Ellie hadn't slept very well the night before. Lucifer hadn't joined her in bed, and though she had figured as much because he was mad at her, every noise made her eyes pop open in the hope that it was him. Finally, she gave up being in bed and paced back and forth in front of it until she was very surprised she hadn't worn a hole in the floor.

Finally, the door opened just a crack and Ellie dived for the bed so it wouldn't seem like she'd been desperate. She'd settled herself very neatly when Lucifer, looking very awake and very dressed, strode into the room.

"Well, good morning!" Ellie smiled and came over to him. "Now that we've had a night to, you know, heal from what happened yesterday, you wanna go downstairs and have breakfast with the kids?"

"No, not really," Lucifer shook his head. "I don't want to tresspass on your time anymore, Eleanor." He took out a fancy looking leather bag as well as some other bags to keep a few suits in, and began packing.

"What are you doing?" Ellie asked. "Did you sign us up for a couple's retreat? What good idea! Let me go pack too!"

"Don't!" Lucifer yelled. "Don't even think about it. You're not coming. You're staying here."

"Well, that defeats the whole concept of 'couple' if you just go by yourself," Ellie said.

"What makes you think we're going on a couple's retreat?"

"Well, I thought you'd want to save our marriage!" Ellie yelled.

Lucifer chuckled. "Since I slept on the couch in my lounge last night rather than with you, do you really think I'm in the mood to do anything about our marriage besides bring this horrible experiment of my father's to its inevitable conclusion? And I apologize for any inconvenience. It won't take me long to pack my things."

Ellie put her hands on her hips. "Just where are you going?"

"That's really not any of your business, is it, my dear?" Lucifer asked. "I would think that all that would matter is that once I'm gone, you'll be free to live as you see fit, and have the life you would have had if Dad hadn't intruded in your life and forced you to be with me without your consent."

Ellie didn't know what to say to that, and the last thing she wanted to do was cry in front of him when he was being like this, but after a little bit, she had to face facts: the tears were coming whether she wanted them to or not. They began rolling down her cheeks as she found the strength to stride toward him. Then she growled and began pummeling his arms and shoulders with her fists. "I know you're mad, but how could you do this to me, to your family? You coward, you monster, you son of a bitch! How could you!"

Unmoved, Lucifer let the pummeling go on a little while longer, then grabbed her wrists and looked her straight in the eye. "That's enough," he hissed and gently pushed her away. "You're done now. We're done now."

As he finished packing, grabbed his things, and headed toward the door, Ellie glared at his departing back. "If you leave right now," she threatened, "if you leave right now...before our son is born, I'll never be with you again! No matter how much you want it, no matter how much you beg!"

"Well, I don't beg at all," Lucifer chuckled. "You have such absurd fantasies, Eleanor. If that's a promise, your wish is about to be fulfilled, my dear."

Then, as Ellie's jaw dropped in shock, he gave her a mocking "Goodbye, now," and shut the bedroom door behind him, leaving her alone.

After Lucifer disappeared, Ellie went and brushed her hair, put on a clean outfit, and strode down to breakfast, head held high.

"Good morning, Mother," Vincent said and gave her a hug. Along with him were Valerie and Dexter, and Noah, Cassidy, and Willie, who'd decided a good meal would make up for partying the night before, as well as other chairs that looked like they'd been sat in by people who weren't there at the moment.

"Good morning, Vincent, everyone," Ellie smiled, but it was a thin smile that didn't reach her eyes. "I hope you slept well and are good and hungry!"

"I am!" Valerie cried and dove into her enormous stack of chocolate chip pancakes.

Ellie smiled and put her napkin in her lap.

Then she noticed Charlotte Junior putting two empty chairs next to hers.

"Who are those for?" She asked. "Stevie usually sits by you but he hasn't been down to breakfast in a while. He and Tara usually eat out because of, well..." she bared her teeth. "Someone who will not be named."

Just then, Stevie and Tara strode in and took their seats.

"What are you doing down here with her?" Noah asked his brother, wide eyed. "Do you want her to die or something?"

"We just need to chat with Dad," Stevie replied.

"Oh, don't worry about what your father's gonna think," Ellie said. "He's leaving."

