A/N: Chapter 4! Time for a kill! This chapter will be quite a bit longer, I think you deserve it, lol.
Also, trying to figure out what career to have Lumen in was a pain. I rewatched season 5, and all she said is that she went to college and grad school. I had looked up what careers needed grad school, and there's quite a few, but I think I figured out which one to give her. It also plays into something much later with another character that I'm sure you'll figure out just by what field I put her in, lol.
Just so you know, I take a lot of the religious aspects out of this season. Some of it is still there, obviously, but I remove a good chunk of it.
Illuminated in Darkness
Chapter 4: Jock Strapped
"Mm, these are really good," Lumen said after swallowing a bite of pancake. She reached over to Harrison's plate and cut up his piece a bit more when she saw he was having a problem getting it into his mouth.
"I did say I was a bit of a breakfast connoisseur last time you were here. Pancakes tend to be my specialty," Dexter said as he stood over the stove flipping more pancakes.
"Sorry I missed out. I'll have to return the favor by making you a full mid-western breakfast some time," Lumen responded as she polished off her plate and took a gulp of her orange juice.
"Sounds great," he said before walking over with his own plate of pancakes and stood at the counter. "By the way, Harrison has his first pre-school interview on Friday morning, you want to come?"
"I'd love to! What's the place called?"
"Our Lady of the Gulf. Angel recommended it since his daughter went there," Dexter said in between bites. Lumen lifted an eyebrow at the name.
"Sounds like some religious school based on the name." Dexter blinked before he quickly finished his breakfast and gulped down his orange juice.
"Does it?"
"It does. Didn't think you were the religious type, to be honest," Lumen said with a smirk as she took everyone's plates and glasses to wash in the sink.
"Oh, I'm definitely not. Mmmm, now I'm wondering if it's a good idea to send him there or not," Dexter said as he pulled Harrison out of his high chair and held him as he walked over to a drawer to grab a cloth. He grabbed a blue one, ran it under the warm water Lumen had running, and cleaned his son's face off.
"Don't let the idea of it being a religious school turn you off from it, some of them tend to be quite good. And besides, he's two, right? The only thing he's going to be interested in at a pre-school of any kind is playing and eating snacks," she said with a chuckle as she put away the now clean plates and glasses.
She had become quite the neat and tidy person over the last year, apparently, and Dexter was quite happy about that. At least he would not have to constantly clean up after her like he did with his sister when she had stayed in his apartment for a short time.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," he said as he sat Harrison down. "Okay, buddy, you go play for a while. Jamie will be here soon."
"Okay!" Harrison said happily before toddling over to his toys.
"Speaking of which, what do you plan to do while I'm at work and Jamie is here?" Dexter asked as he walked into his bedroom. Well, their bedroom, now.
"I dunno yet. I suppose I should start looking for a job soon, as well as get everything transferred over to my new address. Though, I am getting antsy since it's been three weeks since, you know... So maybe I'll look into a new table friend," Lumen said with a smirk as she followed Dexter.
"I wouldn't worry about that, I already have someone on my radar," he said as he began to change into his normal work clothes. To say Dexter was excited about having his partner in crime back was an understatement.
"Oh? Who?" Lumen asked in curiosity.
"A guy named Joe Walker. He graduated in the same class as me, and he and his wife moved to Virginia shortly after. She, apparently, committed suicide three years ago, but I noticed there was blood under her fingernails, which doesn't make sense if she killed herself, so-"
"So you think her widower, Joe Walker, killed her and staged it to look like a suicide?" Lumen finished. Dexter snapped his fingers.
"Bingo. I got the police report on it, and now I just need to get a sample of Walker's blood to test it against the blood under her nails to see if it's his."
Lumen just looked confused at that.
"But I don't get it, Dexter, why didn't the police check it themselves?"
"They thought it was Janet's, that was her name by the way, so they never tested it further than putting it in the blood report and leaving it at that." Lumen rolled her eyes at that.
"The wonderful justice system at it again. So, how do you plan on getting this guy's blood if he's up in Virginia?"
"Oh, right, I almost forgot. My high school reunion is going to be this weekend, from Friday night to Sunday; he's coming down for it. I checked."
"I see... And you want a date to it, correct?" Lumen said with smile of anticipation as they both sat down on the end of the bed.
"Yes. Well, originally I was going to go alone, but now that you're here..." Dexter trailed off as they leaned against each other. "We'll need to go shopping for some dress clothes."
"Seeing as I didn't really bring anything dressy with me, yes. Though, I'm not wearing anything backless, just so you know," Lumen said as she nuzzled into Dexter's neck.
