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Chloe’s first mistake was calling Lucifer to tell him she needed a ride. Her second mistake was telling him where she was. Her third and biggest mistake was telling him why.
Not that she realized it at first. Her car was wrecked, she was hurt and a little bit rattled, and she needed help. She hadn’t thought twice before calling her partner to come get her.
A woman had run out of her house right after the accident, and after making sure she wasn’t too badly injured, had called 911 and led Chloe to an old lawn chair to sit down.
Chloe had let her take over. Her forehead stung where she’d cut it, and her head ached from the impact, and she couldn’t seem to think quite as clearly as she should have. A distant part of her mind informed her she was probably in shock, but the rest of her was trying to figure out her next steps, a weird almost-clarity that made her focus on what needed to be done. Wait for the responder. Call the insurance company. Car needed to be towed. Someone had to drop off the deposit for the apartment or else they might lose it.
It was the how that she struggled with. All of it seemed so hard.
She gazed at the intersection for a minute before realizing she had no way to leave after they were done at the scene. So she pulled out her phone and called Lucifer.
“Detective, funny timing. By chance, no one’s tried to, ah…smite you or anything of the sort?”
Trust Lucifer to come up with a question so ridiculous it made everything else easier to process. She shook her head even though he couldn’t see her, then immediately winced at the throb of pain that worked through her. “What…no, no one tried to smite me, Lucifer. Can you pick me up?”
She could hear the frown in his voice. She never asked him to do that. “Why? Where are you?”
Chloe gave him the street name and said, “Someone hit my car. I can’t drive it.”
The shift in tone was immediate. He sounded almost frantic as he asked, “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine.” Probably.
“I’ll be there as soon as I can. Be careful. Don’t move, don’t do anything, don’t trust anyone.”
He hung up. Chloe stared at the phone as if it would tell her what the hell was going on with her partner now.
A police cruiser pulled up before it could give her any answers.
Lucifer drove up fast enough that she worried about him causing another accident, but as usual he slammed on the breaks just in time and came to a stop before hitting the car parked on the street in front of her. He rushed over, eyes sweeping her up and down, scanning her for injuries. They narrowed on her right temple when she lowered the gauze pad she’d been holding up to it. “You’re hurt.”
“It’s not that bad,” she said. It had mostly stopped hurting, and she was able to think more clearly now.
He lifted a hand halfway to her face before changing his mind, letting it fall to rest on her arm instead. “I’ll take you to the hospital.”
“I don’t need the hospital, Lucifer,” she protested. “I just need to get this cleaned up.”
“Luckily for you doctors are very good at doing precisely that.”
She sighed, briefly closing her eyes. Probably he was right and she should go. “Fine. We can go when I’m done here.” There was still so much to do and she had no energy for any of it. Maze was taking care of the deposit, but she still had to deal with her car.
“What happened?” he asked. “Tell me everything. No detail is too small.”
“There’s not much to tell. A dog ran into the road and the other driver swerved. They hit my car instead. That’s all.”
“Are you sure it was a dog? By chance did it seem to appear out of nowhere?”
Chloe took a second to work that one out. “Yes, it was definitely a dog. It ran out of the house. The owner saw it happen.” She gestured to the woman who’d helped her.
Lucifer let go of her arm and gave the woman the same sweeping look he’d just given Chloe, but far more calculated, without any of the concern. Apparently she passed inspection because he dismissed her, turning back to Chloe. “Did you see anything else? Maybe something you can’t explain? You can tell me anything, Detective. I’ll believe you.”
“No, it just…happened.” She let out a breath. “Accidents happen sometimes, Lucifer.”
“Right, they happen to random people. Not to you, not right after—” He stopped, as if catching himself.
Clearly this was one of those times where he was going through something he didn’t want to tell her. “I get it, Lucifer. It could have been a lot worse, but it wasn’t. I’m fine. Maybe if you tell me what I was supposed to have seen…?” Then she could reassure him that whatever it was he was thinking, it wasn’t that.
He shook his head and flashed her a smile. She knew him well enough by now to know how forced it was; his eyes were still filled with worry. “It’s probably nothing, Detective. Are you… are you sure you’re okay?”