"What?" Angelica asked, catching her mother's words as she strode into the dining room. "Daddy's not having breakfast with us? That's just silly! Grandpa knows about our family breakfasts, so why would he schedule a meeting so early?"

"He's not going to a meeting with your grandfather," Ellie shook her head. "He's leaving me. Leaving us. And for good!"

At that, everyone's jaws dropped. Half-chewed food fell onto plates and silverware dropped with what seemed like a deafening clatter.

"What do you mean he's leaving us?" Angelica growled. "He can't do that!"

"Who's leaving whom?" Isabella asked, having woken up late and just now getting downstairs.

"Dad's lost his mind and is leaving Mom!" Angelica cried, madly shaking her sister. "Do you understand?"

"Stop it!" Isabella yelled. "Calm down! That can't be true. You probably just misheard and are making a big fuss about nothing."

Ellie sighed and forced a smile. "It's true, and the sooner you face it, the sooner you'll be okay, like I am."

Figuring that the table could use some happy news after his mother's announcement, Stevie tried to change the subject. "In happier news, Tara and I got engaged this morning. Isn't that great?"

But everyone was still hung up on Lucifer leaving and no one heard a word from him.

"This is so dumb!" Angelica stomped her foot. Do you know if our father the jerk has left already, Mom?"

"He might still be packing his things, but I'd run fast if you want to catch him."

"Good," Angelica gave an evil grin. "Cause I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind! By the time I'm done with him, he won't be able to sit on his butt comfortably, much less leave the house!"

She ran off as Ellie yelled, "No, Angelica! There are better ways to-" She sat down. "Shit."

Soon after, they heard a bunch of banging, yelling, and swearing and eventually, Angelica reappeared, dragging Lucifer behind her while holding on to a bit of rope with another section tied around his neck.

"You know, Eleanor," he managed to wheeze, "If I wasn't mad at you, and it was you doing this rather than Angelica, it might be kind of hot." He then turned back to Angelica, his eyes going red. "Stop this at once!" He growled. "Release me!"

"Angelica," Ellie added, "Let your father go. You've had your fun, and this has gone far enough."

"But I thought you didn't want him to leave!" Angelica countered. "We tie him up and stick him down in the dungeon and he never will!"

"Angelica Eve, I mean it," Ellie repeated firmly. "Let him go. Keeping him here won't make things better. He let me go once; now I have to return the favor. It's only right." She wondered why Lucifer had let Angelica take him down so easily. She'd never ask, but assumed it was some combination of not wanting to hurt his daughter physically, and his own guilt about the fact that leaving her would hurt Angelica also.

"Fine," Angelica pouted and flicked her wrist before giving her father a swift kick. "But he's still an asshole!"

As Lucifer, now released, ran from the room panting heavily, Angelica's more self-assured siblings weighed in. "I wouldn't worry," Vincent told her. "I bet he'll be back. He just needs some time."

"Yeah," Valerie added. "Me and Dexter had the same problem once; And Mom came back, so who says Dad won't?"

"Now that that's all sorted out," Stevie said, still trying in vain to get everyone's attention on him and Tara, "is everyone free for a wedding in June?"

But no one answered as the chatter about what Lucifer had decided continued, not stopping until Malcolm strode in and grabbed a muffin out of the plate on the table. Then everything was silence. "Good morning, family!" He greeted cheerfully. "What a nice selection of muffins you have. I love muffins! And how rude of me not to ask how everyone's been."

"How are you here?" Isabella cried. "Last time I saw you, your head was gone! People don't just get up and walk away from that!"

Malcolm put a hand on either side of his head. "You mean this head? It's fine now, thanks for asking! And nice to see you too, Isabella! Looks like you've done well since we went on our date and then your boyfriend, well, you know..." He made a motion like he was pulling his head from his neck.

"Mom, do something!" Isabella cried.

"Nice to see you, Malcolm," Ellie got out. "Nice to have you back."

"Nice to be back!" Malcolm told her and bowed.

"Mom, how can you be taking this so calmly?" Isabella shouted. "The guy was dead and now he's not!"

"Yeah!" Noah added. "Aren't you even a little concerned?"

"Why?" Ellie asked. "Nothing really shocks me anymore. Who knows what powers your aunt Avery's got? She probably brought him back. It's nothing to be worried about."

