Starring: David Boreanaz as Angel, Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia, Amy Acker as Fred, Alexis Denisof as Wesley Wyndham-Pryce, J. August Richards as Gunn

Guest starring: Andy Hallet as Lorne, Mark Lutz as Groo (the Groosalug), Jason Carter as the lackey demon, Patrick St. Esprit as Jenoff, John David Conti as the Elderly Male Demon, P. B. Hutton as the Elderly Female Demon

Original air date: April 22, 2002

Written by: David H. Goodman
Directed by: David Grossman

Fred and Gunn are trying to unravel the mystery that is the “pending cases” stack of files. Fred, Gunn, and Lorne start to talk about the chaos of the last few days. Lorne wants Angel to talk to them but Gunn doesn’t think it’s quite safe yet. Gunn’s pretty sure that Angel is done with the mindbending anger phase but doesn’t want to test that theory. Cordy and Groo come back from Mexico bearing gifts. When Cordy sees the look on everyone’s faces she wants to know what happened. Upstairs, Angel is mourning over Connor’s empty crib. Cordy comes in the room and sits next to Angel. She tells Angel that she’s very sorry and gives him a hug. Meanwhile, at a demon-human casino a demon in a tux hands an Angel Investigations business card to another demon and tells the second demon to, “bring him in. His marker’s up.”

Back at the Hyperion Angel is laying in the charred remains of what’s left of his bed. Cordy walks in the room, doesn’t say anything, and sits down in a nearby chair with a book. Downstairs Groo and Lorne are packing up some of Wes’s belongings while Fred and Gunn interview an elderly demon couple. Apparently the couple has a problem with a sketch demon squatting in their lair. The husband has a “thing” about phlegm, especially the projectile kind that the sketch demon has, so the couple hasn’t been able to get rid of the demon. Gunn thinks it should be pretty easy to take care of the demon, though. Just lop off it’s head. Both Gunn and Fred think it’s pretty cute how the demon couple act - after 3 centuries they’re still in love and finishing each other’s sentences.

Fred goes to Wes’s hospital room with his box of stuff. Wes still can’t talk. Fred explains to Wes that she and Gunn found Wes’s notes about the prophecy in the Nyazian scrolls and figured out that Wes planned to take Connor because Wes was worried that Angel would hurt the baby. She also tells him that she thinks Angel was wrong to try to kill Wes. But, having said that, Fred tells Wes that Angel was right to blame Wes. Fred thinks Wes should have trusted the rest of the team and told them what was going on instead of going to Holtz. Fred also gives Wes a warning - don’t come back to the hotel ever, because if Angel sees Wes, Angel *will* kill him. Just before she leaves the room she tells Wes that the prophecy was false and that Wes’s betrayal was for nothing.

At the hotel Groo greets a demon: the lackey from the casino. Meanwhile Gunn’s down in the sewers looking for the elderly couple’s lair. When he finds it he sees the sketch demon and barely misses a huge wad of phlegm. Gunn and the demon mix it up until he finally kills the demon. When Gunn narrowly misses being splattered by a second spurt of phlegm he says, “it must be my lucky day.” Gunn’s a little bit surprised when the demon from the casino says, “wanna bet?”

Flashback to seven years ago: Gunn’s walking towards a casino. Inside he is frisked for weapons then he’s escorted to a demon in a tux. Gunn wants something from the tux demon so he hands the demon a piece of paper. The demon reads the paper and says, “Very nice. She’s a real beauty. I can make it happen.” But, there’s a cost for this favor - Gunn’s future. Gunn counters with, “what future?” So Gunn mortgages his future for the favor and seals the deal in blood.

Back in the present day the lackey demon reminds Gunn that he made a deal: he sold his soul for a favor, but Gunn was planning on giving his soul to a woman. The lackey demon tells Gunn that, when a soul is about to be transferred to another it breaks the contract. Gunn wants out of the deal and wants Mr. Jenoff (the tux demon) to take something else, but no deal. Gunn has 24 hours to get his affairs in order and get to the casino. If Gunn tries to run or hide, Jenoff will take Fred’s soul.

Gunn arrives back at the hotel despondent. Cordy asks him if he’s ok and Gunn lies, she doesn’t buy it. Cordy thinks that Gunn is conflicted because he’s happy with Fred while Angel is miserable without Connor. Cordy tells Gunn that he and Fred have the rest of their lives to be happy. Cordy tells Gunn that, living on the Hellmouth, she learned that every day is precious. Something in what Cordy said strikes a chord with Gunn. He smiles and decides to take tomorrow off and have some fun.

The next morning Fred’s still in bed when her cell phone rings. She starts the conversation by guessing what Gunn is wearing that day. When Gunn asks Fred what she’s wearing, she tells him that he should come over and find out. Suddenly the door opens and it’s Gunn with breakfast and a rose. Before digging in, Fred makes sure that Gunn didn’t do the cooking. Gunn surprises Fred by telling her that they have the day off and that it’s going to be a very special day.

At the hospital Wes’s doctor checks in with him. The doc gives Wes a clean bill of health and tells him that he can leave the hospital later that day. The doctor wants to know if there’s someone, friend or family, who can pick Wes up. Wes looks pretty miserable just hearing that question.

