Chapter Text
Their paths cross almost instantaneously.
He’d never expected to meet anyone quite like her before; she’s like a real live angel in front of him. Maybe she’s turned them both into these mythical beings?
They have been flying high, after all.
On the swings, that is, with other children screaming cheerfully all around them. They’re having a race to see who can pump their legs the hardest. Once they take a break, gasping for air, they look at each other again. He doesn’t know what that feeling inside of him is, maybe freedom. All he’s aware of is that he’s happy just hanging out with her.
“I won!” he exclaims.
She scowls, rolling her eyes. “Why, just because you’re a boy?”
“ Duh! ”
“I beat you by a hair, stupid.”
“Fine,” he grumbles. “I was just messin’ with ya! I…I didn’t mean to make you upset.”
"What's that on your face, cooties?" the little blonde girl next to seven-year-old Lucifer asks. She’s wearing a pink dress and her greenish-blue eyes are the prettiest he’s ever seen.
"No, it's none of your beeswax!”
She blows on his black eye. "They didn't go away. Gross!" She punches him in the chest and he flinches. He’s gotten a bruise right there from his foster dad.
" Ow! "
"Come on, I didn't hit you that hard, suck it up!"
Lucifer pouts. "My foster dad does a better job than you!"
Her voice grows serious and she asks, "What about your real mommy and daddy?"
"They're in jail because they didn’t care about me and my brothers and sisters."
"You gotta run away and live with nice people," she advises him with a sad smile.
"I'll do that, then.”
“My daddy’s a policeman, he can help you, and you can stay with us if you want!”
“It’s quite alright, I’m fine, I just have to be good next time.”
She frowns. “Okay, but next time he does mean things to you, I’m telling my daddy!”
“Don’t worry about me! Let’s just run around and have fun!”
They play for a while, chasing each other. He’s faster than her, but he lets her pretend to hold his wrists together behind his back and giggles adorably. “Gotcha! You’re arrested, mister!”
“Uh oh…” He easily gets out of her grasp and tickles her sides. She starts cackling hysterically, losing her footing almost, but he holds her steady so she won’t fall down. Lucifer chuckles and pokes her nose. Her laughter dies down as she leans against him, panting heavily.
“You’re too silly!” She pushes him away playfully.
“You’re just ticklish,” he teases her, wiggling his fingers toward her. “Round two?”
“No!” She shakes her head and slaps his hands away. “We can do something else. Unless you wanna be kicked in the boy privates.”
“Okay. Sorry.” He genuinely is; he wants to respect her boundaries. Suddenly, he takes notice of an older white man with blonde hair who’s walking around with a dark look in his eyes, watching all the children. "What's that creepy guy doing?" Lucifer asks his new friend, subtly pointing.
She turns around and glances back at him. "I dunno...but let’s play detective and find out! My daddy’s gonna be one, you know." She smiles proudly. “He’s good at catching the bad guys! I’m gonna be just like him when I grow up.”
“That’s cool, but we’re too little, that odd fellow could hurt us,” Lucifer whispers. The stranger comes their way behind the girl. "Where’s your mummy and daddy?"
"My mommy is working, but my daddy is over there!" She points to a bench where a policeman is sitting on the bench, speaking urgently into his phone. The cop looks up with a grin and waves at her. She returns the gesture excitedly.
Lucifer takes her hand and leads her to her daddy. Her curly pigtails bounce as she skips along with him. His strides are long and quick, but he makes sure he goes at her pace.
"What are you doing?" she asks naively.
"That bugger was following you around and I can tell when someone's horrid. Stay with your father, okay?"
The girl nods.
“Sorry, I’ll be there soon, McMillian. Goodbye.” The officer hangs up and switches his attention to his daughter. “Hey, Monkey!” He hugs her close and kisses the top of her head. “Having fun?”
“Yep!”
“You made a new friend, I see!” He extends his hand to Lucifer, who shakes it politely.
By now, the weirdo is gone, so Lucifer thinks it’s safe now to exchange names. “Nice to meet you both. I’m-”
“Samael!”
He grits his teeth at his birth name; he hates that Lucifer is considered too weird to be put in his papers. He wishes he had superpowers like flying and eyes that glowed red and scared off people who were mean. “ What? ” He looks over his shoulder and sighs in annoyance upon seeing his pathetic younger brother Uriel.
“Come play with us! You’re a more fun babysitter than Amenadiel!”
“Well, that is true,” he says with a smirk, earning an eyeroll across the park from his older sibling. He turns back to the girl. “Terribly sorry, I must get back to my brothers and sisters before Amenadiel bores them to death. Can we meet here tomorrow at noon?”
“Sure!”
