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Lindsey sprinted around the corner of a building, then slammed against the wall, trying to catch his breath without being too loud. He was terrified, absolutely terrified of what was out there. The thing that was chasing him was relentless, it would stop at nothing. Only when Lindsey was dead would the thing stop running.
He paused in the attempt to catch his breath and he listened for the footsteps. They thumped loudly against the concrete, far too near for the run he had just given them.
"Dammit." He swore under his breath, then turned and began to run as softly as he could down the alley he was now in. The footsteps behind him started up again, first slowly, then quicker as Lindsey tried to run away. Even though he knew there was no way he could escape, he still tried in vain.
Lindsey reached the end of the alley and turned the corner on his right.
Grace stood in front of him, smiling. "Hey Lyns." She hissed in a mocking voice. "Are you trying to run from me? I'm your little sister, you don't want to run from me." She grinned, flashing her teeth and showing Lindsey she had fangs. "We just want you to come home."
Lindsey shook his head. "You're not my sister."
Grace looked surprised. "Oh, I'm not?" She grinned again, slowly changing from the half demon into his sister Isabelle. "I thought you said I was your favourite sister. You said you'd always be there for me."
"You . . . this can't be happening." Lindsey squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them again, Grace no longer stood in front of him and he was alone on the street.
A thump behind him made him whirl around, but he found nothing there. There was a creaking noise across the street and he looked to see a broken gate, swinging in the wind on it's one hinge.
Without knowing why, Lindsey crossed the street and entered the yard with the broken gate. A rusted swing set sat in front, the swings falling off and broken. Children's toys littered the ground, making it nearly impossible to walk. Then, those things all disappeared.
"We never had that Lyns." Grace's voice whirled around his head. "We never had those toys. But we could have. You could have given us those things with your new job as a lawyer. But Wolfram and Hart . . . they killed us."
"You're not my sister!" He yelled, trying to chase the voice away.
When he no longer heard Grace taunting him, Lindsey walked up to the front door and went inside the house. He pushed in the front door, cringing as it creaked warily and threatened to fall off. The first step he took into the house proved to him how old the house really was. His foot went through the floorboards and Lindsey yelped as the broken wood cut and tore at his leg.
He bit his lip and pulled his leg from the floor, checking the wounds. When he was satisfied that they weren't as bad as they seemed, Lindsey continued into the house, glancing around him before he moved and carefully checking the floor with each step.
"Hello?" He called. "Mom? Dad? Are you guys home yet?" Lindsey entered the kitchen, then stopped short when he saw what waited for him. His mother was sitting at the kitchen table, her head laying on top of the morning newspaper and her eyes wide open. Blood pooled out from under her head.
His father was leaned backward in his chair, his coffee mug lay broken on the ground where he had dropped it. Three bullet wounds in his chest still flowed with blood.
Lindsey fell to his knees hard as his legs gave out. He couldn't believe the scene that was in front of him. He thought he'd left it all behind the day he had turned twenty years old. This wasn't supposed to be happening to him now.
As if driven by a force he couldn't control, Lindsey got to his feet, finding himself going through the motions he had done when he had first found his family murdered. He staggered out of the kitchen, slamming against a wall and pausing for a second, praying that his head would stop spinning. After a moment, he continued into the living room. Lindsey walked up behind the television set and hardly noticed that it had been left on. All he could see were the two tiny, bullet ridden bodies that lay on the floor. Happy cartoon voices poured from the t.v., as if attempting to wash away the blood and the pain.
Lindsey gasped for air, holding onto the wall for support. "They're too young." He moaned, tears streaming down his face. "They're so little, so tiny." Stumbling around to the front of the t.v. he bent down and grabbed one of his sisters in his arms. Her brown hair fell from her face and he could see the lifeless brown eyes staring up at the ceiling.
"No." He cried, pulling her closer and burying his tear streaked face in her hair. "She's only seven years old." He sobbed, the drying blood in her hair sticking to his face. "She's only seven." He repeated, then lay the body gently on the floor.
Lindsey looked at his other sister next. She was already looking up, her arms spread out on the floor and her eyes staring straight up. Lindsey shook his head and sobbed. His baby sister, the smallest and last member of his family. An angry thought flashed through his mind, *Who could kill a four year old child?*
"Where's Isabelle?" He asked suddenly. The air around him grew still as he got to his feet once more. Lindsey left the living room, immediately feeling guilty for not covering his two other sisters before he had left. Trying to shrug the feeling off, Lindsey walked to the back of the house and threw his bedroom door open. He didn't know how he knew where to go, he just did.
