Charlie came in with a contented smile on her face. She had gotten good news, no doubt. Vaggie smiled at the sight. She was glad there was something for her to be happy about. After the past two weeks, she really needed something to lift her spirits. She was still having a hard time dealing with the fact they had found her mom and that she left again without really speaking.

Both Charlie and Lucifer have been a bit low since going to rescue Ellen. No one expected to see Lilith. And if it hadn't been for Alastor's shadow insisting it was Ellen calling for aid, not Alastor, Lucifer probably would have just stayed. She at least learned he and Nifty were shit at charades. If its master wasn't Alastor, she may have felt sorry for the shadow.

"Good news?"

Charlie's eyes shot over to her and her grin grew.

"Great news actually. Ellen is awake!" She practically squealed in delight. "She's doing great, we just have a small hiccup," her smile started to slip. "She's only speaking in French right now, BUT it should go away on its own and since Alastor can translate, we're all good!"

"Speaking French?"

Charlie waved her hand in dismissal. "Yeah it's fine."

"Was she able to tell you who attacked her?"

Charlie's face fell completely. It seemed she did get that answer and she didn't like it.

"Well it's not really that simple, Vaggie. Alastor didn't have-"

"-Alastor did it?!" She should have known. It seemed everyone was blind sided by him. He had taken her soul and now he was trying to kill her. Why was no one else concerned?

Charlie's eyes went round. "No! No it's not like that." She was waving her hands trying to stop the thought she already had forming in her head.

She stood from the bed to give Charlie's shoulder a light shake. "Charlie, he's going to kill her, we need to talk to Emily."

"It was a misunderstanding, an accident-"

"How do you accidentally try and kill someone Charlie?"

"He didn't want to."

"Why does that matter? He almost did! Ellen needs to go to heaven, Charlie. There are more and more attacks happening, the V's have something big planned and now Alastor almost killed her. She isn't safe here."

Charlie bit her lip, her hands fidgeting with each other. She didn't like the idea.

Vaggie sighed. "Just talk to Em and see what she says. Maybe they have some thoughts or ideas that could help us."

"She's happy here, Vaggie. You should have seen her face when she finally saw him." Her eyes were glossy and Vaggie knew the puppy dog eyes were only seconds away.

She rolled her eye, arms now across her chest. It meant nothing that Ellen liked Alastor, no doubt that was how he got her soul. He probably gave her some false promise or insurance of some 'love' bullshit and she just happily traded it away. Like an Idiot.

"He doesn't like her. He's going to kill her. Charlie…" She sighed. Why did no one else see this? Ellen had no idea what Hell was like, what crazy shit happened on an almost hourly basis. She was doomed to die if she stayed here. If she did, Charlie would be a mess for weeks. Why was no one else thinking about that?

"She wants to stay."

"She stays because she doesn't know better. What will happen when she dies?"

"If?" It didn't sound like a convincing thought.

"No Charlie, when. It will happen, maybe not tomorrow or next week, but it WILL happen."

The tears had been unleashed. She was finally getting through to Charlie. She may not be able to convince Charlie to send Ellen away because she simply didn't like or trust Alastor, but if she could swing it so it was to protect her, she would do it. And it would be for the better. For everyone.

"I-I don't know Vaggie." Charlie hugged herself, turning away. "I don't think this is a decision we can make. This choice should ultimately be Ellen's. I don't think we should be interfering in this way."

She let out an annoyed groan, a hand rubbing her temple. She was so close. She had almost gotten through to her. "You're right," she finally relented. If she couldn't get Charlie on board, then she would just have to do it herself.

She turned and stormed from the room ignoring Charlie calling out, "Vaggie wait!" She needed some time alone.

She made her way down to the kitchen, hoping to sneak out the back of the hotel and find a quiet place to think. She was so focused she didn't realize she almost plowed over Lucifer.

"Hey, where's the fire?"

Her eye shot up in surprise. "Oh Lucifer, I'm sorry I didn't see you…there."

His smile softened. "Clearly. What's got you so worked up?"

She quickly flitted between being honest or a little white lie. "I want to talk to heaven. Ellen doesn't belong here."

