A/N: this is a work of fanfiction, I only own Thea.

Wallflower

By Leah Pensotti

She must have dozed off.

Thea nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Her bleary eyes saw her book open and dog-eared on her lap and looked behind her to see Denise behind her.

"Hey...didn't your shift end at dawn?"

Thea nodded and rubbed sleep from her eyes, "Yeah...I stayed after Rosita got here. Rick looked so tired and I told him to go home and try to rest."

Denise pushed her glasses up and smiled, "Well...your turn. Rosita and I am here, we've got it covered."

"I also told Rick someone would get him if Carl woke up."

Her housemate nodded, "We can do that. Right now, go home and rest. Your 're back on tonight, okay?"

She yawned and realized she was looking forward to collapsing into bed when she got back to the house. Thea looked to the clock on the wall and realized she had been there for over five hours.

Once bidding goodbye to both Rosita and Denise, Thea walked out the door of the clinic and noticed the townsfolk still moving and collecting bodies to burn while looking totally drained. She hugged her book against her chest and kept walking. After passing Rick's home, she stopped and turned, realizing she promised to stay with Carl.

Internally, Thea debated on wether or not she should bother him and tell him that Denise and Rosita were keeping watch over his son.

Thea stood and tapped her foot against the sidewalk and finally propelled herself towards Rick's front door. She smoothed her hair, tucking some behind her ear before knocking.

The apocalypse had not helped her social awkwardness at all.

She knocked firmly on the door and waited long enough that she turned on her heel to leave. Just as she made it to the first step, the door opened and she heard, "Is he awake?"

Thea took a deep breath and turned back around, blinking in the sunlight, "No. I just wanted to tell you that Denise came in and sent me home. She and Rosita will let you know if he does...I'm sorry if I woke you up..."

Rick stood with the door open, he was wearing the same clothes from the night before, "I was on the couch...I slept all of two hours. I was going to make some coffee and grab a shower."

She nodded, "Okay. I guess I'll see you around..."

"Thea. Wait. I owe you a cup of coffee."

Thea froze, not sure if she wanted to go inside and try to make conversation with a man, who up until very recently scared the shit out of her.


She looked unsure, Rick supposed he deserved that. Thea didn't know him from Adam.

But he was trying to change things around here...like Deanna wanted him to. He was going to treat these people as his own. He saw her hug the book to her chest and walk up the stairs, "Sure. A cup couldn't hurt."

Rick nodded and followed her inside. As he moved to the kitchen, he saw her look around the house idly before asking, "Where's your daughter?"

He started up the coffee maker and pulled down two mugs from the cabinet, "Carol took her for awhile."

Thea seemed satisfied with the answer and put her book on the counter and watched him with her grey eyes. Like most of the people who still survived, she looked exhausted.

"So, Thea. What's your story?"

Her eyes went wide and she shrugged, "I really don't have much of one."

Rick shook his head, "What's left of us...we all got stories. Let's start with what you did...where you came from."

Thea sighed and looked thoughtful, "I uh, grew up in Pittsburgh. Got a scholarship to VCU. Stayed in Richmond for ten years after graduation . I worked in a book store. Like I said...not much of a story. Kind of beige."

He raised an eyebrow, "Beige?"

"Yeah...you know neutral. Colorless. A color you can look at for years and not notice it was there."

Rick felt a smile pull at his lips, "Husband? Kids?"

She looked like she wanted to laugh, a spark of humor in her eyes, "No. Nothing like that. I've always been a bit...solitary."

It didn't take a lot to realize that she mostly kept to herself...he was interested in how she had survived this long. Not that she was meek, but she (like a lot of the Alexandrians) didn't seem like she had truly gotten her hands dirty until recently.

The coffee maker beeped and he turned to pick up the pot. As he poured them both a mug Rick asked, "How did you find your way here?"

