He wasn't sure what was going through her brain, or his for that matter. He specifically wanted to avoid having this conversation with her. It was the reason he had tried to talk to Spirit before he saw her. Yet there he stood, the question hanging in the air awkwardly between them and it didn't look like she was handling it well.

"I-well I mean-what usually happens… Well it's just-to put into words that you would-what?" she stammered.

There was no way to take it back, as much as he really wanted to, it just wasn't possible. Jennette looked like she was about to implode, her eyes darting around the room trying to settle on anything other than him and failing at it terribly. There had to be a way to bail from it, a way to shrug it off as something unimportant. The only thing he could manage to do was plaster on one of his fake smiles, laughing gently.

"I figured that would snap you out of it fairly quickly. I have to say, the look on your face was quite amusing. I hope you have a better day, Jennette," he chuckled turning toward the door.

"Stein wait-"

"You didn't think I was being serious, did you? I just wanted to help you get back on your feet. I guess my attempt at humor didn't have the desired affect."

Waving his hand at her he stepped out into the hallway, closing the door behind himself quietly. He wasn't sure if she would believe his pathetic attempt at avoiding the question he'd asked her, but all he could do was hope. He wasn't ready to confront her yet, he wasn't even ready to confront himself when it came to love. Sadly the only person he could ask about the situation was indeed Spirit. The man who had single-handedly ruined his own marriage and still insisted he loved his wife above everything else. Groaning he ran his fingers through his hair, starting off down the hallway in the direction of Spirit's soul, determined to get some kind of grasp on this ridiculous emotion before the end of the day. He found the red head standing against the wall in the hallway on the opposite side of the Academy from Jennette's office staring off into space. It took him several moments of just standing there staring down at him for Spirit to even realize that he was there.

"Stein, what was she all worked up about?" he asked quietly, glancing down the hallway as if he expected her to pop up.

"Nightmare. I need to talk to you in private."

"Wait! In private? Why?"

Spirit instantly tried to flee as Stein had expected. He caught the Death-Scythe by the tie, tugging him down the hall to an empty classroom not even bothering to switch on the lights as he shut the door and locked it behind them. He could see the instant fear washing over Spirit's face, pure dread of being alone with Stein in a dark room. He was practically shaking from head to toe.

"Stein, this isn't like the old days. You can't cut on me whenever you feel like it!" he snapped stumbling back away from him farther into the classroom.

"Relax, I didn't bring you in here to cut you open. Not today."

"What do you mean, not today!"

"Spirit, focus please? This is very serious and you're the only person I can ask."

Spirit straightened up, trying to at least appear like he wasn't completely terrified of being alone with Stein in a dark room.

"What is it then? Does this have something to do with Jen?" he asked, the trembling in voice all but gone.

"I suppose you could say that. When you fell in love with Kami, what was that like?"

The fact that Spirit took on nearly the exact same look as Jennette had made him slightly irritated. Was the fact that he wanted to understand something so unbelievable for them? He was a scientist, studying and understanding things was what he was best at. It just so happened to be that he was trying to understand what love was like. Never mind the fact that he wanted to understand it to figure out if it was what he was experiencing when it came to Jennette.

"When I fell in love with Kami? Well that's easy, Stein, everything else in the world didn't matter anymore. She was the only thing I could think about, the only thing I could dream about. Are you…having dreams about Jen?" he mumbled, his tone so serious that it rattled Stein a little.

"No, I'm not having dreams about her. You're saying that when you fell in love with Kami nothing mattered other than her?"

"Nothing. There wasn't a single thing I could think of that was more perfect than she was. I wanted to be with her forever."

Stein nodded slightly, understanding the infatuation. He was certain that Jennette would never be that important to him. He still wanted to dissect and study anything he could get his hands on. Yet then again, just that very morning he had wished she was there with him. He would have to make a mental list of the things he found important in his life and compare them to Jennette. Surely if she didn't overshadow those things, he wasn't in love, right?

"Stein, you do realize that it's all right for you to love her, don't you? You're just as human as the rest of us, believe it or not you are capable of loving someone," Spirit sighed taking a step closer to him in the darkness.

"I don't think that she matters to me more than anything else in the world, Spirit. To think that anyone could overshadow everything else in the world in unrealistic."

