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

Wallflower

By Leah Pensotti

Daryl led Aaron and Glenn out the back of the store with their shopping carts. They found enough to take back for the town...and there was more they could take...but there were motorcycles coming and Thea was incommunicado.

His heart thumped in his ears as the maneuvered carefully out of the back door. He saw the car parked behind the garden store, for the most part out of sight. Aaron and Glenn moved quietly with the carts as Daryl led the way, motioning to them silently.

They found Thea, out cold, on the pavement on the passenger side. The radio was on the ground beside her, and her head was bleeding. Daryl found the keys on her and handed them to Glenn and he and Aaron unloaded their haul as quickly as the could into the trunk.

Daryl crouched beside Thea and put his hand on her cheek carefully. She was white as a sheet, he didn't know if it was from the blood loss or whatever had scared the shit out of her.

"Thea...Thea...hey..."

He murmured lowly and saw her eyes flutter and she lunged at him with her fist. The girl was terrified. She swung at him again, this time he pushed her arm down and pulling her to him, his face inches from her.

"Thea...'s me. Ya gotta move. We gotta get the fuck out of here. I gotta get you to Denise."

Suddenly, a wave of recognition washed over her and she looked upset, "Oh my God. I'm sorry...I'm

so so sorry."

Daryl shook his head, "Ain't no time for that now. We gotta go."

Once they were packed up, Daryl helped Thea into the passenger side and he took the keys from Glenn and moved the car slowly behind the store, the to the opposite side of where the men were. He was praying they could get to the highway unnoticed, so he left the lights off as the car crept around the back of the building.

Aaron looked behind them through the window, his binoculars struggling to make out the men siphoning off gas, "If you can make it to the highway with no lights...gun it, Daryl."

He nodded curtly in agreement. He saw Thea out of the corner of his eye...she looked pale, dazed. There was blood seeping through the blond hair on the right side of her head.

That alone was something Daryl could go to war over.

They moved slowly, just a little more of a snail's pace. The tension was so thick it was suffocating...all he wanted was to get away undetected. All he wanted was to get to Alexandria and have Denise check out Thea.

Even if it meant getting a huge "I told you so" from Rick.

The slow crawl to the highway felt like an eternity between looking ahead and trying to not call attention to the very dangerous men in the parking lot. They made it on to the highway and continued slow for a mile, and then Daryl put the pedal down hard, accelerating quickly.

Thea's head hung awkwardly and her eyes were barely open. Daryl reached over to her and shook her shoulder a bit roughly, "I need ya ta stay awake. Stay awake until we get home."

He saw her try to sit up, but she was still slumped. Aaron put a hand on her shoulder, "Thea...tell us what happened."

"I fainted."

It came out a little gurgled, but they all could understand.

Glenn prodded further, "Did something happen? Why did you faint?"

She shook her head, "Scared, I guess. There were a lot of them."

Daryl sensed that there was something off with her story, that the explanation may go further.

He sighed and felt Thea's gray eyes on him. Rick was going to have his hide. Rick had been right, Thea shouldn't have gone out. But he found it odd that someone so calm and clever would lose her head over just seeing a group of men...it had to have been something else.

Something she wasn't telling him.


Thea felt hazy all the way back to Alexandria. She couldn't decide if she really had seen Seth or if she just imagined it...or even if this whole run just hadn't been a dream to begin with.

If it was him, he must have made his way out of the Virginia State Penitentiary somehow. Fought his way out, it would have been easy once the world turned to shit...no law, no order. No one was going to stop him from getting out, especially not in this mess. He was a big guy, he had treated her like a rag doll that night in the parking lot.

She could only imagine what he had done to the walkers.

Thea could of only imagine what he had done to other living people...women...in the lawless hell of the past two years.

Daryl wouldn't let her sleep, he was obviously worried she might have a concussion. He kept casting furtive glances her way, like she would explain what had happened.

The thing was...she couldn't.

Seth was dangerous. Not only to her, but to everyone. If he knew that she was alive, he would most certainly come for her...and it didn't help the fact the men he had aligned himself with brought great concern to both Rick and Daryl...the toughest men she knew.

God knows what Seth and the men on the motorcycles were capable of.

And God knows what would happen if Daryl and Rick knew the man who had broken her body so badly was alive and in the same vicinity as them. She had no doubt that one, if not both of them, would go out looking for trouble and find it.

No, Alexandria needed them both too badly. Thea could not live with their blood on her hands.

When they finally made it back to the gates of Alexandria, Spencer let them in quickly and Daryl left the car keys with Glenn, telling him to take the supplies to Olivia. He walked to the passenger side and helped Thea out, taking her in the direction of the clinic.

