Chapter 1:

'Show him the… the thang'

...Past...

"Rick?... Can you hear me? Rick the movie finished..."

Rick sat staring ahead in the dimly lit movie theatre. His focus wasn't on anything, he was just in a state of shock at hearing his new fiancée was pregnant.

"Rick?"

He blinked and shook his head as he tried to concentrate on her, he cleared his increasingly dry throat, "You're pregnant?"

"I am…" She said quietly, her eyes locked on him.

He winced at her, "How?... I mean you said-"

"I was Rick, but I didn't take them when I was sick…"

His eyes snapped shut as he remembered when she had food poisoning a while back. It didn't even occur to him that it would interfere with her birth control.

"...How are you feeling?"

He didn't want to answer that question for the moment. Truth was he didn't know how to feel, he had put all thoughts of having more children to the back of his head after they divorced.

"I don't know how to answer that right now" He hoped he didn't sound harsh as he didn't want to upset her.

"Okay", She nodded and looked around aimlessly for only a few seconds before standing, "Come on, let's go home"

He sighed as he stood and followed her to the exit. He felt like his head was swimming as he tried to grasp what was happening and what her pregnancy meant. He tried to gauge how she felt but he couldn't quite tell; she seemed fine but he wasn't sure if he picked up her tone correctly. He dragged his hand over his face and groaned as they approached his truck.

She held out her hands for the car keys and he gladly obliged. He was in no state of mind to drive. He knew there was a chance that he'd just keep driving until things made sense.

The drive home was uncomfortably silent. He was staring out the windshield with his wide eyes but he wasn't looking at a thing. She seemed to do the same. They both sat their consumed in their thoughts until they got home.

"How was the movie?" Carl asked as he shoved a slice of pizza in his mouth.

Rick looked at the large pizza box that sat beside him on the couch and wondered how such a slim boy could eat so much, "Uh… great… do you want to show him the… your ring? Show him the… the thang"

Michonne looked down at her hand and her eyes opened slightly, "Oh yeah… look, we're getting married… again"

Carl's eyes shot open as he looked at his mother's hand, "No way! Really?"

They both nodded as if they were agreeing on a whine choice instead of a legal commitment.

Carl's head jerked back as he looked at them, "Okay… don't both speak at once"

Rick gave a poor attempt at a chuckle and cleared his throat, while Michonne lips curled into a smile but her eyes looked almost panicked.

"I'm gonna… go…" Rick started as he pointed to the stairs.

"Yeah yeah sure, go ahead" She nodded.

He stood there for a moment before turning to the stairs and slowly walking up them. He sighed when he reached the top and looked towards the guestroom, picturing it as a nursery. He didn't know how to describe how he felt when he did that, but he walked over to the door and shut it, before going to their bedroom.

Once he was in the room panic started to rise in his chest as he slowly paced. He ran his hands through his hair and groaned as his mind raced. He pulled popped the buttons off his shirt and kicked off his shoes. His clothes were restricting him, almost suffocating him and he ripped them off before pulling on a pair of sweatpants.

It didn't help. He reached to his stomach as if he was going to take off his T-shirt but he wasn't wearing one. He groaned again before leaving their room entirely. He went over to Judith's room and snuck in, quietly closing the door behind him.

His eyes scanned over her white and pink room, until they landed on her little body beneath her covers. He lightly stepped over to her bed and gently sat on the edge, watching her sleep. He loved that she still slept in the foetal position, with her hands under her chin. He ran his hand over her hair and brushed his fingers over her cheek. Memories of her as baby came flooding back to him. He'd give anything to do it all again with her and Carl. Especially Carl as he was getting much older and he struggled to remember him so small.

His thoughts travelled to the new baby. It saddened him that he didn't initially feel how he felt when he was told about Carl and Judith. He would hate to admit it but he it was almost like a wave of dread submerged him. He shook his head and looked back down at Judith, then leaned down and kissed her on the forehead before sneaking back out her room.

He stood on the landing listening to his home. Carl was still downstairs, probably still eating, but he was unsure where Michonne was. He focused, trying to hear where she could be, then heard a slight cough in the bedroom. He looked towards the door for a few moments, then chose to go downstairs.

"I feel sick" Carl complained, holding his stomach.

Rick looked at the now empty box of pizza and sighed, "Yeah, that will do it"

"I'm going to go rethink my life choices" Carl said as he stood and took the empty box out the room.

Rick took his now vacant seat on the couch and huffed. He frowned when he saw what Carl was watching and turned it off.

"You going to bed dad?" Carl asked as he stood at the living room door.

Rick furrowed his brow and shook his head, "Nah not yet...Carl?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't eat that much pizza again unless you or your sister's life depends on it"

Carl groaned, "Night dad"

"Night son"

…

Rick awoke the next morning to a weight on his stomach. He tried to remember if he had drank the previous night as he slowly opened his eyes, only to see it was Judith sat watching TV on top of him. She looked down at him and smiled.

