Walking into the penthouse, Victoria looked around and wished that she could be anywhere else. She had insisted on driving back to Vought Tower, not entirely feeling as though she should fly back with Homelander. He had made sure that she was going to be there by tracking her from flying above. He'd landed on the balcony and had waited for her to take the elevator up. As soon as she stepped out of it, the doors closing behind her, their eyes met and it was entirely awkward. Victoria looked at him and her mouth felt dry.

"You should go and shower before we get into this," she said to him and he looked down at his suit, seeing that it was covered in blood. Nodding, he agreed with her on that point.

"You're probably right," he said to her.

"Do I even want to know who's blood it is?" she asked from him.

"Vought intended to take my son from me and they wouldn't tell me where he was. What else was I supposed to do?" he queried and Victoria could only just watch him, wondering if he was serious. And then she remembered that this was him. This was who he really was. He was a man who would kill to get anything he wanted. And so Victoria knew there was no point in saying anything.

"I'll go make some tea," was all she offered.

She headed into the kitchen and Homelander watched her go before he climbed the steps to the bedroom. Victoria let out a breath of relief when she heard the shower begin to run and she knew that she had a few minutes of peace. She moved around the kitchen on autopilot, remembering where everything was. It felt so natural and she shouldn't feel like that. She shrugged out of her coat and laid it down on a barstool.

Reaching for her herbal teabags, she was amazed that the kitchen was still fully stocked with all of the foods she'd bought and he'd even replenished some of them. She didn't quite enjoy thinking that he had done it because he'd hoped she would come back or because he even cared. But he had. He had always looked after her. Why could he not just be like that consistently with everyone else?

Victoria let her thoughts consume her before she heard the kettle begin to whistle. Taking it off the stove, she poured the water into her usual mug and took it to the dining table. She sat down at the chair to the left of the head. Tugging a hand through her hair, she waited patiently for Homelander to come back. She tried to look casual and nonplussed about the entire thing, but she was terrified. She was terrified because she had no idea what it was he was thinking.

Would he get rid of her as soon as she had the baby? Was that all she would be good for? She bit down on her tongue and closed her eyes firmly as she heard him come down the stairs. Opening them as he moved into the kitchen, she saw that he was dressed only in grey pants and a blue long-sleeved top that he usually wore to bed.

He pulled out the chair at the head of the table and sat down, hands resting flat on the table in front of him. Victoria kept her hands occupied by holding onto her mug of tea. He was the one who spoke first.

"When did you find out?"

"Two days ago," she said to him. He looked at her, their eyes meeting again and he knew she was telling him the truth. "I took plenty of tests and they all came back positive."

"And were you intending on telling me?"

"No."

Her response was honest and automatic. He looked hurt at that, lips turning up in disbelief and Victoria took a sip of her tea, hoping that it might calm her down. Looking down to the table, Homelander laced his fingers together and leant forwards.

"Don't try to protect my feelings then," he whispered and Victoria wanted to scoff at that, but she had to play nice for the time being. It was the only way she would be able to get through this without angering him and she didn't want to do that. She didn't want to anger him because while she knew he would never hurt her, she didn't know what he would do when she gave birth.

"We'd broken up and I was worried."

"About?"

"What you would do," Victoria said and he sat up straight then, shrugging his shoulders back and tilting his head while watching her.

"What did you think I would do?"

"You took Ryan from his mother, John," Victoria reminded him. "You had intended on just taking him and do you know what that did to Becca?"

Victoria stumbled over her name, remembering that her sister-in-law was lying dead on some muddy forest floor, Billy crying over her body. What kind of life had she led? Had she done everything she wanted to? Had it been fulfilling? Victoria couldn't help but think that perhaps it wasn't. She tugged at the hem of her skirt, folding one leg over the other.

"I…Ryan missed his mom and I would probably have taken him back," he said to her and Victoria didn't know if that was the truth or just what she wanted to hear. Looking her in the eye, Victoria tried to weigh up if he was being sincere. "And I wouldn't take our child from you, Victoria."

"And Vought?" Victoria asked from him. "How can you be so sure that Vought wouldn't take our child away? Raise it like you…because I'm not going to let that happen."

"Neither am I," Homelander assured her on that point. "Fuck Vought. They're not having a say in how we raise our child. They're not getting involved in any of it."

"And how can you be sure of that? Because look at what they've done with Ryan. They got involved there."

