"Is there something on my face?"

"No,"

"Then why are you staring?"

"I think I may have seen you before, I just can't quite remember where." His brows draw together as he stares some more. Chloe meanwhile is alarmed. She sincerely hopes it isn't because he saw her old movie.

"We met here the other day,"

"No, apart from that." He stares for a while longer, putting Chloe on edge until, "say, do you have some gummy bears?"

"Ughh, no, but we can buy some from a convenience store."

"Oh, can we? Please?"

"Err, how about I get an officer to help you buy some?"

"No, I'm good. I can wait."

There must be something on those dark brown eyes that she holds his gaze for a bit and is suddenly reminded of that puppy dog look Lucifer sometimes gave her. She glances at her watch and sighs in defeat.

"Why don't we go and grab lunch?"

"Brilliant idea! I am kind of starving,"

"Why didn't you say so in the first place?"

"I didn't want to bother you."

Chloe bit her lips as she regards him again. Trixie does the same sometimes that she had to remind her daughter that it wasn't forbidden to bother her.

"Come on, Sammy."

The Detective takes Sammy to one of Trixie's favorite go-to places. He's quiet during their drive, mostly looking out of the window and observing until she pulled up at the parking lot.

"May I ask you something?" He inquires, as he watches her unbuckle her seatbelt.

"Sure,"

"Why do you like this job? It seems dangerous."

"I like to help people."

"Hmm. Makes sense." Sam bobs his head in agreement.

"How so?"

"It suits you."

"Really?"

Samael nods and she gets out of the driver's side to unbuckle him from his car seat.

The child wolfs down the blueberry filled waffle and takes a sip of his milkshake rather loudly as if he hasn't been fed for days.

"Whoa, slow down tiger," Chloe says as she wipes the corner of his mouth.

"This is lovely!" He exclaims and proceeds to take another bite of the second set of waffles. "I've never had waffles before. I will certainly ask my brother to take me here for waffles every day."

Are waffles not a thing in London? Chloe thinks to herself, rests her chin on her palms and watched him take another stab at the remaining food.

Sam suddenly stops and asks "Oh, I'm sorry. Did you want some? Why aren't you eating?"

She gives him a dismissive wave of her hands, "No, I'm good. I usually don't take lunch. I'm often called on scenes at varying times, regardless if I'm on a break or not."

"Well, I'll put in a good word for you, Detective. You deserve a vacation."

Chloe just smiles. Why does it feel like she's speaking with Lucifer?

The duo comes back to the office after a quick run to the convenience store to grab gummy bears. The blonde detective directs Samael to her desk once more and asked him to stay put while she goes over to Ella who was waving at her the minute they arrived.

"What is it Ella?" She clasps her hand like always and waited for the forensic analyst to tell her something.

"D'you remember the video you asked me to examine?" Chloe nods, "Well, it's authentic."

"Okay...so how could the CCTV's not see my partner leave the premises?"

"It's either he's the Flash, or Ant-Man, or he turned into a kid."

The consultant's partner shakes her head.

"Who is Ant-Man?" Clearly, she's a bit out of sync with popular movies these days, "And no, that's not possible, for him to turn into an actual child."

"Is it?"

"What are you saying, Ella?" The detective has her hands on her hips now, listening to Ella's wild theories.

"Hell, if I can see one ghost, then maybe it's possible that Lucifer shrunk. I know it sounds crazy but I just don't have any logical explanation for it."

"Keep digging though. I want to get to the bottom of this."

"Here's a better idea: why don't you let Sam stay over your apartment tonight? Pretty sure his brother wouldn't mind, seeing how he just left his five-year-old sibling in your care. Not that you're not trustworthy or anything, I mean, I trust you with my life,"

"I get it, Ella. Actually, that's a great idea."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I'll get Dan to watch over Trixie tonight."

"Let me know how it goes."

"Hey Sam, would you like to have a sleepover at my apartment tonight?"

"What's a sleepover?"

"Think of it as you visiting my apartment and spending the night there. I'll read you a storybook if you want."

