Chloe stood inside the elevator at LUX, on her way to see Lucifer and Charlie. It had been about a week since she last saw them in the park. She'd wanted to give Lucifer a little time to think after their last conversation regarding Eve. Once she said her peace on the matter, she knew she had to give Lucifer the space to decide what he needed to do for both himself and his child.
Once the doors opened, Chloe stepped off the elevator. She walked into the penthouse just in time to see Lucifer place Charlie in the bassinet near the couch.
"Hello, Detective. I wasn't expecting you, though you are, of course, always welcome," Lucifer said.
"Hey. Yeah, I know it's been a little while since I've been by," Chloe said as she walked over. She turned and looked down at Charlie. "Hi, Charlie. Remember me?"
"Of course, he does. How could he forget knowing you, Detective? You remember the detective, don't you, child?" Lucifer asked the baby.
"Detective? Oh no, he will not be calling me that. He'll call me 'Aunt Chloe'. As long as you're okay with that," Chloe said.
"Of course. Whatever you like," he said.
"How have things been? Have they gotten any better? You don't seem as tired," Chloe said.
"Yes, well, the child doesn't wail at all hours of the night anymore, though he does still like to wake me a few times a night," Lucifer said. Truthfully, things had gotten better even just since Eve left. He hadn't realized it, but it had caused him quite a bit of stress to deal with her on top of being a parent. She hadn't been around much, but when she was, she pestering him quite a bit, plus she woke Charlie a lot.
Chloe chuckled a little. "Yeah, that's going to continue for a while longer."
"Can I get you a drink, Detective?" Lucifer asked.
"Yeah, that would be great," Chloe said.
Lucifer walked to the bar and poured them both a glass of Scotch. He then walked back to the detective and handed her one. Then they both went to the couch and sat down.
"So, Eve's out again?" Chloe asked. She probably wasn't very subtle, but she was interested in knowing what had happened between Lucifer and Eve since their last conversation.
"I suppose in manner of speaking. I asked Eve to go. She won't be back," Lucifer told her before taking a sip of his drink.
"Oh. I'm sorry. Well, sort of. Obviously, I thought it was best for you and Charlie, given how Eve felt about Charlie, but I'm sorry if it's hurting you," Chloe said.
"It's not actually. It's actually relieved some stress. Handling her on top of taking care of Charlie was taxing. Truthfully, my relationship with Eve was falling apart for a while now. If Linda hadn't died, I think I would've ended it a while ago. Charlie was only the latest problem between us. Eve wanted me to be someone I couldn't be," Lucifer said.
Chloe nodded. "Yeah, I got that impression. She always seemed to be stuck in the past. She talked about how things used to be a lot."
"Yes. She wanted me to be who I used to be. Truthfully, I wanted that for a bit too. Things were much less complicated and less painful back then. I suppose that's why I went back to Eve in the first place. She couldn't hurt me," Lucifer said.
Chloe bit her lip. She knew that was her fault. Lucifer was devastated by what she did to him. Eve was his rebound because Chloe had hurt him so badly. Chloe honestly didn't know how she could've done what she did. She wished she could take it back. "Lucifer, I'm sorry. What I did to you was awful, and I wish I could make it right."
"Detective, I didn't mean to make you feel bad about…"
"I know, but it's true. You spiraled because of what I did to you. There's no way for me to ever tell you how sorry I am. I lost myself when I met William Kinley. I was already struggling with what I knew about you versus what was in religious texts. Then I met him, and he was very persuasive. It doesn't matter though because I should've known better. He was a stranger. You were my partner, and you'd never been anything but honest with me," Chloe said.
"Then why?" Lucifer asked as he looked straight ahead, unable to even look at the detective as he asked the question.
