Now that Inara was safely rescued and any idea of a demonic rebellion was quashed, everyone went back to their normal lives, or the closest thing to it. All of them were embarking on new adventures ripe with the promise of a hopeful tomorrow, whether they knew it or not. Maze couldn't really see any bright happy future for herself, but that may have been embedded in her DNA. She had never been happy or satisfied with anything and until now she had staunchly believed the cause always had to do with something someone else did to her. For the first time her eyes were fully open and the cause of her dissatisfaction in life didn't seem so black and white. One thing she was certain of was that she needed to move on. That had become abundantly clear during her altercation with Lucifer during what should have been Charlie's party, not to mention her missteps at the abandoned church.

Linda and Charlie were sound asleep when she got home and gathered up all her things. Part of her kept hoping that one of them would wake up and stop her, but they didn't. Now she was standing in the back of a line at the bus station waiting her turn to board. When she had purchased her ticket she was asked where she was headed, but her answer was only a shrug. Maze didn't care where she went and when he handed her a ticket to Gibsonton Florida, she eagerly took it.

The demoness had never heard of Gibsonton and hoped that it had an amazing night life overflowing with sex, drugs and alcohol. With visions like this dancing in her mind it was probably best that she was unaware that the small town of only fourteen thousand was home to carnies, side-show performers and other carnival folk who took up residence there during the off season. Even with her imagination going wild, Maze periodically looked over her shoulder and silently prayed that just one of her friends would show up and stop her, but no one ever appeared.

Finally her turn came and she handed the man her ticket then boarded the bus. As it rolled away she wondered if anyone would miss her and if any of them were as unhappy as she was right now. Of course knowing the answer to that would have only made things harder for her. For starters, even as the day wore on Linda and Charlie had failed to notice her room was cleared out due to school, work and soccer practice. When they did finally realize that she was gone there was sadness, but it was also mixed with relief since it meant Dr. Martin once more had control of her house and no longer had to worry about the endless stream of lovers coming through the door at all hours or the copious amounts of alcohol and drugs.

Amenadiel was unaware of Maze's departure mostly because he didn't live with Linda and Charlie and didn't often see Mazikeen anymore. His life had become busy enough working with at risk kids either in the office he had next to Dr. Martin's or at any one of the many workshops, shelters or schools he visited regularly on a weekly loop. It was a project he had started many years ago after befriending a young man named Caleb and learning he had died from street violence.

As for Velius, he and Maze might have been close as kids, but they had long since grown apart and he no longer cared what Maze did so long as she wasn't causing him or anyone close to him trouble. He had gone to Trixie's apartment with some of the best chinese takeout in all of Los Angeles intent on having a quiet sit down over lunch where they could talk and get to know one another. That was not what happened. The cartons of food ended up on the coffee table unopened and getting cold while the two of them were engaged in more intimate pursuits. More than once the neighbors in the flat next door had banged on the walls demanding they keep their noises down. Trixie thoroughly loved the Nephilim's celestial stamina and his quick recovery time so more pleasure could be had.

Lucifer might have hoped that his son would have listened to his wishes regarding Trixie, but ultimately Velius was as independently minded as his father and mother. There was simply no dissuading him. The nephilim reasoned that what the devil didn't know wouldn't hurt him and truer words were never spoken. For instance, it was best that he had not witnessed the sappy sweetness of Michael and Lilith driving down the highway in Lili's Hudson Hornet singing 'I Got You Babe' at the top of their lungs. Nor did he need to see them rekindling things high in the hills at the ruins of Knapps Castle. Lilith was wearing the white sundress the angel had bought her and the two held hands as they talked and got to know each other once again. The devil certainly didn't need to see how they ended the day making love as the sun set.

No Lucifer was better off not knowing any of it and fortunately he didn't have to. Ultimately he had more to keep him busy then he ever bargained for. Indeed, if Lucifer had believed he had endured Hell before, he was sadly mistaken once he was alone at the penthouse with Inara. Before leaving for their drive to Knapp's Castle, Lilith and Michael had dropped off all of the girl's luggage including her doll, Amora which were taken straight away to Maze's old bedroom. What the devil thought would be an easy babysitting weekend immediately turned into chaos the moment the elevator doors closed.

