The next day, Lucifer left for work, waking Alex up to say goodbye. She had groaned, and rolled away from him, falling back into sleep. She vaguely heard him get ready, and then the door was closed.

Alex opened her eyes to look at the bright red lights of the alarm clock. It was six thirty. She groaned, rolling over to bury her head in Lucifer's pillow. She inhaled his scent drowsily, closing her eyes. With a sigh, she glanced over at the clock again. Then she sat up, confused. It now read 7:58. Had she really fallen asleep? She'd closed her eyes for a second. She threw back the covers, getting up. The wood was cool on her bare feet, and she padded out into the living room. Lucifer was long gone. She collapsed on the couch and turned on the tv.

...

The door opened. Alex sat up, confused. A woman stepped through. Fear and surprise shot through the omega, and she scented the air. Alpha. She growled, drawing on the Source to defend herself. It came easily, and Alex filled herself with more and more. Then, suddenly it was gone, and she cried out the wind was knocked out of her lungs. She fell back against the couch, trying to recover.

The woman just stared. "I-I-I'm sorry," she stuttered, obviously shocked to see someone else there.

Alex sat back up, eyes smoldering. "What do you want?" she growled, and studied her warily. Tall, dark hair, carrying a purse and a large black bag. Alex let out another nervous growl.

"I, I'm just here to clean the place. I'm the maid." The woman kept staring at Alex. "I - you're an omega."

"Yeah. I am." Alex crossed her arms angrily. "So?" Something rang, and Alex looked over at it sharply. What was that?

The woman walked over to the device sitting on the end table. She looked at something, then picked up the phone. "Hello? Mr. Novak." She listened for several seconds. "Yes sir." She held the phone out. "For you."

Alex frowned, hesitantly taking the device. She held it against her ear as the woman had done, confused and wary.

"Alex." It was Lucifer's voice.

Alex blinked. "Uh . . . hello?"

Amusement tinged the alpha's voice. "Sorry. This is a phone. Didn't I show you?"

Alex shook her head. Then, realizing he couldn't see her, she added, "Nope."

"You channeled."

Alex looked up. "There's a strange alpha in here," she growled. "I need to protect myself. I-"

"That's Winnie. She's my maid." Lucifer's voice remained quiet, and Alex could actually feel his calmness. She immediately blamed it on the mental bond. "She's just going to clean the place. I'm sorry. I forgot she was coming today. Just, leave her alone and let her do her thing. She'll be gone in an hour." There was a scuffling sound from the other end of the line. "I have to go. I was in a meeting before I had to leave when I felt you channel."

Alex blushed in embarrassment. "Sorry," she mumbled.

"It's okay. It was partially my fault. I'll be home around four. We have the benefit tonight, remember? Ah. That reminds me."

There was a click, and Alex hesitated, waiting for him to continue. When he didn't, she frowned. "Lucifer?" When there was no answer, she put the phone down.

"Is everything okay now?" Winnie asked.

"Yeah, yeah. Uh, continue with your stuff." Alex returned her gaze to the tv. The woman disappeared down the hall.

...

The door opened, and Alex looked up from the couch, wary that yet another unexpected visitor would appear. "Oh. You're back."

Lucifer stepped into the room, dropping his briefcase on the ground. "What in the world is on your face?" He grinned. "What did you get into?"

Alex grinned. "Ice cream. I found it in the freezer." She looked down at her sticky hands. "It gets hard to eat when it melts, though."

Lucifer walked over to her. Sure enough, there was a container of melted ice cream on coffee table. Ice cream was covering the omega's face and hands, and as he watched, she she ran the back of her hand over her mouth, trying to clean her face off. "Was it good?"

Alex nodded, licking her fingers. "It's a lot of work to eat."

"Oh." Realization clicked in the alpha. "Alex, where's your spoon?"

"My what?" Alex face creased in confusion. "Oh! I-I'm suppose to eat this with a spoon?" Her shoulder slumped slightly. "That would explain a lot," she admitted quietly.

Lucifer laughed. All of the day's problems were forgotten as he sat down next to his omega. "Of course. Did you eat that entire thing with your hands?"

Alex nodded sheepishly, not looking up into the alpha's face. She was glad Lucifer was back; she had secretly missed him.

