Disclaimer: I do not own AHS.

A/N: Wrote this chapter early and decided to upload it sooner than expected! Also, thanks guys for wishing me a good semester. Let's hope I survive!

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CH 21- The Next in Line

Lana opened the front door to the house. It was past midnight and the two were ready to call it a night. Rachel stepped inside, Lana closed the door behind her.

"What a lovely night." Rachel commented, placing her purse on the sofa.

Lana smiled. "I'm glad you liked it."

"Liked it? Lana I loved it." Rachel faced Lana, "I wish we could go out every night."

Lana wrapped her arms around Rachel's waist. "I would spoil you in every form and fashion if I could."

Rachel laughed.

It was then there was a quick, heavy banging on their door. Both women jumped and turned around. Rachel grew nervous and gripped Lana's arm. "Who in the world is that?"

"I don't know." Lana said, "Stay behind me."

Lana cautiously went to the door and looked through the peephole. She backed up when the dark figured knocked rapidly again, "Lana!"

Lana turned to Rachel. "It's Kit." She quickly opened the door, knowing something was wrong. Kit hurried inside. He looked absolutely frantic and nervous. His car was left on in the driveway.

"Kit, what's wrong?"

"Lana, I've been callin' ya."

"We just got home." She explained, "Is everything alright? Where are the kids?"

Kit caught his breath. "Lana, somethin's wrong."

Lana's heart skipped a beat. She felt the same way she did when Kit had informed her that Oliver had taken Johnny. She immediately knew it had to do with her son.

"Where is he?" She began to panic, "Where's my son?"

She gripped Kit's arms. Kit tried to calm her. "Lana, please don't freak."

"Tell me, Kit!" She urged him.

Kit looked in Lana's eyes, seeing the fear in her eyes. How he wished he could stop giving her bad news. "Johnny had an accident."

Rachel gasped, stumbling backwards.

Lana lightened her hold on Kit's arms. "Where?"

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Johnny groaned, slowly coming to. He moved his head to the side, his temples throbbing. The fall had knocked him out instantly. Johnny slowly blinked, his vision coming to, greeting nothing but pitch darkness. It took him a moment for his senses to return. He coughed, taking in a deep, wheezy breath and attempted to move. A shooting pain shot right through his left arm causing Johnny to cry out in pain, "Ah!"

His eyes watered from the pain and his head spun. His teeth clenched tightly. "T-Thomas?" His voice was groggy, breaking slightly. He tried to move his arm again but the pain was unbearable and he cried out again.

"Thomas!" He screamed through the darkness, attempting to move but his entire body ached.

When he realized what had happened, Johnny's heart began to race and his breathing quickened. He tried to calm himself, lying there in the cold, concrete floor, unable to believe that he was still alive. With his right hand, he searched the floor around him, feeling the dusty tile beneath him. In the darkness, the tips of his fingers brushed the tip of the flashlight. Johnny reached for it, ignoring the pain that shot through his left arm. With a wobbly right hand, he turned on the flashlight and illuminated the room.

His vision was blurry; his glasses had been knocked off in the fall. It took Johnny a moment to realize where he was. He was in the basement. He attempted to sit up, holding his broken arm but the pain rendered him back to the tiled floor.

"Thomas!" He screamed to his friend but heard no response. "Mike!"

Nothing.

Johnny tried to sit up once more but the pain that raked his body pinned him down. He gave up after the third try and laid back down, cradling his broken arm. "Is—is anyone there?" He whispered, slowly losing conscious again, the flashlight flickered and left him in utter darkness.

When he opened his eyes, Johnny found himself standing in the middle of the hallway of his father's house. The hallway was clean and free of graffiti, the carpet looked almost new and the lights worked. Johnny looked to the door, drawn to it. He placed his hand upon the doorknob and opened the door.

From inside, he could hear the sound of a woman screaming in sheer agony. Her screams startled Johnny, freezing him in his spot for a moment.

"Please," He heard the woman cry out, "Please just kill me."

Drawn to her voice, he stepped down the concrete stairway and down into the basement. There were plastic curtains hanging from the ceiling. He could make out a blurred figure standing behind them.

Johnny reached for the curtain and pulled it aside.

