Lullaby

 

Angel walks into the carnage left in the lobby after the fight. Holtz: "Angelus? - I've been looking for you." Angel: "Holtz. - My god." Holtz: "You have no god, demon."

Angel recalls the wording of the prophecy, "raised up from darkness to bring darkness" and realizes the "tro-clon" was a reference to Holtz. He starts to tell Holtz that whatever brought him there – Before he can finish that thought, some of Holtz's demon minions jump up from where they'd been hiding, on either side of Angel. They secure him with metal poles that end in clamps, wrapped tightly around his neck and both wrists. The device around his neck has two sections, each ending in a sharp point poised over his throat, positioned perfectly for decapitation with one wrong move. His arms are pulled out straight to his sides, immobilizing him. (my opinion it looks like a crucifixion)

He's slept for 200 years and in all that time did nothing but dream of this moment Holtz assures Angel that what brought him there was Angel and his "demon bitch." Angel: "Which would explain why you look so well rested." Holtz pulls the sword back: "You haven't changed." Angel: "Actually, I have. While you were sleeping, a lot changed."

Holtz wonders if that's really true as he flicks some holy water from a vial in his hand onto Angel's face.. The result is obviously unpleasant but Angel says nothing and holds steady, barely restraining himself from morphing into game face. Holtz figures things look pretty much the same. Angel tells him he's mistaken. Holtz holds the pointed end of the blade to Angel's throat and assures him he'll have justice as he slowly lowers it.

Angel doesn't think Holtz will have justice because there is none for the things that were done to him. Holtz reminds him those things weren't done to him and Angel didn't act alone. Holtz turns his back and walks away from Angel, telling his demonic minions to find Darla. He doesn't think she'd be too far from her companion. He wonders if Angel is going to try to convince him that's changed as well.



Back at the alley

Darla is screaming with pain in the backseat of Angel's convertible. Gunn: "She's gonna pop right here."
Wes: "The contractions, they're coming more frequently now."
Cordy holding a stake: "You think?"

Wes wishes Angel would have returned with the scrolls. He'd feel more confident with the prophecies to guide him. Cordy doesn't see why that's necessary, women have been giving birth without prophecies for years.

Gunn says some "Vaseline and a catcher's mit" would be real useful about now.
As Darla continues screaming, Fred offers that she doesn't think she's going to deliver any minute, but Darla is entering the active stage of labor. Wes gets out of the car and looks around the alley. He tells the others they have to get out of there, the area is too open. He knows Angel should have returned by now. Gunn figures something has happened. Wes says it's up to them to protect his child.

Wes: Darla, we're trying to take you out of here. Relax. The trick is to breathe. Something like this: (Wes demonstrated short panting breaths) Heh, heh, heh, hoh, hoh, hoh, heh, heh, heh..." Darla: "I! Don't! (Sits up and sends all four of them flying backwards, away from the car, morphing into her vampface) Breathe!" Darla breaks down in a fit of crying.

Intro

Holtz is riding hell for leather through the night, intercut with flashes of his wife and daughter. He bursts into his house, kneels down beside the body of his wife and sees the two puncture wounds in her neck. Holtz is sitting, crying into his hands. He hears Sarah's voice call to him, "papa." He calls to his daughter as he turns and sees her standing across the room, hugging a doll. He goes to her, kneels before her. Sarah says her mother won't wake up. Holtz stands and pulls her closer to the fire. He hugs her, comforting her, and begins to quietly sing her a lullaby. As he continues singing to her, he breaks the embrace, gently pushes her hair away from her face and sees the fang marks on her neck. He stops singing. A couple of Holtz's men open the front door. He sternly warns them not to enter. They see the carnage within and depart, closing the door behind them. Holtz continues his quiet singing of the lullaby, his voice choked with emotion, as he moves to sit in a chair opposite Sarah, who sits on the floor and plays with her doll.

Holtz singing: "They will keep all peril from you, all through the night..."

