A/N: See? I really do still exist! Just a little drabble that hit me one night and I had to write it down., thought I'd share. Forgive any grammatical errors you might find this was written at 2:30 in the morning and I don't have a beta. This is NOT slash in any way shape or form! I repeat this is NOT slash. Thank you.

Warning:This story contains spanking of a grown man by another grown man. If you don't enjoy stories like this then please read one that is more suited to you. There are plenty of stories out there folks just waiting to be read, if you don't care for mine. Also there's cussing in this story, mostly minor but the F-bomb get's dropped once or twice. And there's a small scene of child abuse, so there you've been fairly warned.

Disclaimer: I don't own The Walking Dead or it's characters; I am simply borrowing them and will return them once I'm finished.

Daryl Dixon's Dumbass Decision

Rick was sitting alone at the table in the administration room, holding his head in his hands, staring blankly at the items on the table, silently thanking whatever God might still be up there that his group had made it back safely to the prison.

They had started to run low on supplies, so Daryl, Michonne, Glenn, and a few others had gone out to a little subdivision that Daryl had found a week prior, to see if there was anything useful to take. They had cleaned out the first house quick enough, getting a decent haul of things, before moving on to the second house. They had quickly cleared out the few walkers that were in the place before each one took a room and proceeded to take anything of value. Daryl had cleaned out his room in no time and had taken his findings out to the car when he had noticed a door on the side of the house. It had lead to the house's basement, which Daryl had decided to check out. It had been a dumbass move on Daryl's part to go in there without any backup, especially since he had walked into a hoard of walkers. If Michonne and Glenn hadn't heard Daryl's startled yelp, Daryl would have died. Michonne had come close to dying trying to get Daryl out. They had barely gotten to their cars before the herd was on top of them. Thankfully they hadn't gotten hurt and made it back with some of the things that was needed to keep the Prison going. If any of them had died, Rick didn't know if he would make it this time, especially if Daryl had died. Rick thought of him like a brother, much the same way that he used to think of Shane. It had nearly destroyed him when he killed Shane, he knew that he wouldn't make it if he lost Daryl too.

Rick sighed and was about leave to go tend to his garden when he heard a small knock on the door. The door opened and Daryl poked his head in. He looked around for a minute before seeing that no one but Rick was in the room, and walked in. Boy, was Daryl a sight. Rick didn't think that he had ever seen Daryl look so guilty. He shuffled into the room, his head bent low, shoulders slumped, anxiously gnawing on his fingernail, looking as though he expected Rick to start yelling and screaming at any minute.

Rick didn't know why but Daryl had a childish nervousness about him whenever he came to report back from a run, or when he came to report just about anything. It was as if Daryl was afraid that he had done something wrong and was worried that he was going to be chastised for it. He wore that same nervous look now, it was just worse with the guilt that graced his features. Though Rick wasn't exactly sure why Daryl was guilty everything had turned out mostly okay. He had made a bad call going into that basement alone, not that Rick had any intention of chastising the man for it. It had been a simple mistake, a rookie mistake that Daryl should have been experienced enough not to have made, but still just a mistake. No one was dead, or walker chow, no one was hurt save for a few bumps and bruises; which was why Rick was a little confused as to why Daryl was standing in front of the table he was sitting at, chewing furiously on his thumb nail, his eyes firmly focused of his boots, and mumbling something incoherent.

"...What was that?" asked Rick, not catching what Daryl had said,

"...I'm sorry...I wanna be taken off of goin' on runs and I want off the Council...Can't have someone makin' stupid decisions like that and be on the Council..."

Rick sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment.

"Daryl look at me." said Rick, as he pulled the younger man's finger from his mouth.

Begrudgingly Daryl did as he was told and met Ricks eyes for a brief moment before looking back down at the floor. Rick sighed again.

"Look Daryl, I know you think this is your fault, but it's not, not entirely. It was just a mistake that anyone could've made. And I know that nobody here is going to want you off the Council. This isn't your fault. " said Rick.

"Sure as hell don't feel like it ain't." muttered Daryl quietly.

"It was just a mistake Daryl, no one was hurt, no one died." said Rick. "And would please stop looking like I'm going to punch you?"

"Ya should, 'specially since I 'bout got the group killed..."

"No, you didn't Daryl. You just made a bad call."

"I's the leader of the group, I shoulda been more careful! Michonne 'bout died 'cause of me...so did Zach...and Glenn...the whole damned group..."

"I don't know what else I can say Daryl. What do you want me to do? Do you want me to punish you?" demanded Rick.

