*-*-* Weeping Willow *-*-*

*-* Chapter Three *-*

"If you judge people, you have no time to love them."

~ Mother Theresa

*-*-*-*-*-*-*

It was a long, quiet, boring ride after that. Willow mostly tried to sleep, but during one of the pit stops, she broke down and bought two word find books and a pen. She did them all day and through most of the night. She finished one of the books by three on Sunday morning. She pressed her forehead against the window as she watched the sun rise at about six. She had a lot of time to think. She missed her mother in the lonely quiet of the early morning hours. She missed Yolanda and the way she fawned over Willow. She also missed Remy and his innuendoes. She smiled thinking about him and wondered what he went to Chicago for. She wished she would have asked him. She wondered if everyone's friends left their lives as often and quick as Willow's friends did. It made her a little sad, but she liked thinking back on all of them. Wondering about the mysteries of friendship and watching the sun climb lazily over the horizon made her eyelids droop. She was fast asleep just before the bus passed the 'Welcome to New York' sign on the side of the highway.

Willow woke up at around four in the afternoon. She was hungry again, and in desperate need of relieving herself. She waited in a short line for the tiny bathroom, which was not at all pleasant by the time she got to it. She came out and dug through her pack only to find that she had already eaten all the sandwiches. She sighed and looked up. The bus seemed to be strangely devoid of passengers. She could have sworn there were more before she went to sleep. She shrugged it off and got out the other word find. She circled word after word until the bus came to a slow stop.

"Everyone off for Boston," called the driver.

"Boston?" cried Willow in a panic. She chucked the pen and the book into her bag and rushed towards the front of the bus. "What about Albany?" she asked the driver.

"We passed it at about eleven this morning," he said. A sinking feeling formed in Willow's stomach as she was herded off the bus with the rest of the passengers. She watched in shock as the bus shut it's doors and drove away, leaving a trail of black exhaust in its wake.

"What am I going to do in Boston?" she asked herself quietly. She got out of the way of the people walking around the station and sat down on a planter. She got out the wallet and extracted the map. She found Boston, Massachusetts on it and noticed that she had gone only one state too far. "Boston," whispered Willow in disgust. "What's even in Boston?" She truly didn't know. She put the map away and flung the bag over one shoulder. She got up and began to wander. She hardly looked ahead of her. She was too busy staring at the skyscrapers and interesting shops. She bumped into several people who shot nasty looks at her. She decided to look where she was going more. "I don't really know where I am, so I can't really get lost," she muttered logically to herself at one point. Her stomach had been bothering her for the past hour and a half. She hadn't eaten anything all day. She walked around until she found an expectable eating establishment. She opened the door of Subway and the fresh smell of cold cuts and bread drew her inside. She went up to the counter.

"Hi, can I have a BLT and a large soda, please?" she asked. Her stomach was killing her.

"Sure. Do you want anything else on your sandwich?" asked the girl behind the counter. Willow felt very odd talking to someone that was her age. She hadn't done it in a very long time. Maybe the girl didn't notice Willow's abnormally long lashes and wild eyes. Just about anyone could have green hair and green lips.

"Just bacon, lettuce and tomatoes," said Willow in a quiet voice. "And a little mayonnaise and mustard." The girl handed her a cup. Willow went around to the pop dispenser where she put in ice and Mr. Pibb. "Oh, can you not put so much lettuce on there? I know back in Seattle they stick like five pounds of lettuce on there," Willow called over to the girl as she snapped a plastic lid on her pop. She punched a straw through the top and took a long drink. The carbonation burned the back of her throat a little.

"Oh, sure, I hate that too," she said. She took off some lettuce and wrapped up her sandwich. "You want a bag of chips?"

"Sure," said Willow happily.

"They're over there on that rack," said the girl, pointing to the chip rack with a plastic gloved hand.

"Thanks," said Willow snagging a bag of chips off the rack.

"That'll be 4.50, please," she said. Willow dug the wallet out of her bag. "So you're from Seattle?"

"Yeah," said Willow, struggling with the wallet. "I'm sorry," she said as she set the bag up on the counter and got out the money.

"It's alright. I always wanted to see Seattle," said the girl in a dreamy voice. "What's it like?"

"Not much different from any other city. Except it's got the Space Needle and Safeco Field," said Willow as she went through her money in search of a five.

