Chapter 29:

Adjusting to life as the guardian of more than one child was an adjustment for both Michonne and Rick.

Sunlight was slowly and gently streaming through the window of the Grimes' bedroom to help to awake the sleeping family there, but the sun's rays were not needed. The two figures that occupied the room had gotten up before the sun and were already in the process of waking each other's bodies up with kisses, undulations, strokes, and ministrations.

Michonne lay straddled over Rick's body, their skin brushing, as Michonne gently rolled her hips atop Rick's hardness. The sheets brushed against their skin, eliciting gentle sighs that matched the small breaths that fell from their lips.

"I missed you," Rick breathed, speaking of the long hours and days that she had not been in his bed. The amount of time he had been without her in his arms felt like an unfit punishment to a repenting criminal.

Her wet walls engulfed his throbbing manhood and it was the greatest feeling he had ever felt.

He splayed his hands against her bare, arching back and pulled her toward him – wanting to feel the smoothness of her ample breasts against his tongue. "Come 'ere," he urged, his voice a gruff whisper.

Michonne worked her hips faster, turned on by his sensual command. Her thighs clenched him as she settled in for the ride and a soft, involuntary moan spilled from her throat. Fire built in her loins as Rick's mouth closed over her nipples and his tongue circled her tit. Everything – the friction of him inside of her, the squeak of the bed, his guttural breaths, and even her own moans caused Michonne to grow wetter and her reach towards the peak more insistent.

Rick sat up and gripped her hips in his hand. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too," Michonne responded.

Michonne would never have expected to be in this position the first day she met Rick Grimes. Or even the first month. To be straddled atop him, enjoyably impaled. She covered her lips with his and shared a deep kiss. Her hands mussed his hair as they came to a slower rhythm – both silently mutual in wanting to prolong their lovemaking.

Michonne leaned back as Rick's hands trailed down her arms and landed on her torso. His eyes ate away at her skin, making her feel hot underneath his gaze.

His hard member was hot inside of her and she felt a tiny monster growing inside of her with each of his thrusts, growling and unfurling like a snake. It breathed fire and her lower belly grew hot like a furnace while her womanly pleasure center sang with the friction of their bodies that kindled the flame. "Fuck," Michonne moaned softly as she clutched Rick's shoulder and began to push her pelvis faster and harder against him once again.

Rick gripped her hips and helped rock her against himself; his eyes darkened. It seemed that her use of expletives turned him on. So Michonne continued voicing her pleasure.

"Fuck me, Rick."

Rick wrapped his hand around the back of Michonne's neck and pulled her to his lips with a hungry growl. The kiss they shared was long and full of tongue. Michonne moaned, happy to be connected with Rick in such an intimate wa-.

The door to Rick and Michonne's room banged open.

"Hey, Da-" Carl stopped in his tracks immediately and turned, without saying a word, to leave the room. The door shut behind him with a pitiful 'chh'.

"Oh my God," Michonne said, scrambling off of Rick. "I should have locked the door."

A reddish tinge was rising up from Rick's torso to his face and Michonne didn't think it had to do with what they had been engaging in seconds before. But through his seeming embarrassment, he tried to reassure Michonne anyway. "It's okay," he said. "He's a big boy. He can- he can understand this."

"I wish he didn't understand it," Michonne retorted, wishing Carl knew no such thing as birds or bees. The kid had just started to barely tolerate her. This would probably set them back a few steps. "I'll go make him some breakfast..." she said with a sigh as she pulled a loose t-shirt on.

"Hey." She was stopped from rising from the bed by Rick's gentle touch on the small of her back. When she turned to face him, he stared at her with such a comforting and reassuring gaze that she couldn't help but to smile softly. "You're doing great," he said. Words she needed to hear if the bundle of tension knotted in her stomach was any indication.

"Thanks," she said, leaning forward and accepting his chaste kiss. A kiss that said, 'I'll let you go this time, but this isn't over.' "You are too." She got up from the bed, less enthusiastically now, and pulled some pants on. "I'll see you tonight."

"Okay," Rick said. He laid back in bed and Michonne groaned. He knew what he was doing with his bulging muscles and blue, blue eyes.

"Nice try," she said, breaking herself from his spell and turning to leave the room.

"What?" he shouted after her innocently. Michonne ignored him and closed the door.

