Chapter Text
Ella Lopez had not always been a person who practiced her faith. Sure, she had believed as a child, had gone to Mass every Sunday and chapel at school, because that was what you did, if you were a member of her family. She drifted away from the church in high school, right around the time she started stealing cars. It took her abuelita's death to bring her back to the church, and now she had a comfortable relationship with the Big Guy; her faith was the foundation of her life.
That faith had taken a slightly different path recently, thanks to the revelation that her young friend Azrael was in fact an angel, older than humanity and until quite recently the Angel of Death. That this meant that Azrael's brother Lucifer was the Devil was something that Ella had taken in stride, and having the Archangel Michael show up in her living room was just a bonus.
She was pretty much fine with it all. Even when she had distanced herself from the church, some small part of her had still believed. She just, since she'd found out, had been having these jolts, like when you startled awake in the middle of the night and had to check that you were not, in fact, about to fall off the bed. Only she was awake, and the feeling was that realization that it was all real. Knowing that in her heart was one thing; having the proof of it sleeping on her couch was quite another.
"The feeling will pass," Linda had said, when she, Ella, and Chloe had gone out for drinks; the Tribe was sans demon because Maze was off hunting a bail jumper, something that suddenly felt way more appropriate. Ella almost felt sorry for the demon's targets.
"When?" Chloe had asked, her smile disbelieving.
"Still waiting," Linda had admitted.
It had been several days since all that went down, and Ella had been first preparing for and then presenting at a forensic conference. Her panel - Full Yoga Massacre 2016 - had gone over well, but the conference had kept her out of the precinct, and she hadn't seen Lucifer since before the revelation. So it was with a certain sense of anticipation that she went to work on Monday.
Of course, Lucifer was out tracking down a witness with Chloe when Ella arrived. She performed her usual Monday-morning tasks automatically, thinking about the weekend as she did.
Sitting down at Mass on Sunday, Ella was a little uncertain what church would feel like now that she had actual proof that someone was really out there, but it wasn't really that different. She stood and knelt and prayed the same as she'd done every Sunday, and she felt the same certainty, the same warmth. Sure, the knowledge that the small being standing, kneeling, and praying next to her was an actual angel was a little disconcerting, but Azrael, too, prayed with the same intensity as always, stopping to light a candle on her way out, as had become her habit.
That gave Ella a moment's pause, and she almost asked Azrael about it - what would an angel need to bring before God? - but something about the troubled look on girl's face as she prayed changed Ella's mind. Instead, she lit a candle in solidarity, and offered Azrael a smile.
God was, in fact, causing her some angst. Well, not God so much as Lucifer and Azrael's father, who seemed profoundly unlike her God. Before, she hadn't questioned Him; she knew who He was, like she knew what sunlight was. He was. Questioning that didn't even occur to her. She was still turning what she'd learned about Him over in her head; she hadn't come to any conclusions. Ordinarily, this was the sort of question that she would take to Father Joe, or even to her priest back in Detroit, but that was clearly out of the question. Chloe had just expressed her opinion of His dickishness, though Linda was a little more sympathetic. This was definitely going to take some time.
Azrael hadn't glowed during Mass, she hadn't pulled out her wings out, and in general had just seemed like a regular, if somewhat serious and rather devout, tween.
"How do you act so normal?" Ella asked in the fellowship hall after the service had ended.
Azrael shrugged, replying, "What else can I do? Telling them who I am, even if they believed me... it wouldn't go well, not with that many people."
Of course then Mary Grace's kids spotted her - well, small Michael spotted her, and then Sarah saw her brother ensconced in Azrael's lap and whined until Azrael took pity on her mother and cuddled the baby, too. She then spent quite some time settling the argument of who could sit in her lap, as sharing was clearly not an option, nor was Michael's idea of sitting on Azrael's shoulders while his sister sat in her lap. A few more of the smaller members of the congregation clustered around Azrael, and she nodded, listening with amusement to tales of Pokémon Go and preschool drama.
Ella glanced away from the trio and caught sight of Jack watching Azrael with a rather wistful expression. Seeing her eyes on him him, Jack looked embarrassed and then started a loud conversation about baseball with another boy. Ella tried not to smile too obviously, but this, like everything, was colored by her new knowledge. Maybe she would have a word with Jack in private and try to find some gentle way of dissuading him... yeah, that would work, because feelings were always logical.
