The morning started with omelettes and God's first caramel frappuccino - first unspiked, then spiked. Little conversation flowed between father and son, but their pensive quietness wasn't uncomfortable either.

Lucifer had even started to relax until a rustle of feathers from the balcony reached his ears. His reflexes were so ingrained he didn't even realize how much he tensed, how much his demeanor changed.

God knew humans gave his omnipotence too much credit, but where his Little Star was involved, he certainly felt all seeing in that moment.

Michael folded his wings away after a half glance at his once favorite little brother. He didn't even need his abilities to tell him that patience and calmness was the best way to approach Samael in his current state.

"If you'd like me to return later, say the word," he said, holding Samael's gaze despite how much he wanted to look away in shame. "Gabe said Rae came to see you. Naturally, everyone but Raph and Mennie are waiting for my lead. As if Mennie hasn't spent the most time with you lately."

Lucifer didn't know where to start, uncomfortably swallowing the now-bland final bite of his breakfast.

"Do you want me to step away a moment?" God asked.

Lucifer's response was knee-jerk and panicked. "No!" he snapped. "Absolutely not!"

Michael's hurt was on clear display, but understanding quickly followed.

"I'm not here to hurt you, Sam," he said as gently as he could. "I know I'm probably the last brother you want to see, but I can't ask your forgiveness if I cower from facing my wrongdoings, can I?"

Lucifer chose not to respond, but his heavy breathing and rigid posture spoke for him.

Michael sighed and looked to his father for guidance. God raised a brow, an expression Michael was familiar with.

You made your mess, Michael. You won't learn anything if I tell you how to fix it.

The words echoed through his memory, reminding him of the first time he caused Samael's wings harm. The irony made him nauseous.

Swallowing the tightness in his chest, Michael met his brother's gaze again. "There's someone I want to introduce you to, if you'll let me," he began. "I was never good with apologies, Sam. But I'd always fumble my way into expressing my sincerity anyway, remember? Consider this a somewhat planned fumble."

Lucifer's eyes narrowed before he spared his father a glance.

This time, God hid a smile behind his coffee. "I told you there were details about your brother's life here that he'd want to share with you himself…" he said smoothly. " I also mentioned he's settled somewhere 'vaguely nearby'... And yes, Michael was one of your most likely siblings to be the first to contact you if Cain hadn't crossed your path early."

The hard edges in Lucifer's posture softened slightly. "One of?"

An unsettling itch ran down Michael's spine at the disbelief in his brother's voice. "We've missed you, Sam," he said. "Heaven above, the only reason I flew down was because Jophiel summoned most of us last night to talk. She knows Dad is down here, scolded everyone but Azzie and me for being cowards. I haven't seen her so mad since the day you…" he trailed off. "Well, you know. Anyway. Mennie made the mistake of calling her a hypocrite since she won't leave Heaven until you've been home."

"Heaven above," God muttered. "You'd think Amenadiel would know better than to bait Jophiel."

"Did she smack him, by chance?" Lucifer managed to ask, despite his distrust.

Michael snorted and ran a hand through his hair. "Clawed him, actually. Looks like he pissed off a tiger or something."

"A lioness, more like," God said.

"Ironically enough," Michael agreed, a brief smirk gracing his lips for a moment before he remembered his plan. "I'm not gonna hurt or trick you, little brother. I truly only desire you to meet someone important to me."

Lucifer narrowed his gaze. "Don't tell me you have a girlfriend?"

Michael chuckled. "A wife. You'll meet her too."

Lucifer's brow furrowed. "Too? Then who the hell am I meeting?"

Michael continued to smile, but didn't answer. Their father chuckled to himself.

"You'll be glad you went, if it helps," God offered. "And it won't take long."

With a greatly put upon sigh, Lucifer made his way around the bar to fetch the suit jacket draped atop his piano. "If you insist," he muttered.

Michael couldn't help the way his smile changed from playful to tender. "Thank you, Sam. Are your wings well enough to fly?"

