Epilogue, Day 9

"You're out early," Morgan called out to Rick from his front porch where he sat with his morning coffee.

Rick stuck his hands in the pockets of his brown shearling jacket to ward off the early morning autumn chill, and made his way up the walkway to Morgan's house.

"Yeah, sleep's been hard to come by lately, so I took to walking the streets instead of pacing around my living room."

"How is Carl doing?"

"He's fine physically, thank God. Just dealing with the after effects of the head injury now. He's not quite himself yet," Rick said as he leaned on the railing of the front porch in front of where Morgan was seated.

"Well, I'm hoping he gets to put this all behind him soon. He's a good boy. A strong boy."

"He is," Rick said looking toward the ground and scuffing his boot at nothing in particular before looking back up to Morgan. "I never got a chance to thank you for helping us that day."

"Feel like I did more harm than good out there."

"No. You tried your best to help Jessie and her boys. You got Carl to safety, helped Michonne fight off the walkers until the others came. You did more than your part that day. Thank you."

"I felt like it was my fault, Rick."

"You throwing your name in the ring, too? Michonne and me already tried to take the blame. Not much more to go around," Rick said dryly.

"I offered to help her family because I thought I could. After everything that went wrong with Jenny and Duane, I thought this was the universe's way of making some sense of it. Righting a wrong. But I just froze, and watched it all happen again."

"Morgan, there were so many choices that were made along the way, so many things that happened that could have changed that outcome, and I promise you that you're the last person who had anything to do with it. I'm sorry I put you in that situation."

"I put myself there, Rick, but I appreciate it," Morgan took a sip of his coffee and leaned back in his chair. Rick could see that he'd been troubled by this whole ordeal, taking it personally, and not letting go of the past as he'd advocated to Rick on that same porch just a few days before.

"You've done a lot for me and my family, Morgan. I'm not sure you realize that."

Morgan looked at him with interest which prompted Rick to continue.

"What you said to me that day about letting go of the past... it's something I needed to hear. It helped me make some changes that I needed to move forward. Be better leader. Be more present for my family. Let Michonne in..."

The last item on Rick's list garnered a grin from Morgan. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," Rick said bashfully realizing what he'd just admitted to. "We're keeping it quiet now, but yeah..."

"Rick, the two of you have so many strengths it's almost not fair, but keeping secrets is not one of them," he said with a chuckle causing Rick to tilt his head. "You're already together in everyone's eyes. Why do you think they came out to fight, and sent Michonne to Carl's bedside? We wanted her to be with her family."

Rick bit his bottom lip and shrugged his shoulders, unsure of what to say to that.

"I'm happy for you, Rick. It's a beautiful thing for you and your family," Morgan said with a smile. Rick nodded in appreciation.

"I didn't mean to make it all about me. I just wanted you to know that your influence is being felt in ways that maybe you weren't aware of. And I don't think you're through yet. I'm glad you made it here, Morgan."

"Thank you, Rick." The two men sat in silence for a moment, Rick turning his head back to look out at the community as the sun was rising above it.

"You have plans for today?" Rick asked turning back to him.

"Nothing specific. I was going to offer my services to the construction crew today. Help out with the wall fortifications."

"How would you feel about finishing that platform we started?"

"I think that sounds like as good a job as any," Morgan confirmed.

"Good," Rick nodded as he pushed himself off from the railing. "Come on over in about an hour. We should be able to knock it out by lunch." With that he turned and walked off the porch back to his house.

xxxxxxxxx

Night 9

"What are you reading? Looks heavy."

Michonne looked up from the large yellow hardback book resting in her lap to see Rick standing in her bedroom doorway. She felt her face relax as she grinned at the sight of him, unaware that her brows had been so deeply furrowed in concentration as she read. She tilted the book against her chest so he could see the title: Clinical Neurology.

"You have some new career plans you wanna tell me about?" he teased.

"If I'd have known what the future held, I would have picked med school over law school without a doubt. But it's too late for that now…" she paused and sighed. "Rosita let me borrow it from the clinic. I just wanted to do a little research..."

Rick nodded his head from his spot in the doorway, his light mood dissipating. "And what did you find out?"

She nodded her head past him towards the children's room down the fall. He followed her gaze and realized what she was getting at. "Oh, they're both asleep."

He stepped in shutting the door behind him. "It's that bad?" he asked.

"No, not necessarily. We'll just have to wait and see. It says even mild concussions can cause mood changes, difficulty concentrating, sleep problems, memory loss, and headaches anywhere from a few days to several months afterwards. More severe head injuries can cause more significant problems."

