Chapter Text
Ella took one last photograph of the deceased before standing up. She bounced on her toes a little to stretch muscles that were fatigued after spending so much time squatting. She pressed the gallery button on her camera and flicked through the last dozen shots. Cause of death was definitely blunt-force trauma to the back of the head, but there was bruising around the neck. That suggested a non-fatal strangulation attempt. If the victim and the attacker fought, then they might find the attacker’s DNA under the victim’s fingernails.
Ella pulled her attention away from her camera to tell Chloe this – and immediately broke into a wide grin. Chloe was busy examining the alleyway where the victim was found, poking and prodding at the various trash bags and cardboard boxes. And behind her – peering over her shoulder with his hands stuffed in his designer suit pockets – was Lucifer Morningstar, her erstwhile partner.
“Hey buddy!” Ella cried. Both Chloe and Lucifer whipped their heads in Ella’s direction. Ella practically flew across the crime scene, leapt at Lucifer, and wrapped her arms around his torso in a big hug. “We’ve all missed you! Decker here’s been back two weeks. What took you so long?” she asked, looking up at Lucifer as he stumbled slightly under the force of her embrace.
Lucifer, strangely, didn’t reply. He didn’t even give some sarcastic quip about the benefits of personal space. His arms just floundered uselessly at his sides while he looked back and forth between Ella and Chloe, his expression one of pure panic.
Chloe was also looking at Ella strangely. Actually, Chloe was looking at her like she’d just announced she was quitting her day job to become a gogo dancer in Las Vegas. Ella’s grin dropped and she slowly pulled out of the hug. Chloe frowned. “Ella, what are you doing?” she asked. “Who are you talking to?”
Ella laughed nervously. “What are you talking about? I’m just saying hi to Lucifer here.” She gestured at Lucifer, who stood ramrod straight, his eyes wide and unblinking. This was starting to feel uncomfortably familiar. “Cuz he’s here, right? You can see him, right?” Ella said, her voice becoming strained.
Chloe’s eyes blew wide and she instantly turned around, scanning the alley – her eyes sliding right past where Lucifer was obviously standing. “Lucifer’s here?” she said quickly and, perhaps, a little nervously. “Where? Ella, where?”
Ella’s eyes flicked between Chloe and Lucifer. Lucifer still wore an aggrieved expression, and he shook his head once, tightly. “Uhhhhhh, nowhere,” Ella said. “Nope. Whoops! Thought I saw him. How crazy is that? I mean, not crazy at all because I’m… not… crazy. Haha! Wow, it’s hot today isn’t it? Man, like, sunspots you know? Weird gamma radiation… messes with your head… anyway, I’m just going to go do some… forensic scientist stuff… over there. Yeah. Good talk. Okay, bye!” And she walked backwards before practically bolting out of the alley.
Ella rounded the corner and slumped against the alley’s opening, breathing hard. Don’t panic, she told herself. This wasn’t Rae-Rae. This had nothing to do with Rae-Rae. She just… really missed Lucifer, and she wanted to see him again, and it really was pretty hot, so–
“Ms. Lopez?” asked a smooth, accented voice next to her ear.
Ella jumped backwards and whipped her hand out, slapping Lucifer’s very REAL and very SOLID arm.
“Well, there’s no need for that,” he said, rubbing the place where she’d slapped him, before fixing the lines of his suit jacket.
“You… you’re not…” Ella said, struggling for words. And then Officer Dwight passed them, carrying a roll of caution tape. “Dwight!” she yelled. He turned in her direction. “Hey, uh… this guy standing next to me. He’s pretty tall, right? What would you say? 6’2”? 6’3”?”
Officer Dwight’s eyes slipped right past Lucifer, just like Chloe’s had. He leaned back and forth, as if he was checking to see whether the man Ella was referring to was behind her. “Uh, which guy, Ella?” he asked.
“Oh, uh, guess he left. Silly me,” said Ella, definitely NOT hysterically. “You just get back to… police business. You know what? I’m not feeling too great. Think I’ll take a break. I’ll see you later.”
She dashed past him, ignoring the officer’s words of condolence, past the line of police cars and out onto the sidewalk.
Then she doubled over, leaning her hands on her knees. She wasn’t going to throw up. Nope. No projectile vomit here, folks. It was all in her head. And maybe that meant she was crazy, but that was better… at least that was better… than Lucifer being…
“Ms. Lopez, I know this might seem strange. Hell, I’m having a hard time understanding it myself. Are all the humans around me immune to my abilities in some way – OOF!” All the air blew out of Lucifer’s lungs as he was once again tackle-hugged by Ella.
