Chapter 12

Dilemmas and visitations

"So what will we, I mean what will you do now? Chris asked quietly. The day had dawned early on the two of them sharing a bed again, but hey had simply slept curled up in each others arms. Kara had woken with a thick head. He had got up earlier than her and had just appeared dressed and bearing two cups of black coffee.

"Huh? I don't know. I suppose stay here for now. Without Alice... I don't really know anyone... other than you and your family and I have nowhere to live now. It was her apartment. Oh I love you..." she accepted the coffee gratefully and then realised what she'd said and tried to divert the conversation "...for the coffee. How come you don't have a hangover?"

"Whitelighters can self heal I suppose it's something to do with that. Plus I drank way less than you did, and you're probably on a comedown from the sugar rush." He took a deep breath and plunged into to what he'd been practising since he got up this morning, looked at her sleeping and realised he didn't know what he would do if she didn't return to San Francisco. "You could stay with me, with us, until you find somewhere else to live?" she looked down at her lap and she breathed in to speak... just as Chris got a call on his cell' 'phone. "Hello. Well couldn't he do that tomorrow... is he sure it's really that big... and there's fire and everything? OK I'm on my way!" he sighed heavily and turned to her "Can we talk about this later. There's a dragon on the loose at home. Wyatt has to go kill it." Kara raised a questioning eyebrow "It's to do with Excalibur. I'll tell you all about it when I have time. Anyway Mel and I apparently need to cast some kind of spell on a magickal knight, the armoured kind, that the dragon ate. I think it might even be Saint George. I'll tell you all about it later and we can talk about the other thing. Yell if you need anything and someone should come. Sleep your hangover off." He kissed her, swore lightly and orbed out.

She watched the swirl of blue lights and sighed deeply. She turned over in bed and hoped that sleeping on the dilemma

- -

"What dilemma?" Kara jerked awake at the sound, to see Alice sat on the end of the bed. "Well, what dilemma?"

"What, are you the telepath now?"

"No, but I am dead. It sort of changes how you looked at things."

"I imagine so. Wait how am I talking to you? You're dead."

"I was needed. We were talking about your dilemma."

"No, we weren't, I'm dreaming."

"OK then you're dreaming, well listen to your dream, you're a psychic aren't you? It's what you're supposed to do." Alice's spirit looked at her "You're my best friend and I love you, you know that right? Well, as a person who loves you, I'm telling you that he does to, or at least he could if you give it chance. You pulled him out of the Thrall, not his family you. Something in the relationship between the two of you saved him."

"And killed you!"

"No, a demon killed me, and Eve ordered that. She ordered it to hurt you, to prove she was dehumanised enough to lead the clans, but she still couldn't bring herself to kill you... You have nothing left here, I'm gone, your father is gone and any hope of getting your mother and sister back is gone."

"Well, thanks for making me feel better!"

"I'm not supposed to be making you feel better I'm supposed to be making you see that there is no dilemma. You have something to go to back to San Francisco for, you have no home there but you have one here you hate to be in here, sell this place and you could have somewhere far better than our apartment or you could buy our apartment from my parents."

"I couldn't go back there. I certainly could never fall asleep with the TV on again!"

"Tasteless."

"True, but it's still you even if you are dead."

Alice smiled. "Plus you need to learn how to use your powers properly. I've heard that the funeral nearly killed you. "

"It did and the flight over was hell. All those people crammed into one space, and I never knew aeroplanes called up such strong emotions!"

"Who better to learn from than the Charmed Ones? The worlds most powerful witches"

"Drunkenness, ice cream..."

"And sex"

"...And sex, dull it quite nicely, thank you. That's another thing, you know I'm not normally like that!"

"It was a grief thing. You can take things normally now. I think that might even be what he wants. To actually try normal with someone who already knows who he is. Who's like him."

"According to you there are a lot of people like him in this world. What if I'm just the one who happens to be here now? And how do you know all this stuff all of a sudden?"

"There are a lot of witches but there aren't so many of you. You had what it took to pull him from the Thrall. It's very rare anyone can do that, there are married couples that wouldn't work for. And as for how do I know? They have a lot of relatives up there, who approve of the idea of you and Chris being together. That's how I was even able to come down here so soon after my death. Now I have to go Penny's introducing me to James Dean, but before I go I want to see you pinch yourself. Hard."

Kara pinched the flesh of her right arm hard enough to leave red crescent moon marks where her nails had come into contact with her skin.

"OW! Happy? What was that for?" she rubbed her arm.

"So that you would know you aren't dreaming... and to see if you would do it when I asked." Alice grinned evilly.

"Sadist!"

"I miss you too. I'll come back when I can" with that Alice's spirit faded in a swirl of white lights, leaving Kara staring and caught in a state of wonder.