Chapter 51: Hannah
Hannah let out a hearty laugh at Glenn's grimace. He sputtered as he put down the shot glass.
"That'll put some hair on yer chest!" She giggled, her laughter joining the rest of the group. She looked around as she tipped her own bottle to her lips. She hadn't laughed this much since the outbreak had started and it was nice to just forget about the carnage outside, even if it was just for a night. Rick stood and the chatter quieted down. His usually worn eyes were glinting with the buzz of alcohol.
"It seems to me, we haven't properly thanked our host!" He said as he gave a motion to Jenner. The doctor was seated at the end of the table, quietly taking in the group's drunken display. He gave them a slight smile and Hannah could tell he was uncomfortable. She couldn't imagine being stuck here alone for all those months. The place was anything but cheery and she was honestly surprised that he hadn't offed himself. T-Dog happily raised his glass, slopping red wine onto the table.
"He's more than just a host!" He said and everyone raised their glasses in agreement.
"Here, Here!" They chorused and Carol leaned in closer to Hannah.
"I haven't been this tipsy since my college days!" She whispered and Hannah laughed as she poured the woman a generous shot.
"Well, it's a night for celebration!" She said as they clinked their glasses together and drank. Dale winked at Hannah across the table and tipped his glass towards the quiet doctor.
"Here's to you, Doc!" He called out and Hannah's eyes met Daryl's as he made his way over. She smiled happily at him as he put a hand on her shoulder. He waved his bottle and if Hannah had to guess, Daryl was feeling pretty celebratory himself. And why shouldn't they? They were safe, at least for now. Today had been hard and Hannah shot a glance to Andrea. It had only been hours ago that her sister's body had been buried and she was drinking like she didn't have a care in the world. Hannah knew first hand that the booze only helped so much, but she wasn't going to ruin the mood. There was other times to talk to her about it all.
"Booyah!" Daryl thundered and everyone clanked their glasses together in toast. Hannah sipped from the bottle again, happy she wasn't drinking by herself in the tent. She looked from face to face, noticing that there wasn't an ounce of worry in any of them. They were alive and for now, that in itself was cause for celebration. Who knew what would happen tomorrow? Hannah forced herself not to think about it. No, tonight was a night to let loose and enjoy the good company. It seemed like everyone had forgotten about what had happened with Cooper and she was grateful. Hell, she might even bust out the guitar if she kept drinking the way she was. She looked at Daryl and his face was wrinkled in thought. She followed his stare to Shane and wondered what was going on in that head of his. Shane, despite the cheerful people around him still looked sour. Hannah wondered how the hell he could still be frowning at a time like this. He thumbed the rim of his glass thoughtfully before he spoke.
"So uh, when you gonna tell us what the hell happened around here, doc?" He asked, obviously wanting to cut straight to the chase. The room fell silent instantly. Everyone's mood dropped and Hannah had hoped that just maybe, they could save the serious stuff for tomorrow. Her eyes shifted from Shane to Jenner.
"All the uh, other doctors that were supposed to be figuring out what happened. Where are they?" Shane pressed on; ignoring the glaring looks he was getting from the rest of them. Leave it to this fuckface to ruin a good time. She thought to herself. Why couldn't he just shut up and let everyone relieve some stress? They all deserved that at least. Just because he couldn't be happy, didn't mean he had to drag them all down with him. She glanced at Rick and his face was one of annoyance. He sipped his wine and rolled his eyes.
"We're celebrating, Shane. Don't need to do this now." Hannah agreed wholeheartedly. The kids were trading uneasy glances with each other and it was all Hannah could do not to interject into this whole thing. But it wasn't her place and she knew it would just make the situation worse. She shook her head in frustration and took another sip out of her dwindling bottle.
"Whoa, wait a second. This is why we're here, right? This was your move, supposed to find all the answers. And instead, we found him..." Shane argued, jerking his thumb angrily at Jenner before continuing.
"We found one man….why?" He stared at Jenner with hostility. Jenner squirmed in his chair, looking around at all of them nervously for a second before he spoke.
"Well, when things got bad… a lot of people just left. Went off to be with their families. And when things got worse… when the military got overrun, the rest bolted." He explained and Hannah could only imagine how crazy things had been here. Of course people would flock here, the same as they had. She shuddered at the thought of the graveyard outside.
"Every last one?" Shane asked, his eyes narrowing. Hannah wanted to smack him upside the head and tell him to shut his face. It was obvious that the man had been through just as much as they had and it wasn't fair to make him relive the whole thing.
