Hello all! I didn't want to make you lovely people wait, so here is another very long chapter. I hope you enjoy it!

Also, I know one part of this verges on the edge of controversial, but I promise I do not mean to nor do I want to get political. Just read. ;)

Chapter 4

Linda Martin woke up without an alarm for the first time in weeks. Her bright white duvet cradled her in the most luxurious cloud of heaven, made complete by the wafting scent of coffee coming from the kitchen. She reached over to the side table and grabbed her glasses before stretching every muscle she could, a long soft moan of an exhale escaping her smiling lips.

Saturday. Finally. As much as she loved her patients, her most tedious one being her favorite, she reveled in the short 48 hours that were her own. This weekend, all 48 were accounted for. With nothing.

After a solid ten minutes of staring out the window at the passing rain clouds, she finally got up and poured herself a cup of coffee, grabbed the paper off her welcome mat, and opened up the crossword at her tiny bistro table.

"One across: Another name for the Prince of Darkness, makes an appearance in a song by royalty." She sighed, "So that's a no on escaping Lucifer for the day." 'B-E-E-L-Z,' she started writing, but the Z's tail dragged across the bottom of the page when someone started pounding on her door. Trying to catch her breath, she threw a hoody over her nightgown and ran her fingers through her hair to tame it down a bit. The pounding continued, "Just a second!"

"Doctor, please?" the familiar voice pleaded, sounding much more vulnerable than usual.

"He's like Beetlejuice. I said his name too many times," she sighed, yanking open her door. "Lucifer, what in God's name-" She froze, taking in his current state. The king of Hell stood on her front step in his silky blue bathrobe, sweat pants, and slippers. His hair went every which way, much curlier than she'd ever seen it, and his eyes looked suspiciously red, though not in the way she'd expect from the Devil.

He looked totally and completely defeated, his tone reflecting as much, sounding hoarse and on the verge of tears, "None of him today, Doctor. Please."

"I'm sorry. Get in here," she gently pulled him into the apartment, actually having to guide him over to the couch in her living room. "What's going on?"

"She's…" he snarled, and Linda expected to see the usual flash of red in his eyes, but the expression faded fast into the same welling tears she'd only seen the once before.

"Lucifer, where's Chloe? Is she okay?"

"I think she's cheating on me."

"What?" That was a shock, "I really don't think so. You know she and I talk, right?"

He rubbed his thighs, frustrated that he couldn't speak without his voice cracking. He got up and started pacing around the small living room, "It's the only thing that makes sense. I can't...can't do what she says I did." Digging out his flask from the robe pocket, he took a swig. And another. And one more.

"Okay, stop. Time out." Linda stood up and grabbed his arm, "Lucifer, talk to me. What happened?" He went to take one more drink, but she grabbed the flask. He sighed and fumbled in his pocket once more, bringing out the test and holding it to her with a shaking hand. "Ohmygod!" It came out before she could censor herself. "I mean…wow. That's a...she's…" She took the stick and cleared her throat, but it still came out in a croak, "She's pregnant?"

"Evidently, yes. But I'm immortal, Doctor. It can't...it can't be mine. Which means…" he started pacing again, having grabbed his flask back from the shocked therapist and draining it in one last gulp. "75 days, Doctor. I've never counted anything less than centuries, but I had 75 days there of being truly...truly…" he waved around his flask like it would ease the pain of releasing that one final word.

"Happy?" She finished, a little skittish on how to handle the current situation. "Look, I need to talk to you as a friend now, Lucifer because I'm going to break like twenty patient therapist confidentiality rules, but I can tell you that Chloe is not cheating on you."

There were the red eyes she'd expected earlier, "Really? Then what's this?" He ripped the test out of her hand and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself from going full devil face. "How many of those 75 days were spent with someone other than me?" He stuffed the test back in his pocket with the empty flask and rubbed his palms hard into his eye sockets, trying to hide the tears rolling down his cheeks, "How could she?" he asked, barely above a whisper and effectively breaking Linda's heart.

The small blond carefully guided him back to the couch and sat him down, amazed at how almost fragile he seemed. Not just because he was the Devil showing emotion, but because he was normally so big and strong and confident. The man who now sat on her couch was a shaking, heartbroken mess trying to keep it together to save face. He seemed so much more human than usual.

