"You want me to babysit the priest?" Lucifer asked.

"I babysit you all the time," Chloe replied with that smile she always had when she was making fun of him.

"The Devil doesn't need a babysitter!" Lucifer called back at her, but she was already in the penthouse elevator.

Oh he was gonna need a drink. Picking up one of the drinks he'd just poured for Father Frank, the Detective, and himself Lucifer downed it in one go. Such a pity he never felt the buzz. What was the point in being able to bleed if he couldn't get drunk?

With a sigh, Lucifer went to talk to Father Frank who was standing on his balcony looking out over the city. Despite all the evidence against Conner, Frank still believed in him, and in God too.

"Why don't you believe?" Father Frank asked.

"Because He didn't have faith in me," Lucifer explained.

"I felt that way once too," Father Frank replied. "But now I know deep in my heart God has a plan for me."

"Oh His plan for me was quite clear," Lucifer said, annoyed.

"How do you know it's finished?" Father Frank asked.

Lucifer didn't have anything to say to that. He was saved from having to come up with something when Father Frank took a phone call, and stepped out to answer it.

His father's plan, still unfinished? It was a concept Lucifer had never considered before. God casting him out of heaven forever to rule over hell had always felt like the end of his father's caring one way or the other about what happened to him. How could dooming Lucifer to be forever blamed for every mortal's sin for the rest of time be part of a bigger plan? Wasn't it just a punishment, simple and complete? Yes, that was it. After all, it had been thousands and thousands of years since his exile. How could the plan not be complete?

Feeling like he'd spent all together too much time with his own thoughts, Lucifer decided to see if Father Frank was done with his phone call. Finding him turned out to be trickier than he'd expected. When Lucifer went downstairs to see if Frank had joined the party at Lux, he noticed Chloe. He explained the situation to her, and together they looked for the priest.

"Maze, the priest, have you seen him?" Lucifer asked, leaning over the bar to speak to his bartender.

"Oh, so you're talking to me now?" Maze replied coolly.

Lucifer repeated his question but with more authority, and this time Maze answered.

"He was down here on his phone," Maze explained. "Heard him talking to someone named Connor."

"Do you know where he went?" Chloe asked Maze, but Maze just gave her a venomous look. Chloe backed up, looking a bit more afraid than he'd expected.

"Don't scare the Detective," Lucifer lectured his demon.

"If you don't want to scare people, don't tell them who we are!" Maze shot back.

"It's fine," Chloe said. "Right now we need to focus on Father Frank. Do you think he's trying to talk Connor into turning himself in."

"No. He's probably trying to hide the little miscreant," Lucifer replied. "Put his faith in God, not the police."

"Why do you care about a priest!?" Maze snapped at Lucifer.

"I don't," Lucifer replied at once. Because it was true. No matter what Chloe said, he hadn't befriended one of his father's people. It simply wasn't possible.

Chloe seemed to notice his quick reply, but she didn't say anything about it. Instead she asked him where Father Frank would go. Lucifer said it would have to be somewhere Father Frank considered safe. At the same time the two of them realized where that was. He considered the church a sanctuary.

At once, the Detective was moving, and Lucifer followed behind. It was raining when they arrived on the scene. Peeking in through the windows, Lucifer saw Father Frank being held at gunpoint by Connor. Frank was trying to talk the boy down. He and Chloe ducked down and moved slowly towards the scene at the altar.

Lucifer didn't like the gun being pointed at Father Frank. It was making him jumpy, but the Detective wouldn't fire at Connor. She said she didn't have a clean shot. If he was more bulletproof Lucifer would have just jumped in the way and crushed the gun, but bleeding meant following the Detective's lead. She knew how to stop the bad guys and not get killed doing it.

It was then that someone else showed up at the scene. Eric Doyle, the counselor from the youth center, was trying to talk Connor into firing the gun.

"That's our Spider," Chloe said. She moved closer and Lucifer followed. He assumed she was trying to get into a position where she could get a clean shot off.

"Just follow your heart, son," Father Frank said. "I have faith in you."