"Oh, I would love that! I'm sure Amenadiel wouldn't mind. So are we going now?"

"Uhh, in a few minutes."

"Okay. Do you have more gummy bears at your home?"

"We can grab another on the way."

"Yes please!"

Earlier, while they were making their way back to the precinct, they drove past a playground. Seeing from her rearview mirror how he wouldn't take his eyes off from the view, she pulls over to the side.

"Aren't we heading back?"

"Just a little detour." She removes her seatbelt and alights the car, goes over to where he's seated and unbuckles him once more. "Come play for a bit."

"Can I really?" His eyes light up like Christmas and she couldn't help but feel glad and sorry for him at the same time. Wasn't he allowed to play?

"Yeah. Come on." She holds out her hands and he takes it immediately, his smile going up to his ears in pure joy.

Chloe sits on a nearby bench and watches him go up and down the slide, up and over the monkey bars - basically all over the place. She shakes her head at this, and think it funny how a simple gesture made him so happy.

Samael spots a boy being pushed around by bigger boys from atop the slide. He quickly goes down and approaches them, starts to berate the other child. The taller child pushes Sam to the ground, causing a tiny cut over his palm in the process. He stares at the wound, brows furrowed, doesn't understand why it stings . It isn't supposed to hurt... at all . He isn't supposed to bleed or get wounded from a mere fall, for that matter. Is he being tested?

Chloe spots the commotion and immediately makes her way towards him as the bullies run away.

"You okay, Sam?"

The child looks up at the Detective, brows still creased in confusion and shows her his palm.

"Why does it hurt?" He asks.

"Welcome to my humble abode," The blonde detective lets Samael go in first and he looks around the apartment.

"It's cozy."

"Is it? Well, make yourself comfortable." She removes her jacket and places it on the counter as well as the groceries she bought.

"Where is your offspring?" Chloe halts her movements, getting that Lucifer vibe again.

"What did you just say?"

"Your daughter? Didn't you have a daughter? I saw an image on your desk. Am I mistaken?"

She exhales, maybe she's mistaken.

"Oh, uh, yes, Trixie, short for Beatrice," She stutters but presses on. "She's at her father's place until tomorrow."

"I see. I'd like to meet her too if you don't mind. I'm pretty sure she's as nice as you are, Detective."

"Sure thing. Um, you can watch TV for the meantime while I prepare dinner."

"Okay."

Samael sits down on the couch and his eyes start to droop. He's suddenly too tired and he doesn't have the energy to fight off sleep, so he removes his shoes and proceeds to lie down. The second his head touched the cushion, he's out like a light.

"Hey, I forgot to ask what you'd like…" Chloe's voice peters out upon seeing the child's sleeping form. She was gonna go and grab a blanket when her doorbell rang.

"Hi, Chloe," Amenadiel greets her "Sorry, I didn't mean to take this long but I'm here to pick up my brother. I heard from Ella that you invited him over."

"Yeah, I did. You don't mind, right?"

"Ah yes, I don't. However, he's supposed to go back with our Father tonight. Where is Samael anyway?"

The detective finally allows Amenadiel to come in and lets him see his brother asleep on the couch.

"He must be exhausted."

"Yeah. So, I'll take him back."

"Hang on. It's my day off tomorrow so I'm volunteering to babysit." A deliberate lie but it had to be done. "Besides, I don't want to wake him."

"Thank you for the offer, but he really must go back." The dark angel insists but Chloe holds up her hand and asks him to stop.

"Why? You had no issues leaving him with me earlier. What's changed?" She pushes for an answer.

"Like I said, he has to go back -"

"This child is Lucifer, am I right?"

Amenadiel was never good with his poker face but he tries to steer the conversation.

"What do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean."

"Come on, Chloe. Are you hearing yourself? That's not possible."

"What is?"

"Well, w-whatever you're implying."

"Really? So then you'll let him stay with me," It's more of a proposition rather than a question and obviously, Amenadiel is struggling to keep up. "Or you could just tell the truth."

Sammy's elder brother pinches the bridge of his nose and huffs as Chloe crosses her arms and waits.

