Chloe walked slowly over to the other side of the roof where blood-spattered, pure white feathers and a pattern of droplets of blood were marred by a single partial shoe print. One she knew, whether in part or in whole, as well as her own. The feathers were too large to be from any dove, pigeon or other fowl that could be found on the rooftops of L.A.

"Lucifer..." She began searching desperately for a way down, back into the fray...

Chloe crept down the stairs, having snapped off a leg off some broken furniture to defend herself. She rounded the bend on the stairs, gunfire having stopped some time ago.

"You can't outrun what you've done – who you truly are," Lucifer growled, reaching to pull out the demon-forged blade in Cain's chest. Marcus saw Chloe descend the stairs out of the corner of his eye.

A bout of crazed, resigned and sinister laughter started sounding from his lips, just moments before he snarled, "Neither can you."

Lucifer took hold of the blade in Cain's chest and twisted, ripping it out and silencing him for good.

"Lucifer?" There was a high, nervous pitch to her voice that he'd never heard from her before. He stood and turned toward her, relief and affection plain on his face. When she saw his true face, she started and withdrew slightly, her hand unconsciously straying to her empty holster. The moment she cursed her luck played out on her face plain as day. She took another step back, starting to visibly shake until things started to fall into place for her. She realized it was him. The same shape to his face, clothing, shoes and cologne – even if there was something in the air that smelled like meat cooked on a charcoal barbecue. That was the moment her expression took a turn he positively did not like.

"This whole time... you had proof. You could've shown me that everything you're saying was true and you just let me... do you have any fucking clue how much time I've wasted trying to answer questions you could've cleared up in seconds? Lost sleep, time with Trixie...! Time that could've been spent solving cases, helping people. And for what?! Because you figured I couldn't handle it? You and every other condescending prick I've ever had to deal with. Of all people, Lucifer, I thought you were different. That you knew... that you understood what it was like to be looked down on for something that's beyond your control and not your fault! In the end, you're just like the rest of them!"

"Detective... no, I... Chloe!" Lucifer reached out to try to take her by the arm as she turned away, and the moment she felt it she ripped her arm away, turning on him a rage that burned hotter than hellfire.

"No! There is no excuse for this. I'm your partner and you still don't respect and trust me enough to show me the truth!" Lucifer's stomach sank when he realized she meant a great deal more by 'partner' than she was saying. "You figured I was too fucking flimsy to handle it! Plain and simple. So, just like the rest of them, you can go fuck yourself," she said, striking his hand away when he brought it up again. "Go to Hell... and take your 'vulnerability' with you." She turned and walked away, leaving no doubt in his mind that she was done with him.

"Chloe... I'm..." he said brokenly, reaching for her again.

This time she didn't hold back. Chloe turned, letting loose a kick to the gut that had him bent over double and pushed him away from her with such force he had no idea so much of it could reside in such a slender person. Her face was a patchworked red, veins obvious on her forehead and tendons strung taut from her jaw down to her shoulders like a ship's rigging when she spoke, furious. "Get away from me. Don't follow me. Don't touch me. Or I swear to God, I'll put a bullet between your eyes."

Lucifer recoiled, eyes wide, speechless and helpless. She turned her back on him and never so much as glanced back as she made her way to the elevators. As her footsteps faded away, Lucifer leaned back against the post, head bowed, grimacing as he grasped his stomach, realizing how badly winded he was.

She had hardly flinched at the sight of him and not once while speaking had she so much as glanced away from him. He smiled bitterly, his expression contorting sadly as the depth of his mistake became apparent to him. Of course, she wouldn't have been one to break like so many others had. She kept, tucked away deep inside, a 'devil face' all her own. They had more in common than he'd ever bothered to realize. Having failed to grasp that sooner, their connection was lost to him. He was fighting a losing battle to keep the emotion inside him off his face. She'd never said a word between them she didn't mean. His very own principle clearly dictated there was only one thing he could do now: leave.

#

Chloe hit the elevator button so forcefully she was surprised it didn't break. There were tears running down her face she'd refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing. Her expression was still contorting angrily. The moment her anger genuinely threatened to overwhelm her she shut it down, clamping the floodgate shut. Inwardly she was furious. Outwardly, she stood unmoving and emotionless as the elevator dinged at each floor. That is, until something she didn't expect or have the emotional bandwidth to keep at bay as well, came floating up to the surface.

How it felt during the precious few seconds she'd been laid out on the rooftop in his arms. She took in a quivering breath as her expression contorted in unadulterated sadness. She clamped a hand over her mouth to keep the sob in her throat from coming out. She loosened her grip as a thought crossed her mind on its way to her lips.

"God... what have I done?"

She felt as if she were watching her feet turn her around from somewhere other than her own body. Chloe leaned into a sprint before she was facing the entirely right direction. Her hair and jacket were blown back by a backdraft as she rounded the only corner between her and the straight away sprint back to the stairwell where the firefight had unfolded. She knew now why it had been preceded by the sound of wingbeats. Hardly slowing as she re-entered the room, Lucifer was nowhere to be found. Propelling herself up the steps two and three at a time, she was forced to come to a dead stop by the abrupt, precipitous drop outside the window.

Eyes forlornly fixed on the sky she took one step back, then another, broken glass snapping and cracking beneath her feet. Glass as shattered as they were. She closed her eyes, forcing the last of her tears to fall.