Chapter Nine

Daryl was apprehensive when he went into Merle's room. The day had been the worst of his whole fucking life and all he wanted to do was get some sleep and start over tomorrow. He tried to keep telling himself that he needed to get used to the fact that this very well could be who he was now and he needed to come to terms with that.

He snatched up the wooden chair that sat in the corner and tilted it under the doorknob, which was something he hadn't had to do since he'd been a kid. He wasn't about to risk someone else barging in here, naked and demanding him to join them. He'd had enough of that to last him a lifetime. He should have hunted down that woman's husband and told him all about it but then the man would have wanted to kick Daryl's ass, even though he'd had nothing to do with it.

He sat down heavily, running a hand over his head and sighing loudly. He didn't want to be in here. The more he had to do to pretend that he was Merle for the rest of the group's benefit, the more depressed it made him. He wanted to go back to his own damn cell, be able to sleep knowing that Carol was okay, one wall away. He didn't like being apart from the rest of them because if something happened then he couldn't do a damn thing about it from here. Not that he would be able to help a whole lot anyway. He was useless in Merle's body.

But maybe he needed to get used to it. Or try to anyway.

He stared at the wall for a few long moments, not bothering to lay down even though he felt exhausted. He shouldn't have to sleep in here. Fuck the rest of the group. He kicked the chair out from under the doorknob and threw open the door, not caring that it banged against the wall and possibly woke up half the cell block. He wasn't in the mood to care about them at the moment. All he really wanted to do was sleep in his own damn cell, in his own damn bunk. Merle could go wherever the hell he wanted but Daryl wasn't staying in that room, away from the rest of them, away from Carol.

He took the stairs two at a time and stormed right into her cell before going to his own to let her know that he was going to be her neighbor tonight instead of Merle. She looked up from a book, her eyes wide and startled.

"You okay?" she whispered.

He scoffed. "Sure."

With a roll of her eyes she put the book aside and stood up. "Do you need something?"

"Just lettin' you know that I'm kickin' Merle outta my bunk so if you need me that's where I'll be."

She smiled. "You won't have to do much kicking. He isn't in there."

He scowled. "Where is he?"

The only answer he got was a shrug.

"He better not be doin' some nasty shit," he growled. "I'll see you in the mornin'."

She nodded and he could feel her eyes on him as he walked out. Sure enough, his cell was empty and he never thought he would be so glad to see the space. He had never liked it and the only reason he had moved here in the first place was because the rest of the cell block was so damn crowded now, and after Carol had gotten lost in those tombs, he didn't feel right being too far away from her. Camping out in front of her cell probably wouldn't go unnoticed so this was the next best thing. She was just one block wall away. He slept easier that way.

He turned off the lantern that Merle must have left burning and stretched out on his bunk, groaning as his muscles started to unknot. He had his share of aches and pains in his own body but if he ever got it back he'd never complain about them again. Merle had it way worse, even if he had brought his aches on himself.

He was just about to close his eyes when he saw movement in the doorway and sat up. Carol was standing in the doorway, offering him a small wave. "What are you doin' in here?" he asked.

She shrugged and stepped further into the room. "I thought that maybe..." her voice trailed away and then her arms went around herself as she sighed heavily. "I think it's already been established that we're gonna give this a shot, right?"

He leaned back on his arms, not wanting to have this conversation because he hated talking about shit like this. He'd never liked talking about shit like this. "I thought I kinda made that clear," he huffed, knowing he sounded petulant as fuck and not giving a damn. By now, he was allowed to be pissy if that's what he wanted to be.

"Sometimes you aren't exactly clear about things but, yes, I think so."

"What about it?" he asked, feeling too tired to be having some sort of emotional conversation about their future with her right now.

Instead of saying a word she stepped further into the room, not stopping until she was crawling right onto his bunk and lying down right next to him.

"What the hell are you doin'?" he asked, knowing he wouldn't get any fucking sleep at all if she was in bed with him. Hell, lately being with her in the middle of the day with the rest of the group around was still too damn distracting for his liking. If she was in here, on a bed, in the dark... Well, he wasn't a masochist and he didn't really want to put himself through that kind of torture. He'd had enough for one day.

