Over the next couple of hours, the camp introduced themselves to Rick. 

They all got to know him and his time before he found the camp; he had also made everyone aware of Merle. 

Theo knew that Merle had a mouth on him. He was a complete douche; he was always high on any drug he could get his hands on; he was loud and obnoxious; he was a tall bald man with a broad southern accent, broken teeth and a rotten smile; he was horrible, inside and out.

"Well, shit", Theo sighed, everyone looking at her confused. 

She looked at everyone's confused faces, sighing. 

"I mean, of course, it's probably the best option, but he has family here; no one deserves that. You know he isn't going to take this well?" she asked, looking around at everyone, people knowing instantly.

"Daryl," Rick took a deep breath before looking at Theo. 

"Daryl. That's his brother, the last member of his family he has here." Theo looked at her dad, annoyed. "I understand Merle is an asshole, but I think you are forgetting every able body we have; the better chances we have" Theo shook her head, annoyed. 

"I should talk to him. Where is he?" Rick asked, getting up and looking around for Daryl. He had no idea what he looked like, but he had an idea. 

"You know they aren't alike. They have the same blood and accent but are two opposite brothers," Theo explained, standing with her father. 

"I think you should probably let Theo tell Daryl", Dale explained as Rick looked at his daughter worried. 

"Why?" 

"They talk, but Daryl doesn't do that with many other people here," Shane finished, taking another bite of his food, completely losing interest in the conversation. 

"It's just the way we met." Theo nodded as she stood up to find Daryl.

He stayed away from everyone else; he wasn't much of a people person.

She kept walking when a stick behind her snapped.

"It's me", she announced, knowing it was Daryl sneaking about.

He came out while lowering his crossbow back to his side.

She turned to look at him, his piercing blue eyes always being the first thing she saw. 

"Is your daddy back?" he asked in a sarcastic tone. His deep Southern accent sometimes made it hard to understand him.

Theo rolled her eyes.

Daryl wasn't like his brother, not really. Sure, their accents were the same, and their people skills matched, but Daryl was in the back. He wasn't really one to be known. His dark hair was short on his head, and his constantly being out hunting and catching our food meant he was always dirty. But considering that he probably saved Theo's life the day they met, she considers him more likeable than he lets off.

"Yeah, but that's not why I came out to see you," she said slowly, walking over to him.

"Merle back?" he asked, looking over toward the camp. He began walking towards it.

"Wait!" She stopped him. "He didn't return with them..." she explained calmly and quietly.

"Where the hell is he, then?" he asked, annoyed. He looked the girl up and down. 

It wasn't like they were the closest brothers; they constantly argued and fell out, but it was still his blood.

"What happened?" he asked, sitting down at his tent, playing unconsciously with the bolts she had made.

"They handcuffed him to the roof after he attacked T-Dog, then when they were about to leave, T-Dog dropped the keys, walkers got into the building they were on top of, T-Dog barely made it out himself", Theo explained, trying not to upset him.

He stayed silent and nodded at her, not meeting her eyes.

"Is he dead?" he asked, biting his nails, trying not to lose his shit with her. It wasn't Theo's fault, and Daryl knew that. 

"I don't know," she shrugged, not knowing the answer. "T-Dog explained to us that he locked the door," she tried to make it sound better.

"You can go now; I'll speak to your old man in the morning", he snarled.

"Okay", she said, walking away before turning back around.

"Daryl," she stopped, turning to look at him, making him look up at her, annoyed. "Thank you... for earlier with Shane" She thanked him, making his face soften.

"Don't mention it," he said before looking away again.

This time, Theo continued and walked away back to camp.

He watched her walk away, not turning back once. 

He sighed heavily as he looked at the bolts he knew she made for him, throwing them to the side. 

"Dammit," He grunted before picking them back up and off to hunt once again to take his mind off of everything. 

She returned to the fire, where everyone was discussing what had happened so far and getting to know Rick. 

She gave her father a quick smile before saying goodnight to everyone. 

Theo returned to her tent, got comfy in the small sleeping bag, and fell asleep quickly.

-The Next Morning-

She woke up fairly early, like every day. Her being used to sleeping in meant no light ever came through her windows at home, but due to the thin fabric of the tent, the light woke her up every morning. She got up, leaving her brother, mum, and dad still asleep in their shared tent.

As she headed over to the central area of the camp to begin making breakfast for her brother, she met Carol at the small fire, cooking away at whatever they had in the cans they were rationing. 

"How did  you sleep?" She asked her, helping her chop up some apples.

Theo stood in her shorts and one of the shirts she had nicked from her dad's wardrobe before fleeing her house at the beginning. 

