"It's not a dream, Wes. I'm remembering my mother. She's having a baby and I think she's going to die. I know she died when I was very young."

"Fred, you said she was at home with an elderly midwife and your oldest brother helping her. You'll be in a hospital with the finest equipment and the best trained doctors. I trust Dr. Scott implicitly and I know Gunn & Anne do too."

"Wes, I'm so small. So was she. I know I shouldn't worry. Dr. Scott says that it's fine and that I'll have a small baby. He also said he'd do a Caesarean if necessary."

"I know. I know." Fred buried her face in her husband's shoulder. He lifted her chin and kissed her reassuringly.

"Excuse me. I didn't mean to overhear anything." They turned to see Lindsey entering the kitchen.

"You're up early," Wes remarked.

"Actually I slept a little late. It's almost 7:30 back home. I'm just very anxious about our plan for today. So I thought I'd make breakfast. Whenever I'm worried about anything, I cook."

"Hopefully you're a good cook. We've been trying to share the work around here, but the only really good cook is Anne." Then Wes turned back to his wife. "Fred makes fantastic tacos, though!"

"I make the world's best French toast--guaranteed!" Lindsey took milk and eggs from the refrigerator. "I could use an assistant who could help me find things. Fred?"

Fred smiled. Although she had never met Lindsey before yesterday, there was something very familiar about him. "What do you need?"

"Bread, preferably French and stale, vanilla, cinnamon, syrup, a bowl, a spatula, a whisk, and a griddle."

Fred frowned. "I think we have some of those things."

"Maybe we should get dressed and you should wait for Anne. She's the only one who really knows her way around the kitchen."

"Good idea." Lindsey wandered into the lobby. Angel had fallen asleep in front of the DVD machine, which was playing discs of the children. As Lindsey watched Mikey playing with Patty, tears filled his eyes. "We'll get you back, Mikey. We have to."

A few minutes later Wes was back. "I'll see if I can find what you need, Lindsey."

Lindsey followed him into the kitchen. "It's not my place to ask you, but is Fred okay? She seemed upset when I came down this morning."

"She's been having flashbacks from her childhood, memories of her mother giving birth in a shack with an old midwife and her big brother helping. She's terrified that her mother died in childbirth and that she will die too."

"Remind her that her mother had gone through it at least twice and survived."

"Actually four times before. Fred said that she also had another brother and sister. Her older sister was trying to take care of Fred and her brother and distract them from their mother's labor."

A strange look crossed Lindsey's face. He had helped Aunt Maeve deliver the twins while Elaine was trying to read to Winnie and Joey. And Fred's name was really Winifred. Could it be? Or was it too amazing a coincidence? If only she were his missing sister. It would be wonderful. "She doesn't know if her mother died?"

"Her mother died when she was quite young, but she's not sure if she died having the baby or later on."

"Maybe she needs to see her doctor again for reassurance."

"She did just yesterday. But this is quite a strain on her." He put his finger to his lips. "So what did you say you needed?" Fred, now dressed, came into the kitchen.

"Ah, la belle Winifred! Tu us le sous-chef. Et Wesley, vous etes le maitre d'hotel!"

Lindsey put on his best comic French accent and winked at Fred. "In other words, can you find me the cinnamon & vanilla while Wes sets the table?"

Soon Wes, Fred, & Lindsey had located all of the ingredients and equipment he needed and, while Fred poured juice and Wes set the table, Lindsey made coffee and began the preparations for French toast. "Le specialite de la maison!" Fred was giggling and even Wes was smiling, although he had a question in his mind to ask Lindsey later. Why had Lindsey used the familiar form of "you are" when referring to Fred and the more formal form for him? There had been a strange look on Lindsey's face when they saw him in the kitchen earlier. What could it mean? He knew that when the Burkles adopted Fred they had cut off her ties with her siblings. Could Fred & Lindsey possibly be related? If so, it would mean a lot to both of them. Wes headed upstairs and knocked on a door. "Lorne? Are you up?"

A minute later the door opened a crack and the red eyes of Lorne stared at him. "I am now, Wesleycakes. What is it?"

"If Fred were to sing to you, could you help her come to the end of a memory she's been having in a dream?"

"I'm not sure. Possibly. Let me get dressed. I'll be down in a few minutes."

By 5:15 everyone was downstairs except for the twins, who were still asleep. Cordelia had the baby monitor on in their room. "I thought you were a seer," Kate joked.

"Even seers have their limits. I'd better eat quickly, though. They wake up very hungry!"