She took his clammy hand and gave it a comforting squeeze, "Lucifer, Chloe is not cheating on you. You know far more than I do that she is so inherently good and cares so much for the heart you swear you don't have, that she would never ever do that." She hesitated, but continued, "As a friend, I need to tell you that I have to reassure her at least once a week that she's not dreaming, or that you won't run off with someone prettier or more exciting. She is so afraid of not being good enough for you that there is no way in hell she would put what you have at risk."

Linda had to look down at their hands, so cut by the heartwrenching look in the man's eyes as he shook his head, "I wouldn't do that, Doctor. I lo…" he leaned forward and buried his face in his hands, breathing hard.

"You can say you love her, Lucifer."

"That doesn't change any of this!" he snapped, clenching his fists. "Maybe I need to repeat this again so you'll understand, Doctor. I, the Devil, a celestial being and immortal, could not have gotten Chloe Jane Decker, a human, pregnant."

"Isn't this the same Chloe Jane Decker that shot the Devil and made him bleed?" She asked, "Or how about the Chloe Jane Decker that was nearby so you were able to be knocked out and carted out to the desert?"

"Linda."

"Or wait, how about the Chloe Jane Decker that had to be close by so Maze and I could kill you to save her life? How does this not make sense to you, Lucifer? You don't bleed until she shoots you. You're vulnerable when she's around. You haven't been lasting as long in bed with her," she snapped her mouth shut, her eyes widening when she realized what she'd said.

He looked a bit mortified, though it took his mind off the main concern for a split second. "She told you about that?"

She gave him a half smile, "She's one of my best friends, she tells me almost everything and I tell her what's appropriate for me to say. But Lucifer, I know you don't know how she has this power over you, and I know you blame your dad, but what if she makes um...other fluids viable too?"

He took a deep breath, letting it all sink in. "She said she'd never trust me again."

"You didn't know this could happen. You...didn't take any precautions?"

"Did we?" he rubbed the scruff on his chin and shrugged, "It's never been necessary."

"You two need to talk this out. She needs to know you're going to be supportive and that you're not going anywhere." Her brow furrowed, realizing she wasn't exactly sure that was true. "She's...not going to be alone through this, right?"

He swallowed hard, feeling dazed and thoroughly overwhelmed. His heart was beating out of his chest and all of the oxygen had been sucked out of the room. "Right," he whispered.

"Good," she grabbed his hand again and squeezed, "because you two have been through so many awful things before you let your guards down to be together, and you've both been so happy these past couple months. A baby is a good thing. Scary yes, but good. This can't be what breaks you two apart."

"But this is a baby we're talking about, Doctor. And I'm the Devil."

She chuckled, "I'm well aware of who you are, Lucifer Morningstar."

Chloe had gone home to her apartment to shower, change, and try everything she could to look slightly more human than she felt. Now that she knew why she felt nauseous periodically throughout the day, it made her even more nauseated. With Trixie spending the weekend at her father's and Maze still in Iowa looking for her bounty, there wasn't much to take her mind off of her fuming. She ended up pacing back and forth from the kitchen to the living room enough times to feel like she was wearing a path in the hardwood floors.

Deciding enough was enough, she jumped in her car, having taken her LAPD supplied Dodge from Lux that morning instead of Lucifer's gifted Mustang, and went into work. "Ella, were you able to isolate that audio just yet?" She walked into the brunette's lab, but she must not have heard. She was still dancing and enjoying herself, much to the detective's annoyance. "Ella!" she tried to keep a halfway cheery expression on her face, but that was easier said than done with her world crumbling around her feet.

The scientist finally noticed and pulled out her earbuds, "Chloe! What are you doing here today? I thought you and Lucifer were having a nice weekend alone?" She asked, exaggerated wink included.

"Something came up," she shrugged, heart clenching in her chest. "Did you get the audio isolated yet?"

Ella beamed, "You know it! I mean it's still pretty muffled, but I was actually just going through files from the recordings of our interrogations with the um...not suspect suspects for a little audio police lineup. It should be ready in like...half hour?"

"Okay. Come get me when you're ready. I'm just gonna go over some notes at my desk."

"Sure!" She nodded, looking confused as her friend walked out the door. "Hey Chloe?"

"What?"

"Are you okay?"

She plastered on a smile as best she could, but her eyes didn't reflect it at all, "I'm fine Ella. Just let me know, okay?" And with that she headed back to her desk, plucking a peppermint candy cane off the precinct Christmas tree.

