Summary: My take on what might have happened if Kendra had decided to stay in Sunnydale after defeating the Order of Taraka. Starts in What's My Line (Part 2) then continues on from there.

Chapter 1- What's My Line? (part 2)

"Let's start again. You're the who?" I ask the dark skinned girl who's circling me. Well, actually, we're circling each other, but you get the point.

The girl stares at me intensely as she replies again, her accent heavy. "I am de Slayer."

I'm totally wigging. There's no way she can be the Slayer! I'm the Slayer!

"Nice cover story. Here's a tip, don't try it on someone who's not the real Slayer!"

"You can't stop me. Even if you kill me, another will be sent to take me place."

"Could you stop with the Slayer thing?! I'm the damn Slayer!"

"Nonsense. Dere is but one, and I am she."

Damn it! This girl is definitely sticking to her story. It doesn't make sense, though! If she wasn't positive that she's the Slayer, then the revelation that I'm the Slayer should have fazed her and she'd have dropped the act already! But obviously, I'm the Slayer! So who the hell is she?

"Okay... Scenario. I back off. You promise not to go all wiggy until we go to my watcher and figure out what this is all about."

"'Wiggy'?"

"You know. No kicko no fighto?"

The girl, Kendra, she said her name is, thinks for a minute, then- "I accept your scenario."

We both drop the fighting stances, but we're both far from relaxed.

"Your English is very odd, ya know." Kendra points out.

Look who's talking. I think. "Yeah. It's something about being woken by an axe. Makes me talk all crazy." She shrugs slightly. "So, you were sent here?"

"Yes. By me Watcher."

"To do what, exactly?"

"To do me duty. I am here to kill vampires."

"Your Watcher is Sam Zabuto, you say?" Giles asks after Kendra and I explain the sitch in the Library.

"Yes sir." Kendra says respectfully.

"We've never met. But he is very well respected." Giles thinks out loud.

"What? So he's a real guy? As in... non-fictional?" I ask. Kendra rolls her eyes.

"And what are you called?" Giles asks Kendra, ignoring me.

"I am de vampire slayer." She pronounced it "vumpire slayer".

"We got that part." I say, totally peeved. "He means your name."

"Oh." She says, like that thought hadn't occurred to her. "Dey call me Kendra, only. I have no last name, sir."

How about Summers? I think. You've already taken my Slayer-ness, my Watcher. Why not my name, too? I think bitterly. Kendra Summers. "Can you say 'stuck in the 80's'?" I ask sarcastically, earning a glare from Giles.

"Buffy, please." He warns. Then, he turns to Kendra. "There has obviously been some kind of misunderstanding here."

Just then, Willow walks in. "Hey." She says cheerfully.

"Identify yourself!" Kendra shouts at her as she prepares to attack.

"Back off, Pink Ranger. This is my friend-"

"Friend?" She asks, confused.

"You know. Person you hang with? Amigo?"

"I-I don't understand."

I roll my eyes and turn to Giles. "You try. I'm tapped."

Giles sighs before answering Kendra. "Kendra... There are a few people... civilians, if you will... who know Buffy's identity. Willow is one of them. And they also spend time together. Socially."

"And you allow dis, sir?"

"Well you see..."

"But de Slayer must work in secret. For security-"

"Of course." Giles interrupts her. "With Buffy, however, it's... Some flexibility is required." I glare at him like "Hey!"

"Why?" Wow, this girl asks way too many questions.

"Enough already!" Willow mumbles. "Hi guys. What's going on?"

"There's been a big mix-up." I explain.

"It seems that, somehow, another Slayer has been sent to Sunnydale." Giles explains more.

"Is that even possible?" Will asks. "I mean, two Slayers at the same time?"

"Not that I know of. The new Slayer is only called after the previous Slayer has died..." Then, his eyes get big and wide as he has a thought. A big thought. "Good lord... You were dead, Buffy."

"I was only gone for a minute!" I protest.