Lucifer scowled. "Naturally."

"If you're certain," Michael said, bringing up both hands in a sign of peace. "Father, if you'd be so kind as to wait ten minutes or so, you're invited as well."

God's surprise was plain to see. "I am?"

Michael gave their father a weighted look that Lucifer couldn't make sense of. "Sam gets first honors. I am trying to prove a point, after all."

"I hadn't realized how much the situation with Samael had fueled your original decision," God said calmly. "That's all."

It was Michael's turn to blink in surprise. "Right," he said. "Sorry. I sort of expected your curiosity to get the better of you."

God shook his head. "I've been tempted, but no, Michael. I've respected your privacy and decision. Aside from what you informed me the day we spoke of it, I know nothing."

Lucifer made an impatient, expectant noise in the back of his throat. "Would someone like to let me know what we're discussing at some point?"

Michael shook his head as if to clear it. "Yeah. Come on."

Lucifer used most of the energy he wasn't using to fly to hide how sore his wings were, and was almost too grateful for the shortness of their trip to be surprised by the duration. They were outside of L.A. proper, but definitely still in southern California.

The neighborhood they landed in was quiet, cozy, but still on the upscale side from what Lucifer could tell at a glance. He wondered what his brother - or this supposed sister-in-law he was apparently meeting - did for a living to maintain their comfortable luxury.

"How long have you been so close by?" Lucifer asked as he followed Michael past the neat and vibrant flowerbeds lining the path to a covered front porch.

"I met my wife properly nearly seven Earth years ago," said Michael. "But I was drawn down here to right an injustice and first laid eyes on her some time before that. She's a nurse. We've lived in this neighborhood for about three years. Legally married for nearly two."

Lucifer nodded and followed his brother into the quiet house, too distracted by his swimming thoughts to really take in the decor.

Michael led him down a hallway in which nearly every door was open, save one. They passed an office, what looked to be an art room, and a door leading to what appeared to be a mudroom (and beyond it, a sunroom or back patio) before Michael stopped at the closed door at the very end of the hall. Lucifer noted the right turn the hall made, and how save for the stairs after the bend, the hallway was a dead end.

Lucifer didn't notice the light he could sense on the other side until Michael paused to listen. His older brother smiled slightly, but said nothing as he quietly entered the room.

The room was mostly white. Accent stitching on the curtains in pastel pink and purple were the first bits of color he saw, then the even paler purple rug on the floor that his brother walked over as he made his way to the right side of the room. It took Lucifer's brain, and ringing ears, a second to catch up with the soothing noises his brother was making.

The room was so clearly Heaven-inspired that it hurt to stand in. But it was also clearly, at least to Lucifer, a mimicry of their old nurseries.

"Michael," he began, voice lower than the shushes his brother was making. "Brother, why am I here?"

When he didn't answer, Lucifer chanced his gaze to the right side of the room and watched his brother bend over the edge of a white crib with pink and purple-painted sigils going down each leg.

"Since when are you shy, Brother?" Michael asked, still keeping his voice quiet for their slowly waking companion. "Come here. You were always good with the little ones."

Lucifer swallowed thickly. Not since Sariel. Not since I fell. And only because Jophie was always there making sure I never messed up.

Michael didn't press when Lucifer moved no closer, but picked up the writhing, quietly fussing little angel struggling to shake off sleep. He could sense his brother's somewhat concealed anxiety and tried to be patient while he got his bearings.

By the time the youngest's eyes were adjusted to the light and her yawning had ceased, Lucifer finally managed to ask, "What's her name?"

Michael smiled. "Well, her mother wanted something normal, but I wanted something specific and Heaven-related as well...thankfully, there was a very fitting compromise."

He stepped closer and shifted the baby from his shoulder to his hip so he could let Lucifer hold her if he wished. He dutifully ignored the tremble in his brother's fingers as he settled his niece against his chest for the first time.

Michael's so very very blue eyes were glittering with happiness and mischief when Lucifer glanced up at him.