"If you had your own body right now would you want me in your bunk?" she asked.

He dropped his head onto the pillow. "Yeah," he said, after pausing for only a moment.

"And we have to acknowledge that this might be your body from now on, right?" she asked hesitantly.

He sat up again, appalled. "I'm not havin' sex with you with my brother's toxic junk, Carol! Have you lost your goddamn mind?"

She laughed at that and he moved so his feet were on the floor and she was lying behind him. "Who said anything about sex?" she asked.

He felt his face flame and it felt odd since Merle wasn't used to blushing. Things didn't get to him like they did Daryl. "I thought-"

"I want to get used to this being you. Just in case. Is that okay? I promise I will keep my hands to myself unless you instruct me otherwise. And in that case, I'll see what I can do for you." There was an obvious smile in her voice.

He groaned, wishing she didn't have to fuck with him all the time but knowing that if she did stop, he'd miss it. And despite what he had said about it, he really hated the thought of not physically being with her if he was stuck like this. "This is bullshit," he muttered angrily as he stretched out next to her.

She found his hand and offered him a weak smile. "I know, but we'll get through it one way or another."

He was silent for a while but he knew that she wasn't asleep. When he glanced over sure enough, she was staring up at the underside of the top bunk. "I guess it wasn't a total loss, right? I learned my damn lesson. Bein' Merle, dealin' with the others, that shit ain't easy. He's a tough son of a bitch but I know he hates it. All I was doin' before was lookin' at his faults. I wasn't seeing the situation for what it was. He's done a lot of wrong but at the end of the day, the man has sacrificed a lot and he did it for me."

She gave his hand a quick squeeze and then rolled over until her head was resting on his shoulder. He didn't think he would be able to sleep. Not with her right there, but soon he felt himself dozing off. The last thing he remembered was the sharp clap of thunder that seemed to vibrate his very bones and trying to remember if it had looked overcast the last time he'd been in the prison yard.

~H~

Merle stretched, groaning obnoxiously as he struggled to throw off the shroud of sleep that still seemed to cloud his brain. He didn't feel quite as spry as he had felt when he had woken up yesterday to discover that, physically, he was his very own brother. This morning brought with it the regular aches and pains he'd grown used too over the last five years or so.

He shoved his arm under his pillow and rolled over, his eyes snapping open when his body came into contact with someone else. He wracked his brain, trying to remember who the hell he had been with the night before and wondering if he had time to get rid of the chick before Daryl found him. If he thought Merle was using his dick to get it on with random women the poor boy would likely faint.

The woman shifted, grinding her ass right against Merle's groin and he couldn't help it. His hand went to her hip and urged her to keep right on moving. Fuck it, right? What good was a dick if you couldn't slide it into a warm willing woman every once in a while?

The woman moved, rolling onto her back and Merle froze when the early morning light sifted in through the sheet covering the bars. He met Carol's eyes and cursed.

"Thought you were gonna keep that away from me for a while?" she whispered with a grin. She moved, grinding against him again and raising one brow.

Merle had always allowed himself to enjoy this woman's company. He had even indulged in a few dirty thoughts, snuck in a feel every so often, but other than that he was pretty sure he'd never actually try to sleep with her. He knew how Daryl felt even back when Daryl hadn't had a fucking clue. And then he realized what this meant.

"Shit," he hissed, raising up on his elbow and glancing around the cell. "Did me and you fuck?"

Her eyes widened and she scooted over, sitting up herself and looking rightly scandalized. "Merle!"

He nodded and then snorted when she pulled the blanket up to her chin. "You ain't naked for fucks sake."

She scowled at him. "I'm not wearing a bra and sometimes I think you have some sort of X-Ray vision anyway. As much as you stare."

He stretched out next to her again, wincing when she slapped his chest. "What the hell is your problem. Can a man have a second to process this shit?"

"Get up. I'm not climbing over you."

He grinned. "Ain't like I didn't wake up with you rubbing your ass all over me. Climb away or stay next to the wall over there. Makes no difference to me."

