Chapter 15

We eventually found a motel in Grand Junction, Colorado. I supervised Lucifer and Elly while Ketch went inside to secure us all a room. It wasn't long before he came back and I was helping Elly into the room.

It was a cute little room. Standard two beds with off-white sheets and several too many pillows. I shouldered my duffle off onto one of these before helping Elly into the bathroom located at the back of the small room. A white barn door slid open to reveal a surprisingly clean bathroom with a walk-in shower and marble-topped sink. 

"Leave it to him to still find as nice of a motel as he could," I mumbled mostly to myself as I let Elly lean against the sink.

"Would it kill him to sleep in something even a little dingy?" Elly smiled at her joke.

I laughed a little as I slid the door closed and made sure it was locked. "Let's get you cleaned up." I turned back to her and helped her shrug out of Dean's now dirty jacket. "I'll help you as much as you want me to," I said as she leaned against me for support.

"I'm fine." She said, trying to push away from me but only falling back against the sink.

"I…please. I feel…" I hung my head, "I'm so sorry, Elly…"

It surprised me when her arms wrapped around my neck and she pulled me into a hug. "It's ok. I know you didn't mean it." She leaned back and met my eyes with hers, "If you think this will help you feel better, then ok. But no oggling me!"

I laughed. It felt good that she was in this mood. Making jokes rather than curdled up into a ball, unresponsive. 

I carefully helped her lean against the sink once more before kneeling to help take her shoes off. Next came her jeans. I had to stop myself from asking too many questions as dark bruises revealed themselves on her hips and thighs.

"They did hurt you…" A deep pang of guilt hit me, soon replaced by a small flame of anger, "That stupid angel promised me you wouldn't be hurt…"

"I'm fine." Elly smacked my shoulder lightly, "Honest. They didn't do anything to me."

I sighed. Was this denial? Was she trying to be strong for me? There was no need for it. But maybe I had made her feel like she had to lie to me to protect me. God, I hoped that wasn't true. I wanted her to be truthful with me about her experience in Hell, not lock it up like Dean and Sam had so many times. It was hard enough to deal with their moody asses.

I continued to help her out of her clothes. Carefully removing the now destroyed shirt I'd lent her and exposing the new scar that would forever adorn her skin. It was like some ugly star that broke up the perfect porcelain of her body. 

"I'm so..sorry," I whispered, fingers gingerly touching the blemish. Elly flinched away from my touch and I retreated.

I turned my back to her as she finished undressing and turned on the shower for her, rinsing my hands under the water. Dried blood turned the water rust-colored as it washed from my hands. Her blood. Not a monsters or some enemies, hers. 

I gritted my teeth and turned back to her. I extended a hand, avoiding taking in her blood-covered torso as much as I could as I helped her under the water. As the warm water washed the blood off her skin it revealed more and more bruises. Her back, shoulders, and chest were covered in the small purpler red spots. 

"Are you sure they didn't hurt you?" I asked again, reaching out to stabilize her as she stumbled a little.

"Alex," Her voice was stern as her eyes met mine again, "I promise I'm fine. No demon touched me."

"Well, someone did," I grumbled, examining a pair of scratches laid down her back as she turned away from me. "What happened?" Elly shook her head, turning off the water once all the blood was gone.

"It's none of your concern," Elly said, reaching for a towel, a deep blush now on her face.

"Oh come on." I smiled, reaching for a white robe hanging on the back of the door. "You know almost all of my secrets, it'd be rude to keep one from me." I handed her to robe after she'd dried herself. "I'll have to get you new clothes. Pretty sure we got blood on my extras. Oh, I'll probably have to scrub my car seats now too…"

Elly smiled, pulling the robe tightly around herself as I lost myself in my thoughts. I watched her delicate fingers adjust the collar of the robe around her neck, for the first time noticing the dark bruises that lay there. They were circular and deeper in color than the others. They traced from her collarbone up to her ear on one side. They almost looked like…

"No…" The lights had flicked on in my head. "No. No way in fucking hell!" Elly jumped as I got louder, confusion thick on her features as she swept her wet hair back into a ponytail. "Tell me those aren't what I think they are on your neck?" I pointed at the marks. Elly's eyebrows furrowed together. "You're the reason there's….he's got…" I couldn't comprehend the thoughts in my mind. 