"You wouldn't move daddy" She quickly explained.

He gave a lazy chuckle as he lifted her on to his lap so he could sit up properly, "Sorry sweetie, daddy was tired"

She seemed to ignore him as the TV hypnotised her into submission. Rick shook his head and sat back, allowing her to continue her show. He didn't remember falling asleep on the couch but he imagined Michonne wouldn't be happy about it, and he didn't want to upset her any more than he knew he probably did.

He was still sat with Judith when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. He looked towards the steps and saw Michonne appear in her Pyjamas. She yawned as she walked towards the kitchen. Rick thought for a moment, before shifting a comatose Judith off his lap and on the chair. He sighed as he walked towards the kitchen, unsure of what he was actually going to say.

Michonne was stood leaning on the counter when he walked in. She gave him a quick smile as she took a sip of her bottle of water.

"Hey…" Was all he could say as he walked over and joined her against the counter.

"Hi" She kept her gaze low as she turned her head a fraction towards him.

"Sorry about last night" He crossed his arms over his chest, "I'm still…"

"I know"

"It's a lot to…"

"It's is"

He looked down at her feet, "How are you feeling?"

She sighed and crossed her arms too, "I really don't know, it's kind of… I mean I'm not upset or anything, just still trying to get my head around it"

He nodded. He understood.

"Do you think this is a good idea?"

He looked up at her and he could instantly see she was worried. He bit the corner of his mouth for a moment, "I think we're both nervous right now, but I think it is, we'll get there"

She gave a small nod in agreement, "We will"

He rested his hand on her lower back and guided her to him, and she rested her head on his shoulder. He was feeling slightly better about everything, but still very anxious about it all.

"Rick?"

"Yeah?"

"The next time you fall asleep on the couch it won't be by choice"

He looked up at the ceiling and groaned, "Yes mam"

...Present...

"We need to start looking at venues" Michonne suggested as Rick drove her to work.

He nodded in agreement, "We do. I actually want to take a look at the place that's holding the pageant. Looked pretty good in the photos"

"Oh really? Alright"

"If we like it we can ask if they have any dates available this fall"

"This fall?"

He glanced over at her, knowing well enough that the fact that she repeated it told him she didn't like the idea, "What's wrong with that?"

She gave a little shrug and looked out the window, "Nothing"

He bit his lips together in an attempt to watch his words, "You have another time in mind?"

She sighed, "No it's fine. You've decided already"

His brow furrowed as he stared out the windshield, "No, we need to decide together so tell me when you're thinking"

She turned in her seat to face him, "Spring?"

"Spring?" He hated the idea but nodded slowly, "Why spring?"

"Because I feel like we have a lot going on this year with… you know and redecorating the house-"

"Yeah but you'll be on leave soon, the house will only take a few weeks to finish, we can do it"

She stared at the side of his face, "You mean I can do it"

He groaned, "No we can-"

"Okay you know what, fine. This fall"

He didn't like the sound of that, "We can do it. I know we can"

"Oh, we will" She smirked.

He glanced over at her, "What are you thinking about?"

"I'm thinking about how much I love you…" She smiled at him in a way she did when she was trying to distract him.

He scowled at the windshield, "Yeah yeah"

"I am" She insisted in a sultry tone as she rested her hand on his shoulder, stroking his neck with her fingers gently.

"Stop all that" He warned as her plan began to work.

"Why?" She teased.

"You always do this" He reluctantly shook her off, "Whenever you wanna take my mind of somethan'-"

"It always works though" She ran her fingers through his hair.

He bit his lip as he pulled into her office parking lot, "I can't wait till you're at home all day"

She grinned, "And why's that?"

"I am gonna have some fun with you"

"Oh really?"

"You better believe it" He smiled as he parked up and leaned over to her, "I'll be coming home on my lunch break…"

She giggled as she wrapped his arms around his shoulders, "Yeah?"

"Give you somethan' to think about till I get home..." He whispered as he kissed along her jaw and ran his hand up and down her thigh.

"Oh Rick" She moaned as he kissed down to her neck, "We can use the whip cream again-"

He stopped, pulling back to look at her, his face blank, "No"

She frowned at him, "Why not?"

"Because you eat it. And not in a sexy way either, you just eat it"

She tilted her head at him, "I like whip cream a lot right now"

"Oh I know, I learnt that the last time we had it in the bedroom"

She pouted as she leaned forward and kissed him softly, her tongue gently licking his bottom lip, causing him to grip her thigh.

"Oh real nice! Making out in a parking lot in the middle of the day!"

Rick groaned at the sound of Andrea's voice. He pulled away and saw her standing on the passenger side of the vehicle, hands on her hips and eyebrows raised.

"Go away" He called out to her.

She tilted her head, "I work here! You're the one that needs to go Sheriff!"

