Hello, everyone! Thank you so much for your feedback! You guys are awesome! :-)

Okay, so after some of you expressed your disappointment at Lucifer losing his powers at the end of this fic (trust me, it wasn't easy for me either to strip Luci of his divinity), I mulled over your words, and decided to write an alternative ending. I have only done this once before, and only after killing a main character, so it is really out of the norm for me.

Truth be told, the original ending is the one that I had envisioned from the start, so when I finished the first draft for the alternative ending, I sent it to my beta knowing that it was utter crap. Sure enough, she was honest enough to tell me that it wasn't nearly up to par. So we got to working on a second version and, after a few headaches, came up with this one. I hope you like it. If you do, you have BelenP to thank for kicking my muse right in the nuts and get me to produce something worth reading.

Anyway, without any further ado, I present you an alternative ending to There's No Music in Hell...

Chapter 26 (Alternative Ending): Deus Ex Machina

It was impossible to tell how long it had been. Time became irrelevant in certain places. In this one in particular, time didn't even exist. Lucifer stirred into consciousness slowly, his body free of that tangible matter associated to the earthly plane. That was the first thing he noticed, anyway. He was completely drained, his energy decimated by the struggle to fight the transition into a separate realm. Yet, there he was. He had lost. The story of his existence, he supposed. An existence that would end with another epic defeat.

He could still feel the child's tiny body pressing against his. It wouldn't for long. Soon, they would both waste away in this realm, forever erased from existence. It took him a couple of tries to open his eyes. Perhaps it was reluctance, a deep dread to face the desolate void of gray that most likely stretched in every direction.

To his utter astonishment, that wasn't what he saw.

The first thing he noticed was color. Everything was bathed in light, peaceful and welcoming. He found himself sitting in a field of infinite hues, some easily identifiable, others way outside the earthly spectrum. Even his onyx ring sparkled like a surreal rainbow of reds and blues and yellows and everything in between. Above him, bright clouds rolled in and out of sight, like the waves of an ocean, moving under a sky filled with distant stars, all sparkling in their own cosmic dance. He got up to his feet and realized Trixie's sleeping form was slowly fading away, like a dimming hologram, until she was no longer there. Baffled by her gradual disappearance, he tried to make sense of it all.

The vibrant light that kept beckoning him did not come from any sun, but from beyond two majestic gates in the distance that shone in shades of silver and gold.

Lucifer recognized his ancestral home in an instant.

The Silver City.

As he approached, he saw four tall figures standing before the gates. At first, all he could make out were their silhouettes against the brightness behind them. Gradually, like an image coming into focus, their identities were revealed. Cassiel and Raguel stood to the left of the gates, while Azrael and Gabriel stood to the right. Speechless, Lucifer simply stared at his siblings, not quite sure what to expect.

"I never thought you'd make it this far, Samael," Cassiel spoke in their ancient language. The fingers on her right hand curled around Shebet, which she was using as a cane as she addressed Lucifer. "You've proved me wrong."

"Why am I here?" Lucifer asked to no one in particular. "Where is the girl?"

"She didn't cross over with you. Won't even remember what happened," Gabriel replied, his voice low and measured. "She was just a crucial piece in the course of your story."

Lucifer frowned, disconcerted. "My story?"

The four angels exchanged knowing glances.

"You still don't get it, do you?" Azrael smiled. "It wasn't the human miracle who was being tested. It was you, Lucifer."

"Tested?" Lucifer repeated, feeling like the idiot child who was unable to follow his siblings' logic. Funny how, once upon a time, he could've drawn circles around these four, and now he was struggling just to play catch-up to their riddles.

Bloody hell! Did spending time on earth lower one's IQ or something?

"It all started long ago," Cassiel said. "Long before you left hell, long before your adventure with the human miracle. All Uriel did was set the last stage in motion." The Angel of Love extended the rod to him. "Here. This belongs to you."

But Lucifer didn't take it. He didn't even acknowledge the offering. "You orchestrated everything," he said, incredulous. "The abbey, the shadows, the innocent victims… You used the blade of death against a human!"