Twenty minutes, two and a half candy canes, and three files worth of crime scene photos later, she was interrupted by the exact person she didn't want to see. "Ooh, feeling festive, Detective?"

"Peppermint helps with the nausea," she whispered, not exactly able to look him in the eye. "What do you want, Lucifer? I'm busy."

Lucifer was taken aback by the ice in her voice, but tried to remain stoic. "I was wondering if we could maybe have a chat? About our little um...situation."

"Oh, you mean the little situation where you're a fucking liar?"

The accused looked around to see the weekend crew starting to stare, "Detective, can we perhaps go somewhere a bit more private?"

"No, Lucifer. We can't." She finally looked up at him, standing up to be at least a little more eye to eye with him. "Quite frankly, I really don't want to be in private with you anymore anyway, but right now I'm a little busy."

"Jeez, did the rabbit die?" Ella snuck up on the pair, a perplexed grin on her face. Chloe's showed more along the lines of pure horror and Lucifer gave a confused eyebrow raise. "The old pregnancy test from the 50's…? Does no one watch M*A*S*H?"

They tried not to, but Lucifer and Chloe shared a very awkward, very brief moment of eye contact that made the woman in question reach for her candy cane. "What is it, Ella?"

"Tough crowd," she mumbled, oblivious. "Those clips are ready for you to listen to. Lucifer, you want in?"

"No, he doesn't. Come on." Not waiting for the one running the show, Chloe made her way to the lab, anxious to be away from Lucifer. She didn't know how much longer she could control herself and didn't exactly want to blow up at him in front of the whole precinct.

Back at her desk, Lucifer's look of both anger and defeat returned, no matter how well he'd cleaned up from the morning's episode with Linda. He started toward the lab himself, but Ella put a hand on his arm, "First fight as an actual couple?" she asked, genuinely concerned. He looked at her hand and huffed. "Maybe just give her a little time to cool down. She's definitely in a mood today."

"I'm afraid that's my fault, Miss Lopez. I went to her place so we could talk, but when she wasn't there I knew she'd be here and now she doesn't want to listen to what I have to say. So if you don't mind," he moved her hand and started making his way to the lab again.

Ella ran in front of him, "No Lucifer. I know both of you and you probably need to cool down too. Anything said right now is just going to be rash and make things worse. Go home, watch some TV, have a drink. Just, give it a little time, okay?" Before he knew what was happening, she was already leading him up the stairs toward the exit.

"Miss Lopez, I really don't see this as necessary."

"I'm sorry, how many serious relationships have you been in?" When he looked like he was going to say something, but no words came out, she nodded, "Exactly. I gotchu, dude. We'll talk later, okay?"

Lucifer sighed, desperate to try anything, "Fine. But will you please try to get her to listen to reason. There's a…" he stopped himself, "there's a lot riding on this."

She nodded, "I know there is. It's just a fight, bro. It'll all be okay."

He gave a sad smile, "I honestly don't know if that's true."

"Hi Mom!" Trixie walked through the front door on Sunday night, Dan close behind with her backpack.

"Hey Monkey! How was your weekend?" Chloe hugged her daughter, relieved to finally have her to focus on again instead of sitting alone with her thoughts in the empty apartment.

"It was awesome! Dad bought me a chocolate cake as an early Christmas present and we cut down a tree and put it up in the living room. And instead of decorating it all slow like you like to do, we just threw a bunch of tinsel at it. It looks SO cool!"

Chloe looked at her ex and they both started laughing, "Dad still hasn't grown any patience for ornaments, I take it?"

He shook his head, "Nope, but we found a fun alternative, right Trix?" Handing her the pink backpack, he added, "Why don't you go put your stuff in your room so mom and I can talk for a second, okay?"

"Alright. I love you," she wrapped her arms around his waist and he returned the hug, messing up her hair.

"Love you too, kiddo." He smiled, watching her run over to her room. "Alright, Chlo, what's going on? I thought you'd be at Lux."

She shrugged, "It's nothing. We're just taking the weekend off."

He furrowed his brow, "You sure? Kinda sounds like there's more to it."

Chloe shook her head, finding it hard to maintain eye contact with anyone this weekend, "Everything's fine. I just wanted to be home tonight."

