If you need Lindsey or his controller, please leave a message after the beep.

*beep*

1) Do you believe in soul mates? Why or Why not? Well, I kind of sold my soul for my job, so I would have to go with a no.
2) What do you do, if anything, to celebrate Valentine's day? I suppose I should do something or another with Deanna. She'd probably appreciate it.
3) Have you ever had your heart broken? Let's see...to allow that, I'd have to let a woman get close enough. Once again, I'm going with a no.
4) What is your ideal date?  Person? A pretty girl who doesn't ask too many questions about my work. Outing? Any type of good time works for me.
5) Is romance dead?  *Laughs* I think I'll plead the fifth on this one.

Who:  Lindsey and Lilah
Where:  Wolfram & Hart
When:  Late night
What: Prepping a case together
Status:  Open

Lindsey was sitting across the table from Lilah, working on a case that the firm was going to ge going to court with soon. The case itself was about some mob bigshot who had gotten caught dumping a body in the ocean. Well, he didn't get caught with the body in his hands, per say, but he might as well have. They had tons of forensic evidence against them, and they were working on briefs to get all of that thrown out of court right now. The police really shouldn't search places illegally, you know. 

Lindsey sighed and pushed the papers aside for a moment, rubbing his eyes. The two of them had been working with assistants all day, but those people had finally went home some time before ten. Him and Lilah had stayed in hopes of finishing everything up, but right now he wasn't sure if he'd finish before he passed out on the table. 

He looked across the table at Lilah. She wasn't exactly looking bright eyed herself. "I'm going to go grab some coffee. You want some?" he asked her, standing up. Maybe a walk and some coffee would do him some good.  

 It's been a few months now, and Lilah, Ava, and I are starting to actually function like a family. It took a little getting used to, but now I'm wishing that we had been doing this the entire time. It's actually nice to be coming home to people everyday. It was also good to have a reason to leave the house everyday, too. 

Lilah got me back in with the firm, which was nice. They seemed to have either gotten over the incident of me shooting up their office, or they want to use me for something. Still, as long as I don't have to deal with any projects that involve vampires, I think I'll be doing ok there again. At least I don't see Lilah too much while at work, so that we don't get too sick of each other. 

I usually got off of work before Lilah but, as the CEO of the firm, she didn't get home until late most nights. I came in after a day at the office, hoping to relax a little before figuring out what we should eat tonight.

1. What was the best Christmas gift you gave? The best one you've received? The best Christmas gift I ever gave was a drawing to my mother (I don't do Christmas much anymore) and the best one I ever received was a .22 rifle from my father before he took off.

2. Do you wear a watch? Digital or analog? Just a regular old fashioned watch. I don't need anything too fancy.

3. What is the sickest you've ever been? I had the flu when I was a kid. It was the same flu that killed two of my siblings.

4. Who was your best friend when you were little? What was he/she like? My best friend when I was little was my little brother Josh. He was really creative, and could draw better than anyone I've ever met. Flu took him.

5. How much do you know about the supernatural? How much would you like to know? I know more than your mind could handle.

It was kind of strange to be knocking at my old place, but I was starting to get used to it. I hope that I don't have too much of a chance to get used to it, though. I'm hoping that tonight goes well enough for us to really start discussing me moving back in or for me to actually start bringing my stuff back. Living in a hotel room was miserable, and, to be honest, I missed living with Lilah. I wanted to come back to the place that I thought of as home.

With Lilah's wine of choice in my hand, I showed up at our apartment. I rang the doorbell and waited for her to answer the door. I pray that I won't say or do anything to screw tonight up.

A lot has changed in this place since I was last here. I don't know what had come over me, but I had to get out of that apartment. Of course, with few options, I decided to pay the firm a visit. Angel more or less knew that I was still around in the city, so seeing me shouldn't be that much of a shock to him. Then again, he can get his panties in a bunch over anything, from what Lilah has been saying lately.

After breezing past the front desk, I walked through the halls, nominally looking for Lilah's office, but mostly just getting a feel for the place again. Of course, my mind wandered back to when I had come here to take Angel down. If the firm hadn't of put him in charge, I wouldn't have started that mess in the first place. I couldn't let him be the head of a firm that, if I had stuck it out, I could have been at the top of. Once I found out, I had to do something.

And now, here I was, an outsider still scheming to get to the top. I wonder if this will work out after all.

Who: Lindsey and Darla
Where: Wolfram & Hart, a coffee shop
When: Early Evening

Lindsey was sitting in his office, going over the last little paperwork that he had for the day before he would be able to go home. He still had a light load here at the firm, and it was starting to make him go a little stir crazy. A person would think that, after sacrificing his hand for the firm, he would get better jobs, but he really didn't. Sure, he got a hefty pay raise, it he thought that it was more to coddle him than to reward him.