"Where's Daryl?" she asked, surprising him by climbing right over him.

He frowned, trying to remember what the hell he had been doing the night before. He'd talked to one of the newer guys, Bob, for a while and then... "He's passed out somewhere. Got drunk as fuck with one of the newbies and Daryl can't hold his liquor for shit.

Carol cursed and was pointing to the door to her cell. "Out, she demanded.

He scowled at her but the look on her face told him that arguing wouldn't get him anywhere so he got up and left her alone. He didn't envy his little brother at all at the moment. He had his hands full with that damn woman for sure.

~H~

Daryl groaned and felt his stomach roll with nausea as he pulled himself up into a sitting position. His body ached and he felt cold all over and after cracking one eye open he realized why. He was on the concrete floor in one of the unoccupied cells in the block they had just finished clearing, an empty bottle of rot gut not far away. But he had been with Carol last night. He was sure of that fact because he'd had doubts he would be able to sleep with her next to-

He gasped and held up his hands. His hands, turning them back and forth and blinking furiously. Scrambling up he went to the mirror that was affixed to the wall above the sink and though the surface was streaked and coated with a thin layer of dust, he knew the person staring back at him was him.

Last night he had almost convinced himself that he was going to be trapped in his brother's form for the rest of his life. That he'd have to learn to simply deal with it so this was a shock. His churning stomach forgotten he hauled ass out of the cell. And then he nearly stumbled to a stop.

Last night he'd been in bed with Carol. So this morning that was exactly where Merle would wake up. And if he wanted to really mess things up Merle could always play the part of Daryl himself and possibly do something extremely fucked up.

Jesus, it was like his brother was an eighteen year old asshole. He was damn near sprinting by the time he reached the common room and as he hurried through the doorway he actually ran someone over. All he saw was a blond ponytail and heard a childish shriek and knew that Beth would likely sport a concussion for this but he didn't have time to coddle any goddamn kids at the moment. Not when Carol was in bed with the biggest goddamn pervert this side of the apocalypse.

Taking the stairs two at a time he could feel the eyes of the rest of the group on him, hear Beth wailing about whatever injuries he'd managed to give her, but he didn't care. Let them stare. At least he was making an ass of his own self instead Merle doing it for him.

He didn't want to think about what the rest of them saw when they looked at him now. Merle had strutted around in his body for twenty four hours and he'd made the most of it. But there wasn't any time to worry about that and it was a waste anyway because there was nothing he could do about it.

He didn't hesitate outside her cell door like he normally would. Other than the fact that he wasn't trying to be quiet, he gave no more indication that he was about to barge in. It took a split second for his eyes to adjust to the dim room but once they did he caught site of her pulling her shirt the rest of the way down. He had caught her changing and now she was gaping at him.

"You didn't-" he started but she was shaking her head before he could even finish the question.

"Of course I didn't. Is this really over? This easily?"

He closed the distance in just a few strides. "Easily? Where the fuck were you yesterday? Ain't none of this been easy," he grumbled, his hands going to her waist as he backed her into the wall.

She looked up at him, eyes wide, and opened her mouth to speak but he was sick of talking already. His lips were on hers as soon as her back hit the wall and it only took her a second to respond. Her fingers tangled into his hair as the kiss grew deeper and the relief that he felt was palpable. Relief that he finally knew that she felt the same damn way and relief to know that he could be with her while he was him and not his goddamn brother.

He was about to tell himself that he needed to reign it in but a low chuckle from behind him did the trick. He broke the kiss and stepped away, dropping his hands from her hips.

"Wastin' no time, huh? I don't blame you," Merle winked. "You two ready for some breakfast? I'm starved."

Daryl wanted to tell the man to go fuck himself but when he met Merle's eyes he was reminded of how hard things around here really were for the man. And that shit was going to stop today. Even if Merle fought him tooth and nail at first, Daryl planned on repairing the rift in this group.

The three of them made their way down the stairs.

"Are you planning on apologizing?"

Daryl stopped, not surprised that Maggie was standing a few feet away, hands on her hips.

