It was another six months before they saw him again.

Six months of investigation, of trying to help in any way they could. Most days after school would see Trixie in the penthouse, cross legged on the floor in front of the coffee table, homework pushed to one side in favour of whatever manuscript or religious text she was currently pouring over. Half of the books Amenadiel and Maze brought back from the Silver City and various locations around the Earth were in languages she couldn't read, but Amenadiel taught her enough Latin and Sumerian as she could recognise words such as Hell, gate, seal, Earth, Heaven, power… and Google translate did the rest. Kind of.

Anything she found, she passed on up the chain for full translation, and once that was done, Amenadiel would deliver it to Lucifer. Maze had returned with him from her 'vacation' after two months, just as Trixie was starting to get worried they would never see her again. Her friend seemed lighter than she had in a long time, which might have concerned her even more, if not for the fact that she announced almost the second she walked through the door that she was now officially done with Hell for good. Apparently, while the walk down memory lane was enjoyable, as was the time she spent with Michael, all it did was confirm that her home was here on Earth now.

It was just unfortunate that, judging by the look on her mom's face, Maze's 'enjoyable' time with Michael was something she would never be allowed to hear about.

That was okay though.

She could imagine.

After that, Maze split her time between hunting down anything Lucifer requested she find on Earth, and bounty hunting. Sometimes, both at the same time. Trixie actually got to join her on one of her trips, and even better, she found an artefact in the warehouse they visited together—and most certainly not broken into, as far as her mom was concerned—that they weren't even there to find. It was something she recognised from her research, and when they presented it to Amenadiel, he seemed very excited about it. So excited, in fact, that he took off to Hell that very same day.

Trixie always looked forward to Amenadiel's trips to Hell. Or rather, to his return. Without fail, there would always be some sort of package from Lucifer; letters for Mom that would sometimes leave her crying tears of joy, and other times make her go so red in the face that she would either immediately stuffed the letter in her handbag, or hide it in her room if they were at home. For her, there would often be a present of some kind, although Lucifer's options in Hell were few and far between. On her birthday though, she received not one pair of Hell-forged blades, but a whole set in different sizes, that would last her until she was big enough to comfortably handle the same style as Maze's.

And without fail, there would always be a selection of paintings. Lucifer may have been trying to find a way out, but over thousands of years, he still had spare time, and that meant plenty of opportunities to practice. In one of his letters he even said he planned to start training with Picasso, such was his determination to prove once and for all that he was just as talented as his brother.

Spoiler alert: he still wasn't. As it turns out, cubism does nothing for stick figures.

But when Amenadiel returned after delivering the artefact she found, he had nothing with him except a hastily written note; a note that filled Mom with such excitement her smile after reading it was almost blinding. Despite her being much too heavy for this sort of thing now, she scooped Trixie up in a hug, spinning her around until they were both breathless. Once she was safely back on the ground again, Mom handed the note over. "We did it, Monkey," she said proudly, as she placed it in her hands.

There on the page, was one simple sentence.

I'm coming home.

...

Two weeks later, there was a knock on the door.

Mom was there before Trixie could even think of getting up from the sofa. It was the same every day since Lucifer's letter; the slightest sound outside of the apartment and Mom would rush to open the door, or peer out of the windows. But today… today was different.

Lucifer stood there, windswept and disheveled, his suit still lightly coated in ash. She could see it smudged against his forehead, from where he had obviously tried to tame his hair while waiting for Mom to let him in. He looked tired, but so, so happy.

"We did it," he said, his grin only growing larger as he took in the sight of her mom. "We bloody well did it!"

He opened his arms wide, only to have the smile wiped right off his face when Mom grabbed him by the collar and yanked him forwards. But to Trixie's surprise—and his, she could see—Mom didn't kiss him. Instead, she dragged him through the apartment, his long limbs flailing as he stumbled behind her, until finally, she pushed him down onto one of the dining room chairs.

"...Detective?" he said cautiously, as Mom rounded the table until she stood opposite. Leaning forward, she slammed her hands down on the wooden surface, causing Lucifer to jump.

"What's my middle name?" she demanded. Lucifer lifted an eyebrow at the question, but just as he went to respond, Mom shook her head. "No, wait, don't answer that. That one's too easy."

She tapped her nails on the table, and suddenly, Lucifer brightened, his confusion vanishing. "Ooo, am I being interrogated?" he said excitedly. "Do you want to handcuff me to the table, Detective? Because I'm more than game if you are."

Mom glared at him, and he mimed zipping his lips shut.

"What's my favourite coffee order?"