"Clearly it doesn't matter how long you were gone. You were physically dead, causing the activation of the next Slayer."

"She... died?" Kendra asks, as confused as everyone else.

"Just a little." I mutter under my breath.

"Yes. She drowned." Giles says softly. It still kinda hurts us to think about it. "But she was revived." He finishes.

"So there really are two of them?" Willow asks.

"It would appear so. Yes." Giles answers as he sits down. "We have no precedent for this. I'm quite flummoxed."

"What's the flum?" I interject. That's right. I know the word interject. "It's a mistake. She isn't supposed to be here. She goes home." I turn to Kendra. "No offense. But, I'm not dead. And it's a teeny bit creepy having you around."

"I cannot simply leave. I was sent here for a reason. Mr. Zabuto said all the signs indicate dat a very dark power is about to rise in Sunnydale."

"He's quite right. I'll need to contact him." Giles agrees.

"So what was your plan for fighting this dark power? Just sort of attack people 'till you found a bad one?"

"Of course not." Kendra growls.

"Then why the hell did you jump me?"

"I thought you were a vampire." She says sheepishly.

"Oh, a swing and a miss for the rookie."

"I had good reason to think you were. Did I not see you kissing a vampire?"

"Buffy would never do that!" Willow says in my defense. Then, she catches herself. "Oh... Except for... that sometimes you do that. But only with Angel! Right?"

"Yes right. You saw me with Angel." I explain to Kendra. "He's a vampire, but he's good."

"Angel? You mean Angelus? I've read of him. He is a monster."

"No no. He's good now." Giles assures her.

"Really." Will agrees.

"He had a gypsy curse." I explain. Wow, there's a lot of explaining going around.

"Oh." Kendra says, confused. "He had a what?"

"Just trust me. Angel's on the home team now. Wouldn't hurt a fly."

"I cannot believe you. He looked to me just like another animal when I-" Kendra catches herself, and my eyes grow wide.

"When you what? What did you do to him?" I ask, standing up, ready to attack.

"I..."

"What did you do?!" I scream.

"Angel!" I shout as I burst into the storage room of some place. Kendra lead me here, because she says this is where she left Angel to be killed by the sunlight.

"No ashes." Kendra says, pointing to the cage she must have locked him in.

"What?"

"When a vampire combusts, he leaves ashes." She tries to explain to me, but I know how this works, so I stop her there.

"Yeah, I know the drill."

"So I did not kill him."

"And I don't have to kill you." I fire back. She glares at me, like she's debating on whether or not I'm serious. I'm so serious.

"Whoa there's a lot of tension in this room." Some guy says as he walks in. Kendra tackles him, roughs him up a bit, then slams him down on a table. She draws her fist back to punch him, but I catch her and pull her away.

"Doesn't anybody just say 'hello' where you come from?" I ask.

"Dis one is dirty. I can feel it."

"That's nice for you, percepto girl. But we're not going to get anything out of him if he's oh, say, unconscious." I snatch the guy away from Kendra and glare at him. "Where's Angel?"

"My bud, Angel? You think I'd let him fry? I saved him in the nick. He was about five minutes away from being a crispy critter."

I turn to glare at Kendra, who shrugs.

"Where did he go?" I ask, turning back to the guy. "Home?"

"Uh... He said he was gonna stay underground. You know, recuperate."

"Are you telling me the truth?" I ask, narrowing my eyes.

"I swear! I swear on my mother's grave should something fatal happen to her, god forbid."

"Den he is alright." Kendra says. "We can return to your Watcher for our orders."

"Orders? I don't take orders. I do things my way."

"No wonder you died." Kendra sighs, and I roll my eyes. There's a lot of eye-rolling, too.

"Let's go." I say, and Kendra and I start to leave.

"I have to ask if either of you girls has considered modeling." The guys asks just before we leave. We turn to look at him. "I got a friend with a camera. Strictly high-class nude work. Art photographs... but naked."

