Finally! FINALLY I've written out the part that I've been wanting to write out since the LAST season but I never did cause I could never figure out how exactly I wanted to write it out. And finally, I did, its the opening part to this chapter and I am SOOOOOO happy I finally got this out of my system XD

Oh yeah, by the way, Ethan's heart-to-heart with Sam is also this chapter - Halo, I know you are gonna be SOOOO happy with how I wrote it :)

NanamiYatsumaki: And that's why I'm on the fence about putting my own little plot twist in here, cause I don't know what the shows gonna give me next. I have until "Indifference", actually, before I have to decide and actually incorporate into the writing, so I'm thinking quite a lot about it. But at the end of the day, who knows what I'll do ha ha.

DarylDixon'sLover: Your quite welcome, and thanks for the review :)

HaloHunter89: Yeah, I thought the necklace giving was a little awesome myself. Might have Sam comment on it later - dunno, but prolly will lol. And I also wanted to show that even though Daryl is this big bad walker hunter, he's GOTTA have some fears and with the way I've written him, I really wanted to portray - and what I think is a pretty in-character fear that Daryl would have in the actual show if he was in this position, actually - that his main fear is losing his family after he finally got them. And oh yeah, Ethan's GONNA become your favorite character at the end of this chapter, jus' sayin'! ;)


Twelve Years Ago . . .

"Leyla, leave them alone for five seconds and come here – Halo, you come here too - the both of you need to get your tickets!"

Sam grinned and gave a Tessa a good-natured roll of his eyes as two of the kids crowding around him and the three-year-old Ethan, left him and moved over to Tessa. Smiling, she handed them each the tickets they needed to play the various booths and games spread all around the town square and they thanked her before bounding back off to Sam and Ethan. It was that year's Fall Festival on the Cherokee Indian Reservation located in upstate rural Georgia where Tessa resided with her family, and like every year since she had arrived there a little over three years ago, she had been roped in by her mother to participate and help out. Really, working the ticket booth wasn't that bad of a job – all she had to do was hand out tickets when everyone arrived and then when everyone was there that was going to show up, she could wander around aimlessly with Sam and Ethan then, maybe let Ethan play a few games, laugh at a few of the performers they had managed to get to come that year . . .

"How are you doing, sweetie?"

Tessa jumped when she heard the voice come in her ear and the hand that had moved to lie gently and lovingly over the small of her back, but calmed down when she saw it was just her mother. "Oh yeah, I'm fine, mom." She told her and Sadie Nightrun nodded as she began sorting through the five dollar bills and countless amount of ones that had been handed to her daughter in exchange for the cheap paper raffle tickets.

"It looks amazing, don't you think?" She asked her and Tessa nodded as her eyes moved briefly upwards, where she scanned the space around them. The town square wasn't that big, for the reservation in itself wasn't that big, but Tessa had to admit, her mother had done wonders with the space given to her and it certainly looked better than the years before it. For one, the weather had actually cooperated with them that year, causing the sky to appear a flawless baby blue and the sun to shine as bright and as cheerful as any summer day. Dried leaves flittered across the broken cobble-stoned square as light, chilly breezes blew through every now and then and the booths while ramshackle and old, were nonetheless as colorful and cheery as any booth would be at any small town across the Unites States that would be having their annual Fall Festival.

"It does . . . you did an amazing job, mom, like you always do." She told her with a smile and Sadie gave her a small, loving smile in reply.

"And you know another thing, Tess? I am so happy that you and Sam finally tied the knot!" She told her and Tessa immediately let out a sound of irritation as she rolled her eyes.

"Mom, please, not this again -!"

"I know, I know, I've said it enough already, but you have no idea how proud of you I am for your decision, honey! When you first told me that you were planning on returning to Shooter's Mill with Ethan, I-I didn't know what to think! But when you changed your mind and decided to stay and raise Ethan here instead of return to that horrible place, I was relieved! In the end, you thought of your son, like any good mother would – and I am so proud of you for it! You would have made a big mistake returning to that backwater town!" She told her before rolling her eyes then too. "I mean, Sam is infinitely better for the two of you than that redneck hillbilly you insisted on getting engaged to and who had the fortune to spawn my grandson in the first place. I mean, it's bad enough you gave him the honor of being Ethan's middle name, as well as giving your son his last name -!"

