Sitting in the park, Victoria kept a hand on the pram while Evelyn laid in it, gabbling away happily. She had taken her from the pram and held her as she stood on her feet, throwing bread into the pond for the ducks to eat and laughing as they call came swarming. Alex had knelt down beside her and pointed them out, her wide smile infectious alongside her little giggles. Once they were out of bread, they'd gone to the park and Victoria had sat with her on the swing, rocking her back and forth slowly before going down the slide with her, Alex loitering around and making sure they were both safe before Evelyn had reached for him and he'd taken her, going on the roundabout with her as Victoria pushed it.

Evelyn had tired herself out, settling back in her pram and muttering something before dozing off. She had a small pack of dried biscuits in her lap that she hadn't finished. Alex had watched her, observing the baby with the dark black hair that came down in curls to her shoulders. Her eyes were bright blue, the exact same as Homelander's. She had his nose and jaw too, but she had her mother's smile. She had her giggle. She was so much Victoria and Alex knew that she would be raised right.

"So…where do we start?" Victoria wondered, folding one leg over the other.

Alex sat back on the bench, legs splayed with one thigh brushing against hers and his hands clasped on them. His grey coat was open around his frame as Victoria remained bundled up in her own coat.

"How about I tell you that Maeve is still alive?" Alex suggested to her and he saw her eyes widen, mouth gaping and lips parting. He nodded. "She's remained dead like me to keep hidden from Homelander, but she left with Elena to start a new life."

"Oh my God," Victoria whispered and Alex watched as her eyes grew wet. "Why did Billy not tell me that?"

"Because he was scared of Homelander finding you and you knowing that. He always thinks that it's best to keep you in the dark…like thinking I was dead…but he…he gave in eventually. He told me how to find you. I mean, he threatened me of course. Warned me that if I hurt you then he'd shove my balls so far down my throat I'd be sick…or some kind of insult like that," Alex waved off and, despite everything, Victoria smiled at her brother's protectiveness. Alex smirked too. "But Maeve is safe and alive."

"I'm so happy for her," Victoria said, tone genuine. "She was good to me when I was in the Tower. She tried to help as much as she could and I appreciate her so much."

"She showed up when it mattered," Alex agreed with her. "I worked with her to try and stop Homelander, but in the end we couldn't. Soldier Boy was there and no one could stop him from blowing up. She launched herself at him…took him out the window and away from everyone…I got caught up in it. We both survived, but she lost an eye and broke her arm. I broke a leg…got scrapes and bruise…broken ribs…and we both lost our powers."

Victoria's brows pinched together. She shook her head slowly. "How is that possible?"

"The radiation from Soldier Boy's blast stripped them from us. We're both as human as they come now. No chance of being a supe," Alex said and he laced his fingers together, looking down into his lap. Victoria picked up on the glaze and she moved a free hand to rest on top of both of his. He turned his hand up, fingers entwining with hers slowly.

"Do you miss it?" she wondered.

He shrugged awkwardly. "I haven't really had chance to think about it," he admitted to her. "I mean, for a long time all I worked towards was getting into the Seven. After my stint in rehab I figured it was a goal, you know? I could make a real difference and that was what I wanted to do. But then…thinking about it…it's always felt like that was the path for me, like I had no choice, and now I have a choice. I can do what I want."

"You have every right to be upset, Alex," Victoria assured him on that point. "Your family…do they have any idea where you are?"

"Nope," he said with a pop of his lips. "And I can't tell them. It would be too dangerous for them to know. Homelander already threatened to go after them. It's for the best if they think I'm dead. It keeps them protected."

"I'm sorry," Victoria said, squeezing his hand and he looked across to her, his gaze softening and his lips arching into a sad smile. "I can't imagine how hard this is for you."

"It's…it's not easy," was all that he could admit to at that moment in time and she didn't want to push him on it. She just wanted him to know that she was there if and when he wanted to talk about it. "But it's the right thing and it's not as if it's forever. Your brother is still going after Homelander."