Kendra and I both look at him like he's some kind of idiot, but now I have the image in my mind...

Whoa. Noooooo way... No way, José. There is no way I'm... No. Absolutely not. She's annoying as hell, and as soon as this is over, she's going back to wherever she came from.

"You don't have to answer right away." He says, shrugging nervously. Kendra and I look at him incredulously again, and it occurs to me that this is the first time we've actually agreed on something. I look over at her and see she's blushing. Then we leave.

"Kendra, I've conferred with your Watcher, Mr. Zabuto. He and I agree that until this matter with Spike and Drusilla is resolved, you two should work together." Giles says.

"Oh, that'll be a treat." I sigh. I don't think either of them heard me, though.

"So you believe dat Spike is attempting to revive dis Drusilla to heath?"

"Yes. That would be the dark power your Watcher referred to. Drusilla is not just evil. She's also quite mad. Restored to her full health, there is absolutely no telling what she might do." Giles confirms.

"Den we will stop Spike."

"Good plan! Let's go! Charge!" I shout.

"Buffy..." Giles warns.

"It's a little more complicated than that, okay, John Wayne?" I say to Kendra.

"Yes, I'm afraid it is." Giles agrees. "Spike has called out the Order of Taraka to keep Buffy out of the way."

"De assassins? I read of dem in de writings of Dramius."

"Really? Which volume?" Giles asks excitedly.

"I believe it was six, sir."

"How do you know that stuff?" I ask Kendra.

"From me studies." She responds.

"So... You have a lot of free time." I notice.

She rolls her eyes. Again, a lot of eye-rolling. "I study because it is required. De Slayer Handbook insists on it."

"There's a Slayer Handbook?" Willow asks. I almost forgot she was there.

"Handbook? What handbook? How come I didn't get a handbook?" I ask Giles.

"Is there a t-shirt, too? 'Cause that would be cool." Willow says. I smile at her.

"After meeting you, Buffy, I was quite sure the handbook would be of no use in your case." Giles explains, cleaning his glasses.

"What do you mean 'it would be of no use in my case'? What's wrong with my case?"

Giles ignores me, though, and turns back to Kendra.

"Kendra, perhaps you could show me the bit in Dramius six about the Order of Taraka. I must admit, I could never get through that book."

"Yes, it was difficult. All dose footnotes!" Giles and Kendra both laugh, and I roll my eyes looking at Willow, who grins in response.

"Hello and welcome to the planet pocket protector." I grumble.

"Oh, Buffy, Principal Snyder came snooping around for you." Giles says.

I groan. "Eesh, the career fair."

"You'd best make an appearance, I think."

"Right."

"Buffy is a student here?" Kendra asks.

"Yes."

"Right. Of course. I'd imagine she's a cheerleader, too." Kendra looks like she's daydreaming for a second before Giles replies.

"Actually, she gave up cheerleading. It's a funny story, really..." He grins, but the grin fades and he clears his throat as I glare at him. "Let's go find that book, shall we?" He drags Kendra away.

"Get a load of the She-Giles." I grumble.

"Creepy." Will agrees.

I make my way over to the law enforcement booth at the career fair after I leave Willow to flirt with Oz. I write my name on the sign-in sheet, and the policewoman attending grabs the clip board, and everyone falls in line.

"Listen up and answer when I call your name!" She shouts to us. "Buffy Summers!" She shouts.

"Here." I say, raising my hand. Then, all hell breaks loose.

The policewoman draws her gun and aims at me. Everyone scrambles for cover and I hit the ground as she fires one off.

I crawl around on the ground until I end up behind the obvious Tarakan assassin, and I trip her.

We roll around on the ground, wrestling for control of the gun, and I manage to disarm her. But then we stand up and she pulls another gun out of nowhere and aims right for my face.

Kendra appears out of nowhere and kicks the gun out of her hand. I take advantage of the distraction and tackle the assassin, but she throws me off, grabs a hostage, and aims for his chest.

