The year: 2599
The place: New York
The stats: "the big five" runs the entire state of New York. The big five
are mob factions. The Capistrano family is the biggest of the five; they
run most of Staten Island. Numerous street gangs, who are employed by the
Mob, terrorize New York. Anyone who isn't working for the Mob is running
from them, or has immunity for working in a temple. Temples are safe
ground; none of the Mob factions will harm anyone who has Sanctuary. The
other four factions are; The Righteous, a large well-organized group of
demon hunters and vampire slayers, they run most of Brooklyn (where our
story starts). The Gugliani family, originally from Italy, now controlling
most of Queens. The Capone family, descendants of the great Al, over the
years they migrated to New York, and now control most of The Bronx. And
finally the Bellini family, nobody knows much about them other than the
fact that they're particularly fond of fighting. What nobody but me knows
(because I'm God) is they're all at least part demon. Mostly Kaleph and
Fiarral, but others as well. Their territory is Manhattan.
Little about New York itself has changed though, except for two things.
First, the East River is pollution free only because the Mob got tired of
watching people corrode before they sunk all the way to the bottom.
Second, the Brooklyn Bridge no longer has a middle due to some terrorists
in the mid-twenty-three-hundreds, now there's only about five hundred feet
on either side
[Two guys and a girl, all three of whom are members of a gang, have cornered an attractive redheaded girl in an alley. The gang members have knives; the girl has a courier type bag]
Guy1: You know what we're going to do to you, Girl? We're going to cut you up in pieces and divvy you up between us. Shana, you want first dibs?
[The last is directed at the other girl, who nods]
Shana: I want her eyes. They're pretty.
Guy2: we'll start with your tongue, so you can't scream...
[The redheaded girl cuts him off; she speaks with a mixed Scot accent]
Girl: Then I'd better get a good one in now, shouldn't I? [She screams 'help' long and loud] If you're going to scream, that's the way to do it.
[Both of the guys lunge at her, she kicks one in the groin, but Shana blocks her escape, the un-kicked boy gets both of the girl's arms and holds them behind her. She headbutts upward and catches his jaw, his teeth clack together hard.]
Guy2: You bitch!
Girl [lets out a harsh, almost desperate laugh]: Is that the best you can come up with? Here, try this. You are the kind of person who would stand in a puddle on the top of a hill dressed in full body armor during a thunderstorm yelling insults at... what the hell d'you think you're doing?
[The last is directed at Shana who has come around behind her to take one of her arms from the guy that is holding them. The guy that got kicked gets up and slowly runs the point of his knife across the girl's jawbone. A shadowy figure appears behind him]
Shadowy Figure: Enough.
[Without seeming to move the shadowy figure picks the first guy up and flings him away down the alley. The girl takes the opportunity to bang her captors' heads together, rendering them both unconscious.]
Girl: Thanks for the help. What do I owe you? [The shadowy figure points at the two punks]
Shadowy Figure: Them.
Girl: They're not mine, you're welcome to them.
[The shadowy figure brushes past her and feeds off of the punks. When he finishes he wipes his mouth and turns around]
Girl: You're a Vampire.
Vampire: You're not frightened?
Girl: No.
Vampire [warily]: Are you going to try and stake me?
Girl: Why should I? You just saved my life. But don't expect me to bow down and worship you either.
[The Vampire chuckles and then holds his hand out to shake]
Vampire: I'm Angel.
Girl: I'm Vivian. So why were you using my alley?
Angel: I need somewhere to hide.
Vivian: Oh? From who, may I ask?
Angel: The Righteous.
Vivian: Oh really? It just so happens that the Righteous and I have an agreement.
[Angel looks a little worried]
Vivian: I go downtown to help heal their wounded, and they stay away from me and mine. It seems to me that the safest place for you to crash for a few days would be my apartment.
Angel: You would do that?
Vivian: Do what?
Angel: Invite a vampire into your home.
Vivian: If he had just saved my life, yes. I'm not a very cynical person.
Angel: You're also very brave.
Vivian: I've been accused of that before, among other things. Come on, it's up the block a bit.
[The next morning Angel is making coffee when Vivian comes out of her room wearing a long nightshirt that says 'if it's morning don't talk to me']
Vivian: Not only do you rescue damsels in distress. But you also make coffee.
Angel: Coffee's about the extent of my culinary expertise. You want some? Vivian: Yes, please.
Angel: Cream?
Vivian: No.
Angel: Sugar?
Vivian: Yes, lots.
[Angel gives Vivian her coffee and sits down across from her at the little dinette table.]
Angel: Do you mind if I ask why you made a deal with the Righteous?
Vivian: Well, I had two choices, become useful to them, or, um, die.
Angel [baffled]: Die? Why would they kill you?
Vivian: Would you believe me if I said that they wanted my apartment because of its strategic location?
Angel: Probably not.
Vivian [mumbled into her cup]: Because I'm part demon.
Angel: What kind?
Vivian [taken aback]: Bracken.
Angel: How big a part?
Vivian: Well, my great-grandfather was half, so about a sixteenth.
Angel: Do you have any demonic traits?
Vivian: Besides a killer sense of smell and an impeccable sense of direction, I don't think so.
Angel: So you've never been in demon form?
Vivian: Now that's something else again. Yes, I have. But only because I was afraid for my life, I didn't realize what had happened at first. Realization came later.
Angel: You didn't know about your demon heritage?
Vivian: Oh I knew, but my father had never had a demon form, so I didn't think that I had one either.
[The doorbell rings, Vivian goes to answer it, standing there is a guy holding a parrot in a cage]
Vivian: Hi Robbie.
Robbie: Good morning Lady Doyle. Thanks for letting me borrow him.
Vivian: You're welcome Robbie, if you ever need to impress anybody again, you can have him back.
Robbie: I think Minerva is a keeper.
Vivian: Later Robbie.
Robbie: Later Lady D
[He leaves. Vivian takes the cage and hangs it on a post in the kitchen]
Angel: Who's that?
Vivian: Robbie, or the bird?
Angel: The bird.
Parrot: Cheeky little devil isn't he?
Vivian: This is Boca [she thumps the cage] Mouth.
Mouth: Dahling, I'm hoome!
Angel: Your last name is Doyle?
Vivian: Yes. And my middle name is Frances, if you were going to ask.
Angel: I was.
Vivian: I was named after my great-grandfather...
Angel: Frances Alan Doyle.
[Vivian sits back down]
Vivian: How do you know that?
Angel: I knew him. We worked together for a while.
Vivian: Do you know how he died? No one in my family does, and it would be nice if someone could shed a little light on the subject.
Angel: Funny you should use that phrase.
Vivian: Funny how?
Angel: Funny interesting, considering light had a good deal to do with his noble end.
Vivian: It was a noble end was it?
Angel: I refused to see it at first, but, yes, it was.
[Angel relates the story of Doyle saving the shipload of half-breeds from the Scourge.]
Vivian: My great-grandfather helped bring about the downfall of the Scourge. Amazing. He died fighting the good fight, not a bar brawl. I never would've thought that.
