I like the way you wrote Xander in this chapter. I'm not such a big Willow-fan here.. she should pay rent. Tara too I have to say. Its unfair that Buffy has to do it all.
I'm really looking forward to Buffys reaction to the letter.. and I hope that there isn't such a big fight when Buffy finds out that Spike is paying her.

You made my day with your update and now I can go and work :). Lookiing forward your new update

Author's Response: I'm glad you like my characterization of Xander. I think he gets a raw deal in a lot of Spuffy fanfiction. He was a flawed person, judgmental and often hypocritical. But all of the series' characters had similar faults, as do most real human beings. As irritating as he was sometimes, I just don't see Xander as a "villain." And I'm not even a Xander fan. lol. Anyway, now that I've rambled on incessantly, I will thank you for taking the time to review. :-)

See? It was so worth the wait I read it first thing in the morning and squee'd at work!!!

This----“You idiot,” Buffy cut in impatiently. “Listen to what I’m saying! It doesn’t matter. They all know about it now, and I chose you.”----had me awww-ing (and receiving some very weird looks, as I don't even have my own cubicle and I'm surrounded by men in the dept.)

I can't wait to see how Buffy reacts to the letter, but I will gladly do so knowing the next chapter will be just as great as the rest of them.

I hope your ankle is better honey, and that you manage to take it easy, despite RL been a pain!

*hugs you tight*


Author's Response: The line you quoted was one of my favorites, so it's great to know that you enjoyed it, too. It made up for her shoving the ring back at him, I think. As for Spike's means of getting money ... I wish he were real and willing to help *me* out. There would be a strict "don't ask, don't tell" policy between us. :P Thanks so much for the review. You're such a sweetie. (((hugs)))

Oh man, its times like these where I wish we had actual pictures because I would love to see Spike's outfit. I am dying to know what Spike's new job is. When Buffy took the ring the from Spike all I could think was that I hope Buffy doesn't do anything heartless like pawning it to pay the mortgage.
Wonderful update as always.

Author's Response: lol. Well, if someone makes a manip of it maybe you'd get your wish. Sadly, I don't think anyone ever will. Very few people have mentioned the confrontation about the ring, so I'm glad it affected you on some level. Thanks for the review! :)

AWW IM SO GLAD THAT XANDER APOLOGIZED AND THAT HE GOT THE MONEY FOR HER!! I JUST FEEL SO BAD THAT HE GOT SO BEAT UP FOR IT! i LOVE this story and am so happy that u updated. im so glad that things are starting to work out well and that spike and buffy are forming a closer relationship. i really hope that things continue to go well and that everything ends well. PLEASE update as soon as u can, i cant wait to read more. THANX

Author's Response: Thank you so much! I've gotten a lot of positive feedback for my handling of Xander in this chapter. A lot of times he's portrayed as a villain, or at the very least, a bastard. As much as he annoyed me at times on the series, I don't think he's an evil character, or one who is incapable of change. :-)

Aw, that's nice that Xander decides to make nice about Spike. Uh, Spike, what would happen if the real mailcarrier comes latter in the day? Hopefully no one will notice, or else there is no mail for that day. Great fic, sorry about your ankle, but I'm glad there is more story!

Author's Response: Regarding the mail, one of two things has happened. Either the mail has already run that day (not likely) or he plans to remove it from the box before Buffy can find out it's there. Either way ... he has his bases covered. You'll find out how in the next chapter. Thanks so much for the review and the ankle sympathy. :-D

Oh, thank you for posting. I was wondering what was happening to our romantice couple! I could just hug him and I love that Xander is trying.....people always make him such a dick and I don't think he was really like that towards the end.


Author's Response: That's exactly how I feel about Xander as well. I was not a fan of him during season six (hated him, actually), but I still didn't perceive him as a villain, just a very flawed human being. And he *did* grow over the course of the series. By the finale he had finally learned to see other points of view than his own. My Xander is learning the same thing, just a lot sooner. Thanks so much for the review. :-D

This is so brilliant! I dont think I could ever get bored of this fic!
Spike's job, however, is making me really nervous. I'm getting horrible visions of sleazy sex bars or illegal drug rings...
More soon, I hope. I just love it.

