Hello! Well, we made it. Thank you, sincerely, to all who followed, favorited and left feedback on this story. It has been a really fun process.

I would like to offer a very special thanks to BelenP for being such a wonderful beta since she came on board, and to push me to write the best version of each chapter. It has been such an honor working with you.

I wrote this epilogue in a way that could fit both endings. So, whichever ending you prefer to stick with, will have different consequences after the story (obviously), but I will leave that part up to you to imagine. Again, thank you for leaving such wonderful reviews, sometimes praising others more critical, but all welcome. I learned a lot about your likes and dislikes from those. On a side note, I will have to go back and edit parts of the beginning to reflect the attitudes of some of the characters given how Maze has thawed over the course of the series. Thanks to a recent reader for pointing that out. ;-)

In any case, here is the epilogue...

Epilogue: Deja Vu

Lux had undergone an incredible transformation for the day. The trendy club space had turned into a balloon filled, children haven extravaganza in celebration of Trixie's ninth birthday, complete with a face painter, a magician and a karaoke machine under two gigantic screens set up on the main stage. Chloe still couldn't believe Lucifer had agreed to hold the party at his place, much less go full out with the entertainment. The fact that he had gone over the top didn't surprise her. That was pretty much his trademark. But for Lucifer to willingly offer to host a shindig with almost thirty children running loose all over Lux had rendered her speechless.

Although, it wasn't just the birthday party. Lately, he had gone out of his way catering to Trixie's every desire, from taking her for chocolate cake after school, to getting her a birthday gift that would surely make her jaw hit the ground. His indulging her had even raised some tensions between Lucifer and Dan, who had also turned into a bit of a 'helicopter parent' after the abbey case. Chloe understood them both. She understood Dan's concern over his daughter's upbringing and, in a way, she understood how Lucifer's troubled relationship with his own parents (bizarre a concept as that was to grasp) translated into this imperative need to please Trixie at all costs. Still, while she appreciated his misguided efforts, she knew they ought to have a talk regarding his particular brand of parental approach. There was no way she could postpone the conversation indefinitely. Especially now, as things were about to get a little more complicated.

The gradual shift in his notorious aversion to kids had begun not long after his mysterious disappearance at the abbey two months ago. Or, at least, that's when Chloe had first noticed it. Shortly after that, she had finally bitten the bullet, and allowed Trixie to tag along on one of her visits to the penthouse, where the girl had been instantly captivated by Lucifer's grand piano. Utterly mesmerized, she had sat on the bench, her short legs hanging as she kicked the air with excitement, while Chloe and Lucifer discussed their most recent case. When her little fingers had begun pouncing on the keys, Chloe feared it would prompt a stern reprimand from Lucifer for touching such a sacred item without his permission. Much to her surprise, Lucifer had simply sat next to Trixie and calmly asked her if she wanted to learn how to play. Her daughter's face had lit up at the suggestion. When he had asked her if she had a particular song in mind, Trixie thought about it for a moment, and then told him the title of a popular song from the hit show 'Leave it to Lesley'. He was, of course, unfamiliar with tween pop hits, so he'd whipped out his phone and found the song on YouTube. Chloe noticed the horrified look on his face at the cheesiness of the peppy tune sang by the exuberant teen idol. To his credit, he'd managed to hide his disdain well enough so not to crush Trixie's obvious enthusiasm.

It took a single viewing for Lucifer to be able to recreate the song on the piano, feat that had shocked Chloe and made the youngster squeal with delight.

And, thus, the bond between Trixie and Lucifer was born.

"That was so cool!" the girl had gushed. "It sounds almost the same as in the music video!"

"Yes, well, your Lesley uses an electric guitar," he explained, "and, most likely, a hefty dose of methamphetamines for extra energy."

"What are 'mathemtamines'?"

"It's just another word for gummy bears, baby," Chloe cut in, sending Lucifer a murderous leer. "You know how jittery sugar can make you."

"Can you teach me how to play Lesley's song on the piano?" Trixie asked, bringing her hands together in a pleading gesture. "Please, Lucifer! Pretty please!"

