A/N: Thank you so much to those who reviewed. Please do so again after this chapter. :)

As little Sarai was entertaining herself with the television Sarai kept in the kitchen, Lindsey and Darla used the living to have a much needed chat. "So, things are still far from dull around here," Lindsey said as an ice breaker.

"Yeah," she agreed. "What about you? Any exciting tales from Europe?"

He shrugged, "nothing major. Spent most of my time trying to make sure the man in charge of L.A. Wolfram and Hart couldn't find me. Now I know it was for nothing cause it was as easy as going on the internet...and because it wasn't even on his to-do list."

"That's because he's been too busy keeping track of Sarai," she replied.

Lindsey laughed slightly, "yeah I've discovered how that's a full time job. She's... something else."

"That she is."

"No one's ever stormed through my front door telling me to 'get the on the damn plane now to see mother and make things better or drown in a sewage backup that will occur in the toilet,' before."

"She really said that?" Darla questioned.

"Word for word."

"That... isn't that shocking."

Lindsey nodded, "then she explained the entire story to me though. And I got on the plane without any other threats needed."

"Sounds about right."

"I missed you," Lindsey blurted out. "I missed you ever since you left town after you..."

"Slept with Angel," Darla finished.

"Yeah," he sighed. "After that."

"I didn't do it to hurt you."

"I know."

"But if I could, I wouldn't change it," she told him. "I wouldn't take that night back for anything. Sarai..."

"I know," he interrupted. "How've things been since you've been back?" he asked, changing the subject.

Darla shrugged. "Okay. I mean... it's been hectic, to say the least. But nothing I can't handle."

"Good... that's good that you can handle," he mumbled.

"Yeah," Darla sighed. "So... what now?"

"What do you want to happen now?"

Darla thought for a moment. She wanted what Sarai wanted for her. To not be alone. To be happy. So, she decided to make it happen. She took a breath she didn't need, and began to kiss Lindsey... only to stop after a few seconds and run off the couch.

Lindsey was confused by this until he realized she ran into the kitchen because little Sarai was climbing on the kitchen counter, and was about fall off it. Luckily, Darla got there in time to catch her. Lindsey ran into the kitchen as well. "Is she okay?" he asked.

A relieved Darla nodded before she focused back on the child she was holding. "What were you doing climbing up there?" she questioned.

"I was hungry," she replied, "and before I saw that some of the food is in there," she pointed to the cabinet Sarai kept her cereal and cookies in, "so I tried to get it."

"You should've asked," Darla told her, as she put her down, at little Sarai's request.

The child stared at the floor, "You looked busy. I didn't want to bother you, cause it's not polite... bad girls bother busy adults. I didn't want to be bad. But I guess I was bad anyway. I'm sorry."

"No... no," Darla said as she scrambled for the words to fix the misunderstanding that occurred. "You weren't bad. You weren't bad at all, dear girl, you just didn't know any better."

"I'm stupid?" the child questioned sadly, trying to understand what she was being told.

"NO!" Darla immediately corrected. "Absolutely not. You just didn't know the rule about asking for things you can't reach instead of trying to get it yourself. You weren't told that, so of course you didn't know. It's my fault... and your father's, for not telling you sooner. But you are not at all to blame," she assured her.

"Promise?"

"Yeah. You agree, right Lindsey?"

"Yeah, of course I do," he agreed, as he processed what had just gone on.

"See? Even Lindsey agrees. Now, why don't you go in the livingroom while I make you a snack. How's that sound?" Darla offered.

"Are you sure you're not too busy?" the child questioned.

Darla smiled at her, "of course I'm sure. Now go play in the other room." With that, the child did as she was advised and went into the living room. "Will you go keep an eye on her while I make her something to eat?" Darla then asked Lindsey.

"Sure," he replied. "You cook?" he questioned as an afterthought. During the time she was living with him he never saw her make food.

"I've been around for over four-hundred years. I'm sure I can come up with something," she replied.

Lindsey went to watch little Sarai. She was trying to figure out something to do to pass the time until her snack was ready. She wasn't allowed to climb on things, and the day before she learned not to play with the weapons or jump up and down on the couch. Her options were limited. She decided to talk to Lindsey. "So, you are a friend of big me?" she asked as she sat next to him.

