Azrael sat on the bench outside Beelzebean, her hands lightly clasped, though she kept her eyes open. That feeling she'd had since she left the penthouse, that creepy, being-watched feeling that prickled the space between her shoulder blades, had not gone away and, quite frankly, she wanted to put a wall between herself and whatever was causing it. Come on, come on. After a moment, she felt a hand on her shoulder and she smiled up at Josh, tugging her bag onto her shoulder.

"Want to get a coffee?" she queried, getting to her feet and edging toward the building behind her.

Her brother regarded her in some puzzlement. "You called me down here for coffee?" He considered that, then shrugged agreeably. "Okay, but you're buying."

Azrael smiled a little. "What, did I interrupted your halo-polishing?" She smiled as Josh held the door for her. The creepy feeling faded a little as the door closed behind her, but still nagged at her. She looked back outside, but didn't see anything. Maybe it was nothing. Paranoid.

"Oh, the snark is strong," Josh teased. "There's Lucifer's influence, I see."

"Hey," Azrael protested as she queued up. "I'll have you know I was snarky long before I came here."

Josh nodded, agreeing, "That's very true, but you and Lucifer go way back, too."

"Not everything is his fault, Josh," Azrael said pointedly, before turning to the barista and requesting, "Please give me whatever has the most caffeine in the biggest possible size." Seeing the barista glance to Josh, she protested, "You don't need to check with my brother."

"Maybe she just wants to know what I want," Josh suggested mildly, adding, "Archangel Dreams tea, please. Large." Seeing Azrael's raised eyebrow, he added innocently, "I hear it's heavenly."

Azrael rested her bag on the counter, the better to dig through it for her cash. The barista gave her the total and took their names, adding, "I love your bag."

Azrael beamed, giving the bag a fond pat. It was dark gray and emblazoned with a My Little Pony: white with a black mane and tail, and a black skull in place of the usual cutie mark. "Thanks," Azrael replied brightly as she handed over the cash. "I got it on Etsy." She tucked a bill in the tip jar and headed for a four-top near the window. She glanced at the street, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

Josh followed, eyeing the bag with interest. "Pale horse, huh? Cute."

Azrael smiled. "Michael made fun of me with this franchise. I figured it's more fun to own it."

"Best not to let him get under your skin," Josh agreed. "It's so much more entertaining that way." He studied Azrael, then said, "You look a lot better. More centered."

Azrael looked up with a smile as their drinks were delivered - hers was labeled Ray - and then nodded at Josh. "I feel better. Sleeping most of yesterday helped a lot." She sipped her drink before saying plainly, "I don't know how long I'm going to be here, but now I know Dad doesn't mean it to be permanent, as long as I toe the line. Just knowing that... it helps."

"Is it so bad here?" Josh queried. He sampled his own beverage, and his brows lifted. "Nice."

"No," Azrael replied, though she sounded a little subdued. "Actually, it's... I don't know." She frowned a little, shaking her head. "Now that I'm not moping about my situation, I like it here, really; I swear, before I was one emo song away from dyeing my hair black."

Josh grinned. "You know that's not a good look for you."

Azrael nodded. "Especially not in this body," she agreed.

There were a few moments of companionable silence, then Josh suggested, "Not that this isn't pleasant and all, sis..."

"...but you know I didn't just call you down here for coffee - or, um, Archangel Dreams. Right." Azrael took another swallow of her drink and set the cup aside. "Why did Dad send me here?"

His expression pained, Josh replied, "Even if I had all the answers - which I don't - you know I can't tell you that."

Azrael took a little time to gather her next words: a reasoned argument, rather than the whining protest of the child she appeared to be. "I don't know that, Josh. I know he won't tell me what he wants me to do, and I accept that. But can't you give me a little hint to his motivation? I mean, that whole thing with Trixie and Chloe would have been a lot less nerve-wracking if I'd known that there weren't going to be reprisals from upstairs."

Josh leaned back in his seat. "There's a pet store across the street," he observed, looking out the window. "Want to go look at puppies after we're done here?"

Azrael looked at her brother as if he'd grown a second head. "What are you talking about?"

"Puppies," Josh replied, with a gesture toward the window and, presumably, the store beyond. "Baby dogs. You'd like them."

Shaking her head, Azrael said, "Of course I like puppies, but are you seriously trying to distract me with cute, small animals? I'm not really a kid; you get that, right?" Azrael pressed, a little more loudly, "I could really use some help with this. Lucifer, he's -"

"Is everything okay?"

Azrael turned and, seeing a familiar face to go with the familiar voice, smiled. "Linda. How nice to see you. Care to join us?"

