Happy New Year and thanks for all the reviews and supportive words. They're greatly appreciated. Here's a treat for you as we enter the new year.

Chapter 9

Rick blinked awake at the sound of thumping against the floorboards. Rays of sunlight gleamed through the window, illuminating the familiar bedroom. He groaned, gripping his pounding head as he tried to remember what happened the night before.

"Michonne?" he called, confused by the thumping noise. He blinked his eyes several times, trying to make the grogginess disappear. That was when he realized where he was.

"Shit!" He sat up straight in the bed looking around the room. The memories came back in flashes. The hospital room, an elderly version of him and Michonne, all his descendants, and that golden coin.

There was a soft knock on the door. "Rick?"

His heart sank. He shut his eyes, hoping he was stuck in a nightmare, but knowing this had to be done. At least he didn't wake up in a cemetery. This was what he wanted from the time he woke up in that unfamiliar apartment, and now he wasn't sure why dread suddenly filled him.

He opened his eyes again and the room remained unchanged. He reached into his pant pockets in search of the golden coin, only to find them empty. His clothes were different too.

Was it all a dream?

He rubbed his forehead, feeling like he had a massive hangover. He spotted the jacket he wore on Christmas Eve with Michonne, hung neatly over the back of his chair. He picked it up, searching the pockets.

"Rick?" his mother's voice repeated. He could hear the worry in her voice.

"Yeah," he answered, opening the small box he found in his pocket. He popped open the box, revealing the little silver microscope, entwined with a letter M which he first saw in Nabila's display case on Christmas Eve with his other Michonne.

How on earth?

"There's uh...well there was someone here to see you. Michonne. She left as quickly as she came though," she said, through the closed door. "Just thought you should know. Be careful on your way out, okay? Your father has been trying and failing miserably to repair that table in the hallway."

Rick was back to his old life feeling both hollow and mildly hopeful at the same time. Michonne was in his house and now she's gone. He remembered the other Michonne's words from the day before. You never know what you might find.

He was in an almost trance-like state as he started getting ready for the day. He didn't exactly have a plan, but after what he experienced, a little spontaneity couldn't hurt. He was back to his lonely life, that barely felt like his own. None of it felt real anymore.

He walked downstairs, entering the kitchen to find a remedy for his pounding headache. As he looked around the kitchen of his childhood home, he was reminded of the first time Michonne came over after they started dating.

It was under the guise of studying and his mother being his mother had a 'no closed rooms' policy for when his girlfriend was over. It was right in that very kitchen, she walked in on them with their lips locked together engaging in heavy necking with their "homework" forgotten.

He chuckled, remembering her scandalized gasp and the "Rick!" she shrieked out.

After eating breakfast and taking some painkillers, Rick found himself standing in the middle of the living room feeling very conflicted.

"She's happy," he mumbled to himself. But did she actually say that? She kept things vague at the diner, but that was probably to spare my feelings.

It couldn't hurt to offer a better apology and a proper explanation like the other Michonne said. He thought back to that night at the festival when he heard her voice for the first time in almost twelve years.

He let her slip away, and now he was going to what? Woo her away from a man who won her heart and who probably wasn't arrogant enough to think that he knew what she needed better than she did? That didn't seem fair to Michonne and certainly not fair to the man she was about to marry.

It wasn't his place to meddle. Maybe she would be happy to never see him again. Or maybe it was time to stop trying to guess the outcome of every move he made and stop projecting things onto Michonne. The self-sabotaging had to stop at some point.

He decided to lay all the cards on the table and leave the outcome to chance. He wouldn't try to put any pressure on her, but he was going to be a little bit selfish.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" his mother asked as she emerged from upstairs and saw him hastily moving across the room.

"Got to get this to a friend before…" He paused in the open doorway, looking back at his mother. "What's today's date?"

"December twenty-seventh. Are you going to ask me this every day?"

"I've asked this before?" Was there another him here? He had no other memory of the past few days. His only memories were of his time with the other Michonne.

"Yeah." She stared at him, wide eyed. "You feeling okay? How much did you have to drink last night?"

"I don't know." He grinned, letting out a burst of laughter. "But I've never felt better."

Rick was in positive spirits during the entire drive to the B&B. It wasn't until he parked his car in front of the big blue house he started having second thoughts. For all he knew, his whole adventure with the other Michonne was one weird fever dream.

Hearing about his undying love for her was the last thing the real Michonne needed or wanted to hear. What would he even say?

"She's engaged. What the hell am I doing?"

A car with a large 'UBER' sticker pulled up in front of him and that was when he noticed bags at the end of the driveway. The Christmas holiday was over so he figured it was some family member heading back home. He hoped Michonne wasn't amongst them.

A tall, dark-skinned man emerged from the house and started walking down the driveway and Rick immediately recognized him from the night at the Festival of Lights.

Michonne's fiancé.

His palms were sweaty. His grip on the steering wheel tightened and he considered giving up and going home. He was so caught up in his own mind, he didn't see a figure appear outside the driver side window of his car. When the nimble fingers rapped against his window, he nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Shit!"

