Author's Note:

I watch both Lucifer and Arrow, and this story popped into my head because Felicity Smoak looks a lot like a younger version of Linda Martin.
I love the women on Lucifer. Their personalities are distinct and developing all the time. The humor they've added to Maze in season 2, for example, makes her more interesting and really works. I also love Felicity Smoak (Arrow) and have always felt like she needed a real girlfriend to talk to for support. (Sorry, Laurel doesn't count here - at least for me. For all that she became more likeable in S4, she's never struck me as very bright.)

So, this was an opportunity for Felicity to explore her issues with some sympathetic women.

The four women seated around the table in a dimly lit Los Angeles drinking spot certainly fit the stereotype. Each of them was attractive in her unique way, each had her own set of troubles, and each had a demanding job. In fact, they could almost serve as the first line of an old joke: A shrink, a bounty hunter, a detective and a forensic scientist walk into a bar…

Together, they formed a Girl's Night Out. GNO. By definition, a small group of women knocking back alcohol in a variety of forms, while sharing frustrations with male stupidity, the stress of their careers, and the challenge of finding shoes that are comfortable and styling at the same time. GNO was happening everywhere – hundreds of them in the LA region alone. Nothing special about it.

Except… in this particular GNO happening at this particular LA bar, the bounty hunter was really a demon come to earth from hell and the shrink was the therapist to the Devil himself. Hardly your standard Girl's Night Out material – and a little ironic if you remembered that LA is the City of Angels. The detective and forensic scientist really were a detective and a forensic scientist with the LAPD, but their lives, too, were entwined with the strange and the supernatural - even if they didn't fully understand that yet. So despite outward appearances, the four good-looking women having drinks that evening were most definitely not your typical Girl's Night Out.

The force that brought them together, these four very different women, came from one man. Well, sort of a man, more of a fallen angel. Lucifer Morningstar. Intelligent, attractive, complicated and infuriating. Owner of the club, Lux, and on a permanent vacation from minding the gates of hell – although the detective and forensic scientist didn't know about that last part. It was probably just as well. The therapist had only recently learned it herself, despite hours of sessions with him, and was still coming to grips with it. All four women were at alternate times attracted to and repelled by Lucifer. He could be helpful, or he could be selfish. He could do something surprisingly thoughtful or he could completely forget you when you needed him most. In short, he was great fodder for Girl's Night Out.

This evening's GNO began like so many before. Linda Martin, the de facto leader of The Tribe (as they called themselves) was asking each woman about her day. Linda had gotten the role partly on the basis of her profession (therapist) and age (a little older than the rest of the girls), but mostly because of her ability to maintain an even emotional keel when life got crazy. Linda could be counted on to put things in perspective, and was a master at the therapist's art of leading people to their truth by asking questions. It was a handy skill to have on Girl's Night Out. The fact that she could do it without being annoying had earned the other women's appreciation. The fact that she could also do it with a couple of vodka martinis under her belt had earned their respect.

She started with Detective Chloe Decker, because Chloe carried a lot of emotional baggage. A single parent in the midst of a divorce, the detective was haunted by being essentially in the same job that had killed her dad years before. Her soon-to-be ex-husband, Dan, was a loving but unreliable father, often backing out of dad-duty at the last minute. There were many nights when Chloe showed up ready to implode and Linda considered it an accomplishment when she and the other women could get the detective to loosen up. Chloe's beauty came in the form of large blue eyes, long sandy hair, and a thin, athletic build. One look at Chloe's expressive eyes usually told Linda all she needed to know about how the Detective's day had gone.

"I almost didn't make it tonight," Chloe grumbled as joined them at the table. "Dan forgot to pick Trixie up at school and I had to call him four times before he finally answered his phone and remembered it was his night to have her. I don't know what's going on with him. He never was completely dependable, but lately it seems like it's worse than ever."

Mazikeen, successful bounty hunter and – unbeknownst to the LAPD women – a demon from hell, shrugged. "It's probably because he's banging-," she began.

