Chapter 1
Lucifer blinked in confusion, mouth open just slightly.
No matter how many times Maze explained what had happened, it just wouldn't click.
His eyes flicked between his doorman Chandler, the demon he'd known for millennia and the tiny bundle of blankets with blonde hair and blue eyes in Chandler's arms.
Maze sighed. 'It's very simple, Lucifer. The child was left outside Lux. What should we do with it?'
A punch to Lucifer's arm woke him from his daze, and he shook his head a little. That didn't help, as as soon as his eyes landed on the baby, he slipped back into a daze. The baby looked awfully like Chloe, also known as Lucifer's wife and mother of his child.
However, that wasn't possible. This baby looked very close in age to Aurora, Chloe and Lucifer's own, and Lucifer knew for a fact that Chloe had only birthed one baby that day.
Chandler shifted the bundle, supporting the baby with one muscular arm and digging around in his pocket with the other. 'A note was left with the little one,' he mumbled, focus on finding the aforementioned note.
Handing the note, once found, to Lucifer, Chandler began to rock the baby who was growing slowly more and more fussy. Lucifer unfolded the paper, holding it at stomach level so that Maze can read along.
To whomever finds me,
Hello, I'm Astoria. I'm almost 3 months old. My parents felt like they couldn't care for me and hope that whoever is reading this will be kind enough to take care of me, or at least help me find somewhere and someone who can.
Thank you in advance,
Astoria
Lucifer let out a slow breath, running his thumb over the last word, the little girl's name. "Astoria.." Maze whispered. A ding broke the silence in the penthouse.
The elevator doors slide open smoothly to reveal two figures - Chloe and Trixie - as well as a pram. Chloe pushed the pram into the penthouse, eyeing the trio as she did.
"What's this?" Trixie trotted over to Lucifer in curiosity. Lucifer shifted the paper toward her, allowing her to read for herself. Once she finished, she glanced up at Lucifer in confusion.
Maze hummed softly, catching Trixie's attention and then nodding at the baby in Chandler's arms, now quiet again. Trixie gasped, taking a step toward the bundle. Chloe did the same, leaving the pram near the couch. Chandler shifted the bundle again, moving it into Chloe's arms and stepping back.
"I found the baby near the entrance of Lux, downstairs," he said by way of explanation. "She didn't seem like she'd been there too long. Should I pull CCTV footage, see if I can tell when she was put there?"
"Yes, do that," Lucifer hummed, running the note through his fingers.
"I'll go help," Maze followed Chandler into the elevator. "Hey Trix, Chloe,"
Trixie waved at Maze and Chloe shot her a quick smile before moving her gaze back to the baby in her arms.
"Mum, Astoria looks just like you," Trixie piped up, sitting on the arm of the couch and examining the baby. "Astoria is her name, by the way. Or at least, that's what it says on the note that Lucifer has,"
Lucifer stood watching the scene unfolding before him for a moment, then turned to check on Aurora, still waiting in the pram. He lifted her up, a bright smile lighting up his face. Settling her on his hip, he began to unpack the things in the bag hanging from the handle.
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It was just shy of an hour later when Chandler returned with a laptop. Portions of CCTV were queued up on the screen. "I've done my best to see who left the baby, but they weren't visible. Somehow," the last word was spoken under his breath in frustration.
With that, Chandler took his leave, presumably to take his post at the entrance of Lux. Chloe stood, carrying little Astoria over to a makeshift bed Trixie had made on the floor. Before Chloe could speak, Trixie was nodding like a teenager who is being told something for the nth time. "Don't take my eyes off of her for a second, ensure that there's nothing that can choke or suffocate her, don't let her put anything in her mouth, so on and so forth."
Silently, Chloe glanced over at Lucifer who only chuckled and shrugged, "We do tell her the same thing every time she's left alone with Aurora."
Chloe smiled her agreement and moved over to the table where the laptop was left.
It wasn't long after Chloe and Lucifer sat to comb through the footage when a loud cry came from the floor where Astoria was laying. Trixie sat up on her knees, glancing around. "I think she's hungry. What do we feed her?"
