Author's Note: Alrightly, this is a test version of some sort. I've had this idea for over a year now, and it has molded and shapeshifted until it became clear. I'm posting this to see if it is worth continuing. Please let me know what you think! Also, I've only seen seasons 1 through 3 of Angel, and this is set midway through season 2, before the episode Dead End. All facts that were presented after that episode are considered void in this fanfic.

Warnings: Rated T for language and future suggestive/slight adult content.

Friday, the best day of the week. It wasn't yet the weekend, but it was a time of sparse work and lots of sleep. Normally, any apocalyptic creatures were defeated by Wednesday and Thursday was spent cleaning up. Saturday was when all the poor (and rich) souls stumbled into Angel Investigations looking for help. Friday was a nice break from the chaos.

This is why the employees of this particular business were quite surprised when the front door to the hotel creaked open.

"Uh, hello? Is this Angel Investigations?" The woman was slightly above average height, though that might have had something to do with the black open-toed heels that showed off her brightly colored toenails. Her head was heavy with an unruly mass of curly brown hair, which, if thought about, only complemented her face. Her locks brushed her shoulders and bounced with her step, which gave the appearance of excitement. Her hazel-brown eyes scanned the building, a crease growing on her forehead as the ends of her mouth tugged downward, and if pulled by gravity. "Hello?"

A head popped around the corner of the second floor hallway, a body quickly following as the woman walked onto the indoor balcony. "Sorry 'bout that." She said, making her way downstairs. "I'm Cordelia. Welcome to Angel Investigations, we help the helpless. What can we do for you?"

They shook hands, then the guest stepped back and placed a slender hand on her hip. "I'm Sylvia. You guys so paranormal stuff, right?"

Cordelia nodded enthusiastically. "That's right!"

Sylvia smiled in a polite manner, a bit taken aback by Cordelia's energy. She clapped her hands in front of her in a business-like manner. "I'm looking for my uncle. Tall, green, red horns, sings a lot, likes using pastries as adjectives. Know where I can find him?"

"Lorne?"

Both women turned to see who had spoken. Leaning against the front desk like he had been there all along was Angel. He was looking at Sylvia in mild curiosity. The same way a scientist would watch his lab mice. The woman admirably held her ground, her eyes burning holes in his. Cordelia noticed this and shot Angle a look. "So…Lorne's your uncle?"

The spell was broken and Sylvia averted her eyes; however, a look of faint worry was now on her face, like an itch that couldn't be scratched or a mark made by a permanent marker that would fade but never completely go away. "Well, fake-uncle. Kind of adopted family, minus the paperwork."

Cordelia nodded. "Got it. Let me write down his address for you." She slipped around the front desk and started searching for some paper and a pen. Angel slid around the desk and walked up to Sylvia, jamming his hands into his pockets. "Funny, Lorne never mentioned you."

Sylvia shifted on her feet and brought her hands to her hips, raising her one eyebrow slightly and pursing her lips, conveying the message of not being threatened. "Funny."

Cordelia chose that time to re-enter the lobby, a piece of paper in her hand. She elbowed Angel out of the way and handed the instructions to Sylvia. The woman took the paper, her eyes shifting back and forth as they skimmed the words. Satisfied, she smiled and pocketed the directions. "Thanks."

She turned to leave, pausing to give Angel one last look. She gave a mischievous smirk and a hint of menacing flitted through her eyes, and for only a second, of that, her eyes turned from hazel to deep purple. It was a flash of color, Angel wondered if he imagined it because it happened so fast. Cordelia missed it entirely. Then, Sylvia walked out the front door, giving one last half-hearted wave before disappearing into the streets of LA. Cordelia raised her eyebrow and crossed her arms, leaning slightly against Angel. "What was that about? Seemed like a nice girl."

Angel snorted and moved away, still staring at the door. "That thing wasn't human…I could smell it."

