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Ella was in her lab, eyes riveted to her microscope. She tried to focus on the piece of evidence she was looking at but she felt so bad at the moment that she could hardly concentrate on anything. She should take some vacation as everyone kept telling her, but she knew that being alone in her apartment with only her chicken Margaret for company would be worse. She could call back Carol of course, but the guy seemed way too nice for her.
As if everything with Pete hadn’t been hard enough, Dan’s death had thrown away the little amount of light she was trying to hang onto. “The darker the darkness, the brighter the light,” Lucifer’s dad had told her. Right now, the darkness was deep black.
“Big Guy,” she prayed, “please help me get through this day.”
She kept occupied herself for a while, trying to forget the clouds in her heart, when a powerful emotion overwhelmed her all of a sudden. Joy. She stopped and frowned, wondering how this burst of joy could have popped out of nowhere. Did God answer her prayer? The only moments she felt somehow joyful were when she found a clue in an impossible case or was talking with Him.
She went back to look in her microscope, wondering if she had found any clue that her mind just didn’t register yet, but before her eyes could reach the ocular lenses, the door of her lab opened and she turned around to see Lucifer and Chloe entering.
“Lucifer! Chloe!” she cried out excitedly, leaving her microscope to hug them. Lucifer hugged her back truly, something he almost never did. “What are you doing here? Did you reconsider your resignation, Chloe?” Ella asked in a hopeful voice.
“No, sorry,” Chloe answered. “We are kind of… busy these days,” she added, glancing towards Lucifer.
“What are you doing here then?”
“We came to see you, Miss Lopez,” Lucifer answered. “Make sure you are okay after, well, all the recents events.”
“Won’t say it’s easy. I mean, man, the place feels empty big time, but at least I have a lot of work to keep me busy.”
Lucifer nodded and put a hand on Ella’s shoulder. “You’re stronger than you think, Miss Lopez,” he said softly. “Never forget that.”
“Thank you. I– I mean, it’s nice of you to say that, but I’m not sure if–”
“Stop doubting yourself.”
Ella shook herself. Since when did Lucifer comfort her this way? “I will try,” she said with a smile. Moments later, she burst out laughing.
“What?” Lucifer and Chloe said at the same time.
“I finally caught you out of character! It’s not very Devil-like to comfort people like that!” she said with a knowing smile.
“Well, about that,” Lucifer started slowly, “I may have had a... promotion.”
“Right! Of course you can’t stop the method acting for a minute.”
“I already told you that I am not a method actor,” Lucifer huffed.
“Sure. I totally believe you. So a promotion. What would be a promotion for the Devil... mmm, the Big Guy himself?” she said with a wink.
“Precisely,” Lucifer answered.
“So am I supposed to call you God now? Or Elohim maybe or Yahweh? Which one do you prefer?”
“You can keep calling me Lucifer. I won’t change that,” Lucifer said, shrugging.
“So, Lucifer as God,” Ella said, smiling. “Sorry to tell you that buddy, but I’m not sure you suit that role.”
“Well, I’m still trying to adjust, but I figure I will get it with time.”
Ella laughed again. “It’s so good to have you here. I miss you guys.” She softly punched Lucifer in the arm while looking at Chloe.
“I know Ella,” Chloe answered. “We miss you too.”
They talked for some time, Ella back to her usual bubbly self, until an officer entered the lab saying that he got new evidence he’d like Ella to look at.
“Sorry guys, work’s calling,” Ella said joyfully. “Thanks for coming by.”
“It’s been a pleasure,” both Lucifer and Chloe answered.
^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
“You were right,” Chloe told Lucifer on their way back to the penthouse. “It was a good idea to go see her.”
“I’m glad I didn’t turn off her prayers like I did for all others.”
“She prayed to you? That’s why you suddenly said that we should go see her?”
Lucifer nodded without answering. They drove in silence for a while before something Lucifer said came back to Chloe’s mind.
“You can turn off prayers?” she asked.
“Thank the Me! You have no idea how overwhelming it is to have constant voices in your head begging you for help. I don’t know how my Father could bear that for millenia.”
“I figure that if you’re able to turn them off, He was able to do the same.”
“Perhaps,” Lucifer said thoughtfully.
^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
A few days later, Lucifer and Chloe were eating lunch when Chloe’s phone rang. She picked up while Lucifer mouthed, “Tell her yes.” Chloe frowned but directed her attention to the phone call.
“Hey Chloe, I’m sorry to disturb you but I could really use your help!” she heard Ella say. “We are understaffed right now and I–”
“As soon as we finish eating we will come,” Chloe cut her off, knowing that Ella would talk forever otherwise. She hung up and turned back her attention towards Lucifer. “How did you know…” she trailed off before adding, “All the omnis, right?”
Lucifer nodded. “Sorry,” he said apologetically.
“You’re not the only one who needs to adjust to all that, you know,” Chloe said with a little laugh.
“If I knew what all this God job implied, I’m not sure I would have signed in for it,” Lucifer sighed.
“You know what? I think it was your Father’s plan from the beginning and I know that you will do a great job. One step at a time okay? Now, let’s just prepare to go to the precinct.”
Lucifer smiled. “What would I do without you, Chloe?”
Chloe smiled in turn and stroked his cheek. “Why do you think I quit the LAPD?” she said maliciously.
Lucifer laughed, something he didn’t do often recently. How could he ever doubt his love for her?
^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
Joy filled Ella the moment she saw them. Gosh, she missed them at the precinct. She didn’t remember that working with them was so great. It was, of course, but every time they were around, she felt her heart fill with an indescriptible joy making these rare moments even more precious.
