"Picking up the Pieces" describes how Chloe coped during the year Lucifer was in Hell, and how his siblings worked together to arrange to manage Hell on his behalf, so he was free to return to earth. Lucifer finally made it back just in time for Charlie's first birthday party, at the penthouse. This scene is the end of that story and the beginning of this one.

The party felt like it went on forever, but eventually the guests started to leave, the youngest guests looking ready for bed despite the fact it was only mid-afternoon, and the adults not looking much different. Dan surprised Chloe by taking her to one side and offering to take Trixie back with him. "I know she was supposed to stay here tonight, but I thought you might need time to - you know - talk?"

"Thanks, Dan," she said gratefully, and gave Trixie a big hug before sending them on their way.

Linda spoke to her as well. "Are you okay with this?"

Chloe looked over her shoulder to where Lucifer and Amenadiel were deep in conversation. "I think so," she said, although suddenly she felt far from certain.

"If you need anything, you know where we are," the therapist assured her.

Charlie seemed reluctant to leave his new-found relative, holding out his arms and crying "Lulu! Lulu!" as Amenadiel tried to distract him with one of his new toys.

And then they left too and it was just Chloe and Lucifer.

"I'm sorry," she said, feeling awkward. She glanced around her, seeing all the signs of a children's party, all the changes they had made in the place since they had been living there. Hos different it now was from when Lucifer lived there. What must he think about how she had treated the place? "Our apartment flooded, and we needed somewhere to stay, and then Trixie started to learn the piano and we never got around to leaving, but I'll pack my things…"

He shook his head. "And you never sold the place?" Chloe couldn't tell whether he was annoyed or relieved.

"Of course not. It's yours. And I always knew you'd be back." Her voice faltered. "I hoped you'd be back. Lucifer - I wanted you back so badly. There's just one thing I don't understand - Amenadiel said you were locked in Hell with the demons and no one could get in or out, even you."

Lucifer gave that smile she had missed so much. "The jailer is locked into the prison with the prisoners, but he's the one who has control of the key," he pointed out. "And anyone locking themselves in and not holding the key securely would be rather foolish, don't you think?"

And then her tears started to flow and he stepped forward and took her in his arms.

She finally felt like she was where she belonged, and as she sobbed into his chest and he held her close, the agony and sorrow of the past year faded to memory. She didn't know how - or if - this would work. She couldn't know what was going to happen. But she knew that now, by some miracle, they had a chance to find out.

Cornelius Burnett parked his car on his drive and sat for a minute summoning up the courage to go in and face his wife with the news that the special ingredients she insisted she needed for tonight's meal were nowhere to be found.

"Who wants hemp pasta anyway?" he grumbled to himself. Sarah fancied herself as a fancy cook, while he would be happy with steak and chips. Still, he had to admit the taste was usually worth the effort.

Except when she forgot things and sent him out to fetch them.

He didn't even know what he was looking for, if he was perfectly honest. If she wanted these things she would have to get them herself, he decided, and opened the car door to go and face the music.

As he stepped out of the car, something caught his attention on the house next door. The front door, which was normally firmly shut and guarded by heavy locks and bolts, stood open and unguarded.

He looked around to see if there was any sign of Lucas Melville nearby. Normally he wouldn't bother worrying, but having a prison guard living next door made him a little warier than he might normally be over security. Melville was always incredibly safety conscious, and drummed into the whole neighborhood the necessity of keeping their doors secure.

Burnett hesitated for a long moment, and then stepped cautiously towards the door. "Hey, Melville, you there?" he called.

No answer.

He looked around, as though the answer might lie behind him, but there was no assistance to be seen.

"Hello?" he called again, moving closer.

For a moment he wondered whether to head into his own house and retrieve his gun. But all was still and silent within the house. Maybe they'd driven off somewhere and forgotten to close it, as out of character as that would be? Melville's SUV was missing, although his wife's small city car still stood on the drive. Rebeca was a pretty young thing and always gave him a friendly wave when she saw him, although Melville appeared fiercely protective of her and she wasn't allowed to stand in the streets chatting, so Burnett had never actually spoken to her.

Curiosity got the better of him, and he stepped up to the door. "Hello? Is everything all right?" he called.

