A/N: Okay, guys, here's the next chapter! Sorry for the long wait. Apparently just because I have plenty of time to write now, doesn't mean I can. Thank you, writer's block! I finally managed to find the drive to write, though, just in time for the new episodes coming up!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything other than Thea Ellis and her storyline. All rights to The Walking Dead remain with Robert Kirkman and Co.
The drive back to Hilltop was interrupted by the crackle of Jesus's radio. Negan's voice filled the car and Thea felt dread sink into her stomach.
"For anyone out there who loved the obese bastard as much as I did, I just want to say a few words. Fat Joey was not the most badass sonuvabitch, but he was loyal. He had a great sense of humor. In fact, we were just joking about oral sex with Lucille the other day. Things will not be the same now that he's dead. Without Fat Joey…Skinny Joey is just…" he sighed as if this truly vexed him. "…Joey. So, it's a goddamn tragedy. So, let's have a moment of silence."
Thea didn't know if he was actually sad about Fat Joey's death or just saying it to keep up appearances with his people. How much did he truly care for the people who worked for him?
The van came to a stop, drawing Thea's attention to the road ahead. There was a roadblock of cars, six or seven rows of them, lining the onramp to the highway. These cars weren't just abandoned by travelers, these were deliberately lined up.
"Someone's trying to block the way. Gotta be the Saviors." Jesus observed.
"Look," Carl said from where he sat between Thea and Jesus. "I think that's their base over there."
To the right of them, Thea could see what looked like several industrial buildings grouped together peeking out of the tops of the trees. It was massive and she vaguely remembered a time when she had offered to infiltrate the base all by herself to get Daryl back; now that she could see it, she understood how idiotic of an idea that had been.
Jesus confirmed it. "Yeah, that's it. Must be trying to make it hard to get to them."
Thea couldn't help but think that it was more of an eye-catcher than a deterrent. If she was really trying to find places to mess with people, a line-up of cars blocking a roadway was an obvious sign that someone didn't want people going that way.
"We gotta keep going." Rick was saying. "We'll move them, and then we'll move them back." He glanced over his shoulder at those sitting in the back before he reached forward to shift the van into park. "They don't need to know we were here."
It would take more time to move them than they had, especially this close to the Sanctuary, but they were going to do what they had to do. Besides, when Rick made up his mind there were only a few people who could change it.
They filed out of the van and began to work together to move the cars to the side to make a path. They couldn't start them all, so they used the ones they could to push the others while they were in neutral. It was tedious work but they eventually made enough of a gap for the SUV. All the while, Thea couldn't help but continue to glance towards the Sanctuary where it was looming over the trees in the distance, as if the Saviors would spot them here on the highway and come running.
"Rick, come take a look at this." Michonne said from where she was standing guard with a pair of binoculars. Her sights were trained on the other end of the highway.
Rick took the binoculars from her and followed where she pointed as Thea and the others stopped with the cars and stepped up to find out what was going on. Had the Saviors realized they were there and come after them? Was there a herd in the distance?
Rick lowered the binoculars slowly. "Come on." He said simply, before he began to jog in that direction.
Still nervous about what the couple might have seen, Thea was a bit slower than the others to follow. She stuck to the back of the group wearily and it wasn't until she realized what they were looking at that she calmed down. Just a little.
There was a thick metal cable stretched across the road, each end attached to two cars that were parked on the shoulder and in the grass. It could have just been something to slow people down, but it wasn't just a cable.
"Holy shit." Thea whispered to herself, earning a nod from Tara, who was the only person close enough to hear it.
Attached to the cable were multiple bundles of dynamite. Just sticks of it hanging there like the ultimate trap. How and where had the Saviors managed to get ahold of dynamite? Each bundle looked charged and ready with detonators; it would only take something running into the cable for them to blow.
Rick kneeled down and got low enough to look closely at one of the bundles and Thea couldn't help but think he was crazy. She didn't want to go near any of them.
"What's all this for?" Michonne wondered.
It was a trap for them, or anyone else who dared to cross into the Saviors' territory.
Carl spoke up. "Wait. When I was hiding in the back of the truck, I heard a couple of them talking about this. This is for a herd."
Rick nodded. "That's why it's a steel cable. It's not just for one walker. It's for a lot."
Damn. It was both impressive and terrifying that the Saviors had put something like this together, smart even.
