"Okay, so let me get this straight." The Devil clumsily paced the room, the sheet he held on to around his waist dragged behind him. "My demons abducted these recently dead humans who were 'missing'" Lucifer did air quotes with his free hand. "Then they dared to burn down my home, with said humans in it. After spending eons being tortured by the bastards, I could be a crucial suspect in the murder of said humans, who most likely died from other causes. Simply because they burned in the fire and there is lack of forensic evidence of their former death." Lucifer plopped down on the couch after reiterating the information that Chloe had just told him. "That's just great." His fingers massaged his temples, his mind reeling. "Fine. It's fine. I'll just tell them the truth." He looked over at the detective sitting beside him; her hand rested on his leg to show that she was there for him.
"Lucifer, I don't think that is going to help your case," Chloe muttered; she rolled her eyes at the thought. She always admired his unfailing honesty, except when it could lead to his demise.
"Why not? Hook me up to one of those polygraph thingies; then they will know that I'm not some heartless killer, I would never..." The very thought of the accusation made him agitated.
"I know. I know you would never do that. As of right now, the LAPD still thinks you're dead. You just have to lay low until we can figure this out. Right, Dan?" Chloe looked up at Dan, sitting hunched over at the kitchen counter, sipping on a drink.
"Yep, we will do our best to prove the devil is innocent." He threw over his shoulder as he chuckled to himself as he took another gulp of whisky.
"I am innocent," Lucifer roared as he stood up, the sheet wrapped around his waist nearly slipped off. "There is no way..." The Devil started before the woman quickly intervened.
"Lucifer. Dan. Enough." Chloe stood up in front of a raging Lucifer. "He knows, okay?" her voice was soft. "He's still getting used to who you are. Okay?" Her hand caressed his arm, attempting to calm him. She relaxed when she could see him simmer down as he nodded his head slowly. "Lucifer, you should probably put some clothes on before the others arrive."
"And what do you suggest I wear?" Lucifer's voice was slightly condescending, still coming down from his seething frustration.
"Dan." Chloe turned towards her ex-husband. "Do you have extra clothes in your car? A gym bag or something?"
"Yeah, I have something." Dan put down the glass and stood up from the stool. "I'll be right back." The man left through the front door.
"You got to be kidding me. I wouldn't be caught dead wearing the douches' tasteless clothes." Lucifer sneered towards the door.
"You need to wear something. You can't walk around in a bedsheet for the rest of the day." Chloe sighed, missing the Lucifer she was cuddling with just an hour ago before his life on Earth was turned upside down.
"Why not? It is how my Father originally intended it to be before I apparently ruined it with shame." Lucifer retorted like a spoiled teenager. Chloe fought the smile that wanted to emerge. "Why did you call them anyway? What can they possibly do right now? I rather continue what we were doing earlier. No visitors allowed."
"Lucifer, they all missed you, and I thought they might want to know you are back. Besides, we will all brainstorm ideas to explain your year-long disappearance. I promise, there will be plenty of time for snuggling in bed." Chloe caressed his cheek with her thumb; a smile formed on her lips when she knew he wanted the same as her.
"Fine." The man exhaled before he planted a kiss on her lips. He stopped when he heard the door open—they both glanced towards the other detective.
"Here." Dan handed Chloe a gym back. "It's clean." He made eye contact with the Devil before returning to the kitchen stool.
"Please." She asked the man standing beside her; she passed him the bag. He hesitated for a moment before he accepted it. "Thank you." She mouthed.
Lucifer opened the bag and pulled out a pair of black sweat pants and a grey t-shirt. He didn't even try to hide the expression of disgust. He dropped the sheet around his waist where he stood and proceeded to put his shackled leg into the pants awkwardly. Chloe was about to ask him to get a room, but she didn't want to push it. She turned her back to give him some semblance of privacy even she had already seen it all.
"Lucifer!" The door to the house swung open just as he shimmied the pants over his perfectly shaped butt. "I can't believe you are back" Ella quickly approached the man and gave him a bear hug, which caught him off guard. He stood awkwardly in the woman's embrace; he was still half-naked with the grey shirt still in his hands, but that didn't stop the woman from holding him close with her head against his bare chest. "You're supposed to be in Hell! How is this possible? Did you give Eligos a piece of your mind? I bet you did." Ella stood back to get a better look at him. "You look terrible."
"Thank you." The Devil was confused; he looked to the detective for an explanation. "Umm...how...?"
