Paradise

Kennedy always thought being a slayer meant having power. The power to protect those that couldn't protect themselves, and most importantly, the power to protect the woman that she loves.

But it was all a lie.

Sitting here in this dark corner, chained helplessly to the earth like a rabid dog, she was forced to watch as the life was slowly and visciously sucked from the witch's body.

The faint outline of a figure towering over her lover's body was the only image she could muster for an attacker as she felt her heart break at watching the only woman that she ever loved slowly be taken from her.

Kennedy felt the agonizing pain of loss and in that moment she knew, without Willow to share it with, her life was over.[/i]

***

Kennedy jolted upright in bed. It only took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the darkness of the hotel room. Her heart was still racing and she felt the light sheen of sweat covering her face. Her body reacted before her mind could fully awaken, and she reached over to take the still sleeping witch in her arms.

The slayer cradled her lover, mumbling incoherently as she placed her hand against the witch's chest. Satisfied with the steady beat of her heart and the rise and fall of her breaths, she fell back against the bed still cradling the woman in her arms.

“Hmphrr.” Willow was suddenly issued a rude awakening- in the literal sense- when she felt herself roughly yanked in a backwards motion. Her mind felt muddled, torn between the conscience plain and the sleeping one. As her mind tried to wake up, she had barely become aware of someone clinging to her like it was life or death before the falling motion of crashing back against the bed jolted her mind further.

“Kenn?” she managed in a hoarse whisper, a mixture of sheer tiredness and her injury from several hours before. She became aware even more now of the clinging sensation, and tried to turn her head around as best she could in this position to look over at her lover. “Baby…what’s going on?”

Kennedy was still mumbling, holding onto her lover as though her life depended on it. At the sound of the witch's raspy voice, the brunette buried her face against her neck, inhaling the sweet scent of her lover. “You're alive...you didn't leave me.”

Kennedy wasn't aware of how tight she was holding her lover. All rational thought left her mind at the overwhelming comfort that the witch was alive and well.

“Ke-“ Willow started to speak, but the slayer’s grip suddenly tightened and the air was pushed out of her lungs. “Sw…eetie…Willow can’t b-b…reathe…” She had no idea what had happened to give her slayer a sudden panic attack and act this way, but if she didn’t let up in the next ten seconds Willow felt her ribs about to give way.

Needless to say, she was awake now.

Kennedy instantly released her grip on the witch, shaking her head as she backed away. “I'm...sorry Will. So...sorry.” Kennedy gazed at her lover with soft eyes and a relieved smile. “I can't believe it. You're really here.”

The slayer tentatively reached out her hand to touch her lover, but hesitated at the last moment.

Eyebrows frowning in confusion, Willow immediately scooted closer to her lover, placing a hand over the slayer’s shoulder and giving it a quick squeeze before running it soothingly down her arm. “Of course I’m here…Kennedy, what happened? D-did you…I mean, did you have a-a nightmare o-or something?” She was starting to think maybe the younger girl *was* coming down with the flu or some sort of virus or something.

“Something,” Kennedy repeated absently, her eyes still scanning over the witch's face. She met the concerned gaze of her lover and sighed. “I'm really sorry if I hurt you Will, o-or if I...scared you.” She placed her hands in her lap nervously. “But...I'm not really sure what it was. All I know is it was the worst thing I've ever...seen.”

“It’s okay, don’t even worry about it…” Willow sat up and moved so she was right next to the slayer, pulling her into a loving embrace. “You just…well, scared me.” She tightened her hug around the slayer’s neck. “Baby, tell me what it was…what you saw…whatever happened, it’s not real. I’m okay…and definitely not leaving you.”

“That's just it Will,” Kennedy shook her head as she placed her hands tentatively against the witch's thighs. “I'm not sure what it was. I just know that I was there and you were...” The slayer paused, her grip on the redhead's thighs increasing slightly.

Willow took a moment to nuzzle her face against Kennedy’s neck, before pulling back but leaving her arms around the slayer. “Whatever it was…it wasn’t real.” She rested her forehead against Kennedy’s. It hurt her to see Kennedy this upset, and not knowing what to do about it made the feeling worse. They were definitely in that stage where you would do anything to take away the pain your lover was feeling, and that’s what Willow wanted to do during this moment.

