Ooh, I think she *has* created a monster, lol. Great chapter!

Go Wesley...or, maybe, not go Wesley, since he's kind of evil...lol but I loved the chapter!

Hm...very hot but also, like you said, very disturbing...excellently written.

Oh, my...he's falling in love with her and he doesn't even notice it...wonderful chapter, you kept things flowing very nicely and I'm glad we got some of Buffy's POV =D

Oh, dear...yes that was *very* disturbing. I've no doubt that Spike can be redeemed, but I'm starting to think it will take awhile =/ Excellent chapter, although not very cheerful.

Hm...very interesting...they're starting to get used to one another, I see. Watching them go from fighting to almost tenderness is fascinating =D Off to read more...

Oh...very sexy =D Glad to see Buffy's softening towards Spike, and vice versa--well, not softening entirely, but you know what I mean ;) Still a wonderful story!

Uh-oh...I sense a fight in the near future. Still, very hot and glad to see they're at least beginning to get along =D

Aww...cute chap. And I'm kind of paranoid about this fic...is Spike gonna get better? I mean in the rape/crime lord stuff? And I can't wait to see what happens when Drusilla shows up!

Ooh--very hot ;) It's cute how they're falling in love so very slowly, and I'm glad you're taking your time with Spike's redemption. It wouldn't be half so good if you'd had him redeemed in just a few chapters and he and Buffy skipped merrily off into the sunset...the beginning of the chapter, with the threat he made, was a great reminder that he isn't a good guy just yet. Great job!

Author's Response: I think it would be possible to redeem this Spike in a couple of chapters...in fact, it might just take the whole story...(groan!!!) thanks for the review ;-)

OH MY GOD!!! you've written some truly superb chapters in the past, but this tops all of them by far! I was so worried in the beginning that Buffy would let Spike's drunken blowoff discourage her, but it didn't!!!! Spike's Freudian slip was precious ;) Actually, his behavior during the entire chapter was percious--Buffy's comment hurt him, and it was great to see him accepting her apology without being a complete and total dominating asshole about it. I can't help but think that he's finally becoming more like the wonderful character he was in late S7, and less like the evil (but yummy) Big Bad we knew before. Even better, you're suceeding in making the transformation both believable and appreciable. He's not overly sappy and the redemption has been realistically slow, but for almost the entire fic I felt sorry for Spike and wanted him redeemed. There were times when I thought he was an absolutely horrid person, but I always wanted him redeemed, because you wrote him in a way that made me believe it was possible. And I loved how incredibly take-charge Buffy was. In a lot of fics, especially the kind that has Spike as kind of dominating, she's very submissive and seems to have entirely lost that wonderful, strong quality that I loved in the show--but not so in this fic! It was so incredible seeing her take charge like that and take what she wanted, and it was made even better by the fact that she could do it while giving Spike what he wanted. This fic has made me giggle, sigh, and want to cry, and now it's making me practically dance around in my chair--I love it! You've put them through so much in this fic, it's wonderful seeing them make baby steps towards becoming even closer. I absolutely loved how very in tandem they were, how Buffy was so very kind to Spike. I feel sorry for him in this fic because he's so evil and yet at the same time he's just as trapped as Buffy is, and it's great to see her acknolwedging that he's human just like she is...and I can't help but feel that she's coming to love him =D And the last scene was absolutely priceless! What those men must have thought when she told them Spike was lying naked on the pool table, passed out!!! I was cheering her on then--finally she's gotten some of her own back! And of course the whole sex scene was extremely hot...and again, it was made better by the fact that they're both being so caring of each other. For the first time their sex was more about mutual giving than taking--there wasn't even a hint of degradation or forcing, and that makes me so happy. I'm a romanticist at heart, and at first reading this fic was a bit of a risk for me, because a lot of these fics end in ways that I'd really rather they didn't--I'm not into the whole dominant/submissive scene. You're managing to keep Spike sexy and in character while letting Buffy stand up to him, and it's incredible. I don't think I've come across a fic this good in quite some time--you're making me feel, and that's what really good writing does. Smut is one thing, but you're writing a story with a beautiful, heart-aching plot and hot Kudos to you, excellent, incredibly mouth-wateringly hot chapter, and I of course want more!

Author's Response: OKAY!!!! just had to respond to this one...WOW! WOW! AND WOW! again...with a big side order of THANKS :-) ...If it made you nearly dance in your chair your review nearly made me cry with joy...and this is the reason I wanted to write...WOW! I'm seriously swooning here...and you get a big fat gold star* for such a FAB review...and please don't hate me if he slips up...he is after all Spike...but please keep this chapter in mind and remember how nice things CAN be between them when they really relax and be themselves, a bit more...I swear if I every write a sequel to this story, I'll make it real SPUFFY with lots of sappy moments...honest...but for now, we'll have to put up with bd tempered Spike...Thanks for the GREAT review Panta_Rei. X

*wince* This was a tough chapter to read...tough, but very necessary. Two steps forward, one step back, right? You brought Spike's every flaw to the fore. He was just as possessive and selfish as he was in the beginning--it started off with him being angry at her for questioning him, and then just got worse. I thought it was very interesting how furious he got with her for whispering Angel's name, and how he refuses to tell her, though he's certain he's being lied to...what I'm getting from it is that he's comparing himself to Angel in Buffy's eyes and he thinks he's come out wanting, if that makes any sense, and the fact that he's coming to care about her must make that even worse--especially given his history with Angel, Drusilla, etc. I can't help but wonder if maybe he's even more enraged simply because he cares about her...and even though the whole time my stomach was just sinking more and more because of how he was treating her, it really proves that he does care--either that or he's just incredibly possessive, but hey, I can be delusional, right? ;) I get the feeling that if he didn't care he wouldn't bother with all the fury and theatrics, he'd just put her in her place coldly and emotionlessly...the whole Faith/whore bit is interesting, as well. Spike's dismissal of the whole event shows that while he might be changing, he definitely still has a ways to go...I'm glad he didn't hurt Buffy or Angel (yet) for what Buffy says, but if he doesn't personally care about a person it's obvious he still has no problem with hurting them. I sort of expected Faith's reaction--I don't think you could survive as a whore very long if you took every "client" personally, and rape is probably a fairly commonplace thing for her...still, like the rest of the chapter, her callous treatment of the whole thing coupled with Luke and Spike's joking was chilling to read. The whole passage with Spike and Luke was incredibly disturbing, actually, because it even more than the anger he showed Buffy exhibits how very far he still has to go. Him joking with Luke about it, and Luke being one of his trusted men even though he raped a girl and thought nothing of it--even though Spike told him to rape her--the whole thing is just incredible in terms of how much it says about them. The fact that Buffy doesn't belong in this world is becoming increasingly apparent, and I'm starting to wonder if they're all going to reach a breaking point soon, especially given Spike and his promises of punishment...although since you told me not to panic, I'm trying to hold it off ;) Although let me tell you, I get the feeling their little weekend together is going to be a doozy...I'm probably starting to sound like a broken record, but honestly, this fic is so incredible--I could feel disappointment settling into my stomach almost physically the more and more I read. Every callous word said to Buffy, from both Spike and her so-called friends, as well as Buffy's feelings, impacted me incredibly...when these characters are happy I want to cheer, and when you give us chapters like this I want to cry, because somehow you've managed to make me care about all of them--even the still-very-much-in-need-of-redemption Spike =) So thank you so, so much for giving us such an incredible story...and more soon? If I'm not driving you nuts with the epiclong reviews, lol.

Uh-oh...this doesn't sound too good...but I'm glad they're being more considerate towards one another. Kudos on another great chapter!