"That's fine," he murmured, "I understand." With the arm wrapped around her, he ran a gentle hand up and down her arm.
They sat there for a couple of minutes just enjoying each other's presence before a knock on the apartment door interrupted them.
"Oh, that'll be Jamie. Come on, I need to introduce the two of you," Dexter said. He kissed Lumen on the forehead before standing up and leading her into the main room.
~IiD~
"Hey, Jamie," he greeted his nanny as he let her in the front door. Lumen stayed slightly out of sight at the moment by standing behind Dexter.
"Morning, Dexter, morning Harrison," Jamie said as she made her way towards the toddler, setting her stuff down near the couch as she did so.
"Jamie!" Harrison squealed as he ran to her, abandoning the toys he was playing with.
"Hey, little man," she said as she scooped him into her arms, "did you already have breakfast?"
"Uh huh, daddy make pancakes. Luma cut them," Harrison said as he pointed at Lumen, who was wincing at the butchering of her name.
"Luma?" Jamie said and looked at where Harrison was pointing.
"Uh, he means 'Lumen'," Lumen corrected, "and hi, nice to meet you."
"Uh, hi... Dexter, is she a new girlfriend or something?"
"It's... a long story, but yes, she's my girlfriend," Dexter said, and both he and Lumen felt their hearts skip a beat at the admission. "But, I have to get going soon or I'll be late, so you two can get to know each other while I'm at work." He walked over to Jamie to grab his son from her.
"Wait, she's staying here?" Jamie said in shock as she handed Harrison to his father.
"Well, she-"
"I just moved back to Miami and haven't gotten a job yet, so I'm staying here with Dexter for the foreseeable future," Lumen interrupted, knowing damn well she was not planning on moving. Not unless the two, well, three, of them decided to upgrade to a bigger living space. "That's not going to be a problem is it?"
"No, no, not a problem, just wondering if I'll be able to keep my job is all."
"Don't worry Jamie, I'll, well, we'll still need you. Plus, Harrison loves you, I'd hate to take him away from you," Dexter said as he hugged his son. "Alright buddy, daddy has to go to work, you be good for Jamie and Lumen, okay?"
"Okay, daddy," Harrison said, then giggled as Dexter kissed the side of his head. He handed Harrison back over to Jamie before walking up to Lumen and hugging her.
"I'll see you later," he whispered to her as he pulled back a bit and rested his forehead against hers.
"I better," Lumen said with a slight smirk. Dexter gave a huff of amusement at her remark for kissing her briefly.
"You definitely will," he replied before heading to the door. As he opened it, he turned around and looked at both Lumen and Jamie.
"Make sure I don't come home to my apartment covered in blood and hair, please," he joked before ducking out and closing the door behind him. Lumen just rolled her eyes and shook her head at his joke.
"Wow, I don't think I've ever seen him that affectionate with anyone other than Harrison," Jamie said, a bit stunned. "Especially with someone he just met."
"Well, actually, we met a little over a year ago, but like I said, I just moved back to Miami, so we haven't seen each other in that long," Lumen explained as she went to sit on the couch. She grabbed her laptop and opened it, intent on looking at current job listings in the area.
"You met and then left? Why?" Jamie asked as she sat down next to Harrison on the floor.
"Very personal reasons I'd rather not go into," Lumen said as she browsed for jobs. "Just know that I didn't want to leave, but I had no choice, and that's all I'm saying on the matter."
"Fair enough," Jamie acquiesced.
~IiD~
"Are you sure having Lumen back is a good thing, Dex?" Harry asked from the passenger side of his Ford. "She could end up causing a lot of complications in your life that you don't need right now."
"She didn't cause complications before, and I doubt she will this time," Dexter said, slightly gritting his teeth. "So what are you getting at?
"Killers don't get happy endings, son, this is not going to end well for either of you. If even one of you slips up, you're both going down. Do you understand? It was better if she had stayed away." Dexter just furrowed his brows in aggravation at Harry's words.
"We worked together perfectly as a team once, we can do it again. You just don't want someone in my life who fully understands and accepts me for who, and what, I am, because you never could!" Dexter said as he gripped the steering wheel tightly.
"I understood who you were, Dex, that's why I created The Code. But you are right, accepting who you were, are, was something I couldn't do. Accepting someone like you isn't easy for normal people, you know that."
"Well it's a good thing Lumen isn't a normal person then, isn't it? She was born in blood, like me, because of monsters. We need each other, and nothing is going to change that," Dexter said with finality and Harry just sighed, resigned, before he faded away.
~IiD~
Friday Morning
"I'm surprised you and Jamie have gotten along so well," Dexter said as he loaded up Harrison into his car seat.
