Disclaimer: I do not own AHS.

A/N: Sorry for the late update, guys! Work, school and conventions had me all over the place! But since a lot of you asked in the It's a Wonderful Life reviews for me to update DJ, I sat down to finally update.

CH 29- In the Summer

SEPTEMBER 1967

Lana leaned back against her chair in her cubicle, exhausted and aching all over. She had spent the majority of the day chasing a story that was not paying off. Lana had been out of the game for some while ever since she lost custody of Johnny. She was trying to get back on her feet but maintaining an almost two year old and a full time job was more than difficult but nothing she couldn't handle. She just wished the tiny toddler listened to her and went to sleep when he was put to bed or kept his clothes on when he was dressed. She could almost feel the terrible twos creeping up on her with the passing days.

Lana typed away at her work. Johnny was at a daycare by their new home. Lana had not heard a peep from her parents and she wanted to keep it that way. She could hear Lou yelling from his office followed by the slamming of his office door. Lana sunk in her chair not wanting to deal with whatever was happening. Lou's old assistant had quit and Lou hired a new one. However, the young man Lou called Rogers had just made a grand exit out of the office once again leaving Lou without help.

Lana sighed at this. "Oh no…"

"Winters!" His voice boomed through her cubicle.

Lana kept her back to him. "Make your own coffee, Lou."

Lou sighed and left without a further word. Lana closed her eyes for a moment and opened them, landing them on the portrait of Johnny. In the early evening she went out into the city to follow more leads on her story. She was growing tired of working on useless little articles on home cooked meals and stain removals. Lana had no mind for such things. The month before Johnny had stained one of her shirts when he came upon her make up box and smeared her best lipstick all over it. Till that day Lana had not been able to get the damn stains out. Not to mention her favorite red lipstick had been entirely ruined. Lana smirked at the memory of Johnny with lipstick all over his face. He had seen her put it on multiple times and wanted to do it too.

"Silly boy," Lana had told him when she took the lipstick (or what remained of it) from him, "This isn't your color." She lifted him off the ground and cleaned him up.

He truly was a funny little boy.

Her leads lead Lana nowhere. She couldn't believe how far behind she had fallen. Less than three years ago she was on the news for bringing down Briarcliff and now she couldn't get the scoop on a state senator who cheated on his taxes. It was unbelievable. Well, Lana didn't have much to lose back then and had more time to devote to her work. Now she had to be at the daycare by five to pick up Johnny. She couldn't go gallivanting in insane asylums anymore. She had other duties.

When she ran into a wall, Lana returned to the office but not before she stopped at a coffee shop across the street. She sat out in the coffee shop patio with a strong cup of black coffee.

"Didn't think I'd find you here, Winters."

Lana looked up to see Lou standing there with a coffee to go.

Lana raised a brow. "You? Buying your own coffee? The end really is among us."

"Don't toy with me, woman." Lou sat across the small round table. "You look like the world just chewed ya up and spit ya back out."

Lana sighed. "I'm getting tired of following dead leads, Lou. I need something real. Something better."

"What? You couldn't find any real dirt on Mitchel?"

Lana shook her head and drank from her coffee.

"Its just a dry spell, you'll get over it."

"One hell of a dry spell…"

Lou pressed his lips together. "Listen, your article on single mothers was quite the hit. Just like that letter you wrote to little Henry—"

"You do that just to piss me off, don't you?"

Lou chuckled. "Sorry. You know what I mean. You get down, Winters but you get back up. You'll get over this drought soon enough."

"Well give me a story I deserve then."

"You know I want to."

"Then why don't you?" Lana challenged him.

"It ain't that simple, Bird. Michaels is already in the pursuit of our biggest story this month. I can't just hand it over to you as much as I'd like to."

"Why didn't you get me the chance in the first place?"

"Because it's a tough story, Lana. Michaels doesn't have a life. You do."

