I don't know about you, but I've been feeling a tad blue since that season finale, soooo…let's retreat a little extra hard into some *super* fluffy LuciStuff now! Granted, this was already planned, but now I'm just feeling a lot of feels!

Some little backstory things are very different from the show now, but as I said before, anything too close to what actually happened in season 4 is a coincidence. Though, admittedly, I did have to change a couple little lines in here after a certain ceiling fan scene...LOL

I ain't even mad. ;)

PS: Special thanks to Always108 for their DeckerStar video that's been going around Facebook and for the inspiring this first scene...

Chapter 9

"And I'd give up forever to touch you, 'Cause I know that you feel me somehow. You're the closest to Heaven that I'll ever be, and I don't want to go home right now…"

Lucifer smiled softly at the sight of his new bride lounging on the white leather couch in the living room, absentmindedly singing along quietly while he played. For having been a child actress, she couldn't quite carry a tune, but her voice still gave him butterflies. He rolled his eyes at himself and made a mental note to swing by Lux for a shot of manhood after everyone had fallen asleep.

Still singing the next verse and scrolling through her phone, Chloe awkwardly rolled over to her side and fluffed her pillow, pursing her lips in embarrassment when she saw him watching her from across the room, "Shut up."

He just chuckled and shook his head, "And I don't want the world to see me, 'Cause I don't think that they'd understand. When everything's meant to be broken, I just want you to know who I- Chloe?" He cut the verse short and crossed the room in two steps, carefully taking a seat on what little room was left. Her eyes had squeezed shut and she was gripping at the pillow, her skin pale. He already had his phone out, but she grabbed it and threw it down by her feet. "Well that was excessive."

"I'm fine, Lucifer." She loosened her grip, rubbing her lower belly. "Braxton Hicks. It's normal."

"I know it's normal, but it's still rather unsettling," his own tension noticeably eased when she started talking, but his eyes were still weary, focusing hard on hers.

Chloe just laughed, pulling on his shoulder to sit herself up, "Want to see what I was working on to get your mind off the big scary baby?"

He scoffed at her in fun, but threw an arm around her shoulders and cuddled up close. "Figuring out how to redecorate the estate now that you've forced us out of the penthouse?"

"I didn't force anybody. I just suggested it was a little more kid friendly here and you agreed."

"There were tears, Detective. It was either that or risk being killed in my sleep."

"Well, sometimes…" she nodded, trying to look innocent, "the hormones work in my favor. What can I say? Besides, you're the one that's been freaking out about the railings on the balcony lately."

The Devil shuddered beside her, thinking of the images from the nightmare that kept creeping into the back of his mind lately. Resting his head on hers, he swallowed hard and brushed it off. "Yellow?" He cringed, looking at her phone. "You want to paint the nursery yellow?"

"Well not the whole thing. Just one wall and throw in some yellow accents. Maybe...I don't know...hippos and puppies?" She could feel him shaking with laughter, no matter how hard he was trying to hide it.

Lucifer cleared his throat when he noticed how rigid she'd become. "Hippos and puppies? Did Maze leave brownies for you again?"

"Well, what do you suggest? Flames and vintage cars?"

"Well not flames, no. I do like the car idea though."

"And if it's a girl?" she pulled her head away from his, raising an eyebrow.

"Then she'll have excellent taste like her sister," Lucifer put a hand over the visible twitch under his wife's shirt. "He's very clearly protesting the yellow."

"Okay, fine. Then we compromise with green. A lime-ish, bright cheery green."

He laughed against her neck, having moved her hair and was doing his best to distract her. "Why don't we just let the decorators do their job so you don't have to worry your pretty little head about it."

"That sounds completely impersonal," she groaned. "This is part of the fun. What's going on with you lately?"

Her words stung. He'd been trying so hard to remain as involved in everything as he possibly could, but there was a sense of foreboding that tightened his chest at the thought of her due date so quickly approaching. It had already been almost a month since the wedding, and no matter how uncomfortable he could tell she was, she insisted she was not slowing down.

"I just don't want you to overdo everything. I'm worried about how much you have on your plate at work with this deranged pyro is all," Lucifer sighed. "The decorators can come in, throw together the basics, and in the next six weeks we can add the little personal touches if you want."

"Lucifer, I painted Trixie's entire room when Dan was at work one night while I was already on maternity leave," Chloe ran her fingernails over the smooth, muscular arm across her belly. "I do love coming home from work and being lazy every once in a while. You know, like tonight. But I'm not some princess that can't do anything for herself."

"I do realize that, yes." But things are a little different this time, aren't they? he thought, that sense of dread creeping back up from the pit of his stomach. "But I'm nothing if not generous, right?" he nuzzled her cheek and gave a low, sexy growl.

Chloe finally laughed, leaning back into her husband's arms, enjoying the belly rub more than she wanted to. "Just the basics? They do the painting, I do everything else?"

"You're putting the crib together?" he chuckled. "Sure your current center of gravity would allow that?"

"Jerk!" she elbowed him in the ribs. "But I probably could use some help."

A sleepless, stressful, cocaine fueled run-in with IKEA flashed up from Lucifer's memories as she batted her eyelashes at him. "Let's uh...let's let the professionals take care of that part as well. Trust me." He went quiet a moment, his arm around Chloe's shoulders squeezing a little tighter as he thought about the dark times around that particular period in their lives. He heard her gasp for air and flinched away quick, afraid he'd hurt her.

Instead, she had a hand on the top of her bump, trying to gently coerce the baby back down from where it'd been stretching. "Okay, Honey. I know you're running out of room, but mommy needs her lungs," she winced.

Lucifer froze, "Should I call Miss Lopez now?"

The mom shook her head, "No, it's fine. She'll settle down in a bit." She kissed his cheek and stubbornly struggled her way off the couch until submitting to his help. "I'm just gonna go unpack a couple boxes before Dan brings Trixie home."

Just as Lucifer was about to remind her to leave anything too heavy well enough alone, the front door opened and Trixie came running up the stairs, Dan walking up behind her. "Ah! Speak of the me."

"Hi Lucifer!" Trixie grinned, plopping down her school bag.

He nodded to her, noticing something was very slightly off, but couldn't put a finger on what it was, "Urchin."

Chloe had turned around and was making her way to her daughter with open arms and a huge, beautiful smile, waddling ever so slightly. "Hey Monkey! How was your night with Dad?" The little girl's grin faded to a look of pure annoyance as she pulled away from her mom's grip, leaving her wide blue eyes a mix of confusion, anger, and heartbreak. "Wha-? Trix?"

Tixie folded her arms and set her jaw, "You won't take me camping on the last day of school like you promised we would do every year. And now Dad's going to San Diego to look for a bounty with Maze."

"I think you mean, 'Booty'," Lucifer snickered from where he was pouring himself a drink.

Both Dan and Chloe threw a glare in his direction. "Baby, we talked about this. I just can't go camping right now. I wouldn't be any fun and your little brother or sister keeps me tied pretty close to the bathroom."

"Munchkin, I said I was sorry," her father knelt down in front of her, his hands on her arms, "but Maze asked me for help a while ago and she just got a lead pinpointing this guy at the zoo bright and early Saturday morning. I'll take you camping on my weekend, okay?"

Her brow furrowed, scowling at her mom before wiggling out of Dan's grip and running up the stairs to slam the door to her new room. He sighed, standing back up and shaking his head, "I'm sorry Chlo. She was fine most of the night. I don't know where that came from."

"It's been going on for a few days," Chloe smiled sadly, easing herself onto one of the barstools at the counter. "She's perfectly fine with Lucifer but the claws come out whenever I so much as say hi."

Her ex laughed, "You never had siblings. She's probably just acting out because she's realizing she won't have your undivided attention anymore. Right Lucifer?"

"Right..." he nodded, noticing the defeated slump Chloe's shoulders had taken. "Though my parents were more distracted by Dad's holier than thou need to control the universe than the younger of our siblings, I'm afraid."

Chloe looked extremely concentrated, fiddling with her charm bracelet. "No. That's not it. She's been so excited. It's gotta be something else. Do you think maybe she's getting bullied at school again? Or...or she's mad at me because I suggested we move?"

"It'll be fine," Dan shrugged, rubbing her shoulder and making his move to leave. "You coming into the station tomorrow?"

The same jaw setting glare Trixie had used spread on her own face. "Oh I dunno, Dan. Maybe I should just skip for another week while you hide the fact that there's a third body from not only me, but your stand-in partner."

Lucifer suppressed a snort, momentarily amused at Chloe's attitude toward the Douche as he disappeared down the stairs. "Turns out she's still a bit miffed about that, Daniel!"

"I know! I should've ruined your wedding night!" He called back, before the door shut.

Chloe took as deep a breath as she could sitting down. She huffed, downing the glass of water Lucifer had just put in front of her. "I can't believe him."

He leaned his elbows on the counter and locked eyes with her, unable to hold back a devilish grin, "I dunno, Detective. I'm glad he saved our wedding night, aren't you?"

"I guess," she tried not to smile. "But he could have told us the next day instead of waiting until we went back to work."

"He and Fitz had everything covered, Detective. They were just doing us a favor and made a little progress in the case without us. Without you," he proceeded with caution, noticing an eyebrow go up just ever so slightly. "Which means you could take some time off. Rest up and all that."

She rolled her eyes, sliding off the stool, "I'm gonna go try to talk to Trixie."

