Homelander knew what he had to do. He had to find Victoria and he had to find her quickly. There was no other option. The more time that went by then the more people would start to ask questions. Where was his wife? Where was his daughter? Were they alright? Had he hurt them? People had seen him decapitate a man who had threatened his son. They had seen that and, even though Vought were claiming it was a fake, he knew that people weren't believing that. But his fans had loved it. They had cheered for him and he finally realised that people were accepting him. The smile on his face had been genuine as he realised that he could have it all. He could finally be himself. There was no one standing in his way. There was no Edgar. There was no Soldier Boy. There was still Butcher, but he would sort him out, but not before he got what he needed from him.

He knew that Butcher couldn't hide forever and the chances of him having left New York were slim. Homelander had gone to his apartment and let himself in, easily breaking in. He'd walked around the space slowly, hands behind his back. There were hardly any homely touches in Butcher's apartment. It was exactly as it had been the last time he had been there.

Moving through the living room, he used his x-ray vision to look into the cabinets, but they were completely empty. There was nothing of any use to him. He didn't expect Butcher to have been clumsy. He was hardly going to leave papers in his apartment directing him towards where Victoria might be. He wasn't an idiot. Homelander found that quite annoying sometimes. He did notice the photos on the kitchen worktop, however.

He stood there and peered down onto them, looking at Victoria in her cap and gown as a young woman. She'd graduated from her undergraduate law degree at the top of her class. He moved a gloved finger towards it, running it along her face. His jaw clenched while her beaming face peered up at him and the anger began to boil inside of his stomach once more. He moved the next photo to the side and saw three kids. He clearly recognised Victoria. She must have been about six with pigtails and a gap toothed grin. She was sat in between a smaller boy with mussy dark hair and almost a grimace on his face. He suspected that had to have been Lenny. Billy was on the other side of her, arm wrapped around her shoulders. He was a teenager, quite clearly longing to be anywhere but where he was. It was only Victoria smiling.

The final photo was of Victoria at some conference. She was stood behind a lectern and talking into the microphone, her hands gripping the wooden panelling sides. Her hair was brushed behind her shoulders and her eyes looking into the distance of the crowd. She had a UN name tag on her dress and Homelander guessed it must have been on some website. She looked a little younger than she had when he'd met her.

"Anyone ever tell you it's rude to break into people's apartments?"

Homelander hadn't been listening out for Billy, but he knew he wouldn't be far away. He could hear the footsteps and the steady rhythm of his heart. He was calm, not afraid of what might be coming his way. Homelander would give Billy that: he never showed fear. Homelander wasn't even sure if Billy sensed fear.

"Did anyone ever tell you that it's rude to steal people's wives?" Homelander retorted.

"Hardly stealing if she wanted to go," Butcher replied evenly and he closed the door to his apartment, noticing that Homelander was peering over the photos of his sister that he'd pulled out from the back of his suitcase. He hardly had anything from his childhood, but he had always wanted to keep something of his siblings.

"Where is she?"

Homelander straightened up, hands going behind his back and chest puffing out. Billy noted the way his jaw ticked and jutted out. He was angry and that much was clear. But Billy didn't care. He remained stoic, heading to his fridge and opening it, letting the silence between them grow. Tugging a beer from the fridge, he used the bottle opener he kept at the side and pulled the lid from it. He left it on the worktop and went to his small dining table. Sinking down into a chair, he took a large gulp of the beer, glare never leaving Homelander's. The supe stayed where he was, refusing to budge or back down.

Placing the bottle onto the table, Billy finally spoke. "No idea," he answered his question.

"Bullshit," Homelander snapped.

Billy shrugged. "You can believe what you want, dickweed, but I made sure I didn't know where she was. It puts distance between us."

Homelander's teeth ground together. He was on the verge of losing his temper, but he had to hold back. He couldn't let his anger get the best of him because he knew that once he did that then he'd never get anything from Butcher because he would just kill him in seconds.

"But you know how to find her, don't you?"

