When Carl came back home, it was eerily quiet in the house.

"Hey Michonne, I'm back!" Carl called as he closed the front door in behind him. He trudged into the kitchen, grabbing a cup and pouring himself some water from the refrigerator. He took a sip, closing his eyes as the cool liquid slid down his throat.

"Hey Michonne?" Carl called, and was greeted with silence. Wrinkling his forehead, Carl made his way up the steps, the stairs creaking eerily beneath him. The door to Judith's bedroom was slightly ajar, and Carl slowly pushed it open, the sight of Judith's empty crib sending his body into full alarm mode. He turned quickly and immediately relaxed.

Michonne was sitting sideways in the armchair, her socked feet, and her back, were resting on the deep armrests, the side of her head resting against the headrest. She was sleeping, but when Carl saw what was in her lap, he couldn't contain his smile. Judith was laying up against Michonne's chest, fast asleep as well, her arms wrapped tightly around Michonne's neck, and Michonne's knees keeping her in place.

Carl let out a small chuckle before he could help himself. Not wanting to wake the sleeping pair, he slowly crept back out of the room, taking another opportunity to watch them before closing the door back in and letting them sleep in peace.

XXXXXXXXXX

"What made you pick her up?" Rick asked Michonne. They were in the kitchen, washing dishes after dinner, and Carl had taken Judith back over to where Enid was staying, to visit her. Carl told his parents that Enid really missed Judith and wanted to see her, but they both knew he was just using Judith as an excuse to visit Enid again.

"She was crying and… I just knew she needed me. She touched me and I had a reaction. I didn't like it… I… I wanted to let go, to run away. But then she said mama. She spoke Rick. And no matter what, I had to hold her. She's my daughter, she's more important than anything else."

Rick nodded with a smile on his face. "She's been trying to talk for weeks" he said, "I knew it was gonna be soon, but I thought I'd be there to hear it. And I was kinda hoping it'd be dada."

Michonne turned to Rick with a smirk. "Are you jealous?"

"Maybe a little" he admitted, "but she did what I couldn't, she touched you."

Michonne's smile slowly dropped. "I'm sorry it's been so hard" she said, "I'm sorry I've been so…"

"No!" Rick said, stopping her. "I don't want you to think that I'm blaming you."

"I know you're not."

"I just meant I'm glad you and she broke that barrier. She needed you, and I know you needed her too."

Michonne nodded, her eyes meeting Rick's briefly before suddenly becoming interested in the dish cloth she was using to dry the dishes. Rick went back to washing dishes, an uncomfortable silence settling between them for a few minutes.

Michonne opened and closed her mouth a few times, as if hesitating to say what was on her mind. "I need you too" Michonne said softly, slowly dragging her eyes towards Rick's. At her tone, Rick looked over towards Michonne, seeing uncertainty in her eyes.

"Rick, I… I wouldn't've been able to heal as much as I have without you. And I want to… try. I want to try to touch you."

Rick put the dish that he was washing down on the counter. "Michonne, you've done so much already. You are making so much progress, and I don't want you to do something that you're not comfortable with. Not with me."

"I know. I want to try this. I think maybe if I touch you, it won't be so bad. We can just try it. See what happens?" she said with a shrug.

Rick glanced at Michonne harder. He had been praying for this day for weeks. He wanted to feel her hands on him again, but he didn't want her to scare herself. He was afraid she'd regress and not try it again if it didn't go well. He was afraid that she may reject him for good.

"Please?" Michonne asked, her eyes pleading with him. As scared as she was, she wanted to feel him again.

"Okay" Rick said. "What do you want me to do?"

"Just… just don't move" Michonne said, and she reached her right hand towards Rick's arm. Her fingers were trembling the closer she got, and before she knew it she was touching his upper arm. Rick could feel her shaking fingers pressed against him, and his heart ached for the turmoil she was going through, but he didn't say anything and stayed still.

