"Oops, darling, I'm so sorry," Lucifer apologized as he bumped into Ellie, who was coming out of the kitchen after putting snack dishes in the washer. "Didn't see you."
"It's okay," Ellie replied. She had a tight hold on him so she wouldn't fall over. "I'm small. It's not your fault."
"Well, regardless, I should have been paying better attention," he told her. He shifted a little and held her close. "Let's start again: Hello there."
Ellie grinned. "Hi."
He leaned down to kiss her and then she quickly pulled away. "Someone could see!"
Lucifer chuckled and pushed some hair out of her eyes. "Look at you, acting like a nervous teenager. It's cute!"
Ellie sighed. "Yes, well, to tell you the truth, I'm still getting used to it. I feel like if someone sees, the bubble's going to burst, and-"
He grabbed her and kissed her soundly as their fingers twisted in each other's hair and her legs wrapped tightly around his waist. "No it won't," he said when it was over. "I hope that proves it to you. Now, if you have somewhere to be, I won't keep you any longer."
Ellie looked at the clock. "Astrid's supposed to call about something but that's not for a while and I just put Milo down for a nap, but...I'm sure I'll find something to do with myself." She turned to go and after a step, Lucifer grabbed her hand.
"What?" She asked, her back still to him. "Want to kiss again?"
"No, I just...I need you to give Isabella a message," he said. "Have her and Tyler meet me in my office for a chat. Will you tell them for me?"
"Of course I will," Ellie nodded. Then the color drained from her cheeks as she imagined what would happen dung a 'chat' between Lucifer and Tyler. "Are you sure it's strictly necessary?"
"Of course it is," he said and gave her a gentle push. "Run along now. Don't dawdle."
Ellie sighed. It must be serious. He wouldn't be so pushy and impolite if it weren't. She went to round up Tyler and Isabella, hoping they wouldn't protest much. "Sorry to interrupt," she said. "I know the last thing you want to deal with is something that could cause you more stress, but your father wants to see you and Tyler, Isabella. Apparently it's nonnegotiable and we have to hurry."
Tyler and Isabella gave each other a long look. "All right," Isabella told her mother at last. "But you have to come with us. Don't just leave us alone."
"Do you honestly think I would?" Ellie said. "I'm suspicious enough as it is. I won't move a muscle."
They made their way to Lucifer's office and Ellie gave a quiet but insistent knock.
"Come on," Lucifer called.
Ellie then shoved a suddenly resistant Tyler and Isabella through the office door, following and shutting the door behind her as Isabella pasted a smile on her face to hide her nervousness and ran into her father's arms.
"Daddy!"
"Here you are, my darling," Lucifer smiled and hugged her tight. "I hope you're not nervous that I asked you in here. There's nothing to be nervous about."
"There's not?" Isabella asked. "Well, why did you call us in here? What's the big rush?"
"Well, I just didn't think you'd want to wait when I am ready to tell you that I have decided to go and get your daughter back."
"You...you will?" Isabella asked, surprised. "You're seriously gonna go back down to Hell, even though you hate it there, to get Leila back? That's...that so sweet, Daddy! Thank you!"
"You're welcome," Lucifer nodded and cleared his throat. "I refuse to risk anyone else's safety. I only hope I'm not too late."
"Are you...are you sure?" Isabella asked. "There's a way?"
"Positive," Lucifer promised and kissed her hair. "I'm not the Devil for nothing, you know."
"Thank you," Isabella said and hugged him once more, tears shining in her eyes. "Thank you so much, Daddy."
"All right," Ellie smiled. "Now that that's over with, let's go, kids. Tyler, you too."
"Oh, you don't have to tell me twice," Tyler said, starting to rise from his chair.
"No, no," Lucifer said. "Eleanor, you take Isabella and go. I need to have a few more words with Tyler."
Tyler sat back down and went white as a sheet, but tried to stay calm. He was a Mikaelson; showing fear was not an option.
"Please, Daddy, don't kill him!" Isabella begged. "He tried his hardest while you were gone. He truly did!" She ran over and sat on his lap, completely blocking him from Lucifer's view. "We're in a kind of-sort of good place right now, and-"
"You are?" Ellie interrupted, her voice full of surprise.
"Yes," Tyler winked after moving his head to peek over Isabella's shoulder. "Definitely kind of, sort of good."
