*Ring, Ring*

Buffy Summers looks at the clock. Great, she thinks to herself, I almost got a whole three hours of sleep. She rolls over and grabs the still ringing phone.

“Buffy Summers.” She barks out at the caller with the audacity to call and interrupt her beauty sleep.

“Summers, it’s Wes. We’re at the corner of Main and Sunset, you better get your ass down here. We got one that’s right up your alley.”

---

Buffy was a homicide detective in the mean city of L.A. She was one of the most promising detectives in her class at the academy. She was intelligent and remarkably strong for a woman her size. Whenever she would get asked about her strength, she would reply with a glib, “eat right and exercise.” That was a bold face lie. She had never known why she was so strong. She just always was, she thanked her lucky stars because it came in very handy at the L.A.P.D.

The city was so excited when they heard she’d chosen to join their force. She was herald as a genius in her field. That was the beginning. Buffy was brilliant but she was drawn to cases that were abnormal and could rarely be solved with logical means. She would be right there if they had a case dealing with the macabre or the occult. She developed the nick name “spooky Buffy.” No one had lasted as her partner for more than a month. Generally, they are out within two weeks. She didn’t mind. She preferred to work alone. No one really understood her.

She quickly got out of bed and threw some clothes on and hopped in the car and headed over to where described.

Wesley Whindam Price was her captain; he was British by birth but had come to the states during his teen years. He still had the accent which Buffy hated to admit was rather sexy. Wes was one of the few cops left on the force who still believed she is as brilliant as the academy made her out to be. When she arrived he was standing outside of a normal looking house looking as if all the blood had been drained out of his face. No matter how many dead bodies he saw, he was still that little boy scared of the big bad world. Buffy knew Wes didn’t usually show his emotions this boldly on his face. Whatever was inside that house had to be really bad.

Wes looked up when he heard her approach.

“Ah, Buffy you found us. Before I debrief you, I want you to meet someone. I had planned on doing this tomorrow but since we’re here no need to wait.” Wes started to walk toward the house, but as they were going to enter a vision stepped out.

He was 5' 11", platinum blonde hair, extremely well cut, cheekbones to die for and blue eyes that seemed to gaze into your soul. He had on black pants, a nice black sweater, and a long black leather jacket.

Wes interrupted her eye ogling of him by introducing her.

“Buffy Summers, this is William Bolden, your new partner.” Wait, what!! New partner! Salty Goodness… I mean… shit… he’s talking…

“Nice to meet you Buffy, you can call me Spike.” He reached his hand out to shake hers. “I have been hearing some horror stories about you but I think I can handle you.” Arrogant bastard with such nice large hands. What a nice ring. His hands are kinda cold. Stop rambling Buffy, you’re at a crime scene. Focus

“We shall see, Spike, is it? Well, how about we get this show on the road, Wes, what do we have that you saw fit to interrupt my beauty sleep?”

“That’s Buffy, right to business. Well, it’s a double homicide. In all my years on the force I have never seen anything so gruesome. The reason I wanted you to investigate is the strange substance found at the crime scene. It’s strewn… well… I’ll just let you see for yourself.”

---

The first thing she noticed was the horrible stench as she entered the house. It was almost enough to make her turn around and walkout. As she was debating she realized Wes was still talking.

“There was a 911 call from one of the neighbors. They heard what sounded like a fight and heard a horrible scream. They thought it was a robbery. When we arrived on the scene the door was wide open and there are signs of a forced entry. Hold your breath and follow me. The bodies are in this room over here.”

Buffy could not believe her eyes, let alone her nose. What she saw was nothing short of a massacre. It appeared to be two bodies, one male and one female. You could not quite tell because their bodies had been dismembered. Body parts were strewn about. Blood and other bodily fluids were everywhere. It appeared as if they were literally torn apart.

“Wes, by the looks of these cuts and tears I would say this is an animal attack but what animal in the state of California has enough strength to dismember two full grown adults? Plus, if this was an animal attack there should be some fur at the scene. I don’t understand.”

“Well Buffy, that’s what we assessed as well. I want you to see something over here. This substance we found in a pattern that almost resembles a blood splatter. If it were blood, I would say the attacker had been shot but we have no proof. There were reports of shots fired but we have no bullets found on the scene.”

Wes was right. It looked exactly like a blood splatter except for the fact that it was green.

“Have the lab analyze this right away,” Buffy screeched out.

