"All I'm saying Amenadiel, is that if you continue to meddle...then you will be in my way".

"Well then, brother," Amenadiel paused before continuing,"I guess I'll be in your way".

Lucifer was furious. Not only was his brother refusing to help him, but he was actively trying to interfere with the plan to remove Pierce's mark.

There was no way he was going to let his brother ruin things. Even though he didn't want Pierce to die, he'd made a promise to end the other man's misery...and Lucifer never broke a promise.

Amenadiel tried to walk away, but Lucifer grabbed his brother and spun him around. The elder angel barely had time to react before a fist went flying into his face.

After that it was a full out brawl between the siblings. Limbs and furniture were flying everywhere, to the point that, when Pierce came back in he thought a tornado had come through.

Suddenly, Amenadiel gave a mighty heave and sent Lucifer flying. He hit the wall at an awkward angle and crumpled to the ground.

"Come on, Luci! Get up!" Amenadiel bellowed.

But something was wrong. Lucifer wasn't getting back up.

Pierce shoved Amenadiel out of the way and ran over to where Lucifer had collapsed. He got down on his knees and gently gathered the prone devil into his arms.

"Lucifer? Can you hear me? Please wake up". Pierce was practically begging at this point.

But Lucifer wasn't waking up. His breathing was ragged and Pierce noticed with alarm that his lips were turning blue. He looked up to see Amenadiel just staring at the scene in shock.

"Don't just stand there! Call an ambulance!".

He nodded at Pierce and took out his phone to do just that.

*

Pierce sat in the waiting room with his head in his hands. They'd rushed Lucifer into emergency surgery the minute he'd been brought in. That was over an hour ago.

He'd only hoped Decker stayed away long enough for the devil to survive.

"Lieutenant!"

Well, speak of the devil's weakness. Chloe came rushing into the hospital looking utterly frazzled.

"What happened?! Is he alright?!" She asked frantically.

"He hasn't come out of surgery yet...as for what happened you can blame his brother for that one".

"Amenadiel did this?! Why?" Chloe asked.

Before Pierce could respond the doctor came out.

"Are you two the family of Lucifer Morningstar?".

"We're his co-workers," Pierce told him," his family is the one that did this to him".

"Mr. Morningstar was in critical condition when he arrived," the doctor stated," He had several broken ribs, one of which had pierced his lung, a fractured right arm and some internal bleeding. It was touch and go for a bit, but he's stable now".

"Can we see him now?" Chloe asked the doctor.

"He's unconscious at the moment, so I recommend you go one at a time...but yes you can see him now".

The doctor gave them his room number and walked away to deal with other patients. Chloe went to walk straight to Lucifer's room, but a hand on her wrist stopped her.

"Decker, please, let me go first," Pierce begged," I...I need to see for myself that he's alright".

Chloe was so shocked that her boss was begging, that she simply nodded and went to sit in the waiting room chairs. As she watched Pierce run towards the direction of her partner's hospital bed, she wondered, not for the first time, what was going on between the two men.

*

Pierce quietly opened the door and entered Lucifer's room. He carefully shut it behind him and went to sit in a chair next to the bed.

It was terrifying to see the normally boisterous devil just laying there, like a broken doll. His right arm was in a sling, and an oxygen mask was situated over his face. He briefly wondered how they got the IV in before he remembered that this particular hospital was less than a mile from Decker's house, which still left Lucifer in vulnerability range.

Pierce grabbed his left hand, rubbing his thumb back and forth. He brushed the devil's curls with his other hand as he looked down at the injured Celestial.

For the first time in centuries, Marcus Pierce began to cry.

"This is all my fault," he whispered," you would have never gotten hurt if you hadn't been trying to help me. I'm so sorry, Lucifer ".

Marcus laid his head on the bed as the tears came down harder.

Suddenly he felt a squeeze on his hand and looked up to see a pair of familiar brown eyes staring at him.

"Lucifer! You're awake! How are you feeling?".

"Been better," Lucifer croaked, "what's wrong...why are you...crying?".

"Because you're hurt, and it's all because of me".

"I don't blame you," Lucifer told him, squeezing his hand tighter, " I'm the one that punched my brother first. I'll be damned again if I let him interfere with my helping you. I just wish..."

"Just wish what?" Lucifer tried to turn his head away, but Pierce turned it back, "Lucifer, you wish what?".

"I...I wish there was a way to make you happy, that didn't involve you leaving me".

Pierce gave him a watery smile before he leaned up and kissed him on the forehead. "I don't want to leave you, either".

"But our deal? I promised..."

"Lucifer," Pierce interrupted, "you promised to end my infinite misery. If I'm honest, I haven't been miserable at all since I've met you. You've fulfilled your promise and then some"

He put both of his hands on Lucifer's cheeks and stared into the chocolate orbs he loved so much. "Why don't you tell me what you desire, Lucifer".

The devil gave him a small grin. "I want you to stay here...with me".

"I think I can arrange that". Pierce moved the oxygen mask over long enough to give Lucifer a deep kiss, then he placed it back on before toeing off his shoes and carefully climbing into the bed next to his lover.

He gently took the devil into his arms. " Thank you for giving me something I haven't had in a long time...happiness ".

Chloe opened the door to the room and peeked in at the two sleeping next to each other. She smiled before carefully shutting the door again.

'Guess Ella's scorching five alarm was for the wrong partner' she thought. She left the hospital, both to give the couple a chance to be alone, and to go find a certain older brother and kick his ass.