29

Rose got up the next morning as usual. Took her shower, as usual. Got dressed, also as usual. Left her bedroom and saw Spike sitting there waiting for her. Definitely not usual.

Spike was frowning. "Why aren't you wearing some of your new stuff, pet? You've got several outfits, can't wear 'em all tonight."

Rose's eyes grew round. "I don't think they're exactly.., suitable for work, Spike."

"Bull," Spike said derisively. "I've seen Harm flouncing round the office in things that would make your stuff look downright conservative." He looked at the clock. "You've got time to change, luv. I want to see the effect you have on all those suits when you're wearing something pretty."

She looked at him in exasperation, and Spike stared coolly back at her. "You're awfully bossy," she said sulkily, going back into the bedroom, and not exactly slamming the door shut, but using enough force to get the point across that she was less than pleased.

A while later, she re-emerged, wearing a skin-tight knit shirt of a vibrant yellow that brought out the red tones in her hair, teamed up with a black skirt with flowers the same yellow as her shirt. Spike gave a wolf whistle. Rose ignored him, and began gathering up her things.

"Not even eating breakfast?" Spike inquired, hovering close to her. He didn't like being ignored in general, and he really didn't like being ignored by her.

"I don't have enough time," she snapped. "Thanks to getting dressed twice, I now have a mile and a half to walk in about thirty minutes. If I don't get held up waiting for traffic too often, I might just make it."

Spike smirked. "No hurry, precious. Your transportation is for the round trip. Car won't even be here for about ten minutes."

She spun around to look at him. "I understood that I was just being driven home. For reasons of safety. Surely it's not a problem if I walk to work?"

"Vampires aren't the only nasties out there, sweetheart," Spike observed. "And there are plenty of them that go out in broad daylight." He looked her up and down carefully. "Not to mention having to fend off passes from all the lonely males you meet along the way."

Rose glanced out the front window, and saw the familiar Wolfram and Hart car. She started towards the door, making sure to shut it in Spike's face as he trailed after her. Spike, unfazed, walked right on through.

"Why are you in such a snit, pet?" He asked, catching her up. "Just because a man shows a little appreciation for a pretty lady who's dressed the part?"

"Lady?" Rose interjected. "Not very ladylike. The skirt's too short." She allowed the chauffeur to hand her into the car. Spike went right through him, and flopped down on the seat beside her.

"That skirt isn't short at all," he argued. "It goes past your knees."

"Who wants to see knees anyway?" she shot back. "Not exactly the most attractive part of the human body."

"It's not the knees, luv," Spike answered, giving her an impish look. "It's what's above them. Gets a fella's imagination going. I'll bet you have half a dozen guys ask you out today."

"No bet," Rose said firmly. "That way you won't feel compelled to cheat."

"I wouldn't cheat," he protested. "I'll admit, I'm not above a bit of cheating upon occasion, depending on what's at stake, but I couldn't treat you like that."

Her features softened a bit. "How do you always manage to talk your way around me?"

"It's a gift, luv." Spike leaned back and put his arm up behind her, a poor substitute for being able to put it around her. At least she'd stopped arguing with him. For a few tense minutes he'd been afraid that she might cancel their date.

&&&&&

Wesley walked into Rose's office with another stack of material to be translated. His normal procedure would have been to just lay the papers on the corner of her desk and leave, sometimes with a polite greeting, sometimes not. Today though., he just barely stopped himself from whistling, which would have been more than somewhat unprofessional.

"That's a new look for you, isn't it Rose?" Wesley couldn't believe what a difference it made in her appearance. He'd never noticed how pretty she was before.

"It was Spike's idea," she explained, as if it were something to be ashamed of.

"Spike?" Wes' eyebrows almost disappeared into his hairline. "I didn't realize that the two of you had been spending so much time together."

"I guess he kind of likes me," she admitted shyly. "He's been hanging around me a bit. And last night he insisted on taking me shopping so that I'd have something nice to wear on our date tonight."

The Watcher's eyes bugged a little. "You have a date? With Spike?" He sat down on her desk, not sure he could trust his legs to support him any longer.

"Yes, sir," Rose said primly. "And if you don't mind my saying so, I'm not getting any work done this way."

Wesley grinned at the sudden drop in temperature. So the lady had nothing more to say. And she did have a point about getting work done. All the reorganization and the going over of translations that he had ordered had given him quite a backlog of work himself. Then he realized that he still had a report in his hands that was destined for Angel's office.

"Could you do me a favor and run this up to Angel?" he asked his assistant. "I really ought to be getting on to my own work."

"Certainly, sir." Rose got up with a sigh. "I feel like I need to stretch my legs since I'm not walking to and from work anymore."

"In that case I'll remember you when I have any interoffice errands to be run," Wesley said. "I find wrestling with the paperwork exercise enough."