"Is it really that surprising?" Lumen asked from the front passenger seat.
"Mm, I guess in the grand scheme of things, not really," Dexter said with a sigh as he made his way over to the driver side and got in. "The real test starts today."
"What do you mean by that, exactly?" Lumen asked curiously with a raised eyebrow.
"Deb's going to be with us at Harrison's interview, we're meeting her there at the pre-school," Dexter said as he started his SUV.
"Deb? As in your sister Deb? The one who nearly caught us and shot at us?" Lumen said, almost incredulously. She did not hold a grudge against Dexter's sister, but Lumen did not think she would get along with the foul-mouthed woman whatsoever. Not that she herself was a saint in the language department, but from what she knew from Dexter, Debra was on a whole other level.
"That would be her, yes," he said. "She wanted to be here for Harrison today as well."
"I don't expect this to go well, but alright." Lumen shrugged.
"Deb's a bit... much sometimes, I'll admit, but she's harmless for the most part," Dexter said.
"Harmless, right," Lumen said sarcastically, thinking back to that day Debra found them. Dexter gave her a side-eyed look, knowing what she was thinking about.
"That's why I said 'for the most part'," Dexter said with a humored scoff.
They sat in amiable silence for a while as Dexter drove to the school. Lumen looked out the window as buildings passed them by, admiring the style of some of them.
"So, uh, how's the job hunt going?" Dexter asked as they stopped at a red light. Lumen blinked at the question, snapping out of the daze she was in.
"Oh, I guess okay. I've put in a few applications, but nothing else so far," she said with a mild shrug. "Honestly, I just need a job to save up some money so I can open up my own private office." That got Dexter's attention.
"Private office? For what?" he asked, extremely curious.
"I guess I never told you, huh? I'm a licensed psychologist," Lumen answered with pride, and Dexter nearly choked at hearing that.
"Psychologist? Really?" Dexter said with surprise. "Kind of ironic, don't you think?"
"These days? Absolutely," she said with a huff of humor. They sat there for a couple of minutes in silence.
"You know, if you need help paying for it, I can-" Lumen stopped him by grabbing his right hand off the steering wheel.
"Dexter, I appreciate the offer, but I want to do this on my own. Besides, all I need is a small office, it shouldn't take me too long to get it," she said, intertwining their fingers together, "I already have a bit of money saved up from over the years."
"Well, if you change your mind, let me know," Dexter said and Lumen gave a nod. "We're here."
'Here we go, the fun is about to start.'
"Looks like a nice place," Lumen said as she looked upon the school.
"We'll see," Dexter said as he parked his Ford in front of the school. They both got out of the SUV and Lumen got Harrison out of his carseat as Dexter looked around for a moment. "Deb's not here yet."
"Guess we'll have to wait, then," Lumen said as she lifted Harrison up on her hip and made her way towards Dexter.
"She shouldn't be too long, we're a bit early," he said as he gently took his son from Lumen.
Not too long after, Deb's BMW pulled up and found a parking spot.
"That's her," Dexter pointed out.
"She drives a BMW?" Lumen muttered to Dexter.
"It's an older one, she bought it used years ago," he explained. Lumen gave a hum of understanding as Debra exited her car and made her way over to them.
"Ugh, geez, the traffic was awful this morning, it's a good thing I left early and- who the fuck is she?" Deb said as she pointed at Lumen.
"Nice to see you again, too, Debra," Lumen said monotonously.
"Excuse me?" Deb said incredulously. "I don't- wait... you were Dexter's 'tenant' a year ago, weren't you? Why the fuck are you here now?"
"Deb," Dexter warned as he gestured down to Harrison. Debra let out a huff of annoyance.
"Fine, why the fudge are you here?"
"Deb, we don't have time for this," Dexter said, "we have the interview in a few minutes."
"Alright, but we're not done with this," Deb said. "Well? Shall we?"
~IiD~
"That didn't pan out like I thought it would," Lumen said as they walked out of the pre-school.
"At least Harrison seemed to like the place," Deb said.
"I think he just liked the cookies," Dexter said as he put him in his car seat.
"I still can't believe Sister thought... I still don't remember your name... was your wife," Deb said with a scoff as she leaned against Dexter's Ford, pointedly looking at Lumen.
"Lumen," Lumen answered.
"We're all going to talk about this soon, but Dex... did you seriously mean what you said? That you don't believe in anything?"
"Dexter doesn't have to-" Lumen started.
"I'm not asking you," Debra said a little aggressively. Lumen just huffed, getting seriously miffed with the rude attitude of Dexter's sister. Dexter himself just gave Deb a look, but answered.