Then Connor put down the gun and everything happened very fast. The Spider picked up the dropped gun and was going to fire it at Connor when Father Frank got in between them, saving Connor but dooming himself.

The Detective processed this faster than Lucifer did. She stood up and fired at Eric, hitting him in the shoulder cleanly and preventing any further violence.

Lucifer, however, wasn't really paying attention to any of this. He only had eyes for his friend bleeding out on the church floor.

Lucifer ran to the priest's side, taking off his jacket to put pressure on the wound. It was right in the center of his chest and bleeding far too much.

"What the bloody hell were you thinking?" Lucifer asked Frank. "Don't go anywhere, you moron!"

"It's okay," Frank said. "I'm not afraid of dying."

"Well you should be," Lucifer said. "It's really boring where you're headed."

"I hope so," Frank said. He was smiling, but his teeth were full of blood. "I've had enough excitement for one lifetime."

"Stop talking like that," Lucifer ordered him.

"At first I didn't understand why God put you in my path," Father Frank said. "But then it hit me. Maybe he put me in yours."

"I highly doubt that," Lucifer replied. He was supporting the priest's upper body with one arm while applying pressure to his wound with the other. "He gave up on me a long time ago."

"You're wrong, Lucifer," Father Frank said. "Remember, your father has a plan."

"My father?" Lucifer echoed back. He could barely believe his ears. "You know?"

And then Father Frank's soul left his body and Lucifer found himself filled with rage like he'd never experienced before. Deep murderous rage. Someone needed to be punished for this. Punished worse than he'd ever punished anyone or anything before. Father Frank had known he was the Devil all along, but he hadn't been scared. Hadn't even needed convincing and talking down like the Detective. He'd just been kind and this was the reward he got? Unacceptable!

"Time to pull the legs off the spider," he growled as he stood up and turned towards Father Frank's murderer.

In one quick motion, Lucifer had Eric by the throat and was holding him three feet off the floor. Eric's back hit the wall with a very satisfying thud. The anger coursing through Lucifer now was like nothing he could describe. This man needed to know he would suffer, needed to know he was doomed. Lucifer flashed his Devil eyes for Eric to see.

"Do you think you've won now, Spider?" Lucifer asked. "Just wait, there is a special place in Hell for those who kill my father's speakers." Lucifer tightened his grip, enjoying the sounds of Eric's distress. In that moment there was nothing, but Lucifer's hand and the throat being rushed by it.

It was Chloe's voice that brought the world back into focus.

"Lucifer, stop," Chloe said. Her voice was shaking, frightened even. "Father Frank wouldn't have wanted this. Stop."

Hearing fear in the Detective's voice hurt somehow, in a similar way as it had hurt to watch Father Frank die in his arms. Lucifer didn't understand what it meant. The pain didn't make any sense, but he did stop, dropping the Spider down to the ground and taking a step back.

Lucifer turned to Chloe, his breathing erratic. Her eyes were wide as she stared at him. Had she seen his eyes? Lucifer hadn't really thought about her being here while he'd been consumed by rage. Connor was quietly crying over Father Frank's body in the corner. Lucifer knew Father Frank was in heaven now, or in other words somewhere Lucifer could never go.

Chloe must have called for backup at some point because they showed up right then. Lucifer looked again at the Detective, but couldn't see any sign of fear on her face like before. She had her cop face on now and was working with the other officers.

She didn't need him. In fact, she was probably better off without him. Lucifer needed to not be here anymore. He hated feeling like this. It was worse than the bullet had been. Everything hurt and yet nothing did in a way he couldn't even understand.

Disappearing from the scene, Lucifer went home.

Walking off the elevator into his penthouse, Lucifer went to the balcony. Even if the Detective had stopped him from whatever it was he'd been about to do, she hadn't stopped his rage. But now it was directed more accurately. After all, this was his father's doing. That cruel manipulative bastard didn't seem to care if people followed his rules or not, either way he doomed them to a fate they didn't deserve. If nobody could win, then what even was the bloody point of it all anyway?