"Samael, meet Samantha. Sammy, can you say hi to Uncle Samael?"

Samantha, with all her unrefined seven month old motor skills, tilted her head towards her holder and simply smiled.

Her eyes, and her light, were so very similar to Michael's, Lucifer noticed. And he was so very stunned by how she seemed to recognize his name, how happy she was to see him despite still not quite being fully awake, that he didn't notice his brother sending a quick text. Nor did he notice the quietly approaching footsteps. A soft knock on the doorframe finally caught him by surprise.

He could see some of Samantha's features in the woman at the door, except her coloring was completely different. Samantha had Michael's pale golden locks and clear blue eyes, but the slight curls came from her mother's honey brown hair. Her eye shape was the same. And, he guessed, their mouths would be the same once Samantha was older.

"Evangeline," Michael began, "I'm very happy to finally introduce you to the brother we named our daughter after. He's fashioned a second name for himself over the years, so I'll let him decide which one he'd rather you called him."

Lucifer shrugged, the weight of their gazes, and his niece, suddenly uncomfortable beyond what he could stand.

"Sam is fine," he muttered quickly, adjusting his hold on the other Sam. "Just...why? Why not name her after Jophiel or...anyone else?"

Michael shrugged. "A few reasons? I wanted her to be like you - confident, brave, a fighter, just. I wanted her to have a namesake she could look up to who would absolutely encourage those qualities in her without encouraging her to get herself in the wrong sort of trouble. I missed you. Thought it'd be funny. Been feeling a bit spiteful in Dad's direction for a few centuries over you…" He shrugged again and grinned. "Speaking of Dad, drop in whenever you're ready to finally meet your granddaughter. Sam's looks about ready to pass her off for a spell anyway."

Lucifer's confusion from their earlier conversation came flooding back with new awareness. "Dad hasn't met her yet?"

"Heavens no," said Evangeline, pipping up from the doorway as she moved and eased Samantha out of Lucifer's arms with a wink. "Neither of us felt it fair. The first celestial family member she should rightly meet was you. Michael was fine with Grandpa meeting her after, but I decided I didn't feel okay with that unless he'd mended things with you, that way we didn't have to tip toe around a bunch of tension and drama to let Sammy see her celestial family."

Lucifer could sense his father in the hall and Michael followed his shifted gaze.

"Come on in, Dad."

Lucifer was surprised when his father's attention was immediately on him instead of the baby.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Lucifer could only shrug. He was on autopilot and he didn't know how to process the events of the morning.

God frowned, but turned to his second oldest with a wryly lifted brow. "A bit spiteful, Michael?"

Michael's mischievous grin came back. "There have only been two sides of this whole mess until you told us what happened the other night. Team Dad and Team Samael. Everyone blames one or the other. We didn't know there was anywhere else to aim our grievances."

"Fair enough," God said, smiling slightly. "May I, Daughter?" he asked Evangeline.

She passed Samantha to him with a roll of her eyes. "You may. I wonder if she'll have trouble telling you and Samael apart though."

"I don't think so," God said wryly. "She can see light, like Samael. And though Samael's light feels similar to mine, it is also very different in how it behaves visually."

Lucifer uncomfortably watched a warm smile grace his father's features as he shifted his full attention to Samantha. It was an expression he'd been on the receiving end of once upon a time.

Still, he summoned his patience, unwilling to offend Michael by dismissing himself early, and discretely texted Linda while impatiently waiting for a polite-ish chance to excuse himself.

Across town, Linda was waiting on a late patient to show up by playing a game on her phone, and chided herself for being surprised to get a text from Lucifer so soon.

Another sibling visited. I'm drowning.

Linda sighed, a fissure of pain for her friend threading through her heart. I sincerely hope you mean you're figuratively drowning. I had a cancellation this evening if you want to come see me at 7ish. Or do you need an emergency session?

When he didn't respond right away, she started to worry if he'd actually texted her when literally drowning.

I think I can try to cope until then. He finally replied.

