5 weeks later

Chloe stared at the wall, her eyes flicking back and forth between the magnitude of notes and copies of book pages attached to it. She was well aware that this looked exactly like the type of thing you might find in the home of any conspiracy theorist a few fries short of a happy meal. She'd put her own wall of crazy up in her bedroom, to avoid Trixie seeing some of the more gruesome imagery.

The theme of the wall was not some conspiracy or a challenging case though. It had only one topic: Hell. Any reference in literature to ways in and out of hell, to be precise. Well, there seemed to be plenty of ways into hell, but very few mentions of a way out. And she certainly wasn't going if she wasn't sure she could make it out. She wouldn't do that to Trixie. The whole thing was pure insanity anyway.

There were video cameras in the precinct. They showed exactly what had happened. A momentary flash of light, and the two men were gone. They had been surrounded by police officers. There was no trap door, no way how they could have possibly escaped the building. It had taken Chloe quite a while, but eventually she had accepted what she had, on some level, always known. It wasn't parlor tricks. It wasn't hypnosis. All the seemingly unexplainable occurances around Lucifer did have an explanation. A rather obvious one. Which he had rubbed in her nose time and time again, and she, a life-long atheist, had been unable to accept.

Until now. She couldn't even count anymore how often Dan had tried to convince her to seek professional help about her obsession these past few weeks. It seemed like a reasonable request. Like a sensible request. Lucifer had vanished again without a trace and she'd had a nervous breakdown. It was tempting to accept this explanation. After all, it would mean that he was still somewhere within her reach. But she just knew, deep down, that even if she scoured the earth for him, she would never find him. She knew it. And so she continued working on her wall, while Dan continued pestering her to get help. For her sake. For Trixie's sake. For the sake of her career. He meant well but he just didn't understand.

Chloe heard a rustling behind her and whirled around. Maze was leaning on the door frame, looking at her worriedly.

"Ah, Maze. Good. I wanted to talk to you. Tell me again how Lucifer brought you out of hell."

"Chloe-"

"Don't. There is a way to save him and I will find it."

Maze sighed. "Lucifer wouldn't want this. He'd want you to move on and be happy."

"Be happy while he rots in hell, you mean?", Chloe said with a bit more venom than she had intended.

"He's the devil. He belongs in hell. Who says he isn't happy there?"

Chloe turned around and gave Maze a chlling glare that would have frightened the daylights out of a regular human being. "Do you really believe that?"

Maze hesitated for a moment, then sighed again. "No. But this-" She waved her hand around, indicating the wall. "-this has to stop."

"It'll stop when we've saved Lucifer and not a second before. Now, are you going to help me or not?"

Maze gave her another look, a mesh of worry and pity, then nodded her agreement.

Rationally, Chloe was well aware that she was on a downward spiral. She spent all of her time that wasn't work or time with Trixie in front of the wall, without having anything to show for it. There were just too many ifs and buts. If she didn't have Trixie, she might have tried something radical. Like going in without a clear exit strategy. But she couldn't, wouldn't, do that to her daughter. Already she had to live with the burden of both of her parents being cops, being in danger every day on the job. She wouldn't add an excursion to hell with no way back to the top of that list. No, there had to be another way.

Somebody cleared their throat behind her and Chloe whirled around, her nerves on edge. Linda stood in the doorway, giving her a look that was eerily similar to the ones Maze and Dan kept giving her.

"Do you have a moment?", Linda asked, her voice neutral.

Chloe narrowed her eyes, suspicious of why Linda might want to talk to her, but nodded.

Linda left the room, and Chloe followed. In the living area, Maze, Trixie and Ella were waiting for them. Chloe glared at Linda, her suspicions confirmed. "If this is an intervention, I don't want to hear it." She turned around and went back into her room. She was aware that she was acting childish, but she just didn't care anymore. She was sick and tired of everybody telling her what to do. They just didn't understand.

"It's not an intervention", Linda said, having followed her back into the room.

Chloe huffed. "Well, whatever fancy name you have for it, I'm not interested."

