Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chloe stepped out onto the small balcony that extended from the kitchen and overlooked the shared courtyard. She smiled as she watched Trixie and Lucifer where they sat at one of the large picnic tables which was covered in newspaper with a large, as yet untouched pumpkin sitting atop it. They were debating over the design.

She spotted Michael and Ella when they walked into the courtyard and went directly to Lucifer and Trixie. Ella hugged Trixie briefly before saying something to Michael which sounded suspiciously like ‘play nice’ then heading up the stairs. She hugged Chloe when she reached the balcony.

“Let me guess; Lucifer wants to carve some ridiculously elaborate design and Trixie is arguing the merits of a traditional Jack-o-lantern design,” Chloe mused.

Ella pulled the lollipop she’d been sucking out of her mouth. “Wow, it’s like you’re psychic or something,” she joked as she leaned her hip against the railing. The guys were already bickering about something, and Trixie had taken the opportunity afforded by their distraction to begin sketching out her design and make the first few cuts. “I swear Trixie is the most mature one at that table.”

“Well girls do mature faster than boys,” Chloe remarked.

“Yeah, but a fourteen-year-old still shouldn’t be quite so far beyond a pair of fourteen-billion-year-olds,” Ella sighed. The guys got along so much better these days and their squabbling was always good-natured ribbing rather than actual fighting. Still, there were moments when she wondered about both her own sanity and Chloe’s. She rolled her eyes at the way Lucifer was holding one of the small carving knives in Michael’s direction. “Hey!” she shouted. All three of them froze and looked up at her. “You’re supposed to use the knife on the pumpkin, not your brother!”

“As if I could do any damage with this ridiculous excuse for a knife,” Lucifer called back to her. He then noticed that Trixie had begun working on the pumpkin. “Excuse me, Urchin, we hadn’t settled on a design yet,” he muttered.

“You hadn’t settled on a design, but I did and it’s my pumpkin so, classic Jack-o-lantern it is,” she beamed at him.

“Bloody Hell. Fine. Here let me finish cutting the top off before you hurt yourself and your mother skins me alive,” Lucifer insisted. He held his hand out for the larger knife which Trixie had used to start cutting the opening around the stem.

“There are days when I seriously wonder what we got ourselves into with the pair of them,” Chloe muttered after watching them for a few more minutes. “Come on, I’ve got wine inside.”

They went inside, Ella tossing the stick from her now finished sucker in the trash as she passed the can, then grabbed a couple of glasses before settling on the sofa.

“So, has Trixie decided what she wants to be for Halloween yet?” Ella asked.

“Oh yeah…” Chloe sighed heavily.

“Uh-oh… How bad?”

“Bad enough.” Chloe took a large drink from her glass. “She was perusing through IMDB looking for movie ideas for our annual Halloween movie marathon and had an epiphany.”

“Is she dressing up as the creepy little parasite thing that popped out of the guy’s chest in Aliens?” Ella asked. “That thing scared the daylights out of me out so bad when I was a kid. I had nightmares for like a month after seeing that movie.”

“Oh, I wish that was what she wanted to dress up as. That I could handle.”

“What’s worse than her wanting to dress up as the creepy, bloody, slimy, parasitic alien?” Ella asked before taking a sip of her wine.

“Try her wanting to dress up as my mother for Halloween,” Chloe commented. Ella nearly choked on her wine. “Yeah, my point exactly.”

“I am so confused right now,” Ella said.

“She has decided to dress up as Althea, Queen of the Quarks. Complete with authentic costume and props.” Chloe rubbed her forehead.

“She called your mom and asked to borrow stuff, didn’t she?” Ella asked.

“Oh yeah. And of course, my mom was one hundred percent on board. She told Trixie that she’ll be here super early on Halloween morning to do her makeup and help her get into costume so she can wear it for the all-day costume party at school.” Chloe explained with a forced smile on her face. “If she follows through, that is.”

“You’re worried she’s going to flake last minute?” Ella asked.

“I mean, it wouldn’t be the first time. If it was just a matter of the inconvenience to me, that I could deal with, but Trixie's looking forward to this. If she doesn’t show, Trix’ll be really upset.”

“So, hope for the best, but plan for the worst. Have a backup costume and some purple makeup on hand. If your mom shows, great, that stuff stays buried in the back of a closet. If she doesn’t, you’re ready to jump into action and save the day as super mom.” Ella suggested.

“Yeah, I had figured on doing that. I just, ugh… It’s so frustrating. You know, I hate to see Trixie have to experience the same kind of let downs I did as a kid. I keep hoping my mom will grow out of it, but at this point, I don’t think she ever will.” Chloe looked down into her wine glass.

“But Trixie isn’t experiencing the same let downs though,” Ella pointed out. “Yeah, her grandma might not always come through, but her mom does. And so does her dad. You and Dan are always there for her.” She gently nudged Chloe’s leg with her foot. “She also has Tweedledee and Tweedledum wrapped around her little finger. Not to mention Maze and Eve, Linda and Amenadiel, me… So yeah, if Penelope flakes, it’ll suck, but that kid’s got a whole team of extended fam ready to step in.”

“You’re right,” Chloe shrugged.

“And hey, who knows, maybe your mom’ll come through this time. I mean, Trixie currently has the Devil and an archangel scooping out pumpkin guts to make her happy. Clearly your kid is some kind of miracle worker.”

"Yeah, she is a pretty special kid, but I might be a little biased," Chloe admitted. She smiled at Ella. "Thanks."

"Trixie's not the only one who has a whole crew behind her, you know. We're all here for you too." Ella looked toward the window when she heard Trixie and Michael break into peals of laughter followed by Lucifer's voice drifting in from outside.

"Armani and pumpkin innards do not go together!"

"Why do I have a feeling my boyfriend just started a celestial war with gourd pulp?" Ella muttered.

"Hope for the best, plan for the worst?" Chloe suggested.

"How exactly does one plan for a squash-based angelic war?" Ella asked. "I'm going to go check on the three of them before someone loses a thumb." She downed the last of her wine. "Mind topping me up while I'm out there?"

"On it." Chloe said as she took the glass. She went to refill both glasses while Ella went outside. She looked out the window and saw not only Lucifer, but Michael and Trixie all had pumpkin guts smattered on their clothing and in their hair. Chloe laughed. Ella was right. Whether her mom showed up or not, she had an amazing family who would be there to make sure things worked out. Come Hell or high water, there would be an Althea roaming the halls of Trixie’s school for Halloween, and she had a feeling the sequel would be even better than the original.