Oops

by MeSaPoet

Merle followed the black shaft of the arrow that blended with the dark fabric behind it to where it landed. Square in his brother's right butt cheek like he had aimed it. "Oops."

I do not own, nor make profit…The actor who plays Daryl says that he believes Daryl is a virgin, and that if there was ever a sexy scene of Daryl with someone it would turn the show into a comedy. So idea of Daryl being a virgin, not my own.

Idea of Daryl being shot with an arrow, not my own, but MiathoL's in Handy over on AO3, but the idea of it being an accident from his brother, and the placement of arrow are so totally my own idea.

There's no real timeline arrangement… Merle's alive, Lori and T-dog dead, The Governor and Woodbury folks not mentioned… So could contain spoilers up to season three through mentions of Rick's sanity, Lori dead, and how T-dog died… (Woops, guess I just spoiled season three.)

Enjoy~

Merle watched his brother chat it up with Officer Friendly. They had just gotten back from a hunt with their meager kills still hung from his brothers shoulders by a rope. His brother was fidgeting with the rope as he talked, probably telling them that the wildlife was getting scares, all them walkers were eating anything that wasn't fast or smart enough to get away.

The kid caught his eye, the stupid hat perched on top his head. He was looking at his brother's crossbow. Where his brother had let it rest against the tables outside because his back was full of critters and his pal needed to talk to him. The little fucker was reaching to pick it up, putting his grimy little fingers on it. Merle smirked, the kid wasn't going to be able to hold it up with his scrawny little arms, it was heavier than it looked.

Merle glanced back over to his brother's back, he looked like he was about done, they were nodding a lot, stupid fucks. Looking back at the kid he was surprised he was lifting it up, he even was able to raise it to point it in his brother's direction. Afraid the stupid fuck was going to accidently shoot it, because his brother had become paranoid to the point he always made sure it was locked and loaded. So Merle did the only logical thing, he took it from the kid. He grabbed the crossbow so his hand rested by the trigger to make sure the kid didn't shoot it out of surprise and hefted it over to himself bracing the bow part with is stump, last thing they needed was friendly fire.

But the crossbow slipped off his stump as he turned his head to scare the kid from doing something so stupid again. He tightened his hand on the weapon not wanting to risk dropping it and damaging the only silent long-ranged weapon they had. Only he put too much pressure on the finger that had rested familiarly on the trigger. There was the sound of it going off and he felt the recoil of the weapon as it fired, but he heard no grunts or screams of pain, so he figured it just shot past the chatting men without doing any harm. So he may have lost the arrow, they could make more.

Carl giggled then gulped it down, like he didn't mean to make a sound. As Merle turned his head to look at the boy to see what his problem was, when he saw the bright colors of the fletches to the carbon bolts his brother had just picked up. He followed the black shaft that blended with the dark fabric behind it to where it landed.

Square in his brother's right butt cheek like he had aimed it.

"Oops." It was out of his mouth before he could come up with any of his normal long-winded BS.

Daryl looked over his shoulder at his brother. He knew that tone, hadn't heard it since they was kids. There his brother was, his crossbow held in his one hand, looking at his ass. "Merle." He knew he had growled it out through his clenched teeth. The arrow was fucking hurting but he wasn't going to loose his dignity in front of his brother by showing the pain.

Merle looked at his brother's face when he heard his name being growled, he looked pissed. He pointed his stump at he kid to his right. "The kid was playing with it and I didn't want him firing it. You only got so many arrows." The kid looked at him through wide eyes with what he hoped was fear, lips thin from trying to hold in his laughter.

"Sonovabitch. Merle." Daryl growled again still not moving, hiding what had truly happened from the others that were moving about their daily lives.

Merle was impressed that Daryl had taken an arrow to the ass and hadn't let out at least a grunt. All the other chumps that had the misfortune of pissing his bother off enough to get an arrow in the ass squealed like the pigs they were. Then he remembered why his brother would be good at dealing with pain, it was the same reason he was able to cut his own hand off, and the scars he saw on his brothers back that day in the woods was proof. "It was an accident lil brother." Merle hated how much of a pussy he just sounded.

Daryl growled again. The only words his mind could let passed the pain were oaths against his brother. Accident his ass, literally, he could feel were the damn arrow was, knew there was only a snows ball's chance in this heat, his brother was being honest. There was no way he'd be able to keep any decency when he had to get stitched up. He knew there was no way the leg of his boxers was going to be able to come up enough for Hershel to stitch him up. Non, zilch, his pants and boxers where coming off his sorry ass, all because of his dumb fuck brother had to shoot him right in the middle of his ass. He could feel his face warm with more than just rage.

