Victoria was packing a suitcase in her walk-in closet when Daniella came up the next day. She had booked three tickets to London for an overnight flight in first class. She had asked Natalie to come with her because she didn't want her daughter left in the States. She didn't want Evelyn to be anywhere near her father either and so she figured it would be best if they stayed in a hotel in central London and away from her childhood home. She had explained to Evelyn as best as she could that morning that they were going to London because Victoria's daddy was sick. Victoria had tried to tell her that they hadn't gotten along and that was why she hadn't met her grandparents.

Then Evie had asked if her dad had any parents and Victoria had to tell her that he did but that they were also dead. She thought she had handled it as well as she could, but she wasn't entirely certain what her daughter was thinking. She was still too young to truly understand complex methods. Even Victoria wasn't sure what she was thinking and she was in her thirties.

"How did you do it?" Daniella asked, marching in the closet as Victoria took a black dress and began folding it up, laying it neatly on top of her other clothes in the big hardshell case.

"How did you convince him to free Alex?" Daniella asked. "We had the release papers sent to us this morning. He's going to be out by tonight under certain conditions…he has to go into hiding because there's still people out there baying for his blood. But the point is that he's free and I know that you had something to do with it. What did you say to Homelander?"

Victoria shrugged her shoulders. She had to admit that a part of her was shocked that Alex was actually going to be free. Homelander had been true to his word. Of course, he claimed that he didn't want anything in return, but Victoria knew what he was doing. She knew precisely what he was doing and it wasn't going to fool her.

"Honestly? I'm not entirely sure," Victoria confessed to her friend. "I didn't promise him anything. I didn't tell him that I'd go home. I didn't tell him that I'd stop fighting him. He…I think he thinks that if he does this then he might get back into my good books. He's doing it for me to try and show me that he can be the husband I want him to be."

"And is it working?" Daniella asked from her friend. "You know what he's like. He's not going to give you up without a fight, Vic."

"I know he isn't, but I'm not going back to him tonight."

"And you haven't slept with him?" Daniella asked, leaning against the doorframe, arms folded over her chest and one ankle crossed over the other. Victoria frowned at her as she picked up her blazer. She arched her brow at her.

"Seriously?"

"You've admitted before that you almost slept with him and it's not as if you haven't told me to butt out of your private business with him before."

"Yeah, because it's private," Victoria defended herself on that point. She wasn't going to sit here and listen to Daniella question her. She didn't need to know that Homelander came to her townhouse every night and just slept next to her. It was almost like a comfort blanket for the both of them. Homelander knew that without his wife then the nightmares would return and he didn't want that. He didn't want the nightmares to come back.

"I just don't want you to mess things up."

"I'm not messing things up," Victoria said to her friend. "But I do need to go to England for a few days."

"I saw your message," Daniella confirmed, moving to take the blazer from Victoria. She folded it up after she saw that her friend was just creasing it as opposed to neatly folding. Daniella placed it in the case and shrugged out of her baby blue blazer and tossed it onto the chair in the corner, leaving her in a white sleeveless shirt. "You're sure you're going to be okay over there?"

"Honestly? Probably not," Victoria confessed to her sister. "I went back to London and saw my parents when all of that stuff was kicking off about my childhood. I…me and my dad got into it and it just made me feel like shit. It takes me back to being a kid and listening to him beat my brothers…feeling him burning me…and then there's Eddie…I mean, fuck…I had years of therapy but I'm still not over it. He still has this power over me."

"Vic, it's only normal that you feel like that. What happened to you as a kid was traumatic. It was horrific. No one expects you to be able to put something like that in some neatly wrapped box and shove it to the back of your wardrobe," Daniella promised her friend. "I can't even imagine what it was like for you and the fact that you can stand to go back there…I think that in itself is brave," she said to her friend and Victoria glanced across to her with a soft smile.

"Will you make sure Alex is alright?" Victoria checked with Daniella, needing to change the topic. "I don't think he wants anything to do with me."

"He was just angry," Daniella said.

"Come on, Dani, we both know that's not true," Victoria warned her friend. "He has every right to be pissed off with me and never want to see me again. I messed it up with him. He was normal…sweet…loved me…and I ruined it all. Maybe there really is something wrong with me?"

Daniella considered that for a moment. She just took her time in trying to think of a response. "I don't think there's anything wrong with you," Daniella said. "I think you're a glutton for punishment, yeah. I think you know that you are too, but it's who you are, Vic. Nothing is ever simple. Life is complicated and we all know that. You and Homelander…I can't understand it and I don't want you to try and explain it to me. I just want you to figure it out on your own. I want to see you happy."

"Yeah," Victoria weakly agreed. "But maybe some people just don't get that happiness?" she suggested.

"Vic, don't-"

"-I really need to finish packing, Dani," Victoria interrupted. She didn't think she could handle a deep heart-to-heart chat. She suspected her emotions were already going to go through it when she got back to London. Looking to her friend, she saw Daniella's mouth gape for a moment as if she wanted to say something, but then she closed it again.

