Starring: David Boreanaz as Angel, Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia Chase, Alexis Denisof as Wesley Wyndham-Pryce, and J. August Richards as Charles Gunn

Guest starring: Stephanie Romanov as Lilah Morgan, Sam Anderson as Holland Manners, Daisy McCrackin as Bethany Chaulk, Gareth Williams as Bethany’s father

Original air date: October 17, 2000

Written by: Mere Smith
Directed by: Joss Whedon

Lilah Morgan is sneaking into Lindsey McDonald’s office at Wolfram & Hart. Lilah is looking for something on Lindsey’s desk and is startled by Darla who was hiding in the shadows. Darla finds Lilah’s curiosity amusing but Lilah tries to reassure Darla that snooping in other people’s offices is common at Wolfram & Hart. Darla’s playing with a bright purple powder in the palm of her hand. Lilah recognizes it as calynthia powder. Darla has been using the powder to keep Angel sleeping when Darla is with him. Darla tells Lilah that dreams are wonderful because you can find everything, even hidden things, in dreams; when dreams are revealed you can truly understand, and control, someone. Lilah asks Darla what Darla sees in Angel’s dreams and Darla tells her, “horrors.” Across town Angel abruptly wakes up from a dream. He goes downstairs to find a real catfight between Wes and Cordelia. The fight apparently started because Cordy wants to pay Gunn for his help but Wes thinks Gunn may be insulted by the offer. The disagreement lasted for about three minutes and now Wes and Cordy have descended into petty name calling. Angel tells Cordy he’ll think about paying Gunn but Cordelia tells Angel that he won’t *think,* he’ll pay. Angel’s mad - he actually threatens to fire Cordy, but Cordy tells Angel that he can’t fire her because she’s vision girl. That deflates Angel’s anger and Angel promises Cordelia that he’ll think about paying Gunn on a case-by-case basis.

When Angel asks for coffee Cordy reminds him that it’s 10:00 at night. Angel tells Wes and Cordy that he’s disoriented because he’s been sleeping “weird.” Wes is concerned because Angel has been sleeping more hours but feeling less rested and asks Angel if he’s been dreaming. Before Angel can answer Wes’s question they are interrupted by a massive vision slamming into Cordy’s mind. Wes and Angel hold Cordy so she doesn’t fall down and Cordy tells them that a girl is being accosted in an alley. Angel takes off to find the girl while Wes takes care of Cordy. After Angel leaves Cordy tells Wes that Angel’s going to be too late.

In an alley a young woman is running from two men. One of the men grabs the young woman and throws her to the ground. When one of men moves towards the woman, the other man stops him saying that he’s going first. He draws a knife and takes a step towards the woman, but only a step. Before he can go any further there’s a disturbance in the air and a huge, filled dumpster moves across the alley and slams both men into the wall of a building. The young woman starts crying.

Angel arrives at the alley to find several police cars. The area has been taped off but Angel steps under the tape, grabs a cup of coffee off of one of the police cars, and does a great impersonation of an impatient detective while he talks to one of the uniformed cops. The cop tells Angel that two men were “scraped off the wall” after being pinned by the dumpster. The cop thinks that someone might have moved the dumpster from the side. Angel walks over to the general area, bends down and sees some blood. Angel immediately recognizes that the blood doesn’t belong to either of the men who were injured. Angel asks the cop if he’s seen a girl in the alley tonight. The cop tells Angel that he didn’t see a girl. As Angel walks down the alley the real detective shows up.

Angel tracks the blood down the alley and opens the door. Inside a large, empty warehouse he finds the young woman, crying and afraid. Angel wants to ask her a few questions, but she warns Angel to stay away from her. The young woman tells Angel that she’s very upset right now and it would be best to stay away from her. When Angel asks her if she was in the alley she tries to deny it but does a poor job of it. The young woman tries to leave and when Angel follows her and asks her to wait, a three-foot piece of rebar comes flying out of the air and impales Angel in the chest. Angel falls to the ground and the young woman, thinking that she’s killed Angel, starts to leave. The young woman is surprised when Angel stands up, asks her to wait, and takes the rebar out of his chest. The young woman asks Angel what he is but he dodges the question and simply tells her that he’s Angel and he’s here to help her. She mistakenly believes that he’s “an angel,” but Angel corrects her. When the young woman asks how Angel survived being impaled Angel tells her that he’s different from most people, like she is. Angel has figured out that the two men in the alley tried to hurt her and that she was able to stop them. Angel and the young woman chat for a minute and, when the young woman tries to leave, Angel tells her to take his business card so that she can call him if she needs anything. Angel reminds her that he can’t hurt her and she can’t hurt Angel. The young woman snatches the business card out of Angel’s hand and leaves. After she leaves Angel crumples to the ground in pain.

