Eyes closed and laying her head on Angel's cotton T-shirt covered chest, Charlotte listened with her keen hearing to his steady heart beating slowly as he slept, truly content and at peace for the first time that she could recall. She traced a finger up and down his arm, admiring his body and curiously examining the various scars he'd acquired over time. Perhaps one day he'd share the stories, and she looked forward to a life spent with him, once she regained her true self. Charlotte couldn't remember any dreams she'd had, even with the crystals nestled under her pillow, but she only felt comfort and safety from the long night's rest. They would come in time, she was sure of it.
Her gentle touches stirred Angel from his sleep and he opened his eyes slowly, peering down at the pool of messy blonde hair that covered his neck and chest, feeling Charlotte's head pressed to him and her fingers tracing his arm. "Good morning."
The waves of blonde hair shifted and piercing black eyes looked up through the strands, "I didn't mean to wake you."
"It's okay. I don't mind. We should be getting a move on soon, anyway." Angel shifted a bit and Charlotte lifted her head and turned her body to snuggle up to him, her face now closer to his. He felt her soft warm breath against his cheek and turned his face to hers. Silently they both moved the last few inches and shared a soft kiss. Angel was surprised when she broke away, first.
"I must behave." She simply said, her voice mixed with humor and regret.
Angel slipped his fingers through her locks of hair, feeling how soft and full it all felt, and was still amazed at how it all turned black and menacing in her demon form. Yet, the thought did not make him uncomfortable or concerned and it only added to his own regret for how he treated her a few nights ago. He'd agreed to share a bed with her partly to make up for that regret, but for his own personal longing to be with her. Worry found it's way into his thoughts on if that was ever going to be possible, but all he said aloud was "For now."
She smiled at him, about to tease something when they heard a firm knock at the bedroom door.
"Are you two awake?" Cassie's voice flowed through the door and the tone of her voice caught both of their attention. Charlotte sat up in the bed, allowing Angel to slip off the blanket and turn to put his feet on the cold wooden floor.
"Yes. What is it, sis?"
"We need to talk. Now."
They heard Cassie walk off, and looked at each other with concern, Charlotte's eyes nervous, "She sounds scared."
Angel nodded, "Yeah, and that's not like her."
He stood, and reached for his jeans, "I'll go change in the bathroom, give you some privacy."
Charlotte nodded. They'd slept in decent night clothes and both had the same idea not to tease each other with nudity, so changing would be a private affair for now. Angel left the room and Charlotte lifted her nightgown over her head and let it fall to the bed, and opened the dresser by the bed. Selecting a comfortable sports bra and her favorite black t-shirt to wear, She decided since it had been humid and hot the last few days, she'd try out one of the skirts that Cassie had left for her. She'd clean up later, once they listened to what Cassie had to say.
Dressed, she pulled on the same black crocs she'd been so accustomed to wear that Angel had given her the first night and stepped out of the bedroom at the same time Angel came from the bathroom. She heard the toilet filling and indicated it was her turn. Angel said he'd be in the kitchen.
In the kitchen, Cassie started brewing another pot of strong black coffee while setting some various fruits they'd picked up last night in the center of the table and sat down, her mind racing. She looked up as Angel appeared from the hallway, his face serious, "Okay, sis. What's going on?"
"Where's Charlie?"
"Bathroom."
"Do you want some coffee?"
"Sis, something's bothering you, just tell me."
Shaking her head, Cassie stood to grab two cups for herself and Angel, while also grabbing a cold water bottle from the fridge, "I thought about telling you alone, but for what I need to do, Charlotte and you both need to be prepared."
Realizing she was going to do this on her terms, Angel leaned back in the chair and accepted the cup of coffee Cassie handed him. A moment later, Charlotte stepped into the kitchen, "I heard you, Cassie. Prepared for what?"
Indicating for Charlotte to take a seat, Cassie retook her own, setting her cup down and handing Charlotte the water, "OK, soooo...I couldn't sleep this morning so I started researching some ideas I had after yesterday, concerning how Charlotte got here. My biggest concern had to do with the fact that demons don't just come to Earth, they need to be summoned."
"Are you saying I was summoned here?" Charlotte's concerned eyes darted between them.