"I've spend quite a lot of time lately thinking about some of the things Lucifer has said in our sessions. I've confirmed some theories with Maze and Amenadiel. I have an idea how we can try to save him. It's based on a lot of assumptions, but there really is no harm in trying."

Chloe stared at her, stunned. "You want to try to save him?"

"Of course I do. He's a good man. He has no place being where he is right now."

Chloe blinked away the tears that suddenly threatened to spill. Finally, somebody saw her side of things. "Tell me your plan."

"Right. So we assume Michael brought him back so he can resume his position as gatekeeper of the underworld, or however we may want to call it. A job that apparently none of the other angels is keen on doing, right?"

Chloe nodded, that had been her conclusion as well.

"Only I don't think he'll be any help with that."

Chloe furrowed her brow, thinking back to her last conversation with Lucifer. He had said something similar to Michael, hadn't he? "What makes you say that?"

"From what I understand now, hell is, in essence, fueled by your guilt. If there is something you feel so guilty about that you think you deserve to go to hell for it, you do. I know for a fact that Lucifer has been struggling with a lot of guilt over something he did. I think Lucifer is trapped in his own personal hell, a room designed to torture him, just like everybody else down there."

Chloe drew in a sharp breath. That was a terrible thought. Bad enough if he were just stuck there, watching over the souls of the damned, but to think that he was being tortured made it so much worse.

"I think if we can help him out of that room, he'll be able to get out of hell himself. He has his wings, after all. If the other angels have accepted that he can't take up his old job and is of no use to them in hell, I think they might let him go."

"That's a lot of ifs. And how would we help him leave that room, exactly?"

"Angels can hear our prayers. If they are directed specifically at them. So-"

"Your plan is to pray at him?", Chloe asked, incredulous.

"Essentially, yes. All of us need to tell him the things he needs to hear. The truth about how we feel about him. What kind of man we think he is. All the things he's never believed anybody could think about him."

"And then what?"

"Then hopefully this can help him to break the cycle of guilt he's trapped in."

"No offence, Linda, but I really don't see how thinking at him really hard is going to save him."

Linda smiled at her. "Is there harm in trying though?"

Chloe glared at her. "Fine. I'll take any chance, even if it's miniscule."

Linda nodded, and together they went back to the others. Chloe turned to Maze. "You really agreed to take part in this?"

Maze and Linda shared a look, then Maze shrugged. "I can talk about my feelings if I have to", Maze stated, a tad defensively.

"Right", Chloe said.

"I'm not entirely sure what we're going to do here, guys. You said we are not praying for Lucifer but something similar?", Ella asked. She sounded uncertain, but eager to help in any way possible.

"Yes", Linda said, "Imagine it as if he could actually hear you. What are the things you would want to say to him? What are the things he needs to hear? Think of it as praying at him rather than praying for him."

"Okay", Ella agreed, nodding slowly.

"And you, monkey, do you know what we're going to do?", Chloe asked, wanting to be sure that Trixie wasn't confused about what was happening.

"Sure", her daughter said, smiling, "We're going to try to save Lucifer with positive thoughts, like telepathic superheroes!"

"Err. Sure. Right."

They all sat down in a circle. There was a moment of awkward silence, then Ella took a deep breath, folded her hands in front of her chest and closed her eyes. The others followed her example. This is stupid, Chloe thought. Then again, nothing about the current situation made any sense, so why not give a non-sensical solution a try?

The worst thing, Lucifer reflected, was that there was still some small part of his brain capable of rational thought. The sobbing, the screaming, the despair, all of it wouldn't have been quite so bad if there had not been this small part of his brain watching himself as if from a faraway distance. It would have been so much easier to give in to insanity completely. To join the masses of broken souls around him.

In the beginning, Michael screamed at him. Then, he tried hitting him. On one remarkable occasion, Michael killed Uriel himself. Not that any of it changed what kept happening. Under different circumstances, it would have amused him, seeing his usually unemotional brother loose his cool like that. Not now, though. Now, he was too busy drowning in his own guilt.