"We need these explosives." Sasha decided.
As much as Thea did not want to put her hands on any of the dynamite in front of them, she could agree that allowing the Saviors to have something like this in their possession was not good for them. If they wanted to, they could disassemble this trap and bring the explosives to Alexandria instead.
"Yeah." Rick agreed. "But we have to figure out how to disarm it first."
How were they going to do that? Pull detonators and hope for the best?
Rosita seemed to have a better idea. She kneeled in the grass in front of a grate and pulled it up, revealing a box buried in the ground. There were wires sticking out leading to the cable, each connected to one of the four bricks or what looked like C4 and two batteries.
"Uh…okay." Tara voiced Thea's sentiments, taking a couple of steps back from Rosita.
The Latina didn't look back as she responded. "Backing up is not gonna make a difference if this thing goes off."
As Rosita began to mess with the wiring, Thea couldn't help but wonder where she had learned to do something like this. Was it knowledge she had prior to the end or had someone taught her after? Had it been Abraham? Thea realized that she didn't actually know a lot about Rosita's life before or after the world had changed, and she thought maybe she should change that someday.
The radio on Jesus's belt crackled and Negan's voice filled the air. "We got ourselves a red situation. I need a search party. See if Daryl ran home like the dumb animal that he is."
Simon spoke next. "On it. Be there in time for lunch."
"Turn that sleepy little burg upside down. And make sure you check with the Doc, see if he ran home with more than just his tail between his legs."
Thea scoffed, rolling her eyes at Negan's statement. She was glad when nobody glanced her way or paid any mind to the comment, then again if Rick had been right then they all probably knew about the relationship she had with Daryl…if it could even be called that. Even Jesus, who hadn't been shy about his knowledge of it, kept his face schooled. She was grateful for that.
"We gotta go. We gotta get there before them, but we need these. We need to clear a path anyway." Michonne spoke up once it was clear nothing more would be coming from the walkie.
Rick nodded. "Yeah. Rosita?"
The woman didn't say anything for several seconds as she removed the smaller of the two batteries from the box.
"First part's done." She finally said.
"What now?" Michonne asked.
They had to hurry. Thea knew that if Simon made it to Alexandria before them it would be highly suspicious, even more so if he didn't find her there. They needed to make it look like they didn't know Daryl had escaped.
Standing, Rosita wiped her hands on her pants and glanced at the dynamite on the cable. "We gotta unwrap the secondary explosives—the dynamite, the RPGs. Make sure these casings are not messed up, and do not mess them up either. This thing could still blow."
"Y'all heard her, let's go." Rick ordered.
Though she was nervous about the idea of messing with explosives, Thea knew that she probably had the steadiest hands of the group, and that was going to be helpful. She followed Jesus, Michonne, and Sasha to one side as the rest went to the other, and kneeled down in front of a bundle. Eying it for a moment, she pulled the straight razor from her back pocket and gingerly grasped the dynamite from underneath, holding it steady as she began to cut at the wiring and string that held it to the cable.
Rosita spoke from where she was watching over them. "You can load the explosives into the trunk as long as they're in good shape. No dents, no tears. They're not live. They still need to be triggered to be set off." She took a bundle from Tara and studied it for a moment before shaking her head. "Not that one. I don't like the way it looks."
"Okay." Tara agreed without protest.
Rosita ran to the ditch and placed the bundle gently in the mud before returning to the group.
Thea finally got her bundle free and stood slowly, holding it with both hands as she moved to the van as steadily as she could. She placed it inside with the others that had already gone in and stepped back, releasing her breath when it didn't explode right in her face.
"Dad, look." Carl called, pointing down the road where the highway began to curve. There was a herd slowly coming around the bend, far enough back that they weren't an immediate threat.
Rick agreed with that assessment. "Okay. There they are. But they're far. We still have time."
"You're sure?" Sasha asked.
"We need these."
Thea returned to the cable to begin cutting another bundle loose, eying the sticks for any dents or tears. They didn't look damaged and she tried not to let the anxiety of the situation get the better of her. If they had these, they could rig something for the Saviors and maybe end this once and for all. Then they wouldn't have to scavenge for someone else, wouldn't have to keep Daryl hidden for safety, wouldn't have to fear Negan and Lucille at every turn. Thea wanted to know what it was like to not fear for her life for once; that was something she had taken for granted in the old world.