"Uh-hu," he nodded, accepting the defeat he knew was inevitable. Still leaning on the counter, he ran his thumb around the rim of his glass and watched Chloe slowly make her way up the stairs to be greeted at Trixie's door by a loud guitar riff. He had to laugh as she threw her head back and tried knocking again. "Still hoping for another girl?"

Chloe turned out the light and quietly shut the bathroom door for the third time since going to bed that night. She sighed, completely exhausted and more than a little anxious. The baby had been doing it's best Jackie Chan impression since her little argument with Trixie, and every time she got close to drifting off to sleep, her little angel would either kick her in the ribs or punch her in the bladder. She stretched her back out as best she could, tiptoeing back to bed, but it didn't help much.

"Should I just move the bed in there?" Lucifer gave her a pitifully encouraging smile, leaning up on his elbow and moving the blankets out of the way.

She climbed back in bed, a more cumbersome task than she liked to let on. "Sorry," she sighed sheepishly, trying to find a comfortable position on her back. "Did I wake you?"

"No, but you haven't slept yet, have you?" he asked, seeing her bleary eyes in the light coming from the wall of windows.

"Have you ever tried sleeping with a bowling ball under your shirt?"

"Can't say that I have," he laughed, slipping a hand under her silky nightgown and was greeted by an elbow pushing back. "Didn't spend a lot of time on Earth in the 80s. The hair freaked me out." Chloe chuckled, partially at the joke, but more to cover up a wince. It didn't fool the worried dad, "Is there anything I can do to make you more comfortable?"

She smiled at him, truly touched by the concern in his eyes. "I don't know," she shrugged. "I don't know how I'm supposed to last six more weeks like this. And…" her voice broke, which only made her more frustrated, "now we have a full blown serial killer out there and Trixie hates me and I only have so much time left with her…"

Lucifer's hand on her belly stopped, "What?"

"As uh… as my only baby," Chloe stammered nervously, noticing the dark, almost scared tinge return to her husband's face.

"Right," he still looked skeptical, but didn't have the heart to expand on what she meant. "Here, you shouldn't fall asleep on your back."

"Remind me to hit Linda with that book the next time I see her," she rolled her eyes, resisting his help. "I'm fine. Nothing's going to be comfortable anyway. Go back to thinking only about yourself, please."

"Shhh, let me see what I can do. I've been doing my fatherly research, you know."

"Pinterest, Lucifer. I showed you Pinterest and I thought you learned your lesson with those hard boiled egg mice you sent to school with Trixie."

"Okay so those were a tad too juvenile, I admit. But I think this might help. Just relax." He scooted her over to his side of the bed, relieved to hear her laugh, even if she was making fun of him.

He pushed her up to put one of the extra pillows behind her back, rolling her to her left side. "What the hell are you doing?" she asked as he straddled her hip. "Just because we have a door now doesn't mean you have to hump my leg."

Lucifer had to take the opportunity to do just that and sent her into a fit of giggles before plopping down beside her and scooching close with her belly on his. Once she finally relaxed into him, her right leg over his thighs and her head on his chest, he could feel her tension lifting as he ran his fingers through her hair and she played with his wedding ring. "Better?"

She sighed happily, kissing his smooth, chiseled chest, "A little."

"Good," her warm, soft weight let him relax a little himself, the baby squirming enough so he could feel it. "It's going to be just fine, remember?"

"I know. I just don't think it's the baby. She treats that doll like it's her little sister and she's so good with it. I don't understand," she paused. "Maybe you could take her to school tomorrow? See if your mojo works on her and figure out what's going on?"

"I would never use it on her," Lucifer laced his fingers with hers on his chest. He took a deep breath, weighing his options. "I could take her to school though. See if I can get anything out of her on the way."

"Would you?" she looked up at him with big, grateful eyes. "Don't feel like you have to."

"She's my Brat," he laughed. "If she's actually going to be a brat, especially to her mum, I want to know why."

Chloe smiled, her heart fluttering as she traced the freckles on Lucifer's chest. "What's been keeping you up all night?"

"It's the bowling ball, I'm afraid," he moved their hands down to Chloe's bump. He didn't say anything for a while and just took it all in from her warm breath on his chest, the way her hair tickled his arm, and the subtle movements from under the covers that left him excited and terrified at the same time. Finally, he sighed, unsure if the woman in his arms was even still awake. He almost hoped she wasn't. "Is he going to rebel against me like I did to dear old dad?"

"She might." She shrugged, a very soft chuckle escaping her lips, "When you don't let her dress like Maze or when she brings home a boy just like you that you really don't like."

"Devil forbid. Literally," he thought about it for a moment, his stomach turning. "Keeping two little girls safe from all of the terrible monsters out there sounds exhausting, if not impossible. Is it selfish to hope for a boy because it just sounds easier?"

"A miniature Lucifer? What part of that sounds easier?"

"You're in there too, Detective. Hopefully more so."

Chloe reached up to plant a kiss on his jaw, "He's not going to rebel. You're not going to send him off to oversee the torture of anyone or ruin his reputation for all eternity. We'll love him the way you always should have been loved, and you know that."

He smiled down at her, but was a little startled by a particularly hard kick he felt on the side of his torso. "I think your mum would appreciate it if you put the Bruce Lee movies away for the night."

"Um...Lucifer?"

"What is it?" he asked, her tone putting him in partial panic mode. "Are you having pains? Now can I call Miss Lopez?"

"No no...not that. It's still too early. It's uh… Is she uh…" she almost started hyperventilating. "Is she stretching out her wings? Because I really...really don't know how that's going to work when it comes time for the uh….oh God…she's not going to fit is she?" Lucifer started laughing, in spite of himself. Chloe struggled to sit up, looking hurt, "This isn't funny! They could get caught!"

Chloe demonstrating with her arms just how the wings could be an issue did not help wipe the grin from the father's face. "Chloe. Chloe, shh. She's not stretching her wings, you have my word." He sat up and wrapped his arms around her, pinning the makeshift wings, "They're not exactly there yet. It's fine. He's probably just kicking like a normal baby."

Tears started running down her face, "You don't know that. This is serious."

"Seriously inaccurate. Breathe," he rubbed her back to calm her down. "First of all, he might not have them. He is half human."

"She might though…"

"She might, yes. But they're a bit like testicles." He instantly felt less worried when he heard her snort. "They're there. But they're not really there, you see? If he has them, wings I mean, they won't exactly um...work until he's about Trixie's age. When they uh...drop...sprout more like."

Chloe shook, this time with laughter, as she pulled away. Her eyes were still red and brimming with tears, but she was smiling, "Are you saying you went through some sort of...celestial puberty?"

"I did," the angel shuddered. "A very very very long time ago, and it's one of the very first things I remember, actually. Much more embarrassing than human puberty too, I'm sure."

She tried to hide her amusement, but was failing miserably. Taking his hand and caressing his cheek with the other, she cocked her head at him. "Want to talk about it? For uh...parental reasons? I should know what my kid might go through," her mouth twitched, picturing him as a gangly teenager with acne and a squeaky voice.

"Only because you put it that way," he raised an eyebrow at her, seeing just how amused she was. "There's um...feathers that get everywhere. And you know how baby birds are a bit patchy?" Chloe had to cover her mouth as she nodded. "Imagine breaking the contents of a shelf with a spontaneous unfurling of a mostly bare, partially fuzzy, raw chicken wing…"

She couldn't control it anymore and busted out laughing, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I shouldn't laugh."

"No you shouldn't. It was a very trying time for me." Lucifer laid back down in a huff, but was secretly enjoying how happy his wife sounded after the last few days of stress.

"You laughed at me thinking our baby's wings were going to get stuck in my hooha. I get to laugh at your awkward angel boner."

"Fine, fine. I take it back. I apologize."

"Nope," Chloe shook her head, cuddling back down into his arms. "I'm still picturing it. I wish you had childhood photos."

"Maybe there's a cave in the Middle East with a depiction," he said dryly as she was finally able to control her laughter.

"Oh no…" She went very still before whispering to herself. "I thought I had more time."

"What is it?" Lucifer flinched, perpetually ready to jump out of his skin anymore.

The mom sniffled, "I think that might be what Trixie's going through."

"Ah. No. I've checked to see if she had the ridges before."

"The...what?"

"Ridges. On her shoulder blades. You don't have them either. I checked a long time ago when we first started working together and I couldn't win you over with my charms," he smirked.

Chloe shook her head against his chest, "No, I mean she's only eleven, but I think she might be getting her period."

"Oh!" Lucifer's eyes grew wide as he grimaced. "Right. Well if that's the case, I'm not talking to her about it. Good night."

She rolled her eyes and patted his chest, "That's okay. If the baby's a boy, you get to have the talk with him."

"With pleasure."

"On second thought, I think I'll just take care of that subject regardless."

He kissed her forehead, "Go to sleep, love."

"I want to," she groaned, flipping up the covers. "But a certain someone just decided to play Rocky with my bladder again."

Lucifer just chuckled, trying to stay awake long enough to make sure she was comfortable again when she got back.

Chloe woke up the next morning in what could only be described as a nest of pillows. Lucifer had replaced himself with one under her belly and had somehow managed to get one between her legs without waking her up. She couldn't help but smile as she yawned, feeling much more rested than she had in a long time.

