Chapter 13
When Chloe wakes the next morning, she doesn't even need to open her eyes to know she's wrapped herself around her partner again.
Please let him still be sleeping, please let him still be—
"I'd like the record to show," his voice rumbles against her cheek, pressed against his chest, "that I did in fact stay on my side."
"This is so far off the record, Lucifer," she grumbles, and his quiet laugh echoes in her ear. She opens her eyes with a sigh, and finds his warm brown gaze lingering curiously on her face. "Why are you so warm?"
"Is it really a surprise that the Devil runs hot, Detective Decker?" a sparkle of mischievous humor lights his eyes, "Though I believe there was once a time you were a bit too warm here, was there not?"
"Nggghhhhh," she groans, closing her eyes against the delightful sound and sight of him throwing his head back into his pillow in a full-throated laugh. "Of course you remember that. I was drunk, okay? Sometimes I get hot!"
"It was quite the show, Detective!" he murmurs, laughter lingering in his voice as he lightly pats her back and slips from the bed when she makes no motion to move away from his warmth. "And if I didn't tell you before, you are utterly breathtaking first thing in the morning… but if you're still adamant that we should be away early this morning to make a stop at your apartment before work, we need to get moving, my dear."
"Since when are you the responsible one?" she groans again, rolling onto her stomach and pulling the pillow over her head playfully. He looks down at this woman, this… this near-stranger who is somehow so deeply woven into the fibers of his being—even, perhaps especially the ones he cannot remember. He looks down at the morning sun cascading warmly over the golden sheets and casting fluid shadows over the curves of her body— far too inadequately obscured by his shirt—and he wants absolutely nothing more than to slip back under the covers with her, with every insignificant moment of their acquaintance firmly back in place in his mind as he persuades her to be as irresponsible as they possibly can.
"Perhaps you're a poor influence?" he teases lightly, forcing himself to turn away from her even as he marvels at the very idea that he just shared a bed with this woman without sharing carnal pleasures… yet still feels a baffling degree of fulfillment from her trust and closeness. How did we get here? He pokes again at the thick bank of fog in his mind obscuring those precious memories he both longs for and shies from. "Come on then, Detective Decker, up you get! Are you showering here or there?"
She pulls her head out from under his pillow, her hair adorably mussed and he's fortunate that he's moved far enough from the bedside that he's able to resist the delicious temptation to reach out and tangle his fingers in the golden strands. "At home, I guess," she decides after a moment. "That way I don't have to put yesterday's clothes on after my shower."
"Very well. I'll meet you at your apartment in an hour?" He grins when she nods. "Lovely. I'll bring breakfast!"
She enters the precinct with the remnants of the largest (and most delicious) donut she'd ever seen in one hand, her favorite coffee in the other, and Lucifer hovering attentively at her elbow. She starts to ask why he's acting so strangely before she notices Pierce's cold eyes watching from between the slats of the blinds on his wall and remembers what they're doing. If I was sick yesterday, of course Lucifer would be watching me closely today. Get with it, Decker. She smiles warmly at him instead, thanking him when he gallantly rolls out her desk chair for her to sit. She notices the blinds on Pierce's office snap shut and suppresses a smirk. She glances up at Lucifer and he winks at her, not bothering to mask his own.
Dan stops at her desk, filling her in on the new lead for the ballerina case: Myles Druker, creator of a new ballet-based reality show and a former dancer himself, is waiting in one of the interrogation rooms. Chloe feels a little bad, Dan's been taking the lead on this case while she's been distracted the past couple days, but it is still her case. She takes the file from him, waving off his concern over her illness.
"I'm fine, Dan," She smiles warmly at her ex, and spies Pierce approaching her desk from the corner of her eye. "I'm doing great after Lucifer's expert nursing care yesterday."
"Since when are you an expert in caring, Lucifer?" Pierce's flat tone smothers the conversation like a wet blanket. "Except for yourself, of course."
"I'll have you know that I care about the Detective a very great deal, Lieutenant," Lucifer grins wolfishly at him, "though truly she's an easy patient. All I had to do was wait for her to pass out, then get her to bed and make sure she stayed warm and comfortable. She was feeling right as rain this morning."
Chloe doesn't even try to fight the blush that lights her face on fire, but she does manage to smother her chuckle at Dan's uncomfortable expression and keep her expression straight. "He was a very attentive nurse."
"And I look fantastic in the outfit as well, though sadly I didn't think to put it on…"
"O-kay," she interrupts briskly, trying not to look at Lucifer for fear she might start laughing hysterically out of sheer nerves. "We've got a suspect to question, Lieutenant. Did you need something?"
"Yeah, could I have a word?"
"Of course," she replies indifferently, raising her eyebrows. Lucifer stands just behind her with an interested expression, his right shoulder lightly brushing her left. Dan sighs and crosses his arms, waiting impatiently.
"In private?"
"This is my team," Chloe affects confusion. "Shouldn't they hear it too, if it's about the case?"
"It's not about the case," he insists, turning and beckoning her to follow. "But it is work-related."
She manages to avoid rolling her eyes and keep her professional expression in place. "All right. Be right back guys. Dan—you wanna see if Ella has anything new while you're waiting?"
She slides a look at Lucifer and he nods almost imperceptibly. She relaxes a little, knowing he'll be listening, and close by.
Pierce closes his office door behind her and she crosses her arms, eyebrows lifted. "Yes, sir?"
"I wanted to talk to you about Lucifer," he begins carefully. "We've gotten some buzz that the Sinnerman is still active in L.A., and some evidence is coming to light that may be pointing to Lucifer as the man behind the curtain for it all."
"Okay," she says slowly. "I think you're wrong, but I'd like to see this evidence."
"Chloe, there's a lot you don't know about him—you didn't even want to work with him on the Winstead case— his identity history only goes back eight years. How can you be sure he's not the Sinnerman?"
"I know him better than you think, Pierce," she replies without thinking. And because I know you are. "He's a good person, and he's been working with the LAPD for 3 years helping put bad guys away. Just because he runs favors on the side doesn't mean he's the Sinnerman. What about the guy you shot? The one that said he was the Sinnerman? He was targeting Lucifer, remember?"
"Yes, and now we think that was a coup," Pierce's expression is so perfectly earnest, not a hint of subterfuge, and it sends a coil of ice down her spine. "We think he was trying to take Lucifer out in order to set up a new leader."
"I'm still going to need to see the evidence," Chloe insists, banking on the fact that he hasn't had time to manufacture any yet. "I'm not going to turn on my partner because of vague suspicions, Pierce. He's done too much to help the LAPD, he deserves better than that."
"I don't have it here," he admits. "I'll pull it together and get you the file, but… maybe Lucifer should sit the next few cases out."
"Lucifer is my consultant, and he has the Commissioner's approval," Chloe points out. "If I try to shut him out he's going to be right back here tomorrow, twice as loud and with a chip on his shoulder. If you're investigating him, is that really what you want? If he really is the Sinnerman, it'll be smoother going if he doesn't think anyone's on to him."
