This story is for a reader named JayCee, who wanted some Daryl/Xander stories. I thought I could see that pairing since I can see Xander with just about EVERYONE. Whedon originally wrote him as the gay character or considered making his character gay, but then he went with the Willow storyline. It will be only a few chapters long. So far, I have only watched the first episode of the Daryl Dixon spin-off of The Walking Dead, but I am really upset that they had those two kids being abandoned by yet a THIRD adult. It wasn't like him to do so, and it was my least favorite thing about the series finale. I REALLY loved Judith's 12-year-old character, and the way they wrote her, especially her Negan interaction. To have her stepmother mother, the only mother she had ever known, just run off without a word of explanation to anyone but Judith to look for their dad, who everyone believed was long dead was just a bit insane. Maggie should have taken her son and went on her own walk about instead of sending Daryl!

This story will address that horrible ending ultimately by bringing Xander into the tale. He will be the only BTVS character in this story. If you don't watch The Walking Dead or hate slash, this story might not be for you. However, there's not much slash for a while. This first chapter tells about Xander being alone in the zombie apocalypse.

This is set in the final season of TWD.

Disclaimer: I don't own The Walking Dead or BTVS.

Chapter 1: First Encounters

*****The Commonwealth*****

Daryl really wanted to do right by his kids. Of course, they were Rick and Michonne's, but Rick had been his brother every bit as much as Merle. Merle was brother by blood, but Rick was his brother by choice. Ironically, Rick had been the cause of him losing Merle initially, but since his brother was so contentious and such an utter asshole, Daryl doubted that he would have ever been with the group long if Rick had not done what he had done. Merle would never have submitted to the authority that Rick represented, and Daryl would have felt compelled to follow his brother, which might've led to both of their early deaths.

He had been by Rick's side or had his back basically from the moment they met, especially after his little ass kicker, Judith was born. Daryl had definitely been psychic when he nicknamed her that because she was a total ass kicker just like her momma. Daryl had no idea where their momma was right now as she had been gone several months now, but Judith did not seem scared yet. Nor would she tell Daryl where Michonne disappeared to.

"You stay together," Daryl told them. "I gotta go get the key to our new place. Ezekiel is gonna watch you." Everything about the Commonwealth was so clean and pleasant after their time on the road. Alexandria, their home, was beautiful compared to other places out there. However, it had been destroyed twice; once by the Saviors and another time by the Whisperers. They were barely scraping by since the last attack by the Whisperers. The children were tired of struggling. Of course, RJ only knew Alexandria. Judith knew some of their time before, and she knew how Alexandria had been in all of its stages.

Rick had had such dreams for the four different communities. Ezekiel's Kingdom had failed. Maggie's Hilltop had been the most devastated by the Whisperer's attack, but she was doggedly hanging on, refusing to join the Commonwealth. When Rick had fallen, leading a horde away from Alexandria, Daryl had tried his best to get to him, to save him. However, he was on the bridge, and Daryl was on the other side of the riverbank.

Then he spent six years trying in vain to find his body, to put his shell at rest. He failed his brother in both ways. However, he was determined to be there for his children. Michonne was pregnant with RJ when Rick died. She said that Rick knew about the baby even though none of them had known she was pregnant yet. They had planned his arrival, but Rick never met him. It pained Daryl that he would never know his son. Carl, his first born, preceded him in death. It gave Daryl some comfort that at least he had Rick Junior to carry out his legacy. Daryl was determined to do everything he could to keep Rick's memory alive for RJ and make sure that he became even half the man his father was. Hopefully, Michonne would return to finish the job as she was so good with her son.

Of course, Daryl felt that Judith was more like her father and mother than RJ, who seemed too happy and carefree at times to be a child of this new apocalyptic world. Then again, Rick would love to know that his son was so happy, especially when Carl's childhood had been cut so short. It's what made RJ so damn special and why Daryl wanted to work so hard to keep him smiling. Only for these kids would Daryl ever consider leaving their home or putting on a damn uniform. Both his brothers would laugh their asses off if they could see him now. Enlisting in the Commonwealth army was the easiest way that he could make an income and buy things for the kids. Here money suddenly matter again, which was odd because for the past few years only food, shelter and surviving were all that mattered.

He finally located the maintenance building. The sign said open, so he opened the door and was taken aback by the man working at the large worktable when he looked up and smiled at Daryl, giving him friendly, "Hello. I'll be right with you."

What startled Daryl was the brown hair and shaggy hair cut and the eye patch. Daryl knew that the man sitting there was not Carl Grimes, Rick's oldest son, who had lost his eye the last year of his life by a bullet that luckily missed his brain. However, the resemblance shook Daryl since Carl never got a chance to grow into manhood, dying a bit before he turned sixteen, nine years ago. This guy looked to be a few years older and a few years younger than Daryl's own age.

Finally, the man stood, and his height was about the same as Rick's, making him a few inched taller than Daryl. Carl might've grown into his father's height if given a chance. Seeing the man brought a pang to Daryl even as it brought him comfort.

The man gave Daryl an easy smile. "Sorry about that," he said. "How can I help you?"