“I know,” Kennedy nodded, her fingers lightly massaging the delicate skin of her lover's thighs. “But...it sure felt real then. Seeing you dieing like that and being powerless to stop it. I...” Kennedy suddenly froze, realizing she let the words slip from her mouth before she could stop them. She didn't want to upset the witch, she already had enough to worry about.

“Wait, Willow,” Kennedy tried to play off the moment. “It's not what you think. I...”

After the initial stunned silence, Willow reached up and placed a finger over Kennedy’s lips, not letting her go any further for the moment. “Kenn…it was a nightmare. And although I’m not…well, y’know, thrilled with the idea it involved me dieing…” She tried to give Kennedy what she hoped was a reassuring smile, and leaned closer to give the girl a soft kiss on the cheek. “Don’t blame yourself for anything that happened in some crazy dream, okay? Promise me.” She tried on a little version of ‘resolve face’. “Your mind probably just got worked up by what happened earlier.”

Speaking of earlier, the witch eyed her lover’s lip, and was relieved to see it almost completely healed. “And see? You’re already getting back to normal.” Willow brushed a thumb lightly over where the split lip had formerly resided. “All better.”

Kennedy considered the witch's words and knew that it was probably best to disregard it as just that. Some crazy dream.

Kennedy was starting to feel like her old slayer self. “All better, eh?” She grinned as her fingers started to apply more pressure against her lover's thighs. “Remember what you said earlier? 'Bout when I got all better?”

Willow raised an eyebrow at Kennedy’s sudden change of mood. Two seconds earlier, she looked as if she was about to have a panic attack at some crazy-ass dream, and now she was all with the sexy smoothness again.

But she guessed that was a good thing, and didn’t really want her lover to dwell on some stupid nightmare. She glanced over at the bedside clock and let out a small groan. “Kenn…it’s 4am. I’m really tired…”

Kennedy's grin slowly faded and she gave a light nod. “Yeah. It's pretty late...or early. Whatever. I'm kinda tired too.” The slayer fluffed up her pillow and fell back against the bed, situating herself to get comfortable. She turned back and forth before finally lifting herself up and turning over, leaving her back facing the witch.

Willow’s heart sank, and she remained sitting for a moment, staring down at Kennedy. She felt a little guilty, not wanting to just brush Kennedy off like that, but she said the first thing that came to mind. She was extremely tired, but even what little the slayer had said about her dream was running on repeat through the witch’s mind.

‘It sure felt real.’ Those were almost the exact same words Willow had heard Buffy say upon returning from the Shadow Men portal several months ago, in regards to the Turok Hann army she had envisioned. Granted, it wasn’t the same situation, but…there was also the time several years ago, when she had dreamed of the monster killing children in the hospital. It had been real.

Face it, there were many times when Buffy’s ‘slayer dreams’ had turned out to be real. The fact Kennedy had echoed those words to her sent a shiver down the witch’s spine. But the more she thought about it, the more her brain tried to tell her that Kennedy wasn’t used to this whole slayer gig yet, and chances were she didn’t know the difference between something that really was just a dream, and something that was more than that.

Letting out a soft sigh, Willow came out of her daze. She looked down at the slayer once more, the tense and rigid muscles in her slayer’s exposed back telling her she wasn’t asleep just yet. Kennedy could be mad at her, but it didn’t mean Willow still wasn’t going to be there for her.
Finally the redhead lay back down on the bed and shuffled over until she was pressing her body into the slayer’s back, molding up against her. Her left arm snaked up and over the slayer’s taunt stomach, taking a moment to gently run over the smooth skin there. Willow rested her head behind Kennedy’s, leaning forward to place a small kiss on the back of her neck, and whisper in her ear, “I love you, Kennedy.”

Kennedy wanted to stay mad. She wanted to be angry with Willow for her blatant disregard for her feelings...for her needs...and it was with that thought that Kennedy realized just how big of an ass she really was.

She was so wrapped up in her own wants and needs, that she didn't even once consider just how much the witch had been through in the last twenty-four hours. It was enough to drive the strongest slayer to sheer exhaustion, much less a mere mortal.

