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Chloe knew she had tough conversations ahead of her. The conversation with Trixie would most likely be the most difficult. Her daughter was the most important person in her life, and she needed to make sure marriage to Lucifer would be accepted. She wanted to make sure her daughter would be happy. They had been through so much in the last 5 years and needed to put Trixie’s happiness first.
Chloe knew she had to address certain events that she wished she could keep hidden deep within her mind. Trixie walking in on her and Lucifer was not something she wanted to relive. However, she knew she had to. It seemed like everyone was dancing around the awkward and embarrassing situation, making for a tense atmosphere at the penthouse. Even Dan had a hard time looking her in the eye. Maze, of all people, had attempted to make the situation less tense by once again talking to Trixie, and even though she was very apprehensive about allowing that conversation, Chloe was a bit relieved Maze was able to be there for her daughter.
After multiple attempts at spending time with her daughter and getting the cold shoulder, Trixie relented. They decide to have lunch, just the two of them at Trixie’s favorite sandwich shop. After a relatively quiet lunch, they both knew the conversation that lingered over them needed to happen. Chloe dives right in, taking this head-on just like the detective she is.
“Trixie, I’m sorry babe. I know it hasn’t been easy lately and well I know there are things that you can’t unsee. But know I am working to get everything under wraps. The last thing I want is for you to be uncomfortable.” Chloe never anticipated living with Lucifer would alter Trixie’s world as it has but she should have known their sex life would be a complicated and delicate matter. Especially since Lucifer is dragging his feet with those damn renovations.
“Mom. I’m not mad about that,” Trixie begins, she’s a bit hesitant to continue and Chloe recognizes this. She offers Trixie an encouraging smile.
“I mean it was really embarrassing to see you and Lucifer like that. Maze said it could have been a lot worse and I really don’t want to know what that means.” Trixie looks down as Chloe’s eyes widened.
“I mean all I saw was your back and you were sitting on Lucifer, but I knew what was going on. I’m not a little kid anymore and I know about that stuff. And the look on dad’s face confirmed that you guys were having sex.”
Chloe just nods her head; her eyes widen as her cheeks pinken with every word that comes from her daughter’s mouth. This is more difficult than she expected. She clears her throat and takes a deep breath.
“Okay. Uh, you said you weren’t upset about that, which leads me to believe you are upset about something else?” Her detective instincts perked up at the beginning of the conversation and she can see Trixie is more uncomfortable now than she was just a few moments ago.
It’s Trixie’s turn to take a deep breath and she lets it out slowly. She looks her mother directly in the eyes and Chloe can see her expression fade from hesitant to resolute. She definitely had something to say, Chloe thought. She braced herself for the unknown.
“I’m mad that you turned down Lucifer’s proposal and seem to be using me as an excuse. I heard you on the phone with Maze before you had to work and that really pissed me off.”
Oh, the joys of having a teenager.
“Okay first off, language. And secondly, as your mom it’s my job to make sure my decisions don’t impact you in a negative way and clearly, I haven’t made the best choices as of late and I do feel terrible for that,” her voice dropped to a sullen tone. “When Lucifer asked me to marry him, my first thought was ‘how will this affect Trix?’ and my instinct told me that I should really think about this.”
Trixie nodded her head, but her brows furrowed, and her glare told Chloe that she didn’t accept that answer.
“So, he’s been in my life since I was 7, partners and friends, and you’ve been with Lucifer since I was 11. We move in with him a few months ago and now all of the sudden you’re worried about his influence on me? Sounds like a boatload of sh…crap, mom.”
Chloe scoffs and looks at her daughter in bewilderment. Maze was rubbing off on her, in a bad way. “Language Beatrice!” She huffs out a bit louder than anticipated. She is truly taken aback by her daughters’ assessment. “Look, I know you weren’t happy with moving in,” Trixie interrupts her.
