I woke up slowly and in exactly my most favorite way.

A soft touch brushed my hair back from my face, smoothed across my cheek, ran lightly down my arm. I blinked my eyes open and let my favorite view come into focus.

"Good morning, beautiful," she sang softly.

"Aren't I supposed to say that to you?" I questioned her, shifting a little so I could rest on my side and see her beautiful face more clearly.

"What, did I steal your line?" she teased me.

I laughed and kissed her warm lips.

I pulled back barely an inch and said, in a low voice, "Good morning, beautiful Michonne," before kissing her again. This time I didn't stop the kiss and she draped her free arm over my bare shoulders.

In a way, Saturday mornings are the highlight of my week. The kids roll themselves out of bed and turn on their cartoons. For those few blessed hours, Michonne and I linger in bed, tangled up together in the soft cotton sheets. Sometimes we simply talk, careful to keep our voices low so the little kids don't realize we're awake yet.

"You know I love you, right?" I asked, resting my head on the corner of her pillow and wrapping my arm around her.

"I know. I love you too, Rick," she told me.

She wove her fingers through mine and I let my eyes fall closed, drifting on the edge of wakefulness, enjoying the comfort of her closeness. After a while, Michonne gently moved my arm and slid out of bed, probably heading to the bathroom.

I didn't hear the bathroom door, though. Instead I heard her open a drawer.

"What are you doing?" I asked curiously.

"I want to go for a run before it gets too hot out," Michonne said, rummaging for her running clothes.

"No," I said, rubbing my eyes and sitting up.

"What do you mean, no?" Michonne asked, looking at me incredulously.

"I mean, go running later," I said, reaching out and grabbing her hand, "Come back to bed."

"Rick..." she protested but let me tug her back over towards me.

Now she was standing in front of where I was seated on the edge of the bed, wearing one of my old shirts. Michonne likes to wear my shirts around the house on occasion, claiming that they're extremely comfortable and attractive. I am inclined to agree.

"Let's sleep a little longer," I said, yawning for dramatic effect.

"Rick..." she said again, absently stroking my hair.

I scooted forward a bit so that my legs were on either side of her and wrapped my arms around her in a loose hug.

"I feel like I've hardly seen you all week. We hardly get any time, just me and you," I pleaded my case, looking up at her with my very best puppy dog eyes.

"What about last night, hmm? That wasn't enough for you?" Michonne countered playfully, leaning forward and resting her forearms on my shoulders, the tip of her nose brushing against mine.

"Last night was pretty great, huh?" I replied, a slow grin spreading across my face.

"Hmm," Michonne shrugged, playing coy, "It was alright."

"Ah, that's not the song you were singing last night," I said in a low voice, trading my puppy dog eyes for my trademark smolder.

I stood up so that we were at the same level. I pushed her locks back behind her shoulder and started kissing her neck, which I know she loves.

"Mmm..." Michonne sighed as I kissed my way along her neck to her jaw, her cheek, and finally, her lips.

After a long, tender moment she broke the kiss and smiled. I slipped my hands under the edge of her shirt and rested my forehead against hers.

"It's supposed to get up to ninety today, so I need to get my run in now. We can continue this later, hmm? When the little kids take their nap and the house is quiet?" Michonne said, but her body was pressed against mine and her skin was warm under my touch, so I was thoroughly distracted and unable to properly retain her words.

"Okay," I murmured, and tilted my head to catch her lips in another kiss.

Michonne pulled away, leaving me standing there stunned, kissing the empty air. She went to the dresser and pulled out a pair of sports shorts and a purple tank top.

"Really? You're saying 'no' to sex?" I questioned, genuinely surprised. How could she be so cool while I'm burning up?

Michonne just rolled her eyes in mild annoyance.

It is highly unusual for Michonne to turn down intimacy. In fact, she probably initiates more often than I do. Her confidence is one of the many reasons why I fell in love with her; that and how she never hesitates to tell me exactly what she wants, whether I like it or not.

"You can come with me, if you miss me so much!" Michonne said lightly, and I swore she was taunting me.

Early in our relationship, I foolishly tried to go running with her. It seemed like a great idea until I realized that I was trying to keep up with a woman who could easily be a professional athlete. I don't consider myself a prideful man, but I do have a competitive side and sometimes it's best to stop while you're behind.

"No...You go on ahead," I sighed in defeat, flopping back onto the bed.