"Because I didn't know, but I know about this. I know that we're going to have a baby and it's going to be between us two and us two only. No one else is getting involved…but you know that there will be conditions attached to this, right?"

Victoria's spine stiffened at that. She watched him as his eyes seemed to glean. It was like he had everything that he had wanted. He folded one leg over the other and placed his hands on his kneecaps, watching Victoria intently.

"What conditions?"

"Well, you're going to have to move back in here," he said to her. "Vought is not going to be involved in raising our child, but you are going to need their doctors and medical expertise here. Plus…we're going to have be together."

She had suspected that would be one of the catches and she wasn't entirely certain if she was ready for that. But what other choice did she have? If she wanted him to stop going after her brother and Ryan then she had to do what he said. She had no room for negotiation and he must know that. He had to know and was using it against her.

"I want to stay in the guest bedroom," she said to him.

He'd suspected as much anyway. "Fine," he said to her.

"And Stormfront is going to come nowhere near us."

Before they had left the forest, Homelander had told Vought that they had to come for Stormfront. She was still alive, but he had no idea how long she had left and, if she did live, she'd have no quality of life. Looking to Victoria, he saw that she was being completely serious about that one and he guessed that he could give her that.

"She will be in a medical room away from us, but I will visit her."

"Fine, so long as I never have to see the Nazi bitch again," Victoria said and she noted how his jaw tensed. Did he seriously care about her? Saying nothing on the matter, Homelander let it go. He seemed to let a lot of things go when it came to Victoria.

"And we are going to have a lot of work to do out in public," he warned her. "My numbers have dropped considerably since Stormfront…well…I assume you saw."

"That she kissed you?" Victoria checked and he gave a brief nod. "I saw it, but…and fuck me…but I knew that you didn't initiate it. I could see on your face that you weren't into it at all."

"She took me by surprise."

"I know," Victoria said. And she did know that.

He seemed to almost be relieved at hearing her say that, like he hadn't expected her to mention it. He had expected her to get on at him about that, but she did know him. Despite everything, she knew what he was like. She might not know everything he did, but when it came to his vulnerabilities she knew all of them. She saw through the act he put on most of the time.

"Well, the public don't," he said to her. "So we need to devise a plan that explains why you've been missing for a while and…that the kiss wasn't my fault."

But Victoria shook her head. "You try and deny that the kiss was your fault and blame her then no one will believe you. They'll think you're trying to deflect," Victoria said to him.

"But it wasn't my fault."

Nothing ever is, Victoria wanted to snap back at him but she couldn't. "Either way, do you think people will believe that? Rumours were swirling before then about you two getting close," she said. "But of course, you probably don't want my advice."

She finished off and he watched her as she took another sip of tea. The fact was that he probably did need her advice. In fact, she had always known how to keep his public image untarnished. He was the one who had messed up a number of times, not her. She had been nothing but perfect in the eyes of the public. She was still America's sweetheart.

"Tell me."

"We tell them that we were struggling in our relationship," she said to him and he didn't entirely know if he liked that idea. But what other choice was he going to have. "The distance was hard and I…I can take some of the blame…pushing you away…we say that it was a moment of weakness and it meant nothing. We worked things out and we're stronger than ever. They'll lap it up and forgive you in the end, trust me."

"You think so?"

"I think it's the best option if we're going to manage this and I'll go along with it, but I want just two things."

Amusement etched on his face then. "You think that you are in a position to bargain?" he asked from her.

"I'm willing to help you with your polling numbers and stick by your side," Victoria reminded him. "I only want two things in return. Can you not do that for me?"

He sighed and looked to the ceiling, his neck rolling back. He realised that he would do anything for her. She really had done a number over him and now she was going to give him everything that he had ever wanted. She was going to give him a child. She was going to give him the perfect family.

"What do you want?"

"Stop going after Annie."

His teeth clenched together at that and he ran a hand through his damp hair that was hanging flat around his head.

"Fine," he said, but his tone indicated that it was anything but fine. But this would make Victoria happy and if he could do that then perhaps there was a chance she might warm up to him eventually. Before, he knew there was no chance she would ever love him if he was his true self. But things had changed. They were expecting a baby. And he knew that babies changed things.

"And I want Billy's name cleared for killing Madelyn. I want him not to have to live in hiding and I want to be able to see him when I want."

"You're pushing your luck, Vic."

