"It's not what it looks like," Wesley stammered, looking at the two bound lawyers and, even worse, at Lorne.

"It's a rehearsal!" Lorne stepped forward and took a little bow. "I'm an actor, and I'm trying out my makeup for a new show. The rest of the guys are helping me out with my lines and my blocking."

"I see," Dr. Brasher said. Clearly, she didn't.

"What brings you two here?" Gunn asked. "Didn't Anne see you today, Dr. Scott? And Cordelia took the twins in."

"Oh, my God!" Everybody turned to look at Lindsey, whose face was redder than any of them would have imagined possible. "Wes, I'm so sorry. In the excitement of the" he paused a moment, "rehearsal, I forgot to tell you about Fred."

"What about Fred?" Wes yelled, taking a step toward the lawyer, who took two steps backward.

"Lindsey delivered her baby this afternoon. We're here to check them out," Dr. Scott said.

"You did WHAT!" Torn between the desire to beat the daylights out of Lindsey for forgetting to tell him and the desire to see Fred and his daughter, Wes made up his mind and took the stairs two at a time.

"Yo, man, I've never seen him move so fast in my life." Gunn was chuckling.

Lindsey just swallowed and looked embarrassed. Chris Scott looked at him closely. "A rehearsal took precedence over telling Wes about his daughter? It must be very important."

"Well. . ." Lindsey hadn't stammered much lately, but he was stammering now.

"Maybe we should go up, Chris." Samantha Brasher headed for the stairs. With a bemused look at Lindsey, Chris followed.

When the doctors arrived at Fred's room, Wes was seated on the bed next to her, his arm around her, as they looked at their little girl with wonder. "May we come in?"

"Hello, Dr. Scott, Dr. Brasher. I'm sorry I missed you today."

"Well, let's see if your brother did a good job. Wesley, if you'd give us a few minutes?"

"I'll take the baby into another room and look her over," Sam Brasher said.

"Brother?"

"Those dreams were memories, Wes. Lindsey is my big brother." She waved him out. "I'll tell you more later."

Meanwhile, Angel had taken Lilah into Wesley's office and thrown her down on the desk. He then went into full vampire mode. "All right, Lilah. You stole my son and kept him from me for five years. Tell me why I shouldn't kill you right now."

"Angel. . ." she started to say.

"Right now it's Angelus, Lilah. And I've decided I shouldn't kill you now. I prefer to show you some of the many skills I've learned from Darla over the years while I was the Scourge of Europe. Too bad Darla isn't here; she'd enjoy this. I can't imagine what she would do to you for stealing her son." He leaned over Lilah and ran one fang down her neck, almost but not quite breaking the skin.

"It was an order from the firm."

"But it was one you enjoyed, wasn't it, Lilah? You took him from me because I wouldn't sleep with you. Then you gave him to Lindsey knowing that he'd fall in love with my son. That way it would hurt so much more when you took him away."

"You son of a. . ."

"Language, Lilah. Language. You don't sound like a lawyer now. Would you like me to take you now? I can make the sex you've been wanting the worst torture you've ever had. Maybe I should let Lindsey take a turn as well. I'm sure he wouldn't, though. He loves his wife too much."

"That blonde witch! I don't know what he sees in her."

"Temper, temper, Lilah. The less you resist me, the less it will hurt." He ran his fang over her neck again, this time allowing it to draw a little blood. "Mmmm, AB positive. My favorite. This will be so much fun." His tongue lapped at her blood while he forced her legs apart so he could move in closer. "I wonder how long it will take you to start screaming?"

A few minutes later Dr. Brasher emerged from the room where she had examined the baby. "She's perfect, Wes. A beautiful little girl. Everything is just fine. I'll need her name and time of birth for the registration."

"We hadn't decided on a name yet. I'll have to ask Fred." He allowed the doctor to place his daughter in his arms.

"As soon as I get that I have to be going. I have some little boys waiting for me at home."