Isabelle's head sat on his bed, staring at him angrily.
Lindsey's world stopped in that moment. His breathing stopped and his heart beat slowed until he felt like his head was going to explode. He stood in his bedroom doorway, staring at the decapitated head of his younger sister for so long that he no longer knew exactly how much time he'd spent there. All sounds ceased to exist and the only sound Lindsey could hear was a high pitched wailing noise. It took him a minute to realize that the noise was coming from him.
In the moment that everything started again, Lindsey turned to the wall at his left and slammed both hands into the wall. Two deep holes appeared as he did it again and again. Then, when his hands were bloody and raw and his breathing was so ragged that it felt like his chest would explode, he turned and ran from the house. He ran down the street, toward Wolfram and Hart, determined on finding out who had killed his Isabelle and making them pay.
Lindsey turned a corner, nearing the building that housed the law firm when someone stepped out in front of him. He stopped short, his shoes skidding against the pavement beneath his feet.
Darla cocked her head and smiled. She brought a finger to her lips, "Shh. Be quiet dear boy."
Lindsey stared at her with wide eyes. His jaw opened and closed, but no sounds came from his mouth.
"Be calm." She whispered, brushing her cool hand over his face. "Just be calm, sweet, dear boy. You don't need them, you have us."
Lindsey nodded, "I have Wolfram and Hart. You're my family."
"That's right." She smiled sweetly. "We're your family. Me and Lilah and Lee. We'll be here for you, always here for you. We'll protect you against Angel."
Lindsey's face hardened. "Angel?" His lip curled in a sneer. "Angel? Where the hell is he? I'll kill him right now. He's the one that killed my Isabelle."
Darla nodded. "That's right Lindsey. Angel killed your baby sister. What are you going to do about that?"
Lindsey paused for a long moment as he thought. "You know what I'll do about that Darla. I'll take control of the situation. I'll finish him."
Darla smiled as she faded from sight.
Lindsey's breathing slowly returned to normal as the vampire faded away. He stood in the street and slowly let his hands unclench. He raised his right hand to brush the hair off his face and all he saw was the bloody stump left behind.
A scream ripped from his throat as he stared at where his hand used to be. When he glanced at his left hand, he found the same situation.
"What the hell did you do?" He screamed, spinning around in the street. "Where the hell is my hand you bastard!"
As he stared angrily into corners, Grace slowly emerged from a house near him. She pushed open the front door and walked down the steps, then pushed the gate out of her way and walked toward him.
"I did it." She replied softly. "Angel didn't do it. I did."
"You stupid bitch." He growled. "Look at what you did to me." Lindsey held up both his arms for her to see.
Grace nodded. "I know. But it's not half as bad as what he's going to do to you." She pointed over his shoulder.
Lindsey spun around to see Angel looming above him, holding a bloody scythe.
"No!" Lindsey exclaimed, before opening his eyes and reaching over for the light again. It was the second night in a row he'd had a nightmare about his family. His hand was shaking as he turned on the lamp on the nightstand beside him. His breath came out in shuddering gasps as he tried as hard as he could to calm the shaking throughout his body.
"This is going too far." He murmured, his hand still shaking as he clung to the sheets on his bed. "Angel has gone too far this time. He can't have my dreams."
Angel sighed as he sat at his kitchen table and ran his hands through his hair. He was so tired and the weight of trying to figure out what was going on at Wolfram and Hart had begun to weigh heavily on his shoulders.
Hands slid over his shoulders and down his chest from behind and Angel sat up straighter in surprised.
"It's just me." Grace said near his ear. "You're so uptight lately." Her hands left his body as she moved around the table to sit across from him. "Are you okay?"
Angel nodded and sighed again. "I'm fine, really. Just worried."
"About?"
"About Lindsey and the entire firm." He turned his eyes down, then glanced at Grace again. "You know when Ophelia helped us?"
Grace nodded. "You would have died without her."
"She told me who was in that room at Wolfram and Hart. She said her uncle was a vampire now and she also told me about another woman there." Angel shook his head. "Everything she said, all the details she described . . . there's only one vampire I can think of."
"Who is it?" Grace asked.
Angel closed his eyes, then opened them again. "Her name is Darla. She made me."
"Oh." Grace was silent for a moment. "But we don't know this for sure. I mean, that's just your best guess, right?"
