August 25 - Group Activity
Twisted Shorts August Fic-a-Day Challenge - Day 25
Title: Group Activity
Author: hermione2be
Rating: PG/FR13/K+
Crossover: BtVS/Psych
Disclaimer: I do not own any of BtVS/Angel or Psych people, places, or ideas. This fiction is done simply for pleasure and I receive no profit.
Summary: Buffy gets dragged into an investigation.
Notes: Follows “Wolf’s Snout”
Seasons: Post “Becoming”/S1Ep11 - “He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not, He Loves Me, Oops He’s Dead”
Characters: Buffy, Shawn, Gus, Juliet, Lassiter, Vick
Word Count: 1690
Buffy frowned as she entered the police station behind Shawn and Gus. This was the problem with not asking questions before agreeing to help with a case. And she wanted to help, but being around cops set her on edge. They rounded the desk to find the doors that said Chief of Police were closed. This didn’t stop Shawn and Gus who each grabbed a handle and opened the double doors.
Buffy found herself looking at a woman behind a desk - she assumed this was Chief Vick. Lassiter and Juliet were standing opposite of Vick, both looked back to see what had interrupted the closed door meeting.
“Mr. Spencer,” Vick said with as much patience as she could muster. “Do you have something for us?”
Buffy stepped into the room, staying to the side near Juliet. She was then treated to the performance of Shawn Spencer and his incorrigible assistant, Burton Guster. When, about midway through, he had tried to engage her in his scheme, she had glared. “Touch me and I’ll break it, Shawn.”
He had looked momentarily shocked before continuing with his ridiculously convoluted explanation. He finished with flourish, a flower down the neck of his shirt, breathing hard.
Vick looked between all of them.
“Let me get this straight. There is a dead body and a murder loose in our city and you want the Santa Barbara Police Department to pay for you to go on dates?”
“Yes,” Shawn said, Gus nodding behind him. “That’s correct. I mean, I suppose we could split it if we had to. What’s that called? Going-”
“And what is she doing here?” Vick asked, a finger directed at Buffy.
“Apparently, I’m to be cannon fodder,” Buffy answered.
“We figured more of us there, the more likely to spot the killer,” Shawn said. He talked quicker as he saw Vick about to object. “Chief we get six minutes with each date. I only need forty seconds. I’ll be able to tell if they had anything to do with the murder. And you know what? Gus and I, we did try to negotiate some sort of partial usage rate, but we got shutdown by that leprechaun-”
“Mr. Spencer,” Vick cut in, “enough.”
“Wait.” Shawn put his right hand to his temple. “I’m getting something. It’s a woman…in sexy high-heeled strappy shoes. She’s roughly 5’2”…” He looked at Juliet. “Jules, may I please have a pen and something to write on?”
Buffy ignored Shawn’s antics as he drew something. “Hey, Juliet.”
“Hi, Beth,” she whispered back.
“No talking!” Shawn shouted. A few more grunts and he passed the pad of paper to Gus, who passed it to Juliet, who passed it to Lassiter.
Lassiter looked annoyed as Shawn slumped into a seat. “To Lassie, on the Alpine highway of life, you are my all-weather tires. H and Ks, Shawn.” He read between grit teeth. “What the hell is this?”
“H and k stands for hugs and kisses,” Juliet explained with a smile at her tall partner.
“Not that part,” he sneered. “This part.” He showed them the pad which had an odd row of lines.
“Tire tracks?” Buffy guessed as Gus said, “It’s a tire pattern.” They looked at each other, eyebrows raised.
“Run it through the system, and we’ll know what kind of car she drives,” Gus told them.
Vick took the notepad. “Okay, I’ll give you a shot at this, but you’re not going alone.” Shawn perked up. “O’Hara, I want you to go along with these guys undercover working things from the other side. See if you can sift any information from these women.”
“Will do,” Juliet agreed.
“I will too,” Buffy found herself saying.
“I’m sorry, and you are?” Vick asked.
“Beth Summers, Chief. I’m a defense instructor and a friend of Henry Spencer.”
“She’s really good,” Juliet agreed.
“Wait,” Lassiter said. “She’s the instructor everyone has been going on about for weeks?”
Buffy smiled at Juliet, her classes were filled with cops thanks to Henry, Juliet, and Buzz.
“Well, with that ringing endorsement,” Vick gestured. “Detective Lassiter, I’m going to need you too. We don’t know what this woman’s type is, and besides, you’re now leading the case.”
Lassiter shook his head. “Yeah, you know, Chief, with all due respect, I’m really pretty busy…”
88888888
Buffy pushed a set of dresses aside. “Thanks for letting me borrow something. My wardrobe is little more workout outfits and jeans.”