Call me if you can't.

She hoped Chloe would call him into the station and help distract him from whatever was bothering him. Just as much as she hoped whatever emotional turmoil he needed her for was positive and not more negativity.

But she wouldn't know for sure until later.

It wasn't until after her tardy client left that God's voice gently floated into her mind.

Forgive my intrusion, Doctor, but did Samael truly reach out to you earlier or is he attempting to appease me by saying so?

She shook her head, chewing the of the pen she'd just finished her post-session notes with. "He's coming to see me later, last I checked. Honesty is kind of his thing."

He hasn't been himself today, is all. I was more worried he'd planned on following through but perhaps hadn't done so yet.

Linda frowned to herself. "I'm not sure if it's fair of me to ask what happened before his session or not. But, in the very likely scenario that Lucifer's perception is severely warped or tainted by his past trauma, can I get a second version of the events from you?"

Of course.

"Thanks."

She sighed when silence resumed in the office, but tried to shake off her worry by standing. A fresh cup of coffee before her next session would help, surely.

Unfortunately for Lucifer, Chloe had no field work to distract him with. Her text assuring him that he could focus on spending time with his dad while she did boring paperwork would've hit a much more comforting mark had the morning not been interrupted by Michael. As things stood, Lucifer couldn't even bring himself to clue her in to his internal turmoil.

"You need a distraction," God murmured from the sofa, watching his son fidget and reorganize the already organized bar back at the penthouse. "Or...you could talk to me. Maybe that'll make it easier to talk to your friend this evening?"

Lucifer stilled behind the bar, save for the muscles jumping and twitching in his arms, begging him to keep up with his compulsive self-soothing tactics. "I don't know where to begin," he ground out carefully.

"Find the root," God encouraged. "What's the source of the discomfort? You're organizing, so something feels out of place. Help me give you clarity."

Several heavy beats followed, during which the tense, jumping muscles in Lucifer's arms spread their influence to his jaw and shoulders. "Why isn't her name Josephine?" He managed.

"Because Michael did not wish to name her after Jophiel," said God. "He gave you his reasons himself when you asked."

The shaking worsened, despite Lucifer bracing himself against the bar as he stared through its surface. "Why not?"

God paused, his frown deepening with worry. "Why didn't he wish to name her after Jophiel?"

"After anyone else," Lucifer hissed.

"Because he lost one of his dearest brothers, and since he couldn't get you back, he decided he wanted another Sam in his life. On his own terms. In a situation where he could prevent losing them. Where he had control," God said quietly. "He controls everything from where she is to who she's met, since she's young enough for him to not feel guilty by doing so. But until I told him we were mending things, he fully intended to keep her to himself until he eventually caved and sought you out… You were the first celestial to meet her for many reasons, Samael."

"I don't understand," Lucifer said quietly. His grip on the counter hadn't loosened, but he was trying very hard not to crack the marble.

God's concern grew. "You need your sister," he realized sadly.

Lucifer tensed further. "I'm not going up there. I...I'm not ready."

"I know," God soothed. "Perhaps we'll consult Linda on how to approach the situation."

Lucifer desperately tried to ignore and quell the burning in his eyes.

He couldn't go up. And if he knew her as well as he remembered her, he knew Jophiel wouldn't come down until he guided her to Earth himself.

"Make her come down." The words left his mouth before he could stop them, tight and angry and trembling.

"She'd already be here if I could, Samael," God said sadly. "Jophiel has wanted little to do with me since you fell. She rarely acknowledges any of my attempts to reach out to her."

Lucifer violently shoved himself back from the counter and started pacing behind the bar. His breathing stuttered, despite his attempts to control it.

"Tell me how to help, Little Star," God begged. "What can I do?"

The pain coursing through Lucifer's chest began to worsen, until it burned its way up to his eyes.

He just wanted this whole mess to be over one way or another. He hadn't been upset this frequently since his fall and he hadn't missed the sensation.

"Linda," he said through clenched teeth. "Call Linda."