"I'm willing to try here," she reminded him.

Sighing, he nodded his head once. "I suspect it might be easy to pin on someone else…fine…but you tell me when you're going to see your brother and I expect you to keep your phone on you at all times."

"I'm not going to run," she said to him and he didn't entirely know if she was being honest about that, but he didn't call her up on it just yet. "And I want to be able to see Michelle and Daniella whenever I can. They're my friends and I love them…and you have to promise me that you'll leave them alone. Just promise me that you will do that."

"So long as I don't have reason to, they're fine and welcome here whenever you want," he said to her and she couldn't help but think how amendable he was being in all of this. She was almost shocked. She remained silent for a second, wondering if there was anything else that she wanted to get out of him, but there was nothing coming to mind. Everyone she loved would be safe and that was all that mattered.

"I know I'm not going back to Paris, but I want to be able to keep working at the office here in New York."

"After you've had the baby."

"No, while I have the baby," Victoria said to him and he shook his head firmly. Victoria sighed and folded her arms over her chest, looking as defiant as ever. He usually found her stubbornness quite attractive. But he wasn't going to compromise on this.

"Having my baby isn't going to be easy, Victoria," he warned her and she scoffed as if she didn't know that. "This isn't going to be a normal baby or a normal pregnancy. You'll need rest…check-ups…you need to be kept safe and working will just add stress for you. I don't want that for your or our baby."

Our baby. She didn't know how much more she could take of him saying that. He was going to be a part of this child's life. She couldn't let him raise it like he wanted. She couldn't let him turn their child into another version of him. But what did Victoria know about parenting? What did she know about being a mother? She'd hardly had a happy childhood that she could replicate.

"Fine, but I need to talk to my manager and see what my options are," she relented on that point. "And if I'm going to be resting then I only do so many public appearances."

"Fine," he agreed with her and she nodded her head at that, relieved to an extent that he wasn't going to force her to do more public appearances when she couldn't think of anything worse. "But for now, we need to get you to a doctor to make sure that everything is fine and find out how far along you are."

"Can we not just do that tomorrow?" Victoria asked from him and he shifted uncomfortably on his seat. Victoria saw that he was hesitating. "Please, John?" she tried pushing him. "Just tonight? I just want to go for a shower and go to bed…tomorrow…we'll deal with Vought…Edgar…all of that…and I want to tell Michelle and Daniella before it becomes public knowledge."

"First thing tomorrow morning," he said to her and she was relieved that he was actually letting her get her way. She nodded and drained off the rest of her tea despite the fact that it was cold.

Standing up, she went to put the mug in the dishwasher. "I need to get all my things from Paris too…and sort out the boxes here," she commented and he had to admit that he was surprised at how calm he was being about everything. She headed on back through the kitchen and grabbed her coat, holding it over her arm.

"I'll get Ashley to organise the logistics and have your things brought back. We can unpack as we go…you still have clothes in my closet for now that you can use."

"I'll grab some and take them to the guest bedroom," she said to him and began to walk off. He stopped her, taking hold of her by the wrist before she could walk any further away. She wondered what he was doing as she felt his thumb run over her skin softly and his eyes were level with her stomach.

"You know that we're going to have to get on, don't you?" he said to her. "It's going to make our lives so much easier…and perhaps…we might not go back to what we were, but we can be better. We might even be able to be happy."

Victoria wanted to say that was never going to happen. She wanted to tell him that she had no intention of letting herself be happy with him after discovering what he was.

"Perhaps," was all she said to him. "I'll see you in the morning, okay?"

"Can I?" he asked, not letting her go. She wondered what it was he wanted, but it became apparent when his other hand hovered by her stomach. She watched intently for a few moments before nodding her head. He rested his hand on her stomach on top of her jumper. "I can already feel him."

"Him?"

"I'd suspect it's a boy," he said to her.

"But if it's a girl…"

"I will love her just as much," he responded. Victoria just watched him and her hair hung in her face as she lowered her gaze to his hand.

"How can you already feel it?" she wondered. "I can't feel anything."

"The vibrations are very soft, but I imagine with my powers I can feel more than you," he said to her. "You should go and get some rest, Vicky. I'll see you in the morning."

He dropped his hand from her stomach and let go of her wrist. She headed on over to the staircase and moved upstairs to grab some clothes before going to retreat and hide in the guest bedroom. She doubted she'd get much sleep, but at least she'd be alone. That was all she wanted for the time being.