Wolfram and Hart, night,

Lilah, Linwood and Gavin are walking down a corridor. Linwood is holding a picture of Holtz. Lilah informs him they have not been able to determine who the man is, he's not "in the system." Linwood figures there's a new player in town then. Gavin offers that perhaps it's more an "old one". He reminds Linwood that the man did address Angel as "Angelus". He thinks maybe that indicates a personal history between them. Linwood wonders if it's an old friend.

Lilah: "Not likely. Angelus didn't have friends."

Linwood asks about the status of the firm's surveillance on the hotel. Gavin responds that the system is still down but it's being worked on. Linwood wonders if anyone has heard from Dr. Fetvanovich or Commander Burke yet. Gavin answers that everyone was deployed successfully at the hotel, but that's all that's known.

Linwood: "Actually that's all *you* know. - I, on the other hand, know nothing." Gavin: "Sir?"
Linwood: "It's clear that *I* could *never* have been involved in such an ill-conceived and in the end botched operation."
Gavin: "Because you were never here."
Linwood: "That is correct."
Gavin: "But *we* were."

Gavin gets it now, Linwood was never involved but he and Lilah were. Linwood confirms Gavin has it right. As he dons his coat to depart, he informs them both that he expects a report at Thursday's meetingand assures them he will be "shocked and appalled" when he hears of these events for the first time at that meeting. He bids them goodnight and departs. Gavin figures he and Lilah are about to be crucified.

Lilah: "They don't crucify here. It's too Christian."


Back at the Hyperion

Angel is still held motionless by the metal grips while Holts admires one of Angel's swords. He goes back to the weapons cabinet, exchanging it for a stake. He walks back over to Angel, wondering how he’s going to get Darla now that he’s managed to get Angel. Angel notice Holtz is still human and wonders how he managed it.

Angel: "Only dark magics could have brought you this far."
Holtz: "She was always the trick, you know, not you. Darla was the unpredictable one."
Angel: "Was it a demon - or something else?"
Holtz points a stake at Angel's chest: "What if I just - kill you now? Would she somehow sense it? Would she then come running? (Walks away from Angel) Would that bring her bursting through those doors, I wonder?"
Angel: "Did something come to you, or did you seek it out?"
Holtz: "She might show herself in the service of revenge. - It can be a powerful motivator."
Angel: "Yes, it can. What did you have to give up for this second chance?"
Holtz: "Give up? (Turns to face Angel) I had nothing *to* give up. *You* saw to that."
Angel: "We took a lot from you, that's true. But we didn't get everything. We couldn't take your soul."

Holtz wonders what Angel thinks he knows about a soul, Angel says he knows that Holtz’s will be destroyed if he does the bidding of evil. Holtz walks slowly, deliberately, back toard Angel. Angel continues, telling him he’s not a bad man, he’s a righteous man, who’s being used for something that isn’t justice. Holtz wonders if Angel really has changed,

Holtz: "Could it be you really have changed? - I don't remember you ever pleading so cravenly before."
Angel: "And I remember *you* used to work with men."

Holtz hits Angel hard across the face.

Back in the alley

Gunn, Fred and Cordy are gathered around Wes who's still unconscious from Darla's earlier actions. Gunn tells Cordy to smack him one more time. She weakly backhands him in the face, waking him. Wes sits up, noting the ache in his head. Cordelia offers that birth is supposed to be painful. Wes figures that's meant to apply to the mother not bystanders. Wes gets to his feet, asks how long he's been unconscious. Fred answers that is hasn't been long, Darla seems to be between contractions. As the others look on, Darla is still sitting in the back seat of the car, sobbing and talking to herself. Cordelia says she's been doing that awhile. Gunn figures it's hormones. Wes instructs the others to follow as he walks over to the car and asks Darla if she feels up to traveling. She nods in response. Everybody crams into the front seat, leaving Darla alone in the back. She wonders if anybody wants to sit in back with her. They tell her they're fine up front.

Darla: "I promise I won't throw anyone out of the car. - Not while it's moving."
Fred: "It's not that we don't trust you. I mean, we *don't* trust you. But the fact is, your water broke all over the back seat."