Angel: You thought he was killed in a bar fight?
Vivian: Well, it was fairly widely known that he celebrated the opening of the mailbox with a drink down at the pub.
Angel: Cordelia said that once... to Oz.
Vivian: You don't like remembering the past.
Angel: You can tell?
Vivian: It's pretty plain. And I'm a bit empathic. I got it from my mother, she was always telling me "Remember Vivvie, a little empathy goes a long way."
Angel: You can tell what other people are feeling?
Vivian: Yeah, and if I concentrate hard enough I can make them feel what I'm feeling. Murray taught me that.
Angel: Murray?
Vivian: He possessed me about a year ago.
Angel [scratching his head]: Possessed has more than one meaning.
Vivian: Oh, Murray's an Ethros demon.
Angel: You were possessed by an Ethros demon?
Vivian: He needed a body to survive and I offered seein' as how we're cousins of a sort.
Angel: You willingly hosted an Ethros?
Vivian: I'm not as delicate as I look, and I made it very clear to him from the beginning that it was my body and it was going to stay that way. He was just visiting and if he didn't leave after three months I was having him evicted with an exorcism and a box handy to put him in.
[About a week later, after Angel has met Murray, Robbie and his girlfriend come to dinner. After dinner everyone is sitting in the living room] Vivian: Would anyone like some wine?
Angel: I'd like some red, please.
Robbie: I'll take a beer, if you've got one.
Vivian: Minerva?
Minerva: Nothing for me thanks.
[Vivian goes into the kitchen and comes out with a glass of dark red wine, a bottle of beer and a scotch on the rocks. Small talk follows. After Robbie and Minerva leave Vivian goes to wash dishes in the kitchen sink Angel follows her a few minutes later. Vivian won't look at him, pretending to be highly involved in her work.]
Angel: You put blood in my wine, didn't you?
Vivian: I did.
Angel: Why?
Vivian: You haven't touched a drop all week and I don't need you getting all fangy on me.
[She puts a plate in the dish rack; Angel sees the bandage on her wrist.]
Angel: It was your blood.
Vivian: Of course it was, you don't see anyone else's blood lying around here, do you?
Angel: It's not safe for you if I stay here any longer.
[He makes it to the door before she stops him]
Vivian: Angel! Listen to me. The Righteous are searching harder than ever. They found Murray this afternoon.
Angel: They killed him?
Vivian: No, he possessed one of them before they could, and it's not like they're going to kill one of their own. But it's not Murray I'm worried about, it's you. You're the one they'll kill.
Angel [on the way out the door]: I can take care of myself.
[I see a montage of scenes that fade between Angel walking down the street, Vivian watching him, him getting ambushed and fighting in slow motion, Vivian pacing her apartment, trying to read a book, etc.]
[The next morning at dawn, Vivian is still awake, she gets dressed in a crop top and cargo pants, and her pockets are full of light weaponry. She goes searching for Angel. She finds him on the roof of a building about ten or fifteen blocks away with a stake through his chest; he is spread- eagled face up tied at the wrists and ankles to pipes and other roofy type things. He is suspended about three inches off the ground, there are cross- shaped burns on the palms of his hands, and another on his forehead. He is unconscious. Vivian hurries over to him.]
Vivian: Angel?
[She pats his cheek a few times]
Vivian: Angel, wake up, I'm getting you out of here.
[He opens his eyes, blinks then swears. Vivian takes a switchblade out of one of her pockets and starts hacking away at the rope holding one of Angel's wrists]
Vivian: There's a temple down the street, we can ask for sanctuary.
Angel: You're putting yourself in danger by helping me. Now the Righteous will be after you too.
Vivian: D'you really think I care?
[Angel groans and goes limp, Vivian finishes cutting him loose and helps him up. Vivian supports Angel as they go down the fire escape. They walk as quickly as they can down the alley; they enter the temple and walk down the center isle.]
Vivian [touching the altar cloth]: I request sanctuary!
[An old nun comes in through a side door]
Nun: You are both allowed sanctuary as long as you stay in the temple.
[She really sees Angel]
Nun: Daughter, are you aware of the company you keep?
Vivian: Yes I am sister. He needs help, the Righteous are looking for the both of us.
Nun: Come, if any of them have the nerve to enter here I won't allow them to discover you.
[She leads them to the door]
Nun: Sister Caitlin will show you to a room, she will also retrieve any medical supplies you might need.
[Another, younger, nun is on the other side of the door, she leads them to a room down the hall with heavy drapes and a cot with no sheets. Vivian helps Angel lay down and then turns to Sister Caitlin.]
Sister Caitlin: Do you need anything?
Vivian: Bandages. And ice.
[Sister Caitlin leaves. Vivian turns to Angel]
Angel: How long are we safe?
Vivian: As long as we stay here.
Angel: Or until they come and get us.
[There is a tense silence until Sister Caitlin returns with a couple rolls of bandages and a bucket of ice.]
Vivian: Thank you Sister.
[Sister Caitlin leaves, shutting the door behind her. Vivian goes over to help Angel.]
Vivian: That stake's pretty well imbedded isn't it? This is going to hurt. Quite a bit.
[Vivian yanks the stake out of Angel's chest. Angel lies there gasping for a few moments.]
Angel: Ow?
Vivian: You're going to have to take off your shirt.
[Angel looks baffled]
Vivian: I can't very well bandage over it, can I?
Angel: Right.
[He pulls off is shirt, Vivian sees that his back is a mass of blisters.]
Vivian: Holy water.
[Angel nods.]
Vivian: Bastards.
[She takes a couple of ice cubes out of the bucket]
Vivian: This might be a bit cold.
[She runs the ice across Angel's back; he starts and then relaxes.]
Angel: No, it's alright. It's actually kind of nice.
Vivian: You might want to put some on your head.
[Vivian wraps bandages around Angel's chest then sits on the foot of the bed and starts picking at the tape holding the bandage on her wrist.]
Angel: What are you doing?
Vivian: You need blood.
Angel: Not from you.
Vivian: I highly doubt that anyone else is going to offer.
Angel: No.
Vivian: Am I going to have to smack you until you get fangy?
[Angel looks away from her; she darts out and puts her ring against the burn mark on his head. He reels back and gets the 'Vampire Face']
Angel: What was that for?
Vivian: To prove my point. If you're having such a low tolerance to silver, then you really need blood.
Angel: Then I'll hunt.
Vivian [picking again]: Don't be stupid, the sun's up. And there's no doubt that the Righteous have the building surrounded.
Angel: I'll go tonight.
Vivian [still picking]: Tonight will be even worse. They'll be jumpy because we haven't made a break for it yet. The safest time will be tomorrow evening.
Angel: What about the sun?
Vivian [finally getting the bandage off]: Oh, you won't have to worry about that. You'll be a corpse.
Angel: What?
Vivian [holding her wrist out to him]: You drink, and I'll explain.
Angel: I can't.
Vivian: Why?
Angel: Taking blood from the same place twice within twenty-four hours quickens the change. Your other wrist will be fine.