His left arm was wrapped around her, his hand on her side, allowing her to put weight on him.

Thea felt like she was underwater and struggling.

To think the night before, she and Daryl were entwined on the couch; partaking in the most carnal of human nature...and now this.

Now she couldn't even look at him.

But it wasn't because of anything he did...it was because she was trying to save him and everyone else from the evil she had met close up.

"What happened back there?"

His voice was gentle in the darkness, but she didn't answer right away, leaving a very pregnant pause between them.

"I, uh, got spooked. Overwhelmed. There were so many of them...if they had found me..."

She felt tears in her eyes, the little white lie bitter on her tongue, "I guess Rick was right. I'm a liability. I shouldn't have gone."

Daryl shook his head, "I know there's something ya ain't telling me. I know that's not the whole story, Thea."

Denise opened the door for them, worry washed across her face. She was wearing her pajamas and Thea wondered if she and Tara had been asleep before Daryl insistently knocked on the door.

She situated Thea at the chair she used to sit at while working there all night; lost in a book. It seemed like so long ago thanks to everything that had happened.

Denise cleaned her up, she was mostly scraped and bruised from falling to the concrete once she passed out. After tending to the bleeding from her head, Denise checked her reflexes and began to ask her questions.

"Who's the president?"

"There isn't one."

"What's my brother's name?"

"Dennis."

Denise sighed and flashed a penlight in her eyes, "Well, your memory is fine, but you have a moderately serious concussion. Did you pass out before or after hitting your head?"

Thea felt embarrassed, "Before."

"Well, you need to take it easy the next two or three days. I'll come and check on you 'til you're clear. Nothing strenuous...and for the next 24 hours, someone will need to wake you up every hour or so. Okay? Use ice for swelling."

Thea nodded lowly and Daryl helped her up from the chair. She still had the underwater feeling. As they walked down the clinc steps, a very determined Rick stalked toward them...livid.

She heard Daryl gripe under his breath, "Fuck."

Rick didn't give them a greeting, instead, he just laid in, "What the hell happened out there? And what did I say about keeping her safe?"

Thea reached out a shaky hand to stop him, "He did...I just...fucked up. I fainted. You were right. I shouldn't be out there. I know my place now, don't worry. I passed out because I was scared...no one h-hurt me."

She heard her voice quaver when she said "hurt." True no one had hurt her on the run, but the person who had hurt her before was still alive...and seemed to have powerful, dangerous allies.

Her rebuttal did little to calm Rick; he looked wild-eyed and feral, just as he had when he had first come to town. Daryl shook his head, "There are tons of supplies in that place. We need ta go back. We got half of what we wanted ta."

Rick put his hands on his hips and seemed to calm a bit, "Fine. You and me will go. In daylight. Thea stays here."

She felt like crying, she knew she was capable. It was just the fact that she had been triggered by seeing that monster again. She didn't particularly like being talked about like she wasn't standing right there.

Thea straightened as best she could and let go of Daryl, "You all talk. Decide whatever. I am going home."

Daryl grabbed her by the wrist and she pulled away gently. He looked hurt and it pained her. Rick called after her, "You shouldn't be alone."

Thea hobbled away slowly towards her house and shook her head, "I'm used to it."


Rick and Daryl stood in front of the clinic, watching Thea walk away.

He didn't want to say "I told you so" to Daryl, he hated the feeling of being at odds with his friend. In all actuality, he was pleased with the news that there are supplies for the taking; but who knows what would be left once the men on the motorcycle caught wind of the treasure trove.

Rick was mostly upset that Thea was hurt, that she could've been hurt worse and so could have Daryl, Glenn and Aaron.

He turned to Daryl and shrugged, "You should probably go after her. She shouldn't be alone."

Daryl looked a little defeated and shook his head, "She ain't telling me anythin'. Ain't nothin' but half truths. Thea saw somethin' out there that spooked her like a horse. I dunno...maybe she'll tell ya?"

Rick felt a little surprised that Daryl was suggesting that he, the rival for Thea's affections, should go to her instead of himself.

"Why? So I can scare her more? Did you see the way she looked at me?"

Daryl sighed, "Look...I wanna go...but like I said, she isn't tellin' me the truth. I'm man enough ta know that she might say somethin' ta ya instead. If it helps us figure out what we're dealing with...I'm for it."

Rick knew that Daryl was protective...if not downright territorial of those he cared about. He knew his friend felt deeply, even though he didn't like to show it. It must have taken everything in him to say it out loud.

"Alright. I'll go. We'll talk about a subsequent supply run tomorrow, okay?"

