34

In the blink of an eye, Spike was back at the car, where Angel sat with his head back, either asleep, or nearly so.

"Angel!" Spike said urgently. Not a twitch. He spared a glance up the beach to Rose. She had turned around and started back, but he could clearly see the demon stalking her now.

"Angel!" This time he shouted right in the big pouf's ear. Angel came so abruptly awake that he nearly brained himself on the steering wheel.

"What did you do that for?" Angel groused. "And where's Rose?" Before he could go on, Spike pointed.

"Seems we accidentally flushed out a demon who thinks Rose might make a tasty snack," Spike informed him softly. "I hope you've got something lethal along with."

Angel was out of the car so fast that he went right through Spike. He went to the trunk of the car. "Weapons," he explained, "Why don't you go back to Rose? Yell at the thing. See if you can distract it away from her."

Spike didn't even bother to answer, but did as Angel suggested.

As soon as Spike had left her, Rose had carefully turned around and started walking back to the car. She was still moving very slowly, knowing that a sudden move would be an invitation for it to attack.

As she walked down the beach, it seemed that no matter how many steps she took, the car and safety didn't seem to be getting any closer. But she thought she could hear the demon getting closer. She gulped and fought back the panic, the fight or flight instinct. Either of which would get this body killed.

Suddenly, Spike was in front of her. "Keep moving, luv," he advised. "One foot in front of the other. Angel's on his way. I'm going to try to get its attention. If I give you the word, I want you to run hell-for-leather for the car."

Rose just barely nodded, so terrified that she was unable to speak. But she kept up her plodding pace.

Spike raced around her, waving his arms and shouting, at times dancing right in the Amalyar demon's face. But it continued to pursue Rose with a frightening singleness of purpose. He finally gave up trying to create a diversion, the demon clearly didn't care about him, but was intent on its original prey. Angel was running up the beach with a formidable looking ax in hand. Before Spike could begin to feel relieved, the demon charged at Rose.

"Rose, get down!" he shouted. Rose dropped to the ground as if she had been shot, and the demon tripped over her. Rose rolled away, then sat up and started scooting away on her backside. The demon regained its feet, sniffed the air, and turned back to Rose.

Rose saw a glint of steel flash above the Amalyar's head, and curled into a ball. The ax came slashing down and severed the demon from stem to stern. Foul-smelling gore spurted out , much of it landing on Rose. What was left of the demon, collapsed and began to dissolve.

"Are you all right?" Spike and Angel said simultaneously.

Rose got shakily to her feet. "I think I'm going to be sick," she replied, clearly and distinctly. Then, with a note of alarm in her voice. "It burns."

Angel pulled out a knife and started cutting her clothes away. "No time for modesty," he told a shocked Rose. Within moments, he had her down to the buff. "Into the water, Rose," he ordered. "Make sure you've got it all off you." Rose complied, not happy, but seeing the sense in what he said.

When she emerged from the water, Rose saw Spike, with his back to her, watching Angel. Angel had his head turned away, and stood there holding out his coat. Rose got into the coat, grateful that Angel was a large man. It covered the essentials, at least. But it wasn't warm enough for someone just out of the ocean late at night with nothing else on. Her teeth began chattering. Hard to tell whether it was the chill or the aftereffects of the shock.

"Back home for you, I think," Angel said softly.

"And turn on the heater when we get in the car," Spike ordered. "Her lips are turning blue." He turned to Rose. "You were wonderful, pet. Did everything just right You'd think you faced down demons every day, the way you held it together."

Rose couldn't even answer, she was shaking uncontrollably, and her teeth rattled like castanets. Angel picked her up.

"I think she's in shock," he told Spike. "We ought to get her to a doctor."

Rose shook her head violently. "Home," she forced out. She made a concerted effort to still her trembling, but with no success.

"You got any docs at Wolfram and Hart?" Spike asked. "I'm thinking if she's suffering from some side effect from being exposed to the demon's blood, a regular doctor wouldn't have the slightest idea what to do."

"You've got a point," Angel conceded. He put Rose in the front seat, expecting Spike to sit between them, as he had before. Spike surprised him by taking the back seat, but hanging over the front seat, a worried expression on his face.

Rose curled up into a miserable ball, and Angel decided against trying to unfold her to get a seatbelt on her. He'd just have to drive extra careful. He started the car and turned up the heater full blast.

As the heat started to sink in, Rose slowly unwound, and recovered her presence of mind enough to put on the overlooked seatbelt. "You really don't need to take me to a doctor, Angel," she assured him. "I'm feeling much better now. A long, hot shower and I'll be myself." She quirked a grin. "Well, myself minus about three layers of skin. That thing smelled rank, and I feel like it's sunk into my pores."

"You really ought to let a doctor check you out, luv," Spike interjected. "You can pick up some bizarre little thingys from demon's blood."

She looked pleadingly at Angel, who resolutely kept his eyes on the road. "Spike's right, Rose. It's probably nothing, but humor us, please."

"Looks like I'm outvoted," she mumbled. She gave one last, leftover shiver. "I still think the two of you are fussing unnecessarily."

