AN: Okay before anyone flames me for my lack of the medical expertise, I included some medical lingo in this chapter that I'm sure is incorrect. What can I say, the onlu medical training I've received is the bits and pieces of ER I've seen. So apologies in advance if I make any of you med students or doctors cringe.

Chapter 13: Fluff Prevails-For Now

Yes, for another short spasm of time, Buffy Summers walked with a bounce in her step. No reappearance of Rack, harmony all around with her friends and family, and the company of a certain seductive creature of the night certainly perked up her spirits. It was almost surprising how quickly she and Spike fell back into this game of holding each other only in the darkest shadows of back alleys, under stairs and closets in the Bronze, and yes, one time in the bathroom of the Magic Box (Tara had helped her disinfect it later). Other times, gentler, sweeter were often in his candle-lit crypt of even sometimes her bedroom, late at night.

And still a nagging, persistent voice in her urged her to come out with it once and for all, to the rest of her friends and family. Most of the early disgust and shame had faded, but spots of guilt still remained. Not only for not telling everyone, but not doing it for Spike's sake. She often thought it puzzling that she had even began to consider his feelings, one's she hadn't even imagined he had up to a few months ago. But it was so different now. She felt safe and warm in his cool presence and her heart peaked every time he gazed down at her with a lazy smile plastered across his face. It was even nice. Well, not all the time. He still retained that infuriating cockiness that enraged Buffy so that she kept stakes near her at all times, just to see him tense and wait. They fought constantly, but it seemed that just as soon, he had pulled her back into his arms and back into their own way of aggressively making up. It always made for liveliness, and always seemed to keep Buffy on her toes. It was never boring.

And it wasn't just the lust anymore. She remembered the first almost-domestic times they experienced, like the time he showed up with a sweet, unusually cocky free smile at her door, holding a handful of daisies. Spike with daisies. That would be the day, she often thought, but there he was. He took her off to a picnic, a rather unorthodox one, since is was at night in the park. But it was so sweet the way he had brought some of her favorite foods and the way he patiently fed it to her. She had no idea he could be so romantic, although it certainly did make sense. The gentle way he had treated Drusilla and how he wrote poetry for Cecily reminded Buffy of how soft formerly Big-Baddie Spike could be.

But she could never have imagined that Spike would ever offer his arm for her as they took moonlight walks down by the lake. Or that they could sit in silence so comfortably just in front of the T.V., the quietness only interrupted by snide remarks to the inane characters on the stupid soap opera they watched. Buffy giggling at Spike's aggression towards poor Tabitha for mistreating Timmy that way, and Spike smiling, holding her close beside him tightly. Of course they could only do these things when Dawn was out with Willow and Tara, or if they said they were spending the patrolling while all the rest went a-bronzing. Even Riley and Angel weren't this way with her. When Riley took her out, it usually felt mundane, no matter what they were doing, even when he was trying his damnedest to make it special. She always appreciated his rather dilapidated efforts with soft affection, but she could never say that their relationship was the romance to end all romances. With Angel, it was awkward most of the time. In each other's presence, they always felt anxious, not knowing what to say, falling victim to the slow-burning uneasiness that claimed them both. She hadn't recalled ever feeling glazed with delight and pleasure with Riley and Angel the way she was with Spike.

Buffy didn't know if this meant love or what. She wasn't sure if she was ready to admit that to herself. But Spike stopped pushing, never speaking about that night at Rack's. He was just happy enough to have her around the majority of the time with her not kicking his ass. Buffy at times would sit back at look at his hard, chiseled face in amazement, remembering that this was once the man that had tried to kill her multiple times. She let that go, but it still astonished her sometimes and sent waves of apprehension down her spine. She was looking at him that way that afternoon as they sat in each other's arms in Buffy's bed.

"Here now," Spike inquired, looking down at Buffy who sat reclined between his legs, head resting on his chest. "What's that look for?"