"I suppose I believe in a certain set of principles." Lumen looked at Dexter in curiosity.
"Principles? What kind of principles?" Debra asked, beating Lumen to the punch.
"A set of rules on how to conduct myself in the world so that I don't get... into trouble," Dexter answered. Debra just gave him a weird look and Lumen just decided to stay out of it for the time being, watching how this would all play out.
"I'm not the most religious person in the world, I mean, Mom practically had to drag me to church, but seriously?"
"What?"
"A set of rules to follow so you don't get in trouble? Sounds like something I might teach a puppy," Deb said as she crossed her arms.
"Is that so bad?" Dexter asked in confusion. Lumen just lifted an eyebrow in curiosity at what these rules pertained to. She would drag them out of Dexter one way or another.
"I dunno, just sounds kind of cold and empty, ya know?" Dexter knitted his eyebrows a bit.
"Does it?"
"Yeah." Dexter just gave a scoff at her answer. Deb just shook her head a bit.
"I don't know, you can believe whatever you wanna believe. Or not believe whatever you wanna believe. But it's not just about you anymore. You're a father. What about Harrison? You have to think about what you want him to believe." Dexter internally sighed at that, knowing Debra was right.
"I think Harrison should have the freedom of choice in what he wants to believe, when he's old enough," Lumen chimed in as she pointedly looked at Debra. Deb looked back at her with narrowed eyes.
"You're not his mother, you don't get any say in this," she hissed out.
"Well, you're not his mother either," Lumen pointed out. "Besides, I plan on being in his life from here on out," that admission from Lumen caused Dexter's heart to leap, "so I'd say I do get a say in this."
"I'm his aunt, I'd say I get more say in this than some girl who ditched my brother for a year before randomly coming back out of the blue!" Debra argued, nearly shouting now.
"I did not ditch Dexter!" Dexter sighed, knowing he was going to have to prevent an all out cat fight from breaking out in front of a pre-school. He stepped between the two woman, blocking their sight of each other.
"Alright, this is pointless. Deb, we need to get to work soon. Lumen, I'll drop you and Harrison off back home. Jamie will be coming by soon." Debra huffed and turned on her heel to march back to her car, but she turned to look at her brother one more time.
"You and I are talking about this ASAP, you got it? I'll see you at LaGuerta's little costume party." With that, she got into her BMW and took off. Dexter let out a sigh through his nose and turned to look at his girlfriend.
"Sorry about that, I don't understand what came over her." Lumen just shrugged.
"It's alright, I was kind of expecting it." They both got into the vehicle and Dexter turned it on as he looked back at his son, who was slowly nodding off.
"I hope the two of you will get along, eventually," Dexter said as he began driving back to the apartments.
"Seems like a long shot to me. A killer and a cop being friends? It sounds like some B movie from the eighties," Lumen said with a scoff.
"She and I get along," Dexter pointed out.
"You're her brother, and she's completely oblivious about you. Me on the other hand? I'm just some random girl that entered your life out of nowhere, in her eyes," Lumen said as she leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes.
"Well, can you try? For my sake?"
"I will, I don't know about her." Dexter released a silent breath.
"I'll talk to her about it." They sat in silence for a bit after that before Dexter spoke up again. "I'm taking an extra long lunch today to go pick out my outfit for the reunion. I'll swing by and pick you up so you can pick out something as well."
"Sounds good to me. I'm not doing anything fancy, just so you know. I've never really been a dress kind of girl, I only wear them for special occassions," Lumen said with a grin. "Drove my parents nuts because I was always a bit of a tomboy. They were always about traditional roles and such." Dexter blinked in surprise at what Lumen said.
"Huh, that's... interesting," he said as he turned the wheel to go right.
"It doesn't bother you?"
"Why would it?" he asked in confusion.
"I don't know, some guys can't stand tomboys, but then again, you're not like most guys, are you?" she said with a laugh. "I liked that about you, you know? The first time we met? I could tell you were never one to care about superficial things like looks or the way one dresses."
"You're right about that," Dexter said with a small huff of amusement. "There are more important things to worry about." Lumen scoffed.
"You got that right."
~IiD~
"Well, we're here," Dexter said as he found a parking spot.
"This is a big school, even bigger than mine," Lumen said in surprise as she adjusted the hem of her dark purple dress, feeling far too exposed in it even though it covered quite a bit of her. "And my school was large as it was."
"Yeah, it was a nightmare to navigate until I got used to it," he said as he got out and walked around to the passenger side and held the door open for Lumen.
