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

Wallflower

By Leah Pensotti

Thea tried to catch her breath, it had been so long since she'd been physically intimate with anyone. Soon, the fine sheen of sweat that appeared on her skin from their activity left her shivering, and Daryl pulled her closer.

"Ya alright?"

She brushed his hair out of his eyes and nodded, "Better than alright."

Thea saw a small, pleased smile pull at his lips and she felt like blushing, "I, uh, do you want to spend the night...here...with me? We can read some more."

Daryl nodded, "Sure...as long as ya don't put those clothes back on."

That really did make her blush.

Thea sat up and picked the book up off the table and together they made their way upstairs. She hadn't used her body in such a way since Jeremy...and not since her surgeries. She hadn't even been certain she ever would again.

But here she was.

With Daryl.

He was just as damaged as her, and she found some comfort in that. There wasn't any pity. Thea had worried about being physically intimate with someone...with all of her scars and her slight limp and measured movements.

But he made it kind of easy.

Thea pulled back the covers on her bed and they slid in, Daryl's arms going around her instantly. Thea felt herself smile lightly and she reflected on what had just happened downstairs. They had connected on a different level, it had happened in such a fever, she was trying to capture the feeling again.

She really liked the way he felt on top of her; inside of her.

Thea pressed herself against him, her arms circling his muscular shoulders. For a moment, her thoughts strayed to Rick and she realized she didn't know if she could face him again. After what had just happened with Daryl...could she continue with Rick? Would that be fair to either of them?

Daryl's hand stroked the side of her face gently and he asked, "Somethin' on yer mind?"

Thea shrugged, "I just didn't know if I could feel this way again. I hadn't...it's been over ten years and I didn't know if my body could...but I guess it can. Before all of this, I thought I'd just find pity if I felt brave enough to take off my clothes in front of someone. But you...you made it easy."

He was silent for a moment and he nodded, like he knew exactly what she was saying, "Ya ain't got nothin' to be ashamed of, Thea."

She felt a smile tug at her lips, Thea could say the same thing to him. Part of her wanted to tell him just how incredibly sexy she found him; but she knew it would make him turn shy. It was funny how words held such weight and actions seemed like the truth.

Thea read another chapter while being held close in his embrace and then soon the wine and the other activities caught up with them and they both fell into a peaceful slumber.


Daryl woke up a few times that night. He had never been the best sleeper. Every time he woke up he reminded himself of where he was and that Thea was indeed naked in his arms.

Each time, he found himself smirking in a bit of pleasure. He knew exactly what Thea meant about not being sure if her body could do what they had done on the couch. Not only had they had sex, but it was the first time he had encountered the emotional side of it. It was becoming harder for him to avoid his feelings for her, because they kept piling up in his mind.

Thea was like him, marked by the same sort of darkness. They had similar insecurities. They both had lived solitary lives without a lot of attachments; and for them to attach it was monumental.

Daryl knew then and there it would be easy to lose himself for her. All of those walls he had built up could possibly come tumbling down if she would have him.

Only one thing stuck out in his mind...her relationship with his best friend.

The way she had talked, he knew that Thea hadn't gone so far with Rick...that somehow he had beaten him to the punch. Which also amazed him. Rick was better looking than him, he has had a wife and kids...he was the leader of their town.

Daryl hoped that maybe...she would choose him in the long run. He didn't know how to be a boyfriend or anything of the like, but he wanted to try. He wanted to make Thea feel safe and protected and cared about.

The final time he awoke, dawn had come streaming in through the bedroom blinds and he blinked in the light. Thea was awake, her grey eyes looking at him softly with that little half smile dancing on her lips.

"Morning...did you sleep well?"

He rubbed some of the sleep from his eyes, he had...at least he had slept well in comparison to all the other nights before. Daryl nodded and pulled her close, her naked ass pressed against his hips, "I sure did."

Daryl buried his head in her neck and she chuckled lowly. Mornings like this he could get used to. Thea rolled over onto her back and soon his hand found her breast. She sighed and asked, "Much to do today?"

Daryl shrugged, it was business as usual. Walk the walls, check in with Rick and Carol. He didn't know if he could look Rick in the eye after the things he and Thea had done together...wondering if she wanted to do them with Rick, too.