"That's so interesting!" Malcolm said from beside the coffee machine where he was making himself a cup. "Do you have any cream? And what else has been going on since I left?"

"You're seriously not gonna do a thing?" Isabella asked, feeling very disappointed in her mother.

Ellie sighed. "Isabella, Tyler made the choice to murder Malcolm so if he wants to settle things up, who am I to stop him? It's none of my business." Then she turned to Malcolm. "Nothing big really happened except that my husband decided to leave me. That's pretty much it."

Malcolm put the hand that wasn't holding his coffee cup over his heart. "I'm sorry about that," he said. "Truly. From the bottom of my heart, Ellie. I'm very sorry."

"Thank you," Ellie sighed and bowed her head.

Meanwhile, Stevie looked at Tara. "Since no one seems to give a crap about us, let's elope. What do you say?"

"Yeah!" Tara nodded. "Okay!"

Malcolm finished his coffee and then looked around. "What a lovely family." He eyed Isabella. "It's a shame your daughter's not here though."

"We thought about bringing her down, but she wasn't hungry and just wanted to stay in her room and play with her toys," Valerie informed him.

"Ah, that makes sense," he said, a grin curving his lips. Then he went to stand next to Ellie. "I'm just...I'm shocked that Lucifer would up and leave you like that."

"Oh, I...I know," Ellie sighed. "I suppose some of it's my fault. I've done things, said things..."

"Don't blame yourself for his choices," Malcolm told her. "I think he made a mistake. I think you should try and fix this."

"But...but what about Hell?" Ellie asked. "Who'll watch things if Lucifer is gone and I'm gone?"

"Don't worry," Malcolm told her. "I'll spread the word around. Things will be taken care of. You just focus on getting your husband back."

"Yeah," Ellie sighed. "I guess you're right."

They talked about it for a little while longer and then Malcolm cleared his throat. "Thanks for breakfast, but I gotta go," he said. "Lots of work to catch up on in Hell and all." He paused. "If that's all right with you, Ellie."

"Sure," Ellie nodded. "Go right on ahead."

"Oh, my gosh, are you sick?" Isabella yelled. "You're just gonna let him leave like that?"

"Well, he's one of my best men in Hell and with your dad out of commission, I'd have to handle a lot more myself without him, so...yeah," Ellie nodded. "If he wants his old job back, I have no reason to refuse him and every reason to allow it."

"Thank you, Ellie," Malcolm said and gave everyone in the dining room a deep bow. "Au revoir, everyone!" He then bowed and left, allowing everyone to take a deep breath and return to their breakfasts.

"Damn it, Tyler!" Isabella swore, staring at her phone as if it had betrayed her by sending her to Tyler's voicemail. She'd run all the way upstairs after breakfast to call him and warn him about Malcolm, and now he was not cooperating. "Answer me! Malcolm's back and I think he wants revenge!" She began pacing, and then froze, remembering the look in his eyes as he asked where her daughter was, and how widely he'd smiled when Valerie had said that she was just in her room, playing with toys. She sprinted to the room and found it empty, but neat, a lone doll neatly resting against Leila's pillow.

"Leila?" She yelled. "Are you here? Are you playing hide and seek with Mommy?" But she got no answer. As silence assaulted her ears, she sat down heavily on Leila's bed, grabbed the doll, and cried.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed. "We really fucked up. Leila, I'm so sorry! Daddy loves you and Mommy loves you too, and we'll save you, I promise. Whatever that bad man's done to you, we're gonna make him pay for it!"

Knowing that her mother probably knew more about Malcolm than anyone besides her dad, she wiped her eyes and ran to her parents' bedroom, but if she was expecting a calm shoulder to lean on, she was wrong. Her mother seemed to be just as much of a mess as she was.

"Mom, what's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing," Ellie sniffled, straightened up, and squeezed her daughter's hand. "I just..." she began throwing clothes on the bed. "I just...I have to...I have to go find your father. That's all. I have to tell him how much I love him and how sorry I am for all the bad, hurtful things I said and how selfish I've been. Malcolm was right about that!"

"No!" Isabella yelled. "If Malcolm said it, he was most definitely not right! He's plotting something bad and he's using this horrible situation to get you out of the way so you won't interfere! I mean, sure you have to fix things with Daddy, but...can't it wait?"

