7

There were days that sucked.

There were days when it rained, your umbrella broke, and you walked into work looking like a drowned rat. There were days when your tire went flat, and you walked the five blocks back home. There were even days where your fucking boyfriend turned out to be a serial killer and almost killed you.

So many days.

Then there were days that broke your soul, like finding out about your boss murdering your friend or the heartbreak of watching an eleven-year-old child beg every adult she knew to lie and say her father was still alive.

But today was neither of those days. Today was an epic level of shit and disappointment and pants shitting terror that despite speaking Spanish, French, English, and even a lot of Klingon, Ella Lopez lacked a word fucked up enough to describe it. A day that started with being literally abducted by a giant dude swearing at her in Finnish? She had no idea but kind of sounded like that or maybe Norwegian. Being freaking teleported to some craggy ass mountains who knew where. And having watched her best friend of years and his brother just pop out angel wings and apparently fight off that Loki like it was no big deal and just a Tuesday.

Oh and the flight back to the penthouse at Lux that made her puke the minute she got back to the apartment and ended up with chunks all over some rug Luce owned that had to be worth more than her salary anyway. Good. It should.

If she weren't so furious, Ella would have found it funny that her tiny ass pacing and shouting at both Amenadiel and Lucifer had two angels upset and scared to move from the couch. But this was not that day, and every bit of her was boiling over with rage.

"You knew! This whole fucking time…you knew that I was having a crisis of faith and doing drugs and freaking out and you just…you let me."

Lucifer had the gall to shrink into himself, to look toward Amenadiel, and wait for his big brother to take the lead. For once. Amenadiel, however, looked at her about as scared and stricken.

"And…" she went on, all the implications running over and over in her mind. "You just let me twist myself into a pretzel. Trying to convince things about my life about emu feathers and how shitty an actor you are, Lucifer! Joke's on me because you're apparently so good a mentiroso, that I bought every damn thing you said. I mean, I met your Dad! I met God. Haha, don't tell Ella, she's a fangirl, right?"

Amenadiel had the grace to try and answer her. "It wasn't like that. I…it is hard on humans when they find out."

"Oh, you know that explains Dan being twitchy the whole time your Dad was in town since he knew and you know God was right there!"

"Miss Lopez-"

She rounded on Lucifer and glared at him with all the fury she ever had for Ricardo at his most annoying. "No, Lucifer, you don't get to call me that. I mean that's formal and cute and all that politeness. But it's not polite to lie to me, and it's not cool to keep that distance. You knew how much I struggled with my faith and my darkness, and you just let me swing there laughing at God's brain freeze like it was no big deal."

"Miss…Ella," he corrected, still sitting beside Amenadiel.

A small, traitorous part of her still wanted to wrap her arms around him and hold him tightly. It was the part of her that had thought of him like a brother, but you didn't lie to your friends. Sorry bluff, and you didn't let them think that they were alone in the universe when you could prove fucking better.

"But you know, some fucking Norse god wants to mess with you two and oh hey steal Ella. Just the clueless human. Isn't that funny?"

Amenadiel stood up and started to walk over to her. But she backed away. An angel, a real angel, and all she wanted was to keep on screaming. "Ella, we didn't…we didn't think."

"Oh I'll say. So why now did freaking Loki and so not hot like Tom Hiddleston but why would he decide to start kidnapping friends you haven't really spoken to in a few months when you're mostly back in Florida, Luce. I mean so why now does he give two shits about the Devil?"

Lucifer sat up and looked at her, and the pain in his brown eyes still tugged at her heart strings in a way that she hated. She'd helped him through so many ups and downs of his relationship with Chloe that she'd lost track. She'd been there for him, patiently, all month while Chloe was away in Rome. No, he'd had so many times to tell her, and he'd let her swing over and over again.

"I'm not the Devil. I mean, not technically. Mazikeen earned a promotion, and she runs Hell. After Father retired a few months back, well, I received his mantle."

Ella blinked at him. That could not be what she was hearing. There was no way on any planet that Lucifer, her friend who had terrible ideas which she usually liked and had gone undercover with her at a nudist colony among other things, was Yahweh now. Even if his dad…and the whole family business...it made no sense for Lucifer to be God. He wasn't the type.

Even thinking back on the calming presence of his father, Ella couldn't see him like that. Amenadiel had the same sincerity and gravitas, surely, but Lucifer was a goofball. Those did not tend to run the universe.

"You're the Big Guy?"

