TITLE: 25 Miles
AUTHOR: Dreiser
EMAIL: dreiser0@earthlink.net
YAHOO I.D.: dreiser3
BTVS FIC ARCHIVE:
http://www.geocities.com/shaych3/dreiser.htm
MAILING LIST: Well, it's not really a mailing list for this fic series but
just for F/C pairing in general. Check it out!
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cordyhasfaith
CONTENT: F/F romance implied.
SUMMARY: Kate realizes how far she's come and how far she has to go. And
who's making the trip with her.
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but a head full of ideas.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The title of this fic comes from the song by Edwin Starr.
Hey, the guy rocks.


25 Miles

By: Dreiser

 She had gotten drunk.

 She had gotten drunk on vodka and tried to kill herself by overdosing on
pills.

 Kate Lockely, formerly a Police Detective, wasn't sure what was more
embarrassing. The fact that she tried to commit suicide or she had attempted
to do it with vodka.

 Part of her supposed it showed just how little she actually drank... that
the only alcohol she had at her place was the kind that she utterly
despised.

 So many things had happened in her life. For as long as she had been alive
she'd worshipped her father, he was the center of her world. Then he died.

 But not before she found out he wasn't nearly as perfect as she, and
everyone else, liked to make him out to be. Still... she loved him all the
same.

 And it hurt, being kicked out of the force.

 The place that her father loved so much. Where she had gone because of
him... of his influence on her life. It was like losing him again when they
fired her.

 What to do now, that was the question.

 All she knew was police work. She was good at it and she enjoyed it... the
parts that weren't paperwork. Part of her still had this twinge of belief
that they were helping people. That they were making a difference in their
lives.

 Only now, that she was away from the force did she realize she didn't have
to be a cop to do that.

 People help people.

 At least, these new friends of hers did. The people at the Angel Detective
Agency weren't normal by any sort of definition of the word but it hardly
mattered.

 They bled like everyone else, they hurt like everyone else, and still...
they helped others. Despite the danger that it presented.

 It was funny. They never really asked her to join them. After Kate had
worked with them on several cases, Cordelia just handed her a paycheck and
smiled.

 That paycheck was probably the greatest thing Kate had ever seen. Not
because she really needed the money, which she did, but because with it she
knew her life was on the right path again.

 Still, she had quite a few miles to go.

 And she was hardly alone. Maybe that's why she went with Angel that night.
She remembered every detail of Faith Spencer as if she'd just arrested her
yesterday.

 Faith simply wasn't the type of person you can forget. Not with those deep
brown eyes, full of sadness and this utter sense of despair at her actions.

 At her own life.

 While Angel talked to Faith, she kept her eyes locked on the girl. She
looked so much older than her actual years and it was almost painful to see.
She knew now what Faith was. Strangely enough, Wesley had been the one to
tell her. It seemed her former Watcher was at a crossroads with Faith...

 He no longer hated her.

 He no longer felt sorry for her.

 He just acknowledged her.

 And soon, he had confessed to Kate, he would be ready to visit her in
prison. To try and heal their damaged relationship, to help her stay on the
path of redemption.

 On hearing this, Kate wondered at his kindness. At the kindness of all of
her newfound friends. She knew part of Wesley's change was due to his own
hours of thought, and part was due to his relationship with Gunn.

 Gunn, who explained so gently, so tenderly, just what it's like to be
captured totally in feelings of rage and being unable to escape. Wesley, who
listened to him just as gently, as tenderly, as he gave this information.

 Before they left the prison, Faith asked Angel if she could speak to Kate.
And with confusion, she sat in front of this girl she'd only met once,
wondering what she could possibly have to say to her.

 "Thanks," Faith began with a small smile. "For being so nice to me that
day. I know you didn't have to, that you didn't wanna because you were irked
at Angel, but... still, you were nice to me. So, y'know, thanks."

 "You're welcome," Kate finally managed.

 Smiling again at Kate's reaction, Faith chuckled then said, "How're you
getting along with the gang? Has Queen C tried to give you a make over yet?"

 "Yes," Kate rolled her eyes. "And I rejected it. I don't have the budget or
the time to look as nice as she'd want me to."

 "I dunno," murmured Faith thoughtfully, studying Kate closely. "I think
you're doing fine right now." Brown eyes locked with blue and Kate could see
the sincerity in those dark eyes. "You're a beautiful lady."

 "Time to go, Spencer."

 Shrugging slightly, Faith beamed at Kate and said, "The boss man is
calling." Looking serious now, she asked in what was almost a plea, "You'll
come back? Believe it or not, I'd sorta like having more than two visitors."

 "I'll come back," Kate said the words before she even realized fully what
they meant. If they even did mean anything in particular.

 Faith's only reaction to this was a wide smile. One that seemed to light up
the entire room. With that, she left as the guard trailed behind her.

 "You like her."

 Jumping at the soft tone of Angel's voice. Kate stared up at the vampire
with a look of shock.

 She started to deny what he said, but she realized there was no point. Kate
did like Faith. Something in her now saw what she never did at first, that
Faith had a long way to go before she found herself.

 Just like she did.

 "Yeah," Kate smiled at him. "I do."

 "I'm glad," Angel murmured, returning the smile just barely. "Faith needs
more people who care for her."

 Nodding her head at this, Kate followed Angel out the door of the prison,
but not before she glanced back.

 Looking at the place where Faith was walking her path of redemption, of
self discovery. The same journey that she herself was on, only in a far
different location.

 They would get tired, they would lose their stride, but still, they would
keep going.

 Because now they had someone to travel with them. Someone who also had the
miles to go.

 And that made it all the more worthwhile.

-End-