He wraps his arms around her, closing his eyes and resting his head against hers, holding her in the embrace. So here they were, both feeling horribly guilty for very different reasons. He'd just made his little girl cry, and that's what hurt him the most.
"I'm sorry Molly." He says again, one of his hands smoothing back her hair, trying to calm her down. "I will try to be your hero again... to live up to that prestigious title you've given me. Matt and I are still friends, I just haven't seen him in a while. It was all circumstance, really, that led us down other paths. Matt is healthy, he has a job and of course he misses you."
He pulls back just a little bit and tries to give his best reassuring smile. "You won't ever lose us! I just felt that since Matt has a new girlfriend I wasn't about to intrude after being away for several months. I'm sure you, Matt and I can all go out again. We could... set aside a night a week to do whatever you want to do, how about that? We can take you to the zoo, or the movies... we can go out to some of your favorite restaurants in New York. How about that?"