"We need to get the cars back in front of the onramp." Rick spoke up as she finished cutting the bundle free.
Jesus was placing his bundle in the trunk as Thea placed hers in as well. "They'll know we took their explosives, so does it matter?" He asked.
It was a smart question.
Rick eyed the herd. "We want that herd to stay on the highway."
"Why?" Tara questioned him next.
The sheriff handed a bundle to Tara. "We may need it." Was the only explanation he gave.
Rosita took initiative. "Okay. Tara, Carl, come on!"
The trio took off towards the gap they'd made to get through and began to coordinate a plan to move everything back into place. Thea eyed the herd, which now had to be more than sixty, with trepidation. Would they be able to move the cars in time?
Sasha had similar concerns. "Uh…Rick…" she called out, pointing to the herd as she noticed the size of it.
They had to get moving.
"All right. Sasha, Jesus, can you get back to the Hilltop on foot?" Rick asked.
Sasha nodded. "Yeah."
"Tell Maggie we're not giving up. Go!"
Sasha gingerly handed Thea the bundle of dynamite she was holding before she followed Jesus into the woods that line the road.
Rick was speaking to Michonne and Thea now. "We need every stick, every RPG."
Thea placed the bundle from Sasha in the trunk with the others before glancing at the herd again. She stiffened at the sight of it, now massive like the herd from the dry run that had gone awry.
"Rick!" She called, getting his attention.
Michonne cursed under her breath. "They're gonna cut them off." She spoke, motioning to Rosita, Tara, and Carl where they were still moving cars. "Can we just split up?"
There was a moment of silence as the man standing with them spoke. "No. The cars…if they run…"
He was referring to the cars that the cable the dynamite had been on was attached to, and Thea tried to decipher what his plan was.
Michonne understood it. "We lay on the horn when we start it—"
"I'll bring my arm down and we go."
"Yes!"
Thea understood now. She nodded. "I'll follow in the van, pick you all up once it's clear." She informed them.
"Good." Rick nodded, before eyeing Michonne. "Stay together!"
The couple each went to a car while Thea raced to the SUV. She turned the engine over and waited as Rick and Michonne hotwired the cars to get them started. Up ahead, Rosita, Carl, and Tara were inside one of the cars they'd been moving as the herd engulfed them; if they didn't hurry things could go bad.
Once the two cars were started, Thea waited for Rick to lower his arm before all three vehicles took off. Rick and Michonne were speeding ahead of her as she maneuvered around abandoned cars and tried not to hit any of them. The cable between the two cars began to slice into the walkers, chopping them in half and taking most of the herd down in an impressive move.
Once Rick and Michonne had passed the car Rosita, Tara, and Carl were holding up in, Thea skidded to a stop beside it and cracked the passenger side window. "Come on!" She yelled at the trio, waving her arm at them. There were still several walkers around the car, but they jumped out and took them down quickly before jumping into the SUV with her. Up ahead, Rick and Michonne were out of their cars and fighting through the remains of the herd towards the group. Thea slammed her foot on the gas pedal and rammed the vehicle into several walkers, opening up a gap for the couple to race to the van and clamber inside.
"GO!" Michonne exclaimed as she barely got the back door closed behind her.
Thea's foot smashed against the accelerator again and she spun the wheel around as she weaved between groups of the dead until she was clear of them, and then they were racing back home with the hopes of getting there before Simon and the Saviors.
In the rearview mirror, Thea was startled by an explosion. Rosita was in the passenger seat and she noticed it as well. "Yeah, I didn't like the look of that shit at all." She said.
It was the dynamite she had taken from Tara; Thea was impressed that the woman had known what she was talking about, but then she was also reminded of the explosives and RPGs in the back of the SUV she was currently driving and she felt herself grow a bit nervous about it.
"I pushed it. I pushed it." She heard Rick say from where he was still panting in the back seat.
She glanced in the rearview mirror again and saw Michonne whispering something in his ear as she rubbed his shoulder, but it was too quiet for the doctor to make out. Instead, she focused her eyes on the road and her mind on getting home.
They hid the SUV and the explosives not far from Alexandria, but far enough that the Saviors wouldn't see it. The walk back wasn't bad, but the entire time Thea was terrified that Simon would already be there waiting for them.