Chloe and Lucifer worked all day with Ella, Lucifer putting aside his ‘omnis’ powers for the occasion. Ella was obviously in denial in front of who he was – how else to explain that someone so smart, who had seen so much proof, still thought that he was a method actor – and besides, what fun would it be to know all the answers right away?
Lucifer thought back at what Dan had told him once. That solving a crime was like a giant puzzle and the excitement he felt about finding the right piece. At that time, Lucifer thought of it as boring and sad, but he understood better what it meant now. Sorrow suddenly overwhelmed him at the thought of Dan, who was still in Hell. He had visited him twice in the last week, trying to help him to lessen his guilt as he inadvertently did for Mr. Said Out Bitch, but Dan wasn’t out of the woods yet.
^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
The following Monday, Lucifer felt as though his heart was crushed when he heard Ella’s prayer. He could feel her suffering deep down in his chest and wondered for the hundredth time how his Father could have supported that for millenia. Yes, he could have shut down her prayers, but he didn’t want that. Anyway, just being close to someone who suffered was enough for him to be overwhelmed. This God job was way harder than what he thought it would be.
“I’m sorry,” he told Chloe. “I must go see Miss Lopez right now. She is really not well at the moment.”
“Don’t be sorry,” Chloe answered, putting a hand on his chest in a reassuring gesture. “I’m just glad you are able to help her.”
Stepping back, he unfurled his wings and disappeared.
^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
Lucifer appeared in the lab, right behind Ella. She was obviously crying, sitting on a stool, her head against her folded arms resting on the large table in the middle of the lab. Why did no one in the precinct notice her distress and come to comfort her?
He stretched his arm out intending to put one hand on her shoulder but before he could reach her, she lifted her head and tilted it on the side, as if she had sensed his presence.
“Miss Lopez,” Lucifer started slowly, almost a whisper to not frighten her.
She turned around and hugged him tightly, her head against his chest. “Oh! Lucifer!” she breathed out. “I’m so glad to see you!”
Lucifer wrapped his arms around her in a protective gesture and they remained like that for some time. Ella’s sobs eventually faded out and she parted the hug to look at Lucifer.
“Why are you here?” Looking around, she added before Lucifer could answer, “Where’s Chloe?”
“I’m here for you Miss Lopez and it was faster to come alone.”
Ella stared at him for a moment, eyes wide. “How did you know?” she whispered.
Lucifer gave her a tight smile, unsure if she was ready for the plain truth.
“Did you know a new detective was taking Dan’s desk today?” Ella asked, trying to find a reason for his presence.
“No,” Lucifer answered honestly. If he did understand what this was all about after receiving Ella’s prayer, he was not aware of that before she prayed to him.
“Why are you here?” she repeated. “Not that I’m not happy to see you,” she added hastily, “I feel way better since you arrived, but, I mean… you have no reason to be here.”
“I thought you could use a friend.”
“Sure! Of course, I do! But… but… you arrived seconds after I prayed! I didn’t even hear you enter! How?”
Lucifer didn’t answer, his soft brown eyes pleading her to understand. To let what lay bare in front of her be revealed. The silence stretched.
“How did you know?” she insisted.
“I just did,” Lucifer answered with a warm smile. “It’s my job now, to know.”
“Yeah… the new role…” Ella began slowly.
Lucifer sighed. “How many times will I have to tell you that I am not–”
“–a method actor,” she cut him. “But how can I believe that you’re the former Devil,” she put Devil in air quotes, “and God now? I mean, it’s not that I don’t believe, but…”
“But you don’t believe me,” Lucifer finished.
“It’s not that! I know you never lie, but even if I did believe you, how could the Devil become God all of a sudden?”
“Well, you would need to ask Him, but He’s gone to Mum’s universe now so it’s impossible I’m afraid.”
“Your mom’s universe?”
“Well, yes. You see, for some time, my Mum had inhabited Charlotte Richard's body and…” Lucifer explained how his mom got her own universe and that his dad – God – had followed her a few weeks earlier. He knew Ella wouldn’t believe him but he tried nevertheless.
“When exactly did your dad leave?” she asked, frowning.
“After the case at the aquarium. Why?”
Ella didn’t answer, deeply lost in thoughts. When I felt He was not there anymore, she remembered. “No way!” she exclaimed suddenly.
Lucifer remained silent, even if he knew the moment of clarity she just had. It was important, for both of them, that she be the one to say it out loud.
“I just wanna thank you for all the support. It hasn’t gone unnoticed,” Lucifer’s dad has said.
“Your Dad… it… it was really Him? The Big Guy?”
“Yes, Miss Lopez. You met the Big Guy. But He’s retired now as I told you…”
Ella felt silent for a few moments, the realization that she had met God sinking in. Soon though, another awareness popped out.
“A promotion, huh?” she said, tilting her head on the side.
Lucifer nodded and smiled, still not speaking.
“So... you heard me?” she asked.
“As clear as I hear you now.”
“But how? I mean, how can the Devil suddenly become God? You were really the Devil?”
“Yes I was, still am somehow, but I also got the Big Job after my Father retired.”
“But I mean, I never figured someone else could become God!”
“Me neither Miss Lopez, but as you know, my Father works in mysterious ways.”
“But what does it mean for religions and everything? The Devil and God that now are one and single being?”
Lucifer smiled. “I still hadn’t figured that out yet.”
Ella nodded. “I understand now why I feel so well when you’re beside me. Joyful even.” She shook her head, still a little in disbelief. “Oh my God! I mean, You!”