"What're you watching?" Billy came up behind me in our home office, his voice breaking through my earbuds and making me jump an inch out of my chair. "Sorry, didn't mean to spook ya." His lips against my forehead made the tension ease from my body.

"I must have been more riveted than I thought." I hit pause on the video, and sat back. "Just thought I'd prep for meeting Ryan." I'd been watching one of the stop motion videos Ryan had made of one of Becca's favorite movies. "He's talented," I offered, smiling up at Billy, "I can't think of many kids under ten who can use Legos to make a complete remake of 'Dances with Wolves.'"

"Becca always loved that stupid flick." He shook his head, a sad smile lurking on his lips. "You were watching a movie he made?"

I nodded, and pointed at the computer screen. "Yeah, he made a bunch, all non-violent movies. Clearly an outlet his mom wanted him to have. A good one, a way for him to be creative without being-"

"Without him tapping into his powers?" Another nod from me. "What're you worried about, Ronnie? Really?"

I considered how to explain without freaking out Billy Fucking Butcher to the point he'd go commando mode. "Vought went completely opposite from where it went with Homelander with Ryan." I pointed out that they created an entirely false, safe community for him and Becca. A cookie cutter, normal place with bland people, with a bland school, and with bland hobbies. "Becca wanted so badly for her son to have a normal life, a safe and happy life, Billy." I rarely used her name and it felt strange on my tongue, but I wanted him to understand why I needed to see that Ryan was in a good place. "I'd love to say that whomever Mallory was told would keep him safe is a good fit, but let's be realistic, he's being held by our government. If Vought has some shady shit going on, do you honestly think that the US government is always on the up and up?"

"You're worried that he might be being what, Ronnie, what are you worried about?" He wanted me to name it. To put it in exact words, but I wouldn't, not only because I didn't know for sure, but also because I didn't want Billy to make a hasty decision that couldn't be undone.

"I just want to check on him, Billy, that's all." I stood up and moved into his space, where he'd perched on the side of the desk, stepping between his legs and looking up into his face. "I want to make sure that your promise to Becca is being kept, that's all." And for the most part, that really was it. I just worried, in the pit of my stomach, that it wasn't.

I managed to watch three of Ryan's Lego stop-motion film adaptations, getting Billy to watch "Terms of Endearment" with the promise that I'd reward him heavily. I also was sworn to secrecy about the glassiness of his eyes at the end of it, because the pollen count was clearly high, it had nothing to do with the show, nothing at all. I also went over some of the other videos from Becca and Ryan's time before Homelander and Billy found them.

I wanted to know what Ryan's schedule with his mom had been like. The day to day, their special rituals, how they interacted, how they communicated. This was important because, even after Homelander unveiled the reality of the world at large to Ryan, Becca and Ryan were still a duo. Even when he took Ryan away, even when Stormfront tried to weasel her way into his affection, Becca was still his foundation. Knowing how Ryan was reared by Becca would help me when I met him because it would help me gauge how he was dealing with the changes in his situation and circumstances. How was he handling it, how were his powers manifesting because of it?

I also had Frenchie get me a tiny gadget that I didn't want traced through the office or the usual channels. It had come to me while we were having our party and Annie sat across from me at dinner. If Vought chipped The Seven, then why wouldn't they do the same to Ryan- the FIRST known child born of a supe. And if that chip had been removed by his new guardians, why wouldn't our people put one in. My own experience showed me that it was more than likely that he was wired to the gills, even if he had no clue, so I had a gizmo that was more or less like an app on my phone that would tell me if he was and would act as a jammer should that become necessary.

I felt like a conspiracy theorist, but something about Ryan's situation, the more I thought about it, the more it felt worrisome. Billy, after careful consideration, was coming with me, but wanted to stay out of sight. He promised me that he didn't feel homicidal toward Ryan, but he wasn't up to a face to face just yet. Having him close by would be enough, for now. And knowing that the rest of the supes were diverted with their own distractions kept my blood pressure down, for the most part.

Nondescript. That's how I would describe the neighborhood and housing development that Ryan's new guardians chose to take up residence in. Every house seemed to be identical to the one next to it, and honestly, from what I'd seen of the fake Vought community that he'd been raised in, it had more character.

"This is," I sighed, as Billy grimaced while he drove down the boring street. "Bland." Maybe they thought bland kept a supe calm? Or maybe government guardians made shit wages and adopting Homelander's offspring isn't exactly lucrative, who knew?

We pulled up to a house that was forgettable, and Billy sighed. "So much for staying out of sight." No trees, no bushes, this was the worst place I'd ever seen for recon. Which made some sense, if you considered supes trying to sneak up to abduct a kid. "I'll wait here, Ronnie."

"Alright," I turned to see that he was staring at me like he was willing me to stay in the car. "I'll be fine, Billy." Leaning closer, like a magnet he met me halfway, our lips brushing. "I love you, don't go crazy. Play a game on your phone or something." He snorted and I got out of the car.

