Evey turned; it seemed at that moment everything happened in slow motion.

Her eyes watched the domino slip out of her fingers…clink…clink…clink on the floor.

She looked into the face of V and screamed. She trembled as she covered her mouth. He stood with gloved hands clasped in front and legs slightly apart. Upon seeing him, she shook and lost control gasping for breath. The moment overwhelmed her sending her though a mirage of painted white faces that skewed. The music in the background distorted and slurred. Her knees buckled. Evey fought against the urge to fall by running to him embracing his neck. He winced upon contact, helping her to keep her balance and supporting her arms.

The expression on her face was sheer horror. "Oh my God! My God" her eyes were full of tears as she looked to his masked face, "How…are y….you…here? You're alive!" she cried. "You're alive!" She hugged him, holding on for support.

"Yes, Evey…I'm here." He was uncertain how to feel. Awkward at her closeness, but pleased all the same.

There was a brief pause before she spoke again. One hundred million things came to her mind. "Oh my God! I watched you die! You're wounded. Are you hurt?" Her hands still shaking, she reached for his chest to touch where there was once a wound and blood. Blood. Lots of it…streaked on the floor…on her clothes…on her hands. Hands.

He moved to avoid her touch. "I believe I am going to be fine, Evey, it may take some more time for me to heal, but whatever injury there may have been, well, I've tended to it."

"I don't understand. How did you get off the train?"

"I jumped. It seemed just in time."

"How can this be?" In disbelief, she backed away and tried to comprehend. To gain some composure. The impact of the moment hit her. "You were dead, V… I saw you, I watched you die… I carried your body to the train." She exclaimed. At that revelation, the tears welled in her eyes even more.

He seemed to observe her keeping his poise.

"I must be dreaming." Her sobbing became intensified and her breathing more labored "You can't be real…you died in my arms…I watched you die …I watched you die!" She was furiously looking around trying to make sense of everything. This all seemed so surreal as if she was seeing a spirit or an apparition her fright becoming more and more unrestrained. Staring in the distance, Evey seemed to loom in her own thoughts for a few seconds.

"Evey." She gasped as V reached to help her steady herself.

"Don't touch me!" She moved her arm away, "Was this another one of your tricks, V?"

"Now, Evey, try to contain yourself."

"Just…just …who are you... what are you?!"

"Be careful Evey, you're becoming insensitive."

But she was swimming in uncertainty. Evey now started to wonder if the whole death incident had been part of his elaborate plan. "V…you didn't plan things to go this way."

"I'm not sure I understand what you mean."

"I mean… you didn't stage your death did you?"

"Certainly not. I can assure you Evey, I thought I was a dead man just as indisputably as you did. The fact that I survived such an event was merely…good fortune."

"Oh, I see…have you been in the Gallery this entire time?"

"Off and on. Yes."

"You mean you led me to believe that you were dead and you let me suffer this entire time?"

"I'm sorry Evey; it wasn't my desire to make you unhappy. Sometimes the chips don't always fall the way you expect them to."

"So that's how you see it… like I am some kind of plaything?" She felt the blood rush to her head.

"Evey, whatever conclusions you have drawn for yourself are untrue, and I would prefer that you would refrain from making false accusations against my character. I told you, no more lies."

There was a long silence between them.

Evey watched him with incredulity, tears streamed down her face.

Not knowing where to go from here, she closed her eyes and took a breath. "I am sorry; I guess I am just in a state of shock. I can't believe you're here." She put her face in her hands sobbing again. "I'm sorry… I can't …I can't stop crying." She kept wiping her face with the back of her hand.

"Understandable, my dear…" He pulled a handkerchief from the inside of his tunic and moved closer to her to wipe her tears away. "You thought I was dead just a few moments ago, give yourself time to accept the fact that I am standing here."

"With you--"

"Now." His voice almost inaudible soothed her very core.

He cradled her face in one gloved hand and wiped her tears away with the other. Her breathing slowed and calmed. She reached up and took the handkerchief, never letting her gaze leave him. Her soft brown eyes were full of wonder and amazement.

"Then you're… you're real…you're really here."

He remained quiet, and she could perceive he was being honest, but for whatever reason, there was something that he wasn't willing or ready to reveal. She could taste it. She didn't have the strength to press the issue any further.

"How are your wounds? Are you still hurt?" She reached out again to touch his chest and he grabbed her wrist to stop her.

"Thank you for your concern, but I can assure you…I'm fine."

Stunned by his sudden movement, she retrieved her hand at his insistence that he wasn't to be touched. Distrust. More obvious by the way she was looking at him, more unyielding with every moment, as if she were catching on. What the hell are you hiding from me V?

"Evey, perhaps you would like something to drink. Maybe I can pour you a glass of brandy. It will calm your nerves and help you stop shaking." It was clear that he was trying to change the subject and bring her back.

Just like father…

She remembered him. The way he would pacify her with false reassurance when she knew there was trouble. The riots. The secret meetings. Strange men coming into the house asking questions. The guns. Her mother staying up late at night, worrying. It was a lie. All lies. She stared at him for a few moments and nodded. She had forgotten her bath and now looked down at her clothing, realizing she was dripping on the floor the wetness of her thin tank rendering her almost naked on top. "Yes…yes, that would be great."

"Good." He snapped up in his usual happy fashion to get her drink

She sighed in relief at the distraction and kept looking in his direction, unable to peel her eyes away from him. At that moment, she did not want him to leave, only to find that he is gone again, never to return. He went to the small bar table in the T.V. room and came back with a large rounded brandy snifter a quarter full. He handed the drink to her, put his arm around her shoulder, and turned her in the direction of her room.

"Why don't you get into some comfortable clothing, and I will make you something to eat?"

She sipped from the glass. "Thank you .That sounds wonderful." Walking a few feet away to the direction of her room, she stopped to face him once more. "I'm glad you're back."

He stood and watched her wipe her face as she disappeared into her room and shut the door. Satisfied that she could express herself and her feelings so openly, he smiled behind the mask.