Chapter Text
Charlie and Lucifer were the only 2 in the hotel at the time, everyone else had something going on and was out for a few hours or a few days. It had been a quiet day for Lucifer, Charlie had told him that she had to do something and was going to be gone for a few hours to do it. not providing much more information than that. Lucifer was left alone, he had a cup of coffee and wandered around the hotel. He cleaned a bit and made himself food. Time passed quickly and some of the guests at the hotel came back but settled their ways into their rooms. It was getting late and Lucifer had finished the movie he had been watching in his room and went to bed.
He woke up the next morning with a strange feeling like he had forgotten something but he brushed it off. He usually went out of his room and met Charlie in the kitchen at the same time every morning while she made breakfast for the guests. He got out of bed and slipped his feet into his slippers, yawning, and stretching. He walked out to the kitchen to find breakfast, still half asleep.
“Good morning Charlie”
He said out of habit, not even really noticing until he didn’t get a response. He poked his head out of the fridge and looked around to see that Charlie wasn’t in the kitchen.
“That’s weird… she must still be asleep”
He made himself a cup of coffee and toast for breakfast, and yet Charlie still hadn’t came into the kitchen. Lucifer decided to make her some pancakes and wake her up with some breakfast. If she was tired then she should sleep a little and wake up to pancakes.
He sorted through the kitchen to find all of the ingredients for his pancakes and started cooking them, while also getting out all of the toppings. When the pancakes were done, he put butter, maple syrup, whipped cream, and berries onto the pancakes. He also grabbed a glass of orange juice, breakfast in bed can’t be complete without the orange juice. He arranged the berries into a smiley face. He was giddy to see her reaction.
“Oh! Charlie’s going to love this!”
He grabbed a fork and butter knife, along with the plate and cup and headed up the stairs towards Charlie’s room. He balanced the plate on one hand while holding everything else and knocked on her door.
“Charlie! I made you breakfast.”
He opened the door, turning on the light and giving it a few seconds to shine. A smile on his face awaiting her reaction.
“I made you pancakes. Your favorite. I even- Charlie…?”
He looked around but couldn’t see her anywhere in the room. He walked over to the bed, setting the food down on the bedside table. He grabbed the corner of the blankets and pulled them back.
“Charlie…?”
But she wasn’t in her bed. He searched the room and most of the upstairs for her. She wasn’t anywhere, he grabbed the food and headed downstairs, setting it on the counter before searching downstairs too.
He starts to get worried but brushes it off, thinking she must just be doing something important right now. He goes back to his room. He tries to distract himself but he can’t quite get a few thoughts out of his head. He gives in after a while and texts her.
“Hey Charlie, are you okay? I didn’t see you this morning.”
He tries not to just intently stare at his phone, but he does. He stares at it for almost 10 minutes, waiting for a reply. He doesn’t get one and texts again.
“Char-char. I’m getting a little worried are you okay? Where are you?”
Again he stares intently at the screen, waiting for her to reply. He tried to watch a movie to distract himself but he ends up not paying attention to the movie and picking up his phone every 10 minutes to see if she has replied yet. Lucifer decided that he would call her.
He called her, the phone rang once, then twice, and then was sent to voicemail. He was taken aback, the phone hadn’t went to voicemail because it was ringing for long enough, and it didn’t go to voicemail in a short enough time for it to be due to a loss of signal or a dead phone. Charlie rejected his phone call, she never does that. She always answers and explains or would drop what she was doing to answer. He called again, one, two, voicemail. And again, one, voicemail. The last time, they were expecting it and hung up sooner. None of this was like Charlie, she doesn’t do these things. He called once more, this time they picked up.
“Dad, I’m busy”
“Char-“
The phone hung up before he could get in a word. None of this was like his daughter, she would have at least provided an explanation. He was starting to get really worried, a strange gut feeling. He tried to call again but it went straight to voicemail again. He contemplates and decides to leave it alone for a bit, he doesn’t want to make Charlie mad at him once again. He sent the phone face down, and replays to movie so he can actually watch it this time. In a few minutes he forgets about the situation and laughs to the funny scene in the movie.