"Really? Cause I can beat the hell out of him if you need me to." He grinned, flexing his biceps through his white thermal shirt.

"I'll keep that in mind," she smiled, playfully rolling her eyes. It did sound tempting, not that she thought the man in front of her really stood a chance next to Lucifer. "Thank you, Dan. And thanks for dropping Trixie off for me."

"Anytime, Chlo. See you tomorrow?"

She nodded, "Yeah, I'm gonna need your opinion on that sound bite we have from the camcorder footage." He gave her a thumbs up and headed out the door.

"Bye Dad!" Trixie came out of her room, "If I pack my bag super quick, we can still watch one movie with Lucifer before I have to go to bed!" she beamed, blue sparkly duffle bag already in hand.

Her mother sighed, trying her damndest to look like everything was okay, "We're not going to Lucifer's tonight, baby. We're going to sleep here, okay?"

"Why?" she asked, sassy as ever.

Avoiding her question, Chloe played with the dark brown hair she got from her dad's side of the family, "Why don't you go pick out a book that we can read together before bed?"

"But mom, I really wanted to tell Lucifer about my weekend…" her eyes grew wide and her mouth curled down, quivering in a genuinely sad pout.

Chloe had to blink several times to regain her focus and swallowed back the lump in her throat. This wasn't just breaking her heart. She never should have let her kid get so attached. "I know Trixie, but you go pick out a book and I'll make us a snack, okay? It'll be fun."

"Did you and Lucifer get into a fight?" she asked sympathetically.

Why did she have to teach her to be so observant? She sighed, getting down to her knees to be on eye level, "We did, baby. You know it's wrong to lie, right? What it does to people's' feelings?"

She nodded, "So you're saying Lucifer lied about something?" She looked skeptical.

"He did. Something really kind of important and now I have to figure out how to handle it."

Trixie shook her head, "No he didn't. Lucifer doesn't lie, Mom. You told me so."

"I think I might have been wrong, Monkey."

She shook her head again, this time more defiant, stubbornly trying to fight back tears, "So we're never going to spend the night at Lux again?"

Chloe bit her lip, "I dunno. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought this all on you, Trixie. Are you okay?" She nodded, tears pooling up, threatening to spill. "You know I love you so, so much, right?" Her mom kissed her cheek and squeezed her tight. When she felt her nod, she reluctantly pulled away and rubbed her upper arms, "What do you want for a snack? Not chocolate cake."

Shrugging, she turned around and went to her room to pick out a book, but decided to pull out her phone first.

"Lucifer?" Linda called, stepping off of the elevator in his penthouse. The curtains across the room billowed in the cool night's breeze, the doors open. "Lucifer!" Imagining the worst, she ran out to the balcony, relieved to see him sitting in the corner.

"Chloe's not here. It's not like jumping off would do me any good," he slurred, taking a pull from a rather large bottle of cognac, a lit cigarette between his fingers.

Linda's heart sank. He was back to being disheveled and looked absolutely exhausted. He had at least changed from his bathrobe yesterday, but was now just wearing the black vest with the purple silk back, the matching jacket wadded up on the other side of the balcony. His pants looked wrinkled enough to assume he'd been here a while. "It didn't go well, did it?" she asked, sliding down the window to take a seat next to him.

He shook his head, "She barely even looked at me. Won't speak to me. Or at least she's not saying anything except that I'm a fucking liar. Which I'm not." He sighed, "I haven't heard from her at all today."

"She texted me a while ago. Said she had to shut her phone off because you've been trying to call all day?" He shrugged, looking guilty. "Look, I know it seems urgent and that you have to talk to her right now, but you've got to give her some space. She needs time to process everything, Lucifer. This is...it's big."

Shaking, he threw the bottle of cognac across the balcony, thankfully hitting the stone trim instead of the glass railing. "I know this is big, Doctor. That's why I need to talk to her, but she won't let me!"

"She just took that test yesterday morning. It's been what, 36 hours since she literally hit you with it? I know it seems impossible, but try to be patient…" Linda pursed her lips, "Here. Maybe this will kill some time." She dug in her bag and pulled out a book. "I know it's cheesy but maybe showing interest in what's going on with her will help smooth things over a little."

Lucifer took the book, "What to Expect When You're Expecting? Doctor, I don't think…"

She patted his arm, "Just look through it. I know you've visited humankind from time to time since the dawn of man, but I doubt you've really looked into that chapter of a woman's anatomy before."

