"That why you went off the deep end?"

"Part of it. If that's why she stayed... I told her to go underground, to go somewhere safe. If she stayed because of me, because of us, because she might have been... then I'm the one responsible for what happened."

"Right. Because the rest of us don't have free will." Gunn lets out a mirthless laugh. "I'm remembering why it is I dumped your ass."

"I wasn't talking about us, Gunn." He sets the mutilated bread back on the plate, and starts in on the next piece. "I'm not sure why you're even bringing it up. Or why you're still here, for that matter."

"Maybe because I still love you."

That isn't the response he was expecting. Maybe the ulterior motives weren't what he thought they were. When he looks up, he realizes Gunn looks just as shocked at what he said as Wesley was to hear it.

He sighs and stops his fidgeting. "It's a bad habit. Loving me, that is. It has an alarming tendency towards fatality."

Plei, "Alone"? I think your spellchecker hates you.

Possible. Where is it? It's more possible I just typed it wrong.

Also, Steph, I've been thinking about your story. I was wondering about Buffy's voice. It's pretty good for this season, but, this season she's been kind of generic. My eyes glaze over when she starts lecturing. I really liked the point where she got harsh with the SiT because it didn't read monotone. However, I'm thinking specifically of the point where she's telling Faith that they've tried to kill one another in the past but now they have to work together. Faith has already said she's come to help, so Buffy is doing her boring speechifying thing again, at least that's how it read to me.

D'oh! Found it, Connie. Thanks.

Alone. But it's not the same, not really. Alone was turned. Lilah wasn't. Alone was good, or at least fighting for it. Lilah wasn't. Alone was worth grieving over. Was Lilah?"

I think this is what Connie meant.

I liked this a lot, schmoop and all.

Oh, yeah, I see the words "Plei" and "Wes/Gunn" and I got to a very happy place.

I'm pulling together "Desperate Times" for distribution, I'm very happy.

Alonna has been added to my spellcheck, which is what I get for writing and watching Alias at the same time.

Ple, wow, I like that. You always do a good Wes, but I don't recall reading your Gunn before, and he's SO Gunn.

I'm wondering about the word "bedlamite". That sounded less Wes to me.

There, the whole thing's up. Career Change 4: Desperate Times.

[link]

And when Angelfire gets off its duff I can update my website