After passing the retinal scan, Buffy entered the elevator that would take her down to the Initiative headquarters in Sunnydale. She happened to find the tight security rather hilarious - it made her feel like she was in a spy movie.

Whether she would admit it or not she loved rookie training sessions. Sure, it boosted her ego to influence policy and she liked a good hunt as much as the next Slayer but seeing 6 foot 200 pound soldiers stare at her in fear gave her such a rush. And she knew it filled Riley with untold pride.

One of the ways she could figure out who was new on the base was how people looked at her. The older people who had been around for years treated her like one of their own. Those who were newer sometimes saluted her or behaved in a way that showed they respected or feared her. The newest people looked at her as if she was lost.

She made her way to one of the training rooms where a group of 15 or so recruits were sparring amongst themselves. Buffy cringed as she watched their sloppy and ungraceful moves. She walked around, getting an awkward glare from a few of the boys but mostly being ignored. The beauty of these training session was that they had no idea what was going to happen. They figured Riley or some other old timer would show them a few moves - they had no idea what they were getting themselves into.

As if on cue, Riley walked in with Graham following shortly after. Aware of his presence, the majority of the recruits quieted down and turned to face their de facto commander. Riley, as he did every time, shrugged and looked towards Buffy. Curious the boys turned around and she began.

"Welcome to your first real day of training." She began. The recruits looked at her confused, a few whispered amongst themselves until Graham shushed them. "Thanks Graham. Anyways, you all have passed the physical evaluations and the psych exams so technically you're all fit to fight the monsters. I'm here to actually show you how to do it." The recruits looked skeptical at best. Most assumed this was some kind of joke. "Well - who wants to fight?" Buffy asked. The recruits all chuckled, she heard the whispers of 'I'm not going to fight a girl!' Finally, Riley raised his hand.

"Riley, sweetie, are you sure?" Buffy asked. At this point, the interaction was practically scripted they've gone through it so many times.

"Hey, you know me, I love a good fight!" The soldiers looked in shock as he and Buffy walked towards one another. They stood opposite one another in the center of the room on a 10 ft square mat. The recruits naturally formed a circle around them. Graham stood towards the back, with a huge grin on his face mumbling 'I love this part'.

"Now for this demonstration, I'm going to be the hunter and Riley's going to be the vampire. His goal is to bite me and my goal is to stake him or behead him. Any questions?" The soldiers continued to stare, trying to figure out what was really going on.

In a soft voice so only Buffy would hear Riley asked, "take it easy on me this time, will ya?" to which Buffy merely responded with "now what's the fun in that?"

Without so much as hesitation, Buffy began with a punch that knocked Riley a couple feet back. The room immediately became silent as the recruits watched. Riley quickly got up and attempted a similar move only for Buffy to duck and kick her foot around and trip him. Aware Buffy was about to stake him, Riley immediately rolled over and grabbed her shoulders to pull her down. But Buffy quickly hopped back to her feet as did Riley. The two circled each other.

Buffy jabbed her left foot out and kicked him leaving Riley a little out of breath but still on his feet. Impressed, Buffy did the same move only with a spin and more power. Riley was immediately on the ground. To exaggerate her victory, Buffy completed a back handspring and grabbed her stake and dramatically placed it above his heart.

The room was dead silent, and suddenly Graham started clapping. The recruits were for the most part in awed, though some of them thought it was all a set up for something. Buffy stood up and offered Riley a hand, apologizing if she hurt him. "Whose next?" She asked with a completely straight face..

The boy Riley recognized from earlier raised his hand and with a cocky grin approached Buffy. Before beginning, he told her he "was sorry" for what he was about to do to which Buffy merely shrugged her shoulders. Unlike the previous fight, the boy began by swinging his right fist towards her. Buffy grabbed his arm, pulled him into a head lock in front of her. Reaching into her back pocket, she grabbed a stake and quickly pretended to jab him.

"What's your name?" She asked the boy after releasing him.

"Eric." He responded. "What are you?" He asked, uncomfortably. The sentiment seemed to be echoed throughout the room. Buffy merely laughed.

"I'm the Slayer." The revelation was met with a few nods but mostly more confused looks. "It means I was chosen to fight the monsters that haunt the night. It's my duty and I'm therefore stronger and faster than any mere human. It also means I know more than anyone on this base about how to kill them. And I've probably killed more than everyone here combined." At this point, the only other noise in the room was Graham and Riley whispering to one another under their breath. "I'm here to teach you how to not get killed. I'm also here to help you get over your love for modern technology because guns won't kill these guys. If you listen to me, Riley, and the others who have been here a while you might stand a chance to live."

Riley nodded at Buffy who smiled in turn. Over the past 7 years, she had perfected this speech. Well, this entire training session had really become scripted. It was a wordless agreement that no one would tell the new recruits who Buffy was. Almost everyone agreed that the best intro to the supernatural was literally to see the supernatural in action.

The two hour long session continued with Buffy explaining various 'old-fashioned' weapons and how they could easily save their lives. Eventually, she began to teach them how best to fight a stronger demon, using Riley as the dummy. The soldiers left, while perhaps not better fighters, at the very least more aware to what was really out there.

"So, I think that went well." Buffy smiled at Riley as they walked hand in hand towards the exit.

"It always goes well." He told her with a slight smirk, "I think my favorite part though is after they've been here for a month and they think they can take you."

Buffy chuckled, "O yeah! I remember once - Benny I think his name was...he made this whole scene of challenging me. Quite embarrasing."

"So do you think any of them would be good candidates for working here?" Riley asked. The way the system worked, all new recruits for the Initiative project came to Sunnydale. From there, it was determined where they would go next. For the most part, only the best would actually stay in Sunnydale since being on the hellmouth it was the most dangerous.

"I'm not sure. Give them some time, and I really need to see them out in the field first. Someone can be a great fighter on a mat but if they can't hack it against a real vampire, they're useless." Riley nodded in agreement. Usually about 3 out of 15 new recruits got kicked out of the project either because they couldn't handle the stress or just weren't good enough.

Riley and Buffy entered the elevator and felt their shoulders relax as the stress and tension of work rolled of them. "So, are you ready for the big meeting?" Riley asked Buffy. "Find anything demony at work?"

"Acually, I didn't. Well, there was one killing that may have been a vampire but nothing stuck out. Right now, Charlie and I are actually working this cult case that might be pretty important." Buffy informed him, "And how was your day sweetie?" She asked in a joking manner.

"You know, same old same old. Worked out, got beaten up by my girlfriend, made fun of by a rookie, the usual." Riley replied with a grin.

"The usual." Buffy repeated with a serene grin on her face.

A/N: I don't like doing author's notes but I just wanted to let everyone know that it will be picking up starting next chapter.