Getting any work done the next morning was bound to be a struggle. There was a mountain of paperwork to do following last night's bust - plus Lucifer's little stunt at the bar to try and explain. And thinking about what had happened at the charity ball of course led to thinking about what had happened afterward, and what might have happened if she hadn't had to leave so soon. Her decision to agree to another date tonight had been impulsive, born out of a hazy desire that had only been intensified by her recent orgasm, but she can't bring herself to regret it. If she's being honest with herself, she's been wanting this for a while, possibly since she first met the man.
Well, maybe not quite that first meeting. Lucifer hadn't exactly made the best impression, and there was a lot that continued to baffle her about her strange partner. But he certainly lived up to his own hype, and Chloe had no doubts that tonight would certainly make up for the weeks of sexual frustration. He had certainly proved himself more patient than she would have ever anticipated.
At least, he had been before today. If she thought she was distracted before, the situation was only made worse when Lucifer decided to join her at the precinct. He only needed to come in for a statement, but he had already spent most of the morning trying to get into her pants.
"Come now, Detective, let's ditch this paperwork and slip away for a little afternoon delight." He's leaning across her desk now, and Chloe is doing her best to ignore the way his posture is making his suit stretch across his frame.
"It's barely even noon, Lucifer. I can't just leave in the middle of the day."
"I'm certain I could convince your Sergeant to let you take a long lunch." The way he draws out the word 'long' isn't the least bit subtle, and she can't believe she ever thought this was a good idea. But the thought of him flirting with her boss brings out a strange possessiveness in her.
"Leave her out of this."
Without even missing a beat, he immediately offers up an even more ridiculous suggestion, thankfully dropping the topic of her Sergeant "We could just pop back into the evidence room, I'm certain we wouldn't be missed.
"Not a chance. Besides, we still haven't even had our third date." Chloe at least wants to maintain the pretense of self-control, even if her own is stretched pretty thin at this point.
"Then shall I make dinner reservations for us?"
"I thought you said I got to choose the time and place?" She's half-teasing, though at the same time she's spent far too much time dealing with men who refuse to give up even the tiniest amount of control. But Lucifer hands it over to her without a thought.
"So I did." He concedes.
Now that they have some semblance of a plan for the evening, Lucifer eases up on his attempts to seduce her away from work. But he's still not exactly helping her conquer this backlog of paperwork, so she finally sends him home with a promise to meet him later. She's thinking she'll take him to Angelo's, the little Italian place she used to frequent when she was still a beat cop. It's probably not as fancy as Lucifer might have chosen himself, but the food is wonderful and she can actually afford their wine menu.
With that decided, she's left with thoughts of what she's actually going to wear. Which leads to the realization that she has nothing to wear underneath. Even her 'date' underwear doesn't really feel appropriate for tonight - most of it purchased before her marriage fell apart. She mentally shuffles her schedule to fit a quick shopping trip into her lunch break.
She tucks away her new purchases as soon as she gets back to the precinct, having no desire to explain this to her coworkers - especially one in particular. One she could no longer put off talking to today. Dan seems a little surprised when she actively seeks him out, as she had mostly been avoiding him ever since her ankle had healed. She jumps straight to the point though, not wanting to invite any unsolicited 'advice' disguised as small talk.
"Do you think you could watch Trix tonight?"
"On a new case already? The Sergeant never mentioned anything when I talked to her." And of course he's keeping up with her case load, even though there's no reason for him to.
"No, there's no new case, I…" She can see the dawning realization on Dan's face.
"You're seeing Lucifer." It's not a question.
"It's…" She's not really sure where she's going with this, but she doesn't get the chance to deny anything.
"We all heard about the two of you last night. And Trixie isn't exactly a vault of secrets. What are you thinking Chloe?" She sighs - it's the same fight they've been having ever since Lucifer came into their lives, and she's just not up for it today.
"I don't have to justify myself to you."
"And I don't have to let that asshole near my daughter. What do we even know about this guy?"
"I know enough." The statement rings truer than she expects. "Look, I know he's not a perfect role model, but neither were we. And Trixie adores him."
Dan pinches the bridge of his nose. "That's really not helping…"
"I'm not asking the guy to move in, it's just a date. Now can you watch her or should I call up the sitter?"
"I'll watch her. But only because I think you're going to wake up soon and realize what a huge mistake this is."
