Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow

Previously:

Surprised, Kara looked over at her in alarm, and then at the figure standing before them. "Hey B," Faith tried to say nonchalantly, though her voice cracked slightly. Buffy stood a few feet in front of them, her hands on her hips, and an expression vaulting between rage, fear, sadness, hope, and delight on her face. Kara stopped dead and panicked. Callum was going to kill her.

"This is so not good."

Chapter Five:

It had never occurred to Kara that Buffy might not even be aware that Faith was awake. A minor technicality to be sure, but it explained the intensely fierce emotions battling out in Buffy's eyes. Watching Buffy switching between anger and hope, Kara sincerely wished the latter won out, for it would make her task just a bit easier.

"You're awake," Buffy managed to croak out. She hadn't been able to sleep, the arrival of her sister severely grating on her nerves. After several hours of tossing and turning, she decided a little after hours slaying would be in order. She had never expected to run across her worst enemy, yet the only friend who could ever truly understand what it was like to be a slayer. Faith stood only a few feet in front of her, clinging onto the arm of the stranger standing next to her. Buffy eyed the girl suspiciously. She had long dark hair that was lightened with natural blonde highlights. Her green eyes pierced the night and held an unnatural calm that Buffy instantly found unnerving. Yet, there was something inexplicably familiar about her. Buffy couldn't determine how old she was, though she looked to be in her early twenties. She was beautiful and Buffy couldn't stop the wave of jealousy from passing through her as she saw how close Faith seemed to be with the girl.

"Yeah, funny that," Faith chuckled, her nerves burning underneath her skin. "I get how this must be a shock, yeah? And I'm sure this probably sounds really stupid coming from me...but I'm not gonna hurt you, okay? I don't want to hurt anybody anymore," Faith said, her grip lessening on Kara's arm. Kara breathed a sigh of relief, the blood starting to flow through her arm again.

Buffy immediately tensed up, boring holes into Faith. "I'm just supposed to trust that you don't want to hurt me?" Buffy laughed mirthlessly. "That's gonna happen, Faith."

Faith sighed and closed her eyes, trying to find her center. She had imagined Buffy would be reluctant to believe her. Though she had never been very astute with words, she desperately hoped the right ones would come to her now. "B...Buffy," she started slowly, the wheels in her mind visibly turning. "I messed up, big time. You guys reached out to me, tried to make me welcome, tried to be my friends, and I turned my back on all of you. I'm not gonna try to give you any bullshit reasons about why I did it; I don't think any of them would make any sense anyway," Faith paused. She could see her words sinking in. Buffy relaxed slightly, seeing the sincere expression in Faith's eyes – the guilt was almost tangible on her.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is...I'm sorry. I don't know if that means anything to you or not, or if you even believe me. Whether you do or not, I am sorry and I wanna do everything in my power to make it right with you guys," she finished. Her mouth was as dry as a desert and her tongue felt heavy in her mouth. She had never been so nervous in her life. But she had spoken truly and straight from her heart, and Buffy could tell.

Beside her, Kara glanced over at Faith with small smile on her lips and pride shining in her eyes. She knew how hard it had been for Faith to apologize, but she had done it. Whether Buffy accepted her apology or not, Faith could be proud that she had spoken the words and meant every sentiment behind them. Turning her attention back to the blonde slayer, her other mother, Kara watched as her muscles relaxed and the anger disappeared from her face. She still looked wary, which Kara had anticipated, as had Faith, but she looked happy. Kara imagined Buffy would be able to accept the situation better now that she had managed to prevent Faith from switching bodies with her and sleeping with Riley. That event had been a divisive mark in their relationship that never really healed.

"I believe you," Buffy said at last. "But you hurt a lot of people here, myself included. It's gonna take a lot more than an apology to win back everyone's trust," Buffy warned. Moving forward, she stopped just in front of Faith. Faith watched her, an expression akin to astonishment gracing her features.

"Seriously? You believe me?" She asked, not believing the words spilling out of Buffy's mouth. Buffy smiled warmly and leaned in, hugging Faith close to her.

"Yeah, I believe you," she whispered in the dark slayer's ear, her breath tickling Faith's neck. Faith suppressed the shudder that went through her from Buffy's close proximity and gingerly wrapped her arms around the other slayer. Kara watched the interaction with a knowing smile. Things were progressing better than she thought they would. She knew if Faith sincerely approached Buffy, Buffy would understand and welcome her back. However, catching Buffy by surprise hadn't been a part of that plan.

Now, watching her two mothers reunite, Kara couldn't help but feel a little sad that she hadn't been able to spend more time with them back in her timeline. "So who's this?" Buffy asked, motioning to Kara, as she broke the embrace.

Faith smiled. "Kara, B. B, Kara," she said by way of introduction. Buffy smiled and shook Kara's outstretched hand.

"Most people use the rest of my name as well," Buffy said, shooting Faith a playful glare. Faith simply shrugged.

"Oh, and K's from the future," Faith added, as if that explained everything. Kara rolled her eyes and Buffy looked completely confused.

"Yeah, it's a long story. We were just heading home, walk with us and I'll tell you everything I can. Besides, you should meet Callum," Kara said. Buffy nodded in agreement and, together, the three girls wandered down the street, each feeling lighter than they had in a long time.

Across the street, a group of four men watched the girls disappear around a corner. They were wearing black from head to toe and carried guns hidden in holsters underneath their Kevlar jackets. Pulling a cigar from his mouth, their captain spoke, his voice gruff with an overbearing English accent. "That's the one. The Council doesn't want us touching the slayer. Just the rogue," he said.

"What about the other girl?" One of his men asked.

"Best to take all precautions," he said. "We'll just kill her too."