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A/N: One The Walking Dead character might be OOC but I needed to do it. You'll understand.

Daryl and Rick were in the large ballroom waiting for the Slayers to return with either refugees from the old folks home or bad news. Rick was pacing. "Pacin' ain't gonna do shit but wear ya down," Daryl told the other man bluntly.

Rick looked at the man who'd become his most trusted confidant recently. "I can't help but worry. Glenn's out there, back in the thick of things… the people who saved us are out there 'cuz we sent 'em in to save people who might not even be there, in the middle of an infested city… or they could react badly to 'em. I shoulda gone."

"Chinaman wanted ta go," Daryl reminded him and almost smirked as he heard Glenn's voice in his head whisper, 'I'm Korean'. "And them girls went to tha exact spot where they'd be safe, and they got that shield thing…"

"You're right," Rick sighed. If someone had told him a month ago that he'd be looking to Daryl Dixon for guidance he'd have laughed in their faces…

A group of teens entered the room and it cut the men's conversation off. "I told you they weren't back yet," the tall, muscular mohawked teen snapped.

"Sorry, man," an even taller youth sympathized.

A lovely, blonde pregnant girl slapped both boys on the back of the head earning glares, "Knock it off both of you. She'll be back soon. She's a Slayer for Christmas sakes." The girl rolled her eyes and slid forward. "Hi, I'm Quinn." She held out her hand to shake theirs.

"She learned that from Gibbs," the tall lanky youth muttered.

"Rick Grimes and this is Daryl Dixon," Rick gave her a kind smile.

"A pleasure to meet you both. This is my boyfriend Finn Hudson," she gestured to the lanky boy, "one of my best friends Puck, his girlfriend is Rachel Berry, she's one of the Slayers that came and got you all… she's one of my best friends," she blushed as she said this, and looked a bit startled by the fact. "And this is Santana Lopez, Mercedes Jones and Kurt Hummel."

The other teens had filed forward and shaken the two mens' hands. Daryl seemed shocked by the occurrence, but Rick just seemed tickled. Working as a Sheriff's Deputy he hadn't really had a chance to see a lot of polite teenagers throughout his career.

Daryl took a moment to look at the kids. For a moment, in the back of his mind he could almost hear Merle's sarcastic, nasty comments about the black girl, effeminate boy and Latino girl, but he squelched them down… he was trying to push those out of his head… Daryl was trying to think for himself. Still he could hear Merle saying something like, 'Well isn't this just like the United fuckin' Nations… we got Niggers, Spics, Jews and Queers…'… overall the thought made Daryl tired, and made him almost grateful he didn't have to listen to it anymore.

"We're so glad you're okay," the boy, Kurt, told them, his hands fluttering. "Tina was so worried the ladies wouldn't get to you in time."

"A few more minutes and they might not have," Rick said honestly.

"That Buffy sure does have some perfect timing," Mercedes sucked in a breath. "Got to us in time, and got to our parents in time for Rach to be able to say goodbye to her Father. Got to most of the groups before the other creatures could bust in on 'em."

"I ain't seen nobody gettin' in no fights," Daryl said, narrowing his eyes… he'd just realized what seemed strange about the place.

"Oh, we have some some tension," Quinn told the man. "People who don't get along, but for the most part we try to work it out."

"The really bad seed was Mr. Karofsky…" Finn frowned. "He was beating his kids and Faith stopped him. He took a few swings at her so she knocked him on his ass. He decided he wanted to leave."

"So they let him," Rick asked.

Puck looked at the man, "Dude, we don't keep people against their will. He wanted to leave… the only thing Buffy didn't let him do is take Dave and Tommy with him. I mean, seriously, they're just kids and he's a kid beater."

Daryl sneered, it sort of made him wish the guy was still around just so he could put the man on his ass like the Faith woman had. "He's gone, huh?"

Puck grinned at the other man, knowing what he was thinking. "Yeah, Buffy got to hit him too."

"It's really no wonder David ended up a hateful bigot," Kurt muttered.

"He's trying now," Mercedes reminded him, not noticing the startled expression on Daryl Dixon's face, but Kurt did.

Kurt gave the older man a wry grin. "Sorry, he tormented me in school. But seeing how his Dad treats him… I suppose it all makes a lot more sense now."

"My Dad isn't the nicest person," Quinn reminded them. "He didn't stick around either." She wrapped her arms around her belly.

Finn hugged her to him, hating that she'd been reminded of Russell Fabray. "You're too good for him, Babe."

She gave him a small smile. "It's fine, I've got people who care about me, and they care about Drizzle…"

"Drizzle," Rick questioned.

"That's what we're calling the baby until she's born," Finn said proudly.

"Only until she's born," Quinn said in a no nonsense tone, and then shook her head. "Puck, Finn, Rachel and I have to come up with a really good name for her…"

Daryl was confused, "Why you four?"

Finn shrugged, "Shared pregnancy."

This stumped both men for a moment, but before either could comment, more people entered the ballroom. Daryl's scowl grew to see more teens. Where were all these kids comin' from?

"They're not back yet," Warren sneered crossing his arms across his chest. This thing with Dawn was new and tentative and he didn't like her going off into so much danger. He didn't care how powerful she was. Which was rather odd considering he didn't feel protective when it came to Layla or the other girls he'd been friends with for years now.

"Dude, relax," Will Stronghold told his best friend. "I'm sure they'll be back any minute now. You wanna go check and see what Layla's doing?"

Warren looked at the shorter boy like he was crazy. "She's makin' the plants grow, why would I wanna watch that?"

Finn moved closer to Will. The two had a lot in common actually. They held the same the temperament and both had volatile best friends. "I was just telling Puck the same thing before we came in."