"Maybe, maybe not," Billy said and took another drink of beer.

"She's my wife, William," Homelander snapped, but his tone didn't bother Billy who just turned the beer bottle in his hands languidly. "She has my daughter. She is pregnant with my child. Do you think you can keep her from me forever?"

"That's the intention," he retorted.

"I have everyone in Crime Analytics looking for her. It would be easier if you just told me where she is."

Billy chuckled. Homelander remained stood, hands going to his hips and gripping them firmly.

"You see, the thing I find interesting is that you've had…what? A week?" Billy tried to remember the timeframe. "You've had a week to find her and you haven't. Now, that tells me that your Crime Analytics team is coming up with diddly fucking squat and you're here because you're desperate…because you think I'm the only one who might know something."

Homelander was hardly going to admit that Billy was right, but he didn't need to say it. He knew it was true. Homelander's hands flexed around his hips as he thought about Victoria and where she had to be. There were so many places around the world where she could hide. He couldn't search everywhere. It would take him years.

"I can just get it out of you," Homelander warned Butcher.

Billy chuckled and set the beer bottle back down on the wooden surface. He shrugged and moved to drape his coat open around his body, revealing his floral shirt over dark jeans, the top three buttons undone and a necklace around his neck.

"You could torture me," Billy agreed with him. "But, you see, the thing is that I'm dying already. The Temp-V fucked me up so it's not like I have long left."

Homelander scanned Billy and he saw that he was telling him the truth. He really didn't have long left. "You'd squeal with the pain."

Billy held up a finger, wagging it in his direction. "You see, you might have a point there," Billy agreed with him on that. "But I was part of the SAS. I've seen things…even done things…and you can try and torture me, but the fact is that I'd never give her up. I'd welcome death before I told you how to get to her. So do your worst, cunt."

Homelander's eyes flashed red and Billy waited for him to lash out. He waited for the beams to pierce his skin and he'd be completely fine with that. Yes, there were still things he wanted to do, but he was going to keep his sister safe. He couldn't keep Lenny safe. He couldn't keep Victoria safe when she was a girl. He was going to make amends now. He had to.

But then Homelander stopped, his eyes turning back to their baby blue colour. He moved to sit down on the other chair opposite Billy. He moved his cape out of the way and leant back against the wall, tipping his head back and looking up to the ceiling.

"I'll get it out of you eventually," Homelander warned Billy.

He knew that he could tear him limb from limb. He knew that he could make him scream in pain until he longed for death. But Homelander didn't doubt that he wouldn't squeal. He looked into his eyes and he saw that he was deadly serious. He was never going to give Homelander what he wanted.

"I'm intrigued as to how you will do that."

"Because I'll be watching your every move. I'll be waiting for you to slip up and make contact with her…go to her…and when you do…I'll be there. I'll bring her back, William. She is mine. She will always be mine."

"Looks like that's not entirely true anymore," Billy said and took another drink of beer. "She's going to be fine because she's away from you and I'm going to keep it that way."

"I could make her happy and you know that," Homelander retorted, hands clenched into fists on his thighs.

"What? By wiping her memories from her? Turning her into some braindead housewife you can use whenever the fuck you want?" Billy asked. "That's not who she is. She'll never be that."

"You think that was all I wanted from her?" Homelander asked from William. "I liked that she was strong and intelligent…able to hold her own against me…it was almost refreshing compared to all of the groupies that throw themselves at me constantly."

"What about the ones you rape?" Butcher wondered and Homelander's glare turned towards him for a moment. Butcher kept his eyes narrowed, wondering if he was going to say anything on Becca, but he didn't. He kept on going.

"Your sister was different. She understood me and I understood her. I understood what she'd been through and who had hurt her. I made them pay for her. I looked after her because she had weaknesses. She wasn't as strong as she made out that she was. She…she was perfect…she was perfect back then…but she'd never accept who I was. I tried to make her. I tried to get her to see sense, but your sister is stubborn…annoyingly so."

