could i answer?

Considering I know that you don't think Buffy loved Spike, I think that would be missing the point of the whole forum, and this is specifically for moments that Spuffy fans think it showed that Buffy loved Spike.

Well, you certainly took the whole of seven and did an ace job at sorting through the points (Deb - if you're reading this, right context?). I think you hit the proverbal nails squarely (even though they are rounded!) on the head. I'd like to expand and add to your season seven dossier Touched. Almost the whole as an episode but in particular the 'just hold me' scene and then follow that up with the next day and the entire "Let's be heroes" scene at Revello. I know many, many people will say that Touched was just based on the need for a connnection with somebody before what could very well be your last night on Earth but I like to coat it with Spuffy goodness and label it as the closest we could get to an "I love you" scene at that point in time. With everything they have been through and coupled with Spike's fear of hurting/pushing her away again, we weren't going to get that scene unless somebody was going to die or go to the big dust pan in the sky. Only by having Spike's sacrifice did we get that.

Buffy has been burned so often that saying "I love you" to anyone is a gigantic step for her. I believe that Buffy was mainly confused throughout but always(not always, always but you get my drift) had feelings for him that evolved to love and only when the possibility that she wasn't going to live, that the last apocolapyse was here, did she open up alittle and then seeing that it was her last chance she told him. Buffy, I believe, wouldn't lie about that but say something else. She could have just said she was proud of him. That's something Spike longs for - her love and her approval. In season 5 we go as far as Buffy saying the words are hard for her to say and they aren't given lightly but in Chosen either Buffy is an excellent liar or she's broken through her emotional barriers just in time.

In response to the theory that Buffy just told Spike she loved him because he was going to dust - when Riley was in serious need of medical attention we don't have an admission of love. We have supportive-I'll drag you to the hospital-girlfriend, but not an admission of love. I do not contest the Bangel love in season 2 (or 3 for that matter) so I won't comment on that issue.

Also, for season seven, while there is no dialogue at all, in Chosen we have one small little scene of Buffy coming down the stair, Spike standing up and going to her and then it just fades to black. It's pure conjecture but I like to think of this and all of the scenes like it post Seeing Red as Spuffy love moments. We're past the bickering, we tear away at the facade of enemies and we just are. It's moments like these that are pure Spuffy love, raw and emotional.

Going back into season 6 the main point that I like to focus on is (and I have to bring this up), the breakup. She refers to him as William which I feel is her way to humanize him. This is Buffy seeing Spike not as a vampire or the Slayers of Slayers (which is a wonderful title for a long awaited Spinoff! Joss, are you reading? No, okay. Back to Dollhouse with you), back to point - Spike is William to her in that scene. The scene also plays in striking similarity to the Bangel breakup in the way they shot it with Buffy walking out of frame and oh-so-symbolicly into the light. It may not be proof of love, but it's proof of seeing past the label of vampire where Spike is concerning, and for Buffy that is a big step after the Angelus snafu.

Most of the Spuffy love is shown from Spike's POV because he is more open to the idea. He hasn't be hurt as much as quickly (Cec stung but Dru lasted a good long while, also compared to Angelus, not much could hurt as badly) but I think that if you look at Buffy's reactions you see that she isn't as adverse as in the beginning. Spuffy is an evolution from hatred to respect, to lust and comfort, and finally to support and love. Hell's Bells is a episode where Buffy admits to feeling the sting from seeing Spike with somebody else and his instant response is to say he is sorry. You can't pinpoint a moment - you can bring them all up but Spuffy is a journey, not a marked trail.

You can trace small moments back and probably - wtih those magical Spuffy colored glasses of ours - find things since the beginning but I feel that Nika hits the main points.

Wow, that was a great post Arabella. I agree with mostly everything you just said.

Thanks Nika :D I just expanded on your views. We seem to be in sync. Wonderful forum by the way

you missed out the facial expression in Showtime, you dont look at someone like that if its not love lol