Disclaimers: Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy & Fox. Numb3rs belongs to CBS. (NOT ME!!)
AN: Hi! I've been trying to think of a crossover for these two series for a while, and though this one may seem a bit unpractical it works... And I find it amusing and I've seen worse, and so have you if you've read even a fraction of the crossovers I've read.

Warnings: None that I can think of at the moment, really. Anyone who's read any of my other fan fics knows that updates from me can be few and far between. I always try, but between life in general, and they whims of my muses it's hard. Regardless, if you want to continue reading this, I hope you enjoy it and that you don't have to wait too long for my muses to give me something (really, they're rather irritating!). Enjoy!

First Meeting

By Jess S

Prologue: A Late Rescue

Pasadena, California – Monday, June 3, 1996

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Charlie frowned as he looked out at the three pre-teenage girls that were hovering anxiously outside on the doorstep. A part of him was greatly against helping the three, but he couldn't for the life of him imagine why. After another moment's hesitation, Charlie gave into their wide, desperate eyes and sighed, shaking his head and – wanting more than anything to get back to the math problem he'd been working on when the doorbell rang – he waved them in, "Yeah, I guess you can use the phone. Come in, it's right through here," he told them, turning to lead the way into the kitchen.

Not a full second later he was bowled over with a force like that of a freight train, blown clean off his feet and headfirst into the floor as deceptively slender arms warped around his neck and dragged him further into the house, over to the stairs.

"Hungry, are we, Clair?" he heard one of the girls asked with a laugh. Her voice was different from before though, deeper... it almost sounded like she actually growled the words.

"May I, Sire?" he heard the girl that was easily pinning him to the floor ask, her voice also changed to that deep, growling tone.

Charlie struggled, but the girl's grip was unbreakable, brutally bruising and devastating in her unbelievable strength. He managed to tilt his head back enough to look at the other two girls and was more than a little horrified at what he saw.

Gone were the somewhat pretty faces of two young teenagers with long, platinum blonde hair and wide, worried blue eyes. Now their eyes were a dark, orange-yellow color; both eager and blank; wild, like an animal's, and set under formerly smooth foreheads that had become strangely ridged. Their lip gloss covered lips had pulled back to reveal pointed teeth that were currently set in wicked, zealous grins as both girls let out harsh, grating laughs.

"Enjoy," the first girl replied with a smirk to Clair's question before joining the other...creature in looking around the room, slipping some of the nearby valuables into the bag that hung from their shoulders.

One of Clair's arms moved slightly higher but the one that remained about his chest and shoulders still held him firmly in place with ease as she just as easily forced him to tilt his head back and slightly to the side and started to place quick kisses along his neck, almost as though she was searching for something.

Not knowing what was making a surge of desperate fear rush through his system, but reacting to it nonetheless, Charlie choked out, "Please, don'—"

But he was cut off by his own shout of agony as she apparently found the spot she wanted and bit down hard, sending an excruciatingly sharp burst of pain through his body that continued to throb as she started to suck greedily at his throat, rapidly sucking his lifeblood out of his veins.

Each jerky motion he made to try to escape was easily overpowered by the smaller figure's slight grip and sent waves of agony crashing through his body even as his strength rapidly waned and his vision started to darken...

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Buffy sighed as she made her way through the dark streets. She'd gotten off her shift at the diner just a little while ago, around midnight. But she couldn't sleep. Again. Much as she wanted to escape Slayerhood, it was well and truly a part of her now; a part that wouldn't be ignored. So here she was, wandering around after one o'clock in the morning. She wasn't sure what her Slayer senses were drawing her to. She wasn't even in the real city anymore. She'd entered the suburban district of 'Pasadena' – according to the welcoming sign – several minutes ago.

As she turned onto another residential street her eyes sharpened in response to the familiar surge of adrenaline her slay-sense sent through her system while her ears – also suddenly hyper-sensitive – picked up sounds of a struggle not too far down the street.

With another sigh she took off towards the problem, easily closing the distance to the house the noise was coming from in just a few seconds.

There were three vamps there, two of them very young fledglings and the third their not much older Sire. None of them noticed her arrival, as one of the fledglings and the Sire were too focused on rummaging through the living room while the other fledgling fed on the teenage boy that lived there, having apparently given the three an invite into his home. To be fair, not knowing the three were vampires, the boy probably couldn't have imagined that he'd have anything to fear from the three girls that all looked younger than him and were dressed up as cheerleaders to boot!

Taking note of the host's rapidly paling skin and weakening struggles, Buffy didn't even stop to snark at the three undead blondes, instead coming up behind the Sire to quickly stake her from behind and throwing her stake towards the other fledgling as she spun towards them into and into the stake that then pierced her heart. Half a dozen rapid steps brought her over to yank the other vamp away from her victim as she looked up, and a startled expression was permanently fixed on her face as her form crumbled to dust. All was silent for a moment as Buffy paused to let her senses scan the area before deciding it was self to kneel down and check on the victim.

