Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead

A/N: This is an AU; no zombies; really young Rick and Michonne to start with. I hope you all enjoy this one!

There Goes My Life

xXxXx

Michonne sat in her bedroom nervously staring at the wall and feeling the knots in her stomach clench tighter as her heart pounded faster in her chest. She was waiting for Rick to come around; he had said he would be there as quickly as he could. She checked her wristwatch again as she heard the familiar sound of Rick's Ford pickup truck come to a halt at the front of her parent's house. She stood and peered out of the lace curtain that adorned the window, seeing the young man walk swiftly toward the front porch. Not too long later, he rapped gently on her door before opening it and sticking his head around it; smiling widely when he saw her sitting on her bed. His smile fell away when he saw how sad Michonne looked. Rick stepped in and closed the door behind himself, he moved towards her and took up a place beside her.

He placed his hand at her thigh and asked: "What's wrong?"

Michonne offered no explanation right away. She glanced at him with glassy eyes and said, "We need to talk."

xXxXx

"Rick?" said Michonne, glaring at the distant look he had in his deep, blue eyes.

"Rick? Did you hear what I said?"

I'm too young for this, thought Rick Grimes; I got my whole life ahead of me.

Michonne felt the tears well in her eyes again; she had been crying all night since she had discovered the news yesterday. Only just out of high school and still very young, she and Rick had decided that they would try to continue their relationship while she went off to college and he attended the police academy. They would be living away from one another, but would endeavour to make it work; after all, they were in love and distance surely would not change that. But now, what she had just told him would turn their plans upside down.

Rick nodded and glanced at her, taking her hand in a comforting manner.

"Yeah, I heard you," he offered quietly. "What are we gonna do? We had a plan."

"We aren't gonna do anything. You have your whole life ahead of you, Rick. I won't ruin it for you, I won't…"

"So do you! We had a plan, remember? So now we're just gonna give up on it because of some mistake we made?" Rick cut in.

"Yeah well, the plan's changed now. You're leaving in a week, so leave…We don't have to do this. I can't do this right now," Michonne said as she stood and tried to let go of Rick's hand; he held on to her tightly.

"What are you sayin'? Are you dumpin' me?" he asked, now standing before her.

"I don't know! This isn't gonna fit with our plans, your plans and I get it, you've got your dreams, well guess what? So do I. That's not gonna happen now, so you might as well get out while you can. You still have a chance at having a life. I can do this on my own."

With that Michonne forced her hand free of his and walked to her bedroom door.

She opened it and stood to the side.

"I think you should go now."

xXxXx

Rick's parents and younger brother all chatted amicably around their dinner table that night; recalling the events of the day happily. Rick sat quietly and picked over his food slowly; every so often, he would place a morsel in his mouth and chew it. He took no pleasure in his meal, not because it was by any means awful, but because he had lost his appetite. He could not clear his mind from what Michonne had told him earlier in the day. He resented his immediate thoughts.

There goes my life…

Michonne's life too, not only his, was going to change. Maybe she was right, he had the luxury of leaving for the police academy in a week's time. He could go and not look back; he cringed at that thought, inwardly reprimanding himself for being so selfish. He felt a headache setting in as he thought back to their exchange. He had not even asked Michonne if she was alright; he had not even considered her feelings in that moment. All that was running through his mind was his plans for life; the life he had dreamed of. The life that now looked as if it was not going to come to pass.

And he said

There goes my life.

There goes my future. My everything.

Might as well kiss it all goodbye.

There goes my life.

Six years later

Sometimes Rick Grimes wondered how he had gotten to be so lucky. He came home from his shift at the police station to find Michonne at their kitchen table with her head in a pile of law books; she was ready to sit her final exams after completing her summer internship. She was almost there, after so many years of hard work and sacrifices, Michonne's dream was going to come true. She would be an attorney, like her father was. While it had not happened exactly how she and Rick had planned it, their life was pretty great together.

"There's a plate in the oven," Michonne said, not looking up from her books; Rick walked over and kissed her forehead.

"Thanks," he offered before asking: "When are they gettin' back?"

Michonne looked up from the texts as Rick took a seat across from her with his dinner in front of him.

"What's the time?" she asked, looking to the wall where the clock was.

"Crap. Any minute now. I'll be so glad when all of this is over so we can take a break," she said, a little flustered.

Just then, their doorbell rang and Rick motioned for his wife to stay seated.

"That'll be the girls now," he said as he walked to answer the door with a wide smile on his face.

A couple years of up all night and a few thousand diapers later.

That mistake he thought he made covers up the refrigerator.

Oh yeah…he loves that little girl.

Bahlira Grimes was dropped off by her babysitter and ran into her father's arms. Rick scooped his daughter up and twirled her around in the middle of their living room. She giggled as he placed her down and removed her tiny pink backpack. She ran into the kitchen to greet her mother before returning after a little while to where Rick sat looking through her bag for any important notes from her school.

"Did you have a good day today, baby girl?" he asked as she sat down next to him with a glass of milk.

"Yep. I drawed you a picture too, Daddy," she said as Rick smiled.

"Oh was that one for me?" he asked, referring to the drawing of two faces he had found in her bag; both had curly hair, but the smaller brown one's hair was a little longer than the larger one.