[Before he can finish (somewhere between 'change' and 'fine') Vivian has pulled her hair out of the way, exposing her neck]
Angel: I don't know if there is such a good idea either.
Vivian: You drink or you die. Either from malnutrition or from me beating the tar out of you, and I'm not really giving you a choice.
[Angel reluctantly feeds off of Vivian, he doesn't take nearly enough to cure himself entirely. Even so the crucifix burns fade and he gets his normal face again. Vivian bandages her neck.]
Angel: Now explain.
Vivian: I know the Mother Superior here. She owes me a bigger favor than just sanctuary. I'm going to request a funeral procession, with us in the coffins. You can survive underwater, can't you?
Angel: Long enough to get out of a coffin and swim to the surface.
Vivian: Good.
[The day passes with both Angel and Vivian sleeping fitfully. At some point, while Angel is asleep, Vivian goes to talk to Mother Superior. When she walks into the office Mother Superior is sitting at her desk]
Mother Superior: Vivian Doyle. It must've taken guts to come back here, and in the company of a Vampire. Both of you being hunted by the Righteous, no less.
Vivian: I owe that vampire my life.
Mother Superior [gesturing to the bandage on Vivian's neck]: And apparently he owes you his continued existence.
Vivian: Not that he really wants to.
Mother Superior: Forcing your blood down his throat are you? Three years hasn't improved your manners any.
Vivian: So are you just going to sit there pretending to be stern, or are you going to get up and give your little sister a hug?
[Mother Superior gets up, hugs Vivian then holds her at arm's length.]
Mother Superior: What have you been doing to yourself for the past three years, Vivvie?
Vivian: Living Meredith, living hard.
Meredith: And now you're on the run from the Righteous.
Vivian: Not that I ever wasn't.
Meredith: Is he really worth it Vivvie?
Vivian: What exactly are you asking Meredith? Are you asking if he's worth my time? Yes, he is. Are you asking if he's worth my life? The answer to that is yes too. And maybe he's worth more than that, I don't know yet.
Meredith: Maybe you'll learn. So, how were you planning on getting out of here?
Vivian: In coffins.
Meredith: Ah. We'll throw you into the East River if I'm not mistaken.
Vivian: Good, then we can cross to Manhattan, Bellini territory. I'll go tell Angel.
[Meredith hugs Vivian again.]
Meredith: Don't wait another three years to come and visit.
Vivian: Okay.
[When Vivian gets back to the room, Angel is sitting on the bed lost in thought.]
Vivian: We've got our escape route. We climb out of the East River on the Manhattan side.
Angel: Bellini territory. Marginally better than being here.
[Vivian sits on the foot of the bed.]
Vivian: What were you thinking about when I walked in?
Angel: I was wondering why you came after me. Why risk your life for someone you barely know?
Vivian: D'you want the selfish answer, or the truth?
Angel: Both.
Vivian: Well, the selfish answer is that I wanted to learn more about my great-grandfather, and you're the only person who can tell me.
Angel: And the truth?
Vivian: You're starting to grow on me.
Angel: So when's the funeral?
Vivian: We should be in the water by sunset. I need to call Robbie, I saw a phone down the hall, and I'll be back in a minute.
[She goes to the phone and dials a number she waits through what is obviously a few rings]
Vivian: Come on Robbie, pick up. Robbie? Oh, hello Minerva, is he in? Thanks. Robbie, I need you to do me a favor. I need you to take Boca for a few days. I left his food in the pantry, there's also a box there that you can take. You'll go get him now? Thank you so much. You've got him? Put him on will you please? Boca dahling, I've got to leave you with Robbie for a while, when I get back, I'll bring you a treat. Robbie, go get that box while you're there, the one on the third shelf, that's the one. You can have everything that's in that box. Take care of Boca. I'll be back for him sooner or later. Bye Robbie.
[She hangs up and goes back to the room. The plan goes off without a hitch until it comes to getting out of the coffins. Angel gets out of his with no problem and swims to the surface, then he realizes that Vivian is still at the bottom of the river, he pauses a moment and dives under. He surfaces a few moments later with an unconscious Vivian, one who isn't breathing. He resituates her; she comes to coughing and spluttering.]
Vivian: Thanks.
Angel: Don't thank me yet. Looks like we're going to have a fight on our hands.
[There is a gang coming towards them, at least ten people, all armed.]
Angel: Can you control the change to your demon form?
Vivian: Probably.
Angel: Then you might want to get spiked.
Vivian: Right.
[A fight ensues. Angel and Vivian soon dispatch most of their attackers, but more keep coming and they are captured. They are taken to the Bellini's secondary H.Q. They are tied to two chairs, back to back and are being interrogated by someone fairly high up in the Bellini ranks. Vivian still has Bracken spikes]
Interrogator: Explain again why you were climbing out of the East River after dark?
Angel: We told you. We're wanted by the Righteous. We didn't think they'd be stupid enough to follow us.
Interrogator: Upon climbing out of the River, you commenced to put five of our best people in the hospital.
Vivian: Hey! They attacked us, alright?
[A woman walks into the room, a tall, well-curved, leggy brunette]
Woman: Leave off Tony. Julian wants me to take care of 'em.
[Tony leaves, the woman circles around to Vivian]
Woman: Youse got demon blood, why ya hangin' around with a human for?
Angel: I'm not human. That's why.
Vivian: Who's asking?
Woman: Rochelle. Rochelle Bellini. So if ya ain't human, What are ya?
[Angel gets the Vampire Face and smiles at Rochelle]
Rochelle: Well, well, well. Julian wanted you terminated. I'd be willing to bet that plan's changed. Yo Jules! The dude's one of us! You still want 'im iced?
[A voice comes over the loudspeakers]
Voice: No, I think we should keep the pair of them. Keep them together. After all, you get more with a kind word and a two-by-four than with a kind word alone.
Rochelle: Once again Boss, I have no idea watchya tawkin' about, but I'm not gonna question yer judgment. Should I give 'em a guesthouse den?
Voice: No. Let them have the house on fifteenth, the one we vacated last week. I'd like to see what a feminine touch could do to it.
[Vivian and Angel move into the house, a very large house with marble floors and such. There are multiple broken windows, bloodstains on the floor, smashed furniture and torn curtains. Over the months Vivian and Angel manage to clean it up and make it nice again. They also begin to fall in love. They both do odd jobs for anyone who needs them and earn some new furniture. One day, mid-evening, there is a knock on the door, Vivian answers it, standing there is a tall man. A tall man with head spikes and blue skin.]
Vivian: Who are you then?
Man: Julian. Julian Bellini.
[He smiles disarmingly]
Julian: Can I come in?
Vivian: I suppose so, seeing as how refusing would have a tendency to greatly shorten my life span.
[Angel comes down the stairs with a paint roller in hand]
Angel: Vivvie, Who's here?
Vivian: Our boss.
Julian: Actually, you're the one I came to talk to. I'm going to give you a promotion.
Angel: What?
