Author's note: Oups! I did it again! I wrote too much and had to split this chapter in two. What can I say, I was inspired. Enjoy!

Lucifer didn't know how long they stayed locked in this sweat embrace, lost in each other, in what felt like a wonderful bubble of peace that nothing could break, not even Williams mumbling and crying.

He could hardly believe that he had a second chance with Chloe. He really thought he had lost her. First that he was going back to Hell, then that she had been killed. And that second chance was only possible because of his mother's sacrifice. She had probably saved Chloe's life too by saving him. But was she really unarmed? A doubt entered his numb mind and now he felt the uncontrolled need to verify that she was truly fine. He partly released her of his hold to try and look her over. She was standing straight at least, with no apparent blood loss. But it was hard to tell in the darkness.

"Are you really okay? Did he hurt you?" He asked her unsteadily.

Still holding him loosely, she caressed the back of his head to reassure him. "I'm fine, don't worry. But Dan wasn't so lucky. I think he got hit over the head. I don't even know if he's still alive."

With her statement, reality came crashing back in a rush, breaking their little moment of peace. They let go of each other almost in shame at having forgotten about Dan, even if it had been only for a moment. Chloe quickly went to crouch beside Daniel's immobile body to check for a life sign. As she feared, there was blood over the side of his head. This couldn't be good. Holding her breath, she searched for a pulse at his neck.

She sighed in relief. "He is alive! His pulse is strong and steady and I can feel his chest rising with his breathing."

She shook him a little to help him regain consciousness. "Dan! Do you hear me? Can you open your eyes?" He stayed stubbornly unresponsive. She prayed that his injury wasn't too serious. "Don't worry Dan, we'll get you help in no time." She just hoped she wasn't lying.

Lucifer lifted Daniel into his arms and brought him back to the main room by the exit door while Chloe steered forwards a now handcuffed and incoherent Williams. She couldn't bring herself to be sorry for his babbling state.

Their witness looked relieved to see them back. While Chloe remembered leaving him alone in the dark, he was now working on the rubbles under the lighting of a flashlight resting by his side. She deduced it could only be Charlotte's. Come to think of it, she couldn't see the lawyer anywhere. Strange. Chloe questioned him before Phillips could ask what happened to them.

"Where is Charlotte?"

Phillips looked hesitant, gazing alternatively between Lucifer and her. "I'm not sure… I think… I think she's gone."

"What do you mean, she's gone?" Chloe asked impatiently. "We didn't see her back there and it's not like she would go wander around in the dark for fun."

Phillips suddenly looked trapped, almost in panic. Chloe had no idea what the Hell was going on.

"He is right, Charlotte is gone." Lucifer said softly.

At a complete loss, Chloe turned towards him for answers. Lucifer had laid Daniel down and was now standing with his hands in his pockets, looking as lost as a little kid. That reminded her that Charlotte really had to be his mother, everything considered. Obviously, something big had happened here, something that was disturbing Lucifer to the highest degree. At the way Lucifer was behaving, she was afraid to hear what that was.

"What happened?" She asked as softly as he had spoken.

He lowered his eyes and shrugged. "Healing me seems to have taken more divine powers than her borrowed human's body could handle. She is…" Saying it aloud was harder than he had thought. "Her body just burnt into ashes, and by now she has to be back in Hell in a cell from which she will never escape again."

There was just too many incredible information in Lucifer's few sentences. Chloe didn't know what to make of it all. So she tried to focus on the most important thing and put aside the rest for future considerations; he'd just lost his mother in a most horrible way.

"I'm so sorry Lucifer!" She walked to him and reached for one of his hidden hands to squeeze it comfortingly.

Lucifer lifted his teared up gaze to hers and smiled faintly in gratitude. He probably held her hand a little longer than was appropriate in their circumstances, but he strangely found strength in the small gesture as well as in her warm gaze, and he was unhurried to break the moment.

Chloe thought of going into the other room to check on Charlotte's remains, but what good would it do now? As crazy as it sounded, she undoubtedly believed in Lucifer's explanation and beside, Dan needed medical attention as soon as possible.

Damon Phillips was starting to fidget restlessly beside them. "What happened to the detectives?" He finally chanced uncertainly, while eying Dan and Detective Williams in confusion.

Chloe smiled in apology to Lucifer before releasing his hand. Then she explained to their witness how Detective Williams was the one to blame for the bombing and his trying to kill Dan and herself.

