Alastor sat up. He knew he was being watched, he could feel it, but he couldn't seem to find the culprit. His eyes swept the room for a third time, still finding nothing. He let out a quiet huff. He didn't like that. He didn't like feeling like prey and the fact the feeling of being watched hadn't gone away only solidified it. He moved his gaze back to Charlie. After she had started her spiel he basically tuned out. If she needed help, she would turn to him with a lost look, that hasn't happened. She was doing well on her own.

"…Ellen has a family at the hotel. We all look after each other and she is very well protected. Her husband has a means of keeping her safe even if-"

"-Pardon me princess, did you say husband?"

Alastor glared at Charlie. He had mentioned that it probably wasn't a great topic to bring up. It would lead to more questions, and more questions meant they would be put on the defense. Not ideal. Charlie turned, giving him an apologetic look.

Fuck! Charlie bit her lip, she didn't mean to let it slip. She let out a breath, before responding.

"Yes. Husband." There was no way she would elaborate more than that. They didn't need to know it was Alastor.

She held her breath as Sera and Emily turned to discuss and she prayed to whatever entity was out there, that Emily wouldn't point to him. Aside from her, she was the only other one that knew. Sera's eyes quickly darted to Alastor and all hope went out the window. She closed her eyes, head hanging down. Shit.

"I am to believe this…demon… is her husband?"

Charlie looked back at Alastor and despite his face showing nothing, she knew he wasn't pleased. He stood casually walking forward to address the seraphims.

"I am indeed. Is there a problem?"

"Do you have proof?"

His eyes narrowed. "Is my word not enough?"

Sera glared down at him. "Apologies, but I don't see how that is possible. There isn't anyone to properly officiate such a thing to-"

"Lucifer! My dad! He did it. That would make it official, right?" Charlie couldn't help herself. He was a fallen angel, if anyone had the power to do something like that it would be him. Wait. She let the thought sink in. Her dad. He would have known long before everyone else. He kept it secret? She slowly nodded. It was likely they told him to keep it secret. Alastor probably wanted to keep it secret for as long as possible.

The room filled with audible gasps.

"Alastor?" Ceciles eyes widened as she took in her son for the first time in a century. Ellen lightly grabbed her arms holding her steady as she started to shake. "Ma chère."

Pentious helped Ellen direct her to a box to sit on. "I'm so sorry Cecile I didn't know he would be here and when I saw him I just…" she got lost in the sight of him. She offered her a small smile. "When this is all over I'll reintroduce you both, I'm sure he'll be excited to see you too."

She only nodded. Her eyes locked on to her son.

"Is she with child?"

The room filled with a screech of static, Alastor quickly recovered. "I beg your pardon?"

Cecile's eyes quickly moved from Ellen's face down to her stomach before returning to her face with a look of horror. Ellen just shook her head. "N-no. No I'm not." She didn't think she was. Could she? The more she dwelled on it the more she was filled with panic. How long had she been away from her body? She hadn't had a period, and she and Alastor didn't use protection. It couldn't be possible right? Oh fuck. Why hadn't she thought about that before? He didn't seem worried about it. Did he expect kids?

"That would be proof of the consummation. It wouldn't be legitimate otherwise."

"No wait!" Charlie stepped forward knowing Alastor would not be able to continue, this was all going to have to be her unfortunately. "Sinners can't…" her cheeks heated. "…they can't reproduce. It's to keep the population down. So it um…" She let out a nervous laugh. "...It's not possible.

Oh thank god. One less thing to worry about. Ellen let out a breath.

"So there is no proof."

How could one possibly prove something like that? If they weren't going to take Alastor's word then she would… Ellen groaned, getting to her feet. She turned to Cecile, giving her a knowing look. Ellen knew what she needed to do. She made her way forward looking over her shoulder. "Pentious, keep an eye on her."

Before she could change her mind or talk herself out of it, she stepped out making her presence known.

The room was filled again with gasps and Alastor couldn't resist an eye roll. He was starting to get tired of the noise. It seemed that was the only reaction they were capable of.

"Alright look…"

He froze, his body stiffening against his will. He was sure he heard wrong. He slowly turned to find Ellen marching forward, appearing from seemingly nowhere. He felt his knees go weak and he had to rely on his cane to keep him standing. She was here. "Ellen." It came out barely above a whisper.

