Lucifer stood in the middle of the precinct; his eyes wandered around at the familiar faces. He wanted to hug them. This coming from the man who used to despise any form of affection. But the Devil knew better. He knew that this wasn't real. Just another manipulation from Eligos. He could smell the sulphur in the air.

Lucifer's attention was pulled to the woman descending the main stairs, her hair flowing in the wind, which was laughable because there was no breeze in the building. But her smile lit up the room, and everyone relished her presence. She was gorgeous, there was no doubt about that. Slowly she stepped off the last step, but her feet didn't touch the ground.

The Devil's heart started to pound in his chest; his eyes met hers. She was struggling to breathe while a rope around her neck cut off her airway, body dangling on the noose.

"CHLOE!" The scream rang throughout the building. He tried to move forward but was held back by the weight around his ankle.

Suddenly, all eyes were on him.

"Look at what you've done."

"I didn't do this."

"How dare you kill her?"

"No. It wasn't me."

"Does she mean so little to you?"

"No, I love her."

"Lucifer?" A voice called out in the distance.

"How could you be so cruel."

"No. No."

"Lucifer, wake up!"

"She's better off without you."

"NOOOO... Please stop. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. NO. Please."

"Lucifer!" There were hands wrapped around his arm, and they shook him awake; his eyes flew open. Chloe was kneeling in front of him, a panicked look across her face. Hands trembling.

"Chloe?" Lucifer looked around the room, confused about what had just happened.

"You were dreaming." The detective grasped onto his trembling hand. In her gut, she knew that the dream had to do with his Hell.

"A dream?" Lucifer sighed, still puzzled. She nodded her head. Chloe could tell this his mind was reeling; she wondered what was going through it. She noticed his eyes finally fixated on her chest. She looked down to see the dangling jewelry as his hand reached out for it. He looked up at her. "What is this?" he insisted.

"What? You know what this is. Don't you remember?" Chloe's voice was soft, much like she would talk to a witness. The bullet necklace was hardly ever taken off over the last year. A constant reminder of his love for her. His vulnerability.

"I know. But I need you to tell me." Lucifer's body tensed up; he pushed his stiff body into a seated position as he waited for her reply.

"This is the bullet necklace you gave me for my birthday." The detective finally spoke after a moment of studying the apprehensive look in his eyes. "It's the bullet from when I shot you when we first met. You said something like, 'I most likely will never penetrate you, so I thought I could commemorate the one time..."

"You penetrated me." He finished the sentence with a sigh of relief. A smile flashed across his face. His fingers were still holding onto the makeshift pendant.

"Yeah." Chloe was unsure of what had just happened and why he seemed desperate for her to tell him about the gift. "Lucifer, why... why did you need me to tell you about it?" She wasn't really sure if she wanted to hear the answer.

Lucifer looked up at her face and saw a troubled expression. He knew he wanted to let her in on what happened down there, but he didn't expect it to be this soon. "I, um..." He didn't let go of the necklace; his thumb caressed the smooth ridges. "In Hell, they used you as one of the many means to torment me." His jaw tightened, his breath shallow. "I've seen you die a thousand different ways, and I was always inadvertently blamed for why you die. A guilt trip of sorts." Chloe stared at him in wonderment; she caught herself holding her breath while he spoke. "I knew it wasn't real; of course, I knew. They became sloppy with the details. But..." The Devil's eyes glistened as he fought back tears. "There were times... times where I... I..." His voice stammered; it was hard for him to finish the sentence, but she didn't need him to. Chloe placed her hand on his knee to reassure him. "I can't watch you die again." His voice was just over a whisper. He paused for a moment to compose himself before he continued. "They, the demons, don't know everything about you. The fact about the necklace wouldn't interest them. Only the real Chloe would know about it." He gave her a weak smile. "Only you. Sort of a talisman to confirm that I am indeed on Earth."

"Oh," she whispered. Her heart ached to know that those bastards used her against him. "I am real." She smiled as she brought his hand up to her lips. "And I'm not going anywhere."

"You, Detective, are too good to me, and I don't deserve you." He let go of the bullet and cupped her cheek. "After all this time, you still take me in."

"Lucifer, I never stopped loving you. But as time went by, the more I accepted that I might never see you again. I didn't want to believe it, but from what Amenadiel told me about... your fate, I knew the chances were slim. Now here you are." She grabbed his free hand that was resting on his lap. "I'm never letting you go again." Chloe let out a soft laugh.

"I..." Lucifer started when they were interrupted.

"Mom, what is going on?" Trixie stood at the top of the stairs wiping the sleep away from her eyes. Then she noticed the back of the man's head, he slowly looked over his shoulder. "Lucifer.?!" She squealed with excitement; the child barreled down the stairs, nearly missing the last step. "I can't believe you're back. I thought..." She went to pull him in for a hug.