"No," Butcher said. "My sister is a good person. Much better than either you or I will ever be."

"You really think so?"

"Don't think it, asshole, fucking know it," Billy said. "So either torture me or get the fuck out of my apartment because I'm done listening to you talk about her like you could ever deserve her."

Homelander listened to Butcher's heart. He remained steady. He wasn't going to flip out. He wasn't going to give him a reaction. He was just going to remain steadfast.

"And I'll be taking Ryan back too," Butcher said as Homelander moved to his feet.

The supe chuckled. "He doesn't want you. He wants me. He told me all about what you said to him…how you hurt him…seems like you're unable to keep anyone close to you."

"Pot calling the kettle black," Billy said.

"Just watch your back, William," Homelander warned him. "I'll be finding Victoria soon enough."

Billy picked up his beer bottle once more, but before he could take a sip from it, Homelander had vanished from his kitchen.

…

He felt as though he'd been hit by a truck. He woke up continuously in pain, no amount of morphine seeming to dwell the pain. He hadn't even moved from the bed since they'd dragged him from the pavement and into the back of the van alongside Maeve. She was all healed, just a broken arm and scrapes and bruises. He had come off worse. He'd broken his leg, a few ribs and his body was covered in bruises and cuts. It wasn't as if he even had his powers anymore. They had gone thanks to Soldier Boy. He was just a normal civilian now. There was no sonic clap. There was no super-strength or ability to heal. Supersonic really was dead. All that was left now was Alex.

"I bought you a burger and fries…figured you'd be hungry."

Alex looked across to Annie as she walked in with the McDonald's bag, waving it in his direction and slurping on a soda through a straw. He had taken up hiding in M.M.'s apartment. He'd been kind enough to give up his guest room that he usually used for his daughter. No one knew where he was. To the rest of the world, he was long gone. He was dead. His family didn't even know he was still alive. It was too dangerous for them to know the truth.

"I'm not sure the doctor suggested I eat burgers and fries."

"I figured your life is shit enough as it is right now without force feeding you a salad," Annie said and she moved to the armchair next to his bed that they'd dragged in from the living room. She kicked her sneakers off with her toes and sat on the seat, putting her cup down alongside the brown paper bag.

Alex chuckled, but the vibrations caused his ribs to ache and he inhaled a sharp breath. "Thanks," he said to her in a soft voice.

"No problem," Annie said and she began to move through the bag. She set the box with the burger down beside Alex on the bed and tipped the fries into the other side of the empty container. "But don't tell M.M. I think he'd freak out if he knew we had fast food in here."

"I'm pretty sure he would," Alex agreed with her on that point. "He keeps coming in and cleaning every surface when he thinks I'm asleep."

"At least it's like staying in a nice hotel," Annie said, trying to make him see at least one positive. He popped a fry into his mouth and chewed down on it. "How are you feeling today anyway?"

"Still in pain," Alex said. "Not being a supe sucks."

"Does it?" Annie asked, wondering if that was true. Maeve had almost seemed relieved. She'd gone with Elena and was free to live her life how she wanted to. She was free.

"Only for this, I guess," Alex admitted. "Super-healing would come in handy right now."

"You'll heal soon."

"Yeah…in about three months," Alex said.

Somehow Butcher had managed to find a doctor to help set his bones and kept coming to check on him and deliver him strong painkillers. He was grateful for that at least. He was dressed in a plain blue top with grey joggers, his leg in a cast and his ribs bandaged up. Getting up to go to the bathroom constantly proved to be an issue, no matter what he did. He tried not to complain or think of the pain too often, distracting himself with television and box sets.

"Those three months will fly by," Annie assured him, curled into a ball on the seat. She opened up her own cheeseburger. "And then you can do what you want…well…within reason."

"My family can't know I'm alive and I…I've accepted that," Alex said to Annie with a nod of his head, trying not to tear up and think about the pain his mother must be going through. He had wanted to try and get a message to them. He had wanted to tell them that he was safe and alive, but he knew his mother would come to him. She wouldn't be able to stay away and that meant she was at risk from Homelander. If there was a way in the future to get rid of Homelander then he wouldn't need to live in the shadows.