Angel shook his head. "No. You see, I could feel her."
"What?"
"When the demon was in my body and she took me by Wolfram and Hart, I knew she was there."
Grace frowned. "Angel, how could you possibly know? You couldn't see her, could you?"
He shook his head. "All I could see was black, but I knew Darla was out there. I could smell her, I could taste her . . . all my senses were working over time, I knew she was there."
"That's crazy. You can't just smell things . . . people, vampires, whatever. You're not a hound dog." Grace said.
Angel sighed. "I can smell things you can't Grace. Don't you understand that? Because of what I am all my senses are heightened. I-I know when you enter the building because I can smell you and I can feel you in the air around me, I can hear your footsteps as you climb the stairs. I don't need to see you to know that you're there."
"Are you like this with everyone?"
"I can smell them, yes, but . . ." he trailed off, "but there have only been two other people in my life time that I could feel like I feel you."
"Darla and who else?" Grace asked.
"Buffy." Angel said.
Grace frowned again. "The same Buffy that Cordelia talks about? The slayer?"
Angel nodded his conformation. "The slayer."
"So, you two were together? Before, I mean."
"Yeah, we were. Didn't Doyle tell you?"
Grace shook her head. "He just told me that if you were to experience a moment of true happiness you were revert back to Angelus. He didn't tell me you were with the slayer."
"I was.And it all turned out badly."
Grace forced out a laugh. "I kind of figured, with you being here and her being there."
"I turned on her."
Grace's laugh caught on her throat as she stared at him across the table. "You what?"
Angel's eyes closed and he rested his head in his hands. "I didn't know about the curse and . . . well, she made me very happy. I turned on her and her friends. I killed a woman that was very special to her Watcher and I nearly killed many of her best friends. I'm lucky she's such a great slayer."
"So, other than the time before you had your soul, you've been evil?" Grace asked.
He nodded. "Yeah." His eyes opened. "I'm sorry, I should have told you."
Grace tilted her head and searched for an answer. When she couldn't find one, she said, "Wes read the book. It says I'm going to cure you."
"Really?" Angel's eyes widened. "Grace, that's incredible."
She nodded. "Yeah. Although it's kind of hard to be excited about it when you've just found out the guy you're going to help, has killed in the past five years."
Angel's face softened. "Grace, I'm really sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I was just so afraid you'd walk out of this building and never return."
"And you're not scared of that now?"
"I know you love me now."
She was silent for a long time before she got to her feet and walked toward her. Grace stood in front of him and gently touched his face. "You are such a pain in the ass." She murmured, then leaned down and kissed his forehead. "I'm going to go see what I need to find this cure of yours. I'll be back later."
Angel grinned. "See you." He watched until she was gone, then stood up and went to the refrigerator in his kitchen. "I'm starved." He grumbled, then rifled through the containers for his blood.
Lindsey entered his office, slamming the door hard in the frame and stumbling to his desk. He collapsed in the chair and dropped his head into his arms, fighting the need to close his eyes and sleep.
"Lindsey, you look horrible." Darla murmured, opening the door and entering the room.
"Who the hell invited you in?" He asked, not bothering to look up.
She smiled. "It used to be Lee's office too. He told me I could."
"Lee is a half brained fool that couldn't tell the company limo from a bulldozer." Lindsey replied.
"Hey!" Lee protested. "I really resent that."
"You're a vampire. You don't resent anything." Lindsey said. "You don't have any feelings of any kind. So just shut up and leave me alone."
Lee arched his eyebrows. "Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Is Angel not letting you sleep well?"
"Shut up and get out." Lindsey roared.
Darla giggled. "Don't you remember what I told you Lindsey? Don't let him take over your life like this." She shot one last smile in Lindsey's direction, then led Lee out of the office.
Lindsey finally looked up once they were gone and smiled grimly. "I remember Darla. Oh God, do I remember."
"So, now what?" Cordelia asked. "What exactly do we do know? Do we just go on like everything is fine and dandy?" She paced the office on the upper floor, then sat rigidly on the edge of the sofa.
"Everything is fine." Wesley said.
"Everything's not fine!" She replied. "It's all different. This is so strange."
"It's not different Cordelia." Wesley said to her. "Trust me, everything will work out fine."
"We kissed Wesley! It makes it all different."
Wesley sighed and rolled his eyes. "It doesn't make it different. Grace knows about it already and I'm sure Angel won't react much differently."
