God watched his now very young son sleep. The boy was in Mazikeen's bed. The demon had offered it. God suspected she planned to leave soon for the night. Understandably, she didn't feel comfortable being so close to him, though he meant her no ill will.
God smiled kind of sadly as he looked at his son. He'd missed seeing his son like this. Peaceful and happy, things he hadn't been in a long time. But the happy little boy came at a price. The rest of him was locked up somewhere inside of him and didn't seem likely to come out anytime soon, at least not consciously. A part of the older version of his son was there. God had seen that through Samael's fears, but that part was buried.
"Father?"
God turned to see Amenadiel standing in the doorway.
"Lucifer's gone, isn't he?" Amenadiel asked in a devastated tone. The fact that his father had returned after dealing with Kinley and hadn't restored Lucifer made Amenadiel believe that he couldn't. That fear had actually been in Amenadiel's head since he searched hopelessly for his brother in Hell and found no trace of him, but he still hoped his father would have some luck.
God motioned for his son to leave the room, so they wouldn't wake Samael, and followed him. He found Chloe Decker seated at the table. Mazikeen was standing a few feet away as well. With a hard stare directed to the detective, God took the piece of paper he'd gotten from Kinley from his pocket and showed it to her. "Is this what you and Kinley used on my son."
Chloe took and looked at the paper. "I think so. He showed it to me once in Rome. This looks like it."
"Well, then, Detective, it seems to be your lucky day. Your ritual didn't do this to my son, at least not directly. Be grateful because you may have just shared the same fate as your priest friend if it had," God said in a hard tone.
"Father, what are you talking about?" Amenadiel asked.
"It's just a standard exorcism. It wouldn't repel a demon, let alone send your brother to Hell," God said.
"But it did something to him. I saw it," Chloe said. As soon as Kinley started chanting, she'd seen Lucifer convulse and scream. He was in pain.
God glared at her. "Yes, you hurt him. The exorcism has enough supernatural properties to cause excruciating pain, but it could not banish anyone."
"Then what the Hell happened him?" Maze asked.
"Yes, I don't understand. Do you think Kinley did something else to him? How could this have happened to him?" Amenadiel asked in confusion.
"I think your brother was semiconscious at some point during this torture. That, or he realized that the woman he trusted so much had poisoned him right before he lost consciousness," God said.
Chloe shifted uncomfortably as she was reminded of what she'd done to Lucifer. She hoped God was wrong. She didn't even want to think about what Lucifer might have been going through if he knew she'd betrayed him.
"I believe it is, as humans say, the straw that broke the camel's back. He knew he'd been betrayed. He trusted Detective Decker more than anything and she'd proved that that trust was misplaced. Compounded with everything else, he simply couldn't deal with it." God said grimly. He'd begun to suspect when he realized the exorcism couldn't have done it, but he really started to believe when Samael asked him if he'd ever send him away. That's how he knew that who his son was was still in there.
Amenadiel gasped in horror. "He made himself like this?"
"How could he have done that? He has the power to turn himself into a child?" Chloe asked in disbelief.
"No, not exactly, but we both recently learned that we decide our own fate. Lucifer got his devil face because he felt like a monster. He received his wings back because he felt unconsciously that he'd earned them back. It was the same with me losing and getting my wings back," Amenadiel explained.
Chloe paled. If she was understanding this right, the face she saw when Lucifer killed Pierce was just his guilt. It wasn't who he really was. She recalled God telling her that, but she was so nervous and guilty that she didn't really give it much thought. That made what she did so much worse. She'd acted on a face that was just the result of guilt. And that guilt was proof that Lucifer wasn't what Kinley tried to make him.
"Starting to get it now, Decker?" Maze asked coldly.
Chloe's mind started to turn to what they were saying about how Lucifer turned back into Samael. Amenadiel was essentially telling her that angels changed based on what they felt they needed or deserved. At least that was how she was interpreting it. "So, he subconsciously did this because he didn't feel safe? That's what you're saying?"
"He didn't feel safe, and he didn't feel like there was anyone he could count on. He was pushed too far. At least that's my theory," God said.
"So, no matter how you spin it, I'm responsible for this," Chloe said quietly. No, what she did wasn't physically responsible for this, but her actions still caused it. In fact, this way might even be worse.
"Yes. Your actions told my son he wasn't safe and that there was no one could trust. You are responsible, but not solely. You pushed him over the edge, but I guided him to that edge," God said. As much as he wanted to place all the blame on Chloe Decker and William Kinley, he was just as responsible. No, he was more responsible. His actions, made out of anger, had caused his son to feel unloved, and had led to much of his trust issues. It had also inadvertently led to the world vilifying him. If God hadn't done what he did, his son's pain would not have been what it was. So, as angry as he was with the woman in front of him, he could not place all the blame on her.
"Father…" Amenadiel started.
God raised a hand to stop him. "It is the truth, son. I must live with that."
"Yeah, I don't think there's any real question that this is your fault, but it doesn't matter if you can fix it. Can you?" Maze asked.
"It's immaterial. I won't," God said firmly. The truth was that, yes, he could probably restore his son to the way he was, but that wasn't going to solve anything. His son been broken, both by him and the woman he'd come to love. That wasn't something he couldn't just fix. The best he could do was give his son what he wanted and needed. That just might mean leaving Samael as he was.
