Harmony ducked behind a file as Faith walked by. The slayer had been at Wolfram & Hart for a month already, but Harmony still flinched every time she saw her. When Faith was gone Harmony peeked over the file and saw Gunn looking at her. He chuckled. "What?"

"Nothing, don't you think if she wanted to stake you she would have by now?"

"She's a slayer, it's in her nature."

"Eating humans is in your nature." Gunn said "But you don't anymore."

"Yeah," Harmony said "But I want to."

"So why don't you?" Gunn asked

Harmony shrugged. "I don't know."

Gunn found that unnerving. "Well I'll see you." Gunn turned around to walk to his office and collided with Wesley. Wesley dropped a book and a pile of papers on the ground. "Sorry,"

Wesley collected his documents. "It's fine. Completely my fault,"

"Are you okay man?"

"Sure, sure," Wesley headed for Angel's office and went in without knocking.

"He's been super weird lately." Harmony said

"Yeah," Gunn said "He kind of has."

"Well I'm bored now. You can go away."

Gunn gave Harmony an odd look. "You're an interesting person Harmony."

Gunn walked to Faith's office. He knocked and was told to enter. He entered and saw Faith smile when he did. That smile was sunlight to him. "What's up?" She asked

"I just wanted to congratulate you." He said

"On what?"

"There hasn't been a single security breach the whole time you've been here."

"I've only been here a month." Faith said

"This is the first time we've gone a whole month without a security breach. Even during the old regime there was about one a week. I think the previous record is fifteen days."

"Wow, I'm good."

"You sure are."

"We should celebrate." She gave him a suggestive smile.

"I was thinking the same thing. Dinner?" He asked

"Oh dinnertime isn't for hours." Faith said "Let's party now."

Gunn chuckled. "Wouldn't it be nice to just go out?"

She shrugged. "Why complicate things? We have our friendship, we have the benefits that come with said friendship, there's no need to get greedy. We're good where we are."

Gunn was still smiling, but it wasn't genuine anymore and she could tell. "I don't understand you. We get along great, we have a lot of fun… doing what we do. Why shouldn't we take the next step? Is there something wrong with me?" He hated the way he sounded.

"There's nothing wrong with you Charlie boy." She was still using her seductive voice.

"Faith can we be serious for a few seconds?"

"I don't want to." She said

He sighed. "I'm sorry. I guess I was just confused. I thought you liked me."

"I do like you."

"Right, well I have to go."

"Charlie-" He was gone.

…

Wesley dropped the stack of papers on Angel's desk. Angel slowly looked up at the disturbed man. "Hey Wes," He said nervously "Is something up?"

"I need the truth. I don't care how terrible it is. It can't be as bad as what I've imagined."

Angel glanced down at the papers. They were all about old ones. "You've been busy."

"Tell me what happened last year, and why I don't remember."

"Wesley-"

"The next old one will be here in less than four months."

This got Angel's attention. "How can you be sure?"

"I'm not sure of anything anymore."

…

Fred knocked on Lorne's door. Lorne called her in. Fred came in looking like her usual cheerful self, but Lorne knew something was wrong. She sat down in front of his desk with her hand over the stomach six months through the process causing it to swell. "Hey Lorne,"

"Hey chickadee, how's the baby?"

She offered a weak smile. "She's great. We picked out a name."

"Really? Tell me."

She shook her head. "Not a chance. Plus I think Gunn started an office pool and I wouldn't want to give you an unfair advantage." Fred's smile was more genuine now.

"What's wrong kitten?"

"This is going to sound so ridiculous. I shouldn't even be…"

"Tell me." Lorne said

"I might have made a huge mistake."

…

Lilah and Spike finished the last bit of the scotch bottle. "Good old Lindsey," They were sitting in a sewer. Lilah could smell the sewer in as much as she was aware of the scent, but she couldn't feel it. Her eyes were aware of darkness, but it didn't impede her vision. Nothing was real. The scotch inside of her wasn't real. She couldn't taste it and it didn't get her drunk.

