Victoria knew that she had to get through to Billy. She had no idea what time it was when he finally answered after her dialling numerous times. She'd lost count of how many times she'd hit the call button. It was the middle of the night and neither her or Alex had gone to get any sleep. He'd gone upstairs to check on Evelyn a few times as Victoria paced the living room trying to get through to her brother. Alex had tried to get her to sit down next to him on the fabric grey sofa, but she had only managed to sit for about five minutes before jumping to her feet again.
She'd ran her hand through her hair numerous times, tossing the black locks over her shoulder and glancing up to the ceiling in exasperation. Alex had perched on the edge of the sofa, hands clasped together and eyes drooping from exhaustion. Victoria had tried to persuade him to go and get some sleep, but he'd insisted that he would be fine. Plus, they had to decide on sleeping arrangements considering there was only one double bed.
Just as she was about to insist that he go to bed again, phone pressed to her ear, the call finally connected and Billy's gruff voice came over the speaker.
"Vic, I thought I told you not to call. It's dangerous. I don't know when that cunt is watching me."
"I know and I'm sorry," Victoria said to her brother. "But you have to have seen that interview that Daniella did. It's all over the news…social media is questioning where I am. Hashtag 'Where's Victoria' is trending. I didn't want any of this, Billy…how long before someone works it out?"
"Listen to me," Billy said, voice not as agitated as he tried to calm his sister down. "No one is going to work it out. You and Drummer Boy over there have got new identities. You're in England where you know that most people don't give a flying fuck about supes, not like over here. I know that's hardly comforting…but if you want to…you can get out of town…rent somewhere in the countryside…remote…until this dies down."
"Do you think it will?" Victoria wondered. "Unless Daniella stops then it won't die down and if she doesn't stop then what…what will he do to her? You know what he's like, Billy. You know what he's done…she…she needs to know…she needs to know the truth so that I know she's safe."
There was a deep sigh from the other end of the line and a long pause. Alex peered up from beneath his lashes, watching as Victoria stood by the curtains, twitching them open to check outside. She'd been paranoid ever since they'd watched that video. Alex could vaguely hear what Billy was saying on the other end of the line. He agreed with him about getting away from a built-up area for a little while. It wouldn't be a bad decision. They could hide out until things quietened down.
"Vic, think about it," Billy urged his sister who dropped the curtain and leant back against the wall next to the window. She threw her head back and looked upwards, noting a chip in the white painted ceiling. "If Daniella knows the truth then she'll suddenly stop doing interviews. It will look suspicious."
"People will just assume Vought paid her to shut up."
"And Homelander?" Billy asked from his sister. "That cunt knows you're not dead. He came to me and threatened me…but he knew I'd never squeal and tell him what he wanted to hear. That doesn't mean he's not watching my every movement. If Daniella then knows you're alive, who is to say he doesn't go after her and use her against you?"
Victoria exhaled a shaky breath, knowing that Billy was just stating facts. Besides, Homelander had said before that he wouldn't be afraid to go after her friends if she didn't do as he asked. She almost wondered why he hadn't used Billy against her. Then again, the two men knew that Billy would keep quiet and he'd never let Victoria know he was in trouble. But if she knew Daniella was in trouble then she would leave hiding as soon as possible. She couldn't let anything happen to her, despite the fact they had hardly spoken in the past few years.
"Who is to say he won't do that now?" Victoria wondered from her brother.
"Because if she suddenly goes missing then that would look suspicious," Billy retorted. "People would ask what Vought have done to her. I know that you want to protect her, but while she's in the public eye and kicking up a fuss then it's for the best. If she knows the truth…that you're alive…he'll use that against you. He can't use her while she's causing trouble."
Victoria closed her eyes tightly, feeling a headache coming on and trying not to cry because she knew that would do her no good. She just stayed where she was, slumped against the wall and feeling utterly helpless. She knew what she should do. She should go back. She should go back to him and guarantee Daniella's safety either way. The more time that went by, the less she knew what would happen.
"I know this is hard, alright?" Billy assured his sister when he realised that she'd gone quiet. Usually that meant she was thinking. "I know that none of this is easy and it's a fucking mess, but I'm still doing what I can to bring him down, alright? Him and Neuman…I'm not stopping."