"So why're you here?" asked the girl. "On vacation?"

"Not exactly," said Willow giving the five-dollar bill to the girl. The girl went to take the money, but recoiled.

"What's wrong with your hands?" she asked, backing away slightly.

"There's nothing wrong with them!" said Willow in defense, feeling offended and hurt. She was getting tired of people saying things like that to her.

"But they're kinda green and brown...you're not a mutant, are you?" she asked, fear spreading over her face.

"Yes I am. Here, take it," said Willow, grabbing the girl's hand and shoving the bill into it.

"I don't want to cause any trouble," said the girl.

"Look, I don't wanna fight, I just want some food," said Willow angrily. She grabbed her sandwich off the tray. "Keep the change." She left the Subway in an even worst mood than she was in before. The sun was starting to set and it was starting to get colder outside. The traffic on the street was still heavy, and people still milled about the sidewalks. The thin little pin stripped jacket didn't do much against the evening chill. She found another planter to sit on while she ate her sandwich and drank her pop. After she finished and she had a full stomach, she threw away her trash in a trashcan and wandered around some more. She needed to find a place to stay for the night. Somewhere cheap. After a half an hour more of wandering, she found a small hotel. She went inside and walked up to the front desk. She clutched the edge of the counter with her fingers.

"Hi, can I have a room for the night?" she asked. The man at the desk looked down at her hands and then back up to her face. He examined her green lips and neon green-yellow eyes.

"We don't serve...your kind, miss," he said.

"What?" she asked, taken aback by his remark.

"There are no rooms for mutants in this hotel. Please leave," he said firmly and rather loudly, making all the patrons in the lobby stare. Willow's cheeks went red. She walked out of the hotel with her head down, tears filling her eyes. She'd had it. Life had slipped down into hell again; just when she thought it was getting better. She wished she wouldn't have stayed awake until six in the morning. If she had gone to bed at a normal time, she would have been in New York a good seven hours ago. If she'd gone there in the first place, she might be warm and welcomed inside that school by now. But instead she was in Boston, Massachusetts and surrounded by snobby hotel clerks and frightened sandwich artists. She felt unwanted and insignificant. Once again she had no where to go.

She whipped the tears from her eyes angrily with one sleeve. You are such a baby, Willow, she told herself. Things could be worse...though I don't see how...

The streetlights flickered on, and the areas around them were suddenly thick with shadow. She stuffed her hands in her pockets and started walking aimlessly, cursing her mutation. Why could she be like her mother and only have green hair and fingernails? Why did she have to have green arms and lips too? And those crazy eyes...She didn't care at the moment. All she cared about was that it was dark, cold, and lonely out on the street and she needed to find somewhere to stay. Away from normal people.

She wandered around for a while, becoming more and more nervous as the neighborhood became seedier. She could hear people lurking in alleyways and the occasional siren sounded in the background. Her heart skipped a beat when she actually heard a gunshot and a blood curdling scream about a block behind her. She bit her lip and clutched at the strap of her bag for comfort as she continued on her blind journey in the dark.

The temperature had dropped dramatically by the time she came by the old church. It was huge and crammed between two tall buildings. The concrete exterior was covered with graffiti and ivy. The once beautiful stained glass windows were now dingy and broken. Despite its rough exterior, the sight of it was comforting. The wind that rustled through the leaves of the tree outside the church felt like frozen whips lashing across Willow's cheeks as she approached the doors. She could see a soft, flickering light from within the church. Candles. If there was someone in there, they were bound to let her stay. It was a church, after all. You couldn't exactly tell people to get out of a church. She opened one of the large wooden doors a crack and poked her head inside.

"Hello?" she called softly. She opened the door more and stepped inside. A single candle was lit in the front of the church. Deep shadows hid most of the church from view. Statues of the Virgin Mary and crucified Jesus stood in the front of the church. The alter was pushed against a wall and had brightly colored cloth on it. Posters were stuck all around the altar, but Willow couldn't see what they said. The pews and even parts of the walls were covered with plastic, and the whole place looked ransacked. Dead, dried leaves littered the stone floor, obviously blown in by the harsh autumn wind. Graffiti was on the inside walls as well, and Willow wondered why anyone would tag a church. "Anyone in here?" she asked quietly.