The sun beat down on the grass, which was surprisingly green, but there wasn't any added color of flowers, nothing lined the walkway, there weren't any decorative touches added- no chairs on the porch, no flags, or wreaths. Nothing that would mark this house from any of the others. They didn't even have a welcome mat. Shrugging, I pressed the doorbell and waited. And waited. Finally I heard the muffled sounds of footfalls on the other side of the door, then the clicks and snaps of locks being turned, before the door opened a sliver and a bright blue eye blinked out at me.

"Hello?" The voice was quiet, hoarse, as though it was rarely used, and I smiled benignly.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Veronica Taylor," let me in, I thought. "I have an appointment to meet with Ryan." Open the damn door.

"Right," the door shut, but instead of reopening all the way, I heard muttering on the other side and then again the blue eye in a sliver reappeared. "Do you have ID?" Couldn't fault that caution, but I did have to question why it took a second person reminding this one to issue it.

Smile starting to twitch, I pulled my badge free, along with my office ID. "Here," I held it up for Blue Eye to see, along with whoever might be behind her, but out of reach so she couldn't grab it. "Now, may I come in for my appointment with Ryan?"

Again the door started to shut, but again there was a whispered conversation and I was starting to lose my patience. "Whose in the car?" Damn it. I sighed.

"My driver, William Butcher." Blue Eye, who'd reopened her slat to ask blinked before her eye went wide. "That's right, same last name as Ryan. Now may I enter?"

The door opened only wide enough for me to slip inside, and on the other side was a slender woman, the owner of the blue eye- I was happy to see that she had two of them. And a man who demanded I submit to a pat down. Rolling my eyes, I sat my briefcase down, and stood with my arms out and my feet shoulder width apart. Once he was convinced I wasn't packing heat, I was led into a surprisingly bright and airy living area.

In fact, aside from the blandness of the exterior, the entrance was beautifully laid out and decorated. Large screen television, the art on the walls was both bright and yet also simple, the house was comfortable and lived in, but well appointed as well. Told to make myself comfortable in the family room, Blue Eyes went to fetch Ryan, while her male companion stood watch over me.

"I do hope you know that as a psychologist, I have to ask you to leave the room when Ryan and I sit down together," I offered, as I took a seat where I could keep my eye on the guard. "It's a violation of doctor/patient privilege, you see."

"He's a minor," the man grunted, and I grinned.

"Do you want me to throw my full weight around?" My head was tilted in challenge as Ryan was led into the room. The man huffed at me, but he led Blue out and I waited until I felt they were at least a reasonable distance out of eye sight. "Hello, Ryan." He was staring at me like he wasn't fully committed to trusting me, which was good. Ryan needed to learn a healthy level of distrust in the real world. "My name is Dr. Veronica Taylor." He stepped closer, but well out of reach and I wondered if he'd learned a new reason to distrust.

"I thought I heard you say Billy's name." I smiled and nodded. "Is he here?" He looked slightly hopeful and it broke my heart.

"He's outside, in the car." His eyes dropped to the carpet and I took a deep breath. "Would you sit down with me, Ryan?" He shrugged and I tried again. "Billy and I want to make sure you're doing well, that you're-"

"If I'm not, would he-" he stopped, but I'd heard it, the slight break in his voice and I felt a clench in my heart. "He wouldn't want me to come live with him, would he?"

Shit, I thought, that wasn't a question I'd prepared for. "Come sit with me, Ryan, let's talk about why you'd want to live with Billy instead of with Mr. and Mrs.-" Fuck, what was Blue Eyes and whatshisname?

Leaving Ryan in the brightly decorated on the inside, but bland as vanilla pudding on the outside house was the hardest thing I'd done since I left the clinic after Homelander's failed attempt to murder me. Hearing that he wasn't mistreated, necessarily, but that he also wasn't being cared for so much as he was being lived with was bad enough. Remembering the gadget I'd asked Frenchie for, I'd run a quick scan and felt bile rise up when I realized that not only did our government chip the kid, but they hadn't removed Vought's. Why would they leave those trackers in?

Saying goodbye to this little guy, a kid who idolized the man I love and who shared his last name, was harder than anything I'd ever thought possible. Harder than walking into a clinic and having Homelander's parasite removed. Harder than slipping in and out of consciousness when the rejected Compound he'd had me injected with tried to self-destruct me. Harder than when I thought Billy might one day see me as someone he would have to snuff out.

Ryan wanted to know if I'd be back, and when, and if I'd know if he could leave with me? And I wished like hell I could tell him something worthwhile. I knew I had more research to do, more files to delve into, including who Blue Eyes and Mr. Personality was, not to mention just what this neighborhood really was and how Ryan's life was outside of that house.

As I slid into the car, before Billy could ask a single question, his thumb was brushing a tear away that I didn't even realize was falling. "Do I wanna know how fucked up it is?" I shook my head, feeling like I couldn't even start to put it into words and suddenly the sobbing that I hadn't done for any of the shit that I'd had handed to me from supes came out in a rage and Billy pulled away from the curb, murmuring his love to me, as his hand held mine and he drove us home.