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

Wallflower

By Leah Pensotti

Rick said very little to Daryl on the supply run. He was seething beneath the surface, knowing that his friend had spent the night with Thea. He wondered where Daryl had touched her...where she kissed him...if they had sex...and if so...did he make her come?

He was a fool to think they could both "get to know" the same girl without hard feelings or jealousy.

Rick and Daryl were more than just friends. They made an excellent team and were brothers, for lack of a better word. They always differed to one another and fought side by side.

But now...there was a girl in between them.

Thea had made it clear she didn't want to cause strife. But neither wanted to fight over her or quit seeing her. Either of them could stop at any time. Either of them could walk away.

He tried to ignore the anger, knowing that Daryl was doing what they had agreed to; not stand in each other's way.

And he knew that his plans with Thea that evening probably made Daryl uncomfortable.

After a few stops and finding few canned goods, he and Daryl ended up at a long destroyed and burned out super store about two hours away, hoping they could salvage something...anything that Alexandria could live off of as the crops they planted grew.

Rick had to admit; soon the situation could get dire.

They poked around for a bit, finding some chicken wire and duct tape; as well as a few bags of rice and canned vegetables. They could've been past their expiration date, but he was willing to take it back and see if they could use it.

He saw Daryl pick up a charred glass bottle of wine, and then another...slipping them into his bag.

They were for Thea.

Rick's imagination was going to run away and drive him mad; thinking about all the things Daryl might have done with her instead of him.

Suddenly, there was a noise outside...it sounded like an automobile of sorts. Both Rick and Daryl's heads shot up and for the first time all day, they looked at each other eye to eye.

They moved quickly out of the store, looking for a place they could watch the road and not be seen. Daryl lead him out to a rusted and overturned garbage dumpster and they waited.

Soon enough men in cars and also motorcycles came blazing down the road. Daryl shook his head, "Same assholes from the other day. There's our car."

Rick didn't like it. He didn't like the feeling that there was a group out there with resources...the same ones that nearly killed Daryl, Sasha and Abraham as they tried to get back to Alexandria.

The same ones that stole the car that Daryl and Thea had gone scouting in.

The ones that worked for "Negan." Whoever he was.

Rick's hands went to his hips and he worried about the town...about how big the world could actually be...about his kids...about Thea and her inability to run.

There was just so Goddamn much to lose.

They waited it out behind the dumpster for a little while, making sure the sound of the motors and engines were gone. They finally made it back to the car and with the scant amount of supplies, they headed back to town.

Daryl rolled down the car window and sighed, "I'm startin' ta worry about their numbers."

Rick nodded in agreement, "Yeah."

"They weren't fuckin' around either time, Rick. If they saw us...or the car...we'd be in a world of hurt. Alexandria could..."

"Yeah."

About an hour on the way back home, Rick couldn't take it anymore and asked his friend, "Thea tell you about her surgeries?"

Daryl nodded, "Yeah."

"Did she say why she needed them?"

Daryl looked away, "I don't think it's for me ta tell ya. Ya should ask her."

Rick was a little shocked that Daryl knew...and even more so wouldn't tell him. It was honorable.

"She tell you who did it?"

Daryl shook his head, "Nah. She won't say his name. It gives him power."

Him.

A man did something to Thea for her to need surgeries...not to be able to have children...not be able to run.

Rick felt his hands grip the steering wheel a little tighter and Daryl grunted, taking notice, "I know, man. I wanna fuckin' kill him."

It heartened Rick to know that he and Daryl were on the same page about that. The situation he and his friend were currently in was...unorthodox to say the least. He wondered how long it could go on with the three of them? He cared about Daryl...and they both cared for Thea.

He wondered if they could keep this going without incident? Rick wondered if the three of them could somehow figure this out?


After Rick and Daryl left for what only Thea could imagine as an incredibly awkward supply run, she showered and got dressed to go find Rosita and chat.

The night before had her so wrapped up in Daryl. It broke her heart to see how scared he was when she removed his shirt; the way he grabbed her hand.

Somebody had whipped him so badly that scars criss-crossed here and there on his back. Thea hated the shame he carried, she wished to alleviate it somehow.

She wanted to show him it wasn't his fault and that he was beautiful to her.

After dressing in jeans, a black tank top and a red flannel shirt; Thea pulled her damp hair back in a knot and walked to the front gate. Not working at the clinic had given her very little to do and she didn't like it. Now that Reg was gone, there was no school for her to help with. Her options were limited; and it was clear neither Rick nor Daryl wanted her outside the gates.