"Don't!" I shout, and the assassin backs away until she's at the door, then throws the hostage to the ground and takes off running.

I notice Oz was shot, so I run over to him while Kendra goes after the assassin.

"He's... He's shot!" Willow says to me. "Are you okay?" She asks Oz.

"I'm shot... Wow... It's very... odd... And painful..." He says.

"She's gone." I look up to see Kendra hovering over me.

"Was that a demonstration?" The hostage kid asks.

Luckily, Oz only got scraped, so no real damage was done. But one look at Kendra when Xander shows up shows something's up with her. She's all "flustered-girl".

"Who sponsored Career Day today? The British Soccer Fan Association?" Xander quips.

"We had a rather violent visit from one of the Order of Taraka." Giles explains.

"You want to talk Order of Taraka? We met the king freak of the Order of..." Xander finally looks at Kendra.

"Oh. Forgive me." Giles says. "Xander, Cordelia, this is Kendra. It's very complicated, but she's also a Slayer."

"Hi. Nice to meet you." Cordy says as she sits down.

"A Slayer? I knew this 'I'm the only one, I'm the only one' thing was just an attention-getter." Xander says to me and I roll my eyes. Again with the eye-rolling. Seems someone's doing that every five seconds.

"Just say hello, Xander." I grin.

"Welcome. So, you're a Slayer, huh? I like that in a woman." He says, hitting on her.

"I... I hope... I thank you... I mean, sir... I will be of service..." Kendra replies, looking at the ground.

"Good... Great... It's good to be a giver..." Xander says, confused. He looks at me like "what's her deal?" and I just shrug.

"The assassin you encountered, Xander, what did he look like?" Giles asks.

"AAAAAHHH!" Cordy screams, pulling a worm out of her hair.

"Like that." Xander says, pointing to the worm.

"You and bug people, Xander. What's up with that?" I quip. Xander blushes.

"But this dude was different from the preying mantis lady!" He protests. "He was a man of bugs, not a man who was a bug."

"Okay... Huh?" Will asks.

"The important thing is everybody's okay." Giles points out. "Still, it is quite apparent that we are under serious attack."

"Yeah." I agree. "These Taraka guys are Überbad. If Kendra hadn't been there today, I would have been toast." I look over at Kendra in thanks. She nods and smiles slightly. Then, for some reason, the visual that the guy from earlier gave me pops up in my head. The "nude modeling" image of Kendra and me. I blush again as I try to shove that memory down. No one else notices anything, though.

"I far the worst is yet to come." Giles mutters. "I've discovered the remaining keys to Drusilla's cure. The ritual requires her sire and must take place in a church on the night of the new moon."

"De new moon? But dat is tonight!" Kendra says.

"Exactly. I'm sure the assassins are here to kill Buffy before she can put a stop to things-" Me standing up suddenly makes everyone fall silent.

"They need Drusilla's sire? You mean the vamp that made her?"

"What is it, Buffy?" Willow asks.

"It... It's Angel... He's Drusilla's sire." I say.

"Man! That guy got some major neck in his day!" Willow hits Xander to shut him up.

"This thingy... This ritual... Will it kill him?" I ask Giles.

"I'm afraid so." He says softly.

"We have to do something. We have to find the church where this ritual takes place."

"Agreed. And we must work quickly. There are only five hours to sundown."

"Don't worry, Buffy. We'll save Angel." Willow says. I smile at her in gratitude.

"Angel? But our priority must be to stop Drusilla." Kendra protests.

"Look, you've got your priorities, and I've got mine. Right now, they mesh. You gonna work with me, or are you gonna get out of my way?"

Kendra hesitates. "I am with you." She says finally.

"Good. 'Cause I've had it. Spike is going down. You can attack me, you can send assassins after me, that's just fine. But nobody messes with my boyfriend." I notice that Kendra flinches when she hears me call Angel my boyfriend. She really needs to get over the "he's a vampire" thing. And fast.