"Alright," she reluctantly agreed with her to drop it. "But let me give you a hand packing. You always were terrible at it."

Victoria chuckled and handed her friend another dress which she began to fold for her and they lapsed into a comfortable silence.

…

Victoria had left Daniella in charge of work. She'd taken a cab with Evie and Natalie to JFK and checked in all of their luggage before heading through security to the lounge. They'd waited to board the British Airways flight, Victoria and Natalie keeping Evelyn entertained by reading stories to her and taking her for a walk around the terminal. Victoria had crouched down behind her daughter, hands on her sides as they watched planes taxi to the runaway. Evelyn shrieked in glee as she watched one of them take off and Victoria hoped that she would be okay on the flight.

Thankfully, she was fine for the most part. Victoria had managed to distract her during take-off, but her daughter had seemed fascinated, looking out of the window. She'd fallen asleep a couple of hours into the flight and Victoria had checked on Natalie who was sat across the aisle from them. She thanked her again for coming with her and Natalie had promised that it was no problem.

They'd landed at six a.m. local time and headed to the hotel just off of Piccadilly Gardens. Victoria had carried Evelyn as Natalie wheeled their luggage into the foyer, mouth gaping at the sight she was seeing. She'd never stayed anywhere as fancy. Her job at Vought hadn't paid particularly well, but Victoria was paying her more than she could ever imagine. The concierge took their bags and they checked in at front desk to a suite with three bedrooms. The room itself was luxurious with plush beige carpets and intricate wallpaper. There was even a balcony looking out over the busy street below.

Victoria had left the two of them in the hotel, kissing her daughter and holding her tight before telling her that she had to pop out and take care of some business. She was jet-lagged, but she wanted to get this out of the way with. Her mum had text her while she was on the flight and told her that they didn't think her father had much, if any, time left.

Taking the tube out of central London and towards south London, Victoria knew she could've taken a cab. It would've been quicker. But perhaps she didn't want to get there quickly? Perhaps she was delaying because a part of her didn't want to make it? She didn't want to see her father die. She didn't want to be by his bedside and him even think that she had forgiven him and that was why she was there. She wanted none of that.

And so she took her time. She didn't even run to make the connecting train even though she could've. By the time she got to the hospital, she hoped that he had gone. She hoped that he was gone and she didn't have to see him again. She wondered if that made her a bad person. Did it make her horrible for thinking it? She guessed that it might, but she just really didn't care. She wanted him gone.

"Figured you'd show up sooner or later."

Victoria frowned as she found herself stood outside of the hospital, rooted to the spot. She couldn't bring her feet to carry her into the building. She was just stood by the automatic doors, looking at them as they opened and closed. Turning to the side, she saw Homelander stood there. He was dressed in jeans, a blue shirt and a thick woollen black coat. He had his hands in his pockets and was just watching her, a soft expression on his face.

"What're you doing here?" she demanded from him, but her voice wasn't exactly angry.

"I know you probably don't want me here, but I know what it's like for you, alright? I mean, I don't know what it's like…but I know that you struggle when it comes to your parents and I guessed you might not want to do this alone. It's not me trying to worm my way back into your life or anything like that. It's just me trying to be there…telling you that you don't need to do this on your own."

Victoria considered his proposal and she wondered if he was being honest. She wasn't entirely sure, but a part of her felt her stomach knot at what he had just said. She looked at him, dressed in normal clothes, and she longed for this to be her husband. She wanted them to be a normal couple, able to go about their business without anyone wondering who they were.

"God, I hate that you know me so well," Victoria complained.

"Yeah, I'd like to think that your husband might know you better than anyone else," he said to her. "And I take it you don't know whether or not to go in judging by how long you've stood out here for."

"Is my mum in there?" Victoria wondered.

Homelander looked to the building and she knew he was scanning it. He took a moment before fixating on one spot and nodding his head once. "She's up there," he confirmed for her. "She's by his bedside."

"And him?"

"Still breathing…barely though," Homelander retorted. "I'd say he has about a couple of hours left at most."

"Fuck," Victoria mumbled and she went to sit down on a wooden bench by the entrance. Homelander sat down next to her, arm going over the back of the seat. She crossed her legs and angled her body towards her husband. She laced her hands together and set them down in her lap. The air was cold and the sun was trying to peek through the clouds, but it was failing. "A part of me hoped that he'd be gone by the time I got here," she confessed to Homelander and she knew he was the only one she would say this to. "That would mean that I wouldn't have to see him because I don't want to see him…I don't want to go in there and see him again. I said all that I had to say to him last time I visited him."

Victoria bowed her head for a moment and Homelander watched her as she tucked her hair behind her ears and he could see her struggling with her emotions. He could see that she didn't know what to do for the best and he understood it.

"You don't need to go in there," he promised her. "We can just sit out here. Or, if you do want to go in there, then you can go whenever you want and say whatever you want…or just say nothing…it's entirely your choice."

"Can we just sit here for a few minutes?" Victoria asked him and he nodded his head at her.

