Under any other circumstances Crowley wouldn't have bothered to struggle. Under any other circumstances he would have strode forward defiantly with his head held high and an arrogant smirk. Under any other circumstance he wouldn't be half as frantic as he was right now. Sadly, no scratch that. Terrifyingly, this wasn't just any other circumstance. This was Lucifer they were taking him to see.

Crowley desperately fought against the demons dragging him forward. Reasoning with them was useless. There was nothing he could offer them to make them betray Lucifer. No demon would ever be that stupid. Finally the procession entered the throne room. Crowley dug his heals in and leaned backward trying to break free. It was no use. Against his will he was pulled across the room and in front of the throne.

"Welcome," stated an icy voice.

Crowley froze unable to move.

"Release him."

The second the demons released him Crowley dropped to his knees. It wasn't that he intentionally wanted to kneel before Lucifer, rather his legs refused to hold him upright. Please let him kill me, Crowley begged mentally.

"You should have known better than to work against me."

Crowley remained quiet and kept his eyes focused on the floor in front of him.

"Nothing to say for yourself?"

Crowley shook his head.

"You know what I despise the most about you demons," Lucifer asked.

Crowley shook his head once again. Before he finished shaking his head pain racked his body. Crowley dropped to the ground twisting, trying desperately to ease the pain. His lungs seized in pain, keeping him from being able to breathe.

"I asked you a direct question," Lucifer bellowed. "You will answer me when I ask you a direct question."

Writhing on the ground Crowley clamped his jaw shut. He couldn't stop the small moans of pain but he wouldn't give Lucifer the satisfaction of hearing him beg. He had never begged in his life and he wouldn't start now. Suddenly the steady stream of pain eased slightly.

"Let's try this again."

Lucifer stood and walked over to where Crowley was lying on the floor.

"Do you know what I despise the most about you demons," Lucifer asked again.

"No," Crowley managed. His voice came out rough and his throat hurt.

"You break too easy. I've known humans with more spine than some demons."

Crowley panted in pain. No matter how much it hurt now it was only going to get worse. The only thing he could do was suffer through it and do his damnedest not to beg. Lucifer began to walk slowly around Crowley.

"Kneel," Lucifer commanded.

Struggling Crowley finally managed to sit on his knees. It was the best he could do for the moment. Weaving back and forth he did his best to stay upright.

"Now stay that way," Lucifer ordered.

Once again Crowley was racked with pain. He tried his best to remain on his knees but he fell forward. Catching himself with one hand on the floor he shoved himself back onto his knees. The pain intensified. Doubling over he fell forward and curled into a ball rocking himself back and forth. The thread of power pouring pain into him stopped. It didn't lessen the pain already present but at least it wasn't being added to either.

"Hmm. Perhaps there is more fight in you than I thought. Take him to my quarters," Lucifer ordered.

Crowley's head shot up at the remark. Lucifer's quarters? As the demons grabbed his arms Crowley began to struggle once again. Due to the amount of pain he was in the struggles were weak at best. As he felt himself being drug from the throne room he knew things were only going to get worse.

A few demons sneered at him as he was drug past but most looked away. He wasn't sure if it was because they felt sorry for him or if they feared being too close to the object of Lucifer's ire would turn that rage against them. Crowley finally gave up the ineffectual struggling as they exited the throne room. He settled for inspecting the halls to see where they were headed in the unlikely event he did get the chance to escape.

His eyes widened slightly when he realized they had arrived at his own quarters. In a perverse way it actually made sense. Crowley's quarters weren't exactly the most decadent but they were the most warded. There would be no need to set up extra warding to protect the rooms. One of the demons reached for the door and Crowley held his breath. As soon as the demon turned the doorknob he was incinerated. Crowley couldn't suppress a small smile. Roughly he was yanked to his feet.

"Open it," one of the demons ordered.

Crowley lifted his head, and spat.

The demon brought his arm back to strike him and Crowley grinned. Maybe he could rile these demons up enough to kill him before Lucifer could hurt him any more. Abruptly a blade appeared through the demon's chest. Crowley watched the demon die and fall to the ground. As the demon fell he saw the last demon he ever wanted to see in a moment like this.

"Meg," Crowley growled.

"You were expecting someone else?" Meg leaned forward and put her mouth next to his ear. "A Winchester maybe," she whispered.

Crowley growled at her.

Meg drew back and grinned. Reaching down she roughly grabbed Crowley's hand and jerked his arm forward. Placing his hand on the knob she squeezed his hand closed over the knob and turned. The door swung open. She turned back to the other demons present.

"Was that really so hard?"

The other demons averted their eyes and none spoke.

"So you're Lucifer's little whore are you," Crowley asked.

"Actually, Crowley, that would be you," Meg sneered.

Crowley had to work not to show any emotion at that statement. Hell was use or be used; abuse or be abused. Crowley had worked hard to get where he was so that he would never be the abused again. The thought of being used like that again, especially by someone like Lucifer, terrified him.

"Well? Get him inside, now," Meg ordered.