Her gaze settled on the back exit, or what was left of it. She couldn't hear anyone working on the other end to try and rescue them. Maybe it was still too early after the bombing. Everyone must be too focussed on the ravages on the main floor to think of looking down here. From what she saw from their end, it could take hours to dig a way out, short of a miracle…

But maybe they had their own miracle supplier at hand. She gazed back at Lucifer who was watching her with a raised eyebrow, as if knowing what she was thinking and daring her to speak her mind.

She searched for a way to ask it that wouldn't make her sound crazy but didn't find any. So she just asked. "Being who you are… You know! Do you think you could, kind of, use your incredible strength, which might be even more incredible than I ever suspected, and just… push those debris aside so we could get out?"

There she had said it! She had acknowledged the elephant in the room. Lucifer sent her a roguish smile. The bastard!

"You know that I don't like to sweat unnecessarily, Detective." Chloe's eyes bulged in consternation. But Lucifer continued before she could protest. "And there's no real need for that kind of exertion anyway."

Chloe's mouth opened in silent incomprehension. What the f…?

"Just watch me, Detective!" Then Lucifer winked at her. He actually winked at her!

With a crooked smile, he simply motioned for them to get back while he took position in front of the exit way, a few meters away from it.

Chloe braced herself for what was to come, even though she had absolutely no idea what Lucifer had in store. She saw him lift a hand, palm up, then a small light appeared just above it. In complete awe, she watched the light grow in size and power until the room was as bright as in daylight. Then, the real craziness began. Boulders of concreate and other debris started lifting in the air and flying around the room to settle into piles, thus clearing a path through the exit corridor. Soon, they saw appear a door at the top of a flight of stairs.

Once the way was cleared up, Lucifer closed his hand into a fist and the eerie light disappeared, leaving them in almost darkness once more. Beside Chloe, Damon Phillips was signing himself restlessly and whispering prayers under his breath. Chloe was panting by now, too dazzled by the show of divinity.

Lucifer turned back to her with a sheepish air. "You okay, Detective?"

Chloe slapped herself mentally. Now was not the time to freak out. "Sure! I'm totally good. Peachy even! That was… awesome!" She managed to answer, still a little bit in a haze. "You've got other tricks like that?"

"A few…" He said enigmatically.

"Of course you do!" She said teasingly.

That made him chuckle, which lifted the awkwardness that had settled between them for a second.

Without waiting any longer, they left the basement and got out into broad daylight. Nobody was close to their exit way when they resurfaced, which conveniently allowed Lucifer to leave the building unnoticed and head for LUX to go get changed. His bloodied appearance and ripped clothes would have been difficult to explain considering he had no remaining wounds whatsoever. Chloe made him promise to be back as soon as possible. She was not ready to take the chance of him disappearing like he had with the Vegas incident. She would not allow him to freak out and bail on her this time.

Phillips helped her bring Dan to the nearest Ambulance from where he was taken care of and rapidly brought to a hospital. Chloe made sure Detective Williams would be charged for the bombing and taken into custody, then she entrusted Phillips' protection to proper instances.

She served the Lieutenant a story of spontaneous combustion having happened during the bombing to explain Charlotte's remaining ashes. That had been Lucifer's idea, and who could contradict her really? Certainly not Damon Phillips who was way too afraid of the Devil to tell anything out of their planned story, and even less Williams, who was not even able to speak two sensible words in a row. The phenomena would undoubtedly remain a mystery forever for the LAPD. Lucifer had talked about a borrowed body that his mother had inhabited. Did this mean that the real Charlotte was dead too? It was not like she was largely loved at the precinct, but she had to have a family, with people who would miss her. And of course there was Dan… Whatever had been the status of their strange relationship, she knew he cared deeply for the woman and that her death would crush him. She wondered if he ever even met the real Charlotte or if he had fallen in love with the Goddess right from the start. She added those questions to her ever growing list, hoping that Lucifer would someday answer them.

Only once all her responsibilities were fulfilled did Chloe accept of being checked over by paramedics. Not only was it protocol to be examined after being shot at, but she also felt an increasing pain in her chest that started to concern her, now that the adrenaline was wearing off her system.

To her greatest relief, Ella appeared by her side at the back of the ambulance where she was sitting. Her friend looked unarmed and quite overwhelmed at finding her alive. Ella crushed Chloe into a tight embrace that made her groan in pain.

"Damn Chloe! I really thought you guys were all dead. I heard it was all Detective Williams' doing. The son of a bitch! I also heard about Dan. I'm so sorry, Chloe! But you know how thick-headed he is, I'm sure he's gonna be ok. And poor Charlotte Richards! How horrible! I'm getting on her case right now, and as weird as the phenomena might seem, I'm gonna get at the bottom of it. I promise. Where is Lucifer? After what happened, I thought I would find him hovering beside you like a guardian angel. You know how protective of you he is… "

Chloe was afraid her friend would never stop talking or hugging her. Her ribs were hurting something fierce.