He watched his wife as she kept glancing down to the floor, lost in her thoughts. She thought about her daughter in the hotel. She thought about Ryan who was still staying with friends and hardly wanted anything to do with them. She thought about her mother who was sat up there and waiting for her. She thought about Lenny and what he would do if he was here. She thought about Billy and wondered if he even knew what was going on.

And then she made her decision. Standing up, Homelander observed her and waited patiently for her to tell him what she wanted. She was wearing her long-sleeved grey sweatshirt over a pair of skinny jeans and ankle boots. Her blue winter coat came down to her mid-thigh and he doubted she'd changed since the plane journey.

"I'm going to go in," Victoria decided.

"Do you want me to come with you?"

She considered it for a moment. She should shake her head. She knew that she should. But she didn't. She just nodded once and he understood that this was going to be harder for her than he might have initially anticipated. Standing up, he slipped his hand into hers and the two of them made their way into the hospital. No one looked twice at them considering they looked like they blended in. They didn't need directions considering Homelander could use his x-ray vision to scout out where they were.

He paused outside of a private room on ward twenty-five. The door was slightly ajar and the beeping from the monitors echoed through the hallway. Jutting his chin in the direction of the door, he silently told her that was where she needed to be. Victoria took a deep breath before pushing it open. Stepping into the room, she let go of Homelander's hand when she saw her mother. Connie looked across to her daughter, a sad smile forming on her lips. Moving to her feet, Connie moved towards the door.

"Hi, honey," she greeted her in a whisper.

"Mum," Victoria said back to her and Connie embraced her. Victoria managed to plant her hands on her mum's back and hold her for a couple of seconds before pulling back. Looking over to the bed, Victoria could see the steady rise and fall of her father's chest, but his eyes were hooded and he looked like he was on the verge of sleep, his breathing raspy.

"I didn't know if you would make it," Connie said to her daughter. "I know that you'd rather be anywhere else, but I just…I just thought this might give you closure…you and your brother…"

"Billy's here?" Victoria wondered.

"He won't return my calls," Connie said. "I hoped that maybe he'd come, but he hasn't been seen. Have you not spoken to him?"

"We had a fight," Victoria said to her mother. "I don't want to get into it, mum, but we're not exactly talking right now…things are a bit of a mess."

"I've read online," Connie said. "That's why I'm amazed that your husband is here considering I thought you two were divorcing."

Victoria turned her head over her shoulder and looked back to Homelander. She realised that this was the first time he was meeting her mother. It was the first time he was meeting her father too, or so she thought. She knew what her mother thought about Homelander. The two of them had discussed their marriage beforehand, back when Victoria had last been in London. She knew that her mother clearly had her suspicions about him.

"Homelander," he introduced himself to the woman. He didn't offer her his hand. Truth be told, he didn't want to get to know the woman. He blamed her for what had happened to Victoria. If she had been a better mother then she should've known what was going on in her children's lives. But she wasn't a good mother. She was just someone who had given birth to three children and that was all Homelander saw her as.

"Connie Butcher," she replied and he knew she was eyeing him suspiciously. "I never thought that the first time we met would be when you were divorcing my daughter."

"We're not divorcing," Homelander said and that was final.

"Things are complicated, mum," Victoria just said to her mother. She wasn't in the mood for getting into it. "John's here for me because…I know you think I've come here for closure, but I don't know if it's the kind of closure you want for me."

"I know, Victoria," she assured her. "I just thought that it would be good for you."

"Can he hear us?" Victoria wondered.

"I think so," Connie said. "He's struggling to speak, but the nurse said that he's still conscious."

"Right," Victoria said and she felt Homelander's hand press against her back. He ran it up and down, trying to comfort her. She stood on the spot and looked to the man in the bed. Victoria turned her head over her shoulder and glanced up to her husband. Homelander reached his free hand to her cheek, fingers cupping along her cheekbones as he brought his head down, forehead pressing to hers.

Connie looked away from the two of them, a part of her feeling like she was intruding on something intimate that she had no right to watch. She couldn't put her finger on it, but the way he was hovering around her daughter felt like nothing she'd seen before.

"You can do what you want," he whispered for his wife only. "It's your choice, Vic."

Victoria glanced at his blue eyes and she reached for his hand on her cheek. Peeling it from her skin, she gave it a quick squeeze before she dropped it and moved from him. She walked towards the bed and sat down in the chair her mother had just vacated. She watched her father, beady eyes focusing on his gaunt face and his slicked back hair.

"I know we said everything we had to say to each other last time I was here," Victoria declared. Her voice was shaky and her palms sweating as she rubbed them on her thighs. "I know that we said things…things that were horrible…but I don't care. I'm not here because I had a last-minute change of heart and I want you to die thinking that maybe I could forgive you because I can't. I can never forgive you for what you did to us and I want you to die knowing that. It might make me sadistic. It make me a horrible person….but, truthfully, I couldn't give a shit. I don't care what it makes me."

