The next morning, Lucifer was sitting outside the nursery at the hospital. That was where he'd been most of the night, and he barely slept. Not that he particularly wanted to sleep. He saw Linda every time he even began to close his eyes. He already missed her. He wasn't supposed to lose her like this. She was wasn't supposed to go so soon. He was supposed to have more time to prepare for losing all his loved ones. Now two of his friends had been taken before they should've been. Charlotte's death had been hard for him, especially since he felt some guilt from it, considering it happened because he failed to stop Cain sooner. Linda's death was even worse for him. She had had a profound impact on his life. Aside from the detective, there was no human that meant more to him.

There was, of course, someone else on his mind. Charlie. Linda's baby was less than a full day old, and he was alone. Linda was gone and Lucifer's brother was obviously going to be no help to the boy. The only person that child had was Lucifer. That didn't seem like much to Lucifer. In fact, it just felt like more bad luck for the child. There was no way Lucifer could be an adequate guardian. Forgetting that he'd never liked children, he knew absolutely nothing about them, other than the few things he'd been shown by the hospital staff. He could barely hold the boy without worrying he would injure him.

Lucifer believed that he was in no way fit to raise that child, but he was the only one Charlie had. How could he just abandon him. It was bad enough that Amenadiel had done so, and Lucifer judged him harshly for that. He couldn't just follow suit. The problem was that Lucifer was afraid that by not walking away, he'd do more damage.

Lucifer sighed. He had no idea what to do. Ironically, this was usually something he'd go to Linda for advice for. She couldn't help him now, and if she had been around to ask about it, the whole point would be moot anyway. He was going to have to figure this out without Linda's help. He was going to have to figure everything out without her help from now on.

Soon, Lucifer was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of footsteps. He looked up just in time to see the detective take a seat next to him. "Oh, hello, Detective."

"Hey. Did you get any sleep?" Chloe asked. Judging by how exhausted he looked, she guessed not.

"Not much," he said.

"I didn't think so. I know you've got a lot on your mind. I don't want to make that worse or pressure you, but the hospital won't keep Charlie much longer. You have to make a decision about what's going to happen with him," Chloe said. She knew he was overwhelmed, but the hospital and Social Services wouldn't wait long enough for him to thoroughly think it through.

"What? They have to keep him a while longer, don't they?" Lucifer asked. The child was just born. Surely they had to keep him for at least a week, right? He had time.

"No. When babies are born healthy, they typically send them home within twenty-four hours," she told him.

"Bloody Hell! I don't know what to do, Detective. I'd be the worst option for a spawn! You've seen me with children," Lucifer said.

"Listen to me. If you decide you can't do this, no one could fault you. You did not ask for this. You have no legal responsibility to care for Charlie, but I believe you can if you choose to. You wouldn't be in it alone. I will help you in any way I can, so will Ella," Chloe promised. She truly meant it when she said no one would hold it against him. She certainly wouldn't. He didn't ask for Linda to die or Amenadiel to ignore his son. Lucifer didn't father this child. But she also knew Lucifer would do it, because while no one else would hold it against him, he would. He would feel that Charlie was his responsibility since he was his family. He didn't have it in him to walk away, like Amenadiel did. Whether it was his responsibility or not, Lucifer would not walk away from Charlie.

"Really? So you're saying it won't be so hard?" Lucifer asked.

"Oh, no, I am not saying that," Chloe immediately told him. She was not going to leave him with any delusions on the matter. He needed to know exactly what was in store for him. "Being a parent is insanely difficult. It gets worse when you're a single parent. It is going to change your life."

"I thought you were trying to help," Lucifer said.

Chloe chuckled. "I am, but I'm not going to let you get the wrong idea either. I wouldn't be doing you any favors. You need to have a clear picture on what raising a child means. It's exhausting, and as I said, life changing. You won't be holding parties every night. You won't be able to stay out all night. In fact, the times when you'll be able to do something for yourself will be slim, especially in the beginning. For the first several months, you'll want to spend every free moment you have sleeping."

"You're describing hell. What you just said is every reason I never understood why humans have offspring," Lucifer said.

Chloe smiled. "Yeah, it can be hell, but it is worth it. I wouldn't trade it for anything. Trixie is my world. I'd much rather go home to her every night and give my life over to her than contemplate not having her. I promise you, if you do this, you will feel the same one day."

"We shouldn't even be having this conversation. Linda should be here to raise her child," Lucifer said with sadness in his voice. That turned to anger with what he said next. "Amenadiel should be here! He should in that room with his son right now!"

"You're right. Both those things are true. But they're not here. We lost Linda, and Amenadiel has decided to be a part of his son's life. It's awful, but it's the reality. Thinking about anything else is pointless," Chloe told him.

"Luce!" a new voice suddenly exclaimed.

Lucifer turned to see Eve charging towards him. "Eve, what are you doing here? You didn't have to come back."

"Of course, I did. You're here, and you had me take your car home," Eve said.

