-TRIGGER WARNING SENSITIVE SUBJECTS-

After briefly seeing Carol, Daryl headed to talk to Theo, but he couldn't find her anywhere. 

He even asked Glenn, but he didn't know; Daryl knew that Shane wasn't with her as he talked to Rick.

He began to worry, but he had no reason to panic until he knew she was nowhere on the farm.

"Hey Maggie, you haven't seen Theo have you?" Daryl asked the girl, slightly out of breath.

"No?" she asked, scanning the fields behind Daryl.

"Anywhere that's hidden around here? She likes to be alone sometimes," He explained, pulling the crossbow onto his shoulder tighter.

"Have you checked the old small shed? It's on the way to the RV," she pointed to him. 

He followed her finger to a small shed just before the RV. It was a little out of the way, perfect for Theo to sit alone.

"Thanks," he said, leaving Maggie and heading over to the shed. He looked around to make sure no one else was around.

He also noticed that no one else seemed to worry about the absence of one of the group's most vital members. 

"Theo?" He asked, walking around the back. 

And sure enough, she was there.

"Hey?" Daryl asked. 

Theo was sat in a tight ball, her knees to her chest with her chin resting on her legs as she looked out at the woods in front of her. 

"Hi," she said slowly.

"You okay? I've been looking for you," Daryl told her as he sat beside her.

"Hmm" She sadly smiled, trying to fake a smile, but he saw right through it.

"You're beginning to worry me," He pointed out. "You can't lie to me." 

Then he noticed a bruise forming on her arm; he was immediately annoyed.

"Theo, where does that bruise come from?" He asked; he saw the finger marks.

"Who do you think?" she snapped at him.

"Imma kill him," Daryl said, standing up

"Wait!" she said, following Daryl, but he continued walking away. 

"Please. Daryl." She pulled his arm back for him to turn and look at her. 

He looked down into her eyes, seeing the fear in them.

"Okay," He calmly nodded before pulling her into a hug. 

She instantly relaxed under his touch. 

She took a deep breath in, calming herself.

She could smell the leather on his jacket, the slight smell of sweat, but it wasn't gross; it smelled like bark and the woods more than anything.

It was relaxing.

"I wanted to ask you something," Daryl said, pulling away, sitting back down, making her follow.

"What's up?" she wondered. 

She calmed herself as she became concerned about Daryl.

He had a way of keeping the situation on topic while distracting Theo from what was going on inside her head. 

"You think I could tell you about my past because I trust you," He asked awkwardly.

"Of course, Daryl," she said, softening her voice.

"You asked me ages ago to tell you about myself. I said no, but that's because I didn't know if you were truly trustworthy." Daryl sighed as she understood.

"I'm ready to tell you some things or answer questions," Daryl breathed. This was hard; his past was a touchy subject, but like Theo told Daryl, she felt better once she explained it to someone.

"You don't have to," she began.

"No, I feel I should. I trust you," Daryl told her. 

She nodded, indicating for him to carry on.

"My mum and dad were together for a long time before Merle was born, but after Merle, they began to argue, fight, and fall out, but they had me. We were both unplanned" He tried to laugh.

"Things got worse, and my dad began to drink a lot. My mum later died in a fire, leaving my brother and me with our father, who soon became abusive; he was that bad that one time I went missing in the forest for four days when I was 10; they didn't even realise I was gone, Merle was old enough to leave and left me with my father, and that is pretty much my life" Daryl rambled, he wanted her to know, but he wanted her to know quickly.

"Holy shit" she breathed out. 

She was expecting something messed up. 

She now understood why Daryl was the way he was; he was emotionally hurt but was never taught that talking about things was better. 

He had probably kept that bottled up for the last 29 years. 

"What happened to him?" she asked carefully. 

"My dad? He died of natural causes, but I guess the alcohol sped it up," he sighed, playing with the skin on his nails.

"Thank you for trusting me and telling me," she smiled, reaching out for his hand, which he let her hold. 

Daryl nodded before looking up and seeing that the sky was going dark; they hadn't even realised it.

Theo believed their time talking to one another was unique and different. 

They lost track of time and parted from their surroundings, leaving them in their world.

"Where are you sleeping?" Daryl asked her, standing up to head back to his tent. 

"In the tent over by my parents," she answered with an annoyed sigh. 

Daryl wanted her to come down with him, with her tent, but he couldn't.

"You going to be alright'?" Daryl asked. 

She nodded

"You wanna bring your tent down by mine?" He asked without even thinking, going back on his thoughts

She smiled, glad that he had asked. 

"Yeah, if you don't mind", she agreed to his surprise, smiling widely at him.

"I'll meet you down there," He told her as she headed over to collect her stuff.

He returned to his tent; once he got there, Daryl started a fire.

After about 30 minutes, Theo arrived. 

Together, they set up her tent before sitting around the fire.

"You never told me the whole story," Daryl said as he played with the fire, prodding it with a stick.

She took a deep breath; he was right...

"I know", she said, watching what he was doing, "But I guess it's all coming out now, so what do I have to lose? '' she admitted, looking at him.

They sat opposite one another, being able to see each other over the flames.

"After everything that had happened with Shane...I realised I was late," she began straight away. 

"Late for... oh", Daryl realised after thinking about it momentarily.

"I hadn't had my period. So, my mind went straight to the worst possible scenario. I took a test, and there it was, the plus sign, meaning I was pregnant; this was when I decided to leave my house without telling anyone; not even my parents knew until I was gone. I was alone the whole time and didn't know what to do; most of me wanted to get rid of it. I didn't want a baby, especially a baby that was also Shane's, but I couldn't afford to get rid of it, so I had no choice; I went to New Mexico, where I met this old couple who helped me when I had the baby, they let me stay with them before kicking me out a week later because the child wouldn't stop crying..." she sighed.

"What was it?" Daryl asked her sadly. 

"A girl, but I didn't name her because I knew what to do. The next day, I..." she struggled. She was crying more than she had the previous time.

"Ugh," she ran her fingers through her hair in frustration, looking up at the sky as she took another deep breath, trying to calm herself.

 "I left the baby outside of a nearby school. I left her there. I had a child, and I abandoned it. I wanted to make sure this child had a chance at a future, and then look at what happened." she completely shut off; she cried so hard that the people at the farm might hear her.

After everything that had happened to her, that was the worst: giving away her child. She had no choice. She wanted that baby to have the best life she could.

Daryl stood up and walked to her side, letting her cry into his arms.

 He stroked her hair to try and calm her.

"My parents don't know, but that was the hardest thing I had ever done; it's something I regret every day." She sounded annoyed. "The one chance I had at a new life with this baby, and I gave it up."

Daryl didn't know what to say. 

"It doesn't make you a horrible person; you allowed that girl to have the best life she could; you were a kid", Daryl told her as she cried. 

She watched him closely before closing her eyes, followed by her snuggling into his side. Daryl responded by placing his arm around her shoulders, knowing she needed the comfort.

"Daryl..." she said without moving

"Hmm"

"Don't leave me" she whimpered

"I won't," he told her, and he meant it. He was no longer afraid to hide his feelings for her; he would do everything to keep her safe.

After a couple more minutes of silence, she decided to turn in for the night. 

They said goodnight before she entered her tent. 

Daryl stayed up until the fire was out before following her actions and heading to bed.