"Lucifer, we cannot control what's already happened. We can only control what we do in the present." Linda shifted down the couch toward him a bit.
He looked up at Linda and his eyes widened in realization and he stood furiously. "You did this on purpose! You've shown me this tape to make me vulnerable, to manipulate me!"
Maze stood and shouted, "Shut up, Lucifer!"
His eyes blazed once more and flames flickered behind his stubbled cheeks. "How dare you, Mazikeen!?"
"Let's not escalate to violence!" Linda stood between Maze and Lucifer bravely.
"It's all she knows how to do, Doctor," Lucifer said and smiled dangerously over her head a the demon.
"And all you know how to do is run, Lucifer!" Maze spat back angrily. Lucifer's eyes flamed again.
"Stop!! Just stop! This isn't what we wanted to talk to him about!" Ella screamed as she pushed herself next to Linda between Maze and Lucifer.
Maze sighed heavily. Ella grabbed the remote and rewound the tape. She paused it when Lucifer's wings had encased the pair.
"Do you see that Lucifer? The selflessness?" Linda pointed to the screen.
Lucifer huffed irritably, and Maze jabbed her finger toward the screen. "That is worth fighting for. More importantly, that is worth staying for!"
The Devil locked eyes with his demon, studying her as if she were some puzzle or riddle to be solved. His dark eyes moved back to the screen. "It doesn't matter now, does it? I've scared her off. What I am has scared her off."
"Have you tried to reach out to her?" Ella asked.
"Why would I do that? You saw how she looks at me. Go on. Fast forward this film," Lucifer said and snapped his fingers. "I am a monster, Miss Lopez, and it's time for me to go back to where monsters belong."
Ella looked at him seriously. "I don't believe that, and I don't think you believe that either. How many times have you been injured for... Wait, have you actually died for Chloe?"
Lucifer shivered at the use of her name. He opened his mouth, but found himself lost for words. Ella crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows and Lucifer ground his teeth together. "A couple times."
"A couple times?! Oh, no biggie, right? Definitely not worth trying to fix a relationship with someone that you literally DIED for!"
"It doesn't really count, does it? If I'm immortal. Makes dying for someone a bit less noble," He said as he tried to look smug.
"Can I see your wings, Lucifer? I know I'm not that kind of doctor, but if I can help, I'd like to," Linda offered. Her change of subject presented itself as a peace offering. Lucifer looked at her carefully and then backed away from the group. He grimaced as his wings appeared.
Maze's help had them looking a bit better, and they were no longer actively bleeding, but they were still healing slower than they should have. Linda examined his many wounds on one wing and then the other. She went to her oversized bag and pulled out a first aid kit.
"It might be better if you lay down," Linda suggested, and he sighed and walked to the bedroom. His feet moved across the broken glass like the shards were just sand beneath his feet. Once in his bedroom, he laid down on the bed and his wings tensed as Linda touched some of the wounds with her hands.
"Been awhile since I've had three women in my bedroom," He said lowly. "Sorry if I'm a bit of a disappointment this go around."
Maze rolled her eyes. If he was making sexual jokes, he was beginning to feel a bit better. His comment about falling would be one she addressed with him later, in private. For now, he needed help. Linda cleaned each bullet one diligently, Lucifer's eyes were closed tightly as the antiseptic stung, and Maze looked at Ella, who raised one eyebrow in question. Maze nodded once, and Ella pulled her phone from her pocket and sent a text message.
"Why do you think you aren't healing?" Linda asked Lucifer.
"I'm in no mood for therapy, Linda," Lucifer warned. His wing twitched as she cleaned out a particularly nasty bullet wound. "I am in the mood for whiskey, though."
"Shocker," Linda smiled in spite of herself. Maze, hearing Lucifer's request from the couch, stood and walked to the bar. She was surprised to see that his bar was low on supplies, but she knew he kept extra whiskey hidden below the bar. Pulling it from its hiding place, she poured a glass and walked to Lucifer. She handed him the glass, Linda paused for a moment, and he took a long drink. He nodded to Maze in thanks.
He was quiet for a long time. Ella worked around his apartment tidying up, and Maze laid on his couch.
"I think I might have to... pull some of these feathers out, Lucifer. Some of them look like they're dying..." Linda said hesitantly.
