Cordelia screamed.

It seemed the worst possible thing to do as it only further agitated the half-grown alligator standing a few feet from her. Cordelia backed away in panic, desperately aware that the ancient killing machine could snap her in half and swallow her without breaking a sweat. She should never have taken a step outside Misty's shack.

"Nick!" Misty's voice pierced Cordelia's frantic mind. She appeared beside Cordelia a second after, stepping in front of her and thereby putting herself first in line to become alligator dinner. "Don't you touch her! Away with you!"

Cordelia had never heard this particular tone in Misty's voice before, hard and full of authority. She was staring down the monster and Cordelia couldn't see her face, but she sensed that power, which always lingered in Misty's eyes, now eluding from her entire body. The alligator slowly backed away and left the clearing. Cordelia didn't dare breathe, before it was completely out of sight.

Just then Misty turned around and said, cheerfully so: "Sorry about that, Delia. I meant to introduce you to Nick. He's a little grumpy today 'cause the big'uns are after him again."

"Nick?"

"Yeah, I named him after Stevie Nicks. Nicks, get it?"

"Why would you name that monster?" Misty's expression, completely devoid of acknowledgement of the fact that an alligator had just trespassed, only served to make Cordelia more hysterical. "Is that a swamp thing I don't know about?"

"Hush now, he's alright once you get to know him. He's the nice one. Well to me he is, but I've known him since he was a pup."

Cordelia stared incredulously at Misty, who continued to water her plants as if nothing had happened.

"You have a pet alligator?" It was meant as a joke, but Misty threw her a grin of confirmation, which tossed Cordelia into a whole new state of bewilderment. "Why? How?"

Misty laughed. "Oh Delia, don't look so scared. I won't let him hurt you. I took him in 'cause the other ones tried to kill him. Healed him up real nice and kept him close so he wasn't so alone."

Cordelia wanted to object; Misty's explanation sounded like the purest form of madness to her. Only she realized Misty cared about this creature, she could hear it in her voice, and she could only think of repeating what she had said the day they had met: "You're a strange woman, Misty."

Misty just laughed.

Cordelia had decided to put her unresolved anger and hurt aside for a while and just enjoy having Misty back in her life. It had been so easy to find their way back to the closeness they had developed so quickly as children. In so many ways, it truly was as if no time had passed at all. In other ways, Cordelia noticed a difference. The pet alligator being a less pleasant one of these. The fact that Misty would rather live out here than at the mansion was another. "I got my own home now", she said. "'Sides, you live with that husband of yours, right?"

She did, she couldn't deny that. She still hadn't invited Misty home, formally, since that first day. She liked the thought of it just being the two of them out here. She would have thought that the time apart had made her more independent, made the need to be close to Misty less pressing, but on the contrary, she couldn't seem to get enough of her.

When Misty was done tending to her plants, she spread out a blanket in the middle of the grass and they lay down beside each other. There wasn't many things, which could steal Cordelia's focus away from Misty these days, but she couldn't help turning her head once in a while to look down the path, where Nick the alligator had waddled off.

"So should I expect this pet of yours to just drop by whenever?"

"Don't call him that. I don't like that word, pet. I think of him as a friend." Cordelia remembered how the kids used to call her that and sent her an apologetic smile.

"Okay, well should I expect your scaly friend to show up at random?"

Misty rolled over and moved up on her elbows, so to face Cordelia. Her gaze was playful, when she asked: "Are you really afraid he's gonna eat you?"

Cordelia stared up into her face. Did those eyes just become more like the sky every time she looked into them?

"Would I be a terrible city snob, if I said yes?"

Misty chuckled. "No. But silly. He won't harm you none, when I'm here."

"You promise?"

Misty offered her a raised eyebrow. Cordelia accepted the answer. She reached up and tugged a strand of Misty's curls, which was tickling her face, behind her ear.

"You're the most beautiful, you know that, right? You look so much like yourself and then again… something's different."

"Pretty for a swamp rat, huh?" Her voice was light-hearted, when she repeated Fiona's mean words, but Cordelia still felt the need to comment.

"Don't say that! God, those were cruel words. She was always so awful to you."