Rough hands gripped his shoulders and pulled him forward. Crowley finally understanding his fate, began a renewed resistance. After only a few seconds he felt a knife at his throat. Glancing down he spied a demon blade.

"You won't kill me. If Lucifer wants me alive you wouldn't dare kill me."

"Oh I'm not going to kill you. But I do have permission to do anything short of killing you to ensure that you cooperate. As you know, some things are worse than death," Meg hissed into his ear.

Crowley passed the time clearing his mind. Certain modifications had been made to his rooms. None the least of which was the set of iron shackles hanging from the ceiling that he was currently suspended from. As his own weight hung on his wrists the iron bit into his skin as well as burning it. Crowley focused on taking deep steady breaths. As painful as this was it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. It was eminently more preferable to what would happen soon enough.

If he could just clear his mind maybe he could relegate the pain to the back of his mind so it wouldn't be as bad. He knew full well this was a stupid thought. There was no way to block any of what was to come. Right now hope that it would work was the only thing keeping him from complete panic so he continued to focus on clearing his mind.

The door opened and Crowley felt his heart beat faster. Letting his eyes drift closed he tried to remain calm. In and out, he reminded himself. Just breathe. You survived everything else you can get through this. When he felt the presence of someone standing just in front of him he tried to ignore what his brain was telling him. Despite his best efforts it was impossible to lie to himself. Grace had a very specific feel to it and there was currently only one angel in hell. Just breathe, he reminded himself.

A hand gripped the hair at the back of his head and pulled. His head canted backward and Crowley struggled to keep his breathing even. A cool finger rested alongside his jaw. Slowly it began to travel down his jawbone. The slowness with which it traveled only added to Crowley's sense of trepidation. The hand holding his head backward released it's hold but Crowley didn't move.

"Did you really think your plan would work," Lucifer asked softly.

"I hoped," Crowley answered. It was difficult speaking with his head still canted backward but he didn't dare not answer. He would do almost anything to postpone the inevitable.

"Crowley?"

"Yes," Crowley whispered. He could feel himself beginning to tremble.

"Look at me," Lucifer ordered.

Slowly Crowley leaned his head forward until he was facing straight ahead. Casting his eyes downward he finally opened them. He could see the tips of Lucifer's shoes. Just breath, Crowley tried to remind himself.

"What have I ever done that would make you want to kill me?"

"You…" Crowley's voice caught in his throat and he licked his lips before he began again. "You hate humans. You're going to wipe them out. After that… I… I don't want…"

"Yes?"

"I don't want to die," Crowley whispered.

"So you thought you'd kill me instead?"

"I…"

"Answer me."

"Yes," Crowley whispered dropping his head and sliding his eyes shut.

A cold finger pressed against the bottom of his chin. Crowley lifted his chin until the pressure stopped. Lucifer's finger rested deceptively gently on the bottom of his chin. Leaning forward Lucifer rested his cheek against Crowley's cheek. The trembling increased.

"Open your eyes," Lucifer whispered.

Crowley's eyes shot open. For a moment all he could see was the top of Lucifer's shoulder and part of the wall in front of him. Then Lucifer drew back. The eyes from the vessel Lucifer was currently using were an icy blue.

"I forgive you," Lucifer stated.

Crowley frowned and blinked in confusion.

"You don't think I'm capable of forgiveness," Lucifer asked raising an eyebrow.

"I… I just don't…" Crowley paused and took a deep breath. "I just didn't expect it."

"You don't expect an angel to be able to forgive?"

"I didn't expect you to forgive me," Crowley stated quietly.

"There's a lot about me that might surprise you."

Not a direct question so Crowley didn't answer.

"I'm waiting."

Crowley lowered his brows in confusion.

"I don't know what you want," Crowley finally admitted.

"A thank you would be nice."

"Thank you," Crowley stated quietly.

"Was that really so hard?"

"No," Crowley whispered. Yes, he thought to himself.

"Now," Lucifer said rubbing his hands together. "On to the punishment."

Crowley's eye's widened and his mouth parted. He struggled trying to find something to say but words eluded him.

"You're really surprised I'm going to punish you?"

Crowley slumped in the chains. No, he wasn't really surprised.

"The question is, what would be the most effective punishment? Pain alone would be a complete waste on you. It'd keep you submissive enough while I have an eye on you. The problem with pain alone is you would bide your time until you could find a way to retaliate. No, we're going to have to find something else. Suggestions?"

Crowley opened his mouth to tell Lucifer he could let him slide this once but Lucifer cut him off before Crowley could speak.

"Realistic suggestions," Lucifer amended raising an eyebrow.

Crowley snapped his mouth shut.

Lucifer shook his head. "I thought as much."

"You could kill me," Crowley suggested. "It would save you the problem of finding a suitable punishment."

Lucifer smiled and let out a small chuckle.

"I like your sense of humor. You know, Crowley, under other circumstances we could have been friends."

"You wouldn't make friends with a demon."

"True enough," Lucifer answered dismissively. "That still leaves us with the problem of finding a suitable punishment for you trying to kill me."

