Starring: David Boreanaz as Angel, James Marsters as Spike, J. August Richards as Gunn, Amy Acker as Fred, Andy Hallet as Lorne, Mercedes McNab as Harmony, Alexis Denisof as Wesley Wyndham-Pryce

Guest starring:  Vincent Kartheiser as Connor Riley, Dennis Christopher as Cyvus Vail, Jack Conley as Sahhjan, Jim Abele as Laurence Riley, Adrienne Brett Evans as Colleen Riley, Adam Baldwin as Marcus Hamilton

Original air date: April 21, 2004

Written by: Drew Goddard

Directed by: Terrence O’Hara

Wes is standing in Fred’s old office watching Illyria through the large glass window. Illyria is standing still, unblinking. Angel walks up to Wes and he tells Angel that Illyria is either counting the oxygen molecules in the lab or is analyzing the petri dish Illyria put into her mouth. Angel tries to convince Wes to let the others help Wes watch over Illyria but Wes thinks that Illyria is his responsibility. Angel also wants to test Illyria and find the limits of her strength and skills. Wes tells Angel that testing Illyria might get someone hurt so Angel suggests that Spike do it. Wes tells Angel that Illyria doesn’t understand this world and that Illyria needs someone to help her. Angel asks Wes how long it’s been since Wes has had any sleep. Angel tells Wes that Angel needs Wes at Wolfram & Hart helping him find a way to retrieve Gunn, not drinking himself to death. Angel tells Wes, point blank, that Fred’s dead but Wes is still alive and Wes should start acting like it.

Later Wes is interviewing a couple in his office. The man, Laurence Riley, explains that their son was hit by a van going nearly 50 mph in front of their house. They didn’t know what to do and the police couldn’t help and suggested that he and his wife, Colleen, visit Wolfram & Hart because the lawyers at Wolfram & Hart deal with weird stuff like this. Wes asks if the police have had any luck finding their son’s killer but Colleen and Laurence tell Wes that their son isn’t dead. He got up from the accident without a scratch on him. The Riley’s explain that their son is with them, downstairs, under the pretense that the Riley’s are there to set up a trust fund for their son. Wes calls Harmony and asks that Angel come into Wes’s office. As Angel crosses the lobby towards Wes’s office he hears a familiar voice say, “Hey, Dad.” Angel turns around and finds his son, Connor. Connor ignores Angel and walks toward his father, Laurence Riley. Wes introduces the Rileys to Angel and tries to get Angel to help the Riley’s with their problem but Angel tells Wes no.

In Angel’s office Wes is explaining the Rilye’s problem as Angel paces fretfully. Angel tells Wes that Wolfram & Hart won’t be taking the case and tells Wes that they’re already spread too thin trying to rescue Gunn. Wes presses the issue and tells Angel that the Rileys are good people and that helping good people is what they do. Angel tells Wes that Wolfram & Hart does bad things to good people.

In the hell dimension the grey demon has just ripped Gunn’s heart from his chest. The opening in Gunn’s chest closes and Gunn regains conscousness screaming. Gunn tries to remember what he was doing in the basement. The demon hands Gunn a lightbulb and Gunn calls upstairs to his wife that he found the lightbulb she needed. [See also AtS 5.17, “Underneath.]

At Wolfram & Hart Spike is trying to test Illyria’s skills and is getting the crap beaten out of him. Spike tries to convince Illyria to cooperate with the testing to Spike can find out how Illyria feels when she’s hit but Illyria is ‘less than’ cooperative. Instead of punching Spike in the face she kicks him in the face. Spike hits back and then Illyria sends Spike flying across the room. Wes walks in and asks for a progress report. Spike tells Wes that they’ve had a rough start but he intends on finishing the job. Illyria tells Wes that she enjoys hitting Spike. Wes suggests that Spike use some of the automated training machinery in the room instead of letting Illyria beat Spike up. Spike tells Wes that he’s working on the basics and assures Wes that everything Spike learns is being written down. Illyria tells Wes that she senses his frustration but Spike tells Illyria that what she’s sensing is some of the twelve-year-old Scotch that Wes has been guzzling. Wes explains to Illyria that he had a disagreement with Angel. Spike makes a snarky comment about Angel not being able to get laid without going crazy and Illyria tells Spike that, in her time, Spike’s insolence would lead to his death. Wes tries to explain to Illyria that he and Spike aren’t being insolent but sometimes Wes doesn’t understand why Angel does things. Illyria asks Wes why he follows Angel and Wes replies that Angel has earned Wes’s trust.

