[Vol: 2] [Lucifer] Ch: 58 [Who Let the Kid In?] (Patreon)

[Chloe's House] [Afternoon]

Chloe walked in the door and stopped.

Trixie was in the living room, standing on a small stool. Her grandmother, Penelope Decker, was putting makeup on her. Makeup brushes, powders, and cosmetics were all over the coffee table.

Trixie was wearing a fancy, sparkly dress. Glitter was all over her cheeks. Chloe thought it looked like her daughter had fallen into an art supply store.

Chloe watched for a moment, then sighed. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me."

Trixie saw her mom and got excited. "Mommy! Nana says we're going to be in a movie together!"

Chloe looked at Penelope, who was focused on Trixie's makeup. Chloe had hired a babysitter for the afternoon, so this was not what she expected. "So that's why the babysitter called to say you sent her home?" she asked, putting her keys down. "Mom, what's happening?"

Penelope put down her brush and smiled. "We didn't need the babysitter anymore, dear. I thought Trixie could come with me to my audition. Isn't that fun?"

Chloe frowned and walked closer. "Your audition? Trixie said you're both going to be in a movie."

Penelope looked at her work and fixed Trixie's hair. "I'm trying out for a new part. I thought it would be better if someone was there to act with me. And look at her! Isn't she the cutest little lounge singer?"

Chloe looked at her daughter again.

The glitter, lipstick, styled hair, and fancy dress were making Trixie look like a tiny performer. Chloe remembered being dressed like that when she was younger, usually because her mom had another audition for her to attend.

Those memories weren't good.

"Mom, can I talk to you alone for a minute?" Chloe asked, smiling as she led Penelope to the kitchen.

Penelope followed, looking annoyed. She felt Chloe was making a big deal out of something that wasn't a problem. When they were out of earshot of Trixie, Chloe crossed her arms. "Seriously, Mom? You decided to use my daughter as a prop for your next audition without even asking me?"

Penelope seemed hurt. "She was going to be a co-star, Chloe. It's different. Everyone needs a start. I thought you'd be happy she was getting some practice."

"She's only seven, Mom. She doesn't need acting practice, especially not dressed like that. She looks silly."

Penelope let out a disbelieving laugh. "Goodness, for someone who claims she hated acting so much, you certainly inherited a talent for dramatics."

Chloe shook her head, losing her patience. "I'm serious. You can't keep deciding things for her. You did the same to me when I was a kid, and I won't let you push Trixie into acting just to help your career."

Penelope put her hands on her hips, her face getting stern. "Here we go again. I guess I'm the bad mom who ruined your childhood by giving you chances other kids would have begged for."

"That's the problem, Mom. You never asked if I wanted those chances, and you're doing it again with Trixie."

Penelope sighed, frustrated. "Chloe, I just wanted to have a nice afternoon with my granddaughter. You don't need to act like I did something awful by coming to your house."

Chloe stared at her, shocked. "You can't just come here and make choices about my daughter without talking to me first."

Penelope raised her eyebrows. "Come here? You mean my house? The one you're living in for free?"

Chloe's jaw dropped a little.

"Mom, you told me to stay here. And just because you own the house doesn't mean you can take Trixie anywhere you want!"

She turned to go back to the living room to tell her daughter that the audition wasn't happening.

Then she saw the empty step stool.

Makeup brushes were still on the table, and Trixie's small shoes were gone from by the couch. Even worse, the front door was slightly open.

Chloe's stomach sank.

"Mom, where's Trixie?"

Penelope turned around, looking surprised. "She was just here a second ago."

Chloe rushed to the front door and looked outside, checking the driveway and sidewalk. She couldn't see her daughter anywhere among the cars or houses.

"Trixie? Honey, where are you?" Chloe called out as she stepped onto the porch, her voice getting more worried. "Trixie! Trix! Trixie!"

Penelope came to stand by the door, looking much less sure of herself than before.

Suddenly, the fight about the audition was the last thing on either of their minds.

...

[A Little Later]

Chloe walked back and forth in the living room, talking on her phone.

She had called Trixie's friends, asked neighbors, and contacted everyone she could think of who might have seen her daughter leave. No one had any information.

Even Dan hadn't seen her.

Chloe finished another call and looked at her phone, trying to stop the fear growing inside her. As a homicide detective, she had seen too many awful things happen to missing children. She knew how fast a normal afternoon could become a terrible situation.

