A/N: this is a work of fanfiction, I only own Thea.
Wallflower
By Leah Pensotti
He didn't know why he had gone back to the clinic. Daryl thought that maybe he had a reason to talk to her about the supply runs.
He didn't even know why he had the overwhelming feeling to do that.
Seeing her through the window washing dishes with Rick, made Daryl feel indignant. Like it should've been him talking to her and drying the dishes that she washed. But when Rick took her hand, it had made him feel like a spy. Like he was watching something private and it wasn't meant for him to see.
Thea looked shocked that he touched her. Like she was scared. Those stormy, grey eyes went wide and her lips parted.
It was then he turned around and walked away. He couldn't watch any longer.
He was happy that Rick wanted to include everyone in the inner workings of Alexandria, and he had hoped recruiting would start back up soon. Daryl wanted this place to be a home, because he had never really had one before.
Then, it hit him.
In the dark, Daryl walked to the Monroe home. Only Spencer remained, and since the herd, he had made himself scarce. Daryl didn't blame him one bit, honestly.
After he knocked on the door, Spencer appeared after a few minutes. He had been drinking, "Hey man...everything okay?"
Daryl nodded, "Yeah...Rick and I have been talkin' about gettin' some of the jobs reorganized. I know your Mom taped everybody before they got ta live here...I was wonderin' if I could have a look at 'em?"
Spencer shrugged and opened the door, "Sure. Want a drink?"
Daryl responded with a shrug and Spencer showed him into his mother's office...the same place where he and his group "auditioned" for the town. He found the camera and a stack of labeled tapes in a box beside it...he found the whole of his group, Denise, Olivia, Tobin...and then he saw her name...Althea Graham.
She had a little old lady name, no wonder she went by just "Thea."
Spencer came in with a tumbler of whiskey and handed it to him. Daryl nodded in thanks and Spencer must've caught a glimpse of what he had, "Poor Thea. My Dad adored her. The daughter he never had. He was so happy that Aiden had a thing for her."
Daryl started to set up the camera to playback the tape, "A thing?"
"The hots. A crush...whatever you'd call it. She was always nice to him, but he couldn't get a read on her other than that. He'd always bring her books and stuff when he went on runs."
Daryl nodded, and realized bringing her books made it look like he had a "thing" for her too. Soon the television screen fired on and Thea was seen on the couch that they had all been filmed on. She looked nervous, her hands fidgeted and her grey eyes darted around.
Deanna's voice came from off camera, "So...Althea..."
"Just Thea, please."
"Okay, Thea. Tell me about yourself. Let's start with your family?"
Thea looked down at her hands, "I, uh, never knew my Dad. My mom ran off when I was about four. I lived with my Grandmother until she passed and then I became a ward of the state of Pennsylvania."
Daryl heard the maternal concern in Deanna's voice, "And how old were you then?"
Thea continued to look at her hands, "Six. After that it was group homes and foster homes. I never got adopted. When I was in High School, I worked really hard and got a full scholarship and moved to Richmond."
"VCU?"
Thea nodded, "My end goal was wanting to be a professor. I never got there."
Daryl heard Deanna shuffle some papers, "So...Eric and Aaron found you in the book store you worked at. How long had you been there?"
Thea finally looked up and ticked off time on her fingers, "Just over ten months. I stayed awhile in my apartment, but it was in a more populated area and just not as safe. Plus, everything around there had been looted and there wasn't enough supply wise. I didn't want to risk being too far out and not being able to get back."
"Tell me about that...supply runs. Aaron and Eric thought you'd be a great member to the supply team."
She shrugged, "The bookstore was connected to a coffee shop and there was also a diner. Across the street, there was a small grocery. There was a lot of walking on ledges. I also made a pulley system for the grocery, that way I could leverage things that were too heavy for me. I boarded up all windows from the inside with the exception of the window in the upstairs room, where I stayed. I don't think I was particularly clever, I just avoided the roamers and tried to be invisible. I did have a rule though; don't go anywhere that you can't get out of. If it was a small building, I'd want two doors...large building four or more doors..."