He hadn't wanted to accept her offer for an emergency session, but he couldn't breathe.

He needed Jophiel, but the thought of going to Heaven paralyzed him.

Linda was the closest thing to a rock he had. She could piece together his thoughts for him. Put things into words that he couldn't vocalize.

The world was quieter with his eyes shut. Part of him wondered if his father planned to call Linda or not. Maybe he'd reached out to her telepathically instead, which would explain the silence.

He didn't register the feeling of pacing dulling to an almost out of reach sense of swaying until the presence of another familiar light came into his awareness.

Then everything crashed down around him.

Ears ringing, muscles stiff, head pounding, lungs burning, voices whispering.

"Father, please. She insisted."

"If Jophiel wants a say in her brother's recovery she can fly down here herself and tend to him." His father's voice was colder than Lucifer had heard it since his fall.

"She chose to suffer with him. Her sacrifices up until now, in her opinion, would mean nothing if she flew down before he'd recovered enough to come home himself. But we can ease his pain without causing more fighting or guilting Jophiel into abandoning her pledge. Please. Let me help him."

His eyelids were too heavy, but with effort, he could move his lips. "Raphael?"

A wing draped over his shoulders, gentle and warm. "You're alright, little brother. Just breathe. The anxiety and stress got to you for a spell, but you're sitting on the floor against the sofa. Dad summoned a few of your friends while you were out of it. He tried to send some of us to coerce our dear sister to end her self-isolation but that didn't go too well…"

Raphael's voice was soothing as he unhurriedly and unwittingly grounded Samael back to the present.

"She's making a present for you, she told me," Raphael continued. "Well, making one and sending another. She's got a whole room full of gifts she's saved for you over the millennia, you know. I think she plans to Hansel and Gretel you home with them or something."

Lucifer managed to exhale an almost laugh, leaning towards Raphael. Another wing wrapped around him as he rested his head against fabric. He could feel the light pressure of Raphael's cheek on his hair.

"We've missed you, Cherub," Raphael said quietly. "I know it's hard to understand right now, but it's true. And we've all expressed it differently. Michael's kept Dad at a distance since he found Eva. Mennie tried to fill the hero worship void you left behind - unsuccessfully, as I'm sure you've noticed. Gabe and Azzie just do their duties and stick to themselves, but they're quieter than they ever were before you were gone. Sariel picks and wins every fight with every sibling still stupid enough to tarnish your name where she can hear it. I've tried to keep the peace where I could but Jophiel's isolation and bitterness causes a lot of tension with her, Mike, and Mennie. So she really only sees me or Sariel unless someone needs something. Even then, she keeps to herself. Hidden off in the forests, surrounded by a barrier she made that keeps everyone out and actually hurts Dad if he gets too close… I know we never reached out to you directly but we were just as afraid that you'd shun us as you were that we'd shun you. Jo said to leave you alone and let you find your happiness again, so we did."

"She's not coming." Lucifer murmured.

A faint clatter and thump came from somewhere in front of them.

"No," said Raphael. "But I think her apology just arrived."

His eyes felt like sandpaper when they finally opened, and he was thankfully for the darkness. Only the warm ambient lighting was switched on, and no light spilled in from the balcony. The mid-afternoon sun that had been streaming in when his eyes closed was now the muted ambient lighting of L.A. nightlife.

On the coffee table, a single steaming teacup sat beside a neatly folded bundle of fabric.

Raphael's wings loosened around Lucifer just enough for him to lean forward and hold out both items.

Lucifer gingerly took the teacup and held it in both hands, content to stay curled up, and rested his arms against his knees.

As Raphael moved to put the bundle back, two letters slipped out and landed in front of them. One addressed to himself and the other to Samael.

Raphael gave Samael his note before opening the one addressed to himself, unsurprised to find his sister's handwriting on the inside as well.

Raphael,

I don't give a damn what Dad says. If you can make his turmoil less intense, even only on severe occasions, then quit letting Dad's fears control you and help Samael.

