You did good job capturing Spike's lonliness. I also continue to love the banter between father and daughter. You have 400 reviews for this story! I think that means you get a free ham or something!

Author's Response: You and your lovely words. :) Thank you!! And another massive thanks for giving me the 400th review! It's the best feeling ever. And I think you deserve something delicious as well for, a ham or a cake, anything you want. :D

This was a nice change of pace from the angst and it was a good reminder that the two have a connection beyond the kind of mom-death-bond thing. You write Anya's dialogue very well and she helps add a lighter touch to the tale :)

Author's Response: It can get tedious to write angst all the time, so it's a nice change of pace to put is some more light-hearted scenes/lines from time to time. :)

Two things I loved about his characterization and his interactions with Buffy. 1 - when he started the conversation with her, he cut straight to defending her dad instead of something that might have been more typical in that situation. 2 - that he just straight out brought up her scars.

Author's Response: Aaah, thank you!! :) You're awesome.

I think your flashback bit in the previous chapter was SUPER clear, for the record. Clear like a glassless window. I hope you weren't disappointed that some people didn't get it because it was UBER clear! In my story "yours, william" it had, I thought, a clearly happy ending. He wanted to marry her. She chose to stay with him. And yet some readers commented "So sad that they aren't together in the end." So - what ya gonna do? --- Anyway, again, he's drawn very compellingly. To have the witch character pulling the reader in with questions is just really well done too :) Also, adore that she's a horny bitch

Author's Response: I'm very glad to hear that. :) And I guess you're right, what're you gonna do? There's always someone who is a bit confused or misunderstands your meaning. As a reader, I actually prefer things implied rather than being beaten over the head with it. One of the reasons I love your writing. ;) Horny bitch indeed! LOL!!!

Two of my favorite things about this chapter: I like that his character has this dark secret, this failing - that he couldn't protect "her" (ala Dawn) and all the implications that go along with that.

I also loved the bit about "did he just British-insult her"? :D

Author's Response: Thank you, gorgeous!! :D And I'm pretty sure you'd agree that writing a character that is perfect and completely happy would be the most boring thing in the world. Failures, insecurities, growing; those are much more interesting to me both as a writer and as a reader.

Hi you! I actually started (and loved) this story a while back, but when real life turned into a shitshow, I stopped reading everything for a while. So it's great to catch up. I am just rereading from the beginning and I have to tell you on this chapter how much I adore your ability to bring sensory aspects into your tale. The sounds, the feeling of the cold floor etc. Has a very immediate feel to it.

Author's Response: Hi! :D I know all about shitshows, so I'm glad you found some spare time to come back to read the story again. A massive thank you for all your lovely words!! Finding the review notifications from you totally made my day. :)

Fantastic -- hot and sweet and good action!

Author's Response: *beams* You're so kind. :) Thank you so much, ScarlettDuck!!

A happy ending for our pair, and an interesting turn for Eline and Dru. Would have loved to see a bit of that reunion with the Human Eline... Lots of explanations could come round with that. I've got to figure that being a pre-adolescent ageless creature isn't all it's cracked up to be. That would be an interesting sequel of sorts... does she really want to go back to the life when Dru shows up seven years from now? I suppose the wonder of such things is truly the point, but if you ever write it, let me know. :) Great story. Loved all the development, and hope Buffy is a much more confident girl this time through her senior year. Gotta say, how could it not be when you have Spike to show off. :) Thanks for sharing.

Author's Response: I actually had an alternate ending ready, but it was far from happy... you would have killed me if I'd used that one. lol And I really love to hear that you're interested in the whole Dru/Eline thing! I always feel like people only want to read about Buffy/Spike, so when you tell me you like the other characters as well, that's just awesome. :) If it was a separate story/sequel, I imagine many things would change in those seven years. Eline would probably come to regret making that deal with Dru. She'd probably fall in love, and we all know that love can change a lot of things. If I ever turn it into original fiction and write the Dru/Eline part as the sequel, I'll let you know. :) Buffy will definitely have a better time now. She's a different person that she was a year ago, and yup... having Spike sure helps. ;) Thank you for being absolutely amazing and leaving all those reviews!! I really appreciate it. :)

Very sweet ending. I enjoyed this story immensely. Well done!

Author's Response: That makes me very happy. Thank you for reading, Lily!! :)

Love this story. Thanks so much for the great adventure. Definately one of those I'll reread again from start to finish.

Author's Response: That's so awesome of you to say. :) Thank you so much, crazylife!! I love knowing that you enjoyed the story.

Always felt the "girls" were on Spike's side.. Could never have guessed Dru's spell and Eline's blood being mixed with Buffy's.. to save her..
Wondering about Eline's life for the next 7 years..
And Giles.. would have to torture him a little for being ok with sacrificing Buffy.. to save the world of course..
enjoyed..

Author's Response: They certainly never were on Angelus'. I think they were more on their own side than on anyone else's. But still, that connection to Spike was there and deep down I think they'd have helped him even if it hadn't been for their own agenda. Glad you didn't expect that little twist with the ritual! :)
That would certainly be a story on its own.
You know Giles. He's always about the bigger picture. It's not necessarily bad, it's just a different ethical view. :) Thank you for reviewing and being lovely!!

I know that some things your leaving loose but what about Eline will she be alright why didn't she try and find William?

Author's Response: It's awesome that you're curious about that. :) In my mind, Eline has done quite a lot of damage to William for her to just turn up and ask for his help. She may look 13 but no worries, she's been self-reliant for a lot longer than that. She's human now but that doesn't change all the things she's done and she's not exactly crushed about it. She's no Angel. ;) I imagine she'd end up in a foster family where she'd plot and wait for Dru to come back for her and turn her again. Then again, a lot changes in seven years and she'd probably come to regret making that deal. But that would be a whole other story. :) Thank you for reading and reviewing!!