Apologies for the long wait - the virus has been a little distracting.

"Lucifer! It's good to see you, but what are you doing here?"

Lucifer's smile showed only a shadow of its usual exuberance, and his face was pale, his eyes dark-ringed. Linda frowned in concern. "Come in, I've just made some coffee. You want some?"

"In the absence of whiskey, coffee would be good."

He followed her to the kitchen and watched as she busied herself making them both mugs of steaming coffee. She studied him covertly, trying to figure out how to handle him. "So where's Chloe?" she asked tentatively.

He shrugged. "She had paperwork to do. I got bored."

This didn't sound like the happy reunion that she had expected. "Is everything all right between you? Do you want to talk about it?"

Taking the coffee, he sank down in an armchair and crossed his legs elegantly, adjusting his pants leg. A wail from upstairs prompted Linda to abandon her coffee temporarily to fetch Charlie from his nap, and as soon as she reentered the room with the toddler in her arms, he reached out to the visitor. "Lulu!"

Linda tried to gauge Lucifer's response as she lowered Charlie to the floor, but the man seemed fascinated by his nephew, his gaze completely focused on his chubby body as he pulled himself up by the couch and set off across the room. He had been barely balancing on his birthday, but now just a day later he seemed to have mastered the skill.

She retrieved her coffee and sat down opposite Lucifer, taking on her usual role of therapist, even as her half-angel son toddled over to his toybox and selected a toy to show off. She followed Lucifer's gaze. "He's grown so much since you went away," she said, trying to ease him into conversation. "And when we see how quickly they change, it brings it all home somehow, how fast time flies. No sign of any wings yet, though, thankfully."

His expression was bleak as he responded. "A blink of an eye, and all the time in the world."

Ah. "So how long was it for you, Lucifer?"

He shrugged, and she guessed he was unable to answer the question, unable even to judge, maybe. So that was the problem. "Lucifer," she said gently, "you're back now, and it's time to make the most of it."

"Time goes so fast for you humans," he said. "I was here eight years. I knew Chloe for three of them. And yet it feels like yesterday I first settled here. And at some point she… she will be gone, and then what? Hell is no place for her. And I can't be with her in Heaven. So this time is all we have."

"So why are you wasting it with me?" Linda asked. "Lucifer, the future might be uncertain, but isn't that even more reason to make the most of the here and now?"

Charlie plumped his teddy on her lap, and she scooped him and the teddy up into her arms. "Our time with Charlie is short, but it's all the more precious for that. Because we know that he'll be grown up before we know it, so we're holding onto every experience, every memory we create with him."

She loosened the toddler's grip on her hair. "Ow, Charlie, that hurts. Be gentle, honey."

Charlie grinned and tried to grab at her glasses, and she held his hand away with a chuckle. "Oh no you don't, why not go annoy your uncle instead?"

Lucifer looked as though she was handing him a stick of dynamite, but as the child grinned and tried to run his hands through his uncle's hair he relaxed a little. "I suppose you're right," he said with a sigh. "But I'm not sure the detective even cares for me still."

At that suggestion Linda laughed out loud. "You're joking, right?"

"But she didn't even want to stay last night."

"Oh Lucifer, that doesn't mean she doesn't care for you."

He brightened a little. "It doesn't?"

"What were you expecting? That the pair of you would fall into bed together? You know Chloe isn't like that. You might not have eternity together, but you have time and opportunity to get to know each other again, to catch up, to ease yourselves back into a relationship."

"I've never had to ease myself into a relationship."

Now that was definitely more like the Lucifer she remembered. "And isn't that why Chloe is so special to you?"

He looked thoughtful. "You're right, Doctor, as ever. I'd forgotten."

Linda leaned forward, and placed a hand gently on his knee. "You've forgotten a lot, Lucifer. Give yourself time to remember what it's like to be among humans again."

He nodded, and then his expression changed suddenly to anger. "I was among humans while I was away. Many of them weren't so very different from the ones here. Oh, some were downright evil, believe me, but I wandered further through Hell than I used to. I used to focus on the worst of the worst, but I checked out the outer rings, and some of them had just lost their way temporarily. If they had had longer on earth, maybe they would have turned their lives around, ended up elsewhere."

"And how did that make you feel?" Linda had cut down on her working hours since having Charlie, but the old techniques felt comfortable: focus on the client, not the problem. Focus on feelings, not events. Never mind what happened, how did it make you feel?