“Already on top of it, luv. We sent it away right before you got here,” Spike replied.

“Look here buster, I may be your partner but I am not your love. Now, if you will excuse me I have to get my camera.” Buffy sounded pissed.

“I thought we had people do that for us.”

“Well, I like to get my own prints because you never know what one eye will catch that someone else’s might not. Wesley, can I speak to you outside please?”

“Certainly.” Wes replied as he followed Buffy out of the stench.

---

As soon as they reached the outside Buffy smacked Wes.

“What did I do to get Mr. Macho as my partner? Did I ask for a partner? No!”

“Well, first of all he was willing to work with you despite your reputation. Secondly, he’s the only one willing to work with you. I know you don’t think you need a partner, but Buffy this is a hard job, you need to have someone there to watch your back.”

“I’m not so bad am I, Wes?” Buffy looked almost amused by the fact that the entire police force refused to work with ‘spooky Buffy.’ Just then Spike popped his head out the door.

“Hate to break up the love fest but I found something I think you both should see.” Spike brought them to the back door.

“I think this is where the attacker escaped. The front door shows signs of a forced entry but this looks like someone bashed it from the inside. And look here there are claw marks on the door. It’s almost as is if something tore the door right off its hinges. And there is more, we have a claw.” Buffy was amazed because he was right but the force necessary to do this kind of damage was greater than any human possessed. Maybe this time she would get real proof that demons exist. She just hoped her new partner wouldn’t get in her way.

The claw was left in a mark that showed only three scratches. At the end of the claw appeared to be the same substance they found in the other room. Buffy took several pictures of the door and surrounding area where the claw was found. As she finished taking photos of the rest of the crime scene and she noticed Spike was just walking around and occasionally sniffing the air.

“Spike, we should probably call it a night. We’ll start going over witness statements and the investigation in the morning. I need to get my beauty rest.”

“No you don’t luv, but I’ll see you bright and early in the morning.” Spike smirked as he walked away.

Beep Beep Beep

Buffy slammed her hand down on the alarm clock effectively smashing it. Fuck, third one this week. I should really start putting them on the other side of the room. It was seven am. She had gotten an amazing two extra hours of sleep. This was not one of the perks to her hob. She got out of bed, got showered and got dressed. She went through the usual routine of hair and make up and within a half hour, and Wa La! She was a normal human being again.

She stopped at Krispy Kreme on her way to work. How she figured it, if she was going to be a cop she might as well do it right.

Much to her chagrin, Spike was sitting on her desk when she arrived.

“Shouldn’t you be watching you figure and not be shoving down pieces of fried dough and sugar?”

“Shove it, Spike. I do not care about shit like that. These are damn tasty. Now, do you want one or not?”

“Sorry luv, I already ate a well rounded breakfast this morning. So, what’s on the agenda for today?” Spike replied.

“Here you go.” She handed him a stack of papers.

“What are these?”

“Jesh Spike. How long have you been a cop? Those are witness statements. We read through them and see who we should go question for more information.”

“Oh, I knew that.” Spike replied coolly.

They spent about an hour and a half reading through what all the neighbors though about these people and what they hears. No one had anything interesting to say at all. ‘They were so nice.’ ‘We never had any problems with them.’ ‘I can’t believe anything like this could happen here.’ Buffy didn’t understand this. They were in LA! No one wanted to admit all these murders and crimes went on in there own town.

“Well, Spikey. That was quite useless. Let’s go start with their employers and see if they can’t shed any light as to who would want this guy and his wife torn to bits.” Spike was relieved that she finally broke the silence between them.

“Alright, let’s start with him. He works at a law firm downtown. You have probably heard of them, Wolfram & Hart.

---

As soon as they walked through the door four security guards carrying guns and wooden stakes greeted them.

“What are you doing here?” One gruff looking guard practically shouted at them.

“Well, I am Detective Buffy Summers and this is my partner, William Bolden. We are here to see Lilah Morgan. She is expecting us as we called ahead.” Buffy stated smugly.

Just as she finished the guards parted and a tall brunette woman appeared in front of them. She oozed of power and sex appeal. She looked like she could kill you with nothing more than a glance.

“Sorry about them. They are required to meet all special visitors (she winked at Spike when she said that) at the door.” Buffy caught the wink and Spike just stared back at her as if to say come try me bitch.

“Come on, we will go up to my office to discuss poor Mr. Warner.” They followed her through the lobby and to the 58th floor, where they went to her corner window office. Spike spoke first.

