Chapter 3: Untouched

Darla closed her eyes and let the hot water wash over her head and her hands, washing away the remnants of the calynthia powder on her fingertips. She'd hardly been able to use it to keep Angel dreaming last night before that young woman had come into his bedroom and she'd had to slip out.

Angel and his cases. She smirked and fought the urge to roll her eyes. Helping the helpless. Really.

When she emerged from the bathroom five minutes later, wearing a white silk robe and a towel wrapped around her head, Lindsey was sitting in his usual chair, reading the morning paper like he always did. The table was full of food: bacon and eggs, waffles, cereal, fruit, toast and… She smiled when Lindsey looked up and pointed at a plate of chocolates.

"Mornin'. Chocolate? I had them imported, they arrived this morning while you were still asleep."

"I would love some chocolate," she said with a glance at the plate of beautifully manufactured chocolates. He looked at her and to his big surprise, she was actually smiling. He put down his paper and smirked.

"Is this like every other breakfast, lunch and dinner, when you say you like the food but don't actually eat it?" he said, one eyebrow raised in scepticism. Darla didn't say anything, she just reached for the plate and put one of the pretty little works of art in her mouth, closely followed by a second one.

"It's been… ages since I've eaten something this good," she said, her mouth still half full. "I used to love chocolate back in the colony, but this… This is something else altogether. I like it."

"Good to know," Lindsey answered, a small smile tugging at his lips. He glanced at her as she sat down and unwrapped another chocolate before he pretended to turn his attention back to the train wreck in India. "Had any good dreams lately?" he added casually. Darla smiled a wicked little smile.

"I know someone who has… My poor boy, he has no idea what he's in for… You know," she said while she rested her elbows on the table, "dreams are funny things. They're just random connections our brain makes, aren't they? And yet people are always compelled to think that their subconscience is showing them the absolute truth in their dreams. They have to see a deeper meaning…" She smiled, mostly to herself. "Foolish… They believe so easily…"

"And what does Angel believe now, exactly?" Lindsey asked with a curious frown.

"Lindsey, Lindsey,… I'm not going to share our dreams with you, so you can stop fishing for information," she replied with another wicked grin. Lindsey raised his eyebrows and leaned across the table.

"It's my project Darla, I have to know what's going on," he told her with a incredibly self-assured little smile on his face.

"Wolfram & Hart already knows too much about me – if not everything. But Angel…" She paused and laughed softly. "He's almost convinced. Convinced that his friends don't know who he really is and that the innocents he's protecting are ungrateful for his help. Soon he'll be estranged from everyone, and then…" She snapped her fingers, still smiling, and Lindsey couldn't help but smile back.

"We're right on track then. The Senior Partners'll be glad to hear that." He checked his watch. "Which reminds me, I gotta get going. I'm meeting with Holland in half an hour."

"Well, you know what they say. No rest for the wicked," Darla said sweetly. Lindsey grinned while he grabbed his coat.

"Speaking of which, Angel is probably asleep right now. D'you want me to drop you off at the hotel?" he asked. Just the suggestion made his stomach clench, but he decided to ignore the feeling. Everything was going according to plan and he wasn't going to let anything ruin it, least of all his own emotions.

"Give me five minutes?" she said. As she walked into the bedroom to change, she turned around and looked at him over her shoulder. "Oh and Lindsey? You might want to talk to Lilah."

"Was she in my office again?" he said. He wouldn't be surprised if she had. That woman would do anything to get ahead in the firm.

"Yes. More importantly, she isn't very good at controlling that little protegee of hers either."

"The young woman? What's her name… Bethany?" Lindsey replied with a frown. "Was she the reason you were back again so quickly last night?" Darla nodded.


"What do you think you're playing at, Lilah?"

Lilah looked a bit startled when Lindsey suddenly stormed into her office, but she immediately regained her composure.

"I'm in a meeting, Lindsey," she said coolly, waving her hand at two junior accountants who were sitting across the desk. He noticed she was still sporting the black eye Bethany had given her, she hadn't bothered to camouflage it. If anything, it probably made her seem more intimidating to the young men on the other side of the desk. Lindsey ignored them and stepped right up to his associate.

"You let that young girl escape – right into Angel's arms! She came into his bedroom last night when Darla was there. She barely managed to hide, and she had to leave before he was awake enough to sense her in the room!"

"Ah, we'll come back later, when it's more convenient…" one of the two young men said nervously. They gave each other a cowering look before grabbing their files and rushing out. Lilah rolled her eyes.

