Author's note: I've been amazed at the reader's reaction to this story. Thank you so much for all the reviews, comments, kudos and such. You are awesome! To thank you for your support, I worked hard to release this chapter quickly. I once more made myself cry while writing this. Damn! Hoping you'll feel the vibes too. Now place to the story. Enjoy!

Chapter 4

That Eerie Feeling

Chloe went back to work as planned the next week, even though she wasn't sure to be strong enough to do it. She still felt way too fragile to be able to handle any hard cases. Yet, the prospect of busying her mind with work seemed like what she needed at the moment. After all, she'd always partly dealt with her problems by immersing herself into her job in the past, and it had usually been working.

The last days passed with her daughter had done well on her mental state. The distraction of taking care of Trixie and focussing on the child's needs instead of her owns had helped distance herself partly from the pain. At least while her daughter was with her. But as soon as Chloe found herself alone, at night, the pain was coming back with a vengeance. The bottle of whisky was still her only way to dull her tortured mind enough to go to sleep.

So yes, with Beatrice returning to school this morning, going back to work sounded like the only thing to do to not lose herself once more.

When she approached her desk, she saw a very nervous Dan walking to her. They hadn't seen each other since her return and had barely talked over the phone, which had been almost exclusively about their daughter.

She imagined that Dan probably had a hard time dealing with what she'd revealed to him the last time they'd seen each other. Who wouldn't really? She just hoped that he would deal with it better than she had at the time. For him, learning that angels and demons were real, freaking God too, and that the Devil himself had been in his life for the last few years and had even seduced his ex-wife in the process... Well, let's just say that she was preparing herself to face an onslaught of distress along with harsh reprimands for falling for the Devil.

She sat in her chair and stilled herself, waiting for the storm to come. Instead, Dan surprised her like never before.

"Hey Chlo! It's so good to see you." He was wearing a little hesitant smile.

"Oh! Thanks... I... I'm glad to see you too," she answered hesitantly.

He leant closer to her as not to be overheard by their coworkers. "You feeling okay?" He inquired with genuine worry in his voice.

Chloe startled. "Shouldn't I be the one to ask you that?"

He shook his head in denial. "Don't worry about me, Chloe. Deep down, I've always been a believer, so it didn't come like that much of a shock to learn that it was all real. And I had some help to get through it. I have a friend who is an actual angel you know?" He smirked at her playfully, which made her chuckle.

He added softly, "besides, I'm not the one who fell in love with the Devil..."

Chloe's eyes instantly filled up with tears. Contrarily to what she had feared, Daniel's word were nothing close to accusing, but were instead full of concern and understanding.

The strong emotions that arose inside her prevented her from answering anything.

Dan quickly went on. "And I know for a fact that Lucifer loved you in return. It was obvious that he would have done anything for you... I can only imagine what you've been through over the last few months, Chloe. I know Linda and Amenadiel were there for you, but I would have liked to be there too." He chuckled shamefully. "Instead I've been acting like an ass, accusing Lucifer of the worse. Charlotte is in Heaven, while he... He really went back to Hell to protect us, did he?"

She could only nod silently, too wound up with emotions. He nodded too while taking a deep breath.

"But I'm here now, and I won't let you down, Chloe. Okay?"

She could see he was on the verge of tears, as was she.

"Okay!" She answered faintly before bringing him down into a crushing embrace.

"Thank you Dan!" She whispered in his ear. "It means so much to me."

And then she let the tears flow down.

Dan held her through it, muttering soothing words, promising that everything would be okay. She wanted so much to believe him.

When she finally released him, he tried to diffuse the tension with a small change of topic.

"So, about that last case, with the dem..." He stopped himself from finishing the word. "You know!" He looked around to make sure no one was into earshot. "I closed it by blaming all the deaths on Father Kinley, saying that he probably wanted revenge against the church for turning their backs on him. I had to twist the truth a little to make it appear as if he finally killed himself out of remorse. Fortunately, the department didn't look into it too much, probably at the church's request to keep it down. It looked like everybody wanted that case to be closed as soon as possible."

Chloe looked at him in awe and wonder, and not only for closing the case so easily. "You're incredible! You know that?"

He smiled broadly. "Yeah! I know! But it's good to hear it sometimes."

She chuckled merrily. In that instant, she was so glad that she'd told him the whole truth, and so very thankful to have him in her life.