Christian Scott pronounced Fred in good shape as well. He was a bit concerned about the fact that she hadn't had an episiotomy. "I may need to give you a couple of stitches, Winifred."

"Perhaps not," Wes replied. "Just give us a minute." He went to the top of the stairs and called "Anne, can you come up for a minute?"

Anne relinquished the little ones to Kate and climbed the stairs. She gently touched Fred and, her necklace glowing, healed the tear. Christian Scott gaped. "My God, how do you do that? What I wouldn't give for something like that."

Anne held up her necklace. "It was a gift, and it won't work for anyone else. I've tried giving it to Charles, Wes, and Cordelia, but they can't use it. If someone else could, I'd be happy to give it to a doctor."

Shaking his head, he looked at Fred. "Come in to see me in a week, Fred. Sooner if you have any problems. Please try to get some rest now." He headed down the stairs looking for Lindsey.

Dr. Brasher sat on the side of the bed. "Has she been hungry yet?"

Fred shook her head. "I don't think so."

"She's starting to look a little as if she's ready to feed. Let me help you. I've done this with all three of my boys." After she helped Fred to begin nursing the baby, she asked, "Exactly what time was she born, and what's her name?"

"About 6:15 p.m., and her name is Lindsay Elaine. I'm naming her after my brother and my sister, who died."

Wes did a small double-take at the name, but, after all, Lindsey was now his brother-in-law, and he had delivered her, so he didn't object.

"All right, Fred, I have to go now. I'll be back the day after tomorrow to check in, but call me if you have any problems. And I mean ANY problems." She shook hands with Wes and stroked the baby's cheek gently. "I'll register the birth tomorrow."

Each of the doctors had brought a car, so Sam Brasher left. Chris Scott grabbed Lindsey's arm and pulled him aside. "Tell me what's going on here, Lindsey. And I've been to Caritas, so I know who Lorne is. I have patients here, and I don't want them to be in danger."

"They've been in danger long before I came back. For the last seven or eight years. Maybe even longer for Cordelia. They're all gutsy women. But they want to live normal lives with families. We all do."

"Lindsey, Ed has told me a few things. I know you were with some really bad people for a while and that you've left. I'm assuming you're still on the straight and narrow. The fact that you and Kate are married and living far away seems to bear this out. I know Kate's not my patient any more, but I still care about her. And I know how much Ed cares about you. He still calls you his best friend."

"Chris, I promise I'll tell you and Ed the whole story once it's been resolved. For now, just know that everyone here is on the side of good and the two men who are tied up are evil lawyers from my old firm of Wolfram & Hart. Just trust me. Trust all of us."

Dr. Scott held out his hand. "Okay, Lindsey, I'll trust you. Keep my ladies and their little ones safe." As he shook Lindsey's hand, he noticed the scar. "What's that?"

"Another long story which I promise I'll tell you. I'll watch over my wife, my sister, Cordelia, and Anne, I promise."

Chris Scott left. Lindsey joined Gunn, Groo, and Lorne by the two bound lawyers. "Linwood. I had a little respect for you. I can't believe you are involved in this. You were the one person in the firm who understood why I helped the seer children. You, Weasel, don't surprise me at all. So you're the new Lindsey McDonald. I hope you're more evil than I was, or you'll really disappoint them. That is, if we let you go back, that is."

"Daddy?" Mike had come downstairs. "Please don't hurt that man. He was good to me. He gave me pizza and tried to save my life."

Angel had left an unconscious Lilah in the office, bound with the chains he kept in the cellar. "Which man, Mike?"

"The older one. He said I reminded him of his son Edward."

"What about the younger one, Mike?" Lindsey looked at Gavin. "Did he hurt you?"

"No, he just played a game with me."

"What kind of game?" Angel asked in the soft voice that terrified everyone more than his loud one. He moved closer to Gavin.

"He looked at cards and had me guess what they were. They were funny cards with stars, and circles, and squares."

"A Rhine deck." Lindsey turned to Gavin. "How did he do?"