"Thanks," she said and Dexter nodded before clasping their hands together. "So, what's your plan to, you know?"
"I sharpened my class ring. I'll get him to shake my hand and get a sample of his blood that way," Dexter murmured so as to not be overheard. Lumen nodded.
"Smart. But do you have a back up plan in case that fails?" Dexter furrowed his eyebrows.
"I don't, but why would it fail?" Lumen just let out a sigh.
"He's a jock, right? That's what you told me. He may very well greet you differently. Like a slap on the back or something." Dexter gave a hum at that.
"I... didn't think about that," he said with a grimace as they neared the entrance to the school.
"Well, luckily I'm here. I have an idea if that fails," Lumen said as she patted one of her hidden knives, the ones Dexter learned that she never went out without anymore.
"We can't just stab him," he whispered and she rolled her eyes.
"That's not my plan, doofus," she said in amusement.
Soon after they entered the school and were bombarded by old classmates of Dexter's as they greeted him. He was clearly uncomfortable with all the attention and it amused Lumen to no end. Eventually though, they were able to get away from everyone for a short while to breathe.
"Wow, never expected you to be this popular," Lumen said with cheerfulness before taking a swig of her fruit punch from the cup she was holding.
"I'm not! I wasn't. I mean, I just..." Dexter sighed as he gently banged his head against the wall in frustration. "I don't get it, I was pretty much invisible in high school, what changed?"
"Well, I haven't seen pictures of you from high school, yet, but I'd say you probably look better than most of them out there do. Plus, you have a cool job that you can boast about. And having a pretty, slightly younger, woman on your arm doesn't hurt either," she said with a wink, which caused Dexter to grin a bit. "Honestly, Dexter, you should probably just enjoy it. At least while you're here."
"Yeah, I suppose you're right," he said with a sigh. "I just prefer being invisible, that's who I am." Lumen gently laid a hand on his arm.
"I get it, but after this weekend, no one is going to care about any of this. Trust me, it was the same at my first high school reunion." Dexter huffed with a smile as he looked at Lumen. His gaze, however, quickly shifted as he spotted his, their, target.
"There he is. Still the center of attention, it seems," he said quietly. Lumen quickly looked in the direction her boyfriend was looking and spotted Joe as well. "I'll be right back." With that, he made his way over to the football player. Or, well, attempted to. He was accosted by more former classmates asking questions and giving condolences about Rita. Eventually, however, he made it to his destination.
"Joe. Hey." Dexter held out his hand for a handshake.
"Dexter. What's going on man?" Unfortunately, it seemed Lumen had been right. Joe closed his fist before fist-bumping Dexter, causing him to internally wince as his sharpened ring cut into his hand.
'Nice, a sample of my own blood.'
After a short, and rather stilted conversation with Joe, Dexter made his way back over to Lumen.
"You were right, he fist-bumped me," Dexter said with a muted sigh. "So, what's your plan?"
"Well, my plan was predicated on him getting drunk, but that doesn't seem to be happening," Lumen said with a twitch. "Have any other ideas?"
Dexter looked around and spotted a sign up sheet for a game of flag football on a board.
"I think I may have an idea," he said before music started playing. He looked at Lumen as she groaned in mock misery.
"Oh no, not this song! They played it at every party and event when I was in school," she bemoaned.
"What?" Dexter asked in confusion.
"Can't Touch This by MC Hammer, please tell me you've at least heard of it?" The look of confusion on his face proved to her he had, in fact, not heard of it. "Oh my god, I'm going to sit you down and teach you about pop culture, I swear."
They were soon dragged on to the dance floor by a bunch of Dexter's drunk classmates, much to both of their chagrin.
~IiD~
"You can stop laughing, Lumen," Dexter said blandly as he started his Ford.
"I-I'm sorry, but that was the worst dancing I've ever seen, it was hilarious!" Lumen cackled as she replayed Dexter's dancing in her mind. He pretended to be mad for a moment before cracking a small smile.
"I suppose it was, but dancing was never on my list of priorities to learn." Lumen snorted at that.
"Obviously. I suppose you were better than some of the drunken idiots out there. Almost broke one drunk idiot's fingers for trying to grab my ass," she said with a scowl, and Dexter matched it, feeling possessive. "Anyway, what's this new plan you came up with? We only have two days left."
"I signed up for the game of flag football happening tomorrow. I'm going to try and get Joe's blood that way." Lumen blinked in surprise.
"I'm sorry, but you seem like the last person to be interested in sports of any kind," she said. Dexter gave a huff of amusement.
"You're right, but this was the only thing I could think of. I'm going to have to learn how to play the game, or at least get the basics down." Lumen just shook her head.
