Hi guys, I hope you enjoy this chapter :)
Charlie stood hesitantly outside of Vaggie's new bedroom door with a steaming cup of hot chocolate. Vaggie had moved to a different room in the hotel feeling uncomfortable staying in their shared bedroom. It had hurt to see her move, but Charlie didn't want Vaggie feeling unsafe. Charlie knocked on the door and entered the room when Vaggie gave permission to enter.
"Um hi Vaggie, I brought you some hot chocolate", Charlie said anxiously.
Charlie's heart clenched in pain when Vaggie glared at her and looked at the drink suspiciously. Was Vaggie thinking she had put poison in it? Charlie would never do that, though she reminded herself this wasn't her Vaggie. In her situation Charlie understood why Vaggie was so distrustful.
"Thank you", Vaggie said in a clipped tone.
Charlie carefully approached Vaggie to give her the hot chocolate, she remembered how violently Vaggie had shoved her away and she didn't want to be on the receiving end of that again especially while holding a hot drink.
"I understand you are feeling worried, but I want you to know you are safe here", Charlie said as she handed Vaggie her drink.
Vaggie scoffed, "My kind would kill you in a blink of an eye, how do I know you won't do that to me too?"
Charlie had to fight the tears threatening to fall, "Because I care for you, I know you have no reason to believe that right now but it's true. I will do whatever it takes to earn your trust".
Charlie wanted to tell Vaggie she loved her and would do anything to protect her, she would never try to kill or hurt her. But Charlie didn't want to overwhelm Vaggie.
"I'll go now and let you rest, but please know that you can call for me if you need anything or just need someone to talk to", Charlie said.
It hurt seeing Vaggie roll her eyes at her and look away, but she understood where it was coming from. Charlie reluctantly left the room and when she closed the door behind her, she took a few deep breaths to stop herself from crying. She needed to give her friends a report on how Vaggie was doing and she wanted to appear strong.
When Charlie reached the bar she saw Husk talking with Angel, her dad had left to talk to his friend about a possible way to help Vaggie. Angel gave Charlie a worried look as she approached them.
"Hey, you okay? Angel said in concern.
When Angel looked closely at Charlie, he realized he could see a bruise forming on her forehead and with a sinking feeling he knew Vaggie had caused it, having recognized the signs of abuse. He knew Vaggie would never deliberately abuse Charlie normally, but Vaggie wasn't herself right now. However, that didn't excuse it and Angel made a note to talk to Vaggie about it later.
"It's hard seeing Vaggie like this, but she is settling into her knew room", Charlie said trying to put on a brave face.
Angel shared a look with Husk, he couldn't imagine what Charlie was going through. Angel would be devastated if Husk forgot about how close he and Angel had become and went back to hating him.
"At least Lucifer has a lead, hopefully his friend will know something", Husk said trying to be comforting. Comforting people wasn't Husk's strong suit, but since becoming friends with Angel he had become better at it after comforting Angel when he came home from his awful work shifts.
Charlie brightened at the thought of her dad's lead. Charlie was so happy he was helping her. It meant so much to Charlie to have him back in her life and she was glad he liked Vaggie. Charlie hoped when Vaggie got her memories back that they could spend time with her father.
Charlie was about to respond when there was a knock on the door. Charlie opened the door hoping maybe they had a new client; she wasn't feeling as confident as usual but a new client would still be wonderful. However, when she opened the door, she was shocked to see Lute. Charlie's demon side unleashed at the sight of Lute, Angel and Husk immediately flanked her.
"What are you doing here?" Charlie snarled.
"I have come to take Vaggie back to Heaven I'm sure she will want to resume being an exorcist", Lute said with a smirk. She was enjoying the reaction she brought out of Charlie. It had been risky coming over this early in her plan, but it was definitely worth seeing Charlie so worked up.
"I won't let you take her!"
"What's going on?" Vaggie asked in confusion. She had been about to fall asleep when she heard a lot yelling which kept her awake. Vaggie was startled to see the confrontation happening.
"Vaggie, I've come to take you home I'm sure you don't want to stay here", Lute said and pushed past Charlie.
