Chloe made her onto the elevator at Lux and pushed the button for the penthouse to pick up her partner for their latest case. Lucifer had been consulting for the department as her consultant for almost two months now. When Lucifer first became a consultant, Chloe was sure it would be terrible, but it wasn't nearly as bad as she thought it would be. Lucifer could be a loose cannon at times with suspects, and he took very little serious, but she had to admit that he was good at it. They'd solved a lot of homicides since they began working together.
Chloe stepped off the elevator and into the penthouse. The first thing she saw was Lucifer's daughter sitting on the couch watching TV. Seeing Beatrice made her smile every time, but also made her want to collapse in tears. That little girl reminded her so much of all that she'd lost. She imagined Trixie every time she saw her. It was impossible not to. They had the same name and general facial features, and they were around the same age. Despite all logic telling Chloe that all those things were coincidences, Chloe had not been able to stop herself from having hope, especially when she learned that Beatrice was adopted.
Chloe had done a bit of history on Lucifer. She'd had one of the few colleagues that didn't hate guts do a simple background check on him after the case with Delilah wrapped up. That was how she found out that he had adopted Beatrice. Her heart skipped a beat then, but that was also when she found out Beatrice was four when she was adopted and that her biological father was an acquaintance of Lucifer's that left the child with him when she was four. There were birth records to prove it. Any hope went out the window, which was why Chloe didn't want to hope. She just couldn't help herself.
Beatrice waved at Chloe. "Hi, Detective Decker."
"Hi, Beatrice. You can call me 'Chloe', okay?" Chloe said with a smile. While she found it somewhat painful, she also took some comfort in being around Beatrice. She was a wonderful little girl.
"Okay, Chloe. Are you and my daddy going to work?" Beatrice asked.
"Yeah. I'll make sure he comes home soon though," Chloe promised.
"I know he'll be back soon. He promised we could go out for ice cream after Dinner. Daddy keeps his promises," Beatrice said confidently.
Chloe smiled. "That's great. It's important for people to keep promises."
"I know. You could come with us. Daddy would be okay with it," Beatrice said.
"What would I be okay with, my little urchin?" Lucifer asked affectionately.
Beatrice turned to her father. "Can Chloe come out to have ice cream with us?"
"I hope she told you it was okay to use her name," Lucifer said firmly. He'd be the first to admit that he was far from the most respectful, but he was to those who deserved it. He called Chloe by her title because she'd earned the right to be addressed that way. She was an excellent detective.
"She did. Can she come with us?" Beatrice asked.
"Certainly. If she wishes," Lucifer said.
"Um, I'm not sure. I might have more work to do, but I'll try," Chloe told the little girl. She didn't want to disappoint her, but she also didn't want to make a promise she might not be able to keep. She wouldn't be able to go if she still had work to do.
"Okay. I hope you can come," Beatrice's said.
Just then, Maze stepped off the elevator. "Come on, little human. You and I are gonna go see that movie you've been raving about since it came out."
"Beatrice's eyes lit up. "Yes! Thanks, Maze!"
"Well, this way I don't have to hear about it anymore," Maze said.
Beatrice went over and hugged her father. "Bye, Daddy."
"Goodbye, Spawn. I will see you in a few hours."
"Bye, Chloe ," she said with a wave before running off to get her shoes.
Xxxxxxxxxxx
Chloe was a bit discouraged as she sat at her desk. There were no leads on their homicide, a woman stabbed to death in her apartment. She and Lucifer had interviewed the woman's ex-boyfriend, their only real suspect, but it had been a dead end. He'd had an alibi. Now they were back to square one.
Lucifer arrived moments later with two cups of coffee. He offered one to the detective. "Here you are, Detective."
Chloe took the offered cup. "Thanks. You can head out. It's almost six thirty. Go take your daughter for ice cream."
"Join us. As we both said, we'd be happy to have you," Lucifer said.
"I can't. There's too much to do here," Chloe said. Lucifer's position with the department was much more flexible than hers. He had the ability to come and go more freely. She didn't hold that against him for doing so in cases like this. She thought it was great that he was so attentive to his daughter.
"I'm sure you can take a small break," Lucifer said.
Chloe shook her head. "I can't. Tell Beatrice that I'll come another time."
"Very well. I will see you in the morning, Detective," Lucifer said. He turned to leave and came face to face with Detective Daniel Espinoza, otherwise known by Lucifer as Detective Douche.
"You're leaving. You have an active case and your ducking out?" Dan asked.
"Dan, get out of here. This has nothing to do with you. It's not your case," Chloe said.
"No, but he's supposed to be consult with the department, though I don't know what the lieutenant was thinking when she agreed to that. He should have his priorities straight," Dan said.
"Oh, they are quite straight, Detective Douche. My first priority is my daughter, and I promised to take her for ice cream," Lucifer said with a glare.
Dan's mouth gaped open in shock. "Your what? You've got a kid?"
"Indeed, and she comes first," Lucifer said.
"As it should be. Don't mind Dan, Lucifer. He can't understand what it means to put a child first," Chloe couldn't help but say bitterly.
"Yes, that is obvious. It's probably just as well that Detective Douche remains childless," Lucifer said.
Chloe flinched, but quickly covered it up. Lucifer didn't know about Trixie and she preferred he didn't. He would try to talk to her about it, and she would rather not. It was very painful to talk about.
"Screw you," Dan said.
"No, not even I would go there with you. Now, I need to go," Lucifer said before walking away.
"I can't believe he has a kid. The guy's a complete ass. Plus the whole devil thing would completely mess a kid up. I feel sorry for the kid," Dan said.
Chloe laughed bitterly. "You think you have any room to judge another person's parenting skills?"
Dan groaned. "Chloe, don't do this."
"Yeah, you don't like being reminded of the truth do you. Maybe you should've kept your idiotic, hypocritical thoughts to yourself then. You know, I haven't known Lucifer long, but in the time I have, he's been more attentive to his child than you ever were ours. And if nothing else, he at least knows were his kid is. Because of you, we'll never know where ours is," Chloe said angrily. She barely kept the tears from her eyes.
"When are you going to let it go, Chloe? When are you going to stop hating me for that day. It was a mistake that anyone could've made. I would take it back if I could," Dan said. Honestly, he didn't even really think it was his fault. Yes, he wasn't paying a lot of attention, but he could he know that his kid would just walk out the door when he wasn't looking. He'd fallen asleep after having a couple of beers with Malcolm. He didn't know this would happen.
"Never," Chloe said bluntly, not even bothering to respond to the last half of his statement. She did not agree that anyone could make the same mistake. Not everyone would be so reckless and careless. Not everyone would drink while watching their kid and not notice that she was gone for possibly hours. "I will never stop hating you. My daughter is gone because of you."
Dan merely sighed before walking away.
