If I ever, and I mean fucking ever, say that my life is boring I would like someone to take my stapler in their hands and smack me right in the temple.

Brainstorming with Homelander was not on my to-do list and I told him as much, but he stayed and continued to badger me with just how he could help in the search for HIS son.

"The son that you raped into an unwilling woman?" I offered, clearly past any moment that I could possibly pretend that I wasn't just completely tired of the entire fucking day and him and Billy and -

The door swung open and in walked either my savior or another fucking burden. I knew he could get in - higher clearance, remember - but the fact that he left it up to me until this moment showed that one: he was giving me space to make my own choices as to whether to give him access or not and 2: he was watching me or at least the offices for certain caped assholes to pop in for a visit.

"Joe," it came out as exasperated as was apparently my new entire identity. "To what do I owe -"

"Get out," that growl was literally head and shoulders over my own. And it wasn't directed at me so I let it give me a little rush through parts of me that hadn't heard it in awhile.

"Ah, Agent Kessler?" Homelander stood, giving me a roguish grin as if he were checking with me to make sure he wasn't addressing the wrong person - and as if he hadn't been creeping on us and KNOW who he was speaking to. "I don't think we've been introduced -"

"Get the fuck out," another look shot to me, and it was screaming 'can you believe this guy', what the fuck fucked up backassward world am I in? "NOW."

"Well," looking a little put out at the greeting my ex husband had given him, he turned fully to me and smiled a smile that I assume he thought was charming, "until we meet again."

"Over my dead -" Joe was muttering, and I felt a sliver of fear creep through my veins as Homelander's smile morphed into the one I was more familiar with - fucking shit.

"Promises, promises," he offered as he stalked past Joe toward the door. "Oh, and Dr. Taylor -" staring at him like he was far crazier than I thought he was, "I WILL be seeing you again." And then he fucking blew me a kiss. What the literal -

"What the fuck was that?!" Joe was staring at me like he couldn't fucking believe he fell into the fucking vortex of strange either, but he was also looking - "Why the fuck did you let him in here, alone, with the door closed?"

"As if I could stop him," I ground out, glaring up at him. "He came in here while I was -"

"While you were bellowing for information on his offshoot, yeah, I know." Point to me for calling it, I now had two people spying on me. "But the door, Veronica, the door - why didn't you get up and open it?"

Blinking up at him, I was trying to come up with a reason and - NOTHING. Why didn't I get up and open it? What the fuck?! "I don't know," and then all his anger just left him and he was kneeling beside me. "I don't know why I didn't get up and open it, for fuck's sake you clearly know what kind of day I've had -"

His hand was on my cheek again and I couldn't stop myself from leaning into its warmth - his warmth. "I'm sorry," his apology had my eyes snapping to his face. "I rushed over here as soon as I saw his ass come in and I should have realized -" taking a deep breath, his eyes softened. "You've been put through the fucking shit mill today - well for a couple weeks now." Moving closer, my eyes went closed at the idea that he'd go for a fucking kiss now, and he did, but it was placed on my forehead and I sighed at the gesture. "Have you eaten?"

Shaking my head, he moved his hand from my cheek to take one of my own into it and pulled me to my feet. "Then let's get something in your stomach and WE will figure something out."

My day couldn't end fast enough - even if the very late lunch Joe treated me to helped ease some of the tension coursing through my body. And it wasn't really ending with leaving the building. I had my work laptop with me, since I couldn't do much about Ryan currently, and I hadn't finished watching Billy fuck up my life more.

I called Mom from the car, asking if she wouldn't mind keeping Terror for the night - whatever she heard in my tone kept her from asking questions and she agreed.

I couldn't focus on dinner, so I popped a Hot Pocket in the microwave and opened the laptop while I sat at the breakfast nook. Going through emails while my very nutritious and totally balanced dinner nuked, I shot off a couple answers to non-issues. The ding came and I had my piping hot pocket on the table beside my screen and a cold drink along with it as I brought up the footage I stopped when Grace came to take an extra dump on my day.

Fuck, I took a bite out of the corner of my dinner and thanked God for small mercies when the burn that hit my tongue kept me from screaming at the video Billy about the fucking huge mistake he was unleashing on every fucking one - and because I could tell that Hughie had taken Temp V too.

Pulling a file that I had come across during my exploration of Voughts sperm donation program, look that's what I'm calling it to keep from losing what little goddamn mind I had left, I opened it and re-read what I already had memorized.

I had known that certain supe names were passed down, generation to generation - I had assumed we all knew it, but I have a feeling not too many people cared. Only the newest product was worth their attention.

Soldier Boy - no, not the one that met in our office with Starlight and Hughie - the first one. Yes, I said first because there've been several over the years. But this one, I looked over the photos accompanying the file and sighed - this one wasn't simply an overpowered douchebag who liked to throw around his strength and misogyny, no this one was a little MORE. This was Ryan's grandfather and this one was going to give me one fucking hell of a goddamn migraine.