"They won't last the month. Thank you Lindsey, you just got me out of a very dull meeting. Who wants to hear about finances anyway?" she said, flashing him a sweet smile.

"Don't change the subject, Lilah," he said in a dangerous tone of voice. "Not only did we lose valuable hours, but do you have any idea how close she came to getting caught? If Angel had woken up to find her in his bed…"

"… he would've thought he was still dreaming and given her his best performance," she said with a smirk that only grew more pronounced when she saw Lindsey's eyes shooting daggers at her. "I'm sorry Lindsey, was that offensive?" Lindsey tried his best not to punch her good eye and let out a low snarl.

"If Darla had been caught…"

"… you would have swooped in to rescue her like a fairytale prince on a white horse." She paused and looked at him with her head tilted. "That is what you want, isn't it Lindsey?"

"What I want, Lilah," he shot back, leaning onto the desk so his face was level with hers, "is for you to focus on your own cases, and fail on your own time." He smiled as he took a step back and straightened his jacket.

"But from what Holland tells me, that won't be a problem. You don't get that girl back, and the Senior Partners are not gonna be all too happy. Have a good afternoon, Lilah," he said as he walked out. Before he closed the door behind him, he looked back at her.

"And Lilah? Stay the hell out of my office."


The sharp ringing of his office phone pulled Lindsey from his daydream. Well, they were more nightmares than they were dreams. He sighed and rushed his hands through his hair. He didn't need calynthia powder to be controlled by what his dreams made him believe, especially when it involved Angel and Darla…

He blinked and reached for the phone as he glanced at his watch. Almost seven pm. He hadn't done anything all afternoon.

"Lindsey McDonald…" he said. "Holland, hello. Yeah I'm still here. No, that's no problem at all. See you in a couple of minutes," he replied when Holland Manners asked if this was a bad time for him to drop in.

He hung up the phone and rapped his fingers on the desktop nervously. It wasn't like he'd been doing anything useful, and Holland always seemed to know every little detail about him. He pulled some pending files from his desk drawer and started reading them, just in case. He hadn't been working for more than five minutes when he heard the door open and saw Holland enter without bothering to knock.

"Evening Lindsey. Working hard, I see?" the older man said with a leering smile as he sat down and looked around. "I like what you've done with my office…" Without waiting for a response, he went on. "Lilah's client, the young girl, left her care and went home."

"Really. When did this happen?" Lindsey said, not bothering to hide the glee in his voice.

"Fifteen minutes ago. Bad news travels fast here, as you probably know. Now, I'm sure you're well aware that the Senior Partners are not very happy with the way Lilah has handled this case."

"I can imagine," he replied. Involuntarily, he felt a bit bad for Lilah. He wouldn't wish the Senior Partners' bad mood on anyone. It passed quickly, however. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because, Lindsey, I'm looking out for you. This is the perfect moment for you to take the next step on your project. If you can eliminate the threat that Angel forms, it would ensure them that you can do great things for the firm." Lindsey nodded to show that he understood.

"That sounds good in theory Holland, but we're not ready yet. Angel hasn't been manipulated enough. I know we should go to the next step sooner rather than later, but if we do it right now, we risk the corruption of the entire project," he said. Holland looked at him, his smile never leaving his face.

"It's your decision, Lindsey. I'm just here to give you a piece of advice, you choose what you do with it. But knowing the vampire like we do, it won't take him much longer to realize that there's truth behind his dreams."

"I understand…" Lindsey said. "But I'll give it a couple more days." He paused and hoped that Holland wouldn't mind, but Holland said nothing. He just nodded and kept smiling an understanding smile. For a moment Lindsey hesitated, then he decided for himself that this was the best time to ask.

"Darla doesn't know what the rest of the plan is, does she?" he asked. He'd been wondering this for nearly two weeks, ever since Holland had informed him of the ultimate purpose to Darla's return. The older man shook his head. "She doesn't know that we want him dark, that we want him on our side? Shouldn't we tell her? I think it would make it easier for her to play her part, and I doubt she'd mind." Holland made an 'go ahead' signal with his hands.

"If you want to," he said simply as he got up. "This is your case after all, isn't it Lindsey? But that being said, it's seven thirty on a Friday evening. Why don't you go home and relax," he added kindly. Like always, Lindsey had no idea if he was sincere, but didn't really care.

After Holland had left, Lindsey started packing his briefcase again. He couldn't shake off the uncomfortable feeling that there was something Holland wasn't telling him…


It was past ten when he got home, and the dozens of lit candles burning all over the apartment told Lindsey that Darla was around somewhere. Two centuries after the industrial revolution and she still prefers candlelight, he thought with a smile.

