Number One

They nearly exhausted the alphabet by the time she came in. There were only ever twenty-six Actives in the Dollhouse, so she was lucky they even had the space. Or unlucky, depending on how one looked at it.

Her entrance into the House was fairly standard. She was brought into the conference room where she and Adelle discussed the contract. After she signed it she was brought into the imprinting room. The first time was the worst for everyone.

But then she was blank and they sent her on her way with a figurative pat on the head.

Whiskey was assigned a female handler. Most of the Actives were paired with a handler of the opposite gender. However, this wasn't always the case. Such as with Alpha: he had a male handler. Whiskey could have been assigned a male handler as well, but there was strong insisted that she be given a female.

Her first client requested her in a romantic engagement. It was seen as a good sign for the future.

"This is a beautiful place," she commented. She thought her name was Leona, and though she only met Charlie earlier that morning she found herself very attracted to him. They were sitting together outside near a fountain. The sound of falling water was very soothing.

"You're even more beautiful than that, Leona," Charlie replied, lifting his coffee cup in a toast to her. She let out a soft laugh as she mimicked his gesture.

"I'm going to let that cheesy line slide."

"Hey, give me a break," he chided playfully. "I don't do this very often." She smiled, sipping her coffee carefully to avoid being burned. "You ever do that thing where you throw a coin over your shoulder into a fountain and make a wish?" Charlie asked her after a moment of comfortable silence.

"No." The smile on her lips grew even wider. She dug a coin out of her pocket. "I feel you should do something new every day. This can be my new thing for the day." She stood up, walking over to the fountain. She closed her eyes, clutching the coin tightly as she made her wish. She tossed the coin over her shoulder.

"What'd you wish for, Leona?" Charlie asked her.

"If I tell you, it won't come true," she retorted. Charlie laughed at that and once she was close enough, he took her in his arms and kissed her.

Whatever the engagement, it was crucial for the first one to come off as a complete success. If the client was even marginally displeased with the Active it was unlikely they would request the same one again, and they wouldn't pass on the information to friends and business associates. Needless to say, Whiskey's first engagement was a success.

Clients began requesting Whiskey on a regular basis. She was becoming especially popular with romantic engagements, though she was used for business deals and fancy dinner parties as well. Like every other Doll in the House she was meant to be a Jane-of-all-trades. She went from a thrill-seeker to a shy girl to a savvy socialite to a serious FBI agent to a prim librarian, and so forth into infinity.

"Hey, Whiskey!" Topher greeted her when he saw the Doll walking toward his door. "We have to stop running into each other like this."

"I am supposed to get a treatment," Whiskey answered with a slightly puzzled lilt in her voice. "Am I no longer getting a treatment?"

"No, no," Topher said hurriedly, waving his hands. "I mean, yes! Of course you are! I was just making a joke." Of course he should've known that jokes were beyond a Doll's understanding but for some reason Topher still made the effort.

Whiskey continued to hover in the doorway. She seemed unsure of what to do. "I am supposed to get a treatment," she repeated quietly.

"Yes, that's right!" Topher agreed, clasping his hands together. "Go ahead and take a seat." She obediently crossed the room and settled into the chair. Her handler hovered close by as Topher fished out the appropriate personality wedge. Whiskey tilted her head to the side to watch him.

"I know you," she realized.

"Ahhh." Topher gave the Doll a nervous little smile. "Yes, you do." The conversation ended there as Topher activated the wedge. "Another romantic engagement," he noted to Whiskey's handler. "She's been getting a lot of those lately."

"Yep." The handler couldn't help but take on a measure of pride in her Active. "My girl is very popular. She's going to be the number one requested Active in the House if she keeps this up."

That prediction soon came to pass. Only six months into her contract and Whiskey was acquiring more business than any other Active. If she was doing this well so early, one could only imagine how she would do after a year's worth of loyal clients.

It would seem that Whiskey was only popular because she was knew. That might have been true at first but she kept staying popular even after her new Doll shine wore off. There was simply something about Whiskey that attracted clients. Her big brown eyes, perhaps. Or maybe the way she smiled, or her voice. Whatever it was, it turned Whiskey into a walking gold mine.

When her true self woke up five years later, she would find herself a very rich woman.

A year down and four more to go. The number one Active was just getting started.