Although Michonne was trembling, she kept her fingertips against Rick's arm. She had a strong compulsion to remove her hand. Her heart raced, but she kept her shaking fingertips steady, forcing herself to settle the pads of her fingers there, then her palm, and then her entire hand, until she was gripping Rick's arm.

Once Michonne had rested her entire hand on Rick's arm, she looked up at his eyes and saw that he was grinning at her.

"How do you feel?" Rick asked.

"I'm shaking, and my heart is racing" Michonne admitted, "but I'm doing it."

"You're doing great. I'm so proud of you."

Slowly, Michonne removed her hand from Rick's arm. She took a deep breath to calm herself and then said "Rick I want to touch your face. Can I?"

"Of course you can" Rick said.

Michonne reached her arm out in the same way she had before, her fingertips hesitating as they approached Rick's cheek. He looked at her in anticipation. She rolled her shoulders, seemingly psyching herself up, and then pressed her fingertips to Rick's beard, running them slowly down his cheek.

Rick's eyes rolled closed at the feel of Michonne's fingers on his face. He felt an instant electricity flow through her fingertips and into his body. He had been waiting for this moment for so long. He thought it wouldn't ever happen again and he accepted that, and now he could feel his love's touch again.

Michonne's fingertips were hypersensitive to the feel of Rick's beard. She'd missed its roughness, the way it was prickly on the tops of his cheeks, but got softer the closer she got to his chin. She missed the feel of his skin underneath hers. Although she was still trembling, she pressed her palm to his face, wanting to feel more of his warm flesh under her hand.

Rick pressed his cheek against her hand. It was so warm and smooth. He couldn't help but remember rubbing his cheeks against her chest, belly, and thighs the last time they'd made love. He missed her hands on his neck, and chest, and everywhere else. He just missed her.

"How are you doin'?" Rick asked, his eyes still closed.

Michonne, feeling bolder than she'd felt in a long time, reached out with her other hand and placed it on Rick's opposite cheek, her hands framing his face. "I've missed this" she said softly.

"Oh, I have too" Rick said, his eyes still closed. Michonne slowly slid both hands down Rick's face, tracing her fingers over his cheek bones, and then running her pointer finger across his lips. Rick released a moan at the feeling of her fingers tracing his lips. It took everything he had to keep his hands at his sides and not wrap his arms around her and kiss her.

Feeling completely empowered by the reaction Rick was having, Michonne leaned in closer to him, testing her limits. Her face was inches from his cheeks. She wanted to rest her face against his and feel his beard tickle her skin. Rick was all but quivering as he could feel her warmth and proximity against his body.

The moment Michonne's cheek rested against Rick's she was back in the cabin, her arms and legs strapped to the bed. She could feel His scratchy beard against her cheek, right before he thrust inside of her, causing her to gasp in pain. "It's big ain't it. I know, but you'll get used to it."

Michonne leaped back from Rick, her hand clutching the side of her face that had been pressed against Rick's as if she'd been slapped.

"What? What!?" Rick asked, startled by her reaction.

"I… I'm sorry, I shouldn't have… I didn't mean to scare you. It was too much. I did too much… I'm sorry" Michonne stuttered, backing away from Rick, her eyes wide but staring at the ground.

"Wait! Michonne! Hold on!" Rick called after her, but she retreated to her bedroom, closing the door behind her and this time locking it.

XXXXXXXXXX

Michonne had one of her worst nights since the first night she came home. She couldn't help the flashbacks that were playing in her head, over and over. They were so realistic she was starting to second guess if she really had escaped that cabin after all. It was like a flood gate had opened, and she was reliving things that were done and said to her that her brain had tried to bury, pushed down into her subconscious until physical intimacy with Rick summoned them to crawl their way to the surface once more. She was on the floor again, her head in her hands, shaking nonstop.

