A/N: I promised I'd post Chapter 8 this weekend! Got to just sort of relax yesterday. Still watching the S5 trailer on a loop. 33 more days, guys! Anyway, I'll shut up and just present to you guys: Chapter 8! Let me know what you guys think!
Chapter 8
"Whoever thought it was a good idea to leave patients waiting for eternity once they're in an examination room deserves a special place in Hell," Lucifer commented as he paced back and forth in the room. He turned away from the informational poster about the development of a fetus.
"Lucifer, it honestly hasn't been that long," Chloe laughed. She was already half sitting, half lying on the examination table/chair.
"Still, you shouldn't have to wait," Lucifer quit his pacing and stopped in front of Chloe. He reached out to take her hand but stopped short. Would she want him to hold her hand?
Chloe noticed his aborted motion and reached out to grab his hand. She laced her fingers with his and gave him a small smile.
"You know, when you told me that you were this baby's father… that you and I were dating," Chloe shifted on the table to look up at Lucifer a little more comfortably, "I couldn't believe it."
"What? You thought Hell had finally frozen over?" Lucifer returned, "Wonder if I should check on that actually."
Chloe laughed, "That too. But I also didn't understand what sort of changes could have happened in our relationship for this to happen, but after spending the day with you… I'm starting to see what I think I saw."
"Well, it wasn't all rainbows and roses, Detective," Lucifer squeezed her hand. For a moment, the only sound that permeated the room was the background noise of the radio over the speaker system. Heart and Soul drifted through the sound speakers. Chloe looked up at the song.
"This was the only song I could remember how to play from three years of piano lessons," Chloe pointed up, "Hey, did we play this together on your piano?"
"Indeed we did," Lucifer replied, "Do you remember?"
"I think so," Chloe said, "I remember sitting next to you on your piano bench and playing it and then you joined in."
"No headache this time?" Lucifer asked. Chloe shook her head.
"Well, that's a step in the right direction."
"Sorry about the wait," Chloe's doctor entered the room with a knock. Lucifer jumped and immediately let go of Chloe's hand. Chloe already missed the warmth.
"And how are we feeling today?" the doctor – Dr. Taylor, Lucifer noticed the name on her jacket – asked as she grabbed a stool and rolled closer to Chloe's other side.
"Okay," Chloe replied.
"She's been having morning sickness when it isn't morning," Lucifer supplied at the same time.
"As un-fun as that can be, that can be expected at this stage of pregnancy," Dr. Taylor smiled.
"I told you, Lucifer," Chloe rubbed the portion of Lucifer's arm she could reach as he had taken to leaning against the headboard of Chloe's examination table/seat.
"I see that Daddy is as attentive as ever," Dr. Taylor commented as she turned for a bottle of blue ultrasound gel. Lucifer could've sworn he stopped breathing for a moment at being referred to as 'Daddy' and not in the fun sense. He looked down at Chloe who gave him a reassuring smile and his breath returned. Chloe could handle anything – he could do the same. After all, they were in this together.
Once again, Chloe and Lucifer joined hands, though this time, Chloe reached for the Devil's hand.
As the doctor lifted Chloe's shirt to apply the gel, Lucifer couldn't help the look of disgust that passed over his face at the squirting sound from the bottle.
"That seems a bit unsanitary," Lucifer commented.
"It's just ultrasound gel," Chloe told him.
"I saw that according to your file, you're about twelve weeks pregnant," Dr. Taylor started as she waved the wand over Chloe's abdomen, "Sometimes, I can tell at this stage in the pregnancy, did you two wish to know what you're having?"
"A baby, I thought," Lucifer commented.
"She means boy or girl, Lucifer," Chloe shook her head at his naivety.
"Oh."
"If you haven't decided on whether or not you'd like to find out, I can leave it a mystery for now," Dr. Taylor turned back to the monitor.
Lucifer cocked his head at the blurry image on the screen. He could barely make out any discernible shapes, let alone a spawn.
"How can you even see anything in all that blur?"
The doctor took pity on Lucifer and pointed to the baby-like shape on the screen. She pointed out the body parts she could spot. Lucifer's expression slowly morphed from confusion to awe.
Chloe had immediately lit up at seeing the image of her unborn child on the screen. She was the same during her first ultrasound with Trixie. Though this time, her heart swelled even more at the image of the child culminating in her relationship with Lucifer. Perhaps her heart remembered more than her head. As her doctor explained everything to Lucifer, Chloe couldn't help but focus on the shift in his expression. He was completely new at this experience. To be honest, she half-expected him to bolt as soon as their baby appeared on the screen and she was more than happy to be dead wrong. He might not even realize it, but Chloe could tell from the expression on his face, he was already head-over-heels in love with their child.