With a sigh, Kennedy turned to face her lover. “I'm so sorry Will. I'm the world's biggest ass.” She reached out and brushed back a strand of loose hair from the witch's eyes. “Could you ever forgive me?”

“No.” Seeing the sheer disappointment on her lover’s face, Willow quickly smiled. “That would require being mad in the first place.”

The witch placed a loving kiss against her slayer’s lips. “And I didn’t mean to, you know…sound all brush-offy. It’s just…could you give me til morning?” She gave a light chuckle. “I really don’t wanna pass out on you in the middle of…y-yknow…” That made her blush a little. “It requires some spunk, a-and I’m kind of…out, right now.” Another wave of guilt passed through her. She felt bad, not wanting Kennedy to think she only took and gave pleasure when she felt like it, and not never when the slayer wanted to. “But, I can…could I just hold you tonight?” Her hand ran another gentle circle over Kennedy’s toned stomach. “I just want to be with you…”
The slayer's eyes dropped to her lover's hand currently stroking her stomach and she tried not to let out the deep groan the image invoked within her. “I'd really like that...really.” Kennedy looked up into her lover's eyes pleadingly. “But...it seems as though I have no control over my own body right now.” Her brows furrowed and she looked almost on the verge of tears. “I'm so sorry Will. I know Faith said it's bad right after a slay, but this is...”

“God,” Kennedy groaned and fell back against the pillow, throwing her arm over her face. “This sucks.”

For some odd reason, this invoked a reaction of laughter from the witch. She gave a chaste kiss to Kennedy’s temple, a grin spreading over her face. “We might end up needing to put you on some kind of medication,” she teased, then saw the look her lover gave her and sobered up.

Then, her hand slowly started to trace lower. “I really hate seeing you so…worked up like this.” Taking advantage of Kennedy’s momentary distress, the witch swung herself up to straddle the slayer, but didn’t move her hand. “Suddenly finding a bit more energy…” Her eyes bore into the slayer’s gorgeous hazel ones.

Kennedy smiled up at her lover, reaching up to place her hands on the witch's hips. “Wait.” She gently lifted her lover from her waist and placed her back onto the bed. “Not tonight Will. I appreciate your willingness, but...I think this is something I have to do. I gotta prove to myself and to my body...that I'm in control here...not my libido.” The look of complete shock on her lover's face broke her moment of reflection. “Willow please, don't be upset...”

“Upset? Are you kidding me? More like, ‘cause of death: died from a state of shock’.” She grinned teasingly at her lover to let her know she was doing just that, teasing. “Don’t worry, I’ll get over it.” But she did slide back over to rest as closely as possible to Kennedy. “I don’t wanna be, y’know, a tease or anything, a-and I’m sorry if I keep doing that…like, the leading you on thing, o-or teasing, ‘cause I really don’t mean to, and half the time probably don’t even realize I’m doing it. Maybe I should try and get help, t-to stop teasing. Do I really do that? The touchy-feely thing? Because if it’s driving you nuts I should just-“

“Will?” Kennedy interrupted the babble with a light touch against her lover's forearm. “Just breathe.” The slayer smiled with a shake of her head. “And no, you're not *just* a tease. I love the touchy-feely stuff *especially* when it drives me nuts.” Kennedy trailed off and ran her hand down over the witch's side to rest on her hip. Her fingers played with the soft skin she found there.

“Just looking at you drives me wild, and when you touch me? God Will...its like nothing I've ever felt before.” Kennedy placed a gentle kiss on the bare shoulder of her lover. “Don't ever stop.”

Willow nodded, exhaling and letting out a simple “’kay.” She snuggled up tight again Kennedy, pulling the slayer against her. “No stopping, sounds like a plan.” She smiled into the brunette’s hair, placing a kiss on her forehead. “For now, lets exercise that whole cuddles ‘n snuggles thing we talked about earlier. Just let me hold you tonight…and I promise I won’t go away, regardless of what some stupid slayer dream told you.”

“S-slayer dream?” Kennedy repeated. “But...I thought you said...” The slayer trailed off with a worried look. “But earlier you said it was 'just a dream'. Don't really recall that extra 'slayer' in there.”

Kennedy looked into her lover's eyes intently. “There's something you're not telling me Will. What is it?”