"I don't want to kill him," Lucifer tried to assure everyone. "If I'd wanted him dead, he wouldn't be here right now." He waved a dismissive hand, but Ellie and Isabella didn't move.
"I said go on!" He repeated a little more forcefully, sending his wife and daughter scurrying to the office door.
"Don't worry," Ellie tried to reassure her daughter before they left. "If he does die, we'll find some nice flowers for his funeral."
"Mother, that is not funny!" Isabella pouted as Lucifer rolled his eyes.
Once they were gone, he cleared his throat and locked eyes with Tyler. "Sit," he commanded.
"I think I would prefer to stand," Tyler said. "If I'm going to die, I want to do it on my feet, like a proud man."
"For Dad's sake!" Lucifer yelled, rising to his feet. "I'm not killing anyone. Just sit down!"
Tyler gingerly sat and Lucifer did too, then cleared his throat. "So tell me, Tyler, and be honest: how bad of shape is Hell in right now?"
Tyler was surprised by the question, but told the truth about all that had transpired while Lucifer and Ellie had been gone.
"Malcolm let all the demons escape since neither you nor Ellie were around to stop them and no one else has the same amount of power," he said. "Then he locked everything up so no one could get back in. Then they invaded the club and messed it up real bad. And of course Malcolm took Leila. Don't know where they all precisely are now, but I've been doing my best to mitigate any damage. I know it's not as effective as what you can do, and I'm sorry if it made things worse, but-"
"Stop," Lucifer interrupted. "No time for pity. We have more trouble on our hands: the dead are walking the Earth! Not that we needed more problems, but we have them!"
"Wait, what?" Tyler asked. "I know I didn't do that!"
"Of course you didn't," Lucifer shook his head. "It's because of my sister, Avery. She had good intentions but because of her, Malcolm and many others who were dead are alive now and we have to figure out what to do about it."
"I'm surprised she had time to cause trouble like that, what with her being so in love with Malachai and everything," Tyler said.
Lucifer winced. "Malachai the warlock? Sandy hair, not exactly a spring chicken..."
"Yes, that's him," Tyler confirmed. "Your sister has a big crush on him." He paused. "Or at the very least, they seemed cozy at the club when I saw them."
"Well, that's interesting," Lucifer mused. "Let me tuck that away in case I can use it later." He paused. "Are you all right? Dealing with angry demons is no picnic, even with my powers. So it definitely wasn't a walk in the park for you, I imagine."
"Well, no, but...I always brought Dexter when I had to deal with them. I never did it alone." Tyler shrugged. "That helped."
"Yes," Lucifer nodded. "Very smart. You're a smart young man." He paused. "Well, that's all I need from you. You can go now if you like. And you probably do."
"I certainly won't say 'No'," Tyler agreed. "Are you sure that's all?"
"Yes," Lucifer nodded. "Unless there's something more you need to tell me."
"No, no, no," Tyler shook his head. "I'm good!" He made his way to the door, but before he could open it, Lucifer called his name again. "Yes," he said, turning.
Lucifer cleared his throat. "Thank you, for everything you did. For keeping things together as well as you did. I owe you big. I don't know if it will ever be able to be repaid. My family and I will never forget your bravery. But I shouldn't be surprised: you're a warrior, just like your father."
Tyler chuckled. "Well, some would call my father impulsive and foolish."
"I think the world needs impulsive and foolish on occasion," Lucifer replied. "Otherwise, things wouldn't always get done."
Tyler chuckled. "I guess. Thank you."
"You're welcome," Lucifer nodded as Tyler finally opened the door and left to go reassure Isabella that her father hadn't killed him.
"Ugh," Malcolm groaned. Once again, the clothes he'd laid out for Leila in the hopes that she would actually wear them lay unworn and still folded neatly on her bed. He didn't know how much longer he could take it. She was driving him crazy just striding around naked like that!
He knew that the only possible way to get her to do what he wanted was to tell her the truth about how her nakedness was making him want her more and more each day. But he figured that probably wouldn't work and it would just make her laugh at him. Nope. Not going to happen. So he just shut his eyes tight, sat on her bed with her clothes in his lap and tried to catch his breath.
"What are you doing in my room?" Leila interrupted from the doorway. "Put my clothes down and don't even think about taking any of my underwear into your bedroom."