"Mother, with all politeness, please shut about him. You didn't know Daryl," Tessa interrupted her, her tone clipped and cold as she placed a hand on her waist and turned to face the older woman who she also looked the spitting image of. "Don't judge him until you at least get to know him!" She shook her head as she handed another child a few tickets in exchange for the five dollar bill he handed her. "He was an amazing guy and I loved him and I wouldn't take any other man aside from him as being Ethan's father for the world!"

Sadie arched a slightly condescending brow. "If this man was so damn amazing, then why did he leave you, huh?"

"He didn't leave me, mom, I left him."

"Well, nevertheless then, my question remains the same."

Tessa stood there and thought for a moment, her eyes falling onto her son being cradled on the hip of Sam not far away from them as she did so. She locked eyes with her son's beautiful blue ones – the blue eyes he had inherited from his father – and when he saw her, he immediately broke out in a completely Daryl-esque grin and waved at her before calling: "Hi, mommy!"

Tessa returned the grin and the wave but couldn't help but imagine another man in Sam's place – a man a little bit taller than he was, with long, dark brown hair completely different from Sam's own dirty blonde, and with the bright blue eyes that his son shared. He also would possess one of the most infectious grins she had ever had the fortune to know on a person, as well as a heart as big and as golden as any other person she would ever have the fortune to know too. And as she stood there and thought about it, she realized that even though she loved her mother with all her heart, telling her the real reason why she had left Daryl - the one man she had ever truly loved - would just set her mother on another tirade of just how lowdown and scummy Daryl and his family supposedly 'really were'.

It would be a tirade that Tessa knew her mother would never get off of, too.

Tessa sighed and shook her head. "It's . . . it's complicated mom, okay? Maybe I'll tell you one of these days but right here, right now is not the time." She told her and Sadie nodded, although she could see the slight skepticism that filled her eyes when she could tell that her daughter wasn't nearly telling her everything. Eventually, though, she passed it aside and heaved a sigh instead. She then gave a shrug as she turned her eyes upwards to gaze at Sam and Ethan.

"Well, if I can say anything I know with a certainty, it is that this Daryl Dixon must have been pretty damn good-looking man." She told her with a terse little laugh, and Tessa furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as she gazed at her mom.

"Why do you say that?" She asked , knowing she couldn't dispute her words - because Daryl was very good looking - but finding them interesting all the same. Sadie pursed her lips in irritation as she stamped the stack of money into order on the wood surface of the booth before slipping it into a plastic pouch.

"Tessa, honey, you've always chosen good looking men to become your boyfriends, I mean, look at Sam! He's not a bad looking man himself! And redneck or not, why should this Daryl be any different? And besides . . ." She gave a flippant shrug. "Only a man, who was pretty damn good looking himself, could have had the ability to not only get you pregnant – even though that has nothing to do with it - but also could have graced you with a child as beautiful as my grandson!"


"Ya know I'm doin' this for ya, right? I say I'm doin' this for the others too, but really, I ain' doin' this for nobody else but ya, the twins and Wren – to make sure ya guys stay safe!" Daryl told her, his voice thick with emotion, and Tessa gave him a comforting, slightly tearful smile. Her features came to him broken and blurry through the frosted glass of the administrative office that she had been relocated in along with the twins and Wren later that afternoon, but he could see the smile and that alone gave him hope that they would beat this like they had beaten everything else.

She nodded and looked down for a minute before turning her eyes back up to his. "Y-yeah, I know. You'll make it back, though, won't you?" She asked him, her voice coming out a little hesitant, and she could almost see the pained look on Daryl's face as he nodded. His hand moved to splay out on the glass and she gave a little laugh as her hand spread out over his.

"Ya damn right I will, Tess! We haven' made it this far for me to stand aside and let ya be taken from me by a glorified virus – ya or our babies!" He shook his head. "And speakin' I can' hug ya or kiss ya goodbye, ya better expect one Hell of a hug and a kiss when we get back!"