He was also a little worried at how much he enjoyed talking to Darla. Of course he kept reminding himself that she was probably using him to accomplish some task that he could barely comprehend, but he'd still rather be around her than pretty much anyone else here at the firm at this time. All he really wanted was to get away from everyone else that worked here. He was getting tired of all the stares and whispers.

When he finished off his paperwork, he pushed it into a drawer, glad to be done with it. All he had to do now was go home and sleep, since he couldn't even stand to be around the few friends that he had made in LA when he first came to town. He had managed to drive them off in the last few months. With the possible exception of one person, he'd rather be alone.

Things between Lilah and I were on an upswing, for once. This time, I wanted to do things right by her. She didn't deserve to be treated badly, so instead I was going to court her right. My parents didn't raise no fool. I know how to pitch woo, so to speak, with the best of them, and now Lilah would be getting the full treatment.

Which included me picking her up at her home for our dinner date. I managed to pick out a good Thai restaurant. I even picked up something from their for lunch to make sure that it wasn't terrible, and it was actually really good. I wasn't going to take her to a place that was just ok. Only the best for Lilah Morgan, and now I wasn't just being an ass while thinking that.

I drove up to her house, jumped out of the car and rang the door bell. With all of the people that I had seen around there, I couldn't even guess who would answer the door. I was right on time for picking her up, so at least she would be expecting me. I hope that at least someone I knew answered the door.

A few days later, I was out having lunch with Ava. The last couple of days had been packed with time spent between the two of them. I am pretty sure that Ava dragged me all over the entire city of New York, showing me everything that there was to see. Lilah had also kept her word and started helping me to find a place to live. It was easier for me to travel up here than for Ava to fly out to Oklahoma however many times she wanted to see me. I figured that it would be easier on Lilah as well, since it was easier for me to travel than for her to send Ava around.

We were finishing up with our lunch when I realized that Ava had been kind of quiet all throughout lunch. "Is something on your mind today? You've been kind of quiet."    

Since I had taken a couple of days off, Ava offered me a tour of the city. Of all the places I traveled, I had actually skipped over New York City, along with anywhere else I knew a large branch of Wolfram & Hart was. Luckily, they weren't in every city. London, for example, didn't have a branch. I guess they didn't want to deal with all of those Watchers. Angel and his friends are one thing, but an organized...organization with lots of resources probably made them a little more worried than a little detective agency.

I was waiting at a restaurant for Ava to show up. We were going to have lunch, then she was going to show me some of the tourist type things that people have to do whenever they first come to the city. It actually sounded like it could be fun.

Ava seemed to get more and more despondent as the day wore on into evening. Lilah was due here soon, and I couldn't say that I was too thrilled with seeing her again myself. Of all the things that I knew Lilah to be capable of, hiding the fact that we had a child together had never crossed my mind as something she would do. I wasn't surprised to hear that she was now the CEO of a branch of Wolfram & Hart. She had a drive in her to be at the top of that firm that died inside of me while I was still working there. I remember that last day in the board room, and how I told the board members that they were making a big mistake in choosing me over Lilah herself, since she had been the one to accumulate information on all of them, none of it flattering. I had actually been impressed with her drive that day. It was one of the other reasons that I told them to take her instead of me. Plus, grafting an evil hand onto me pissed me off.

Ava must have been tired, because she passed out in the guest room I had about an hour ago. I was glad that I still had it, instead of converting it into something else because it never got used. I was watching something on television when I heard someone knock on the door. It had to be Lilah. I stood up and answered the door.

Ever since the night at dinner, Lilah and I had really only spoken by telephone. We were both trying to ease back into this, to even see if we could seriously try this again. I didn't really like doing it like this, but it seemed to be going well, so I couldn't complain that much about the arrangement.

I needed to go by the house to pick up some stuff. Living out of a hotel room was horrible. I had kind of forgotten about that. I lived in them for almost six months after leaving Wolfram & Hart, and it hadn't been a picnic then either, but now I could throw relationship problems on top of it. For some reason, it seemed worse than running for my life.

I stopped by the house to pick up some clothes and other things, letting myself in with the key and heading upstairs to grab some stuff. I was only planning on it to be a short visit.

Either Wesley moves far away from us, or I kill him and bury him in the backyard. I'll bet that it's just me being paranoid, but I get the distinct feeling that either he's still in love with her or, God forbid, she's still in love with him. Either way, if Lilah and I are going to work, he has to go. I don't care what his issues are with Angel and Los Angeles. If he doesn't want to go there, then he can go to England, Spain, China...just anywhere but here!