"Michonne!" Rick called through the locked door. "Michonne, open the door, please!" But she couldn't hear him. Her worst nightmare had happened. In her mind, she was back in that dirty bedroom. For hours, she was almost catatonic, a slave to her own mind, as the worst parts of her ordeal kept playing on a loop. In her head, she lay on her back on the dirty mattress, her arms and legs secured, as He stood over her, grinning. He stared down at her, violating her with his eyes, and she could hear his voice in her head. Shhh now, be a good Dolly. When He approached her, to torture her for the dozenth time in a row, suddenly the warrior inside of her burst free, and a feeling of pure defiance came over her.

Enough. She was done. She was tired of the flashbacks. Tired of the fear, and pain, and everything else that she had experienced in the past few weeks. She was tired of these dead men taking up any more of her time.

"No!" she said out loud, her voice ringing through the silence of her real bedroom, "You're dead. You're dead and I'm alive. I won. I beat you. You don't control my body or my mind." She wiped tears from her face with one of her sleeves as she spoke to the man in her head. "I am not your Dolly. I'm alive and you're in hell, and after today I won't think about any of you ever again."

With those words, she was back in her bedroom, far from the burned down cabin of hell where she'd been forced to live for so long. Michonne breathed deeply a few more times until her tears abated and her breathing slowed down. Once she had better control of herself, she leaned against the wall to stand up and stretch her cramped legs.

She walked softly to the door of her bedroom and unlocked it. At the unlocking sound, Rick who was sitting on the floor in front of her room, hopped up. He spun around to face her as she swung the door open.

His eyes moved left and right, searching her face to see if she was okay.

Michonne closed the distance between them, not hesitating to place both of her hands on Rick's face again. Rick was completely taken off guard by her affection.

"I'm sorry" she said, looking into his eyes. "I'm better now, and I will keep getting better. Thank you for everything Rick. Thank you." She leaned in closer to him, moving her fingers to the back of his neck, gripping his curls that she'd missed touching. She looked into his wide eyes and then gently pulled his head towards hers, and pressed her lips against his.

Rick was so astonished, he just stood still as Michonne kissed him. He didn't know what to do, he didn't know if he could kiss her back, if he should touch her. He settled on staying as still as possible and hoping she wouldn't stop.

After a few seconds, Michonne pulled back from Rick to look at him again. His expression of confusion made her smile, her teeth radiant and white.

Knowing he needed permission, she whispered "kiss me Rick". That was all the asking Rick needed. He wrapped one arm around her waist, and the other gripped the back of her neck, just underneath her twists. He gazed into her eyes deeply for a split second before pouncing on her lips, griping them with his own, sucking and pulling, and biting them. Being rough but pleasantly tender, he devoured all the sorrow and longing that he felt towards this woman who he loved. He played back every fantasy he had in his head of kissing her, and tried his best to make every single one of those fantasies come true all at once. He realized he wasn't even breathing, and forced himself to breathe in between kisses.

Michonne knew Rick needed this, and dammit she needed it too. It had been too long without his affection. She didn't want to ever go without it again. She pressed her chest flush against his, and wrapped her arms around his waist, holding him to her even more tightly, running her palms up and down his back. Rick couldn't stop himself from kissing her if he wanted too. It was too much, her lips felt too good, it had been too long. Tears escaped his eyes as his tongue circled her mouth again and again.

After some time, Michonne gently pulled her mouth from Rick's. He had lost track of time and if she didn't stop him he would've kept going indefinitely. He opened his eyes to see her staring into them, a slight smirk on her face.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly, his lips still swollen from their kiss.

She nodded her head and moved her hands to his face once again. "I'm okay. I just needed to handle some things. I'm sorry I scared you. I feel like I put some of it away. I know it'll still hurt, but I can move on. I'm ready to move on now. I'm ready to live again."

"Sweetheart… you're the bravest person I know. I love you so much. More than anything" Rick said with tears in his eyes.

Michonne leaned in again and kissed Rick's lips again until they were interrupted by the front door opening.