“Thank you for taking the time to meet with us Miss Morgan. I know you must have a busy schedule.”

“Well, Spike your reputation precedes you. And you Miss Summers, you have been leading quite an interesting career. We have been keeping an eye on you.” Buffy did not know what to think of this. She knew of Wolfram & Hart. They were known to defend the scum of the Earth and they were quite good at their job. Anytime anyone on the force would get a case involving one of their clients it was almost worthless to investigate because no matter what they would find the firm would come up with some bullshit to get their client free. Buffy always wondered what type of person could stand to work with no ethics and now she knew.

“Well Miss Morgan.”

“Call me Lilah,” she interrupted.

“Ok, Lilah, can we just start with some simple background information. What was Mr. Warner’s position with Wolfram & Hart?” Buffy inquired.

“Brad was one of the junior associates here at the firm. His job was to help with research and double check the work of our associates.” Lilah replied nonchalantly.

“Can you tell me if the case he was working on was important enough to get him killed? Could he have stumbled on something one of your clients would not want the public to know about?”

“Well, Miss Summers, I can assure you that all of the clients of Wolfram & Hart are law abiding citizens. I know you have a lot of enemies on the force, and I wouldn’t want you to add me to that list. I am just trying to help you Miss Summers. While it is tragic that we would loose one of our employees in this manner I can assure you that it had nothing to do with his employment here at Wolfram & Hart.” Lilah responded.

“Miss Morgan, you misunderstood. I would never be so brash as to imply Wolfram & Hart’s wrongdoing on any matter. I was simply inquiring as to the nature of his last case.” Buffy’s response was dripping with sarcasm.

“I’m sure. As I have told the other officers, he was simply working on a settlement over a land purchase. It was almost resolved. So, if you don’t have any imperative questions, I am going to have to ask you to leave. I am a very busy woman and I need to get back to my life.”

“Of course, Lilah. Here is my card, call if you can think of anything that would aid in our search.” Spike spouted out ignoring the demeanor of his very pissed off partner.

“Will do, Spike. And by the way, nice ring.” Buffy could have sworn Spike missed a step when she said that. They let themselves out and the instant they were in the car Buffy let him have it.

“What in the hell was that?!?” Buffy spat at him.

“I could ask you the same thing, luv.” Spike grinned.

“You are supposed to be my partner. You are supposed to back me up. She just walked all over you. And what was that ring comment all about? And what was that whole your reputation precedes you think about? What reputation do you have and why haven’t I heard about it?”

“Calm down, luv.”

“Stop calling me that. I am not your love Spike.”

“Sorry, pet. It is a matter of habit. As for the reputation, I am sure she has just heard about me from her associates at Wolfram & Hart’s London offices. I had a few run-ins with them when I was working over there. As for the not backing you up, I did not think we were going to get anything more out of her. Now that I have played the good cop role we might be able to get something out of her down the line.” Spike explained very calmly.

“Ok, sorry, I have a tendency to overreact. Hence the Buffy without a partner. Let’s just go back to the station house and see if we can’t find ourselves some new leads.”

“Sounds like a plan. And Buffy, you’re being too hard on your self. That Lilah was a right bitch.”

Buffy couldn’t help but laugh as they sped back to the office.

When they got back to the office they had no missed messages which translated into no new leads. Spike suggested that they look over witness statements again to see if they knew anything but Buffy had a better idea.

Willy’s Bar was the place to be if you wanted to find the scum of L.A. Buffy and Willy had a standing agreement. She would not bust him for the illegal poker games as long as he provided her with information any time she needed it. Willy always had something on everyone and everything. If he didn’t know the guy who did it he could at least point you in the right direction. Willy’s Bar was in the most despicable part of downtown L.A. You could almost feel the grim in the air.

As they walked in they found themselves being watched by every pair of eyes in the place. Buffy didn’t give a shit and Spike, well Spike looked like he could fit right in. Willy was in the back behind the bar, like always. Willy knew something was going down if she was working with the likes of him.

“Hey Officer Buffy, and Spike. What brings you two here… and together?” Willy sounded surprised, and a little afraid.

“Well, Willy, Buffy here is my new partner. You remember, I’m a cop.” Spike stated almost as if he was trying to prove something to Willy.

“Spike, you seem to know everyone, so maybe you should be the one to lead this investigation.” Buffy looked like she wanted to hurt him. Willy picked up on the tension between the two and took a step back.