Taking a deep breath, he looked up and caught her eye. I wasn't thinking of that, but if I did, what would the problem be?" He took the pair of panties in his fist and shook them at her. "It's not like you're getting any use out of them!"
She stuck her tongue out at him as the screams of the damned rose up. "Damn, I wish they would shut up!" She yelled, putting on Def Leppard and turning it up loud, hoping to drown them out. "Pour some sugar on me!" She yelled more than sang. "Pour some sugar on me!" She continued to sing in a tone deaf way until Malcolm got the music off.
"Stop!" He yelled. "Stop singing that song! Don't you like any others? You know, for variety?"
"Why the glum face, sugar pie?" She asked. "Am I getting on your nerves?"
He was full of frustration as he turned to face her. "You're a slut, you know. If you weren't your grandfather's granddaughter, you'd be down here burning with all the rest of them." He scoffed. "Strutting around naked, letting every soul and demon you come across have a look. I know all the filthy thoughts you think, just like I know theirs. They want you, you know. And there's very little stopping them from getting you in a bad situation." He paused, eyes down cast. "Unless you'd like them to rape you."
"Well, I wouldn't, and they won't because they're chained to a wall," Leila shrugged. "I'm not worried one bit. And why are you so repulsed by the human body anyway? Great Grandfather gave us all these marvelous, glorious bodies to keep our souls in. Is it because you're shy? Or...don't tell me..." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Are you small down there?"
He shut his eyes tight and tried to keep his calm. He wouldn't take her bait. He wouldn't.
But she wasn't done yet. He opened his eyes again as he felt her bump up against him. "What now?" He asked.
"Well, I just wondered...what do you think of my tan?" She asked. "I know I'm not as light as I used to be. Does it look good? Do you think I'll be considered fashionable?"
He opened and closed his mouth as she continued to babble on about her tan and her hair and her eye make up and a bunch of other crap he didn't care about until he couldn't take it anymore. "Shut up, would you?" He yelled. "Just shut the hell up! Every word out of your mouth just shows you're as shallow and stupid as your mother!"
"I will when you apologize for taking advantage of and kidnapping a sad and lonely little girl who thought of you as a friend!" Leila hissed, not seeming so stupid anymore. "A girl who was pure and innocent. A girl who was tricked and lied to by the one person who she thought she could trust. Or...do you not remember her anymore? Not feel remorse for how you ruined her life for your own selfish ends!"
"Believe it or not, I have felt remorse for her," Malcolm replied. "I think about it every day. Do you think your father feels remorse for beheading me?"
Leila shrugged, her eyes narrowed. "I hope he didn't. And I hope that when he has a chance to do it again, he won't feel bad then, either!"
Malcolm got right up next to her, his lips against her ear. "There won't be a next time, darling," he whispered. "No one thinks or even cares about you anymore. You've vanished from their minds. You're stuck with me, I guess, for eternity. Wandering around naked in Hell like the slut you are."
Malcolm let out a grunt as Leila gave him a good, hard slap. Then tears began to run down her face and she made no move to wipe them away.
It was then that Malcolm realized that maybe he'd gone too far.
"Leila..."
"No!" She shook her head. "No, don't you talk to me! Don't say a word! Cause you're right! No one cares anymore. I'm never gonna get out of here. Sure, it's fun to, you know, lord my presence over people, but that's not the same as being loved, is it? And if...if I'm never gonna be loved, then, I don't want to live. I have no reason to."
She then turned on her heel and ran toward the door, flinging it open and practically throwing herself out.
"Shit," Malcolm muttered, knowing exactly what she was about to do. He hadn't meant to take things this far. He thought she'd just...you know, refute it all. Tell him he was wrong. He hadn't expected her to take it to heart!
He managed to grab her just in time. "Well, we can't stop meeting like this," he told her as he pulled her up and pinned her body to the ground.
"Let me go!" She cried, yelling and squirming. "You don't care about me! If you have a reason to save me, it's that you don't want Grandpa to throw you into the pit instead! You smug, lying, self-interested bas-"
She broke off as he smashed his lips against hers. "Are you done?" He asked when he finally pulled away.
"No," Leila shook her head. "No, I'm not...and if you don't want to hear anymore, you better do something about it."
He smiled wickedly. "All right." Then he got up.
"Wait, what?" Leila asked, confused. "Well, this is underwhelming..."