Cordelia turned toward him and put her hands on her hips. "Oh and how do you know? Are you a mind reader of some sort?"
Wesley shook his head. "I only wish. Mind reading would be a useful quality when I'm around you."
"Would you two be quiet?" Angel asked, coming into the room. "Grace told me, I'm happy for you, but I thought it would at least end your bickering. You'd think you were both still four years old."
Cordelia sneered at him, then stopped and glanced back. "Grace told you?"
Angel nodded. "Grace told me."
"I can't believe she told you!" Cordelia exclaimed. "I wanted to tell you!"
Angel sighed. "Even if she hadn't told me, I'd certainly know after hearing you screaming in here."
"I wasn't screaming." She said. "Was I?"
Wesley nodded slowly. "Well, your voice was loud and high, so yes, I'd say you were screaming."
"Oh." She smiled sheepishly. "Sorry."
Angel shook his head and smiled. "And Cordelia, don't worry. It doesn't change anything. You both still work for me," he grinned, "I'm still the boss."
Cordelia smiled and laughed. "You're both right. Okay, so I got a little worked up over a tiny detail. How often does that happen?"
Wesley raised his eyebrows. "Not . . . often at all. I swear."
Grace opened the front door and walked in quickly. "Guys, something's really wrong."
Angel frowned. "Grace, what's going on?"
"Lindsey. I walked past Wolfram and Hart and the minute I was past the door, he stepped out. He followed me from the building, all the way here and I have no doubt that he'll be coming through that door any minute."
Cordelia looked out the window. "Grace, there's no one out,"
Her sentence was cut off when the front door slammed open and Lindsey stormed into the office. He glared at each of them in turn, then he flew at Grace, his arms outstretched. Before anyone could react, his hand was around her throat and a loud growl erupted from his throat as they flew backward together. Grace slammed hard against the desk behind her and Lindsey's hand forced her down, her back pressed against the papers beneath her.
She grabbed his hand and tried to rip it off her neck without any luck.
"You are such a little bitch." He hissed, her face only inches from her.
Grace turned her face to the side, trying to avoid looking at him.
Lindsey leaned down so his mouth was against her ear. "You're a bitch and it's going to feel so good to kill you. You killed my family."
Angel grabbed Lindsey by the shoulders and slammed him angrily against the wall. "Who the hell do you think you are?"
Lindsey struggled against Angel, his eyes still on Grace. "You're not my sister!" He screamed at her. "I don't know what's going through your mind, but you're not Isabelle!"
Grace looked completely bewildered as Angel slammed the lawyer against the wall again.
"What are you doing here Lindsey?" He asked. "Do you think you can just come in here and attack us whenever you feel like it?"
Lindsey's eyes finally focused on Angel. "I won't let you take my life from me. You're in my dreams Angel, for God's sake, stay out of my dreams!"
Angel looked as confused as Grace as Lindsey spoke.
"She is not my sister." He continued, looking at Grace again. "I can't believe that you killed her, you're so sick." Lindsey reached up with one hand and Angel tensed, but the man only grabbed his hair and pulled it, his head down. His face scrunched up in pain as he pulled again and tears fell from his eyes. "I tried so hard to resist them. Oh my God, did I ever, but they hurt her." He looked up again, his eyes wild. "You! You killed her!"
Angel shook his head. "Lindsey . . . wh-what's going on? Why are you here?"
Lindsey struggled, throwing Angel's hands off his shoulders. "I shouldn't be here. Just stop it! Stop haunting my dreams!" Then he turned and ran from the office, leaving the door open behind him.
Cordelia, Wesley, Angel and Grace stared after him in shock, their mouths open and the office completely silent.
"So his entire family was killed?" Grace asked, lightly rubbing her neck and grimacing when she touched the forming bruises.
Cordelia nodded, clicking the buttons on the mouse. "It says that they were all shot and his sister Isabelle was decapitated."
Wesley shook his head. "That's horrible. But it doesn't explain why he came here."
Cordelia gasped and the others ran toward the computer to see what she was looking at.
"Well," Angel sighed, "I think we now know why he came to us."
Grace leaned over to look at the picture of Isabelle. "She looks a lot like I did at that age. And she'd probably be close to my age now." She turned away. "But that doesn't explain why. Lindsey could never know that I looked like that or what Isabelle would look like now. There's no way. Someone has to have done this."
Wesley sighed. "Now it's just the problem of finding out who."
Angel bit his lips and turned his eyes away. "I think I have an idea."
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