great chapter

go joyce! I hope she can knock sense into buffy

Good Buffy and Dawn scene. How much longer will it take for Buffy to figure out how to fix things? Since it's you JL, only 30-40 more chapters.

dawn seems to have chipped away at buffy's woe is me attitude. perhaps joyce can finish the job. thanks for the fine read.

Thank you, its nice to know Buffy does feel guilt and pain over her actions and not just the bond, its good to see her owning up to it. Great update!

Well, I am glad that Joyce is going to help, but it does seem that Buffy is on the verge of a revelation, an epiphany even. I hope she sticks with that train of thought adn helps get things back on track for her and Spike.

oh boy.

So Buffy's copping on to herself at last! Surely Giles deserves some blame for the mess!

Ok that is a ggod thing Buffy is thinking of it from Spike's POV

great chapter. I meen totally amazing. I loved how dawn was starting to get it and buffy was getting a clue. but now she is going to have to go through it again with joyce. In my last review i said something about joyce not understanding buffy. I didnt really meen this situation particularry i ment in general. I know, and hey even buffy knows, that her thinking is wrong but it is hard to forget all that you have been taught when that is WHAT you have been taught. she was taught to see in black and white and it is really hard to see all the colours in between. She honestly has this believe that demon=bad and human=good. and it will be incredibly hard for her to be able to explain that thought patteren to her mum.
again great chapter and will be waiting for the next update

Yes...Buffy really has to let go of her pride. I don't think this is a possession by an outside force, as much as it's the Slayer acting on pure emotion. Every time the Psycho has come out, it's been brought out by the beginnings of a negative emotion in Buffy - jealousy, insecurity, defensive anger. She does only make it worse by fighting the claim all the time - it's a side effect of that which is making itself known, since she's been trying to go against everything a claim is supposed to be, supposed to mean.

And they have no idea how bereft Buffy and Spike will both feel if/when the claim is broken - the loss will be like a death. But, I think the only way to "break" the bond is to have another person come in and challenge Buffy for the right to the claim, and win, transferring Spike's ownership to the new person.

And Buffy has to at least admit she felt attraction for him a long time ago. They haven't had the time for her to develop anything else from before then, but attraction has always been there in the simplest way. 'Cause he's hot.

Can't wait to hear Joyce's take. She's the only one that can look at the big picture once she has both sides of the story. The only person loving both people involved in the claim and thinking with an adult perspective. I wonder if she's already forming a specific plan??

eat them, eat them!!

So glad to finally see Buffy beginning to get a grip on herself. Looks like she's gonna take that first step and not only accept responsbility for what's she's done since the bonding was initiated, but also for the way she's treated Spike in the past. Although Buffy really deserved to get a good tongue lashing from Dawn, I was afraid that if that happened she was gonna end up physically hurting Dawn. Glad you didn't go in that direction. Now that Joyce has arrived on the scene, maybe Buffy will come clean to Giles so he can help. Although, I'm guessing that the only way to make the bond equitable for both Buffy and Spike is for Buffy to reciprocate by accepting Spike's claim. In any case, this was a lovely chapter and I can't wait for the next installment!

Again I say "Go Joyce" Great update.

I really do like to see both Dawn and Joyce written as strong and compassionate characters. So often other aspects of their personality are stressed and these traits are overlooked. Good job.

Ouch, first dragged over the coals by her little sister, and now for the smackdown from her mom. Good for them.

Ewwwwwwww, Buffy's in trouble, Buffy's in trouble... God, I can't wait to see how this one ends!