Lucifer jumped to his feet, startling Charlie, who slid off onto the floor and cried out in protest. "How does it make me feel? Bloody furious, that's how! How dare my father condemn an entire race of people at some nominal cut-off point?"

Charlie let out another cry at the angry tone, and Lucifer looked down at him as though he forgotten the child's presence. "Would you condemn Charlie to Hell for pulling your hair?" he asked. "After all, he was hurting you."

"What? No, of course not!" Linda tried to hide her shock. "He's young, Lucifer. He didn't mean to hurt, he's still learning how to be good."

"That's what my father is doing, isn't it? How does he get to make that judgment? How does he get to decide whether a person can change or not? What if Charlotte had died a year earlier?"

Lucifer's anger burned itself out, and he relaxed back onto the chair, reaching out for the coffee he had left on the table. He took a sip and turned up the corners of his lips approvingly. "Next best thing to Scotch, doctor. Thank you." He glanced around, as though remembering where he was. "And thank you for the talk. Your advice is as sound as ever."

"It is?" Linda thought back over what she had said. What advice had she given? Or more worryingly, what advice did Lucifer think she had given?

Her musings were interrupted by the door opening. "Dada!" shouted Charlie, and set off in that direction.

"Hello, son," said Amenadiel, sweeping the child up into his arms. "Hello Luci."

Lucifer nodded at him. Linda tried to judge the atmosphere between the two brothers. Amenadiel had said very little about Lucifer since he had returned to Hell, but as far as she could tell he was pleased to have been able to facilitate his return to Earth.

"What brings you home?" Linda asked. "I thought you were away for the day."

"I was," Amenadiel answered. "But I got called back. Tucker got arrested."

"What? No!" Linda was fond of young Tucker, one of the lads from the Foundation. What happened?"

"He got caught up in a raid. Nothing to do with him, but he was nearby and one of the youths involved dragged him into the matter."

"But he'll be okay, won't he? After all your hard work within the legal system."

"I hope so." But Amenadiel's face was grim.

Lucifer got to his feet. "Anyone you need me to punish? Or do you want me to have a persuasive word in the judge's ear?"

"Relax, brother." Amenadiel waved a hand vaguely. "You're off the job, remember? You relax, focus on Chloe and on getting used to mortals again. I've got it in hand."

Linda caught a flash of emotion on Lucifer's face. Was that part of it? He felt out of place, now there was another angel in charge of Hell? She opened her mouth to speak, but he had had enough of talk.

"It's been good seeing you both, but I must get back to the detective. She'll be missing me."

Ella was in the middle of studying a lab report when Lucifer returned. "Hi Lucifer," she greeted him. "Are you looking for Chloe? I think she went to check on something upstairs."

"Miss Lopez," he said solemnly. "It's good to see you again."

Ella studied him closely. He still seemed rather subdued, and looked as though he had gone without sleep recently, but as she watched he pulled his flask out of his inside pocket and took a long swig. He pulled an approving face, and perked up a little.

Seeing her watching, he held out his flask, but she shook her head. "Not on duty, Lucifer, remember."

He shrugged. "That's your loss then, this is one of the finest blends I have in my vast collection."

"So…" She pretended to focus on the microscope in front of her, making out it was vitally important, and tried to sound casual. "How's it going, bud? You settled back in?"

"Yes, thank you, Miss Lopez." Lucifer took another swig from his flask.

"So where did you actually go? I know Chloe said it was work related, but she seemed to be afraid you'd never come back. I mean, it was like you were off at a war or something. I kept telling her you'd be fine, but…"

She glanced up at him out of the corner of her eye, trying to judge how her words were landing.

"I was in Hell, Miss Lopez," he answered.

"That bad, huh? I mean, couldn't you just say you couldn't do it?"

Lucifer drew a deep breath. "I went in order to keep the detective safe. In order to keep all humans safe. But one of my brothers has taken over my duties so that I may return."

Ella frowned. She could never quite figure Lucifer out; he seemed so serious sometimes, when he spoke of Hell or God. And then it would be like flipping a switch, and that smile would shine out and she would wait for him to say "Just joking, Miss Lopez." But he never did.

Did he really believe what he said? Ella had always assumed he was a method actor, but maybe he was actually crazy. Maybe… maybe he had been in a mental hospital? She thought back to when he had checked himself in to the ward where a murder had been committed. Had he just pretended to be crazy back then or was there something in it?