Author's Response: Well, it took me a while to update but I hope you're sticking around for it. Thanks so much for the review. :-D

This was another richly detailed, emotionally vivid chapter. Buffy having to continuously defend herself is exhausting. It's no wonder she's worn out. Spike spending nine hours just replaying his time with Buffy was both lovely and worrisome. His obsession with her seems to grow the longer they're together.

I loved this visceral description of Spike's fervent emotions: "It was the joining that mattered to him, her body locking with his, wrapped around him so tightly that for the moment, at least, he didn’t have to worry about her slipping away. He would have felt the same sort of satisfaction had she let him crawl into her head, her heart. If he could have, he would have nestled into the soft bed of her temporal lobe or been held by the pulsing muscles of her right atrium. He would have become so deeply embedded that she couldn’t ignore him or run away; he would have been part of her." Spike's like a junkie who needs another fix as soon as the high wears off. Spike only truly feels whole when he's in Buffy's arms. How can that be healthy?

The scene at the magic shop was wonderful. Giles' displeasure was beautifully written, but Buffy eloquently standing up for herself really sang. Anya's murderous past was never really addressed in canon. She got a free pass just for having the misfortune of becoming human. Anya's cheerfully in voice last line made me laugh out loud.

That last line fills me with foreboding. Spike's going to make Buffy regret her trust, isn't he?

Thanks for updating this wonderful story.

Author's Response: That was the paragraph I was most proud of in this chapter, so I'm glad you liked it. I have to admit, writing the scene in the Magic Box was awfully satisfying, lol. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to thank you for leaving this review. I've gotten woefully behind on everything lately. :)

I absolutely love this story. You just cannot write it fast enough for me. I keep reading it over and over as you add more chapters. The detail that you have is just stunning. Please, the only recoomendation that I have is that as you near the end, do not short the details. So many writers on this website start off with great stories and then the details or plot dwindles to nothing or the story becomes sketchy and I lose interest. Thank you so much for this story.
Jeni

Author's Response: I ended up keeping you guys waiting for far too long for chapter 57, so I hope you're still interested in a new chapter. And me? Short on the details? lol. Fear not. The greater worry would be that I allow my characters to drown beneath the weight of my lengthy descriptions. Thanks for the review. ;)

Nunc dimittis servum tuum, tried looking this up on wixi and boy did that little phase go a lot of different ways I did find Time waits for no one so I'm really guessing on what is to come and biting my lip that Spike and Buffy will weather the storm here.

Author's Response: lol. Wikipedia had just about every translation on earth for it, didn't they? Since William was an Anglican and would have read the King James version of the Bible, Spike intended the comment this way: "Now lettest thou thy servant depart ." In the Victorian era, Latin was considered a foundation for a "classical" education and all good schools taught it. Since most children were expected to be well versed in the Bible as well, it was often how they were taught to read Latin ... by translating from Bible text. That's probably a lot more than you wanted to know, but it interested me. As an upperclass gentleman in the Victorian era, William would have been incredibly educated in a variety of things. I would have loved it if the series' writers had explored that more with Spike. Thanks for the review. :D

Loved Buffy stand up for being together with Spike. And she ad a good point regarding Anya.
So Spike will get himself in trouble again, helping Buffy? I hope she won't overreact.

Author's Response: Thanks so much for the review. :D

Wish Spike was more secure in his relationship with Buffy where he didnt feel the need to be someone else all the time and be ok in his own skin

Buffy seems to be getting there in her confronting her friends and calling with saying No to being pushed into a direction she didnt wanna go

I wanna cheer on Spike so he gets to the same point too!

Go Spike Go!

Author's Response: I wish that, too. Poor Spike has sh*tty self-esteem both on the series and in my story. On the series, he hid it behind snark and cockiness ... he still does that in FtTP, but with Buffy he's so worried about losing her, he's willing to change who he is to prevent it from happening. From 1880 on, I don't think he has ever considered himself worthy of her love. Of course, we know that he is...and someday maybe he will realize it as well. Thanks so much for the review! :-D