Deanna chuckled, "That's a good rule. I have some ideas where to place you. Would you feel comfortable on the supply team?"
Daryl was surprised when Thea shook her head vehemently, "I...I had to avoid because I'm unable to run. Five years ago I was in an incident where I needed major surgeries. My pelvis was shattered...my back was broken, my nose...as well as one of my legs. I had a lot of physical therapy. I'd be useless on a run...a liability."
"What happened?"
Thea shook her head again, "I don't want to talk about it. I don't mean to be rude, I'm so thankful to be here. But I think if you could place me somewhere else, it would be for the best."
Suddenly the tape turned to static and white noise. Daryl had never heard her talk so much...to anyone. He remembered her looking at her hands, the look of hesitance on her face. That short video had given him a lot of insight into her life.
No wonder he saw a lot of himself in her. If it weren't for Merle, he would've more than likely ended up in the system...or juvenile detention. But luckily he had been too busy trying to keep Merle out of trouble to get into any of his own.
Spencer had fallen asleep on the couch, the bourbon still in his hand. Daryl took a sip of his own drink and popped in the next tape, not being able to shake the idea that Thea couldn't run if she needed to.
By the time dawn had come, Thea had drank a pot of coffee and was halfway into "The Pillars of the Earth." Rick had slept in the chair beside Carl, which she knew couldn't have been comfortable.
When Rosita showed up, Thea collected her four books and was getting ready to head home.
"Anything eventful happen?" Rosita asked, her gold hoop earrings clinking as she moved.
Thea flashed back to the night before...when Rick Grimes had took her hand in her own and looked at her with his bright blue eyes. She shook her head, "It was calm. I think Denise is sending Carl home soon."
Rosita smiled, "That's good. It also means we don't have to be here as much..."
Thea didn't think about that point...she would have a lot less to do. She picked up her stack of books and was saying goodbye to her friend when Rick popped his head out of the next room.
"You leaving?"
Thea nodded, "Yeah."
Rick smiled, "I think I'll go check on Judith. I'll walk with you."
She almost dropped her books.
He held the door open for her and she stepped out into the bright sunlight. Thea walked a few steps and Rick stopped her and put out his hand.
"Here. Let me carry half."
She gave him two and he looked down at them, studying the covers and titles.
"These look way over my head."
Thea laughed lightly, "I don't usually carry this many books around. I brought two for my shift, I was getting ready to finish one...and then Daryl dropped off two for me."
He seemed surprised that Daryl had done something like that, but didn't say anything. Thea smiled and continued on, "So, Rosita brought up the point that soon, we won't need to be at the clinic so much unless needed...and I am very much without work. I was thinking about what you said last nights about assets and liabilities and I would like to offer my services somehow. I could do pre-run recon or something. Help strategize...I don't know. I'm not much on a physical level, but I've got smarts and foresight."
Rick looked like he was mulling the idea, "Not a bad idea. Maybe we could pair you with someone. Daryl goes out frequently."
Thea thought about the immense awkwardness of her and Daryl alone in a car together, but then thought about how she could satisfy her curiosity about him at the same time. Maybe try and read him a bit more.
Who knows, maybe it would get less awkward?
Rick had been surprised that Daryl had taken Thea books. Daryl would do almost anything asked of him and see it through...but recently, he realized Daryl had started stepping out a bit more...even challenging Rick and Deanna's decision to suspend recruiting.
This being said, he was still usually grumpy all the time.
As he walked with Thea, he noticed a slight bobble in her step, not as far as a limp, but a bit of a hitch. Rick had wanted to press her for more information about her surgeries, most importantly, what had happened that she needed them?
He glanced at her profile and wondered if whatever happened to her, happened at the same time she broke her nose? The more Rick thought about it, the more he wondered how she he survived this long without being able to run? She'd be dead weight on a supply run, he knew she was right.
Thea came to a stop in front of her home, "Well...thank you for the food...and carrying my books."
Rick chuckled, realizing that she made it sound like they were teenagers in the 1950s going steady. He reached out and handed her books and she thanked him again.
