Dropping the armload of weapons he was carrying, Lindsey said to himself, yeah, sure. He was exhausted, bleeding, bruised, and nobody gave a damn. He sank to his knees and opened the cupboard where the cleaning supplies were kept. He began wiping blood, gore, and God only knows what else off the blades. Then he put them back in the cases.

"No, Lindsey, the Sumerian dagger is where the Hittite dagger should be," Wes said, coming up behind him.

"Then you put them away, Wes. I'm doing the best I can." Gunn came over and handed Wes a cup of coffee. None for Lindsey, though. He finally finished the weapons. Everyone was over in a tight little circle talking about the night's battle. Everyone except Fred.

Fred suddenly materialized at his side with coffee and a soft, damp cloth. She cleaned the blood off his face very gently. Lindsey looked at her. She was a very pretty girl, maybe even beautiful. Smart as a whip, too. Her lips were soft and kissable but, for some reason, he didn't want to kiss them. He couldn't understand why. It was as if it was wrong for him to think of her that way. Yet he did feel very close to her.

"Are you okay, Lindsey?"

"Not really, Fred, but thanks for caring. If I'm done with my chores, I'm going out for a while."

"I don't think it's safe for you to go out. Wolfram & Hart may be looking for you."

"You know what, Fred? I really don't care. I came back here because there was nothing for me in Oklahoma. My last remaining brother is in prison and God only knows where my sister is. I thought I could do some good here. Evidently I can!”slime cleanup, weapons cleanup. I LOVE my life! I don't care if they find me. Torture might even feel good compared to this!"

Fred looked as if she was about to cry. He put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Fred. You've been good to me. Everyone else treats me like I'm some kind of leper. I know what I've done, especially to Cordelia, and I didn't expect to be welcomed back like the Prodigal Son, but a little bit of kindness would be nice." He strode out of the Hyperion.

Fred walked over to the rest of the group. They were praising Kate for the way she had stepped into the battle with little training. In fact, it was a regular little love feast. Everyone but Lindsey. Without realizing it, Fred began to cry softly.

Eventually Cordelia noticed. "What's wrong, Fred? Would you like more ointment on that cut?"

"You really don't know, do you? I can't believe how blind you all are. What's wrong with all of you!"

Everyone was a little taken aback. No one could remember seeing Fred angry before. She wiped her tears away, turned her back on the group, and headed for her room. They looked at each other, and then Wes followed her up the stairs.

He knocked on the door of her room. "Fred? May I come in?"

She opened the door, looking a little calmer.

"What is it, Fred? What do you mean?" He shook his head. "I'm sorry if I've treated you badly. Please tell me."

"It's not me, Wes. It's Lindsey. Don't you have any idea how all of you are making him feel? !˜Clean the weapons, Lindsey.' !˜Clean up the mess, Lindsey.' No one brought him coffee or took care of his wounds. He makes all our meals and makes the best coffee we've ever had here, and nobody ever thanks him or gives him any praise for it. We treat him the way they treated slaves in Pylea. Have you given him a kind word since he came back? Or Angel? Or Cordelia? Or Gunn? Or Kate?"

"Fred, he's done some very bad things, especially to Angel & Cordelia. You weren't around then. It's taking us a while to learn to trust him."

"Did you know he saved your life tonight, Wes? One of the demons was coming at you from behind, and Lindsey got between you. It gave him a nasty wound. Nobody even bothered to see if he was hurt."

Wes remembered a conversation a while back. Lindsey had said, "Do I have to get myself killed in order for you to trust me?" And Angel had answered, "It's a start." "You took care of him, didn't you?" Fred nodded. "I should have. I'm sorry. You seem to have some sort of connection to him. Are you in love with him?"

"No, somehow it doesn't seem right. I'm not sure why." She headed for the door. "I'm going to find him."

"I'll go with you." They descended the stairs to find everyone gathered around.

"Are you okay, Fred?" Gunn asked kindly.

"What was that all about anyway?" Angel asked, not quite as kindly.