"Perfect when Lilah wasn't around him. When she came near, he missed them all."

Angel pulled Lindsey aside and they conferred quietly. "You love Mike, Lindsey, and you took care of him all these years. I think it's up to both of us what we do with them."

Lindsey thought a few minutes. "I think Kate should have some input, too. After all, she was his mother."

"Get her then, please." Angel waited while Lindsey went upstairs and came down with Kate. The three moved into a corner and conferred.

"Mike, come here a minute, please." Mike joined the three of them. "How did the woman treat you?" Lindsey was kneeling by his son so he could look him in the eye.

Tears began to fill Mike's eyes. "Daddy, she hated me. She wanted to kill me. And cut me up. And she hated you and Mommy and Patty and even Beth, and she's not even born yet." He looked up at Angel. "She hated you too."

Angel walked over to Linwood and Gavin. "What would happen to Lilah back at Wolfram & Hart?"

Linwood looked at him. "They'd kill her. I believe it would be very slow and painful."

"And to you and Gavin?"

"A reprimand, perhaps. Possibly demotion. But the idea was Lilah's, so she'd basically take the fall."

"Let's deal, Linwood. I'll let you off this one time on two conditions. First, you see that Lilah gets what's coming to her. I would prefer not to have her blood on my hands, but I know I'd kill her if she's here much longer."

Linwood nodded. "Agreed."

"Secondly, I want Wolfram & Hart to let all of us alone forever."

"I can't promise that about you. Even though we'd like to have Cordelia's visions and Wes' expertise with translations, we could give everyone else our promise not to hurt them."

"Or any of their families. Forever. In writing. I'm willing to take my chances with the firm."

"Agreed."

"Lindsey, can you draw up the papers? This will be for Mark and Cordelia Groos and their family, Charles and Anne Gunn and their family, Wesley and Winifred Wyndham-Pryce and their family, and you, Kate, and your family. And, of course, any members of my family other than myself." Lindsey nodded and headed for the computer to compose the papers. "I want you to know that you're getting this Mulligan because Mike asked for it; otherwise, I wouldn't mind seeing you dead."

"I understand."

"So do I," Gavin said.

Lindsey took his time to make sure the papers were absolutely correct with no loopholes. Then he printed them up and gave them to Angel and Kate to read. "They look okay to me, Lindsey."

"Untie them, Gunn, so they can sign." He handed his pen to Linwood, who signed, followed by Gavin.

Angel went into the office and came back with a semi-conscious, semi-dressed, bleeding Lilah. "Get this witch out of my sight now." With Linwood and Gavin supporting her, Lilah was dragged to the door.

"Lindsey, it's late. Mike has to be tired. I'll take him up to bed."

Lindsey stooped and kissed Mike's forehead. "I'll be up soon, Katy. I want to talk to Angel for a few minutes and then look in on Fred and our niece." He kissed his wife gently on the lips, trying to hide the sadness he felt. He knew what was coming.

"Anne, let's go up and get some sleep, too." Gunn knew that Angel and Lindsey had to talk.

Lorne, Cordelia, Groo, and the twins also headed upstairs, leaving Angel and Lindsey alone.

"Lindsey. . ."

"You don't have to say anything, Angel. Kate, Patty, and I will leave in the morning. Mike, or I guess his name is Connor now, is your son. He'll be staying with you. I'm just sorry I kept him from you this long. I honestly didn't know." He fought hard to keep his voice even and the tears out of his eyes.

"You and Kate loved him. You took good care of him. He's a fine boy, thanks to you. I'll be eternally grateful to you. I won't let him forget you or his sisters."

Lindsey shook Angel's hand and headed for the stairs. He couldn't face Wes and Fred now. He couldn't spoil their happiness. He headed for his room. "Katy?"

Kate tiptoed out of the room next door where she had put Mike and Patty to bed. "Oh, Lindsey." She threw herself into his arms and they began to weep their hearts out.