Tracy had gotten suspicious since Buffy and Jimmy had seemed so buddy-buddy. So when Buffy mentioned meeting for a study session one night in a coffee house, Tracy was naturally skeptical until Buffy reassured her that she was already bringing a date of hers along.
Short notice being what it was, Buffy brought Faith.
It was hard to hard to talk to one or the other, without being to obvious. But she figured that they could just stumble across some slayage. That would convince Tracy. Faith promised to play along, and keep the kid safe. To make matters more uncomfortable, Faith decided to have fun with the whole thing and was playing along a little too well.. Eventually, Buffy managed to drag herself away from Faith and lure Tracy outside for a smoke break - an unpleasant activity that brought up some awful associations.
That's when the demons attacked. Buffy'd brought along her trusty axe-thingy, conveniently stashed behind a dumpster, and very quickly began initiating a shocked Tracy into the supernatural world. Hearing noises Jimmy ran into the alley, followed by Faith. At which point, a second wave of demons arrived. Jimmy stood slack-jawed as his diminutive girlfriend tossed a line-backer sized beast across the alley, Faith knifed a second, and Buffy staked and chopped a third and fourth. Demons defeated, Jimmy and Tracy collapsed to the street as the inital suprise wore off and shock set in. Faith rolled her eyes, as Buffy went into speech mode.
Monsters are real. Vampires. Demons. Forces of darkness. And into every generation, there are the chosen ones Okay, I'm tired of giving big speeches. Basically, we're Slayers. Strength and skills to protect the world from unspeakable evil... and Tracy is one of us."
Dealing with Jimmy and Tracy became a major hassle. Tracy would admit that the supernatural was real and that she had special powers that enabled her to fight. But she refused to do anything about it, beyond learning basic self-defense. Learning that she was one of many didn't help. Chicago already had Buffy and Faith. Tracy wanted to just do her schoolwork. No patrols. No hunting. No helping out. Period.
"I'm glad you, Faith, and however many others are all "yay" to the sisterhood. You seem to have a handle on things here, so you don't need me. And I don't want any part of this! I don't want to be a freak! I don't like that I have to be extra careful not to break bottles when I hold them. I hate having to sandbag my swimming so I don't get pulled aside every week by the NCAA for drug testing! I hate getting my sleep interrupted by flaming nightmares! I'm a pacifist vegan - I hate the idea that I'm supposed to be fighting for my life and I hate craving meat! I hate that Jimmy got dragged into this! I hate knowing that the monsters under the bed are real! I came to college to become a newswoman. And this - I didn't ask for it - I don't want it to be my world. It can't be!"
Jimmy, on the other hand, wouldn't leave them alone. He couldn't let go of his images of families crying over lost children or loved ones, and he was adamant about helping out. He started with training, and surprised both slayers by displaying aptitude and abilities far beyond their expectations. While Buffy got along with him easily, Jimmy quickly got on Faith's nerves, following her on patrols, and even interrupting one of her dates with Eddie because he wanted to go hunting.
At least he hadn't gotten himself killed. Despite a wiry frame, he'd proven to be pretty resilient. Although it wouldn't matter much if Faith gave him that whoopin' she kept threatening. He was supposed to be Tracy's sidekick. The sooner she dealt with her destiny, the sooner Jimmy was out of Faith's hair, and the easier life would get.
After a conference call with Willow, Giles, and Wesley, and some arguing with an incredulous Faith, Buffy had arrived at a solution. It wasn't her first choice. Probably wasn't the best of ideas. And a lot of people would hate her for it - including herself. But given the circumstances, and Buffy's intuition, it seemed as good an idea as any other.
Buffy met Tracy to present her offer...
"Being chosen as a Slayer is an honor Tracy. If you don't want to accept the mantle and help out your fellow citizens, I guess I can't make you. But since you're so worried, I thought I'd offer you a deal. If you'd like, I can make it so you're just like a regular girl. Like you used to be. Like you aren't a slayer. No super strength for you. Just regular Tracy. Would you like to try that back on? To be a normal girl?"