Misty shrugged it off. "Wasn't so bad. I got used to it and I kinda had to keep my mouth shut, right? She gave me food and all."

Cordelia wanted to argue her case, but Misty suddenly turned serious. Cordelia could feel the question coming, before it left her lips.

"How's aunt Myrtle?"

It was as if a shadow crept over the sun. Suddenly it was a little colder, the ground was a little rougher and Misty's smile so far gone, it hurt all over again. And just like she had known the question before Misty spoke it, the younger woman seemed to know the answer already, but seeing her getting the news for the first time was like baring the old hole in Cordelia's heart. Here was a wound Misty's warm hands couldn't heal.

"Myrtle's dead."

Misty nodded slowly, confirming that she had seen it coming. She didn't cry, but her eyes watered up for just a moment. Cordelia could count the number of times she had seen Misty cry on one hand, but even so, her emotions reflected easily in those powerful eyes.

"I'm sorry."

Cordelia got up. She wanted to curl into a ball again, but stayed open on the blanket with her hands uselessly placed in her lap. Misty got up too and they sat in silence for a while. Myrtle had always been good to Misty, treated her like a real child and Cordelia wanted to offer Misty a moment to remember her.

"When did it happen?" Misty asked after a while.

"About six years ago. She had been sick for a while. She was already at the hospital, the night she… I was in Boston, at school. It was my third year and I was so busy. I didn't make enough time to go see her, and then one morning I got a call from Fiona saying she…" A sob ribbed through her throat, choking the rest of her sentence. She had cried over this many times, cried out the sorrow and the guilt, had even gone to that dark place beyond crying, but some of the grief always lingered and reliving it with Misty was just too much. She wanted to curl up and disappear into the hole her aunt had left in her, but she couldn't move.

Suddenly Misty's arms were there, pulling her in. Misty let her rest against the warmth of her body, as Cordelia cried her guilt and loss out once more. She hadn't been prepared for this. This was Misty's time to mourn and she was stealing it.

"It's gonna be okay. I'm here now", Misty whispered into her hair, over and over, as she rocked her slowly back and forth.

"I'm sorry, I'm being embarrassing. It's just that I only now realized I had to tell you to fully accept it."

Misty shushed her.

"Don't you apologize, hear me? It's okay. It's gonna be okay."

Cordelia grasped for Misty's hand and clung to it once she found it. She settled into the safety of Misty's embrace and waited for the warmth of the summer evening to return.

O0O

Hank sat by the phone, tapping the desk with his fingers. Was a call too much to ask for? He got a promotion in his father's own firm and the man couldn't even be bothered to call and congratulate? It wasn't as if he had been the one to even deliver the news in the first place.

Hank knew their relationship was built on loving each other from afar, and he appreciated everything his father did for him – he would never even have met Cordelia, if it wasn't for him and his business schemes – but a visit once in a while couldn't possibly hurt him. Hank had always thought this was why he and Cordelia fit so well; they had a common skeleton with the label 'parent' on.

He poured himself a bitter celebration whisky and stared at the phone with a disapproving look. Counted the minutes until Cordelia tore herself away from schoolwork and came home to him.

The front door opened and Hank hastily packed away his whisky, before Cordelia entered the room. She had told him she was working late, because the kids had just handed in some papers and she needed to swing by Misty, before she got home. She was there almost every day now, even if just for a few hours. Hank would be lying, if he said he wasn't curious as to what this mysterious, legendary childhood friend even looked like. Cordelia had only told him that she had the wildest mess of curls, she had ever seen, and an endearing Cajun accent. That might be enough for women to get a clear picture of somebody, but Hank was still completely in the dark.

Cordelia gave him a smile as soon as she appeared in the doorway of his office.

"Congratulations", she said. She walked to him and leaned against the desk.

"Thanks babe. You want to celebrate with me?"

"Sure, what did you have in mind? Did your father call yet?"

"Nope. Bastard." Hank got up from his chair and snuck his hands around his wife's petite figure, before pulling her in for a kiss. She pressed against him and ran a hand through his hair, made him loosen up. His father might be indifferent, but at least he had this gorgeous woman who, unlike everybody else, seemed to be down with making him feel like the hero for one night.

