Teaching

With more energy than she should have had, she returned to her apartment. From her room she brought out a single binder and tossed it on the couch next to Dean before disappearing once more. It was another album, but one different then the one she had shown him previously. Dean flipped slowly through the album. He could tell from the angle and closeness of the shots that Willow had taken them herself. Each was a photo of herself with another person. The more he looked at the photos he noticed other similarities—her companion's fake smile, their eyes looking off somewhere else. Every photo was this way. When he was finished he set the book on the coffee table and went to find Willow.

He looked everywhere and finally found her in the big walk-in pantry. Her movements were slow and shaky as she cleaned and reorganized the shelves. Dean stopped her as she dropped a 96oz. can on the floor.

"Willow, this can wait. Go lie down."

She shook her head no and reached for the can.

Dean caught her hands and repeated what he had said more firmly.

Without a word Willow got up, went to her room, and lay on top of her bed. She slept for the next couple hours. While she slept Dean went to his apartment. He thought about the day she moved in. All she had with her was a suitcase that she carried in a little trailer attached to her bike. She had gathered much in the year plus she had lived above him. Mostly the books and bookcases. The bed and other furniture was original to the apartment. Occasionally, he'd heard people knock on her door, but never knew if she answered the door or not.

After the first few weeks, Dean had climbed the stairs to check on his quiet neighbor just to find a note: "Gone out. Be back in a few hours." or "Teaching a class in the science building." He thought that she might be a professor or a student-teacher at the University, but he had never seen her on campus. Nor did he ever see her come and go from the apartment complex. Dean had been attending the University, but had graduated the year before.

Three or four months after Willow had moved in he was startled by the sound of sirens. They were coming to the apartment building. When he looked out the window, he saw them go into the apartment across from him. Dean knew Joseph lived there alone. What happened? Looking out the apartment window again he saw Willow being escorted toward the police station.

"What did she do?" he had thought.

After a few hours he had heard someone climbing the stairs. He opened the door to see who it was and was surprised to see Willow back.

"What's going on?" he asked, a little confused. "Where's Joseph?"

Her gaze felt penetrating though she wore sunglasses; her face unreadable. "Joseph is in stable condition and will be returning home shortly, Dean."

"You know my name?"

"I know everyone's name," she said then turned and climbed the stairs to her apartment.

A loud thud and the sound of something heavy being dragged broke him from his memories. Running upstairs to Willow's apartment he barely caught sight of something disappearing down the hall towards Willow's room. He followed silently and stepped into Willow's room. The cloaked figure flipped through several books before replacing them. The room was dark except for the small amount of light coming in the window. Yet, Dean couldn't see their face. Whoever it was did not want to be seen. They wore a black gi and their face remained in the shadows.

"Willow?"

They didn't respond.

He flipped the switch and the light burned out. The figure returned to the computer and started doing something.

"Who are you? Where's Willow?"

The cloaked figure still refused to respond.

"Answer me!" he said, grabbing their arm.

They twisted out of his grip and he found himself pinned to the floor. Then there was nothing.

When he awoke he was on the couch of his own apartment and had a terrible headache. Then he remembered.

"Willow!"

He stood quickly and had to sit back down again. The scenes from Willow's apartment played over and over again, but he didn't dare move yet. Dean lay back down.

When he woke again, his head no longer hurt, but the thoughts returned. Running to her apartment he called for her as he entered. Was she out? Looking at the door there was no note. Cautiously he went through the apartment and found her underwater in the tub.

"Willow!"

He pulled her out of the water and into the front room. He checked her over and found a faint pulse, but no breathing. Dean started CPR and was just starting to dial 9-1-1 when she started coughing up water and rolled over. Grabbing a blanket off the couch he wrapped it around her and held her.

"Are you okay?"

Willow nodded and remained still as Dean rocked slowly back and forth.

"What happened?" Willow asked softly.

"I don't know. I found you underwater in the bathroom, like someone tried to drown you."

She was quiet and her breathing softened.

"Willow?"

"Hmm?"

"Was someone in here earlier? Someone in a gi?"

"Just me."

"Was there someone else?"

She shook her head.

"Then how did you end up in the tub?"

Dean watched as her brow furrowed in confusion. Then she shifted in his arms to get up. Dean let her, but followed her as she walked back into the bathroom.

"Yarrow," she said, pointing to the ball hanging in the water, "Cold sheet treatment to make sure the skin is eliminating toxins properly. Guess I relaxed too much."

"Willow, how can you be so careless?" Dean asked softly.

"My life is meaningless."

When she turned to leave, Dean stood in the doorway to stop her, "It's not meaningless."

Willow moved past him and into her room to dress. When she came back out Dean was sitting in the hall looking very depressed.

"Do you hate yourself that much?" he asked.

"I neither hate nor love myself."

He looked up, but she was no longer in the doorway. Instead he saw a figure in a gi looking at books on the shelf then returning them.

"Willow?"

She turned to look at him.

"It was you?"

"What are you talking about, Dean?"

"It was you I came across earlier. Why wouldn't you talk to me?" Dean stood.

"Must have been lost in thought."

Willow turned to her laptop and checked something before slipping it into a satchel.

"Are you going out?"

"I have a class in ten minutes," she replied.

"Are you taking it or teaching it?"

"Teaching. You can sit in if you'd like."

"Okay."

Dean walked with her to the gym. Once in the gym she set up her lap top then turned to the group assembled. For the next few hours Willow lectured on herbal first aid. When she was finished the students were able to ask questions. As the questions ended the chairs were quickly put away and a dozen or more people in white karate gis entered the back of the gym.

"Start stretching," she instructed.

Dean sat on the sidelines fascinated as he watched Willow teach, correct and push her students to their limits. At the end of class she had them stretch once more.

"Domo arigato, Sensei," the students said in unison.

The students formally bowed then left the gym. The students hadn't been gone long when another man came in. He looked a little older than Willow. As he got closer, Dean could smell the stench of alcohol.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the great Willow. How are you, Babe?"

"Kevin," she said, a little coldly.

"So cold, after all our time together? I've really missed you, Sweetheart. Come back to me."

"It's over, Kevin."

She turned to leave and he grabbed her arm. She tore it out of his grip. Kevin moved closer to her. He was quick and it seemed like Willow was barely able to fend off his attempts to make her go with him. Dean moved to intervene, but Willow yelled for him to stay out of it, never removing her eyes from Kevin.

"Oh. Who's that, Willow? Another boyfriend? My, my you go through those quickly don't you."

Willow said nothing.

"Maybe I need to show him what happens to the guys that end up with you."

Kevin started to pass Willow, but Willow pinned Kevin to the floor and pressed a point on his neck that knocked him out. After that she put her laptop away, she called security to come get Kevin. Then she left. Dean followed and was surprised when she sprinted towards the apartments.

"Willow! Wait up!" Dean called.

She stopped at the bottom of the stairs and sat. Her breathing was normal, not harsh as it should have been after a sprint like that. No emotion registered on her face. When Dean looked at her eyes they were dull, almost dead.

"I'm sorry you had to see that," Willow said.

"Who is he?"

"A boyfriend from a long time ago."

Dean was still trying to catch his breath, "How are you doing?"

"I'm okay." Standing, she ran up the stairs and disappeared into her apartment.