Summary: Despite the fact that she has never been in a serious relationship, Buffy Summers has already given up on love. One day she runs into a young boy and, horrified by his story, decides to help him. But, as she is about to find out, things aren’t always the way they seem. Winner of Best Fantasy Romance - Judge's Choice at the Spuffy Awards round 16. Also winner of Best Angst at the Cradle Of Humanity Awards round 3.
Rated: NC-17
Categories: NC-17 Fics Characters: None
Genres: Romance, Angst
Warnings: Violence, Adult Language, Sexual Situations, Child Abuse
Challenges:
Series: None
Chapters: 35 Completed: Yes
Word count: 56163 Read: 72263
Published: 07/11/2008 Updated: 06/14/2009

1. 1 by Pet [Reviews - 18] (1108 words)
Ok, this was not the way I had planned things. I was supposed to focus on just Healing for a while. But, well... as you can see, I started another story. It will be kinda dark, probably long, sort of like my other stories. But I have NOT abandoned Healing. I'll try to update that one in a few days. This first chapter is all I have on this so far, I have the story mostly figured out but I wanted to post this first and see if anyone's interested in me continuing. Also, a huge thanks to Tammy for betaing!

2. 2 by Pet [Reviews - 7] (1394 words)
Thanks for the reviews! And thanks to Tammy for betaing!

3. 3 by Pet [Reviews - 15] (1289 words)
A huge thanks to Tammy for betaing! And thanks to those of you who have taken your time to review/read this story so far.

4. 4 by Pet [Reviews - 9] (1279 words)
Thanks to Tammy for betaing! Also a huge thanks to all of you who're reading my story! :)

5. 5 by Pet [Reviews - 10] (1256 words)
I just found out this story has been nominated for best romance and best angst at the Cradle of Humanity Awards. Don't know who nominated it but I'm incredibly happy and grateful. Thank you! Also thanks to Tammy for betaing! *hugs*

6. 6 by Pet [Reviews - 10] (1380 words)
I was finally able to post this lovely banner, made by u2fan2005. Thank you so much for making it for me! :)

7. 7 by Pet [Reviews - 14] (1327 words)
I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. Hope you all will like it as much as I do. :)

Betad by Tammy and the banner is made by u2fan2005. Thanks you guys!

8. 8 by Pet [Reviews - 13] (1407 words)
Thank you so much for all the reviews! Also thanks to Tammy for betaing and to u2fan2005 for making the banner!

This story is nominated for best angst and best romance at the Cradle of Humanity Awards round 2 and the votings are now open. If you don't wanna vote for my story, there are a lot of other really good fics out there. You can vote here.

9. 9 by Pet [Reviews - 10] (1479 words)
My computer crashed yesterday and I lost everything I had on it. *frustrated scream* Now it won't let me get on the internet so I have to use my boyfriends computer for now. He doesn't have Word so I had to write this chapter on Wordpad. Really hate that program. And my e-mail doesn't work either, so I couldn't send this chapter to Tammy. Which means, there might be some mistakes. Hope you'll all be understanding and don't hold it against me. I hope to get my own computer fixed some time later this week. Unfortunately, my files will be lost forever. *sob*

10. 10 by Pet [Reviews - 12] (1341 words)
This chapter is un-betad so far, so any possible mistakes are all mine. I'll edit the chapter when I get it back from Tammy, I just really wanted to post it. :)

11. 11 by Pet [Reviews - 10] (1320 words)

12. 12 by Pet [Reviews - 9] (1291 words)
To those of you still reading, thank you so much for the reviews! Also thanks to Tammy for betaing!

13. 13 by Pet [Reviews - 13] (1360 words)
Thanks to Tammy for betaing! Also thanks to those of you who keep reviewing and/or reading my story.

14. 14 by Pet [Reviews - 8] (1331 words)
I'm having trouble with the writing again, hate when that happens. Thanks to those of you who left me a review for the last chapter, thanks to u2fan2005 for making the banner, and thanks to Tammy for betaing. You guys are the best!

15. 15 by Pet [Reviews - 9] (1416 words)
A huge thanks to Tammy for betaing!

16. 16 by Pet [Reviews - 12] (1641 words)
If I have any readers left, I wanna apologize for the delay. For some reason, I haven't really felt like writing lately, although God knows I have tried. I finally managed to write this chapter, wich I'd like to dedicate to those of you who have been kind enough to leave me a review so far. You're the reason I haven't already said hell with it and given up on my stories when my muse refuses to cooperate. I'll do my best to not let you down and keep writing until both my stories are complete. Thank you.

17. 17 by Pet [Reviews - 10] (1368 words)
Thanks Tammy for the betaing!

18. 18 by Pet [Reviews - 11] (1725 words)
As always, thanks to Tammy for betaing!

