Thank you to everyone who humored me! Read on!

Sunday had become an unspoken "family" day and Luke, Elizabeth, and Lucifer would invariably make an appearance at Cassie and Azazeal's church for a few hours to visit with whoever happened to be dropping by. This morning, however, everyone was in for a small surprise. When Luke saw his father before they left, he immediately did a double-take and then gave him an amused smile.

"Good morning," he said.

His father smiled back also amused and said, "Do you need me to explain?"

"No," Luke said, "I know far more about the two of you than you give me credit for. In fact, I've just won several bets and I can't wait to collect."

Lucifer laughed at this and said, "Glad I could help."

When they arrived at the church, Luke broke off to join Malachi, Ella, and Sara, while Elizabeth went directly over to Cassie and Azazeal. Azazeal gave Lucifer a brief questioning look and then smiled broadly. He actually gave him a hug, saying that he was glad to see him and calling him by his old name.

"Cassie," Lucifer said, acknowledging her with a polite smile, but she was unsure of what was going on so she didn't respond.

"So you're back are you?" Azazeal asked, and Cassie noticed a slightly worried look cross Elizabeth's face.

"For a little while," was Lucifer's reply as Cassie watched him reach back to take Elizabeth's hand without looking, as if in response to her worry. Then turning to Elizabeth, who had delicately projected the idea that she wanted to be alone with Cassie and Azazeal, Lucifer said, "I think I'll go and circulate a bit. Luke tells me he has won a few bets and needs evidence." He casually lifted the hand that he was holding and kissed it before leaving her.

"Well, he's certainly different" Cassie said a bit snotty. She wasn't sure why but some how that little act annoyed her and seeing Elizabeth so worried didn't sit well with her.

Ignoring her, which fueled her irrtation, Azazeal said to Elizabeth, "You know, no one will expect you to keep him that way. It is too much for you and you've done enough already. It can never be truly perfect. Just use it to help you."

"Thank you for that." Elizabeth said.

Elizabeth was looking at Lucifer across the room who was soon to be surrounded by a crowd of angels happy to see him and Elizabeth knew that even more would come once the word got out.

The three of them sat down together and talked of other things, but Cassie was still bothered by this thing that no one would talk about. She didn't realize that Elizabeth had really already given her the information that she needed and that Elizabeth was just too on edge to see Cassie's confusion.

Upon seeing Lucifer approach them, Malachi did a double take of his own and Luke immediate said, "You'd better pay up, buddy."

"Oh, I will," Malachi said still staring at Lucifer.

Ella asked him, "What's all this about?"

"I'll tell you later…Lucifer, you ungrateful fool, I had money riding on you!"

"Malachi, you always lose. Why do you bother?" Lucifer responded with a smile.

Out of the corner of her eye, Elizabeth noticed Lucifer start to come back over to them, but didn't think anything of it as she continued her conversation with Cassie and Azazeal. Then, unexpectedly, Lucifer did one of the very few things that he really seemed to do on his own, never for any particular reason that she could find, but which Elizabeth had, in a way, gotten used to over the past several weeks. In the most natural of ways, Lucifer had approached her, fluidly knelt and kissed both of her feet before lifting his head to smile up at her. She did her best to smile back and mentally suggested that he sit next to her, which, of course, he did. She was thoroughly embarrassed and mortified because everyone saw, but at least it was in a pleasant way. Although there was part of her that believed that he had done it on purpose to show her that he would not hide this.

Cassie, of course, stared at him, thinking that this was the result of some new stupid thing he had done. She asked rather forcefully, "Are you going to do that all the time now?"

He looked at her not really catching her meaning and replied, "When the mood strikes me." Which seemed to Cassie as a typical snide remark from him.

"Sorry," Elizabeth said to Cassie, "I wasn't paying attention."

Cassie looked confused and Lucifer turned to Elizabeth and asked, "What are you sorry for?"

Azazeal laughed at them all and got dirty looks from both Cassie and Elizabeth. When Cassie turned back to Lucifer she saw him looking at Elizabeth with such genuine love and concern, it shocked her. Azazeal leaned close to whisper to her in an amused tone.

"I thought you knew about this. He is in a state of complete devotion to her. He has no will but hers, until she gives it back to him."

"But…?"

"This is as close as you will ever get to seeing him like he was in heaven. So you might was well enjoy it while it lasts."

In fact, by the end of the day, Cassie had begun to like Lucifer quite a bit, but it was certainly hard to get him away from Elizabeth long enough to have a conversation with her. Elizabeth tried to apologize for not telling her a lot of the things that had happened between them recently but it was all getting very personal. Cassie understood and hinted that she an Azazeal still had their share of things to figure out too.

A few days later Cassie had gotten up the courage to ask Azazeal about something Elizabeth had said to her. She and Azazeal both knew, but didn't talk about the fact that they were still trying to find their peace. She loved him deeply but there were still things that he struggled with that he did not completely share with her.

"Elizabeth hinted that you might be able to show me what you were like as an angel."

This caught his attention and as he smiled to himself at the idea, unconsciously his head lifted proudly.

"I want to see," she said encouragingly.

"It is not what I am any more," he replied, affecting expression of indifference.

"Why do you always hide from me?"

"Why do you refuse me?" he shot back.

"Why is everything so wrapped up in making me immortal? Lucifer doesn't…

"He barely realizes how fragile she is. He has no concept," Azazeal snapped, not really at her but at the idea. "He fears nothing but that he will somehow put himself beyond her forgiveness."