Julian: I'm giving you a promotion. Instead of being Mister Fixit, you're going to join the elite.
Vivian: You're going to make him a hit man?
Julian: Can't put anything past this one, I can see why you like her.
Angel: Will I get paid more?
Julian [laughing]: Is that all you're worried about? Yes, say three times as much as you're making now?
Angel: Make it five and you've got yourself a new hit man.
[Julian laughs again]
Julian: What would you say if I made it six?
Angel: I'd say that you've got a deal.
Julian: Good. I'll expect you to be ready to go at any time.
Angel: Just as long as it's not daytime.
Julian: I don't usually send my operatives out in the sunlight. I like what you two have done to the place, looks nice. I can show myself out.
[Julian leaves. Vivian dope slaps angel.]
Vivian: Are you suffering from a case of escaped brain? What are we going to do with that much money?
Angel: We're going to save it so we can move away. [He rolls his eyes] And we're going to show it off.
Vivian: That's a better answer.
[She kisses him on the cheek.]
Vivian: Aren't you done painting that room yet?
Angel: The stain on the north wall keeps seeping through.
Vivian: I told you I'd fix it. Get me a brush and the can of 'wild strawberry' paint out of the basement.
[About a year later Angel and Vivian are sitting across from each other at the dinette table in the breakfast nook]
Angel: I'm going to tell them I want out.
Vivian: Are you insane? They could kill you.
Angel: They're not liable to do that. They'll want you to see what happens to 'traitors'. All they'll do is rough me up a bit and send a couple guys home with me to finish the job.
Vivian: You do have a plan?
Angel: Of course I do. When I get back you play it innocent, you don't know that they're planning on killing anyone.
Vivian: And?
Angel: And we're madly in love.
Vivian: I could've told you that.
Angel: Vivvie, I'm serious.
Vivian: So was I. What should I wear?
[Angel waves his hands in a vaguely dress-shaped gesture]
Angel: A dress. Something low-cut, not entirely backless. Something you can move in. Sun's down, I should go.
Vivian: Kiss for luck?
[Angel leans across the table and kisses her almost desperately.]
Angel: I'll come back.
[While he's gone, Vivian gets dressed in a long velvet dress with one sleeve and keyhole sides and front. The skirt is long but full, so she can kick some ass if she has to. She accessorizes with a gold wire anklet, bracelet, choker and under-the-dress belt. She puts on gold eyeshadow and blue lipstick. When Angel gets back she runs over to him and jumps wrapping her legs around his waist, he automatically holds her up. As she talks she kisses his cheek, jaw and neck.]
Vivian: Oh, [kiss] you're back. [Kiss, kiss] After the note you left, [kiss kiss] I thought you were [kiss, kiss, kiss] dead.
[Angel half heartedly/absent mindedly kisses the corner of her jaw]
Angel: I'm not dead Vivvie. I came back.
[Vivian 'sees' the two mobsters who walked in the door behind Angel and slides to the floor]
Angel: These are a couple of guys from work.
[He turns around to introduce them, but keeps a protective hand around Vivian's waist.]
Angel: Vivian, this is Alphonse and Guido, the Caperelli brothers. Alf, Guido, this is Vivian.
Alphonse: She's quite a Moll. You payin' 'er by the hour fer dis?
Vivian: What exactly are the implications of that remark?
Guido: Looks like we gots a Harvard graduate on our hands don't we?
Angel: No 'we' don't. She's not on 'our' hands, she's on mine.
[The Caperelli brothers snort, chuckle and elbow each other while winking suggestively]
Angel: Vivvie, why don't you get our guests some wine? I'd like mine red.
[Angel herds the Caperelli brothers into the living room. Vivian goes into the kitchen and pours three glasses of red wine; she bloodies Angel's glass then pours herself a scotch on the rocks. She takes the liquor out to the living room and sits on the couch next to Angel.]
Alphonse: Hey Angel, you sure she's old enough to be drinkin' hard liquor?
Vivian: What? Are you jealous?
Alphonse: Dat's a nice mouf you got dere. Someone should watch it.
Vivian: Go right ahead. I'm warning you now though; you're liable to get bored pretty fast. It doesn't do tricks.
Guido: Did you hear what your Moll just said to my brother?
Angel: Yes, I did. And she's not my Moll, she's my fiancée.
Alphonse: Oh really? Den we'll just have to dust her too.
[Before either of the brothers can draw his stake Angel kicks the glass- topped table at them. It shatters and splinters showering them with glass shards and cherry wood splinters, not to mention half-filled glasses of alcohol. Vivian takes a running start across the carpet and flings herself into a face-first slide across the marble floor coming to a stop against the weapons cabinet. She hops up and flings the cabinet open, grabs a stake and throws it to Angel who catches it, and attempts to stake Guido. Vivian takes another stake out of the cabinet and shakes spikes onto her head. Angel and Guido are locked in a struggle over the stake when Alf rushes Vivian; she barely misses him with her stake]
Vivian: Newsflash Alfie-boy. I can't be 'dusted.' You'll just have to think of another way to get rid of me.
Alf [drawing a gun]: Hows about good old-fashioned lead?
[Before she can dodge, he plugs her in the stomach. She looks down at the bullet hole in shock; she looks back at the Mobster. He grins as her spikes disappear. He reaches out and holds her by the back of the head, then sinks his fangs into her throat. He drains her almost to the point of death and lets her drop. From across the room, Angel yells, the desperate yell of loss. He rushes Alf and manages to stake him, Guido gets away. Angel kneels by Vivian and cradles her head in his lap.]
Angel: Vivvie... I can't save your life. But I can bring you back. I will bring you back, if it's what you want.
Vivian: Bring me back?
Angel: I can make you immortal. You'll be like them, without a soul. But...
Vivian: But I'll be alive.
Angel: You won't really be alive. You'll just be undead.
Vivian: But I'll still exist. You won't have to be alone.
Angel: You're sure?
[Vivian nods. Angel bites his own wrist and holds it to her lips, she drinks deeply then relaxes]
Vivian: What now?
Angel: Now comes the hardest part. You have to die.
Vivian: Goodnight Angel.
Angel: Goodnight Vivian. Sweet dreams.
[She closes her eyes, and dies. Angel carries her limp form up the stairs and lays her gently on the bed.]
Angel: I'll see you at sunset.
[He waits the rest of the night and all the next day. At sunset he goes back up to the room to be there when Vivian wakes up. She doesn't. Angel waits an hour or so, still nothing. There is a knock at the front door, he goes downstairs and answers it. Standing there is Rochelle Bellini]
Rochelle: She's still asleep isn't she?
[Angel reaches out and closes his hand around her throat, she doesn't struggle]
Angel: And how would you know about that?
Rochelle: If you'd let me breathe, I'd tell you.
[He lets her go]
Angel: Talk
Rochelle: Bracken demons can't become Vampires with out drinking Bracken blood.
Angel: What happened to your accent?
Rochelle: What? You wants I should tawk like dis?
Angel: Not if you don't have to.
Rochelle: Good. Now, I can get you bracken blood, in return for a favor.
