The next thing Dan knew, he was standing in the middle of his apartment. He stumbled back in shock. Just seconds ago, he was with Chloe in her apartment. Now, he was back in his own. What the Hell had just happened. "H…How?"
"I apologize again for the sudden change in venue, Mr. Espinoza. I have a strong distaste for your ex-wife, so much so that it becomes harder and harder to resist the urge to wipe her from the face of existence every time we're in the same room," God said.
"Wh… Who are you?" Dan asked. For just a second, he entertained Chloe's declaration that he was God, but that was impossible. Dan believed in God, but he didn't come to Earth. He didn't intervene in the affairs of humans. But then how had he just transported Dan back to his apartment in the blink of an eye?
"I believe your ex-wife answered that, but I can understand your reluctance to believe her. Even those who do believe in me would have a hard time believing it if I was standing in front of them. I am God, Lucifer's father.
"Th… That's not p…"
"I assure you, it is possible. I can see you're in shock. You should sit down," God said.
Almost numbingly, Dan stumbled to the couch and practically fell onto it. He eyed a half-full bottle of Vodka sitting on the coffee table. He could really use a drink right now.
"I advise against it if you want to see your child again," God said in a cool tone. He understood the urge, but this man's days of numbing his emotions were over if there was any possibility of him raising that child.
At the mention of his daughter, Dan managed to push his shock down, at least for the moment. "You have my daughter?"
"I do. You don't need to worry. Your daughter is perfectly safe. Lucifer is looking after her at the moment," God said.
"He's alive?" Dan asked. Chloe had said he was, but Dan couldn't be sure about the way Chloe had been acting. Most of him believed her when she said he was alive, but he couldn't be completely sure.
"Yes, though only because I intervened. Be assured if he hadn't survived, your ex-wife wouldn't' have either. As it is, she is alive for two reasons. One is because death isn't a good enough punishment, and the other is that it would hurt my son if she died," God said in a hard tone.
"She wasn't crazy," Dan said, mostly to himself. This was all real. He was having a conversation with God himself. He'd literally worked with the Devil on a daily basis. One of his closest friends was an angel. He almost felt like he was going insane, but he knew he wasn't. This was actually happening.
"No. She doesn't get that as an excuse. She knew exactly what she was doing. She planned her attack on my son. And he would've only been her first victim. She would've gone after my son, Amenadiel too, as well as possibly his unborn child, and the demon, Mazikeen. She decided that she was important enough to decide that celestials didn't belong on Earth," God said.
"Hell, Chloe," Dan whispered. What the hell had she done? She'd plotted the murder of two sons of God. The worst part was that this was not a moment of poor judgment. He could almost understand it if it had been. If she had tried to kill Lucifer in a moment of terror right after finding out, he'd get it. It would still be wrong, but it would be a horrible mistake made out of fear. This was premeditated. She planned these attacks. And she had no remorse for it. She'd just defended her actions, and actually got upset that Dan couldn't understand them. Even knowing that God was clearly livid with the attempted murder of his son, she still didn't understand that she did something wrong. God telling her that he was not okay with this should've been a freaking wake up call.
"Yes, that will undoubtedly be her destination in the end. I know your ex-wife has explained some of what she did, but you should have a clearer picture. As I said, she planned to attack every celestial being. According to her, only humans belong on Earth," God said with disdain.
Dan pinched the bridge of his nose. Was Chloe out of her mind? She'd literally said that to God? He knew Chloe was never religious, but even she knew enough to know that Earth was created by God, and yet she had said to his face that humans had some sort of ownership of the planet? Was she trying to get herself killed?
"I can see you even understand the audacity of her beliefs, and you've only been privy to celestial knowledge for a few minutes," he said.
"I…I'm sorry. What Chloe did was wrong. She shouldn't have tried to hurt Lucifer or Amenadiel, but why did you take my daughter. It's not her fault that Chloe did something terrible. She's just a little girl," Dan said. Right now, his concern was for his daughter. He'd deal with the rest later.