"I don't think it will help Chloe if we analyze Dan's behavior tonight," Linda interrupted, giving Maze a meaningful stare as she nodded subtly toward the detective. "We can't change other people. Apart from Chloe telling Dan how inconsiderate he's being, there isn't much she can do to make him act differently. She can only decide how she's going to deal with it."

Maze frowned and took a swig from her beer bottle. "I don't know about not changing people. I could rough him up a little the next time he forgets his daughter. It'll make him think twice. That is," she added when Linda glared at her again, "if Chloe doesn't mind."

Chloe looked as though she were considering it. After a minute she wrinkled her nose and shook her head. "No, it's probably not a good idea. He might tell Trixie how he got banged up." She gave Maze a weak smile. "You've got a good relationship with my daughter. She likes having you live with us and she trusts you. I don't want to ruin that."

Maze looked touched - or at least as touched as it was possible for an exotic, darkly beautiful demon to look. "Thanks, Chloe. Appreciate it. I like your daughter, too. She's not bad…for an annoying little human."

Chloe, unaware of the whole demon thing, never quite understood Maze's odd references to humans. Still, she knew the last statement was intended as a compliment so she simply said, "Thanks."

The table fell silent as each woman took the opportunity to swallow her GNO drink of choice; Maze almost always went for beer, Linda was sticking with her favorite martini, and Chloe - the most reluctant drinker of the four - had opted for Cosmo's this evening. Ella, the forensic scientist and free spirit, was drinking Mojito's. She put her glass down and peered curiously across the mood-lit room.

"I wonder what's up with that girl?" she asked, pointing not very subtly toward the bar.

Linda narrowed her eyes and tried to follow the direction of Ella's finger. "Which girl?"

"By herself. Glasses, with blonde, shoulder length hair. Drinking red wine."

Maze leaned forward in her chair and nodded as her eyes latched onto Ella's target. "I see her." She turned toward Linda with a grin. "You know, with those glasses and that hair she's kind of a Mini-You," she remarked. "I can see you looking just like that a few years ago."

Linda tilted her head to the side and studied the girl. "Hmmm. I'd like to think I was that pretty at her age." After a minute she added softly, "She doesn't look very happy, though."

"No," Ella agreed, "she doesn't. I was wondering if she's in some kind of trouble."

Maze frowned. "I'm not too good yet with all the human emotion shit," she said bluntly. "But even I can see that something's not right. She doesn't seem like the kind of girl who would normally hang out by herself in a bar. I wonder what brought her here."

The four women stopped staring at the girl and looked around the table at each other.

"I think we should ask," Ella said.

Chloe snuck another glance at the girl. "She might tell us to mind our own business."

Ella shrugged. "If she does, that's okay. I don't think she will, though. I think she needs to talk."

Linda smiled. "I do, too."

Maze cracked her knuckles and took another swallow of beer. "I'm game. If nothing else, it'll satisfy my curiosity."

"Great." And before anyone could say anything further, Ella was out of her chair and heading toward the bar. The three other women watched as she approached the blonde, touching her arm and leaning forward to talk in her ear. The blonde looked startled at first, but Ella's infectious grin soon had the girl nodding and following the forensic scientist's finger as she pointed back to the table. She said something in return, then picked up her wine and slid off the bar stool, following Ella to where the other women were seated.

"Glad you could join us," Linda said cordially as the blonde sat down. "We hope we're not imposing. We just couldn't help noticing that you looked a little…out of your element."

The blonde shrugged. "Maybe a little. I don't live in LA. I was supposed to fly back home tonight, but my flight was cancelled so I'm not leaving til tomorrow morning. I didn't feel like sitting around the airport or in my hotel room, and it's been a while since I've been to a bar."

"And where's home for you?"

"Star City."

Chloe Decker smiled. "I've never been there, but I hear it's a nice city. And your new mayor is hot! Star City always sounded like a more grounded place than LA to me. We probably seem a little crazy to you down here."