"I was more worried about you," Pierce says softly, and her eyes narrow. "He's dangerous, Chloe, I don't want you around him."
"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, Pierce, I don't need you protecting me," she hisses. "You made it very clear that whatever we had wasn't worth your time or effort. You don't get to choose who I allow in my life. If this is your way of cutting out my support system, it's not going to work."
"No, of course not—I would never—"
"We're done here," she turns to leave before throwing back over her shoulder, "And I want that evidence, Pierce."
She sweeps angrily from the office, collecting her partner as she fumes her way to interrogation. Lucifer trails her closely, and she can feel him radiating uncertainty.
"I didn't think he'd come at you quite this way," she mutters under her breath, knowing he can hear her perfectly well.
"It's quite all right, Detective Decker," he murmurs, and she feels the warmth of his fingertips barely brush against her lower back in support. "I've been accused of far worse."
"We'll talk about this later," she breathes. It would be far too easy for Pierce to tear Lucifer's life on Earth apart. "Let's just… solve this case."
Forty-five minutes later, thanks to Lucifer's mojo, they're waiting for cyber to track the origin of a blackmail e-mail that Myles had received demanding that he hire their victim as host of his reality show.
"Are you quite sure you're all right if I go?" he queries earnestly, and she smiles at the note of uncertainty in his voice.
"I'll be fine, Lucifer," she makes little shooing motions with her fingers. "Let Linda help you. I'll see you after lunch."
"Very well," he sighs, rubbing the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger as he stands to leave. "The Doctor doesn't like it, but I'll leave my phone on in case you need something. I can be here in a blink if you need me."
She grabs his hand as turns to go, and his eyes snap to hers. "Thanks, Lucifer. I mean it. Good luck with Linda."
His gaze moves down to their hands and his tongue darts out to moisten his lips as nods silently. He gives her fingers a gentle squeeze, then slips his hand from hers. She watches him as climbs the stairs for the lift to the parking garage.
He hasn't been gone for two minutes before Pierce approaches her desk, looking hopeful. "Chloe, you want to grab some lunch?"
"Great idea!" she chirps, "I'm waiting for cyber to track this e-mail anyway. Ella!" She calls across the floor to the forensic scientist, who just exited her lab. "Mexican for lunch?"
"OMG, yes!" Ella calls. "I'll be ready in 5!"
"Thanks for the reminder, Lieutenant," Chloe smiles innocently as she turns back to see her boss's blank expression, "See you in an hour."
Cain watches Chloe and Ella laughing as they climb the stairs to the elevators, Ella's ponytail bouncing energetically, and Chloe's swaying rhythmically with her graceful movement.
Is she playing hard to get? He wonders briefly, before shaking it off. Chloe's too serious for games, and she wants serious. He decides that she'll merely need some convincing to show exactly how serious he is about her, after his monumental screw-up the other day. That she's convinced herself that he's not interested. Maybe Lopez will talk her around—she seems very persuasive. His hand rests over the pocket that holds the ring today, and his other phone buzzes in his pocket.
"Yeah." He doesn't bother to look to see who it is, only his handpicked few have this number. "No, by tomorrow. And that's pushing it."
He retreats to his office, his eyes narrowing. "What do you mean you can't find anything? Someone has something, somewhere. You will find it, and you will get it to me. By tomorrow."
The voice on the other end goes up an octave, and he laughs grimly. "If you can't find it, then you'd best make it, hadn't you?"
He disconnects the call, the fingers of his left hand restlessly spinning the ring in his pocket. He'll ask Chloe to dinner tonight. That will give him the time and privacy he needs.
Lucifer sweeps through the door of Linda's office with a cheerful, "Hello again, Doctor!"
The moment his eyes rake the familiar-yet-unfamiliar office, he's slammed with a tsunami of adamant, emotion-laden memories. He stands frozen, as fear, longing, pride, self-loathing, confusion, grief, and anger hammer his brain relentlessly.
"Sometimes, we need to lose something before we can understand its value."
"I find that people make Los Angeles their home for one of two reasons: Either they're running from something, or they're looking for something."
"God cast you out because He needed you to do the most difficult of jobs. It was a gift."
"Or… was it a mistrustful sandwich?"
"When angels fall, they also… rise."
"I believe you feel that way. And I want to understand. I truly do! But, Lucifer, you have to help me. I need you to be honest with me. Completely honest... ...about who you are."
"Completely honest? Are you sure?"
"Yes. Yes, I'm sure. That's what all of these sessions... Our entire relationship... Is all about. Getting to know the real Lucifer. No more lies. No more metaphors."
"Very well."
A flash behind his eyes of Linda's terrified expression, frozen in place as her bottom lip trembles nearly imperceptibly. He watches her with hope rapidly crumbling into acceptance- Of course, of course—which then immediately landslides into despair as she continues to stare at him from behind her wide blue eyes, panic beating its wide, bat-like wings inside her mind.
"Doctor?" His voice in the present is strangled, and though barely a second has passed since her head snapped up at his entrance, she's watched his entire demeanor change from his typical ebullience to uncertainty and fear.
"Lucifer?" she probes gently. When he doesn't move she stands and slowly moves nearer to him, only his eyes moving to keep her in his line of vision. She notices him start to edge away as she approaches and rapidly closes the distance between them before he can bolt, bringing him back to himself by grounding him with a relaxed hand on his forearm. "You okay? Come in and sit down, you look as though you've seen a ghost."
He lets her guide him to the couch, and with a little more encouragement he dazedly sits. She briefly considers going back to her chair, but instead settles down next to him. Close enough for support, but not touching him.
"What happened when you came in the door, Lucifer?" she asks softly, when she notices that his hands have started to tremble.
"I…" he croaks, but doesn't get any further. She leans forward and pours him a glass of water. He takes it when she offers and he tips it back in one go, as though wishing it were a shot of liquor. His voice is smoother, but still unsteady when he continues a moment later. "I'm not entirely certain. I've been getting random rushes of memories, and I got some of those—but this time was different, it was… feelings. A great, massive jumble of them, all at once."
Linda nods empathetically. "We've had a lot of emotional conversations in this office, Lucifer, it's reasonable to expect some of them to come rushing back when you saw it again."
"But if I don't remember… how can I feel them?"
"Emotions are tricky," she tries to explain, "They can be triggered by things the conscious mind barely even registers, let alone recognizes."
"Well that's bloody inconvenient," he growls, fiddling with the now empty glass in his hands.
"It certainly can be," she agrees with a small smile. "You certainly look better than the last time I saw you— Amenadiel told me about your sister's feather… how are you feeling about her being so nearby without revealing herself to you?"
"Oh, Azrael came to see me a few months ago, just briefly," he says quietly. "She's… a bit timid, doesn't like to take sides, you know. By 'losing' that feather she still has plausible deniability if anyone upstairs asks."
"Does that bother you?"
