"What's gonna be in this room?" Ellie questioned when she found Lucifer and the other demons clearing a room in his mansion.
"We're having a new guest," Lucifer told her. "His name is Christopher, and us having him will help us with our own children. They have very similar genetic makeups."
"Where did he come from?" Ellie asked. "Are you saying he's a demon?"
"His parents are the first case of a demon woman mating with a non-demon man," Lucifer grinned. "And I'm relieving his parents of the difficulties of raising him."
Ellie's jaw dropped. "You can't just take a child from his family! That's horrible! Give him back!"
"No," Lucifer shook his head. "Not when I've taken so much time planning what I'm gonna do with him."
"Give him back," Ellie said firmly. "Or I'm not gonna go to bed with you ever again. And that would be a shame because I've got plans involving a whip."
"Don't tease me, Eleanor," Lucifer told her, the thought alone arousing him.
"I wouldn't," Ellie shook her head. Then, her lips curved into a grin and she nibbled on his earlobe before whispering to him with her lips against his ear. "But if you let him stay with his parents, we'll have a really good night."
"Damn you, Eleanor!" Lucifer huffed. "I thought I was going to have to ease you into being wicked, goad you into it. But you seem to be getting into it perfectly well on your own."
"Damn right," Ellie nodded, arms crossed. "So, are you going to go tell them that they get to keep their son? Or not?"
"Yes," Lucifer nodded. "I'm not a fool. I'll go."
"I'm coming with you," Ellie said and followed him out of the house. "Just to make sure. I'll wait in the car and I won't take my eyes off of you for a minute."
"Except for when I get invited inside their house," Lucifer pointed out and straightened his jacket. "You won't be able to watch me then."
"You're plotting to take away their son!" Ellie reminded him. "They aren't going to invite you in."
"Oh, they might," Lucifer told her. "I can be very charming when I want to be."
"Well, you aren't now," Ellie remarked. "When are you leaving?"
"We might as well go," Lucifer told her. "Let's get this over with and do more pleasant things after." He held out his elbow with a grin. "Shall we, Eleanor?"
"Yes," Ellie sighed and took his arm. "We shall."
"What do you want?" Sybil asked when she found Lucifer standing at her and Klaus' front door. "I oughta just slam this in your face! What else can you take from us? Haven't you punished us enough already?"
"Well, if you'll just give me a chance to explain," Lucifer told her, "you will know that I have good news for you. It's been brought to my attention that perhaps I've been cruel in planning to take your son away from you and use him for my own purposes, even though I still stand by the fact that raising him could very well be a difficult venture for you."
"We've considered that," Sybil told him firmly. "If you're offering to give us our son back, we accept. If this wasn't entirely your fault, I would thank you."
"You're welcome, Sybil," he said and gave a happy little hop at the thought of what was waiting for him at home. "Good luck." He paused. "Thank you for being so sensible about this. I was honestly hoping for more of a fight."
"If you want one, I'll give it to you," Sybil told him. "You want to land in the grass when you get your black eye, or the carpet?"
"No, no, I didn't mean it that way," Lucifer put up a hand. "It's just that my...that Eleanor came with me cause she doesn't trust me to handle things in a civil manner, and I don't want her to think she came for no reason."
Sybil raised an eyebrow. "You want me to punch you in the face so you can feel macho in front of a woman? What the hell is wrong with you? I thought they were the ones who were supposed to work to impress you."
"Yes, well...it's a bit different this time," Lucifer told her impatiently. "So just punch me. Please!"
"Fine," Sybil replied and sent him flying backward with enough force that he finally landed on the grass in front of the house.
He got a little time to catch his breath and then she came to stand over him. "Thanks," she grinned. "That really did make me feel less murderous."
"Anything I can do to help," Lucifer told her, shaking his head. He hoped Eleanor appreciated everything he was letting people get away with for her sake. Then he grinned as he saw Ellie striding toward the both of them. "Have you come to defend my honor, Eleanor?" He asked. "Go ahead! She hit me!"
"Oh, you probably deserved it," Ellie told him and then took Sybil's hand. "Hi," she told her. "I'm Ellie. I'm sorry for whatever it is Lucifer's done to you. It won't happen again, I promise."
"Don't be too free and loose with the promises, Eleanor," Lucifer cautioned. "While I might not do the same thing to them, I'm sure that since Sybil there is a demon, she'll eventually do something that will catch my eye. She's not always been the best behaved person in the world, you know."
"You're not a demon," Sybil surmised, eying Ellie up and down. "So how in the world did you end up with him?"
"It's a long story," Ellie replied. "Much too complicated to get into. Now, has he told you that you'll be able to get your son back without any more interference?"
"Yes, he has," Sybil nodded. "Did you have something to do with that decision? He wouldn't be that generous on his own. I know him well enough to know that."
"Yes, I gave him an incentive to give you your son back," Ellie nodded. "And if there's anything we can do to help you from now on, just let us know, okay?"
