The twinkling of Christmas lights caught Buffy Summers' attention as she walked down Grand Street in Soho toward Dean & Deluca. All she needed right now was a steaming hot coffee to wake her up before she went to work. Fat snowflakes fell from the heavens, obstructing her vision and making her wrap her fashionable white coat tighter around her slender figure.

  Christmas was her least favourite time of year. One big loneliness fest as she liked to call it. However she couldn't deny that the city looked beautiful. Maybe tonight she'd go see the big tree outside Rockefeller Plaza. Then grab a hot chocolate and go see Xander and Anya.

  Buffy bought her coffee at Dean & Deluca and then hailed a cab to Greenwich village. She worked for Calvin Klein, the designer, as a Public Relation's exec and co-ordinator for the Mainstream division.

  Sighing as she leaned back against the interior of the cab, she thought back on what had brought her to NYC in the first place. She always seemed to do this around Christmastime, which was one of the reasons why she hated it. It was a time for reflection and how depressing was that? But still, her mind drifted back ten years...

  After graduating from University with a degree in God knows what, Buffy had felt a little lost but was soon preoccupied. For then had come "the End of Days" fight, where Buffy and Riley had fought the final opening of the Hellmouth. It had been the decider, the hugest battle in a Slayer's existence, and she stopped it. She won. And therefore the Hellmouth had closed forever and a new Slayer was called to fight the remaining vampires, which were already dwindling. At first Buffy had been furious. How could someone do her job as well as she did?

  However soon she had seen the plus side. She could have a normal life, and do the things she had always wanted to do. Do that normal thing that everyone talked about.

  Willow and Tara moved to LA, and Xander and Anya to New York City. Giles, after a lot of thought had decided to move back to England and try and make a commitment to Olivia. All these departures had saddened Buffy to a great degree but she comforted herself with the knowledge that she still had Riley, until he made a shocking announcement. He was moving back to Iowa, and he wanted her to come with him. As his wife.

  Ordinarily she never would have considered marrying so young, but he had caught her at a very weak point and so on her 22nd birthday, Buffy married Riley and became Buffy Summers Finn.

  Such a shock was Iowa, that Buffy had been sent reeling. It was so different than California and to make matters worse, Riley had bought them a farm. An actual farm. He had expected her to milk cows. And be like, a farmwife or something. Buffy wrinkled her nose in remembrance.

  It became all to clear that she was not cut out for that kind of life straight away, but Buffy stuck it out, trying to be the wife Riley wanted. She didn't want to lose him like she had lost so many other people in her life. Soon however, the fairytale was over. They had divorced exactly two years after they married when Buffy was 24. She wept often for the breakdown of their marriage and the loss of their relationship, after all they had been together for close to six years. But she didn't regret their break-up. She knew she didn't belong with Riley, and it was clear he felt the same way. In his last monthly letter he had informed her that he had married again, to a woman who lived in a farm close by his, named Molly.

  When Buffy had said Goodbye to Iowa and moved, she was unsure about where to go at first. Her mother and father had reconciled and were living together in LA, much to Buffy's happiness, and had invited her to live with them. As much as she wanted to, Buffy knew that what she needed was to get out on her own and experience some freedom. So she moved to New York, where she still knew Xander and Anya, but was essentially alone.

  With her innate fashion sense, Buffy had been able to walk into Bloomingdale's and acquire a job right away, as a personal shopper, which basically meant she shopped…for a living. Soon she had moved up to head buyer and then head of the entire purchasing department. When a scout from Calvin Klein noticed her, she had begun to work as an assistant to the Public Relations director, who retired after a year and the job was given to Buffy who everyone respected and trusted.

  Now she was head of the department and worked closely with Calvin Klein himself, who adored her. Although she loved her job, enjoyed her life, Buffy was still lonely. She dated, but no one had made her feel close to happy...close to content...

  “Greenwich village” the cabbie shouted, and she nodded, jolted from her reverie as she exited the cab and walked up the steps to Calvin's studio.

  As she walked through the door, smiling to the receptionist, she noticed a squabble going on between a reporter who was trying to talk to a model and the model herself.

  Buffy sighed, walking over with her work smile on her face, stepping between the two and saying, “Problem here?”

  The reporter glared at her, “I'm just trying to get a statement here from Gisele about her new baby.”

  Buffy nodded, “I see that, but I don't think Ms. Bundchen wishes to chat right now. Perhaps you could call her publicist for answers, all right?”

  She gave the eye to the receptionist to call security and then smiled sternly at the reporter, who she knew was a paparazzo, not a real journalist. “I'll have to ask you to leave now sir.”

  The guy looked as if he was about to protest until he saw the burly police officer coming forward, and then closed his mouth, quickly flying out the door. Buffy sighed, turning to Gisele, who grimaced.

  “Thanks Buff,” she drawled in her distinctive Brazilian accent. “I'm very grateful.”

  Buffy grinned, “That's fine. I'd just like to know how he even got in.”

  “Security leak,” the receptionist chimed in. “There was a tour going on and he must have snuck in with them.”

  “I want everyone checked before they come in now,” Buffy ordered, “Neither I nor Calvin needs this hassle.”

  “Of course Ms. Summers,” the receptionist made a note on her pad and went back to work. Buffy almost giggled. Her work persona was so different than what she really was, but she knew she had to act serious if she wanted to get anywhere in this business.

  Gisele linked arms with her as they went up to the elevator. “I've a fitting today,” the model groused, patting her stomach. “They're going to have to corset me to get rid of this flab.”

  “It's baby flab. Legit flab,” Buffy said decidedly. “Anyway, how is the little tyke?”

  Gisele giggled girlishly, “Darling…he never sleeps, but what can you do? His papa gets up with him anyhow.”

  “Saves the airbrushers having to edit out under-eye circles I guess,” Buffy quipped and Gisele laughed, a tinkling melodious sound.

  “New photographer today,” she told the blonde, and Buffy looked at her in surprise as they alighted from the elevator.

  “No, its Testino,” she informed the supermodel. “I booked him myself.”

  Gisele shook her head, “No, I swear. I saw him. Testino couldn't come and you weren't here so Kyla hired someone else.”

  “Kyla? Who the hell does she know in photography?” Buffy winced, thinking of her secretary's bad taste.

  “Someone extremely good-looking,” Gisele smiled. “And I am taken, so he is yours Buff.”

  “Nope,” Buffy laughed, “You know I'm past that dating the photographers thing.”

  “You will change your mind, this one is…exquisite,” she drawled. “And his name…so unusual.”

  “An unusual name? Yeah right, probably made it up,” Buffy deadpanned as they neared the fitting room door. “What is it?”

  Gisele tilted her head to the side as her fingers closed around the knob. “Hmm…a delicious name. So sweet.” She opened the door and just as the forewarning came to Buffy, a tingling, a shot through her belly, just as she saw, as if through a haze, the tall dark figure in the corner, Gisele said the name. “It's Angel.”

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