Maybe he had turned violent and had been sectioned for his own safety as well as the protection of everyone else?

She shivered, and picked up the papers next to her, casting her gaze over them without taking in a single word as she processed the thought. Whatever you could say about Lucifer's mental health, he wasn't a danger to her or to Chloe, that much she was convinced of. Looking up at Lucifer again, she blurted out, "We care for you, Lucifer, you know that, right? We all missed you so much, and we were worried about you. Couldn't you even call? Or get someone to call for you? If you needed help, all you had to do was ask, and we'd be there for you in a heartbeat." She thought of Dan, and felt heat flushing our face. "I'm sure we all would," she said firmly. After all, Dan had been a lot more settled recently, hadn't he? That loathing he had shown towards Lucifer after Charlotte's death had faded, and it looked like he had come to terms with things a little.

And there had been no more covert make-out sessions for the pair of them, thankfully.

Ella blushed at the memory, and then caught Lucifer looking at her curiously.

"Are you all right, Miss Lopez?"

A deep sigh. "Yes, Lucifer, I'm fine, thank you, and I'm glad you're back and settling down again. Just let us know if you need anything, okay? Don't go off fighting your problems by yourself, you don't have to do that."

He nodded slowly. "Yes, thank you, I'm beginning to understand that."

A machine beeped in the corner and Ella went off to check the results. She looked up at Lucifer, startled.

He leaned forward, tucking his flask away in his pocket. "I do hope you've found the proof that Melville didn't kill his wife."

She shrugged. "Sorry, Lucifer, it looks like he did it after all. We need to find Chloe."

Linda was still musing over Lucifer's visit when her phone rang. She checked the screen and answered. "Hi Chloe, how are you doing?"

Chloe sounded a little hesitant. "I'm fine, thanks, just wondered if you'd seen Lucifer."

"Yes, he dropped in for a chat, but he left a few minutes ago. He was heading your way, I think."

"Okay, thanks."

There was silence for a few seconds. Linda smiled to herself, imagining what was going on in Chloe's head. "Anything I can help you with?" she asked gently.

Chloe cleared her throat. "Actually, I just wondered if you've got a minute to chat."

"Of course." Linda settled herself back onto the couch, smiling as Amenadiel picked Charlie up and swung him around gently, pretending to make him fly. Charlie thought it was a great game, but Linda had a sneaking suspicion that Amenadiel was hoping to encourage his son's wings to appear.

"Is Lucifer okay? I mean I know you can't break patient confidentiality and all that, but - well, I'm worried about him. Should I be? He's so - I wondered..." Chloe's concern was plain to hear.

Linda hesitated. Usually she kept work and friendship completely separate - life was far easier that way. But Lucifer was different. She'd made a choice before, to act as his friend rather than his therapist, and maybe he needed that again now. His situation was, after all, unique. Did Chloe understand just what he was facing?

Maybe there was a way around this. General information that she could give out without breaking his trust.

"I'm sure he'll be fine, Chloe. He just needs time to adjust. After all, he was away a long time."

"A whole year," Chloe agreed.

"Longer than that, for him."

"What do you mean?" Chloe asked suspiciously.

"Well, time goes so much slower in Hell. I can't imagine what it must have been like, all that time. And for the first time in his existence he knew what he was missing and longed to return, and knew that what he left behind would change in his absence."

"I haven't changed!" Chloe protested.

"Oh, but you have, Chloe. You've had a year to process his absence, and his true identity. You've spent that time building him up in your mind, imagining what a relationship might be like with him. And now you're faced with the real Lucifer, and you have to get to know him all over again. Him, not the version of him you've created in your imagination."

"I suppose so." Chloe's voice was quiet, thoughtful.

"And Lucifer - he's trying to work out where he fits in with this world, now he's not only banned from Heaven but no longer has the same role in Hell that he's had for eons. It's not easy for either of you."

There was silence for a minute. "How can I help him?"

Not an easy question to answer. "You need to give him time and space. But not too much. Reassure him that you still care. Make it clear how you feel, because he needs to be able to rely on that to figure out how he feels. He left you - left all of us - to keep us safe. Now he needs to adjust to the fact that he doesn't have to do that anymore."

Linda could hear a voice in the background of Chloe's call. "Sorry, Linda, I've got to go, but thanks. You've really helped."

Putting her phone on the table, Linda looked across to Amenadiel, who was now sitting on the floor building tower blocks for Charlie to knock over. "I do hope Lucifer will be okay," she said.

