"I think you've got the wrong number."
"This isn't Buffy Summers?"
"No, it is," the blonde confirmed into the phone. "But I never entered any kind of contest."
"Hold on, just a second." The receiver was filled with the sounds of papers shuffling around while Buffy waited. "Ah, here it is. Do you know someone named 'Dawn'?"
The Chosen One made a face. "Unfortunately. She's my sister."
"Well, congratulations, Buffy. You've got an awfully considerate sister to have signed you up to win our big contest."
"That's me," the blonde sighed. "Luckiest girl in the world."
"Who makes you a winner?"
"Uh, I don't know the name of your radio station. I don't really like popular music," Buffy awkwardly admitted.
"Just say WJMX The Hits," the radio DJ grumbled. This girl was quickly becoming his least appreciative contest winner.
"Okay. WJMX The Hits," Buffy stated in a monotone voice.
"Thanks," the announcer deadpanned. "We'll be sending you more information about your prize and how to pick it up."
Before Buffy could protest the prize any further, her ears filled with the sound of the dial tone. The radio DJ had hung up on her.
"Great. Just great," Buffy mumbled to herself. She returned the cordless phone to its cradle in the kitchen of her two-bedroom apartment.
Nearly as soon as Buffy hung up the phone, it rang again. The blonde blew out an exasperated puff of air, ruffling the golden strands that had fallen out of her ponytail. Buffy picked the phone out of its cradle again.
"Hello?" she answered in an impatient voice.
"I just heard you on the radio at work, Buffy! This is so exciting!"
Buffy grimaced and smacked her palm against her forehead. Great. She'd been live on the air. "Hey, Willow," she greeted her best friend. "How are things down at the Magic Shop?"
Using some Council funds as capital, Willow had revived the Magic Shop franchise in downtown Cleveland. The gang helped out with random shifts, and the store served as Scoobie-central just as the Sunnydale version had.
"Kind of slow, but I'm sure it'll pick up soon with the holiday seasons coming. Nothing says Happy Hanukkah like Eye of Newt, right?"
"Did you know Dawn entered me in this radio contest?" Buffy pressed. If anyone would know, it was probably the red-headed Wicca. And experience told Buffy that Willow couldn't keep things from her.
"She might have mentioned something about it, but I don't really remember," the other girl honestly admitted.
Buffy audibly sighed. Leave it to her younger sister to find new and creative ways to embarrass her. "How do you think I can go about un-winning this thing?"
"Wow, Buff." Willow's tone revealed her surprise. She'd never heard her long-time friend so adamant about something so insignificant. Except that one time when she thought her college roommate was a demon…and well…
"You should feel really lucky," Willow countered. " I think I remember it being a pretty fancy prize."
Buffy frowned into the phone. "Well, maybe I'll really get lucky and the radio station will forget all about it."
Three Days Later…
Buffy opened the nondescript manila envelope. She didn't recognize the return address, but it was a local Cleveland PO Box.
She audibly groaned when she saw the letterhead the message was typed on – WJMX - The Hits.
Congratulations again, Miss Summers, on being the Big "Busy Bee" Christmas Date winner – the prize that rewards YOU for being a selfless worker bee! You've worked long and hard all year long and now it's time to be rewarded for being on Santa's 'Good' list. You and a date are about to experience one Christmas Eve you'll never forget. All you need to do is show up at the WJMX radio station at 5pm on Christmas Eve with your date and we'll take care of the rest!
Best regards and Happy Holidays,
The staff at WJMX – The Hits
Buffy crumpled the piece of paper in her hand and tossed the balled up note into the recycling bin in the kitchen. There was no way she was going to embarrass herself by showing up at a radio station to collect her prize.
Besides, who would she even take as her 'date'?, the blonde bemoaned. Even if she wanted to collect her radio station prize, she had no significant other to share the night with. Ever since the Hellmouth in Sunnydale had imploded, she'd been so busy establishing herself in Cleveland, there'd been far too little time for a social life, let alone a love life.
Maybe everyone will forget about it, Buffy reasoned. She, for one, was going to try to put it far out of her mind.
Xander, Buffy, and Dawn sat around a table at the Magic Shop, helping Willow with the winter inventory. It was late on a weekday night, just a few days before Christmas. Faith was present as well, sitting in a corner reading a comic book, trying to ignore the others and any work she might be asked to do. She normally didn't help out around the Magic Shop since a monkey's hand tried to strangle her, but she and Buffy were supposed to go on patrol afterwards so she had agreed to hang out at the magic store until Buffy was ready to go.
"Did Buffy tell you guys she won a radio contest for a hot date on Christmas Eve?" Willow threw out conversationally.
Buffy glared at the Wicca.
Dawn burst out laughing. "Oh my God, you won? I can't believe that lame, sob-story letter actually worked."