He lost track of time, one movie turned into 3. It was now late afternoon and he remembered to check his phone, still no calls or messages, Charlie had left the hotel a little over 24 hours ago. He was getting really worried, he sent one more message, not knowing how he would be able to find her location.
“Charlie, can you please respond. I’m getting worried, you said you would only be gone for a few hours. What’s your location?”
He almost hesitated before sending the message, the phone vibrating once in his hand as the message sent. He watched the little delivered icon, hoping it would soon read as read instead, and that she would soon respond. He looked away for a second cursing himself under his breath, he looked back and almost didn’t believe his eyes. The icon that said delivered now said read. She had opened his message, he sat up, adjusting his blanket and shirt so they didn’t feel uncomfortable. He waited, staring. The dots signifying that she was typing appeared and he focused even more.
All the message said was “I need you here.” And soon followed a location. He paused for a moment, this wasn’t like her at all. None of this was. But that made him all the more worried, his worry out weighed his suspicion. He opened the location, looking at it and then rising up from the couch. He grabbed his coat, as he was rushing to get ready. He still had a small dark spot on his shirt from the ice cream he had been eating. He looked at the location once more and vanished into a cloud of smoke.
He arrived at the location in only a few minutes, a small building on the outskirts of the pride ring. He had a bad gut feeling but he pushed it down, knowing none of this seemed like his daughter and he had to figure out why. He looked at the location once more, sighed and walked in. The building was small and dark, an almost damp scent in the air. The door closed behind him and the bright lights came to life, Lucifer had to shield his eyes from the piercing light, his eyes needing time to adjust. Once adjusted he looked around, a flash of electricity dashing by his face. It made the cool air hot for just a moment.
“Hahaha! Look what the cat dragged in!”
Lucifer couldn’t quite recognize the voice, he was never good at remembering names, voices, or faces. He had been the ruler of hell for thousands of years, that’s a lot of sinners to remember. Lucifer turned, a bright, box of color next to him. The light blinding, a sly blue grin, and red eyes. The man stood straight, towering over Lucifer.
“Uh, who are you?”
The man groaned and circled around Lucifer like he was inspecting him.
“I’m one of the most powerful sinners. How could you not know me?”
“I’m sorry man, but I’ve met thousands of people, you have to remind me.”
Lucifer made large hand gestures, waving his cane around and turning towards the man. Lucifer looked him up and down.
“Woah man, is that a TV on your head?”
The man sighed and groaned.
“I’m Vox. One of the Vees and one of the most powerful sinners in Hell… and yes. It is a TV…”
“Ha! That’s actually kinda cool.”
Vox stood there looking slightly tired and irritated, Lucifer just looked slightly impressed and a little confused.
“Also. Why are you here? My daughter Charlie sent me this location… where is she?”
Lucifer looked around the room seeing if she was there. Vox remembered the goal, he stepped in front on Lucifer and leaned down to get close to eye level.
“Ah yes, little princess of hell. That’s why you are here. I have her in my custody. I’ll give her back, if you give me something…”
Lucifer was dumbfounded, he became angry and worried.
“You WHAT?”
“All I’m asking for is simple…”
“What is it…?”
If he could, Lucifer would kill Vox right there and then. He couldn’t hurt sinners unless a hell born was killed.
“Your daughter is alive, don’t worry too much.”
Vox’s words were laced with venom and a snarky attitude.
“What do you want?”
“All I’m asking for is a quarter of your power. I couldn’t possibly control all of it, nor would you give it to me. But I need to be the most powerful sinner and have some of the power of an angel…”
Lucifer froze, he couldn’t just give a quarter of his power to some random sinner, but he doubted how alive and well his daughter was based on his tone.
“I can’t just give you my power…”
“If you don’t, I have your daughter. I can do anything I want as long as I don’t kill her. She’s been pretty resilient thus far…”
A chill ran down Lucifer’s spine, Charlie is in danger and is probably hurt. Vox wasn’t giving him much of a choice here.
“Times ticking Lucifer, I don’t have all day…”
Lucifer was going to ask how Vox knew his name, he couldn’t think straight. He realized it was a silly question, who doesn’t know the king of hells name. He was panicking, he worried for the safety of his daughter, his stomach aching.
“Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, fiv-“
“Fine! Ok… I’ll take your deal…”
“Good choice.”
