While Valerie dealt with Charlotte, the twins and the angels were waking up to face the afterwards of what they'd done. Michael awoke with a start and looked down at Emma, who was sleeping soundly beside him and sighed with relief. It was good. That way, he could get dressed, sneak out, and he wouldn't have to face her. It would be easier that way. He got out of bed, quietly dressed, and then was all ready to leave when he was hindered by a squeaky door hinge, which made a half-awake Emma sit upright.
"Where are you going?" She asked, her hair sticking up like a halo, especially in the early morning light. "Are you leaving me? Please don't do that. Come back." Her lip jutted out, but she didn't move until he turned the doorknob and took two steps out the door. Then she threw the covers aside and strode toward him, looking less angelic and more irritated.
"Nice to see you're not treating me any different than anyone else, in spite of how I thought so last night," she said, hands on hips. "Do you always run out in the morning while your dates are asleep so you don't have to face your feelings and say goodbye?"
"I was gonna come back," Michael improvised quickly, trying to keep his eyes off her naked body so he would leave like he wanted to. "I was just getting you breakfast, but if you don't want it, fine. One less thing for me to have to do."
"I can get my own breakfast thank you, but don't let me stop you from eating," Emma shot back.
He let his eyes sweep her body now. "You look good. I thought you would have wanted to cover yourself up like a blushing virgin before you exposed yourself to me again."
"I think we're past that," Emma told him. "I just wanted to remind you what you were missing out on as you ran out on me like the coward you are!"
"I told you, it wasn't cowardice!" Michael hissed through his teeth. "I was just going to eat! Aren't I allowed to do that anymore? Or do I need Her Highness' permission before I do so much as piss?"
"Oh, go and eat!" Emma spat. "I could use a few minutes of not looking at your stupid face!"
And with that, Michael scoffed, turned on his heel, and left the bedroom, making sure to slam the door behind him.
"What an idiot," Emma said to herself, grabbing a blanket from the end of the bed to put around her shoulders. "But if I know him, he won't be gone long." She then counted down from five as the door opened again, Michael strode to her and grabbed her, his mouth crashing against hers as the blanket fell to the floor.
"What took you so long?" She asked breathlessly as he picked her up and carried her back to bed. "Afraid to face Uncle Lucifer?"
"Why do you keep saying I'm afraid of everything when I'm not?" Michael asked as he took off his pants, waited with an eye roll for Emma to zap on a condom,and then slipped inside her.
"Oh, please," Emma scoffed. "Everyone's afraid of something. Even you."
"Nope, nothing," MIchael shook his head. "Now no talking. You're ruining the mood."
Emma scoffed at this. "Well, excuse me," she said as he sucked gently on her nipples. "Who's acting like a His Highness now?"
Lexie woke up to the feeling of Gabriel running his fingers through her hair. "I was gonna shower," he said. "You wanna do it with me?"
"It depends," Lexie replied and turned slightly. "Is it a sexy shower or are we just cleaning ourselves?"
"So you'll do one but not the other," Gabriel scoffed. "It's nice you think I'm only good for one thing!"
"Well, you ask me if I want to shower first thing in the morning, what am I suposed to think?" Lexie asked. "Especially after last night?"
"I thought last night was nice," Gabriel told her. "Sorry, it won't happen again."
"Oh, yes it will," Lexie told him. "Okay, I'll shower with you, even if we don't get soapy and feel each other up."
He followed her into the bathroom and she couldn't help but keep her eyes on him as he turned the water on and stripped down. "I don't mind that," he said and pulled her close against his body. "I just don't want it to be all we do. I really want to be close to you, that's all, Alexandra."
Lexie squirmed a little at this. It was nice to hear because if she was honest, she never really felt wanted and cared about by anyone. She was the one who did all the caring, but no one really was good enough to be there for her. Could she trust Gabriel? Did he really mean what he said?
"Do you mean it?" She asked. "Do you really want to be with me...just be with me? No strings attached or anything?"
"Yes, I mean it," Gabriel replied. "Now let's get in the shower."
They did, with Lexie letting Gabriel go ahead of her. Then he turned around to face her, held out his hand, and after she took it, gently pulled her into the spray. He then held her under the warm water for a bit, not washing her or touching her, just...holding her, her head resting on his shoulder as the water soaked both of them in silence except for the sound of the falling water overhead. She was so relaxed, her eyes even closed for a few seconds, before he roused her and her eyes snapped open.