Suddenly the quiet atmosphere around her exploded in echoing words spoken by a male voice. It was definitely not English. It seemed to be all around her, coming from different places all at the same time. She looked around frantically up in the rafters for the source of the voice. She had not noticed that she had been backing into a corner until her back hit the wall. She slid down it and cowered there in fear. Her eyes glowed green a little, making her look even more distressed. The voice stopped as soon as it started. Willow looked up to try and see who or what had made that awful noise. Suddenly, with a cloud of dark blue, curling smoke, a man appeared before her. She jumped in fright. His skin matched the color of the fleeting smoke he had created upon his arrival. His hair was a deep indigo, and his eyes were yellow. He had three fingers on each hand, two toes on each bare foot, and a long, devil-like tail that swayed behind him. He was dressed in a black turtleneck shirt under a brown zip-up vest. He wore a light brown coat over that, and had a pair of wild pants with pink and orange vertical stripes and a thin, shiny stripe down the side of the leg. He also had a dark red rosary wrapped around his waist twice, where a crude, sliver cross hung. Despite his unusual appearance, Willow was more worried about other things. A strange man in a church in the slummy part of town could not be a good thing. Willow had no idea what he might do to her, and she wasn't sure if she could defend herself against him. She was amazed when he looked down at her with pity, apology practically spilling from his eyes. Someone dangerous could not make such an expression. Willow became considerably less scared of him.

"Wei heißen sei?" he asked softy, his voice rough, but curious. Willow stared up at him, her lower lip trembling still.

"Huh?" she squeaked.

"Wei heißen sei?" he asked.

"I don't understand," she said.

"You don't speak German?" he asked, his voice heavy with the accent.

"No, not at all," she said.

"Vat's your name?" he asked. "I'm sorry. Zat's vat I said before."

"Willow Stevens," she said. She blinked the glow out of her eyes. "Who are you?"

"Kurt Vagner," he said triumphantly. "But in ze Munich Circus, I vas known as ze Incredible Nightcrawler." He crouched and looked at her in the eyes. "Are you alright?"

"I just...you just scared the bejesus out of me, and...," she started to say. Her voice cracked and she began to cry. The day had been far too much for her to handle. She was so close to New York, only a state too far, but her money was running low, and she had hardly any hope of getting there now.

"I'm so sorry," he said. "I sought you vere a normal person...people are frightened of me, and zey abuse ze church, so ven zey come in here, I scare zem avay. Zey are not vorthy of zis place. Zey judge too much by skin and appearance."

"Yes they do," said Willow with a sniffle. She rolled back one sleeve and showed him the green skin that covered her arm. He touched it with a curious look on his face. Butterflies took flight in her stomach. He recoiled and smiled slightly, perhaps embarrassed of what he had just done. Her cheeks turned a little pink and she rolled her sleeve down. A shaky half grin etched itself crudely on her green lips.

"Vat brought you here?" he asked.

"I missed my bus stop in New York, and I ended up here in Boston. I tried to rent a hotel room, but they didn't let me," she said, tears recollecting in her eyes. "And I'm running out of money, and it's actually really scary around here," she said. "I'm sorry, I'm being a huge baby..." He patted her on the shoulder a little, trying his best to comfort her.

"Ohhh," he sort of whispered. She felt a little uncomfortable with someone she didn't know touching her and her muscles tensed up. Kurt felt this and withdrew his arm, sure that it was because of the way he looked. After all, that's how it always went. He looked into her eyes sincerely. "It's alright now. God vill alvays have room in his house for you," he said. "And he vill always be zer for za people who have lost zeir vay."

"Will you let me stay?" asked Willow, a hopeful edge to her voice.

"Vell I can't really srow you out of a church. Ze Lord opens his arms to everyone. Even me," he said a little sadly. A brief distant expression took over his face. He stood up from his crouching position and held a three-fingered hand out to her. She took it without question and he helped her up. "Ver vas it you said you had to go?" he asked.

"New York," said Willow.

"Ah. How ver you planning to get zer?" he asked.

"I don't know," she said, bending down and picking up her bag.

"I'll help you sink of somesing," said Kurt as he walked to the front of the church and Willow followed. There was a sort of step down between where the priest stood and the main floor. He sat down and motioned for her to do the same.

"I thought about hitchhiking, but now I'm not sure if that's such a great idea," she said once she was comfortable.

