Domestic Bliss

Michonne looked at the clock on her office wall and cursed. It was almost six pm. She’d just checked the time, it seemed, twenty minutes ago and it had read four-thirty.

“Shit,” she said again, and gathered her bag, shoving her papers into it and then rushing to the door. She rushed back in, remembering her purse, checked for her keys, and then headed past her secretary’s desk. Bridget was gone already. Knowing her she'd stuck her head in to say goodbye, but Michonne had been too absorbed in reading to notice.

Rick was going to be pissed. Again. She’d promised she wouldn’t be late and here she was, doing that again. It was Thursday evening. She had court in the morning and she had to be prepared. Unfortunately that meant tonight made her late for dinner the fourth night in a row. Not to mention she hadn’t even been home Saturday evening, missing a dinner at Maggie and Glenn’s.

Those in the sanctuaries used modified golf carts as transportation. They didn’t provide much of a smooth ride but they were closed in and the AC soon had the little two-person electric vehicle pleasantly cool. Her battery was nearly depleted. She’d have to get a new one swapped out or she would risk missing court in the morning.

“Hi, Mr. Mee,” Michonne said, after she pulled up to the service station. “Is it possible to get my battery switched out with a charged one? I need it fast.”

“Certainly! It’ll cost ten credits.”

She dug into her purse and pulled out one of the tiny bronze tokens that were forged in Sanctuary One and used as money. She was running low, but thankfully tomorrow was payday. She smiled. She’d forgotten what it was like to have a payday and worry about travel and other expenses.

It didn’t take long. Ten minutes later and Mr. Mee had a new battery installed. The indicator needle read fully charged. That was one chore out of the way.

By the time Michonne arrived home it was seven o’clock. She spotted Rick at the table, serving up cherry pie to Carl, who had Judy on his lap. She cringed at the time and rushed in, putting her bag on the couch and then hurrying to the dining room. She kissed Carl and Judith. She didn’t fail to notice how stiff Rick was when she kissed him on the cheek.

“Sorry I’m late.”

“Are you?” Rick asked, and took a drink of his tea.

Michonne saw Carl tense. She knew the last thing he wanted to hear was yet another argument between his father and her, and she was determined not to have one with Rick now.

“May I take Judith with me to Will’s?” asked Carl. “She can play with Cody.”

“Fine with me, if your father doesn’t mind.”

“Be home by eight-thirty,” said Rick. “You have school in the morning.”

Carl sighed. He was fifteen now and he wanted a later curfew but Rick wasn’t having it. “But it’s the last day! We’re not even doing anything but hanging out.”

“Nine. No later. I mean it, Carl. Nine o’clock.”

“Fine. Come on, Judith. Let’s go see Cody.”

“Mommy,” Judith said, reaching for Michonne.

“Mommy will tuck you in tonight,” Michonne promised.

“If she can tear herself away from her papers,” Rick added.

Michonne bit down on a sharp reply. She’d known this would happen. She couldn’t entirely blame him for his anger but she didn’t like him dragging the kids into it.

Michonne went about loading peas, corn, and chicken onto her plate while Carl did the work of getting Judith into her stroller and getting her out the door.

“Did you really have to bring Judy into it?”

Rick didn’t answer. Instead he stood up and began clearing dishes, moving stiffly between the kitchen and the dining room.

“Let me help,” she said, leaving her full plate behind.

“Go ahead and eat. I can get this.”

“I have court in the morning. I have to be prepared. It’s a murder trial,” she explained. “I know the guy did it. The lab has--”

“It’s okay, Michonne. I understand. Finish your dinner then work your case.”

Later that night, after tucking Judith into her crib, Michonne went back to work. It was almost midnight when she climbed into bed and snuggled up behind Rick. He was awake and only pretending to be asleep. She wondered, not for the first time, how much more of this their relationship could take.

*****

Friday evening and Michonne left her office at nine o’clock. She’d wrapped up the case and had to finish up paperwork. She’d won. A murderer would be punished. She’d also lost more good will with her family. She’d promised Carl they would have movie night but she'd missed it. Now she was certain that not only would Rick be angry, so would Carl.

Rick was cold as ice when she came through the door. Carl wanted to spend the night at Will’s. He wanted to take Judith with him rather than leave her there to witness an argument but Rick wouldn’t have it. She was too young for a sleepover with anyone besides Maggie and Glenn, so Carl decided to go there.

“We’ve gotta talk,” Rick said, leaning against the kitchen sink.

“Agreed.”

“This job is taking you away from us. Do you deny that?”

“I know it’s eating into our time together but Rick, I’m the only prosecutor, and the only attorney with any significant court experience, in the three Sanctuaries. When a major case like a murder comes up I have to do the job.”

“You complained when I was the one taking the dangerous duty of transporting prisoners from Sanctuaries One and Two for trial here. I began turning over that job to my deputies more often so I could be home for you, for the kids!”

“It’s not the same thing, Rick! You have people to take over for you. I don’t.”

“I trained my deputies. Have you considered training someone to help you with your caseload? I have to ask because I doubt you have.”

“What’s that supposed to mean, you doubt that I have?”

“It means that I know you well enough to know that if you can’t cut down the bad guy with a sword you’ll cut them down with your words. I know you want to see justice done, but since we’ve settled in here, since we’ve found safety, we’ve gotten further and further away from each other. I'm not the only one who misses you, Michonne. Carl and Judith have adopted you as their mother and now they never see you.”

“I know about the kids, Rick, and I'm sorry. I miss them too, but I’m not a teacher. How can I train a replacement?”

