Chapter Text
Chloe signed the last report and threw the pen into the bin in front of her desk.
Nothing went well that day: Pierce was cross with her for an unknown reason (or for a too well-known reason, to be honest) and obliged her to finish all the paperwork before leaving the office, Lucifer didn’t show up to help her, too busy with some not better specified party at Lux to organize and Dan had forgotten to buy the only gift Trixie had underlined to want for Christmas.
“What’s wrong with the men in my life?” she muttered at herself, exasperated, grabbing her beg and stood up.
From his office, Pierce shouted out loud “Decker!”
Chloe rolled her eyes out “Will this nightmare end today?”,
Ella joined her in that moment, her lab glass on the top of her head “Bad day, Decker, right?”
“You can barely imagine. Alone all day long, boring paper to sign, a lot still do to for Christmas and the gift for Trixie not bought yet.”
Ella’s eyes danced: “You sound like Lucifer”
Chloe realized that, if shocked or amused she couldn’t say
Pierce called her again.
Ella shivered at that sound “And it seems the new hobby of our lieutenant is tormenting you.”
Chloe smiled a little “I knew this could happen. But it will end sooner or later”
Ella smiled her back:” Hope sooner than later. In the meantime, Decker, run away from this place and enjoy your time. I’ll have your back with Pierce: you know, the lab tests, the crime scene, the guns, the bullets, blaaaa…..blaaaa….blaaaaaaaa”
Ella gestured in front of herself, moving her head according to her words: Chloe couldn’t stop laughing at her mate, so lovely and smart.
The detective hugged the small brown girl:” Love you Ella, thanks. See you tomorrow”
Chloe left the building while her name echoed in the air
The mall was overcrowded, as she had expected, but she tried to slow down and relax a little bit, while searching the doll Trixie had been dreaming of for months.
She stumbled in some children queuing up to sit down on Santa Claus lap, whispering their desires in his ear and having a picture taken.
She stopped in front of them, wondering when was the last time she had brought Trixie to Santa. Or when they had gone out for some shopping for Christmas. Or just for eating an ice cream or watching a movie.
“This damn job is stealing my life “she found herself thinking, as happened quite often, recently.
It had started after Pierce had proposed her to coordinate the detectives pool in the precinct, cutting her time on the street, her working hours and significantly increasing her salary.
“You would spend more time with your daughter and have her more relaxed as you would have a less risky job” he had told her.
In theory, the best solution in the world. But….there were some buts, of course. And the biggest one was to stop her partnership with her civilian consultant.
Pierce had been clear on that: “you will not need him anymore, Decker. And he is a distraction for you: you risk having your career in danger because of him”
Chloe had tried to explain that working with Lucifer was making her a better detective day after day, but the lieutenant had not changed his mind.
“Of course, he wants Lucifer out” Dan had commented when Chloe had told him about the new job.
“Of course? “Chloe had replied
“Oh Chlo, come on, you are too smart as a detective not to see what lies behind Pierce’s offer” Dan had laughed at her.
Yes, she was perfectly aware of that. But she was trying to ignore it, because facing the situation would require taking a decision. A hard decision she was not ready to take.
A gunshot made Chloe stopped her trail of thoughts.
Instinctively, her hands reached the gun in her bag out and she found herself kneeling on the floor, gun in front of her, ready to act.
From her position, she could see a tall man some just some meters away from her, on the other side of the huge mall: he had a gun in one hand and was grabbing a little boy with the other.
The child was scared to death and this made Chloe furious: but she had to stay calm and focus on the situation.
She was to move a little closer, when someone caught her attention: Maze was just behind the man and was moving her mouth and fingers to send her a message.
Chloe nodded and take a step backwards, looking around for a way out.
“We can go out through that door” a whisper made her startled
Turning her head around, she spotted a red haired girl close to her legs: their gaze met and Chloe immediately knew they had a chance.
Silently, while Maze kept the man under control, Chloe managed to have as much people as possible out of the mall.
When the last lady was out, Chloe raised on her feet, her gun firmly in front of her
“LAPD here: put the gun down and raise your hands”
The man turned around to stare at her, the gun still in his hands.
“Put the gun down and raise your hands”
The man stepped closer to her while Maze was throwing at him.
He was on the ground with her on his back, blocking his hands.
“Ehi Chlo, we got it” She spoke out loud, waiting for her friends’ reply.
Maze raised her head only when she heard someone called out for a doctor, a chill across her spine.
Getting closer, she could see a blonde-haired head on the floor, a blood stain enlarging there.
Maze knelt down and grabbed Chloe’s hand: “Decker, damm you, don’t dare to die. Don’t dare to leave us alone. I have even bought a gift for you, so do not dare to do anything else that showing us the badass you are”
Chloe slowly regained consciousness, her head exploding, her lips cracking
She pressed the button on her hands to call a nurse to have some water and immediately she heard a light footfall.
“You are back, Chloe. We have been waiting for you” the sound of that voice soothed Chloe and made her relax.
“What’s happened?” Chloe asked, forcing the words through her aching throat
“You suffered from a severe internal hemorrhage. You were smart enough to realize that and call for help before fainting. Now you have just to take rest and you will recover soon”
Chloe frowned at those words “I didn’t have a hemorrhage. I was injured while arresting a man in a mall” she said, a little bit unsecure.
The nurse stroked her hand gently: “A dream due to the anesthesia, dear. Now try to sleep”
Chloe raised her eyes to the nurse, meeting her sweet smile and …her ginger red hair.
“You….look familiar” she commented, already falling back to sleep
The nurse smiled “You will see”