"Okay", she smiled sweetly at her. Carol was quiet, but when alone, she was happy.

"Good." Theo smiled, stringing the food in the saucepan; it looked like they had a mixture of beans and rice that morning. 

Theo and Carol made small talk until the screams of the two young children disturbed everyone in the camp. 

"Sophia!" Carol panicked, grabbing Theo as the result of her daughter's scream. 

Theo grabbed her hand tightly before she made her let go to allow her to run back to her tent, holding her knife before running in the direction of the screams. 

Rick, Lori and a few others quickly followed as they reached Sophia and Carl. 

Theo pushed them back towards their mothers and continued a short distance before realising what caused the screams.

There laid a deer, being the victim of a walker.

The slow monster who was once like them roamed their planet, and if you fell victim to a walker, you would join them. 

It didn't notice Theo until she stood in front of it, unafraid she waited for it to stand. Once up, she kicked it backwards, making it fall before the others began hitting and punching it. Eventually, Rick took an axe, chopping its head off in one strong swipe.

Everyone looked at the deer, annoyed, knowing it could have fed them all for weeks.

Rustling in the bushes behind caused everyone to turn, stopping and getting ready for another walker instead of waiting for Daryl to appear.

Everyone lowered their weapons as he was not a threat.

"Son of a bitch, that was my deer," he said, annoyed. "Been chasing this thing all night..." He let out a frustrated groan.

He began kicking the walker, letting out his anger.

"Come on, son, that won't do anything", Dale began, trying to calm him.

"No, why don't you take that stupid hat of yours and go back to On Golden Pond, old man," Daryl yelled; Theo cocked her head at him, confused about what the hell that meant. "I have been tracking this guy for miles, thought I would get it and take it back to camp, cook up something." he shared, pointing at the deer, but now due to the massive bite in its ass, the camp couldn't risk eating it.

He looked around, noticing Rick's face. It was filled with guilt, knowing that he had left Merle, and this was their first interaction.

"I got about a dozen squirrels that will have to do it," he told the other camp members.

The walker's head began moving, and Amy and Andrea, who were watching from a distance, backed away in disgust.

"God damn, you learn nothing!" Daryl yelled at the others, "It's gotta be the brain."

Theo was surprised that her dad had not yet said anything, but Rick popped up when Daryl began walking back to the camp.

"Daryl, I should say something to you," he began. Rick was good with words. Considering everything he had seen and spoken to throughout his years as a sheriff's deputy, he knew what was right to say at this point.

"Yeah, my brother is in Atlanta; I wanna know if he is dead or not because the little princess over there couldn't give me a straight answer", Daryl yelled, pointing at Theo, making her tense.

"We don't know", Rick replied calmly, looking at the young Dixon.

"What's your name?" Daryl yelled, pointing at Theo's father. 

"Rick Grimes," Rick stated, touching his hips. 

"Well, Rick Grimes. Your daughter came to tell me last night, but I have a feeling your story might make more sense, so tell me, Rick Grimes, is there somethin' you wanna tell me?" he asked. Daryl's blood was rushing, and he was getting pissed.

"Your brother was a danger to us, so I handcuffed him to a roof." Rick began, sounding somewhat oddly normal; the world was a confusing place to live. 

"Let me process this," Daryl began pacing. "You left him there!" he yelled before going for Rick. However, Shane knocked him onto the floor before he reached him, placing him in a headlock. 

"Thought headlocks were illegal, dickhead" Daryl pushed Shane off of him. 

A smirk played on Theo's lips as her eyes fell to the ground before her. 

"It wasn't his fault," T-Dog spoke up. "I had the key; I dropped it; it was an accident, though, man."

"You didn't pick up?" Daryl yelled before getting up and pushing Shane away from him. 

Theo felt sorry for Daryl. She knew no one deserved to lose family, especially not now, even if it was Merle.

"I locked the door so walkers can't get him," T-Dog explained

"Tell me where he is so I can get him."

"He will show you," Lori interrupted, looking at her husband. But as soon as she said it, she regretted her words, as he agreed, which meant he was leaving again.

As everyone parted, Theo walked over to her father. 

"Look. You have to understand why he is upset. Don't be too harsh on him," Theo begged as her father sighed. 

"I've seen men like him before. It's better if he goes with his brother when we find him," Rick said as he began to pack his things. 

"Really? You've been here one night, and that's what you took from Daryl. You know he is the only one who goes hunting to find food for us all. Not just him and his brother. All of us. And you're just going to throw him out like that?" Theo looked at her father, shocked. 

"Theo. Don't" He sighed, walking away from her.