"You have to come, Detective," Lucifer tried again to get her to go.

"Does the Devil even have a birthday?" Chloe asked. "I thought you said you'd lost track of how old you are?"

"Okay, yes, fair point. The Devil doesn't have a birthday, but I burned my wings," Lucifer said. "It's a re-born wingless type party."

"Yeah, sure, that makes sense," Chloe chuckled at him.

"Oh come on," Lucifer continued. "Just a few drinks with friends."

"Really?" Chloe inquired. "You're hosting a party at Lux and it's just a few friends?" She turned to give him a look. "Like come on."

"Fine, you very clever Detective," Lucifer gave in. "It's a party type party, but you should still come."

"And that's a no," Chloe said again.

"Spoil sport," Lucifer sulked.

"Besides, I have to go to Malcolm's welcome back party," Chloe replied.

"Ah yes, coma boy," Lucifer sighed. "You told me he'd woken up."

"Awake and claiming he's innocent," Chloe continued.

"We both know that's not true," Lucifer scoffed.

"Yes, but I still have to make nice," Chloe said. "And I was thinking of filling Dan in on what we know so far about the Palmetto case."

"Why does Detective Douche need to know?" Lucifer asked.

"Because looking for a dirty cop isn't easy," Chloe explained in a whisper. "It takes a team, and there is no one else I can trust."

"Well there's me," Lucifer smiled.

"Pardon me for wanting more than the Devil on my side," she replied.

"Don't underestimate the benefits of having the Devil on your side," Lucifer said in that way he did where it almost sounded like a purr, very husky and sexual.

"Having another cop on the team would help," Chole continued, ignoring him. "Besides he was the one who got me back on the case. I think he'll wanna help."

"Or, I could come with you to the welcome back party," Lucifer countered. "Then you wouldn't need Detective Douche."

"Goodnight, Lucifer," Chloe said by way of goodbye as she turned towards her car which they'd been standing beside while talking. She knew he had a car parked at the precinct but even if he hadn't, it wouldn't be the first time she'd driven away and left the Devil to find his own way home.

She had bigger things to worry about, like keeping her composure at this party tonight. She'd considered just not going, but being the only one who didn't show up would arouse suspicion and she needed to look like a team player.

Speaking of teams, it was probably time she got Dan up to speed on the 999 key Lucifer and her found at the Palmetto crime scene.

Getting out her phone, she called him. When he picked up she asked if he wanted to carpool to the welcome back party. He agreed though he seemed a bit surprised. When Dan arrived at her car she waited until he was seated in the passenger side before bringing up the topic.

"There is something I've been meaning to talk to you about," Chloe began.

"Okay," Dan said, clearly confused.

"At the living wake, before Malcolm woke up, I made that speech about how I was wrong and toasted to him being a good cop," Chloe continued.

"Yeah I remember," Dan replied.

"Well I lied," Chloe said. "Lucifer and I discovered new evidence at the scene. The person who shot Malcolm was a dirty cop."

"Chloe what have you done," Dan groaned. "Why couldn't you just let this go?"

"Because, Dan," Chloe snapped. "I need to find out the truth about what I saw. I thought you'd be on my side on this!"

"I am," Dan said, in that way he did when he was trying to backtrack something he'd said. "But going after a dirty cop is dangerous."

Chloe could feel the anger building up inside her. Here she was trying to let him in and he was just pushing her away. How ironic is it that the Devil had actually been more helpful. Not that Chloe would ever tell him that. Lucifer didn't need the ego boost.

"Yeah, well, our jobs are dangerous sometimes," she said. "Doesn't mean they aren't important."

Without waiting for an answer she started the car then headed out of the parking lot. Dan didn't say much as she drove. She sensed he knew he'd dug himself another hole he couldn't climb out of. It had always been like this when they were together. He didn't support her and then she got pissed. Sometimes it had been a work thing and other times stuff with Trixie like taco night. She'd thought he'd been really putting in an effort lately too, but now it was like they were right back where they started.

They arrived at the party, still not talking much, though time had calmed her down. The party was at the Paddock bar like all their work events. Tonight it was packed to the brim with cops, all drinking and throwing darts, having a good time. She hadn't been in the crowd long when she heard her name being called.

"Chloe Decker." It was Malcolm's voice. She turned to see him roll up in a wheelchair being pushed by his partner, Anthony Paolucci. "You and I need to talk."

"Sure, Malcolm," Chloe replied. She swallowed nervously, wishing she was almost anywhere else right now.

Malcolm lifted his hand and pointed to Dan standing beside her. "You back with this guy? How long was I out? What, you get the sense knocked out of you Decker?"

Quite surprised and very awkward Chloe opened her mouth to explain they were separated. She could hear Dan starting to mumble beside her too.

"Relax guys," Malcolm said laughing. "I'm just giving you a hard time."

"You finally got your sense of humor back, huh?" Dan added.

