Day 51

Judith stared at the little toy sheriff in her hand, the colors faded quite a bit in the years since her mom brought it home. They dulled even more as her eyes lost focus and her mind wandered.

Her mother never lied to her.

Adjusted phrasing to make things more age appropriate? Sure.

Told her when she couldn't give an answer? As needed.

But outright lie or be dishonest? Never.

That's why when her mom said that she'd found hints that her father was still alive, Judith knew without a shadow of a doubt that they'd all be together again one day.

And now here they were.

It had been almost two months at this point and it was taking some getting used to, not because it was weird or anything, but because they were all together.

When Carl died it was just the three of them—her dad, her mom, and her.

Then her dad was taken and R.J. was born and things morphed into a new configuration of three.

And now, the Grimeses were a family of four. A diamond in all the rough they had to deal with—and it had been a lot.

Her parents had been speechless when she'd explained the Commonwealth and the uprising to them.

They'd been guilty and heartbroken when they saw her scar.

(So guilty and so heartbroken that they didn't even crack a smile when she gleefully joked that she was part of the bullet club with him and Carl.)

They'd been grateful when they heard how Uncle Daryl took care of them and gutted when they learned about all the communities had lost.

And she could see the pride on their faces when they saw how she and R.J. handled themselves during training exercises.

But she could also tell that they were skeptical. Even as they had their walks and their meals and filled their home with laughter, she knew her mom was thinking about what came next. She could tell her dad was, too. It had been some time since she'd been around him, but she was relearning his tells and getting better at reading him.

So Judith waited.

Those first few days her parents shared some of what had happened to him and what it took to get back home, but she knew that they weren't sharing everything. She knew that they might never.

She also knew that people like Ezekiel and Aaron kept popping by for serious conversations, more than just friendly "I can't believe you're here" visits.

But she knew that her mom would never lie to her and she knew her dad wouldn't either, so if they said that they were okay and that nothing would come between their family again, she believed them.

"Judith."

Her father's voice captured her attention and she looked up from the trinket she was turning in her hand towards the door.

"Yes, dad?" she responded.

"Gracie's here to see you."

Rubbing her thumb over the small painted sheriff's badge one last time, Judith climbed off her bed and made her way down the stairs to the living room where her friend was waiting. Before they walked out the front door, she gave her dad a hug and he bent his head down to kiss the top of hers.

"Be safe," he said softly.

"I will," she said, her voice filled with understanding. It had taken a lot of begging for him to be open to letting her and R.J. out of his sight and she and her brother had joined forces to tease him about his constant hovering.

She got it, really, she did, but it didn't make it any less funny. No matter what happened, she wasn't the toddler he knew her as. She'd protected an entire city for goodness sake.

"No matter what," he said, "you're still my little girl."

It was almost as if he was reading her mind and she playfully rolled her eyes, even as the warmth and love in his voice settled into her bones.

"I know, dad," she said, giving him another hug and pulling away. "We're going to the bowling alley. Be back for dinner."

She watched as her dad watched her, his face unreadable. She hadn't learned this look yet.

"Okay. We'll see you later. Love you."

"Bye, dad. Love you," she said as she pulled open the door.

"Bye, Mr. Grimes!" Gracie said as she followed Judith over the threshold.

She didn't need to turn around to know that her father was watching them walk down the front steps and onto the path leading to the other side of the community, but right before they made the turn off of her street, she signaled for Gracie to wait a moment and turned around to run back to her front door where he was still standing.

"I love you, dad," she said. "I'll be home soon."

And then she left for real, secure in knowing that he would be there to welcome her back.