Ella's eyes snapped open. She was alone in her bed. She glanced at her clock: it was 4 PM. She had been asleep for more than six hours.

Laying there, she thought about last night. So many memories, but above them all: Jerry. Jerry of the deep green eyes that felt as if they could stare into her soul. What had she told Linda before she fell asleep this morning? That they hadn't gotten any sleep last night—and that lack of sleep was totally worth it.

And it had been! What a night!

She yawned and let her mind drift past last night's exertions with Jerry, back to Chloe's engagement party. The music and the dancing. How beautiful Chloe looked! And then … the discussion about Rae-Rae.

Ella kept coming back to what Maze had said. I don't call her Rae-Rae. I'm not family. What did that mean? Last night, she had deduced that it meant that Rae-Rae had a different name, a more formal name that others "outside the family" used. What was that name?

Rae-Rae was real.

Rae-Rae had wings and feathers. Lucifer and Amenadiel had wings and feathers. Rae-Rae and Lucifer and Amenadiel were siblings. They were "family." Maze was not family, so presumably she didn't have wings and feathers. If not, then what was she? Ella knew that Maze had been with Lucifer since before Lucifer had met Chloe and become an LAPD consultant. Maze was something, but she wasn't part of the "family".

Were Chloe and Linda part of the "family"? Linda called her Rae-Rae but Ella didn't think Linda was part of the family, because Linda would have mentioned that she also and wings and feathers. So how did Linda have permission to call this … ghost-but-not-a-ghost … by a name reserved for family?

And Chloe … Chloe had known that Ella was visited by Rae-Rae for more than a year, and had never said anything about knowing Rae-Rae. Either Chloe had been hiding her knowledge, or she actually didn't know Rae-Rae when they'd had their conversation. Did she know now? Was it possible that Maze and Eve and Linda and Amenadiel and Lucifer all knew about Rae-Rae, but Chloe didn't?

No, that didn't make sense. How could Rae-Rae know all about Chloe, but Chloe didn't know about Rae-Rae? No. Chloe must know about Rae-Rae. But if she knew about Rae-Rae, then why hadn't Chloe followed up and let her know? Ella knew Chloe, and she knew that Chloe would have followed-up with her, probably sooner rather than later.

Chloe hadn't followed-up, which meant she didn't know Rae-Rae.

Unless … unless she didn't know Rae-Rae by the "family" name and, instead, knew her by the more formal name that Maze used. If Chloe wasn't part of the family, then she might not know the family name. That made some sense. That explanation would address how Rae-Rae could know Chloe, but Chloe didn't know Rae-Rae—because Chloe didn't know her by that name.

Therefore, Ella needed to learn the name that Maze—and presumably Chloe—used for Rae-Rae. Once the names were connected, then she and Chloe could have the conversation they needed to have. The one where Chloe told her the secret that might shake her faith.

Chloe had made the secret sound scary, like Ella should be careful about learning this great secret. Like the secret was Garden of Eden scary. With similar consequences—as Eve had confirmed. But Ella wasn't scared of the truth. She'd dedicated her adult life to learning the truth, and she wasn't going to shy away from the truth now. Besides, her faith was strong. She didn't really believe that learning the truth was capable of shaking her faith. Still—Chloe had seemed very reluctant to tell her. That meant something.

Chloe didn't know Rae-Rae but she knew the being that the "family" called Rae-Rae. Did she know that Rae-Rae had wings and feathers? Chloe had confirmed last night that she knew about Lucifer's wings and feathers—thus, she presumably knew about Amenadiel's wings and feathers, as well. She might not know about Rae-Rae.

This situation was so confusing!

Ella tried to picture Chloe and Lucifer together, with wings and feathers. Not in a sexual way (though, lying in bed, she was tempted to go there) but, instead, in a practical way. The wings and feathers didn't manifest all the time. If they did, then he couldn't drive his car. And Ella had seen and touched Lucifer so many times over the years. She'd hugged him many, many, times. There had never been any hint that he was anything other than a normal, if really good-looking and mucho loco, human male.

Therefore, the wings were there but couldn't be seen or touched. Kind of how Rae-Rae could be there but others couldn't see her. Rae-Rae could pop in and out of sight, so Ella supposed the Lucifer's wings could pop in and out of sight. Not only sight, but touch as well. The wings would not be perceived by the five senses, until they suddenly appeared. They were simply not there as far as anybody could tell. Just like Rae-Rae.

Yet she had received The Impossible Feather, which she could see and touch, and test through scientific analyses. Thus, the wings and feathers were real. They were tangible. But they could be controlled. The wings and feathers could be … what? Called into being? That would assume that Lucifer and Amenadiel and Rae-Rae had conscious control over when they would manifest their wings.

Ella nodded. That made sense.

Back to the practical. When the wings and feathers manifested, how did that work? Did they replace the arms? Did the arms just become feathered wings? Like maybe Lucifer turned into a bird and started to fly? Could that be how it worked?

Ella tried to picture Lucifer flying around, flapping his wings. It didn't feel right. Too much like Batman. What if … what if he kept his arms just the way they were, but the wings manifested elsewhere? Like … on his upper back and shoulders?

Like an angel.

Ella suddenly sat up in bed with the picture of Lucifer as an angel in her mind. No. Not an angel. Or not only an angel.