Rick took a step around Daryl, who wasn't moving to face his brother. Merle had the crossbow in hand and Rick had heard it fire, but Daryl gave no indication that he was shot, so why wasn't he moving to face down his brother. He looked between the two brothers but still couldn't figure out what was going on. He looked over towards his son Carl. Merle said that he had been messing around with the crossbow. Carl looked constipated as he looked at something around Daryl's waist. Rick new the kills were hanging there but Carl had never shown signs of being bothered by them before. He looked down to Daryl's waist to figure out why his son was so intent on it.

There was an arrow protruding from the right side of Daryl's ass.

Rick looked up to Daryl's face, he didn't look like he was in pain, just red faced and pissed off at his brother. "Daryl?" Rick didn't know what else to say to the man. He was obviously injured, but wasn't acting like he had an arrow in the ass. Daryl didn't break off his glaring at his brother, didn't even seem to acknowledge Rick's questioning tone.

Rick put his hands on his hips, a habit he hadn't been able to kick. "Daryl you need to see Hershel." Even if Daryl wasn't letting it show, he still had a painful looking arrow embedded in his ass, and Rick could not afford to loose the hunter to an infection.

Daryl snorted at Rick's tone, it sounded confused, concerned, and determined at the same time, like he couldn't make up his mind on which to be. "It's just a scratch." He tried to brush the pain off and stalk into the jail but his ass had other plans and made him limp to a stop when he put pressure on the leg. Fuck, now he really was going to have to take his pants off. He'd been hoping that he could just tough it out, he'd had worse before. Rick put a hand on his shoulder, the warmth that pooled in his gut a welcome distraction from the pain. Daryl desperately wanted to shrug that strong calloused hand off in front of his brother, but knew he would never be able to so he just hunched his shoulders up for show.

Rick was worried now, Daryl limped, Daryl never limped unless he couldn't help it. He put a hand on his bare shoulder, stopping him from trying to keep going. "Do you need some help?" He knew if he used the word "want" Daryl really wouldn't let him help him. Daryl looked straight ahead but didn't fight him when he lifted Daryl's right arm over his head. Thankfully the others had scampered off to do other things leaving their immediate vicinity clear.

They found Carol sitting at a table in the room they used for a common room. She looked up as the two of them entered. Merle was smart enough to stay away from his brother, and Rick thought Carl was scared enough to keep away. Rick helped Daryl down the stairs before focusing on Carol, she was keeping busy by loading ammo into guns. "There was an accident, Daryl got hurt. We need Hershel." Rick didn't elaborate because he was sure Daryl would kill him if he embarrassed the man more. It was bad enough that he had to help the man walk into the prison.

She looked Daryl over as she answered Rick. "He's out walking with Beth, he was feeling a little cooped up. I don't know how long he'll be." Carol stood up moving towards them, Rick felt Daryl shift so she couldn't see the arrow still protruding from his ass. "If he's bleeding I can take a look."

"It's fine, it can wait." Daryl cut Rick off before he could say any more dumb shit. It wasn't an accident, his brother fuckin' shot him in the ass on purpose.

Now all he had to do was get around Carol into the cellblock without her seeing his damn ass and the arrow in it. He really did not want her anywhere near his ass, 'specially if he was going to have to take his pants off. Things might happen that he could not control. Her flirting was fun but he had no experience passed that.

Rick adjusted his grip around Daryl. Rick was pressed up to his right side, much like the time Andria shot him, so the arrow should be hidden from her. "I'll just get him into a cot." Rick said trying to step sideways so their fronts were kept towards Carol. Daryl knew the moment he saw her eyes narrow that that was the worst move to make.

Carol crossed her arms over her chest looking at the men who held the group together. She knew whatever accident that had happened, happened to Daryl on his backside, she didn't know where but the way they kept their fronts to her told enough. "If he needed medical treatment so badly you had to help him in here, there isn't time to waist on waiting for Hershel." She spoke to Rick knowing Daryl well enough to know he'd say he was fine with an arrow sticking out of him again.

Rick sighed. "Pry be best if it was Hershel that treated him." He new the man in his arms was body conscious, and if that arrow looked to be placed where he thought it was, then the man's pants were coming off.