"And the Temp-V?" Victoria asked from her brother, lowering her voice slightly.
Alex shifted on the sofa and pulled his own phone out. He didn't want to leave the room, but he did want her to know that she had some ounce of privacy considering the conversation coming up was probably going to be personal. He suspected William Butcher wouldn't want him to hear any of it. Alex started scrolling as Victoria moved to the back of the room and towards the dining table where their grilled cheese sandwiches sat, cold and hard.
"What about it?"
"You know what," Victoria said to him. "Do the others know the truth? That you took more than you should?"
"No one needs to know that," Billy retorted. "I've still got time to get this job done."
"Fuck sake, Billy," she cursed her brother. "I love you, but you're so stubborn. Do you seriously think that this is the best use of your time? Shouldn't you be in hospital and trying to find some kind of treatment or cure?"
"No point, Vic, there's nothing they can. They've told me I have six months…year at most…and by my maths, which isn't great because I fucked up school, I'm already on borrowed time."
There was a sharp exhale of breath then and Victoria sank down into a chair at the table, bowing her head and letting her hair fall in her face. She knew it was bad. She knew that the Temp-V Billy had been taking would come back to bite him. She just hoped it wasn't this bad.
"It's not fair," she said and she knew that she sounded like a moaning child complaining. "It's not fair that you…you did this…took that shit for…to stop him," she couldn't even say his name. "And he…he did this to you. This is his fault. It's all his fault."
Billy chuckled darkly. "Not going to argue with you there, sis," he said in a low drawl. "That's why I'm going to make it count, alright? So I don't want to hear any of your protests that I spend my last months on some beach in the middle of nowhere because I'm not going to listen or take any of your advice. I'm going to spend the last months of my life trying to figure out another way to kill that dickweed so that you can live without fear. I abandoned you once before, Vic, I'm not doing it again so that I can go and get a tan."
Victoria knew that there was no point in arguing with him. He was never going to listen to her. He had his own mind and he did his own thing. There was usually nothing anyone could say to dissuade him. She'd tried before, but now it was futile. She tucked her hair behind her ear and sniffed, trying not to cry.
"I just…we wasted so much time, Billy," Victoria said. "I wasted so much time being so fucking stubborn and refusing to talk to you when you came to me. I wish that I had now. I wish that when you'd found me in Durham I didn't shut the door in your face."
"You had every right to slam the door in my face."
"But I just wish I hadn't. I wish that we'd actually been in each other's lives…that I…that I hadn't been so bitter."
"We'd have still ended up here," Billy said. "Fate has a cruel way of messing with our lives. We both know that…but I'm…I'm a twat, Victoria. I know I am. I'm selfish. I'm cold. You're the opposite. You deserve to have a happy life…I had mine…and I lost her…I lost all of you."
"Don't say that," she demanded from him. "You deserve to be happy, Billy. What happened to Becca…it wasn't fair on either of you."
"Yeah, well, turns out life ain't fair, is it?" he replied and she heard him take a gulp, no doubt drinking a shot of whiskey. "But I'm doing this so that you can stay there, raise your daughter and live a life you deserve. I'm doing it for you because I couldn't do it for you before."
"I don't want you to save me, Billy."
He chuckled again. "I know the last thing you want is someone to save you. I mean, fuck me, you were a stubborn little kid and God knows you're an even stubborner woman," he admitted to her and Victoria rolled her eyes but her lips arched slightly. "But you need me to do this to keep him from you. If he found you then he'd take Evelyn from you and lock you back up in a cell. You need saving from him. You might not want saving, but you need saving and that's nothing to be ashamed of, alright? So just let me do the saving for once because you've sacrificed more than enough."
Victoria felt the tears flow then, unable to stop herself. "Will I see you again?"
"I don't know," he admitted to her. "It's dangerous, Vic. It's just too dangerous."
"I do love you, you know that, right?" she said, her tears falling down her cheeks and off the end of her nose as she tried to compose herself. She knew she was failing miserably. "I've said some horrible things to you in the past and I'm sorry. I'm just so sorry and I want you to know that."
