Lesson Number One

The Singer Salvage Yard was a veritable treasure trove or a junk pit depending on who was looking at it. It also provided a reasonable cover for some of the more secretive activities that went on in the house. It was also a haven for certain activities that would have the parents in the more family oriented neighborhoods of Sioux Falls running to the hills. However nothing remotely similar to that was going on in one corner that was deemed 'safe' to just casually stand around in.

Sam was alone, or so he thought, and was practicing with the Orion blade. It was something different to do while Bobby was looking for another job for them to do and he needed a break from trying to find a way to break Dean's deal. He was frustrated that Dean didn't seem to care that he was dying in just a few short months and he admitted that he was slightly put out that the one person who would fight tooth and nail for either of them didn't seem to show that much concern either.

He was thinking about it so hard that he whirled around to strike one of the old beat up cars that there was no hope for and almost brought it down on her. He pulled back in time but lost his balance and fell over onto the hard dirt. He looked up at the person who had interrupted and asked, "Have you ever considered making some noise when you do that? One of these days you'll get hit and make me or Dean regret it."

Angela shrugged her shoulders and she hooked her thumbs on her jeans pockets. She replied, "Sam you and I both know that you and Dean wouldn't do that unless you had to but I apologize for that. Dean mentioned that you were out here."

Sam got to his feet and dusted himself off and picked up the blade. "Just practicing."

"I can see that. Still upset about Dean's attitude?"

Sam gave a look at Angela. As always she had a way of hitting at the core of the issue. "I don't understand why he's not fighting this and why you seem to not care either."

"Who said I didn't care?"

"You wouldn't even help when I asked to find a way…"

"Because I didn't want to give you false hope," Angela replied. She could see that she had made a mistake in keeping her feelings pent up but there were a myriad of other factors that had her do that. She explained, "There are ways to break a deal but they usually require more than the original offer made and I knew about you and penchant for sacrificing yourselves to save the other. That wasn't a viable option. I could also appeal to the ethereal beings but there is no guarantee of that succeeding. It's like the wolfsbane cure."

Sam understood what she meant. It showed how foolish he was in assuming that she didn't care. "I'm sorry for assuming that. I just don't know what to do. I don't know if I can live without my brother. He's always been there for me even when I made a show of not needing it."

Angela listened to the younger brother pour out his frustrations and worries. She knew that Sam and Dean would never completely spill their guts to each other. They were too much like John in that respect yet they never hesitated to pour everything out to her. She watched as Sam went back to swinging the Orion blade out frustration, reminded too much of another time a lifetime ago and wondering why Dean practically begged her to talk to Sam when it was clear that he would rather be alone.

Sam continued to swing at an invisible enemy. It was like he was chopping down the demons, the mental demons that had been plaguing him but the one that still remained was the fact that Dean was going to die. Suddenly the Trickster's words about Dean being his weakness and that he couldn't save Dean no matter what he did entered his thoughts and he swung harder. He didn't even hear her the first time and he stopped and asked, "What?"

"You're trying to do lesson two but you skipped lesson one."

Sam paused a moment to figure out what Angela just said. It seemed so out of place that it would have been funny but the gentle yet serious expression on her face discouraged any laughter. "What are you talking about?"

Angela gave a slight hum of a chuckle as she stepped forward into the area. She replied, "You can kick ass but to be better at it you need to bring everything that is you and your personal universe into balance. It's why you are frustrated."

Sam conceded that she may have a point but it was a bit of a stretch in his mind. He had been taught how to fight and he did it well. Angela whipping both his and Dean's asses he thought it was due to experience and she had a few centuries up on them. Then again maybe she had something else in mind. He asked, "Is that how you are able to get the jump on us? Or is it just experience"

Angela smiled and replied, "Experience helps but when life seems out of focus, you return to the basics of life." She paused to gauge Sam's response. When he didn't get it, she decided to go with a more practical approach. She said, "You are familiar with duality."

