Meanwhile, Daryl and his brother were a while from the prison, probably a day's walk; the two brothers had been getting along fine until Merle almost killed a family, making Daryl realise he had made the wrong choice more than anything. 

"You've gone soft!" Merle yelled at his brother as he watched Daryl walk away from him angrily

"No, I ain't!" Daryl yelled back, not turning to face him.

"All because of some girl? Brother, who are you even anymore?" Merle asked, laughing at his brother. 

"I was never like you and Dad! You both went through girls like they were tic-tacs! I love Theo..." Daryl argued, turning back to face him and catching his breath. "I love her. You have no idea what that feels like," He cried.

"That girl, I liked her; she was tough, god damn, she touched my heart, and I thought she was good for you; you just threw her out the window", Merle laughed, teasing and winding Daryl up on purpose. 

"Fuck you. I did it for you" Daryl angrily stared him down

"What's going on in that head of youra, huh?" Merle questioned

"The fact I found I had a baby and then lost it in the same conversation, the fact my brother is so untrustworthy, my people wouldn't let you back, the fact I had to make a girl I love hate me so she would let me go!" Daryl screamed at his brother

"You don't love her!" He argued.

"No, I love Theo, and now she won't ever take me back." Daryl was heartbroken; it was something he had always needed.

Love.

 And he had that and then threw it all away.

Daryl stared at his brother momentarily before turning back, causing Merle to grab him by the shirt, ripping it completely, revealing all his scars.

"Daryl..." Merle began, "I didn't know" Merle was saddened and shocked

"Well, he did", Daryl referred to his father's abuse. "He did it to you too." 

"I-" Merle struggled to say anything.

"Come on", Daryl continued; he was going back to the prison, he knew he had fucked everything with Theo, but he had to go back.

Back at the prison, Rick had been absent outside the gates. He was hallucinating Lori, and this time, it was driving him insane. Theo had gotten better but was now outside, talking with Michonne—her bat in one hand and a gun in her other.

"Can i ask you something?" Michonne began.

 They had been talking all morning; Theo had taken a liking to her, and she would fight for her to stay. Michonne even felt comfortable around Theo and had talked more to her than anyone else since being at the prison.

"Shoot," She said. They were outside near the front gate, keeping an eye out.

"That redneck, Merle's brother? He was your boyfriend, right?" She began

Theo looked at her, the sun in her eyes, causing her to squint. 

She nodded.

"He said some horrible things to you. And you really cared for this man? Why?"

"Daryl changes around Merle." Theo gripped her bat. "Before he showed his grim face, Daryl was careful with me. He took care of me. He was different." She told herself more than anything

Before Theo could say anything else, gunshots were being fired, and the prison was under attack.

Michonne and Theo ducked, avoiding the bullets and managing to see what was going on.

"The Governor", Michonne started grabbing her gun, as did Theo.

"Shit", Theo said, noticing the man with several shooters. They were peppering the prison, making it hard to shoot back.

"Watch out!" Theo yelled as Michonne was getting out of cover,

Theo quickly looked around the bus they were hiding behind, shooting her gun aimlessly, hoping one would hit the Governor.

Everything suddenly stopped. The whole prison went quiet.

"What is he doing?" Michonne asked as Theo looked over.

He was standing there.

Suddenly, the rumble of an engine echoed from outside the prison; a car was speeding up the road and wasn't stopping. It crashed through the front gates, missing Michonne by only inches.

Theo stood, risking herself to shoot the driver, hitting him in the side of the head, but she wasn't quick enough before it had stopped in the middle of the field, the back door opening releasing the dead from inside. 

"Walkers!" Theo yelled. The truck was full of them, and they had just dropped them off in the middle of their home.

"Herschel!" Rick yelled, making everyone look to see that Herschel was lying in the field and all the walkers were heading his way.

Glenn had been scouting the prison in one of the trucks; he had heard the gunfire and quickly returned. He headed straight for Herschel as Michonne and Theo wouldn't make it fast enough on foot.

Theo and Michonne took out walkers, using Theo's bat and Michonne's katana.

They quickly helped Hershel into the car before getting in it themselves. Driving up and into the prison where the gate was locked behind them

They jumped out, Carl instantly running to Theo.

"I love you", Carl said, making Theo feel overwhelmed and emotional at the sudden burst of Carl's love.

"I love you too, buddy" Theo smiled, looking down at him with a smile. 