"Is it okay?" Lucifer asked.
"Okay?" Dr. Taylor wasn't following.
"Is the spawn healthy? Does the offspring look okay?" Lucifer looked to the doctor.
Dr. Taylor captured a screenshot of the image on the screen before taking the wand away from Chloe's stomach and handed Chloe a small hand towel to wipe away the gel.
"Your child looks perfectly healthy at this stage. Heartbeat sounded good, the baby looks as it should at this point," Dr. Taylor assured him, "Everything seems to be progressing just fine even with you not knowing about the pregnancy until recently."
"What, no horns?" Chloe teased. Lucifer whipped his head around at that and leaned in closer to the captured image on the screen to make sure there wasn't any. At the squeeze of Chloe's hand in his once again, he belatedly realized that she was only joking.
"Horns?" the doctor didn't catch on to the joke until a moment later, "Oh, right… Lucifer. No, no horns."
As Chloe adjusted her shirt and her position in the examination chair/table, Dr. Taylor turned the monitor off, but not before printing out a picture of the ultrasound.
"Well, if you don't have any questions for me, Chloe, I'll take my leave," Dr. Taylor said, "And I'll make a note with the nurse to put your baby's gender in a sealed envelope if you and Lucifer decide you'd like to know. Feel free to call me with any questions. I'll see you at your next appointment."
"Thank you, Doctor," Chloe said as her doctor left as quickly as she entered.
Lucifer stepped away from Chloe as she made a move to hop off the table. He picked up the ultrasound image and traced the outline of their baby with a tender hand.
"Lucifer?" Chloe came up behind him with a hand to his shoulder, "You okay?"
"Fine, darling," Lucifer whispered in response.
"Incredible, isn't it?" Chloe peered over his shoulder.
"What?"
"The emotions you feel from a single image," Chloe replied knowingly.
Lucifer drew his hand away from the image as if he were caught sticking his hand in the cookie jar. He silently handed Chloe the image.
"I'm glad to know that the offspring… that the baby is healthy," Lucifer said, "That's quite good."
"Do you want to know what we're having?" Chloe asked as she slipped the image in her purse. Lucifer blinked at the ease she used at referring to the unborn child as theirs.
"Do you?"
"I asked you first, Lucifer," Chloe readjusted her purse over her shoulder and exited the exam room.
"I'm not sure actually," Lucifer replied truthfully, "Did you find out the Urchin's gender before she was born?"
"Mmm… I couldn't resist," Chloe shrugged, "You know, being a detective and all."
"Then, I'll be content with whatever you wish, love," Lucifer replied as they came up to the check-out desk. Chloe checked out with efficiency and made a couple of follow-up appointments for the next trimester. Before long, Lucifer and Chloe were out in the parking lot and headed to the Corvette.
"Hey, um," Chloe started before she or Lucifer got into the car. Why was she so nervous?
"Would you like to maybe come over for dinner tonight?"
Lucifer blinked.
"That is, uh, I mean… it wouldn't be a formal date or anything," Chloe started to nervously ramble, "You're probably really busy with Lux. I'd just like it maybe if you joined Trix and me for dinner. I still have to tell her about the baby and you two seem to get along really well. I'm actually really grateful for that. If you come to dinner, we can all find out if it's a boy or girl together and…"
"I'd love to, Detective," Lucifer's smile was as bright as his stars.
He would never understand what he could've done to deserve the woman in front of him. She truly was a miracle and by no means did he mean the obvious of his Dad's involvement in her creation. She was a miracle in that she couldn't remember that he was the actual Devil and yet she still wanted to spend time with him. Old habits that he was trying to break said that he should feel guilty about not again proving to her he was who he says, but he just couldn't feel guilty. As cheesy as it sounded, perhaps the heart remembered more than the head. One could only hope.
"Great," Chloe beamed.
"Thanks for helping, Ella," Dan turned to Ella.
"Don't even mention it," Ella waved him off. She pulled her chair closer to get a better view of the computer screen. They were both currently sitting at Dan's desk under the stairs to go over the security footage they obtained.
"The footage just came in. Two pairs of eyes are better than one, right?" Dan asked, "Any news yet on the poison?"