Finally, Mary Grace took pity on Azrael, scooped up the baby, and herded away Michael, though not before giving Azrael a hug and saying something that made the girl smile and shake her head as she replied.
"What was that about?" Ella queried as Azrael joined her.
Looking amused, Azrael said, "She wants me to babysit one day this week. She said," she added, a glint in her eyes, "that it doesn't matter that I'm only eleven, because I obviously have an old soul."
"If she only knew," Ella murmured, grinning.
"Right?"
Smiling, Ella asked, "So do you have Lucifer's whatsit, mojo, only with little kids?"
Azrael lifted her eyes skyward, though the gesture was amused, rather than exasperated. "Dad forfend. No, I think it was more a case of them wanting to see what Michael's fuss was about. I did have kind of a Pied Piper moment, though."
"Are you going to babysit for Mary Grace?" Ella queried, as the two if them made their farewells and headed out of the church.
With a shrug, Azrael replied, "Probably. The kids are cute, and I'm kind of at loose ends. I just need to figure out how to keep her from paying me." At Ella's curious look, she added, "They need the money more than I do." Looking back at the church, she asked Ella, a hint of concern in her expression, "Was it different? Now that you know?"
Ella slung an arm around Azrael's shoulders. "I always knew, chickie."
Glancing out of her lab, she saw Lucifer pass and pulled off her headphones before darting to the doorway and calling his name.
The Devil drew himself up and turned, his expression polite but his shoulders rather tense. "Yes, Miss Lopez?"
Ella seized Lucifer's arm and pulled him down the hallway and into the break room. Sparing a glance for Maze, who had her boots up on the table as she ate a pudding cup (clearly labeled 'Dan'), the tech stared up at Lucifer. He returned her intense gaze with increasing bemusement. His expression was the same, though neither of them would ever admit it, as the one his brother Michael had worn upon considering Ella.
"Are you quite well?" Lucifer asked, when it was clear that Ella wasn't going to speak. "Looking for horns, perhaps?"
Ella grinned suddenly. "No, Rae told me you don't have them. I asked," she admitted sheepishly. "Dude, I'm fine. I just can't believe..." Shaking her head, she opened her arms and hugged him tightly, somewhat to his dismay.
Maze snorted as Lucifer extracted himself from Ella's embrace. When the tech started toward her, Maze said firmly, "If you try that with me, you lose a kidney."
Changing direction so that she ended up in the chair next to Maze, Ella observed, brightly, "Well, technically you really only need one kidney, but I think I'd rather not risk it."
"Good call," Maze replied.
"Hey, is that Dan's pudding?" Ella asked.
With a shrug, Maze replied, "I'm replacing it."
Lucifer asked dryly, "With what?" and Maze smirked. Turning back to Ella, he asked, "So has your new knowledge inspired any burning questions?"
"Yeah," Ella replied, settling back in her chair. "What's the deal with you and pitchforks? They're everywhere - I mean, people hear 'the Devil' and they think pitchforks, but that doesn't seem very... you."
"Thank you," Lucifer said, aggrieved. "Pitchforks are a complete misrepresentation of the Lucifer brand. I have never -" Maze cleared her throat, and Lucifer continued, "All right, one time, but it was strictly for recreational purposes."
Ella looked askance at Maze, and the demon suggested, "Don't ask."
"Okay, then, not asking," Ella replied agreeably. "Rae answered the rest of my questions for now," she added to Lucifer, "but I'm sure more will come to me."
Lucifer finally came to sit at the table, took a breath, and then shook his head. He glanced briefly at Ella, then fidgeted with the contents of the table, rearranging the napkins and making a quiet huff of irritation.
Rolling her eyes, Maze informed Ella, "He wants to know how Tiny Death is doing, but he doesn't want to ask."
"Oh," Ella replied, smiling despite herself. "Tiny Death - that's funny. She's good, I guess. She's taken over the cooking, which I can't say I mind. Oh, and she wanted me to tell you what happened last week. I would have told you earlier, but what with the conference, I didn't see you." Seeing Lucifer's nod, she continued, "It must have been about three in the morning, the night that Rae came to stay with me, and I heard voices in the living room."
"Wait," Maze interrupted, looking far too pleased. "You've got TD sleeping on your couch? Ha."
