brian talk shop just to kill the time. She is laughing at a joke he has made about their boss when the blue eyed officer makes his way over to them.

"Hi. Just wanted to check and make sure you're ok. Both of you." He looks from Michonne to Brian.

"Thank you. We're fine. And thank you for helping me in there. I think I was a little shocked and couldn't even think about moving right then," she informs him.

"Understood. No one was expecting that. I'm just glad we were able to subdue him pretty quickly," the officer returns.

"Yes, thank goodness," Brian joins the conversation and engages the officer as Michonne listens. She kind of tunes them out as she peruses the officer, noting that his sheriff emblem reads King's County. You have got to be kidding me. He's from King's County. Who is this?

"Umm…sorry to interrupt. I couldn't help but notice you're from King's County. You mind telling me your name?" She asks the officer.

He turns to her with a slight smile. "Grimes. Officer Rick Grimes."

Michonne stares at him. "As in Ms. Gladys' Rick?"

"How do you know my mom?" Rick asks.

"Ms. Mae is my mom," Michonne answers.

"You're Ms. Mae's Mimi?" he asks incredulously.

"Michonne actually."

"Wow! It's nice to meet you. I knew Ms. Mae had a daughter, but I never knew you were this…I mean, I didn't know who you were," Rick corrects himself quickly.

"They're going to be pretty surprised to hear we've met," Michonne responds.

Later that night, Michonne is seated in a bar with Officer Grimes, his partner, Officer Walsh, Brian, and a couple of APD officers. Officer Walsh or Shane as he has told everyone to call him insisted on Michonne and Brian joining them once he found out Michonne was Ms. Mae's daughter.

"I can't tell you how many times I've had your mom's cooking. Her and Ms. Gladys are always bringing us stuff, but I never knew about you. I mean, I knew she had a daughter that lived in the city, but man, you are something else," Shane reveals as he eyes Michonne. "How come you never visit home?"

Michonne shifts a little uncomfortably under Shane's scrutiny. "Well, I stay pretty busy, plus Mom and Dad normally drive up here to see me. I guess it's been at least 3 years since I've been home."

"Well, girl, you need to change that. I know your folks want to see you and now that you got me and Rick here as your new friends….well, we'd have a good time in King's County. Oh, you can come, too, Brian," Shane includes.

Brian smirks into his drink. "Thanks….I think." He can feel Michonne nudge him with her knee and he tries not to laugh as he takes a sip.

"So, the inmate with the gun was originally charged with a murder and now he has another felony under his belt? How ingenious of him," Michonne attempts to change the subject.

"Yeah, I don't understand what he was thinking. He had to know he wasn't getting out of that courtroom," Rick inputs.

They continue to discuss the courtroom scene and what actually brought Rick and Shane to Atlanta and soon decide to call it a night. While Shane is distracted by a buxom blonde, Rick walks Michonne to her car. They part ways with Brian after bidding him goodnight and are now standing by the driver's side of her car.

"So, do you think it will be alright to exchange numbers? Maybe you'll make your way home and we can get together for another drink?" Rick suggests.

"I'd like that." She smiles as they exchange numbers. She is even more impressed when he opens her door for her and waits patiently to see her safely out of the parking lot. Who is this man? As soon as she gets home and gets comfortable, she calls her mom.

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The next day, court is in session again and Michonne is a little late. She hurries into the courtroom, hoping the proceedings haven't already begun. She almost didn't make it as she had two huge cases dropped on her just that morning. She still wanted to support Brian just as a precaution should he need her. She walks in to see the courtroom is almost filled to capacity. She thinks how surprising that is considering the events of yesterday. She is equally surprised when she notices Shane and Rick waving her over. Shane is seated on the end, so he quickly stands as Rick moves over to make room for her.

"Thanks," she says to both of them as everyone settles in just as the hearings are about to begin.

Over an hour later, the court is given a break between hearings and Michonne has to make her escape back to work. Rick and Shane walk her out as they are still needed for an upcoming hearing. Once outside, she quickly tells them that she hates to rush off, but duty calls.

"I understand. Take care of yourself," Rick tells her.

"Yeah and come on home, girl." Shane pulls her into a tight hug. "Any family of Ms. Mae's is family of mine."

