A/N: Two chapters in one night. Record! Send your thanks to Angelus (no, really) since he got me back on track with this.
LaGuardia Airport
Buffy stood with Willow waiting for the baggage claim to spit out their luggage.
Man, it's worse than in California, Buffy thought. She looked over at Willow, who smiled. Buffy returned the smile, feeling the butterflies build up in her stomach again. She was thankful that Faith and Tara had gone off in search of coffee. A sinking suspicion told her that neither the slayer nor the witch would let it go if they caught her staring at Willow again.
"Finally!" Buff exclaimed, seeing their bags round the corner. She held up a hand toward Willow, signaling that she would grab her bag. Hoping to gain some chivalry points, Buffy grimaced when she picked up Willow's bag.
"Oy, Willow! What do you have in this thing?" Buffy struggled to get out, her face turning red. Even with her slayer strength, she was having trouble holding the case. The suitcase was much too heavy for the belongings of just one person. Having the decency to look sheepish, Willow made her way over to Buffy and touched her hand. Besides the electricity that seemed to flow from Willow's touch, Buffy felt the suitcase instantly become lighter. She quickly shot a worried look at Willow.
"Don't worry," The witch whispered.
Buffy smiled, and sent a grateful look Willow's way.
"I know, I just worry is all."
The sweet moment was interrupted by Faith clearing her throat. Tara handed Willow a latte, which quickly received all of her attention as she happily downed half in a few gulps. Faith handed Buffy her coffee and winked, causing Buffy to blush.
"Come on, we should find the detective," Buffy said quickly, trying to rescue herself from Faith's gaze. Faith sent a smile toward Tara as she handed her the coffee cup she was holding and picked up both their suitcases, heading after Buffy.
Willow stood in her spot, staring bewildered at the spot where Buffy had been only a moment before.
"Wha…?"
Tara walked over and grabbed Willow by the arm, pulling her in the direction the two slayers had gone. When they caught up, Willow was further confused when Buffy wouldn't meet her gaze. Spotting something out of the corner of her eye, Buffy steered the group toward a brunette and a redhead, holding a sign that Buffy could see said "Summers" on the other side.
"Are you Detective Benson?" Buffy asked, causing both women to jump and turn around. Olivia's hand flew to her gun, but when she realized that they were not in danger, she slowly dropped her hand to her side.
"Yes… are you Buffy Summers?" Buffy nodded. "Welcome to New York."
Somewhere between LaGuardia Airport and the 1-6
Buffy sad in the back seat of the cab next to Willow, wondering what kind of trouble they were getting into this time. After they had all introduced themselves, the detective had insisted on helping with their luggage. As soon as she had picked up Willow's suitcase, she dropped it, surprise coming over her face. Chuckling quietly, Buffy switched cases with her, and Olivia watched in amazement as Buffy easily picked up the case.
I must be getting out of shape, Olivia thought to herself.
Now they were on their way to the 1-6, and Olivia was anxious to learn about their guests.
"So, Ms. Summers, what do you do?"
Buffy froze, not expecting the question. She couldn't discuss the true nature of her work in the cab, so she said the next best thing.
"You can call me Buffy, and I work for a safety council in L.A."
It wasn't entirely a lie; she did work for a council that was concerned for the safety of the public. And she did live in L.A., at the Hyperion where Angel was still putting them up. But she decided to leave out the parts with the vampires, the demons, and the slaying until they were sure they were safe.
"We both do, actually," Buffy continued, covering Willow as well. "I suppose it would be a little redundant of me to ask what you do, Detective, Counselor," Buffy said lightly, addressing both Olivia and Casey. "Do you investigate homicides?"
"You can call me Olivia, and this is Casey," Olivia turned to Casey to make sure that it was ok. Getting a nod, she continued. "And not exactly. We investigate sex crimes," she said, referring to Casey as well.
Buffy's heart sank. She was hoping The First would have dropped that practice, but controlling his victims in every way possible was his policy.
"That must take its tolls on you," Buffy concluded, attempting to connect with the detective and the ADA without pushing too far.
"It does. It's not easy, but it gets justice for the victims," Casey added.
The rest of the ride was spent in relative silence, the only conversations consisting of simple questions asked back and forth. Both pairs of women realized that the others were reluctant to give up any information, so they saved the serious talk for later. They arrived at the precinct, and the six women make their way inside.
"Welcome to New York ladies," Cragen promptly said, introducing himself and the rest of the squad. "These are Detectives Elliot Stabler, Fin Tutuola, and John Munch."
"You can call me Elliot," Elliot piped up, Fin and Munch following suit.
"You can call me Fin," Fin said in his quiet but firm manner.
"You can call me anytime," Munch propositioned, handing each of the ladies his business card. Olivia whacked Munch in the shoulder, but was not too upset since she saw their guests snickering.
"Is there somewhere private where we can all talk?" Buffy asked, hoping all would go according to plan.
"Sure, let's see if we can make one of the interrogation rooms more comfortable," Olivia suggested, leading the gang inside.