"Yes! Mama said you might be a bit sad 'cause I only drawed me and her yesterday, so today I drawed me and you!" she said excitedly as Rick found the piece of paper and held it in his hand.

"Aww honey, you never make me sad. And thank you," Rick said before he looked at Bahlira and smiled again; he then pointed to the brown face, which was quite obviously hers.

"Wow! This is some beautiful drawing. Hmmm, is that one me?" asked Rick, causing his daughter to laugh loudly and cover her mouth. "I like how you did my hair!"

"No, silly! That's me!" she giggled as she placed her drink on the coffee table and leaned her head against her father's shoulder.

Rick looked to the side and examined her face; she did look like him, everyone said it. They had the same blue eyes and the same smile. Her curls were a little tighter but the same colour as his and her complexion was much darker, but there was no mistaking that she was his little girl.

"Oh, sorry, baby," Rick offered before kissing her head.

"I should've know it was you. You're much prettier than I am."

"Who's pretty?" asked Michonne as she came in and sat on the other side of Rick.

"You are!" Said Rick and Bahlira at the same time.

Michonne chuckled at the two loves of her life.

"And you two are exactly the same; always tryin' to butter me up. Now, who wants ice cream?"

xXxXx

"Five more minutes, honey. Then you have to come on up," Michonne said to Bahlira as she made her way upstairs.

The sleepy child was snuggled up next to Rick watching television and holding her teddy bear.

"Almost ready?" Rick asked his child. "Mama's gonna tuck you in tonight."

His daughter nodded and got up from where she was lying on the couch. She yawned before wrapping her arms around Rick's neck and hugging him tightly, half asleep.

"I love you," Rick said as he kissed her chubby cheek and squeezed her.

Rick watched Bahlira amble over to the stairs, dragging her teddy bear behind her. Her curls bounced as she trudged up the steps, before stopping to look back at her father and beaming.

He smiles…

There goes my life.

There goes my future. My everything.

"I love you, Daddy; goodnight."

There goes my life.

Rick and Michonne did everything that they could to ensure that their daughter had everything she needed in her life; a stable home, a loving mother and a devoted father that doted on her.

"You're spoiling her, Rick," Michonne would warn from time to time; but in all honesty, she was not at all bratty.

Bahlira was now the same age as Rick and Michonne were when they had her, and she was ready to go off and find her own way in life. They were both so proud of her when she was accepted into Caltech to study geology, but the time was drawing nearer for her to leave Georgia and head over to the West Coast. The more Rick thought of it, the more he felt a little afraid. His baby girl was venturing out on her own, and he was worried about her.

Michonne lay with her head against Rick's arm and threw her own arm over his waist as they silently contemplated what the morning would bring; their daughter was leaving home.

"Talk to me, Rick," Michonne said as she rubbed her hand lovingly over his chest. "What're you thinking about?"

Rick sighed and stroked her arm.

"You know what I'm thinkin' about. Maybe I should drive over with her…"

"Rick, we already spoke about it. She wants to do this on her own," Michonne replied.

"I know, I know. Just feelin' overprotective again. She's my little girl. She'll always be my little girl," he said, feeling his eyes begin to water.

Michonne became choked up a little listening to Rick's voice begin to shake.

"And you'll always be her Daddy, but you know she has to do this. She'll be fine. We were the same age as her when we got married and started our life. And it's revolved around her, but she's gotta set out on her own path now," said Michonne.

"I know. Still doesn't make this an easier," Rick said as he glanced to the wall and looked at the framed drawing of himself and Bahlira that she had done when she was just a little girl.

xXxXx

"Baby, what on Earth is in this suitcase?" Rick asked Bahlira as he went to lift one of her cases into the trunk of her Honda Civic that he bought for her eighteenth birthday.

She looked at her father with a sheepish expression on her face.

"Sorry, Daddy, but I'd rather not say," she offered before scrunching her nose up.

"Fifteen pairs of shoes," answered Michonne as she carried another smaller bag to the car.

Rick tilted his head and looked at his daughter.

"Sweetie, you only got two feet," he replied and both women started laughing.

Once the car was packed, and Rick checked the oil, the three of them stood out the front of their home silently; Bahlira leaned on the car and stared at her mother and father. Michonne had her arm looped through Rick's and she looked as if she was about to cry. Bahlira walked over to her mother and hugged her tightly.

"I love you, Mama. I'm gonna miss you so much," she said as the tears fell down her cheek.

"I love you too, baby girl. You call as soon as you get half way, the GPS will take you straight to the motel and it's already booked. Then call again in the morning when you're ready to leave," Michonne advised, always thinking practically. "And you've got Daddy's American Express card?"

The young woman nodded. She then moved to Rick who stood smiling sadly at her. Rick wiped the tears from his daughter's face with his thumb then kissed her forehead before drawing her into a hug. He did not want to let her go as he thought back to the first time he held her as a baby when he was so scared and young. When he thought for that small moment so long ago, that having a child was going to ruin his life. Now he realized that their daughter, his daughter had made his whole life worthwhile.

And he cried.

There goes my life.

There goes my future. My everything.

"I love you, Baby. Goodbye."

There goes my life.

A/N: Inspired by Kenny Chesney's There Goes My Life (go listen to it, even if you don't like country music).

'Bahlira' means beautiful in my traditional language.

Thanks for reading!