"And there's nothing we can do..."

"Just let him rest and support him through it," she said shutting the book and watching him as he paced over to the window on the far side of her room and looked out.

"I don't know if it's just wishful thinking, but I feel like he's better than he was just a few days ago. A little sharper."

"I see it too," she assured him with a small smile that he'd never see since his back was to her, his arms raised and bracing the inset of the window. His stance drew attention to the lines of his lean, muscular back that were obvious even under the white t-shirt he wore.

"You admiring your handy work?"

"Don't make fun," he warned her. "It's a damn fine platform."

"It is," she said as a smile involuntary tugged at her lips.

"I made it just for you," he said turning his head slightly over his shoulder.

"Yeah, me and an entire community."

"No, I personally built this one by hand because someone put in a special request."

"No, I know, and I appreciate it. I do," she said dropping some of sarcasm for a moment to recognize what he'd done. "I'm quite happy to have my bedroom back."

He stepped back from the window and pulled the curtains shut then turned to look at her appearing comfortable and happy, indeed, with her back resting on two pillows propped against the headboard and the white comforter pulled up over her waist.

"Good," he said with a satisfied grin.

She watched as he quietly walked over to the window to the left of her bed and pulled down the shades, then walked around the foot of the bed making his way to the other side where he pulled down the shades on that window, as well. As she watched him work his way around her bedroom, she couldn't help but feel slightly giddy at the prospect of what the night held. It was their first night at home together since Carl's injury and the first night they'd be sharing a bed. It seemed more like a foregone conclusion than a momentous occasion considering who they already were to each other, but it was still a moment worth treasuring in the midst of all of the darkness over the past few days.

He stood at the side of the bed, facing her, and brought his hands to his waist to undo the button of his jeans, but stopped before unzipping them because of the look on her face. "What?" he asked tilting his head slightly.

"Nothing," she said shaking her head as she continued to watch him, unable to keep the grin off her face.

"I took a shower if that's what you're worried about," he said as he unzipped his jeans and slipped them down to his knees revealing a pair of light blue boxers. She rolled her eyes in response to his jab at her house rules.

"No, it's not that. I wouldn't even care if you hadn't." He stopped, balancing on one foot as he drew the other out of his pant leg, to look up at her and raise his eyebrow at her change of tune. "Just for tonight," she quickly clarified which earned her a smirk from him.

"And why's that?" he teased as he turned down his side of the bed and slipped in under the comforter, laying his head on the pillow.

"Because I just want you here," she said sincerely as she placed the text book on her nightstand then slid her body down under the covers and turned onto her side to face him. He rolled onto his side, as well, and shifted toward her so that their faces were only inches apart then placed his hand under her tank top in the dip her waist, running his thumb along the smooth skin of the curve leading up to her rib cage. She raised her hand to the side of his cheek and rested it there, taking in his face that was finally healed up from his fight with Pete.

"Hey," he said softly.

"Hey," she responded as she exhaled feeling settled for the first time in a while.

"I feel like I'm a hundred years old," he said with a groan and a wry grin.

She frowned as she looked at his handsome face, rugged and weary for sure, but no less pleasing to her eye.

"Well, you don't look it," she said warmly as she grazed her thumb across his cheek.

"The past ten days have been hell, Michonne."

"To say the least. Feels like we're finally coming out of it, though."

"Thank you for everything you've..." he started to say before she brushed her thumb across his lips to hush him.

"You don't need to say that. It's what we do for each other, and it's what we'll keep doing." He nodded in agreement, feeling humbled by her commitment to him.

"Can I tell you how beautiful and amazing you are, then? How lucky I feel to have you by my side?" He watched her as tears started forming in her eyes and she begrudgingly nodded her head yes. "Yeah?" he said with a chuckle. "I'm allowed to say that?"

"Yeah," she said as she dropped her hand to his chest and nudged him slightly. "But you can't make me cry."

"I'm sorry. I just needed you to know." She nodded and pulled her hand away from his chest to wipe the corners of her eyes, then placed it on his waist pulling herself closer to him.

"After Mike and Andre...I felt nothing. I couldn't imagine a life or a future; just darkness that I never thought I'd make it out of. But here I am with you and your incredible children, and I can't help but think we found each other for this very reason."

He nodded in silence, and pulled her to him completely closing the gap between them, resting his forehead against hers.

"I love you," he whispered in response.