"You misunderstand, Mr. Espinoza. I did not take your child as some sort of retribution. I took her to protect her from your ex-wife," God said.
"Chloe would never hurt Trixie," Dan said. Then again, he never thought Chloe would attack anyone either, but, no, she wouldn't hurt Trixie. She loved their daughter.
"She almost shot her," God said.
Dan's eyes went wide and he immediately stood up. "What?!"
"Granted, it wasn't intentional, but it was reckless. My son, Michael, was very upset when he found out what Chloe Decker did to his brother, which is saying quite a bit because Michael and Lucifer have never got on well. He confronted her about it, and your child overheard them. Michael was speaking to her when your ex-wife fired her weapon at him. She could've very easily hit the child. Thankfully, Michael protected her," God explained.
If Dan was upset before, he was furious now. Chloe shot a gun in the direction of their daughter. What the hell was she thinking. She knew how easily a bullet could divert. She could've killed their daughter. "Okay. Thank you and your son for protecting her, but I'll do that now. I won't let Chloe put her at risk again. Bring her back, please."
"Not yet, Mr. Espinoza. I'm not positive the child belongs with you either. I've looked into you and your actions lately. They don't inspire me to trust you with the girl at the moment."
"She's my daughter. You can't just decide…"
"I can and I will! You humans don't seem to understand something. I created you. You belong to me. Now, in the past, I've left you up to your own devices. That is going to change, and you can thank your ex-wife for it," God said.
"What…? What do you mean?" Dan asked in a nervous tone. From God's words, he got the impression that there were going to be severe consequences for what Chloe and that priest had done to Lucifer, and not just for them. Had Chloe doomed them all with her actions?
"I mean that I will be keeping humans on a much tighter leash. You people will answer to me now. You will follow my laws or there will be consequences," God said in serious tone.
Dan shuddered at the thought of what those consequences would be. "For the actions of two? You would judge us all on what they've done?"
"Oh, no, Mr. Espinoza. They were merely the last straw. Your race has proved its inability to manage itself over and over since the first of you were created. I've watched your depravity. I've watched as you murdered, abused, and tortured each other. And when you were done, you tried to pass the blame onto my son! You personally are guilty of that," God said harshly.
Dan immediately opened his mouth to protest. That wasn't true. He had never blamed Lucifer for anything that wasn't actually his fault. He understood that God was pissed about someone trying to kill Lucifer, but Lucifer had made mistakes too.
God interrupted before the human even got a word out. "Charlotte Richards was murdered by an immortal human named Cain because she sacrificed herself to save my son, Amenadiel."
"Lucifer knew that Pierce…"
"He did, and he informed your ex-wife. She chose not to believe him, even though she knew he didn't lie. And do not pretend that you would've believed him if he'd gone to you," God said.
Dan opened his mouth to say that he would've, but he promptly closed it because the truth was that he likely wouldn't have. The idea that their Lieutenant was a crime boss was too farfetched without evidence.
"I understand that you feel the need to blame someone for your loss, but blame me if you must. I made Cain immortal. My son will not be a scapegoat for you people any longer. Now, as I was saying, life is about to change for you humans. You will not get away with your depravity any longer. One of the first things that will change is that children will no longer be left with unsuitable guardians," God told him.
"You're going to take my daughter from me?" Dan asked with fear in his voice. The most frightening thing was that he couldn't stop it. How could he fight God if he wanted to take his daughter away?
"I didn't say that. Your self-destructive behaviors certainly don't inspire me to leave a child in your care, but I'm willing to give you another chance, which you are only getting because your daughter is one of the most decent humans I've ever seen, and I don't want to see her face unnecessary pain. But you must prove that you're willing to be what she needs you to be," God explained.
"I'll do anything," Dan immediately said, just glad that he had some hope of getting his daughter back.
"Good. You have taken your last drink. You do not get to drown in mind-numbing substances when there is a child who depends on you. You will get your life together. You will prove that you are capable of taking responsibility for your own life before you're trusted with another life. You will have three months to do this. If you have not proven yourself by then, the child will remain in Heaven permanently. Do you understand me?" God asked.
