YESTERDAY'S SUNSHINE HAD, very fittingly, turned into a rolling thunderstorm with sprinkles of rain making the city even grayer by the second, and accordingly, the people in it carried themselves with a sense of moodiness as well. For Izzy and her friends, it wasn't just the weather, though, it was what it represented today — the first day of Perry Smith's trial, and another day with the Deckers desperately trying to claim justice for John. While last night had ended on a good note, with Maze giving Izzy a good night kiss and Lucifer calling her to inform that Lux had been saved, the Holt didn't hesitate to take the enthusiasm down a notch and settle into the new role the next morning. Today was going to be a hard one, and as the thick clouds billowed over them as an attempt to hide the sunshine, Izzy devoted herself to being the little ray of hope that everyone, especially Chloe, was going to need.

         As the day kicked off, Isadora found herself seated on Dan's couch, a glass in hand with only the very bottom flowing with whiskey, eyes sad and the atmosphere serious. She was struggling to forget about the last time she had seen him, but for the sake of the solemnity they were wrapped up in, Izzy didn't poke the subject, just sat opposite the man who was equally silent. They had already talked about the case and what was needed of them to keep things running smoothly before they'd head over to the trial and see it play out. Dan had been alerted about having to go on the stand, and Diane had the same fate, but Izzy was saved from the spotlight today — she was given the luxury of sitting down and following from aside, instead.

         If there was someone who was going to walk into a spotlight, however, it was Benjamin Espinoza, whom Izzy and Dan had promised to drive to the courthouse. The only problem was, the man wasn't at home, but it hadn't taken the two cops long to figure out where he had spent the night, hence the patient waiting in the living room, until the front door creaked.

         Turning to the sound, only to find a cautious Benji trying to sneak in, Izzy flashed a grin. "Did you have fun?", her voice was dripping with satisfaction as she greeted the man, and facing his best friend and brother like a deer in headlights, Benjamin's mouth fell open only for nothing to come out. The hickeys on his neck, however, spoke in volumes and in an instant, both Izzy and Dan were gasping, with the exception of Dan being much less excited.

         For a while, anyway. "Okay, I'll let this slide, but only because I actually had a guest over, too", Dan radiated with pride and joy as he got up from the couch and properly greeted his younger brother, and already grimacing at the reminder, Izzy looked away, missing the high-five that Benjamin prompted.

         "Am I the only one not having sex?", she elected to complain, dismay evident on her features as she, too, stood up and crossed her arms over her chest. It wasn't that she wasn't pleased with the development between her and Mazikeen, but she could smell the manly pride lingering in the air, and that successfully forced a grim look to her face. Snorting at expression, Benji didn't hesitate to toss his arm over her shoulders and direct her a reassuring but fully teasing smirk.

         "Don't worry, I'm sure Mazikeen will make a move soon enough", he comforted, and right before Izzy could slap his shoulder or reply with a snarky comment, he realized how serious of a situation he had walked into. Dan's one and only bottle on the living room table, no laughter or banter audible from the house, both cops looking less joyful as usual — and maybe Benjamin wasn't a detective like his brother, but he was quite smart, nonetheless. "Wait, what's going on? Did someone die?", the man began panicking, certain that he had forgotten or missed something important, and sighing, Dan nodded.

         "Yeah. John Decker, 16 years ago. Today is the first day of his killer's trial", he looked over to Benjamin, placing a hand on his shoulder, "better suit up, bro."

         "We're taking you there, and then we have to hold the fort at the precinct before we join you later. If you wanna, you could look for my mom, I'm not really sure when she is supposed to arrive but if you see a stunning redhead who looks 50% like she is going to bake you all the cookies in the world and 50% like the best detective in the LAPD, that's her", Izzy instructed with a smile, never turning down the chance to gush about the brilliance of her mother, and concluding from the happiness that twinkled in Benjamin's eyes, he was already rather impressed, too.

         "Sounds like I am 100% going to love her. Okay, give me a second to change and we'll get going", Benji clapped his hands together, and after he had disappeared into his bedroom, Izzy turned to Dan with the hope still twitching at the corners of her mouth.

         Driven by both instinct and the natural desire to take care of others, Izzy placed a supportive hand on Dan's shoulder and nodded confidently. "It's gonna be a long week, but it'll be okay. Chloe is going to be okay, and you will, and justice will be served, one way or another", she tried to smile, and she wasn't wrong — Perry Smith was going to face the music, but before that, they'd have to struggle a hell of a lot for it.

—————

        "DID YOU... GET LAID?"

          Izzy snorted on the coffee Dan had kindly bought for her on their way from the courthouse to the precinct, Benjamin left behind and the two of them ready to tackle the day with Ella — the latter of which was now analyzing Dan's musky aftershave and worked arms. Wiping the drink from her chin, Izzy gulped and looked to her friends, happy to stay out of the conversation, especially when she knew the truth and exactly who Dan had had sex with. But, Ella was less willing to let Izzy sit this one out.