He picked her up. "Will you shush?" He asked, then carried her over to the main throne. "Don't tell anyone," he said and stripped.
"What do you think I am, an idiot?" Leila asked as he sat down and pulled her on top of him. "Why did we go over here?"
"Because you don't have a good track record of staying away from the edge of the cliff," Malcolm replied. "And I assume you didn't want to fall into the fire?"
"Well, no, but..." Leila shook her head.
"There you go," Malcolm nodded. "Now, where were we?" Then he grabbed her and kissed her soundly, pushing into her as she nibbled on his neck until they both fell off the chair onto the ground.
"Ow," Leila muttered.
"Are you okay," Malcolm panted.
"Good," Leila nodded. "I'm fine."
He then went back to kissing her, holding her wrists over her head as he bit each nipple gently, one at time.
"Oh," Leila muttered. "Oh, damn..."
Then he backed out of her, his hand sliding up her inner thighs as he slipped his finger inside her. He grinned as her tongue slid over her bottom lip. "Harder," she requested. "Harder."
"What'll you do if I don't?" He whispered.
"I'll punish you," she whispered.
He chuckled. "No one's better at it than me," he told her. "I'd like to see you try."
Soon, he was cuffed to the throne and she stood before him, whip in one hand, candle in the other. "Try not to scream," she said, dripping the hot wax on him. He did his best to stay silent. Truth be told, it didn't hurt, but...just for science, he let out a scream and she whipped him. Then they did it a few more times before he broke free with a grunt, pinned her against the throne and buried himself inside her again, panting as she bit his ear. "You know," he muttered, "you're not so bad, for a beginner, that is."
"Really?" Leila smiled. "I won't forget you said that, and I hope you don't either."
Ellie had put a lot of breakfast on her plate, but didn't eat much because she had a lot to catch up on and there was a full breakfast table. Eventually, she realized that Noah was the only one who hadn't said a word. He was busy looking at emails on his phone and not talking to anyone.
"Noah, are you all right?" She asked. "Would you like...fruit or eggs or something?"
"No...thank you, I'm fine," he said. "I ate a lot last night, so I'm not really hungry."
"Are you...seriously, are you okay?"
He looked around at all the eyes that were now trained on him. "Yes, I'm fine," he said through his teeth. "Thank you, Mom. I'm just very busy with work and things. That's all. I promise I'll eat something." He gave her what he hoped was a big, reassuring smile.
"Okay," Ellie nodded. "Good."
He was saved from having to talk any more by the arrival of his father and youngest brother.
"Hello, children!"
Everyone at the table watched in surprise as Lucifer, with Milo strapped to his chest in a baby carrier, advanced into the dining room, kissing each one of his children's heads, although he didn't see each shocked expression as he did so. He even had a smile for He, who was frozen in confusion next to Lily-Eleanor. "Hello, robot!" He greeted cheerfully and squeezed He's shoulder tight. "Lovely to see you!" Then he looked up just in time to see Isabella and Tyler enter. "Isabella, darling, lovely to see you! So glad you could make it!"
"Why wouldn't we be able to make it?" Tyler muttered. "We live upstairs!"
He came over, hugged Isabella hard, and squeezed Tyler's hand. "Welcome to our table, Tyler. Please have a seat."
"Is your dad okay?" Tyler asked Isabella. "This isn't my first breakfast here, you know."
"Yeah," Valerie said. "Mom, is Dad sick or something? Did he and Grandpa have some sort of fight and this is Grandpa's vengeance, making him all weird and everything?" She looked at Dexter. "Have you ever seen him like this?"
Dexter shrugged. "Maybe we should call the doctor."
"No, no," Ellie said. "He's just happy to see everyone. That's all."
But then he began to coo and make faces at Milo, which is not something he usually did, preferring a more grown up tone, even when his kids were small. Finally, Ellie cleared her throat and he looked up with a smile.
"Sorry," he apologized. "How is everyone? What did you do while we were gone? I know it was somewhat irresponsible for me to run off like that, so I hope no one was put out too much. Have you had time to go out on dates and enjoy yourselves?"
"Yeah," Lauren said. "Vincent and I went to the most wonderful movie!"
"Did you?" Lucifer grinned. "Well, if you had a good time, let me know what you saw because Eleanor and I are dating now!"