"Hold on." Chloe intervened; the woman held out her arm to stop the child from getting too close. "Monkey, Lucifer is not feeling great. So maybe give him some-"

"Nonsense," Lucifer scoffed; he opened his arms, ready for a hug. Trixie smiled, brushed her mom aside and embraced the Devil, who let out a painful grunt. "I thought you were trapped in Hell; what changed?" The child didn't let go.

"Umm..." Lucifer looked around at Chloe, looking for an explanation of how the child knew about his fate.

"I wasn't going to lie. Besides, she already knows what you are." Chloe revealed, a small smile curled on her lips. She loved seeing them together. The Devil gave her an understanding nod.

"Are you okay?" Trixie had sat down beside him, finally noticing the rough shape he was in.

"I am now." Lucifer flashed a charming grin.

"What's that?" The child pointed out the dry black substance on his right hand.

"Oh, umm." The man glanced down at his hand. "That is Eligos' blood from when-"

"Umm, okay, that's enough. Trix, you need to get ready for school." Chloe interrupted, pulling her child off the couch and pushed her towards her room. She didn't want her child to hear the harrowing tale before she did. Not to mention that she didn't realize what time it was with all the excitement of the morning's events.

"But..." Trixie objected, interested in what he had to say.

"No, you're going to be late." Chloe stood by the child's closed bedroom door, her overwhelmed eyes on Lucifer.

"I don't lie, and apparently, she knows a lot more than I thought," Lucifer defended himself. He tried to stand up from where he had been perched all night long; it took him three tries before he was on his feet. The Devil walked around the couch, keeping a hand on the back of it to keep himself balanced.

"I know," Chloe let out a large sigh. "But you can leave things out." She took a few steps towards him. "You killed Eligos?" she whispered, her heart pounding in her chest.

"I did." Lucifer clenched his jaw. "But in all fairness, he tried to kill me first when I finally escaped; they all did."

"Right, of course." Chloe slowly made her way to where he was standing. Her hand barely touched his skin when she traced the minor scrapes on the right side of his chest. Road rash, as if he had been dragged along a rough surface. "You did what you had to do."

"I would do it again if it meant I could see you again." Lucifer brushed back her hair. "I was a fool for waiting so long before I... I'm sorry, Chloe. I was an idiot. I should have..."

"Stop saying that." Chloe huffed; she was frustrated with his constant apologies. Lucifer's mouth opened to speak, but she wasn't having any of it. "I don't want to hear it, not right now. All I want to believe is that you are back... for good." Chloe stepped close, her hand on his chest. "You are here for good? Right? Hell is taken care of? Amenadiel said the spell thingy worked. So, no worries of demons, right?" She looked up at him, hoping that he would answer all her questions with a confident yes.

"I..." The man hesitated, not really sure what was happening down there. His narrow escape blurred in his mind. "I think so; if my brother says it taken care of, then it must be." There was a hint of doubt behind his words.

"Well, we will cross that bridge if it comes. One step at a time," the detective stated, trying not to worry about the possibility of him leaving again. She looked over his ash-smeared body. He definitely looked like he should be in one of the World War II documentaries. "The next step is a shower." She smiled, wiping some soot away from under his lip and then sneaked in a tiny peck.

"Get a room already." Trixie stood outside her room, backpack slung over one shoulder.

"Trixie." Chloe let out a nervous laugh. She walked over to her daughter and started to escort her to the door. "Your bus should be here any minute."

"Fine," the child scoffed with an eye roll. "But it's not fair that I have to go to school while you get to stay here with Lucifer." She opened the front door.

"It's not like we are playing hooky; he's hurt and needs some rest." Chloe looked back at Lucifer, who leaned back on the couch for support.

"Cool." Trixie was distracted by her discovery outside the door. She picked up the sword and the dagger off the ground. Chloe's eyes grew when she realized that the demon forged weapons were left outside her home for anyone to take. The detective couldn't believe how lucky she was that no one had picked them up. "Can I keep them?" her daughter asked, excited about the prospect of new toys.

"Sure," the Devil threw casually over his shoulder.

"No." Chloe scoffed when she heard Lucifer's answer. "Absolutely not. Give them here."

"Fine." Trixie sighed and handed her mother the blades, who quickly brought them into the house so no one could see. The child looked down and noticed something else. "Can your feathers heal you too or only humans?" Trixie asked, holding up little wisps of white feathers.

Chloe looked over to Lucifer to see how he would answer. He gave the child a weak smile. "They can."

