Daryl POV

I heard what you said in there, about gaining another kid. You can't replace my dad, ya know. Not for me. But I'm glad my sister has you and Beth. I'd like to be a part of your family, if I can." Carl broke the silence. Other than telling me where I'm going this is the first we've spoken.

"Never wanted ta replace him. Never thought I could. I jus' wanna do right by him an' give ya an' yer sister a family, ya know?"

"Yeah, I know. I'm thankful for that." He paused and looked around. "It's right up there. I'm going to go in and get her. She'll spook if anyone else comes in with me. Even if it's you. Give me time to explain things."

What the hell kind of shit did they go through? I followed Carl's directions and pulled in, alert for any walkers. While Carl went in I stayed outside, waiting 45 minutes, and took care of any walker that got to close. I took care of 4 before they came out, Michonne leaning heavily on Carl. Michonne got into the back seat and Carl climbed into the front. I got in and looked at her through the rear view mirror. "Take it Carl filled ya in?"

"Yeah, he did." She eyed me warily.

"Yer both welcome with us as long as ya'd like. Like we told Carl, y'all are family. Always have been."

She nodded and stared out the window in silence as I drove us home. We didn't see any walkers on the drive back. Carl asked me questions about his sister and what he missed of her growing up so far and I told him about it until we pulled up to the gate. Liam and Joe opened the gate quickly and moved aside. I pulled up to the front porch and everyone crowded out, Beth and Maggie holding the twins and Ass Kicker.

Michonne and Carl were greeted happily and Michonne even hugged everyone from our prison family. Beth and Carol got Michonne and Carl situated in a room, moving two men out of their room, (at their insistence) and giving them their own space.

The house became a little more crowded, with Michonne and Carl, but no one complained. Fuck, we all loved having them around. Michonne and Carl soon got to be a big part of the group, like Michonne was before the prison fell, and like Carl should have been, if we all hadn't been separated. Carl and Ass Kicker quickly became close and Carl took to the twins as his own brothers too. Hell, every now and then when he wanted to be a shit he'd call me daddy and Beth mama just to fuck with us. It got a big old chuckle out of him. Everyone seemed to find it hilarious. I didn't bother Beth much, and it really didn't ever bug me much. Threw me off my game for awhile, but then it stopped bugging me. Just took time to wrap it around my head that he was saying it to me as him, not cause he was talking to one of his siblings.

Within a month of Carl and Michonne joining up with us we decided we needed to do something about making more space for us all to live. Damn crowded and there was no breathing space. Not to mention the kids make it rough on the rest of the group to sleep or do anything. Their "aunts and uncles" wrapped around their grubby little hands.

"We need to do something about more space. Think it's time we moved on?" Joe questioned.

"Hell nah. We got a good set up here. It ain't safe on the road. Not wit' three little ones. We got everything we need here."

"What do you propose we do, then?"

I thought about it for awhile before replying. "We keep joking about building another house. Why don't we actually do it? Me, Beth an' the kids can move out there, an' that'll create a helluva lot more room,"

"Ya think it's smart, that we could pull something like that off?"

"I worked construction a little 'fore the world went ta shit. An' Ty knows his way around a hammer. Between us all I figure we can get a place up and decently put together before too long. We got most the shit we need here, but we'll need some more stuff."

"If you think we can pull this off, without attracting too much walker attention than I'm all for it, Daryl."

Beth got all sorts of excited when I told her the plan for a little house on the property. "Oh! That'll be so good! Everyone's going to have a little bit more room this way!"

Next day me and a bunch of the guys went on a run and found the rest of the things we could possibly need for the house.

We had the equipment and everything up and started within a week of deciding we'd build another place. With all the extra noise and commotion the walkers were more attracted to our home, we got three times as many piling up at the fences cause of it. We had to have extra people on watch for the next year that it took to build the house. Took longer than any of us wanted, with all of us that weren't on watch or runs, working our asses off. But it got done. We built the place bigger than we'd originally planned. We built it with 5 bedrooms. Three of the bedrooms side by side and only separated by a thin piece of wood that took up 3/4 to be a doorway in between each of those three rooms, connecting the 3 kids' rooms. Then a room across the way for me and Beth and one across the house for Michonne.

