You made me laugh with Angel's "oh, God, not the phone again" exhaustion. I also like that he genuinely cares enough to not trust Willow to perform perfect magic.

I'm wondering if it will only be Angel that shows up, or some of his group, too?

I see it going two ways with Angel - 1) Buffy revolts immediately because he's been Angelus very recently in her experience, or 2) Since he wasn't involved in bringing her back, she might actualy trust him enough to spill her story. I would find it *very* interesting if Angel ended up being the pro-Spuffy component, here, since the majority of authors make him such a hindrance. Angel's already been shifting his view towards Cordy by this point in the timeline, so it'd be nice if he was past the "Buffy is true love" and more on the "Buffy is someone I love" track.

But either way, Buffy's going to handle seeing him MUCH better than Spike will! Dawn's words helped, but Spike is still in a tremulous position until he gets things straight with Buffy. I think if he just sees her eyes now, if he sees her looking haunted by all she's lost, then Spike's anger will shift. He can't help loving her and thinking of her welfare, so......

Willow......she was always SO pushy about the Buffy/Angel relationship. I think she saw it as the ultimate fairytale come to life, and just HAD to make it reality. Willow, for lack of a better analogy, pulls the strings on Buffy and Angel to put them in her fantasy fanfic story for her ultimate couple. They're her OTP, for reasons that were never based in reality.........I think she can live through that relationship, live vicariously through Buffy the Heroine and Angel the Hot But Tortured Soul, because Willow never saw herself getting a "dream guy". And even Oz and Tara weren't enough for her because she still becomes obsessed with power. It isn't about Buffy or Angel at all - it's about Willow's favorite romance story.

Whew, that was a lot of extrapolating!

I LOVE your Dawn....that scene rocked, and it was so nice to see Spike remembering being with Elizabeth in the dream. You can't help falling for William.

Author's Response: Glad you liked the Angel scene. I like Angel - not really on BtVS, because he seemed very much a one-dimensional character on that show. But on his own show, he had a certain quirky charm. He, like Spike, had moments of overwhelming selfishness and immaturity, but I think that very quality is what makes him seem so ... well, human. The chapter would have ended with Willow's phone call anyway, but I wanted to add that first paragraph to let people know that Angel's intentions *aren't* bad. That's not to say bad things won't come from his visit (of course, it might all turn out fine), but he's no longer the cruel Angelus of London who tried to rape her. I think your dissection of Willow's motives is spot-on. She did seem fixated on the fairytale element of Buffy and Angel's relationship, and that made it harder for her to see its flaws. The interactions between Spike and Dawn are just an absolute pleasure to write, because there is already a great base to build on; they had a wonderful chemistry together in season 5 and early season 6. Of course, the BtVS writing staff eventually ruined that, but still ... And can I just how how much I loved reading your review? Detailed reviews make my day, so thank you very much! :-D

Great update. I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt about Angel. Can't see where you are going with that? However, on past experience I will trust you .
Please update soon.

Author's Response: Yep, just trust me. There is a reason for it, I promise. Thanks for the review, and the faith in my writing! :-)

I really love your take on Dawn in this so often every writes her like a nightmare and forgets her insights and how she always fed Spikes hopes. To me this says it all “Maybe she wasn’t so unhappy there. Maybe someone was really nice to her. Like, really nice,” Dawn is thinking circles around everyone else in the house.

Author's Response: Poor Dawn. The BtVS writers gave her so much potential and then just sort of dropped her after early season six. I'm with you; she's a very insightful character, and she and Spike have such a wonderful dynamic. The scenes with them really were a pleasure to write. I'm glad to know you enjoyed reading them. Thank you! :-)

“She—she’s wearing this bracelet, and she won’t take it off. It looks really expensive.”

She wouldn’t take it off; he could have cried at that.

Lying bitch—

Does she still want me—?

Oh, God, could she still want—


This just grabs the heart!!!! I love it!!!


Author's Response: Thank you so much! I'm glad that scene spoke to you. :-D

((Because if you did, if you hurt her, I will crack open your head.))
Yep Angel is his same old self. I get a bad feeling on this........................


