XIII. It is always darker before dawn, right?

Chloe awoke from the suffocating heat in her bedroom. It was quiet inside and there weren't many noises coming from the street below, no heatwave was like that she reckoned half conscious and tried to push the bed sheet and the duvet away. Something seemed to be on top of them and she hit it with her legs. It stirred a bit though it seemed rock solid. A terrifying feeling washed over her like a 30ft surf, drowning her and making her breathing faster, much faster and deeper. She tried to push it down. A nightmare perhaps kicking in? Was she imagining things? She kept her eyes shut, and her body not moving, in order to assess the situation, the logical thing to do. Usually she wasn't over emotional but the hot and hard object beside her wasn't her daughter, that much was clear. Trixie was much smaller and softer and nobody else was living with her right now nor did she own a pet, least of this size. She moved slightly to get a good idea of the large heat source that had apparently seized more than half of her bed.

The same instant the Devil jumped from deep unconsciousness onto the origin of the disturbance behind him, turning around, wings rising sharply from loosely wrapping his body, getting ready to attack, moving his teeth just inches from the jugular of the body beside him and piercing the darkness with the hellfire of his eyes.

When his brain registered Chloe's scent and her fast-beating heart, he jumped off the bed to the far corner of the opposite wall and breathed heavily. It had been fast, but had it been fast enough for her not to notice his almost strike? Recovering and resting at the Detective's had looked like a great idea, but now he could have injured her severely following his instinct for survival. Sleep in Hell was always dangerous and barely possible. After his last encounter he wouldn't let himself trust any demons anymore.

Chloe's eyes followed the sound of his breathing, but Lucifer was sure she could not see him as long as he averted his gaze. He tried to remain as still as possible, but he was too anxious after what happened some seconds ago.

"Who are you? What do you want from me?" Her voice, sharp like her mind but still coarse and heavy with sleep touched him deeply, however he felt unable to respond while his mind was assessing the environment, as it had been trained to do so through the last centuries.

She repeated his name a second time before he saw her moving fast and searching for her weapon. "Whoever you are, show yourself!" she shouted almost panicky.

"Forgive me Detective! I invaded your space." He pressed himself more into the corner. "I should have asked for permission, but I didn't want to wake you."

"You scared the Hell out of me!" She pushed herself up, her eyes searching for him in the darkness.

"That was not my intention. I was just looking for a safe space to rest."

Her pulse spiked. A safe space to rest? Hadn't he gone to Hell to keep Earth safe?

xxxxx

"Come! Sit down with me." The Detective padded the place beside her after she regained some control over her senses, but the Devil chose a space on the awful scratchy wooly carpet at the end of her bedside. He didn't want to be considered a menace by his human and made himself as small as possible. A truly difficult task given his appearance.

"Is everything okay?" she inquired.

"Nothing I can't handle, Detective." Using the job title seemed prudent. He had no notion how much time had passed on Earth or if the detective had incurred in a new relationship.

She nodded before she moved and padded the duvet again.

"Please, come closer. You are welcome, you know that, right?"

"I don't want you to tell me I am too hot to handle and complain that I might scorch your bed."

"Well your hotness has woken me, so I think it's too late for that." Chloe got embarrassed just thinking of her failed attempt of humor and blushed. He wouldn't notice it, right? "Maybe you could just open the door to the balcony?"

"Not my favourite idea to take the heat off!" He chuckled in his so charming English accent. "I left the hound standing guard. Might as well take a look at him."

Lucifer hurried outside to take a deep breath in the cool night, his coat off and check on Garm. The animal seemed grimmer than Cerberus defending the gates although it had assumed an Earthly appearance. The Devil hid his slashed wings after checking on them. Of course there had not been any improvement in the healing department. No changes here in his relationship with Chloe Decker.

Meanwhile his beautiful Detective had lit the small lamp on the nightstand and from the outside the yellowish light gave her skin a golden glow when he risked a glance. Lucifer had longed to see, touch and smell her, badly, but rarely indulged in any memory of her. If his task had been completed this would have been his reward. Some demons were still a threat, maybe even more keen to get back at him with Dromos gone for good. He shouldn't have come back. Couldn't stay. Not yet.

Hearing her steps, Lucifer turned fully around. There she was, in some simple cotton shorts and a grey tee, lovely as ever, her hair framing her frowning features.

"There is blood all over the duvet" She was staring at him, pupils dilated. Out of fear, apparently.

"Hell forged blades are a hazard, even with you far away." Turning his head to contemplate the waning moon and its reflection on the dark Pacific below it, he answered her carefully. Remaining at the threshold, she did not come any closer and he sighed, deflated by her actions before adding flatly. "I will replace your bedding. No worries."

"Why don't you take a shower and I'll get the first aid kit from the kitchen? I have already laid out some towels and a toothbrush." She tried to put up a friendly face, he could tell. "I will need to change the sheets, too and get you another blanket."

Another blanket?

"Well, thank you. But don't be timid; you can tell me that the stench of brimstone bothers you. I know it is very nauseating for your kind."

