"So here we are again," Chloe revealed unlocking the door.
"Mommy!" Trixie flew into her arms.
"Monkey, what are you doing up?"
Julia, the babysitter rolled her eyes. "It's like trying to put a hyper grasshopper to bed."
Chloe laughed, she was well aware of her daughter's antics. She paid Julia so she could go home.
"Lucifer! Are you here for a sleepover?" Trixie wrapped her arms around him. Chloe grinned as Lucifer made a noise akin to one made after stepping in something squishy.
Spotting the blood on his sleeve Trixie looked at Chloe with a worried look on her little face. "Did you shoot him again?"
Lucifer snorted.
"No monkey, a bad man did but Lucifer's okay, just a scratch," she assured her.
"Do you want to cuddle with my teddy bear again? Angel will make you feel better."
A look of horror crossed Lucifer's face. "Most definitely not. Shouldn't you be in bed by now?" he asked and winked at her.
Trixie looked guilty. "I guess so..."
"Off you pop then," Lucifer suggested.
Trixie shook her head. "You have a boo-boo you need a kiss to make it better."
Lucifer raised a suggestive brow and curled his lips seductively at Chloe. "Do you hear that I have a boo-boo and require a kiss so I can heal?"
"All right." Chloe nodded in agreement. "Go sit on the sofa, Trixie you can kiss him on the cheek, careful not to hurt his arm."
Lucifer's mouth dropped open then he threw a grumpy look at her. Chloe smirked. "Sit Lucifer, or Trixie won't go to bed and will want to talk to you all night."
Lucifer promptly sat. He managed to tolerate the eight-year-old's wet kiss on his cheek and arms around his neck. He even awkwardly patted her back. "There there child. I'm fine, all better now -- off to bed you go."
Trixie looked at him adoringly. "Good night Lucifer, night Mommy."
"Night monkey. Sweet dreams." Chloe hugged her and kissed her forehead.
She pulled out the sofa bed, fluffing the pillows. "I'm going to sleep here as usual; you can have the bed upstairs. I don't want my daughter waking up to find us in bed together."
When he didn't protest she looked over at him and realized he was struggling to get his arm out of his jacket. She went and helped him carefully slide it off. The wound was still bleeding. She got him upstairs and had him sit on the bed as she got some antiseptic, cotton balls, and bandages. He flinched when she put the antiseptic on> "Oww that hurts. Isn't this supposed to make me feel better, not worse?"
"Don't be such a baby," she calmly said. "It will feel better soon." Once she had him all bandaged up, he stripped down to his underwear and she got him to lie down.
"So what do you make of my mum helping me?" he asked nonchalantly but the tension in his voice, how he was clenching his hands into fists and the fact he wasn't making eye contact spoke otherwise.
"I think she appears to care about you. She ran her hand over your forehead and down your cheek before she left. It looked very loving and I don't think she did it for our benefit. She must feel guilty for what she did perhaps this was a small gesture to redeem herself?"
His eyes are large and vulnerable. "I'm glad she wasn't the one who took the boy."
"Me too. Now get some sleep. I'll stay here until you drift off," she whispered.
His eyes were already falling shut. "Night, Detective."
Chloe checked on him twice during the night but he was sleeping peacefully. She couldn't seem to stop herself from watching him for a few moments. He was sprawled on his back across the bed his short hair somehow mussed and slightly curled. She watched his chest rise and fall and a wave of warmth spread through her. It unnerved her that he could die whenever he was with her, She couldn't live with that. A pit of fear curled in her stomach -- he was in her thoughts continuously. She realized she was thinking far more about Lucifer than of her husband. Was she falling in love with the devil? She backed away from the bed. It took her a few hours to fall back asleep.
Chloe woke up to the sounds of whispering coming from the kitchen. It took her a moment to remember what had happened the previous night. So the whispering must be Lucifer and Trixie. She grinned she better get up and rescue the devil from her daughter's over-exuberant adoration.
The whispering came closer as she opened her eyes to see Lucifer carrying a tray and Trixie a little bouquet of Lucifer Crocosmia blooms, both were smiling. She noted Lucifer was fully dressed while Trixie was still in pajamas.