Gunn gently seated his wife at the table as Wes set a plate of French toast and a glass of milk in front of her. She took a drink of juice and then applied butter and syrup to her French toast. Taking a bite, she smiled broadly. "Mmmm! This is great! How would you like to stay and take over the cooking duties, Lindsey?"

He set a platter of French toast on the table. "They'd miss me too much back at the firm. I don't know what they'd do without me." But he laughed, showing that he was kidding.

"Fred and I know we're having girls, Anne. Do you know what your baby is?"

"No, Kate. Charles and I decided we want to be surprised. If it's a girl, it'll be Alonna, after Charles' sister. A boy will be Charles Jr."

Five minutes later it was time to start the plan. Wes got his helmet and the spare for the change of riders. Gunn would drive his truck and Groo would drive Anne's Saturn with Angel in the back where the windows were darkly tinted until he and Wes switched. They were dressed differently and, with different helmets, Lilah would not be likely to suspect it was the same motorcycle. If she even noticed them, that is. She might be too preoccupied.

Lindsey made one more attempt to get them to take him along, but Wes disagreed. "First of all, she might recognize you. And secondly, once Fred pulls up the plans of the building, you'd be the one to analyze them and locate Connor's most likely location. You need to be here." He looked at his watch. "Let's go."

Lindsey settled down on a sofa with Patty on his lap while Kate and Anne went upstairs to give Cordelia a hand with the twins. While Cordy was feeding Adam, Anne diapered Mandy. "I can use the practice. I understand that Mike, or Connor, and Patty are only six months apart. Was it like having twins?"

"Yes and no. As far as having two babies to change, bathe, etc, it was very much the same. I was nursing Patty, but Mike was bottle fed by the time we got him. He was sleeping through the night and she wasn't. And, of course, he did everything at least six months before Patty, but that gave her something to strive for. They did play together well when they got older."

Cordelia took Mandy from Anne and let her nurse at her other breast. "It's nice to have Fred and Anne for a little relief, but soon they'll be busy with their own babies. But I think it's good that they can get some experience with bathing, diapering, and so forth."

"Do they always want to be fed at the same time?" Kate asked.

"Fortunately, yes." The three women continued to discuss the fine points of new motherhood.

Meanwhile, downstairs Fred came to sit by Lindsey and Patty. "I don't really know you at all, but I've heard them refer to you and Kate. I'd like to get to know you better."

"What would you like to know?" He smiled. She looked so much like Elaine. "My sordid past?"

"I did hear Angel refer to you as the evil lawyer beast who screamed and screamed in Pylea once. But you don't seem to be like that at all. You seem very kind and loving."

"Growing up in real poverty made me determined never to be poor or powerless. I had to work harder than anyone else at my schoolwork and my baseball, which I thought would be my road to a scholarship and my way out of Oklahoma. And in the meantime I was working to help support Dad, Aunt Maeve, Elaine, and myself. I had precious little time for myself. When I got to UCLA, it was a little easier, although I still had to keep up my studies to get into law school and my baseball to keep my scholarship. I worked part-time for spending money, clothes, and my fraternity dues. I thought a fraternity would be important for making connections with the right people and for learning to dress, talk, behave."

"I remember a little bit about being really poor, but I was only about four when I was adopted. I vaguely remember my real family." A contraction rolled through Fred, but she ignored it. Wes had taken her to the hospital a few days ago, believing she was in labor, but they had told her it was Braxton-Hicks contractions, or false labor. It was obviously the same thing. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. Please go on."

"I got into law school at Hastings, but of course there was no scholarship. I took loans and worked summers and part time. During recruiting in my second year, I met Holland Manners. He recruited me for Wolfram & Hart. They offered me a wonderfully well paying summer job and my tuition and expenses for my third year. I couldn't resist. I honestly didn't know what kind of place it was, though. Even that summer when I worked in the mail room I had no idea."

"And you didn't get along with Angel?"

"He kept thwarting the firm's plans. I went to him for help once, and we worked together, but he made it clear throughout that he didn't like me. There seemed to be no reason not to go back to the firm, especially when they offered me the junior partnership. And of course I had nothing else. My sister was dead and I had no idea where the young ones were. The welfare people had taken them away. Mom & the twins had died when they were only three months old and the flu struck. Aunt Maeve died shortly after I entered college."

"It must have been rough. I'm sorry."

Before Lindsey could reply, the phone rang. "Just wanted to let you know that Lilah hasn't left yet. I'll keep you updated," Wes, who was across the street from her parking garage, reported.

"I don't think it'll be long, though. I had to get to work very early to beat Lilah there, back when we were in competition for Holland's favor."

"It sounds as if your life was just work and nothing else. Didn't you have any friends?"