Daryl nodded and as Rick turned away, he called after him, "Denise says she has a moderate concussion. Ta wake her up every hour. I'll come by in the mornin'."

Rick nodded in return and murmured, "Thanks."

There was a lot swimming around in his brain as he made his way to Thea's house. How weird it was to be in this triangle, how much he cared for Daryl...and Thea. He wondered if it could work...the "sharing"? Or would it continue to blow up in their faces?

When he reached Thea's door, he hesitated before he knocked. He waited for her to answer the door, but it took a long time. He wondered if she was standing on the other side of the door, waiting for him to walk away.

Finally, Thea opened the door and she stood there, an ice pack in her hand. She had scrapes and bruises on her face and arms, from the fall.

"Come to put me in my place?"

Rick shook his head, "Thea...Daryl said you needed someone to wake you up every hour. That you took a pretty big knock."

She looked like she wanted to laugh, "He told you to come?"

"Yeah. Please let me in."

Thea didn't seem pleased, but relented. Rick followed her into the kitchen where she was making a pot of coffee, intent on keeping herself awake.

"What made you faint? Was it something you saw?"

Thea's hand trembled as she reached for a coffee mug and she shook her head, "I just got scared. Isn't that enough? I'm a weak girl who got overwhelmed."

Rick shook his head, "You're not weak."

"Oh well that's good. I'm just a liability."

He walked up close to her and his hands touched her face, "What are you so mad at? Me? Daryl? Whatever you saw out there?"

Thea's eyes softened, "Maybe just myself for believing I can be more...that my past doesn't dictate who I am now. But it does."

Fat, hot tears rolled down her cheeks and he pulled her close, "Hey...listen to me. There are ways for you to be more...without you having to go out there."

Thea laughed a little bitterly, "You won't even let me have a guard shift inside the gates."

Rick laughed in spite of himself, "I'm sorry about that. It's just been...a little odd...me, Daryl and you. And the world we live in. Both of us...we want to protect you."

Thea sighed against his chest, "That's all well and good. But I want to be able to protect myself. I want to be the hero of my own story...no offense. I know I'm not strong or powerful. But I've got some things going for me."

Rick could respect that, but didn't see it as possible. Not with the way of the new world. He pulled back a little and rested his forehead on hers, "Yeah. You do."

She poured them each a cup of coffee and they went upstairs to her bed room. Thea told him about feeling like she was underwater, everything was slow and kind of still. Rick understood the feeling, since the whole apocalypse started, he had more concussions than a NFL quarterback.

Thea sipped her coffee and held the ice pack to the side of her head. She looked beautiful, if only the situation was different and she hadn't been injured just hours before...he'd be the happiest man alive to be in her bed.

And then he got to thinking that maybe Daryl had been there first.

The more he thought about it, the idea didn't bother him as much as it originally did. So what if she had slept with Daryl? Did it stop how he felt for her?

Not really.

Especially since he knew it was a possibility of the arrangement they had decided to "feel out."

After awhile, Thea had passed out on her side, and Rick had picked up a book to pass the time before having to wake her again.

Suddenly, Thea's arm started twitching and she began to whine lowly, "Seth...don't..."

Before he could act Thea shot up awake, her hair in her face and her mouth wide, emitting a scream.

Rick shook her by the shoulders gently, "Hey...hey...you're okay. You're home."

Thea was panting, trying to get her breathing under control.

Rick rubbed her back gently and watched as she calmed down, wanting to ask her the one question he had...

Who is Seth?


A/N: Hi loves! I'm sorry it's been such a long time. My hubby and I went through an insane move from Colorado to South Carolina. It is dominated all my thoughts and general well being for almost three months. But I am back! We are relatively settled, even though I'm still looking for a job. Anyway, I am glad to be back and updating my stories.

I would love it if you would drop me a line and let me know you're still there, reading and letting me know what you think!

Up next: Rick and Thea, Daryl calls Thea out on her half truths and more Denise and Rosita.

Super special shout outs to: xenocanaan (Daryl and Thea do have a certain appeal, don't they? Don't rule out Rick just yet!), gillyflower34 (Seth will know about Thea soon! Thank you! No bites yet, but I'm still confident I'll find something), CLTex (Seth will be bad news for Thea and complicate things with Negan more), Stormrunner74 (you sure did! Smartie :), clduncan (I'm afraid it won't be if Seth finds her...it will be when...), Blue Mom (Thank you for all the generous reviews! I am so glad you are enjoying this!), Nakomi (I think a triad will work for awhile, in this chapter Rick makes a few revelations that hints at possibility), and enchantmentanjel (Nope, he's not Negan. But Seth coupled with Negan is totally bad for business!)

Thanks and Love,

Leah P!

xoxo