The next morning, when Ivy woke up, she was surrounded by bars. She began to whimper, but was interrupted by a gentle voice:
"Hey, Ivy, no, no! Don't worry."
A pair of strong arms lifted her out and she was both relived and confused to see Red Leader smiling at her while he lifted her into his lap.
"You were so brave, Ivy. I still can't believe it." He told her, smoothing back her spiky blonde fringe as her lip began to tremble with worry.
"Thank you, sir, but what happened? Why can't I move? Why am I here? What's going on?"
His face fell, and he sighed sadly. "He hurt you…you have a few broken bones. I don't think you should walk for about a day, which will be fine, since I can carry you. I have a surprise for you, by the way."
He pulled out the necklace from his pocket, and Ivy's eyes widened. "My mommy's necklace," She breathed, her eyes wide. "But why'd you have it? It's mine,"
"I'll get to that, my darling, just a minute. Your mother was a wonderful woman, and I can see a lot of her in you. She didn't notice what I left inside, though." He pressed the crystal, and it unfolded gently, making a small whirring noise as it did so. Inside, engraved on the metal, was a poem:
I love you my darling, my life, and my sweet
No day was much better than the day we did meet.
At the bottom of this was the Red Leader insignia. Ivy put two and two together.
"Daddy?" She squeaked, sounding like she was about to cry. Her eyes widened.
"Yes, Ivy, I'm here, and I'm sorry I wasn't there earlier."
"It's okay, I understand." She told him, hugging him as well as she could with her cast. He returned the gesture, enveloping her little body in his long arms. "I love you, Daddy,"
Tord's heart melted. Those four words were something he had thought he would never hear, yet here was his darling baby girl, saying them to him right that minute.
"I love you too, Ivy, and I always will, no matter what."
Father and daughter hugged each other for a while, not saying anything, until Tord finally said,
"All right, let's get some breakfast, Mon tapre lille soldat. You must be starving,"
"Yeah, now that you mention it…" She murmured, only then realizing.
He chuckled. "Come on, darling, there's bacon and eggs downstairs, and I think Matt made cinnamon rolls."
He carried his daughter downstairs to see the rest of the guys already eating. As soon as they saw the duo, they grinned and started to fawn.
"You're so cute together! How are your booboos, you brave warrior?" Matt pinched Ivy's cheeks, and she frowned and drew back.
"Come on, you two, we saved you places!"
"Did Tord tell you yet?"
"That he's my daddy? Yeah," Ivy grinned. "I couldn't have asked for anyone better," She hugged and nuzzled him, and everyone awed.
Happy tears formed in Tord's eyes as he hugged her in return. "Thanks, princess. I can say the same for you," He kissed her forehead, and she giggled.
He set her into a chair and Edd slid a plate of bacon and eggs in front of her, along with two cinnamon rolls. "Thanks." She told him as she picked up her fork with some difficulty. Tord noticed her hands were shaking as she speared her eggs. She drew it slowly and shakily up to her mouth, but the fork slipped from her injured hand and landed on the table with a loud clang. Ivy grimaced at the loud noise and covered her ears, squeezing her eyes shut.
"Ivy, it's okay! Here," Tord picked up her fork and held it to her lips. She understood immediately and allowed him to feed her eggs.
"Thanks. I was already having a hard time," She showed him her bandaged hands.
"I knew that, soldier. But don't worry." He told her, brushing her cheek with his thumb.
"Let's have some music!" Edd pressed a button on a nearby radio which he had only just noticed.
To Tord's irritation, the song 'Sunshine, Lollipops' was playing. He quickly changed the station.
"Daddy? Who sings that song?" Asked Ivy.
Tord honestly didn't know, and he didn't care. He looked to Edd for help.
"Lesley Gore, I think her name was?" Edd shrugged.
"She's really bad at singing. She doesn't have any friends, does she?" Said Ivy casually.
This caused an eruption of laughter throughout the room, and, to Ivy's surprise, Tord picked her up and lifted her into the air laughingly.
"Ivy, I love you so much! And I think you and I will make a great team!"