Chapter Text
"You're pregnant..." Lucifer blanched, staring off. Alastor winced, still hiding his knees as tears began to trickle down his face. "Woah! Hey." Lucifer fretted suddenly, apparently out of his stupor enough to realize Alastor had pulled his broken leg out of its sling. "You need to keep that leg elevated, Al." Lucifer reminded, leaving Alastor a bit perplexed. After Lucifer resecured Alastor's leg back into its harness, he sat back beside the other, carefully wiping away the small stream of tears. They sat in silence for a while, even his mama didn't say a word, all that could be heard was an occasional hiccup from Alastor. Eventually Lucifer broke it, turning to the other. "Alastor, you're pregnant." He replied. Alastor sighed, looking away as he rubbed at his face again. "So, you've said." He returned quietly. "Hey-hey-hey." Lucifer cooed, turning Alastor's face back to him. "Don't deprive me of this, not again." He whispered, leaning in closer, pressing their bodies together. "I went nearly five whole months without seeing your beautiful face. Don't take that joy away from me again." He gushed with a soft kiss to Alastor's lips. "I'm..." He sighed. "I'm sorry for my reaction, Bambi. It's just-it's a lot to take in, you know?" Alastor huffed, fully turning his body to the other. "How do you think I feel?" He retorted making Lucifer giggle a bit. "Fair." He conceded.
Alastor looked over at his mama, who simply offered him a gentle smile. When she noticed her son's gaze, she stood, making her way over. "Hey, baby." She cooed, stroking through Alastor's hair. "Hey mama." Alastor nervously replied. She made a tutting noise, fluffing up his cheap hospital pillow. "Baby, I know you and Lucifer need to talk. This is really more of a discussion for the two of you. But I want you to know that I love you." She kissed his forehead, much like she did when he was little. "I know this is a large pill to swallow, but I know you can handle it." She encouraged softly. "I'll be outside getting you some lunch, nurses be damned. I'll be back in an hour or so." She explained, stroking his face and kissing each cheek before murmuring a quiet- "Mwen renmen ou, ti gason pafè mwen an." And leaving the two men alone.
Lucifer took Alastor's hand again, using his free arm to hug Alastor close, being mindful to keep Alastor in a comfortable position with his leg still elevated. "Look, Al-" Lucifer began but was cut off by Alastor. "I know, it's not yours, you have no obligation to it." He sighed. Lucifer frowned, eyebrows creasing. "Sweetie-" Alastor turned away once more, hiding his face as the tears started again. "I knew this was a possibility back on the island. Hiding from Vox gave me ample time to think." He added. Lucifer, this time a little frustrated, pulled Alastor back before he could prattle on about all of the things that he THOUGHT he knew. He sealed their lips in a kiss, this one a bit more passionate, a bit more claiming. When they pulled away, they were both panting. "If you'd let me speak-" He chuckled breathlessly. FUCK! He missed kissing Alastor. He always turned the prettiest shade of red when it caught him off-guard. "What I was going to ask was whether or not you planned to keep it. You pretty much answered that. But just to be absolutely certain, DO you want to keep it? We do have options here. California is really good about that. It's not too late for an abortion, and even if it were, there's always adoption." Lucifer reminded. "I-I want to..." Alastor whispered before looked away, this time more flustered than anything. He nodded before adding. "But if you don't want to-" Lucifer leaned in, bright blue eyes meeting dark brown. "Let's not focus on what I want right now. First I want to know what YOU want." Lucifer cut in this time. Alastor bit his lip, eyes wide. "What I want?" He asked. "Yes, Bambi. First and foremost, I need to know what you want." Lucifer repeated.
Alastor didn't answer for a minute as he thought over what he thought he had locked down in his own head. It was harder to say what it was, forming it into words when he'd never had a chance to try and say it out loud. "I want..." He trailed off. Lucifer squeezed him close; gaze locked with Alastor's own and concentration undeterred. "You want?" He prompted. Alastor hugged Lucifer close, hiding himself in the older man's chest to avoid the expectant gaze. "I want it to be yours. I know it isn't. It isn't physically possible. I'm only two months in and I haven't been near you since November till just yesterday. Even then, we were always safe, so there's absolutely no way..." Lucifer hugged him tighter. "Who's to say it isn't mine?" Lucifer whispered against soft brown curls. Alastor's brows furrowed in confusion. "I-I just said why, Lucifer. It isn't physically possible-" Lucifer cut in again, stroking at Alastor's back. "Never mind all of that. You're my boyfriend, you never cheated on me. Ergo if you are pregnant, the baby inside of you is mine. Simple as that." Lucifer explained. Alastor tried to mutter out something of being raped by Vox, therefore, Lucifer's statement not being entirely true. But he was hushed by Lucifer's gentle kisses and reassuring 'no's. "Bambi, that wasn't cheating. That was you being assaulted." He mumbled between kisses. Alastor blinked away the tears that were forming as Lucifer's words sunk in. "So-" He sniffed, moving up to look Lucifer in the eyes, to know he wasn't lying, and his care wasn't a false front made to keep a delicate Alastor from crumbling. "You don't want me to get rid of it?" He asked. Lucifer kissed the space between his eyes when their faces met again. "Hell no." He whispered softly. "Not unless that's something that YOU want or need. It's your body, sweetie." Lucifer comforted. Alastor smiled, leaning back in to cuddle against Lucifer for a while longer.