Victoria had spent the next morning being poked and prodded by doctors at Vought who had confirmed what she already knew. She was going to be consistently monitored and the information was going to stay private until she began to show. It would be then when the news would be released and it would be carefully done. Sitting in Stan Edgar's office next to Homelander on the couch, Victoria felt like they had gone back in time.

The distance between the two of them was vast and a Vought Executive was sat across from them and telling them what to do. It was like it had been with Madelyn all those months ago. At least back then Victoria knew that there had been a get out clause. But then she'd gone and actually fallen for Homelander. There was no get out clause this time. She was in it for the long haul or until her brother found something that could kill him.

"I think what Victoria suggests makes sense," Edgar said in relation to her plan of how they could build Homelander's reputation back up. "Relationships go through turmoil and we both know that Stormfront can be manipulative…Homelander simply had a moment of weakness and she exploited it. The two of you are back together and working through things."

"And where do we deliver this story? I was thinking that Maria-"

"-Deborah Allan is the one who will be doing the interview," Edgar said, cutting Homelander off. He looked annoyed at that, the smile on his face fake and his jaw tensed. But Edgar was the one in charge and for some reason Homelander was scared of him. He actually let him interrupt. He let him take charge. "The questions will be prepared and your answers will be rehearsed. You both won't be able to put a foot wrong."

"And when do we do this?" Victoria asked from him.

"Next week," Edgar said. "I'll get Ashley to line something up and draft the answers. I will sign them off, of course."

"Fine," Victoria could only say.

"And we will need to have a discussion about what will happen when you give birth," Edgar said, hands on his knees. His suit was sharp and he looked exactly like the photos that were dotted around Vought Tower. Victoria hadn't had anything to do with him. Madelyn had been her point of contact, but now with her gone, it was all down to Edgar to keep Homelander in check.

"What do you mean?" Victoria queried.

"Well, your child will be the most famous in America," he said to them. "Boy or girl…everyone will be clambering for photographs…do you think that normal schooling would be possible? Of course not. You will need to home school and we have the best tutors. You'll also need to think carefully about the future…your child could potentially become one of the most popular members of Vought-"

"-No," Victoria interrupted quickly, unable to bear the thought of her child being part of Vought's machine. She wasn't going to let that happen. She couldn't let it. And then she did what she never wanted to do. She looked to Homelander and tried to get him to back her up. She wanted him to stand up for her. Their eyes met and she saw that his were wide, almost as though he was scared of going against Edgar. "Our child can determine their own path…and if they don't want to use their powers…if they want a quiet life working as a doctor…lawyer…hell, whatever they want…they can have it. They do not need to be a part of Vought."

"I don't think you quite understand what this means, Miss Anderton," Edgar said to her. "Your child will not be afforded that luxury of being like any other child because they will be the child of the most popular couple in America…and they will also be a supe."

"But that doesn't dictate their future," Victoria said, feeling herself getting worked up. She turned to look to Homelander then who was being uncharacteristically quiet. "Are you going to back me up on this or just sit there quietly?" she fumed at him and she knew he didn't like her tone, but he wasn't going to lash out.

"Stan has a point," he said to her and she rolled her eyes.

She was being ganged up against already.

"I think you need time to let all of this sink in, Miss Anderton," Edgar said and she knew he was patronising her, but she didn't say it. She just moved to her feet as Homelander did the same, copying her movements. "Homelander, perhaps you should take your fiancée back to your apartment? She should be resting."

"I'm going out," Victoria said in a snappish tone. "I don't need rest and I don't need to be told what to do. This is not Vought's baby and I will raise it how I see fit."

She stormed off then and Homelander sighed, having no option but to follow her. She was already by the elevator, pressing the button harshly to go down when he caught her up.

"Vicky," he said her name.

"What was that?" she snapped at him, pointing back to the office. "You said that you'd stick up for me and that Vought wouldn't have a say in how we raise this kid. You didn't say shit in there to back me up."

"Because Stan has a point," he said and the elevator came, Victoria stepping into it and he followed her. She pressed for the ground floor and he hit the stop button. She leant against the wall, arms folded defiantly and crumpling the white shirt she wore tucked into her blue jeans. "Our child is not going to be normal…and a normal life…do you think that will be possible?"