"I'm sorry," Annie said as she saw his eyes water. He just nodded and ate another fry.

"It's to keep them safe. I know that," he promised her. "I know that it's for them, but it doesn't suck any less. My mom's going to be beside herself."

"We're going to keep doing everything we can to stop him, I promise." Annie said to him and he could only nod in her direction. "And if we can do that then you can go back home. None of us will have to live in fear anymore, but for now…you know it's best if people continue to think you're dead. We can get you somewhere safe and keep you hidden. If you work with us then there's a chance Homelander will find out and we don't want him to know, Alex. We can't let him know."

"I hate the idea of going into hiding," Alex complained again. "I want to be able to help you. I want to be able to stop him."

"And we would prefer that too," Annie assured him. "But it's not safe for your family if you do that. You need to lay low and just wait it out. I'd hate it too, but Homelander…you've seen him…you saw what he did to that man outside of Vought Tower…he's unhinged and there's no one to control him. At one time there might have been. He might have listened to Edgar…even Victoria…but not now."

Alex's eyes picked up at the mention of her name. Looking to Annie, he forgot his burger for a moment. "How is she?"

Annie sighed and finished chewing on her cheeseburger. "God knows," she said with a roll of her eyes. "Butcher's being a pain in the ass and not telling any of us where she is. I get it, you know, the fewer people who know then the better it is for her…but there has to be a way to get a message to her to let her know that you're alive and that Maeve's alive too."

Alex frowned. "He hasn't told her?"

"He thinks it's for the best if she thinks you're both dead."

"Fuck," Alex mumbled under his breath.

"I know," Annie said. "I told him that it's not fair on her, but he wasn't having any of it. He doesn't want to risk anyone…I don't think he knows how much pain he's putting them through by keeping the truth from them."

"I know it's risky her knowing the truth, but even if Homelander got to her then she'd never tell anyone," Alex said, knowing that was just who Victoria was. "I get that he'd maybe find out somehow, but she…what if he never finds her? I figured if I was going to lay low and I couldn't go back to my family then I could go to her. I could go and find her…hide with her…look after her and Evelyn."

Annie's lips arched at hearing him. Alex frowned at the look on her face. "What?" he questioned.

"Nothing," Annie said. "Just never thought I'd see Drummer Boy long to play house with anyone."

"Shut up," Alex said but his lips arched and Annie chuckled.

"It's sweet, Alex," Annie promised him and laid a hand on his arm. "I get it."

"But I don't want to put her in danger either," Alex said.

Annie shrugged. "No one wants to put her in danger, but maybe both of you deserve a chance to be happy as opposed to hiding and being miserable."

"And you think Butcher's going to let that happen?"

"Oh, he's going to have no other option if I get my way," Annie assured Alex with a knowing smile. "He has no idea just how persuasive I can be. I'll sort it…trust me."

"Ever thought that maybe you don't need to sort it?"

Annie looked to the door to see Butcher stood there. He was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed. He was dressed in his usual attire of dark jeans with a patterned shirt and his coat hanging loose around his body. Annie put the rest of her burger back in its box and she sat up straight, clasping her hands together. Cocking her head, she arched her brow.

"What does that mean?" she asked from Billy.

Butcher shrugged and tried to act nonchalant. "Maybe I've decided that I'll have a conscience?" he suggested to Starlight. "Might be that Victoria could do with someone around her."

Alex tried to sit up in bed, wincing as he moved and cursing his ribs. "You're serious?" he checked as he settled against the pillows.

"She's suffered enough without thinking that you're dead on top of that," Billy said. "But you know that if you go to her then you have to lay low…nothing to attract attention to either of you…and if Homelander somehow finds her then you need to be prepared to deal with that. Not that it's my intention to let that fucker anywhere near her."