"Pretty sure whatever you said was justified. I'm not gonna hold that against you, alright?" he said in a low voice. "You're my sister and I love you. I love you and I just…I need you to trust me. Go to the countryside. Leave Daniella to me…I can…I might be able to have a word."
"Will you?"
"I'm not promising anything," Billy said to her before she could get her hopes up. "But I need you not to try and make contact because that would be too fucking dangerous. Promise me."
There was silence and Billy clucked his tongue.
"Vic," he pushed her.
"I promise," she relented, well aware that he wouldn't back down. "But just keep me in the loop, please?"
"When I can," he retorted.
"Billy," she complained.
"This is for your own good," he said to her. "Listen, I've got to go. I've got Hughie staring at me through the office door and I know the kid's whispering to Starlight that he thinks I'm talking to you."
"And I can't talk to her?"
"We've already been talking for longer than I'd have liked," Billy confessed. "I'll tell her you say hi or whatever."
"Just tell her I love her and miss her," Victoria said.
"Guess I can swallow the lump in my throat and do it."
Victoria laughed despite herself. "God, you really can be such an ass," she said and Billy laughed back, the sound deep and dry.
"I know," he assured her on that point. "Look after yourself, alright?"
"You too, Billy," she said. "Love you."
"Yeah…love you too," he said and then hung up, the line going dead.
Victoria sniffed and moved the back of her hand to brush away the tears that had stained her cheeks. Looking to the black screen of her phone, she tossed it onto the dining table and let out a deep and shaky breath before glancing back into the living room at Alex who had stopped pretending to play on his phone.
"You alright?" he asked, seeing her cup her hands over her cheeks. She nodded to him, knowing that she must look a sight, but not entirely caring. She bit down on her tongue for a moment and thought about what to say to him. How did she admit that she felt like she was going to break? That she had spent four months constantly looking over her shoulder and living in fear? That she woke up in the middle of the night in a constant panic?
"Yeah," she panted out.
Alex stood up, hands going to his hips as he left his phone on the sofa behind him. "Well, I'm not," he said and her brows knitted together at hearing him. "Everyone out there is going to be looking for you and that terrifies me because I know what he would do to all of us if he finds us. I've spent time laid in a bed, unable to move, thinking of the worst-case scenarios. There are some nights when I can't sleep because I am so afraid. I get it, Victoria, okay? You don't need to pretend you're fine because, to be honest, I'd be more freaked out if you actually were okay."
Victoria watched him wring his hands together and look around anxiously. Moving from her seat, she walked over to him and took hold of him by the shoulders. He relaxed slightly under her grip, his shoulders slumping as he moved his arms around her.
"I wake up in the middle of the night scared that he's in the house," she confessed to Alex. "I'm scared of him turning up here and what he might do."
"Then I guess that makes two of us," Alex said with a thoughtful nod of his head. "So why don't we get out of here? Go and find somewhere quiet…just for a while…until we're sure things are safe?"
Victoria nodded her head in agreement. She wanted that. She wanted to get away. "First thing in the morning?" she suggested.
"First thing in the morning," he concurred and kissed her forehead before resting his cheek on the top of her head and squeezing her tightly to him. "We'll get through this together, I promise."
…
Homelander knew that things were a mess. He was sat in the Seven's meeting room in his usual chair at the head of the table. There was a board meeting because, apparently, there was an emergency and he had to be there to handle it. It turned out everyone else was incompetent. He drummed his fingers on the arm of the chair as he tuned out for a moment, ignoring the comments about falling stocks. He wondered just what Victoria was doing at that moment in time. He wondered if she'd given birth. Did he have a son? Did he have another daughter? He might have a child somewhere out there who he hadn't even met and that pained him more than he cared to admit.
He thought of Evelyn. She was eighteen months and he hadn't seen her in almost five of them. Would she still remember him? Did she miss him or had Victoria completely omitted him from her life? And then he thought of Victoria: his wife. He wondered just what she was doing. Did she think she could hide forever? What would she do when he found her? She'd begged for his forgiveness too many times before and each time he'd granted it. He was running out of patience now. Then again, it was easier to be angry with her when she wasn't around. It was when she was with him, flashing him those doe eyes and quivering lip. He'd always been a sucker for her when she had started to cry. She was the only one who had ever got around him.