Angel: What?
Rochelle: Help us overthrow Julian Bellini.
Angel: Who is 'us' exactly, and why do you want him overthrown?
Rochelle: We are me and my followers. We want him overthrown because it's my right to lead. So, w hat d'ya say? We win, I'll cure your girl, and give the pair of you enough money to start fresh anywhere you want.
Angel: And if we lose?
Rochelle [dry laugh]: If we lose, we're all dead. So it's not gonna matter anyway.
Angel: I'll help.
Rochelle: Good. They're going to be sending a few goons back here pretty soon anyway to finish you off, my people will stage an ambush.
[Two guys and a girl, all three of whom are members of a gang, have cornered an attractive redheaded girl in an alley. The gang members have knives; the girl has a courier type bag]
Guy1: You know what we're going to do to you, Girl? We're going to cut you up in pieces and divvy you up between us. Shana, you want first dibs?
[The last is directed at the other girl, who nods]
Shana: I want her eyes. They're pretty.
Guy2: we'll start with your tongue, so you can't scream...
[The redheaded girl cuts him off; she speaks with a mixed Scot accent]
Girl: Then I'd better get a good one in now, shouldn't I? [She screams 'help' long and loud] If you're going to scream, that's the way to do it.
[Both of the guys lunge at her, she kicks one in the groin, but Shana blocks her escape, the un-kicked boy gets both of the girl's arms and holds them behind her. She headbutts upward and catches his jaw, his teeth clack together hard.]
Guy2: You bitch!
Girl [lets out a harsh, almost desperate laugh]: Is that the best you can come up with? Here, try this. You are the kind of person who would stand in a puddle on the top of a hill dressed in full body armor during a thunderstorm yelling insults at... what the hell d'you think you're doing?
[The last is directed at Shana who has come around behind her to take one of her arms from the guy that is holding them. The guy that got kicked gets up and slowly runs the point of his knife across the girl's jawbone. A shadowy figure appears behind him]
Shadowy Figure: Enough.
[Without seeming to move the shadowy figure picks the first guy up and flings him away down the alley. The girl takes the opportunity to bang her captors' heads together, rendering them both unconscious.]
Girl: Thanks for the help. What do I owe you? [The shadowy figure points at the two punks]
Shadowy Figure: Them.
Girl: They're not mine, you're welcome to them.
[The shadowy figure brushes past her and feeds off of the punks. When he finishes he wipes his mouth and turns around]
Girl: You're a Vampire.
Vampire: You're not frightened?
Girl: No.
Vampire [warily]: Are you going to try and stake me?
Girl: Why should I? You just saved my life. But don't expect me to bow down and worship you either.
[The Vampire chuckles and then holds his hand out to shake]
Vampire: I'm Angel.
Girl: I'm Vivian. So why were you using my alley?
Angel: I need somewhere to hide.
Vivian: Oh? From who, may I ask?
Angel: The Righteous.
Vivian: Oh really? It just so happens that the Righteous and I have an agreement.
[Angel looks a little worried]
Vivian: I go downtown to help heal their wounded, and they stay away from me and mine. It seems to me that the safest place for you to crash for a few days would be my apartment.
Angel: You would do that?
Vivian: Do what?
Angel: Invite a vampire into your home.
Vivian: If he had just saved my life, yes. I'm not a very cynical person.
Angel: You're also very brave.
Vivian: I've been accused of that before, among other things. Come on, it's up the block a bit.
[The next morning Angel is making coffee when Vivian comes out of her room wearing a long nightshirt that says 'if it's morning don't talk to me']
Vivian: Not only do you rescue damsels in distress. But you also make coffee.
Angel: Coffee's about the extent of my culinary expertise. You want some? Vivian: Yes, please.
Angel: Cream?
Vivian: No.
Angel: Sugar?
Vivian: Yes, lots.
[Angel gives Vivian her coffee and sits down across from her at the little dinette table.]
Angel: Do you mind if I ask why you made a deal with the Righteous?
Vivian: Well, I had two choices, become useful to them, or, um, die.
Angel [baffled]: Die? Why would they kill you?
Vivian: Would you believe me if I said that they wanted my apartment because of its strategic location?
Angel: Probably not.
Vivian [mumbled into her cup]: Because I'm part demon.
Angel: What kind?
Vivian [taken aback]: Bracken.
Angel: How big a part?
Vivian: Well, my great-grandfather was half, so about a sixteenth.
Angel: Do you have any demonic traits?
Vivian: Besides a killer sense of smell and an impeccable sense of direction, I don't think so.
Angel: So you've never been in demon form?
Vivian: Now that's something else again. Yes, I have. But only because I was afraid for my life, I didn't realize what had happened at first. Realization came later.
Angel: You didn't know about your demon heritage?
Vivian: Oh I knew, but my father had never had a demon form, so I didn't think that I had one either.
[The doorbell rings, Vivian goes to answer it, standing there is a guy holding a parrot in a cage]
Vivian: Hi Robbie.
Robbie: Good morning Lady Doyle. Thanks for letting me borrow him.
Vivian: You're welcome Robbie, if you ever need to impress anybody again, you can have him back.
Robbie: I think Minerva is a keeper.
Vivian: Later Robbie.
Robbie: Later Lady D
[He leaves. Vivian takes the cage and hangs it on a post in the kitchen]
Angel: Who's that?
Vivian: Robbie, or the bird?
Angel: The bird.
Parrot: Cheeky little devil isn't he?
Vivian: This is Boca [she thumps the cage] Mouth.
Mouth: Dahling, I'm hoome!
Angel: Your last name is Doyle?
Vivian: Yes. And my middle name is Frances, if you were going to ask.
Angel: I was.
Vivian: I was named after my great-grandfather...
Angel: Frances Alan Doyle.
[Vivian sits back down]
Vivian: How do you know that?
Angel: I knew him. We worked together for a while.
Vivian: Do you know how he died? No one in my family does, and it would be nice if someone could shed a little light on the subject.
Angel: Funny you should use that phrase.
Vivian: Funny how?
Angel: Funny interesting, considering light had a good deal to do with his noble end.
Vivian: It was a noble end was it?
Angel: I refused to see it at first, but, yes, it was.
[Angel relates the story of Doyle saving the shipload of half-breeds from the Scourge.]
Vivian: My great-grandfather helped bring about the downfall of the Scourge. Amazing. He died fighting the good fight, not a bar brawl. I never would've thought that.
Angel: You thought he was killed in a bar fight?
Vivian: Well, it was fairly widely known that he celebrated the opening of the mailbox with a drink down at the pub.
Angel: Cordelia said that once... to Oz.
Vivian: You don't like remembering the past.
Angel: You can tell?
Vivian: It's pretty plain. And I'm a bit empathic. I got it from my mother, she was always telling me "Remember Vivvie, a little empathy goes a long way."
Angel: You can tell what other people are feeling?
Vivian: Yeah, and if I concentrate hard enough I can make them feel what I'm feeling. Murray taught me that.
Angel: Murray?