"Well let me at least see what's wrong so I know if I have to go look for Hershel myself." Carol sounded put out, like she didn't like not being able to help. Daryl really didn't want her seeing him like this so he tried to get Rick to move to the side again. Rick went with the movement and kept going on his own. Daryl knew there was no way he was going to live this down if anyone else ever saw him like this, it was bad enough the Grimes kid saw it but at least he would keep his damn trap shut if he put enough fear into that boy.

He didn't know how exactly it happened, one minute Rick and he were making a successful getaway towards C block. The next Carol was grabbing at his hips from behind and looking at his ass. "Christ Daryl, I knew you would be saying you were fine with an arrow in you, but how'd it get in your ass." He liked it when she talked like that, when she didn't give a rat's ass about using words like that. But he was not liking the situation that caused her to talk like that.

He could feel the blood pulling towards his face as her hands braced his hips so she could turn him towards the light. "It's nothing, just Merle being a jackass." Daryl grumbled trying to free his hips from her strong grasp. Good lord, how'd the little toothpick women get so strong?

"Merle did this?" She sounded incredulous and outraged.

"He said it was an accident." Rick tried to calm her down looking over Daryl's arm at her.

"This weren't no accident, that sonovabitch shot me. Don't matter what he said." Daryl was going to make Merle pay dearly for this.

Carol let out a frustrated sigh. "Let's get this taken care of." She stood up to follow the men into the cellblock.

He felt Rick move towards the cellblock and walked with him, he figured the faster he was in a cell and on a cot the less chance he had of anyone else seeing him like this. "Nuh-uh woman. I'm waiting for Hershel." Daryl was not letting her do that to him. She was not going to be seeing his naked ass if he could help it, no way. He sounded pathetic even in his own head.

"No you're not, you're bleeding and you don't have the blood to lose to wait for him." Carol sounded determined from behind him. He knew he would need nourishment to make more blood, nourishment they didn't have. "And I don't want there to be permanent damage just because you were too stubborn to get it fixed right away."

"Good lord women, you been trying to get me out of my pants. You just seeing your opportunity to do it." Daryl had denied her flirtatious advances before, but that didn't mean he didn't sometimes flirt back. He even sometimes like it, it made him not feel so dumb if he brought a flush to her cheeks.

"Stop being such a pussy, I'm only going to see your ass." She paused. He couldn't believe she had just scolded him like that. "Though it is a fine looking ass." She made an appreciative sound in her throat that shot more warmth into his gut. God he hoped he wasn't blushing as badly as he felt. Rick was right there at his side, forced to listen. He hoped this didn't ruin his chances with the man.

"I think the farthest cell is unoccupied." Rick butted in, he knew Carol and Daryl had grown close over the winter but he didn't need to hear them flirting. It hurt him for some reason to hear them so openly flirting with each other.

"But my cell is up the stairs. Why're you takin' me there?" Daryl was looking at the stairs as they passed them.

"Hershel's going to want to look in on you and I don't feel right making him do stairs when there's a cell down here that's unoccupied." Rick didn't add that he didn't think he could help the hunter up the stairs and that he thought that it was going to be a pain for Daryl to do the stairs on his own once the arrow was out and stiches where in it's place.

"So?" Now Daryl was sounding like a petulant child.

"So just get on the damn bunk and shut up Daryl." Rick was pissed now for some reason. Rick help Daryl move about the enclosed space to lay his head towards the door, that way his right side was easily accessible.

"Rick, could you go see if Hershel's back yet?" Carol was still outside the cell, it really wasn't meant to hold three fully gown adults. Rick nodded and moved quickly from the cell.

Carol waited until Rick was out before she went in and knelt next to Daryl's head. "You going to let me do this, or are you going to fight me and make this worse for you than it already is?" Daryl turned his head into mattress. But Carol saw that his ears turned red as he nodded. "You want to wait and see if Hershel's back yet or just get that arrow out of your ass?"

Daryl would skin his brother alive. "Just get it out." He didn't turn his head to say it so it came out in a garble but he didn't think could stand to look at Carol right now. His brother was dead. His brother was going to pay before he died, dearly, maybe with his other hand so he couldn't shoot 'nothing.

Carol nodded even though he couldn't see. "Alright." She moved over to the arrow, she studied it for a moment, it didn't look like it did a lot of damage but it was in deep. She knew the tension in the bowstring was just enough to kill small animals and was more than enough to pierce through the rotting skulls of the dead. "I'm going to do this now." She said before placing her hands around the arrow, he still jumped. Because even though her hands were there for the arrow, her hands were still on his ass, his pleasantly firm ass. Taking a deep steading breath she grasped the shaft of the arrow with one hand and placed her other flat around the wound. He tensed under her hand for a minute before relaxing. She knew if she pulled when he was tense then it would hurt a lot more.