"It's 'cause we care, pet," Spike said gently. "Do it for me? Please?"

Rose oozed down into the seat. "That's cheating," she accused weakly.

"Yes, it is," he agreed. "I told you I wasn't above a bit of cheating under the appropriate circumstances. You're worth some cheating, I'm thinking."

&&&&&&

The doctor had pronounced Rose fit, except for a mild case of shock, and so, she at last got her wish to go home. Spike got out of the car at her place. "Don't wait up, dad," he told Angel. "I'll find my own way back." He winked at Angel, who rolled his eyes. He leaned against the car and stayed there until he saw the light go on in Rose's apartment.

&&&&&&&

Rose looked at Spike who had made himself at home as was his wont. "Go ahead and take your shower, luv," he said. "I'll just hang about a bit if you don't mind."

She thought he probably would even if she tried to send him away. She took her shower, and scrubbed and scrubbed, and still thought she could smell the rotting fish stench of the demon on her. She started washing her hair and was horrified to have a sizable clump of it come out in her hand. "Oh no," she moaned. She finished shampooing, and was happy to note that no more hair came out, but she had a feeling it was going to look strange with a handful of it missing.

When she got out and started brushing her hair, she saw that it did indeed look odd. The hank of hair that was missing was all conspicuously on one side, albeit thankfully at the bottom. But it looked like her shoulder length hair was going to have to lose about three inches to even up the damage. She tied it back in a ponytail, hoping that Spike wouldn't notice.

When she went back into the living room, it looked like Spike hadn't moved at all. "Feeling better, pet?" he asked.

"Much," she answered. She went to the kitchen with Spike at her heels. He hovered silently by as she fixed herself a cup of hot cocoa.

As she sat down at the table to sip the steaming drink, he sat opposite her. "It's a lot better with those little marshmallows," he observed.

"Too sweet." She shook her head. "Besides, right now, I'm more concerned with just getting something hot inside of me."

He grinned. "No accounting for tastes, I suppose. Are you going to tell me about your hair, or just let me make guesses?"

"It just came out when I started washing it," she explained. "I didn't realize that the demon's blood had splashed that high, so I didn't try to wash it out when I was in the ocean. Now I suppose I'll have to get it cut."

"Cryin' shame," Spike observed. "Still, better your hair, than other things. You got awfully lucky, luv. Gave me a few very bad minutes, I can tell you."

She finished her drink. "I hate to be rude," she remarked. "And up until the demon, I had a very nice time tonight, but I think I really want to get some sleep now."

Spike nodded. "Sometimes it takes you like that," he agreed. "I'd like to stay, Rose. Make sure that if you wake up in the middle of the night, you have someone to talk to."

"You don't have to," she mumbled. "I'll be all right, honestly."

"I know I don't have to," he answered. "I want to. I want to watch you sleep. I want to watch your chest rise and fall and know you're still breathing. Life's too precious to be casual about it, luv, and you came way too close to losing it tonight."

She turned out the lights and settled under the covers. Spike sprawled out beside her. "You don't mind, do you, pet?"

He could almost feel her smile in the darkness. "No, I don't mind." She curled up into a ball and went promptly to sleep.

&&&&&&&

"Rose." "Rose." "Rose." She kept hearing voices, calling her name, but she felt weighted down. She tried opening her eyes, but they didn't seem to want to work.

"Rose." Suddenly, she understood, stopped trying to open her eyes, and opened her mind, instead.

Citrine: "Well, it's about time."

Rose: "I've had a bad night."

Sienna: "We wanted to see if you were making any progress."

Rose: "I thought there was to be no time limit."

Violet: "Are you saying that you have made no headway at all?"

Rose: "A little. But I'm finding that I've had to put considerable effort to learn to deal with a human body. There's an awful lot of maintenance involved."

Cerulean: "What is that little that you've learned?"

Rose: "The Watcher doesn't believe that William deserves an eternity in hell. He pointed out that he gave up a unique chance to become corporeal to save another."

Viridian: "And anything else?"

Rose: "Tonight, he saved my life. Well, the life of this body. Otherwise an Amalyar demon would have finished this body's usefulness."

Sienna: "How could an insubstantial spirit save a life?"

Rose: "He went for help. He's watching the body sleep now, to make sure that all is well with it."

Viridian: "Are you falling in love with him?"

Rose: "Don't be silly. We can't fall in love. We aren't the bundles of emotions that humans are. We just are."

Cerulean: "But you are currently living in a human body. You may find that you are subject to human emotions while you wear it."

Rose: "It would be folly in the extreme for me to fall in love with him anyway. Once the judgment is made, either for or against, I will have to return."

Citrine: "It has often been noted that love and reason have nothing in common. Have a care Rose, lest you do more damage than good."

Rose: "I should go back now. I will report to you as I learn things."

Violet: "We shall contact you. Remember, you have no powers as a human."

Rose: "I wonder if we do the humans a disservice by saying they have no powers."

&&&&&&&

As Rose first fell asleep, she seemed restless, her lips moving as if she were in a conversation. Eventually, she subsided, and drifted off into normal sleep.

And still Spike watched her.