"She said I wouldn't go to Hell," Ella replied, amused, though not without a look of confirmation to Lucifer.
"Certainly not," Lucifer agreed. "Please continue, Miss Lopez. Voices in the living room..."
Ella nodded and continued, "So I listened a minute, and it was Rae and a guy I didn't recognize, and he sounded a little annoyed. So I grabbed my bat'leth -" Here there was another pause for Ella to explain in detail just what a bat'leth was, and then to text Maze a few links to bat'leth craftspeople. Finally, with Lucifer all but twitching in impatient irritation, Ella continued, "- so I asked what was going on, all -" Here she sprang to her feet and brandished an imaginary bat'leth, somewhat to Lucifer's amusement. Maze, by this point, had stopped paying attention, her attention on tracking down a bat'leth of her own.
"Well? Who was it?" Lucifer queried, as Ella paused.
"Actually," Ella replied, moving back to her seat, "Your brother Michael."
Maze looked up from her phone, brows lifting. Lucifer recapped, tone rich with delighted incredulity, "You threatened my brother Michael, leader of the Angelic Hosts, with a... a fake television weapon? Sorry, replica," he corrected, at Ella's murmur. The tech nodded, and Lucifer looked utterly thrilled. "That is... that's just... I don't suppose you got a photo? I'd love to have that on the Insta."
"Sorry, no," Ella replied, as Maze took her feet off the table; the demon was watching with profound amusement. "I wasn't entirely awake."
"Pity," Lucifer replied, though he still looked more entertained than anything else. He gave Ella a long look, then said, "You appear to be in the proper number of parts, so I assume he wasn't offended."
Looking between the former Lord of Hell and his demon, Ella said, "He was actually... kind of nice."
"Oh, no," Lucifer protested. "Don't tell me you actually liked that tool." Ella looked a little uncomfortable, and Lucifer accused, "You did! Miss Lopez, really. I thought you had better judgment than that."
"But he healed Rae," Ella explained, enthusiasm bubbling up despite herself. "I mean, that cut on her neck just disappeared. It was amazing!"
"Yeah, he can heal minor injuries, but he's still a jerk," Maze observed, getting to her feet and leaving the empty pudding cup on the table, white labeled wrapper waving like a flag of challenge.
"But he seemed really nice," Ella protested. "And, well, he's an angel. That means he's good, right?"
Expression going stiff, Lucifer countered, "So I, as the Devil, must be evil?"
Ella faltered, looking thoughtful and maybe a little troubled. "Well, no. I mean, you're an amazing guy, Lucifer, and Maze... you're just awesome."
Maze looked smugly pleased at that; she caught Lucifer's eye, gestured to herself and mouthed Awesome before slipping out of the room. He huffed in exasperation, shaking his head.
"Sorry," Ella continued, "I guess it makes sense that, if you guys rock - which you totally do - then angels aren't necessarily good. Huh." She frowned thoughtfully, adding, "This has been an interesting couple of days, spiritually."
"Try talking with Linda," Lucifer offered, with a wry smile. "She's good with existential crises."
Nodding, Ella agreed, "We got drinks the other night with Chloe, and tonight we're going to - hey, you should come!"
Shaking his head, Lucifer demurred, "I wouldn't want to intrude on girls' night."
"Dude," Ella chided. "You totally would." Lucifer smirked in acknowledgment, then Ella added, "Besides, it's not that. Trixie has, I guess, been nagging Rae to let her see her fly." She paused a moment, frowning over her pronouns, then added, "You know what I mean. And I want to see, too - I mean, flying. And Rae has some experiment she wants to try with Linda - nothing bad," she clarified, as Lucifer's brows rose sharply.
"I'm sure it's not," Lucifer agreed. "My sister just isn't really the experimental type, I thought."
Ella shrugged agreeably, but continued, "Chloe knows a place where there aren't likely to be any people, so Rae's going to show us tonight. You'll come, right?" When Lucifer hesitated, she encouraged, "I can tell you miss her, and she definitely misses you, too. I mean, she was singing moody songs while she was doing dishes last night, when she thought I wasn't listening, and she's generally been a little mopy."
Lucifer frowned a little. "That's not good. Has she been drinking?" He considered Ella's startled headshake, then advised, "I don't think she's figured out how much she can drink in that body, fair warning."