"We're going out to look for Lindsey. Evidently no one bothered to see if he was injured or tired or anything. We just made him clean up after us and then ignored him. He's gone!”to Caritas, I hope. Anyway, I hope we find him before Wolfram & Hart does."

Angel was taken aback. "Maybe we should have checked, and maybe we should have shown him a little more consideration. I'll go with you."

"No, you stay here. Fred & I will go." Wes & Fred headed for the door.

"I feel a little guilty," Kate said. "He was fighting as hard as anyone, and I do think I saw at least one demon hit him."

"We haven't cut him any slack at all, and he's taken everything we've thrown at him,"

Gunn added.

"It's easy for you two to talk," Cordelia said, a little belligerently. "He didn't do anything to you."

"Yeah, but Angel forgave Faith after she tried to kill him and she tortured Wes. And he forgave Darla. Why not Lindsey? He seems truly sincere." Gunn looked at her. "And he seemed to be watching over you in a number of the battles. Remember when he has his shoulder dislocated? He took that blow that was aimed at you."

"Maybe you're right, Gunn. I'll think about giving him another chance."

As Lindsey entered Caritas, he suddenly realized he didn't have any money at all. I can't even buy myself a beer. Stupid, Lindsey, stupid. He turned to leave but felt Lorne's hand on his shoulder. "Not so fast, Pilgrim. You just got here."

"And I have no money, so I can't buy a drink. I'll just go back to the Hyperion and go up to my room."

"Lindseycakes, I need you here. Listen to that!" On the stage a hideous demon was prancing around to the tune of I Feel Pretty. "The natives are getting restless. Sing for me and I'll buy you a drink."

"Like this?" Lindsey had just realized he was in his torn, bloody clothes that he had worn during the battle.

"Good point. You'd draw some of the wrong attention in that. Let's go to my room and I'll find you something to wear."

Five minutes later Lindsey was wearing jeans and a t-shirt that were a little big for him but were at least clean and intact. The shirt bore strange symbols on it. "What does this mean anyway?"

"Pylea High. It was Numfar's old dance team shirt." Lindsey shook his head.

"I don't have my guitar with me. I just left without thinking."

"Lindseycakes! This is a karaoke bar. Take a look at this list. Here's a good one for you."

The next thing Lindsey knew he was up on stage singing Frank Sinatra's classic My Way. He finished up with a flourish to a round of applause.

Lorne handed him a tall cold T&T. "Wow, Pilgrim, a lot of hurt feelings there. You know you were a bad, bad boy for a long time. You can't expect them to take you in with open arms right away. You have to earn your place. But stick with it because you have a vital role to play in events to come."

"I don't really care about that right at the moment, but I'll take your advice. I just wish that I'd feel like one of them instead of the evil stepbrother."

"It'll come, believe me. And," Lorne said, looking at the table where Wes & Fred had just sat down, "some good things are in store for you. Now go join your friends."

"They're not!”well, maybe Fred is." Lindsey headed for the table.

Wes rose as Lindsey approached the table. "Please join us, Lindsey." Fred smiled and nodded, so Lindsey sat down.

"Oh, that must be Numfar's shirt. He was such a good dancer. Like Baryshnikov with a nervous disorder!" Both Wes & Lindsey had to laugh at that, even though Lindsey had no idea who Numfar was.

"Lindsey, I came to thank you for saving my life tonight. I didn't realize it until Fred told me. I'm sorry for the way we've been treating you."

"You don't need to thank me for doing what I'm supposed to. I thought that we were a unit and we all worked together. !˜All for one, and one for all.' That sort of thing."

"Nevertheless, I realize that we've not made you feel you are part of the group. I think you've shown that we can trust you and depend on you. I am truly sorry."

"Wes, you've been decent to me. I understand Angel's & Cordelia's feelings, but I thought that Gunn & I, being poor kids and all, would get along better. And I know I've never done anything to Kate."

Wes pondered a minute. "With Gunn I guess it's that he fought hard against evil but you joined with it. And Kate, having been a policewoman, knows what Wolfram & Hart represented. Remember what little Tony did to the force? He was your client."