--Wolfram and Hart--

Lindsey McDonald blinked desperately, forcing his eyes to focus on the tiny words swimming before him. Why did lawyers like to write so small? He groaned, this time using his fist, digging it into his eyes in order to clear his vision. Still the words on the paper on the table stayed fuzzy, as if they were laughing at his situation. The young lawyer glared at the paper and pushed back from the table. He stood up and stretched, his legs cramping as they tried to remember how to support the rest of his body. His arms reached for the ceiling before coming down to smooth out his rumpled suit. He ran a hand through his short, bushy hair and loosened his tie. He glanced at the large clock on the wall and closed his eyes in disbelief. Deciding to get some fresh air, Lindsey leaned down to grab his suitcase before heading toward the doors to his office. He had to sit his suitcase down in order to grab the door handle, and stuck his foot in the opening before once again grabbing his case. The man looked left and right down the hallway before slipping out. He silently stalked through the hall and turned the corner, only to be confronted by a smug-looking Lilah Morgan. Her arms were crossed on her chest and her eyebrow raised in amusement.

"Damn it Lilah!" Lindsey exclaimed in surprise, totally caught off guard by the woman.

The other lawyer just smiled. "Where you going, Lindsey?"

The man narrowed his eyes and took a defensive stance. "None of your damn business."

"No, I think it is my business. Because this is our case you are working on, and I don't want to get blamed for you screwing up. I ask again. Where are you going?" She had that annoying tone in her voice that made Lindsey want to slap her upside the face. He dealt with monsters and demons from hell on a daily basis, and yet he couldn't think of one that was worse than the woman standing in his way.

He sighed and took a step forward. "I've been working on our case for the past 28 hours. I'm going out."

No longer waiting for Lilah to get out of his way, Lindsey resumed walking forward. At the last second the woman slipped out of his path, but not fast enough for them to avoid crashing shoulders. Lindsey stiffened his and drove her into the wall, not stopping to look back to make sure she was ok. Lilah straightened up from the wall and smoothed down her suit before straightening up and murmuring a few words under her breath before walking in the opposite direction.

Lindsey surpassed the elevator and chose to walk down the stairs, even though his office was on one of the higher floors. The numbing beat of his feet hitting the stairs allowed him to fall into a rhythm as he thought about things that he really shouldn't think about, like the case he was working on. He found that, when dealing with a case that lied on the more evil side of things, it was best to not think about it beyond finding a way to make it all disappear. It was when he started to think about it that his conscious started to wake up from its long slumber, and that was when he did stupid things, like join up with a vampire with a soul in order to go against the company that made him who he was today. Whether that was a good thing or not was another one of those things that he found was easier not to think about. Lindsey made it to the first floor and walked through the large glass doors without signing out. He wasn't as scared about Wolfram and Hart as he had been in the past, and was at the point of not caring whether or not he made it out of building breathing or in a body bag. He made straight for his company car; he hated the thing, but Wolfram and Hart thought it inappropriate for one of their top lawyers to drive to work in an old ford pickup truck that was made before he was born. Lindsey waited until he got up close to his car and sat down his briefcase in order to dig through his pockets with his one good hand for the keys. Once found, he unlocked the doors and threw his briefcase in the back seat before sliding into the leather seats, not bothering to take time to admire the interior. He slid his plastic hand through the steering wheel and crossed his left hand over his body, putting himself in an uncomfortable position as he tried to get the car to start. He used to have a stick shift, but that was subtly changed after his incident with Angel. Now all he had to do was press a small button and the car would shift gears to drive, allowing him to tear out of his company parking space, which was exactly what he did.

Lindsey thought about going home, but when he came to the turn he would have to take to go there, he kept on driving. His apartment wasn't really home, though, never was. It was his third one in that year alone. In fact, the young man hadn't had a place he could call home since coming to LA. Yeah, he had lived the big life for many years, but no place had that secure feeling, where one felt safe and could relax without having to worry about angry demons from hell invading your personal space.

Lindsey unconsciously flicked on the turn signal and moved into the right turning lane. He didn't realize where he was driving to until he got there, pressing on the break as he pulled up in front of an all to familiar place. He hadn't been to this part of town since loosing his hand, and never had planned on coming back. The Powers That Be seemed to have some other course of action, however, and he found himself compelled to get out of his car and enter the small bar. He parked his car and turned it off, exiting the vehicle before locking the doors, even though he knew that wouldn't stop anyone around these parts who wanted to hijack a car. The keys fell back into his suit pocket and he started to walk towards the stairs that he had gone down hundreds of times, before things had become complicated. A placard hung above the doorway, announcing to all who cared enough to read it that they were entering the sanctuary known in the English language as Caritas.