Tessa grinned and gave a laugh. "Well, Daryl, I think you've kissed me more than enough for one afternoon." She told him and he gave a grin in reply.

"Really? 'Cause I don' think I've kissed ya enough today." He told her and she smiled as she pressed her lips to the glass.

"There – there's your kiss. Are you happy now?" She asked him and he rolled his eyes in mock irritation and shook his head.

"No, 'cause tha's not fair, Tess! When ya kiss tha glass, it's cute, but if I did it, then it'd jus' be plain weird lookin'!" She grinned and let out a laugh as she moved aside to allow Wren to stand beside her. Daryl's eyes softened. "How are ya feelin' Little Bird?" He asked her and she nodded.

"I'm feeling fine. Where's Ethan?" She asked him and he nodded towards the doorway that led to the outside of the prison.

"He's helpin' tha others get ready for tha run. Ya want me to send him up before we leave?" He asked and she gave him a grateful smile.

"Would you?" She asked and he nodded.

"Of course, jus' as long as ya promise to look after tha twins and Tess for me while I'm gone." He told her and she rolled her eyes and nodded.

"Well, duh, that's a given!" She told him with a snort and Tessa and Daryl grinned and let out a laugh before Daryl gave Tessa a soft look.

"I should go – they're prolly waitin' on me. We'll be back as soon as we can, okay?" He promised her and she nodded.

"Be careful, okay?" She told him, her voice quiet and he gave her a comforting smile.

"Aren't we always, babydoll?"


"Hey, Ethan, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Ethan froze when he heard Sam's voice come from behind him and ignored the look of intense amusement on Michonne's face when he closed his eyes and uttered a quiet 'Shit!' He turned around, however, and smiled a tight smile. "Yeah, sure Sam; what about?"

Sam shrugged as he neared him. "Just, uh . . . I was wondering how you've been doing. We haven't talked all that much since I came here and I worry about you." Ethan nodded.

"Yeah, I'm doing fine. We're actually getting ready to go out on a run and there's a lot to still do, so, if you don't mind -"

Sam nodded, interrupting him. "Yeah, I know, and I'm sorry, but I won't take up too much of your time. I was just . . ." He shrugged, trailing off as he thought about how exactly he wanted to phrase this. "You and your momma, you've been through a lot since we got split up in Atlanta, haven't you?" He asked him and Ethan nodded slowly.

"Yeah, but that's to be expected, ain't it?" Sam nodded.

"Yeah, yeah I guess so, its just . . . what I'm trying to say is that I'm . . . I'm sorry I wasn't there for you guys, you know?" He asked him and Ethan shrugged and nodded.

"Yeah, it's okay. We had deddy, so we were fine."

"Yeah, I know you guys had Daryl – that's how you guys got this far, but . . . I just I wanted you to know -"

"Look, Sam," Ethan interrupted him with a laugh. "I appreciate this apology, I really do. But quite frankly – and I don't mean to be mean, but I'm gonna – but your opinion has never really mattered to me before and it doesn't really now since I have deddy. His is the opinion that matters to me – him and mommas and a few others and that's about it."

Sam gave him a look of slight incredulity then. "Ethan, how can you say that? You're smart kid, you know who raised you!" He told him and Ethan nodded slowly.

"Well, technically . . . the both of you guys raised me. Deddy just took over from where you left off."

Sam immediately recoiled in surprise. "W-what . . .?" He asked and Ethan gave a shrug.

"Well, yeah, it makes sense if you think about it. You raised me since I was born – you changed all my shitty diapers and taught me how to walk and talk, as well as right from wrong, but deddy . . ." He gave another shrug as he buried his hands deep in his front pockets. "Deddy's taught me a lot more too – he's raising me in a different way. You raised me on how to be a kid 'cause that's how you and momma could have afforded to raise me. But deddy, he's . . . he's having to do a harder job – he's having to raise me to be a man in this world 'cause people like me and Carl can't be kids anymore. He's taught me better ways to track and hunt and - Jesus Chris, Sam, we've been through so much these past couple of years and deddy's been there with me through the entirety of it - with momma too! And not-to-mention, they have Danny and Aayla, and sure, deddy hasn't had the decade and a quarter practice that you've had, but all things considered, I think he's doing a pretty good job so far and I think it's translating awesomely into how he interacts with the twins," He gave him a slightly apologetic look then. "I'm sorry, Sam, but . . . what kind of bad shit did we ever go through together? When had you ever taken me hunting or when had we ever done anything remotely resembling the father/son bonding time when I was growing up, that me and deddy do now?"