Lucifer found himself shouting into the heavens. Screaming up at his father, even if he knew his father wouldn't bother to listen.

"I don't know if there is a point."

Lucifer almost jumped. He knew that voice, but why she would be here he had no idea. Even after turning around and seeing the Detective, he didn't quite believe she was standing there.

"You really should put some security on your elevator," Chloe told him. "It seems anyone can just walk in."

"The Devil doesn't need security," Lucifer told her.

"Right," she said. "Anyway you left before we finished up at the scene. Turns out Father Frank was right about Connor. He gave us everything, probably won't even do much juvie, if any."

"I scared you," Lucifer stated calmly, changing the topic. He didn't really care if Connor had been worth saving. His stomach was in knots again, but he was trying to ignore that.

"You did," Chloe confirmed.

"And yet, here you are, knocking on the Devil's door. Or at least his elevator," Lucifer said.

"Because you stopped," Chloe told him. "When I asked you to."

"Doesn't matter," Lucifer said, turning away from her. Oh how he wished he could get drunk.

"On the contrary. It is the only thing that matters," Chloe said firmly.

"Maze scared you too," Lucifer continued. His voice was flat, empty, even to his own ears. Why did it hurt so much when nothing was broken? His body was whole, yet in pain. It didn't make any sense.

"I heard what you were saying," Chloe continued. She was standing well back, but she was here which was more than he deserved.

"Go home, Detective," Lucifer said, turning around again. "You're right to be scared of me. I am, after all, only what my father made me."

There was a long pause. Lucifer kept waiting for her to leave, or scream, or run, or something. He felt certain she'd seen his eyes flash at the church, so why was she here?

Lucifer couldn't remember a time in his long long life when he'd felt this torn up inside. His stomach was all twisted in knots, his heart pounding in his ears. Every breath seemed to be ripping it's way past his throat like the air was full of blades. His body was shaking.

"You're wrong," Chloe said, and she took a step towards him. Lucifer almost took a step back in surprise. "Our parents may give us our start in life, but they don't dictate who we become."

"That's easy for you to say," Lucifer scoffed. "Yours isn't omnipotent."

"Not even your father can control who you decide you want to be," Chloe told him. "He can call you Devil or banish you, but in the end your actions show who you are."

"Actions like lifting humans above my head and crushing their windpipe?" Lucifer said. It was probably best, she left now. Probably best she ran before he ruined her life.

"I can't imagine what it would feel like to be stronger and faster than everyone around you," Chloe continued though he had no idea where she was going with this. "Even less so to be like that when you have just witnessed someone you care about die." She stopped for a moment then took another step closer. Lucifer just stared. "But you stopped yourself, and as long as you continue to choose to stop, we can work together."

"Even if I scare you?" Lucifer asked.

"Yes," Chloe said.

"Why?" Lucifer asked. "Why would you still want to work with me?"

"I don't quite understand it, but you make me a better Detective," Chloe said.

Lucifer thought about that for a while. "I didn't choose to stop on my own," Lucifer said, looking down at his hands. "If you hadn't said anything I'm not sure what I would have done." He paused then looked right at Chloe before saying. "I think you might make me a better man."

"Who knew the Devil was just a man," Chloe smiled at him.

"Who knew the Devil could have a friend," Lucifer said back in a whisper.

There was silence for a moment, then Chloe wandered over to his piano and sat down. Lucifer wasn't sure if it was an invitation or not. The last thing he wanted was to scare her again, so he moved slowly, coming to stand on the other side of the piano before speaking.

"Do you play?" he asked.

"No," Chloe replied. "I had three years of lessons, but all I remember is one song."

"Which song?" Lucifer asked.

And then Chloe started playing it. The song was 'Heart and Soul' by Hoagy Carmichael. Lucifer couldn't help but chuckle.

"That bad huh?" Chloe asked.

"Not at all, Detective," Lucifer replied.

"I thought you didn't lie," she said, raising an eyebrow at him.

"I don't," Lucifer confirmed. "You play that one song beautifully. It's a pity that is all you can remember."