"I love you, too."

xxxxxxxxxx

Day 10

Michonne slept soundly through the night, her head resting on Rick's chest in the nook created by his arm that was wrapped snugly around her. Her naked body ran along the left side of Rick's, her left leg draped over his and resting in between them. The sun had been up for at least an hour she figured, but she had nowhere to be, and no one or nothing else requiring her attention, so she allowed herself the indulgence of drifting in and out of sleep in his arms.

"Michonne, you awake?" Carl whispered loudly as he tapped lightly on the door. She propped herself up on an elbow and looked across the bed the alarm clock that read 7:24 AM. She hurriedly gathered the sheets up over her chest fearing being exposed if he opened the door. He knocked again.

"Yeah, just waking up. Give me a minute. You OK?" she called out looking down at Rick whose eyes were now open and watching her with an amused look on his face.

"It's locked," he whispered. "Don't worry."

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's Saturday, right?" Carl answered. Michonne looked down at Rick and mouthed Is it? He shrugged his shoulders not having a clue what day of the week it was either.

"Yeah...but regardless you don't need to worry about school or chores. You're still supposed to be resting," she answered assuming that's why he asked.

"Yeah, I know. It's just that we said we were gonna make waffles again on Saturday and I woke up starving, so I wanted to see if you were ready for breakfast yet."

She looked down at Rick confused for a minute by his seemingly random statement until she remembered that they had, in fact, made waffles the previous weekend and set up a date to do it again. She brought her hand to her mouth, smiling behind it, as she looked down at Rick who had just made the connection, as well.

"You're totally right. And you know I'm always down to eat. Just give me a few minutes."

"No rush. I'll wait for you guys downstairs."

She clenched her eyes shut at his use of you guys and practically held her breath until she heard him land at the bottom of the stairs.

"Shit," she muttered looking at Rick who was completely unfazed, if not slightly entertained.

"What are you gonna do?"

"No, what are you gonna do? This is a father-son talk," she retorted.

"I know."

"You're very chill about this, Rick," she said eyeing him as she hovered above him still propped on one elbow.

"And you're not," he said with a smile pulling her back down into his embrace. "You really think he's going to have a problem with it? That kid loves you. He came looking for you this morning, not me."

She smiled against his chest where her head was resting knowing that she had no reason to doubt her relationship with Carl.

"No, I think he'll be fine with it. I just worry it's a lot for him to handle right now."

He placed a kiss on the top her head and stroked it lightly with the hand that rested there trying to help ease her mind.

"If he asks about it, we'll tell him the truth. If he doesn't, we'll give him a little more time to heal before we have the talk. Agree?"

"Agree."

"Judging by this morning, it probably won't be too much longer."

"Seriously. He's a little too with it for us this morning..." she said with a chuckle. "But his appetite's back. He slept through the night for the first time since we came home. His memory's better than either of ours."

"That's for damn sure," he said with a laugh. "He's made a lot of progress already."

She smiled and looked up at him, nodding her head, afraid to say anything that would tempt fate. She couldn't help but feel hopeful about his recovery, though. She patted Rick's chest with her hand that rested there and then raised herself up again.

"Time to make the waffles," she said hating to bring an end to the best the night she'd had in a long time. Everything about it was perfect, and for just a short time, it lived up to the promise of the normal life Alexandria was supposed to afford them. She walked over to her dresser to slip on some clothes then turned back to the still naked man lying in her bed. She couldn't help but smile at the sight; committing it to memory so that she could look back on it no matter what was to come. She walked over to his side of the bed where he held out his hand for her to grab. She squeezed it in hers and bent down to place a kiss on his lips, locking eyes with him and smiling as she stood back up.

"I'll give you a five minute head start before I make my way down with Judy," he said.

"OK, slick," she said with a laugh. She smiled and shook her head then turned for the door taking one last look back before leaving.

A/N: The End. I've been planning to end it here for a while, but didn't want to tip you off last update and ruin the experience for the last chapter. What started as a 3 part story ended up being 17 parts, and the most rewarding writing experience I've had yet. Thank you so much for following along, reviewing, and lending your support along the way. I have had a blast interacting with you guys-nothing gets by you! You crack me up with your hilarious comments and amaze me with your insight, often pointing out things that had never even occurred to me.

I'm going to take a break from writing for a bit to enjoy the summer, but keep your eye out for a kind of-sort of sequel to Into Dawn. It will be a series of one-shots focusing on Rick and Michonne's new relationship. Just some cutesy fluff because my brain can't handle anything more than that for a while.