A while of quiet cuddling in complete solitude was carefully interrupted by a curious Lucifer. "If you don't mind me asking, do you know why you want to raise this baby now? I mean, again, fully support your decision. I'm just curious is all." Lucifer asked. Alastor shrugged. "I mean... there isn't really an option for putting the baby on hold until I'm more prepared, is there?" He replied. "Fair. I guess what I'm wondering is why you want to add a baby into everything else you're already dealing with." Lucifer clarified. Alastor looked up at the ceiling as he thought how best to describe it, if he was being honest, he wasn't fully sure. "I... I suppose it's because this-" He pointed to his stomach. "Has been with me for almost everything I went through with Vox on the island. We trauma bonded in a way. I was... I was kind of aware that it was... potentially present. And in that time together, I-I kind of grew to care for it in a way. Bit by bit." He tried. It wasn't fully what he felt, but it was the best way he could word it right now as he worked through it himself. "It's not their fault their sire is... is..." Lucifer cut in. "A total piece of shit?" He offered helpfully. "A monster of the highest degree? A complete psychopath?" He continued. Alastor nodded. "Yes, that. It's a part of me. And just as I've escaped Vox, I think this thing inside me deserves the same chance." He added. Lucifer's gaze softened. "That's beautiful, Bambi." He sighed dreamily.
"But-" Lucifer eventually mumbled against Alastor's hair and the brunette froze at the words. There was always a 'but.' What is it that Lucifer would want? Would he demand marriage first, like what was expected of him and Lilith? A fair trade, Lucifer's hand in raising the baby for Alastor's hand in marriage? He loved Lucifer, but... he wasn't-he didn't-He liked what they HAD. Maybe SOMEDAY but right now? ... And sure, a baby complicates the matter, it always does, but too much change so soon was-it was- Lucifer's voice pulled him out of his spiral. "We've got to discuss what this will mean for the future." Lucifer explained. Alastor winced. Okay, proposal time, not when he wanted or how he wanted, but marrying Lucifer certainly wasn't his WORST option. "You're in pretty bad shape, sweetie. It might be in the best interest for everyone that we DON'T tell people about it right away. At least until we know it has a fighting chance. And if you do carry to term, you'll be pregnant until November or so, if the doctor got the date of conception right." Lucifer cut into his worrying once more. What was he getting at? "We already talked about how you probably won't be going back to school until the fall, but maybe it would be better if we waited until winter?" Lucifer suggested. "That way you wouldn't be dealing with pregnancy while you studied, and it'd give you a little over a month or so to recover postpartum. It's already a lot to work through, just you recovering, but if you want to put a pregnancy into the mix, I think it'd be best if you took more time before throwing school on top of everything else you're dealing with. What do you think? Does that sound good or are you set on going back in the fall? You don't have to choose right now, obviously, you're dealing with enough. I just want you to know you have options and that I'm thinking of you." Lucifer explained.
"How... how would we-when school starts...?" Alastor manages. Lucifer hums. "Same way we handle Charlie's care while we're away at class-your mama." He replied. Alastor frowned in thought. A newborn baby was a lot to deal with, and that on TOP of a six-year-old? "Obviously I'll need to increase her pay. I'll at LEAST need to double it. A newborn baby is a handful. Luckily Charlie will be starting first grade before the baby arrives." Lucifer added. "Lucifer, you can't-not with-it's not-" Alastor stammered to a confused Lucifer. "What?" he asked. "You can't PAY my mama to watch her grandchild." Alastor managed. Lucifer quirked his head. "Why not? I pay her to watch Charlie." He replied. "That's DIFFERENT." Alastor groaned. "We weren't DATING when she started nannying for Charlie." He explained to avoid any confusion. "Yeah, but I didn't stop paying her once we started dating." He countered. "Plus, it's one thing to babysit your grandchildren every so often, but if I'm asking her to watch them every single day for several HOURS, I'm gonna fucking PAY her." Lucifer laughed not noticing Alastor's small giddy smile he tried to suppress as the blond referred to both Charlie and the baby as his mama's grandchildren.
