Rick

"I would like to apologize to you, Rick. I was finally convinced to watch the tapes back yesterday and I do know now that Walsh provoked the fight between you two. It was unfair for me to suspend you, and you will be paid for the days you missed."

I nodded. "Thank you, Sheriff. I truly appreciate that."

He nodded back at me and proceeded to dismiss me. I looked at my watch for the time, and frowned. I knew that I couldn't go straight to Michonne, Andre, and Carl. I had to go speak to Lori and our lawyers. Quite frankly, I wanted nothing to do with her as of right now, with the exception of the child that could be mine.

And if its not, well..

I cleaned my desk area, grabbed my keys and hat, and proceeded out of the door. When I got in my truck, I pulled out my phone, thinking to myself, maybe I should text Michonne, but I left it alone. Instead, I started the truck and headed to the address that Lori had given me; the law office I'm assuming. I turned on my GPS and allowed it to guide me to my destination, which it did, and quite efficiently might I add.

I got out of my truck and proceeded to the door of the office. I took a deep breath, as if to prepare me for the events to come. When I felt ready, I entered, and my eye immediately caught a hold of Lori and who I initially thought was her lawyer. As I got closer, I noticed that she wasn't chatting with her lawyer, but mine instead.

I approached them, a forced smile plastered onto my face. There were so many thoughts running through my mind, though. Why in the hell would they be conversing, at all?

I nodded at the two of them as I addressed them. "Hello, sir. Ma'am. Nice to know that you two are acquainted already."

Lori nodded. "My lawyer is already here, and ready when you two are. Right in that room over there." She pointed to a room that was relatively far from where we were standing, but I just nodded.

"We'll be soon," I said, now turning away from her and to my lawyer.

"You wanna tell me what that was about?" I tilted my head just a little, a habit I've had for ages now, before he spoke.

"She approached me, Mr. Grimes. We'd just began talking when you walked in."

I scoffed. "Look, man, I know her. She's a beautiful liar. She will say, or do things. Things that'll make you drop everything and listen to her, obey her. I would like it if you two didn't have anymore conversations with each other unless completely necessary. Or is that too much to ask?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but he could respond, I spoke again. "Thank you. I'm ready when you are."

I turned and started toward the door she told us to go to when we were ready, and he followed me.

I knocked before I entered, common decency I guess, and when I heard her tell us to come in, I entered. Before I could even absorb the scenery, she spoke.

"Hello, Rick. This is Mr. Gadis, my lawyer."

The man stood and extended his hand. I took it and he gave mine a firm shake.

"This is Mr. Libern. I'm sure you two already know each other," I cut my eyes at Lori.

Mr. Gadis told all of us to have a seat, presumably because he could sense the thick layer of tension in the room. After we all did, he spoke.

"Alright. We came to talk custodianship today, correct? Because it is known to the two of you that the divorce is no longer pending and is final." 

"Correct," Lori said before any of us could.

"Okay, and the age of your son, Carl?"

"Sixteen. Seventeen in a few weeks," I responded.

"Great, so the good news is that even if custody ends up being split, he'll only have to do it for a year and then he'll be able to choose his preferred parent. Is it true that another child will be coming soon?"

"Yes, but she is unsure of who the father actually is."

Lori glared at me after I spoke, and then proceeded to speak. "I'm almost positive that it is Rick's baby."

"Well if it isn't," Mr. Gadis began, "then we know that full custody will belong to you, Mrs. Grimes."

"Please, don't call me that. I'm getting it changed tomorrow."

"My apologies. There isn't much more to speak upon here, unless you want to began drafting how the weeks, months or year will be split."

"No, we don't. That's preparing for failure, which is weak. We'll discuss splitting once the final decree is made," Mr. Libern spoke.

Mr. Gadis nodded and turned to Lori and I. "You two are free to go now. I'll get a court date set for the two of you and let you know the details when I get them. Have a good day."

He allowed us to leave, and when I got outside of the office, I waited for Lori. When she finally got outside of the office, I stopped her.

"What were you and my lawyer discussing earlier?"

She smirked at me. "We agreed to keep it strictly confidential. Sorry, love." She walked off to her car and before she got in, flipped me off. I just shook my head and made my way to my truck. I sighed, imagining the fate of Carl, and it seemed as if the possibilities were endless. I just started the car and tried to keep my mind off of it. Now, I could look forward to seeing Michonne, Andre, and Carl.

I hurriedly sped out of the parking lot and got onto the freeway, the quickest way to Michonne's house. It was only a few minutes before I got there, but it felt like two eternities. I finally pulled up in her driveway and got out. I anxiously rang the doorbell, and to my pleasant surprise, Michonne answered the door.

"Rick," she showed me her beautiful smile. She let me in and closed the door behind me. After she locked it, she followed me to the living room. We both sat down on tube couch and looked at each other.

"So," I started, "I missed you."

She looked down and smiled. "I missed you, too."

"What do we do now? Should I take you to dinner?.. Tomorrow night, maybe?" I gently lifted her face to level with mine.

"I think that sounds great," she said. I nodded.

She spoke again. "How did the meeting go?"

She remembered.

"The meeting went well, I guess. We discussed custody.. Of course, Lori wants Carl. But I know he doesn't want that, so I'll have to fight for him, which of course I'm way more than willing to do. I want him to be happy."

"I definitely understand. I knew that Andre wanted to be with me, and I fought as hard as I could for him, but my lawyer was deceitful and manipulative. It turned out that him and Mike were actually working together behind my back.."

She paused for a minute in thought, then spoke again.

"Libern I think his name was? I can't remember.. Don't really want to."

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i have no school today which is amazing. so I decided that I'd update (: I hope its enjoyed by all. also, thank you for all of the positivity that has been left for this book. it truly is motivational for me.

I was wondering, guys. should I do a chapter or two in Lori or Shane's point of view? let me know, because I was really thinking about it.

x

-lolfanfiics
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