aired on: November 14, 2000

written by: Tim Minear

directed by: Tim Minear

At Lindsey's Wolfram & Hart office, Darla is bleeding. Now that she has a soul, she's started to feel remorse, and in her anger, she's trashed Lindsey's office.

Flashback, Virginia Colony, 1609: Darla is lying in bed, sick. A priest enters the room, and Darla admits to him that she is a whore. The priest asks everyone to leave the room, so he can pray for her soul. But when he pulls back the hood of his robe, it's clear he's not a priest - he's a vampire.

London, 1760: Darla has brought Angelus to that vampire, the Master of The Order Of Aurelius, who lives in an underground lair. But Darla chooses to live with Angelus, with the humans above ground, rather than stay with the Master.

Back at the office, the search for modern-day Darla isn't turning up any leads. Wesley suggests to Angel that perhaps Wolfram & Hart brought Darla back because they knew how much attention he would focus on her, and that she would keep him distracted. If that's the case, he says, it's working.

At the W&H offices, senior partner Holland tells Lindsey that since Darla has made contact, she shouldn't be on the premises. When Lindsey explains the problems Darla's having, Holland says she's ahead of schedule. Then he tells Lindsey not to let Darla leave the building - and to remove any sharp objects from his office, just in case.

London, 1880: Darla and Angelus prowl the streets with Drusilla, the visionary girl they have turned into a vampire. Drusilla feels all alone; she wants to make someone her own. Cordelia's creative snooping has helped find where W&H are keeping Darla. But Darla's not there - she's at Lindsey's office, confused. She asks him whether they brought her back a human or a vampire. Lindsey says both, then neither. Then Darla asks him why he hasn't kissed her; she knows he wants to. He kisses her.

Romania, 1898: Darla confronts the gypsy who cursed Angelus and tries to get him to lift the curse in exchange for sparing his family. But she's too late - Drusilla's new playmate, Spike, has already fed on the family. Darla kills the gypsy.

Back at the office, Wesley and Gunn report that Darla's apartment is a wreck, with all the mirrors smashed. Angel is worried about Darla - and then she calls from Lindsey's office, asking for Angel's help.

Then Lindsey enters the room and tells Darla to put down the phone. She says she has to go to Angel, but Lindsey says things will be okay, and she should stay. Then a security guard arrives. Darla, still on the phone with Angel, who's listening to the conversation, again says she has to go, that Angel is the only one who will understand her. This time when Lindsey says no, Darla hits him with the phone. The next thing Angel hears over the phone line is a gunshot.

The next day, Holland reviews the security tape with Lindsey - Darla shot the security guard, then Lindsey helped her escape. An unhappy Holland tells Lindsey that they picked Darla up two blocks away from the office, but he's now off the project.

China, 1900: Angelus tracks down Darla, and asks her for a second chance, to prove he can be Angelus again. She consents, and they kiss. But later, Darla is upset with Angelus - he said he would go back to who he was, but now he only feeds on evildoers. So she gives him a test, to see if he's true to his word: she presents him with an innocent baby. Angelus can't kill it. He grabs the baby and runs away.

Angel tracks down Lindsey in the W&H parking lot and finds out where they've taken Darla. He gets there just in time to save her from being shot.

The next morning, Lindsey sees the security guard that he thought was dead, and confronts Holland, who explains that they created a fake crisis to get Angel to come. But Lindsey says Angel is noble, and will never engage in physical contact with Darla. Holland, though, doesn't expect physical intimacy. He expects Angel to save Darla's soul.

Back at his office, Angel takes care of Darla. She can't bear the pain, and she wants Angel to turn her back to a vampire. But Angel won't do it. He says feeling that heartbeat is a gift - she's human again. But Darla says that only means pain, suffering and death. She pleads with him, saying she released him from his life, and now it's time to return the favor. But Angel says it was no favor; she damned him.

Angry and upset, Darla runs toward the door. When Angel asks her to wait, she turns, says, "Don't look for me again," and then disappears.