Disclaimer: Still don't own.

Chapter Three

"Now, I know this is gonna sound crazy but I need y'all to understand that there's no way I can make any of this up." The former cop paused. "Carol, Judy, Carl, Glenn, Daryl and I are from the future."

Immediately the group began to protest, Shane, Lori, and Carol's husband Ed, the most vocal of them all. Lori was glaring at him as she screeched about how he was insane and that he was poisoning their son's mind. Shane was standing and ranting about how he was hallucinating and that obviously the wound he'd suffered before everything that happened was affecting his mind, his dark alight with a slight glint of manic and Ed was standing in front of Carol yelling in her face that she was obviously lying and using time-travel as an excuse to hide the obvious affair she was having with "that stupid red neck". As they yelled the three time travelers watched them calmly. Merle, Dale, Andrea, Morgan, Duane, and the Morales family were also protesting in clear disbelief.

"Mama, is that why I keep having dreams about being in a barn with a bunch of the zombies?"

Everyone froze and looked at Sophia. Carol swallowed painfully.

"How does the dream go, honey?"

"Well, we were all on a highway somewhere and the walkers found us. We all tried to hide under the cars but one was about to get me and Mr. Grimes took me into the woods to a safe place and told me to wait until someone came to get me. When he left, though, I heard one of the walkers and I got scared and ran."

A sob left the girl's mother and Rick looked away guiltily. Glenn bit his lip and looked down all of them remembering how long they had searched for the girl and the pain they all went through when they'd had to shoot the walker she'd become.

"When I was running I dropped my dolly and I tried to go back for it but the walker got me. Then a tall man came and killed it and led me to a barn. He told me he was gonna find a way to make it better then he put me inside and locked the doors. Then it got all hazy. But I now sometime after that I was shot and I died."

Carol gave a soft grief filled sound and Rick cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"Your dream is…correct. The man that saved you was a man named Otis and he died only a day or so after he found you."

Sophia nodded and looked down.

"Did I die too?"

"Yes." Her mother whispered hoarsely and Ed glared at her.

"You lying bitch!" He snarled raising his hand to hit her.

Carol caught his hand, her wet eyes hard and glittering with a darkness that was reflected in the eyes of the other two time travelers beside her.

"Don't ever raise your hand to me or my daughter again. If you do, I won't be able to save you from the bolt Daryl has aimed between your eyes."

Everyone turned to where the archer and the two children were perched on top of the RV. True to the woman's word the archer had his crossbow trained on the Peletier man, his bolt lined directly between his eyes. Fear flashed in Ed's eyes and he yanked his hand away from his wife with a glare to cover it up.

Carol smirked at him and Merle snorted.

"Darleena won' shoot no human."

Glenn smirked, as did Rick. "He will if you threaten his family, especially Judy and Carol."

"Judy? The little girl?" Andrea questioned.

Carol nodded. "Those two have a bond stronger than anything on this planet. Nobody gets between him and his Lil Asskicker, not even Rick."

Lori scowled at the reminder of the unknown little girl.

"Who's child is that, Rick?"

"She's mine."

The woman glared at him. "You cheated in me in that 'future' of yours?" She sneered and he bared his teeth in a snarl.

"No. But you cheated on me! Even before all this happened you and Shane were sleeping together behind my back and when I went into a coma you started doing it publicly under the guise of 'comforting' each other after my 'death'."

"Hey!" Merle yelled, fed up with all the side discussions taking place. His little brother wasn't the same man he'd known for years and he wanted, no, he needed to know why. Officer Friendly, Officer Prick and Queenie's little soap opera would have to wait.

"Will somebody please explain what the fuck is goin' on? You said y'all was from the future, but none of us came back wit' y'all. Why is that?"

Officer friendly sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"In the time we're from, nine years have passed since this whole outbreak started. Most of y'all didn't even make it through the first year. Merle, Dale, and Andrea were the only ones that lived past that year and even Dale and Andrea died shortly into that second one."