"What if you don't get his blood?"
"Then we move on to a new target," he said simply and she nodded.
The Following Afternoon
One game of flag football and one elbow to the face later and Dexter finally got a sample of Joe Walker's blood.
"Got to admit, that was pretty ingenious to break his nose like that. Now what?" Lumen asked.
"Now, I head back to the lab and get it tested," Dexter said as he bagged the rag with Joe's blood on it as they were sitting in his Ford.
"I still love that you can just test stuff for DNA. Would have made it so much easier for me, that's for sure," Lumen said with a wry grin. Dexter put the bag on the backseat before reaching over and gently tucking a loose of strand hair behind Lumen's ear.
"You won't have to worry about that anymore, you're here with me now," he said quietly. Lumen reached up and carded her fingers through Dexter's dark, auburn hair.
"I'm glad I am," she whispered back.
Later that evening, Dexter ran the blood he got from Joe Walker against the blood found under Janet's fingernails. As soon as the result came back, he picked up the phone and called Lumen, who was currently at home with Harrison, having released Jamie for the night.
"We have a match," he told her.
The next day, they were sitting outside his high school in his SUV as they planned.
"So, we just need to lure him to the kill room you picked out, right?" Lumen asked, holding on to the bag in her lap that contained her hunting/killing gear.
"Right, but I'm not sure how to get him to it. He most likely won't follow me anywhere, that I'm certain of." Lumen furrowed her eyebrows in thought.
"No... but he would probably follow me to it. Listen," she said, stopping Dexter from voicing his complaints at the idea she had, "he's not going to hurt me, especially if he thinks he's going to get sex out of me." The idea of that made her twitch in disgust. Dexter just growled at the thought of Joe putting his hands on Lumen in any way, shape, or form.
"I know you don't like it, neither do I if I'm being honest, but it's our only hope to lure him," Lumen said as she patted Dexter's hand. "Let me go in alone while you set up the kill room, and I'll get him to follow me, alright?"
"Fine," Dexter said shortly. He handed her a syringe of M-99, much to her confusion. "Just in case." She nodded and they both got out of the car, quickly kissing before they separated to go do their own part of the plan.
With a sigh, Lumen stepped into the school and headed for the gymnasium, preparing herself mentally for the act she was about to put on. She walked into the gym and looked around at all the people mingling around, trying to spot one Joe Walker. Thankfully, this was made easier as everyone seemed to just ignore her.
Shortly after, she finally spotted her target standing over by the snack table. Lumen took a deep breath and made her way over. It did not take long for Joe to notice her.
"Oh hey, you're Dexter's girl, right? Man, can't believe he bagged someone like you," he said as he eyed her up and down, much to Lumen's disgust. "So, where is he, anyway?"
"I came here alone tonight, he had a crime scene to go to. I swear, he's never home anymore because of his job. I can't help but feel alone most of the time, you know?" Lumen thought she should pat herself on the back for her acting. Of course, it's what helped her lure several of her victims to their death back in Minnesota.
"Eh, I feel for you. Men like that don't deserve girls like you," he said flirtingly. Lumen thought this was way too easy, but that was a good thing. "He's such a nerd, anyway." She snorted at that. He was a bit of a nerd, there was no denying it, but she liked that about Dexter. A lot, actually.
"Yeah, I should have met someone like you instead," she said coyly as she ran a hand up and down one of Joe's arms, holding back a shudder of revulsion at the act. It was working though, she could tell. "Dexter showed me a quiet, out of the way place by the stadium, you wanna head there and... get to know one another better?"
"Ooo, you naughty girl, you. Lead the way, beautiful." Lumen grabbed his hand, excitement thrumming through her veins, as she led Joe Walker to her and Dexter's kill room. Joe took her excitement to mean something completely else, however, especially as she began to hurry the both of them.
"Why the hurry? We have all night, baby," he said with an oily smile.
"I haven't had sex in weeks," a huge lie, she and Dexter had sex last night, "I'm just really excited."
Soon enough they arrived at the storage room by the football field where Dexter had the room all set up.
"I remember this, used to come here a lot with a bunch of girls back in the day." Lumen wonders if that is part of the reason that Dexter chose the place. "Didn't know Dexter knew about it."
"Well, come on, let's get go in," Lumen said eagerly, letting Joe in first as she closed the door behind her. He was looking around in confusion at all the plastic covering every inch of the space.
"What the fuck, why is there so much plastic here?" Lumen quickly went to his front to distract him after spotting Dexter hiding in the corner by the door. She wrapped her arms around him and made him keep his eyes on her. She gave the sexiest smile she could, which easily distracted him.