"So cool. Those things are awesome." Trixie gushed, having already witnessed the feathers in action.

"Thanks, baby," The mother whispered to her child. Trixie gave her mom the tiny feathers as the bus pulled up. "Have a good day at school, okay?"

"Fine. But when I get back, we are having a game night." Trixie hugged her mom. "Glad you're back, Lucifer," she yelled over her shoulder as she ran for the bus.

Chloe closed the door and looked down at the feathers in her hand. "This is how you saved me before, yeah? I mean, I know it is, but I don't exactly remember. It's just..." She looked up at Lucifer, who was focused on not falling over. He looked so pale and sickly behind the soot. Beads of sweat from the fever, his body trying its best to heal him naturally. She knew that he was trying to hide his discomfort, especially in front of the child. "What do we do?" she asked. The detective took several steps forward. "Is there a spell or something? or..." She reached out her hand, giving him the feathers.

"No. Nothing like that." Lucifer chuckled; he glanced down at the divine items in her hand; he slowly rolled her fingers around them to make a fist. "But we are not doing it." Both of his calloused hands encased hers.

"Why?" Chloe let out a soft whisper. "I don't understand."

"I need to feel it." His voice shook; he closed his eyes for a moment. "I need to."

"But..."

"Please."

"Okay." Chloe's voice was soft. She didn't completely understand why he needed this so badly when the pain could be quickly taken away. The realization that she probably will never fully understand the gravity of his time in Hell and it scared her. Wondering if the Lucifer she knew so long ago was still in there somewhere. There were a few glimpses of the man she knew behind this broken one. "Let's get you upstairs."

The Devil was determined to make it up the stairs himself, but it felt more daunting once he looked at the challenge. Frustrated with himself at being winded just from walking from the couch to the staircase. He looked to the side, knowing that Chloe was standing nearby; without a word, she stood close to him and he wrapped his arm around her neck.

In silence, they made it to the bathroom. Lucifer sat down on the closed toilet seat and watched his detective turn on the water. She left the room for a brief moment and returned with two towels. Lucifer gave her a confused look, but Chloe didn't notice and proceeded to take off her shirt. Next, the pants were slipped off and tossed to the side.

"Detective." Lucifer gave the woman a pleased smile as she stood there in her undergarment. "I thought you would never ask."

"As much as I want to have sex again," the woman smiled, relieved that his sexual appetite and humour were still intact. "I didn't want to get my clothes wet."

"Hmm. Right." The Devil raised his eyebrows with excitement.

"Get your mind off the gutter." Chloe let out an embarrassed laugh, realizing her poor choice of words. "Now..." She closed her eyes, knowing what was going to come next, "...can you take off your... pants?" Then opened her eyes when there was no witty reply. The playfulness from his eyes was gone, replaced with dread. "It's okay." Her voice was soothing. "I'll help you." She offered her hand to aid him in standing, but he just looked at it. After a moment, he reached out.

The woman helped him stand up. Her fingers gently undid the loose button on his torn trousers. Carefully, she began to pull them down. Her heart stopped when she noticed a violent bruise on the side of his legs. It started at his hip and went right down to his knee. This wasn't a fresh bruise either; it has been there for a while. She looked up at him only to see him fixated on the running water in the tub. Chloe leaned in, and a kiss grazed the middle of the blemish before she finished pulling down pants to his ankles. Without being asked, he lifted his foot as she pulled the pant leg around his foot. Her stomach turned when she saw the shackle around the ankle again, not expecting the metal to feel warm to the touch. She noticed the dark purple and red skin that encircled his ankle. Wondering what they had to do to get that awful thing off. Her first thought went to Ella, the genius at lock picking, but knowing this wouldn't be like any ordinary lock. She shook the thought from her mind, knowing she had to concentrate on one thing at a time.

"I need to take the dressing off," Chloe whispered as she stood up. The man willingly turned around, so his back was to her; he was still not able to look at her. Carefully, she removed the bandage she'd placed the night before. She was stunned that the wound looked better than she thought it would, curious as to why it was healing so fast.

Chloe helped Lucifer step into the shower; she followed suit standing behind him to ensure he didn't slip and fall. His hands steadied himself under the showerhead as the warm water ran down his beaten-up body.

The woman reached for her loofa and poured a generous amount of soap on top. Gently she began to scrub his back in small circles and watched the dirt and blood wash away. The man complied with her every touch that signaled her next move. She took her time washing his body; cleansing him of that awful place.

When she was done, they stood face to face. Lucifer's eyes finally found hers; his hand cupped her face. His thumb wiped around the soapsuds that had found their way to her cheek. "What would I do without you?" He leaned in and kissed her deeply on the lips.

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