The chair nearest to Linda moved closer to her, but the therapist glanced down in time to see Azrael's foot doing the shoving, rather than some weird, angelic telekinesis. There was that, at least. "For a few minutes," she agreed, taking the seat. Turning to Josh with a smile, she said, "I'm Linda, as Rae just said - Linda Martin. Nice to meet you."

Josh offered a hand. "These days, I'm going by Josh. Good to meet you as well."

Linda shook Josh's hand for just a little too long, sending a wide-eyed look to Azrael. "Josh, as in...?"

"Yeah." Azrael reached to take Linda's cup from her slackening grasp and set it on the table, her manner contrite. "Sorry. There's no gentle way to break that. But at least it's not Dad."

Linda finally retrieved her hand from Josh's, murmuring, "Oh, my God." She paused, fumbling for wirds, then added, "Sorry, I didn't mean..."

"It's fine," Josh reassured. "And, well, only if you believe in the trinity. I'd rather not overstep, honestly; Dad's the one in charge. Sorry I missed you yesterday. I wanted to get the rental car back before closing."

Linda closed her eyes for a moment, murmuring, "Jesus returns rental cars." She looked over at Azrael, taking a sharp breath as the rest of Azrael's words registered. "Your father? He's not... dropping by, is he?"

"I hope not," Azrael replied bluntly, with a faint grimace. She sent a look of inquiry to Josh; he shrugged in response.

Linda finally looked at Josh, and then it was as if she couldn't look away. "Well, you're right," she said to Azrael. "He's not blond."

Josh looked a little puzzled. "Sometimes my hair lightens up a bit when I'm outside a lot - surfing, and the like - but never that much."

"Those pictures," Azrael supplied. "The ones where you're all square-jawed?"

Josh's expression cleared. "Right, those. Okay." He glanced at Linda, who was still studying him and mouthing surfing. "Are you all right?"

Linda took a moment, clearly pulling herself back into focus, then summoned a smile. "Yes," she replied, a little more certainty coloring her voice as Josh smiled at her, "Yes. Thank you."

Azrael shook her head, amused. "Lucifer solves crimes, I like musical theater, and Josh cheats at surfing -"

"I don't cheat," he protested, though he smiled.

Azrael ignored her brother, concluding, "We're just regular people, Linda."

"No, you're not." Linda spoke with absolute certainly.

Azrael considered that. "No, we're not," she agreed. "But we do regular people things." She nudged Josh and nodded to something behind Linda, eliciting a sigh from her brother.

Half-turning in her seat, Linda saw that Azrael had indicated a man waiting for a to-go order, his shirt proclaiming, Jesus: Our Only Hope. Turning back to see Josh's sheepish expression Linda asked candidly, "What do you think when you see something like that?"

"Well, I disagree," Josh replied with a small smile. "I mean, I'm glad to be considered a hope, for those who believe, but hardly the only one. If it's all on me, well... that's a lot of pressure, right?" Still, he didn't seem at all upset, instead adding, "Humanity has provided plenty of reasons for hope all on its own. "

Linda nodded thoughtfully. "Well, I'm glad you find hope in us. Sometimes that can be hard to see." She glanced over at Azrael who was frowning as she peered out the window, and added, "But I'm interrupting..."

Azrael shook her head, refocusing on the others at her table. "No, really, you're not." At Linda's raised brow, she added, "We were talking, but... actually -" She hesitated, then said, "Without this coming off as a request for therapy when you're clearly not working..."

Linda smiled, though not without an internal sigh. "Yes?"

"Rae, she's just trying to get a coffee," Josh protested.

"You're just saying that because you know she'd pick my side," Azrael replied, with a smile.

Linda shook her head. "I wouldn't choose sides," she said firmly. Darting a glance between the siblings, she added, "Especially these sides. That seems like it could potentially have... consequences." Seeing Azrael deflate a little, she added, "But I'd be happy to listen."

Josh shook his head. "Rae, how do you think this will help?"

"Linda's helpful," Azrael replied. "She helps Lucifer."

Josh said quickly to Linda, "I never intended to imply that you don't; we all know how great you've been for him."

"That's... just a little disturbing," Linda decided. Eyes narrowing, she asked, "You don't spy on our sessions, do you?"

"I don't," Josh said quickly. "I can't speak for anybody else. Probably not, though."

Linda sighed. "Because I need another level of paranoia in my life..." She shook her head and then drew herself upward a bit, focusing. "Rae, what did you want to talk about?"

Azrael took a long drink of coffee, then got down to business. "Well, Dad sent me here to accomplish a task," she began.

Linda lifted a hand. "But you said he sent you here because you lost something."

