Setting: Season 4 -- A New Man -- Maggie Walsh's office
Disclaimer: Golly, Mr. Whedon, I didn't think you'd mind!
Disclaimer: Opening is taken directly from the episode named


"What about you?" Maggie Walsh asked.

"Me?"

"How many hostiles would you say you've... slain?"

Buffy turned for a quick look at Riley, then back to Walsh. She opened
her mouth to speak....


For a moment nothing came out. How could she possibly...?

"I, um.... I didn't really count."

"Really?"

"Well, you know me," Buffy laughed, nervously. "I have trouble keeping
track of what day it is."

Walsh leaned back in her chair with a skeptical look on her face. "You
must have some idea...."

"Well, roughly...." Darn! That was not the right answer.

"Roughly...?"

Buffy looked around at Riley again. He had an encouraging smile on his
face. Buffy suddenly thought he looked a little goofy, and the number
seventeen flashed into her head again. Oh, he was going to look a lot
goofier soon. Or worse. She squirmed a bit as she turned back to
Professor Walsh, and looked down at the floor.

"Well," she managed, "roughly... seven, eight... maybe nine..."

Walsh smiled and leaned further back in her chair. "Ah," she began, but
got no further.

"Hundred," Buffy finished, actually cringing away from Riley as she said
it. Maggie's chair came back up with an audible thump. Riley frankly
gaped behind Buffy, and only just managed to blank his face as she
looked back at him. Her apologetic smile didn't even register on him
before Professor Walsh's voice brought her back around.

"Do you mean to tell me that you have killed nine hundred..."

"Maybe only seven hundred! I really, really didn't keep count. A-and
I've been doing this for, for, for four years. Slay a vampire or two a
day for that long and it, it adds up, you know...?"

Walsh frowned at the girl in front of her. "It adds up," she said, "to
fifteen hundred to three thousand kills!"

Buffy rocked back in her chair. "Whoa!" was all she could say to that.
She got a far away look in her eyes, and the room fell silent.

Walsh leaned back in her chair, reappraising the Slayer. Riley stood at
parade rest with a stunned look on his face -- not that either of the
women noticed it, or him.

"You really do have no idea how many kills you've made," Professor Walsh
said at last, "do you?"

"Huh? Oh, uh, no, I really don't." The thoughtful look reappeared on
her face. "But it could be three thousand, I guess...."

"Agent Finn," Walsh rapped out, bringing the man mentally back into the
room.

"Ma'am?"

"Remind me to look into issuing the men some pointy sticks."