He was on the floor, leaning against the wall by the front door, his breathing labored and his eyes wide with shock. At a quick glance Buffy could see bruises forming along his arms, a slightly bloody bump rising off his forehead and the collar of his red t-shirt darkening from the blood that was still seeping down his neck, through the fingers he'd instinctively pressed up against his neck wound.

"Hey, buddy," Buffy murmured softly as she knelt down next to him, a concerned expression fixed on her face as she asked, "What's your name?"

"Wh-what?" he asked, his voice weak and confused as his slightly-glazed – still-panicked – brown eyes met hers.

"I'm B—Anne. My name's Anne. What's your name?" Buffy repeated, biting back a frown at her own slip up even as she continued to look him over for any more injuries. She didn't usually do this. Normally she either found victims when they were already dead or just as they were caught and were therefore still able to care for themselves. The few times she came across someone who needed medical attention she'd call Giles and he'd always taken care of it. She'd never asked how, just been relieved when she saw the would-be victim back in school a few days later.

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"Ch-Charlie. I'm Charlie, Eppes. Charlie Eppes," Charlie replied shakily while fumbling with the injury on his neck, which he could still feel blood flowing out of far too steadily.

"It's nice to meet you, Charlie," the angel told him, her voice gentle and kind as it drew his attention away from his neck and back to her.

He could barely make out her face, as his vision had started to blur from blood loss, but he thought the angel was rather pretty. As an angel should be. She had golden blonde hair that seemed to almost shine in the dim lighting, and the greenest eyes he'd ever seen.

"…kit nearby?"

Charlie frowned as he realized the angel had asked him a question. "Wh-What?"

"A first aid kit, Charlie. Do you have one?"

"Y-Yeah," Charlie nodded jerkily, wincing as the motion jarred his neck wound and made his curly hair bounce around the bump on his head. "K-Kitchen... th-through th-there," he told her, glancing towards the nearby door after making a quickly aborted effort to point at it with his bloody hand.

"Okay. You jus... here... be… 'ack."

Charlie frowned as the angel started to move away, struggling to try to go after her despite his total lack of any strength whatsoever. He was so weak that even breathing was difficult. And the pain he was still in certainly didn't help.

"Don't move," the angel's sharp rebuke made his movements cease, though the gentler words that followed made him feel a bit better. "I'll be right back."

'She'll come back... She promised.' Charlie told himself even as the strength he'd apparently been using to hold himself up against the wall failed, causing him to fall further back into the floor, banging his aching head on the wall a bit on the way down.

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Buffy sped through what looked like a dining room and pushed open the door to the kitchen, glancing around before quickly starting to pull open counter drawers. She found the first aid kit in the third drawer she opened, quickly pulling it out and heading to the fridge for a bottle of water and grabbing some paper towels before hurrying back out to the wounded teen again. As she knelt by Charlie's once again, she frowned at his glassy-eyed stare. "Hey. Hey, Charlie, you okay?"

Charlie didn't respond verbally, though his eyes did seem to focus on her face even as weak shivers started to rush through his body.

"SXXt." Buffy muttered, as she looked around again, quickly spotting a cell phone sitting on plugged into the wall. She grabbed it, flipping it open to dial 911 even as she grabbed one of the envelopes she saw sitting by it to read the address off it.

"911 emergen—"

"I need an ambulance at 874 Hunter Street, Pasadena," Buffy cut in quickly while gently moving Charlie forward so that he could lie his head down on her coat as she rolled it up to place it under him.

"What is the nature of your emergency, ma'am?" the female operator's almost monotone reply came.

"I need an ambulance!" Buffy snapped as she pushed Charlie's hands away from his neck to replace them with the towels she'd brought from the kitchen. "My... friend's lost a lot of blood from a neck wound. And I think he has a concussion... and he might be in shock."

"Okay, an ambulance is on its way, ma'am. As are the LAPD. Can you reach your friend?"

"Yes."

"Get him a blanket to keep him warm if you can. Can you do that?"

"Yeah. What about his neck injury? He's loosing a lot of blood!"

"Apply pressure to his wound. An ambulance will be there soon. You said he's in shock?"

"I think so. He told me where his first aid kit was, but now he's staring at nothing... He's still breathing, though."

"Try to keep him warm and awake, ma'am. The medics will be there soon and I'll stay on the line with you until they get there. Do you know how the injury occurred?"

"N-No. I was walking and the front door was open. He was laying there clutching his neck. I closed the door and got his kit," Buffy answered, hoping the brief but technically truthful summary would be enough to satisfy the woman and the cops that were on their way here. She didn't know if pointed obliviousness that plagued Sunnydale concerning all things supernatural worked here in LA or not.

"Okay. Are you and the victim alone?"

"Y-Yeah. I-I think so. S-Someone else would have h-helped him if they were here, right?"

"…Yes. Some officers will be there very soon. Don't let anyone in until the officers or the medics arrive, all right?"

"What if his family comes home?"

"Do you know where the victim's family is?"

"No. But there are pictures everywhere here. And this house is too big for one person..."

"If they return you can let them in, but stay on the line with me and tell them to stay back from the victim, all right?"

"Okay," Buffy replied, still a little unsurely. She wasn't sure she wanted to be here when the cops got here... but she couldn't just leave Charlie like this either.