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When Michonne made it downstairs, Carl was nowhere to be found. She went to the kitchen and began pulling down pots and pans. Deciding to make simple scrambled eggs and toast, she brought out everything she needed.

"Let's fight."

Michonne paused in what she was doing. And then continued. She cracked an egg into a black frying pan. "You sure you don't want to eat breakfast first?" she asked without turning around. She could recognize Carl's voice.

"If I win," Carl said, ignoring her olive branch. "Then you have to leave. If you win, then I'll leave."

"Where will you go?" Michonne asked, acting nonchalant like this wasn't the most childish and outlandish thing she was hearing right upon waking.

"I'll live with Mom," Carl responded easily.

Michonne nodded. "I don't think your Dad would appreciate you leaving," she said.

She could practically imagine Carl's head tilt and the squint of his eyes upon his reply. It was a lot like his father's. "Who says I'm going to lose?"

Michonne almost chuckled. 'This kid...' she thought with a shake of her head. "Hmm..." she said.

"What?" Carl asked. The bite of his question coming out in the hardness of the 't'. His irritation was apparent.

Michonne turned the stove down and finally turned to look at Carl. "I'm just not sure that abusing a child is acceptable...even in an apocalypse."

If Michonne could have said anything to upset Carl farther, she definitely chose the right sentence. His lips tightened until lines of white parsed his upper and bottom lip. "I'm not a child," he said.

Michonne smirked. "Fine," she said, having him right where she wanted him. "Give me a minute." She walked out of the kitchen and heard Carl stamp his foot in agitation at being temporarily ignored. She made her way up the stairs, went into the childrens' room and pulled paper and pen from a makeshift cupboard that Rick had bruised himself making. She then tip-toed over to Andre who was still sleeping.

After smiling down at him and giving him a small kiss, she went back to the room she shared with Rick to tell him to get Andre up and ready in about ten more minutes. She didn't want to have to be the one to wake the angelic kid from his peaceful sleep.

Once that task was done, she made her way back down to the kitchen, sat at the kitchen table, and then began to write.

"What are you doing?" Carl asked. His stomach growled, an underlying weakness to his affronted tone.

"I'm drawing us up a contract," Michonne said. "Releasing myself of any responsibility if I happen to hurt you. You say you're not a child so we're entering into this battle as if you are my peer and equal."

Carl looked a little taken aback at the formality but scoffed to show that he wasn't shaken. "Fine."

"Fine," Michonne agreed, continuing to write. "You should go ahead and scramble those eggs while you wait. This could take a while."

"I'd rather not," he shot back. But his stomach betrayed him again, releasing a large growl. Michonne looked up at him with raised eyebrows. "Fine," Carl said again with another scoff. He got up from the table. "How do I do this?"

"You don't know how to scramble eggs?" Michonne asked, honestly surprised.

"No," Carl said, defensive. "Why should I? Nobody taught me."

In that moment, Michonne genuinely felt bad for the kid. He had been thrust in the middle of the world ending, believed for years that his dad was dead, and instead was raised at the harsh equivalent of a war base. Michonne only allowed sympathy to show on her face for a second before she quickly wiped it away. She knew Carl was the kind of kid who wouldn't appreciate that. "Well, do you want me to teach you," she asked. "Or you wanna try it yourself."

Carl didn't answer for a moment, his pride struggling with his hunger.

"Just tell me what to do," Carl finally said. "You don't have to get up or anything."

"Okay," Michonne agreed. She turned back to her paper to continue manufacturing a quick and easy contract while keeping a sidewise glance on what Carl was doing. She didn't want the kitchen to burn down. "What you wanna do is..." she scrawled quickly across the page. "Crack five eggs in the skillet...and scramble them."

Michonne didn't miss the annoyed look Carl threw over his shoulder in reaction to her simple instructions. "Is that it?"

"Yep," Michonne replied. "You're gonna need to season them too. Grab the salt and pepper from that top cabinet but don't use a lot...the seasonings are disappearing fast from the pantry."

Carl did as she instructed and commented casually, "I could get us some more before it's all gone."

"You would have a hard time; Olivia's not freeing up any extras," Michonne said, still working on the paperwork. "At least not with the salt and pepper."

