During times like this, Fred felt so unbelievably out of her league as the head of not only the science department but also of medical. Sure, she could patch up a puncture wound or random demon bite with the best of them, but battle injuries and seeing so many of her friends or friends of friends badly hurt or worse? It had been a long time since she’d been exposed to the never-ending and stressful days such as these. She helped out where she could on the floor but otherwise left the major injuries and decisions to those with much more formal medical experience.
Everyone knew that this was make or break it time. The war was coming to a head, and Fred couldn’t help but wonder if they were traveling down a path of victory or one that led to her daughter’s future. One where the war had been lost, and they’d left it to their children to fight instead. She couldn’t imagine what that world could have been like even after hearing stories here and there from Lorna and some of the other children from that future. At the time, it had all sounded so distant and had only a small chance of coming true, but now? Now that future was looking her in the face, and she so desperately wanted to do everything in her power to keep it from happening again.
It was after 9pm when she left the office and started home. There was only so much she could do in medical now that most everyone who had been brought in had been either sent home or was as stable as they possibly could be at this point. She needed a drink in the worst way, and even just the mere thought was another punch to the gut. Her first instinct was to go to Caritas, but that was impossible now. The club that had been a small sliver of home was now a leveled pile of rubble.
So, instead of the demon bar, she ended up at a place that wasn’t usually her style. Fred walked into Trocution and immediately went to the bar for a drink. Seeing a man sitting a few seats over from her, she smiled sadly and gave him a small nod. “You needed to get out for a little while too, huh?”
Bars were comfortable places for Lucifer, places he could drink and help others drink if necessary. Places to escape the harsh realities of the world and also places he felt incredibly at home. After all, it had been his home back in LA. He was missing the detective and Mazikeen and maybe even Linda and Amenadiel so savoring some whisky seemed like a good distraction.
The petite brunette spoke to him and he sized her up. He’d seen her around and lifted his glass in her direction. “Can only take so much and liquid distraction can be helpful. You?”
“Same, I guess,” Fred agreed sadly and stared down into the bottom of her glass. She’d considered going to Mako when the opportunity had first come up, but as Commander now, she felt called to stay here instead. Attacks were still going on every few days now, and someone had to be here to help anyone who happened to be badly injured during a fight.
“I’ve been working in the medical offices more than normal lately.” She turned her eyes back to the other man. Even though she was in charge of science and medical, science would still always be her strength, but medical needed the help more than any science projects needed completing.
“I think I just needed a little break,” she admitted. A lot of the injured had been moved to Mako already, but with each battle came more injuries. “I’m Fred, by the way.”
“Seems medical needs all the help it can get right now,” Lucifer said, sipping his whiskey. “Are you one of the doctors?”
With his healing ability, Lucifer didn’t spend much time in medical and didn’t know the staff well. He sized her up.
“I’m Lucifer. Yes, that Lucifer.”
“Sort of. Well, not exactly. I’m primarily a scientist, but I help head up the science and medical departments. Though, while you wouldn’t really want me performing surgery on you, I can still get the basic medic job done,” she added with a small smile. A position she’d only been in for a few months ever since Dr. McCoy left, but she felt that she’d been transitioning okay so far. Thankfully, there were already people in place who knew what they were doing on the medical side.
Fred was taking a sip of her drink when he gave his name and added a little emphasis to who he actually meant. Huh? She frowned for a second, trying to think if she was supposed to know him when--- Oh. Oh.
“You’re…” She held her fingers up to the sides of her head as if to mimic horns. “That Lucifer.” Should she have been more taken aback? Probably. Maybe? Thinking back on her religious knowledge, she remembered that Lucifer had previously been an angel. One of the best, actually. She peered at him over her glass. “So, what does Atlantis have the prince of hell doing as his day job?”
Lucifer couldn't help the chuckle that emerged at Fred's devil imitation. "Sort of, but yes. And with wings. The stories get a few details wrong, but you can never trust a story - unless you're the one writing it."
