Charlie's feet halted at the door to Angel's room at the clinic, as much as she wanted to believe that the Spider had regained consciousness. Seeing him now only made her wish it had been hopeful thinking. He indeed had awakened and was sitting up in bed, but he was staring vacantly at the wall as though there was something there only he could see. She had felt there was something off that morning when she had visited with Cherri, but he had been aware and speaking then. Was this a side effect of the drugs he was being given or part of the withdrawal process?

Angel hadn't appeared to have noticed her yet, but she had a feeling he was more aware of her then he was letting on. The Hellborn princess wasn't completely sure if he was waiting for her to say or do something, or if he was upset with her. He had said he wasn't interested in being looked at by the onsite doctor, and her talk with Husk certainly gave her more of an awareness as to why the Spider wouldn't be interested in being medically examined. But even he had to understand that by having a medical episode his personal interests no longer mattered. Moving away from the door, she decided to seek out Dr. Abaddon first.

"Oh Charlotte," Dr. Abaddon exclaimed in surprise. "You've returned rather early."

"May I come in," Charlie asked from where she stood at the door to Abaddon's office.

"Of course," Abaddon agreed, gesturing to one of the seats facing his desk, "Please have a seat." Charlie entered and took a seat in one of the offered chairs. Her eyes glanced around the room as she martialed her thoughts. Behind the locust demon was a bookcase inlaid into the wall. Various books discussing medicine and healing practices through the ages. One wall had a window that looked out towards the Hellish Mountain range known as the Chernobog Heights, while the other wall had an antique drawing of a nude man with his arms outspread. A second drawing, possibly of the same man, was imposed directly behind the man. His hands slightly raised and his legs spred apart. Charlie had heard enough of this image to know it was called "Vitruvian Man" but the way the two forms were laid over one another made it look like a demon of some sort. Aside from this old drawing there was a painted image of the locust demon standing with her father. King Luci was giving his wide prideful grin to the artist. Charlie's infant body was tucked in the crook of one of her fathers arms. Otherwise, there were no pictures of family or even medical certificates.

"What can I do for you my dear," Abaddon asked once he was settled enough to fully welcome her.

"I was wondering about Angel," Charlie said. "How long are you expecting him to stay at the clinic?"

"Ah," Abaddon said. "Well as you see, his progress does need to be monitored by a medical professional. This is one of the best places for him to be in order for him to receive the best care."

"Is it possible for him to return to the cabin," Charlie asked. "You also said there will be longer term symptoms such as depression and restlessness. While I understand being at the clinic would ensure proper care, I get the feeling that actually being kept here maybe causing more damage."

"What makes you say this," Abaddon inquired?

"I can't be sure," Charlie said. "But I recently talked to a staff member of my hotel, someone I know is from around the time Angel was from when he was alive, from the sound of things he may have experienced…I don't how to actually talk about it."

"I had noticed that he does possess some dissociative tendencies," Abaddon commented. "You had said something about bringing him on this visit to the cabin to put a stop to some of the things he was experiencing with his employer." Charlie nodded in response.

"I didn't learn any of this until recently," Charlie admitted. "But Valentino-his employer- has been abusing Angel simply because he's his employee and as an Overlord he feels he can do as he likes. But the night I decided to bring Angel and Cherri with me to the cabin, Val did something horrible to Angel, you've seen at least some of the injuries resulting from it.

"I have," Abaddon said. "I've examined the black eye while he was unconscious and fortunately I haven't detected any permanent damage to the orbital structure. I may need to have another look later on, but in all likelihood the injury will be fine once the swelling goes down. The other injuries, however...Could you tell me more about what occurred?"

"I don't know what happened entirely," Charlie sighed. "I just remember the night before we traveled here, Angel didn't return to the hotel. We all were worried that something was happening to him, but I hadn't wanted to make any rash decisions if doing so could make things worse. When he was able to come back to the hotel the following evening, he was completely exhausted and seriously injured to the point he collapsed on the floor of the entryway. When he was able to tell us what happened, he only said that Valentino and Vox had been having one of their break ups. That's when I told Angel and Cherri to pack up what they needed for two weeks because we were leaving town. After we arrived here, one of the first things I did was to place a call to Valentino. There is a recording of the conversation I had with him if you need that."

