What?! Ms. Rosenburg, the woman I was quickly being to idolize, let a demon, who she knew was evil, live and then let him *kiss* her. I almost fell out of my chair.

My shock must have been very obvious to Ms. Rosenburg. "I felt the same way you do the next day," she told me. "I was angry at myself that I let him kiss me. I was angry that I liked it. No, no. It was more like I was in denial that I liked it. I was literally disgusted with myself.

"The next night I made sure that I was in before nightfall and that it was impossible for a vampire to enter my room. Then, I put up wards just in case. I took Spike's threat... Promise that it was not over, seriously. Spike still scared me, in a way.

"I continued to do this at night. I would go out and have a good time during the day, but at night I would stay in. I was almost obsessive with it.

"I finally realized I was being ridiculous. Spike was probably just trying to scare me. What would he want with me? I was being foolish." Ms. Rosenburg shook her head in disbelief.

"That night I went to a club in Cairo that catered to tourists. I knew it would be the type of thing Spike and other vampires would be attracted to, but I went to prove to myself that there was nothing to be afraid of.

"I had a great time that night. I met a wonderful group of people who were staying at the hotel next to mine. They invited me to join them for dinner and then to come back to the club afterwards with them. I, of course, accepted. They were really nice people and a quick scan of their auras revealed that they weren't tainted with evil.

"One of the single guys from the group, who had taken to me, was going to pick me up. I dressed nicely in a dark green dress, that brought out my eye color and accented my body shape. The finishing touches were a pair of black sandals and some light makeup.

"The guy picked me up on time. We chatted for a few minutes and had a drink from the bar in my room. I was attracted by the guy's looks, but to be honest he wasn't very interesting." Ms. Rosenburg snickered.

"We decided to walk to the restaurant. It was a nice night and the moon was full and bright. A moonlight walk sounded wonderful after being scared of the dark for so many years.

"We were discussing some bland subject, when we were *rudely* interrupted. A fist came out of no where knocking my date unconscious. An arm wrapped around my waist and carried me off.

"I was completely taken by surprise. I started struggling against my attacker, but to no avail. I was drug into an alley and slammed against a wall. It was then that I was finally able to see my attacker.

"'Hello, luv.'"

***

"I found myself looking straight into Spike's face..." Ms. Rosenburg trailed off, with a dreamy look on her face.

"'What do you want?' I asked him. I was both relieved and pissed off that he had interrupted when he did. Like I said the guy was dull, but it was Spike. I had better things to do than spend my night with a demon that had a serious phobia of witchcraft.

"'I told you, pet, it isn't over,' he answered. Of course, he was wearing that damn infuriating cocky grin of his. If you ever meet him, you find out what I mean."

"I sorry, Ms. Rosenburg," I interrupted. "Despite what you might think of him, I have no desire to meet Spike."

Ms. Rosenburg chuckled. "I don't blame you. Spike is definitely not the vampire most would want to meet, including me.

"I had to play the outraged woman. I couldn't have acted relieved to see him. 'Yes, it is over,' I told him. 'Now if you excuse me, I have to go repair the damage you did to my date. I turned and started to walk away.

"He reached out and grabbed my arm. 'Now why would you want to do that? You looked like the bloke was boring you out of your mind, before I came along.' He pulled me closer to him. 'You can have so much more fun with me.'

"I immediately pulled away from him. How dare he touch me! 'Really?' I asked him sarcastically."

WHAT? Now Ms. Rosenburg was flirting with WILLIAM THE BLOODY! Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. I know I sounded like a dumb blond, but... I was jolted. Sigh. I digress.

Ms. Rosenburg was so caught up in her memories, I don't think she realized the extent of my shock. "He pulled me back into his arms. 'Really, pet,' he answered in his sexy accent."

THUD!

"I melted in to his embrace," Ms. Rosenburg told me, sighing fondly. "I couldn't help myself. There was just something about him that made me melt into a puddle. His eyes, his cheekbones, his mannerisms. They all drew me to him.

"I lifted my face up to meet his. I pulled him in to a chaste kiss. It was a mere light brush of our lips, but it meant so much... I trusted him; I liked him.

"He pulled back from me. 'Come on, ducks. Let's go get some coffee.'

"He took my hand and lead me out of the alley. We walked quickly through the streets towards a cafe that I had frequented several times before. Our surrounds were almost completely ignored. We were so wrapped up in each other.

"It took us very long to get there. I ordered a latte and was shocked when he ordered black coffee. He noticed my shock and frankly informed me that vampires occasionally liked human beverages and food.

"We had some very interesting conversations over those caffeinated drinks. We discussed everything from literature to demon lore. I could be totally open with him, unlike when I was with the uninformed.

"We were eventually chased out of the cafe by closing time. We then walked back to my hotel room and resumed our talks. He was there the rest of the night. But like any vampire, he was chased away by the feeling of the coming dawn.

"He gave me a chaste kiss. 'I'll see you tonight, baby,' he said, then left.

"I can say one thing about him. He sure as hell knows how to make an exit."

***

*Crash!* That time I really did fall out of my chair. "Are you all right?" Ms. Rosenburg asked, concerned.

"Yes," I answered, clambering back into my chair. "I'm just a little astounded."

Ms. Rosenburg chuckled. "I'm surprised it took you that long to get so shocked you fell out of your chair. This part of my life is very shocking to me, and I lived through it."

"Life is often unbelievable when you look back on it," I commented.

"Yes," Ms. Rosenburg agreed. "Life is often like that, true. But to most people's lives not as unbelievable as mine has been or as yours will be."

I nodded in agreement. Of course I wouldn't as much about that as Ms. Rosenburg. It's my destiny to live this life. I've always have known about it. She used to be one of the normal people. One of the people that the watcher and slayer are supposed to protect.

"Spike came back the next night, the night after that and pretty much all the nights that followed. We became very close. He knew me like no one else had known me before. Not Xander; not Buffy; not Giles. They always saw me as they wanted to see me, not as I was.

"We were fairly platonic during this period of our relationship. We occasionally exchanged brief, chaste kisses, but that was it. We kept our hands to ourselves."

Ms. Rosenburg grinned. But I shuddered. I couldn't imagine letting a killer, even one that was being this gentle to Ms. Rosenburg, do anything... *physical* to me. It was unthinkable. Nothing would discuss the Council more.

"I think, looking back, that the reason we gravitated to each other was we reminded each other of a high period in our lives. He reminded me of the good times that my friends and I had on top of the Hellmouth, before we were separated. I think I reminded him of the times he had with Drusilla and of him fighting Buffy. He once confided in me that Buffy was the best fighter he had ever met and that he admired her.

"I started to change my sleeping habits just so I could be with him. We would go to a lot of places and do lots of things, during our nights. Boat trips on the Nile seemed to be our favorite, though. I couldn't tell you how many times we rented a boat for a moonlit cruise.

"It was during those times that we fell in love with each other."