Author's note: This story is the first fanfiction I have written that features an original character in a major role. Be assured I am taking great pains to avoid the hated Mary Sue, and that all pairings in this story will be canon. If something about the characterization bothers you, please let me know.

Many thanks to my reviewers "GoldAngel2" and "girl from ipenema". Your encouragement is a great inspiration and motivator.

What You Leave Behind-Chapter 1

As always, Catherine tensed as she opened the mailbox. "Have they found me?" She wondered. "Is there going to be a letter saying I have to pack up and move again?"

Pulling out the thick stack, she balanced it precariously in one arm while using the other to fish for her keys. She barely managed to unlock the door and put away her keys without dropping anything, and then pushed against the door. It didn't budge. She pushed harder, put her key in the lock, and pushed again. Still nothing.

"Damn door." She growled. "Ah, I shouldn't get so worked up, I have a Ph.D., it's just a door; this shouldn't be too hard to figure out." Sighing out her pent-up frustration, Catherine leaned against said obstinate door, which decided at that moment to slide back and send her sprawling across the living room inside.

"Darn house." She growled again, getting to her feet amid the sound of loudly creaking floorboards. "How did Grandma ever live this way? Ah well, at least those tatami mat things broke my fall."

At the sound of her voice the sleeping tiger cat in the middle of the room jumped and glared at her with large yellow eyes.

"Hmm, I guess I need to stop talking to myself. Ah well, nobody here right now to tell me I'm crazy."

Picking up the scattered papers and envelopes, she kneeled beside the low table and began leafing through them. "Let's see," she thought, "Bill, junk, bill, junk, charity I should contribute to but can't, three catalogues of things I like but can't afford—"

Catherine stared at the large yellow envelope. On it she could see in red ink the familiar name of the pastor from the little parish back at home. It had been this person she had finally told about the beatings, the late night binges, nights spent in her car with little Danny afraid to go home. The police must have found a way to forward it to her.

With shaking hands, she tore it open. A handwritten note and another smaller envelope fell out.

Dear Caty,
I had this sent on to you as soon as it was ready. I hope it will help you to move on and start a new life. My prayers and those of many others are with you.
Love,
Father Jim

Catherine carefully opened the other envelope. It was a decree of annulment from her home Diocese. In the eyes of the Church she was no longer married, in fact had never been. But that didn't make the pain go away. It also didn't change the frightening reality that John's so-called associates still wanted to kill her for information she didn't have.

"Kaasan!" A small redheaded boy came pounding over the squeaky floorboards towards her and threw himself on her lap, tangling peanut-buttery fingers in her blue-black curls.

Caty laughed and playfully mussed her son's bangs. She had better start studying Japanese harder if she wanted to keep up with her five-year-old. At least now she was sure what 'Kaasan' meant.

"Konnichiwa Keitii-san."

"Konnichiwa Natsuko." Despite her months of study and her father's background, Catherine's mouth still stumbled slightly over the pronunciation. "Thanks for watching him, I see you've been helping him with his Japanese."

"Hai, " Natsuko replied, "hopefully he'll know enough by the time he starts school. Anyway, what else are friends and neighbors for?"

Caty made a huge smile in response. It had been a long time since she had had a female friend to talk to and spend time with. John hadn't exactly been fond of her socializing.

An area of her arm and shoulder ached suddenly at the memory.

Seeing the sudden distant look in her friend's eyes, Natsuko changed the subject. "So how do you keep it so clean in here?" She asked, examining her reflection in the shiny wooden floor.

"Well actually, I don't. I wipe up a few things, but mostly it just seems to stay that way." Caty replied.

Natsuko looked puzzled a moment before laughing. "Very funny Keitii-san. You just come home from work everyday and the house is spotlessly clean."

"Wow," Caty thought, "that is weird." Laughing to hide her confusion she confessed, "I wasn't joking."

Natsuko only rolled her eyes.

"Kaasan?" Danny tugged on her sleeve.

"Yes dear?" Caty asked.

"May I go play with Rurouni-san?"

"Sure, just be careful and don't go outside the yard!" As the boy immediately turned to leave she added more loudly, "And Daniel! Remember to wipe your feet before you come back inside! It rained this morning!"

"Yes Momma!" Danny called before bursting out the door.

Natsuko walked quickly and caught the shoji before it slammed. Raising an eyebrow she asked, "Who is Rurouni-san?"

Caty looked up. "Just his imaginary friend. Why?"

"It means 'wandering masterless samurai.'" Natsuko said with an amused smile.

"Hmm," Caty chuckled, "must have gotten it from some story. His imagination has always been very…well you know…active."

"Can you tell me something that's not active about a five-year-old?" Natsuko asked.

Both women laughed again.

After Natsuko left Catherine decided to take a walk outside. Seeing a path though the small wood out back, she began wandering along, though she was careful to remain within hearing distance of Danny. The light was less harsh here, muted by layers of leaves and flowers above. A gentle breeze blew through her hair, and she involuntarily breathed a sigh of relief. To her left she could hear the faint trickling of water over rocks, in the distance, a single bird chirping from atop a tall tree. She paused walking and leaned against an old cherry tree, in bloom this time of year, and tried to absorb the serenity that surrounded her. Tall buildings and traffic lights stood beyond the gate, but here everything was different. Time had passed over this place. According to the documents she had received with the will, little had changed here in over a hundred years. Repairs had been made over the years, electric lights had been added, along with plumbing and other so-called modern conveniences, but overall the old structure and its surroundings remained—and so Caty felt, the spirit of the old place as well.

Caty sighed again and continued ambling through the small wood. She now understood why her grandmother had refused to leave here; it was so nice to have a sanctuary—

Caty's mouth opened in shock as she came into a small clearing by the stream.

Unbidden, the image came to mind: two lovers embracing tenderly in the moonlight, as fireflies floated like stars around them.

"Sessha wa rurouni de gozaru yo…" The red-haired man had murmured, just loud enough for her to hear.

Catherine concentrated; managing to make out the latter part of what the red-haired swordsman was saying to the beautiful blue-eyed woman in his arms:

"It is time to wander once again. Thank you for everything and farewell…my love."

Then the samurai, the "rurouni," Catherine clarified, had turned, and without a backward glance, strode steadily away. Behind him, the woman collapsed into a crying heap on the grass.

"A wanderer…" Tears came to Catherine's eyes. The dream had been so vivid, so real—and it had happened right here.

Caty rubbed her eyes with one hand and shook her head.

"No…don't think such things." She told herself. "It was only a dream, you must have remembered hearing about this place from Grandma's letters and dreamt about it!"

"But why then did you dream in perfect Japanese, a language you are just learning to speak?" Her thoughts reminded.

Hurriedly Caty turned and walked back out of the woods to where Danny was playing. Gusts of wind blew a cloud of leaves and cherry flower petals about the yard, seeming to follow her little son as he ran in circles.

"And why did it seem so real?"

"Daniel!" She called aloud.

The little boy paused running and looked up at the sky before smiling at her. "Yes, Momma?"

"Danny, what did you say your invisible friend's name was?"

The boy laughed. "Silly, I didn't tell you his real name. I just told you his made-up name."

"And that was?" Caty asked nervously.

"Rurouni-san!"

"Oh…" The words rooted her to the ground for a moment. "I guess it was only a dream…"

Forcing a laugh, Caty shook her head at her foolishness and walked back into the house.