Vox held out his hand, a slight blue glow wrapping around his hand. Lucifer hesitated but then extended his hand, a slight gold glow emitting from his hand. They shook, a flash of light danced in the air, blues and gold swirling and swaying like leaves dancing. Lucifer fell to his knees, instantly feeling weaker and exhausted. Vox pulled out Charlie’s phone from his pocket, tossing it in front of Lucifer, a location open. Another building on the other side of the pride ring. He scrambled to pick up the phone and quickly disappeared. Vox stood in that bright room, laughing.
“Charlie!”
Lucifer scrambled to his feet as he arrived at the building, this one looked run down and old. Lucifer didn’t care, he sprinted in, searching the darkness for his daughter.
“Charlie?”
He eventually found her, he froze and took in a quick breath before running over and quickly falling to his knees. Charlie was on the ground, facing the wall, an unmistakable metallic scent in the air. He pulled her close, her head wedged between his neck and shoulder.
“Charlie… oh goodness”
He let out a small sigh of relief, this spot of the building was particularly bright, his vision was still iffy but it was bright enough to see. He looked over his daughter, scared. She was bruised, small scrapes and cuts everywhere, larger wounds on her stomach and back. She was partially conscious, her eyes slightly open, but she couldn’t pay attention much. He grasped her cheeks making her look at him.
“Charlie, it’s okay… you’re safe now.”
A worried expression was etched into his face, he couldn’t get rid of it even if he tried, his stomach churned, and his heart sank to his stomach. Her face was red and covered in bruises, he gently stroking her face with his thumbs. He was worried, tears started to form in his eyes.
“Charlie… I’m so sorry…”
He gently picked her up, her dead resting on his shoulder, he walked out of the building and towards the hotel. He wanted to get her cleaned up a comfortable as soon as possible, he hated seeing what Vox had done. They got back to the hotel, he walked into his own room, it was the closest. She had been coughing, crunchy deep coughing. He laid her down on his couch, standing up after she was placed down. He went to go get warm water and a cloth, he had to clean up her wounds sooner rather than later. He wrung out the cloth a bit and placed it on her face, wiping off the dirt and dried blood from her skin. He went down, wiping off any dirt of blood he saw, wincing at particularly deep and painful wounds. Charlie was still only about half conscious, she couldn’t keep herself up, her weak body leaning into the cushions for support. He was talking to himself and maybe his daughter, he didn’t quite know, it was just babbling and incoherent curses. He reached her arms, one of his hands firm on her back to hold her up as he carefully took her coat off, it was torn and battered. He tossed it off to the side, that was a problem for another time. He loosed at her legs, seeing the wounds and torn pants, not knowing how he would clean them quite yet. Lucifer’s stomach was churning as he cleaned the wounds on her arms, he reached her shirt sleeves, he stared at the color. It was supposed to be a clean white, but not it had a slight dingy hue, and an almost reddish undertone. He was hoping it was just from being washed with her red clothes too many times. He remembered that Charlie had always worn shorts under her pants, her pants had ripped once when she was younger and she didn’t want it to happen again. She never left the house without the shorts. He slid off her pants gently as to not hurt her more than she already was, some of the cuts and bruises looked nasty and deep. Lucifer couldn’t decide if he was going to throw up or sob. He forced himself to take a breath, albeit a very shaky one. As he exhaled he was picking up Charlie’s legs and resting them on the couch so he would be able to clean them better.
“D-dad…?”
Charlie’s voice was weak and shaky, like she was putting immense effort into speaking. Lucifer immediately jumped up and cupped his hand on her cheek and held one of her hands. Tears forming in his eyes.
“Charlie. I’m right here. I’m so sorry… it’s okay, you’re safe now…”
Her eyes focused onto his face, Lucifer smiled. It was half fake and half real, he wanted to calm his daughter and he was so relieved that she was okay enough to talk.
“How bad is the pain my little duckling?”
He used one of the nicknames he used to call her, she would always smile and laugh when he said it. She smiled slightly and let out a small chuckle before she started coughing. Lucifer rolled her onto her side, rubbing her back as her whole body shook with every cough. He winced at the gasps she took and how he felt so helpless.