"We need to be honest about Victoria."
Homelander tuned in at the sound of her name. He looked around the table and down to some middle-aged man in a suit who was staring at him. Tuning into his heartbeat, Homelander heard it beating erratically. He was on edge, as he should be. Homelander wasn't in the mood for being told what to do.
"Excuse me?" Homelander asked, blinking quickly and brows arching on his forehead.
"People are beginning to wonder and question what is going on. Her best friend has done all of the talk shows…we've managed to gain an injunction to keep her from being interviewed on the big shows, but it won't hold forever. The court want to hear from Victoria and we can't give them that."
"Then what do you suggest?" Homelander asked, leather gloves squelching as his right hand balled into a fist.
"Tell them that she's left…that she's not mentally stable and has run away with your daughter. We can mention that she's had issues for quite some time. We have a doctor who is willing to testify to that."
"That's smart," Ashley tacked on, nodding quickly. "We can say that she had a troubled childhood, which I guess she did because she never spoke to her parents-"
"-No," Homelander interrupted Ashley, voice firm. Even after everything, he was still willing to protect his wife. "No one brings up her childhood. No one talks about her past. Is that understood?"
The room went silent then, everyone picking up on Homelander's firm tone. He leant back in his chair, swallowing hard as he remembered how Eddie had begged him for mercy as he slowly broke every bone in his body before killing him. He had done that for Victoria. The idea of anyone hurting her repulsed him then and it still repulsed him now.
"Good," Homelander said when he realised that the silence was an affirmation to his question. "And we're not dragging her name through the mud."
"People will sympathise with her," Ashley said. "Her mental health-"
"-People will see a woman who has kidnapped her child and demonise her," Homelander interrupted. "You know it and I know it."
"But we're running out of options," Ashley complained and Homelander's glare flashed over to her before the balding man in the suit spoke once more.
"And this is the only logical answer. We can't give people what they want and that is evidence that Victoria is safe. We go down the route of asking the media to be sympathetic towards her and you come across as the caring and devoted husband who just wants his wife home safe…but who has tried to protect her by hiding the truth."
Homelander considered his words. "I am a caring and devoted husband. I don't need to come across as one."
"Of course, sir."
"When I get her back…she won't be staying at the Tower. She'll need to be taken somewhere quiet where there's no news. I don't need her to be slated or criticised. She won't be able to handle it."
"We can arrange that," Ashley said, making a note of it. "But we need to get her back. Crime Analytics are still none the wiser as to where she is."
"Clearly her friend doesn't know," the man piped up and Homelander thought of Daniella. He wanted to do nothing more than make her disappear, but he knew that the optics wouldn't be great. It would look too suspicious and so he had just had to put up with her lies on all the news shows that would have her and he'd had to deny her allegations.
"Her brother?" Ashley asked.
"He won't speak," Homelander said with a firm shake of his head. He'd thought of trying to make him talk, but he knew that it would never work.
"Starlight?" Ashley continued to wonder.
"There's only one man who knows where she is and he isn't stupid enough to tell anyone else," Homelander said. "And he will never talk, no matter what you threaten him with. Unfortunately he is too stubborn, much like my wife."
No one said anything on that point then, not entirely content with discussing his wife to him. They knew how sensitive he was about her.
Homelander sighed and he knew that he was out of options. Nodding his head, he made a move to stand up. "Say that she's run away but that she's ill and needs sympathy…compassion…it'll force her out of hiding soon enough."
…
They had rented a converted barn in the middle of nowhere. It was charming with exposed beams, slate floors and brickwork revealed on some parts of the walls that weren't covered in plaster and white paint. It was decorated with expensive furniture including a large oak table and an l-shaped grey sofa. There were patio doors leading onto decking and the staircase was in the middle of the living and dining room, curving upstairs to two bedrooms with bathrooms in each of them. Victoria and Alex had taken one, deciding to share while Evelyn had a nursery with a cot and a single bed in it.