"Staff probably did it for some reason. Just means we won't have to get dirty and will make the blood clean up easier," she said, much to Joe's immense confusion.
"Wha-?" The next thing the jock knew, a needle was inserted into his neck and he was out like a light. Lumen immediately let go of him with a look of disgust. Dexter swiftly caught him before he hit the floor.
"God, I hope I don't have to do that often, I about threw up even touching him," she said with a violent shudder. She grabbed his legs, though, and helped lift him on to the table before helping Dexter strip him of his clothes and wrapping him in saran wrap.
"Well, the plan worked at least. Glad you distracted him, I thought I was going to have to fight him," Dexter said as Lumen started changing out of her dress and into her kill clothes. He could not help but stare, mesmerized by how quickly she was able to do it now.
"You're staring," Lumen said with humor in her voice as she pulled her shirt over her head.
"Sorry," Dexter said quickly. "It's just..."
"You don't need to say another word," she said softly as she finished typing her rubber apron. "I understand." She swiftly tied her hair up into a ponytail before putting on some gloves and the plastic that covered her arms. Dexter swallowed hard when he saw her in her full ensemble, utterly turned on. Lumen was the only woman who had ever been able to turn him on in full; able to get him hard without much effort. Not even Rita had been able to do that. Nor any other woman he had ever been with.
"Come on, let's wake him up," Lumen said, snapping Dexter out of his horny thoughts. Well, horny for him.
"Right." He grabbed a packet of smelling salts out of his pocket and broke it under Joe's nose, immediately waking him up. The jock looked around in confusion for a moment before speaking.
"What the hell is going on?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Lumen said as she walked into his line of sight.
"YOU!" he yelled. "What the fuck, you led me into a trap, you crazy bitch!" He groaned as he was suddenly slapped. Hard. Soon he was looking into the angry eyes of Dexter, who had a painful grip on his jaw.
"Do not talk to my girlfriend that way," he said in a deadly whisper.
"Ha, I always knew you were some sort of freak, and this proves it!"
"Perhaps," Dexter droned as he grabbed a smaller knife and sliced his cheek, causing Joe to moan in pain. He used his pipette to gather the blood and put it in a blood slide. Lumen watched on, fascinated. "But at least I'm not the kind of freak who kills an innocent woman."
"Why'd you kill Janet," Lumen suddenly hissed out as she approached Joe.
"What? I-I-I didn't kill her, she killed herself!"
"Stop lying, we know the truth. Dexter is a blood spatter analyst, after all," Lumen said.
"Which means I see things others miss. You put the gun in her hand after shooting her, but she didn't go down without a fight. There was blood underneath her fingernails," Dexter explained as he picked out an appropriate knife.
"No, I-I swear I didn't! I came home and found her like that," a knife was suddenly at his throat and he squeaked a bit, "o-okay okay! I killed her! Alright?"
"Why?" Lumen whispered darkly. "What could she have possibly done to deserve death?"
"W-We were h-having problems, the marriage was o-over and-"
"So you killed her?" Dexter asked.
"Do you have any idea how expensive divorce is?!" Joe stated loudly with a whine.
Lumen and Dexter looked at each other in shock before Lumen's face turned to one of absolute disgust.
"You killed her because you didn't want to pay for a divorce? Are you fucking serious right now?!" Lumen said angrily. "And people would call us evil." She looked at the tattoo of Jesus on his collarbone and shook her head in disbelief, but did not say anything about it. "Let's get this over with, I'm tired of hearing him talk."
"NO! W-Wait, please! God wouldn't want you to do this!" Dexter suddenly put his index finger on Joe's forehead, tapping it a couple of times.
"God's not here. We are," he whispered. "Besides, you abandoned God when you killed your wife."
"N-No, please!" Joe began rambling, pleading for his life, before his pleas suddenly turned to bible verses. Lumen just rolled her eyes, grabbed the hammer Dexter brought, and smashed it upside Joe's head, knocking him out.
"Sorry Joe, it's hammer time," Lumen said with a straight face, and Dexter had to fight the bubbling laughter that tried to rise up out of his chest.
Dexter soon raised the knife he was holding above Joe's chest, and Lumen quickly covered his hands with hers. He looked at her confused, and she smiled.
"I want us to do it together." Dexter gave her a small smile, feeling elated. In one swift motion, they brought the knife down, ending Joe's life. Lumen let out a deep sigh as she felt the darkness retreat once more. For the time being, anyway.
"Come on, let's get him bagged and this place cleaned up," Dexter said as he brought out his saw. "We don't want to be caught."