Lucifer's eyes drifted upward the the chains holding Crowley and he cocked his head slightly as if in thought. Crowley felt the small trembles start to return but did his best to push them away. Just breath, he reminded himself. In and out. Eventually this too shall end. Lucifer reached up and drug one finger slowly from Crowley's wrist to his shoulder. Despite his best efforts Crowley lost his battle against the trembles and began to shake slightly. Dropping his head his eyes slid closed.

"Interesting," Lucifer observed. "You don't like being touched?"

"I like initiating it when it happens," Crowley mumbled.

"Ah. So you like being the one in control. I wonder how you would fare if you weren't the one in control."

"I haven't been in control since I returned."

"To a mild degree you have had the ability to influence certain outcomes of your captivity."

Crowley didn't respond.

"I wonder what would happen if I took even that from you."

Lucifer snapped and Crowley fell to the ground. Crowley groaned as his body hit the floor. Thankfully the carpeting was thick. Lucifer bent down and placed a hand on the back of Crowley's neck. Squeezing tightly he lifted the Crowley and threw him across the room. Hitting the wall first Crowley finally fell to the bed. Will not beg, he told himself.

Crowley heard another snap and felt the cool air against his skin as his clothing disappeared. Inhaling deeply Crowley steeled his nerves and waited for the inevitable. Strong hands gripped his wrists and pulled his arms straight. As Lucifer pulled Crowley was forced to turn to accommodate the movement. He ended up laying flat on his stomach. The cuts on his wrists stung but he ignored the pain. Lucifer's breath ghosted over Crowley's ear as the angel leaned down.

"Do not move unless I move you or I order it. Understand?"

Crowley nodded.

Lucifer backhanded Crowley.

"You will answer me when I ask you a question," Lucifer raged.

Crowley's head wobbled slightly. As he tried to regain his bearings Lucifer backhanded him again. Crowley felt something trickle down his cheek; blood most likely, Crowley's mind told him. Lucifer wrapped his fingers in Crowley's hair and pulled. Crowley's head was drawn backward painfully. If Lucifer pulled much further he might break the vessels neck, Crowley thought absently.

"Do you understand me?"

Crowley desperately tried to answer. The problem was, with his head tilted back this far he couldn't speak. "Y.. Y…"

Lucifer released Crowley's hair and gripped his jaw instead. His fingers dug in painfully and Crowley had to fight to keep from lashing out and defending himself. Fighting back would only make Lucifer angrier. He opened his mouth again trying desperately to answer.

"Answer me!"

"Yes," Crowley managed.

His voice was quiet and the word was muffled but at least he managed to speak. Or he hoped he had anyway. It was difficult to focus on anything beyond Lucifer's grip. For a while neither moved. Crowley couldn't hear anything other than the heart of his vessel beating his is own ears. Finally Lucifer's fingers released his jaw.

A cool finger lightly touched his face just below his ear. Crowley flinched.

"Shh," Lucifer whispered.

Slowly Lucifer trailed his finger down Crowley's cheek. Removing the finger he held it in front of Crowley's face. Blinking several times Crowley tried to focus. He could see blood covering the end of Lucifer's finger. Lucifer pressed the finger to Crowley's lips and then inside Crowley's mouth.

"Clean it," Lucifer whispered.

Closing his lips around the finger Crowley ran his tongue around it cleaning off the blood. My blood, Crowley thought numbly. When Lucifer's other hand settled on his head Crowley flinched again.

"Shh," Lucifer whispered. "Continue."

As Crowley continued to run his tongue around the finger Lucifer began to pet him.

"Good boy," Lucifer murmured.

Finally Lucifer removed the finger but continued to pet him. Crowley fought against his instincts screaming for him to defend himself. Lucifer was in control. For now. Later, Crowley pacified himself. He would find a way out of this and retaliate later. For now he would do what was required and bide his time.

Lucifer's hand drifted from stroking Crowley's hair down to Crowley's back. Crowley whimpered and Lucifer shushed him again. The touch was deceptively gentle but Crowley wasn't fooled in the slightest.

"Why do you insist on provoking me," Lucifer asked.

"Didn't mean to," Crowley mumbled.

"You will eventually learn," Lucifer informed him. "How long your training lasts depends on you. Now, shall we have some fun?"

"We?"

Lucifer chuckled. "Point to you. Okay then, shall I have some fun?"

"Can I stop you?"

"Careful," Lucifer growled. "One might think you were getting an attitude."

Crowley didn't respond.

"So you can learn. Good."

As Crowley watched, Lucifer pulled out an angel blade. A smiled crossed the angel's face as he continued to eye Crowley intently. Slowly Lucifer reached out with the hand not holding the blade and trailed his fingers down Crowley's back.

"Such perfect, unmarked skin. Let's see what we can do about that, shall we?"

Placing the knife against Crowley's right shoulder blade Lucifer began carving. Crowley pressed his teeth together to keep from crying out. The pain radiated through his back. Angel blades contained traces of Grace, where as demon blades did not. Wounds left by an angel blade on a demon took a long time to fully heal and that was when the demon could use his powers to heal himself. Somehow Crowley doubted Lucifer would allow him that luxury. The knife scraped against Crowley's shoulder blade and Crowley shuddered.

