"I can't believe how normal you look." Corbett covered his face with both hands. "I don't think I'll ever feel normal again."

"Well, I...may have heard about your Freaky Friday situation from Chloe."

"Great. I sleep with the Whisper Killer, and you know about it before I do. Oh, damn! I slept with God."

"No, the woman inside you slept with God. My boyfriend has not cheated on me."

"Yeah," he said shyly. "Uh, thanks, Ella."

"Sure." She grinned at him.

"How much did you know?"

"Oh, I know the whole kit and caboodle. Did you know that both babies have wings?"

"Wait, both babies? How do you know? Ultrasound?"

"Oh, you wish. No, Rory came from the future to prevent Lucifer's death. I know, bombshell, right? And I've been de-shrapnel-izing myself since Maze and Eve got married, but it's still, like...cray-cray, right?"

"Yeah, you could say that."

Ella nodded, her ponytail bouncing. "Yeah. But I processed. I'm fine."

"Are you?"

She drove quietly for a few moments, finally shaking her head as she continued to stare unblinkingly ahead.

"Noooo..."

"Okay. Okay, see, that, I can relate to. I get it! You know, I need honesty, I need clarity. How the hell are we supposed to deal with this?"


Which was how they found themselves sitting in Linda's office. The perplexed doctor's eyes nervously traveled from Ella to the relatively unfamiliar acquaintance. "So," she began. "Uh, Carol, I presume."

"Yeah, hi. Uh, it's nice to meet you."

Linda smiled and nodded in acknowledgment of his belated greeting; he hadn't said anything else as the three of them had situated themselves. "Okay, so what brings you here? How can I help you?"

When Corbett was quiet, Ella took over. "He recently learned about Lucifer, Charlie, Rory, Chloe... and I thought it might help, you know, to talk to other people in the same boat. Or, ark, as the case may be." Ella chuckled, trying not to jump when she thought she heard the phantom sound of someone talking. Those damn voices. Why was it important to know he "had the same thought," anyway? It had literally no impact on her life; except maybe doubling down on her Risperidone.

"I see."

"I mean, I could have taken him to someone else, but I figure I'd start with the therapist and work my way up to the demon."

Linda nodded, her expression grim.

"Do you think I made the right call?" Ella asked.

"Yes."

"Wait, wait," Corbett interjected. "Who's the demon?"

"Maze," both women said together. Naturally Ella kept talking. "Well, her full name is actually Mazikeen―"

"Literally? Literally a demon? No wonder she's scary."

"No, Maze is good. She's much kinder since getting a soul," Linda told him.

"Oh. Wow. Okay, that's...pretty cool, actually."

Charlie's wails summoned Linda from her chair. She walked to the car seat behind her desk, lifting him out of hiding.

"I knew I smelled baby powder!" Ella exclaimed. "Wait. Why is he here?"

"Because Amenadiel is in the Silver City, and I couldn't find a nanny."

Corbett nodded as if he perfectly understood, and the women looked at him in quiet confusion. "Ah, yeah. I didn't like it there. Of course I don't know a lot of Spanish."

"Heaven. Not Mexico," Linda said, making Corbett hesitate.

"Ohh. That-that's different. Probably, uh, less rats up there, too."

Linda was smiling as she sat at her desk, holding Charlie. She single-handedly opened a drawer and started pulling out baby supplies, then threw her head back as the baby opened his wings. "Okay. Charlie... Charlie, sweetie, put them away," she said, mostly to herself. "Put them away."

She moved him away from herself, jostling his wings. "Oh, God, I'm getting feathers all over me!" she exclaimed, speaking through a laugh. "Ah. There you are," she breathed, as she began to finally feed him. "You know, this...this is great. I love being a mother. And it's incredible, really...being so directly tied to a family more important than the...the Windsors, for crying out loud, I mean... But, uh, well, I do seem to have a minor allergy to his wings. I tried a lot of medication, too, but I guess a supernatural allergy needs a supernatural remedy."

Ella made a sympathetic noise. And Corbett, having approached the desk, began to pet Charlie's wings.

"This is real. Isn't it?"

"Yeah. It's actually like holding a massive parrot," Linda noted.

Corbett quickly withdrew, going back to his chair.

"You know...Maze isn't as scary as you think," Ella said. "I mean, I even saw her demon face. Totes not a big deal."

"Yeah, I beg to differ," Corbett mused.

"No. It's fine. Hell, even Trixie saw it."

"What?" Linda asked. "Wait, does Chloe know?"

Ella was quiet, as the three of them looked at one another. "Ah," Ella said, with a dismissive wave of the hand. "So not a big deal. From what I hear, Maze and Trixie are actually pretty close, and Chloe's fine with it."

"Not a big deal? This is serious," Linda began.