He looked back at Michonne and pleaded, "Let me arrest her please? Just let me put her in a cell until the day comes when I can actually stand her"

"No because then she'd die in there" She huffed as she unravelled herself from him.

"Fine" He sighed as he sat back in his seat, his pants feeling less tight, "Oh, I gotta go pick up my tux later"

She opened the door, then looked at him, "Your tux? I thought we agreed that you'd wear that black on black suit I got you?"

He winced, "Oh yeah… but I already got the-"

"Okay, you know what, it's fine" She sighed as she got out the car.

He dragged a hand down his face, "I just got it taken in-"

"It's fine!" She shouted as she slammed the passenger door.

He growled into the empty car while he watched her march away.

After doing a lap around town to cool down, he arrived at work and tried to remain calm, as he was doing his best to work on his temper. While he felt better being able to get things off his chest freely, he had notice both his children were mimicking his trait, so he was hoping to lead by example of how to stay level headed.

"How's Chonne doing?"

Rick sighed as he put his fresh mug of coffee down, "She's… she's driving me all up and down the wall"

Daryl smirked and shook his head.

"One minute, I can see she's feeling a little fragile, work, the kids and… it's all just taking its toll, so I try my best to look after her, you know?"

Daryl nodded in agreement.

Rick leaned forward and squinted at his friend, "Then the next minute, she's throwing dinner out in the back yard because I said I'm not hungry yet"

His friend chuckled at his dilemma.

"She almost broke my car window just now! Slamming the door because I told her I wanna wear my tux and not the suit she got me to the ball" Rick raked his fingers through his hair.

Daryl groaned, "I just let Sasha decide. She lays it out and I put it on. No argument"

"I'll see if that works" Rick huffed dryly.

"Hey sheriff's! Brought those police reports you wanted" The new deputy walked in with several paper folders in her arms and rested them on the table.

Rick couldn't even be bothered to smile, "Thank you, Rosita"

"No problem" She called as she left the room as quickly as she came in.

Rick spent the day buried in paperwork, and he preferred it as there wasn't much he could get angry at. He was always pleased when he could get through the day not yelling at or threatening someone, and wanted to continue to live a stress free life.

"Daddy! What's that?"

Judith pointed at the black dust bag he carried as he walked in to his home.

"It's daddy's tuxedo for his work party, sweetie" He leaned down and kissed her on the head.

Judith looked at the bag for a few more moments, before looking up to him, "Mama said she was gonna burn a tuxedo. Is that what it's for?"

Rick stared down at his daughter, pursing his lips in annoyance before gathering himself, "Oh mama was just joking, Judy. You know how funny she is"

Judith nodded as she skipped beside him to the kitchen.

Michonne was leaning against the counter, looking at something on her phone, "Go wash up for dinner, honey. And tell your brother to come down please"

"Okie doke" Judith skipped away again.

Rick went over and planted himself in front of her, his hands on either side of the counter, "You're gonna burn my tux?"

Her eyes darted up at him, then towards the kitchen entrance. She sighed, "Judith"

"Well?"

"Yes I am" She put her phone down and stood up straight, with only an inch space between them.

"You said it's fine-"

"I lied."

He dropped his head onto her shoulder, rubbing his nose against her collarbone, "I'm wearing my tux but you can pick my formal clothes from now on, okay? I don't care what I wear as long as we leave the house on time"

She seemed to be considering it, "Alright, deal"

"Thank you" He placed little kisses on her neck, causing her to wrap her arms around his shoulders, "One of these days we need to get these kids out the house"

"What for?" He could hear the amusement in her tone.

"So we can do whatever we want, wherever we want"

"Oh really?" Her voice was low and sensual, tickling his ear.

He ran brushed his lips along her jaw as he whispered, "Yep. And I want to-"

"We're coming into the kitchen!"

Rick tensed as he stepped away from Michonne, his body having to quickly calm for the second time that day, "Very funny!"

Carl appeared with Judith on his back, his eyes already darting between the two, "Good. There's no hope left for me but Judith may not need therapy if I protect her"

"I wouldn't be making jokes if I was you" Michonne warned, "Not after I heard you on the phone at one in the morning last night"

Carl's face fell.

Rick frowned as he turned to his son, "Why were you on even on your phone at that time? You talking to Lauren?"

Carl groaned as he put Judith down.

Rick's faced pinched, "You see her all day at school, then most days after school, so what on earth do you even have left to talk about at one in the morning?"

Michonne raised her eyebrows at Rick as walked over to the oven.

Rick frowned again at Carl, "That conversation better have been about somethan' you could discuss in front of me and your mother?"

"Oh my god" Carl groaned as he sat on a bar stool after helping Judith on hers.

"You get caught on that phone again and you won't have any choice but to only talk to her at school"

Carl dropped his head on the table, "Fine!"

Rick looked back at Michonne as he shook his head, "Damn teenagers".