Vaggie felt her heart warm at the sight of a familiar person. Vaggie felt the usual butterflies when she saw Lute, she had been having feelings for her for years but knew Lute would disapprove of her feelings, so she had kept them hidden. But as much as she wanted to go with Lute, something didn't feel right. Vaggie couldn't explain it but when she tried to move closer to Lute fear gripped her heart and she couldn't make herself go over to her.
Lute could see the emotional torment in Vaggie's eyes so she stepped closer and put her arm around Vaggie's waist knowing it would anger Charlie. Lute wasn't disappointed when Charlie tried to charge at her, but Angel and Husk held her back. Lute felt Vaggie flinch at her touch which made her smirk.
"Don't you want to come back with me?" Lute said.
"Yes, but I would like to stay here to recover for a while first", Vaggie said. It would have made Vaggie so happy a day ago to have Lute hold her like this but now it just made her uncomfortable and she wanted to shove her off. Vaggie wasn't feeling safe around Lute anymore and the thought saddened her.
"Very well, you may stay here for a while, but I expect you back in Heaven soon", Lute said. Lute had wanted to bring Vaggie with her now to hurt Charlie, but she could wait. It would be more satisfying to see Vaggie hurt Charlie at the hotel.
Lute could also see that Vaggie didn't trust her. That was a snag in her plan, she had thought removing her memories would help with that, but she was still likely remembering the emotions and pain she felt when Lute had caused her fall.
Vaggie smiled in relief, "Thank you, I shall come back with you soon".
Lute reluctantly let go of Vaggie's waist and strode past Charlie, Angel and Husk. With a final grin at Charlie, she left the hotel.
Charlie calmed herself down when Lute left, she didn't want to scare Vaggie with her demon form. Charlie had been very surprised that Vaggie didn't leave with Lute, but she was hopeful this meant Vaggie may want to stay with them longer and not go back to Heaven. Charlie didn't know if Lute really would reinstate Vaggie as an exorcist or keep her locked away, so Charlie feared for Vaggie's safety if she did leave with Lute.
"Vaggie are you okay?" Charlie said as she approached Vaggie.
Vaggie hugged herself but didn't flinch away, "Yeah I'm okay, is it okay if I stay here for a while?"
Charlie smiled happily, "Of course you can, I'm so glad you want to stay".
"We should probably get to bed, it's been a long day", Angel said putting one of his hands on Charlie's shoulder.
Angel blushed when he saw Husk smiling approvingly at him. In the past Angel wouldn't have gone to bed as early as 10:30pm, he would have gone out clubbing if Valentino wasn't forcing him to be at the studio. But he was trying to turn over a new leaf and though he would never admit it out loud he would much prefer having Husk's approval than a night out.
Charlie smiled proudly at Angel also noticing he wasn't choosing to go clubbing, "That's a good idea let's all go to bed".
Meanwhile Lucifer was making his way to Asmodeus' club, he needed to have a talk with Ozzie knowing he would be the most likely person who could help him. But on the way there he noticed with surprise that Alastor was bent over clutching a wall to support himself.
Lucifer rushed over to him; he knew that they weren't on the best of terms, but he did care for the hotelier. Lucifer wanted to help him up but he knew Alastor wasn't comfortable with touch, so he hesitated.
"Alastor, can I help you stand up?"
Alastor jumped in surprise, not many people could startle him, but he had been in so much pain that he was having trouble focusing on his surroundings. He was reluctant to agree to let Lucifer help him, but he was too injured to get back to the hotel by himself.
"Fine but this is the only time you can touch me".
Lucifer nodded and gently put his arm around Alastor's waist, Lucifer wished he was taller it would be easier to take Alastor's weight. But he managed and together they made their way back to the hotel. Lucifer still needed to talk to Asmodeus, but Alastor needed him more right now, he would talk to him tomorrow.
Unbeknownst to Alastor and Lucifer, Lilith had been watching the scene and she snarled as she felt jealousy consuming her. How dare Alastor take Lucifer from her! Lilith would do whatever it takes to get Lucifer and Charlie back.