The girl shrugged again. "I grew up in Las Vegas. I've seen my fair share of crazy."

Maze's eyes lit up. "Las Vegas! Really? I'd like to go there - I've heard so much about it. I mean, they call it Sin City. How great is that?"

Chloe shook her head. "We have enough sin right here in LA."

The blonde glanced between the two of them. "In my experience, every city has enough sin in it. It's just a little less hidden in Vegas. My name is Felicity, by the way."

"Oh hell, where are our manners?" the therapist asked the table in general. "It's nice to meet you, Felicity. I'm Linda. And this is Chloe, Ella and Maze." She pointed to each of the women in turn. "Welcome to our Tribe."

"Your Tribe?"

"It's what the four of us call our support system. We're here for each other; to share what's happening in our lives, try to solve each other's problems…or at least listen to each other complain about them. Mostly we're here just to drink and kick back."

Felicity looked thoughtful. "That sounds nice. I could use a tribe back home. I'm mostly surrounded by men, and half the time they're the problem."

"Amen to that, sister." Maze leaned across the table and tapped her beer bottle gently against Felicity's wine glass.

"What's brought you to LA?" Ella asked.

Felicity took a sip of her wine. "I drove up to Silicon Valley for a couple of job interviews."

Ella grinned eagerly. "Silicon Valley? Are you in Tech? I'm a forensic scientist with the LAPD and I love technology. I can talk geek with the best of them."

"I'm in IT. I've got a good friend in Central City who's a forensic scientist. What do the rest of you do?"

They circled around the table.

"Therapist."

"Detective."

"Bounty hunter…and demon."

There was a pause while the women stared at Maze.

"She's kidding about the demon part," Ella explained to Felicity. "She likes saying that, for some reason."

Felicity regarded Maze carefully. The woman's fondness for black leather could just be a fashion choice, but it also seemed consistent with what you might expect from a demon - at least one in LA. Oddly, the look worked for her, complimenting her dark hair and mocha skin. After a minute Felicity said uncertainly, "Are you…are you really kidding? I mean, you would be very beautiful for a demon, but I've seen enough to be pretty sure they exist. I spent time in a place called Nanda Parbat. And I met this guy named Constantine who-"

"You know Constantine?" Maze's voice was sharp.

Felicity looked startled. "Not well," she said quickly. "He's more a friend of a friend. But he has some stories about hell that sound pretty real. Real enough to hope I never get anywhere near there – and to make me nervous about demons in general."

Maze nodded. "Constantine is bad-ass. I don't like him, but I have to say I respect him. He's one of the few people I've met who can come to hell and then leave it again – and do a lot of damage when he gets there." She grinned at Felicity. "And you don't need to worry about me. My job was to torture people who belonged in hell. I can tell already that's not you."

Linda cleared her throat. "I think we're getting a little off topic, ladies," she said, giving the bounty hunter yet another meaningful look. "Leaving Maze's demon…metaphor…aside, we asked Felicity to join us so that she could take advantage of the Tribe to share whatever might be troubling her…if she wishes."

"That's right," Ella chimed in. She turned toward the young blonde. "You looked like you had a lot on your mind when you were sitting at the bar. We were wondering if we could help."

Felicity glanced around the table, flushing slightly. It was apparent to everyone that she wanted to share but was unsure about doing it. She nervously played with her wine glass and opened her mouth several times as if to speak – and then stopped. Finally, she began slowly, "There's this guy…"

"I knew it!" Maze said triumphantly, before Felicity could say anything more. "I knew it was a guy. You had asshole boyfriend face on when we first saw you. What exactly has the bastard done?"

Felicity shook her head. "It would be unfair to pin all of this on him. I'm partly to blame, too."

"I doubt that. You seem very nice. I wouldn't be at all surprised if a man tried to take advantage of you."