Her father's eyes just remained hooded. He didn't look like he had the strength to even look at her. She didn't care though. She wasn't interested in anything he had to say.

"So…this is goodbye, dad," Victoria declared. "We're done."

She stood up again and Connie looked to her, a sad expression on her face. "Victoria, you don't need to go. You can-"

"-I don't want to be here," Victoria interrupted her mother. "I know you think that this might be good for me, but it won't be, mum. I'm old enough to decide what I want and I don't want to be here. I'm done."

"Where are you going?"

"I don't know," Victoria said. "I just need to get away from here."

Connie tried to stop Victoria, the two of them moving into the corridor. Homelander glanced to them as they continued debating in louder voices. He moved towards the side of the bed and peered down over Sam, his lip curling in disgust at the man.

"It's a shame I can't kill you," Homelander declared. "But, then again, why should I deny your cancer the chance to make you suffer for just a few hours longer? Don't worry, I'll take care of your daughter better than you ever could. She'll be safe with me." Homelander noticed how Sam's breath seemed to hitch then, but he couldn't say anything. Homelander chuckled darkly. "Rot in hell, you sick bastard," he settled on saying and then left the room, finding Victoria still arguing with her mother in the corridor.

"You want me to go in there and forgive him, but I can't," Victoria snapped at her mother. "I can't forgive him for what he did. I'm happy you feel like you can put those things behind you. Truly, I am…but I'm not you. I'm not you and I can't do the same. I can't forgive him and I don't want to."

"I'm not talking about forgiveness. I'm talking about saying goodbye in a way that might make you feel better in the long run. I don't want you to look back and regret what you said. I just don't want you to have any regrets."

"And I don't," Victoria sniped. "I'm not going to have any regrets because I don't care. I haven't cared for years and I'm not going to start now. We're done, mum. There's nothing left to say."

"Just…I just want you to be happy."

"Yeah…and staying here isn't going to achieve that," she decided on saying to her. "Just call me when you have more news, but I'm going."

Connie could only watch as her daughter walked away, Homelander close on her trail.

…

"I have a confession."

Victoria wasn't sure how they had found themselves in Regent's Park. They were sat on a bench together and she hadn't even complained when he wrapped an arm over her shoulders. Her back leant against his side and she was holding a polystyrene cup of hot chocolate in her hand, legs crossed and his chin by the top of her head.

"What is it?" Victoria wondered from her husband.

"I visited your father months ago," he told her and Victoria frowned at that piece of news. She adjusted herself against him so that she could turn her head to look at him. "It was after he sold the story to the newspapers, I decided that I should pay him a visit. We had words and I…well…I may have had some semblance of revenge. It wasn't nowhere near enough, but I figured letting the cancer kill him would be better."

"You met my dad?" Victoria asked. "Why did you not tell me?"

"Because you had enough going on at the time and I didn't want to bring it up, but I also didn't want to sit back and let him think that he could run his mouth," Homelander said and Victoria looked to him as he reached a hand up and brushed her hair behind her ear. "I wanted him to hurt like he'd hurt you and then when I met him…I had to listen to him talk about you in a way I didn't like and I just wanted him to feel an ounce of pain that you did."

"So it was you who put him in the hospital?" Victoria checked with him.

"No," he defended himself on that point. "It wasn't me who did that. He was actually beaten up by some men he used to drink with when the truth came out. I might've just broken some fingers and left a few scars. I couldn't help it, Vic…I saw the wardrobe he used to lock you in and the bed…the bed where Eddie…and I just lost it. I lost it because all I could think about was you crying in that stairwell and begging me not to let the news get out. It was all I could think about and so I wanted him to hurt."

Victoria knew that she should be angry. She should be annoyed that he had done that. She just couldn't be. She couldn't be angry because she didn't care that her father had been in pain. She'd lived in fear for her entire childhood. He could have one night feeling what she'd felt. It didn't make them even.

"I know this is the part where I'm probably supposed to be the bigger person and tell you that you shouldn't have done that, but I can't. I can't because I don't care enough. If he felt even a little bit of fear like I felt then he deserved it," Victoria decided to say. "Either way, I'm not going to lose sleep over it."

"As you shouldn't," he confirmed and he moved his thumb to brush the small hairs by the corner of her forehead.

"But why didn't you tell me?" she wondered from her husband.

"You had enough going on, sweetheart. I didn't want to add to your plate," he said to her.

Victoria closed her eyes and she turned her head to the side again so that she was resting back against him. She took a sip of her hot chocolate which had started to cool. She felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and she pulled it out. Homelander looked over her shoulder at the text message that had just come through from her mother.

He's gone.

It was only two simple words, but they did nothing to Victoria. She wondered if she might feel like a weight was lifted from her shoulders. She wondered if she might feel that closure that so many people had told her she might. But she just felt nothing. She didn't feel sad. She didn't feel relieved. She just felt exactly the same. She felt numb.

"You okay?" he asked from her.

"He's gone," Victoria declared and she locked her phone screen once more and placed it back in her pocket.

