Usually don't review each chapter when there's more than one to read, but have to say, the poem is beautiful. And as much as I believe it is Buffy being selfish and afraid of getting hurt in the long run that is fueling this separation, I can see a little that maybe Spike does need to stand on his own. However, having said that, I don't believe what she is doing is right. You don't give somebody a taste of what they've always wanted and then say, "Oh no. You have to prove that you can live without it before you can have more." That's just cruel. He was already doing a pretty good job of learning how to stand on his own, becoming who he wanted to be. Just because he wanted her there with him doesn't mean he CAN'T do it without her; it means he didn't WANT to do it without her. There's a big difference. The way she has gone about this is just adding a hard layer around his heart that she may not be able to get back through.

Nice Poem .... Good to see Buffy waking up to herself

Agree with Kimber and Kate. It appears that William already has parents so why is Buffy pretending to be his mother? Buffy thinks to love somebody as a girlfriend, you need to push them away, force them to do something they don't want to do and shred their heart into ribbons. Again, she's the one with problems, not William. Maybe if she could have treated him different (like a boyfriend, not a child) then she wouldn't have had to be this drastic now. She needs to change the most, not William.

Author's Response: She doesn't want to force him to do things he doesn't want to do that's why she's putting the breaks on it. She's telling him to find himself and letting him do it on his own so that he's not boggled down by her perception of him and how she might want him to end up. She didn't take kindly to his change in the first place. But she gets that that's who he wants to be, and she wants him to be free to explore that without her mucking it up and trying to change him the way she wants him to be or by keeping him as William.

awesome more soon plz!!!

not better... so so so sad... I need some chocolate now....

Not piercing the heart but stabbing the soul Those lines (the whole poem too but these lines stuck out) where beautiful. Well done, another very touching chapter. I hope Buffy can push away her fear and let herself be happy before its too late.Great job and i cant wait for more XXX

*sigh* still not better yet...

To be honest....Buffy needs intense therapy....for she is right she is one fucked up woman.........I never really believed in the setting things free business....for to set it free sends the message you no longer want it.......so what is there to come back too when you in fact never wanted to be set free. It works is someone is looking to find themselves....it seems William knows what he wants.....Buffy doesn't......and maybe it is a good thing she pushed him away.......sorry she needs to suffer for her misdeeds here....LOL......she just can't waltz right back in to his life after tearing it apart.....and Giles needs to be on the couch beside Buffy......LOL Love is not pushing something away that is not broken and I never got the feeling that because of Buffy he experienced those things....but because it was Buffy he wanted to experince them with...

Nice poem =D Very sad chapter except for the last paragraph, which actually kinda cracked me up what with the talking to herself and all...can't wait for another chapter!