The lobby of the Hyperion Hotel was swarming with police officers, all of whom were taking statements from the all female 'gymnastics team' that was staying there. All of their stories said the same thing: three masked men had come into the hotel brandishing firearms, and were subdued by some of the people who worked there.

Yes, they knew it wasn't a real hotel, but one of their instructors was good friends with the owner, and they thought staying somewhere this nice for free was a pretty good deal. No, they said, they didn't know the men in question, but thought the whole thing was really cool, and a little scary.

There was nothing like reinforcing stereotypes to make a story seem more believable.

Once the statements were all taken and the bad guys were transported to jail, the lobby quieted down a lot.

The Scoobies looked around the lobby, but Xander was nowhere to be seen. He had apparently slipped out in all the confusion with barely more than a 'hello' to any of them. Buffy glanced out a window and saw Xander leaning up against a squad car, talking to some of his colleagues. She frowned and followed him outside. Only one person saw her leave.

"Hey," she said, walking up behind Xander.

Xander looked over his shoulder and smiled. He turned back to the other officers, said something that made them laugh, then kicked off of the car and walked Buffy over to a quiet area.

"Do you do that often?" she asked, after exchanging the hug required between two such friends who hadn't seen each other in months.

"Every once in a while," he said, smiling at her.

"Xander, where did you learn to do that stuff?"

"I'm a cop, Buffy," he said. "Badge, gun, protect and serve, all that. It's what we do. You knew that when I left... what was it, four years ago?"

"Cops in Sunnydale don't do that," she mumbled.

Xander laughed. "Well, cops in Sunnydale are inept," he said.

"Harris!" one of the other cops yelled.

"Yeah?" Xander yelled back.

"Code Three at a possible four-five-nine, six blocks," the man yelled.

"I gotta go, Buff," Xander said, moving towards the other officer. "Duty calls."

"What does that mean?" she asked.

"Officer needs assistance at a possible burglary. I'll see ya later, Buff."

"Xander, wait, we need to talk."

"Okay," he said, "but right now I have a job to do."

"Xander, don't just walk away!" she called, walking after him. "What you just did was very dangerous!"

Xander stopped and turned around. "I know," he said. "But it's what I do. You gotta understand that, right? Look, I'll come back later tonight, but I really have to go right now."

Buffy stepped forward and grabbed his wrist. "Xander, wait. You realize that you're endangering lives, right?"

Xander looked at her cock-eyed. "Tell me you're joking," he said.

"No, I'm serious! There's a –"

"Harris!" the cop yelled again.

"Look, you can't just –"

"Buff, I don't have time for this right now. I really have to go." Xander slipped his wrist free from her softened grip. He grabbed Buffy by her head and planted a sloppy kiss on her forehead. "I'll talk to you later," he said, before running off to the waiting squad car. It pealed out as soon as the door was shut, leaving Buffy standing in the street, alone. Or so she thought.

"Always gets me when they do that," Gunn said from where he stood behind her.

Buffy whipped around, surprised he was able to sneak up on her.

"I'm quieter than I have any right to be, considering my size," he said. "I love when the cops pull out like that. When the sirens leave... it leaves a street quiet. Peaceful."

Buffy nodded.

"Your boy knows his job," Gunn said, looking down at the petite young woman whose size hid her true strength. "Don't question his judgment about it. People won't like that."

With that, Gunn turned around and walked back into the hotel.

Buffy stood there. She had just been told off, albeit lightly, by two people. One she had long considered a friend, and one she barely knew. That hadn't happened to her in a long time. She wasn't sure how to react.

- - - - -

That night, after his shift was over, Xander Harris returned to the Hyperion Hotel, intent on meeting up with his oldest friends and enjoying a night of reminiscing.

"All hail, the king of the castle has returned!" he called as he strode into the lobby.

"My castle, Xander," Angel said from behind the front desk, without looking up from some paperwork. "I'm king."

"You keep believing that, buddy. Wait till I get the health inspector in here."

Angel looked up and smiled. "Nice work today," he said. "And you left my upstairs windows intact. For once."

"Well, I figured you guys were getting the hang of stopping my collars for me. I saw no reason to catch up to them by diving through glass. Plus, do you know what the department charges to repair our uniforms? It's ridiculous."

"Hey, man," Gunn said, coming down the stairs. He and Xander again exchanged a convoluted and overly complex handshake. "Beer?"

"Oh yeah," Xander said. "Hey, where is everyone?"

"Fred and Wes took some of them to dinner," Angel said. "Using my money, of course."

"The company's money, actually," Lorne said. "Babyface, heard you put on quite a show, sorry I missed it."

"Hey, Adama," Xander said. "I wouldn't have caught those guys nearly as easy if not for these two and Wes."

"Xander!" came a squeal from the door. Dawn rushed in and jumped on the man she'd had a crush on since she was a little girl.

