Chloe made her way off the elevator and into Lucifer's penthouse. He'd invited her over for dinner, presumably to make up for all the dinners she made him. She told him he didn't have to, of course, but he didn't listen.
Chloe made her way through the living room and into the kitchen. She found Lucifer there cooking with Charlie just a few feet away in his bassinet.
Lucifer looked up as soon as he heard someone come into the room. "Hello, detective.
"Hi," Chloe said before walking over to the bassinet. She smiled at Charlie and held up a stuffed animal she brought him. "Hi, Charlie. Look what Aunt Chloe brought you."
"You didn't have to do that, detective," Lucifer said.
"Hey, you once bought my daughter a two-hundred-dollar doll. I can buy your son a twenty-five-dollar stuffed animal," Chloe said jokingly as she laid the stuffed toy in the bassinet next to Charlie.
"If I recall, you made me take the doll back," Lucifer pointed out.
"It was two-hundred-dollars! She didn't need it, and she used manipulation to try to get it. If I had let her have it, she would have believed that's all she had to do to get what she wanted. It's a bad idea to spoil kids that way, and I think you believe that now too," Chloe said. While she had no doubt that Lucifer would spoil Charlie to an extent, she also was sure he knew where the limit was. He wouldn't allow his son to become an entitled rich kid.
"Yes, I suppose," Lucifer agreed. He'd certainly seen enough entitled rich kids. His child wouldn't be anything like that.
Soon, Charlie started to fuss.
"Bloody hell. He's hungry. I hoped I'd have more time," Lucifer said.
"It's okay. I've got him," Chloe said as she picked the baby up. "It's okay, Charlie. Are you hungry?"
Lucifer grabbed a bottle that he'd had waiting on the counter and held it out for the detective.
"Look at that, Charlie. Daddy has it all ready for us. He's getting good at this," Chloe said before taking the bottle from Lucifer and bringing it to Charlie's mouth, who immediately accepted it and quieted down.
Lucifer smiled at the detective as she fed his son and then he went back to making dinner. It took about twenty minutes more before dinner was ready. By then, Chloe had finished feeding and burping Charlie and had placed him back in his bassinet.
Lucifer brought two plates of food to the table and they both sat down to eat. He also moved Charlie's bassinet so that he was seated next to them.
Chloe took a few bites of her food. "This is really good. Thanks for cooking. You didn't have to though."
"Nonsense, Detective. You cook for me all the time," Lucifer said. Lucifer took a few more bites of his food before gaining the courage to say what he had to say next. "Perhaps you'll allow me to take you out for dinner one day soon."
"You wanna go out on a date?" Chloe asked, shocked. Lucifer's question had thrown her for a loop. She thought that ship had sailed. She didn't think Lucifer would ever want to be anything more than friends with her again. She didn't blame him for that either. She considered herself lucky as hell that he still wanted to be her friend.
Lucifer looked dejected at Chloe's response. "If you don't want to, that's fine, Detective."
"No, Lucifer, it's not that. I just never thought you'd be interested in that kind of relationship with me again. It didn't exactly end well the last time," Chloe said with guilt laced in her voice.
"Detective I've forgiven you for all that," Lucifer assured her. It was hard for him to forgive her betrayal, but he had. He knew she would never hurt him like that again.
"I know you have, but forgiveness and trust are two different things," Chloe said.
"And I trust you. I know you would never do anything like that to me again. You've done nothing but try to make up for it since it happened. You've been there for me whenever I needed you during the last few months. I don't think I could have handled parenthood without your help. Look, I doubt I'll ever be able to forget what happened, but I moved past it. I want to move forward," Lucifer told her.
"You're sure you're not angry anymore? You'd have every right to be angry, but I don't want to start something if you still are. I don't want this to be something either of us regrets down the road," Chloe said. She feared he wasn't completely over it and would end up resenting her later. That might be okay if it was just the two of them, but there were two young children involved now.
"I promise you, I'm not angry anymore."
"You'd have every right to be. I just don't want to start a relationship when you're still angry. But if you say you're not, I believe you. I'd really like to go on a date with you. I would like to talk about something first though. Do you remember when I told you that anyone who is in a relationship with me has to be in one with Trixie too?" Chloe asked. She didn't really think that would be a problem, but she wanted to bring it up anyway.
"Of course. I have no issue with that. I care very much for your offspring," Lucifer said.
"I know you do. But if we were to get serious, you'd have to take on a new kind of relationship with Trixie. It would be different than just seeing her every once in a while. She'd be a huge part of your life. I just want to make sure you understand that," Chloe said.
"I do understand that, detective. I don't need to tell you that I haven't been very comfortable with children in the past, but that changed with Charlie. I still don't like most children very much, but yours and mine are different. I'm more than willing to take on any kind of relationship with your offspring that you would like," Lucifer assured her.
"Okay. Well, we can talk about that somewhere down the line. We haven't even been out on a date yet. I only brought it up because I want to make sure we're both on the same page if we get serious. I'm glad you're willing to be a big part of Trixie's life. And I want you to know that I'm more than willing to do the same with Charlie. I love that little guy," Chloe said with a smile.
"I know. You're always doting on him every time you see him," Lucifer said with a smile. Unlike with Eve, he didn't doubt for a moment that the detective loved Charlie. Being around him was not a burden for her.
"Good. I'm glad we're on the same page about this. There is one more thing I'd like to discuss before we go any further. I just want to make sure you've given yourself enough time to deal with your breakup with Eve," Chloe said. She knew from experience that rebound relationships didn't work out.
"Oh, that's not an issue, detective. I didn't love Eve. You are not a rebound for her. She was a rebound for you. I care about her, but I think the only reason I was with her was because things had ended so badly with us. She seemed to accept me for what I was, and I needed that," Lucifer explained to her.
"I understand. I can't tell you enough times how sorry I am for the way I treated you. And I do accept you for who you are now. I'm sorry, I couldn't then. The whole thing was just so overwhelming. That's not an excuse, it's just what I was feeling. It certainly doesn't justify what I did," Chloe said guiltily. She was never gonna stop feeling guilty for what she did to Lucifer. Lucifer might have forgiven her, but she hadn't yet forgiven herself. She didn't know that she ever would.
"I know, detective. As I said, I've forgiven you for it. There's no need for you to continue to apologize. So does all this mean you're willing to go out to dinner with me?" Lucifer asked.
Chloe nodded and smiled. "I'd really like that. How about we plan it for next weekend? Trixie will be with Dan. You can get the nanny to sit with Charlie, right?"
"Yes, that won't be a problem. How about Saturday night at eight?" Lucifer asked.
"That sounds great," said a still smiling Chloe before going back to her dinner. It seemed things were starting to look up for her and Lucifer. Things had been very tense and dramatic for the last year, but they were finally getting to a good place. Finally figuring out where they wanted their lives to go. Chloe looked forward to the future.