Chapter 7

Chloe stood up as Lucifer walked back into the penthouse, Trixie following close behind him. Her eyes took in his red eyes, trembling hands and loose, mussed curls and the way he seemed to hold back as the eyes of everybody in the room tracked his entry. Seeing his hesitation, Trixie stepped around him and took the Devil's had, leading him gently into the room.

"Are you ok?" Chloe asked, approaching her partner.

Lucifer's mouth opened and closed for a moment, unable to find words. After a few seconds, he nodded and walked past the detective towards the bar. To Chloe's surprise, he didn't let go of Trixie's hand, leading her daughter to the bar, lifting her up and dropping her onto a bar stool with a bump that made her giggle. Moving behind the bar, Lucifer poured a large shot of scotch for himself and a Diet Coke for Trixie. Chloe watched them for a moment, smiling as her daughter said something and Lucifer cracked a reluctant half-smile.

"You two seem… chummy." Chloe commented, taking a seat next to Trixie at the bar.

"Yes, well…" Lucifer took a large gulp of his drink and dropped down onto the bar stool on Trixie's other side. "I suppose your spawn isn't completely horrible."

Chloe shook her head, smiling slightly at her partner's obvious attempt to hide his discomfort behind humour. "Trix?" She said, grabbing Lucifer's drink from his hand and taking a sip. "Why don't you go get something to eat? The guys are tucking in now."

"Ummmm…" Trixie thought for a moment, looking as though she was going to refuse before she saw the look in her mother's eyes. "Ok then." She said, dropping down from the stool. "Those chicken wings looked really good!"

Chloe watched with a smile as Trixie made her way back to the group, grabbing a chicken wing and dropping down next to her dad. Trying hard not to imagine how she would feel if anything happened to her child, Chloe turned to look at Lucifer. She reached over to take his left hand, unbuttoning his cuff and pushing his sleeve up. Smiling sadly, she traced her fingers gently over the tattoo on his forearm.

"Damael." She whispered sadly, tracing the letters. "It's beautiful. What does it mean?"

Lucifer swallowed, watching Chloe's fingers trace the design on his skin before answering. "Blood of God." He told her, his voice cracking. "Not that that mattered to Him, in the end."

"You never said." Chloe said sadly, looking up into Lucifer's face. "All this time and you never told me you were a dad."

"What would be the point, Detective?" Lucifer asked, frowning. "He's gone. Has been for eons. Talking won't change that."

"No." Chloe agreed, her fingers trailing down his arm to take his hand. "No, it won't. But it might help you to grieve. It helps, after losing someone precious, to talk. Talk about what they were like, look at pictures or share some happy memories."

"There are no pictures." Lucifer told her, and Chloe felt her heart break a little more. "There's no cameras in the Silver City. The only way I can see him is if I imagine him. He only exists up here, now." Lucifer tapped the side of his head, staring down into his drink. He'd never thought of it, not once in the countless years that had passed, but suddenly he wished he did have a picture of his son, something to look at, touch, to help him remember.

"You don't have anything?" Chloe asked, seeing the heartbreak in Lucifer's eyes. "Nothing at all?"

"No." Lucifer said sadly, looking into her face with wet, red eyes. "He had things, before he died. Clothes, toys, even some drawings. I even had one of his feathers, still. When I was cast out of Heaven, though, I didn't have a chance to take anything with me. I don't even know what happened to it. Maybe Dad destroyed it. I don't know."

Chloe closed her eyes, fighting back tears of her own, before reaching over, placing an arm around Lucifer and pulling him to rest his head on her shoulder. Turning to press a kiss to the top of his head, she breathed in deeply, wishing there was something – anything – she could do to make this better. Deep down, though, she knew there was nothing.

Chloe watched as Amenadiel and Linda stepped into the elevator, Charlie sleeping deeply in his father's arms. They were the last to leave, leaving just her and Trixie with Lucifer in the penthouse.

"You really don't need to stay, Detective." Lucifer said as he carried a stack of dishes over to the bar. "I'm a big Devil. I can take care of myself."

"I know you can." Chloe replied, walking over to help him clean up. "I just… I don't want to leave you." Chloe smiled sadly as Lucifer frowned at her, clearly confused by her concern. "It's been a tough few days for everyone. Especially you. I think, and Linda agreed, that you could use a friend."

"It's really not necessary." Lucifer huffed, still looking bemused.

"I know." Chloe said. "But still, I want to. It's what friends do." She hesitated, sensing Lucifer's discomfort. "Besides, Trixie's really excited about having a sleepover in the penthouse."