"How could I forget after that job in Louisiana," Sam replied.

"Think like that," Angela replied as she walked over to one of the badly mangled cars that didn't survive and grabbed a round pipe. Like snapping a branch off, she broke it free. Tearing off a piece of tarp that happened to be laying about, she wrapped the strip around the roughened edges and tied it off to prevent it from cutting her hands. She then said, "Alright pick up your sword and stand in the basic formation."

Sam had no idea where this was going but felt that he might as well humor her. He stood ready and held out the blade. He glanced at her and she made a motion that he was to focus. That simply meant that he was to pretend he had an opponent. It surprised him when she quietly spoke close, "The world is full of opposites like earth and sky, day and night. One alone is not enough."

Angela studied Sam's posture. It was good and maybe what she had in mind would eventually sink in. He was a stubborn Winchester after all. Sliding the piping through one of her belt loops to hold it, she walked around Sam and subtly made adjustments to his posture. She got to his legs and tapped them with her foot to indicate he was to adjust them and he followed. Her hands gripped his wrists and adjusted their hold on the pommel. She told him, "Like a rock, be hard." She cupped his wrists to indicate that. "Like an oak, stand firm." She used her foot to test his grounding.

Sam was sure she was trying to do a contortionist act when she started moving his limbs. It was after the adjustments though, he realized his posture was that much better. He turned to glance at what she was doing only to have her push his head back in the direction he had been facing. She was being serious this time. He asked, "Is that it?"

"No." Angela stood back to avoid getting hit. "Thrust and attack."

Sam obeyed and while his movements appeared fast, he felt they were slightly off. He ended the move feeling frustrated. He asked, "Alright what was the point in that?"

"If you have to ask me that, then you haven't seen it," Angela replied. She wasn't going to play games though. She explained, "You are strong and firm but still out of balance. You are only halfway there." She motioned for Sam to get back into position.

Sam resisted the eye roll and went back. He assumed the same posture he had and was surprised that he slipped easily into the adjustments she had made before. He looked at her and she motioned for him to look forward.

Angela took out her piping and walked to assume a position where Sam could watch her without too much obstruction. She assumed the same position. She slowly began to move emphasizing movements and she explained, "The other half, like a cloud, be soft, bend in the wind. Slow creates a measure of peace because you know that it's okay to be afraid. Only a fool would say he is not… an unbalanced one that is."

Sam couldn't help but snicker. She had snuck that one in there on purpose and when she gave one of her playful smiles, he knew that she had intended for that. It was starting to make some sense now what she was getting at. He looked straight ahead as she beckoned him to follow her movements. She repeated, "Strong and firm but soft and gentle."

Sam followed her movements at the same pace she had set. He knew that his movements were nothing like hers since she had the ability to make anything remotely related to fighting look like a dance. Even a crude punch looked elegant. Yet as he followed her, he could feel that his movements were not as choppy as before and he could feel better control on the grip. He followed as she ended and she turned to face him with her 'sword' held upwards in the formal salute.

"Now apply it in sparring." Angela gave the salute and faced him in a start position. "Half speed. Double tap to indicate kill zone," she added to set the rules. "Attack."

Sam began and thrust his sword forward. It was slower than the half speed she had set and she responded with a block. He countered with a basic attack pattern and she responded. Seeing that she was going to follow his pace, he went a little faster and she followed. They clashed, the blade making clear ringing sounds off the piping. How he managed to do it, he couldn't say but he drew her in and grabbed her free wrist and locked her in. She looked at him square in the eye and she said, "Good. Strong and firm. Think fast and unafraid."

Sam nodded and released her. This time she attacked and he blocked. She tested him on his footwork, a thing that Dean constantly teased him about. It was easy to be mesmerized by her footwork and how fluid the motions were and were the constant source of doom in hand to hand. What Sam didn't realize was that his own footwork mirrored her own. It wasn't as elegant but it was fluid enough to make it look effortless and he practically sailed countering her moves.

