A Slayer No More
Dedicated to my daughter, with many thanks for her help with the various details of Buffy-ness.
(As with the previous cross-over, for storyline purposes I've taken the liberty of sending Buffy back in time, putting her squarely into Steve and Jaime's era.)
Chapter One
Peggy Callahan's smile never wavered, but inside she'd switched to guard-dog mode. "I'm sorry. You're...who?"
"Buffy Summers."
"You don't have an appointment. What is your business with Mr. Goldman?
"I'm trying to find Jaime Sommers."
"Oh - are you a relative?"
"No; different spelling. We worked together on a case last year." Buffy couldn't miss Callahan's raised eyebrow. She sighed. "Jaime gave me her phone number, but I've been trying to reach her for a week, and it's been disconnected."
Callahan wasn't about to volunteer information about Jaime - or anything else, for that matter - to a girl who appeared to be still in her teens. "That hardly appears to be Mr. Goldman's problem or concern, Miss...uh...Buffy."
"Look, this is really important."
"I'm sorry, but Mr. Goldman doesn't have time for this, Buffy." At the moment, he was reading his morning newspaper with no appointments pending for the day, but Peggy-the-guard-dog wasn't about to share that, either.
"First of all," Buffy said, growing annoyed, "I'd appreciate it if you didn't say my name like I was a little piece of cotton fluff. Second, I may never have met Mr. Goldman, but I'm sure he knows who I am. I helped Jaime and Steve solve the Vampire Killer case. Would you please tell him I'm here, and then he can decide whether or not to talk to me?"
Peggy realized that this extremely persistent little girl was not backing down. Reluctantly, she hit the intercom button.
"Yes?"
"Mr. Goldman, Buffy Summers is asking to see you. She doesn't have an appointment, and -"
"Buffy Summers? Oh - send her in, please."
"Yes, Sir."
Buffy smiled sweetly at the secretary, tossing a slightly impertinent "thank you" over her shoulder as she headed for the inner office.
Oscar rose to greet her, motioning to a chair. "Please - sit down. Can I get you some coffee? A soda?"
"No, thank you."
"So you're Buffy Summers," Oscar said in a friendly voice. She looked - outwardly - much younger than he'd imagined, but she carried herself with a maturity that was exceptionally rare for her age. "Steve and Jaime had a lot of great things to say about you. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."
"Thank you, Sir. It's an honor to meet you, and I'm really sorry I didn't make an appointment."
"Don't give it another thought. We'd have never stopped the Vampire Killer without your help. Now, what can I do for you?"
Buffy smiled and began to relax. "I've been trying to reach Jaime, but her phone's been disconnected."
"Oh?" Oscar thought for a moment, then understood. "That's right; Jaime gave you that number over a year ago. She and Steve got married last summer, so they've got a new number now."
"They did? That's great!" Buffy enthused. "I kinda had a feeling..."
"Well, Young Lady, as it turns out, your instinct and your luck are both excellent. Jaime happens to be in the building right now." He picked up the inter-office phone and dialed Rudy's extension. "Rudy? Good morning! How's Jaime's physical looking? Wonderful! Listen, when she's done changing, could you send her up to my office? Thank you." Oscar hung up and returned Buffy's smile with one of his own. "She'll be up in a few minutes."
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Twenty minutes later, Jaime and Buffy were happily catching up over coffee, in a quiet corner booth at the diner down the street. Buffy wanted to hear every detail about the wedding and married life, and Jaime was getting more and more curious as to what was remaining unsaid.
"So," she finally ventured, "why are you really here? 'Cause I know you didn't come all the way across the country just to catch up."
"You're right; I didn't," Buffy said quietly. "Jaime, I quit slaying."
"I didn't think they allowed that."
"Well, they don't, exactly. But there's another Slayer now, so I didn't leave them unprotected..."
"But...I thought there was only one Slayer?"
"Yeah...but I died."
"You don't look dead."
"Long story," Buffy said with a shrug.
"Angel didn't vamp you, did he?"
"Sire," Buffy corrected. "No, nothing like that."
"So what does a retired Slayer do with her time?"
Buffy hesitated. Did she dare...? She did. "That's why I'm here, what I wanted to talk to you about. I wanna do what you and Steve do. I wanna become an operative." When Jaime didn't answer right away, Buffy kept talking. "I know I'd be good at it, Jaime, and physically, you know what I can do..."
Jaime smiled reassuringly. Buffy was practically just a kid, but this kid was good - really good. They'd never have caught the Vampire Killer without her help. She was intelligent and street-smart, and physically, she seemed just a step below bionics in her abilities. But...
"Buffy, if it were up to me, I'd love to have you. But operatives have to be at least 21, and usually Oscar won't take them 'til they're 25." And yet, Jaime knew that she'd love to work with Buffy as a partner; she'd have absolutely no worries about the young girl's ability to watch her back. Jaime thought for a few seconds. "You know, maybe some rules can be bent, just a little. I can't promise you anything, but...I'll talk to Oscar."
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