"I didn't mean to make you fall asleep," he said. "That wasn't the point of this. Let's wash up!"
"You don't have to tell me twice," Lexie remarked. She paused and then asked, "Would you wash me first?"
"Sure," Gabriel nodded, giving her a gentle smile that nearly turned her legs into jelly. He really did have a nice smile. It was like pure damn sunshine. "It would be my pleasure."
"Well, you're damn right it would!" Lexie answered a little too loudly, trying to get control of the situation back.
He gave her a look of surprise and then soaped up a loofah, washing her gently just for washing's sake and then, after that, washed Lexie's more intimate parts as she held onto him tightly and played with his hair.
After he was done, Lexie opened her mouth and reached for the loofah, but he kept it from her and washed himself, then turned off the water and took her hand to lead her out and back to bed.
"But what about your turn?" Lexie asked curiously. "Don't you want me to clean you?"
"Thanks, but...I want this to be all about you for the moment," he told her. "What kind of lotion do you like?"
"I just...I don't know! I don't spend my time smelling pretty!" Lexie said. "You pick something."
So Gabriel nodded and looked around, finding a container of lotion that smelled like lavendar, then stood behind her, slathering her body with it, and then urged her to sit down on the side of the tub so he could put it on her feet.
"I feel like a spoiled poodle," Lexie said, even though she was enjoying herself immensely. It did feel good.
"That can be a good thing," Gabriel said. "You deserve it every once in a while. You don't just have to give and give all the time."
"But it makes me soft," she said. "It makes me weak!"
"No, it doesn't," Gabriel insisted, taking her face in his hands. "It makes you...human."
"Oh, okay, enough of this!" Lexie cried after he finished with her feet. She zapped on some clothes and then stomped out of the bathroom, finally convincing him to let her touch him for a while, and then when he'd climaxed, she realized she was hungry. "I'm going to get food. Are you hungry? Do you want me to get you some?"
"You don't have to," Gabriel told her and quickly put on some clothes. "I'll come with you."
"Fine," Lexie nodded, hoping that the spell she'd done to zap copies of herself and Emma to the kitchen so that everyone downstairs wouldn't ask questions had worked. "Whatever."
"Have you seen Alexandra and Emma?" Lucifer asked Valerie as she came running into the kitchen, making everyone stare. "I thought they were here, but I just...I must have been hallucinating."
"No, haven't seen them," Valerie shook her head, her voice breathless. "They're probably still in bed, but we have bigger problems. Grandma escaped Hell and she's in my bedroom. She's in a body called Charlotte."
"You see, Eleanor?" Lucifer turned to his wife. "I told you finding her wouldn't be hard."
Ellie let out a relieved breathe and commenced shoveling scrambled eggs down her throat.
"Mom stressed?" Valerie asked.
"Yes, poor thing," Lucifer kissed Ellie's hair. "Just a little. Now, why is my mother here?"
"Well, I don't know," Valerie shrugged. "She hasn't told me much. She was hiding in my closet. And then she beat me up. You should talk to her."
"Yes, I suppose I should," Lucifer nodded and eyed Ellie. "Wanna come?"
"It might be too early for me to face that woman," Ellie sighed. "But I'm gonna show her that she can't intimidate me! Let's go! And then after that, we'll tell your brothers! Nice family reunion, huh?"
"Grandma is here?" Noah asked. "I...really? Where is she? I wanna meet her!"
"I don't," Angelica said. "One grandparent from Dad's side to cause me trouble is enough."
"Well, that's just as well," Valerie told her sister. "She doesn't like you. She thinks you're a square!"
"What?" Angelica asked, hopping to her feet. "How dare she say that? I'll show her who's a square!"
She stomped off, leaving the rest of the family to follow, including Michael and Gabriel who were just coming down with Lexie and Emma.
"What's going on?" Gabriel asked. "Where's everyone going? Did we miss breakfast?"
"Well, no, but...we're going to see Mum," Lucifer explained. "And if you want to stay here, you better be willing to help with whatever trouble she says she's gonna cause."
"What makes you think she wants to cause trouble?" Noah asked. "What if she just wants to party?"
"Why are you on her side anyway?" Angelica asked her brother. "She was put in Hell for a reason. She could be evil!"