Thea thanked him quietly as he handed her the cup of coffee, "Well...my apartment building wasn't safe. So I packed up after awhile and went to work. There was a small room over the bookstore where I worked, an office with a couch. I barricaded myself in there. Nobody loots bookstores during the apocalypse. Managed there for almost a year before Aaron and Eric found me."

Rick had noticed something about her, that she had this expression of amusement before she spoke. Like she secretly had found something interesting or clever and she had to think about her words carefully before she said anything. The only description he could think of was enigmatic.

It was enough to make him want to crawl into her head and walk around, just so he could know exactly what she was thinking.

They talked for a bit about the town, her work with Reg and the school and rebuilding. Rick told her about the plans Deanna had given him before the herd came through. She didn't seem surprised, in fact she said that Deanna was everyone's biggest cheerleader.

When her mug was empty, Thea stood up and gave him a gentle half smile, "Well, thank you for the coffee. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to try and rest before I have to go back for my watch at the clinic."

Rick walked her to the door, and just when he opened it...he saw Daryl walking up the steps. His friend looked surprised to see Thea leaving his house.

Thea nodded and gave Daryl the same half smile she flashed in the kitchen, "Hey."

Daryl mumbled "Hey" in return and Thea turned back to Rick and said, "I guess I'll see you around."

They watched as Thea walked away and towards the house that she shared with Denise. Daryl looked curious, "Everythin' okay?"

Rick nodded, "Thea sat with Carl after her watch today, so I could try and rest. She just came by to tell me that Denise sent her home when she got there. I offered her a cup of coffee."


Daryl wasn't expecting to see Thea leaving Rick's house...but really wasn't expecting the smile she gave him as he walked up. It was a simple, half smile...but it was surprising and pleasant.

As he followed Rick into the house, he wondered if Thea took a book everywhere. This is probably why she had got along so well with Reg and Eugene.

Rick cleared the two coffee mugs from the kitchen counter and looked at him intensely, "What's the word?"

Daryl shrugged, "Well, we got most of the bodies cleared. Abraham and the construction crew have been workin' round the clock to fix the breach. Most problems they're havin' is the roamers interested in the sounds."

Rick sighed, his hands on his hips, "Any people...the living?"

Daryl shook his head, he knew Rick was referring to the men on the road. The ones he, Sasha and Abraham had encountered after trying to lead the herd away from Alexandria.

"Nah. Nothin' yet."

Rick rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "So...let me ask you. How much do you know bout the people who were here before us. Not Spencer, not Tobin...the regular folks like Thea."

Daryl thought for a minute, wondering if Rick was asking about her specifically, "I know some. While we'd gotten out and recruited...Aaron gave me a rundown of his and Eric's greatest hits. Thea was one of the first."

"Deanna...when she was, before she was...She asked me to take care of her people like I took care of mine. I didn't remember Thea's name this morning. It made me feel awful, considering she offered to stay after her work was done to look over Carl. This world...it can be good. Children can grow up here. The people here...they are essential to this. People like Thea...I'd like to get to know them all a little better. Figure out what they are good at...how this can work."

Daryl felt a little confused. Rick and Deanna had suspended the recruiting when the herd was discovered. Did this mean that they would be bringing people back in?

He was also confused about Rick's sudden interest in Thea...he'd just lost Jessie, and he hadn't really understood that relationship either. When it came to matters of the heart, Daryl Dixon was a novice.

"I know that when Aaron and Eric found Thea, they were impressed at how she didn't draw attention to herself. She didn't have to brain that many walkers 'cause she went out of her way to avoid them, but didn't completely lock herself away. Aaron called her clever. He thought for sure she'd be put on supply runs."

It was Rick's turn to look confused, "I wonder why Deanna put her with Reg and the school instead?"

Daryl shrugged, "Prolly all those books."

Rick smiled, like he just connected it, "Yeah. That's probably it...this is the stuff I need to know...about everybody here. I know Deanna and I didn't see eye to eye...but she had a point with all of this 'getting to know' people. We gotta figure out how well this society works or we'll never be greater than the sum of our parts."


