Hello everyone!

So, this is 'Missing Moments' which runs alongside the story 'Only One'. The idea of this story is to write up the moments that I didn't write for Only One because they just didn't fit into the story or I just didn't think to write them at the time, and I'm more than willing for you to send me ideas/requests for chapters.

Actually; scrap that, I'm relying on you to let me know what you would like to see that I skipped over in Only One.

From the feedback I've received on Only One I will be writing this first chapter for the missing scene from Chapter Twenty Five where Merle interrupts Daryl and Beth. A few of you showed an interest in seeing what happened after that and I wasn't going to include it in the story so that's what gave me the idea to start this off. So yeah... This ones for you guys!


"What the fuck are ya doin' here, Merle?" Daryl spat as he walked through the door into the living room.

Merle had very much made himself at home; a beer in his hand, the television turned on, his shoes on the floor and his bare feet resting on the coffee table. He had a shit-eating grin on his face as he took a long sip of his cold beer and Daryl tensed his fists at the sight.

Daryl never claimed to have good control over his temper, but it had improved greatly since Beth had come into his life. He usually knew better than to let Merle get on his nerves because Merle just seemed to get a kick out of pissing everyone off, but today he wasn't so sure that he'd be able to just ignore his brother. Especially not when he was grinning at him like that.

"How come ya never tol' me Blondie had a half-decent rack on 'er?" Merle teased.

Daryl tensed up and he knew that there was absolutely no way Merle could have seen anything because Daryl's body had been shielding Beth's when he had first ventured into the room, and then she had been quick to cover herself with the duvet so that Merle didn't get an eyeful. Still, his brother's smug smirk and the twinkle in his blue eyes and the way he was so casually lounging around on the couch and talking about the woman that was soon going to be his wife managed to get under his skin just enough to make him blow.

"Wha' you jus' say?" Daryl asked, taking a step closer towards his brother.

Merle was still smiling but Daryl saw the way his smirk fell when the words first fell from his lips. The brothers had fought before - plenty of times, in fact - but Daryl mostly put up with Merle's crap because they were family and he knew more than anyone just how annoying Merle could be.

But that was before and this was now and Daryl just thought that is was amazing that he hadn't punched his older brother in the face right now because he sure as hell deserved it.

"Easy, baby brother," Merle said, holding his free hand up in surrender. "Ol' Merle didn't mean no harm. S'a compliment for yer woman."

Daryl narrowed his eyes at Merle.

"Beth don't need your damn compliments."

The men stared at each other and Daryl didn't know how long it had been but neither of them were backing down. Merle wasn't smiling anymore, just staring at Daryl with a blank expression. Daryl wondered just how pissed off he looked because if it was anything as close to how he was feeling then he was genuinely surprised that Merle was still even here and hadn't made his excuses and left with his tail between his legs.

Thing was, Daryl knew that Merle was all mouth. He always had been. Merle was the type who got everyone else into trouble with his big mouth and then had everyone else get him out of trouble with their fists. Daryl didn't doubt that Merle couldn't do anything if he really needed to and he could sure as hell look after himself, but Merle probably hadn't been in a fight since he was at least ten years younger.

Was he really considering physically fighting his brother over this? Daryl wasn't sure.

He supposed that when it came to Beth, he'd fight anyone. 'Anyone' seemed to include Merle.

Merle was the first to look away. Just for a second - his eyes quickly darting to the television and then back to Daryl - but it was something and Daryl was relieved that he wasn't the one to break eye contact. If Merle was half as stubborn as he was when it came to this shit then they probably would have been frozen there all night, neither of them willing to look away from the other.

Now he was starting to compare them to Beth and Maggie, who both seemed as stubborn as the other.

"Fuck are you doin' round here, Merle?"

Daryl was still tense and his jaw was still hard and his fists were still curled, ready to swing and cause damage at short notice. Merle's eyes flickered back the the television screen once more before he let out a sigh and took a long swig of his beer.

"Ain't see why I can't jus' come an' see my baby brother for a bit."

That was a bullshit response and Daryl didn't even dignify it with a response. His posture didn't loosen; and it took a few seconds of staring, but eventually Merle moved, slapping a hand to his face so that he could scratch at his chin. Merle seemed adamant on looking anywhere but Daryl right then and Daryl instantly became suspicious.

"What have ya done now?"