Lucifer got up and walked into the kitchen. Alex heard the sound of water running, and then Lucifer returned, now carrying a washcloth. He sat down next to her and took her hands. Alex watched as he wiped them, cleaning off the sticky liquid. Then he turned to her face.

Alex squirmed away as the washcloth slid over her face. "Alex," the alpha admonished, "stay still! You're never going to get clean that way."

Alex pouted, but did as he asked. She still, however, made faces as he continued.

"Alex," Lucifer growled again, this time with a tinge of amusement in his voice, "if you don't stop, I'm going to lick the ice cream off myself."

Alex immediately stilled, but protested, "I can clean my face myself."

"I don't care." Lucifer finished, putting the washcloth on the coffee table. "Now. The benefit's tonight, remember?" Alex nodded, and the alpha continued. "We'll be leaving around six." He stood up, grabbing the washcloth. "I had a dress sent up this morning."

Alex cocked her head, following him into the kitchen. "A dress?" she repeated.

"Yes. For you." Lucifer tossed the washcloth into the sink, then led her into their bedroom. Alex followed, frowning slightly. On the bed lay the black bag Winnie had brought in that morning; as she watched, Lucifer opened it to reveal a simple black dress.

"I'm suppose to wear that?" Alex's frown deepened, eyes flickering between the alpha and the garment. "I-I don't get it. How do I wear that?"

The alpha smiled at his omega's naiveness. "I'll show you later." He looked at the clock on the wall. "Come on. We have an hour and a half before we have to leave. A half hour to get ready leaves a hour for whatever you want to do." He led her back out into the front room. "How was your day?" he inquired casually, sitting back down on the couch.

Alex joined him, sitting so their legs were brushing. "It was good," she shrugged, playing with her hands. "I little boring."

"Boring, huh? Did you want your alpha to come home?"

At that, Alex shifted away angrily, the disappointment from the loss of contact surpassed by the look on the alpha's face. "You're not my alpha," she growled.

She expected Lucifer to snap, or say something, but he didn't. Instead, he shrugged. "Not yet." He settled further down into the couch, turning his attention to the tv. "What are you watching?"

Alex shrugged. "I dunno. I, it's like a . . . it's not real."

"Cartoon?" Lucifer guessed.

"What? No. Real people. But it's not like a . . ." Alex searched for words to describe what she didn't know. "They're acting. It's not something that actually happened." She glanced up at the tv. "It's a murder mystery show."

"Ah. Interesting." Alex felt it as the alpha relaxed, eyes returning to the screen. He reached for the remote, and opened a channel between Alex and khul'Shalkrum.

Alex blinked. She looked sharply over at Lucifer, but his gaze was focused on the tv. She pulled in the Source, filling her. Lucifer didn't react, so Alex drew on it until she was full, then she let some of it out, settling on the couch, comfortable.

...

They sat there for twenty minutes. Lucifer watched his show, and all the while Alex held onto the Source. She wasn't sure why Lucifer was letting her channel, and because of that she was hesitant to do anything with it.

Eventually Lucifer spared her a glance. "Show me that trick," he prompted. "The one where it changes colors."

Alex eagerly conjured up a ball, levitating it in the palm of her hand. It pulsated with a blueish light, and, as Alex focused, it flickered once, twice, then shifted into red.

"Very nice," Lucifer praised. He turned his attention back to the tv.

Alex continued to play with the ball. She turned it back to blue, then red, then blue again. She thought about trying another color. Green hadn't worked. Alex frowned. Of course, she had only tried going from red to green. Perhaps she could go from blue to green.

She turned the ball back to blue. Then she focused. Green. She wanted green.

It sounded like a bomb went off. Lucifer jumped, cursing violently. He looked over at his omega, whose eyes were wide with shock. "What the hell?" he snapped.

"I'm sorry!" Alex's voice sounded on the verge of tears. She was shaking. "I, I don't know."

Lucifer took a deep breath. She was obviously in more distress than he was. "It's okay. What happened?"

"I-I tried to make it go g-green." Alex inhaled shakily. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not mad." Lucifer held out one arm, and she shifted closer to him. "Are you okay? Just shaken?"

"It hurt a little," Alex admitted. "When it . . . exploded."

"It's okay, Se'leana." Lucifer pulled her close. "You're okay." He pressed a light kiss on her head. "Come on. It's time we get ready for the benefit anyways."

...

Se'leana: - omega; thou that art in service to me. A female Elvish name meaning "In service to you."