"Is it? When was the last time you had a dissection in class? Or a cigarette for that matter? I haven't seen you smoking at all this morning and you usually show up with one already lit. She matters to you more than you think she does. Right now, could you see yourself dissecting her?"

"Yes."

"No, Stein, really think about it. Could you see yourself actually dissecting her?"

Sighing Stein closed his eyes, preparing to go through the process of preparing for a dissection. It was just in his head, but he decided to humor Spirit knowing what the outcome would be. He could see the metal table clearly, Jennette laying across it seemingly asleep. The medical tray already prepared with several varying sizes of scalpels, hemostats to stop bleeding, tweezers, scissors, metal bowls to hold organs in while he was working, several syringes ready with a local anesthetic to numb the area he would be working in. Jennette was smaller than Spirit in both frame and weight, if he gave her the amount of sedatives he'd given Spirit in the past he would have a longer time to work. Quietly he reached up turning the bolt in his head several times until he felt it click into place, smiling as he stepped closer to the table. Without a moments hesitation he reached over her body unbuttoning the top button on her dress shirt easily enough and then froze. Something about the action didn't seem quite right. Slowly he withdrew his hands thinking over the action again. She would be the first female he'd ever dissected. Actually she would be the only other human he would have ever seen from the inside out. The fact that the subject was female shouldn't have bothered him in the slightest, shaking off his doubt he reached back out over her undoing the second and third button quickly enough before his hands started to tremble. He just had to remind himself that it was his first time dissecting a female. She would be infinitely different than Spirit, an entirely new venture. He had managed to occupy his mind long enough with the idea of exploring new territory to remove her shirt completely. Now he was faced with an entirely different problem. Staring down at her sleeping figure in nothing but her skirt and bra he knew what the next logical step was. If it wasn't removed, the garment would get in the way of his incision. Taking a deep breath he leaned over her, tucking his arm underneath her shoulders to pull her up off of the table. With his free hand he reached down fumbling with the clasp for a moment before it finally snapped open and he laid her back onto the table gently. For the first time since he had started his experiment he glanced down at her face just to avoid looking at what he was about to do. Seeing her laying there, peaceful and blissfully ignorant as to what was happening made his chest tighten in a funny way. He found himself gripping the edge of the metal table trying to understand why he suddenly felt hesitant. Why the thrill of something unexplored didn't seem to matter anymore, he didn't want to continue.

"Stein?" Spirit whispered causing his eyes to snap open.

"Just give me a moment, I was preparing…" he growled, closing his eyes again.

He was determined not to let it get to him. He started again right where he left off, all he need to do was remove the cursed garment and he could carry on with the experiment. Grabbing the bra by the straps he forced his eyes closed and pulled it away from her body. Turning toward his table of instruments he opened his eyes slowly, pulling on a pair of latex gloves. Picking up a clean scalpel he turned back to her sleeping form and prepared to make the first incision. He could see his goal perfectly, yet his hand hovered over her abdomen completely unable to move. The longer he stood there staring down at her half naked form the more his hand started to shake to the point of having to steady it with his other hand. Try as he might, he couldn't get his hand to move forward. He couldn't cut her and the more he tried to force himself to do it, the more his hands shook.

Opening his eyes again he peered over at Spirit who was watching him with a worried frown. The fact that he couldn't cut her meant something he wasn't ready to accept. It couldn't be possible, how could he be in love without even knowing what love was? All he could hear was her voice repeating over and over in head : It's not something that needs to be understood Stein. Love just happens and you can't control it. One day you'll wake up and realize it.

"Spirit, I think I have a problem…" he muttered pulling his glasses off of his face to pinch the bridge of his nose. It was taking everything he had to keep his hands from shaking for real. "I can't cut her…"

"That's not a problem, Stein. That's something wonderful. That's love," Spirit sighed clapping his hands on Stein's shoulders.

"I don't know how to be in love."

"You don't have to know how to be in love, it just happens. Wait until you tell Jen! She's going to go into complete shock, we'll have to rush her to the infirmary…"

"No, Spirit. You can't say a word to her."

He could see the instant look of confusion spread over Spirit's face, turquoise eyes narrowing as he gawked up at him in complete disbelief.

