First story in a new series of mine. I will be finishing Lucifer's Flock before posting any more of this series though. Right now, it is called the Raphael series. Because Raphael will be in all the stories. Thought up because it is clear Linda isn't doing too well after being stabbed. She needs someone in the know to talk to. So, here's someone in the know.

The Prayer

Linda tried to keep up the pretence that everything was fine, but it became constantly more obvious that others could see she was not. First it was Lucifer being careful around her, always asking if she was okay after what had happened. Then it began trickling into other clients and people outside her work.

Amenadiel noticed. Amenadiel. He was sometimes more clueless than Lucifer when it comes to emotions. She hadn't thought that possible, but there it was.

She felt like she had every celestial being on the planet worrying over her. It was stifling.

So, it was no wonder she realised that she really needed to talk about what happened. The problem was there was no colleague of hers she could go to with this problem, because to talk about it she needed to be treated seriously and if anyone thought she was unfit for work over delusions...

As far as she knew, there was no one she could talk to about what happened and that made the stress she was feeling heighten. It made her nervousness around others sharper. It made the nightmares worse.

And naturally Lucifer decided now was a brilliant time to think of others and practice some empathy. He had been staring at her with a worried frown for the past half hour, having veered off into silence about five minutes into the session.

She tried to get him to talk more about his wings, because it was clear that they were and probably would be for some time, the biggest stressor in his life right now. That and his missing devil face, as he called it.

He was having an identity crisis right in front of her and he didn't care about that today. He cared about whether she was alright after being stabbed.

It would be sweet if it wasn't her he was worrying about.

"Lucifer, focus! Is there anything you want to talk about?"

He leaned forwards and folded his hands over his knees. "Yes, yes there is. When was the last time you slept, doctor? You look exhausted."

And that was it. Everyone had a breaking point and she just reached hers.

Adrenalin flooded her system and she jumped out of her chair. She didn't feel the pull of her wound or the sting of her hand as she slapped him.

He blinked calmly up at her, not even bothered by the sudden attack of his person. She gasped and quickly sat back down, burying her face in her hands. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that. I have no one I can talk to about what happened, Lucifer. No one with any proper training, anyway. And yes, okay, I admit it. I am having a bit of trouble moving on from what your mother did to me. And I don't know how to move forward without speaking to someone professionally about it."

He huffed out an amused noise at that. "Therapy for the therapist? Well, I don't know much of anything psychologically except what I pick up in here, so I won't be of any help, but...I may know someone that can help."

She stared at him over that comment. "Really? And why didn't you go to this person with your problems instead of starting therapy with me?"

He grinned. "Because he's family. That would be really awkward."

Linda blinked and her heart began to pound in her chest. "An angel? Lucifer...the two of you I know are possibly the worst examples of knowing anything psychological I know. And Amenadiel tried to pass himself off once as a psychiatrist."

Lucifer grinned. "Yes, and he lied his little heart out about it and look at where that got him. No, this brother of mine is a doctor."

"One of you is a doctor?"

He grinned. "Yes, of every profession there is. And he keeps up with human practises too. Or he did last time I talked to him."

Linda was tempted, so tempted to take him up on the offer, but she was unsure if it was a genuine offer or not. "Do...do you think he would help?"

He grinned widely at her. "I have no idea, but there's one way to find out!" And with that, he closed his eyes, brought his hands together in front of him and she was suddenly aware that he was praying to his brother. Angels actually heard prayers. He was calling his brother right then and there.

Oh shit.

"Lucifer..."

"Done! He says he's on his way. Should be here shortly. He was on Earth. In California even. Luck. He's not busy right now, so he's flying right on over."

Flying. Of course. Angels have wings. Like the wings Lucifer refused to talk about. "Lucifer, I really think you should talk to me about your wings..."

He frowned at her, opened his mouth, but was interrupted by a knock on the door. So, instead he sprang to his feet, a grin on his face and he opened the door.

"Raph, it's been forever!" he said, hugging the other at the door. From where she was sitting on the couch, she couldn't see anything but a pair of dark arms wrapped around Lucifer's back.

"Hello, Luci. You look well."

Linda watched as Lucifer's grin widened. "So do you! So, come on in. This is Doctor Linda."