"I'd try not to move if I were you. You don't want to take the chance I'd slip and actually hurt you do you?"

There was a few seconds of silence before Lucifer cleared his throat.

"No," Crowley managed to gasp.

"Good, so we're in agreement then."

Lucifer went back to work carving into Crowley's flesh. The pain was excruciating. It took a while before Crowley realized Lucifer was carving symbols into his back. With how much it hurt Crowley couldn't concentrate on what the symbols were. Every time Luifer finished one it flared painfully for several seconds. Time seemed to stretch on forever.

Crowley did his best not to move as the knife sliced through flesh and muscles alike. When Lucifer would scrape against a bone occasionally it was almost impossible to remain still but somehow he managed. After who knew how long Lucifer finally stopped carving and placed a hand on top of the fresh cuts.

"Beautiful," Lucifer whispered running his fingers over his handiwork.

The pain was already getting to be too much and they had just begun. In all likelihood this wasn't going to stop anytime soon. At least not until Lucifer was sure he had driven his point home. Against his will Crowley let out a soft whine.

"Painful?"

Crowley whimpered.

"The pain is more of a tool than the actual punishment. You'll understand eventually." Lucifer paused for a second. "Well, hopefully you'll understand eventually. The longer it takes you to get it the longer these sessions will last."

Sessions? As in more than one? Crowley fought against the urge to attack his tormentor. His body shook with the effort of remaining still when Lucifer returned to slicing him open. Blood ran down Crowley's sides and pooled on the bed around him. Before long his vessel began to shiver. Despite his best efforts he couldn't stop the shakes this time. The vessel had suffered too much blood loss.

"Crowley," Lucifer warned.

"B-b-b-lood… l-loss," Crowley stuttered.

When Lucifer placed his hand against Crowley's back his body jerked away involuntarily.

"S-s-sorry," Crowley stammered. "Hurts."

"Would you like me to heal it?"

Heal? Was that a trick question?

"Crowley," Lucifer growled.

"Yes," Crowley whispered.

"Beg me."

Beg? His body pleaded with him to break down and beg, if only just this once. His mind, however, rebelled at the mere thought. Crowley fought with himself, agonizing over the decision. Could he justify it? Just this once? It wouldn't be just once, he reminded himself. There would be more of these 'sessions'. If he gave in now what would stop him from giving in the next time?

"I'm waiting."

Crowley shook his head; he couldn't do it. If he gave in now he would be lost. He had to hold out for as long as he could.

"You don't want to be healed?"

"W-won't… beg."

"Ah, I see. So the next session I'll have to make sure to pay attention. That way we can have more fun before you cannot continue. Looks like we're going to have to change tactics for this round. Sadly too much more fun with the angel blade would defeat the purpose of these sessions," Lucifer stated apologetically.

Crowley fought the urge to laugh hysterically at that statement.

"Now remember, any time you want some relief all you have to do is ask me."

The bed shifted as Lucifer climbed into the bed and straddled him. Still shivering uncontrollably Crowley tried to blank his mind. Just the idea of what was about to happen was enough to make him tremble without the blood loss. Lucifer's fingers ran over the cuts lightly.

"Beautiful," Lucifer whispered.

Cautiously Meg reached out and touched the doorknob. Lucifer had assured her that he had altered whatever warding Crowley had placed on the knob but it didn't quite quell her apprehension. When she wasn't disintegrated on the spot she breathed a sigh of relief. Opening the door she let herself in and closed the door.

Lucifer had tasked her with keeping an eye on Crowley. As long as she didn't cause any permanent damage or kill Crowley she could do almost anything she wanted. There was quite a lot of things she'd like to do to Crowley. After everything he had done to her she was owed some payback. Walking to the bedroom she opened the door and stared.

The room looked like a murder scene. Crowley lay on the floor unmoving near the far left wall. She was prepared for there to be injuries and blood but this was beyond anything she had imagined. Cuts, bruises and blood covered almost all of Crowley's body. Most of the cuts still oozed blood. Lucifer had warned her that Crowley might require a little medical attention.

Walking over to where Crowley lay Meg looked down at him. Crowley gave a soft whimper and tried to back away. His right arm didn't seem to be working well. Seeming to realize he wouldn't be able to escape Crowley curled up into a ball and whimpered. Meg frowned. If Lucifer wanted Crowley patched up to be able to continue his punishments later there wasn't much she could to Crowley right now besides clean him. By the look of things Crowley would probably need a few days before anyone could do anything else to him. Sighing heavily Meg bent down and started to turn Crowley over for a better look. The second Meg touched his shoulder Crowley jerked away.

"No. Promised," Crowley mumbled.

"Shut up and let me get a better look," Meg ordered.

"Promised," Crowley repeated. "Not time yet."

"I said shut up and let me look at you."