Cordelia wonders why the car isn't moving. Wes is looking straight down the alley. He assumes they have a tire iron in the trunk. Gunn asks if they have a flat. Wes wonders if there may be an axe and a heavy mallet in the trunk as well. The others finally look to where Wes is looking and see Holtz's demonic minions walking toward them from the end of the alley. Wes is thinking a shotgun would be handy right now. They all look behind them and see more of the demons approaching from the other end of the alley.

Back at the Hyperion

Holtz: "Are you still concerned about my soul, Angelus? My vampire priest?"
The door opens and a Grapplar comes in.
Holtz: "Excuse me."
He walks over to receive the demon's report. Turns back to look at Angelus.
Holtz: "You've got her. Good. Bring her in."
Angel watches the door as the Grapplar pulls in his captive.
Angel: "Lilah."

Holtz yells at the demon that isn't Darla. He tosses some holy water in Lilah's face, noting the non-reaction. He's disappointed she's not even a vampire.

Lilah wiping her face dry: "No, I'm an attorney."
Angel: "Let me guess: dead guys all over my floor - friends of yours?"
Lilah: "Look, if I'd known you were torturing him, I wouldn't have interrupted. Please, continue. I'll wait until your finished."
Holtz: "When I'm finished, he'll be dead."
Lilah: "Really?"
Holtz: "You say you're an attorney. You deal in man's laws, I deal in god's."
Lilah figures he's saying he's a good guy. Holtz asks if she knows what Angel is.

Lilah knows, "vampire cursed by gypsies who restored his soul, destined to atone for centuries of evil", etc. She admits she'd have had Angel killed herself except it's against the policy of her employers. Holtz turns to Angel and asks what Lilah meant about the gypsy curse. Angel doesn't figure it would really interest Holtz all that much.

Lilah: "How about I go to my car for about twenty seconds? That should give you enough time in here. Then I gotta call some people to clean this mess up. I've got an early staff meeting in the morning."

Angel glances down and spots a grenade in the hand of one of the dead commandos at his feet.

Holtz: "I can't allow you to leave."
Angel cranes his neck to glance at the elevator behind him while Holtz' attention is on Lilah.

Lilah: "What do you mean? Of course you can."
Holtz: "No. You said you work for the law."

Angel puts the tip of his shoe under the dead man's open hand.

Lilah: "No, I didn't. I said I'm a lawyer. I don't care about the law."
Angel: "Lilah?"
Lilah: "What?"
Angel: "Duck."

Angel flips the grenade up and catches the pin in his mouth. He shakes his head and the grenade flies free from the pin. The top comes off the grenade as it lands on the floor and it explodes a moment later, blasting Angel back and throwing Holtz to the floor. Holtz picks himself up and looks at the man-shaped hole in the elevator doors. He picks himself up, runs over to them and looks down the empty elevator shaft. Angel is nowhere to be seen. Holtz instructs his minions to search the grounds. He tells Lilah the men she sent to kill Angelus were all brave men who fought to the end. Lilah looks around at the bodies and tells Holtz she figured as much.

Holtz lets her know if she sends others, they'll meet the same fate. Angelus is his and nobody will get in the way of that. As he's leaving, Lilah calls out that the men weren't sent for Angel, they were sent for Darla. That gets Holtz's attention. He stops, turns and asks her if she knows about Darla. Lilah confirms she does. Holtz wants to know if the gypsies cursed her with a soul too. Lilah tells him no, Darla is "free range evil." Holtz turns to leave. Lilah tells him if he finds her, she thinks they may be able to do business. Holtz isn't interested. When he finds Darla, he plans to send her back to hell. He leaves.

Lilah makes a call on her cell phone, arranging for the cleanup of the hotel. She leans on the reception desk and sees the remnant of the Nyazian scroll, picks it up and plays with it while continuing to talk. She twist the piece of dark gray material and stares at it. Lilah puts her phone away, glances around and quickly picks up a picture frame lying on the counter and put it over the piece of the scroll and some memo pads. Glancing around the picks the whole stack up and turns to the doors.

Back in the alley,

Wes, Gunn, Cordy and Fred are battling the demons. Darla jumps into the front seat, turns the key and guns the car forward, mowing down a couple of the demons. She stops the car, puts it in reverse and backs over the remaining one. She puts the car back in drive and barrels down the alley as the gang looks on. A slightly singed looking Angel comes up behind them and cranes his head to look over their shoulders.

