Sheriff's Lover ||| Rick Grimes x Reader (TWD x Reader)

Chapter 27) Bar

"Maggie said she loves me. She doesn't mean it. I mean, she can't. She's probably upset, or confused. She needs something to hold on to."

Glenn is driving. Rick is in the passenger seat. Y/N sits in the back.

Y/N reaches forward and pats Glenn on the shoulder. "It's pretty obvious to everyone that she loves you. And not just because you're one of the last men standing."

Glenn nods slowly. Rick glances at Y/N before looking over at the driver. "So what's the problem?"

"I didn't say it back. I've never had a woman say that to me before except my mom, of course, and my sisters. But with Maggie, it's different. We barely know each other. What... what does she really know about me? Nothing. We're practically strangers." He pauses.

"But I... I didn't know what to do with it. I just stood there like a jerk." He finishes.

Rick sighs. "Listen, this is a good thing. Something we don't get very often anymore. Enjoy it. When we get back, return the favor. It's not like she's going anywhere."

He says the last part, while looking through the rear view mirror at Y/N. She bites her lip and turns to look out the window for the rest of the drive.
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The bar door creaks open. "Hershel." Rick says.

The older man is sitting at the bar, back facing them.

He doesn't turn around. "Who's with you?"

"Y/N and Glenn. They volunteered."

They walk forward. A glass sits in front of him.

"How many have you had?" Y/N asks.

"Not enough."

Rick touches the man's shoulder. "Let's finish this up back at home. Beth collapsed, and is in some sort of state. Must be in shock. I think you are too."

"Maggie's with her?"

Glenn nods. "Yeah, but Beth needs you."

Hershel takes a sip from his glass. "What could I do? She needs her mother. Or rather to mourn like she should've done weeks ago. I robbed her of that. I see that now."

"You thought there was a cure." Y/N says gently, trying to remove the blame that he's putting on himself.

Rick nods. "Can't blame yourself for holding out hope."

He scoffs. "Hope? When I first saw you running across my field with your boy in your arms, I had little hope he would survive."

"But he did." Y/N says.

Hershel nods. "He did. Even though we lost Otis."

Y/N inhales sharply. Rick glances at her. Hershel continues. "You and Shane made it back and we saved the boy. That was the miracle that proved to me miracles do exist. Only it was a sham, a bait and switch. I was a fool, Rick, and you people saw that. My daughters deserve better than that."

Glenn taps Y/N's shoulder. "So what do we do? Just wait for him to pass out?"

"Just go!" Hershel says.

Rick shakes his head. "I promised Maggie I'd bring you home safe."

"Like you promised that little girl?"

Y/N's eyes widen. Rick clenches his jaw. "So what's your plan? Finish that bottle? Drink yourself to death and leave your girls alone?"

Hershel sips from the glass again before slamming it down. "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!"

"The world was already in bad shape when we met." Rick replies.

Hershel turns around to face them. "And you take no responsibility! You're supposed to be their leader!"

"Well I'm here now, aren't I?"

"Yes. Yes you are."

Hershel sighs and leans his back against the bar. "I didn't want to believe you. You told me there was no cure, that these people were dead, not sick. I chose not to believe that. But when Shane shot Lou in the chest and she just kept coming, that's when I knew what an ass I'd been, that Annette had been dead long ago and I was feeding a rotten corpse! That's when I knew there was no hope. And when that little girl came out of the barn, the look on your face... I knew you knew it too." He points at the other three.

"Right? There is no hope. And you know it now, like I do. Don't you? There is no hope for any of us."

Y/N sighs. "Okay, I'm done." She sits in the stool next to Hershel. "You wanna know the truth? Nothing has changed. Death is death. It's always been there. No matter what. Heart attack, car accident, walker. There's no difference."

The three guys wait for her to continue expectantly. "My father died last year. He had cancer. You know, when he passed, I thought the world was against me. He had raised me up all by himself. He was my best friend. He had his whole life ahead of him and then he was taken from me. Then when this whole thing started, I was thankful. Thankful that he didn't have to be alive to deal with this. Here's the difference between that and now: we're alive. We have people back home waiting for us. They need us. Even if it's just to give them a reason to go on. Even if we don't believe it ourselves. It's not about us anymore. It's about them."

The three men look at her with admiration. They know she's right. They have to continue. They've made it this far. They need to keep the others alive.

Y/N makes eye contact with Rick and he nods at her with a slight smile. Glenn gives her a thumbs up. Hershel squeezes her arm. "I'm sorry about your father." He says.

She nods and wipes a tear that she didn't even know was on her cheek. "It's okay. Now let's go."

Before anyone can move, the doors to the bar fling open and two men enter.

"Son of a bitch. They're alive." One says.
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