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| Episode 4, Season 2 Title: "Untouched" Written by: Mere Smith Directed by: Joss Whedon Original Air Date: 17 October 2000 Teaser~
Back at the hotel, Angel wakes up and heads downstairs, still groggy. Wesley and Cordelia are arguing over whether they should pay Gunn for his help. Wes doesn't want to offer, claiming Gunn's too proud, but Cordy says the man does work and he should get paid. Cordelia tells Angel to ask Gunn, and he says that he’ll think about it. Cordy gets forceful, and uncharacteristically, Angel threatens to fire her. He can't, she replies, sticking out her tongue –she's "Vision Girl." You can't fire the vision girl!!! Angel holds back a smile and assures Cordy he will ask Gunn. He then asks for coffee, but it's ten o'clock at night. He looks disoriented, and for the first time admits that he's been sleeping weird. Wes points out, "You sleep more. You're less rested. Are you dreaming?" Just then, Cordy has a vision of a girl in trouble in an alley on Hollywood and Wilcox. Angel runs out the door, but Cordy says he's going to be too late. A girl runs into an alley, followed by two men. She falls and one guy takes out a knife. The girl is sobbing as a dumpster slams into the two men, crushing them against the wall. Act I
The trail of blood leads Angel into a nearby building, where the girl is sitting on some old boxes, scared. She warns him to stay away from her because she is very upset. Angel figures it was the girl in the alley, but she denies being there. He walks closer and suddenly he’s stabbed in the upper torso by a metal rebar. She walks off but stops when Angel calls her again. He stands up and takes the rebar out-- she's stunned. He introduces himself, trying to calm her down. He points out, "I'm different from most people, like you are." It seems to work. Angel asks about the men in the alley, but she explains that the men followed her from a club. She's from out of town but she’s staying with a friend in L.A. Angel gives her his card, very carefully, and reassures her that he won’t hurt her, and she can’t hurt him. The girl takes the card and quickly runs off. After she’s gone, Angel collapses, and mumbles: "Okay, maybe she can hurt me a little." Bethany walks up to an apartment door, but before she can unlock it, Lilah opens it, saying she was worried. Bethany sits on the couch, while her roommate is folding clothes. Lilah asks about the club but Bethany doesn't mention anything about the men. Apparently, Lilah is letting her stay at her place. They met when Lilah gave a talk at Bethany's school and offered to help the girl. Lilah assures Bethany that she’s special; there is a power about her. Lilah stays in the living room folding clothes after Bethany goes to bed. In the lobby of the Hyperion, Cordy and Wes are patching up Angel. Wes advices to approach the girl carefully and Cordy grills her boss for info about Bethany. Angel has deduced that the girl is probably from the Northeast. Wes suggests that she may be a demon, but Angel assures him that she's just a girl who’s lost, then asks about the possibility of telekinesis. Wes is a bit uncomfortable discussing the topic -- he's better with demons. Gunn walks in with a homemade axe. Angel disappoints him, explaining he was hoping Gunn would do some legwork. Angel wants him to find out where the "smooshed" men live. Gunn mentions workman's comp as a joke as he walks out and Cordy points out that the man needs to get paid. Angel assures her he'll bring it up with Gunn, then leaves to sleep; he's tired after only three hours of work. Angel goes to bed but seems disturbed. Lilah's apartment. Bethany is in bed sleeping, while Lilah steps in to spy on her project. Bethany is dreaming about her father. She's a child in an attic and her father whispers, "Shhh.. . .rabbit. Let's go downstairs — just you and me." He grasps her hand and leads her down as items begin to shake in the attic. Next to Bethany, the lamp is shaking. She suddenly wakes up and the lamp flies at Lilah, hitting her in the face. Bethany runs out of the apartment, wearing only her nightgown, a jacket and slippers afraid she hurt her best friend. Lilah tries to keep the girl from leaving, but she's on the floor, in too much pain to do anything at all. Meanwhile, Angel is having another dream. He and Darla are in front of a fire, making love. Both are dressed in 18th-centry clothes, and Angel is kissing her passionately. They both morph into vamp face, and he tastes her neck. Darla is in Angel's bed and she's guiding his dream with her words, recalling the night she brought him the gypsy girl. He wakes up from his dream as Darla, in the dream, takes a taste of his blood. Act II
