Disclaimer:All characters belong to Joss Whedon, Buffy, and Angel the series.

Synopsis: The final story in the series of nightmares and dreams starring Lindsey and Cordelia. The group is now in Wolfram and Hart and may be in over their heads.

Chapter Two

Angel had planned to stay a day or two more but he hadn't heard back from his team and the more he thought about that vision, the more nervous he got. He felt out of place in Sunnydale now. As if only by sitting still with Buffy and thinking on the past did he exist. Except the past wasn't enough and even in those quiet moments they had between them now, he knew it wasn't enough. So he headed back to the Hyperion, expecting to see at least one of the. Wes up still doing research, or Cordy working on files. Maybe Gunn fallen asleep in front of the video games. Yes, he understood the Hyperion better than he could Sunnydale these days.

As soon as he entered the back of the building he knew something was wrong. It was too quiet, the kind of opressive silence that is more than empty, but devoid of any life. Hard to explain it was something you felt immediately. He made his way to the office but all signs pointed to no one having even come in during the day. With a frown he tossed his keys on the desk and went to check the messages. The first was his own, but the second, was Cordelia.

"Angel, if you are getting this it means you just got back, well, you just

remembered to check the messages anyway. Listen, we, aren't coming

back. You remember the vision I had? It was to warn us. About this.

The deal we made with Wolfram and Hart. See, you left. Again. So

now we work here. Please, don't give up Angel. There's so much more

good you can do. Sorry we couldn't say goodbye. But we're safe, and

we've got a plan for ourselves. We'll be fine. Good bye Angel."

Angel froze. The vision of Wolfram and Hart, of the cars, and of all of them, without him. . Grabbing his keys he headed right back out again.

AA

Once a decision had been made, the group ordered in a late lunch and sat to figure out schedules. They had the basics, the different divisions, who could run which ones or had the best chance of it anyway, now they needed to work on scheduling. The truth was, simply one division could eat up the team's time all day but if they wanted their plan to work, they needed to not get distracted. Hard as the plan was to distract them anyway. They knew they couldn't save everyone, so keeping an eye on the big picture was their only hope.

Once the meals had arrived, and their first benefit was that they could each have what they wanted rather than acquising to Cordy's need for Chinese, they settled into the room. Lindsey was seated on the floor, his back to the sofa and spread around him and on the coffee table were files. Wesley took the chair and leaned back with his food while Gunn and Lorne had the second sofa. In an unspoken agreement they left Cordelia curled up on the first sofa in the corner that Lindsey was seated at.

"Right, well it would work best in teams of two, leaving the others to work on things for the Powers. The two working for the Senior Partners are going to burn out fast on their days. Are you sure you are okay with two days in a row?" Lindsey asked Wes and Gunn.

"I prefer working in a row, easier to get it over with and keep myself focused." Wes answered then glanced around with a frown. "Are there no more spring rolls?"

Cordelia rolled her eyes and grabbed the box off the coffee table and handed it to Lindsey who, without looking up from his file, handed it over to Wes.

"Right then, we have Mondays Cordelia and Wesley, Tuesdays Wesley and Lorne, Wednesdays are Cordelia and myself, Thursdays Lorne and Gunn, with Gunn and myself taking up Fridays. Weekends will be an on call basis. Doest hat work then for everyone?"

Muffled agreements and nods followed as people continued eating. The door flew open and a secretary was quickly trying to stop Angel from getting in. "Sir! You must have an appointment!"

Everyone stopped eating and Lindsey pushed himself to standing before setting the file down on the table. "It's all right Beatrice. We've been expecting him. Continue to see we aren't disturbed please."

The woman continued to look flustered but nodded and left, closing the ddoor behind herself. Lindsey knew she'd be contacting the Senior Partners right away so time was of the essence.

"What game are you playing at Lindsey?"

Before the lawyer could answer, Wesley took it upon himself to stand as well. "I'm afraid this isn't Lindsey's doing Angel, but our own. Lindsey was simply helping us acclimate and hopefully keep our souls and dignity in tact while we are here."