"And you're sure you're alright?" he checked with her.

"I'm fine," Victoria promised him. Homeander bent down and kissed the top of her head and she closed her eyes, enjoying the peace and quiet of the park for a few brief moments before she knew she should return to the hotel.

…

"It's going to be another few days before I can get back," Victoria spoke down the phone to Daniella. It was gone eleven at night. She'd gone back to the hotel and Homelander had flown back to the States for business. Victoria had taken Evelyn for a walk along South Bank with Natalie, the three of them stopping for dinner at a Mexican restaurant before getting an early night.

But Victoria hadn't gone to bed. She'd gone to her room in the suite and had opened her laptop and looked at her emails. She had glanced over the application petitioning for judicial review before Daniella had text and asked how she was. Victoria had decided to call her instead of texting her back.

"Do you think you'll be back in time for the debate next week?" Daniella wondered.

"I hope so," Victoria replied. "I said that I'd stay for the funeral, but hopefully that will be by the end of the week. Mum didn't exactly want anything fancy. She just wanted a simple burial and it's not as if he has any friends or family."

"And did you see him?" Daniella asked.

"I saw him," Victoria said and she sat down at the end of the bed. She'd changed into her long sleeve green pyjamas after a quick shower. She'd tied her hair into a ponytail and had washed her face. "It didn't change anything, but I saw him and then when mum said he'd gone…I felt nothing. I just felt nothing, Dani…no sadness…no relief…nothing."

"He wasn't really a father to you, Vic. It makes sense that you feel that way. You sure that you're okay?" she checked with her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Victoria said. "Just tired and jet-lagged, but I'll get a good night's sleep and I'll reply to emails tomorrow."

"You don't need to do anything. I can deal with things on the business side for the time being," Daniella promised her. "You just focus on yourself and I'll handle stuff here."

"You sure?"

"Positive," Daniella said. "Get some sleep, Vic. Call me if you need anything, okay?"

"Yeah, thanks, Dani," Victoria said gratefully.

"Night, Vic."

"Night."

Victoria hung up the call at the same time she saw him stood on the balcony outside. Moving to open the door, Victoria felt the chill of the night. He was dressed back in his supe suit and had his hands on his hips. Victoria closed the door before the heat could escape the room. Locking it, she tugged the curtains shut.

"I didn't know if you would come," Victoria said.

"I finished business early and wanted to check in on you," Homelander assured her.

"I'm alright," she said. "Honestly, between you, my mum, Natalie and Daniella, I think I've maybe had to say that I'm fine about five hundred times today."

Homelander watched her close the lid to her laptop. She placed it on the desk in the corner and he noticed that her case was open by the wardrobe, clothes strewn around. Her toiletries sat on the desk as well, lids open and jars on their side. "We're just worried for you, Vic," Homelander said. "I know that you hate your dad and I get it, but he has just died."

"Yeah and good riddance," Victoria said and she turned the main light out. "And that's the attitude I'm going to adopt because if not then what else can I do? I can get angry with him. I can be pissed off for what he did to me and my brothers as kids. I could cry over not being enough for him and for what he did, but I'm done shedding tears…so I don't care. I'm going for indifference. I'm all cried out, John. I'm just…I'm exhausted."

She tugged the duvet back and climbed into bed. Homelander silently stripped out of his clothes and he followed suit. He took his usual side of the bed and lay there in just his underwear. He moved his hands behind his head and looked up to the ceiling.

"You can feel however you want to feel. If you want to be angry…cry…or just sleep…then you can," Homelander said. "You don't owe them anything."

Closing her eyes, Victoria let him turn the lamps out. She laid on her back, sleep coming easily to her for the first time in a while. Homelander watched her drift off and his lips arched upwards as she rolled onto her side and moved her arm over his waist, clinging to him. He didn't bother to move her away.

…

The day of the funeral came and Victoria had told her mum she would meet her in the church. Homelander had told her that he would come with her and he had met her at the church dressed in a black funeral suit with a black tie. She had walked towards him in a long-sleeved black dress with black stockings and black heels. She'd curled her hair and left it loose down her back. She had no makeup on and her black coat was open on her frame.

"Hey," she greeted him.

"Hey," he replied. "How have you been?"

"Since this morning when you snuck out of the hotel room?" she asked from him. "I've been fine."

He smirked. He'd been staying with her for the past few days while she'd been in London. No one knew, of course. They hadn't been pictured together and Homelander had returned during the day for Vought business on the other side of the pond. He'd seen Evelyn one night while he'd been there, sitting with her in the living room and reading a book to her before she insisted they play hide and seek. He'd tired her out and put her to bed, reading to her again and kissing the top of her head tenderly as she fell asleep.

"And Evie?"

"Natalie is taking her to the National History Museum," Victoria replied to his question. "She's good though. She was happy that you stayed the other night."

"I miss not seeing her."

"I know you do," Victoria assured her husband of that.

"Maybe tonight I could come and see her?" Homelander asked.