Unable to resist the urge to see inside his neighbor's home, he stepped through the door, and almost choked on the stink of blood. He peered into the next room, and saw a foot lying on the ground. As he moved further into the house, more of the scene revealed itself to him: a woman lay on the kitchen floor, her back to the door, curled into a ball.

At least, the clothes indicated it was a woman. The face was battered beyond recognition, and blood lay in a congealing pool on the floor, surrounding the woman and spreading beyond.

He backed out of the house, hand over his mouth as though to hold back a scream, and ran towards his own house, all thought of exotic cooking ingredients completely forgotten in his rush to raise the alarm.

Chloe didn't know how long he held her before her tears eased; she stepped away from Lucifer with an apologetic smile and gratefully accepted the red handkerchief he offered her from his top pocket.

He smiled down at her, that familiar smile that she had missed so much, and yet somehow with undertones she couldn't yet interpret. His eyes held a compelling mix of laughter and pain, and she felt herself begin to float away in those dark pools. "So, detective," he said. "Tell me what you've been up to in my absence. Obviously not using my money to improve your life and have fun, as I'd intended."

Suddenly conscious of the mess around them, Chloe started to stack plates and tidy toys away. "I'm sorry," she said. "I wasn't expecting you back - well, I mean, I was, but I didn't know when, and…"

He caught hold of her hands. "I don't care about this place," he said softly. "I was asking about you."

She struggled to find the words to speak to him. What should she say? She had imagined this moment for so long, and then when he had finally reappeared it was in the middle of a child's birthday party, of all things. And now everyone had gone and she could finally talk to him and she couldn't think of a single thing to say.

"I'll pack my things," she said at last. "I can go back to my apartment. I should have gone weeks ago, really, I've moved some of the stuff back and it's ready to move back into, but I…" She hesitated, and he lifted an eyebrow.

"Trixie loves playing your piano," she finished in a rush. "And it seemed unfair to take her away from it until I had to. But I'm sure she'll be fine. She wants a kitten. I told her we can't have one here. But now we can move back and she'll be sad, but she'll be happy about the kitten-"

"You stayed here because Trixie likes my piano?" he said softly, sounding disappointed. Then he sighed. "You don't have to go."

"But this is your place, Lucifer. I mean, I know you signed it over to me, but I'll sign it back, of course, and…"

He abruptly turned away. "If that's what you want," he said, and his voice sounded cold and uninterested.

"It's not - Lucifer—"

As she struggled to find the words to reach him, her phone rang, and she pulled it out of her pocket with a sense of relief. "It's work," she said, glancing at the screen.

A couple of minutes' listening, and she looked up at Lucifer, who was staring at the phone intently, as though he could make it explode with his eyes. Could he make it explode? She gave a deep sigh and pushed the thought away for now. This was not the time to explore the extent of the devil's powers. "Lucifer, we really need to sit and talk," she said. "But right now I have a murder case."

He raised an eyebrow but did not move.

Did she dare…? "Want to come with?" she offered tentatively. What a stupid idea. He'd just got back from Hell. He probably wanted to - what would you want to do if you got back from Hell? Have a shower? Have a good meal? Was there food in Hell? Did it have running water?

She began to giggle hysterically as a torrent of questions threatened to drown her, and to hide it she turned away, heading for the elevator. "I've got to go," she said, forcing herself to sound at least marginally sane. "But you're welcome to come along for the ride if you want. For old times' sake?"

For a moment, she feared he was not going to reply, but as she pressed the button for the elevator she heard his footsteps behind her, and her imagination conjured up the heat of his body close to hers. Or was it more than her imagination? "I wouldn't miss it for the world," he murmured in her ear as the doors dinged open.

Ella checked the settings on her camera and snapped a photo of the congealed blood pool. The kitchen was spotless, apart from the blood that seemed to cover most surfaces, and could have been used as a showroom.

Around her, Dan and a couple of unis checked the rest of the house, moving methodically around and examining whatever they found for clues to what had happened. Ella watched them for a moment then took a couple of steps away from the body and took more photos from a different angle. Voices disturbed her thought process and she looked up and gave an excited squeal as she saw Chloe and Lucifer arriving on the scene together. It had taken them all by surprise when he had been at the party, and she had watched the two of them closely, trying to work out what was going on. Chloe had seemed almost shy around Lucifer, although she had been moping after him for months, while Lucifer had looked completely overwhelmed and rather quiet.