Michonne is a little reluctant to return the hug. She looks at Rick over Shane's shoulder in a slight panic, then gently pats his back.

Rick smiles as Shane steps back. He looks at her expectantly as he moves toward her and envelopes her in his arms.

Michonne is immediately taken by the warmth of his embrace. She takes one step closer to him and wraps her arms around him, returning the hug gently. Something palpable passes between them and they reluctantly separate.

"Be sure and tell your mom I said hello," she murmurs before walking away.

Rick watches as she sways down the sidewalk.

"Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?" Shane queries.

"And how would you know what I'm thinking?" Rick returns.

Shane scoffs. "Coz it's all over your face, man."

Rick drops his head, then looks over at Shane. "Can we get back to work now?"

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Surprisingly, Michonne hasn't spoken with Rick Grimes since they parted ways outside the courthouse weeks ago. She did receive a couple of pictures by text of her mom's delectable desserts. It's obvious she keeps the sheriff and his deputies well fed. Between her and Ms. Gladys, the lot of them should be well overweight, but Rick's physique is pretty lean.

Although, Michonne wasn't thrilled about the information she pulled out of her mom about Rick, she still couldn't help thinking about him now and again. He has an 8 year old son and has been divorced for 2 ½ years. She had a strict policy when it came to dating. No divorcees and no kids. Of course, that dwindled her dating pool to almost non-existent, but a girl had to draw the line somewhere and her preferences were her preferences. Wow! I act as if I actually had a chance with this guy. No complications. No attachments, remember? We're concentrating on our career.

The shrill ring of her cell phone brings her back to the task at hand. She presses a button on her steering wheel, utilizing a hands free system for the device. She then looks at the computerized display to see that it's her mother calling…..again.

"Yes, Mother?"

"Just making sure you're on your way. You told me you'd be here by 1 and it's 3 now, so what's going on?" Her mother asks.

Michonne sighs as King's County is the last place she wants to be for the holidays but for some reason, her mom put her foot down and changed their usual plans. "I just got a late start. Had to get a couple of things off my desk before I headed out."

"The job again, huh?"

"Please don't start, Mom," Michonne returns.

Ms. Mae sighs deeply, wanting to say more but relents. "I'll see you when you get here."

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The next day is Sunday and Michonne has just attended church services with her parents. She waits outside on the sidewalk as her mom has to hug and greet everyone she knows and inquire about the latest happenings in their lives. All she can do is smile as she reminisces on her childhood, remembering how she and the other kids would run and play while their parents socialized on the church lawn after service. Some things never change. Just then she notices Rick Grimes with an older gentleman, an older woman, and a young boy. She watches as they exchange handshakes and hugs with her parents, then cringes when she hears, "Mimi!"

She puts a smile on her face and walks toward them. Rick actually breaks away to meet her and greets her with a hug. She returns the hug with a nervous laugh as she wasn't expecting him to do that.

"How've you been?" He asks as he leads her over to their parents and his son.

"Fine. You?" She returns. He doesn't get the chance to answer as more introductions and hugs are exchanged. Michonne had met Ms. Gladys once or twice before, but she had never met Rick's father, Arthur, or his son, Carl.

"Your hair is pretty. My teacher's hair looks like that. I like it," Carl informs her.

Michonne smiles down at him, looking into orbs identical to his father's. "Well, thank you. You wanna know what I like about you?"

He smiles up at her with a nod.

"Well, I was gonna say those nice blue eyes of yours, but I think that smile just won me over," she informs him.

Carl gives a slight giggle which Michonne finds infectious. She hasn't had much experience with kids, but this little fella's openness with her made her want to be just as open with him.

"Mae, why don't y'all come on over to the house for lunch?" Gladys suggests. "You know I always put on a spread when my grandbaby's here. There's more than enough for everybody."

"As long as you let me outta there before 3 o'clock. I'm doing a roast today," she laughs at Gladys' expression.

"You trying to throw hints or something?" Gladys wants to know. "Fine, you think I talk too much? How 'bout I just talk to Mimi then." She takes Michonne by the arm and leads her off towards the parking lot.

Michonne looks back at Rick who just shakes his head and falls in line with everyone else as they follow his mother.

A/N: I hope you guys have enjoyed this. There is definitely more to come if you want it. Please review. Thanks.