“Now, now, luv. I just have happened in here once or twice. This is still your show, let’s get is on the road.”

“Ok, Willy. What do you know about the gruesome murders that took place on Main Street last night? The victim worked for Wolfram & Hart, so I am sure you have heard something about it.”

“Listen Buff, I don’t want to get involved with them. They can have me killed.”

“So can I, Willy.” Spike practically growled. “I don’t know much but I do know some one who does.” Willy wrote down a name and an address on a card and handed it to them.

“Thanks Willy, we’ll be back if you lied to us.” Buffy smiled as she said that.

---

They walked out of the bar and Buffy smacked him upside the head.

“Spike, that is the second time today you have taken over my interrogations, I thought you were a transfer from London. How do you have this many connections in L.A.?”

“I like to travel, luv.” Spike replied.

“Stop calling me that! I swear Spike, the more I get to know you and be around you the more questions I have?”

“I don’t know what to tell you Buffy. Let’s just go stake this guy ok.”

“You meant to say a stake out right?” Buffy inquired.

“Yeah, that’s it.” Spike answered.

---

They found the address Willy had given them. There was no one at the door. They decided to wait him out. They were in Spike’s car. A classic 1958 Dodge Desoto FireFlite. Buffy noticed that the edges of the windows looked as if they almost had black paint on them, like it had been scratched off.

“So, Spike the world traveler, since we have some time to kill and you don’t seem to be taking any of my subtle hints to leave me alone, why don’t you tell me your story?” Buffy asked.

“I guess that’s fair enough. What do you want to know?”

“Everything that I can. If your going to be my partner I’ll need to know what makes you tick so we don’t get each other killed. How old are you? Why did you decide to leave the force in England to come here? Why do you want to be my partner? How do you seem to know everyone that has anything to do with anything?”

“You sure ask a lot of questions but I guess that’s a given in our line of work. Well let’s see. You already know my real name. My age, I’d rather not admit. If you really want to know it’s in my file which I am sure you have already read seeing as you know I’m from London. Ah, London. Well, I finally decided to leave when a friend told me that I was needed elsewhere. He said they could really use a guy like me in L.A. So, I listened. Like I said before, I love to travel. I have pretty much seen the world by now. I had been to L.A. years ago and no matter what city I go to I always seem to find the pubs like Willy’s. Willy and I go way back. When I first met him, I saved his neck in a bar fight. I guess I just have the kinda face you remember. As for the being your partner, I didn’t really have that much of a choice. When I first got assigned to your precinct, Wes told me about you and practically begged me to be your partner. He really seems to admire you. He kept going on and on about your brilliance, but I don’t really see that… ha ha. I’m just kidding you, luv. I think you’re quite amazing.”

“Thanks Spike. That’s one of the nicest things someone has said about me in a long time. But still don’t call me love. I would love to travel. I haven’t really been anywhere but here my entire life. It can get kind of boring.”

“I don’t think L.A. is boring. There are so many different kinds of people here. You just have to stay away from Hollywood. That place is just plain scary. Like I said, I’ve pretty much been everywhere but L.A. has its own rhythm. Every city has a unique feel. You should go to Paris one day. You would fit right in. It’s filled with beautiful intelligent people. The city is older than dirt but its more vibrant than ever. I would love to show you around it one day.”

“Wow, Spike. I don’t know what to say. You have so much passion in your voice. It kind of makes me hate you less. Maybe Wes was right to put us together.”

At that moment it seemed like the stars has aligned. They were both leaning toward each other. They were mesmerized by each other’s eyes. Spike was going to kiss her.

“Spike, wait! Look, it’s our perp.”

Spike looked, there was a man who appeared to be in his mid to late thirties approach the building they were watching. He matched the picture of the license they had pulled up, so they decided to go question him.

As they got out of the car and approached the man Buffy had her hand on the gun. You never knew what was going to happen. Spike was the first to talk.

“Hello, are you Sean Daniels? We’d like to ask you a few questions if you don’t mind. We’re L.A.P.D.”

The instant Spike said they were cops Sean set off in a run. Buffy and Spike were in quick pursuit. They managed to corner him in a nearby alley.

“Calm down. We just wanted to talk to you about someone who you used to work with. We just have a few questions.” Buffy spoke in a very calming soothing tone.

“Look, just by me being here with you they might kill me. You have no idea what you guys are dealing with. If I was you I would just drop whatever investigation you have before you get to deep.” Sean’s voice was shaky.