He took another drink. "Working for the delightful Atlantis PD. I consulted with the police and detectives back in Los Angeles so it seemed like a natural fit here. Back in LA, I ran a piano bar though. Been known to tickle the ivories here and there. Can't say I'd be much use in a science lab, but we did have a lovely forensic scientist back in Los Angeles…"
The devil was working for the police? Both here and in his home world? Now that was something Fred never thought she’d ever hear, and that earned herself another long gulp from her glass. “Los Angeles? That’s where I came from too,” she said. With laugh to herself, she half mumbled under her breath, “It really is the city of Angels.” Angels and vampires named Angel.
“I didn’t work as a scientist in LA, though. Well, eventually I did, I guess. I worked with someone who helped people as a private investigator, but his cases weren’t… normal. Killed a few demons here, thwarted an apocalypse or two there.” She paused for a moment when she caught herself. “Oh. No offense on the demon thing though. Two, well, kinda three of my favorite people are demons. Or half demons.” Whatever it was Cordy had been turned into before she died.
Lucifer chuckled. "Hence it was the most appropriate place for an angel to settle down in. So much more interesting than hell or the silver city. Not to mention so many people in need of my… help.."
One dark eyebrow arched as the young woman spoke about apocalypses and killing demons. "Sounds like you're not naive at all. Well experienced, even. Not surprised you stayed to help fight, then. And how does Los Angeles and its demons compare to Atlantis and its … quirks?"
"Demons are, um, tame in comparison to what we had there. Not that I think you're tame or anything. I mean, being the ruler of hell and all, I'm sure you're tameness can be unruly with the best of them, but they are less likely to help people so much as, well, maim, torture, kill, or brainwash them into being her slaves kind of thing." Technically, Jasmine was a goddess, but that was a story for another day.
"We had a few quirks or day to day baddies that weren't too much of a big deal all things considered, but our big moments were, um… big." Excellent description there, Fred, way to go. She was getting rambly with the ultimate demon of all demons.
"It's a different kind of fight here, that's for sure." More military, tactical kind of fight than the gear up, research, and witchcraft kind of fight. "The alternate dimension thing didn't surprise me since I…"
Fred's voice trailed off when she heard a strange rumble above the music and other voices. She nearly brushed it off and continued on with her thought, but suddenly there was an extremely loud boom, followed by screams and a crash." Oh god," she gasped, seeing the roof starting to collapse and the large beams from the ceiling began falling down all around them.
Lucifer's features were turned up in an amused sort of smile as she babbled. It was oddly endearing and reminded him vaguely of Ella, with the science and the cheerfulness. Any ruminations about his favorite forensic scientist or more questions about demons and apocalypses Fred had helped with were cut off by the loud noises and screams. Instantly, his wings went up and out and he pulled Fred underneath him, doing what he could to protect her from the falling rubble.
"Stay down!" he said, wincing as something heavy landed on his back.
She knew what this was. The last week or more of attacks made it easy to guess that this was COS with their next strike. The housing and zoo attacks had proven that they could and would hit anywhere. The wings coming out had been a surprise, but she stayed close to Lucifer, wincing each time she heard another beam, debris, or rubble hit around them or felt the jolt each time his own body was struck.
Once the majority of the explosion and the after shocks had subsided, they are crouched down on the ground, and Fred knew they were trapped. It was nearly pitch dark inside whatever was left of the building, but the destruction was everywhere.
"Lucifer?" She asked quietly, moving out from under him, though that proved to be difficult given part of his body was trapped. Somehow, thanks to him, she was unharmed. Looking him over, thought, she then saw something protruding out of his side, and he was bleeding. Immediately, she shrugged out of her sweater and pressed it against one of his wounds. "Try not to move," she told him. "They'll… someone will find us soon."
“I’m fine, love. Immortal. It’ll heal up.” Unless the detective was somewhere around. But well, hopefully that wasn’t the case. His voice was strained, even if he was immortal, he was still capable of feeling pain. And well, having part of a building fall on you was relatively painful.
