Save me from my Self.

[Willow Joanne Esquire]

“Christine! Christine! Wait! Don’t go! Christine!” Willow’s voice echoing from the walls, as she screamed her sister’s name…. but nothing. Her shouts were unanswered, as the other woman briskly left the room. Not another word, just the sound of her fading footsteps, the rhythmic clicking of her heels upon the floor. Not a stop, not a pause, just a steady beat.

”I talked to Dad… he doesn’t want to come see you. He’s afraid you know… He doesn’t want to lose you too, just like he lost mom. He’s afraid that you won’t get better… afraid that you’ll never come home. He’s doing the best he can though… raising the younger ones… I try to help as much as I can, but everyone’s suffering now. But, he has been hit the worst. Lily too… she hardly speaks any more, and barely comes out of her, your room…”
“You lie! Lily has been with me the whole time! She’s here! She’s fine! And Dad… why? Why is dad scared? I won’t harm him! I won’t! I’m afraid too… why haven’t you or anyone else come see me? Why is it only Lily?”
“I’m sorry Willow… but Lily’s at home. She hasn’t been here, I’m the first to come visit you… We’re all worried, and want you to get better…”
“You lie! Stop lying! She’s here with me! She has always been with me! She’s not like you! She’s not like anyone else in our family! Stop lying!”
“I’m not lying Willow… She’s at home… Willow listen to me….”
“STOP! STOP! JUST STOP! YOU’RE LYING! STOP LYING! JUST STOP IT! STOP!”
“Alright, I’ll stop, but please… calm down….Willow calm down… Think of mom… would she want to see you this way? Calm down… everything will be ok…”

”Why did she leave? Did she have to go? Did she have to go so soon? She barely just got here… I have not seen any of them in so long…. Why did she have to go Lily? Why? Why did she say that you aren’t here? I know you are! I hear you… and I can feel you… Why did she lie to me? Why? Willow’s arms wrapped around herself, her nails digging into her back, as she rocked back and forth, quietly murmuring to herself. She could not believe that Christine just, up and left like that. Just like that. Some sort of a thrown Goodbye, and left. She probably didn’t even churn around. Then why did she come here? Why did she have to come here, only to leave like that?

”Willow? Is that you?”
“Christine! Oh! How much I missed you! How are you? How are you doing? Come sit! Tell me everything!”
“Oh, it’s good to see you too! Everything? I don’t think I can stay that long…but I’ll try! Everything is going good. I am great, recently got engaged even! His name is Johnny! He’s such a wonderful man, perhaps you’ll meet him soon! We’ve been dating for a few months now. I don’t believe you’ve heard of him, since I kinda kept it a secret from Dad, you know how he can get. Other then that… Everything is pretty good. Selma, Kyle and Joe started school again. They are not too thrilled about that… But you know, they are never that big on school….Li…”
“How is Dad? I miss him…”
“Dad? He’s… holding up. You know how he is. He’s always the strong man…”
“Your voice faltered. What’s wrong?”
“To be honest? He’s… not doing too good. He’s better then he was, after Their deaths, but he’s still… he’s only a man. He manages to hold down his job, taking a few anti-depressants now… they seem to be helping. But, don’t worry about him, he’ll be alright. He always is…”
“There is something you’re not telling me? What is it? Why has no one come to see me yet?”

Someone asked her if she were alright, she nodded. But she wasn’t. She was in a daze. She felt dizzy and sick. Another question, another nodd. Yes, she was going to go back to her room. No, she did not need help, she was fine. Yes, she was sure. Then the questions ended. Or perhaps, she simply did not hear them. They did not matter any more. She was going away. Away from that room, away from that conversation. Away from Christine’s voice. That tone… that voice and that tone. She knew it. She knew it. Why did she come? Why!

Slowly she shut the door. Slowly, she locked it. The daze around her continued. The darkness around her seemed to be trying to smother, and take away her breathing. She’d let it. Right now, for now, she’d let it. Another few steps…. Her fingers came up to her arm, as she dug them in, before pulling down. Repeating the gesture over and over, harder each time, until she felt it burn. Sharp… were there anything like that? No… not much… perhaps a few items… The CD player… she had a CD…. With a scream, she tossed it on the floor. As she collapsed onto the floor, her fingers wildly moved over it, searching, searching for that disk. She was always good. They allowed her one. Perhaps they shouldn’t have. She found the disk. Two seconds, and she snapped it, Felt the sharp edge, with a scream, she dug it into her arm and pulled it through. Another scream, and her other arm.