He ran a hand through his hair, blinking his vision into focus and opening the book in the middle, a rather disgusted look spreading across his face, "Oh bloody hell, what is that?!"

Linda chuckled, "Slightly different from Playboy?"

Just then, Lucifer's phone went off, sending the Devil into a panic, trying to reach it before it stopped. It was just a text, but he still felt like he couldn't get to it fast enough. "It's from the Brat…"

The therapist couldn't help but notice his voice crack, though his eyes grew a little less weary. "Wait, is your whole text conversation with Trixie emojis?" she laughed, reading over his shoulder.

He actually smiled, "She calls it our secret code."

"What does this one mean? Fire, cop car, girl, cry face, black heart, devil face, and...is that a night time cityscape?"

He swallowed hard, but his voice still came out only barely audible, "It means 'what the hell?'...her idea...Chloe's sad, Trixie's sad, but she still insists on telling me she 'hearts' me, me being the devil face...ironically, and the night sky is her goodnight." He rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger before pulling up his emoji keyboard, typing in the same night sky and the chocolate birthday cake. "Means goodnight, Brat. She being the chocolate cake." He thought for a second and sent another text, this one containing the okay sign and the bed. "Whether or not it's going to be okay, she shouldn't have to worry her little head about it, right?"

"Yeah, you don't like that little girl at all, do you?"

Detective Decker sat at her desk, headphones in, listening to the audio clips for the thousandth time that week. The voice from the camcorder did sound familiar, but it was just too muffled, no matter what Ella did to try and fix it. She could tell what was being said, but no one could confirm or deny that the voice matched any of their samples. She tried to take a deep breath, but accidentally picked up a whiff of the white daisies in her garbage can and gagged.

Glaring down at them, she caught site of the card. Detective! was scrawled out in Lucifer's handwriting. In a short bout of rage, she took the coffee from her desk and poured it onto the card and flowers, jumping when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She pulled out her ear buds at site of the therapist. "Linda! Jeez, you scared the hell out of me."

"Sorry. That's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about. Do you have a minute?" At that point, she made eye contact with Ella from across the room and waved. "Perhaps somewhere a little more private?"

Chloe sighed, knowing exactly what this was about. She nodded and led the way to the conference room, both of them closing the blinds before saying a word. "Linda, I know you're talking to Lucifer, and I really don't want to hear it."

Linda sighed, "Chloe, I've been talking to him all week, more as a friend than his therapist. He is just as shocked and freaked out about this as you are."

"Why? Because he got caught in his lie?" her tone was thick with sarcasm, her eyes reflecting more hurt than anger, "What the hell did he think would happen? And why exactly was I so stupid as to believe the bastard?"

The mediator did her best to subtly corral her into a chair, "Look, I know you're angry and I know you're scared, but you have got to hear him out. He didn't know this could happen. As one of my best friends, I am telling you he has never lied to you, Chloe."

"No," Chloe shook her head, "No I guess that's true. Because to Lucifer, a bluff is completely different from a lie. So what? He bluffed that he couldn't get me pregnant so he didn't have to wear a condom? How is that better, Linda?"

She sat down beside her friend, heart in her throat trying to decide how to say what needed to be said, "I don't know if you've noticed yet, or if he's told you, but...you're the only thing that makes Lucifer vulnerable." Chloe snorted and rolled her eyes. "I don't mean that in the cheesy way, though this last week might be proving that right as well. But you're always either the one to make him bleed, or have been close enough to him to make it possible for him to get hurt. You shooting him in the knee was the first time since the beginning of time that he'd ever bled.

"And before you were poisoned by that professor, he had to keep slicing his wrist open to check if you were far enough away so it was safe for him to go in and save those boys. Don't even get me started on what we had to do to get the antidote for that poison. Not my most shining moment in the medical field, but made possible only because you were directly above the room we were in. You were close enough for us to be able to kill him."

Chloe's eyes grew wide, "Wait, what?"

"He literally went to Hell and back to save you. But the point is that you make him bleed so it seems you might just make him fertile as well. He would do anything for you. He loves you more than he can handle and shutting him out like this would kill him if you were close enough."

