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

*-* Chapter Sixteen *-*

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

~ Mother Theresa

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

Willow finished the school day and went directly to Professor Xavier's office to talk to him about becoming a teacher. When she reached the door, she tapped on it timidly with a single knuckle.

"Come in," Xavier called. Willow turned the knob and poked her head inside. She smiled briefly at the Professor. "Hello, Willow. What can I do for you?" Willow stepped inside the office and closed the door gently behind her.

"Hi, Professor. I've been thinking for a while that...maybe I should start teaching. I mean, Jean said that it could be an option rather than me hitting the road again, which I'm not to thrilled about doing-"

"You don't have to go anywhere if you don't want to," Xavier said kindly. "Please, sit down." Willow sat in the chair by his desk. There was quite a long pause in which Willow looked uncomfortably out the window while picking some dirt out from under her fingernail. Xavier examined his student's face for a moment before breaking the silence. "Willow, are you afraid that I'll throw you out?"

"Er...yes. Very much so," said Willow, focusing her attention on the Professor rather than the birds flitting in and out of the bushes outside.

"Don't be. I would never let one of my students out into the world if they had no where to go," said the Professor. Willow sighed and chuckled.

"Well that's good," she said with a grin. "But...even if I do stay, I wouldn't wanna just hang around and not do anything. That's one of the reasons I'd like to start teaching."

"What are the other reasons?" asked Xavier.

"Well, um...Storm just seems...a little bogged down, to say the least. I hate to see her so tired, you know?" Willow explained to him.

"I understand. I would be more than happy to let you teach. But to teach others, you must have the knowledge yourself. What was it you had your eyes on?" he asked her.

"Jean's classes," Willow said automatically.

"I thought you might say that. I know that you can be a very good artist when the occasion calls for it, but how learned are you in music?" asked Xavier.

"Not very. I can barely read music," said Willow reluctantly. She didn't really want him to know that she wasn't listening to Jean as much as she should have been in class.

"Perhaps you should start another subject? Like a gardening course, for example," Xavier said.

"Could I? I know lots of stuff about plants," Willow said eagerly.

"I'm sure we could arrange something," he said. "But before any of this begins, I want you to keep doing well in school."

"I will," said Willow.

"No more tardiness. It's an extremely bad habit," said Xavier in a stern tone. Willow winced.

"Okay," she agreed. Why does he have to be able to read minds? She wondered.

"I also don't want you to rush things. This is a big step, and I only want you to do this when you're ready," said Xavier.

"Alright," said Willow.

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" asked Xavier.

"Whaddya mean?" asked Willow.

"Will you be alright teaching one of Jean's classes? I know that you were close to her...," he said slowly.

"I think I'll be okay," said Willow.

"Alright," said Xavier. "You can start teaching next semester in September if you're ready. Remember, you have to be able to come up with a lesson plan and you have to be able to have authority over the students," he said.

"I'll think of something," she assured him.

"Alright. If you need any help, I'll be here," he said.

"Thanks," Willow said. "I'll get to work on it right away. See you later, Professor."

"Bye, Willow," said Xavier with a tender smile. Willow picked up her backpack, flung it over her shoulder and exited his office, running straight into the solid mass that was Dr. Hank McCoy.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" she cried. Hank chuckled and held up a hand.

"It's fine," he told her. "So how are you as of late?"

"I'm alright. I could be better emotionally and mentally, but physically, I'm just fine," she said.

"Does it bother you still?" asked Hank. "The death of Miss Grey?"

"It really does. She was one of those people who you think is gonna be around forever. You think she's always gonna be there to talk to...then when she's not, it hurts that much worse," Willow said softly. "I didn't think she would die...that she could die. As far as I was concerned, she was invincible. Guess I was wrong," she said sadly with a shrug. Tears were welling up in her eyes again, and she would have liked nothing more than to run away and hide.

"I understand you perfectly," said Hank with a slow nod. Willow sighed sadly but then looked up at him with a forced smile.

"Well, it was nice chatting with you, Dr. McCoy, but I have homework coming out of my ears," she said.