“Mom. Stop. Stop putting this on me. I love living with Lucifer. He is the best step devil ever. He pays attention to me; he helps me with my homework and is teaching me how to play the piano. I mean he’s been around more than you and dad!” She nearly shouts her last sentence. “And seriously, sometimes I think he cares about me more than my own parents!” With tears in her eyes, she gets up and stomps off down the sidewalk.
Stunned, Chloe pushes up from her chair and chases after Trixie. She is at a loss for words. Had she really ignored her daughter, to the point she felt unloved? Had she been too focused on Lucifer? Too focused on the recent case?
Her heart is cracking open as she hears Trixie’s sobs. She picks up her pace and reaches out for Trixie’s shoulder. Trixie whips around and stumbles into her mother’s embrace.
Chloe is now in shambles, her emotions uncontrollable at the sight of her daughter so distraught. She needed to fix this and now. She tugs her to a nearby bench, cupping her tear-stained face with slightly trembling hands.
“Trixie babe. Honey. I love you more than anything in this world. You are my whole heart, and I am so so sorry to have made you feel anything other than loved. I-I know what it’s like to feel this way and I swore I would never do this to my child,” her voice breaks.
“Please know that I am going to do everything I can to make you feel loved. And I know, your dad loves you just as much as I do. Babe, you are our greatest accomplishment, and we are so proud of you and the person you are becoming.” She swipes the falling tears from her baby girl’s face. “I love you more than life itself, baby.”
Trixie nods her head, yet her eyes are still so full of emotion, expressing the pain she is trying to shed. “Mom, I know you love me, I do. And I know dad loves me.” She nods emphatically. “I know you want to keep me safe. But you know who also makes me feel safe? Lucifer. He has proven he would do anything to keep me safe. He loves me even though he doesn’t say the words, I can tell in his actions, and I know he loves you too. He would do anything for you.”
Her tears calm a bit, she sniffles to clear her nose, “Mom, just stop using me as a shield against him. You have to be honest with yourself.”
And Chloe shatters. Right there on the street, holding her daughter's face. She moves her own hands to her face to hide the guilt now washing over her. Trixie was right. Chloe was using her daughter to protect herself from her insecurities. She hadn’t realized that was what she was doing, and her brilliant intelligent daughter brought it to light. How could she do this to her? And on top of that to make her feel unloved.
What kind of mother does that?
Trixie pulls her hands away from her face to stare directly into Chloe’s red-rimmed eyes, still pooling with emotion. Her eyes were now softer, trying to express her sympathy.
“Mom, please marry him. He deserves a good family, and we can give it to him.”
Chloe nods enthusiastically, pulling her daughter into a tight embrace, squeezing her to make her feel the love emanating from her whole being. “Okay baby. Okay.”
Trixie struggles to be released, looking up with an all-new resolution to her eyes. “Really? You want to marry him?” Her eyes glisten with a different set of tears, these tears abundant with happiness.
Chloe nods her head, “Of course, I want to marry him. Aside from you, he’s the love of my life.” Her voice falters a little, “Don’t get me wrong, I really loved your dad and still do but the love Lucifer and I share,” she takes a deep breath, “it’s. It’s really unique and It’s...”
“Special.” Trixie finishes.
“Yeah babe, it really is.”
~
They watch the sunset at their favorite beach, just the two of them. They find contentment after their emotional afternoon. Chloe suggests mother-daughter days at least twice a month and promises to be more present when she’s home. She needs to be active in her daughter’s life right now especially since she is now reaching puberty and Chloe remembers this being a very tough time for herself at this age.
Chloe also makes a promise to talk with Lucifer about their future. She told Trixie it may be a bit more complicated than just agreeing to marry him now. Chloe had to formulate a plan. She had done damage control prior to her undercover op, but she knew this wouldn’t be as simple as saying ‘Hey you know that ring you wanted to give me, I’ll take it now.'