Someone was trying to get into the door.

Another scream, as she dug it further into her upper arm, pulling it through as well. She didn’t feel the pain. Only frustration and anger. The misunderstanding. The want to understand, and the inability to do so. Next was her neck.

Someone’s hand sharply pulled her arm away, twisting it behind her back, she only managed to knick her neck. But her arms were slippery now. She easily got it back, going for her stomach this time. There… better.. more then a scratch… but perhaps still not enough, but she was wrestled down now…. She didn’t care any more….then it all went to black.

Random sounds… bleeping sounds… shouts… voices… something dripping… sound of many feet… then nothing…

Silence… no… some bleeping noise again… steady? Heart monitor. She didn’t make it. They stopped her. Perhaps sitting up was not her best idea, as a pounding headache now formed in her head, and the stinging pain in her stomach. She didn’t care who was around her. Most likely there were people. The wouldn’t let this one go so easy. They never would. But it didn’t matter. She’ll simply try again later. Once all is calm. There was no point. No damn point in being here. They were gone. They were gone. No one was rechurning. No one was going to come back for here. They were all afraid. They were all afraid damn it. And she was all alone.

[justice]

Justice sat on one of the hospital cots, staring blankly ahead at the blindingly white wall and clutching his head with one hand. The shaking and the crying had stopped, but he still had a killer headache, and he felt like he had just been beaten up. Well, it was kind of odd to say that without explaining the reason, but Justice didn't feel like telling any of the nurses what had happened to cause his panic attack. He had been in the library, reading a science book and it had just... happened. Maybe it was thinking too much about the math books piled up on either side of his chair, and with the books came all those numbers... the ones that couldn't be turned prime, and then it had just happened. He was on the floor and he couldn't see and his brain hurt like hell, like spiders were crawling across it. Well, Justice knew that the brain didn't have any nerve endings, so in a factual sense, spiders crawling on it wouldn't hurt. A nurse came up to him an offered him some type of pain medicine, but he just shook his head slightly and went back to staring at the wall. It hurt to move or talk, so he wouldn't do either of them.

It surprised him how strong the nurses were these days. When he had first come to Lucid Manor, they had just seemed like wimpy little fashion models in high heels and scrubs, but now he knew differently. He, in fact, had been lucky that one had been in the library, otherwise he might have lay there for hours with his brain exploding in little zaps of color, unable to find the will to move. But by some miracle, the nurse had managed to pick up the one hundred forty-four pound patient and carry him to the hospital wing, which he was still embarrassed about. He hadn't been picked up since he was a very young child, and it felt odd to know that he had been moved by some woman that was probably lighter than him. He couldn't remember it very well, seeing as he had been sort of huddled up in his own head, but he knew he had been set down on a bed, and to be set down you had to be above the bed first, which kind of pointed to the fact that someone had been carrying him. For all he knew, it could have been one of the man-nurses that was now wandering around the wing, but for some reason Justice just assumed that it was female.

He sighed and closed his eyes, wanting to lay down but knowing that if he did one of the nurses would inject him with drugs to put him to sleep, and he hated being vulnerable like that. So he would just wait out the pain and stare blankly at the wall until it went away. Justice took a deep breath through his nose, ignoring the screaming from somewhere down the hallway. The other patients were always getting into fights of some sort of another, so it didn't bother him that much. At least, the fact that someone was fighting didn't bother him, but the noise did. He sighed again and focused on zoning out, retreating into his mind and ignoring his senses. It worked, and by the time that he returned to the world, the nurses were getting pretty active. He turned to look at the door (having been occupying a bed in the corner, and therefore staring at the wall that would show him absolutely nothing that was going on in the hospital wing), his expressionless and dead eyes staring blankly at the young girl being carried in. Both her arms had deep slashes and her neck was nicked, so he assumed that she was the source of the screaming he had heard earlier.