Until she realized it was a Thursday and the sun was shining just a little too brightly into the big white room to be the time it usually was when she woke up during the week. "Lucifer," she hissed through her teeth, grabbing for her phone to check the time and realizing her alarm had been turned off. It was already 8:00. She scrambled as quickly out of the nest as she could, regretting having to do so, and was about to head down to the kitchen when nature called. "Child, I swear…"

Ten minutes later, Chloe made her way down the stairs, fully dressed, to see Trixie chattering happily with her step dad, finishing up her toast at the breakfast bar between the living room and kitchen. The cook sat on the counter with a piece of bacon, looking dapper in a tan suit. "Detective!" He smiled up at her, "I was just about to come wake you."

She pursed her lips, trying to be angry. Her hair was a little greasy from the lack of a shower, but throwing it into a bun hid it well enough and that extra hour of sleep did do wonders. "Morning you two," she smiled, kissing her daughter on the cheek. Trixie tensed up and grew quiet. "Monkey, can we talk quick before Lucifer takes you to school?" She looked up in time to see him scurry off with another piece of bacon.

"I'll be outside!"

Chloe would have found it hilarious that the Devil was so skittish about a little blood had she not been so heartbroken that her baby was growing up so fast. Taking a seat on the stool beside her, she tried to grab her hand. "Trixie, I am so sorry. I didn't even think about having supplies on hand since I don't need them at the moment and you're so young for it… Are you okay? Does your stomach hurt at all? Have they even gone over this at school yet? I probably should have come to talk to you after I figured out what was going on last night, but I didn't know for su-"

"Ohmygod, Mom! Gross! I'm not on my friggin period, okay!" Trixie jumped down from her stool, grabbed her backpack and ran past a very wide-eyed Lucifer.

"Forgot my keys…" he said, a tad flustered, grabbing them from the bowl.

Chloe sighed, looking completely defeated. "It's the baby, isn't it?"

"Possibly." Lucifer went over to give her a quick goodbye kiss and rubbed her shoulders, "Look, I'm not exactly the expert on human sibling rivalry here. Our family feuds usually involved locusts and floods. But whatever it is, I'll get down to the bottom of it and meet you at the precinct, alright?" She nodded, giving him a sad smile. He patted her belly, gave her another quick peck on the temple and headed down the stairs to the garage. "There's a plate for you in the oven!"

Lucifer hit the button to unlock the sporty black, top of the line Range Rover he and Chloe had compromised on when she said they needed something a tad more family oriented. It had all the bells and whistles, looked as sexy as an SUV possibly could, and went from zero to sixty like a bat out of Hell, but it wasn't the same. The unassembled car seat still in the box on that side of the garage screamed domesticity almost as loudly.

Trixie cleared her throat from the driver's seat of his beloved Corvette, jingling his keys at him. He turned around, grinning, "You read my mind. Hop over."

"When do I get my driving lesson?" she asked, clearly disappointed, but doing what she was told.

"Maybe when your mum's not home," he winked. "Come on, let's get you to school."

"Ugh, she ruins everything." She fumed, folding her arms and sitting in silence until they hit the freeway.

Lucifer raised an eyebrow at her, finally breaking the silence. "What's going on with you lately, Brat?"

She rolled her eyes, "Nothing."

"Trouble at school? Cause there's only today and tomorrow left. It can't be that bad."

"No."

"Are you having problems with a bully again? You know I'd enjoy helping with that. It was kind of fun last time."

"No."

"Is it because we moved? I miss the penthouse too, but we can always go visit. Your mum's right about the estate being more child friendly, as much as I hate to admit it…"

"No."

He grimaced, "Female issues I don't want to know anything about?"

"Eww, no."

"Thank Dad," he sighed, not exactly sure what he would have done had her answer been any different. "Problems with your friends?"

She huffed, "Stop, Lucifer. Just let it go."

"Well well well, hello Miss Attitude," he was a little shocked. She'd never sassed back to him before, at least not seriously. He felt a strange mix of rage and pride. "Care to tell me why you're being such a little bitch to your mum then?"

"I don't have to tell you anything. You're not my dad."

"No, I'm not," he was actually starting to feel a little hot under the collar, but decided to keep pushing it to see if that would get him anywhere. "But I love your mother very much and seeing you be so terrible to her makes me lose a little respect for you. See where I'm going with this?"

"Whatever," Trixie rolled her eyes, flipping her hair in a way that rubbed Lucifer the exact wrong way.

He had to admit, he was torn. He wanted to use his mojo on her to make this whole process quick and easy, but he swore to himself he'd never use it on anyone he cared so much about. On the other hand, he thought maybe a quick flash of his red eyes might do the trick, but all the anxiety and heartache of his nightmare came flooding back to him and almost made him drift into the other lane. He could yell at her, really scare the bejeezus out of her in an attempt to set her straight, but he wasn't that guy. In all reality, he was, but not to her. She'd seen his Devil face, but in her eyes he was still her mum's guardian angel. He really did want to keep it that way.

Brow still furrowed, partly in anger, partly in confusion, he looked over and saw the little girl's face through her hair, blowing in the wind. Even with his eyes still their human brown, her expression somewhat resembled what he'd seen in his nightmare when she saw his true face. There was fear and a little hurt, all trying to play off as anger. He sighed and turned on his blinker, cutting across traffic to take the next exit.

"This isn't the turn for my school," Trixie pointed out condescendingly.

"Thank you, I had no idea," he sassed back, turning onto a road toward the coast.

About half an hour later they arrived at the Santa Monica Pier. As soon as Lucifer parked the car, Trixie got out and gave him a very catty glare, one hand on her hip, looking so much like her mother it made him pause. He tucked her backpack in the trunk and went around to join her as she started off toward the entrance. "What are we doing, exactly?" she asked in her spot-on Detective voice.

He looked at his watch, "Park opens in ten minutes. I'll make you a deal."

"I'm not turning in any favors today, Lucifer."

"Call it a new one," he pulled out his flask for a quick drink, making eye contact with a rather disapproving older woman on a bench with a chihuahua in her bag. He shrugged it off and took a swig before tucking it back into his pocket. "I call your mum, tell her I took a wrong turn taking you to school, because technically that's not a lie, and tell her I won't be joining her at the precinct today. We ride some rides, blow a stack of cash on crooked games, eat junk food, and generally play hooky to celebrate your last day of...what grade are you in again?"

"Sixth…?"

"Right. How does that sound? Step-Daughter Devil Day, if you will."

She raised a suspicious eyebrow, "In exchange for what?"

"You tell me exactly what's going on so you can stop breaking your poor mum's heart. She really misses you you."

"I guess," she stuck out her hand for him, but pulled it away when he went to shake on it. "But...you have to win that giant pink monkey for me before we leave."

"Alright, I'll go call the Detective." He shook her hand, "Go take a seat. Preferably far away from Miss Happy and her Hellhound. For how small they are, you'd be amazed at how many chihuahuas end up in Hell." Trixie giggled, the chip slowly coming off her shoulder, and sat down at an empty section of the pier where he could still keep an eye on her while he made the call.

She was swinging her legs off the side of the bench when he joined her, stuffing his phone back in his pocket. "Okay, Spawn. Your turn. Let's chat." She kept her mouth shut, looking down at her shoes. "Brat?"

"What are you going to do? Whip out your Devil face? That was kind of your one big poker chip with me and you already spent it."

"Or we can go to school. You'd probably be in more trouble for being late though…"

"Okay, fine!" She sighed, "But you have to promise you won't hate me."

"You're eleven, what could you possibly do to make the Devil hate you? Besides, you know, being eleven."

"I don't want mom to have the stupid baby, okay?"

She got up and started walking away, but Lucifer grabbed her hand and pulled her back to her seat. "So it is about the baby." He knew he shouldn't feel too guilty about it and, according to past discussions with Linda, this was perfectly normal. However, 'shouldn't' and 'didn't' were two completely different things and human emotions were far more complex than he was used to, no matter how long he'd been on Earth this time.

Trixie couldn't look him in the eyes, "I'm sorry. I just… I don't think I even like babies. They all look like potatoes and all they do is sleep and poop."

"You're not entirely wrong there," the father-to-be laughed. "But I thought you wanted a little brother or sister for Christmas? It was in your note to Santa."

"I guess I kinda wanted one that was already grown."

"Ah," he grinned. "Is that all? You're mad at your mum because she's going to be having a slimy, snotty, poopy potato creature soon? Because that's not entirely her fault...as uh...as I know you know." He cleared his throat, suddenly feeling a bit awkward. "And you're not exactly treating me the same way you're treating her."

She finally looked at him, a little bashful. "Hannah M. says that because I'm not actually your kid, after the baby's born, I'll just be a nuisance to you and you'll send me to a British boarding school."

"Does she?" he asked, a little taken aback. "And lose my apprentice in all things dark and scheming? I think not. Who would continue our piano lessons or the secret guitar lessons? You have a lot left to learn, Young Padawan. And besides, your mum would never allow it. I've already asked." He winked and was met with a swift punch to the shoulder.

"But on a serious note, you know that little potato thing is going to be a lot of work. Your mum's a pro, but I'm an all out rookie at this. I mean I have not got the foggiest idea of what I'm doing, so don't ever feel like we're ignoring you if the baby takes a lot of our attention for a while. If anything it'll just mean more time with your dad. Granted he's not your dear old step-devil, but as douchey as he can be, he's not a consolation prize either. Not to you anyway."

Trixie smiled, but was obviously still deep in thought. "Is this how you felt when your little siblings were born?"

He laughed, "I have no idea, actually. I don't remember them not being there, even though I'm older than a few of them." He paused, wondering how best to explain it all to her. "You know your dad's girlfriend? Or um...was…"

"You mean Charlotte?"