Buffy smiled at the way he was brushing his fingers ever so softly down her bare arms. "S'nothing. It's just that . . ."

"Just that. . . .?" Spike's eyebrows raised as his voice drifted when he went to nuzzle the top of her forehead.

"When you first saw me that night, behind the Bronze, did you think I was hot?"

Spike chuckled loudly at her innocently put question. "I would have to been blind to think otherwise," he said smiling.

"Even when you wanted to kill me?" Buffy's voice did not change in softness and she played with his hand, intertwining the fingers between her own.

Spike propped his chin on the top of her head thoughtfully. "Well a course, pet. I hated you then, and that was at first glance."

"Thanks a lot," Buffy snorted, suddenly breaking free from his hand.

Spike caught her hand once more. "What I mean is, I hated you without even really knowing you. You intrigued me and stirred up some powerful force within my body. I never knew that kind of feeling before."

Buffy turned to look at him. "The feeling of hatred?" she said, her eyes cold.

Spike smiled, still nuzzling his lips to hers. "A passionate feeling, luv. In my book, you can't have hate without love. One feeling replaced by the other."

Buffy pushed him back, his head crashing into the headboard. "So what, you hate me . . . and love me to? This is sounding more and more like fairy-tale material every day."

Spike propped himself up to edge closer to her. "That's not what I meant. You were asking me if I thought you were hot. I did. In a raging, bloodthirsty type o' way."

"Color me thrilled that you were getting your violent jollies off on plans for my death."

Spike chuckled. "I'm just saying that you turned me on, Slayer. Even when I didn't know you, you drew me. Much like you do now." Swiftly, he grabbed her arms and shifted her over so she was caught beneath him. She yelped.

"D-Dawn's going to come home soon," she said, panting already with excitement.

Spike looked over at the clock on her table. "Not for another half-an-hour. Let's see?" Spike raised his head in mock ponderance. "What could we do in half-an-hour?' Buffy emitted a giggle and reached up to meet his lips that quickly dove into her own, possessing the sweetness of her tongue. Groaning, she moved so that her arms were up over her, grasping onto his neck. Spike moved so that he could shoulder his duster off. Buffy had wrapped her legs around his waist, arching up to him and causing him to groan deeply. Spike's mouth moved to nip at the tender area at her neck as Buffy sighed heavily in response. She absently moved her hands down so that she was unbuckling his belt in haste, leaving Spike to groan as well. Suddenly, Dawn burst into the room, bright-eyed and curious, one deadly combination for the Dawnster.

"Hey Buffy guess what I'm home ear---WHOA!" She backed off nearly out of the room and looked at the scene before her with gleeful shock.

"Dawn, get out of here!!!!!" Buffy immediately yelled, getting up quickly, brushing a panicked Spike aside.

"Oh my God, I can't believe this!" Dawn exclaimed, her eyes widened the size of dinner plates. "I mean, I'm not surprised, but WOW!"

"DAWN!!!" Buffy's eyes flashed with unrestrained anger as she started to forcibly shove Dawn out. She stopped when she realized what time it was. "Wait . . . why are you home so early?" She signed with harsh frustration. "Have you been skipping?"

Dawn threw a wrathful look. "Right, because I'm clearly dumb enough to burst into my sister's room and tell her all about my hooky habits. No stupid, we got to go home early. Something about a gas leak. A room in school nearly blew up and the rest of school had to be evacuated. So don't worry, it's just potential death and destruction. Nothing as extreme as me cutting school."

Buffy's brows furrowed. "Gas leak? It's such a new school, how could there be maintenance problems already?"

Dawn shrugged as she plopped onto Buffy's bed. "Don't know, don't care." Her eye's sparkled with intense curiosity and she did not even try to contain her mischievously wide grin. "I just caught you and Spike bout ready to DO IT. So spill." Spike couldn't help but cockily smirk which he promptly changed to an unwavering line when he saw the stern look on Buffy's face."