"He…he was taking that Temp-V shit," Victoria whispered. "It isn't meant for people to take continuously like he did and I don't know how much longer he has left because of how much he's taken. He admitted it to me. He told me it was going to get him eventually and it's not like he's picking up his phone right now to talk to me. He claimed we couldn't have constant contact."

"He'll call," Alex promised her. "He loves you, you know? I didn't think Butcher was actually capable of loving someone so much, but when he talks about you…I see it. I think there's a lot of guilt he carries for not helping you sooner."

"He doesn't need to carry it," Victoria said with a firm shake of her head. "He's my brother and I love him. I spent too many years resenting him and ignoring him because of what had happened in the past with Eddie, but I love him."

"And he loves you," Alex assured her on that point. "But right now…you know you have me, right? I'm not going to leave you or Evelyn."

"I know," Victoria assured him and pecked him on the cheek. "I appreciate that you did all of this. I know that it's not been easy…and you could have gotten out…but you didn't."

"I blame the runaway bride," he retorted and his lips arched even further as he saw her cheeks turn red with a soft blush. "She completely and utterly bewildered me as soon as I saw her."

"She sounds like quite the catch," Victoria teased back.

"I like to think she is," Alex nodded his head and he bent down until his lips brushed softly against hers, kissing her faintly for a moment or two before he pulled back, lifting a hand up to brush her hair behind her ear. "And you…living her…losing the baby…that couldn't have been easy, Vicky."

Victoria shook her head. "It wasn't," she admitted to him. "But I'm doing better now."

"We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but I'm here if you do," he said to her and Victoria looked down to her now flat stomach. She thought about the baby that had been growing inside of her. Homelander's baby. She knew that he would have been devastated if he knew. She knew that he would have been by her side through all of it, just as he had been when Evelyn had been born. She also knew that he would have chosen her for reasons she never entirely understood.

"I'm not sure what really happened because it was all a blur," Victoria confessed to him. "It was like an out of body experience, Alex. I just got these sudden cramping pains and then saw the blood…I somehow got Evie into her car seat and drove myself to the hospital. I carried her to A&E and then…everything is so patchy. I was in and out of consciousness and they told me that I'd lost the baby…lost lots of blood…the nurse recognised me. I gave my fake name and ID, but she still recognised me."

"And she didn't say anything?" he checked.

"I begged her not to," Victoria said. "I told her that I couldn't go back. She must have taken pity on me because I was hyperventilating. I just couldn't stop crying and begging her not to say anything…she didn't…and no one said that anything was amiss with the miscarriage…I left the following day with Evie and tried to process it. It's just…I mean, I never wanted another baby after what had happened with her. She was enough for me and when I found out I was pregnant again I was just scared, but I knew that I would love that baby as much as Evelyn. Homelander might have drugged me and tricked me into having sex with him…but that baby was innocent."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that alone," Alex said to her, a hand running down the length of her hair before he kissed her once more on the forehead. "He never deserved you…the things he did to you…"

Victoria shook her head slowly. "It was never me I was scared for. It was everyone else," she replied. "And now I look at what he's doing on the news and it terrifies me. He's out of control and I have no idea how he can be stopped without Edgar in the picture…and he's got Ryan."

"You saw the news then?"

"When he lasered that man in half?" Victoria asked. "Vought are trying to pass it off as a fake video, but it's not. We all know it's not. He is finally completely unhinged and I didn't want to leave Ryan with him…but Evelyn…I needed to get her away from him before he took her from me. He swore he'd never do that, but he broke that promise when he locked me in a cell."

"What had he planned to do to you?" Alex asked. "He couldn't have kept you there forever."

"He was going to erase my memories again and move me into a compound like where Becca raised Ryan…so that I wouldn't see the news…I'd only focus on raising our kids."

"There's no chance that would have worked."

"I know, but he was desperate," Victoria said. "And now I'm away from him, but I know that he might come back at any point…that scares me…because if he finds me this time then I know he's not going to give me the benefit of the doubt."

"He's not going to find you," Alex said, firmly gripping her hand. "You're safe here, alright? Billy's seen to that…and Annie is working with them to stop him considering she's abandoned the Seven. If they can do that then you know you'll never have to look over your shoulder again."