And, of course, it was at that moment that Lucifer began to cave in to her demands. Trixie's 'pretty please' appeared to have the same magic effect over him as Chloe's famed 'Lucifer, I need you', which was both funny and problematic. Chloe had watched the impromptu piano lesson silently from the bar, a smile playing on her lips and her heart melting with every encouraging word from Lucifer, or the way his occasional praise kept making Trixie giggle with glee.

The birthday party had turned out to be a hit. Even Ella and Dr. Martin had swung by with presents, no matter how many times Chloe had insisted they could just make it for the more adult geared after party. Penelope had offered to take Trixie and a couple of her closest friends to her house for a Hollywood style slumber party. Chloe preferred not to ask what she'd meant by that, though she was sure makeup and frilly dresses would be involved somehow, more to her mother's joy than her daughter's.

All in all, it was great to see both kids and adults having fun. Linda and Ella had joined Cindy and a handful of other parents around a herd of rowdy kids laughing and fawning over the magician's tricks. Pleased with the way guests had been devouring the gourmet feast that had been catered, Chloe stepped away from the group and spotted Lucifer sitting quietly at the far end of the bar. He was watching the scene from a safe distance while nursing an almost empty glass of white wine. Despite his growing fondness of Trixie, it was obvious children in general still made him quite frazzled.

Chloe came up behind him, planted a soft kiss on his cheek, curled her hand around his waist, and gave him a light squeeze in a gesture that could've been interpreted as possessive, which suited her just fine. They had been pretty open about their relationship lately. So, while they kept it strictly professional at work, they hadn't bothered to hide their physical closeness from their friends outside the office, to the point Ella now referred to them as 'the love birds'. Funny enough, neither of them had an issue with the moniker.

"Dan went to get the cake from the fridge," she told him, looking a bit flushed. "I asked Maze to help him light the candles. Let's hope they don't kill each other before the party is over. They've been bickering non-stop lately."

Lucifer smirked at that and took another sip of wine. "Looks like Detective Douche is in for the ride of his life."

Chloe turned to him with a frown. "What do you mean?"

"Come on, Detective," Lucifer purred. "Don't they remind you of another bickering couple from just a few months ago?"

His insinuation rang a bit farfetched, and she huffed out a dim chuckle. "They're nothing like us!"

Just as she said that, Dan and Maze walked past them arguing over the use of Maze's daggers to cut the cake. One thought it was an insane idea, while the other found it perfectly reasonable.

"Are you sure 'bout that?" Lucifer whispered near Chloe's ear.

"You gotta admit, they make an unlikely pair," she pointed out, willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. "Like vanilla and… dark chocolate covered chili peppers."

"Opposites attract, as that cartoon cat said. I mean, look at us. You're like a Snickers bar and I'm… a Jack Daniel's chocolate truffle."

"Okay, so I'm cheap and fattening and you're high end and exotic, got it."

"No, Darling, I was going for hard on the outside, soft on the inside versus sinful pleasure, which is marginally more compatible than 'spicy pudding' over there," Lucifer said pointing his chin at Dan and Maze, who were standing opposite from them at the end of the bar. They had just finished sticking the candles on the cake, and were now busy arguing over the use of matches or a lighter to light them up.

Lucifer groaned, took another sip of wine, and lifted the glass to Chloe in silent offering. Still captivated by the fun scene unfolding across from them, she turned it down with a mild shake of the head.

"Time for cake!" she grinned, grabbing his hand and dragging him towards the crowd of children that had gathered around Dan.

Lucifer winced when a choir of out-of-tune voices began singing happy birthday in a range of differing keys. Chloe, who was cheerily singing along, caught his eye and winked at him to lighten up, getting a saccharin grin in reply, but no other protest. An ecstatic Trixie was kneeling on a chair at the head of the long rented table. Face beaming, she blew off the candles amidst a roar of applause and peers urging her to make a wish. But cake alone wasn't enough to quiet down an excited pack of unruly children, and Trixie was too focused on the mountain of presents piled up to her left to focus on dessert. So, while Maze used her curved demon blades to slice the 'Leave it to Lesley' themed cake, Chloe gave her daughter permission to start opening gifts.

