A Christmas Story

Author: Lee

Summary: Buffy tells her son a story.

**

“Mommy, tell me a story.”

“A story, huh? What kind of story?”

“Moooom, you know what story. THE story.”

“Oh, THE story. Well, okay. It was a dark and stor—“

“That’s not how it starts!”

“The evil queen looked in her—“

“Mommeeeee, that’s now it! Tell the right story!”

“Do you mean the one that starts, Once upon a time there was a beautiful girl who lived with her parents in a faraway place called the City of Angels. One day, after she got into trouble at school---something you’ll never do, right, Ryan?—she moved to a new, strange land called Sunnydale. Once there, she met a jester named Xander and Willow, the smartest girl she had ever met. The three quickly became the bestest of friends, always laughing and teasing one another. Although the beautiful girl didn’t enjoy school that much, she found that the librarian, Giles—“

“His name is like Grandpa Giles!”

“Yes, baby, like Grandpa Giles. Well, Giles worked at the school and soon the library became the hang out for the three friends, who were inseparable. The beautiful girl had a secret only shared by these special friends, and these friends saved her life many times.

“One night, the beautiful girl met a handsome stranger. This handsome stranger, who, by the way, was totally Mr. Cryptic and no—“

“Mommy, that’s not right!”

“Sorry, Ry. Where was I? Oh, the beautiful girl meets the handsome stranger. This stranger also helped the beautiful girl with her secret. The beautiful girl, while annoyed with the handsome stranger’s disappearing acts, fell in love with him. He was the most handsome, kindest, most gentle person she had ever known, but the beautiful girl didn’t know he also had a secret, a dark secret that hurt his beautiful heart. Little did she know that the handsome stranger also fell in love with the beautiful girl when he first saw her.”

“In the City of Angels, right, Mom? That’s where the handsome stranger fell in love with the beautiful girl?”

“Yep, he sure did. Only the beautiful girl didn’t know that for a long time. The beautiful girl and the handsome stranger grew closer, even after she found out his secret. He was afraid the beautiful girl would leave him and never want to see him again. The handsome stranger, while very, very handsome, was also very, very silly because the beautiful girl loved him so much, his secret didn’t matter. She would tell him that, but the silly man still had a hard time believing that.”

“But she did love him, didn’t she? She loved him as much as I love Mr. Wiggles.”

“She did. The beautiful girl loved the handsome stranger more than anyone. One day, after a big fight-which, again, you are not to do, okay?—the handsome stranger and the beautiful girl experienced something very special, but the handsome stranger changed the next day. It wasn’t his choice, it was part of his secret, and the beautiful girl never blamed him for it. The beautiful girl cried and cried because her love was taken from her and she didn’t know if he would ever come back. The handsome stranger did come back after many months but before they could talk, he had to go away again. The beautiful girl was very, very sad, sadder than she had ever been in her whole life, and again, she didn’t know if she would ever see the handsome stranger aga—No, Mommy’s okay, she just needs a moment, okay?

“Well, once again, the handsome stranger and the beautiful girl were reunited and they were as happy as they could be. The beautiful girl still had her friends and Giles and spent a lot of time with them because the handsome stranger and the beautiful girl were anxious around each other. You know how you get at Dr. Robertson’s office right before he gives you a shot? Well, that’s how the handsome stranger and the beautiful girl were. “

“They didn’t have to have shots, did they? I don’t like shots, they hurt.”

“Mommy doesn’t like shots either, and no, the beautiful girl and the handsome stranger didn’t have to have shots. The handsome stranger started getting very scared because he was worried he would hurt the beautiful girl again. The beautiful girl knew he would never hurt her on purpose, but the handsome stranger was still scared. One night near Christmas, he went up to the highest hill in the town and waited to greet the sun. He would be hurt by the sun and the handsome stranger thought that would be better than him hurting the girl. The beautiful girl became very, very upset because she loved the handsome stranger so much and did not want him to be hurt at all. She ran as fast as she could to the top of the hill to stop the beautiful stranger. He yelled at her and she yelled at him because they both loved each other very much, and the beautiful girl did not want the sun to hurt him.

“Just when she thought the sun was going to rise and the beautiful stranger would be hurt, the most wonderful thing of all happened: it snowed. It snowed lots and lots, something that had never happened in Sunnydale before, and the beautiful girl knew it was a sign that the handsome stranger was meant to be here. She was so happy, almost happier than she had ever been, and the handsome stranger was very happy too because he knew that his love for the beautiful girl was not wrong. The handsome stranger and the beautiful girl walked through the town, hand in hand, happy and in love, and they knew they would live happily ever after.”

“They did live happily after ever, didn’t they, Mom? Forever and ever.”

Buffy looked over at her husband standing in the doorway to their son’s room. She smiled at him before glancing back at her son.

“Yes, Ryan, they lived happily ever after, forever and ever.”

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