Sam shook his head, shocked. "Ethan, I don't know what you've heard -!"

"Look, Sam," Ethan interrupted him, his tone clearly telling him that he was getting impatient with this little 'chat' of theirs. Sam also noticed the way that Ethan's Southern twang seemed to come out ever-so-slightly when he was irritated and marveled at once again on how amazingly alike he was to Daryl. "The way momma and deddy interact – it doesn' exactly take a deaf, dumb and blind man to tell that they love each other. And since we joined their camp and they were reunited, momma's went through Hell and back from dealin' with shit from her past and-and other shit that's popped up along the way," He shook his head. "Deddy helped her get through all of that. Sam! He saved her from herself so many times and I might piss you off by sayin' this, but you would never have helped momma back on the farm and when my uncle Merle was here, the way that deddy did," He gave a thoughtful shrug then. "Maybe back then – maybe in the regular world, you were suited for her, I don't know, 'cause I don't know what their relationship was like back then. But here, in this world – the world we currently live in, deddy is what is good for her. Deddy watches out for her like a husband should, and deddy is what gets her up every morning and keeps her focused on the shit that matters – shit like helpin' the others and takin' care of my little brother and sister. Deddy tells her that he loves her each and every night and that he will never leave her and that he will fight every day to get back to her and dammit, he keeps his word!" He shook his head and took a deep breath before continuing:

"Deddy is what is best for momma right now, Sam, and momma is what is best for deddy. And if you're standing here in front of me thinking that maybe - just maybe - I have some twisted, insane shred of loyalty to you above my own deddy because you supposedly 'raised me', then you need to think again! 'Cause, whether you want to acknowledge it or not, that dirty fuckin' redneck in there is my dad and it still blows my mind that he managed to get himself such a beautiful, amazin' woman like my momma, but you know what?" He gave a laugh and a shrug. "I thank God every day that he did too, 'cause if they hadn' met and my momma hadn' looked at him – wearin' beer goggles or not, that's not somethin' I should question - and said, 'Hmm . . . considering the fact that I think your halfway decent looking enough for a dirty redneck who smells like squirrel guts and deer piss only half the time, and I'm pretty hot myself – I think we should bang each other's brains out!' I wouldn' be here and my little brother and my little sister wouldn' be here also and Goddamnit, Sam, I wouldn' trade that ornery sumbitch for anyone else in the world! And I thank God every day that momma hadn' swallowed those night either!" He told him and immediately heard Michonne's shriek of laughter come from behind him at his words but ignored it as he too gave a grin and a laugh then as he still continued:

"'Cause ya know what, Sam? Of all the men in the world that I could have originated as a little white speck of nothing but millenniums worth of DNA and protein in their ball sack, it had to be Daryl Dixon that became my fuckin' deddy! And that makes me a Dixon too and I am proud of it – I'm proud of him! And you wanna know why? It's 'cause finally I feel like I have a family, even though I had to have the dumb fuckin' luck to get it a couple of weeks after the world decided to go to Hell in a hand-basket! And he may be dirty and rough around the edges and angrier than a hornet half the time, but I'm not the only one whose grown from this new life. He's grown too and the man that he's become makes me even prouder to call him my deddy at the end of the day!"

Ethan finally stopped then, his chest heaving from not taking that many breaths while speaking and eventually, he heard clapping behind him. He turned around, only to see Michonne standing behind him, a grin of approval on her face as she slowly clapped. "Damn, Ethan, I didn't know that you could put speeches that amazing, together on a split second's notice! And make them so funny too!" She told him and he gave her a weak, slightly shy smile before gingerly rubbing his neck and turning back to Sam.

"Again, no offense, Sam, but considerin' how things are goin' between you and momma and deddy in particular, I think you needed to hear me say that."

