Chloe made it to Lucifer's about an hour after Dan left her house. She only hoped she made it there before Dan had a chance to ambush Lucifer and Beatrice. As she exited the elevator, she was pleased to hear her daughter's laughter, telling her she'd made it in time.
Beatrice turned as soon as she heard the elevator. She immediately ran over when she saw who it was. "Chloe."
Chloe crouched to the ground and caught her daughter in her arms. She held her as tightly as she could. This would be the first time she knowingly held her daughter in more than five years. She never wanted to let her go. "Hi, sweetheart. I missed you so much."
"I missed you too," Beatrice said as she pulled away. "Daddy said you wouldn't be here until lunch."
"Yes, I thought that was the plan. Not that you're not welcome now, Detective," Lucifer said. He'd called her after she'd left last night to suggest that lunchtime would be a good time for her to come by. She'd agreed.
"Yeah, it was, but something came up that made it necessary for me to come sooner," Chloe said evasively for Beatrice's benefit.
"Beatrice, breakfast will be soon. Go change out of your pajamas and wash up," Lucifer told his daughter.
"You're gonna stay for breakfast, right Chloe? Daddy's gonna make pancakes," Beatrice said.
"I'd love to have breakfast with you guys," Chloe said.
Beatrice smiled before running off to do what her father told her.
Chloe immediately went over to Lucifer. "Uh, I told Dan, and he didn't take it well."
"I see. I didn't think you would tell him so quickly," Lucifer said.
"I wasn't going to. I was planning to talk to him tonight. I wanted to talk to you again first, but he showed up at my house, and even though he probably deserves it, I couldn't send him away without telling him what happened to our child," Chloe explained.
"I understand," Lucifer said. He did understand. The detective was ethical, and she wasn't vengeful. She wouldn't make Detective Douche suffer the lack of knowledge no matter how much he deserved it.
"Like I said, he didn't respond well. He wanted to just come here and take Beatrice away," Chloe said.
"That won't be happening," Lucifer said in a dangerous and low tone.
"I told him that. I made it clear he wasn't to come here, but I don't think he'll listen, and I'm afraid of what he might say in front of Beatrice," Chloe told him.
Lucifer nodded. "Detective Douche won't get up here unless I allow it. I will make sure Lux security doesn't even let him in the door without my authorization."
"He's a cop. He will use his badge to get what he wants."
"My men won't be intimidated. Unless he has a warrant, they know they can send him away. However, just in case, I will have Maze take Beatrice for the day. She was going to take her out after lunch, but I'll have her come sooner," Lucifer said. He didn't intend for it to be forever anyway. He knew he'd have to deal with Detective Douche eventually, but he would ensure his daughter wasn't around for it.
Chloe nodded. She took no issue with that. Maze made her nervous at times, and she probably wasn't the best influence, but Chloe knew she'd never hurt Beatrice. Lucifer wouldn't leave her with her if there was even a slight chance of that. Plus, Chloe had seen Maze with her daughter. She might try to deny it, but Maze adored her.
"I will get breakfast started for now," Lucifer said before heading for the kitchen.
Xxxxxxxxxxx
Just over an hour later, Maze had taken Beatrice, and Lucifer and Chloe were now sitting in the living room. Lucifer was seated on the couch while Chloe was across from him in a chair. Neither said anything for a good five minutes. Finally, Chloe broke the silence. I…I still haven't fully processed everything. I guess it's going to take more than a day to fully come to grips with it all."
"I understand, and I'm sorry if this makes it worse, but I think you need to know where I stand. I meant what I told you last night," Lucifer said.
"I know. I know you mean everything you say, which is why I also know you were telling the truth when you said you didn't know the truth," Chloe knew that was not what he was referring to when he said he meant what he said, but she wanted him to know that she believed him. "I would've known that anyway. If you knew that Beatrice was mine, or even just that she was abducted, it wouldn't make any sense for you to admit the truth to me."
"Thank you. I'm glad you know that. I would never knowingly steal someone else's child," Lucifer said.
"Of course, you wouldn't. Not only is it not something you would do, but it's not like you have an overwhelming desire to be around kids," Chloe said.
"Certainly not. I like my child. Other children are little monsters."
