The world around the Lord of Hell seemed to be on mute. Just blurred murmurs in the distance. He'd known exactly what he was doing, and he was positive that it would work, yet the Devil stood there in the middle of the waiting room, dumbfounded by the outcome.

It had been merely a few hours ago when he'd believed that he would lose her. That she would be gone from his life forever. But now, the Detective was going to be just fine. He had pictured their reunion in his mind, but seeing her in person was beyond what he'd imagined. Even in the hospital bed she radiated a beauty that took his breath away. She was perfect.

"Lucifer?" A voice broke through the silent barrier. "Lucifer, what are you doing out here?" His brother stood in front of him, swaying from side to side with Charlie wide awake in his arms, surprised that his brother had left the detective's side. "I thought you would be in with Chloe."

Lucifer looked at the young boy, cooing with contentment in his father's embrace, and everything came flooding back. The reason why he had returned to Hell in the first place. He had been gone for nearly two days, leaving the demons unattended. A few hundred years must have passed for them. Enough time to come up with another evil plan, though they hadn't proved to be the brightest bunch. Who knew what scheme they would come up with this time? The dreaded realization that he couldn't leave them alone for much longer hit him like a ton of bricks.

"Lucifer? Are you okay?" The angel's brow furrowed with concern.

"It was getting a little crowded," Lucifer finally answered. He noticed Doctor Linda sitting down, her eyes staring into the distance, jaw slack, trying to grasp what just happened. The Devil plopped down beside her and followed suit.

"Crowded?" Amenadiel glanced over to the room and noticed doctors and nurses peeking their heads in the doorway, waiting for a chance to go in and see what the commotion was all about. From the doorway, Maze pushed her way through the crowd that had gathered. The demon slouched down in the chair next to Lucifer. "Whoa, news travels fast."

The angel scanned the room. Humans whispering, pointing towards the detective's room.

"Faster than a trending meme on social media." Linda looked up at the father of her child. "Soon, this will be one of those 'feel good' stories that are all over the internet. We will have to tell them we were having a prayer-a-thon in Chloe's room. Praying for her recovery and we felt a spiritual presence in the room. The Catholics will believe that, right?"

"Those fanatics believe everything. They give me the creeps." Maze shivered. "With their aversion to fun, calling it a sin."

"What you call fun is sin, Maze. But you're right, they will love this." Amenadiel replied. "We should get our story straight, so it won't be a complete deception. There was definitely a spiritual presence in the room. Even if it was the Devil."

"Ah, it will blow over in a week or so. Something else will get their attention." Maze laughed. "Next, it will be a nip-slip at the Super Bowl or another political scandal." The demon looked over at the Devil, expecting a reaction from him, but his gaze was elsewhere, jaw clenched with a somber expression on his face.

"Lucifer, you do know that Chloe is going to be fine, right?" Linda had noticed his unusually quiet demeanor.

"Yeah, thought you would be happy about that." Maze nudged the man with her elbow, trying to get a reaction out of him, but got nothing. The three looked at each other, confused by the Lord of Hell's melancholy state.

"Lucifer, what is it?" Amenadiel asked, concerned for his brother.

"She said she loved me, and I left her." Lucifer slowly looked up at his brother. "How can I do that to her again?"

"You're going back?" Linda was shocked. She assumed Lucifer would never leave Chloe's side again after what had happened.

"Of course, I'm going back." Lucifer scoffed. "Don't you remember what happened to your child? I can't let that happen again whilst I'm up here. I need to get back as soon as possible to keep them in line."

"Oh, right." Linda sighed, remembering the one of the worst nights of her life.

"Lucifer…" Amenadiel was about to protest, but he couldn't, because he knew that his brother was right. He had to go back to contain the demons.

"Will you…" Maze started.

"I'll take you home. If that's what you want." Lucifer sighed, knowing very well what the demon wanted. It was hard for her to hide her excitement. "I don't know how I'm going to tell her?" He was hoping his brother would have the answer.

"Lucifer, I'm sure she'll understand," the angel stated.

"You didn't see her last time." Lucifer's eyes began to water just thinking about it. "She begged me to stay."

"If she does love you, like you say she does…" Linda turned to face the Devil. "I'm sorry to say that it will never be an easy thing to do."

"Lovely." Lucifer stood up. "Not helpful." He started walking away.

"Where are you going?" his brother called out after him.

"I need to think." With that he was gone.

Lucifer peeked through the doorway to see if it was a good time to go in. He had been gone for a few hours and the hordes had finally dissipated. It was late and after visiting hours, but he had successfully convinced the receptionist to let him in.

