Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow

Previously:

"So things are back to normal then?" Spike asked, relief spreading through every muscle and tissue in his body when he saw the sparkle returning to her eyes.

"Yeah, everything's back to normal now."

Chapter Forty-Two:

Kara walked down the street with the sun shining on her face. She had spent nearly two weeks after Callum's death holed up in her room raging against everything in the world. But finally, she had found peace. "We're almost there," she called over to Spike, who was ducking between trees with a burlap bag over his head to keep from bursting into flames.

She was still upset over his death, still missed him with every fiber of her being, but she knew with time the pain would lessen. Eventually, Callum would become a happy memory she could look back to and smile about. "So you seem pretty happy," Kennedy commented, walking next to her.

"Yeah, I just needed some time, you know. Time spent, I'm ready to get on with life now," Kara said, looking over at her friend and smiling. She and Kennedy had built a bond over the passed few weeks that was stronger than any she had with the others.

"Bloody hell! Are we takin' the long way around or something?" Spike growled angrily from his place hiding underneath the branches of a tree. Kara and Kennedy burst out laughing.

"We were wondering how long it would take you to notice. This is like the second time we've walked around this block," Kennedy said. Spike straightened up and stared into her direction, the bag on his head slightly impeding his vision.

"I'm gonna kick your ass from here to the bloody Great Wall of China," he yelled and darted out from under the tree, chasing after them. Squealing in mock fright, the two girls took off running down the street. Kara slowed herself to match Kennedy's pace, which was far faster than Spike's, who was weaving slightly in his impaired state.

When they finally reached the Summers' residence, they burst in through the kitchen door, Spike hot on their heels and smoking slightly. "What did you guys do to him?" Dawn asked, walking over to her pouting boyfriend and giving him a quick kiss.

"Us?" Kara asked innocently. "We didn't do anything."

"So what's for breakfast?" Kennedy said, changing the topic. Joyce rolled her eyes.

"Waffles and bacon. Take a number," she joked dryly.

Kara smiled, glancing around the room at the faces of the people she loved. Her eyes settled on Dawn. "Hey, did you want to train with us later?" She asked. Dawn's face lit up in a brilliant smile and she squeaked. Spike winced slightly.

"Since when have you spoke canine, pet?" He asked, not quite sure how the human voice could reach the octave his girlfriend's had.

Dawn glared over at him. "I'd love to," she said, regaining her normal tone.

...........................

Faith rolled over, groaning in protest as Buffy grabbed her arm and tried to drag her out of bed. "You're the one that has class, not me," Faith argued. "I should be able to sleep in."

"I don't think so," Buffy said, smiling sweetly as Faith shot her a death glare and sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Sitting back down on the bed, Buffy leaned in and kissed her, running a hand through her long, dark hair. "You should take some classes," Buffy said when their kiss broke.

"Didn't graduate from high school, remember?" Faith responded, throwing the covers off her legs and wandering over to the dresser.

"Still, you could get your GED or something," Buffy suggested, shrugging. Something in the blonde slayer's voice made Faith pause. She almost sounded nervous.

"What's up?" Faith said, turning around and leaning against the dresser.

"What do you mean?"

"We've never talked about this before. It's not like we've got a whole lot of career choices, remember? Besides, the new Council is paying us," Faith reasoned, quite happy that Jack had reinstated their salaries.

"I know. I've just been thinking about the future a lot lately," Buffy said, walking over to Faith. Faith eyed her suspiciously; something was going on.

"And?" Faith prodded, desperate to know what was lurking around in her girlfriend's mind.

"Okay, I've been trying to find a good time to do this, but nothing ever seems right. So I'm just gonna do it," Buffy rambled as she reached into her back pocket and pulled something out. Faith couldn't quite see what the object was. "So here it goes," Buffy said, taking a deep breath and dropping onto her knee in front of Faith. "I love you so much, more than I've ever loved anybody in my whole life. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you because you make me so happy. Faith, will you marry me?"

Faith's eyes nearly bugged out of her head when she realized what Buffy was doing and she couldn't quite control the volume of her voice when she said, "Holy shit!"

.................................

"What was that?" Kara asked, looking up from her breakfast plate. They were gathered around the dining room table, enjoying a rather quiet and peaceful breakfast when Faith's voice rang out through the house in a sudden obscenity. "Does that happen often?"

"Didn't sound good," Spike said. "Maybe we should check on them."

"Good idea," Dawn said as she, Spike, and Kara leapt to their feet and dashed up the stairs.

They paused outside of Buffy's closed door. "Should we knock?" Kara asked, turning back to her friends.

"It would be the polite thing to do," Dawn reasoned.

"Yeah, but since when are we polite people?" Spike argued. Kara and Dawn thought for a moment.

"Good point," Kara said as she, Spike, and Dawn reached for the doorknob at the same time. Pushing the door open, they all stumbled inside the room, pausing in shock when they saw Buffy kneeling in front of Faith with a ring in her hand.

The three quickly looked at each other before stating, in unison, "Holy shit."

..........................

Caleb paced back and forth in front of the First. It had taken on the form of the slayer, Buffy, mostly, for what he believed, to mock him for his recent loss at the blonde girl's hands. They had taken the Scythe before Caleb had been given ample opportunity to study it. However, his harbingers had succeeded in killing one of the slayer's friends. That blow, he was sure, they would not recover from quickly.

"Stop pacing, already," the First said angrily. "Yeah, you messed up. Not the first time it'll happen, not the last. It doesn't matter anyway."

"Why not? She made a fool of me," Caleb said, turning back to glare at the First. It always made him a bit uneasy.

"Our army is amassing. Soon enough, there won't be anything left of this world."