WARNING! This story contains spoilers, racial slurs, violence, graphic details, and explicit adult scenes.
(I have failed to add the DISCLAIMER in the first chapter! Anyways, I do NOT own The Walking Dead, if I did...there would be a cure by now.)
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Chapter Seven – Strange Doctor
Rick didn't want to stay outside for too long, so he made the first move; encouraging the others to follow him.
"Daryl, cover the back." Shane told him as he moved forward with the group.
The redneck quickly put his daughter down, motioning her to go over to her sister; which she did in a matter of seconds. KK grabbed her sister's hand as they walked beside their mom.
"Never thought I'd be walking into "the light" so early in life. Get it?" KK said to her sister, attempting to lighten the mood. Emma Kate just looked at her sister blankly, not giving her a reaction. KK groaned internally. "Tough cookie."
"Someone here?" Rick asked out loud.
"Is someone here?" Thalia joined in asking.
"Watch the doors. Pay attention to the Rangers." Dale said. The group all looked around, worried about what they can find.
"Is there anyone?" Rick asked once more.
The sound of a loaded gun filled the ears of everyone. The group quickly drew their weapons towards the man who had just welcomed them. Thalia raised an eyebrow at the taller man with blonde hair.
"Anyone infected?" The man asked. Rick nodded.
"One." Rick said. Thalia looked at him. Did he forget they left Jim behind miles ago?
"He didn't make it." Thalia finished for him, her eyes trained on him. The man looked at her, his eyes slightly going wide. He looked at her as if he knew her.
Thalia ignored the his gaze, not understanding the vibe she was getting off of him.
"What are you doing here?" The man asked, his eyes now focused on Rick. "What do you want?"
"A chance at survival."
"That's asking for a lot these days."
"It doesn't have to be "asking for a lot" now, does it? You either help or you don't." Thalia commented towards the man. Rick gave the woman a look, letting her know that he had everything under control but she ignored him.
The man observed every group member before nodding. "You'll all have to submit to a blood test. That's the price for admission."
Rick nodded. "Whatever it takes."
"Grab whatever bags you have outside. Once these doors closed, they stay closed." The man told them. T-Dog and Dale rushed outside.
Daryl ran after them, remembering that he had a bag out. KK quickly followed.
Daryl picked up the bag, he was a little annoyed to see his oldest daughter behind him. "You were supposed to stay with yer mama, Kacee."
"I thought I'd cover you." KK said, ignoring the fact that her dad said her full name.
"Get back inside. C'mon hurry up." Daryl said to his daughter as he motioning her forward.
"Follow me." The man said before walking in the same direction he came in. The group did not hesitate to follow him. "Vi, seal the main entrance and turn off running energy on this floor."
Rick walked beside the man. "Rick Grimes." He said as he motioned for a handshake.
"Doctor Edwin Jenner."
"His name sucks." KK whispered into her little sister ear. The four year smirked. Suddenly, KK felt a pinched on her arm. "Ow."
"Behave." Thalia told her daughter. KK looked away from her mom and rolled her eyes.
~•~
The elevator was a tight fit for sure. Thalia was in front of Daryl and beside Glenn. KK stood in front of her dad, his hand resting on her shoulder with his crossbow in his other hand. Emma Kate was in her mother's arms, holding on to her tightly. The child hated new places, change always scared her.
"Doctor always go around packing heat like that?" Daryl asked the man bluntly, sending him daggers behind his back. He felt something was off about this man. He didn't want his family in danger so it's going to take a lot of convincing Daryl if this guy was trust worthy or not.
"They were lying around." Jenner explain. "Thought I'd familiarize myself." There was a pause. "But you folks don't seem too dangerous." The doctor looked down to see Carl gazing at him. "Except you. I'll have to keep my eyes on you."
Carl smirked, he was amused by the doctor.
Moments later, after the elevator ride, Jenner led the group down a dimmed light hallway.
"Are we underground?" Carol asked as se held her daughter close to her side.