"Alright. I'll talk to you later, then," he said. Willow nodded once to him, and they headed on their separate ways. Her stomach gave a painful growl. It was time for a snack. She headed into the kitchen and stopped dead in her tracks. Scott was sitting on one of the stools at the island counter clutching a soda can. Willow did not know what to say at first.

"Hey, Scott," she said gingerly. He did not look up. "How's it...er..." he glanced up at her, and she could tell it was a glare even with his red sunglasses on. "Right..," she said with a sigh as he looked back down. "Um...you wanna talk about...anything?"

"No," he sighed.

"Sure?" asked Willow timidly. "'Cause I can be a good listener." Willow didn't think he was going to answer. "Alright, well, I was just grabbing a pop tart," she said hastily as she opened the pantry door and plucked out a packet of pop tarts. She made for the door but stopped when she heard Scott speak.

"Why'd you let it go?" asked Scott, his voice cracking and shaky. Willow's heart sank. He was talking about the dam. Not only that, he was blaming it on her.

"I tried to hold it, Scott. I really did," she said softly.

"Did you?" he asked, his voice becoming louder with anger. Willow was getting a little scared.

"Of course!" she said. "I wanted nothing more than to save all of you. But I couldn't. And I'm sorry."

"Sorry won't bring her back," he said, his voice trembling terribly. His lips twitched violently as he tried to suppress the sobs. His words ripped at Willow's heart.

"I know, but...it's all I can do. All I can do for you is to apologize," Willow told him. He could not hold back his tears any longer. He buried his face in his hands to hide the tears.

"I wish she'd come home...," he sobbed. He coughed a few times.

"I know," said Willow softly. Scott stared at her lividly, his whole body trembling.

"You can't know!" he snapped. "You can't know what it's like to lose the one you love because he's still here!"

"You think I don't know about loss?" said Willow angrily. "I know all there is to know about being left behind. I know first hand because my mother was murdered, and I did less to save her than I did to save Jean. Do not tell me I don't know about death." He shook with ashamed sobs.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, sinking down to the tabletop and resting his face on his folded arms. Willow sighed, and looked down at her sandaled feet. She looked up at him again.

"Did she...get some sort of grave stone or...or anything?" asked Willow.

"Not yet," Scott said with a resentful stone. "She deserves one..." As Willow watched him cry, started to have an idea.

"'Course she does. Would you like her to have something like it?" asked Willow. Scott nodded, though he did not lift his head from his arms. "Come outside with me," she told him softly. He looked up at her, his eyebrows showing his confusion. She approached him carefully and took his hand to lead him outside. He got up and they went out the back door to a clear spot in the vast yard that people barely ever used. "Want to help me grow something for her?" she asked.

"I don't know," Scott said helplessly.

"Come on. What was her favorite flower or tree?" asked Willow. Scott stayed silent for a moment.

"She liked plum trees," he said.

"White, red, black, or flowering?" asked Willow. Scott chuckled a little at her, but it quickly turned into a painful cough.

"The ones with the pink flowers," he said.

"That would be flowering," said Willow with a nod. "Anything else?"

"She liked lavender too," said Scott.

"I remember smelling lavender in your room after the field trip," said Willow softly with a smile.

"That was the little scented nightlight in the bathroom," he said in a hoarse voice, a fresh wave of tears leaking out of his sunglasses. "It doesn't smell like that anymore...I don't know how to replace the smelly thing...," he said miserably. "And soon the smell of her shampoo won't be on her pillow either, and that's when I'll know that she's never coming home," he sobbed. Willow bore a sympathetic expression. He seemed to be half the man he used to be without Jean.

"Well, here, I've got an idea for this thing. It's going to be my biggest work yet, and it'll be the prettiest, and best of all, it'll be for Jean, inspired by you," said Willow. "So what I wanna do is grow like, five flowering plums. I've never done that many, but I'm going to try anyway. So, yeah, there'll be four of them in a square, right?" she said, making a box with her fingers, "and one will be out on it's own. Then, under the four trees that are grouped in a box, there'll be lavender, a lot of it. It'll make this kinda pathway thing to the tree that's on it's own. Then at the base of the tree that the lavender leads up to, you can put a gravestone," said Willow. Scott looked a little confused.