"So he and Angel are rivals?"

Lilah nodded. "He's up to something. Lindsey is smart, smarter than Angel."

"Do you think it will hurt his friends too?"

"You're transparent." Lilah mocked "Pathetic,"

"I'd beat you senseless for that if you could feel it."

"No you wouldn't."

He sighed. "No, I wouldn't."

"What a little bitch." Lilah said

"Fuck you." Spike said

"Why do you care about her so much?"

"She saved my life."

"Do you want to know what I think?"

"No,"

"You just want an excuse to stay in L.A. because if you leave you'll have to confront the love of your life. You think she'll reject you. You think she should reject you. So you've latched onto this very unavailable woman who doesn't need your protection to have an excuse to stay in the city you should have left long ago. She has a cabal of champions looking after her."

"If I hadn't been here Dru might have killed her. Pavayne showed me."

"He was just screwing with you." Lilah said "You didn't change anything."

"Well maybe that's because nothing ever changes."

"I didn't." Lilah looked at her hands devoid of nerve endings.

"You said you could feel something coming."

"I can. I can't feel the physical, but I have other senses, the ones of the dead."

"How bad is it?"

"I can't quantify it. It's like running a marathon and doing pretty well until you find out that a rabid dog has gotten loose and now you're running for your life. Then it catches you."

"What's the dog?"

"I don't know." She looked at her watch. "I'm late for work."

"So leave,"

"I don't want to. I'm afraid. I don't want to see what happens next."

"Well I'll leave then."

"Don't leave me alone in the dark." Lilah spoke in a monotone.

"Go into the light."

"It's all dark to me."

Spike shrugged. "Not my problem."

"I can't feel anything." Lilah said "You could do anything to me and I would only be aware of it on the most superficial level. I feel so alone because the world has moved on."

Spike approached Lilah. He touched her face. "You can't feel that?"

"No."

He grabbed her throat. "What about that?"

"No."

He squeezed. "That?"

"No," Lilah said "It doesn't hurt at all."

Spike bit into her cold skin to taste what was underneath. There wasn't a drop of blood and water had more flavor. She was even colder than him. She was pale ice. He took it.

…

"Listen to me Wesley." Angel said "We talked-"

"No." He said "I can't do this anymore. You have to tell me."

"Well I don't have to." Angel pointed out "Just saying,"

"Fine," Wesley collected his papers. "Then I won't tell you what I found out about the old ones." He stood there with the documents Angel knew he could take, but probably not read.

"Don't be petty."

"Illyria did something to me." Wesley said "Something I don't remember."

"You don't want to remember."

"Yes I do!"

Angel looked toward the door. "Don't shout." He whispered

"A lot of terrible things have happened to me in my life Angel. I remember almost all of them in vivid detail. I don't remember what happened with Lilah, but you had the guts to tell me about that. What is so terrible that not only have you kept quiet, you conspired to hide it?"

"It's worse than anything else you've ever seen."

"I have to know."

"Illyria is an old one. She's-"

"Was,"

"What?" Angel was confused by this interruption.

"She's dead. Cordelia killed her."

"Right, she was an old one. She's the worst kind of demon. The horrors she is- was- capable of are worse than anything a mere vampire is capable of. You don't-"

"Stop telling me I don't want to know."

"Telling you will do you no good Wes."

"What harm can it do?"

"Great harm,"

"How?" He demanded

"Just trust me."

"Why should I?!"

"Because I saved your life! Because you were dead and I brought you back!"

Wesley stared at Angel in disbelief. "What?"

"And it got Cordelia killed. I tried to save all of my friends and it got the woman I loved killed by that… You were dead. We should have left you that way, but we couldn't."

"I don't understand. How can that be possible?"

"The old ones-"

But Wesley already had the final piece of the puzzle. "Oh my God,"

"What?"

Wesley pulled out his list from the calendar. "They're hosts."