"I thought I'd work on some ideas for the library, seeing as though I'm relegated to non-dangerous tasks. Sounds terrible, but I wish Denise still needed me at the clinic."

He shook his head, he knew exactly what she was saying. Daryl felt the same way once the recruiting was suspended. He had felt like his wings had been clipped. Even though he wasn't completely unable to go outside the gates, his time out and about had been cut drastically and he felt himself getting stir crazy.

This feeling had reduced though, since he had been spending time with Thea.

He wished it wasn't so dangerous to be outside the gates, he could see them hitting the road together and going on supply runs. Lord knows they needed more of those, as their food stores were running a tad bit low.

Daryl propped his head on his arm and looked down at Thea and felt the desire pool in his belly again. He leaned down and kissed her lips gently and then trailed kisses down to her neck and finally to the sensitive peaks of her breasts where her breathing became jagged.

Thea's hands caught in his hair as he teased her, and soon he was between her legs again; his hardness aching for her warmth. This round was different, it was urgent and full of want. Thea practically dug her nails into his hips as he plunged into her deeply.

She seemed a little shell shocked after she came, and he knew then and there that she was going to be like a drug. He always was going to have the urge to make her feel the way she felt in that moment.

Daryl rolled over beside her and they both attempted to recover their breathing, as well as their thoughts. Thea sat up a bit and smoothed a few wild hairs from her face, "I think I'm going to hop in the shower. You can join me if you'd like."

He wanted to hop on the proposition, but the truth of the matter was he should probably get moving...this new world waited for no one, least of all him.

"Any way I can get a rain check on that offer? I should prolly get goin'...but maybe later tonight?"

Thea smiled, "Dinner?"

He almost blushed. He couldn't believe he had someone who wanted to spend time with him, let alone cook him dinner, sleep and shower with him. It was almost an embarrassment of riches.

"Sure."

Thea leaned in and kissed him and asked him to lock the front door on his way out. He watched as she slipped out of bed and into the bathroom and soon he was downstairs, picking his clothes up off the living room floor and dressing.


Thea hadn't felt this good in a long while. If someone was to look at her, they'd know. She was sure of that. After her shower, she dressed and twisted her hair in a damp braid before going downstairs to clean up the remnants of the night before; her clothes, the wine glasses and the wine bottles-one empty and one still full.

She found herself humming as she made herself some coffee and washed the dishes. Thea recognized the tune as "Sunshine on my Shoulders" by John Denver. It was an odd choice, but somehow it found its way into her head.

Thea thought about what to make for dinner that evening. The food stores were as such that they had to get creative. She wondered when they would go out on a supply run...and if there were actually any supplies left to be found?

She wondered how much food they could grow and harvest before they all starved?

While she was lost in her thoughts, a knock came on the door. Thea stopped for a moment, knowing that it probably wasn't Daryl, but was hoping for Denise or Rosita. She dried her hands on a towel and walked to the front door to open it.

It was Rick.

He wore a small, slightly unsure smile and Thea realized she couldn't make eye contact with him.

"Hey."

Rick nodded, "Hey. Mind if I come in for a minute?"

Thea shrugged and opened the door to him, "Sure."

She shut the door behind them and walked back into the kitchen to finish up. Rick paced a little, his hands on his hips. He was so handsome, she was unnerved by it.

"I just wanted to talk to you about yesterday. I'm sorry about how I talked to you. But I stand by the decision to take you off watch."

Thea reached into the sink and pulled out a bowl to dry and reached again for her towel, "I understand, Rick."

"I know you want to help. We just have got to find some other way. If something happened to you...I'd never..."

She leaned against the sink and looked at him head on. Thea wondered if he knew about last night, if he could tell just by walking in? She sighed and decided to broach the question, "I have to wonder sometimes...if any of this...me, you...has anything to do with Jessie?"

His head shot up at the sound of her name, a confused and almost hurt look on his face, "Jessie? Thea..."

Thea finished drying the bowl and shrugged, "It just seems...soon...and I'm not like her, Rick. I survived on my own just fine for a year. I still can survive on my own if I need to."