Wolfram & Hart. Holland Manners is grilling Lilah for losing Bethany. The gifted girl was to be recruited for Wolfram & Hart. Lilah is feeling the pressure when she gets a call on her cell phone -- it's Bethany. Lilah smiles, relieved, but when she asks, "Where are you?" the look on her face says it all. Angel Investigations. Bethany walks into the foyer, where Angel is alone. She changed into some of Cordy's clothes. Angel compliments her, but she only stares at him in response. Angel asks about her friend, but she doesn't know how to explain it all. Angel brings up the issue of her power; she seems uncomfortable. Across the lobby, Cordy is watching at Angel and Bethany talk. She explains to Wes the feeling she had about Bethany, a vibe, to be exact. She didn't like it all. Wes, still researching telekinesis, doesn't pay particular attention to her comment. Bethany is explaining what it's like to have her power. Angel sits next to her on a bench. She says she doesn't know how to control it and calls it a disease. Angel is trying to help her but he's too close and she's getting uncomfortable and nervous. Bethany begins to make strange comments about children's games, but Wes steps into the foyer and points out that they shouldn't be wasting their time on someone who doesn't want their help. Wes seems to have an agenda in mind. He faces her and says, "Maybe we should send you home… to your father." She freaks out and Wes is thrown against the wall. Angel approaches, but he’s sent flying through the air into direct sunlight. Angel quickly scrambles into the shade. Bethany looks around at the scene. Act III
Angel goes up to where Bethany is sitting alone in a room in the upper part of the hotel. The room is old and depilated. Angel opens up to Bethany in the hopes of making her feel better. She says she feels a bit guilty for all she did. She wishes she could understand people like Angel. Angel is back in his bed and the dream of Darla and him making love continues. They pause for a moment to look at the tied and gagged gypsy girl in the living room. Bethany walks into Angel's room. He's tossing and wets his lips before seeing Bethany. He calls her Darla but quickly recognizes her. She explains that she heard a voice in his room and thought perhaps he was awake. He claims he was having a nightmare. Angel asks her if she wants to talk about something, but Bethany says, "I can make you happy." She begins to caress his leg through the covers. Angel looks uncomfortable as he sees her turn into Darla for a nanosecond. Angel stops her hand, and Bethany screams. The bed shakes and Angel is surprised. Bethany finally opens up and she's about to leave when she asks, "Who's Darla?" Angel dismisses her question and wishes her good night. Darla comes out from the kitchen as Bethany walks out. Wolfram & Hart. Lilah is having another talk with Holland. He says Bethany needs to leave the Angel Investigations, Inc. head quarters soon. She is keeping Angel from sleeping, which means that Lyndsey's plan is getting botched. Lilah gets the message loud and clear. In the lobby of Angel Investigations, Angel is helping Bethany control her power by using one of Cordy's scarves for practice. She is successful in letting the scarf fall softly around Angel's shoulders. Cordy gets a call from Gunn and gives Angel a message to meet him at a certain address. In the meanwhile, Cordy will take Bethany out to the shops. Act IV
Cordy and Bethany are walking through a carnival, drinking lattes. Cordy cuts to the chase: "Don't bone my boss." Bethany acts innocent and denies any of her emotions. Cordy explains that she fears for herself and her friends. She says she understands how Bethany felt, because she saw her in a vision. Bethany finally accepts Cordy as a friend and assures her she won't "bone" Angel. They begin to continue walking when a man walks by and injects something into Bethany’s neck. She begins to get sleepy and two other men try to kidnap her. Cordy acts quickly by throwing the hot lattes into the men's faces. She then catches Bethany, but a van comes by and two men jump out and grab the girl. The van is driving off when Angel and Wes pull up and follow the van. Angel jumps on the hood of his car, while Wes drives close behind the van. The vampire jumps on the van and opens the back doors. They succeed in stopping the kidnapping. Wolfram & Hart. Lilah gets the bad news on her cell and spits out: "He wants to play with little Ms. Time bomb, I say we let him. Pull the trigger." Angel Investigations Bethany storms into an upper room in the hotel, very upset. Angel has revealed Lilah's true role. She refuses to believe it, and her power begins to emerge as she argues with Angel. The door slams shut. He manages to calm her down. Bethany controls her power and stops it. She opens the door to leave, and sees her father standing in front of her. Bethany's power is triggered, but this time, all of the windows of the floor explode. Her father walks in, trying to convince her to come back home with him. The plaster is falling and the walls are rattling. Cordy's arm gets stabbed with a nail and Angel is thrown against the wall. Angel gets up and calls out Bethany’s name, urging her to control her powers. She hangs her father in mid-air, choking him. He flies out the window, but she stops his fall a few feet before the cement sidewalk and then lets him safely fall to the ground. Bethany's battle is over.
