Hello! Here comes the third chapter. Enjoy! Guest and SPCLjmm - thank you very much for your kind reviews, they mean a lot to me:)

Chapter 3

The journey home passed rather uneventfully. They didn't talk much. Chloe thought it was because of the late hour and Trixie's tiredness. She was grateful for it, she knew her daughter well and what she feared most was that she would question her while in the car. But surprisingly, she didn't do it. She just jumped in the back, fasten her seat belt and started looking through the side window. After a while, Chloe noticed, in the rear view mirror, that the girl's eyelids were closing and she fell asleep.

Another fifteen minutes passed and Chloe turned into their street and pulled up in front of the house. Trixie appeared to still be sleeping. Chloe stepped out of the car and opened the side door to wake her up.

"Trixie, wake up, honey." She touched her arm and gently shook it as she didn't want to startle her. The girl's eyes fluttered and she gave a huge yawn.

"Are we home?" She asked looking around, trying to identify her whereabouts.

"Yes, we are. Come on." Chloe tapped her nose and helped her get out.

"Good." Trixie muttered under her breath. "Let the fun begin." Luckily, her mother was busy searching for the keys and she didn't hear her.

The moment Chloe turned the key in the lock, Trixie was at her side, pushing through the door and getting inside first.

"Whoa, I've never seen you this eager to get home before. Have you already got homesick?" She wondered what has got into her. Her behavior was really odd. She went inside following her daughter. Suddenly, Trixie stopped in the middle of the living room and spun around.

"Okay, spill it, mom." She said looking very determined. She crossed her arms and her eyes narrowed. Chloe was visibly shocked by this action. And she had a strong feeling the girl wouldn't let it go. So, she tried to stall.

"Excuse me? What are you talking about?" She mimicked her daughter and crossed her arms in the same way. She had to admit that Trixie was good, she was trying to catch her off guard.

"You didn't think I'd believe in what you said, did you? Maybe grandma did…" she trailed off.

Chloe took a deep breath, she knew Trixie was stubborn and once setting her mind on something, there would be nothing to stop her. She realized it was futile to denial this situation any longer. She just had to be careful with words so as not to make her more worried.

"Well, actually… Your grandma didn't either. But fortunately, she let it go." Chloe dropped her gaze, feeling completely overwhelmed.

Trixie approached her. "Mommy, what's wrong? What happened today?"

She got no reply so she continued. "Remember? You said that we wouldn't hide anything from each other. No matter what." Now, she was certain she nailed it.

Chloe realized she's right. Those were her own words, how could she argue with them? It dawned on her that she couldn't back off now. Slowly, she raised her eyes and met her daughter's gaze.

"You're right. I said so and I really meant it." She sighed heavily. "Something bad happened to me lately at work and I chose not to tell you because I thought you shouldn't worry about me. We talked about it. That's my job, that's what I do. And it comes with a risk of getting hurt. But every time, I do anything I can to come back home to you safely." She smiled, hoping that Trixie will accept this explanation.

"Is that why you brought me to grandma's and daddy didn't pick me up that day?" The girl asked, quickly adding – "Is he okay?"

"Yes, that's right and daddy's fine." At least I hope so - she thought. "He's got something to tackle with at work right now but I'm sure he'll manage it soon."

"That's good." Trixie seemed much calmer now. And as Chloe thought that would be the end of their conversation, she noticed that there was evidently something more on Trixie's mind.

"Mommy, one more thing." She heard her say. "Is that really all you wanted to tell me?" And then there was that inquiring look on her face again.

"Wh… What do you mean?" Chloe stammered in confusion and her eyebrows rose in mock surprise.

"What about Lucifer?" She asked the question Chloe dreaded most.

"What about him?" Deep down she knew exactly what she was driving at.

"Mommy, I know." Trixie stated, her voice sounding calm and straightforward.

Chloe felt a rush of blood to her head, her hands went icy cold and knees started shaking. She felt dizzy. Frantically, she started recalling when her daughter could have seen his real face. Most of the times, he was careful when it came to this matter. Well, apart from the day she herself saw it after that deadly fight with Pierce. He wouldn't show Trixie his face on purpose, unless it was by accident. She felt panic rising in her body.

"You… know?" Finally, she tried to overcome the sudden fear and asked this question.

"Yes, I know about you and Lucifer. I heard your argument with grandma about him… by accident, of course. You were both talking so loud." She said this with innocent look on her face.

"Oh… of course." Chloe breathed a sigh of relief, hoping it wasn't too evident for her daughter to notice. "And what do you think about us being together? Is it okay with you?" She asked, waiting for her answer with worry.

"Are you kidding me?! I'm not okay with it." Trixie said and fell silent for a moment to make a bigger impression. "I'm really, really ecstatic about it!" She exclaimed and her whole face lit up. She looked at her mother and then a realization dawned on her.

"Wait, did you think I won't accept him?"

"Well, actually this thought crossed my mind." Chloe said. Trixie gave her a quizzical look.

"So don't worry anymore. Lucifer is the coolest person I've ever known… beside you… and dad, of course… oh and Maze." She beamed at her mother.

"Oh, come here, monkey." Chloe brought the girl into a hug and gently stroked her hair. "I'm so happy to hear it. It means a lot to me." She closed her eyes and lingered in this moment.

After a while, something came to her mind. "Speaking of Maze, I must say I know you were looking up to her when you performed your speech, which gave me a real fright by the way, but I am very impressed."

Trixie raised her head and looked at Chloe. "No mommy, it wasn't Maze I was looking up to. It was you. I tried to be brave and tough like you. I love you mommy." She hugged her even tighter.

"I love you too, sweetie. You never cease to amaze me. When did you grow up so fast? You're almost a teenager now but you know what? To me you'll always be my little monkey." She whispered this through welling up tears. Trixie snuggled closer to her and giggled.

They stayed like that for a long moment, neither of them wanting to stop it.

"Mommy, I'm sleepy." Trixie mumbled, tiredness visible in her voice. Chloe took a glance at her watch – it was almost midnight. Time has been passing so quickly today.

"Okay, monkey. Go change into your pyjamas and wait for me in bed. I'll come to you to read a bedtime story." Chloe said.

"Okay." Trixie answered and trotted to her bedroom.

Ten minutes passed and Chloe followed her daughter. She slipped inside the room and noticed the girl lying in her bed fast asleep. She came closer, tucked her in and kissed her on the forehead. She smiled lovingly. Despite her ups and downs with Ben, she was so grateful to have Trixie in her life.

She turned off the small lamp standing on the bedside table and left the room without any sound so as not to wake her little girl.

Chloe took her phone and checked for any messages – unfortunately, there were none. She tried reaching Lucifer or Maze but they still weren't answering their phones. She moved to the kitchen and started washing the dishes just to occupy herself with anything.

Now that Trixie was asleep, Chloe could finally reflect on all the events of the last days. She was still new to all this celestial stuff and she barely got the idea of how it worked. Her thoughts began wandering on their own. She tried not to dwell on her biggest fears right now but it seemed to be useless. In her mind, she saw images that something happened in Hell and Lucifer had to return and rule it once again or even worse that Michael implemented his 'bigger plan' and killed Lucifer. These thoughts terrified her. She couldn't imagine not having Lucifer in her life, especially now when they finally got together. Her eyes started filling with tears but she vowed to herself that she'd be strong.

Thanks for reading. It's only 20 more days till we finally see our favourite characters again!