Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed! I'm going to continue my Mac (Red Canyon) story and I'm also working on fixing another Merle story I wrote called "We're Better On Our Own, Anyway" it came to me backwards and now I need to fix it. I also have a Daryl story I'm working on that takes place after "Coda" so if any of those sound interesting please check them out.

Chapter 20

It was the Fourth of July and the front yard was filled with people and an ungodly number of small children. Merle was sitting on his front porch, he stretched his leg in front of him, it had been raining for the last couple of days and his arthritis was acting up. Lina was sitting on the porch swing next to him, running her hands through his hair, smiling at the scene before her. Daryl was cleaning his crossbow, a seemingly endless occupation. The meat he and a couple of his son's had caught was being cooked on the three grills they had set up to the side of the house.

As Merle watched his children and grandchildren, he couldn't help but be proud. The three of them had started out as losers and outcasts and now look at them, they were well on their way to populating the entire town with Dixons. Johnny, Rebel and Hunter were at the grills working with well-practiced precision, their significant others chatting at a table nearby.

Johnny was very much Daryl's son, he was an exact replica in looks only darker, his personality was all Daryl too. He was always Lina's saving grace, helping her every chance he got, watching over his younger brothers and sister. Lina thanked God every day for Johnny….twice. Unlike his father Johnny was eager to marry and start a family. He married right out of high school and stayed married, adding four more sons to the Dixon clan. He never lived father than a mile from his parents and worked in the garage with his fathers and his brother, Rebel.

Just as Johnny was a darker Daryl, Rebel was a darker Merle. His grin infectious from the moment he gave it. He was a good child, if only loud and demanding. Johnny and him were best friends as soon as he could talk, he had a way of getting his older brother to loosen up and have fun. Merle was proud as a peacock over his first son, even though their similar personalities had them clashing more often than not. He married the best friend of Johnny's wife, it was only fitting since the four were together so often, they had two sons and a girl on the way.

Hunter shocked all of them by coming out blond haired and fair skinned, if there ever was a child made out of sunshine it was this one. He smiled and laughed and gave out kisses and hugs like they were going out of style. Whatever Hunter wanted, Hunter got, giving truth to the saying "You catch more flies with honey, than vinegar." He'd broken a lot of hearts until he meet his wife, a nurse who took care of his wounds after a hunting accident. She of course didn't fall for the charm, she was tough and no nonsense and before Hunter knew it, he was the one wrapped around her finger. They were working on their second child, another boy.

Merle shifted in his chair, his leg aching, he wondered when he got so old. He watched his other two sons as they fought over which music to play, Rider wanted Rock and Buck wanted Country. Scarlet was nearby and yelled at the boys to hurry up and put something on cause she wanted to dance.

Rider was easily the most handsome of the bunch, even though aside from his eyes and high cheek bones, he looked almost nothing like any of them. Rider was a perfect tan color, the kind of skin tone celebrities dreamed about when they went for their spray tans, his blue eyes complemented perfectly by almond shaped eyes and his head covered in a thick straight mop of deep dark red hair. A combination that should not have worked, but did. The girls were after him as soon as they laid eyes on him, from grade school on. Much to the girl's disappointment Rider was painfully shy. He was just like Daryl in the sense that he would stay tightly shut inside himself until he was familiar and comfortable. It didn't surprise Merle in the least that he married a crazy woman. His wife was a Mexican girl who moved into town when Rider was about 13. She was light skinned and green eyed and Merle had been shocked when she opened her mouth and a thick accent came out. Rider had tried his best to hide from her like he did everyone else, but she refused to be turned away. She would show up at the house and make her way to his room, dragging him out demanding to be taken here or there, stringing out demands in her weird mixture of Spanish and English. Rider never had a chance, he ended up head over heels for her and secretly Merle thought he made out pretty well, the girl waited on him hand and foot. They had four children, two sets of twin boys who looked more Irish than anything, with his red hair and her green eyes.

In Buck, Lina finally got a child that looked like her. The irony of having such a redneck name while looking so Native American was one of the things Buck loved best about himself. Merle would say that Buck was what his father would have been if he hadn't become a violent drunk. Buck was big and strong, confident and more than a little cocky. No one dared make a racist remark around the boy, he'd beaten a kid three years older than him and more than twice his size, when he was in fourth grade, for calling him a redskin. He was the muscle of the group. He followed in Merle's footsteps, sowing his wild oats for as long as he could. It wasn't until recently that a girl had caught his eyes. The shy new Librarian had literally run from him in the beginning. She was timid but sharp as a whip, they could not have made a more mismatched pair. Buck had worked hard to get her to go out with him and after one date he'd claimed her as his. Everyman who showed the least bit of interest in the girl found themselves toe to toe with a big angry Buck. She was currently pregnant with their first child, a girl.

While the boys grew to be rambunctious and loud, but basically good kids, Scarlett was a terror. She had her daddy's wild curly hair and his fearless attitude. She got into more trouble than all the boys put together, she had not only both daddies but all five brothers wrapped around her dainty little finger and it was a power she enjoyed wielding. It didn't help that she was beautiful. She was all Merle but softer, her lips fuller, giving that grin of hers a more seductive air. She drove Merle and Daryl crazy, more than one boy was run off the property with the sound of gun shots ringing in their ears. Lina loved to tell the brothers that she was their punishment for their womanizing ways. At 21 they finally let her marry a boy that came back even after being shot in the ass by Daryl's crossbow. He loved her and was smart enough to know he'd be destroyed by seven men if he ever wronged her. He was currently watching her dance to a Rock song with a grin on his face. Despite being five months pregnant with their second child, she was still sexy.

Merle watched over his empire for a few more minutes before turning to Lina.

"Too bad me and Daryl didn't get our heads outta our asses sooner."

"What, are you talking about now old man."

"We shoulda started knockin' you up sooner. We'd have the whole state of Georgia under control right now." He laughed, "What you think brother?"

Daryl looked over the yard full of his kin, "Coulda done with a few more. Only got us 12 grandbabies, only another four on the way." He shook his head sadly.

"The two of you are out of your minds, and at the rate all these kids are going, Lord knows how many grandbabies were going to have." Lina laughed at them.

"I just hope I get to at least meet them all." Merle rubbed at his sore knee.

"You will old man, you're tough as nails, probably out live Daryl and me."

"Wouldn't put it past him." Daryl smirked.

"Bite y'alls tongues, can't think me up a worst punishment than burying one of ya." Merle scowled at them.

"No use thinking about it honey," Lina kissed him on his cheek. "We gotta enjoy the time we have. It's a good life."

"That it is." Daryl agreed.

"Yes, it's a good life." Merle kissed her back, winking at his brother. "Who'da thought we could pull it off?"

"We sure as hell did, didn't we." Daryl did a rare thing then, he brought both Lina and Merle in for a hug.