The young woman arrives at an apartment building, still shaken from her assault, and fumbles with some keys trying to open one of the doors. Before she can open the door it’s opened by Lilah Morgan. She greets Bethany, the young woman, and Lilah tells Bethany she was starting to get worried. Inside Lilah’s apartment Lilah and Bethany talk. Lilah asks Bethany about her evening as Lilah folds some clothes. Bethany offers to help Lilah but Lilah turns her down; Lilah finds folding clothes “zen-like.” Bethany insists that Lilah let her help in return for staying at Lilah’s apartment. Lilah tells Bethany that Lilah loves having Bethany stay with her and that returning the favor isn’t necessary. Bethany starts reminiscing about Lilah’s talk at Bethany’s high school. Bethany is very impressed that Lilah “got out,” on her own. Bethany can’t understand why Lilah would spend time talking to Bethany after the talk, but Lilah reassures Bethany that “she’s special.” Lilah tells Bethany that she doesn’t tell every high school student she meets to look up Lilah if they are ever in L.A. Lilah tells Bethany that Bethany has a “power” that others are going to recognize, which makes Bethany uncomfortable. Bethany decides to head for bed and Lilah wishes Bethany “sweet dreams.”

At the Hyperion Wes and Cordy are trying to dress Angel’s wound. Wes thinks the wound looks pretty bad and suggest that they approach the girl with caution. . . but Angel’s probably figured that out. Angel wants Wes and Cordy to find out everything that they can about the girl and Cordy thinks her name would be a good start. Angel tells Cordy that he was impaled at the time and asks if she knows how hard it is to think with a piece of rebar through one’s body. Actually, Cordelia does know how hard it is. . . one of the perks of living in Sunnydale (see BtVS, 3.8, “Lover’s Walk”). Cordy asks Angel if he knows anything about the girl. Angel tells Cordy that the woman is staying with a friend, she had an accent from the northeast, maybe Ohio, and is probably a runaway. Angel suggests they cross-reference runaways from the northeast with supernatural occurrences. Wes asks Angel if the young woman might be a demon but Angel’s sure she’s human. Angel asks Wes what he knows about telekinesis. Wes knows what telekinesis is, and that’s about it. When Wes tells Angel that he’s better with demons Angel suggests that Wes start to broaden his horizons. Gunn arrives, answering Angel’s page, ready to do battle and Gunn is carrying a large wicked axe. Some of the guys in Gunn’s crew made it for him and Gunn is looking forward to battling some baddies with it. Angel asks Gunn to do some leg work and tells Gunn about the two guys who were flattened in the alley. Angel asks Gunn to find out more about the guys, especially where they are. Gunn tells Angel that, if he comes back flat, he’s expecting some workman’s comp. Cordelia thinks Gunn’s quip proves that Gunn wants to get paid so Angel promises Cordy that he’ll bring up paying Gunn soon. Angel heads off to bed after a long 3-hour day.

At Lilah’s place Bethany finally falls asleep. As Bethany starts to dream Lilah starts to watch Bethany with a pretty sick smile on her face. Bethany is having a nightmare. She’s in an attic and a man approaches her and tries to calm Bethany down. The man takes Bethany downstairs and things in the attic start to move and shake. In Lilah’s apartment a lamp on a nightstand also starts to move and shake then suddenly flies across the room and into Lilah’s head. Bethany wakes up and apologizes to Lilah. Lilah tries to stop Bethany but Bethany runs out into the street.

Meanwhile Angel is having some naughty sex dreams about Darla. It’s ‘back in the day’ and Angel and Darla are on the floor in front of a fire kissing passionately. Darla pulls away from Angel and vamps, kisses Angel and he vamps. In the hotel Angel is sleeping and Darla’s there, stroking his shoulder and arm, whispering to Angel and guiding his dream, talking about the gypsy girl that they killed. In Angel’s dream the vampAngel bites Darla’s neck and vampDarla returns the favor. Angel suddenly wakes up, alone, touching his neck.

The next day Angel asks Cordelia if she’s found the young woman yet, but Cordy hasn’t had any luck. Neither has Gunn, he hasn’t checked in. Wes tells Angel that his research suggests that telekinesis is psychic and is generally triggered by periods of extreme emotional stress. Angel is clearly frustrated with how little the team knows when Cordy suddenly announces she may have a lead. Bethany has just walked into the lobby. Angel asks Bethany how she is and Bethany introduces her self. Angel tells Bethany she’s safe at the hotel and introduces Wes and Cordelia. Bethany asks if it’s a family business but Angel tells her it’s friends. Bethany goes down the steps to the lobby and nearly collapses, but Angel catches her. Bethany is pretty uncomfortable about being touched and explains that she is just tired. Angel gets Bethany some tea. Cordy reassures Bethany and tells her that Angel helps people with their problems all the time. Bethany asks Cordy what her problem is and Wes quips “where to start?”