"Absolutely not." Dahlia denied sternly. "I'm not accepting money for watching my own grandbaby. And if this is the direction your relationship is going, I'm not comfortable accepting money for watching sweet little Charlie anymore either." She huffed, trying to spice up the bland food she'd managed to procure for Alastor. "Oh my god, not you too..." Lucifer groaned with a tired but amused smile. "This isn't like babysitting. I'm asking you to watch our kids for SEVERAL hours every day! There's no way you can do that while simultaneously holding down ANOTHER PAYING job!" Lucifer insisted. And Alastor hid in his blanket, totally NOT because it made his body tingle pleasantly when Lucifer referred to them as 'our kids.' A little TOO pleasantly. No siree. Dahlia merely shrugged. "When Alastor was born, his Gigi AND Maman helped take care of him while I worked at the diner when his father was... 'between jobs.'" Alastor peaked out to whisper 'drunk off his ass' to Lucifer. "That's great, but did Gigi and Maman have spouses or partners helping them with money so that they didn't NEED a paying job to have somewhere to live?" Lucifer countered. Dahlia raised a finger about to argue but stuttered. "Exactly. I will be DOUBLING your pay when we go back out to California, and I won't hear a WORD to the contrary-" He looked at Alastor, who was still peaking his face out of his blanket. "From EITHER of you." He added for good measure. Dahlia stood up, handing Alastor his lunch before pinching Lucifer's cheek. "Oh, aren't you ADORABLE." She gushed.
"What are we going to do about your mother, Al?" Lucifer pondered, laying on his back with one hand stroking at Alastor's hair-he had missed Alastor's soft hair so much! Alastor ate his lunch while being pampered with affection from his love. "What's to be done, Lucifer? That's just how it is. We're family." He answered. Lucifer sighed. "That's the thing though. Family doesn't have family struggle to stay afloat while asking the struggling family member for favors." Lucifer pointed out. "I respect Dahlia, and I respect her time. If she is going to dedicate so much of her valuable time to helping us raise OUR children, I feel like the LEAST I can do is pay her for it. Especially when I have the resources to do so." Lucifer added. After a moment Alastor turned towards him. "But I thought you wanted to get off of your dad's money? Maybe mama is just trying to make that easier with free child-care?" He suggested. Lucifer sighed. "Al, sweetie, every one of my siblings either live on my father's property or near it in some outlandishly expensive house that he pays for. As it currently stands, I'm not in a position to be completely financially independent. But all things considered, I'm doing pretty okay with using it modestly." Alastor chuckled. "My god, sometimes I forget how rich your dad is." He snickered. "Exactly!" Lucifer chirped. "And my dad is pretty insistent on helping out, considering I'm one of his only kids that has given him a grandchild to spoil." He carefully rubbed Alastor's flat stomach. "And soon enough there'll be two. Your mom wants to help out, so does my dad." Alastor huffed. "But YOU won't let MY mama help out." He reminded. Lucifer shook his head. "I never said I won't. I said that she will be paid for her time." He pointed out. "They're her babies, Lucifer, she's not going to want to be paid to spend time with them." Alastor huffed. "I won't pay her when she's just visiting as their grandmother-yours was called Maman, right? Anyways, if it's just a social visit, sure, I don't need to pay her. But if she is spending extensive time helping to take care of them while we're out, I feel like I should offer financial compensation, especially if it is a regular thing." Lucifer tried explaining. Alastor sighed. "If you can convince mama, sure, fair enough. But that's a battle I'm not sure you can win." He chuckled. Lucifer sighed, rolling his eyes fondly and kissing Alastor's spice-covered lips once more. He's said it once and he'll say it a million more times, he has MISSED this.
The nurse from earlier came in to clean up another mess after Alastor had yet again failed to keep his lunch down-damn his mama's delicious but stomach-heavy abilities in the kitchen. Despite his mess, the nurse made no further comment on outside food. She, as well as the rest of the medical staff working with Alastor were informed of his new condition. While overfeeding was still a big no, an extra meal here and there was to be encouraged. And considering how much of it was lost again when nausea bouts hit Alastor, the more food offered, the more likely he'd get SOME nutrients. Still, it didn't stop the nurse from grumbling a bit as she left. Lucifer stroked through Alastor's still damp hair, cooing sadly. "No wonder you haven't put on more weight." He muttered. Dahlia, who had left to fetch a change of clothes for her and Lucifer, had come back a bit later than an hour with snacks after Lucifer had texted her about Alastor's nausea hitting again.