Angel: "What are we looking at?"

Everyone turns to stare at him. Angel tells the others about Holtz. Gunn wonders if Angel is sure the guy he saw wasn't a descendent of his instead of him. Angel knows it was the original. Fred offers that Holtz may be part of what's supposed to bring on the apocalypse, the prophecy said the "tro-clon" was a "confluence of events."

Cordy: "And the sudden appearance of an eighteenth century vampire hunter in the twenty first century does seem pretty confluey."
Gunn: "You think he's here for the baby?"
Angel: "I don't think he even knows about it."

Fred doesn't think he'd have to be, necessarily. He just plays his role in the flow of events. Holtz comes looking for Angel and Darla and finds their child who may turn out not to be evil as feared, but may be some kind of messianic figure instead. Holtz kills it before it's born and that act somehow brings about the end of the world. Everybody just looks at Fred who nervously admits that might not be right. Things could go either way. She asks Angel if he's thought of a name yet.

Wes: "We need to find Darla before Holtz does."
Angel: "I can find her a lot faster on my own."

Angel tells them if they can find a place for Darla to safely give birth, he'll bring her to them. Gunn figures they can manage that. Cordelia tells Angel to be careful. Wes asks if he managed to get the scrolls. Angel tells him he didn't and leaves. Wes thinks they'll do okay without them, but doesn't sound convinced.

At Wolfram and Hart

A guy wearing white gloves is examining the remnant of the scroll in Lilah's office.

Man: "Nyazian. Exquisite! I recognize the Ga-shundi cross-text. Quite a find! Have you any idea what this is worth?"

Lilah hopes it's valuable enough to keep her out of trouble with the firm. She hands the guy some notes, offering they should help him in his translation. He looks them over, saying the handwriting isn't familiar to him, they look like they were composed by an Englishman. He wonders if it was someone he thinks has had an eye on his job. Lilah assures him it wasn't, he wouldn't know the guy who worked on it previously.

Lilah: "Don't worry about it. Outside contractors. Now, I've highlighted the sections they seemed to be concentrating on."
Man: "You *highlighted* an ancient Nyazian Scroll?"
Lilah: "In yellow."
Man: "Hmm."
Lilah: "So, can you translate it?"

He explains to her that when dealing with these scrolls, it's more a matter of interpreting than actual translation. Lilah just wants the general idea of what it says. He picks up the magnifying glass and goes back to examining the scroll fragment. He ponders it a moment, then notes it says something about a birth. Lilah wants to know exactly what it says about that. He's not sure. Lilah wants him to be sure. She informs him she expects the information by morning or she'll have his family killed.

Back at Sahjhan’s lair

Holtz: "You knew. You knew and you didn't tell me."
Sahjhan: "Okay! So I left out one teeny weeny little detail. It didn't seem all that important. "Holtz: "Not important? Angelus with a soul?"
Sahjhan: "It doesn't mean anything!"
Holtz: "It means everything."

Sahjhan doesn't think it means anything. An agitated Holtz disagrees. Sahjhan offers this is the reason he didn't mention it. He doesn't see why it matters that Angelus has a soul as he points out Attila the Hun had one as well. He reminds Holtz that Angel is still a vampire. Holtz says he's not the same. Sahjhan assures him he is. He concedes he uses hair products now but he hasn't changed. Holtz again disagrees, saying Angel is different. Sahjhan isn't sure what kind of moral struggle Holtz is having, but he reminds him he can't let the fact that Angel has a soul now interfere with his doing what he swore to do. He thinks the fact Angel has a soul has made things ethically murky for Holtz. That's not an issue for Holtz as he tells Sahjhan that releasing Angel's soul to be tormented for eternity just makes him more determined that his cause is a just one. Sahjhan is relieved to hear that. He wonders what the problem is then

Holtz: "You've had me hunting the wrong prey."
Sahjhan: "Ah! Right. Because an Angel with a soul is going to be a slightly different challenge from an Angel without a soul."
Holtz: "I must know everything."
Sahjhan: "Right. No, gotcha. My mistake."
Holtz: "You've kept nothing else from me then?"
Sahjhan: "Ah. - No. - Nothing I can think of."

