A/N: Thank you so much to everyone that has read ANY of my works whether on Tumblr or on here!

Chapter 1:

Rick sipped from his cup of water, surveying the progress of the wall. They should be done by night fall. He felt good about his plan. He kept running the logistics in his mind. For right now that was all he could focus on. He sighed as he remembered his conversation with Jessie earlier that day. Carol was right. These people were children who needed to be told stories. The only problem was that Rick didn't have any time for storytelling. He had things to do, people to protect, children to care for and now a whole field of walkers. Rick sighed. His mind was moving a mile a minute and he was constantly on edge. He reached for his gun holster, finding the handle of his gun, he began to tap it, hoping to relive some of his tension. Rick tilted his head, trying to regain his cool. He inspected the construction site again, but this time searching for the familiar faces of his family.

Daryl was hauling dirt. Check. Glen was talking to Nicholas. Check. Maggie and Tara were by the RV. Check. Abraham and Sasha were by the car. Check. Carol was serving water to Morgan. Check. Michonne. His mind drew a blank as he looked around. He went through his mental check list again.

Daryl was hauling dirt. Check. Glen was talking to Nicholas. Check. Maggie and Tara were by the RV. Check. Abraham and Sasha were by the car. Check. Carol was serving water to Morgan. Check. Michonne?

Now, he was holding on to the handle of his gun, shifting his eyes back and forth, and desperately trying to remain calm.

Daryl was hauling dirt. Check. Glen was talking to Nicholas. Check. Maggie and Tara were by the RV. Check. Abraham and Sasha were by the car. Check. Carol was serving water to Morgan. Check. Michonne?

Michonne. He couldn't find her. Rick placed his hand on the bridge of his nose, tilted his head once more, and stood up. She was here. He had seen her a minute ago. He knew she was okay. She was a survivor above all else and regardless of anything she was okay, but he still needed to see her. It had become his routine. Every time he felt like he was losing control, he would find the familiar faces of his family and seeing them alive always kept him going and calm. However, the face he always needed to see was Michonne. The whole point of doing all of this was so that he could see her face at the every end. She would look at him and let him know that he was okay. If she was alive, that meant his children were alive, that he was alive, and that he wasn't hallucinating visions of people from his past. He looked around once more feeling the rising panic within him. Rick surveyed the work site once more, until he finally spotted her. She was walking back to the construction site with more wood and supplies. Sensing his gaze, she turned towards him, giving him a nod. Rick let out a deep breathe, one that he was unaware he was holding. He loosened his shoulders feeling some of the tension evaporate. She looked at him with a hint of concern before shifting her eyes toward Tobin and then back to him. Rick's brows furrowed as they communicated from a distance. He didn't trust Tobin. Apart from attempting to kill Rick, Tobin didn't get it. He hadn't survived.

A small movement in the woods, ended their unspoken communication as they both knew the cause. A group of walkers emerged and headed towards the work site. Tobin and a group of men standing close to the walkers yelled in panic. Immediately, his group attempted to stop the walkers.

"WAIT!" Rick yelled. "They have to learn."

Daryl, Morgan and Michonne stopped as they watched the group of men scour in fear.

"Don't use your guns. They will only attract more." He warned.

However, caught in their own fears. The men panicked and began to stumble backwards falling over each other.

"RICK!" Morgan yelled, before he attacked one of the walkers that was about to bite Tobin. Daryl and Michonne sprang into action as Rick sighed before he finally joined.

Everyone had stopped working as they watched the group take down the walkers, so as Michonne finished the last kill, she was met with a sudden applause. She cleaned off her sword and urged everyone to get back to work. She turned towards Rick already knowing his reaction. This was just further evidence for his claim that these people were children. She wanted to disagree with him, but the applause didn't do much for her case.

"I thought you didn't take any chances." Morgan commented to Rick as he went back to his work station. Rick tilted his head, already feeling some of his earlier tension returning.

People were slowly returning to their jobs. Tobin and his crew were trying to shake off the encounter, as they talked to each other.

"I should've married her. Francine can't even handle raw meat." Tobin joked as some of the men laughed.

"I don't know what's better? That sweet ass or that sword!" Another commented as the men continued to laugh.

"You think Rick is hitting that?"

"If he isn't, I will!"