Azrael shook her head. "My brother Michael misinformed me," she said lightly. "It's a task. Well, probably more than one. And kind of... a vacation."

"Okay," Linda said, drawing out the word to give herself time to think. "What's the task?" Seeing Azrael's triumphant look to Josh, Linda added quickly, "That wasn't picking sides!"

"She doesn't know what the task is," Josh explained. "But she'll do it." Turning to his sister, he added, "Rae, Dad knows what he's doing. You have to have faith. Even a little, like a -"

Azrael groaned. "Not the mustard seed again, Josh. Nobody gets the mustard seed."

"Matthew did," Josh replied, his brows lowering. "Really, it's not a tough concept. It starts out small, and -"

Azrael reached over and patted her little brother's hand, her expression sympathetic and just a little amused, "He was just trying to make you feel better."

Linda watched the pair with fascination.

Azrael, catching her gaze, grinned briefly. "Yes, that Matthew." Sobering, she added, "I know he's not going to tell me what I'm supposed to do. He made that very clear. But I'd like to know why. Why me, why here?"

Josh sighed. "You're splitting hairs. If I told you why, that would basically be the same thing as telling you what."

Linda shifted forward in her chair, drawing the attention of the siblings and grimacing just a bit at the weight of their regard. Still, she asked, "Rae, why does it matter so much for you to know why?"

Azrael cast a frustrated look at her brother then looked down at the table for a moment, tracing one finger around a coffee stain. "Wouldn't you want to know?" she asked softly. "I mean, knowing who our father is, if you knew he wanted you to do something but wouldn't tell you what it was?" She sighed, raking a hand through her hair to rub at the back of her neck, then glanced out the window.

Linda nodded thoughtfully. "I suppose I would," she agreed slowly. Turning to Josh, she asked, "Did your father ask you not to tell her?"

"Not in so many words, but the implication was there," Josh replied.

Azrael shifted back in her chair and looked over at her brother. "And you're not going to cross Dad." Her words were a statement of fact, with no criticism evident. She of all beings, after all, could hardly take offense at paternal obedience. "Okay, what about answering a very specific question?"

"I'd have to hear it before I can say," Josh replied, his expression serious.

Linda finally took a drink of her coffee. Of course, it was no longer hot. Of course.

Azrael lowered her voice, looking intently at her brother as she spoke. "What he wants me to do, will it result in Lucifer going back to Hell?"

Linda turned sharply to look at Josh, who didn't answer immediately. Finally, when he had considered his answer long enough that a look of impatience crossed Azrael's face, he said, "I don't think so, but I'm not Uriel. I can't see the patterns the way he could. That's not the intended immediate effect, though."

"Good," Azrael replied, though she still looked as if she would have preferred a more definitive answer. "Thanks, Josh. I appreciate it."

Josh nodded, though not without a hint of unease. "I should get back," he said, resting a hand briefly on Azrael's shoulder. "Linda, it was nice meeting you. Good luck with my family."

"Thanks," Linda replied, with a wan smile. "I'll probably need it."

Azrael watched Josh depart, then took a drink of her coffee. "Ugh, cold," she murmured, making a wry face. She looked over at Linda, asking, "So how are you?"

"This is almost starting to feel routine," the therapist replied, with a sigh. "I don't know what that says about me."

Azrael smiled. "I'll try for more warning if another of my siblings shows up, but I didn't know you'd be here."

Linda made a vague, dismissive gesture with one hand, studying Azrael as she did so. "Are they likely to do that?"

Azrael shrugged, glancing out the window. "Honestly, I have no idea. Raf and Michael have been here. Gabriel shows up occasionally, though I haven't seen him lately - you'd like him, everyone does." She got to her feet, adding, "Josh said there's a pet store across the street. Want to go look at puppies?"

Linda laughed, shaking her head. "You know what? Why not."

Azrael got to her feet and grabbed her cup, tossing it in a nearby trash can. "Puppy therapy," she quipped. An idea struck her, and she turned to Linda. "Do you have someone to talk to? I mean, you've gone through some stuff with all this, I'll bet."

"Oh, I have," Linda agreed. "But who would I tell? I can talk to Maze, though, and it helps that Chloe knows, too, for..." Linda took in the nearby people in the coffeehouse and elided her words. "... someone with an experience more like mine."

"Well, I'm always glad to chat, if you like," Azrael offered. "Or just listen. Goodness knows, my family can inspire some rants." Linda nodded noncommittally, and Azrael smiled. "On to the puppies? Won't be the weirdest thing you've done today."

"Truer words were never spoken," Linda replied as she stood, her voice utterly sincere.