"Yes, sir. I will do whatever I have to," Dan said. He wasn't going to fail again. She'd already lost so much. Dan was all she had now. It was bad enough that his actions were going to take her from him for three months.
"One more thing. This second chance is for you only. Your ex-wife forfeited any rights she had to the child."
Dan nodded. He couldn't trust Chloe with Trixie anyway, not after she shot a gone with her in the room knowing how dangerous it was. "Can I see her? Please? I need to explain what's happening and that I'm going to do what's necessary to get her back."
"If you promise her that, you'd best follow through. I am very fond of your child. I will be very displeased if you break such a promise," God warned.
"I won't," Dan swore.
"Brace yourself," God said before teleporting them away again.
The next thing Dan knew, he found himself in a spacious living room. His whole apartment could probably fit inside of it. Was this Heaven? It wasn't exactly what he'd expect Heaven to look like, but he supposed it could be.
"Daddy?" a voice called out.
Dan turned around to see Trixie in the doorway with Lucifer. "Trixie!"
Trixie immediately ran into her father's arms. "Daddy, I'm so glad you're here!"
Dan held her tightly. "Me too, Monkey. I'm so sorry I haven't been here for you."
Trixie pulled away after a few minutes. "Mom did something really bad. She hurt Lucifer."
"I know, baby," Dan said before he glanced over at Lucifer, who he gave an apologetic look. What Chloe did to him was beyond wrong, Devil or not. It was strange, but Dan didn't really see Lucifer any worse than he had a day ago. Maybe it was because it was clear God didn't view his son that way. If God himself didn't see Lucifer as evil, what right did Dan have to? Besides, Dan never got an evil vibe from Lucifer. He was pretty shady, but not evil.
Lucifer frowned a little at the look Daniel was giving him. He expected some sort of hateful glare at the very least. He figured he'd blame him for what was happening with the detective.
"Am I going home with you now, Dad?" Trixie asked.
Dan immediately turned back to his daughter and knelt down to her level. "Not today, baby. You have to stay with Lucifer for a while longer. I'm sorry. I made some bad decisions and I have to fix them before you can come home."
"You didn't hurt anyone, like Mom did, did you?" Trixie asked. She liked hanging out with Lucifer, but she really wanted to be with her dad.
"No, but I haven't made good decisions. I've been really upset lately, and it's caused me to do things that dads shouldn't do," Dan told her.
"Is it because your friend died?"
"Yes, but that's not an excuse. I should've been thinking about you instead of myself. I'm sorry," Dan said. He told himself that it was alright because Chloe would take care of Trixie, but that was no excuse, and it might be why he didn't see that something wasn't right with Chloe. If he'd been paying closer attention, he might have been able to stop some of it. And he couldn't use Charlotte as an excuse anymore. If she could, she'd probably smack him right now for the things he was doing. "I'm going to make it right, Trixie. I'm going to be a better dad, and then we'll go home. I promise," Dan assured her.
Trixie nodded and hugged her father again.
Dan glanced back at Lucifer. "I'm sorry, Lucifer, for Chloe and myself."
Lucifer nodded. He didn't know what else to say. He wasn't expecting this reaction.
Dan pulled Trixie out of his arms after a minute. "I have to go now, Monkey, but I'm going to do whatever it takes to get back to you as soon as possible."
"When will you be back?" Trixie asked.
"Not for a few months," he said.
Trixie's eyes widened. "But that's such a long time."
"I know, but I made mistakes. I have to face the consequences for that and prove that I can do better. I will," Dan promised her.
"Okay," Trixie said sadly. She didn't like it, but she knew she didn't have a choice.
Dan turned to Lucifer. "You'll look after her, right?"
"You have my word, Daniel, but you'd better make sure to keep your word," Lucifer said in a slightly cool tone. He wouldn't have the child disappointed. She'd lost enough.
Dan nodded and turned to God. "Thank you for letting me do this."
God nodded curtly before waving his hand and transporting him back to his apartment.