"Now, girls! Linda held up one hand to take command of the table. "Let's let Felicity tell her story without jumping to conclusions." The older blonde pushed her martini aside and her regular companions grinned at each other as they recognized her shift into therapist mode. They'd all been on the receiving end at one time or another; now it was someone else's turn. "Why don't you start from the beginning, Felicity?" she asked calmly.

The younger woman replied cautiously, "It could be a long story."

"That's okay. We've got time, and the bar won't run out of alcohol."

"Right." Felicity glanced around the table and took a deep breath. "I've known…Oliver," she hesitated over the name, "for close to five years. I first met him at work and he was even my boss for a little while. I was attracted to him right from the beginning, although also maybe a little afraid of him."

Chloe, the cop, jumped all over that one. "Afraid of him? Why? Was he violent?" she asked.

"No," Felicity shook her head, "or at least never with me," she amended. "He was just very intense… and secretive." After a pause she added, "He still is."

"I see," Linda said. "Go on."

"It took a while, but Oliver eventually opened up to me in our first year. Not about everything, but about some of his big secrets. We spent a lot of time together and got to be close friends - and I kept feeling like there was something more between us. He was always touching my shoulder or my hand, and if I needed help, he'd be there in a second. I didn't want to admit it to myself at the time, but I was falling in love with him."

Linda nodded encouragingly, but didn't say anything.

"It went on like that for a couple of years; we were together a lot, but not together together, if you know what I mean. During that time Oliver dated several women – a couple casually and one pretty seriously. It was hard to watch and there were a few times I felt like walking away, but I knew my friendship and…support…meant a lot to him. And the work I was doing was fulfilling for me. So I stuck around."

Felicity paused to take a sip of wine. "And?" Maze prompted.

"And after a little more than two years, he told me that he loved me."

"That's great," Ella smiled warmly. The other women nodded.

"He told me that he loved me," Felicity continued, "but that he couldn't be with me. He said that he'd been living his life almost as two people, and he didn't think he could be the Oliver I loved. He said he couldn't be with anyone."

"Fuck," said Maze. "I hate when they do that."

Chloe looked at Maze and raised one eyebrow.

Maze shrugged. "Lucifer's brother, Amenadiel. He and I…" She glanced at Linda and her voice dwindled. "Oh hell, never mind. This is about Felicity, not me…"

"Right," Linda said. "This is about Felicity. So…Oliver told you he loved you but that he couldn't be with you. Why do you think he said that?"

Felicity slowly shook her head. "I'm not sure. I think it was his way of trying to be noble – to not let me get involved with him when he knew he couldn't always be there for me. Except, when I think about it, I also think it was kind of selfish – and maybe his justification for avoiding an emotional entanglement. When he was young, he was a serial dater and never got too serious. I sometimes wonder if forever with one person scares him."

Linda pursed her lips. "That's one way of reading the situation, Felicity. I trust you understand that you're seeing all of this through your own filters. So how did you deal with knowing he loved you but wouldn't be with you?"

"Well, at the time - a couple of years ago - I started seeing someone else."

Maze grinned. "Good for you. Make that jerk, Oliver, wake up and see what he's missing."

Felicity frowned. "That really wasn't my intent. I was just tired of being alone and when I met Ray he was so nice…and persistent. On paper, he and I were perfect for one another. He loves tech too, and he was tall and sexy and good in bed. We worked together and dated pretty intensely, and in any other circumstances we probably would still be together. Except…"

"Except?" Linda encouraged.

"Except that I was still in love with Oliver. I never got over him and he was still a part of my life – he'd go away, but then come back again. And it didn't seem fair to Ray to be with him when I was in love with someone else. So I ended things with Ray."

"And you were back to being alone? That must have been hard."

"For a little while." Felicity glanced down at her wine glass and smiled suddenly, a warm smile that made her blue eyes sparkle behind her glasses. "Until Oliver finally decided he could be with me – that he wanted to be with me. And then we took a break from all the crap in our lives and travelled the world for a couple of months, going to beautiful, exotic places and spending just about every moment together. And when we got back to the U.S. things were still good – so we moved in together. It was fantastic." She hesitated and then added, "And after a few months, he proposed."