Michonne finished dressing and laced up her sneakers.

"Go back to sleep," she told me gently, "You can still sleep in."

I sighed, not feeling in the least bit sleepy.

"I think what I need is a cold shower," I said honestly, which earned me a laugh.

"I'll be back before you know it," Michonne said and gave me a sly wink before disappearing into the hall.

After my shower I felt refreshed. I was determined not to let the morning go to waste and I had a new plan.

I walked into the living room where the kids were lounging on the couch in front of the TV.

"Who wants to help me make breakfast?" I asked.

Andre immediately jumped from his seat and yelled, "Me!"

Judith, who does everything that Andre does, threw her hands in the air and yelled, "Me too! Me too!"

"What are we having?" Carl asked, decidedly less excited than his younger siblings.

Carl always gathers as much information as he can before volunteering for anything.

"I'm thinking eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, grits, the works. We might have some biscuits in there too," I said.

"Wash your hands," I belatedly instructed Andre, who was already on his way to the kitchen, and went to pick up Judith.

Judith is still too small to actually help in the kitchen, so I put her in her highchair and gave her some play-doh to keep her occupied. She pouted for a bit, because Andre got to stand on a chair pulled up to the counter, but soon she was playing contentedly.

"Can you break an egg?" I asked Andre, raising an eyebrow mock seriously.

"Yes!" he said boldly, looking up at me with wide eyes.

He's still at that age where he's so desperate to please. I've been making an effort to praise him more often.

"Okay, here we go," I said, getting out the eggs, whisk, and a mixing bowl.

Andre did pretty well and I only had to fish out little bits of eggshell once.

I split my attention between supervising Andre while he vigorously scrambled the eggs and frying up some hashbrowns.

After a while Carl abandoned his cartoons and came over to help. He got a roll of biscuit dough out of the fridge and went about setting them on a cookie tray. He made a cinnamon-sugar mixture and generously sprinkled some on each uncooked biscuit, a trick he'd learned from Michonne.

Soon the kitchen was loud and busy. Just the way it should be, I thought to myself.

I was an only child growing up and I had a good childhood but when it was time to start my own family, I latched on to the image of a large, happy family gathered around a table eating together. When Lori and I first bought this house, only a few short months before Carl arrived, it felt so big and empty.

After Lori died, even though I had Carl and Judith, I sometimes felt like the house was haunted, like I was the ghost trying to hold on to the past. That feeling finally started to change after I met Michonne and Andre, though of course it took me a while to notice.

It wasn't until they moved in that I realized; it didn't happen how I had expected and certainly not how I planned, but my dream came true after all.

I know how lucky I am. I've been given a second chance to love and I'm determined not to take it for granted.

"Something smells good!" Michonne exclaimed as she walked into the kitchen, back from her run.

"Mommy, look!" Judith exclaimed happily, patting her multi-colored play-doh pancakes.

"Good job, baby," Michonne smiled and bent over to kiss Judith's cheeks.

"Good morning, sweetie," she greeted Andre, who was rushing to set the places at the table, his hands full of silverware and napkins.

"I helped with the eggs!" Andre said proudly.

"Oh really?" Michonne looked over in my direction, probably thinking about all the other times I tried to do something with the kids and ended up making a colossal mess.

I nodded and reassured her, "I think we have a master scrambler on our hands."

Andre grinned and declared, "If I was a Jedi, I would be Master Scrambler!"

"Then if you turn to the dark side you can be Darth Scrambler," Carl added with a laugh, unable to resist a conversation related to Star Wars.

I finished up at the stove and Carl helped me bring the plates full of hot breakfast to the table. Michonne put away Judith's play-doh and poured cups of milk and orange juice.

"I made cinnamon biscuits," Carl told Michonne as we settled down to eat.

Michonne smiled in approval, "I've taught you well."

I brought the last plate to the table and walked around to my customary seat in between Michonne and Judith's highchair.

"Rick," Michonne looked up at me with a soft smile on her beautiful face, "You know I love you, right?"

"I know," I smiled and couldn't resist leaning over and kissing her, "I love you, too."

"Yeah, yeah, that's enough of that. Let's eat!" Carl said boldly.

"Carl..." I half-heartedly chastised him.

I sat down and made Judith a plate and then one for myself.

Yep, I thought, Saturday mornings are definitely my favorite.

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