"That will not be necessary," Abaddon stated. "Angel will require a lot of care, and I do believe that having him return to the cabin could be beneficial in his recovery. I can instruct the three of you on how to administer the opiate dosage if you would like."

"That will be great," Charlie cheerfully said.

"Is there anything else you need," Dr. Abaddon asked?

"Yes," Charlie responded hesitantly. "This compound is only meant to be used by my family. However, I do need to return to the hotel in a couple of weeks from now. It's too early to know if Angel will be over this enough to return to the city. Since Angel does require medical observation due to the drug withdrawal that he is experiencing, maybe an exception could be made. My parents aren't here that often and there isn't much for everyone who works here to do much of the time."

"I understand what you are suggesting," Abaddon said. "However, this place may not be the shelter you believe it is."

"It's better than the hotel," Charlie retorted. "I've told Valentino that Angel's employment at his studio is over. But to that Overlord, Angel isn't just an employee…he is property...something he can market as merchandise. So, if there is a way Val can get him back, he will do it. I don't want Angel to feel like he is being kept as a prisoner of the hotel, but I don't want him to be somewhere Valentino or anyone connected to him can capture him. While here he would be limited to this estate, he would still be as free as he would be in the city. It's not intended to be permanent, but it can be someplace where he can safely recover and then rejoin the hotel once he is no longer drug dependent."

"I suppose…" Abaddon said. "I'll place a call to your father later today, it might be best for me to leave out who is staying here and why. But I will make it certain to inform him that this is at your request, and it is strictly temporary."

"Thank you," Charlie responded. "I know my dad's stance is to stay out of the affairs of demons. But if he will listen to anyone about this, I know it would be you."

*Flash Back*

Angel's eyes opened as he found himself lying in an old clawfoot bathtub. He knew this was not where he had been living so this meant his older brother finding him was not a hopeful dream. Looking up he glanced around the room; it seemed like he was in an old apartment building that was going to be utilized by the family when they had to go to the mattresses. Enzo probably put him in here because didn't want any infestations to the rest of the place. Angel jokingly wondered if his brother was aware he likely picked up some unwanted passengers just with the way he had sat over him the previous night. But just as quickly dismissed it, Enzo wasn't stupid he'd likely go to a bath house to make sure the issue was dealt with before it became a problem. By the door was a jug of white vinegar, an old pillowcase, and a fine-toothed comb.

The vinegar was a clear sign that he was relegated to this room until the parasites that lived in his fur were dealt with and any clothing, he had was to be put in the pillowcase so they could be laundered.

"Whatever you say, Fratello," Angel sighed as he stripped out of his clothing; putting the garments into the pillowcase and tied the open end in a knot. Picking up the vinegar jug and the comb he got into the tub to douse himself with the sharp smelling fluid. Making sure to completely rub it into the areas of his body where his fur was thickest. The acidic solution would kill the fleas and help get rid of the louse eggs. The lice themselves at best would be irritated by the smell enough to jump ship. Putting the jug aside he settled himself down into the white enameled cast iron basin as the vinegar did its work.

After a period of thirty minutes Angel stood up and drew the shower curtain. He noticed with some satisfaction the small dark bodies of the dead fleas that fell out of his fur as he moved. Turning on the shower to a fairly warm setting he started to cleanse away the vinegar, using the comb to catch the bodies of the whitish gray lice and their egg-s as he stood under the spray. He would cleanse the grub like parasites from the tines of the comb before returning to comb away some more. Noting the shampoo that rested on the shelf overhead he pulled it down. This wouldn't do anything about the lice, but it would help kill off any fleas that had survived the vinegar. The white-furred spider figured he'd have to douse himself with vinegar a few more times to be sure the lice scourge was over for good, but this would certainly get rid of a good majority of them for now.

Turning off the shower, Angel dried himself off with a towel that hung flush against the wall before wrapping the cotton cloth around his waist. He had nothing to wear in this room aside from the towel and he didn't hear any movement anywhere in the other rooms. That meant Enzo or whoever was living here was out, and if he was doing jobs for the family there was no telling when he'd be back. He could leave the room since he was less likely to cause an infestation following this shower. Opening the door, he found the apartment mostly empty.