Somewhere

Darla is standing on top of a building looking over the city below, her hands cradling her pregnant belly.
Angel: "You always did love a view."
Darla: "Look at it. Listen to it. Can you smell it? This world. This horrible world. Why would anyone want to bring a baby into it?"
Angel: "To make it better, maybe?"
Darla: "Or to destroy it finally."

Angel wonders why everyone is planning his son's future when he isn't even born yet. Angel knows why she doesn't want to let it go, because she loves it. She confirms she does, "completely." She doesn't think she's ever loved anything the way she loves the child she's carrying. Angel points out that she never loved anything. Darla acknowledges that's true, not in 400 years, until now. She doesn't know what to do.

Angel assures her she'll do the only thing she can, she'll have it and they'll....... Darla asks him if he's thinking they'll raise it together. Angel asks, "Why not?" Darla tells him it's impossible. He reminds her that the entire situation has been impossible. Darla doesn't think she has anything to offer a child other than an "ugly death" and she figures Angel knows that too. Angel tells her he knows that she loves their child, she's spent 9 months carrying it inside of her, she's bonded with it, taken care of it. Darla responds that she hasn't given the child anything. She has nothing to give it, she's dead. It's the child who has nourished her. She knows the feelings she's experiencing aren't hers, they're coming from what's inside of her.

Angel: "You don't know that."
Darla: "Of course I do! We both do. Angel, I don't have a soul. It does. And right now that soul is inside of me, but soon, it won't be and then..."
Angel: "Darla..."
Darla: "I won't be able to love it. I won't even be able to remember that I loved it. (Starts to cry) I want to remember."

Angel pulls her against him. Angel: "Shh..."
Angel closes his eyes as he holds a crying Darla.

At the Caritas

Lorne says Darla giving birth at his club isn't a good idea. Along with Wes, Fred, Cordy and Gunn, the bar is full of workers putting the final touches on the place in preparation for its reopening. Cordelia asks him if he wants them to tell Darla and Angel they aren't welcome. Lorne doesn't want that. He says Caritas will always be a sanctuary if some people would get their jobs done as he looks over at one of the workers, Arney. He asks Arney how things are coming along. He answers that things should be ready by the opening the next night. Gunn asks if it's a new security system.

Lorne explains the system routes together the sanctuary spells so both demon and human violence will be prevented. Arney points out that "balancing that inter-species flux" has been a tougher task than he'd planned on. Lorne mentions that Arney hums when he works which means Lorne has read him and knows he's padding the job by putting off finishing it. He fires him and sends him on his way. Lorne figures he can finish it himself.

Angel and Darla are standing beside each other on the rooftop, each facing a different way.

Darla: "You won't let me hurt it, will you? You'll protect it, right? From me, I mean."
Angel's cell phone rings and he answers it.
Angel: "Yeah."
Wes: "We found a place."
Angel: "Is it safe?"
Wes looks over at the host working on the equipment.
Wes: "I'm sure by the time you get here it'll be safe as houses."

Lorne tells Fred to try now as he works on the system. She reaches out and slaps Gunn. Lorne makes an adjustment to the system and tells her to try again. She slaps him again. Lorne keeps working on it. On the rooftop, Angel puts his phone away and suggests to Darla they get someplace safe. Darla is standing with her head down, her back to Angel, Darla hunches over and leans against a post.

Angel: "Hey - Darla? We should - get going. I feel a storm coming. You okay? Another contraction?"
Darla: "No. It's something else."

At W&H,

Lilah enters her office and asks the translator if he's come up with anything. He thinks he has. He says the person who worked on it previously was very close, the notes were very helpful to him. Lilah just wants to know what the scroll fragment says about the birth. The translator says it doesn't say anything about a birth, exactly. Lilah is losing patience. She reminds him she has a gun, though there isn't one visible. He explains that the prophecy isn't a "birth announcement", it's more of an "obituary."

Lilah wants clarification.