Meanwhile Angel is pacing in his office. When Marcus walks in Angel demands an explanation Connor is at Wolfram & Hart. Marcus tells Angel that he isn’t Eve and that Angel cannot boss Marcus around. Angel tries to calm down and asks Marcus why the Senior Partners would allow Connor to come to Wolfram & Hart given the deal Angel made to erase Connor’s memories. [See also AtS, 4.22, “xxx.”] Marcus explains that the Senior Partners didn’t bring Connor to Wolfram & Hart so Angel asks Marcus if Connor’s presence is some coincidence. Marcus tells Angel that Connor’s visit was no coincidence and that someone is trying to give Angel a message through his son, but that message isn’t coming from the Senior Partners.

As the Rileys drive through town Colleen and Laurence discuss their next move. Connor interrupts and tells his parents that he knows they were at Wolfram & Hart because of the car accident. Connor tells his parents that he understands why they lied, but because Connor survived the accident they should be happy, not worried. The Riley’s car pulls into a motel parking lot and Laurence parks the car. Suddenly the door next to Connor is pulled off its hinges and a large, red-skinned demon with a serious underbite drags Connor out of the car. One demon attacks Connor while the other demon attacks Colleen. Laurence tries to help Colleen but is knocked down by the demon. Connor, worried about his mom, hits one of the demons and sends it flying across the parking lot. Angel comes flying over a car and takes on both demons at once. Connor watches as Angel has a brief fight with the demons. Angel snaps the neck of one of the demons and breaks the back of the other. Angel tries to do some damage control with Connor, but before Angel can say to much of anything Connor tells Angel that what Angel did was “cool.” Connor and Colleen support Laurence who has a serious head wound as they walk across the parking lot. Angel tells the Rileys that they can bring Laurence to the Wolfram & Hart doctors.

Later, at Wolfram & Hart, Angel reassures Connor that his dad, Laurence, will be fine. Connor asks what attacked his family and Angel tells Connor it was some sort of demon and that people are looking into it. Connor asks if he is a demon, too. Angel tells Connor that he’s a normal teenage who has some enhancements. Apparently Angel has told Connor some details because Connor asks if Angel’s a vampire. Connor seems very ok with the entire situation and isn’t wigged out at all. Connor asks Angel quite a few questions about being a vampire: Angel’s age, if Angel has any family, whether or not being a vampire is anything like what Anne Rice writes. . . . Angel tells Connor that working at Wolfram & Hart is pretty boring when Spike comes flying through some doors. When Spike stands up he screams at Illyria and stomps back into the training room. Angel asks Connor if Connor would like to meet some of his co-workers and leads Connor into the room. In the training room Illyria has pinned Spike on the ground with one foot on his head. Angel explains that Illyria is some sort of ancient demon and Connor wants to know if Illyria has any special powers. Spike replies that Illyria hits very, very hard, can selectively alter the flow of time, and may be able to talk to plants. Illyria tells Angel that she would like to keep Spike as her pet. Illyria senses that Connor is attracted to her and Connor confesses that he’s always been attracted to older women. Angel tells Spike and Illyria that Connor is part of a case that Angel is working on. Lorne enters the training room and asks Angel to come upstairs because Wes has some information about the demons that attacked the Rileys.

In the conference room Wes shows Angel and Connor pictures of the demons that attacked the Rileys: Kith’harn demons. The Kith’harn are hired muscle of a powerful warlock in the L.A. area named Cyvus Vail. Angel heads towards his elevator intending to visit Vail and find out what’s going on. Wes tries to stop Angel by telling him that they just don’t know enough about Vail and Wes asks Angel to take some back-up with him. Connor volunteers to go but Angel turns both of them down. Angel is going to find out what Vail wants and is going to do it alone. Wes, Lorne and Connor are surprised by Angel’s reaction.

Wes goes to his office apparently thinking about what just happened with Angel. Wes calls someone and asks for everything they can find on Cyvus Vail.

