Chloe was standing outside the nursery peering in on Charlie. She'd gotten Lucifer to agree to go get some sleep while she stayed with the baby. She'd sent him to her place since Ella, Dan, and the movers Lucifer hired were setting up the penthouse for Charlie. Dan, she was sure was mostly helping because Ella forced him to.
"Decker," a voice called out.
Chloe turned to see Maze a few feet away. "Maze, I'm glad you came back."
"I won't be here for long. Where's Lucifer? He's taking back to Hell now," Maze said in a demanding tone. She wasn't going to take no for an answer this time. She wanted to go back to Hell immediately. Linda was pretty much her only reason for wanting to stay.
Chloe sighed as she approached Maze. "He's at my house sleeping. Maze, please don't leave. I know you're hurting, but…"
"I'm done, Decker. I'm sick of dealing with human stuff. I belong in Hell. There's no reason for me to stay anymore," Maze said.
"That's not true. Linda's gone, but Charlie's here," Chloe pointed out.
"Right, you left before we found out. Come here," Chloe said before leading her over to the nursery window.
Maze reluctantly followed the human.
Chloe pointed to Charlie. "That's Charlie. That's what Linda called him before she died."
Maze looked at the kid. "Is he supposed to be that small?"
Chloe chuckled. "Lucifer wondered the same thing. Yes, he is. Maze, Linda died, but her baby still needs you."
"Are you crazy, Decker? You want me to take care of a kid. I'm no mother," Maze said in a ludicrous tone.
"No, that's not what I meant. Lucifer will take care of Charlie," Chloe said.
"Normally I'd find that joke hilarious, but even I know now isn't the time, Decker," Maze said.
"I'm not joking. Lucifer has already agreed to raise Charlie. The penthouse is being set up with his things as we speak," Chloe said.
"Really? Lucifer's taking care of that kid? That's worse than me doing it," Maze said.
"You're wrong. Lucifer may not know anything about babies now, but he can learn. I have no doubt that he will do well eventually. You can help in other ways though. You can protect him," Chloe said.
"Lucifer can do that," Maze pointed out.
"Yes, he can, but more protection is always a good thing. I know you'd die for that baby. He deserves to have the kind of person in his life. He deserves to have you the way Trixie has for the last few years. Please stay, Maze," Chloe said.
Maze looked at the baby. She did feel protective over the kid. She had since Linda got pregnant with him. A part of her did want to stay for him. "I…I don't even have anywhere to go anymore. I was staying with Linda."
"Yes, you do. Come home, Maze. Come back to the apartment," Chloe said.
Maze eyed her for a minute. "You're good with that."
"Yes," Chloe said firmly. She was not afraid of Maze or Lucifer anymore, and she felt terrible and ridiculous for ever fearing them to begin with.
"I'll think about it," Maze said. She had to think about all of it because a part of her still thought she should return to Hell.
"Okay," Chloe said. She didn't want to push Maze too far. The demon had to decide for herself what she wanted. It might be too hard for her to stay on Earth. Chloe would respect that decision if that was the case.
Maze looked at Charlie one last time before walking away.
Xxxxxxxxxxx
Ella was in the penthouse with Dan and Eve doing some finishing touches for the baby. They'd just set up the bassinet in the living room, and Ella placed a small, white stuffed bear inside of it. She then looked around the room. Her eyes settled at the bar area. "He's going to have to lock all that up at some point, but it's fine for now."
"Exactly why he shouldn't be raising a baby," Dan mumbled.
Ella glared at him a bit. "Dude, cut it out. I thought you were getting over your stuff with Lucifer."
"Look, I know I shouldn't have blamed him so much for Charlotte's death, but that doesn't mean I think he's fit to raise a baby. His entire lifestyle is wrong for a kid. I guess it doesn't matter though because he's not gonna keep him for long. He'll get tired of the work quickly," Dan said confidently.