"Fear. Fear that even though every instinct I had told me to trust you, that Kinley was right, and what that would mean for me personally and the world. Kinley was good at playing on my fear. I don't use that as an excuse. What I did was my fault, no one else's, but he did exploit my fear. He spoke about how the world would be destroyed with the Devil on Earth. Hell, he tried it again with talk of that damned prophecy, which I'm starting to think was just another fear tactic," Chloe said.
"Yes, I'd forgotten about that," Lucifer said. The detective had told him about that shortly before Linda died. After that, he'd forgotten about it. He'd had quite a bit on his mind.
"Can you ever forgive me? I know that I don't deserve it, but I hope you can," Chloe said, tears beginning to form.
"Detective, I already have. I know that you regret what you did. I've known that for months now. That's why I decided to keep working with you. I forgive you. It's just going to take me a bit longer to get past the pain, but I want to," Lucifer said.
"Thank you," Chloe said as she took his hand and squeezed it. She then took a large gulp of her drink and then just sat there with him.
Xxxxxxxxxxx
Amenadiel approached his father's study and knocked on the door. He was upset. He'd just heard from Gabriel, who had gotten the news from Azrael, that Linda had died several weeks ago. He should've been told right away. He didn't understand why his father hadn't told him.
"Enter," a voice called out.
Amenadiel immediately walked in and closed the door.
"Hello, Amenadiel. What can I do for you?" God asked.
Amenadiel approached his father's death, and forced himself to remain calm. "Father, Gabriel has just informed me that the human I was with, Linda Martin, died over a month ago."
"Yes," was all God said.
"Why wasn't I told?" Amenadiel asked as calmly as possible.
"I saw no reason to inform you. You told me you had left your life on Earth behind you, including the child you created with Linda Martin. Now, does her death change your decision?" God asked.
"No," Amenadiel said quietly. He couldn't be a father to part human child. He would have no idea how to handle that. Plus, he had duties to take care of in Heaven, and it was a full-time job. No, even without Linda, the child was better off with someone else.
"Then why would you need to be told?"
"Well, I still care about Linda," he said.
"You do? You left her alone with your child. I was under the impression that neither of them mattered to you very much," God said bluntly.
"You said you understood my decision," Amenadiel said.
"No, I said I would respect it. I never said I agreed with it. I also recall saying that you would regret it one day, and I am still certain that you will, but it is your decision to make. I can't force you to love the boy," God said. Truthfully, as disappointed as he was in Amenadiel, he believed his grandson was better off where he was. He wasn't sure Amenadiel could give him what he needed at this point. If even after learning the child's mother had died, he still didn't want to claim him, Amenadiel truly wasn't ready to be a father.
"You said my child would be taken care of. You knew Linda was going to die when you said that, so that's still true, right?" Amenadiel said. He did still care. He wanted to ensure that his child would be okay, but he knew he couldn't be the one to raise him.
"Yes, the boy will be fine, but that is all I will tell you. If you don't want to be a part of your child's life, you don't get any input in his life," God said firmly. He also wouldn't be telling his son who was raising the child because he knew that if his eldest knew Samael had the child, he would take him back based on that alone. Amenadiel would be angry that his brother was allowed to raise his son. The two brothers had made many strides, but Amenadiel was still jealous of his younger brother. He would take Charlie just to keep him away from Samael.
"I'm going to see Linda," Amenadiel said before he began to walk away.
"No, you're not," God said in cool tone, causing the younger being to turn back to him. "Linda Martin was upset when she got here. It hurt her to know that she'd left her child without a parent. However, I assured her that her son would be well cared for, and now she is at peace with her deceased loved ones. I won't have disrupting that."
"But I have to explain to her why I wasn't there and why I can't raise our child. I need her to understand," Amenadiel said.
"That would be for your benefit, not hers. You want absolution from her. I can tell you now that you will not get it, and you will only stress her unnecessarily. I won't allow it," God said.
"But…"
"My decision is final, Amenadiel. You will leave Linda Martin alone," God said in a tone that left no room for argument.
Amenadiel sighed in defeat before turning and walking out of the room.