Michonne could hear Judith's babbling and Carl's heavy footsteps in the kitchen. "We're back!" Carl called. Michonne pulled away from Rick and quickly walked towards the kitchen. Without warning, she threw both arms around a startled Carl, and Judith who he was carrying.

Carl froze as Michonne wrapped her arms around him. Not knowing if he should hug her back or stay still, Carl glanced over Michonne's shoulder at Rick who was entering the kitchen. Rick nodded briefly with a smile on his face. Relieved, Carl wrapped his arms around Michonne and buried his face into her shoulder. Within seconds he was sobbing, grabbing on to her tightly. Rick quickly took Judith from Carl, and with both hands free, Carl tightly embraced Michonne. Michonne held on to Carl, knowing he needed his time to release all the horror and pain he had been bravely holding in. The two of them stayed in an embrace for minutes, Michonne silently rocking Carl from side to side as he cried.

Rick nodded to Michonne as he took Judith upstairs to put her to bed. After a few minutes, Carl's sobs turned to sniffles, and then he went quiet, still holding Michonne in his arms. When he was ready, he let go first, and Michonne followed his lead, her hand lingering on his hair a while before she completely let go.

"How?" Carl managed, his voice raspy from his tears.

"I had another breakdown" Michonne admitted, "but afterwards, I felt… free. Like I had resolved some things in my mind. And I hope I never go back to that again. I'm sorry for everything that I put you through…" Michonne began.

Carl opened his mouth to interrupt her, but Michonne lifted a hand to silence him. "I know it wasn't my fault, and I accept that, but that doesn't change the fact that you still had to deal with so much. I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you because of what I was going through. I couldn't be the mom that you needed, but you were so great. You took up the slack, you took care of Judith, and your dad, and me. And you were so patient with me Carl. You're part of the reason why I healed and I'm so grateful to you. Thank you" Michonne said, staring into Carl's eye.

Carl nodded proudly. "You're welcome. I'm just glad to have you back"

XXXXXXXXXX

That night, per Michonne's request, she and Rick lay together, face to face, in their own bed, in their old room for the first time in months. Rick couldn't stop grinning as he and Michonne lay side by side. Encouraged by his enthusiasm, she grabbed Rick's hand and pressed a kiss to his knuckles, before entwining their fingers. Rick pulled their entwined hands towards his mouth, and gently kissed the top of her hand, causing her to smile.

"This is like a dream" Rick said with a sigh. "This is… this is everything I've wanted. Everything that I needed."

"It is for me too" Michonne agreed. She let go of Rick's hand and slowly ran her fingers down Rick's face. "You don't realize how good you have something until it's gone, huh?"

"Who are you telling?" Rick joked. His hand crept over to Michonne's waist, pulling her closer to him. "Is that okay?" he asked, suddenly nervous about setting her off again.

"Yes, it's okay" she assured him, gently pulling his curls. "Rick… I…" Michonne sighed, unexpectedly nervous again.

"What is it?" Rick asked.

"I'm ready to go to Dr. Carson. To get checked out. I want to. Before we…"

"Oh" Rick said quickly, understanding what she was saying. "Okay, okay sure. We can go tomorrow if you're okay with that."

Michonne nodded and smiled. She cuddled up closer to Rick, and he wrapped both arms around her, enveloping her in his warmth. He kissed her on the forehead and she rested her head on his shoulder, slowly enticed into a sleepy state by his steady heartbeat.

"I love you" she whispered.

"I love you too sweetheart" he whispered back.

XXXXXXXXXX

The next day, Rick and Michonne were at the infirmary at Hilltop, Michonne laying on the medical bed uncomfortably, while Rick sat in the chair next to her, his foot nervously tapping on the floor. Due to the lack of real medical supplies, instead of a disposable medical gown, Michonne was wearing an oversized T-shirt, and her feet were propped up on old textbooks instead of stirrups, but they all had to make do.