Would they walk through the gates and be thrown to their knees in another line up while Simon called for Negan? Was Alexandria okay or had the Saviors already burned it to the ground?
Thankfully, as the gates came into sight, nothing was out of the ordinary. They had managed to make it home before Simon could reach them, but it probably wouldn't be long before he showed up; Thea's relief was short-lived.
Tobin met them as the gates opened. "Lost the car?" He asked.
Rick kept it vague. "Uh, it's somewhere safe." He said as the group kept walking into Alexandria, Tobin following.
"You didn't find anything?" He wondered.
"No. Listen, we need to get everyone ready. The—" Rick was cut off by the rumbled of engines and they all turned in time to see a motorcycle coming over the hill ahead of the gates, followed by two moving trucks.
"Shit." Thea whispered, her heart beginning to thump hard in her chest.
The bike and two trucks came right through the gates as if they belonged, and were followed by a pickup and then two more motorcycles. The Saviors parked along the wall and exited their vehicles, Simon approaching in the lead with his arms outstretched.
"Rick! Hello! And…hello again."
Rick pretended he didn't know what this visit was for. "We thought it'd be longer."
Simon eyed him suspiciously. "Do you think we're here for a tribute? Do you?"
Thea hated him and his stupid mustache so much.
"Is there another reason?" Rick asked.
The Savior nodded. "There is. We're here for Daryl."
It was Thea's turn to act, and she scrunched her face up in what she hoped was a convincing look of confusion. "Negan took Daryl." She spoke up, her anger at Simon probably helping her sell it.
Simon smirked and stepped towards her. "Oh, but…then his son showed up, Daryl went missing—" he waved his arms around. "Might those two things be connected?"
"They're not." Rick answered before Thea could.
She replied anyways. "Negan brought Carl back himself. Don't you think he would have noticed Daryl?" she sneered at the mustachioed man.
"We didn't know he was gone until right now." The sheriff added.
Simon grinned and spread his arms out again. "Then this should be easy. Now," he eyed the group. "Everyone find a buddy. Gonna have to follow us around. If he's here, we really need you all to see him die." He glanced back at his group before walking up to Carl and flicking the brim of the teen's hat.
Thea tried not to look worried as he stopped in front of her with that grin that made her uneasy.
"You, dear doctor, get to be my buddy. See, Negan seems to think that Daryl came running back here to your waiting arms, and it's my job to make sure that's not the case." He said, speaking a little too close for comfort. "Why don't you start by showing me where you lay that pretty head of yours and then we'll take the tour?"
Thea did not want to go anywhere with the man in front of her; she got the feeling that he only listened to Negan when the man was actually around, and something told her he wasn't the kind of person who liked to be told no.
Seeming to sense the anxiety rising within her, Rick stepped forward. "I'll join you." He said, meeting the doctor's eyes and offering her a small nod.
"No," Simon said firmly. "I think you can find another Savior to buddy up with, the Doc and I will be just fine." He stepped back and swept his arm out for her to lead the way, grinning that menacing grin.
Thea met Rick's eyes over Simon's shoulder and wished she could demand that the sheriff came with them, but she didn't want to show the Savior that she was afraid of him; something told her he got off on that sort of thing. Instead, she mentally cursed before stepping around him and leading the way towards the house she was staying in, not bothering to look behind her to see if he was following; she knew he was.
They only made it a block before he began to antagonize her.
"So, Doctor, what is it that you see in a guy like Daryl?" He wondered, saying his name like an insult. "I mean, guy doesn't speak much, clearly doesn't bathe, and he seems like a real loser to me. I'm sure you could do a lot better with someone else. Someone like—"
Thea stopped walking abruptly and turned to face him, scowling. "Someone like you?" she interrupted him before he could insult Daryl any further.
Simon grinned, hands going to his hips as he towered over her. "You're the one who said it, sweetheart."
She tried not to show her disgust too much for fear that he would lash out. "I'll have to pass."
The man stepped closer until he was uncomfortably in her space and leaned in close, almost touching his nose to hers. "You say that now but some day this sleepy little neighborhood will cease to exist and you will be looking for a pair of arms to keep you warm at night."
