Arrival

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Chapter One: Arrival


Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor do I own Anita Blake. There is no profit being made off this fic.


A/N: As always, I would like to thank the talented FaithUnbreakable for being such a wonderful beta. I would also like to note that this is a revamping of the original Monster Investigating and while some things are the same and are going in the same direction I had them going in before, others are not. For example, you will note that chapter one is extremely similar to the original chapter one. It is not like that in most cases. It has been quite some time since I wrote anything for the former MI and the story has changed to suit the writer that I am now. As you have probably noticed, this is not a Buffy/Asher fic anymore. At the present time, I am leaving it in the general category. It will probably change as I have something in mind but I would like to actually have something written down regarding a pairing before I declare it to the world. :-)


St. Louis in the summertime was not good to Buffy. The silk shirt she decided to wear to her interview was now clinging to her skin making her feel even more uncomfortable and self conscious than she already did.

Only light and airy cottons for me from now on, she thought.

In reality, she knew she had this new job in the bag already. Even if her experience was somewhat ‘computer manufactured’, she did have the real life experience that this department needed. Apparently there was only one other person working there who could equal her in knowledge and a lot of freaky stuff happened in this town. Luckily, that was just the way she wanted it.

Buffy had found after a few months of leading a normal life that she just wasn’t cut out for it. Even if things were different now and she didn’t have the weight of the world solely on her shoulders, she recognized the fact that there were still Big Bads that needed to be taken care of. Knowing that she could help out and not doing so just didn’t work for her. So, she helped Giles get the new Watchers Council started and once it was well established, she decided to go and find something that was hers. That something that was hers just happened to be living in a city that was famous for its supernatural wackiness and working for the Regional Preternatural Investigation Team (RPIT).

Everyone had understood when she left. Dawn had been a bit sad but she had gotten a scholarship from the new Watchers Council and was working on a degree in dead languages at Oxford. She was going to be a Watcher someday. It seemed as though once someone was bit with the slaying bug it just didn’t ever seem to leave them.

It was 11:56 and her interview was in four minutes. Time to face the music . . .

* * * * * * * * * * * *

No one really noticed her when she came in. Those who were not out to lunch had cases they were working on outside the office. A lot of times, that was the most ‘convenient’ time for them to get a hold of people to question. She walked up to the first person she saw and asked to see Det. Storr. She was summarily led to the only office in the place and was asked to wait a moment. She was still examining the office when he entered.

Dolph greeted her in what must have been his characteristic short, sweet, and to the point manner. Not many people could get away with it with such fluidity unless it was typical for them. “Hello, Ms. Summers. I have had the opportunity to look at your file and it seems . . .”

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Buffy couldn’t believe that interview. It must have only lasted about ten minutes but she felt like she had told him everything about herself down to the color underwear she was wearing that day.

I’m gonna have to be careful around that guy, she thought, he’s too good at getting information out of people, even with his job description.

For him, or anyone else for that matter, to find out what she used to be would ruin this place for her. Eventually secrets come out, she knew, but she wanted some time to settle in and make steady contacts before that became an issue. She pulled a face at the thought.

After they all had left the Hellmouth they had had to deal with the politics of their organization. In Sunnydale it had been ‘see, fight, kill’. The Hellmouth had a way of attracting the worst of demon-kind. Even the vampires that had become perverted and truly lost their souls. Lately, the new Watchers Council had been responsible for dealings with your average, everyday vampire that wasn’t after world domination or a bloody killing spree. That went for other creatures like werewolves and such as well. It was almost like living in a different world. Luckily, Buffy was not known to be diplomatic so the human-vampire-other species relations were currently being handled by Willow for the Council. It was funny how all the Scoobies, who used to loathe the Watchers Council, now were executives in charge of operations. It just didn’t seem like the thing for her anymore though.

On the upside, she was finally employed full time. First time in her life, and if that didn’t warrant a feast of chocolate, she didn’t know what did. This was something she was actually excited about. Being the brawn was great and everything, but getting to be the brainy one was going to be a new experience for her. There used to always be someone that could do that better than her and now that was about to change. Not only did she have a new place and a new job, she had a new role in justice: telling the police, through her vast amount of knowledge, what she thought did the killing, how they did it, and maybe even why, when they couldn’t figure it out for themselves. Ah, joy. Buffy never thought that law enforcement would be her forte even though, or perhabs especially because, her high school counselor said that's what she would be best at. Sometimes life has a way of surprising you.

Now that all the stress of the day was over, it was time to go home, take a shower, and go shopping for more St. Louis friendly clothes.

Man, I feel icky, Buffy commiserated to herself while throwing her hair up into a ponytail and entering her car.


Hope you enjoyed!