That's only at that moment that Ella remarked Chloe's grimace of pain. "Oh! Did I hurt you? Were you injured in the bombing? Oh! My God! I'm so sorry!" She released Chloe hurriedly, guilt painted all over her face.

Chloe winced at the use of God's name. She was starting to understand a bit more Lucifer's reactions to such speeches. It was indeed quite disturbing to hear His name being revered this way when she knew what a jerk he actually had to be considering everything He made Lucifer go through over the course of his existence. Could she end up in Hell for thinking ill of God? Good thing that she knew a guy… Which brought her back around to Ella's question.

"Lucifer is ok. He's probably not far, you know him, unable to stay put."

Fortunately, her answer seemed sufficient to sate Ella's curiosity. Her friend was actually looking more concerned about Chloe's condition than anything else.

"It's not that bad, Ella." Chloe reassured her. "The paramedics are suspecting I might have a few broken ribs from the gunshot I got from Williams, but we'll be sure only after proper x-rays have been taken at the hospital. That's where they were about to take me."

It took Chloe a lot of persuasion to convince Ella that there was no need to accompany her to the hospital. Chloe adored her friend, but right now, she would be glad to have some time to herself to think about the insanity that her life had become.

She made sure to be sent to the same hospital as Dan. Fortunately, her mother would be able to take care of Trixie for the night.

Just as her ambulance was leaving the precinct, Chloe got a call from Lucifer.

"Hello Detective! I'm on my way to the station, all freshly showered and back to my devilishly handsome self. Missed me?"

Chloe suspected his joyful tone to be partly a façade. She could detect a certain level of insecurity in his speech. Wasn't it her, who should be entitled to feel insecure about all of this? Maybe the panic was just waiting at the corner to hit her. But as of now, Lucifer looked to be the one in need of some reinsurance. So she made sure to give it to him. She thought they both needed some honesty at the moment anyway.

"Actually I did!" She said simply.

"Oh! Really?" He definitely didn't expect that answer.

"Yeah!" She admitted softly. "I'm glad you're coming back. But instead of heading for the precinct, can you join me directly at the Memorial Hospital?"

"Oh right, Daniel! The poor chap."

To Chloe's surprise, he sounded genuinely concerned.

"Yes, he hasn't regained consciousness yet. And I… I may have a few broken ribs after all." She added reluctantly.

Lucifer's reaction was even worse than she expected. "WHAT?" he practically screamed. "But… you told me you were fine!" He sounded almost hysterical.

"Please, calm down Lucifer! I thought my bulletproof vest had taken all the blow when Williams shot me, but I may have underestimated the strength of the impact. Still, I AM fine Lucifer. Please don't worry!"

He was clearly not listening to her pleading. "How did I miss that? You were shot at, and I didn't even noticed!" He said, in utter disbelief and guilt. "I should have killed the bastard when I had the chance."

"Don't blame yourself Lucifer. Please! You saved me! And a few broken ribs are nothing compared to what could have happened. Really, I can only be happy at the outcome. And with some more luck, I might even get a leave of absence for a few days as a bonus. That would be a fair bargain if you ask me." She added happily.

She heard him sigh deeply over the phone, probably still unsure whether she were telling him the whole truth or not. "Okay, I'll join you directly at the hospital then. See you, Love." He finished softly before hanging up.

Chloe's heart warmed at Lucifer's outburst and obvious affection for her. She thought that they should have gotten into mortal danger a lot more often if that's what it took for him to finally open up to her and allow himself to show or say how much she meant to him. As long as he didn't freak out on her again… But he clearly said he would join her shortly. It had to be a good sign. Right?

Still, she tried not to get her hopes of a possible romantic relationship with him too high, since there was obviously something important keeping him from yielding to his attraction to her. And to be honest, she wasn't even sure yet if this knew knowledge of his being the actual Devil would change the way she felt about him. She knew that an intense ordeal such as the one they just got through could blur out her real feelings and that she could come down from that high with a whole different point of view once she stopped and really thought it through.

What did it really mean to be in love with the Devil, a celestial being who had walked the Earth for eons? Or should she say underneath it? Whatever! Could it even work out between them? Was he able, or even willing to get into a relationship such as Chloe dreamed of? He was an immortal… God's son… God was real… She suddenly felt very small, minuscule, in a world that now seemed totally alien to her. Looked like the panic she had been expecting was finally hitting her.

Author's note: Did you enjoy it? Please, let me know. Thanks for reading me. I love you all! :)