Vivian: He possessed me about a year ago.
Angel [scratching his head]: Possessed has more than one meaning.
Vivian: Oh, Murray's an Ethros demon.
Angel: You were possessed by an Ethros demon?
Vivian: He needed a body to survive and I offered seein' as how we're cousins of a sort.
Angel: You willingly hosted an Ethros?
Vivian: I'm not as delicate as I look, and I made it very clear to him from the beginning that it was my body and it was going to stay that way. He was just visiting and if he didn't leave after three months I was having him evicted with an exorcism and a box handy to put him in.
[About a week later, after Angel has met Murray, Robbie and his girlfriend come to dinner. After dinner everyone is sitting in the living room] Vivian: Would anyone like some wine?
Angel: I'd like some red, please.
Robbie: I'll take a beer, if you've got one.
Vivian: Minerva?
Minerva: Nothing for me thanks.
[Vivian goes into the kitchen and comes out with a glass of dark red wine, a bottle of beer and a scotch on the rocks. Small talk follows. After Robbie and Minerva leave Vivian goes to wash dishes in the kitchen sink Angel follows her a few minutes later. Vivian won't look at him, pretending to be highly involved in her work.]
Angel: You put blood in my wine, didn't you?
Vivian: I did.
Angel: Why?
Vivian: You haven't touched a drop all week and I don't need you getting all fangy on me.
[She puts a plate in the dish rack; Angel sees the bandage on her wrist.]
Angel: It was your blood.
Vivian: Of course it was, you don't see anyone else's blood lying around here, do you?
Angel: It's not safe for you if I stay here any longer.
[He makes it to the door before she stops him]
Vivian: Angel! Listen to me. The Righteous are searching harder than ever. They found Murray this afternoon.
Angel: They killed him?
Vivian: No, he possessed one of them before they could, and it's not like they're going to kill one of their own. But it's not Murray I'm worried about, it's you. You're the one they'll kill.
Angel [on the way out the door]: I can take care of myself.
[I see a montage of scenes that fade between Angel walking down the street, Vivian watching him, him getting ambushed and fighting in slow motion, Vivian pacing her apartment, trying to read a book, etc.]
[The next morning at dawn, Vivian is still awake, she gets dressed in a crop top and cargo pants, and her pockets are full of light weaponry. She goes searching for Angel. She finds him on the roof of a building about ten or fifteen blocks away with a stake through his chest; he is spread- eagled face up tied at the wrists and ankles to pipes and other roofy type things. He is suspended about three inches off the ground, there are cross- shaped burns on the palms of his hands, and another on his forehead. He is unconscious. Vivian hurries over to him.]
Vivian: Angel?
[She pats his cheek a few times]
Vivian: Angel, wake up, I'm getting you out of here.
[He opens his eyes, blinks then swears. Vivian takes a switchblade out of one of her pockets and starts hacking away at the rope holding one of Angel's wrists]
Vivian: There's a temple down the street, we can ask for sanctuary.
Angel: You're putting yourself in danger by helping me. Now the Righteous will be after you too.
Vivian: D'you really think I care?
[Angel groans and goes limp, Vivian finishes cutting him loose and helps him up. Vivian supports Angel as they go down the fire escape. They walk as quickly as they can down the alley; they enter the temple and walk down the center isle.]
Vivian [touching the altar cloth]: I request sanctuary!
[An old nun comes in through a side door]
Nun: You are both allowed sanctuary as long as you stay in the temple.
[She really sees Angel]
Nun: Daughter, are you aware of the company you keep?
Vivian: Yes I am sister. He needs help, the Righteous are looking for the both of us.
Nun: Come, if any of them have the nerve to enter here I won't allow them to discover you.
[She leads them to the door]
Nun: Sister Caitlin will show you to a room, she will also retrieve any medical supplies you might need.
[Another, younger, nun is on the other side of the door, she leads them to a room down the hall with heavy drapes and a cot with no sheets. Vivian helps Angel lay down and then turns to Sister Caitlin.]
Sister Caitlin: Do you need anything?
Vivian: Bandages. And ice.
[Sister Caitlin leaves. Vivian turns to Angel]
Angel: How long are we safe?
Vivian: As long as we stay here.
Angel: Or until they come and get us.
[There is a tense silence until Sister Caitlin returns with a couple rolls of bandages and a bucket of ice.]
Vivian: Thank you Sister.
[Sister Caitlin leaves, shutting the door behind her. Vivian goes over to help Angel.]
Vivian: That stake's pretty well imbedded isn't it? This is going to hurt. Quite a bit.
[Vivian yanks the stake out of Angel's chest. Angel lies there gasping for a few moments.]
Angel: Ow?
Vivian: You're going to have to take off your shirt.
[Angel looks baffled]
Vivian: I can't very well bandage over it, can I?
Angel: Right.
[He pulls off is shirt, Vivian sees that his back is a mass of blisters.]
Vivian: Holy water.
[Angel nods.]
Vivian: Bastards.
[She takes a couple of ice cubes out of the bucket]
Vivian: This might be a bit cold.
[She runs the ice across Angel's back; he starts and then relaxes.]
Angel: No, it's alright. It's actually kind of nice.
Vivian: You might want to put some on your head.
[Vivian wraps bandages around Angel's chest then sits on the foot of the bed and starts picking at the tape holding the bandage on her wrist.]
Angel: What are you doing?
Vivian: You need blood.
Angel: Not from you.
Vivian: I highly doubt that anyone else is going to offer.
Angel: No.
Vivian: Am I going to have to smack you until you get fangy?
[Angel looks away from her; she darts out and puts her ring against the burn mark on his head. He reels back and gets the 'Vampire Face']
Angel: What was that for?
Vivian: To prove my point. If you're having such a low tolerance to silver, then you really need blood.
Angel: Then I'll hunt.
Vivian [picking again]: Don't be stupid, the sun's up. And there's no doubt that the Righteous have the building surrounded.
Angel: I'll go tonight.
Vivian [still picking]: Tonight will be even worse. They'll be jumpy because we haven't made a break for it yet. The safest time will be tomorrow evening.
Angel: What about the sun?
Vivian [finally getting the bandage off]: Oh, you won't have to worry about that. You'll be a corpse.
Angel: What?
Vivian [holding her wrist out to him]: You drink, and I'll explain.
Angel: I can't.
Vivian: Why?
Angel: Taking blood from the same place twice within twenty-four hours quickens the change. Your other wrist will be fine.
[Before he can finish (somewhere between 'change' and 'fine') Vivian has pulled her hair out of the way, exposing her neck]
Angel: I don't know if there is such a good idea either.
Vivian: You drink or you die. Either from malnutrition or from me beating the tar out of you, and I'm not really giving you a choice.
[Angel reluctantly feeds off of Vivian, he doesn't take nearly enough to cure himself entirely. Even so the crucifix burns fade and he gets his normal face again. Vivian bandages her neck.]
Angel: Now explain.
Vivian: I know the Mother Superior here. She owes me a bigger favor than just sanctuary. I'm going to request a funeral procession, with us in the coffins. You can survive underwater, can't you?