Ella and Chloe smiled. It seemed like the happy ending to the story. Linda, with her sharper therapist's instincts, looked thoughtful. And Maze…Maze appeared downright impatient. When Felicity didn't continue, the demon said sharply, "Well, that can't be the end of it. If it were, you wouldn't be sitting in a bar in LA wearing asshole boyfriend face. So what happened?"

Felicity's smile faded and she swirled the small amount of wine that remained in her glass. "What happened is that I found out Oliver was keeping a secret from me. The secret was major, although not necessarily bad. I could have lived with it, maybe even helped him with it. But he chose not to tell me, and it was the fact that he couldn't or wouldn't share that really bothered me. I was supposed to be his partner, the person he leans on when he needs help. But he did what he always does – he retreated inside himself and kept me out of it."

Ella frowned. "What exactly was this secret?"

Felicity shook her head. "I can't say. There are people who could be hurt if it ever came out and, anyway, it isn't mine to tell. It was kind of…life-altering, but not in a bad way."

"Did he give you a reason for not telling you?"

"He said the other people involved asked him not to."

Chloe shrugged. "In fairness to Oliver, it sort of sounds like he was in a tough place. He had to choose between betraying them and betraying you. And you said people could be hurt if it came out…"

Felicity lifted her head to look Chloe in the eye, and for the first time that evening showed a flash of anger. "If there's one thing Oliver knows I can do," she said shortly, "it's keep a secret. Not once in all the time he's known me have I ever let anything slip – and I've been in on some doozies."

Still wearing her therapist's face, Linda asked, "So how did it make you feel this time – when he didn't tell you?"

Felicity opened her mouth to answer and then dropped her eyes to her wine glass, suddenly unwilling to meet the other woman's gaze. "Like he didn't trust me completely," she said shakily. "Like the last four years didn't mean as much to him as they meant to me. And it made me wonder if he was really committed to our relationship, or even if this was his way of subconsciously sabotaging it. I told you before that Oliver avoided commitments when he was younger. Once, he slept with his girlfriend's sister when things were starting to get serious."

Maze gave a low whistle. "Damn," she said softly. "The man really does have issues, doesn't he?"

Linda shot Maze a baleful look and the demon held up her hands. "Sorry, Doc. Still, you have to wonder..."

"This thing with his girlfriend's sister," Linda hurriedly spoke over Maze. "You said it happened when he was younger. When, exactly, did he do this?"

Felicity paused. "About ten years ago."

The table fell silent for a few beats.

"Ten years is a long time," Linda said at last. "Do you think you're the same person you were ten years ago?"

Felicity looked into the therapist's eyes. "No," she said softly, "no, I'm not."

"So do you think it's possible that Oliver might also have changed over the last ten years?"

Felicity drained the few drops left in her wine glass. "Yes, I'm sure he's changed. But still…"

"And is it also possible that your reaction to his keeping a secret from you might, in part, come from your own insecurities? Other than Ray, you haven't talked much about your experiences with men. Have your relationships generally been successful?"

Felicity frowned. "There really haven't been very many of them, but – no – they haven't been successful. And my mom's relationship with my dad was a disaster."

"So, do you think you might be attributing motives to Oliver that really aren't there?"

Maze drained what remained in her beer bottle and set it back on the table with a thunk. "Doc," she said to Linda, "I don't understand why you're picking on Felicity and defending this Oliver guy. He lied to his fiancée about something big. Aren't you therapists supposed to be big on the truth? Why are you excusing him this time?"

Linda sighed and adjusted her glasses. "I'm not trying to excuse him. You're right – he shouldn't be keeping big secrets from the woman he says he loves. Lies are not a long-term recipe for success in a relationship. But I also think Felicity needs to be honest with herself about her reaction to that lie, because the way she responds will influence the rest of her life. If she still loves Oliver and is reacting out of hurt and her own history with men, she should share that with him. She should tell him how the lie made her feel and see if he agrees to work harder at being open with her. If she doesn't, she might be missing out on a lot of happiness. A couple that's been together for almost five years through some obvious obstacles must have a strong foundation. It's clear she's very much in love. Before she walks away from that relationship, she might want to give it another try."