Willow mentally gave herself a swift kick in the ass. She hadn’t realized that had slipped out until it was too late.

“Kenn, it’s nothing…” she started, not wanting to worry the slayer into a frenzy. Willow beckoned the slayer to lay back down. “Don’t worry. Just try to sleep…”

“Willow, please,” Kennedy sighed as she resisted the witch's pull. “Don't treat me like a child. Whatever it is, I can handle it.” She sat up swiftly and looked back over her shoulder at her lover. “I thought by now you would have trusted me with this kinda thing. I may be new at all this 'slayer' stuff, but I think I still have the right to know what's going on in my own head.”

With a deep sigh, the red witch slowly sat up in bed as well. She took a moment to compose her thoughts, before looking up and meeting Kennedy’s gaze. “Let me say this first. We have no way of knowing, and the chances of it being…well, they’re slim, but…” Another breath was released, before she took in a fresh one and started. “Slayers have been known to have…dreams, ones that are…different, from other peoples. Giles calls them premonitions, or…” She hesitated in using this word, knowing it might freak Kennedy out even more. “…or visions.

“But that doesn’t mean every single dream you have is gonna come true,” Willow rushed on quickly. “A lot of dreams you have are gonna be just that, dreams. Out of the ones Buffy had from the time I knew her, not all of them came true.”

Kennedy let the other woman's words sink in before quietly responding. “Then how do you tell the difference?” She turned to face her lover more fully. “How am I supposed to know the plain ole innocent ones from the end of the earth ones?” The slayer reached over and took the witch's hand. “'Cause this one is...it's just really important that I know the difference now, Will. So, how do you tell?”

Once again Willow hesitated in answering. She swallowed, and let a small shrug escape her shoulders. “I don’t…I don’t know.” She wasn’t a slayer, she truthfully didn’t know if you could or could not tell the difference. Aside from it feeling ‘real’, as slayers seemed to so frequently put it. “You might not…be able to tell.” She spoke carefully, feeling the need to tread lightly, but still seeing Kennedy’s distress she continued. “It might be better i-if you talk to Buffy or Faith a-about it. I’m not a slayer, so I guess I don’t completely know.”

“That's comforting,” Kennedy blurted out before she could stop herself. Looking over at her lover, she instantly noticed the hurt in her soft green eyes. “You know what, I'm really not up for apologizing all night. So, why don't we just get some sleep and we can figure this all out in the morning.”

Kennedy leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on the witch's lips before falling back against the bed and opening her arms for her lover.

Willow nodded a little, hesitating a brief moment before crawling into her slayer’s arms. Where she was warm, content, and *safe*, most of all. That last fact the witch reminded herself of for the millionth time. Kennedy would never let anything bad happen to her.

Besides, right now, she was more worried about the slayer’s mental health with this revelation than her own thoughts about dieing.

“You wanna call Faith in the morning?” she asked tiredly as she nuzzled into Kennedy’s neck.

“If you want,” Kennedy stifled a yawn, pulling the older woman's body tightly against her own. “I mean, if you think it'll help.” She snuggled against the red tresses and placed a gentle kiss against the witch's temple. “You know I'd never let anything happen to you, baby. I'd die first.”

That sent an even bigger pang through Willow than Kennedy could probably ever realize.

***

Kennedy had been awake for the last hour.

She tried to sleep, but everytime she closed her eyes all she could see was the lifeless body of her lover. Needless to say, that was not an image she liked very much.

So, for the last hour she was lying deathly still, doing her best not to wake the peaceful slumber of her lover.

The slayer reached over and brushed back the hair covering the witch's neck leaving her skin open for a gentle kiss. She inhaled the heady aroma of her lover deep in sleep before slowly pulling back the covers and quietly slipping from the bed.

Kennedy's footsteps were quiet and soft as she made her way over to her jacket that was lying draped over the comfy chair. She carefully lifted it up and reached into the inner pocket to pull out her cell. With a quick glance back over her shoulder, she made sure Willow was still deep in sleep before quietly slipping out onto the balcony.

Even though it was still summer in Rio, the early morning breezes were enough to chill even the most warm blooded of creatures. Kennedy shivered as she pulled her jacket on over her shoulders before flipping open her phone to dial the familiar number.

