TRUST IN ME

Chloe's Bedroom – Around 8:30 am

The sun is already up in the sky when Lucifer stirs lightly. He feels a weight on his chest and it takes him a minute to register where it comes from. He turns his head and sees Chloe still sleeping beside him, using him shamelessly as a pillow. He kisses her forehead softy, almost a reflex by now. Chloe wakes up slowly.

"Sorry Darling. Did not mean to wake you." Then he sees her almost dark blue eyes looking back at him. "Or maybe I did. We never got to continue, let alone finish what we started yesterday." He grins.

"Hey!" She replies, faking her indignation. "I'm not the one who fell asleep if I remember correctly."

"I have to admit, it was a first for me." He looks away from her for a second. Then he adds "But as we've proven many times already, you tend to create unprecedented reactions when you're around me. So can you really blame me?". Before Chloe can answer, he tightens his grip on her hips and manoeuvres himself above her. "But I'll be damned if it is said the Devil is the kind of person to give up. How about a do-over from last night?"

"I'm not sure." Chloe answers, trying to keep a straight face. It works for a bit.

"Not sure?"

"Yeah. Don't know if I'm in the mood anymore."

"Not in the mood?" Lucifer repeats "You haven't had me for more than 2 weeks and you're saying you're not in the mood. I don't believe it." Then Chloe breaks into a huge grin. Lucifer looks back at her and chuckles "You little Minx." He kisses her deeply for punishment.

When he pulls away Chloe puts her hand on his face. Her features grow serious. "Joke aside, I did miss you. A lot." Then she grins again. "I'm really glad you came back in one piece. Although the extra appendix was a surprise. It would have been a shame to rid the world of you."

"Indeed, it would have been". Then his wings appear out of thin air, startling Chloe in the process. "Looks like I'm not the only one awake." He says. "Now we can really re-enact yesterday evening before the offspring interrupted us."

Lucifer lowers his head to kiss her. Chloe lifts her head up to meet his lips. Then the door bell goes off. Chloe starts to get up and she shifts around and finds herself on top of him. She tries to stand up but Lucifer holds her down on top of him.

"Just ignore them."

"Lucifer."

"It's probably just some pedlars here to sell you some stuff you don't need, like a vacuum or a carpet."

"At 8:30 in the morning? Really?"

"Why not. After all the early birds catch the worm." He lifts up his hips to get back her attention. "How about we just forget about whoever is at the door and get back to our morning routine."

The bell rings again, this time longer, then comes a knock and a voice.

"Lucifer?"

"Peblars, you said?" She looks at him. "They sound awfully like Linda."

"She'll come back." Lucifer simply answers.

Chloe slaps him on the chest lightly. "Come on Lucifer. She is your friend. And with all this noise, Trixie is going to be up very soon. She needs to go to school."

"Fine." He sighs. "It's like our entourage has some kind of radar to always pick the worse time to visit.

"Dan has Trixie tomorrow and for the weekend as well. Maybe you can take me for a ride before everyone knows you're back from the dead." She tells him, trying to be as serious as possible, then she lets out a laugh. "I'm really spending to much time with him" she thinks.

"You're such a tease Detective. Promising me 3 days of carnal desires. Are you sure you can deliver on this promise?"

"I guess we'll see. The question is will you be able as well?" The smiles she gives him is almost his undoing. It takes all of his resolve to push her off him and stand up gracefully, not before giving her one last kiss full of promises. Then he adds "I love" Then he pauses "this naughty side of you Chloe."

"Well. I guess you're rubbing off on me more than you thought. I have to admit, I also love" A pause "the softer side of you." She slaps him playfully on his butt. "Now off you go then" She says mimicking his accent.

As Lucifer takes a shower to get ready, Chloe makes her way down to the kitchen and says to the door.

"Come in Linda. It's open."

"Hello Chloe." She says, hugging her friend.

"Hi." She hugs the doctor back. "Lucifer is just having a shower. He'll be right down. Help yourself and have some coffee if you want. I have to go wake Trixie up and get her ready for school."

"Thanks."

Chloe's living-room – Still in the morning.

After a few minutes, Lucifer finally appears downstairs. He wears the same jeans he had the day before and a t-shirt he found at the back of Chloe's closet. The shirt is a promotional item from Hot Tub Highschool with a cartoon version of Chloe wearing a very tiny bikini and graduation hat, surrounded by palm trees with a red hot tub in the background.

"Hello Doctor!" Lucifer greets her.

Linda stands up from the couch and puts her mug on the kitchen counter. She makes her way to the Devil.

"Good morning Lucifer." When she sees his shirt and his dirty jeans, she can't help but smile. "That's an interesting choice of clothes. Not the well pressed Devil I'm used to."