"He's healing fast," Anthony said, proudly. "Doc said he should be able to get rid of this chair in a couple days."

Then as if to prove his partner's point, Malcolm stood up.

"Look at that huh!" Anthony said. "The partner who will not die. Heaven didn't want him and hell couldn't keep him."

"You got no idea," Malcolm said, but it was the way he said it that had Chloe intrigued. She could tell he thought he knew more about something than anyone else in that room and given what question he was replying to, it seemed like he might be talking about or even know about the existence of hell. Then he winked at her and Chloe knew something strange was going on.

She didn't want to tip her hand though and instead tried to act normal while making a mental note to ask Lucifer if he had any idea how Malcolm could be mixed up in something celestial. If her dirty cop case suddenly turned into an angelic whatever it was gonna derail fast!

The rest of the party was pretty uneventful and Chloe managed to duck out before it was that late. When she got home her daughter was fast asleep. Chloe paid the sitter and locked up the house before going to bed herself.

Her mind wouldn't sit still long enough to fall asleep for some time. She kept going over what Malcolm had said and how he'd said it in her head. The more she thought about it the more she was convinced he knew what she knew. Had he actually been to hell and then returned? Is that what happened when people almost died? But no, Chloe had interviewed people after a near death experiences before and they hadn't mentioned anything. There was something different about this Malcolm guy. She needed to talk to Lucifer about it first thing tomorrow.

The problem was that when Chloe got into work the next day Lucifer was nowhere to be seen, even though they had a new case and she'd actually called him in. So much for the Devil being reliable.

Despite her burning questions, Chloe wasn't about to go look for him, so she focused on the new case. Dr. Bernie Shaw had been killed last night in his place of work, without forced entry. Between that and the improvised weapon Chloe felt sure this had been a crime of passion. Once she got a look at the doctor's web page she knew Lucifer wouldn't want to miss this. The type of council this doctor impliented was right up his alley. Even so, without Lucifer here, she supposed she'd have to go interview the widow on her own.

"Oh dear, someone's session went poorly." Lucifer's voice made her turn around.

Again she couldn't help but wonder if thinking of the Devil had the same effect as speaking of him. The timing was just creepy.

"Look who finally decided to show up," Chloe said, once she had walked across the room.

"I had a previous engagement," Lucifer replied. "Therapy twice in one day. It's so LA of me."

"Whatever that means," Chloe said. "I need to talk to you." She gestured for him to follow her away from the other officers who were investigating the scene.

"Well well, what has gotten into you this morning?" Lucifer asked cheerfully. "Changing your mind about sex then?"

Chloe so wanted to shoot him again. Once they were out of earshot she stopped and turned to face him.

"Has anyone ever escaped hell?" she asked.

"Oddly specific, Detective," Lucifer replied. "But I'll play along. Not on their own, they haven't. If a body has only just died then the soul can be put back, but whoever did that would have to be someone who could travel between hell and earth."

"So an angel then?" Chloe inquired.

"Yes, and a rather stuipd one at that," Lucifer continued. "Putting a soul that has experienced hell back into an earthly body is a terrible idea. Time doesn't work the same down there. Even if they had only been dead a couple seconds, it could have felt like years to them."

"And years in hell can change a person?" Chloe asked next.

"To put it mildly, yes," Lucifer said. "What is with all the morbid curiosity today, Detective?"

"I think Malcolm knows about hell," Chloe told him. "There was something he said at the welcome back party, or I suppose it was the way he said it. Either way I have no proof."

"Oh, well I can get you proof, Detective," Lucifer said. "Just say the word and I'll-"

"No," Chloe told him. "We do this the smart way, not the Lucifer way."

"You know I take offence to that," Lucifer huffed, but Chloe just rolled her eyes.

"In the meantime we have a case to work on," Chloe continued. "We better get back out there or people will get suspicious."

"Not to worry, Detective," Lucifer said cheerfully. "If anyone asks I'll tell them you turned me down cold again."

"But you don't lie," she reminded him.

"And we haven't had sex so it isn't a lie," Lucifer countered.

Chloe covered her face with her hands, once again feeling quite sure Lucifer was more child than devil, even if his bartender was a demon.

They headed back to the scene and Choe filled him in on the case. She wasn't at all surprised that Lucifer was happy to hear about the cheater therapist. His support for the idea of cheating to save a marriage also came as no shock. He didn't seem to understand why anyone could be driven to kill over a cheating spouse. Interviewing the wife went about as Chloe had expected it. Lucifer complimented the cheater theropist's work in the least appropriate way possible. Even if he did break the ice very well, Chloe felt sure a comment about her husband's bang on work was not what the poor woman wanted right after coming home to find her husband dead.

"Every one of her husband's patients is a suspect," Chloe explained to him once they were done interviewing the wife.

"Oh does that mean we get to dive into private files?" Lucifer asked gleefully.