When Thea got home, she couldn't immediately sleep. Somehow her adrenaline got going and she couldn't settle down. Originally, she blamed the coffee. Then she blamed leaving Rick's house and running into Daryl. Her experiment in being social ended up with her being under the glances of what would be considered Alexandria's strongest muscle. The dynamic duo.

Like they were Batman...and Batman. She couldn't qualify either of them as Robin.

She changed into a nightshirt and pulled all the blinds in her small room. There were stacks of books everywhere...some she had brought with her, some she foraged from other empty houses in town...some Reg had given her...some Aiden had brought back to her from runs.

Reg always thought Aiden was sweet on Thea, even though she was at least eight years older than him. He would tease her in a good natured way, but he wouldn't have minded to have her pair off with his son.

She never even entertained it. Thea had her reasons.

Thea pushed Aiden out of her mind and thought about her idea, that at some point, if the town could get there...she could start a library of sorts. Maybe, if she could find the nerve, she could mention it to Rick.


Thea woke up at seven, an hour before her shift at the clinic. She peeled herself out of bed and took a shower. She dressed in jeans and a blue plaid button down shirt and finishing up with her dark, blond hair in a ponytail.

She grabbed another book, because she was almost done with the one she was reading. Thea's stomach turned over and she realized she hadn't eaten anything all day. Carol had brought Denise a casserole for taking care of Carl, and there was some left in the refrigerator. Thea stood at the fancy marble island and ate it cold.

By the time she got down to the clinic, Rosita was sitting at the desk...her feet up, "Hey T. Get some sleep?"

Thea was always surprised that she and Rosita had become friends, Rosita was one of those girls in the old world that went out every weekend in high heels. Thea was the kind of girl that favored red wine and a good book or a movie with a bunch of British actors and take out Thai food.

"Yeah. A little. Where's Denise?"

Rosita pointed into the other room, "Checking on Carl. He woke up for a bit."

"Did someone go get Rick?"

Rosita nodded, "Daryl was here...checking in. He actually brought you these. He said he'd go get Rick."

She sat up and handed Thea two thick books and Thea almost blushed. Daryl had brought her books?

As she was turning them over in her hands, Rick came in...looking eager to see his son awake. Daryl lingered in the front doorway, and looked at Thea holding the books. He just nodded at her and turned back out of the clinic.

Thea felt her heart jump in her throat, and without too much thinking, she followed him quickly, clutching the books to her chest as she went.

As he was stalking off, Thea called after him, "Daryl...Daryl...wait a minute."

When he stopped, he didn't immediately turn around, so she continued, "I just wanted to say thank you...for the books..."

She saw him nod, "Found 'em at Carol's. Thought you'd put 'em to good use."

"I will. Thank you for, uh...remembering me."

He nodded again and gave her a look over his shoulder, "Ain't no thing. Ya better go on to work."

Thea nodded and watched him walk away as the sun set. She remembered Rick was back at the clinic and she had to start her shift.

It was going to be an interesting night.


A/N: wow, you guys! I am blown away by the amount of views, favorites, follows and reviews for the very first chapter! Up next: more Rick and Thea. Daryl is going to be more of a slow build :)

super special shout outs to: Natalie Laukas (yes! Team Rick/team Daryl. Let's see how this pans out. Thank you so much for always reading!), Guest (I tend to write faster than the show, lol. I like to publish two chapters a week. I will take some hints though :), CLTex (aw! thanks!), Psychobeachgirl88 (thank you so much for reading!), geronimodoctor (literal love it! Thanks :), enchantment angel (I've never written one, so let's see how this goes :), ViolentChick2011 (here it is! I hope you enjoy!), Kingi (thanks so much! ;), and Angie B (LOL, girl don't I know it. I got challenged this and couldn't turn it down. I couldn't use Mellie or Anna so I created Thea, who I am falling in love with. More of Anna tomorrow :)!

I have written 3 other stories for TWD. I hope you'll check them out!

Love and Thanks.

Leah P!

xoxo