And here is the next chapter. This one has been written for a while. I just needed to edit it a bit before posting, which is why it didn't take so long :P Sally tells her story of working as an exotic dancer and a stint at being homeless before she met Lucifer. Also, Lucifer realises something with his staff that leaves him shocked and panicky (though it's not a bad thing, just unexpected for him.)


Sally – Engagement

He was very proud of Sally.

At first, when he had taken her on as a dancer, he had been unsure if she would be willing to do the job for long. But here she was and she was not only doing well, but she was now engaged to be married to her now fiancée, Bellamy.

Both girls couldn't stop smiling and it was beginning to weird him out, but like what he did with Theresa and her pregnancy, he couldn't not chuck a party to celebrate their engagement. It was becoming a thing. He wondered if soon he'd begin throwing birthday parties for each and every one of them.

It was well in swing when Grady yelled from his spot on one of the lounge seats "Speech! Speech!" And like wildfire, it soon spread to the rest of the staff of Lux. Lucifer laughed and joined in the mass of humans, wondering what would be said.

Sally and Bellamy put their heads together and, after a wait of five minutes of what looked like friendly bantering, Sally stood up from her seat and raised her glass of champagne.

"First off, I want to just say that I love each and every one of you. Y'all mean so much to me and I'm sure Bellamy feels the same. Mainly 'cause she just told me herself."

Lucifer grinned at her from his own seat at the bar. She smiled widely and genuinely around her and threw him a quick little wink.

"I grew up on a farm in Alabama. In my high school year book you'll see under my name 'Most likely to become a star.' I loved being in the Theatre and Dance. So I thought that I'd make it easy out here in the big wild world all on my lonesome and be the star everyone thought I would be. It turns out it's really hard to get by on your own, especially in L.A. So many people come here for the same reason and most are turned away."

Lucifer nodded slightly and took a sip of his champagne when Sally looked to him to see if she should go further.

She took a deep breath and continued on. "It took so much money to move out here, and my parents were barely getting by themselves, so I couldn't take what money they did have away from them. I...I took a job at a bar as a dancer. I always did love my body and the way it moved. I think I always enjoyed the dance more than the acting. At first it was like finding my calling. I got to show off what I liked about myself and dance at the same time. And then my boss wanted me to give lap dances. I said no and he chucked me out. Because I didn't want to get that close to men, I was seen as a bad bet to take on as a dancer, because it means I would lose money that they could get out of lap dances or sex. I ended up on the streets."

Lucifer closed his eyes and sighed. He wondered why she was sharing this with everyone at a time she was meant to be celebrating her engagement. It made zero sense to him. But if she wanted to talk about it and in front of everyone, even if it was lousy timing in his mind, then she should do so. He was all for speaking out what's on your mind.

"I was lucky really. They found out I was a lesbian and instead of forcing me to have sex with men or do things with men, they fired me. They booted me out. They made it so no one would hire me for that again. I went through three establishments before Lux. And before Lux I was out of work for 3 months. I was living out of bins on the streets. I took a few days here and there in shelters so I could have a meal and shower and feel more human. I was a total mess. And then Lucifer found me."

He smiled at that, because he knew the story from here on out as he was there. And it was all uphill from now on. A happy story, a good one. He raised his glass in her direction. "Knew you could do it, love," he stated and the crowd laughed softly at that, before turning their attention back to the celebrants, wanting to know the rest of the story for themselves.

"I was on the streets. I hadn't had a shower in a week and was absolutely filthy. But he saw through that. He looked at me and said I shone so brightly he didn't understand what I was doing there on the streets. He called me beautiful. I told him I wasn't into men. He laughed and said he wasn't looking for sex, he was looking for the one that shone so bright and he had found me.

"I never really got that then, but it didn't matter to me. He took me in. He gave me a place to stay rent free until I had enough money from dancing here at Lux to pay for my own place comfortably. He gave me my dream job back and didn't need nor want me to do anything with men. It took me weeks to understand that all us dancers were off limits. It didn't matter what gender we were into sexually. We were all off limits. And I realised that for the first time since I moved here and didn't make it as a star that I felt safe and secure.

