"Did you just let yourself in without asking?" Chloe asked, an unavoidable sigh of exasperation escaped her.
"Yup," Josh drawled, handing a wrench back to Trixie. from under the bathroom vanity. "Darlin', hand me that bag of fig cookies in the plastic bag and put that wrench in the toolbox for me, will ya?"
"Josh, You can't just come into my house uninvited," Chloe started, looking at the assorted mess of tools and rusted piping askew on her bathroom floor. Running her fingers through her hair, she shook her head. "I can't afford a major bathroom renovation right now. I don't have that kind of money save-"
Josh scooted from beneath the bathroom vanity, sitting up and giving Chloe a stern glance. Sitting on the floor in his plain black tee shirt, Wranglers and cowboy boots, Chloe forgot for a moment that God was sitting in the middle of her bathroom.
"First of all, these pipes have been in this house since the 30s and they're rusting," he started, that Texas drawl thicker with the sternness of his attitude. "They need pulled out and redone or they're gonna make your kitchen faucet look like a kiddie fountain. Second, you've got water leaking from a bad calking job around your tub and the water is leaking into the sub-flooring, Chloe. It'll ruin the house and its value."
"You can't just pop in whenever the mood hits-" Chloe found it hard to be angry with the Cowboy. Damn that Southern charm. Like Father, like son: coming and going in her home as they pleased, making monetary decisions for her when neither had any business doing it and both of them had more charm the either deserved.
"But, Mommy, Lucifer does it all the time and he even cooks breakfast!" Trixie offered.
Chloe tried hard to fight the smile that tugged at her lips, but she new it was a losing battle. "That is true, but I've told Lucifer the same thing, Monkey: People can't just go into other people's houses all the time uninvited."
"Chloe," Josh shook his head. "You are welcome in My house anytime and you don't need an invitation. Can't I be welcome in yours?"
"Well, I-uh, that is," Chloe tried wrapping her mind around the concept that God was not only carpenter and mason, but also a licensed electrician, plumber and general contractor. Now, He was sitting on her bathroom floor and she was overwhelmed by the fact she was agnostic and, yet, here He sat. "It isn't supposed to be this way. You can't just reveal to me that you G-"
"Hang on there," He held up his hand to stop her in mid-sentence, turning his attention to Chloe. "Hey, Little Lady, why don't you take go have some of these fig cookies at the table with some milk?"
"I want to stay here and help you, Josh," Trixie protested. "I already know the difference between copper pipe and PVC."
"Yes, you do." He agreed, "but, I need to talk to your Mom one-on-one, okay?"
Trixie rolled her eyes, shaking her head in resignation. "Okay."
After she left with the plastic zip bag of fig cookies, Josh glanced in Trixie's direction. "Hey, who I Am and what I Do are just between you and me, comprende?"
"Gotcha," Chloe nodded slowly. "How much is this fix-it job going to cost me?"
"Well, I'm using PVC to keep material costs down and I'm giving you a discount on labor." Josh said, picking up the assorted tools around him and placing them back in the toolbox.
"That's not what I asked, Josh, and you know it," Chloe pressed. "How much?"
"You wanna pay me $2,500 for parts and labor?" He asked.
"Aw, shit!" Chloe's eyes grew wide.
"Language, Chloe." Josh reminded her. "You know what? Between you and Maze, I'm going to put up a cuss jar and make both of you put in a quarter every time one of you drops some salt. If I do that, you'd be payin' for this job in quarters in a week's time."
"I don't have it," Chloe shook her head. "I didn't ask for you to fix my bathroom, just my kitchen faucet and you can't charge me for what I didn't request."
"I know things are tight right now for you and the youngster," He said, the stern not gone from his deep voice. "I got this covered. It's on me. If you want, you can pay for materials."
Chloe's jaw dropped in amazement. "Why are you doing this, Josh?"
"Chloe, I want my children to love each other and be kind to each other," He said. "I don't get made easily or often, my temper is a slow burn and I have a whole lot of room in my heart for each and every one of you and that means you, too. I don't ignore the calls of the righteous who are in need and right now, you and your bathroom need my righteous skills."
"Well, thank you," He gave a quick nod and rose to his feet, his 6'2" frame towering over Chloe who stood only 5'6".
"You know what, Chloe? You are way too uptight."
"You sound like your son," she admitted. "He also has a habit of meddling in my life and breaking into my house uninvited."