Michonne stood on the other side of the glass, staring back at him. He rolled down the window, offering her a smile.

"Rick." Her brow furrowed. "What are you doing here?"

"Uhh…" He tried to formulate a response. "I heard you came by this morning."

The ball was in her court now. He opened the door, stepping out of the car and shooting a quick glance to her fiancé who was loading two small bags into the trunk of the black car.

"You leaving?" he asked, nodding in the man's direction.

Her eyes followed the movement of his head, and she looked at the man as if she didn't see the man loading up the car, steps away from them.

"No."

The man closed the trunk, turning to face them. "Michonne," he called as if Rick wasn't standing there.

"Micheal," she said, dryly in response.

He shook his head, chuckling humorlessly. "Really?"

"You have something to say?"

The man looked beyond Michonne, his eyes landing on Rick as he assessed the man. Rick silently made an assessment of his own. The man was tall, looked to be in good shape, and wore an expression of cold nonchalance. There was some obvious tension between him and Michonne and it didn't seem like the positive kind.

"Rick, right?" Michael said, addressing Rick. "The ex-boyfriend from high school?"

"Yeah," Rick answered, looking between the engaged couple. Michonne was studiously avoiding Michael's gaze. "I'm guessing you're the fiancé."

"Well we both have something in common now," he said, with a dark chuckle. "Enjoy the rest of your holiday man." His eyes moved to Michonne. "Call me when you get back. We'll figure out arrangements and stuff."

"Yeah," she said, shakily. "That's fine. Have a safe trip."

Micheal nodded, turning and entering the car. They stood in silence as the car disappeared down the street. There was a strange kind of finality in Michonne and Michael's interaction. It was as if they were newly acquainted strangers, parting ways and not knowing or caring if they ever saw each other again.

"So, this morning?"

"Oh, right. Well, I was in the neighborhood and…" She bit her lip, letting the sentence trail off. "Can we...can we talk? I was actually about to go to the diner if you want to come along. I don't know, I've just been..."

She seemed to be trying to find the words to explain what she wanted, but at this point, he would have given her anything to be next to her. "Sure, I was actually hoping to talk to you too."

"Oh great! That works out then. The diner?"

"Yeah." He ran a hand through his hair as a somewhat calming measure. "We could actually walk over there since it's not too far."

"Save the environment and all that," she grinned.

They trod through the think newly fallen snow in complete silence. He snuck glances at her as they walked and he caught her sneaking glances his way as well. She seemed to be deep in thought and he wondered what she was thinking about. As they made their way toward the old diner from their youth, she slipped on a smooth sheet of snow, and because his eyes were trained on her, his hands immediately shot out to prevent her fall.

"Oh my gosh," she squealed, clutching on to his arm for dear life. His other arm was wrapped firmly around her waist.

"Careful."

"Thanks." She smiled up at him and them immediately averted her eyes.

"Do you—" They both started speaking at the same time and laughed nervously when they realized they were saying the same thing.

"Sorry, go ahead," she said, but he was more interested in what she was about to ask.

"It's nothing…" he started, carefully choosing his words. "No, it is something. I just wanted to say that...I really wish I didn't end things the way that I did. It might be the greatest mistake I have ever made in my life. I don't want to make this weird, so don't feel obligated to accept this ridiculous apology. I know you're an accomplished woman, I'm just a high school ex-boyfriend with no bearing on your life. I know you're not some broken-hearted girl I left behind. But what I felt for you back then was love. I didn't think I was in love, I knew it, and that's why I broke things off. It was because I loved you more than I could comprehend and I never stopped loving you."

Michonne looked away, nodding her head. She seemed to be trying to gather her thoughts as she pressed her hand to her mouth, breathing deeply. "You're more than that," she said softly. He could see the building emotion in her eyes, before she turned and started walking again.

~OUACT~

The diner looked the same as it did when he visited it with the other Michonne. They even sat in the same corner booth and ordered from faded coffee stained menus.

The differences between then and now, was their relationship status and the lull in the conversation. Michonne had been immensely quiet ever since he poured his heart out in the middle of the sidewalk.

He watched as she studiously studied the menu, even though she already knew what she wanted.

The same waitress approached their table with her coffee pot in hand, offered her forced, rehearsed smile, and served them warm cups of terrible coffee. They both ordered sweet potato pecan pie and shared a laugh at how easily they fell back into their routine.

"So, do you have a date for the wedding yet?" he asked, apprehensively. It was his own stupidity that caused her to slip away.

"No."

Her answer gave Rick pause. He glanced down at her hand, noticing her bare left ring finger. He couldn't remember if he ever saw a ring there.

"And I don't think we ever will. We officially called off the engagement last night."

"Oh...I'm sorry." In some ways he was, in others he wasn't. He was only sorry it made her sad.

Michonne shrugged, bringing her coffee cup to her lips. "It's been over for a while now, but I guess it was hard for us to admit it to ourselves. I haven't worn my ring in months. It was kind of an unspoken thing and this trip really solidified that thing. At least I didn't start full blown planning yet."

She grimaced, placing the cup down and sticking out her tongue in disgust. "The coffee is still terrible, I see."

