He should have known that she was going to be even more broken than before. She put on such a tough act, but then in the middle of the night, when darkness struck and nightmares plagued her, she couldn't keep being tough. She was still his weak and broken Victoria. She was still the same woman who needed him to protect her, even if she claimed that she didn't. He could see straight through her act. He could easily see that she needed him and that was definitely true if she wanted to keep seeing their baby.

And so, after she had woken screaming and begging him not to take their daughter from her, he'd stayed in her room. Laid on top of the quilt, Victoria had sobbed softly as he kept his arms wrapped around her. She's calmed down eventually and hadn't bothered pushing him away. She'd just laid still in his grip until he heard her fall back to sleep. She was firmly under the quilt, her head just resting by his shoulder as he kept his arm around them, nestling her to him softly.

It was only when the sun began to stream in through the curtains did she wake up again. He heard her breathing change as she came around, her eyes opening slowly and adjusting to the light. Homelander gave a squeeze of her shoulders.

"Morning," he whispered down to her.

"You're still here," she observed, moving to sit up slightly, putting some distance between them.

"Well, your nightmare seemed pretty intense. I didn't want to leave you alone while you were going through it," he said to her and she just nodded her head once. "And you seemed to sleep soundly for the rest of the night."

"Yeah, I did," she agreed on that one, moving a hand to her neck and massaging it softly, feeling that she was slightly tense. She looked around her room before glancing back to Homelander. He'd sat up against the headboard, legs stretched in front of him. His hair was a mess on the top of his head and his clothes crumpled.

"You know, we need to talk about names," Homelander said.

"I've been thinking about that," she said to him and adjusted the pillows behind her. She leant back against them, feeling the pain in her stomach begin to throb. She moved a hand to rest on top of it delicately, taking a deep breath. Homelander moved from the bed and grabbed hold of her mug from the bedside table.

"What were you thinking?" he questioned and she watched him move into the bathroom with her mug.

"Well…for the middle name…I…I was hoping that we could call her Michelle," Victoria said.

Homelander rolled his eyes behind her back and emptied her mug, filling it with cold water. He headed back into the bedroom, a smile plastered on his face. It was the middle name. No one ever called their child by their middle name. And this would make her happy. He had to make her happy.

"It's a sweet sentiment," Homelander said to her and she watched him hand her the mug. She took hold of it and he reached for her medication from her dressing table. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, her brow furrowed.

"Does that mean you're okay with it?" she asked. "And…how did you know I needed my medication?"

"I was there when the doctor told you when to take them," he said to her and popped one into her palm. She downed it in one with the water. "And you're clearly in pain. You've been wincing since you woke up."

She placed her mug back down and Homelander rested the packet of pills next to it. "And yes," he said, answering her former question. "If you want her middle name to be Michelle then I think that's a lovely idea."

She looked at him apprehensively. "You're being overly nice about this," she commented and he chuckled. Wasn't this the man she wanted? Did she not want him to be the nice guy she had met? He could happily be something else if she really wanted him to be, but he didn't quite enjoy the feeling he had when he was him with her.

"I'm not a complete asshole, Vicky," he said to her.

"No…but this…is this you being you?" she wondered. "Or is this you being the version of yourself who you think I want?"

"Why can you not just accept it for what it is?" he questioned from her and she didn't want to tell him that it was because it made it difficult for her. It made it difficult for her to hate him.

"I…I can," she said to him because she knew it would be easier than arguing with him. She didn't want to argue. She was tired and all she wanted was to go and see her daughter. "But thank you."

"Of course," Homelander said. "But that still doesn't solve the issue we have of naming her."

"Have you not had any thoughts?"

"Well, I think I like the traditional names, you know? They called me John. You're called Victoria. I think our daughter should have a name like…Elizabeth…Jessica…Francine."

"Francine?"

"A no go on Francine?"

"No offence to any Francines out there, but she just doesn't look like a Francine at all," she said with a shake of her head. So that name was out. "I like Elizabeth…or…maybe Evelyn?"

