A/N: Thanks to all who's decided to follow my story again, I really appreciate it! Just wanted to say that I made some minor changes in the second-to-last scene of chapter two. Nothing serious, just clarifying a bit. Anyway enough out of me, hope you'll enjoy this next one.

Cordelia's eyes snapped open, her body woken by her own desperate cries. The images, all the blood and the torn flesh and the glossy look in his abandoned eyes saying she should have saved him, coursed through her body like voltage, so powerful it left her trembling. She fought against the grip of sleep holding her down, panicking as it wouldn't let her go and screamed out, only to realize the hands were human.

"Delia, baby, breathe. He's okay. It's just the bad dreams."

Her eyes finally started to see the ceiling of her bedroom and it all came back to her. She felt embarrassed, fooled by a dream yet again. But at the same time she was still so agitated she couldn't believe it was as simple as that.

"I have to go check on him."

"He's fine, I promise."

"I have to-" She got out of bed before Misty could protest any further and ran to the nursery. She found him there, sound asleep, not a scratch on him and just like all the other nights she could start to calm down. She never woke him; just watching him breathe in and out was enough. It was all she needed to know that it was just the nightmares again. They had gone on for weeks now, always the same one. Always her in that poor woman's place, watching Cage's perfect little body torn and broken, half eaten by the monsters at the river. He would never go there again. She promised herself this every night she stood here, but somehow Misty always convinced her of her own foolishness by the time daylight hit.

She had hoped the image hadn't settled as badly as it did. A whole week went by without any sign. Her head had remained quiet when the shock wore off, and she went on with her week, determined not to let Marie Laveau's pain be hers as well. She had gone about her life, got Cage to his usual health checkup and thought it was behind her. Yet here she stood for the seventh time in four weeks. And the shock never got easier.

Misty came up behind her, put her arms around her waist and rested her head on Cordelia's shoulder. She didn't say anything. The 'I told you so' whispered in her quiet breathing, but not once had she said it aloud. Cordelia kept her eyes on her sleeping son, while leaning back into the safety of Misty's body and securing a hand over hers.

"I know I'm being silly."

"You ain't silly. You're just scared. It's okay." The warmth of Misty's voice soothed away the last of the unease from the dream. An 'I love you' lingered on Cordelia's tongue, but she kept it there, enjoyed the taste of it. She never needed to speak it, because Misty's faith in this had never wavered. Cordelia was the only one needing reassurance from time to time.

Instead she asked: "How are you so calm about it? My dreams are haunted by one glimpse, but you carried that poor child. I feel like I'm stealing your chance to recover."

"I'm fine, Delia."

"I know you are, but how?"

She shrugged against Cordelia's back, but didn't look, as they both proceeded to gaze at the sleeping child. "Molded by nature I guess. I once found a fox cup, lookin' 'bout the same way and that was my very first month alone out there. Wasn't the last baby animal I found like that. You get used to it."

"But this? You said that wasn't normal alligator behavior."

"Sometimes nature acts out." She said it with an acceptance that added ten years to her age. She always spoke of the wild with the certainty someone uses when speaking of a child or a best friend. Like she knew it to the very soul. Cordelia sometimes thought a part of Mother Nature must live inside her young lover. Some part of the swamp's spirit had latched onto her in those early childhood years. This above all was what made her trust Misty with Cage, despite her own fear of the forest.

Misty kissed her neck, ending Cordelia's train of thoughts.

"You okay now?"

Cordelia nodded, smiled at the dark. "Yes, I believe so."

"Wanna come back to bed?"

"In a moment."

Misty accepted it, loosened her embrace and left the room. Cordelia didn't move. She only needed a moment longer to know that those horrific images truly were only dreams. Then she returned to their bedroom.

She found Misty sitting on the edge of the bed, when she came in. There was a look in her eyes, Cordelia easily recognized and she knew what was on Misty's mind even before she had gotten up. Cordelia considered telling her no, but accepted the kiss instead. It was a slow one, tasting the atmosphere. Teasing just a little, with teeth scraping against her bottom lip.