"Well thank you." He grins at the thought of Chloe's reaction to him wearing this shirt. "I had to improvise. My literal crash yesterday did not really give me time to get some clothes from my penthouse." Then he looks at her in more details. "How are you doing ever since the incident with..." He can't bring himself to say his Mom's name.

"Not yet cleared for duty, but I'm better. Thanks."

"To what do I owe this surprise visit." He says. "Not that's it's unpleasant, but you don't usually do sessions at home."

"I heard you were back so I decided to drop by to see how you were doing."

"So I take it you had a conversation with Maze."

"I did." She looks into his eyes. "Maze voiced some concerns regarding your health and I wanted to check on you. She is happy you're back you know."

"Yes I am aware. And you can tell Maze once you see her that I have decided to keep my wings until further notice."

"How are you really doing Lucifer?" Linda asks, striving him slowly toward the couch so he can sit down. "Clothes aside, you do look like Hell, if I may say."

"How many times have you woken up in the middle of the desert after 2 weeks of nothing?" He says, a bit harsh. Then he softens "I do, however, appreciate the pun."

"I did not mean to upset you Lucifer."

"It's alright Doctor. After what you went trhough, I can forgive a bad joke." He smiles. "So I take you're not here only to ask how I am."

"Lucifer..."

"Doctor? Why are you really here?"

"I can help you."

"You know how to get rid of my wings. Because the decision of keeping them is easily changed if you have a better plan."

"No. I can help you with the memory loss."

"How." He simply replies.

"I can help you figure things out so you can wrap your mind around what happened to you during your absence. What do you remember exactly. Maze was quite vague regarding what you remembered."

"I don't remember much. That's the problem. I have 2 weeks missing from my memory, and no matter how hard I tried, there's just no way to remember." He replies, clearly frustrated.

"Have you ever heard or tried hypnotherapy?"

"I'm the Devil. I don't get hypnotised. I'm the one drawing out people's forbidden desires, or have you forgotten."

"It's worth a try. What have you got to loose."

"It won't work on me anyway."

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were scared." She says, testing him.

"I certainly am not scared." He rubs his temples. "If I were to agree, how do you suggest we do this? I'm usually the one entering the human mind. I'm not sure I'm comfortable having someone poking around the dark corners of my brain." He finishes.

"I understand your..." She pauses looking for the right word "concerns about this. But I can be the one to do it. I trained in this field as a minor during my studies."

"If you say so." He stands up, makes his way to the bar and pours himself a full glass of rhum, for lack of a better beverage, then goes back to the couch and sits down. He takes a gulp then looks at Linda. "Alright Doctor, work you magic. Just beware of what lingers in the Devil's mind."

The blonde doctor pulls up a chair and sits opposite to Lucifer on the other side of the coffee table, or at least of what's left of it.

Before Linda can even start to explain how she's going to proceed, Chloe and Trixie come into the room. As soon as Trixie sees the Devil, she rushes to him and jumps on the couch squeeling a signature "Luciiiiiiifer" on her way. Lucifer braces himself for the impact with the child. Trixie crashes onto him and brings him down with her. She ends up on his chest on the couch, a clueless Lucifer trying to figure out what to do with the little monster on him.

"Umffff! Are you sure you're not a demon child?" Lucifer groans.

"You're still funny, even as the Devil!"

"Whatever. Why don't get off me first."

"Then what?" She says sitting beside him on the couch

"Then nothing." He says, absent-mindedly rearranging his clothes after the bear-hug he received. "Are you always like this in the morning?"

"Like what?"

"Like you're somehow plugged to an inexhaustible battery."

"Eh?" She replies quizzicaly

Lucifer resigns himself and simply says "I take it you slept well."

"Yes. Didn't you?"

"I did. Although the wake-up call was not the one I expected.

Chloe's kitchen

Linda stands up, using her empty cup as an excuse to go back in the kitchen, where Chloe is.

"The coffee was delicious Chloe. Thank you."

"You're welcome." She looks at her, hesitant to ask the next question. Instead she settled for a bit more small talk. "How are you doing? Have you been cleared for work yet?"

"No, not yet. It's for the best, the board hasn't finished reviewing my licence renewal yet, so it's good to take a bit of time off."

"Are they going to renew it?"

"Yes they are. It's just a formality. Apparently, Maze made quiet an impression on them. Although I do not wish to know more. I'm happy they're all still alive and in one piece." She says, half-joking.

"So you're getting back into it by having a session with Lucifer." She smiles. "Thanks for being here."

"And also Dan." She adds. "There aren't a lot of therapists out there ready to help someone whose literally seen the face of the Devil."

Chloe takes the opportunity to ask the question on her mind. "How is he doing by the way?"

"Better. I actually have one session with him this afternoon."

"Ok."

"He might not be ready to meet Lucifer again, but at least he is not in denial anymore. He has almost fully accepted the whole Devil thing. A few more sessions and he should be fine."

