IT WAS ODD, if anything, that Izzy could still feel the chafing of the hospital sheets against her skin, yet now, here she stood — on the other side of Chloe's room, staring at the woman laid out on the hospital bed while Benjamin and Trixie gathered around her with sad gazes and comforting embraces. Everything had happened in a blink of an eye, really, just as Izzy had gotten home, Chloe had been found in her bathroom with an endless nosebleed, and not much later, she had passed out and been driven to the hospital. Just as Dan had asked, Izzy had picked up his daughter and brother on the way, and now that the small family was reuniting on what hopefully wasn't going to be Chloe's deathbed, the deputy stood outside and cursed the job she loved so much, yet hated at the same time. Well, maybe not the job itself, but the dangers and the criminals her geeky mind painted as villains, that sometimes took all the effort to beat.
Witnessing the same stages she had gone through was rather overwhelming for Izzy. There was a drastic difference between being the one squirming on the bed and trying to make it through the wildfire raging within the entire body, and being the one to watch from aside how a loved one unraveled and was, one way or another, losing the battle. Somehow, even though this time she wasn't on the verge of death, it didn't hurt Izzy any less to be free of the pain only to watch someone else ridden with it. And even after everything, even after knowing how much it hurt in every sense of the word, she wouldn't have hesitated to switch places with Chloe if she could.
"Hey", Dan's voice snapped Isadora out of the deep end of her thoughts eventually, and while turning around to face him, she dropped her arms from the hug she had subconsciously fallen into. Instead of comforting herself, she took a step towards Dan, who was way ahead of her and didn't hesitate to wrap both arms around her. "How you holding up?", the man sighed softly, and Izzy didn't miss the lack of strength in the squeeze he gave her, clearly still treating her like precious cargo, but she appreciated the concern. The week had taken a toll on her.
"Uh, I'm much better, thanks for asking", Izzy nodded as she parted from Dan, but once she gave a look at his face, her eyes flew open. "Woah, I think I should be the one asking that question, actually", her eyebrows knitted together as one of her hands gripped his jaw gently and the other inspected the gash on his left cheekbone, perfectly lined with an already forming colorful bruise. The day had hardly kicked off, but he had wasted no time in getting his ass kicked, and the sight made Izzy sigh and give him a stern look. "What happened?", she was trying to wash out the blaming tone of her voice, but the genuine concern didn't do much of a job in covering it up, in the end.
Shaking his head, Dan gingerly took Izzy's hands and lowered them from his face, though the hold never dropped. "It's not important. What is important, is that we have the list of ingredients. But we're missing the instructions, so we don't know how to make the antidote and we can't take the risk of making a random mix", the detective closed his eyes for a second, as if to try and escape the nightmarish reality they had all been sucked into, and as much as Izzy wished that was possible, she could only frown and pat his cheek carefully.
"You'll find a way. Or, we will, all of us. Tell me, what can I do? Anything, really — she saved me, now I need to do everything I can to return the favor", she emphasized, knowing that giving up wasn't an option, yet Dan's voice and the shrug he offered in response lacked in enthusiasm entirely.
"If something comes up, I'll let you know. But for now, I think everyone just needs a little emotional support. You included, Iz, you've been through a lot, so take it easy, okay? I don't want you to end up here too", Dan nodded at her, his words dancing on the line between advice from a friend and orders from a boss, but nonetheless, Izzy agreed to both.
Or, at least, before she could disagree, Dan had left the quiet hallway and entered Chloe's room to break the news to her and Benji. Izzy's gaze followed, but as soon as she saw the hopeful flicker in Trixie's eyes, her heart cracked in half and she couldn't stand there any longer — instead, she headed towards the reception, satisfied with the very few people around her until she noticed Lucifer walking down the hallway with his handsome features twisted with something heavy. A silent debate instantly rose in Izzy's mind, but ultimately, the question of whether she should duck in the other direction and avoid the Devil or face the inevitable and finally talk to him, was answered with the latter option. She couldn't dodge him forever, and now, if ever, was the time for past conflicts to be buried and put away.
"Lucifer, hey", she earned the man's attention with a simple greeting, and in a matter of seconds, his attentive, hypnotizing stare was steering towards Izzy who gulped at the intense eye contact. Comforting him had been very different when he had merely been a friend who liked to call himself the Devil, compared to now when she knew him to tell the truth, when she knew that she was helping an actual fallen angel, giving advice to one of the most well-known beings in the world with her pathetic human knowledge. It was confusing, but that didn't stop her from flashing a small smile for support.