"And dose two... dey also know dat you are de Slayer?" Kendra asks, nodding towards Xander and Cordelia.

"Yup." I answer, kind of distracted. Kendra and I haven't really been alone since we fought. Especially not after talking to that guy earlier. Come on, who asks two sixteen year old girls to try out nude modeling?!

"Did anyone explain to you what 'secret identity' means?" She quips. I can tell she's joking, but like I said, I'm distracted.

"Nope. Must be in the handbook. Right after the chapter on personality removal." I snap back. I didn't mean for it to be an attack, it just came out that way. Luckily, I think Kendra knows that. "Careful with that." I say when she picks up my crossbow.

"Please. I am an expert in all weapons." She assures me. Just as the crossbow fires a bolt through Giles' lamp. She yelps in surprize.

"Is everything alright?" Giles asks from the main part of the library.

"Yeah, it's okay!" I assure him, and I'm really trying not to laugh. Kendra's reaction to that was priceless. "Kendra killed the bad lamp."

"Sorry..." Kendra winces. "De trigger mechanism is different." Then, the look in her eyes changes. It's familiar, but I can't quite figure out where I've seen it before. "Perhaps when dis is over, you can show me how to work it."

I nod. "When this is over, I'm thinking pineapple pizza and teen video fest. Possibly something from the Ringwald oeuvre."

"I'm not allowed to watch television. My Watcher says it promotes intellectual laziness."

"And he says it like it's a bad thing?" I joke.

Just then, we hear Xander and Cordy scream at each other. I was wondering how long it would take.

"De things you do and have, I was taught distract from my calling. Friends. School. Even family." She looks sad as she says this.

"What do you mean? Even family?"

"My parents... Dey sent me to my Watcher when I was very young."

"How young?"

"I don't remember dem, actually. I've seen pictures... But that's how seriously de calling is taken by me people. Me mother and father gave me to me Watcher because dey believed dat dey were ding de right thing for me, and for the world, you see?"

"Oh... I'm-"

"Please. I don't feel sorry for meself. Why should you?" She's shut down now.

"It just sounds very lonely." Suddenly, I really want her to open up to me.

"Emotions are weakness, Buffy. You shouldn't entertain dem."

"What? Kendra, my emotions give me power. They're total assets."

"Maybe. For you. But I prefer to keep an even mind."

I think for a minute as she starts polishing a knife. Then, an idea hits me.

"Huh. I guess that explains it."

"Explains what?"

"When we were fighting. You're amazing. Your technique. It's flawless. Better than mine."

"I know." She says, and I detect a hint of pride in her voice. Good. I'm getting to her.

"Still... I would have kicked your butt in the end. You know why? No imagination."

Now I see a bit of anger in her eyes as she starts polishing the knife a little rougher. It's definitely working now.

"Really? You think so?" She growls.

"Yep. You're good. But power alone isn't enough. A great fighter goes with the flow. She knows how to improvise. Don't get me wrong, I mean, you have potential-"

"Potential!" She growls, and stands up, slamming the knife down on the table. "I could wipe the floor with you right now."

"That would be anger you're feeling." I say calmly.

"What?" She's confused now, though the anger is still there.

"You feel that, right? How the anger gives you fire? A Slayer needs that."

"'Scuze me, ladies." Xander says as he comes in to get a book. I notice Kendra gets flustered as he enters again. "Nice knife." He says to Kendra, nodding towards the knife she was going back to polishing. Then he leaves.

"I guess dating isn't big with your Watcher, either?"

"I am not permitted to speak with boys." She explains.

"So no dating, huh? Dang. That sucks."

"It does not matter, anyway." She says. I'm afraid she's going to shut down again, so I act fast.

"Look, it doesn't really have to distract from being the Slayer or anything-"

"No, it is not dat, Buffy." Now I'm confused.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean... I... um... How would you say it?" She thinks for a minute... "Um... I... I have no interest in boys." She nods, certain that she's just explained in perfectly.