"Who are?"

"The people in the prophecy," Wesley said "They're hosts for old ones."

"What prophecy?"

"I was infected. You didn't kill her because it would kill me and that's why Cordy died."

Angel looked at Wesley. He looked despondent. Of course he blamed himself for what had happened to Cordelia. "It wasn't your fault." Angel said "You didn't kill her."

"You just said she died because of me, because you were trying to save me."

"It was her choice. She did what she knew was right."

"So I lived and she died. That's not a fair deal."

"Wesley-"

"You should have stopped her." Wesley said

"Hold on, this is my fault now?"

"How could you let her take that risk? She wasn't even twenty-five."

"You cannot blame me for this. I saved your life. Even after you tried to-" Angel cut himself off and looked away out his sunny windows. "I did the best I could."

"Tried to what?"

"Forget it."

"You saw to that didn't you?" Wesley said in a bitter tone

"Would you prefer to remember? Do you want to remember what you did?!"

"Yes! I want the truth."

"The truth drove you insane. This spell was the only way to save your life."

Wesley stared at Angel. "What?"

"You were crazy, literally. There was one way to save you: taking over Wolfram & Hart and using their recourses to wipe away the memories that drove you nuts. So I did."

"Why would you do that?"

"I don't know Wes, maybe because I give a damn about you."

Wesley gave Angel a suspicious look. "You're lying again."

"I'm lying? That's rich. Do me a favor Wes, get out of my office."

Wesley looked stung. "But-"

"I have important work to do and dealing with your emotional problems doesn't qualify."

"Fine," Wesley turned to go.

Angel closed his eyes. "Wait,"

Wesley did, standing by the door. Angel opened his eyes. "I'm waiting." Wesley said

"I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm not talking about now either."

"What are you talking about then?"

"People that I care about get hurt. Doyle, Cordy, you, I just wanted to take it back."

"Take what back?" Wesley asked "What did you do?"

"Why is this so important? Why can't you just let it go?"

"Because I have responsibilities that I didn't have before. You wouldn't understand."

…

Fred bit her lip. "He acts like everything is okay, but I know him too well for that."

"Maybe you're both just nervous. It won't be long until the baby is here."

"There's a difference between anxiety and dread. He doesn't want to be a dad. I feel like I trapped him in this situation. I didn't mean to, but somehow I did. What am I going to do?"

"Fred-"

"I can't raise a baby in a home where she isn't loved."

"Fred please listen to me."

"That's why I'm here. Tell me what to do."

"I can't." Lorne said "But I can tell you something that will help you decide."

"What?"

"I've heard Wesley sing before. He's a complicated person. There is very little in his life that he is certain of. One is that he loves you. Another is that love is dangerous. People that you love hurt you. They tear you down and twist you into knots. He's so afraid of that."

"I would never-"

"Not you, him. He's afraid of doing to your baby what his dad did to him. He doesn't think you trapped him. He's afraid of trapping you like his father did to his mother."

"His mother?" Fred looked at Lorne's sad face. "What happened to her?"

"Nothing," He said "She never achieved any of the things she dreamed of. She never got to pursue happiness. She was chained to a house with a man she had stopped loving and a child that she wanted to love, but didn't. She could never summon any more feeling for him than pity."

"But that's… that's horrible." Fred said "So who loved him?"

"You," Lorne said

"I meant when he was a kid." Fred said

"You look at the world with these lovely eyes." Lorne said "You see things for what they ought to be, for what they could be. You grew up in a home with people who loved you and wanted you to be happy. That's not true for everybody. In fact, that's not true for any of us except for you. You'll make a great mom Fred, because you're so full of love. You love others with ease and they find it easy to love you. But most of us aren't like that sweetheart."

"So… can he love this baby?"

Lorne shook his head. "I can't tell you that."

"You don't know?" She asked

"I know, but only because you do. I see it in your aura. I know what you know."

Fred looked down. She was squeezing her hands. "I know."