"Breakfast in bed, Detective. You didn't tell me you grew flowers named after me," he gloated.
"I planted those long before I met you."
"Mmm must have been a case of serendipity." He smirked. He set the tray down in front of her as Trixie added the small vase to the corner of the tray.
"Lucifer made you breakfast so I told him all of your favorite things," she buzzed excitedly.
"Thank you it smells so good. You two should eat as well."
"We already did. Lucifer made me blueberry pancakes. They were even better than yours." Trixie bounced on the bed.
Lucifer sat on the corner of the bed looking smug and pleased with himself.
She looked over the tray, the French toast, omelet, freshly squeezed orange juice, and strong coffee.
"I'm famished. Thank you both."
"Lucifer did all the work," Trixie admitted."
"But your offspring provided the entertainment. I heard all about the incident with the turkey last Thanksgiving -- a little well done was it?" His eyes were open wide and innocent but a devilish smile played on his lips.
"It only happened once and it was still edible - just a little bit dry," Chloe admitted.
Trixie chirped up. "Remember when you burned the oatmeal and had to throw away the pan? There was so much smoke the fire alarm went off -- it was so loud." She giggled.
"Okay monkey, I'm sure Lucifer doesn't want to hear about all of my kitchen mishaps," she shushed Trixie.
"Oh contraire Detective, you are always so fastidious, it's been downright refreshing hearing about all your foibles." He grinned like a cat that had swallowed a canary.
"How are you feeling?" she asked noting he didn't look flushed.
"Right as rain, except for my arm -- it keeps throbbing and not in a good way." He gingerly touched it.
"We should probably put a sling around it. I want you to stay home today and rest."
Trixie cut her off. "YAY!"
"I mean Lucifer's home," Chloe clarified.
"Oh," they responded in disappointed harmony as both of their faces fell.
"But I want to go on our next case unless, of course, it's boring," Lucifer whined.
"I want to play with Lucifer all day," Trixie whined.
"I'm getting a headache," Chloe informed them. At times Lucifer's maturity matched Trixie's. "Lucifer, Trixie is eight, you don't need to act the same way."
They both pouted.
Chloe sighed. "Look you got hurt yesterday and you need a day off. I'll put a sling around your arm than take you home." She knew he was disappointed - he looked downright disgruntled, his jaw set stubbornly but after what Amenadiel and Maze told her yesterday she couldn't risk endangering him. It all sounded so strange that she could affect him that way -- make him human.
She went to the first aid kit looking for something that could double as a sling. Not finding anything she raided the closet and found a long, soft scarf. She doubled it and had Lucifer sit on the bed as she tied it around him. He didn't say anything but when she looked up at him she found his black eyes on her with the kicked puppy look.
She sighed and sat beside him. "What's wrong," she asked quietly while Trixie was in her room getting dressed.
"I'm perfectly fine yet for some reason you don't want me working with you. Did I do something to offend you?" he asked concerned.
"No, of course not." She touched his arm lightly.
"Did it scare you seeing me in my devil form?"
"No," she assured him.
"Then what is it, Detective? I can tell something has changed. It's in your eyes," he pleaded with her.
Damn, he was perceptive. There was hurt in his eyes and she hated being the cause of it.
"Tell me the truth. If you had faced those guns yesterday without me being there would you have been injured? And remember you said you don't lie." She stared him in the eyes and saw him falter.
Then his eyes narrowed into slits. With a deep voice trembling with barely controlled rage he growled, "Who told you?"
"Lucifer, calm down," she warned him. Sometimes when his anger surfaced he reminded her of a wild animal that acted on pure instinct.
Through gritted teeth, he spat, "Maze or Amenadiel?"
She sat back and shook her head. NO! Don't you dare blame them! This is on you -- this is something you should have told me as soon as you figured it out. You could have died at my feet yesterday and it would have been avoidable if you'd only told me!"
Chloe's blue eyes had narrowed in response and he could tell she'd grown furious with him but it didn't diminish the anger she felt at Maze and Amenadiel's further betrayal. He took a shaky breath. For some reason looking into Chloe's eyes brought his control back.