Chloe would almost laugh if not for the situation. "I've thought about what I would do if I ever found my child, how I would proceed. You know that. We've discussed it. I worried about ripping my child away from parents who loved her, even though I was sure it was what I needed to do. You encouraged me to take her back too."
"I didn't know that…"
"I know. Neither did I. I never imagined this situation, and I don't just mean you personally. I never imagined a scenario where the person caring for my child didn't know that she'd been sold off. I think it was fair for me to assume whoever had had been the ones to by her. I couldn't have imagined what actually occurred, so I couldn't plan for it. It's so weird. We've had so many conversations about my little girl, and we never knew that she was living with you," Chloe said. She was still somewhat in shock about the situation. She never imagined that things could turn out this way.
"I'm sorry you lost so much," he said.
"This isn't your fault. Although, I can't help but be a little resentful of the time you got to spend with her that I didn't," Chloe admitted.
"I can't change that, Detective, and I wouldn't if I could," Lucifer said. He loved Beatrice. He wouldn't take back a second that he had with her.
"I know. It's not a rational feeling. I know you did nothing wrong. In fact, I'm fairly certain that Beatrice wouldn't' even be alive if not for you, so I'm grateful for all you did. I'm just angry about the time I lost, but that isn't on you. I have to focus on the present and future, not the past," Chloe said.
"And what does that mean? Will you attempt to take Beatrice from me? Because I will fight you?" Lucifer said in a cool tone.
Chloe sighed. She actually wouldn't expect any less from Lucifer. She'd known from the first day she met him how much Lucifer adored Beatrice. He would've never given up without a hard fight. "I won't deny that a part of my wants to do just that. I want my child back. I want to bring her home with me and never let her out of my sight. But that's not what's best for Beatrice, and it's not fair to you. No matter how it happened, you are the only real parent Beatrice knows. She doesn't remember me or Dan, and those creatures that had her will never be called parents. You not only saved her life, but you gave her a home. I can't take that away from either of you."
Lucifer let out a breath and began to relax. He would've fought as hard as he had to, and he would've ensured he kept his child one way or another, but he was glad he didn't have to. Fighting the detective just felt wrong. He didn't want to do it. "Thank you. Detective, you can see Beatrice whenever you want. You've always been able to, but the time you spend with her can increase as much as you want."
Chloe nodded. "Thank you. I don't know how this is going to work, but we have time find a way to make sure it does. We have to make this situation okay for Beatrice. The first thing we have to figure out is Dan."
"Nothing to figure out there. Look, I understand how co-parenting works. I know there has to be compromising, but on this issue, I will not budge. Detective Douche is not welcome in Beatrice's life. He is a danger to her. He's proven that," Lucifer said firmly.
"I don't disagree with you. I don't trust Dan with her either, at least not to be alone with her. I'd already made the decision that he would not be alone with our child again if I found her, and that was before I knew it was Beatrice. But there are some factors to consider. Beatrice will know the truth one day. What if she wants to see Dan?" Chloe asked. She didn't think that would happen anytime soon. Beatrice had met Dan once, and he hadn't treated her well. It was doubtful she'd want anything to do with him right away. However, it was still possible she'd want to get to know him at some point.
Lucifer considered that scenario for a few moments. "Very well. That is the only way I'd allow it, and only when you or I are around."
"I can agree to all that, but the problem is that it might not be up to us. Dan is Beatrice's biological father. If he chooses to, he could fight us. It might be best to try get him to compromise, rather than have this go to court," Chloe said.
"You can't possibly think he would win, can you?" Lucifer asked.
"Custody? No, not likely, especially if you and I are fighting together, but he can still try, and he could get more visitation than either of us are comfortable with," Chloe said.
Once again, Lucifer considered her words. "I'm going to speak to an attorney before anything is decided on this matter."
"No, we will speak to your attorney," Chloe said. She didn't think he was trying to cut her out of this process, but she wanted to emphasize that they were in this together now.
"Of course. I apologize, Detective. Of course, you should be present," he said.
"It's okay. I know you're used to being a single parent. We just have to do things together from now on," Chloe said.
"Absolutely. I'll start making phone calls," Lucifer said before standing up and grabbing his phone.
