Chapter 13

Edging Sideways

Had Kemuel ever mentioned that she had a rather strong disliking for hospitals?

It wasn't that she found anything essentially wrong with them… She just had a passionate disliking for the turmoil that built in festering buds within these sorts of places. Sure, she could concede that good things did happen in places of healing, but hospitals had a way of making even the smallest hope seem sterile. Maybe it was the white-washed walls or the obnoxiously clean state of everything or the ever-present and lurking sense of death.

So, no. Kemuel did not like hospitals.

That didn't mean she couldn't tolerate them. They had their usefulness. The Healing Halls were in Heaven for a reason. Raphael had already huffed and tutted at her enough about her lack of appreciation for the medical arts. Not that she didn't appreciate a good healing. She just didn't like the idea of needing a healing in the first place.

But she had learned. With the angels' childhood, it had been imperative. Mother – once She realized God wasn't paying close attention to His angels – had become less subtle about Her actions as time passed. Kemuel had been left to pick up the pieces.

"Humans... Their bodies are so fragile," Chloe's assigned 'doctor' muttered.

Kemuel glanced over to her brother. Talented as Emmanuel was with the gift of healing (on par with Raphael even), his disdain for the fragility of the human body left some tact to be desired. Still, he was the best of the angelic healers who were willing to go to Earth as a representative of Raphael's patronage. That being said, it was well worth it to simply put up with his grating personality, which he could have only gotten from Raphael himself.

A nurse came in, carrying a rather large metal binder. "Dr. Matthews, your conference with the board is in ten minutes," she informed him.

Kemuel could tell he was stifling a sigh, causing her to hold back a smile. It was his own fault for building a reputation as a respective (if bristly) doctor here on Earth. Being the go-to healer concerning human matters meant that the identity he'd made for himself had been carefully crafted so he could continue his work throughout the centuries without revealing his divinity.

"First I get called down to help with an extreme overflow of trauma patients in Europe, and then the Council wanted to me magic a brain tumor out of a certain someone's head, and now you've had me dragged from New York to LA by airplane for the sake of Lucifer's crush—"

"You love doing house calls," she pointed out, cutting into his rant. "Besides, it'll be better for everyone if you're stationed here for the time being."

Emmanuel glared at her and then checked his watch. "I should be back in an hour or so. If Ms. Decker happens to wake before then, make sure she stays put."

Kemuel barely gave the other angel a glance at his dramatic exit, his white coat swishing behind him. Emmanuel was far less dramatic than some of Kemuel's other siblings, so any exaggeration was more like inside joke than true mockery. She settled herself down in the side chair next to the bed. She figured that it would be less intimidating for her to be sitting rather than standing when Chloe did wake.

That thought lead Kemuel to wonder how Zadkiel was doing. Obviously something happened because Lucifer wasn't busting in through the door and making a scene of everything. Whether that something was good or bad remained to be seen. Personally, Kemuel was getting on something in between.

Zadkiel wasn't stupid, and he knew how to take care of himself (if he couldn't take care of himself, how could he possibly able to take care of his siblings?). Lucifer was probably just throwing another fit, and Zadkiel was stuck, trying to keep him relatively calm. She could honestly imagine the exact expression her younger brother would give her upon their return to Heaven.

And that was one of the requests following the agreement of Kemuel's involvement in this plan of theirs: Kemuel had to stop just flying off. At the very least, she should tell Camael if she was going to Earth for a bit. Kemuel had... somewhat reluctantly agreed. The reluctance had mainly come from the resulting lack of free reign, but it was an understandable compromise amongst them.

At least she wasn't grounded anymore.

The rustle of feathers announced the incoming presence of another angel, though it was neither Zadkiel nor the impromptu return of Emmanuel, and Kemuel was reminded that while she wasn't going to be kept in the Silver City, she was being watched. Still, Azrael was entirely tolerable for a supposed babysitter (that term was, of course, due to a certain amount of petulance from Kemuel at even needing to have said 'babysitter').

"You know, I went and checked Ms. Decker's records," Azrael began, leaning against the doorway. "Ignoring the fact that she really shouldn't even exist, she was supposed to die a couple years ago."