His lips pressed into a thin line, leaning onto his cane. "She doesn't-"

She could have kissed him. Finally someone else that understood. Heaven would be better for her, and it would keep her away from Alastor, and as an added bonus, it would probably piss him off too. This was the best thing for Ellen.

"-but she is thriving here."

She deflated. So much for being on her side. Although maybe she could stir up their common hate for a particular Demon.

"Alastor almost killed her, surely anywhere else is better than here."

Lucifer stood straight, his free hand reaching up to hold his hat. His face turned sour at the mention of Alastor's name.

She pressed on. "We both know he's up to something, if we remove her from the equation maybe we can save her, send her back home."

Lucifer looked conflicted. "What does Charlie think?"

She pulled her gaze away. She should have known he would ask. He wanted to stay on her good side, try to rekindle their relationship. He wouldn't dare go behind her back. She sighed. She lost her chance now.

"She thinks it should be Ellen's decision."

"And I agree with her." He turned, making his way toward the lobby.

She didn't hide her disappointment. She was screwed, she would have to come clean to Charlie, hopefully before her dad got to her. This was something that should come from her. Her chest ached at the thought of Charlie getting upset with her. She didn't want to go behind her back, she just wanted to make sure she could protect Charlie from Ellen's inevitable death. It would kill her knowing she could have done something to prevent it.

He paused before pushing through the door. "When she finds out-" he turned to look at her. "-I never knew." And he pushed on leaving her alone in the kitchen staring after him in shock. He was letting her do it. He wasn't going to tell Charlie. A small smirk pulled to her lips. With a satisfied nod, she turned and made her way out the back, her phone already out with Emily dialed up. She answered on the third ring.

"Hey Emily, I was hoping you could help me with something..."

Angel watched as Lucifer stepped into the elevator with him, looking a little glum. He opened his mouth to try to find something to cheer him up, but thought better of it. He wouldn't get his humour.

On the third floor he stepped out, headed back to his room. He had a rough shift with Val and all he wanted to do was curl up with Fat Nuggets and mindlessly flip through his Sinstragram.

Halfway to his room, Alastor appeared in his way, appearing from shadows.

"Ah Angel, there you are." Alastor gave him a small head nod in greeting.

He gave the Radio Demon a confused look. Alastor never came to see him. Not if he could help it at least. He crossed his arms. Normally he would have made a sly remark about catching him alone in the hall, just the two of them, out of sight. But he was tired and he knew better then to rile up the Radio Demon. Poor Ellen had already had that talk with him a few times.

"What's up Al."

He cleared his throat, standing straighter, arms folded behind him, a position he seemed most comfortable in. "I have come to ask a small favo-" He paused for barely a second before clearing his throat and starting again. "I have a matter that requires your assistance."

"Do ya now? Is this for the party thing?"

Ellen had pulled him aside a few days ago mentioning that if she and Alastor were going to renew vows, she'd want him as her 'Man of Honour'. Of course he accepted, but it quickly became a chore. He didn't mind going to get the rings, he actually loved the idea and after Ellen put the sketches together he was sold.

He was glad Ellen went to Charlie as well, she was handling the guest lists, all the catering, and decorations. He, on the other hand, was tasked with all the fine details. Flowers, rings, help her find a dress and she sent him to find a particular type of rope and a fancy small vial. He hadn't done that yet. He was hoping to get a bit more information out of her.

He had asked about the rope and she didn't give him an answer, but the fact her cheeks growled red when he asked, he knew he had to find out what it was for.

"Not exactly. I was hoping you could acquire something for me."

"You're sendin' me a chore list too now huh?" He let out an amused huff.

"If you're going to be this bitter about it, I will find someone else." He turned on his heels making his way down the hall.

"Wait! I didn't say I wasn't gonna do it." He rolled his eyes, this guy was always so dramatic.

Alastor stopped and promptly turned back to face, back in his neutral position.

"Waddaya need?"

He pulled out a few pieces of folded paper and handed them to him.

Angel opened it up to see it was a list of music. He recognized a lot of the list, there were a few songs he hadn't heard of. This was clearly not a list for Alastor, the handwriting was a simple giveaway but the extensive genres and modernity of the music was the real obvious sign. Although at the bottom of the list were a few songs written in his handwriting.

"I'm hoping you can find these and put them on one of those little music device things."

