browsingviewer: Thanks! I wouldn’t worry too much about Buffy forgiving Willow, something tells me that Willow and Tara will get together no matter what Buffy thinks.
pipsberg: Thanks so much, and I sure will try to keep the updates coming. It’s not too hard though because I love writing a little too much for my own good!
TemperedCynic: Willow and Tara do have a different approach to the way they feel about each other which will affect the way that they approach one another. And working closely with Willow and Tara is always a good thing.
blue and green wings: Yup, its in the open to everyone but themselves.
Faith is a bit of an enigma, while its true that she can be seen very much as Buffy’s sidekick she is by no means this limited. She says whatever she thinks, she’s blunt so in this regard I think it may help Tara realise how she feels about Willow.
russ: Tad is essentially taking a Xander/Buffy type role in that he is Willow’s confidant, a anchor. I wanted a more likeable character than either of those two…so out came Tad. And yes, bad smoking!
Willow is a bit of a mess yes, but this is pre-Tara Willow, and I always like to show the way Tara is able to affect Willow when they finally come together. Its all about contrasts.
Buffy can garner a little sympathy while Faith on the other hand is just Faith, how she would’ve been written if the show was an R16. I’ve always liked Faith for reasons which I can never fully fathom, probably because she’s the total opposite of me. She’s fun to write because with her you can just let go, knowing that the character really has no limits to what she will do.
I’m looking forward to showing Tara in action, hopefully it will fully round out the missing parts of her personality so far.
Tempest Duer: I’m glad you’re liking Tad, he’s become one of the most important secondary characters simply because I like him so much. And yes, Faith is definitely right about that…although Tara won’t admit it to herself yet.
sam7777: You’ve summed Willow and Tara up nicely, although this is AU, they’re still essentially the same characters. It’s a challenge having them react realistically to the situations around them. And yes, much worrying to be done about one another…which will probably lead to a lot of comfort-snuggles.
barnabasvamp: Hee hee, both are much too terrified of the other to admit the way that they feel. I wanted to get their feelings out at least a little and this seemed to be the best way to do it, and give a little backstory in regard to issues like Teddy and Dawn.
Much feeling better required on both Willow and Tara’s part – there’s good medicine for that.
Grimlock72: I’m not sure if Faith is responding to exactly what Buffy has told her. She doesn’t agree with Buffy’s interpretation of the accident, and other information about Willow is drawn from her own knowledge and the interpretations that she makes herself. Nor do I think that Faith dislikes Willow, she told Tara to stay away from Willow because she doesn’t want Tara to get caught up in the feud between Willow and Buffy. She did hit her in an earlier chapter but it was nothing personal.
Yup, Tad is my neutral character, he has nothing to do with any feuds and he gets along with everyone. And yes, XO (executive officer) is a very high-ranking officer so he’s no pushover either.
Despite Faith’s attitude, I would still call her and Tara friends. She makes Tara uncomfortable just because they are so different. That’s just the way she is. However, because Faith’s taunting was to do with Willow…and that it was very much true…means that Tara feels it all the more.
Blame the aliens, that’s a good one and then at least she can put her anger to good use in killing them all. Buffy is very annoying at this stage but eventually she’ll realise that she has to deal. We can’t have a whole fic with Buffy skulking around being angry at everyone because this is Willow and Tara’s story, everyone else is just backdrop.
If you've read the WYTN? thread then you'll know I'm going away for five days over Easter. I was hoping to get Chapter Nine up before I left but it's turning into a chapter of epic proportions.
Happy Easter kittens, update when I get back...unless I drown in my kayak of course.
Alcy
"You know Hobbes, some days even my lucky rocketship underpants don't help." Calvin and Hobbes
! 
. If he had thought Willow's threat, about her telling everyone they slept together, through a bit more he would have realized that would have back-fired on Willow (in regard to Tara) far worse 
.
. I don't care if Buffy blames the entire world for Dawn's dead for as long as she lives, just as long as she doesn't ruin other people's lives because of it.
Most happy to hear that you survived the evil waters 
but sorry you were ill.
I’m way beyond hooked on this baby! 
Keep up the great work.