See Me As I Am

ChloePOV: Tiki Bar

No matter what the Devil said, Chloe couldn't avoid her difficult conversation forever. It wasn't fair to put Trixie in the middle of their problems, and even if she hated to admit it Lucifer was right. Chloe was punishing Dan for everything that happened with the Palmetto case. Some part of her felt like he shouldn't get away with it, but just because the law hadn't caught or punished Dan didn't mean it was her job. As the Devil would say, that was his department. Chloe smiled at her own joke.

Still, even with her new resolve, she wasn't looking forward to the conversation. Putting it off just a little longer, Chloe decided to get lattes before heading over to Dan's desk.

"Still working, I see," she said as she walked up to him holding the drinks.

"Just a couple things I want to get finished before I head home," Dan replied. This was a pattern with Dan lately. He'd been working way harder than he needed to. At first she hadn't thought much of it, but now she had a theory. Dan was punishing himself as well. Just another reason he didn't need her piling on the punishment.

"I've been thinking lately," Chloe began. "And I've realized I've been harsh on you since... well you know."

"I deserve it," Dan replied. "It's okay."

"No it's not. I shouldn't have taken out my anger on you," Chloe explained. "I know you'd take back what you did if you could."

"Yeah I would," Dan said.

"You've been punishing yourself with all this extra work," Chloe continued. "You don't need my help, so consider this the end of your sentence."

"Thanks," Dan chuckled. Then he sobered and added, "There's been something I wanted to talk to you about too."

"The trip," Chloe sighed. This was the other part of the difficult conversation she'd been avoiding. This time of year every year the three of them would go on a trip together, but this year with Dan and Chloe separated it just felt so forced.

"I don't think we should go," Dan said. She could tell from his tone and expression that this was a hard conversation for Dan as well. "I'm always gonna be Trixie's dad and I'm always gonna be part of your lives but we are no good for Trixie if we're no good for each other."

"I know," Chloe said slowly. She was glad he'd been the one to say it. Somehow that made it easier.

"I think it's time we get a divorce," Dan finished.

Somewhere deep down Chloe had known this is how their difficult conversation would end, and maybe that's why she'd been trying to avoid it so badly. No matter how necessary or correct the decision, divorce meant the end of a huge part of her life. It meant trying to find a new place to live, and it meant being alone. Chloe knew she could do it, but divorce was still a big thing to wrap her head around.

"I understand," Chloe replied calmly. "And I think you're right. It's just a lot."

"Yeah it is," Dan smiled at her.

With a casual farewell and a thanks for the latte, Chloe left her soon to be ex-husband to his work and headed home to her mother's house. Where was she going to find an apartment? And they'd have to get a lawyer to draw up the paperwork. The tasks before her felt very daunting all of a sudden, but Chloe decided that was a problem for tomorrow.

Arriving home, Chloe walked in her front door, or rather, her mother's front door. She was greeted by the sitter, who she thanked and dismissed. Then Chloe went into her daughter's room to watch Trixie sleep. No matter how her marriage ended, Chloe would always be glad it had happened, because of Trixie. Even if their future held nothing but friendship, Dan was the reason Chloe had Trixie in her life and she would always be thankful for that.