Bonded to you

4/17

You would lie if you said that you didn't miss him, that the way in which he'd left you and his indifference, after all that you both had shared, didn't hurt anymore, because it did, you were bitter and angry, you still felt like you were having your heart ripped out of your chest when you thought about it, and you still cried more than you would want to.

But you had to move on and push through all that, if only for your baby.

You had word that Michonne had a baby too, and you were surprised, you hadn't known she was pregnant, and your heart went to Rick, who had died without knowing he had a kid, and to Michonne, raising the baby alone, with Rick gone.

You wanted to go visit, but you didn't want questions about your own baby, and you didn't dare to travel with her so little.

It wasn't until about a year and a half after you had your baby, that you went to visit Alexandria, Michonne and his baby, RJ, you had been told he was called. Some women from Oceanside were going to Alexandria for some trading, and so you decided to go with them in their cart to stay in Alexandria for a week or two, when Michonne told you that she'd be happy to have you, after all that time.

You traveled without any trouble, and you smiled when the cart crossed the gates of Alexandria and you saw Michonne and Aaron there waiting for you all. You waved at them and smiled at your baby, who seemed confused but excited, strapped to you with a slinger. "Hey!"

"Hi!" Michonne was smiling at you, but she looked at your baby in surprise.

"Hey! Y/N!" Aaron seemed surprised too, grinning at you and the kid. "Who's this little lady here?"

"She's Naia, she's my kid." You smiled, even though you were nervous at how they might react. They seemed even more surprised, looking from the little girl to you, and back at the baby.

"How have you ended up with a baby living in a place with only women?" Aaron seemed amused, smiling at your girl, who was frowning at him as if deciding if she liked him or not.

"Well, you know...sailors come sailors go..." You tried to joke without saying anything...yes, there were only women in Oceanside, but sometimes people from other communities came to trade, so you didn't think it was impossible for you to have ended up pregnant...you rather had Michonne thinking that after Daryl, you had looked for comfort in someone else, and ended up pregnant in a one-night thing, that knowing that you had hidden his baby from Daryl. "Anyway, I'm dying to see Judith and Gracie, they must be so big, and to meet RJ!"

"You have come in the best moment," Aaron said as he helped you with your bag. "A week ago we found a woman who happens to be Michonne's friend, and she's got a lot of kids with her, Naia is going to have so much fun with them."

"A friend?" You looked at Michonne, surprised.

"Yes, she was my best friend when I was studying at the uni...I never thought I'd see her ever again!" Michonne explained, and you grinned, you couldn't believe such a thing could happen.

"That's so great! Good for you, you really deserve it!" You reached out to squeeze Michonne's arm.

Later that day, you were with Michonne, introducing Naia and RJ, and playing with them. Naia hadn't met other kids before, there weren't any kids in Oceanside, and at first, Naia had seemed shy, but now she seemed to be getting along with RJ and you loved it. Of course, Rick's and Daryl's kids were bound to be good friends...that thought sent a bolt of pain to your heart, and you rushed to push it away. Naia was your kid, yours, that was.

"Y/N...I was wondering..." Michonne began and you didn't like how it sounded. "About Naia's father..."

"I don't want to talk about him, or think about him." You stopped her before she could say anything else. "He's not in the picture, never was, and I'm okay with it, there was nothing between us two, just...well, just comfort when both of us needed it..." It wasn't quite a lie, but it was not the truth. You hated to lie to Michonne to her face like that, you felt guilty, but you were sure if she knew who was Naia's father, she'd go tell Daryl, and you couldn't face him, you hadn't changed your mind. Besides, Michonne could very well hate you for having kept Naia from his father, and from her, she was like her niece after all...no, you couldn't deal with that either.