Great Chapter, I love that she wants to invite him for Christmas. I like your take on Joyce, I find some stories have her too pro Spike so it's just not believable, but you've got a good balance between concern for her daughter's happiness, concern for Spike who she's really only somewhat friendly with in the show, and disappointment that her daughter would have sex without love. I also like that it forced Buffy to defend her choices to her mom. The Slayer being barren was an interesting concept that would have made sense for cannon especially as Joss repeatedly said Buffy would never get pregnant, but I'm guessing this means that Vampires aren't exactly impotent. Looking forward to the next chapter!

Author's Response: Thanks so much! I think one of the most important things about Joyce (as Buffy expressed for me here) is how much Joyce wants Buffy to have a normal life. That has both good and bad consequences in that the normai-ness helps ground Buffy, but it also means there are all these expectations she can't meet (like, at least in my Verse, providing grandkids). Anyway, my Joyce gets along with Spike and likes that Buffy has someone strong fighting alongside her, but she isn't going to think he's ideal boyfriend material. Re: vampires and infertility. Well, Angel did manage to get himself a son!