But Elly finally understood what I was trying to say. Her blush deepened and she quickly opened the bathroom door and rushed from the room, cool air from the bedroom replacing her.

I followed her out, staring at Lucifer tied to one of the small desk chairs, Ketch standing beside him. Lucifer looked annoyed to be trapped again. But there would be another time and place to ask him proper questions. Right now I was only focused on information about one thing.

"What are you scratches from?" I asked him, stepping up to the restrained devil like he was just another vampire in those ropes. His bright blue eyes laughed and a smile pulled at the corner of his lips. "Why didn't you heal them?"

He shrugged, "Some battle wounds are worth keeping." He was cocky. 

I could see Elly covering her mouth with a hand out of the corner of my eye. Her blush continued to deepen in color. "Alex," She muttered behind her hand, "Stop it."

"I can't fucking believe it…" I laughed. "Elly I would never have expected you to do something like that…something like him."

"Oh stop," Elly said, taking a seat on the corner of one of the beds, "Like you have room to talk."

Lucifer chuckled. I couldn't control the boiling anger anymore. The slap across his face was satisfying. Oh so very satisfying. The smile on his face instantly dropped and those ocean-blue eyes turned a light shade of purple as the red tried to come through. The glare would have frightened anyone, except for me. I'd seen worse. The devil himself had thrown worse at me. This? Was nothing.

I raised my hand again to slap him once more, but Ketch snatched my wrist and stopped me.

"Don't." He said softly, "You've said your peace."

"You don't deserve to touch her." I spat at the devil, ignoring the Brit.

"You jealous, doll?" Lucifer said it with a triumphant air, though the look he held was stone cold.

Ketch' grip tightened on my wrist and pulled me back from the fallen angel. "Enough." It was a demand whispered to me, "Go take a shower, cool off. You've been running on fumes for days now, love."

"Not until that demon admits he used her," I growled.

"He didn't use me.." Elly's voice was so soft, I almost missed it.

I glared at Lucifer as he shrugged with a twisted smirk. "You know what? That little scrunchy thing you do with your nose when you're mad is cute." He was teasing me.

I reached for him again, but Ketch caught me once again and pulled me hard against his chest. "Calm down. There's most likely a good explanation." He seemed to have grasped what had happened.

"Right! Jack is missing and he needs a new Nephilim." I struggled against the strong grip that held me, but I had never been a match for Ketch in strength. Especially when he was trying. "He'll kill her. Just like he did Kelly. He only ever has selfish reasons for doing anything. He'll just use her and toss her to the side!"

Lucifer inhaled through his teeth and winced. "That really hurt coming from you, doll." Sarcasm dripped thickly from his words. "Especially after all our time together."

"You bastard!" Lucifer had always known how to push me to my edge. And nothing had changed since last we'd met. "Admit you're using her! She'll just be another toy to you. Another stepping stone to trying to become God!"

"Knock it off." Another order came from Ketch.

"Not until I'm sure she knows how much of a snake he is. He was never a man!" I squirmed against his hold again.

"Stop it!" Ketch raised his voice, "Look what you're doing to her!"

For the first time since the argument had started, I looked at Elly. Her hand still covered her mouth, but she was crying now. There was no longer an excellent pink color to her cheeks. It had been replaced by thin pink lines as tears traced down her cheeks. I swore I could feel my heart break.

I stopped struggling. For the first time, I thought about what I'd just said. The words had slipped through my lips before I could filter them. I didn't even know if it was true. I only knew the man Lucifer had been once. But in spouting my opinions, I had shot her again.

I went limp in Ketch' arms and allowed myself to be dragged off to the bathroom. He let go of me once the door was slid shut again. I fell into him when we were alone.

