AHS. I don't own it.

A/N: Thank you for all the wonderful feedback! I'm super glad you're all enjoying this so far. Also, I haven't heard anything about the new season of AHS and we usually hear something by now. Does anyone know anything? I'm super out of the loop. I mean I don't even log into my AHS tumblr anymore. Buuuut I did hear about Feud and I am fangirling so hard because I am a big fan of Susan Sarandon and having her in a show with Jessica Lange (who I also adore) is a dream come true. Ugh, the wait is going to kill me. But anyways, enjoy the chapter, everyone ~

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EIGHT

Nothing, Without You

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Wendy noted the distance Lana had taken from her since the child arrived into their lives. She tried to get close to Lana but the stubborn woman wanted to get through her demons on her own. She roamed through the house like a ghost with the infant in arms, softly patting his back as he cried through the night. She was determined to be the mother she set herself out to be despite the crippling depression that tugged around her ankles like heavy weights made of lead.

"You don't sleep nearly enough as you should." Lana scolded the baby who gave her an agitated cry. Lana scoffed at his response, "I wish you would."

"Is that a threat?" Wendy asked; amused at the way Lana spoke to the infant. She spoke to him as if he were an older child or tiny adult.

"If that's what'll take him to go to bed. Then yes, it is a threat." Lana bounced the baby softly in her arms to calm him down.

Wendy went over to her and opened her palms, "Let me help you."

"No, I got it." Lana turned the bay from her. "I am more than capable of doing it."

"I know you can but you're exhausted and you seriously need to sleep." Wendy took the baby from Lana.

Lana felt empty without the boy and gave out a sigh. "Fine. You do it."

"Don't be sour." Wendy said while she smiled at the boy, "You need to admit that you need help sometimes."

Lana plunked down on the sofa and gave out another heavy sigh. "Easy for you to say."

"You're doing fine, Lana. Stop worrying."

Lana glanced away with a scoff. She and Wendy had talked about their plans for the future with the boy. They would raise him with the truth about their relationship but teach him to keep it a secret until the world was more accepting of people like them. Wendy worried child services would take him from them if anyone set out to complain. Lana said she wouldn't allow it. She had to admit that she was growing accustom to waking up every hour of the night to that little boy's face.

Wendy sat next to Lana on the sofa and showed her the baby. "He looks bigger doesn't he?"

"He eats a lot." Lana said with a serious tone of voice.

Wendy smiled adoringly at the child. "I think he's looking a lot like you."

Lana raised a brow, "I'm sure he inherited my temper too."

Johnny gave out an angry wail.

"I second that."

Lana stood from the sofa and headed in the direction of the front door. She grabbed her keys and her purse from the small table by the entrance. "Where are you going?" Wendy asked.

"I'm out of smokes." Lana said and left the house without another word.

Wendy gave out a heavy sigh and looked at the fussy baby. "What are we going to do with that mother of yours?"

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Boston was alive that night and there was a bitter cold in the air. Lana parked the car in the parking lot of a convenient store and lit a smoke. Her eyes glanced up at the sound of a couple walking across the lot. They laughed loudly and crashed amongst each other as they did so.

Lana's eyes left them and to the lot across the street where there was a seedy little bar. She wondered when she would ever step foot inside one of those again now that she was the mother of an infant. Wendy had gone on about how alcohol was bad if she was breastfeeding.

Lana scoffed at all the rules Wendy had set up for her now that Johnny was in their lives. She leaned back against the car seat and blew out the smoke through the open window. The cold pricked at her skin but it didn't seem to bother her at all. Her body had undergone far worse than a little bit of weather.

"Oh, what the hell." Lana stepped out of the car, slammed the door and made her way to the bar.

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Johnny continued to fuss through the night. He was uncomfortable and cried endlessly. Wendy paced around the living room, glancing at the front door and then over at the clock on the wall. "Lana, where the hell are you?" She grew anxious and continued to pace.

Lana had been gone for over two hours and Wendy began to grow worried. She peered into the portable bassinet where Johnny lay and noticed that he looked a little red. She stepped closer and put her fingers to his cheek. He was burning up.

"Oh, fuck."

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The jazz music flowed lazily in the background of the bar. The hard taste of scotch was like heaven sent to Lana Winters as it past her lips. It was her second drink and she figured the boy could go on with his formula for just a little while. She was sure he'd be fine.

Lana had been talking to an older gentleman who had fought in World War I. He told he that he had been just a young man when he was drafted to the war. His story was really tantalizing and it helped Lana forget about post-partum for just a moment.

"My father fought in the second war." Lana said, "I was just a little girl while he was away but I remember missing him so much while he was gone." She took a drink from her liquor, "Even though he was very strict."

"Fathers always have their ways of showing affection." Said the man. "My father died when I was very young. My mother raised me."

Lana thought of Johnny and her head spun a little from her second drink. "Did you miss him?"

"I wish I could say yes." The man looked a little forlorn, "But my mother was enough."

