Chapter Nine – Understanding

"Why don't I join you on the tour," Alex said.

"I thought you had work to do this morning," Olivia observed.

"I do. But its not everyday I have a friend visit," Alex replied. She looked over at William. "Will keep an eye on things for a little while I show my friend around."

"Of course Ms Winters," William nodded. "We'll keep things in order until you return."

Alex left the office with Buffy and Olivia. They went to the gym. Buffy showed Olivia around the grounds first, the track and field area. She then led them through the back door of the gym and showed Olivia the facilities, a weight room, the pool and then took her back to the main Gymnasium where Olivia's mouth fell open again. Their were four women doing one on one sparring matches in the gym. They were moving incredibly fast. Olivia took the time to appreciate the grace and power the women displayed with seeming ease.

"Does this go on all the time?" Olivia asked.

"This is just some of the girls from the night patrol burning off excess energy before heading home," Buffy said.

"Just burning off some energy huh," Olivia said. "What do they look like when they're serious?"

"That's hard to explain," Alex said. "Its one of those things you know when you see it."

Olivia watched for a few more seconds. In a way it was beautiful. Until she remembered that these women used the skills she was watching here to fight creatures straight out of her nightmares. She recalled what Xander had told her the night before. The power came with a price.

"They don't have a choice about being here do they?" Olivia asked.

Buffy sighed. "Not really," she replied. "The hot chicks with superpowers thing comes with a price tag. The power is always there. You either learn how to use it or it ends up controlling you. Trying to deny the Slayer doesn't work. At least not for very long."

"I take it you've tried," Olivia said.

"Yea, I've tried," Buffy replied. "Usually ended up worse off then when I started. I am a Slayer, but the Slayer is also something else. Connected to something larger and far older. It wants, needs to hunt, to fight. The more you deny that part of its nature the harder it gets."

"I'm not sure I understand," Olivia replied.

"You're a cop Olivia," Alex said.

"Yes."

"Are you ever not a cop?" Alex asked.

Olivia had to think about that question. "Not really."

"Even now when you're off duty," Alex said. "You still think like a cop. Asking questions. Trying to figure out the situation."

"Yes," Olivia acknowledged.

"And you'll probably think like cop even after you retire," Alex noted.

"I guess so."

Buffy nodded. "It's sort of the same for Slayers. We can never not be Slayers. We can step away for a little while. But you can never really walk away from it. I can feel the Hellmouth. Feel the demons out there. The others can too, to a greater and lesser extent."

"Xander said you were drawn to demons," Olivia remembered.

"We are," Buffy confirmed. "Its mostly unconscious. For a long time I didn't even recognize it in myself. Its really only been in the last few years, working all the others that I've started to understand the nature of the Slayer."

"That's got to help," Olivia said. "Having other people like yourself to talk to. Who can relate to what you feel."

"It does help," Buffy looked directly at Olivia. "There are things only another Slayer can get. Just like there are parts of your life that only another cop can relate to. And some things nobody understands."

Olivia nodded, for the first time actually understanding something about this strange world her friend now lived in. She also saw sadness in Buffy's eyes. Buffy blinked and it was gone.

"Let's head over the place of dusty books and tweed," Buffy said, a smile back on her face. She motioned the two out the door.

"What?" Olivia was knocked out of her contemplations.

"The library," Alex translated. "Buffy only rarely refers to it as a library."

"There has only been one library I've ever liked," Buffy said. "And I ended up blowing that one up."

"You blew up a library," Olivia said.

"Graduation, 150 foot demon," Buffy said as if it explained everything.

Olivia shook her head, once again plunged back into a world she didn't understand. Although she supposed it explained the 'gas-main accident' that claimed the Sunnydale High School.

"So what was in that gym you burned down at Hemery High?" Olivia asked.

"A bunch of very nasty vampires," Buffy responded.

They came to the door of the library. Olivia watched as Buffy pulled out a card and swiped it through a reader and then punched in a code. When then walked into the lobby Olivia noted the young woman on duty at the desk. Olivia assumed she was a Slayer.

"This is the first time I've seen security inside the campus," Olivia noted.