"I do," he nodded. "The Detective hasn't quite wrapped her head around all this just yet, but there for a while, Charlotte Richards body was carrying around my mum's uh...Celestial light. Her soul, essentially. So for a while, Charlotte wasn't there, and my mum was. The Goddess of all creation. Still with me?" she nodded so he continued, impressed, "Well she and Dad...God...ended up pitted against each other when Dad got too preoccupied with his humans here on Earth. So mum kept causing all these terrible things to happen on Earth to get his attention and even tried while she was in Charlotte's body and almost killed your mum, right here. Don't worry, I wasn't ever going to let that happen," he added quickly at Trixie's rather large eyes. "I pushed her into her own universe right down there on the beach. She's no longer a threat. To your mum or my sanity."

Trixie scratched her head, a bit confused. "I follow, kinda, but what does that have to do with what I'm going through?"

"Long story short, their neglect for each other caused a lot of neglect for their children so yours truly decided to start a rebellion and got himself kicked down to rule Hell for all eternity. Or at least up until around 2011 anyway." Lucifer smiled, "It means, my little Hellion, that I know what it's like to be neglected by someone because they have something new in their lives."

"Like when mom was with Marcus instead of you?"

"Have you been spending time with Doctor Linda behind my back?" he leaned away, giving her a side eye. "That works too, yes. I'm not going to send you off just because you're not technically my child. That doesn't make you any less my partner in crime. Understood? That and I'm going to need your help because I don't know how to be a dad. Mine wasn't exactly anything to go off of."

She nodded, leaning against his arm. "I guess I just wish you loved me is all. A new kid that's actually yours is only going to mean less of that for me."

So she didn't totally understand after all. He smiled sadly as her words sliced through his heart. "Trixie, do you not think I love you?" She shrugged so he knelt down in front of the bench and took her hands in his, giving them a reassuring squeeze. "I don't say it very often, because before your mum, as cheesy and sappy as it sounds, I didn't really know what it felt like. But...I do. Very much. You are the first small human offspring in all of history I've ever actually wanted to spend time with. The first one I ever played board games with or let pick out the movie. I mean, you're the first one I've ever carried off to tuck into bed when you kept passing out on my custom Italian leather settee.

"Do you know, when you came up with better fake swear words than I did, I couldn't process what I was feeling without Linda telling me I was proud of you. I'd simply never been proud of a small human before. I didn't know I could be." He gently poked at her Devil emoji necklace, "But aside from that, I probably should have explained this a bit better."

"You said you were asking me if you could marry mom since grandpa's not alive."

He nodded, "But I was also asking if I could be your step dad, remember? Which means I want to watch you grow up. And I want to help your mum and dad watch over you and protect you until someone else comes along to take over that job." She giggled, rolling her eyes in embarrassment. "You think it's funny now, but someday you'll bring home a boy that's going to have to face a Demon, a therapist, two detectives, and an Angel if Amenadiel ever decides to show up again. None of which will think he's good enough for you. But if they do approve, he comes to the Devil himself, and I show him exactly what's waiting for him if he ever does anything to hurt you. Granted if he craps his trousers at that point, he's not strong enough to handle you anyway."

"Obviously," she nodded, grinning from ear to ear.

"That silly little devil is to remind you how much I love you and just what I would do to keep you safe. Just because you're not my flesh and blood doesn't mean I wouldn't put mine in harm's way to save yours. Got it?"

"Got it," she nodded. "So was it love at first sight?"

"Hardly. You didn't have your two front teeth. More like keeping an eye on the competition."

"I was in trouble because I was being bullied. That makes me competition?"

"It's not like I haven't been bullied by a certain someone," he rolled his eyes up to the heavens. "And I'm supposedly the scariest being in the universe. I think it was the kicking the girl in her 'No no touch touch square' as you called it, that sealed the deal for me though."

Trixie laughed and gave her step dad a kiss on the cheek. "I love you too Lucifer. Even if you are getting a little soft."

"Oh soft, huh?" He flashed his red eyes, much to her amusement, and popped up from where he'd been kneeling and smoothed out his suit, "Let's see who does all the screaming on the roller coaster, shall we?"

By 3:30, both Trixie and Lucifer were completely wiped out as they pulled into the driveway of the Hills Estate, a particularly large, neon pink monkey strapped to the back end of the Corvette. "Right, your mum won't be home for another couple of hours. Let's get this thing up to your room befor- Hello, Detective!" He grinned as Chloe sauntered out of the garage, still dressed for work.

The monkey's arms were draped around her husband's and daughter's shoulders like a drunk college student causing quite the hilarious picture, "Who's your new friend?"

"Lucifer won her for me at the uh...school carnival."

"Oh. Cool!" She nodded, giving a side eye to the man, doubled over so Trixie could help carry it. "Why don't you go show her around your room. I'm sure she'd love your Martian."

"Will do!" Trixie ran off, but dropped the animal long enough to give her mom a hug without saying a word.

When the door shut behind her, Chloe shook her head at Lucifer, but couldn't keep a straight face. "She hugged me," her voice broke and tears welled up in her eyes.

"It wasn't necessarily the baby, Detective. It was me." He shrugged, wrapping her in his arms. "One of the Hannahs told her I would send her off to boarding school once the baby was born and she was just taking it out on you. She didn't realize I kept her around because I actually like the little urchin."

"Thank you," Chloe grabbed his scruffy cheeks and pulled him down for a kiss. "The school called. Must have been a hell of a wrong turn to get you two stuck in Santa Monica all day."

"How did you-?"

"A couple unis were joking on the scanner about a black 1962 Corvette with a bright pink monkey tied to the back," she just laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck, their foreheads together. "Still afraid you're not going to make a good dad?"

He sighed, "Always."

"That's normal," she chuckled.

"You're not upset I kidnapped your child for the day again?"

She shook her head, pulling away and smiled with those big eyes that drove her husband wild, "I had a hunch. Besides, Dan and Fitz think they got our serial killer so I'm in a pretty good mood."

"I have to say, Detective, you are absolutely glowing in that costume," the Devil gave her elevator eyes as he held her hand on the way down the stairs to the homicide department.

"It's called sweat, Lucifer. You're kid is a friggin radiator and there's a heat wave," she grumbled, pulling her hand away from his. "Dan, what the hell happened? I thought you said you got the guy that was doing this?"

Everyone in the office had stopped what they were doing to look at the couple. There were giggles, a few flashes from smartphone cameras, and quite a few jaws on the floor. "Do...do I even want to know what's going on here?" Dan stuttered, looking as though he wanted to look away, but physically couldn't.

Ella popped out of her lab, "Ohmygosh, yes! You were supposed to send me pictures this morning!" She joined them at the foot of the stairs with her phone ready to go. "Damn, Sailor Morningstar, you are looking mighty fine in that uniform. And you look so cute, Nurse Decker...I mean Morningstar! I'd let you pull a bullet out of me any day!" She gushed, much to the amusement of Lucifer and slight annoyance to Chloe. "How was the living wax museum for Trixie's last day of school?"

"Well we had to leave early because Espinosa here," she threw a glare in her ex's direction, "didn't give us the chance to work with him on this case for a week after the last body was found and he obviously locked up the wrong guy."

"Look, Chlo. I said I was sorry. I thought I was doing the right thing at the time. What...what are you guys supposed to be anyway?"

Lucifer wiggled his eyebrows and carefully dipped the Detective low, cradling her head in his arm, and giving her a kiss as she squealed with surprise. Ella made a similar noise, taking pictures. "They're that totes adorbs couple from the kiss in Times Square. Ahh! This is too perfect!"

The sailor lifted his nurse back up, adjusting his white hat and smoothing out the navy blue uniform, "From VJ Day. Sadly not as naughty as it sounds. Although that night..."

"As I was saying…" Chloe rolled her eyes, a hand on Lucifer's shoulder to steady herself. "What happened with the guy you and Fitz brought into custody last night?"

Dan huffed, leading the group to the conference room where the whiteboard had been set up for the now four victims. Lucifer pulled out a chair for the Detective, but she shook her head, dismissing him and opting to stand with her hands on her hips, looking thoroughly uncomfortable and more stubborn than usual. "Our working theory is that he was either a fall guy for the real killer or there's more than one lowlife behind all this."

"Is the latest victim female too? Rosary?"

Ella nodded, sadly, going up to the murder board with a pen for a pointer. "Yeah. And she is. Was. So now we have Andrea Cortez, 34. Lived in Burbank and her body was found in Inglewood. Robin Russo, 29. Lived in Santa Monica with her body being found in Burbank. Natalie Stoller, 30, lived in San Fernando and her body was found, on your wedding night, also in Inglewood. And now there's Michelle Jones. She was 21 years old. Her house burned down last night in Santa Monica and her body was found this morning in Little Tokyo here in LA."

Chloe tried to sneak the fact that she was wiping the tears away that ran down her face, but Lucifer saw, a lump forming in his throat at the sight of her heartbreak. He knew she felt guilty that the case hadn't been solved yet and wanted to put a hand on her back, but also knew she'd just flinch away with how she was acting since they'd received the call.

"Did Michelle have a little kid too?" she choked.

Dan nodded. "A nine month old son. He's with his dad."

Chloe took a deep breath, looking at the board, "Is that our connection? Andrea had a two year old boy, Robin had a six month old girl, Natalie a thirteen month old son, and now Michelle has a nine month old? Is this guy just...offing young moms!?" She ended her sentence, unintentionally raising her shaking voice.