Azrael's expression darkened for a second. "I was just carrying out Father's will. I never expected you to get in the way." Unable to hold her brother's accusing stare, she lowered her gaze. "But Father knew. Somehow, He knew you would protect his miracle."

"Yes," Lucifer sneered. "He's always three steps ahead, isn't He? That seems to be the way things have always worked. But for you to break the number one rule, well, color me disgusted!"

"She's not just any human," Azrael reasoned. "She was never meant to be. I believed Father just wanted to restore the sacred balance. That you would return to the underworld once she was gone."

"Oh, and that somehow justifies it?" Lucifer scorned. "What about the others? The ones who got caught in the bloody crossfire? People who wasted their pathetic little lives preaching His name? Did they deserve to die too?" The more he pondered on it, the more obvious it became. It all made sense now: the cryptic messages, the satanic setup, the bible passages... It had all been a ploy to trap him into playing their cunning game. "I must congratulate you on your creativity. I mean, using bogus symbology as bait to get me involved in the case, well… touché on that one!"

"I'm sure you have figured out by now that the abbey is a portal," Raguel said. "There were certain rules we were required to follow. The shadows were mere tools. As far as those who they inhabited, I told you, their fate was already sealed long before their deaths. Don't worry, brother. They all made it past the Silver Gates."

Lucifer was having trouble seeing through his shock and his anger. He thought of Trixie, of the fear in her eyes, of the emotional scars that would mark her for the rest of her life, of how it would impact Chloe, of the heartbreak she was likely to endure because of his psychotic family. He balled his hands into fists and glared at his siblings. "You used them as pawns!" he accused, ire flaring. "You ripped a child away from her mother, not once but twice! And all for what? So she could be a part of some stupid celestial test? To restore this almighty balance you all keep crowing about?"

The four angels smiled, and it took all of Lucifer's self-restraint not to punch the smugness out of their arrogant faces. How could he share the same bloodline with these miscreants? Was there something he was missing?

"Passion will always be your downfall, Light Bringer."

The voice had come from everywhere, and nowhere.

It was unmistakable.

It was omnipresent.

It was eternal.

The four figures went on one knee, bowing their heads at once, but Lucifer remained standing, his stare fixed ahead in defiance.

"Hello, Dad!" he smirked at the bright, shapeless orb that had materialized out of nowhere before them. "I gather this was all a part of your plan."

"You were always a part of My plan."

"So, what now? What's my next move going to be, Father?" Lucifer snarled the last word with disdain.

"You tell Me, Light Bringer."

Lucifer scoffed, his patience running low. "Spare me the inane chit-chat, will You?" he frowned. "If You're going to send me back to hell, do it already! Just…"

God's orb held its steady vibration. A second and an eternity lasted equally in that realm.

"The balance…" Lucifer struggled to say. "If I go, then what would be her purpose?"

"She would have fulfilled it."

Sharp pain shot across Lucifer's heart. It was a sensation he shouldn't have been able to feel. Not in his current divine form, anyway. Nor should he be fighting the uncomfortable prickling behind his eyelids that had begun to blur everything around him. Jaw clenched against the onslaught of emotion, Lucifer exorcised the arrogance that had inhabited in him from the beginning of time and, with all the humility he could muster, dropped to one knee and bowed before God.

"I will go back to hell," he said, hating his voice for breaking. He was painfully aware of his siblings' stares, adding another pitiful level to his humiliation. "I will serve the rest of my sentence and never set foot back on Earth, if You'd only…" Lucifer exhaled, believing himself unable to finish his plea. But the mere thought of Chloe dying infused him with the courage he was lacking. "If You'd only spare her life for a while longer, until it's her natural time to go."

The bright orb appeared to consider the request.

"We had this conversation before, son."

"I know," Lucifer admitted. He tried not to let hopelessness overwhelm him. "And I held my end of the bargain. Sort of."

"Why do you think I brought you here?"

But Lucifer couldn't think straight, he was asphyxiating under the certainty that he had failed her. He couldn't help but feel partly responsible for her demise. If he'd never pursued her, if he'd kept his distance, then perhaps her life wouldn't have been cut short by his stupid destiny.