"Evelyn," he tested the name on his lips. "Evie…Evelyn Michelle…well, it's not as if she has a surname because I don't have one."

"Can she not have my surname?" Victoria wondered from him. "I mean, we discussed this before when we were engaged. I wanted to keep my own name. People would already know that's who I am anyway, but it's not a surname, is it? And everyone is going to know she's your daughter."

"But she could have my name," he responded.

"It sounds a bit too much, John," Victoria said to him. "Evelyn Michelle Homelander? I mean…it doesn't sound real."

"I guess you have a point," he said, relenting on that. It did sound a bit of a mouthful and not entirely like a real name. Besides, she'd soon enough have her own supe name. "But…you know that I actually do have a full name, right?"

"I know, but you told me that you never use it," she said to him. "So I figured you wouldn't want our daughter to have it."

He shrugged. "Maybe it wouldn't be so bad."

He just wanted some part of her to be known as his. Victoria nodded her head. "Gillman," she said and he chuckled at that. Shaking his head, he leant back against the pillows once more, Victoria moving slightly to the side to give him some more room. He placed his hands behind his head and looked to the ceiling.

"People will ask why Gillman," he mused.

"Can we not just tell them that's your name?" she suggested to him.

"We could, but no one else knows it, not really. They just know Homelander," he said. "Maybe it would be for the best for her just to keep your name. We can add mine to the birth certificate, but keep it out of the press."

"Why are you so embarrassed about people knowing your name?" she wondered and he shrugged.

"It's not embarrassment."

"Then what is it?"

"It's not who I am to them," he responded and continued staring at the ceiling. "I'm Homelander. I don't want people knowing anything else. Only certain people know my actual name and that's how I want is to stay. You…you know who I am and that's all that matters. Our daughter will also know too."

"So…she'll have my surname too?"

"Gillman-Anderton on the birth certificate, but to the world…she will be Anderton. Everyone will know who she is. She'll be the most popular baby in the entire world."

Victoria gulped. That was what scared her. "I think Prince William and Kate Middleton might have something to say about that," she just responded and he chuckled. He loved it when she could joke around him. It made him feel as though she was relaxed and he wanted that. He wanted her to be relaxed around him. It took him another moment before he reached out his hand to hers, holding it tightly in his grip.

"She'll always be perfect," was all he said to her and she nodded, agreeing with that.

"Can we go and see her?" Victoria asked.

"Of course we can," he said, squeezing her fingers. "We'll go as soon as we're up and dressed."

…

They had spent the day at the facility, both of them sat either side of Evelyn and talking to her. It was still early days, but things were looking more promising with each passing day. She was still growing stronger. It had only been four days since she was born, but in that time, the doctors were becoming happier with her progress. Victoria had listened intently as they told them about what she needed as she grew stronger. She would probably not be able to drink from Victoria, but she could express her milk and it would be given to her through a feeding tube when she could eventually take it. They might be able to take her back to Vought Tower in a few week's time when she was even more stable.

Going home after a day there, Homelander had helped avoid all of the press that had been waiting for them. They'd gone back to the Tower and Homelander had insisted on Victoria resting. She had said that she didn't entirely want to go back to bed and so she'd sat on the sofa. Reaching for the remote, she had flipped through television channels until she found something she hadn't watched in years. Homelander had gone into the kitchen and found some food that he had asked Ashley to ensure they had in the fridge.

He wasn't going to let Victoria go skipping on meals. She had to keep her strength up, no matter how many times she claimed she wasn't hungry. He moved into the living area and heard British accents coming from the screen. Looking to it, he saw three people stood on a sidewalk outside what looked like a pub.

"What are you watching?" he questioned from her.

"Eastenders," she said to him. "It's this British drama thing that's been running for years…I remember watching it at university in the evening when I did my homework. Mum would watch it as well whenever she wasn't working nights. It's far-fetched, but comforting."