"No," he replies carefully, "She was my favorite sister, once. I would not wish for her to be ostracized for assisting me. She's rather sensitive, and she gets to spend so little time in the Silver City anyway that… I can't hold it against her."
He's calming down a little with the new topic, settling down from his upset, so she turns the subject to the reason for his visit. "Are you ready to talk about your memories returning now?"
"Yes, I suppose it's best to get down to brass tacks." He leans forward and pours himself another glass of water, and Linda transfers to her chair. "Memories are returning, but they don't make any bloody sense because they're all bits and bobs. I'm hoping you can help me with some context…"
The next hour is spent with Lucifer recounting the bits he's remembering and Linda providing background where she can. Sometimes when she provides a few added details the memory comes rushing back to him, but others (and far more often) he gets nothing. He saves the one he's most anxious about 'til last.
"Doctor, have I… have I spoken to you about a brother named Uriel?" he broaches the subject tentatively, and though she's careful not to let it show outwardly, she tenses at the turn in the conversation.
"You have, a little," she admits slowly. "What do you remember?"
"I killed him, Doctor, but… but I don't know why," he grieves, "I… I don't have that memory, only a memory of it happening over and over in my Hell Loop. I don't even know how I got there… I obviously died, but have no memory of that, either."
"I understand this is incredibly frustrating for you, Lucifer, but there's nothing we can do to speed the return of your memories. I can… give you some context with this, though. Do you want to discuss Uriel first, or how you died?"
"I… Uriel," he closes his eyes, bracing himself for the blow. "I'm worried, Doctor, about what other atrocities I may have committed that I don't know about yet… and not even knowing why!" His voice breaks, and he waits for her answer.
"You didn't want him to die, Lucifer. You told me that you'd made a deal with your father, to protect Chloe after you'd been shot by another Detective—"
"Yes, I remember that," he confesses, "but not what he asked me to do… or how I wound up back here. Is that how I wound up in my loop?"
"No, I don't think you ever really found out what exactly your father wanted from you. He showed you that your mother had escaped Hell, and you thought He wanted you to make sure she got put back there. Except you didn't have your wings, and neither did Amenadiel."
"So she stayed… yes, I've got some memories of that," a look of disgust crosses his face as he recalls her standing nude next to his Corvette and he quickly shakes his head to banish it. "And the eternal emotional scarring that goes with it… but where does Uriel come in? We were talking of him?"
"From what you told me, Uriel came to enforce your end of the deal. He… targeted Chloe, threatened her life in order to make you hand over your mother, but he wasn't going to take her back to Hell, he was going to, um, kill her."
"Well, but killing her would only have sent her back to Hell—"
"No, really kill her, Lucifer. He had your sister's blade…" Lucifer's face pales.
"Father sent him to kill Mum?" he breathes, aghast.
"You said he was acting on his own—your father hadn't asked him to do any of it," Linda adds hurriedly, before Lucifer can go off on a half-cocked rant about his father. "When you and Amenadiel wouldn't give your mom up, he said he was going to kill her and Chloe, and he also threatened Maze."
Lucifer's eyes flash as he growls, and Linda's not sure if it's directed at Uriel's threat, or at the mention of Maze. She hesitates a moment, then tries, "Speaking of Maze—"
"That is not a discussion I'm having today, Doctor," he says coldly, and she knows better than to press him. "What I'd very much like to know is what is so special about Detective Decker. Do you have any insights there?"
Linda tilts her head at the sting of resentment in his tone. "Are things okay between you and Chloe?"
"How am I to know?" he grumbles. "All I have are… are pieces! I can't read her, she's immune to my powers, and my memories only give me the vaguest hints and shadows at whatever we had. She's apparently a miracle sent by my father, yet somehow I haven't managed to drop her like a hot potato. I've seen memories of the two of us ranging from her finding me repulsive, to her kissing me, to watching her strip naked and crawl into my bed, and I have no idea what any of it means." He stands and starts to pace, fidgeting with his cufflinks. "I remember threatening my mother to protect her, dying and making what was apparently a bad deal with my father—also to protect her. Now you tell me I… I killed my brother to protect her as well? What have I forgotten that accounts for this… this lack of sense on my part, Doctor? Obviously it would be better if I walked away from everything to do with Detective Decker… likely for both of us."
"You weren't just protecting Chloe with Uriel, Lucifer," Linda points out softly, "He threatened your mother and Maze, too."
"And now my mother is gone, and Mazikeen is…" he chokes for a moment before swallowing hard and continuing, "And Detective Decker is still in my life, and I can't fathom why I allow it. Amenadiel even tried to convince me that I love her!" he snorts derisively. "As if I am capable of that. As if anyone could…" he stops himself short. "Well. I suppose it doesn't truly matter. Once I help with this issue with Cain, I'll return to Hell and confront Mazikeen."
"What are you intending to do about that?" Linda asks nervously.
"I told her I would return in one Earth week. I intend to keep my word," he allows gravely. "But I highly doubt I'll allow her to come back. If she's even survived her injury. I'm not even certain now if I should come back once I've returned there." This last is murmured, as though to himself.
"She was hurt?" Concern laces her voice, and Lucifer glances at her in surprise. "And why would you not come back?"
"Friend of yours, is she?" he asks with a smirk. "I'm surprised at you, Doctor, but… I suppose if you're willing to take on the Devil as a patient, making a friend of a demon is nothing to you, eh? She was injured when I fled Hell—I may have done it with my wing when she removed her knife from my stab wound after dragging me quite literally through Hell for several months. I certainly wasn't going to stick around to ask if she was all right, that's what bloody got me into this mess."
"You didn't answer my second question, Lucifer," she emphasizes. "What's this about not being sure you should come back?"
"Mazikeen told me when she stabbed me that Earth was making me soft, that she was trying to make me realize that Hell is where I belonged. If… if the things I've done for this Detective Decker are any indication of what I've been up to during my vacation, she… she may not be wrong."
The session timer sounds, then, and Lucifer looks around curiously. Linda sighs in frustration. "It's the alarm letting us know your session time is nearly done. We need to talk more about this, though, Lucifer, you really shouldn't make any decisions until you've got your memories back, and they actually make sense to you."
"She says she loves me, Doctor, that is never going to make sense. She seems a truly good person, and she certainly doesn't deserve that, no matter what my father's machinations are."
"Lucifer, you tried running away from your feelings once before, and it hurt both you and Chloe immensely," she blurts, standing to face him and for once speaking without thinking. "Please don't repeat that mistake. Give yourself time, and… and try to keep an open mind, okay?" He lifts a skeptical eyebrow at her and she sighs, moving to stand between him and the door to her office. "I'm going to tell you something, Lucifer Morningstar, and I want you to listen very closely to me. You are not only capable of love, you are worthy of it. You haven't quite figured out that last part yet, but I'm almost positive you know about the first part, and you're so close to the second. I know you don't believe me right now, but I need you to keep that open mind, and listen to what Chloe tells you. You're right, she is a good person, and Amenadiel is right as well—you care very deeply for her, as she does for you. I normally don't tell patients what they should do, but in this one instance, I'm giving you the answer. You are capable. You are worthy. You just need to remember, and that's going to take some time. So until you remember, I'd like you to promise me that you'll stay here."