"I don't know," he answered honestly.

"Love, Lucifer," God spoke. "That is why you are here. For the first time since your inception, you put somebody else's wellbeing ahead of your own. You gave up your life, your very soul, just to spare a human's suffering."

"I… I don't understand," Lucifer stammered.

"You will soon, son. There are many more lessons still left for you to learn."

A lesson. Right. It all had been an elaborate orchestration cooked up to teach him about one particular human emotion. But…

"Why?" Lucifer asked.

He wondered what his Father could possibly have in store for him next, whether Earth was even the place to learn these lessons.

"If I gave you the answers, you would have no need to formulate the questions."

"This is all about bloody faith, isn't it?" Lucifer said, his annoyance rising over his despair.

The orb sparkled, grew bigger, more intense.

"Your altruism has proved you worthy of two gifts, Light Bringer."

A bit scared and overly mistrustful, Lucifer wondered what kind of gifts his Father would bestow upon him. More importantly, he wondered what kind of strings would be attached to such gifts. He could have asked, of course, but he knew his Father well enough to know the reply, if he was even offered one, would have left him with more questions than answers. So he held his tongue, fought the urge to blurt out a snide remark, and tried not to beat himself up over how easily he had walked right into his Father's trap.

Love.

There was no doubt he had fallen. Except this time it wasn't from grace, but into a reality far more terrifying. The mere thought of never seeing his detective again, that she might cease to exist because of a divine plan designed to make the Devil submit, was too much to bear. It occurred to him that perhaps the agony of loss and grief was another human lesson in the long list of emotions his Father decided he had yet to experience. He remembered how he'd felt after Father Frank's death, and shuddered to imagine how losing Chloe would make him feel. The truth was, he couldn't fathom an existence without her.

"The only gift I want," Lucifer told God, "is for her to not pay for my sins."

His demand sounded feeble to his own ears. Lucifer wasn't used to argue from a position of weakness. He was certainly not used to begging. Not even after being cast out of heaven did he once pray for forgiveness. He always accepted the hand he was dealt with prideful arrogance, and made the best of it by following a blatantly skewed moral compass. But this was different. He had changed. She had changed him. And now she would pay the ultimate price for that very deed.

No reply came as his siblings began dissolving into a fuzzy blur and the Silver City faded away. Time melted into empty space, into absolute darkness, to the very beginning, before any consciousness or emotion existed.

Chloe wasn't quite sure when the unyielding constraint had been lifted, or where the tall woman had disappeared to. The moment her body was freed, she'd sprung up and ran in the direction of her daughter, who was laying so very still on the ground. Trixie couldn't have been farther than fifty feet from where Chloe had been held back, yet the short distance felt as vast as the empty space between two galaxies. Once Chloe got to her, she dropped to her knees and held the child, sobbing her name with relief as she gently rocked the tiny body in her arms.

"What's wrong, mommy?"

The small voice sounded confused, but serene. Chloe released Trixie from the embrace in order to face her, unsure of what to make of her relaxed demeanor.

"Are you okay, baby?" she heard herself asking, her mind still in a fog.

"Where are we?" Trixie asked, looking around as if she didn't even recognize the place.

"It's a long story, Monkey."

Shaking like a leaf, Chloe surveyed their surroundings. Her brain was having trouble processing what had just happened. The ominous tunnel had vanished without a trace, as had the winged woman.

And so had Lucifer.

The panic that had lifted from her the moment she'd found Trixie alive took a hold of Chloe all over again. Angry flames kept engulfing the abbey, adding another layer to her distress. She could feel the heat of the fire from where they were sitting several yards away. To her dismay, there was no sign of Lucifer anywhere. Save for the crackling blaze rising up from the old building, the forest remained eerily still.

Chloe called out his name, her voice breaking along with her heart. It was hard to believe she had lost him in such a way. She didn't even get the chance to say good-bye. There were so many things she never got to tell him, so many things she needed to share with him. He couldn't be just gone.

Distraught by his absence, she called his name again.