"Is that why you're down in Silicon Valley interviewing?" Ella asked Felicity. "Because you're thinking of leaving Oliver and starting afresh?"

Felicity nodded, although not very enthusiastically. "Yes. I don't want to be one of those women whose life is defined by a man – that's never been me. And I now have multiple job offers. So I was sitting at the bar thinking about the decision I need to make; to return to Star City or to start over somewhere else."

Chloe glanced at her sympathetically. "I think Linda has a point," she said softly. "What could it hurt to at least talk with Oliver one more time? Trying to mend a relationship isn't the same as having a man define your life. Hell, I wish I'd fought harder for my relationship with my husband. Now he's decided he wants a divorce and it's too late." The other women tilted their heads in agreement.

Felicity glanced around the table at the four women from LA, all eager to help to help her. "I hear you," she said slowly, "but there's one more twist to the story that I haven't told you."

"And what's that?" Maze asked.

"Oliver is seeing someone else now."

The table fell silent. It was clear no one could think of a positive thing to say.

Linda glanced at Felicity's empty wine glass. "You know, ladies," she said after a moment. "I think Felicity's ready for something in the vodka family." She raised her hand to call the waiter. "Could we have a round of Kamikazes?" she asked brightly.

When the shots arrived, Felicity was the first to down hers.

Lucifer Morningstar wrinkled his nose distastefully as he walked into the bar. He vastly preferred the dark sensuality of Lux to this palm-fronded, sushi-serving excuse for a club, but he'd been trying to reach both Maze and Chloe for the last couple of hours and neither woman had answered her phone. The whole Girl's Night Out thing made him nervous, to say the least. He was certain that the four ladies used the time together as an opportunity to conspire against him. Maze certainly no longer jumped at his commands and Chloe had actually begun teasing him. And that girl, Ella, hugged him as if he were an ordinary human instead of the Prince of Darkness. He could feel his power slipping.

It didn't take long to spot them this evening. They were up on stage in front of the karaoke microphones, belting out I Will Survive in a key that was only slightly off what it was supposed to be. He was surprised to see them joined by a fifth woman, a petite blonde who looked as if she could be Linda's younger sister. The girl caught his interest almost immediately. On the surface, she looked fresh – almost naïve – but he could sense a soul that had seen great darkness; seen it, and yet somehow emerged intact, with its light undiminished. She was intriguing, and he guessed that Maze felt the same way, because the demon had one arm draped over the blonde's shoulders as they sang.

Linda was the first to spot him, just as they reached the final chorus. She pointed him out to the other women, and they left the stage as a group, coming over to greet him with silly grins on their faces. There could be no doubt that the drinks had been flowing freely for some time. Their steps were slightly wobbly and they all smelled faintly of vodka. Even Chloe had left all traces of tension behind.

"Good evening, ladies," he said to them in general. To Maze, he added, "Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?"

Maze returned her arm to the blonde's shoulders, almost protectively. "This is Felicity," she said shortly. "Felicity – this is my former boss, Lucifer."

Felicity frowned. "Lucifer? As in the Devil? Your parents had one hell of a sense of humor."

Lucifer smiled sardonically. "Yes, they most certainly did." When Maze made no further attempt to explain how the women had come to meet and adopt Felicity as part of their group, he added, "So…what brings you to LA, Felicity?" He leaned forward and looked deeply into her eyes, practicing his favorite trick. "Pretty girl like you, what's your deepest, darkest desire?" He waited, watching his power take hold of her, curious about her answer.

She stared back in silence for a few seconds. "What I want," she said slowly, "is to be able to hit the high note at the end of I Will Always Love You." Then she grinned.

Damn. He really hated Girl's Night Out.