"No," he agreed with a shake of his head. "You have your feelings right on your sleeves. People take advantage of zat, you know."

"Maybe I'll take the bus," she said half joking. They sat in silence for a moment.

"I might be able to take you some of za vey," he said. "But I don't know how far."

"How do you mean?" she asked, not quite understanding what he meant. He suddenly disappeared with a curling cloud of dark blue smoke that smelled strongly of brimstone. She coughed and looked around for him, wondering where he had gone. Just as suddenly as he had gone, he appeared on the other side of her with a similar cloud.

"Like zat," he said.

"Can you carry someone with you?" asked Willow. She was beginning to feel better. Maybe she would get to New York after all.

"Yes, but it takes so much more energy...I don't know if I could even get you outside Massachusetts," he said. "I vould probably have to rest a few days before coming back anyvay."

"Don't bother, then. It's too much trouble," said Willow. "I don't want you to hurt yourself, or anything."

"I vould really like to help you, but...I just don't know if I could do it," he said. He seemed upset that he wasn't powerful enough to get her to where she wanted to go.

"If you're not sure, then it's not worth it," said Willow.

"I'll try to sink of somesing different," he said. Kurt made Willow feel strange. She hardly knew him, and yet he was trying desperately to help her. He looked curiously into her eyes. "Such sadness I see in your eyes," he said sympathetically. "Vat has happened to you?" Willow felt uncomfortable and looked down at her feet.

"I uh...," she said, fighting off tears. She shook her head. "Not now. I can't...," she said, choking on her words. NO MORE CRYING! She mentally shouted.

"It's alright," he said. Kurt watched as Willow's cheeks grew red as she fought the tears in her eyes. He cocked his head to the side a little. "Ver in New York do you need to go?" he asked.

"Westchester," she said pulling out the map from her bag. She unfolded it over her lap and pointed to the highlighted area. "There's a school there that only teaches mutants. I need to get there as soon as possible," said Willow.

"Zat's not too far," said Kurt optimistically. "But maybe too far for me to carry you. If...if I took a lot of breaks, maybe...," he said, trailing off thoughtfully. "But I don't know ver ve vould stay."

"I'd sleep outside," said Willow looking at him with pleading eyes. "Anything. I need to get there. I have no where else to go." Kurt looked into Willow's eyes as he made a hard decision. It might have been inner strength, or divine intervention. Either way he sighed.

"I vill try my best to get you to New York. If I turned my back on you, I vould need many more of dese," he said as he traced a finger over the curling tattoos on his face. Willow looked closer, marveling over how intricate and beautiful they were. "Van for every sin," said Kurt. He sighed again. "Sleep tonight. In za morning, ve'll figure out vat to do."

"Thank you," said Willow quietly. "I'll repay you someday."

"No need for zat," said Kurt with a hint of a smile. "I'm sorry, zer are no beds in here. I sometimes sleep there, on ze altar. It isn't very comfortable, but it's better zan za floor. You can sleep zer if you vant," he said. His apologetic nature and sympathetic voice continued to stun her. He was so much different than anyone she had ever met.

"Oh, I don't want to steal your spot," Willow said hastily.

"No, no, please," he said. "I have many spots. I'll just sleep somevere else." She reluctantly walked over and lifted herself onto the altar. "I'm sorry zat it is not a bed."

"It's alright. I haven't slept in a real bed for a long time anyway. I mean, there was the bed in the Hospital, but that wasn't very comfortable at all," she said, her voice trailing off into inaudible mumbling. She curled up and tried to get comfortable. She looked at the posters that were taped to the wall. They had pictures of a cartoon blue devil with horns and goat-like hooves hanging from a trapeze. He had a sinister smile and two yellow, glaring eyes. The posters had slogans like 'Der Munich Zirkus vorstellen die Incredible Nightcrawler!' and 'Der Erstaunich Blau Dämon!' Kurt crouched up in the rafters, watching her looking at his posters.

"What do they say?" asked Willow, he voice echoing off the church walls.

"Ze first one says, 'Ze Munich Circus presents Ze Incredible Nightcrawler,' and ze other says 'Ze Amazing Blue Demon,'" Kurt replied. Willow nodded. Demon...that's not at all flattering, she thought.

"Are these pictures supposed to be you?" asked Willow looking over her shoulder at the shadow in the rafters.

"Yes," Kurt said.