He explains the prophet says there won't be a birth. Lilah wants to know if he's certain of this. He assures her he is as he reads from the scroll, "In that time when the sky opens and the heavens weep, there will be no birth, only death."

Lilah: "Only death?"
Man: "Just death."
Lilah considering: "Just death."

A slight smile plays across her face.

York, England 1764

Holtz is sitting in his house staring straight ahead. The two men form the night before have come back. It is now day outside. Holtz is sitting in the same position in the chair he was in the night before. They plead with him to leave the house. One of them says what happened there is the work of the devil. Holtz responds that it wasn't the devil, "just a demon." He looks across the room, across Sarah's doll lying in the middle of the floor in a wash of sunlight, across Caroline's body, to Sarah who is huddled in the corner out of the light.

Man: "What are we going to do?"
Holtz slowly gets up: "Whatever we have to."
Holtz walks over to Sarah and picks her up.
Sarah: "Papa, no! Please, no, papa! Papa, don't. Let me go!"
Holtz caries her over to the door and out onto the roofed porch.
Sarah: "No, papa. Papa, don't!"

Sarah tries to cling to one of the porch's pillars, but Holtz pulls her away and pushes her out into the bright sunlight of the front yard. She turns back to look up at him, morphing into vamp face as she burns up in the direct sunlight. Holtz watches her reduced to ashes then goes back inside and slams the door shut behind himself.

At Caritas,

Wes is pacing. Gunn is sitting in front of the bar, playing his gameboy. Cordy is sitting on a stool behind him, reading a magazine. Fred is sitting beside Lorne reading the leaflet, while Lorne is still working on the spell routing system. He suggests trying it again. Cordy slaps Gunn in the back of the head. Lorne takes the manual from Fred, realizing he has more work to do. Angel enters, supporting Darla who looks worn out. He asks someone to get a chair. Wes gets one for her as Angel assists her to it. Darla offers a sincere thanks, which leads to a stunned expression from Gunn. Angel gets Wesley's attention, he wants to talk away from Darla.

As Wes and Angel move away from the group, Fred tells Darla she gave them a scare. She guesses Darla is accustomed to that, being a scary thing. She doesn't say it unkindly, more like an observation than an accusation. Darla apologizes for that, saying she doesn't know what got into her. She starts to laugh. Angel tells Wes Darla is in a lot of pain. Wes asks how often the contractions are coming. Angel answers that it's been an hour since the last one. Wesley doesn't understand that considering she was in active labor earlier. Angel doesn't know what's going on, the contractions just stopped. Wes asks about the pain Darla is having. Angel says according to Darla, it's something else. Wes thinks that's reason for concern.

Darla moans. Cordy calls for Angel. He comes to Darla's side. Lorne offers his bedroom. He and Angel help her up and lead her away.
Lorne: "Easy. Easy now. Come on, sweetheart. We'll get you right in there." Fred looks down at the chair Darla was sitting on as notices a little puddle of dark blood on the seat.


At Sahjhan’s lair

Sahjhan is in his dwelling with Holtz. He tells him it's time. Holtz asks if he's found Angel. Sahjhan instructs another party present to give Holtz the news. Arney(the little demon that worked at Caritas) wants to be sure he's going to get paid. Sahjhan assures him he will, he wants him to get on with telling Holtz what he heard.

Arnie's eyes light up and he mimics Cordy: "Lorne, what do you want us to do? Tell Angel and Darla they're not welcome here? (Mimics Lorne) No, of course not. Caritas is and always will be a sanctuary."

At the Caritas


Angel waits at the door as Wes and Fred check on Darla lying on Lorne's bed, then walk over to him.

Angel: "Is she gonna be okay?"
Wes: "She's tough as nails."
Fred: "And immortal, so that's, you know, in her favor - health wise."
Angel: "What about the baby?"

Wes glances back at Darla, then walks out of the room. Angel follows him. Darla lifts her head and watches the leave.

Angel: "What? What is it?"
Wes: "Angel, I think you need to prepare yourself for the worst."
Angel: "No."