Thea was proud of herself for not backing away as he'd come close, even prouder that she didn't show how terrified she felt when he was leaning in so close, she could feel his breath on her face. Maybe that was why she had the gumption to reply with what she said next. "I'd rather cozy up with a walker." Her words were tougher than her and her voice could only manage to come out in a whisper as her throat tightened up, but it was enough.
Simon remained unmoving for several seconds before he chuckled and stepped away from her. "I'm sure that can be arranged." He said menacingly before he motioned impatiently for her to continue towards her house; as if she had been the one to start this whole conversation.
The rest of the walk was quiet, the Savior seemingly displeased with what she'd said to him. Thea hoped he wasn't plotting something that would make her regret her words. As she led him up the stairs, she debated which room to show him. If she let him into her room, would he comment on the fact that it hadn't been slept in for quite some time now? Or if she showed him Daryl's, where she slept regularly now, would he recognize that it was the archer's? As she reached the landing, she decided she didn't want him to taint the room she was most comfortable in and opened the door to the one she had since abandoned.
The blankets and pillows were on the floor and thankfully looked somewhat like a place someone had slept in at least once, so that probably worked in her favor.
"Hmm…" Simon hummed as he surveyed the room with a frown on his face. "I seem to remember Negan leaving you a mattress. You didn't take me to the wrong room, did you? Trying to keep your boyfriend hidden?"
Thea suppressed an eye roll and crossed her arms over her chest. "I gave it to someone who needed it more than me." She didn't give any other information just in case he decided to take it back.
He yanked open the closet door as if he was going to reveal Daryl behind it, sighing when he found nothing but clothes and shoes. "Well, how nice of you." He replied sarcastically.
Without bothering to shut the closet behind him, he glanced around the room once more and stepped into the hall. "Now, I just need to take a look at the rest of the place and we're golden."
She wasn't sure why she had thought he would look in one room and be done with it, but she was glad that there wasn't anything to hide here.
After an agonizingly long tour of her house, Thea finally found herself meeting up with the group again as Simon requested to see how their pantry was looking. She was lingering in the back of the group, glad to not be alone with the man any longer, when she felt a hand on her shoulder that made her jump.
"Sorry," Carl said as he took his hand off of her and looked at the ground sheepishly.
She shook her head. "It's okay, I'm…I'm just a bit jumpy." She reassured him.
"Are you okay?" He whispered, not wanting Simon to hear them talking.
Thea smiled softly at the teenager. Somewhere down the line they had grown close; she felt very protective over him and he seemed to feel the same way about her. "Yeah, I'm okay, Carl." She told him honestly. She was okay now that she was several feet away from Simon and surrounded by other people.
A whistle from up ahead drew their attention back to the group as Simon entered the pantry. Thea felt her eyes widen in shock; the entire pantry was picked clean, the shelves barren. What had happened here?
"These are some bare shelving units." Simon commented. "You guys have a barbecue or something and not invite us? Seriously, this is sad. Hope you're not trying to hide stuff from us, 'cause that generally doesn't go over very well."
Aaron spoke up first. "We have a lot of people. It's…getting harder to find stuff, and our focus lately has been on finding things that Negan might want. We're still adjusting to the new system."
Thea knew that they were struggling but they had also come up with a decent rationing system. No, this was the work of a thief.
"We were gonna scavenge more today. If you just wait, we'll…bring something back. We'll find more." Rick added.
Simon slouched, making a face to mock Rick. "Aww." He chuckled, condescending. "Relax. I'm not here for a pick-up. Good thing. But that day is coming, so you best do whatever you need to. Dig deep. Go the extra mile." He slapped his hands on the empty rack in front of him. "Take some risks!"
"We will." Michonne reassured him.
Simon, who was still slouching over a rack, looked at Michonne for a long moment before straightening up. "Well, we will appreciate that." He leered at the woman for a moment longer before he turned and stepped out of the pantry, the group following him as he made his way back to the front gates.
"Thank you for your cooperation, Rick." Simon said as the other Saviors loaded up into the trucks. "My apologies for leaving the place a bit of a mess, but we got a litany of other shit to attend to. So do you, I guess. Tick tock. Chop-chop."
He got into the pickup truck at the front of the line of Savior vehicles, but he wasn't finished yet. "Oh! And, Rick…if Daryl does turn up here two days from now, two months from now…hell two years from now, just know there's no statute of limitations on this. Keep that hatchet handy. You're gonna need it if he turns up with you people. And, it won't turn out the way it did for your boy." He smacked the outside of the door a few times to signal the caravan to get moving, and they all slowly pulled out of Alexandria.
