Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 25th cycle. Now cycle 26!
"Day In The Life"
Sam & Nell
Sequel to "Everybody Expects Evans"
He didn't used to be known as anything of a light sleeper. He was one of those who would be all over the place, but absolutely unshakeable. If there was an earthquake, good luck getting him on his feet. This was still true today, in a way, but there were exceptions… one exception. His mother would say sometimes he woke up even before Nell even started crying, in the middle of the night. His eyes were barely open, but it didn't matter; he didn't need them. He'd find his way to the crib, pick her up, and she would already be calming. He'd take her to the rocking chair, a present from his grandmother, and he would get her back to sleep. Most of the time, by the time she was back to sleep, he was wide awake. So he put her back in her crib, and he pulled on his clothes to go for a run, work out a bit… As crazy as it was, it did give him more time to train.
Eventually he'd have to come in for breakfast. His mother would start off Nell's things, but once he came back in, she would hand off the task to him so she could head off to work. Everyone else was either already gone or still sleeping, so it was just the two of them… father and daughter. That was how he liked it though. As frightening as the whole thing may have seemed before, and with all the difficulties he still had to face, he was surprised how much it had become part of his life, and how much it was a part he cherished. It had started the moment, the first time, when they'd handed her to him, and he'd held her tiny hand… From that moment, it became clear that he would do everything in his power to give her such a good life. They hadn't planned for this, but now there they were.
Ever since he'd joined Glee Club, something had happened… he'd created this sort of little song that accompanied the process of breakfast for Nell. It was nothing for the charts, but it made her laugh, and that was all that mattered. Once all that was done, he'd get her dressed and ready to take her to the daycare center. The first few times had been harder, leaving her behind. She would start to cry, and he wouldn't be able to help himself, he'd pick her back up until she was calm again, but that could only last so long before he had to go or else he'd be late for school. So he said goodbye to his 'sister', as far as they knew, and he headed to school. The ride from daycare to McKinley was the time where he had to 'switch gears', to go from dad mode to quarterback mode. Some days it was harder than others.
The days didn't drag on so much since he'd joined the Glee Club at least. Now he had his friends, his practices, his girlfriend… There was the football team, practices, games, too, but it wasn't the same, like… he could see himself one day confiding in the Glee Club about who Nell was, but it wasn't something he'd air out in the locker room… only one of those two units felt like family.
By last period, or by the end of Glee or football practice, he could start to feel 'Papa Sam' scratching his way up, in anticipation for the moment when he'd leave and go back to her… On most days he was the one to pick her up, unless it was too late and someone else had to go get her. Either way, everything that would amount in his head in the shape of doubts, or fears, or sacrifices, all the concerns he may have had from the moment he'd finally left her that morning, they went away when she would turn her head, and see him, and smile…
His mother would say she made him more efficient. It used to take him forever to get through his homework, but now he would sit there and get it done, as soon as possible without making a rush job of it, just so that he could return his attention to Nell. He didn't want her to have to only see him in passing, like the guy who would drop her off and pick her back up. He spent as much time with her as he could, whether it was sitting with her on that rocking chair, or the breakfast song, or the time between homework and the time he put her down in her crib for the night.
So after his homework was done, he would play with her, he would read to her… He'd read all about motivating her, helping her learn, and that was what he did. As always, his guitar and his 'songs' came into play here and there. She would be so smart, and so happy, he knew…
Dinners, and baths, and diapers, and everything, he took care of them whenever he could. At first he'd been afraid that with school, and football, and Glee, he wouldn't be able to manage everything on top of taking care of his daughter, but as it turned out everything worked just fine. He had a system, and he had support from his family. Now that they had found their footing again, it was just life…
Finally it would be time to take Nell back to her crib, after a go in the rocking chair and a lullaby. When he'd put her down there, and things were quiet again, his day done, he would stop and wonder, sometimes… what it would have been like, without her, a normal life… It wasn't about regret, it was just… things he'd never had, and never would have… But the way they had it now, he could hang on to at least part of it, and it was alright. He hadn't completely lost everything, and having Nell allowed him to grow in a way he would gladly take, any day.
He left the room, the only lights being the night light with a cover in the shape of a crescent moon, and the mobile twirling around the crib, keeping his girl dreaming until another day could start for them.
THE END
A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.
In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are
always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!