Lucifer snorted as Trixie gave them a bleary thumbs up and chocolatey smile from the couch. She certainly seemed to have had a good evening, even with all of the revelations.

"Get any chocolate on that leather, Urchin, and there'll be Hell to pay!" Lucifer called over to her and Trixie hastily jumped off the couch and grabbed a napkin to wipe the chocolate from her face with a grin.

"I can imagine you as a dad, when you say things like that." Chloe said, smiling. "Granted, an immature, overdramatic dad, but still a dad."

"I was a great dad." Lucifer replied in mock indignation. "Don't go thinking I was some irresponsible bad influence. He was so naughty and unbelievably cheeky. I learned my wicked ways from him!" Chloe looked at him, one eyebrow raised, and Lucifer cleared his throat and conceded, "Alright, maybe not all of them…"

Chloe and Lucifer worked together to clean up the last of the mess from dinner before Chloe went to get Trixie washed and ready for bed and Lucifer went to find something to serve as pyjamas for the child. Chloe smiled as he joined them in the bathroom and handed her the green Sol de Javier t-shirt from early in their partnership, whispering, "I can't believe you still have this."

"Yes, well…" Lucifer cleared his throat awkwardly. "Sentimental value. The first time you got hot and bothered with the Devil." Chloe frowned, trying to figure out what he was talking about. "The fire, Detective." He said, as though it should have been obvious. "Carrying you out of that restaurant was probably the closest I'll ever get to your burning loins!"

Chloe snorted and threw a towel at him in disgust. "You're a pig!" She laughed, pulling Trixie's hair out of its pigtails and running her fingers through it to straighten out the plaits.

Chloe and Trixie followed Lucifer out of the bathroom and into a guest room the Detective hadn't even known existed before that evening.

"Here you go, Urchin." Lucifer said, flicking on the bedside lamp for her and stepping back to allow Chloe to tuck her daughter in. "Do you need anything else? Perhaps a diaper?"

Trixie rolled her eyes, grinning up at the Devil. "You're silly." She said, snuggling down into the sheets. Lucifer shrugged, looking at Chloe in a 'well-I-don't-know-how-quickly-humans-learn-to-control-their-bladders' sort of way.

Lucifer watched as Chloe stroked her daughter's hair and kissed her forehead with a whispered "Goodnight". He felt something twist in his chest, remembering the time, so many millennia ago, when he had done the same for his own child.

Chloe stood slowly and walked towards the door. Lucifer went to follow her but was stopped when Trixie said his name. He turned around and looked at her, cautious and confused. "Yes, Spawn?" He said, looking around to see what else she might need.

"You need to tuck me in, too." Trixie said, patting the spot on the edge of the bed that Chloe had vacated.

Lucifer froze, looking nervously from Trixie's face to the spot and back again. After a moment, he swallowed and walked forward, sitting gingerly on the edge of the bed.

"I'm not sure what to do here, Urchin." Lucifer confessed.

"You know." Trixie told him, smiling reassuringly, and, for a moment, Lucifer was blown away by the wisdom hiding behind the child's eyes.

Lucifer sighed, smiling sadly at the little girl in the bed. He gently reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, thinking deeply. After a moment, he leant forward and pressed a gently kiss to her forehead with a whispered, "Sleep well, Beatrice." Then, he stood up, switching off the bedside lamp, and he and Chloe left the room together.

"Are you ok?" Chloe asked as she and Lucifer sat next to each other on the sofas.

"Fine, Detective." Lucifer replied, leaning back and stretching before smiling at her.

"That must have been hard." Chloe said, smiling sadly. "You did good."

"Yes, well." Lucifer frowned, flicking a piece of imaginary lint from his trousers. "It's like falling off a log."

Chloe smiled, staring into his eyes. After a moment, she stood up and grabbed Lucifer's hand, pulling him to his feet. "Come on." She said with a smile. "Bedtime."

"Detective!" Lucifer purred with a seductive grin. "Finally. I thought you'd never ask."

"To sleep, Lucifer." Chloe chided him, rolling her eyes. "Come on. I've slept in this bed twice before now, and both times I was too drunk to completely remember. I want to fully enjoy those two hundred dollar sheets and you are going to be my hot water bottle." She winced as she finished speaking, waiting for the innuendo.

"Well I certainly am hot." Lucifer quipped, never one to disappoint, letting go of her hand and leading the way to the bedroom.

Chloe shook her head and muttered, "Yup. Walked right into that one." Then, with a smile, she followed him into the bedroom.