Read this all at once; very, very enjoyable. Earthy and so very characteristic of both Buffy and Spike, especially (and it makes a change in Spuffy) giving Buffy the lion's share of struggle and self-judgement. Spike, after all, remains Spike after five years, even with someone else's soul. Buffy, however, has her Slayer armour ripped from her and she becomes a helpless female, an addict and living a life so far removed from that on the other side of the portal ..... The gradual rapprochment between them is not grandiose but very credible. Looking forward to reading the rest of it.

Guess they didn't kill that little fink after all. Wonder if there's a way to send Spike his soul. If it's like in a jar, maybe they could send it to him. Course, he'd have to get the hitchhiker removed and find someone to install version 1.0, but it could work. Love the way she hides in his coat, and get into an argument with the straw Spike because she can so rightly imagine how he'd insult her. Clearly she's not quite at 100%. More to come. Update soon!

I started this story ages ago and had feared that it had been abandoned. I am so glad to find that you have picked it up again :-)
So Buffy is home but of course it couldn't be that simple. Not only does she still have Glory to deal with but drug withdrawal, the dislocation from her life, and the problem of getting Spike back without allowing any of the baddies through with him. I can't wait to find out how you work it all out!