"I can't promise that, Doctor," his brow furrows in confusion at her passionate speech. "I told Mazikeen I'd be back in a week. If I haven't remembered by then, I will still need to go back."
"Fine," she allows, stepping closer to him so that she has to tilt her head back further to meet his gaze, "then I'd like your word that if you do have to go back before your memories all come back, that you will come back once you've made your trip. At least until they do return."
He hesitates, and she carefully doesn't press him. "All right, I can make that promise. I will not make any permanent decisions on my plane of residence until my memories return."
"Until all your memories return," she reminds him forcefully.
"How am I to know when they all return, Doctor?" he asks scornfully. "Will a little "battery charged" light appear in my brain? I can't even tell you what I don't remember right now, let alone what I do."
"All right… at the very least until your memories of Chloe return and your actions make sense to you again."
"I'm still not certain I'll ever be able to reconcile my actions, Doctor, but I agree to the terms about the memories," he sighs heavily. "Will that suffice?"
"For now," she nods solemnly, and he smirks at her.
"Very well, Doctor, now you owe me one," his tone is playfully sultry as he passes her, a little too closely for personal space.
She tries to swallow and her throat emits a dry clicking sound as she silently watches the Devil exit her office, his mischievous chuckle floating back to her.
Chapter 14
Ella natters away through lunch, while Chloe fights the urge to text Lucifer and let him know about Cain's attempted invitation. She's only just convinced herself not to bother him during his session, when an over-the-top ahem cuts into her reverie.
"Hmm?" she glances up and finds Ella smirking at her over her steak fajita.
"And where were you, Chloe?" her friend asks playfully, "I've asked you twice what's new, and you just answered with an 'uh-huh', and a 'right'. Thinking about a certain big-armed hunk?"
"What, C-uh, Pierce?" Chloe wrinkles her nose, "No, why?"
"Really?" Ella's expression goes slack in surprise. "But I thought…"
"What?" Chloe prods, when Ella tapers off.
"I thought you were, like, really into him?" she says plaintively. "You were so upset when he broke up with you, and, um…"
"And what, Ella?" Chloe pushes anxiously. "You didn't say anything to him, did you?"
"Um…"
"Ella. You promised!" Chloe buries her face in her hands, exasperated. "What did you say?"
"Just that… he uh, made you so happy, and that he totally screwed up," she admits, hanging her head. "He said he was protecting you, but that now there was nothing to protect you from… and it sounded like he was going to try to make it up to you. And then I saw all the flowers, and…"
"Ella…" Chloe sighs, reminding herself that Ella didn't know the whole story, and had just been trying to make her feel better. "There is so much more to this situation than you know."
"Do you want to talk about it?" she ventures tentatively, reaching out to cover Chloe's hand with her own tiny one.
"I… it's dangerous, Ella, I don't want to involve you." Chloe knows that Ella would be a vast asset, but she isn't sure that Ella could keep a secret if her life depended on it… and in this case, it might.
"Well, now I'm not leaving you alone until you tell me," Ella declares, eyes going hard. "You're tribe, Chloe, no way am I not helping you with a dangerous situation."
She sighs again, shakes her head. "I don't have any proof, Ella, and I know it sounds crazy. I don't want to put you in the middle of an already volatile situation."
"Nuh-uh," she shakes head and waggles her finger in front of Chloe scoldingly. "You don't get to pull that. Spill."
Chloe stares at her friend for a long moment, deliberating. When Pierce does fabricate evidence about Lucifer being the Sinnerman… I'm gonna need someone to help me look it over. And Ella did trust me enough to tell me about her ghost friend…
"Okay," she decides, "but Ella, I know it sounds crazy, but I swear to you it's true. It's not a joke, and it has to be kept utterly secret because we don't know how deep it goes, or who is in on it."
"Chloe, we're O.G," Ella's gaze is intense and dead serious, "if you ask me to take a leap of faith, I'm already jumping. Now tell me what's got you so twisted up in knots, and how I can help."
Here goes nothing…
Lucifer descends the stairs at the precinct and is immediately accosted by Dan, much to his dismay.
"Hey man, have you seen Chloe? Or Ella?"
"I've only just returned from an appointment and another errand, Dan, when last I saw Detective Decker she was at her desk," he glances in that direction, suddenly anxious. "How long has she been gone?"
"She left for lunch with Ella well over an hour ago, it's not like her to be gone this long when we're waiting on a lead." Dan gives him an odd look, shifting his weight nervously. "We got that email traced back to an apartment for William Sterling, Chairman of the Board at L.A. West Ballet…"
"Hmm…" Lucifer muses, relaxing a little as he spots Pierce pacing in his office. If he's there, then Detective Decker is probably fine. "Why would he be interested in getting Reina a new job?"
"I dunno man, but we should go check it out," Dan hisses a frustrated breath. "But I can't get ahold of Chloe to run it by her."
"Well, you handled the case yesterday while she was out, yes?" Lucifer suggests absently, his attention focused on Pierce muttering to himself in his office. "And if you leave her the information, there's no reason she couldn't follow after you if she so chooses?"
"Hey, yeah," Dan perks up a bit. "Maybe if I take some initiative…" He keeps muttering to himself as he wanders off, but Lucifer's too engrossed in listening to Pierce to pay attention. He decides to wait for the detective in the break room where he can listen less conspicuously, and where he can raid the snack machine… since he'd skipped lunch for his session with Doctor Martin.
After nearly 15 minutes of listening in on Pierce, he feels a bit ill. Or perhaps that's the two bags of teeny-tiny donuts he's consumed while listening. At least he knows Pierce is having trouble scraping up credible evidence to pin the Sinnerman front on him, because he's now focusing on having his organization manufacture some. It also sounds as though the man is planning to propose to Chloe very soon, despite her marked lack of interest since their breakup. Lucifer hopes he won't have to resort to his emergency backup plan… but it's looking like it may be necessary. He'll have to find time to speak to the detective about it.
He's finishing off his third bag of cool ranch puffs when he sees the two women passing through the bullpen. They seem in good spirits, but something seems off. He recognizes the smaller brunette from some of his memory flashes, and calculates that she must be the Ella that Chloe and Dan had spoken about—the one that thinks him a method actor. He has a brief image of sitting next to her—in a church?— followed quickly by one of her launching herself at him in an exuberant hug. He shakes his head and empties the last delicious crumbs into his hand before tilting them into his mouth. He stands and crosses to the sink to wash the tasty residue from his fingers when he hears Pierce approaching Detective Decker at her desk, where she'd been chatting with Ella about their current case.
"Longer lunch than usual, Decker?" Pierce asks brusquely.