…

"You're late." Lilah looked at her boss. She heard him, but she didn't understand.

"Yes,"

"Well get to work." Gunn was in a foul mood, but she couldn't tell.

"Right,"

Gunn watched her sit down and look through some files. "Lilah?"

"Yes,"

"What are you doing?"

"Right,"

…

"Excuse me?" Angel asked

"I'm going to be a father. I'm responsible for this baby's life."

Angel tried to keep his emotions in check. It would do no good to get angry and Wesley didn't understand the implications of what he had said. "This has nothing to do with that."

"If Illyria did something to my DNA then it has everything to do with this."

"Wesley if Fred was in danger-"

"This isn't just about Fred. It's about her and the baby. That's my kid."

Angel stared at Wesley. "You're afraid that something might happen to the baby?"

"Yes, how can I not be?" Wesley asked "That's my daughter."

Angel blinked. "I can understand that."

"No you can't. There's no way you could understand."

Now Angel was pissed, but he held it in. "Listen to me-" Gunn burst in. "Do we just not knock anymore around here?" Angel asked "Is this just a common area now?"

"Angel something serious is happening to Lilah." Gunn said

"That's great," Angel said

"I'm not kidding. She's like… a zombie or something."

Angel sighed. "I really don't care."

"So what am I supposed to do with her?" Gunn asked

Angel stood up. "Fine, I'll handle it." He turned to Wesley. "Wait here."

"I have work-"

"Wait. Here." Gunn gave Angel an odd look as he followed the man away.

…

Faith entered the lobby. She scanned the room for suspicious behavior. Everything seemed to be running smoothly. Their new reputation of not being to be trifled with was spreading quickly. Faith flipped through her clipboard. The weekly sweep for drugs that subverted psychic screenings had come up negative. She noticed a vampire come in from the parking garage. It was still weird working with them. This was a member of the steno pool back from her lunch break. What was the point in leaving for lunch? Why not just bring your blood to work with you? Faith followed the vampire discreetly. She beeped the guy who did random blood testing to make sure none of their employees were feeding on humans. She sent him the code that meant to sweep all of the vampires. Faith's slayer instincts told her that something was up with this young woman and Faith wasn't sure how far it spread. She would be cautious.

…

Angel entered the conference room Lilah was still in. He paused for a few moments and then turned to Gunn. "Find Spike, use our recourses and get him here." He told the lawyer

"Why?" Gunn asked

"Just do it." Angel said

Angel sat down in front of Lilah. "Hi," She said

"What happened?" Angel asked

"I'm slipping away. I don't have a connection to this world."

"Lilah-"

"I'm evil."

Angel stared at her. "You've done evil things." He admitted

"Don't you dare feel sorry for me." Lilah was still speaking in a monotone. Her voice had none of its characteristic strength or condescending malice. He found himself feeling the same way he had when he first saw what Billy had done to her. Yes she was evil, and yes he hated her with every fiber of his being, but she was in so much pain. "I'll make you regret it."

"Okay Lilah," He said in a sympathetic tone

"I hate you." Tears leaked down her face. "Don't you hate me?"

He shook his head.

"Why not?" She begged, finally betraying some emotion "Why won't you hate me?"

"I don't know. Hate, it's not something I find much use for. It has never helped me."

"I did awful things to you. Can't you find it in you to hate me?"

"I'm sorry." He whispered

"It's not fair. I didn't ask for love or affection, just hate. Is even that too much?"

Angel watched her sobs develop. "Why do you want me to hate you?" But he knew.

"I have to matter. I need to matter to at least one person. Don't I matter to you?"

"Lilah-"

"Please kill me." She begged "I want to die."

"You're already dead." Angel reminded her

"I thought he was a coward for wanting to die." She said "But I understand now how hard it is to not matter at all. Do you know how it feels to be pointless? To be nothing? I do."

