This story is in response to a writing challenge. I had to write about Death in any fandom.

This is based on the TV show Lucifer (There may be some spoilers for Season three finale, but I doubt it).

Title: The Devil You Know

I stood graveside as I watched two workers place the cement top over the burial vault containing my mother's casket. All the mourners were gone. The funeral ended an hour ago. It was a touching memorial service. Although my mother retired from the Los Angeles Police Force almost two decades ago, she was still given all the pomp and circumstance deserving of a retired Chief-of-Police. The Mayor attended along with many older active duty officers. They were young men when they served under my mother, but they still remember her fondly. There were prayers, bagpipes, and a Final Radio Call Ceremony before the Color Guards carefully removed the flag draped over the coffin and neatly folded it into a triangle. I don't remember what was said when the flag was handed to me, but I thanked the young man with a crisp blue uniform and a shrouded badge.

That was an hour ago. I put the flag in my car and waited and I'm still waiting. My mother said he would show up. The last time she saw him she yelled, 'Stay away! I don't want to ever see you again! Not for the rest of my life!'

He had promised her that he would honor her wishes, and she knew he would… because he never lied to her…never. 'But' she said with a smile days before her death. 'He always found loopholes when it came to his promises'. She suspected that as soon as she drew her last breath, he would return. After all, he technically promised to stay away as long as she was alive.

I searched the cemetery hoping to catch a glimpse of his handsome, roguish face…and eventually I did. He was standing across the street in the shade of a tree. I waited for him to approach, but he remained stationary. I soon realized he was waiting for me to leave. He wanted to talk to my mother in private…well that just wasn't going to happen. I walked directly toward him. He returned my gaze, but there was no recognition in his eyes. That is not surprising, I have changed greatly since we last spoke.

"Hello Lucifer. I am happy to see you."

He smiled, flashing a row of perfect white teeth. "Do I know you?" he asked with a crisp British accent. He gazed at me intently and eventually his smile grew wider. "You're the Detective's offspring." He reached out and gripped my hands as he looked me up and down. "Trixie Decker you look so…"

"Old," I offered.

He grinned widely. "I was going to say grown up. You are no longer the small human I remember."

"That's what forty years will do." I looked him up-and-down. "You look exactly the same."

"Yes, I do." A puzzled look crossed his face. "How come you're not surprised?" He pointed to me. "You know, don't you. Your mother told you what she saw that day…the last day we were together?"

I nodded. "You mean your devil face. Yeah, she told me eventually." I gestured toward the grave. "Have you come to pay your respects."

His smile faded. "I heard of your mother's death from my brother, Amenadiel."

A feeling of joy flooded over me. "So, Mom, went to Heaven."

"Why, of course. I never had any doubt about that."

"Is my father with her?" I asked excitedly. The idea of my parents being together for eternity was a heartwarming thought.

"Daniel's dead?"

I pointed to the family gravestone which read Daniel Espinoza and Chloe Decker followed by their dates of birth and death. "He died ten years ago in an auto accident."

Lucifer frowned deeply. "I didn't know he died."

A relieved laugh escaped my lips. "That means he's probably not in Hell."

"Apparently not."

I gazed at him knowingly. "It appears you did have some doubts when it came my father."

A sheepish grin crossed his face. "Daniel could be somewhat knavish, but he was overall a good man." He gestured to a nearby bench. "Please sit."

We settled down on the bench, his eyes never leaving the gravestone. "I miss her"

"She missed you too."

His brow went up in surprised. "Really?"

"Yes. It took some time to wrap her head around the idea that Lucifer Morningstar was actually the devil, that her roommate Mazikeen was a demon and your brother was an angel. Luckily she had Linda to talk to."

He grinned fondly. "Dr. Linda Martin. How is she?"

"Dead."

The smile dropped from his face. "Oh…" He shifted in is seat before smiling sadly. "Perhaps she's in heaven rekindling her relationship with Amenadiel."