Crowley began to shake and didn't respond. Meg reached down and grabbed his shoulder. This time Crowley didn't fight her as she turned him over. His stomach wasn't as bad as his back but it was still pretty bad. What Lucifer had already done to Crowley surpassed every scenario Meg had envisioned and she knew Lucifer was far from done. Crowley would have long since been dead if he hadn't been a demon.

Lucifer refused to heal Crowley or let him heal himself. If Crowley was going to get patched up she was going to have to do it manually. Releasing his shoulder Meg huffed in annoyance. She had better things to do with her time than take care of Crowley. Summoning a basin of water and a washcloth Meg inspected the ground. It took a few seconds to find a place to sit where she wouldn't get Crowley's blood on her.

Crowley's eyes shot open and for a few seconds he wondered if he was blind. The room was completely dark but his eyes finally adjusted to the dimness. He could make out shadows of objects. Damn he hurt everywhere. Groaning softly he started to roll onto his side before abandoning that idea. It hurt too much to move.

He could heal himself. Lucifer had ordered him not to but what else could Lucifer do to hurt him? It didn't seem possible to hurt any more than he already was hurting. Crowley finally turned over slowly. Placing his hands carefully but firmly on the ground he took a deep breath. He let out a groan as he stood. Once he was on his feet he wobbled slightly. The lamp near his bed turned on and Crowley's head instantly shot in that direction.

"Crowley?"

Meg sat in the chair next to the bed. What was she doing here?

"You shouldn't be standing," she informed him.

"Why are you here?"

"Lucifer ordered me to take care of you."

Crowley eyed her suspiciously. "Take care of me how?" he asked.

"Just sit down and shut up."

Crowley didn't really feel like trying to sit down on the floor again. He wasn't sure if he could make it back down without falling flat on his face. Glancing to the bed he shuddered at the sight of his blood covering it. If he was careful maybe he could sit on the frame?

"Sit. Now."

Sighing Crowley hobbled closer to the wall. With the bottoms of his feet sliced to ribbons each step was agony. When he was close enough he put his left hand on the wall and lowered himself back to the ground. Even the smallest movement caused intense pain. When he was finally seated Meg stood and walked over to him.

"If you fucked up my first aid I'm so going to hurt you. The last thing I want to do is fix you multiple times because you had to be stupid."

"Sorry," Crowley muttered.

Meg scoffed at the apology and Crowley couldn't blame her. He wasn't really all that sorry, he just really didn't want to be punished any more. He needed time to heal. With Meg here he didn't dare heal himself even a little. If she reported it back to Lucifer who knew what Lucifer would do to him next.

"How long was I out of it?"

"Since I arrived, now shut up and let me look at your feet."

Crowley straightened his legs. He remained quiet as Meg inspected the bottoms of his feet. When she pressed against them Crowley winced and hissed in pain. Meg glared at him and Crowley pressed his lips together to keep from making another sound. Finally Meg released his feet and sat back on her heels.

"No new damage to your feet or, more importantly, my first aid. I mean it, though. If you fuck up anything I had to do to treat you I will hurt you."

Crowley nodded silently.

"Where are your clothes?"

"Lucifer… removed them."

Meg rolled her eyes. "Yeah, no shit Sherlock. I mean where are the rest of them."

"Oh. Uh. Most of my stuff is hanging in the closet, but…"

"But?"

"In the dresser, top left drawer, there's sleepwear. I think I might do better in that than a suit," Crowley answered quietly, not meeting her eyes.

Meg strode over to the dresser and opened the top left drawer. Grabbing a set of his sleepwear she made her way back and tossed the clothes into his lap. Crowley untangled the pants from the top. Setting the top aside for now he glanced from the pants to his legs. Sighing heavily he started to bend his left leg slowly. He paused briefly as the pain made his vision blur slightly. Taking a deep breath he bent his leg a little more. Eventually he managed to get his leg into the pants. Leaning back against the wall Crowley closed his eyes and took a few steadying breaths.

"For fuck's sake," Meg growled.

"Going as fast as I can," Crowley informed her without opening his eyes.

Hearing movement he finally opened his eyes. When he saw Meg stalking towards him he flinched backward. When she was close enough she knelt down and grabbed his right leg and helped him finish putting on his sleep pants.

"Thank you," Crowley mumbled.

"Quiet," Meg huffed.

Not wanting to press his luck Crowley stayed quiet. Meg grabbed the shirt next and ordered him to hold his arms out. Crowley stretched his arms out in front of him. Meg slipped the top over his arms first and then his head.

"Lean forward."

Crowley leaned forward slightly and Meg pulled the shirt down. When it pulled against his shoulders Crowley winced again. Finally Meg leaned back and inspected him. Crowley gave a slight nod of appreciation.

"It's nothing. I just didn't want to have to stare at you naked the whole time I'm going to be here," Meg grumbled.

Crowley said another thank you to Meg mentally. He did actually feel slightly better now that he had clothing covering him. The clothes restricted movement by pressing against the wounds when he would shift or move but at least he was covered.

"Meg?"

"What now?"

"In the closet on the top shelf is clean blanket. Would you mind…"

"Seriously?"

Crowley glanced to the bed and shivered again at the sight of his blood covering it.