"Dawnie!" he said, embracing her. He backed away from her to get a good look. "When did you get so gorgeous?"

Dawn blushed. "Quit it," she said.

Xander smiled at her. "I mean it, Dawn. You're gonna break some hearts. Probably already have. Have you? I bet you have."

"No," she said. "I haven't broken any hearts. Boys don't like me like that."

"Ah, what the hell do they know, anyway?" he asked. Dawn gave him a peck on the cheek and went to find the bathroom.

"Heya, X," said Faith from the doorway where she stood next to a black man with a shaved head. "Wicked show you treated us to."

"Thank you, Faith," he said. "It's not everyday that happens, you guys showed up at the right time."

"This is Robin Wood," she said. "Demon hunter, former principal, current boytoy."

"Nice to meet you," Xander said, standing and shaking the man's hand. Robin nodded back to him. Xander turned back to Faith. "How was Sunnydale?"

"Usual. Worse, now."

"Yeah, I heard. What caused it to drop into the ground like that?"

"Spike," she said. "And some magical bauble Fang here dropped off."

"Spike, huh?" he said. "Well, I guess you just never know."

Soon, a steady stream of young girls was flowing into the hotel. Xander sat down, his jaw agape at the age of some of them. He shook his head and took a sip of his beer.

"Young, ain't they," Gunn said.

"Very," Xander said.

"They're all slayers, too. Made moving in easier."

"Slayers?" Xander asked. "All of them?"

Gunn nodded. "Blondie had your little witch friend do a spell that activated them. I got the story after you put on your little hero act."

"Man," Xander said. "We couldn't keep two slayers in line, now they wanna try, what, 25?"

"More than that, actually," Angel said, having overheard the conversation. "A few hundred at least. The spell activated potential slayers around the world. Wolfram and Hart is going to be spending serious money trying to find them all."

"Hundreds," Xander said, disbelievingly.

"If not thousands," said Angel.

"What were they fighting that they needed that many slayers?"

"The First," Angel said.

"You mean that incorporeal thing that claimed it brought you back from hell?"

"That's the one. Well, that and a couple thousand Turok-han. They're like vampires, only tougher. Usually. But Buffy has this axe-thing, although for some reason she keeps calling it a scythe..."

"Axe thing?" Xander asked.

"I don't know, it's in her room," said Angel.

"And this was the only way to win?"

"From what they say."

"Are these Turok-han thingies still allergic to fire?

"Yup."

Xander shook his head. "Couldn't they just have used napalm?"

"Xander!" Willow yelled as she ran towards him from the entrance, where she left standing a young brown-haired girl.

"Hey, Wills," he said, rising to his feet and wrapping his friend in a bear hug. "How are you?"

"I'm good," she said, swiping some over-long hair from his eyes. "I missed you."

"Missed you too," he said. The brown-haired girl walked up closer to them. "Who's this?"

"Oh, right! Xander, I want you to meet Kennedy. Kennedy, this is Xander. He's been my best friend since pretty much always. Xander, this is Kennedy, my girlfriend."

Xander smiled and extended his hand. "Nice to meet you," he said with a smile.

Kennedy took his hand and shook it, smiling back. "So you're Xander," she said. "Man, I would hate to be you right now."

Xander raised an eyebrow. "Why is that?"

"Buffy's been angry all afternoon, ever since you chased those guys through here. She's gonna rip you a new one."

Xander rolled his eyes. "I can handle Buffy," he said, confidently.

"I don't know, Xander," Willow said. "She's pretty mad. You did kinda blow her off."

"I have a job to do," he said. "The Buffster's just gonna have to deal with it."

"And deal with it she will," Buffy said, having caught the end of what Xander said.

"Hey, Buff," he said.

"Xander. Can we talk?"

"Sure," he said.

"Somewhere private?"

"Sure, if it's a private conversation. If it's about this afternoon, though, I'd just as soon stay here in the open."

Buffy shot a disapproving look at him, but gave in.

"Okay. What were you thinking today?"

"Well, it was something along the lines of 'catch the bad guys.' A concept you're familiar with, if I recall correctly."

"You put their lives in danger."

"They put their own lives in danger, I tried to stop them from doing that to others," he said.

"You can't just do that, Xander!" she yelled. A crowd was starting to gather, both in the lobby, and at the banister on the second level.

"Actually, I can," Xander said, growing angry. "It's in my job description, literally. Police officer. To protect and serve the people of Los Angeles, with deadly force when absolutely necessary. I do the exact same thing you do, only in the day, and sanctioned by the government. And I get paid for it."

Buffy glared at him. "I do not endanger human lives," she said.

"I know. But then, you don't deal with human criminals much, do you? We do the same job in different worlds, Buffy. You need to grow up and learn that not all humans are nice, and not everybody with a soul is good."

