wow...girl, that was incredible..i'm taking deep breaths now, trying to recover from the tension and the deep, raw emotion of that chapter...it's heart-breaking and intense and beautiful...you write both of their feelings so well, so realistically...i just want to take spike in my arms...it's painful to see him so broken, afraid and confused....at least buffy does seem to be doing the best she can at trying to convince him that he's relatively safe with her...i'm already dying for your next update...how often do you update, anyway? :) just so i know how long i have to wait :P great job on this chappie, and whole story so far, love :)