"Never mind."

Using the wall he lowered himself until he was laying down. Attempting to tuck his hands under his head he found it too painful to move his right arm. Letting the right arm lay where it was he tucked his left hand under his head. He curled his legs as much as he could without them hurting too much. Closing his eyes Crowley tried to focus on clearing his mind and relegating the pain to the background.

"Damn it," Meg muttered.

Cracking one eye open Crowley peered over at Meg. With a huff of annoyance Meg stood and made her way to the closet. Yanking the doors open she looked up and grabbed one of the blankets sitting on the top shelf. Turning she tossed the blanket across the room. The blanket struck the wall just behind him and dropped onto Crowley's side.

"Thank you," Crowley whispered.

"Whatever."

Crowley bit the corner of his lip.

"How long," he asked quietly.

"How long what," Meg snapped.

"Until… Until he returns?"

"You really that eager to see him again?"

Crowley blanched. "No," he whispered.

Carefully he unfolded the blanket and draped it over his body. Gripping tightly onto the edge of the blanket with his left hand he closed his eyes. He returned to trying to clear his head and consigning the pain to the back of his mind.

At the sound of the door to the main room opening Crowley's eyes shot open. Staring at the open door to the bedroom Crowley held his breath and waited. Much to his relief it wasn't Lucifer that walked into the room. The demon that entered the room stopped near the door and stared at him. Crowley didn't move.

"You need something," Meg asked.

The new arrival finally turned to face Meg.

"You're needed in the throne room," he informed her.

Meg was leaving? Panic started to grip Crowley. Meg he knew. Sure she hated him but she was loyal to Lucifer. If Lucifer wanted to hurt him later he needed time to recover. Meg wouldn't hurt him because Lucifer would need him healed. This new demon he wasn't so sure about. Crowley bit the corner of his lip and waited.

"Needed by who," Meg asked.

"Who do you think?"

"Don't get an attitude with me," Meg warned.

Crowley knew that tone. If the other demon wasn't careful Meg might just gut him before making her way to the throne room. She wouldn't even give it a second thought. If the other demon had any common sense he would change his tone before she did just that.

"Pardon me, I didn't realize I was talking to royalty," the demon snarked.

"Watch it," Meg warned again.

Crowley shifted backward and pressed himself against the wall. The contact caused his injuries to flare painfully but he really didn't want to be caught in the midst of what was fixing to happen. Hunching over he tried to make himself as small as possible.

"Or what," the demon challenged.

When Meg started forward Crowley squeezed his eyes shut and waited. For a while there was nothing but silence. Fairly soon he heard the sound of scuffling. Squeezing his eyes closed even more tightly he continued to wait. Finally, after some time, everything went quiet. Unable to resist his curiosity Crowley cracked one eye open. Meg was standing over the new arrival clutching a bloody demon blade.

"Jackass," Meg muttered.

Turning Meg eyed him; Crowley remained still.

"Get up," Meg ordered.

Frowning Crowley cautiously untensed his muscles. Carefully he moved the covers so that they weren't sitting on top of any of the blood covering the carpet. With a hand to the wall he slowly made his way to his feet.

"Since you're not supposed to be left alone you're coming with me," Meg informed him.

Crowley's breath caught in his throat at the thought of leaving these rooms. At least in here he knew he was safe. Out there, in the open, who knew what would happen. The longer he thought about it the more he realized it didn't matter. The worst that could happen to him was already happening. What could be worse than Lucifer constantly torturing him? Turning to Meg Crowley gave a slight nod. Using the wall as a brace he made his way to the door.

"Stop," Meg ordered.

Crowley stopped walking and turned to face Meg.

"You're not allowed to use your powers. I am. I won't have you trying to walk all the way there and making your injuries worse. My orders were to patch you up and keep you alive. I'm not letting you make my job any more difficult than needed."

Walking over Meg grabbed Crowley's upper arm and Crowley winced. Meg rolled her eyes but loosened her grip. Instantly they blinked to the throne room. A demon stood near the throne talking with Lucifer too quietly to hear. When Crowley and Meg arrived Lucifer and the demon talking with him turned and inspected them. Crowley tensed under the scrutiny, instantly suspicious. Lucifer gave the demon a slight nod and the demon blinked away. Even with the demon gone Crowley continued to remain suspicious.

"I sent for you," Lucifer stated coolly. "I did not send for him."

Crowley couldn't help the small flinch at the sound of Lucifer's voice.

"The demon you sent to watch him was a jackass," Meg answered.

"Oh?"

"You told me I had to keep an eye on him. You didn't tell me I had to take shit from other demons."

"Indeed," Lucifer stated blandly. "Over here."

Meg put her hand back on Crowley's upper arm and began to lead him over to where Lucifer sat. Crowley stumbled after only a few steps and mumbled an apology. Meg paused briefly but didn't acknowledge his apology. Taking a deep breath Crowley started walking once more. When they arrived in front of the throne they stopped.

"Crowley," Lucifer growled.