"OK. Just tell me if you need any help with him."

"I will."

Their conversation is interrupted by Lucifer and Trixie coming to join them. Chloe is not even shocked anymore at seeing Lucifer having some strong alcohol for breakfast, although she's gonna have to talk to Trixie about this some day. He comes behind Chloe and encircles her. She turns in his arms and gives him a light kiss.

"Do you want coffee with your rhum maybe?" Then she notices the shirt. She takes a step back. "Where the Hell did you find this?"

"At the very back of your closet. I don't understand why you would hide this. I really like it. I might even wear it to work sometimes."

"You wouldn't dare..." Then she turns away from him to talk to her daughter. "I should have burnt it when I had the chance." She says to herself. "Come on Monkey, eat your breakfast before getting dressed."

"But Mommy, you said I could spend the day with Lucifer. I have sooooo many questions to ask. You made a deal with me."

Lucifer's eyes widen in fear when he hears the sentence but the detective's answer appeases him. An hour or 2 with the child will be plenty enough for him.

"I said you could spend some time with Lucifer. However I did not say when, or for how long. And you, young lady, need to get ready for school or we'll both be late."

Lucifer smiles proudly at how Chloe found the loopholes in the deal she made with her daughter.

"Fine." The child agrees, admitting her defeat for now. "Lucifer. Can we play the piano later?"

"Trixie." Chloe warns her.

She hugs Lucifer quickly before running off to her room again, her half-eaten toast still in hand. "Bye Lucifer, see you later."

He takes a sip from his glass again and goes back to the couch. He sits down, almost docile.

"I'm ready when you are Doctor."

"Do your sessions always start like this?" Chloe asks, a bit surprised.

"No." She replies. "This one is special."

"Special?" She answers, worried.

"I'm gonna do a bit of hypnosis on him to see if he can recall the events in the last 2 weeks."

"Oh." She pauses. "It's not dangerous for him, or you. Is it?"

"It's perfectly safe. I mean apart from the disturbing images lingering in there." She gives Chloe a smile.

"OK." She simply replies, not fully convinced the whole hypnotherapy on the Devil is the best idea. "Call me later Lucifer?"

"Of course Chloe." He gives her his best smile. "Shall we then Doctor?"

Linda sits on the chair once again, crossing her legs. "Before we start, you need to know that no matter what happen in your memories, you are in a safe environment and you can wake up anytime. If you feel any discomfort whatsoever, all you need to say is stop and the session will stop immediately."

"OK. What do I need to do?"

"I want to get comfortable. You can lie down or sit, as you wish."

Lucifer lies down on the couch, making himself comfortable.

"Now close your eyes and focus on your breathing."

Lucifer complies without a word of protest, which surprises Linda.

"Good." Her voice softens and drops an octave. "Now take a deep breath and follow my leads to steady your breathing." She pauses before going on. "In." A few seconds "And out." She repeats it several times. "Now I want to count aloud from 100 to 0 and only focus on my voice and the counting. You need to block everything out."

"OK." Then he starts to count down. "100, 99, 98, 97..."

"When you reach 50, you will feel very relaxed and the world outside will be only a fading memory. Your body will feel heavier but also very nice at the same time."

"55, 54, 53, 52, 51, 50..." His voice is slower and he sounds more and more relaxed. His features becoming soft, it's almost surprising to see him so peaceful.

"You're doing very good Lucifer. Remember, if you feel any discomfort, all you need to do is say stop and open your eyes."

"Humm"

"Once you've reached the end of the count down, my voice will be your only guide. All the rest will just be a blur."

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0" Lucifer counts.

"Very good. Now I want to go back to the last thing you remember and describe what you see."

"I'm in front of Chloe's place. We're about to get in. Trixie is beside me and the I'm holding the Detective by the waist." Linda smiles at the picture. "Then Detective Espinoza appears out of nowhere and holds me at gun point, asking Chloe to move away from me." He takes a deep breath. "Then Chloe moves and puts herself between me and Daniel, while she asks Trixie to get inside. She tries to convince the Douche it's safe to be with me and that we can talk about all this inside, that she will explain everything."

"Go on."

"Daniel starts to put the gun in his holster, then Azrael appears and the Douche faints." A smile forms on his face as he envisions the scene again.

"What happened after Daniel Espinoza fainted?"

"Azrael tells me I need to go with her. When I refuse, she simply states I don't have a choice and then something hits me at the back of the head, and everything fades to black."

"So Azrael did not hit you." Linda repeats.

"It would appear so." Lucifer says to himself.

"Then what?"

"I wake up in a cave somewhere. My hands and feet are tied up. I try to break free but I can't. Then I look at the chains. From what I can make of my surroundings, I've been here before. It's the cave where we found the body near Vegas."

"What about the chains?"