Alex thought about it. If Homelander did find her then what would he do? Would he go after Alex's parents? He might, but then again, he might just kill Alex on the spot. It wasn't as if Alex was a supe anymore. He thought about his entire family and bowed his head. His entire life was now a series of what ifs. But could he live like this? What if Homelander never died? What if he never found Victoria? What if there was a chance Alex could live a quiet and happy life with her? Each move was a risk and he couldn't plan more than one step at a time. That was the bit he hated. He hated that there was no future planning.

"You'll tell me where she is?" Alex asked.

"That's the problem, son, I have no idea where she is….but I can find out. I'm not happy with it, but Homelander's got no idea where she is right now. If he finds out then you're fucked and so is she. That's why we need to stop that fucker before he finds anything out."

"We're all dead," Annie added on for him. "Especially if Neuman is involved and working with him."

"Then you don't have much time to make your decision," Billy said to Alex. "A few weeks, I guess, before you're back on your feet and able to fly."

"I'll go," Alex said, making his decision. He couldn't stay by himself. He couldn't go home. He knew it was risky going to Victoria, but if they were somewhere remote and hidden then maybe there was a chance they would be fine. "I'll go and find her…look after her…and if Homelander ever gets word of where she is then we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Billy eyed up Alex, still feeling apprehensive with this decision for both of them. But the idea of Victoria being alone scared Billy almost as much as her being with Alex, if not more. He guessed she'd been alone most of her life. He didn't want to be responsible for her being alone any longer.

…

Sitting at the dining table in the penthouse, Ryan noticed how his dad's eyes kept glancing to the empty place beside him. Ryan was to his other side as they ate the lasagne and salad in front of them. Homelander had a glass of milk while Ryan was drinking a soda. They had spent most of the afternoon together. Homelander had taken Ryan to a rally and he had watched his father with wide eyes and in awe at how the crowd reacted to him. They had chanted his name and hung onto his every word.

They had gone back for dinner before Homelander had to go out for an evening chat show. Ryan had asked to go with him again and Homelander had been loathe to deny his son that opportunity. He liked that Ryan was so interested in being by his side. It was refreshing considering Victoria had never let him take Evelyn with him. He had respected her decision, but now he was beginning to wonder why he had.

"Dad?" Ryan began cautiously.

Homelander put his fork down, not entirely hungry anyway. His lips picked up. "What is it, buddy?"

"Victoria's not really sick…is she?" he treaded carefully. He knew his father wouldn't hurt him, but he didn't want to upset him anymore. He could see in his eyes that he wasn't happy. He knew that his father had told people that Victoria was struggling with her pregnancy and in hospital being looked after, but Ryan knew that wasn't true. He knew that his father had dragged her away the night she had used his phone. He knew that Butcher had helped her escape, but Ryan didn't know why.

"Victoria…she's just…she just needs some time away," Homelander settled on saying, not wanting to let the truth come to the surface. "We haven't been getting on very well, but all marriages go through this. It's completely normal. We'll be fine eventually. We still love each other."

Ryan frowned. "But you don't know where she is?"

Homelander sighed and avoided his son's gaze for a moment. He could lie to him. He could tell him something that wouldn't upset him, but he knew that probably wouldn't work. "No," Homelander confessed. "We've been arguing because Victoria doesn't agree with what I do sometimes. She…she's just upset…but she'll come back because at the end of the day she loves me and I love her. That's all that matters."

"When will she come back?" Ryan asked.

"Whenever she's ready," Homelander settled on saying. "But everything will be okay. I promise you. We'll be a family and we'll be happy."

"Do you think so?" Ryan wondered. "Because I like her. She's funny and nice."

"And she likes you too," Homelander assured his son. "Just give her some space to come around and we'll be alright. I know things haven't been normal so far…after what happened the other day outside the Tower…"

Ryan shook his head and picked at his lasagne, taking a bite of it. "I didn't mind," he assured his father and Homelander arched his brow, taking a sip of his milk. "That man seemed nasty and you…people really like you. I don't understand why Victoria doesn't like what you do. You keep America safe."

