She had been correct about the washing machine, it looked as though the filter had never been touched. Once she cleaned the one, she figured she might as well do the rest since she was already there with everything she needed. It also gave her something to do. Now that all the planning was done, she wanted something to occupy her time. At her own pace of course. Something to do to help around the place.

She would never be able to keep up with Nifty in terms of cleaning and pest control. Though she would admit she did enjoy cleaning, a mundane task to keep her body busy, but let her mind wander. No, there wasn't much she could offer in terms of services. She could do dishes maybe. Fold linens? Perhaps Charlie could find something for her to do.

She pushed the thought aside for now. She wanted to enjoy some of the freedom she had before jumping into something else.

Nifty had put on a roach puppet show for her, while she finished cleaning the other washing machines. It wasn't… terrible?

Nifty had created a tale of two roaches that started off hating each other but inevitably fell in love. The guy was a 'bad boy', not interested in the idea of love. He was above such things. Yet little by little the girl chipped away at the armor the guy had built. By the end (despite how gruesome the bugs looked) Ellen rather enjoyed the creativity Nifty had pulled together.

She had already finished her work, but stayed so Nifty could finish her little show. Applauding and laughing at the end. Niftys maniacal laughter joined hers.

"What on earth is goin in there?" Angel popped his head into the room.

"Ellen let me put on one of my roach puppet shows!"

"Did she now?" He raised a questioning eyebrow at Ellen, who only shrugged in response.

"I was working in here anyway. Why not have a show?" She gave Angel a wide toothed smile.

"And uh…what'd ya think?"

"It was a beautiful love story." She gave Nifty a side glance and watched her face light up as she bounced on her heels.

Angel must have followed her glance because he quickly changed his look to appear more interested.

"Ah yes, the one wit tha bad boy right?"

They both chuckled as Nifty practically vibrated with glee.

"You remembered that one?"

He crossed his arms leaning against the doorframe an amused smirk playing on his lips. "'Course Nif."

Ellie stood brushing herself off and started collecting all of the stuff she used for the machines.

"Oh I'll take care of that!" Nifty quickly pulled it all from Ellen's hands and darted from the room.

She stared after Nifty for a few seconds before making her way out, following Angel.

"The one with the bad boy huh?" She asked Angel.

He laughed. "They all have a bad boy."

"So you've seen some of these shows before?"

"Meh, I don't got the heart to tell her no. Not like it's doin anyone any harm right?"

"Yeah."

"So what was wit all that stuff in there?"

"Oh." She shrugged. "Just a bit of maintenance on the washing machines."

He looked at her curiously. "You fix things?"

"I know my way around a toolbox."

"Well, ain't you full of surprises."

The two had made it back to the lobby. An enticing smell wafting in from the kitchen. She turned to look at Angel wordlessly asking if he was the cause of it. He shook his head. The two made their way to the kitchen to find it bustling with life. Or, shadows was probably a better term.

It looked as though he was cooking a feast, many different dishes all being worked on. The two watched as Alastor moved around the kitchen like a head chef, checking and tasting as he went before taking over stirring from one of his shadows.

She glanced at Angel wondering if he knew what the occasion for such a lavish dinner was, but he just rolled his eyes and made his way to the table, kicking his feet up now engrossed in his phone.

She wondered if she should offer help. She was pretty useless in the kitchen, and he had all of these shadow cooks. She smiled slightly at the familiar feeling. The first time she was in this kitchen she had also watched Alastor cook, though it was nothing this extravagant.

She shifted slightly and just watched as he made another round of checking and sampling, so focused she was sure he didn't notice her presence. She could hear him humming cheerfully to himself. He looked more relaxed here than she had ever seen him. Cooking was something he enjoyed. Then he momentarily stiffened.

"It's rather impolite to stare, my dear. If you're looking for something to do, you can hand me a spoon from that drawer." He didn't even look, just gestured with his hand, back still turned to her.

How did he know she was there? She had made no sound. She hesitated for a second before moving to do what he asked. He dipped the spoon into whatever was in the pot in front of him. To her surprise he lifted the spoon offering it to her.

She hesitated unsure if she should take the spoon from him or simply allow him to feed her. Was there a proper way of doing this? Why was she making this weird? She shook off her mental ramblings and simply leaned forward sampling the sauce.

