I wasn't going to upload this so soon after the last update, but decided we all needed a boost. Rest assured, we will have a satisfactory ending to this. I'm just not sure how much wingwork will come into play before we reach that point. Feedback always welcome.


Chloe was waiting outside as Linda's morning client left. 'I don't suppose you have a minute to chat?'

Linda looked her up and down, and Chloe was suddenly aware of how disheveled she must look. She had slept in her clothes, under Lucifer's wing, and headed straight back out to work. A shiver went through her as she thought of Lucifer, and her knees felt suddenly weak.

'Come in,' Linda invited, and Chloe sank down gratefully onto her couch. She accepted the glass of water Linda handed to her and stared into it, not sure where to begin.

'Is everything okay?'

Chloe struggled to find the words. 'I need to talk, I'm sorry. I know it's your lunch break, but I really - it's Lucifer.'

Linda gave a deep sigh. 'Chloe, you know he's my client, and I can't discuss him with anyone. Not even you.'

'It's okay. I know all that, but I have no one else I could talk to, and he said you already know.'

Linda sat back and gave her that look that invited her to tell all.

'He really is the devil, isn't he.' She made it a statement, rather than a question.

Linda pursed her lips and regarded her for a full minute without speaking. Then eventually, she said, 'What brings you to that conclusion?'

'I saw his face. His devil face.' She shivered at the thought of that burned, distorted head.

'It's back?' Linda looked startled for a moment, then gathered herself together. 'What did he say about it?'

'That's the worst bit. He didn't even know at first. He'd just killed Pierce, and then he turned around…' She stopped herself, remembering that the official version was that they had both been fighting with Pierce and he had been stabbed accidentally.

'Lucifer killed Pierce?' Linda sounded concerned.

'Well, sort of. But Pierce was trying to kill both of us.'

'And how do you feel about that?' Linda leaned back in her chair, and Chloe could almost sense her shifting into therapist mode.

'It's hard to take in. Pierce said he loved me. I almost married him. I don't know what got into me, but the thought terrifies me, what could have happened. And then all this on top - I just don't understand all this. How can it be true? But it is. I saw with my own eyes.'

'So Cain is finally dead.' Linda nodded her head approvingly.

'You knew who he really was?'

Linda hesitated. 'Yes, Lucifer told me.'

'How long have you known about him? About Lucifer, I mean?'

After a moment, Linda replied softly, 'He showed me his devil face after he killed his brother.'

Chloe stared at her in shock. 'He killed his brother? But Amenadiel…'

'No, this was another brother. Last year. Uriel. He was trying to kill you and destroy their mother.'

'Their…' Chloe stared very hard into the glass of water she was holding. This was starting to sound crazier and crazier. 'Their mother?'

'Yes. The Goddess of All Creation. She was in Charlotte Richards' body at the time.' After a moment, Linda cleared her throat. 'This is just sounding worse and worse, isn't it? I'm sorry, Chloe. I know it's a lot to take in. It took me quite a while to process it. But talk to Lucifer. I won't say he's willing to answer questions - that man knows how to be evasive when he wants to be - but he can reassure you. And it's really not my place to tell you all this.'

'Will he ever get his normal face back?' That was the only question Chloe wanted to hear the answer to right at this moment.

Linda looked startled. 'You mean he hasn't?'

'He said it's stuck. He said it's his punishment for killing a human.'

'Oh.' Linda was quiet for a moment. 'I'd better go and see him. How's he taking it?'

'He's pretty miserable. He got shot, too. His wings - they were covered in blood. He protected me.'

'And he's stuck in his devil face.' Linda nodded her head, looking thoughtful. 'I'll pay him a visit. It sounds like he'll need to talk to someone. And you have your own worries.'

'Yeah.' Chloe looked at her watch. 'I need to go, I'm in the middle of a new case. I just - I needed to talk to someone, so thank you. It's good to know I'm not the only one who knows. It's good to know I'm not going completely crazy.'

Linda stood up and held the door for her. 'And I'm happy that you finally know the truth. You mean a lot to Lucifer, I know that.'

He'd been talking to his therapist about her? Chloe sighed inwardly. That man needed a severe talking to. Although he probably wouldn't have needed to if she'd just taken him at his word. The guilt flushed over her, along with the anger that he hadn't shown her some kind of proof before. Any kind of proof.

The thought popped up that maybe it was only now she was prepared to not only believe him but accept him as who he really was.

Linda canceled her afternoon client and headed for Lucifer's apartment. As she waited for the elevator to reach the penthouse, she felt her adrenaline flow. She had known he was truly the devil for over a year by now, but had only seen his face the once. The wings… she smiled at the thought of his beautiful wings. But Chloe had said he was injured.

The elevator dinged open and she stepped into the penthouse. All was quiet. 'Lucifer?' She looked around, wondering where he was.

'What do you want?'

'Lucifer! Chloe came to see me. She said - she said you were having problems.' Where was he? She could hear him, but not see him. 'Lucifer!'