&&&&&&&

"So, what's on the itinerary for tonight?" Angel asked.

"Well, first, I thought a movie," Spike said. "Something funny. She's way too serious. Hardly ever smiles, and I don't think I've ever heard her laugh." Then, he started fidgeting, as if embarrassed. "And after that, I thought maybe we could go to a karaoke bar." He carefully avoided Angel's eyes.

"Karaoke?" Angel echoed. "Why on earth would you..,"

"Because," Spike interrupted. "As you pointed out, there isn't a whole lot I can do with her. But I've still got a voice. Plus, it might be kind of fun, seeing all those blokes ogling her and knowing she's with me."

Angel rolled his eyes. "Anything else?"

"Well, I was kind of thinking of a moonlit walk on the beach," Spike replied. "I thought that would do for a first date."

"Then you're planning on taking her out again?" Angel asked. "Might I remind you that I'm doing this out of the goodness of my heart. Don't push it, Spike."

"Well, it's not like I want a bloody chaperone," Spike sulked. "Believe me, I'd be more than happy to dispense with your services, grandsire. Have you got any idea how much pride I've had to swallow with this arrangement? Do you think I'd put myself through this for a one-off?"

Angel nodded thoughtfully. "We'll see. First we'd better see how tonight goes before you make future plans. Who knows? You just might piss her off so badly that she won't want to go out with you again." He ventured half a grin. "Pissing people off being one of your more obvious talents."

Spike flipped Angel the bird. "Well, she was right narked at me this morning, and didn't cancel. So I'll just keep my hopes up, if you don't mind." He thought about it a bit. "I'll keep my hopes up even if you do mind."

&&&&&&

Harmony looked up from her desk and saw that Rose person approaching. She bent down over her work again. In Harmony's mind, if anyone was to receive preferential treatment, it ought to be her, and it irritated her no end when someone else got it instead. Harmony had never gotten past the stage of thinking that the universe revolved around her. And she really didn't like Rose.

"Excuse me, Harmony," Rose stopped at the ditzy blonde vampire's desk. "Is Angel free right now? Wesley asked me to deliver this report to him."

"Reduced to running errands, are we?" Harmony felt smug. The smugness got a check when she saw how Rose was dressed. Not her usual old maid stuff. "Got a date tonight or something?" Yeah right, like that was possible.

"Actually, I do," Rose admitted, blushing. "Listen, I'd love to stick around and chat, Harmony, but I have tons of work to get done. Can I get this in to Angel?"

"Well," huffed Harmony. "If you're going to be that way about it, go right on in. See if I care."

"What did I do?" Rose wondered aloud. But Harmony pretended not to hear her. Rose shrugged and went in to Angel's office.

&&&&&&&

When Spike saw who came in, he did a fast disappearing act. He hadn't given her any details on their date, like the fact that Angel was coming along. He figured that if he kept his distance until they picked her up, then he wouldn't be put in a position to answer questions that he didn't want to answer.

"Hello, Rose." Angel stood automatically, a reflex action from generations spent when a gentleman stood when a lady entered the room. Then, he noticed what she was wearing, and gave a low whistle. "You look very nice."

"Thank you." The blush had almost died away just to spring back to life again. "Wesley sent this for you." She handed him the report.

Angel took the report and flipped through it quickly. "Damn," he muttered. "I was hoping Wes had figured out what kind of creature was killing people and taking only things like tonsils and appendixes from the bodies."

"Amalyar demon," Rose said promptly. "They're pretty stupid. They don't really mean any harm, that's why they take body parts that aren't really used. Unfortunately, it never occurs to them that in taking the parts they do, they end up killing their victims anyway."

"You're sure?" Angel looked up at her in amazement. "How did you happen to know that, and Wesley didn't?"

Rose shrugged, trying to hide the sudden feeling of panic that assaulted her. She should have kept her mouth shut, she was going to end up giving herself away. "I'm sure Wesley has run across the reference before," she replied. "I just happened to remember it, and he didn't."

Angel gave an inarticulate grunt. "Would you happen to remember how to kill one of these things?"

Rose pretended to think it over, even though the answer was at the tip of her tongue. "Killing them isn't the hard part," she informed her boss. "They're actually pretty easy to kill. No harder than a human. The hard part is catching them. They're cowards, but they're very, very fast."

"How fast?" Angel demanded. "Faster than, say, a vampire?"

"I'm not really sure," Rose admitted. "It would probably be easiest if you caught one stalking a victim. They're very single-minded. Not enough room in their heads for more than one thought at a time."

"Are they aquatic?" Angel asked. "All the bodies have been found within a half a mile of the ocean."

"Right on the mark," Rose congratulated him. "I guess that's why you're the boss."

"Don't get smart, young lady," Angel warned. "I get more than my share of that from Spike."

"Yes, sir." Rose smiled at the incongruous thought of being compared to Spike. "May I leave now? I'd like to try to leave a bare spot on my desk before I leave tonight."