"And the good news is, we don't have a case at the moment." He winked at her encouragingly. "So hopefully, you'll be able to ease yourself back into it smoothly."

This time she genuinely smiled back at him. "That sounds good to me."

Chloe soon ended up in Ella's lab after seeing Dan. She figured that her friend would find her soon enough and want to discuss Lucifer's departure. The detective wasn't looking forward to that conversation, but preferred by far having it somewhere discreet instead of in the middle of the precinct.

After receiving the warmest hug ever, Chloe put a brave smile on her face to ease Ella's evident worries about her state of mind.

To her credit, Ella didn't ask if she were okay.

"Dan told me about Lucifer going back home definitely. It came as a shock. Were you aware he was leaving?"

Chloe lowered her eyes. She was determined not to cry this time. "No... I got no warning before the moment he had to go. It all happened so quickly... But to Lucifer's defense, I don't think he saw it coming either. And you have to know that he would have stayed if there had been any other way."

Ella forced a little smile on her lips. "I'm sure he would have. But damn! I'm gonna miss him!"

"Yeah, me too." Was all Chloe could say.

Ella tried to cheer her up. "Oh! We'll have to go out for a couple mojitos so you can tell me everything about your trip in the Cayman Islands. It must have been awesome!"

"Sure! It was very beautiful."

Chloe had absolutely no idea what she should say about her trip. It wasn't like she had any fun there or that she'd taken any photos for that matter. Feeling like she needed to change the subject, she talked about the most obvious thing worthy of talking.

"So, there really is no case to work on at the moment?"

"Nope! Just finishing up on cases already closed." Then Ella frowned as if uneasy. "Talking about closed cases. There's this case Dan worked on just after you left... It's... I don't like to bring it up to you but... The way Daniel handled it, it just felt wrong. I don't agree with his conclusions at all. But he wouldn't listen. And yet, I have to admit that I can't find any other explanation that would fit with the clues we gathered. Maybe you could look into it? You know, you have a way of seeing patterns where nobody else can."

"Ella..." Chloe warned her gently. "For once, just this time, please don't look into it any further. There was a perfectly logical explanation for Dan to close it that way, even if you can't see it. Please, believe me when I say that it wouldn't be a good idea to dig back into it."

Chloe kept begging her silently with her eyes.

Ella looked stunned by her answer, and seemed to be internally battling with conflicting thoughts.

She finally nodded slowly. "All right! I trust you Chloe."

Chloe let escape a deep breath of relief. "Thanks Ella! I know I'm asking a lot from you."

Ella lightly squeezed her arm and smirked playfully. "Nah! I'm just taking a leap of faith here."

Over the next month, Chloe did her best to invest herself into her work as well as in taking care of Trixie. Dan became her official partner and happened to be incredibly supportive, even when she came in with evident hangovers following particularly rough nights.

She'd thought saying goodbye to Lucifer should have helped her turn the page and go on with her life, but apparently it was not as simple as that. Whatever she tried to tell herself, life was simply not as bright without him in it. She missed him with every fibers of her being, and it didn't seem to be lessening in the least even with the passing of time.

In a way, she even felt worse. The constant doubting of the wisdom of telling him goodbye was making her crazy. Would it help him move on, or on the contrary worsen the situation by making him feel abandoned? While she could probably ask Amenadiel how Lucifer was doing, a part of her was just too afraid to hear the truth. She knew she wouldn't want Lucifer to know how broken she herself felt. Maybe it was better for her not to know either.

Maze had moved back in almost as soon as Chloe came back in town. The demon blamed it on Charlie being too loud and disturbing her lifestyle.

"Did you know babies could cry ALL, NIGHT, LONG?" Maze had said in amazement. "You'd think he is being tortured." The demon had tried to look unfazed, but Chloe could tell how much her friend cared about that baby and that seeing him cry like that was hard on her.

Even if those reasons seemed good ones for Maze to move out from Linda's place, Chloe suspected that her change of heart had more to do with wanting to protect Trixie and herself from whatever dangers could still be lurking in town. Lucifer had suggested as much after all. And now that Amenadiel was living permanently with Linda, there was no need for another warden for little Charlie.

