The group all held their guns close. They knew they couldn't trust this place; it could quickly lead them into a trap. 

Theo looked around carefully before moving up and next to her father, who, like her, was watching all directions as he led the group into the unfamiliar building. 

"You think this is a trap?" She whispered, making her dad look down at her before returning his gaze in front of him.

"I don't know," he replied with the same volume. He hoped that it wasn't. 

He prayed that he hadn't led his family into a possible hostile situation. 

Theo stayed close to Rick as the two led the other through the lower ground of the CDC, heading towards the stairs at the end of the hall. 

The father-daughter duo had no clue, but the others were beginning to look to them for safety to ensure their decisions were good for the group. 

Of course, being an officer back in Atlanta, Rick made people believe in him. His daughter, only being young, could be aggressive at times, but that was easily overlooked when she wanted to keep the people she cared about safe; Theo was a survivalist and made her influential in the group. 

Daryl watched Theo, watching how she walked with such confidence and leader-like quality. 

At that moment, he knew he would follow her anywhere. 

"Hello?" Rick yelled, trying to get someone to answer him. They knew someone had to be there, and someone opened the door.

A man in a long white coat began making his way down the stairs, cocking his shotgun, making the group turn to look at him, pointing their guns back at him.

"Any infected?! The man yelled at the strange faces.

"One, but he didn't make it," Rick answered, remembering Jim and knowing his fate.

"But don't worry, we didn't bring him with us", Theo sarcastically finished for her father, wondering why he had to say anything other than a simple 'no.'

Everyone's hands lingered over their triggers, guns pointing at the man. They were not sure who he was yet, but they knew that if he held a gun, he could shoot it.

"What do you want?" the man began walking closer, keeping his finger close to the trigger. 

"A chance", Rick replied for his people; if they weren't allowed to stay, with fuel short, they just as well be dead. 

"That's a lot to ask these days." He responded.

"We know, but please." Rick continued to beg

The man looked between the lost souls in the group, dirty and bloody, tired and aching.

"You all must submit to a blood test, then you can come in," he told the group as he lowered his weapon. 

"We can do that," Rick agreed. The others nodded, knowing if it meant they could stay, a little blood wouldn't be a problem.

Theo, however, hated her blood being taken.

She wasn't sure what it was; she loved getting tattoos and piercings; she was fine when it came to injections, but as soon as it came to someone placing a needle in the crease of the arm, it freaked her out.

It made her queasy to the bone.

"But when those doors close, they won't be opening again," Jenner told them, pulling Theo from her traumatised daydream.

Everyone nodded, appreciating that he was letting them stay.

He warned the group to get their stuff quickly.

After the group had collected their stuff, the doors shut, and the outside was shut off.

They introduced themselves as blood tests began to run.

"What's the matter, sunshine? Can't deal with a little blood?" Daryl teased as she and Daryl were the last two, everyone else had been told to wait for Dr Jenner in the other room. 

Daryl sat there, his muscular arm all relaxed and defined, slightly dirty and sweaty, causing Theo to stare too long.

"I don't care about the blood part; it's the sticking the needle in the middle of my arms thing I don't like" Theo bit her nail nervously.

Daryl saw how much she was nervous.

He took the cotton ball from Jenner, holding it on his arm as Jenner taped over it.

He slowly stood as Jenner sorted everything out for Theo, who so far refused to move.

"Come here," Daryl said, helping his hand out for her, knowing no one else was in the room.

She hesitantly took his hand with her shaking one; he made Theo stand before making her sit down. He kneeled in front of her as Daryl rolled up her sleeve.

"Look at me," Daryl told her quietly, "Don't take your eyes off of mine" 

So she did. She looked into those ocean blue eyes that had a protective watch over her recently.

"You're all done," Jenner told her, placing a cotton ball on her arm and taping it up.

She looked at Jenner, confused.

"That's it?" Theo questioned, as she carefully stood. 

Daryl smiled, standing up and walking away without saying another word.

The night went on, and everyone was beginning to settle, they could relax within the safety of the walls around them, something they hadn't had in months. 

Everyone thought Jenner was amiable, a little suspicious perhaps, but they could look past that because there was one of him and ten of them.

They were hidden underground, with enough space for all of them. Enough food, water, and alcohol for everyone.

Theo smiled at the thought of a drink, having a chance to enjoy a meal without thinking about a walker appearing from nowhere trying to have her as its meal.

He was the last person in the building, and he communicated with a strange robot voice on the walls.

"Let the boy have some wine," Dale laughed while pouring a slight drop for Carl into a cup.

Theo laughed while picking up her beer; she smiled at her brother, who gave her a worrying look.

"Nope" Lori  answered, taking a sip of wine herself. 