Ellie's face turned bright red and she pretended to drop a napkin on the floor to hide it. Many of the others at the table were grabbing their napkins to wipe up the coffee they'd all spit out.
"You'll have to correct me if I'm wrong because I know I might be," He said to Lily-Eleanor. "But...once you've had as many children as your grandparents have had, and once you have a wedding portrait out in the open...are you truly dating?"
"Yes," Lily-Eleanor whispered and patted He's arm. "That's usually how it goes so don't try and ask me to explain what's going on here. I can't."
They then went back to their food and then, when Lucifer's plate was practically empty, he set Milo in Ellie's lap. "If there's anything anyone wants from me today, please tell me now. I have a very important errand to run that will take me...possibly several hours."
"What sort of errand?" Isabella asked. "Anything we can do to help?"
"No, no," Lucifer shook his head, reaching out to move some of her hair from her face. "I'm going to go retrieve your daughter. No need for you to come with me. I think it would be best if I went alone."
"What?" Isabella asked in shock, gripping Tyler's hand tightly. "How will you do that?"
"By going to Hell, of course! What other way is there?"
"But, but you hate it there!" Valerie protested. "Daddy, it's not good for you!"
Lucifer sighed. "I hate it," he said. "And once I left, I vowed I would never go back unless it was truly necessary. Now it is."
Isabella grabbed her father's hand and squeezed it tight. "It's very brave and noble of you, Daddy, but Malcolm sealed the gates! No one can get out or go in!"
Lucifer chuckled, his eyes going red and making Isabella gasp. "Oh, my dear...you have so little faith in me." He finished his plate, winked, and stood up. "Don't forget, I am the Devil, and whatever Malcolm has done, he's no match for me."
"Well, that was something," Malcolm smiled as he let go of Leila after her latest orgasm and they both rolled back onto the hot rocks. "Good job not rolling off the cliff."
Leila laughed. "The fact that you held on to me so tight helped with that," she reminded him. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Malcolm nodded. "How are you feeling?"
"Good," Leila smiled and got to her feet, hands on hips. "It's good to know one thing is clear. "You're not small down there!"
Malcolm chuckled. "You slut!"
"Dick!" Leila returned, a light in her eyes as she bit her bottom lip.
He rose to his feet too, both of them lapsing into silence as they tried to think of what to say next.
Finally, Leila swallowed and gave Malcolm a pleading look. "I'm not...I promise I'm not trying to hurt you, but...let me go back to my family. Please!"
He swallowed and ran his fingers through his hair. He knew the gentlemanly thing to do would be to admit there was nothing keeping her here and she could go whenever she chose, but...that would leave him alone here, with angry, tortured souls and no one else. And ever since he'd tasted her, held her, kissed her, he knew he'd never be able to tolerate anything else again.
"Oh..." he gave a long sigh. "Okay."
"Okay?" Leila raised an eyebrow. "That's it? Okay? Is this some trick? Are you going to wait until I'm right by the door and then drag me back? Is this some new form of torture?"
Malcolm sighed. "Yes," he admitted. "Just not for you. Go ahead and go, if that's what you're going to do. Please don't linger."
Leila was still uncertain. Whether that was because she didn't get his motivations or because she wasn't sure she even wanted to, she didn't know. But she couldn't move. At least not until a bang made her turn around, gasping at the sight of her grandfather, red-eyed and angry, edges of his suit slightly frayed.
"Leila, come. Now." Then he paused, realizing what he must look and sound like, and tried his best to soften his tone. "Come along now, dear. Please. Let's get you out of here!"
Leila gave Malcolm an apologetic look, then rushed toward her grandfather, letting him cover her with his blazer.
"There, that's much better." Lucifer paused. "But where are your clothes? Don't tell me that he-" he gave Malcolm a murderous look.
"No, no," Leila shook her head. "He tried to give me clothes but I wouldn't let him. It was all me."
He gave her a quick look over and said, "You seem all right, but are you? Are you hurt?"
"No," Leila shook her head and did her best to try not to look at Malcolm. "I'm fine, Grandpa. I promise."
Assured of that, Lucifer turned his fiery gaze on Malcolm, who just put his hands up in a gesture of surrender as a wicked grin curved the Devil's lips. "All right, My Lord," the demon got out. "If you want to throw me into the pit, I won't fight you. Go ahead. It's something I deserve."