Chloe sighed softly. "I suppose one of the bottles meant for Rory," She said, using the nickname they'd given Aurora soon after her naming. "It can't hurt, right?" She mumbled, leaning toward Lucifer who shrugged.
"I can't imagine that it would,"
It was then that Chloe regretted not choosing to have a tin of formula in the cupboard just in case like she'd done when Trixie was an infant. She watched as Trixie went to the fridge and got a bottle out, checking the date. Leaving Lucifer to run through the footage again with Aurora cradled in one arm, she walked over to where Astoria laid on her back.
"What are the odds that a baby that looks so much like you turned up at our door? Dad's in Mum's universe, so I doubt it was him. I wonder if this is still his plan," Lucifer rambled, closing the laptop, having not seen anything of substance.
Trixie was still heating the bottle up, humming to herself. Chloe watched Astoria closely, moving closer to ensure the baby was safe and humming a half-hearted response under her breath at the same time. Lucifer continued his rambling, leaning forward onto the table, crossing his arms.
After checking the temperature on her wrist, Trixie walked over to where her stepfather sat, offering the bottle to Lucifer to double-check. Lucifer stopped his soft chattering, turning to look over his shoulder to take the bottle.
A soft smile appeared on his lips - Trixie had come quite far since the birth of her half-sister a few months prior. When Aurora was born, Trixie was incredibly nervous. It was understandable, of course. It took at least 2 weeks to convince her to hold the newborn and a further month to get her to try feeding her. As soon as she realised that feeding her baby sister would not end in tragedy, she slowly took more and more chances to feed, hold, and even dress Aurora.
It was heart-warming for Lucifer to see that it had culminated in a beautiful young lady who could confidently take care of a baby.
Once he nodded and gave the bottle back, Trixie turned and walked toward the fussing baby, kneeling beside her mother and setting the bottle down. She gently lifted Astoria into her arms, mumbling comforting words to the infant as she adjusted the positioning of her arms. Once Astoria was settled in her arms, Trixie lifted the bottle to her mouth, tsk-ing a few times to coax the teat into the baby's mouth. It was now Chloe's turn to watch with a small smile on her lips, having similar thoughts as her husband had a moment before.
It was then that Aurora drew attention to herself, letting out a sharp wail that cause her father to start, staring down into dark brown eyes. "Rory's jealous, I think." He chuckles deeply, getting up to prepare another bottle. Chloe could only smile fondly at the fact that her husband knew inherently to make a bottle.
It wasn't long before the hungry Astoria finished her bottle, whimpers escaping her little throat in protest. Trixie gently pried the bottle away from her mouth. A short, joyful laugh left the teenager at the cuteness before her. Chloe got up with a soft groan, grabbing a clean burp cloth and holding it up in a silent question to her daughter. Trixie nodded quickly, face lighting up. Chloe grinned, placing the cloth over the younger's shoulder. She placed a cloth over Lucifer's shoulder as well, giving his left pec a few gentle pats as she passed.
Once Astoria was burped sufficiently, Chloe took over, cradling the infant to her chest and bouncing slightly, trying to get her to fall asleep.
"Trix, have you got homework?" The teen nodded, already heading for her school bag. She gathered some papers and her pencil case and went back to where she'd spent the past however long, leaning on the coffee table.
Slowly, Chloe made her way around the living area of the penthouse, eyes searching for a proper bed for the newcomer. "Mum," she called out as quietly as she could. "You can put her back down here until we work something else out. Lucifer is already calling for a spare cot to be brought up."
Chloe nodded, looking toward the bedroom, where Lucifer was standing, feeding the last dregs of milk to Aurora. His eyes flicked up, brown eyes met blue, and a genuine smile appeared on his lips. Chloe smiled back, returning her attention to the bundle in her arms.
Once Astoria was asleep, Chloe settled her down beside Trixie, shaking her arms out. Lucifer was kept busy putting Aurora down for a few more minutes, and Chloe could hear him humming a song.
And just like that, the family had a quiet moment, silence eventually filling the penthouse.