IITO: Lullaby

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Lullaby

Parts that are in dark purple have pictures and are below the scene.
Wesley/Fred parts of scenes are italicized, and important specific lines or quotes that show the 'love' are bolded.

Angel waits at the door as Wes and Fred check on Darla lying on Lorne's bed, then walk over to him.

Angel: "Is she gonna be okay?"

Wes: "She's tough as nails."

Fred: "And immortal, so that's, you know, in her favor - health wise."

Angel: "What about the baby?"

Wes glances back at Darla, then walks out of the room. Angel follows him.

Darla lifts her head and watches the leave.

Angel: "What? What is it?"

Wes: "Angel, I think you need to prepare yourself for the worst."

Angel: "No."

Wes: "The babies heartbeat is faint. Very faint."

Angel: "What do we do?"

Wes: "I'm not sure there is anything we can do. Darla's body - it's not a life-giving vessel. I don't know that it's equipped to do what it needs to do in order to bring a baby to term."

Angel: "So-so, what-what are you saying? We just let it die?"

Cordy: "Ah, what about a c-section?"

Fred: "Normally that's exactly what we'd do in this instance, but... the mystical forces that's been protecting the pregnancy..."

Thunder rumbles outside.

Angel: "...is gonna end up killing it."

Wes: "That's my fear."

Angel sighs, and rubs his eyes: "This doesn't make any sense. I mean, this whole thing has been a miracle, right? You don't just get half a miracle, do you? - I mean, the powers - they brought her this far, they protected the baby all this time..."

Gunn: "We don't know that. We don't know that it's the powers that's been protecting it. Angel, I'm sorry, but what if what Darla's carrying *is* the thing in the prophecies? That scourge of mankind that's supposed to plunge the world into ultimate darkness? - What if - what if what's happening to Darla *now*, what if that's the powers? Finally stepping up to the plate and doing something for once!"

Angel staring straight ahead: "How? By killing my kid?"

Angel walks towards Lorne's bedroom.

Cordy to Gunn: "Do you always have to be so damned honest?"

Cordy reaches out to slap Gunn on the arm, but her hand is repelled by a by blue force field.

Lorne: "What? Hey! Hey, it-it worked! I fixed it!"

The others continue to look glum.

A back alley lit by Chinese lanterns. Angel breaks through into it from Lorne's bedroom. Wooden shards fly as he enlarges the opening. Cordy steps through it, followed by Wes, Fred, Gunn and Lorne. Then Angel half carries Darla through it.

Darla: "No. No. Go on. I can't. It doesn't matter anyway."

Angel: "I'm not leaving you, alright? Easy. Alright. (Pulls out his keys and tosses them towards the others.) Go get my car. It's out front." (Fred looks at Wes.)

He lowers Darla to the ground and crouches down beside her.

Angel: "I got you."

Cordy makes move to join him.

Angel: "Go!"

All of them turn and hurry off (Lorne is holding to pieces of cardboard over his head to keep some of the rain off himself), but after a few steps Fred stops and runs back to crouch beside Angel and Darla.

Angel: "Fred, go with them."

Fred: "It's okay. They'll come back for us."

Angel takes off his jacket and slings it around Fred's shoulders.

Angel to Darla: "You're gonna be okay."

Darla: "No. No, I don't think so. Once he's gone, I won't be okay. I won't be okay at all. - I don't know what I'll be. - Angel... Our baby is gonna die right here in this alley. - You died in an alley, remember?"

Angel: "I remember."

Darla: "I wanna say I'm sorry. I wanna say it and mean it, but - I can't. - Aren't you gonna tell me it's okay?"

Angel: "No."

Darla: "No? It's really not, is it? We did so many terrible things together. So much destruction, so much - pain. - We can't make up for any of it. You know that, don't you."

Angel after a beat: "Yeah."

Darla: "This child - Angel, it's the one good thing we ever did together."

Angel lifts Darla's hand between both of his and pressed it against his lips.

Darla: "The only good thing."

Angel buries his face in his hands, still holding onto Darla's, takes a sobbing breath.

Darla: "You make sure to tell him that."

Darla is holding one of the splinters of wood and buries it in her chest, gasping. Angel lifts his head and stares as Darla turns to dust.

Where Darla was there is now a naked human infant lying in the rain, crying.

Holtz steps into Lorne's bedroom with flames flickering all around him. Lifts his crossbow and looks around.

Angel carefully gathers up the baby.

Holtz steps through the hole in Lorne's wall into the alley. Lifts the crossbow and aims it at Angel as Angel slowly stands up, cradling the crying infant.

Fred hands Angel's jacket back to him and he wraps it around the infant.

Holtz is watching them over his crossbow.

Angel slowly turns his head and sees Holtz.

For a moment they just look at each other.

A Grapplar appears at the mouth of the alley behind. Angel looks from it to the baby (that has quieted down) to Holtz.

Angel's car pulls up behind two Grapplars at the other end of the alley and Wes gets out. He waits for Angel, Fred, and the baby.

Holtz slowly lowers his crossbow, still looking at Angel cradling the infant against his chest.

After a beat Angel slowly walks past Holtz, Fred clinging to his right arm.

Holtz watches as Angel and Fred pass between the two Grapplars.

Sahjhan: "Do it! Now's your chance. Do it! Finish it while you still can! You can't just let him walk away! Not now! Not after what you swore to me!"

Holtz watches as Fred and Angel get into the car.

Holtz: "I swore that I would show no mercy. (Watches Angel's car drive away) And I won't."