"If our child wants that then yes!" Victoria snapped at him, shrugging her shoulders at him. "Look at you, John. You were forced into this-"

"-By doctors…people who manipulated me…not by my parents. Our child will have a different life because I will be there to teach it what to do…to help…it will be me and not Vought who is involved in their life."

"But not to let them be who they want to be," Victoria said to him. "Is that what you're saying?"

"Because we're not afforded that luxury."

"But our child should be!" Victoria snapped at him.

"I don't want to discuss this now, Victoria. We have time. We don't need to make rash decisions."

"Maybe not, but it would have been nice if you'd have backed me up in there with Edgar instead of leaving me hanging out to dry," she said to him and went to press the button once more. He let her this time and the elevator began to descend. "I'm going to see Daniella and Michelle. I'll be back later."

"Will you be back for dinner?"

"Don't know," she said to him and the doors opened. He had no other option but to watch her leave. He was giving her what she wanted. He was giving her space. He was giving her time. He just needed her to stop being so stubborn all of the time.

Meeting Michelle and Daniella at Daniella's new apartment, Victoria felt that things were a bit odd. Daniella's red hair had grown past her shoulders and she was working at the law firm full time after finishing and getting her PhD. Michelle had moved back to Chicago with her parents, but was back visiting for a few weeks. She'd handed her own thesis in and was due to graduate in the new year, but she wasn't sure about coming back to New York.

Sitting in the living room, Victoria had her legs cross as she was on the floor, picking at her pad thai that was still in its container on the coffee table. Daniella was dressed in a fitted grey dress after finishing work, a hole in the toe of her tights. She was on the sofa across from Victoria, also with her legs crossed and meal on a plate on her lap. Michelle was next to her, dressed in leggings and a long sweatshirt, blonde hair tied up in a bobble with a large headband on her forehead. Her eyes were nervously flitting between her two friends, both of them noticing but not entirely sure how to bring up that she looked different and almost nervous.

It felt awkward between them. It didn't feel like it ever had before. But things had changed. Things weren't how they had been just a few months ago when they had all been living together happily, despite planning to go their own ways.

"So…you're still with Homelander?" Daniella was the one to ask, placing her plate down and picking up her glass of wine. She'd poured Victoria one, but she hadn't picked it up.

"Yeah, we're working through things…it's not exactly been easy," Victoria said to them. "The distance hasn't helped and then there was…her," she didn't want to say her name. "She told him what he wanted to hear after the incident with the unsanctioned mission and I didn't. She took advantage of that."

Silence surrounded them and Victoria looked at her two friends. They'd loved Homelander weeks ago. They didn't think he could do any wrong, but things had changed. Since he'd gone on that mission, everything had changed. And then he'd kissed Stormfront. He'd been to her rallies. He'd been labelled a Nazi sympathiser by some. And Victoria wasn't exactly talking with enthusiasm to defend him.

"I just didn't think you'd be back with him after what he did…it's…it just feels like he's not who we thought he was," Michelle was the one who spoke, sniffing and looking down to her hands. It was almost as though they were treading on eggshells around each other.

"I know," Victoria said and she had no idea how much they'd believe. But she had to try to keep them on side. "I hated what he had done and how he reacted to it, but he…he apologised…he said he was only trying to help and I believe him," she said and she didn't know if they believed the words coming out of her mouths. "We're fine and I'm back with him. He's making amends…and I…I had to come back anyway."

"Why?" Daniella questioned.

Victoria placed her cutlery down and rested her hands in her lap. "Because I'm pregnant."

There was silence then. There was no sound. There were no shrieks of joy. They were no congratulations. It was just silence and Victoria knew that this was never what she had wanted.

"Wow," Michelle was the one to speak.

"You're pregnant?"

"About three or four weeks. It's early days and we're not telling anyone until I begin to show," Victoria said to her friends. "But I wanted to tell you two because you're both my best friends…but you can't tell anyone any of this."

"We won't," they said in unison.

Silence again and Victoria wanted to grab the wine and take a deep glug of it, but she didn't. She just sat there, still and stiff and waiting for her friends to talk, hoping that she might find some comfort at some point.

"And…are you happy about this?"

"Shocked," Victoria decided on saying to them. "It came out of nowhere and I didn't entirely know how to react. This wasn't planned and for a moment I wondered if…maybe…I didn't want this…"

"Did you consider an abortion?"