Which was when Charlie's wings flapped, startling Linda, who jumped and withdrew her hands. Charlie began flying around the room, and she had to jump up to snatch him out of the air, flinging the bottle of formula across the room and knocking over the package of diapers, which sent her mug off the edge of her desk.

Linda held her baby close, her face mostly obscured by her hair.

Ella shook her head. "Note to self. Marry a human."

"Very wise," Linda said, as she went back to the car seat. She placed Charlie inside and buckled him in. "Now don't go anywhere," she told him. She turned back to face her patients, her eyes finding the mess created.

"How often does he...fly?" Ella asked.

"You don't honestly think she documents that, do you?" Corbett asked.

Linda restlessly shifted her weight to the other foot. "Uh, well, he usually only takes flight once a week, but a few days ago he did it twice in one day. I was...uh, confused, at first; you know, being a celestial's mom, but Amenadiel explained it to me. Told me to compare his wings to a-a second pair of legs, if you will. If Charlie wants to go somewhere, something's going to propel him. You know, the real issue is, Adriana wants to visit, and how do I explain the bubble-wrap on the ceiling fan? You know?"

"Well, you could reschedule."

"And say what? 'This is just until my son stops getting airborne'?"

"Wait, what's stopping you from visiting at the beach or something?" Corbett butted in.

"Oh, we have. And open houses, and the stadium." Linda chuckled, awkwardly taking her seat. "Visiting a home is a step forward. I want her to feel welcome in my house." She hesitated, biting her lip, then asked, "I wonder if I can ethically...or legally, for all I know―tell her about Amenadiel. God, I wish he was here," she fretted. "At least he knows how to deal with this, what to expect! He probably doesn't even notice the dander."

A knock on the door made her get up. She opened it and blinked in surprise. "Amenadiel. Uh, what... what are you doing here?"

"Granting your wish."

"Oh. Oh, that's so nice."

"I wished you were in the Silver City more times than I can count. Mmm, well, actually that's not true. It was precisely 4,228 times."

Linda smiled, stepping back into her office. "Please, come in."

He strode inside, wearing his dark, mysterious robe. "I'm surprised to see my mother here..." he said vaguely.

"Water under the bridge. If not...light under the skin."

"I appreciate your forgiveness," Corbett said, making Ella turn her head and give him a strange glance.

"Hey, Goddess," she said, her tone incredulous.

Corbett smiled at her. "Hello," he said, and turned his attention to Linda. "Can I see my grandson?"

Amenadiel looked at Linda, who was tilting her head and making a strange sound. He bumped into her and she came to life. "Yes. Sure."

Linda turned and went to the car seat, unbuckling Charlie. Retrieving him, she turned and went to Corbett, who took him from her. "There you go, say hi to Mr...uh, officer...Grandma."

Linda shot a nervous smile at Amenadiel, who smiled back at her with the warmth of all the suns; then she looked over to see an abandoned couch. Thinking Ella could have said something, she focused instead on the man she loved. "I, uh, I hope I didn't interrupt anything."

"I was helping Chloe with something of otherworldly importance."

"Oh, I'm sorry!"

"It's okay. She needed a break anyhow, and Lucifer dropped by. I figured they would want some alone time to catch up."

"Lucifer is here on earth?" Corbett asked. "I've been meaning to talk to him."

Linda awkwardly and hastily retrieved Charlie from the goddess' arms. "Uh," she started, but Corbett was already out the door. She looked up at Amenadiel. "Well, I've been meaning to talk to you."

"And I know everything you're going to say, Linda."

Wordlessly, she handed Charlie off to him.

"He'll be back. We both will."

She smiled, watching him carry Charlie out of her office.


Ella sighed, pushing the crosswalk button and looking up at the sky as she waited for the little man to appear. She couldn't believe it was real. Which was stupid, since she could believe just fine before. But now, knowing... For some reason it had destroyed her faith. Maybe because she didn't need it anymore. She could believe it, obviously; it was just unbelievable.

She rolled her eyes at her own logic and broke into a jog to cross the street. It was okay, everything was okay. She had processed, and okay, she wasn't fine. So what? She would just not go near celestials for awhile. Making a right turn, she was looking down at the road when a familiar laugh got her attention.

Lucifer's laugh. Lucifer's voice!

"Yes, very good, Detective," he chuckled, as Ella raised her eyes. "You'll be flying circles around me in no time."

Ella couldn't move. She couldn't breathe. She didn't even blink. She couldn't tear her focus off of Detective Chloe friggin Decker, flapping her plum-covered wings as she floated above the precinct. She leaned forward, did a partial circle around Lucifer, and landed.

"You'll be keeping them, yes?"

"Yeah! I want to visit you."

He smiled, draping an arm around her as she leaned into him. "Shall I compose a tutorial whilst I'm here?"

Unseen, and completely freaked out, Ella backed away.