"What? What do you mean we can't tell her? Stein this is great news! You can kiss her and so many other wonderful things! Just think of the possibilities!"

"Not a single word Spirit. I mean it."

"But-"

"If you say anything to her about this, I swear, I will remove something from your body that you will dearly miss…"

He could easily see the blood drain out of Spirit's face even in the faint light of the classroom. He knew that it wasn't something Spirit was going to be happy with, but he wasn't ready to tell Jennette. He still wasn't sure that loving her was something that would be good for them. More specifically, good for her. He needed to be sure she was well before he moved forward.

"I'm serious Spirit, not a single word. I have a few things I have to get in order before I want her to know," he demanded unlocking the door, pushing it open.

"How am I suppose to not tell her? I'm too excited for you to keep it pent up," Spirit huffed stepping out into the hall.

"Avoid her, at all costs if you must. I have complete faith in you to protect your…body."

He could see the visible shiver run down Spirit's body as he crammed his hands into his pockets and glanced up and down the hall checking to see if the coast was clear. Stein shook his head lightly, pulling the door closed leaving himself alone in the darkened classroom, leaning against the door as if it were the only thing that could keep him on his feet. He hadn't been aware of it until Spirit had mentioned something about kissing her, but he was going to be late for class due to an unforeseeable issue with his pants. Images of her half naked and thoughts of kissing her weren't helping in the slightest. Groaning loudly, he slid down the door, looking up at the blurry ceiling fishing in his pocket for a cigarette. It was going to be a long, long day…

"I don't get why you keep coming in here if there's no food!" Ragnarok spat, pouting as usual.

Jennette sighed heavily, scribbling on the corner of her notepad as she waited for Ragnarok and Crona to stop arguing long enough to answer the question she'd asked him. They were currently battling over the fact that there was nothing in her office for Ragnarok to eat and if he didn't want to be there, Crona shouldn't have been able to force him into it. The only problem was, the two beings were connected in some sort of symbiotic relationship as far as she could gather. Crona couldn't go anywhere without Ragnarok. Ever.

"Stop. Pulling. My. Hair!" Crona sobbed as Ragnarok grabbed fistfuls of his pink locks in his white gloved hands tugging relentlessly. "It hurts, I can't deal with the pain!"

"Ragnarok, if I give you part of my lunch will you be quiet for the rest of the session?" Jennette groaned, quickly learning the only way to get anywhere with them was to barter Ragnarok for his compliance.

"Make it the whole lunch and it's a deal!" the little black being demanded, leaning as far away from Crona's body as their attachment would allow reaching out for the lunch bag Jennette was passing over to him.

"Now, where were we Crona? We were talking about your mother?" she sighed thankful Ragnarok seemed sated for the time being with her chicken cutlet lunch.

"Something like that… I really don't like to talk about her," Crona mumbled rubbing his head where Ragnarok had been tugging at his hair.

"I understand that, but don't you think it would be good to get it out into the open. Holding all of that in isn't healthy for you. I understand that she is your mother, but the things you've mentioned in passing need to be discussed. The little one you mentioned and being locked away by yourself? These are very troubling things that you should want to resolve. Your mother really locked you away by yourself?"

"When I didn't do what I was told to do, yes, Lady Medusa would lock me away by myself as my punishment. And then Ragnarok would beat on me because I got him in trouble too…"

"So she was always cruel to you? She never once told you that she loved you?"

Crona shook his head quickly, fiddling with the cuff on his wrists just to avoid having to look at her.

"Tell me what she was like Crona," Jennette said quietly, still scribbling on her notepad.

As the boy went on describing his so called mothers moods, she had to remember not to start spouting profanities about the horrid woman. She had ordered him to harvest souls, to become a Kishin which hadn't worked out so well in the end for her. Thanks to Maka, Crona never made it to being a Kishin and the experiments the witch was conducting on her own son with the black blood failed. The very same black blood that was inside of Soul Eater.

"It really didn't matter if my experiment with the black blood failed, in the end, I still achieved my goal…"

A cold chill ran down Jennette's spine as the cruel looking woman's voice rang in her ears. She almost forgot that she was with Crona, turning to stare at the blond woman standing next to her desk. She couldn't understand how she was seeing the woman when she was obviously awake, Crona rambling on and on about his mothers cruelty.

