2. Never Tear Us Apart

-alone with company-

Exposure was all Theo could feel.

Despite Merle having her back, she wasn't used to his presence, especially alone. 

In the times before this, being alone with Merle was something to fear. She knew he had changed but couldn't help but fear her backup.

That feeling pulsed in her veins as she slowly took a step, one by one, ensuring she watched anything that moved. 

The only thing on her mind was her family and Daryl. 

Were any of them even alive?

Hours had passed, and it was completely dark out. 

Daryl had managed to escape with Beth, and they were now alone around a campfire in complete silence.

"Are you okay?" Beth asked, not looking up from her lap. 

She and Daryl had the odd conversation but were never alone before this. 

Daryl looked at her from the other side of the fire.

"Yeah," Daryl said. He hadn't been close to Beth and knew little about her. Theo was the only thing on his mind.

"Are you?" He asked; the girl had just lost her father, and her sister was somewhere, if not dead.

"I will be." She nodded, not letting the thought of everything that had just happened take over her. "And Daryl?" She asked. "Don't lie," she said.

Daryl held the ring still in his pocket and held it up.

"You were...?" Beth began surprised, with an awed expression on her face.

"Yeah, and now I will never see her again," Daryl sighed, putting the ring back. He wanted more than to throw it away and never see it again, but in the case of finding her again, or Rick for that matter, he couldn't throw away Lori's ring.

"You can't give up like that," Beth told him, shaking her head sternly.

"I told her to meet me, find me when things got bad so we could leave; I didn't even see where she went!" Daryl said, getting annoyed at himself for not watching her closer.

"You can't blame yourself; she is tough. She would have made it out of there alive," Beth reassured him.

"What. And alone?"

"You don't know that," Beth reminded him.

"Just... get some rest; we will move in the morning" He sighed as Beth nodded, not wanting to push even more.

As soon as Beth turned over to sleep, he pulled the Polaroid he found in the prison that night. Theo almost died. 

It was a photo of her and him together, walking up from the fields in front of the prison. 

They are smiling at one another.

He ran his finger over her, using everything in his power not to cry. 

It had been one night, and he missed her more than anything. 

Theo and Merle found an abandoned shed for the night. 

They had blocked the door with the few objects within the shed. 

However, she couldn't feel safe no matter how blocked the door was. 

Theo flipped and turned on her side constantly, closing her eyes, sure she wouldn't get any sleep.