"No," Ellie shook her head. "I've said terrible things. He thinks I don't love him and that I never did, when he's the only one I want in my heart and my life!" She sniffled. "I let him think that your grandfather putting us together was a mistake that ruined everything for me, but it wasn't!"

Isabella sighed and hugged her mother. "I know," she said. "But I...I have something else I need to say and I apologize now if it makes you feel worse: Leila has gone missing! I think Malcolm took her when he left."

Elle detached herself from the hug and went to put some clothes in a bag. "No, that can't be true! She's probably just playing hide and go seek with that imaginary friend of hers. I'm sure she'll get tired of it and come out eventually. You're worrying for nothing."

"Malcolm took her," Isabella insisted with a firm shake of the head. "He wanted revenge on Tyler for killing him and he took it by kidnapping poor Leila who never did a bad thing to anyone!"

Ellie sighed and put a hand on either side of her daughter's face, wiping tears off her cheeks. "I'm so sorry this happened," she said. "But I have to find your father. I have to make this right."

Isabella grabbed her mother's wrist. "I need you!" She cried. "Please stay and help me. Then you can go find Daddy and take as long as you need to. I can't do this by myself! I don't know anything about Hell or demons...they have no reason to make things easier for Tyler and me and Malcolm will probably just wreck every plan we have!"

"Listen to me," Ellie said firmly. "You are Isabella Lucy Morningstar. You are strong! You will find a way to get Leila back. Remember, you don't have to be nice about it. You don't have to play by the rules. I bet you're right that Malcolm wants revenge but I doubt he'll hurt Leila. And Tyler is a strong man too. Give him a chance. Trust him. Work with him...and you'll get through this together. Probably come out stronger for it too. Do you hear me? Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Yes, but...I don't understand how it's possible," Isabella sniffed. "I've never done anything important or big or responsible in my entire life. I'm...I'm a spoiled brat with no purpose or knowledge about anything! I can't do this without you and dad! Not if I want it to end well!"

Ellie smiled. "I know it's scary," she said. "Believe me, I've been where you've been. But everyone has a moment in life where they can take it by the horns and say 'Yes' or they can go hide in the corner and be miserable, letting everything pass them by. This is that moment for you. And you're your father's daughter and mine. You'll make it, and it will be extraordinary. So...are you going to say 'Yes' and save your daughter, or are you gonna go cower in a corner because you're too scared of the unknown?"

"I...I think that once Tyler gets his butt here, we're gonna go save our daughter," Isabella nodded and gave her mother a smile through her tears. "I can do it. I don't know how, but I'll think of something."

"Good girl," Ellie smiled. "I'm so proud of you. Good luck!"

"You too!" Isabella said, waving as Ellie gave her one more smile, grabbed her handbag and suitcase, then left her daughter alone to wait for Tyler.

Although Malcolm held Leila close as he strode through Hell, and she had a good grip on her doll, they seemed to be little comfort for her. She'd gotten one look at the fire and heard the screams, burst into tears, and buried her head in Malcolm's shoulder. "I want Daddy!" She yelled. "I want Mommy!"

"Why?" Malcolm asked. "They don't care about you, remember? At least not as much as me." She didn't say another word until they reached his quarters. Then, wiping tears off her chubby cheeks, she spoke again, in a shaky voice, although she was trying to show she wasn't scared. "Where...where's my cake?"

"You'll get it in a minute," Malcolm told her and patted her head. "I have business I have to attend to first. Stay here."

He left her burying herself under the covers and met with a group of demons in the lowest part of Hell. Though many of them were loyal to Ellie through thick and thin, there was a small group that wouldn't listen to anyone but Lucifer and they were ready to rebel.

"So the pretender isn't coming back?" one of them asked.

"No," Malcolm shook his head. "And our king isn't either. So what do you say I let you out? You've been stuck down here long enough."

"Do you think you can do it?" Asked a demon in amazement.

"Yes," Malcolm grinned. "I do."

"How?" The demon questioned.

"Yeah," chimed in the others. "How? Why?"

"Well, Ellie and our King have parted ways. They aren't coming back." Malcolm shrugged. "So why should we stay here? Do you want to?"