"Lucifer?"

A lone tear rolled down her cheek, and she wiped it away with the back of her hand. Numb to the core, Chloe didn't bother to stop the rest of her tears from flowing freely. She couldn't really find a word to describe the crushing sensation that had descended upon her. Truth be told, she didn't really know how to feel. It wasn't so much an onslaught of emotions what ailed her, but rather an overwhelming lack thereof. A deep void that was slowly devouring her. An emptiness so utterly devastating, it was as if her very soul had been ripped right out of her body.

"Mommy?"

This time Trixie's voice sounded worried, and Chloe forced herself to snap out of her inner misery. She had to summon all the strength she had left for the sake of her daughter.

"Don't worry, Monkey," she told her through a forced smile. "I'm okay…"

Her words trailed as she took notice of something that had taken shape next to them. Chloe squinted, not really understanding what was happening, or what it was her eyes were really seeing. Like a Tromp L'oeil, her brain was having a difficult time gauging what was right in front of her. When she finally realized what she was looking at, her breath hitched in her throat.

No, it couldn't be…

At first she thought it was a hallucination, a trick of her overtired mind. But then the sight became crystal clear. Laying on the ground, was a figure cocooned between two gigantic wings. They curled protectively around their owner, who lay motionless inside the blanket of pristine whiteness. Before she could get over the shock, the wings jerked once and began unfolding, revealing who lay beneath.

His name left her lips in the form of a gasp.

"Lucifer...!"

Chloe rushed to kneel beside him, her eyes roaming over his naked body, which lay completely still on its left side. She was worried that he might be hurt, though she couldn't see any visible wounds or bruising on his skin. His wings had done a good job concealing his state of undress, but she quickly took off her jacket and clumsily wrapped it around his waist, tying the knot at his hip. She had done so mostly for Trixie's sake. Not that she wanted to raise her kid as a prude. In fact, she had told her on several occasions that the human body ought to be regarded as something beautiful. In any case, it wasn't as if Trixie hadn't watched High School Hot Tub over thirty times already. But the movie didn't include frontal male nudity and, as close to perfect as Lucifer's body was, they were not exactly in the Garden of Eden, so...

"Is he okay?" Trixie asked from a few feet away.

Her little voice was shrouded in concern, and it was evident she was reluctant to get closer for fear that something terrible had happened.

"I don't know, baby."

Chloe placed a hand on Lucifer's forehead. It felt cool to the touch but, save for the earlier slight movement of his wings, he was still unresponsive. Her hand moved down to his cheek, her thumb brushing over the five o'clock shadow of his jaw. It was at the feel of her touch that Lucifer's brows twitched as he began to stir awake, prompting an involuntary whimper of relief from Chloe. It took his eyes several flutters before they managed to stay open, his vision slowly coming into focus. His dark gaze took in the night sky first, then trailed down the tall trees that surrounded them to finally land on her face. He stared at her silently for a long moment, his expression one of wonderment or incredulity, as if he were having a difficult time believing his eyes.

"Detective?"

The raw emotion in his voice brought tears to Chloe's eyes. He sat up slowly, reached out to touch her shoulder, and then ran his fingers down her arm just to make sure she was really there. At least that's how she interpreted his odd behavior. He seemed a little out of it, as if trusting his senses were a mistake, as if he expected to be deceived by them at any moment. His hand slid up to cup the side of her neck while his eyes pierced through hers, as dark and intense as she had ever seen them. It appeared he was going to say something but, instead, a quivering chuckle of relief pushed through his lips.

It was all it took for them to fall into each other's arms in a trembling embrace, filled with desperate longing.

Burying his face in her hair, he took in her scent, let out all pent up anxiety in one extended exhale.

Chloe heard him mutter an almost inaudible 'One hell of a gift…' that made her smile. The words meant little to her. She simply dismissed them as one of his quirky remarks, or perhaps a manifestation of some mild form of PTSD, if celestial beings were even susceptible to such disorders. In any case, she was having a difficult enough time navigating through her own emotions as to attempt to decipher his.

"You were gone," she whispered into the crook of his neck.