She was dressed in a way he had never seen her before. Relatively formal, a black skirt that hugged her form, down to her knee. A black blazer to match and a red blouse underneath. The biggest difference was her hair. A dark red. The corners of his smile turned up. It looked good. It suited her well.

He couldn't help but stare. Here she was right before his eyes. Was he staring more than normal? He couldn't seem to look away. Perhaps his chat with Charlie affected him. He didn't recall staring at her but now that it was in his thoughts he couldn't seem to shake it.

It had been only a few weeks but he felt he had lost her, but she was within his grasp. He almost moved to reach out, touch her, afraid that maybe his mind was playing tricks. Perhaps this was a dream, one he hoped not to awaken from. His eyes followed her.

"Ellen?"

Charlie tilted her head to the side as she watched her approach. She didn't realize Ellen would be here to join this meeting. It would certainly make things easier if she voiced her desire to return to Hell. Her eyes darted to Alastor after hearing him take a sharp breath in.

Her heart swelled, her smile growing as she watched him. She had no doubt now that he loved her, just by looking at him she could tell. He couldn't pull his eyes away, staring at her like she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

Ellen marched right by him only sparing a quick glance and a short greeting before leaning to Charlie whispering something in her ear. His breath hitched at her being so close. Charlie nodded and gave him a quick glance before returning to her seat.

Ellen cleared her throat. She wasn't too sure how to proceed, she hadn't watched much and the little she did see wasn't enough to gauge what kind of attitude she should approach this with.

"First off." She turned to gaze up at all the faces above her. "Why was I not informed of this meeting? You are all discussing MY future. Seems like something I should be a part of. Especially if Alastor is here. Second…" She raised her voice, eyes now focused on Sera.

Charlie blinked surprised. No one told her about this meeting? How did she get in if no one told her about it? The Seraphims knew she was here and the topic of this meeting, it seemed a little odd she not be invited. She was right, she should have been here from the start. Well maybe it was good she didn't see Alastor take out the exorcist.

" …Since you don't want to take his word for it..." Her thumb shot towards Alastor. "…Take mine. The marriage was properly consummated. He is indeed my husband, now can we please move on."

As the silence grew Alastor moved to stand next to his wife. Not close enough to touch, but almost. Now was not the time, but he desperately wanted to just whisk the two of them away. It felt like years since he had seen her, heard her. Standing this close his heart had already started speeding up. The conversation with Charlie earlier wasn't really helping his nerves either.

"I don't know that I can take either of your words. Is there not someone else that can verify?"

Ellen's face curled up in disgust. "What is this? The dark ages? No one watches newlyweds to make sure they've had sex."

"If this marriage is in fact legitimate, it changes everything. So if you don't have better proof I will be electing to dismiss it. We have no way of knowing what kind of underhanded deals or persuasions were made-"

Alastor narrowed his eyes. If they wanted to be biased, he didn't care, but to believe he would force someone into a marriage with him was a low blow. If they knew anything about Ellen they would know she had a strong will, she would never agree to anything she didn't want to.

"- I'm going to stop you right there." Ellen glared. "What sort of proof are you looking for then? The two involved are both saying it happened and if you aren't going to take either then there's nothing that will convince you. You're wasting everyone's time."

There was a moment of silence before Sera leaned back with a sigh. "We will continue the discussion and disregard this marriage.

Alastor watched as Ellen's mind went to work. He could tell just by watching her. It was fascinating.

Would their marriage contract work in their favour? It was proof of the marriage, but it would also prove, there was indeed some sort of exchange. And the exchange of souls would definitely not work in their favour. No. She couldn't bring up the contract. There was one thing she could try.

"Alright, fine. Let's play ball." She turned to face him and his stomach sank. He knew that tone, that look on her face, the conviction of her movements. She had a plan and he wasn't going to like it.

Ellen spared him a quick sympathetic look wishing she had another plan, but for now this was all she had. She lowered her voice addressing only him.

"Do you trust me?"

She wasn't too sure if he did. He knew she was going to suggest something he didn't like, she could see it in his face, though everyone else would never know.

"I don't believe I have much of a choice."

"We're going to bluff, but I need you to sell it." She started undoing the buttons on her blazer.

"Tie, belt and shoes. Take 'em off."