--Caritas--

The woman known only as Sylvia entered the bar owned by her uncle, pausing by the doorway to take in all the sites. It was quite a humorous site; her uncle always had a way with decorating. She was able to spot almost every color known to this Earth and several from other dimensions. She winced slightly as she heard the demon on the small stage start to sing, his off-key voice scratching the air. Whatever the thing was, it was getting green glop all over the microphone, as well as the stage. There were several other tables that were occupied by demons, vampires, and humans alike. Sylvia spent several more minutes just taking in all the sites and sounds, taking several seconds longer than needed for a normal person staring at the individual beings in the club. Finally, her eyes fell on the tall green demon leaning on the bar, listening intently to the karaoke singer on stage. Sylvia's face broke out in a large smile and she bounced over to where her uncle was standing, sitting on the stool directly next to him.

"Martini, like 'em dirty." She said nonchalantly, hiding her smile and putting on a straight face. She wanted to know if her uncle would recognize her. Lorne broke eye contact with the demon singing on stage long enough to glance her way before gluing himself back on the performer.

"Sure thing sugar, give me a minute." The green demon waited until the demon on stage finished singing to get her the drink she ordered, sliding it in front of her without any sign of recognition. "Haven't seen you 'round here before."

Sylvia smirked. "Yeah, new to town." She took a sip of the drink and smirked at the taste. Just like she remembered, nothing ever better. She had been all around the world and still no one made better alcohol drinks than the demon standing right next to her.

Lorne had all but forgotten about the curly-haired woman, turning his attention to another patron, who had struck a conversation with him. Sylvia watched the two converse for a moment, then started humming, loud enough for the notes to hit Lorne's ears, but soft enough for no one else to pick it up.

The red-eyed demon paused in the middle of his conversation and turned toward Sylvia, his face bright with shock. "Syl?"

The woman nodded and laughed, her eyes turning purple for several seconds before melding back to hazel. Lorne made a hasty exit from his current social connection and walked back in front of Sylvia, his eyes searching for something familiar.

The woman giggled at his star and did a little twirl in her seat. "You like?"

The orange-haired demon could only nod in return, still not quite believing that Sylvia had come to visit him. "Been a while."

"You're telling me! When did all this happen?" She asked, gesturing in the direction of the bar. "I mean, it suits you terribly."

The demon smiled. "Well sweetie pie, nice of you to drop by." His eyes searched for signs of trouble, but found none. That was when he started to get suspicious. "What exactly are you doing here, Syl."

The woman rolled her eyes and shook her head, her curls twirling with her movement. She took a sip of her martini before answering. "Chill Lorne. No hidden trouble. I just wanted to reconnect with my favorite uncle."

It was Lorne's turn to roll his eyes. "I'm your only uncle."

Sylvia snorted. "And?"

Something made the woman turn in her seat to look at the doorway the same moment that Lindsey had the feeling to look up at the bar as he was walking down the stairs and into the club. Their eyes locked for half a second before the lawyer broke contact, his eyes finishing his sweep of the room before landing on an empty table near the back of the club. He made a beeline for the table and sat down, satisfied at the fact that there was only one chair at that particular table. Lindsey leaned forward to take off his suit coat, suddenly becoming very hot. He struggled for several moments, cursing under his breath as he tried to do the laborious task. His jacket successfully hanging off the back of his chair, he then started working on his dress shirt, unbuttoning the cuffs and rolling up his sleeves. He sat his void hand on the table, staring at the plastic before raising his good hand to call a waitress.

Back at the bar, Sylvia never moved her eyes off of the lawyer since they had made eye contact. She gave a sly smile before turning back towards her uncle. "Whose that? Not a regular, I take it."

Lorne had a very surprised look on his face, but quickly removed it with a shake of his head. "Used to be, until a special vamp chopped off his hand."

Sylvia raised her eyebrow. "Interesting."

Lorne frowned, knowing exactly what was going to happen next. He had seen it happen more times than he was proud to admit. "Leave him, Syl."

She gave a short puff, letting out a breath of hot air. Her voice had a slight whine to it when she spoke. "You're no fun."