"Yeah, kind of," he answered. "And your mother."

"But not my father?"

Lindsey hesitated before answering. He didn't want to have to explain the whole story to her, but he didn't want to lie either. "No, I am not friendly with him."

She began to panic at that. "But... but... you don't hate him right? You're not really here to take me away too, are you?" she questioned, almost in tears.

T-take you? No, of course not,"he replied seriously, but gently. "I would never do that. To you, or your parents."

She perked up. "Good. That's very good. And nice, you're nice then," she declared.

"Thank you."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," he allowed.

"Before I started to try and get something to eat, I saw you and my mother doing something with you're faces close together and your tongues moving all funny together. Why? What is that?"

He was at a loss for words. It was not something he had planned on being asked. Luckily he was saved by Darla arriving with food. It was a big relief. Darla had decided to do what Angel did the day before and make her something the bigger Sarai enjoyed. And if there was one thing Darla, and anyone who knew Sarai at all, knew about her was that Sarai enjoyed just about anything strawberry flavored. So little Sarai was treated to the snack of sugar cookies topped with strawberry sauce, and a cup of strawberry milk, and enjoyed it fully. So much so that she completely forgot about the question she asked Lindsey. "Was everything okay?" Darla asked Lindsey.

"Yeah, fine," he replied.

All of a sudden, Skittles emerged from napping on Angel's bed and entered the living room. She went up to Lindsey and sniffed the new man that had entered her domain. Little Sarai didn't eat one of the cookies, so Lindsey decided to give it to the dog. This put him on her good list and she left him alone. In fact, she left all three of them alone after taking one of Angel's shoes that were lined up neatly by the front door and taking it back in his room to use as a chew toy. Skittles was the greatest dog Lindsey ever saw.

Over at Fred and Wesley's apartment, Sophia sat huddled in a corner of the kitchen, covering her ears. Sarai was knelt down next to her. "The loud noise is gone," Sarai told her for the third time. "It's okay now. You don't have to cover your ears anymore... you can even get up." Finally, Sophia uncovered her ears. "See, no big noises," Sarai said softly. It was obvious the child was still unnerved. "You wanna play a game?" Sarai suggested in an effort to get her mind off what had happened. Sophia got up and ran to her room, Sarai knew that was her cue to go in there too.

With the girls out of the room, Angel and Wesley turned to what had caused the problem. "I don't get it," Angel stated.

"What's not to get?" Wesley questioned, eyeing a bookcase laying on the living room floor. "I had a whim to move the bookcase and tried to do it myself. It ended up falling to the ground and the crash hurt Sophia's noise sensitive..."

"I get that," Angel interrupted as they lifted the bookcase upright again. "You could have called me, I would've moved it."

"You obviously didn't get the whim part. I hadn't planned on moving it... or having it fall."

Sarai came out of the bedroom, and began to rummage through the cabinets in the kitchen, collecting an assortment of candy's/mints. "What you are doing?" Wesley asked.

"Getting the game set up. We're gonna play Candy Land."

"Isn't that a board game? That doesn't involve real candy."

"Not the way we play," she replied before taking what she found back into the room.

The two men decided to sit down and have as chat as their daughters were playing the Sarai version of Candy Land. Angel filled his friend in on what had taken place earlier that day. "She located Lindsey?" he repeated, shocked.

"Yeah," Angel confirmed. "She wants him and Darla to be together."

"Why?"

"Because I am with Cordelia."

"Okay..."

"And Darla punished her for flying and lying."

Wesley's eyes slightly bugged out for a minute. "Funny... I didn't hear a massacre."

Angel slightly laughed, "no... but she didn't go down without a fight."

"She had a tantrum?"

"Yeah... but it wasn't bad. Not like when I first told her about the tonsil surgery being scheduled." Angel slightly shivered at the memory. It wasn't a good memory.

"I don't think anything's been worse then that," Wesley commented. Angel nodded.

"Wait," Angel remembered, "there was that really bad sugar high," he corrected. At the mention of the sugar high, they went into Sophia's room to check to make sure it didn't happen again with the candy that was brought in the room. They were both relieved everything was fine, and left.

"How are things with Sarai?... Other Sarai, I mean," Wesley asked as he made them tea.