At Vail’s home Cyvus is sitting next to some IV-like tubes which are connected to his neck. Angel makes a rather impressive entrace by throwing a dead Kith’harn demon across the room where it stops near Vail’s feet. Angel just stares at Vail for a few seconds until Vail starts talking. Vail claims that he never intended to hurt Angel’s son but needed Connor to become aware of his extraordinary abilities. Angel asks how Vail knows about Connor. Vail claims that he “built him.”

Meanwhile at Wolfram & Hart Harmony delivers a stack of folders on Vail to Wes as Wes and Lorne both pour through files looking for some clue. As Illyria walks into Wes’s office Harmony tells Wes that she found Illyria lurking about near Human Resources. Lorne discovers that Wolfram & Hart did business with Vail. Lorne tells Wes that Vail specialized in memory reconstruction and temporal shifts. Lorne also discovers a very, very large disbursement from the Wolfram & Hart accounts to Vail. Wes looks at the file and notices that the large payment was made the day Angel, Wes, Fred, Gunn, and Lorne took over at Wolfram & Hart.

At Vail’s home Angel grabs Vail by the throat and Vail starts recounting some of Connor’s memories. Angel tells Vail that the memory never happened and Vail agrees, but Vail also says that Connor believes it happened. Angel realizes that Vail was responsible for building Connor’s memories. Angel asks Vail what he wants and Vail responds that he wants a demon dead, a demon named Sahjhan. Angel reminds Vail that Angel trapped Sahjhan in a raseekian urn [See AtS 2.17, “Forgiving] and that Sahjhan is gone. Vail tells Angel that urns can break or be stolen by enemies and that Vail wants closure - he wants Sahjhan dead. Vail holds out one hand a glowing box materializes. Vail refers to the box as an ‘orlon window,’ a spell that reverses memory change spells. Vail tells Angel that he was the one that gave Connor a happy life and that Vail is willing to take those happy memories away unless Vail gets what he wants. Angel volunteers to kill Sahjhan but Vail reminds Angel that, according to the prophecy, only Connor can kill Sahjhan. Vail wants Angel to turn Connor back into a psychopathic killer.

Later Angel is in his office at Wolfram & Hart and is trying to explain to Connor and Wes what Vail wants without revealing what Vail is holding over Angel’s head. Wes is convinced that Vail cannot be trusted and that they need to understand what the spell that Vail performed on the day they took over at Wolfram & Hart did. Connor wants to know if Sahjhan is strong and Wes reminds Angel that the last time Angel went up against Sahjhan Angel nearly died. Angel tries to convince Connor that he’s special but Wes wants them to buy time to learn more about Vail’s spell. Connor realizes that there isn’t any time to be bought and Connor asks Angel if Vail will leave Connor’s family alone if Connor kills Sahjhan. Angel nods yes. Connor tells Angel he’s ready.

Back in the hell dimension the grey demon is walking toward Gunn with a red-hot poker. Gunn is pleading with the grey demon to stop the torture. Marcus walks down the stairs and the demon stops what he’s doing. Marcus takes off the amulet Gunn is wearing [see also AtS 5.17, “Underneath”] and Gunn’s memories come flooding back. Marcus has a proposition from the Senior Partners for Gunn. After making a comment about the lack of “let’s get Gunn out of hell” plans, Marcus promises to get Gunn out of the dimension for a favor. But before Marcus can tell Gunn what the favor is Gunn asks for the necklace back. Marcus hands the necklace back and Gunn puts it on. As Gunn puts the necklace on and lays back down on the table his memories of his real life recede and he begins screaming again. Marcus leaves the basement.

Angel and Connor are in the training room and Angel is giving Connor some pointers about fighting Sahjhan. Angel tells Connor that Angel will help Connor during the fight and Connor doesn’t think that getting help seems fair. Connor tells Angel that if he’s going to kill Sahjhan it’s going to be Connor’s way. Connor asks about using some of the weapons on the wall and, as he reaches for them, knocks several weapons off the wall. Apparently in this reality Connor is a complete klutz. Connor asks Angel if he has a chance of killing Sahjhan and Angel tells Connor that he does.

Wes is hunting for some documents in a filing room and Illyria is grilling Wes about his obsession for finding information about dates and times. Illyria doesn’t understand why Wes is frustrated by the possibility that memories were altered. Wes tries to explain to Illyria that people are more than the sum of their memories. Wes finds the file he’s looking for and tells Illyria that none of them are the person they thought they were. Wes and Illyria leave the filing room leaving the file open - a contract signed, in blood, by Angel.