Lucifer couldn't take it anymore and put an arm around his wife's waist. "Chloe, why don't you sit down?"

"I'm fine," she almost growled, but didn't flinch away like he thought she would. "But why the fires? What is wrong with this guy? At least the kids are always out with the significant others when it happens."

Ella's lip pouted in sympathy watching her best friend process the case. She, Dan, and Lucifer had all tried to get it reassigned when they realized all the victims were young moms, given Chloe's situation. There was no one else to take the case at the moment, however, and they weren't going to ask the detective to step away from it themselves, knowing full well she never would.

"I uh… I did some digging on their Wobble Profiles and found something that may or may not be useful." The scientist picked up a small stack of photos and magnets, hanging each picture under the victims' columns. "They weren't found with them…" she started slowly, gathering her thoughts. "But each victim had a piece of mother's jewelry. You know, like everyone in the family's birthstone?" Lucifer swallowed hard, looking at Chloe's wrist and back up to the board. "Andrea and Robin had bracelets, Natalie had a ring, and Michelle had a necklace. Based on the pictures on their profiles, they all seemed to have a similar style, so I did some research and found that they were all registered under serial numbers from the same little jewelry shop in North Hollywood called Sparkle."

Lucifer breathed a sigh of relief. He'd bought his wife's bracelet from a shop in France and had it flown over the day after he'd designed it. His relief was short lived, however as Chloe doubled over beside him, a surprised, painful little yelp escaping her lips. "Detective?"

"Decker?" Ella dropped the remaining two photos she'd yet to hang and grabbed a chair for her patient.

"I'm fine...I'm sorry...It's fine," Chloe sat down, her breathing ragged. "She just kicked really...really hard is all." Lucifer and Ella locked eyes, both looking worried. Dan went off to the break room and brought back a bottle of water and handed it to his friend, feeling a little like he was in the way. "Guys, I'm fine. Really. It just startled me. She got me right in the spine." She patted her belly, catching her breath, "You gotta stop doing that, little lady."

The worried dad was still squating beside her, rubbing her back and holding her hand, "Chloe, I think it's best we go home. You need to get some rest. You've been on your feet all morning and the book says-"

"Lucifer, I swear to your dad if you say one more thing about that book I will shove it so far up your ass you'll get paper cuts on your tongue."

Dan snorted from where he'd retreated into the corner, "Yep, good luck, Bud."

The devil sailor glared at him, but sighed with defeat, standing back up and trying to get his heart restarted from the panic. "Fine. Why erm," in situations like these, he tried to get inside the Detective's head and ask the questions she would. "Why were we so sure it was the guy you'd brought in yesterday then?"

Ella was hesitant to leave her spot by her friend, but pointed to the picture of the burned out remains of Natalie Stoller's house. "Each victim has had traces of gasoline on their skin, right? But the traces are so small that, personally, I don't think they're being doused in it themselves. It's like when you put gas in your car and you don't get any on you, but you can still smell it afterwards. The fire chief says the burn patterns of all four houses are pretty consistent with structures they know were doused in gasoline to ignite. But Natalie's house had a gas can left on the west side of the building. They'd need more than one can of gas to burn down the house as quickly as it happened, but this particular can had a solid print left on it. And the print was in our database belonging to one Carl Grady, age 40."

"What was he arrested for in the past?" Chloe asked.

"He hasn't been. Except for yesterday," Dan piped up. "But he works for North Hollywood's Merchant Patrol."

"Then what was a gas can with his finger prints doing outside one of our victim's houses?" The Detective's eyebrows furrowed. "I want to talk to him. He's gotta be connected, if not the ring leader."

"Chloe…" Lucifer tried to intervene, but was met with a death glare. "Might I join you?" he grinned instead.

Four hours later, Chloe and Lucifer had both been able to change and were in the middle of a rather unsuccessful interrogation with a mousy little man with a receding hairline. He hadn't lawyered up, but he still wasn't talking and Lucifer couldn't help but worry about his wife's blood pressure as she got angrier and angrier with him. If he didn't have to worry, he might have had to grab a stack of books to put in his lap.

"I don't get what you're not understanding here, asshole!" she screamed, standing up fast enough to send her chair flying, getting right in the guy's face. "There are four, FOUR little kids who no longer have a mom. Three men and one woman who no longer have their wives or girlfriends. Four sets of parents who no longer have their daughters. All because of fires ignited by gasoline and there's one gas can with your fingerprint on it and I've been nice for the last hour, but I am fucking done being nice here, Grady. Who are you working with?! Who?!"

Chloe went to grab his collar, but Lucifer shot up and pulled her back, "Alright, Detective. Let's take a breather shall we?"

"No," she shoved him out of the way and went right back to her stance over the table, jabbing a finger at him, snarling. "Pro tip here, you needle dick bug fucker," her husband had to look away for fear of her seeing him smirk. "Don't ever piss off a pregnant lady because I can make your life a living hell. And I just so happen to know someone very familiar with the place that can make sure I keep it authentic for you."

The suspect just laughed, "What are you gonna do, lady? Sit on me?"

"That's a pleasure reserved for me, thank you."

"Lucifer," she snapped at him.

"Detective," he grabbed her by the shoulders and sat her down in his vacated spot as gently but quickly as he could. "I have a better idea." He turned around, taking her place across the table and locking eyes with the man, an evil grin spreading on his face. "Tell me, human ferret, what is it you desire?"

Grady squinted, "I want every whorish little skank to get the punishment she deserves for having sex out of wedlock."

"No wedding ring," Lucifer didn't even try to control his red eyes from flashing as he waved his left ring finger in front of him. "So you're a virgin, are you? Not surprising. Don't know of many women that would find this Peter Pettigrew thing you have going on attractive."

"I am not," he said rather cooly, folding his cuffed hands, seemingly unaffected by his interrogator's eyes.

"So, what? That silly little rule book only applies to women, does it? Are you the one that killed the other three? Created a nice little version of what you think Hell looks like? Stuffed rosaries in their mouths to what? Bookmark them for damnation? Who is it you're working with? Who killed Michelle Jones?"

The man just sneered, leaning back in his metal chair, "I think now's a good time to ask for a lawyer."

Chloe sounded like all of the wind had been knocked out of her. She rubbed her face before standing up, much slower than before, and grabbed Lucifer's arm to drag him out of the room, kicking the door shut hard behind her. She was noticeably and understandably agitated, but without saying a word, she held on to her husband's arm until they were back in the now empty conference room.

Lucifer just stood in silence, watching as she closed the vertical blinds, her face pale. Her movements were jerky and he noticed she was shaking again, ever so slightly like when she hadn't eaten for a while. She had that inwardly focused look on her face, her eyes wide and scared.

"We'll figure it out. We always do. Mr. Rat Face getting a lawyer is only a slight detour." She shook her head, making her way back over to him, her bottom lip quivering as her eyes grew red. The way she was digging her palm into her belly as she rubbed where he'd last felt the child's back put his heart in his throat as he lightly rested his hands on her hips. "Chloe? What's going on?"

"Please make her move, Lucifer." she said it so quietly, her face contorting into a sad, scared, sob as her shoulders shook and she started crying into his chest.

Lucifer's blood ran cold and his entire body went numb, but he was the Devil for Dad's sake. He wrapped his arms around his Detective and patted her hair, still slightly stiff from the hair spray she'd used in her 40's hairdo that morning. "Wh...what do you mean, make her move?"

Chloe dug her fists into Lucifer's chest, "I haven't felt her since she kicked me in the spine and I told her to stop. I TOLD HER TO STOP!" She screamed, the tears flowing even harder.

"It's only been a few hours. She's probably just asleep. Trixie didn't always move, did she?" he steered her toward a chair and sat her down, kneeling in front of her and rubbing her thighs, ignoring the fact that he could hear his heartbeat in his ears.

"What if she was flipping over and got her little neck wrapped around the cord?" She shook her head, tears still flowing steadily, "Even when I think she's asleep she's still moving. She's just like you. Just...just talk to her or...or sing to her," she begged. "She's usually so active when she hears her daddy."

"Okay," he nodded, trying to calm himself down and instinctively looked around to see if anyone was watching. Admittedly he felt a little silly, but would do anything to put Chloe's mind at ease and know for sure his child was fine. "What do you want me to say? I...uh…" looking up to see Chloe's beautiful face hadn't eased at all, he swallowed his pride, put a hand on either side of her belly and sang the first thing that came to mind. "Baby Jane, don't leave us hanging on the line. I'm really sorry son, your mum keeps calling you a girl. Now you're not moving and it's freaking out us both. Don't forget I'll do anything for y-"

"Aww!" Ella appeared at the door, carrying a file and causing Lucifer to damn near jump out of his skin. "Oh God! I'm so sorry, I ruined a cute family moment. Sorry!"

"No, Miss Lopez!" Lucifer ran after her, "we need you. The baby's not moving and the Detective's panicking."

"Just the detective?" The part time midwife turned back toward the conference room, shouting orders over her shoulder. "Get a grape juice from the vending machine and my bag from the lab!"

"So she's fine? They're both fine?" Lucifer sat on his side of the bed, squeezing Chloe's hand a little tighter than he realized. The baby had already started moving again before he and Ella finally convinced the Detective to take the rest of the day off to rest, but her midwife insisted on coming along for a quick check up just in case, and no one argued with her.

