Then why do you worry about what you must make up to him?
[ She already thinks she knows the answer to that. Guilt isn’t predicated on a person’s anger. Spike’s the one punishing himself. ]
Your feelings are what matter. You should follow them, and then you will not regret what you do or do not do. In the end you must answer to yourself, no other.
[ his feelings. people kept saying that. before this place, though? no one had cared about spike's feelings. it's not a criticism of the people he'd surrounded himself with; he still loved them. but it's true: they didn't care. and maybe that's why he's so baffled by it now. ]
He will count on you. That is only natural in your position.
[ She tries. She wouldn’t call herself any expert in relationships,
not at all. In fact the idea of them makes her uncomfortable. Still, where
others are concerned, she would counsel them to follow their hearts, and be
concerned with nothing else. ]
[ Not while he was on the bridge, she thinks, but she doesn't say it. He feels guilty enough for that. ]
We do not always protect, just because someone is weak. Sometimes we protect even those who like it little, because we care for them. Sometimes, even when it is someone we should not think of at all.
[ She pauses, just briefly, but it's a hesitation all the same. She hasn't spoken of this to anyone, least of all to her people here. They would not approve. They had not, at home, yet it is still the truth and she won't deny it. ]
I have.
Sometimes there is a choice to be made, a difference between what the heart knows to be right, and the strict order of duty. It is not always possible, to do both. Such a choice was not long ago before me.
I chose the heart, and would again, should the choice be mine once more.
[ She smiles at that. Perhaps she'd tell him. She's never hinted at it to anyone else, knowing the disapproval it would send her way from people who don't even really know her.
For now, she only sounds curious. ]
And does it? Lead you in distinct, separate directions?
voice.
[ and that might be the worst part. ]
voice.
[ She already thinks she knows the answer to that. Guilt isn’t predicated on a person’s anger. Spike’s the one punishing himself. ]
Your feelings are what matter. You should follow them, and then you will not regret what you do or do not do. In the end you must answer to yourself, no other.
voice.
There's a first time for everything, I guess.
Re: voice.
[ She pauses, surprised by that comment. ]
A first time to follow your feelings, or a first time to have them? [ The latter might explain some of his apparent discomfort with all of this. ]
voice.
voice.
voice.
voice.
No harm came to him, Spike. The next time there is trouble, you will be there to ensure it yourself.
Re: voice.
Re: voice.
He will count on you. That is only natural in your position.
[ She tries. She wouldn’t call herself any expert in relationships, not at all. In fact the idea of them makes her uncomfortable. Still, where others are concerned, she would counsel them to follow their hearts, and be concerned with nothing else. ]
voice.
voice.
[ Sorry, Spike, but your comfort zones are not in her mind right now. That’s the word that makes sense to her; that’s the word she’s using. ]
Thus you are bound to him. It is not unreasonable, to wish to protect him.
Re: voice.
Didn't say it was unreasonable, did I? But he can take care of himself.
voice.
We do not always protect, just because someone is weak. Sometimes we protect even those who like it little, because we care for them. Sometimes, even when it is someone we should not think of at all.
voice.
You have some firsthand experience with this?
voice.
I have.
Sometimes there is a choice to be made, a difference between what the heart knows to be right, and the strict order of duty. It is not always possible, to do both. Such a choice was not long ago before me.
I chose the heart, and would again, should the choice be mine once more.
voice.
and it's peter. ]
One day I'm going to get you to tell me that story in full.
voice.
For now, she only sounds curious. ]
And does it? Lead you in distinct, separate directions?
voice.
Thanks, luv. I mean it.
voice.
voice.