"It looks terrible," he said and stood before her.

"Well, it's not Homelander: Darkest Night, but it has its charms," she responded simply.

"Well, watch what you like so long as you eat this," he said and handing her the bowl of soup. "It's vegetable, but it's from that soup company you really love. Just try and eat this because you've had nothing all day except for three mugs of herbal tea. That's not exactly enough to sustain you."

"Even if I'm not-"

"-Don't say that you're not hungry," he interrupted her. "You need to eat something so just…try."

She nodded her head as she held the bowl in her grip, resting it on a cushion. She took a mouthful after blowing on it as Homelander remained stood in front of her, hands on his hips and watching her intently. She looked to him and her eyes widened. "Happy?" she asked.

"Ecstatic," he said in a low drawl and her lips quirked despite everything and he smiled back as well.

He said nothing further on the matter, keeping quiet as the phone began to ring. Sighing, he headed on over to it. Victoria remained where she was, taking another slurp of soup. She listened in as Homelander answered, picking it up from the receiver.

"Hello? What…Ashley…no…absolutely not…I don't know what the fuck he's doing here…fine…I'll come down…"

He hung up abruptly, slamming the phone down. Victoria placed the bowl onto the coffee table and looked at him. "Who was that?"

"Ashley, there's been a disturbance downstairs."

"What kind of disturbance?" Victoria asked him and he went silent. She sat on the edge of the sofa, looking at him with wide eyes and tilting her head to the side. "John, what is it?"

"Your brother," he said and Victoria was amazed that he would come anywhere near Vought Tower. "He's refusing to leave until he sees you. He wants to make sure you're alright."

"Can he come up?"

"You want him up here? I don't think so."

"Then I'll go down to him."

"You're not going anywhere."

"It's one or the other, John!" Victoria exclaimed, standing up and watching him as she shrugged her shoulders. "He's my brother and you told me that I could see him. We had a deal, remember? So I don't mind going downstairs, but you know Billy. He's stubborn. He's not going to go."

"He will if I go down and deal with him," John said in a gruff voice.

"Seriously?" she asked from him, tone full of annoyance as she heard him and he rolled his eyes. He knew that he'd have to deal with William Butcher eventually, but perhaps not less than a week after his fiancée had given birth to his daughter.

"Fine. He can come up here, but I'm sticking around."

"Fine," Victoria said back to him and he grunted once.

He stormed over to the elevator and pressed the button, heading down to the foyer. It was dark and the building was pretty empty except for some night workers. Coming to the foyer, he saw Billy arguing with Ashley still.

"Ashley, I can handle this," Homelander said, voice deep and threatening. Ashley turned to look to him.

"I tried telling him that you were busy and Victoria needed rest."

"And I told you that I'm going nowhere until I make sure that my sister is safe and well."

"So you've started caring about your sister, William?" Homelander questioned, hands behind his back and he rocked back and forth on his heels. "Is it not just ten years too late for you to start caring about her now?"

"You think I'm going to take morality lessons from the world's most immoral supe?" Billy demanded from him and Ashley stood to the side, sensing that something bad might happen. The two men were looking at each other as though they wanted to do nothing more than kill each other.

"Touché, William," Homelander said, a smile on his face before he looked to Ashley. "You can go, Ashley. I'll escort Mr Butcher to his sister."

"You're sure?"

"Positive," Homelander said.

Billy didn't want to follow Homelander, but he suspected he had no other option if he wanted to see Victoria. Walking to the elevator, he stepped into it as Homelander entered the code for his penthouse quickly, not giving William a chance to see what it was. But, as they moved up the floors, Homelander pressed the stop button. William's lips arched. He had sensed that it wasn't going to be so easy.

"Killing me in a lift wouldn't be your smartest idea," he warned Homelander.

"Don't worry, I have no intention of killing you," he assured him. "It would be almost too easy."

"And you don't like things easy, do you?" Billy retorted. "So, what's the plan?"