"I think someone is hungry," Alex said as he held Evelyn in his arms and the little girl giggled in his arms. "Isn't that right, Evie? Yeah? You want some mushed up banana? Super yummy."
"I'll make it," Victoria said.
She had been preparing their dinner for the evening. They'd been in the cottage for two days and the quietness had freaked her out to begin with. It felt too quiet, nothing around them except for rolling hills and sky. It was lovely, but slightly ominous when the sun went down. That was when they closed all the blinds and locked themselves inside.
"I can do it," Alex said.
"You sure?" Victoria asked from him.
"I think I can mush up some banana. I did make you the best grilled cheese you'd ever had the other night."
"Which I didn't finish and now I'm pretty gutted about that," she confessed and he chuckled before carrying Evelyn towards the kitchen area. The space downstairs was completely open-plan, the kitchen next to the dining area while the living area was at the far end with a wood-burning fire and a large TV on a cabinet.
"I'll make you one tomorrow for lunch," he promised her. "But I do have to say that casserole is smelling pretty nice."
"Hopefully it tastes it," Victoria said, placing the lid on the dish and adding it to the oven.
Alex set Evelyn down in her high-chair before he went to grab a banana and the food processor. "Can't say I ever really had casserole before. Is it an English thing?"
"I mean, I guess my mum used to make it a lot," she said to him. "But if you want real English delicacy then you need to have fish and chips…plus mushy peas. Or a full English breakfast which is honestly the best hangover cure…or even toad in the hole."
"Oh, egg cooked in bread?"
Victoria rolled her eyes and dropped the oven mitts onto the worktop surface. "That's so American," she complained to him as the food processor whirled for a minute. She waited until he was finished. "Toad in the hole is sausages in Yorkshire pudding."
"What the hell is a Yorkshire pudding?" he asked.
Victoria shook her head and looked to the ceiling. "It's almost scandalous that you're talking like that in England. If anyone heard you ask that question in public then I fear the consequences. Seriously, I think you'd be publicly shamed."
Alex smirked as he added the banana to a bowl and grabbed a spoon. He looked to Victoria and saw that there was a playful smile on her face. He had to admit that he wouldn't get tired of her looking like that. She looked relaxed. She looked happy. He dropped a free hand to her hip and bent down, nose brushing against hers.
"Good job I've got my own personal tutor to teach me all of the English cuisines."
"Yeah, lucky you," Victoria said.
He chuckled. "I know that was your English self-deprecation shining through, but I do seem to think that I am lucky because you are pretty great."
"You don't need to say that."
"Only saying it because it's true," Alex said to her and kissed her softly for a moment. "Now, I think I'd best feed this one before I hear her stomach growl again."
Victoria nodded and he swept her hair behind her ear before going to Evelyn. Victoria turned around and watched Alex as he sat down on a chair by the dining table and Evelyn's high-chair. He piled up some of the food on the spoon and talked to her as she ate, wiping her mouth when she got it smeared all around. Folding her arms over her chest, Victoria cocked her head and wondered just what the future would bring if Homelander didn't find them. Would Alex be okay staying with them forever? What would it be like with Evelyn? Would he really completely accept her and see none of Homelander in her?
Victoria had seen the news that morning. She had seen how Homelander had accused her of kidnapping Evelyn. He had stood on camera and almost looked like he was going to shed tears as he appealed for his wife to come back home, promising that they could work things out. The press had asked him why he hadn't told the truth to begin with and he said that he'd done it to protect Victoria. He hoped she'd come back and everything would be fine.
"Well, would you look at that? All of that banana has gone. You did really well there, didn't you?" Alex said, snapping Victoria from her thoughts and looking over to him. She remembered how Homelander would hold Evie and feed her bottle. He was always so doting to her. "But I think that you got most of it around your mouth. That's very impressive, Evie, I've gotta say."
"She's very impressive," Victoria tacked on.
"Takes after her mother."
"You know flattery isn't going to get you anywhere, right?"
"I'd guessed not, but worth a shot."
"Not that I don't enjoy it," she said to him and his lips arched again.
"Oh yeah?" he asked.