Misty's smile was playful, hopeful. "I was thinkin', since we're up anyway…" Her hands gripped a little tighter at Cordelia's waist, toyed with the fabric of her nightgown.

"I don't know, Misty. We don't have many hours left of sleep and you know he's going to wake up at five-"

"C'mon, Delia", she urged, mouths barely two inches apart. "I miss touchin' you. We rarely make time for us anymore."

Her words for arguments dissolved on her tongue and she sighed instead. She was tired of shutting Misty down. She knew she shouldn't keep her distant this way. The grey might have been lifted, depression didn't weigh as heavily on her anymore, but some never quite faded and while Misty seemed to live forever in those feelings of new and shiny love, Cordelia had a harder time holding on to them. But she didn't want to forget. What she wanted was for Misty's youthful mind to rub off on her.

She leaned in and caught Misty's mouth in a kiss deeper than before. Misty caught up at once, hands already making their way to their favorite spots. With one quick, fluid motion, Cordelia took off Misty's t-shirt and gently pushed her onto the bed. Misty laughed and her eyes shone with thrill through the half dark of the bedroom. She grabbed a fistful of Cordelia's nightgown and pulled her down too. They moved to the middle of the bed and Misty pulled her nightgown over her head, her hands giving away her rush.

"What's the hurry, love? You've got me."

Misty chuckled and answered with a passionate kiss. Her hands started to travel. They might miss the touch, but they certainly hadn't forgotten it. Cordelia allowed herself to sink into it, felt her heartbeat change, pick up speed despite herself. Her skin grew hot where Misty touched it and as it often was, she forgot why she would ever turn Misty down for this. Mind and body followed the rhythm of Misty's heavy breathing, hips rocked to it until those breaths turned to whimpers. She let her mouth wander, tasting the skin she knew like her own by now. She pressed herself to Misty's hands with sudden need, but reminded herself that tonight was for Misty. She would not be selfish. Misty never asked for much, but tonight she did ask. Cordelia found herself consumed with this wish and for a moment forgot the face of her new tormentor. She tasted only salt, saw only the pale of skin and heard only the breaths of what she was doing right.

O0O

"Here it is", Zoe said and tugged at her boyfriend's hand. They turned up the isle to the Goode Mansion and Kyle's eyes grew wide as they took in the house.

"Whoa, some place. I know you said Fiona used to be a successful lawyer, but damn."

"And I imagine she was good at it", Zoe said. She was sure that if Fiona Goode was half as intimidating to a jury as she was to Zoe, she would win every single case with a toss of the head. She had been there every time Zoe came by, if it was to babysit or just to say hi and Zoe always felt studied, scrutinized. Just the mere presence of Fiona made Zoe think twice about every movement. And she studied back equally, however more carefully. There was something majestic about Fiona. It was obvious in her aging features that her prime had past her, but the pride never wavered and neither did the sharp look in her eyes. She was a rock, a cold statue in the armchair, always watching the scene. Zoe had a hard time seeing the relation to her favorite teacher. And now more than ever. Zoe used to know Cordelia as a great teacher, confident in it too and maybe the relation was right there, but over the summer, she had come to know a very different woman in her mentor. All of it from the radical change that had happened while Zoe had been away on college.

She remembered one day back for vacation so clearly, because it became her introduction to Cordelia's personal life; something she had secretly wanted to be a part of for a long time. It was just at the start of college some years ago, not long after all the apparent turmoil had settled and it was before she had had a change to overhear all the talk about Cordelia at school. The teacher had pulled Zoe aside to confess a lie she had told her the day Zoe assisted her on the trip to Misty's swamp.

"I'm terribly sorry for lying to you, Zoe. I hope you understand that it came from a place of desperation on my part and I hope you'll forgive me."