His eyes widened. He was sure he heard wrong, but as she shrugged off her blazer he was starting to figure out what her plan was. He was not going to be able to 'sell it'. She fixed him with a glare and he reluctantly pulled at his tie, slowly removing it, before moving to his belt.

"You may need to take off more but I'll do most of the heavy lifting."

He didn't want to think about the idea of the head seraphim calling their bluff. He would likely die of embarrassment. He also wasn't too sure what Ellen meant by 'heavy lifting', but it probably wasn't anything good.

By the time he had his shoes, tie and belt removed, Ellen had removed her blazer, heels, pantyhose, and was working on the buttons of her blouse.

"What are you doing?" Sera gave them an incredulous look.

Ellen grinned. "We both know this marriage is legitimate, and what that ultimately means but since you don't want to take either of our words about the consummation, we'll prove it. Right here, right now in front of you all. Can't argue its validity then, can you?." She had finished unbuttoning her blouse and was now pulling it out from her pencil skirt. She ignored the hush whispers that started to echo around the room.

Sex made people uncomfortable. Same with nudity and public displays of affection. There was no way Sera wouldn't stop them. No one wants to watch people strip and have sex, so as rash as the thought was, Ellen was quite certain it would stop long before either of them were naked.

"Ellen, is this really necessary?"

She smiled up at Alastor. "Two steps."

Alastor nodded. She had a plan. It gave him a bit of solace knowing that this would end in their favour, or at least move the meeting past the marriage argument.

Why was she pushing so hard to validate the marriage? There were a few reasons. One was definitely out of spite, because they didn't want to acknowledge it, it made her want to prove it even more. But that wasn't the important reason. As the head seraphim said, if it was proved, it would change everything. It would tip this whole meeting into their favour. Well, into Alastors favour. He didn't know how much power he held being her husband.

"So marriage has to be common here right?" Ellen took a sip of her water as a warm breeze brushed by, causing some of Cecile's feathers to ruffle.

The two had decided to have lunch at a small bakery that Cecile insisted was the best in all of heaven. After having their chocolate croissant, she couldn't argue.

"Unfortunately not."

"What? Why?"

Ellen only asked in hopes of getting a conversation going, she assumed the answer would be a resounding 'yes'. Marriage was a happy thing, two people falling in love and committing themselves to each other. It made sense why it wasn't something found in Hell, but heaven?

Cecile put her cup of tea down, her eyes following it to the table.

"It holds a lot of weight in the afterlife. It's not just twenty or thirty years you're committing to someone, but quite literally an eternity. We don't die up here. It's a big commitment. It's very rare to find two souls that mesh that way."

Cecile smiled before returning her gaze to Ellen. "I'm glad you two get to experience that."

"It's just like a normal marriage."

Cecile shook her head. "If your souls aren't compatible the divines won't allow the union."

Ellen's face crinkled. She wasn't overly religious but she didn't really believe in fates, or destinies or divine interventions. Cecile continued ignoring Ellen's look.

"Divorce isn't a thing in the afterlife, so to ensure it doesn't get to that point, only souls that are truly compatible for all of eternity can be unified."

"I can't divorce?" She hadn't really thought about it, but the thought of this being permanent never really crossed her mind.

"You want to divorce Alastor?"

Ellen's eyes widened realizing how that sounded and she stuttered her way through her thoughts. "N-no. I just never thought- I mean yeah marriage is a commitment but if things didn't work out- not that I think they wouldn't, I just…I'm sorry, our souls are comparable for eternity?"

"That's why it's so rare. You are lucky."

"I'm still mortal."

Was this lucky? She would eventually die, most likely end up in heaven while Alastor stayed in Hell. Sure they were bound forever but they wouldn't likely stay together. Unless she was destined for Hell…

"He is smart, I have no doubt he will do well making all decisions."

Ellen shook her head, sure she heard wrong. "I'm sorry, all decisions?"

Cecile nodded. "That's what happens in afterlife marriages. Husbands typically get the final say and a lot of women now don't want that. Not for the rest of eternity at least. Apparently it's 'old fashioned'"

Ellen shifted uncomfortably. "So Alastor gets the final say in all decisions?"

Cecile's eyes met hers. "You didn't know?" When she was returned a head shake, she pressed her lips together. "He does, for anything legal, medical or business. Your souls are already united, it's clear his decisions are in both of your interests."