On the slab was a woman he didn't recognize, laying on a gurney, her ankles and wrists bound by leather straps. She was sweating and tears streamed down her pale face.

"Please, please just kill me." She repeated.

She then felt Johnny's presence and her eyes shot directly to him. "Please!" she begged him, squirming underneath her straps, "Kill me, please!"

The tall figure spun around, noticing Johnny's presence. "Johnny." Oliver's voice snapped Johnny out of his locked stare with the woman on the gurney, "What are you doing here?"

Johnny looked from the woman to his father. He stuttered to form words.

"Come here." Oliver said, reaching out for him. Johnny hesitated but let his father place his hand upon his shoulder and bring him closer. He stood Johnny in front of the gurney where the woman lay.

Her body lay mangled and bloody. Portions of her skin had been ripped off and hung above her from hooks dangling from the ceiling. Drips of blood dropped onto the white tiles. Johnny took a step back, bumping against his father.

Oliver kept a hand on Johnny's shoulder. "Why are you doing this?" the boy asked the man.

Oliver smiled gently at his beloved son. He took the sharp scalpel and presented it before the boy. "Here, son. It's your turn."

Johnny looked up at his father, his eyes shimmering with fear and uncertainty. He shook his head. "I don't—I don't want to."

"You do and you will." Oliver forced the scalpel in his hand.

Johnny took the bloody tool in his hand, afraid and unwilling. Oliver lifted his hand and hovered it over the woman's bare stomach. "Press down hard and steady."

"No, no, no." The woman cried, "It hurts! It hurts!"

Johnny gasped, alarmed and afraid. He forced his hand back but Oliver held it firm in place. "Don't be afraid, son. Shock will take over and she won't feel a thing."

Johnny looked at his father with watery eyes.

"Don't be afraid, Johnny. Just do it." He pressed the boy's hand against the woman's stomach, deepening the scalpel into her skin. "Cut straight across."

With a shaking hand, Johnny did as he was told. The woman squirmed in pain as the blade traveled down her stomach. Blood squirted out, covering Johnny's hand in dark red. His heart pounding in his ears, the hallow eyes of the woman never leaving his.

"Johnny!"

Johnny stirred, the voice escaping his dream and lulling him back into reality. "Johnny!"

He heard it again, clearer this time. He groaned in response and flinched when a light was flashed upon him.

"Oh, my goodness, Johnny!"

"We found him!" A man called out. Johnny hadn't heard his voice before.

He heard footsteps hurry down the stairs and before he knew it, he was safely secured in his mother's arms. "Johnny, baby, wake up." Lana shook him softly.

Johnny groaned in pain from the movement of his broken arm. Lana was in an utter panic at seeing her boy lying on the basement floor of Bloody Face's home. Her heart had almost jumped out of her mouth.

"Johnny, Johnny, please wake up. It's me. Please."

Johnny's eyes slowly blinked, making sense of his surroundings once more. He shied away from the brilliant light that surrounded him. "Ow!" He moaned when his arm was moved.

Two firemen came, taking the boy from his mother's arms and checked his vitals. Lana was in a panicked rage. She was ranting but Johnny could barely make out what she was saying. Before he knew it, strong arms lifted him off the floor and carried him up the stairs. He cried out in pain at every single harsh movement, which caused his mother to panic even more.

The firemen rushed out of the house, handing the boy over to the paramedics that laid him upon a gurney and rushed him to an ambulance.

"Mom?" Johnny croaked, "Mom?"

"Johnny, I'm here little boy, I'm here." Lana cupped his face in her hands. Tears streaming down her face. "What did you do, Johnny?" She asked him.

Johnny groaned in discomfort, muttering a soft apology.

A paramedic placed a sleeping mask on the boy and checked his pulse.

"Lana!" Rachel cried when she stepped out of the parked car. The neighborhood was alive with people gathered around the scene. The entire neighborhood's porch lights were on. People peeked out of their doors and looked through their windows. Others gathered around the lawn at the commotion that had awoken them. The police sirens had come so quickly followed by the fire truck and the ambulance.