Zoe took no offense, felt only a smug sort of elation that those warms looks passed in the swamp hadn't just been her imagination. She remembered squealing something like "I knew it!" before she got a hold of herself. "It's totally cool, Cordelia, I get it. I can't believe I was right all this time though, I can't wait to tell Kyle. I can tell Kyle, right?"

Cordelia had looked hesitant for a moment and then nodded with a smile. Zoe thought this conversation above all was what made her toss the rumors that now depicted Cordelia as unstable and weird. Cordelia didn't dismiss the rumors, but Zoe always took her side.

"So we're just gonna say hi or what?" Kyle asked, dragging her out of reminiscing.

"Yeah, you know, they asked if I could bring you, because Cage doesn't have so many men in his life, so they thought you would be a good example."

"Hm well, I am awfully handsome and nice." He winked at her and knocked on the door.

Zoe laughed and was just about to agree, when the door opened.

Cordelia appeared on the other side, greeted them with a smile. "Hello to you both." She turned to Kyle. "You must be Kyle. Zoe has told us so many great things about you."

"I'll take that as a good sign", he said and shook Cordelia's hand. She invited them in and Zoe followed the two. She already knew the house and allowed Kyle his first look by himself. She stayed in the background as Misty came out to greet them as well and the couple proceeded to show Kyle around the house. Cordelia announced that Fiona was absent today, for which Zoe was guiltily grateful. She caught a glimpse of Spalding, the odd butler of the house, but he stayed away in the shadows. He felt like a poltergeist to her, solid in form but seemingly able to appear and disappear at will. His lack of speech added to her sense of unease, because it seemed his missing words magnified in his gaze. He always looked so intense.

They found Cage in the living room, on the floor in the middle of all his toys. Cordelia bent down to pick him up and placed him on her hip.

"We have a visitor for you, love. This is Kyle."

Cage examined Kyle with a slight crease in his forehead, as if confused by the sudden new face, but lit up soon enough and spoke a "Hi."

"Hey there, little man." The little boy only turned a shy head once, and little after little he began to interact with his visitor. They sat down again, Cage secure right by his mom and Kyle in front of him, playing with his toys as if he was a toddler himself. Misty stood behind them and sometimes a look passed between her and Cordelia. Zoe never tired of looking at the two. They still looked at each other the exact same way they had that day at the swamp. Whatever much had happened in the meantime, that hadn't changed. The atmosphere hummed with warmth and ease around them and it quickly engulfed both Zoe and Kyle. Kyle was rarely shy, and he rarely gossiped, but the rumors had reached his ears too. He had asked Zoe once just what kind of state this teacher of Zoe's was in, if she needed extra help like this. Now he seemed to realize that his role wasn't as extensive as he had made it out to be. He was not the help, only a guest. A friendly face for Cage to know.

Zoe sometimes couldn't help wondering to herself how much of the rumors were true, but there was no mental illness leaking off Cordelia today, the way she was portrayed by the harshest tongues at school. Mean whispers depicted her as if a dark halo of madness hovered over her and that this halo might infect those who neared, but of course this was all just cruel nonsense. Cordelia was the confident teacher Zoe had known ever since she graduated and she felt honored to be within the walls of her home. At the end of the evening, she was proud to tell Cordelia that she had gotten a temporary job at the school the upcoming spring.

"So I'll see you around, I suppose", Cordelia said after her congratulations. "I hope you will still have some time for babysitting once in a while. Cage really likes you and my mother is not that reliable."

"Oh yeah of course! I think Kyle likes to play out his inner child too", she said and nodded at the two boys, twenty years apart in age but equally invested in building a train track. Even Misty had joined in, but she couldn't keep up with Kyle. Zoe held still for a moment, watching him in his childish joy. He was an only child just like Zoe herself, but something about the blonde hair on both of the boy's heads made her think of a pair of brothers. Kyle's family was always a topic to be avoided, but he looked like such a family guy.

When she looked up Cordelia was eyeing her knowingly.