"It appears you've been starting without me", she husked. She smiled at him, letting him know he wasn't in trouble and leaned in again. She sat back on the desk and pulled him down to her. There was something uncharacteristically needful about her movements. It puzzled him but also turned him on instantly. He let a hand travel down the contour of her body, finally experiencing some well-earned excitement.

Cordelia let out a small hiss as he reached her thigh. The usual trio of anger, frustration and anxiety washed over him. He broke the kiss and looked at her, but she avoided his gaze.

"Again? I thought it was getting better?"

"I had a bad day yesterday", she whispered. It took a lot, it seemed, but she finally looked at him. "I had to break the news about Myrtle to Misty and it just… I'm sorry. I don't want to ruin your night. Just ignore it."

"I can't just ignore it, Cordelia. It obviously hurts." She looked miserable all of a sudden. It was the kind of look that always made him want to go back in time and swallow everything he had just said, just so this particular face never saw the light of day. He wanted so badly for tonight to not be about Cordelia's problems, not after that huge fight they had about a week ago, sending Cordelia off to the woods.

Cordelia shook her head, blinked the miserable expression away and said: "No, just give me a glass of whatever you're hiding in that drawer and it will stop hurting soon. I want to celebrate you, no matter how bad I felt yesterday."

He eyed her, debating internally how much worse it could potentially get with alcohol, but ended up pouring them both one. They sat down on the couch in the living room and Hank told her all about his new responsibilities. A quarter to midnight his father found the decency to call. Hank made it quick, because Cordelia seemed to be in a place far away from pain. When he hung up and kissed her, she did nothing to stop his hand from travelling. He always made sure not to look, because he knew it bothered her, but he could feel the rough skin just the same. Her tiny hands started pulling at his shirt and he stopped caring.

O0O

Misty ran her fingers through Cordelia's soft hair, while absentmindedly humming along to the radio. Cordelia lay with her eyes closed. She had had a rather trying day, Misty knew. She had gone to the doctor's to get fertility testing, something she had been anxious to do in a while. She was still waiting for answer and was told it could take a couple of weeks. Misty didn't understand all the science talk, but she had a very high level of understanding, when it came to Cordelia's emotions and she talked as if she had already received the verdict.

"Myrtle was infertile. And it can be inherited, so I'm just worried."

"You want kids?"

She had nodded and asked: "Don't you?"

"Never thought about it", Misty replied with a shrug. And that was the end of it. Cordelia didn't talk much about her husband either or her life with him. Misty didn't mind. If anything she was perhaps grateful. She found it hard, picturing Cordelia in the arms of some man. She didn't believe the ring on Cordelia's finger could ever measure up to the invisible bond she and Misty shared.

Misty was well aware of her old feelings resurfacing. She didn't worry too much though. She had shed the slough of insecurity, which she had carried around in all her teenage years, and now she lived everyday with the same breezy calm as always. Because she knew Cordelia felt it too. Only she, it seemed, still carried that insecurity with her wherever she went. Misty thought she might be calmer here with her, she always was as a child, but the signs were still crystal clear to Misty's trained eye.

When the song ended, Cordelia opened her eyes and looked at Misty for a moment in silence, before saying: "I should get back."

Misty merely nodded, not really done studying Cordelia's fascinating eyes. There were years of marveling to make up for. Cordelia always said it was a rare thing, heterochromia, and while Misty hadn't encountered that many people, a loner as she was, she had never met anyone with eyes like these.

"You're the only one who's never called my eyes weird, did you know?" Cordelia said, as if reading her mind. "Even Hank said it, one of the first times we met. 'Weird, but attractive' I believe he said."

"Attractive yeah", Misty said with a lopsided smile.

Cordelia chuckled nervously. "I always just thought it made my whole face look odd."

"I like your face."

Misty enjoyed the blush that spread in Cordelia's cheeks the moment before she got up. She remembered saying something similar to Cordelia as a child and she thought the other woman remembered it too, because there was a flash of recognition in her eyes.

"Do you want to come visit the house someday?"

"Yeah. Someday", Misty answered and Cordelia seemed to understand her meaning. She was in no hurry to come visit Cordelia's husband. Misty wondered if Cordelia realized that the house itself didn't have that many happy memories. Fiona's reign was never pleasant. No matter what the adoption paper said, Misty never felt like her child.