"Beth is refusing to come out of her room. Whatever you were in such a hurry to get to I hope it was worth running her over and causing her to hit the wall. Her front tooth is chipped almost clean off and her nose is never gonna heal right. It'll be crooked."

Daryl did feel bad, actually. "Tell her I'm sorry," he muttered, stepping around her and reaching behind him to grab Carol's hand. After grabbing their bowls from Karen he was about to find a place to sit when he realized Merle was missing.

Karen smiled, apparently knowing who he was searching for. "He's already sitting with Rick. He helped Ty and I with breakfast this morning. He really isn't such a bad guy."

Daryl and Carol shared a look and sure enough, spotted him sitting at a table with Rick, Michonne, and Carl in the far corner of the room. Merle looked like he was in a great mood. Maybe he'd missed his own body as much as Daryl had missed his.

They sat down, both of them watching Merle carefully as Merle watched Rick.

"You feeling more yourself today?" Rick asked, scooping up a huge bite of oatmeal.

Daryl wanted to laugh at the question but he only shrugged. "I guess."

Rick nodded. "Good." He took the bite from his spoon and then Daryl felt a sharp kick to his shin.

Merle was grinning at him and then nodded towards Rick's bowl. Daryl looked at the food but it didn't look much different than Daryl's own. Oatmeal was oatmeal.

They ate for a few minutes in silence and then Rick paused, worked the food in his mouth around with his tongue and then swallowed.

"What?" Daryl asked, dread pooling in his stomach. This could not be good.

"Felt like a chunk of skin or somethin'," Rick said, frowning into his bowl. Finally he shrugged and continued on.

It took a few seconds for Daryl to remember what Merle had found yesterday and before he could think about what he was doing he took his arm and swept Rick's bowl to the floor. Confirmation came when Merle suddenly howled with laughter, stood up and sauntered away with his own bowl.

Carol and Rick were both staring at him with wide eyes but it was Rick that spoke. "What the hell was that about?" he asked.

"Muscle spasm," Daryl said quickly.

Carol nodded. "He was having trouble with them earlier."

Daryl slid his own bowl over. "Take mine. I lost my appetite." Hopefully Rick was the only person that had fallen victim to Merle's little prank.

Rick slid Daryl's bowl over, giving him that look that Daryl was already growing used to, like the others thought he was a few cards short a full deck. When Daryl stood Carol stood with him.

"Seriously, why did you do that?" she asked, their heads close together as Daryl took off in the direction he had seen Merle heading.

Daryl scowled. "Remember what he found?"

Carol frowned and then shook her head. "Things have been a little off. Refresh my memory."

"Merle put dick skin in Rick's oatmeal," Daryl hissed.

Carol stopped in her tracks, her mouth hanging open as her wide eyes met his. "He wouldn't have!"

Daryl eyed her, his brows raised.

"Really?" she made a face, glanced around and then covered her mouth with her hand to stifle her own laughter.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he asked once they were outside.

She shook her head, once again tried to give him a serious look but failed miserably. "I'm sorry. It's really awful." She snorted with laughter all over again.

"You've spent way to much time with that asshole lately," Daryl grumbled, feeling genuinely bad for Rick.

Carol finally quieted and then grabbed his hand. "You're probably right, but you have to admit that there's been plenty of times you wouldn't have minded doing something to the man yourself."

"Not that," Daryl said firmly, genuinely surprised at the woman.

He hadn't realized where they had been headed until he looked around and realized that she had led him to a remote corner. They were concealed on three sides by the prison walls. "What are we doing out here?" he asked, hoping he was guessing correctly.

She turned then, wasting no more time. Her mouth was hot and greedy and all he could do was hope that no one came out here looking for them because she was tugging hard at his belt already. He wasn't going to stop her. This was what he had wanted for a damn long time and if yesterday taught him anything, it was that he needed to take what he wanted.

And that's a wrap! Sorry you guys! I had to take advantage of the moment and terrorize Beth a little. Lol Hope some of you enjoyed this story and I appreciate all of you that stuck around after giving it a shot =)