So she wanted to take up guard on the wall. Or at least ask about it. She figured that feeling it out with Rosita was the best way to go.

Rosita didn't think it was the best idea, but she had to admit it was better than Thea on supply runs.

She and Spencer were on watch on a platform looking over the front gate, while Eugene took up residence with at the base.

Thea thought that if Eugene could do it...so could she.

"I don't know, T. What if you get hurt? You would have troubles getting up and down the platform quickly."

Thea shrugged, "Then let me do what Eugene does. If he can do it, I can. It's opening and closing the gate."

Rosita looked thoughtful and then looked at Spencer who just shrugged. Her friend excused herself for a moment to climb down the ladder and waved at Thea to do the same. Once at the bottom, Rosita sighed, "Have you talked to Rick about this?"

Thea shoved her hands in her jeans pockets and shook her head, "No."

"People are fine with you teaching or working at the clinic. Why put yourself in more danger if you don't have to?"

Because she didn't feel like she had done enough. She felt she was handled with kid gloves.

She wanted to do her part.

"Ro...everyone here is doing what they can. True, I have some physical limitations...but I'm smart and quick thinking. I'm in no means incapable of fighting...I just can't run. I can fire a gun, use a knife...open and close a gate...I can do more for our town."

Rosita crossed her arms across her chest and shook her head, "Jesus, girl. You have got to be the most stubborn person I know. Fine, I'm fine with it...but not on the platform. I'll come by and let you know your shift. Lord knows Maggie needs less time out here."

Thea threw her arms around Rosita and smiled, "Thank you!"

She stopped by the clinic on her way home to talk to Denise, who waved her in for a cup of coffee with her and Tara. Despite the incredibly awkward start to her day, Thea was feeling pretty good after talking to Rosita.

Tara smiled, "I think it's brave to want to do more. You could be one of those people who are content to let others worry, work, protect...but you aren't. That's big, Thea."

Denise sipped her coffee and shook her head, "Rick and Daryl don't know about this...do they?"

"Not yet."

"You know that neither of them will like it, right?"

Thea knew that, but they trusted Eugene and Gabriel even after all the things that had happened there. She was only trying to do her part...and she felt confident that she could do it.

Denise put a hand on her arm, "You and me...we don't belong out there on the front lines."

She sighed, she wasn't afraid to go out there...she was afraid of getting trapped, though. Thea had survived just fine on her own for a year. She didn't want to be babied or pitied, "I'd hardly call opening and closing the gate the front lines...and let's face it. We're all going to die at some point. old age, roamers...another person...I'd just like to be doing my all when it happens."

She saw a light smile on Tara's face while Denise just looked at her like she was insane. Once her coffee was gone, Thea bid her friends goodbye and walked back towards the house.

Her thoughts strayed to Rick and Daryl in the car all day long together...wondering how it was going. She wondered if they were talking about her...or their situation.

When she got back to her home, Rosita was waiting for her and looking stressed, "Hey."

Rosita smiled faintly, "Just wanted to tell you, you're on at seven a.m."

Thea nodded and caught Rosita by the wrist before she stalked off, "Hey...is there something wrong?"

Rosita shrugged, her usual attitude diminished, "Just...the Abraham thing. He seems so distant. I think...there's someone else."

She thought Abraham would be a fool to allow someone other than Rosita catch his eye, but she could not rightfully voice this opinion because of her current circumstances. She had big feelings for two very different men.

Thea asked cautiously, "What would you do if it was someone else? This place is so small...could you live with it?"

Rosita flashed her a suspicious look, "You know something?"

She shook her head, "No...I just...I mean...I'm currently very much involved with two people and they know about it. I don't know if it helps or not. If there is someone else...and Abraham makes a choice...what would you do?"

Soon, Rosita's feisty nature returned, "I'd find someone else to fuck. Probably Spencer. Doesn't mean I'd love him, though. You worried about making a choice, T?"

Thea looked down at her hands, "I think they're expecting me to. And one of them would handle it very differently than the other. I don't want to tear them apart. Town needs them more than I do. The greater good and all. On top of all of this...I don't know if I want to make a decision. I don't care about one more than another...I have big feelings equally for them both."

She saw a small smile on Rosita's lips, "Things are really fucked up here at the end of the world, right?"

Thea nodded, "That might be an a understatement."


The last hour of the ride back, Daryl and Rick talked very little; but Daryl knew that they had two things in common...their friendship and Thea.

He and Rick bonded over wanting to kill the man who had hurt her; and it made Daryl feel a bit better about the situation, knowing that Rick felt the same way without knowing the whole story.