"They're very old. I recognize their metal. It's an ancient metal my Dad created. It's known to most of the human as hephaestian metal. It has the ability to drain the power out of any supernatural beings. The Greeks somehow got their hands on them and used it to control some angels back then."

"So you can't break them."

"I try to break free, but the more I try, the more I feel tired. How did they even get their hands on them. I thought they were destroyed after the Greek empire fell." He starts to move on the couch, mirroring his memories.

"Go on Lucifer. What happens next."

He stops moving. "I hear a voice. It comes from the shadow at the back of the cave."

"Do you recognise the voice. Can you make out a face or anything else?"

"I know the voice, but I can't remember where I heard it before. As for the face, the coward never got close enough for me to see him."

"So you knew the voice." Linda says, more to herself while she takes note.

"Yes. It was very peculiar. I would definitely recognise if I heard it again."

"How so?"

"It's a mixture of a welsh and liverpool accent."

"Oh!" Linda replies, genuinely surprised by the revelation. "Keep going."

"I was left for days in this cave with just enough food and water for me to remain between passed out and awake. It's almost as if they wanted me as weak as possible."

"It's awful. Did you feel any pain?"

"I did, but it's not that bad."

"Can you describe it?"

"Since I can't die, it was more of a tangling sensation. The chains were only containing my strength, but I kept my immortality. Whoever they were, they sure knew what they were doing." He says angrily, his face shifting for a brief second in his hypnotic state.

Linda decides to change the course of her questioning, afraid he might lose control if he changes for too long. He is the Devil after all and she has no idea how long he can remain in this state.

"Do you know how long you stayed in the cave?"

"From what Chloe told me and the man's visits, I'd say about 10 days."

"So they moved you after those 10 days?"

"Yes."

"Do you know where?"

"Outside, in the desert." He stops, hesitant to go on.

Linda feels it and decides to push a little. "What happened there?"

"There was pain. A lot of it."

"Can you describe it?"

"It was like I was falling back in Hell and my wings were getting cut off all over again at the same time. Worse pain I've ever felt." His body starts to burn up, sweat and move frantically. He was reliving the memory all over again. He isn't supposes to have physical symptoms of the memory. Linda decides to wake him up. It was enough for one session and it's still unknown territory.

"Lucifer." She says firmly. "Focus on my voice. You're safe and it's only a memory. I'll count up to 3 and you'll wake up feeling as if nothing happened." His face shifts back and forth between his 2 forms before settling for his human form. Linda counts to 3 and snaps her finger. It's enough to pull him out. He opens his eyes, a bit disoriented.

"How are you feeling?" The blonde asks.

"Like I have been run over by a truck, and stomped by the hounds of Hell." He looks at her. "I thought you said this would be just fine and painless."

"It normally is." She says, apologetic. "You should rest here for the rest of the day, until the Detective comes back."

"How long did it last?"

"About 2 hours."

Then the door bell goes off, as if to ring the end of the session. Lucifer starts to sit up. Before he can stand Linda tells him.

"I'll get it. Just rest for a bit."

Linda opens the door and sees 2 people at the door, one of them being a very ill Azrael. The other one is a blond guy wearing a trench-coat.

"You must be the lovely Chloe Decker?"

"Actually, I'm not."

"Bugger! You wouldn't happen to know where Lucifer is at the moment?"

Before Linda can reply, Lucifer stands behind her. "That voice!" He says to himself. His hand is around the man's throat in a blink, and he shifts fully into his Devil's form, his eyes glowing with all the fires of Hell.

"Who are you? What have you done to me?" Then he sees his sister "What have you done to her?" He lifts the man up and as a consequence, Azrael fall to the floor. Linda rushes at her side to help her sit up.

"We gave you back your wings and she got punished for that, amongst other things."

Lucifer's grip tightens at the man's cockyness. "You still haven't told me your name!"

"Come on Luci. Don't you remember me?". He pauses, taking in a laboured breath.

"WHO ARE YOU!". Lucifer almost strangles him by now. His neck nearly breaking.

"I'll give you a clue!" Despite the pain, he still has the smile on his face. "Liverpool!"

Then it hits him and the man goes flying to the other side of the room. He crashes into the wall, near the window.

"Constantine. How dare you show your face in front of me again. I should have known you were behind it all!" He says, walking menacingly, still in his devil from, towards a laughing John Constantine.

So I was watching Xena the other day, and I was like, why not put some Greek reference in the story :). So I did. It's very light, but it explains why he could not escape :D.

I do love Constantine and since the crossover is never gonna happen, I decided to make happen in the story, the plot will thickens later regarding those 2.

I was not sure about the hypnosis part, but it seemed a good solution to have his memory back, although the why remains a mystery to be solved, along with the police case coming up soon.

Again, thanks to all of you for the favorites, comments, follow ups and kudos. They make my day each time. I hope you enjoyed it.