After hours of walking around the Silver City, Lucifer returned to his father's quarters. He didn't really want to, but he didn't have anywhere else to go. Besides, he was sure the old man would come searching if he didn't go back soon.

When Lucifer got back, his father was waiting on the couch. "Hello, son. Are you doing alright?"

Lucifer didn't answer. He made a beeline for the table, where his father had a bottle of scotch sitting. He immediately poured himself a glass.

"Your brother said you were upset when you left. I just want to know that you're alright," God said.

"Do you expect me to stay here?" Lucifer asked. Michael's words had been in his head for hours. He truly wanted Lucifer to stay, which Lucifer could not understand. His brother had also made it sound like their father wanted the same. He didn't know where to put any of that.

God sighed and motioned to the couch next to him. "Sit down, son. Please."

Reluctantly, Lucifer did as he asked, making sure to keep a large gap of space between his father and himself.

"I don't expect anything, but I would be happy if you stayed, Lucifer. This is your home," God told him.

"Since when?" Lucifer asked bitterly before taking a sip of his drink. "I don't recall this being my home for millennia. Not counting the last century, of course."

God sighed. He deserved his son's comments. He'd more than deserved the anger Lucifer felt for him. He could only hope it wasn't too late to make things right and eventually gain forgiveness. "I know, son. I didn't treat you right."

Lucifer snorted. "That's quite the understatement, isn't it, Father? You sent me to Hell, like a monster."

"I never called you a monster, nor did I ever see you that way. But it is my fault you saw yourself that way. I was angry, and in that anger, I acted rashly. I am sorry, Lucifer," God said.

Lucifer didn't know how to react. It was what he'd always wanted to hear, but what he thought he never would. And hearing it now only made him more confused. It was yet another thing that he couldn't reconcile. Everything was so different than it had been. The person that he'd trusted the most had apparently turned her back on him, and those he was sure hated him were going out of their way to gain his trust. It didn't make sense, yet it did at the same time. He did have his memories from the last century, and they supported the changes he'd seen with his family. However, those memories were confusing all on their own.

God could see the distress displayed on his son's face. He wanted to comfort him, but he knew his wouldn't welcome that right now. "Talk to me, son. What are you thinking about?"

"Why?" Lucifer asked after a few moments.

"Why what?" he asked.

"Why are you sorry now? Why do you suddenly care now? Why does everyone? Because I turned into a child? Because you got the son back that you really wanted?" Lucifer asked bitterly.

"No. I have always cared. I just let my anger get the best of me. I have always loved you, Lucifer," God said.

Lucifer stood up angrily. "You abandoned me! You banished me from my home! Don't say you love me!"

"I do. I don't blame you for not believing me, but I do love you. I am so sorry I allowed things to go too far. Your actions warranted punishment, but not the one you were given," God said. He wouldn't deny that he'd gone way too far, but he also wouldn't say he was wrong to be angry. His son had started a rebellion. That wasn't acceptable, but God should've handled it much better.

Lucifer didn't argue that point. It took him a long time to admit, but he had come to realize he made mistakes. He wasn't wrong to want what he did, but he was wrong to go so far to get it. "I didn't deserve to go to Hell!"

"No, you didn't. I went to far. I hurt you badly. I'm sorry," he said again.

"Yes, and how coincidental it is that you realized that you were sorry and that you wanted me back after I reverted in age. You wanted him. You wanted the boy who would do anything you asked," Lucifer said bitterly. His father didn't love him. He loved the boy he once was.

"No, son. I can't deny that I saw an opportunity when you deaged yourself, but it isn't what you're thinking. I grieved for you, Lucifer. I grieved the fact that you were so beaten down that you felt you couldn't continue as you were. I was very angry as well. Many can tell you that much. There was no mercy given to those who hurt you," God told him.

Lucifer flinched a bit at the mention of the detective and her actions. His father didn't say her name, but he was clearly referring to her.

"As I said though, I did see an opportunity when you changed. It wasn't to change you though. I wouldn't change you for anything. The only thing I wanted to change with you is the pain you went through. It was me I saw a chance to change. I wanted to change how I was your father," God explained.

"What?" Lucifer asked in disbelief. It was unfathomable to him that his father would want to change anything about himself. That meant admitting he wasn't perfect as the world saw him.

"I'm not oblivious to my mistakes, Lucifer. I made mistakes long before you rebelled. I wasn't there enough for you or your siblings. I made my work a bigger priority than my children. I pitted you and your siblings against each other. I didn't mean to, but it was the result of playing favorites. When you returned to childhood, I saw it as an opportunity to do better. I believe I did," God said. He'd done everything he could not to repeat his past mistakes. He was certain he made some new ones, because despite what the world believed, he was not perfect, but he worked hard not to make the same ones.

Lucifer couldn't deny that his father was different the last century. He had to concede that his father wasn't terrible the first time around, not until the rebellion anyway, but he was absent quite a bit. He didn't make enough time for them. The last century, Lucifer remembered it being different. His father spent quite a bit of time with him. He talked to him and played with him. He never allowed himself to get too busy. "Yes, well, one century doesn't make up for you abandoning me for eons."

"No, of course it doesn't. I just wanted you to know that I wasn't trying to change you, and I wanted you to know that I've tried to do better," he said.

Lucifer scoffed in response. "Come on, Dad. Don't deny you hoped I'd never come back. You would've been content if I'd stayed as I was."

"Yes, to an extent, but, again, it's not what you think. I knew the pain you'd be in should you return as you are now. I didn't want you to suffer anymore. However, that does not mean that I'm not happy to have you back now. I love you, son," he said.

"You must forgive me for having a hard time believing that. You had no desire for reconciliation until I turned back into a child," Lucifer said.

"You're wrong. I can't deny that seeing you as a child helped me realize the depth of how badly I screwed up, but I'd begun to regret my actions before that. I just didn't know how to make it right. I did try though. That's why I sent Chloe Decker to you. That is an error I will always regret. You should've never crossed paths with her," God said. Any good Chloe Decker did his son was outweighed by the damage she'd done.

Lucifer glared at his father. "You used her to manipulate me!"

"No, son. It was not meant to be a manipulative. It was meant to help heal you. I put someone in your path that was immune to you, someone you'd have to work to truly impress. Just so you know, I didn't create your feelings for her, nor hers for you. I know that's what you thought. It's not true," God assured him.

"Oh, I know that now. If you had, she could never have…" He trailed off, unable to finish the thought. It was was almost funny how tormented he'd been over the belief that his father created Chloe's feelings for him. Now, he almost wished he had because that would've meant she couldn't have betrayed him. Well, not unless that was what his father intended, and he knew it wasn't. No matter what else, he no longer believed his father played a part in what happened to him, if only because of the way he'd punished Chloe for what she did, which Lucifer still wasn't sure how he felt about it.

"I'm sorry, son. I'm sorry for everything. I know you won't forgive me tonight, and you may never look at me the way you used to, but I hope in time that we can build a new relationship," God said.

"And if I can't?" Lucifer asked. He was waiting for an ultimatum. He was waiting for some sort of demand that his father be forgiven. It didn't come.

"Then that is my punishment, and I'd deserve it. I still hope you'll give me a chance though. I don't deserve it, but I ask for it anyway. Will you at least stay for a little while? Give me a chance to prove to you I've changed," God asked.

Lucifer shrugged after a few moments. "I've got nowhere else to go."

"You can make a new life for yourself if you choose to, but I do think you can be happy here if you try. I hope to see that happen," God said.

Lucifer only nodded before heading out of the room. He was done for the night. He wanted to rest and think.