Wes continues, saying the baby's heartbeat is very faint. Angel wants to know what they can do. Wes doesn't think there's anything they can do as he explains that Darla's body isn't a vessel intended to give life. He doesn't know if her body can do what's necessary to bring the child into the world. Angel wonders if Wes is suggesting they just let the baby die. Wes doesn't have an answer. Cordelia wonders about the possibility of having a c-section done. Fred: "Normally that's exactly what we'd do in this instance, but... the mystical forces that's been protecting the pregnancy..."

Thunder rumbles outside.

Angel: "...is gonna end up killing it."
Wes: "That's my fear."

Angel sighs, and rubs his eyes: "This doesn't make any sense. I mean, this whole thing has been a miracle, right? You don't just get half a miracle, do you? - I mean, the powers - they brought her this far, they protected the baby all this time..." Gunn interrupts to say they can't be sure of that. They don't know The Powers were responsible for protecting the child. He wonders if the baby is the evil spoken of in the prophecies, destined to end the world. He thinks they should consider that what's happening now may be The Powers stepping in to right things.

Angel staring straight ahead: "How? By killing my kid?"
Angel walks towards Lorne's bedroom.
Cordy to Gunn: "Do you always have to be so damned honest?"
Cordy reaches out to slap Gunn on the arm, but her hand is repelled by a by blue force field.
Lorne: "What? Hey! Hey, it-it worked! I fixed it!"
The others continue to look glum.
Lorne: "Ah, yay, me?"

Angel stands in the doorway of Lorne's bedroom and looks at Darla for a moment before walking over and sitting down on a chair beside the bed. Darla stirs, opens her eyes and looks at him. He asks her how she's doing. She tells him "he" isn't kicking anymore. Angel reaches out and lays his hand on her belly. He tries to be reassuring, saying the baby probably realized he got her attention, but his expression is one of concern. He notices Darla referred to the baby as "he" for the first time.

Darla: "He's dying. (Angel's smile melts away, but he refuses to look away from her) Isn't he?"
Angel after a beat: "No."
Darla: "You lied much better when you didn't have a soul. - I can feel the life slipping away from me."
Angel: "Then don't let it. You have to fight for this. - Please."

Darla doesn't know how to do that. She lays her hand on her belly, feeling her "darling boy." She reminds Angel she told him she had nothing to offer this child, she can't even give it life. Out in the bar, Gunn gets up off his stool: "Maybe I should go in there, apologize."

Wes stops him, telling him they should stay there and wait it out. Cordy thinks Angel and Darla need some time alone right now. Fred has a feeling things aren't going to end well. Lorne offers drinks to everyone, he gets up from his chair and sees Holtz walk into the bar.

Lorne: "Oh, hello."
Holtz looks Lorne up and down: "Hello."

Lorne explains the club isn't open. He suggests Holtz to return tomorrow night for the reopening as he hands him a flyer. Holtz thanks him, looks around the club and slowly heads up the stairs leading out, quietly singing the lullaby "Sleep, my love and peace attend thee, (Lorne starts to hum along) all through the night, guardian angels god will send you, all through the night..."

Lorne's eyes suddenly widen and he drops the bottle and glass back onto the counter.
Lorne: "Run!"

They hesitate briefly, not sure what's going on. He urges them again to get out of there. They follow his lead. Just as they clear the bar, a barrel comes rolling down the stairs followed by a grenade. The grenade explodes igniting whatever was in the barrel, resulting in a huge explosion and fireball that rips through the bar. Angel is supporting Darla beside the bed as the others run in.

Angel: "What's going on?"
Wes: "We're being attacked."
Angel: "Attacked? I thought you had double protection sanctorium spells?"

Lorne tries to explain but it gets confusing. Gunn clears it up; the protection spells apply to the area inside of the club, not to someone rolling a barrel and throwing a grenade down the stairs from outside. A flaming beam falls from the ceiling. Angel knows Holtz is responsible. Darla wonders how that' s possible. Angel mentions that he was going to tell her, but he didn't think the timing was right. Darla thinks the timing is perfect. Lorne directs the others to help him move the bed. Gunn asks why. Lorne explains there's an old loading dock door behind the wall, he had the place converted. Darla mentions the pain she and Angelus caused Holtz. Angel knows.