"He's gonna kill me,"

"Who is?"

"Lucifer."

"So…?" She drawls out the word, trying to comprehend the situation.

"Yes. I don't know how it happened either but I'm trying to fix it. He wouldn't remember anything once he turns back to his normal self. I, I don't know what else to tell you."

"When does he turn back?"

"If the pattern is correct, he'll be back tonight, then to a child again the next day."

Chloe just nods, "Okay, you can take him."

Amenadiel bends down and puts Samael's shoes on, then scoops him up.

"Thanks for looking after him today, Chloe."

Samael rouses from his sleep during the car ride, a bit confused about why his brother had taken him.

"Why can't I stay with the Detective?" The elder brother looks at the rearview mirror and answers.

"Because, it's not safe."

"She's a police officer, isn't she? And her job is to keep people safe?"

"Y-es but,"

"Are you saying that you don't trust her?"

"No, brother. It's just - - - "

"When are we going back to the Silver City? What are we doing on Earth anyway?"

Amenadiel goes silent and tries to change the subject.

"Did you have fun spending time with Chloe today?"

"Yes, I did. You didn't answer my question. And I hurt my hand. Why?"

"Why what?"

"It's not supposed to hurt, Amenadiel. You didn't answer my question. Again. The humans we've met were nice but we don't belong here. When are we going home?"

"I...uh"

"Are we being punished? I didn't mean to go beyond the gates, I was just curious that's all. What did you do? Or are you here because of me?" He pauses and adds, "I'm sorry, brother."

"No, I - - - Um, it's complicated Sammy,"

"You're hiding something."

"You know, what? Yes, I am. But you wouldn't understand. I need you to trust me, Samael. It'll be alright."

"Okay. Can we get gummy bears though?"

"Y-es."

Chloe snaps out of her temporary trance. She fights off the urge to call Ella, because she doesn't want anyone else to know. It's for Lucifer's safety after all.

"Lucifer and Samael are one and the same."

The devil wakes up in the middle of the night, sweating profusely. He fights to gain some sense of control over his breathing, mentally counting to ten to slow it down so that he could think properly.

He's in his bed, naked, but alone. He turns on the light of his bedside lamp and sees a note from his brother.

Chloe knows. It reads.

Lucifer frowns at this, not even remotely aware of what transpired the last few hours. All he remembers is that he had asked to leave work early and everything else is a blur.

Unless…

Chloe knows.

He repeats, a bit of clarity dawning on him.

"Bloody Hell!"

Lucifer strides in the precinct, dressed to the nines like always and doesn't waste any time going to his partner's desk.

"A word, Detective? Please?"

Chloe simply looks up with her brows raised but doesn't protest and points her pen to the nearest available room.

He speaks as soon as the door closed.

"I know you find this very strange, and whatever I said to you - I hope nothing bad -"

"I actually like you better as a kid,"

"I-I just wanted to tell you that I would never hurt you. You don't have to be afraid of me." He babbles on, completely dismisses the part where his partner told her he's more likeable when he's a kid, but comes to a halt when she places her hand on his elbow.

"I'm not afraid of you, Lucifer. We'll figure it out together, alright?"

"If you say so. Wait, what?" Once again he's taken by surprise by the sudden turn of events. He wracked his brain last night, thinking about how he would assure the Detective - and here she is reassuring him instead. But which part is she privy to? Is Amenadiel referring to the Devil face as well?

Maybe there's a lesson that he has yet to learn. And once he's fixed, he will have words with whoever it is that made him this way. Then explain himself to Chloe.

"I've stocked up on gummy bears at my apartment."

"Whatever for?"

"You really don't remember, do you?"

"No. What were the gummy bears for, Detective?" Chloe just shakes her head. "Detective!" He follows after her as she dismisses him.

A/N: Sooo sorry for the delay. RL got in the way, and well, writer's block… :D Still, thanks for reading the previous chapters. Hope I was able to squeeze in all those suggestions and wrap this one up nicely. I know there's no resolution hahahah, but I think it's more just accepting what they were dealt with. 1 more WIP to go :)