The medium profile sighed again and called a stray nurse over, asking in a quiet voice if he could leave yet. She hesitantly nodded, and Justice guessed that she hadn't been working here too long, as the experienced nurses normally never let patients out until they had done all the little tests to make sure that they were alright. He had almost reached the door when he stopped, latching his hand around the door frame for a little extra support and turning around to look quizzically at the girl now attached to multiple wires and an oxygen mask. He had seen her a few times in the hallway, walking with one of Ryker's other patients that he hadn't hit off with too well. A bit of his brain was wondering what her story was, but the majority of the part that wasn't still attempting to calm down just wanted to manipulate her, to learn more about Sid. A little smirk played across his lips, and he walked over to sit on the cot next to her, informing the nurse that he just needed his head to calm down more before he would leave. It was true, too, so there was no need for his doctor to get upset about lying. His head still hurt like hell, but Justice was getting better at ignoring it. He blinked, resting his chin on his palm and watching her face, waiting for her to wake up.

[Willow Joanne Esquire]

It was wrong. It was simply so wrong. It was just so messed up...but she did not care. It made no difference. The world was spinning. Even the shadows, the usual shadows she saw, seemed to be spinning. She felt sick. She felt in pain. She felt everything... and with each movement she had made the pain seemed to intencify. Grow, grow and take shape. Become as a living object. Growing smothering her, preventing her from breathing, pounding upon her every limb. She slowly, opened her eyes. She did not feel any difference. Though it was rather hard to ignore... and the noice. That bleeping noice. The noice that refused to stop. It was driving her insane. Bleep...bleep... bleep....

Shut... up.... stop that noice.... Willow growled. Her voice kept breaking, still horse from her earlier screaming. Sounding like anything but herself... not to mention though it was no doubt barely audible... to her is seemed like thunder. She cringed, as she rolled over on her side. Something stopping her, or rather makign it quite difficult. She hated that. She hated that alot. With out a second thought, she began pulling the cords off. The cords, the tubes, the odd stuff on her finger. Some sharp, pearcing sound exploded through her, as she screamed, freezing on her spot. Her head seeming to shatter into a milliion little peices.

Then hands came out of no where, stopping her from pulling out the tubes. They made the pearcing noice stop...but the bleeping continued as she felt something on her finger... then something came back around her face. I can breathe! Take it away! They did... putting something in her nose instead. The wires seemed to go back too. And even the sharp prick of the needle was back into her too. And then... then she felt calm... The pain seemed to be lifted too... She shook her head. She was not going to sleep. Then again... it did not seem as if they made her go sleepy. Morphine... or something. Hyped up on painkillers. She layed back with a growl.

"He's afraid you know? He doesn't want to see you, doesn't want to loose you. he cringes every time that he looks at Lily. Shivers evertime he passed by your photograph. He even covered it. He couldn't force himself to remove it.... he misses you..."
"Why....? Why... is he afraid? I... I won't harm him..."
"He's afraid that you'll die. Just like mom... he lost her, you remember how he was... And then... Chris and Amy... and then you... I'm sorry to be teling you... But I think you deserve the truth....

He's not coming... none of them are... none of them are comming... why? What are they so afraid of? Willow whispered, her gaze directed streight up. She saw Christine. She could see the woman's expression. She could see it. She remembred it. Then her father... she saw her father. His face, flickered before her a photoalbum. When she was a child. When tehir mother died. Once he began recovering...and then.... then she rembered the feeling of his face. Worn out... in pain. She hated that. She didn't wanna see him like that. Thankfully she couldn't. But she remembered. She remembered.

"He's afraid you know... He doesn't want to loose you too...

"Damn it! Why? Why? Why is he afraid? They hate me... Why did you come here? WHy did you come here Christine! Why did you tell me those things? Tears began slipping down from the corners of her eyes. She did not understand. She couldn't understand. She refused to understand. It made no sence. Why did it... why was it that way? They had to... they... perhaps... it would be better if her sister never came. If Christine never got here.

"Shh.... Shhh Lily.... Don't speak....I don't want to hear it... Don't talk Lily... please... don't talk... not a word...I... I don't want to hear it. Don't talk at all. Just... just don't talk. Willow mumbled shaking her head. Sharp pain echoed in her head. It didn't matter. She didn't feel teh pain. Just heard the words. The same words echoing in her mind. Over and over again.