Michonne was terrified, and Rick could tell. He couldn't imagine the feelings and thoughts she was experiencing having someone examine her in that area, but he could tell by the resolved look on her face that she was going to get through this, no matter what. He rubbed his thumb up and down her hand, trying to give her any kind of comfort that he could, while they waited for Dr. Carson to come back with his instruments.

"Can I come in?" Dr. Carson asked from the other side of a sheet that he had hung across the exam room of the trailer.

"Yes" Michonne said, her voice shaking slightly.

Dr. Carson entered and greeted Rick and Michonne before putting his supplies down on the table next to the exam bed.

"Okay, I know you're nervous" he said, turning to Michonne who was unconsciously pulling on her M chain while biting her lip. "And that is completely understandable. But before we start anything, I want to know how you're feeling."

"Well, I… I was gone for a while. Mentally. I was a mess. But Rick, and Carl, and Judith, they helped me get to the point where I can touch people and have someone touch me without freaking out. But to be honest, this… the idea of you doing this… is making me nervous."

Dr. Carson sat in front of Michonne and nodded, completely sympathizing with what she was going through. "First of all, I just want you to know that I have so much respect for you. The fact that you willingly came here, and you're talking to me right now. I of course don't know all the details of what happened, and I only need to know what is medically relevant, but Michonne, all of us who heard of you surviving for a month on your own after being kidnapped, we are in awe of you. And I'm gonna do everything I can do from a doctor's perspective to get you back to full health. Okay?" he asked.

Michonne crushed her lips together and nodded.

"To make you feel a little more comfortable, I'm going to tell you everything I'm going to be doing today okay? First, I'm going to ask you a few questions, then I'm going to do an exam. In the exam, I'm going to look for any physical injuries, or any physical signs of STD's or infections."

With that, Michonne took a deep breath, and Rick squeezed her hand slightly for reassurance.

"I know" Dr. Carson said, nodding his head. "I know that's scary, and I'm going to be honest with you, Michonne, we are limited here with our treatments and our ability to diagnose, but regardless of whether there are signs or not, I'm just going to give you antibiotics for the most common things that might be there. I'm sorry I can't give you a blood test, or a pap smear, or anything else on the microscopic level, but at least that's something. And then, after the exam, if you want one, I can give you a pregnancy test."

Michonne's heart nearly burst through her chest at Dr. Carson's statement, and Rick went pale and looked like he was about to faint. Michonne hadn't even considered that she might have been impregnated by one of those monsters. Tears came to her eyes at Dr. Carson's words.

"Oh, I'm sorry" Dr. Carson said, immediately feeling badly and reaching over to pass Michonne a tissue. "I'm… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."

"I know" Michonne said, wiping her face and nose. "I understand. Thank you, Dr. Carson, and yes, I want one."

Dr. Carson nodded. "Do you have any questions for me, either of you, before I start with the medical questions?"

Both of them shook their heads no. Dr. Carson asked Michonne many questions including how long ago it was since the last assault, how many men assaulted her, was she experiencing any physical symptoms, pain, itching, fatigue, and what mental symptoms she was experiencing.

Rick could see answering the questions truthfully was taking a lot out of Michonne, but she continued on, explaining what was done to her and the details of her abuse. At that moment Rick was relieved that Michonne had not gone to Dr. Carson as soon as they'd found her. He didn't think she'd ever come back, if she had to go through the trauma of the questions and the physical exam in the state that she was in previously.

After the questions, Dr. Carson physically examined Michonne while she gripped Rick's hand tightly, her smaller hand trembling in his. "It's okay" he mouthed, looking her in the eyes, "You're okay". Dr. Carson tried to be as quick as possible while also being thorough, looking for bruises or signs of an infection. As soon as he was done, he allowed Michonne to get dressed before he continued the conversation with her.