"Right. I was going to tell you. Umm..." Chole gave the man a weak smile. "Ella knows everything. Amenadiel showed her his wings shortly after the fire." There was no use sugar-coating it.
"Oh. Very good." Lucifer forced himself to grin, not liking the feeling of missing out on such a big revelation.
"At first, I was like, 'what the crap, why didn't you tell me?', then Chloe talked me off that bridge of betrayal. But now knowing that it is all real." Her fingers exploded from her head. "Mind blown. So cool."
"Right. Yes, cool. I guess." Lucifer exaggerated the word 'cool.' his eye gravitated towards the detective standing across from him. Her arms folded across her chest as if she had done something horribly wrong.
"So why did you need me to bring my lock picking kit?" Ella asked as she looked everyone around the room, noticing Dan in the kitchen.
"Oh, that. Umm..." Chloe looked at Lucifer, then down at his ankle. She could see his body tense up more than it already was. "We need your skills, it's probably a lock you've never seen before, but I thought you could at least try." The detective motioned for Lucifer to show the woman; he let out a sigh before lifting the pant leg to show the iron shackle around his ankle.
"Woah, that's umm..." Her eyes darted up at the man whose eyes refused to look at her, a mix of embarrassed and skeptical across his face. "I'll see what I can do. Have a seat." The man did as he was told; Ella was quickly on her knees by his foot. She unrolled her kit before she examined the cuff.
Chloe stood and watched for a moment; the Devil's gaze was out the window as the Latina woman muttered to herself, trying to make sense of the lock. The woman made her way to her ex-husband. "Hey," Her voice was low. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Dan looked up at her, his jaw clenched. "I know it's been a year since...since I found out about... It's just weird seeing him back after knowing where he was. That..." Dan gestured over his shoulder at the two in the living room. "That only happens in a fantasy movie, but here it is. A form prisoner of Hell, the Devil himself, is sitting on my ex-wife's couch, looking like..." Dan let out a chuckle of disbelief. "Looking like he was dragged out of Hell. Which he literally was."
"I know. It's pretty surreal." Chloe leaned against the countertop. "I still have moments where I don't believe it's true, that it's just in my head. I find myself checking on him to make sure he is still here." She paused for a moment, her eyes on Lucifer. "He is a good guy, Dan; you should have heard how protective he was of Trixie."
"I know. It's just everything I thought I dealt with in the past came rushing back when I saw him. You almost dying, pulling you out of the fire, and..." He let out a long sigh. "what happened to Charlotte. It was because of him."
"That's not fair." The woman defended her man. "He was not responsible for any of that."
"Still, I need a moment to process. Please give me that." He looked up with pleading eyes.
"I know," Chloe rested her hand on his arm. "it's a lot to deal with, but we need your help. I can't lose him again."
"You really do care about him?" Dan gazed at his former wife and saw the longing in her eyes.
"I do. I love him, Dan." Chloe admitted and waited for a response. Even though they were no longer together, she still cared about Dan and considered him one of her closest friends. Dan took another sip of his drink. They sat in silence for a moment before Chloe decided to check on Ella's progress.
"I do whatever I can to prove his innocence; it won't be easy, but will we figure it out." Dan finally spoke; he poured more whisky in his tumbler.
"Thank you," Chloe whispered.
Dan poured a second glass before he stood up and made his way to the man on the couch to offer him the drink. Lucifer gave the man a subtle nod of gratitude before accepting the glass. "How is coming along, Ella?" Dan asked, going on one knee to see how she was doing.
"It's not like anything I've ever seen before." the woman had made her way into a criss-cross position with Lucifer's foot in her lap.
"Of course not; it's demon forged. In Hell. If it was easy, it would have already taken it off." Lucifer blurted out before he took a hearty gulp from the drink.
"Anything I can do to help?" Dan offered, ignoring the Devil's comment.
"Could you shine the light in the mechanism? I need a better look." Ella asked; Dan pulled out his phone and turned on the flashlight. She continued to work with her tools to figure out; her head popped up when there was another knock on the door.
Chloe started to walk towards the door; she caught a glance of Lucifer rolling his eyes as she passed him. She opened the door.
"Sorry, we would have been here sooner, but Charlie did not want to put his shoes on." Amenadiel stood outside the door with the child in his arms, who was fusing.
"Yeah, the terrible twos started early." Linda sighed. "We tried calling the babysitter. She didn't answer, probably at her boyfriend's place. Again." The doctor scoffed as she rolled her eyes.