He smiled, "You're welcome. Let me talk to Daryl...but we definitely want to get you in the right job. I think you have a lot to add."
"I guess I'll see you around, then."
Rick watched as she walked away and inside her home. She had done it again. Thea had this very remarkable way of making him want to know exactly what she was thinking. Sometimes she'd smile to herself just before she spoke and it made him want to know exactly what she found amusing.
Daryl spent a good portion of the night watching all the tapes. Even those of his group. He laughed at himself refusing to speak and holding on to that opossum that he had bagged on the way to town. When dawn came, he packed up the camera and the tapes and asked Spencer if he could take them for Rick to see.
A very hungover Spencer shrugged and covered his face with a couch pillow, "Sure. After all, Rick's running this show now."
As he was leaving with the box, he saw Rick walking away from the house that Thea shared with Denise and he felt his features darken. Daryl caught up with him and handed him the box. Rick looked at him quizzically, "What's all this?"
Daryl shrugged, "Well I...was thinkin' about what ya said. Ya know, about gettin' to know everybody? Then I remembered that Deanna taped the interviews..."
Rick nodded and smiled, "Daryl...this is genius."
"Well I don't know about all that."
His friend nodded, "I talked to Thea about runs...she'd like to help out somehow but evidently she is unable to physically run...surgeries or something. Anyway, she mentioned she wouldn't mind doing recon for supply runs, like casing a place...would you want to take her out sometime?"
Daryl was surprised that Thea had told him about her surgeries without having to watch the tape, "Yeah, sure. We won't be gettin' out of the car though. I'm not carrying her ass everywhere."
Rick cracked a smile, "Noted. Thank you for the tapes. I'm going to watch some and spend some time with Judy."
Daryl nodded, "No problem."
He watched Rick walk down the street to his own home and looked at Thea's house. He knew she probably wasn't asleep yet, it was her version of five p.m. Daryl considered trying to talk to her about going on runs with him, and walked up the path, to the front steps of her house.
And then turned right back around.
He made it to the sidewalk when he heard the door open and a familiar voice call out, "Hey...Daryl...wait."
Daryl turned to see Thea stepping carefully down the steps, trying not to move too quickly. He couldn't watch her try to get to him as fast as she could, so he took a few strides and met her in front of the steps, where she was standing on the second of four.
Thea looked down at him with a little smile, "You've gotta stop walking away. I can't catch up...I saw you through the window at the clinic last night...something wrong?"
Daryl looked down, slightly embarrassed that she had saw him the night before. He shrugged, "Just wanted to talk to ya about supply runs, is all. Rick just told me that ya'd want to plan them?"
He looked up in time to see a pull of amusement at her lips, "I mean, we can try, right? Do you want to come in? Talk? I'm making some breakfast...you hungry? I owe you that for the books..."
Daryl thought for a moment at how she looked in the video, looking down at her hands...he knew so much about her now, he felt like he had cheated. But there she was, the girl with the grey eyes and the little old lady name, asking him if he wanted to talk.
He didn't think he could refuse.
"Sure."
A/N: Wowzers guys! You sure do know how to make an OC fanfic writer feel the love! Thank you for the incredible amount of reads, favorites and follows. Much love to all of you!
Next Up: Daryl and Thea have breakfast, Thea and Rick get a little closer.
Super Duper Shout Outs to: Natalie Laukas, Angelicedg (it's the same thing ;), CLTex (lol, poor Rick and his romantic prowess!), Lorena di Natale, PCO9644 (wow! Thank you! I'm flattered ;), enchantmentanjel, PansyAndy (He'll get some love :), Jemstone 6259 (I'm so glad you like Thea...she is definetly going to be trying to help on the runs very soon :), Angie B (I'm glad Thea is fleshing out. I've been happy to get to know her...girl, my head is swimming too, lol :), Carpeted, gillyflower34 (She likes big books and she can not lie, lol!) and aishiteru naru.
Thanks and So much Love!
Leah P!
xoxo