It's your right as his brother to aid him if you wish. He got here trying to secure all of us free will.

Use yours.

Though he agreed with his sister, he still avoided his father's gaze when Samael took a sip of tea and Raphael carefully used his abilities to help his brother relax. It took several moments, and half the cup of tea, but Samael did eventually lean into his shoulder more heavily. His breathing became smoother as his shaking lessened, though he didn't fall asleep.

Raphael remembered holding Samael similarly after particularly unhappy fights with their father prior to his fall, and though he hated to see any of his siblings in pain, he'd missed being able to soothe the bright ball of stress he called a brother.

"May I tell Michael you're feeling better?" he asked.

Lucifer nodded. "Is he doing his noble guilty nonsense?"

"Of course." Raphael smiled. "He thinks he pushed you too far. But it's more complicated than that. I think you were ready to meet our niece, just unprepared for what sort of emotional turmoil the situation would stir up."

Lucifer sighed. "Have someone with energy go smack him for me," he muttered.

Raphael chuckled. "Samantha spit up all over him after Eva fed her because his anxiety was getting to her. I think that's punishment enough for his guilt."

A smile twitched at Lucifer's lips. "Proactive little thing. I like her."

"He named her well," Raphael agreed pointedly.

Raphael could sense the subtle change in his brother before the question came. "Did he let you meet her, at least?"

Raphael snorted. "No, Samael. I didn't get to hold her or see her in person until today. But I was allowed to watch over her from home and meet our sister in law. Jophiel made the curtains and a few of the other blankets and things in the nursery. I don't think he told Amenadiel until today. Azzie and Gabriel knew. Sariel's painting a heavenscape for the nursery."

Lucifer paused mid-sip and moved to look at his brother properly. "She still paints?"

Raphael's calm surprise was clear in his eyes, less vibrantly blue than Michael's, but almost the same. "Of course she does. She's the moodiest little artist in the family after you, light maker."

Lucifer glowered at his tea, thinking of the sister who brewed it. "Jophiel's moody and artistic." He grumbled.

"Spiteful isn't the same as having more emotional capacity than you can physically handle," Raphael said gently. "Jophiel taps into what already exists and amplifies it. You and Sariel create immeasurable creations from the void. She paints things that remind me of your ideas for animals when you were little."

Lucifer's annoyance fizzled into disappointment. "I want to see them," he said. "I want to go home."

"You said you weren't ready," God said from across the room. "And we either need to keep you out of sight first or hold a very large family meeting that you do not have the energy for at present, Little Star."

"I'm not," Lucifer said. He finished his tea, the cup vanishing from his hand a moment later. Presumably back to its owner. "I just wish I was."

"Be patient with yourself," Raphael said. "None of us want you in any more pain than necessary. And we certainly don't want another civil war to break out because Dad hasn't had a chance to talk to everyone yet."

With a sigh, Lucifer resumed leaning heavily into Raphael's side, too exhausted to be stubborn and pretend he wasn't suddenly overwhelmed by how much he missed this particular sibling's gentle steadiness.

"Are you going to read your letter?" Raphael asked.

"It's a poem," Lucifer muttered. "I'm just too out of it to read it without reading it."

Raphael paused mid-reach for the note Samael was holding between his knees and aimed his confusion at their father, who had a perplexed stare aimed at Samael.

"Father…" Raphael began slowly. "His abilities were still maturing, albeit they'd slowed their evolution immensely, when the fighting started, right?"

God nodded pensively. "When Samael and I started arguing, the growth and changes in his abilities slowed or halted. By the time the fight broke out, his omnipotence-mimicking abilities were no longer present."

"All of his abilities after making stars were rooted in empathy or his existing light manipulation abilities, not omnipotence," said Raphael. "He had psychic ties to all of the other Archs, minus Ari and Cass. He could sense emotions."