He cocked an eyebrow, his eyes still reading down the list. "You want me to find all of these songs and put them on an mp3 player?"

"Exactly."

He smiled. This was completely out of Alastors expertise, that's why he needed the help. It was kind of sweet he was actually going out of his way to ask him to do it. Not something he thought the Radio Demon would ever do.

"Ellen's gonna love this."

"Ah, ah." He leaned forward. "She musn't know. It's to be a surprise."

Angel let out a long breath. "It's a bit of a tall order and I can't guarantee I can get'em all, but it's doable." He ran a hand through his hair. It would be easy if he could get a hold of some VoxTech stuff. Less than a day's work, but to do it old school? This was definitely going to take awhile.

Alator straightened. "Excellent. And remember, she musn't find out." And he disappeared back into his shadows.

Angel let out an annoyed sigh, returning to his original focus, his room. He put the list on his vanity before falling harshly onto his bed, two hands running down his face. So much for mindlessly scrolling his Sinstagram. The sooner he got started on this the better.

Fat Nuggets trotted over placing a few encouraging kisses on his face. He grinned, picking up his pig and giving him some head scratches. "Hey Nuggets. We can do this right?"

A small 'oink' and a few more kisses relinquished any remaining fatigue. "Alright, daddy's gotta go shopping so I'll be back later. We can cuddle when I get back, 'kay?" He placed a gentle kiss on the top of Nuggets head before putting him back down and getting back to his feet.

He made it to the front lobby giving his hand a flirtatious kiss and blowing it in Husker's direction. A middle finger was his response. He shrugged it off. He paused, finding Ellen standing, arms crossed, staring at a large painting. His shoulders dropped slightly.

She turned and found him staring. She gestured to the portrait and asked, "Who is this? I've walked by him dozens of times but I never really found out."

He approached her, his arms wrapping around himself. The thought of Sir Pentious still left a small ache in his chest. He cleared his throat standing beside her looking at his lost comrade.

"That's Sir Pentious."

Ellen turned to look at him, her eyes quickly getting a read of the situation before returning her gaze to the portrait. "He was a good friend."

It wasn't a question, she seemed to have deduced it on her own despite never even knowing the guy. Angel simply nodded. "Yeah he was. Brave fucker too." He didn't hide the sorrow in his tone.

Ellen turned and gave him a sympathetic look. "How did he…?"

She left the sentence hanging, not wanting to utter the rest. He didn't leave it hanging long before answering.

"Last extermination, he sacrificed 'imself for all of us."

"What a way to go. I'm so sorry."

She leaned over wrapping an arm around him. He didn't need the support. It had been awhile since he thought about Pentious. He missed the guy, but at least he wouldn't be forgotten.

"He was on a good path to redemption too." He turned away. This was Hell, people died all the time, but not the way he did, selflessly. He deserved heaven, he really did. He cleared his throat, pulling Ellen's arm from him. He didn't want to dwell on it for too long.

"Well I gotta head out, got some things to pick up." He gave her a wink. He laughed as her face grew pink catching on to what he was referring to.

"Angel! Shh!" She quickly glanced around the lobby, no doubt looking for any suspicious shadows dwelling out of sight.

He threw his hands up in surrender laughing. "I ain't sayin what I'm gettin." He leaned down to whisper to her. "But I ain't handin it over til ya tell me what its for."

"I can't do that Angel. It's for me to know and hopefully you will never find out."

His tone turned cocky, unable to resist teasing her. "Y'know… the only use I know of, is for some kinky bedroom play." He wagged his eyebrows.

Her face couldn't get any redder if she tried. "Rope has a lot of uses, Angel."

He lowered his voice even more, leaning in closer. "Not this kind."

Her eyes widened, horrified, and he knew he had hit the nail on the head. He pulled away laughing, giving her a small wave as he left her, stunned silent.

The door clicked shut behind him just as she called out, "ANGEL!"

Angelic rope was a rare commodity, even the one he used in his shoots was treated very carefully. He had no idea how Val got his hands on one, but it was the only reason he knew it existed. While some used it for sex play, he knew it had a more sinister use.