"My best friend married my sister. They were so happy until they died in an automobile accident," Lindsey lied. He didn't want Fred to know that Elaine had died in childbirth along with her daughter. Fred was scared enough. "I had a good friend in college, but he's in Boston doing medical research. Another works at for Wolfram & Hart East, also known as The Centre in Blue Cove, Delaware. Robert Price, a friend I made in the firm, ended up having to eat his own liver for preventing a 5-year-old heiress from being murdered by her dead father's brother, our client, the next in line for the money. I had one acquaintance at the firm, but he's either gone or changed to an unlisted telephone."

"So you and Kate didn't know each other then?"

"We did, but we didn't like each other then. She found me despicable and I thought she was sanctimonious. I used her position on the police force a couple of times to further the firm's ends. It was after I had left the firm and come back from Oklahoma that we really got to know each other. She's the most wonderful woman in the world. I'm glad she gave me a chance."

"After everything you did for me, how could I not? It turned out there was a pretty good guy underneath all the hard shell he had built up to compensate for the rough life he had had." They hadn't heard Kate approach. Patty ran to her mother. Cordy and Anne, each carrying an infant, came down the stairs. Lorne, resplendent in a green lame suit, followed.

"It's beautiful outside. Shall we take the children into the courtyard?" Cordy led the way and Kate followed with Patty.

"How about singing for me, Fred?" Lorne had promised Wes to see what he could find out.

"I don't really sing very well, Lorne. Why?"

"Your husband is worried about you, sweetie. He thinks you might finish your memory. Let's give it a try."

Fred stood, smiled shyly, and began.

"I peeked in to say goodnight, and I heard my child in prayer.

Please send me some scarlet ribbons, scarlet ribbons for my hair."

That was Mom's favorite song to sing to the children. It brought a tear to Lindsey's eyes.

"She didn't die, Fred. She and the twins lived. They died shortly afterward in the flu epidemic, but she and the babies made it through the birth."

"Are you sure, Lorne?" The beginning of a smile was forming on Fred's face.

"If you don't believe me, ask Lindsey. He was there."

"Lindsey? But he'd have to be--"

"Your oldest brother." Lorne smiled and headed for the courtyard.

"Lin? Eeyore? Is it true? Are you my brother?"

"I think I must be, Pooh Bear."

She ran into his arms. "I never knew your real name was Lindsey. I just remembered you as Lin. When I wasn't calling you Eeyore, that is."

"And you were Pooh whenever you weren't Winnie. I didn't connect with Fred right away. Oh, Winnie, I'm so glad we found each other." He hugged her tightly.

Just then the phone rang again. "She's moving. I'm behind her. We'll keep you posted."

Fred moved to the computer and pulled up a city map, focusing in on Lilah's apartment so she could track her. Lindsey pulled up a chair next to her. "They're heading east," Fred said, moving a small dot along the map. "That's Lilah, and here are Wes, Groo, and Gunn." More dots lit up. They watched as the dot representing Wes passed Lilah and Groo took over the tail.

"This seems to be working very well," Lindsey said, watching intently.

"Gunn is quite a strategist. For some reason they prefer to have me here at the computer."

"You're really good with it, Fred." He watched as Groo was replaced by Wes again, Gunn moving parallel to Lilah. "I'm not too familiar with the area where they're heading."

The ride went on for another 20 minutes until the light representing Lilah's car came to a halt and didn't move again. "I've got the address. Now to access the building plans." Fred typed furiously and very shortly a schematic of a building came up.

"I've heard about this place," Lindsey said. He frowned. "If it's the place I think it is, we may have to move fast. Can you contact Wes?"

Fred nodded. "Wes, come in."

His voice came over the speaker. "What is it, Fred?"

"Lindsey needs to talk to you." She handed the phone to him.

"Wes, unless I'm mistaken, that's the interrogation center. There's a full lab and a torture chamber. A morgue, too. I've heard some pretty awful stories. We need to leave someone there to watch and get everyone else back to make our battle plans."

"I'll go. I'm not much of a fighter, but I can certainly handle a stakeout." Lorne had come up behind them.

"Do you know how to get here, Lorne?"

"I can find it. I'm on my way. I'll take a taxi and stay with one of the cars while you all come back in the other." Lorne headed for the front door.

Lindsey and Fred pored over the blueprints. "God, please let me be wrong," Lindsey prayed. "And let them test him before they do anything else."

His newly-found sister slid her arm around his shoulders. "We'll get Mikey back, Lin. I know we will." She bit her lip. She was so scared.

All Lindsey could do was nod. If they got Mikey back, he'd let Angel have him. Anything so long as the boy he loved so much would live. Just let him live. Please.