Kemuel didn't even bat an eye at the 'news'. She knew about that particular incident. Some of the more dedicated fans of Deckerstar (or whatever her siblings were calling it) had been rather informative and forthcoming with all the instances in which Lucifer had saved Chloe and vice versa (among other things, of course). At any rate, she knew that Chloe was rather special for a human – for the obvious reasons.

The angel still wasn't quite sure what Lucifer saw in the detective that made him willingly make a deal with their Father to save Chloe and then push her away in passing whims. At the very least, it was Lucifer's interest in the human that drew the other angels toward her. And in no small way was that the sole reason the angels had become invested in all of this… whatever it was.

To think it all started when Kemuel went down to go save Uriel from getting himself killed – no, wait, it had started when Camael began gossiping about Lucifer and his human, when Lucifer got himself killed and made a deal with their Father.

(Maybe it had truly started closer to the Beginning, but that was not something to ponder while amongst humans.)

Kemuel needed Lucifer to be okay – better than okay. She needed him to pull himself together and do what needed to be done. It was the only way any of them were going to come out of this relatively unscathed. At least, that would be true physically. Emotionally, mentally, spiritually… that was another matter entirely.

"You should know by now that Chloe is not a normal case," Kemuel pointed out in a low murmur.

The angel of authenticity didn't miss the way the angel of death sent a glare her way, nor did she miss the way her sister also glanced out into the hallway (more than likely making sure that a human didn't overhear their conversation and happen upon divinity prematurely – something that could be easily dealt with but even easier handled if it didn't happen at all). However, instead of coming back with a snappish retort like Kemuel expected, Azrael sighed and walked over to the window to peer out across the hospital's entrance courtyard.

Kemuel had looked out the window early on before eventually settling down in the chair she had more or less claimed for her stay. Of course, then it had been night. The outside probably looked different in the day. It usually did.

"Uriel says that Lucifer will come to see her not long after she wakes. A simple enough prediction or something."

An acknowledging hum was Kemuel's only response to her sister.

That's good, she thought. It meant Zadkiel had done his part well enough – enough to have Lucifer see some sense… the kind that would keep him from doing something overly stupid or drastic like he tended to do.

Hopefully.

Which was what they were left with at the end of the day: hope.

It was rather difficult to have faith nowadays, even if what one believed in was undoubted. After all, how was one supposed to… no.

No, Kemuel would not let herself have such traitorous thoughts now of all times.

She closed her eyes. "Then we should leave before he gets here."

"Should," Azrael repeated with a scoff. "Like you're going to. Besides, I doubt you'd let Emmanuel to fend for himself against Lucifer. Despite that bristly exterior of his, the good doctor is actually quite sensitive."

"I know."

The angel of death huffed. "I don't get why you keep insisting on involving yourself like this. You're not the only one who can see this through."

"I know."

"I seriously doubt that," Azrael bit out.

"Do you now?" Kemuel opened her eyes, giving the younger angel a look. "And why is that?"

Her question was only partially rhetorical. She really did want to know why Azrael thought otherwise. Kemuel told herself that she might be swayed by the answer.

The angel of death stared at her for all of two whole minutes before slowly starting. "You… You're too much like them, like him. So hardheaded and stubborn when you don't need to be because that's how you've always been, how you have to be. You get this idea in your head, and you don't realize how wrong you are until something bad happens…

"Just, slow down and think about what you're doing once in a while. Sometimes it's better to react to something in that moment rather than go through the motions of what you planned years ago," she finished in a solemn voice.

Kemuel met her sister's gaze and held it for what felt like an age. The only thing that broke their silence was the background noise of the hospital. Some of the noises were ignorable; others not so much. Like the machine that bleeped along with the human's heartbeat.

The older angel tore her eyes away first, looking back to her charge (for now anyway). "If it makes you and the others feel any better, I don't plan on coming back here when all is said and done."

"That's what you said last time."

She let out a weary sigh as that familiar rustle of feathers met her ears at her sister's departure. Given time, perhaps Azrael would realize that Kemuel had, in fact, kept her word last time. Last time: that had been in Hell, the outskirts of the realm at any rate. It was the one time Kemuel had looked back, and afterwards she had never turned her gaze there again.