“Listen mate, we are big boys and girls here. We are on the right side of the law. We can handle whatever information you give us. We can also arrange protection for you if you are willing to testify about whatever you know. It’s a win, win situation.” Spike offered without consulting his partner.

“I do not think that you understand what I’m saying. Hell, I’ve been here too long already. I have to go. Just let me go home. I know you have nothing on me. You can’t hold me.”

“You are right, but Sean, we just wanted to ask a few questions. That’s all. No one ever has to know. We can say that we got the information from an anonymous source. Pretty please just a few questions.” Spike couldn’t believe how thick Buffy was laying on the charm. But it seemed to work. Sean looked a little less sweaty and shaky.

“Fine, I will just tell you enough so you know where to start looking. Which case are you guys investigating anyways?”

“Um, we are not investigating a case, yet, we are homicide detectives. We are here to ask you about your coworker, John Warner. He was found brutally murdered last night in his home. His wife was also slain. We understand that you worked with Mr. Warner and were wondering if you could shed some light on what he was working on that might have been enough to get him eviscerated.” Buffy inquired.

“Oh God, John’s dead. They will come after me next. We were working together on a big case. It was not going that well. We were working on the defense for Corbin Fries. He has his hands in everything dirty in LA. The prosecution has almost everything they could dream of. John and I were looking for loopholes in the law. John had been acting strange lately though. I don’t know what was going on with him. Listen, that’s more than I should have ever told you. I have to get myself out of town. Good luck on your case. Hope you find whoever killed him.” Sean looked as if he was going to pass out. He walked around Buffy and Spike out of the alley.

They had just enough time to look at one another before the heard a blood curdling scream. Buffy pulled out her gun as she ran. Spike blurred past her to the source of the sound.

Sean had been surrounded. There were at least four guys attacking him. Spike arrived just in time to see him get his neck snapped. He leaped on the closest guy and started fighting. Buffy aimed her gun but with Spike in the fray it would be almost impossible not to shoot him so she did the next logical thing and joined the fight. That’s when she saw the oddest thing. The guy Spike was fighting turned into dust. Then she saw him twist off the next attackers head and he turned to dust.

“Buffy, stay back I can handle it.”

Like hell she was. She was beating her guy when his faced changed. He looked almost like a monster. Buffy screamed. This caused Spike to turn around and come to her aid. He took what looked like a wooden stake and stabbed the guy. He turned into dust just like the others had. Buffy looked up at Spike to thank him but screamed and ran instead.

---

Buffy could not believe what she saw. Spike’s face looked the same as those monsters. Her mind was racing a mile per minute. Were these the things that had killed Mr. Warner? If Spike was a monster why was he pretending to be a cop? Was this was Sean was so afraid of? Crap, their only cooperative informant was dead and her partner was a hideous monster. This was a great day. She decided to just go home and try to figure this out in the morning.

On her way home she had three missed calls from Spike. She did not feel like talking to a monster at that moment. When she got home there was an unexpected site. Spike was sitting outside her front door.

“Buffy, luv. I can explain. Just give me a minute to explain.” Spike pleaded.

“Explain what Spike? You’re some sort of monster. I do not know what type of sick game you were playing with me and my job but get away. Why don’t you run back to your boss, Corbin Fries? Listen, I appreciate you saving my life and that is the only thing that is keeping me from shooting you where you stand. So please get out of my way.” Buffy pushed passed him and opened her front door; she stepped inside leaving Spike to talk to her pleading to the semi-closed door.

“Buffy you need to listen to me. Yes, I am a vampire, but I was sent here to help you. I’m not a monster like the rest. I’m different. I’m here to help you. Don’t shut your door on me. I can tell you why you’re so strong, why you are drawn to the things that go bump in the night. Wes knows what I am and what I am here to do. We just want to help you Buffy.”

“Ok, you have my attention. Tell me why I am the way I am. Tell me what’s been going on around here and why I should take the word of a monster like you.” Buffy practically spat at him.

“Let’s go inside pet away from prying eyes.” Spike pleaded.

“I’m not standing in your way any more.” Buffy stated.

“You have to invite me inside. That’s one of the rules of being a vampire.”

“Fine but you have to promise not to kill me. I have a gun and I’m not afraid to use it. I invite you in, Spike.” And just like that one of the most important conversations Buffy Summers would ever have during her entire existence had started.