"A. We were not doing anything on my bed," Buffy said in her my-sister-is-the-biggest-pain-in-the-ass voice. "B. You are never allowed into my room again. I'll get Tara to do a dis-invite spell or something."

Dawn reclined onto the bed lazily, one hand propping her head up. "That only works for vampires," she yawned. "Besides it's not my fault you and Spike were sucking face. You should have just a left a sign on the door or something."

Buffy winced when she heard Dawn describing her and Spike's activities that way. "DAWN GET OUT OF HERE NOW!!!" Her voice could not contain the growing rage boiling within her.

"No!" Dawn insisted. "I want to know everything. I mean, what a shock! Well not really, I always knew the Spike was jonesing for you, Buff, but w-wow! Now you're like, officially my big brother and stuff." Dawn bounced off the bed and happily wrapped an arm around intensely amused Spike.

"Finally someone who can put you in your place, Littl' Bit," he responded, speaking in a playfully growling voice. Dawn made a face.

"Just cause you're giving it to Buffy doesn't mean you can tell me to do my homework now and stuff." Dawn punched him on the shoulder, grinning madly

"That's enough!" Buffy interrupted. Her hands flew to her hips as she made it apparent through her facial expression how disgusted she was. "You had better get out of here by the time I count to three. ONE . . . TWO . . . THRE----"

All three stopped and froze with fear as they heard the front door slam, all of them turning to stare out the door. Dawn whirled around. "That's probably Willow home early."

Buffy couldn't believe this was happening. Why of all days did she choose to bring Spike home? The day where suddenly everyone's schedule seem to shift an hour early? "Either get the hell out or close the door!!" she hissed to Dawn. Dawn crept towards the bedroom door and shut it quietly. Afterwards, she bounced right back to Buffy, grasping her hands as if she was trying to shake information out of them.

"So when did this happen? Are you guys together? Does everyone else know?" Dawn rapidly rolled out all her questions as Spike went back to lazily prop his feet up on the bed.

Buffy sighed. "Dawn I'm not going to discuss this with you, seeing how it is my business and not yours and all."

Dawn whined. "But you gotta! I have to know! And it is my business and all too. You're my sister and you've been doing . . . things," she made a face, "in our house. You at least told me about Angel and Riley." Spike couldn't help grimacing at those names. "Who else knows about this?" Dawn asked persistently.

Buffy's lips tightened. "Tara and I'm not sure, but I think Xander."

Dawn frowned. "Oh. Less people to tell."

Buffy grabbed her arms and shook her. "You are not telling anybody, you understand me? Not even Xander, because I'm not sure if he really knows."

"Come on luv, the girl's obviously excited," Spike pointed out. "You can't expect her to keep it in. That's unnatural for a girl her age."

"Yeah huh!" Dawn protested, pointing to Spike and his justification. "You can't expect me not to make a big deal about this, because it so is."

"Whether it is or not, you are not telling anybody," Buffy gritted. Spike frowned, seeing how insistently she wanted to keep this a secret. Bloody hell, he thought tiredly. She's not freakin' out 'bout this again, is she? Why is it so hard for her to just tell?

Dawn opened her mouth to curtly argue further, but was interrupted by Tara's voice calling loudly. "Buffy?! Buffy are you there?!" Buffy stiffened and made her way downstairs, Spike and Dawn trailing her. When she got downstairs she found Tara slumped over against the door with her face streaked with tears.

"What happened, what is it?" Buffy asked firmly.

Tara looked up at her with watery eyes. "It's Willow. She's in trouble again."

Buffy swallowed away the heavy lump that suddenly formed in her throat. "Rack?" Tara nodded.

"Down . . . at the school . . . they found her near the gas pipes. She's unconscious and it appears she turned them on." Tara's voice broke and wavered.

"Rack must have taken over her body again and went to school to turn the gas pipes on," Dawn murmured.