"All right," Sybil nodded, stunned that a young woman who seemed so stable, kind, and sane, would be hanging around Lucifer. She'd probably made some selfless deal with him. Either that, or she was much darker than she seemed. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Ellie replied and offered Lucifer her hand. He took it and they walked back to the car.
"That was good," Ellie told him and patted his leg. "You were nice. I'm proud of you."
"Thank you, Eleanor," Lucifer replied. "But don't think you've turned me into a complete softie. I still have some of my dark side."
"Oh, I know," Ellie nodded. "I accept that, and I have no problem with you going after people who deserve it."
"You don't?" Lucifer asked. "Well, that's...that's good. It's nice that on some level, we understand each other."
"Do you want to go straight home?" Ellie asked.
"Yeah," Lucifer nodded. "Unless you were fibbing to me about the whole whip business."
"No," Ellie shook her head. "I wasn't."
Sybil waited on the doorstep until they drove away and then went inside.
"Who was at the door?" Klaus asked.
"It was Lucifer," she said. "Apparently, he's decided to relinquish his grip on Christopher. We get to have him back without trouble!"
"That's very good to hear," Klaus smiled. "He's still at the cave with Alistair. I'll call Alistair and tell him that it's time to bring our son home. I'm sure he'll be overjoyed to get back home to Astrid."
"I'm sure he will too," Sybil agreed. "It was awfully nice of him to help us, considering his position in the magical world and how everyone there is scared as hell of demons."
"Yeah," Klaus nodded. "He's really amazing, Alistair. I don't know what I would have done without him." He paused and asked, "So do you want me to go pick Christopher up?"
"No, I will," Sybil replied. "The demon stuff he got from me is going to cause the most trouble for him, and besides, establishing the mother-child bond is important, isn't it?"
She then went to call Alistair herself, but then was given some heartbreaking news.
"I talked to him," Alistair told her after putting her on hold for a bit. "And he says he's not ready to leave yet. Would you be willing to wait a few days before coming to pick him up?"
By the time they got home, Lucifer had decided to delay his bedroom time with Ellie until evening when his face didn't hurt so much.
"What should we do instead?" Ellie questioned.
"How much of this house have you seen?" Lucifer questioned and led her down a narrow, secret staircase behind a bookshelf. "From the look on your face, not much, I take it."
"No," Ellie shook her head. "What's down here?" Then she let out a cry as she slipped after missing one of the narrow steps. Luckily, Lucifer wasn't far behind her and was able to grab her before they both fell down the stairs.
"Why don't I just carry you?" He offered, taking her in his arms. "It might be less dangerous that way."
"It depends," Ellie replied as he continued down the stairs. "You better not drop me!"
"Really, Eleanor, does it feel like I'm going to drop you?" Lucifer asked.
"No, but I just want to make sure that you don't!" Ellie chided.
When they got down the stairs, they headed into a room that surprised Ellie very much.
"If I'm not mistaken," she said when she was put on her feet and able to look around, "this seems like a two-lane bowling alley."
"Yep, it is," Lucifer nodded with a grin. "Do you play? I've been told I'm quite good myself."
"And how many people have you set on fire just so you'll win?" Ellie asked dryly.
"Why did Dexter have to tell you about that?" Lucifer huffed. "It was one time! I've not done it since!"
"Well, I hope not," Ellie told him and sat down at the computer. "I'm putting my name in first."
"Why?" Lucifer asked. "Why can't I go first?"
"Cause I want to," Ellie replied. "And you're just gonna have to deal with it." She typed in both their names (actually, Lucifer was written down as "big crybaby") and started the game.
Lucifer was all ready to complain until he realized he had a good view to enjoy while she got into position to throw the ball. She got a strike and jumped up and down before turning and grinning at him.
"See?" She said. "Now it's your turn. Not much of a wait, was it?"
"No, I guess not," Lucifer replied and grabbed the ball out of her hands. Then he assumed the position and was throwing when a wolf whistle came from behind him, threw off his aim, and made the ball go into the gutter. "Damn!" He swore and turned to glare at Ellie, who had her hands in her lap and was looking very innocent.
"What?" She asked. "Why are you looking at me with a mad face?"
"You were trying to make me lose!" He cried. "You did that on purpose!"
"Well, excuse me for wanting to express appreciation for the view I was getting of your ass in those pants," Ellie told him. "You're always telling me that I should acknowledge my feelings for you, and then when I do, you get cranky. You know, sometimes, you make no sense at all."
Lucifer just shook his head and muttered under his breath. His second throw made him get nine pins down. This was how the rest of the game went for him, and since he learned to expect it, his scores for the second, third, fourth, and fifth games were much higher, even though Ellie still won by ten pins.
"I think we should stop now," Lucifer told her when the fifth game was over. "I just remembered what I'd rather be doing instead. And you did promise."
"Oh, I didn't forget," Ellie replied earnestly as he picked her up and carried her to the narrow, twisty stairwell again. "I just wanted to see if you'd remember, since you seemed so determined to beat me at bowling and all."
"I wouldn't forget what you have in store," Lucifer assured her as she rested her head on his shoulder. "I promise."
