Poor Buffy!!

I hope Dawn remembers her wish when Spike comes back. :)

Oh man! Just loving this tale. I will comment again, and at length, at the end.

I love that your chapters get longer each time. More is good. There is no sign of a cop out in this chapter. Love this..."Almost covered his demon eyes to shield himself from the shining goodness of it, but he didn’t. No light, no matter how bright or benign could shine more brilliantly than his slayer’s golden radiance."...soulless Spike is more worthy than he knows. I really like that you make it Spike's choice to give up his soul...that he is not forced to do it. The shock ...“Vampire?” she asked, with a disbelieving shake of her head."... & the laughter..."Then she laughed—a tinkling, youthful laugh—and held out her hand to him palm down"...of the Guardian is amusing. I like that you have Spike deemed worthy without the soul. Jeez...you really scared me here...“Buffy. We’ve made a terrible mistake.”...I am not to sure about Giles' "we" there...Giles is still making me itch. The conversation between Wiilow & Buffy on the porch is harsh but there is a ring of truth. This...“Angry that he left, angry that he dared to come back.”...is a perfect way to illustrate Dawn's conflicting feelings about Spike. It is perfectly natural to/of Buffy to shut down when she thinks Spike is dead/dust. I hope the fact that Spike's death is greatly exaggerated will overshadow her instinctive reaction to Spike's lack of soul. I am a bit more worried about Spike..."He felt his good mood evaporate, leaving self-loathing burning like acid in his mind. “Not so much,” he told her with a bitter shake of his head."...self-loathing is never a good sign. Love...love...love the last line...makes me laugh. Just can't wait to read the next chapter.