"You know he ain't gonna like this one." Gunn sighed, leaning back against the staircase while Cordelia and Wesley studied a large scroll that had been laid out across the main lobby desk.

"Well this isn't about what he likes now is it?" Wesley replied, eyes glued to the ancient writing. "It's about fulfilling the Shansu Prophecy."

"Well what about his soul?" Hun asked, raising an eyebrow. "Huh? Got an answer for that one Mr. Smarty Pants?"

"As a matter of fact I do." Wesley confirmed, sending a sharp look Gunn's way, showing just how much he'd appreciated the sassy remark.

"Angel needs to find the perfect person to fulfill the prophecy." Cordelia stepped in, seeing the boys weren't going to get anything done but arguing. "Anyone else and the sex is gonna detach his soul just like it always would have."

Gunn gave a confused expression. "You tellin' me we gotta pick a needle out of a haystack here?" He asked.

"Precisely." Wesley nodded.

"So somebody needs to go tell Angel what's going on quick cause we don't really have a lot of time here." Cordelia told both of them, placing her hands on her hips in a sassy fashion.

"Uh that's a job for you, sweet cheeks." Gunn told her.

"Yes, Cordelia, I think it would be best if you were the one to speak to Angel. He tends to take things much better they come from you." Wesley tried to convince her.

"Seriously?" Cordelia sighed, rubbing her temples. "Why do I always have to be the bad guy here?"

"Because you're a woman." Gunn told her. "So no matter how angry he gets he can't take it out on you."

"He wouldn't do that anyway." Cordelia argued.

"Wouldn't do what?" Angel asked, coming down the stairs from his room. All eyes turned to him as if he were Angelus instead.

"Whoa...Guys...Such a warm welcoming." He chuckled a little as he approached his closest friends. "Something you maybe wanna get off your chests?"

Gunn nudged Cordelia in the arm and she retaliated with a rather hard punch to the gut.

"Ow! Bitch..." Gunn grunted, the wind knocked from him for a few seconds.

"Jeez! What's with you Cordy?" Angel asked, shocked by the violent display.

"Alright, so maybe I had better explain before anyone else gets hurt." Wesley stepped in, putting a hand on Angel's shoulder and leading him over to the desk where the ancient Shansu scroll was laid out.

"Why do I get the feeling I'm not gonna like whatever you've found here?" Angel asked nervously while Wesley put his glasses back on to read from the scroll.

"Because you probably won't." Wesley confirmed, pointing to a tiny printed paragraph right in the middle of the scroll. "See this passage here?" He asked, making sure Angel read every word.

Cordelia and Gunn stood by awkwardly, her biting on her bottom lip and him starring down at the floor while Angel took in his disturbing fortune.

"Wes I don't think I understand..." Angel stuttered.

"Well it says here that you need..." Wesley started to explain.

"Okay don't even say it." Angel sighed, stepping away from the desk and rubbing his forehead with one hand in frustration.

"Angel, it doesn't have to be a bad thing." Wesley assured him.

"No?" Angel asked, the sarcasm clear in his voice.

"Well hey, on the bright side you finally get to sleep with someone without risking going evil again." Cordelia offered with an optimistic shrug.

"Yeah, that sounds like a pretty good offer to me." Gunn agreed with a nod.

"Let me stop you there." Angel growled back. "What if we, lets say, pick the wrong girl and I do go all Angelus again? Huh? You people do realize how many people there are in this town right? How are we supposed to find the right one?"

"The prophecy says you'll know when you see the one. An unknown sense will come over you and you'll just have to draw her closer." Wesley told him.

"I'm still not so sure about the whole parenthood thing." Angel sighed, shaking his head.

"If you wanna fulfill the prophecy, man ya can't go cuttin' corners." Gunn told his boss. "Ain't that right, Wes?"

"It is. Angel, in order to fulfill the Shansu prophecy and receive your reward you have to go through with it all. Not just the parts you like." Wesley agreed.

Angel groaned and banged his head up against the bookcase.

"I still don't see why you're so upset." Cordelia said. "I mean really, when was the last time you had sex? Buffy? I mean aren't you happy to be able to give up all this celibacy for awhile?"

"Hey!" Angel turned. "For your information, little miss. I am not celibate. In fact, I just got some the other night after Lindsey took off."

"You what?" Wesley asked in shock.

"Whoa, Angel...Wasn't sure ya had it in ya." Gunn chuckled.

"Are you guys really believing this?" Cordelia asked.

"Angel? You had sex and Angelus wasn't released? How is that possible?" Wesley wondered, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Maybe he's already found the one." Gunn suggested.

Angel let out a laugh. "Sh'yeah. Try again. You do know it has to be perfect bliss to bring out Angelus, don't you?"

"So what? You bought a hooker?" Gunn asked.

"No!" Angel retaliated quickly.

"Well just in case, I'd like to be able to contact the girl." Wesley said. "Do you have a number, Angel?"

"Uh no..." Angel shook his head, retreating quickly toward the front doors. "But um, trust me Wes. It wouldn't work out, okay."

"Where are you going?" Cordelia called to him.

"Out. Jeez! Can't a guy get a little alone time without everybody getting on his back." Angel grumbled, walking out onto the busy LA streets.

...

"Blech!" Lindsey hunched over the toilet again, puking up his breakfast and whatever was left over in his belly from dinner the night before.

Coughing, he slowly and shakily sat up again, grabbing the damp cloth from off the edge of the sink to wipe the bile from his mouth. He still didn't understand why he was becoming so sick but it was starting to piss him out.

He couldn't eat, he couldn't sleep, he couldn't even go to work. Or if he did manage to drag himself to the office he ended up puking his guts out in the trash can under his desk.

The phone sprang to life suddenly, forcing Lindsey to bite the bullet and bear it.

"Fuck it..." He growled, tossing the rag into the laundry hamper and standing slowly from his spot on the bathroom floor.

"Hello?" He half coughed into the phone.

"Lindsey, you have a client waiting." Anna Roswell, his colleague, replied, her voice sounding concerned.

Lindsey groaned and leaned back against the wall.

"Still feelin' bad are ya, honey?" Anna asked. "I'm tellin' ya, ya need to see a doctor."

"I'll be fine." Lindsey sighed. "Just tell Mrs. Robinson to wait on me. I'll get dressed and be there in ten."

"You sure?" Anna asked again. "I can cover the session for today if ya don't feel like comin' in."

"No. I'm alright. Just tell her I'm on my way."

"Alright." Anna sighed. "Drive careful. Traffic's been bad this mornin'."

"Thanks, Darlin. I will." Lindsey replied before hanging up the phone and rushing back to his bedroom to get dressed for work.

Being back in Texas had been great for the first few days but now this mysterious bug he'd caught was really killing his joy of being home again.

Of course, he had no idea yet what was yet to come, and just how his life would be turned on its head within the next few months.

He would come to know soon enough, however. After all, nothing stays secret forever.

TBC