Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow

Note: Ah, how wonderful it is to know that someone out there shares my slightly warped sense of humor. Thanks for the reviews.

Previously:

"Robson?" The First called. "Don't disappoint me like Caleb did."

"I won't," Robson silently swore. When the cold, night air hit his face, he looked up at the moon and sighed. Things weren't going to end well for the world, but that wasn't something he would have to worry about anymore. He was beyond it now. The world was going to fall apart, crash into darkness and fire, and he would watch it all. But in the end, he wasn't going to be burn with it.

Chapter Fifty-Three:

Robson snuck up to the large picture window that revealed the living room of Buffy's house. Crouching in the bushes, he peered inside, watching the Scooby gang as they gathered there, laughing and talking. He felt a twinge of guilt as he watched them unaware, like some sort of voyeur, violating the sanctity of their lives. It was a passing fancy though and it quickly fled his mind. The entire group seemed to be gathered there, including Jack Borland. The newbie slayers were absent, most likely having their own Christmas Eve party in the house across the street. He would check on them later.

The First had wanted him to focus his energies on Kara. Glancing about the room, he found her standing by the archway that led to the foyer, talking animatedly about something with Spike. According to his knowledge, Kara lived a few streets over with Spike and one of the newbie slayers, a girl named Kennedy. The First informed him that Kennedy was in coma, courtesy of his predecessor, Caleb. Despite their efforts to break Kara down, by killing her former boyfriend Callum and by attacking her current girlfriend, she always seemed to bounce back, refusing to lose hope in the people around her.

The First adamantly believed that Kara had something up her sleeve, some secret plan that she would introduce at the last possible moment. However, Robson wasn't so sure. By activating all of the potential slayers, Kara had delivered a terrible blow to the First's army. No longer could they roam the streets of Sunnydale unchecked. Now, slayers wandered the night in teams, guarding the residents of Sunnydale as they slept, unaware of what was happening around them. Every night, the teams of slayers dispatched more and more vampires and demons that worked for the First.

Despite this, Robson knew that once the First let loose its demons, Sunnydale and the world wouldn't stand a chance. An army of little girls couldn't stop an army of hell demons. There was something different about Kara, some hidden strength or power. Robson could see it shimmering around her, like an invisible shield. But he didn't know what it was. "That's interesting," he muttered to himself. He folded his hands and brought them up to his mouth, gently blowing air into them, warming them. It was a cold night and the wind seemed to pierce through his layers of clothing, down to his skin. He smiled to himself, despite the discomfort, knowing that when hell broke loose on earth, he wouldn't be cold again.

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

"Havin' a good time?" Xander asked, sidling up to Spike and Kara. Kara smiled over at him as he slung his arm around her shoulders.

"Yeah," she said sincerely. "This is cool, having everyone here."

"Well, that's what Christmas is all about after all," Spike said, the slight cheer in his voice betraying the scowl he was trying to pass off. Though Spike had completely transformed himself from a deranged, killer vampire into a warrior for good and righteousness, he was still a vampire. For some reason, celebrating goodwill and Santa Claus seemed to be entirely against his nature. Still, that didn't stop him from buying his love a special gift he planned to give her that night. He smiled, knowing she would love it.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Xander asked Kara suddenly, motioning toward the kitchen.

"Sure," Kara said, handing her drink off to Spike. Together, they slipped out of the living room and disappeared into the kitchen. Anya watched them go, smiling slightly.

"So what's up?" Kara asked, once the kitchen door had quietly swung closed behind them.

"I wanted to give you something," Xander said, smiling a bit nervously as he pulled a wrapped box out of one of the kitchen cabinets.

"Nice hiding place," Kara smirked. Xander smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah, I know. I freaked out and shoved it in there before I knew what I was doing," Xander replied, eliciting a laugh. He handed the box to Kara and watched as she ripped open the colored paper.

The paper fell away to reveal a picture frame wrought out of metal, painted green with sculpted ivy leaves around the edges. Contained inside was a picture of Kara, Xander, Anya, Buffy, and Faith gathered around the table at the Magic Box. The picture had been taken without their knowledge and each person was intently pouring over books, researching some demonic threat, but each person had a sense of calm and belonging that made Kara smile. "When was this taken?" Kara asked quietly, looking at the picture intently.

"A couple of weeks ago," Xander answered, moving around beside Kara to look at the picture as well. "Willow took it with this digital camera she bought to help Giles and Jack inventory all of the Council weapons and artifacts. She was testing it out and decided to take this picture of us."