"I wouldn't ask," Carl replied back easily. He postured over the cooking eggs, unsure for a brief moment... "So how much of this do I use?"

But Michonne was more interested in what he said before. "What do you mean you wouldn't ask?" she asked, finally looking up from her legalese.

"I mean I would take it," Carl said with a shrug. "When she wasn't looking."

"You mean steal it..." Michonne clarified. As a responsible adult, Michonne knew that she should reprimand Carl and tell him that stealing was something he shouldn't ever consider but...this was salt and pepper. And she was tired of bland dinners. "Hm...I'll take care of it," Michonne decided. "You just worry about those eggs."

She shook her head. She was seriously considering stealing salt and pepper from Olivia. She wouldn't tell Rick about this. Or Carl. She couldn't have him getting a big head in thinking he had a sound idea.

The sound of sizzling eggs and the occasional scrape of the spatula against the frying pan filled the kitchen as Michonne focused less and less on Carl and more and more on what she was writing. It wasn't until the pleasant aroma of eggs began to smell more like the burning stench of rubber that her attention was pulled from her business.

"Carl!" she shouted, standing up quickly. Her chair scraped backwards across the floor, adding an unintentional sense of urgency to the situation.

"What?" Carl asked, startled.

"Do you not smell that?" Michonne asked, rushing over to where the confused boy was still standing to turn the stove off. "The eggs are burning." She looked down at the brown and tough looking substance that once was edible maybe four minutes ago. "I'm not eating that," she said.

Carl's face flushed red. "They're not burned," he said stubbornly. He grabbed three plates from an overhead cabinet and began to divvy out the contents. "If you don't want any, we'll just eat it ourselves."

"Uh-uh," Michonne said, taking one of the plates and placing it right back where Carl had gotten it from. "Who's we? My baby's not eating this. But if you and your Dad want to, go for it."

"Fine," Carl said with a shrug, splitting up the burned mass between two plates. He carried them to the table.

Michonne smirked, maliciously getting joy from the thought of watching Rick struggle through his less-than-quality breakfast.

"I guess you get the cooking genes from your mom," Michonne ribbed lightly. She had heard about Lori's inability to make decent pancakes.

The mood in the kitchen had actually become quite comfortable and familiar to Michonne while she was with the young boy so her stated comment slipped out easily and without much thought. It wasn't until Carl spoke up from behind her that she remembered that they weren't quite at the point where she could just say anything. "Don't talk about my mother," Carl said, his voice hard.

Michonne sighed and closed her eyes, disappointed in herself for forgetting who she was talking to and what kind of relationship they had. 'Great,' Michonne thought. She hadn't meant it in a particularly offensive way but she could see how he could have interpreted it as a 'your mom' jab.

She turned around and raised her hands in surrender. "I didn't mean anything by it." She walked forward and slid the piece of paper she had been working on off of the table. "I'm done with this. You read through it and sign. I'm gonna go do something then make eggs for me and Andre." She handed the paper over to Carl and he took it with a huff. She logged the attitude; she would address it later. "I'll be back," she said, heading towards the front door.

"Where are you going?" Carl asked.

"The pantry," Michonne replied over her shoulder.

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When Michonne was gone, Carl read over the quickly scrawled contract she left.

"I, Carl Reginald Grimes, hereby declare that my mental and physical faculties are those of a full-grown adult and thereby release Michonne Elon Grimes from any liability or responsibility of fault if I am hurt or gravely injured-" Carl stopped reading. His mind stopping on the word gravely. He scoffed. "This is ridiculous," he grumbled to himself, pretending that he didn't feel a small amount of consternation. He hadn't quite expected this little duel to become anything quite so serious as to cause "grave injuries". He kept reading.

"I understand the risks and consequences of the proposal I have offered and will take full responsibility-"

"What are you reading?" Carl jumped, startled, when his father interrupted his perusal of the contract.

"Nothing," he said, angry at himself for being so jumpy.

"Is Michonne here?" Rick asked.

"No," Carl replied. "She went to the pantry."

"Good," Rick stretched, his world-built muscles protruding with the action. "She told me to get Andre up in ten but he looked so peaceful that I'm gonna let him sleep a little more. What's this?" He looked down at the brown mounds of egg-like substance plated on the table.

"Breakfast," Carl said. "For you and me. I made it."

