Probably a shorter chapter than the first, but I wrote them as one and decided to split them up. The following chapters will most likely involve more dialogue and more action, so bear with me on updates. Hopefully a few days. Anyhow, enjoy.

Lindsey's mind clicked into overdrive. There was always a reason for these jogs down memory lane before you met whatever awaited you on the other side. More often than not, it was to show you a pivotal moment in your life. A moment where a different decision or a different reaction could alter not only the course of your own life but the course of others around you. Lindsey knew exactly where he was headed.

It was immediately following his departure from Los Angeles. His conscience had finally reared its ugly head, and the craving for power had to take a backseat to better judgment. He had lied to himself the first time he wanted to quit, claiming that once he ran the show, acts like the murdering of innocent children would be expressly prohibited. Then came the loss of his hand, then Darla, then the massacre, and then... then came the suffering he saw others endure for him to move up in the world. It sickened him to no end. He drew the line right then and there. He was leaving the City of Angels, or Angel, depending on how you looked at it, and was heading back into the great unknown. He was out to find Lindsey McDonald the man... not the power hungry child.

He found himself in a small dust blown town in Nevada, following his grand exit out of Los Angeles after being pulled over not once, not twice, but three times on his way east. The first time, he attributed it to bad luck. The second time, he thought it was a reminder from the Senior Partners that no one walks away from Wolfram and Hart. Finally, after the third ticket, the officer informed him of the lovely banner gracing the back of his pickup. He simply shook his head and smiled. Angel always had to have the last word. It was no matter, he had no intention of paying the fines anyway. He was going to disappear. After everything, the Firm owed him that much at least.

He decided to settle down in Smalltown X in western Nevada. He didn't even bother to catch the name. The less he knew about this place, the safer he thought he would be. The town fit him like an old worn glove. Unlike most small towns, no one asked questions here. Big plus. He once surmised that it might be a hiding place for mob informants on the run. It was the perfect place to disappear in. Bigger plus. He took up working in the local bar, serving drinks on the side, but mainly performing at night. He was a hit with the local townspeople. What could he say? The man had one helluva voice. The pay was peanuts, but money wasn't much of a concern anymore. He got a small amount of joy from the applause he was basked in every night, but he found himself still lacking. Then, he met her.

She was a short barmaid, with shoulder length chestnut hair and the bluest eyes he had ever stared into. The first night he met her he was sold. Her name was Denise, and like most small town barmaids, she had a story. She was twenty five and a single mother, on the run from an abusive boyfriend back in Oklahoma. Like Lindsey, she had simply wanted to disappear. Find a quiet place to raise her three year old daughter and try and forget the nightmares of a past life full of mistakes and unwarranted violence. Lindsey was smitten from the get go, and so was she.

If Lindsey's cold corpse could smile, it would have. She always had that effect on him. He loved her with everything he had, her and her daughter Lizzie. He found his redemption in those pools of pale blue, and he knew that within them he could rinse his soul clean of his past sins and find true happiness. She was what he wanted... what he needed... what he craved. And then came the attacks. Random at first. A bar straggler dead here, a late night clerk there. Lindsey, like most of the townspeople first attributed the murders to the mob. Hell, it was plausible. But then came the reports of mauled and bloodless victims. All in all, ten victims had been discovered in the span of a month. Then, Denise was attacked after work one night. Lindsey, watching two shadows simultaneously leap in front of her from the alley, raced to the defense. The two turned out to be merely purse snatchers of the mortal variety, but the attack struck too close to home. This was no coincidence. This was the Senior Partners. They weren't going to let Lindsey walk away. They had simply sat back and waited for him to find happiness, and now they were letting him know they had every intention of stripping him of it. No one crossed the Senior Partners... no one... especially not an adopted dirt poor kid from Texas. Terrified for the life of his new love and his new 'daughter', Lindsey loaded up his old pickup truck and drove back west. Back to Los Angeles. Back to a place where he knew both Denise and Lizzie could be protected...

"The Hyperion Hotel," Denise read off as the truck eased to a stop. "How are we going to be safe here?"

"I know a guy who err... runs the place... among other talents," Lindsey replied carefully.

He had no intention of telling her that this 'man' was actually a mass murdering vampire who had been cursed with a soul. Hell, he had never truly told her why they had been hauled into Los Angeles in the dead of night in the first place. It was only a mugging she had said, but Lindsey knew better. He refused to tell her about his past, so he simply told her that an old mistake of his had found him, and that they had to get some place safe because they were all in danger. He sealed the deal with a 'trust me' and Denise simply smiled and said 'okay'. She always did.

"Do they have a pool?" little Lizzie inquired excitedly. Lindsey simply smiled.

"I'm not sure sweetheart, we'll just have to find out."

Looking up at the entrance, Lindsey felt a wave of dread sweep over him. He wasn't supposed to come back to this town. He was supposed to stay gone. He had been warned to stay gone. But desperate times called for desperate measures... and desperate allies. With a slight squeeze of Denise's hand, Lindsey let out a sigh and opened the door.

"Let's go drop in for a visit..."

"I'm serious Angel!" Cordelia whined as she placed her hands on her hips. "She has to come down and get to know... y'know... the world!"

"Look Cordy, Fred just needs..." Angel began, only to be cut off.

"And besides, do you know how ridiculous it is to slide a full bag of tacos under the door... one at a time!"

"You have to understand what the girl has been through Cordelia... besides, why would you not simply open the door and hand Winifred the entire bag," came a clipped British response. Wesley took a sip of his tea before sitting the mug down on the countertop and eyeing Cordelia thoughtfully.

"Duh! I've tried like... a million times! It's always locked! She'll only answer if the Handsome Man knocks," Cordelia replied, batting her eyes seductively Angel's way to accentuate the words 'Handsome man'. If Angel could have, he would have blushed.

"I swear, she acts as if I'm some sort of wi... ughhh..."

"Cordy!" Angel looked up to his Seer begin wobbling before Wesley sprinted behind her and caught her fall. At the same instant he heard the door to the hotel open and catch the scent of who had just entered.

"It can't be..." Angel though silently.

"What did you see Cordelia," Wesley inquired, not noticing that Angel was uncharacteristically quiet concerning the latest vision.

"Whew... uhmmm... vampires... lots of them... a little girl and her mom... and..."

"Lindsey," came the snarl from across the countertop.

"How did you..." was all Cordelia could manage before her vision fixated on the figure that stood in the foyer.

With one hand enduring Lizzie's vice grip and the other squeezing Denise's for one last shot of courage, Lindsey eyed the scene with a slight smile.

"Hi Champ. Got room for a couple a' clients?"