Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow

Note: Sweet Jesus, Civil Litigation is the most boring topic ever contrived. And now, after cramming seven chapters of it into my head, I think my mind has experienced a meltdown of nuclear proportions. I'm in a really strange mood right now, so sorry if this is a little weird. On with the writing!

Previously:

Faith and Buffy quickly broke away, both of their faces flushed and red from embarrassment and desire. "What's up?" Buffy asked, once she had regained a shred of her dignity.

"Kennedy's out of surgery," Dawn said, her face turning sober. "She's in a coma."

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

Buffy and Faith stood, preparing to walk away, but Kara reached up and grabbed Faith's elbow. "Do me a favor," Kara said, her voice low and rough. "Bring me back his head."

Chapter Fifty-One:

"We're so goin' to hell," Faith muttered to herself.

"How do you figure that?" Buffy asked, looking up from her work.

"Look at what we're doing," Faith pointed out, grimacing slightly.

"What? This?" Buffy asked, holding up her bloodied axe.

"Yeah, I mean, he's a preacher and all that," Faith replied.

"An evil one," Buffy pointed out, swinging the axe.

"And it's bad enough that we killed him," Faith exclaimed.

"Though he would have killed every single person in this town given the chance," Buffy argued back.

"Don't you think we've done enough?" Faith asked in exasperation, throwing her hands up in defeat.

"You're the one who said we should do more for Kara. And she asked us to do this," Buffy replied, hoisting the axe up and delivering one final blow to Caleb's neck. His head disconnected and rolled a couple of feet away.

"Yeah, but this is a little weird, even for me," Faith replied, feeling slightly nauseous at the sight of Caleb's decapitated form.

"She needs the closure," Buffy said, wiping the axe off on a cloth. "Besides, it'll send a clear message to the First that we're not gonna sit back and watch it pick us off one by one anymore."

"That's true," Faith responded, finally agreeing with something Buffy had said. Buffy smiled brilliantly, before pulling a duffel bag out of her supplies. Gingerly picked up the severed head, she dropped it into the bag and zipped it shut.

"Look, the guy was evil. We're doing our jobs. So what if we happen to lop his head off in the process. Tough luck for him. I don't think anyone's gonna mourn the loss," Buffy said vehemently. She knew Faith had issues with the thought of killing human beings ever since her experience with the 'darkside.' Though Caleb was technically human, he was a harbinger of the greatest evil known to man, who actively went around killing young girls for no other reason than their potential birthright. Buffy didn't particularly see the problem with any of it.

"I know. I still object though," Faith grumbled. "You ready or you wanna hack any of these other guys to bits while we're here?" Faith asked, motioning to the dead bringers lying about the room. It had been quite a fight. Buffy and Faith caught Caleb and his men off guard. Faith supposed Caleb had planned on the Scoobies being too preoccupied with Kennedy's condition to worry about a counterattack. However, Faith and Buffy had come fully armed and had dispatched all of their enemies within a matter of minutes, even the mighty Caleb, who fell under the assault of two slayers.

"Nah, I think I'm good," Buffy said, pretending to consider it for a moment. Faith flashed her a lopsided grin and looped her arm around Buffy's. "You want to grab some food?" Buffy asked innocently.

Faith stared over at her incredulously. "B, we're carrying out a guy's severed head in a duffel bag. I don't really think now's a good time for the munchies," She replied, rolling her eyes as Buffy started laughing. "You're turning into one sadistic chick," Faith muttered.

"Yeah, but you love me anyway," Buffy said, smiling softly up at Faith.

Planting a kiss on her lover's forehead, Faith grinned. "Yeah, I really do."

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

"So why can't Willow heal her?" Dawn asked, sitting on the other side of Kennedy's hospital bed from Kara. Kara sighed, leaning forward and taking Kennedy's hand in her own.

"She hasn't recovered from the other spell yet," Kara said.