"What do you mean?" I ask again.

"I mean..." She thinks for a minute again, unsure of how to say it. "I... I am more interested in girls." She explains, and my eyes grow wide.

"Wait... what? You mean... You're... You're gay?"

"Gay? What does dis mean?" She looks confused now.

"Means a girl who like other girls, or a guy who likes other guys." I explain, still reeling over what I think Kendra is saying.

"Oh. Den yes. I suppose you could say dat I am... gay."

"Oh..." Now I'm really wigging. "That... That's cool..."

"Is something de matter, Buffy?"

"Oh. No... I'm just... surprized... that's all."

"I do not expect you to understand, Buffy. It is quite obvious dat you are not... gay... What with de way you act when anyone talks about Angelus."

"Yeah. Not gay. Not me. No way, no gay. I'm on the straight-and-narrow." I agree. Somehow, though, it feels like I'm lying. Like I'm trying to hide something. Then, I realize I didn't correct her when she called Angel 'Angelus'. Even though they're technically the same person, they are different.

I have to deflect, though. "So. No talking to guys, huh?"

"No. I mean yes. I am confused. No, I am not allowed to talk to boys, or yes I am not allowed to speak to boys?"

"I guess both of them are acceptable." I smile, glad my deflection worked. "So, does that rule count when you're pummeling them?" I ask, thinking of the guy she was beating up earlier. Then, an idea hits me. "Wait a minute..."

"What?"

"That guy. The sleazoid you nearly decked in the bar."

"You think he might help us?"

"I think we might make him." I say, and we head out the door.

"Honest! I don't know where Angel is!" The bar owner shouts as I slam him down on the counter.

"How about this ritual tonight? What have you heard?"

"Nothing! It's all hush hush!"

"Just hit him, Buffy." Kendra says impatiently. I smirk.

"She likes to hit." I say to the owner, who shivers.

"You-you know, maybe I did hear something about this ritual. Yeah, it- it's coming back to me... But I'd... I'd have to take you there."

"Let's go." I say as I drag him out of the bar.

"First, let's return to de Watcher." Kendra suggests.

"Excuse me? While we run to Giles, the whole thing could go down!" I protest.

"But it is procedure-"

"It's brainless, you mean! If we don't go right now, Spike could revive Drusilla, and they'll win. We can't let that happen."

"Please, you're just doing dis for your boyfriend."

I fall silent. Actually, Angel hadn't been on my mind for a while now. Why am I more concerned with stopping Spike than saving Angel? I mean, sure, it's the same thing... but it's not the same thing.

"Buffy?" Kendra asks, curious.

"Yeah. I'm... I'm doing this for Angel... I... I need to save him."

"Buffy? Are you alright?"

"No I'm not." I admit. "Just... I have a lot on my mind, is all. Anyway, I'm going. With or without you."

"You're crazy. You'll be killed."

"Then I guess this is goodbye." I say. I look at her one more time before I drag Willy, that's the bar owner's name, out of the bar and into the night, leaving Kendra alone in the bar.

"Here you go. Don't ever say your friend Willy don't come through in a pinch." Willy says to me as he leads me into a church.

Out of nowhere, the bug guy that attacked Xander and Cordy, along with the policewoman from earlier and two vampires appear, surrounding me.

"Here you go." Willy says to the vampires. "Don't ever say your friend Willy don't come through in a pinch."

The bad guys all around me lead me into the main portion of the church. Damn. Lady Cop has a strong grip. Almost like she's a Slayer herself. But a bad guy.

"Pay day, pal. I got your Slayer." Willy says to Spike.

"Are you tripping?! You bring her here?! Now?!"

"You said you wanted her..."

"In the ground, pinhead! I wanted her dead!"

"Now, that's not what I heard. Word was, there was a bounty on her, dead or alive."

"You heard wrong, Willy." Spike sighs.