"Yeah, sure," Victoria relented, letting him have that. She glanced to the church across the small road and she saw the vicar step outside. There was only her and Homelander there. Her mum was coming with the hearse and the service would be short followed by the burial.

After another minute, the hearse finally pulled up and Victoria watched the coffin bearers carrying the coffin into the church. Her mum hugged her quickly and the three of them made their way into the church. Homelander took hold of Victoria's hand, his bare fingers entwining with hers and holding her hand loosely. He sat on the front pew next to her as her mother sat on her other side.

The vicar's voice rang out through the church, echoing into the eaves considering the church was practically empty. Homelander listened intently as Victoria crossed her legs and set his hand on her thigh. He gripped hold of it gently, giving her a squeeze as both of her hands went to sit on both of his. Connie noted the way the two of them moved around each other before giving the vicar her full attention. After the final amen after the final prayer, the coffin was carried towards the graveyard and lowered into the hole.

Homelander listened as the vicar committed the body to the ground. Connie threw some dirt onto the top of the coffin, but Victoria declined. There had been no flowers or photos. There had been no one to say anything. There had been nothing to show for Sam's life. No one clearly wanted to turn up and say anything nice.

They left the churchyard and Victoria noticed that there were two men waiting to bury her father.

"Are you going back home, mum?" Victoria asked from her mother as the three of them ambled back towards the church, walking in between the rows of headstones.

"I was thinking of going to see a few friends. They said that they have a bottle of wine cooling for me," Connie said. "And you? Are you going back to the States?"

"On Monday after we've cleared the flat," Victoria confirmed.

She wasn't entirely sure how she had been roped into cleaning out her childhood flat. She guessed most things would go in bin bags. She'd told her mum that she could pay someone to clear it out for them, but her mum had insisted that she do it. She didn't want anyone else rifling through her possessions. The flat was going to go on the market and Connie was going to distribute the money between herself and her two kids. Victoria had said that she didn't want anything from her mum, but Connie was insisting.

"I'll see you at the flat tomorrow, yeah?" Connie checked.

"Bright and early," Victoria confirmed.

"Thanks, love," Connie said and she hugged her. "You going back to the hotel?"

"Me and John are going for a walk and then I'm going back," Victoria confirmed for her.

"Be careful," Connie urged and Victoria wanted to laugh at the comment, but she bit her tongue. Her mother said a polite goodbye to Homelander before she left the two of them alone. Victoria was about to ask John if he wanted to leave when she saw her mother disappear through the gates. It was grey and cloudy, the sky looking like it was threatening rain. Then she saw a look on her husband's face.

"What is it?" she asked.

He chuckled deeply. "He's got some balls on him, I'll give him that," Homelander declared.

"Who?"

He motioned for her to turn around with his finger and he pointed back in the direction of where her father had just been buried. Victoria frowned and squinted as she saw his familiar stance. He was stood with his legs spread, arms by his side. He was wearing his trench coat and dark jeans and boots. He had his back to them, but he must've known they'd have spotted him.

"Just give me a minute," Victoria pleaded with her husband, hand going to his chest as he started to move forwards.

"He's got the virus, Vic. He's a wanted felon."

"John, please, we both that you could arrest him whenever you wanted to. Just give me a minute with him."

Homelander's jaw tensed. "I'm not letting you out of my sight."

"I know," she assured him and squeezed his arm before leaving him stood on the spot beneath a tree. Victoria headed back towards her father's grave, her footsteps cautious and she was worried about what would happen when she got to her brother. She just knew she had to say something to him.

But he was the one who broke the silence. "Considered pissing on his grave," Billy said. The grave was half-dug. Billy had asked for a moment and the two men shovelling the dirt had just shrugged and left him to it. "Had to make do with spitting on it instead."

"How the hell did you get here?" Victoria asked from him.

"You really think I don't know how to get out of the country?" he asked from her and she stood by his side, keeping a small distance between them. "It's not hard when you know how. Figured you'd be here too. Guessed he'd be here as well."

"He just…" Victoria trailed off, not entirely sure what excuse she could give to her brother that he would believe. He looked to her, his eye meeting hers and she noted the way his own jaw tensed and long gone was any kindness that he showed her.

"Out of excuses?" he checked.

"I don't have any. He's here because he thought I'd need him here."

"And did you? Needed him to hold your hand while you got through all of this?"

"It hasn't exactly been a picnic coming back here and seeing dad again," Victoria said to her brother. "I just didn't think you'd show. Mum didn't think you'd show either."

"Yeah, well, less she knows the better. Take it you haven't told her anything?"

"What do I tell her? That her son has let some virus consume him and wants to go on a mass killing spree against supes which would include her granddaughter? That her daughter is fucked up? That her kids aren't even talking to each other anymore?"

"I'm talking to you now, aren't I?" Billy said, smarmy smirk on his face.

"Don't be a dick."

"Swearing in a church," Billy said and he made a tutting noise. "Not very becoming of America's Sweetheart, is it? I've seen you on TV. You look very convincing, Vicky. You almost sound sincere with what you're saying. What would people say if they knew that you were still sleeping with the enemy? You think that would go down well?"