Chloe closed her eyes, putting her head in her hands. "Even if what you're saying is true," she shook her head, silent tears starting to run down her cheeks, "Lucifer hates kids. Okay, so he didn't know, but now what? You really expect me to believe he's okay with this?"

"Right now he's avoiding a rager he started at Lux a couple days ago because he wised up and realized he has to be more supportive, even if you won't let him talk to you. I left him sober and reading What to Expect When You're Expecting at the bar. Do you have any idea how fast that repels the women that come up to him?" she chuckled at the mental image, though Chloe's expression shut her up quick. "He does not hate kids. At least not all of them. Did you know he and Trixie text in a secret code entirely made up of emojis?"

That made her smile, nodding as Linda handed her the box of kleenex. "I was worried about who she was texting one day until I saw the number. I was just glad they were bonding."

The therapist squeezed her hand, "It'll all be okay, Chloe. Just, please talk to him. The two of you were finally catching a break and something that should be seen as a huge gift is ripping you apart again because you won't just talk it out. If you need me there, you know I'd drop everything to be there, but please give him a chance before this destroys both of you."

Chloe wiped her tears, but the smile disappeared, "That's the problem, Linda. You've seen it too. He's...actually the Devil. This could very literally destroy me. He's not the one this could kill."

Linda's heart started pounding in her throat. She'd never really thought of it that way and based on Chloe's pale face and the dark circles under her eyes, it was the only thing she'd been thinking about. Instead of playing into her friend's fears, she shoved down the thoughts and smiled, though a little weakly, "Do you honestly think it wouldn't kill him if anything happened to you? And besides, you don't know if anything will happen. If anything, this baby is half human and half Lucifer's...not...Devil side…" she cringed a little at the less than eloquent wording. "He probably knows way more about these kinds of situations than either you or I do, so what's the harm in talking to him?"

"I um" the detective started ringing her hands, clearly uncomfortable, "...I have an appointment this afternoon at the clinic."

"Chloe…" the doctor felt a bit like her stomach had exploded and the acid was eating away at every last internal organ.

"I need to uh...I'm gonna go back to work."

She went to leave, but Linda grabbed her wrist as gently as she could and still get the woman to stop, "I get it, I do. It's your body and your choice, but please talk this over with Lucifer. He would never in a million years make you do any of this on your own, no matter what you choose."

Chloe pursed her lips into a sad half smile and nodded, leaving the room and Linda with more questions that answers.

"Shit."

"Lucif- Oh sweet Jesus…" Linda stepped off the elevator to the penthouse again around eight o'clock, straight into a winter wonderland. The main lights were off, but there were enough Christmas trees and twinkle lights to rival the Griswolds more elegant neighbors, giving everything a very pleasant, festive glow.

"Yes, yes. Technically this holiday is supposedly about him, but I'd just like to point out his birthday was closer to July. Humans and their ragingly biased textbooks," he rolled his eyes and handed her one of the two glasses of eggnog he was carrying. She took a sip and the look of shock must have translated easily, "No rum I'm afraid. Trying to keep my wits about me." His expression went from jolly to obviously anxious in no time, "Just in case."

"Right, I need to um…" Linda tried to catch her breath. She felt like she was going to throw up. "Have you heard from her at all today?"

All the jolly was gone from his face, "No." He shook his head, "I'd set up the appointment with the decorators a couple weeks ago for the Brat and forgot to cancel...with everything going on." He sighed and looked around, "I have to admit it did do a little for my spirits though. Maybe there's hope after all, right Doctor?"

She didn't know what to say. Her mouth opened, but no words came out. She just nodded instead, eyes landing on the pile of presents under the biggest of the three Christmas trees in the corner. "Wow…"

Lucifer rubbed his neck, a little bashful. "We'd planned on having a little party here, Chloe and I… I thought I'd surprise her by getting all the shopping done." His shoulders fell, "Look at me, I'm pathetic."

"No, Lucifer. You're not. It's just...it's the whole situation. When it's a shock like this it can either be a really happy, exciting time or a lousy trying time before it gets better." 'If she gives it the chance to get better,' she thought, drowning the idea with virgin eggnog. She bit her lip, trying to decide if she could ethically tell him or not, but thankfully, she didn't have to decide right then and there.