Lucifer tightened his arms around her, and Chloe's hands crept up his back, stopping at the birth of his wings. She let out a small gasp when her knuckle brushed against one of them, causing her body to hum and vibrate like a musical instrument. She moaned out his name, knowing he'd felt it too.

The fire raging through the abbey grew gradually more intense, a scorching hand that swept across the woods. It bathed the nearby area in shades of reds and golds. A gust of blazing wind caressed their skin and brought them back to the reality that surrounded them. When they finally pulled apart, Chloe turned to Trixie, who had been quietly watching the exchange with innocent curiosity.

An image of their earlier struggle flashed across Chloe's mind. It revived in her the terror of what could've happened, making her eyes well once again.

"I thought I'd never see you again," she confessed.

His lips curled into that charming smile that so often made him irresistible.

"I'm here now, Detective," he told her softly. "I'm not going anywhere." He then glanced down and took notice of the jacket around his waist. "It seems my Armani wasn't nearly as lucky."

Chloe saw him reach for the knot at his hip the moment they got to their feet. Realizing he was about to untie it, she rushed to halt his hands mid-task.

"No, don't!"

Lucifer arched a puzzled eyebrow at her, and Chloe slanted her eyes in Trixie's direction to indicate how inappropriate it would be for him to disrobe. His lips formed a silent 'Oh' as he acknowledged the presence of the wide-eyed child standing right beside them.

"Is she into kilts?" he asked, seemingly puzzled by the request to keep the jacket around his waist.

Chloe shook her head slowly, awestruck, her expression almost a mirror image of her daughter's.

"That's not what has her mesmerized," Chloe uttered in a quiet breath.

Finding the makeshift loincloth rather unflattering, Lucifer made a futile attempt to adjust it so it would, at least, look a bit less tacky. He seemed completely unaware of his metamorphosis, which was unbelievable given the size and magnificence of the wings sprouting from his shoulder blades.

"See, mommy?" Trixie gasped. "I told you he was an angel!"

A faint scoff escaped Lucifer's lips.

"An angel? Not sure I'd—"

Whatever he was going to say came to a screeching halt the moment he caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye. He craned his neck to get a better look at his back, and his expression turned instantly somber.

"Ugh! Bloody hell!" he growled. He paused for a moment, his disgust turning to realization. "The second gift…"

But neither Chloe nor Trixie were paying attention to his words. They were ogling the wings with stunned perplexity, hypnotized by their unparalleled beauty. Quite frankly, her dream hadn't done them justice. They were simply…

"They're gorgeous!" Chloe gasped, unable to tear her eyes away.

"I… yeah… I wouldn't get too attached to them," Lucifer frowned, his dark gaze roaming over the burning building before landing back on her. "This is part of dear old Dad's self-indulgent nature, I'm afraid. He's quite proud of His creation."

Chloe blinked in shock, unable to understand his reluctance to embrace something so wonderful. But her protest was drowned by the distant sound of sirens which kept growing closer and louder. Lucifer groaned and mumbled something about finding a way to conceal the damned things before turning the forest into a freak show. In the blink of an eye, the wings folded in at his back, disappearing from view.

"Where did they…?"

Chloe rushed to him, sneaked a peek around his torso and found them tightly tucked in, perfectly flushed against his back. She let out a sigh of relief.

"Are they really that much of a turn-on to you?" Lucifer quipped, half amused and half baffled by her fascination.

Her cheeks began to burn and his grin turned wicked. For the first time since his return, and to her utter relief, he looked like good old Lucifer: the one track minded club owner who had stolen her heart. The naughty partner she had learned to love and respect despite all odds. Chloe was about to throw a clever comeback at him, when a flood of flashing lights from at least half a dozen emergency and law enforcement vehicles shone through the scattered trees.

As much as Chloe dreaded the avalanche of questions that were to inevitably come up regarding the fire, she dreaded even more having to explain the unexplainable when it came to Lucifer.