"I just worry that nothing will stop him. I don't want to live in fear of him coming after me, but I do…I never used to be scared of him, Alex, but now I'm terrified of him finding me."

He moved an arm to wrap around her shoulders, holding her close against his side. Her head fell down to his shoulder and he kissed the top of it, her curls tickling his chin. "I know," he promised her. "But whatever happens…we'll face it together, okay?"

She nodded against him and felt him kiss her once more on the top of her head before she closed her eyes and just relished in the feel of him with her.

…

Homelander didn't entirely know what was going on. Too much time had gone by and Victoria still wasn't back with him. Every time he thought of her and his daughter, he felt a crushing weight in his chest. He couldn't believe that she would run from him. He couldn't believe that she would take Evelyn and leave him. Who did she think she was? What did she think she was doing? He knew that he was going to be angry when he saw her, and he would see her. But he also knew that she would need to see that her actions had consequences. She had pushed him too far this time.

Sitting on the sofa first thing in the morning, he was preparing to go through a list of potential new recruits for the Seven with Ashley. Ryan was still sleeping soundly. The file in front of him contained the dossiers of potential recruits, but he wasn't interested in them. Instead, he found himself thinking back on the better times he'd had in his life when he'd first met Victoria.

Three years ago

"Hi."

Homelander looked up and over to Victoria as she walked down the stairs after getting ready for the premiere that night. Her hair hung in a messy bun, pinned to the back of her neck. She had minimal make up on and her gown was a dark red colour with long sleeves and a square neckline. She was carrying her heels in her fingertips, letting them dangle there as her other hand held up her skirts so that she didn't trip down the stairs. Homelander moved a hand to his hips and looked at her, sighing loudly and smiling at the sight of her.

"Look at you."

Victoria smiled at hearing him and rolled her eyes in jest. "You say the same thing every time I come down dressed in a new Vought bought dress."

"Because you look stunning every time you walk down the stairs in one of them," Homelander said to her. "So it's still true."

"Well, this one is apparently straight from the runway in Paris."

"Is it really?"

"According to Ashley who warned me that if I spill anything on it then her job is on the line."

"So it's a very serious dress?"

"For a very serious event," she replied, dropping her shoes to the floor and feeling his hands clasp hold of her hips, bringing her flush against him, her own arms flailing upwards to grab his shoulders, just avoiding the eagles of his suit.

"I'm not sure a premiere for Deep's new film can be considered a serious event."

"Well, maybe not," she agreed with him. "Isn't this like his third film in two years? Why is he continuously being given movie deals?"

"Apparently he polls well with women," Homelander said with a roll of his eyes. "According to Stillwell, women between eighteen and fifty find him to be swoon-worthy, hence the fluff films with hardly any real plot around them."

"I can see that," Victoria said and Homelander arched a brow, running his thumbs in circles around her hipbone.

"Oh really?" he asked and she looked up to him and he picked up on the teasing look in her eye and the way her lip curved slightly to one side. Usually, he despised people teasing him, but he didn't mind it when she did it. He found it flirtatious and it usually ended with both of them satisfied, but right now, he had to try and stay controlled because they had to leave in half an hour.

"Yeah, he's got those classic, charming good looks going for him," Victoria said. Of course, this was before she knew who he truly was. "Girls like that."

"Do they?"

"Hmm," she said, still teasing him as she leant slightly back in his grip, massaging his shoulders. "A good smile…good set of hair…a brooding look…"

"You're almost making me jealous, sweetheart."

"Only almost?"

"Only almost," he confirmed to her. "Because I do believe it was me who spent Christmas with you…and you who told me that you loved me."

"I mean, I guess I've had to settle," Victoria teased him even further. "You know, the leader of the Seven as opposed to the rugged Lord of the Seas."

"I wouldn't see that as settling," he replied, his own lips pulled up as he moved his hands down her hips and towards the back of her thighs. Victoria shrieked loudly as he hoisted her up against him, giving her no chance but to wrap her legs around his waist, relieved by the fact that the dress she was wearing had a loose and flowing skirt. "I think the leader of the Seven has a number of better qualities than the fish fucker."

