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"SO, WHAT DO we do? Just wait for them to pass out?"Glenn Rhee questioned, concern etching his features as he stared at his intoxicated friend.
Nathan Barton reeked of whiskey and vodka, his eyes droopy and his hand lazily tapping the glass of his nearly empty bottle as his hazy mind decided whether he wanted more of its poison or not.
Hershel craned his neck to look at them. "Just go," He demanded, his voice raising. "Just go!"
Rick Grimes approached the bar, blue eyes filled with a silent pleas as he stared at the young man. He didn't expect such a strong man to run out of fight so easily, but Nathan was simply tired of fighting. He wanted to rest, just this once. The soldier met his eyes, his wet, swollen lips going downwards into a frown. "Just leave us," Nathan begged quietly. "He likes to watch me suffer."
Rick knew he wasn't talking about Hershel - he was talking about something else, but the cop was smart enough that the alcohol was blurring Nathan's lines of reality. "I'm not leaving you here," He stated. "I promised Sammy would bring you back. I promised."
Nathan sniffled. "You and I both know that empty promises only lead to unruly paths," He spoke. "Sammy doesn't deserve me, she doesn't need me."
Rick frowned. "That's not true, and you know that," He turned to the old vet. "I promised Maggie that I would bring you back, home and safe."
Hershel chuckled mockingly. "Like you promised that little girl?"
His words cut into Nathan and he let out a moan, the wound deep and filling with carcasses of hope and promises. "So, that's your plan? Finish that bottle? Drink yourself to death?"
Nathan chuckled, the vibration causing a headache to shoot through his head. "What do you think we're doing, sheriff? We aren't exactly havin' a guys night out."
"You can't just drop anything and leave, abandoning all your hope behind," Rick stated, his blue eyes squinting as he turned back to Hershel. "You're just gonna leave your girls alone?"
A nerve had been struck and the older man angrily got up, facing the cop with drunken defiance. "Stop telling me how to care for my family, my farm. You people are like a plague! I do the christian thing, give you shelter, and you destroy it all!"
"It was already destroyed before we got there." Nathan muttered.
"The world was already in bad shape when we met." Rick stated.
"And you take no responsibility! You're supposed to be their leader!"
They were face to face. "Well, I'm here now, aren't I?" Rick retorted, silence falling between the two as their stubbornness filled up the qualities about themselves.