"I know, son, but she struggles with the fact that sometimes that means making difficult decisions," Homelander declared, placing his glass back down. "We just have to be respectful of that and give her space."

"Okay," Ryan said. "I just don't like seeing you sad…and you're sad without her."

Homelander felt his chest swell then and his eyes glassed over. His son really did love him. Homelander moved towards him and bent down, embracing Ryan tightly as he remained in his seat and dropped his cutlery onto his plate. Homelander moved a hand to cup the back of his head, letting Ryan rest his forehead on his shoulder.

"But I'm happy you're here," Homelander promised him and he forced himself to blink back his tears. He wasn't going to cry. He had to be strong. He moved to stand up straight once more, hands on hips as he exhaled a sharp breath. "Why don't you go and get ready to head on out? We've got to get to that interview soon."

Ryan nodded his head. "Alright, dad," he said and Homelander knew he would never tire of hearing that.

He watched his son move back through the living room and towards the stairs. His heart then began aching for Evelyn. He longed to hold her in his arms and listen to her babble. He longed to watch her crawl around, determined to get as far as she could without anyone noticing. He longed to watch her little limbs kick in the air as she slept soundly. He just missed his daughter terribly and nothing was curing that ache inside of him. Nothing would cure it until she was back in his arms.

He didn't bother to tidy things away. Someone would come in and do that. He never concerned himself with that. He just grabbed his gloves and went to wait for Ryan in the living room. He forced the smile back onto his face once more as Ryan came downstairs.

"Ready, buddy?" he checked.

"Yeah."

The two of them headed down the elevator together and came to the foyer. He was just intending on flying to the venue and Ryan had insisted that he was fine following him. As he left the Tower, Homelander smiled to the employees who were still working on security before he saw Ashley waiting outside for him. She was still insisting on briefing him before he went to these events, even though he didn't need her notes. But he humoured her to an extent. Besides, he always liked to know if he was missing out on anything.

Without fail, Ashley was outside waiting with a car he had no intention of using.

"Anything?" Homelander asked, not needing to expand.

"Not yet," came her usual response. "But tonight we were thinking that it might be for the best if you said that she-"

"-I know how to handle this," Homelander interrupted Ashley.

"Where is she!?"

The yell came from a woman who was storming towards them. She had auburn cropped hair and was wearing a pantsuit with sneakers, a bag slung over her body. Homelander's brows furrowed as he tried to place her. Her glare was focused entirely on him and nowhere else. Her arms flapped by her side. And then Homelander recognised her.

"Daniella," Homelander drawled her name. Victoria's old roommate.

"What have you done to her?" Daniella demanded from him.

Ashley stood in front of him. "Excuse me, but can you please back off?" she demanded, but Daniella was ignoring her, moving around and brushing her off to the side.

"I know you've done something to her," Daniella snarled at Homelander. "I saw what you did to that man the other day…how you killed him…did you do the same to her? Is that what you did? Because she…she would never be okay with any of this…with what you've done."

"Dad," Ryan whispered up to his father who was just glaring at Daniella.

"Get in the car, Ryan," he said to him.

"But-"

"-Do it, please," Homelander demanded from his son and he nodded once to Ashley who picked up on the message and guided Ryan towards the car, all ideas of flying having gone out of the window.

Once he was certain the door to the car was shut, Homelander took a step towards Daniella who stuck her chin out defiantly and looked up to him as if she was trying to tell him that she wasn't scared of what he could do. She wasn't going to be intimidated by him. Peering down to her, Homelander's hands went to his hips.

"Victoria is sick," he said and Daniella rolled her eyes. "And you are at liberty to believe what you want, but I really don't think you can stand there and cast judgment considering the last time you saw her was at her best friend's funeral where you told her that you wanted nothing to do with her."

There was a look of guilt that flashed in her eyes then and Homelander picked up on it instantly. He wasn't going to back down. He wasn't going to let her think she had any moral high ground over him after the way she'd behaved.