Lana's glance fell to the table. She knew she couldn't devote all of her attention to work anymore. Not as a full time mother.

"Michaels has no kids, no wife, hell, I don't even think he has a dog, let alone a girlfriend."

"I just wish I had something greater to do. I can't just sit around writing articles on Mac & Cheese."

"Of course not, you get the recipe wrong anyway. "

Lana frowned at him. Lou put his hands up. "Kidding. You'll be fine. Trust me."

Lana sighed hoping Lou was right. She didn't want to give up on her dream.

Johnny was more than happy to see Lana when she picked him up from the daycare later that day. Johnny had been good but was having some trouble keeping his shoes on.

At home, while Lana made dinner, Johnny trotted around with his moose and his bottle. He had discarded his socks somewhere in the apartment and was walking around barefoot. He held his bottle with one hand and dragged the moose around with the other. He sucked on his bottle and watched Lana make dinner.

She noticed him standing there. "What are you looking at, little boy?"

Johnny smiled mischievously from behind his bottle and babbled something in that rare language only he spoke. Johnny was looking more like a little boy and less like a baby. It saddened Lana a little for she dreaded her sweet little boy to grow up. Not to mention the worries that loomed in the back of her mind about the type of man Johnny would become. She had nightmares of him turning out like Oliver and couldn't stand the thought. Johnny wouldn't grow up to be like that maniac. She'd make sure of it.

They had an early dinner out on the patio over looking the hustle and bustle of the city. Johnny grabbed the spaghetti noodles with his hands and made a mess all over his high chair. Lana watched him as he studied the food in his hands. He was such a messy eater but he was eating solids, which was pretty good. He munched what he could with the little bit of teeth he had and played with the rest.

Lana sighed. "You like making a mess for me to clean, don't you?"

"Ya!" He said and slammed a handful of noodles on the table.

"Don't be messy." Lana scolded him, "Be a good little boy."

Johnny shook his head. "No, Mama."

"Yes, Johnny."

"Mama."

"Johnny."

"Jah-nee."

Lana laughed lightly. "That's you."

"Me!"

Johnny brought a smile to Lana's face. She loved her boy, even if Oliver lingered in the back of that sweet little smile.

At night, Lana laid on the sofa with Johnny sprawled on top of her. He was bathed and in clean diapers with a pacifier in his mouth and the moose clutched in his hand. He rested his cheek on Lana's chest as his eyes went to the tv screen. Lana watched the news. She had nothing better to do for her story had come to a blank wall.

She thought about what Lou had told her. She had a life. She didn't have all the time in the world to devote to her career. It was a tough realization but Lana knew the little body resting on her meant more than some job. Lana grasped Johnny's little hand and lifted it slightly. She moved his little fingers around, taking notice of his tiny fingernails. It still amazed her that she had given such a beautiful thing life. But what amazed her even more was the fact that she and Oliver had created him together. She knew it was simple human biology to create life when a woman and man came together but the way Johnny was conceived was not normal and it was not beautiful. Yet, there he was: brilliant, shiny and new.

Johnny's fingers closed around her hand, holding her fingers in a soft yet tight little grip. He continued to watch the television screen with concentrated eyes. Lana ran her free thumb along his little fingers and rested their hands back down. She did have a life. It was a simple one at the moment but after those past tedious months without him, she didn't quite mind it.

When Lana opened her eyes it was past midnight and the television was signing off, showing a still of the American flag followed by the National Anthem and static sound. Lana stood, carefully hauling Johnny up in her arms so he wouldn't wake. He lifted his head slightly and sleepily rested back on Lana's shoulder. Lana picked up the moose from the ground and went to bed.

She carefully lay Johnny down in her queen-sized bed, resting his head on a pillow. He woke up startled and looked around ready to cry. Lana sat down and placed her hand on his chest, "Shh, shh, it's okay."

Johnny whimpered, "Mama." He brought his fists to his eyes.