“Not going to move, love, don’t worry. Are you alright, though?” He wasn’t sure if he could move… or what might happen if he did.
"You certainly don't look fine," she said, still trying to press the sweater into his wound to stop the bleeding. "You immortal beings are all the same," Fred shook her head. How many times had she seen Angel beat to a pulp? She and Cordy had patched him up too many times.
"I'm fine." She paused and looked at him. "The actually fine with barely a scratch on me, not the bleeding and barely mobile kind of fine. Thanks to you." She focused back on looking him over, eyes averted. "You saved my life, thank you."
“Sweetheart, there are only two.. maybe three ways I can be killed. So unless The Detective showed up after Intake was destroyed or this building or COS weapons were forged in Hell, I assure you, I’ll be fine.” There was enough blood that a mortal probably would be very not fine though.
He gave her a look over. She seemed fine.. untouched. “You’re not some supernatural being, are you? Not an angel or something sent by my dad?”
He gave her a smile as he looked around. “I don’t suppose any of the bottles of liquor survived unscathed?”
Fred didn't know who The Detective was, but she didn't ask. "Weapons forged in Hell wouldn't be the strangest kind of weapon I've ever seen and isn't that out of the box for this place, so better safe than sorry,alright?" It felt a little strange chastising or bossing around the prince of hell, but Fred wasn't going to have anything else happen to him on her watch.
"No, I'm just an ordinary human." One that often surrounded herself with demons and supernatural individuals but she herself was as normal as they come. She looked up to where the bar was or maybe more so where it used to be. The diagnosis didn't appear all that great. "I think the liquor fared about as well as you did."
They sat there a little longer, and she soon started to hear other voices. "I think people may be trying to get in, to help get us out of here."
“Sweetheart, I’ve known you for about five minutes and I’m pretty sure there is nothing ordinary about you.” Lucifer reached out with a hand and tucked a stray hair of hers behind her ear.
The sound of voices brought him back to their current situation. “Get yourself out first. Then everyone else. I’ll survive even if the whole building collapses on top of me. You won’t.”
The touch to her face surprised Fred a little, but she only smiled. Of course the Devil was a charmer. “Ordinary or not, I’m not leaving you here. Besides, from the look of things, I doubt I could get anymore than a few feet in either direction before having to start climbing all over rubble and debris.” Getting out without help wasn’t an option.
“So, I guess you’re stuck with me.” There was no telling how long it would take the rescue group to get to those that were still inside what was left of the building, but Fred had to believe that they’d find a way somehow.
"I imagine there are worse people to be stuck with. My brother for one. He'd be babbling about how this is all somehow a test and part of Dad's plan and going on and on boring us all to death. Or to eternity. No one ever realizes just how long eternity can be."
There was no point complaining about Amenadiel when he wasn't even here though. "So, is Fred short for something or is it like the opposite of a Boy Named Sue or something? Tell me about some of these demons and things you dealt with. I'm curious if they're things I'm familiar with."
As he kept talking, Fred gave him a bit of a look. Immortal and powerful, maybe, but he really should try to conserve his energy give the extent of his injuries. “Fred is short for Winifred,” she explained. “Though, the only people who call me that were professors or teachers making roll call or my mama when she had a bone to pick with me.”
As for her demony friends, that was a much longer story. “Vampires, mostly. One, well, eventually two vampires with souls.” There was Lorne, but she doubted he’d ever come across a Pylean. She paused, trying to listen to see if anything was going on around them, still hearing sounds coming from the front of the club and a few voices here and there.
“I’ll make you a deal. You try not to talk too much to save your energy, and I’ll tell you a few stories about my life in LA.” She raised a brow. “Deal?” There was no telling what they’d need to do in order to get out of there, so she’d rather him stay still until help came.
"Bossy, aren't you?" he teased. He thought about flying them out, but he needed more of an opening, and right now he couldn't see any opening for a self-rescue. "Alright.. Deal, love. Tell me a story…"