Lucifer nodded and started to advance on him, then froze. He hadn't missed Leila's apologetic look toward Malcolm as she'd run for him, or the sadness in his eyes now. The two were definitely connected: Malcolm had some sort of feelings for Leila and now Leila was being taken away. What sort of punishment would ending his life be? That would be a mercy.
"Well?" Malcolm pressed. "Come on, My Lord. I'm ready. Push me into the fire."
"No, don't!" Leila murmured. "Grandpa, please. He's not worth killing!"
Lucifer looked back and forth between them and patted Leila's head. "Don't worry, darling. Since you seem to be unharmed, I'm going to show him mercy. He will not be killed."
"He won't?" Leila smiled. "Thank you."
"He will, however," Lucifer continued, eyes on the demon, "stay here and never come back to trouble people on Earth again."
"I...okay," Malcolm nodded. This wasn't what he'd been expecting and he would have preferred the pit, to be honest. But the look on Leila's face...that look of hope. He couldn't abandon her. Not when, as long as he did his best to get through the sentence laid out for him, there could be a chance to see her again, whether it was through the force of Leila's will, or, (less likely) her grandfather's mercy.
"All right, now that we have that settled, we'll be leaving, Leila," Lucifer decided. "I don't want you down here another minute and I doubt your parents do either."
As they marched from Hell, Leila did her best not to look back. She'd meant it when she'd told Malcolm she wanted to go home. But at the same time, she was beginning to wonder if, after her time in Hell, home would ever be the same for her again.
They got home and sneaked her through one of the back doors. "Why did we go that way if I'm going to see Mom and Dad?" Leila asked once the door closed behind them.
"Well, I don't think it would be good for your mother's nerves to see you just stride into the living room without anything but a jacket on," Lucifer told her. "She might get the idea that bad things happened while you were trapped down there."
"Nothing happened that I didn't want to," Leila said. "I promise. Malcolm was a gentleman!" It wasn't entirely true. He'd done many repulsive things, but if she told the truth, he'd be pushed into the pit, and that was not something she wanted.
"Oh, darling, the amount of duress you must have suffered down there," he said and clicked his tongue. "Now you go shower, wash your hair and put on some nice clothes and then you can see your parents before going straight to bed."
"I don't need to go to bed," Leila insisted. "I'm fine, Grandpa." She threw his blazer at him then stomped off to the nearest bathroom with a shower in it. When he was sure she was cleaning herself, Lucifer headed back to the living room to reassure everyone.
"Is...is she okay?" Isabella asked. "She's not hurt, is she?"
"Not physically that I can see," Lucifer shook his head. "But I think Malcolm did something to her mind. She seems to believe he's gentlemanly and innocent."
"And of course there's no possible way she could be telling the truth," Ellie drawled. "It's not like any other couple in this room had to weather accusations like that. Oh, wait. We did!"
"And we weren't perfect either, were we?" Lucifer asked. "You and I both know things happened early in our relationship that would have given both Joshua and your father good reason to skin me alive if they could have." He would have gone into more detail but Valerie and Vincent were in the living room watching so he knew couldn't go any further. "You know Malcolm, Eleanor. You know just as well as I do how ruthless and selfish he can be. How can you want our granddaughter with someone like him? He lied to her! He kidnapped her. He-"
"All right," Ellie got out. "You...you have a point. I suppose...in my rush try and find a way to make this not so nerve-wracking, I guess I just...made assumptions that I shouldn't make yet. We'll get to the truth about what happened in good time, and I'm sure Leila will feel how she wants to feel, but...for now, I'm glad you got her out. We all know how hard it is for you to be in Hell, yet you went for Leila. You're a good man, Lucifer Morningstar."
"Yeah, Daddy," Isabella nodded. "Thank you. Thank you for bringing my baby home!" She gave him a good hard squeeze. "Where's she now?"
"Theoretically, she's showering and putting on clean clothes," Lucifer replied. "I mean, that's what I suggested she do. But you know how children are. They don't always listen."
They lapsed into silence, and then Valerie stood up. "Well, you must be hungry after your time down there. Or at least in need of dessert? Come on, we have some set out."
"What?" Lucifer asked in surprise. "You...you made a dinner?"
"Well, yeah," Ellie nodded. "We wanted something nice to be waiting for you when you got back!"
