Chapter Text
There are hurried hoofsteps down the hall. The door opens.
“Hey, Charlie,” Lucifer says shakily.
Charlie walks past him.
“How is he?”
Her voice cracks. She's upset. Angry? Sad? Both?
“He's… asleep right now. Dr Worth is his doctor,” Lucifer barely chokes the words out.
Charlie sighs. She must not have wanted her father's answer.
“It's nice to meet you,” she says.
Hoofsteps clack around on the tile floor.
“Same to you, your Highness. Prince Stolas is healing.”
Paper rustles. Nails tap on thin wood. a clipboard?
“Let me see that?” she asks, almost pleading.
“Yes, of course, Your Highness.”
There's more tapping against the thin wood as the clipboard is handed over. Pages are turned as Charlie flips through it.
“Ooh… You have him dosed, huh?” she asks.
The doctor clears their throat. “Unfortunately. The extent of his injuries, the extent of the poisoning. I'm afraid he's going to be in a lot of pain for a while.”
Charlie makes a small affirmative noise.
“Is he really out right now, or is what you've given him?” she asks.
Worth responds quickly.
“Most likely some combination thereof, Your Highness. If you'll see here,” another tap-tap on the clipboard, “he has a pretty severe concussion. Which wouldn't normally be possible, but with the-”
“The level of Angelic Steel in his blood now, everything is a concern.”
“Yes. That."
Charlie is catching up on work when she hears a trill coming from the bed.
“Hoo-hoo-hoo…”
Charlie chuckles. “You up?”
Stolas blinks at her. “Charlie…”
“Yep.” She can't help but laugh with him when he starts giggling. “Do you know where we are?” she asks him.
He picks his head up to get a better look at her. It takes him a few seconds before he answers, “‘M in the hospital.”
“That's right.” So far, so good.
His expression changes to something more… petulant. “I don't like hospitals.”
“I know you don't.” He looks at her very seriously for a few seconds longer, then turns his head, scanning the room. Maybe he can sense that Lucifer and Octavia have been in the room. Or maybe he just heard them while he was out.
Charlie sighs. “Do you remember why you're in the hospital, Stolas?”
He looks back at her and stays silent for a few more seconds, before finally saying, “I was hurt.”
“Right again.”
He's silent for another moment, scanning the room again. Definitely looking for them.
“...Via?” he asks, stretching out the ‘v’ sound.
“She went to get something to eat.” Charlie watches him process that answer. He appears to accept it, then scans the room again.
“Sire?”
“I made him go with her,” she says. She can't tell if Stolas is intentionally staring her down, or if he just doesn't realize he's doing it. “He wanted to stay here with you, but I told him that's not any better for him than it is for Octavia.”
He blinks at her, his extra eyes half a second out of sync with his primary set. “Via's been here with me?” He sounds small. It always breaks Charlie's heart when he sounds like that.
“She has. They pulled her out of class and she's been here with you and Dad since.”
He nods slowly, eyes fixed on Charlie, he's blinking a lot.
“And Sire? How is he?”
She chuckles. “About as well as you'd expect.” Which is to say: Lucifer has been losing his mind. “He's been praying. A lot. And trying not to scare Via.”
“That… sounds like him.”
“Yeah, you had us pretty scared for a minute there.” She sighs. “Do you remember how you got hurt, pretty bird?”
Stolas only blinks in response, before turning his head away. That's no good.
Charlie sighs, closes the binder she was working on, and kneels next to the hospital bed. She tries again, her tone even gentler.
“Stolas, you were attacked. Can you tell me anything about what happened?”
Stolas has turned his head all the way around and buried his face in the hospital pillow. No dice.
“Is that a ‘no you don't remember’ or a ‘no you can't tell me’?”
Stolas keeps his face buried in the pillow, and shakingly holds up one taloned finger.
After another long moment, he mumbles, “Sorry.”
She isn't having that. “No, that's okay. Don't be sorry. You're doing so well.”
She places a hand on the shoulder that's not bandaged up and just lets him take his moment.
“Has Father been by to see me?”
Charlie takes a deep breath, and chooses her words carefully. “Paimon's asked about you. But he hasn't been in this room.”
Stolas chokes out a laugh. “Paimon’s asked about me,” he repeats, turning back to look at Charlie.
“He did. He's been pretty consistent about it.”
He clicks his beak. “It's probably best he hasn't been in.”
She can't help but laugh. “Yeah, they've got you pretty doped up, but it'd suck if they had to give you more just because that guy showed up.”
Stolas trills. “My father's worried about me.”
Charlie nods. “He is. He's always loved you. Just… not as much as he probably should.”
He chuckles. “Let's go with that.”
“He's investigating what happened.” Which is the best thing he could do. Doing something productive, not hampering Stolas's recovery with unneeded stress.
Stolas nods. “Are you going to ask me more questions now?”
