A/N: The annual Country Music Festival is on so you know what that means; yep, I'm the chick with the crazy curly hair and the cowboy hat who's feelin' inspired! This is an AU, fluffy Richonne fic with no zombies and set in Rick's hometown. Let me know if you enjoyed it and please do check out the song; it's my Richonne anthem hehehe.

Broken Road

I set out on a narrow way many years ago
Hoping I would find true love along the broken road
But I got lost a time or two; wiped my brow and kept pushing through
I couldn't see how every sign pointed straight to you…*

xXxXxXx

Michonne woke up in her barely lit room with the drapes closed to shroud her bedroom in shadows, with only the hint of light fighting its way through. That is how she had been feeling on the inside for some time now; dark, with only the small gift of intermittent light to keep her going. She blamed herself for what had happened; for not being strong enough, for not being good enough. She promised herself she would not cry that morning, that there would come a day that she did not miss the idea of him so much; but, she knew all too well that promises were easily broken and that today was not that day. She drew her blanket nearer to her face and let a few tears fall down to her soft pillow. She was unsure of if she was crying for him anymore, or if she was crying for herself; self-doubt and pity can be horrible and crippling. Either way, whatever it was that weighed heavy in her heart, it felt terrible all the same.

xXxXxXx

The smell of Spanish omelette wafted through the small kitchen as Rick sat down alone at the small round table and poured himself a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. It was quiet without his teenaged son Carl, but the boy was spending the weekend at his friend's house. It had been three years since Rick's messy divorce had been finalized, and in the years since, he had decided that he would do something nice for himself when he was on his own. It was something that the counsellor had shown him; to pick a date and make it his own. On that one day, it was all about Rick. There was to be no stressing about work; no worrying about why his teenager never listened to him; no fighting with his ex-wife over stupid shit; and most of all, there was no blaming himself for how things had panned out. This day was Rick's day to do with it whatever he pleased. He picked up his phone from the table to check the time and had decided it was definitely not too early to send her a text message.

xXxXxXx

The vibration of the phone that sat on top of the wooden side table sounded louder than it normally would had it been in her purse. Michonne reached and fumbled around until she felt the phone and brought it close to her face in order to see who was contacting her. She smiled weakly when she saw his name on her screen and quickly opened the message that read:

Good morning. How r u? Guess what? 2Day is RICK DAY & I made the omelette u taught me 2 make. Hmmm it's good 2! :)

Underneath was a picture of Rick shoving a forkful of eggs and mushrooms into his mouth. Michonne smiled again after seeing what Rick had sent her; he always knew how to make her feel better without even trying. Why can't they all be like him, wondered Michonne as she sighed loudly and went about replying to her friend's message.

xXxXxXx

Rick smiled as he received a message from Michonne instantaneously.

Is it Rick Day again so soon? Sure ur not doubling up? Lol Anyways, Happy RICK DAY! U deserve it! I feel crappy :( Just gonna bum around home I think. Enjoy ur day. Oh & nice pic. I'd text 1 back but I look like shit…

His face dropped and his smile disappeared when he read that Michonne was feeling down again. He had no idea what it was going to take to bring back the happy, smiling woman that he had come to know.

"That asshole." Rick said under his breath as he thought about all of the things he could do to the so-called man who had hurt Michonne so much. He dialled her number and waited for her to answer. Knowing that she was not going to want to hear what he had to say, but knowing he was going to say it anyways.

xXxXxXx

"Shit." She said aloud when her phone rang. She really did not want Rick to be upset because she was, again, upset; but that was just how he was. He was caring and protective; he was a great person and a good man. She cleared her throat and answered.

"Hello?"

"I got your message…" Rick started before she interjected.

"Rick, it's okay, really. I'm alright…" She lied, before Rick interrupted her.

"I know you said that you look like shit, but I doubt that very much, Michonne. You always look great." He offered playfully.

She smiled and laughed a little.

"Thanks, you always know what to say to make me feel better." She said softly, causing Rick to smile also.

"Hey, it's easy to give you compliments 'cause they're always the truth. Now, d'ya wanna come with me to get coffee and laugh at tourists?" He continued.

"Tourists?" She asked slightly confused as to what Rick was talking about.

"The Country Music Festival is on this weekend, remember? So that means tourists."

She laughed into the phone as she recalled the previous year when she told Rick, over several beers, that although she did not enjoy the music at the Festival, she did enjoy the tourists. When he had asked why the tourists? Michonne replied: "Because it's fun to watch them enjoying themselves in our boring ass little town; they liven the place up and make me laugh, in a good way."

"I can't believe you remembered that!" She exclaimed, listening to Rick chuckle at the other end of the line.

"I remember everything you say." He replied tenderly, almost shyly before they both went quiet.

Michonne sometimes wished he would not do that, she wished he would not be that way with her; how he was always so kind and sweet to her; how he said little things that proved to her that he cared for her more than just a friend would; how he made it so easy for her to forget Mike. It was not that she did not appreciate Rick and his kind ways, she truly did; he had helped her these past months more than she could say. The thing that was holding Michonne back from him was that she just could not bring herself to risk her heart again, no matter how drawn she was to Rick and no matter how much he doted on her; she had just been wounded too deeply before.

"Hey, come pick me up then; we'll go laugh at tourists. That's if you want to share Rick Day with me!" She offered.

While Rick felt a little disappointed that she chose to ignore what he had said and the tone in which he said it, he was nonetheless pleased to be given the opportunity be spending some time with Michonne. Still not deterred by her aloofness regarding his obvious endearment toward her, he stated evenly and clearly before hanging up the phone:

"I'd love to share everyday with you."

A/N: Do you think Rick will be able to get Michonne to trust him with her heart or are they better off as just friends? More to come…

Please give this song a listen; even if you don't much like country music, it's really nice.

*Bless the Broken Road by Rascal Flatts