Angel shrugged, "alright. I mean she's... different. Very different then the Sarai we know."

"She doesn't curse?"

"Among other things," Angel laughed. "She's so quite... and scared of things. It's...well it's kind of sweet... in a sad way. If that makes any sense."

"I think I know what you mean," Wesley replied, trying to catch on.

"She's so concerned about not being 'bad' and isn't sure of things, and on the surface... it's kind of cute. Then I think about why that is though and..."

"Not cute anymore," Wesley finished, understanding.

"Yeah."

Angel shook his head. "She's just a child. Well... she's not a child anymore technically. She's a teenager. She has her...quirks...but she's a well adjusted teenager, complete with ability to drive me crazy..."

"No, that's Melissa Joan Hearts job," Sarai interrupted, sneaking up on her father. "But I am damn good at it too."

"What? Who?" Angel questioned.

Sarai shook her head, "never mind," she said as she poured apple juice into a sippie cup, and some iced tea in a regular glass, followed by adding spoonfuls of sugar into the iced tea glass. Both men stared at her. "What?" she questioned.

"You're going to get sick if you keep up with all the sugar," Wesley told her.

"I don't know what you mean. The apple juice is mine, the iced tea is for Sophia." Wesley nearly had a heart attack. "Kidding," she laughed. "Although when you think about it, sippie cups are the way to go. If I used one, maybe things would spill less and I'd hear less never-ending speeches about stains on the carpet."

"Or you could stop dancing on the coffee table," Angel suggested.

"Why would I ever do that?" she replied before leaving with the drinks.

"See, that's the Sarai I know," Angel said. "The Sarai who will stop at nothing to give me a hard time, rant about nothing, and likes to yell frequently, but then turn around and be happy... be my little girl. But little Sarai... she's so nervous all time, afraid I will hate her if she does something wrong... afraid of me period I think in her own way. She doesn't like to touched much. I went to kiss her goodnight last night and she was very uncomfortable, flinching away, the same with when I tried to hug her goodbye before." Angel paused for a moment before speaking again. "For so long I've wanted to know her as a child, to hold her at least once... and now she's here, but she won't let me. And I know it's not her fault, believe me, I do, but still. Do have no idea how hard it is to be around your own daughter and know she doesn't want you to ho-..." Angel stopped his sentence and bit his lower lip. "I'm sorry," he apologized.

"Don't be," Wesley replied.

"No... I should be, I am. I wasn't thinking. I shouldn't have said that. I mean... Sophia..."

"It's okay," Wesley interrupted, sighing and looking down at his tea.

"No it isn't."

"Yes, it is." Wesley took a breath before he continued to speak. "It is, really. I've come to terms with the fact that Sophia will never be like other children. Or that she doesn't... she can't, respond the same way to things like other's can. She can't help it, I know that. I do." Wesley paused for a moment. "But she has made progress. I mean her speech is expanding, and she's taken to Fred, and especially Sarai, very well," he said trying to look on the bright side, but there was an undertone of sadness.

"But not you," Angel said so his friend wouldn't have to.

"It's working for Sophia, that's what matters," he sighed.

Seconds later the bedroom door opened again and the both girls exited the room. "So, what are you guys doing? Discussing some book you've read or something equally as boring?" Sarai asked her father and Wesley. They didn't reply. "Learn to take jokes, seriously."

"How was the game?" Wesley asked Sophia, at the same time Angel asked her who won the game. Sarai stuck her tongue out at the adults.

Sophia was still for a moment before she said something. "No," she said, barely whispering.

"It was a tie," Sarai clarified. "I would've won but I was distracted by a cherry Jollyrancher, you know how it is."

"No, I don't believe I do," Wesley replied.

"I don't think anyone but you does," Angel told her.

"It must be because I am that amazing," she decided.

"And modest."

"Modest is just another word for fake, how many times do I have to tell you?"

"Why don't you tell us about this other version of Candyland?" Wesley asked her, curiously.

"I can't," Sarai answered.

"Why not?"

"Because you're an adult," she told him, "and so are you," she pointed at her father. She said it as if it was the most awful thing in the world.

"And yet, we're still able to look at ourselves in the mirror," Wesley countered. "Or at least I can," he corrected before Sarai could.