God gave a half shrug. "That's how his gifts appeared to behave at first, yes. He had connections to all of my Archs, period. He simply didn't often think of Ariel and Cassiel, nor did he ever need to worry about them. He could sense emotions by reading the behavior of the light of siblings he'd studied well, but also just knew more often than not. If he noticed a sibling in distress and decided to intervene, he always knew how to make them open up or how to cheer them up again. He dreamed past and future events connected to himself, but he would often see events he hadn't been present for at the time."

"But...how?" Raphael asked. "Everyone's gifts are unique. None of us have your gifts in full. Only a few of us possess any degree of foresight, and it's sorely limited."

Again, God nodded. "His gift is unique, Raphael, in that your brother can do the one thing I still cannot: Make light independent of his own. And Samael is the only angel with a gift I cannot replicate if I so choose."

Bewildered, Raphael returned his attention to Samael's letter from their sister:

Twinkle twinkle, Little Star

Oh I've wondered how you are

Lost and fallen on your own

I dream of just how much you've grown

Little Brother, lost, now found

Still suffering down on the ground

Far away from home you fell

'Til you dared to rise from Hell

Twinkle twinkle, Little Star

Don't stop now, you're not that far

Your journey home is almost done

Remember: You're not on the run

And waiting for you, quiet and true

A sister who never stopped loving you

So glitter, gleam, and shine away

Little Morning Star, light your way

Raphael quietly read the note to Samael, who sighed in heavy resignation and grumbled under his breath about how much less annoying their siblings were in his memories compared to reality. With a quiet chuckle, Raphael gave his little brother a comforting squeeze.

"You need to rest," he said. "May father and I explain the day's events to your friends?"

"Which friends?" Lucifer muttered, having been far too tired to look around the room upon waking, and more fatigued still as time went on. He had a sinking suspicion the tea from his sister contained a very light sedative. One that wouldn't have impacted him at all if his strength wasn't so depleted.

"The doctor and the detective," God answered. "Mazikeen attempted to invite herself. I did not feel her presence would actually benefit you in such a state. Not that I trust the loyalty of a troubled, wayward demoness when her master isn't at his best."

"Dad hates Maze," Lucifer whispered to his brother.

"Oh. I noticed," Raphael chuckled.

Lucifer inhaled deeply as a gentle pressure built in his being and caused him to lean more heavily into Raphael's side.

"You can show them," he managed to murmur before everything became too heavy to move.

Raphael muted the fissure of frustration his brother was clinging to in an attempt to fight his exhaustion for a little longer.

God dissolved their visual surroundings for the occupants of the penthouse, allowing the humans to see the mornings' events play out around them with their own eyes.

"That's a handy trick," Linda said.

"It'd make it a hell of a lot easier to solve murders…" Chloe agreed half-heartedly. Her attention shifted back and forth between the Lucifer from this morning to the slumbering, broken man her partner had been reduced to.

She knew he had to have some serious drama in his past, even before she knew he wasn't kidding about the angel-devil thing, but in hindsight, she was starting to realize exactly how much drama Lucifer had kept buried under sly remarks and flirty smiles for years. If not the millennia that must've past before he'd even met her.

It bothered her to see him so uncomfortable in his own skin. Lucifer was loud and cheerful. Moody, but a bright ball of energy. Honorable. He always radiated an untouchable confidence that had perplexed and amazed her until it clicked that of course he did. He was literally God's son. A fallen angel walking amongst men. How could he be anything but overconfident in their eyes?

But not since their showdown with "Cain". Lucifer hadn't started to bounce back from starting to reconcile with his father yet, in part, Chloe thought, because he couldn't get his footing without another celestial showing up to knock him off balance again.

She wondered just how many siblings he had. Worried how long his current state would get drawn out before he got a chance to recuperate properly.

"That depends on what choices he makes," God said, meeting her surprised look evenly when she glanced in his direction. "If he pushes himself to return to Heaven sooner than he ought, this could all go a number of ways. If he waits, there's a series of alternate possibilities there as well. Unfortunately, he will still suffer some no matter what he does. Though I believe his suffering will be worse the longer he's separated from Jophiel."