At Wolfram & Hart Holland is meeting with Lilah about last night’s debacle. Apparently Lilah set up the attempted rape in the alley to trigger Bethany’s telekinesis. Some of the lawyers at Wolfram & Hart are worried that Lilah may have lost control of Bethany and that the project of turning Bethany into an assassin for Wolfram & Hart may turn sour. Lilah is very uncomfortable until Holland reassures her that he has confidence in Lilah’s ability to make Bethany a tool for Wolfram & Hart. Lilah’s cell phone rings and it’s Bethany. Lilah asks Bethany where she is.

At the hotel Angel is in the outdoor garden (in the shade) and Bethany comes out in some of Cordelia’s clothes. Angel tells Bethany that he has some experience helping people control their power, and Bethany tells Angel that she just wants the power gone. In the lobby Cordelia is concerned about Bethany. Cordy’s picked up a sexual vibe from Bethany and she’s worried about it. In the garden Bethany is explaining what it feels like when the telekinesis takes over. All Bethany knows is that she has this weird feeling and when she’s back things have moved. The more questions Angel asks the madder Bethany gets and she tells Angel that she shouldn’t even be there. Wes comes into the garden and tells Bethany that he agrees - Bethany doesn’t want their help so Bethany should probably leave, maybe go back to her father. Bethany flips and sends Wes slamming into a wall and, when Angel takes a step toward Bethany, Bethany sends Angel flying across the garden into the sunlight. Angel starts to burn up but manages to get back into the shade.

A little bit later Cordelia is putting ice on one of Wes’s bruises from his encounter with Bethany. Apparently Wes made a calculated move to try to figure out how Bethany’s telekinesis started. Wes’s research suggested that the power Bethany taps into is generally caused by extreme abuse, early on. Wes put two and two together and guessed that Bethany had been sexually molested by her father and Bethany’s reaction confirmed it. Angel comes into the office and tells Wes to leave. Wes agrees that his presence won’t make Bethany feel trust. Angel cautions Cordy to stay at her own place, just in case something goes wrong.

Later Angel finds Bethany in one of the hotel’s rooms that just might collapse. Bethany’s embarrassed by what happened in the garden and thinks that people are pathetic. Angel disagrees. Yes, Angel’s seen the bad side of humanity but thinks that because people try people are basically good.

Angel is back in his dream. It’s the same room, the same floor, the same fireplace. VampAngel is biting vampDarla and she’s reciprocating. VampAngel pulls vampDarla off his neck and the two of them look across the room at a young woman, bound and gagged. Outside of the dream Bethany finds Angel’s room and walks in. Angel wakes up and thinks that Bethany is Darla. Angel asks if there is some trouble but Bethany tells Angel there’s no trouble, she just heard voices in Angel’s room. Angel tells Bethany he was having a nightmare but Bethany thinks it might have been a happy dream, or the covers might have been rumpled. Bethany basically suggests that she and Angel have sex, that Bethany can make Angel happy. Angel replies that Bethany wouldn’t like Angel when he’s happy. Bethany runs her hand under the covers and touches Angel’s thigh and Angel sees Darla instead. When Angel tries to move Bethany’s hand Bethany changes back into Bethany but she gets angry and tells Angel not to touch her and Angel’s bed shakes from Bethany’s telekinesis. Angel’s confused - Bethany wants sex but doesn’t want to be touched. Bethany asks Angel if he’s shocked that Bethany is a “great big slut” but Angel tells Bethany that he’s not easily shocked. Bethany rambles on a bit about how men think it’s great that she’s apparently innocent and fragile, but Bethany thinks of herself as the chambermaid. During sex she ‘leaves’ and the men don’t notice and when the men are done, she comes back to clean up the mess. Angel tries to tell Bethany that not all people are as bad as Bethany thinks but Bethany isn’t sure Angel’s the right person to help her. After all, Angel has a hotel full of rooms that are empty. Angel tells Bethany that he might be the only person who can help her. Angel tells Bethany good night and, as she leaves, Darla steps out of the shadows of the kitchen in Angel’s suite.

At Wolfram & Hart Holland is having another chat with Lilah. Apparently when Bethany interrupted Angel’s dream it put a wrinkle in Lindsey’s plans. Holland tells Lilah that Lindsey understands the “big picture.” Holland tells Lilah to get Bethany out of the hotel not only for Lindsey’s plan but also to make sure Lilah’s plan doesn’t go sour.