"Is that why he tried to kill himself?" Angel whispered as quietly as he could

"I only ever loved one person, it wasn't him. I couldn't love him. Is wanting to love someone the same thing as loving them? Some might say yes, but the answer is no."

"Lilah-"

"I hurt him. You don't do things like that to people you love. Drusilla saw what I was."

"Drusilla is crazy." Angel said

"She saw the real me." Lilah said "In the wine cellar she saw my fate. She spared me so that I could feel more pain. Why did she do that?" The last sentence sent Lilah into hysterical sobbing. "Why couldn't she just send me to hell then?" Lilah clutched her shoulders.

"Listen to me." Angel said "I'm going to save you."

"Why?" She said

"Because that's what I do. But you have to do something for me."

…

Fred walked towards the hall of offices preparing herself for a conversation she didn't want to have at all. She walked to Wesley's office and saw that it was empty. She was relieved and annoyed with herself for being relieved. She turned around to go back to the lab and was surprised by Harmony. "You scared me." Fred said as her quickened pulse settled back down

"Apparently I scare everybody. I got 'randomly tested' for human blood for the second time this week and I know those test are supposed to be once every two weeks."

"They are random tests." Fred said "It's probably just a coincidence."

Harmony rolled her eyes. "Do you really believe that?"

"Well I can talk to Faith. She implemented the random blood tests. I'll ask her if there is a certain way people are selected for testing. Maybe everyone got tested today."

"Hey get back here!" They heard Faith's voice. Harmony and Fred turned around and saw one of the vampires from the steno pool running toward them. Faith and the guy who did the blood screenings were in pursuit. He fell behind in a moment. Fred and Harmony tried to get out of the way, but the vampire grabbed Fred by the throat and backed against the wall.

"Don't come any closer." The woman said "I'll snap her neck."

Faith froze. Harmony stood a distance down the hall, uncertain. "Calm down." Faith said

"I'm serious!" The vampire tightened her grip on Fred's throat. Wesley came out of Angel's office and his eyes widened. He started forward but Faith grabbed his arm.

"Fred!" He looked from her to her captor. "What happened?" He asked Faith

"Someone has been cheating." Faith said

"Just once." The vampire said "My roommate called me up today and said she had a bunch of teenagers trapped in our living room. How could I pass that up? It was just one."

"I wouldn't have come back to work." Faith said

"This is a good job." The vampire said "But yeah, bad move."

"Why didn't you just call in sick?" Harmony asked

"I didn't think of that."

Harmony rolled her eyes. "People say I'm stupid."

Faith had an idea. "You're pretty dense." Faith said

"Excuse me?" Harmony moved closer to the slayer. "What did you say about me?"

"Faith," Wesley said "I'm not sure if you noticed but-"

"Sh, I'm having a conversation Wes." Faith said

Fred stared at the two, incredulous. "You're such a bitch." Harmony said

"At least I'm not a flighty ditz still stuck in high school."

Harmony moved closer, she was now right next to the other vampire. "Back off," Fred's captor said "I will snap her like a twig if you don't back off Harmony."

"You're useless Harmony." Faith said

"Is that so?" Harmony asked

"I said-" Harmony cut the other vampire off by turning and punching her in the face. The other vampire was stunned long enough for Faith to run up and grab the arm she was using to hold Fred captive. Faith yanked the vampire back and snapped the arm. Faith pulled a stake out from inside her jacket. She drove it into the rogue vampire's chest. Dust hit the carpet.

Fred started to fall and Harmony caught her. Wesley ran over. "Are you okay?"

Harmony let Wesley take hold of his girlfriend and she backed up. "Nice one Harmony."

Harmony looked at the slayer who was complimenting her for some reason. "What?"

"I knew I could count on you."

"You did?"

Harmony flinched when Faith raised her hand, but the slayer just slapped her on the back in a gesture of camaraderie. "You're all right Harm." The slayer walked away.

Harmony stared after the slayer while Wes led Fred into his office and helped her onto the couch. "Are you all right?" She was gasping and he brushed her hair away from her face.

