Three months into the bet and Lucifer was not as confident as he thought he'd be at this point. While he knew that Jane had grown incredibly fond of him, perhaps to the point of wanting to see him every day, she didn't seem any closer to falling in love with him.

He was going to have to pull out all the stops.

The lunch crowd was nearly gone when he arrived at the shelter. The first person Lucifer encountered was Donnie, who was now a full-time employee of the Shelter and Kitchen. Jane was having him work with some of the counselors and she was very happy with his progress.

"Greetings, Donnie," Lucifer said as he neared the young man. "Are you keeping everything in order for our dear Jane?"

"Yes, sir!" Donnie replied and his face was as bright as the red hair on his head. "at least I'm trying. It's hard to get her to let any responsibilities go."

"I can imagine," Lucifer replied. "Where is she now?"

"She's filming a segment for the YouTube channel in her office."

Lucifer bowed while pressing his palms together and set out towards Jane's office. Donnie yelled after him in a gesture of futility.

"Wait, Lucifer... she didn't want to be disturbed."

As soon as he was out of sight, Lucifer disappeared and manifested as a fly on the wall of her office. Literally.

"...if we look past all the noise of Paul's letters that are directions for those who are already believers, and focus on the words of Christ himself, then we can get a clear picture of what it takes to win souls. His example is to love and forgive and meet the sinners where they live. Why should we expect to do anything less?"

Jane paused and shook her head before looking back into the camera. "Hiding in our churches and judging one another and visitors on their appearance and lifestyle, is not "feeding the sheep" or expanding the Kingdom in any way. We must go where we can do the most good."

Lucifer was struck by the irony of a Catholic nun encouraging people to spend less time in church. Had he been in human form he'd have had a good laugh.

"Now, let me take a few minutes to talk about the Persecuted church and The Faithful church. These churches we not given corrections by Christ. We know we have much to learn from them, and I'd love to see some further discussion in the comments about this. You know that I believe the Faithful church is the Christians who have followed his directions to spread the gospel to all people and all nations regardless of the personal cost. And the Persecuted church are those who endure extreme personal discomfort — whether physical or emotional — and yet remain true to the Great Commission."

Jane paused, and watched the fly that was crawling slowly on the wall opposite her. A bemused smile lifted her lips and then she looked back into the laptop camera. "God, in the form of Jesus Christ, gave us the formula to experience his Kingdom here on Earth. And despite what today's version of the Pharisees, such as Matthew Roman, will tell you... it's not wealth and power. No, it's reaching a place where you feel genuine love for all of His Children and creations. When you reach a point where you value nothing on earth more than you value adding souls to Heaven, then you'll know true peace. Let's talk about it in the comments."

When she finished, she shut the laptop and then said, "I know you're here, Lucifer. Come on out."

He appeared in a chair in front of her desk. "How did you know I was here?"

"There's a place near the crook of my arm that tingles whenever you or Kharma come near." Almost unconsciously, she scratched the spot and Lucifer could see the symbol that Kharma marked her with clearly.

"Interesting subject today."

Jane grinned at the subtle admission that he'd listened in to her recording. "What do you think? Am I right?"

Lucifer sighed and looked around the room while he thought about her question. He'd been fascinated by Jesus Christ, who'd been promised and talked about since Adam and Eve's fall. His Father in a human body had been unthinkable. His Father suffering and dying in a human body was something he couldn't stand.

"Don't you believe that I did everything I could think of to stop him from dying that despicable death?"

"Of course I do."

"No, not like you've read. All that time in the wilderness? I begged him to let me bring my brothers and sister in to make a show of power that would erase any doubt as to his identity. Then I begged him to eat and drink to stop his suffering. I couldn't stand to see him starving!"

Jane watched the agony cross his face. She'd already come to the conclusion that Lucifer truly did love God. But he didn't understand him and that was the problem that was going to destroy him.

"But, Lucifer, do you understand why he needed to go through that?"

"I know why he thought he needed to, yes," he answered while his face scowled and his eyes grew darker. "What I don't understand is why he would go through all that to save these stupid, fucking humans who'd been given chance after chance after chance and STILL refused to love him like..."

He stopped himself and slowed his breathing. When he realized his wings had popped out, he retracted them immediately. Jane just gazed at him, her expression calm.

"Like you?" she asked softly.

He didn't answer, and she hadn't expected him to. Instead, she stood and walked over to the mirror hanging on the back of her office door. As he watched, she removed the bobby-pins that held her habit in place. Slipping it off, her hair came into view and Lucifer saw that, just as he thought, it was strawberry blonde. It was also thick and wavy and when she pulled it free from the bun, it hung down to her shoulder blades.

"There," she said with a small smile, "we can talk like we're just two friends... not Sister Jane and Lucifer the Archangel."

"Why would you do that?"

"Because I want you to look at me like a human woman, not someone who's devoted her life to doing your Father's bidding."

"To what end?" Lucifer felt genuine confusion, and a little concern.

"You're holding back. I believe that your fondness of me is keeping you from being as honest as you can." She reached over and put a hand on his shoulder. Her light and aroma filled his senses and he relaxed.

"What are you expecting from me? I'm not sure what more I can say."

"You don't need to say anything right now, Luci. I think it's time that we go on a field trip."

Lucifer followed Jane out of her office and watched as she told the lead volunteer that she would be gone the remainder of the day and the following day. Once they were outside she turned to him. "I assume you have a car?"

"I do. A few actually," he answered.

His statement was met with laughter. "I bet you do! Well, hopefully you have something comfortable. We have a few hours drive ahead of us."

Lucifer's eyebrow arched. "Is that right? Care to tell me more?"

"I know all about you, and so... I think it's high time you get to know me better."

"What makes you think I don't already know all about you?" He didn't, actually, because he could only see the sins of humans. And while sweet sister Jane occasionally sinned, there wasn't enough to string together a life story.

"Because Kharma told me how those things work. She said she was the only one, aside from God, who could see both good and bad acts."

"Of course she did," Lucifer answered wryly while he sent a text from his smartphone. Within a few minutes a sleek black Cadillac CT6 pulled to the curb and a young man stepped out. He left the door open for Lucifer and walked around to hold the passenger door open for Jane. Then he walked away.

"Friend of yours?" Jane chuckled.

"An employee, actually. A very well paid employee who gets to drive truly remarkable vehicles for a living."

"Must be good to be him."

"Nowhere good as it is to be me, Saint Jane. After all, while the highlight of his day is driving a McLaren 570S from the Shelter to my Apartment, I'm spending several hours on a scenic drive with the most interesting women in history."

Jane stared at the side of Luci's face for several seconds while a wave of goosebumps covered hr skin. And then she punched his arm while breaking out into laughter.

"Ouch! What was that for?"

"Just... for... oh, shut up and just drive. It's a long way to Lake George."