finally!I thought they'd never catch on!

very good read, thank you. dawn has forced buffy to seriously consider what dawn 'knows' to be the truth.

Wow! A huge step for Buffy to even admit the slightest suspicion of Xander. After all she's never had reason to doubt him in the past. They'll never be able to protect him completely.

yay Dawn saw the blood!
Atleast they are suspecting Xander now. I hope nobody gets to hurt Spike again.

And happy new year :)

Yay! I'm sure Xander will not stop trying but at least the girls are onto him now.

well at least they are starting to piece the puzzle together... even if its really really slow...

great chapter hun :D

Hot damn and hallelujah! Dawn is childish sometimes, but when it comes to seeing the bad and the good in people/demons, she's always been a good judge of character. She saw the good in Spike when everyone else only saw a monster, and she wanted Willow to get revenge on Warren when he shot Tara, human or not. Buffy's always thought that demon=bad, human=good, which I suppose may be necessary given her calling. But Dawn is able to see past that. Hopefully, she'll jump on the Xander band wagon and get Buffy to follow.

Yay!!!! You don't know how happy I am that Buffy and Dawn are realizing what is happening!
The story is moving along well now, keep up the great work!!
Excellent chapter!!

Great thank you dawn. So glad dawn and buffy are finally ready to look at xander as a suspect. Thank god dawn saw the blood. Maybe spike can truly start to heal now. of course i don't see xander backing off,there are always ways to get to him.

Great - the two sisters finally start figuring things out. Really liked the way Buffy let Spike knew that she'd figured out he'd been hurt, but didn't force him to tell her who.

I actually am impressed with Buffy's solution. I don't blame her for not wanting it to be Xander, but at least she's willing to admit the possibility.

Wonderful chapter. I'm so glad Dawn is perceptive enough to realize Xander is a threat. I can understand why she is trying to convince herself it was all a dream, but I think in her heart she knows better. Buffy also was being much more rational in terms of not blindly trusting her friends. I think once Angel decides to contact her she will realize just what evil Xander is capable of.

Once again, wonderful chapter! :)

I know that Buffy wants to believe in her friend but this is ridiculous. Buffy does not live that deeply in the land of denial. Another great chapter.

Looks like Miss Buffy is leaving Egypt.... Hopefully her eyes open completely before someone else gets seriously hurt.

Great update DoS!

Well I'm glad they've come up with a plan to minimize the chance that Xander can hurt Spike again, but I don't think this is going to work. It's like when a child is being abused by one parent, and the other says that they'll stick around and make sure the child is safe, but it never works. If Xander is determined to get to Spike, and clearly he is, he will find a way to make it happen. I can somewhat understand why they would be reluctant to think someone they love and trust could do that to Spike, but given the mounting evidence against Xander I am pissed that they are still considering even letting him be around. What happened to all that lust for vengance?

YAY!!!

man, i feel for both girls. neither one wants to face the fact that someone so close to them can do something so bad. but not only has the seed been planted its starting to take root and grow. xander's going to have to be more crafty. poor spike. will buffy allow angel to help him? doesn't she know sire blood can help more than slayer? need more.

Now that was very well played. A bit unexpected, and nota ton ofgriefy buffylike I'd expected. But right on charecter.

FINALLY the light dawns!

I'm SO glad Buffy is showing a modicum of sense for once!! Her blind faith in her friends has been her downfall more than once, both in canon and otherwise.

Nicely done! I'm eagerly awaiting the next installment!

They know but the stone wall of denial is still there. What is going to happen to make Buffy and Dawn break down that wall? I know that in the real world even friends and relatives of a murderer refuse to believe it..so in that sense your scenario is very realistic. But still this is an emotional roller ride and frustrating as all get out when a reader can see both sides. I'm loving it!

Yeah for Dawnie! Xander needs the hurt put on him. Great chapter as always.

Great that they admitted the possibility that Xander might be the one to have hurt Spike.

A blood stain will do it! Thanks for getting to that quickly, just hate for him to be in that much distress knowing that he wasn't safe in her home and now he can. Great work, DOS, thanks for the update. Keep 'em coming.

I don't know about you all, but I'm starving for Xander to get a smackdown. I think it's so cool that you aren't going the more predictable route of having Buffy be unbending in her opinion of one of her beloved Scoobies--I like that she's using that high-SAT-scoring brain of hers!

I can't believe after all that she still has any question whether Zander is involved! I guess it's just her affinity for that lovely river in Egypt! Thanks again for the update. Looking forward to the next installment!

great chapter, like always...and once again, please update soon. thanks so much.

GREAT CHAPTER!!!!!! Finally some suspision in Xanders direction with SOME progress!!!

I am so excited for the next chapter!!!!!

Oh, thank you! That's a relief. I was hoping you wouldn't drag out the obliviousness.

Well, at least she'll try to admit the possibility.