She gave him a small smile of her own. Maybe she was still a little shaken, but she’d be able to deal with it. She’d handled far worse. “I’m sure,” she said softly.
“Right, then. Just a moment.”
Chloe watched as he strode over to the group of people talking at the corner. He pulled the officer aside and spoke to her for a minute, occasionally gesturing to Chloe. This time, his smile worked as intended, because the officer nodded and smiled back in a way Chloe was very used to seeing when it came to Lucifer trying to get his way. He came back over to her and said, “No need to wait any longer, Detective. They’re graciously handling it for us.”
He guided her to his car and opened the door for her, hovering anxiously while she got in and settled herself on the seat. He carefully shut the door after her and got in himself, glancing over at her again to make sure nothing was wrong before they drove off.
Chloe automatically braced herself before forcing herself to relax. She released a long, slow breath, trying to shove away any trace of fear before it could take root. Nothing would happen this time. The accident had been a one-time stroke of bad luck. It was over.
Maybe if she said it enough times, she’d believe it.
Amazingly, Lucifer drove more carefully than she’d ever seen before. He didn’t even speed. Although he did keep throwing glances at her every minute or so, as if constantly checking in on her. It was kind of sweet. Lucifer rarely admitted to caring about anything, but his actions spoke volumes.
It might have been endearing at first, but after two hours of Lucifer constantly fussing about the accident, it mostly just became exasperating.
“I’m fine,” she repeated for the tenth time. “It was just a car accident, Lucifer, it happens. No one is out to get me or whatever you think happened.”
He couldn’t seem to stop himself from going on about how it might have been caused by divine will or some such nonsense. For some reason he was more freaked out about it than she was. She guessed it was his way of coping.
She hadn’t expected him to stay with her at the hospital, but he had. He’d sat with her in the waiting room, then after five whole minutes of patience, he’d gotten up again to speak with a nurse. Chloe didn’t know what he said, but someone came to get her not two minutes later.
Then Lucifer had insisted on coming back with her while they checked her over and took care of the cut. She hadn’t felt like making him leave, even while he was slowly driving her up the wall. She was so used to it that their familiar routine was comforting, in a way.
“You might feel fine, but there could be something wrong that won’t become apparent until it’s too late.”
She resisted the urge to ask yet again just what the hell he was talking about. “This isn’t a movie, Lucifer. There won’t be some plot twist where I end up dying in your arms right after you confess your love to me.”
She’d said it without thinking, but was quickly glad she had. Lucifer’s mouth popped open, but nothing came out. Wow. For once he was actually struggling to find words. “I—that’s not—”
He was spared by the doctor coming back. “Can I have a word?” he asked, looking pointedly at Lucifer.
“Of course.” He didn’t move.
The doctor glanced at Chloe questioningly. She waved her hand. “Go ahead.” Maybe if Lucifer heard it from a doctor he’d believe it this time.
“You probably have a slight concussion. Rest for a few days, avoid anything strenuous. You should have someone check in on you over the next day or so to make sure it doesn’t get worse. Besides that, you’re good to go.”
Lucifer made a skeptical noise low in his throat.
“See?” she said.
He wasn’t happy about it, but he waited while she finished up and then drove her home. They walked up to the front door, and Chloe paused before going inside.
“Lucifer,” she said quietly. “I don’t know what I need to say to make you believe it, but I promise, I’ll be okay.”
His eyes softened. “This time, perhaps. Next time…”
Was that what he was really worried about? That she would get in another accident, a worse one? “Look,” she said. “It’s really not that big a deal. I can’t promise it won’t ever happen again. No one can guarantee that. But I always do everything I can to make sure it doesn’t.”
He pressed his lips together for a second. “I hope you’re right about all this, because otherwise…” He trailed off before saying, “Just be careful, Detective. Please.”
“I will.”
Lucifer nodded and opened the door for her. She stepped inside and said, “So I’ll see you tomo…What are you doing?”
He’d followed her in, striding right past her into the living room. “You heard the doctor. Someone has to watch you for a day. Don’t worry, you won’t even know I’m here.”
Chloe rolled her eyes and shut the door.