"John," Victoria said and playfully hit his chest as he carried her towards the sofa like she weighed nothing to him. She smiled despite his insult and he bared his teeth at her in a wide grin.

"I'm just saying," Homelander said and he sat down on the sofa, Victoria straddling his lap. "The leader of the Seven has been said to be rather charismatic…stronger than any other man…highly intelligent…and is said to be rather good looking himself."

"Hmm, is that so?" Victoria checked with him, feeling his fingers push her skirt up towards her waist as her breathing shallowed and he struggled not to rip the dress from her there and then. He had tried to reason that they shouldn't start anything they couldn't finish, but he still had roughly twenty-five minutes and he didn't care if they were late.

"Plus, they do say that he's now a dedicated man…committed entirely to his intelligent and extremely hot girlfriend who insists on teasing him just before they have to attend a premiere together."

"I'm not sure his intelligent and extremely hot girlfriend can be blamed for teasing him when she'd much rather spend the night in with him than go to some premiere and fake smile all night," she replied. "Especially when she knows how good he is in bed."

Homelander chuckled at that and moved to kiss her. The forcefulness pushed her back slightly, only his hand on the small of her back keeping her from falling off of his lap. His teeth clashed against hers for a moment while she wrapped a hand into his hair. She moved a hand down his chest and towards his belt, unclasping it and then reaching for the fly of his pants.

"We don't have much time," Homelander mumbled when he pulled back from her and kissed her neck, teeth scraping against her skin slowly. She nodded as she finally got his pants down his lap to give her enough room. She panted loudly as he moved a finger to the waistband of her underwear, slipping beneath it at the same time he bit down on her neck and she groaned loudly.

"There's been a change of plan. The car isn't…oh my God!"

Victoria moved as soon as she heard the voice, Homelander pulling his fly back up as she fell from his lap to his side on the brown, leather sofa. She tugged her dress down her lap, but the swathes of material caught around her legs, leaving them bare as wisps of hair fell from her bun.

"Ashley, have you not heard of fucking knocking?" Homelander demanded from her.

"I thought you'd be ready."

"Obviously not," Homelander complained to her and did his belt back up as Victoria moved to sit at the edge of the sofa and tugged the skirts back down her legs again until they fell to the floor.

"I'll just let you get ready," Ashley said. "But the car is running early…so just…come down when you can."

She scurried away and Homelander groaned lowly, tossing his head back. "Nothing like Ashley barging in to kill a hard-on," he complained and Victoria laughed despite the situation. He looked to her and saw that she had buried her head in her hands, laughing loudly, the sound infectious and making his own smile grow on his face once more. "What's so funny?" he asked from her.

"She walked in on us like we're a couple of teenagers who can't keep their hands off each other…I never had that growing up…figure this is what it must feel like."

"Never had it either," Homelander said to her, realising that both of them had never had a conventional upbringing. "Kind of like it though, don't you?"

"What? Being caught by Ashley?"

"No," Homelander said with a deep laugh. "The idea that I can't keep my hands off you and that you want me just as much as I want you…judging by the smell of arousal anyway."

"That's not fair," Victoria said, nudging him in the arm. "You can't use your supe powers against me like that."

"They have their advantages," Homelander decided on saying to her and moved over her once more, hand going to her cheek and he kissed her again, this time keeping it soft and light, lips barely brushing hers before he pulled back and looked at the flush of her cheeks and noted that her pupils were still dilated. She was perfect to him. "But I don't need to use them to know that you love me."

She hummed contently. "Because I do," she said to him, a hand going to stroke his hair back. "I love you very much."

"I love you too, darling," he said and kissed her again. "More than anything."

Snapping out of his daydream, Homelander felt a familiar tightness in his pants that he usually took care of in his morning shower. He moaned lowly before checking the clock on the wall. He still had an hour before Ashley wanted him for the meeting and twenty minutes before Ryan woke up. He went to the belt of his suit and was just about to undo it when he heard Ashley's voice. She was early.