After three rings, a groggy voice answered.

“’llo?” In another hemisphere, Buffy rolled over in bed to blindly grope for the phone before finally pulling it to her ear. Slayer or not, it was physically impossible to be awake and fully functioning at…

“It’s nearly five in the morning,” she half groaned, half snarled into the phone. “Who the hell is this?”
Kennedy's brow furrowed at the woman's voice. This she was not expecting.

“Buffy?” Kennedy breathed into the phone. “Is that you? What are you doing answering Faith's...”

The brunette's words slowly trailed off as the look of confusion on her face was replaced with a gentle, knowing smile. “Sorry to bother you so early, but I really need to talk to Faith. She there?”

“Kennedy?” Buffy sat up in bed, feeling a little disoriented and trying to clear her mind. “Hey, how’s Rio going? What are you and Willow up to?”

While talking, she reached over and jabbed Faith in the side, earning a loud snort from the brunette as she twitched in her sleep. “Wha?”

“It's going,” Kennedy smiled into the phone, “and not much. We went out to a carnival, had a picnic on the beach, ran into a couple vampires, was nearly beaten to death, and had a dream the life was sucked outta Willow. So, you know, the usual.”

Kennedy's grin widened. “And you Buffy? How are things with you? Anything interesting happen since we've been gone?”

“What?!” Buffy screwed up her eyes, rubbing at them again to clear away the remains of sleep. “Oh god…are you two okay? Is Will alright? What dream?”

When a soft snore emitted from Faith, she reached over and punch the slayer in the side.

“OW!!! Sonuvabitch!” Faith roared, sitting up, fully awake now. “What the friggin’ hell B?! Since when did you become so abusive- why are you on the phone?”

Kennedy chuckled. “We're both fine, Buffy. Will told me I shouldn't worry about it cause it was probably nothing, then, after she nearly freaked out, she thought maybe I should call Faith and talk to her about it.”

The slayer walked over the short distance and pulled the lawn chair up, adjusting the cushions. “I really wasn't expecting you to answer her phone, but seein' as how you did...” Kennedy let out a little sigh as she felt back into the cold comfort of the lawn chair. “I don't see why I can't just talk to you. After all, you are the original 'chosen' one. You probably know more about this sorta thing than anyone.”

“So you think this was some sort of…slayer dream?” Buffy questioned, earning a curious glance from Faith. She scooted off of the bed and stood up, feeling completely alert now.

Then, that last motion registered in her brain and she whirled around to stare at the other slayer. What the hell was she doing in Faith’s bed?! Memories from the night before came crashing back, and she remembered coming over to hang out and relax. They must’ve fell asleep.

Not to mention the fact she woke up at one point with Faith wrapped around her like a sausage roll. The thought caused the blonde slayer to go crimson, and though Faith probably couldn’t see it in the lack of light, she quickly turned away. “Tell me what happened.”

Faith swung her legs over the side of the bed as well, cracking her neck to the side as she listened to the conversation. This sounded interesting, in a very bad way. Her experiences with slayer dreams never ended in good things.

“Don't really know where to start,” Kennedy breathed, lying back against the chair and staring up at the early morning sky. “I guess it's 'cause we've been having these...run ins, I guess you could say, with this she vamp, and I guess it's just been gettin' to me.” The slayer played with the button on her jacket absently, letting out a slow sigh. “I didn't want to worry Willow with it, but you know how sneaky she is...”

Kennedy trailed off with a faint smile at the thought of her lover. “She was calm about it at first, but then she sorta freaked. She doesn't think I noticed, but I've been around her long enough to know when she's worried, but I told her not to. I really don't think this dream is gonna come true, at least, not as long as I'm still breathin'.”

That wasn’t resting well with the oldest slayer. She mulled the words spoken by the youngest one for a few seconds, eventually becoming aware of Faith standing beside her.

“Everything okay with Junior?” Faith spoke in a husky tone, still groggy from sleep. It usually took a nuclear explosion to get her out of bed if her body wasn’t waking itself up on its own.

Buffy shrugged, and then spoke back into the phone. “Are you sure it wasn’t just a dream, Kennedy? You said it yourself, this vampire has you a little worried in the first place. Maybe your mind is just messing with your head…” She quickly rolled her eyes at that comment. “You know what I mean.”