The whole next day and a few more after that, he stays at the park, waiting for her until darkness falls, but she never comes.
SEVEN YEARS LATER
When she realizes she’s out after a second cup of coffee, Penelope Decker takes a trip to the grocery store to buy more milk. She passes a Latina woman her height with black hair in a half pony and brown eyes. The woman is wearing jeans and a blue shirt. She looks tired but happy. She has everything in her shopping cart, like she’s buying the whole store. She chuckles awkwardly when she catches Penelope staring at her. "I promise I'm not a hoarder. My fridge just happens to be empty."
"I'm sorry, I couldn't help but notice…are you new? Sorry, but I have never seen you before."
"No problem at all. I'm Olivia Scovell, and yes, I am new. Well, not new, per se...more like I used to live here, but then moved back from San Francisco."
"Penelope Decker. Why’d you return?" she asks. She doesn’t mean to be nosy, but it just slips out.
"We missed the sunny weather and wanted our Charlotte to enjoy it, too."
"Oh! Yeah, the fog and cold…" Penelope cringes.
"Mm-hm!"
“Is Charlotte your…” Penelope trails off, not really wanting to say the word daughter . Logically, she knows many people have children, but she can’t help but be jealous that hers is gone and theirs are still with them. Even horrible parents have kids.
“She’s our baby.” There’s a sharp pang in Penelope's heart when Olivia says that, but she doesn’t want to jump into the topic of losing a child. “She’d hate it if I said that in front of her, she’s fourteen.”
“That’s Chloe’s age." Penelope took in a sharp intake of air. She could finally say the girl's name without crying. “She’s at camp.” That lie sounded so much better than the truth. “Now tell me, did you really give birth to Charlotte? You look about twenty-five..."
"I'm thirty-six! Really, I look young?" Olivia asks.
"Younger than me, that's for sure. I'm thirty-seven."
"You look about thirty, swear to god!"
“Thank you! Well, I guess that concludes our shopping trip...I hope to see you again soon!"
"I'm sure you will."
The ladies part ways and Olivia comes home with a bunch of groceries and a brand new friend.
Ella Lopez, Remiel Morningstar, Maze and Linda Martin, Eve Smith, Jana Lawrence, and Brittany Jones are out shopping. Remi rolls her eyes as Brittany goes on and on about Lucifer. "Whatever."
Brittany’s attention focuses on something else. "Oh my god, ew! Hey, Meathead Marcus, buying girl products, dresses, and bras for yourself?"
Marcus Pierce turns around and faces his bully. "They're for my girlfriend."
"You don't have a girlfriend!" She turns to the others. "They're probably for his mommy or he's embracing his feminine side."
"I have a girlfriend and I need to be home soon, if you'll excuse me," he says in a stronger voice.
"Oh yeah, what's her name? Do you have a picture of her as proof?" Brittany asks tauntingly. "Let me guess, Annoying Azrael?"
“Hey, watch it! She’s my sister!” Ella snaps.
“She’s adopted, nerd-bomber. Besides, she’s not even here.”
“Yeah, ‘cause she can’t stand the sight of you,” Remi grumbles. She and Brittany are at each other’s throats a lot.
Marcus doesn't answer. He just walks away from them, pays for his stuff, and leaves. "I'm following him!"
"Why do you care?" Linda asks, exasperated that Brittany’s so nosy. "It's nice that he found someone."
The girls follow her outside the mall and they see him get into a police car.
"Is that Officer Graham?" Eve asks and squints her eyes. "I didn't know they were buddies."
"I'm going to ask Cece if she can take us to wherever they're going the next time we see him, like after school."
“Oh, hell no!” Maze hisses.
"Mm-hm, girls, maybe we shouldn't. The cops, with the exception of John Decker, creep me out and I don't need another run-in with them," Eve murmurs.
"Yeah, me neither," Linda chimes in.
“My tía grounded me for a month after I stole that car and my abuelita hit me with her boot,” Ella puts in.
"Oh wow, are you serious? We'll have an adult with us!"
"Cece's barely eighteen, so fuck off!" Maze shoots back.
"At least she can drive," Brittany snaps.
"She kind of has a point," Jana says, and Ella rolls her eyes inwardly. Jana has always had a soft spot for Brittany.
“Oh, hell , no!” Remi shakes her head stubbornly. "I'm not going for it, and don't even think about asking Charlotte.”
“Freakin’ newbie, almost forgot about her since she’s just settling into her new place and all.” Brittany folds her arms across her chest with a sneer. "Well then, you girls are babies."
"Why don't you, Jana, and your sister go?" Ella suggests.
"Okay, but you'll miss all the fun."