"Are you claustrophobic?" Jenner asked the woman bluntly.
"A little," she said.
"Try not to think about it." Jenner told her. "Vi, turn on the lights, will you?"
The group was led into this large room filled with computers and high tech equipment.
"Wait, where are the others? The researchers, employees?" Rick asked, taking in the empty room.
"In front of you." The doctor said. "It's only me here."
"Boy, aren't we lucky?" KK said under her breath. Thalia didn't hear her but Daryl did. Instead of saying something to her, he smirked. The child was only saying what he was thinking.
"And the person you mentioned, where is she? Vi?" Lori asked the man curiously. Jenner gave her a smug smile.
"Vi! Say hello to our guests... Wish them welcome." Jenner said to no one but the air in the room.
Then, a female mechanical voice said, "Hello, guest. Welcome."
KK rolled her eyes. "Mom, is he forreal?" The girl asked sarcastically. Everyone looked at her with amusement. She was saying what they were thinking. Jenner looked at her.
"Yes. I'm "forreal." You're a feisty one, aren't you?"
"Yes." Everyone answered in unison. Emma Kate nodded her head, though.
~•~
Jenner continued to take the blood of everyone. It was Emma Kate's turn, Thalia sat right beside her.
"It's okay. This is the "butterfly" needle. You won't feel a thing." The doctor reassured the girl. Before the doctor could reach over to her, the child flinched and started crying.
"Baby, it's okay. It'll be over in a second." Thalia tried to calm her. Emma Kate shook her head and cried harder, the scene broke everyone's heart. Daryl walked over to them and kneeled in front of the girl. She had her eyes on her daddy.
"Want to sit in my lap?" Daryl asked the four year old. Emma Kate sniffled before nodding and reaching over to Daryl. Thalia got up from the seat so he could sit down. Emma Kate was a little calmer but still whimpered when the needle came near her.
"Shh. Yer daddy's big girl, 'member?" Daryl said to the child as he tried to get her to stay quiet. The girl nodded and closed her eyes as the man got the blood from her.
"And I'm done." Jenner said to Emma. "Wasn't too bad, huh?"
The little girl frowned before nodding. Jenner gave her a small smile before looking up at Thalia.
"You're next."
Thalia sat in the seat and reached her arm out so he could do what he had to.
"Welcome back, Thalia." Jenner whispered to her as his eyes met hers. Thalia was utterly confused.
"Excuse me?" Thalia asked with an eyebrow raised.
"Nothing. Um, next." Jenner said awkwardly before calling for the next person.
"What is this for?" Andrea asked as he drew blood from her arm. "If we were infected, you would know just by looking at us."
"I've already broken every rule that I was supposed to follow just by letting you in here, so...you owe me." The man said never answering her question. "Okay. All done."
Andrea stood up but as she leaned to walk, her knees gave out. Jacqui quickly caught her before she could fall.
"Is she alright?" Jenner asked.
"She hasn't eaten in days. None of us have." Jacqui quietly explained to the man. He nodded.
"Dinner should be ready soon." He told them before standing up and walking out the room.
"Weirdo." KK said to herself. Thalia pinched her arm. "Ow."
"Behave."
"Alright. Alright. Geez." KK mumbled as she rubbed her arm.
~•~
The group only had to wait about thirty minutes before the food was ready to be served. It was canned vegetables with sliced ham. It was a really good meal compared to what they had to cook up before.
Thalia sat beside Lori, who was becoming a dear friend to her. Emma Kate sat in her mom's lap, picking at her food. KK sat beside her mom, eating her food slowly. Daryl was lingering near his small family as Dale poured everyone some wine.
"And you know, in Italy , children have the right to drink a little wine for dinner." Dale said pouring wine in two extra cups.
"In France too." KK added before scooping up a spoonful of peas.
"That's very good. How did you know that?"
"My Aunt and cousin lived in France before all this happened. She would let me sample wine, I didn't like it though." KK told the older man. He nodded with a small smile.