"What?" Maze asked with an edge to her voice that would scare pretty much anyone else.
"Father, you want to leave him like this?" Amenadiel asked.
"Amenadiel, I believe I have spent long enough making your brother's choices for him. All Samael… All Lucifer wanted was to decide for himself," God said. It was time for him to finally listen to his son, even if that meant never seeing the man he became ever again. This was not about what anyone else wanted or needed. He had to do what was right for his son. Lucifer had obviously thought somewhere deep down that started fresh, from a time that he was happy, was what was best for him. God couldn't say that he was wrong.
"And this is the time you choose to actually listen to him?" Maze asked angrily.
"You said he did it unconsciously. That means he didn't even realize he was choosing it," Chloe argued. This couldn't happen. If God didn't restore Lucifer to the way he was, he would be gone. She would never see him again. And of course, the irony of that hit Chloe almost immediately. That's exactly what would've happened if the exorcism had worked. Lucifer would've been in Hell. She never would've seen him again. She could almost laugh. She was getting what she wanted, and now she'd do anything to change it.
"It doesn't matter. It is still what he wanted, consciously or not. I won't take it from him," God said.
"But he can't understand this world. Even in Heaven, he'll be lost. His siblings are all adults when he's just a child. Even those younger than him, like Remiel and Azrael, are much older than him now. He won't be able to cope with it," Amenadiel said. If he was being honest about it, he was the one who wasn't sure he could cope with it. He and Lucifer had become close again. He didn't want to lose him again. He was close to Samael too, but it wasn't the same. And now he was going to be a father. Lucifer, as he was, would never get to know his son.
"He can. We will make sure of that," God said.
"Dad," A small voice called out.
They all turned to see Samael in the doorway.
"Hello, son. You aren't supposed to be up right now. Did you have a nightmare?" God asked.
Samael nodded and walked over to his father. "That man who hurt me was back. He tried again."
God knelt in front of him. "No one's going to hurt you anymore, child. That man is no threat to anyone anymore. I've made sure of that."
"Am I evil, Dad? He said I was, and in my dream, I saw you, and you said it too," Samael said.
God sighed. This was more evidence that his theory regarding his son was right. Samael was remembering unconsciously what went on between them. God had never once called his son evil, but their fighting had likely led Lucifer to believe he did think that. That was manifesting in Samael's dreams. "No, Samael. I never want you to think that. You are not and never will be evil. I would never tell you that. I love you."
Samael nodded. "I love you too."
God hugged his son for a moment and then pulled away. "Do you think you can go back to sleep?"
"Can't we go home? I miss Mum and everyone else. You can't tell him, but I even miss Michael," Samael said.
God forced a smile on his face so his son wouldn't know anything was wrong. Truthfully, he was dreading the conversation he was going to have to have with his son regarding his mother. He was not going to take it well. He wanted his mother, and that could never happen again. Then there was of course the conversation about how all of Samael's siblings had suddenly become adults while he was still a child. There were some touch conversations in their future. "We will go home soon, but we need to stay here a little longer."
"Why?" Samael asked.
"I will explain soon. For now, you need to go to sleep," God said.
Samael knew he was being put off and he didn't like it. He wanted his mother, and he didn't understand why he couldn't see her. "Are we staying here because Mum's mad at me?"
"No. No one is angry with you. Things are just very complicated right now. We will speak more on it tomorrow," God assured him before rising to his feet and putting a hand on his son's shoulder, leading him back to the bedroom he was sleeping in.
"Is Mum okay?" Samael asked.
"Yes, she's fine. Come on, get into bed," God said.
Samael climbed into the bed and laid down.
God covered him up with the blanket. "I know things are very strange right now, but I promise you that everything will be alright."
"Okay," Samael said. He still wasn't satisfied, but he trusted his father. If he said it would be okay, it would.
"Goodnight, son," God said before leaving the room. He walked back out into the kitchen.
"Father, maybe Mom could…"
"No, Amenadiel," God interrupted abruptly. He knew what his son was about to say.
"But he wants her, and even with everything that's happened between the two of you, you have to know she loves him," Amenadiel said.
"Of course, I know that, son, but it isn't enough. She tore him apart as an adult. She told him that I wanted him dead," God said. He was furiously when he found that out. His relationship with his son had been bad enough without his ex-wife's help. "And that was the least of what she did to him. She waited until he was at his happiest moment to hurt him as much as she could in order to goad him into starting a war. "No, I won't have that around Samael. I won't , have it around any of you."
"For once, I agree with your father. You mom is a manipulative bitch," Maze said.
"Amenadiel, I'm going to need some help in explaining things to your brother. I believe you have a doctor friend who can help with that. Plus, I admit, I'm anxious to meet the mother of my grandchild," God said.
"Yes, of course. I'll call Linda in the morning," Amenadiel said.
"Well, I'm getting out of here. I've had more than enough. I'll be at Lux getting as drunk as possible," Maze said before heading to the door.
"Amenadiel, I need to return to the Silver City to explain things to your siblings. When your brother wakes, let him know I'll be back as soon as I can," God said. Samael would wake before he returned, as time on Earth moved differently than in Heaven. God didn't want to leave his son, but he did need to explain things to the others before he returned with Samael.
"I will," Amenadiel promised.
God then disappeared.