Lucifer walked backwards a few steps and swept his arm out towards her in a formal way which made it feel like he was presenting her to his brother. The thought made her squirm in her seat. Until the man walked in. He looked older than Lucifer and Amenadiel. More her own age, really. Inching to, if not at, middle age. She knew he was a lot older, obviously. His skin was darker than Amenadiel's. He had hair which was short cropped and by the looks of it had tight curls when grown out. And just like with both Lucifer and Amenadiel, she got that feeling of righteousness off of him.

She just realised that it was a feeling she only ever got around angels. Even the most self-righteous human never managed it. Their mother never had it. She was just all raw power.

The strange angel bowed slightly and stared at her with interest. "Hello, Doctor. Lucifer said you may need my skills."

She waved slightly because she had no idea what else to do. "Hello. Lucifer never got a chance to tell me your name before you showed up."

He straightened and suddenly the room was filled with feathers, as a pair of wings materialised from out of nowhere. Lucifer did the same thing sometimes now his wings were back. Except Lucifer has still to get proper control back. They were a very light blue with streaks of white throughout.

Linda sighed. "Is there a rule or something that angels have to be ridiculously good looking?"

Lucifer snorted, before letting out a short bark of laughter. "Really, Doctor. I thought you had better taste."

The angel with his wings out turned to glare at his brother, pulling the wings in to rest across his back as he did so. She only noticed that Lucifer's pure white wings were also out and on display. "Are you making fun of me, Luci?"

Lucifer blinked and his grin widened. "Not at all. I was talking taste in movies. Zoolander. Ridiculously good looking. You...you still don't bother with movies or television, do you?"

He shook his head and turned back to her, wings ruffling. "I am Raphael. I am the chief medic and doctor of all skills in Heaven. I keep up to date with all human medical practises, including the psychiatric arts. I am currently working on new practises in pulmonary diseases.

"Raph, you want me to leave?" Lucifer asked his brother.

Raphael (wasn't he an archangel, one of the big ones in Heaven?!) shook his head. "No, stay. She's more likely to be calm with you here than just me for now."

And that made Linda frown. "I refuse to have him in the room if this is a sudden and unexpected session."

Raphael grinned at her and shook his head. "No, it's not. You make up your mind in that. Consent is a must for me."

It was that more than Lucifer still being there in the room with her that made her relax. Lucifer cared about consent a great deal. She had no idea what Amenadiel thought of the subject, but given his past...not as much. It was good to know that this brother took after Lucifer in that department. "That's good to know. The last time an angel came here as a psychiatrist it was Amenadiel. You can imagine how well that went down."

Raphael blinked at her and a confused look came over his face. "Amenadiel as a...no. Not good. Why did he do that?"

"He thought I would give him personal information on Lucifer. He wanted me to break confidentiality."

Two pairs of wings puffed up at that, in what she could only assume to be anger. She stared. "Huh, fascinating. Your wings give away your emotional state. Lucifer...no, not now."

Lucifer huffed in the background, but his wings stayed out. "Like I said, awkward."

And that made Linda smile. "Quite. Okay, I got it. So! What do you want to talk about then?"

"Is it possible to let me know what happened in a general sense? Does Lucifer know what happened?"

And that made her shrink into the couch. "Yes, Lucifer knows."

"Would you be more comfortable with him telling me what happened? I know he doesn't lie."

She nodded her head at that. She hadn't yet gotten up to the point of actually talking about it with people who don't know. She'd talked a little about it with Amenadiel, but that's about it. Most of the time they talked about his problems.

Raphael took her seat and Lucifer came back to the couch, tucking his wings to his back, before sitting down. "I don't know how long you've been on Earth, but I knew word got out in Heaven. Mum escaped Hell at a time no one was guarding the gates. She came here with talk about wanting to be with her children again. It was a ploy to get back to Heaven and take over from Dad. She knew that I was seeing Doctor Linda and came here for help a few times and advice. But...the last time, she ordered her to give over my files. Linda refused and Mum stabbed her. If Amenadiel hadn't slowed down time, Linda would have died. And since Amenadiel hasn't had his power for a while and it was a one time thing..."

"Hmm, Dad interfered. Yes. Is your wound healed?"

Linda blinked. "It still pulls if I move wrong, and the stitches are uncomfortable but I would rather not be healed by an angel. The stitches need to be taken out in a few weeks and it would be odd to the doctors who worked on the."

"Practical. I like that. You're good."