It wouldn't kill anyone outside of normal rope use, but it had the ability to weaken or eliminate the abilities or powers of demons and sinners alike. Most used it to take out those more powerful than them, tying someone up with it would render them practically useless. He hated the feeling. Why Ellen was looking for it, he wasn't too sure, though he would like to think it was to level the playing field under the sheets. He shook his head. He was starting to learn stuff, he didn't think he wanted to know.

He leaned back, hands on the back of his head, his smile pulled so high it hurt his cheeks. He did it. He finally got all of the music onto the little green mp3 player. It took him a week, but he got it and he managed to find all the songs on her list, much to his surprise. He let out a long breath turning to his bed where Fat Nuggets was curled up.

"Finally finished. Remind me ta neva do somethin like this again." He pulled the mp3 player off its charging cord and wrapped it into a discreet little package to give to Alastor later. He had finally finished everything he needed to do. Alastor had his music and Ellen had her rope, which took almost every connection he had to find, her little vial and her dress. He had his suit ready and Charlie had everything else set for the big day.

The party wasn't really going to be much more than just them. Rosie would be coming and Charlie invited some girl from heaven, but other than that, it was just them. All that was left was to wake up the next day and set up for the event in the evening. He was kinda looking forward to it. He hadn't been to many weddings when he was alive and weddings in Hell were unheard of. A nice change.

He grabbed up all of the things he collected, putting them in pockets to keep them hidden. He left his room and made his way upstairs. He didn't bother stopping by Ellen's room, she was rarely there anymore. He pushed past to where he knew he would find her.

He knocked on Alastor's door. "Hey Ellen. I want to go over the last few details for tomorrow."

The door opened and she stepped out into the hallway.

He gestures to the door asking quietly. "He ain't gonna eavesdrop right?"

She smirked but raised her voice, turning to yell at the door. "He better not be eavesdropping."

He raised an eyebrow amused. She just smiled in return. "Nah, we're good. What's up?"

He pulled the rope and small vial out of his pocket and handed them to her. The rope was wrapped in a cloth, he didn't want to touch it with his bare hands.

She gave him a small concerned look, her eyes darting to the door behind her. She waved for him to follow and she quickly sprinted down the hall to her room basically shoving him in when the door opened.

"Angel! That wasn't discreet."

"He didn't see."

She gave him an unamused look but turned to put the items in her bathroom. When she popped back out she explained. "He's not going to ever look in there for anything."

He shrugged. 'I wasn't gonna ask."

"Thank you again Angel. I know it was probably difficult to find that for me."

"It was, but I got a lot of connections." He gave her a small smile. "So you ready for tomorrow?"

She nodded. "I think so. I'm a little nervous. That's weird right? I've already done this yet I'm even more nervous now." She forced a laughed.

"Means it's important."

She nodded. She paused before she quickly turned back to him, a thought coming to her. "The rings!?"

He raised a hand to stop her panic. "Smiles got'em."

"Smiles got- wait he's seen them?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. He had kinda forgotten about that. He knew when he showed Alastor without her, she would probably be upset. He was ready to face the music. Though he knew Alastor needed something when he was practically glued to Ellen after her attack.

"I kinda showed him while you were out. He…" He winced from rubbing his neck so roughly. "He wasn't looking too great, figured it would help lighten the mood."

She was definitely disappointed, but she quickly pushed it from her face. "What did he say?"

He didn't really say much, heck even his face remained almost the same when he looked at them. Though he couldn't hide the surprise when he saw her ring.

"Yours surprised him, in a good way…I think. I don't know babe, he's hard to read."

She smiled. "If he didn't throw them back at you, then I think we can assume he liked them. He hasn't said anything to me about them either so I guess we're good."

"I wanted to wait for you-"

"It's okay. I trust your judgment. If you think that was the best time, then it was."

She was definitely too good for the Radio Demon. Far too understanding. Maybe that's why he tolerated her more than others. Maybe she just got him in ways others didn't.

"Okay well I think we left him in suspense long enough. Ya best get outta here before he comes lookin for ya."

Her smile brightened. "Thanks Angel. You are the best."

He followed her out, unable to shake the smirk from his face. He was pretty great. He had no idea how he would be able to pull Alastor away without raising suspicion, so he made his way back down to his room. Al would find him on his own time. All he had to do now was let Husker know he had to get Alastor in a red bow tie for tomorrow.