Ella just grinned at her two friends from where she sat at the foot of Chloe's side of the bed. The look of pure relief in Lucifer's eyes as he kissed his wife and put a big, loving hand on her bump made her want to scream with delight. Chloe's eyes were still puffy, but she was smiling from ear to ear after every test she ran came up perfectly fine.

Chloe gave her a sheepish grin, "Ella I am so sorry to put you through this hassle. Trixie was such a chill baby that it wasn't out of the ordinary to not feel her move for hours on end, but this little guy never stops. I'm sorry I wasted your time..."

"Whaaat? Never. That's what I'm here for," she went up to give her a big hug. "Besides, you're like 35 weeks now. That kid's running out of room. He's probably just gonna tuck in and wait it out until he gets the eviction notice."

"He," Lucifer pointed out with a chuckle. "Your expert is on my side now."

Chloe rolled her eyes at him, but looked down to her belly, "Baby, I don't care what you are, just don't scare mommy like that again, okay?"

"My bad!" Ella mumbled out of the side of her mouth in her shrill baby falsetto. She laughed at herself, gathering her things and stuffing them into the bag she'd gotten into the habit of keeping with her. "You okay, Decker?"

Her patient nodded, grabbing her hand and giving it a squeeze, "I'm good. Thank you. Again."

The brunette smiled back and headed for the door, Lucifer following her down the stairs. "Miss Lopez, can I uh…" he stayed quiet until they got to the bottom of the stairs where he gently pulled her out to the deck. "Can I ask you a favor?"

"Aren't those kind of your thing?" She winked, "You know...as the Devil?"

Lucifer rolled his eyes, "I'm not a method actor."

"Okay! What's up, Pops?"

"Is there any way you could persuade the Detective to go on bed rest until her due date? Medically I mean?"

Ella shook her head, her ponytail bouncing, "Hey, I get it. I know you're super worried and it's supes cute to see the big tough Lucifer Morningstar all Doting Devil, but Chloe doesn't need to be on bed rest. I made her promise she'd stay in bed until tomorrow, but after that she's totally fine. She needs to take it easy, yes, but I think an all out bed rest order is a little extreme."

His shoulders fell as he sighed, "There's nothing I could do to persuade you? I'll suffer through mass with you again or whatever strange desire you may have. Literally anything, Miss Lopez. Name your price."

Her smile faded and those big bright eyes lost a hint of their usual fire. "Lucifer, I can't do that. Chloe trusts me with...with one of the biggest moments of her life. Me." She pointed to herself and started pacing quickly across the deck planks. He'd obviously let the cork out of the dam. "I don't know why she trusts me. I mean I used to steal cars, I've basically been kicked out of Vegas, I pick locks, I grew up in the worst, scariest part of Detroit, my current life is all about the dead, and oh yeah! I talk to dead people, did you know that? Well not all dead people, just the one, but….but that's who your wife wants delivering your baby. A neurotic, obnoxiously positive, ex-thief who's having some MAJOR issues with the Big Guy since Charlotte died and I'm losing my shit because I know I'm not midwife material anymore and you are loaded and could have literally anyone else do this, but she insists on ME and I don't get it, but I'm not going to do anything to make it so she loses that trust in me and-"

"Miss Lopez!" Lucifer intercepted her path and grabbed her shoulders, "Why does everyone need a pep talk from me all of a sudden? This is not what I do!" he sighed. "Look, I'm sorry I asked, but don't give me any of that. You emit this positive energy that could make anyone feel good about themselves and that's what she admires about you. I'm her husband and I couldn't calm the Detective down earlier like you did. She knows how brilliant you are and believe me when I say, she does not trust anyone else with this because she thinks the baby will be too much like me. And for Dad's sake, you don't see dead people, you see Ray Ray."

"Chloe told you? But I never…I never said her name," Ella's eyes grew wide. "I've...I never…I haven't told anyone her….how?"

"'Smell ya later'? Your height? Looks Asian? Short hair? Bangs?"

Just then, the patio door opened and Linda stepped out carrying a stack of DVDs. Sensing the tension and seeing Ella's jaw on the floor, the therapist stopped at the doorway and stood there awkwardly, "Sorry. I got your text. Is uh...I'm guessing Chloe's upstairs?"

"She is," Lucifer put a hand up for Linda to wait and lightly grabbed Ella's arm, the same heavy weight on his chest as when he knew he was going to show Trixie. He grabbed his friend's bag of supplies and dropped it off on the couch as the three of them headed up the stairs, the lab tech's face showing just how confused she really was.

"Linda! What are you doing here?" Chloe smiled, setting her phone down and reaching up to give her friend a hug.

"Lucifer texted and said you were going to need something to keep you in bed for a while. Not something I thought he'd need my help with," she winked.

Chloe laughed, looking through the movies. "Exactly how long do you think I'll be in bed, Lucifer?" Looking up at him, she saw her husband's face and knew something wasn't right, especially when she saw the rather lost look on Ella's. Her brows furrowed, searching Linda's eyes for answers but she shrugged, just as out of the loop as she was.

"I think I may have said too much," Lucifer took a deep breath, guiding Ella over to the bed where she sat down, her friend instantly reaching out to put an arm around her. "Miss Lopez here was having a slight freak out over her qualifications because she thinks she's been seeing a ghost all this time," he shrugged, looking purely defeated and a little sick. "And I may have let it slip that her ghost is actually my sister, Azrael."

"Oh boy," Linda braced herself to be back on the clock, sitting on the bed on the other side of Ella. "The Angel of Death? Fiery sword, creepy blade Azrael?"

"Wait, her ghost is an angel?" Chloe, still so relieved to be too upset by much, had that same look on her face that she did when she'd just solved a case. "I mean not that ghosts are too out of the question anymore, but that does make sense."

Ella looked at her like she had lobsters coming out of her ears, "What are you talking about? What is he talking about? Angel of De….she's not your sister, Lucifer. She's just a...just a figment of my imagination, right Linda?"

He locked eyes with Chloe, giving her a small, insecure smile. She nodded back to him and rubbed the woman's arm, speaking softly, "Ella, you know how I keep telling you that I trust you and only you to deliver our baby?"

"Kinda why I started freaking out, yeah."

"Sorry. But the reason for that is...well you have the skills and the background, but you're also a friend. One of my very best friends and I see you as my sister. You're the backbone of our little tribe and I trust you with my baby's life and mine. And just in case this baby is…" she glanced over at Lucifer and smiled, hoping he took her words the way they were intended, "is a lot like her father, there is no one outside of my tribe that I trust enough to care for her and accept her the way she is."

"What's wrong with Lucifer?" Ella's brow furrowed, words not coming easily to her. "It's not like you have a third nipple or...do you have six toes on one foot or something? Cause that's not that weird. I mean, it's a little unexpected, but not Earth shattering."

"Miss Lopez...Ella," Lucifer moved so he was in the center of the room, a safe distance from the walls and the furniture. "We were going to tell you earlier, but the timing never seemed right and now with the due date so quickly approaching, I think it's time you knew." He looked at Chloe for one final nod and to see her beautiful, encouraging smile. With a slow shake of his shoulders, he carefully unfurled his wings and watched for his friend's reaction.

Ella didn't make a sound. She sat between Linda and Chloe, opening and closing her mouth, but none of them could tell if she was actually breathing or not. Lucifer's heart clenched as he realized he may have just broken his happy-go-lucky friend and a vital part in his child's safe delivery into the world. And what had he just done to her faith? "Miss Lopez?"

She slowly rubbed her chest, noticeably feeling for the silver cross necklace as Chloe started scratching her back, "You okay, babe?"

She shook her head, ever so slightly, not taking her eyes off of Lucifer. "Chloe?" she squeaked.

"Yeah?"

"You uh...you might want to consider a C-section instead…"

Linda chuckled and pulled the forensic scientist in for a hug as Lucifer tucked his wings back in and Chloe breathed a sigh of relief. Reaching for her husband's hand, she pulled him down for a kiss on the cheek and held him there to whisper in his ear, "No Devil Face?"

He shook his head and whispered back, "Not for Miss Lopez, no."

Chloe just smiled. "Thank you," she mouthed.

Ella grabbed his collar before he could stand up, "Are you telling me you're not a method actor?"

"THE SEVENTH GRADER HAS ARRIVED!" Trixie yelled at the top of her lungs as she swung open the front door of the Hills Estate, her dad laughing behind her. "Hello?!"

"Up here, Monkey!" Chloe called back from her spot. Lucifer had been answering Ella's approximately eight hundred questions from where he'd moved the chair over to the foot of the bed, leaning back with his feet up. Linda had stuck around as well, but wasn't needed in her professional capacity as their friend was taking it all surprisingly well.

"Wait," hearing the two sets of footsteps on the stairs, the newly informed put a hand on Chloe's arm, "does Trixie know?"

The girl's mom laughed, "I think she's known longer than I have."

"But Sir Douche is still clueless, so shh," the Devil put a finger to his lips, grateful for the break. He was trying to be as honest as he could with the woman, as if he had any choice, but there were quite a few things he'd chosen to leave out as a way to preserve at least a bit of that doubt she relied so heavily on in her life.

When Trixie appeared at the door, she was met with a round of applause from the three ladies on the bed. "Thank you, thank you." She bowed, beaming.

"How was the rest of the Living Wax Museum?" Ella asked with as much enthusiasm as she would've had she not just received life altering news an hour earlier.

"It was so cool! But Mom and Lucifer won second place. Hannah Q's parents won first as Cleopatra and Mark Antony."

"Oh please," Lucifer rolled his eyes, "their parties were nothing compared to the movies. Dreadfully boring and that Mark was the original crazy cat lady."

