"What on earth is that?" Lucifer asked, looking at the charcoaled crust of what looked like a dish his mother had prepared for him.

"Cheesy noodles. It's what mothers make to bring their children joy", she replied, "I saw it on the flat-screen"

"That explains all the cheese." Lucifer stood up from his couch and went to pour himself a drink.

"Lucifer, I wish, with all my being, that things could go back to the way things were. With you and all my children again in Heaven. I want what your father took from me. I want my home back", at this stage, Lucifer thought that his mother's eyes would start welling up, but that would imply that she actually cared, "but I know that's not possible. So, I want to do what I can to be a good mother to you here, on Earth."

"It's too late. You abandoned me, Mum" Lucifer took a few challenging paces towards his mother, his tone heavy with bitterness, "you just stood by and watched as I was cast out. Thrown into Hell and vilified for all eternity. There aren't enough cheesy noodles in the universe to fix all that, I'm afraid" Those last words were spoken with a tinge of sadness. Unable to face his mother a second longer, Lucifer went onto the balcony of his penthouse, looking up at the starry sky. He sighed inertly when he heard his mother join him.

"I might not be able to convince you that I am truly sorry for everything that happened to you. But maybe, I can show you how sorry I am by helping you be happy again. That's a mother's number one priority: to make sure her children are happy" Lucifer smiled humourlessly.

"And what information could you possibly have that would give me the key to my happiness? Do you have a way to make me forget all those horrible years spent in hell wondering why mum and dad hated me so much that they cast me out like I was trash?" Lucifer's mother looked at him with a small smile on his lips, making Lucifer wish he could wipe it off her face.

"No, nothing that complicated I'm afraid. I know where Grace is…"

Those words had the effect of a punch to the gut for Lucifer. He was uncertain how to react, so he merely stared at his mother blankly. It all felt like a nightmare, and maybe if he pinched himself he would wake up… He was disappointed when pinching amounted to nothing.

"Devil got your tongue, sweetheart?"

"How dare you use her name to manipulate me? How dare you reduce that name to a tool to get what you want?" Lucifer's voice was dangerously low and he knew for a fact that his eyes were flaring, but his mother did not seem fazed by his reaction. Her expression merely changed to one of mock surprise.

"I'm sorry darling, I thought you would be pleased to know that Grace was still alive. From what I've gathered, they told you she was dead…" Lucifer's hand shot up to grab his mother by the throat and his face was merely inches away from hers.

"Do not joke about matters you don't understand. If you are lying to me about that I will send you back to hell here and now, I won't hesitate. And no amount of apologies will change that…"

"I'm not lying", his mother assured, hiding the fact that she struggled to breathe, "I know where she is. I could give you her address, you could see her again… in return, you don't send me back to hell. How does that sound?" Lucifer stared into his mother's eyes intently, hoping to find a trace of lie in them.

"You are telling the truth…"

"Yes, son. I want you to be happy and I want to be close to you. Just take this as a token of my honesty…" Lucifer felt his stomach churn. "So, are you interested?"

Lucifer thought about it, letting his mother go. He thought he was over the whole story, he thought he had managed to find peace with the fact that Grace was in a better place after the horrible things that had happened to her. To find out that Grace was alive… well, it filled Lucifer's heart with hope, something he had not felt in a while. And it felt good. It felt good to know that good old dad's plan had not turned out the way he had intended. Grace was alive, how he was not quite sure, but she was still alive.

"Yes" Lucifer finally said, his voice raw with emotion, "tell me where she is"