What would happen if others found out? Would he be locked up in a lab and studied like a Guinea pig? Will his identity rattle the foundation of human beliefs to the point of creating worldwide panic? Would people believe the truth, even if proof stared them right in the face, or would most think of it as a hoax?

Wings or not, Chloe was way too confused and way too exhausted to face their grilling questions.

She looked down at Trixie who, despite recent events, seemed more excited than tired. Perhaps the girl ought to be checked out by the EMTs, just as a precaution. Still, the mere thought of facing a bunch of strangers right now made Chloe's blood curdle.

"Can we go home now, mommy?"

"Not yet, baby. I'd like a doctor to examine you first. Just to make sure you're okay." Chloe turned to Lucifer. "We just need to find a way to hide your… condition."

Lucifer rolled his eyes, his arrogant smirk needing no translation.

"No need for that, Detective," he told her. "I'm not sticking around for the encore."

"My car is in the driveway, Lucifer," Chloe sighed, running a frustrated hand through her mussed up hair. "There's no way we can get to it without being seen."

"Who said anything about taking a car?"

In a single flap his wings stretched outwards, looking larger and more impressive than ever. A deep chill ran up Chloe's back and, once again, she fell captivated by their presence, the breadth of their span, the way they seemed to glow in pearly shades of white against the crimson tones reflected by the fire...

Was he really going to fly back to L.A.?

"If you need a ride, you can always hop on," he offered.

Chloe let out a nervous little laugh. "Are you serious?"

Lucifer's gaze travelled past her shoulder, where two fire trucks were already visible through the dense barrier of trees.

"Quickly now," he urged, beckoning them with a wave of his arm. "I'd hate to make the front page of the National Enquirer looking like a bloody fairy!"

Tempted as she was to run to him, Chloe knew the responsible—the sane—thing to do was to stay behind. How else could they explain her car being left in the driveway, or their mysterious disappearance from the place, or the fire, by that matter? No, the sooner she wrapped up the case, the better. Lucifer understood that much and refrained from insisting. Besides, she wouldn't be able to put her mind at ease until Trixie was checked out by the emergency services. As far as tying all loose ends in the investigation…

"Is it over?" Chloe asked him just before he took flight.

Lucifer considered the question for a second, then nodded slowly.

"I believe so," he said, then his expression turned grim. "For now, anyway."

The powerful wings flapped once, creating a gust of wind in his wake as he almost instantly disappeared into the night sky.

His last words played like a chorus inside Chloe's brain.

What did he mean by that? Were they out of danger? Was her destiny still tied to his? Was she expected to live up to it? But, most importantly, could they keep Trixie safe?

It was obvious they needed to talk. Now that the storm had settled, there were many things that had to be sorted out in their personal relationship, if such a relationship were to move forward or even survive given the obstacles they were facing. As the swarm of emergency personnel crowded around her and Trixie, Chloe could barely hear their voices over the constant ringing in her ears that was making it impossible for her to focus on the here and now.

Chloe awoke slowly from a dreamless slumber. She didn't know where she was at first, then the memories started flooding her mind. It had been three days since the horrific night at the abbey. A night that had likely left deep emotional scars which she will probably be forced to face in the coming months and years. But, for now, she felt content.

Brightness spilled over the marble floors through the penthouse window. Chloe had spent the night at Lux for the first time since Lucifer's return and subsequent closing of the case due to lack of evidence or adequate follow-up protocol. Unofficially, some sort of cosmic balance had been shifted, though from what Lucifer had inferred had not been entirely settled, which left a nugget of concern lodged in her brain. He had assured her no danger loomed in the immediate future, and she had believed him. But, when would that immediate future come to an end? And what would they be facing then?

Deciding not to worry too much about things over which she had little control, Chloe stretched like a cat under the silk sheets and rolled into Lucifer's side of the bed. Her seductive smile faded when she realized he was not lying beside her. Her gaze trailed to the bathroom, but from her vantage point she couldn't see any movement in there either, nor hear any sounds within. She got out of bed, found Lucifer's robe draped over the arm of a chair, and used it to cover her naked body. It was too large for her smaller frame. Comically so. Its hem dragged along the floor as she padded her way into the main lounge, its shoulders sagging down to her elbows. She didn't really find that to be a problem. It wasn't like she was making a fashion statement, so she simply pulled her hair from under it, allowing it to cascade over her back and shoulders. Besides, the fact that Lucifer's scent clung to its fabric was incentive enough not to care about the rest.