"They're not very realistic," she said flatly examining them again.

"You don't think so?" he asked curiously.

"Not at all," Willow said. "He looks so evil."

"So do I," Kurt said.

"That's not true," Willow told him. He gave no reply. She sighed and closed her eyes and tried to sleep. Kurt continued to watch her. The girl that lay curled up on his altar seemed so innocent, and yet she held a sort of sadness behind her eyes. He could sense that she was very alone. Even while she slept, her face was disturbed with haunting memories that she could not share with him. He sighed and sat down, propping himself up against a wooden beam. That's not true..., Willow's voice echoed in his mind. Kurt shook his head a little, dismissing what she had said. It was a silly thing to say anyway. He wrapped his tail around the beam he was sitting on. He crossed his arms over his chest and sighed. He took one last look at Willow before he closed his eyes and tried to sleep.

Willow woke up the next morning with one leg hanging off the side of the altar. She straightened up only to find that she had a tremendous cramp in her back. She winced in pain as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to make sense out of it. With a cloud of dark blue smoke, Kurt Wagner appeared in front of her, making her jump. She sighed with a grin, chuckling at herself for being so jumpy.

"Hello," he said. "Did you sleep vell?"

"Well, sort of," she said. She got to her feet and stretched. Kurt cocked his head to one side as he watched her.

"Are you ready to go to New York?" he asked, an optimistic look on his face.

"Sure. Are you?" asked Willow.

"Zis is as good a time as any. I promise to get you zer," he said with a note of determination.

"Maybe we should mark out a route on the map," said Willow. She knelt down and dug through her bag. She took out the map and unfolded it. "So Westchester is right here," said Willow tapping her index finger on the map. "And we're here. Connecticut's sort of in the way, so maybe we could cut through."

"Zat sounds like a good plan. I'm a big fan of shortcuts," said Kurt. "Ready?" he asked. She put the map back in her bag and clipped it shut. She flung it over her shoulder and took a deep breath. She nodded firmly. She was finally going to New York. He wrapped his arms around her and shut his eyes. Suddenly the church was gone. Willow's hair was whipped back and she had to close her eyes to shield them from the thick, smoky air that buffeted them. It stopped, and Willow looked up. They were on top of a skyscraper. As soon as she saw the cars below, the skyscraper was gone too. A Freeway lamp. A building roof. Inside someone's car. An apartment balcony. An overhanging sign above a Freeway. After almost twenty minutes of this, Willow was beginning to feel sick. Her eyes started to roll into the back of her head. The horrible smell of brimstone whenever they disappeared was making it hard to breathe. She began to grow limp in Kurt's arms. When they appeared next, he knelt down and set her gently on the ground. She groaned and coughed.

"Villow," he said. She didn't look up at him. "Villow, are you alright?" He held her up with one arm and tapped her cheek slightly with one hand. Oh, no I've killed her! He thought frantically. "Weide, say somesing!"

"Where are we?" she grunted.

"On top of a building," he said, relieved to see that she was all right.

"I mean where are we?" she asked.

"I'm not sure. Stay here, I'll find out," he said. He propped her up until she was sitting on her own, then he disappeared. He was gone for about two minutes, in which time Willow was allowed to recover. Her head stopped spinning, and the fresh air made her less nauseous. When he returned, he sat down next to her, panting slightly. "Ve're in a town call Vebster," he said. Willow undid the clasp of her bag and took out the map.

"Webster," she whispered, her eyes scanning the state of Massachusetts. Finally she found Webster, a small town almost directly on the border of Massachusetts and Connecticut. "Wow!" she cried. "Look where we are!" When she didn't get an immediate answer, she turned around to find Kurt curled in a ball, sleeping. She smiled fondly at him and folded up the map. He exhausted himself for her. It was an interesting feeling. She lay back, using her bag as a pillow, and watched the sky above her churn with light gray clouds. She remembered how she used to fall asleep after growing things for too long.

"Look, my love. We're in the paper again," said Judith to her small daughter, holding up a newspaper clipping with a picture of both of them smiling. They were sitting on a bench under a flowering cherry tree, enjoying the cool shade and each other's company. They were surrounded by flowers of all kinds that were swaying gently in the spring breeze. Judith had made the garden by herself. She was an artist who used plants instead of paints. She had the power to grow any kind of plant anywhere she wanted where there was soil. Judith was a mutant. She was well known around Seattle as the Plant Lady and had appeared in the Seattle Times on several occasions, but never without her five-year-old daughter, Willow.