Year went by without much shit happening. Had a few close calls with the walkers but once we stopped making all that noise with building the house, the walkers knocking at our front door dwindled again. The Twins got their own room, directly across the hall from me and Beth, Judith got her own room, next to the twins with Carl's room on the other side of hers. They all seemed to love the arrangement and it made me and Beth feel better about not having the kids in the same room as us, like in the attic. Course I didn't sleep the first month in the house, having to get up and check on them all every little while. Michonne and Beth were almost as bad as me. I even caught Carl checking on the boys and Ass Kicker a few times. What he don't know is that I check on him too.

5 years went on by. The kids big as hell, and smarter than smart needs to be. We started farming on the land, not just a garden but a honest to God fucking farm. Over the years we found more and more survivors and brought them in. We had to build three more houses to fit everyone. Had more than 30 people join up with us and stay. Some people only stayed for a little while before moving on. All my kids learned to hunt and track, and I teach them how to fight and protect themselves every day.

Carl's found himself a girl friend with one of the girls that joined us. Beth keeps telling me that they're the forever kind of love, like me and her.

10 years later, Beth was right. Carl and that girl, Madelyn, they're the forever kind of love. They're expecting a kid now. Even Maggie and Glenn have a little girl now. Judith just turned 18 and she's got all the fucking boys on this farm chasing her. More than once I've held my crossbow on a little fucker that tried to get fresh with my baby girl over the last few years. Ever since she did that growing bullshit and started getting curvy. One boy in particular, Austin, kept on pursuing her. Finally came knocking on the door to our place and asked to speak with me. Asked me if he can date my baby. I figured if he's got the balls to ask me, I'll give him a shot. "Best listen, boy. Ya see this here bolt? It's gonna be goin' through yer heart if ya hurt my baby in any way shape or form. " The kid turned white as a ghost and nodded, agreeing and promising he'd never hurt her. "An' if ya try an' get fresh wit' her? Ya won't be worryin' 'bout a bolt through yer heart. You'll lose yer tongue, an' all ya fingers. Feed 'em ta the walkers and make ya watch."

He hasn't broken her heart yet. And far as I know he hasn't gotten fresh with her either. He also stays out in the open with her at all times, where me or someone else can keep an eye on them.

"Baby, ya gotta lighten up. She's a good girl. She isn't going to do anything she isn't ready for. Besides, between you and Carl watching her 24/7 nothing is ever going to happen." Beth's constantly trying to get me to lighten up on protecting her.

The twins are the least of my worries. Shawn's like his uncle Merle was, when we were kids.

Protective and a hellion. They're both protective and hellions. But Merle's more like Hershel and Beth. Sweet tempered and caring and not as hyper as his brother. Shawn and Merle are always trailing after me, Joe, Carl, And Glenn, learning and doing what we do. The twins are expert trackers and pranksters.

Beth's started talking about wanting to have another kid. Figured if she wants one I won't tell her no. Not if it'll keep her smiling that smile that lights up my world, keeps me going. Still got the same fears I had when she was pregnant with the boys. But she's got enough faith for the both of us that things will be okay.

Things could have been a lot worse for us, for my family, for the prison group. But we all found our way back to each other, like Beth believed we would. We found more people and brought them into our family, but our core family only grew a little. We even settled in enough and made a memorial for all those we lost along the way. Jayne climbed the tallest tree in the yard and carved names into the bark as folk called names out to him. Every time we get new additions we add names. Jayne goes up the tree each week and adds names from a list that we make as people think of loved ones they lost.

We found our missing pieces, and we're all together again.

A/n: There it is. The end of Missing Pieces and DWA. I hate to see this story end, but, with the end of this one (and a couple other stories getting finished in the next week, I'll be able to start on new projects)

Also, may I just mention: 3 updates in a row! Holy crap! Should be another update tomorrow, as well.

Let me know what you think of the ending!