She should have known better. He had just pulled it from a pot on the stove. It was hot.

"It's quite hot my dear."

He watched her with a look of mix amusement and curiosity. She turned away quickly, her mouth hanging open trying to relieve her scorched tongue. Her hands fanned her face hoping to add cold air to help alleviate the heat. Her cheeks burned in embarrassment.

"Mhmm. Yup…it's…Hhh…good." She managed to sputter out. She could make out some savory flavour but that was all she could catch through the intense heat.

He dipped the spoon again, this time blowing to cool it first before offering her another taste. Another amused expression on his face.

"It should be a more acceptable temperature for you now, darling."

Darling? She hadn't been called that before. She opened her mouth and accepted the spoon.

Tomato with a bit of spice and a nice mix of pepper. It was really good. She nodded in approval. "Okay. It's not bad."

"Not bad?" He scoffed. "My dear, you will find no better Shrimp Creole sauce in all of hell." He took his own spoon to dip and sample.

He gave her a disapproving glare.

"I didn't say it was bad. It's good."

"Good? My dear, I'm starting to think you have no taste." He turned away, moving back to running the kitchen.

Did he really need to be told his cooking was unmatched? What a vain man. She rolled her eyes.

"Can I set the table?"

"No, no. I can handle that myself."

"Alright."

She turned on her heels to join Angel at the table, she sat with a huff, arms crossed. He didn't even look up from his phone.

"Caught ya snooping?"

"I wasn't snooping, I was just watching him cook. He even offered me a taste."

"You better not have insulted his cooking."

"I did not. I said it wasn't bad."

Angel put his phone down and gave her a shocked look. "You didn't"

"What?"

Angel laughed. "Consider yourself lucky if you get to eat."

"You can't be serious." She deadpanned.

"Ya, made that mistake early on too. Ya don't mess with mama's recipes."

"Okay, but you can't please everyone. He knows that right?"

"Yeah, not when it comes to his moms cooking. I can't deny it's pretty great." He glanced back to his phone. "Just don't tell 'im I don't like that Shrimp Creole stuff. That got me on his no cook list for weeks." He rolled his eyes. "I don't like shrimp."

"Well that's what he had me taste. And yeah I'm not a fan of shrimp either." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Does he actually have a no cook list?"

"I'm sure he'll play nice 'cause you're new." He didn't sound very convincing. Great.

A loud snap echoed through the room caused Ellen's gaze to shoot to the source of the sound, the kitchen door, where Alastor stood glaring at the two. All the tableware had been snapped into existence except for Angel's and Ellen's spot.

"Feet do not belong on the table."Alastor glared at Angel who promptly pulled his feet from the table. When no dishware appeared in his place he threw his arms out.

"What? I ain't say nothin but your cookin. Where's my plate?"

"You know what you did." Alastor turned back into the kitchen.

Ellen couldn't hold in her laugh. "Looks like I'm not the only one on that list."

He flipped between her and the kitchen door a few times. "Aww come on Al! That ain't fair!' He stood going for the kitchen. "I thought we got over that…"

Ellen continued laughing as Husker and Nifty joined her at the table. Husker tipped his head toward the kitchen.

"What'd he do?"

She shrugged. "Not sure, Alastor says he knows what he did."

"You're not eating?" He gestured to the blank table in front of her.

"I apparently lost that privilege." Although it wasn't ideal she couldn't but smile at the childish behavior. There were still a few slices of pizza from lunch she could heat up.

Husker gave her a serious glare. "You didn't…"

She chuckled again. "Yeah. I'm on the list."

He rolled his eyes

"But he let you fix the washing machines. I thought he liked you." Nifty looked a little disappointed.

"He let you fix it? Damn."

Nifty shifted two seats over to sit beside her. "It's okay Miss Ellen we can share." Her smile lit up her little face.

"Won't that just upset Alastor more?"

Husker rolled his eyes. "Yeah. But he won't say anything about it, not if it's Nif."

Ellen smiled. "So does that mean you're going to share with Angel?" She gave Husker a side glance and small smirk on her lips.

He shook his head. "Angel is on his own. The second I offer anything I would be put on that shit list too. Ain't worth it."

Ellen hopped to her feet as Charlie and Vaggie joined the table. Ellen leaned down to Nifty. "Share with Angel, I'll just grab some leftover pizza."