"Oh God, Dawn. What did you tell them?" Buffy asked. She felt her face turn red from her cheeks to the tips of her ears. Even though she was amongst her family and friends, she still didn't enjoy being made fun of.
Dawn shrugged. "Just how you work so hard, blah, blah, never take time to have fun, blah, blah, need a date desperately…you know…standard Buffy stuff."
"Thanks," Buffy groaned. "Now everyone at that radio station knows what a helpless loser I am."
"Whatever." Dawn made a face at her older sister. "It got you a kick ass prize, so what are you complaining about?"
"What did you win?" Xander asked, joining in on the conversation.
"Two tickets to a Broadway-type show, dinner at some fancy restaurant, and an hour of unlimited ice skating," Dawn informed everyone. "They close down one of the hockey rinks to the general public and you get the run of the place."
"I'm not doing it," Buffy said flatly.
"What? Why not?" Xander asked.
"Buffy! You should totally do it!" Willow joined in. "It sounds like your perfect night. The theater, a fancy dinner, plus ice skating? It's like the radio station knew you'd win this and designed the evening with you in mind."
"But it's not like it's a prize for just me, or me and five of my closest friends," the blonde slayer pointed out. "It's supposed to be a date thing. I haven't exactly dated anyone since we moved here."
"There's got to be someone you could take though," the youngest Summers girl noted. "I'd hate for that prize to go to waste."
"You signed me up for this thing," Buffy pointed out to her sister, "so you should go with me."
Dawn frowned. "Sorry," she mumbled guiltily. "I already told Todd I'd go to Midnight Mass with his family."
Buffy grumbled. Even though she might have had issues finding a social life beyond slaying, her younger sister had wasted little time finding herself a steady boyfriend.
"What about you, Willow?" the blonde turned her attentions to her long-time friend. "You can't have plans on Christmas Eve – you're Jewish."
The redhead blushed. "I know…but Kennedy's not. It's going to be our first Christmas Eve together as a couple."
"Xander?" Buffy squeaked, grasping at straws.
The one-eyed carpenter frowned. "Gee, Buff. I-I really wish I could hang out. You know how much I love Broadway shows," he chuckled. "But I'm pretty sure I've already got plans," he excused himself vaguely. "I'll see you the next morning for Christmas brunch and opening presents though."
"Great," Buffy complained. "So I can either totally embarrass myself by going on this 'date' by myself, or I pick up some stranger off the street to go with me. I feel like I'm in a Lifetime movie."
"What about Faith?" Dawn innocently proposed.
The Boston girl's ears pricked at the sound of her name and everyone seated at the table in the Magic Shop turned to look at her.
"What about Faith for what?" the brunette slayer asked warily from her position in the far corner. She removed her feet from the tabletop and settled them back on the floor.
"Yeah!" Willow beamed, as she thought about Dawn's idea. "You and Faith could go together. I'm sure she doesn't have any plans."
"Woah," Faith protested. "What are y'all volunteering me for this time?" She eyeballed the redheaded witch. "And what makes you think I don't have plans?"
Willow back-pedaled before the Boston girl could get defensive. "It's just that you haven't been dating or really doing anything social outside of the group since we got to Cleveland."
Faith shrugged. "What of it? Buffy hasn't either, and ya'll aren't stringing her up about it."
"My sister's social awkwardness aside," Dawn appeased on behalf of the group, "it might be nice if the two of you went to collect the contest prize Buffy just won together. I signed her up for a date thing on Christmas Eve without her knowing. I did it just as a joke, but she ended up actually winning."
The blonde remained silent while her friends continued to cajole Faith into taking the proposed offer. Could she really go on a 'date' with Faith, even as friends? Were they friends?
Since they'd all relocated to Cleveland, tensions had ceased between the two former enemies, but they certainly weren't best friends. They patrolled together once in a while, but mainly only talked about slaying. The other slayer had an apartment across town, but she leased it month-to-month claiming that she still wasn't committed to sticking around the Hellmouth, even though nearly half a year had passed.
Buffy nodded to herself. Yes. She could do this. And who knows, maybe trying to bridge the friendship gap between her and Faith would make this Christmas a little less painful. Although she was still surrounded by friends and family this holiday, it had still proven to be a little lonely without someone to call her significant other. Not that Faith was going to be a replacement for that, she quickly told herself. No, they could hang out as friends. Everyone could always use more friends.
"How about it?" Buffy proposed, interrupting Willow's endless babbling. Her voice caught Faith's attention and the eternal bored look on the brunette's face momentarily flickered. "We don't have to really go 'together,' " Buffy pointed out. "Just show up at the radio station at the same time to pick up the prize, and we can split the winnings. It'd be a free meal on Christmas Eve at least. You wouldn't have to cook for yourself."
Faith shrugged. "Sure, whatever." She yawned and flipped her comic book onto the table top. "Just tell me where to be and when. I'm always down for free food."