She pulled up slowly, testing the strength it would require to pull the arrow out. He tensed again and grunted, the first sound of pain she had heard him make. "Just relax, the more tense you are the harder it is." She sounded calmer than she really was. He nodded bringing his head to the side to face the wall. He took two good deep breaths before she felt him relax again. She waited a few more seconds and felt him relax more before she yanked the arrow upwards.

Daryl let out a groan as the arrow was yanked, he didn't know if he liked it better when she was slowly pulling on it or yanking the damn thing out. He could tell it was still in his ass because every time she moved it he tensed, just a reflexive protective reaction. If it hurt, contract the muscles for the next blow. "One more time." He heard her say. He took two more breaths, they were shaky this time as he willed his ass to relax. It worked and he felt her yank the bolt free of his flesh. He relaxed with relief before tensing with the unbelievable pain. At least when he got the arrow stuck in his side he was delirious from blood lose.

Rick had checked the main room to see if Hershel was back, then went outside to see if he could see the man but he wasn't in sight. He thought about going up to the guard tower to ask whoever was up there if they had seen were the old man had wandered off too but thought better of if. Daryl was already dealing with enough embarrassment as it was, and he was pretty sure if either his son or Merle saw the old man they would lead him back to prison.

Taking a big gulp of humid Georgia air he steeled himself to deal with Daryl until the good vet could remove the arrow. Looking up at the guard tower once more he moved back into the stuffy but cooler prison.

When he reached the cell he had hauled Daryl into, he was surprised to find Carol had removed the bolt and had somehow gotten Daryl to lower his pants and hike up his shirt so his ass was visible. Daryl had his head facing the wall as he breath deeply, but not as if he were asleep, more like to control pain. Rick himself had done that vary thing anytime he had hurt himself before the world went to hell. He was a man of very few words until he was in a lot of pain. And even then he usually stuck to just a handful, repeating them as many times as he needed to.

Daryl's breath caught for a moment before evening out again, breaking whatever trance Rick was in. "Hershel's not back and I didn't see him in the yard." He decided to make his prescience known and not continue to stare at the man in pain with his ass hanging out. "How's it coming along?" Rick didn't know when Carol got the medical kit but there it was on the floor open as she stitched the wound closed.

Carol glanced up at Rick as she pulled the thread taught. "Fine." She didn't want to make Daryl anymore uncomfortable. It was bad enough that she had to wrangle him out of his pants. She had caught glimpses of his chest and back through the winter and their stint in the prison. They lived in such close proximity for so long, people were bound to catch glimpse of skin not meant to be seen. It looked like his buttocks wasn't spared from the scarring, though it wasn't as bad as his back or chest, so she didn't let it bother her that her stitching would most likely leave another scar.

She finished up the stitching and looked at the opened med kit. There didn't appear to be any scissors. "Rick, could you see if there's anything to cut the thread with?" She noticed Daryl stopped breathing again and she knew this time wasn't because of the pain of the needle piercing flesh, she was just holding the thing needing to cut the thread.

Daryl forced himself to keep breathing. There had to be something to cut the damn thread with, he wasn't going to walk around with the needle hanging out of his ass, but he didn't want either of their teeth anywhere near his flesh, let alone ass. At least not yet, he amended. He had his knife he could offer, but it was attached to his belt on his right side. To get to it he would have to raise his hips and reach past his dick to get to it. There'd be no way either one of them wouldn't see something he'd rather them not.

"I don't see anything, no scissors, no knife, not even a scalpel." That was Rick, his voice was pitched low but to Daryl it sent a warmth to his gut and tingles down his spine until his brain caught up with the words spoken. "I got a knife though." Daryl let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. There was a shuffle, then what sounded like Rick or Carol standing up. "Sheit." Rick's drawl bringing out the vowel as he spoke in a soft whisper. "I gave it to Carl for him to practice." Daryl closed his eyes and hoped that Carol was still keeping that little knife he gave her on her person.

"I left my knife on the table, I kept sitting on it funny and there's no room in my front pockets to hold it." That was Carol. Daryl felt his stomach drop. The two people he made sure had knives they could use if they needed to survive the dead, had either given it away for a kid to practice or left it on a fucking table.