Ella's jaw dropped at the new information as Trixie pulled a red ribbon out of her backpack, giving it to her mom. Dan appeared behind her, looking thoroughly confused by the scene in front of him. Lucifer noticed he was holding a small stack of files behind his back and threw him as menacing a glare as he could without breaking out his red eyes. Dan noticed and sat them on the dresser as inconspicuous as possible.

"Trixie, I'm sorry we had to leave early," Chloe pulled her into her arms, kissing the top of her head. "Work called for an emergency with our case."

"It's okay," she shrugged, obviously used to it.

Chloe noticed and found herself hugging her a bit tighter, realizing how grown up her little girl was becoming. "Dan, did you happen to bring the case file? I'm stuck in bed overnight so I have plenty of time to look at it."

He shot a glance over to Lucifer, but took a step in front of the pile before his ex noticed, "It can wait, Chlo. Get some rest. Trix, I'll see you for the concert Tuesday?" he asked, throwing her rock horns.

"Sounds good!" she grinned, waving as he left. "So Lucifer," Trixie eyed him, sitting up straight and crossing her arms. "Ready for our camping trip?"

"What's this?" Chloe asked, more than a little startled.

He sighed, putting his feet down and giving her a sympathetic smile, "Brat, your mum-"

"Is in good hands," Linda cut in.

"Yeah! We'll watch her," Ella grinned, throwing an arm around her friend who looked somewhat offended at being talked about like a toy poodle. "What's better than round the clock care from her midwife? You'd just get in the way," she winked.

"Uh….Lucifer, have you ever been camping?" his wife cringed. "Or do you have some big 'Glamping' RV I haven't seen yet?" Her lips pursed, trying to stifle a laugh, "I guess the campfire, maybe, but…"

He racked his brain for any excuse to get out of his promise, but those damned brown eyes were staring up at him and the notion was out of his character anyway. "Come on, Lucifer. I thought your word was your bond?" One more look at Chloe, his eyes verging on pleading, gave him his answer. No matter how much he wanted to stay with his wife, she was in good hands.

The woman pulling his heart strings smiled, "She's got you there."

He scoffed at himself, standing up and retreating to the walk-in closet, "Fine. I'm a Devil of my word."

"And still can't say no to my kid," Chloe laughed, giving Trixie a high five. "Need any help packing?"

"Nope. I packed everything we'll need last night!" she said proudly, bouncing off the bed and disappearing toward her room. "Tent's in the car already!"

"I know I said I'd help make sure you stayed in bed, but I really want to see Lucifer out camping," Linda smirked, fiddling with the Love Actually DVD case.

"For the record," the Devil popped out of the closet in faded blue jeans, pulling down a tight maroon tshirt, and hiking boots, none of which his wife had ever seen before but were giving her feelings that made the current bed situation a tad awkward. "In case you've forgotten, I have lived without electricity before. For eons. I can't say I'm particularly looking forward to it for the night, but I made a deal." He plopped a black baseball cap over his perfectly placed hair and the ladies in his bed started cat-calling.

Chloe's eyes twinkled as she pushed herself out of the bed and wrapped her arms around the soft shirt, his firm muscles underneath making her want to beg him to stay home. "You guys be careful."

He wrapped his arms around her and breathed in her relaxing scent, the morning's scare already giving him a pang of homesickness at the thought of being separated for the night, "We'll just be up around San Fernando. We can be back in a jiffy."

"Ready?" Trixie jumped in front of the door, her and Magagsy both in braids and their best matching camping attire and backpacks.

"As I'll ever be," he grimaced, adjusting his hat and leaning down to give Chloe a kiss goodbye, one hand on her belly. "Let me know if you need me home."

She just nodded and guided him out the door, noticing him grab something off the dresser before leaving the room. Turning around, her two friends were looking at her expectantly. She just sighed, making her way back to her side of the bed, "You guys aren't going to let me do any work, are you?"

"No work allowed at our slumber party, no." Ella grinned, clapping her hands with excitement.

Lucifer and Trixie had bickered their way through setting up camp in the mountains just north of San Fernando on a small piece of empty land the nightclub owner had won in a poker game years before. The last bit of sun faded below the horizon as the Devil finally ran out of phallic jokes to go with the hot dogs they'd roasted on the fire.

"Right," Lucifer pulled his flask out from the pocket of his hoody and leaned back in the camping chair, throwing his napkin to the flames. "Is there anything we've missed in this little homeless charade or is it time for you to go curl up in that overgrown condom you call a sleeping bag?"

The little girl cocked her head at him from where she sat on the ground, leaning against a massive log, looking at her watch, "It's 9:30."

"And what other big plans might you have to torture me with?"

"Well," a giant, mischievous grin spread across Trixie's face as she pulled a small notebook from Magagsy's backpack. "I think it's time you return a favor."

The Devil raised an eyebrow, slowly putting the lid back on his flask, "If I'm not mistaken, the whole reason I'm sitting in the woods getting eaten by mosquitoes and feeling my ass fall asleep in this chair is because I am returning a favor."

The girl nodded, crossing something out in her notebook. She turned the pad around to show her step dad the page. It was a list of dates, some crossed out, some circled, the most recent being the day before. "This counts as one favor, Lucifer. You have a bunch more to return. If I'm not mistaken."

"I have a bad feeling about this," he sighed.

"Relax, Solo." She stood up and walked over to him so he had to look up at her, her fists planted on her hips in her best power pose, "I wanna fly."

"Oh do you?" He suppressed a laugh at what he guessed was supposed to be a threatening stare down. "And how do you propose we do that, exactly?"

She shrugged, "You carry me?" Her eyes went from threatening to pleading as she pouted, "Please Lucifer? I know you've flown mom around."

"For very shorts flights and only in emergencies or when there was very little chance of anyone seeing us."

"I'm a lot lighter than mom, especially right now," she folded her arms, her sass quickly returning the less he played along with her schemes.

He chuckled, "Don't tell her that."

"And it's dark out."

"Brat…"

"Lucifer."

He sat up and they stared at each other until Trixie raised an eyebrow, "I'll tell mom we watched Stranger Things first without her."

"I thought we made a deal?" he puffed up his chest to look intimidating, but she wouldn't crack. "Fine. But no more blackmail lessons."

"That's okay. I think I'm all set." She looked very proud of herself.

Her opponent got up, throwing his cap on the chair and running a hand through the hat head it left behind, "Wait here. I've some business I have to attend to do behind the little boy's tree over yonder."

"Leaves of three, let them be!"

He chuckled from behind the tree, undoing his zipper. Ever since he and Chloe had confirmed for the little urchin that he was, in fact, an angel as she had suspected, she'd been begging him for a ride. He'd known full well this day was coming, but had to mess with her and it was always entertaining to see the fire in the girl's eyes when she fought for what she truly desired.

When he was done relieving himself, he pulled out his phone for a quick check to see if he had any updates from home and was greeted with a rather disturbing picture of his wife and friends in green clay masks. He was about to respond but dropped his phone when a blood curdling scream pierced the air.

"Trixie?!" he called, bolting out to see what was going on, his face growing hot and his entire body going numb again like it had that morning.

"Lucifer!" she screamed, running toward him, obviously terrified.

Before he knew it, she was in his arms, her legs wrapped so tightly around his torso he was grateful he had just emptied his bladder. He looked around and couldn't see anything out of the ordinary, but she was shaking violently. "What…? What's happening?" He tried to put her down, but she wouldn't let go.

"It touched me!"

He gripped her a little tighter, squinting to see more clearly in the dark, but there was still nothing, "What touched you?"

"T...t...ta...ran...shula….taran…..shu...la…"

Lucifer breathed a sigh of relief, unable to stop the laugh that escaped his lips. "A spider?"

"It was the size of your hand, asshole!" she whined, still holding onto him for dear life. He was a little more forceful in setting her down, but she stuck to him like velcro when her feet hit the ground. Looking up, she finally cracked a smile through her tears, "Your devil face is showing."

"What?" he froze, reaching up to touch his face. "Bugger," he concentrated on turning it back, but the fact that he hadn't even noticed it changing was certainly cause for alarm. After he thought it'd gone back to his human form, he had to touch it again to be sure. Trixie just squeezed him around his middle, completely unaffected by the slip. Trying to get his mind off of whatever cruel joke his father was playing on him at the moment, he danced his fingers lightly in the girl's hair and laughed as she squirmed away from him.

His amusement was cut short as she screamed in terror again and the look of fear in her eyes turned to betrayal as she realized what he'd done. She was hugging herself with one arm and swatting away imaginary spiders with the other. "What? You're not afraid of anything?" her lip was quivering and she started crying all over again.

He sighed, feeling that awful weight on his chest that Linda had once pointed out to him was unbearable guilt. His Devil Face popping up out of nowhere didn't scare her, but an imaginary spider was clearly causing her great emotional distress. His distraction from his father's cruel joke had turned into a cruel joke of his own. "Trixie, I-"

"I wanna...go...home," she jumped at the fire popping and slapped away another invisible bug, standing as if she was trying desperately to make herself disappear.

"Why don't we go for a quick fly first? A freebie, if you will?" She wiped away her tears and very slowly started to relax, nodding ever so slightly. "I haven't just been swindled, have I?" he asked, turning her around and wrapping his arms around her middle.