“I'm not sure,” Kennedy sighed. Her eyes glazed over and she had to fight back that aching feeling in the pit of her stomach. “It has to be Buffy. 'Cause if it's not, then that means...it means...that...that Willow's gonna...die.” Kennedy barely managed to force the words from her throat, nearly choking on them. With a heavy breath, she regained her composure. “And that's something that I just can't...that I just *won’t* accept.”

Buffy could pretty much hearing the potent- no, *slayer*, tearing herself up over this. She let out a deep sigh, a knot of worry forming in her own stomach. “It’s okay Kennedy, we’ll figure this out, we just need to-“

“Gimme,” Faith snatched the phone out of Buffy’s hand and held it to her ear before the blonde could protest. “’Sup, Slick? You got B here lookin’ like she’s ready to pass out or somethin’. What’s up with Red?”

Kennedy's somber mood was quickly replaced with another smirk at the sound of her friend's voice. “I was just about to ask you the same thing. What's up with Buffy? You always share your bed with strange women?” Kennedy laughed at the sound of the groan on the other end of the line. “Or is it just hot blondes that you've got it bad for?”

Faith looked sharply at Buffy to make sure she hadn’t heard, then paced to the opposite side of the room. “What did she tell you? We were just hanging out, watching movies and some shit. It’s not my fault I’m an instinctive snuggler, jesus! Stop giving me the third degree already!”

“Whoa, easy there tiger,” Kennedy chuckled into the phone. “She didn't say anything, she doesn't have to. I could see it the first time I watched you two together. Unresolved sexual tension much?” Kennedy felt another light breeze blow in and she let out a long, shivering breath. “Besides,” her smile began to grow, “I've always had my suspicions about Buffy. You never wonder why every one of her relationships have failed? Maybe its cause she didn't like what they were bringing to the table...” Kennedy paused. “Or should I say...the bedroom.”

“What? Okay, that is totally not about…this…you this is about you, not us. Me! I mean, her. Not the proverbial us, just the u- what do you want? You obvious called for a reason.” Faith, despite herself, felt flustered and didn’t dare look over at Buffy. “I heard something about slayer dreams. You have some pre-apocalyptic vision or something?”

Kennedy's smile instantly faded. She glanced over through the balcony doors. She could barely make out the faint outline of her lover's sleeping form lying curled up on the bed.

“No,” the slayer choked out, “something much worse.” She averted her eyes back to her lap and swallowed the acid rising in her throat. “I...it...the dream was about Willow, okay? She was...dieing and I couldn't...I didn't get to her in time. I had to watch helplessly as the life was slowly sucked from the only woman I've ever loved and I'm scared...” Kennedy trailed off, realizing that was probably the first time she ever admitted her fear to anyone but Willow.

There was a pause on the line for several long moments as Faith took this in. Finally, she let out a low whistle. “Damn, Slick…” She turned to frown at Buffy, who was looking equally as solemn. “Did you talk to Re- Willow about this? I mean, I’m not gonna presume that you shouldn’t worry and that it was just a nightmare, because we’re slayers, we don’t get that lucky…but these things, they don’t always…go as ‘planned’, if you wanna think of it that way.” Another bout of silence passed as Faith’s mind raced on the inside, while on the outside she remained thoughtful looking. “Do you remember what happened?”

“Not vividly,” Kennedy answered with a sigh. “But there wasn't that much to it. I just remember feeling cold, and I was chained o-or shackled or something, to the ground. And then Willow was...” The slayer trailed off to fight back the tears she felt threatening at the thought of her lover lying motionless and alone. “It was like someone or *something* was...sucking the life outta her, literally, and I just couldn't...I didn't...”

Kennedy dropped the phone from her ear and ran a hand over her eyes, squeezing them shut tightly for a moment before lifting the phone back to her ear. “I told Willow about it, and she said that it was probably nothing...but then she said I should call you. I think she's more worried than she lets on. She doesn't wanna scare me, but I know she's worried.”