She followed Cordelia back to the edge of the forest.

"I think I've learned to find my way back in the dark now. So you won't have to lead me back and forth much longer."

"I like to. Wouldn't want you to get lost a third time. But you could always stay the night."

Cordelia threw her a shy smile. "Yes. Someday."

They hugged goodbye and Misty got a chance to smell Cordelia's hair. One of the many things she loved about Cordelia was the smell of her hair and skin. She would tell her that someday.

Walking back, she hummed quietly along to the song of Rhiannon that played in her head. She wondered what her departed, deeply religious mother would think if she knew the depths of Misty's feelings for Cordelia. They probably wouldn't settle for banishing her. Her mother had explained how the original plan was to burn her for witchcraft back when she was a child. She had even seen the place where the fire would have been. If they knew this of her, Misty doubted they would hesitate.

She scoffed aloud. Who were they to say who she was and how she felt? With their cold eyes and their fires, they seemed closer to the devil than she. They were poisonous people and she had never regretted leaving them.

Misty walked past her shack and down towards the riverside. She knew better than to go all the way in the dark – the other gators might think again and eat her if provoked – but she didn't need to go that far. She found Nick hiding in the bushes halfway down, still withdrawn from the rest of the pack. They weren't as inviting since he started associating with Misty.

"We outsiders gotta stick together, right Nick?"

The half-grown gator lay still as she sat down by the tree a couple of feet away. He was fully capable of getting his own food, but being shunned from the pack, he missed the company. Misty could understand that and so she sat by him for a couple of hours, humming tunes and thinking about Cordelia. She loved her name too. Misty thought it sounded like the name of a rare, exquisite flower.

O0O

Whenever the phone rang, these days, Fiona made a habit of running an internal debate on whether or not to answer it. It was a particularly small selection of people, she felt like talking to. The most important calls, doctors and her own lawyer were at the bottom of her wish list and those were the ones, who called her the most.

Today it was her daughter.

They only spoke once a month, sometimes a little more, as Fiona had her keep an update on the house. Just for good measure. A part of it was to make sure that Cordelia herself was still standing, but she would never tell her that. Cordelia would stop calling.

Today, she answered.

"Cordelia", she said.

"Fiona." Fiona couldn't remember exactly when Cordelia had stopped calling her mom, but she didn't quite like that she had. There was a silence in the other end.

"Well? You called me?" Fiona said.

"I was just going to offer you the usual update. Not that there's any point. The house is still standing, Spalding is still missing and Hank still lives here."

"I can honestly say I'm only pleased to hear one of these things." She always hoped to hear Cordelia tell her that Spalding had returned to the house, he was bound to by contract. That would mean the shadow Fiona felt lurking in the corners of the streets here is Boston wasn't him.

"Hank got a promotion. How is your business doing?"

"Don't play coy with me, child. You can tell Hank I'm sorry to hear that."

She heard her daughter sigh at the other end. This was going well.

"Tell me about you. You're still teaching that fourth grade?"

"They're fifth graders now. I have a new class. I…" She trailed off. It sounded like she was cutting herself off, but Fiona noticed something in her voice. A special tone she remembered from a long time ago.

"What are you not telling me?"

"There's a lot of things I'm not telling you."

"No there isn't. Did something happen?"

There was another silence. Then finally: "I found Misty."

Fiona found herself momentarily speechless. She could vividly recall her daughter's face the day she found out Misty had left. The only time Cordelia had looked that heartbroken, before and since, was at her aunt's funeral. There was only one person Cordelia had ever loved more than Fiona's sister.

All Fiona thought to ask was: "Where?"

"Back in the swamp. Actually, she found me again." There was a smile in her voice now. A strange knot, Fiona had hardly noticed, started to loosen in her chest. There was another reason for this, apart from the invisible smile. Misty might be her chance. Her cure.

"Do you see her often? Does she still have her healing powers?"

"I see her every day. And yes, she still has them. Why do you ask?"

Fiona ignored the question. "I think it's time to pay New Orleans a visit. You can tell the fox, I'll be staying at your house for a while. I fly out next week."

Fiona hung up and started looking for flights.