"Yes," Victoria admitted. She wasn't ashamed of it, despite knowing what others might think. She didn't know how she could be a mother. She didn't know if she even wanted a baby. But the more she'd thought about it, the more she'd realised that she couldn't go through with an abortion no matter what happened to her. "But I decided that I didn't want to go through with one."

"Would Homelander have supported you?"

"I…I don't know," she said. But she did know. She knew that he never would have supported her. He was obsessed with having a child. "But I didn't want to go through with it in the end. We're going to have this baby…we're engaged…and things are fine. Everything is fine."

"And you expect us to believe that?" Daniella questioned. "Because that smile on your face is so forced that I'm surprised your cheeks aren't aching. You're lying to us and we're not stupid, Victoria. Your fiancé isn't who you thought he was and now you're having his baby. Are you sure that this is the right decision? That you're not just with him because you're pregnant?"

"I'm with him because I love him and want to make things work," she said. But she didn't even sound convincing. "And this baby…I want to have this baby…we want to have this baby."

"Right," Michelle said, but her tone was clearly unconvinced by what she was hearing. "Congratulations, then."

"Yeah, congratulations," Daniella tacked on.

"Anyway, that's enough about me. How have you both been?" Victoria asked, desperate to change the conversation. She didn't want to talk about herself anymore. She continued watching her friends as Michelle coughed into her palm and placed her own food down. She hadn't touched any of it despite the fact that they'd ordered from her favourite takeaway.

"I do have something that I need to say to you," Michelle began and Victoria wondered if this was why she was being on edge. "And I…I know that I should have told you both sooner…but there was a reason why I went back to my parents…"

"What is it?" Daniella asked and Victoria saw that Michelle was on the verge of tears.

She was starting to cry, tears rolling down her cheeks and body shaking. Her shoulders jolted up and down as she moved her hands to cup her face. Victoria stood up and went to sit next to her on the grey cloth coloured coach. Daniella wrapped her arm around Michelle's shoulders as Victoria took hold of her hand, holding it firmly.

"I…I went home because I wasn't feeling great," she confessed to them, sniffing and looking between them, tears on her cheeks and skin blotchy with red spots. "Mom took me to the doctor and he…he did some tests…it's…"

She trailed off and took a deep breath, calming herself and Victoria had no idea what was going on, but she was fearing the worst. She didn't want to fear the worst, but there was something terribly wrong.

"I have a brain tumour," Michelle said to them and Victoria felt everything inside of her fall. Daniella closed her eyes, grip on her friend increasing firmly. Victoria kept hold of her hand, trying not to cry and be strong. Michelle needed them. Lifting her free hand to the headband, she pulled on it and Victoria noticed that she was wearing a wig, seeing it clearly without the material covering it. "They tried to operate, but it was inoperable. It's grown too much and…there's nothing they can do. There's nothing that they can do to cure me…and I've had time to try and accept it…but I…I can't…and I don't know what to do. I just don't know what to do."

Michelle broke down then and Victoria and Daniella enveloped her between them, holding onto her firmly and trying to be strong. But they were struggling. Victoria clung tightly onto her and shook her head. It wasn't fair. How was it fair that people like Homelander had perfect health and her friend, who was nothing but pure goodness, was suffering? Life wasn't fair.

"I'm so sorry, Michelle," Daniella managed to speak despite the lump in her throat. "But we're going to be here for you…we're not going anywhere and…you're…you're sure there's…" she trailed off, but Michelle shook her head, knowing what her friend was asking from her.

"There's nothing," she whispered, voice hoarse and Victoria let her forehead sit on her shoulder, a hand going to rub up and down her back. "They said six months at best."

Victoria held back a loud sob at that. Six months was nothing. It was absolutely nothing. She couldn't lose her friend. She couldn't lose the one person who she loved more than anything. The three of them went together. They fit like a perfect jigsaw piece. The idea of one of them not being part of it was something they had never wanted to comprehend. But now they had to.

"Fuck me," Daniella whispered.

"Michelle, I am so sorry," Victoria said to her, but Michelle shook her head.

"I don't want you to be sorry," she said to them and sniffed, trying to compose herself. "I don't want either of you to be sorry or tell me you're sorry…I just need you to be yourselves. I need us to be ourselves because…I really don't want to spend time crying or being sad. I need you two to try and do that for me, please."

They both automatically nodded, prepared to give her exactly what she needed. They couldn't promise that there wouldn't be tears or sadness, but if Michelle didn't want to see it then they would try to do that for her. They could do it without her seeing. For now, they had to be strong for their friend.

