Chapter Text
There is so much Chloe Decker does not know about the Celestial side of things, even though now she thinks she "knows." But prior to her "knowing" she was never truly aware of what Lucifer had done to protect her—and—-even save her life all those years.
Her job as a detective is dangerous. Wasn't she shot at least once in the line of duty, not to mention surviving a car accident and being poisoned? Didn't she survive a blazing restaurant fire without a burn? Isn't it time someone filled her in? Shouldn't she be told how much she owes her life to Lucifer? Who should be the one to gently explain everything to Chloe? Dr Linda? Amenadiel? Maze?
Let's try Dr. Linda.
It is a lovely Los Angeles afternoon, mild and fragrant with blossoms; it could be any time of the year. Is it September? February? May? Who knows? Who cares? It's LA! Seagulls scree overhead and a breeze dances across Linda's bare arms.
Linda, dressed in one of her cute, almost 40's-style dresses with a peplum, is waiting for Chloe at an outdoor table at a fancy LA coffee house. She's managed to get a table in the shade, a quiet corner. She looks anxious. Her eyes light up when Chloe appears from inside the coffee house with a latte (non-fat milk, sugar-free caramel drizzle) in her hand. Chloe, in her usual casual chic, is wearing a loose brown suede jacket with pockets over a white shirt and white skinny jeans. She is wearing characteristic Decker-style ankle boots, this time in the same sienna brown as her jacket. Linda smiles and waves.
Chloe looks around and then spots Linda. She is beaming as she walks across the patio towards Linda. Chloe sets her latte on the table. Linda stands up and they hug —hard and meaningfully— quite possibly the first time they have ever hugged. They have both been through so much together: two mortal women confronted with the reality of Lucifer's true identity, not to mention the other Celestials. They share the shock of having both an Angel and a Demon as dear friends. They pull back from the hug and look each other in the eye—and then burst out laughing.
"Can you believe this is our life?" says Chloe, laughing.
Linda looks at her, sharing the hilarity, laughing.
"I know, right? Five years ago who would've believed that I would become the mother of a half-Angel baby and that you would be in a serious relationship with the Devil himself?"
She lets out a Linda-guffaw. Quite a laugh for such a small woman. Chloe takes a seat with a big smile on her face that quiets down to a thoughtful look.
"It's been quite a journey, hasn't it? When I think about the first time I met you, with Lucifer, in your office—I— I remember being so annoyed with him! He wouldn't stop flirting and making sexual puns and he just couldn't believe that I wasn't being drawn in by his charm," she says, using air quotes.
"As I recall, I actually told him that I was repulsed by him— on a chemical level! Do you remember the look on his face when I said that?"
Chloe busts out laughing and Linda erupts with a shriek of laughter.
"You, on the other hand, were being sucked into his charm like Trixie to chocolate cake!" says Chloe through hoots of laughter.
They continue laughing and looking at each other like the old friends they are.
"Do you realize how ridiculously you behaved, Linda? You were giggling and wiggling—I must remind you—and basically taking Lucifer up on his invitation to go to "pound town" —right in front of me! Ewwww!"
Chloe makes a jokey disgusted face and Linda's face goes slightly red with embarrassment.
"Stop, stop, okay. I know. It was absolutely ridiculous! I honestly could not stop myself! I was powerless in the face of that overwhelming charisma—I guess that's the word—but it's not strong enough to describe what was happening to me."
Linda looks up, thinking, trying to come up with a metaphor to describe Lucifer's tractor-beam pull.
"He, he was like the sun. And me? I was just a moth out of her element with no way to resist his light."
She pauses thoughtfully.
"Like they say, he's the LightBringer…"
Chloe nods knowingly.
"You know what I just realized, Chloe? You never experienced that! You were always immune! Unlike every other woman (and often, man) on earth!"
Chloe rolls her eyes.
"Oh my god, all the times I had to watch women melt away in front of him! It got to be really annoying. I just wanted to punch him—"
Linda interjects,
"—but you know—- he realized right away that you were different. He would always tell me," putting on a British accent,
"…the detective appears to be completely unaffected by me and I've never experienced such a thing before. It vexes me. But it is so very exhilarating! A trip to the unknown!"
Both laugh uproariously at Linda's ridiculous impression of Lucifer, but then slowly Chloe sobers up. After a pause, she says,
"So you knew about the whole 'gift from God' thing long before I did… what did you make of it at the time?"
Linda looks down at her latte and fiddles with a stir-stick.
"Well it was so distressing for him when he learned about it from his mother—somewhat maliciously—I might add. Man, was she a piece of work!"
A shadow passes briefly across Linda's face as she shivers with the memory of being attacked by the Goddess of All Creation.(She realizes Chloe probably doesn't even know why Linda was in the hospital that time.) The realization that she's going to have a lot more to explain to Chloe suddenly hits her. Linda bites her lip with slight worry. But she shakes it off and looks earnestly at Chloe.