"Yeah," she confirmed and Alex stood up, carrying the bowl and spoon back towards the kitchen as Evelyn let out a soft burp.
Moving past Victoria, Alex let his hand skim over her hip tenderly and he kissed her on the side of her head. "I'll keep that in mind, baby."
…
Getting ready for bed, Victoria stood by the drawers where she'd left her creams and moisturizers on top of it. She was rubbing hand cream into her fingers as Alex finished brushing his teeth, moving from the bathroom and into the bedroom and then back again. Once he was done, he headed back to the bedroom as Victoria rolled down the sleeves of her pyjama top. Alex caught the action and leant against the doorframe of the bathroom, folding his arms over his chest and crumpling the plain blue top he wore to bed over grey joggers.
"You know you don't have to hide from me, right?" he said to her and she wondered what he was on about before he nodded to her arms. She'd gotten so used to covering them up that it was second nature to her.
"Oh, right…sorry, force of habit."
"I'm just saying that they're a part of you. They don't define you. You don't need to hide."
Victoria shrugged awkwardly. "I guess I've always just felt more comfortable hiding them. I don't want people staring…wondering what happened."
"I get that, but I'm not people," Alex said to her. "And you shouldn't need to hide from people."
"I mean, I really should because I don't know if you've noticed, but my face is all over the news," Victoria said and she pulled the quilt back. Alex slipped into the other side, turning on his bedside light as Victoria checked her phone and the baby monitor. She sat down on the edge of the bed before sitting up against the headboard.
"You know what I mean," Alex said.
"I know," she conceded.
He laid down on his back, head on the soft pillows and he let out a deep breath as Victoria remained sat up. Awkwardly, he turned his head to the side so that he was peering up to her.
"What is it?"
"Nothing…I guess…I just don't enjoy sleeping as much as I used to when I know they end in nightmares…like last night."
Alex had startled awake the night before to the sound of her murmuring in her sleep, begging Homelander not to take Evelyn from her. She'd woken up and he'd held her until morning, dozing occasionally but not drifting into a deep sleep again.
"I know," Alex said to her. "But you can't stay awake all night."
"I'm sure I'll drift off eventually."
"Would it help if I told you that whatever happens in your nightmares…I'll be there when you wake up, alright? You can't never sleep again."
"You're right," Victoria said and she slowly sunk down, the mattress enveloping her body and the pillows welcoming her head. She rolled onto her side and looked to Alex as she moved a hand underneath her pillow. "I know I might not say it enough…but…I'm glad you're here. I know that's selfish because your life would be so much easier if you'd never met me."
"You're not wrong," Alex said with a nod of his head. "But my entire life has been a series of 'what ifs?' What if I hadn't been born a supe? What if I hadn't joined the Seven? What if I hadn't been part of Super Sweet? What if I hadn't ended up in rehab? I've learned not to think 'what if' but just accept what's happened…and what happened was that I've ended up where I am and that's all I focus on. I focus on that and what I have now…and that's you…I did meet you. I met you and I fell for you in a way I've not fallen for anyone before. I don't expect you to feel the same or tell me that you do because…because things have moved quickly and I-"
"-I do," Victoria interrupted him and she watched as he rolled over onto his side as well, nose inches from her own. "I feel the same, Alex. I care so much for you and I…I just…I'm falling for you. I know I am. I know that I can easily see myself loving you."
Alex smiled at that, his teeth bared and his eyes lighting up at that news. Victoria felt him move a hand up to her cheek, thumb running along her cheekbone. "I'm glad to hear that because I'm pretty sure I'm falling in love with you."
Victoria smiled at that and he took that as his invitation to move closer to her. Kissing her softly, he relished in the feeling of her against him. Their kisses were slow and gentle, both of them taking time to indulge in each other and go no further. In that moment in time, nothing mattered outside of that barn. Victoria forgot about Homelander. She forgot that he might be coming for her. But there was no might. He was coming. And he was taking what was his.
…
A/N: You just know things won't stay peaceful forever (maybe for another few chapters!). Please do let me know what you think - never thought this story would get this far that we're waiting for the next season which is very exciting!