I'm so sorry this chapter took so long! There was a lot going for me this week and I haven't been feeling well.

Here is the promised Merle/Emiko chapter!

I don't own TWD

Please enjoy!

….

Something like Family

For the past few days, Emiko and Merle traveled; getting supplies and trying to find anything that could lead to the people they were looking for. The past two days were rainy and unseasonably cold and on top of that, the engine died in the car they were using. If there were other cars nearby, he would have had her wait in the broken down one until he was able to find another that worked. Unfortunately, they had to walk for solid half-hour before they found a car that still had keys in it and actually ran.

Emiko grimaced and shirked back when she saw Merle stride back to the car, carrying a couple of plastic bags. He was heavily spattered in walker gunk and other gross bits. There were about six of them in the store he went to. Once he got to the back passenger seat, he sat down beside the coughing girl and pulled out a pack of mini muffins and gave it to her. When she saw the picture on the pack, she quickly shook her head.

"I can't eat that; I'm allergic to 'broo-berries'." Emiko said just before coughing.

Merle muttered under his breath as he dug for something else for the kid to eat, coming up with a cheese danish. Emiko nodded and he opened it for her, handing it to the little girl afterward. She thanked him and began eating. Meanwhile, he pulled out a small box and started reading the back of it.

"How old are you, little'un?" Merle inquired, opening the box.

Emiko was still chewing and she didn't want to be impolite, so she held three fingers up for him to see. Merle nodded and proceeded to open up the cough medicine he pulled from the box. He used his right arm to hold the bottle firmly against his torso and used his left hand to remove the medicine cup and screw off the cap. He then got out of the car and placed the cup on the roof of the car so he could measure out the proper dose. Once Merle completed that, he ducked down and asked Emiko if she was finished eating; she nodded and coughed again.

"Every drop." Merle instructed, handing her the cup of cough syrup.

Emiko basically threw the cough syrup to the back of her throat to get it over with. She hated the taste of it and frowned as she gave Merle the cup back. He put all the stuff back in the box and put it in the bag before handing her a small carton of orange juice and a straw.

"Thank you, Merle." She chirped.

As she opened the carton, Merle moved to the front seat and put the bag beside him. He reached his left over and started the ignition. It was really awkward having to do things so differently, but he didn't have time to worry about stuff like that. As he drove, he looked around for cars with gas he could siphon or supplies he could take up. He also looked for places that seemed like his brother and Thaliana could have been… no such luck. He found a small clothing store and went in to check for walkers and brought Emiko inside when he cleared the space.

"Get yourself some sweaters n' put one on." Merle uttered as he went through some shirts for himself. He glanced over at the little girl and noticed her shoes were a little beat up. Being on the move all the time would do that, he figured. "Get some shoes, too."

Emiko nodded and went to the children's' section. She picked out mostly girl clothes – cute shirts and skinny jeans. She also picked jackets, sweatpants and a few pairs of boots and sneakers from both sections and tiptoed to put each thing in the cart Merle pulled out. She found a white long-sleeved thermal that she liked, along with a black sleeveless hoodie and matching sweatpants. She also found some skateboarding sneakers and the cutest bear-ear hat with pom-poms on the ends. She ran to a changing room.

"No peeking, Whiskers." The girl warned the rabbit plushie as she turned it to face the wall.

Emiko changed her clothes as quickly as she could, humming to herself. On her way out the room, Emiko saw a pink scarf and decided to grab that as well.

"I'm finished changing." She said quietly, dragging Whiskers behind her.

Merle turned and chuckled as he neatened up her scarf. He was impressed with what she picked: clothes that were loose enough to move freely, but fitted enough that it would be difficult for her to get grabbed up or caught on anything. of course, she had to girl it up a bit with the powder pink scarf and hat.

"Are you gonna put on a sweater, too, Merle?" Emiko asked as she climbed onto a stool and tried to look out the window.

"I ain't sick." Merle responded. "It's still damp n' cool outside; you should be covered up, least 'til you get better."

Emiko was finally able to pull herself up to see out the window and immediately wished she hadn't. About ten feet away, there was a large group of zombies droning by. She got out of view just before one turned in her direction.

"Merle!" she whispered harshly "The scaries are outside!" she ran over to him and held his hand, looking up at him.

Merle hid her in a clothes rack of long pants, just in case any tried to come inside. he slowly went over to the window and carefully peered outside. He cursed when he counted at least twenty walkers; even if he had his other hand, taking on twenty would have been foolish and no amount of drugs in the world could make him think otherwise. He told Emiko to stay close to him as they made way for the car. He opened the driver's door and she was able to get inside before a few undead that strayed away from the pack. Merle quickly stabbed them and got in the car before the sound drew any attention. He turned the ignition and the engine didn't turn.

"Not good." Emiko whimpered.