"So, instead of making a toast to my love, or to our engagement and because we have all noticed his mood has been real down low lately, we decided to instead toast the one who made this engagement possible. So, here's to the one who took me in and gave me back a roof over my head, money in my pocket and safety at work. Here's to the one who introduced me to my wonderful fiancée and encouraged us to get together if that's what we wanted. Here's to the best nightclub boss I've ever met. To Lucifer, who probably saved my life when I was getting to the point of giving up. You're the best, and you deserve happiness too."

Lucifer blinked as everyone turned towards him, smiles on their faces and raised their glasses. And he realised that this was planned. They had noticed his mood since the whole deal with Uriel and wanted him to be happy. They all raised their voices in a united "Lucifer," and drank.

The only thing he seemed capable of, except for getting a confused grin on his face was to blink. "Well, I'm flattered, really, but this isn't for me. It's for you and Bellamy."

She laughed and shook her head. "Lucifer, you silly goose. Me and Bellamy are already as happy as we can be. A party isn't going to make us any happier than we already are. It was good of you to host our engagement party like this, really, but the party isn't what is making us happy."

The grin fell off his face and he shook his head. "Sorry, darling. I don't really understand."

She laughed again, her voice ringing in his ears. "The party isn't for us, Lucifer, it's for everyone else. Why do you think everyone wanted a speech?"

He tilted his head and thought about that one. "I just thought everyone wanted to hear about the engagement more. You know, humans being nosey and wanting to know everything."

He saw several people roll their eyes. Patrick rubbed his forehead, before moving back to his realm at the bar to pour himself a drink. Sally and Bellamy just stared at him. For about two seconds. "Uh...everyone already knew about the engagement. There's nothing more there to tell. It is an excuse to show off the rings though."

And with that the happy couple walked over to him. Each lifted up their hand to show off matching engagement rings. As dancers, they had decided against any fancy diamonds, instead going for small but intricately carved gold bands.

It occurred to him that he was the first person they were showing off the rings to, which just confused him even further. "They're lovely. They look good on you both. I don't understand why you are showing me first, though..."

Bellamy smiled and hugged his left side. She leaned towards him to whisper in his ear "You're the closest thing to a parent I have, Lucifer."

And that left him oddly frightened. "I am not your father. I am not anyone's father."

Sally grinned at him and wrapped herself around his right side. "Silly. We're not saying you are our father. But things like these are usually first shown to family, and my family couldn't make it this month and Bellamy's are long gone."

Bellamy nodded against his arm. "I moved here to get away from my parents, not to become a star. They're not part of my life."

That he understood well. "Sorry. I know how that one feels." He laid his head on top of Bellamy's thick black hair. And blinked. "Is this a parent thing? Am I doing that right now?"

Sally laughed and he felt the nod from Bellamy.

"Good parents look after their children. They make sure they are safe, secure, happy. They protect from harm, or try to anyway. They comfort when their children are upset or hurting. So, yeah, you're doing it now. And you wanna know something? You're good at it. You naturally act this way towards us here at Lux. You'll be a great godfather for the baby."

His breathing began to get a bit faster. "Wait...I do this to all of you? Is it bad? I mean, you still have a good relationship with both your parents, Sally. Am I taking their place? Am I taking you away from your real family? Do you..."

He cut off his words when a finger planted itself on his lips. "Shoosh, you silly man. You're beginning to hyperventilate."

He stared at the wild, short red hair at his right and took a deep breath. Shit. He needed out of this conversation. "I need to go and lay down now, before I panic..."

Both ladies let him go and took a few steps back, as he hopped off the stool he was on. He had forgotten somehow he had been sitting this entire time. He felt like he was floating. "Lucifer? You look like you're going to fall down?"

He quickly looked behind him because of how light he felt, just to check that his wings hadn't made a sudden return. Nope just as gone as they had been since he cut them off on that beach when he had first arrived here and decided to take an extended vacation.

He seemed to have started his own family unknowingly.

"I hope you enjoy the rest of your party. Sorry, I need to go now..."

And before they could even ask him to stay or tell him to go, he walked as fast as he could to the lift up to his flat.

He at least was alone and buried under the covers when he let go of his control and had the panic attack he had been fighting off.

It was only two hours after he had fled, he realised that an alternate name for a non biological parent was a guardian.

He had taken on the role unknowingly for all his staff.

He probably had more charges than any other angel had in a lifetime.