To say the truth, Chloe had been more than happy to take the demon back in, Trixie even more. Now that things were out in the open between them, Chloe had no more difficulty considering Maze as her friend. Maze and she both kept a blind eye to the fact that neither of them needed a roommate anymore now that they had plenty of money to live wherever they wanted.

Having the demon live once more with her allowed them to have some long talks at night. Now that Lucifer was gone forever, the demon seemed to have no reasons left to keep anything from her anymore about his secrets.

As she learned, Daniel had been more right than he could have ever thought when saying the there was nothing Lucifer wouldn't do for her. Lucifer actually died twice for her, made a deal with God to save her, and killed one of his brothers to protect her, among other things. Maze also demystified a lot of strange occurrences that happened throughout her partnership with Lucifer, among them the story of the Goddess of Creation having taken residence in Charlotte's body for a few months. Chloe learned everything there was to learn, or almost. There was still the subject of the real reason for Lucifer's flight to Vegas and marriage with Candy that Maze was still reluctant to broach, for obscure reasons.

She still had a hard time believing everything Lucifer put himself through for the love of her, never even trying to take credit for any of it. And she loved him all the more for that.

The more time went by, the more she wondered how much longer she would be able to hold on before she broke down completely. Every day, something would remind her of him, and of their time together, from the vending machine at the precinct, to every damn coffee shops she crossed. Oftentimes, she would imagine the puns he would make at a crime scene, and what she'd have answered, only to realise painfully that he wasn't really by her side, nor would he ever be again.

It was killing her slowly.

She was glad that Amenadiel wasn't suggesting anymore that she moved into Lucifer's penthouse. She'd never set foot back there since that night, and didn't think she would ever find the strength to do so either. That much of a reminder of him would for sure finish her.

Last week, she'd dissolved into tears only because she'd found an empty bag of Lucifer's favorite Wrench Puffs snack on the ground near her apartment. The world really seemed to be conspiring to make her crazy.

Strangely, from that moment on, she often got the impression that she could feel Lucifer's presence close to her.

It was maddening!

To make things even worse, she'd heard other detectives talk of an increase in cases of disappearances over the last two weeks or so. It immediately reminded her of all the people who got killed by Dromos or under his orders, only to be possessed by demons just before Lucifer left. Dan had even made the same remark to her when he'd heard about the cases. At least none of their homicide cases revealed to have anything supernatural to them. They were both probably just being paranoid. Most probably.

That's when her nerves started playing tricks on her, giving her almost constantly the impression of being watched.

She was losing her mind!

A few nights ago, she resorted to talking to Maze about it around a bottle of vodka. She told her of all the disappearances as well as of her strange feeling of being followed.

Maze had immediately dismissed her fears. "You're being paranoid, Decker!"

"Won't you even take the time to check if there is anything real to it?" Chloe had been struck by her friend's reaction, or lack thereof.

She would have imagined Maze to go to the barricades at the mention of a possible threat to her life, or at least at the chance that demons could be back on Earth. Instead, she'd sounded suspiciously unconcerned.

Maze had visibly forced herself to stay patient with her. "Decker! If something was amiss, I would know. After all, I am the one guarding this side of the planes in LA, and Lucifer is guarding the other side. So there is absolutely no reason for you to worry. You are safe, and Trixie too."

Maze had closed the subject dismissively with a promise and an annoyed eye roll. "I will look into it in between bounties, if only to prove to you that it's all in your head. I'm really busy lately with lots of contracts, so don't expect me to come back to you with answers before a few days at the least."

Chloe couldn't shake the feeling that something had been wrong with Maze's reaction. So when Maze called her at work this afternoon to certify that there was no trace of demons in LA, and that absolutely no one was following her, Chloe found herself doubting her friend's words.

Chloe knew it wasn't right for her to do so, but she couldn't resist the urge of checking the police database to learn of Maze's whereabouts during the last days. The feeling that something really was wrong increased a hundredfold when she discovered that the bounty hunter hadn't taken any contract for the last two weeks.

Chloe sat frozen in front of her computer. Maze had lied to her and was obviously hiding something.

Something was definitely very wrong!

She started hyperventilating when she thought back about the eerie impression of Lucifer's presence that she'd been feeling lately.

What if it wasn't just in her head?

What if it was all real?