"You know, that revelation just played into his fears of being manipulated like a puppet, by his Father. Then when he realized you knew nothing about it, he wanted to protect you by pushing you away. He thought your love and attention were orchestrated by his Father and that you had no control over those feelings for him. In other words —as he put it— 'it wasn't real.' So he was pushing you away right at the time when you were softening up to him and enjoying having him as your partner."
Linda pauses, thinking.
"As I said to Lucifer at the time, 'Maybe she is just taken with you!' I never believed all this 'gift of God' crap from the get-go. I could see that you were acting completely of your own free will, and that indeed, you were taken by him!"
She pauses, then,
"Who isn't?"
Linda blushes, and then laughs self-consciously. Chloe looks at her in amusement, but softens.
"You know, Linda, I am so thankful for all the sessions you had with Lucifer. Even though we both know he is the most narcissistic person in the world—"
Chloe rolls her eyes again and laughs out loud. Linda giggles knowingly.
"—I think that his meetings with you lessened his feelings of being controlled by his Father and pushed him in the direction of self-actualization—just like Amenadiel. Who, I might add, was also positively affected by you."
Chloe gives Linda a big grin.
"By the way, where are Amenadiel and Charlie today?"
Chloe's eyes smile as she thinks about the gentle, giant, Angel Amenadiel with little Charlie. Linda smiles thinking about the love of her life: her baby Charlie.
"Just out for some father-son time. I don't know where they go, what they do—and the beauty of it is that I don't have to know! Or worry! That's one of the benefits of having an Angel as the father of your child!"
Linda laughs, but then stops herself. Her brow darkens a little.
Chloe, concerned, asks,
"Linda?"
"Well I used to think I didn't have to worry… Except for that pesky time when Hell was unleashed on earth and demons ran the streets of LA and kidnapped my baby! Oh my god, never again, please."
Linda looks skyward pleadingly, real anguish crossing her face as she remembers. Chloe closes her eyes, remembering also.
"Wow, I know. That was terrifying! It seems so long ago now, doesn't it?"
Chloe stares into space and says almost monotonously, but hiding deep feeling,
"That was when Lucifer had to— return to Hell. To rule over the demons and the dead." She pauses.
"And I, I—-thought my life was over."
Sharp intake of air. Chloe stops talking and falls into a reverie, then snaps back to the present with a shake of her head.
"So, Linda—-you said you wanted to talk to me about something."
She looks at Linda, her face a question.
"Or tell me something, right? Didn't you say there were some things I needed to know? After the big reveal of the Celestial side of things, I didn't think there could possibly be anything else to know!"
Chloe smiles uncertainly, anxiety creeping over her face, looking keenly at Linda. Linda is suddenly very cheery and says quickly,
"Oh no, no, it's nothing like that. Really. No, no, nothing to worry about."
However the concern on her face belies her words.
"It's just that since you learned so late about his true nature, you were not consciously aware of everything Lucifer was doing behind the scenes for you… and the sacrifices he made to keep you safe…"
Linda pauses.
"…and alive."
With a gulp she says,
"…and I thought you should know," she says finally.
Chloe gives Linda a look of worried surprise.
"Wait—what? Behind the scenes? Sacrifices? What are you talking about? Seriously, Linda, what is this all about?"
Now Linda is a little flustered.
"Okay, okay. Sooooo… do you know how many times he went back to Hell for you?"
Linda looks Chloe square in the face. Chloe looks confused.
"Yeah, well we just mentioned that. When he had to go back to Hell to keep the demons away from earth…"
Linda looks at Chloe with love and concern.
"Yes, right, that time of course. So that would make three times that he went to Hell to protect you."
She looks Chloe straight in the eyes in that firm-Linda-way of telling the truth, but Chloe is clearly shaken.
"Wait, wait, no… I— I… I don't know what you mean…"
Chloe is now starting to look freaked out. Linda steels herself and begins,
"Okay. So of course you remember the Palmetto case, one of the first cases that Lucifer helped you with, because it was an old unresolved case?"
"Ugh, yes. That bastard Malcolm…" Chloe says with quiet disgust. A shadow crosses her face, now so serious. Linda begins, carefully choosing her words.
"Well, you remember that terrible day when Malcolm kidnapped Trixie and took her to an empty hangar/warehouse. He said he wouldn't hurt Trixie as long as you brought him the money that had been confiscated by the police. He insisted you come alone but Lucifer figured out something was wrong and followed you to the hangar…"
"Oh my god, what a terrible day that was," whispers Chloe, a look of anguish crossing her face.
"When I got there, seeing Trixie with Malcolm struck me with absolute terror and I felt so much rage I wanted to scream."