Angel: Long enough to get out of a coffin and swim to the surface.
Vivian: Good.
[The day passes with both Angel and Vivian sleeping fitfully. At some point, while Angel is asleep, Vivian goes to talk to Mother Superior. When she walks into the office Mother Superior is sitting at her desk]
Mother Superior: Vivian Doyle. It must've taken guts to come back here, and in the company of a Vampire. Both of you being hunted by the Righteous, no less.
Vivian: I owe that vampire my life.
Mother Superior [gesturing to the bandage on Vivian's neck]: And apparently he owes you his continued existence.
Vivian: Not that he really wants to.
Mother Superior: Forcing your blood down his throat are you? Three years hasn't improved your manners any.
Vivian: So are you just going to sit there pretending to be stern, or are you going to get up and give your little sister a hug?
[Mother Superior gets up, hugs Vivian then holds her at arm's length.]
Mother Superior: What have you been doing to yourself for the past three years, Vivvie?
Vivian: Living Meredith, living hard.
Meredith: And now you're on the run from the Righteous.
Vivian: Not that I ever wasn't.
Meredith: Is he really worth it Vivvie?
Vivian: What exactly are you asking Meredith? Are you asking if he's worth my time? Yes, he is. Are you asking if he's worth my life? The answer to that is yes too. And maybe he's worth more than that, I don't know yet.
Meredith: Maybe you'll learn. So, how were you planning on getting out of here?
Vivian: In coffins.
Meredith: Ah. We'll throw you into the East River if I'm not mistaken.
Vivian: Good, then we can cross to Manhattan, Bellini territory. I'll go tell Angel.
[Meredith hugs Vivian again.]
Meredith: Don't wait another three years to come and visit.
Vivian: Okay.
[When Vivian gets back to the room, Angel is sitting on the bed lost in thought.]
Vivian: We've got our escape route. We climb out of the East River on the Manhattan side.
Angel: Bellini territory. Marginally better than being here.
[Vivian sits on the foot of the bed.]
Vivian: What were you thinking about when I walked in?
Angel: I was wondering why you came after me. Why risk your life for someone you barely know?
Vivian: D'you want the selfish answer, or the truth?
Angel: Both.
Vivian: Well, the selfish answer is that I wanted to learn more about my great-grandfather, and you're the only person who can tell me.
Angel: And the truth?
Vivian: You're starting to grow on me.
Angel: So when's the funeral?
Vivian: We should be in the water by sunset. I need to call Robbie, I saw a phone down the hall, and I'll be back in a minute.
[She goes to the phone and dials a number she waits through what is obviously a few rings]
Vivian: Come on Robbie, pick up. Robbie? Oh, hello Minerva, is he in? Thanks. Robbie, I need you to do me a favor. I need you to take Boca for a few days. I left his food in the pantry, there's also a box there that you can take. You'll go get him now? Thank you so much. You've got him? Put him on will you please? Boca dahling, I've got to leave you with Robbie for a while, when I get back, I'll bring you a treat. Robbie, go get that box while you're there, the one on the third shelf, that's the one. You can have everything that's in that box. Take care of Boca. I'll be back for him sooner or later. Bye Robbie.
[She hangs up and goes back to the room. The plan goes off without a hitch until it comes to getting out of the coffins. Angel gets out of his with no problem and swims to the surface, then he realizes that Vivian is still at the bottom of the river, he pauses a moment and dives under. He surfaces a few moments later with an unconscious Vivian, one who isn't breathing. He resituates her; she comes to coughing and spluttering.]
Vivian: Thanks.
Angel: Don't thank me yet. Looks like we're going to have a fight on our hands.
[There is a gang coming towards them, at least ten people, all armed.]
Angel: Can you control the change to your demon form?
Vivian: Probably.
Angel: Then you might want to get spiked.
Vivian: Right.
[A fight ensues. Angel and Vivian soon dispatch most of their attackers, but more keep coming and they are captured. They are taken to the Bellini's secondary H.Q. They are tied to two chairs, back to back and are being interrogated by someone fairly high up in the Bellini ranks. Vivian still has Bracken spikes]
Interrogator: Explain again why you were climbing out of the East River after dark?
Angel: We told you. We're wanted by the Righteous. We didn't think they'd be stupid enough to follow us.
Interrogator: Upon climbing out of the River, you commenced to put five of our best people in the hospital.
Vivian: Hey! They attacked us, alright?
[A woman walks into the room, a tall, well-curved, leggy brunette]
Woman: Leave off Tony. Julian wants me to take care of 'em.
[Tony leaves, the woman circles around to Vivian]
Woman: Youse got demon blood, why ya hangin' around with a human for?
Angel: I'm not human. That's why.
Vivian: Who's asking?
Woman: Rochelle. Rochelle Bellini. So if ya ain't human, What are ya?
[Angel gets the Vampire Face and smiles at Rochelle]
Rochelle: Well, well, well. Julian wanted you terminated. I'd be willing to bet that plan's changed. Yo Jules! The dude's one of us! You still want 'im iced?
[A voice comes over the loudspeakers]
Voice: No, I think we should keep the pair of them. Keep them together. After all, you get more with a kind word and a two-by-four than with a kind word alone.
Rochelle: Once again Boss, I have no idea watchya tawkin' about, but I'm not gonna question yer judgment. Should I give 'em a guesthouse den?
Voice: No. Let them have the house on fifteenth, the one we vacated last week. I'd like to see what a feminine touch could do to it.
[Vivian and Angel move into the house, a very large house with marble floors and such. There are multiple broken windows, bloodstains on the floor, smashed furniture and torn curtains. Over the months Vivian and Angel manage to clean it up and make it nice again. They also begin to fall in love. They both do odd jobs for anyone who needs them and earn some new furniture. One day, mid-evening, there is a knock on the door, Vivian answers it, standing there is a tall man. A tall man with head spikes and blue skin.]
Vivian: Who are you then?
Man: Julian. Julian Bellini.
[He smiles disarmingly]
Julian: Can I come in?
Vivian: I suppose so, seeing as how refusing would have a tendency to greatly shorten my life span.
[Angel comes down the stairs with a paint roller in hand]
Angel: Vivvie, Who's here?
Vivian: Our boss.
Julian: Actually, you're the one I came to talk to. I'm going to give you a promotion.
Angel: What?
Julian: I'm giving you a promotion. Instead of being Mister Fixit, you're going to join the elite.
Vivian: You're going to make him a hit man?
Julian: Can't put anything past this one, I can see why you like her.
Angel: Will I get paid more?
Julian [laughing]: Is that all you're worried about? Yes, say three times as much as you're making now?
Angel: Make it five and you've got yourself a new hit man.
[Julian laughs again]
Julian: What would you say if I made it six?
Angel: I'd say that you've got a deal.
Julian: Good. I'll expect you to be ready to go at any time.
Angel: Just as long as it's not daytime.
Julian: I don't usually send my operatives out in the sunlight. I like what you two have done to the place, looks nice. I can show myself out.