She stared into his eyes. "People keep trying to kill us."

"Yeah I noticed that." He said

"What kind of life is this? Every second we're here we put ourselves in harm's way."

"But are you two okay?" He asked "That's all I care about right now."

"I'm- what did you say?"

"Come on, I'll take you to medical."

"No, I'm fine. What did you say?"

"I just asked you if you were okay." He said

Fred stared at him. She leaned forward and kissed him. "We're okay."

"I'm taking you to medical anyway." He said

She nodded. "Okay,"

"I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you."

…

Gunn saw Faith come up to him. "Hey,"

"It looks like there isn't going to be a celebration. We had a breech."

"Yeah the news spread quick. You handled it pretty well from what I hear."

"Still, I need some consolation."

"Are you really that upset?" Gunn asked

"I'm very upset." She was lying. "Dinner is the only thing that can console me."

He grinned. "What changed your mind?"

"I just feel like having dinner." Faith said "And I've been thinking about you all day."

"You have?"

"If you want to ask me out again I have a couple of ground rules."

"Okay," Gunn said

"You can't take this relationship too seriously. I want to have fun. They say love is work, but all work and no play makes Faith a dull slayer. Let's leave the work here. I'm never going to be a sweet girl. I'm nothing like Fred. I know you guys used to go out. I won't ever give you what she did. I'll be fun, but I'm not going to be demur or feminine or any of that."

"You just reminded me why I like you so much." Gunn said

"So dinner," Faith said "Dinner I can do."

He took her hand and he kissed her. She returned the kiss.

…

Angel entered the infirmary. A nurse was taking Fred's pulse. Wesley was sitting next to her holding her free hand. "Are you okay?" Angel asked her

"Not the first time someone has tried to kill me." She reminded him

"Yeah, but are you okay?" He insisted

"Angel I'm fine. I'm pregnant, not infirm." Fred reminded him

"I heard Harmony saved you."

"Yeah, Faith had a neat idea and Harmony played her part perfectly."

"A little risky though." Wes said

"I'm alive." Fred said "I'm not complaining."

Wesley kissed her. Angel felt a twinge of jealousy. It was a weird feeling, especially to be having right now. But Angel couldn't help but remember Darla. She had been as she was before, when she had accepted her soul. When she shared Conner's she could feel love. Angel had loved her in her final hours. He had loved her when she had sacrificed herself. Angel had loved his son far more however. That child had been everything to him. Standing in this room watching these two people Angel couldn't help but think that it was all rather unfair. Why was Wesley allowed to have the girl and the baby and the happily ever after Angel had wanted and could never have. Why, when he hadn't wanted it before, and why when he was instrumental in taking Conner away? It wasn't fair, but Angel remember something Illyria had said. It was a random memory, but it put everything in perspective. Suddenly the envy was gone. Illyria had told Angel that justice was cruel. Maybe justice would demand that Wesley continue to be punished for what he had done. Maybe justice would deny him a family when he had done the same thing to another. But if that was the case Angel didn't want justice. He wanted his friends to be happy. He wanted all of them to be happy. "What did the doctors say?" He asked

"They said I'm fine and so is the baby." Fred told him "So stop worrying."

"I'll always worry about you." Angel said "That's what friends are for." Wesley gave him an odd look. Angel ignored it. "But if you really are fine I need your help."

"Of course," She said

…

Spike heard the slayer sneaking up on him but pretended not to. "You're obvious." She said "You've known I was here for five minutes. You change the way you walk when you're pretending to be nonchalant." Spike turned around to look at Faith. "That's better."

"Buffy is sneakier." He said

"I like to make my presence known." Faith said

"Did Angel send you to spy on me?"

"We're playing fetch. You're the bone."

"You do realize you just called yourself a bitch right?"

"Disappointed I beat you to the punch?" She asked

"A little bit,"

"Angel wants to know what happened to Lilah."

Spike shrugged. "She went bonkers. It wasn't my fault."

