excellent use of joyce. something they failed to do in canon. very good read, thank you.

Thank you for the update.

Oh, I just love your Buffy.
Joyce is great, too, but lots of peple write a kind, caring, Spike-positive Joyce.  Your Buffy is being so ... mature about all of this, and trying so hard to be what Spike needs.  She is still in High school at this point, right?  Before so much bad happened that she erected those huge walls around her ehart. 
At any rate, I'm enjoying!!

I wonder what Angel would have been like if he'd had this kind of support?  Probably not much different, considering he wasn't really a humanitarian before he was turned.  But that begs the question, why did he really care so much when he got his soul back?  Maybe because he was soooo evil without it? 

Spike was never as truly evil as Angelus, though he likes to brag about being evil - all part of the male chest-puffing bravado, perhaps! :)  No, he was a much gentler soul, which is why he feels it so deeply.  His rational, academic side is helping him understand that he/his soul is not responsible for the killings, but his heart says otherwise.  He's got the best support he could possibly ask for, though. 

Great writing.  I think it's wonderful that you are using Joyce so much in this fic.  Sometimes I think she was underused on the show.

Yup...she's more worried about Spike leaving than upset over Angel hitting the road....it's already started, more than started actually.

Love Joyce helping out and genuinely caring.  I think she already sees the handwriting on the wall where these two are concerned.

Poor Spike it would be hard. ... rather like a cattle rancher suddenly trying to become Vegan and run a cow sanctuary!  Every once in a while the lure of the sirloin would hit and the internal battle would begin! LOL...NOT as easy a transition as one would think actually...cows can be far more lovable than some people and harder to kill for it.

Really love the story progress, the relationship is very realistic and moving at a proper pace.

Lovely banners (both of them).
Kathleen

NICE - another update - I really like your treatment for Joyce - like the way you used Spike's reaction to their last patrol as way of bringing back to focus his reactions to being en-souled.