The little miscreant got into everything. One moment she was scaling his bookshelves like a mountain goat, and the next she was at his desk drawing all over any available paper she found with his best fountain pens. At one point she ran full speed onto the balcony with him trying to stop her. Fortunately he managed to catch her before she went over the edge in her excitement. How did people do this? If she wasn't getting into something then she was babbling incessantly about the most unimportant things, such as tv shows he had never heard of, or games he had no interest in. One hour in and he was sure his ears were bleeding.

His only reprieve came when Amenadiel, Linda and Charlie stopped by to meet the newest member of the celestial family. God's first angel took one look at his niece and scooped her up into a bear hug. The child stared at her parent, clearly uncomfortable at being manhandled by an uncle who was still a stranger, but Lucifer could only shrug. Once Amenadiel had put her down and turned and introduced her to Linda and then Charlie, which he was quick to mention was the first Nephilim. At this statement she raised her eyebrow in confusion. Her own brother was far older than her cousin and also half human so wasn't he a Nephilim? Inara started to inquire about this, but stopped when she saw her father, Linda, and even Charlie shaking their heads and gesturing for her to drop the subject. She did, but couldn't help wondering if the pilot light in her uncle's mind had gone completely out or if it had simply been temporarily extinguished. Either way, she wanted to keep some distance between them.

It was during this little get-together that Lucifer and Inara realized that they had no idea what she should call him. Dad and daddy just didn't feel right and the very sound of papa, or worse pawpaw, made him cringe. He mulled over the title of 'father' but somehow it just seemed too formal. They briefly considered just letting her call him by his first name, Lucifer, and she even tried it a couple of times. Unfortunately an eight-year-old calling their parent by their first name just seemed to have an air of impertinence to it, but what other options did they have?

As they listened to Amenadiel rattle on and on about his last trip to the Yankee Candle store and its many fragrant selections the group turned into a circle of glassy-eyed, silent and bored spectators waiting for him to take a breath. It was during a particularly passionate moment during Amenadiel's recounting of how amazing it was that the candle labeled 'sugar cookie' smelled just like a real sugar cookie, that the answer to the name dilemma hit Lucifer. Having long since tuned out his older brother's pointless chatter, the devil's mind had been wandering through memories of better or at least far more interesting times.

One memory in particular surfaced from the last time he had found out he had offspring. At the time Velius had been kidnapped by a doctor who wanted to prove the existence of angels. Neither he nor Lilith had known where to find him, but one evening a strange thing had happened. In an attempt to get help, the nephilim called out to Lucifer in the midst of a prayer. He had called him 'Appā' which meant 'father' in the ancient forgotten language spoken by Lilith and himself whenever they were in a group and wanted to speak privately.

"Appā," he whispered to himself. Yes, he liked that. It was perfect. Immediately he interrupted Amenadiel's endless candle story to tell Inara and she agreed that it fit him.

"I was talking, Lucifer," The first of God's angels pointed out.

"Yes, but not about anything important," Lucifer agreed and immediately turned back to his daughter.

After the five of them enjoyed a nice lunch out together, Lucifer and Inara returned to the penthouse and once more the girl went wild exploring her surroundings. She rummaged through his desk drawers and discovered a pair of black lace panties hiding in the back of the bottom drawer, which she promptly held up and asked about. The devil quickly snatched them away and shoved them back where she found them. His explanation was that they had been left by a friend a long, long time ago.

From there she ran over to the hot tub and started splashing which only made the fallen angel spout a few choice colorful words as he yanked her out. His home simply wasn't designed for a child. Perhaps it wouldn't have been so bad if she could have had some toys to amuse her, but there weren't any here, at least not the kind meant for children. After nearly setting the penthouse on fire by attempting to brighten the flames in his fireplace using her powers, the devil forcefully set her down on the couch in front of the television while he made them some dinner.