“It’s okay Charlie… I’ve got you.”
Once the coughing fit was over, he laid her back down. He wiped the reddish mucus she had coughed up, that had clung to her face. His thumb slightly smearing it along her cheek, his face etched in worry.
“It hurts.”
Charlie mumbled just barely loud enough for Lucifer to hear.
“I know sweetheart, I’m sorry. But I really need to clean the wounds.”
He grabbed the towel once more and started wiping her legs, getting all the grime around the wounds. When he was done with her legs, he let out a sigh and looked at the wounds. He went and grabbed some bandages, wrapping it around the larger cuts, securing them nicely. Her arms and legs now covered in the light blue bandages, it was the first one he could find. He picked her up and sat her down facing the back of the couch, he had to the whip looking gashes on her back. They were all lines and had cut through both her used to be white shirt, and her red coat. He wiped and wrapped, cleaned and covered. The wraps were tight enough to stay on, but loose enough so she could still breath and the wouldn’t cause any harm.
“All done now Charlie…”
He put the cloth in the dirty basket and dumped the water down the sink. A brown and red hue to the water, swirling and swirling down the drain. Leaving his sight, the drain getting rid of some of the evidence of Vox’s crimes, and starting the healing process. Clean wounds don’t get infected as easily, he didn’t want to have to worry about infections that could hurt her. The water was gone, the drain letting out its roar, empty and falling. Lucifer turned around and walked back to Charlie. She started coughing again and he did the same thing, turn her on her side, soothing words, rubbing her back, and wiping the red stained mucus from the corners of her mouth this time it was off putting how red it was. He chased that thought out of his mind, he didn’t have time enough for that train of thought. He put one arm under her back, dodging the wrapped wounds, and one under her knees. Lucifer picked up Charlie and brought her to the right side of the bed, placing her down very gently and pulling a blanket up to her chest.
“Thank you dad.”
Her words were quiet, like a shy child. Lucifer put his hand on the top of her head, stroking her hair, and planted a kiss on her forehead. She ever so slightly leaned into his affection, she was tired and in pain, she was enjoying the comfort even if it was for only a moment.
“You’re safe now Charlie. Get some rest, I’ll be right here.”
He walked around the bed getting on it from the other side, scooting up next to her. His arm over her head, hand on her hair. She leaned against him, her body almost melting against him, she couldn’t keep herself up. They sat there, comforting each other for a while, Charlie only had a few coughing fit. Although the red tint getting greater each time, it was really worrying him, but feeling the pressure from her lying against him was helping soothe the worry. It had been a while since they had spent time together like this, it must have been just shortly after Lilith had left. He started humming. It was a song he somehow managed to remember, the tune one that Lilith would sing to Charlie as a small child, it flooded his mind, he couldn’t not hear it in his ear. He didn’t think it was possible, but Charlie leaned in closer, feeling the vibrations through him, and listening to the familiar song. It was slow and sweet, the notes strung together, long, soft, and smooth, like honey drizzled from a spoon. It filled the silent room, a warm swirling noise rising from worry and despair. A few words came back to him, but not very many.
Charlie started coughing again, that husky deep sound escaping her lungs, Lucifer jumped out of bed and helped turn her on her side. She was coughing and coughing and it didn’t look like it was going to stop anytime soon. This fit was much worse than the others, she was having difficulty breathing, the blood in her throat thick and almost choking her. It wasn’t a small amount of blood, this time there was a small puddle of blood on the ground, and the coughing still hadn’t stopped.
“Charlie… I-it’s okay.”
Lucifer tried to soothe her but he didn’t know how to in this situation, he couldn’t do anything but watch and try to keep her on her side. The sounds of blood hitting the floor made his stomach churn. He tried patting on her back to see if it would help, he felt so useless. The fit stopped after a few minutes, Lucifer felt uneasy and Charlie was weaker than before, her eyes closed barely breathing. Her helped get the last bit of blood out of her mouth, and cleaned up the blood on the floor in a haze. His mind raced with thoughts, some he didn’t want to think about, he couldn’t bare the thought of losing her. After he was done, he did the same thing with the water, her watched it circle down the drain, the creature under the sinks deep growl was almost deafening.
