So Much More

Michonne entered the abandoned shed just after sunset, as Rick had requested. The small room, with its weather worn floors turned gray from years of neglect, had been swept clean. Candles filled the room with soft golden light, and a CD player played romantic music. There was a bottle of red wine on the floor in front of him. Rick had changed into a clean white shirt and black slacks, and was barefoot. He’d shaved, his hair was combed…he looked good. She self-consciously pushed her braids back and shut the door behind her.

“You asked to see me.”

He smiled at her. “Have a seat.”

There were two mats on the floor, one on either side of the wine and the glasses. She sat across from Rick, her mind racing to put together what was happening. It had been a long time since someone had tried to seduce her. This wasn’t completely out of the blue, but she hadn’t expected him to make such an effort so soon.

Rick poured her a glass of wine, and then held up his own. “A toast: To us, making it this far.”

She clinked her glass to his and drank. He gazed at her, looking her directly in the eye. Normally that wasn’t something she had a problem returning, but now, she found it difficult not to look away. His stare was intense, almost frightening.

“There’s something I wanted to tell you, so I’m gonna get right to it,” he said. “After Lori died, I tried to put up a defense. I told myself that I had my friends and that was enough. I wouldn’t let anyone new in, especially another woman. I wasn’t going to let myself fall for someone only to lose them, and maybe lose myself again. Then the Governor came and destroyed everything we’d built at the prison. We had to go on the run, we got captured again, we ran again…it was a cycle that seemed like it was never going to end. During it all, though, I saw what you meant to my son. I saw how much he loves you and how much you love my children. You became a part of my family, a part of me.”

He looked down at the glass, his face slightly flushed above the beard shadow.

“I know we’ve never so much as kissed. We’ve never shared more than a lingering glance but I have to tell you. I need you to know that I’m in love with you. You’re not just my friend. You’re not just my ally. You’re the woman I love.”

She reached out and took his hand. His fingers entwined with hers before she moved across to sit beside him. She pulled Rick into a hug. He held her close, tight, and she tried to swallow over the lump of emotion in her throat. She relaxed against him, felt his hand leave hers to wrap around her back. She looked up at him, felt his lips graze hers.

“I love you too, Rick.”

He pulled her into a kiss, a gentle pressing of lips that slowly deepened into an entwining of tongues. The feel of being in the arms of a man who loved her was the last thing missing in her life. She’d never forget the son she’d lost, but she’d found another in Carl. She’d also gained a baby girl in Judith. Now she had Rick, a partner to love her, to fight beside her, to hold her when she hurt, and to banish the loneliness in a way only a lover could.

They made love. They connected body and soul, their eyes rarely breaking gaze that made them feel connected on a level that ran to the core of their being. When they were through, when they lay on the mats, sated, he held her close and peppered her brow with tender kisses and declarations of his love. He made her happy in a way she, too, had sworn she would never attempt to know again.

“I don’t know how long we have left in this world,” Michonne said, walking with Rick back to camp, “but I do know I want to spend it with you.”

He squeezed her hand and nodded, leading her back to their people. None of them questioned, or showed the slightest hint of surprise when the came back together, holding hands in a testament that made it perfectly clear: They weren’t just friends. They were so much more.