Entering his kitchen, he felt back in his comfort zone. Lucifer had gourmet tastes and fortunately he also had five-star chef skills to satisfy it. First he took out some thawed turbot and laid it on a large cutting board and where he could look it over. The round fish had dark grey scales with darker grey spots and judging by the look and weight, the devil was certain this creature was going to taste superb. Taking up his fish scaling knife, he proceeded to remove the outer skin with the precision of a surgeon. With the same attention to detail he removed the head and bones then cut up the meat into perfect sized filets ready for cooking. After that he moved over the stove like the conductor of an orchestra. Oil, butter, shallots and various spices went into the pan along with the two fish filets and white wine. There was no measuring involved, just a dash of this and glug of that. When they were ready he put the pan into the oven allowing them to roast to perfection.

Satisfied with that, Lucifer turned his attention to cutting up leeks, spinach and potatoes and cooking them up with more spices, making croquettes and sauces. Tasting his creation he beamed at the flavor and couldn't help complimenting himself on his cooking abilities. He had briefly considered opening a restaurant instead of a night club, but he didn't think any chef could possibly live up to his exceptionally high standards. Taking the pan from the oven he carefully plated the food so that it was a delicious work of art. No doubt his daughter would be impressed at his culinary abilities.

Proudly he went back upstairs carrying both plates and was gratified to see the child still sitting where he left her. Her eyes were glued to the screen and she never even noticed him as he walked up and sat down next to her. Curious to know what had her attention, he glanced at the television and was appalled by what he saw. Yellow, block-like cartoon characters were running around with hands that were no more than strange U-shaped contraptions. The animation was terrible.

"What the hell is this?" he asked, staring at the telly, dumbfounded.

"It's Lego City Adventures. See, the fire chief and the other firefighters are on their way to put out a tree that's on fire," she explained without ever looking up.

"They don't even look like people."

"Of course not, they're supposed to look like the Lego figures that you buy at the store."

"Riight. Isn't there a wascally Wabbit you could be watching?" The devil commented setting the tray down on the coffee table. "How about we turn it off now and have some supper, hmm?"

"Why?" Inara asked, her eyes still glued to the screen. "Can't we eat and watch TV?"

"I'm not watching this drivel while I eat my supper," Lucifer replied, turning the television off.

"Hey, I was watching that."

"Not anymore." These words slipped effortlessly from his lips and as soon as they did, he was horrified. He was using 'dad' phrases. Uck, that wasn't him! Instantly he rose and went to his bar where he poured himself a drink and quickly drank it down. He had to get the bad taste of parental speech out of his mouth.

As he poured himself another, Inara was looking over the meal awaiting her on the tray. Her dark eyes stared at the piece of white meat that appeared to have been burned on the outside and surrounded by some weeds, brown lumps and some weird white sauce that just looked gross. She tapped the meat with her finger, unimpressed by what she perceived as a spongy texture. There is no way I'm eating this, she thought to herself.

"What is this?" she asked, wrinkling her nose in disgust and pointing to the plates on the tray. Lucifer looked over at what she was referring to.

"Its pan-roasted turbot with fennel croquettes and Pernod velouté," he answered. "Eat up." To his annoyance the child stuck out her tongue and pushed the plate away. Now he felt insulted. The devil would readily admit that he had his shortcomings, but his culinary skills weren't one of them. Not wanting to fall into the well-trod path of most parents, Lucifer decided to try a different approach. "Is something wrong with your dinner?"

"It's gross."

"It's not gross, it's delicious. That's a five-star meal sitting right in front of you and you haven't even tasted it."

"Eech," she responded, twisting up her nose in disgust.

"No, no 'eech', just eat what I made for you."

"No," the child responded, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Eat . . . your . . . food."

"No."

Annoyed at the stubborn defiance of this child, Lucifer's eyes involuntarily flashed red for a second. In response Inara's wings unfurled in a mass of bright blazing feathers. Both stood there for what felt like several minutes in a stalemate and the devil was perplexed. Why was this so hard? If Amenadiel could handle being a parent then surely he could, so why was he failing? How did so many humans do this . . . how did his own parents do this? Finally in frustration, the fallen angel growled letting out some of his irritation then went over to the bar to get another drink. While he hated to admit he was beaten, he was beginning to wonder if it wouldn't be best to take her back to her mother.

Feeling victorious, Inara folded her wings back in and gave a little bounce of joy. Emboldened, she walked over to the grand piano and seated herself on the bench. She had been itching to play it since she first stepped from the elevator and caught sight of it. There wasn't any sheet music that she could see lying about so she decided she would simply play the only piece she had learned by heart. Carefully, her long cherubim fingers began to skillfully play Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.

