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Kendra was dying. She was sure of that. She thought she’d be more prepared, after all she’d known she was going to die young since she was seven years old.
Still, she’d hoped she would have a little more time than this, that her death wouldn’t be quite so pathetic; Killed by an unexpected thrall and a fingernail, not even a full year into being a Slayer.
Mr.Zabuto would be so disappointed.
She hoped that at least Buffy’s friends and Mr.Giles managed to get away, that they’d regroup and stop Angelus before he was able to awaken Acathla. She’d been more than a little skeptical of Buffy and her methods when they first met, and it took quite a bit of restraint on her part to not say ‘I told you so’ when she came with the sword and was caught up on the Angel situation. But she was confident that Buffy would do what needed to be done when it came down to it. She had to.
Kendra could feel herself slipping away now, her eyes drooping closed finally. She wondered if another girl would be called. That’s how it usually went, one Slayer dies and another rises from her ashes. Buffy had of course been the exception, but maybe whatever powers that chose them would decide to right that wrong.
She hoped not. She’d liked being part of a pair, despite herself, despite their rocky start. She liked to think Buffy did too, even if they hadn’t had much time together. Hopefully Buffy and the next girl would get along quicker.
“Kendra!” A voice said. it sounded far away.
She was tired, really tired and she wanted to ignore whoever it was, to just get this over with. But the voice, one she recognized, one she would be able to place if her mind wasn’t so muddled now, called her name again, closer this time.
Then she felt hands on her throat, on her wound, holding it together as if it would just stitch itself closed by sheer force of the will of whoever was doing this.
“Please,” the voice said pleadingly, “please I can’t do this on my own, you can’t-“
Buffy; the voice was Buffy.
“Don’t just stand there!” Buffy barked at someone, “Call for help!”
She managed to pry her eyes open for a second, catching a glimpse of Buffy hunched over her, tears running down her face and a little blood on her jacket. Her eyes slipped close again, she simply didn’t have the energy to keep them open anymore.
Kendra didn’t mind Buffy being the last thing she saw before she died. She was a much better sight than the library ceiling in any case.
Kendra wasn’t dead.
She sat up a little too quickly and had to blink spots from her vision. For a moment she felt as if she might fall over despite the fact that she was sitting down.
“Kendra?”
Buffy was sitting at her bedside.
Kendra tried to talk but only a painful wheeze escaped her mouth. She reached for her throat, feeling the gauze covering it.
“Here,” Buffy said, handing her a pad of paper and a pen. “The doctor said you might not be able to talk for a while.”
Did someone call Mr.Zabuto? Kendra wrote immediately.
He wouldn’t be happy with her almost dying, and she was nervous about what he’d say, but he needed to know what happened nonetheless.
“He’s at Giles’ now.” Buffy said, “Giles had to just about drag him out of here to get some sleep.”
Kendra couldn’t hide her surprise. He had come all the way here? She thought that he’d send for her once she recovered, maybe call a few times to see how she was doing, but she didn’t think he would hop on a plane just to see her.
Is everyone okay?
Buffy grimaced a little, “Mostly, Willow and Xander already got discharged and Giles… he wouldn’t come to the hospital, but he’s okay.”
They’d been hurt. They’d been hurt and it was all her fault.
I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have let it happen.
“It's fine. I’m just glad everyone’s alive.”
It’s not fine! Kendra scrawled, suddenly incensed, your friends and Mr.Giles, they’re all hurt and what would have happened if he awakened Acathla while you were busy with me, the world could have ended and
“But it didn’t.” Buffy interrupted, putting a hand over Kendra’s to stop her from writing.
Kendra quickly wiped away tears that she hadn’t realized she was shedding. They sat in silence for a moment while she got herself under control. She eventually flipped to another page and wrote one name.
Angel?
Buffy looked away. “He’s- he’s fine.”
Kendra tried not to look too disappointed. She hadn’t been on board with re-ensouling him in the first place, but Buffy had insisted and Kendra had remembered how protective she’d been of him before. So she went along with it, letting Buffy exhaust all her options, fully ready to stake him herself if it didn’t work. (Now he wondered if she would have even been able to, considering her dismal performance with Drusilla.)
“Willow did the spell here.” Buffy continued, “I fought him but he was back to normal before the portal opened.”
What about Drusilla and Spike?
“They got away, I don’t think Spike was fully onboard the ‘suck the world into hell’ train.”
That wasn’t good. The thought of Drusilla out there, Kendra’s dried blood still under her fingernails, sent chills down her spine.
The doctor came in then. She did a double take when she saw Kendra sitting up, fully lucid and alert.
“You’re awake.” She said, not quite keeping the disbelief out of her voice.
She came around the other side of the bed, checked the various readings on the monitors as if she couldn’t quite believe them before getting out a stethoscope and placing it over Kendra’s heart.
She mumbled, “Amazing.” Before taking the stethoscope off and hanging it around her neck.
“We knew you were healing quickly, but with an injury like that…” She shook her head, “I’ll call your father right away, he’ll be happy to know you’re awake. If you need anything just press the button.”
Then she was gone. Kendra frowned. She turned back to Buffy.
Did she get me confused with another patient?
“What do you mean?”
She said she’d call my father?
“Oh, she meant your Watcher. That’s who he told the doctors he was.”
Kendra felt a strange twinge at that, something that she wasn’t going to unpack right now.
“He’ll be here any minute, I'll go now, give you two some privacy.” Buffy said.
Kendra grabbed Buffy’s hand before she could fully get up.
Can you stay until he gets here?
Buffy smiled and sat back down.
“Of course.”