“There are other people with backgrounds in law in the sanctuaries,” said Rick. “What about Sam Tang? He was a JAG officer. Are you telling me that between the two--”

“You were happier when I had my job at the warehouse doing rations,” she interrupted. “I was home all the time, being the little woman, which is exactly where you want me.”

Rick was both pissed off and stunned. “What?”

“I didn’t stutter.”

“You think this is some sexist thing, that I want you home barefoot and pregnant, living under my thumb or something? How could you say something like that to me? Jesus Christ, Michonne. I thought you knew me better than that. Guess I was wrong.”

He stormed past her and up the stairs. Michonne busied herself putting away clean dishes, letting him walk away before they could both say other things that would just hurt and not heal their wounded hearts. She considered raiding the fridge but the idea of food made her stomach turn.

By the time midnight rolled around Michonne had soaked in a hot bath and given what Rick said a lot of thought. She wasn’t home anymore. She wasn’t able to cut down the bad guy with her sword. The truth was she’d loved the letter of the law before the Turn and she had missed it afterward. Now she had the chance to stand in a court of law, before a judge, and dispense justice with some semblance of civility rather than the pure savagery that it took to exist in the world outside the walls of the sanctuaries.

Now she sat on her side of the bed with the lamp burning, trying to read the latest newsletter detailing the advancements in energy production from Sanctuary One. Telephone service was about to be restored between the sanctuaries. That meant they could keep up with their friends Carol and Tyreese, who lived in Sanctuary Two, and Daryl and Beth, who lived in Sanctuary One. They only got the chance to visit one another twice, and then for only a day. Telephone service would mean regular communication that was faster than the letters they sent through their frustratingly slow mail service.

“I like feeling like we’re part of a real civilization,” she said. She was going to talk despite Rick pretending to be asleep, with his back to her. “I like that we don’t have to worry about walkers overwhelming us. We don’t have to worry about food. We’ve got electricity, hot and cold running water, sewage, local phone service. Carl is in school. Judy’s in daycare. We get paid, we pay taxes, we have jobs, we have grocery stores and…life in the sanctuaries is life in the civilized world again, Rick. Sometimes I think this is all a dream. I'm afraid I'll wake up in a dirty sleeping bag in the woods with walkers drooling over me.”

Michonne felt Rick’s hand come to rest on her back. It was such a comforting, loving feeling that it was almost enough to make her cry.

“Part of life in the civilized world is uncivilized behavior. This Turn…it messed up a lot of people. Not that we weren’t messed up before. We need justice, though, Rick. You’re right. I’m using my words in place of my katana. I’m also putting the needs of the sanctuary above those of my family. I can’t do that. I don’t want to lose you and the kids. I couldn’t go on--”

“Hey, hey,” he said, tugging her down until she lay against his chest. “You’re not losing us. I’ve been an asshole lately. I don’t want you to think I’m about to call it quits. I love you too much to walk away from you. The kids love you.”

“All we do is fight or cold shoulder each other. Carl is always looking to run off to Maggie and Glenn’s. It’s my fault.”

“It takes two to fight. I get so damn lonely without you. I get mad and then I start arguments, I make comments that are unfair. It’s not just you, Baby. It really ain’t.”

He held her close. She listened to his heartbeat, strong and steady, against her ear.

“I’ll send Tang a telegram in the morning. I’ll ask him to leave his farming job and come back to law, or at least we can find some students to train. I’m going to reduce my caseload somehow. If that means criminals have to wait longer in jail then so be it. I’m gonna try, Rick.”

“I know. I'm going to try harder too,” he promised.

After a minute or so of silence Michonne realized he was chuckling, albeit silently.

“What’s so funny?”

“We’ve just had our first serious fight as a couple.”

She looked up at him. “Does that mean it’s time to makeup?”

“Yeah, it is,” he said, stroking her arm. "Making up is the best part."

"So I've heard."

Michonne ran her hand down the length of his flat belly and slipped under his boxers where she began to rub. He hardened under her touch, his cock lengthening against her palm. He smothered her lips in a searing kiss. Their passion ran hot with not just lust but a great deal of love and affection.

“It’s been too long,” she whispered.

“Mmm-hmmm,” he moaned in agreement.

Rick rolled onto Michonne and played the head of his cock against the hard nub of her clit. He slicked himself with her juices before gently sliding into her. She moaned and wrapped her legs around him, drawing him deeper into her. He stilled for a moment and looked down at her. She was lovely in the golden light of the bedside lamp.

“You’re beautiful, Michonne. Inside and out. I love you.”

“I love you, too. So much it hurts sometimes,” she answered him.

Rick began to move inside her, slowly at first, until Michonne made it clear she needed more, faster, by rising her hips to meet his in an ever increasing pace. They made love with the kind of enthusiasm they hadn’t felt in months. When it was over, Michonne kept her arms around him, only allowing him to lie a few inches from her. She needed him close. She needed to feel his arms around her. She needed to see the love in his eyes.

She wondered if he would ask her, again, to marry him. He usually did every few weeks or so. She always either said not yet or didn’t answer at all. She watched Rick fall asleep and remembered the time, a few months previously, he’d come home, hungry for her after nearly dying in a fight with walkers at a wall breach. He’d asked her then and she’d refused, fearing that as soon as she said yes something terrible would happen to take him away from her.

Time was precious, even in the safety of the sanctuaries, and Michonne was beginning to regret wasting it. If he asked her to marry him again, she thought, she was going to say yes. Life was too short to waste on fear rather than on love.

She kissed his lips, gently, told him she loved him, and saw him smile in his sleep, and then switched out the light.

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