"Well, maybe you need to listen to Me on this one," Josh reached for his cowboy hat as he walked out of the bathroom. "You and Trixie, it just might do you some good to have a get-away for a few days. I got a small ranch and orchard up near Vacaville just off of I-5 South. It's about a six hour trip, but it'd do you and the girl good to get out of the city for a few days."
"Is that a Holy Commandment like, "Thou Shalt Not Touch Maze's Hellblades?" Chloe scoffed.
"No, the Hellblade thing is a commandment. You taking a few days off is just a suggestion," Josh loomed in her front doorway as he grabbed his duster from the coat tree and headed for his Ford F-150. "It do you some good to unwind, Chloe. When I tell someone to go somewhere, they either go, get lost in the desert for 40 years or end up in the belly of a fish. I'm just asking you to take a break for yourself."
"I need to think about it," Chloe said. "Money is tight and I'd have to see if I could get the time off from work."
"Look, your house is in need of repair in the bathroom and I'm gonna have it torn apart for a few days," Josh admitted, getting in the pickup. "You won't be able to use it and I can't have you in the way while I'm trying to get things done. Besides, ask and you get. Get and it'll work out. Go with the flow and throw your worries out the window. Trust Me and you'll never have reason to doubt me."
"What are you going to walk on water and get Maze to quit hogging the bathroom?" Chloe asked.
"Nope," Josh drawled. "I'm gonna fix your bathroom and make sure you have a good well-deserved few days off. Just go and quit overthinking it."
"Have you ever had to share a bathroom with Maze?" Chloe gave him a hard look, snorting in exasperation.
"Do you really wanna have a pissing contest with a cranky demon over bathroom time?" Josh asked.
"No," Chloe chuckled. "At least, she isn't stealing my food right out of my hand anymore."
"Prepare your work outside; get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that build your house." Josh said. "Go take a breather and come back refreshed. By the time you get back, then the bathroom will be done and you might learn to relax."
"Relax?" Chloe huffed. "What's that?"
"I don't understand him. Why won't Amenadiel embrace this city like I have?" Lucifer asked, perplexed by his moody and taciturn elder brother. "I don't get it, Doctor. Los Angeles has everything to offer for every tastes."
"Well," Linda started slowly. "People often need time to adjust to change. And he's only been here for a few months. And if what you say is true..."
"What?" Lucifer chuckled with a bit of disbelief tainting his words. "That he's got a stick so far up his ass you can see it when he yawns?"
"Lucifer, try to empathize about Amenadiel's situation," Linda uncrossed her legs and smoothed her skirt. "Amenadiel is now a fallen angel. He was a holy warrior of righteousness with His Father's favor and now he has tumbled a long way from grace."
"Oh, yes, that, too." Lucifer nodded in agreement. Linda saw the lights of inspiration suddenly give Lucifer's eyes a twinkle that she still adored. "Then this could be about more than finding a home for him."
"Lucifer, I appreciate you caring about Amenadiel's situation, but let's stay on task, please. Focus, Lucifer," she directed him, folding her hands primly in her lap. "We're here to talk about you. Why did you recently decide that this was your home?"
Lucifer thought for a moment before answering. "Well, I said it when I was in a row with my mum. I didn't realize how true it was until I yelled it in her face."
"Yes, your mother, who is a literal goddess of all creation. Still haven't quite wrapped my brain around that one," Linda shook her head in disbelief.
"Yes. Well, anyway, she and Amenadiel want to get back to the Silver City, but it's not my home. It never was," Lucifer replied, leaning back into the over stuff leather sofa.
"And neither was Hell, right?" Linda asked, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose.
"No. No, that was somewhere I was sent as a punishment. Like the DMV, but less screaming," Lucifer fidgeted, adjusting one of his cuff links."
"So would you say that this is your first home?" Linda folded her hands in her lap.
"Yes," Lucifer paused realizing it had been his home longer that he'd know. "I suppose it is."
"And why do you think that's the case?"
"Well, I don't know, Doctor. You tell me. I'm paying you one hundred and eighty dollars an hour to help me understand my rather complex layers."
"I'm helping you help yourself," Linda countered. "Afraid to look or afraid of the answer, Lucifer?"
"A bit of both, I suppose," he sighted.
"I'll help you with this one," Linda gave him a small smile. "I find that people make Los Angeles their home for one of two reasons. Either they're running from something, or looking for something."
"Oh, and which one are you?" his coy question hung between them.
"I'm not the one on the couch, Lucifer, paying one hundred eight dollars per hour. That's your job," she laughed. "So ask yourself which it is, running or looking?"
