I ran a few searches mixing up the wording and didn't find another request quite like this. What are your favorite hurt/comfort Spike focused stories. Preferably nothing by Dreams4Spike (read em) and nothing where the Scoobs act too out of character.

Thanks!
ladypeyton (yeah, my username's a typo, DOH!)

Top favourites (excluding my fave DreamsofSpike ones which I assumed was the writer you meant??)

Healing Touch by Ariana
Set after "Showtime" (7x11) Safe in the Summers house with all the Slayers in Training, Spike is still suffering from the aftermath of his torture at the hands of the First. But Buffy knows how to cure him.

A Terrible Thing by Herself
A couple of years after the final battle in Sunnydale, Buffy interrupts her life of international leisure to travel to Vietnam, for the prospect of seeing someone she never thought she'd see again.

(there is an injured!Spike element to the second half of this story)
Past Glory by Sandy
S5 up to Tough Love, AU after that although elements of S6 will appear throughout the story. Spike manages to save Dawn from Glory for good. Will Buffy and the Scoobies begin to accept and appreciate him now?

Return to Me by Jypzrose
Eight months ago Spike disappeared without a trace, leaving the Scoobies behind to frantically search for him. Just as they are about to give up, he shows up at Buffy's house, wild, broken, and unable to speak. What happened to him, and can Buffy, with Angel, help him?

A Little Tenderness by ya_lublyu_tebya
After Spike's torture by the First, Buffy does all she can to nurse him back to health, surprising herself with her own tenderness. Once he is back at full health, will this attitude continue though?

This fic is an abandoned WIP. Some parts of the final chapters are still in notes but as the author states it does come to a 'sort-of conclusion' and I think it is worth the read (although it is essentially one-sided in the negative from the S6 relationship).

Dreidel by Constance
An alternate start to Season Seven. Inspired by JustSue's 'Buyer Beware'.