As much as Kennedy was probably trying to hide it from her, Faith could tell the younger brunette was upset. But she didn’t say anything. “I think she’s probably more worried about you than herself, Kenn.” Faith went to continue, but saw Buffy beckoning for the phone. “Hang on, B needs to say something.” She handed the phone over.

“Kennedy?” Buffy glanced at Faith while she spoke. “Look, for now, just try to keep Will as close to you as possible. Don’t do a whole lot at night if you can help it. If you see anything that is even remotely similar to your dream or strikes a nerve or memory, stay away from it. I’ll tell Giles what you told us, and we’ll start to pull some stuff up, maybe contact the British coven Will worked with.” She paused for a moment to listen to the younger slayer’s heavy breathing, trying to hold together her composure. “Don’t worry. We’ll figure this out, Willow will be fine. She always is.”

“Easy for you to say,” Kennedy snarked, but immediately regretted it. “I'm sorry Buffy. It's not your fault. I'm just...” Kennedy paused at the sound of footsteps approaching. She turned away from the phone to listen, watching the balcony doors anxiously.

Willow appeared soon after, wrapped up in one of the bed sheets. She looked sleepy, but awake enough to be coherent, and leaned against the inside of the door frame. “Kenn?”

Buffy was about to ask if everything was okay when she thought she heard Willow. “Should I let you go for now?”

Kennedy's eyes were transfixed on the image of her lover. Never had she seen a vision so beautiful...so breathtaking as her newly awakened lover, wrapped in a bed sheet and looking as sexy as ever.

It took a moment for Buffy's voice to register in her brain. “Uh....” she shook her head as she turned back to the conversation. “Yeah, but tell Faith I'll call her later.” A light smile formed on her lips. “Try not to wear her out, okay?” Kennedy didn't give the blonde time to respond, closing the phone with a soft click. She placed it on the floor beside the chair and nodded to her lover with a smile. “C'mere.”

With a tired smile, Willow lumbered over to where her girlfriend was. “You okay?” she asked, her voice still rather sleepy.

“I am now,” Kennedy smiled as she reached up and pulled the older woman into her lap. She placed a gentle kiss on her lips before lying back against the lawn chair, pulling the redhead against her chest.

Kennedy let out a deep sigh, her body finally relaxing at the feel of her lover's weight against her own. She turned her head to the side, watching the horizon and waiting for the morning sunrise.

Willow buried herself into her girlfriend’s side, sighing in contentment. Her eyes were closed, but she was conscience and aware when a shiver went through her brunette’s body. “Cold, sweetie?” Her brain couldn’t seem to get passed two word questions at the moment.

“Just a little,” Kennedy answered, keeping her eyes trained off in the distance. Her arms instinctively wrapped tighter around her lover's body, pulling her even close. Buffy's advice from earlier was lurking in the back of her mind...'keep her as close to you as possible'...

Kennedy's arms wrapped even tighter around the witch's body.

As good as it felt to be held like this, Willow was starting to feel a sense of urgency radiating from her slayer. She lifted her head from the brunette’s neck to look her in the eye. Seeing how Willow was able to read people well, her lovers even more so, she could see evidence of tears shed not long ago.

A somber look came over the witch’s face, and she reached over to cup one of Kennedy’s cheeks in her palm and turn her face to look her in the eye. Giving a slight smile, she leaned over and pressed a soft, loving kiss to her slayer’s lips. “Everything’s gonna be all right.” She kissed her again. “I promise.”

Kennedy gazed deeply into her lover's eyes. “I believe you,” she whispered before leaning in for an even sweeter kiss. She pulled away and leaned her forehead against the witch's. “Just as long as you never leave my side, and I get to wake up to...” she paused and dropped her eyes to the redhead's body, “...*this* every morning, I'll be perfect.”

“I’ll be right here.” Willow kissed Kennedy a fourth time, letting it linger before she settled back down into her slayer, her protector’s, side. “Sleepy now?” She snuggled into the warmth of her slayer.

Kennedy smiled at the cuteness of her lover. “Yeah,” she nodded towards the room. “Lead the way, beautiful.”

***

On the Cleveland side of the conversation, Buffy hung up and looked at Faith. The two stared for a moment, both contemplating what they had just heard.

Finally, it was Buffy who spoke.

“So, ever been to South America?”

TBC...