At the sound of music, Lucifer immediately turned around and set his glass of bourbon on the bar counter. He listened and was impressed by her ability. True, it wasn't a complex song, but the ease with which she moved along the keys made him confident that she could handle something harder. Perhaps there was some common ground between them after-all. As the two exchanged smiles and their fingers danced across the ivory keys, the devil found himself feeling less uneasy in a parental role then he ever had before. Perhaps this was not a situation or relationship he would ever have chosen, but for the moment it didn't seem quite so bad.

Caught up in their moment of bonding, neither heard the elevator open or noticed Chloe stepping into the penthouse carrying brown bags of food in one hand and canvas tote in the other. She smiled at the sight of father and daughter playing the piano together and was glad to see them getting along so well. That had been her main worry the entire time she was driving towards Lux. She had images of the devil being driving to near insanity trying to figure out what to do with a child. She had no idea just how right she was to be worried, or that the two had only just managed to find common ground in the last few minutes.

"McDonalds!" Inara announced, stopping the music as the aroma of greasy burgers and salty crunchy fries greeted her nose. The girl whirled around and saw the detective and more importantly the brown paper sacks marked with grease in one of her hands. Leaping to her feet she ran straight to a laughing Chloe, snatched the bags and took her plunder to the couch. She was so busy spreading out napkins and laying out Big Mac's, Quarter Pounders, as well as chicken nuggets and cartons of fries that she didn't even ask who got what food. She didn't bother to wait for the others to join her before stuffing the paper wrapped D-grade meal covered in mustard and ketchup into her mouth.

"Detective!" Lucifer greeted Chloe in his usual cheerful manner as he approached her. "I'm surprised to see you here . . . even more surprised to see you toting bags of fodder that barely passes for food."

"I wanted to see how you were doing and bring you a few of Trixies old toys to give her something to do."

"Yes, thank you . . . but about the food . . ." he started to say only to be cut off.

"She really seems to love it. All kids love McDonald's," she explained, smiling at the way Inara was shoveling it in.

"Yes, well, I made her a five-star meal that would have left Gordon Ramsey in awe and expending himself in his pants."

"Lucifer, I think you're overreacting, it's just McDonald's."

"Meanwhile she thinks that if she doesn't like what I put in front of her then she can just run to you and get that . . . monstrosity," the devil responded, pointing to his daughter as she bit into a second burger. Seeing the mustard, ketchup and pickles spilled out the back and on to the wrapper, made the fallen angel wrinkle his nose in disgust.

"Okay, Okay, your right. I should have checked with you first," Chloe conceded, but she couldn't hide the smirk on her face at hearing her partner suddenly sound so parental.

"You know, I am the girl's father." he continued. "I have to decide what's best for her and part of that is setting limits and boundaries. Being a good parent means you can't just give her everything she wants or she never learns. . ." suddenly an odd feeling of deja vu went through Lucifer that he couldn't explain. "Why does this all sound so bloody familiar?"

"Probably because I've said the same speech to you at least a hundred times over Trixie,"

"Bloody Hell," The devil groaned before returning to his bar and getting himself another drink. He had to get a grip and somehow put an end to these . . . parentisms.

While the devil self-medicated, Chloe walked over to Inara so they could be formally introduced. The child looked up and thanked the detective through a mouth full of food. Det. Decker looked at the girl and was amazed at how much she looked like Lucifer. She had been accurate in her assessment regarding who the girl looked like. Now that the detective could see them, she was pleased to see she had the devil's dark eyes and her smile possessed an identical air of mischief that seemed ready to pounce at the first opportunity.

"So," the child began looking Chloe over carefully. Are you my dad's friend or has he made you one of his mistresses?" At this question the detective's jaw dropped. This eight-year-old had the frankness of Lilith and had clearly been educated on who her mother was and where she was from and at least some of its inner-workings. Finding out that her father was in-fact the devil had only helped put some of the pieces together.