"We have security," Alex said. "Most of it is under the surface and is not the kind of stuff that a normal security firm would install. You haven't been to the basement storage areas under the main building or the armory in the gym. There are a number valuable and dangerous items stored in those places and here in the Library. So the they have some extra stuff added."

"Some of it is magic," Buffy said opening the door to main section of the library. "Even if you got a hold of my card and knew the code, you still couldn't have opened the door."

Olivia nodded and took time to study the main room. Her first impression was that she had just walked into a normal library. There were shelves filled with books. She noticed that a lot of the books looked older than what she saw in a normal library. After a couple of seconds it occurred to her that the air felt a little dry.

"The building's climate controlled," she said.

"We have a number of old books and scrolls in here," Alex explained. "We take steps to minimize the humidity and control the environment. This was the second major renovation Xander did after they purchased the property. This is actually mild. I recommend against spending any lengthy amount of time in the archives downstairs."

Olivia nodded. She saw a large computer area off to one side of the room. The computers were divided into two groupings. One had a sign overhead saying "Outside Lines" the other said "Restricted Access."

Buffy led them to the office area in the back. When they entered the office the couple of people working at their desks looked up and acknowledged the three with either nods or a brief hello.

"Sounds like Dawnie is still on the phone," Buffy said.

"And it sounds like I need to talk to Xander about upgrading the sound proofing on the offices again," a fortyish looking man said.

"Sorry Andre," Buffy said. "Olivia Benson, this is Andre Karismov, the head of our research department here in Cleveland."

"Ms Benson," Andre nodded in her direction.

"Olivia, please," she answered. "Nice to meet you Mr. Karismov."

"Same," Andre responded. "And please call me Andre. I believe Ms Summers is speaking with Sir John at the moment. I'm not certain how long she will be."

"Gray?" Buffy said. She cocked her head towards one of the office doors. Buffy then walked up to the door, knocked twice then opened it.

"So the practice is going well," Olivia heard a voice come out the room. It was man's voice and from the distortion it was coming over a speakerphone. Even through the distortion Olivia could make out a cultured British accent.

"I'm starting to get the hang of it," Dawn responded. "Sorry Gray, my annoying sister just decided to barge in."

"Ah, Buffy," came the voice. "How are things with you these days?"

"Same old, same old," Buffy replied. "Dawn hasn't been causing you too many headaches I hope."

"She has been a most able student," the voice replied. "Is there someone else there with you?"

"Perceptive as always Gray," Buffy said. "Alex Winters is with me along with a friend of hers from New York, Detective Olivia Benson."

"Ms Winters," Gray said. "Congratulations on the wedding. Mr. Harris is a good man. Very inventive uses for a shovel."

Alex smiled. "Thank you Sir John," she replied.

"I guess we're going to have to cut the conversation short Gray," Dawn said. "I'll see you when I get back."

"I look forward to our meeting," Gray replied. "Ms Winters, please pass my best wishes along to Mr. Harris."

"I will Sir John," Alex replied.

"Very well," Gray said. "Until our meeting Dawn, I wish you well."

"Same to you Gray," Dawn replied and clicked off the phone. "Thanks a lot Buffy."

"You didn't sound like you were having fun," Buffy said.

"I wasn't," Dawn replied. "He's been quizzing me for the past half hour. But now I'm going to have to do it all over again when I get back."

"But that's two days from now," Buffy said. "You can put off the question and answer stuff for a couple of days to enjoy the wedding. If I hadn't come in he would have kept you on the phone for the next two hours."

"Ok, you win," Dawn said. "But it's going to cost you to keep me from telling all the Slayers that you advocated slacking off from training."

"Oh no," Buffy said. "You're still going to do your exercises and keep up with your training. You're just not going to be spending two hours on the phone describing it to Gray."

"Would someone mind cluing me in on this conversation," Olivia said.

"It's a Summers' thing," Alex said.

"Just a project I'm working on back in England," Dawn said. "It's related to another project we've been working on for the past year."

"And this Gray person?" Olivia asked.

"Sir John Graham," Dawn answered. "We've been working with him for the last few months."

"Another long story," Olivia said.

"They're all long stories," Dawn said. "We made some promises not to share information with outsiders, how ever much we may like them. Sorry."

"I guess I understand," Olivia said. It occurred to her that for every one thing she understood about this world at least three more things popped up that made no sense.