Husker glared. "You're digging yourself into a deeper hole doing that."

She moved to the kitchen calling over her shoulder. "Yeah maybe, but it's not like I have anything better to do."

She barely had the door pushed open before she called in. "Hey Angel! Nifty's offered to share her plate with you."

For the first time, she saw a look of shock pass the eyes of the Radio Demon. "She will do no such thing."

Ellen moved to the fridge looking for the leftovers. "Not up to you is it? She can do as she wishes."

"YES! Thank you Ellen. You're the best."

She turned to smile at him as he made his leave. "I try." She pulled the pizza out and moved to the microwave. She could feel Alastor's glare on her even without having to look.

"What are you doing?"

She popped the microwave door open, placing the pizza in. "Just making myself something to eat."

The lights in the kitchen started to flicker and to her dismay, it stopped the microwave as well. She turned to ask Alastor about it, but froze. He stood over her eyes black, antlers now a more impressive size. He looked mad. Did she do that? A quick look around found she was alone with him in the kitchen, all of the shadow helpers now gone. She swallowed past the lump in her throat.

"Is there something wrong with what I'm serving?"

Her eyes widened. "Well, no, I just thought-"

"You think I don't know what you are doing? I do not entertain impolite manners."

She pressed her lips together. Was this the right time to mention that setting the table for everyone else except her and Angel would be considered impolite? It seemed a bit hypocritical. Was he mad that she had not rated his food better?

She opened her mouth but closed it when a loud snap echoed through the kitchen. All of the food had been moved to the table outside. No one was going to go looking for her now, not unless she screamed and he would enjoy that. No she wasn't going to scream. She may be afraid of him, but he couldn't hurt her. Charlie had ensured her safety. She could trust Charlie. Did she trust Alastor? Definitely not. She shrunk back a bit.

"I don't like seafood." She didn't know why that was what slipped from her mouth, but it was the truth. Most of the dishes she managed to catch a glimpse of was some sort of seafood dish. She would have tried it to be polite but he made it easy by just not serving her. Maybe her nerves were getting the best of her again.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Well you didn't set a place at the table for me and I just thought- I mean Angel told me about the time he tried your sauce- you didn't serve him- I just" She shut her mouth. She was just making a fool of herself.

In a matter of seconds Alastor was back to his normal form. He turned on his heels heading for the dinning table, arms crossed behind his back. "Don't ever do that again."

She gave him an incredulous look. "Do what? I said it was good!"

In a second she was pressed up against the counter, Alastor inches from her face. "Feet do not belong on the table my dear, something I have mentioned numerous times to Angel. He knows the impoliteness and continues anyways. I do not entertain improper manners."

"So why am I being punished?"

His eyes glared deep into hers. "He is enjoying my mothers wonderful cooking, thanks to you. You went behind my back my dear, it won't happen again. Understood?"

She really hoped she kept the fear from her face, though she doubted it. So this had nothing to do with his cooking. And here she thought he was just being vain and childish. Maybe she misjudged him.

"Understood, but you didn't set a place for me at the table before all of this."

"Perhaps there was another reason. Hmm?" He finally moved back. He glared at her before letting out an annoyed breath. Another snap, this one nowhere near as loud as the past few. In his other hand appeared a platter. He pulled the cover off the plate to show a type of sandwich.

"Special dish just for you. Chicken po'boy sandwich. Not a speciality of mine, but should be up to your liking."

She looked at him a bit surprised. A special dish just for her?

"Don't be getting any ideas now." His glare returned. "You fixed that machine, something I normally do. I don't like owing favours."

"I don't recall mentioning anything about favours."

He held the plate out for her to take and she accepted it. "Indeed, and I intend to keep it that way." He turned away, slipping into shadow before she could even thank him.

She took a few seconds just standing there looking at where Alastor had just disappeared. Was he being extra nice to her? Surely not. He said so himself it was just because she fixed the washing machine. He didn't need to do that. She shook her thoughts and made her way to the rest of the residents out at the dining table. She found it best not to let her mind dwell on the Radio Demon.

She took her seat next to Angel wordlessly and placed her plate down in front of her. Husker gave her a curious look but remained silent.

"Guess ya got yourself off the shit list." Angel plucked something off Nifty's plate.