She jumped out of her chair and grabbed her keys. Rushing past Dan, she just told him that she had something personal to take care of and that she would help him finish up the paperwork of their latest closed case tomorrow morning. Since her return, it wasn't uncommon for her to cut short some of her afternoons at work when feeling too overwhelmed. And Daniel had been most understanding of her needs until now. Today made no exception, as he only smiled softly at her and suggested that she took some times to herself. He even offered to get Trixie for the night. She was most grateful to see that he once again didn't make a big deal out of it.

There was only one way for her to make sure that she wasn't becoming crazy. Heart hammering in her chest, she headed straight for LUX.

Upon arriving there, she made a quick stop downstairs to ask Patrick if he'd seen Lucifer lately. He'd looked confused by her question, as if not understanding where she was going with this. Unsurprisingly, he confirmed not having seen him since the ownership passed on to Amenadiel.

When she voiced her intention of going up to the penthouse, he retrieved the key to the elevator and unlocked it, reminding her in the process that she still had an open invitation to go there anytime she wanted.

As she slowly arose towards the penthouse, her apprehension reached a dizzying peak. All she was really aware of was her laborious breathing and the thunderous noise of her heart pulsing against her temples.

Returning there was... terrifying!

She knew it had the potential to crush her.

She wasn't sure what was most terrifying though. The possibility of reliving how she'd felt that night when he'd left her? Or of finding the furniture all covered in white sheets? Or of discovering that what she thought she'd felt lately was only a trick of her mind? Or instead finding out that Lucifer was indeed back, but hadn't bothered to come and see her?

It was too late to turn back when she realised that there couldn't be any good outcome from going there tonight.

It was in a daze that she walked out of the elevator and into the penthouse.

Her first shock was to find the place lacking any white sheet at all.

Her heart skipped a beat.

Why wasn't it all covered in drapes?

Instead, it looked exactly like when Lucifer lived there. It even looked clean.

She walked a few paces in, until she reached the piano and caressed one of the keys. No dust there. And shouldn't the lid be closed?

A cold shiver ran deep in her bones.

She looked around wildly to find other clues that would confirm that she was not losing her mind.

There on the bar, was resting a single tumbler still half-full of amber liquid.

Her eyes started burning with tears.

Could he be back?

But surely if he was back he would have contacted her. Wouldn't he?

Chloe racked her fingers through her hair in near panic.

"Lucifer?" she choke out.

Only silence answered her.

"Lucifer please, if you're there... I need to see you," she finished in a sob.

"Please! I need you!" She dissolved into a sobbing mess.

After a long moment of complete loss of control, Chloe tried to rein herself in, first by taking a few deep breathes, then by trying to convince herself that there could be a very logical explanation for what she was seeing.

Amenadiel could be coming here from time to time, to get away from his parental responsibilities, which would explain the half-full glass. Or maybe he was keeping it clean in case Chloe decided to finally come and live here. Yes, it had to be something like that.

She should never have come back here. She'd known she wasn't ready for that.

She was in the motion of turning away to escape, when her eyes landed on Lucifer's bed. As much as she was hurting right now by being in this place so full of his memories, she was also longing to feel closer to him. Against her better judgement, she walked up the few stairs to his bedroom and hovered above the inviting black sheets. Without really thinking about what she was doing, she slip under the covers, grabbed a pillow, and buried her face in its soft fabric.

Her sobbing started anew when she realized that it still smelled of him through the clean smell of fresh soap.

She fell asleep a long while later with her cheeks still damp with tears.

She woke up to the soft feel of fingers brushing over her face.

Not realising yet where she was, she mumbled groggily before fluttering her eyes open.

A rush of adrenaline brought her wide awake in an instant when she took in her darken surroundings.

The eerie feeling of a touch was still lingering over her skin...

"Lucifer?" She called desperately.

Still no answer.

"Please don't do this to me!"

She rushed out of bed and into the living room only to find it empty.

Suddenly, she heard and felt a burst of wind blow through the room.

She thought her heart would stop.

But when her eyes snapped around to its origin, she found the glass doors to the balcony wide open. She couldn't remember if they were open when she first came in.

She forced herself to believe that it had only been the wind, and her troubled mind playing tricks on her.

Because if it was not, she couldn't envision what it meant...

Author's note: I know, I am torturing you, and myself, with angst :/ But that's pretty much how I feel every time I think of Chloe's and Lucifer's predicament. Lucifer's real return is very close though, as well as lots of action. I hope you liked this chapter. Thanks for reading!