Penelope, sitting on the couch, looked worried too. "Chloe, honey, try to relax. Trixie is a smart girl. Maybe she just went somewhere you would have allowed her to go."

Chloe looked at her mother, trying hard not to get angry. "I've already looked everywhere I can think of. Dan hasn't heard from her either, and none of her friends have seen her."

Before Penelope could answer, Chloe's phone rang.

She looked at the message and stopped walking.

She frowned.

"What the...?"

Penelope stood up right away. "What is it? Did someone find her?"

Chloe looked at her phone screen for another moment, then looked up. "She got a ride using my Uber account."

Penelope looked surprised. "An Uber? Where did she go?"

...

[LUX]

The nightclub was much quieter in the afternoon.

A few people sat at tables by the bar while music played softly. The dance floor was mostly empty. Sunlight came in through the doors when people opened them.

Maze was behind the bar, arranging bottles. She saw a small person walk confidently into the club.

She looked up.

A little girl, wearing a sparkly dress and a lot of makeup, was coming toward the bar.

Maze knew her right away.

She had seen Chloe Decker's daughter often enough in the past few weeks to recognize Trixie. More importantly, Maze had recently knocked out Malcolm Graham before he could hurt the child.

But Trixie didn't know Maze.

Maze decided it was best to keep it that way for now.

The girl climbed onto a barstool. She looked around with interest, then turned to Maze.

"Is Lucifer here?"

Maze leaned on the counter, looking at the glitter on the girl's face. "And who are you supposed to be, kid?"

Trixie smiled. "I'm Trixie. Lucifer is my friend."

Maze raised an eyebrow. "His friends keep getting weirder," she mumbled. She reached for a clean glass. "Hate to disappoint you, kid, but Lucifer isn't around right now."

Trixie looked at the elevator that went upstairs. Then she sat more comfortably on the stool. "That's okay. I can wait for him."

Maze watched her for another moment.

The girl seemed very calm for someone who had walked into a nightclub alone. She had a stubborn look that Maze found familiar. Maze was starting to see why Lucifer found her amusing.

Maze took two shot glasses and poured whiskey into them. She put one in front of Trixie.

"So, why do you want to see Lucifer?"

Trixie looked down at her hands before answering. "He makes me feel better when I'm sad. I don't like it when people fight because of me."

Maze stopped, the bottle still in her hand.

"What people?"

Trixie sighed and looked at the glitter on her dress. "Mommy and Daddy used to fight a lot. Now Mommy is fighting with Nana because Nana put all this makeup on me."

Maze looked closer at the girl's face.

The sparkly eyeshadow and lipstick made more sense now.

"Let me guess. Your Grandma wants you to look like a drag queen?"

Trixie nodded. "I guess Nana does. She wants me to go to auditions with her, but Mommy got really mad. They were fighting about what I should be when I grow up."

Maze leaned forward a little, now genuinely interested.

"So, what do you want to be when you grow up?"

Trixie's face lit up, and the sadness seemed to vanish for a moment. "I wanna be the first president of Mars! Or maybe a zookeeper."

Maze stared at Trixie for a moment. She hadn't expected Trixie, Chloe Decker's daughter, to become the ruler of another planet. It was a surprising career choice.

But Maze respected Trixie's ambition.

"President of Mars, huh? Interesting choice," Maze said with a small grin. "I used to be something like a zookeeper myself, actually."

Trixie's eyes lit up. "Wow, really? That's so cool! Did you get to look after animals?"

Maze's smile turned a bit more intense. Her job in Hell had involved managing creatures considerably less pleasant than anything found inside an ordinary zoo. Whether demons counted as animals was probably a philosophical question she wasn't particularly interested in answering.

Trixie looked back at the small glass on the counter.

She picked it up carefully, looked at the amber liquid inside, and then asked Maze, "Is this a Shirley Temple?"

Maze glanced at the drink.

Then, she grabbed a bright red cherry from a nearby dish and dropped it into Trixie's glass.

"Yeah, you could say that," Maze replied.

Trixie smiled and started to bring the glass to her lips. But she didn't get to take a sip. A hand suddenly appeared and took the glass away just before Trixie could drink from it.

"Absolutely not, young lady."

Trixie looked up.

Lucifer was standing next to her. He looked at the whiskey in his own hand, then turned to Maze with a look of pure shock. "Really, Maze, are you trying to get us killed? She's a child, for goodness' sake! Toss her a cola, or that cream soda she fancies, before the Detective walks in and discovers you're grooming her into a pocket-sized barfly."