"I am sorry, I am so so sorry", Carl cried, hugging her tightly

"It's okay," Theo smiled as she kissed her brother on the head.

"They killed Axel," Carol cried as she was covered in his blood.

Theo sighed, looking at the body, still wearing his prison outfit.

"Theo", Glenn began looking down at the fields.

She walked next to Glenn.

Daryl was back, and so was Merle.

"Well damn," Theo stated as she and her brother walked back into the prison.

"You okay?" Glenn asked. 

"Yeah, I'll be fine" She sighed before walking away. 

Carl decided not to ask questions. His dad explained the basics, but after everything that had just happened in the last couple of minutes, he realised that his sister was still alive, and for as long as that happened, he needed to tell her he loved her; he knew he was wrong before, he loved her, and she needed to know.

She walked into the cell block, and everyone eventually followed after her.

Daryl wanted to walk over to her and beg for her forgiveness, but by the looks on everyone else's face, that wasn't a good idea.

"We need to leave", Hershel began after Rick locked Merle away from the rest of them.

"No, we have to stay," Rick continued, hands on his hips, looking around frustrated. 

"If Rick wants us to stay, then we stay" Glenn agreed.

"We have to think this through," Herschel continued

"I just need time to think" Rick began walking away.

Theo watched from the balcony where Daryl also stood, keeping his distance.

"Rick!" Herschel finally snapped at the sheriff. "I put my daughter's lives in your hands; you need to decide for our safety", Herschel pointed out.

"You missed your chance to leave last night", Merle began, making the group look at him.

"You can keep your mouth shut", Theo snapped, lighting a cigarette between her lips.

"You should have last night; you missed your window; the Governor probably has lookouts on all routes out of here; he'll probably starve you from the inside", Merle made a point.

"Do something." Herschel told Rick before walking away on his crutches.

Theo made a quick escape before either Dixon could talk to her.

"Hey baby bird, come over 'ere, would ya?" Merle remarked, smirking as Theo ignored him.

"No," Theo began as she unlocked the gate that separated him from the others. Daryl and Carol followed.

Theo wanted to escape, so she made it over to the watchtower, where she would watch for the night.

"Come on now, talk to my brother, will you? He's been none stop talking about you", Merle continued despite the glares he was getting.

"Have you ever learned to shut your mouth?" Daryl snapped, getting frustrated with his brother's actions

"How about you, on your little adventure with your brother? Did you learn to shut your mouth?" Theo finally snapped, making Daryl go quiet and Merle laugh.

"Look, can we talk?" Daryl continued walking over to her, Theo stood her ground and didn't move.

"Why? Do you want to blame me for more things? I think you missed a couple of blames. Did you want to blame me for the end of the world? Or how about the fact your too much of a pussy to fight for what you want?" She shrugged her shoulders.

"Please, Theo, I'm begging you to talk." Daryl knew it would happen, but he had to try at least.

She looked him up and down, crossing her arms. She kept a cigarette between her lips and blew out the smoke in her lungs.

"Like I begged you, right? But no, that dirt bag over there is more important," Theo remarked.

"I'm his brother, you bitch! Of course, he would have left you for me!" Merle said, walking over.

"Oh, so now i am a bitch?" Theo laughed. 

"He left you, remember? You just managed to lose your damn baby, princess," Merle laughed, causing both Theo and Daryl to turn to look at him. 

Theo clenched her fist. Her blood boiled, and she was done with shit. She punched Merle in the face through the bars, sending him back, grabbing his nose in pain.

"BITCH!" Merle yelled but refused to retaliate.

"Theo", Daryl began again, ignoring his brother's pain

"You hurt me, Daryl. You broke a promise, but I get it, he's blood; you chose him over me, and that's fine, but if you ever talk about our kid in that way again, blame me for their death, you can say goodbye to anything we could have, anything we did have." Theo spat as she walked away.

"Theo!" Daryl wanted to run after her, but he knew he fucked up.

"You know, telling her you love her might win her back", Carol told him after watching everything unravel before her.

"I don't even think that will do anything for us, Carol; I lost her '' Daryl swung his head low and walked back to his room.

"Daryl", Carol followed after him.

"I didn't mean anythin' I said bout her; I had to make her hate me, Carol or she wouldn't have let me go", Daryl admitted

"Well, you fucked up", Carol told him. "Now sort it out" " she told him before leaving him alone.