He laughed. "Lucifer? He's always okay. I don't know how he does it, but he always comes out on top."

"I'm not sure it's that simple," she answered. "But he's got all of us here to support him. I just hope he realises that."

Lucifer found Chloe walking back to her desk. "Hi, Lucifer," she said brightly. "Where've you been? I was looking for you."

"Oh, I - went for a walk," he answered, deliberately vaguely. He wasn't in the mood for questions about seeing a therapist right now. He still needed time to process the conversation. "Miss Lopez is looking for you. She has news."

"Okay, let's go see her," Chloe answered. She rested a hand behind his elbow as they walked down the stairs, and he felt the warmth of it through his clothes. It felt strangely comforting, although he wasn't sure why he would need comfort. He was back on earth, among his friends, and no longer had to worry about what was going on in Hell. Someone else was handling that now.

So why did he feel so empty?

"Chloe, the reports came back on the murder weapon," Ella announced as they entered the lab. "It looks like it was the husband after all."

"Are you sure?" Lucifer questioned. "After all, the knife belonged in the house. He could quite easily have handled it previously."

Ella shook her head. "DNA traces from him, fingerprints from him - in the blood - and none on any of the other knives, only hers. Sorry, Lucifer."

"Why are you so insistent it couldn't be him, anyway?" Chloe asked.

Lucifer sighed. "Just because he spends his time among criminals doesn't mean he'll turn bad."

"No one said it did," Chloe answered him. She faced him square on. "Lucifer, this isn't about you. This is about one man, who lost his temper. Yes, he learned to control it but then lost that control. Yes, that's scary. But it doesn't mean the same thing will happen to everyone in that position."

"Doesn't it?" Lucifer pondered the thought. He couldn't explain to her how much he had grown to fear the evil that he absorbed every day in Hell. He had been associated with evil for eons, been blamed for everything. At some stage, he had to face the fact that maybe he did cause it.

Maybe that's why he protested so much.

He pushed the thought away, and indicated the reports on the desk in front of them. "So what is the next step? Track this guy down?"

"Yes, I'll call Maze. Maybe she can find him for us."

"Sorry, Decker, too busy."

They turned to see Maze standing behind them. "You still hunting your wife who killed her husband?" Chloe asked her.

"Nope, finished that one. Found her crying in a heap, saying she didn't mean to do it. Got another one to do though. My, you humans are busy these days."

Maze turned and left. Ella watched after her, mouth open. "I don't know how she does it," she said. "Always on the go. She really seems to enjoy her job."

"Torturing humans is her purpose in life," Lucifer told her. "To be paid for it and told how good she is, that's always a bonus."

Ella smiled, as always taking his words as a joke. Lucifer wondered what she would say if she really knew the truth, if she understood who and what he and Maze were. For a moment the words swelled up inside him, and then he pushed them down again, loving the open expression on Ella's face and fearing the change he would bring. She reminded him so much of his little sister. His thoughts flicked to Azrael - eons of resentment towards her could not completely eclipse the fondness he once held. Maybe he could hang out with the fam a bit more, now that relationships were starting to ease.

Who was he trying to kid? He'd never been a family man. Why was he trying to force himself into a role that would never fit? Maybe he should go back to what he knew, running Hell, and stop trying to pretend that he could ever belong here.

Chloe's phone rang, and she answered it. "Hey, Lucifer, we got a sighting," she said. "Let's go."

Lucifer opened his mouth to say that he was going home, but somehow the words got twisted as they came out. "Let's take my car," he said instead. "I'll drive."

"I was hoping you would say that," Chloe answered, looping her arm playfully through his. "Lead on."

It was an easy arrest in the end. They found Melville in a bar in downtown LA, with a row of empty glasses in front of him. He looked up dejectedly as they approached him. "It took you long enough," he said.

Chloe raised an eyebrow. "Is that all you have to say?"

He threw his hands out in a gesture of despair. "I killed my wife. I can't believe I did that. Why did I do that? I love her. I loved her. She was my everything." His words were slurred, and as he stood up he staggered slightly.

Lucifer reached out and steadied him, with a hand on his shoulder. Chloe put the cuffs on and read him his rights.

"I didn't want to kill her," Melville said as they marched him back to the car. His words were slurred, and he lurched unevenly against Lucifer, who was more or less holding him up. "It was - it was a little voice. A little voice in my head. I couldn't stop myself. The devil made me do it."

