A/N Sorry for the long updates. I am not a fast typer. Here are our favourite known characters.

Chapter 2

5 months later

He hummed a tune as he cracked an egg onto a slice of toast. He had taken off his gloves that morning, because it was such a nice day that he decided that there was no risk. And anyway, she had seen them. Of course, he kept the mask on, and the wig, because despite the trust between them, he still felt uncomfortable without them. She hadn't seen his face, and he intended to keep it that way.

Soon he heard the foot steps on the stairs as she came down. V placed the slice of toast on the table, along with a glace of apple juice and some flowers in a vase. He had a copy of today's newspaper with him and he sat down just as she entered the room, scratching her head. He had eaten beforehand, and so she ate alone, but with V to accompany her at the table.

"Good morning Evey." he said brightly.

"Morning V." she grumbled as she sat down heavily at the table and bit into her toast. Evey was never a morning person, and so V knew better than to make a decent conversation with her in the mornings. He always waited until she had tidied herself up a bit and put on a bit of make up before he made conversation. This time, however, she started off the speaking.

"What's in the newspaper?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing much. Only a bit on how the food rationing might increase, and that they seemed to have found a new lead into finally capturing me." V said airily.

"Oh, really? What is the lead?" she asked, taking a swig of apple juice.

"They have found a glove. They think that they might be able to trace the finger prints to find out which citizen is causing all of the havoc in the city." They both snorted at this idea. In the fire at Larkhill, V had gone through an intensely hot fire which had not only burnt his skin, hair, eyelashes and eyebrows; he had also had to knock down a wall to get out. That wall had been on fire, and so, as a result of that, V had no finger prints. The tips of his fingers had burnt, leaving angry red scarring, but no identification marks of any kind.

"That will be fruitless." said Evey, getting up and taking her plate to the sink to be washed. She looked out of the window and saw the field that was just in front of the house. She smiled. V had chosen a perfect location for her holiday.

After coming out of the prison that V had put her in, he had taken her up to the roof. There she had cried away all of her fears. After about half an hour up there, she had turned around to find V still standing there, waiting for her. She had walked towards him, and he had opened his arms for her, and she had gratefully accepted them. They had both made their way down to the Shadow Gallery. They had spent the night together, using the cover of darkness to cloak their bodies. He had taken of his mask, just for that night. And she had kissed his lips, and had shared him. They had woken up in the morning, but still she did not see his face. She wouldn't, she knew that. He had to retain some dignity, and this was it. But then, Evey didn't want to see his face. The mask was his face, and so she wanted that to be it.

After that night she had stayed with him in the Shadow Gallery. She didn't want to leave. This was her home now, and she wanted that to be it. But she needed air, and so one day she had told V that she wanted to go to the country for a while. He had agreed, and so she had hijacked a car, filled it up with everything that they needed, drove it up to Victoria Station, V had climbed into the front, and they had driven away. Away to a place that was quiet, and alone, so they could be together.

"Evey?" said V from behind her.

"Nothing V. Just thinking." she said with a smile. He came up and stood behind her, putting his hand on her shoulder and turning her towards him. He reached out with his other had and stroked her head. The hair still hadn't grown back, and she was still as bald as an egg. She didn't mind the look. In fact she quite liked it. It made her look tough, and somehow gave her the inner strength that she needed.

"How are you this morning?" he asked.

"Fine. A bit sick but that will soon clear up." she with a smile. She could tell that he was smiling too. He reached out a hand and stroked her belly in a loving way. As though to touch the child within it. His child.

EV

Life had suddenly become so much complicated since that day, when she had come out of the prison to find V standing in the corridor. It had shocked her, and she new that, in the deepest part of her, she would never forgive him for what he had put her through. She knew that what he had done to her was only half as bad as what had happened to him. She had felt the scars caused by the fire and his imprisonment at Larkhill. They had discussed it, what had happened. She didn't feel sympathy for him, nor pity. He didn't want that, and so Evey wouldn't give it to him. It was anger that she felt, anger towards the people, anger to the doctors that had submitted V to this torture. And this anger gave her new strength. She could finally see why he did the things that he did, why he chose to peruse his vendetta. And she still loved him.