"That's alright. I'm not likely to leave anytime soon, and I can easily find another way home when I do," Lucifer said.

"Well, how much longer do you think you'll be?"

Before Lucifer had a chance to reply, he heard someone call his name. "Mr. Morningstar?"

Lucifer looked to see a nurse walking towards him with a man dressed in a suit. He immediately stood up.

"Mr. Morningstar, this is James Grant with Social Services. Whenever a baby is born without any parents in the picture, we have to involve Social Services," the nurse said.

"Hello, Mr. Grant," Lucifer said.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Morningstar," the man said as he shook Lucifer's hand. "I'm told you're the child's paternal uncle?"

"Yes, that's right," Lucifer said.

"Do you have any way of getting in touch with your brother?" Mr. Grant asked.

Lucifer scowled a bit. "Mr. Grant, I have reached out to my brother several times in the last nine months. He has expressed no interest in his child.

"Well, perhaps you can give us his number, and we can try. The circumstances are different now," he said.

"Um, I'm Detective Chloe Decker with the LAPD," Chloe told the man. "Lucifer lost all touch with Amenadiel a couple of months ago. He asked me to try to locate him to try to change his mind, but I was unable to find him. We believe that he vanished and changed his number to avoid paying any child support," she lied. She knew Lucifer hated lies, but under the circumstances, they didn't really have a choice. Social Services needed a reason to stop looking for Amenadiel. They would never find any trace of him, and looking too much into him and Lucifer might make them suspicious when they couldn't find anything.

Mr. Grant sighed. "I see. I wish that surprised me more than it does, but I unfortunately see it a lot. Mr. Morningstar, I know this is probably very bad timing, but I was wondering if you were at all interested in taking your nephew, or if you have a relative that would take him?"

"It's just me," Lucifer said. Obviously he couldn't ask his other siblings to come down from Heaven to take him. Well, he supposed he could. Remiel would certainly take the child gladly. She tried to do just that many months ago. He let her know that she would have to kill him before letting her take Linda's child. It had nearly come to that too, until she was called back to Heaven. She returned later and informed her that Amenadiel insisted that Linda could decide what was best for their child. That only angered Lucifer more. It made it one hundred percent clear that Amenadiel did know about the child and chose to stay away. So, yes, Lucifer could have the boy sent to Heaven, but he would not do that. Linda wouldn't want it, and he wouldn't subject any child to such a controlling environment.

"I understand if you decide not to take the boy. I'm sure you weren't expecting something like this to happen. If you choose not to, we'll place the boy with a foster family, who will hopefully be interested in adoption," Mr. Grant explained.

"That sounds like it would be great. He'd probably be better off that way. He'll have a real family," Eve said as she squeezed Lucifer's hand.

Chloe glared at Eve. It was not hard to tell that the woman was trying to manipulate Lucifer. She didn't want him taking Charlie because she didn't want to share Lucifer's attention with an infant, and she didn't want the responsibility of caring for Charlie with him. Chloe was not going to let her do that. This was Lucifer's choice. He needed to do what he could live with. "Lucifer, whatever you decide, we will all support. You won't be in it alone."

"I'll take him," Lucifer said. The words were out of his mouth before his brain could even fully process that he said them. When his brain finally caught up, the part of him that was terrified regretted them, but the other part of him knew there was never really a choice. He knew since he first started contemplating whether or not to take Charlie that he would. He didn't have it in him to make any other choice.

"Luce," Eve said in disbelief. She never thought he'd end up agreeing to this, even after the detective said he would. Eve was so sure she knew Lucifer better than anyone else, and she knew he didn't want children. He wanted to be free to do anything he wanted, like her. He didn't want that baby.

"I'm glad to hear it, Mr. Morningstar. It's always better when a family member steps forward. I think we should find a place to sit down and talk," Mr. Grant said.

Lucifer nodded and followed the man.

"He doesn't want to do this. He'll hate it," Eve said once they were gone.

"Eve, you don't know what Lucifer wants. He is not you. You hated having kids, but that doesn't mean he will," Chloe said.

"Of course, I know what he wants. We're exactly alike," Eve said with a smile.

Chloe shook her head in disbelief. "Eve, it has literally been several lifetimes since you knew Lucifer. He is not the same kid that went to you in an attempt to defy his father."

"Yes, he is. He still hates his father. He still likes to have fun, and he still likes punishing people," Eve said.

"All those things are true, but that's not all he is. It's not what he lives for anymore. He has people in his life that cares about more than any of that, and Charlie is one of them. No part of him would've been able to live with himself if he left that baby in the care of strangers. Now, will it be hard for him take care of Charlie? Will he wonder if he made the right decision at times? Of course, but he will come to love that baby. If you don't think you can do the same, you need to walk away. Don't force Lucifer to choose. I don't think you'll like that outcome," Chloe warned her before walking away. She needed to find Ella so they could get started in getting things ready for Charlie.