"I'm as svelte as I ever was," he huffed, the vanity peeking through a bit. "However, yes, I've been God since shortly after Daniel's death. Chloe and I moved to the Silver City. When I explained she'd be consulting for me, I meant she'd be my right hand in the most important of family businesses. However, when a new leader comes in…other pantheons tend to push limits. I apologize that you were caught in the crossfire."

She set her hands on her hips and glared at him. It didn't matter that Lucifer was now God. She was so pissed, and he wasn't gonna smite her if she spoke out of turn. Ella might have known basically nothing about all her friends, but she knew that much about Lucifer's personality. "So you and Amenadiel and Maze were always exactly who you said you were. And Eve's that Eve. Shit, when you said Pierce was immortal and Cain then that was true too."

Amenadiel nodded as Lucifer sighed. The Devil, no, God replied, "Yes."

Ella's heart broke harder. "And I just wasn't important enough to tell? My pain didn't even matter?"

"Ella, you did say that the reason faith worked was it was blind," Amenadiel added, but his voice was small and quiet.

She shook her head at both of them. "Will other gods that hey exist now come after me?"

Lucifer's eyes went red for a moment, and her own grew huge at the display. "No, after the example we set, they know better than to do that to you or any of our families. I am sorry."

"No, you're upset the secret finally came out. That's really different. I just…I was in so much pain for so long and you could have proved so many things, and you just didn't. Either it was too inconvenient for you or I never mattered or both."

Lucifer was on his feet then and from the sofa, well, the movement was so fast that she didn't even realize it until he was hugging her tight, something he'd only done a couple times before, usually when she'd panicked, like when Chloe was taken. Ella relaxed for a half second in the grip because it had brought comfort and it was Luce, but then she froze up. Then she shoved at him till he dropped her. It didn't feel like God, but then again, Lucifer had to be going with her. Clearly if he hadn't wanted her to move, she wouldn't have.

But he let her go.

Maybe Lucifer always had in a way, or she'd have been important enough to tell.

"Mis…Ella, hermana, of course you mattered."

"Not enough not to let me suffer. I just...fuck you both. You lied, and after everything that's happened to me, it's not fair. It's not right."

She turned then and stomped to the elevator, not caring at all if they followed her or not.

Two weeks later, after giving her notice and arranging to move home to Detroit, Ella was packing up her stuff in her shoe box of an apartment. After all, rent in L.A. was killer. When the knock came, she half expected it to be Carcossa. The uni had offered to take her to a goodbye drink with a few other unis and one other tech for a while. Ella hadn't exactly said no, but she hadn't said yes either. Just given a noncommittal "if you come by on Saturday night, I'll go with you anywhere but Lux."

Apparently Carcossa and the goodbye party must have been serious.

She sighed and opened the knock oh her door. She almost slammed it back when Ella found Linda standing on the other side. Linda who had been very anal about how special Charlie was because of course she was. Charlie was nephil. Another case of no one told her shit. Ella spent months crying on Linda's couch about Dan's death and missing her friends and Pete and her darkness, and Linda knew so much all along.

That okay, the last Big Guy had said she had a bright light, which meant that she had to have something good about her. The fact that Amenadiel and Lucifer liked her too had to say good things about her, right? But yup, Linda, just another person who had lied because it was more convenient for them.

And yet, she was still Ella, and it was wrong to just slam a door in a (former) friend's face.

Sighing, Ella opened it wide and let Linda come on in.

"Fine, but please whatever talk you have to get me to forgive Lucifer and Amenadiel? Better be fast. I do not care about it. At all."

"I'm here to talk about you, Ella. We spent a lot of time talking about your family this spring. That isn't a good situation for you to go back to. Also, you've never taken time off work since everything with Pete."

"Work helps me think."

"And you're heading home to job search for forensics work in Detroit, but I wanted to suggest an alternative."

"If it involves going to 'Florida' to help Lucifer with 'family business,' then he can shove his halo or crown or whatever up his ass." She shouted, making air quotes with her fingers liberally.

Linda shook her head. "That's not why I'm here. I did wrong by you. I…I never should have taken you as a therapist, but I took the ethical compromise because I was scared you weren't going to open up to anyone about Pete and you barely did to me. I just want to try and make a tiny chunk of amends to you."

Ella stomped back to her boxes and started up again with the arduous task of organizing her stuff. "I'm going home, Linda. They make fun of me, but at least they don't lie to my face."

"I'm sorry."

"Are you?"

"But…" Linda continued, not quite answering that question. "I know that's a toxic environment for you, and that you need to take time to digest not just your attack but, yes, everything that's happened with Lucifer. I mean, just finding out who he is set me back for the better part of a year. This is a lot to understand."