Her phone started buzzing for a text. "Lucifer I really wish Amenadiel or Maze were here so I don't have to leave you alone, but I have to go. One of my younger patients was just admitted and I have to go in for a consultation." She held his arm, desperately wanting to stay with him. She knew he couldn't exactly kill himself, but what was he capable of in this state…

He smiled sadly at her, realizing what this mood of his was doing to her, "Doctor, go." He turned around and sat at the piano, playing a quick run up the keys to warm up. "I can entertain myself. I don't need a babysitter."

She sighed, talking to his back as he started playing, "Call me if you need anything, Lucifer." He nodded and she turned around to hit the button, but the doors were opening.

It was Chloe, looking absolutely angelic in a white sweater, her usual black jeans, hair down, and the bullet necklace that had been absent for the last week. Linda flashed a small smile to her, hoping her eyes could relay the question she was desperate to ask. Her smile back was anything but affirmative, but she did reach out to lightly squeeze the therapist's hand before sneaking onto a bar stool, close behind the man at the piano.

As the doors to the elevator closed, Lucifer started singing, unknown to him that he had an audience.

"I don't want my freedom, there's no reason for living with a broken heart…" Chloe couldn't help the tears that poured when she realized what he was singing. His voice was lower than Freddie's, but it was just as beautiful. "This is a tricky situation; I've only got myself to blame. It's just a simple fact of life, It can happen to anyone… You win, you lose, It's a chance you have to take with love. Oh yeah, I fell in love, but now you say it's over and I'm falling apart."

She noticed the now well worn copy of the book her friend had bought him on top of the piano, the test stuck in the middle as a thick book mark. Grabbing for a bar napkin, she resisted the urge to hug him from behind and blotted her cheeks instead.

"It's a hard life...to be true lovers together. To love and live forever in each others hearts. It's a long hard fight...To learn to care for each other. To trust in one another right from the start, when you're in love… I try and mend the broken pieces, Oh, I try to fight back the tears." His voice grew husky and thick like he really was trying. It broke Chloe's heart and she grabbed for an olive, trying to decide if she wanted to make her move yet or not. Maybe he'd sing it to her again someday… "Oh, they say it's just a state of mind, but it happens to everyone. How it hurts, deep inside, when your love has cut you down to size. Life is tough on your own. Now I'm waiting for something to fall from the skies. I'm waiting for love…"

She couldn't take it anymore. He really was as heartbroken as she felt. She quietly got off the stool, and put a soft hand on his shoulder. His playing faded, "Chlo?" He looked up at her as though he was afraid he was seeing things and she'd disappear as fast as she'd shown up.

"Who knew you liked Queen?" Chloe smiled, tears still in her eyes, "Can I join?"

He scooted over, taking her hand as she sat, "Deja vu?"

She exhaled in a very short, very small laugh, "A little." She nodded, thinking of that very first night they'd slept together. "I should have trusted you."

"Isn't trusting me what got us into this mess in the first place?" he flashed his sad smile to the piano, afraid to look at her.

Chloe put a hand on his cheek, turning his face to her, "I know you didn't know. That's not your fault." She shook her head, returning the same tear filled smile. "Lucifer, I have been...deliriously happy these past couple months, and I didn't think I ever would be again. You know, at least not without feeling guilty about Charlotte and what happened with Pierce and how I should have been able to stop it."

Lucifer shook his head, "Chloe, no. There was nothing you could have done..."

"I know." She nodded, "I know. But I just never thought I'd be able to feel the way I do when I'm with you after all that, and here I've been on Cloud Nine because of you. And Trixie," she laughed, "I think she's just as much in love with you as I am." She stopped, realizing what she'd said.

"Detective?" Lucifer grinned, though a little sheepishly, pushing her hair out of her eyes. "Did you just admit you love me?" It was his turn for unshed tears

Chloe rolled her eyes in fun, "I mean we did have a 75 day streak, didn't we?"

He laughed, "We did." He paused for a moment, the impact of his realization softening his eyes to the most heartfelt look Chloe had ever seen, "And not a single night of that was meaningless, was it?"

"It wasn't," she smiled, reaching up to kiss him.

Lucifer put a hand in her hair, rubbing her head with his most gentle, electrifying fingers, wrapping his other arm around her waist and deepening the kiss. When they pulled apart, they were breathless and he leaned his forehead to hers, their noses pressed to each other's. "I love you, Chloe. It's actually hard to breathe, I love you so much." She pulled away and started crying, more than just the tears rolling down her cheeks, "I'm sorry, I thought it was time I told you. I just…" How did he mess up this time?