"Come on, a drop won't hurt", Rick laughed, enjoying a beer.

"He won't even like it!" Theo smiled, knowing she didn't even like the taste of wine.

"Oh yeah, like you?" Lori answered, knowing she meant it to be a harsh remark, but not a single person in the group took it seriously

"Yeah, and look at me. I am your favourite child," Theo replied sarcastically, again causing the room to laugh. Neither mother nor daughter continued their hidden bicker; they just continued to drink.

Lori finally gave in to Carl's pleading and allowed Carl to try it.

The young boy took a sip before spitting back into the cup, again filling the room with laughs.

Theo took another swig of beer before Rick began to toast Dr Jenner.

They all thanked him before the room fell quiet.

Theo sat next to Dale and Andrea. Daryl was behind with Glenn, and Shane and her family were opposite.

"When are you going to tell us what happened here, Doc? To the other doctors?" Shane bought up, making the conversation go from light and fun to awkward and tense. 

"I don't think now is the time. We are celebrating, after all. Right?!" Theo smiled, which made Jenner quiet. He didn't want to discuss it, but he knew he would have to eventually.

"Well, that's why we are here, right, princess?" he smiled at Theo, tensing her and boiling Daryl's blood.

Theo's parents never noticed the nickname; he called her it for as long as she could remember. Her parents believed it was only a pet name but knew nothing.

"Hm, well, I don't know about you, but right now, I'm thirsty for alcohol." She sarcastically smirked as the others cheered. 

However, Daryl moved closer behind her, probably to keep himself calm more than herself.

She grabbed her bottle tighter before finishing the bottle and placing it on the table.

She turned to face Daryl quickly. 

If looks could kill Shane would be long gone. 

Theo tapped his fingers to let him know she was okay and for Daryl to relax before turning back around. 

"Well, when things got bad, many people just ran. Went to be with their families, and then when things got worse, the rest, well, the rest took a different way, a wave of suicides." He explained to the group, making all their attention turn to him.

"You didn't? Why?" Andrea asked; the talk of death was still sensitive to her after losing Amy only the other night, but her curiosity grew more and more.

"Hope, I wanted to do some good," he explained, looking down into his glass of alcohol before finishing it. 

"Dude, you are such a buzzkill", Glenn said, looking at Shane.

"Well, I think that concludes our happy evening." Theo rolled her eyes. 

Jenner also showed them where they were sleeping, some having to double up and some getting their rooms. 

Lori, Rick, and Carl got a room. 

Shane and T-Dog in another. 

Jacqui and Andrea in another. 

Carol and Sofia. 

Theo and Glenn.

Daryl alone. 

Dale alone. 

"Please don't plug in anything that uses power, and go easy on the hot water," Jenner explained.

Glenn and Theo looked at each other with excitement.

"He has hot water" They both smiled.

"I DIBBS!" Glenn yelled as he ran to the closest shower near him. 

Theo laughed at his excitement and continued down to her and Glenn's room for the night.  

She carefully put her bag down, making sure it wasn't apparent that she had an entire bottle of whisky that she found in the kitchen in her bag to drown her sorrows in that night.

Daryl saw her suspicious expression from the other side of the hall but ignored it and headed for a shower himself.

Meanwhile, within 10 minutes, Theo had left her room and began to explore. That's when she came across a sofa with a view of the outside world. A window was the only thing separating them.

She continued to drink the bottle, her vision struggling to keep up with the speed of her eye movements, but that didn't stop her.

Around 40 minutes passed when Daryl began to explore also, coming across Theo sat alone, drinking what looked like whisky. 

"Hey," Daryl said from behind the girl making her jump

"Heyyy...," she said, drugging out the 'y'.

"You pissed, girl?" Daryl laughed slightly, making her begin to shake her head.

"Nope," she said, popping the 'p.'

"Okay, just making sure you're alright'" Daryl told her as he began to walk away. 

"Wait! Hunky man with the crossbow, stay and drink with me," she slurred, holding her hand out for him to take

"Hunky?" Daryl questioned, trying not to laugh at her drunk state

She said nothing, and she just handed him the bottle. Daryl took a seat next to her.

That's when he looked at her and realised she had his blanket covering her lap. For some reason, seeing her with something of his warmed his cold heart. 

They stayed in silence before Theo's drunken mind began to run wild.

"You know, under different circumstances, this would be quite romantic," she giggled, rocking her body.

"Not my thing", Daryl pointed out before taking another swig. "And you just giggled."

Daryl handed the bottle back, Theo gladly taking it.

"Nope, Theodora Jay Grimes does NOT giggle", she laughed, taking a large amount of alcohol into her system.

