Simply describing this story as a rewrite of "The Body" just with Spike thrown into the mix would be damning it with faint praise.
This story is stunning; so beautifully well-written and so utterly heart-breaking. Buffy's reflections, thoughts and captured emotions are so incredibly realistic and believable that it will hit home for anyone who has lost a loved one. It feels so real, and the insight is impressive.
It's no less impressive when you get to the author's note at the end, and see that the author wrote this story in response to the death of their father.
What's truly brilliant is that Spike has not been incorporated into this fic just for the sake of a pairing; he is intricately woven throughout, so natural and fluid. His interactions with both Buffy and Dawn are wonderful, and his grief for Joyce is heart-wrenching. It's such a shame that he was left out of the episode in canon, and this fic perfectly fixes it without feeling like a Fix-It Fic.
And Buffy realizing that Spike loves her was so simple and organic. This is how it should have happened on the show, without the screeching, preachy mess that was "Crush".
This is a oneshot that is beautifully worded and touching, and hands down the best I have ever read.
FanficRecs Tissue Warning
Simply describing this story as a rewrite of "The Body" just with Spike thrown into the mix would be damning it with faint praise.
This story is stunning; so beautifully well-written and so utterly heart-breaking. Buffy's reflections, thoughts and captured emotions are so incredibly realistic and believable that it will hit home for anyone who has lost a loved one. It feels so real, and the insight is impressive.
It's no less impressive when you get to the author's note at the end, and see that the author wrote this story in response to the death of their father.
What's truly brilliant is that Spike has not been incorporated into this fic just for the sake of a pairing; he is intricately woven throughout, so natural and fluid. His interactions with both Buffy and Dawn are wonderful, and his grief for Joyce is heart-wrenching. It's such a shame that he was left out of the episode in canon, and this fic perfectly fixes it without feeling like a Fix-It Fic.
And Buffy realizing that Spike loves her was so simple and organic. This is how it should have happened on the show, without the screeching, preachy mess that was "Crush".
This is a oneshot that is beautifully worded and touching, and hands down the best I have ever read.