When Daryl made no protest against anything that Rick had said, Rick could see just how badly this was affecting the hunter. Michonne had come close to being bitten when she was trying to save Daryl. So had Glenn. Rick could see now exactly just how deeply that knowledge was hurting Daryl. Rick thought bout it for a moment before nodded to himself and looked like he had come to a sudden decision before tiredly dragging a hand across his eyes.

"Fine, you think that you deserve some sort of repercussions for your mistake during the run. What sort of action should I take?" asked Rick.

Daryl just blinked at Rick for a minute. When he first told Rick what had happened when they had gotten back, he saw the sudden flash of anger in Rick's eyes before the man had turned and walked away. Daryl had thought that Rick had just walked away so that he wouldn't punch him. Which is partly why he had gone to find Rick in the first place. And the other reason was because Daryl thought that getting punching the face a few times might help ease away the guilt he felt at almost getting the group killed. So it had surprised him when Rick had said that he wasn't at fault. Not that he agreed with Rick but it still surprised him. It had surprised him even more when Rick had tried to argue him down on the subject and when it became clear that he couldn't, Rick had asked Daryl to decide his own punishment. Daryl stared at the floor silently. What was he supposed to say? How was he supposed to decide his own punishment when he, himself felt that he deserved to be beaten bloody for making just a dumbass rookie mistake. It was if Rick could read his thoughts, because the man suddenly spoke up.

"I know that you feel that you deserve to be punched, or beaten, or whatever but I'm telling you now that not going to happen, not this time, not ever. You understand?"

Daryl nodded silently.

"Was stupid mistake...a rookie mistake...a kid's mistake...Coulda gotten someone killed..."

"So you've said already, twice. But you're right it was a kid's mistake. Since you acted like a kid you're going to be treated like one. But since I can't take away your crossbow, or stop you from going on runs, I'll be needing you to keep doing those, I have something else in mind. Something that I feel will be far more effective than me punching you in the face." said Rick, "Come here Daryl."

Daryl obeyed, his movements slow and robotic until he stood just in front of the chair that Rick was occupying. Rick grabbed his wrist and pulled him over to stand at his side instead of in front of him, before he quickly yanked Daryl over his knees.

It took a minute for Daryl to realize exactly what position he was in, before he began to struggle to get up. Rick put a hand on Daryl's shoulders and pushed him back down.

"The hell you think yer doin'?" Daryl demanded.

"About to spank you." said Rick evenly.

"Like hell you are!" shouted Daryl, as he fought to get off the Ricks lap.

"Stop this Daryl!" Rick reprimanded sternly. "You asked for this!"

"Nah, I didn't! I never asked for a-a- for this!" yelled Daryl,

"You'll object to this, but you wouldn't mind being punched in the face?" asked Rick incredulously. Without waiting for a reply Rick continued. "You had already given your report of what had happened, I had walked off, you came to me afterwards. You wanted me to yell at you, you wanted me to hit you, to pound your face into the dirt like the worthless, reckless, stupid, dumbass, redneck that you think you are. You tried to argue me down that everything that happened was your fault, acting like you should expelled from the Prison, wallowing in guilt over a mistake. And if this is the only way to snap you out of it, then so be it." said Rick, firmly. "We need you Daryl, and not just because you're useful. You've become a part of the group. You're like a second father to Carl and Judith. You're like a brother to me. We need you and I'm not losing you."

"B-B-But I...Y-You gonna...This?" spluttered Daryl.

"Yes this. You were so eager for me to punch your face in, so why should you be worried about a little spanking?" asked Rick.

Daryl didn't say anything and just stared at the floor, still in shock at what was happening, not believing that Rick would actually follow through with it. Rick noticed the sudden lack of fight in Daryl and thought that maybe his words had gotten through to the hunter. Taking this opportunity he looked around and spotted a thin metal ruler that had been left on the table either by on of the Council members or by one of the kids that played in here. Snatching it up, Rick held it in his hand for a minute before letting it rest on Daryl's backside. Rick frowned concernedly, at the way Daryl suddenly began to shake uncontrollably and at how his breathing quickened, like he was hyperventilating. Rick's concern grew even more when Daryl started to whimper slightly. It was low, like Daryl was trying to keep Rick from hearing it, but he did.

"Daryl? Daryl, you alright?" asked Rick.

Daryl just shook his head at him and buried his face into one of his arms. Rick would have decided not to go through with it if he hadn't heard Daryl's muffled curse of:

"Just get the fuck on with it."