"You think that you might have had enough?" Daryl asked, worried at how fast the liquid was disappearing,

"Is the bottle empty?" She snapped, pointing at the bottle

Daryl rolled his eyes

"Hey, you wanna do something crazy?" she said, adjusting herself on the sofa to face Daryl.

"What?" Daryl asked worryingly

"You and me, right here, right now?" Theo looked him dead in the eyes before bursting out laughing.

Daryl shook his head.

"What? Not your type?" she smirked, moving closer to him.

"Nope"

"What is?"

"Girls who don't talk", he quickly responded.

"Damn, Dixon" She smirked, trying to compose her laughter; he just rolled his eyes again. 

"Nah, let me guess. You like the damsels—someone you can rescue," she smiled, unaffected by Daryl's snappy answers.

"How about we get you to bed?" Daryl asked, avoiding the question.

"Excuse me, at least take me on a date first", she giggled again.

"Okay..." Daryl sighed as he stood up and trying to grab the bottle from her, but she quickly moved away so he couldn't get it.

"Come on," Daryl said in all seriousness.

She pointed out her finger to signal Daryl to wait while using her other hand to pour the rest of the liquid in the bottle down her throat, finishing the last drop.

"Finished?" Daryl asked, raising a brow. 

She closed her eyes, realising it had been a while since she had downed that much.

"Yes," she smiled "But i have another bottle of vodka in my room if you would like to join me" 

"Where the hell are you getting these from?" Daryl questioned

"I have a stash" " she winked, referring back to the words he told her once. "And I will come with you under one condition..." She pointed her finger at the redneck, who crossed his arms, waiting for her answer

"When we get back, we will play a game", She yelled, trying to stand. 

"Keep your voice down" He walked over to her.

"What's wrong, Daryl? You scared of being caught with me again?" She yelled as he covered her mouth with his hand

She rolled her eyes as he told her to shh.

"Fine, anything to shut you up", He agreed as she smiled under his hand.

He removed it, and Theo decided to stay quiet.

"Come on then," he said, helping her drunken state up and walking her to his room.

"Now, I must tell you now, I'm a virgin," she laughed hard.

"Not happening." Daryl tried to stay serious but smiled; she was something else when she was drunk.

They both walked to her room first, her sneaking inside and grabbing the rest of her 'stash', trying not to wake Glenn. 

They then headed over to Daryl's room where she quickly got comfortable on the floor next to the table in the middle of the room, laying Daryl's blanket over her lap. 

Daryl grunted as he sat opposite her. 

"What are we playing?" Daryl asked, sliding onto the floor to sit against the sofa. 

"What about..." Theo thought, "Truth or dare? You refuse to do the dare or refuse to answer; you drink," She explained as Daryl opened the new bottle.

"Alright, I'll go," Daryl nodded. "Truth or dare?" He began

"Truth." She answered confidently

"Okay, what is the worst thing you have ever done?" He asked as he leaned back onto the sofa. 

"What, just bad in general or just something that would disgust someone else?" She asked, unsure of what he meant

"Tell me something that will make me say gross..." He nodded, turning to face her a little better.

"Ummm, I was out one night with some people I met when I went travelling this one time; we had been travelling together for about a week when we stopped off at this bar, where if you do something daring, that is on the board, you get a certain amount of free drinks..." Theo began to explain. "For a full night of free drinks, someone had to drink piss, whether it was your own or not..." Theo started to laugh at the memory.

"Oh god, did you drink piss?" Daryl gagged at the thought.

"Oh fuck no, I was just the person who pissed in the cup", Theo laughed, no embarrassment in her veins as she told Daryl. 

"Ew, gross. So gross I am making you drink" He handed the bottle to her making her roll her eyes but taking it

"Okay, Dixon, your turn..." She told him, placing the bottle on the table.

"Truth," He asked

"Okay, have you ever been arrested?" She wondered

"No", He answered quickly and raised his eyebrow at her.

"Okay, that was easy," she said. "So, I get to ask another." She shuffled in her seat as Daryl rolled his eyes. "Tell me something you have never told anyone else before," she wondered as she bit her lip.

Daryl thought for a moment.

"I dropped out of school at 13," He said simply.

"Oh, come on, Dixon, this is only fun if you make it interesting...." She tilted her head at him

"Alright, dare then?" Daryl rolled his eyes again. At this point, they would get stuck to the back of his head if he had to do it one more time.

"Okay, that's more like it. I dare you to take three shots. You need to catch up." She smiled, looking at the bottle.

They spent the next 35 minutes getting drunk until they ended up both on the floor staring at the ceiling.

They were both in silence before Theo looked up at Daryl.