"Homelander, sir?" she questioned him. "Are you awake?"

He adjusted his pants as best he could and stood up, hands going to his hips. He had no intention of being caught in any compromising position by Ashley.

"What is it, Ashley?" he demanded from her as she rounded the corner hesitantly.

"We might have an issue," she said and handed him her tablet that she carried round. Looking down to it, he groaned lowly at the headline.

"Fuck."

…

Victoria had finished putting Evelyn to bed. She settled pretty quickly after a day in the fresh air. Victoria changed into a pair of jeans and a plain grey sweatshirt before going downstairs. She moved through to the kitchen, but Alex wasn't there. She frowned and then heard the soft hum of music from the living room. Her lips arched as she headed on through to it. Alex was stood at the back of it in the small dining room, two plates in front of him of grilled cheese on the table and 'Rock My Kiss' playing from his phone. Victoria stood in the doorway, her smile widening at the sight in front of her. He was still dressed in jeans and a blue shirt, hands behind his back.

"What's this?" Victoria wondered from him.

"I do believe that I told you that you could have 'Rock My Kiss' when we had our first date and I don't intend on wasting anymore time to have that," he said to her and she tried not to laugh loudly before she moved back towards him and the table. "So…you get 'Rock My Kiss' and also my favourite food ever…grilled cheese which is the best grilled cheese you'll ever taste."

"That is quite the declaration," Victoria said to him. "And I do believe you told me that you'd sing the song, not just play it for me."

"Well, I'm not sure you want to hear me singing without autotune," Alex confessed and he pulled out a chair for her that was next to the head of the table. There were six chairs around the oak surface and Alex had set the table with two chairs right next to each other. Victoria sunk down into the chair as he pushed it underneath for her.

"Oh, I really do," Victoria said and he sunk down beside her as she looked at the meal in front of her with two glasses of water there too. "But I suppose I'll let you off for the night…even though I'm disappointed that I won't get to see your moves."

"Whoa, I think I only promised you a song, not a dance."

"I'm not worth the dance?"

"That's to be decided," he teased her and Victoria rolled her eyes but smirked. Alex chuckled and moved a hand to her back, rubbing it gently as she picked up her cutlery. "But…I guess…you're worth more than a shitty dance."

"I am flattered," she said and cut into her sandwich as Alex pecked her on the side of her head and picked his own cutlery up. She cut into it as the song died out and she took a bite, moaning at the taste. She chewed and Alex nodded profusely.

"Good, right?" he checked with her.

"This is delicious," she confirmed to him. "What have you put in it?"

"Ah, that secret ingredient is for me to know," he replied to her and she had to admit she found that quite entertaining. "So, I'm just going to have to stick around to keep making you these sandwiches."

"I'm sure there will be other reasons to keep you around," Victoria said and took another bite.

"Really?" he checked and she took a sip of water when she'd finished chewing.

"Oh yeah, if you can make a grilled cheese sandwich taste so good then I'm sure you'll have other uses," she assured him and he continued to laugh at hearing her as he ate another bit of his own sandwich.

He was about to say something when his phone vibrated on the table. He quickly looked down to the screen, intending on just seeing what it was but the headline got his attention much quicker than he'd anticipated. His brows knitted together and he dropped his knife and fork onto the table before Victoria looked to him and spotted the intense stare on his face and the frown lines on his forehead.

"What is it?" she asked from him, sensing a shift in the atmosphere.

He moved his phone in between them and clicked play on a video. Victoria tucked her hair behind her ear and gasped at what filled it. Daniella was sat on a sofa with Barry Davies across from her, hosting his own chat show for a rival channel to Vought TV. Victoria moved a hand over her mouth and looked at the headline on the banner than ran across the bottom of the screen that read: Dr Victoria Anderton: Where is she really?

"I'm joined today by Daniella Steele, a lawyer at Dawson and Downey law firm and a good friend of Dr Victoria Anderton's or, as she's more commonly known, Homelander's wife. Dr Steele is claiming that Vought are keeping Dr Anderton hidden from her. Vought claim that Dr Anderton is suffering a difficult pregnancy, but the fact remains that she hasn't been seen in public in weeks now with Homelander undertaking engagements solo. So…is Dr Anderton really suffering from a difficult pregnancy or is something sinister afoot? Dr Steele, thank you for coming on today."