"I wish I had known him all my life", Zoe confessed. "Just like you and Misty."

Cordelia responded: "We were apart for ten years. Long years I might add. What you and Kyle have established already is pretty good, Zoe."

She smiled, delighted at the admission. "Yeah I know."

O0O

"Marry me."

Fiona rolled her eyes. "Christ, you never stop, do you?"

"Not when I have no reason to." Cometh planted kisses up her arm. Fiona couldn't keep the smile contained long enough for him not to see it, but when his eyes asked the question again, she stifled it.

"Marriage has never been the walk in the park you paint it to be. Especially not marriage to me." She withdrew her hand and took a sip of her soda. She still felt like an idiot, like some goddamn teenage kid, whenever she drank that soda, but a good whiskey was off limits and a plain water was just too boring.

Cometh shot her that look she hated, the one that made him look as though he was gazing at some adorable madwoman.

"Fiona, just because one went bad doesn't mean they all will."

Fiona scoffed. "You clearly haven't paid enough attention to the women of my name. Don't you see a pattern?"

He shook his head at her. It always annoyed her when he did that, but he didn't give her a chance to cut him off. "Just like yourself, your daughter didn't meet the right person at the right time. You don't think she will ever divorce Misty, do you?"

"No. Because they are not married."

He chuckled, too lighthearted a sound for her to be able to accuse him of mockery. "You're missing my point."

"Well your point is stupid. I need a cigarette. And don't give me that look." She got up from the couch and went to the jacket in the hallway to get her pack of cigarettes from the pocket. Her house was quiet today now that neither of the occupants had returned home and she didn't bother to hide the smokes.

She had made the mistake of telling Cometh about the promise she had made to Misty. She had said nothing of what she had gotten in return, only that she had made these promises to stay healthy out of some pseudo daughter-in-law bonding moment. As far as he knew, the chemotherapy had helped her. He sometimes asked questions about that night, the one where the entire atmosphere of the house had shifted and Fiona had come out of much less sick, but Fiona didn't know how to explain it. She still wasn't sure she fully understood how it was that Hank had been dead, Misty must have been for a couple of hours, Cordelia's soul definitely was and now they were all alive. The less she thought about it, the less she needed to smoke. Which was what everyone wanted anyway.

She went outside on the porch to light it. The least she could do was to keep it away from Cage and the rooms he played in. She didn't really care if they knew, but she wouldn't want to poison the little boy's air. He was far too young to be corrupted by or exposed to the delightful, but devilish addictions of adult life.

Cometh came out to her. He didn't propose any more that night, only kept silent. He knew when she was fed up with his nagging. It was sweet that he did, she thought, that he knew her so well. But she couldn't marry him just because he was acquainted with her mood swings.

An hour later Cordelia came home. Fiona heard Spalding tripping down the stairs to help her with the groceries. He always vanished whenever Cometh was there, went up in smoke like a vampire out of an old movie. Fiona didn't even feel him lurking. He only emerged out of duty and because, like the rest of them, he was mesmerized by the little boy.

"This will be my cue to leave, I take it", Cometh said and kissed her cheek.

"My daughter does not dictate when you leave."

"It's quite alright. She doesn't like me very much, does she?"

Fiona didn't answer. She didn't protest either, when Cometh let her go. She put out the cigarette and followed him inside. They passed Cordelia in the kitchen on their way.

Cometh did a polite nod. "Hello Cordelia. I will be out of your way now."

"It's fine, Cometh. Don't let me chase you out", she said with the same politeness, but Fiona wasn't fooled. She didn't think Cometh was either. He waved at the little boy, running around with a small toy he had gotten at the store and Cage waved back with a shy hand.

It took him a minute to get dressed, in which Fiona tasted the cool air in silence. Cometh seemed to recognize the look in her face and gave her a smile. "There's always my place?"

"I think I'll have a talk with my daughter."

He nodded and gave her a kiss on his way out.