She leaned back with a relaxed sigh, her gaze looking over to watch people walking by on the promenade. "You needn't worry my dear. You've already done the impossible."

She pulled Alastor's hands to her waist and then placed hers on his face. She watched his Adam's apple bob in unease.

"Kiss me."

"W-what?"

"Kiss me." She repeated.

He tried shaking his head, but her hands held him in place.

"Just close your eyes and pretend we're alone, just us."

He hesitantly leaned forward and just before their lips touched she whispered, "Je t'aime, Alastor."

His stomach twisted in delight as his lips met hers. His hands pulled her closer to him. It all still made him feel fuzzy. The sound of his name rolling off her tongue in French, the jolt of electricity sent through him from their kiss and now, he could feel her heart beating against his chest, in time with his own, like they were one in the same. He did indeed, temporarily forget that he was in a room with hundreds of others watching, that they both had started undressing and were now wrapped up in each other.

He couldn't explain why this felt like the sweetest kiss they'd shared, why he never wanted to let her go. He knew there was an audience. Yet the thought was pushed back so far it hardly registered as a concern. He hated public displays of affection. Yet it seemed the long absence from his wife completely shut down his brain. He was happy to have her in his arms again. At this moment, that's all that mattered.

Cecile couldn't believe what she was seeing. It was all too much to take at once. Her son, her Alastor, was here. And this was a side even she had never seen of him. She had pushed him a bit to settle down, find a nice gal, but he was always so focused on work, and making her proud, despite the many times she told him she was. Yet despite the indecent display of affection being presented, she was grateful. He was never interested in anything but making advances in his job, and it seemed now he had found something else worthy of his attention.

She had gotten to know Ellen relatively well in the past few weeks and while she was a bit eccentric, and quite bold, she made him happy. It was clear they both cared greatly for each other and from the little tidbits she had gotten from Ellen, they were indeed an odd but complementary match.

"What is this?!"

Ellen chuckled against his lips before pulling back to respond, her eyes never leaving his. Her smile could have stopped his heart if he had one.

"Foreplay."

He almost choked. His face was undoubtedly flushed. She was pushing her luck. Had anyone else had tried something like this he would have ripped their entrails out already. Though he did manage to keep his panic and discomfort under control.

She tried to keep her gaze off of Alastor, knowing he was probably already flushed. She was fine. At least for the top half. She would probably tap out if she had to continue until her panties. That was a line she wasn't willing to cross. But her top half? Meh. To her, boobs weren't a big deal.

She slid her blouse off, now standing in her pencil skirt and a bra. Alastor was beyond uncomfortable. Not only was he still expected to continue undressing, but the whole room now had the sight of his wife in just a brassiere. It clicked. Heavy lifting. She would spare him from undressing if she did it first. Exposing herself so he didn't have to. He didn't exactly like that idea either.

He tried averting his eyes, he didn't want to stare, normally he wouldn't, but the scarring on her chest caught his eyes. No one would question it, they don't know its story, but he did. A permanent disfigurement he had made on her skin.

His eyes widened in horror as she reached around her back. She wouldn't. No. His cheeks burned. It felt like slow motion as he watched, to his horror the front of her bra slide down, the straps slipping down her arms. He had never moved so fast in his life. "No!" He was not going to let that happen.

Before anything could be seen he pulled his jacket off, throwing it over her to keep her descent.

"Enough! You've made your point."

Ellen looked at him in shock. "Your tail," she whispered. He wasn't concerned about that at the moment. In fact it wasn't a thought until she had mentioned it. He pulled her into his arms. He wanted to be angry, furious with her, but he couldn't. Having her in his arms again killed any desire to be upset. He just wished they'd stopped before she had to get so exposed. He shouldn't have let it get that far. He leaned down to whisper to her, still holding her tightly against him.

"Never again, you hear me? I don't care the circumstances, we are NEVER doing this again."

She let out a small laugh but nodded against his chest. "Thank you."

He let out a long sigh. He should have expected as much. She brought trouble with her everywhere she went.

Ellen hadn't thought it through very well. How was she going to get dressed now? She could slide her bra back on, probably. She lightly pulled herself from Alastor and worked to get her bra back on properly, while keeping his jacket on to stay covered. After a few attempts with the clips at the back she reached down for her blouse and continued dressing. She didn't bother with the pantyhose, rolling them up and putting it in her blazer pocket. Once her blouse was on, she handed Alastor his jacket back.