"Xander made the frame," Anya said softly, as she walked into the room. Kara looked up in surprise.

"You did?" She asked, smiling over at him. Xander instantly blushed and smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah," he said. "Worked on it in my spare time."

"Thank you. This is really beautiful," Kara said softly, blinking back tears. Anya walked up beside her and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"We wanted to give this to you to show how much we all love you," Anya said, looking down at the picture. "I know this whole situation is strange, being in this time line with Xander, Buffy, and Faith. But I just wanted you to know, that you're Xander's daughter, so that means you're mine too," Anya said, smiling as Kara turned and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Thank you so much," Kara replied, her voice slightly muffled in Anya's sweater.

"Your welcome," Anya said, finally feeling that after over a thousand years of floating through one lifetime to the next with no where to belong, she had found her home and her family. She finally understood what it was like to be human and she found that she loved it.

"So, best Christmas ever?" Xander joked, lightening the mood as usual.

Kara laughed, pulling away from Anya, and discreetly wiping the tears away from eyes. "Yeah, most definitely."

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

When the party broke up, Spike stayed behind to help Joyce clean up. Buffy and Faith were walking Kara home, indulging in a little family time. Xander and Anya lingered for a while, but lack of sleep caught up with them and they had departed not long ago. Jack quickly bowed out to start cleaning up the mess left in his own house by the newbie slayers, who had developed quite the reputation for being hard partiers. Willow and Tara had been the only others to stay behind, washing dishes in the kitchen. Joyce piled some paper plates into a bulging trash bag and tied it closed.

"I'm gonna take this around back," she said, smiling softly at the vampire. She supposed that she should feel guarded around him, considering what he was. But she had never felt that way. For some reason, she had always been able to see the man in him and not the monster. She knew that Spike genuinely loved her daughter and she also knew that Spike had something he wanted to give to Dawn. "No time like the present," she whispered softly, but just loud enough for him to hear. He looked up in surprise and watched her walk away. Chuckling to himself, he shook his hand slightly and looked toward the stairs leading to Dawn's room.

She had gone upstairs a short time ago to change into her pajamas. Moving toward the stairs, he could feel his palms starting to sweat. He reached her door and tentatively knocked. "Come in," he heard her call from the other side of the door. Smiling, he opened the door, quietly entering the room, and closing the door over partly.

"Hey," he said softly, lingering by the door. Dawn was sitting in front of her mirror, brushing her hair. Her brown locks shimmered in the light of the candles she had lit next to her.

"Hey," she said, smiling back at him. Turning, she walked over to him and leaned up her on tiptoes, kissing his lips softly. "Well, I must be growing up if mom is letting me hang with a boy in my room alone," she said jokingly. Spike laughed, letting her pull him over to her bed. Sitting next to her, he fidgeted slightly. "You okay?" She asked concernedly.

"Yeah," Spike answered, smiling over at her. "I wanted to give you your Christmas present," he said reaching into the inside pocket of his leather duster. He pulled out a small, flat package. It was wrapped in old newspaper and seemed to be only an inch thick. "Sorry about the wrapping," Spike apologized. "I couldn't quite bring myself to buy the happy Santa wrapping paper."

Dawn laughed, accepting the gift as he handed it to her. "The wrapping doesn't matter," she said, gently tearing open the paper. Lying inside was a small golden band that reached up to a ruby fashioned after a heart and outlined in small diamonds.

"It's a promise ring," Spike explained, as Dawn gingerly picked the ring up, admiring it. "There are a lot of...obstacles, with us," Spike said, smiling slightly.

"Like you being a vampire," Dawn quietly joked, smiling over at him.

"Yeah, like that. And I know you're just a wee bit younger than me and all that," Spike said, eliciting a chuckle from her. "But I want you to know that I'm in this all the way, you know? I want to be with you forever, and that's actually an accurate statement with me considering what I am. So, I just want you to know, that when you're ready, and perhaps a bit older, such as out of high school, I want to live the rest of our lives together," Spike finished.

"I want that too," Dawn said sincerely, looking up at him and losing herself in his eyes. "Put it on me?" She asked. Spike gently picked up the ring and slid it onto her ring finger. "It's beautiful," she whispered, watching it catch the candle light.

"So are you," Spike whispered, brushing a lock of her hair away from her face. She flashed him a brilliant smile that would have warmed his heart, had it been beating. "Merry Christmas."