"Finding," Lucifer felt a tug at his lips as the image of a certain detective showed clearly in his mind's eye. Large blue eyes that crackled with temper or twinkled with wit when she verbally bantered with him. Chloe Decker was an enigma surrounded by a veil of mystery and wrapped in a cloak of aloofness that he could neither permeate, unwrap or decipher. She wasn't any detective, she was his detective. He realized he felt the most peace only when he was at Lux or with Chloe.
A digital beep stopped his mind's wanderings. Focusing his attention back on Linda, he saw her glance at her watch. "We'll pick this up next week, Lucifer. I want you to do something for me this week."
"And, what's that, Doctor?" he flashed her a perfect white smile.
"Think about home and what the word means to you and who is associated with that word," she rose from her chair before she moved to return to her desk. "Next week, we'll discuss how that ties into to your current emotional growth."
Lucifer cruised the L.A. avenues for several hours after his latest session with Dr. Linda. How one human's words had changed his perspective about so much humble d and amazed him. Home began as a where and, somehow, ended up being a who. He shook his head as he realized whatever grew inside him began and ended with Detective Decker.
He chuckled as he remembered after their most current investigation how she complained things were chaotic at her house. It was wearing though her tough skin and starting to burn her last good nerve. Chloe was rarely one to complain, but he knew she showed her inner self to very few people and as she had said, "You make me feel safe, almost invincible."
He remembered that conversation well, making him smile and chuckle.
"Lucifer, quit smoking in my car, damn it!" Chloe yanked the Morley from between his lips and threw it out the window. I don't want my car smelling like an ashtray."
"Detective!" Lucifer feigned indignation. "Did you just litter? Talk about the pot calling the kettle black."
"You want to smoke? Fine. Do it on your own time and in your own damned car!" she snapped, fixing her eyes on the road.
"A bit curmudgeonly this morning, aren't we?" his words held only a hint of sarcasm.
Chloe cast him a sideways glare. "Go to Hell, Lucifer!"
"Detective," he said gently. "I've been there, done the Lord of Hell gig and bought the bloody tee-shirt. Remember to whom you speak, Darling."
She rolled her eyes upward and shrugged. "Why me?"
"Seriously, Detective, what is bothering you?" Lucifer asked without the glibness. Glancing in his direction, she saw the twinkle dim a little in his dark eyes, the smirk replaced by a softened expression of genuine concern. She couldn't believe how he had such idiotic, jackass moments than show true empathy for other. How could he be an asshat and an angel simultaneously? Chloe chuckled to herself, that was just part of his Luciferiness.
"Let me see: Maze hogs the bathroom and strews her makeup and underwear everywhere. My bathroom plumbing is leaking into the sub-floor causing some rot and mold. Water damage repair is going to cost me thousands of dollars that I don't have and now my general contractor wants me to take a vacation as if I'll just get the day off."
"And how is that going to happen, exactly?" Lucifer asked, longing for a drag of his thrown-away cigarette. "Given the recent budget cutbacks in the city budget regarding police staffing, how does he think that is going to happen?"
Chloe shrugged. "He thinks He's God."
Lucifer's brow furrowed in slight confusion. "Did I hear you say what I think you said, Detective? Your handyman thinks He's Dad?"
"Hey, for every action there is an equal opposite and reaction," she gave him a quick smile. "If you are the Devil in the flesh, then you have to have a counterpart. Who knew it'd be a cowboy who is a cross between Sam Elliot and Sean Connery?"
He needed to find out more information about this strange person saying he was Father and he didn't want Chloe to be a cumbersome inconvenience when he decided to get his answers. "Perhaps, a holiday is exactly what you and the Spawn need, Detective. Let me think, I know one of the corporate board members of Disney-"
"No, Lucifer-" she cut him off mid sentence.
"But, Detective, she owes me a favor."
"No, I want peace and quiet," she sighed. "I'm just so...tired. Trixie and I have been through a lot these past several months and I think a quiet getaway is good for us."
Lucifer's heart panged painfully as he saw the subtle dark circles under her eyes and how her jawline appeared more pronounced than usual. "Go have your vacation. Let me, at least, get you a better car than this tin can on wheels. I can have comfortable Lexis for you within the hour or perhaps, knowing you, a Volvo or a Saab? Given how you worry about Beatrice, those are the safest cars made and the most boring."
"Thank you," Chloe said as she pulled into the parking lot of the Precinct. "But, no."