Rick walked closer, his bright blue eyes a bit sad, "I know it's soon. But maybe...it was supposed to be you all along. I know you are not like her...except in the way I don't want anything to happen to you. Jessie...I saw her getting eaten. She was holding on to Carl...I had to cut off her hand, Thea. It was horrible."

At that point Rick was openly crying and Thea felt even worse than she had. She reached out and put a hand on his shoulder, "I'm so sorry. I had no idea."

He pulled her close to him and she felt conflicted. She cared about Rick a lot...but Daryl...

Suddenly similar feelings had turned very different.

Rick pressed his forehead to hers, "I just know that everything has gone so wrong recently. The stuff we saw on the road...none of us could ever erase or forget. I told Carl there was still good...after his eye. I want to show him that. And you, you came along...a bright light."

Thea smiled a little, at war with her emotions and the disconnect between her head and her heart, "You know about the Law of Averages?"

Rick nodded, "I've heard of it."

She wiped away a tear from under his eye and smiled, "Basically, it's like a coin toss. You get heads every so often, over time, tails has got to come up and eventually the ratio will even out. So the Law of Averages says that all this bad stuff...the good will come and even it out. I believe that. I think you should, too."

He smiled, "I hope that's true. I want that to be true."

Rick cupped her face with his hand and kissed her sweetly.

Thea wondered if he could feel the difference, too.


Something was different.

Maybe it was because Thea was a little more than on the nose with his feelings about both her and Jessie.

He knew it was soon. He also knew that Thea was a fighter and a survivor, while Jessie had come to fighting a little late in the game...but she had tried. Rick suffered incredible guilt over the fates of lovely, fragile Jessie and her two sons.

But it was clear that Thea, did not want to be seen as fragile...despite the fact she couldn't run.

Rick also wondered if the difference had anything to do with Daryl. If she had somehow already made her choice, but left it unspoken.

He didn't want to pressure her, so after he kissed her, he said goodbye and told her he would stop by the next day. Thea seemed okay with that.

Rick walked back to his house, wondering if he had ruined something before it had even started. When he got home, Michonne was there talking to Carl and playing with Judith.

He couldn't help but smile; he remembered a time he and Michonne weren't close to being friends, when he had the opportunity to hand her over to the Governor...but now there were few people he trusted more.

Carl and Michonne looked up, the latter of which raised an eyebrow, "Everything okay?"

Rick shrugged, "It will be. I'm fine. Just trying to remember the Law of Averages."

His son cocked his head a bit, Rick had almost forgotten how much alike they truly were, "Law of Averages?"

Rick went to sit on the couch by Michonne and Carl, while Judith played happily on the floor with red solo cups. He had gotten used to looking at Carl closely after the incident that left him without an eye.

It was yet another thing he blamed himself for.

But now, Thea had given him an inkling of hope with this theory...this law of probability. He explained to Carl what he meant, in the same terms that Thea had explained it to him.

Even though the bad things popped up, surely good would come along and even it out.

Rick had to admit, he liked the sound of that.


A/N: Hello loves. I will admit to finding myself a little burdened with the writer's block. My mind hasn't been in it recently, but I'm back. Anyway...next up: Food shortage, Daryl tells Thea about their time on the road, Thea fights with her feelings, soon there will be Jesus and a run in that will leave Thea incredibly shaken. I sped up the timeline a little bit, too.

Thank you all so much for the feedback, reviews and kind words! You all are the best. Please drop me a line and let me know how I am doing. If you are also so inclined please check out my other TWD fics "Redemption" (Rick/OC) and its ongoing AU version "Simple Twists of Fate" or "The Country Singer" (Daryl/OC) and its AU counterpart "The Redhead and The Redneck." There should be another story appearing soon with a Male OC. I love the character I've made, but have struggled with the trajectory and narrative and have rewritten the first chapter about four times. But be on the lookout!

Super Special Shout Outs to: MaudlinFlowers, Kima Wolfwood, CLTex, Angelicedg, Hawkgirl, Enchantmentanjel, and stormrunner74 (Soon! I'm hoping to draft it once more. It's uneven, but getting there!)

Thanks and Love!

Leah P!

xoxo