Maze just shrugged from behind the bar, seeming to find Lucifer's reaction funnier than the situation called for.

Trixie quickly slid off her stool and hugged Lucifer around the waist.

"Lucifer!"

His irritation faded as he looked down at her. He rested one hand on her head and gently patted her hair before examining the unusually elaborate dress and glitter covering her face.

"Hello, tiny human. What on earth are you doing here dressed like a Las Vegas showgirl? And more importantly, where's your mother?"

Maze folded her arms against the counter and gave Lucifer a knowing look. "Apparently your little friend ran away from home because the grown-ups were fighting over her."

Lucifer looked down at Trixie again.

Her smile faded slightly as she began explaining what had happened.

Lucifer listened quietly while Trixie finished explaining, occasionally glancing toward Maze, who remained behind the bar watching them.

Just then, the front doors of Lux opened, and Chloe hurried inside with an expression that immediately caught Lucifer's attention. Her eyes swept across the nightclub, searching the tables and the bar before finally landing on the little girl standing beside him.

"Trixie!"

Trixie turned around at the sound of her mother's voice.

Chloe crossed the remaining distance almost at a run, relief washing across her face as she reached her daughter. She crouched in front of Trixie and placed both hands on her shoulders, quickly looking her over to make sure she was alright.

"Thank God you're okay, sweetheart!" Chloe exclaimed before pulling her into a tight hug. She held her daughter for several seconds before drawing back enough to look into her eyes. "What were you thinking, running away like that? Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

Trixie lowered her eyes for a moment, although she didn't look particularly frightened now that her mother had found her.

"I just wanted to see Lucifer," she explained, glancing toward him before looking back at Chloe. "You and Nana were fighting, and I didn't like it. And I made a new friend."

She turned toward the woman standing behind the bar and smiled.

"Maze!"

Maze, who'd been watching the reunion with mild amusement, raised an eyebrow at the unexpected introduction. She'd spent most of her existence frightening humans, so having a seven-year-old proudly announce that they were friends was a rather unusual experience.

Still, she found herself smiling.

"It's Mazikeen, actually," she corrected while resting her elbows against the counter. "But you can call me Maze."

Lucifer glanced toward her with an amused expression. Apparently, his favorite demon was developing a soft spot for Chloe's daughter. Considering Maze had recently beaten a man unconscious for threatening the girl, he supposed the development wasn't entirely surprising.

Chloe finally stood and looked toward Maze. She recognized the woman from her previous visits to Lux. They had a small conversation before.

"Thank you, Maze. I appreciate you looking after her."

Maze's smile disappeared almost immediately.

"I didn't say you could call me that."

Chloe blinked.

For a moment, she simply stared at the bartender, wondering whether she'd somehow offended her by expressing gratitude.

"Right... Mazikeen, then."

Lucifer pressed his lips together, clearly enjoying Chloe's introduction to Maze's particular brand of hospitality.

Chloe decided she wasn't going to investigate the matter any further. She'd already spent the better part of an hour imagining every terrible possibility involving her missing daughter, and she was too relieved to care about the bartender's attitude.

Instead, she crouched again and wrapped her arms around Trixie, holding her close. 

"I'm sorry, Monkey... I shouldn't have fought with Nana."

"It's okay, mommy," Trixie returned the hug and rested her cheek against her mother's shoulder. "I really didn't want to go."

Lucifer watched them with a small smile before turning toward Maze, who had already begun clearing away the glasses she'd placed on the counter earlier.

Then the entrance doors opened again.

Alexandra Daddario stepped inside, having decided to visit Lucifer at his nightclub. She'd expected to find him at the bar, perhaps enjoying a drink or entertaining himself with another one of his ridiculous conversations.

Instead, she discovered something considerably more interesting.

Lucifer stood beside a little girl wearing a sparkling dress and enough glitter to qualify as a walking decoration. A blonde woman was crouched in front of the child, hugging her tightly, while the dark-haired bartender watched the entire scene from behind the counter.

Alexandra recognized Chloe Decker almost immediately. She'd met the detective during the Marcus Vale investigation and knew that Lucifer had been spending quite a lot of time helping her with police cases. She slowed near the entrance, her curiosity growing as she watched Lucifer smile down at the little girl.

'Never seen that expression before...' She thought.

For someone who regularly claimed to have very little interest in children, he looked surprisingly comfortable standing there with what appeared to be a small family gathering. And Alexandra was suddenly rather interested in finding out exactly what she'd walked into.

"Hey, Lucifer."