She wondered where exactly he'd been, to have such an effect on him. It was almost the reaction she would expect from someone returning from a war zone, but Chloe had been strangely reticent any time she'd asked, and she couldn't imagine Lucifer in army uniform waving a gun.

"Hey guys, it's great to be back to normal!" she cried in greeting, shaking off her curiosity. She would worm it out of him at some point, she promised herself. "Lucifer, I didn't get a chance to talk to you before, but I'm so glad you're back. Chloe missed you so much. Well, we all missed you, but Chloe missed you most."

Chloe gave her a smile that seemed lacking in the pleasure she would have expected with Lucifer back. "What have we got, Ella?" she asked quickly.

Ella took the hint, at least for now, and dragged her attention back to the matter in hand.

"The victim is Rebeca Melville, 24 years old. She's been completely battered with a steak tenderizer and stabbed with a large kitchen knife. Looks like she was cooking and got interrupted, and boy did her attacker work out his frustrations." She snapped another couple of pictures of the victim before starting a slow trawl of the kitchen itself, recording the layout and the suspected murder weapons, which lay on the edge of the blood pool.

Dan appeared at the foot of the stairs. "It appears her husband is missing," he said in greeting. "He's a prison guard. First thought is that an ex-inmate with a grudge came after him, killed the wife and has taken him off somewhere to get his revenge."

Ella watched him with a small smile. It was so good to have the team back together. And Lucifer always seemed to light up the scene when he was around. The appropriateness of his name prompted a small giggle, which turned to a frown as she reflected that on this occasion the light he brought with him was definitely dimmer than usual.

On impulse, she went over to him and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. He jumped, startled, and looked down at her. "What prompted that?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Just thought you looked like you needed a hug," she answered, not releasing the pressure. To her surprise, his rigidity lessened just a little and he made a small attempt to return the hug, a definite development from his usual awkward pat on the back. He seemed to accept the affection more readily than usual; she had always found it strange and a little disturbing that the man was so ready with sexual pleasures but shrank away from a little gentle friendship.

"Dan! Where's Trixie?" Chloe looked around as though expecting to see her daughter pop out from behind a chair. Ella released Lucifer and took a step away, noticing that he seemed to lean slightly towards her as she did so. Another change; normally he seemed only too happy to be released.

"I dropped her off at Linda's," Dan answered his ex-wife. "She didn't mind, she loves playing with Charlie."

Ella suppressed a wince; she knew Chloe was often infuriated at Dan's ability to shirk his parental responsibility. But Chloe appeared to be thinking of other things this evening. A small frown appeared on her face, and she glanced in Lucifer's direction, but he was now staring down at the victim, with none of his usual irreverence.

Dan had taken out his notebook. I've spoken to the prison," he said. "They've come up with the name of an ex-prisoner who had a run-in with Melville around a month ago, just before he was released. We've got an address for him."

Chloe took the note he held out to her. "We'll check him out," she said. "Lucifer, you coming?"

Lucifer shook his head, still absorbed in the crime. "This poor woman is killed just because her husband is a prison guard?" he said. "We can't have that, detective. His work should be honored and he should be respected. It's an important job. Why should his wife suffer?"

Ella smiled. She had forgotten how involved Lucifer could get in cases. He looked genuinely upset for the poor victim.

Chloe gave him a sideways look, and touched his arm. "We'll find him, Lucifer, don't worry. And we'll catch our guy. Justice is what it's about, right?"

"Punishment," he answered absently. "Punishment is what it's about, detective."

"And you'd know all about that, wouldn't you?" Ella tried to lighten his mood. "After all, you're the devil, right?"

The expression on his face was suddenly bleak. "You know, Miss Lopez, I'm not entirely sure I am anymore."

Ella watched the two of them leave. "Now what do you suppose he means by that?" she asked Dan.

"I've never understood that guy and I'm not going to start trying now." Dan hesitated for a moment. "I'm glad for Chloe's sake that he's back," he said. "But honestly - we could do without the distraction. She'd just started to settle down without him, to accept he wasn't returning. And now - somehow I have a nasty feeling this past year has been the eye of the storm. And I fear that now it's back stronger than ever."