[justice]

It was all clear now, so obvious, and now Justice felt a little sorry. Sid was always in such a bad mood because he was always hanging around someone like this. Willow was obviously insane, and angry, too. Growling at the doctors to take things away when she obviously needed them, and she obviously belonged here. A worried expression crossed his face for a few moments, and he wondered if she'd be all right. It was odd of him to care for a stranger, but someone as insane as this.... He hesitantly reached out a hand, putting his fingers lightly on her shoulder. ”Hey, are you alright?” he asked softly, not expecting her to respond. Someone this messed up was sad, hideously sad, and he couldn't help but feel sorry for her. ”It's going to be alright, okay? I'm not a doctor, but I know that it's going to be alright. He tried to speak comfortingly, but he wasn't exactly good at it. He had never tried to comfort someone before, so this was a first. His eyes flickered to hers, trying to make eye contact, then noticed the scars. Scars running across her eyes, obviously blinding her. He sighed, now feeling even more sorry for her. But really, why would Sid hang around someone like this? He was a complete ass, and Justice couldn't see him taking the time and effort to care for someone so obviously messed up. Of course, Justice couldn't see himself doing that either, but here he was, trying to calm her down. Maybe everyone had a good side to them.

He removed his hand from her shoulder, wondering if he was making her uncomfortable. It must be pretty scary to be in a situation like this and not be able to see. He wondered if she always had someone leading her around, or if she just had to memorize the layout of the manor. Both would be extremely annoying, and Justice knew that he could never deal with being blind. He would kill himself shortly after, if he had the chance. Maybe that was why the girl had such deep slashes down her arms. Had she tried to kill herself? It was possible, even likely. He would have asked the nurses, but he didn't trust them to tell him the truth. They were busy with other patients now, anyway. Justice sighed and put a hand to his forehead, watching Willow thrash about and talk to someone named Lily. He wondered if she was hallucinating or something, seeing as he was the only one by her bed right now. He took a deep breath, trying to calm down. Her yelling had just made his brain start hurting again, and now he just wanted to leave. But he also felt an odd need to stay, like he had to be here to comfort her or something. He didn't understand why, though. It should be Sid that was here, trying to soothe his friend (girlfriend?), instead of Justice, who didn't think he was doing that good of a job.

[Willow Joanne Esquire]

She didn't want to be here. Then again, she didn't really want to be anywhere. Away. Perhaps that would be a better word... away... somewhere far away. Away from these troubles. Away from these memories. Away from everything. Sadly... there was no way to do that. Her thoughts of suicide, the ones that initialy sparked in her mind passed by now, churning insted into indiference. Indiference to what happens, and the never ending question. Something, that she was incapable of understanding. Something that made absolutely no sence, and yet, kept bothering her. Something that just wouldn't let go.

"...Afraid...of you....

Her sister's voice echoing in her head. The lines becoming blurry and mingling together. They didn't matter. The words within them did. The meanings. The tones. The messages that were coming across... but not the sentences. The idea. And the idea is what hurt the most. The realizations, that everyone sooner or later comes to. THe hopeless feeling that one gets when they realize that nothing will change, as everything that could have changed had done so long ago. Now... now it was on a steady hill going down, and down....

"...Don't want to loose you.... just like mom... you remember?

Then there was another voice, and a touch. The touch made her flinch and shy away from it. But the voice... the voice was saying something.... perhaps asking? She listened carefully. Her eyebrows drawing together a bit, as she listened to it through the headache. She didn't recognize the voice. Then again, it was doubtfull she'd recognize any voices right now... all of them seemed distorted... and so loud... Slowly she settled, drawing a deep breath in, as she churned her head to the side, where the voice came from. Lily tried to speak up again, but Willow only ignored her.

"I am... I... I don't know.... Her usually bright voice seemed nothing similar to this one. Quiet, scratchy, occasionally breaking. Nothing seemed similar to her usual self. Save the dull copper hair, and the scars over her eyes. I want everything to be ok... but I don't know if it can be... Her voice faded to silence as she churned her head back, almost staring at the cilling. She grew quiet, and still. The only movement, coming from occasional blinks and her fingers curling around a fistfull of sheets.

Who are you? I.... can't recognize your voice.... Willow whispered as she churned in his diraction again. She tried to remember... she honestly did... but nothing was showing through, save the images of her sister and father. But at least for now, she could be thankfull that her nightmares did not haunt her.