"That's private," Victoria sniped.

"So, you are sleeping with him?"

"No," Victoria said. Technically they weren't sleeping together. "And even if I was, why would you care, Billy? Didn't you tell me to go back to being his cheap little whore?"

"Well, you keep proving me right, don't ya?" Billy snapped back. "But I knew he'd be here. I knew he'd be here with you and I'm ready to end this once and for all. You saw what I did to Neuman. You think I couldn't take him? The virus is in control now, Vicky. I'm stronger than I ever have been…even when I was on V."

"Not here," Victoria snapped at her brother. "You're not doing this in a church. You're not killing him. Do you know what they'd do to you?"

"It's sweet that you think he could kill me, sweetheart."

Victoria turned her head over her shoulder to see Homelander ambling towards them, hands clasped behind his back. He still looked menacing, even without his supe suit. Victoria walked towards him, holding a hand up and placing it against his chest to stop him from walking any further. His lips were turned upwards and his glimmering eyes were set on Billy.

"John, please."

"I told you that I'd give you a minute, but I am going to deal with him," Homelander said.

"I'm shaking in my boots," Billy said and Homelander chuckled at him. "You think you can take me? Scan me, wanker. You'll see that you're fighting a losing battle."

Victoria didn't want this to go any further. She noticed how Homelander's brows pinched together and his forehead creased with wrinkles in concentration. He scanned Billy, his eyes moving over him and the smile on his face only grew wider.

"My, my," Homelander declared, "you really did give into the darkness, didn't you? If you could see what I see…well…I think you'd be horrified."

"Then you know that I can take you right here, right now."

"Oh, I wouldn't go that far," Homelander laughed and his eyes glowed red.

Victoria felt a panic building up inside of her and she kept her hand pressed to her husband's chest as she looked between the two men and tried to think of a way to diffuse the situation.

"Both of you, pack it in," Victoria demanded from them. "We're in the middle of a graveyard. You're not going to fight here. It's disrespectful and what would it achieve? You're about a minute away from a main road in south London. How long before someone comes in here and films what you're both doing?"

"I'm going to be apprehending a criminal," Homelander defended, teeth gritted together and anger clear in his voice. "Your brother has been nothing but a pain in my ass since the day he got involved with our lives. He tried to turn you against me. He tried to turn my son against me. He deserves everything he's going to get."

"Do it," Billy demanded from him. "You think those laser beams are going to work on me?"

Before Victoria could say anything else, Homelander shot at Billy, the red beams coming from his eyes at the same time he moved Victoria to the side. The lasers hit Billy's chest, but they did nothing to him. He just took a step backwards and Victoria watched as he spread his arms and she knew that those tentacles were going to appear from his chest just as they had done when he'd killed Victoria Neuman. Homelander looked on in confusion and he took hold of Victoria by the wrist, pushing her behind his body.

"Get out of here. Now," he demanded from his wife as the tentacles moved from Billy's body and Homelander hovered in the air, lasers shooting form his eyes and hitting some of the tentacles as he flew around, trying to avoid getting caught in their grip. Victoria moved a hand over her mouth as the two of them destroyed headstones and flowers that had been laid in the dirt. As soon as Homelander managed to laser one tentacle in half from Billy, another seemed to grow in its place.

Victoria stumbled forwards, needing to get close to her brother and try to stop this madness. But she couldn't get close. One of the tentacles was in front of her, sneering loudly and hissing at her. She jumped back as the two of them continued their fight, destroying everything in their path.

"Billy!" Victoria shouted her brother's name. "Billy! Stop!"

But he didn't. He kept on going until one of the tentacles wrapped around Homelander's ankle, tugging him to the ground and slamming him into the dirt. Victoria swore the earth shook with the force of it. She watched as another tentacle grabbed Homelander's wrist and he kept him pushed into the dirt.

"What the hell is going on?"

"Have you seen this?"

Victoria looked to the side and saw crowds beginning to form in the distance. They must've heard the commotion as she'd feared. They were filming what was going on and Victoria felt panic rise up inside of her. This would be worldwide before they knew it. Victoria made her move then, praying that the tentacle in front of her wouldn't do anything. And it didn't. it hissed and followed her as she ducked underneath the other ones, hearing her husband as he screamed in frustration and fought against the creatures wrapped around his limbs.

"Billy!" Victoria shouted her brother's name as she stood in front of him, but his eyes were fixed solely on Homelander. "Billy…people are watching…they're filming…don't do this…please, don't do this." Her begging seemed to fall on deaf ears as Homelander's wails echoed through her ears and made her blood curl and her heart hammer against her chest.

"You begging for his life or mine?" Billy demanded to know from his sister.

"This will be all over the news, Billy. If you kill him then they'll kill you. He'll die a martyr…not here…not like this…please…just don't kill him. Ryan could see this. Please. You can't let him see this…for me…if you kill him then you have to kill me too."