"And thank you Dawn for stating the obvious," Buffy sighed. "Where is she?"

"Hospital." Tara sounded deathly quiet. "She has a concussion and they haven't been able to bring her back to consciousness."

Buffy's eyes filled with tears. She glanced over her shoulder to look at Spike. His reassuring eyes gave some comfort to her worried heart and she grabbed her jacket. "Let's go," she whispered softly.

Buffy and Spike sat silently on the cold, hard vinyl hospital chairs. "I hate this place worse than hell," Buffy muttered, looking down her full, cold cup of coffee. Spike glanced sideways at her and reached for her hand.

"I know pet," was all he said, but it was enough as she accepted his hand and leaned her head down on his shoulder. She was glad he was here.

"It seems inevitable that I should spend most of my days here," Buffy remarked, her eyes gazing vacantly in front of her. She turned to look at Spike. "I mean, weren't we just here for Dawn a couple days ago? And now this?" She sighed, all of the tiredness emitted out of her body with one weary outtake of air. "I practically lived here when my mom . . ." She couldn't finish, her eyes filling with fresh tears. Spike put his hand up to cup her head as he brought her forehead to his lips. She put her head back onto his shoulder. "I'm glad you're here," she murmured quietly.

"Me too," Spike said, warmed by the fact that she was letting him hold her and kiss her in a time like this. Not like all the times that ponce, Riley was with her as she paced back and forth this same room, agonizing over her mother.

"Hey guys." Xander and Anya approached the lobby waiting area with flowers and a teddy bear. Buffy and Spike tore themselves apart quickly before the other couple could notice.

"Hey," Buffy said raggedly, looking at the flowers and stuffed animal.

"We um, brought Willow a kind of condolence gift, y'know so she would be a little comforted and forget about the fact that she endangered the lives of school-age children?" Anya waved the small teddy bear around.

"Okay, um sweetie?" Xander lightly put his hands on Anya, once again directing her on the proper etiquette of humans. "When we get in there, you hand her the gifts, and then DON'T SAY ANYTHING." He waved his hands in the air to make it implicitly clear. He looked back at Spike and Buffy. "You guys looked wrecked. How long you been here?"

"Four hours," Buffy replied. "They took Willow in for some X-rays or scans or something, and we're just waiting for some news about how's she doing."

"Where's Tara and Willow?"

"Down in the cafeteria, trying to get something to eat. And probably visiting. We've already made friends with all the hospital staff already. I bet Sue is sneaking them a free Jello."

Xander sank into the seat next to her, wrapping one arm over her shoulder. "Willow's going to be okay," he assured her. Buffy gave him a weak smile.

"But why now? W-why did Rack possess her now?" she asked. "What about the protection spells? Why did they stop working?"

"Because they weren't strong enough anymore," Tara replied, arriving back with Dawn and various cups of Jello. Dawn was busy handing out the cups, giving the only blood-colored one to Spike. "I think they weakened with every use." She sat next to Xander. "I give them to her all the time, but they . . . just stopped working." Tears rolled down Tara's face.

Buffy went over to crouch in front of her. "Don't worry Tara, everything is going to be cool. Maybe there's a way we can still figure this out. At least no one was hurt."

"Uh, I wouldn't be too sure about that guys," Anya motioned slowly towards the hospital T.V., where there was a special news report.

"Breaking news just in. Today, Sunnydale has been under attack from heavy rioting and looting, citywide. This unusually violent behavior has been exhibited through normally respectful citizens of Sunnydale, leaving some to conclude if it is once again and mystical force or activity acting upon the city. Libraries have been ransacked, stores robbed and broken into, banks held up and bonfires have been set in the street. Many point out the instigators as various Wiccans, a group of magically inclined people, known to be usually peaceful. Police and authorities are arresting many members of known Wiccan occult groups and bringing them in for questioning."

Everyone grimly turned away from the T.V. "Harsh," was all Xander could mutter.