First off, though, I had to figure out where he was holed up. I had not been informed of where he had moved to, but I knew that Lilah had been told (of course). Either I could get the address out of her, or maybe I could just steal her address book and get it from that.

Last time it took a month for us to hear from Wolfram & Hart again. This time it barely took a week.. I was trying to cook dinner for us when I heard someone ring to doorbell, and I immediately knew it had to be another person from Wolfram & Hart. It was just one of those sinking feelings. Who would they send after us this time? Last time it was Gunn, who obviously had...something done to him. I remember all about transplants with body parts, but he had to of been given a whole upgrade, Gunn 2.0. Maybe this time we would get Angel himself. They seemed to want Lilah back pretty bad, and it worried me as to why.

Wes stood at the doorway of Lilah and Lindsey's home. To hear that she was now shacked up with Lindsey was a bit of a surprise, to say the least. Apparently she took the advice of 'start a new life' a bit more to heart than he realized. He was honestly assuming that Lindsey had been killed off by the firm at some point for deserting. To discover that he was alive and well and playing house with Lilah was an unexpected twist.

Now the firm was all but screaming for Lilah to return to her post, and even to try and lure Lindsey back if possible. They seemed to have taken the fact that he shot up one employee especially to heart. They assumed that Wes would have more pull with Lilah than say, Gunn. Wes thought that they were expecting a bit much from their 'relationship,' but here he was, trying anyway.

He rang the doorbell again, starting to get a little impatient. It wasn't like he thought that this was going to work. He just hoped that Lindsey wouldn't break out the shotgun on him. He had a side arm hidden just in case he got any ideas, though.

Every since the Halloween party, things had started to get a little more cozy between Lilah and I. I'm just glad to know that it wasn't just the champagne that made her like me, even though I didn't fully believe that. Just nagging doubts, I guess. She seemed to be enjoying her work all the more, and I was really starting to get into working on all these nice cars. We actually shared more than a few of the same clients. They'd see her for legal woes, and then see me for car troubles.

I was at home, cooking dinner and waiting for Lilah to get off of work. While her hours weren't anything like what we had went through at Wolfram & Hart, she still worked late.

Being in the Hamptons was...different. I hadn't been in Los Angeles for over two years, and I guess I had forgotten a little how to socialize with the elites of society. I managed to settle back into routine, though. I'm still a charming guy at heart. Plus, I do clean up very nicely. Lilah was loving it, back in her own element again. I enjoyed watching her work social gatherings like a game. She could write books on working parties.

I had opened my own mechanic shop here as well. Now, instead of repairing ancient trucks and beat up cars, I was working on Mercedes and Porches. Still, most cars aren't that different from one another, so I got into it quickly. Being here wasn't so bad.

I had just gotten home after a day at the shop. I was in the shower when I heard the door open and close, announcing Lilah's arrival.

I went to get the first aid kit from the owner at the front desk, Ms. Barton. Her and her husband owned the motel. They usually only got passing motorists in the place, with the occasional teenager who wanted a night away from their parents and with their significant other or a husband or wife without their spouse and with someone else's. That woman knew all of the gossip about everyone in the town. As soon as I came to the front desk, she was all questions.

"Lindsey, who's that pretty young lady in Room 3 that your with? Is she one of your friends from Los Angeles?"

Everyone knew that I was a former lawyer from Los Angeles, but I had never told anyone exactly why or how I had quit. "Yes, M'am. She's going through a rough patch right now. Do you have a sewing kit I could borrow, too?"

"Anything for you, Lindsey dear." She retrieved a small sewing kit as well, passing them both to him. "She must be a wreck. Some freak weather thing is blocking out the sun there, and it's total chaos, according to the news. I hope she's alright."

"She's just a little beat up. I already had Doc Brown look in on her. She'll be just fine." As long as I got that hole in her side sewn up, she'd be ok. I left before she could ask me any more questions, going back to the room where Lilah was waiting on me.

Getting Gunn on our side was surprisingly easy. It almost made me wonder if we weren't being set up. However, things usually were easy when you planted suggestions in people's heads. I was kind of surprised that he didn't approach us with the idea of working together. Gunn was an easy person to corrupt, and I knew that it would hurt Angel even more to know that his friend had crossed over to the dark side, so to speak, than for us to just kill him outright. If we could get him to be turned into a vampire, all the better. However, vampires, at least those without souls, are nearly impossible to control unless you've got enough power to back it up. The Senior Partners had that kind of power, but Lilah and I alone didn't.

I wasn't even sure how the firm as a whole felt about this. The Senior Partners had to know what we were doing. They weren't exactly stupid. The only reason that I had been able to hide from them as long as I did was because of all of those tattoos that I had, plus every protection spell known to man and demon. Maybe I'll ask Lilah if they know anything and, if they do, what they think.

