In which Cassian and her father Judd find themselves forming a new family in the middle of the end.
"I wouldn't trade you for the world, Cass."
"Even if it was made out of scrambled eggs?"
"...what?"
"I know you love them more than me."
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𖥸┈┈┈𖥸┈┈┈𖥸┈┈┈𖥸
"Ah." Judd sighed as he walked into Cassians cell. The girl didn't look up at him, she just kept her head hung low as she fidgeted with her fingers. The weight of his daughters pistol in his belt felt like it was weighing him down. "Beth said you'd be in here... how are you doin'?"
"I'm fine." Cassian dismissed, voice quiet as the mattress dipped beside her.
"You don't look fine." Judd said to his daughter, eyebrows arching.
"Then stop looking." Cassian tried to spit, but it just came out weak. Judd sighed, bringing his daughter into his side.
"Look." He begun. "Beth told me about the man on the watch tower." Judd admitted, taking note of the hitch in his daughters breath. "I'm sorry you had to do that."
"He was... he..." Cassian trailed off, not looking at her father. "He was shootin' at you and Hershel. I didn't mean to kill him, you gotta believe me, I didn't want to."
"Hey, hey." Judd reassured his trembling daughter. "It's a shitty situation, but you eliminated the threat. You stopped me and Hershel from being shot... yeah? You did what you had to do."
"I just... feel... I just feel bad. Like I feel like I shouldn't be this sad, Papa... I... I killed somebody..." Cassian whispered. Judd's heart broke for his daughter. He knew she wasn't going to forget this for as long as she lived. "I know you've... killed a lot more people... you're not sad..."
He still remembered the first person he killed.
"Hey, hey, shhh." Judd soothed, slightly rocking his daughter side to side. "Never think for one second that what you're feeling isn't valid. Never. Don't let anybody say you're too sensitive, or that... or that you're overreacting. If it hurts, it hurts. And if it hurts you can't bottle it up, you can't."
"What if he had a family?" Cassians lip wobbled. "What if..."
"No." Judd cut her off. "You can't think like that. It'll eat you alive. That cabròn was gonna shoot me and Hershel. You got to him first." Judd held Cassians pistol out to her, watching as the girl recoiled. "Take it... you need to protect yourself."
"I killed a man, papa."
"Yeah... yeah." Judd agreed, making his daughter look up at him. "You did. You killed a man that might have killed you... people die Cassie... I'm gonna die, Maggie, Beth... you can't stop it, but we can hold it off a little longer. We can avoid it as long as we can... so please, take the gun."
