~~~Applauds~~~~~


Author's Response: :::::takes a bow::::: Thank you so much! :-D

Oh lord a baby or a lun disease I'm pulling for a baby lmao! Loved the sister fighting and Dawn being Spikes underdog.

Author's Response: lol. You mean you'd pick childbirth over TB? Yeah ... actually, that's a good choice. ;) Dawn and Spike had such a great brother/sister vibe in season five and early season six; it's a lot of fun to explore that relationship in closer detail here. I'm glad you're enjoying that aspect of the story. As for the sister smackdown - well, it was only a matter of time! Thanks so much for your review. :-D

I'm braced for impact here. Everybody is miserable, everybody is keeping big secrets...all the makings of a horrible disaster. You have done an incredible job with this story. It's so complex, and yet you've held firm to your characters and your plot and done so gracefully.

Author's Response: Thank you so much! When I started this story, I had no idea what I was undertaking. Originally, it was supposed to be only 15 - 20 chapters and all in one part. Obviously, I'm not that great at writing outlines, lol. But it's taken on a life of its own, and I'm very glad to hear that its life is a good one. Thank you! :-)

Her friends are still so clueless. And I'm also quite glad that Angel is fed up with Willow. She totally deserves it. And Dawn figured out the mystery. Good for her. I think it can only be good that Buffy can share her secret with someone, even if her attitude about the situation may be a little bit different from Dawn's. Always an amazing story. Please, update soon.

Author's Response: Thank you so much! I'm glad you're continuing to enjoy the story. I'm especially happy that you liked the scene between Angel and Willow - it was my favorite one to write in this chapter. :-D

If I could I would hug Dawn right now for saying the one thing ever girl probably reading this is thinking. Comparing Angel to Spike is really not fair to the memory of William. OMG! preg test!!! if only love was so clear blue and easy in a fic!



Author's Response: lol. I loved the last sentence of your review. Thanks! :-D

She did do something to him she ripped his heart out all over again! ------Sorry I had to vent lol
I'm on a Buffy -n- Spike emotional roller coaster ride that needs more chapters so I get to the dip part.

More more more more more!!!

Author's Response: Thanks so much for the review. I'm glad you're enjoying the ride, even if it is a little rough. :-D

At least somebody yelled at Willow cause I know I wanted too!
I think it is very feasible Buffy is in denial of her feelings or even hoping a part of William could be in Spike so it is more easier to think of her William as being dead then to think of any part of him still being alive in Spike it sort of takes him off the pedestal she has put him on that a lot of girls do with the man they love. This part here said it all to me
((You’re imagining things, she told herself firmly. You’re seeing the things you want to see; you’re seeing William in Spike because you want to see him, not because he’s there.))

Love this


Author's Response: lol. Yeah, I think everyone is ready to yell at Willow at this point; I know I am. It's just great to hear that you understand Buffy's reaction to Spike. She's not behaving this way because she wants to hurt Spike; she's just confused and in pain. I had a reviewer on another site say Buffy should die, lol. So, it's great to know that most people do not agree with that. There's hope for her yet, and for them. We definitely don't want to kill her off. ;) Thanks so much for the review. :-)

Yay Dawn for comforting Spike when he needed it and yay Dawn for busting in and finding the William the Bloody files. I am hoping Buffy reads of how his un-life went on without her and maybe it will lead to her asking him some details on his life like about his Mom and stuff.
I know Willow and Tara are all ga-ga in wiccan love but they need a witch reality check and a 30 days notice to move on out, friends need space from friends and Buffy needs to reclaim her home and take her life back a little.
Buffy holding the picture of Wil;iam to her cheek was really loving I think it was my fav. part in this chapter. Now if we can only sneak Spike up to her room and find his pic pinned to a pillow lol. Please write more it is never too soon for a Forward to time Past update for me.