He struggled to his feet pushing himself up with his good arm. "You don't need to know every detail of my life, Detective. I am no more at risk of dying than you are."
She frowned, he had a point there but she didn't let him off that easy. "You tell me you're the devil and I find out are invincible except when around me -- so I consider it a big deal when you fail to inform me of that fact!"
"Mom, Lucifer's hurt don't yell at him!" Trixie came out and stood by Lucifer's side.
"Lucifer got hurt because he didn't tell me something very important. Something that would have stopped him from getting hurt," she explained.
"Well, that was dumb. Why didn't you tell mom?" Trixie scolded the devil.
His mouth gaped open -- he looked rather out of sorts. Chloe suppressed a giggle. The devil wasn't used to being reprimanded by an eight-year-old.
His eyes narrowed. "I'm ready to go home."
She was going to drive him but was rather miffed at this point. "Fine, I'll call you an Uber."
Trixie didn't say anything as she recognized the tone in her mom's voice as non-negotiable.
"Fine, I'll wait outside then," he responded stubbornly.
Lucifer stepped outside. The anger had subsided yet his heart for some reason had a horrible sinking feeling. He sat on a stone ledge near the door. Had he just blown his relationship with the Detective? She was just trying to protect him and instead of being grateful, she cared he'd lost his temper over who had told her. He put his head in his hand trying to think of a way to fix this so she would continue to work with him.
Chloe hadn't called Uber yet. She couldn't quite bring herself to do it. He had an issue with being betrayed and she hadn't acknowledged that. She also hadn't explained to him that Maze and Amenadiel had only told her because they were worried about him. He probably hadn't told her himself because he was afraid she would react exactly as she had. Try to protect him by wrapping him in bubble wrap. If she were honest with herself -- she was in just as much danger every day and after what happened to her dad she overreacted.
"Mommy. Lucifer is crying." Trixie whispered -- her dark eyes brimming with tears.
"What, there is no way!"
"Look." Her daughter pointed at the window. Chloe looked out with a heavy heart ... and relaxed. Lucifer was just sitting there with his head in his hand. He lifted his head just then looking down the street -- presumably for the Uber.
"No babe, he's not -- look," Chloe assured her soft-hearted daughter.
"Oh, I'm glad. I like Lucifer and don't want him to be sad."
Chloe couldn't help but agree. "Neither do I, do you think we should give him a ride home?"
"Yes, can we?" Her tears were gone like quicksilver replaced by a happy grin.
Chloe nodded. "But I need to talk to him first. Will you play in your room and let me talk to Lucifer in private? I'll come and get you when we are ready to go."
Trixie nodded. "But don't be mad at him it makes him sad."
Chloe nodded. "I promise."
As Trixie went to her room Chloe went outside. Lucifer looked worn and tired. He glanced at her for a moment then away.
She sat down beside him.
He looked at her again, inhaled deeply then exhaled in an exasperated voice. "I'm sorry."
Startled she didn't know what to say for a moment, he had caught her off guard.
His eyes widened. "I should have told you."
She exhaled, paused then smiled. "I came out here to tell you I was sorry."
He groaned. "Bloody hell, I should have let you go first."
She laughed lightly. But then grew serious. "My dad was killed in the line of duty. Seeing you shot yesterday...scared me and perhaps made me overreact. But you should have told me because we are friends and I care about you. I need to know things like this perhaps a situation will arise in the future when I need someone invincible -- I could send you in and stay away. Amenadiel and Maze only told me because they love you and care about you and thought I should know."
He snorted. "Love,"
"Yes, love. Maze loves you - crazy love and I know you love her too. You'd go ballistic if something happened to her. You are family. Same for your brother - while you two may have some sibling rivalry underneath it all you love each other. I saw that the morning you found out your mom was in town,"
He didn't respond, he sat hunched on the stone. She waited till he made eye contact again then reached over and hugged him tightly. "I just want you to be safe. Not get shot or hurt or worse."
He didn't say anything other than "Ditto." Then he put one hand in her hair and the other across her lower back.
She put her head on his shoulder and sighed before starting to pull away.
Lucifer's lips grazed the side of her forehead. "Do I still have to take the Uber?"
She giggled. "No, come on - we'll drive you.