Chloe refuses to give Dan the satisfaction of knowing how much his words strike at the heart of her fears. She's terrified that one of them will come to their senses by morning, and realize that they're just too different for this to ever work. Or worse - that Lucifer will just get bored with her now that the challenge is gone. But he's changed so much in the time she's known him, transforming himself into the kind of man she could actually see herself with. And she know she's changed too - letting down some of her barriers, and allowing herself to feel worthy again. So for once she's letting herself hope for the best.
It doesn't take long for Trixie to figure out about the date. Chloe merely asks if she doesn't mind staying with her father tonight, and her daughter's quick little mind jumps right to the whole date thing. Thankfully she doesn't ask about the sleepover aspect, because that is not a conversation she is ready to have with her seven year old daughter. At least she can be certain that Dan won't mention anything either.
So now Trixie is once again sitting on her bed helping her prepare for a date, and providing a running commentary on Chloe's hair and makeup choices. She even lets Trixie wear a little herself, carefully applying the same lipstick to both of them before testing its staying power with ticklish kisses against her daughter's cheeks. She lets go of any nervousness about tonight for the time being, content in these moments with Trixie. But putting on the necklace that Lucifer had given her brings it all rushing back, and Trixie seems to take that as her cue to let Chloe finish getting dressed alone.
Chloe shrugs off her bathrobe once she's alone, enjoying the cool air of the room against skin still warm from an overly long shower. The light scent of her lotion reaches her as she admires her naked frame in the mirror. A few scars mar her skin here and there - a hazard of the job, and of her pregnancy - but overall she's much more comfortable with her body now than when she had been while taking off her top in Hot Tub High School. And Lucifer certainly seemed to appreciate the brief glimpses he's gotten. Or stolen, as was often the case. But tonight she couldn't help wanting to tease him a little more, and she smiles at the thought of him reacting to the lingerie she's picked.
It's red, of course. But a deep wine red, trimmed in rich black lace. She can't stop staring at her own cleavage as it's somehow magically enhanced by the bra, and the matching panties are having a similar effect on her backside. But it's the garter belt that she's most excited about, and the attached stockings. She had to fiddle a bit with the clasps, having so rarely worn anything fancier than basic tights, but she hopes the effect will be worth it. She knows that Lucifer is already a fan of her legs, and somehow these make them look even longer and more shapely. Chloe hadn't fully appreciated the effect good lingerie could have on both her body and her confidence until this point.
As far as what she would wear over it all, she decided to go with a simple wrap dress. It was a bit more demure, but it was much more appropriate for the restaurant they were going to tonight. Plus it was very easy to take off, leaving her with a very vivid mental image of Lucifer slipping it off of her.
Satisfied with her outfit choices, she presented the final look to Chloe for approval before rushing them off to the car. They were already running a little late.
"Do you have your lunch for tomorrow? I don't want your dad sending you with nothing by chocolate cake again." Chloe did not understand his sudden lack of concern for Trixie's nutrition.
"We have a field trip to the zoo tomorrow, so I don't need a lunch." She beamed back.
"The zoo? Why is the first I'm hearing about it - don't I have to sign something for you to go?"
"I signed it for you!" Chloe nearly stops the car.
"Trixie, you can't just sign my name on things." She's trying very hard not to yell, knowing her daughter doesn't understand that what she did was wrong.
"But you said I could before, when I signed for the mail man…"
"That was different - I was in the room with you and you had my permission."
"You said I was a big help…" Trixie looks almost on the verge of tears and Chloe's anger deflates immediately at the sight.
"Sweetie I know you were just trying to help but you have to ask me first. I need to know what's going on at school, otherwise I won't know where you are and I'll get worried." Trixie looks possibly more upset at this, and Chloe does her best to bring back her smile. "Besides, what if a family of gorillas decides to adopt you? Wouldn't you want me to know where to rescue you?"
Her terrible joke works, and Trixie giggles at the idea. "I'd want you to come live with the gorillas too!" She declares.
"Been there, done that…" Chloe mutters under her breath, thinking of her overbearing ex. Dan wasn't all bad but, today's argument had left a bad taste in her mouth.
There was something else weighing on her mind though - had been ever since Paolucci supposedly shot himself. The suicide note was just a little too perfect, wrapping a neat little bow around the whole case. She had wanted to take another look at the note, get a handwriting analysis done, but everyone else had just wanted to put the whole incident behind them. Trixie's little forgery act brought it all back to mind, and she couldn't stop thinking about that note tucked away somewhere in the evidence room. If Paolucci wasn't the actual shooter, then there was still a murderer loose in the department. And whoever it was wouldn't want anyone checking that note. Chloe was struck by the sudden need to make sure that note was still in evidence - and that it really was Paolucci's handwriting. She was thankful that Dan met them outside their old place, suddenly feeling very much in a hurry.