"Uhhh . . ." the detective had no idea how to answer this question. Not only was she caught off guard and stunned by it, but she honestly had no idea what their relationship was at the moment. She glanced over at Lucifer, but he was busy emptying a glass of bourbon and didn't seem to have heard the girl. "Ummm, we . . . we are partners solving cases together and . . . um . . . we've dated . . . over the last several years."

"Hmmm, mistress then," Inara responded, popping the last of her hamburger in her mouth. "Are you as high ranking as my mother?" There was no way Chloe could answer this question and fortunately she didn't have to try as Lucifer finally noticed what was going on.

"Amaitiyāṉa! [Quiet!]" The devil commanded, his voice taking on a deeper more imposing tone that immediately got the child's attention. "Detective Decker did not come here to be interrogated by a mere nursling, nor is our relationship any concern of yours." Chloe hadn't heard that tone since the battle at the Mayan theater when he went full devil on the demon horde. She expected to see Inara filled with fear, but instead she glared up at the devil, but at least held her tongue. "Go get ready for bed."

"I rarely need sleep," the child hissed back.

"Then lie down on the bed and stare at the ceiling."

Frustrated, the girl gave one hard stamp on the floor with her foot to show her displeasure before going down the steps to Maze's old room, scowling the whole time. Lucifer was pleased to see her finally do as she was told and found himself wondering if all those little parental phrases and attitudes didn't have some merit after-all.

Taking a deep breath and glad for the break from parenting Lucifer sat down at his piano and started to play Frank Sinatra's 'All The Way'. Listening to the music, Chloe found herself wondering who he was playing it for. Was it for her, or Lilith? She really hated not knowing where their relationship was. She grabbed a paper sleeve of fries and started eating them as she walked towards the piano. The greasy, salty sticks of potato were good, but a poor substitute for chocolate ice cream when one is trying to drown a broken heart.

When somebody needs you

It's no good unless he needs you, all the way

Through the good or lean years

And for all the in-between years, come what may

All the way, Chloe thought to herself. For a moment she furrowed her brow in frustration, only to stop herself and put on a more cordial demeanor. She didn't want Lucifer to see how hurt and jealous she was. She watched the devil's face as he played and wondered what he was thinking about. Was he thinking of Lilith? Probably. Finishing her fries she set the cardboard sleeve on top of the piano then sat down next to Lucifer. Unable to take all wondering and uncertainty, she summoned her courage and stilling his hands looked him in the eye.

"Lucifer . . ." she started, but her courage failed and she immediately changed her direction. "Inara is quite a little girl."

"Yes, she . . ."

"Why didn't you try to get Lilith to choose you?" Chloe suddenly blurted out, catching him completely off guard.

"Uh . . ." Lucifer answered unsure of what to say for a moment. "Because . . . because as close as we might be, we're not the same devil and demon that we once were. We've changed . . . we've grown apart." Uncomfortable with the subject, Lucifer got up and poured himself a drink then went out to his balcony and looked out over the city. He had never been good at discussing his feelings and his relationship with Lilith was such a personal one that he had always preferred not to talk about it. After ten years of therapy he had rarely even mentioned it to Linda.

After a moment Chloe went out to the balcony, her head bowed as she thought carefully about what to do. If he wanted Lilith then it would be wrong for her to stand in their way. Both her and Lucifer had shared many good times together with so many wonderful memories that she could wrap herself in when the nights were cold and lonely. It wasn't as though he owed her anything and there was no reason they couldn't still be friends.

"You know, Lucifer, you don't have to stay here . . . if you don't want to. I mean, you're not obligated to look after me." she explained leaning on the railing and looking out at the view before her.

The devil turned his head and looked at the detective appraisingly. She looked beautiful in the starlight. Her long bottle-blond hair shimmered like fine strands of gold that softly fluttered in the breeze. Perhaps she wasn't as young as when they first met, but her countenance defied her age. She still had that soft silky complexion that bore none of the tell-tale marks of time. No wrinkles or blemishes, at least none that he could see and his vision was always perfect. Although she wouldn't look at him, he could still see the night sky dancing as it was reflected in her blue eyes.