"That's fine; come on in." Chloe invited the family in.
"Luci!" The older brother greeted, making his way to where Lucifer was sitting. "It's good to see you. It's about time." He patted his brother on the back.
"Brother! Doctor! Urchin." Lucifer looked over his shoulder. "Come join the party." Chloe was the only one that noticed the hint of sarcasm in his voice.
"Hi Lucifer," Linda attempted to hide tears of relief to see her patient alive and well for the most part. At this moment, she didn't know what else to say. She could already tell he was agitated just by looking at his tense shoulders. He simply gave her a nod before his attention was back on his brother.
"Brother, maybe you should give them a hand." He pointed at the pair at his feet.
Amenadiel looked down at the forensic scientist, who was still fiddling with the lock mechanism of the shackle. "Do you mind?" Ella and Dan both back up for the Angel. Amenadiel bent over, putting the child on the floor before he started to pull apart the cuff with all his strength.
"Wait. Don't remove it." Dan stopped the Angel urgently, his hand wrapped around his friend's wrist to stop him.
"Why? I want the bloody thing off." The Devil scoffed, twirling his finger to get his brother to continue.
"I know. I know you do; just hear me out." Dan glanced around the room. It was the first time he had shown some enthusiasm about the situation. "We want to prove his innocence, right?" The man waited for a response, but we left empty-handed, just met with curious stares. "What if Lucifer does tell the truth?"
"No one is going to believe he was in Hell, and it could make everything worse." Chloe let out of huff of air.
"Is it really that far-fetched? Well, maybe, but forget that he is the Devil. It is possible that some crazed man wanted revenge and dragged Lucifer away and made him his prisoner for the last year. Until he finally escaped, and we even have proof." Dan pointed out the cuffed ankle. The room was silent, eyeing Lucifer to see how he would react, except for the child who started play with one of Ella's tools.
"So your plan, Daniel, is that I play the kidnapped victim card?" Lucifer summarized that plan.
"You don't play anything; it's true. Isn't it?" Dan was starting to regret speaking up. "You even said you would tell the truth earlier; you could be vaguer about it."
"It's not a bad idea, Dan. The victim card seems very acuate, something you are used to doing. Your life could go back to the way it used to be if that's what you choose." Amenadial finally spoke up, his words very pointed. "What is your choice, Lucifer?" Everyone could feel the unwanted tension in the room. "Unless it's not true."
"Luci, you are the Devil. I know that you can take on the demons single-handedly and that you can grow your wings back. But you are choosing to be the victim, to avoid what you are truly terrified of." His brother's words ringing in his ears from when he last visited him in Hell. "All this time, I felt guilty for not coming down sooner, only to find that you are doing this to yourself. I guess you did make your choice. I hope you change your mind and join us again on Earth when you are ready."
"Of course, it's true." Lucifer slowly stood up, his eyes on his brother. "And you know it. You saw what those bastards did to me. What they did to my wings."
"What is he talking about, Lucifer?" Chloe asked, looking at Lucifer, who was relatively quiet, confused with the conversation that only the brothers knew what was happening. It was unclear to her why this reunion was a sour one. She was definitely expecting this to go differently.
"Hmm...I did. But I also know the choice you made." Amenadiel added, ignoring Chloe's question. The rest of the room was holding their breath with uneasiness in the room, taking in the discussion that probably should be private.
"You don't know the whole story." Lucifer breathed, his voice shook.
"Then maybe you should enlighten us. Tell us why you really stayed in Hell for so long." The brother pushed a little too hard.
"I don't need to explain anything, especially to you. Now, if you excuse me." The Devil made his way around the room and headed up the stairs.
"Lucifer, wait..." Chloe called out after him, but the door slammed before she continued.
Chloe turned and looked at everyone whose eyes were now on her, waiting for her to say something, but she had nothing.
"Maybe I shouldn't have suggested anything," Dan stated, still trying to grasp what just happened. Not realizing that his simple solution would spark an intense conversation.
"I'll go talk to him." The older Angel sighed, stepping forward, realizing he probably should have kept his mouth shut; he was stopped by a petite hand.
"No, I think you did enough damage." Linda looked up at him, disappointed in the child-like behaviour of her baby's dad. "I'll go." The doctor made her way up the stairs.
"Where is that son-of-a-bitch?" The door swung open, and the demon stepped in with a smirk on her face. Maze's face changed when she was met with an awkward silence. "What did I miss?"