         "No, come on! Look at him. I know this is a serious day and all, but he's... glowing", Ella tugged on her arm, pulling the woman right into her side so they could both inspect Dan closely. "What do you think, Iz?", a devious smirk twisting the scientist's lips, and with her brain digging through the potential answers without revealing too much of Dan's personal life, Izzy stared at the man, hoping for him to butt in and say something useful. Which, thank goodness, he finally did, a grin on his face.

         "I'm still in shock", he whispered and leaned over to both women, making Ella smugly nod her head. "She's gorgeous", Dan gushed, whereas Izzy was speechless, not wanting to weigh in too much and give away the truth. Which was, in this case, her and Maze spying on his date, with Amenadiel in their company too. But in her defense, she had merely been looking out for a loved one.

         As Ella pointed out that he wasn't half-bad either, Izzy finally took the chance to jump in with a vigorous nod. "Yeah, you're a handsome dude. Guy. Man", her hands waving in the air, "who knows, maybe you were the gorgeous one to her?", but Dan wasn't having it.

         "No, no, no, trust me guys, she's way out of my league. I mean, she is goddess-like", he ranted excitedly, and once again, Izzy struggled to drink down the remains of her coffee, her heart leaping at the curious choice of words. She was still fairly skeptical about the whole Heaven and Hell thing and Charlotte being a resident of both, but the coincidence left her silent while Ella kept on going.

         "Well, maybe she's the one who sent you the mystery package", her voice mischievous as she nodded to the surprisingly large cardboard box sitting on Dan's desk, and instantly, all three were wonderfully intrigued by the sight. And stupidly, none of them understood to question the dangers of an unnamed package left in a police department.

         Gulping down his coffee, Dan whipped out his utility knife and neatly cut the tape on the box, before letting his curiosity get the best of him and opening the two sides. From the other side of the desk, Izzy was yearning for a peek too, but as soon as the two cops saw what rested inside, they were both scurrying away with collective ews and ughs. But Ella, always used to the disgusting parts on the job, didn't even flinch as she took out her gloves and carefully lifted the severed head delivered to Dan, lips in a pout as she inspected the pale skin.

         "Isn't that—", Izzy circled from around the desk, but she didn't get to finish when Dan had continued.

         "Boris. He was supposed to be the number one witness today. Chloe's gonna lose it", he sighed before storming off to call Chloe, while Izzy and Ella continued to stare at the dead-set eyes in front of them.

         The day had barely begun, and things were already heading downhill — not a good sign, but with a deep inhale, Izzy reminded herself to not get discouraged. Chloe and the rest were going to need emotional support and if there was something the Holt was good at, that was it.

—————

         IZZY, DAN, AND Ella had worked on some leads and tried to locate the rest of Boris' body for evidence against Perry Smith, but the day was turning into a tiresome evening and with time, the trio was breaking apart as Isadora joined the eldest Espinoza at the courthouse. They had both changed into more formal clothes, looking like a true dream team as both had opted for sleek suits, but Izzy was relieved to merely sit and follow the session while Dan was a moment away from being questioned.

         "Oh, Chloe", Isadora sighed at the sight of their co-worker, and more importantly their friend, nervously twisting her fingers while she sat next to Benjamin, who was trying his best to calm her down. Relieved to see Izzy, Chloe was jumping up from her seat and gratefully accepting the incoming warm embrace, her eyes closing as the deputy sealed her in a tight, comforting hug. "I just want you to know, we're all here for you", she mumbled into Chloe's tied hair, hands reassuringly running up and down the detective's back before letting go.

         Silently, Chloe gave her a smile before sitting back down, and as Izzy was about to do the same, Benjamin grinned up at her from his own seat, legs crossed and the first buttons of his shirt undone. "Damn, Dora. You almost look better in a suit than me", he approved, and unable to hide a smile, Izzy made a small twirl to confirm his words.

         "I know, right? Thanks, Benny. Uh, have you seen—", she began, looking around to spot her mother, but she didn't get to finish when her roaming gaze located Diane nearly holding hands with Lucifer, the two of them laughing together a few seats away. Rolling her eyes fondly, Izzy gave Benji one last look, "I think your boyfriend is charming my mother. Or, actually, probably the other way around", and with a whine, the man complained about never getting to meet Diane himself, but it simply made Isadora chuckle as she excused herself in pushing through the people.

         "Ah, Izzy! You missed my wonderfully entertaining testimony but welcome to the party", was what Lucifer greeted her with, along with his typical wide smile, and Diane's face lit up as well, both of them happy to see Izzy, who found a seat next to the Devil and quietly lowered herself to the uncomfortable chair. "I must say, I'm a little offended that I'm only now meeting your absolutely delightful mother", he turned to the woman with a baffled look, "I suppose it runs in the family", before flashing his usual smirk and then twirling back to Diane.