"Izzy", Lucifer was quick to breathe out, and for a second, the step he took towards her looked like he was diving in for a hug. However, he chose otherwise and settled for standing right in front of her, lips parted but none of the million thoughts in his head coming out loud.
Isadora, however, had plenty to say. "I know you probably have a lot of other stuff on your mind, but I just wanted to say thank you. For, you know, saving my life. I—I can't ever put into words how grateful I am. And, also... I'm sorry for, um, attacking you. I didn't really know how to handle it all, honestly I still don't, but I shouldn't have punched you or yelled at you, that wasn't very mature", she rambled, trying to keep her voice down to avoid every nurse and patient in the hospital hearing her nervous mush of words that just fell from her lips, but it all came to a quick halt when Lucifer unexpectedly placed both hands on her shoulders. Admittedly, it startled Izzy, but when she looked up at the man uncertainly, she found him looking right back with a fond smile and warm eyes, all of the past concern gone just like that.
"A lot on my mind, yes, but there is always a little room for you. I understand that knowing the truth must be overwhelming, but truthfully, most humans never go back to their old selves. You and Linda are exceptional for that reason alone. But it is hard, and ergo, I don't blame you for lashing out. If anything, I almost saw it coming. Don't worry, darling, you are still every bit wonderful", Lucifer reassured, every word melting Izzy's heart a little more and leaving her speechless as she smiled up at him. The Devil truly wasn't so bad — he was capable of affection, remorse, heartbreak, and sympathy, after all, and that said a lot. But, before the moment could get too emotional, he smirked and nudged Izzy with his elbow. "And of course I saved you. That may have been the only chance I'll ever get in having you in my arms", he teased, and with a snort that echoed in the hallways, Izzy shook her head.
"Ha-ha", she mocked, both of them just enjoying that little crumb of happiness amidst the truly heartwrenching day. However, that joy on Izzy's face vanished as quickly as it had appeared, disappointment replacing the shadows of laughter when Charlotte Richards appeared from behind the corner — perhaps, there was a little fear mixed in as well, now that she knew that she had defied God's almighty ex-wife so boldly, right in her face. Who knew, maybe Charlotte could have easily demolished her, and while Lucifer and Maze no longer terrified Izzy as much as they had, the fake lawyer still made her shiver. "Uh, I gotta go. Let me know if I can help in any way", Isadora cringed as she gave Lucifer's arm a casual slap, and with those words, she was stepping away to avoid confrontation with the literal Goddess.
Little did she know, Lucifer wouldn't hesitate to grant his Mother a one-way ticket to Hell if she were to hurt Izzy in any way, after everything the woman had done to prove herself one of the greatest friends he had ever had.
Hours passed by as they waited around the hospital — for what, they weren't quite sure, perhaps for some kind of miracle, but they did know that living like every moment truly was the last, sucked. Lucifer had done his usual disappearing act, with Benjamin, and luckily Charlotte in tow, and while Dan and Trixie spent time with Chloe, Izzy sat in the waiting room and kept watch. Again, she wasn't sure what for, but she needed a purpose in the situation, and staring at Mazikeen's number while wondering if she should make the call hardly passed as such. She didn't know how to prepare for the death of a friend, so even though she eventually visited Chloe and tried to make her laugh and forget about the pain she remembered all too well, she did what she was good at. She was a cop, kept people out of the room and took orders and stayed composed despite the desire to crash and burn in the hospital toilets.
But, a spark of hope reignited in her chest when her wandering gaze eventually spotted a familiar duo sneaking around the hallways — one brunette, tall and confident in her steps, one blonde, short and nervous of being caught. Within seconds, Izzy had shoved herself up from the chair and away from the table with all the magazines now organized by release year, certain that Lucifer had concocted some kind of plan. That had to be the only reason why Maze and Linda were striding around the hospital in the blue nurse clothes, after all.
Quickly hopping down the stairs the two had taken as well, Izzy rushed after the women, worried that she was going to lose them in one of the floors and miss out on whatever was going down, but fortunately, she found the two standing by one of the rooms. Linda was the one to notice her approaching, and as the therapist spoke something, Maze twirled around as well to see Izzy jogging towards them with a thirst for answers — all of them, preferably.