"I'm not sure if I follow you," he said slowly.

"Trust me, it'll be beautiful," said Willow. "I've got it all planned out in my head." Willow turned towards the section of lawn she was going to use. She closed her eyes and focussed. When she opened them, they were glowing. She turned to Scott. "If I pass out, can you put me in my bedroom?"

"Sure," Scott said.

"Thanks," said Willow. She dropped to her knees and sat on her calves, facing the vacant field. Finally, when she felt that she had gathered enough energy, she brought her hands slowly above her head. As she did, five trees began to grow out of the ground. They were so far away from each other at first that Scott became skeptical about what the finished product might look like. However, as the tree's trunks thickened, it became clear that they were spaced correctly. Branches grew out of the trunks and smaller branches separated from the larger ones. All five trees grew their dark purple leaves at once. Willow pictured the cherry blossoms in her head before casting her arms out towards the trees. Tiny pink flowers bloomed everywhere. Scott had never really seen Willow grow much of anything up until that point. The sight of trees bursting into bloom in mere seconds made his mouth hang slightly ajar. Willow's breathing sounded as if she had run on a treadmill for a half an hour. Beads of sweat were beginning to form on her forehead, but she did not stop. A few of the flowers dropped their petals and little red plums rapidly took their places. When she was finished with the trees, she put both hands on the ground. When she brought them upwards, lavender came with them. She then made like she was pushing them away from her. Thousands of lavender plants made their way around the bases of the trees, creating the path of grass down the middle that Willow wanted. Then, like dominoes, starting with the plants nearest her and ending with those that were furthest away, each lavender plant blossomed, exposing extremely fragrant purple flowers. Willow's hands dropped from the air before she fell onto the grass in a dead faint. Scott looked down at Willow, then at what she had just created. The late spring breeze made the cherry blossom petals descend into the carpet of swaying lavender below. Just as Willow had promised, the creation really was beautiful. Just like Jean.

The newly added trees had drawn a small crowd of students that had stopped their games to come watch. One of the kids looked alarmed.

"She's not dead, is she Mr. Summers?" she whimpered.

"No," said Scott, kneeling down and taking Willow into his arms. "She's just tired."

"Did she make that for you?" asked another.

"Nope," he said with a shadow of a grin. "She made it for Jean."

"I miss Mrs. Grey," said a little boy sadly.

"Me too," said Scott. "But now we can come out here and remember her." Scott walked away from the children to put Willow to bed. The wind caught the scent of the lavender and blew it towards him. He inhaled with closed eyes and sighed. I'll never forget you, Jean, he thought sadly. He had a great deal of difficulty getting the back door open with Willow in his arms, but somehow he managed it. He made his way towards her room. Luckily the door was left open a crack so he could simply push it open. He laid her down in her bed. And sighed. Thank you Willow, he thought before leaving her alone. He closed the door gently and left her to sleep.

Willow awoke only an hour later, fully refreshed. She looked at the clock on her bedside table and groaned. She had tons of homework to do, and she had lost a good hour. She was so frustrated that she exited her room and crossed the hall to Kurt's room to see what he was up to. She could hear his TV on inside. She tapped on the door and heard him jump off his bed with a thump. He opened the door a crack and peeked out to see who had disturbed him. His face lit up when he saw Willow standing there and he opened the door wider.

"Hi," said Willow with a smile.

"Guten tag," he said brightly. "How vas class?" he asked.

"It was alright," she said.

"Have you got homework?" asked Kurt.

"You sound like my mom," Willow said with a small laugh.

"Vell, do you?" he asked.

"Yes, I have homework," she said with a sigh. "And I'll do it later."

"You must be serious about your studies," Kurt scolded her.

"I am. Just not at the moment," she said. "What's on the tube?" she asked looking around him.

