"Earth to Chloe!"

Chloe blinked rapidly and let her mind focus once more. She'd been caught in yet another spacing out session, something that seemed to be the new normal for her. Her eyes found Ella Lopez, forensic scientist extraordinaire, staring at her with raised eyebrows and a sympathetic expression.

"Are you sure you want to be here?" Ella asked gently, setting down whatever she had been trying to show her. Chloe noticed it was a sample of something that had been placed in a glass vial.

"No, no, I'm fine," Chloe insisted, gesturing for Ella to continue. Ella rolled her eyes, not unkindly, before continuing.

"I was saying," She emphasized, "this long hair obviously doesn't belong on our victim here, given his state of baldness. I'd guess it may be a woman's hair. Or a guy with a man-bun. Can't rule those out these days." She grinned at Chloe as she stood up. "I'll take it back to the lab to test for DNA."

Chloe nodded and glanced back down at the homicide victim. The man had been in his forties, bald, a little more dad bod in stature, and had been found face-up in an alley behind a Chinese restaurant. A worker at the restaurant had called it in when they'd taken out the morning trash. ID, wallet, and money on the body indicated a crime outside a simple robbery, so here she was.

It'd been a quiet week in the precinct for Chloe. She had gone back to work as quickly as possible, anything to give her a distraction from sitting alone at home and feeling sorry for herself. It made no sense for her to dwell on what she couldn't stop dwelling over, but pushing through and finishing up paperwork had been supposed to help her focus on anything else. As if that could have worked with what was swimming through her mind at a constant, reverberating pace.

"Want a ride back down to the station?" Dan was behind her now, voice its usual brass and no-nonsense, and Chloe smiled to herself. Having Dan around was always a comfort, even after their ill-fated marriage came to a conclusion. They had similar coping mechanisms.

Turning around, Chloe nodded. "Thanks, I'd like that." Dan gestured the way and they exited the crime scene, leaving the forensics team to finish documenting it.

Dan's car smelled like Honey-Nut Cheerios. As Chloe wrapped the seatbelt around herself and clicked it, she contemplated this for a moment. It had been years since they'd shared the cereal with Trixie, who much preferred Lucky Charms. There didn't seem to be a hint of food anywhere, and yet here it was, the smell of a long-lost breakfast cereal that hadn't been in her life in a long time.

"It's been a week," Dan announced into the silence as they were on their way back. She glanced over quickly to see him staring straight ahead. Jaw set, eyes hard and focused on the road. "What's going on?"

She hadn't had the heart to tell anybody what had happened. How could she explain what had happened? Only Linda knew the truth out of the people in her life, and Linda (and Amenadiel, for that matter) had been preoccupied with little Charlie. She hadn't spoken to Linda yet.

"What do you want me to say?" Chloe asked him. "Do you want me to say he's gone for good? Because I don't want to believe that."

"He left you here, Chloe," Dan said with a raised voice. Seeming to realize this, he lowered it to continue. "You're obviously not okay and you don't know where he went."

Oh, she knew where he was all right. It was a place she couldn't follow.

"Maybe we should get Maze on it," He suggested then.

"No!" Her voice was quick and pained, giving away just a bit more emotion than she had hoped to show her ex-husband. "No." She dropped it back down to a normal level. "I don't want to get her involved. She's mad, too."

"Of course she is, we all are!" Dan muttered angrily. He sighed heavily and seemed to calm down once more. "Look, just...is there anything I can do to help? Do you want him to be found?"

"I don't think he wants to be found," she almost whispered. She smiled sadly and looked ahead at the buildings passing by. "He has enough money to disappear."

Her hands had found their way into her jacket pocket, where a worn, simple piece of paper lay folded and waiting. Her words to Dan were a means to an end; she wasn't going to let Lucifer have the satisfaction of leaving forever now. The rest of the drive to the precinct went by in silence, and she wasn't sure if it was out of respect for what she was going through or because of Dan's anger at Lucifer. They had parked and walked back in the precinct before she knew it. Her feet followed the familiar path to her desk and she sat down, hand gently pulling out the piece of paper.

She felt childish, denying Lucifer the ability to slip away as he had so gently tried to do. Holding the piece of paper, already worn from her hours of poring over it, making sure it was perfect, re-reading it over and over to get it just right, all seemed trivial and not at all how she should be moving on. Passing notes like elementary school children may not be the best way to go about it, but it was the only way for her to know where to start.

She wouldn't have even thought of getting a note to him until she had opened her front door three days after the events that pulled Lucifer back to Hell to find his older brother standing there, remorse and understanding unloading from his dark, caring eyes. She had thought before that moment she had cried her last tear. Unfortunately, the angel had a way of bringing about her emotions yet again. She had sobbed in his arms for what felt like hours, trying to justify in her head and out loud why he had to do it at the same time. But she had been so hurt. To finally reach a point of understanding between the two partners, to finally get to be together, had been right there for the taking. But Lucifer, never the responsible being, had changed his tune at the exact wrong moment. The years she had known him to skimp on the work, fall flat in his duties, and spread his faux innocence through a cocky smile, all seemed like a completely different person. He made an asshole move, she thought to herself in a grief-stricken tone.

