When is Christmas?
By Desertgal
August 1998
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"Deck the halls with boughs of holly," Buffy Summers skipped ahead, then turned and smiled broadly at her friends, "fa la la la la, la la, la, la."
"Hey Buff, I think you've got your seasons mixed up," Xander Harris quipped.
"Tis the season to be jolly, fa la la la la la la la la ". Buffy stopped to gaze into the window of a dress shop. "I was busy at Christmas and didn't get to have any fun."
"Yeah," Willow Rosenberg said, "she was fighting demons and vampires."
"And evil robots and other cringworthy things," Xander agreed, "but still, let's not rush the end of summer. I for one am not in any hurry for school to start."
"Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way," Buffy sang as she started down the mall corridor and went into a camera shop.
Xander rolled his eyes as he and Willow followed their exuberant friend.
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Hearing someone come into the store, Scott Hayden looked up from behind the counter where he was stocking film. "May I help you?"
"I'm thinking about giving my mom a camera," Buffy stated. "What can you show me?"
"I'll get someone who can assist you." Scott got his father from the back of the store, and then continued his restocking.
Several minutes later as the shoppers left, the blond was again singing. Scott approached his father. "That girl is weird."
"Why would you say that?" the Starman asked.
"It's the middle of August and she's singing Christmas songs."
"What's so weird about that?" Paul raised one eyebrow as he questioned his teenage son. "Can't you sing whatever you want, whenever you want?"
Scott shuffled uneasily. As usual, his father asked difficult questions. "I suppose, but people just don't do that kind of thing."
"Why not?"
"It's just not normal," Scott shrugged.
Paul busied himself putting the cameras back in the display case, and then met his son's eyes. "Singing Christmas songs makes people happy. What's wrong with being happy in the summer?"
"Nothing, I suppose."
"Besides, she wanted to buy a gift for her mother. Isn't that the spirit of Christmas, to do something nice for your family and friends?"
"Yeah," Scott agreed.
"Then I think August is as good a time as any to be in the Christmas spirit."
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Gary Hobson looked at the headline again. 'Teen injured and mall worker killed in freak accident.' Glancing around the thinning crowds in the mall, Gary didn't see anyone on a ladder. He read the article again:
'Just after the Mid-Town Mall closed last night, Sunnydale teen Buffy Summers and maintenance worker, Jarod Kruger, were involved in an a bizarre accident. Mr. Kruger was at the top of a ladder when Miss Summers apparently ran into it knocking the man to the ground. Mr. Kruger died at the scene of massive head trauma. Miss Summers suffered numerous abrasions and a broken arm and leg when Mr. Kruger fell on her.'
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"Jolly old St. Nicholas, lend your ear this way," Buffy sang, "don't you tell a single soul what I'm going to say."
"Buffy, would you stop with the singing," Xander pleaded.
Leaning up against the glass front of an antique store, Buffy pouted. "You just don't want me to have any fun."
"It's not that," Willow said, "it's just getting a…a bit…old."
"I guess it is," Buffy agreed. She studied the faces of her friends for several seconds. She knew they really did care for her and that gave her a warm, wonderful feeling.
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Inside the antique store, Richie Ryan was finishing the paperwork in preparation for closing. As the young woman's song carried through the open door, he said incredulously, "Christmas songs? Now?"
"What's the matter, Rich," Duncan MacLeod asked, "haven't you ever wanted to sing and be happy?"
"That's not the point. Singing Christmas songs in the summertime is strange."
"Maybe now it seems odd, but who knows, in the future maybe it won't be." Duncan removed the money from the cash register and placed it in a bank bag. "Throughout the centuries, celebrations have changed. Different cultures and different religions have come and gone. People celebrate things in different ways now than they did even when I was a child."
"But that was four-hundred years ago, Mac."
"That's not so long when you consider all of human history."
"Maybe so," Richie said, "but she's not from a different time or different place. She's high on something."
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From his vantage point on the second level of the mall, Gary could see most of the activity below. The headline in the paper was unchanging. Someone was going to die, but who - where? As he waited, Gary thought again about how his life had changed since he started getting tomorrow's newspaper. The responsibility of preventing disasters and saving people weighed heavily upon him. He didn't know why he'd been chosen for this job. He hadn't asked for it and there were times he just wanted to quit and go back to having a normal life.
A flash of blue drew Gary's attention at the end of the corridor. A workman in coveralls, carrying a ladder, was coming out of a door at the far end of the mall. Gary ran down the steps of the escalator two at a time.