Rachel made her way through the crowd of people, pushing them aside until she reached Lana and Johnny. As soon as she saw the boy's body on the gurney she covered her mouth and muffled a gasp. She rushed to them.

"Johnny! Lana? Lana, what happened?"

Lana shook her head, unable to think of any words. Her mind was racing with sheer panic and anger at Oliver burned her throat. All she could see was her sweet boy strapped to a gurney, disoriented and in pain. She couldn't think of anything else, let alone form words. She turned and hugged Rachel for support and sanity. Rachel held her tightly, eyes on Johnny.

"He's going to be okay." She whispered to Lana, reassuring her.

The paramedics loaded Johnny into the ambulance and let Lana ride along. Rachel told her she'd drive the car with Kit, Jen, Julia and Thomas and meet them there.

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Thomas, Kit, Rachel, Jen, Julia and Lana waited in the hospital's waiting room, waiting for a response from the doctor. The children sat huddled together, nervous and worried. Thomas held his glance down, feeling guilty for what had happened. Jen sat with them, comforting them. Kit and Rachel stood along with Lana who paced back and forth, unable to calm herself down.

"This is all that son of a bitch's fault." She snapped, referring to Oliver.

"Lana," Kit said in means to calm her but Lana was beyond reason.

Rachel brushed Kit's arm and went to Lana. "Hey," She spoke softly, "It was no one's fault."

"It was my fault, aunt Lana. I'm sorry." Thomas muttered.

Lana saw the defeat in the boy's eyes and went to him. She knelt down to his level and brushed his cheek. "Listen to me, Thomas. It's not your fault, okay?"

Tears streamed down his face. "Please don't be mad at Johnny. We didn't know that was gonna happen, I swear."

Lana sighed. Johnny was in serious trouble. The boy knew better than to be sneaking off late at night and sneaking into houses. Especially that house. Lana's heart had stopped when she stepped out of the car and saw what house it was. However, she couldn't blame it on Thomas. She knew it wasn't his idea to go to that house but what Lana wanted to know was how the boys had come upon it. It wrenched her insides not knowing.

"Thomas, listen to me. Why did you go to that house?"

Thomas's lip trembled and he wiped his tears away with the back of his hands, shaking his head, not wanting to give Johnny up.

"Thomas Walker, ya tell us why ya were in that house right now." Kit ordered.

"Is Johnny gonna get in trouble?"

"He's going to be regardless of what happens." Lana said, "But I need you to tell me the truth."

Thomas looked from Lana to his angry father and then back to Lana. "We just wanted to explore it." Thomas answered only part of the truth; he had promised Johnny he wouldn't tell anyone about it being his father's house. "Some kids said it was abandoned and we thought it be cool if we saw it…" He let his glance fall.

"That was very irresponsible of ya, Thomas." Kit scolded the boy.

Lana softly patted his leg. "It's alright, Thomas. Don't you worry." She stood to her feet and faced Rachel.

They stepped to the side, letting Kit speak to Thomas. "What do you think?" Rachel asked Lana.

Lana sighed. "It's too much of a coincidence. There's no way Johnny landed there by chance."

"Do you think he purposely went knowing that man used to live there?"

A wide pit opened in Lana's stomach. She would never rid herself of Oliver Thredson. No matter how hard she tried.

"There's only way of finding out and that's talking with him."

Rachel nodded and hugged Lana again.

"Miss Winters?" The doctor's voice entered the waiting room and everyone stood to their feet.

"Doctor, how's my son?" Lana went to him.

Dr. Adams gave her a short nod. "Can you step into my office for a moment?"

"Yes." Lana said and she looked to Kit.

"We'll wait here." He said, placing his hands on Thomas's shoulders. Julia clung to Jen.

"Right this way."

Lana took a hold of Rachel's hand for support.

"A family member?" The doctor referred to Rachel.

"No," Lana said firmly, "She's my partner."

The doctor eyed them for a moment but nodded and lead them to his office where he let them step inside the room and closed the door behind him.

"Young Johnny had a pretty nasty fall. Luckily he didn't hit his head hard upon landing. That's what I was mainly concerned about when he came in. However, it was his left arm that broke the fall."

