Previously: Margo's worst injuries revealed, Miss Hattie's ultimate reward and a pre-lunch tea party

The four were still at their tea party when the doorbell rang. Kyle scampered to the door, growling deeply in his throat. Agnes and Edith looked up startled by the discordant noise and followed Kyle, but Margo was affected far worse than they. In an instant she was curled up in a ball on the floor, trembling with her eyes shut tightly. She was reliving the memories triggered by the doorbell and the feelings of the day they had been sent back. The sense of betrayal, anger, self-hatred, pain and more flowed through Margo's mind, overwhelming her. Within seconds, Gru was on his knees at her side.

"Margo!" He called in alarm, surprised at the effect the sound had on her. It was as if she'd been shot! He could see she was lost in her painful memories again.

"Margo, come back to me," Gru called, gently rubbing her back. In a thankfully short time, Margo opened her eyes which were then streaming with tears. She reached out for Gru and with no hesitation he pulled her into his lap. Having shrugged off the memories with some difficulty, Margo was still very much shaken and somewhat embarrassed by her episode. Her trembling was lessening and she spoke.

"I'm… sorry," she whispered, 'for being like this,' she wanted to add, but her voice broke off.

"Oh Margo, eet's okay," Gru said softly. "Dere's not'eeng to be sorry for. I should have warned de meenions not to reeng de doorbell." Gru closed his eyes and gently rocked back and forth on the floor, holding Margo tightly in his arms, willing her to relax and feel secure again. He bent his head down and kissed the top of Margo's head lightly just as Marlena stormed into the room. The look of anger on her face faded slightly as she saw her son tenderly holding and kissing his obviously distraught child. Her blank stare turned to one of confusion. Why was the girl so upset? And just where had her son learned to show love like that? A pang of guilt coursed through Marlena.

Gru looked up, and locked eyes with his mother. A strangely protective feeling came over him and he held his daughter close and practically glared at Marlena. She must have rung the doorbell, he thought suddenly with anger. Gru realized he was being a little unfair. There was no way his mother could have known about Margo's problems. Nevertheless, he had hoped not to deal with her for a while. He wanted to relax and eat pizza with his girls but instead they had all been interrupted and one brought to tears because of her.

Shocked at the protective and angry look her son was shooting her, Marlena had the good sense to walk away at least momentarily. She went to find Edith and Agnes, who were eagerly helping the minions carry the pizza to the table.

"Deed yoo know eenytheeng about dees?" She asked in her heavily accented voice, showing them a picture of her front yard. There were about thirty young girls milling about. She had taken a picture for evidence and had gone to confront her son about it.

"Yeah!" Edith said, "I know them. They're the other girls from the orphanage. Dad said he sent them to you."

"Why?" was all Marlena could manage, shocked at the fact that the girl in front of her had just called her son 'Dad.'

"Well, they had to go somewhere. He blew the place up!" Agnes said gleefully. "We never have to go back there again!" Marlena was surprised at the overwhelming joy in the girls' faces and how easily they referred to her son as 'Dad.'

"What ees wrong weeth yoor seestur?" She asked, gesturing at the living room they had just exited.

"Erm… I dunno," Edith said, reluctant to divulge all she knew to the woman before her. "The doorbell probably scared her. It scared us too."

"Why?"

"It reminded us of when… SHE came and took us away," Agnes supplied, her eyes huge.

"She?"

"Miss Hattie," Edith spat. "She took us back to the orphanage and was mean to us and hurt Margo bad. But Dad rescued us and got even with her - he fed Miss Hattie to Kyle and blew the place up so we'd never have to go back there." Marlena could not conceal her surprise. Thinking back, she had noticed the brace on the older girl's arm even though it had been half-concealed against her son's chest. She forced her thoughts to return to the present situation; there were 30 girls at her house supervised only by a few loyal but incompetent minions.

Meanwhile, Margo had calmed down sufficiently to leave Gru's lap. She was almost disgusted with herself at the way she had reacted to the doorbell.

"Eet's okay," Gru had insisted. "We'll get yoo through dees, gurl. Eet's going to be okay. Now, eef I remember correctlee, we have some peesa to eat."

Margo smiled as she wiped the last of her tears away. Gru gently pulled her to her feet and guided her to the kitchen with a supportive hand on her shoulder. He was saddened by what had just happened - the traumatic memories were still very fresh for Margo, it seemed. It would take a lot of time and probably therapy to help her overcome her trigger-induced episodes. Gru's brow was still furrowed in worry when he walked into the kitchen to come face to face with his annoyed mother.

"What ees de meaneeng of dees?" She demanded, showing him the photograph. Gru rubbed his face with one hand. He really didn't feel like having the confrontation. He wanted peace - for himself and his girls, but this had to be dealt with.

