Lucifer was getting breakfast ready for Beatrice before he had to take her to school. It had been three years since he promised not to leave her. Naturally, he kept that promise. There was never any other possibility once he'd voiced the words. He didn't break his promises. Interestingly enough though, he never regretted it. It certainly wasn't easy acclimating his life to suit a child, especially considering his personal distaste for them, but he found that it wasn't nearly as difficult as he expected. He found very quickly that he loved that child, and love wasn't an emotion he'd allowed himself to feel in a long time.
"Come on, Beatrice. We need to leave soon," Lucifer called as he put a bowl of oatmeal that he'd made from scratch and a glass of orange juice on the table.
Young feet could be hard rushing in moments later. "Sorry, Daddy.
Lucifer smiled slightly. Beatrice had begun calling him 'daddy' about six months after she'd begun living with him. He was caught off-guard when she said, but also incredibly pleased. "Sit and eat. I'll be getting you to school a few minutes early. I have to be somewhere." He did not trust the police to find Delilah's killer, or even to really look, so he would be handling it himself. "Maze may have to pick you up from school."
"Maze isn't allowed to go to my school anymore, remember?" Beatrice asked with a grin as she remembered the last time Maze had picked her up. There were a couple of kids that kept making fun of her. Maze had gone over and threatened them if they bothered her again. Beatrice had loved it. The bullies didn't bother her anymore, and the incident made her a couple of friends who thought Maze was cool. The principle wasn't as happy though and neither were those kids' parents. Maze wasn't allowed back at school.
Lucifer sighed. "Yes, of course. Well, then I will likely be dropping you off her with her and going out again afterwards."
"Okay. Will you be home for bedtime?" Beatrice asked as she began eating her breakfast.
"Yes, of course. You have my word," Lucifer said.
Beatrice nodded and kept eating.
Xxxxxxxxxxx
Chloe didn't know what she'd gotten herself into. What in the world had she been thinking allowing a civilian club owner who claimed to be the Devil into her car to work on a case with her? Admittedly though, a lead he'd given her had checked out, and it was important to find Delilah's killer. Everything Lucifer Morningstar had done to find her killer worked pretty well so far. Still, she feared she'd regret this alliance. Everything she knew about this guy so far said he was at best, a complete ass. At worst, he was certifiable, but again, he appeared to be useful.
In the back of the detective's car, Lucifer checked his watch. He noticed that it was about time for Beatrice to be leaving school. "Bloody hell. Detective, I'm going to have to ask you to take a bit of a detour."
"Excuse me?" Chloe asked.
"I'm afraid I'm a bit late for something of great importance," Lucifer said.
"Really? And what's that?" Chloe asked.
"Could you take a left up here?" Lucifer asked.
Chloe sighed and made the turn. "I swear, if you're playing games with me, I will arrest you.
Lucifer continued to direct her until they were in front of a large school.
Chloe looked at Lucifer in shock when she saw where they were. "You can't possibly have…"
"I'll be right back," Lucifer interrupted before getting out of the car.
Chloe watched where he left in disbelief. Could Lucifer Morningstar really have a kid? He did not seem like the fatherly type. He didn't seem like the kid type at all actually. He was the playboy type from all the flirting he did, not the family type. Maybe he was picking up a relative's kid. That would make a little more sense.
Chloe watched kids came and went with their parents sadly. She should be one of them. She should be picking up her own child right now instead of watching other parents get theirs. It had been five years since she'd seen her daughter. There had never been any leads on what happened to Trixie. She just disappeared. Honestly, that was worse than finding out something terrible happened to her daughter. Chloe went through every day just imagining the horrors that could've befallen her daughter. It was terrible.
Chloe pulled out of her thoughts as the backdoor opened again.
"Go on," Lucifer urged his daughter.
Beatrice hopped in the backseat and moved over.
Chloe looked back at the child in her rearview mirror, and her heart skipped a beat. The girl looked the same age as her own daughter would be and had the same general features. It was certainly enough to sadden her, but she hid it and smiled at the girl. "Hi there."
"Beatrice, this is Detective Decker," Lucifer said as he got back in.
Chloe flinched at the name. It seemed the universe was trying to torture today, by also having this child have the same name as her daughter. A small part of her wanted the coincidences to be more than that, but she knew better than to hope for that. No, the world just seemed to hate her.
"Hi. My daddy's not getting arrested, is he?" Beatrice asked.
"No, honey. He's just helping me with something," Chloe said. Well, one mystery was solved. The kid really was Lucifer's. It was shocking, but decided it probably shouldn't be. It wasn't like she knew Lucifer really well. They'd just met.
"Seatbelt, Beatrice," Lucifer told her.
Beatrice immediately reached for the seatbelt next to her and buckled it over herself.
"I'll need to drop her off back at Lux," Lucifer said.
"You wanna bring a kid to a nightclub?" Chloe asked in disbelief as she began driving.
"My penthouse is upstairs. It has a private entrance," Lucifer said.
"Daddy never lets me in the club when it's open," Beatrice grumbled.
"That's probably because Daddy knows it's illegal," Chloe said.
"Are you my daddy's friend?" Beatrice asked.
"Um, I don't…" Chloe started before Lucifer interrupted.
"Of course. The detective and I are going to be the best of friends," Lucifer said with a wink.
"In your dreams," Chloe said quietly.
It wasn't long before they arrived at Lux. Lucifer directed Chloe into the parking garage before taking Beatrice's bag from her. "Come on. Maze is waiting in the house."
"You will be home to read to me, right?" Trixie asked.
"Yes, I promised you I'd be home before you went to sleep. I've never broken a promise," Lucifer said.
"I know," she said.
Chloe watched them. It was nice to see a father actually attentive to his child, like her own father had been. It reminded her of everything Dan wasn't to their child. Needless to say, Chloe had not forgiven Dan for his carelessness and neglect. Dan's actions had led to them losing their child. Not to mention that Dan had barely been around even before that day. Chloe never forgave him. She never would forgive him. Their marriage hadn't even lasted another year after Trixie disappeared. Chloe could barely stand the sight of him after it happened. She barely tolerated working with him at the precinct.
"Bye, Detective," Beatrice said.
Chloe forced a smile on her face for the little girl. "Bye, Beatrice. It was nice meeting you."
Lucifer and Beatrice got out of the car and headed for the entrance.