There were sparse furnishings such as a couch, a table and chairs. The only bedroom had one mattress and blankets with some clean clothing for him to use. A pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and a pair of flannel boxer shorts, Angel rolled his eyes at this. Of his siblings, Enzo always had the most problem with him being gay. Always pointing out how it would make their family look…how it would make Pops look in the eyes of the other mob families. Reminding him of what would happen if he was suspected and that if he had any sense at all, he'd man up and get over this Homo BS by bedding a dame or two. How much of that was actually Enzo and how much was Pops speaking through Enzo was the real question though. His older brother often tended to regard him like he was some sort of enemy throughout their childhoods. He had his moments, but much of the time he would be rather harsh particularly when Pops was present.

Not wanting to stand in nothing but the towel he was wearing, Angel took the presented clothing and went to change, adding the towel he had used to the pillowcase to be laundered with his previous outfit. Freshly bathed he wondered about the place to be sure there wasn't anything for him to do. There wasn't any food of any kind, so cooking wasn't an option. And if this apartment was a place that was being secured by the Ragno Crime Family for any wars with rival families. The intention was for his residence in this place to be temporary.

"Anthony,"

Angel looked up as he heard his name being called. He didn't know how long he had decided to sleep, but the red of the Pride Ring sky suggested it had been a while. Getting up he left the bedroom and entered the living area where a blackish-furred spider demon was placing a takeout bag on the kitchen counter, as he pulled down a plate. Angel had noticed the table wear was only a random assortment of plates and bowls. Not the uniform assortment of dishes that would be normal in a family home which served as further proof this place was not meant to be a permanent residence for anyone.

Angel hadn't been able to get a good look of Enzo's demon form the previous night, and maybe that was a good thing. While Angel himself had never been what someone would describe as nice, seeing his brother now was hard to fully take in. The white-furred spider wondered if he had embraced the life his family had led in the same way Lorenzo had, would he have taken on a much more demonic form such as this. Unconsciously Angel covered his darker eye with one hand in a manner that feigned that he was clearing some grit from his eyes. The size difference between the two of them was ironic. Enzo was older than him by five years, and even when the two of them were fully grown they had been more or less equal in height. But now, for him to be the bigger of the two of them in a very literal sense despite being the younger one said quite a bit. The smaller dark-furred spider's cold, red sclerae eyes regarded the other demon in a manner that said, 'Prove to me that I am not wasting my time on you.'

"Fratello," Angel said in greeting. He noticed he did give off a feeling of tense anxiety that he hoped the other spider hadn't noticed. He had never had a particularly close relationship his only brother, especially since Pops had a habit of keeping his older son close to his side at any conscious moment. Enzo said nothing and nodded his head towards the takeout bag to indicate that the taller Spider was the intended recipient. Angel didn't question it, he knew his older brother well enough to know poison wasn't his style and even if Enzo had wanted him erased, he had plenty of opportunities since finding him under that bridge. Still one question did resonate through his mind, why was Enzo going through the trouble of doing this?

Opening the food bag, he sharp tang of lemons with the mellow hints of olive oil greeted his nostrils. The container in the bag held Lemon tagliatelle pasta. The warm wide pasta noodles were glistened with olive oil and were flecked with yellow lemon zest and white strips of parmigiana. Topping the pasta were bright green leaves of arugula.

"Tagliatelle al limone," Angel asked? Enzo just made a grunting sound in his throat as a means of affirmation to this as he moved to sit down and lit a cigarette. The white-furred spider calmly served himself a plate of the lemon-flavored noodles. Noticing there was a single sized loaf of Ciabatta Bread he put that on the side of the plate before he sat down at the table. "How did you find me?"

"Valvano," Enzo answered simply. Angel shuddered at the sound of that man's name, did his brother know was Mario Valvano had done or rather Mario and his cousin Piero had done when they had found he had taken residence in that old church. "I overheard him sometime last night sayin' that you were hiding under the 'Abandoned Hope Bridge' and he was going to pay you a visit. So, when I saw you headed there, I made sure I followed you and got to you before he did."