I feel like a broken record, but again, so sorry for not updating sooner. If anyone's still with me, thanks for your patience. I WILL finish both my stories, even if it will take longer than I had planned from the beginning.

19. 19 by Pet [Reviews - 10] (1345 words)
The problem with writing more than one story at the time is that mostly (at least for me) one story wants to be written more than the other. For some reason, it's easier to write on Healing than this one. I'm thinking of taking a break, but still, I really don't want to. I just want to get both my stories finished. When I started this story, I had planned to make it 20 chapters at the most. Now, it looks like there will be twice as much. I really want to update my fics weekly, and I'll do my best. Like I've said before; I will not leave any of my stories hanging. Thanks for reading!

20. 20 by Pet [Reviews - 6] (1835 words)
I'm so sorry for leaving this story hanging for so long. Those of you who have been reading my other stories know that I decided to take a break with this one until I had finished Healing. Now I have. Of course, I'm not sure I even have any readers left, seeing how it's been more than four months since I updated this. But if you're still with me, please take a moment to let me know if I should continue. Oh, and thank you so much for the nominations!

21. 21 by Pet [Reviews - 7] (1812 words)
I realize I've lost most of my readers and know it's my own fault for leaving the story hanging. I can just hope you'll give me and this story a second chance because I will finish it and I will try to update at least once a week from now on.

This story won Best Fantasy Romance - Judge's Choice at the Spuffy Awards round 16! Words can't express how happy I am!

A huge thanks to Tammy for betaing!

22. 22 by Pet [Reviews - 5] (1951 words)

23. 23 by Pet [Reviews - 4] (1869 words)
Thanks to Tammy for betaing!

24. 24 by Pet [Reviews - 7] (2048 words)
For some reason, I seem to lose readers on both my stories. Makes me wonder if I'm losing my touch here. Oh well, not much I can do about it if that's the case. I know there are a few people out there who's sticking with me and my stories and I can't thank you enough.

25. 25 by Pet [Reviews - 7] (1871 words)
Thanks to Tammy for betaing!

26. 26 by Pet [Reviews - 6] (1760 words)
Thanks to Tammy for betaing! And also a huge thanks to my faithful reviewers! :)

27. 27 by Pet [Reviews - 5] (1747 words)
Sorry for the delay. Now when I only have this fic I'm currently working on, I'll try to have the chapters up more often, as long as the muse lets me keep writing.

28. 28 by Pet [Reviews - 11] (1801 words)
I really wish that if you're reading, please just take two seconds to let me know. I know a lot of people don't realize just how much a simple comment mean to the authors. Right now, I feel like only five people out there still enjoy this story. To iamghost, cordykitten, Lacey Marsters, spuffy and Pam S - thank you so much for caring enough to leave me a review for the last chapter! *hugs*

29. 29 by Pet [Reviews - 8] (1845 words)
Thanks to Lacey Marsters, iamghost, JO, burnkitty, demona424, cordykitten, TammyAsh666, u2fan2005 and Pam S for reviewing the last chapter! *hugs*

30. 30 by Pet [Reviews - 9] (1811 words)
This chapter is un-betad, so any mistakes are mine. I'll edit the chapter as soon as I get it back, I just really wanted to post this.

A huge thanks to u2fan2005 for making me a lovely new banner! Pretty, huh?

Also thanks to burnkitty, iamghost, Lacey Marsters, Pixiecorn, JO, cordykitten, demona424 and Pam S for reviewing the last chapter!

31. 31 by Pet [Reviews - 9] (1834 words)

32. 32 by Pet [Reviews - 7] (1918 words)
Gaah! Talk about frustrating! Just updated this story, or so I thought. But when I checked recent stories, this one was nowhere to be seen. Turns out that instead of just adding chapter 32, I accidentally replaced chapter 31 with the new one and removed the previous chapter (31). Luckily, I didn't delete it and therefor didn't lose my reviews. *phew* Oh well, now it's fixed, hopefully. More A/N at the bottom of the page.

33. 33 by Pet [Reviews - 7] (2082 words)
Thanks to iamghost, burnkitty, spikeluv84, Lacey Marsters, Cordykitten, demona424 and Pam S for reviewing the last chapter!

34. 34 by Pet [Reviews - 7] (1943 words)
Thanks to burnkitty, iamghost, Pam S, cordykitten, u2fan2005, demona424 and Lacey Marsters for reviewing the last chapter! *hugs*

35. 35 by Pet [Reviews - 10] (1979 words)
So, the last of my WIP stories coming to an end. Feels both sad and really good at the same time. Right now, I'm thinking of taking a break. I do have another story that wants to be written, though. We'll just have to wait and see when or if that will happen. I'd like to thank Tammy for betaing this story for me. Also thanks to u2fan2005 for the two lovely banners. And last but not least; a huge thanks to those of you who have kept showing me your support on this story, both here and on LJ. Love you all!