Lucifer groaned, but then smirked deviously as he looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "Pluck me, Doctor."
She feigned offense and yanked a particular dead looking feather from his wing and he hissed. "Serves you right," Linda said snidely.
Again, silence fell upon the group. All of them, except Lucifer, were tense with apprehension. Ella kept checking her phone nervously when she was out of sight of Lucifer. She continued cleaning the penthouse and sweeping up the broken glass.
"Miss Lopez?" Lucifer called.
She winced. "Yeah?"
"Who saw that tape?" Lucifer inquired.
"Just us, Lucifer. Just the team."
"The team being..."
"Me, obviously. And Dan. I showed it to Maze. I'm sorry I did. I know I broke protocol..."
Lucifer held up a hand. "I am hardly one to criticize others for rebellion, am I?"
"I showed it to Maze. I didn't know what to do, or who to turn to. When I talked to Dan about what we should do, we agreed Maze would know how to help. We didn't really know what she was, but we knew she didn't seem totally human comparatively, and we knew she was loyal to you. We made copies of the tape. Two copies. And then we deleted the original file in evidence. Wiped it clean. Basically, the security camera ended up being a bust... formally on paper, at least."
"You made two copies?" He asked. The tone in his voice was a question of an entirely different nature.
"...Yeah."
"Where is the other copy?" He asked. There was a tone of knowing in his voice.
"I think that's about all I can do for now," Linda said as she packed away her first aid kit.
The elevator doors to his penthouse opened. He sat up on the bed, and Linda backed away from him.
"Where is he?" It was her. Lucifer's face paled, and his mouth dropped open in disbelief. Then, panicked, he looked at Linda and began shaking his head furiously.
"What's it to you, Decker?" Maze's voice was a threatening growl.
"Maze..." Dan started.
Linda silenced Lucifer with a finger to his mouth. He gasped as silently as he could as he pulled his wings in once more. Linda pulled a shirt from the floor, checked the back for blood, and then threw it at him. He was furiously unbuttoning his shirt and replacing it with the one Linda had thrown him. He missed a button in the process and the shirt was all uneven and disheveled.
He ran a hand through his curly hair, grabbed a file off of his nightstand and stepped lightly out from the bedroom. "Detective. Come to see me off have you? Lovely timing. I've got something for you. Just some loose ends."
"See you off?" She asked and looked around the room.
He avoided eye contact as he handed her the file folder. She stared at him, and he looked everywhere but at her. Chloe opened the file and looked at its contents.
"Lucifer..." She whispered and looked at him closely. He looked awful. His hair was a curly mess. Who would have been able to tell that under all that pomp and circumstance was a bunch of curly, really curly, locks? His eyes were bloodshot and red-rimmed, and his stubble was thick to the point of full beard. His shirt was not buttoned correctly and it hung awkwardly across his chest, the cuffs on his sleeves weren't buttoned, he was barefoot, and his pants hung lower than she had ever seen because he was not wearing a belt. Lucifer's dark eyes looked everywhere but her.
"Lucifer, you're... Leaving your money, your estate, to me and to Trixie? Why? Where are you going?"
He still wouldn't look at her. "My time on Earth is at an end. The least I could do is make sure you never have to worry about money...for yourself, or for your offspring. It's the least I could do. All things considered."
"Lucifer... Look at me."
Lucifer, the Devil, could deny this miracle nothing. He tore his eyes from the hole in the floor he was burning and settled them fixedly on her face. He swallowed hard, and she could see him trembling slightly.
"Can you all give us a minute?" Chloe said as she looked at Ella, Linda, Dan, and Maze. Maze looked at Lucifer, who did not look at her, which she took as a sign of "okay."
"C'mon," Dan said. "Let's go downstairs and get a drink."
"Or ten," Linda said as the elevators closed behind them.
Lucifer and Chloe stood face to face for the first time since all of his cards had been so blatantly laid on the table. He was nervous, trembling, and he looked incredibly, uncharacteristically, and disturbingly unsettled. They hadn't seen each other in two weeks. Now, the silence between them was heavy and so unlike their previous relationship. He shifted his weight to one foot and tangled a hand in his curly hair. His face was desperate, his eyes pleading. Please, Chloe.
"Do you feel cold and lost in desperation? You build up hope, but failure's all you've known. Remember all the sadness and frustration and let it go. Let it go."