We stood in total darkness. I could hear Lucifer's breathing from somewhere next to me. This woman, "Nancy," who was she? Why was she so important to him? Because he lost her soul? I had a lot of questions, but one stood out more than the others.

"What does any of this have to do with me?"

I heard Lucifer chuckle. "It isn't obvious? Well, I guess I should continue my little movie then."

Another image appeared slowly in the shadows. It was the same girl, she was sitting in the living room. She was dressed nicely, another floral print dress and some lipstick. She tugged at the edge of her dress nervously.

"After the incident with her mother I couldn't help but be curious about this girl." Lucifer said. "Her name was Nancy Parker. Her father had died when she was little and her mother had raised her alone, never remarried."

The doorbell rang. Nancy jumped up and began smoothing her dress. As she scurried to the door she stopped by a mirror in the hall to fix her hair. She took a deep breath before opening the door.

A man was there, leaning against the doorway. He had on a black T-shirt and dark jeans. He ran his hand through his long, blond hair and gave her a toothy smile.

"Wow, you look great. Are you ready?" He asked.

She blushed and let out a small giggle. "Thanks, just let me get my coat."

She grabbed a light jacket from near the doorway and walked out with him. He jumped onto an old Harley and made it roar to life. She jumped slightly at the sound. He motioned with his head for her to get on. She did her best to scramble onto the seat behind him, she put her arms around him timidly. He revved the engine a couple times before taking off. I watched as they rode away.

I heard Lucifer sigh. I looked over, he was shaking his head. The image faded away with them.

"A classic story of the good girl who fell for the bad boy. You all do at some point." He said, looking at me sadly. "You crave the excitement, something completely different from anything you've ever known, a taste of being bad yourself.

But bad boys are bad for a reason, and very few of them turn good. The same with good girls, they rarely turn bad. Life isn't Grease, you can't sing a musical number and magically overcome who you are. The reality is people get hurt, they compromise themselves to impress the other, many of them do things they regret, and some are forced to live with the consequences.

Images formed. Nancy was in the living room again. Her eyes were red and puffy, she'd been crying again, but this time a large, round stomach filled out her flowered dress. Footsteps stomped down the stairs. She cringed slightly as the front door slammed.

"To his credit, the boy tried staying around for a while, but you can't change who people are. He was never going to be the husband or father she wanted him to be, and he never really wanted to be them in the first place."

The image suddenly froze. Lucifer walked over and stood in front of the girl, sadly. He reached out and stroked her tear-stained cheek.

"I wanted to be them though." He sighed. "Ever since I lost that bet I couldn't stop watching her. I got to know her, everything about her. Her favorite flowers were lilies, she dreamed of being a pediatric nurse, she wanted a family more than anything. Her father had died when she was young and her mother was always busy trying to support them. More than anything she wanted to have a real family, to give her child all the love and stability she felt she never had. So, when he left it was a devestating blow."

The image faded from around him, shrouding him in darkness as it did. If silence speaks volumes, then the quiet surrounding us was screaming in agony. Lucifer let out a shaky breath.

"I wish I could have stopped her from getting involved with that boy, I wish I could have been a part of her life instead of watching from the shadows, I wish I could have been her husband. I would have given her everything this Earth had to offer and more, she would have been my queen and I would have always treated her so. But who was I? Some magical old man she met a couple times. I knew loving her was pointless.

Besides, I had lost my bet, and demons are bound by their wagers. Even me. I could never possess her soul, so her death would mean the end of any relationship. Unfortunately, that would come all too soon as well."

I heard the agonizing scream again, but this wasn't silence, this was real. The image appeared. It was night time, but the moonlight illuminated Nancy. She was in bed. She was crying, clutching her large stomach and screaming in pain. She was covered by sheets but I could see a liquid soaking through them. As she clutched and clawed at the bed I noticed what it was. Blood.

"She wasn't due for another two weeks. She was planning to stay in the hospital that next week, but things didn't work out that way. She hemorrhaged. Even if she had called 911 she would have been dead by the time they arrived." He sighed. "I couldn't save her, all I could do was make sure she didn't die alone."

As he said this Lucifer appeared in the doorway. He walked over and sat on the edge of her bed, his face was a stone mask. She turned and reached out to him with a bloodied hand.

"Please! Please!" She begged.

He shook his head. "I can't help you. It's not my choice. You have no idea how sorry I am."

She shook her head wildly. "No! My baby!"

She cried and clutched at her stomach again. He stared at her in shock. She grabbed his arm desperately.

"Please, save my baby! Please!"