And Linda stared at him after that was said. "You know, I see the familial relationship whenever someone says that to me. Without fail, 'you're good' or I like you. Is that an angel thing, or is it just me as a person?"

Raphael laughed at that, and she could tell by the look in his eyes it was true laughter. "It is you as a person. And you as a psychiatrist at a guess. Lucifer likes people who are true to themselves. He never would have started therapy with you otherwise."

Linda nodded. "Yes, that is very true. It's actually beginning to worry me now..."

Both Lucifer and Raphael's head turned to look at her. "You're worried about his therapy? Why?"

"Yes, I second that," Lucifer added on.

She looked to the angel sitting by her side and sighed. "This wasn't supposed to be a session. Lucifer...what happens to you after I do die?"

He blinked at her after that question before he sank into the couch, his feathers looking uncomfortably out of place. "I thought I'd have a handle on things by then."

She closed her eyes. "Lucifer, honestly, do you want to talk about this in front of your brother?"

He shrugged. "He's here as a psychiatrist. And the two of you will probably gossip about me anyway. Not medically, thankfully, both of you care too much about patient confidentiality to do that to me. He'd probably guess anyway, so not really..."

Linda closed her eyes, before opening them again and looking at Raphael. "Lucifer overshares, if that isn't plainly obvious. But you probably already knew that since you grew up together."

Raphael hummed at that. "Lucifer has never seen a reason to censor his wants."

"Lucifer is right here," stated the talked about angel, his feathers puffing out in irritation. Linda saw the ends getting slightly sharp. She decided to talk about that during a private, non shared session.

"Okay, so you don't mind I tell you why, in front of company. Lucifer, your problems are deep and emotional in nature. You learn things about humans slowly. I'm not saying anything bad about your intelligence here, you are smart. But your lifespan is...you live so much longer than us. Possibly forever. You naturally learn things slower, because you have so much longer to learn things. The same is true of Amenadiel. I think it is probably true of Raphael too, which is probably why he's always here to keep up on what's new in medicine."

"Yes. I have to always be ready for the influx of new information. Humans learn much faster than us, because you have less time to learn things. It's amazing to watch, really. It fascinates me. It's probably why one of my favourite fields is the psychological aspects of medicine."

Linda turned to him and smiled. "Oh, I like you too. You're good. But that's a problem for you, Lucifer. You won't and shouldn't have therapy through your brother. You likely will need it still after I am gone. Who will you go to then?"

She saw when the realisation that what she was saying was probably going to be true and sank even further into the couch. "I don't want to have to go through that again...I thought I broke you when you found out. Humans aren't supposed to know..."

"And yet, it is obvious that it is known that I know. Raphael stated it out loud himself. If it wasn't for your father letting Amenadiel use his chronokinesis before I died, I wouldn't have made it to the hospital. I'm seen as safe. As needed. But I can't be kept alive past my time. I'll die when I will die. You can't stop death."

Raphael watched the two of them talking, she could see him out of the corner of her eyes. She turned to him. "You're a doctor. You are working right now as a pulmonary specialist, you said. That's everything from bronchitis to lung cancer. Mild to terminal. You understand death better."

Raphael nodded his head. "Yes. I believe that with his newest job of playing detective, Lucifer will learn soon enough. It is a hard lesson to learn, when ones you have gotten close to or have known for a while die. But, yes, it happens. To us, quite frequently, if we are here a lot as I am."

Linda nodded. "Do you know anyone who knows who could help?"

Raphael tilted his head and his eyes looked off to the corner of the room in thought. "Maybe. I could ask around, but most of them would be older than you are and likely to be dead before you."

Lucifer groaned from his seat next to her. "Can we please stop talking about this now? I get it. I suck at emotions and can't handle death. Charming. Can we move on to something else now?"

Raphael blinked and turned his gaze onto his brother. "Luci, we're trying to sort out a psychiatrist young enough to take over when you will need it the most."

Lucifer scowled. "Linda is not dropping dead right now. It can wait until later. And that's something the two of you can discuss without me and inform me when you think you've come up with someone. I don't need to be here for this."

Linda sighed. "Lucifer..."

"No! I got my brother here for you, not for me. And I now regret saying yes if you're going to start discussing my therapy in front of me when I am being excluded."

"I apologise, Luci. We shouldn't have been talking about you."

