:: 1
They had a secret story, a family story, which Penelope Decker would only tell on late nights while John was out doing a stake-out or a raid.
"Before you were here," she'd say, "An angel came to visit Mommy. He said that we'd been blessed, and that Daddy and I could be parents now. Then you were born, Pumpkin!" A smile. "So no need to worry, baby. Daddy will be fine. We have angels watching over us."
For a long time, Chloe believes this. Whenever her father is at work for too long, or when her mother drinks a little too much, the Decker Family Secret springs up in memory: We have angels watching over us. It is a private, minute comfort, but Chloe takes it anyway, and grows up smiling at churches and ringing bells to help her buddies get the wings they deserve.
The day John Decker dies on the job, Chloe wonders how she ever could have believed a bedtime story was real.
:: 2
When she is twenty-three she meets Daniel Espinoza. He's a good man, a sensible one; all facts and hardworking disposition and blue eyes. Dan understands the police force the same way her father did, which is sort of comforting, especially in the first few months of her job. Coming back to the same place where her father's ghost lingers on every memorial plaque, in every senior officer's recollections, would have been far worse without Dan's exasperated eye-rolls and soft wit.
One day while they're out for lunch (Not a date, Chloe tells herself sternly), religion gets tossed somewhere into the conversation. Behind half of a deli sandwich, Chloe asks Dan if he believes in angels.
Dan takes a bite out of his food, chewing thoughtfully before answering. "No, sorry, not really. And I don't mean to offend you! I'm just — not religious. That's all."
Hearing the awkward stumble of Dan's honesty clashing with the desire to impress her makes Chloe smile; moreover, his lack of faith makes her fall in love, just a little bit, right then and there.
:: 3
The night she meets Lucifer, Chloe remembers her mother's bedtime story. It's only after she leaves Lux — once she'd finished interviewing Mr. Morningstar's mouthy, ridiculous ass — that the memory resurfaces. She gets into the car (alone), only to spot a feather stuck to the edge of her windshield. It's a bright, white feather; too clean to belong to a pigeon and too carefully placed to be an accident. Immediately, Chloe thinks of angels, and in that moment she wholeheartedly believes that her birth was by divine intervention.
But when she gets out of the car, the feather is gone. The bright haze of interest fades almost immediately — Chloe assumes the wind blew it away. Besides, what would she do with a pretty feather, probably infested with all sorts of disease?
Her train of thought wanders back to the case. Chloe recalls the vehemence of Mr. Morningstar's interest in the shooter, in the case. An idea fills her mind: perhaps tracing the hit man's last few calls and comparing them to the victims' own phone records would provide some much-needed info. Besides, it's always good to be through.
:: 4
"Do you believe in angels, Lucifer?"
They've had fragments of this conversation before; mostly one-sided quips at Lucifer's insistence that yes, he is actually the Devil, yes, he is immortal, and yes, God is a wanker who screwed him over for all eternity and deserves to be flipped off whenever the opportunity arises. However today Chloe is curious, uncertain. Lucifer has always been strange and inexplicable, but rarely incorrect.
"Well, of course I believe in them," Lucifer scoffs, not even bothering to look at her as he speaks, picking through a suspect's belongings even though he shouldn't be doing so without a warrant. "Pompous, egotistical bunch of buzzkills if you ask me, Detective. Actually, I take that back — you'd probably get on with them rather nicely."
Chloe nods. "Right, right. Because you're the Devil. Which means, you used to be one."
Lucifer pauses — actually, physically halts — to turn and look at her. "Afraid so, Detective, though I dislike talking about it. Besides, I thought you didn't believe me." His smile has a tight, bristly edge to it, though his tone is as charming as ever. Something in Chloe whispers danger but she feels like she's on a path without return, at the gates of a discovery she needs to go on.
"Hypothetically," Chloe broaches, inching towards him, "if — stop that Lucifer, put it down — let's say, angels did exist…"
"They do exist, and they're very boring, and they're a bunch of hypocrites with fluffy-feathered arses." Lucifer turns, and suddenly he's very close. "Why, Detective? What's brought the sudden interest in the celestial matters?" His expression darkens. "Wait, have you seen one of my brothers? Has Amenadiel finally cracked?"
"No, no, it's nothing like that! It's just…" In that moment, Chloe wants so badly to reveal the Decker Family Secret. The system she counted on to bring justice allowed her father's killer to walk free; worse, he'd died without serving the sentence he deserved. Disillusionment colors the world shades of red and blue. Chloe Decker feels more betrayed by angels then ever before.
"Detective?" Lucifer's anxiety had dropped from his face, replaced by concern. "Are you all right?"
Not one to lie, Chloe shakes her head, defeated. "I just think…if angels are the ones to look out for the good guys, why do we have this job? Why do innocent people suffer?"
Almost immediately, Chloe regrets the words — faithlessness rears its hard, dry head and embarrassment blisters her cheeks.
"Oh, Detective! Look at you, asking all the questions that my Father refuses to answer. Ironic, isn't it?"
"Just forget it — "
"Detective."
Chloe stops, exasperated by the ebb and flow of his antics. Yet Lucifer doesn't seem the least bit uncomfortable; rather, he only places his hands in his pockets and looks at her intently.
"I promise you, the innocent never suffer in the end." A smile, wide and bright and sharp. "I make certain of that." If Chloe didn't know better, she would've said Lucifer's eyes brimmed with flame.
They continue working the case. On the way home Chloe stops at the dollar store to buy a little brass bell for Trixie, considering that if, hypothetically, angels did exist, then hypothetically, they could lose their wings as well. And that if, hypothetically, angels did exist, Chloe thinks that she likes the ones who were brave enough to cut off their wings the most.