"Angel..." I say as I notice him and Drusilla tied together. Lights surround them, but then the lights die out, and Angel's skin turns an ashy grey as he disintegrates in front of me. Drusilla slumps down to the ground, unconscious.

"Too late, Slayer." Spike grins evilly. "If you'd only gotten here five minutes sooner... Angel would have gotten to watch me kill you."

He puts his game face on and advances on me just as the doors slam open. Giles and Xander burst into the room and fire two crossbow bolts, each bolt dusting one of Spike's vampire minions. Kendra walks in behind them and takes on the Lady Cop as Spike and I start fighting, and the worm guy goes after Cordy and Xander. Giles gets too close to Spike, and the bleached vampire knocks him out.

Spike throws a punch towards my gut, but I'm using every ounce of anger about Angel's death, and I catch his fist, crushing it. He pulls back, screaming in pain.

"Bloody fuckin' hell!" Spike yells, squeezing his fist. Just then, I hear a gunshot, and I turn to see Kendra hitting the ground, clutching her stomach. Lady Cop blows out the smoke from her small revolver, then holsters it and whips out two other guns, aiming at me.

I duck behind one of the pews, letting the bullets embed themselves in the wood. The place is starting to collapse, and I see why as I notice that Spike had set fire to the place before grabbing Drusilla and running. I grab a broken piece of wood and stand up quickly. The Lady Cop looks at me in surprize a second too long. I throw the piece of wood at her, and it hits her on the head, knocking her out.

I forget about her, though, as I run over to Kendra, who's lying on the floor, nearly unconscious.

"Kendra!" I shout, smacking her cheek to keep her awake.

"Buffy?"

"Yeah, it's me. Come on, let's get you to a hospital." I say.

"No need." She says. "It's not that bad."

"Kendra, she shot you!"

"It barely grazed me." She says, standing up. She lifts her shirt enough for me to see that it had, actually, barely grazed her. She'd twisted just in time for it to nick her in the stomach.

"But... you hit the ground, and..."

"I slipped." She explains, pointing to a smeared spot of blood on the ground. "And I hit me head on de ground pretty hard. I was clumsy, dat's all."

"Oh, thank god." I say, hugging her, just as Xander and Cordy are coming back Willow is waking Giles up.

"Buffy?" Kendra asks.

"Yeah?" I pull away slightly, blushing.

"I'm... uh... I'm sorry about... you know..."

Tears spring to my eyes as I realize I forgot about Angel. He's dead. Really dead. Not just undead.

And seeing my tears, Kendra wraps me up in a hug. Even Xander and Cordelia touch my shoulders in comfort. And once Willow has Giles up, they, too, join in on comforting me.

A couple days later, everything's starting to settle down a bit. It doesn't hurt nearly as much as I thought it would, knowing that Angel's dead. And... I know why. I just don't know if I can say it out loud. But, if I want Kendra to stay, I'm going to have to.

So, I've made my plans. I'm walking Kendra out to the taxi cab right now, ready for the yellow car to take her away from me.

"Thank you for the shirt. It is very generous of you." She says.

"Oh, hey, it looks better on... well, me, but don't worry." I joke. We both smile.

"Now... When you get to the airport-"

"I get on de plane with me ticket. And sit in a seat. Not de cargo hold."

"Very good." I grin.

"Dat is not traveling undercover." She points out.

"Exactly. Relax. You earned it. You sit. You eat the peanuts. You watch the movie, unless it's about a dog or Chevy Chase."

She laughs. "I'll remember."

"Thank you." I say, and she looks at me curiously. "For... at least trying to help me save Angel."

She looks at me compassionately. "I am sorry we could not get to him in time."

"Don't worry about it. You know... I'm not all that broken up about it, honestly... I mean, yeah, it hurts. But... it doesn't feel like I want to die or anything just to be with him."

She looks at me in surprize. "Why not?"

"Well... that's the thing... I'm not really sure how it happened... but... I don't think I'm really in love with him or anything anymore. In fact... I'm actually more upset that you're leaving than I am about Angel being dead."