"Turns out I was never on it."

Angel looked down at her plate and gazed back at her face in confusion. "What is that?"

"Special meal made for me. He didn't like that I fixed the washing machine so this was his thanks I guess. I'm not going to question it."

Husker's gaze shifted to Nifty, who only smiled brightly in response. They seemed to share a knowing look.

"Well shit. I still gotta share off Nif's plate?"

Ellen grabbed her sandwich and took a bite. It was very good. He really was a good cook. When she swallowed she responded to Angel. "That was because you keep putting your feet up on the table. And it sounds like it'll stay that way until you smarten up." She shrugged.

Angel rolled his eyes. "Really? Pfft. What a drama queen."

She enjoyed the rest of her meal with a small smirk on her lips.

Since Ellen hadn't helped with the meal, she felt obligated to help clean up, though she was afraid to go back into the kitchen. Alastor had made a feast, meaning a lot of dishware was used. She collected an armful of dishes with a silent sigh to herself as she pushed the kitchen door open with her arm. She placed the dishes by the sink and took a look around the kitchen to see how long she would be cleaning for. To her surprise there were very few dishes left to clean. Had someone come in earlier to clean? With a bit of a confused pout, she turned back to the table to collect the rest of the dishes.

She let herself zone out as she did the dishes, mind free to wander wherever it felt like going. Did she want her hair up or down for the open house tomorrow? Who came up with the expression 'When pigs fly'? Why did they pick pigs? Is that where piggy banks came from? Would she get the chance to see the sun again? Trees? Grass? She paused. They seemed like such small simple things.

"You're doin'em by hand?"

She jumped at the sudden arrival of Husker, unaware he was beside her.

He gave her an unamused look up and down before opening a dishwasher and leaving the door open before turning to the fridge.

"Oh." That explained why she hadn't seen anyone else do dishes. She looked over at the pile of dirty dishes left and found she only had a couple left. Not enough for a load. She shrugged. She watched as Husker rooted in the fridge before pulling back with a large bottle of champagne.

A small smirk played on her lips as she raised her curious eyebrows at him, silently asking what it was for.

"Charlie wants to celebrate." He left her without another word.

"Hmm." She smiled as she finished the last of the dishes. A celebration. No doubt it was a little party to celebrate the end of all the chaos of planning the open house. She liked that idea.

When she made it into the lobby she found Charlie, Vaggie, Nifty, Angel and Husker all gathered by the bar. Her grin widened as she approached.

"So are we going to pull out the fancy glasses?"

"Ehhh! Ya gonna join us?" Angel grinned.

She gave him an amused look. "Of course."

"We all here then?" Husker asked Charlie, the cork ready to be popped.

Charlie nodded, but Ellen noticed two faces missing. Lucifer and Alastor.

A loud 'pop' echoed through the lobby as the cork flew over the bar and out of sight, everyone cheering in unison. Husker poured everyone a glass and quickly they were handed out.

There was an awkward pause as everyone seemed to be waiting for Charlie to step up to make a toast.

"I-um. Well we did it everyone." She glanced around the room. "Together we all made this work. Tomorrow is going to be an amazing night and it's all thanks to you guys. I - um. I would like to toast to you all."

Vaggie looked at her with a loving smile. Ellen was a little more interested in the shared look Angel gave Husker and Nifty.

"Great words toots, but let's be real. This was all you and Ellen. And that, we can toast to."

Charlie's smile turned bashful, but gave him a grateful nod.

"To Charlie and Ellen!"

Ellen gave Angel a look as the rest of the group cheered, toasting their glasses and taking a sip. She leaned close to Angel and whispered in a hushed voice.

"What was that Angel? I didn't need that. It's the least I could do since I'm staying here rent free."

He glanced down at her, an eyebrow raised. "I don't think anyone put more work into this than you did."

She shook her head. "Charlie did. She shouldn't have to share the spotlight."

"And who's idea was this in the first place?"

She pressed her lips together. She couldn't argue that. She let out a small huff. "Thank you." A small smile playing on her face.

"Ya did the work now take the credit." He raised his glass to her and took another sip. Her smile grew as everyone broke into conversation about the night to come. She enjoyed the evening except for the occasional nervous glances from Charlie. That was something that worried her.