As soon as he started speaking Lorne and Gunn both stood as well and when Cordelia went to get up, Lindsey reached instead for her hand, wanting her to be off her feet as much as possible. It made an almost surreal image, to Angel. He was standing there facing off his own team, led by Lindsey.

"I don't understand, I was gone only two days."

This time Cordelia waved off the help and stood up as well. "Angel, I left you a message. More importantly, so did the PTB. You had a vision to deal with but you chose to go back to Buffy."

"Buffy and I are not together! It's not like that!" Angel's frustration was growing and he was feeling a bit like a drowning man with no life preserver in sight.

Cordelia smiled sadly. "Oh I know that. I know that you and Buffy can't go back, that you're different people now. But, do you?"

He blinked surprised and she walked around the table to face him. "Angel, whenever there's a chance, even a chance, to relive those times with her, you run for it. I get it, the past was nice, sometimes nicer than things are now, but you can't keep living in the past if you want to have a future. I guess, until you make that decision, we are here, making ours."

"You can't let them work here. You know what will happen." Angel finally looked up and spoke to Lindsey.

Wesley cleared his throat and motioned for Angel to take a seat. "Not necessarily. It seems while you left and Lindsey got word that we would be coming, he did his own research. We have a pretty viable plan for taking Wolfram and Hart away from the Senior Partners, and well, giving it to the Powers."

Angel saw Gunn with his arms crossed and Lorne took his seat again. He shook off the offer of a seat and crossed his own arms. "How exactly are you going to pull that off?"

Lindsey grabbed his file and looked around. "Look, the Senior Partners know by now that you're here, so we have to be careful, there's few places we can talk safely. We have a schedule made up and a plan, if you want to be a part of it, you're welcome too. Right now the only piece missing is a constant connection to the Powers. You've only been able to get visions when they send them rather than have a more direct line to them."

Angel frowned and looked at them all. "Then, you're serious. You, are staying here."

"We don't have a choice Angel, it was the deal we made when -" Cordelia's head snapped back and as quick as Lindsey and the others were to move, none were quicker or closer than Angel. He scooped her up in his arms and headed back to the sofa she had been sitting on.

"What's going on? They were supposed to be different!" Angel laid her down and as she shook he realized it was different. Not the violent mess they had been used to, still it seemed to go on for awhile and her eyes stared through him, which worried him all the more.

As her body finally went limp and she tried to catch her breath she pushed Angel away and sat up. "No, no one, get too close."

Worried, they did as she said and backed up a bit. "Cordelia, what was it you saw?" Wesley asked carefully.

"Um, there's a woman, three of them actually. They are chained standing between these pillars? It's inside a room, no windows, and they are all dressed in gowns. One young, maybe a teenager still? Another older, and then an old lady. There's these, things in hooded cloaks, why always hooded cloaks is there like a store around here or something?"

"Cordelia. . . " Angel started, trying to keep her on track.

"Oh, um that's it, it felt soon, like it was dark out, late. But that's all I have."

The group looked around and Lindsey went for the phone on the desk. "Beatrice, check for me on any fate spells that need to be worked. Do we have any – ah I see. Well it will have to be rescheduled. The new staff want to be involved and are simply not ready."

As soon as he got off the phone he looked up to see all eyes on him. With a shrug he pushed his hands into his pockets. "A fate spell needs three women. Maiden, Mother and Crone. It was worth a shot and for now at least, we postponed it. At least until we can come up with a plan."

Wesley sat next to Cordelia and she groaned, her hand reaching up for his shirt her hand fisted there and her head buried into his shoulder. Wesley, worried something was wrong, reached for her hand and glanced down. "Cordelia?"

Lindsey understood but moved too slowly and her head came up, her eyes lit and she kissed him hard. His surprise had him not moving fast enough but luckily Lindsey was able to quickly pull her away from him into his own chest. "She needs to feed. We have to find a way to do this without her hurting anyone. Wes? Are you all right?"

Wes, for his part, had fallen on the floor and was wiping at his face with a shaky hand. "Yes, yes I'm fine, and I do believe we have found our first project."