Daryl opened his mouth to speak and felt incredibly stupid when his mind was blank. Why was he here? Seeing a resemblance of the boy he loved in this stranger rattled him.

The guy must've felt sorry for him because he said, "Do you need something fixed?"

Daryl shook his head. "Are you Harris?" Daryl finally asked.

"To the government types I am," he said. He held out his hand. "My friends call me Xander."

It had been a very long time since anyone had offered Daryl a handshake, so he was slow to respond. Again, Xander was patient, smiling in amusement as Daryl finally shook his hand. "Daryl. Daryl Dixon," he said. "I was told to see you about keys for an apartment for me and my kids."

Xander's eyes lit up. "Oh, you have kids? I wish I had some kids," he said. "My lovers either dump me before getting knocked up, or I leave them at the altar. Of course, the zombie apocalypse had to come and leave me stranded on the other side of the freakin' country from the last girl I was seein'. Now I have decided that I'm just going to date men since women are so damn inconvenient to never be where I need them to be!"

Daryl had to grin at the guy's rant. He never heard anyone talk like him before. "I don't exactly have kids. I'm taking care of my niece and nephew. Their dad's dead, and their mom went somewhere. I hope she's still alive and on her way back to them," he said. "She's tough."

"All the great ones are," Xander said. He walked over to his cash register and pulled out a book. "Which apartments are you in?"

"I enlisted," Daryl said.

"Got it," Xander said. He looked through his book. "Dixon, right?" Daryl nodded.

He handed him a set of two keys. "Here you go," he said. "Welcome to the Commonwealth."

"Thanks," Daryl said. He found himself unable to leave the man who looked so much like Carl. "Have you lived here a long time?"

"Almost from the beginning," Xander said. "My best friend, Willow and I helped the governor build this place. She died here, and I just don't want to ever leave the last place we were together. Since kindergarten, she and I were by each other's side. Grew up in Sunnydale, California. I didn't think anything could ever take her out. She was so strong, so powerful. I was the weak one."

"I get that," Daryl said. "My brother Merle was the strong one, and Rick was the hero. But the thing about heroes is, they always gotta be heroic."

Xander nodded, a sad, knowing smile on his face. "That's the damn truth," he said. "We met our other best friend, Buffy, when we were fifteen, and she was always saving us from one disaster or another. She taught us how to be strong. How to be brave. Even how to fight monsters before monsters became the walking dead—if you'd believe that."

"Is she here with you?" Daryl asked.

Xander shook his head, looking sad. "Nope. Everyone is in stupid England," he said. "Some of our group is in Ohio. Will, and I were in New York when things started falling apart. I never knew that Ohio could be so far without working highways or airplanes. We made it as far as here. She was working her magic, saving lives. I was too far away to save her when she died."

Daryl looked at him in surprise. He could tell that Xander still felt sick with guilt and regret that he hadn't saved his best friend. No one understood that feeling more than Daryl did. "That's exactly what happened with me and my brother Rick," he shared. "He was leading a horde away from our town, into a river when he fell. I looked for him for years. I could never find him."

"Then maybe he's still out there," Xander said. "I saw Willow fall. Her body's buried here. That's why I won't leave here."

Daryl wished that would be so, but there's nothing on this earth that would have kept him from his kids. "Well, I best get back to the kids and show them where we'll be staying. Thanks. It was nice to meet ya," he said.

"You, too," Xander said. "If there's anything that needs fixin' in the place, let me know."

Dixon nodded and waved at him as he left the place. It felt good to know that someone so normal had been here from the beginning.

Xander watched the new guy go, glad to see they were getting new people with kids. He liked kids. Thinking about Willow, though, always made him sad. She died only a year into their zombie apocalypse, and somehow, he was still here.

How did he get to be the last man standing? He refused to believe that the rest of his girls weren't alive somewhere. Faith was still kicking it in Ohio. Dawn and Buffy were in Italy and the rest in the UK.

They were too tough to fall to the virus or the walking dead.

*****A Few Days Later*****

RJ loved the Commonwealth. Not only were there a lot of kids his own age, but there was school. It was fun. Every day, he learned something new, and he got to play with the new friends he made. It was great. His sister liked it, too. He could tell. They rode the bikes that Rosita and Daryl got for them. They weren't new, but that was okay with them. Neither knew how to ride one, but Rosita taught them both with Daryl cheering them on and holding the bike for RJ as he took his first ride. It took them just one evening to learn.

RJ had been very excited to have his first bike.

"Carl would've taught you if he was here," Daryl said. "Or your dad."

"Do you think they can see us?" RJ asked.

"Of course, they can," Rosita said, hugging them. "Gabriel would tell you that they are always with you." Gabriel was her boyfriend, and their minister.

"Let's go ride to your house, so he can see us on our bikes," Judith suggested.

Their first ride was to Gabriel's with Rosita and Daryl running behind them.

Then a few days later, Judith wanted to stay late at school with a friend to finish up something.

"Can I ride my bike home? It's only two blocks," RJ asked.