Merle actually looked offended and his head snapped back round so that he was facing Daryl again.

"Nothin'!"

Daryl didn't believe him and Merle definitely knew it.

"Told you," Merle said. "Didn't know I wasn't welcome round here no more, Darylina."

There was a bitterness to Merle's tone that was a little out of character for him and it almost feel Daryl feel a little guilty for wanting to use his brother as a human punchbag for a short while. It wasn't the same as it used to be - Daryl wasn't on his own anymore and Merle wasn't, either, so he couldn't just drop by the way he used to and control Daryl's life like he used to, either. Daryl knew that the way that they had been living wasn't healthy anyway and it was more than about time they had started acting their ages but neither one of them had wanted to break the habit.

Life had been pretty simple and easy. Well, unless Merle got them into trouble, which was probably more often than not. But even so, it was different now - real different - and Daryl had been pretty distracted with Beth and he supposed he could understand if Merle was feeling a little, well... neglected.

Still, that didn't really give him an excuse for waltzing right in on him and Beth and then saying the things he did about her. The only excuse he could think of was 'that's just Merle' and he wasn't sure that it would cut it this time.

Daryl let out a frustrated sound and slumped his shoulders before he threw himself down on the opposite end of the couch to Merle. Merle looked in his direction for a short while but Daryl just stared straight ahead, past the television screen and instead focusing upon the wall.

Merle eventually turned his head back towards the screen and took another guzzle of his beer.

"Y'are welcome round here," Daryl grunted. "Your my brother an' you're always welcome. But that don't mean you can just come bargin' in whenever you want. Real soon, Beth's gonna be my wife, an' -"

"Beth'll be your wife but I'll still be your damned brother," Merle interrupted. "No need to get your panties in a bunch, kid. Your startin' t'sound like you believe anyone will ever love you like Ol' Merle does."

Daryl fought the urge to roll his eyes and instead leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees as his head sunk into his hands.

He wasn't sure that he could really deal with Merle being jealous of his bride to be.

"You don't know Beth like you think you do," Daryl eventually said.

Merle snorted at that and just shook his head, mumbling something incoherent under his breath. The rage inside Daryl had died down but he was starting to feel it bubbling up inside him once more. Daryl was just about to open his mouth and probably say something that he would regret when the living room door swung open and Beth strolled in, now fully clothed with a bright smile on her pretty face.

Daryl wondered how much of their conversation she had heard and he knew that Merle was probably thinking the same because his brother actually looked bashful and almost embarrassed. It served him right for being such an ass, but Daryl didn't want Beth getting the wrong idea about what Merle thought of her. Daryl knew that it was nothing personal - it was just that it had always been the two of them together and alone and Beth had come into the picture out of nowhere. And in a way, so did Carol; but Daryl wasn't sure that Carol would still be in the picture for Merle if Beth wasn't in the picture for him.

Beth danced her way into the kitchen, greeting Merle in a sing-song voice as she walked past. Merle nodded at her before taking another swig of his beer and when Beth offered them both something to eat he just nodded again. Daryl couldn't remember the last time he had seen his brother so quiet around anyone.

In the end, Merle didn't stay long, and once he had gone Daryl suddenly felt a lot more at ease. Beth seemed to feel the same and walked up to where he was stood behind the closed front door, watching through the glass pane as his brother hopped into Carol's car. Beth stood behind him and wrapped her arms around his middle, placing her cheek against his back and squeezing him tightly.

Daryl let out a long breath and turned into Beth's arms so that he was facing her. She kept her arms wrapped around him and he bent his head down, placing a soft kiss on her lips and then to her cheek.

"He's an ass," he mumbled, rolling his eyes.

Beth grinned up at him and just shook her head.

"Merle's not all bad," she told him. "Heard he's got a younger brother that's nothin' but trouble, though."

Daryl cocked a brow at that and smirked a little.

"That right?" he asked.

Beth giggled a little and nodded her head, standing up on her tiptoes and brushing her nose against his.

"Yeah," was all she said before she captured his lips in a kiss, and Daryl wondered how Beth always managed to distract him so damned easily.


Thank you for reading!

Please review and let me know what snippets you would like to see next. This one's pretty long but they won't all be this long and I won't necessarily be concentrating on this as much as I will be on Only One. Like I said, it'll just run alongside it to fill in the bits that I skipped over.

Hope you enjoyed!