Norman Reedus Imagines

Surrender (1) (Daryl/AU)

(rb: @MissLi2307)
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- Imagine: After a long day's work, Daryl comes home to his wife and little girl

The work days were rough, especially around this time of year. They pushed us extra hard so all of the lumber was accounted for and shipped all over.

It was getting late in the day, almost night. It took the last of my strength, but I had managed to sort through the majority of the lumber. Tossing the decent ones in a pile and chucking the rest.

The frigid air caused all of my hair to stand on end. It didn't help that I had a sleeveless shirt at the time either. The night lights in the parking lot flickered on, signaling that it was getting time to leave. I surveyed the massive pile of lumber still needed to be sorted through and got to work.

Almost all of the guys left, leaving me to my thoughts. I was about to take on another shipment of lumber until I heard someone call my name.

"Daryl!" My boss Joe shouted from across the lot. "You're done for the day, head home."

"I can keep goin, I just got one more shipment-"

"Pick it back up again in the mornin." He said cutting me off. "Don't you got a family to go home to?" He said, raising his eyebrow. Answering his question with a mere shake of the head in agreement. As he talked I gnawed on my bottom lip, something I did while I waited.

"Go home, be with them." He said I nodded and thanked him. He waved me off as I jogged to my truck across the lot. Tossing my thick, brown leather gloves into the bed of the truck, I pulled the door open and hopped in the drivers' seat. I put the key in the ignition and prayed that it would start. With the first turn it took a minute to get started, but it only took a couple seconds after for it to come to life. The engine started up and I was out of there.

The only source of light being my headlights, the rest of the road was coated in nothing but darkness. Off to the side was the occasional sighting of a road sign, but nothing out of the ordinary. The radio was busted beyond repair, so the luxury of music wasn't possible. My eyelids started to become heavy and I was running on fumes. I rested my head on my arm propped up against the window while keeping a steady hand on the steering wheel.

Nearing the busy roads, more and more lights scattered all over the place. It got to the point that if I didn't give my eyes a break soon I wouldn't be getting home.  I smacked the visor down so I could see better, this also causing a few pictures to fall into my lap that were tucked away. Keeping a steady eye on the road as well as the pictures in my hand, my mind started to reminisce all of the memories. Some of Merle and I, one of when we were kids, but the majority belonged to my girls. Picture after picture was either my wife or my little girl. Nearing the end of the pile, the last one was frayed and bent up. I pulled it out from the pile and tried to make out the image in the little light provided. My face went from a hard concentration to a relaxed state upon realizing the image. There sitting in the chair next to the hospital bed was me passed out and dead to the world, while our newborn was sleeping sound in her mothers arms. I clutched the picture in my hand before stuffing it in my shirt pocket, a memory that blissful couldn't be forgotten in a stack again.

After half an hour of driving, I rolled down the dirt path that eventually led back home. Exhausted, and at the point of collapsing, I shuffled up to the porch and nearly tripped stepping up the few steps that lead to the front door.  The silence that filled the house was eerie, yet calming.  Aimlessly tossing my keys on the counter, I trudged down the hallway to the our bedroom. Just before I started to slowly push the door open, I heard another open simultaneously.

"Daddy?" I heard a small voice say. Looking over my shoulder I saw my daughter standing there rubbing her eyes, indicating how tired she was.

"Sweetheart what are you going up?" I said softly, getting on my knee to her level.

"I hea-" she said in the midst of a yawn. "I heard you come home."

I nodded and watched her slowly sway from side to side, almost as if she was about to fall asleep standing up. "Okay well, let's get you back to bed okay?" I said holding my hand out to hers. She held both of her arms up instead, making a grabbing motion with her tiny hands. I scooped her up and carried her back to her room. Each step I took getting there caused her to grow more and more tired. She eventually rested her head on my shoulder and passed out. I pushed the door open slowly with my foot and laid her back in bed.  She turned over and sprawled out all over the place. Tucking her in, I gently closed the door behind me but not without taking one last glance.

Barely pushing on the door to the bedroom required all mental and physical effort to not wake my wife up. She has always been a light sleeper. I glanced up and saw her sleeping soundly wrapped up in the sheets. Tossing my shirt to the side, I managed to make it to the bathroom without disrupting her sleep in the slightest. Even though I couldn't turn the lights on or cause too much noise, I cleaned up as best as I could.

Slowly lifting up the sheets, my eyes didn't leave her until I fully settled in bed. She turned over and faced away from me, mainly due to the shift in the mattress. She was so calm and quiet it was hard to believe she was even breathing. Wrapping my arms around her waist she shifted slightly but didn't wake up.

Just as I was on the brink of sleep, I heard a creaking noise that got my attention. I looked over my shoulder to see our little one standing there trying to see through the darkness. She shuffled over to the bed and pulled on the sheets.

"What is it?" I said in a whisper. She looked over to her mother in hopes of her being awake.

"I wanna sleep with you." She said copying my whispering. It was impossible to say no to her, she took after her mother with the big angel eyes that could never be rejected. I nodded and scooted back as she crawled over me in between mom and I. She grabbed the blankets and completely engulfed herself with them to the point that you could only see little tufts of hair sticking up. "Goodnight Daddy."

I leaned down and kissed the top of her head, causing a small smile to work its way onto her face. "Night kiddo."

Within seconds she was out just like her mother. Both replicated each other almost exactly, same hair, same eyes, same bubbly personality. Coming home to these two every day made it all the more worth it.