"I'm here to tell you that no matter what you say or do, Victoria is going to stay with me," Homelander said to him in a low voice. "I know it makes you angry, I can hear it in your heartbeat, but the fact is that your sister and me are staying together. However, I know that you have no intention of letting that lie…you have no intention of sitting back and letting me get my way."

"Wow, they really did train you to be quite smart, didn't they?" Billy asked and Homelander knew that this was who he was. He masked everything in sarcasm and insults, despite the fact that he was anxious and nervous. Of course he was. He was many things, but he wasn't heartless. He loved his sister. He wasn't going to leave her be.

"And you can do what you want. You can raise an army of supes…find incriminating evidence that makes me look like a monster-"

"-Oh, I'd be able to do that, don't you worry," Billy interrupted him.

"But, the fact of the matter is this, William," Homelander said, looking at him with his steely blue glare. "You can do what you want. You can try every trick you have in your book. You'll never have her. She'll never leave me because I will burn everything and everyone who tries to take her from me."

Billy's smile fell from his face. He continued glowering at Homelander, but he wasn't scared of him. He refused to be scared of him. No matter what happened, he wasn't going to let him think he feared him. Because he didn't. He didn't fear him.

"You see, the issue with that is that you'll never have her…not truly…because she's good. She's far too good for a piece of shit like you and she knows it."

"You think she's too good for me?" he asked, a smile forming on his face. That was entertaining to him. "That's kinda funny, don't you think?"

"Oh, I'm a connoisseur of funny things and believe me, there was nothing remotely funny in it."

Homelander chuckled and pressed the button to start the elevator again. "I know you're not going to stop and I look forward to seeing what you come up with," he said as they began moving once again. "Because whatever it is, however we go up against each other, I'll be the one standing on the other side with my wife, daughter…and son."

"Yeah, you see I'm a betting man and I'd hate to bet against me."

Homelander chuckled. "I admire your optimism," was all he said as they came to the penthouse and the doors opened.

Victoria was stood there, looking into the space. Her eyes darted between Homelander and Billy. They were stood on opposite ends of the carriage. She could cut the atmosphere with a knife.

"See? Perfectly safe and well," Homelander gestured towards Victoria. "So thanks for stopping by."

"Yeah, not washing with me," Billy said and stepped out of the elevator as Homelander kept hold of the button to keep the door from closing. Victoria looked to him and widened her eyes, giving him that look that he could hardly say no to.

"Ten minutes?" she asked from him.

He sighed. "Fine," he snapped out. "Ten minutes."

And then he left them alone, heading downstairs. Victoria looked to her brother and drank in his appearance. "Can you not afford a new coat?" was the first thing she said to him.

"Have you seen the state you're in?" he responded to her.

"I've just given birth. I can get away with wearing jogging bottoms and a t-shirt," she replied. "You can't get away with having tape covering a hole on your coat."

"Well, as much as I love your fashion advice, Anna Wintour, I'm here to see how you're doing because I didn't trust what I saw in the news."

"I asked Ashley to let you know I was fine."

"You think that I was going to believe some Vought lackey?" he questioned and shook his head, chuckling. "Absolutely not. I had to come here and hear it from you that you're fine and that cunt hasn't done anything to you…that this entire giving birth thing has been real."

"You know he's probably listening from downstairs, right?" she checked.

"Don't give a shit," he replied and she knew that was the truth. "He's a cunt and I'd say it to his face."

"I'm sure you probably have," Victoria said. "Come on, I think there's whiskey in the kitchen."

"Are you allowed to drink?"

"Absolutely not, but I get a feeling you might have to," she said to him and he followed her through the living room and to the kitchen. He looked to the television and frowned.

"Is that Eastenders?" he questioned.

"Don't judge," she urged him as she reached for a glass and found the bottle in the back of the cupboard. She poured it and handed it to her brother before sitting at the breakfast bar.

"So…you actually did have a baby?"