"Not really, no," she replies casually, and Lucifer grins to himself at the hidden steel in her tone. "Ella got a text about the trace on that e-mail from cyber, so we stopped at the apartment on the way back to talk to Mr. Sterling. He gave us Reina's computer, and Ella was just about to go see if she can recover anything from it."
"Right, of course, I was sure you weren't just goofing off," Pierce tries to backpedal, but from what Lucifer can see of her face, the detective isn't having any of it. He'd feel sorry for the oaf if he were anyone else. "I was… I… uh, actually wanted to ask you if you'd have dinner with me tonight?"
Right, enough of that, Lucifer thinks to himself, his fingers brush against his pocket protectively as he exits the break room and arrows toward the group at her desk. "Detective Decker!" he carols cheerfully, and tries to ignore the little thrill of happiness that runs through him when a smile lights her face. Ella takes the opportunity of his distraction to scuttle for her lab with the laptop. "I meant to ask you earlier, are we still on for dinner tonight with your offspring?"
"Hey, Lucifer there you are!" she grins up at him as he plants himself by her left elbow. "We're still on for tonight, I thought we might even make it a game night, since Trix has been asking for ages. I was actually just looking for you to update you on the case. Do you know where Dan is?"
"He was here a little while ago, mumbling about an apartment," Lucifer informs her easily, "He said he couldn't get in touch with you?"
"Oh, damn," she reaches into her pocket, "my phone's dead, I must have forgotten to charge it last night. Can I borrow yours?"
He hands it over without protest and she rolls her eyes as she enters his ridiculous password and clicks to his contacts. "Do you really not have Dan's number saved in here?"
"You tell me, Detective Decker?" He lifts an eyebrow, and her heart sinks a little at the double reminder of his current memory issues.
"Right," she circles her desk and plugs in her phone to charge. "Come on then, we'll have Ella call him. Did you need something, Lieutenant? I've got to follow up on this interview."
"Uh, no," he stammers, a little off-balance at her relentless efficiency. "I know you'll bring your best efforts to this case. I'll… talk to you later."
She nods before turning away without further response, and Lucifer trails behind her to the lab.
"Heya Lucifer!" the forensic scientist greets him happily. "Haven't seen you in a few days, how ya been?"
"Er, yes, hello Ella," he says politely, looking interestedly around the room. "I've not quite been at 100% lately, but I'm feeling much bett- what? Why are the two of you looking at me like that?"
"Okay, what is going on here?" Ella glances between her two best friends. "First you call Chloe Detective Decker, and now you call me Ella? Are you trying out for a new role or something? Who are you, and what have you done with Lucifer?!"
Her voice is rising dramatically, and Chloe anxiously rushes to shut the lab door before they draw the wrong attention.
"Whoa, okay, settle down Ella, we'll talk in a second. I need to borrow your phone, mine is dead and I've gotta call Dan back here, he might be on his way to Mr. Sterling's apartment right now."
Ella hands over her phone, then crosses her arms and watches Lucifer suspiciously while Chloe calls Dan. Lucifer eyes her back warily. This watchful woman before him in no way resembles the sunny personality he'd experienced in his memory flashes.
"My apologies... Eleanora?" he attempts, and she huffs at him.
"Chloe!" Ella scolds the moment she's off the phone, "What is going on?"
Chloe glances apologetically at a baffled Lucifer, who merely shrugs helplessly. "You said she was Ella!"
"She is Ella, but you don't call her that!" Chloe hisses back in a completely useless stage whisper. "Just like you don't call me Detective Decker!"
"She is standing right here, and she's gonna smack you both with her shoe if you don't come clean right now with whatever is happening here." Ella's foot begins tapping ominously, and Chloe and Lucifer share a look.
"You may as well tell her, Detective De—, um, Detective," he sighs, "you'll know better what to tell her than I will at this point."
Chloe looks nervously toward the door and around the lab. She walks over to her friend and practically breathes in her ear, "Ella... How secure is it in here?"
"What are you... Oh!" her dark eyes go wide and her mouth hangs open as she makes a connection, and her eyes sweep her lab, suddenly shrewd. "Hang on."
She digs around in one of the cabinets and comes out with a tiny contraption that she switches on, then proceeds to sweep around the room, closing the blinds as she goes. Chloe and Lucifer watch her in bewildered silence until she grins, switches the device off and puts it away. "Got that little baby from a buddy in the tech lab. Sweeps for listening devices, we're all clear! Now talk."
Chloe gestures for Ella to come closer to the two of them so they can speak quietly. "Okay, so… Lucifer, I told Ella about the, uh, 'Pierce-is-the-Sinnerman' thing at lunch today," his eyes widen in surprise and he nods without argument, so she continues. "Ella, we're keeping this quiet because Pierce is trying to pin the Sinnerman persona on Lucifer now… but Lucifer got injured pretty badly a few days ago, and he's… missing memories."
Ella gives them both a disbelieving glare. "Really? You think I'm gonna buy the 'amnesia' storyline here? What, are we gonna trot out the evil twin trope next?"
"Oh dear Dad, I hope not," Lucifer blanches. "I'd much rather Michael keep his smarmy nose out of my life, thank you very much."
"Michael's your twin?" Chloe asks at the same time Ella says,
"Dude, you seriously have a brother named Michael?" She narrows her eyes at him. "Were your parents method actors, too?"
"Regardless of my or my twin's evil status, I'm afraid I truly am missing quite a lot of memories from the past few years, Ella," He winces as she scoffs at him. "My apologies… If I don't call you Ella, what do I call you?"
"You typically call her Ms. Lopez," Chloe finally has pity on him. He nods in relief, and she continues, "and like I told you before, you almost always just call me 'Detective'."
"But there are a lot of detectives here?" Lucifer asks, confused.
"Everyone just knows," Ella supplies, tilting her head interestedly. "If you're talking about 'The Detective', everyone knows it's Chloe. You really don't remember?"
"I remember some things," he retorts defensively, "but the missing memories are coming back rather disjointedly. I had a session with Doctor Martin to help me attempt to slot some of them into place earlier today."
"How did that go, by the way?" Chloe asks sympathetically. "I know you've been frustrated by not having context."
"She was able to fill in some blanks," he replies vaguely, and sighs. "But many still remain… probably many more that I'm not even aware of yet."
Chloe reaches out and softly touches his hand. "You'll get there in time, Lucifer, I know you will."
"Ohmigod," Ella breathes, "You really do have amnesia! Dude, I am so sorry… it's just… it's not something that actually happens to people, you know? I mean… it does, but mostly you just like it see it on TV or whatevs. And you're dealing with this on top of Pierce coming after you? Oh man, buddy, bring it in!"
He suddenly finds himself enveloped in an alarmingly enthusiastic hug remarkably similar to the one his mind had shown him just a few minutes ago, and it's every bit as awkward as it was in the memory. He looks to the detective for help, but she merely watches them with a small smile on her face. Eventually he lifts his hands and pats her awkwardly on the shoulders, and she finally releases him.