"Its okay. I'm here." Lana reassured him as she continued to ease him back to sleep.

Johnny slowly closed his eyes again and went back to sleep. Lana sighed softly and stood up. She took her slippers off and sat at her vanity, looking at her tired face in the mirror.

Oliver's ghost stood behind her, watching intently with deep-set eyes. He was always watching. Always so observant. It was usually when she was exhausted that he appeared to her. He remained quiet for a moment, just watching without a single word.

Lana could feel him standing there. His presence was always so relentless and she wondered when his ghost would be put to rest for good. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were tired and sleep deprived. She looked rather pale and had under eye circles. She knew Wendy would have a say in the way she looked.

"Go ahead." Lana said to Oliver's ghost, "Tell me how horrible I look…"

She waited for his response but Oliver said nothing. He just continued to watch her.

Lana looked at him through the mirror. She glared at her imagination. "Useless." She scowled and turned around but found nothing there. "You're not even real. You're dead."

She looked at herself in the mirror again; this time Johnny's sleeping face caught her eyes. They flickered to his little face. He looked so angelic in his sleep. Lana smiled softly at the sight of the little boy fast asleep. His grip on the moose had loosened. Lana stood from her vanity, passed the image of Oliver standing, watching her and went to bed where she laid next to the boy. She grabbed the bed covers and pulled them up to Johnny's chest. She rested against her elbow and admired him.

"If only you were always this quiet." She softly tapped his nose, "Silly little boy…" She leaned down and kissed his forehead.

The following weekend, Lana took Johnny to the park to enjoy the last summer days. October was around the corner and the weather would get colder before she knew it. Johnny spent most of the time in the apartment while she typed away at her work. He became insufferable when he was cooped up all day and began to get into anything. Lana decided it was time to go out when she found him trying to climb on the bookshelf in the living room. He just wouldn't stay still.

Lana could begin to see his personality grow more and more. He was a funny little boy that laughed at pretty much everything and anything. Everything Lana did, he found hilarious. To Johnny, Lana was the funniest person ever. He especially liked it when she hid behind a blanket or towel and then suddenly appeared. Lana didn't do it often, she felt silly doing such silly things but Johnny liked it and his laughter was contagious. He still had that baby laugh and would tip over with laughter.

On that afternoon, he found the ducks by the pond to be quiet interesting. He kept his distance and pointed out to the water. Lana knelt down closer to the water and raised her hand out to him, "Come here, little boy. Don't be afraid."

Johnny ran to Lana and let her wrap her arms around him. She looked out into the water and pointed towards the ducks, "Look."

"Wow-wow" he said.

"No, they're not dogs, Johnny. They're ducks. They quack."

Johnny listened to the scandalous quacking and became nervous. One of the ducks jumped out of the water and ruffled its feathers, startling Johnny who backed up against Lana and gasped. His big brown eyes went wide. "Wow-wow!"

"Duck. Can you say duck?"

"Wow-wow."

"No, Johnny."

"Ya, Jah-nee."

A second duck popped up on land and shook its tail feathers. Johnny squealed with laughter and turned around in Lana's arms, finding safety in her embrace. Lana laughed at his reaction. "Funny boy."

They spent the rest of their park visit walking along the pond. Johnny ran ahead of Lana in his bright red overalls, completely thrilled with the open space. He tripped and fell multiple times but never cried. He giggled and got back up, playing under the late summer sun.

Lana watched him with a gentle smile, amused and her heart full to bursting. She still couldn't comprehend how she could love someone so much. Especially someone who reminded her so much of the past. But Johnny was more than that. And Lana knew that.

He stopped a few paces ahead of her and raised his little hand out to her, calling out her name. Not even Oliver's memory could taint her son's existence. He was too good for the world and Lana knew that one day, he'd have to face it all, all the ugliness and all the evil from their past. But until that day came, Lana would let him smile, laugh and run until he made his way back into her arms, exhausted and half asleep, ready to go home.