“It’s not a problem,” Juliet promised as she stepped out of the bathroom wearing black slacks and a white and gold top. “Did you find something you like?”
Buffy pulled out a red long sleeve top with little rose lace at the shoulder, neckline, and bottom. “This is my jeans and boots.”
“Great. What about hair?”
88888888
Buffy and Juliet were first of their group to arrive at the restaurant. They mingled with the other women until they saw the Shawn, Gus, and Lassiter arrive. Gus looked spiffy in a sports coat, Shawn was wearing a nice button down shirt, Lassiter was dressed in his everyday suit.
“Okay,” Lassiter went over what they were looking for.
“Check,” Shawn noted when he finished. “Question.” He pointed at Lassiter. “Is that what you’re wearing?”
“Shawn,” Buffy stepped between them. “Leave the strapped detective alone.” She made a shooing sign at all of them. “Now go, mingle, we’re drawing attention.” Once they were gone she turned to Lassiter. “As much as I loathe to say this, he’s right.”
“What’s wrong with this?”
“It’s a little severe,” she told him. “But since you can’t take off your jacket, removing the tie would help.” She shrugged. “But it’s completely up to you.” She walked up to the raised platform and turned back just long enough to see Lassiter remove and pocket his tie.
She grabbed a questionnaire and quickly filled it out while waiting at a little table. She handed it over to a guy in green as the instructions were explained. Buffy sighed. Here goes nothing.
The first man to sit down was boring. The second wasn’t much better.
“Hi, Gus,” she said as he sat down across from her.
“Hi, Beth. Are you enjoying your evening?”
She laughed and relaxed. “I’m enjoying being out of my apartment for something other than my studio or my walks.”
“Don’t get a lot of time to socialize when you own a business?”
Buffy looked down at the table. “I’m just not sure where I fit in. And you know as well as I, Shawn only wanted me to come because I can do what he does.” She touched a finger to her temple and squinted.
Gus laughed. “You’ll get used to it.”
“That’s not very reassuring.”
“Have you seen anything?”
“Not so far, a lot of women, myself included fit the physical and fashion,” she frowned at him. “I think there has to be a partner. Someone my size would have a lot of trouble dragging a body through the fields, especially in heels.”
The bell rung and Gus moved on. Shawn sat down.
They stared at each other, assessing.
“You aren’t who you say you are,” Shawn accused.
“Says the psychic.”
“You were a runaway,” he suddenly said. “Something bad happened with that dude and his evil twin.”
“And?”
“You aren’t going to deny it?”
“Why would I now?”
“You’re from Sunnydale.”
Buffy went rigid in her seat. “Excuse me?”
“The band Gus saw, the one with your friend Oz. Traced them back to Sunnydale.”
“Stop digging, Shawn.”
“Why?”
“Because, everyone has a past, but I’d rather be known for what I’ve done the last year than for who I was in Sunnydale.” She watched him. “Unlike you, I had to grow up when I was fifteen.” Buffy crossed her arms and stared him down. “Leave it alone.”
She let out a relieved breath when he finally left the table. She smiled through six more interviews until a familiar man sat down in front of her.
“Detective,” Buffy greeted.
“Have you found anything?”
“Just that men over thirty are ridiculously desperate and boring. Present company excluded, of course.”
One side of Lassiter’s mouth tipped up. “How do you know Spencer?”
“I met Henry at the supermarket. I knew he had a son, but we never met until a few months ago.”
“Why do women fall all over themselves around him?” Lassiter asked as he looked at Shawn cracking up a young woman a few tables over.
“I don’t get his charm either,” she admitted. “I really want to meet his mom though.” At Lassiter’s look, she explained, “I know Henry isn’t where Shawn got his quirks. His mother has got to be a complete basket for him to be so…ridiculous.”
Lassiter gave her a half smile, then it turned to a scowl as though he had remembered she was a criminal who slipped through his hands not long ago. “Have you seen anything?”
“Nothing to report,” she told him. “If she has a partner, it doesn’t seem like it’s one of the other single males.”
88888888
Buffy pulled her bag a little tighter as she walked along the beach. She looked up at the quarter moon and wondered how Oz was. She had heard from Angel a few days ago, just him giving her phone numbers and addresses in case she needed them.
School would be starting soon. All her friends would be off to college. She smiled despite herself. Henry had seen to it that she applied to Santa Barbara City College. She was accepted to start that fall. She just needed to decide on her classes soon.
She just smiled to herself and plopped down in the sand to stare out at the beach. She pulled out the cards from the speed-dating event. Her ratings were not bad and a few of the guys had been interesting. But deep in her heart she knew why she hadn’t chucked the cards in the first trash can she saw. This was the first time in a year she had been involved in a group activity as an equal. And she wasn’t quite ready to end the night.