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Wolfram & Hart. Lilah tiptoes into Lindsey's office and begins to ruffle through the papers on his desk. Darla comes out of the shadows and startles her. When she makes fun of Lilah’s spying ways, the lawyer points out that everyone at the firm plays the same game to keep on top. Darla opens her hand to reveal a purple powder, which Lilah recognizes as Calynthia powder. She wonders if this is how Darla keeps Angel sleeping. Darla explains that dreams reveal the most intimate secrets of a person, including those of Angel.
Angel arrives at the crime scene, but the police and an ambulance are there as well. He pretends to be the detective on call and pumps an officer for information. The officer says the men were pinned to the wall. Both are dead. The officer points out blood splashed on the ground a few feet away from the dumpster. Angel knows the blood doesn’t belong to the men, so he asks about a scared girl. The officer doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Angel walks off, following the trail of blood shortly before the real detective walks up to meet the surprised officer.
Angel Investigations. Angel walks downstairs, sleepy eyed in the middle of the day. Cordy gives him an update on the girl — they’ve got no info at all. Wes is doing research on telekinesis. He says it typically occurs during extreme moments of stress. Surprising all present, a tear-stained Bethany walks through the door and introduces herself: Bethany Chaulk. Angel and Wes assure her she’s safe, and they introduce themselves. She walks down the stairs and nearly falls, but Angel catches her. She seems wierded out at Angel's touch. Cordy eyes Bethany's reaction carefully. To make Bethany feel at home, Angel offers her tea. Immediately, there seems to be bad vibes between the two gifted women. Wes can only mumble sarcastically, "Where to begin..."
Cordy puts a towel with ice on Wesley’s back and gets after him for not listening to his own advice. He points out that now they know the cause of Bethany’s powers. Wes explains that this kind of power comes about after an abusive experience. Cordy mentioned a sexual vibe, and since Bethany made a crack about "family business": Wes put all the clues together. Angel walks in and asks Wes to leave, because Bethany would be unstable if Wes is around. He asks Cordy to leave as well just in case but she refuses.
Gunn and Angel arrive at the address and Angel kicks open the door. Gunn walks in, while Angel stays outside. The apartment's owner, one of the men who attached Bethany, is still on the critical list, so Angel can’t enter the apartment. Gunn informs Angel that the guy was typically hired to do jobs. Angel, who’s still standing in the hallway, finally gets an opportunity to offer Gunn money for his services; Gunn accepts. Angel suddenly falls through the door suddenly -- the would-be-rapist is no longer on the critical list. Angel pushes redial on the phone and a Wolfram & Hart receptionist answers.
At Lilah's apartment, Bethany is packing her suitcase. Lilah tries to change her mind, but Bethany knows who her real friends are now. Lilah explains that she was trying to make the girl stronger is left to only stare as the suitcase closes and flies into Bethany's extended hand. The girl walks out and Lilah trails behind, trying to persuade her assignment to stay. Angel is waiting by the threshold andBethany leaves with him. Lilah shuts the door, but not before wishing Angel, "Sweet dreams."