Gunn asks Lorne if he has an ax or a hammer, something to use in breaking through the wall. Wes hands Gunn a stone Buddha head as Cordelia hands Wes an ornamental rhino. They use both items to batter the wall in an effort to break it open. Darla believes Holtz is the reason this is happening; what happened to his family, what he's gone through. She doesn't figure it's all so funny now remembering how she felt about it at the time.

Wes: "Angel, we could use some vampire strength here."
Angel: "Cordy, Fred!"
Cordy and Fred take his place with Darla. Angel steps between Wes and Gunn who step aside and watch him batter down the wall with his fists and feet. Holtz walks into the burning remains of the club.

A back alley lit by Chinese lanterns. Angel breaks through into it from Lorne's bedroom. Wooden shards fly as he enlarges the opening. Cordy steps through it, followed by Wes, Fred, Gunn and Lorne. Then Angel half carries Darla through it.

Darla: "No. No. Go on. I can't. It doesn't matter anyway."
Angel: "I'm not leaving you, alright? Easy. Alright. (Pulls out his keys and tosses them towards the others.) Go get my car. It's out front."

He lowers Darla to the ground and crouches down beside her.
Angel: "I got you."
Cordy makes move to join him.
Angel: "Go!"

All of them turn and hurry off (Lorne is holding to pieces of cardboard over his head to keep some of the rain off himself), but after a few steps Fred stops and runs back to crouch beside Angel and Darla.

Angel: "Fred, go with them."
Fred: "It's okay. They'll come back for us."

Angel takes off his jacket and slings it around Fred's shoulders.

Angel tells Darla she'll be okay. Darla knows that once the baby is gone, she won't be. She doesn't know what she'll be. She's afraid the baby will die in the alley. She wonders if Angel remembers he died in an alley. He does. She wants to apologize for that, and mean it, but she can't. She wonders if he's going to tell her it's okay. He can't. Darla knows it can't be, they did so many horrible things together, inflicted so much suffering and destruction. She knows they can't make up for any of it. She figures Angel knows that too

Angel after a beat: "Yeah."
Darla: "This child - Angel, it's the one good thing we ever did together."
Angel lifts Darla's hand between both of his and pressed it against his lips.

Darla: "The only good thing."
Angel buries his face in his hands, still holding onto Darla's, takes a sobbing breath.
Darla: "You make sure to tell him that."

she grabs a large wooden splinter laying next to her and stakes herself. Angel opens his hands, the dust that was Darla's hand falls from them, where she was there is now a naked human infant lying in the rain, crying.

Holtz steps into Lorne's bedroom with flames flickering all around him. Lifts his crossbow and looks around.

Angel carefully gathers up the baby.

Holtz takes aim with the crossbow but only watches as Fred hands Angel his coat and he wraps the baby in it.

Holtz is watching them over his crossbow. Angel slowly turns his head and sees Holtz. For a moment they just look at each other.

A Grapplar appears at the mouth of the alley behind. Angel looks from it to the baby (that has quieted down) to Holtz. Angel's car pulls up behind two Grapplars at the other end of the alley and Wes gets out. Holtz slowly lowers his crossbow, still looking at Angel cradling the infant against his chest.
After a beat Angel slowly walks past Holtz, Fred clinging to his right arm. Holtz watches as Angel and Fred pass between the two Grapplars.

An irritated Sahjhan urges Holtz to do it while he still has the chance, take the shot while he has one. He screams at Holtz that he can't let Angel walk away, not after what he swore to do. As Angel and Fred get into the car and depart, Holtz responds to Sahjhan, "I swore that I would show no mercy, and I won't."
 
Rating and Comments: For me this was the final part of the trilogy - Offspring”, “Quickening" and "Lullaby a single story in three parts. This is a very satisfying episode that mixes thoughtful and interesting thematic work with a compelling storyline. The idea of a man who believes that he is acting in the name of justice while at the same time doing unequivocally evil things is a powerful one. David and Julie Benz did a fine piece of acting.
Rating: 9/10
Written By: Staff Writer - Setje

Back