"Are we famous?" asked Willow.

"A little bit," said Judith with an almost worried expression. She quickly covered it with a smile. "Not everyone appreciates my art."

"I do, I think it's pretty," said Willow with a big grin on her pudgy little cheeks.

"I know you do. Do you want to try?" asked Judith.

"Can I?" asked Willow, taken aback by the offer.

"Of course you can. I knew you could a couple months after you were born. When your hair came in a beautiful forest green just like mine," said Judith.

"And nails?" asked Willow with excitement, sticking out her hands and wiggling her fingers which were tipped with nails the same color as her hair.

"And nails," Judith agreed with a fond chuckle, taking her daughters hands and kissing them lovingly.

"How do I do it?" asked Willow. Judith lifted Willow off her lap and onto the ground. They both knelt by a free patch of soil in one of the flowerbeds.

"Think of a flower that you think is pretty," said Judith. Willow thought for a moment.

"What about a tulip?" asked Willow.

"A tulip will do just fine. Now can you see it in your head?" asked Judith, watching her daughter thinking.

"Uh huh," Willow said. "I can see it, mommy."

"Good. Now put your hand out like this," she said, waving her hand over the earth. Willow copied her. "Now you concentrate. You see the tulip in your head, and pull it out of the ground. Watch," she said. She moved her hand as if she were picking something up with her fingertips. A stem grew out of the ground with a green bud on the end. Shortly after, two thick leaves unfurled and the bud on the end opened, revealing soft scarlet petals. Willow had watched her mother many times before, but never as intently as this. "You have to feel it grow, and want it to. Alright?"

"Okay," said Willow, a little nervous.

"You try now," said Judith softly. Willow concentrated and saw her tulip in her head. She made the same movement as her mother had seconds before. She wanted it to grow so badly that she could actually feel some of her energy escaping her hand. As she pulled upward, a stem came up with a bud on the end. The leaves unfolded and the bud slowly opened. The petals were baby pink, her favorite color. Willow's tulip was petite, much smaller than Judith's was, but it was a tulip all the same. Willow shouted with laughter and joy. She grew three more of the same size and color before she collapsed into her mother's arms. Judith smiled fondly. She's tired herself out, the poor thing, she thought as she picked Willow up and carried her into the house. She climbed the stairs and set Willow down in her bed.

"Mommy?" groaned Willow in a small voice just before Judith closed the door.

"Yes, love?" asked Judith.

"I did it, didn't I?"

"You did indeed. But rest now. We'll grow some more things tomorrow," she said, but Willow had fallen asleep before Judith could finish her sentence.

She smiled slightly, happy to remember her mother that way. She could hear Kurt snoring lightly as she waited for him to wake up. She smiled as she watched him sleep. He was something new, that was for sure. He made her feel...she didn't really know how he made her feel. All she really could say was that she'd never met someone quite like Kurt Wagner.

A couple hours passed, and Willow was having a hard time ignoring her growling stomach. She thought about waking him up and having him transfer her to the ground so that she could find something for them to eat, but didn't want to disturb him.

Kurt slept on for another hour and a half before he woke up. Willow was happy to see him awake. She felt emaciated.

"Guten tag," he said.

"Hi," Willow replied. He looked a little sleepy, but his yellow eyes were still alert.

"How long have I been sleeping?" he asked.

"About three hours," Willow answered.

"Sree hours?" he cried in distress. "I'm sorry for leaving you to yourself for so long. How rude of me."

"Rude? You haven't been at all rude!" said Willow, grinning in disbelief. "This is one of the nicest things anyone's ever done for me." He grinned sheepishly. Willow sighed. "I dunno about you, but I'm starving. Why don't you teleport me down there and I'll find something to eat." He embraced her and the building was gone. They were suddenly between two buildings. He broke away from her.

"Vill you be alright by yourself?" he asked.

"I think so," she sighed.

"I'll vatch you in case you need help," Kurt assured her.

"Thank you," said Willow. Kurt watched her go out to the sidewalk. When she was no longer in sight, he teleported to the top of a shorter building so that he could see her again.

