Last part. Thank you for sharing the journey with me.

Linda regarded her friend thoughtfully. "And then what happened?"

Chloe shrugged, blushing. "I guess it just all got too much for me, and I fainted."

"And how do you feel now?"

"Stupid. Weak. Useless."

Linda let the words sink in for a moment, and was rewarded by a small smile. "I guess it all sounds silly, right? I'm just overreacting."

"Chloe, you've been through a hell of a lot over the past couple of weeks. Pun intended." She was rewarded with a small smile. "If you're uncomfortable talking to me, then I can arrange for a colleague to see you, but I thought in this case…"

"You're the only person who really understands what's going on," Chloe agreed. "Please, I don't want to see anyone else. I just - I need to be able to talk this all through with someone who knows the truth. Who Lucifer really is. Who has already been through all this, understands what it's like to discover… well, that for the past couple of years things haven't been what I thought they were."

Linda regarded her thoughtfully. Chloe had arrived at her office looking pale and shaken. Lucifer had left her there, with strict instructions that the two of them needed to talk, and had promised to pay any bills - not that Linda would charge her friend, but she had a feeling that the regular payments into her bank account would increase in size anyway. While her relationship with Lucifer was hard to define these days, crossing the line into friendship far too often, he still insisted on paying her for her time. And it didn't look like it caused him any hardship, after all. It was reassuring to know that even if Lucifer or Maze scared off half her clients and upset others by interrupting sessions, she could still pay her bills. "You know you can come to me whenever you want. But I really don't know all the answers, Chloe. I would ask Amenadiel all sorts of questions - pester him, even - but never really got straight answers."

Chloe took a sip of the water from the glass she cradled in her hands. "Where is Amenadiel, anyway?"

"According to Lucifer, he took Charlotte's soul to heaven."

"Do you think he's coming back?"

"Who knows?" Linda shrugged. "I hope he does, someday. But maybe he's found his place and intends to keep it." She sighed, a wave of emotion washing over her as she thought of Amenadiel and the relationship they had once had. Maybe one day they'd have a chance to become at least friends again. "Now, shall we get back to the subject? You were telling me about how seeing Lucifer with the demon brought back your feelings over Pierce's death…"

Lucifer left Maze and Ella to deal with the body - let them worry how to dispose of a demon corpse without causing alarm - and headed home, dropping Chloe off with Linda on the way. He was glad she'd decided to talk to her friend; she obviously still needed to process the truth about him, and he really didn't feel up to sitting through heart-to-hearts. It was bad enough talking to Linda himself - after all this time he'd gotten used to their sessions, largely because they were talking about himself most of the time, and that was a topic he felt comfortable with. But he wasn't sure he could handle Chloe that well - especially if she started to want more details about his life. That was something he just didn't know how to talk about.

He entered the penthouse and slung his jacket on a chair. For a moment he contemplated the piano, but something about the air in the place made him pause. "Azrael?"

His sister appeared on the balcony, and he nodded in approval. He was quickly adjusting to being able to tell where she was. "Hi Lu."

"Why are you here again?" he asked. "You achieved what you wanted. We dealt with the demon. Now you can get back to your own life."

"Don't be like that," she wheedled, looking up at him with those puppy eyes he remembered so well.

Right now the memory pained him too much, and he turned away, pouring himself a scotch. "Like what?"

"I really miss you. Can't we be friends again?"

"You abandoned me, Azrael. Dad kicked me out and I lost everything. Even you. And now you just want to walk back in as though it never happened?"

Azrael looked down and twisted her right foot on the floor, in that gesture that meant she was feeling bad about something. "I want to make up for lost time," she said. "I didn't think you'd want anything to do with me at first. That's why I stayed away. I didn't join you in the rebellion, and maybe if I had, you'd have succeeded, or at least you wouldn't hate me so much."

Lucifer put his hand under her chin, tilting it up so that she was forced to look at him. "Hate you?" he said softly. "I've never hated you. But I was hurt that you didn't care what happened to me."

"Of course I cared! Lu, you know I cared! But remember how Dad was? Everyone was terrified of him. Is terrified of him, even though he just keeps quiet these days. We're all so scared of provoking him that we tiptoe along, never daring to put a foot wrong. But you, Lucifer, you weren't. You stood up to him. It's hard to go against authority, but you did it. That's why I always admired you so much - and feared you."

"Feared? Why?" he scoffed, taking a sip of his drink. He couldn't imagine Azrael being afraid of anything - except Dad, of course.

"That you'd drag more of us into your schemes. It's so much easier to keep your head down, seek the quiet life."

"I can't live that way." Lucifer gazed into the flames of the fireplace, memories stirring.

"No. Desire was always your thing. While the rest of us learned to suppress our desires, you had to go for yours at all costs. Never mind how those around you suffered."

"That wasn't my…"

"Intention? No, it wasn't. But it happened anyway. Life was hard for you when Dad chucked you out, sure. But he made the Silver City a miserable place for the rest of us, too. We didn't have it easy either."

"In the Silver City? Oh, how hard life must have been."

"It was hard for me, Lu. I didn't have you. Remember the fun we had?"

Lucifer tried to avoid thinking of life in the old days, before the Fall. He had convinced himself that he had been miserable there. And yes, sometimes he had. But Azrael was right, there were good times too. Sometimes a voice from the past could shake you from your picture of what life used to be like, and reveal the truth. Like the brother whose planned reunion with his sister had brought out the suicidal thoughts that Damasos had managed to amplify, he realized, thinking back to the case.

"What is this, a family reunion?"

Lucifer whirled at the sound of wings and that familiar voice. "Talking of voices from the past," he snorted. "Amenadiel. What are you doing here, brother? I thought you were cosy in Heaven these days, not worrying about us down here."

"I came down because I'm concerned, Luci. A demon escaped from Hell."

"Yes, yes, keep up," Lucifer replied impatiently. "You're about five pages behind the story, brother. We've dealt with Damasos."

"Yes, I know you have."

Amenadiel was as pompous as ever, standing there full of his own importance. Lucifer took care to disguise the sense of pleasure he felt at the sight of him. As much as he butted heads with his brother, they had grown closer over the past couple of years, and he had missed him more than he had thought he would. He gave a deep sigh and refilled his glass, not bothering to offer him any. "So what's the problem?"

"My concern is not dealing with him, it's finding out how he escaped in the first place."

Lucifer spread his hands wide, nearly spilling his drink. "He sneaked out behind me. When I went to get Abel from Hell."

Amenadiel shook his head. "How, Luci? You know that's not possible. There's no way a demon could have just sneaked out, whatever you might have been told. I believe that someone let him out."

A cold feeling spread through Lucifer's gut. "Who and why?" He placed the glass very carefully down on the side table and stared at his brother.

"It must be one of our siblings, 're the only ones with the ability to move in and out of Hell at will. As to why - I can only think that one of us wants to stir up trouble."

"Against me?" Lucifer gave a short, mirthless laugh, looking from Amenadiel to Azrael and back again. He knew relationships between him and his siblings weren't good, but would any of them actually want to interfere in his life at this point, after so long?

"Against humanity." Amenadiel sat on the couch, his hands on his knees and regarded Lucifer steadily waiting for him to take in the impact of his words.

Sorry, Amenadiel insisted on getting in on the action at the last minute. Whether that story will be told or not, I'm not sure yet. It strikes me that the more of the characters who know about Lucifer's true identity, the more the stories themselves tend to shift towards that area. So I suspect Ella won't find out for a while yet! It's been fun playing with them, though.

As always, reviews/comments are very welcome, and I'd like to say a big thank you to those who read sections and offered good advice.