She turned back to look at him and caught his hand raising as he signaled for a waitress. Seizing her chance, Sylvia hopped down off her barstool and gave Lorne a quick wink. "I think he's a blonde kinda guy."

The woman who turned to walk away was not the innocent looking young girl who had curly brown hair and hazel eyes. No, she was now a petite blonde whose chest was a little larger than normal and whose hair was so bleach blonde it was almost white. She had bangs cut in a straight line across her forehead, the rest of her ramrod straight hair pulled back in a playful yet serious ponytail. The woman had fair skin and dark eyebrows, showing off her actual hair color. As she retreated from the bar, she showed off a slight swagger in her walk. Lorne watched her leave, throwing his arms up in defeat. The girl was never one to follow the rules. He silently thanked any god who was willing to listen for his bar being a sanctuary, just in case.

Sylvia, now the blonde, arrived at the lawyers table, a soft smile on her face. "What can I get for yah?" Gone was the constantly enthusiastic voice. The pitch was even different than when she was sporting brown hair. Her voice was now softer and older, as if the woman has seen too many things.

Lindsey looked at the woman and frowned. "Whiskey, straight."

Sylvia nodded. "Good choice."

She turned and walked away from the table, smirking to herself as she felt Lindsey's eyes on her retreating form. She got to the bar and gave Lorne a victory smirk. "The man wants whiskey."

Lorne rolled his eyes, but wasn't one to deprive a customer. He poured the drink and handed it to Sylvia, who nodded in thanks before once again returning to Lindsey's seat. Lorne sighed and tried to pay attention to something else. "At least I taught her manners."

Lindsey gratefully took the drink when it was placed on his table, his permanent scowl becoming less severe as the burning alcohol kissed his lips. Sylvia smiled as she watched the man's expression change, and pulled a chair from a nearby vacant table before plopping down in it directly across from Lindsey. The lawyer raised his eyebrow, his frown going back to its normal severity. However, he said nothing, which to Sylvia was a good sign.

"I don't really work here." She stated, watching to see how he would react. She giggled a bit when he pulled the glass away from his lips, staring at it as if it was poisoned. She rolled her eyes and reached forward, taking the whiskey from his hands before taking a sip then replacing it in its original position. "Neither do I poison things."

Even after seeing the little display, Lindsey sat the glass down. "There are poisons that demons are immune to while humans are not."

Sylvia smirked at the man's logic, her fascination growing deeper by the second. "You already drank some. Plus, you think I'm a demon? Pu-lease."

She rolled her eyes and Lindsey found himself wanting to know why the woman was talking to him. He had come to Caritas for some peace…right? He wasn't sure, but then again, he wasn't sure about much else these days either. He never wanted to come back to this place, all it did was haunt him, reminding him about the days that he used to have, where he could write with his right hand and never second guess his choices. But somehow, he ended up here. He wasn't a big hotshot for the Powers That Be, especially since he had seen many other powerful forces, but he was starting to wonder…

"Then what are you?" He boldly asked, picking the whiskey up once more. The strange woman was right; he had already taken a sip. Plus, it was damn fine alcohol, and he wasn't one to waste.

"I think you're asking the wrong question." She stood up and walked up to the bar, sitting down in the exact chair she had chosen when she was the brown-haired woman. She flashed a smile at Lorne, who was trying to concentrate on the next singer. This demon had a better voice and was actually singing on key, which was a very rare thing for a karaoke bar. Sylvia snapped her fingers to get the green demons attention. He managed to tear his gaze from the stage.

"What is it, sugar cakes?"

Sylvia smiled as the man used yet another pastry as a proper noun. "Wait for it."

Lorne gave the woman an annoyed look, tired of her games already. He knew exactly what was going to happen next, the lawyer being no exception to Sylvia's mind games.

Not even five minutes later, Lindsey stood up and put his jacket back on, the glass of whiskey now sitting empty on his table. He approached the bar and slipped The correct amount of change onto the counter before turning to Sylvia and wordlessly handing her one of his business cards with his cell phone number on the back. The woman remained impassive until the lawyer had left the building. Then she waved the card in Lorne's peripheral vision.

"Seems like I'll be in town for a while."

And the epic begins. Yes, this is mostly rotating around Lindsey McDonald, but Angel will play a part in this, along with all the other awesome charries in the Angel universe. Reviews are loved!