Hello. I'm Lucifer Morningstar. I'm the Devil.

He's not a method actor.

Ella had never seen him act. He'd never mentioned going to any auditions. He'd never mentioned having an agent. He'd never mentioned having an IMDB page.

Lucifer isn't an actor.

Lucifer is exactly who he says he is.

Lucifer Morningstar is, in fact, the Devil. He is the fallen angel described in the Bible.

Ella's mind whirled, trying to deal with her conclusion. The obvious conclusion, once she'd put the pieces together.

Lucifer was the Devil. As a fallen angel, he had wings and feathers. As Amenadiel did, as well. They were both angels.

And Rae-Rae—she was an angel too! Not a guardian ghost, but a guardian angel.

The pieces just clicked into place. She knew now why Chloe had hesitated before sharing the secret. Ella had spent the past three years interacting with angels. Heaven and Hell were real. The secret they'd all been hiding had been huge!

Chloe had to have been concerned about how Ella would deal with the secret. To have her faith confirmed and challenged at the same time. Confirmed in so many ways, but also challenged because there were obviously aspects of the "family" that either weren't in the Bible, or that contradicted what was in the Bible.

Confirmed and challenged. She could ask Lucifer anything and he could confirm or refute what her faith had told her.

In fact, if she knew the truth, then what was the purpose of having faith? Why have faith when you knew. You just knew. You would replace faith with facts. Knowing was kind of the opposite of faith, wasn't it?

Chloe's concerns suddenly made sense. Everything suddenly made sense.

But that wasn't the end of the story. Chloe was going to marry an angel. Chloe was going to marry the Devil. The Devil was going to be Trixie's step-dad.

Chloe was having sex with the Devil.

And Amenadiel had made a baby with Linda! How did that work? she wondered. There must be another story there.

Ella now understood everything, and she was going to have to let Chloe know that she knew. And Linda, as well. Lucifer and Amenadiel: they weren't extraterrestrials. No wonder Maze had fallen out of her chair, laughing, when she had announced her conclusion last night. They weren't space aliens; they were angels. God's creatures, here on Earth. Interacting with them all.

Helping them solve crimes.

Oh, yeah. Ella had to tell Chloe right away. And then get her to talk about Rae-Rae, so she could learn Rae-Rae's formal name. And to talk about Maze, as well. What was Maze?

Suddenly, Ella remembered how Maze had introduced herself in Lux, when The Tribe had first gotten together: I was forged in the bowels of Hell. Something like that. That night was a bit hazy in memory.

If Lucifer was exactly what he claimed to be, then she could safely assume that Maze was exactly what she claimed to be, as well. A demon from Hell.

Okay. That was kind of weird, but she could deal with that story. If Lucifer was the Devil, then Maze was his executive assistant. Chief torturer. Whatever they called it.

Well, that made some sense, given what she knew of Maze.

And Eve? Could Eve also be-? No. That was too much. Or was it? Maze's mother had been named Lilith. Assume Maze's mother was the same Lilith as mentioned in the Bible. Eve could be exactly what her name implied. She'd once taken a bite of the apple, and the other night she'd encouraged Ella to do the same thing … Could it be?

Ella said to herself: Assume every word is true. Assume everybody is exactly what they say they are. No lies. No acting. No metaphors. They've been telling me the truth all along, and I didn't believe them. But now I do! I understand everything!

Energized by her insights, Ella jumped into the shower and planned what she'd tell Chloe, the next time they were together.

Because she was in the shower, she didn't hear her phone ring.

#

After showering and getting dressed, Ella looked at her phone, and saw that Chloe had called and left a message. She pressed a button and Chloe's voice came from her phone.

"Hey, Ella! Linda told me that you had a late night last night. I'm so happy for you! Anyway, give me a call. I'd like to talk about that investigation again. I hear we may have motive, and I'm wondering if we also have means and opportunity. So call me!"

The Jacobsen case. She'd forgotten about the investigation! She needed to call Chloe back, right away. She pushed Chloe's button and Chloe picked up after just a couple of rings.

"Hey, Chloe," she said. "Got your message. Let's talk!"

"How about dinner tonight, at Lux? We can have a quiet—and private—dinner in the penthouse. How does that sound?"

"Sounds good. Say, about 6-ish?"

"Yeah. Six-thirty sounds about right. I'll let Lucifer know."

"Will he be there?"

"Do you want him to be?"

"Well, I'm not sure, to be honest. I mean, I want us to talk, you know? He has a tendency to … well, you know."

Chloe laughed. "Yes, I do know. He has a tendency to make everything about him. So maybe I'll send him down to Lux when you get here. He can play downstairs and flirt with the pretty girls while we chat privately. That work for you?"

"Yes, but … when we're done, I'd like to have him join us. Is that possible?"

Chloe hesitated. "I think so. He'll be only an elevator ride away. Mind telling me why?"

"Well, some of this concerns him, right? I think he should be there when we talk about him."

"Ah! Now I get it. We're going to talk wings and feathers, in addition to the homicide investigation."

"Yes. I think we're ready for that talk now. I know I am."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. I've thought about this for hours. I'm definitely sure."

"Okay, then. I see it's going to be another big night. That's two in a row. See you at six-thirty."

"See you then."