"C'mon, baby; don' let me down, now." Merle said, trying to will the car into functioning.

It seemed like each time he turned the key the engine would stall. Emiko looked out the front and saw the walkers coming. Emiko hugged Whiskers closer to her and started whimpering. They were getting closer and starting to surround the car.

"Shit, shit – c'mon you fuckin' piece o' junk!" Merle gritted through his teeth.

Finally, the engine turned over and they were able to get away. Emiko and Merle drove down the road in silence for a while, the adrenaline still high.

"You cursed again." Emiko said.

"I know." Merle replied.

"You cursed at the store, too."

"Yeah, I know."

"… It doesn't count 'cause we were in trouble, … right?" Emiko asked.

"If you wanna look at it that way, sure." Merle sighed.

It was silent in the car for a few more moments. Emiko picked up her bookbag and looked inside to only moments later, plop it back down with a little sigh.

"I left my gun in the changing room." She muttered.

Merle looked at her and she seemed disappointed. She spent a lot of time learning how to shoot it properly, how to ground herself and brace for any kick back. After all that learning, she forgot her gun. Merle just shook his head.

"Don't really want you usin' guns anyhow." He said.

"But you helped me learn how to use it better." Emiko rebutted, looking at the older Dixon.

"I know, "Emi", but you jus' a kid… even 'n this fucked-up world we all livin' in, you should be a kid for's long as you can."

Emiko turned to the dashboard and nodded. "Mommy used to call me Emi, too." She said.

Merle turned to Emiko briefly and saw that she still had that look on her face. It was almost like he could see her heart sinking.

"You talk like she dead, Little'un;" Merle joked "Your mama's alive."

"How do you know?" the little girl asked.

"She's a tough lady." Merle shook his head. "You see it in her eyes whenever she thinks 'bout you; She'd walk into the flames of Hell if it meant gettin' you back."

He looked at Emiko again and grinned when he saw her smiling.

"Now's a mommy that tough gonna die 'fore she gets t' her baby?" he asked

Emiko shook her head and giggled. It was the first time he heard it; it sounded almost like a warbling bird. It made him laugh, it was so cute. He happened to see a diner and he decided that he and Emiko would check it out. Maybe they could scrounge up some lunch to cook and gather up whatever food is there before they find another abandoned house.

"You cursed again, Merle…" Emiko hummed after a while.

"'Hell' ain't a cuss the way I used it." Merle said

"I mean the "F" word you said when you told me to be a kid." She reminded.

"That one counted, huh?" He smirked.

"Yes, it does." She said matter-of-factly.

"How 'bout we see if we can make some sundaes 'n the diner t' make up for it?" Merle offered.

Emiko's eyes glittered with happiness. She loved sundaes. The last time she had one was when she and Thaliana made one together after going to the museum.

"Can mine be 'ha'fudge' with peanuts, and whip cream, and a cherry on top?" she pleaded.

"We'll see what's there, Emi; jus' let me clear the place first." he said "You duck down n' put that blanket over you so the walkers don't see you, okay? I'll be back 'n a few minutes."

Emiko nodded and quickly did what she was told. Whenever they stopped, he had her do that just in case any walkers passed by and he was not in the car with her. As Merle went into the diner, he thought about smearing the car in walker guts when the rainy weather stopped.

...

Night fell. Merle found another house for them to stay in and this one had a garage. He pulled in and went back to lock the gate before closing up the garage. He carried a sleeping Emiko to a room and took off her shoes before putting her in bed, pulling the covers over her. He brought all the food and supplies into the house and from there, took a shower, put on some fresh clothes and went to bed.

Merle looked at the ceiling in thought. He longed to be with his family again and in a weird way, he got that with Emiko. But it wasn't enough; he wanted his whole family. He wanted to be with Daryl and Thaliana again, too.

"Merle?" a drowsy little voice called.

He sat up and saw Emiko standing in the door way with a book in her hand as she rubbed her eye with her wrist and the other hand dragging Whiskers behind her.

"Can't sleep, huh?" Merle observed.

Emiko shook her head. "Can you read me this story, please?"

"Sure, kid." Merle answered "Bring it here."

Emiko came in the room and handed Merle the book and lay down on the other side of the bed.

"The Phantom Tollbooth?" Merle was surprised at the selection.

"My favorite story." She sighed "Is it okay?"

Merle smiled and patted her head. "It's a really good story." He said.

He read the story to her, making voices for different characters, which made Emiko laugh. He kept reading until he noticed Emiko had fallen asleep. He picked up Emiko and brought her back to her room and tucked her and Whiskers back in bed. Now he was dog tired himself. He walked back to his room and crawled back into bed and went to sleep.

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Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thank you all so much for waiting.

Next chapter will be a Thaliana/Daryl chapter

Hopefully, it won't take as long to put it out for you guys.

Thank you so much for sticking with me!