[justice]

Justice was in his usual pose by now; knees pulled up to his chest and chin resting between them, sitting on the cot and no part of him touching the floor. He blew a bit of hair our of his face, watching Willow calmly. It was odd, but he was normally his sanest right after a panic attack, and that was showing now. His eyes were pretty much emotionless, and his thumb rested over his slightly open mouth as Willow started speaking slowly, probably either having trouble forming words or just confused as to where she was. Or maybe something else, but Justice didn't know what. Sometimes he understood people perfectly, and sometimes he didn't get them at all. There wasn't much of a middle ground, and if there was, Justice had never stepped onto it. "It's okay, no one's going to hurt you or anything," he said absently, already getting tired of trying to help someone. Okay, so no volunteering at pet shelters for Justice, he had learned that much.

What he said was sort of a lie, too. The nurses were trying to help her get better, but as soon as she could stand up again the doctors would just go back to probing her mind for information on why she tried to commit suicide, trying to understand to hopefully prevent it in the future. But, no, they weren't going to try to prevent her from committing suicide. They were just going to prevent the kids outside of Lucid Manor from doing so, because Justice knew that the doctors knew most of the people here were hopeless. He saw it in the way they looked at the patients. Some doctors, like Ryker... maybe they actually had some hope for the patients here, but Justice didn't, and neither did the majority of the doctors. Justice had only been here for a few months, but in that time he had already noticed how the people here acted. The patients were hopeless. Maybe some of the low profiles would get out one day, but none of the others would. The schizos and the cannibals and the pyros like Justice, they wouldn't get out, because as soon as they stopped doing what they were in here for, the doctors would have to make sure they would never do it again. He had already explained it to some people here, that the patients were stuck. Forever and ever. Justice really was a pessimist.

"My name's Justice, one of the patients," he said, tilting his head a bit. "And who're you?"

[Willow Joanne Esquire]

She could not calm down. She could not settle her heart. She was terrified. She was confused. She was sick. She was hurt. Thoguhts flying through her head, racing, moving, jumbling together. She could not grasp a single thought. They surrounded her, swirling with in her head. Flashing through the pain, in a whirlwind of memories, words, images.... and so many other things. So many things passing through her mind, as her heart seemed to pound in her ears, blocking out Justice's words. The words of comfort.... barely auduble and barely registering words of comfort. But she simply could not make it settle.

It was wrong. So simply wrong. So simply wrong. Messed up to... messed up beyond any possible recognition. A dissonance of understanding. The words that bore no recognizable value. No. THey made sence. They made perfect sence. The message was clear. But, still, it was not getting through. Why would they be terrified? Why would they be afraid? What has she done wrong? She has done nothing... nothing wrong... so, why were they behaiving like that? She was right there with them... they all suffered through the lossses... so why was she singled out?

"Remember when we were children? Remember how we'd all play in the yard? Mom woud always take photos of us, especially by that tree... Did you know, that you and Lily got your names because of that tree? Well... teh tree, and teh lilies that grew underneath it, in the pond.....they are afraid of you now...

Willow shook her head violently, trying to make her thoughts scattter, so she could get one clear thought. Then there was silence. She was almost afraid that this stranger left. Panic was rising with in her, she moved slightly...but no... he did not leave.. .she felt weight next to her. Slowly she raised her shaking hand, touching the stranger. She did not know him. But it did not matter. He wasn't afraid. That is what caught her attention. A fleeing thought that she could hold on to.

Willow.... I'm Willow.... I'm... one of hte patients too...." She grew silent, as she churned her head to the side, her hand resting on Justice's leg, probably.. perhaps arm... she could not tell. It didnt' matter. She felt more comfortable with the touch. Just another being... that wasn't running away, that wasn't leaving.. perhaps in another minute, but at this moment, he wa there. Where are we?

[justice]

Justice sighed, putting a hand to his forehead to stop the throbbing. Between being slammed into the sharp edge of the bathroom counter and having a panic attack, his head wasn’t feeling too peachy at the moment, and he really wasn’t up for dealing with this insane person. Wasn’t that the nurses’ job, to calm her down and get her on drugs and everything? It certainly wasn’t Justice’s, he was damn sure about that. He was about to get up and leave when he felt her hand rest on his knee, and he froze, fully expecting to be punched in the face. It was just something you got used to after years of bullying and a few months in a mental hospital. When Willow didn’t hit him, he relaxed a bit, watching her mumble to herself. It was just plain pathetic, and he wasn’t being rude by saying it. It was pathetic in a sad way, and it made him feel sorry for her. It was as if she was lost in her thoughts, yet at the same time she didn’t want to be there. He got a few odd looks from the nurses for sitting on the same cot as her, but it wasn’t like he was interested in her that way. Not even close, he wasn’t interested in her in any way. He just felt a whole lot of pity for the girl who had probably tried to kill herself. Did that count as interest? Justice didn’t think it did.