After a pause he went on, almost angrily as if that was the only way he could say these things, "I still fear that I may destroy you and what we have together. I worry that your love for me will fade. Each time you are out of my sight, I am tormented with thoughts that you might be hurt and killed and just as simply as that, you are gone," he suddenly turned his face to her with a look of helplessness. "How can I…?"

He could not finish this question because he did not know how to describe to her what he was looking for. He loved her so strongly, as only an angel could, but there was an uncertainty between them that ate at him and caused his obsessive worry. He was just not built to deal with this uncertainty and his arrogance and pushiness would flare up when he was uncomfortable. In his way, he had been trying to tell her what he needed all along, but if he was honest with himself, he had also been hoping that their love for each other would be enough.

He needed a goal, a mission, a place by her side, but he could not express this to her and was actually terrified of needing it because he felt useless. It did not help that, having known his place so clearly, and he had lost it so quickly and innocently, as least in his estimation, without the opportunity to show Him that he was not bad. This was compounded further by the fact that he had been purposely gifted with his charismatic and influential manner in order to guide and protect the early humans but the very talents that he was created to use seemed to cause mistrust in Cassie. These feelings of uncertainty had been growing since after Sara's birth. In a strange way, he had found at least some certainty when he had loved Cassie in vain, when he had fought to stop the end of days, when he had sacrificed himself to save her and Malachi, and when he was helping to raise Sara.

If she had known what she was looking for, she would have seen that he had always tried to be what she wanted to show her that he was useful. He had tried to protect her and thought that maybe if he did that well enough he could find peace, but it was never enough, which was partially why the idea of making her immortal was so fixed in his head. He had tried being normal, hiding his powers, to see if that would some how bring her closer to him and then when that didn't work he had tried to help her increase her powers. He had opened up to her, surrendered parts of himself to her, and she now knew more of his story than any human, but she hadn't pick up on what was lacking, but of course he was far more subtle than Lucifer.

And why was it that he could not throw himself at her feet as Lucifer had done with Elizabeth from the beginning? It was utter foolishness, that was why, but Lucifer knew no other way, and it had worked, at least in part, because he was capable of doing it with such abandon. It was uncomplicated for Lucifer because intense emotions and feelings did not scare him. He was created for them. As soon as he had fixed on Elizabeth, it had basically initiated a series of acts of increasing devotion that would continue infinitely and which in now naturally included acts to secure forgiveness when he inevitably made mistakes. And since Lucifer was a being of such extreme devotion and intensity of feeling, he did not differentiate between suffering for her forgiveness, emotionally or physically as necessary, and the pleasure of pleasing her, loving her, and being loved by her, so there would be no discouraging him. The only thing that could silence Lucifer forever lay so deep in Elizabeth's being that it was practically ridiculous to consider, and yet it he feared it deeply: profound and absolute rejection. It would take quite a bit less to discourage Azazeal.

Almost crying now, not knowing what to do or what the answer was, his only thought was that she had asked to see him as an angel. His mind was in a place where this now seemed like a simple request and was preferable to remaining in his current state of mind, so he moved towards her, took her hands, and after a pause to collect himself looked deep into her eyes.

She was immediately transported to what appeared to be the abyss with its grey swirling mists and there was Azazael standing in front of her with a brightness that made her smile, his eyes looking at her expectantly with a glow of love. It reminded her of the look he had given her when he had rambled on about baby strollers many months ago. She felt inexplicability drawn to him and wanted to trust him for no particular reason.

She then noticed that he had wings that were neatly folded behind him, which were edged with red, a color he had always seemed to like, and gold. She walked towards him, gave him a quick kiss and then glanced at the crest of the wing that was over his left shoulder. He obligingly extended the wing and she put her hand on the top edge, feeling how soft it was. Lost in her fascination and she proceeded to run her hand along the top edge of the wing until she was at the tip, several feet away from him, not noticing him close his eyes and sigh softly. She tugged gently at one of the feathers at the tip of his wing and he instinctively pulled in out of her hand. She looked over to him and he have her a look of playful irritation, but he was still smiling at her. Then he shook the wing and refolded it.

She walked back over to him, still in wonder at this amazing illusion, and could not help herself from walking carefully behind him, so as not to step on the tips of his wings that trailed on the ground. He turned his head to look at her out of the corner of his eye, "They're just wings," he said amused but also pleased by her attention.

"I know," she said, "but when will I ever get a chance to do this again?" She was smiling like a child.

She reached out and put her hand on his back in the place in between where the wings met his back. He slowly extended both wings this time and then stretched them, his back muscles rippling, as if they had been cooped up too long and it felt good to do this. Then, he delicately shook them again and refolded them, so he could turn around to her. He was looking at her expectantly again and Cassie said, "What?" with a smile on her face and a questioning look.

But this one word took the glow out of his eyes and wiped the look off of his face. His head dropped a little and he was no longer looking at her. He was unworthy he knew it. She had no use for him. She loved him but he was like an old toy that is broken but you still keep because it holds some small amount of meaning. He had already failed all those years ago, so it shouldn't surprise him that there was no purpose for him now.

Cassie had moved towards him and had wrapped her arms around him, trying to speak to him, but he did not hear her. In a blink, they were back in their room and when he looked at her now there was a cold distance in his eyes that had always provoked her. She wanted to push him for some sort of explanation but she knew this mood well, so she let him go and racked her brain for an answer to what could possibly have happened.