"Did you have to scratch me?" He sighed and ran a hand through my hair.

"I'm a monster." I whimpered. Tears were starting to well up in my eyes again.

His arms wrapped tightly around me, "You're not a monster."

"You don't know that. I shot her earlier." The tears slid quietly down my face.

Ketch chuckled, "Because I'm a monster." A hand went back to playing with my hair, "I've shot more people than you can imagine. And I hardly felt bad about any of them. I killed my twin, Alex."

"That's completely different." I sighed, looking up into his silver eyes, "You were brainwashed."

"That only makes my point stronger." He smiled, "You feel bad about what you did, yes? It looked like your world was ending. Honestly made me a little jealous."

I smacked his shoulder softly, "I'd feel horrible if I shot you."

"Right, because you felt so horrible when your mother shot me," He chuckled softly.

"I did because you deserve a better death." I pushed away from him, "You deserve to die by a line of fire as you drive off into the sunset on your motorcycle. I would hate to deny you that."

"You little…!" Ketch pulled me close again and picked me up.

He spun me in a circle, placing small kisses on my neck as we went around. I giggled like I was twelve. I had never thought I would feel this way as a hunter. But at that moment, I felt like I was normal. Like I had just had a normal fight with my normal best friend and my normal partner was cheering me up. I felt like this should be my everyday life. Maybe it could be my everyday life…

Ketch dropped me gently back to the floor, making sure I was flat-footed before letting go of me. "Clean this blood off you." He placed a kiss on my forehead, "I'm going to get a separate room for myself and Lucifer. I think that would be best."

I nodded and he left the room, leaving me to myself and my own emotions. It wasn't hard to scrub the dried blood off my skin. And a little peroxide would take the blood out of my clothes when I was able to wash them again. A little while later I stepped out of the bathroom, a white motel towel wrapped around me. I would have to dig through my car to find something clean to wear for myself and Elly. For now, I had to face her again.

I ran a hand through my damp hair and sighed. She was still sitting on the corner of the bed I'd left her on. Her arms were folded over her chest and she was turned away from me. But it sounded as if she'd stopped crying.

"Sooo…" I walked over to her.

"Don't 'so' me." Elly's voice was icy and harsh. I winced.

"You and Lucifer?" I sat on the side of the bed and she scooted further away from me. I bit my lip, "Look…Elly…" I sighed again, "I get it. I said some stupid shit and you're mad at me, but could you listen to me for a few seconds?"

"You get it? Really?" She scoffed, "I'm sure."

"Elly…I…" I could feel the tears trying to claw their way back out, "I fell for it once too, Elly. He tried to use me. Not for the same reason he used Kelly but…" I sighed, it was a part of my life only the boys knew. "I got close to accepting his deal once."

"Is that what he meant by 'perfect fit' earlier?" Elly asked quietly.

I nodded, "Ya, kinda. Dean has Michael, Sam has Gabe, and I got stuck with Lucifer. As if my life wasn't messed up enough already."

It was silent for a minute. Both of us seemed to take in the information I had just given. It was something only five people knew about now. I hadn't even been able to bring myself to tell Ketch about my real ties to Lucifer. 

"He wasn't playing some lovey-dovey romantic." Elly finally said, looking at me. "And I'm not stupid, I know what kind of man he is."

"Then why are you playing with the fire?" I could feel a hot tear break free and roll down my cheek as I looked into her cold eyes.

"You still don't get it." She huffed and turned away from me again.

"Then explain it to me, please." I reached for her and placed my hand on her shoulder.

"It was…" She blushed a little, "Just something to experience. It didn't mean anything to me."

I couldn't help but laugh. This conversation was way too close to one I'd had with Mary not long ago. "Ya know, I think I said that exact thing once. Now I parade around with the psychopath."

"That's not going to happen," Elly grumbled.

I laughed more, falling back onto the bed, "I think I said that too, Elly."

"Well, it's not like we could anyway." She scooted back on the bed and pulled her knees to her chest. "I told you Dean kills him."