"Well, you can't really go with that logic," Vincent said. "Dad was put in Hell too, and we all know why that was and it wasn't cause he actually did anything wrong."
"Thank you, Vincent," Lucifer told him. "I appreciate that."
"You're welcome," Vincent replied. He thought about going to get Lauren, who was sleeping, but then decided it would be best to keep her right where she was.
When they reached Valerie's bedroom, opened the door, and stormed in, Charlotte rose and smiled. "How nice to see everyone. This is exactly what I wanted...to be with my family..." her eyes then met Angelica and Ellie. "Even you two. I suppose you can stay."
"You can't kick me out!" Angelica told her. "I live here! My boyfriend is having issues right now, so I'm moving in for a bit which means you have to be nice to me! And just for the record, I am not a square! I am just as bad as anyone! Got that?"
Everyone then looked on in surprise as she then spat in Charlotte's face and kicked her in the shin.
"Well, that was uncalled for," Charlotte said, putting a hand to her cheek and wincing.
"Oh, I don't think it was," Angelica replied, eyes narrowed. "And if the point hasn't hit home yet, I'll be happy to keep making it until it does...or until you go back to Hell where you belong!"
She then stormed out and Charlotte caught Lucifer's eye. "What an angry child. Where does it all come from?"
"Dad's put her through a lot," Lucifer replied. "And if he doesn't stop, I sense another rebellion coming. She's already shown she's not afraid to stand up to me."
"You wanna deal with her, or should I?" Ellie asked.
"Well, I know you'd like to, but I think I'll take this one if you don't mind," Lucifer told her and then left the rest of his family to either bond with or suffer at the hands of Charlotte, depending on the woman's whims.
He found Angelica in her room and stood in the doorway, clearing his throat until she looked up at him.
"Did you come to yell at me for spitting on Grandma?" Angelica asked.
"No," Lucifer grinned and sat down beside her. "It was pure brilliance. Do you want me to buy you a pony? Or a new car? Cause I will!"
"Silver Jag with seat warmers?" Angelica asked, grinning broadly. "Convertible, of course."
"You have such good taste!" Lucifer grinned back. "You get that from me."
"And I mean what I said about moving back in for a while," Angelica added. "Is that okay?"
"Of course it's okay!" Lucifer replied. "I mean, I got a call that the other house is practically fixed so you'll have to endure a move eventually, but...you may stay as long as you like, no problem."
"I thought so," Angelica smiled. "But I just wanted to make sure with everyone else popping up out of the woodwork all of a sudden."
"You'll always be welcome," Lucifer said firmly and hugged her. Then he let her go and sighed. "I should probably go rescue your mother from mine. It's really not fair that I get the nicest mother in law in the world and she's literally stuck with the mother in law from Hell."
"All right," Angelica replied. "You go rescue her. I'll just be here for now."
When Lucifer arrived back at Valerie's room, he saw that everyone but Valerie and Noah and Michael had been banished to the hallway.
"Why'd you all get kicked out?" He questioned. "Did she not like you? Did she not mean it when she said she wanted to bond with family?"
"Well, i believe she still does," Gabriel replied. "But now she just wants to with the 'fun' people. Don't you believe she came for a good reason, brother?"
"Oh, I don't think so!" Lucifer replied. "I think she's lying and she's up to something and if she wants to bond with any of us, it comes second to whatever she's really planning."
"Maybe we should tell your father," Ellie suggested. "Lucifer, I know you don't like that, but it might be good to have HIm in our corner if your mom is up to something."
"Yes, you think he would have come over by now," Lucifer remarked. "Strange thing. Maybe he's too busy snogging Gwen to pay attention to the real trouble. Wouldn't surprise me."
But then she received another call, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw it was from Steve.
"Is...is my wife at your house by any chance? My ex-wife, I mean?"
"Yes, sir," Ellie said. "You already know. That's good. We were just going to check to see if you did."
"Oh, I've been waiting for this for months," Steve told her, his tone somber. "And now it's finally happened."
"Should we worry?" Ellie asked. "Are we all gonna die?"
"For now, just be on your guard," Steve warned her. "I can't always be certain what my wife has planned. Be on your guard and look out for each other while I look out for Gwen and her family because I am very certain that when she finds out about Gwen, my wife will not be happy."
"All right," Ellie said and reached for Lucifer's hand, gripping it tight as he pulled her close to himself. "We will. We promise."