"I have better things to do with my life than be nosy and get arrested for stalking!" Linda retorts.
"We'll be so sneaky they won't even know we're following them!"
Ella shakes her head. "It's too much of a risk."
"Oh my god! This is about Pete, isn't it?"
"What? No..."
"It totally is!"
"Who's Pete?" Maze, Eve, Linda, and Remi ask in unison.
"The budding journalist, obviously. Mr. Daly.”
"That's your boyfriend, not mine. I've learned my lesson about not going after older men," Ella insists.
"Anthony Paolucci’s twenty-first ended up with us going home in a cop car with Graham and you were smashed and flirting with Pete!"
"I didn't mean to..."
Brittany smirks. "Well, you did. You commented on the size of his-"
"Gross!"
"Fine, then! You don't have to go."
Ella breathes a sigh of relief. "Thank you.”
"Shit, I almost forgot to make dinner…egg sandwiches, my husband’s specialty, for the first time. I want to make sure Chloe likes my cooking." Penelope gets up from her porch steps as Rosalita Lopez ambles over to her.
The mood grows somber and Rosalita comes to the realization that Penelope hasn’t taken her pills yet. There's two people inside of her at different stages of grief, denial and acceptance. "Nena...Chloe is in heaven, remember?" she asks as gently as she can.
"What the...no, she's visiting her grandma who spoils her rotten with cookies and ice cream galore. You're talking figuratively."
Rosalita shakes her head and tears glisten in Penelope's eyes. Rosalita knows that Chloe disappeared seven years ago today and her best friend tends to make her little girl's favorite meal sometimes. "Chloe would want you to go for it, you know, with the egg sandwich."
Penelope wraps her arms around herself and Rosalita leads her to her empty and lonely house. "Thanks. After everything you've been through, you still find time to keep me on the rails. I’m even mistaking Linda for Chloe at times when the former isn’t wearing her glasses."
"You've had it so much worse. What's a broken heart from some yelling pendejo compared to your daughter's murder?"
Penelope sniffles. "Misery loves company."
After taking her pills, Penelope immerses herself in alcohol while flipping through old photos of her late daughter until she sinks down dizzily on Chloe's made bed. She hallucinates Chloe's dimpled smile and her sweet little giggle and then she hears a child crying out for her. She knows it's not really Chloe, but rather, the wine consuming her thoughts.
"All right, time for din-din...let's make a pizza! I got everything we need."
"Yummy in my tummy!"
"Yes, honey, now, you ready to be my little helper?"
"Yeah, Mommy!"
"Okay." Penelope leads her to the counter and hands her some dough. She lifts Chloe up so she can put it on the cutting board and shows her how to roll it out into a nice circle. Chloe has fun spreading the sauce around and trying to make sauce handprints on Penelope’s cheeks so of course, she just has to cover Chloe's little nose with sauce. She then sprinkles the cheese on the sauce and eats another handful.
"No, darling, you'll spoil your appetite." Penelope sighs as she swallows it. Oh well, she's a kid, Penelope has to let her be one.
"Mmmm!"
"It does look good," Penelope agrees. "Now, let's put it in the oven. Don't stand too close," She moves Chloe away as she puts the pizza in the oven for it to cook. "Why don't you pick out a movie for us?"
"Cindyella!" the four-year-old squeals happily, running to the VHS tape collection and pulling out Cinderella .
"It's Cinderella , sweetie," Penelope corrects her, combing her fingers through Chloe's hair. "Now you can set it up for us; the pizza is almost done."
"Yay!" She skips over to the television set and puts the tape in, and it starts to show the commercials before the movie. The pizza is ready just as the movie begins. "That's me!" she sings out as Cinderella comes onto the screen.
Penelope cuts up the pizza in squares, just the way Chloe likes it. "Careful, pumpkin, this is gonna be hot." She hands the child a plate and napkin as she sits down. "You're a wonderful cook!"
"Thank you, Mommy!" she says, delighted with herself.
"You're welcome, angel."
They watch the movie together while eating their pizza and laugh at the funny parts and cry at the sad parts.
After dinner and their movie are over, Penelope washes the dishes and instructs Chloe to get in the bathtub. She loves taking a bath, especially when Penelope puts bubbles in it. She pours Cinderella soap into the tub while Penelope runs the water, and they both watch the bubbles form. Chloe sticks one hand in the tub. "Cold!"
"Just wait, darling." Penelope tousles her hair a little. Then, she tests the water a few minutes later. "There, just right. Okay, little missy, scrub-a-dub-dub!" Penelope puts her in the tub and Chloe starts splashing her jean-clad legs.
