Author: Trista
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer characters are property of Joss Whedon/Mutant Enemy.

What's home to Tara Frost, you ask? Pardon me but I'd better explain a few things. Try to think of Sunnydale in the wintertime, only floating on a giant cloud - yeah, I know Sunnydale is in California, but it snowed once, remember? And the ruler of all this was Father Winter himself, but most people, they just call him Giles. Of course he has lots of assistants, not just Tara Frost, like Faith Snip the snowflake maker. Every snow flake ever made was made by Faith Snip. Then there are the Snowflake Gypsies - oh, there's thousands of them, see, every snowflake has to land were Giles wants it to land on Earth, so the Snowflake Gypsies have to throw them down onto the Earth... isn't this story educational?

Every so often Faith would make a special snowflake.

"Just perfect for the Hanukkah snow," Faith said, holding up the snowflake. "Dawnie!" Faith called. Hanukkah snow got special treatment, and Dawnie the Snowflake Gypsy saw that each flake was kept cold 'til Hanukkah.

Just then Tara Frost flew in.

"Tara Frost, what are you doing here?" Faith asked.

"Don't worry Faith, I've got everything frosted down there," Tara said.

"But you shouldn't be up here now, Giles will be very angry!"

"I can't help that," Tara said. "I want to ask him a favor."

"You're going to bother Giles right in the middle of the busy season?" Faith asked.

"Faith," Tara said, "I want to be human."

"Human, why Tara?" asked Faith.

"I have my reasons," Tara said.

"We mustn't let Giles find out," Faith said.

"I have already found out!" Giles thundered. "Why do you wish to be human, Tara?"

"I'm the only one you send down among the humans, but when I try to share their joy they can't see or hear me. Why can't I be a part of that?" Tara asked.

"Because you'd be a stranger to their ways, no-one down there really wants to know Tara Frost."

"One person does," Tara said. "Winter Wiccan, she calls me, hero. Giles, can't my wish come true?"

"If you really feel that way, Tara," Giles said, "then I have no choice but to make you human - temporarily, of course, you can remain human for the remainder of the winter, but by the first sign of spring... You have the basic human essentials, a horse, a bag of gold, and a wife to make it all worth the while... you can stay human, with my blessing, forever."

"Oh," Faith said after she heard the story, "before you go, take this." Faith handed Tara a pair of her scissors.

"But you need these," Tara said.

"If I need, I've got a full drawerful," Faith said. "Besides it's something to remember me by."

"Thank you," Tara said. "I'll never forget you. Farewell old friend." Flying back down to Earth, Tara could begin to feel human things for the first time.

"A heartbeat," Tara said. "An itchy nose... ha ha, it's wonderful..."