Rick physically took a step back from the table. If he could have run, without looking like a crazy person, Carl was sure that he would have. "Is...is Michonne not making anything?" Rick asked.

"She is," Carl said. "But she's just making something for herself and Andre." Rick's face lost all color. Carl pretended not to see. "She said you and I can eat these." When Rick didn't immediately sit down, Carl continued. "It was my first time scrambling eggs. I'm sure they're good."

Rick's expression softened and a hesitant, forced smile appeared on his face. "Yeah, I'm sure they will be." He pulled out a chair, sat down, and placed a napkin in his lap. "Do they have any salt and pepper?"

"Just a little." Carl watched his father tensely. He was surprisingly very worried about what he would say about his scrambled eggs.

Rick, pinned under Carl's scrutiny, cleared his throat. He started to sit down but veered toward the cabinet after another look at the brown pile of eggs on his plate. "I'm just gonna...use a little bit more. I like a lot of salt and pepper."

"Michonne said not to use a lot because we have to save it," Carl said.

"I won't use a lot," Rick responded, grabbing both the salt and pepper shakers. He sat back down and quickly dashed a little bit of both onto his food. Then he dashed a little more. "So are you and Michonne getting along?" Rick asked.

"No," Carl answered bluntly. But he didn't extrapolate; he slid the contract further to his side – out of Rick's view.

"I think you two would get along if you would give her a chance," Rick said. If he was trying to distract Carl with conversation, it didn't work.

Carl nodded toward Rick's food. "Have you tasted them yet?"

Rick forced a tight smile. "No...uh...not yet...about to..." He picked up his fork, looking for all intents and purposes like he wanted to flee the room.

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Michonne situated the bag she was carrying so that the contents of it would not rattle together when the tote jostled against her hip as she walked. Her gait was a little more hurried than usual but, other than that, she walked with a calm and normal stride.

"Michonne."

She stopped and turned her attention to Mike when she heard her name called quietly from his mouth. "Mike?" she asked, unsure if he had even called her since the whisper was so low. Maybe she had just imagined her name being called or maybe there had just been a strange whistle of the wind.

But she knew she wasn't mistaken when he gestured her over with a discreet sweep of his hand and a jut of his chin. She followed him over to a quiet place next to someone's porch. "What's up?" she asked, wondering why he was being so timid.

He looked the same as usual. His clothing just looked a little more worn. Usually his attire was crisp and just-washed; it was currently wrinkled from previous handling and his shirt carried a smell of dirty laundry – like he just picked it up off of the floor and pulled it on.

"I know we haven't really talked about what we were gonna do about Andre but um...he can stay with you."

Michonne initially felt a burst of excitement. Of course, those were words that she had only dreamed of hearing. She had planned to speak to Mike about this at some point in the future because they still hadn't come to a real agreement, but she had been putting it off due to the dread of him continuing his stubbornness...but to just acquiesce like this...

It was then that her excitement was followed by caution. And worry for Andre. Why was Mike making this offer so suddenly and how would it affect their son?

"Why?" she asked, speaking her thoughts aloud.

A look of confusion crossed Mike's face. It seemed he didn't understand the question. "Isn't this what you wanted?"

Michonne stepped closer to Mike as if their private conversation wasn't private enough. "You're not planning on no longer seeing Andre, are you?" she asked. "He needs his father."

Mike shook his head. "No. Never. Nothing like that. I'll still be in his life."

"Then what?" Michonne asked, knowing there had to be more to his sudden concession.

Mike hung his head and struggled with his next words. They appeared to catch in his throat and pain him. "I wasn't able to do anything," he finally said. Michonne listened carefully, waiting for further explanation. "When they came for Andre," he finally said. "They attacked..." He turned his head; his lips pinched together. The memory still obviously angered him. "They burst into my home, took Andre at gunpoint, and there was nothing I could do. He's not safe with me." His voice shook with the admittance, almost as if he was holding back a sob.

Concern and empathy touched Michonne's features. She shook her head. "You can't blame yourself, Mike," she said. "There's nothing you could've done-"

"No, but you could've done something," Mike said, cutting Michonne off and looking her in the eye. "You could've protected Andre."