He simply placed it over his arm. He had already redressed at this point, his eyes glaring at the gallery above them.

"I'm sorry you had to expose your tail. I know that's a big deal to you. I was trying to avoid it the best I could."

"A simple fix really. I was far more concerned about you, my little doe."

She didn't want to cry, but she couldn't stop the tears as they welled up in her eyes. It felt like forever since she had heard his pet name for her. He grabbed her hand, gently kissing the back, before he moved to wipe the tears that slid down her cheeks. Once he was sure they were gone his smile turned devilish.

There was a rather loud 'rip' sound and the room was once again filled with sounds of gasp and a few 'thumps' as a few more angels fainted. Ellen looked up to find a wicked grin on Alastor's face. What did he do?

From behind him he pulled a ball of red and black fluff. It took a few seconds for her to realize what it was. Her eyes widened in disbelief. "Alastor!"

He straightened, a hand waving in dismissal. "It'll grow back, but they don't know that." His eyes shifted upwards to revel in the horrified looks on the angel's faces. Or at least the ones that hadn't passed out from the sight. His grin almost split his face.

Charlie didn't know what to think. She knew Ellen had to have been bluffing. Alastor would sooner kill every person in heaven before stripping down to his skivvies, and the very public display of affection? Though even with the better understanding of them both, there was no way anyone could argue they didn't care for each other, and even Sera couldn't disagree, they indeed acted like a married couple. Charlie smiled. This whole meeting had gone to hell, yet through it all they seemed to be managing well.

What she couldn't comprehend was the fact that Alastor has…had a tail. She shuddered as the image of it being ripped off passed her thoughts again. It was never something she thought about. He was always so secretive about everything, but she had to wonder why the tail was one of them. It wasn't odd to have one. She shook the thought.

Ellen looked down at the tail in her hands, unsure of what to do with it. Was that something he could have done all along? Didn't it hurt? Instead of hiding it under his jacket forever, why not just rip it off every time it grew back? She shook her head. She didn't want to dwell on it. She shoved it into the pocket with her pantyhose.

Sera cleared her throat, trying to get the room back under control.

"So you are both indeed husband and wife."

It wasn't a question but Ellen responded. "Yes. I'm glad we could finally move past that point." She glared up at the head seraphim, who promptly ignored her pressing on.

"And what exactly is your plan? She is to return to her body, but now has committed herself to someone that cannot follow her back. That and how can we be sure she won't be trying to get sent to Hell after returning to her world?"

She bit her tongue, she figured this would be what happened after making her point. Alastor now had a say over everything that pertained to her. The rest of this court meeting he would be addressed and she would be ignored. She didn't get a say anymore. But it did tip the tides into their favour.

He barely paused a second before he gestured to her to answer. She was a bit shocked but she was appreciative that he seemed to know she still wanted to be a part of the discussion. She didn't really think much about it, as her train of thought slipped past her lips.

"You can't be sure. I think that's the point. When it comes to life, nothing is certain, except death. I could have the best plan you have ever heard and it could all go to hell in a matter of seconds. You want to know my intentions? I plan on taking my time figuring out all of this." She spun, gesturing to the whole room. "As for purposely damning myself to hell? I don't think I would. You gotta do some messed up shit to get sent to hell and I honestly don't think I have it in me."

Sera raised one eyebrow. Before returning her gaze to Alastor. "I take it, you are in favour of your wife returning to Hell?"

"I am."

"And you can assure her safety?"

Alastor rested a hand on Ellen's shoulder. "You can be assured she is safer with no one else."

"Very well then, Ellen will return to Hell under the care and protection of her husband. This meeting is adjourned."

Charlie blinked in disbelief. She didn't even ask Ellen. Shouldn't her opinion matter more than Alastors? And why did it seem like the whole tone of the meeting changed after their marriage was deemed legit? There seemed to be more going on here she hadn't been privy too.

"Wait! I have one more thing that needs to be discussed." Ellen hurried across the floor to where her two other friends had been hiding. She grabbed Pentious' hand and pulled him to the center of the room.

"When were you going to tell Charlie that the hotel works? That Pentious got redeemed?"