Angela kept the attack formations simple until she changed it and started using the more elaborate ones. What surprised her was that he got in and actually tore a small hole in the sleeve of her flannel shirt right on the seam. She grinned as she held the sleeve up to inspect. "Not bad."

Sam hadn't meant to get rough with it but when she started using moves that she would use to make a kill, he countered. Her lack of response indicated that she didn't care or she was pleased by it. Judging from her grin and comment, it was the latter and it encouraged him as he attacked again. He didn't notice that she had driven him back until he hit the edge of the barrier which was actually another beyond repair junker. She had pinned him by crossing her piping over his blade in an 'X' and pushed him back. She leaned in close and said, "Soft and fluid. Creep slow and at peace." She then backed away slowly.

Sam stood up straight and re-assumed an attack posture. He knew that they weren't finished yet. He backed away from the junker to get more room and then started on the attack. Angela responded by pulling out all the stops and combined the footwork with posture in her attack formations. Sam countered finding that he was having an easier time keeping up with her.

They clashed in a perfect showmanship of technique as they went back and forth. At one point she got in and a sharp edge of her pipe ripped his jacket near the cuff. He countered and got in a thrust that made a hole near the abdomen of her flannel shirt. She looked at Sam and he couldn't tell if she was upset or what but when she suddenly charged with a series of quick attacks, he realized that every time he stepped it up, she was going to match it or raise it.

It was instinct in his blocking that he hardly noticed that what she had been teaching him had remained ingrained in his muscles. He finally managed to knock her pipe out of her hand and had his blade pointed at her. She grinned slyly and batted the blade away and swooped in with her hands. She didn't make a fist but her strikes hurt just the same as she blocked Sam's advances with her forearms until he gave up using the sword and dropped it and reached out and managed to grab her.

It was not a good enough grip since they both fell to the ground with Sam landing on top of Angela. He then managed to pin her down. Both were breathing heavily and Sam managed to asked, "Surrender?"

Angela stared up at the hazel greens and messy brown hair. Some of the tension from earlier had left his face. She found that she liked that and was fully aware of the close proximity they shared. It was much like that job in New Mexico and they had been tricked into that situation. It was where she realized a few things and since then she had been careful about certain things. Now she was in a similar position and pinned. She breathed in an out and smirked, "Never but I may get you back later."

Sam was also reminded of that time in New Mexico and it stirred up some emotions he wasn't sure of. When she responded in her playful tone, it canceled it out and he replied, "Is that the lesson you wanted to teach?"

Angela was becoming slightly uncomfortable and it bordered on shyness as she thought of a rejoinder to that question. She relaxed and then replied, "As long as you understand about I mentioned. To be good in anything requires balance. When you have balance, life returns to focus." She then looked around and then added, "Now can you let me up?"

Sam scanned her face for any signs of her usual tricks. Finding none, he released his grip and stood up. He offered her a hand up which she accepted. He watched as she dusted herself off and looked at the holes in her shirt and on his jacket. She then said, "Give me your jacket later and I'll fix it." She then glanced up at the sky and said, "Well time for lunch. It's sandwiches today and I'm using my homemade pomegranate jelly. I can't wait to see the look on Dean's face."

Sam gave a slight frown at the change of pace the conversation had taken. It had been a while since she pulled that and he had seen it more often with Dean. He then thought about it some and came to the conclusion that the whole thing of balance was not only applicable to fighting but to life. He did feel more focused now and Angela's sudden change was more likely her way of telling him that life did press on and that was what he had to even though he was going to lose his brother. It didn't mean to stop trying but to keep in mind that one had to keep going even in the light of failure. He gave a slight smile as he picked up the Orion blade and followed her back to the house. Perhaps he could persuade her to help him find a way.

A/N: Snuck that one in there didn't I? Well I thought about this piece and because of my love of Asian cultures and philosophy, I decided to have a bit of fun with the lesson of ying and yang. Inspired by... of all things... Mulan II. Enjoy.