Chloe looked sharply across at Lucifer at the all-too-familiar phrase. The man was staring off into space, as though not even listening properly. His shoulders were slumped, and his eyes were red with exhaustion. She had a sudden flashback to that time when she was with Pierce, when Lucifer had tortured himself with sleep deprivation, and she felt a flush of shame at how she'd treated him that day.

"Lucifer?" she said gently.

Startled back to attention, he wouldn't meet her eyes. "I think I'll drop you off at the station and then leave you to the paperwork," he said.

"No."

At the firm tone in her voice, he finally looked at her. "No?" He raised an eyebrow.

"You're going to wait while I hand this guy in, and then you and I are going to go somewhere and we're going to sit and talk."

His eyes widened slightly. Chloe suppressed a smile at the thought that he looked like Trixie when she knew she was in trouble and was fearing a telling off.

"Your place or mine?" she asked him, deliberately keeping her tone light. She had another flash of memory, of walking into his apartment to find covers over all the furniture and no trace of the man himself. And if he ran away this time, she feared he really wouldn't ever return.

And so an hour later they sat on the couch in Chloe's apartment. Lucifer shifted uneasily, looking uncomfortable. He sipped carefully from a mug of coffee, looking at her through the steam drifting from the hot liquid.

"Lucifer, please, we need to talk." She ignored the worried expression on his face, and continued. "The way we parted - the things we said. We can't just ignore them."

"What things?" His attempt at an innocent expression failed miserably.

Chloe hesitated, but she was beginning to understand that this was up to her. Lucifer just wasn't capable - yet - of the emotional maturity to discuss his feelings. If she didn't make him face up to it, they could continue in this elaborate dance for years - maybe for the rest of their lives.

The rest of her life, she reminded herself with a wince. He was immortal, of course.

"When we parted," she said carefully. "I told you that I love you. And you said I was your first love. Remember?"

He crossed his legs, then uncrossed them, and adjusted his cuffs. She waited.

"I remember," he said eventually. He smiled at the memory. "In fact, that memory helped me through my time in Hell."

"So we need to figure out where we go from there."

Lucifer shrugged. "I'm not sure where we can go, detective."

There was a tiny squeak, and Lucifer startled as the kitten jumped onto his lap. He absent-mindedly stroked it as he talked. "I'm worried it's not fair on you," he admitted. "What future is there for us? One day you'll end up in Heaven, and we both know I can't join you there."

"Oh Lucifer." Tears welled in her eyes at his miserable look. "Wherever I end up, I don't intend to be going there for a long time yet. Earth time, anyway."

He gave her a quick glance at the suggestion that she understood time in Hell passed differently.

"I'm more worried about you," she continued. "After all, you'll live far beyond my lifetime. Isn't a relationship with a mere human pointless?" That was the question that burned in her mind; why would he bother with her?

Lucifer looked down at the kitten, who had curled up on his lap and fallen asleep. "Why do you bother with a kitten?" he responded. "They live only a few years. Yet you still take them in and love them. And all they do for you is claw the furniture and create a stink."

Chloe glared at him. "Are you saying I'm just your pet?"

Did he actually blush? "Not at all, detective. But relationships can be meaningful even when they are necessarily short." His eyes widened, as though he was just starting to understand his own feelings.

"And who says I'd end up in heaven anyway?" Chloe teased him gently. "If the choice is heaven without you or hell with you, how do you feel so sure which I'd choose?"

A strange expression crossed his face, and she wondered what he was thinking.

"So how about we ignore the future, and focus on the here and now?" she said, resting a hand gently on his knee under the pretence of stroking the kitten. "Let's just enjoy each other's company and see how things go?"

He nodded, and for the first time since his return she saw the old gleam of mischief in his eyes. "That sounds a great idea, detective." He took an unsteady breath, then reached out for her hand, placing his large, warm one on top. "Chloe."

Her heart swelled at the sound of her name from his lips.

"And now it appears I'm trapped here anyway."

She looked at him, confused, and he indicated his lap.

"I can't possibly disturb this creature."

Smiling, she snuggled up against him, and he put his arm around her. They sat that way for a long time without speaking, until his breathing slowed and steadied, and she realised that he had fallen asleep. And on his lap, the kitten purred contentedly. Chloe knew exactly how it felt.

Comments always welcome. I hope you've enjoyed the story. I do have two more planned in the series, but think I'd better get them well under way before starting to post!