Rick sighed and brought the ruler down hard and tried to ignore the way Daryl sucked his breath in sharply before bringing it down a second time. Rick fell into a steady rhythm, alternating between left and right, making sure to cover Daryl's entire backside. They had already been at it for a few minutes and Rick knew that Daryl had to be feeling the effects of the spanking by now and he was concerned over the distinct lack of sounds coming from Daryl. He paused and pulled Daryl's arm away from his face and saw why Daryl had yet to make a sound. Reaching down, Rick pulled Daryl's lip from his teeth, eliciting a whimper from the man.

"Don't bite you're lip Daryl." said Rick.

Daryl made a noncommittal noise that turned to a small gasp of pain as Rick began the spanking again. Daryl did his best to keep quiet like he had been taught but he couldn't stop the little jerks of his legs or the way his body was unconsciously wriggling around, trying to avoid the next smack of the ruler. If it had been his father doing this Daryl knew he would he would be getting even more. Images of his father flashed across Daryl' mind. The way he'd wield that belt of his...Daryl whimpered, wanting to cower in a corner but knew that that would only make the old man enjoy it even more. He let out a frightened squeak as he father grabbed him and pushed him down and started to beat him. Daryl cried out. Didn't Daddy know that he was just a kid? Where was Merle? Merle could always get Daddy to stop. That's right, Merle was in Juvenile Detention. There wasn't anyone to help him. He was alone with Daddy. Daryl began to cry, crying even harder when Daddy shouted his name as a warning to be quiet.

"Daryl!"

Daryl only cried harder at the harsh tone.

"Daryl!"

He was trying to stop, he really was, but Daddy was hitting him so hard and Merle wasn't there and...

"DARYL!

Daryl blinked as the Prison floor swam into view. He wasn't back with his father being beating to unconsciousness, He was in the Prison. Daryl let out a insane sounding laugh and looked up at Rick, suddenly fully aware that he was crying. Not just crying, bawling in fact. He felt Rick slide him off his lap so that he was kneeling beside the chair before he felt himself be pulled into Rick's shoulder. He became vaguely aware that Rick was saying something to him so he made an effort to actually hear what was being said.

"Fuck, Daryl I'm sorry! You alright? God, I'm so sorry! Jesus God! Did I hurt you?"

Daryl just shook his head into the other man's shoulder and didn't speak, focusing on trying to get his breathing under control and the tears to stop to worry about speech. It took several minutes get the tears to stop and even more to get his breathing back to normal. When pulled back from Rick he could see the damp patch on the man's shoulder. He looked down at his hands embarrassed that he had cried so much. Especially since he wasn't in horrible pain. Sure his ass stung something fierce, Rick had done a rather thorough job, but Daryl doubted he would even feel it by morning. Looking up he caught Rick's worried, guilty look.

"I'm sorry Daryl...I-I didn't mean to hurt you..."

Daryl dried the remaining tears that were on his face and shook his head.

"S'not you, was me..." he said quietly his voice strained from crying.

Rick looked at Daryl confused for a minute, not understanding what Daryl had meant. Again Daryl just shook his head, Rick didn't need to know about his past, not right now.

"Ya didn't hurt me...not too bad at least." said Daryl giving his sore backside a rub.

Rick still looked doubtful but nodded anyways, not wanting to push the issue further. Both men were silent for a while each too embarrassed to say much. It took several minutes before Daryl finally glanced at Rick and mumbled quietly.

"Did ya mean it?"

"Did I mean what?" asked Rick.

"Did ya mean it when ya said that I's like a brother t' ya?"

Rick smiled and nodded.

"I meant every word."

Daryl nodded and felt fresh tears prick his eyes, but he refused to let them fall he had definitely done enough crying for one day, hell for the res of the year! He tried to blink them back, tilting his head slightly so that they wouldn't slip down his cheeks, when he felt Rick slip a hand around his neck and gently pull him back to rest his head on the man's shoulder. To Daryl's dismay he felt the tears fall from his eyes, landing on Rick's shirt. The fallen tears were replaced by fresh ones only for them to fall too.

"'M sorry..." said Daryl as he tried to stop the tears again.

"You've apologized enough for one day." said Rick.

Daryl nodded an just let his head rest completely against Rick. Merle would have called him a pussy for it but he actually enjoyed the feeling. It wasn't one that he was much accustomed to and he was relishing it. Nearly ten minutes must have gone by, in which time Daryl's eyes had begun to get heavy and had started to close on their own, when Rick pulled away and stood, pulling Daryl up with him.

"You should go take a nap, you look exhausted." said Rick.

Daryl glared at Rick for a second before nodding in agreement, giving in with a sigh. He turned and walked to the door, resting his hand on the handle, before he turned back around and met Ricks eyes, and said quietly.

"Thanks...Brother."

A/N : Completely unrealistic I know, but I had fun writing it. I hope you enjoyed. :)