"Yeah, well , if one day Carl is in Italy or in France , he can drink." Lori said to Dale as she reached for her own glass of wine.
"Why not? It won't hurt him." Rick said with a sly smile. "It may taste good." Lori looked at her husband with an amused, annoyed look. She then turned to Thalia, who shrugged at her.
"It's your call, boss lady." Thalia said with a smirk. Lori grinned before motioning for Carl to go ahead and take a sip. Carl glanced at KK, she gave him a reassuring smile and nodded.
Carl sipped the drink, and from the look on his face...he didn't like it.
"Yuck!" Carl spat as he scraped his tongue with his teeth, attempting to get rid of the taste. Everyone laughed at him, amused at his reaction to the "adult" drink.
"That's my boy." Lori said happily as she ran her slim fingers through his hair. "That's my boy."
"Why don't you stick to soda pop, bud?" Shane said only half amused.
"Not you, Glenn." Daryl said from his position beside KK.
"What?" Glenn asked with a goofy grin.
"Keep drinking little man. I want to see how red your face can get." Daryl said with a slight chuckle as he poured himself some more wine.
Everyone in the room sent Daryl disapproving looks but that doesn't stop Glenn from laughing. Thalia shook her head but end up grinning at the men.
"Daryl got no filter." T-Dog said with a loud chuckle.
"You can say that again." Thalia commented looking from T-Dog to Daryl. She caught Daryl's eyes already on her, she smiled softly and turned back to getting her four year old to eat more.
Rick noticed that Jenner stayed quiet while everyone else was loud— enjoying themselves. Rick did not want the doctor to feel left out in his own territory. The sheriff proceeded to get up, tapping his glass, getting everyone's attention.
"I don't think we thanked our host properly." Rick said with a soft smile.
"Hell, he's more than out host." T-Dog said as he stood up giving everyone cheers. Daryl joined in.
"Booyah!" Daryl said loudly, clinking his drinks with everyone else. KK lifted one of her eyebrows in disbelief, her dad was known to be antisocial.
"Momma, is daddy drunk?" KK whispered in her mom's ear, motioning towards her dad. Thalia took in Daryl's actions and shook her head with a laugh.
"Yeah, I think he is."
"Thank you, doctor." Rick told the man once again. Jenner only nodded at him, in a way he was saying, "don't mention it."
"So when the hell are ya going to tell us what happened here, Doc?" asked Shane. The room then went silent, as if the happiness just flew out the window. Everyone basically glared at the man with dark, curly hair.
"Dude– really?" KK mumbled as she placed her spoon down, suddenly losing her appetite.
"All the, uh – the other doctors that were supposed to be figurin' out what happened. Where are they?"
"We're celebratin' Shane, no need to do this now." Rick said to his friend as he began to sit back down.
"Whoa, wait a second." Shane said, waving a hand in Rick's direction and looking at him with a hard look. A look that didn't settle right with a look of people. "This is why we're here, right?" Rick stared back at Shane. It's almost like they were challenging each other. "This was your move." Shane shook his head.
"Supposed to find all the answers. Instead we, uh . . ." He snorted and jabbed his thumb in Jenner's direction. "We found him. Found one man. Why?"
"Well," Jenner started after he cleared his throat, his gaze moved from person to person. "when things got bad, a lot of people just...left." He looked towards Rick. "Went off to be with their families." Jenner paused, looked at the kids. "When things got worse, when the military cordon got overrun, the rest bolted." Jenner moved his eyes from the group and down to his plate.
"Every last one?" Shane asked, leaning back in his chair. His eyes were saying he didn't believe the doctor.
"No." Jenner said. He raised his eyes and locked them on Shane. "Many couldn't face walking out the door. They . . . opted out." Thalia could hear everyone gulp the spit that was caught in their throats.
"Opted out?" KK whispered to her mom. Thalia looked at her child with sad eyes, hoping she'd understand.