"A daughter," she said with a nod of her head. "She's called Evelyn."

"Right," Billy said and Victoria rolled her eyes at her brother's nonchalance. She folded her hands together on the worktop and Billy remained stood at the other side of it. He drank the whiskey, not being too proud to down it. It was alcohol and he needed something considering that he was in Homelander's apartment.

"I know you hate kids."

"I don't hate kids. I get on with Ryan, don't I?" he responded. "And he loved the Lego kit, by the way."

"Good," Victoria said with a genuine smile. "And you? How are you doing?"

"We don't need to talk about me, Vic," he said to her with a shake of his head. "I'm here to see how you are. You look…exhausted."

"Thanks," she said dryly.

"So are you actually okay?"

"Probably not," she said with a shake of her head. "But I have to be, don't I? Evelyn needs me."

"And who is there for you?"

"What happened to you have to learn to stand on your own two feet?" Victoria queried and arched her brow in his direction. Billy looked down for a moment before he took another sip of his drink.

"You do, but I think exceptions can be made when you've just given birth several weeks early to a psychopath's baby and your best friend is dying," Billy said and Victoria's eyes widened at hearing him. She gulped loudly, eyes watering. She blinked back tears and sniffed, slipping from the barstool and moving over to the fridge.

"Don't mince your words, Billy."

"Look, you're going through a lot," Billy said. "I'd understand if you're not holding up alright."

"But there's nothing we can do about any of it, is there?" Victoria replied. "I have to stay here. I can't do anything to help my daughter. I can't save Michelle. I'm just so fucking useless and all I can do is sit and wait."

She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, a dry laugh escaping her as she shrugged her shoulders and looked to him. She unscrewed the lid of her bottle and took a sip, feeling the coldness coat her throat.

"You need to play the long game," Billy whispered to her, hoping that Homelander wasn't listening in anywhere. He moved to his sister and whispered to her. "Just stay strong, okay? Because you're the strongest fucking woman I know, do you understand me? After everything that's happened…you've not once given up and you're not going to give up now, no matter how much shit gets thrown at you."

"You have that much faith in me?" she checked with her brother and he nodded.

"I do," he confirmed with a nod of his head. "And you have to as well."

But she didn't know if she did. She didn't know how she was going to get through everything.

…

"You are not telling her any of what you just told me, is that clear?"

"But she-"

"-No," Homelander interrupted, voice firm as he looked to Ashley.

They were in the meeting room on the ninety-ninth floor. Homelander was stood by the window, Ashley and Edgar to the other side of him. Glaring at the woman, she went quiet before he turned to look out of the window once more.

"You know that nothing will happen to your daughter," Edgar said.

Homelander scoffed. "And how can I be so sure of that after what you just told me? I can't believe there are people like that out there…I want their names. I want to know exactly who they are."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Edgar said with a shake of his head. "We have allowed the authorities to take care of it. We need to be careful after your stunts with Starlight. Do you know that they are setting up a department specifically to investigate supes? We can hardly run around being vigilantes."

"You think I give a shit about cooperating with authorities when you've just told me that someone intended to hurt my daughter?" Homelander demanded from Edgar and he could see the anger rising up inside of the blond supe. He was fuming. He was unable to stop himself from letting the anger take hold of him. "Give me their fucking names."

"What's going on?"

Homelander turned to the door. Victoria was walking into the meeting room. She looked infinitely better than she had done the week before, but she still looked tired. He could still see the bags under her eyes and her cheeks seemed too hollow still. She was dressed in a long-sleeved maxi dress that flowed out over her stomach which was still sore. She moved into the room, tucking her hair behind her ear. It had been ten days since she'd given birth and in that time, every moment she could spend with Evelyn she had.

"Ah, Dr Anderton," Edgar said to her. "I'm glad you could join us. We still have the matter of your NDA to sign."

"Now? Really?" Homelander demanded from him.

"You knew that the matter would not just go away," Edgar responded.