Lindsey smiled just a little, remembering the effect of the 'sensitivity training' that the firm had brought to the LAPD for little Tony, a notorious gangster. "Actually Lee Mercer was his lawyer, not me. But I know what you mean."

"As far as I'm concerned, Lindsey, I'd like to make a fresh start with you. And you make the best coffee we've ever had at the Hyperion. Please come back."

"I have nowhere else to go, Wes. I just needed to let out some steam." Lindsey paused a second. "One thing, though. When I got here, I realized I had no money. Lorne gave me this drink for singing. I would like to earn a little so I can buy a drink or a Starbuck's or some new shoes. One of the demons cut through this one." He showed Wes a slash across the instep of his Nikes. "And maybe Angel can find the time to give me some training. I know I'm much more of a barroom brawler, thanks to my misspent youth in Oklahoma, than a real demon fighter."

"Done. We can't give you much, but we'll start paying you. Please continue to cook for us. Your breakfasts especially are truly great. And I'll talk to Angel about training."

Lindsey smiled; actually he grinned. Fred grinned back at him. Wes was startled to see how similar their grins were. There's a resemblance, Wes thought. That's strange.

Draining his drink, Lindsey started to rise, but Lorne stopped him. "Leaving so soon?"

"We're all really tired, Lorne," Fred said. "We should get back and get some rest."

"I need Lindsey for just a few minutes, and you might as well stay for this. I need you to sing with someone, Lindsey. She's quite shy about going on stage and singing alone, so I thought maybe you'd be willing to provide moral support." He gestured toward a pretty young woman standing by the bar. "Today is the second anniversary of the deaths of her husband and child. They were killed by a drunken driver who hit their car head-on. She's really down. I know it'll help. I have a song set up. It would mean a lot to her and to me."

Lindsey nodded. "Okay. Introduce me, and I'll sing with her. I can imagine that she's devastated. I still remember the day my mom died." He followed Lorne to the bar.

"Trish Mahoney, Lindsey McDonald."

Lindsey held out his hand. "Hi, Trish. I'm sorry about your loss."

"Thank you." Her voice was soft and sweet. "Are you ready?"

They mounted the stage. Lorne turned on the machine and Trish began to sing:

Blue moon, you saw me standing alone,

Without a dream in my heart, without a love of my own.

Lindsey took the next verse:

Blue moon, you knew just what I was there for,

You heard me saying a prayer for someone I really could care for

He continued:

And then there suddenly appeared before me

The only one my arms would ever hold.

Trish:

I heard somebody whisper, "Please adore me,"

Finally, together:

And when I looked the moon had turned to gold.

Blue moon, now I'm no longer alone,

I have a dream in my heart. I have a love of my own.

And then they moved close together and kissed gently and softly. It was more a promise than a kiss. Lindsey couldn't remember when he had ever felt so good in his entire life. And Trish had tears in her eyes, but she knew they were tears of happiness.

The applause was thunderous. Trish and Lindsey bowed and left the stage. Lorne was waiting. "You two were fantastic."

Fred stood by his side, her eyes shining with joy. "Lindsey, I'm so happy." She kissed his cheek.

Lindsey led Trish to the bar. "I'd like to see you again. Could we have dinner? Or coffee? Or whatever you'd like."

"That would be wonderful. Please call me." She wrote her number down on a bar napkin, and Lindsey did the same. Kissing her gently on the lips, he went over to Wes & Fred.

"We'd better go now," Wes said. The three left Caritas, Lindsey looking back at Trish.

"Lorne, I find it hard to believe that such a wonderful singer was too shy to perform alone," Trish said to the grinning demon.

"Oh, did I say that? Oops!"

"Is that what you told him, too?" Lorne nodded. "Thank you! I'm so glad I came here tonight. It made things hurt less, and it gave me hope for the future, even if things don't work out with him." She kissed Lorne and headed for the table where her sister and brother-in-law were waiting for her.

As the trio from Angel Investigations left Caritas, Lorne thought, next time, Lindsey, I'll have you sing with Fred. What a revelation that will be for you!