Causatum
by sailor80
Eight
[reviews]
Willow was restless throughout dinner. Buffy sat on one side and Dawn on the other, and one or the other of them touched her throughout the meal. Despite that, Willow never really relaxed. Conversation swirled around her, but unless she was addressed, she didn't participate. As soon as she was able, she left, pleading homework. Dawn, who had her own homework, went with her.
They walked silently. As they left the commercial district, Amy hailed them. Amy hurriedly crossed the street to catch them. They stopped because there was no way to avoid the former rat.
Amy greeted her. "Willow, long time no see. How are you?"
"I'm okay," Willow answered tersely.
"You babysitting or what?" Amy looked at Dawn, dismissed her as inconsequential.
"Something like that. We're in a hurry."
"I'll be at the Bronze later, if you want to hang out," Amy offered.
Dawn frowned as Willow answered. "No, thanks. I'm busy."
"That's not what I heard," Amy told her. "I heard you're still single."
"I need to go," Willow told her. She took a step away from Amy and heard the sound of tearing fabric. A moment later, her backpack was much lighter and she heard the sound of books hitting the pavement.
"Boy, they just don't make those things like they used to," Amy said. "Let me help you."
She kneeled on the sidewalk. Willow went down on one knee and began to gather her things. Dawn, still frowning, watched. Amy handed Willow two books, and her hand grazed Willow's forearm.
Willow immediately stiffened. "Dawn, get Buffy," she choked out, and closed her eyes.
Dawn didn't ask questions. She turned on her heel and headed back toward the restaurant.
Their group was standing on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant chatting when Dawn ran up. Buffy took one look at her sister. "Damn it," she swore, then asked Dawn "Where?"
"In front of the hardware store," Dawn told her.
Buffy took off without saying anything more. The others followed.
When Buffy reached Willow, she was still trying to gather her things. Amy was nowhere to be seen. Buffy knelt beside her. "Will?"
"Don't touch me," she answered in a flat tone.
"What's wrong?" Buffy asked gently. She reached for some of the books.
"Don't," Willow said sharply.
"Willow, tell me what happened," Buffy pleaded.
Willow stood up and let the books she had gathered drop from her arms. "I can't do this any more. I'm dirty and I'm bad and I'm tired of pretending I'm not," she said.
Buffy, not understanding, looked up at her and gasped at what she saw.
Willow, her eyes shiny and black with stolen power, mumbled a few words in Latin and disappeared in a flash.
Dawn was the first to reach Buffy. Her eyes were wide with shock at seeing Willow disappear again. Dawn looked at her sister. Buffy looked like she had just been sucker punched. Dawn knelt beside Buffy. "Breathe," she told her sister.
Buffy inhaled quickly. She let the Slayer come to the front. "Who?" she demanded.
"Amy."
"She is so gonna wish she was still a rat when I find her." Buffy stood up and looked at her family. "I'm sick of this," she said in a low tone. "I'm tired of people messing with my family." She looked at Giles. "You call the Council and you get them here now," she demanded.
He nodded as Buffy turned to Tara and Aislin. "Where would she go?"
"Who?" Tara asked.
"Willow. Where would she go?"
"Buffy, what happened?" Xander asked.
"Amy happened," Dawn told him.
Tara clenched her jaw. "Rack's, " she said softly. "She would go to Rack."
"Where?" Buffy demanded.
"I don't know. She never said," Tara answered.
"I remember," Dawn volunteered.
"Let's go," Buffy ordered.
Dawn led them through alleys and stopped in one that looked no different from the others. She pointed at the wall. "Here," she said.
Buffy looked at her skeptically. Aislin stepped forward and put her hand through the brick. She entered first and the rest of them followed. Buffy looked around the waiting room. "Leave," she demanded.
The few people scattered around the dirty, broken-down furniture scrambled to obey the Slayer's directive. Buffy turned her attention to the closed door. She strode over to it and knocked it down with one kick.
Her eyes took in the nearly empty room. A desk. A chair behind it. A sofa. Willow was stretched on the sofa's length, her clothes mussed. Rack sat on the sofa's edge near Willow's knees, one hand moving along her thigh. He stood and looked at Buffy, smiling as if he were amused. "Welcome, Slayer. I heard you were coming."
"Get away from her." Buffy's tone was low and dangerous.
Rack chuckled at her, but did as she said. He moved to the desk and sat on its corner. Buffy crossed to the couch and bent over Willow. Willow gave no indication that she knew Buffy was there, even after Buffy touched her cheek.
Buffy straightened up and turned to Rack. "What did you do to her?"
"Nothing." He continued to smile his oily smirk at her.
Buffy kept her eyes on Rack. To the others, she said, "Get Will."
Tara and Dawn got there first, but it was Xander who scooped Willow up. He moved quickly to leave. Tara, Dawn and Anya followed him. Giles and Aislin remained on either side of the door.
"This is my town," Buffy said in that same low voice. She enunciated each work crisply. "You are not welcome here."
"I'm human," Rack told her. He sounded amused. "You don't kill humans."
"You're not human, any more than I am. If I see you, if I hear a whisper that you're around, I will find you and I will kill you. If I even think that you're trying to contact Willow, I will find you and I will kill you. Are we clear?"
"Quite," he said agreeably. He snapped his fingers and vanished.
Buffy whirled around and took off toward Willow. She caught up with Xander halfway down the block. He put Willow in her arms without saying anything. Buffy turned toward home. Dawn walked beside her, one hand on Buffy's back, the other on Willow's knee. No one in their grim parade said anything.