Chloe saw the sad, scared look in his eyes and shook her head, "Oh no! No, no Lucifer, don't apologize. I just never thought I'd hear you say that."

He breathed a sigh of relief and reached for the bullet necklace, trying to break the seriousness, "I guess this is kind of a lie anymore."

"Kind of is, yeah." She took the hand that was playing with the bullet, "Lucifer, I went to the clinic today for a… a consultation."

"What?" his face fell completely again, "You mean for a…"

She nodded, "Yeah."

"Oh…"

"They asked if it was because of a health issue or uh...a mutation of some kind and I said I didn't know, but it was possible." She started crying again at the look on his face, but controlled it enough to continue. "It's okay, Lucifer," she squeezed his hand and with the other, dug in her purse, pulling out a picture and putting it on the ledge of the piano, "They did a scan. And...and everything looked normal."

The picture quite literally took Lucifer's breath away. He looked at Chloe, smiling with relief and then at the sonogram, "That's…?"

Chloe nodded, pulling out the olive she'd tucked in the front pocket of her purse and put it in front of the picture, "The doctor put me at about nine weeks, which means that tiny little thing in there causing all of this worry is about the size of that olive." She chuckled, looking over to see the father with tears on his cheeks, "And she's got a fast, healthy, strong heartbeat."

He tore his eyes away from the picture and the olive, eyebrows raised, "She?"

"You read the book, I hear. It's too early to tell, but when I saw the screen, it just looked exactly like the first time I saw Trixie and I just...couldn't." She sighed, sitting up straighter and putting a hand down low on her belly, "I've just been calling it a girl since."

Lucifer took a deep breath, "I guess that means we're uh...we're having a baby."

The mother smirked, snuggling into his arms as he rested his head on top of hers, his hand covering hers on her stomach, "Did the Devil ever think he'd be saying that?"

He laughed, shaking his head, "I cannot honestly say this was ever part of the plan, no," kissing the top of her sandy blond hair, he added, "But what's the fun in life without a little spontaneity, right?" He reached out to grab the picture and looked at it closely, "Oh look! You can see his little horn nubbins!"

Chloe sat bolt upright and snatched the picture from him, eyes wide, "What?!"

Lucifer laughed his first real belly laugh in a week. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" He was still laughing as Chloe glared at him. He calmed down and pushed the hair from his forehead, "I'm just kidding. See? No horns. You're fine."

She let out the breath she didn't realize she was holding, overwhelmed, "That's why I was at that clinic in the first place, Lucifer. How do we know this baby doesn't have horns or...or a tail, or that it won't kill me. What if this is like Renesmée?"

"Renes-?" he chuckled, "Really, Chloe? Not a single Body Bags movie, but all five Twilight movies?"

"Will this kill me?" she hated that her mood had changed so fast, but she couldn't control it no matter how hard she tried, "Lucifer Dan can't raise a little girl on his own because I didn't make you wear a condom. What…what happens here?" Chloe got up from the piano bench and started pacing.

The Devil got up too and managed to catch her and hold her tight from behind, letting his hands rest between her hips. "My father will have to wait a very, very long time until he gets to take you, Chloe. If I ever let him take you." He looked around at the current decor of his penthouse, "Granted, it's my first, but this isn't exactly the first time a celestial being left a little souvenir on Earth. I think you've probably heard of my half brother."

Chloe was breathing heavy, nerves getting the best of her. "Okay," she nodded, feeling a bit better. She laughed, really taking in her surroundings for the first time since stepping off the elevator, "I am not giving birth in a barn though. Mary can have that to herself."

"I'll book a room at the inn right now," Lucifer moved her hair and kissed her neck. "Let's go to bed, Chlo." She stiffened, making it clear that as much as she loved the man holding her, she just was not in the mood. "I meant to sleep, Love. You look exhausted and I do believe I may still have my first hangover." He guided her back to the piano and picked up the picture. "Seems a bit barbaric to dispose of the olive now…"

Chloe just laughed, popping it in her mouth. At Lucifer's exasperated smile, she grinned and patted her belly, "What? She thought it looked good."

It's A Hard Life by Queen. If you haven't heard it I suggest you give it a listen. :) As always, thanks for reading and feel free to review!