"Because I thought that she was kidding herself, but I see now that she wasn't…because you…you're evil…you're pure evil and she might love you, but she's not blind. She saw that, didn't she?"

Homelander chuckled darkly. "What? You think I killed my own wife? Really, Daniella, I suggest you keep your baseless accusations to yourself."

"Then where is she?"

"As you and the rest of the world know, she is in hospital in a special Vought facility."

"It's bullshit," Daniella snapped.

"No, what is bullshit is you coming here and accusing me of hurting the one woman I love more than anything. You're forgetting that. I have stood by her through everything. Who do you think was there to hold her when she lost Michelle? Who was the one who comforted her when you told her that you were done with her as a friend? It was me. I had to spend night after night listening to her cry because of you…because of what you'd done to her…you think she needed that? You think she needed you telling her not to contact you after everything she's been through? Everyone in her life abandoned her and left her to fend for herself, except for me. I've been the one who has stood by her. The fact that you can come here and accuse me of doing something so heinous to her is almost laughable if I wasn't so repulsed by it."

Daniella was quiet then, overwhelmed by his outburst. He lowered his face closer to hers, his tone dropping as he whispered to her, scanning her gaze for anything that showed him he should be afraid of her and what she might know, but there was nothing.

"Stay away from me. Stay away from Victoria. If I see you here again then I won't be as forgiving."

He stood up straight and began to walk towards the car, cape flowing behind him and hands clenched into fists by his sides. He kept his head held high, wanting to get away as soon as possible.

"I'm not going to stop," Daniella shouted after him. "I might have abandoned her, but I'm going to find where she is and make things right."

Homelander just rolled his eyes. He didn't bother turning back around to say anything to her. He just climbed into the back of the car and prepared to go, knowing that she was going to be one more problem he could take care of when the time arose.

Four months later

Victoria wasn't entirely sure how she had made it four months on her own. She had spent most of her time hiding inside of the house in the nice little village where she lived, like she was too scared to go out. But she'd needed to keep going out for supplies for both her and Evelyn. The more she ventured out, the more she realised no one recognised who she was. She looked like any single mother. Without her fancy dresses or Homelander by her side, she was unnoticeable. She preferred it that way. She'd grown braver as time had gone on, more willing to go out and take Evelyn to places like the park and the soft-play centre that she seemed to love.

In the evening, when she had left Evelyn to sleep, she would go downstairs and watch television, often flicking onto the news to see if Homelander was there. More often than not he was, but what concerned her was the fact Ryan seemed to be with him quite a lot. Starlight was still on the run from Vought. Black Noir, amazingly, was still being said to be in the Seven even though Victoria knew better. Whoever the new Noir was, he wasn't the old one.

Then there was Maeve and Alex. She'd watched the tribute shows to them with tears in her eyes. She'd cried herself to sleep that night, no amount of wine drowning out the pain in her chest. She'd just woken up with a headache and the ache still there. She'd slowly tried to adjust to being on her own, figuring it was too risky to make friends just yet. She laid low, looking like a loner to anyone who saw her. She didn't care. She preferred it with just her and Evelyn.

There had only been one time when things had gone wrong. Victoria had made sure everything would be fine in the end, begging the nurse in the A&E department not to tell anyone who she really was. She'd cried to her, pleaded with her to keep quiet. And she had done. She must have seen Victoria's desperation and taken pity on her. It was a rare thing compared to the Vought employees.

"Let's get you into your pram, yeah?"

It was a cool autumnal morning in the Lake District. The sun was shining, but there was a soft breeze and the leaves had started falling from the trees. The days were becoming shorter and the nights turning colder. Victoria had waited until about ten that morning before taking Evelyn out to the park for their daily walk and to feed the ducks.

Picking her daughter up, she lowered her into the pram after kissing her on the forehead. She made sure she was bundled up nicely before putting on her own red coat, buttoning it up over her black jumper and short skirt. She checked she had the bread, spare diapers and some food in case Evelyn got hungry in the bag under the pram before leaving. She struggled down the step into the house with the pram, but got there, locking the door behind her and dropping the keys into her pocket. Tucking her hair behind her ear, she moved down the small path to the street and turned right in the direction of the park. She smiled to Evelyn in her pram before picking her gaze up and looking straight ahead.