"It's Rack," Buffy said quietly. "It's begun. He's trying to open the Hellmouth, and create chaos to make it happen. And he's using Willow."

"What about Tara?" Dawn whined clinging to her. "The news said that they're arresting lots of witches who probably are all Racked-up. She's not, but what if they take her into custody?"

Tara looked seriously at Buffy. "Dawn has a point."

Buffy thought a moment. "You'll just have stay low-profile for awhile until this blows over," she concluded, getting up and pacing.

"And what 'bout this Rack guy?" Xander pointed out. "We can't just let him get his kicks with helpless people. Especially Willow." His fists were clenched.

Buffy continued to pace. "We have no idea how to touch him," she said grimly. She paused and hugged herself. "God! If only I wasn't so concerned and absorbed in my own life," she was trying not to look at Spike. "I could have protected her, helped her from the beginning."

"Cor, Slayer, don't be doing none of that," Spike said comfortingly, laying a hand on Buffy's shoulder, which Buffy responded by smiling thankfully at, almost against her will. Xander saw the small exchange and raised his eyebrows slightly. "It's no one's fault, but it's everyone's business to see this Rack get what's comin' to him."

"Yeah that's so easy with him being totally un-killable and all," Xander reminded. "And from the looks of it, ubiquitous too." He looked around at all the confused faces. "What, Xander knows big words. Is that such a shock? It means 'always present'." Spike snorted at him.

"Xander's right," Tara agreed. "He obviously can manifest himself in more than one person at a time."

"So what do we do?" Anya asked, gazing at all the serious faces. "Kill all of his magic-induced cronies?"

"We can't do that," Buffy said tiredly.

"Why not?" Spike asked quickly. Buffy rolled her eyes.

"Because they're not demons. They're people. People like Willow. Innocent people who are under Rack's trap."

All of a sudden, a sharp crash could be heard down the hall. Buffy turned to look and saw Willow stalking down the hallway in a hospital gown. She was pushing all of the nurses and attendants who tried to restrain her off, throwing a couple into the walls. She threw a gurney at the front desk where many promptly ducked and made her way to Buffy.

"Slayer," she hissed in Rack's grovelly voice. "I knew you would be here."

"Rack." Buffy glared at Willow, whose eyes were pitch black. She cocked her head. "We have to stop meeting like this. Maybe something more my style. Over a candle-lit dinner, soft music, not in my friend's body---"

"Silence," he roared. "I just came here to warn you."

"And so you decided to send a person-o-gram?" Buffy said, voice dead pannish.

"I just wanted to tell you that you cannot stop what has begun. You think you can kill me, destroy me. Never." He began to rumble with laughter. "Because I'll never leave Willow alone again. Not until she is fully mine. And I can make her mine you know. Every time I fill her body, her spirit, I only become stronger and she becomes weaker. She'll weaken so much that there'll be nothing left. Soon she will be only filled with me, a person devoted to the darkness. And you'll never, ever have your sweet Willow again." Buffy stood in front of Rack, fear cursing her and making her frozen as she realized what he was saying. The moment she could snap out of it, Willow lurched backward and cried out. She collapsed on the floor again.

"Willow?" Tara screamed anguishedly. Doctors and nurses rushed to Willow's side, bounding her to a cart and immediately hooking her up to a monitor.

"B.P. dropping by 80," one nurse said.

"Pupils not dilating."

"She's turning comatose," a doctor yelled as they rushedly wheeled her into another room.

"What?! What's going on?" Tara yelled as she tried to push away the nurses that restrained her. "What's happened?! Where are they taking her?!"

The nurse pulled back gently. "We're doing all we can Miss. She's falling back into unconsciousness and she's going to the ICU."

"The ICU?" Xander asked, his face pinched white with fear. "Is she---"

"She'll be fine sir," was all the nurse said before leaving the group standing there astounded and gazing at each other in shock.