"No, many couldn't face walking out that door. They…opted out. There was a rash of suicide… that was a bad time…." He said painfully. Hannah wanted to give the man a hug, but she just watched as he sipped from his own half empty bottle. He looked broken and Hannah couldn't blame him for it. Not one bit. They had all come away from this broken, at least in one way or another. Staying alive had come at a price and Jenner knew that, maybe even better than Hannah.
"You didn't leave...why?" Hannah's head jerked to Andrea as she asked. Her face was alight and Hannah was happy she was talking and not sulking in the corner.
"I just kept working… hoping, to do some good." He said and Hannah could see the exhaustion pouring off of him. She could tell he'd been working tirelessly to try and do some good in this crazy world. Hats off to the crazy bastard. I woulda bit the bullet too. She thought to herself as she imagined being holed up in this dungeon, watching your colleges, your friends as they died, in one way or another. Glenn stood, swaying like a tree in a thunderstorm. He pointed at Shane, dripping wine on his shirt as he did.
"Dude, you're such a buzzkill man…" He slurred and Hannah couldn't help but nod in agreement. Glenn lightened the mood and within minutes it was like the serious conversation had never taken place. Hannah was teaching Rick, Lori and Carol a drinking game she'd picked up from her partying days. It was called "Thumper" and after a few tries, they had it right, although Hannah suspected Carol was getting it wrong on purpose just so she could drink. She could feel Daryl's eyes on her while she played, but she ignored him for now.
It wasn't long before her bottle was finished and after her third glass of wine, Jenner led them to where they'd be sleeping. Hannah couldn't deny that she was drunk and she did her best to stumble after the strange doctor.
"Most of the facility is powered down, including housing, so you'll have to make do here." He explained as he led them down another white hallway filled with rooms. Hannah wouldn't have cared if they slept on the floor. She was just excited to be able to sleep without worrying about walkers for a night.
"The couches are comfortable. But there are cots in storage if you like. There's a rec room down the hall that you kids might enjoy. Just don't plug in the video games, okay?" Sophia and Carl traded eager looks. Jenner looked at the rest of them.
"Or anything that draws powers. The same applies. If you shower, go easy on the hot water!" Jenner said as Carl and Sophia raced off to find the rec room. The adults had all stopped dead at the mention of a hot shower. Most, if not all of them hadn't had a hot shower since the walkers had come around. They all exchanged looks of excited disbelief.
"Hot…water?" Glenn said, turning around with a smile from ear to ear.
"That's what the man said!" T-Dog replied, a grin just as big spread across his face as well. They all found their perspective rooms and Hannah found one that she found suitable. She watched as Daryl threw their stuff on the bed and gave a trouble glance to the room where Merle was sleeping. He was worried, that much was apparent. Hannah wasn't quite sure what to say to him about it. She knew it was a touchy subject and she didn't want to start a fight again. She pulled out a change of close and slipped her fingers through his dirty hair. She knew it was better to just leave the whole situation alone for right now.
"Hot fuckin' showers. Maybe there is a God?" She mused as he looked up at her. His blue eyes were lusty but she wanted a shower more than she wanted to get laid; though it was a close second.
"Doubtful, but what do I know?" He replied and she realized that he was just as drunk as she was. She turned and stumbled on God knows what. She burst out laughing at her drunken clumsiness as she pulled herself up. It'd been a long while since she'd been properly drunk like this.
"That whiskey did me in pretty well I'd say. Been a while since I've finished a bottle on my own." She slurred before happily throwing a towel over her shoulder.
"I dunno 'bout you, but I'm gettin' myself a shower while it's still hot!" She placed a sloppy kiss on his cheek and strolled down the hallway, anxious for a nice long shower. She found the bathrooms and stripped down, sliding into the warm water with a great appreciation. It felt like forever since she'd bathed in an actual shower and she stood there, letting the hot water soak into her skin. She ran a hand through her hair and leaned against the cold wall. She thought about the last week and how lucky she was to have made it through half of it alive. It'd been rough, but that was nothing compared to what lay ahead of all of them. She wondered how many more of them would die and she couldn't help but think about the kids in all of this. It wasn't fair to them to have to grow up in a world like this and it was weighing on her heart. She was just glad they had each other. And in a way, she was almost happy that Noah wasn't around to grow up in such chaos. She straightened up with a sigh and started soaping herself down. The water at her feet grew brown and she was sure there was at least 3 pounds of dirt lifted from her body. She felt renewed as she shut the water off and stepped out. She was clean and drunk and that's more than she could have hoped for. She wrapped the towel around her, shivering slightly as the cool air of the hallway hit her skin. She shot a thumbs up at Glenn as he passed her in the hallway.
"Best…shower…ever."