Lucifer smiled, but it wasn't a happy look. "Thank you. I'm leaving now. Let the two of you get acquainted better. I've got a club to run and need to stock the bar."

She watched as he quickly got up, hid his wings from view and left. The door was closed a bit harder than it normally would.

Raphael turned to her and she could see the concern in his eyes. "Does he do that often?"

"Run out when things get too hard for him? Oh yeah, constantly. He is getting better at staying a full session now. This was just a subject a bit too close to him now."

"Because of your injury?"

She shook her head. "Because he thinks he's responsible for my injury. He's not. You heard the story. I haven't gotten to the point where I can really talk about it, so it was good he was here really. I do need to talk about it but it's a bit too close still. I'll get there, I know I will, but..."

"You've just found out how hard it is to actually talk about a traumatic event."

She nodded. "Yeah. I knew intellectually it can take a while to talk, but now I know personally. It's so different from this side of things. The good thing is I know therapy can really help. The bad news is you're basically the only one I can go to, because I can't go to one of my colleagues here or even someone outside the psychiatrists working here. I'd be seen as delusional and my licence might be in jeopardy."

He nodded at her, his face calm and comfortable to look at. "So you agree to sessions with me? They can be at any time from 5p to 8p on weekdays or anytime during the day on weekends. I only work weekdays. And I like my nights to unwind."

This time it was her who fell into silence to think. "I think maybe sometime during the day on a Sunday might be best for me. I generally like my Saturdays to unwind and get social on Sundays. And I work the same hours as you during weekdays. Some weeks that might change and I'll go out on Saturday nights with the girls, but usually that's my time to unwind."

Raphael leaned forwards. "Have you found this changing lately?"

She leaned back into the couch and sighed. "Yes. I've started drinking to forget. I know it's stupid. I'm still on pain meds, though not narcotics anymore. I shouldn't be drinking, I know that. It doesn't really help, but between Lucifer and Maze..."

"Maze?"

"Uh, Mazikeen. One of Lucifer's demons. She followed him as his personal guard up here when he quit Hell. We've become pretty close friends, actually. You'll have to ask her or Lucifer more about her really. I wouldn't talk about her with Amenadiel."

"Okay. So, what time would be best for you on Sundays?"

She frowned. "I think I'd prefer the mornings, I think, as that leaves me the day and night to unwind and think about what goes on in there. Plus my time with my tribe. So, maybe around 10 in the morning."

Raphael nodded. "10 in the morning works for me. Tribe is an interesting word to use in this day and place."

She laughed at that. "Blame the demon. Me, Lucifer's detective partner and one of the lab techs from the police station along with Maze started a get together, a girls' night out at least once a week. Usually on Sundays, but that depends on if Maze is still off hunting down her bounty."

Raphael sat up at that, his wings flaring out. "She is hunting humans?!"

Linda blinked, before grinning. "She wanted a job that fit her. She began working at the police department as a bounty hunter. The humans she hunts aren't killed and it is legal. She enjoys the hunt and it gives her something to do. She wasn't really happy working Lucifer's bar. Patrick actually enjoys that job and took over and I just realised that I know far too much about Lucifer's bar and that was before my stabbing."

"Lucifer can be quite...persuasive when he wants t be."

She waved a hand in front f her face. "Forget him, try saying no who is stuck in a continual state of live each moment as if it's your last. I recently found out that's the reason Maze lives the way she does. No soul equals no afterlife. She lives life as hard and fast as she can, because if she dies, that's it. She's not like you or me. We have souls."

Raphael smiled at her. "You see us as having souls? That's not a very popular opinion with humans at this present time. But, yes, we have souls just as humans do."

She nodded. "Oh, yes. I know. Boy do I know. But we shouldn't be talking Lucifer or Maze. Not right now anyway."

"Hmm, yes. Lucifer will probably quiz me later on this. Or you. I will see you Sunday then. It was nice to meet you, Linda."

She smiled at him and nodded. "It was nice to meet you too."

With goodbyes said, Raphael stood up, spread out his wings and with one giant flap which sent the file on her desk flying, he was gone.

She stared at her seat for about five minutes, before getting up and picking up Lucifer's paperwork. If anyone wandered past hr room and the door was open, all they would have heard was a rant on angels and wings knocking things over.

Next time she saw him, and she just realised they never really said a place to meet, she would tell him to not fly off and to use the door like a normal person.