When Rick had asked him why Thea needed the surgeries...it would have been easy to tell him. However, Daryl knew it wasn't his place and that telling Rick would upset Thea. She had trusted him with it; even though she told him initially because he was threatening to walk out.

Rick was his best friend; and he had to say, if he had to be in this situation with anyone else...at least he knew Rick wanted the best for Thea, too. He wanted to keep her safe, just like Daryl did.

When they drove back through the gates of Alexandria in the late afternoon, Rick and Daryl dropped the food they found at the pantry with Olivia and Daryl decided to drop in on Thea before she went to Rick's house. He had found what she was wanting in that old, burned out super store.

He knocked on her door lightly and noticed the surprised look in her grey eyes as she waved him in, "Hey...I wasn't expecting to see you..."

Daryl took out the two blackened bottles of wine and put them on the kitchen counter, "Hopefully one of 'em is red."

She flashed that knowing smile and her hair was long and loose, cascading over her shoulders and down her back, "This is...thank you..."

Daryl couldn't help himself and dropped his bag, catching her up in a kiss while pressing her against the pantry door. Thea giggled girlishly, surprised by his actions.

He wanted her so badly he couldn't see straight.

Soon, he had spun her around, her hands pressed against the door. He nipped at her ear and neck, his hand brushing her hair away and then resting on her hip to snake around to the front of her jeans. Daryl tore at the button and hastily unzipped her pants his hand making its way beneath the thin material of her panties.

Thea panted a little, her back arching and her ass pushed against his pelvis. This is what he had wanted before Denise had interrupted in the days before. Thea was soft and ready, and let his fingers explore.

He teased her mercilessly, enjoying the sounds she made. All the little moans, and groans and gasps. She whispered his name as she came, his lips at her ear.

Daryl watched as she tried to pull herself together, her lips pink and her cheeks flushed. He'd never wanted someone as badly as he wanted her.

Thea turned around, her pants still unzipped and she was disheveled. He had to admit he liked making her look that way. She leaned, spent, against the door and looked at him, "Jesus Christ."

He felt like chuckling, but refrained, he knew she was going to go to Rick's soon and he wanted her to remember this...remember him. He didn't know if he could share her. He didn't know if he could stand the thoughts of his friend touching her the way he had.

She stood up and leaned into him, her arms going around his shoulders, "Tomorrow I'll read to you and we can drink wine."

Daryl just nodded and kissed her deeply, attempting to steal the air from her lungs.


Thea was going to have to clean up after Daryl's impromptu tryst. So she went upstairs and splashed water on her face and changed into a navy blue sweater and clean underpants beneath her jeans.

She couldn't very well go have dinner with Rick's family if she looked like she'd just been fucked.

Daryl had been so gentle with her up until this point. She thought it had been a bit territorial, but it thrilled her...really turned her on.

She began to wonder what was in store for her at Rick's house? Thea wondered if there was as much frustration on his end as there had been on Daryl's.

Thea looked at herself in the mirror one more time before leaving her house to walk to the Grimes home. On the way there, all she could think about was Daryl and the look in his eyes and how he barely spoke to her during their encounter.

Even thinking about it made the hairs on her arms stand on end.

Thea walked up the steps to Rick's home and knocked gently. Carl appeared, a bandage over his eye and wearing the Sheriff's hat that used to be his father's.

"Hey Thea. Dad's in the kitchen. Can't say it's going too well."

Thea smiled and followed Carl in and she noticed little Judith playing on the living room floor on a blanket. As Carl went back to tending to Judith, Thea walked into the kitchen to hear Rick mumble unintelligible curse words as he stood over something steaming in the sink.

"Hey."

He looked surprised to see her and his blue eyes went wide, "Hey...I didn't know you were here."

Thea smiled and moved closer, "Anything I can help with?"

His hands went to his hips and he sighed, "I burned the spaghetti."

Thea felt like laughing to see such a tough subject of masculinity brought down so low by messing up dinner.

"Is it just the sauce?"

Rick nodded, "Yeah."

Thea walked over to the sink and smiled, "You wouldn't happen to have a smaller can of sauce or tomatoes would you? And another pan?"

Rick went to the pantry and pulled out a small can of tomato paste and another pan for her.

"I think I can salvage it. It might be a bit...smoky...but edible.


Rick was embarrassed that Thea was having to do the saving this go round. He had every intention of cooking for her and the kids that evening. But as per usual, Thea didn't fuss.

He watched as she scooped out the sauce from one pan to the clean one, allowing the burnt pan to soak in some water in the sink. She then let the sauce reduce in heat a bit, stirring in the small can of paste slowly and steadily.