"Whoa, don't splash me! What did I ever do to you, huh?" Penelope teases her and then starts to tickle her. Then, she gets down to business-she shampoos Chloe's hair and washes her body and then she's all clean. After drying her off, Penelope lets her loose in their room and she puts her pink Polly Pocket pajamas on all by herself.
"You all ready?" Penelope asks when she finishes getting her sweats on.
"Yes, Mommy!"
"All right, good girl. Let me set up the pillows...and here's a spot for you, right next to me." Penelope sits down, leans back against the pillows, and pats the spot next to her. Chloe's tiny body is soon close to Penelope’s side, and she pulls her baby girl into her lap. Chloe reaches up, grabs Penelope’s earring and pulls. "Oh, ow!" she exclaims, gently removing Chloe's hand from her dangling earring. "My earrings aren't toys."
"Sorry, Mommy." Chloe apologizes, looking down.
"It's not your fault. Now, do you want to hear a song or a story first?"
"Story! Book!"
"It's not from a book. It's from my head."
"Mommy magical?" Chloe gazes up at Penelope in wonder.
"No, my angel, I'm great at telling stories and acting. Now...once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess named Holly. She lived in a huge castle on top of a hill in France. She was forced into marriage at age thirteen, to an evil king, David, to help her selfish parents get rich and have their daughter be queen of France, when all she really wanted was to be a teenager. Years later, the girl grew to be a young woman, about eighteen, and she finally escaped his rule. She fell in love with a man named Joshua. He loved her because she was the prettiest lady he'd ever seen and she had the kindest heart of anyone. He protected her and loved her forever and always and they even had a little girl named Lea Marie. They all lived a happily ever after," Penelope recites, tapping Chloe's nose.
"Yay!" She claps. "I a princess too?"
"You're my princess," Penelope murmurs, looking down at Chloe and smoothing back her slightly tangled hair. "My little princess. I love you so much!"
"I love you," she echoes. "La la la la love," she sings.
"Go to sleep, baby, it's beddy bye time. Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite."
"Night," is her reply.
John comes home then, though, and Chloe squeals when she sees him popping his head into her room.
“Daddy!” She runs up to him and he scoops her into his arms.
“Ah, my girls!” He hugs Penelope with Chloe snuggled in between them and the parents kiss their daughter’s chubby cheeks, on either side of her. “You see, Monkey? I told you I’d be back before you drifted off to your flying dreams.” He shares a loving smooch with Penelope.
Chloe hooks her arms around both their necks. “Yeah! Swing me, pretty please, with a cherry and whipped cream and sprinkles on top!”
So they set her down and hold her hands, lifting Chloe a few inches off the ground as they swing her higher and higher, until they let her go and she lands in her bed, cheering and giggling with unbridled joy.
Penelope remembers their mother-daughter tea times they'd have with Ella and her aunt Rosalita.
" Mama!" one-year-old Chloe says for the first time while holding her hands up to grab Penelope's.
She smiles and picks her up. "You called me Mama!"
"Love you. Love me?"
"Yes, baby, I love you too!"
"Want Ellie."
"Chlo," Ella says from Rosalita’s arms.
"I know, baby, come on, we'll go see her." Rosalita and Penelope bring the two little girls together in the playpen and go back to watch them play together.
"Aren't they adorable? They'll be so close, just like us," Penelope coos.
"Like sisters," Rosalita says, smiling at her best friend.
"Come to Abuela," Rosalita’s mother urges Ella.
"Come on, Chloe," Penelope’s mother Beatrice says, waving her hands forward.
Chloe and Ella get up with shaky steps and hold on to each other. They look so adorable, brunette and blonde haired together. They slowly walk toward their grandmothers, but then Chloe starts to fall, pulling Ella down with her.
"Oh, honey, are you okay?" Beatrice asks, picking up Chloe. Señora Lopez picks up Ella and jiggles her a bit on her lap.
"Otay," Chloe says, and giggles.
"Ya," Ella says after her.
She bursts into tears upon realizing Chloe can never attend those special events again. She wishes John were here to hold her, but he’s always at the police station, digging into this case as if Chloe is still alive. He’s the first up and the last one to go home from work, and he drops into bed, exhausted. There aren’t many words spoken between them; it’s like they’re in two separate continents. They say they miss each other, even if they’re sitting together on the couch or she’s wrapped in his embrace, both of them trying to get connected again. His delusions must be worse than hers, but he never drinks, so she has no clue why she is seen as the crazy one just because she immersed herself into acting from being so overcome with grief. He says Chloe is out there somewhere, he can’t believe Penelope has lost all hope, but it’s been too long. Their baby is gone, and alcohol and acting take her away from this devastating reality.