He stepped out from the bedroom, and she fought back the urge to gasp in horror as she saw his face. His entire head was reddened and burned, and his eyes glowed red. He stood, not coming any closer, and she nodded her thanks as she took the time to adjust to his changed appearance. The first time she had seen it, it had come as a shock, had shaken her entire world understanding. This time she could see more clearly the man beneath the face, could recognise his body language and understand that he was far from the evil monster that his appearance suggested, but it was still hard. She wondered just how Chloe had coped.

'Why don't you tell me what happened?' she coaxed, indicating the couch.

Lucifer stepped forward uncertainly, and she sat down in the armchair, deciding that behaving as though this was a normal therapy session might help him relax.

He sat, but was leaning forward, uncomfortable, looking as though he was going to jump up and run away at any moment. Linda thought back to their first therapy sessions, how he had been so confident, so utterly convinced that the world was at his beck and call.

'I killed Pierce.' His voice was quiet, subdued. 'I killed a human. And this is my punishment.'

'Why do you believe that?'

'Well, it's the first rule of angels, isn't it? And I broke it. Never mind that Pierce was a criminal mastermind, and a murderer, never mind that he was going to kill me and the detective.'

'Chloe said something about using your wings.'

'Yes. I used them to shelter us both from bullets, then flew her to safety and went back to finish him off. I deliberately killed him. I could have walked away, or arrested him. I could have taken her handcuffs. I could…' He held his hands up in despair, and she could see there was no sense pursuing that particular line at least until he'd calmed down a little.

'I heard about Charlotte,' she said softly. 'Do you want to tell me what happened about that?'

He shrugged. 'Pierce said he was trying to kill Amenadiel. He wanted his curse back.'

'Is Amenadiel all right?' Linda's heart skipped a beat.

'Yes, he's fine, as far as I know. I think he got his wings back and took Charlotte to heaven.'

'Amenadiel got his wings back? Wow, Lucifer, that's huge. How did that happen?'

He stood and began pacing the floor. 'He had this wild theory that his powers, my wings, my devil face - that we were doing these things to ourselves. I guess maybe he was right. My wings came back and I lost my devil face when I felt good about myself. He somehow got his head straight and got his wings back.'

'And you?' she asked. 'You feel bad about yourself again because you killed a human, and now your devil face is back?'

His pacing stopped, and he swung around to face her. 'I don't know,' he said, and while she still struggled to read his facial expression properly, his body language looked thoughtful. 'I'm not doing this through choice. I've tried, Doctor, really tried, but I just can't change back to normal.'

'You've been through a lot, Lucifer.' She shifted in the chair, twisted to face him better, tried to find the words to get through to him. 'You can't expect to get back to normal at once. You killed a man, and that obviously means a lot to you. Give yourself time to process things. But maybe it's more in your control than you think.'

He stared at the ceiling for a minute and then back at her. 'Nothing I can do changes the fact that I killed a man.'

'No, but you can come to terms with it. You can accept that it doesn't make you a monster. That you did what you had to do. What would have happened if you hadn't killed him? Would he have become a good man? Or would he have tried again and again, until he had killed you and killed Chloe? Killed more of your friends? Killed other people?'

'I'm not my father.' Lucifer's voice was trembling with emotion. 'I don't get to decide who lives and who dies.'

'No, Lucifer, but you do have a right to defend yourself.'

'You don't understand!' He walked over to the bar, poured himself a drink. She had seen that action many times, knew that it gave him time to think. 'Do you seriously think I want to walk around looking like this? I'm useless! I can't help the detective like this. I can't even show my face without people screaming and running away. I can't live like that!'

Linda stood and walked over to him, placing a hand on his arm. He was shaking. 'Lucifer, I know,' she said. 'But give yourself time to work through this. I'm here to support you, and Chloe wants to help too. Together I'm sure we can find a way.'

There was a moment's silence, and then Lucifer pulled his arm away. 'I hope you're right.'

Linda led him back to the couch. 'Let's talk this through. Do you accept that Pierce had to die?'

'Yes, of course.'

'And that you were protecting yourself and your friend when you killed him?'

He nodded.

'Lucifer, you need to talk to me. To tell me how you're feeling. We need to work this through.'

He stared at the ceiling for a moment, and then jumped to his feet. 'This is a waste of time.'

'Lucifer, you're holding back. We're not going to get anywhere until you're willing to open up.'

'I can't! Don't you get it, Doctor? I can't! I'm a monster, and you're just seeing the real me. This is useless. Get out. Get out!'

He strode to the balcony and stood staring out at the world below. Linda tried to speak to him again, but he refused to respond. In the end, she spoke to him quietly. 'I'm going for now, Lucifer, but I'll be back. We can get through this. It might be painful, but we can help you. As long as you don't shut us out.'

There was no response, and she left him to it. He would be ready to talk to her at some point, but right now he seemed to feel the need to punish himself.

She just hoped he had learned enough from their sessions to understand the process he had to go through to reach a point where he could move on.