Billy pushed his sister out of the way, ignoring her pleas. Victoria did the only thing she could think of. She jumped over to where Homelander was on the floor and she stomped her feet on the tentacles. Angering them, one of them turned to her and she hit against it. She was annoying it to the point where she was certain it would lash out. It turned out that Billy thought that might happen too.

"Vicky, you're going to get yourself hurt!" Billy roared at his sister.

"I told you…if you kill him then you kill me too," she continued pushing him and trying to free Homelander.

It turned out that was enough to make Billy reconsider what he was doing. He didn't have control over the creature inside of him, not completely. He wasn't entirely certain it wouldn't kill his sister. And so he stopped. He let the creatures move back into his chest. He didn't want to stop. He could tell that he was close to having Homelander where he wanted him, but it wasn't going to be at the expense of his sister.

Victoria felt a brief moment of relief as she fell to her knees besides her husband. He was seething with anger and his eyes lit up again. Victoria stopped him, hands reaching for his cheeks and drawing his gaze to her. "Don't," she begged from him. "People are filming. Don't do this. Just let him go…we can go...please…let's go."

Homelander's teeth gritted together and he noticed that Billy had disappeared from sight without another word. He could see him retreating in the distance and he wanted to go after him. He snarled in anger as he moved himself to his feet and took hold of his wife's hand. He hauled her upwards and picked her up without another word, shooting off into the sky.

…

His supe suit had stains covering it and he'd stripped from it and left it on the floor of the en-suite bathroom in Victoria's hotel room. His phone had been ringing non-stop. The video of the fight in the churchyard had gone viral and Vought wanted to know how to frame it. Victoria's phone had also been ringing non-stop too. Daniella was the one calling her, needing to know what had happened. But neither of them had answered the calls. Victoria had let Homelander shower as she changed into a plain grey tee and a pair of shorts. She'd asked for ice to be brought up to the room considering she'd noted a bruise beginning to form on his cheek.

She turned the news off as Homelander left the bathroom with only a towel around his waist.

"Come here," she urged from her husband.

He let her manoeuvre him until he was sat down on the end of the bed. He watched her wrap some ice into a napkin and she knelt down in front of him. Holding the napkin against his cheek, she saw him wince slightly, eyes closing and a deep breath leaving him.

"Your brother…I'm done going easy on him for your sake now, Vicky," Homelander warned her. "After today, he's going to die for what he did. Did you know that he was that powerful?"

"I told you that he killed Victoria and had let the virus consume him," Victoria said to her husband. "I didn't know how powerful he really was though. What happened to Neuman…it was…it happened so quickly and I didn't know if he…he almost…he almost killed you today and I just…"

Homelander took the napkin from his cheek, feeling some slight relief from the ice. He tossed it off to the side and moved his hand to take hold of Victoria. He hauled her upwards until she was straddling his lap, her legs bent either side of him and his hands planted firmly on her waist.

"He caught me off guard," Homelander told her and Victoria looked to the purple stain on his cheek. She lifted a hand up, thumb brushing over the bruise. "He got the upper hand because I wasn't prepared for that. But I know what he's got up his sleeve and he won't get away with it."

Victoria said nothing to him on that point. She just remained quiet and looking to the bruise. Homelander reached a hand up to her chin, finger and thumb pinching it and forcing her to look him in the eye instead.

"You tried to save me. You were going to risk your life for mine."

Victoria wasn't entirely certain if she'd done that to stop her brother or to save her husband. Maybe it was a bit of both. All she knew was that she'd felt sick when she'd seen Homelander clawing at the dirt beneath him and trying to escape her brother. She'd spent so many month waiting for her brother to kill her husband and when push came to shove, she didn't want it. She didn't want that to happen to her husband.

Homelander moved the back of his hand to brush her hair behind her shoulder, fingers then curling gently against her throat. "I never want to see you risk yourself for me again, okay?"

"I just wanted him to stop," Victoria breathed out. "You…he could've killed you…and I just…I couldn't let him…"

"I know, sweetheart," Homelander assured his wife and he moved his hand to the back of her head and gently guided her face towards his. Her eyes closed as his lips pressed to hers and he kissed her sweetly. His lips moved gently against hers and he felt her hands grip hold of his shoulders. He kept kissing her, but not going any further, content just to have her in his arms.

After a few minutes of gentle pecks against her lips, he pulled back and he felt her press her face against the space between his neck and shoulder. It was then when the tears started to fall and her body wracked with sobs. Homelander felt her move her arms under his arms and he wrapped his tightly around her waist as she cried and he kissed the side of her head. He knew that it was a build-up of emotions from the past day. They'd all come flooding to the surface and she didn't know how to handle them.

But he was the only one who could help her when she felt like this. He was the only one who she'd want. And she had him. Her brother had come close to taking him from her, but Homelander would see to it that would never happen again.

…

A/N: A bit of a longer chapter here with a bit more drama going on! Thank you so much to everyone who is reading/reviewing. Would love to know your thoughts as always!