He noticed that Daniel had passed out in the most awkward position in one of the chairs by the window. He was bound to wake up with a sore neck. Trixie lay on the hospital bed, her head resting on her mom's chest, with her eyes closed. Chloe was also sleeping, with her arms wrapped around her child. It had definitely been a long couple of days for everyone; sleep was needed.

Lucifer placed two brown paper bags he was carrying on a little round table in the corner of the room. In his other hand was a grey faux fur blanket that he had retrieved from the penthouse. The linen that the hospital had wasn't adequate enough for his Detective. Nothing but the best for her. He threw the blanket in the air, holding on to the corners as it floated up. He made sure it didn't touch the floor; yes, hospitals are general were clean but there had been many people in and out of the room recently. The Devil gently covered the child and the mother in the bed.

Lucifer stood for a moment and watched them as they slept. Part of him wanted to wake the Detective, but he decided to wait for a few minutes to see if she would come around. He was still not used to hospitals, even though he had been in one quite a few times in the recent years. Knowing that the Detective was going to be just fine definitely made it easier.

Lucifer sat down in the same chair as he had earlier, his elbows resting on his knees. The weight of everything swimming in his head fell into his hands. Every minute he spent on Earth made it harder from him to face his responsibility.

"Hi."

The Devil quickly looked in the direction of the hoarse whisper. He was greeted with a sheepish smile from the Detective. "Hi," he replied in the same nervous fashion.

"Lucifer, you're here?" Chloe asked. Her hand reached up and cupped his face to see if he was real. Her thumb caressed his stubble The Devil gave her a weak smile as soon as she said his name. "It's real. It wasn't a dream." Tears welled up in her eyes. "I can't believe it. I didn't think I would ever see you again. How?"

"It doesn't matter," he replied. He wasn't about to tell her what he saw in Hell. "The only thing that matters is that you are safe, and there is no place I'd rather be." Lucifer's hand covered her hand that was holding his face. They sat in silence, taking each other in.

"I hear you saved my life… again." Chloe finally spoke up.

"It appears that it's becoming a habit." Lucifer attempted to make light of the situation. "But I can't take all the credit. It was the urchin's plan. She is a clever one. Must take after her mother."

Chloe kissed the top of her daughter's head and smiled with pride. The woman's eye fell back on the man sitting next to her, her heart fluttering in her chest. "How long are you staying?" She regretted asking when she saw the grave look in his eyes. Lucifer opened his mouth to speak but she interrupted him. "No. Don't want to know. Not now." A few tears rolled down her cheeks.

Their attention was pulled to the ex-husband who had startled awake with a grunt. The man straightened himself up and wiped his drool with his sleeve. "Hey, what's up?" He looked around and could feel the tension resonating from the other two adults. Dan stood up and awkwardly inched his way towards the door. "I'm feeling a little hungry. I going to grab something to eat. Can I get you guys something?"

"Actually," Lucifer stood up and went to the little table. "I took the liberty and fetched something that wasn't dreadful hospital food." Lucifer handed one of the bags to Dan. "For you and the child."

"Thanks." Dan was pleasantly surprised by the gesture.

"Could you take Trixie out? We need a moment." Chloe asked, though she was already waking up the child before he had a chance to reply. "Hey Monkey." Trixie looked up at her mom. "Lucifer brought you and your dad something to eat."

"Mmm." The child was still half asleep when she found herself rolling out of the bed. "You okay, mommy?" Trixie asked, her eyes barely open.

"Yeah, sweetie, I'm okay." Chloe smiled. She grabbed the remote for the bed and pressed the button to raise the back of the bed, so she could sit up comfortably. "You go." The child turned and was guided by her father on their way out. Dan closed the door behind them, giving them some privacy.

"Burger and fries, our favorite." Lucifer carried over the second bag, one hand in the bag, pulling out one of the burgers. Hoping to avoid the unpleasant conversation.

"I'm not hungry, Lucifer." Chloe sighed, looking toward the window. It was dark outside so there wasn't much to look at, but she couldn't bear to look at him without breaking down into tears.

"Detective, I…" he started, knowing very well that Chloe was disappointed.

"I told you, I don't want to know." The woman's voice broke mid-sentence. "I just wanted to enjoy this for a moment before…" They both knew that moment was already gone. "The last two months have been…" Chloe attempted to keep it together but her weak voice betrayed her. "I was just getting used to the idea of you not being here. Accepting that I might never see you again. Then suddenly you're here. I can't do that again, it's too painful." She finally glanced his way when he didn't say a word. He looked small, sitting in the chair and staring at his black Prada shoes with a crushed look on his face. "I'm sorry." It dawned on her that she wasn't the only one that had suffered in their separation. "I can't imagine what you've been though, after going back to the place you hate."