"Do you know why she lost it?"

Spike shook his head. "She said she couldn't feel anymore."

"And then you had sex?" Faith asked

"Yes nosy, we did." Spike said "Is that a crime?"

"There's no need to get defensive." Faith said "It was just a question."

"She couldn't feel that either. She can't feel anything."

"Is that all?"

"Also something is coming, something bad."

"Yeah, because that's news." Faith rolled her eyes. "Thanks for your help."

…

Fred calibrated the machine. It hadn't been used since it had recorporealized Spike and Pavayne all those months ago. "Are you sure this will work?" Angel asked "Lilah is a different kind of dead than Spike or Pavayne were. It might not have the same effect on her."

"Angel this was your idea." Fred reminded him

"But I just want to be sure this will work."

"It should work, that doesn't mean it will." Fred said

Angel backed away from the machine and stood next to Lilah. "Do you remember the terms of our agreement?" Angel was purposely sounding formal and official, even though their agreement was not binding in any way. "There will be no more using your talents for evil."

Lilah rolled her eyes. "I remember." Lilah slipped a small pouch of powder into Angel's hand without anyone noticing. She had warned him that tampering with someone's memories too many times could have side effects, but Angel had made his choice. "What do I do?"

"Just stand there." Fred said

Lilah waited. A million thoughts went through her head in the span of seconds between when Fred spoke and when Fred flipped the switch. Lilah thought about when she had been a little girl and her mother had brushed Lilah's hair for her in front of the vanity so Lilah could watch because Lilah liked to watch her mother brush her hair. She thought about the man she had poisoned to get this job. She thought about all the times she condemned people to suffer horrible fates without flinching. She thought about the man she didn't want to suffer. Why had that one person changed her mind? Was it because seeing someone who had done so much good lose their way reaffirmed her own life choices? Was it because it made her think the opposite was true and people could be redeemed? Was it because he understood the way the world worked just like she did? She remembered the world not making sense anymore. She remembered not being able to be sure it ever had. She remembered everything. Was that a gift? She thought about how Angel had suffered to keep his secrets. Was knowledge a curse? She remembered promising the senior partners she would take Illyria down. She hadn't. Lilah felt a wave of energy pass through her and ground her. All of a sudden she was in this plane. She screamed in pain. Gravity pushed down on her as it had not before. She collapsed to her knees and clutched her head. "Oh God!"

"What happened?" Wesley was asking that. He sounded more curious than concerned.

Lilah snickered. "It worked moron."

"Oh yay, Lilah's back." Fred said sarcastically "Goody,"

Angel watched Lilah struggle to her feet. She stumbled but managed to keep her footing this time. She looked around. "Wow," She breathed "Look at all of the colors."

"Are you all right Lilah?" Angel asked, wondering if he really cared and why

"No," She shook her head. "Getting there," She wandered out of the lab.

"Umm… Should we go after her?" Fred asked

"She'll be fine." Wesley said "Returning to life must be…" He stopped.

"Wesley?" Fred touched his hand.

Well it was now or never. Angel was doing this. "Can I ask for one more favor Fred?"

"Sure,"

"Can you go get Gunn? I need to talk to him."

She gave him an odd look. Why didn't Angel just call Gunn? "Okay," She left.

Wesley crossed his arms. "That was a little obvious."

"I just wanted to finish our earlier conversation."

"Are you going to be honest with me?"

Angel had his hands behind his back and emptied the pouch of powder Lilah had handed him discreetly into his right hand. "No Wes, I'm not. I want to tell you one true thing though."

Wesley was confused and annoyed, but curious of course. "What?"

"I regret a lot of things in my afterlife. But even after everything that has happened these last few years I can't bring myself to regret asking you to stay for breakfast. Isn't that weird?"

"That's really nice actually, but-"

Angel lifted his hand and blew against the powder. The powder hit Wesley in the face and he started coughing. He waved his hand in front of his face to dispel the dust. "What-"

"What were we talking about?" Angel asked

"We were talking about… Fred. Weren't we?"