“I’m so sorry, Lucifer!” Ella cried, sniffing as tracks of tears began to wend their way down her cheeks. “We’ll figure it out, I swear! When did it happen? How long ago? And none of us even knew!”
Lucifer stared down at Ella, befuddled. “Ms. Lopez, what are you talking about?”
Ella pulled out of the hug and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. “Oh, crap… you don’t even know, do you? Okay, well, this might come as a shock. And don’t, like, vanish into the light when I tell you this, okay? I mean, not yet. But you’re… dead.”
Lucifer blinked. “I’m not dead,” he said.
“I know it’s hard to believe but look at the evidence. Chloe can’t see you. Dwight can’t see you. And… I’ve seen ghosts in the past – well, one ghost – and it was exactly like this. But she at least knew she was dead. I didn’t have to convince her or anything.”
Lucifer squinted at Ella. “As interesting as that last piece of information was, Ms. Lopez, I can assure you that I’m not dead. I’m just invisible.”
“Invisible?”
“Yes, invisible. It’s something angels can do. And I am an angel, much as I loathe to admit it.” And then, seeing Ella’s expression, he continued, testily, “By birth. Not by choice. I’ve cut my wings off enough times to prove that, at least. What I don’t understand is why it doesn’t work on you.”
Ella’s eyes grew wide and she took a deep, steadying breath. “Ooookaaaaaay. I’m not going to touch the whole ‘cutting off your wings’ thing. Nope, not with a ten foot pole. Not right now, at least. But, if you’re really an angel, and you keep saying you’re the Devil… does that really mean…?”
“Yes, Ms. Lopez. I am the Devil. In the flesh. Satan. Beelzebub. Yadda yadda.”
Ella held up her index finger. “Right, uh. Give me a minute.” Then she took a step back and started walking in a slow, deliberate circle. And then she did a few squats. And a few jumping jacks. Lucifer watched all of this with a raised eyebrow. Finally, she doubled over again, staring at the concrete sidewalk. “Wow,” she said. “Wow, geez. Okay, wow.” Then, she looked up at Lucifer, her patented Ella Lopez thousand-watt grin in place. “Oh my God. Oh my God.”
“Ms. Lopez?” Lucifer asked, warily.
“This is great!” Ella cried, throwing her hands in the air. “This means it’s all true, right? God? And you? And everything? Holy shit!” And then her grin, if it was possible, seemed to stretch even wider. “Wow. Literally holy shit. Ha!”
“I must say, Ms. Lopez,” Lucifer said, taking a step backward under the weight of Ella’s onslaught of positivity. “You’re taking this remarkably well. Most people are very… disturbed by this knowledge.”
“Are you kidding me?” Ella squeaked. “This is like… finding out that couple you were rooting for in your favorite TV show are finally getting together! Like, total satisfaction.”
“Right, well, when you put it like that…”
“So, wait a minute. Why are you angel-ghosting around Chloe, then? Why not just show up to work like normal?”
“Ah, about that,” Lucifer said, reaching a hand up to rub the back of his neck. “The Detective also recently learned the truth of what I am. Let’s just say… she took it a bit worse than you. I’m supposed to be giving her space, but…” He trailed off and turned to look in the direction of the alley.
“But you want to be around her?” Ella asked, her voice softening.
“I want to protect her. Who knows when another crazy psychopath will take a shot at her? I have to… I have to be there. Just in case.”
“Aw buddy…” Ella said, pulling Lucifer into their third hug. This time, Lucifer didn’t even freeze up. He just melted into the embrace, as if he was being pressed down by a great weight. “She’ll come around, I know it,” Ella continued. “You and her, you’ve got this thing…”
“I thought we did,” Lucifer mumbled dejectedly.
“I know you do. You just gotta give her some time. And hey, if you want to angel-creep around crime scenes, I won’t let on. Just don’t, like, follow her into the bathroom or anything.”
“Ms. Lopez! I would never–”
“Okay! I got you, bud,” Ella said. She pulled away and raised her hands in surrender. “So… I should probably get back to work. Are you going to be okay?”
Lucifer nodded and stuffed his hands back into his pockets. “I think so, yes,” he said.
“Just give it time?”
“Right. Time. Yes.”
“Cool.” Ella gave Lucifer one more fond pat on the shoulder. “And, just letting you know… Angel? Devil? Doesn’t matter. I’m rooting for you guys.”
“Thank you, Ms. Lopez,” Lucifer said, his voice uncharacteristically vulnerable.
“No problem, dude. And hey, turns out we all have our own guardian angel! Devil, whatever. So, thank you.”
And with that, she started walking back to the crime scene – leaving behind a very confused and very happy Devil.