When she arrived, Dahlia sat herself beside the boys, still clinging to each other as tightly as when she left. She handed Lucifer his change of clothes, insisting he go and take a shower. Lucifer frowned for a moment before pressing a quick goodbye kiss to Alastor's cheek, keeping it nice and chaste for mixed company, before hesitantly leaving to freshen up after two-plus days unwashed. When the door to Alastor's bathroom closed, Dahlia got closer to her son, petting his messy hair. "So, what have the two of you decided?" She asked. Alastor sat up a bit. "We-uh we decided to keep it." He mumbled. The older woman's brows raised in surprise. "You did?" She confirmed. Alastor nodded. "Lucifer says that it's his baby, so if I want to keep it, he wants to be there." Dahlia winced a bit. "And you're SURE you want to keep it, right?" Alastor frowned, a mix of emotions behind his big brown eyes. "Y-yes." He repeated. "Lucifer said it was my decision. He said he'll support me in whatever I decide." He insisted. Dahlia semi-forced a smile, petting her son's hair. "That's wonderful, sweetie." Alastor was still staring at her, trying to read the story in her reaction. Dahlia quickly broke eye contact, pulling out the bag of goodies she'd bought at the gas station nearby and handing them to her baby. "Eat up." She encouraged. "If you're going to do this, you are going to need to gain weight." She insisted before excusing herself to go fetch him some water.
The day Dahlia found out she was pregnant was one of the hardest days of her life. She got drunk at a party. Henry was there. He had been trying to get into her pants for months. One night of unsatisfying sex later and she found herself standing in her bathroom holding a small piece of plastic that held her future. Henry had seemed pretty pleased with himself after their one-night stand, but he seemed happy enough to leave her alone after that. She kept it hidden for as long as she could, but when the belly finally popped, it was like this mess started all over again. Suddenly he was at her dorm every morning to walk her to classes. He'd said he needed to stake his claim. She tried to deny any claim he had, but he made her take a paternity test. Once it confirmed her fears, he wouldn't leave her alone. He proposed once at the end of a class they shared. Obviously, she rejected him. But he made it a habit to propose every day because that man had no shame apparently. Eventually, she broke. Henry had found out where her family was from and informed her mama of her current predicament. Her papa had passed away a few years prior and his life insurance only covered so much. Henry had promised her mama everything, a proper wedding, a devote husband and father for her daughter and their baby, a home, everything that she could not provide. Her mama tried to convince her that it was for the best. She couldn't raise a baby AND keep a job all by herself. Dahlia had insisted she could find a man, a BETTER man, who would take care of her AND her unborn baby!
She had tried, for months she tried. But any man that was willing to go out with her, was NOT willing to take in a baby they had no part in making. When she was seven months in, her mama had begged to just marry the fool that knocked her up in the first place. She said that was how families were meant to be, with a mama and a papa and their baby. By month eight, Dahlia had relented. Several bad dates and prospects had worn her down enough to believe Henry would pass for a decent father. HELL, had she been WRONG! By the time her baby had been born, Henry still had no job, no home, NOTHING he had promised. But with a wedding ring now on her finger, he didn't feel the need to make do on ANY of his vows. Mama's friend, Gigi had insisted the young couple move in with her. She was a retired woman with a three-bedroom house and nothing but time on her hands. Dahlia Henry and little baby Alastor moved into the biggest of the rooms and while Henry 'job-hunted' the two older women would care for Alastor when Dahlia had to go to work so she could help with groceries. Eventually, Henry got a job and insisted they move out. He was tired of living with two old bats that always berated him for never helping out with his child. Dahlia considered divorce, but after Alastor was born, Henry would threaten to take full custody of their child and move out of state near HIS family, so she'd never get to see her baby. Eventually the tired woman just settled for the bad deck she was dealt.
Maybe it was her own bias coming into play, but she worried Lucifer wasn't fully aware of the commitment he was making here, and neither was her son. Raising a baby is hard enough, but for that baby to be a product of your tormentor, or in Lucifer's case, not his own blood, there was so much waiting for these two if this was the path they chose. And Alastor was just a kid, still hardly more than a baby himself. He wasn't ready to raise a child of his own. Charlie was different. Yes, she called Alastor papa and that was ADORABLE, but Alastor never made any decisions for her as a parent should. And he'd come into the little girl's life when she was already a little lady, no longer a screaming crying baby. She wasn't sure if Alastor was ready to handle all of that. He's hardly dealt with babies at all! Let alone cared for one. And Lucifer? She respects the gumption of that kid to take on a responsibility that many men would not. But he was ALSO just a kid! Sure, he had more experience than Alastor when it came to parenting. But this was a whole different ballpark! Were EITHER of them ready for this? Did they even realize what this would mean for them, their relationship and their LIVES?