"Darla?" he asked while he tossed his keys on the table.

"In here," her voice came drifting from his bedroom. Before he had time to wonder what she was doing in his bedroom, he heard the opening and closing of his closet doors. With a frown, he walked over and looked into the room. The doors to the walk-in closet were wide open and from inside came stumbling noises.

"Hey Darla," he said, a little bit stumped. "Do I wanna ask what you're doing in my closet?"

"I'm going through your things." her heard her say. Her silky voice was muffled but the amused tone in it was almost tangible. "Come on Lindsey, I've been dead for nearly four years. Can't a girl have a little fun?" Only seconds later, she came walking out, holding up his guitar.

"You play?" she asked while she sat down on the bed, one leg tucked under her, the guitar resting on the other one.

"I did," was Lindsey's simple reply as he showed the prosthetic and sat down next to her.

"All those years, and I've never learned to play a single instrument," she said, her head tilted. "Seems like a shame. On the other hand, I would have probably given up after a couple of tries." She turned her head towards him and gave him another wicked little smile. "I've never exactly been patient."

"It's not that hard. Come here," he said. He scooted over until he was sitting right beside her, legs touching, and turned the guitar so it rested partly on her leg and partly on his own. She drew in an expecting breath when he put the plastic hand over her small one and started mimicking the strumming patterns.

He's missed this so much, Darla thought as she glanced from her hand that was brushing the strings to Lindsey's face. He was trying out different chords with his left hand, a concentrated but at the same time relaxed look in his eyes.

As they sat there while the evening turned into night, she couldn't help but feel amazed. Lindsey seemed so lost in time that she felt she could do or say anything, and he wouldn't even notice. For the first time since she'd known him, he was a person and not just a lawyer. She smiled, softly and to herself.


Lindsey felt as if he came out of a trance. He blinked and looked through the French doors that showed them the lights of downtown L.A. In the east, the sky was already turning a soft pink.

"What time is it?" he asked, a let out a surprised breath when he glanced at the alarm clock on the bedside table. "Five-thirty?" he answered his own question. Darla stifled a yawn. She hadn't realized how tired she was until now.

"I guess I need human sleeping patterns now, too," she said. "Such a pity…" Handing Lindsey the guitar, she got up from the bed and walked over to the doors that opened onto the balcony. She looked out over the neon city lights and the soft pallet of pastels that was slowly making its way up the sky.

"I've always preferred the night… but I've missed sunrises," she said softly. Lindsey wasn't really sure if she was talking to him or to herself but he decided to risk it. He quietly put the guitar down and walked up to her until he stood right next to her as she overlooked the city.

"It is beautiful. Although I doubt that a lot of people in this city appreciate it…" He was only inches away from her and she could hear his warm voice humming in her ear. Closing her eyes involuntarily, she replied quickly and matter-of-factly.

"I think Angel's almost ready. I just have to make sure that I speed up the amount and the frequency of his dreams. With the calynthia powder I can control his dreams even from right here. A couple more days and he won't know what's real and what's not," she said, still looking at the sunrise as a knowing smile crept onto her lips.

Lindsey turned to look directly at her. For the last month, he'd devised the plans while Darla worked out the practical side, and usually he trusted her strategies, but here was something she'd conveniently forgotten to tell him.

"You can control him from here? Then what were all those trips to his hotel room for?" he asked with a frown. Darla laughed and turned towards him. Lindsey blinked. Had she moved closer to him, or was he imagining things?

"I had to slip him the powder one way or another, didn't I? Besides," she said with a big smile as she lifted her head up to his, "as I said, can't a girl have a little fun?"

Despite himself, Lindsey laughed when he saw the sparkles in her eyes. She was nothing like the frightened little creature they'd brought back. She was a strong, smart woman and he was trying really hard to stop himself from kissing her.

"You're a piece of work," was all he said, shaking his head and laughing. She was standing only a few inches away now. Her perfume filled his nostrils and he could hear her every breath… His hand hovered at his side, desperate to caress her cheek but unsure if he should.

Then, just as suddenly, she turned her attention back to the window.

"So, your plans for Angel are moving along nicely. I'm sure the Senior Partners will be thrilled," she said dryly. Lindsey took a deep breath to come back to his senses but he didn't flinch a muscle.

"Yeah, everything's going pretty well. Almost time for the next step…" Lindsey replied, hoping his voice sounded steady enough. It wouldn't be long now, as long as nothing went wrong…


TBC