Sam grinned and let out a laugh as he bowed his head and nodded. "You, uh . . . you're funnier than I remember you being. Used to be, you wouldn't talk for nothing. Jesus, Ethan, I think . . ." He let out another laugh as he stood there and thought for a minute before continuing: "I think that's the most I've heard you speak in the entire thirteen years I've known you!" He laughed and Ethan nodded before he got a slightly disgusted look on his face. He glanced behind him at Michonne.

"Thanks, I guess . . . I guess my funniness is the one thing I inherited from my uncle Merle, right?" He told him and Michonne immediately gave a shake of her head as a grin began playing out on her face.

"Oh no, Ethan, you did not! You are funny – a lot of other people would say that too. Merle was the only one who thought Merle was funny." She replied and he nodded in agreement as he turned back to face Sam. The older man opened his mouth to speak, to say something reply, but was interrupted when they heard someone bark Ethan's name. Eyes growing wide, everyone turned their attention onto the tense Daryl walking down the path towards them and while Sam immediately tensed, Ethan didn't. He knew when his father was scared and he knew when his father was pissed. Right then, his father was scared, but then again, that fear could very easily jump over into angry territory if the wrong thing was said.

"How are momma and the twins? How's Wren?" He asked him, nervousness in his eyes, and Daryl nodded as he closed the distance between them. Michonne let out a breath of relief, but Ethan could see the worry and fear running through his deddy's eyes. Hell, half the time, he knew that only he and his momma could read him like a book and that was not only because they knew how, but also because Daryl let them.

"We got 'em situated in one of tha offices pretty easily– its tha one right beside Beth's and Little Ass Kicker's. They all seem to be doing fine, but the twins seem a little fussy. We moved one of tha cribs in there too to make 'em more comfortable, but I can tell Aayla didn' like bein' moved either way," He told him before his eyes flickered onto Sam then. "Ya know . . . unfamiliar territory and shit like tha'." Sam nodded, slowly.

"I know. I've raised a kid." He told him and a flicker of irritation flitted through Daryl's eyes then, but he turned them onto Ethan before they could linger on him too much.

"I've been told by Wren to have ya go up and see her before we leave," He told him and Ethan nodded. "We won' leave 'til ya get back, so take ya time." Ethan nodded again and thanked him as he moved past him to head back up the path towards the prison, Daryl patting him on the back as he moved past him. It was then, that his eyes fell onto Sam. "How well can ya shoot a gun, Yankee?"

Sam gave a shrug. "Pretty decently; I made it out of Atlanta, didn't I?" His eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion. "Why?"

Daryl pursed his lips as he threw him in the shotgun he had been holding, then a hunting knife and a pistol. "Ya one of the last few tha' hasn' been in contact with the sickness yet, so tha' means ya comin' with us to make a little run."

Sam gave him a slightly apprehensive look. "Are you sure? I mean -"

"Look, ya jackass!" Daryl hissed, that fear in his eyes immediately being replaced with anger. At the sound of his voice dropping into a threatening growl, Ethan froze and spun around mid-way up the path to watch them, body tensing in anticipation of having to yank him off of Sam if the need arose. Daryl shook his head. "Tess is in quarantine with my son's girlfriend and my son and daughter!" He continued to hiss as he took a few steps towards him, trying the entire time to desperately get his anger under control. However, for some reason, the man standing in front of him made it so hard to keep his anger under wraps. "So right now, if ya don' come with me, even though ya claim to have this great love for her – I will put a bullet through ya head and end ya life right here, right now! And somethin' tells me tha' ya know I ain' fuckin' with ya! Hell, I think ya know I don' fuck with people when it comes to ma family, especially Tess!"

It took a moment, but eventually Sam nodded and Daryl backed away, where he glanced behind at Ethan. He nodded and his son returned the nod before he turned around and resumed his trek back up to the prison. Daryl then turned his gaze onto Michonne, who nodded as well. "Who else is coming?" She asked him and he sighed.

"Ben, me, you, Ethan and Tyrese," He glanced at Sam. "And him. We'll take the SUV. Yankee can ride in the back with the supplies."