After the wrap-up of his most recent investigation with his Detective, he found that he missed her insanely. No one was there to give him good banter with subtle, dry wit or scold him when he broke some mundane taboo. He missed the sound of her voice quietly saying his name, the smell of her shampoo in her hair, making it smell like sunshine. He missed holding her in his arms as he'd only done once or twice when she trusted him enough to reveal her inner self, feeling her warmth against him.
The only taste on his tongue was a combination of double malt Scotch and a Morley half-burnt to the filter that sent swirling blue smoke into the air. He tapped a few keys on the piano and he felt as though he had lost everything: his home was taken from him and now, without Chloe, his entire life seemed hollow. /p
"Oh, Bloody Hell," he swore, slamming keyboard cover shut. "Next, I'll be blathering by singing Barry Manilow."
"You, doing Barry Manilow?" A voice called to him from across the club. "That's be a first!"
"Detective!" Lucifer immediately crushed his Morley into the ashtray, looking away to slip his roguish mask securely into to place and to banish the hot sting in his eyes to a faraway place.
"No one was willing to stand next to you in front of the bulldozers?" she walked halfway across the dance floor, stopping and observing.
"No," he confirmed. "No, I sent everybody home," Lucifer inhaled deeply of the smoke surrounding him, as if trying to draw strength from it, he sighed in resignation. I thought I'd say my good-byes on my own. Stiff upper lip and all that, you know."
"Good-byes? I thought you were gonna fight for this place."
"Well, so did I, but,, it occurred to me that much as I love this place, I can always build a new one. I mean, it wasn't just the walls that made it my home."
"It was the people."
"Yes and, well, the women." Lucifer admitted. "No worries, Detective. They'll flock to any new place I go to, so..." he gave her a shrug and let his words fall into silence.
"Hmm," Chloe presented a folder, setting it in front of him. "Well, that makes this sort of anticlimactic, but Lux has been named a Heritage Site by Los Angeles County."
Lucifer glanced at the paperwork in the folder, notarized and signed by a name he recognized but had never crossed paths with the person. He read the statutes and saw the signature making the document official. Lucifer finally remembered how to form words as amazement filled him at what Chloe had done. "Detective, is this…
"I had a friend in the city council push it through who owed me a favor and I used your, uh, little history lesson as inspiration. Lux is protected now. It can't be demolished for development." A note of excitement subtly crept into her voice.
"Detective, you saved my home."
"Well, you'd still have to buy it back from Eleanor Bloom, I'm sure well above market price. You can afford it." Chloe said. "Besides, you helped me find a good place for Trixie and me. Because of you, I have a reliable, if not, occasionally psychotic nymphomaniac, roommate. How could I let my best friend lose home when home means so much?"
"Er, uh-" Lucifer cleared his throat, the awkward sentiment wrapped around him like a necktie that was too tight. He gave a nervous chuckle. His jaw hung slack for a half a second as he stumble for the words that wouldn't come. "I... I-I mean, I simply don't know what to say. I'm-I'm normally the one doing the favors and for a price."
Chloe looked at him for a long moment and Lucifer wasn't sure what to make of her expression. "Friends help each other out. Besides, you can smoke in your house instead of my car."
"Yeah, well, let me at least buy you dinner tonight to celebrate. I know this amazing steakhouse and the chef is an absolute artist in the kitchen. I mean he's also a degenerate gambler and owes me a favor. Otherwise, you'll just go home and eat one of those poisonous sandwiches you get from the vending machine at work."
"I really need to get home," she started.
"To what? A street urchin who doesn't help with the rent? Besides, you and I both know that she is with Detective Douche and do you really wish to be around your psychotic nymphomaniacal roommate while she watches porn?"
"Not really, not when you put it like that," Chloe couldn't contain the smile that Lucifer's charm elicited. He saw the twitch tug at her lips and the smile break free. "Come on, Detective. Friends help each other out."
"Dinner, it is." Chloe agreed.
Later, after the sun rose, and Lucifer had time to process the strange turn of events. His heart wrenched in confusion as he tried to understand why Chloe had done such a thing for him. His heart elated when those clear blue eyes had been wide and sincere when she looked at him, her voice husky with emotion as she'd explained what she done. His heart had exploded within his chest and he didn't want to say what it had done to balls after a very long hot shower very early in the morning. Even after a good release, he was still perplexed at Chloe's actions. Luckily, his session with Doctor Linda was scheduled the same date and he hoped for resolution to come from it.
"Doctor, I was simply stunned." Lucifer gave a helpless shrug as he pondered the unexpected turn of events. "She saved Lux. No strings attached. I-I didn't even ask."
"Well," Linda began slowly. "Chloe saw that your home is a very important place to you. Does it really surprise you that she'd want to help you protect it? Do you think she doesn't care for you?"