With one final deep breath Crowley raised his head. He didn't dare meet Lucifer's eyes without being expressly instructed to do so. He settled for focusing on the angel's mouth. Lucifer raised a hand and pointed to the left of the throne. Defeatedly Crowley gave a small nod and made his way over to stand next to Lucifer. The last thing he needed or wanted right now was to have to stand next to Lucifer; especially when he would have to see more than enough of him later.

"So tell me," Lucifer began, "why is he wearing clothes?"

"If I have to spend hours watching over him I'm not doing it with him naked," Meg answered crossly.

"Hm, I'll allow it. For now. How are his injuries?"

Crowley bit the corner of his lip again. This was hell, you didn't openly discuss injuries or weaknesses. Everyone here was always looking for something to use against everyone. Discussing injuries openly was almost a guarantee that someone would use those weaknesses against you. Crowley glanced to Meg from the corner of his eye. Meg shrugged.

"About what you'd expect. They're going to need time to heal if you plan on continuing with your… fun time."

Crowley did his best to stifle a growl at the words 'fun time'. Lucifer held up a finger to pause Meg and turned to Crowley.

"Something you wanted to say?"

Crowley shook his head.

"You sure," Lucifer asked.

"Nothing," Crowley mumbled.

"I can't hear you."

"I said I didn't have anything to say," Crowley said slightly louder still not looking directly at Lucifer.

Lucifer continued to stare at him and Crowley shifted uncomfortably. Finally Lucifer turned back to Meg. "Continue," Lucifer ordered.

"Either you're going to have to heal him or give him a few days to heal on his own," Meg stated. "He wouldn't last long in his present condition."

"While I appreciate your concern, what I do with my pet is my business and not yours."

Meg shrugged. "You asked."

"So I did," Lucifer answered dismissively.

Suddenly, without warning, the demon Lucifer had previously been talking to appeared next to them holding a demon blade. Crowley immediately crouched and prepared to defend himself. The demon grabbed Meg by her shirt and flung her sideways. She hit the wall and fell to the ground. As she was struggling to regain her footing the demon started towards her. Without a thought Crowley rushed the demon. Grabbing the demon's bicep Crowley used his free hand to slam the hand holding the blade into the demon's own throat. Releasing the demon Crowley backed away and watched as it died.

As the demon fell to the ground pain from all of Crowley's injuries shot through his body. Crowley stumbled slightly before falling to the ground next to the dead demon. The last words he heard before he lost consciousness was Lucifer saying, "That was unexpected."

Crowley clamped his jaw shut to keep from making a sound as Lucifer carved into him with the angel blade. As Lucifer worked Crowley grimaced against the pain. For whatever reason, Lucifer was retracing the symbols he had carved into Crowley during the last session. Just the same as during the last session, when Lucifer would finish one of the symbols it would flare painfully for several seconds. Crowley had no idea what the symbols were and, at this moment, he honestly didn't care. He just wanted this to end soon. He wasn't sure how much more of this he could take.

"Perfect," Lucifer whispered.

Crowley let out a small whimper.

"Shh," Lucifer whispered. "That part's done. On to other things."

Crowley desperately tried not to show how much those words terrified him. He felt the bed shift as Lucifer moved. When Lucifer grabbed his ankle Crowley jerked his leg instinctively. Lucifer growled and tightened his grip.

"Do. Not. Move."

Crowley let out a soft whimper but remained still.

"You seem to have much more… 'control', than I would like. We're going to take steps to fix that. You don't mind do you?"

Crowley let out another soft whimper.

"I didn't think so. I wouldn't move if I were you. You might end up injuring yourself more than I would like. That would upset me and I might be forced to punish you."

Before Crowley could even process those words a sharp stabbing pain pierced through the tendon in his left ankle and shot up his calf. He couldn't stop the cry of pain that escaped his lips. There was a slight tugging sensation but it was nothing compared to the pain radiating up his calf. Finally Lucifer released Crowley's left leg. As Lucifer grabbed Crowley's right leg Crowley tried to pull away. He couldn't help it. He was already in too much pain to take any more. He had to make this end somehow.

"Stay still," Lucifer bellowed.

Crowley's body pressed into the mattress with so much force he wasn't able to fill his lungs. No matter how much he struggled he couldn't move. The sensation of Grace skimmed across his skin.

"Stop! No more! Please!"

"Are you actually begging me to stop," Lucifer asked.

Crowley froze. Was he begging? He definitely wanted to beg. If he did beg maybe Lucifer would take pity and finally stop hurting him. Should he beg?

"Crowley," Lucifer growled.

"Not… begging," Crowley managed to grit out.

Without warning a sharp sensation pierced the back of his right ankle. Crowley cried out in pain. He had finally passed his threshold for being able remain silent throughout the torture.

"You will learn one of these days," Lucifer stated.

"Fuck you," Crowley growled. Mistake, his mind informed him seconds before the searing pain of an angel's Grace shot through his body.