Most of the presents were tween clothing and accessories, a Master Mind game courtesy of Dr. Linda, a set of temporary tattoos from Maze, and a pair of funky sunglasses with a matching Girls Rule cap from Ella. Trixie's smile broadened further when she opened an envelope signed 'mom & dad', gasping with delight when she saw the Disneyland tickets inside. They hadn't yet worked out the logistics as to who would take her. As it turned out, they didn't have to.

"Will you take me next weekend, daddy?" Trixie asked excitedly.

Chloe and Dan exchanged a glance, a mixture of confusion and relief.

"You got it, kiddo."

"Cool! Can Maze come too?"

All eyes landed on Maze, who was caught biting into a huge piece of cake, her mouth too full to offer an immediate response. Amused by her 'deer in the headlights' look, Dan agreed to his daughter's suggestion with a sardonic smile directed at the reluctant demon, who met his mocking gesture with a derisive smirk. Not having missed a beat, Chloe and Lucifer shared a glance in an 'I told you so'/'I guess you were right' exchange.

"There's one present left!" Trixie's best friend, Denise, pointed out.

With all the excitement, Trixie had missed the strange looking package leaning against one of the boom boxes to the side of the stage. Chloe went to grab it, and handed it to her.

"Here you go, baby. This one's from Lucifer."

Trixie's ear to ear grin couldn't possibly stretch any further. She placed the gift on the table to make the task of unwrapping it a little easier. It was oddly shaped, narrow on one end and wide on the other, kind of heavy, and almost as long as she was tall. She wasted little time tearing at the wrapping paper, her eyes growing wide at the sight of what hid within. A chorus of gasps rang across the group of children, who watched open mouthed as Trixie held a stunning electric guitar that seemed to sparkle under the club lights.

"It looks just like Lesley's!" a little girl yelped.

"It is Lesley's," Lucifer said pointing to the star's signature on its body, right below the bridge. "I personally would've gone with something a little more… Hendriesque, but this bird owed your mum and me a favor. Besides, we can work up to hard rock once you grow out of, what I'm assuming, is an unfortunate teen idol phase, so..."

"I love it!" Trixie said excitedly. "Will you teach me to play it?"

"That's the idea, child."

"Thank you, Lucifer!"

Gratitude was a pesky sentiment when it came to the former Lord of Hell so, to hide his discomfort in the eyes of their guests, he gave Trixie a polite bow of the head and retreated to the bar where he asked the tender to pour him a scotch. When the young man told him that 'Ms. Decker' had instructed him not to serve any liquor stronger than wine, Lucifer scoffed and told him in his most charming devilish tone to make an exception.

Not five minutes later, he was hunching over his scotch when he saw Amenadiel come down the stairs and hand Trixie a pink wrapped box with a lacey fuchsia bow. Lucifer smirked, shaking his head at the thought of his brother finding the 'girliest' possible gift for a child who would rather be the president of Mars than dress as a prissy princess and who, if he had any say about it, would soon be playing Metallica songs on her electric guitar.

To his surprise, the box contained a pendant in the shape of a star, symbolism that didn't go amiss by Lucifer. Unbeknownst to the awestruck child, the silver charm was designed to protect and guide her, to give her strength during tough times. It was a bond between angel and human that perhaps one day Amenadiel would explain to her. Lucifer watched his brother interact with Trixie, secretly impressed by how naturally he struck a conversation with the kid. The bastard made it look so easy...

The dark angel rose to his full height, towering over the girl with a wink before making his way to the bar.

"Amenadiel," Lucifer greeted with a smile. "Welcome to the wildest children's party Lux has ever held!"

"It's the only children's party Lux has ever held," his brother smiled, sitting on a stool beside him.

"Exactly!" Lucifer agreed. With a slight movement of his head, he pointed at a group of women who'd been sending him lascivious looks for the better part of the afternoon. "Watch out for those cougars, though. Divorcees can be rather forward in a kinky sort of way."

"You ought to know, right?" his brother said with a wry smile. "Is that magnetism of yours not as fun as it used to be?"

