That was sweet, beautiful, and completely captivating. :) I enjoyed it immensely; the episode really should have gone that way!!!!

What a little jewel, wonderfully written and Buffy's thoughts while waiting for Spike make me very happy. I just wish we could have got that in the show.

Great job.

This was loaded with wonderful images and lines that made me catch my breath. Buffy's lighthearted epiphany at being thrown out of her house was delightful to read, and I smiled as she made plans to open her heart to Spike. Your decision to have Spike initially reject her worked beautifully in the context of their past, and the story. It made their coming together even sweeter. Thanks for taking this episode and making it play out like I wish it had.

I would have to quote the entire story to pick my favorite bits, but these really stood out:

"She wanted this to be one of those nights neither of them could ever forget—and not for its end of the world qualities, either. She wanted to see if her love was the added ingredient to knocking down another house, and one stronger in its foundations than their first which had barely been standing in the first place. This one looked sturdily built, but she thought it was worth the old college try." The metaphor of the solidity of the foundation for this new relationship with Spike was lovely.

" He was best for her because he knew her—and better than her own friends apparently did. He stood by her side—or at her back—whether she was right or wrong. He knew the meaning of the word loyalty and he gave her space to grow, to discover who she really was without disappearing and being the valiant not-so-suitor who had her best interests at heart. Spike did have her best interests at heart, but he was also smart enough to know she could find where she belonged with him still within eyesight. For that she was grateful, because it made the whole process of recognising her love for him and not having to waste time on a broken heart by working it out too late." Romantic and heartfelt, and the little jab at her friends and past boyfriends was a real bonus.

"Buffy wept and surrendered to his arms, her arms holding what was dearest to her now that she’d been separated from all she’d previously treasured. The truth was startling in its lack of complexity and Buffy fell asleep in her lover’s embrace, happy." Sigh. If only it could have been this way.

"He’d been around for a long time and had seen his fair share of folded notes, but this was the first time he’d experienced bowel-clenching fear from staring at a piece of paper." Wow, the sense of dread here was terrific.

“Spike, the only one who has ever stood by me without question, the only one who hasn’t made decisions for me for my own good, is you. I think I’m old enough to see the world as it really is, and the clearest picture around me is you. I don’t want to be self-conscious about how I feel. If they don’t like watching me show you what you mean to me, they can leave.” She stopped and a beatific smile graced her lips. “It is my house, after all.” Whee! Although telling everyone off would have bogged down the flow of the ending, at least you had Buffy dress Dawn down. Kissing Spike was delightfullu reassuring and had me grinning right up to the end.

Well done, good work!
Loved Buffy's thoughts (musings) at the begin; when she thought she'd lost Spike you made my cry. Loved the Buffy stood by her vampire now :)

To bad Spike and Buffy didn't get together like that.

Oh how I wish that it would have happened that way! Great story !!!

I thought that this was excellent. I am a hopeless romantic and how I wish it could have been as you wrote. Made me cry in parts. Loved every second.

Okay, great start, LOL.....but you have to finish it Does this love make her champion the new dead old love or his he the one she will dance with forever.....hmmmmm.

I can't tell you how much you blew me away with this story. Buffy's inner monologue throughout was so characteristic of her -- so believable, too, had the writers had the good sense to go the other way. And Spike's reaction to her...well, you know me. I'm SUCH a hopeless romantic. You pulled this off with a BANG, sweetie. Such a wonderful snippet of what could have been. And believe me, if I hadn't already known that this was your first venture into messing with Season 7, I wouldn't have known it. You have the tone, the characterizations, and all the emotional strings with which to pull completely nailed.

So, yeah, I loved it. I absolutely loved it. *glomps*