Amenadiel had been counseled by Linda on a few choice things to say, this much Chloe could tell. He was careful how he worded things, comforted her by stroking her back, and let his deep voice remind her that she was strong and capable on her own. In a steady tone he had told her how proud God would be of Lucifer's decision, how perhaps this is what needed to be done for their family to finally be mended.

She had let him talk, tried to let his words resonate with her. She wanted to believe that he was okay on his own back in Hell. She wanted to believe that this was a test and that he was passing. But her memory flashed back to those last moments on the balcony at the penthouse, back to his expressions. He had been determined and resigned, this much she had seen. She had thought she detected a flicker of uncertainty and fear as well. When she had said she loved him, the shock that had flown through his wide eyes, quickly melting into a warmth she had not known him to ever show, that had been the end of it. Chloe knew that he was settling into this deplorable fate with the expectation of not resurfacing. What kind of self-sacrifice that took, she was scared to think about.

When Amenadiel had left, she began to formulate the plan. It was a silly one, she knew. It was childish, too. Very stubborn. She absently thought of how stubborn Trixie had been when she was younger, and wondered to herself if her daughter got that from her. But this wasn't an altogether normal situation. And she felt she owed it to herself to try.

When she had the beginning to the case paperwork filled out, Chloe decided it was time for a lunch break. She sent a text to Amenadiel asking him to meet her at a local diner down the street. Upon his confirmation that he would be there, she left the precinct, folded paper once again in her pocket and held firmly there by her hand.

The diner was crowded for lunchtime, but there was a fortunate booth open. She slid into it and folded her hands, thumbs twiddling absently. Her eyes followed the mix of people and cultures that populated the diner at this time of day. A few business lunch meetings, some retirees in the far corner talking loudly and reminiscing, a family with a young daughter who had just been presented a banana split. Chloe smiled at the last one, remembering the rare but important times she and Dan had brought Trixie out to get ice cream. Where had the time gone.

The diner bell dinged and she glanced behind her to see Amenadiel stride in. His presence inside the diner at all was soothing and nerve-wracking at the same time. She smiled nervously at him as he walked right up to her, as if he had known where she was all along. He slid into the booth opposite, a gesture that looked much too regal for a man of his size. Angel, not man.

A waitress came over and Chloe got a soda and a cheeseburger. She hadn't been eating well and thought perhaps sitting with Lucifer's brother, she would be more inclined to nourish herself. Amenadiel ordered a tall glass of milk with a smile. The waitress, flustered, smiled in return and scurried off to get their orders ready.

"Hello, Chloe," Amenadiel said calmly. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes. Uh, thank you for coming," she replied quickly. "I know it's a stupid thing and you've got a newborn baby and you're probably very busy."

Amenadiel held up a hand and smiled again, knowingly.

"It's okay, Chloe. Charlie is doing fine. Linda is with him. You have my complete attention."

Chloe smiled gratefully. She carefully took the note out of her jacket pocket and placed it on the table between them. The waitress came back with their drink orders then, setting them down and smiling again at Amenadiel before walking away. Amenadiel eyed the paper curiously.

"What's this?" he questioned.

"This," Chloe breathed, "is a note. For Lucifer." She carefully pushed it towards him, half wishing she hadn't done this. "Could you...is it possible for you to get it to him?"

Amenadiel looked thoughtfully, not taking it just yet. He glanced up at her and back at it.

"Are you sure this is wise?" he asked her gently. "He made a big sacrifice to return to Hell. I wish it didn't have to be this way, either, but is a note… is it wise?"

"I know, it's stupid," she said earnestly. "I need to though. I need him to know. I can't just ignore where he is, Amenadiel. He's back in Hell." She force whispered the last word so as the neighboring customers didn't overhear. "Whatever he's going through, he doesn't deserve that. He should have something in his life that's better. I can't be there, but maybe, through these notes..."

"You can," Amenadiel finished. He looked thoughtful for another moment, and then reached up with one of his large hands to take the piece of paper. She felt her eyes prick a moment as it left her touch. She was going to be able to communicate with him.

"I can't guarantee he'll respond," Amenadiel told her. "Lucifer has a way of...ignoring things he can't have. And this time, he seems to have a determination to be there. You should have seen him 7 years ago. He couldn't get far enough from the place." He let out a low chuckle and Chloe nodded understandingly.

"It isn't my fault, is it?" She asked, almost pleaded. "I feel like it's my fault he's back there."

Amenadiel's other hand came to rest on top of her own. The hand was warm and calming. She took a deep breath. Hie eyes were even with hers.

"It isn't your fault, Chloe," he said evenly. "It's never your fault."

She took another breath and let out a sigh. She wished she could believe that. She wondered if Lucifer believed that. She wondered if she'd ever get to see him again.