I'm glad the twist at the end surprised you – in a way, the baby does heal Buffy (it gets all the bad out!), but the aftermath can't possibly have sprinkles and rainbows. And I also wanted the baby to be a bit tragic, too – it was just what its parents made it (hence the title of the fic :-D).

Is Spike beyond hope? I think it depends on how you take the word "home" in the last sentence. I have my own thoughts about what Spike would do, but I wanted to leave it open-ended.

Thank you so much for such in-depth, thoughtful reviews! I always get a big grin reading them.