He felt his face grow hot with anger, good it was better then blushing like the virgin he was. He turned his head so he could look them in the eyes as he chewed them out. Maybe then it would help reinforces the meaning. "I can't believe you fucking idiots. You inviting the walkers to feast on you?" Daryl growled as he stared them down. Rick was the one that stood up, Carol was still kneeling on the hard concrete floor, holding the needle and thread delicately between forefinger and thumb.

"I was a little more preoccupied with the idiot that let himself get shot in the ass with an arrow." Carol snapped. Oops, he didn't want to enrage the only person that could really hurt him right now and he couldn't even get away because his ass was hanging out. "Besides, where's your knife? I don't see you offering it up to cut yourself loose."

Affronted he scowled at her. "I have it, I just can't get to it." Woops, didn't mean to say that.

She was giving him the evil eye. "So where is it then? If you have it." He knew she was goading him.

So he just dropped his head back down to smother himself in the dingy mattress. He held he breath for as long as he could, that tended to calm him down, probably why the choke hold worked the first day he met Rick and found out his brother had been left on the roof. He couldn't help but chuckle at the memory. He had been such a jackass himself, throwing those squirrels at the poor guy and pointing his crossbow at T-dog. He sobered quickly. T-dog had saved Carol, sacrificed himself to be eaten alive by walkers, for her.

"What's funny?" Rick still sounded like his calm self. Though he had gone off the deep end with Lori's passing.

Daryl moved his face to the side to look up at Rick, a smirk still trying to find a way onto his mouth. "Just thinking what a jackass I must'a been the first day we met." Rick smirked a little as well.

"You thinking of the time you came climbing out of the woods cursing the walker we beheaded and then berated us about killing it through it's brain?" Daryl had to snort, that had to have been one hell of a first impression. "Or are you thinking of the time you threw all those squirrels at me and Shane had to put you in a choke hold?" The smirk still danced across Rick's lips, even though he had to kill the man.

"That one." Daryl grunted. "Didn't even remember you being in that group with the walker and deer." He had completely forgotten about Carol until he felt hot breath then chapped lips on his ass. He flattened his hips into the bunk in surprise.

Carol leaned back onto her heels. Her knees were starting to ach from all the kneeling. "There, now you can get your pants back on." Daryl grunted then stated to shimmy his way back into the pants without lifting his hips from the mattress. She was caught in the movement of his ass as he flexed his glutes to get his pants back on. She threw a sidelong look over to Rick, who seemed unable to look away as he watched the swell of Daryl's ass disappear under the fabric of his pants once again. Carol had caught some looks Daryl had thrown Rick every once in a while, though they were getting more frequent. She liked Daryl but was unsure if he swung her way or Rick's. She would admit to feeling disappointed that such a man would be unavailable, but would be happy if he found happiness for himself.

Rick had noticed how Carol had watched the hunter begin to wiggle his way into his pants. He was surprised Daryl didn't ask them to leave first, but the man must have been tired of his ass hanging in the air. He recognized her look, it was the same one he had seen in the mirror when he was trying to build enough courage to ask Lori out on their first date. Rick had heard them flirt from time to time, sometimes Daryl would play along, most times he put a stop to it with a snort of amusement or a simple guttural "Stop" if she persisted. He whished Daryl would see what an amazing woman Carol was. Rick thought he would after Daryl had found her in the solitary confinement cell. But he was still dragging his feet. Rick wished Carol luck with a nod before leaving the cell to find his son and commandeer his knife back. Even if Daryl was rough around the edges and had trouble sometimes with being too forward, he was still right about letting walkers have an easy meal.

Daryl wondered if he was a greedy bustard for wanting to be with both his best friends. Rick the crazy sonovabitch who got that he couldn't always be putting a rosy spin on every thing that came out of his mouth, and would turn to him for a trusted second opinion or someone that could watch his back. Carol who got how he became the redneck she met at the quarry, got who he became because the group had needed him then accepted him as their own, and got that he didn't have to say a word to say a lot. And he sure as hell hoped he didn't push them away with his little stunt. Now he felt stupid for trying to be sexy by getting back into his pants in front of them both. He wasn't still a virgin for lack of wanting to be with someone, he just never found anyone he felt comfortable being with in that way. And now that he found someone, namely two someone's, he didn't know how to be with them, or even show interest without making himself look like a fool.

Meanwhile Merle was sitting on the walkway over the water wondering when it would be more safe for him to go back in to the prison versus facing down walkers with one hand, he had forgotten his blade when he had left the safety of the chain link fence. His brother would flip his shit if he ever found out, 'specially since the Grimes kid followed him.