"Thanks again, Dan. I'll see you tomorrow." She is already stepping back into the car.
"In that much of a rush to see him?" He snorts derisively.
"It's not that, I need to run back to the precinct really quick. I started thinking about Paolucci's note again and something's just not adding up with it."
"Chloe, I thought you finally put this to rest. You know no one's going to sign off you reopening the investigation with no evidence to go on." Chloe hates that she actually hoped Dan might support her on this, after everything that's happened, but it seems he's back to just wanting her to keep her head down. But she doesn't need a babysitter, she needs some real answers.
"I know, that's why I'm going to look over the handwriting samples myself. I am trained for this, after all."
"Can't this wait until tomorrow? I'll help you look them over if you're really that determined." She knows he's trying to be helpful but it still rubs her the wrong way, like he doesn't trust her to do it herself.
"It's fine, Dan. Just make sure Trixie eats something other than cake." Trixie tries and fails to look innocent standing next to her father. But Chloe has more to worry about right now than a sugar-hyped kid. There's no better time to slip into the evidence room without drawing a lot of attention, with most of the day shift heading out and the night shift still arriving. She makes a quick call to Lucifer, asking him to meet her at the precinct.
She doesn't notice the smell of smoke at first, hidden beneath the thick dust that still permeates the evidence room despite its frequent use. She's halfway back through the shelves before she spots the fire, only a few feet from where she was heading. It's spreading far faster than it should, burning through boxes of files as if they were tinder. The shrill sound of the fire alarm suddenly pierces the air, but any sprinklers are blocked by the high shelves. Chloe spares a thought for the sheer number of fire codes that have been violated in this room, before racing to find the fire extinguisher. It does little to halt the spread of the flames, which are already reaching out towards the exit.
Black smoke fills the air around her, and Chloe can no longer see the pathway out of the labyrinth of shelves. She does as she'd been trained, getting low on the floor and crawling towards the exit. Paper cinders float down to singe any exposed skin, but she focuses only on getting out. She's almost completely blocked in by the fire and the heavy filing cabinets that fill the space between the shelves.
"Chloe?" She startles at the sound of her name, before remembering that she called Lucifer to meet her here. And of course he would ignore the fire alarm and everyone else evacuating the building. The sound of his voice is growing closer, which means he's also ignoring the fact that the entire room is going up in flames.
"Lucifer, get out of here!" She coughs, hoping for once that he obeys.
He doesn't. He makes his way over to her from somewhere behind her, through a path she hadn't noticed before. He's still standing upright, breathing in thick clouds of smoke. She tugs him down to kneel beside her.
"Are you crazy? What the hell are you doing in here?"
"I'm rescuing you, clearly." He coughs out the last word, ruining the assurance of his words.
"Do you even know the way out?" Lucifer's never even been in the evidence room before - Chloe has no idea how he even found her.
"Of course, it's just back…" They both turn towards the direction Lucifer came from to see it's now closed off by a collapsed shelf and several ceiling tiles.
"Fuck." It's the only thing she can think to say right now.
"Here, we'll just push these out of the way." He signals towards the filing cabinets that are the only things not completely on fire right now. Chloe reaches out to touch one and immediately draws her hand back at the searing heat of the metal.
"It's too hot!"
"Nonsense, I'll just…" Lucifer doesn't hesitate to touch the cabinets, and for a second it almost looks like it's alright. But then his expression transforms into same surprised look he had worn when she shot him - as if he hadn't been expecting it to hurt and was shocked that it actually did. He pulls his hands back immediately, boggling at the angry red welts that are already starting to form on his palms. But then he looks back at her, as determined as ever.
"Do you see another way out?"
"No, but.." The rest is lost to her coughing, and before she knows it Lucifer is pushing over the cabinets with a pained grunt. They fall back against something else, leaving just enough space to climb over them. Lucifer reaches out to help her over, even though she can feel the blisters on his palms and knows how much this must be hurting him. She jumps the last little bit, stumbling into a clearer area. She can actually see the exit from here - thankfully the flames haven't made it all the way to the door.
She looks back towards Lucifer, offering her own hands to help him across. Just in time to see the ceiling cave in above him.