"For the record, ma'am. What is your name?"

Buffy frowned hesitating a moment before replying. "Anne... My name's Anne O'Connor. Will I need an ID? I don't drive and I was just out walking, so I don't have anything with me." Angel had told her once that he'd paid a witch or warlock some time in the past to enchant his original surname so that he could move through society with it without problems. And that it supposedly still worked well and would for a long time yet.

"Thank you, Miss O'Connor. Is the victim fully unconscious?"

"Umm..." glancing at Charlie's unfocused, but still moving eyes she shook her head. "No. He's not really here though, I don't think... Maybe 'cause of the concussion?"

"Blood loss and shock may also affect that. Is he breathing regularly?"

"No, but I think that's more because his neck's hurt and he's in pain."

"That may be. But keep a close eye on his breathing. Can you find his pulse?"

"Uh, yeah, I could, but my hand's are kind of full. Wh—" flashing lights drew her eyes to the closed front door and she sighed in relief as she heard more than one vehicle pulling up outside.

"Miss O'Connor?"

"The ambulance is here, should I open the door?" Buffy asked, relief clear in her voice even as she continued to watch the windows, waiting for someone to knock or just come in.

"Is the door locked?"

"I don't think so," Buffy said, frowning toward the doorknob even as she shook her head. "I didn't think to lock it."

"Then the EMTs should be with you shortly. Just wait for them to come to you. Are the police officers there yet?"

"Then just wait a moment for them to come to you. Are the police officers there yet?"

"There's more than one vehicle, I think, so yeah, I think so," Buffy nodded, before frowning slightly. "I'm gonna hang up now, I kind of need my hands."

"Wai—"

Not waiting for the command to be finished, Buffy hit the call 'end' button with another sigh, slipping the phone into her pocket after a moment's thought and gently taking one of Charlie's hands in her own even as she saw a police officer's face looking in through one of the windows and a moment later was surrounded by officers and medics moving about.

For the next few minutes she watched in a daze as the police officers moved around the house – apparently 'securing it' – and the paramedics worked at an almost frantic pace around Charlie, throwing rapid questions at her occasionally after telling her to back away a few steps.

She was pulled out of her daze by one of the paramedic's voices as they finished loading him on a gurney to take him out of the house. "Miss! Miss, are you coming?" Buffy started, looking up at the medics as they continued to move rapidly down the walkway to the waiting ambulance, one turning a few times to look back at her as they did. As they started loading Charlie into the ambulance even as he called out to her again. "Miss! We have to go!"

When she didn't respond right away, one of the officers placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and started to pull her towards the ambulance. "It's all right, Miss. You can go," he told her. "Someone will come into the hospital to question you later."

Still a bit unsure, Buffy glanced at Charlie's face as he was loaded into the ambulance. He apparently wasn't totally gone from shock. He was aware enough of his surrounding to be frightened by the rapid changes – the medic's load voices and the many flashing lights – and his chocolate brown eyes had latched onto hers, apparently seeing her as a point of stability in all the chaos. Of course, a part of him probably knew that she'd just save his life in more ways than one, and that made him trust her...

A part of her knew she should send him to the hospital and disappear. But a larger part of her really didn't want to.

After glancing at the house – empty except for the officers that were canvassing the scene – she glanced at Charlie's frightened face again as she was pulled up into the ambulance, and nodded, moving to Charlie's side and taking his hand again as the ambulance's rear doors slammed shut behind her and the vehicle sped off with its lights flashing, though their siren was silent due to the late – or early – hour and empty streets.

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Charlie frowned in confusion as the EMTs moved around him rapidly, doing who knows what in all this chaos. The ambulance's interior was dark, with some soft lighting for the medics to see by but mostly dominated by the flashing red and blue lights the emergency vehicle was broadcasting around them.

He shouldn't be afraid of an ambulance. Or the hospital. They were taking him there to help him. But he couldn't help it. His parents were on a different continent and his brother was thousands of miles away too.

He could barely see the angel in the darkness, but he knew the small, warm hand that was holding one of his in a gentle, firm grip was hers. He thought the faint smell or roses his nose was catching might be hers too, as she was the only female there.

That scent and that touch were enough reassurance to tell him that he was safe for now. That is was safe for his eyes to close. To rest. So he did.

End of Prologue.

AN: What'd you think? I've had this story bouncing around in my head a while now, and I'm glad to have started it.

Anyway, I'm not sure when updates for this will be, but I can say that this is going to be the start of a series. This part of the series won't be that long. Mostly just covering how Buffy and Charlie met, which if you didn't catch it, takes place in between Buffy Seasons 2 and 3 and years before NUMB3RS Season 1. The next part of the series will probably go through the later seasons of Buffy and a bit after that until the earlier seasons of NUMB3RS, but the timeline for it will be pretty irregular as I'm not turning Charlie into a Scooby and Buffy has to go back to being the Slayer. I'm gonna make a lot of connections and probably hint at a possible relationship for a while. Who knows, they might even actually date on and off. Or not. Will see where my muse goes.

Either way, I hope you enjoy it and would love some helpful comments.

Bye for now!

Jess S