"The Kishin was still revived and as soon as I get Stein back, everything will fall into place."

Her chuckled was demented, her hands buried in the pockets of her white coat. It was then that it occurred to her, something she had forgotten about Crona's mother.

"Crona, I don't mean to interrupt you, but you said that your mother infiltrated the DWMA acting as the school nurse to get closer to the Kishin, right?" Jennette asked suddenly.

"Yes. She was."

"Can you describe her for me? What did she look like?"

"Do you really have to ask him that, you already know the answer…"

Her dread didn't subside as Crona identified his mother as the cruel woman that kept appearing before her. A woman that supposed to be dead. Stein and Spirit had personally killed her beneath the Academy during their struggle to stop the Kishin from reawakening. The fact that she was seeing a dead woman made her heart stutter. It was very possible that the Kishin's madness was starting to take it's toll on her mind just as it had Stein's. She was going to have to find a way to keep it at bay, a way to save her own mind from the madness so that she could continue to keep Stein in play for Lord Death.

"Crona, I think that we may need to cancel our sessions for a few days," she muttered trying to ignore the chuckling vision of Medusa next to her desk.

"What? Why? Did I do something wrong?"

"No, of course not Crona. It's just with everything that's been happening in the last couple of weeks, I find myself not feeling well. I don't want anything to ruin the progress we've made. I just think that it would be best for me to take a small break and rest at home. And once I'm certain I'm well enough we can pick right back up where we left off."

"So, this has something to do with your injury from falling down the stairs at your apartment?"

"Yes, I'm afraid I still don't feel well enough to be back at school so soon. Professor Stein urged me to take more time to heal and I didn't listen to him."

"So what should I do while you're gone?"

"I suppose you could go back to having your lunches with Maka and Soul? I'm sure you really miss having lunch with all of your friends."

"I sure know I do!" Ragnarok chimed in, tossing an empty lunch bag back in Jennette's face.

"Oh, well, all right. I suppose if you're not feeling well it's more important for you to get better first," Crona sighed pulling himself up out of the chair.

"I would like to give you a small assignment though, do you think that you can handle that for me?"

"What kind of assignment? I'm not good with tests…"

"It's not a test, I promise."

She stood up from her chair, moving around her desk purposely avoiding the vision of Medusa that was leering at her and rested her hands on Crona's shoulders.

"For at least five minutes every morning, I want you to look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself that you are loved, Crona. Maka loves you very much, you are her dear friend. And I love you as well, I enjoy having you here to talk everyday. I'll certainly miss you. And when I come back, I'll be sure to bring enough lunch for all of us so that Ragnarok is more comfortable."

"Look at myself in the mirror and tell myself that I am loved? I don't know if I can handle that…"

"You can an at least try. Try for me?"

He nodded once, sliding out from under her hands and made his way out of the office. The second she was alone there was a small moment of panic that washed over her, unsure of how to deal with her new found hallucination of a woman she had never seen before in her life. The only thing that could have been responsible for it was the Kishin's madness. Still refusing to look at Medusa she shuffled back around her desk, sliding into her chair arranging the notes she'd taken during her session with Crona.

"Do you think that by ignoring me you'll some how make yourself immune to the madness? You of all people should know that once it gets in, it's not so easy to get rid of. It's not as if you can use that special wavelength of yours on yourself. You're stuck with me."

She shook her head out of reflex, tucking all of her notes away when she ran across Stein's file in her top drawer. She was certain it was in the filing cabinet the last time she'd seen it, but now she wasn't so sure of anything anymore.

"You're a hopeless woman. Like I said before, he's not even interested enough in you to dissect you. You don't deserve him…"

"You're wrong!" she hissed, slamming her hand down on her desk and Medusa cackled at her. "You're wrong."

Standing back up she rushed out of the office more to flee the lingering nightmare. She needed something to keep her mind focused on reality. She set off in search of Spirit, hoping to talk to him about what Stein had said to her that morning. Whether he had been joking or not she really couldn't tell. Since Spirit knew him better than anyone, he was the best person to ask.