Once she was dressed, he came back in. "Okay, the good news is, I didn't see any obvious signs of infection which is good. But, like I said before, I really don't have the means to truly test for STDs. So, these are antibiotics for the most common bacterial infections. I want you to take these. The fact that you haven't been having any symptoms is good, but we want to be sure."

Michonne nodded and asked "what about viruses, you know? Antibiotics won't get rid of those."

"You're right" Dr. Carson confirmed. "Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do about viral infections. But I do think the chances of you contracting something deadly like HIV is very low at this point. There are no more HIV medications to control the spread of the virus, and someone who has had the virus for this long in the apocalypse would either be dead or too sick to spread it. Not to say that it couldn't happen, but I don't think it'll be helpful for you to worry about."

"Is there anything else she should worry about?" Rick asked, opening his mouth for the first time. He didn't want to insert himself into the conversation because ultimately this was about Michonne, but he wanted to make sure all bases were covered.

"I would suggest that if you two are intimate, you use condoms for a while, at least until she finishes the antibiotics. I know that's difficult, seeing as though they're almost impossible to find. I'd give you some if we had any left here, but uh… besides that there's nothing else I can think of."

Rick looked at Michonne again, and she was steadily staring at the floor. "Are you okay?" he asked her gently, realizing this whole conversation was hard on her. She nodded and quickly looked up at Dr. Carson.

"I want to take the pregnancy test" she said confidently. He passed her one of the tests from a drawer.

"You want me to go with…" Rick began, but Michonne shook her head and headed off to the bathroom, leaving the two men behind her to sit in silence.

Michonne entered the bathroom and closed the door behind her. As soon as the door closed she burst into tears, but she put her hand over her mouth to stifle her cries. She'd known it would be hard coming here, but she had no idea how difficult it would be. Although she should've, she didn't realize pregnancy was even an option, probably because of how much she hated the men that had violated her. And now, she was here testing to see if one of those bastards had left her a parting gift of either a disease or a child.

She wiped her tears with the back of her hand. She had no idea how she'd react if the test was positive. She had told herself that the men no longer had control of her mind and body, but if she was pregnant they did still have control of her body. Especially now, when she had no choice but to carry the pregnancy. And what about the child? It wouldn't be the child's fault, and she knew even through the pain, Rick would raise the child as his own, but could she deal with seeing that child every day? A constant reminder of the brutality inflicted on her? She placed her hands on her abdomen and said a little prayer.

Please be negative. Please God, please! You owe me. Please be negative.

Michonne shook out her hands, physically shaking away her anxiety, and with a deep breath, she took the test. She then covered the toilet, sat on the seat, and stared at the test, waiting for the very second that it revealed an answer. As she waited, she nervously played with her M necklace, rubbing it back and forth on its chain. She could hear Rick pacing outside the bathroom door. She knew it was him from the click of his boots. He didn't knock or ask to come in. He somehow knew she had to do this part on her own, but just the sound of his presence soothed her a little. She knew he'd be there no matter what.

In a few minutes, the screen on the test started to change. Michonne gripped the sink in anticipation and terror as she got her answer. She released a groan and stood to her feet unsteadily. She opened the bathroom door and ran face first into Rick, who wrapped her in an embrace as she buried her head into his chest, unable to speak.

"Oh baby, it's okay. No matter what, it's okay" Rick said to her reassuringly, although his own heart was beating out of his chest. He couldn't tell what the test said from her reaction. Michonne knew he wanted to know, and summing all of her self-control she managed to say the words "negative".

Rick closed his eyes in gratefulness, and pressed his cheek against Michonne's. The two of them just embraced in the hallway in front of the bathroom for as long as they needed.

XXXXXXXXXX

For a week, Michonne regularly took the antibiotics that Dr. Carson gave her, and she tried to get back to her normal life. She and Rick threw a dinner for the whole extended family, and for the first time in months, Michonne gave everyone a hug when they entered the house. Michonne began taking Judith on strolls around Alexandria, finally getting out of the house on a regular basis. And, Michonne begged Rick to put her back on wall duty so that she'd have a job. The rapid progress that she'd made just in the last week was amazing, and the whole town was impressed.