He gave a slight scoff. "Well, I...suppose. She did call me her best friend."
"Lucifer, close friends and people with strong emotional bonds make gestures like that all the time. You just saw two people go to jail for each other."
"But, Doctor, those people were clearly insane. Now their home is a jail cell."
"You realized earlier that "home" meant more to you than Lux. That you could lose Lux and still have a place here." Linda reminded him smother her skirt, feeling that crackle in the air that he was about to have a monumental breakthrough. Linda decided she must be firm, but gentle with Lucifer for that moment to manifest.
"Because Los Angeles is my home. Lux or no," Lucifer said.
Linda pressed with her deliberate questioning. "Are you sure that's what you were really looking for?"
"Well, what else would it be?"
"Something occurred to me when you introduced me to your mother. Why is it that I'm the only human in your life who knows who you really are?" Linda asked.
"Because you asked me, remember? You insisted that I show you," Lucifer replied.
"And you did, but, Detective Decker has asked you many times."
"And I always tell her the truth." Lucifer reminded Linda.
"Yes…but, you know she doesn't believe you. You could show her your true face, but you don't. Why is that?"
Lucifer fidgeted in his seat, finding Doctor Linda's gaze most uncomfortable as he considered her questions. Yet, he didn't want to admit the answer that he'd known for some time, but hadn't wanted to admit.
"Do you think it's because you might be afraid of how she might react? Because you care that much about what she thinks of you or how much you've come to care for her?"
"No, I-I-I'm sorry." a look of fearful confusion making his eyes wide. "Doctor, I don't really understand where you're going with this."
"I think you did come to Los Angeles looking for something. But I also think you've stopped. Because maybe you've found it: in Chloe. Chloe is your home. I'd go so far to say that your feelings for Chloe go beyond friendship, perhaps you're even in love with her."
"That's absolute rubbish, Doctor!" Lucifer rose from the sofa, his eyes gleaming crimson as he looked at her.
"If it's absolute rubbish," Linda pressed, staring into that crimson gaze, no longer afraid of what she saw there. "Then, why are you so frightened of it?"
"The Devil doesn't fall in love!" Lucifer barked, tugging on his blazer to straighten it.
"You're no longer the Devil, Lucifer," Linda drove her point into Lucifer with more daring that any had within the past millennium with him. "You're someone else now. Heaven never felt like your home because you couldn't be truly who you wanted to be. Hell certainly wasn't your home and the title 'Devil: Lord of Hell' is no different that a title or a job description. Your home here is on Earth where you feel more at ease than you've ever have. Am I wrong?"
"No, Doctor," Lucifer sat back down, stunned by the accuracy of her words and in shock at how powerfully true they were. The revelation of what he couldn't see but the Doctor had known all this time sent his system into a combination of epiphany and shut-down.
"You're becoming more human every day, very much the your Father's beloved creations," Linda continued. "You've formed relationships, bonds and friendships. Now, you've fallen in love with Chloe Decker and to pardon the pun, it scares the Hell out of you!"
"I can't fall in love," Lucifer sighed, giving Linda a forlorn glance. "I'm not human."
"Nonsense, Lucifer." Linda riposted. "Our session is over. What is more important to you? Your happiness or Chloe's? Why have you changed and why is it that you've come to consider this place and this woman your home. Think about those things and we'll pick up there next week."
10:17 p.m.: Lux
Lucifer sat in the dark with his double malt Scotch, awed and humbled by the Doctor's words their impact upon him. It'd been one thing when he'd realized for himself and resigned himself to the silent truth, but to have another person see it clearly and confront him with it left him stunned and bare.
He knew Chloe proverbially captured him through no fault of her own. While men and women distracted him with the shags and the orgies, they didn't dull the pain or the power of the love he felt for her. He didn't want more nights of empty pleasure or nights of being without her or alone. He wanted her happiness above all else, but he was the Devil, for Dad's sake! This was unprecedented. How could a sod like him make Chloe happy and be what she deserved?
Linda was great at delivering information but, gave nothing in the way of advice. The smooth burn of the Scotch marked his throat and the smell of the Morley smoke gave him little comfort. He heard Chloe's voice in his head about the stench and he quickly put it out. His phone pinged.
He looked at it, reading Chloe's text. " Fine. I'm heading home."
Lucifer felt ashamed because he had ran away from his. He hung his head in his hands and his shoulders silently heaved. Her name came out a ragged prayer, "Oh, Chloe."
To be continued. . .