Second Chances

Lucifer is in session with three of his patients, when there is a quiet knock at the door. "Ahh, that will be the donuts," Lucifer says, jumping out of his seat, "and the pastries for you Vincent," he finishes, walking toward the door.

"Ah, c'est bon," Vincent replies, agreeably.

Lucifer smiles at him as he opens the door, and then turns to greet the person knocking. He stands there in stunned silence, unable to say anything at first. He just stares, unbelieving, at the beloved face he dreams about nightly. "Hello Detective," he finally manages to say quietly.

Chloe stands there, giving him a small smile, licking her lips nervously. "I thought you could use a partner," she admits nervously.

He opens the door wider, stepping back to allow her entrance, unable to form a cohesive sentence. She steps in the room, ecstatic to see him after fifty one long years of living without him. Her love for him never wavered, her desire for him kept her from forging relationships throughout the rest of her life, her loneliness abated by the presence of their daughter. Her eyes drink him in, his height, the breadth of his shoulders, his expressive dark eyes...he hasn't changed a bit. Ignoring the other people in the room, she grabs the back of his neck and pulls him into a deep kiss, not passionate, not chaste, just a welcoming sensuous meeting of their lips. Her hands caress the stubble on his cheeks while his arm pulls her into his body. She hears him groan quietly, feels him shudder, and she breaks the kiss, smiling into his face.

"Everyone out. We will pick this up another day," Lucifer announces to the room. It's then when Chloe notices the three people sitting on the couch. Reece? Vincent? An angry looking young woman whom Chloe would have been suspicious of in her former life. The people get up from the couch and walk out of the room. Reece says, "Hello Detective Decker," as he passes her by. Caught up in the moment of finally being reunited with the love of her life, Chloe can only nod at him, never taking her eyes off Lucifer.

Lucifer closes the door behind them and turns to Chloe. He doesn't say anything, just looks at her, tilting his head slightly and furrowing his eyebrows. When the silence continues, Chloe starts to worry she's made a mistake. Maybe Lucifer doesn't want her here, maybe he's moved on and doesn't know what to do with her. Her anxiety ratchets up and she begins to wring her hands together. If Lucifer doesn't want her here, what is she going to do? She's now stuck in Hell. Maybe she can get Rory to help her, or Amenadiel. Her thoughts are interrupted when she hears Lucifer say quietly, "I've missed you beyond the confines of my sanity. I dream you are here, only to be crushed with disappointment when I wake up. I talk to you, I see your apparition wandering around Hell, I even kiss you and make love to you in the quite solitude of my chambers. Are you really here, or have I finally gone insane with longing for you?"

Chloe chokes back a sob, tears sting the back of her eyes. "It's really me Lucifer. I died of cancer at the age of eighty six, and I asked Amenadiel to bring me here." She moves toward him, relieved to hear he's been in as much misery as she has since their separation. She reaches out to grab his hand, and notices how he steadily watches her movements. When she makes contact with his skin, he jumps slightly, and she understands he still doesn't believe she's there with him. His eyes go wide, and he pulls her into his body again, crushing her in his embrace. She hugs him back as hard as she can, placing her face on his shoulder and connecting her hands behind his waist. His body begins to shake and she pulls back a little, watching as he unravels in her arms. He releases his iron grip on her and falls to his knees, his whole being wracked with sobs as he cries into her abdomen, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist to ground himself. How could she have ever been worried he didn't want her here? She holds him to her, running her hands though his soft hair, murmuring small words of comfort. "I'm right here, Lucifer, and I'm not going anywhere." Her words make him cry harder, and her epiphany hits her with the subtleness of a wrecking ball...time moves differently in Hell. How long has it been for him? The fifty one years she lived without him was torture, she missed him every day, but it must have been a lot longer than that for him. She gently massages her fingers through his hair, knowing her caresses will soothe him. She feels him relax into her touch as his sobs abate, leaving them in silence, while Lucifer continues to kneel in front of her, burying his face into her abdomen. He finally takes a shuddering breath, releases his grip on her and stands up, towering over her as he looks down into her eyes.