Across town in the hotel lobby Angel is trying to teach Bethany how to control her power. Bethany’s nervous but trusts Angel enough to try. Bethany uses her telekinesis to move one of Cordy’s scarves from the ground up and around Angel’s neck. Both Angel and Bethany are happy that she was able to control her power. Cordy comes in and gives Angel an address - Gunn wants to meet Angel there as soon as possible and Cordy will take Bethany shopping while Angel is gone.

Angel breaks down the door of an apartment and Gunn goes in. The owner is still alive so Angel can’t go into the apartment. The apartment is immaculate and very nice. According to Gunn the owner was a hired gun and expensive, too. Angel asks Gunn to look for an address book. Angel leans on the invisible barrier that prevents him from entering the apartment and asks Gunn how he would feel about being paid on a case-by-case basis. Gunn thinks it’s a good idea then Angel falls to the floor - the owner of the apartment is dead. Neither Gunn nor Angel can find any thing to indicate why the guy attacked Bethany until Angel hits the re-dial button on the phone. The voice on the other end is a Wolfram & Hart receptionist.

Meanwhile Cordy and Bethany are down on the pier having a latte. As they walk Cordy warns Bethany to leave Angel alone. Cordy likes Bethany but thinks that Bethany is dangerous because people die around Bethany. Bethany tries to explain that the men in the alley tried to hurt her but Cordy thinks she could have done something other than flatten them like pancakes. Cordy explains that she knows how scared Bethany was because of Cordy’s vision. Cordy tells Bethany that in that moment of panic a decision got made to hurt Bethany’s attackers and Cordy doesn’t want the same kind of thing to happen to Angel, Wes, or herself. Bethany assures Cordy that she won’t hurt Angel.

As Bethany and Cordy walk down the pier Bethany is bumped by some random guy who jabs her in the neck with some injection that makes Bethany sedated. Two more guys grab Bethany and drag her into a tan van which then takes off. Angel and Gunn drive up and Cordy tells them to follow the tan van. Angel drives like a maniac to catch up with the van and has Gunn take the wheel. Angel gets on the hood of his car and, when the car is close to the van, jumps onto the van, opens the door, and rescues Bethany.

At Wolfram & Hart Lilah is on the phone and is very pissed. Lilah’s goons have screwed up and she threatens to bury them alive next to her house so she can hear the men screaming. Lilah decides to up the ante and tells the man on the other end of the phone to “pull the trigger.”

At the Hyperion Angel and Cordy are trying to convince Bethany that Lilah is not her friend and is trying to use Bethany. As Bethany gets more upset doors and windows in the empty room start to close and open from Bethany’s power. Angel tries to convince Bethany to control her power because, if Bethany doesn’t, Angel, Cordy and Bethany will die and Wolfram & Hart wins. Angel appears to reach Bethany and the door opens. It’s Bethany’s father. When Bethany sees her dad all of the windows on the top floor of the Hyperion get blown out. Bethany’s dad talks to her in a calm voice, which makes Bethany’s power go nuts. The room shakes, a nail flies across the room into Cordy’s arm, and plaster starts to come off the walls and ceiling. Angel can’t do anything because Bethany’s power has him pinned against a wall. Bethany’s father wants to take Bethany home and to make things just like they were before. Suddenly Bethany controls her power and the room stops shaking. Bethany’s dad tells her she’s done good and reaches his hand towards Bethany but Bethany uses her power to lift him about three feet off the ground and Bethany uses her telekinesis to choke him. Angel tells Bethany to use her power to “finish this.” Bethany tells her father good bye and sends him flying out one of the windows crashing towards the pavement. But her father stops in midair about three feet above the ground, hovers for a few seconds, then falls the rest of the way.

Bethany goes back to Lilah’s and packs up her belongings. Lilah is desperately trying to convince Bethany that her nightmares aren’t over and that Bethany should stay with Lilah. Bethany tells Lilah that her friends generally don’t hire men to rape her. Lilah explains that she was trying to make Bethany stronger. Bethany uses her power to close her suitcase and have it fly off the bed and into Bethany’s hand. Bethany tells Lilah that she did a good job making Bethany stronger. Bethany walks about of Lilah’s apartment and Angel is standing outside waiting for Bethany. Angel tells Lilah she better learn to lose better. Lilah tries one last trick and tells Bethany that Angel is a vampire. Bethany looks at Angel and says, “weird.” Angel tells Lilah she’d better find someone else’s brain to play with and Lilah tells Angel they have someone else in mind. As Bethany and Angel leave the building Lilah says, quietly enough so Angel can’t hear, “sweet dreams.”