"Until the end she was selfless." My Lucifer said. "She knew it was her time and only wanted to know her baby would be safe. I was prevented from touching her soul, but this child..."

As he trailed off the vision Lucifer reached over and put his hand on her stomach. She sobbed heavily.

"Please, I'll give you anything!" She cried.

He shook his head. "I want nothing from you." She started to protest but her rubbed her stomach and shushed her. "Even my kind can do good if we desire. I will do it for nothing. She will be loved and cared for, this I promise you."

"She?" Nancy's face seemed to soften, a faint smile filled her face.

Lucifer nodded at her and grabbed her hand. She placed her other hand to her stomach weakly. She cringed in pain again. A sharp cry suddenly filled the room. Her laboured breathing was shallow. She turned her head listlessly and looked out the window.

"Look, I think you can see Venus tonight." She muttered weakly.

Nancy closed her eyes. Her chest stopped moving. The cries of the baby were the only sound in the room. Lucifer reached beneath the blankets and pulled out the bloodied creature. He pressed his forehead against the baby's gently, it stopped crying and looked at Lucifer with its large eyes. As the image faded I saw tears roll down his cheeks.

"I'm sure Mal has told you, we are not allowed to interfere in the lives of humans." Lucifer said simply. "When I took Nancy's child I interfered with its life. I broke my contract with God, but I didn't care. God does much good in the world, but he can also be spiteful. I knew as long as this baby was with me she would always be cursed, but as long as she was in His domain she would be protected."

We entered another image, but this one seemed familiar somehow. A forest, empty branches waving in the cool breeze. A large building, a fountain, a figure dressed in a long cloak, carrying a bundle.

A wave of nausea ran through me. Lucifer put his hand on my shoulder as I watched the figure walk to the fountain.

"Does this seem familiar, Venus?" He asked.

I couldn't speak. It was like my dream, but this time I could easily see the person beneath the hood. It was Lucifer. As he placed the baby in the Virgin Mother's arms I heard his words clearly.

"You raised one for Him, now, raise one for me, Mary." I heard him whisper.

From the distance I heard Father Andrew's shouting. I saw Lucifer turn to him, a bored expression on his face. I saw the blood pour into the fountain, filling it. But this time I didn't wake up.

Lucifer stepped from the fountain, blood dripping for the hem of his robe. He approached the terrified priest. He reached out and put his hands on Father Andrew's shoulders.

"You will raise her. You will make her a child of God, or there will be consequences. Understood?" Lucifer hissed, his eyes glowed bright blue in the darkness.

Father Andrew nodded, terrified. With that Lucifer released him and walked away into the forest. The blood drained from the fountain, not even a drop remained, as if it never happened. Father Andrew scrambled into the fountain and picked up the bundle. A scrap of paper fell from it. He picked it up, his hands trembled slightly as he read it in the faint moonlight.

"Venus." He whispered.

The image faded away. I felt my head become fuzzy. The forest appeared around me again. Lucifer pulled his hands away from my head and looked at me sadly. I stared at him, bewildered. What was all that? What did this mean?

"I loved your mother, Venus." He said softly, stroking my cheek. "She was the only woman I've ever loved. Your father died in a motorcycle accident before your first birthday, I've been personally ensuring that he suffers for his sins. In God's domain I could not watch over you, but I knew you would be safe there."

My mind was swirling. The words exited without me really thinking about them. "You're the one who left me at the church."

He nodded. We stayed silent for a while before he cleared his throat and gave me a sheepish look.

"Do you have any questions?"

"A million." I said simply. "Why did the Devil take me to a church?"

"As I said, I knew if you remained in His domains then God would do nothing to you. You were only human, and a baby at that."

"Is that why Mal came to the church?"

He sighed. "None of the demons know. I kept your existence hidden. I didn't want them corrupting you."

"So what changed?"

Lucifer looked at the ground. "I knew God would not allow such a breach of contract to pass, but I never expected he would have been so vengeful. I think even He was shocked when we met."

"What do you mean?"

"All I wanted was to give Nancy's baby a chance at life. A normal, happy life. The one she and I could never have. I just wanted-"

"Lucifer!"

He jumped a little as I shouted. I shocked myself too, but I was tired of waiting, tired of these drawn out explanations. I wanted to know. He stood there silently. I sighed and tugged at the ends of my hair.

"Please, you can give an explanation as long as you want after, but please just tell me: What is going on? What is this 'destiny' you keep going on about? Why can't I have a normal life?"

Lucifer finally looked up. His eyes met mine, they looked tired and miserable. His face looked grave.

"Because you, Venus, are destined to give birth to the Antichrist."