"Aww, see? There you go, you'll be back to normal in no time." She grins up at him. "That was definitely just how you reacted the first time I hugged you. Don't worry though, you've gotten better."
"Oh, good," he replies dryly, straightening his jacket as Ella continues speaking quickly.
"I can totes understand why you'd want to keep that quiet from Pierce, though… no sense in letting him know about any potential weaknesses."
"Exactly so, Ms. Lopez," he agrees, and she beams at him.
"You said you got hurt, though," and suddenly she's all concern. "Are you okay? What happened? Do you need to sit down? Oh man, did I hurt you when I hugged you?"
"Physically I'm fine," he protests the onslaught of attention with a raised hand, palm out. "It's only the mental repercussions that are lingering overlong. I had an unfortunate run-in a couple days ago and wound up with a head wound."
"Ohhhh, Chloe's sick day yesterday!" Ella puts the pieces together effortlessly. "And… was it you she was so upset about the day before that? How long have you guys known about… him?"
"Long enough to know we're going to have difficulty proving anything," Chloe admits reluctantly. "And yes, I was worried on Tuesday, that's why I was upset, not because Pierce broke up with me. But for now… we've got to deal with this case. We can't make him any more suspicious than he already is by neglecting work, okay?"
"Yes ma'am!" Ella agrees enthusiastically, always up for a challenge. She turns to the little laptop they'd retrieved from Mr. Sterling's apartment. "It didn't even take much digging to unearth the e-mail and the video. It's a little creepy—"
Dan arrives, and they go over the video again and again until even Lucifer gets a little nauseated before he spots it. "Look, there—is that a reflection? In the window, there?"
"It… maybe?" Chloe leans in to see the screen more clearly. "Ella, can we enhance this?"
"Yeah, give me a minute—" She takes a screenshot and plays with highlights and shadows until the image becomes clearer.
"Well… that looks familiar, doesn't it?" Dan smirks at Chloe, who nods.
They wind up arresting two: The dancer Miguel for their murder, and William Sterling for reckless endangerment. Their two detainees ride back with uniformed officers while Chloe and Lucifer return to the precinct for tedious paperwork.
"Detective," Lucifer begins after a few moments of comfortable silence between them, "I had some time to listen in on Pierce in his office today while I was awaiting your return."
"Did you hear anything useful?" She glances over at him hopefully before returning her attention to the road.
"He's having trouble coming up with any evidence to use to frame me for the Sinnerman identity, so he's working on having his organization manufacture some. He was irritated, so it may him take him a day or two before he produces anything for you to look over."
"Well, that's good news for us," she smiles grimly, and he nods in agreement, watching the bright afternoon sunlight playing across her face. His stomach lurches as he imparts his next piece of intelligence.
"I believe he's planning to propose to you very soon," he continues hesitantly, and she stiffens in the seat next to him. "He was… he seemed to be rehearsing to himself in office, what he wanted to say. I think he may have intended to do so this evening, if you had accepted his dinner invitation."
"He… really?" She seems angry, but it doesn't appear to be directed at him, so he risks another glance at her. Her eyes are stormy, eyebrows lowered and a snarl on her lips as her fingers dig into the pleather of the steering wheel, making it squeak in protest. "What on Earth would make him think I would accept a proposal from him? I couldn't be any more clear!"
"It seems he's decided only you will make him happy, Detective," Lucifer ponders quietly. "I have a potential solution, but you may not like it."
"What is it?" she asks warily, glancing at him from the corner of her eye.
"I… would rather not say," he confesses slowly, his sidelong gaze meeting hers. "It will require our ruse going a bit further, and I'd rather your surprise be genuine. I can promise that I will only use it if absolutely necessary—and that it will almost certainly result in Cain targeting me alone, rather than targeting me and angling to obtain you for himself."
"Lucifer, I don't like surprises," she reminds him in exasperation. "And I don't want Trixie—"
"I understand your concerns, Detective, and I have no desire to hurt you or your spawn," he soothes, reaching out to pat her knee reassuringly. "But I do think your reaction would be more genuine if you didn't know the plan beforehand."
"Lucifer, no," she sighs. "You don't remember, but I used to be an actress. I can hold up my end of a ruse, but I want to know what it is."
"You won't like it," he cautions her again, and she turns to glare at him.
"I'll like it even less if you surprise me with it," she warns right back.
"Very well," he closes his eyes for a moment, gathering his thoughts. "Cain sees your love—sees you—as a possession. He's intending to take you for his own, in his mind, you are already his." Lucifer's nose wrinkles in distaste, as though even just the thought, the words themselves are bitter on his tongue. "At the moment, I'm merely an annoyance, a… a distraction for you, if you follow his line of thinking. But… if I move to take you, I think his focus will shift entirely from obtaining you, to removing me."
"And what exactly is your idea, then?" her words waver a bit, and she keeps her eyes on the road ahead. He can't really be thinking about…
"Asking you to marry me should draw his attention nicely," Lucifer says with grim satisfaction, and it's all she can do to keep the car in their lane.
"You want to propose to me, to draw Cain's attention?" she asks incredulously. "Lucifer, you can't be serious."
"It would be up to you how you would respond, of course, but even if you turn down the proposal, so long as you don't kick me out immediately, Cain would consider me a serious rival rather than a mild annoyance. He would want to concentrate on removing me from the equation before renewing his attentions on winning you." Lucifer sounds utterly certain of his deductions, and as Chloe considers, his character analysis doesn't seem wrong. Or, at least no more wrong than the rest of this ridiculous situation they've wound up in.
"And that wouldn't feel like lying to you?" She probes, trying to remove herself from the emotional reaction and think the plan through before rejecting it.
"I would merely be asking a question, Detective," he replies seriously. "Your response is entirely up to you. If you accept, I would be happily engaged until one or the other of us feels comfortable breaking the betrothal. If you decline, then nothing would change except Cain's approach to me."
"And what if I turn you down and he just proposes to me right after that?"
"I think that he would not want to risk you changing your mind at the last moment, and would prefer to remove me first," he muses, "though of course I can't be sure. And there's no reason you would have to accept him, either. You've certainly had no trouble turning down his other recent advances."
"I'm just scared for Trixie, I… I don't want him coming after her to get to me." Chloe bites her lip, and his eyes catch on the motion before he tears them away. He clears his throat.
"Well, it was a last-ditch plan anyway," he waves his hand casually, brushing it over the breast of his jacket. "Never mind. We'll just wait for him to propose and you can—"
"No, I… I think you're right, Lucifer," she admits reluctantly. "I think it's the plan that's likely to buy us the most time and keep him away from my kid. I can't lie to Trixie, though… Maybe Dan can take her a few extra days this next week until we know more about what Pierce is doing."
"He won't require some kind of explanation?"
"I'll… tell him it's been awkward since the breakup with Pierce and I don't want Trixie there in case he shows up and we start fighting."
