5. The Steeple

o n e h u n d e r e d n i n e t y s e v e n

The plan was set, the layout was completed, and they moved far away while waiting for the song to end.

The second it went silent, it was filled with explosions and flames as the entire gated community went down in smoke.

"We will need a new governess," Mercer smiled at Theo.

Theo smiled up at him before nodding.

"Maybe we should have that conversation next week," Theo laughed, and he nodded with a smile.

"Are we ready to go home?" Daryl wrapped his arm around his wife as she nodded.

"How about we all have dinner tomorrow at our place?" Theo looked around at her family.

They all nodded with a smile.

I am heading off in their separate directions.

Once they got home, they put the kids to bed and got ready to sleep.

Daryl, however, noticed something was off with Theo as she sat in a world of her own on their bed.

"Theo", Daryl sat beside her as she looked at him with tears.

"Hey, what's going on?" Daryl worried.

"Today, something happened," Theo began. As we got trapped, I made Negan escape first. I knew I needed him to get the kids up before I could, so after he argued with me, he climbed out and grabbed the kids out of the room." Theo looked at Daryl and nodded.

"The walkers got through the first set of doors, so I gave Negan a head start; I distracted them, getting the walker's attention off of our crying kids, but I reached a dead end and got trapped. Luckily for me, Negan found me and helped me out before I could climb out, so I was fighting them off until I got the chance, and I got through, but I cut myself badly" She sighed as she reached for her shirt. "But when I checked..."

She finally showed Daryl her bite.

He looked down at it in complete horror as his tears immediately fell.

"No." He cried as he fell onto his knees in front of Theo, holding her hands tightly.

He laid his head in her lap as they both cried.

"I can't do it, Daryl. I thought if this ever happened, I would want to take myself out before I turned. But I can't," Theo cried as Daryl looked at her. "I want just to keep going until I die. And I want you to stop me from turning the second I take my last breath." She cried as Daryl shook his head.

"I can't," Daryl sobbed as he held Theo tightly. "Theo." He cried so much. It broke Theo to see him this way, and it pained her that he had to go through this.

"I love you, Daryl. And that's why I want to spend every second I can get with you, okay?" she broke down.

He stood up, pulling her up with him, and she held her face in his hands.

"I love you, Theo. I'm not ready; I would never be ready to say goodbye to you," Daryl said, removing the tears from Theo's cheek with his thumbs.

They got into bed with Theo laying on Daryl, her back to his stomach.

"Keep your knife on you", Theo told Daryl as he nodded.

They lay together, talking all night.

Talking about everything they had been through...

"What the?" Daryl opened the tent to see a petite blonde tied with her hands against her back, her mouth taped. Her hair was mad from her movements—a cut on her head.