23 Hours Later
The screen in front of Chloe is blank, the same search engine open and blinking, waiting for a command that never comes.
She should be entering the mountain of write-ups and bookings into the system. She should be tracking all her current cases. She should be doing something productive, but instead, Chloe keeps her gaze focused dead ahead as she has for the past countless hours, as if she can see through the screen and into the fuzzy pixelated data stream that lies beneath. No matter how hard she stares, her finger hovering over the mouse, she can't bring herself to actually type anything in.
This is ridiculous, she berates herself for the millionth time. It isn't like there are support groups for people who find out their partners are the Devil.
Out of habit, her eyes shift over her monitor to the chair across the desk. She half expects to find her partner sitting there in one of those expensive Prada suits, hands folded on top of bended knees, head cocked to the side, infuriating grin plastered on that equally infuriating face. But the chair is hauntingly empty, and instead of the relief she should feel at the visual, all Chloe feels is a pang of sadness.
Sadness sticks to her like a shadow, unable to leave her alone and Chloe doesn't know why. She should be relieved that she is doing something normal, that she is at work, doing her job, like a normal person. Yet, the tears wouldn't stop the entire car ride from dropping Trixie off at school to the precinct, so much so that she came into work late so that no one would see the red layered on top of her black-rimmed eyes. She has half a mind to wear her sunglasses, but that would only make her more suspicious and draw more unwanted attention. Chloe just feels so unbelievably upset, like someone has taken a sledgehammer to her heart, and the more she tries to pretend that she's alright, the more it hurts.
Behind her, the precinct buzzes with life, oblivious to Chloe's pain. Not that she can feel it. Everything moves around her in a blur - a noiseless blur of color and motion. People stop by her desk to drop off files, the amount of cases piling up on her desk growing to an unreasonable number. A few try to chat, but she doesn't hear a word, and they leave soon after they realize her focus is solely dedicated to her blank screen.
They must think she is grieving. They must think she is in shock. After all, the man she was going to marry turned out to be a criminal mastermind, a dead criminal mastermind. It is too much for most people to process, but not her. No, that is the least of Chloe's worries. Her coworkers with their pitying stares and forced small talk, whispering when they think she can't see them, they don't know shit, and Chloe resents them for it.
The commotion only grows by the minute, and Chloe can't stand it. Can't she just be left alone for two minutes? Is that too much to ask?
But then she looks up and really pays attention to what's going on around her - to the number of officers running up and down the stairs, pairing off into groups, some hauling large boxes, others hauling in people. Chloe takes a panorama of the room, and when she's done, Dan is standing in front of her. From the looks of things, has called her name at least once.
Chloe stares at him, dumbfounded.
"What's going on?"
"You haven't heard?" Dan asks, genuinely surprised. "The case against Pierce has been reopened. Turns out that there is more than one way to pursue it, so we're going after his estate. If Pierce can't answer for what he did, then his crime empire will."
"Dan...that's..." Chloe struggles to find the right words, completely overwhelmed by such good news. After all that's happened these past few days, Chloe has been staring to believe that good things are a thing of the past. "I can't believe it."
Chloe pulls Dan into a tight hug, and she feels safe in her ex-husband's arms. There are no sparks, none of the chemistry that first drew them together, but a comfort and familiarity that brings her much-needed peace.
"Neither can I," he admits when they pull away, unable to keep the wide grin off his face, and it's so good to see him hopeful for a change. "Hey, I gotta go get these warrants approved, but I'll catch you up later?"
"Yeah, talk later."
Dan is half way down the hall when he turns around and calls over his shoulder, "Oh, and thank Lucifer for me when you see him!"
All the blood runs from Chloe's face, and she swivels around to catch Dan before he slips from view.
"Wait, what?"
Chloe hopes she doesn't sound as faint as she does to her own ears. She hopes she doesn't look as fear-stricken as she feels. Her heart is hammering just thinking about Lucifer being in the precinct without her, walking around, talking to people, being among them. She doesn't like it, yet she wishes he is here with her now because he is the only one she wants to go to when she feels run down, and damn if this isn't one frustratingly exhausting back and forth.
"He didn't tell you?" Dan now looks even more confused that before, returning to Chloe's side.
"Tell me what?"
"He's the reason all this is possible. He came by the precinct earlier, before you got here, to give his statement and - "
"What did he say?"