"Right. And Ketch becomes part of the resistance with my mom in another world." I laughed a bit more, "Not everything that happened there, happens here." I looked at the ceiling, "Besides, I saw the way you looked at him. Not to mention that you jumped in front of a bullet for him."

I could see Elly turn away from me, the color deepening on her cheeks. "He got me out of Hell. I owed him. End of story." She looked back at me with a small smile. "Not to mention he's way older than me. Not even a sugar daddy. What am I supposed to do with that?"

I knew it was a joke, but it felt good to talk like this. It felt like we were two roommates talking about our silly, messed-up relationships. Yet another normal feeling thing in my not-so-normal life.

"That hotel room was amazing."

Elly sighed, "It sure was."

"You could ask him to change vessels." I shrugged. "I did just tell you that I was his true vessel." I winked at her.

"No offense," Elly giggled, "But I don't want to date you." But her smile fell again, "He wouldn't do that for me anyway. It would just start to rot like all those others that couldn't hold him. There isn't a point."

I thought for a minute. Then took a breath. "I won't lie to you, Elly. I'm against it. I've seen the man that he can be, and I've seen the shit he's done firsthand. But," I sighed, "If he somehow makes you happy, then I will find a way to make it work for you. I'll even ask Crowley to whip up a new vessel for him if you want."

"Don't." It was just a whisper. "You'd kill him the moment you could. And I know I'm just another 'Kelly' to him. I've been repeating it over and over again…just to remind myself not to fall for it." Elly sighed, it was almost a mournful noise, "There isn't a point. Especially when I leave."

"Ok." I shrugged, "But if you change your mind, the option is there. We could probably even send him home with you."

Elly laughed, "He would never agree to that. He called my world boring."

"If the look I saw meant anything…" I mumbled under my breath, "Anyway. You must be starving. Anyone who gets brought back from the dead deserves a burger." I paused, looking at the both of us, still wrapped in a towel and robe, "And new clothes."

"You know I'm never going to let you get away with anything ever again, right?" Elly teased, "I'm going to hold shooting me over your head for all of existence."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." I chuckled, standing. "I'm going to ge let Ketch know that we're going out. And I'll grab some clean clothes from the trunk on my way back. Did you catch what room they're in?"

"I think they said seventeen," she answered. I nodded and turned for the door, but stopped when she spoke again, "Alex?"

"Yes?" I asked.

"Why…" Elly bit her lip and pulled her legs closer to her chest, "Why do you think he did it?"

It wasn't going to be an easy answer if I was straight with her. But I didn't want to lie and give her false hopes either, "Because he's the bad boy of Hell. He always has to take the virgins and make them sinners. Plus, who wouldn't want a piece of you." I winked at her.

I left the room quickly after that, leaving the younger blonde blushing behind her knees. The walk to room number seventeen was a brisk one, but not a long one. I knocked on the door, only waiting a few seconds before Ketch opened it. He looked tired and annoyed.

"Fun night?" I asked sarcastically.

"He's been singing almost non-stop…" He ran a hand over his face, "It's been off-key versions of 'God Save the Queen' for the last half hour."

I couldn't help but laugh a little but stopped when I looked into those unamused mercury pools. "Sorry." I cleared my throat. "No comment on the towel?" 

His eyes quickly shifted down, taking in the state of my attire. "I hadn't noticed." He was taking the towel off with his eyes, "If we were alone…"

"I wouldn't have made it to the shower." I hooked a finger under his chin and pulled him close for a kiss, "I'm taking Elly out for some dinner." I said after, "Behave while I'm gone."

"You better not lose her again!" Lucifer called from inside the room.

"I have duct tape in the car," I whispered.

"I might take you up on that," Ketch murmured.

I took a step back from him, "I'll be back soon. Don't kill him before I get the chance to."

He nodded and stepped back into the room, closing the door behind him. I didn't get far before I started to hear the off-key singing. I couldn't help but laugh again.