"Oh," Angel responded trying to hide his anxiety by focusing on his food, though he had lost any sort of pleasure in the Pasta Dish.

"Why didn't you say anything about what he did to you." Enzo asked? Angel took an intake of breath, did Enzo know what had happened in the Sanctuary of Lord Baal that night a year ago?

"I uh..." Angel started to say as he tried to come up with some excuse as what to say.

"Celani told me he tried to molest you," Enzo said as he continued to refrain from looking at his younger brother directly. "Or at least that was what he told me when I had gone to his family's vineyard to check on how you were doing."

"You knew," Angel dropped the fork he was holding as he stood up, his gaunt frame tense with anger. "All those years we were alive. Every time you would comment about how I earned my bones by killing someone on accident, and you knew what that bastard had tried to do."

"Yeah, I knew," Enzo retorted. "I never said anything about it because I was waiting for you to actually grow a pair and admit to what happened yourself."

"Have you ever been sexually assaulted Fratello," Angel demanded? "Have you known what sort of shame it feels to have someone you don't desire put their hands on you?!"

"Hasn't stopped you from making a whore outta yourself, Fratellino" Enzo retorted with bite of venom in his voice. "You've even taken on a whores name, do you feel proud of yourself, Anthony? Or is it Angel Dust now?"

"What I've become has nothing to do with you or the family," Angel remarked. "All this has boiled down to is you and Pops could never accept who I am. You think I didn't tell Luca that he was better off courtin' our sister given what would happen if he chose a life with me. You think I didn't try to date a girl or so to try and hide what I fuckin' was from everyone else. Every time Pops would tell me I shoulda been born a girl or when he'd smack me around and tell me over and over again how much I was a disappointment. You just stood aside and let it happen. Don't say you didn't have things any better, I'm well aware Pops raised his fists to you too. But that don't excuse that you had so many options to do well...well anything. Remember what Mama said when she died...she told us to look after each other, she said that to the three of us. I guess Moll's and I were the only ones actually given a shit about that."

"You don't even deserve to say her name," Enzo shot back. "Not after the shit you've pulled. You have no idea what she went through when you died, but I was there I had a front row seat to seeing how losing you practically destroyed her."

"You're right, I don't know what she went through," Angel said bitterly as he started to leave the room. "But I could feel her with me all those days I was in a coma. Remember she's my twin, she's half of my fuckin' soul. I knew just seeing me like that caused her pain and I desperately wanted to wake up. The only visit I got from was you, was you demandin' to know if I was happy knowing I had torn the family apart. I hope you raised those sons of yours better then Pops raised the two of us, because I'd hate to see how messed up, they'd turn out."

"You gotta lot of nerve to say that" Enzo hissed. "You were never around to know them," Angel paused at that statement. His brothers voice sounded angry and resentful, but there was something behind that. Something deep seated and raw.

"You didn't think they'd be influence by me or anything like that," Angel asked, cautiously?

"What are you talkin' about," Enzo responded. He seemed taken aback by this question, as though he hadn't expected it.

"Your wife..." Angel said. "She stopped me when I was headin out not long after Salvatore was born and said you didn't feel it would be appropriate for me to meet my nephew since the two of you didn't want him grow up believing it was normal for men to be attracted to other men. And even Pops said your kids was better off not meeting me because he didn't want 'em to catch "The Gays". So, when you'd visit the house with them, he'd make sure I was locked in that storage room in the basement. You know the place...that room where Pops would put me when he was doing his own methods at correction."

Charlie decided to stop by Angel's room at the clinic to check on him before she returned to the cabin for the evening. Glancing into the room she noticed he had curled down on his side as though he had gone back to sleep again. However, she could sense this wasn't slumber. This was more akin to that moment in the car where she he had heard him softly crying in his sleep. This was a similar form of vulnerability, but it wasn't based off recent events. He had his knees tucked up to chest and there was something that felt so lost and lonely. Entering the room, she grabbed a nearby chair and settled into it so he would at least feel someone was there for him, at least for now. Outside she could see the white orb of Heaven ascending into the sky.

~I don't know who you were to him, Molly,~ Charlie thought towards skyward world. ~I don't even know if you are up in Heaven, but I really wish I knew how to contact you. I get the feeling Angel needs you right now."