Rick and Michonne had also progressed in their intimacy as well. Although they weren't having sex, they would lay together naked, just touching and cuddling with each other. Rick was so grateful for these little moments, he didn't really care about sex. As long as he could touch and comfort Michonne, he was home.

The night the antibiotics were finished, Rick lay on his side of the bed underneath the covers, while he watched Michonne finish re-twisting her growing hair.

"It's starting to loc already" she said, turning off their bedroom light and climbing into her side of the bed.

"It looks beautiful" Rick said. "You think my hair could do that?"

Michonne let out a laugh as she pulled the covers over her body. "Are you being serious right now?" Michonne asked.

"Yea! What? Would you disown me or something if I got locs?" Rick asked, wrapping one of his large hands around her small waist.

"Not at all" Michonne said, placing a small kiss on his nose. "After all you've been through with me, I could never disown you."

"No, what you mean to say is after all you've been through, and the fact that you're still here, I would be a fool to disown you" Rick said, his eyes flicking back and forth as he looked into Michonne's. Michonne leaned in and kissed Rick shyly on his lip. "Um… I'm done with the medicine" Michonne said uncertainly.

"Do you want to?" Rick asked, sliding his hand down to cup Michonne's backside.

"Do you want to?" Michonne asked, but she knew that question was dumb when Rick pressed his erection against her.

"Only if you're ready. And I want you to know that you are in control here. I'll follow your lead. Anytime you want to stop, we can stop" Rick said.

"Okay" Michonne said softly, and she kissed Rick passionately. He responded, placing his hand on the back of her neck, sucking on her luscious lips. Pleasure ran down Michonne's body, straight to her core, as she kissed her soulmate in their bed. His hands ran up and down her butt and legs, wandering where they wanted, every place they touched crackling with electricity.

Michonne moved her mouth from Rick's and slowly inched her way downward towards his neck, kissing every spot she could. She could feel his pulse contract underneath her lips as he got more and more excited, his breathing speeding up. She licked and bit at him as he let out low moans. She moved further downward to his chest, where she latched on to one of his nipples and sucked.

"Mmmm" Rick moaned in pleasure, and he began to writhe underneath her as her tongue teased and pulled at his nipple.

"Does that feel good?" she asked him. "Oh yes" he replied, placing his hand on her face and watching as she sucked. She moved to the other nipple, repeating the process until both of his nipples were standing at attention.

She moved back up to his mouth and kissed him again. "What do you want Michonne?" he asked her as he panted in ecstasy. "I only want to do what you want. I want this to feel good for you."

Michonne really thought about Rick's words. What did she want out of sex now? What did they take away from her, that she wanted back? The words came to her almost as quickly as she asked herself. She wanted to feel loved, and she wanted her power back.

"I want us to go slow, and I want to be on top" Michonne said. Rick immediately nodded, lying flat on his back. "Yes ma'am" he said with a smile.

Michonne climbed on top of him as he looked up at her in pure admiration. He leaned upwards and caught one of her nipples in his mouth, sucking them the same way she had sucked on his. Michonne looked down and watched with a smile on her face as he devoured her. She placed a hand behind his head and pulled his curls as he alternated between sucking and nibbling, causing her to become wetter.

"Mmm" he murmured, her breast still in his mouth. "So good."

She closed her eyes as he headed to the other breast, repeating the process, as she slowly began to grind on top of him. She could feel his hard dick creating friction between her legs as she slowly moved her body against his. Her body was leaking, and she could feel the sticky precum on Rick's dick as well, as she moved against it.

"How are you feeling?" Rick mumbled against her, as his body jerked involuntarily.

"More" she said, leaning down to taste his lips again.

