loved it lots and lots.

And I forgot to say that Buffy isn't bad in this story. She just made a mistake. A mistake that may cause her Spike trust for a while. But sometimes that happens.

I have given authors trouble about a lot of stuff. But you got to give them credit for writing such wonderful Spuffy stories. And keeping spuffy alive. There are stories that I don't agree on certain parts and that is okay. But authors write what comes to them.

I have never read a story like this before. And I have a read a lot. So this is one of my favorites. Keep up the great work.

Author's Response: thanx so very much :)

DreamsofSpike: thank you for the response.

To be honest, maybe I'm biased by reading "Blood Bound" just before this one, which definitely had the Dawn & Anya. But looking back at some of your other fics - such as "Belonging" and "Trusting You" - it seems there's a definite theme, not just of vulnerable/wounded Spike, but of a Buffy who is thoughtlessly cruel and needs to learn a "lesson" of some kind. As I said, I don't think Buffy was perfect, but there's a danger of making Spike look like a total innocent in comparison to her, which he definitely wasn't.

Just my two cents, of course. I do enjoy you stories, and I'll definitely keep reading! Good luck with the writing.

Go Anya! I sure appreciate the timely updates. You have such powerful cliffhangers that waiting any more than a couple of days could be dangerous to one's psyche. Keep up the good work!

Ugh. I was hoping the story wasn't going to go this way, but it looks like I'll be disappointed.

Buffy isn't perfect (she wouldn't be interesting if she was), but...does she always have to be wrong? Does she always have to screw everything up and then put up with being lectured by Dawn/Angel/Anya/Joyce/whoever? Does Spike always have to be some poor, helpless little woobie who, for whatever reason, can't stand up for himself? I mean, just for variety's sake, it would be nice to occasionally see another aspect of Buffy - you know, the girl who is full of love, the one who always comes up the plans to stop the apocalypse, the one who takes her mission so personally that she assumes the weight of her friends' problems in addition to her own.

I really like your writing, otherwise I wouldn't keep reading your stories. And you have a kink you like, which is awesome - we all have our own kinks. But when your readers can pretty much predict the way the stories are going to go...well, it might be worthwhile to think of changing things up a bit. At the beginning of any story, I can pretty much guarantee that Dawn and Anya (and Joyce, if alive) will be the only ones entirely on Spike's side. Buffy will discover she loves him, and in the process she will manage to screw something up horribly, cause Spike to be hurt, and then be lectured by Dawn/Anya/Joyce about how she should treat him. Dawn in particular is always the Defender of Spike, knows better than Buffy about everything, loves Spike more than anyone, and is always, always right.

I'm not telling you what to write, and it isn't a flame. But I have to say that the formula is getting a mite stale.

Author's Response: i'm sorry if they tend to be a bit predictable...but i really dont understand why...as far as i recall, the only other fic ive written that had buffy being thoughtless and mean to spike, and dawn and anya defending him, was "Blood Bound"... in all my other Spuffy fics Buffy has been completely on Spike's side adn not a bad character at all...and Dawn and Anya didn't even factor majorly into any of my other spuffy stories, either...lying eyes, trusting you, belonging....neither anya nor dawn were even main characters.... i don't know...i just find it hard to see where you're coming from with this.... the one thing all of my fics have in common is a vulnerable, somehow wounded spike...but that's pretty much it.... i appreciate your opinion, but i mostly disagree with it thanx for the review, love :)

Oh man, he better not do shit to my woman Anya! Strong, amazing, LOVELY Anya! She better whoop his butt! Can't wait to see what happens next!

I hope they get Xander and torture him! Is anyone going to forgive Buffy for her stupidity and carelessness? Update soon please!

I have absolutely no problem with Angel lecturing Buffy - she needs to listen to others once in a while. Many times on the show we saw where Buffy was completely wrong about something but it was only her slayer skills and ability to think on her feet that really saved the day. This fic captrues that less than flattering side of her that arrogantly assumes she will be able to handle whatever comes her way. My only real issue with Angel here, and Giles for that matter, is that he allowed Buffy to take too much control. It seemed like he and Giles had no input in this plan whatsoever. DId they all underestimate Xander or was Buffy planning this all on her own?

Buffy loves Spike and I'm sure she had nothing but the best of intentions going into this, just as I'm sure that she didn't want to believe that one of her best friends was capable of such cruelty.
But what bothers me more than anything regarding Buffy's actions is not so much how silly her plan was cause imo if Spike was more himself, he might have been able to handle Xander until help arrived but the fact that Buffy pushed him into it when he was wasn't ready. Buffy allowed her selfish desire to clear Xander to put Spike at risk while he was still vulnerable. She willfully ignored the signs that he wasn't ready. Does Spike even remember how to fight? Even if her plan worked, did she consider the emotional cost to Spike in having to confront his tormentor again? Yes, justice and vengeance are needed but why not spend some time helping Spike get in tune with his demon and rediscovering the thrill of the fight - learning how to defend himself. I would have appreciated Buffy's efforts better had she and Angel worked with Spike in that way before pushing him into this vulnerable situation.

I hope the evidence she wanted was worth the cost.

I disagree with Meg. Although, I feel for Buffy and she really thought that she was doing the best thing.

I think she deserves what she got from Angel or Dawn.

Keep up the good work. Please update soon.

Oh my GOD!! You are so evil! Gah! Evil in a good way yeah... but still! Really good chapter, looking forward to more.

Really like the chapter! Can´t wait for the next!
Hope i can read the update tomorrow after school...that would be so great!

I do like your writing and the plots of your stories alot, but you spend so much time having Buffy be lectured by people, it gets really hard to take. And hearing Angel dare to lecture her is pretty ridiculous. I just always feel like you dislike her and want to make her pay for being mean to Spike, while Spike is just a poor baby who's never done anything wrong.

So will it go as planned can she knock Xander out and get Spike.
Love it more please.