He fell into a long silence. I reached out and put my hand on his. "Mom wanted me to give you a message."

"And that is?"

"She wanted me to tell you she was sorry. After she calmed down and came to terms with the revelation that you are literally the Lucifer from the Bible…she missed you. She would tell me the best two years of her life were spent with you."

He smiled smugly. "Ouch, I'd wager poor Daniel didn't take that confession all to well."

I chuckled. "She never told him. He didn't know about a lot of things. Mom kept your secrets. The only reason she told me was I didn't take you and Mazikeen's disappearance well. I was acting out, so she sent me to talk to Dr. Martin. Eventually Mom joined the sessions…that's when I was told the truth. After you were gone for a year Linda decided you wouldn't mind if she broke patient-therapist confidentiality and she told Mom everything…how she made you vulnerable to death, your fond feelings for my her…everything."

He looked uncomfortable with that statement. "If it helped you and the detective, then I approve of Linda revealing my secrets." He sighed deeply. "I tried to prove to your mother that I truly was the devil, but I temporarily lost the ability to make my devil face."

I remembered something said in those therapy sessions and I broke out in laughter.

"What's so funny?"

It took me a moment to regain my composure. "After Linda told Mom you lost the ability to change your face, she recalled the time you offered to prove to her that you were the devil. You sat across from her, face turning red with exertion as you groaned and grunted. She thought you were constipated. During that therapy session she realized you were trying to reveal your true self."

"I was. I must have been a sight." He gave a tight smile. "She did ask if I was gassy."

"She missed you and hoped you would return. She even prayed to your Father for a second chance…but nothing helped."

"Of course not!" he said heatedly. "Father would never do anything to help me..his fallen son."

"Anyway," I whispered, not wanting to further irritate him. "Mom held out hope for a long time. Eventually she gave up. She was middle aged and just getting older. She thought it best that you weren't reunited."

He looked hurt. "I know she thought I was a superficial, arrogant, egotistical, narcissist—her words, not mine—but she had to know she was special to me. I wouldn't be so shallow as to discard her as she grew old and her beauty faded."

I shook my head. "That's not why she didn't want to reunite. You are an immortal. If you two started a relationship you would be doomed to watch her die…possibly a very slow death. She wanted you to remember her the way she was when you were partners."

He didn't speak, but simply nodded.

"Isn't there anybody else in your life?"

He shook his head. "No, your mother was the only one who I…" I think he wanted to say 'loved', but I knew he wouldn't say the word. "I cared for," he finally admitted.

"Maybe you will find somebody else to…care for. You do have a millennia to do so."

His eyes glazed over with tears. "No, your mother was special. She was the only gift my father bestowed upon me…and then he took it away. That was a form of cruelty that even I, the devil, couldn't imagine."

I heard the strain in his voice and I knew he loved my mother. I gave his hand a squeeze.

"When I was acting out my parents were at their wits end. They put me in time out, they took away privileges, they grounded me. Looking back, I understand. Parents punish to teach their children a lesson. Once I learned my lesson the punishment was over. Maybe your father put my mom in your life not to be cruel…but to teach you something."

He didn't look convinced. "Teach me what? How to grieve loss?" His voice was thick with emotion.

I shook my head. "Maybe to love. To care about something more than yourself."

He averted his eyes. "Then he should consider that a lesson learned."

I looked at my watch. "I have to get back to my family. They are going to send out a search party if I stay much longer. I told them I wanted some time alone with my mother." I stood and motioned to my car. "Would you like to meet my family—Chloe's grandchildren?"

He stood and gave me a warm hug. "That would be lovely, unfortunately, if I don't get back to Hell my brother will send out a search party for me." He pulled back and I saw tears in his eyes. "When you see your mother again…forty or fifty years from now…tell her…." He faltered unable to continue.

I put a hand on his shoulder. "I'll tell her you sent your love."

"Yes, thank you." He nodded forlornly before he turned and disappeared.