"No," The demons shook their heads.

"All right then," Malcolm nodded and produced the key that would unlock Hell and opened the gate with a flourish. "There you go, men; you're free!"

The demons headed out, and then, with a grin on his lips, Malcolm locked the gate behind them.

Full of panic, Tyler had so much momentum that when he got into the mansion, he ran into Noah, who was pacing around in the foyer with his brothers and sisters, waiting impatiently to find out what would be done about Leila.

"Sorry," he apologized as they both got up off the floor. "What the hell's going on?"

"Calm down," Noah told him. "Panicking won't do us any good!"

"How can I be calm?" Tyler asked. "You should have heard the message Isabella left me; she sounded terrified! Blabbering about Malcolm being alive and...I think she said Leila disappeared too! Please tell me she's wrong!"

Noah shrugged. "Sorry, man. We don't know any more than you do."

"Well, can you at least tell me where your sister is, please?"

"In her room," Noah pointed. "I'd go fast. She's not doing so well."

So Tyler sprinted up the stairs and burst through the door, causing a sobbing Isabella to look up, startled.

"Sorry," He apologized, coming to join her on the bed and take her in his arms. "I didn't mean to scare you."

As he pushed her hair out of her eyes and wiped the tears off her face, she sniffled. "Tyler, he took our baby!"

"Who did?" Tyler tensed as he rocked Isabella back and forth. "Tell me who did it so I can kill them!"

"It...it was Malcolm," Isabella sniffled. "Malcolm took her! Probably cause he was mad about being murdered!" Her voice rose with this last sentence, then it quieted. "Not that I'm assigning blame now. Leila is what's most important."

"But like you say, I killed him, so...how is he back?" Tyler asked. "If I'd have known beheading him wasn't permanent, I wouldn't have done it!" He scoffed and shook his head. "And to think you dated him!"

"I don't know how it happened, but...he showed up at breakfast," Isabella replied, ignoring that last remark.. "Eavesdropped on breakfast conversations, stole food like the rat he is...and then, as if breakfast wasn't enough, he took our princess too!" She paused. "She's probably alone and scared and I bet she thinks I hate her. I was so selfish! She's scared and alone and she probably doesn't think she can trust her mommy!"

Tyler held her tight as they rested on Leila's bed. and she clutched Isabella's doll, and tried to stop his own tears as he ran his fingers through Isabella's hair. "I got you," he told her. "I got you, baby. We'll get Leila back, I promise!" He kissed the top of her head and continued to hold her until she stopped shaking.

After what seemed like forever, they heard a loud noise from downstairs and he finally had to let her go.

"What's that?" Isabella asked, wide-eyed. "We should go see! Maybe Malcolm brought Leila back!"

Tyler's eyes narrowed. "I doubt it. Maybe it's more demons come to take you too. I'm going to see for myself. Stay here and don't make a peep until I come back."

"Okay," Isabella nodded and clutched the doll tighter. "Be careful! I don't want you to be hurt!"

"Thanks!" He gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile and blew her a kiss before heading out and shutting the door behind him, then speeding down the stairs, where he found himself face to face with a bunch of unhappy demons. Valerie and the others were trying to contain them but they were outnumbered and it wasn't going very well. Tyler watched for a little bit and then decided he needed to do something. "Enough!" He yelled.

For a few seconds, the demons paused and looked up at him. He thought the battle was won until they all burst out laughing. "You think we'll listen to you?" One of them asked when he could finally speak. "We don't even know who you are! You have no power over us! We want to speak to our king...or, at the very least, the Pretender."

"I'm your king now!" Tyler blurted out.

The demons were underwhelmed by this and continued to laugh until Tyler grabbed one of them by the throat. "I've killed one of your kind already," he hissed. "And although he came back to life, I wouldn't hesitate to do it again!"

Though he made a show of strength, it was still a pathetic display to watch.

"Can't you do something?" Valerie whispered to Angelica. "You know all the rules and laws. What did Dad make up for a case like this?"

"Well, I do know, but...I don't know if I have enough, you know, power, to make it work," Angelica replied. "Just because you know the manual front to back doesn't mean you can apply the knowledge well."

