Author's note: This story is set in season 3 of AHS: Coven, particularly after 'The Axeman Cometh'. I have no affiliation with the show or its creators, nor do I claim any of the characters, locations, etc. listed below. Reviews are always appreciated.

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Her screams could be heard from the common room downstairs, bellowing out and reverberating within the academy's ancient walls. This had been Cordelia's third outburst in just two days, though it was understandable. Sometimes, Delphine would come to check on her. Other times, it was Fiona-but she was intelligent enough to recognize that, had she just grazed her own fingers against her daughter's flesh, something potentially far more menacing could surface from the brief connection; something that Fiona just couldn't afford at this moment. Burying a lifetime of secrets certainly took a toll on Fiona's wellbeing, both mentally and physically, and she would be damned if all of those wrinkles clustering up on a forehead that had already been so full of them went to waste. Cordelia was bound to learn of Myrtle's not so tragic death, in Fiona's perspective, anyhow. That was inevitable. Now, Fiona was faced with a greater challenge-something that she wasn't entirely sure she could handle on her own, but she was no underdog, nor would she be seen as one in the eyes of all those who looked down upon her from their balconies. Not only were Fiona's days numbered, and the pressing matter of eliminating the next Supreme in line for the throne becoming more urgent with each day, but she now had to be conscientious of every move she made around her own daughter.

Traditionally, mothers and daughters were supposed to be the best of friends, although this was rarely the case. Lord knew Fiona and Cordelia were not meant to stay in the same room with one another for more than five minutes-but her own daughter-someone that she should have been able to trust with her indiscretions.

Fiona knew she was to blame for the strain that had accumulated in her relationship with her daughter. When Cordelia was just a girl, just beginning to blossom, a time when she needed her mother the most, she was passed off into the care of her mother's affirmed enemy-Myrtle Snow. Cordelia had sworn left and right, refusing to budge even the slightest inch, that Fiona abandoned her because she didn't love her, because she never wanted to become a mother, because she was more interested in staying out all evening long, bringing strange men into their home. None of this was true, though.

In her day, Fiona had been quite a vixen. This was true, even now, in her early sixties. Fiona had enjoyed the company of several partners during her lifetime, but she was not a whore-not at all. She cared for her daughter, but she knew she'd never be adept to raise the girl on her own. Fiona would have laid down her own life for Cordelia, but she had difficulty expressing her emotions... something that Cordelia longed for, something that Fiona just couldn't provide. In the eyes of the Supreme witch, emotions were a witch's greatest weakness-their Achilles' heel. Emotions could make or break a person, and that just wasn't a chance Fiona was willing to take.

Exhaling an exhausted sigh, Fiona rose from her bed, sheathing herself with her black lace evening garment, stepped out of her luxurious room and padded barefoot down the hallway, to Cordelia's bedroom that she shared with Hank-though Fiona expected that wouldn't be the case for much longer. She hated to invade her daughter's privacy like this, just barging in without bothering to knock, but Cordelia had already resisted her help once today, and Fiona was not in the mood to take no for an answer. Her daughter needed her help. That's what she had told her doctor earlier this week whilst receiving chemotherapy to eliminate her cancer, but saying something was quite a bit different than actually following through with it and doing it. Not only did she need to gain Cordelia's broken trust, but she also needed to fulfill her duty as a mother-to comfort her child, to sit with her, thread her fingers through the beautiful blonde tresses that spiraled down from her scalp, and to listen and coo reassuring words as she heaved, sobs racking through her body.

Fiona's thoughts alone were enough to cause tears to sting her eyes, but it didn't matter. Cordelia wouldn't have known the woman was crying unless she opened her mouth to speak, and if she did... Fiona knew she would fall apart. She knew it.

They say, when a person who once had sight goes blind, either by trauma or natural causes, their other senses become heightened-hearing, touch, smell... Fiona wasn't sure that this would be the case for her daughter. She was a fighter, stubborn as hell, but she was also pissed off. Extremely. And she had a damn good reason to be upset. Hell, Fiona was pissed for her, if not more. That was her baby.

Whoever blinded Cordelia in that restroom needed her to see the chaos that was unfolding before her, but not with her eyes. In a way, she was very ignorant, very naive when it came to the individuals who encompassed her. Whoever had thrown that acid needed her to realize what was happening, and it was achieved in the most horrendous of instances.

Regardless of what happened, Cordelia needed Fiona, whether she knew it or not. The mystery of said person could wait until tomorrow. For now, it was time for Fiona to salvage the one alliance she had left, and to do something she had never done before-mother her child.

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Well, this was my first attempt at writing an American Horror Story: Coven fanfic. Please let me know what you think about it, what I have to improve on, and if I should continue with it. Much love! ~ A