"I connected with someone on one of the witchcraft servers this morning," And Cassie laid out all that she had learned, about the failed summoning, the teen nearly dying from the botched attempted and that it may have something to do with the fact Charlotte may not be a demon, at all. She also laid out the fact that the failed summoning is likely why Charlotte lost all of her memories, as she was torn away from hell but didn't land in a summoning circle and bound by the summoner. How she ended up in the woods, thought, was another mystery she had yet to work out.
"What?" Charlotte blinked in surprise, "But… my powers? What I look like? Teeth. Claws. What else could I be?"
Taking a breath, Cassie spelled it out, "From what I was told, that kid wasn't trying to summon just any demon from hell. He was trying to summon the Devil itself; Lucifer."
"Shit." Angel whispered.
"No." Charlotte shook her head, "Lucifer is a fallen angel, right? That's what you've told me, right Angel? A fallen angel from heaven, and not female. So that can't be me."
"No, "Cassie agreed, "But as we've been discovering, things written in history haven't exactly been playing out by the script. What if Lucifer had children? More specifically, a daughter?"
"How do we prove this?" Angel straightened up, getting to the point.
"I don't want to know!" Charlotte pushed back her chair and stood, "If I'm kin to the devil, I don't want to know!"
"Sweetie, "Cassie began but Charlotte shook her head.
"No! No! If it's true…" She looked at Angel, face stricken, "I could never stay on Earth! He would come looking for me, wouldn't he? If he's what you say he is? I'd have to run… hide.. or everyone I love would…. "
Charlotte started crying, unable to finish her morbid thought. Angel pushed back his chair and rose, taking the three steps necessary to wrap his arms around Charlotte, "Listen to me! Cassie said she didn't sense anything evil in you. Even if you're Lucifer's child, you're not bound by the stories. You've proven that, already and perhaps neither is Lucifer what we think he is. But, we need to know, we need to get your memories back."
Shaking her head against Angel's chest, she looks up at him with eyes blurred in tears, "If I refuse to find out who I am, I can't have you! If I find out I'm Lucifer's spawn, I can't have you! Angel… I don't know what to do!"
Sobbing, Charlotte broke away from Angel and fell against the wall. Angel looked at his sister, and for one of the few times in his life, had no idea what to do, or to say. No amount of strategy would work here.
Cassie stood at this point and spoke loud and firm, taking the chance she'd fought in her soul about for the last hour and only now having decided, "CHARLOTTE MANGE!"
Sniffing and wiping her nose, Charlotte looked at Cassie, "What?"
Sensing nothing at all, Cassie said even louder and with power, "CHARLOTTE MORNINGSTAR!"
The air in the kitchen changed, and Charlotte stood up straight, wiping her tears away from eyes that were different than Angel had ever seen. Instead of black irises, they were red but her sclera glowed a light yellow, and Charlotte's frame and stance looked almost impreceptively different. However, it was the way she looked at both Angel and Cassie that had their attention fixed on her.
"I know that name." Charlotte cracked her neck, energy flowing off of her in ways Angel had not seen before, and smiled softly. Not at all menacingly, but as if recalling fond memories, and both Cassie and Angel saw subtle fangs peak out as Charlotte licked her lips which had taken on a black tint. She looked at them both, and bit her lip gently, "Sorry. I'm just feeling… new?"
"Do you remember?" Angel took a step forward and Charlotte held out her hand for him to take.
Shaking her head, Charlotte didn't seem upset about it, as there was a subtle difference in her whole character, now. "No. not specifically. I know that Morningstar sounds familiar, though. I still don't know all of who I am, but what I am feeling is.. .a sense of calmness, like it's all just under the surface. Not lost like it was, but.. still out of reach."
She looked to them both, a genuine warmth of a smile bright, "But I do feel.. like you're right, Cassie. If I am Charlotte Morningstar, I'm not a monster. Oh.. my.. Gosh."
She stops, and looks at Angel with a sense of understanding, gripping his hands in hers "I'm not a monster, Angel. I know it. I can feel it! I've never hurt anyone, even in hell.. I mean, I can't explain it.. I can't.. but I know it."
Angel smiles in return, gripping her hands back but Cassie coughs in a way that doesn't sound good to them, and they look her way. "I believe you, sweetie, but we still have a major issue. The summoning tried to call on Lucifer to rise from hell, but apparently because you're of blood kin it reached you, first. Do you have any idea why, or how?"
