Sam walked into the library and found Lucifer at his usual spot at the piano. Sam had just gotten back from going grocery shopping, and Cas had told him that Lucifer wanted to see him when he returned. "Hey, Lucifer. Cas gave me your message."

Lucifer stopped playing and stepped away from the piano. He went over to a nearby table, where a bottle of Scotch and two glasses sat. "Do you drink Scotch?"

Sam found himself a bit nervous. This meeting was clearly thought through, and it clearly was a serious one. "Not really. Beer and Vodka are usually what I go for, and Vodka is rare."

"I prefer Scotch. It's more upscale. Of course, Vodka will do if there's nothing else," Lucifer said as he poured two glasses.

"What's this about?" Sam asked nervously.

Lucifer smirked and handed him a drink. "No need to be nervous, Sam. Well, so long as you continue to be the upstanding man I've witnessed over the last few weeks."

Somehow Lucifer's words didn't make him feel better. He wasn't sure why, but this felt like the beginning of a very lengthy interrogation. "What do you mean?"

"We'll get to that. First, I wanted you to know that I've spoken with Gabriel. He mentioned that he asked you to come to LA with us after alternate reality Michael is dealt with and your mother is rescued," Lucifer said.

"Look, Lucifer, it's alright. Gabriel was just trying to help, but I have no intention of forcing myself…"

Lucifer cut him off abruptly with a raise of the hand. "The request was not a surprising one. I've seen it coming for a while now, much longer than Gabriel has."

"What?" Sam asked caught off guard.

"I'm very observant, Sam. I make sure to know what is going on around me. Plus, I'd have to be incredibly stupid not to see the way your brother acts. I know from experience one can only put up with that for so long. Of course, that had very little to do with how I knew you'd becoming with us. Aside from myself and Amenadiel, no one worried about Gabriel more than you." Lucifer said.

"I don't understand what that has…"

"What do you desire, Sam?" Lucifer asked as he walked up to him. He made sure Sam was looking at him directly in the eyes.

Sam looked straight at Lucifer, and found himself compelled to answer. "I want to be with Gabriel. I want to go with him and I want to have a normal life with him. Well, as normal as we can anyway. I don't want to hunt anymore. I want to put down roots. I want to be happy with your brother."

Lucifer nodded and took a step back. "I thought so."

Sam felt like he'd just come out of a trance. He immediately glared at Lucifer. "What the hell did you just do?"

"Forgive me. I needed to be sure," Lucifer said before taking a seat. "As for what I did, I simply urged you to tell me what you truly wanted. Bringing out a person's desire is a gift that I have."

"I've never known any other angel to do that before," Sam said.

"That's because no other angel can do it. It is unique to me. Please, sit down," Lucifer said, though his voice made it very clear that it wasn't really a request.

Sam felt nervous again as he did as the archangel asked. The tone of voice Lucifer used made him shiver a little. It felt like an interrogation again. It felt almost like his first date. The girl's father had interrogated him for almost an hour. That's what this felt like, only worse because he was being interrogated by the actual Devil. Lucifer might be more mellow than the thing that had impersonated him, and even most other angels, but there was no doubt in Sam's mind that he could still be lethal.

"I didn't really need my gift to know you loved my brother. It was obvious to me only days after seeing you with Gabriel," Lucifer said.

"Y…you haven't told Gabriel, have you?" Sam asked nervously. He really didn't want Gabriel to know about it. He didn't want the rejection he was sure he'd receive.

"Of course not. You'll tell him yourself," Lucifer said before taking a sip of his drink. It wasn't his place to tell Gabriel how Sam felt, no more than it was for him to tell Sam that he was pretty sure Gabriel reciprocated his feelings. Why else would Gabriel plead with him to allow Sam to come with them?

"I…I don't think I can. He's not gonna feel the same way," Sam said.

"How do you know? You haven't tried to find out. Grow a pair and find out for certain," Lucifer said strongly.

Sam opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

"You'll do it, I'm sure, though I fear you'll do so at an agonizingly slow pace. That's your prerogative, I suppose. Here's mine though. Gabriel is my baby brother, and I will protect him at all costs, especially given everything that's happened to him. I like you, Sam, but if any pain comes to my brother by your hand, they will never find what's left of you," Lucifer said in a dark tone.

Sam gulped, having no problem believing that Lucifer was being literal. "Understood."

"Excellent! I look forward to you joining us in LA then," Lucifer said.

Just then, Amenadiel appeared. "Hey."

"Brother, I wasn't expecting you back so soon," Amenadiel said.

"Well, I had a few free moments. Michael's being examined," Amenadiel said.

"Is he as crazy as Lucifer says?" Sam asked.

"Oh, yeah. He hugged every single angel that he saw. There was one that I think would've wet his pants if he was actually capable of it," Amenadiel said.

"Bloody hell! What happened to him down there?" Lucifer asked in disbelief.