"Sure, sure," Angel agreed absently. "And if you see your department head, send him up to me, will you?"

&&&&&&

Rose got to her office just as Wesley was dumping off another pile of paper. "Angel said that he wants to see you," Rose told him.

"He probably wants to ask questions that I don't have answers to," Wesley grumbled. "I haven't been able to figure out what has been killing those people, and I told him I'd need more time for the research."

"You mean about the Amalyar demon?" Rose asked. Wesley's head shot up.

"Well, I'll be damned," he said softly. "I haven't heard about one of those in years." He thought about it for a moment. "It certainly does fit the profile. At least now, I know where to do my looking. You're a treasure, Rose." He left, mumbling to himself.

'You're a treasure, Rose'. Spike mimicked the Watcher's voice in the privacy of his own head, as he stood invisibly by, watching. Bloody stupid git.

&&&&&&

The day felt like it was over before it had even started. Rose thought it a little odd that she hadn't seen Spike since she came in to work. She got home and got ready for her date. She then spent the rest of her time pacing the floor waiting for Spike to show up. This was ridiculous. It wasn't as if the relationship could go anywhere. Even if she proved her point to the rest of her peers, once Spike had his body, she'd be gone. And if she didn't prove her point, she'd still have to go back. So why was she all on tenterhooks as though the date actually meant something?

When Spike finally did arrive, Rose noticed that he seemed nearly as on edge as she was. It might be her very first date, but surely he had been through all this before. He greeted her politely, but seemed terribly fidgety.

"Is something wrong, Spike?" she asked.

"Something I ought to have told you," he admitted. "Listen, luv, it's not going to be just you and me tonight. Angel's coming along."

"Angel?" She didn't know whether to be shocked or amused. "Maybe I misunderstood when..,"

"No," he interrupted. "It's just that, well, there are certain difficulties involved with me being an insubstantial spook. The poncey git is just along to drive and such. I guess I should have told you earlier."

"Are you always so irritable where Angel is involved?" she asked.

"Mostly." Spike gestured her through the door, frustrated because he couldn't open it for her. "But then, we go back a ways. And we've always irritated the hell out of each other. 'Spose it's habit as much as anything."

When Rose got into the car, she saw a small package tied with a dainty white bow. She eyed it cautiously.

"Open it," Spike urged, grinning. He had had a hard enough time pestering Angel to stop and get her a little gift.

She opened it and found a bottle of perfume. "It's got my name on it," she said wonderingly.

Spike laughed. "That's the scent, silly girl. Rose perfume for Rose. Try some on, luv."

She was about to remark that it seemed like kind of a waste when Spike wouldn't be able to smell it, and then realized that such an observation would probably hurt his feelings. She dabbed a little on, and found it smelled delightful. It was kind of nice to share a name with something that smelled this good.

"It's very nice," she said. "Thank you, Spike."

&&&&&&&

The evening went fairly well. Rose found the movie more amusing than Spike did, but he didn't care about the movie, he just liked hearing her laugh. And they'd actually gotten a standing ovation at the karaoke bar, much to Spike's amusement and Rose's embarrassment. Then, they finally made it to the beach.

Angel stayed in the car. He knew it had been his idea, but it had felt really awkward, being a third person on a date. But, he had to admit, to himself at least, that deep down, he had a soft spot for his smart-assed companion, and after what he had been through lately, he deserved what little fun he could have.

Spike and Rose walked up the beach, side by side. Spike was beginning to regret having added this to the agenda. For a romantic walk along the beach, a bloke ought to be able to put his arm around his girl, or at the very least, hold her hand. But Rose seemed to be enjoying herself, so he guessed it was worth it. He was so lost in his own thoughts, that he wasn't paying attention, until Rose whispered urgently to him.

"Spike?" He didn't seem to be paying attention. "Spike!" It was as loud as she could get and still keep it to a whisper.

"What is it, pet?" She looked a little agitated, though he couldn't figure out for the life of him why.

"See that big rock about twenty yards ahead?" she murmured.

"And what is so special about the rock?" he asked, humoring her.

"I saw something peeking out from behind it," she answered. "I think it might be the Amalyar demon." They had been moving at a fairly leisurely pace, but Rose slowed it down.

"I was in Angel's office when Wesley brought in the details," Spike informed her. "I'm pretty sure that he said they only attack people who are alone. You aren't alone, luv."

"Either he or you missed the part about them being nearly blind," she said. "They hunt by scent, mainly. And you don't have one, so it will think I am alone."

"Shit," Spike said with feeling. "Don't suppose there's any chance you can outrun it?"

"Not a chance," she whispered. "Since it doesn't know you're here, why don't you pop back and fetch Angel? I'll try not to get killed while you're gone."

"You'd better not," said Spike, as he disappeared.