Nodding again, Ella said, "I'll keep an eye out - but will you come tonight? I think it would help."
Brows lowering, Lucifer mused, "I haven't seen her since she left, just texted. Well... text me the details. I'll think about it." And he would, though he had a more pressing issue to deal with first.
"No problem," Ella agreed, smiling. "Now, I'd better get back to it. I'm in the middle of analyzing this..."
But Lucifer wasn't listening. He nodded a farewell to Ella, then made his way into the men's room and locked the door behind him. He folded his hands and closed his eyes. He did not, it may be noted, bow his head.
It took several exasperating minutes, and a few attempts, but Michael finally appeared with a soft whoosh of air. "Charming," he murmured dryly, looking around the room.
"Wasn't sure you'd answer." Lucifer leaned casually with his back against the sink. "I hear you had an interesting encounter last week," he drawled. "Minor miracle in front of a human. Thought that was against the rules, hm?"
"She already knew about us, thanks to Azrael," Michael retorted. "It's not like a little healing was going to make a difference, and Azrael asked me to help."
"Right," Lucifer replied, his voice heavy with sarcasm. "Because you're always so helpful, Mikey."
Michael brought his palm against the wall, the slapping sound echoing in the tiled room. "Michael," he corrected through clenched teeth. "And I am helpful. Maybe you forgot that I'm the one who convinced our father to return Azrael's wings? Helpful, yes. Just not to you."
"Rude," Lucifer scoffed.
"Devil," Michael replied, with a gesture toward Lucifer.
Lucifer dismissed his brother's words with a wave of his hand, saying, "Your help in that instance was manipulative; don't think I don't know that. And what was the point of your little display for Miss Lopez, hmm? Showing off? Careful, dear brother," he taunted. "Pride is one of mine. You wouldn't want to find yourself stuck here."
"I won't," Michael retorted, though Lucifer, watching intently despite his pose of studied indifference, caught his brother's flash of concern. "Father wouldn't..."
Lucifer idly considered his fingernails, absently running his thumb over the other four nails. "I thought that, once." He turned his gaze to his brother, opening his hand as if to say, Look at me now.
"He wouldn't," Michael repeated, though with less certainly. "Besides," he added, with a hint of desperation, "The human said she was a fan. I had to do something."
"Miss Lopez," Lucifer said, with a slight emphasis on her name, "is a good person, Michael. She's not to be used as a pawn in one of your games - or of Dad's games." Brows lifting, he queried, "Has dear old Dad spoken with you since that incident? No?" He tsked softly. "Not a good sign. Best watch yourself."
Looking a little disconcerted, Michael said, "Azrael asked for my help and I gave it, Lucifer. That's all there was to it." Shaking his head, he added, "I don't have to listen to this."
Michael disappeared in a soft pop of air, and Lucifer smiled. "It always was easy to ruffle your feathers," he murmured, with a smug smile aimed skyward. Still, he felt reasonably sure that Ella wasn't being targeted; Michael had seemed too flustered for his words to be false. Whistling, Lucifer unlocked the door and set off in search of his detective.
Approaching her lab, Ella saw the dark-haired man in her space. He wasn't very tall, though he was taller than Ella. (Realistically, it didn't take much to be taller than Ella.) Moving to her doorway but not stepping through, Ella informed him, "You're not supposed to be here."
The man turned. He smiled warmly, and Ella reflexively returned the smile. "Hi, Ella," he said. "I'm Josh. Rae's brother - well, and Lucifer's. And I hear you met Michael, too."
"I... yes." Ella stepped into her lab and closed the door, eyes wide as she considered Josh.
Leaning against the lab bench, Josh said, "I wanted to come by and thank you for taking in Rae. She's been having a tough time and I'm sure it's really helping her to be with a friend, instead of alone in a hotel."
"You're welcome," Ella managed. She grinned then, adding, "And thanks right back at you for, you know, dying for humanity's sins." She paused a moment, then added, "You don't need to thank me, though. I like it that Rae is staying with me. She's great company."
"No need to thank me, either," Josh replied agreeably. With a smile, he added, "She is good company, isn't she? We spent Christmas together and really had a good day."