It was then when she saw him.

Victoria halted immediately, the breath leaving her body as her eyes widened and her stomach churned. He was stood a couple of metres ahead of her, dressed in dark jeans with a long grey woollen coat and green shirt on. His hair had grown slightly, but she noticed there were faded scars on his face. His hands were in his pockets and he was just staring at her.

She had no idea how long passed by before he took the first step towards her. She clung tightly onto the handle of the pram, almost like she was trying to ground herself and assure herself that this was real. Her knuckles turned white as he finally stood in front of her and she inhaled a sweet vanilla smell from his aftershave.

"I…I thought you were dead…" Victoria blabbered out and he shook his head.

"Not dead," he promised her and before he could do or say anything else, she had launched herself at him, arms flinging around his neck as he wrapped his around her waist, pressing her tightly against him as a hand snaked into her, cupping the back of her head and letting her cry against his shoulder. He inhaled the strawberry smell in her hair from her shampoo and squeezed his eyes tightly closed.

Pulling back slightly from him, Victoria reached a hand around to his cheek, stroking it slowly almost as though she was assuring herself that he was there and real. He moved a hand to her own cheek, thumb brushing the tears away from her skin.

"How…why…" Victoria stammered, not sure what she was asking.

"Homelander threatened my family. I had to fake my own death, but your brother…he helped me find where you were and I wanted to come…be with you…because I didn't want to be alone and I don't think you do either," Alex said, using the back of his hand to brush against her hair.

"I missed you so much," Victoria confessed to him and he nodded, his own eyes tearing up.

"I missed you too, baby, and I'm sorry I couldn't tell you until now. It was for everyone's safety. I'm just sorry."

She shook her head. "You don't need to apologise," she assured him, still crying. "I'm just glad you're alive and here."

She hugged him tightly again and he relished the feeling of her against him, clinging onto him. But that was before he realised there was something amiss. Alex frowned, brows knitting together as he looked down.

"Vicky…you…the baby…" he managed to speak and she also pulled back and looked down to her stomach. She shook her head and the tears fell harder then.

"I lost it," she whispered.

"Oh, Vic," Alex whispered and shook his head, but she was still talking.

"I'm fine…it's fine," she promised him, remembering the absolute agony she had been in at home. She'd managed to get herself to hospital with Evelyn and then almost collapsed in A&E.

She'd begged them to keep Evelyn with her and not send her to a creche, but she had been in and out of consciousness. She'd come around and they'd told her that there had been nothing that they could do to save the baby. They'd just managed to save her. She'd given them her fake ID, but one nurse had been suspicious, especially when she'd brought Evelyn back to her. Victoria had broken down and begged for her not to say anything and she had done just that.

"It's not fine," Alex said. "You shouldn't have had to go through that alone."

"I had Evie," Victoria promised him. "And I'm fine now…I just…it's just that I haven't told anyone or spoken to anyone about it. I've kept it all to myself and I don't know how to talk about it. I don't know what to say or how I should act or feel."

"I know," Alex said, even though he didn't have the slightest idea. But he wanted her to realise that he was there for her. "I can't imagine, Vic, and I'm here whenever you want to talk about it. I'm not going anywhere, alright? I'm here for the long haul as long as you'll have me."

Victoria's lips arched once more and the tears came again. "Then I guess you're stuck with me," she said and he smiled down to her before kissing her on the forehead and holding her tightly once more, well aware that they had a lot to talk about. But they had time. They had time to work it all out so long as they remained hidden. And as Alex tightened his hold on her, he was even more determined than ever that nothing would take that time away from them.

...

A/N: So there we have it - I might add in a few filler chapters between now and season 4, but I'm not sure - depends on if people are interested? In the meantime, would love to know your thoughts!