Willow walked down the sidewalk. She was confident now, knowing that there was someone looking out for her. She looked around, and saw up the main drag a Jack in the Box. She quickened her pace, driven by the hunger in her stomach. She could almost feel Kurt watching her. When she got there, she opened the door and stepped inside. She pulled the black sleeves of her turtleneck shirt over her hands as much as possible. She stood in line for a couple minutes before she was able to order.

"Um...okay, can I have two number ones with coke on both of those?" asked Willow. She was nervous, facing a normal human face to face.

"That'll be 8.99, please," said the woman behind the counter. Willow extracted ten dollars and gave it to her. "Cool contacts," remarked the woman. Willow didn't know what she meant for a second.

"Oh, yeah," said Willow. Her eyes did look a little unnatural with their thick yellow ring around the pupil.

"Where'd you get 'em?" asked the woman.

"Er...I got them for my birthday," Willow lied. "I dunno where my mom bought them."

"I've always wanted weird eyes. I wouldn't go for greenish-yellow, though. I'd want purple," she said. "I thought maybe if you could tell me where you got them, I could check it out."

"Keep looking," said Willow casually with a shrug. She waited for a few minutes before her order was stuffed into a bag and given to her. Willow exited Jack in the Box amazed that she got out of there without any trouble. Maybe there was some hope for her to lead a relatively normal life after all. She saw Kurt for a split second before he teleported out of the ally way across the street. She walked over to the back of Jack in the Box where she was quickly snatched up into his arms and taken back to the building top they had rested on earlier. He set her down and squatted there next to her. She sat down and opened the bag.

"Here you go," she said as she handed Kurt a cheeseburger and a little bag of fries. "And this is for you too," she added, giving him his soda. He looked as if he didn't know what it was or even what to do with it.

"I didn't know you ver going to buy me anysing," he said quietly.

"Did you really think I was gonna let you starve?" asked Willow, a little offended. He looked a little sheepish, but said nothing.

"I haven't eaten fast food in...vell, I guess I've never eaten fast food," said Kurt.

"That's horrible. And un-American," said Willow.

"Vell I'm not American," he pointed out. He took a small cautious bite of his burger. The look on his face was quite comical. Willow could tell he liked it a lot.

"In my book, if you live here, you're American," Willow told him through her fries.

"Zis is really good," he said through an enormous mouthful of cheeseburger and a grin. "Sank you, Weide."

"Why do you call me that?" she asked curiously.

"It's German for Villow. I just hate to make such a nice name sound ugly vis my accent," he said after he swallowed.

"Ah. Your welcome...for the food, I mean," she said with a smile. "How do you say 'you're welcome' in German?" she asked.

"Bitte schön," he replied.

"Well, bitte schön, then," Willow said, trying her best to imitate how he said it. He seemed happy, or maybe even flattered that she was attempting to speak his language. "I still need to take some foreign language before I'm 'educated.' Maybe I'll learn German."

"It's not easy," he warned her.

"English is harder, I've heard. I'm sure I'll manage," said Willow.

They contemplated whether or not to keep traveling that night or to call it quits. Day light was failing quickly, but Kurt insisted that he was up for another round of teleporting. Willow secured her bag once more, and Kurt wrapped his arms around her. This time, though, they only traveled for about ten minutes. They turned up in Connecticut, but it was dark, and both of them were tired. They decided to figure out where exactly they were in the morning. They were surrounded by a thick patch of bushes on a grassy hill beside a freeway. Kurt was stumbling with exhaustion.

"Stand back for a minute," Willow said. Kurt stood off to the side and Willow knelt down on her knees. She concentrated and focused her thoughts on the ground beneath them. Her eyes glowed green as she moved her hands over the thin grass. A thick mat of soft moss grew all over the ground. Kurt was totally awake after seeing this occur. He felt the ground in amazement. "Maybe that'll be a little more comfortable to sleep on," said Willow.

"Danke," said Kurt.

"Bitte schön," Willow said with a grin, blinking the glow out of her eyes. Willow set her bag down and used it for a pillow. The late November air stung her skin and the freeway was still noisy with cars, so it was hard to sleep. She lay awake, staring at the patches of stars that shown clear through the cloud cover. Kurt was snoring softly again, and for some reason it made her feel comfortable and peaceful. He was something else.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Alright, I think I better clear something up before everyone gets all confused. The correct pronunciation of the German word Weide is "vy-duh." Just so you know….