"Yeah, that would be bad," Lumen said with a chuckle as she grabbed her own saw, much to Dexter's internal shock.
A while later, the both of them were on his boat as they swiftly tossed the bags containing Joe's body overboard. Once they were done, they leaned on the side of the boat as they gazed up into the moon together.
"Beautiful moon tonight," Dexter said quietly.
"Yeah, it is," Lumen responded. "It seems bigger here in Miami." Dexter just gave a hum in response.
"You know," she started, catching Dexter's attention, "I always wondered what path in the forked road I took to get to this point in my life. I ditch my own wedding, end up in the hands of monsters, saved by you, a serial killer, and end up becoming one myself." She scoffed a bit. "Fate is a bitch, isn't it?"
"I'd say so, yes," Dexter responded.
"But you want to know the fucked up part?" Dexter tilted his head in question. "I don't regret any of it." He raised his eyebrows in shock at her confession. "If I was back at the fork in the road, and I had to choose between marrying Owen and this life again, I'd choose the latter every time."
"But... you could have had a normal, safe life, why would you choose this?" he asked incredulously. He certainly would not have chosen his current life if he had the choice.
Lumen gave a snort.
"Normal..." She shook her head. "I never wanted normal. I certainly never imagined this, of course, but I wanted a life full of excitement, of adventure. Maybe a sprinkle of danger, but nothing serious. I guess that's why the thought of a suburban life frightened me. The idea of it was boring to the core."
"I suppose it isn't for everyone," Dexter said, knowing how true it was. He certainly never truly fit in with it, even when he lived it with Rita. She had loved that life. Him? Not so much. It drove him even more insane than he already was. "Maybe we're more compatible than I thought."
"Yeah... I loved Owen, but..."
"You weren't in love with him, right?" Dexter could relate. He had loved Rita, but he realized as time went on, he was not in love with her. He did not truly know what it felt like to truly be in love with someone, but he was slowly finding out.
"I wasn't, no. We knew each other since we were kids. My parents were so gung-ho about us getting together and eventually marrying, but that isn't what I wanted. At all. I felt trapped in that life, so I escaped it. Only to nearly die in the arms of those creatures," she said with disdain. "The one good thing that came out of all of it was you."
Dexter wrapped an arm around her and pulled her against him. Lumen sighed and leaned into him, nuzzling her head into his shoulder. She played with the hem of his shirt absentmindedly as they stood there in silence. She tried to gather the courage to say what she wanted.
"It took me a while to realize this, mostly after I left you," she started, grabbing Dexter's attention. "But... somewhere along the line, probably even before we got together the first time, I fell in love with you." She shyly buried her face into his shoulder. "I couldn't believe myself, falling in love with a killer, I must have been insane! Over time, though, I got over it and just accepted it, especially since I was, and became, the same." She paused and slowly looked up into his face, noticing it was frozen. "Please, Dexter, say something. Anything."
Instead of saying something, Dexter turned around and kissed Lumen passionately. They soon found themselves on the floor of the boat with Dexter on top of her, half-naked. He paused to catch his breath as he stared into Lumen's brown eyes. He cupped the left side of her face in his hand.
"I don't know what it means to be in love," he admitted, "not yet anyway, but I want to found out. With you." He quickly dived back in and captured her lips once more, moaning as a spike of pleasure and desire traveled down his spine.
They were soon making love on the floor of his boat. The only witness to their act of carnal desire was the full moon hanging in the sky; watching over them and bathing them in its cool light.
They would return home late that night, much to Jamie's ire.
Oh well, they'd make it up to her.
END
A/N: Phew, finally, finished this beast of a chapter, lol. Well, a beast to me. I don't tend to write chapters this long anymore.
As you probably noticed, I definitely changed some stuff around. I had to, with Lumen in the picture now. Plus, some of the stuff was way too corny from the show for my tastes, heh.
You know, it still pisses me off that they built up Dexter and Lumen's relationship for the whole season of season 5, they finally get together at the end of episode 10, and then she leaves two episodes later, with barely any relationship time with them. Like what the actual fuck? Oh, but Hannah McKay gets absolutely no relationship build up at all, leaves, but she gets to come back? Only reason she did was to have her take Harrison at the end of the show. (Which, by the way, was dumb as shit and was completely OOC for Dexter to do, especially when Deb told him not to abandon his son, no matter what.)
Trust me, there's gonna be a looooooot of changes coming your way to fit my own narrative. I'm probably not even going to include Hannah in this story. Well, maybe I will, but Lumen kills her. We'll see, though.
Anywho, chapter five starts the DDK plotline. Should be fun.