"What I understand," she said, aggressively wrapping up a Rick Sanchez bobble head with bubble wrap. "is that no one cares about me. So, perdona mi for thinking this is just to make yourself feel better."

"It is, but it's also because I know that I've messed up, Ella, but you deserve more than going home to people who are going to take advantage of you."

"Well, I get that wherever I stay."

Linda inched across the apartment and set a hand on her shoulder. She jumped about five feet with the contact. "Not this time. I have this lake house in Tahoe. I used to use it all the time because Reese would work too hard, and I'd need time off from patients about every quarter. After I got pregnant, I just was too busy to go, but it's good for you to have space. You can stay there as long as you need, get some time to yourself. Honestly, move to Tahoe. Whatever you need, but you should take a breath before you decide to go back to Detroit. Give yourself at least an option to reflect."

"And if I go," Ella asked, setting her tape roll down. "will a couple of archangels…no sorry God and his older brother just stop by."

"I promise you, neither even know about it. I mean, okay, Lucifer might? I'm not sure how much he knows or doesn't since the promotion, but I will have a long lecture for him if he just pops in. What can it hurt, Ella? Just give yourself a month and if you want to go home to Detroit, then it will all still be there."

Ella nodded, and it was hard not to want to go somewhere completely fresh. Here she was the dupe. She'd have to see Amenadiel at the precinct. Back home she was insane and really shouldn't be left alone. But if she just had a few weeks in the middle…maybe she would get a better idea, find a plan c that didn't involve her culos of brothers or angels who lied to her. And why were they even allowed to do that!

It hurt to try and smile, to try and offer Linda that usual Ella pep, but it was the best she could muster. "Okay, what could a month hurt? But if Lucifer just shows up? I'm gone."

"Honestly, he's so busy, he won't have time to just sneak over there, Ella. I…that's another patient, but he's definitely busy these days."

"I know. Got stolen by Loki. Gonna guess it's not all hugs and puppies so far."

Linda paled a bit as she opened up her purse and handed Ella the key ring for the house. "No, I don't think it is, but Lucifer tends not to think things through."

"Is that a good thing to know about God?"

"Well we know it now." Linda handed off the keys to her. "Look on the bright side, even if you have every right to be angry forever. You have God and his right hand angel who would move heaven and Earth to save you and just did. You don't have to worry about being bad or darkness in you or if someone will do like Pete. You and I know that Lucifer and Amenadiel won't let it happen. So, please, go to the lake, get some rest, and try and figure everything out, Ella. It'll get easier with time, but don't go home to people who treat you like you're crazy. You never were."

Ella fought back tears as she grabbed the keys. "I…I'm still mad."

"I know."

"But thank you and take care of Luce. Uh, no pressure, but you might be keeping the universe together there, Linda."

The doctor snorted. "Then I need to charge more by the hour."

Honestly, as Ella walked up the drive way and to the front door of the estate Linda had by the lake, she realized that Linda was already charging a fuck ton by the hour. The house was a split level so even coming up to the cabin façade by the drive didn't prepare her. It was walking down into the huge, high-beamed living room with a wall of windows up to twenty feet high looking out at a private beach and lake view that started hitting home how loaded Linda really was. Yeah, the fact she'd treated the Delilah as Ella had heard it was part of that. Oh and the Beverly Hills zip code for her main house because Linda was one of those who had more than a house. But as she made her way through bedroom and en suite after bedroom and en suite, each with massive king sized beds and sunken bath tubs big enough for three, Ella realized that Linda had not only made bank but saved it up assiduously too.

She came down to the final level on the lake and her eyes widened at the huge private beach, the few boats (sail and she had no idea how to do that) docked in the water, and the array of a half dozen Adirondack chairs set out to watch the rapidly approaching sunset. It was breath taking and beautiful and had four bedrooms more than she'd even need.

Ella turned to wind around the property. She found a garage with kayaks and all types of water sports fun—pool noodles, life vests, even some boogie boards. As she walked farther through the property, Ella noticed a bubbling noise and a motor sound. She turned around the garage-again the one just for the lake toys-when she came to a huge six to eight person jacuzzi. And the archangel…no God sitting in it.

She glared at Lucifer.

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

Then, her anger-though boiling-calmed just enough for her to notice the nasty gash down Lucifer's face, bisecting it from the top of his left eyebrow, over his nose and down his right cheek.

"Luce? Hey are you okay?"

"I'm not Lucifer, wrong twin." The reply was nasally and sounded like some asshole from Brooklyn, a hipster too many.

Ella gaped at him. "What?"

"You deaf, mortal? I'm not Lucifer. I'm his twin, Michael, and go squat somewhere else. I got here first."