"Of course I'm not obligated," he answered rather nonchalantly. At this pronouncement, Chloe felt a bit hurt. He could have at least acted like he cared or that she was at least somewhere in his reasons for letting Lilith run off with Michael. It would have been nice. Granted, the idea of him being with her out of nothing more than obligation was hardly romantic and certainly not what you want to build a relationship on, but it was something.

"Oh." she responded furrowing her brow and trying to hide the disappointment in her voice. "You uh . . . you know what, you seem to have everything under control here so . . . I'm just going to go." The detective only managed two steps towards the door and was stopped by Lucifer's voice.

"I chose you detective." At these words, Chloe didn't move or even turn around. She stood there afraid that this moment of joy would be followed by another letdown. The fallen angel turned, not surprised that the detective was afraid to look at him.

"I thought you loved Lilith?"

"I do," he answered. "Part of me always will, just as part of her will always love me. We're very much a part of each other. You can't go through everything we've been through and not be, but the sad fact is, we had our time together and now it's over."

"It doesn't have to be," the detective whispered sadly.

"Yes it does." the devil continued "Lili and I talked about a lot of things in the wee hours of the morning and one thing kept coming up."

"Oh?" The detective closed her eyes, squeezing the lids shut as tightly as she could, afraid to hear more.

"Neither of us are the same people that we once were. Neither of us want the things that we once did." Lucifer knew that to explain this he would have to break his unspoken and long standing rule about discussing his relationship with Lilith, but it needed to be done. Sometimes rules have to be broken in order to move forward. He finished his drink and set the glass on the table next to the patio chair. Chloe turned around, still waiting for the other shoe to drop and her heart to break, but she wanted to see his face and his eyes. When it came to her he couldn't hide his emotions and what she could see often spoke louder than his words. What she saw before her was a man wearing his heart on his sleeve and was just as afraid and uncertain as she was.

"And . . . and what is it that you want?"

"You have to understand. For ages I ruled Hell as the supreme authority and the only other person whose control even came close to mine, was Lilith. From the moment we met our friendship was forged in rebellion, self-loathing and a deep desire to dictate our own lives instead of following Dad's plan. It was all we knew and if we tried to step out of those roles there was always someone to put us back into our place again."

"But you both abandoned Hell," she pointed out.

"Yes we did and when that happened we both found ourselves on an unexpected journey of change. In our own ways we struggled with budding new emotions and the increasingly more complex world of humanity. Now . . . now the King of Hell and Queen of the Lilim don't really exist anymore. As you saw yesterday we can return to those people if need be, but it's no longer who we really are. We've discovered that happiness is being nothing more than a boring shoe."

"A boring shoe?"

"From the monopoly game," he explained.

"Ohhh."

"For the first time she's content with her life and simply wants to lead a quiet life hidden away in Kauai, tending her sugar plantation, lying on the beach while raising Inara. Michael . . . Michael is free to join her there and he seems to make her happy."

"And you?" she studied his face intently as she waited for the answer. In response he sighed heavily. He was still trying to seem nonchalant, but he couldn't hide the tenderness sparkling in the darkness of his eyes. He looked at her as though he was a man stuck out in the cold looking through a window at a warm fire and hoping against hope that he would be invited in. `

"As for me," he began, "I'm completely content here in LA running my club at night and punishing bad guys with you. We're a team. A good team . . . the best team. The boring shoe and the racecar. You see, you're a part of me too and even if we haven't been together for the same amount of time, we've still been through a lot and built a life here together. I don't really want to give up any of that, I like the way you keep me grounded and your unwavering ritual of taco Tuesday. On those occasions when Inara does stay with me I would very much like it if you were here. Obviously I don't know what I'm doing and you've actually raised one of the little creatures." Chloe let out a bubble of laughter that was mixed with relief and joy then wiped away a tear that had been sitting on the edge of her eye unwilling to fall. "You even have my permission to bring back game night . . ." before he could finish Chloe went over and threw her arms around him in happiness. Lucifer enveloped her, grateful to be once more out of the cold. "Just promise me that there will be no face painting."

"I can't promise that," she said looking up at him with a smile that beamed from ear to ear.

"I love you." he smiled back. Chloe opened her mouth to say it back but before she could the devil lowered his head and captured her lips with his. The kiss quickly grew deeper and the heat between them was palpable. There had been far too many cold nights between them and both were eager to rectify that. Lucifer's fingers were just beginning to slide beneath Chloe's pants and panties when fate, or rather, Inara interrupted.