Frowning Meg stared at the body before her. While she had expected the injuries and the blood she hadn't expect it to be this bad. Crowley must have done something to really piss off Lucifer this time. Squatting down she checked for a pulse. Even if Crowley couldn't die by conventional means, the body could. A demon trapped inside of a body they couldn't heal didn't usually fair well. Since it was her job to ensure Crowley's survival she needed to know if the vessel was still viable. Much to her surprise it was still alive. Barely. It would take some work to ensure that the body continued to survive.

.

Two hours later Lucifer returned. He stood in the doorway to the bedroom inspecting Crowley for a moment. Striding forward he stopped when he neared Crowley's still form. Turning to Meg Lucifer raised an eyebrow and waited.

"He's not doing well. He really needs to be healed," she informed him.

"Not until he begs," Lucifer growled.

Meg shrugged. "Far be it from me to tell you what to do, but I thought you wanted him alive to continue torturing him."

"He will not be healed until he begs," Lucifer reiterated.

Meg simply shrugged again. Lucifer left without another word and Meg eyed Crowley carefully. There was no way that vessel could stand another round of torture anytime soon. If Lucifer intended to torture Crowley anytime in the next few days he would have to heal Crowley or force him to change vessels. As much as she wanted to see Crowley suffer Lucifer should be focused on more important matters right now. The time Lucifer was expending toying with Crowley could be better served trying to convince Sam Winchester to say yes.

Crowley whimpered in his sleep as Meg continued to watch him. Her eyes drifted to the iron chain running from one ankle to the other. It was hooked to iron rings embedded in Crowley's ankles. Meg winced at the very idea. A demon with iron embedded into their flesh had to hurt beyond belief. She was going to have to will his sleep pants over him with the chains connecting his ankles. Crowley whimpered again and began to shake slightly. Blood loss, Meg reasoned. With the amount of blood Crowley had lost the vessel was probably having a hard time coping.

Making her way to the closet she pulled out the blanket she had thrown at Crowley yesterday. The body was going to need to be kept warm until it could replenish some of the blood it had lost. Walking over to where Crowley lay shivering on the floor she hesitated. Why should she worry about what Crowley needed? He had never thought twice about torturing her. I'm doing this for Lucifer, she reminded herself, not Crowley.

.

Crowley opened his eyes and for a moment he wasn't sure if he was awake or still asleep. Light shone into the bedroom from the open door to the main room. Everything hurt beyond belief. Without moving any other part of his body Crowley shifted his eyes searching for any sign of Lucifer. If this was a dream then Lucifer would be around here somewhere.

Stupid, Crowley thought to himself. Whether or not he was dreaming Lucifer would be here soon enough. If Lucifer wasn't here right now Crowley needed to take stock of the injuries and see what he could do about mending some of them. With a groan Crowley attempted to sit up. It took a few tries but eventually he finally managed it. Staring at the blanket Crowley frowned. Lucifer wouldn't have taken the time to cover him.

Bracing himself against the wall he forced himself to his feet. Crowley took a tentative step and fell. Cursing he reached down grabbed his left ankle trying to soothe the severe pain shooting up through his leg. A shadow blocked the light filtering into the bedroom and Crowley froze. When he didn't feel the tale tail signature of angelic Grace he shifted his eyes to the doorway. With a sigh of relief he realized it was only Meg.

"Hey," Crowley said quietly.

"You tried to walk didn't you?"

Crowley bit his lip and hung his head.

"I don't recommend that right now. You wouldn't get far with that chain."

Still biting his lip Crowley nodded.

"Lucifer," he asked quietly.

"Lucifer is dealing with more important matters than you right now," Meg told him.

Crowley slumped in relief. At least he would have a little time before he would have to deal with Lucifer again. That much of his situation was good. Looking back down to his ankles he inspected the chain connecting them again. "You seem to have much more control, than I would like. We're going to take steps to fix that." Crowley shivered at the memory.

"Your vessel lost a lot of blood," Meg observed.

Crowley snorted derisively at the remark.

"You need to replenish it."

"How do you propose I do that?"

"You could beg Lucifer," Meg suggested.

Crowley shook his head. Not happening. He would hold out for as long as he could before he ever resorted to begging. "No."

"I thought as much. You always were stubborn."

Meg snapped her fingers and a plate appeared in front of Crowley.

"A burger? Really?"

"Red meat is a good way to replenish your iron."

Crowley frowned. "An undercooked burger?"

Meg shrugged.

"Pass," Crowley stated shoving the plate away.

"You'll eat it if I have to cram it down your throat," Meg insisted.

Crowley inspected her face carefully. She was completely serious. If he didn't eat it on his own she would force him to eat it. Sighing in resignation Crowley grabbed the plate and drew it closer. Picking up the burger he eyed it carefully before taking a small bite.

"You better finish it all."

"Water?"

Meg glared at him and Crowley looked away.

"If you want me to finish it I need something to drink. My throat's too sore."

"Needy aren't you?"

Crowley almost made a smart-ass remark but stopped himself. Meg was the only person he could count on not to hurt him right now. He couldn't isolate her. Meg snapped her fingers and a glass of water appeared next to the plate.

"Thank you," Crowley stated quietly.

"Whatever," Meg huffed.