"She's-"

"-I'll sign it," Victoria interrupted. Homelander looked to her with wide eyes as she moved further into the room. He shook his head and Ashley motioned for her to sit down in his chair, the papers laid out on the desk. She did so, perching on it and picking up the pen.

"Vicky, you don't need to do that."

"Actually, she does," Edgar said. "This is for your benefit as much as hers. I know you want to be noble at this moment in time and believe that love conquers all, but it doesn't."

"I'm not that fucking naïve."

"Not usually, no," Edgar said in a whisper. "But when it comes to her, you lose all your senses."

Homelander ground his teeth together. He would get rid of Edgar at some point. He had to. He despised the man and what he was doing. Victoria let Ashley tell her where to sign and she scrawled her signature, not bothering to read the documents considering she'd seen them before in the week when Ashley had brought them to her to check.

"So…we're all done here," Edgar said with a clap of his hands. "Ashley, I believe we have business to attend to?"

"Yes, sir," she agreed and she followed him out of the meeting room.

Victoria turned around in the chair and looked at Homelander as he stood by the window. "Why were you down here?"

"I had business to conduct. I didn't know that they'd summoned you here."

"Edgar told me that I had to sign and I was tired of fighting him," she said to Homelander. "He was always going to win in the end and I need to think about Evelyn. She needs me and I'm not going to abandon her or let her down. If that means signing that stupid NDA then so be it."

"You could have told me."

"You'd have just argued with him and I'd still have just ended up signing," Victoria said with a shake of her head. "But what business were you conducting? You sounded pretty angry."

"It doesn't matter," he promised her with a shake of his head.

"I thought we were done keeping secrets?" she said to him and he watched her intently. Sighing, he moved to the seat next to his and sat down, pushing his cape out of the way. Leaning back in the chair, he folded his hands into his lap. Victoria played with the cotton material of her green maxi dress as she waited for him to talk to her.

"I'm trying to protect you," was all that he offered her.

"You've tried to do that in the past and I've always found out," she reminded him and he chuckled darkly. He knew that was true. Victoria continued to watch him and she tilted her head to the side. It was dark over New York City, the air turning cooler once more. She'd spent the day with Evelyn, Michelle and Daniella coming with her and Homelander joining her in the afternoon.

"There's a group of people who are anti-supe. They want Compound-V destroyed," he said to her. "They don't think anyone should be made a supe…but they…they apparently were worried about supes being created naturally like Evelyn and, if they knew about him, Ryan."

"Why would they be worried about that?" Victoria asked.

Homelander shrugged. "They see us as a danger to humans," he said to her and she could understand that. "When they heard about Evelyn, they hatched a plan. They used the dark web to communicate…the cops have found six of them so far and intend to move in on them tonight."

Victoria frowned. "What kind of plan?" she asked from him and he shook his head.

"It doesn't-"

"-Don't tell me that it doesn't matter because it does," she interrupted him. "Just tell me. I'm her mum. I deserve to know."

"They were going to take her, Vicky. They were going to take her and they were going to…I don't even want to say it let alone think it."

Victoria's blood ran cold and she sat up straight. Her stomach began churning and her chest aching. She shook her head firmly. "No," she said firmly and Homelander looked to her, seeing the distress on her face. She moved to stand up, pacing back and forth as he also moved to stand up. "You…you're telling me that they would take our daughter and…our little girl?" she asked, unable to comprehend the idea of anyone harming a baby.

"To make an example of her," Homelander said. "To show that supes…they shouldn't even think of having babies. She's famous: the most famous baby there is."

"She can't even breath on her own, John!" Victoria snapped. "She's our baby."

"And they're getting nowhere near her."

"Who are they?" Victoria asked from him. "Who are they, John?"

"I don't know."

"I want to go back to her."