Title: Group Activity
Author: hermione2be
Rating: PG/FR13/K+
Crossover: BtVS/Psych
Disclaimer: I do not own any of BtVS/Angel or Psych people, places, or ideas. This fiction is done simply for pleasure and I receive no profit.
Summary: Buffy gets dragged into an investigation.
Notes: Follows “Wolf’s Snout”
Seasons: Post “Becoming”/S1Ep11 - “He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not, He Loves Me, Oops He’s Dead”
Characters: Buffy, Shawn, Gus, Juliet, Lassiter, Vick
Word Count: 1690
Buffy frowned as she entered the police station behind Shawn and Gus. This was the problem with not asking questions before agreeing to help with a case. And she wanted to help, but being around cops set her on edge. They rounded the desk to find the doors that said Chief of Police were closed. This didn’t stop Shawn and Gus who each grabbed a handle and opened the double doors.
Buffy found herself looking at a woman behind a desk - she assumed this was Chief Vick. Lassiter and Juliet were standing opposite of Vick, both looked back to see what had interrupted the closed door meeting.
“Mr. Spencer,” Vick said with as much patience as she could muster. “Do you have something for us?”
Buffy stepped into the room, staying to the side near Juliet. She was then treated to the performance of Shawn Spencer and his incorrigible assistant, Burton Guster. When, about midway through, he had tried to engage her in his scheme, she had glared. “Touch me and I’ll break it, Shawn.”
He had looked momentarily shocked before continuing with his ridiculously convoluted explanation. He finished with flourish, a flower down the neck of his shirt, breathing hard.
Vick looked between all of them.
“Let me get this straight. There is a dead body and a murder loose in our city and you want the Santa Barbara Police Department to pay for you to go on dates?”
“Yes,” Shawn said, Gus nodding behind him. “That’s correct. I mean, I suppose we could split it if we had to. What’s that called? Going-”
“And what is she doing here?” Vick asked, a finger directed at Buffy.
“Apparently, I’m to be cannon fodder,” Buffy answered.
“We figured more of us there, the more likely to spot the killer,” Shawn said. He talked quicker as he saw Vick about to object. “Chief we get six minutes with each date. I only need forty seconds. I’ll be able to tell if they had anything to do with the murder. And you know what? Gus and I, we did try to negotiate some sort of partial usage rate, but we got shutdown by that leprechaun-”
“Mr. Spencer,” Vick cut in, “enough.”
“Wait.” Shawn put his right hand to his temple. “I’m getting something. It’s a woman…in sexy high-heeled strappy shoes. She’s roughly 5’2”…” He looked at Juliet. “Jules, may I please have a pen and something to write on?”
Buffy ignored Shawn’s antics as he drew something. “Hey, Juliet.”
“Hi, Beth,” she whispered back.
“No talking!” Shawn shouted. A few more grunts and he passed the pad of paper to Gus, who passed it to Juliet, who passed it to Lassiter.
Lassiter looked annoyed as Shawn slumped into a seat. “To Lassie, on the Alpine highway of life, you are my all-weather tires. H and Ks, Shawn.” He read between grit teeth. “What the hell is this?”
“H and k stands for hugs and kisses,” Juliet explained with a smile at her tall partner.
“Not that part,” he sneered. “This part.” He showed them the pad which had an odd row of lines.
“Tire tracks?” Buffy guessed as Gus said, “It’s a tire pattern.” They looked at each other, eyebrows raised.
“Run it through the system, and we’ll know what kind of car she drives,” Gus told them.
Vick took the notepad. “Okay, I’ll give you a shot at this, but you’re not going alone.” Shawn perked up. “O’Hara, I want you to go along with these guys undercover working things from the other side. See if you can sift any information from these women.”
“Will do,” Juliet agreed.
“I will too,” Buffy found herself saying.
“I’m sorry, and you are?” Vick asked.
“Beth Summers, Chief. I’m a defense instructor and a friend of Henry Spencer.”
“She’s really good,” Juliet agreed.
“Wait,” Lassiter said. “She’s the instructor everyone has been going on about for weeks?”
Buffy smiled at Juliet, her classes were filled with cops thanks to Henry, Juliet, and Buzz.
“Well, with that ringing endorsement,” Vick gestured. “Detective Lassiter, I’m going to need you too. We don’t know what this woman’s type is, and besides, you’re now leading the case.”
Lassiter shook his head. “Yeah, you know, Chief, with all due respect, I’m really pretty busy…”
88888888
Buffy pushed a set of dresses aside. “Thanks for letting me borrow something. My wardrobe is little more workout outfits and jeans.”