         Speechless, but happy that the two were hitting it off so well, Izzy proceeded to nervously tug on her sleeves and fiddle with the hem of her black jacket as the minutes passed and the people waited for the session to begin. This was the frustrating part of her job — knowing when someone was guilty, but not having the solid evidence to back it up, and in a situation like this, it was beyond her control. She wanted Smith, and all the other bad guys too, to rot in jail and pay for their actions, but sometimes, that wasn't how things went and on those days, Izzy felt the most helpless. Being so close to justice, yet unable to deliver.

         Eventually, the judge ordered the session to kick off, and so, Diane Holt was quickly invited to the front. Just the idea of her mother going up there, for all to examine and for lawyers to bombard with trick questions, was one that sent Izzy's heart racing — even if she knew well that Diane had experience, after all, she had been a detective for many years, and no doubt the cases she had tackled had led to court back in the day. And now, when the oldest Holt slowly got up and prepared to move away, Izzy wanted to cradle her hand like a toddler and tell her to be careful, beg her to stay, suggest running away, but instead, she swallowed the worries and grabbed Lucifer's hand instead. Instantly, the man turned to her with eyes flying open, but she didn't meet his stare, only followed Diane's every move — and when Lucifer understood how scared she was, for her mom, because of the whole case, for Chloe, his lips melted into a soft smile and his hold on her hand tightened gently.

         The heavy aching that had settled into Izzy's tightening chest only expanded when she finally noticed Charlotte Richards nearing her innocent mother, fingertips trembling with a bitter bite of anger and frustration — there she was, representing a murderer, targeting people like Chloe, Dan, Diane, anyone who dared to stand in her way. No doubt she would go to unreasonable lengths to get her way, even if it meant staining the truth, and that was putting an uneasy bounce on Izzy's knee as she fidgeted and squirmed on the chair. It felt like the walls were coming down on her, and her breathing was growing shallower by the second, but as soon Diane spoke up and Lucifer's thumb softly ran across the back of Izzy's hand, the woman remembered to exhale too.

         "No", Diane answered curtly — wait, what had been asked? "John wasn't my partner. He was a police officer, I was a homicide detective, but he started to grow interested in the cases he could work on, so he was often helping me around", the older redhead continued — giving Izzy a chance to focus again — awfully calmly despite the heat in the room, but Isadora tried to reach that kind of level too. With her heartbeat pulsing in her ears so obnoxiously loud, the woman sucked in her lower lip and looked at her mom with an attempt to trust in her ability to handle the situation, like she had many times before. Then again, she hadn't faced off with Charlotte before.

         "Could you describe the events of that night to me, just—just to get everyone else caught up?", the lawyer circled around like a shark, hounding for blood with the click of her high heels following each flexible step. It was like she resembled all the animals at once — nimble and deviant like a preying lioness, yet at the same time shamelessly claiming her territory and presenting herself as the queen of the room. And while Izzy found that positively terrifying, Diane never quivered, never flinched or let that small, confident smile melt away from her neatly painted lips.

         "Of course", the Holt's voice was firm, and although Isadora had grown up around a sensitive, warm woman, this was proof that she wasn't weak by any means. "John told me that he had made a big break in a case that he had given a few glances at, and asked me to take a look and work it with him. As much as I trusted him as a friend and a cop, I didn't think it would be that urgent, so I sent him to get us some sandwiches before we'd dive into it. I stood corrected as soon as I got the call that a cop had been shot and killed at the very same diner", Diane recalled the same story Izzy had heard weeks ago, the only difference being that this time, she kept her emotions at bay. And while it was undeniably overwhelming, Isadora couldn't stop the admiration for her mother from seeping in.

         It was in that moment when it occurred to Izzy that maybe Charlotte was just trying to prove her strength, putting on a display of character, but Diane was the queen of the courtroom, her help hopefully giving the case the push it needed.

»»»

hiiii guys (: i hope everyone is having a good day x

this and the next chapter will revolve a lot around 2x10 because i feel like not including izzy in something that involved everyone would be weird, especially when diane has a good reason to be there too. i also didn't want this to be too long so, more in the next one + some cute mizzy moments too (:

i've been kinda struggling with writing more lately but luckily i still have a lot of pre-written chapters so i'll probably continue updating once or twice per week and hopefully i'll get back on track soon. tbh i kinda expected school to have this effect and now the new chapter i'm working on already needs a do-over ((:

anyway, as always, thank you for reading! i also posted a trailer in the beginning of the book, or really it's more an edit of just maze and izzy but if you'd like, you can check it out there xx