I don't own Defiance and never will. No copyright infringement intended.

Author's Note: I can't wait for the day this finally happens on the show. Hope you enjoy!

It was just a slip of the tongue, something Irisa had never intended to say. But once she said it, there was no taking the word back. She and Nolan were talking with Amanda about protecting Defiance when the word slipped out. "What do you think, Dad?" Irisa questioned. When Nolan froze and he and Amanda stopped talking, she stared at them in confusion. "What?" And after going over the conversation again in her head, she gasped when she realized what she said.

Nolan immediately knew what his daughter was going to do and tried to stop her. "Don't do it." But he was too late – She fled in the opposite direction.

Amanda stared at him in sympathy. "Are you going to let her go? Don't be an idiot! This is a big deal."

Nolan was still in shock and worried about Irisa, but he was also happy. "I never expected her to call me that ever. I hoped, but this was an accident."

"Who cares? Nolan, she loves you. Don't let her bolt like this!" She shooed him away and Nolan listened. He took off in the direction Irisa had gone. When he didn't find his daughter – she was clearly hiding in a good spot – he reluctantly headed back home. Irisa would most likely come home when she was ready and had finally come to terms with it. He hoped she didn't pull away from him after this, though. He wasn't going to let her, no matter how hard she tried.

Irisa was hiding in one of her favorite sports, something Nolan didn't know about yet. She hadn't meant to call him "Dad" even though she had been wanting to call him that for a long time. And now that they were settled down in Defiance – for good it seemed like – she was relaxed and had stupidly let her guard down. What if Nolan was mad? What if he didn't want her to call him Dad? Maybe she had just ruined their relationship – already on shaky ground – for good. Irisa loved her father, she did, but she didn't always approve of his actions. He felt the same way about her sometimes, which pissed her off a little. "Stop being a baby," she scolded herself. She was going to have to face him sooner or later, and it had to be sooner. She just needed to get with the program and actually head back to the place they called home. So with great reluctance, Irisa stood up and started making her way home.

Nolan sighed in relief when the door finally opened. He had been panicking for a few hours now even though he knew Irisa could take care of her herself. "You doing okay?"

She nodded and decided that she was going to avoid this some more. "I'm fine. No big deal – I just needed some time alone. But I am tired so I'm going to bed."

Nolan wanted to head desk in frustration. "We aren't going to talk about this?" He should have known she was going to pull this act. He settled for sighing instead.

"Talk about what? I'll see you in the morning." Denial was obviously the best plan so she headed to her bedroom and closed the door. She pulled the covers up over her head and hoped she hadn't just ruined everything. Irisa hated feeling this insecure and didn't want to feel this way anymore.

The next morning, when Nolan woke up, his daughter was already gone. "You and me are going to talk, kid. Don't think you can keep running like this." The lawkeeper headed to work and tried to get through his day even though he was distracted.

When he got home, Irisa was still gone. He had a feeling she was off in the place where he couldn't find her the previous day. There was no reason for her to be acting this way and Nolan was going to make sure she knew that when she finally got up the courage to come home.

Irisa sat up against a tree and sniffled. She was overreacting and aware of that, but she didn't care. She knew she did have to face Nolan and couldn't keep putting it off so in the middle of the night, she made the trek back to their apartment again. This time, she was waiting in the kitchen when her father woke up that morning.

Nolan sighed in relief when he saw her. "Are you finally ready to talk, Kiddo?"

She nodded. "I am."

He sat down in a chair and beamed at her. "So you called me Dad and then fled for several days. You didn't have to do that, you know? I didn't mind. I loved it, actually."

She looked up at him. "You did?" Now that Irisa was thinking about it, she shouldn't have been surprised that he was seemingly thrilled that she had referred to him by that moniker.

"Of course I did. You're my daughter, Irisa. I love you. If you want to call me Dad, that's perfectly fine with me. If you don't, that's okay with me too. You can call me whatever you want." Nolan clutched at her hand and gently held it.

She looked down at the table and then back up. "I love you, too," she mumbled.

He smiled. "What was that?"

Irisa rolled her eyes. "I love you too, Dad. You happy now?"

Nolan beamed at his daughter. "Yes, I am. Now, let's get going. We have a long day ahead of us." He clapped his hand on her shoulders and then went to get dressed. They got to the station shortly afterwards. Irisa kept alternating between calling him "Nolan" and "Dad" but neither one of them minded.

Their relationship had taken a turn for the better and it patched up some of the problems they had from Nolan's various problems over the years. They weren't completely better – There were some issues – but that was fine with them. They wouldn't be Nolan and Irisa if they didn't have problems.