[Julian leaves. Vivian dope slaps angel.]
Vivian: Are you suffering from a case of escaped brain? What are we going to do with that much money?
Angel: We're going to save it so we can move away. [He rolls his eyes] And we're going to show it off.
Vivian: That's a better answer.
[She kisses him on the cheek.]
Vivian: Aren't you done painting that room yet?
Angel: The stain on the north wall keeps seeping through.
Vivian: I told you I'd fix it. Get me a brush and the can of 'wild strawberry' paint out of the basement.
[About a year later Angel and Vivian are sitting across from each other at the dinette table in the breakfast nook]
Angel: I'm going to tell them I want out.
Vivian: Are you insane? They could kill you.
Angel: They're not liable to do that. They'll want you to see what happens to 'traitors'. All they'll do is rough me up a bit and send a couple guys home with me to finish the job.
Vivian: You do have a plan?
Angel: Of course I do. When I get back you play it innocent, you don't know that they're planning on killing anyone.
Vivian: And?
Angel: And we're madly in love.
Vivian: I could've told you that.
Angel: Vivvie, I'm serious.
Vivian: So was I. What should I wear?
[Angel waves his hands in a vaguely dress-shaped gesture]
Angel: A dress. Something low-cut, not entirely backless. Something you can move in. Sun's down, I should go.
Vivian: Kiss for luck?
[Angel leans across the table and kisses her almost desperately.]
Angel: I'll come back.
[While he's gone, Vivian gets dressed in a long velvet dress with one sleeve and keyhole sides and front. The skirt is long but full, so she can kick some ass if she has to. She accessorizes with a gold wire anklet, bracelet, choker and under-the-dress belt. She puts on gold eyeshadow and blue lipstick. When Angel gets back she runs over to him and jumps wrapping her legs around his waist, he automatically holds her up. As she talks she kisses his cheek, jaw and neck.]
Vivian: Oh, [kiss] you're back. [Kiss, kiss] After the note you left, [kiss kiss] I thought you were [kiss, kiss, kiss] dead.
[Angel half heartedly/absent mindedly kisses the corner of her jaw]
Angel: I'm not dead Vivvie. I came back.
[Vivian 'sees' the two mobsters who walked in the door behind Angel and slides to the floor]
Angel: These are a couple of guys from work.
[He turns around to introduce them, but keeps a protective hand around Vivian's waist.]
Angel: Vivian, this is Alphonse and Guido, the Caperelli brothers. Alf, Guido, this is Vivian.
Alphonse: She's quite a Moll. You payin' 'er by the hour fer dis?
Vivian: What exactly are the implications of that remark?
Guido: Looks like we gots a Harvard graduate on our hands don't we?
Angel: No 'we' don't. She's not on 'our' hands, she's on mine.
[The Caperelli brothers snort, chuckle and elbow each other while winking suggestively]
Angel: Vivvie, why don't you get our guests some wine? I'd like mine red.
[Angel herds the Caperelli brothers into the living room. Vivian goes into the kitchen and pours three glasses of red wine; she bloodies Angel's glass then pours herself a scotch on the rocks. She takes the liquor out to the living room and sits on the couch next to Angel.]
Alphonse: Hey Angel, you sure she's old enough to be drinkin' hard liquor?
Vivian: What? Are you jealous?
Alphonse: Dat's a nice mouf you got dere. Someone should watch it.
Vivian: Go right ahead. I'm warning you now though; you're liable to get bored pretty fast. It doesn't do tricks.
Guido: Did you hear what your Moll just said to my brother?
Angel: Yes, I did. And she's not my Moll, she's my fiancée.
Alphonse: Oh really? Den we'll just have to dust her too.
[Before either of the brothers can draw his stake Angel kicks the glass- topped table at them. It shatters and splinters showering them with glass shards and cherry wood splinters, not to mention half-filled glasses of alcohol. Vivian takes a running start across the carpet and flings herself into a face-first slide across the marble floor coming to a stop against the weapons cabinet. She hops up and flings the cabinet open, grabs a stake and throws it to Angel who catches it, and attempts to stake Guido. Vivian takes another stake out of the cabinet and shakes spikes onto her head. Angel and Guido are locked in a struggle over the stake when Alf rushes Vivian; she barely misses him with her stake]
Vivian: Newsflash Alfie-boy. I can't be 'dusted.' You'll just have to think of another way to get rid of me.
Alf [drawing a gun]: Hows about good old-fashioned lead?
[Before she can dodge, he plugs her in the stomach. She looks down at the bullet hole in shock; she looks back at the Mobster. He grins as her spikes disappear. He reaches out and holds her by the back of the head, then sinks his fangs into her throat. He drains her almost to the point of death and lets her drop. From across the room, Angel yells, the desperate yell of loss. He rushes Alf and manages to stake him, Guido gets away. Angel kneels by Vivian and cradles her head in his lap.]
Angel: Vivvie... I can't save your life. But I can bring you back. I will bring you back, if it's what you want.
Vivian: Bring me back?
Angel: I can make you immortal. You'll be like them, without a soul. But...
Vivian: But I'll be alive.
Angel: You won't really be alive. You'll just be undead.
Vivian: But I'll still exist. You won't have to be alone.
Angel: You're sure?
[Vivian nods. Angel bites his own wrist and holds it to her lips, she drinks deeply then relaxes]
Vivian: What now?
Angel: Now comes the hardest part. You have to die.
Vivian: Goodnight Angel.
Angel: Goodnight Vivian. Sweet dreams.
[She closes her eyes, and dies. Angel carries her limp form up the stairs and lays her gently on the bed.]
Angel: I'll see you at sunset.
[He waits the rest of the night and all the next day. At sunset he goes back up to the room to be there when Vivian wakes up. She doesn't. Angel waits an hour or so, still nothing. There is a knock at the front door, he goes downstairs and answers it. Standing there is Rochelle Bellini]
Rochelle: She's still asleep isn't she?
[Angel reaches out and closes his hand around her throat, she doesn't struggle]
Angel: And how would you know about that?
Rochelle: If you'd let me breathe, I'd tell you.
[He lets her go]
Angel: Talk
Rochelle: Bracken demons can't become Vampires with out drinking Bracken blood.
Angel: What happened to your accent?
Rochelle: What? You wants I should tawk like dis?
Angel: Not if you don't have to.
Rochelle: Good. Now, I can get you bracken blood, in return for a favor.
Angel: What?
Rochelle: Help us overthrow Julian Bellini.
Angel: Who is 'us' exactly, and why do you want him overthrown?
Rochelle: We are me and my followers. We want him overthrown because it's my right to lead. So, w hat d'ya say? We win, I'll cure your girl, and give the pair of you enough money to start fresh anywhere you want.
Angel: And if we lose?
Rochelle [dry laugh]: If we lose, we're all dead. So it's not gonna matter anyway.
Angel: I'll help.
Rochelle: Good. They're going to be sending a few goons back here pretty soon anyway to finish you off, my people will stage an ambush.