"I don't get you," she said. "What's with your attitude?"

"MY attitude?" he asked. "That's a laugh. You're the one who blows into town and, right off, decides I need a lecture. Where do you get off? You're not my boss, and you have no right to criticize my actions. I am a police officer, and a damn good one. If I never endangered human life, I would be out of a job. It is not up to you to decide what is right for everybody in the world. And it is not your right to come in here and lecture me after I haven't heard one word from you in months."

Buffy paused. "I was busy," she said. "Fighting the First."

"So were Willow and Dawn," he said. "But they managed to call me anyway."

"The door swings both ways, Xan," she said. "You could have called too."

"I did," he almost-snarled. "Spike picked up and told me to sod off."

A cough came from the doorway, and Buffy and Xander backed away from each other, leaving a zone of discomfort between them. Everyone looked at the newcomers.

"Can I help you?" Angel asked of the two men who had just walked into the hotel.

The taller of the two, a smooth looking black man, nodded. "If Alexander Harris is here, you can."

"I'm Harris," Xander said.

"I figured you would be, from that display I just saw. I'm Hondo, this is Jim Street," he said, indicating the young man next to him.

Xander nodded. "I've heard of you. What do you want with me?"

"We were interested in your performance today. It was... magnificently done."

"I guess it was," Xander said.

"I hear you also had to drop a guy holding up a liquor store, after your little televised chase."

"I didn't drop him, I clipped his shoulder with a bullet and he passed out," Xander said.

"You did WHAT?" Buffy yelled. "Oh, you are so gonna—"

"Not now," Xander snapped.

"Is there a problem with your girlfriend?" asked Street.

Xander let out a short, harsh bark of a laugh. "She's not my girlfriend. Never has been. There is no problem."

"Well, anyway," Hondo said, "I'm here with an offer for you. Got a minute?"

"Sure," Xander said. He walked up to the two men, and they stepped outside. Street paused just inside the door, and turned back and looked at Faith.

"Do I know you?" he asked.

"Nope, never seen ya," said Faith.

"Weird, your face looks so familiar." Street shook his head and walked outside.

"You know who we are, I assume you know what we do," Hondo said.

"I'm aware, yes."

"Well, as it happens, we have an opening on our team. We want you."

Xander was surprised. "You're kidding," he said.

"Do I look like I'm trying to be funny?" Hondo asked.

"Sorry," Xander said. "Why me?"

"You did great on your tests," Hondo said.

"Yeah, and I was rejected, too," Xander replied.

"We saw what we saw today," Street said. "And we've checked your record. You're Grade A material."

"More than that, you'll piss off Fuller," Hondo said.

Xander snorted. "I do that anyway. Why do you think I'm not already with a team? You think he wants his uniforms chasing people across rooftops?"

"About that," Hondo said. "How is it you know exactly how to get so quickly from one roof to the next? The other officers said you guys started out pretty far behind."

Xander grinned. "I know my way around."

"That's it?" Street asked.

"For now."

"So, answer a question, hotshot," Hondo said. "You're pretty young, how'd you become a cop?"

Xander shrugged. "Few years ago, I graduate high school. Decided to do the Kerouac thing, you know, On the Road? Anyway, car broke down in L.A. and I'm washing dishes to get money to get it fixed. Guy comes in to rob the place, I kinda just take him out. Turns out there was an officer in the house that night. She convinced me to check out the academy. One not-at-all teary 'finally he's gone' from my parents, a few hugs and, this time, tears from my friends, and here I am." He shrugged.

"That's it?" Hondo asked.

"Well, no, I mean I sat around for another month or so weighing my options, and I still needed money to fix my car. See, back where I'm from, I was kind of involved in this community outreach sorta thing, but they had been pushing me out, a little. I figured, why let that continue? I'll walk out on my own terms, and still on good terms with all of them, I'll get a respectable job helping people out, and do things my way."

Both Hondo and Street nodded.

"Alright, so here's the offer," Hondo said. "You get a minute pay raise, which I know you can use. Everyone in this department can. In return, you work the hardest you've ever worked in your life, and prepare everyday. Then, you work shitty hours and put your life on the line more than you ever have before."

Xander smirked to himself when Hondo said that.

"And, you get to work with the best team in the state, possibly the country."

"Yours," Xander said.

"Mine," confirmed Hondo.

Xander leaned against the wall of the Hyperion. "Okay, sure," he said. "When do I start?"

Hondo handed him a slip of paper. "Report to that address at 7 am. Your training starts then."

Xander nodded. "Okay. I'll be there."

"Good," Hondo said, and started walking away. "One last thing. You're not a vegetarian, are you?"

Xander laughed. "No, I definitely am not."

"Good," said Hondo.

"Oh, and Harris?" Street said.

"Yeah?"

The man smiled. "Welcome to SWAT."

----------

End Chapter 2