"Nobody comes here for the coffee."

"Some things never change."

Words automatically left his mouth. "People do."

She quirked a brow. "Are you one of those people or are you talking about me?"

He decided to come back to that question later. "You've been quiet ever since I said what I said."

"Well…" she began slowly. "It was kind of a lot. Maybe I'm trying to process it."

Rick took her hand across the table, weaving their fingers together. The action felt natural, as if it was something they always did. Although, it was something they did quite often in the previous decade. "Raw unprocessed emotions?" he requested.

She looked up, meeting his eyes. "Right now? I really want to know what the hell was wrong with you. I haven't seen or heard from you in almost twelve years, then all of a sudden there you are in front of me. When I saw you at the festival, I felt a lot of conflicting emotions. There was rage, sadness, happiness and relief all wrapped up in one. I spent so much time convincing myself I was over it and you. Now you're talking about love and…" her words trailed off.

"I made a mistake, the biggest mistake of my life, and I'm going to do everything I can to fix it."

She groaned in irritation, snatching her hands away. "How can you possibly know that? Maybe it wasn't meant to be. And what about me in all of this? I'm just supposed to fall madly in love with you again? Jump into bed with you again? Pretend there isn't a world of hurt between us?"

"No, but I want you to know that I never stopped loving you and if you're willing to give me another chance, we can give this another try. Start slower this time."

"Rick," she shook her head. "You're probably about twelve years too late for that. That was something I needed to hear the summer after our fight, not now."

He nodded in acceptance. "Okay. Friendship then?" For now, he'd take anything she wanted to give.

"I guess people do change," she said with a small smile. "You're a lot more persistent. I mean, you were persistent back then in certain aspects, but...maybe not when it mattered most."

"Ending things the way I did was the worst mistake of my life and I refuse to just live with that mistake. These past few days really opened my eyes. There's been a missing piece in my life and it's you."

"And what about when you want to go off and explore again? Meet new people and see new things. Do fickle people ever change?"

"That's a fair question," he nodded. "But I don't think I was being fickle, I was—"

"Trying to protect me," she finished for him, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Well you did a great job in protecting me from yourself. The heartbreak could have been worst. I don't know if this is one of those cases where 'guy sees girl he dumped with someone else, so all of a sudden guy wants girl back'."

Rick shook his head, frustrated that his point wasn't coming across clearly. "This has nothing to do with your engagement. I would never try to come between your relationship with anyone. I wouldn't mess with your happiness like that."

Michonne entwined her fingers together, folding them under her chin. "It's a good thing my fiancé is conveniently out of the picture then."She silently stared at him for what seemed like an eternity. "Friends. We can work toward that."

"Thank you." He extended his hand across the table. "Let's just start over."

Just then the waitress came, bringing their pie and Rick awkwardly pulled his hand back for her to place the plates in front of them.

"I don't eat things like this anymore."

"Neither do I, but for old times sake," he said. "I had a piece the other day and it was like years of memories in a single bite."

"Was it?" she asked incredulously, digging her fork into the tip of the pie slice and bringing it to her mouth. "Wow, you're right. So good."

"The one thing here that's consistently good."

Seeing her sitting across from him brought back many fond memories, just like it did when he came with the other Michonne. It almost had the feeling of a first date.

"So, tell me," she said, setting down her fork. "Since we're 'friends' now, I want some candid answers. Why the sudden change? What about our meeting four days ago made you decide that confessing your undying love for me was a good idea. I said I moved on and there was no bad blood. It seems out of character and don't feed me that people change bullshit."

He paused, wondering how much he should tell her. He told the other Michonne what happened to him, why not this one. "You'll think I'm crazy if I told you."

"Maybe I already think you're crazy."

"I don't think so. Before I tell you anything, I want you to answer something for me."

She pursed her lips. "That's not fair, but I'll allow it."

"Why did you stop by this morning?"

His question seemed to catch her off guard. "I...I told you. I just wanted to talk. It's stupid, but when we had breakfast the other day it was...nice. It really messed with my head because I had that big ball of conflicting emotions again. I guess I wanted closure. For all I knew, I'd never see you again after this so I wanted to solidify our ending. Leave nothing unspoken."

"Closure, huh?"

Her eyes grow glassy as if she was holding back tears. "It hurt and getting over you was a lot harder than I was willing to admit and I just wanted to pull the knife out and just let things die. We'd go our own separate ways on good terms this time."

"Then I just had to go and spring a declaration of love on you."

"Still an asshole," she laughed, dabbing at her eye. She was teasing him, which he took as a positive sign. " There, I told you. So, what's the crazy thing you wanted to tell me about?"

He finished off the last of his pie, carefully setting down his fork. "Tell you what. If you agree to go on a second date with me, I'll tell you all about it."

She crossed her arms, quirking a brow. "Oh is that what this is?" There was a charmed amusement in her voice.

"Have dinner with me next week. I'll be in D.C."

She bit her lip, toying with the handle of her mug before she finally gave him the response he was desperately waiting to hear. "I guess I could have dinner with my new friend next week. I'll mark you down in my calendar."

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