It was love now that she felt for him, not friendship. She had loved him since the beginning, and she would love him to the end. And now she was carrying a witness to that love. A child. V had been shocked, and needless to say, angry when he had found out that she was pregnant. She had been shocked herself. Evey had tried to hide it from him, but the combination of morning sickness, the new diet and the pregnancy tests that he had found in the draw had done it for him. She remembered the confrontation, V shouting at her that it was careless, and that how was he going to support a child? She had cried, and said that she would go if he didn't want her there. This was the only time when she remembered hi showing any emotion like anger. Sympathy; yes. Joy; yes. Sadness; sometimes. But he had finally come round to the idea, and had embraced it, saying that they would get through it. He had come to love the child, even though it was barley a month old, no bigger than a tadpole.

She smiled at this, and looked over at the seat next to her. Even though it was a beautiful spring day, they barley went out. It was a fear long bred into her, that if they went out of their sanctuary, they would be discovered, and so their life would end. At the moment, both of them were sitting on a sofa, watching The Count of Monte Cristo for what must have been the hundredth time. When V had found the house that they were staying in, the electricity was working, but all of the bulbs had gone. The heating wasn't working, and the water that had come out of the taps was a disgusting brown colour. But V, who had built the Shadow Gallery by hand, had fixed everything, sending Evey down to the village to get the necessary equipment. And so they spent the days in a peaceful bliss, doing everything and nothing.

Suddenly out of the window came the sound of hooves. V looked up sharply, and he grabbed Evey's hand. He switched of the television, and ran to the stairs, Evey clutching tightly to his hand. They raced up the stairs, and went to the room that served as their bedroom. Anxiously Evey peered out of the window, terrified that it would be men in black with guns. But to her relief, it was only a straggle of riders, chatting pleasantly to each other.

"Phew! That was too close." she said as she crawled to where V was, knives at the ready. "It was only the riders from the school." They had discovered, on the second day of them being at the house that they were very near a school. This school seemed to be one of the only boarding schools left in the country, and so each day, around this time, riders came up the path that led past their house to go the school, back to the stables. She laid a hand on V's arm, and he put the knives down.

Evey crawled to the window again, and peered out to watch the riders disappear. Snatches of their conversation drifted to her on the breeze.

"…5 months go…telephone box…looks like a cell…wonder what they are doi…"

Evey frowned, and looked at V. He had put the knives away and was kneeling beside her, looking out of the window. The mask covered his face, but she could almost hear the frown that no doubt creased his face.

"What do you think it is?" she asked.

"I don't know," V mused "But from what I gathered, men are coming into the school and are building some sort of holding room in a telephone box, and that someone has been missing for 5 months." He sat down, and Evey sat down next to him, moving closer to him and holding his hand.

"What are you thinking?" she asked after 5 minutes in silence.

"I don't know, sweet Evey, I just don't know."

EV

2 weeks later

"V, do we need this?" called Evey from up stairs. V looked up from where he was, packing the television into Styrofoam. Evey came from the stairs, holding a large board covered in holes. V had found it a week ago and had been practising his knife throws, using the board as a target.

"No, leave it Evey." he replied, turning back to the television. They had decided that it was time to go back to London. Evey had managed to recover well, having no more nightmares about the prison, and both would go back, content. He was just about finish the packing when something distracted him. A noise. He dismissed it, thinking that it was just a car coming to the school, when something else grabbed his attention. It was the noise of a siren, wailing in the still air.

"V?" asked Evey, nervously. 'No doubt she has images of the men with black bags' thought V as he went to the window and peered put, looking at the front of the school.

