Chapter 42: Reunions

"Look at you." Andrea laughed when Daryl pulled her in for a hug. "Never took Daryl Dixon for a hugger. How things change."

"Good to see ya," Daryl murmured before pulling out of the hug. "I swear, if we'd known you was still on the farm, we'd…"

"It's the past, Daryl. And I wouldn't have expected anybody to risk their neck to come back through that herd. You had no way of knowing I was still alive." She stood on the porch of Daryl and Carol's house, and Dylan stood quietly at her side. She looked down at him with a smile. "Dylan, this is another good friend of mine. This is Daryl."

"Can I see it?" Dylan asked, eyes wide.

"See what?" Daryl asked, glancing at Carol who just shrugged.

"The scar."

"What scar?" he asked.

"From where my mommy shot you." Daryl looked at Andrea who grimaced.

"Some bedtime story you tell your kid," he smirked.

"Hey. I was teaching him how to shoot, and that was the 'make sure you know what you're shooting at' lesson."

"Sorry, kid. Ain't much of a scar under all this hair." Dylan grinned and peered around Daryl as if looking for something.

"Looks like the clothes fit," Carol commented, looking at Dylan and then Andrea.

"I feel bad living in this guy's house and wearing his dead wife's clothes." She looked at Dylan. "He's still got a little growing to do."

"Don't feel bad," Carol insisted. "Lucy would have wanted you to have them. She was one of the kindest people I ever met. I think you really would have liked her." She smiled sadly. "We have plenty of other clothes if you'd feel more comfortable picking through them. I'll take you to where we keep supplies tomorrow."

"Thank you." Dylan peered around Daryl again, and Andrea noticed. "Dyl?" He looked up at her and crooked his finger at her for her to kneel down so he could whisper in her ear. When she did, she chuckled and nodded her head. "I think you're in luck, kiddo." She looked to Daryl and Carol. "He wants to know if there are any kids around."

"Kids? In this house?" Daryl asked, looking to Carol. She grinned.

"Yeah, I suppose you'll find one or two wandering around the place before too long." She glanced across the lot to see Merle coming over carrying Luke on his shoulders, while Lydia and Henry ran along ahead of him.

"Ah, and here they are now," Carol beamed. "Lydia! Henry! Come here. I have someone for you to meet." Lydia was the first up the steps, and she grinned up at her mother. "Lyddie, this is our good friend Andrea and her son Dylan. Dylan's just about your age."

"Hi," Lydia said shyly.

"And this is Henry." Carol put her hand on Henry's shoulder. "Henry, your daddy sent Andrea and Dylan here."

"You saw my dad?" Henry asked with wide eyes.

"We did," Andrea murmured, smiling sadly at him. "He says he misses you a lot."

"Is he coming back?"

"I'm not sure when, buddy. But he wanted me to tell you he misses you a lot." Henry just looked up at Carol.

"I know you miss him," she whispered. "We all do. He just needs some time, right? Like we talked about?" Henry nodded. "He left you with us, because he knows we'll keep you safe until he comes back." Her voice faltered on the last word, because she knew there was a good chance she was lying to the boy. There was a good chance they might never see Negan again. If he survived out there alone, he might find it too painful to come back. And if he did come back, how could he just pick right back off where he left off with his son? His leaving was something the boy would never forget. Carol hoped that everything would work out the way it was supposed to. Until then, she was prepared to keep the boy safe like she would her own children.

"C'mon, Dylan. You can play with us in my room!" Lydia offered, taking the boy's hand. Dylan looked up at his mother. Andrea nodded and smiled encouragingly at her son.

"Go on. You three have fun." The children ran off, and Merle stepped up to the group with Luke laughing on his shoulders.

"Ah, and this one," Carol grinned, reaching for her son, "is Luke." Andrea looked at Daryl and then to Carol, and then she settled her gaze on the sweet little boy who reached out to his mother. Merle eased the boy up off his shoulders and down into his mother's arms.

"My God," Andrea murmured. "He looks so much like Sophia." Carol felt a pang in her chest and smiled as the sting rose in her throat and threatened to come out as a choked cry. "Those freckles and that hair. But those eyes? Definitely his daddy's. That nose is his mama's." She gently touched her fingertip to Luke's nose, and he giggled. "He's beautiful."

"Thank you," Carol beamed. She looked toward the house. "I hope you're hungry. I made plenty for supper." Andrea nodded. "You want to come in?"

"I'll be in in a minute. Just need to catch my breath. You all go on." Carol reached out and gave Andrea's hand a squeeze before letting Luke down to lead them into the house. Daryl followed behind his wife, and Andrea couldn't help but smile when she watched him hold the door open for her and kiss her on the cheek as she passed by him.

"Pretty picture, ain't they?" Merle asked, stepping up beside Andrea and stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"I'm happy for them," Andrea sighed. "If anybody deserves some happiness in this messed up world, it's those two." She eyed Merle. "How'd you find them, anyway?"

"By accident. Long story."

"You did that up on that roof, didn't you?" she asked, nodding toward the prosthetic on his hand.

"Can still feel that saw cutting through the bone," he said with a nod. "Hell, I heard about wild animals chewin' off a let when they get caught in a trap, but I never thought I'd be in the same situation. Survived somehow, and here I am."

"Uncle Merle. Who'd have ever thought you'd turn out to be good with kids?"

"Hey, I ain't the damn devil."

"I didn't say you were. But you were a little bit…"

"You can say it. I was an asshole. Still am."

"I was going to say brash, but asshole covers it, yeah."

"Look, I ain't proud of what happened up on that roof that day. I said a bunch of shit I could kick my own ass for sayin'."

"Did you mean it? The things you said to T-Dog? Martinez? Me?"

"Hell, maybe I did then. But that ain't me now." Merle rubbed the back of his neck. "Tell ya the truth, I still ain't sure how Carol and my brother kept me on here. Got my ass kicked a couple times, straightened me out a little. This goddamn world's got enough monsters. Don't need one more goin' around makin' everybody miserable."

"So this is the refined, new Merle Dixon, then?"

"Refined my ass, Blondie," Merle snorted. "I ain't the man I was on that rooftop. That's all I can tell ya. Still said and did a lot of bad shit I can't ever make up for. But, I can leave that in the past and try and do right with what time I got left."

"Well, it's a start," Andrea said with a little nod. She stepped up to the door and turned to look over her shoulder. "For what it's worth, I like this you better than the you on that roof." She turned then and walked into the house, leaving Merle to ponder that for a moment before he headed inside the join his family.