Buffy fidgeted anxiously outside the radio station. She absentmindedly blew into her gloved hands for warmth. She had told Faith to be on time for once, but leave it to the brunette to be fashionably late even for this.
The California woman briefly panicked. What if she didn't show up at all? What if Faith had blown her off or forgot or found something else to do that night? Should she still go inside, or just head home and spend the evening alone with a bowl of ice cream and an old black and white movie. The more she thought about it, the more the ice cream and film sounded appealing – at least more so than letting some big mouthed radio DJs know she was undate-able.
But just when Buffy had all but given up, the local city bus stopped in front of the radio station and a dark-haired woman dressed in leather and dark denim stepped out. Buffy rushed away from the radio station building and up to the Boston woman.
"What took you so long?" the blonde demanded, looking cross.
Faith gave the elder slayer an easy smile. "I was gettin' all pretty for our hot date, B," she winked.
Buffy took a brief moment to take in the sight of the taller girl. Nothing about Faith's appearance looked out of the ordinary. Instead of dressing up for dinner and a show, she looked like she'd just left a biker gang meeting. She wore masculine black boots with black, faded jeans that hugged at her toned thighs and made her calves look longer than normal. Buffy couldn't make out her top because the Boston girl wore her trademark leather jacket with the collar popped to ward off the brisk, Cleveland chill.
"Whatever," Buffy rolled her eyes. She grabbed the taller woman by the elbow and ushered her towards the front entrance of the building. "C'mon," she urged. "The sooner we get my prize, the sooner this night will be over."
Faith snickered at the other slayer's sour demeanor and allowed the smaller girl to drag her along. "If I didn't know any better, Sweet Cheeks, I'd say you weren't excited to be spending the evening with me."
Buffy paused. "It's not that," she excused herself. "It's just this whole thing is totally embarrassing."
"You're embarrassed to be seen with me?" Faith asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No, no," the other girl quickly responded. "It's just embarrassing that Dawn entered me into this contest in the first place."
Faith nodded her understanding and the two girls continued to make their way to the radio station front doors. "She's right though."
"About what?"
"About you being the Busy Bee worker or whatever," the Boston slayer replied. "You should take more time to smell the roses."
Buffy frowned. "I know I should; I'm just not build that way anymore. When all this slayer business first started, I couldn't wait to hand over all these responsibilities to someone else. And now that there's more than two thousand of us, I should be ready to retire." The blonde shook her head. "But after all this time, I don't know what I'd do if I wasn't the Slayer anymore."
"Wow."
"What?" Buffy rumbled her eyebrows together.
"I think that's the first time you've strung together so many sentences," the Bostonian grinned. "That might have been your longest conversation with me."
The Californian scoffed. "Whatever."
Faith shrugged. "It's true, B. Ever since I busted out of prison, it's not like you and I have been very chummy."
"Well, we've all been busy," Buffy explained away. "What with the First and then relocating."
"Yeah, but we've been in Cleveland now for over 6 months. What's your excuse now?"
"I…"
The front door to the radio station flew open and a red-faced man stood just on the inside of the building. "Is one of you girls Buffy Summers?"
Buffy turned away from her sister-Slayer, thankful for the man's interruption. "Yes. I'm Buffy."
The local radio personality eyeballed the attractive brunette. "And you're her date?"
Faith leered at the balding, pot-bellied man. "You got a problem with that? Cause I've never met a guy who wasn't into two chicks gettin' down and dirty with each other. Unless you're gay?" Faith snapped her fingers. "That must be it."
Faith heard a choking noise coming from Buffy, but she just continued to smile at the startled man.
The DJ's eyes grew wide. "No. I-I'm not gay," he sputtered.
Faith pursed her lips. "Then I guess you won't have a problem with me and my girlfriend going out tonight."
The man's eyes roamed over the two women's highly disciplined forms. He cleared his throat and readjusted his belt buckle. "Uh, no-no problem at all. Wait right here," he instructed, "and I'll be back with your tickets and vouchers for tonight. Your limo is waiting around the corner."
The man hazarded another brief glance at the two slayers and then walked off.
"Ow." Faith's hands went to her lower ribcage.
"What was that?" Buffy hissed. She was sure her face was bright red.
Faith rubbed at her ribs, sure there would be a bruise in the morning from the blonde's elbow. "I was just having fun with the guy," the brunette explained.
"By why does your definition of 'fun' always have to be at my expense?" the elder slayer pouted.
Faith grinned at the other girl. " 'Cause you're damn adorable when you're embarrassed, and nothing turns you redder than a tomato like the topic of sex."
Buffy looked cross. "It's not like I'm a virgin."
The Boston slayer snickered. "Might as well be."
The Chosen One threw up her hands in frustration. "This night can't get over with soon enough."
"And just think, B," Faith winked, choosing to ignore her sister-Slayer's negative attitude, "we've only just begun."