She laughs. “I was going to give you a little more time before I tried again.”
He laughs with her, looking back up and around the room. He gestures to the stacks of paper and books by the visitors’ seats. “What is that?”
“A lot of it is my work, and on that side is Via's schoolwork.” She smiles softly.
He blinks at that. “She's been doing her schoolwork,” he repeats.
“Keeping herself busy, I'm sure. She was scared until she got into the room, but she calmed down once she saw you.” She chuckles. “I think that's the Sight? Came to her once the panic wore off?”
“She has always been more gifted than I,” Stolas agrees.
Charlie is glad he said that, so she can say that: “She’s been upset, but she hasn't seemed that worried.” She gestures to the velvet bag and the rolled up scrying mat in her seat. “She's cast her bones a few times, but she hasn't told us anything about them.”
“She probably didn't tell you anything because she didn't See anything. This is a terrible place for a reading.” He looks around the hospital room with his displeasure clear on his face. Silly bird.
“I don't like hospitals,” he repeats.
Charlie gives him a reassuring smile. “I know.”
He seems to accept her acknowledgement, looking around again before asking, “Am I allowed to sit up?”
Charlie picks up his medical chart, and turns it away from him when he tries to peek. He pouts.
“I know,” she coos, “but you really shouldn't try to read anything right now. Your pretty head’s still scrambled, pretty bird.” She skims through before saying, “I can help you sit up, but if it hurts, you have to tell me, okay?”
He doesn't answer until she glares it out of him.
“Okay.”
“Good bird.” She lets him sit up on his own, just holding her arm behind his back in case he needs the support.
“Ow.”
Charlie freezes. “‘Ow’? What is ‘ow’?”
He takes a moment to respond. “My shoulder. I moved my arm too much.”
She sighs. “Yeah, you were stabbed all the way through.”
“Was I?” He looks thoughtful. “It didn't hurt until I moved it.”
“That’s because you're high as a kite.” That makes him laugh.
“Maybe I am.” Now they're both laughing.
“Oh, maybe you are?” she repeats.
“Maybe.”
Charlie moves her seat to be as close to the bed as possible without disturbing his IV drips. Stolas points out his IV.
“What do they have me on?” he asks.
“Mostly something for the pain. Good stuff, at a low dose, because you're not burning through it as quickly as you should be.” Stolas hoots in response.
“I'll be sure to get on that.”
“Oh, you better.” She's smiling, teasing.
“And what else?”
Charlie sits back down and cocks her head, blinking. “What else, what?”
He trills, a little frustrated. More bird noises than usual. “You said it's mostly for the pain. What else do they have me on?”
“Oh.” She nods. “You've still got so much Angelic Steel in your system, they gave you this stuff that's supposed to clump and bond to it and help your body flush it out.” Stolas nods, accepting that answer.
He blinks, eyes still out of sync, looking at the stacks of paper. “How is Via?”
“She's been… okay.” Charlie hums. “I don't know what she's usually like, I haven't known her in years, you know.”
Stolas sighs sadly. “I know.”
“She's been calm but quiet.” She nods. “Hasn't been talkative at all, from what I've seen, and what Dad told me. Is that like her?”
“I have to admit we're not as close as we used to be, but yes, she stays pretty quiet most of the time.”
Charlie hums. “Do you know how she is in school?” Stolas nods, beaming.
“Oh, yes. She's completed most of her schooling. She only has her political and secretarial courses left.”
Charlie grins back. “She takes after you, then.”
“I suppose she does.” He cocks his head at her. “And I presume you'll call on her soon?”
“I probably will. I really need the help.”
He makes a sad little noise that Charlie can't quite name. “It's probably for the best. She doesn't like me very much right now.
“She is at the age now where it's cool to resent your parents.”
“She is, but it's more than that.”
Both sigh.
“Yeah, I know.”
Charlie picks up Stolas's chart, and reads for a while.
“Speaking of you. You've gained weight since I've seen you last.”
“And? I'm not fat, Charlie. I'm nesting weight.”
She chuckles and nods. “Mm-hmm, I didn't say it was unhealthy. Nesting weight. Who are you nesting with?” Stolas blushes, turning away. “Oh, so now you're embarrassed. Someone you should tell me about?”
“Oh,” he mumbles. “I'm not sure.” Charlie picks up some of her paperwork, letting Stolas relax for a minute.
“You're not sure? There's either someone, or there isn't.” She clicks her pen, getting back to work. “Tell me about him. It is a him, isn't it?”
“A him, yes,” Stolas confirms. “Am I so obvious?”
“Stolas, I've known you were gay longer than I've known what the word means.”
“That’s fair, I suppose.” He giggles. She smiles.
He freezes, suddenly silent, cocking his head to the side.
“What is it, Stolas?”
“Prrrupp.” Charlie nearly coos at the trill. “Via and Sire are coming back.”