Author's Response: Your fears may not be unfounded. ;-)

I like Angel I just like him elsewhere and Willow are you on the black magic crack? I know she your best friend but at times you just wish your friends would lay off. Tara your woman is losing it step in a little.
Loved the Spike and Dawn friendship and the love scene was sweet.



Author's Response: I think your sentiments are the best Angel can hope for on a Spuffy site, lol. If he's not faced with overwhelming hatred, then he's doing well. But I'm right there with you. I like Angel fine, but I like him a whole lot better when he's in L.A. Thanks so much for your review! I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. :-)

I,m going to review more later. I´m at work right now, but as always just wanted to say that this is fantastic as usual.
I Loved the Dawn and Spike interaction. Very tender, and very informative for Spike. I hope he does something good with this information. Please update soon!!!! It can´t really go fast enough!!!!

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

Hope for William/Spike.. the bracelet.

Enjoying.

Author's Response: It's great to know that you are. Thank you. :-)

oooo interesting....mabey angel will be able to tell the others buffy has spikes scent lol ......

cant wait for the next chapter update....i'm loving it:)

Author's Response: I'm glad that you are. Thank you! :-D

It's getting better and better. Now, we are in familiar territory and, if you'll excuse the pun, you've gone straight for the jugular - because here comes Angel.

The Spike and Dawn scene was not only touching but very informative: she unwittingly revealed things about Buffy which made his heart yearn and his head seethe and it gave us an opportunity to see the Spike of now. Still a demon, living in a crypt but with a huge helping of empathy and humanity hiding beneath that sneer of leather. Would you believe it - the evil undead into a bit of self-harming. This soulless demon is hurting - both mentally and physically.

The Scoobies, of course, are on the periphery of all this angst yet still retain the right to interfere, judge, meddle, etc., and although Willow has a slight perception that all is not as it seems, for the most part her calling Angel is certainly an interference that will, if anything, bring both Spike and Buffy's hidden agenda out into the open. For sure, the oblivious actions of Angel, aka the L.A. Knight ("Angel Investigations - we help the helpless") will provoke reactions from both Buffy and Spike.

A front-row seat, please.

Author's Response: For the last three seasons of BtVS I had this odd love/hate relationship with the Scoobies. I know that they loved Buffy and only wanted what was best for her, but, like you said, they thought that it gave them the right to judge her, interfere with her life, and tell her what to do. And for some reason, she always let them. Some part of me would have loved for them all to have just shut up and minded their own business in this chapter, but if I had ... it wouldn't have been in character for them, would it? lol. Thanks so much for your review! :-)

Very good, I loved it. I can't wait for the next chapter and to see how the confrontation with Angel goes.

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

Damn Willow and her stupidity! You know, that was one major thing that always brassed me off about Buffy's so called friends...why would they ever think that a Slayer, fighter for the good and what not, be sent to a hell dimension for saving the world from evil? Idiots, the whole lot of them. Anyway, before I start ranting, great chapter and as always...looking forward to more. I really am eager to hear what Buffy has to finally say about her adventure, even if it is only to Dawn...or even herself. Spike would be better, of course. :) **grins wickedly**

Author's Response: That was the very same question I asked my hubby (then b/f) when "Bargaining" first aired. Why would they assume that the soul of a Slayer would end up in hell? She'd died saving the world! Makes me angry to this day, lol. Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter and thanks so much for taking the time to review it. :-)

It's at times like these that I REALLY dislike season 6 Willow. Seriously, it's rare that I will truly be angry at a character-- but the REASONING behind all of her behavior is pretty much a superiority complex that she really had no basis for in the first place! grr. I love Willow to death, but I miss old Willw. :( Season 2 and 3 Willow! 4 is pretty cool. 1 is just too sweet, she needs to grow up a bit! And 7..... ehhhhhhhh okay. :P Blah. CAN NOT WAIT FOR MORE! Even though Willow is driving me crazy I understand exactly why she's doing what she's doing, and it's beautifully problematic. :) Loving every chapter of this!

Author's Response: I couldn't agree with you more. Season six Willow was just an ego maniac, very grrr worthy. I'm glad you're enjoying the story despite the desire to throttle her (I had that desire while I was writing it, lol) and thanks so much for the review. :-)