Azazeal adored Sara and spent more time than was necessary with her. She was an easy child who laughed more than she cried, but then the atmosphere in their little church was very different from when Malachi was a baby. Azazeal seemed a bit reluctant to teach her any little tricks but she had enough natural talent to make it inevitable that she would be just like Malachi. Of course, this may been because Malachi was secretly enjoying teaching her things behind their backs and watching their expressions when she pulled off another amazing trick. Cassie teased Azazeal that he should have no reason to treat Malachi and Sara differently because she wouldn't have suspected that he would be caught in the gender role trap. But maybe it was just because Sara was not intended for a special destiny at birth like Malachi had been.

Cassie was glad to see that Azazeal seemed to realize now that Malachi still needed him too. Though Malachi had often been involved in some of Azazeal's "adventures," ever since the battle in the abyss, he treated his son more like a grown man that he probably should have. Malachi was a lot of things and "knew" a lot of things, but ultimately he was still a boy. They spent much more time talking about non-sense and having a little fun. Of course, this did not meant that Azazeal's scheming days were over.

"You like Ella don't you?"

"Uh, yeah, she's nice."

"Lucifer told you that she is under orders again to kill you?"

"Yup," he responded non-committal.

"I should tell you that we had an ingenious plan B in the event that we could not eliminate her," Azazeal said smoothly.

Malachi looked at him questioningly and Azazeal smiled.

"Both of you have a natural attraction to one another, both part human and part…something else. But you also have the ability to find and give people what they most desire."

"Yeah and?"

"What is it that you think Ella most desires after spending 500 years battling me? Well, except for killing us both, I suppose."

"I don't know."

"Yes, you do. It is the reason why she hangs around and has not tried to kill you yet. She's attracted to you too and this is the most normal life she's known in ages. Don't you think she'd like to relax now?"

Azazeal left him then with his covert suggestion to see what would happen.

"Thelma, stop it!" Cassie said, laughing.

"But I like making faces at the baby."

"So she's a baby and Malachi was an evil creature?"

"Well, I don't know, it's different now."

"I see. Well, don't make her laugh so hard that she doesn't have any energy left to play at the park, huh?"

"Alright," she said frowning.

Ella walked in.

"Going out are we?"

"Yes…would you like to come?" Cassie offered, but Thelma was clearly not in agreement. Ella was amazed at how quickly they had all begun to keep their eyes on her after Lucifer had called her out.

"If you don't mind. I think I like to spend some time with the girls."

"Sure come along with us then." And it was settled.

Azazeal watched the three, well four, of them walk out together and was not amused. In a typically over protective move, although not entirely uncalled for, he sent both Araqiel and Ramiel to watch them. Nothing happened this time but all were on heightened alert now that Ella was getting close to Sara.

As was to be expected Azazeal and Cassie had an argument about Ella.

"You had us followed?"

"She will harm Sara."

"No, she won't and even if she tries I won't let her."

"We need to control her."

"I will talk to her."

"Talk to her?"

"Yes, she deserves a chance to give this up. She's given all she has to protect humanity. She and I have the same goal. You will not harm her."

He paced around the room, clearly not happy with this decision, but he knew it was important to her.

"Fine, talk to her, but her life is forfeit if she…"

"I know," Cassie said and she went over to wrap her arms around him.

It had been a several weeks since Elizabeth and Lucifer had returned from their travels, but Cassie and Azazeal had seen them only once. They were not really concerned but they were curious.

One morning Azazeal awoke early and found Lucifer laying on one of the couches with his eyes open, staring at nothing. He tried to talk to him but he would not respond. He was clearly unkempt and would go from sleeping to crying to staring off at nothing again for no apparent reason. Throughout that day various angels tried to get him to speak, to get him to tell them what was wrong, but he would not acknowledge any of them, except to move out of the way if anyone tried to touch him. Even Malachi and Cassie elicited no response.

Finally, after everyone had left, Cassie went back over to him. She had tried to call Elizabeth but she wasn't answering her phone and the angels they sent to look for her could not find her.

"Lucifer, you have to tell me what happened."

After a few moments he did finally, move his eyes to look at her and said, "She will not touch me."

Confused but not surprised that he was capable of having done something to make her respond this way she asked, "What did you do?"

He closed his eyes and said, "I facilitated a genocide."

She actually found it mildly funny, not the genocide but that this was the type of thing they would fight over, but he was taking this very seriously so she did too.

"Well, didn't you apologize or fix it or something."

"I put a stop to it weeks ago," he said still clearly troubled.

"Well, you can't expect her to just jump in to bed with you."

He turned to her with such a pained and serious look that it shocked her. He sat up and slowly, almost angrily he said. "She will not look at me, she will not acknowledge me, she will not do anything to me."

Cassie finally understood the seriousness of what was going on between them.

"How long has it been?"

"Almost a month," and he started to rock back and forth slightly in disbelief and discomfort.

"And she won't…" Cassie started.

Again, slowly and with pain in his voice and his eyes half closed, "I have begged her…I have pleaded with her…I don't care if all I get to feel for the foreseeable future…is a lash punishing every inch of my body…as long as she is on the other end of it," he said and even though what he said was shocking he said it with a kind of longing as he continued rocked back and forth. "I cannot function without her."

"Would she do that to you?" Cassie asked dumb founded. But he only gave her a curious look that neither confirmed nor denied the possibility and it was impossible for her to tell if he meant it literally or figuratively.

Cassie stared at him for a while and eventually he returned to his laying position again and stared at nothing.

In his head, he was playing back over and over again the last time they spoke.

"How could you do such a thing?"

"It just kind of happened."

"Kind of happened? I told you that I hated it how humans could do that to one another for such stupid reasons as religion, race, whatever, and I told you I hoped to never see you involved in that kind of thing. It happens enough on it's own. And you go and do just that?"

"I'm sorry. I can put a stop to it."

"Great! But what do I do with you now?"

"I'm yours," he said which meant whatever she wanted.

"Are you? How could you be?" But he did not respond now as he was beginning to realize how hurt and angry she was.

"I know what you want," she said smugly and angrily, "Pain…pain and then I forgive you, right? Well, it doesn't work like that."

After a pause, she added, "And you know what makes it worse is that I don't want to be doing this, being angry with you, scolding you. I want you in my bed…but I can't..."

"Please, Elizabeth…"

"Leave!" she spat.

And being too afraid to not do as she asked he had left her.

He had spent the next weeks going between the abyss and her sometimes begging, sometimes angry, and sometimes just follwing her aimlessly with tears in his eyes waiting for her to stop this. He didn't know why he'd done it but it didn't matter anymore. His thoughts were fixed on her and all he could think was, "Not again…I cannot start this again," referring to being torn away from that which he loved so much.

The next morning Cassie had Azazeal take her to Elizabeth's house and this time she was there absently working on a painting in her workroom. At first she seemed perfectly happy but upon turning and seeing Cassie's worried face, she started to cry.

Azazeal left them, but not before Elizabeth asked him not to tell Lucifer that Cassie was with her. Cassie nodded her agreement, so he returned home but did not approach Lucifer.