Afterwards she had only dared to let her sight wander to Earth. Only ever Earth. Because looking anywhere near Hell was so, so tempting. (Because Hell meant Lucifer.) But now Lucifer was on Earth.

Kemuel had many problems, but Earth itself was most certainly not one of them. It was some of the things on it that were proverbial thorns in her side – some larger and nastier than others. Some, like a certain Goddess of All Creation. Now that Kemuel had shown her hand, She would make a move of Her own. Sooner rather later, unfortunately. And it would all lead back to Her defiling their home.

By all the powers that be, on Earth and in Heaven, Kemuel would not let history repeat itself – in any variation thereof, not to any of her siblings nor to her Father.

—o~O~o—

Lucifer put one foot in front of the other.

He was about as "calmed down" as he could be, considering the metaphorical bomb that had been dropped on him. Still, he supposed that it could have been worse – things could have gone worse. If Zadkiel hadn't been there to act as a mitigator, who knows how badly Lucifer would have lashed out.

Of course, Lucifer was not so grateful for the other angel's presence when the twerp refused to let him go see Chloe once Zadkiel politely informed Lucifer about her other condition – the life-threatening one. The following explanation about Kemuel's involvement in all of this and the adamant assurances that Chloe would be fine were the only things that kept Lucifer from plowing right through Zadkiel.

And perhaps it was for the best, Lucifer had to concede. Being… not forced so much as placated into staying in his penthouse had given Lucifer plenty of time (a full day, no less) to think about things.

Which really wasn't all that scary until one accounted for what was being thought about.

Zadkiel wasn't exactly the greatest help when it came to talking about aforementioned things – that was what Linda was for. Still, Zadkiel wasn't completely useless. The younger angel proved to be entertaining enough even when he wasn't being a cheeky bastard.

Anyways, by the time Lucifer had wrapped his head around the situation as best he could without resorting to any sort of catastrophic violence, he made it very clear to Zadkiel that he was ready to see Chloe. The questioning eyebrow that had been raised in response hadn't improved Zadkiel's standing in the slightest. Then again, as Lucifer contemplated life (in general) once more, he determined that Zadkiel was stalling in an effort to give Chloe more time to rest.

Though why he was doing that, Lucifer wasn't all to sure of. But he supposed that if Zadkiel was doing this for Kemuel, then it made a bit of sense. However, Zadkiel had mentioned that this whole ordeal was a decision made by the majority of the angels in Heaven – who apparently supported Lucifer being on Earth with Chloe… So maybe Zadkiel was doing this for everyone's sake?

That line of thought lead Lucifer to wonder just how involved Heaven was with his life on Earth. Surely his pesky younger siblings had only taken a mild interest… right? Wrong. Lucifer was certain that if he went looking, he'd find that the number of 'miracles' in the surrounding LA area had skyrocketed since Kemuel started paying him visits.

And wherever Kemuel went, the others followed.

(Of course, it usually it took a decade or two for the younger angels to catch on to whatever Kemuel was doing – right now being an exception of course. But Kemuel almost always started a trend amongst the angels in the Silver City. If anything was suddenly in fashion, ninety-five percent of the time it was because of something Kemuel had done or was wearing. Because angels didn't wear the exact same style of robes throughout their entire lives. That was such a ridiculous notion.)

In other words, perhaps it wouldn't hurt for Lucifer accept that Heaven was far more involved than he'd like and take a little (maybe more than just a little) advantage of that small fact.

So when Lucifer stopped just outside of the closed door to the room he'd been told was Chloe's, he took a steeling breath and prepared for the eventuality that his detective might not be as alone as she would have been if fate hadn't taken this path. This was confirmed the moment the door swung open to reveal a person who could have only been Chloe's doctor. And also an angel if the light green flashing in his dark brown eyes gave any indication.

"Lucifer," the angel – Dr. Matthews? – greeted tersely. "She's been expecting you."