"There was a rash of suicides." Jenner said, his eyes moving back down to his lap. "That was a bad time."
"You didn't leave." said Andrea, "Why?" Eyes moved from the blonde to the doctor. It was a good question.
"I just kept working." His eyes went back up as he continued, "hoping. To do some good."
Thalia lowered her gaze and looked at her half empty plate, suddenly not wanting to finish. KK looked around her and slowly put the spoonful of vegetables in her mouth, wanting to finish her food.
"Dude, you are such a buzz-kill man." Glen said, plopping down in an empty seat.
~•~
Later, Jenner led the group back through the hallway they first walked through on our way to the big round room. "Most of the facility is powered down, including housing, so you'll have to make do here." Jenner said as they walked. "The couches are comfortable, but there are cots in storage if you like." Jenner then turned and looked at the children. "There's a rec room down the hall that you kids might enjoy. Just don't plug in the video games, okay? Or anything that draws power." The children nodded excitedly, itching to just go and play. Jenner walked away a little bit before turning and looking at us all. "I'm going to my study room. But the power things goes for all of you. If you shower go easy on the hot water."
Everyone's face lit up. Glen turned, his smile as big as bright the sun. "Hot water?!"
"That's what the man said!" T-Dog said with a smile. Everyone turn to leave.
"Uh, Thalia," said Jenner, quickly. "May I speak to you one moment in my study area?" Thalia could feel Daryl tense up beside her. She turned to him.
"Why don't you and the girls settled in? I'll be there soon." Thalia told him. Daryl sighed, his eyes not leaving the doctor. Emma Kate grabbed her dad's finger and attempting to pull him away with her. She was ready to go play with the others.
"Alright, I'm comin'." Daryl mumbled as his youngest led him away.
Thalia was now alone with the doctor. He didn't say anything, he just stared at her with amazement.
"Something you need, Dr. Jenner?" Thalia spoke up after a few moments of silence. Jenner stepped closer to her.
"You really don't remember, do you? Thalia Carter, also known as TS-05 B.O."
"Body odor?" Thalia asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No, test subject 05...before outbreak." Jenner told her. Thalia looked taken aback.
"I'm not following. I've never seen you before in my life."
"Your mother ever tell you about your car accident when you were fourteen?" Jenner asked. Thalia squinted her eyes. How did he know about that?
"Yeah..." Thalia said as she slowly took a step back. "How did you know about that?"
Jenner looked from her eyes to the floor, "follow me."
Jenner led her to the room where they were earlier with the computers. He turned on the larger computer as he typed in pass-codes and file numbers. Suddenly, the face of teenage Thalia appeared on the screen.
"What the hell?"
"You were in critical condition, the doctors in the hospital gave your mother a choice," the doctor explained to the woman beside him, "they told her you were dead and there was nothing they could do. Well, a few people from the CDC read over your file and decided they wanted to use you for science. They offered your mom $175,000 to donate your body over for "good causes." And she did. She didn't expect for you to be alive two years later. "
"What happened– during those two years?" Thalia asked, her eyes glued to the screen. Jenner clicked on another file and a video started to play.
"The CDC was working on this active cells serum, in a way it makes your immune systems stronger. And other side effects." Jenner said as the video continued to play. "You see, we injected this into many people, criminals, sick children, the elderly, etc."
"And?"
"Sick children and elderly people would die, but the criminals...they turned. Here's a video from the CDC in France."
The video showed a man getting injected with the immune serum, only to have turn into the undead...biting the doctor who injected him. Thalia covered her mouth and gasped.
"This is how it all started." Thalia said, allowing the one tear to slip from her eyes. "But...what does this have to do with me?"
"You were the only one who reacted to the serum well. After we injected you...you got better. You were easy to train."
"Train?"
"Military."
"No, my dad sent me to military school before he died. That's what mom told me." Thalia told the doctor as she shook her head. Jenner looked into her brown eyes, his hand resting on her shoulder.
