I didn't read this the first time around for some reason, but now that it was recced at buffyversetop5 I stopped by, and for once ;-) I can only say "hats off." Excellent piece.

The alley thing is something I've been meaning to write about myself but never got around to; a lot of crucial stuff takes place in alleys on both BtVS and AtS ("You died in an alley, remember?" - Darla, "Lullaby") The alley as the gateway between possible worlds, the dark place in between; all roads lead to Rome (or Scotland, I ssuppose), but if you want to change the road you're on you're going to have to go through that alley to get from one road to the next... birth, rebirth, unbirth.