"Dey had to go somewhere," he explained calmly. "I couldn't take dem all here, and eef I remember correctly, yoo always wanted a daughter, deedn't yoo?" He tried to keep his voice innocent, but underlying tones of hurt crept into his voice unbidden. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Margo look up at him in confusion and interrupted before Marlena could respond.

"Regardless, I do not weesh to talk about dees right now. Eef yoo so desire, yoo can turn dem over to de foster seestem - make up somet'eeng about a gas explosion under de orphanage while dey were veeseeting yoo to sell cookees or somet'eeng. Jeest… please leave us for now. Eet's been a long day." Surprisingly, Marlena only nodded stiffly, glared, and left without a word. The door slammed behind her and all the occupants of the room relaxed - even Kyle.

"Now," Gru said, his face brightening. "How 'bout some peesa, gurls?"

Gru carefully watched his daughters as they ate. They all seemed unsettled from the incident - Agnes' and Edith's eyes were still a little wide. Margo was pale, but trying valiantly to recover her composure. She felt she had to for her sisters' sake. They all felt better after they ate. The renewed memories of their abandonment were fading and all three girls were soothed by Gru's deep, calming voice.

Gru brought them into the living room to watch a movie. Agnes sat contentedly in Gru's lap while Margo and Edith sat on either side of him. Edith and Agnes were enjoying the movie, but Margo had become quite sleepy. She gradually nodded off against Gru's shoulder. He felt something press on him from her side and found his eldest daughter leaning against him, fast asleep. He smiled, but his eyes were worried. He had expected that she would sleep more that day, but it seemed the episode had taken a lot out of her. The stress of the morning and the shock from the doorbell incident had evidently worn her out. Gru carefully wrapped his arm around his sleeping daughter to keep her warm and smiled contentedly at his three girls.

When the movie was over, Agnes and Edith got up reluctantly and were slightly surprised to find Margo asleep.

"Why's she sleeping so much?" Edith asked, her bright blue eyes focused on her sleeping sister.

"She ees steel healeeng, keeten. Eet makes her very tired. She weel heal faster eef she sleeps." Gru carefully laid Margo down on the couch as he stood up. He covered her sleeping body with a blanket, reminded uncomfortably of her first night back from the hospital when she had woken in agony. He shook the thought from his mind - she was better now.

"Let's let her rest. Do yoo gurls want to play somet'eeng?"

Margo did not sleep long. She woke when she heard Agnes giggle. She opened her eyes, readjusted her glasses, and looked for the source of the noise. She was confused as to how she had fallen asleep - she didn't feel so tired, but it hadn't been an easy morning. She heard another giggle and looked to the corner of the room with the rhino chair. There on the floor, she saw her father and sisters sitting around a colorful board game. She sat up, noticing with gratefulness the soft blanket that had been draped over her as she pulled it off and got to her feet. Gru looked up and smiled as Margo approached.

"Hey gurl. Deed yoo have a good nap?"

"I guess so. I didn't realize I was tired. I didn't feel tired," Margo mumbled as she sat down between her sisters.

"Do you wanna play Candyland, Margo?" Agnes asked.

"Candyland?" Margo asked, curious. She vaguely remembered a game that looked like this. They'd sold cookies to an old lady last year and she'd taken pity on them and given the three girls an old, worn board game. It was called Mousetrap, but it looked a lot like this with the bright colored squares and little plastic pieces. She chose to ignore the memories she held of the fate of that game. Miss Hattie forbade games and punished Margo quite harshly for accepting the game, but that time was over. Gru had evidently bought the game for them and he was looking at her like he wanted her to join in.

"Sure," she said, sitting down with a smile.

"Yay! You can be the blue one." Edith pushed the small plastic figure into Margo's hand.

"Let's start over so Margo can play too," Gru said. The younger two girls nodded and moved their pieces back to the beginning of the path. The game was very simple, but Gru made it fun. He feigned despair when they passed him, and acted like he'd won the lottery when he got a card that moved him far ahead. It made the girls giggle and they started to get into it too.

Margo was soon lost in thought even as she was playing the game. She watched Gru and saw his joy as he played with her sisters, saw his love for them reflected in their eyes as they looked up at him. She felt an unfamiliar happiness welling up inside her as Gru smiled at Agnes when she won.

"I won! Yay! Can we play again, Daddy?" Agnes asked, her brown eyes pleading.

"Ov course. Do yoo want to keep de same color?"