Warren and Puck shared an eye roll at their friends' commiserations. "Whatever," they both muttered.

"Don't you all got class or somethin'," Daryl asked bluntly.

Quinn frowned, "It's Saturday. And six of the Slayers take classes with us."

Before he could respond to that a crackling started, drawing everyone's attention, and the teens became excited. This alerted both Rick and Daryl that the Slayers were returning. The portal appeared, and the Martha Rodgers stepped through first.

"All right everyone, step back, we have people coming through… Mr. Stronghold, I need you to go round up all of the medical staff immediately," she ordered.

People started flooding into the room. The mission was a success. There weren't as many as there had been when Rick, Daryl, T Dog and Glenn had encountered the first time, but there were still a lot of people to save. Tears ran down Rick's cheeks to see so many elderly wheeled through on hospital beds and in wheelchairs. Even the three little Chihuahuas made it through the portal. He was anxious because he hadn't seen Guillermo, Felipe or Miguel yet. Finally, Glenn came through and made a beeline for Rick and Daryl.

His eyes were wide, and he had a smile a mile wide. "Daryl…"

Daryl frowned, "What you so happy about?"

"Well, Hell Darylina, Chinaman told me you was still alive… I didn't believe him."

Daryl had only taken his eyes off the portal for a minute to look at Glenn. That voice. He'd never thought to hear that voice again. He looked to find the person speaking and thought he was looking at a ghost. "Merle," he whispered and took half a step forward.

His brother stood there, in the flesh. He looked so much older. Merle had lost a lot of weight, and his skin was weathered and pinched. "Heard you came lookin' fer me on that roof," Merle said gruffly.

"Did ya doubt I would," Daryl asked.

"Got a lot ta talk about I reckon," Merle nodded briefly. Then he did something so uncharacteristic… something that Daryl would have never imagined from him. He moved forward and embraced Daryl. "Glad ta see ya lil' brother," he whispered. "Never thought ta see ya again." He pulled away abruptly and then just stood by his side while the others filed out.

The last three through the portal with Buffy, Faith, Dawn and Willow were Guillermo, Felipe and Miguel, and both Rick and Daryl felt some relief fill them. Daryl had to admit smirked a bit seeing the obnoxious youth trying to flirt with the young, attractive Slayers.

Guillermo approached them immediately. "You sent them in for us… you didn't have to do that, but you did and I can't ever thank you enough for that."

Rick clasped the other man's hand in his. "We really did have to, Guillermo. We couldn't take this chance for a new future and deny you all one. What would that make us? I'm just so glad to see it wasn't too late."

"I thought we were seein' Angels, Man," Felipe said looking at the women.

Miguel clapped Daryl on the shoulder and grinned. "Hey lookee there, we found your brother for you… Ain't never met a guy named Merle before, then he walks right in needin' help and all."

"Thanks fer helpin' him."

Miguel shrugged.

Merle slapped the boy on the back, "Hey Mikey, ain't that the lil' girl you was tryin' ta make time wit'," he asked pointing to Rachel.

The men looked to see Rachel Berry who'd jumped onto Puck's back and wrap her arms around his neck. He meanwhile was copping a feel on her derriere. "Ah man, guess she's his girl… shit that's bad luck," the boy muttered. "That brunette with all the legs was hot too though." This time he pointed out Dawn… except she was leaning back against a wall, with Warren leaning into her personal space.

Daryl smirked. "Ya know how ta pick 'em. Just ta warn ya. Mohawk there could benchpress ya, and Peace can set ya on fire."

"Pardon me," a British voice interrupted their conversation.

They all turned to look at the tall lanky brunette boy. He blinked at them from behind his glasses, and brushed his bangs from his eyes, revealing the lightning bolt scar on his forehead. Miguel's mouth dropped open.

"Hello, I'm Harry… Harry Potter," he introduced himself. "I hate to be rude, but we were informed that Mr. Dixon might have need of some potions to regrow his hand so we wanted to let you know we were going to be working on those and would have them shortly."

"Harry Potter," the Latino boy wheezed.

Rick chuckled. "Yep, he's real. A lot of people from his world are. Buffy and her Slayers saved them a few weeks ago." Rick moved to Merle and offered him his hand. "Merle, I've been real ashamed of our meeting… real ashamed of how we left things, how I left you. I'm sorry. If I could go back I would… but I can't. I hope we can move past this."

Daryl felt a sense of foreboding. This was not gonna go well. Merle was not one to forgive. He was already surprised that Merle had stayed with the Vatos for as long as he had… Daryl prepared himself to get between his brother and the man he was beginning to consider his closest friend.

Merle squinted at Rick Grimes. He'd been filled with hatred towards this man when he'd first been cuffed to that pipe. Then he'd cut off his hand, wandered around and been found by the Hispanics. They'd gotten him clean, sober and healthy. He'd had to face a few hard facts. They weren't the enemy. Rick Grimes had been right. It was only Us and Them now… the Living and the Dead. If only his old 'friends' could see Ol' Merle now. They'd think he was a big old pussy. Sad really… a fucking zombie apocalypse, losing his hand, and losing his brother made him into a better man. And now he was lucky enough to get a second chance with his brother, and a second chance at life… and from what scarhead said… Hell, he couldn't be nice all the time could he? He might even get his hand back…

"Seem to recall, wasn't all yer fault there, Rick Grimes," Merle said. He reached out and shook the other man's hand, surprising the other man and his brother. "Think it's high time to let bygones be bygones. This is a new world after all. Not that Ol' Merle here's gonna be perfect," he warned.

Rick smiled. "Wouldn't expect it for anything," he promised.

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