"Tall, non-fat almond milk latte with sugar-free caramel drizzle," he rattled off. "No vodka. Although, if I were Michael, I could just ask Miss. Lopez for that information, you know."

"Which is probably exactly what he did…" Mom muttered, rubbing her temples. "I forgot."

Lucifer tilted his chair back as he relaxed, the perfect picture of nonchalance. "Should I start pointing out the hair, the perfectly folded pocket square?" he said, gesturing at himself. "Neither of which my style-phobic brother could achieve, I assure you. And don't even get me started on the face."

Mom stopped trying to soothe her headache for a moment, and stared at him in amazement. "Okay. So, first of all, your hair is a mess right now. And second, you look the same."

He sat up straight then, the chair legs sharply hitting the floor as it righted itself. "You take that back."

Shaking her head, Mom ignored him. "Okay then, smart-ass, what was the... 43rd case we solved together?"

Lucifer closed his eyes, frowning as he concentrated. Then he let out a quiet, "Ah-ha!" before opening them again. "It was the one with the clowns, wasn't it? Tell me, Detective, did you ever find those masks that went missing from evidence?" he said, grinning for some reason that Trixie didn't understand.

"No, we didn't," her mom said irritably, "And before you say anything else, yes, I know you took them, and no, I do not need to know who, or what, for."

Lucifer laughed knowingly, his eyes twinkling as he obviously prepared to add something else… but then he halted, tilting his head to the side with a smirk. "Wait a minute. You didn't say if I got it right. Surely it can't be that you don't actually know the answer yourself, Detective?"

"Shut up, Lucifer."

Trixie tried to hold back her giggle as her mom pulled away from the table with a barely audible, "Urgh." She turned her back on Lucifer, who slid out from the table, quietly approaching her from behind. When he put his hand on Mom's shoulders, she froze, but he didn't seem to mind, taking one step closer until he was able to lower his head to her ear.

"I know who you are, Detective. You are Chloe Jane Decker," he said steadily, just loud enough for Trixie to hear, "and you are selfless, to a nauseating degree. You always put your daughter first. You bring justice to those who deserve it. You are the Devil's first love, and he will love you until his dying breath. Which, around you, could be at any second."

He smiled at the sound of Mom's small chuckle, before carefully turning her in his arms, until she was looking up at him from where he held her close, pressed up against his chest.

"But I don't care, Chloe," he said, brushing a lock of hair back behind her ear. "Because you're worth it. We are worth it."

Mom buried her face into his suit, and despite all he had said, Trixie could still see fear there in her eyes.

"But what if you're just telling me what I want to hear?" she choked out quietly, uncaring about the ash that now coated her skin.

Lucifer released her enough as he could step back slightly, using a hand to gently lift her face to his. "Darling, I can't tell you everything I know you want to hear right now," he said, shaking his head sadly. "There's a child in the room."

Mom's laughter was sudden and unexpected, and it didn't end until she gave a sudden snort that had Lucifer laughing just as joyously in return. When they both quieted, they looked at each other for a moment, and Trixie knew then that it was definitely time to turn back to the television. The last thing she saw before starting to pretend that Mom and Lucifer didn't exist was her mom throwing her arms around Lucifer's neck, his name a whisper on her lips.

After a few minutes, and several goes at turning the television volume up in not-so-silent protest, Trixie heard Lucifer speak.

"Urchin," he said, Mom standing by his side, hand in hand. "I believe it's you I have to thank for finding the key to my return."

In less than a second, she muted the show she was watching, spinning around on the sofa to face them both. "Really?" she asked excitedly. She had to admit, what with everything managing to happen so fast following her discovery, she did wonder if she'd been the one to crack the case, but for him to actually confirm it...

He nodded. "It was exactly what I needed. You did well, Spawn."

And with that, to her amazement, he lowered himself to his knees, and after letting go of Mom's hand, opened his arms.

At first, she didn't even move, too shocked by the sight to even comprehend it. But just as the first flicker of doubt began to cross his face, she was on the move, vaulting over the back of the sofa and launching herself across the room. He caught her with ease when they collided, but rather than the brick wall she usually attempted to hug, he leaned into it, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tightly. Seconds later, Mom joined in as best she could, nearly bowling them both over in the process.

This is it now, Trixie thought, visions of the future running through her head. This is how things were going to be, how they were always supposed to be.

Mum and Lucifer. Dad. Maze, Auntie Linda, Auntie Ella, Amenadiel and Charlie. They were all family now.

A family that would last. A family that would be happy, as long as they were together.

And it started... with a hug.