Several police cars were screeching to a halt at the front, whilst a crowd of people were gathering at the steps that led up to the large oak doors. Men had got out of the cars, and were shoving back the crowd, trying to dispel the panic that was racing through the student like quicksilver.

V raced out into the porch, grabbing his knives, cloak and hat before racing outside, Evey hot on his heals, despite being pregnant, she was still able to run, and the jeans were extra stretchy, give her the movement that she needed to keep up. They found a big enough tree, and hid behind it. They were close enough to get a good view of the school, but far enough away to get a good head start if they were seen. V enfolded Evey into his cloak, and they both peered out of the tree. V saw it first.

A large black van was making its way up the drive, crawling to the school. V felt a sense of dread settle in his stomach. He remembered the van that had taken him. He was terrified, and held Evey closer, as if she was a shield. Evey felt this, and knew that this is what had happened to him. A van, that had taken his life away, was coming to collect another life. But then Evey not noticed something odd.

"V look!" she said, pointing into the crowd. Whilst the soldiers were keeping the crowd back, they weren't taking anyone from the crowd.

"Then that must mean…" V said slowly. Suddenly everything that they had heard made sense. The cell, the crowd, the van.

"There bringing someone back!" Evey gasped. And it was true. The men were holding back the crowd, which was surging forward. The crowd, teachers and children alike, were shouting out at the men. Abuse and insults were flying through the air like rockets. It was chaos. And the black van was there.

The doors flew open, and Peter Creedy stepped out.

"Good morning, all!" he yelled above the noise of the crowd. The people quietened, so as to listen to what he had to say.

"Does anyone remember what happened 5 months ago?" Without waiting for an answer, he carried on. "5 months ago, me and my men came and took a girl away from your school. She was under suspicion of fraternizing with 'Codename-V'. We still have not found the truth, but rest assured we will. If she has not told us anything after a week, you will all be privileged to see her be shot.

"And now," he continued, "I give to you, Charlotte Finch!" He started clapping, and all at once the guards broke into applause. The back doors of the van opened, and at once V and Evey, who were already sickened, gasped.

Stumbling out of the door was a girl of no more than 15. She was thin. Very thin. In fact, she was emaciated. She had red weals and bruises covering every inch of her body. Her head has been shaved, and she had a blindfold on. She was dressed in a horrible orange, sleeveless tunic. It was evident that she had not washed for ages. And it also obvious that she was terrified.

She fell to her knees on the hard pavement, and the men laughed. Fresh tears leaked out and dirtied the cloth over her eyes. She turned her blind head to the school and then to the hills. For an instant, her eyes met V's eyes, through the mask. V had a vision of large, florescent green eyes, brimming with tears. She had a vision of blue eyes, nearly black, fringed with burnt skin. Then she was led inside, and the moment was lost. It was gone, but V was shocked.

"Children. It was a child." whispered Evey. She clung to V. V turned to her and held her face in his hand. They ran to the house and shut the door. Evey slid down the door, whilst V undid his cloak with unsteady fingers. His hat had been discarded on a chair.

"How could they do that?" Evey asked to no one in particular. She was huddled up, her arms around her knees. V sat down next to her and gathered her up, stroking her head. He was too shaken for words. The girl had seen his face, he knew it. She needed help.

"Evey… You do realise that we can't go yet." Evey turned to him and looked at him with eyes that had seen too much for her life.

"I know V." she said.

"We have to help her. She has gone through to much. And she will be shot. A life, wasted because of them." V stood up and took up Evey. They made their way to the kitchen. Around them were the bags that were to go into the car. That was then. It was the girl that had stopped them going home. She needed them. She was just a child.

V and Evey had been through a lot together. He had rescued her from rape. She had rescued him from being caught at the television station. And they had rescued each other when he had tortured her. But they would now have to rescue a girl from certain death. And it was going to be the thing that would make them know that they were meant for each other.