"That after he pulled you out of the line of fire he went back to confront Pierce, only to have the guy attack him. Lucifer defended himself and wound up delivering the final blow. By the time you got to the scene, Lucifer had gone back to find you, but you were already gone. You two must've just missed each other," Dan replies, giving an abbreviated version of events as Chloe knows Lucifer would never tell a story that bland or short (he does love his theatrics). It could easily be the truth and yet Chloe can't help but feel as though there is more to it than that. Lucifer always tells the truth - no matter how horrifyingly impossible it may be - but it is always his truth.
Dan cocks his head, staring curiously at Chloe. "Shouldn't you know all this? I mean, the guy is your partner."
"We haven't really been in touch since the incident," Chloe replies brusquely, not liking feeling as though she is being put on the spot, and she ruffles her shoulders. Dan notices, and it does nothing to paint a less conspicuous picture. "I've been busy with paperwork...and Trixie..."
"Uh huh..." Dan doesn't look convinced but lets it go. "Anyway, Lucifer didn't come alone. He had Pierce's guy with him; you know, the one with the 'sister' who set us up. I thought he'd given us the slip after Ella and I left to get you, but apparently Lucifer was able to find him using some of his favors. You should've seen it Chloe. This guy walked in asking to turn himself in and started babbling classified intel about the Sinnerman network. He hasn't stopped since."
Chloe doesn't have to ask what Dan means by 'babbling' to understand. She has seen the aftermath of an interrogation with Lucifer before: suspects huddled up in balls on the ground, ready to say anything and everything to make the imaginary torment stop, as if they have seen a ghost.
Not a ghost, Chloe now knows, but the Devil.
"You don't think that is kind of...strange?" she asks, unable to tell Dan just how twisted Lucifer's methods are. Chloe finds herself actually feeling badly for this criminal, because if he has seen those eyes, so full of rage and hellfire, then she knows just how much damage they can do.
"Listen, whatever Lucifer did, it got us justice for Charlotte. That's all that matters."
Suddenly she is back on the helicopter pad, lying on the ground, cradled in a pair of strong arms. Never has she felt so safe, and yet, there are two hands pulling at her bulletproof vest. When she looks up, the sunlight pours down upon her, blinding her to everything except the figure coming into view: Lucifer. From this angle, the light frames his dark hair like a halo, cutting against the profile of his face. He looks angelic. Her savior.
The relief in his voice is immense, and he drinks in the sight of her.
You're safe. That's all that matters.
Her heart breaks again and her eyes water.
Damn it, she curses, trying to hold it back. Not here, not now!
"Hey, Chloe, are you okay?" Dan asks, the millionth person to ask her that since everything happened. "I know I'm in no place to judge, but you've been acting off ever since the shootout. I'm worried."
The hand on her shoulder doesn't feel sinister. There are no hidden intentions or secret identities lying beneath Dan's skin, yet his hands aren't the ones Chloe wants to comfort her, and she hates herself for it, but she hates Lucifer more.
Where does Lucifer get off, acting like he's some kind of hero, saving the case at the last second? He doesn't get to do those kinds of things! He doesn't get to ruin her life then try to save it. He isn't supposed to care about them. He isn't supposed to get involved, or attached. He can't...because he's the Devil, and the Devil is...
But who exactly is the Devil?
Because although she never really believed until now, Chloe has always been taught that the Devil is bad. The Devil is evil. But Lucifer...Lucifer is many annoying, irritating, sinful things, but he is also the most openly honest, selfless, and compassionate person she knows. He's the kind of man who looks after Trixie even though he claims she annoys him. He's the kind of man who puts on elaborate acts of kindness, who plays the harmony to her Heart and Soul, who gifts sentimental jewelry, who gives her the prom she's always dreamed of. He's the kind of man who pulls her out of the line of fire only to go back in and fight for her, who takes bullets for her, who fights God for her.
And that...that is too much for one human to bear.
"No, no I'm not," Chloe admits, and it feels like a weight off her chest. "But I'm going to figure it out. Right now."
Dan looks more confused than ever, standing idly by as Chloe gathers up her things. She must be a sight: unwashed hair in knots pulled atop her head, face pale with dark circles under her eyes, bag haphazardly slung over her shoulder. She must sound crazier than a bag of cats too. But Dan lets her go without a fuss, and Chloe tears out of the precinct as a woman on a mission.
She needs to stop thinking that she's crazy. She needs to stop seeing him everywhere. She needs to stop seeing those eyes every time she closes her own. She needs sleep and peace of mind. She needs her life back. She needs normal. And if walking through the fire is the way to survive then, God be damned, she will do it.
She and Lucifer are going to settle things, for better or worse, once and for all.