Everything was happening so fast, just yesterday she had left to do something, and today she is dying. Beaten, bruised, coughing up blood, barely breathing, no energy, could barely talk. His daughter is dying. The coughing fit proved that. He clung to the hope that she would get better, but a small part of him knew she wouldn’t, and wished she would go sooner so she wouldn’t suffer more. He cursed himself out for that small part, throwing the duck he had on the sink at the wall. He looked at himself in the bathroom mirror.
“What kind of father am I? I wouldn’t be able to handle it… if Lilith ever came back how would I explain it… I’m so sorry Charlie.”
He sank to the ground, hugging his knees. He wasn’t good at this Lilith was… but right now he needed to be. It’s not like he could take her to a doctor, who would open a hospital in hell. He was the best thing she could get right now, but he was failing miserably. His head hung low, the cold cupboard door pressed against his back, he wiped tears from his cheeks. He had to pull himself together, he took a deep breath, sitting up and raising his head as he breathed in, and relaxing his shoulders as he breathed out. He pulled himself up off the bathroom floor, holding the counter top and looking in the mirror.
“You got this. You’re the best she has right now… she’s the one thing you have left. Make her comfortable, that will take some of the suffering away and possibly help healing… right?”
He sighed, his eyes full of emotion yet they looked so dead.
“Who am I to know…”
He turned to walk out the door, wiping his face once more before opening the door. He dimmed the lights a little, to make it peaceful. He held her up as he tucked her in like he used to and fluffed her pillow, and wiping the blood from her face. Her eyes were closed and her face twisted and winced in pain, at least as much as she could, she was low on energy and exhausted from her torture and pain. Walking around and climbing onto the bed, crawling to be next to her. The tune of the lullaby still ringing in his ears, it wasn’t as loud as Charlie’s short and labored breaths. Lucifer almost preferred the lullaby.
After a while he had zoned out, trying to remember the words of the lullaby, he almost had most of it. He felt his hand holding Charlie’s and focused back into reality. He listened for breathing, and after a few moments of not hearing anything he panicked. Sitting up and looking toward his daughter, he didn’t see her chest moving with her breaths. She was still and silent, a frozen expression of pain and a little fear.
“Charlie…!”
He moved his hands to her face, her skin slightly cool, making him flinch and reconcile for a moment.
“No… No!”
He held her up, one arm under her arm and holding up her head, the other checking for any signs of life. Her body limp, and skin cool.
No! No no no no no! Charlie! Charlie…”
He didn’t know what to do, he started shaking her shoulders in an attempt to wake her, although it was pointless. His vision grew blurry as he just froze there, he moved her limp and cold body, holding it close to his chest. His face burrowed in her shoulder, tears rolling down his face.
“I-… I’m so sorry. I didn’t know what to do.”
His nails digging into her shoulder blades, he was currently not thinking about being careful as to not hurt his daughter. She was dead, she couldn’t feel pain anymore. A part of him was a little happy about that, it made his heart burn watching his daughter suffer, she didn’t deserve any of this. She didn’t deserve to be in hell, she was the purest soul he had ever known, she had a dream to redeem sinners so they wouldn’t be killed in the exterminations. She was better than everyone else in all of hell, he felt bad that she had to live in such an awful place, he blamed himself for everything. If he hadn’t have been such a dreamer and disobey heaven, hell would have never been made. He wouldn’t be in this situation, his wife gone for almost 8 years and their only daughter dead in his arms. He kissed her forehead, the words to the lullaby coming to him. All of the words, of course he would only remember after she was dead. He started shaking a little, in anger. The reason he hadn’t realized his daughter was dead was because of that lullaby. All he wanted to do was remember it so he could give some comfort to Charlie. She was the only thing he had left, he was still in shock, not fully grasping the situation.
He thought about it, really thought. His daughter was killed by a sinner, his deal with heaven was broken. He wasn’t chained down anymore, his wings grew back. He could harm sinners now. His mind swirled with a way of hurting that Vox sinner in a way that would make you from this. He sighed, his breath shaking. He cupped his hands over Charlie’s cheeks after laying her down gently.
“I’m so sorry… I failed you. My only daughter, I love you… I’m sorry.”
He kissed her forehead once more as a goodbye.