"We can do whatever you want," Daniella said and Victoria looked to her behind Michelle's back. Daniella gave her a stern nod, telling her silently that they could do this. They could do this for their best friend.

"Of course we can," Victoria said, kissing Michelle on the forehead before her friend rested her head on her shoulder. "We can do whatever you want."

Homelander was pacing around the penthouse. It had gone dark outside, the sun completely gone and the clouds had rolled in. Victoria hadn't come back. Worse than that, she had turned her phone off and that had the tracker on it. She had promised him that she wasn't going to do that. Looking to the window, Homelander saw that it had started raining. He cursed Victoria, wondering if he should have put a tracker in her, but he thought that she wasn't stupid enough to run away.

He contemplated going down to Crime Analytics and asking them to give him Daniella's address. But he had no idea if she was going there. Besides, she hadn't said when she would be back. He's flown over New York and tried to find her, but there had been no sign of her. And so he had wondered if she had gone back to the penthouse. But she hadn't.

And then, at nine p.m. she walked back in. She was dressed in her white shirt and jeans, her red coat completely soaked and her hair hanging in clumps down her face. She was pale white and Homelander felt anger boil up inside of him as he saw her. She was pregnant. She shouldn't be wandering around in the cold and rain outside.

"Where the fuck have you been?" he demanded from her, pointing at her.

He was still dressed in his suit, the gloves pulled off and tossed to the side. Victoria dropped her bag to the floor and began to shrug out of her coat. He saw that she was shivering. She didn't even answer him.

"You're running around New York without protection…pregnant…and almost looking like you're going to catch pneumonia," he snapped at her, annoyed with her naivety. Still, she was silent. He flapped his arms by the side. "Are you going to fucking say anything?"

And then she looked to him and he saw her red rimmed eyes. They were bloodshot and he knew she had been crying. The anger inside of him began to wash away as he moved towards her and she just stood there, completely still.

"What is it? Has someone hurt you? Is it the baby?" he asked her all the questions at once, but she shook her head. He didn't know if she was being honest, but then she began speaking, her voice wavering and shaky.

"It's Michelle," she said to him and he almost sighed in relief and rolled his eyes. But he didn't. He let her continue talking, her body shaking from the cold and wet. "She has a brain tumour. It's uncurable. She has six months to live."

Her voice was so matter of fact. He watched her as she looked him in the eye and he blinked profusely, not sure what was going on or how she was going to react.

"I went walking around New York because I didn't know what else to do…because she…it's not fair that she's dying…it's not fair that my best friend, who is everything to me, is dying and…" she trailed off. She wanted to tell him that it wasn't fair that Michelle died and people like him lived. But she didn't. She stopped herself. "It's just not fair and I didn't know what to do because I just feel so lost…I love her so much and she…she's my best friend…it's not fair…"

Homelander watched her begin to cry and he moved out of instinct to her. His arms went around her as he brought her body against his. She tried to push away, but his grip was tight and she didn't have the energy inside of her to relent or push him away. He just let her stop fighting and slump against him as she cried. How many times had he held her before when she cried, longing to take her pain away? A hand went to her hair, cupping the back of her head tenderly as her cheek sat against his chest and his chin rested on the top of her head.

Victoria wanted to push him away. She wanted him to get away from her, but he had been persistent. And then she had felt his hand run up and down her back, his other hand tenderly holding the back of her head and it had felt so familiar. It had felt like comfort and deep down she wanted someone to comfort her. She didn't want it to be him, but he was so familiar. The feel of him was so familiar.

She continued crying and he just stood there, content to let her and offer her comfort. He didn't care that her friend was dying. Why would he? But he knew that she would need someone. She needed someone to lean on and, no matter how much she protested, he would be the one to give her that. He let his lips quirk as he kissed the top of her head. She might not be hugging him back, but eventually she would. Because she was just like him. She was broken. She needed to be loved. And he would be the only one who could offer her that.

He had her right where he wanted her and he knew that things would be perfect. He just needed time.

A/N: So things are going to be picking up and getting pretty intense - and thanks to my reviewers on the previous chapter: sansondonisha398, ShatteredSoul37, HomiesLazer and Guest. We all know Homelander is not redeemable and season 3 is going to come...in the meantime, pretty please let me know what you think and anything you want to see!