Her voice gets a little shaky and she says the rest in a state of reverie,
"But I had to stay calm for Trixie's sake. So I stooped down and scooted both my guns across the floor to Malcolm. He asked me for the cash and I said no, Malcolm, you have to give me Trixie first, that's the deal. He finally relented and let go of Trixie and she ran into my arms. I took the chance to quickly tell her we were playing a game and that she needed to go hide the best she could.
Chloe's eyes are welling.
"I watched Trixie run off into that damned cavernous warehouse…"
A sob catches in her throat and Linda reaches over and grasps her friend's hand, her eyes also watering as Chloe finishes,
"…my heart ran away with her… but—Malcolm."
Chloe takes a deep breath and her voice hardens,
" 'Where's the cash, Decker?' I popped the trunk so he could get the satchel. But once he had it, he dropped it on the ground and pointed his gun at me. I raised my hands and pleaded,'You don't have to do this, Malcolm.' My world was crashing down around me. Suddenly, of all things, a paper airplane swooped gently out of nowhere, circling and landing at Malcolm's feet. As he bent over to see what it was, I dashed off to hide."
Chloe's face is a mask of terror now, remembering.
"Then I heard Lucifer's voice! My heart sang—-and then sank. I couldn't hear what they were saying but then I heard the terrible blast of Malcolm's gun. I heard Lucifer's gasp and then, horribly, impossibly, I heard a body fall to the ground. I heard Malcolm needling and prodding, that weasely SOB."
Chloe swallows hard.
"Next thing I knew, Malcolm was calling out, 'Oh Decker! Where are you?' I didn't have my gun so all I could do was stay quiet and outsmart him. I don't generally pray—but, man that day— my whole being was crying out to god that Malcolm would find me and not Trixie. That somehow, my smart little monkey would manage to escape this horror. I held my breath and tried to focus on Malcolm's location and movements."
She squeezes her eyes shut.
"Suddenly, I was within sight of my two guns, abandoned on the cement floor. I knew it was a long shot, but I dashed for one of them, grabbed it and whirled around to see Lucifer—on his feet— (how?) punch Malcolm in the face—and then I fired four shots: crack, crack, crack, crack into Malcolm's chest and he crumpled at Lucifer's feet."
Tears are slipping down her cheeks now.
"I called out for Trixie. 'Is it over, Mommy?' I said yes, monkey, it's over, you can come out. And she came running out into my arms. Lucifer suddenly appeared, with not a drop of blood on him, and strolled up to us with an odd look on his face."
Linda looks at Chloe questioningly.
"I was just shocked that he was alive. 'I thought he killed you,' I said. Lucifer laughed it off and said good night… and left."
Two beats of silence pass between the two women. Linda clears her throat, wipes an eye, squeezes Chloe's hand again.
"Malcolm did kill Lucifer."
Chloe is now wide-eyed with wet cheeks. Linda says ever so gently,
"That was the first time he went to Hell for you."
Chloe,in shock, whispers,
"Wha….?"
Now Linda is serious and says quietly, explaining,
"As you know, Lucifer is vulnerable to injury or death when he is near you, so yes, that gunshot wound to his chest was fatal. But he told me afterwards, in a session, what transpired after."
Looking questioningly at Chloe, Linda asks with her eyes if she should go on. Chloe nods her head urgently.
"As he lay bleeding, and his world was spiraling out of control, he could hear Malcolm stalking you with intent to kill while he himself was incapacitated, impotent to help. You know Lucifer well: imagine his anguish!"
Chloe blanches, closing her eyes and Linda gets an odd look on her face.
"So, believe it or not, he prayed. Yes, he prayed! To his Father. 'Dad… I need a favor,' he pleaded with his last breath."
Chloe is wide-eyed, dubious.
"Yes, he promised his Father that he would be the good son He had always wanted him to be, go anywhere, do anything He wished. But he wanted just one thing in return: 'Please protect Chloe.'"
Stunned, Chloe takes in a deep gulp of air, shaking, her eyes welling over again. Linda continues,
"And then—he told me— he was back in Hell. He was walking the narrow dark corridors with the foot-worn stones, ash floating down over everything. He noticed something amiss and suddenly realized what his Father wanted in return for protecting you, Chloe: someone had escaped from Hell! A gate was open! How was that possible? Lucifer told me he looked more closely and saw a broken chain. Linda again looked Chloe directly in the eye.
"Clearly, that was his task: to track down the person who had escaped from Hell and return them. With that, Lucifer was returned to the living, able to save you and Trixie, and then face, like a man—-or—-Devil, the task his Father had assigned him in exchange for your life, Chloe."
Chloe stands up, tears streaming down her face, looking pleadingly at Linda.
"You—you said three times. He went to Hell for me three times. I count two times now. What—what was the third time?"
Linda stands up and wraps Chloe in a warm hug.
"I'll tell you all about that the next time we meet for coffee… or for something a little stronger."
Linda winks.