"Which is a good thing. I'd hate to see the result of him being able to see himself during the morning gelling."

"I'm sitting right here," Angel reminded his daughter.

Sarai rolled her eyes. "I know. But when has that ever stopped me before?"

She had him there.

Angel looked at his watch, "if everything's okay now, we're gonna get going."

"Okay. Thanks for coming by," Wesley replied.

"No probby," Sarai said before turning her attention to Sophia. "Next time we see each other, I want a rematch." Sophia nodded.

Angel and Sarai said goodbye and then left the apartment. As they were walking to the elevator, Sarai fell to the floor. At first Angel wrote it off as her usual klutziness and kept walking. But when he realized she wasn't back on her feel walking next to him, he was concerned. He was even more concerned when he turned to see her still on the floor. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"How nice of you to decide not to leave me for dead," she snarked. He knew she wasn't that bad then. "I got tired suddenly. Maybe... maybe I over did it yesterday. I wasn't as recovered as I thought."

"Well, you did have surgery. I supposed its natural if you're tired," he said as he helped her up.

"Yeah. And I am."

"You're not seeing elephants again are you?" he questioned. She shook her head. "Good."

"But... I was fine before," she whined.

"Maybe it was adrenaline? I know how you can get when you want to do something. Even though you felt okay, you probably should've rested anyway."

"Pooh. I hate it when you're right."

"I know."

Sarai used Angel's arm to support herself as the continued to walk. "This isn't a good feeling. I don't like this. See what happened because of surgery? I told you it was evil."

"Poor baby," he said mostly serious, with a slight hint of mocking, as he patted her head.

"I know," she pouted, as they continued their journey home.

Meanwhile, over at Wolfram and Hart, Dawn was sitting in the lobby by Harmony's secretary's desk. It was Sunday, but there was still work going on there. And Dawn was watching it going on, for lack of something better to do. It had been relatively quite until she felt someone grab her from behind. "AH!" she shrieked as she elbowed who ever it was in the face. "Oops," she muttered when she saw who it was. "Sorry, Ryan."

"It's okay," he replied as he held his hurt nose, "just remind me to never sneak up on you again."

"Will do, so what's up?"

He shrugged, "looking for Sarai, know where she is?"

She shook her head. "Not really. Besides, now's not the time to see her."

"Really? Why?"

"It's complicated."

Ryan decided to take her word for it. "What are you doing here then?"

"Usually if you hang around long enough something interesting happens," she explained.

"Oh."

"Wanna wait with me?"

"Sureness." He thought about what he just said. "I just used a Sarai-word, didn't I?"

Dawn nodded, "you've officially been Sarai'd."

They sat and waited for something to happen. Nothing did so they went to the near by vending machine to get sodas. It was then when they heard a loud noise. It was a familiar sound it in building; someone was on a rampage in the building. "What's going on?" Dawn asked Harmony, when they returned.

"From what I know, there's some vampire looking to take over this town."

The vampire continued to storm the floor. It got tired of waiting for the sun to go down and went to great lengths to make it to the Wolfram and Hart building, where their minion told them is the place to go to, to fight for control of Los Angeles. "Alright, who the fuck has the balls to try and stop me from taking over this place?" the vampire yelled. The voice was female, angry, and familiar to everyone who heard it. Especially Harmony, Dawn and Ryan.

The teenagers looked at each other and then at Harmony. "That sounds like..." Harmony began to say.

"It can't be," Dawn interrupted.

"Not possible," Ryan stated.

Still Dawn and Ryan had to get a look for themselves. They turned the corner and came face to face with the black leather and pink lace-clad vampire. They couldn't believe their eyes.

"Sarai?" they both questioned in sheer disbelief.

TBC

A/N: Chapter seven is now completed. Hope you enjoyed it. Now you all know who the vampire is: Sarai (kinda think VampWillow in 'Dopplegangland', but with Sarai.)

Up next: Sarai and Angel meet Vampire Sarai. Vampire Sarai shares info on what it's like where she's from and its revealed that maybe Angel and Angelus aren't as opposite as everyone thinks. Little Sarai remembers her question and how its unanswered. And of course, Angel discovers the chewed shoe.

Until next time, please review.