Tobin closed the gate before they'd even disappeared over the hill.
As soon as the gate closed and the Saviors were out of sight, Rick turned to Aaron. "What happened to the pantry?" he asked the question they were all thinking.
"We don't know. And we need to talk about Gabriel." Aaron responded.
Thea realized that she hadn't seen the holy man since their return to Alexandria; had he died or was he sick?
"Where is he?" Rick wondered.
It was Tobin who responded as he approached from the gate. "He was on watch the night you all went to scavenge. I was supposed to take over for him in the morning. He wasn't at his post."
"Pantry was cleared out and a car was gone." Aaron added.
Thea frowned. Gabriel had raided the pantry? She could believe that if he was still the scared man they'd met in the forest, but he had changed so dramatically since then and Thea had a hard time imagining him doing something like that.
"No one's seen him since." Eric spoke up.
Rosita scoffed. "That son of a bitch. He stole our shit and ran."
There was a sigh from Tobin. "That's…what it looks like."
Thea shook her head; she didn't believe it. Maybe he had just taken everything to hide it for them? There had to be a very good reason for it.
Michonne was on the same page as her. "Well, I don't want to believe it."
"I don't believe it." Rick interjected. "That's not Gabriel. He wouldn't do that to us."
Thea nodded in agreement.
Rosita didn't agree, though. "I thought he changed, too, but it can't be anything else."
"Yes, it can." The sheriff said firmly before he turned and began walking towards the pantry.
Thea wanted to follow them and get to the bottom of the whole pantry situation, but the Saviors had just raided the entire community and she felt the strong urge to check up on her sister and nephew. She watched the group follow Rick for a moment before turning in the opposite direction.
As she made her way towards Cat's house, people were in their own homes picking up the pieces of the mess that had been made. Thea couldn't help but grow angry towards the Saviors, or angrier. They were abusing the power they had over the Alexandrians to run amuck and do as they pleased; soon they would be the ones living in fear, the ones picking up the pieces and trying to figure out how to survive. Thea wondered how they would fair in a world where they weren't handed supplies on a stolen silver platter. She was ready to watch them flounder.
She stepped through the already open door of Cat's house and looked around, surveying the overturned furniture and toys strew around the living room. The Saviors had dumped the toy chest that sat against the wall, as if Daryl would fit in a small trunk.
"Thea, you're back!" Cat exclaimed as she rounded the corner, a sippy cup in one hand.
Though she knew the Saviors had no reason to hurt Cat, Thea felt relief seeing her sister still standing. "Yeah, we got back a minute before the Saviors showed up. Which was lucky…" she trailed off as she leaned down to turn the toy chest right side up, then began placing the spilled toys back inside. "Where's Hank?"
Catherine set the sippy cup down on the kitchen counter and began to pick up the books that had been ripped off the shelves. "Those vultures scared the shit out of him, I just got him to calm down and take a nap."
The doctor sighed. "Well, soon you won't have to worry about them." She replied vaguely.
Cat paused and turned to her sister, frowning. "What do you mean? Did you guys figure something out?"
Thea had told the younger Ellis sibling that they were coming up with a plan to stop Negan and the Saviors once and for all, but she hadn't given her many details; if something were to happen, she didn't want Cat to know anything that could get her hurt.
Although King Ezekiel had declined to offer them aid, Thea had the suspicion that he might change his mind. Surely, he couldn't live under Negan's rule forever, all it would take was something to push them over the edge. Though she hoped there wouldn't be much bloodshed on the road to the Kingdom's revelation…she wanted them to see the light.
"Yeah, maybe." She finally responded, placing the last toy in the box and shutting it. She stood and moved to help Cat flip the couch back on its feet.
"The Saviors said they were looking for Daryl, that he escaped. Do you know where he is?"
Placing a cushion back on the couch, Thea took a moment before she nodded. "Yeah, I can't say where he is, but the Saviors won't be finding him and that's what matters."
Cat nodded and placed the last cushion in place before sitting down, Thea following suit. There was a moment of silence between the sisters before the younger spoke. "Is he safe?"
"Yes…he's safe."