"It would be better if I had some sugar, but you know what they say about beggars and choosers."

He did. It would have been bad to let any food go to waste at this point. The supply run wasn't as successful as he hoped and they didn't find too much.

Soon, Carl brought Judith in and they all sat down to dinner. Thea and Carl chatted lightly as Rick fed Judith, who was in a feisty mood. Carl mentioned to Thea that both he and Enid liked to read and she just smiled.

"Your dad doesn't know this yet...but I've been collecting books. I'm hoping he'll let me start a library for the town at some point."

Rick was surprised by this admission and shrugged, "I don't see why not."

"Can put it in my living room. Lord knows I have no use for it."

He laughed lightly, he had a certain affection for her living room...mostly the couch.

Carl asked, "Could I help you with it?"

Thea's eyes widened and nodded to Rick, "If it's okay with your Dad...it's more than okay with me. Enid can help too, if she likes."

"Sure."

Carl seemed happy with that answer, and it meant everything to see a smile on Carl's face after what he had been through recently.

Once dinner was eaten; he cleaned up while Thea went with Carl and Judith into the living room. She had told him to let that pan sit over night in the water before cleaning it.

Lori had always cooked and cleaned and looked after Carl while he worked...and now the whole village seemed to help raise Judith and bring food. Carol had been the most resourceful at doing it...especially with the limited rations.

When he had finished up and walked into the living room, Carl and Thea were both on the floor with Judith; pointing at pictures in a book. His daughter had been on the verge of talking for some time. She liked to mimic sounds.

Thea pointed to the page and said, "Tree."

Judith scrunched up her nose and looked up at her, "Thee."

Carl chuckled and they continued on until Judith got sleepy. His son volunteered to take her upstairs and get her ready for bed. After good nights, Thea closed the book and put it on the coffee table and sat on the couch with Rick.

He liked seeing her with his kids. While she wasn't overwhelmingly maternal, she enjoyed talking with Carl and helping Judith learn...and looked cute while doing it.

Rick started playing with her hair idly and Thea looked at him curiously, "Not going to tell me about the run, huh?"

"Sort of ran into those same guys that took the car. Daryl and I stayed out of sight...we would've been in a lot of trouble otherwise."

She looked down at her hands, "I was talking about you and Daryl...and the thing with me."

He chuckled, of course she was, "No...we didn't talk much at all. I did ask him about your surgeries. I take it that he knows...why won't you tell me?"

Thea shrugged, "Daryl and I have the same darkness. We've been hurt. It's something he understands...simpatico."

Rick sighed; darkness. They shared darkness. He put his arm around her and leaned his head in, "Thea...please tell me."

Her eyes glassed over and she looked at her hands; Rick had always admired her regal, queenly profile. Even though she was falling apart, she still looked together. His arm tightened around her and his hand squeezed her shoulder as she launched into the whole story.

He couldn't imagine trying to rehabilitate without any family, alone and from an almost completely random act of violence.

Daryl was right; Rick wanted to kill him too. This nameless, faceless man who beat Thea within an inch of her life and left her to bleed alone in the bookstore parking lot.

He realized just how strong Thea was...how hard she fought to walk again, to live. How she fought for justice and testified against the man who nearly killed her...and she did it all alone.

How she continued to fight after the outbreak and amongst the walkers.

Rick pulled Thea close to comfort her, her shoulders were slightly shaking after telling him the whole story. She rested her head on his chest and they sat there for the rest of the night just being together.

He made her laugh a few times and it made him feel victorious. Rick Grimes had it pretty bad for Thea Graham...and he was going to give her every reason to choose him.


A/N: hello loves! Next up; Thea wants more to do and goes beyond the gates and Rick disagrees. Carl and Enid help with books. Thea and Daryl drink wine.

Thank you all for the love! I know that reviews aren't showing up on the site, but if you all would please still drop me a line, I will still get them in my email!

Super Special Shout outs to: stormrunner74 (yes! I think the Male OC will be named Ryan. Titled "Ryan at the End of the World" and I have been trying to get to know both him and Rosita a bit more. I do crazy character sketches to start;), clduncan, Kima Wolfwood, angelicedg (hm...Thea is a bit of an older Jemima Kirke, but curvy and not British. Differences in my mind, but the overall gist :), PyschoBeachGirl88, Hawkgirl, Celia Azul, enchantmentanjel, Guest, CLTex, BreenaBellex-xoxo, SillyKitty (I promise it will come up :), and Jemstone!

Thanks and Love!

Leah P!

xoxo