There was no where to look in this damn place. He wasn’t comfortable looking at her and her scars, yet the bright white walls that dominated the rest of his sight blinded him and made him squint. He settled for looking at the ceiling, which was just a few shades darker than the walls, and therefore much easier to look at. Though he still needed to squint slightly, so they couldn’t be that easy to look at. He sighed again, barely hearing Willow’s answer and question. ”Uhm… we’re in the hospital wing,” he said absently, deep in thought. Unlike Willow, Justice liked his thoughts. They were his refuge, his safe spot in the middle of all this chaos and insanity. His thoughts were deemed much more important than the thoughts of other people, which, of course, he couldn’t care less about. He wondered vaguely why he was here, anyway. Well, he was here for being a pyromaniac. And his panic attacks, he could put part of the blame on them, too. But why he was here. No, not here as in here, as in the Earth, because Justice didn’t like to think about deep things like that. No, Justice wondered why he was in Lucid Manor, instead of the hundreds of other insane asylums out there. This place wasn’t close to home, wasn’t even close to the college he had been attending. It was just there, and he didn’t know why he was in it. The people at the college had said he would be “safe” here… but he had been beaten up multiple times, and was pretty much downright miserable. He couldn’t categorize that as safe, no matter how hard he tried. He looked back down at Willow, flinching when he saw the scars over her eyes again. They were just plain creepy. He wasn’t exactly sure what to say. He couldn’t ask her why she was here, either as in Lucid Manor or as in the hospital wing, because that would probably be considered rude, and his doctor didn’t like him being rude. So he just sat there in silence for a while until he came up with something to say. ”Er… do you know Sid?” he asked out of the blue. Okay, completely random, but at the same time it was like returning to the matter at hand. After all, the only reason he had sat by her in the first place was because he had seen her with Sid a few times.

[Willow Joanne Esquire]

She wants to get to you. You know that. She... she has a hard life. You know that. She's just worried... Christine, was never good at expressing her thoughts and worries. Remember that one time, when Abigale was moving away? How rude and condecending Christine was? And when mom died? She.... was just as bad... it's... just the way she shows her care.

Willow sided, her hand slightly tightening on Justice. Nothing even remotely painfull, just ever so lightly, almost as if making sure that he was still real.

Lily... Lily... That's not care... that is not how you show care for someone... Willow's voice was quiet, as she churned her head in the diraction her twin's voice came from, before she churned it back toward Justice. IT was comforting having someone there. Lily seemed to come and go... as if lost in her own thought, unsure of how to react or what to do. This person was here. She felt him. The deeping of teh bed where he sat, and the fabric of his clothing under her hand. It was strange...

Hospital Wing... Why am I in the....never mind.... I... I remember. I remember. Christine left, didn't she? I don't blame her... Willow paused, taking a deep breath, at she directed her gaze to teh ciling, before closing her eyes and placing her other hand over her eyes. The cold of her hand felt nice on her skin. Is it.... How does a person react when.... their famly members.... tell them that they are unwanted? Messed up? That they are the one that caused the pain in the family? How would you react?Willow's voice was quiet.... as she asked this.

Then there was silence. There was a moment of silence between her and the stranger. With only Lily's voice breaking the silence.

You do not need to be afraid.... They won't abandon you. You know that I will never leave you.Lily sat down on the other side of the bed, placing her hand on Willow's shoulder. You know that it'll pass. Once htey calm down..and once the pain of the tragedy settles down, they'l lcome back. You know that... We both do. Everything will be fine then.

Yes... I... I know Sid... he's one of my Knights... why? Willow asked, her hand moving away from her eyes as she opened them again, tilting her head to the side. The question got her curious. She didn't even think of Sid. It would be nice if he was here... then again... she would not want him to see her like this. Alec too.... They would probably tear this place apart. Christine too... Small smile touched Willow's lips.