They once again fell into silence. Thea's mind drifted back to the night before, how Daryl had told her about Negan's wives—plural—and how she'd almost had a panic attack right in that moment. Maybe that's why she told the archer to stay the night, or maybe it was just because she missed him.
"Thea?" Cat's voice broke through her thoughts.
Thea turned to face her sister. "Yeah?"
There was an odd expression on the other woman's face as she eyed the brunette curiously. "I asked if you were okay, you looked a little…lost in your thoughts for a second there."
Before she could stop herself or think properly about her wording, she said: "Daryl and I slept together last night."
Cat's eyes widened and a look of surprise opened up on her face, her mouth gaping. "I—what?"
It was then Thea realized what she'd said and she quickly shook her head, putting a hand up to stop her sister's incoming questions. "No, no, not like that. God—I totally meant that in the literal sense. We slept in the same bed."
The blonde still had a look of excitement about her, but she calmed down a bit at the explanation. "Okay, well, first of all…work on your wording. Second, were there not enough beds or-?"
"We all kind of had our own rooms…" The more she thought about it, the more she wondered why Daryl had decided to listen to her. He could have easily left her alone and gone back to his room, but he'd gotten into bed with her. Sure, she didn't know how long he stayed, but he had at least waited until she had fallen asleep. Was it out of the kindness of his own heart? Had he merely seen her spiraling and decided to help her calm down? Or did he need the comfort, too?
Cat was failing to smother a smile. "So, how did you end up in bed together?"
Why had she brought this up? Cat was clearly getting too excited about this.
"He came to talk to me and I got some information about Negan that didn't really feel great. I asked him to stay and he did. When I woke up, he was gone. He probably left as soon as I fell asleep, but…I don't know. It felt nice…knowing he was next to me."
When her eyes met Cat's, she regretted saying anything. Her sister was smiling at her softly, a look Thea didn't quite understand in her eyes.
"What's that face for?" She wondered aloud.
Cat chuckled lightly. "Thea, you are so in love with Daryl Dixon and you don't even know it."
Thea rolled her eyes, but she didn't protest. She did know it. It was something she found plagued her mind ever since she had spoken to Rick on the porch, ever since she'd realized it herself. Maybe it was just too hard for her to believe that she would want to fall for someone after what she'd been through, but it was true. She was in love with Daryl. She didn't know if he felt the same way, or if she needed him to, but it didn't matter. As long as he was safe from Negan, he could hate her guts and she'd just live with it.
With a shrug, Thea sighed. "I know."
After leaving Cat's house, the next stop was the clinic. She learned from Eric that Gabriel had left a note in the pantry and the others had left to follow the lead. Thea wasn't too broken up about the fact that she'd been left behind, if Negan decided to come looking for Daryl himself, she needed to be here to avoid suspicion.
She entered the clinic through the backdoor, in case the chaos of the front room was too much to wade through, and heard a voice speaking softly. Frowning, she quietly made her way towards the main clinic area and peeked around the corner.
Someone had cleaned the place up and it looked as if the Saviors had never been there. Tara was sitting on a stool with Judith at her feet playing, and the woman was speaking softly to the baby.
"If I say something, you know—Rick won't leave there without their guns."
Thea frowned. Who had guns?
"If—If we could even get close enough, they'll start firing, and we'll fire back." Tara continued. "I mean, they should just fight with us. The Saviors killed their fathers and their sons and their brothers. They won't want to fight with us. They just want to hide."
Thea's heart was pounding. Tara knew about a place that had weapons and she hadn't told the group. Why would she keep something like that from them? Why wouldn't she want to help them take down Negan? And if the group had been burned by the Saviors, why wouldn't they want to join the war against them?
"So, they'll just fight us. I tell everyone about Oceanside, that's what happens. What makes our life worth more than theirs? Because we want to stop the people that are hurting us, who will hurt other people?"
It was a complicated situation, but they needed the guns. In the end, maybe this Oceanside would understand how taking out the Saviors benefitted them, too. Thea stepped into the room, startling Tara.
"Goddammit." Tara sighed, looking defeatedly at the doctor.
Thea understood her plight, but she had to think of the greater good.
"Tara, what are you hiding?"
A/N: Now Thea knows Tara has been hiding Oceanside! What will happen next? I would love to read what you guys thought of the chapter, so don't be afraid to review and, as always, thank you guys so much for reading and continuing to read my story!