"Mike-"

"All this time I've been faulting you for going off and fighting instead of staying with your family...but it wasn't your leaving that bothered me. It was that you were doing what I couldn't." Mike's eyes wavered up to hers. "I should've took better care of our house; I shouldn't have burdened you to do it all."

Michonne felt an invisible weight lift off of her heart. She hadn't even known it meant anything to her to hear Mike say that, but it did. It meant a lot. "You were there for Andre when I couldn't be," Michonne said, needing Mike to know that he wasn't a bad father. "You always have been. I don't know what happened in that house when the Saviors came, but I know you did what you thought was best for Andre. And he's safe." She reached out and took Mike's hand. "That's all that matters. Andre is safe and he loves you."

Mike nodded. Michonne didn't know if her words truly reached him but she had to trust that he would continue to be there for Andre. In the meantime, her son would stay in her home and she would take care of him.

Mike tried to hoist a smile that didn't quite make it onto his lips. "I was an idiot to let you go..." he muttered.

Michonne smiled sadly; she guessed this was the official ending to their relationship. "You'll be okay, Mike," she said. She gently took her hand from his. "Come visit Andre whenever you can." Mike nodded, slowly turned, and then he walked away. Michonne watched him go, silently wishing him the best.

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"Oh no, don't tell me I missed breakfast," Michonne said after having walked into the kitchen to see a sallow looking Rick Grimes seemingly holding back the alleged food he had just recently swallowed from climbing back up his esophagus. His plate was empty while Carl's was still nearly full. "I hurried back because I wanted to be here."

"Well, you came too late," Rick responded. He met Michonne's eyes and she could swear she saw some accusation and resentment there. His jaw still worked slightly as if he were still chewing on a rubbery substance that didn't seem to want to dissipate. Michonne lifted her eyebrows as if to say, 'What?' As she expected, Rick looked away with no argument; she held back a smile.

"I picked up a couple of things from the pantry," she said. She opened the bag she was carrying and pulled out four large jars full of pepper and salt – two containers of each.

"Oh," Rick said, surprised, as he watched her setting the contents onto the kitchen counter. "Olivia let you take that much?"

"Mmm," Michonne said, not necessarily commenting on it. She exchanged a sidelong glance with Carl and naturally he moved changed the subject to something else. For a moment, they were allies.

"Do you want me to go get Andre?" he asked his Dad.

"You didn't wake Andre?" Michonne asked Rick.

"I couldn't," Rick replied, successfully distracted. "He seemed so comfortable."

Michonne smirked and rolled her eyes. "Softie." She turned to Carl. "Could you go get him up please?"

Carl held up their fight contract, now signed. "But-"

"We can do that later," Michonne said, taking the contract from him. "Andre needs to eat breakfast."

Resigned, Carl stood up with a sigh. "Fine."

"What's that?" Rick asked, nodding to the contract, once Carl had disappeared upstairs.

Michonne handed it to him. "Your son wants to fight me." She took more eggs out of the refrigerator, preparing to make a proper breakfast for herself and Andre. And maybe a little extra for the two poor men who had to try to scarf down burned eggs.

"What?" Rick asked, looking at the piece of paper with concern. He sighed. "Don't worry. I'll talk to him."

"You don't have to," Michonne rebutted. "I can take care of it if it's okay with you."

Rick looked at her, still concerned. "You sure?"

"Mmhmm," Michonne said. "I actually think we're starting to understand each other."

Rick continued to look a little worried but he decided to trust her. "Don't hurt him too much," he conceded as Carl came back down the stairs carrying a sleepy Andre who was rubbing his eyes.

Michonne gently took Andre from Carl's arms. "Since we're both going to be full," she said. "How about we postpone the fight until tomorrow."

Carl shrugged easily. "Fine. I'll give you time to practice." He strolled to the table, leaving Michonne to smirk behind him and roll her eyes. She'd let him get away with that jab. Having cleared things up with Mike and looking at her family sitting around the kitchen table...she felt like the day was going to be a good day.

A/N: Okay, this is the end. I planned on writing more smut at the end but ending it simply like this seems right. I had trouble writing this last chapter because it felt like nothing I was writing was right. It may disappoint some of you after the long hiatus but I plan to work on other fics now.

And the ending with Carl and Michonne indicates that they'll keep putting off the fight until they forget about it. Thanks everyone for reading! And leave me a review with your thoughts. :)