"It's gotten a bit old, to be honest. Plus, I'm currently off the market, as they say." Lucifer tried not to blush at his own statement. Monogamy was such a foreign concept to him still. Oddly enough, he couldn't imagine sharing his bed with anybody other than Chloe. "Go ahead, bring on the jokes!" Avoiding eye contact, Lucifer sent his brother a sideway glance, caught a glimpse of his earnest grin, and realized how far off the mark he was.

"I'm really happy for you, brother," Amenadiel said.

Okay, they were clearly slipping into 'warm and fuzzy' territory, and that was where Lucifer drew the line.

"Can I get you a drink?" he sighed, the need for a change of subject noted.

Amenadiel declined the offer with a polite wave of his hand.

"I can't stay," he said, then hesitated before adding, "I actually just came to say good-bye."

Lucifer's brows twitched into a fleeting frown. "You're taking a trip?"

"I'm going home, Luci."

"Wait, home as in…?"

Amenadiel smiled, but didn't elaborate. He didn't really need to. The dark angel sighed as he took in his surroundings.

"I never thought I'd say this, but I'm gonna miss you, little brother," he said with a hint of sadness.

Lucifer was speechless for a moment. Once again, they were sinking into the swamp of the 'touchy-feely'. It was painfully obvious how the slightest show of affection came unnaturally to them. Their time on earth had humanized them more than they both cared to admit.

"Don't get sentimental on me, Amenadiel," Lucifer quipped after a beat. "You'll be back here to annoy me the first chance you get. We both know how boring things can get up there."

Amenadiel huffed out a sad chuckle at Lucifer's remark, not that either of them could be fooled by the other's aloofness. Last time they had parted ways it had been as enemies. Today, they were brothers. Just when the silence that stretched between them bordered on the uncomfortable, Chloe showed up at the bar and broke the spell.

"Amenadiel! I'm so glad you could make it."

"It's my pleasure," the angel answered snapping out of his funk. "Your daughter is turning into quite the little lady."

"Yes," Lucifer muttered, his eyes narrowing in on a little boy who had been hovering around Trixie a little too closely for his liking. "Who the hell is that kid?"

Chloe turned her head to look at the group of children still pouring over the presents. "You mean Noah?"

"Right, Noah. What is that little weasel up to?"

Tickled by his indignation, all Chloe could do was hold back a chuckle. "Lucifer, he's eight."

"I don't care how old he is. If he keeps ogling your spawn like that, he better start building an ark." Noticing the stare of incredulity Chloe was directing at him, he added, "I was the ruler of hell for thousands of years. Trust me. I know the potential for sin when I see it."

Amenadiel raised his eyebrows and turned to Chloe. "I'm no psychic, but I sense troubled times ahead."

"Thanks," she grimaced. "I thought Dan was overprotective enough. I shudder to think what it will be like to be double-teamed by both him and Lucifer. Hell, I suppose."

"Yes," Lucifer said through a reptilian smile. "And let me assure you that I will support Dan's 'doucheness' on that front wholeheartedly."

"Good luck with that, Chloe," Amenadiel grinned warmly at them. His eyes panned over the people at the club, found Maze laughing at something Linda had just told her, and let out a lungful of air. "Take care of her, will you brother?"

Lucifer followed his gaze, running a hand over his dark stubble. "I'm sure I don't need to tell you she doesn't need any protec…" he paused for a second, then smiled. "Of course. I will."

"Thanks, Luci." Amenadiel's tone was tainted with longing. "I must go now."

"But… you just got here," Chloe protested.

"I know. But it's time."

Lucifer patted his brother's shoulder and Amenadiel answered with a tight nod. Something unidentifiable crossed between them, something Chloe wasn't privy to, and probably never will. Something reserved for those who had seen more than a mere mortal ever would. Amenadiel walked slowly towards the exit, observed the group of oblivious humans as he made his way across the place. He stopped for a quiet moment, focused on Maze one last time, and disappeared up the stairs.

"Trixie's really going to miss him," Chloe sighed.