Rick tilted his head, clenched his jaw and tightened the hold on his gun. He was only a few feet away, but he could hear everything. He glared at the men, envisioning how they would die.

"Rick." Michonne whispered as she stood next to him. He was firmly gripping the gun on his holster, ready to kill. Michonne slowly reached for his hand and moved it away from the gun.

"Help me." She commanded as she tilted her head towards the walkers on the ground. They needed to move them and she desperately needed to move Rick away from the men.

Rick sighed as he followed Michonne's lead. They piled the bodies on the back of the truck. They worked silently and quickly, knowing that they needed to return and finish the wall by tonight, but also because Rick needed a moment to cool down. The best way to calm Rick down was to get him working and focused on a task. She learned this at the prison when she first started searching for the Governor on her own. Rick was annoyed that she was still searching for him even though Daryl had said that the trail was cold. Every time she left, Rick would obviously be pissed and would spend that entire day farming. Hershel often joked that she should make him angry more, because he became the most efficient when he was upset. He was right, within a couple of minutes they had finished piling the bodies and were headed towards the woods to burn them.

As they drove deeper into the woods, Michonne attempted to make light conversation, gagging if Rick had calmed down yet.

"I liked that casserole thing that Carol made the other day." Michonne started. "I think Judy really liked it."

She turned towards Rick after he noticeably refused to engage in her conversation. Michonne smiled. He was just like Carl. She remembered how long it took for Carl to actually speak to her.

"Did you hear?" Rick questioned referring to the conversation between Tobin and his men.

"Yes." Michonne answered.

Rick tilted his head, clenched his jaw and tightened the hold on his gun. He knew that Michonne could handle herself, but at the moment he felt overprotective. He didn't trust these people, which meant that he always had to be on high alert. Hearing them talk about Michonne like that, increased his level of mistrust and angered him even more. He thought back to the marauders that had threatened to rape Carl and Michonne. Rick was stuck in his own mind, replaying that night and getting even more upset. Rick Grimes doesn't take chances any more.

Rick was so wrapped up in his mind that he didn't notice Michonne reach for his hand. It was a soft touch. Her hands were gentle and warm, unlike his own calloused hands. He felt her hands stroking his tense ones that were currently gripping the gun and for the first time that day Rick finally felt calm. He stopped thinking about the past and only focused on her touch.

"I liked that casserole thing that Carol made the other day." Rick spoke.

Michonne laughed as he repeated what she had just stated a couple of minutes ago. It sometimes surprised her how in sync they were at times. Noticing the shift in Rick's mood, Michonne attempted to move her hands from his, but he quickly caught it and continued to hold on. He was stroking her hands as he continued to talk.

"I mean I always knew Carol could cook, but that casserole was a masterpiece!"

"Casserole? The true masterpiece was the brownies she made last night." Michonne commented enjoying the lighter side of Rick. The side that most people didn't get to see or experience. However, she had encountered this lighter Rick on many occasions. At times, it felt like she was the only one who ever saw Rick like this.

"You and your sweet tooth." He joked, as he laughed to himself. "I think you might have passed it on to Judy!"

"Oh c'mon. I saw you eating those cookies the other day. I'm not the only sugar addict in this car, Rick." Michonne responded.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Rick replied as he chuckled.

As Michonne stopped the car, Rick squeezed her hand one more time before starting on the task at hand. Once again, they quickly burned the walker bodies and headed back into the truck.

"You want to drive back?" Michonne asked as she tossed Rick the keys.

Rick grabbed the keys and smiled to himself remembering the time he had asked her to drive back to the prison because he was "seeing things".

"You aren't seeing things?" Rick joked as he entered the car.

Michonne laughed thinking back to the first time she witnessed the more playful Rick. She liked seeing him like this. He was a man far different from the dictating leader that everyone feared back in Alexandria.

As Rick began to drive, he once again reached for Michonne's hand. She was a little surprised, but disregarded the act, as he continued talking.

"You know the first time I saw Morgan again, I thought I was dreaming him up. But then I looked around, saw you looking at me and I knew that he had to be real."

Michonne listened before speaking. "I think you made the right call moving him in with us."

Rick nodded as they drove back in comfortable silence. Rick holding Michonne's hand, stroking it every couple of minutes to keep calm. It was such a peaceful drive. It almost made them forget that the world was falling apart.