"That's his oldest sister, right?" asked Linda. "Your first daughter?"

"First yes," answered God. "Though there's technically another daughter older than her."

At the befuddled expressions both mortal women gave him, God explained further. "Not all of my children were born linearly in regards to time. Goddess and I wanted more children, but I didn't want to have children infinitely and be unable to devote as much attention to my elder offspring as time went on. Nevermind neglect the youngers because their older siblings needed me. So instead, Goddess and I would temporarily jump to parallel universes I carved out for us. We'd stay in that copy of Heaven to raise more children, then carefully merge those worlds together when we returned to the original timeline so our children would have their own pieces of childhood without making it impossible for each 'generation' to connect to the other. As it happens, children from each timeline we created were still the 'younger' siblings by order of birth, regardless of when they were born in relation to time, so the jealousy and generational divides were still somewhat present. My oldest children tend to be seen as the overall favorites. The youngers stick to themselves. Eventually, the children named their groups. Some of the names are familiar to humans, like Archangels. Archs are my first children - Samael's generation."

"Which consists of most of his social cluster?" Linda guessed.

"All of it," God agreed. "There's generational cross-over as you get into other generations."

"How many kids did you have each generation?" Chloe asked, unable to fathom the possible number of siblings Lucifer could have when time and universe manipulation was thrown into the mix.

God only shrugged. "However many made my wife happy at the time. It varies. Sometimes she was doing well and content with our family. Other times, she'd start behaving abnormally again and the only thing that made her happy was having another baby. So we'd sidestep into another universe until she was content again. Of my Archs, there were twelve: Amenadiel, Michael and Raphael, Jophiel, Cassiel and Ariel, Samael and Azazel, Gabriel, Azrael, Uriel, and Sariel. Azazel died in the battle where Samael fell, and never truly fit in with the family, plus Uriel's unfortunate demise, so they're now ten in number."

"Jesus," Linda muttered.

"One of Samael's younger brothers trying to desperately gain my attention, actually," God said. "Ramiel. One of the tricksters of the family."

"So Jesus, while a real person, was an angel playing a prank?" Chloe asked.

God simply shrugged again. "You've met some of my children. They're not all as clever as I would've liked them to be."

Raphael quietly chuckled to himself. "Sam always said what our siblings lacked in wit they made up for in the ability to make fools of themselves."

God breathed a long-suffering sigh. "Without question," he agreed.

The two humans exchanged a slightly amused glance.

"So…" Linda began, "How do we help Lucifer take the path of least resistance here? What can we do to help him feel like he's ready to visit Heaven and see his sister? And why are they so close in the first place?"

God and Raphael shared a knowing smile.

"Samael did say I could show you before he fell asleep," God said. "I doubt he intended for me to share the past with you both, but it is relevant to your understanding this afternoon's situation…"

Raphael shook his head. "He's gonna throw a fit."

"I like to think that's why your sister put a sedative in his tea," God parried, turning his attention back to Linda and Chloe. "How about I just show you how and why Lucifer and Jophiel are so close?"

The room's surroundings faded from the penthouse once again, this time to a much brighter location. It took a few seconds for Linda and Chloe to realize the new room they could see was another nursery, only a much bigger baby angel was in the crib before them.

A mop of dark hair sat atop a sweetly sleeping face, and one of the baby's bright, pearlescent wings was folded over his curled up limbs as he slept.

Chloe's heart squeezed as she sucked in a quiet breath. At the same time, the nursery door quietly opened as a dark-haired girl slipped into the room and checked on both babies inside.

The one with brighter wings opened his eyes when she neared and smiled sleepily.

"He's always adored Jophiel," God said quietly, as he watched his daughter, twelve at the time, lift her toddler brother from his crib. "And she adored him in return."

Now FFN is caught up to AO3 again. No idea when Chapter 6 will be done. I'm baby-stepping my way back into this whole writing thing again. But I missed it and I do love this fic dearly so hopefully sooner than later. Thanks for reading!