When they got upstairs, they made a quick detour to check on the twins, who were sleeping soundly, and then, finally, got down to business, with Ellie changing into the outfit she'd worn for their first encounter and Lucifer handcuffed naked to the bed.
Ellie cracked the whip in the air once, and even though it didn't touch him, his body still twitched and he burst into laughter as Ellie then came over to the bed and ran her hands over his back and bottom, glad they'd decided to rest him on his belly.
He then began moaning with pleasure and that was when she first brought the whip down on his back. "Does that feel just as good?" She asked.
"In its own way, yes," Lucifer replied. "Do it again!" He commanded. "Do it until I bleed!"
So she did and soon his body was covered in blood and he was laughing so hard he couldn't breathe.
Then, she turned him over and looked deeply into his eyes before giving his stomach a few lashes as well.
"Why did you have to turn me over?" He asked. She was truly looking into the devil's eyes now. There was nothing human about his face. But she wasn't frightened.
"Cause I want to know what your blood tastes like," she remarked, running her finger alonge one of the cuts on his belly and then sticking it in her mouth. "And I wanted you to watch me while I tasted you."
She sucked on her finger as he watched her with wide-eyed fascination, his breathing slowing, his face turning human again. "How do I taste?" He asked at last.
"Good," she said, stripping below the waist and straddling him again before leaning forward and kissing his chest, then licking more blood from his cuts. "How much do you think I can have before I turn into a monster?"
"I don't know," Lucifer replied. "But you can have as much as you want. It doesn't matter to me. It's just nice to know you weren't fibbing about being a vampire."
"No, I wasn't," Ellie shook her head and thrust her hips forward. "I wouldn't lie about that. What would the point be?"
"I don't know," Lucifer shook his head. "You could be saying nonsense to impress me."
"Oh, come on, Luci," she grinned and pinched his cheek. "You and I both know that I don't have to make stuff up to impress you, do I?"
"No," Lucifer admitted before reaching up to, lower her top and cup her breasts. "You sure don't."
"I don't want to go in there," Christopher spat, trying to get free of the grip Sybil had on his hand when they reached the house. She'd finally been able to bring him home after three days of him stubbornly refusing to leave Alistair and the cave. "I don't want to go in there!"
"Well where do you want to go, then?" Sybil cried irritably. "You didn't want to be in the car, I assume, because you tried to jump out twice, which you can not do in the middle of traffic. It's a bad idea! You could be hurt."
"I want to be in the yard," Christopher replied. "A wide open space like I had in the cave with Alistair, since you wouldn't let me stay there. You just want to trap me!"
"I don't!" Sybil assured him, while trying not to resent him for making the bonding process so damn difficult. "I want to bond with you and love you because I'm your mother!"
"You might be," Christopher replied, his red eyes narrowed. "But I'm still sleeping outside."
"No, you're not!" Sybil shook her head and dragged her son in the house. "Klaus, tell Christopher he can't sleep out in the yard!"
"Why not?" Klaus questioned, sensing exactly why his son was having that urge and looking over the beastly-looking young man. "How's it gonna hurt him, Sybil?"
"Thank you!" Christopher told him, finally breaking free and running to hug his father. "I've been trying to tell her that, but she just won't listen!"
"Yeah, sometimes she doesn't," Klaus told him. "But it's something you get used to and are able to ignore after a time."
"Really?" Christopher asked skeptically. "I don't know about that."
"Hey!" Sybil cried. "I'm standing right here!"
"Yeah, we know," Christopher replied and turned his attention back to his father. "Do you know where we can get a tent and set it up?"
"Yes," Klaus nodded. "There's a store that sells outdoor stuff not far from here. We can go pick out the tent you want there."
"Good," Christopher nodded and gave a shudder. "Anything to get out of here. I'm starting to feel like everything is closing in on me!"
They left the house and Sybil sighed, collapsing in a chair. She had tried really hard to be welcoming and loving. Sure, she'd probably been shorter on patience than she should have been, but that was no reason for Christopher to just toss her aside! No reason at all.
Wanting some positive attention, she called her father.
"Are you okay?" Jeffrey asked. "You seem down."
"Well, good news is, we finally convinced your grandson to leave the cave and come home with us. The bad news is, he hates me and would rather live in the yard. I don't know what I did to make him hate me so much. I haven't had time to make the same mess with him that I made with Eric."
"You'll probably hate that the only advice I can give you now is to just be patient," Jeffrey replied. "Don't push him. Let him come to you."
"Do you think that'll work?" Sybil asked.
"Well, what other choice do you have if you want to have any hope for your relationship at all?" Jeffrey asked. "You want me to come over there? Bring a pizza?"
"Yeah," Sybil nodded as she watched Klaus and Christopher come into the yard through the glass back door, sighing as she saw them setting up the tent. "That would be nice. I could use the company."
"All right," Jeffrey nodded. "I won't be long, I promise. Bye, sweetheart."
"Bye, Daddy," Sybil replied and ended the call.