"No. We can't look at them without a phycologist to protect patient confidentiality," Chloe told him.

"Perfect! I have just the psychologist," Lucifer chimed in. "Dr. Linda Martin, from our first case together."

"The one that wanted to jump your bones?" Chloe scoffed. "Not happening. Besides, it's out of our hands. Court appointed. A judge needs to sign off."

"Excellent!" Lucifer said.

"Oh no," Chloe groaned. "Whatever Lucifer thing you are thinking up don't do it."

"See you later, Detective," Lucifer said, before walking away. Chloe felt the need to cover her face with her hands again. Why was he so annoying? How could someone older than she could possibly comprehend be this childish!? How? Did immortals never grow up? The only other immortal she'd met, Lucifer's brother, had seemed a bit more mature than him, but the whole wing thief thing made her think he actually wasn't either. She would need a wider pool of immortals to know for sure if endless time really meant endless childhood.

When the court appointed judge sent in the paperwork for which therapist would be helping them, Chloe almost wasn't surprised to see Dr. Linda Martin's name. They needed someone impartial, not someone sleeping with the Devil. Still, there wasn't much Chloe could do about it.

Since actually understanding and believing why people told Lucifer things, she'd been paying more attention. The way people responded to the Devil's presence was subtle but quite remarkable once you really saw it. Chloe found herself once again glad he couldn't do that to her.

"What did you do?" Chloe lectured the Devil once they arrived at Dr. Martin's office. Just because there was nothing she could do about it didn't mean she wasn't going to reprimand him.

"Not what but who if you must know," Lucifer said with a smile. "But I try not to kiss and tell."

"Why are you so determined to get her on this case?" Chloe asked. "Is it because you're sleeping with her?"

"That hardly matters, Detective," Lucifer said. "I assure you Dr. Martin is excellent. She trained at Stanford. She lectures at USC. She has stacks of awards."

"Wait, since when are you her fan?" Chloe asked. If this really was all about his sleeping with her, why would Lucifer be defending her career like this? Chloe had expected him to start talking about how her hot yoga improved their sex.

"Since I became a client," Lucifer said.

"You're really in therapy?" Chloe asked, taken aback.

"Not sure why you're surprised, Detective," Lucifer said. "I told you this already, twice actually."

"Yeah but I thought you were joking," Chloe replied. "Besides you are the least reflective person I know." She lowered her voice before adding, "And it's hard to imagine the actual Devil putting in couch time."

"I have layers," Lucifer said defensively. "I'm like an onion."

"An onion," Chloe sighed. "Really? That's what you're going with."

"Look she's helped me, alright," Lucifer said in a more serious tone. "When I lost my wings she… well let's just say she helped me get to the root of the issue, even if I did rather punch her wall in the process."

"Does that mean she knows?" Chloe asked. "About you being the Devil?"

"Unfortunately, no," Lucifer sighed. "She doesn't believe me, thinks I talk in metaphors, but still a very capable doctor who I think will be of help to this case."

They were interrupted then by Dr. Martin. She'd found someone among the victims' patients that might be a suspect. The patient was Richard Kester. His marriage had fallen apart thanks to the cheater therapist and he'd sent death threats to the victim.

"Add him to the list of angry patients," Chloe said.

"That's just it," Dr Martin replied. "Richard is the only one so far. Dr Shaw's patients seem remarkably happy with him."

"Do they now?" Lucifer said smugly. "See cheater therapy works." Chloe resisted rolling her eyes for the sake of Dr Martin.

"I'll look into this," Chloe told Linda, while ignoring Lucifer. "Thank you."

You can thank my editor for this update today. She sneak a break at work to edit for me. ^_^ Also yes this one isn't all that different from the show. As I've been going through and writing these I have noticed quite a bit of it wouldn't have really changed. I've tried to sum up as much as I can when it's duplicate stuff, since I assume anyone reading this has also watched Lucifer.

When I started this fic there were a few really key things I wanted to try the Chloe in the know version of (like her knowing why he's vulnerable, gift from god and who Cain is type stuff) but this episode didn't really have much in the way of key moments. What I did realize is all Lucifer's jealousy in this episode wouldn't have been there since she isn't working a secret case with Dan.

Please let me know what you think. I just love to hear from readers! Next chapter will go up as soon as my editor sends it to me.

Sneak Peek Chapter 11

"Okay yes but let's skip all that and get right to the part where we figure it out and catch the killer, hmm?" Lucifer offered.

"It doesn't work like that, Lucifer," Chloe laughed.

"Well bugger all then if I know what to do," Lucifer said and walked off. It was so frustrating this lack of control. In Hell he'd been in charge, been the King, and here he felt compelled somehow to follow the Detective around. It didn't make any sense. Why? Why did he want to be here when he could be doing literally anything else?

Lucifer hadn't wandered far, but he must have been out of sight because just at the range of his hearing he heard Chloe and Linda talking. They clearly didn't know he could hear them.