Ah, the pronoun game. The other angel could, most likely, mean Chloe, but at the same time he could also be referring to a certain eldest female angel. Lucifer took a step forward, only to be barred from entering the room as 'Dr. Matthews' stayed firmly where he was in the doorway. A frown formed on Lucifer's face.

But before he could move the angel out of the way, a voice called from across the room: "Lucifer? Is that you?"

Chloe. She sounded okay, if only a bit weak – tired, really. But she was okay. She had to be.

A halted movement in front of Lucifer tore him from his thoughts just enough to hear the angel let out an irritated huff and then watch him turn back to his patient. "Ms. Decker, it seems you have another visitor. Please refrain from straining yourself. I'd rather not have to keep you for an extra night simply because of a persistent but mild fever."

Somehow the angel-doctor managed to direct that last sentence at Lucifer despite having addressed Chloe and not even looking in Lucifer's general direction. Lucifer might have been legitimately offended if the good doctor hadn't finally moved out of the way right then. That and Lucifer was quickly distracted by the low murmur that followed the angel's swift departure and the chuckle that came as the amused response.

Right, right. Kemuel was here too. Lucifer had already suspected that, so why was he panicking about it now?

Kemuel excusing herself from the room in order to give Lucifer and Chloe some time alone was a testament to how much the world was invested in Lucifer's current well-being. That being said, he wasn't quite off the hook just yet – the look his younger sister gave him told him as much. They still needed to have that conversation which was long overdue.

"I'll be here when you're ready," she whispered to him, slipping a piece of paper into his pocket as she left.

"Don't mess this up, Lu." Zadkiel's last words to him rang clearly in his head once Kemuel had disappeared after turning past a corner in the hospital's hallway.

Finally entering the room, Lucifer pulled the closest chair up to Chloe's bedside before sitting down. The smile she was giving him was far warmer than the sunlight that streamed in through the window. Even with the dark circles under her eyes, Chloe looked much better than what Lucifer had imagined.

Zadkiel hadn't held back any details when it came to what Kemuel had done to save Chloe's life. Angelic healing was good and all, but it could be… dangerous. Kemuel had literally burned the poison from Chloe's system. Perhaps it should have been considered a miracle that Chloe had only been left with a 'mild fever' afterwards.

(But that was why that other angel – Emmanuel, it had to have been; he was the only healer in Heaven with enough of a spine to come to Earth – was there. To make sure that Chloe would, in fact, come out of this perfectly healthy.)

"Lucifer, you okay?"

Several answers came to mind, but none of them seemed right to say. An "of course, Detective," just sounded too simple and distanced. Any lengthy response would end up too complicated. He doubted she would appreciate a deflection. Silence wasn't an option.

Chloe waited patiently as Lucifer finally settled on something. "I've been better," he admitted, taking her hand when a frown threatened to mar her expression. "But as long as you're okay, I'll be okay too."

That smile came back, and somehow the room was even brighter with it.

A/N: How was the romance level? Hopefully it was fine... not that there was much of it anyway. This story is going really AU now, isn't it? XD

Also, I'm pretty sure that at this point, if this were on Ao3, the pairing tags would go like so: Chloe Decker/Lucifer Morningstar, past implied Kemuel (OC)/Lucifer Morningstar, (technically one-sided, and it was entirely platonic on both ends), Kemuel (OC) & Lucifer Morningstar, Kemuel (OC) & Chloe Decker

Maybe that helps explain the relationships a bit?

Also, Emmanuel is his own angel, not Jesus. Just had the sudden urge to clarify that. Just in case.

Last edited: [1/18/2020]

Guest 1: True, it would be epic, and it would cause some tension... But Luci regaining his wings anytime soon isn't very likely at the moment.

Guest 2: No, no, you're not being pushy. (I'll let you know if that happens.) And don't worry about Candy; I've already written out like a 100 word scene that takes care of her and her money problems. As for our dear Luci... We'll see. I haven't written anything major for the next chapter yet, so these reviews are actually pretty influential to possible plot. Though, you have given me the evil thought to make you folks wait 6 or 7 chapters for him to regain all of his strength and powers. (No, I'm kidding. I won't do that – maybe. There's more than likely going to be some talking going on next chapter, and then I want to move on to the God Johnson arc.)