Again Margo was struck by the concept of calling Gru her dad. Agnes and Edith didn't seem to have a problem with it. She saw how his eyes lit up when they called him dad. She had almost called him dad that morning, and she wondered why she hadn't. She saw him as her dad, sure. She loved him and she knew he loved her. She trusted him… or did she? She had learned to never trust adults long ago. Her trust had been broken so many times, she was reluctant to trust Gru to be her dad. He himself had broken her trust by sending them back, but she still wanted to believe she could trust him. She remembered the heartbreak of when they were returned, but at the same time she remembered all the times he'd tried to make up for it.

A series of vivid memories passed through her mind. She remembered the pain of her injuries on Vector's ship and how devastated Gru looked when he found her. She remembered how safe she felt wrapped in his arms before she passed out on the way to the hospital. Then in the hospital how he was the first person to ever tell her that he loved her and how he stroked her hair so soft and nice that it put her straight to sleep. Then she remembered how he'd cared for her in her pain and fear at home and kept her warm and watched over her all night long. She smiled as she recalled their trip to the ice cream parlor and his sincere wish to bring closure to her past with the offer of deciding what to do with Miss Hattie and then keeping his promise to never let them return to her.

Margo's back brushed against the rhino chair and she remembered his shock at the sight of her wounds and scars and how he kept her even though she was damaged and imperfect. Miss Hattie told her that the marks would make everyone who came to adopt her think she was ugly and worthless. Gru made sure she knew she was important to him, scars and all. She remembered the way the scar removal cream felt on her skin - tingling and cold but refreshing. Gru had applied it again before the tea party and had reassured her beyond reason that she would be okay and he wouldn't ever leave her. He comforted her even when she was being pitiful and terrified by a mere doorbell and he let her fall asleep on his arm.

Even now it was plain to see how much he cared for them. They were sitting on the floor playing a board game after all…

"Margo?" His voice broke her out of her thoughts. The girl blinked and looked around. The game had ended and Gru was putting the last of the pieces back into the box while Agnes and Edith had gone to play with the minions. She realized she had just kept sitting there, staring off into space. Gru was concerned. She smiled at him and stood up. He put the lid on the box and stood. Margo followed him for a moment, but paused suddenly.

"Mr. Gru…?" She asked uncertainly. He turned around and noticed the unsure look on her face. He knelt down so he was at eye level with his little girl.

"Yes Margo? Ees everyt'eeng okay?" She had been awfully quiet. Gru wondered if she was in pain, but he saw no traces of it on her face. She looked down, fiddling with the strap of the brace on her arm.

"Do… do you remember the first night we were here? And what I said to you?" She stammered

"Yes, I do. I wasn't very nice to yoo gurls, was I?"

"It's not that," she insisted. "I… I know I said I wouldn't, but things have changed and now the others do... so do you think… I could call you Dad?" She almost looked afraid as she said it, hardly daring to look into his eyes. She had subconsciously shifted her body so her sore ribs and arm were farthest away from him as if anticipating a beating. She wasn't looking at his face, so she missed the spontaneous expression of shock and joy that flooded his face. In an instant she felt his arms close around her and she was being held tightly to his chest. When Gru spoke, his voice was soft and deeper almost as if he were trying not to cry.

"Oh Margo, I thought yoo would never ask. Ov course yoo can. I would love dat so much." He finally pulled away. Margo was surprised to see unshed tears in his eyes.

"I'm so glad yoo changed yoor mind."

Margo stepped forward to embrace him, tears of joy stinging her own eyes now.

"I'm glad you changed your mind too," she murmured into his shirt.

"About what?"

"About us."

Epilogue:

Agnes and Edith remained relatively unaffected by their time with Miss Hattie. After merely months, the whole experience faded into a dream-like memory for them. News reports of an explosion in a gas pipe underneath a downtown orphanage produced great alarm, but when the general public discovered that the girls were not inside at the time of the explosion a community effort to adopt them proved quite successful. Marlena was very pleased.

Due to careful and long-term application of Nefario's scar cream, the terrible scars on Margo's back faded and eventually vanished. The wound on her face did not scar and her wrist healed perfectly. She had problems with loud noises, doorbells, unexpected touches, the smell of hair spray and the sight of large women for a while, but Gru was patient and loving with her and these effects diminished over time.

Gru finally felt complete. His beautiful girls were happy and healthy, although Margo would never grow to her full height as a result of poor nutrition in her early childhood. Gru had discovered through conversations with his girls that at the orphanage, Margo give most of her share of the food they were given to her sisters so that they wouldn't go to sleep hungry. Gru made sure they had all the food they wanted and he never failed to take Margo out for ice cream once in a while just to make her feel special. Every day with his girls was special, but his favorite moment of each day was at bedtime when each of his girls, even Margo, would let him kiss them and they'd sleepily murmur,

"Goodnight, Dad."