They all headed to the dining room where all of Lucifer's favorite food was waiting.
"Thank you for all this, everyone," Lucifer told them. "It was a lovely surprise. I think it goes without saying that I needed it."
"Mom? Dad?"
Isabella and Tyler both turned when Leila arrived in the dining room wearing white sandals and a blue sundress.
"Leila?" Isabella cried as she and Tyler both put their forks down and ran toward her.
"I know you probably don't...don't recognize me really, but yeah," Leila smiled as they enveloped her in a hug. "It's me, and I'm glad to be home!"
"Look at that," Ellie smiled and nudged Lucifer. "That's all you. You made that happen." She kissed his cheek. "I love you."
"Yes, well," Lucifer flushed a little. "I love you too. A good deed is it's own reward, I suppose."
"It is, but...I also have some massage oil that I could warm up before bed tonight," Ellie grinned and kissed him. "Are you interested?"
"Yes," Lucifer nodded, grabbing her and kissing her back. "I most certainly am."
"Wow," Roxie remarked to Noah as she saw the line of empty glasses on the bar. Then she snatched the whiskey bottle away before he could pour himself another one. "What's going on, boss? I haven't seen you like this for ages! If it's about the club damage, don't worry. We'll get it fixed up. Vince is already making plans!" She began to pick up the shot glasses so they could be put in the wash as he shook his head. "No, no. It's not that. Read this."
He handed her Cassidy's letter and she read, the contents making her blue eyes wider than usual. "Oh, my god. Cassidy left you?"
"Yeah," Noah sighed. "Apparently she wants to see the world with her sister rather than spend her days being a barmaid and whatever else. I get it. But it's not like we couldn't have traveled around the world if she'd asked. It's not like I'm a total workaholic who can't take time off." He picked up the engagement ring that had been left in the envelope with the note. "At least she was nice enough to give this back."
"Hopefully you and Willie can still be friends," Roxie pointed out. "He'll come by here. I just know it."
Noah scoffed and spoke sarcastically. "Regardless if he does or not, I'm single." He raised his glass. "Yay me!"
"I'm so sorry," Roxie shook her head. "Okay. My mom has three ways of feeling better when you're sad. You've already made friends with one. So would you prefer dessert or a hug?"
"Dessert, please," Noah replied. "I think there's some leftover cheesecake in the mini fridge. It's not a good idea for me to be in close contact with women right now. And don't make it too big a piece. I still have a figure to maintain since it's time for me to go back to my old ways. I hoped it wouldn't be, but...there you go."
Roxie sighed as she set his cheesecake plate down. "I'm so sorry, boss."
"Thank you," Noah told her and took the plate. "Make plans to invite the usual crowd. I've missed them."
"Are you sure that's what you want?" Roxie questioned. "Are you sure that'll help?"
"Of course it will!" Noah nodded and stuffed his face. "When you get thrown off the horse, you just have to get back on. I can't just sit around and mope. If monogamy didn't work, the old ways will have to do!" He scoffed. "So what if my siblings all got their love lives right on the first try? So what if I have to wait? So. Damn. What?"
Roxie sighed. "You probably don't want to hear this, but...you and I have been around each other a long time. I've seen you with the old crowd. I've seen you have night after night of a full dance card. But I know...I know from the look on your face that it never truly made you happy. Not like being with Cassidy did. Maybe you should quit it with the Casanova act and wait for the right one again."
This made Noah burst out laughing and pour himself another drink. "Oh, you're funny," he said. "Thanks for the laugh. I needed it! I'm my father's son. I'm the son of the Devil! Of course I'm not going to 'drop the Casanova act'! Why stop doing something that works?"
Roxie sighed and rolled her eyes, wanting so badly to remind him that his parents were in fact, married, and in love and if it had happened to his dad, it would happen to Noah as well. But since that didn't seem to be getting through his thick head, she sighed. "All right, if that's what you think. Obviously I can't change your mind, at least not now, but...I hope someday someone will. Because I like seeing you happy. It's good for you. If you need me, I'll be getting all these dishes to the kitchen, and then I'm going to the basement to check the stock.
"All right," Noah nodded. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Roxie replied, quickly moving the plate of cheesecake out of the way as his head dropped down on the bar and he just rested like that, eyes closed and trying to catch his breath.