"You don't think that will cause a problem at work?" he asks curiously, "Because I can recall at least twice that he's threatened me over your safety and well-being… Though I suppose Cain would consider Dan about as non-threatening as they come."
Chloe looks askance at him, and he catches it with a sigh. "What have I said wrong, now?"
"Nothing really wrong," she refutes gently, "it's just… it's jarring when you sound so much like yourself, but you call people by the wrong names. It—you know, never mind."
"Is his name not Dan?" Lucifer asks resignedly, "I don't understand, Detective."
"It's only that you usually call him Daniel, when you're not calling him a douche," she smiles a little, shaking her head. They're near the precinct now, and she's hoping to make it out of the car before he—
"Never mind what?" he presses, "you were going to say something else."
"Nothing, really. It's ridiculous," she keeps her eyes on the road, but she can feel him watching her patiently. "It just… reminds me that you're not quite you right now. Or at least, not… not the you that I know, and-and I miss you. That you, I mean. My you."
"Your me?" he asks incredulously, "Detective… I'm trying to understand, but I can't piece it together. What are we?" His hand makes a gesture linking the two of them as she pulls into the parking garage.
"We're… partners," she decides after a moment. "We haven't really discussed what exactly that means lately, since things started changing."
"Well, at least you don't know either," He smiles slowly, and it's more than a little sad, "it's good to know we're on even footing somewhere."
They don't speak again until they're in the elevator.
"For what it's worth, Detective, I… I think I miss you, too. Whatever you were to me… I… I can feel that it's missing, the-the hole that it left. And I want it back. I want you back." The last is said so quietly she can barely make it out.
"Lucifer, I'm right here," she whispers back, her soft voice loud in the small space. "I'm not going anywhere."
His dark eyes are wide and fixed on hers, and his hand slowly reaches up to trace his fingers along her temple when the chime indicates they've reached their stop and he springs back skittishly. She feels the fading trail of heat his touch leaves on her face and smiles to herself as he bolts from the carriage toward her desk.
He's still in there. He's fighting his way back to me.
For the rest of the afternoon, she pretends with him that they didn't share a defining moment in their relationship on the way back from the arrest. She fills out arrest reports while he alternates between frowning at Pierce's office and talking about what they should have for dinner. His hand keeps occasionally brushing his fingers across the breast of his jacket and she tries not to focus on this new habit. It puzzles her, because he keeps touching the right side, not the left where he keeps his flask. She fights the urge to ask if he's okay.
Finally, around four he leans into her personal space to quietly get her attention. "He's made up his mind, Detective, he's intending to come by your place this evening to propose. Are you sure about what we discussed earlier?"
She manages not to whip around to glare at Pierce's office, instead squeezing her eyes shut and growling in frustration. "I think it's better than letting him propose and pissing him off by turning him down flat."
"Very well," a fleeting look of sadness crosses his face, quickly replaced by determination. "Do you mind if I leave you now, then? I'll go pick up some supplies for dinner and meet you at yours when you're done?"
"You don't think he'll come ask me once you're gone, do you?" she asks, suddenly anxious.
"He won't do it here," he grins, "You've made it very clear you do not approve of PDA at work, and he's trying to respect your boundaries after the fiasco with the flowers… I must admit I'm a little sorry I missed that. Apparently your fury was resplendent."
Her face flushes red just remembering how angry she'd been, but she gives him a grim smile back. "I was very clear."
"I have no doubts, Detective." He chuckles as he stands. "All right then, darling, I'll see you in a bit."
She watches him leave, letting her eyes flicker briefly to Pierce's office, but he's out of sight at his desk. She settles in to finish her paperwork with singular focus… the sooner she finishes, the sooner she can leave.
She arrives home to find her partner and her daughter in the kitchen together cooking, while the sitter perches at the bar watching their antics and laughing. Despite the warmth of the night, there's a fire lit, and the living room windows are open wide to catch the breeze. The scent of cooking meat, baking bread, and Italian seasonings greets her as she inhales contentedly, and she puts away her firearm and slips her boots and jacket off.
"Hey Ms. Decker!" Heather slides off the stool. "Lucifer and Trixie said you guys were having dinner tonight, and he's on the safe list you left for me, so I didn't—"
"You're exactly right, Heather, Lucifer is definitely on the safe list," she reassures the teenager readily as Lucifer carefully supervises Trixie pulling the breadsticks from the oven with ridiculously oversized oven mitts. Chloe chuckles when she sees that her daughter is wearing a sky blue apron emblazoned with 'If we're not making chocolate cake, then what's the point?' on the chest. Lucifer is sporting his navy blue 'Kiss the Cook' apron again, and winks cheerfully as he glances up at her. She turns back to the sitter, "Do you need a ride home?"
"Nope, my boyfriend's pulling in the lot now, good timing!" she laughs, calls goodbye to the pair in the kitchen and slips out the door. Chloe turns to her partner and her daughter.
"Something smells good," she leans on the bar and inhales again. "What are we having?"
"Chicken parmesan," Lucifer supplies smoothly. "I tried to talk your heathen spawn into veal, but she said you like chicken."
"Chicken is delicious, and much less expensive than veal, so it's perfect," Chloe laughs. "Thank you for making dinner—again."
"I rather enjoy cooking, Detective," he confesses happily, "and your offspring is quite the eager student."
Trixie pulls off her oven mitts and comes to give her mother a hug.
"Lucifer told me he doesn't remember some stuff, so I've been reminding him of things," she whispers into her ear. Chloe's eyes shoot toward Lucifer, who is smiling at them with a soft look in his eyes. "He also said we might have a game night, and that you guys might have to pretend!"
The soft look is swiftly erased by a flash of anxiety, and he takes a small step toward them, hands raised. "As it happens, Detective, your spawn was already well aware of a good part of what's been going on with Cain."
"Trixie! How often do you listen on conversations that you shouldn't?" Chloe looks at her daughter, aghast. She hadn't wanted her involved at all.
"You're my mom," Trixie says, looking up at her in concern. "You think I'm not going to notice if you start hanging out with someone new? Especially if you don't tell me about him, or let me meet him? Maze told me a little, before she left."
"Lucifer?" she glances up with fire in her eyes, and he takes a step back from her ire.
"I had nothing to do with her awareness, Detective, you'll recall that I hadn't been around much once you and Pierce had gotten closer. I let your spawn tell me exactly what she knows—which happens to be the most pertinent points."
Chloe sighs heavily and turns to her irrepressible daughter. "All right Monkey, tell me what you know."
"Maze told me you were going out with your boss, but then she left so I couldn't find out more unless I heard it myself," Trixie admits slowly, aware that she's in trouble. "I know that you found out he's a bad guy, and now we have to be careful because he might be dangerous if we make him mad. Lucifer said you guys are going to make him go away until you can figure out how to stop him, and that you might have to pretend that you're together for a little while."
"You told her that?" Chloe looks back up at him incredulously.