There was a breakfast tray set on the grand piano, complete with two glasses of freshly squeezed orange juice (probably spiked), a couple of croissants and a pot of coffee. Chloe's stomach grumbled at the sight and smell of freshly baked pastries and strong coffee. She was beginning to wonder where he could've gone, when she spotted him out in the terrace, cigarette in hand as he regarded the city below. With his back to her and clad in just dress pants, he appeared relaxed, wings folded in and almost imperceptible from any other angle.

A warm smile formed on her lips as memories of the previous night flashed before her eyes. Not only had Lucifer allowed her to caress the wings, an experience that had made her soul sing, but she had discovered, to her surprise, just how sensitive they felt to him on a physical level. Simply running her finger over their contour had made him shiver and his skin raise with goosebumps, while lightly scratching the spot at their birth on his back had made him jerk. At first she thought he had found that uncomfortable, that it might be an overly sensitive spot, only to find out, to her amusement, that he was actually ticklish there.

But what she found most heartwarming of all, was his confession that he had never let anybody close enough to touch them in such a way.

She understood then just how vulnerable they made him feel. Realization that couldn't have been any more obvious during their lovemaking, where the softest of caresses at the right time had sent him into a shuddering climax. Far from cumbersome, the wings had contributed to the most amazing sex Chloe had ever had. Her smile broadened at the thought, her gaze trained on his back as she approached the veranda.

"A penny for your thoughts," she said walking up behind him.

Lucifer turned around a bit surprised, seemingly unaware of her presence until that moment. His lips curled upwards while he crushed the cigarette into a nearby ashtray.

"I was thinking about humanity, actually" he said casually. Lucifer slithered his arm around her waist and pulled her to him. "And the raw deal you got when dear old Dad decided to throw in emotions into your otherwise simple existence."

"Be a little more condescending about us lesser humans, why don't you?" she laughed, feigning indignation.

"On the contrary. No wonder you guys spend half of your mortal life going to therapy."

Chloe cocked a mocking eyebrow. "Says the fallen angel who never misses a session with his psychiatrist."

"Precisely."

Once upon a time, Chloe would've had a hard time reading his expression. But interpreting his body language was neither accurate, nor necessary. Their connection ran much deeper than that. Ever since their relationship had turned physical, she could sense when he was troubled, angry, happy, sad… There were feelings, however, hard to put into words. And right at that moment Chloe was picking up on too many to count. And yet, through the jumble of conflicting emotions, there was one that eclipsed all the rest.

He loved her.

Hence…

"You're so afraid," she whispered. "Why?"

"I'm not…" he was about to refute the accusation, but stopped himself with a sigh. "It is my Father's methodology that concerns me. What ploy will He concoct next time to teach me a lesson? It's easy to be immune to fear when one has nothing to lose. But now…"

He let out a drawn out breath and Chloe understood the crux of his foreboding.

She stood on tiptoe and gave him a soft peck on the lips, hoping to infuse him with the reassurance that he needed, the certainty that she would be there for him no matter what.

"Come what may, we will face it together," she told him. "I'll be your human sidekick and you can be my… wingman."

Lucifer blinked, then chuckled. "Very well, Detective," he replied, eyes soft on hers.

"Come on," she gave him a light nudge on the ribs. "You are the Prince of Darkness! Fearless, immortal, unrepentant…" Then a thought crossed her mind and filled her with a sudden sense of uncertainty. "I mean, you… are still the Devil, right?"

Lucifer's mischievous smile stretched wide. Gradually, the darkness in his irises began to burn into incandescent coals, and the passionate kiss that followed left very little doubt in Chloe's mind that her partner, the Devil, would always have her back.

[ ~ To Be Epilogued ~ ]

Please, don't hesitate to let me know which ending you prefer. I'm curious. ;-)