"Uhh, what's this?", was what the cop began with, gesturing at their choice of clothes before placing both hands on her hips and licking her lips. Trying to hide the fact that the running was leaving her breathless — and failing, which earned a judging look from Maze when she had specifically been asked to take it easy after the poisoning — Izzy glanced between her and Linda, who seemed just as, if not more, confused. But, Izzy was open-minded, and whatever Lucifer had come up with, she wanted in.
Linda and Maze glanced at each other, but eventually, the demon shrugged and turned to Izzy. "Long story short, we're going to send Lucifer back to Hell so he can find the professor for the antidote's formula", she made it sound like the most casual thing in the world, and despite being initially distracted by how unbelievably good Mazikeen managed to look even in those boxy clothes, it didn't take Izzy long to stare at her with a whole other shade of disbelief. She wasn't even sure where to begin — going back to Hell sounded damn near impossible, and it was hard to even think of the right questions, but luckily, Linda interjected with her own panic.
"It means we have to kill him. I have to kill him. Stop his heart. Even though I'm not a doctor. I'm not a doctor, you guys!", the therapist cried out, and as Izzy hushed her, her green eyes darted back and forth in the hallway to make sure no one had heard their insane plan.
"How? I thought he was immortal. I mean, he did go through deadly gas just yesterday", Isadora wondered, unable to believe she had even spoken those specific words, but right now, time was of the essence and she knew that there was no changing Lucifer's mind. If she wanted to make herself useful, then she could only help with ensuring things would run smoothly — there was no room or time to argue and insist that it couldn't possibly work. In the end, what did she really know about being the Devil?
Whilst nodding, Maze opened the door of the room they were standing in front of and led them in to find a more peaceful place to discuss the plan. "He is, mostly. Chloe makes him vulnerable. He just found out yesterday that it was all God's plan, He put her in his path and whenever they're close, he becomes... killable", Maze elaborated, already confusing Izzy who had to take a seat to handle all of it, "this is the room below Decker's, so we're gonna stop his heart and send him to Hell. We give him 60 seconds and then we bring him back."
The hospital room became silent as the information hung in the air, Izzy's mouth hanging open as if she planned on saying something but the processing look in her eyes showed that it was going to take a while. Linda was nervously preparing the defibrillator while Maze whipped out her flask for liquid courage, and right there and then, it hit Izzy that this was really happening. Hell was real and Lucifer was going to pop back like it was no big deal, just a visit back home like any other day. In reality, it was far more complicated than that, but Izzy tried to not think about all the ways it could go wrong.
"Okay, this is like day three or something with me knowing all this stuff and I'm already going to be involved in a murder?", Izzy glanced up at Maze in doubt, but when the demon stepped closer to insist that she really didn't have to be involved in this whole mess, she lifted her hands up defensively. This was the only way to save Chloe — risking Lucifer's life, and even though Izzy positively hated it, she was on board. "No, no, whatever it takes. Besides, I will admit that I'm intrigued", a small smirk touched the corner of her mouth as her gaze met Maze's worried one, unaware that the concern swimming in the depth of her eyes was actually because of Isadora, too. She didn't want her to get hurt in the process, again, but her smile ended up being contagious and getting to Maze, as well.
"Besides", Izzy cleared her throat while standing up from the chair and taking a step closer to Maze — not enough to seal the space between them, but enough for the brunette to take a sharp breath. She had certainly hoped, but not really expected for Izzy to even in the same room with her ever again. "He's got a genius like Linda and one of the most loyal people I know on his team", she trailed off, a shy smile creeping to her lips as she shrugged at Maze, whose face instantly lit up with pride and flattery.
Nodding, she could only agree. "True", Mazikeen crossed her arms cockily, "I did cut off his wings when we first arrived in L.A, anyway", before walking over to Linda and leaving behind a startled Izzy.
"Wait—his wings?"
»»»
okay the ending sounds really ominous but for once there's no ulterior motive, i just wasn't sure where to separate this from the next chapter + it also shows how all the stuff around izzy is still really confusing to her (:
i'm thinking this book will end around chapter 55, i have a ton of chapters pre-written and i'm currently working on chapter 47 which takes place in 2x16, so there aren't very many episodes left to write in! also i don't remember if i've mentioned this before, but i've been considering doing a sequel,, i know those always flop but there's so much good stuff in season 3, especially with maze so it would be great to link izzy in. though i am also planning a fic with two entirely new characters, and izzy would be a more minor one in it, but i'm not sure if i'm satisfied with that either?? WE'LL SEE
as always, thank you for reading 💗💗