When Dan arrived, he opened the door to find his family curled up together on the floor. Trixie was lying against her mother's chest, asleep, with Chloe's arms draped loosely around her.
Chloe was completely out. Her face was a wreck - her eyes swollen shut from her tears, her hair a haphazard mess.
He stood over her, frozen, not knowing what to do.
"Chloe?" he finally whispered, lowering to her quietly and resting his hand against her shoulder.
His ex-wife's eyes slowly opened. Brow dipping in a frown, she turned her head to look at him.
"Dan," she sighed. "I... I'm sorry... you didn't need to come."
"Daddy?" Trixie mumbled, stirring with her mother, and her little hands closed to fists to rub against her eyes.
"You're on the floor, Chloe. I needed to come. Let me get Trix back to bed."
Chloe nodded numbly, lifting her arms so Dan could scoop his daughter up.
"Daddy," Trixie said with a yawn, reaching to wrap her arms around his neck, "you stopped mom crying. I knew you could."
He nodded with a smile, not wanting to dispute it and make her worry again. "Mommy's going to be okay, Monkey. You need to go back to bed now."
She nestled against him, burrowing into his jacket before her arms grew loose again, and he marveled at how much she was growing - while they cuddled on the couch sometimes when she was over, it'd been a while since she'd let him pick her up like this.
As careful as he was she still woke when he got her on the bed, and she looked up at him with wide eyes.
His heart clenched. She'd been crying too.
"Sleep now, Monkey, I'm going to take care of mommy."
Those beautiful brown eyes, full of love and trust, fluttered closed as she nodded and she was swiftly to sleep.
Pressing her favorite doll against her side - how much longer would she want these? - he left, closing the door behind him slowly.
Chloe hadn't moved.
"Goddamn Chloe," he mumbled, moving slowly to her side, "are you hurt?"
He had never seen her like this. Never. A quick scan told him nothing seemed to be physically wrong with her, but perhaps something internal?
Chloe began to cry, new tears following the older trails down her face. "I'm s-so sorry, Dan, I didn't..." The words grew unintelligible, and she pressed her hands to her eyes, as if trying to hide.
"Chloe," he said, in a low, soothing voice, "babe, c'mon. I'm going to move you, okay?"
"No, you don't..." Chloe tried to shift herself, but he held on, pulling her into his arms.
"It's happening, just deal."
The couch seemed the best bet. With a couple of strides he was there, lowering his ex against the soft cushions, upright so he could sit next to her. Chloe's lack of any push back at all alarmed the hell out of him. Any fussing like this would usually get him yelled at, but she only sagged against his shoulder, fresh tears flowing as her mouth twisted - an attempt to stifle her sobs.
He brushed a lock of hair from her face, and his eyes sought hers. "Chloe, what the hell? What happened to you?"
The eyes he'd been chasing closed tight. Her mouth fell with a cry.
Cradling her head against his shoulder, he merely held her, until the sobs turned to messy breaths.
A thought struck him, one that brought a scowl to his face. "Did Lucifer do something?"
Chloe twisted as soon as the name left his mouth, and the sobs swelled again.
Well, that was a big yes.
That selfish prick.
"Llluciferrrr," she moaned, folding her arms about her head.
"Did he leave again? Is that it?! He do this to you again?!"
His ex was crying too hard to answer, but it felt like a confirmation. Lucifer had drawn her into his goddamn spell, one more goddamn time, and then left her. Probably off to Vegas, or Hawaii, or Thailand to do a ton of drugs and bang a ton of women, only to come whining back to the precinct just to start the goddamn cycle all over again.
"Screw that guy, Chloe," he muttered, his eyes darting around the room angrily. "He's not worth it. He's not worth this! How many times is this now?"
"M-my fault... all mine..." she moaned, turning from him to lie against the arm of the couch. "If I hadn't..."
"That's bullshit, Chlo!"
He was doing a great job of comforting, he realized, raising his voice like that, but he just couldn't help himself - seeing Chloe in so much pain hurt.
Shaking her head, Chloe lifted her eyes to his.
Dan's mouth fell open.
Devastated. She was devastated.
"Chloe..."
"He was an angel, Dan," she mumbled through her tears. "And I... I hurt him... He's gone because of me..."
His mouth closed sharply as she fell back against the couch away from him, burying her face under her arms.
"Chloe," he sighed, the irritation loud and clear, "he's never deserved your devotion, and you've never been able to see that."
Resting a hand on her back, he stared daggers at the carpet. "I'll be the first to admit that I didn't either. I took you and Trix for granted. I was selfish. But damn, Lucifer's selfishness is on a whole 'nother level. I mean, it's almost God-like."
Chloe made an awful sound against the stiff fabric of the couch.
Slapping his hands to his thighs, Dan gave a forced breath.
"That's it."
Standing, he moved alongside her and bent to gather her up.
Pushing against his chest, she shook her head, looking at him imploringly. "Dan... don't, I'm not.."
"You're hurting, Chlo. Let me help."
With a heavy sigh she let herself be held, resting her head against his jacket as she squeezed her eyes shut.
A small smile tugged at his mouth - it'd been a bunch of years since he'd carried Chloe like this. Felt good.
Slowly, carefully, he took her upstairs to her room and placed her carefully on the bed.
He went to remove her shoes, expecting a fight, but she let him. The socks came next - same no-nonsense black socks she always wore. When he tried to shift her so he could get her under the blankets, she caught his wrist and shook her head.
"Dan, it's okay." Her voice was a whisper, and her eyes slid from him to nothing in particular too quickly.
With a short breath, he stopped fussing to sit on the edge of the bed.
"Do you want me to stay?" He looked back at her. "I can sleep on the couch."
"No," she whispered, still staring at nothing. Then her gaze rose to his and she managed the barest hint of a smile. "I'll be okay."
"Rrriiight."
She sighed, but said nothing as her eyes grew wet and fell again.
"I'll be okay," she finally said, her voice flat and lacking any kind of conviction at all.
Dan stared at her, his mouth a tight line.
"I'm going to Lux, and I'm going to punch that asshole in the face."
Her face crumpled. "You can't."
"I can. About time someone showed that prick he can't keep using everyone around him. The people closest to him..." His gaze grew soft as he sighed. "You."
"Dan," Chloe mumbled, new tears spilling from her eyes, "you don't understand. He's not here anymore. He..." Her breath hitched and her mouth twisted awkwardly. "He's in Hell."
Dan stared down at his ex-wife.
"Good."
"But I'm still going to kick his ass."
Just a quick note to say that I love Dan as a character. I know a lot of folks really grew to hate him during Season 4, because he was acting out a lot. But that's all it was. He was hurting terribly. And Lucifer got away with being such an absolute dick to him (and also Amenadiel!) so much in the seasons leading up to the last, I didn't mind the tables turning just a little. ;) Anyone who disagrees: let's wrassle! :D I'll post another chapter tomorrow, which will include my favorite character of the entire show. Thanks for reading, and comment if you've got the time and urge to do so. :)