Now the real question was what to use Gunn for. So far, as far as I knew, his remaining buddies didn't know that he had fully converted to the Wolfram and Hart style of life, so to speak. Maybe we can even use Gunn to get to a few of the others. It really shouldn't be all that hard.

I didn't get to see it myself, but I heard that Fred's accident was spectacular. My contact had gotten a package laced with a magical poison that slowly boiled her insides. Well, by slowly I mean that it took about twenty-four hours. Now the entire group of them were pissed at...well, life itself. They're first instinct was to think that the Senior Partners themselves did it. If only they knew.

I was waiting at home for Lilah to get done with work. We needed to discuss who we were going to go after now that little Fred was out of the way. That, and I want to know why the hell Wesley of all people is fucking with her. I'm surprised that she hasn't had him turned into a toad or something for bothering her. Something was up.

"The war’s already here, Angel. And you’re already two soldiers down."


That's what I told Angel and his friends, although really they were more like three soldiers down, with leaving Gunn behind in that hell created for me by Wolfram & Hart. They'd already lost Cordelia this year, so who was next for them?

I had locked myself away in a hotel room once I got away from them so that I could be by myself. I could handle them, even if they technically pulled me from hell. I just kind of wished that they'd just killed me at this point, although that would just send me straight to their hell dimensions, in which they would find some special demeaning torment for me for all eternity for running out on them. This sucked. This mega-sucked. I was better off getting my heart yanked out by a demon every night than out here, just waiting to die. Maybe I'll get lucky and they'll stick me back there. It was kind of nice until I got my heart ripped out every night for all eternity. How long was I even in there?

I had a bottle of Jack sitting on the night stand next to me, mindlessly starring at the television while I drank. I couldn't get over how long I was gone. It amazed me. Still, it felt longer, or no time at all. It's hard to tell when, technically, you're stuck in one continuous loop.

It was hard to get through the night. It took me forever to get to sleep. It was a mixture of the pain from the stupid surgery, and something nagging at the back of my thoughts. It was the way Lilah looked at me when I joked about what woke me up bothered me. Maybe I should have been more honest with her, but I thought that she might just laugh in my face. It wasn't like we were ever that open with one another. Usually the main parts of conversation between us were sniping at one another over the water cooler. I wasn't exactly in the practice of being honest with people. I mean, I'm a lawyer, for crying out loud. I can't remember the last time I was upfront with someone.

I finally did doze off, though, although I still woke up early the next morning, before Lilah got up. This was probably the first time she got to sleep in in about...well, whenever she did start at the firm. I was still used to living on a ranch from when I was a kid. Hell, I used to have to milk cows at four in the morning, and I never really got out of that time schedule, no matter what I was doing.

I decided to cook Lilah and myself a light breakfast. I managed to get some eggs and bacon together (even though she had a fridge that would make most bachelors starve), and started cooking the bacon, hoping that it would wake her up so that I could ask her how she liked her eggs. I was using a chair of all things as something to lean against, kind of like a walker. Made me feel ancient.

Lindsey sat in his office at Wolfram and Hart, going through some paperwork. He was finishing off some extra stuff on a case that he had just finished. He had successfully gotten a man accused of a triple homicide a not-guilty verdict. Of course, this didn't mean that the man wasn't guilty, quite the opposite, in fact, but it meant that he had done his job well, and that was what was important to him.

However, paperwork bored the hell out of him. It was nothing like the thrill of being in the courtroom, having a jury eating from the palm of your hand. This stuff was something that he could finish later. He'd much rather be talking to someone, perhaps bragging about how well his court case had went over.

After getting up from his chair and leaving his office, he walked down the hall to Lilah's office. He was sure that she'd be working on paperwork as well, unless she was off in a meeting or something.

1. What would you do with a million dollars? With a thousand? A hundred? Ten?

Well, with a million, I suppose I'd buy a bigger home. I have the rest of it, though, so it's hard to think of something that I would do that I wouldn't do any other day.

2. What is your favorite television show? How often do you watch it? Why do you like it?

Work keeps me too busy to watch prime time tv, but I tend to be awake enough at night to watch a lot of infomercials, though.

3. When did you lose your virginity? Was it an experience you later regretted?

When I was sixteen, I lost it to the head cheerleader in my hometown. I was drunk and it was after a party, so I don't remember much, but I certainly don't regret it.

4. What is/was your relationship with your grandparents like?

I had a good relationship with my grandparents when they were still with the living. They only lived down the road from my parents house, so it wasn't like I had to go far to see them. My grandmother baked me cookies all the time, and my grandfather liked to tell stories about serving in World War II.

5. Coke or Pepsi? Why?

I'll drink either. I'm just not that picky about soda.