Eve smiled at that statement. It made her hopeful. She didn't like that Lucifer was taking care of Linda's baby. She knew what it would be like to have a baby in the house. She hated it when she went through it with Adam. She didn't want to do it again, but she did want to be with Lucifer. Hopefully, Lucifer would get tired of it. She was sure he would. This wasn't what he wanted. He wanted what she did.
"Lucifer isn't going to give up, Charlie. He may not have planned this, but he won't abandon his own family. Plus, he already agreed to do it. Lucifer would never go back on his commitments," Ella said with just as much confidence as Dan.
Just then, the elevator dinged, and Lucifer stepped off with Chloe. He was holding a baby carrier that had a sleeping Charlie in it.
"Luce!" Eve exclaimed as she ran towards them.
"Shh!" Lucifer whispered harshly. "Eve, the child is sleeping! I like him asleep."
Chloe chuckled. "Don't get used to it. Babies do sleep a lot at this stage, but not for very long intervals."
Lucifer walked passed Eve and placed the baby carrier down on the couch.
"Can I keep at him? I promise to be careful not to wake him," Ella said.
"Of course, Miss Lopez," Lucifer said.
Ella rushed over and bent down to get a better look at Charlie.
"I should go. I have to pick Trixie up from school soon," Dan said.
"Thanks for taking her tonight, Dan. Tell her I'll call her before bed," Chloe said.
Dan nodded and headed for the elevator.
"So, what should I do now? Is there anything I should be doing?" Lucifer asked Chloe.
"Well, if you want, you could put him down in his room. That way no one will wake him. Other than that though, he's good for now," Chloe told him.
"Yes, good idea," Lucifer said before picking the carrier back up and following Chloe towards his former guest room. When he got there, he found that the former white walls now had colorful wallpaper with teddy bears on it. It was certainly nothing he ever imagined would be on his walls, but he did tell Miss Lopez she could decorate any way she saw fit. There was a white crib on the far right wall with rocking chair a few feet away by the window. On the opposite wall, there was some sort of stand with diapers and other supplies underneath it. He'd never seen anything like it before. "What's that contraption?"
Chloe followed his eyes to the changing table. "That's where you'll change Charlie. Everything you'll need is over there.
Lucifer nodded before placing the baby carrier on the floor. He went to take the baby out but thought better of it. "Detective, would you do it? You have less of a chance of waking him than me."
"Sure," Chloe said before bending down and unstrapping Charlie. She gently picked him up, causing the baby to make a few noises, but not waking him. She brought him over to the crib and placed him in it. She then took out the baby monitor, which was laying inside it. "This is a baby monitor. This will make sure you hear Charlie if he cries when you're not in the room. We'll turn it on when we leave."
Lucifer nodded.
Just then, Charlie started crying.
Lucifer's eyes widened in apprehension. "Bloody Hell! Did we wake him?"
Chloe chuckled. "No, I think he's probably due for a bottle. You take him. I'll make him a bottle. I'll show you how to do it before I leave."
Lucifer nodded and watched her leave. Hesitantly, Lucifer walked over the crib and picked the baby up. Much to Lucifer's relief, he calmed down slightly, but was still crying a bit. He looked down at the boy. "I will be terrible at this. I just thought you should know that. I wouldn't want you to have unreasonable expectations. I suppose I'm better than your father though, since he couldn't be bothered to show up. Know that that is not your problem. He's the bastard."
"Teaching him to swear already?"
Lucifer turned to see the detective in the doorway holding a bottle of formula. "That was fast."
"Ella was ahead of us. She had a bottle made already. It only needed a minute to be warmed up," Chloe said as she walked over.
"She knows quite a bit for someone with no spawn," Lucifer pointed out.
"She has a big family," Chloe said before handing him the bottle.
Lucifer held the bottle to the child's mouth, who stopped fussing completely and accepted the bottle.
Chloe smiled and touched Lucifer's arm. "You're going to do better than you think."
Neither noticed Eve in the doorway looking none too pleased at the scene.