"I think we were." Angel said "What were you saying?"

"I was saying that I… I'm very nervous about this pregnancy."

"Don't be nervous, you'll be a great father." Angel smiled at his friend. Was he lying to the man? Angel didn't think so. "This might not sound as encouraging as I mean it to, but you know everything to not do. Don't worry about the past, just think about the future. It looks like it's shaping up to be a nice one. Besides, Fred wouldn't have a kid with someone she didn't think was up to the job. She's a pretty good judge of character, so you must be capable."

"Sometimes she just sees the best in people." Wesley said

"Well that explains why she likes looking at you. There's a lot to see."

Wesley gave Angel an odd look. "Thank you,"

"I'm just being honest."

They walked out of the lab together. Lilah was sitting in the hall leaning against the wall staring up at the ceiling. Angel knelt down next to her. "Lilah?" He asked "Do you need help?"

She turned to look at him. She grinned. She brought her mouth to his ear and whispered a soft condemnation. "You're a very bad man. You know that right?" When she pulled away he saw that she was herself. This was Lilah. She wasn't an insane prophetess like Drusilla, she was just a normal woman. He shivered. She smiled. "I remember our deal. I'll keep it."

"Good," He backed away, perturbed.

…

Lorne called for the person knocking on his door to enter. Wesley came in. "I thought I would be seeing you." Lorne said "How's Fred? I heard about the crazy steno vamp incident."

"Fred's fine." Wesley said "She's very strong."

"Well that's the God's honest if I've ever heard it. She really is."

"I um… actually came to talk about something else though."

"Oh?" Lorne was intrigued.

"I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I'm not one for talking about my feelings."

"I actually have noticed. Everyone has. It's very annoying. Please continue."

Wesley took a moment to gather his thoughts. "I feel weird. I have this nagging feeling at the back of my mind like I'm… forgetting something. It won't go away. It's… driving me nuts."

"That's not good." Lorne sounded concerned. "Are you forgetting something?"

"Yes. I mean no. It's a very powerful feeling. Whatever I'm forgetting is very important but I can't remember what it is and I… My head is telling me there isn't anything."

"Can you just ignore the feeling?" Lorne asked

Wesley shook his head. "No," He paused. "Yeah I can."

"You're being very inconsistent." Lorne said

"I know. Is there anything I can do? This is very disturbing."

"Try singing." Lorne said "Maybe I'll see what's up."

Wesley tried to clear his thoughts and think of a song. He opened his mouth to sing and then he stopped. "Never mind," He got up to go. "I don't know why I bothered you over something so silly. I'm fine. I'm just nervous about the baby and it's making me act weird."

"Wes I really think you should sing."

"I'm fine." Wesley started to leave. "Can we keep this conversation between us?"

"I… sure."

"Thanks Lorne." Wesley left.

Something was wrong. Lorne knew it.

…

Faith entered Angel's office smelling like Gunn. "I'm heading out boss."

"Bye Faith," He whispered

"Are you okay boss-man?"

"I'm fine. Good work today."

"Is everything okay with-" She looked around. "The top secret thing."

"Yeah, thanks again for letting me confide in you. It really helped."

"Anything for you. I'll see you tomorrow."

Angel waved as she left. Faith hesitated in front of the elevator. Her senses told her that something was going on with Angel. Her senses were rarely wrong. She started to head back and check on him again. Gunn exited his office. "Hey," His grin was wide and beautiful. "Are you ready for our big date?" He held out his arm to her. "I'm ecstatic myself."

She smiled. She kissed him. "Let's blow this joint."

Angel looked out of the window in his office. Was Lilah right? The idea was unappealing to him for several different reasons. "I did what I had to do. I did the right thing." But he didn't believe a word of it. He headed upstairs and went into his bedroom. He picked up his picture of Cordelia and looked at her face. He touched her cheek. "Tell me what to do."