The Detective didn't answer for a while before she retreated and finally closed the door to the hallway behind her. Lucifer left the balcony immediately after and went back into the bedroom. As he took off his leather clothes and shirt, he examined himself in the mirror. No wonder she hadn't embraced him. He tried to change into his angelic form but somehow he was unable to. Perhaps because of all his injuries, perhaps of the guilt he was carrying on his shoulders. There were deep cuts on his arms and torso, although the wings had stopped the hardest blows. The fight had allowed him to let some steam off, it had been elating, but the repercussions were not at all clear.

When he opened the shower and waited for the boiler to kick in, Lucifer not only noticed the two fluffy cotton towels, but also brand-new pajamas and a bathrobe. The clothes weren't of the quality she used to purchase for herself or for the offspring.

As he let hot water pour down on him he thought about Chloe's gesture. Possibly there was still a chance she continued to fancy him.

Her neutral soap and the commercial milk and honey shampoo were absolutely under par but would eradicate sulphur and soot on his skin, cleansing the wounds from any residue. While the bleeding had almost subsided, the cuts were still visible and painful. The Detective's assistance was still very welcome. If she could get over her fear of his current form, that was.

Grabbing a towel to pad himself dry, he tried not to stain it. Lucifer Morningstar concluded she had bought the clothes for him. The Oxford grey cotton pajamas were too small for his current physique, but they were his Earthly size. The typical hotel bathrobe was satisfactory as long as he didn't close it. While opening the packaging of the toothbrush he turned back to the sink to brush his devilish teeth and maw. Nothing like his usual pearly smile. Saddened by his current appearance and the effect on the woman he desired, he was thankful for the hood of the double ply terry bathrobe pulling it deeper into his face before he returned to the master bedroom of the apartment.

The queen-sized bed was already made, and the Detective had left a tray with a steaming mug, a simple egg sandwich, a plate with melon cubes and a note. She had fled, claiming to take the almost ruined wardrobe and bedlinens to the twenty-four-hour-laundry down the road. But she had remembered to spike the coffee. Lucifer savored the long-missed flavor of freshly ground beans and the afterburn of the alcohol in the throat pondering on the mixed signals his Decker woman was giving him. He would just finish brekkie and wait in bed until she came back. He was too exhausted to do anything else anyway.

xxxxx

It was already late afternoon when the Devil awoke from the sunshine coming through the curtains and the soft breeze from the open balcony door. In the distance playing children and cars driving by reached his brain. Scent from a warm meal lingered in the air. It took him some breaths to realize where he was. As he opened his eyes he was being greeted by the hesitant smile of the Detective.

"I thought you would never wake up. You slept like a stone."

"Restorative for this Sleeping Beauty. Highly needed."

"So I've noticed." She sat on the armchair in the corner examining his face mostly hidden under blanket and robe. "Do you still require bandages?" The brunette pointed to the first aid kit on the vanity.

"I…" Lucifer Morningstar, Lightbringer, addicted to these gorgeous eyes - so much brighter than his own stars, exhaled quietly. "…don't know." She would sit next to him when nursing his wounds, wouldn't she? Would she even tend to them? To him? "Possibly…" he added, more to himself. Moving rather sluggishly, not to frighten the beauty embracing a cushion in front of her in lieu of a shield, he added hesitantly. "Would you mind checking on them, Detective?"

"First you should eat your chicken soup." Smiling she motioned with her right to the tray on the nightstand. "You will need to regain strength, right? While it's still hot."

Another evasive maneuver. He pushed his torso forward. Slowly and under the scrutinous scan of the trained aventurines he sat up. The soup was something that affirmed that he was in fact on Earth and not dreaming. Lacking seasoning. His unconsciousness would never be able to produce that.

"Thank you! I appreciate your kindness."

The Devil finished it deliberately careful while eying Chloe Decker's body which was relaxing with every spoonful he was taking.

"How is work, Detective? Any interesting cases? Is Detective Douche as annoying as always or has he relaxed a bit now that I don't help him with the pudding? He might get fat but if he gets a sugar high like your spawn, that might brighten his day on a regular basis - and yours by proxy."

"No, not really. Since the incident at the Mayan, I have been assigned to cold cases only. They found my fingerprints, so I was under scrutiny of I.A. for one full month, especially as you vanished from the face of the Earth."

"I apologize for the inconvenience, but you know better than anyone else that time was of essence."

"And now?" She leaned a bit forward and bit on her lower lip. "Will you stay?"

Staring into his bowl, he sighed.

"Lucifer?"

"I'd certainly want to, but…" he fished the last noodles out of the stoneware to buy himself some time, "…there are two more things that need to be straightened out."

"I see."

"Detective… Chloe… please."

"I get it Lucifer. I really do." She came over and sat beside him, placing a hand on the bedding and his leg below. "I can see it has taken a toll on you."

"It has. I just don't know how high the fee is going to be in the end."

"It is always darker before dawn, right?"