He wanted to sit beside her and accompany her, but that would mean being closer to her than she'd so far allowed since seeing him lose his temper. Instead Lucifer just stood and listened to her play. He hadn't lied in that she did play the one song quite nicely, even if a bit simply. She was leaving out a few parts which would be fixed if he could get his hands on the keys.

Still, even just standing here listening to her, was making the air a bit easier to breathe.

"Before he died, Fank called God my father," Lucifer said in a small voice. "He knew I was actually the Devil and yet he still…" Lucifer didn't quite know how to finish what he was trying to say.

"Choose to be your friend," Chloe finished it for him. "You really don't understand why people do that, huh?

"Complete mystery," Lucifer said, throwing his hands in the air for emphasis.

Rather than reply, Chloe moved over on the piano stool. Lucifer just stared. It seemed like she was making room for him. Did she want him to sit down beside her?

"This is a beautiful piano," Chloe told him. "It deserves more than just my clumsy fingers playing it."

Slowly, as if every moment might cost him the world, Lucifer walked around the piano and sat down. She didn't flinch away, though the muscles in her back tensed for a moment.

"Are you alright, Detective?" Lucifer asked.

"I'd just never seen you so angry before," Chloe explained. "When you took down the gang, before you got shot, it was more like you were just swatting at an insect that got in your way, but tonight..." She trailed off.

"I let my darkness show," Lucifer supplied the end of her sentence for her.

"Yeah I guess you did," she said slowly.

At least she was still sitting beside him. Rather than push his luck with more conversation, Lucifer decided to try his hand at the keys. He began to play the same song she had and after a moment she placed her hands on the keys and played along.

It took a while, but as they played piano together Lucifer could feel himself relax. His heart wasn't pounding at all now, but beating at its usual even rate. The air moved through his throat like it always had before, without the razor blades. And best of all the pain that he hadn't been able to explain had become a manageable dull ache, easily ignored.

"Thank you," Lucifer told her when they stopped playing piano.

"What for?"

"For being here with me," Lucifer said. "I- well I think I needed this."

"That's what having a friend is, Lucifer," Chloe said. "Someone who is there when you need them."

"Then thank you for being my friend, Detective," Lucifer smiled.

Quite by accident I have just discovered that all my scene breaks or *****'s aren't showing up when I publish chapters which has likely been very confusing for you all! Especially in my last chapter that was supposed to have three of them. I have now gone through and reuploaded every break that was missing. Sorry about that.

While writing this I realized the moments after Father Franks death were really the first time we ever saw Lucifer truly angry in the show so I thought I'd work with that. It just felt like seeing him do that knowing he's the Devil would have affected Chloe differently than seeing him thinking he's just a normal thought slightly delusional man. I hope you like my Chloe knows version of their adorable piano scene. :)

And to all those hoping I wasn't going to kill Father Frank. Sorry but I couldn't imagine Chloe knowing about celestial stuff changing that outcome at all. Plus I had no idea what to do with his character going forward if he stuck around.

What I want to see in season 6 Lucifer (now that Lucifer isn't barred from Heaven since he'd God) is for him to go visit Father Frank's soul!

Sneak Peek Chapter 14

It was kinda nice, while also very frustrating, to have Lucifer acting like his normal self again and by that she meant breaking into an apartment when no one answered the doorbell. But as usual his shenanigans found something useful and Chloe found herself joining in the illegal search.

"Can you hear that?" Lucifer asked, pointing to the wall on the other side of which two people were very obviously having quite vigorous sex.

"Since when has that bothered you?" Chloe asked, surprised. It was then that the woman cried out 'oh god' and Lucifer looked even more annoyed.

"Dear old Dad strikes again," Lucifer grumbled. "He's popping up everywhere and spoiling my favourite things!"

"Because you choose to see him everywhere," Chloe reminded him. "You don't actually know what he is or isn't involved in."

"That's the problem Detective," Lucifer said. "He could be involved in everything or nothing and we'd never know."

"Exactly," Chloe told him firmly.

"Huh?" Lucifer said.