“It’s not a problem,” Juliet promised as she stepped out of the bathroom wearing black slacks and a white and gold top. “Did you find something you like?”
Buffy pulled out a red long sleeve top with little rose lace at the shoulder, neckline, and bottom. “This is my jeans and boots.”
“Great. What about hair?”
88888888
Buffy and Juliet were first of their group to arrive at the restaurant. They mingled with the other women until they saw the Shawn, Gus, and Lassiter arrive. Gus looked spiffy in a sports coat, Shawn was wearing a nice button down shirt, Lassiter was dressed in his everyday suit.
“Okay,” Lassiter went over what they were looking for.
“Check,” Shawn noted when he finished. “Question.” He pointed at Lassiter. “Is that what you’re wearing?”
“Shawn,” Buffy stepped between them. “Leave the strapped detective alone.” She made a shooing sign at all of them. “Now go, mingle, we’re drawing attention.” Once they were gone she turned to Lassiter. “As much as I loathe to say this, he’s right.”
“What’s wrong with this?”
“It’s a little severe,” she told him. “But since you can’t take off your jacket, removing the tie would help.” She shrugged. “But it’s completely up to you.” She walked up to the raised platform and turned back just long enough to see Lassiter remove and pocket his tie.
She grabbed a questionnaire and quickly filled it out while waiting at a little table. She handed it over to a guy in green as the instructions were explained. Buffy sighed. Here goes nothing.
The first man to sit down was boring. The second wasn’t much better.
“Hi, Gus,” she said as he sat down across from her.
“Hi, Beth. Are you enjoying your evening?”
She laughed and relaxed. “I’m enjoying being out of my apartment for something other than my studio or my walks.”
“Don’t get a lot of time to socialize when you own a business?”
Buffy looked down at the table. “I’m just not sure where I fit in. And you know as well as I, Shawn only wanted me to come because I can do what he does.” She touched a finger to her temple and squinted.
Gus laughed. “You’ll get used to it.”
“That’s not very reassuring.”
“Have you seen anything?”
“Not so far, a lot of women, myself included fit the physical and fashion,” she frowned at him. “I think there has to be a partner. Someone my size would have a lot of trouble dragging a body through the fields, especially in heels.”
The bell rung and Gus moved on. Shawn sat down.
They stared at each other, assessing.
“You aren’t who you say you are,” Shawn accused.
“Says the psychic.”
“You were a runaway,” he suddenly said. “Something bad happened with that dude and his evil twin.”
“And?”
“You aren’t going to deny it?”
“Why would I now?”
“You’re from Sunnydale.”
Buffy went rigid in her seat. “Excuse me?”
“The band Gus saw, the one with your friend Oz. Traced them back to Sunnydale.”
“Stop digging, Shawn.”
“Why?”
“Because, everyone has a past, but I’d rather be known for what I’ve done the last year than for who I was in Sunnydale.” She watched him. “Unlike you, I had to grow up when I was fifteen.” Buffy crossed her arms and stared him down. “Leave it alone.”
She let out a relieved breath when he finally left the table. She smiled through six more interviews until a familiar man sat down in front of her.
“Detective,” Buffy greeted.
“Have you found anything?”
“Just that men over thirty are ridiculously desperate and boring. Present company excluded, of course.”
One side of Lassiter’s mouth tipped up. “How do you know Spencer?”
“I met Henry at the supermarket. I knew he had a son, but we never met until a few months ago.”
“Why do women fall all over themselves around him?” Lassiter asked as he looked at Shawn cracking up a young woman a few tables over.
“I don’t get his charm either,” she admitted. “I really want to meet his mom though.” At Lassiter’s look, she explained, “I know Henry isn’t where Shawn got his quirks. His mother has got to be a complete basket for him to be so…ridiculous.”
Lassiter gave her a half smile, then it turned to a scowl as though he had remembered she was a criminal who slipped through his hands not long ago. “Have you seen anything?”
“Nothing to report,” she told him. “If she has a partner, it doesn’t seem like it’s one of the other single males.”
88888888
Buffy pulled her bag a little tighter as she walked along the beach. She looked up at the quarter moon and wondered how Oz was. She had heard from Angel a few days ago, just him giving her phone numbers and addresses in case she needed them.
School would be starting soon. All her friends would be off to college. She smiled despite herself. Henry had seen to it that she applied to Santa Barbara City College. She was accepted to start that fall. She just needed to decide on her classes soon.
She just smiled to herself and plopped down in the sand to stare out at the beach. She pulled out the cards from the speed-dating event. Her ratings were not bad and a few of the guys had been interesting. But deep in her heart she knew why she hadn’t chucked the cards in the first trash can she saw. This was the first time in a year she had been involved in a group activity as an equal. And she wasn’t quite ready to end the night.