Suddenly curious, Ella asked, "So do you guys... hang out? Do Jesus and the Angel of Death sing karaoke together, that sort of thing? What did you do on Christmas?"
Josh laughed, clearly entertained by the mental image, and shook his head. "No karaoke, though maybe someday. As for Christmas, we just relaxed. It's not really that big a day for me. We do try to spend time together, but, honestly, she worked most of the time before she came here."
With a glance at the case files on her lab bench, Ella nodded, sobering. "Lots of people die."
"Lots of people die," Josh echoed softly. "I'm glad she's getting this break, though. The job's a tough one, and she was getting a little... tightly wound."
Ella nodded, though she regarded Josh thoughtfully. "But I thought she was here to do something for... for your dad."
"She is," Josh agreed easily. "But that's not really going to take effort on her part. She'll do it naturally."
Ella hesitated, then offered, "Well, yeah, but she seems kind of worried about it."
Shaking his head, Josh replied reassuringly, "She shouldn't be. Rae can be a little high-strung sometimes, but all this will work out in the end."
"For who?" Ella asked quietly. Seeing Josh's puzzled expression, she clarified, "Work out well for who?"
Josh nodded, with a soft ah of understanding. I can't really go into the details," he admitted. "But Rae should have faith. It'll be okay."
Ella was hardly one to question the need for faith, especially when speaking to this of all beings. Still, a small part of her, remembering Azrael's troubled expression as she prayed, wanted to do just that. "I'll tell her that," she said slowly.
"Thanks," Josh replied, and Ella warmed at his smile despite herself. "Maybe it'll help coming from you." Suddenly the picture of an amused younger brother, Josh proclaimed, "Going up against Michael with the bat'leth, that was great. He really wants one, now."
"I can hook him up," Ella replied, though she had siblings enough to recognize a diversionary tactic when she saw one. Remembering Maze's similar request, she had a sudden mental image of the demon and the archangel squaring off with their bat'leths, and wasn't sure whether to be amused or concerned. Still, she added, "I've got some links I can text him."
Shaking his head, Josh said, "Michael doesn't have a phone, but you can send them to me and I'll take care of it. Belated Christmas gift, that sort of thing. Let me see your phone?"
Ella handed over her phone, and Josh put a number into her contacts and returned the phone. "Thanks," she said. "So now I have a direct line to, well, you?"
With a smile, Josh explained, "It only works when I'm on this plane. We have a different network in the Silver City." Ella looked hard at him, trying to find some hint that he was kidding, but Josh seemed quite sincere, adding, "It simplified Rae's life a lot when we went digital. Ask her sometime about the SIN - the soul identification number. I'm pretty sure she came up with that acronym after she'd been visiting Lucifer."
"You're kidding," Ella said, laughing. She glanced down at her phone to pass on the links about bat'leths, and saw that Josh had put his contact info under the name 'Josh' and that he'd added an angel emoji - like she'd forget! Out of nowhere, she had another of those jolts: the reality of who she was talking to and what they were discussing struck her, and she leaned hard on the lab bench.
Josh, brows lowering in concern, scooted a stool closer to her, and Ella eased to a seat, with a murmur of thanks. "I'm sorry," Josh said, his expression regretful. "Was that too much knowledge? My family, we've put a lot on you."
"I'm glad, though," Ella replied. Seeing his puzzlement, she added, "Lucifer and Rae and Maze are my friends. Now that I know the whole story, I can be there for them. I mean, that's what friends do, right?"
"Right." Josh gently squeezed her shoulder, smiling, and Ella suddenly felt suffused with warmth and well-being. Seeing some of that reflected in her expression, Josh removed his hand, abashed. "Sorry. I don't usually..."
Josh drew himself upright, a gesture that tickled the back of Ella's mind. It took her a moment to realize that Lucifer had made that exact gesture when she'd first seen him that day. She decided to keep that to herself. "It's fine," she said, still not entirely sure what had happened.
Josh smiled, though not without a rueful shake of his head. "I'd better let you get back to work." Ella nodded, and Josh, after lifting his hand in farewell, stepped out of the lab.
Ella watched him leave, then exhaled a long, quiet breath. "Wow," she murmured. She stepped to look out the door; he had disappeared. "So saying the Nicene Creed might feel a little different, now." She moved back to her microscope, then, and pulled on her headphones. Existential crisis or no, there was still work to do.