"Hey... I have another truth for you," She slurred

"Go!" Daryl sat up quickly

"Have you ever kissed a girl at the first meeting?" Theo flirted, not ultimately meaning to, but it still came out that way

"Nope," Daryl popped his P before sitting up completely.

Theo followed, realising that they were very close to each other.

"Truth or Dare?" Daryl asked, getting serious.

"Dare", Theo leaned on the sofa, smiling widely.

Daryl thought for a minute.

"Prank the Korean," Daryl smirked as he pointed over to Theo's room. 

She gave Daryl a smirk before standing, stumbling to Glenn's room.

Daryl watched her from where he stood as Theo quietly knocked on her and Glenn's door.

He opened it, slightly drunk himself, but at this point, looking hung over due to the early hours of the morning. 

"I think it's time I tell you. I'm pregnant," Theo whispered, acting panicked to the best of her ability. 

"What! Who with?" Glenn got serious for a second.

Theo took a deep breath.

"It's yours, Glenn. I thought it was time I told you." She smiled. Her words were incredibly slurred at this point.

Glenn could quickly tell she was drunk, even while being wholly hammered himself.

Glenn was not amused.

"Go to bed, Theo" Glenn rolled his eyes before shutting the door, forgetting that they were roommates for the night. 

Theo burst out laughing, running back to Daryl, who laughed also.

She shut the door behind them, leaning against it, Daryl close to her.

They laughed for a few more seconds before Theo looked up at Daryl.

They both went silent, looking at one another's lips, then back to their eyes.

There was so much tension in the room.

Theo swallowed the saliva that had built up in her mouth through nervousness.

"Fuck it", Daryl sighed before crushing his lips into hers.

Theo immediately responded. Her hands reached his hair, pulling against it as the kiss heated.

Daryl moaned at the slight pull, grabbing her leg and using it to get closer to her.

They were flush against one another, tongues fighting for that dominance.

Things were just about to go further when there was a knock on the door, making the both of them freeze. 

They both panicked out of breath, chests rising and falling quickly. 

"Daryl!" Shane yelled through the door.

Theo's eyes went wide as she pushed Daryl away.

"Hide in the bathroom," He told her as she ran into the other room. 

"What?" Daryl answered annoyed as he opened the door. 

"Have you spoken to Theo tonight? Her parents are wondering where she is," Shane lied through his teeth. 

"Nah, ain't she in a room with Glenn?" Daryl asked frustrated at this point. 

"You need to stay away from her, Daryl." He whispered, looking aorund in the hallway. 

"No thanks, man. I think she is grown enough to choose you she hangs out with," Daryl answered.

"Listen to what I tell you. She is not good news. She lies about people who get close to her. Why do you think she has no boyfriend. Or friends, for that matter?" Shane snapped. "I'm telling you... warning you, stay away," he told him sternly before walking away.

He closed the door behind Shane, seeing Theo looking at him worried.

She heard everything. 

She stayed quiet, taking a seat on the sofa. 

Daryl slowly walked towards Theo, crouching in front of her

He gently rubbed her cheek as she cried.

"What is the deal, why is Shane like this to you?" he asked, looking up at her.

Her face went serious, but not mad, more scared.

"I don't want to push, I don't, but I hate his face, and he did something to you," he said gently.

Daryl had no idea why he was feeling this way. 

He needed to know what had happened, why he would get so angry, and what the thought of her being hurt would be like.

The fact they were having a moment before Shane arrived. Things were getting heated, but Daryl was mad that they were drunk.

"I should leave," she said without looking up at him.

"You aren't leaving until you tell me," he answered softly.

"If you don't let me leave, I should probably get comfy.'' She announced while standing up, but that's when the room went dizzy

"Theo?"

"Imma be sick" She sprinted to the toilet, Daryl following her.

She shoved her head into the toilet, puking up everything that went down earlier that day.

Daryl held her hair back as she puked everything up.

"Thought you were a drinker", Daryl teased, rubbing her back gently. 

"Shut up-ugh" Theo tried to get out but was stopped by her vomit.

She finished up sitting back onto her knees as she looked up at Daryl. 

Daryl walked to the sink, grabbed a cup, filled it with water, and gave it to her.

"Why are you so nice to me?" She asked before taking the cup and drinking some water.

"I guess I liked you because we have a lot in common," he said, suggesting taking a seat opposite her.

"Thank you", she smiled, him returning one.

"Come on, let's get some rest," he suggested as he helped her off the cold bathroom floor. Theo walked to the sofa, and Daryl grabbed a blanket and a pillow.

"What are you doing?" She asked as she watched him throw a pillow onto the floor. 

"Sleeping on the floor,'' he said

Theo smiled before closing her eyes

"Goodnight," he said, closing his eyes too.