In the first moment Daryl thought he was dreaming. When he saw Rick standing there in the distance, everything around him seemed to become blurry. Daryl saw Judith running to him and talking, but he couldn't make out the words. He could only stand there and stare at Rick.
Daryl had seen him so many times in his dreams and he saved him in his dreams over and over again. But he dreamed about losing Rick too. Sometimes Rick was alive in his dreams and sometimes he was a walker. Sometimes he couldn't find him at all, just like he couldn't do it when he was awake. But in none of those dreams Rick was as real as he was now.
Rick was walking towards him with the familiar smile on his face. He stopped in front of him and Daryl saw that his lips trembled and there were tears in his eyes. Rick lifted his hand, making a gesture he always made when he was emotional and which was so familiar to Daryl. Daryl felt how hot tears started to fill his eyes. Rick tried to say something but he couldn't and Daryl had lost his voice as well, because there was a big lump in his throat. They were just standing there for a moment before Daryl finally found something to say.

"Is this real… are you..." Daryl stuttered and then went silent again. His own voice sounded so foreign to him.

"Good to see you... Daryl," Rick said and smiled. They nodded at each other and then Rick hugged Daryl.

The touch felt real and still Daryl was afraid it could be only a dream.

"So it was you on the radio," Daryl said.

They were all sitting at the table. RJ was sitting on Rick's lap, Michonne was holding Rick's hand and Judith was standing by his side. Rick's family surrounded him like they didn't want to let him go again. For some time everything else was forgotten, it was only Daryl's and Rick's family having dinner together, just like it was always this way.

"Yeah," Rick said. "I saw that herd and I tried to warn you. I didn't know, if I would reach anyone, but I tried."

Daryl nodded.

"I knew it was you. The others thought I've gone nuts, when I told them I heard your voice."

"I can't blame them, you all thought I was dead and then I suddenly started talking to you on the radio." Rick smiled and Connie touched Daryl's hand. Daryl gave her a quick loving look.

"Yeah, could only be you, picking the worst damn moment in this world for that," Daryl continued.

Michonne chuckeled.

"So he interrupted you two while you were, you know... busy with something?"

"He did," Daryl said, but then he realized what Michonne really meant, when all the others started laughing.

"Stop laughing, it was nothing like that," Daryl said, his face turning red.

"Then what?" Michonne asked. Daryl looked at Connie who was inspecting his face. He never told her that he tried to propose to her once before he heard Rick's voice.

"It was nothing, just forget it," Daryl hastened to say.

"Oh come on, tell us why you were in that room," Rick said and Daryl felt embarrassed because he knew he wouldn't get out of this so easily.

"We were just talking, you know..." Daryl looked at Connie who narrowed her eyes as she remembered something.

Wait, were you trying to propose to me back then? She wrote.

"Maybe," Daryl admitted, still ashamed of the whole conversation.

"Well, sorry for bursting in then," Rick said, still smiling.

I'm actually thankful for that, Connie wrote, showing the note to everyone. He proposed to me on the beach and this was much more romantic.

"Daryl and romantic? I never thought I would hear these two words in one sentence," Rick laughed.

Everyone started laughing too, even Daryl, who told Rick to shut up.

"You should have seen him, he became quite a charmer," Michonne told Rick with a big smile and Connie wrote: True

"Seems like I missed a lot," Rick said while still laughing.

"Well, next time you better stick around instead of leaving in a damn helicopter," Daryl told him.

They all laughed again, but then everyone became quiet.

Rick had told them his story before. How he was saved by Jadis and how she brought him to her community which was far away from Alexandria. How Rick recovered from his severe wound and became part of the community, which had its own medical center and a big army. Jadis told them about Rick's qualities and so he became soon an officer, commanding an army unit. They made it clear that he had to stay and he couldn't return home. The only thing Rick wanted, though, was to get back to his family and when he once tried to escape from the community, they caught him and locked him up. He spent several years imprisoned while they used him for some medical experiments which he assumed had something to do with them searching a cure. When they let him out, he spent another year, working for them before he finally managed to escape again, kidnapping a helicopter pilot. Together they flew back to Alexandria and on their way they saw a giant herd. They tried to redirect it, but strangely it didn't work, so Rick tried to reach someone on the radio, to warn them. When they landed, there was a fight and Rick had to kill the pilot before he went to Alexandria.

"Too bad we couldn't use the helicopter to redirect the herd," Rick said.

"We will find another way," Michonne told him and when she saw that RJ had fallen asleep on his lap and Judith was yawning, she added:

"Okay it's time to go to bed now."

"No, please, I want to hear more stories," Judith begged.

"You heard enough stories for today. Daddy is tired too, I think we should all go to sleep."

Everyone agreed.

"I'll show you your room," Michonne said then to Daryl, Connie, Lydia and Henry.

Before they went to bed, Rick and Daryl went outside and they were standing there in silence for a moment.

"Still can't believe you're here, man," Daryl said, touching Rick's shoulder like he was a mirage and Daryl was afraid he would disappear again when he touched him.

"Me neither," Rick said, looking Daryl directly in the eyes.

"Michonne told me you never stopped looking for me," he continued and Daryl looked away.

"Yeah, kinda became a silly habit of mine, looking for you out there every day." He paused and looked Rick in the eyes.

"I was sure, I wouldn't find you alive, though. I just needed a proof I guess."

Then he smiled.

"And now that I have it, I can't believe it. Still feels like a dream or something."

"Tell me about it," Rick laughed.

"I came back and was greeted by my daughter, who is almost a grown-up now. And then that beautiful little boy." Rick's voice was full of love and he had tears in his eyes.

"And you. You with your own little family. I'm so glad you found them."

"Hey, they found me," Daryl's voice trembled as he became emotional as well. "And I'll protect them no matter what."

Rick nodded.

"We've to do something about the herd," Daryl continued, he was concerned and this time it was Rick who touched his shoulder.

"We will figure something out," Rick assured him. Daryl looked at him and realized how much he had missed his friend. No matter how hopeless a situation seemed to be, Rick was always determined to do something to make things better. They have fought so many battles together and even though they didn't always agree on everything, Daryl relied on him as a leader, friend and brother. They always had each others backs. Daryl felt gratitude deep in his heart that he finally got him back.

"So you have a fiancee and a daughter now. Anything else I should know?" Rick asked Daryl.

"Maybe we'll have another kid," Daryl told him and Rick's eyes widened in surprise.

"Connie's probably pregnant, but we didn't tell anyone yet. So you're kinda the first person who knows about it."

Rick was touched.

"I'm so proud of you. I really am," he told Daryl.

"Stop," Daryl said, because he was tearing up again. Rick smiled.

"We'll keep them safe, at any cost," Daryl heard Rick saying and he knew Rick must have read in his eyes, how worried he was about Connie, Lydia and his friends.

Rick continued: "Alpha thinks she's strong, surrounding her with the dead. But we have the living on our side. She doesn't have a chance against us."