The way back to the bunker the next morning was surprisingly quiet. I had expected it to be a pain in the ass, but Lucifer ended up behaving himself. And I could only thank Elly for it. Somehow the young blonde had already managed to wrap him around her finger. Whenever she wasn't around, he was his usual asshole. But when she was, he was an entirely different angel.

And the looks she gave him. Elly tried hard to ignore him. She sat next to me any chance she got, staying as far away from him as possible, but her eyes. I had never seen her look at anyone that way, not even her boyfriend back on her plane.

Lucifer didn't fight when we got to the bunker. Of course, he was annoying as hell when we locked him up, but he didn't fight. I'm still not sure if it was because he was too weak or if there were other motives.

"Asmodeus will be searching for them now." Sam said once we'd all had a moment to gather around the map table and drink, "We'll need to be more on guard than ever now."

"Elly shouldn't leave unsupervised anymore. This is the only safe spot for her." I threw out, "I know it doesn't sound fair, but I won't let them take her again. She didn't ask for any of this. It doesn't seem like they hurt her last time, but I don't want to push our luck."

"I still can't believe she escaped Hell with a damn bobby pin," Dean muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Angel radio is hectic. Heaven is a wreck now that Lucifer is gone." Cas added, "It might be safer to move him elsewhere."

"Where?" I asked as Ketch came up behind my chair and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Don't say Heaven. He'll start stealing grace faster than we can stop him. And I don't think he's planning on going anywhere anytime soon."

The angel and my brothers gave me an odd look. One that was asking how I knew that. But I shot back another that told them I wasn't going to talk about it right this minute, and they went back to their drinks.

"Have you seen Elly since we returned?" Ketch asked softly.

I shook my head. I wanted her to rest, and my bothering her wasn't going to help.

"You should go check on her. She shouldn't be left alone for too long." He patted my shoulder.

I nodded and got to my feet. The boys began talking strategy as I left the room. It was a good thing to discuss before we made any official decisions. 

I made my way down to Elly's room in silence and carefully knocked on her door. "Hey, Elly?" I was just coming to check on you. Everything ok?" There was no answer.

Maybe she'd fallen asleep. Light poured into the hallway from the cracks in the door. I'll just turn off the lights and let her rest. I thought. I pushed the door open quietly and looked around the room. It was empty.

I felt my heart leap into my throat when I saw how the bed had been torn apart. Where had she gone? No. No. NO! She was supposed to be safe here! Panic shot through me as I raced back up the hall. I was seconds away from shouting for Sam and Dean, but my feet halted at another open door. A door that shouldn't have been open.

I hesitated before moving to the door and pushing it open further. Light from the hall fell onto Lucifer where he sat tied to a chair, in the center of an angel's trap. He looked up at me and blinked at the bright light. At his feet, curled into a ball, was Elly. She was tightly wrapped in a blanket. I stepped closer to the trap, stopping at it's edge. She was breathing softly. Alive.

"She had a nightmare," Lucifer explained softly.

I nodded but didn't move closer. Her torso was exposed, and the nightshirt she was wearing had gotten scrunched up, making her new scar visible. 

"You said you didn't heal her for me." I thought aloud. "Who did you do it for?"

Lucifer scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"You care for her, don't you?" It was a shot in the near dark.

Lucifer's dark blue eyes shot daggers at me, "Of course not. I'm just a snake right?" There was poison in his voice. "Besides, you said it yourself. I just used her. It was so easy too. She was willing."

"You used your grace on her." I pointed out. "I've never seen you do that for another human."

"Fuck off." He hissed.

I didn't respond to him. Instead, I walked over to Elly and knelt beside her. I reached my hand out to her but hesitated.

"Let her sleep."

My eyes returned to Lucifer's face, but he wasn't looking at me like he was trying to ignore that he'd just said anything. I sighed, and carefully stood back up. He wasn't going to do anything to her. She was safer next to him than in her bed.

"You better protect her with your life." I turned and left the room, closing the door behind me and returning to the boys.