Judith knew the Commonwealth was perfectly safe. "Okay. Go straight home or to Ezekiel's," she suggested. The zoo was just as close but in the opposite direction.

"Oh, I'll go to the zoo," he said, liking the idea of seeing Ezekiel's animals.

When he was on the way to the square where Ezekiel's animals were, his chain fell off. The boy that he was riding next to pointing to a guy. "There's Xander. He'll fix it," his friend said.

RJ pushed his bike over to the man who was hammering a pole into the ground. "Sir, can you help me? My chain fell off."

"I probably can," he said.

RJ's friend grinned. "Told you. Xander can fix anything."

"Not everything. I can't fix ugly. I can't fix broken bones. And I can't fix stupid," Xander said with a grin and a wink. The boys giggled, amused by him. RJ knew his momma would like the man. She hated stupid people a whole lot. RJ looked at his eye patch with great interest. His sister had told him a lot of stories about their older brother Carl, who had died before RJ was born. He had lost his eye in the last year of his life. While Xander was fixing the bike's chain, RJ wrestled with his desire to know what happened to Xander's eye. He was old enough to know it wasn't considered polite to ask those kinds of questions.

However, when Xander gave him a friendly smile and said, "there you go," he couldn't resist the compulsion. "Xander, what happened to your eye? Did you get shot? I had a big brother who lost an eye. Someone shot him. Is that what happened to you?"

Xander blinked down at the little dude, surprised at his questions. He had been a fixture so long in the Commonwealth that no one ever asked him about his eye anymore.

"No, I didn't get shot," Xander said, shaking his head.

RJ looked disappointed. Before he could ask what happened, Ezekiel called out, "RJ!"

"Is that you?" Xander asked.

"Yep. That's Uncle Ezekiel. He used to be a king, but then his kingdom fell. He even had a pet tiger. It died defending him from Walkers," RJ shared before hopping on his bike and peddling away.

Xander looked at Ezekiel with interest. "Now that's a guy I'm definitely going to get to know," Xander commented before going back to his pole.

*****Another Week Later*****

Judith was walking in the square when she thought she saw a ghost. Immediately, she shook her head. "There's no such thing as ghosts," she muttered. However, the man with the eye patch turned down a street near the ice cream shop, and she knew that she had to see him.

How could Carl be here? Her heart was pounding as she followed after him. Although he didn't sport a cowboy hat like Carl always wore, he did have the brown shaggy hair of her older brother. It was like her brother, all grown up.

Did her parents lie? Did he run away?

She quickly chased after him. When she got him in her sight, she couldn't help calling out, "Carl?" When he didn't turn around, she sped up and said louder, "Carl!"

This time the man stopped and turned around. "I'm sorry?" he asked.

She slowly approached him, the thundering of her heart echoing in her ears. "Are you Carl?" she asked.

He shook his head. "No, sorry. I'm Xander," he replied.

Her disappointment was so great that her eyes filled with tears. "Oh," she said. "Sorry." She turned to leave, but he touched her shoulder.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said, wiping. "I'm sorry. You look exactly how my big brother would've looked if he was still alive. He died when I was three."

"Was his name Carl?" Xander asked.

She nodded. "Yeah," she said.

"Did he have an eye patch, too?" Xander asked.

"Yes. How did you know?" she asked.

"I think I met your other brother, RJ, last week," Xander said. "He said he had a brother who lost an eye due to a bullet."

"Is that what happened to you?" she inquired.

He shook his head. "Nope. A mean man poked my eye out," he said.

"Really?" she asked. "Why did he do that?"

"'Cause he was mean," Xander said with a shrug.

"I hope you shot him," she told him.

Xander laughed. "I have a real fondness for blood thirsty females," he said. "I have never owned a gun, so no."

"Seriously? Even I own a gun, and I'm just twelve," she remarked.

Xander grinned, really enjoying this girl. "Yep. I always liked blades. Or axes. My best friend Buffy used a very sharp blade called a scythe to punish the guy who took my eye," he shared.

Judith grinned. "That's a really good friend. Can I meet her and see her scythe?" she asked excitedly.

"I wish that you could," Xander said regretfully. "Sadly, she lives very far away in Europe. We moved there after we graduated and got into our twenties. Me and my other best friend were here in the States when the world went to hell. We never got to get back to Buffy before they shut down the flights."

"My momma kills lots of walkers with her samurai sword. My mamma said Walkers are all over the world, so I bet your friend has killed a lot of walkers with her scythe," Judith remarked.

"I know she has," Xander said, feeling sad that he would never know.

"I'm sorry for bothering you," Judith said, feeling awkward because she could sense his sorrow.

"You didn't bother me," Xander said. "I am sorry that you lost your brother."

"My name's Judith, by the way," she offered.

"It's very nice to meet you, Judith," he said.

She gave him a small smile and a little wave before turning back and walking back toward her home.

He watched the girl leave, thinking how much Willow would have liked her.

Damn, he missed his girls.

*****Chapter End*****

Did you enjoy that? Drop a review and let me know! This story is already written in my head, so I hope updates will be every few weeks. Thanks for reading!