"Some preliminary findings came through, but nothing concrete yet," Ella returned.
"Did you text Chloe?"
Ella immediately looked guilty, "Not yet… I just thought we should have definitive evidence first before bringing anything to her attention. I always like to double-check the lab results and this time especially. Andrea and Mike deserve our best."
Dan nodded his agreement and pressed play on the screen as he leaned back in his chair to settle in to comb through the footage. Ella folded her arms on Dan's desk and set her chin down on them, her attention never wavering from the black and white recording.
Lucifer and Chloe mutually agreed that it would be best if Lucifer dropped her off at home and he'd come over later for their non-date. The investigation and ultrasound appointment had put them late enough in the day where Trixie had already come home from school. Chloe thanked and dismissed the babysitter she didn't recognize. She heard Trixie tell "Olga" goodbye – it must be Olga.
Right.
She was a neighbor. Trixie was dutifully finishing up her homework.
"Hi, Mommy," Trixie lit up when she saw her mother come into view.
"Hey, baby," Chloe greeted her daughter as she set her keys down.
"Where's Lucifer?" Trixie wondered.
"He went back to his place for a little bit," Chloe replied, "But he'll be over soon for dinner with us. Is that okay with you?"
"Yeah," Trixie nodded, "Lucifer always has dinner with us… at least, most of the time."
"Is he here a lot?"
Trixie looked conflicted to answer.
"You can tell me, Monkey," Chloe reassured her daughter, "It won't hurt my head or anything if you tell me something I can't remember."
"Okay, good," Trixie breathed, "Yeah, he's here a lot… He's sort of… living here. I mean, he still lives at his penthouse, but he lives here a lot of the time too."
"Wow," Chloe was a little taken aback. It seemed like her relationship was a bit more serious than she thought. She really shouldn't have been surprised at the revelation that they were living together though – after spending the day with Lucifer as partners in every sense of the word, she wholeheartedly understood their living arrangement.
"You guys are still dating, right?" Trixie asked.
"I think we are," Chloe sat next to Trixie at the table.
"Good."
Chloe brushed Trixie's cheek with a loving hand. She was beyond grateful that her daughter accepted her new boyfriend. There was a part of her, albeit a small part of her now, that still couldn't believe that Lucifer Morningstar was a good boyfriend, but here she was. As she looked at her daughter, a memory passed her by.
She and Lucifer were lying on their stomachs, their socked feet in the air, wine by their side, with Trixie across from them and a board game separating her and Lucifer from her little girl. Each of them had a lollipop. The domestic scene brought yet another soft smile to her face as she remembered Lucifer bargaining for the claim of the top hat playing piece. Lucifer playfully had offered his Monopoly money to 'buy' the piece from Trixie but she had another demand in mind.
"Are you sure this is the price you wish to cash in, Child?" Lucifer looked worried as he sat in a small plastic chair in front of the young girl so she stood a little taller than him.
"What? Is the big bad Devil afraid of a little face paint?" Chloe teased as she stuck her lollipop in her mouth.
"Nonsense," Lucifer refused to admit anything of the sort. He looked up at Trixie, "Could you at least paint Bruce Lee mid-fly-kick?"
"Nope," Trixie popped the 'p' as she dabbed her paintbrush in the pink paint for the unicorn's mane.
Chloe giggled along with Trixie as the child painted the Devil's cheek. Lucifer tried and failed to look stern as he caught Chloe's gaze. He couldn't help but laugh along with his Decker women.
"And don't forget, Lucifer," Trixie continued her masterpiece on his left cheek, "You also said I could pick your song for the post-game Karaoke."
"You truly would make a great torturer in Hell, Urchin," Lucifer gave her a respective nod. Trixie simply grinned in her triumph before sticking her tongue slightly out of her mouth in concentration as she finished her unicorn.
Chloe blinked out of the lovely memory and brushed away a happy tear without her little monkey noticing. Her hormones were all over the place.
"So, what do you think we should make for dinner?"
"Tacos?" Trixie looked hopeful.
"Tacos it is," Chloe got to work.
TBC
Hope their ultrasound appointment lived up to expectations. How'd you guys like that last memory Chloe recovered this time? I thought it'd be fun to have a memory that we didn't actually get to 'see' on the show but we knew happened. ;) Let me know what you guys thought of this chapter! Not sure when I'll be able to post Chapter 9, but my thoughts as of right now are possibly Thursday as it'll be my next day off from work after today. 33 more days to Season 5! Until next time, guys. :)