Connor and Angel arrive at Vail’s home and Connor immediately gives Vail an ultimatum. Connor will kill Sahjhan and then Vail will leave the Rileys alone. If Vail doesn’t, Connor will kill Vail. Vail agrees to Connor’s conditions and shows Connor where Sahjhan is. Angel tries to give Connor some last minute advice but goes overboard. Connor approaches the table where Sahjhan’s raseekian urn is placed and, when he turns around to ask for advice, Connor finds a wall. Vail explains to Angel that Connor cannot see them anymore because Sahjhan cannot get loose. Connor opens the urn and Sahjhan materializes. After some chit-chat Connor reveals that he is there to kill Sahjhan. Now Sahjhan realizes who the young man in front of him is - the man destined to kill him. On the other side of the mystical wall Angel worries about the lack of fighting going on. Sahjhan throws the urn at Connor and hits Connor’s head, knocking Connor to the ground.

Angel panics and tries to go through the mystical wall but can’t. Vail tells Angel that this is Connor’s fight, not Angel’s. As Connor and Sahjhan begin to fight in earnest Angel demands that Vail open the doorway. Angel turns to find Vail holding the orlon window and Vail knows that Angel has no leverage to make Vail do anything. Angel turns back to the fight and sees Sahjhan kicking Connor’s butt all over the room. After Sahjhan kicks Connor across the room Angel demands that Vail open the doorway again, but finds Vail apparently paralyzed and no longer holding the orlon window. . . . Wes is, and Illyria is with him. Wes confronts Angel about “selling us out” to Wolfram & Hart. Wes wants to know if Fred was the price that Angel paid for whatever favor Angel got from Wolfram & Hart. Angel tells Wes that Connor is his son but Wes is obsessed with the possibility that Angel’s bargain caused Fred’s death. Wes wants to know if the orlon window will undo what Angel had done and Angel tells Wes that it won’t. But Wes doesn’t trust Angel anymore and Wes smashes the orlon window on the floor causing an explosion that throws Angel, Wes, and Illyria to the floor.

The memories, the real memories, from the last year come flooding back to Wes and to Connor. Up to this point Sahjhan has been beating the crap out of Connor and Sahjhan had Connor by the throat. After regaining his memories Connor easily tosses Sahjhan over his head, grabs an axe, and finishes the fight with Sahjhan, decapitating him. After Sahjhan’s death the mystical wall collapses and Angel approaches Connor. Connor is amazed that he was able to kill Sahjhan and claims that, when Sahjhan grabbed Connor’s neck, Sahjhan made Connor cranky. Connor asks Angel if they can leave so that Connor can talk to his parents. Connor tells Angel that he doesn’t think that the ‘fighting thing’ is for him.

At Wolfram & Hart Illyria reminds Wes of the memories that were erased by Vail’s magics - that Wes betrayed Angel, stole Connor and that Angel tried to kill Wes. Illyria wants to know if recovering the memories now makes him Wesley. Wes tells Illyria that he now knows what happened but Illyria tells Wes that it’s hard to tell the difference between the false memories and the real ones. Wes tells Illyria that he tries to push reality out of his mind and focus on the false memories so that he can endure the truth of what he’s done.

Meanwhile Connor walks into Angel’s office and tells Angel that his father is fine but got a little angry when Connor told his dad that Angel took Connor out demon fighting. Angel gears up for a talk with an angry father when Connor tells Angel it was a joke. Angel asks Connor what he’s going to tell his parents about who Connor is. Connor tells Angel that he’ll tell his parents mostly the truth: That he’s different and that it’s a good thing and that they shouldn’t worry too much. Connor also tells Angel that Colleen and Laurence will feel better knowing that Angel is looking out for Connor. Angel reminds Connor that they haven’t found Vail but they’ll keep looking. Connor tells Angel that he’s not worried about Vail - Vail can’t show Connor anything that Connor hasn’t already seen. Angel realizes that Connor does remember his true past, not the one that Vail conjured. Connor tells Angel good bye but Angel doesn’t want him to leave. Connor tells Angel that he has to take care of his parents, and that Connor learned that from his father. Connor turns and walks towards the elevators. While he waits for the elevators Connor gives one last look at Angel then he walks into the elevator and leaves.

Summary by Kirsten.