Lana nodded to herself, "That's very nice, Phil. Thank you for that." She patted his arm and turned back to her drink.

Another man in a dark brown suit placed his hat upon the bar and took a seat next to Lana. He eyed her for a moment before he spoke to her, "Late, isn't it?"

It took Lana a moment to answer her. She kept her eyes ahead of her. "I didn't notice."

The man chuckled and raised his hand half way up to grab the bar tender's attention. "Martini. Dry." He looked to Lana, "And the lady will have?" He waited for Lana's response.

Lana set her empty glass on the bar counter. "Nothing." She smiled at the bar tender, "I will have nothing." She looked to the man, "But thank you."

The man looked somewhat disappointed but kept his grin up and scooted his stool closer. "I don't think I've ever had someone deny my offer for a drink before."

"I guess there's a first time for everything." Lana stood from the bar and placed a few dollars on the counter as a tip for the bar tender. "Goodnight." She told him.

"Wait, wait, hold on." He reached out to grab her wrist.

Lana quickly pulled away before he could grab her. "You're really barkin' up the wrong tree, pal."

"How so?"

"There's already a boy in my life." She said and turned to wave at Phil, "Have a good night, Phil." Phil waved back and Lana left the bar without another word.

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When Lana opened the door to the house she braced herself for an argument with Wendy but when she stepped inside, the house was silent. Too silent.

Lana dropped her things on the counter and closed the door behind her. "Wendy?" She called out, ignoring the fact that she could wake the baby, "Wendy!"

There was no answer.

Lana's heart began to accelerate and she checked the house for them but they were gone. She came back to the living room where she noticed a note on the coffee table. She picked it up and read it to herself. When she finished reading the words upon the letter, her heart sunk into her chest and she thought she would faint. She dropped the note and hurried out of the house.

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Wendy sat in the waiting room of the urgent care center. It was past midnight and she wondered where Lana could be, but she was even more concerned about Johnny's health. Upon arriving at the hospital, he was extremely feverish and he had not stopped crying.

Wendy nervously chewed off all her fingernails. "Picked the perfect night to wander off…" She muttered about Lana, "Great timing…"

"Wendy?"

Wendy glanced up and saw the frantic woman enter the waiting room. When their eyes met, Wendy stood and Lana rushed to her.

"Where is he? Where's my son?"

"Lana, calm down, he's with the doctors now."

"What happened?" Lana grabbed Wendy's arms.

Wendy smelt the alcohol on her breath and stepped back. She looked around to make sure no one was watching them and whispered hotly, "Where the hell were you? You were drinking, weren't you?"

Lana shook her head, "I didn't mean to."

"You didn't mean to? Lana, you didn't mean to forget to warm up his bottle. You didn't mean to forget to throw out the garbage. This is totally different."

"Wendy, this is not the time. I want to see him. I want to see my boy."

"Your boy?"

"Yes." Lana said firmly with strong intent.

Wendy broke out into a smile and hugged Lana. She knew Lana would come around to the boy and seeing the worry in her eyes proved it. Lana cared for her son. "Oh, shit. Lana, you have no idea how terrified I was when you weren't there."

Lana hugged her back. "I shouldn't have left. I'm sorry." The fear of coming home to an empty house had killed Lana's buzz and buried it six feet under. She was wide awake and alert.

"You're here now." Wendy took her hand.

A nurse stepped out from the double doors and approached them. "Ms. Peyser?"

"Yes, yes, that's me." Wendy went to her, "How is he?"

The nurse gave them a soft smile, "He's fine. He was just over heating in his pajamas."

Both women frowned and looked at one another, "What?" Lana asked, "Over heating?"

"It happens often in small infants when they're dressed too warmly. Especially around this weather, parents tend to over dress them."

"So he's all right?" Wendy asked cautiously just to make sure that she had understood correctly.

"He's fine. You can take him home now, if you'd like."

"Yes." Lana was the first to speak, "Yes, we would."

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Lana carried the baby boy in through the front door of the house. She had been so terrified when she read that Wendy had taken him to the hospital. She felt a cold, harsh panic run through her and she felt as if she couldn't breathe. All she wanted to do was see him and make sure he was all right. Now, a heavenly relief flowed through her. Even though the baby had only been with them for less than a month, Lana already couldn't remember life without him.

Wendy on the other hand was over joyed at the way Lana had behaved at the hospital. She had really shown an interest in her son's health and over all well being that it gave Wendy high hopes for the future. She watched Lana carry the baby to their room and to bed.

"Looks like he won't be wearing these again." Wendy raised the thick wool pajamas he had been wearing when he overheated.

Lana sat on the edge of the bed with the baby still in arms. She looked down at his little cherubic face and brushed his cheek. "Gave us quite the scare, didn't he?"

Wendy sat at her side and leaned her head on Lana's shoulder, "That he did."

"Oh, little boy, little boy." Lana sighed, "Go easy on us."