"You are?" Her surprize grows even more.

"Yeah." I admit. "Um... look... Everything I said... about how you need to leave once this thing with Spike and Drusilla is settled... I didn't mean it... Or, actually, I did, but I don't... not now... I'd actually kind of... I mean, if you want to... I'd really like it if you'd stay here."

"Buffy?"

"I mean... We've only just started to get along... and... besides, if you'd stay, we could patrol together and stuff, and we could keep each other from dying, right? I mean, two Slayers are better than one, right?"

"I... I guess..."

"And if you'd stay... Giles isn't as strict as your Watcher... You could have fun here, and it wouldn't have to distract from being the Slayer. Actually, now that I think about it, having a social life seems to actually cause more slaying-related issues than it makes you overlook, so you might actually be busier being a Slayer than you're used to."

"Maybe..."

"And I... I just really want you to stay." I shift around on my feet. The cab driver honks his horn, letting her know that he's ready to go whenever she is.

"Why? Why do you want me to stay?"

"Well... I... I really like you, okay?" I blush, and I think she finally understands what I'm trying to say.

"Buffy?" She sighs.

"Well... I mean... No... I'm not going to cop out of this one. I like you, Kendra, like, in a romantic sense. And I've been wigging about it for days now, not sure if I should say anything, but you're fixing to be heading back to Jamaica, or wherever you're from, and I'm not sure if I'll ever see you again, and I just know that I'm going to regret not at least trying. Besides, you've already said you're gay, and... Look... Normally, dating would probably distract from Slaying... but... what if you're dating another Slayer? It's not like you'd have to keep that secret from me or anything. And we could actually help each other with it, not hinder each other."

"But Buffy-..."

"And I assure you, I'm not just on the rebound. You're not the 'rebound girl' or anything. I just... I want to give this a shot... if you do..."

Kendra is silent for a while, then she glances over my shoulder, and I turn to see what she's looking at. Giles, Willow, Xander, and Cordelia are all standing right behind us, their mouths open in a stunned silence.

"Oh... uh... hi..." I say, and I'm instantly wigging. Luckily, and actually really surprisingly, Cordelia recovers first.

"Well?" She asks.

"Well what?" I ask nervously.

"No, not you." She says. She looks at Kendra, and we all flinch in surprize. "She asked you a question."

My eyebrows are raised, and suddenly, everyone's attention is on Kendra.

"Well, Kendra? Would you like to remain here in Sunnydale?" Giles asks.

"The world famous 'All-You-Can-Slay-Buffet'?" Xander jokes.

"You're welcome to stay, if you want. We could probably use your help, anyway." Willow points out.

"And anything to get Buffy back to dating people with a pulse." Xander adds, and I shoot a glare at him, but he does have a point.

I turn back to look at Kendra, hoping beyond hope she'll say yes.

"But Buffy..." She says, and my heart falls. "I don't even have any place to stay."

"Is that all that's keeping you from saying yes?" I ask.

"Pretty much." She admits.

"Well... I'd have to ask my mom first, but we've got a spare bedroom. Maybe you could stay in there." I suggest.

"And if she says no, you're more than welcome to come stay with me. Traditionally, Slayers live with their Watchers anyway. It should be an easy matter for me to get myself assigned as your official Watcher."

Kendra takes a deep breath. "Very well. I will stay." She agrees. I have to stop myself from squealing in excitement, and I throw my arms around her, hugging her tightly. She seems awkward at first, but then I feel her arms around me as well, and I close my eyes, savoring everything that is Kendra.

I pull back after a while and look back to see everyone actually smiling a bit. Willow glances over at Kendra, then back at me, as if urging me to do something, and I blush as I realize what she's talking about.

I look back at Kendra, and see that she's looking at me, and she looks like she's expecting it, too. So, I slowly lean in and press my lips against hers, and I feel her kiss me back.