Charlotte closed her new eyes and thought hard, trying to pull memories out from under the darkness in the back of her mind. The air's quiet as they wait on her, watching her stand still with her eyes closed, head bent down. After a full minute, Charlotte opens her eyes, looking up, "All I feel is that I was swallowed up by blackness…. Like I was pulled into something? It's still buried, I'm sorry."
Leaning against the kitchen counter, Cassie rubbed her temple, "We do need to tread lightly, here. But let's cover the facts. One, it appears that Charlie is Lucifer's daughter."
"Charlotte." Came a quiet, but firm reminder, which caused Cassie to smirk again.
"Sorry. Charlotte. Two, calling you by your full name elicited a response from you. Your eyes, lips and teeth have changed. You're still human but 'more', now."
Lifting her hand to her mouth, Charlotte realized what Cassie meant and looked to Angel, "What changed about my eyes?"
Angel smiled, "They're amazing. You can check the mirror in the bathroom in a few."
"Three, this means that what I learned about early this morning says you could be contained if someone discovered who and what you are, "Cassie sighed, "And that's the biggest fear I have, here."
"No one knows who I am, though, except you two, right?"
"Shit." Cassie swore under her breath and saw the pair's reaction, "In the process of learning about you, I let it slip that I'd seen you. The coven in Virginia knows you exist."
"Do you think they'll come looking?" Angel asked.
"I doubt they'd be able too. I didn't give away where I was from and I'd never been on that server before, nor do I list my personal information on-line. Still, covens are resourceful, and they don't know you like we do, sweetie… and I'd doubt we'd be able to convince them, otherwise. I think the best thing to do for now is to stay down and out of sight. Until we can get all your memories back."
"I'm not going to stop rescuing the helpless, Cassie. I don't care if I'm Lucifer's kid, or if one day I have to return to hell." She stops, the idea of it causing her grief at the thought of losing Angel, but presses on, "I have these powers, and I'll be damned if I don't do everything I can with them."
"And I'm not going to try to stop her, sis." Angel added, squeezing Charlotte's hand in unity.
"Yeah. Didn't think so." Cassie shrugged with an accepting smile, "And honestly I'm glad you feel that way cause it just reaffirms to me that you're much more than kin to the Devil. I have an idea but I need to do more research on it. For the time being, knowing what we know now, I suggest keeping the crystals on you at all times and try to remember what you can."
Charlotte stepped into Angel's arms, to which she felt his firm embrace tell her he was okay with this new information, but she still needed to ask because she knew what it could mean, "If I am...what I am. I already know what this means, Angel."
Cassie took this cue to leave the kitchen for them to be alone and Angel nodded gratefully as she left the apartment to go down to her shop.
"Yes" Angel sighed, "But it was something we'd both knew could happen, and not to make a joke out it, really, but if there's ONE father I'd never want to piss off by hurting his daughter in any way…"
Laying her hands on his cheeks, Charlotte pulled Angel into a real, deep and meaningful kiss, one in which he accepted and returned, and when she broke it, she said in a low voice, "You have never hurt me, My knight. Only reminded me that I am something different. I accept this. I accept whatever future happens so long as I am by your side for as long as I can be. I'm not stupid, and I am not naive and I refuse to be scared, anymore. I believe I'm meant to be here, dammit, and I am forever grateful that I get to be your partner."
Tasting her kiss on his lips, Angel pressed his forehead to hers and she reciprocated, comforted by the feeling, "And I will be your shelter. I won't let anyone find you or hurt you, but I won't stop you or hold you back from being what you need to be, to fight at my side. But you understand what this means for us, right?"
"I know." And there was acceptance in Charlotte's voice that even she found surprising, mixed with the sadness in her heart, "There can be no 'us'."
Angel lifted her chin, and her eyes glistened but she gave him a brave smile, while putting a finger to his lips to silence anything he was about to say, "I'm okay, Angel, really. There is something that's more important than us, and it's the children. As long as I focus on that, I'll be at peace, I promise."
Nodding sadly, Angel stepped back and let Charlotte ease out his embrace, possbly for the last time. . She held her arms in her hands and looked at him, sideways, thinking the same thing, but asked. "Now what do we do?"
And as if on cue, Angel's phone rang.