"You can't." Lucifer let out a scoff as his eyes slowly found hers.

"Then tell me." Chloe reached out, offering a hand to hold.

"The burgers are getting cold." Lucifer placed one in her hand, before standing and walking towards the window.

"No, you don't get to walk away. Not this time. Talk to me." Her words stopped his strides, and he turned slightly towards her. The burger in her hand fell to the floor as she swung her legs to the edge of the bed and stood up. She took a step forward but stumbled. It had been a while since she'd used her legs. Swiftly, Lucifer caught her in his arms and helped her to her feet. Chloe's arms wrapped around tightly around him, her head resting on his chest as she listened to his racing heartbeat.

Lucifer returned the embrace; one hand cradling her head, his fingers entangled in her hair. This was everything he had wanted for the last thousand years, to hold her in his arms. "Chloe," The woman looked up at him. "I…" On her tiptoes, she moved in and kissed him. Lucifer gently pulled away from her, grabbing hold of her hands. "You are right, this is too painful."

"Please tell me. I want to understand what it's like down there." A tear rolled down her cheek.

"Unbearable." He wiped away the tear with his thumb; he wanted to shield her from the torment of his underworld kingdom. "Thousands of years spent longing to hold you in my arms." More tears rolled down her face; it pained her to know that her time span was nothing compared to his. "Just as much a prisoner as the damned souls in my care." His eyes watered now; he didn't want to leave her. Not like this.

"Then don't go," Chloe begged. "Tell me what I can do to convince you to stay." She sniffled, unable to control her emotions.

"I have to go back, to keep humanity safe. To keep…" Lucifer let out a sigh. "To keep you safe. Everything I do, is to keep you safe."

"No." Chloe pulled herself into his arms once more. "There has to be another way. This can't be it." Her tears soaked his shirt. "I need you here. You can't leave me again. Please." The woman had a firm grip around him. "I can't live without you." Every plea felt like a stab in his chest.

"Hey, Lucifer! Thanks for..." Dan walked in the room and stopped when saw the two holding each other. Trixie was right behind him. "Sorry, I…" Feeling awkward, he turned to leave but Trixie stepped forward.

"What's going on?" the child asked, her voice concerned. Chloe loosened her grip on Lucifer but still not willing to let him go as she turned to her daughter. The detective wiped her wet face and gave her daughter a weak smile. Lucifer just looked down at the woman before him, heartbroken. "No." Trixie might be young, but she wasn't stupid. She knew what was going on. She had been seeing the same look on her mom's face for the last couple of months. "You can't go."

"You're leaving?" Dan was confused by what was going on. "Is it because what happened with Andrew Leeds?" he asked. "I told you that I would clear things up with Ross."

"No, that's not…" Lucifer looked over at the child's father.

"Andrew Leeds?" Chloe interrupted, looking back and forth between the two men. "What happened?"

"He is the guy that tried to…" Daniel skipped a few choice words to spare the child. "Lucifer… stopped him."

"I did what anyone else would do," the Devil replied, taken aback by Dan's sudden attitude change towards him.

"If you weren't here and hadn't done what you did Chloe wouldn't be…" Dan again avoided using upsetting words around his daughter. "Chloe wouldn't be here."

"It's over now. Chloe is safe." Lucifer replied. He looked down at the Detective who was gazing up at him with wonderment. "I really do need to go back home."

"Don't go." Chloe and Trixie spoke at the same time. Chloe still had one arm wrapped around him. The child wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Please don't make it harder than it already is," Lucifer whispered to the woman, holding back his own tears. Once more his hand cupped her cheek and wiped away her tears. "Please." Chloe reluctantly nodded her head. He leaned down and kissed her on the lips, forgetting that her ex was still in the room standing awkwardly by the door. "I love you and always will." He willed himself to pull away from her.

Lucifer then lowered himself to the child's level, allowing her to wrap her arms around his neck. "We couldn't have saved her without you. Thank you," he said softly. "You take care of your mom." Lucifer began to stand up, but the child wouldn't let go.

"Trixie, you need to let him go." Chloe helped pry the child away.

"No, he can't leave," the child cried. "Please stay!"

Lucifer walked towards the door, his heart hurting with every step as he listened to the child begging for him to stay.

"You need to come to game night, then. Please. It's not the same without you." Trixie made one final plea. Lucifer stopped and looked over his shoulder. He gave her a weak smile before he walked through the door.

Note: Chapter was Beta read by SailorChronos1! Thank You!