Rick's hands moved up and down the side of her body as she scooted backwards a little to line herself up with his aching dick which was standing at attention. Slowly and carefully, she stroked his dick a few times before placing it at her entrance. She savored the feel of it against her. It had been so long since she'd had sex that didn't hurt. It had been so long since she had sex that she had wanted, and she wanted this badly.

Rick was peering up at her in anticipation. He was trembling slightly and she knew that he was trying to stay still, waiting for her permission. He was biting his bottom lip as he watched her rub his dick against herself.

When she was ready, she slid on to him fully, and both of their eyes rolled back in their heads simultaneously. It felt so good, a few tears escaped from Michonne's eyes before she could stop them. Rick didn't notice because his eyes were closed. "Oh. 'Chonne" he moaned, "shit. That feels so good."

Michonne settled down further on Rick, loving as he squirmed underneath her. She knew he wanted to move, but he was letting her be in charge. His eyes opened and he watched her smirk on top of him. He couldn't contain a smile. "You waitin' for somethin'?" he asked, his southern accent suddenly becoming more pronounced.

"Just enjoyin' the view" Michonne said, copying his accent. She laughed as he smirked, but suddenly she began to grind against him, and his smile quickly disappeared and was replaced by a look of pure ecstasy. Michonne felt it too and she let out a groan as his dick was touching her in all the right places.

"Oooooh" she moaned, as she wined faster.

"Can… can I… please?" Rick asked, gripping Michonne's hip with his right hand. He didn't have to finish his sentence for Michonne to know what he wanted. She nodded, grabbing hold of both of his hands as he began to thrust into her, the two of them moving in synch as the bed rocked beneath them.

"Mmmmmhhhh Rick" Michonne moaned, her head tilting to the side. "Yesssss… oh, ohhhh"

Rick, pleased that he was pleasing her, continued thrusting, Michonne gripping his hands more tightly as she was reaching her climax. "Yes baby, yes Michonne, I love you. I love you baby" Rick whispered as Michonne's body began to jerk on top of his.

"Oh Rick, I'm… I'm coming ohhhhh" Michonne let out, and then her whole body went rigid on top of his, as her thighs gripped him tightly. Rick watched as she took pleasure in him, and the sight of her caused him to go over the edge, coming quickly soon after her.

Michonne collapsed on top of him, out of breath, their sweaty bodies pressed together and entwined. For a few minutes, neither of them spoke, catching their breath, processing what happened, and how they felt afterwards. Finally, Rick asked "are you okay?"

Michonne nodded her head that was still pressed against Rick's chest. "Rick, that's the first time I've come in so long. I needed that. I needed you. I feel good, great." She turned her head upwards so she could see his face. "You're all I've ever needed."

Rick smiled and pressed a kiss against Michonne's forehead. Michonne gave a giddy laugh. "I can't believe I'm this happy right now, after everything. Do you think that's weird?"

Rick looked into her eyes. "Why would I think that's weird? You deserve to be happy. You don't deserve to spend the rest of your life miserable. I hope you're happy like this every day. I know I'll make sure you're happy like this every night" Rick said, wiggling his eyebrows. Michonne laughed and playfully slapped Rick's chest.

"I'm so happy this is real" Michonne said, slowly crawling up Rick's body so that their mouths could find each other once again. Rick ran his hands up and down Michonne's back as they kissed, his touch setting her on fire once again. She knew he had the same thoughts, as his hand slowly worked its way to cup her ass again. He wiggled his eyebrows, silently asking her if she wanted to go at it again, and she answered by wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him on top of her.

Author's Note: And that is the end of this story! I hope you were satisfied with this fic, and not too traumatized. And thank you for having faith in me as an author and sticking with it until the end. Please leave a review and let me know your thoughts. And for those of you waiting for an update for 'The Greater Good (the fourth story in the Bargaining Chip Saga)', know that I won't leave you hanging, I'm going to work on the next chapter of that as soon as possible. Once again, thank you for all of your support!