She laughed as he picked her up, jostling her a bit to make sure he had a good grip, and launched them both into the air, slowly clearing the tree line to make sure no one was watching. When he was satisfied that the residents in the neighborhood surrounding the woods were safely tucked in their homes, he spread his wings as far as they would go and took off as high as he dared with the child in his arms. She was squealing with delight, spreading her arms out like she had wings of her own and Lucifer couldn't contain the grin it was putting on his own face, relieved that she at least sounded like she was forgiving him.

"I'm gonna be so pissed if my little brother can fly and I can't," she said as he leveled out, his wings doing the equivalent of treading water in the air. He stopped so they could enjoy the view of the city lights, high enough that they could see every single star, and adjusted Trixie so she was sitting in his lap.

Lucifer chuckled, "Like I told your mum, he might not have wings, being half human and all."

"What if he has the wings, but can't fly like some Angel ostriche thing?" she giggled.

"That's just mean."

"Will he have your face?"

"He'd look awfully funny with the Detective's," he smirked, carefully adjusting his hold. "Not what you meant, is it?" She shook her head, swinging her legs off of his and carefully peaking over to see how high up they were. She snapped back, looking a little shocked. "I won't let you fall. I am scared of what your mum would do if I dropped you."

"Will he?"

The angel shook his head, "Amenadiel had a theory before he left with Charlotte that we self actualize. So I don't think he'll come out looking like...like me. A baby isn't going to know he's the son of evil, right?" Lucifer realized it was the first time he'd said what he was thinking on the subject out loud, but wondered if he was trying to comfort the girl in his lap or convince himself.

"He's not anyway," Trixie's brow furrowed and she looked disgusted at the thought.

"Your mum's got some explaining to do if he's not."

"Huh? No, gross. I mean you're not evil." She said, matter of factly. "According to Ella, all you did was give a naked girl an apple, right? And Linda says you only punished evil. Like mom does!"

Lucifer gave a soft laugh at her innocence. Wanting to preserve hers just as much as that of Miss Lopez, he changed the subject. "Grandma and Grandpa Douche take you to mass now and then, don't they?" She nodded, shrugging. "Does the blowhard at the front skip over who hung the stars?"

She raised an eyebrow at him, "...God?"

"Bastard takes all the credit," he rolled his eyes, pointing over to a particularly bright patch of stars, keeping a hand on her back. "Though Virgo was much more explicit til he proofread my work."

"See? The guy that hung the stars can't be too evil." She looked back at him, her eyes sparkling, "Can we fly downtown?"

"No," he said flatly, wrapping his arms around her and getting them into position to start flying once again. "Aside from you and your mum, and I guess Linda and now Miss Lopez, the whole celestial thing can't be seen by humans, remember?"

"Aww, come on!" she yelled as he picked up speed. "Who's going to believe they saw an angel carrying a little kid?! Worst that'll happen is the person gets thrown into a nut hutt!" she giggled as Lucifer spun them around as he dove back down to Earth.

Something caught his eye, the closer they got to the ground. It looked like an animal of some sort, sprawled out a hundred yards or so down the hill from their small campsite. The closer they got, the clearer it became that it was not, in fact, an animal. "Urchin, do me a favor?"

"Alright, but I'm writing it down when we land!"

"Close your eyes. Keep them shut until I say you can open them. I'm not asking, alright?"

"Why?"

"Just do it." He waited a moment and, realizing there wasn't exactly a way he could test if they really were closed or not, decided to trust that she was being obedient for once and cautiously flew a little closer to the strange black mass.

There was a pungent, sour, familiar smell that lingered in the air around it that told him exactly what it was without having to squint too hard in the dark. It smelled like gasoline, stale smoke, and rotting flesh. Hell. The pile smelled a lot like Hell, and it made his nose curl and his stomach turn.

"Something stinks." Trixie said, turning her head blindly. "What is that?"

"It's nothing." Making a mental note of the landmarks nearby, he flew back up the hill and landed by their small fire as quickly as he could without looking like he himself was panicking.

"Can I open my eyes yet?" she asked as her feet hit the ground, sounding on the verge of annoyed. At his affirmative, she spun around and gave the Devil a huge hug. "Thank you Lucifer!"

He smiled down at her as he tucked his wings back in, but his mood had changed dramatically.

"How come you're not like Jacob?" she asked, running behind him as his wings disappeared, reaching up to touch his hoody. "When he changes into a werewolf, his clothes rip off. How come your wings go right through your shirt?"

He sighed, "I hate that I knew what you meant by that before you explained yourself..."

"It doesn't make any sense."

"It makes sense that I have wings, but not that they're just kind of erm...magic?" She was lightening his mood, but he wasn't finding this nearly as amusing as he would have earlier. "Why don't you go in the tent and get ready for bed. I need to go make a phone call from the car."

Trixie turned toward the tent, but stopped, looking back sheepishly. "I know you think it's stupid, but...will you check for spiders?"

Chloe sat at the large white table separating the living room from the kitchen, the only light on in the giant estate above the opened files, a map of Southern California, and a spread of gruesome crime scene pictures. She was munching on the baby's latest craving when she heard the door leading out to the garage open and shut. Startled, she wrapped her robe a little tighter around herself and clutched at the only thing she had at arms length that could be used as a weapon.

Her heart raced as heavy footsteps thudded their way up the stairs. She scooted away from the table as quietly as she could and was just about to stand up, her weapon ready, when a familiar face came into the light. "Lucifer?" she asked, her hand clutching her chest. "What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here? Shouldn't you be in bed? Were you going to...fork me?" he smirked, wiggling his eyebrows at her when he noticed her white knuckles around the utensil.

She dropped the fork and scurried over to her husband when she saw Trixie in his arms, her doll in the same pajamas on top of her. "Ohmygod! Is she okay? What happened?"

"She's asleep. I'm going to take her upstairs. I'll be right back," he whispered.

"What-" she tried to ask, but he was already halfway up the stairs.

Lucifer carefully navigated the stuffed animals and the All American Girl accessories to gently put his load down in her bed, tucking her doll into her arms, and pulling the blankets over them both before making his way back down the stairs and joining his wife at the table. "Do I have to fire our friends for being lousy babysitters?"

"They're asleep." Chloe chuckled, "Lucy was hungry so I had to make her a snack."

"Okay, no on Lucy and is that brussel sprouts with," he sniffed, cringing, "strawberry jam?"

"Maybe. What are you guys doing back? Couldn't handle it?" she winked, her mouth twitching as she tried to hold her laughter.

"We had a taranshula incident." Not technically a lie, he convinced himself. LAPD had a squad out responding to his call and it wasn't like a burned body meant it was necessarily related to the case spread out in front of him. "I see I should have taken these with me. 24 hours rest, remember?"

"I know, I know," she rolled her eyes.

Lucifer scooted his chair closer to hers and rubbed the back of her neck, "How's Miss Lopez holding up?"

Chloe relaxed into his hand, "I think she's fine. She kept coming up with questions all night, but it's Ella. If anything she's upset you're not actually a method actor."

They both laughed, "Hate to shatter the poor woman's dreams. What else did you lovely ladies do tonight?"

"The normal slumber party things, you know. Pillow fights in our lingerie, mud wrestling, taught each other how to kiss…" she playfully slapped his chest when he looked like he was about to drool. "We watched a couple chick flicks. Ordered a pizza. Roasted marshmallows in the fireplace up there. Gossipped."

"Oooh, do tell," Lucifer leaned an elbow on the table, giving his radiant wife his full attention, feeling much calmer from the night's events just by being close to her.

"Well...they thought it was hilarious that you're so skeeved out by the nuns in Call the Midwife but keep watching it with me," she laughed at his annoyed face. "And I guess Maze said Linda can have Amenadiel when he comes back because she and Dan are getting to be a lot closer than they've been letting on."

"I'll be damned," he chuckled. Noticing movement under Chloe's shirt, he put a hand on her bump, "And he's been behaving by not behaving?"

The Detective leaned back, lacing her fingers with his, admiring the way her shimmering onyx ring set looked with the one she'd never seen him without. She nodded, beaming, "Hasn't stopped squirming since we got home."

"Lovely," he chuckled, relieved until his smile started to fade. "Chloe, something happened tonight...with the uh...taranshula episode…" He moved the hand from her neck, down to cover hers. "I was behind a tree, just done having a wee and Trixie started screaming bloody murder, so I ran out to see what happened, but...my Devil Face popped out without me realizing it. I...I didn't know it'd changed. My face felt hot, but I didn't know it'd actually changed…"

"When Trixie was screaming?" she asked, flashing those big, concerned blue eyes at him. He nodded, but Chloe couldn't quite tell what part of the situation was bothering him, "Was she afraid of it?"

"She quite literally jumped into my arms in spite of it."

Chloe laughed, "I'm not surprised. She hates spiders."

"It's not funny, Detective. Why did my face change without me knowing it? Again. Like it did when...when you first saw it."

She shrugged, reaching up to take off his cap and setting it on the file in front of her. "Maybe it's because you thought she was in danger and wanted to scare off whatever it was that was threatening your little Brat?" She put a gentle hand on his scruffy cheek, running her thumb over his chin and pulling him close as tears clouded her eyes, "I don't think you have to worry about it too much, but I do believe maybe your paternal instincts are kicking in a little harder than you realize."

Okay, so I know a lot lot lot LOT happened in this chapter, and I know it was so very fluffy, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway. Let me know what you thought!

And before I get any complaints, Ella's discovery will be expanded upon later, I do believe. :)

I cannot stress enough how awesome you guys are. Your reviews, favorites, and follows mean the world to me. :')