At the some point, Michael left. It didn't make an iota of a difference to Lucifer. He'd been barely more than a fly buzzing at the edge of his consciousness anyway. His whole world was reduced to Uriel. And the blade.

Every time the blade went in, regret and self-loathing flooded him anew. He'd killed his own brother. No, worse, he'd destroyed his brother. Irrevocably. Eternally. His brother was gone and there was no redemption for him. Which was as it should be. He deserved to be here, deserved to rot in hell until the end of all creation. He watched the light in Uriel's eyes extinguish again. The same way he was unable to stop himself from killing him every time, he also couldn't make himself look away from this terrible moment.

Uriel's body vanished, then he reappeared standing before him. And this was truly the worst moment, because every single time, without fail, for a split-second, he would hope. Hope that this really was Uriel, that somehow Father had undone what he did, had given him another chance, a chance to make things right this time. Then the blade reappeared in his hand, crushing his hopes.

He stepped forward, lifting the blade, when something hit him square in the chest. It wasn't so much a physical blow as it was a sensation spreading out from the very center of his being. Warmth and light engulfed him and he recoiled from it. What new form of punishment was this? Something designed to give him hope, only to snatch it away again in an instant?

With the light and warmth came voices and Lucifer tried with all his might not to listen to them, not to give in to the hope blooming in his chest, only to have it taken away again, but he couldn't. He had to listen.

Lucifer, wherever you are, whatever you're going through, I know you think you deserve it, but you don't. I'm afraid you'll have to trust my professional expertise on this one. You're a good man. You're my friend. Please come back to us. We miss you.

Lucifer stared ahead, unable to believe his ears. Could this really be true?

Lucifer, please come back. Pretty please. Mom is so much more fun when you're around. Everything is so much more fun when you're around. I miss you. Please come back. There's some chocolate cake in it for you. C'mon.

He felt tears prick at the corner of his eyes. The blade slipped from his hand and clattered to the floor with a loud bang.

Lucifer, I realize we haven't known each other very long, but still you're like one of my brothers to me. I miss you. I hope you're okay. I wish you would come back. Whatever is eating at you, try to move on. I know that forgiving yourself is the hardest thing anyone can ever ask of you. Trust me, I know. Just remember that you're missed here. That you're needed here.

The warmth flooded him again and he let it. He allowed the hope to wash over him. Allowed the tears to fall. Allowed himself to feel missed. And wanted.

Lucifer, get your sorry ass back up here right now. This wasn't the deal. I keep pestering you for months to go back and you sneak back alone the first chance you get? Nah-uh. No way. I'm not doing this without you. You hear me? Come back right this second, mister. Don't make me come down there and drag your ass back up here. I'm the best goddamn bounty hunter on the planet. What happened to me and you against the rest of the world? I miss those days. I want them back. I want you back.

The blade on the floor vanished. Uriel vanished. The loft around him vanished, turning back to the cold basalt stone of an empty room waiting for a lost soul. Lucifer exhaled a shaky breath, turning his eyes upward.

Lucifer, you're the best partner I've ever had. The only one I've ever allowed to get close. To get under my skin. You maybe think that I don't know who you really are. But you're wrong. I've always known who you are. I didn't know the details of your upbringing. Or the specifics of your DNA. Or the things you've been forced to do in the name of your father. But I always, always, knew the kind of man you are. A much better man than you give yourself credit for. You don't deserve to be in hell. You never deserved to be there. Please come back to us. Please come back to me.

Lucifer looked up, for the first time in his life, without hatred, without anger, without the terrible despair that comes from longing for something that you can never have. He looked up and he knew this wasn't some trick, some new cruel form of torture. This was real. There were people up there who wanted him back. Who thought he was a good man. Maybe some day he could prove them right. Maybe some day he could be the man they thought he was. Maybe some day he could be deserving of the faith they had in him.

I miss you terribly, Lucifer.

He exhaled a shaky breath, and made a decision.

I love you.

He went home.