"So what the hell are we gonna do then!" Valerie cried. "Who here is bold enough and bossy enough to think they can order these guys around and get away with it?"

"Put him down!" Yelled a voice when a demon picked up Tyler and began shaking him.

"Make us," said the demon without looking up.

"All right," answered the voice. "If you insist." Tyler was then dropped to the floor as every demon in the room flew up into the air and hit the walls hard and as they sat up and their vision cleared, they saw a woman, dressed in black, gliding slowly down the stairs.

"What..." Asked one of them. "Who...?"

Isabella strode up to the demon who'd been hurting Tyler. "Get on your feet," she ordered. "Now! And that's how you'll always be in my presence. I won't tolerate anything else."

"Y...yeah?" Asked the demon, trying to maintain his old bravado but not so assured anymore. "And who are you that you think you can boss me around like that?"

Isabella's eyes went red, and all her siblings gasped, although she didn't hear it. "I am Isabella Morningstar," she told him. "Daughter of your King. But I'm in charge now. I will be your queen and that man you treated so horribly will be your king." She looked at him, then all the other demons in turn. "Am I clear?"

To everyone's amazement, all the demons kneeled, one right after the other.

"Holy shit," Tyler gasped, eyes on Isabella. "Where have you been hiding all my life?" He strode over to her and kissed her hand. "Should I bow?"

"You don't have to," Isabella told him. "In fact, I would prefer if you, and only you, didn't."

Meanwhile, her siblings were still in a sort of shock, speaking if they could find the words, but mostly still.

"Damn," Valerie whispered to Angelica. "I did not see that coming."

"Neither did I," her sister replied. "But I'm glad it did."

"Well, look who's here?" Steve whispered fondly as Gwen sat down heavily on the sofa next to him. "Is Avery finally asleep?"

"Yes," Gwen whispered back. "And thank you for whispering. It takes forever to get that girl to sleep so we don't want to wake her up when it finally happens!" She lay her head on his shoulder. "I know this might make me seem like a terrible mother, but that child exhausts me."

Steve kissed her hair and gave her a smile but it didn't reach his eyes, something Gwen noticed.

"All right, what's going on now?" She sighed. "You can tell me."

"Oh, no," Steve murmured. "Not now. Not when you're finally relaxing."

"Spit it out," Gwen requested. "I saw your eyes; there's no turning back now."

Steve sighed and pulled her close to him. "There's good news and there's bad news. Which would you rather hear first?"

Gwen sighed heavily. "It doesn't really matter."

"Well, all right," Steve nodded. "It turns out that Malcolm, the demon Tyler murdered, came back to life and now he's gonna release a bunch of demons from Hell so they can overrun the Earth."

Gwen's jaw dropped. "I take it that's not the good news. Did you have anything to do with this?"

"Of course not!" Steve shook his head. "And that's not all. He also kidnapped Tyler and Isabella's daughter, Leila, and is holding her hostage in Hell too. I don't want to think about why."

"You matched them up!" Gwen accused. "Just like Lucifer and Ellie!"

"I didn't!" Steve shook his head, his voice accidentally rising.

"Well if you didn't, then who would?" Gwen asked as Avery began crying.

"Avery!" Steve and Gwen both realized at once. "She must've done it!"

As they went to comfort their daughter, Gwen said, "I think I could use the good news now."

"Well, Samael has left the life I created for him behind for good," Steve said, "Or at least, for now, it's for good. And Eleanor has run after him."

"How is this good news?" Gwen asked as they reached the nursery and she handed Avery to Steve. "How are you not angry?" Her eyes widened.

Steve chuckled. "Believe me, it's very good news! This is just what my son needs to be truly sure that Eleanor loves him because she wants to and not just because I put them together!"

"But now let's think," Gwen said. "If she's gone, and your son is gone...who's watching Hell? Who will take care of the demons and the supernatural world?"

"Isabella has chosen herself and Tyler to take over Hell," Steve assured Gwen. "And though it might seem surprising, I think this is just the sort of opportunity my granddaughter needs to find purpose in her life. She'll do very well, and so will Tyler. As for the supernatural world...I see no dangers ahead."

"You don't?" Gwen sighed with relief. "Good."

"Yes," Steve nodded as Avery fell asleep cuddled against him. "Very good."