"What about me?" Merle asked curiously and the time travelers' eyes flashed.

"In our time you died about three years ago."

The ex-con whistled lowly and Rick continued on speaking.

"We were living in the Meriwether county prison with some other people when we were attacked by a man known as The Governor." Venom coated the officer's words as he spoke and Glenn flinched a quick glance flashing up to the top of the RV.

"He had attacked us twice before but years had passed since we'd last heard of him so we'd been hoping that he was dead."

"That doesn't explain that little girl or why she and Carl call Dixon 'mama'."

"Judith is our daughter, yours and mine. In my time you died giving birth to her and I became a bit unhinged." Rick explained, his eyes softening slightly. "Daryl took care of her and Carl until I was able to function again. It took me a year to acknowledge Judith as anything other than the thing that took you away from me and by then both her and Carl had taken to calling Daryl mama. I'm not exactly sure how it came to that but I do know that there is nothing he wouldn't do for them. He helped me finally acknowledge that Judy was my baby girl and now I wouldn't trade her for anything."

"Where was I?" Shane asked and his best friend's cerulean gaze moved to him, dark and predatory.

"Dead."

"How?"

"I killed you."

The color drained from his face at his best friend's soft admission, his dark eyes wide.

"W-what?"

"You- you lost your mind after I returned, angry that I was taking what you perceived as yours. My family became yours and when I was discovered not to be dead the affair you were having with Lori ended. Carl had his father back and he stopped coming to you for everything and you became bitter and angry. In fact only a few weeks from now you would try to kill me but I kill you first."

"I-I wouldn't do that!" The other male yelled in denial, trembling and Rick sighed.

"Shane, you're my brother, my best friend. Killing you…it nearly broke me." His voice broke then hardened, his eyes cold.

"So don't give me a reason to kill you."

His friend flinched back violently then nodded rapidly, afraid of this newer Rick.

"You said nine years have passed in your time but your son looks about fourteen." Morales noted and Carol giggled.

"Whatever brought us here, it deaged both Carl and Judith. Carl just hit his 21st birthday and Judy is eight. Daryl's probably gonna tease poor Carl senseless."

Glenn snickered. "Just wait till Ma-" He trailed off and looked down with a sad sigh, twisting a slim gold band around his finger and the woman placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry. If we got sent back I pretty sure they did too. If not y'all will still find a way to be together. Ya always do."

He nodded and smiled at her, while his leader sent him a reassuring glance.

"Speakin' of Darleena. Y'all seemed awfully friendly with each other, Officer Friendly. He yer bitch now since Queenie slept with Officer Prick? Cuz I ain' gonna let that fly. Don' no body use my lil' brother."

Rick's face softened and he glanced up at the RV holding his lover and their children.

"He's my husband as of six years ago."

Lori gave a wordless shriek of rage.

"You married that disgusting, filthy, mangy, racist Red-neck whore!"

Carol jumped to her feet her own eyes blazing while Rick froze wide eyed. Glenn jumped to his feet too, all of them remembering the last person to call Daryl a whore. The man had nearly broken their archer and it had taken them forever to put him back together and make him believe that he wasn't the whore he'd been told he was.

"Don't you ever call our brother that again, you worthless, useless, conniving bitch!" Carol snarled at her and Merle nodded in agreement grabbing Lori's arm roughly.

"The only person allowed to insult Darleena is me. Keep yer thoughts to yerself, Queenie." He growled and she flinched turning her gaze onto her husband hoping he'd save her. Instead he shook his head silently and stood.

"Go pack your things. I know a safe place, but we need to leave in the dawn to reach it during the daylight."

"Who put you in charge?" Ed sneered and the former cop didn't bother to glance at him.

"Have you survived nearly a decade in this world? No? Then shut up and do as you were told."

TBC…

A/N: So…what do you guys think?