"Thank you for having me," Daniella said, her voice clipped and her gaze anxiously darting around.

She was dressed in a grey pantsuit, her shoulder length curled red hair hanging neatly down face.

"Now, you claim that you have been trying to contact your friend for how long?"

"Several weeks now," Daniella answered.

"And in that time you've had no answer from her?"

"None at all," Daniella said. "I've tried to call her phone, but there's no answer. I've tried to ask Vought, but they keep telling me that she can't speak…all I want is to hear her voice…but I confronted Homelander and he…I can't explain it, but he was aggressive with me. He scared me. And look at how he's been behaving recently. He's been aggressive…riled up…and Victoria was a woman who worked for the UN. She worked tirelessly to change resolutions concerning immigration and asylum law. She would never agree with things that he's said before and the way he's acted."

"Are you suggesting something has happened to her?"

"I don't know," Daniella admitted. "All I know is that I find it strange that she hasn't been seen in weeks and they won't even let me talk to her just to hear her voice and know she's alright. If something has happened to her and Vought's covering it up then we deserve to know the truth. She has friends who care about her."

"Well, safe to say, that we reached out to Vought but they had no comment," the host responded. "And we'll be right back after the break with more on this story."

The video stopped playing and Alex clicked off of it to stop it replaying before locking his phone. Victoria pushed her plate away and left her elbows on the table, burying her face into her hands. "Fuck," she whispered. Daniella had no idea of the damage she was causing and what she was getting involved in.

"Why is she doing that?"

"Because, despite everything, she is still one of my best friends," Victoria said. "And she thinks she's helping."

"She's doing the opposite."

"I know that and you know that," Victoria mumbled into her hands. "But all this is going to do is piss Homelander off," she said and she looked across to Alex once more. "I need to get her to stop."

"I know, but how?"

"I need to call her…or Billy…but if she keeps going then Homelander…I don't want to know what he'll do."

"It's alright," Alex promised her, moving so that he could awkwardly wrap his arms around her as they remained in their seats. He felt her bow her head underneath his chin, forehead near his chest as he ran a hand up and down her back.

"Just when I think things might look up…something always happens."

"We'll find a way to keep her safe," Alex promised her, resting his cheek on the top of her head. "But she still cares about you and that's something. You have people out there who really do love you and you're not alone."

"I haven't spoken to her in months," Victoria muttered against his shirt. "I should have told her, but I didn't think she'd do this."

"Would you have done the same for her even if you weren't talking?"

"Yeah."

"That's because you love her and she loves you. Friends fight and fall out, but they always love each other," he replied and Victoria nodded against him, wondering what the best thing to do would be. She couldn't do nothing. She knew that. She just worried what Homelander might do in retaliation because she knew exactly what he was like and that scared her.

"I'm sorry I keep dragging you into my mess," Victoria said and she pulled back from him so that she could look him in the eye. He shook his head and moved a hand to cup her cheek, thumb roaming over her cheekbone.

"I came here because I want to be with you. Your mess becomes mine…and that's the way I want it…because I want all of you, okay? The good, the bad and the ugly."

"You don't need to just say that."

"I'm not just saying it, alright?" Alex said to her. "I mean it. I care…a lot…more than I ever thought I would when I first met you."

Victoria moved her own hand to his thigh, squeezing it in her hand as she looked into his eyes and wondered if it was too soon to tell him that she was pretty sure she loved him at that moment in time. She opened her mouth, prepared to say it, but she closed her mouth. It was far too soon. And was it love? Was it the same as what she'd felt for Homelander? Maybe not, but it was something just as strong.

"I care a lot for you too," she decided to say and kissed him, glad that she wasn't on her own through whatever was coming her way.

...

A/N: Things never did run smoothly! Updates might not be as frequent as I really am holding onto season 4, but I also love writing these characters! Please do let me know if you're still reading - would love to hear from you!