Back at the hotel Angel is still in his room looking at Connor’s crib and Cordy’s reading her book nearby. Angel starts to talk about Connor, guessing that Connor was going to be left-handed. Then Angel starts to talk about losing people. Because he’s so long-lived Angel expected to outlive everyone around him. Before, Angel just had a long life. Gut when Connor came Angel had something, someone, else - a future.

Later Gunn and Fred are talking over lunch, but Fred’s kinda full (surprise, surprise). Fred’s starting to get funned-out. She tells Gunn that she’s having a wonderful time, but it’s not as if they have to cram all the fun for the rest of their lives into that day. As she talks Gunn’s face starts to droop. Fred starts to realize that something’s up, something’s wrong. Fred confronts Gunn and wants to know what’s wrong. Gunn can’t bring himself to tell Fred the truth, so he lies and ends their relationship but in a pretty brutal way. Fred doesn’t believe that they are through.

In the meantime, Cordy finally breaks her silence and talks to Angel. She tells him that there’s no way she can understand what he’s going through, and she doesn’t want to insult him by spouting platitudes. She tells Angel that he will never forget how Connor was taken from him and that he will always love Connor. But Angel will also continue living, but without Connor. Cordy tells him that the “how” of living will work itself out, and that the team will help him. Cordy hears a noise outside the door. It’s Fred, crying, about her break-up with Gunn. Fred tells Angel that she thinks Gunn is in danger.

At the casino Mr. Jenoff pushes two of his fingers into the eye sockets of some poor shlub and drains off the guy’s soul. Gunn walks into the casino looking pretty determined and grim. He tells the lackey demon that he’s there to pay his bill.

Back at the hotel Fred is trying to explain why she thinks Gunn is in danger to Cordy, Groo, and Angel. Unfortunately, Angel is still at square one trying to adjust to the fact that Gunn and Fred are dating. Fred finally tells everyone that the only reason that Gunn would say such mean things would be to protect her, which would mean that there’s something dangerous that Fred needs protecting from. Angel tells Fred that they’re going to help Gunn because they will not lose another member of the family.

Wes walks into his apartment, still littered with parts of his diaries and notes left by Gunn and Fred in their desperate search for Wes and Connor.

At the hotel Cordy is trying to reach Gunn on the phone but isn’t having any luck. They decide to split up so that they will be able to find Gunn quicker. Angel and Fred are going to check the gang hangouts, Cordy and Groo are going to check Gunn’s place. They’re also going to report Gunn’s truck stolen to get the police involved. Groo suggests that, as they are searching, they leave some rectangles behind (known by most people as business cards) “as did that creature who came by yesterday inquiring about Gunn.” It just so happens that Groo is holding a business card left by the lackey demon. Angel figures out that the lackey demon works for Jenoff “The Soul Sucker.” So the AI team puts 2 and 2 together and go straight to the casino to find Gunn.

At the casino Jenoff tells Gunn that he’s impressed that Gunn walked back in the door to give up his soul. As Jenoff moves his fingers towards Gunn’s eye sockets, BLAM!, the door to the casino is kicked in by Angel. Angel and Groo cut a swath through the demons and finally make it to the middle of the club where they are surrounded. Angel wants to talk to the boss and Jenoff steps up. Angel makes a deal with Jenoff - release Gunn and Angel will let Jenoff live. But Jenoff simply says, “Kill ‘em.” As the demons close in on the AI team Angel shouts, just loud enough for Jenoff to hear, “Double or nothing.” *That* got Jenoff’s attention. Jenoff is intrigued by the possibility of taking a vamp’s soul. Angel’s going to pick the game and, if he wins, they walk away free with Gunn. If Angel loses, Jenoff gets Gunn’s and Angel’s souls.

Fred’s a little nervous about gambling for her boyfriend, but Angel tells her he’s been around awhile and he’s pretty good at gambling. Angel is *sure* he’s not going to lose, but just in case he loses, Angel gives Cordy a stake and tells her that she knows what to do and that she should make it quick. So Jenoff and Angel sit down at one of the tables to gamble for some souls. Angel decides to simply cut a deck of cards - high card wins. Jenoff cuts the deck first and draws the nine of clubs. When Angel cuts the deck he draws the three of hearts. Uh oh. Bad news. Before anyone can move Cordy shoves the wooden stake into Jenoff’s hand, pinning it to the table. Angel grabs Groo’s axe and cuts off Jenoff’s head. Angel tells Gunn that he doesn’t need to say thanks but Gunn quickly points out that, if it was simply a matter of cutting off Jenoff’s head, Gunn would have done it already. Yikes. Jenoff is growing a new head, and the new one is definitely pissed. Angel realizes that they won’t be able to fight their way out of the casino, so he shouts to all the demons in the room, “Anybody else owe this guy?” The demons in the casino descend on Jenoff and tear him to pieces.

Gunn and Fred are sitting in Gunn’s truck. Fred makes Gunn apologize for what he said several times, just to make sure it sinks in. Fred wants to know what he bargained his soul for. Fred thinks it was for a woman. Gunn’s a little embarassed to tell her, but it was a truck. His truck. The one he’s driving now. The truck saved Gunn’s life and the lives of lots of other people back when Gunn was killing vamps as part of a gang. When he made the deal with Jenoff, Gunn didn’t think he had a future so his soul wasn’t important. Now, with a future ahead of him Gunn realizes his soul is important.

Back at the hotel Cordy looks in on Angel, still gazing at Connor’s empty crib. Angel starts to disassemble the crib and Cordy walks out of the room and shuts the door quietly behind her.
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