"I think he's regressed to a happier time," Amenadiel said.

Just then, Gabriel, Dean and Castiel entered the room.

"Anyway, Naomi is looking through his mind.

"Naomi?" Castiel asked in a horrified voice, causing everyone to turn to him. "She's dead."

"No, she isn't. She just sort of went into hiding for a while. Listen, Castiel, I know how you feel, but we can't exactly be picky about what angels we let back into the fold. There are so few of us that it's taking a toll on Heaven. Michael and I being back has helped considerably though."

"That bitch tortured Cas!" Dean said angrily.

"I'm aware. I don't condone it, but we have no choice right now. Plus, she's the only one there who might be able to figure out what's going through Michael's mind. We need to get him healed as quickly as possible," Amenadiel said.

Lucifer looked at Sam. "You were there with him. Could you possibly shed some light on his condition?"

Sam shook his head. "I had my hands full at the time. That thing was making life hell for me. I don't even remember seeing much of Michael after we fell. The last I remember, he had a panicked look on his face after hitting the ground. Then he looked like he was trying to pray. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, Sam. You were being tortured. Of course, you weren't paying attention to the asshat archangel trapped down there with you," Gabriel said.

"Yes, he's right. I simply wanted to ask in case you did notice. I knew it was a long shot," Lucifer said.

"So we just have to wait for that crazy ass angel to work her magic," Dean said.

"Essentially," Amenadiel said.

"Can we do anything in the meantime?" Sam asked.

"Other then continuing the search for ways into alternate universes, I don't think. I should go back and check on Michael. I'll check in when I can," Amenadiel said before leaving.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Amenadiel returned home seconds after leaving the bunker and saw Naomi continuing her work. "Can you tell me anything?"

Michael turned when he heard his brother's voice. "Amenadiel! You've come back!"

"This isn't going to stop being weird," Amenadiel said to himself. He didn't like Michael this nice and cheerful. It was very disconcerting.

"I concur with you on that, brother. This is profoundly strange," Naomi said.

Amenadiel motioned for her to follow him out of the room. "Did you discover anything?"

"Yes. He was tortured, excruciatingly. Once Sam Winchester was out of its reach, that being must have decided to take its anger out on the only occupant of the Cage," Naomi said.

"But Michael is strong. His power is matched with my own. He must have been stronger than that abomination," Amenadiel said. He was confused. He didn't understand how that thing could beat Michael.

"But we don't know how that cage could affect an angel's power. It may have stifled some of his power," Naomi said.

Amenadiel nodded. "If he was tortured so relentlessly, why'd he hug Lucifer? He thought Lucifer was his tormentor. You'd think he'd shy away from him."

"I can't say for certain why he hugged him, but he may be confused. He's been asking for Samael," Naomi said.

"Yes, that's what he called Lucifer when we released him," Amenadiel commented.

"I think Michael may be confused because the difference in Lucifer's Grace and that of the being he created. I can only guess that the two felt different," Naomi said.

"They did. Are you saying you think Michael considers Lucifer and Samael two separate individuals?" Amenadiel asked in disbelief. That sounded crazy to him, but then again, Michael was far from sane right now.

"I don't know for certain. I'm far from a human psychologist, but it seems plausible," Naomi said.

"Well, I'm going to find out for certain," Amenadiel said before going back in. Naomi followed him. "Michael?"

Michael turned and smiled. "Hi, Amenadiel. Where is everyone? There aren't many angels here. Where'd they all go?"

"It's a long story. We can talk about it later. Listen, I wanted to ask you some questions, okay?" Amenadiel asked.

"Okay."

"I need to know what you remember about Lucifer," Amenadiel said.

Michael's happy smile disappeared and in its place was a mixture of fear and anger. "I don't want to talk about him! Don't bring him up!"

"Okay, I'm sorry, Michael. I don't want to scare you," Amenadiel said.

"He's evil, Amenadiel! You can't mention him anymore!" Michael said. His hands were shaking, and he looked like he was about to have a breakdown.

"Okay, I'm sorry. What about Samael?" Amenadiel asked.

Michael calmed down and smiled again. "Okay, we can talk about Samael. Where is he? I wanna see him."

"So Samael isn't evil?" Amenadiel asked.

Michael gasped as if his twin had said the worst thing in the world. "No! Don't ever say that! Samael's our brother! Our brother isn't evil!"

"Your right, brother. Thank you," Michael said before going over to Naomi. "It seems that your theory was correct. Can you do anything?"

"I'm no healer, Amenadiel. I can pinpoint what happened to him, and I have, but I can't heal the mess that is his mind," Naomi said.

"I'm going to have to find someone that can then," Amenadiel said. He did know someone who might be able to help. The problem was that it was going to take time. It wouldn't be quick solution. And Amenadiel wasn't sure how much time they actually had.