Very interesting new take on the story. Excellent new plot with realism. I like I like a lot.

Author's Response: I glad you like it! I thought it had some basis for happening, and wanted to see if it would make a huge difference. Hint: it does. Thanks for commenting!

Ok, I'm really confused. First off, POV is written(in my opinion) in the first person for who is the speaker--in this case Spike. Secondly, I don't think Joyce would have invited Spike to stay. She did have moments of being strong willed, but those were few and far between. She would have never gone against Buffy when it came to her thoughts and treatment of Spike. Thirdly, totally random with Spike asking Buffy to marry him. I'm sorry to be harsh, it's just all of this really stuck in my mind as issues and made this difficult to read.

Author's Response: First person POV is a valid choice, but not the only one. I'm telling the story in "third person limited" which means that we don't get inside anybody's head but Spike's, and that we see what he sees. There are sites that allow you to search for first person POV, if that's what you are looking for. It's not the most common, but there is plenty of it out there. As to your third point, on the proposal, I admit that I was relying on the reader's familiarity with the source material to fill in that we had arrived at "Something Blue". Which is indeed totally random. The second point you make is where we must agree to disagree. If you cannot suspend your disbelief enough to allow Joyce to make this choice, then this isn't the story for you.