"Robin Hood Men in Tights. It's very funny," Kurt said.

"Can I watch it with you?" asked Willow.

"Not until you get your homework done," Kurt said, shutting the door in her face. Willow's mouth dropped open. A laugh of disbelief escaped her.

"Fine then!" she cried. She was about to walk away when Kurt appeared before her in a cloud of blue, curling smoke. He swept her off her feet and teleported inside his room. He looked down at her and grinned.

"You didn't sink I vas serious, did you?" he asked.

"For a second I did," she said with a giggle. "Now put me down."

"Nope!" he cried, springing onto the bed and jumping on it with her. She screamed.

"Let me go, you big blue elf!" she cried. Kurt laughed at her and stopped jumping. He set her down on his bed and sat down beside her.

"You're far too easy to antagonize," he said.

"Yeah, well you'd better watch it," she said in a tough voice. They watched the movie for a little while, chuckling at the funny parts and enjoying each other's company. It made Willow a little sad for Scott. She shifted her position so that she was laying on her stomach. She leaned her head against Kurt's outter thigh and smiled up at him. He smiled back and they both focused their attention back on the movie. Kurt eventually followed Willow's example and moved so that he too was laying on his stomach. When the credits began to roll, he sighed and rolled over on his side to face her. He played a little with the hair that was perpetually hanging in front of her right eye with a grin. Willow giggled and heart fluttered as she looked into his amber eyes. A moment later, he gently took her hand and ran a dark blue thumb over her earthy green skin. She smiled a little sheepishly and looked away from him for a second. She turned back and saw that he was just watching her fondly. She leaned a little closer to him, and his eyes widened as he studied her face nervously. Vat's she doing? Is she going to kiss me? He wondered frantically. Vat should I do? He found himself leaning a little bit towards her until their noses were nearly touching. Kurt watched as Willow's head turned slowly to the side a little. What am I doing? Wondered Willow. I hope this works... Kurt's heart skipped a beat as she leaned a bit closer. Their lips touched for a brief moment. Willow jerked away, a little ashamed. Kurt gasped a little and released her hand in surprise at her sudden quick movement.

"Sorry," she said, her cheeks blushing deeply and her eyes glowing green. I hope I didn't just ruin everything...

"No, it's okay," he said softly. Kurt honestly didn't mind at all. She looked over at him again nervously. It was a little more hesitant this time, their faces inching towards each other in a jerky fashion. Kurt grinned with his pointed teeth and chuckled nervously at this. Willow bit her lip a little as they moved closer. Their lips touched again, but this time, it was an actual kiss. It held for nearly ten seconds. They broke apart for a split second before green and blue met again. Kurt touched the side of Willow's face with his palm and moved it back until his fingers were in her soft hair. Mein Gott en Himmel! I sink I love zis girl! Kurt thought happily. Willow's eyes glowed brighter beneath her mostly closed eyelids.

They broke apart, each chuckling nervously about what had just occurred. Kurt smiled with all his teeth, something he usually only did around Willow, and hugged her tightly and kissed her again briefly before resuming his overjoyed smiling. Willow giggled at him and grinned too as the glow in her eyes faded.

"I'm so glad I met you," Kurt said quietly.

"Me too. I mean, you know, that I met you too, not that I'm glad that you met me...," she babbled. She blushed and chuckled. "Sorry," she muttered. "I'm such a spaz."

"Not really," Kurt said. "At least I don't sink so." Willow smiled at this, but didn't know what else she should say. An uncomfortable silence followed.

"So what's a well to do Catholic fellow like yourself see in a girl like me anyway?" she asked to break the silence. Kurt looked as if he were thinking hard about the question. Then he smiled.

"Everything," he said with a shrug. Willow giggled a little before leaning in and kissing him again.

Although Willow was fully aware that many obstacles were in the future for them, it was at least a little comforting to know that they would face them together.

Fin.

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

A/N: So whaddya think? Please review on you over all thoughts of the story, I like to know what parts people liked best and what parts might need a little work. See next page for thank you's!