Chloe leaned back in her chair, forcing herself to close her eyes and take a deep breath. She knew that she couldn't go on like this. She was driving herself crazy with worry. He has vanished before, she told herself. But this was different. Every cop instinct she had told her this was different. She'd reached a point where she was actually hoping he'd show up in the precinct, some woman dangling from this arm, joking about how he'd just taken a vacation. Sure, she'd be mad, but at least he would still be alive. And safe.

He'd vanished without a word to her, or to Maze, or to Linda. There had been signs of a struggle at his place, one of the stools at his private bar overthrown, broken glass strewn over the floor. His phone had been lying abandoned on the counter. It had all the telltale signs of an abduction. His car too had still been sitting in the garage. As far as they could tell he hadn't packed anything. Missing Persons was on the case, but Chloe hadn't been able to stop herself from launching her own investigation. Which so far hadn't amounted to anything. It was as if he'd just vanished off the face of the earth.

She opened her eyes, and, as if she had summoned him with her thoughts, there was Lucifer. Chloe blinked a couple of times, unable to believe her eyes. Relief washed over her like a tidal wave. He was alive. Then she took in his state, and the worry returned in a rush. He was filthy, his clothes torn, and there was a dark brown-red stain on his shirt which she was almost certain was dried blood. And as if that weren't bad enough already, he also had a nasty gash on the left side of his face which was most definitely still bleeding. His hair was mussed up and starting to curl, and it would have looked endearing under different circumstances.

Chloe stood up, locking eyes with him. He had the strangest expression on his face, as if he couldn't believe his eyes. Both of them just stood there for a moment, frozen in place, staring at each other. Then Lucifer drew himself out of his stupor and rushed forward, drawing her into a tight embrace. Chloe made a little surprised noise, the air rushing out of her lungs. She tried to recall if he'd ever initiated a hug before and couldn't recall any precedent. Lucifer's head came down to rest on her shoulder and he breathed out a relieved sigh. It made no sense.

Chloe drew her arms around him in turn and noticed that he was trembling slightly. He's in shock. He was mumbling something barely audible. After a couple of seconds, Chloe realized that he was repeating the same words over and over. You're okay. You're alive. What the hell was going on here? What had happened to him? Why was he worried about her? She was about to pull back and ask some of these questions, when his knees buckled suddenly. In spite of her surprise, she managed to glide the two of them to a kneeling position, rather than falling in a heap to the floor.

She pulled back and took his face in her hands, looking at his injury properly for the first time. It wasn't pretty.

"You need to go to the hospital."

It was like he hadn't even heard her. He grinned at her as if he'd won the lottery. "You're okay."

"Yes, I'm okay, but you're not." He waved his hand dismissively as if this were the least of his problems. "Lucifer, what happened to you?"

"Just a small disagreement between brothers, that's all."

"Amenadiel did this to you?"

Lucifer managed to look affronted in spite of his current appearence. "Amenadiel? Please, as if I'd let him get the better of me. No, this is Michael's doing. You know how it is with the lot of them. Father commands this. Father commands that.." He all but spat out the last words. Chloe couldn't believe her ears.

"Your father asked your brother to hurt you?"

Lucifer huffed out a laugh that had zero merriment. "Father doesn't ask. Father commands." He waved his hand around again as if all of this was irrelevant. "It doesn't matter. What matters is that you are okay."

Chloe looked at him. She really had to do something about this head wound. He was bleeding too much. He was bleeding because apparently his brother had inflicted these injuries on him on purpose because their father had asked him to. No wonder Lucifer was at odds with his family. She stood up to get something to at least slow down the bleeding.

She returned with a clean cloth which she pressed against the wound. Lucifer flinched. "Sorry. You'll need stitches. You've got to go to the hospital."

"I'm not going to the hospital", Lucifer said with a finality that brook no argument.

"Lucifer-"

"Detective. Michael, he, um-" Lucifer struggled with the words, something she couldn't remember ever seen him do before. "He said that he hurt you. That because you're a mi- that because you're you, he could hurt you. He told me how he killed you. He was very-" Lucifer almost chocked on the word. "-descriptive." Jesus Christ, Chloe thought. Jesus Christ.

His pained expression turned into that strange smile again. "But he lied. He made it all up. I should have known. I guess he thought that I'd go back if you were- if you were gone." What kind of a psychopath was this man?

"You're going to the hospital. Now."

Lucifer shook his head, his smile turning wistful. "I just had to know. It's fine. At least now I have a chance to say goodbye." He smiled sadly.

"Lucifer, what the hell are you talking about?"

"My time's running out. He'll know exactly where I went to. I'm sure he'll be around momentarily." He made an effort to sound lighthearted, but Chloe saw through it easily.

"Your brother? He can't harm you here."

Lucifer continued smiling that sad little smile. "If only that were true."

Chloe opened her mouth to assure him that, yes, it was, then closed it again without uttering a word. Out of nowhere, a man had appeared behind Lucifer, regarding the two of them with a sort of detached interest that reminded her of a scientist watching lab rats. Chloe stood up slowly, her hand moving towards her gun.

Lucifer remained on the floor, staring morosely ahead. He talked without turning around. "What took you so long, brother? It seems you're getting old."

Chloe drew her firearm, aiming it at the newcomer. "Hands where I can see them. Now." He paid no attention to her.

Lucifer stood up, steadying himself on a nearby desk. "And your attempts at deceit are sketchy at best."

Other officers had caught on to what was happening. Several more guns were drawn around them. Michael seemed entirely unconcerned about this development. Chloe looked into his eyes and recognized the cold detachment she saw there. She'd seen something similar many times in the eyes of stone-cold killers. This was a different degree though. It was as if there was no emotion at all in those eyes, no human being looking back at her. She shuddered.

Michael made a move towards Lucifer, and Chloe stepped in between the two. "Stop." She felt Lucifer's hand come down on her shoulder. "There is no need for this." He looked at his brother. "I'll come willingly. Just leave them be."

"You're not going anywhere with him", Chloe said, venom in her voice. Again, Michael paid her no mind, looking at his brother inquisitively.

"I'll go back. But I'm afraid you'll still be a gatekeeper short." For the first time, Chloe saw a hint of emotion on Michael's face. He furrowed his brow, looking at Lucifer in confusion. "Oh, just take me back. You'll see for yourself."

Before she had a chance to stop him, Lucifer stepped past her, standing next to his brother, facing her. "I want you to know, Chloe, that the time we spend together was the best of my life. Please don't waste any of yours looking for me."

There was a flash of blinding white light. Chloe blinked, and when she opened her eyes again, the brothers were gone.