"Oh," Dawn replied, sitting back in her seat dejectedly. "So there's nothing we can do?"
"Nope. Even if Willow could heal her, it's too late now. Kennedy's lost," Kara explained.

"What do you mean, lost?"

"She's lost in her own mind. She has to find her own way out now," Kara said, smiling half-heartedly at Dawn.

"Hey, Nibblet," Spike said, knocking on the door softly as he entered the room. "Your mum's heading out to get some food. I thought we could go with."

"Yeah, sure," Dawn said, slowly pushing out of her chair and walking over to Kara. Giving her a quick hug, she smiled briefly before leaving the room.

"How's she doing?" Spike asked, lingering for a moment. Kara looked back at him and shrugged.

"It's up to her now," Kara said, turning back to her girlfriend. Spike nodded and quietly exited the room, knowing that Kara wanted to be alone.

Kara leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. She was exhausted. Before she knew it, her head was drooping down on her chest and she drifted off to sleep. The world was dark behind her eyes, a swirling pool of oblivion.

Suddenly she found herself standing on a cluster of rocks looking out over a river. The moon was out, round and full, high above the earth. "Nice," Kara muttered to herself. Her dreams weren't usually so beautiful.

"Thought you might like it," Kennedy said, walking up behind her. Kara turned around in surprise.

"Is this my dream or yours?" She asked, smiling widely. Kennedy reached out, playing with the hem of Kara's shirt before pulling her into a warm embrace.

"No clue," Kennedy whispered truthfully, eliciting a laugh from Kara.

"Well, if it's yours, coma land ain't bad," Kara commented pulling away from Kennedy and looking around. The river was a deep blue that reflected all of the stars in the sky, their brilliance illuminated in the water.

"Yeah, and now that you're here, I don't have to leave," Kennedy said, sighing. "I'm so lost."

"I know," Kara said, wrapping her arm around her girlfriend's shoulders. "But you have to find your way out. We need you. I need you," she stressed, planting a soft kiss on Kennedy's cheek.

Kennedy smiled over at her sadly. "You have to go," she said reluctantly. "I'll see you soon."

Kara awoke with a start, nearly falling out of her chair. "So that's what a slayer dreams is like," she muttered to herself, leaning back in her chair. She felt more exhausted than when she had fallen asleep, like her brain had been running circles in her skull the entire time she was unconscious. Leaning forward, she tucked a strand of Kennedy's hair behind her ear. "I'll be right here waiting."

"Hey, who're you talking to?" Buffy asked as she and Faith strode into the room purposefully. Kara turned and smiled at them briefly, wondering why Buffy was carrying a duffel bag.

"Myself, mostly," she replied. "What're you guys doing here?"

"We brought you something," Buffy said rather cheerfully. Faith rolled her eyes and dropped down into the chair next to Kara.

"I'll have you know, she had way too much fun with this," Faith said, popping a piece of gum in her mouth. Kara smirked.

"Doing what?" She asked, eyeing Buffy suspiciously.

Buffy sat the duffel bag down at Kara's feet. "Open it," she instructed.

Kara zipped open the bag and leaned back in her chair. "Well I'll be damned," she said.

"Yeah, won't we all," Faith muttered under her breath.

Buffy pulled up a chair, sitting on the other side of Kara. "You wanted his head, we brought you his head. Can we get anything else for ya?" She asked, wrapping an arm around Kara's shoulders. Kara looked over at her and smiled, laughing to herself.

"No, I think I'm good now," she said, peering into the bag. "You know, I wasn't completely serious."

"I told you," Faith said smugly to Buffy, blowing a bubble with her gum.

"Yeah, but it was kinda fun. Besides, what's a mother for than to deliver the decapitated head of her daughter's girlfriend's deranged, priestly attacker in a duffel bag?" Buffy replied.

"It's a nice piece of work too," Faith said leaning forward suddenly. "See how she cut his head off right below the preacher's collar?"

Kara smiled, tearing up slightly. Wiping her eyes, she turned to them both and said, "Thanks you guys. You're the best."