"Well, I wasn't going to lie to the child, Detective," he defends himself mildly, "and she was worried about your safety. I had to reassure her that we had a plan."
"I don't mind if you pretend, Mommy," Trixie hugs her again, resting her head against her chest and Chloe can feel the smile spreading across her face. "I wouldn't mind if you weren't pretending either, you know?"
"Yes, child, you've made your viewpoint very clear, thank you," Lucifer replies dryly. "Do you want to remove the food from the oven, or shall I?"
"Oooh, me!" the girl releases her mother and darts back into the kitchen, carefully putting the mitts back on as Lucifer hovers watchfully, ready to support if needed.
Chloe shakes her head at the pair of them and goes to the cabinet for dishes to set the table. Trixie asks a few questions over the meal that had clearly already been asked of Lucifer, who had just as obviously deferred to her. Chloe watches her daughter closely, but doesn't see any outward signs of anxiety or fear as they work their way through the meal.
"Are you sure you're okay with this, Trix?" Chloe asks concernedly, "I didn't want to drag you into this at all, I had no idea you'd figured out so much on your own."
"It's creepy," her daughter decides after a moment's consideration, "But I still have my knives, and you're really brave and smart, and Lucifer's really good at keeping us safe. We'll be okay."
Chloe's eyes flicker to her partner, who's gazing at her daughter with a look of stunned surprise at her declaration of faith in him.
"Would you mind if I told your dad that you wanted to stay with him for a few more days this week?" Chloe suggests, "I'd feel better about all this if I knew you were absolutely safe. And by absolutely safe, I mean not in a position where you need to use your knives—which I'm still not entirely convinced you should even have."
"If I go, who's going to protect you? Will Lucifer stay with you if I'm not here?" Trixie's brow furrows in concern, and she looks between the two of them. "Oh! Then you could help him remember stuff, Mom!"
"Trix—" Chloe begins, but doesn't know how to finish her thought.
"If your mother desires my presence to ensure her safety, Beatrice, I'm happy to provide it," Lucifer offers generously, and Trixie beams at him with relief before turning back to her mother.
"If Lucifer stays with you, then I'll go to Dad's, but I don't want you to be here alone."
"Your dad doesn't know about any of this, sweetie, and we can't tell him yet. It might be hard to—"
"Oh, don't worry," Trixie giggles, "Dad still thinks I'm a little kid. He doesn't ask me questions like you do about what I've been up to, Mom."
"Clearly, I haven't been asking enough," Chloe looks down at her nearly-10-year-old daughter, and wonders when exactly she'd grown up so much. A flicker of nostalgia lights in her chest for her little, innocent daughter, and wonders if she ceased to exist when Malcolm took her from school and held her hostage. She makes a mental note to remind Dan that their daughter is growing up and he'll need to become more vigilant and involved. "We still need to have that talk about eavesdropping, Monkey."
"I knooooow," Trixie sighs dramatically, and Chloe suddenly has a vision of what the teenage years are going to be like. She suppresses her own dramatic sigh, and Lucifer clears his throat.
"Well," he says brightly, "no more talk of remembering, or planning or current creepy situations tonight, yes? Let's just enjoy dinner and our game night, it's been a while since we've had one, has it not? What shall we play?"
Trixie wheedles them into agreeing to Monopoly while they're eating dinner, and dashes off to set up the board while the adults clear the table. Lucifer leans in close under the guise of handing her more dishes to place in the dishwasher and murmurs, "He's here, Detective, still in the carpark. I think he'll move closer while we're playing so he can listen in. Are you still sure about the course of action?"
Chloe's eyes flick in the direction of the parking lot, and she leans forward, letting her forehead rest against his briefly. She feels his breath hitch against her cheek and she pulls in a deep, fortifying breath laden with his reassuring scent. "I'm sure."
"I'm so glad you're okay."
"This is real, isn't it?"
"Are you guys ready?" Trixie calls from the floor in front of the fireplace. "Mom, you're in charge of the bank!"
She meets his eyes and smiles up at him, calling back, "I'm always in charge of the bank!"
"Yeah, because Lucifer cheats!"
"I beg your pardon!" he scoffs, scandalized and grinning wickedly, "I do no such thing!"
"Passing Go is only worth $200, Lucifer, not $500, not $1000," Chloe points out, laughing.
"Which is utterly ridiculous with the inflated rent they charge! They need to adjust for cost of living, how do they expect a player to thrive without a living wage?"
"It's just a game, Lucifer," she shakes her head, still laughing as she grabs a glass of water and a juice box for Trixie. Lucifer pours himself a measure of whiskey and joins them at the game board, where he happily takes the 'shot glass' token after the racecar and top hat have already been claimed. Chloe winks at Trixie, and neither of them remind him that it's actually a thimble. Lucifer only stiffens during the game twice, and Chloe doesn't know if it's because of Cain or because he's remembering things; she's only aware of it because they're laying on their stomachs, sides pressed close together. The night air has cooled considerably and Chloe's glad for the fire, but she doesn't offer to close the windows, knowing that Lucifer had opened them so Cain would be able to hear them more easily. She watches him carefully, but he seems completely at ease relaxing close beside her, another welcome source of heat.
Trixie mops the board with the both of them, much to Lucifer's disgust and Chloe's amusement. She tries to angle to stay up later for some post-game karaoke, but Chloe puts her foot down, "School tomorrow! You're already up past bedtime young lady, let's go!"
Lucifer neatly packs up the game as Chloe guides Trixie through her bedtime routine. He slowly pulls himself up onto his knees, unaccustomed to the stiffness in his back from laying in one position on the floor with Chloe's effect on his vulnerability. Trixie darts in from her bedroom sporting candy-colored pajamas and launches herself at him in a hug, and he barely manages to keep them both from being knocked arse-over-teakettle.
"Thanks for everything, Lucifer," Trixie murmurs into his ear, and he manages to pull his arms in to lightly return her embrace, patting clumsily until she pulls away with a grin. "Are you staying the night?"
"Er, that will be entirely up to your mother, child," he answers quietly, and she smirks at him before returning to her room where Chloe tucks her playfully into bed.
He glances around, unsure where the game had sprung from, and decides to merely wait for the Detective to come back and tell him. She exits the child's bedroom with a small smile on her face and slides the door nearly closed, then turns to find Lucifer on his knees, stretching his back.
"Little sore there, old man?"
"Well, I'm hardly used to laying in one position for such an extended time period, you know," he retorts snarkily. She laughingly holds out her hand to help him up and he takes it in his own, then suddenly he's on one knee in front of her, gently holding her hand in his and she feels a wholly unexpected flutter in her chest. Something must show on her face, because his eyes flicker briefly to the window and back and she understands… but the flutter doesn't change to one of fear, it only intensifies as he reaches into his pocket, the deep wells of his dark eyes flickering with reflected firelight as they hold her gaze.
"Detective… Chloe," he corrects, and her breath stutters in her lungs at the softness in his voice.
He pulls out the ring, and her heart stops.