Lucifer took a sip of scotch and shrugged in a 'whatta ya gonna do' kind of way. She was hoping he would open up, maybe talk about his brother's departure. With or without their special connection, it was obvious he felt a sense of loss. He was only too proud to admit it. Perhaps just showing her silent support would be enough. Besides, the time for that other talk was up. Hopefully, she'd have the guts to bring it up tonight.

"Don't be bummed out, Detective. This is a party!" Lucifer said cutting into her musings. He slid the glass of scotch over to her. "Here. This brew never fails to cheer me up."

Chloe returned the glass untouched. "N—no. I'll just have some sparkling water."

Lucifer lifted an inquisitive eyebrow. "You mean that tasteless bubbly substance we use in Southern Gingers and Ruby Fizzs?"

"Club soda, yes," she insisted. Okay, so maybe she should dive right into 'the talk' now. "I really ought to stay away from alcoholic beverages for a few months…"

"Months?" he exclaimed, visibly appalled. "Aw, please tell me you didn't fall for one of those cavemen diets! I like your body just the way it is!"

Not really the best remark to make, considering what she was gearing up to tell him.

"Yes, about that…" She was trying really hard to hold onto her slipping courage. "It might go through some changes in the near future."

"What do you mean?"

Dear God! Could he really be this obtuse when it came to certain things?

"Yeah, those wild hormones, man!" Chloe bit her lower lip, waited for him to catch on. When he didn't, she let out her frustration in a lungful of air. "And the fact that I'm gonna have to start eating for two pretty soon."

Lucifer huffed out a dry chuckle. "Why on earth woul—"

Chloe was able to tell the moment the news finally dawned on him. She had never seen anybody's face drain of color so fast. Eyes wide, he opened his mouth to say something, but no sound came out. After swallowing dryly a couple of times, Lucifer hunched forward in an attempt to get some much needed oxygen into his lungs. She had never seen him this rattled before, which made her own apprehension increase exponentially.

"But… w—when? How?" he stammered.

"Oh, geez, do I really need to give you a play by play?"

"No," he rushed to say. "I mean… Are you sure?"

A little disappointed by his reaction, Chloe held his stare for a long moment, then nodded and told him about the pregnancy test she had taken that morning. She had been feeling odd for several days, had believed she might be coming down with the flu. Yesterday, after looking at the calendar on her desk, it had hit her. The test just confirmed what she already suspected. Lucifer was holding the scotch glass in a white knuckle grip. Had his fabulous butt not been resting firmly on a stool, he would've surely fallen flat on it at that point. He swallowed hard once again, was about to say something when Chloe cut him off.

"I swear, if you ask me whether it's yours I will shoot you right here."

His silence was making her more nervous than any outburst of defiance, incredulity or, God forbid, regret.

He fixed his stare on her, dumbfounded and, for the longest moment, Chloe felt lost and small and… alone. Then, like a ray of sunshine peeking through stormy clouds, a faint smile began pulling at his lips, and she let out a sigh of relief she didn't even know she'd been holding. With a barely audible 'come 'ere', Lucifer pulled her into a gentle hug and she fell into his arms, all earlier tension leaving her body and making her feel a little lightheaded.

Chloe just had to ask. "So, you're okay with this?"

Lucifer let out a nervous little chuckle. "Hell no! I'm… terrified! I don't even like children."

"You like Trixie, don't you?" she asked, pulling back to meet his eyes.

"She's the rare exception."

"We'll figure it out as we go," she assured him.

He nodded, albeit rather unconvincingly, and then drained the glass of scotch in one long swig. It was now Chloe's turn to put her arms around him, partly because she figured he needed to be comforted, but mainly to hide the sudden tears of joy and relief welling in her eyes. She knew they were both equally scared. They ought to be, despite his recent transformation, there was clearly a bumpy road ahead.

Lucifer returned the hug, holding onto her like a drowning man holds onto a lifesaver. Face buried in the crook of her neck, she faintly heard him exhale one strangled prayer.

'Oh, God!'

[The End]

I hope you liked it. If you did, it would mean a lot if you added the story to your favorites. And, please don't shy away from leaving a comment. Those always make my day. Cheers! :-)