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Buffy sighed, "It's just that I completely missed all the fun of last Christmas. I didn't get to do anything special for my friends, so I guess I'm trying to make up for that."
"We understand, Buff," Xander said.
"Maybe I'm selfish," Buffy continued, "but I want to do what I want to do for a change and stop being responsible and doing what's right all the time." Buffy turned away from her friends, and then continued almost in a whisper. "I'm tired of always having to save the world. I just want to have a normal life again."
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Jarod shifted the ladder so he could carry it with one hand and showed his ID to the security guard as he walked past. The mall was closed and the guard was trying to get a man to leave. Jarod continued on to the area near the antique shop where he was to replace some burned out light bulbs. He placed the ladder and climbed to its top.
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Suddenly, an item in the store window caught Buffy's eye and she squealed.
"What now?" Xander asked as he and Willow rushed to follow Buffy into the shop.
"Look at that," Buffy exclaimed excitedly. Picking up the broadsword, she gave it a few practice swings. "This would be a perfect gift for Giles."
"He already has a sword," Xander stated, "several of them, in fact."
"Not like this one." Buffy cut and parried as she tested the balance of the blade.
"I'm sorry, but we're closed," Duncan said, as he cautiously approached the teens. The girl wasn't an Immortal, not even a pre-Immortal, yet she showed remarkable skill with the weapon. Still he didn't want to get too close to anyone swinging a sword.
"Oh, we're sorry," Willow said, "we'll go now."
"It's probably too expensive for me anyway," Buffy said glumly as she replaced the sword in the display rack.
Xander grabbed Buffy's left hand in his right and Willow's right hand in his left and half-danced and half-walked backwards out of the store. He sang off key and at the top of his lungs, "Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle as we slay. Oh what fun it is to live in a town with the slaaaay…eeer. Jingle bells, … "
"Stop it," Buffy giggled as she stumbled along at arm's length from Xander, "that's a secret."
"What? That Christmas is a time of happiness and fun?" Xander continued pulling the girls, and sang again, "Jingle bells…"
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Gary saw the young people dancing towards disaster. He jerked away from the guard and ran to them, followed closely by the guard.
Hearing the singing and laughter below, Jarod looked down just in time to realize the girl was going to bump into his perch. Using skills he'd learned as a fire fighter, he started a rapid descent even though he knew he'd never make it to the bottom in time to prevent a fall.
In the instant before Buffy was pulled into the ladder by the carefree boy, Gary threw his arms wide and tackled all three teens. The ladder teetered slightly as they brushed against it, but held its ground.
"Oooph," Xander groaned as he pushed against the man on top of him. "What did you do that for?"
"To save me, I think." Jarod offered his hand and pulled Gary to his feet. "Thanks."
"Just in the right place at the right time," Gary said as he backed away. Checking the paper, he saw the headline was gone and he left the mall, tired but satisfied he'd succeeded, yet again, in saving a life.
Jarod helped the girls up, then gave his hand to the boy. "That song you were singing, it's a Christmas song, isn't it?"
"Yes," Xander said as he stood, wondering how much of his altered lyrics the man heard.
"I thought so," Jarod smiled. "I heard it for the first time last year and I really liked it."
"You heard it…last year?" Buffy questioned. This man was at least thirty. "What about all the other years?"
Jarod glanced away for a moment then looked at the girl. "They didn't have Christmas where I grew up."
"Are you Jewish," Willow asked, "like me? Because we don't celebrate Christmas either, but we do have the Hanukkah celebration and I like the "Charlie Brown Christmas Show" and seeing the Snoopy dance and…" At Buffy's stare, Willow stopped.
"No, I'm not Jewish," Jarod said, "at least I don't think I am. I just wasn't allowed to have any kind of celebrations where I grew up."
"Nothing," Xander asked, "not even a birthday party?"
Jarod shook his head sadly, and then smiled broadly. "But now, I've had my first Christmas and know how happy and fun it is."
"Christmas isn't coming for another four months," the guard growled, "but if you guys don't leave now, we'll all still be here then."
As Jarod walked the young people to the exit, he said, "Just remember, it's not the time of year that makes the holiday special, it's the thought that counts. We should be able to celebrate and be happy at any time of year."
"Yeah," Buffy agreed, "why do we have to conform to what some calendar says?" She skipped down the sidewalk singing, "Deck the halls with boughs of holly, fa la la la la la la la la."
"Oh, brother," Xander groaned as he and Willow followed their happy friend.
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The End