"Thalia, your dad left...he didn't agree with your mother. So, he cursed us out and walked away."
Thalia scoffed. "My mom wouldn't lie to me." She stepped away from the doctor. "This is all some sick joke."
Jenner shook his head. "No, it's not a joke, Thalia. Your blood could solve this outbreak...end it."
"So what? You need my blood?" Thalia asked as she crossed her arms.
"I won't be the one to solve it," Jenner told her as he grabbed a few paper files. "you will."
Thalia looked at the doctor's hand and then back at him. "Excuse me? I'm- I can't solve some outbreak mystery. It's not in me."
"Thalia, please. Take these files. Have hope, faith."
Thalia stood there for a moment. There was no way the "fate" of man kind was in her hands. She then thought about her children and how if she could solve this, they could have a normal life.
"Okay...but how?" Thalia asked.
"Read through the files. There are codes that I won't be able to figure out, but you will. There is also more information about you and what your body can do."
"Edwin, I'm not sure you understand...there's no hope. With my blood or not. This outbreak is so bad, there's no fixing it. This hell hole is our life now. I've made peace with that. I'm not special." Thalia handed the files back to the doctor. "You've wasted your time. You have the wrong girl."
Jenner paused for a moment. "We're all infected." Thalia froze, turning around to face the doctor.
"What?"
"We're all infected. Everyone. Rick. Your daughters. Your husband. Everyone...except you."
"No." Thalia said with a scoff. "No."
Jenner stayed silent. Thalia could see the seriousness on his face. She shook her head again. Suddenly, her mind traced pieces of her life together. What if this man was telling the truth? Her mother was super surprised to see her the day she arrived home, almost like she's seen a ghost. Doctors always mentioned she had a very rare blood type. She couldn't remember much of her teen years. Or how after the accident her father just suddenly died.
Jenner could tell the woman in front of him was in deep thought. "You might not solve this. But I want you to know that you're special...my wife believed so. Sleep on it." Jenner handed the files back to Thalia, to which she reluctantly accepted them.
"Sleep on it? This is a lot of shit to dump on someone." Thalia said as she flipped through the files quickly. She looked from the files to the doctor. "Goodnight, Edwin."
The doctor watched to woman walk away. "Good luck, Thalia."
~•~
Thalia walked in the room Daryl chose for them. There were two separate cots and a couch. Daryl was sitting on one of the cots, drinking some wine.
"See you back from that talk with the doc. Y'all a thing now?" Daryl asked when he noticed it was Thalia who walked through the door. Thalia internally rolled her eyes.
"Daryl, don't put me, Jenner, and thing in the same sentence. It wasn't like that." Thalia said as she walked over to her bag, placing the files in them. The woman sighed and looked over to her ex lover, she then realized it was quiet.
"Where are the girls?"
"Sophia wanted them to spend the night. I thought, "what the hell? Why not let 'em?" So, I did."
"Your first big parent decision." Thalia said with a grin. "How did it feel?"
"Not bad."
"Don't get use to the good moments. There will be times where you'll disagree and be known as the bad guy." Thalia told him as she reached for some sleepwear. "I'm about to take a shower."
"I'll join you." Daryl said as he stood up.
"What?" Thalia asked, eyebrow raised.
"Woman, I've seen you naked before. I'm sure much ain't changed. Don't look like it."
"Hmm." Thalia said with a nod. There were a lot of things that changed on her body, after having Emma Kate, the stretch marks have gotten worse. "Didn't take you as a showering man in the middle of the apocalypse."
"I ain't. It's jus' hard lookin' at this picture Emma Kate drew of me." Daryl said as he unfolded a paper and handed it to Thalia. It was a poorly drawn picture of Daryl with stinky symbols around it. Thalia couldn't hold back the chuckle.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. Baby girl don't want daddy stinking, I get it."
Thalia nodded. She looked at Daryl as she handed him the picture. She felt nervous under his gaze, she always have. "I'll see you in the shower."