The doctor reached into a large manila envelope and pulled out an x-ray of Johnny's arm, placing it over a lighted platform on the wall. "He broke his radius and fractured the lower part of his ulna."

Lana's fists tightened at this but she held firm. Johnny had never broken a bone before and the thought of it made her faint.

"Nothing to be extremely concerned about. He will be able to regain use of his arm again, however, he will have to wear a cast for the next twelve weeks."

"Twelve weeks?!" Lana gasped.

"Yes, it was a pretty big impact upon landing."

"Please tell me that the worst of it. No concussions, no other fractures of broken bones, other than his arm?"

"Fortunately, no. Besides a few bruises and body aches, Johnny didn't receive any further injuries from his fall."

"Good." Lana said.

"Oh, Johnny." Rachel covered her mouth, at the brink of tears. She couldn't imagine her little Johnny all bandaged up, with a cast. "When can we see him?"

"Now, if you'd like. However, he is sedated to help him ease the pain in his arm."

"Yes, doctor." Lana spoke up, "I would like to see my son."

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When Lana and Rachel entered the hospital room, Johnny was fast asleep on the hospital bed. Lana's heart shattered at the sight of her baby boy lying on yet again, another hospital bed with wires attached to his body. He seemed like that tiny, helpless two-year old boy with the breathing mask over his face.

"Oh, my baby boy." Lana caressed his cheek and ran her fingers through his hair. Johnny was fast asleep and his left arm was covered in a cast. The heart monitor was beeping steadily. "What trouble did you get yourself into?"

Rachel leaned against Lana's arm, taking a hold of Johnny's right hand. "It breaks my heart seeing him like this." Her eyes swarmed with tears and she tried her hardest to fight them back.

"I know. Mine too." Lana agreed.

Rachel leaned her head on Lana's shoulder, still grasping onto Johnny's hand, caressing it softly. The two women stood side-by-side watching over their son's slumber.

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When Johnny woke the following morning, his head felt fuzzy and his mouth was dry. His body felt numb and he couldn't move his left arm. He noticed the cast on his arm and frowned at it, rather confused. It was then he remembered the pain he had felt shooting up his arm and groaned.

"Mom?" He croaked.

The room was empty. Lana had stepped out to speak with the doctor and Rachel had gone home to get clean clothes for Johnny.

Johnny tried to sit up but his body felt almost useless. He managed to sit up and swing his legs over the bed. His arm ached slightly, still numb from the morphine they had given him to help with the pain.

The door opened and Lana stepped inside. "Johnny." She gasped, rushing to his side, "What in the world are you doing? You'll hurt yourself."

"My arm hurts."

"Of course it does. You broke it."

Johnny's eyes widened, still a bit under the medicine. "I did?"

"Yes." Lana laid him back down.

"Whoa. That's weird…" He looked off into the distance with a frown, still trying to make sense of things.

Lana shook her head. "Oh, Johnny boy. What in the world were you thinking?" Lana had wanted so badly to scold him but seeing him so banged up had calmed her anger and mended her heart. She placed her hand upon his cheek and turned his attention to her.

His eyes met hers and his frown deepened. "Why are you so blurry?"

Lana gave out a meek chuckle. "Your arm wasn't the only thing that broke when you fell." She reached into her pocket and brought out his broken glasses.

Johnny took them with his right hand and inspected them. "Oh, no."

"'Oh, no' is right, little boy." She took them back and placed them in her pocket. "Johnny, what in the world were you thinking going to that house? Are you aware of the danger you put yourself in? Do you have any idea how worried we all were for you?"

Johnny's head spun at all the questions his mother threw at him. He didn't answer.

"Johnny, look at me."

He did as he was told.

"Why were you in that house? Why did you go to that house?"

Johnny stared into his mother's eyes for a moment. He remembered the nightmare of Oliver he had after passing out in the basement. "I…I don't remember."

"Please don't lie to me, Johnny."

Johnny blinked, unable to think clearly. He glanced to his left arm and lifted it slightly. "What happened to my arm?"

Lana sighed. She wouldn't be able to get a word out of him until all the medicine was drained from his system. "You broke it, remember?"

"Oh, yeah." He turned to Lana, "Am I in trouble?"

Lana kissed his forehead. "You bet you are."