"Victoria, she's safe. She's surrounded by security. The facility is secure. She's-"

"-I don't care, I want to be with her until those men are dealt with," she said to him and Homelander moved to his feet, hands on hips. "I mean, what if they get bail? What if they do come after her? I feel sick thinking about it. How can anyone think of hurting a baby? She's innocent. She's…John…"

She trailed off and he heard her voice break slightly. Moving over to her, he wrapped his arms around her and she didn't bother to push him away. A hand went to the small of her back and his other hand went to cup the back of her head tenderly. And then she moved her arms around him, holding onto him. He kissed the top of her head, closing his eyes and he knew perfectly well that he had to do something. He wasn't going to stand by.

"We'll go and see her, okay?" Homelander said and she nodded against his chest. "We'll go and we'll stay with her."

…

Victoria had sat next to Evelyn's side. Homelander had sat next to her, hand on Victoria's thigh as they watched their daughter. But then he had given her leg a firm squeeze before standing up and walking out of the room. Victoria had watched him go, eyes wide and a part of her knew where he was going. Deep down, she knew what he was going to do and she didn't stop him. She didn't call him back and tell him not to go. She'd seen the conflict inside of him ever since he'd told her the news. She'd seen the fear and the rage. He'd been sat silently, lost in his own thoughts for an hour before he'd gone.

She wondered if that made her as bad as him. Because she wanted him to go and she wanted the people who had intended on taking her daughter from her to suffer. She wanted to make them pay for even thinking that they could hurt her. Looking to Evelyn, Victoria realised that was what being a mother was about. It was about protecting her daughter, no matter the cost. She wasn't a violent person, not usually, but she hoped that when Homelander went to them, he ensured that their death was painful.

A part of her felt disgusted at the idea. She was being a hypocrite. She knew that she was. But she didn't care. The only thing she cared about was Evelyn.

It was gone one in the morning when he came back. He'd been gone for four hours. Victoria turned to look to him. His suit was neat and pristine. His hair was slicked back, not a piece of place. He was silent, face solemn and gloves completely gone. Moving to stand up, Victoria observed him and then she spotted it. There was a fleck of blood just by his neck. She walked towards him and he wondered if she knew where he had been and what he had done. There had been a reason why he hadn't told her.

"You missed a spot," she commented and moved her thumb into her mouth, wetting the end of it. His eyes widened as she wiped away the dried blood from his skin. She kept her thumb against his skin, looking to his chest at her eye-level. Homelander reached a hand down to her chin, tilting her gaze up to meet his.

"They threatened our daughter," was all that he said to her in a whisper. It was the only excuse he needed for what he had done. He half expected Victoria to yell at him for going rogue. He expected her to tell him that he should have let the police deal with it.

"I know," was all she said to him and he looked confused. She wasn't angry?

He moved his hand to the back of her neck, drawing her closer to him, her hand going to his shoulder to help her balance.

"Did they suffer?" she asked, feeling sick for even asking it, but needing to know.

"Not nearly enough as I'd have liked," he whispered down to her. "But no one is laying a hand on her. No one is going to get near her…or you…ever."

"I know," she said to him. And she did know. "And regardless of everything I've said about you in the past, I'd have done the same. I would have done exactly the same because I wanted them to suffer…I wanted to hurt them…"

"Because you're her mother, just as I'm her father. It's our job to protect her. It's you, me and her…it's us three, okay? It'll always be us three," he whispered and he watched her for a moment before he made the move. He bent down, closing his eyes and bringing her closer to him. He kissed her softly, the feeling of her lips on his so familiar as he moved a hand down her side, grabbing hold of her hip as she closed her eyes. She kissed him back for a few moments before she came to her senses. A hand went to his chest as she broke apart from him and his forehead brushed hers gently.

"It's us three, Victoria," he whispered, seeing that her eyes were still closed as his hands cradled her waist tenderly. "It's always going to be us three."

...

A/N: Things are picking up again and things are developing. As always - your thoughts are appreciated and I want to know what you want to see in season 3! There won't be an update for a few days as I am away, but would love to come back to your comments. They really do help keep me motivated in this!