Fiona found Cordelia still in the kitchen, putting things away and gathering others for cooking. Cage had gone to play in the living room, where all his toys lay sprawled out from the night before – she had often wondered just how fast her proud, neatly styled house had turned into the looks of a kindergarten – and they were left alone together in the cool atmosphere. Cordelia didn't look up when she entered, but kept her focus on the dinner she was about to start. Fiona often argued that cooking was a job for the maid, but Cordelia still insisted no such service was needed. And Spalding sure couldn't cook.

"Did you want something, mother?" Her voice was soft and even and it annoyed Fiona even more.

"Would you care to tell me why you keep acting like a goddamn child? I thought we agreed you would try. Or is this just revenge for my view on Hank?"

Cordelia shook her head as she sliced up vegetables, still not looking up. "I'm not vengeful like you. I'm glad he makes you happy, but I don't want a cocaine dealer around my son."

"Who I decide to bring into my house is my business."

Cordelia finally stepped away from the preparations and looked up at Fiona. "Your house?"

"Yes, my house. It's in my name, is it not?"

Her eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms. "Actually, mother, it's in mine."

"Which comes back to me. I handed it to you temporarily, so your estate is my estate."

She shot Fiona a disbelieving and disapproving look. "I can't believe you still think you own everything, after all this time."

Fiona scoffed. "Well that didn't change, did it? I don't believe you have the money to keep it to yourself anymore, so don't fool yourself into thinking you're the master of this house."

Cordelia didn't say more. For a moment it looked like she wanted to, but she stopped herself. She sighed and looked back down at her vegetables instead, but there was a moment where Fiona caught something she hadn't seen in years. A cold had crept into Cordelia's stare. The distance, the abyss. It made Fiona suddenly want to take back her words, true or not. It made her nervous.

There was a knock on the door and she didn't get to say anything to take their fight in either direction.

"Would you get that? Or is it too much to ask of the master?" The acid in Cordelia's voice was not the same it had been years ago, Fiona would give her that much. Maybe Misty had taught her to speak up or maybe she was finally turning into Fiona herself. Fiona hoped it was the first of the two.

She didn't answer the question, merely scoffed again and left the kitchen. Spalding appeared from the living room, but she waved him away. She was well capable of answering her own goddamn door; there would be no dispute of that.

She didn't recognize the face of the visitor, only that he was not from this part of town. He was just a kid, but the look in his eyes didn't say kid trouble. The disgust in his stare was too mature for a teenager.

Fiona didn't say anything, only stared down the boy, waiting for him to present himself. He didn't. Instead he said:

"I have a message from Madame Marie Laveau. She says you better watch all of your backs or a gator feast ain't gon' be the worst on your conscience. And you, Fiona Goode, your wrongs ain't forgotten. You gon' come to a tragic end."

He didn't give Fiona a chance to answer, before he turned around and drove away on his skateboard. There was an almost laughable contrast between the threat, he had just given, and the driving off on a graffiti covered skateboard. She stared after him, but he never looked back. Part of her wanted to brush it off as some kid's prank, but that look in his eyes had her convinced. She had heard of the incident that day in the swamp, hell she had shot one look at Cordelia's ashy face and known this wasn't light problems. Now Laveau was up to something. And if she planned to dig up the old war over Delphine and all Fiona's presumed hate for her kind, Fiona would face it alone. There was no need to worry Cordelia, especially if she was becoming fragile again.

For that reason, Fiona said nothing, when she returned. Cordelia asked once, to which Fiona handed her a lie about a lost kid asking for directions and went to sit in her armchair. It took two to fight a war and Fiona wasn't about to start one. She had thought the issue with Delphine buried at her arrest and cast into oblivion at her death, but rumors had it Laveau had lost her wits with the loss of her child. The plague of an angry woman in grief usually went away if no one paid attention, much like a child who loses interest if no one reacts to its tantrums. So, she intended to sit here and watch her grandson, while Laveau finished her fit of rage in the unknown.