How refreshing to have a conversation between Buffy and Dawn that has a start, middle and end, good reasoning and, oh yeah - no tantrums of the repetitive kind (get out, get out GET OUT!). Dawn made sense and Buffy listened.

This Slayer who listens and doesn't run was also present and correct in Spike's crypt - and again she listened and, more importantly, she heard him.

So she saved her quick-tempered and very effective put-down for the over-presumptive Scoobies and Giles. The photographs he had given her, to wound and shock her into rejecting Spike were flung in his face. Right back at you, Watcher.

Bit worried about the origins of the Spike money, though ...... I just know this is going to backfire on him, at some point.

Fabulous! I always manage to lose the reviews I type up for you, so I'm going to be brief and to the point by saying I love every SINGLE update of this fic, and I am always waiting for more! I especially loved when at the end Buffy was so nervous-- you really captured that emotion very well with a few choice words. :) And I'm so happy to see her doing what she WANTS, not what is expected of her--not merely in defiance, but because she realizes that she's a woman who has needs! Poor Spike.. OOMG and the scene! With the thumb! I had absolutely no idea what Buffy was going to do and it was just... So very creative, so very imaginative... Sexy, too! :) Loved it. LOVED it. This fic is, like I've said before, my favorite EVER. :) Can't wait for more!

YAY!!! Go Buffy!!! Took her long enough to see the vampire and man Spike is. I hope she doesn't do anything to hurt him. Hopefully she'll make it through the aggravating Scooby intervention and curse them all out for their biased ways. Can't wait for more!!!

Author's Response: lol. I agree - it is about time she truly accepted Spike for the man he was and the vampire he is. Thanks for the review. :-D

Sweet!*

“Tell the Council I don’t like being propositioned.”

Or...

'You're are going to have to do better than that.'

take that watcher boy. :)

Author's Response: lol. Isn't it nice to see her growing a spine? Thanks for reviewing. :-D

Oh that was good.

Author's Response: Thank you!

Hell yeah! Yes, go Buffy! Ha, thank you for writing that! More please =D

Author's Response: Thank *you* for reading and reviewing it. I really appreciate that. :-D

aaaah! a fabulous angsty chapter! i loved the glimpse of possessive-spike in william. and buffy has every reason to be freaked by his violence. :( also nice cliffhanger with the mysterious employer.
i like the complexity of this story. it's not just a buffy realizes spike is sexy and all ends well. the characterizations and plot continue to be gripping.
nice work!
- q (aka sus)

Author's Response: Thank you! One of the most enjoyable things about writing this story is expanding Spike's past and exploring his character -- not just as a vampire, but as a man as well. It's wonderful to know that I'm doing a good job with it. Thanks so much for taking the time to review. :-D

Mirroring William's actions in the flashback with his actions now was lovely. It shows that the caring and desire to keep Buffy safe has been in him from the moment he first laid eyes on her. Their encounter in the past smacks of destiny.

I wondered what Giles was thinking during the financial meeting, and you answered the question and showed how much Giles cares for Buffy . The facts of Spike's violent past are often glossed over in fan fic, and Giles isn't throwing them in Buffy's face to be cruel. He really has cause for deep concern.

Buffy's "[t]hose were not the actions of a sane person..." makes me hope she realizes what it was that drove Spike mad for all those years. If they are to be together, she needs to face these actions full on. Maybe Giles did her a favor.

This was another sharply written, emotional chapter. Buffy and Spike are three dimensional, thought provoking characters, and though they act from an emotional center, you never have them acting out of character for the people you've drawn. It's wonderful to read.



Author's Response: Want to know a secret? One of the reasons I chose to revisit the past is because I just missed William so much. lol. I know that sounds crazy, but I had such a good time writing him; he was so earnest, so innocent. Yet, Spike is still fundamentally the same as he was then -- still determined to take care of Buffy. The fact is, he can't always protect her from the harshness of adult life, and eventually he will have to accept that. Thanks for the review! :-D

You know, I love Giles, I do. But....it's so hard to even 'like' him, when he's pitted against Spike like this. Same as in season 7 of Buffy with the whole Principle Wood thing. There's all this...so called, logic, on why Spike & Buffy shouldn't be together. But, people forget love defies all 'logic'.

LOVE this chapter, as I do them all. Please update ASAP!!

Author's Response: The thing about Giles is that he genuinely believes he is doing the right thing ... that he is working in her best interests. He doesn't realize that Buffy is now an adult and capable of making her own decisions. He also refuses to take into account the extinuating circumstances. To him, Spike is nothing but a monster; he refuses to see the man lurking underneath. But you're right ... all of this doesn't make it easy to like him. Thanks for the review. :-D

Is it possible to have fandom chest pain? Cause I'm feeling for everyone at this point for everyone is gonna have a hard time after this I wil keep up the daith and Spuffy love!

Author's Response: Yep, just keep the faith. This story is listed as angst and romance ... but I'm a romantic at heart. Just keep that in mind. Thanks for the review. :-D

I love the unexpected William starting and just how much he wanted to help change Elizabeth's life for no ulterior motives I and hanging by a thread till you put up more


Author's Response: Yes,Spike is still very much the same person inside, it's just that he has so many experiences behind him -- both the terrible things he's done and the terrible things done *to* him, that he is no longer an innocent and not so willing to expose his vulnerability. I think that is what is hardest for Buffy to get past. Once she does look past that -- once she accepts and forgives his past actions -- they will truly be able to move forward. Thanks so much for the review. :-D

Spike did snap for a while he lost everything from his life to his mother and then the love of his life. He woke up to Drusilla and a blood lust and the loss of humanity so yeah he went a little nuts and took it out on the people who he felt had done him and his love for Elizabeth wrong with the slandering of her good name. When you have lost everything you held dear including your soulmate and all you have left is your hate what would keep you from lashing out and exercising it to the point of a certain kind of insanity? I'm not trying to rationalize it just saying in his killing it was almost in a way he was trying to cut the pain out of himself as twisted as that seems.
I have no idea what can mend this or if there is forgiveness or atonement for Spike but I wanna hope for him in this story and for Buffy too that they can still come together again. As for the others I still want Willow to notice the way she has been behaving is a little childish even given her age in this but maybe Tara can be the eye opener for both of them and some kinda resolution can happen there. I miss Anya she was always so good at speaking the truth and making people uncomfortable when faced with their realities.
This was a great update and it really makes you think things over which really goes to show your gift as a author.