:)

Author's Response: Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked the chapter, in particular the scene where Buffy holds the picture to her cheek. That was my favorite part, as well. :-)

Dawn really understands Spike, and I love her being a good friend to him. Her sweetness in that relationship is juxtaposed with her stubborn hard heartedness with Buffy. Buffy may be mistaken about the differences between Spike and William, but she's suffering, too. Dawn could be a bit more compassionate, but her harsh criticism is certainly in character.

I really like that Buffy is angry with Willow. She has every right to be angry. I just wish she'd explain herself so Willow can actually feel some guilt, too. The bleak scene with Buffy cradling her dress was heartbreaking.

I'd wondered about the possibility of pregnancy. I can't wait to find out the results.

This was another vivid, emotionally draining chapter. Nothing's even remotely resolved, but there's a sense of moving forward. Thank you for another riveting read.

Author's Response: Thank you so much! I'm glad you're still enjoying the story, and that you think my characterizations are accurate. :-)

just when i think i know where you're going, you throw me back on my toes! that was actually a really good angel characterization too!

Author's Response: Glad to hear I'm keeping you on your toes. My goal in this is to keep everyone guessing until the very end. Thanks so much for the review! :-)

I think Buffys holding up as well as can be expected and to she is the slayer she has to have a different view on vampires then Dawn does he calling requires it I think. The Dawn / Spike friendship is strong in this and I think it will help Buffy dealing with all of this in time. The Angel jealousy part was good for the simple reason in the last chapter he totally dismissed Spike and his feelings and past with Buffy but in reality what Spike as William had with Buffy over shadows any teen romance he had with her. As always I hate when I get to the last sentances of the new page but the last lines a total cliff hanger and I am hanging on the cliff here waiting in suspense.

Author's Response: It's so great to know that you're sympathizing with Buffy. A lot of readers are upset with her right now, which I completely understand, but she's behaving the way she is because of pain and a lack of understanding. You're right; her calling and her training does affect her view of vampires in general and Spike in particular. I'm glad you liked the chapter and thanks so much for the review! :-)

Call me stupid (please don't) but what with all the other stuff going on, I just hadn't even considered the pregnant bit ...... still, lovely angle. Now that would be proof positive, so to speak, although it doesn't seem necessary as Dawn may be incredulous but she is quite willing to understand, believe and realise that the 'mistress' in the article is in fact, Buffy. Your Dawn, by the way, is a much more likeable younger sister than in the Series. Have we actually witnessed a tantrum yet - because when she is talking with Buffy, her very calm manner and approach to the unfriendly reticence of her sister certainly makes her seem the more mature of the two, at that moment. She may be a part of Buffy, but unlike Buffy, Dawn has never been prey to that menace of truth: self-denial.

And now Willow is being drawn into the mix, by the closing and very pertinent comments of Angel, poor out-of-the-loop player that he is. The heroine of this piece will always be the Slayer - but suddenly he has lost his place as the male lead and for the first time in his dealings with Spike, Angel's participation is neither significant or - horror of horrors - required. In the life of Buffy and Angel and ..... Spike, he, the infamous Scourge of Europe has become surplus to requirements. No wonder he fled back to L.A.

Meanwhile, Buffy mourns ..... something whilst keeping her hard face intact as across town the vampire Spike mourns ...... something and wonders at her betrayal and what lies ahead.

And the only one who will acknowledge the heady mix of Buffy and Spike is a young, naive but very clear-sighted onlooker.

Great chapter.

Author's Response: You're one of my favorite reviewers; I would never call you stupid! lol. I'm glad you like my Dawn. I liked her quite a bit in season five, despite her pesky "little sis" quality. But in seasons six and seven she just became annoying. It was like the writers didn't know where to take her character, so they left her a perpetual, whiny child. She had a lot of potential early on, and I wanted to take that and keep her true to character, but without that annoying, abrasive quality. I also loved her early affection for Spike, and that great brother/sister vibe they had in the first few episodes of season six. I think if anyone could see the truth about Spike and Buffy in this story, it would be Dawn. :-) Thanks so much for the review!