They let the sun sink down over the horizon, watching the sky shift from dusky blues and greys to orange and purple as the brightest of Lucifer’s stars sink into the ocean.
They make their way home. When they arrive, Lucifer is sitting at his desk, laptop open, writing in his portfolio. At the sound of the elevator doors opening, he slams the laptop shut and closes his notebook, and moves to greet them, planting a brief kiss on Chloe’s lips.
“Hello, darling. Urchin. Did you two have a lovely day together?” His voice is genuinely interested.
“Yeah, mom and I talked about stuff, and I think we both feel better now.” Trixie smiled up at Lucifer, grinning.
“Ah well, I am glad you had your time together then.”
Chloe eyes them with suspicion. Lucifer clears his throat.
“Uh well, dinner is almost ready. I presume you are hungry. I also took the liberty of making a chocolate cake and chilling some Rosé. He grinned sheepishly.
Chloe nods, purses her lips together, forming a sly smirk.
Trixie can see the wheels turning in her mother’s head, knowing it’s her queue to vacate the conversation. “I’m going to go wash up for dinner!” She turns on her heels and rushes out of the room, practically jogging.
Chloe eyes Lucifer, narrowing her gaze. “You knew she was upset, didn’t you?” Her tone is a bit accusatory.
It’s Lucifer’s turn to nod. He reaches out for cufflinks that aren’t there, he settles on yanking down on his waistcoat. “Yes. I knew Beatrice was a bit upset over some things in which I am sure you discussed. She asked me not to say anything and darling, you know I am a devil of my word.” He said pointedly.
“Care to fill me in now? I mean she is my daughter, too.”
Lucifer clears his throat, swallowing at the ‘too’ comment. “Well, we discussed the uncomfortable topic of her knowledge about sex and the fact that we do it. A lot.” She opens her mouth to fight off a bit of annoyance.
“Before you get upset, those are her words. I did not discuss any details, clearly. I’m not trying to further traumatize the child.” He lifts his hands in defense. Chloe makes a gesture to continue while walking further into the penthouse, moving towards the couch. She sits on the edge, waiting for his explanation.
Lucifer follows, “She also indicated that she was feeling a bit ignored by you and Daniel. I assured her that it was not intentional and that once this case was closed, you would be able to turn your focus back to her.” He was hesitant, “I hope I didn’t overstep here. I just wanted her to know she could talk to me.”
Chloe knew he wouldn’t lie but he also had the same old habit of withholding more information. “And nothing else? You guys didn’t talk about the huge elephant that’s been lingering in the background?”
“Which would be?”
“Really. Lucifer,” Chloe sighed, slightly annoyed, not wanting to outright say it but he is obviously pushing for the acknowledgment, “the fact that I said no to your proposal. You guys didn’t discuss that?”
Lucifer looks down, tilts his head back up, and swallows, “We discussed her dissatisfaction with your response, and I assured her that everything would be okay and that we were still moving on as if nothing changed.” He sounded dejected all over again.
Chloe didn’t miss the sadness in his tone. Although they discussed her reasonings why before she went undercover, she knows she has to come to terms with those reasons as they were just not the truth. She could see pain and rejection wash over him if only for a moment.
Lucifer, in typical Lucifer fashion, pushed aside his feelings of the matter to refocus on her and Trixie. “Alright. So that’s settled. I am glad you two are in each other’s good graces again. I’m going to finish dinner prep.” With that, he stands up and once again tugs on his waistcoat.
Chloe couldn’t be irritated with Lucifer. Her heart now repaired, was filled with so much joy over his actions. The fact that he was able and willing to talk to Trixie when she couldn’t and the fact that Trixie felt comfortable enough to open up to him made her burst with love. She knew her promise to Trixie is the right one. She knew she wanted to marry Lucifer wholeheartedly.
Chloe stops him, grabbing his forearm. She stands up, pulls his face down to hers, and whispers against his lips, “Thank you, Lucifer. Thank you for loving us.”