Thalia opened their bathroom door and cracked it as she quickly got undressed. The woman entered the shower and allowed the flow of steamed water hit her skin, she never she would feel warm water again. Moments later, Daryl got in.
Thalia's back faced him. Daryl didn't want her to shy away from him, he wanted her to know that his feelings for her were still the same. His feelings forced him to do something he didn't think he'd do ever. Make the first move.
Daryl slowly touched Thalia's shoulder. The woman gasped softly as his hands slowly grazed her skin. Daryl turned her around.
His eyes didn't linger on her exposed breast, yet it lingered on her eyes. Daryl lifted his hand to cuff her right cheek, something he have missed doing over the years. His forehead was now leaned against hers, after a small pep talk in his head, he kissed her. The kiss wasn't urgent and quick, but it was slow and longing.
Thalia missed his lips as soon as he pulled away, she slowly opened her eyes to see him admiring her face.
"Daryl..." she whispered, her arms wrapped around his neck. "I want you."
Daryl's lips were immediately pressed against hers, his hands wrapped around her small waist. Thalia couldn't help but press herself against Daryl's naked body, the feel of his skin against hers sent shivers down her spine. It felt like each time with him was the first.
Daryl allowed his hand to roam her body, he couldn't believe that it was him touching her again. He missed her, in more ways than she'll ever know. He began to kiss her neck, then her collarbone, then her breast. He got on his knees, his mouth kissing down her stomach. He felt Thalia shift on her feet a little uncomfortably, he lifted his eyes to look at her.
"What?" He asked, his voice a little huskier than usual.
"My scars...from the pregnancies." Thalia told him as her hand went to cover her stomach. Daryl stopped her, his hand grabbing her wrist. He looked at her stomach, then he noticed them...the stretch marks.
"You-you got these from having my kids?" Daryl asked, his eyes glued on the marks.
"Yes." Thalia whispered. She expected him to get up and walk away but he didn't. She felt his lips kiss every mark that was presented on her body. Her slim fingers combed through his hair as he admired her body. Thalia then grabbed the small portable bottle of shampoo and washed Daryl's hair as he continued to kiss her body.
The soap quickly dissolved as he stood under the water. Daryl was on his feet once again. He grabbed the body wash and allowed the soap to laver on the skin of his lover. Thalia doing the same for him.
Thalia kissed Daryl once more. He pulled her body against his, cupping her ass in his hands. Thalia knew that signal, she jumped, wrapping her long legs around his waist.
Daryl pressed her body against the glass shower door for support as he slowly entered inside of her. Thalia forgot just how well endowed her man was, she gripped his hair as he thrusted slowly.
"Daryl..." she whispered again before kissing his neck, "faster."
Just like she wanted, she quickened his pace. Her moans were giving him the motivation to make her feel better than she has in a while.
"Don't stop." She would whisper when he would slow down. He was going to reach his climax before hers, and it was something he didn't want. He wanted to reach it with her. "Oh, please, baby. Don't stop."
"I ain't stopping." Daryl told her as he grabbed her hair, tugging on it softly. "I ain't gonna stop, babe."
"Yes, oh, don't stop."
Daryl's lips were connected with hers again, muffling her moans.
"I'm close." She told him while her lips were still against his.
"Cum for me." Daryl said in her ear as he gave her one last hard thrust. She moaned loudly as she rode out her high. Daryl's grip tightened on her waist as he released inside of her.
Soon after, their breathing was normal and they were out of the shower.
"So," Thalia said as she put on her night shirt, "where does this lead us?"
"We're a family, Thally." Daryl told her as he buttoned his sleeveless plaid shirt. "You, me, and the girls."
"Hmm." Daryl looked at her before walking over to her. He kisses her once more.
"You're my girl."
~•~•~•~•~•~ (A/N) -Please Read-
I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! I have enjoyed writing it!
~okay, so I know it's my job to answer questions! So ask away!