"Yep, definitely one of Appā's [dad's] mistresses," the child sniffed, rather unimpressed.

"I thought I told you to go to bed," the fallen angel glared, not appreciating her running interference with his sex life.

"I can't sleep."

"Try," he insisted. Trying to ease the tension between father and daughter, Chloe decided to step in and smooth things over

"H-how about reading a bedtime story."

"Do I look like someone who would keep children's books around?" the devil pointed out, and Chloe could only shrug unable to deny that he was right.

"Well, surely after all this time and after all the adventures you've been on, surely you know a few good stories that you could tell."

"Well there was that time in Rome when I was approached by Julia Agrippina the younger and asked my advice on how she could seduce her uncle Claudius . . ."

"Lucifer . . " Chloe quickly interjected, but the devil didn't notice right away.

"Normally I would let Lilith handle such things but she was in Hell and I would have had to go all the way back to get her . . ."

"Lucifer!" the detective said again, this time a bit louder and sharper getting his attention. "Child friendly. Make it something child friendly."

"Child friendly . . . right." He took Inara by the hand and was about to lead her to the stairs when his eyes caught sight of Lilith's portrait still sitting on the easel near the book cases. "Perhaps I know a story I could tell you after all."

The pair walked down the stairs to the floor beneath and into the spare bedroom. After Maze had moved out, Lucifer had spared no expense having it renovated. The walls and ceiling were painted a neutral eggshell and like his own room there were pillars and wall decor carefully crafted to look ancient and carved with sumarian writings and images. Along one such wall was the image of ancient people on their knees worshipping their various gods beneath palm trees.

In the center was a king-size acacia wood canopy bed dressed out in white linen. Instead of a solid tester, sheer drapes hung over the top and down the columnars along with real live ivy that curled around the wood. Beneath the bed was a sumptuous oriental rug that showed a myriad of colors, the most prominent being burgundy. A hammock swing hung near one of the large windows and dotted all around were tropical plants that either hung from the ceiling or stood on the floor. The whole room was designed to capture the feel of a garden and indeed the ancient hanging garden of Babylon had been his inspiration.

Inara climbed into the bed, its large size dwarfing her and making her seem even smaller than she was. Lucifer helped her pull the blankets up then sat down next to her. It felt strange to him to be putting a child to bed. Sure he had done it with Trixie once or twice before and had even told her a story once, but this was a child of his own flesh and blood and that was something he still couldn't quite wrap his head around.

Looking into her dark brown eyes that were perfect reflections of his own, he suddenly remembered the tablets that Warren Taylor had given to him and what they said. When Enki lives among the people and his heart awakens, then shall come the great change. For all those who have cast themselves into the pit of fire shall find peace when the child of light and dark bridges the worlds and guides them to paradise. Yes, this child of his was stubborn, infuriating and exhausting, but she was a pleasure too. Those precious moments at the piano playing together were the first moments of what he hoped would be a strong and lasting father/daughter relationship. His 'great love' indeed.

"So what story are you going to tell me?" she asked, breaking the devil from his thoughts.

"Right, a story. Let me see. A long time ago when your Grandfather first created this world, I decided I was going to explore it," he began.

"Why?"

"Mostly because your Grandfather is a dick and I wanted to prove that his little hobby was nothing more than a waste of time. When I arrived in his precious little garden I immediately set about trying to see what I could destroy, but I had only managed to toss one boulder before realizing that I wasn't as alone as I thought. It seemed that when the big rock had landed it had startled someone or something causing them to cry out. I turned and saw something disappear into the foliage and my natural assumption of course was that it was one of my back-stabbing siblings. I gave chase and discovered that it wasn't an angel at all."

"What was it."

"It was a woman. The very first human woman your Grandfather ever created." From somewhere deep in his memory echoed voices from a time long past reverberated in his mind as though it were only just happening and bringing life to a timeless friendship.

"Who are you?" she asked, her voice shaking. "What are you?"

"Samael. I'm an angel," he answered. He offered his hand to help her up, but at first she wouldn't take it. "What are you called?"

"Lilith."