Lucifer was, simply put, out of control. He didn't make sense on a good day, but right now he was sprouting some jealous nonsense about Marcus being from the Bible, and Chloe was finally fed up with him and his issues.
"Stop. Just stop. You're tired and you're not thinking clearly."
"No! No. I'm- It's not because I'm tired. Detective!" His voice was pleading, on the edge of panic, and for a moment her concern for him won out over her annoyance with his antics.
She stepped closer, putting a hand on his arm in an effort to calm him. "You can't go on like this. You need to sleep."
He withdrew from her, running his hands through his hair again. "I can't. I can't sleep. I can't trust myself. Didn't you listen? I don't know what I'll do-"
His voice rose, panicky, and she wondered how she hadn't seen this before, how she'd failed to recognize how close to the breaking point he really was. She'd distanced herself from Lucifer more and more, ever since the thing with Marcus started. She refrained from examining her reasoning any further, instead focussing on calming down her erratic partner.
She put both her hands on his arms, stopping him from frantically running his hands through his hair. He looked like he'd been about to pull some of it out of his skull.
"Please calm down. It's okay."
He shook his head violently. "It's not."
He looked so broken in that moment, so terribly lonely, and hurting, and she drew him into a hug before she even realized what she was doing. So much for keeping her distance. He didn't react at first, standing frozen in place. Then all of a sudden, he drew his arms around her in turn, holding on so tightly that it almost hurt. His hands clutched to the fabric of her jacket and he held on to her as if he were drowning and she was the only thing keeping him afloat.
His head dropped slowly until his forehead came to rest on her shoulder. He sobbed, once, then, with a visible effort, reigned in his emotions, and was silent again. On impulse, without thinking about what she was doing, she started drawing her hand through his hair, and felt him slowly relax against her.
They remained like this for several minutes, until she was suddenly supporting most of his weight. She barely managed to keep her balance, stopping the two of them from tumbling to the floor in a jumbled mess. He'd started to doze off in her arms, and while it would be great for him to finally get some sleep, this was not going to work.
"Lucifer", she said softly, trying to get his attention. He hummed, still mostly asleep.
"Lucifer", she tried again, a little louder this time.
"Hmm?", he said sleepily, turning his head further towards her.
"C'mon, I have an idea." She tried to pull back. He didn't let her go.
She used both her hands to lift up his head from her shoulder carefully, jostling him awake. She held his head, facing him, and up close he looked even worse, eyes bloodshot and unfocussed. He looked at her bleary-eyed, only partially awake.
"C'mon. Let's go. I have an idea." She tried to step away from him again, and this time he was conscious enough to let her go. She took a hold of his hand, and led him out of the room. He walked dazedly behind her, offering no resistance. It seemed that all the fight had left him for the moment and he was now drained completely, tired to the bone.
She led him into one of the holding cells, sitting him down on the stretcher in the corner. He looked at his surroundings in confusion, then at her.
"I'll lock the door. You can't save anybody from in here."
He stared at the bars of the holding cell, shaking his head. "Won't hold me. I'm too strong."
Chloe sighed. "There's a camera over there. If we see you breaking out of here, we'll simply put you back in. Or, you know, wake you up."
"Promise?" He asked tiredly, sounding defeated.
"Promise."
"Okay", he said simply, closing his eyes.
Chloe watched him for a moment, then walked out, returning with a small blanket. Lucifer was already fast asleep, still sitting up, leaning against the cell wall on the stretcher.
She carefully eased him down to a lying position, placing the blanket over him. Then, she kneeled down in front of him, regarding him. There was an errand strand of hair falling out of place. Before she could stop herself, she reached out and softly smoothed it back. The strand immediately popped out of place again, as stubborn as its owner.
All of a sudden, Chloe felt a surge of affection for him, lying there on the stretcher, looking worn out and defeated. She pushed the feeling down forcefully, retreating from the cell. She took one last look at him, then she locked the door, leaving him to finally get some rest.