Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow II: The Rising Sun

Notes: Sorry for the delay. My semester ends in like two weeks, so I'm swamped with lots of projects and papers. Plus, I'm going out of town this weekend, so don't expect another update until Sunday, most likely. Thanks for the reviews and keep 'em coming. This chapter is probably going to be shorter than the others, but I don't have a whole lot of time at the moment.

Previously:

Spike pulled her into a hug. "Go see her, pet. She needs you right now and I have a feeling you need her too."

Kara nodded against his chest and pulled away, quickly wiping her eyes. "I'll be back later," she said and ran up the stairs. Spike watched her go and dropped his cigarette on the floor, stamping it out with his shoe. The tip flared red for a moment before dying.

Chapter Nineteen:

Kara took a deep breath, holding her hand out in front of her. The key shook between her trembling fingers as she slid it into the lock of the front door of the house she shared with Kennedy. The door slid open and she stepped inside. It was dark in the house. The sunlight filtered in through half shaded windows, casting long shadows on the hard wood floors. Kara couldn't hear any sounds of life coming from within the house, though she imagined Kennedy was probably asleep.

Turning, Kara closed the door behind her with the hand that was gingerly holding a bouquet of red roses. It had been a last minute decision – the flowers – but she wanted to show Kennedy that her heart still belonged to her, not to Callum. On the walk home, Kara had prepared a long speech, but she knew in the end, Kennedy would believe actions instead of words. Words could often be deceitful, said in the moment, or said to persuade without genuine feeling. However, actions took more effort. A deceit with an action had to be calculated. Kara had told lies to people she loved, but she rarely acted against the people she loved.

Turning, Kara slowly mounted the stairs, her footsteps falling softly on the wood. Only her slayer hearing picked up the sound, so lightly she stepped. Finally, she stood at the top of the stairs. Her palms were sweating, but she didn't know why. She felt like she had done something wrong, something terrible to Kennedy. Cassius had invaded her body and used it to invade Kennedy's. Though Kara knew she should be enraged at Cassius, she couldn't help but feel guilty as well. Moving forward, she reached their bedroom door.

The door hung slightly ajar. Looking in through the narrow crack, Kara could see that the room was dark. The lights were off and the shades were drawn shut. From what Joyce had told her, Kennedy had waited for most of the night at Buffy's old house. She was probably asleep now. "Are you going to stand out there forever, or are you going to come in?" Kennedy's voice called out, startling Kara.

Kara sighed in embarrassment, her cheeks flaming red, and pushed open the door. "Hey," she said softly, lingering at the threshold of the door.

"Whatcha got there?" Kennedy asked, sitting up in bed. Her black hair cascaded down her shoulders, slightly tousled, and the crimson, silk sheets on the bed pool around her waist. Kara forced herself to look away and down at the flowers.

"I brought you flowers," she said finally. Kennedy smiled widely.

"Are you going to bring them to me, or are you going to make me come get them?" Kennedy asked, smirking as Kara blushed again.

"I didn't know if you wanted me to come in," she mumbled.

"I do," Kennedy said, her eyes shining sincerely. Kara looked up and held her gaze for a moment before nodding. Walking forward, she paused next to the bed and thrust the flowers forward awkwardly. Kennedy took them and held them up to her nose, inhaling deeply.

"They smell incredible," she said, looking up at Kara again. Reaching out her hand, she waited for Kara to take it. The distance between Kennedy and herself seemed liked miles from where Kara stood. She desperately wanted to bury herself in Kennedy's embrace, but she held herself back. "Please sit next to me," Kennedy said, her voice pleading.

Kara reached out and took Kennedy's hand, allowing the other girl to pull her down onto the bed. "I'm sorry," Kara said, looking down at her shoes. "For what Cassius did to you."

"It's not your fault," Kennedy said. "I should have known it wasn't you."

"There was no way you could have known," Kara said vehemently.

"And there was no way you could have stopped it," Kennedy said, smiling. Kara smiled back slightly, knowing Kennedy had caught her in her own logic. The room fell silent for a moment and Kara could feel Kennedy struggling with herself. Finally, Kennedy spoke. "So, Callum's back."

"Yeah," Kara said, looking down at their entwined hands. "He is."

"How do you feel about that?" Kennedy asked. Kara could hear fear in her voice, though Kennedy tried to mask it.

"If I wanted to be with Callum again, don't you think I would be?" Kara asked, looking over at her girlfriend. "But I'm not. I'm here with you. I love you, Ken, nothing is going to change that." Kennedy was silent for a long time. It was starting to freak Kara out, but then she heard a small sniffling noise. "You're not crying are you?" Kara asked, looking over at her in surprise.

"No," Kennedy instantly said. "Of course not."

"Yes, you totally are," Kara said, smiling as Kennedy began grumbling to herself. "You're so beautiful," Kara said suddenly, reaching out and wiping Kennedy's tears of joy away.

Kennedy looked up at her with her eyes shining and smiled. "I love you so much," she said, leaning forward and capturing Kara's lips in a smoldering kiss.

……………………………………….

Buffy groaned and rolled over, surprised to find that when she did, the bed was cold and empty beside her. Sitting up, she looked around the darkened room. "Faith?" She asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"I'm here," Faith said from her seat in the corner. Buffy looked up and saw her, sitting on a chair in the corner in the dark with her legs tucked under her body.

"You okay?" Buffy asked, slipping out from under the covers and padding over to her wife.

"Five by five," Faith muttered absently. Alarm bells went off in Buffy's head.

"Which is the universal signal that something is incredibly wrong," Buffy said, kneeling down in front of Faith and resting her hands on her knees.

"Nothing's wrong," Faith insisted, looking down at her. Buffy sat silently for a long time, watching her wife stare at the floor absently.

"Please talk to me," Buffy said softly. Faith almost didn't hear it, but caught the words as they slid passed her ear.

"I don't know if I can," Faith said after a long pause. Her voice was low and thick with emotion. Buffy could feel grief pouring off her, but she didn't know how to comfort her.

"Baby, tell me what to do," Buffy said, sitting up on her heels and taking Faith's face in her hands. "Tell me what to do."

Faith shook her head slightly, with tears streaming down her face. She didn't seem to notice them. Buffy's heart broke for her. "Just hold me," Faith finally said, her voice barely above a whisper. Buffy quickly gathered the other girl in her arms, rubbing soothing circles on her back as Faith silently sobbed into her chest. Closing her eyes, Buffy let a single tear course down her cheek.