This idea came to me when I woke up at 2:00 a.m. this morning and couldn't fall back to sleep. So I thought of playing around with the idea and seeing where it goes. Without further ado, let's start!

Chapter One: Slew of Symptoms

It's the splitting headache that's first to greet Chloe when she rouses from sleep. It throbs in her temples, presses the back of her skull, and the mere idea of attempting to stand makes her feel nauseous and dizzy. Saying it hurt is an understatement. Hell, the best comparison she could muster up is that maybe her neurons were in an intense battle in her brain. That, or this pain is the love child of a hangover and migraine. At this point, both seem plausible.

Despite her body's protests, Chloe forces herself off the bed with what little strength she still has a grasp on. The mere motion twists her gut and, for a moment, she fears she may puke. Thankfully, she doesn't. At least there's that. But the victory is small, and the detective is left to fend for herself as she journeys to the bathroom. Christ, her head felt like it weighed a hundred pounds and then some.

Exhausted and aching, the detective turned on her shower and stepped inside. She felt hot as it was, but the heat from the water gave her muscles some relief. At this point, nothing sounded better than crawling back into bed and falling asleep. But she couldn't. There was work and money was money. Still very much queasy, if not worse, she finished up and turned the knob off. Wrapping a towel around herself, Chloe wiped away at the condensation on the mirror.

Much to her dismay, her appearance wasn't that appealing to the eyes. Pallor face, dark circles under both eyes, unnaturally flushed, she looked exactly how she felt. Like hell. Deciding to forgo makeup-seeing as it would only bring more attention to her less than healthy looking features-Chloe merely dressed and pulled her hair back. For all she knew, this was the same outfit she had worn yesterday, but she couldn't even care the slightest.

"Morning," Maze said through a mouthful of toaster pastry upon Chloe's arrival to the kitchen. "I had planned to make one for you," she nodded down at the now empty plate. "But I was hungry."

"It's fine," Chloe replied, sauntering over to the coffee pot. "I wasn't planning on having breakfast anyway."

The demon's eyes narrowed as she watched her roommate gingerly pour herself a cup of black coffee. When Chloe brought the drink to her lips, every sip she took almost seemed to cause her pain. Not only that, but her hands trembled slightly around the mug as if she were shivering. Actually putting her plate somewhat properly into the dishwasher, Maze leaned against the counter, staring Chloe down.

"What's wrong," she inquired, tone somewhat laced with concern. "You look rough."

"Hm," Chloe hummed around the rim of the coffee cup. "Just feeling under the weather."

"I've seen a lot of gross things in Hell. Burning, blistered, damned souls. Prisoners missing body parts. A realm of misery in general. But how you look right now, in a scale of one to ten, you're a hard four," Maze paused before adding. "Not good."

"Thanks for that," Chloe muttered, pouring her remaining coffee down the drain.

"So are you going to call out or something," the other woman asked, arms folded over her chest. "Not sure how helpful you'd be stumbling around like a zombie. But what do I know," she nonchalantly shrugged. "I don't understand you humans and your diseases."

"I'm fine," but Chloe's weary tone betrayed her. "There's a lot I have to do. Mostly paperwork. If I feel worse, I'll leave early." Both she and Maze knew well enough that was a lie, the detective more dedicated to her work than her own health, so there was no point in trying to convince her otherwise. "Trixie's with Dan again tonight, so you don't need to get her after school."

Trying to avoid Maze's gaze, Chloe dug through the medicine cabinet and pulled out a bottle of painkillers. Though the suggested dosage was two pills, she took three in the hopes that maybe she'd get some sort of relief. With a quick utterance of goodbye to Maze, she grabbed her bag and headed out the door.

Even though the weather outside was cool, windy, and drizzling, to Chloe, it felt like a very hot summer's day. But her mind was set on going to work, no matter what. Although, as she got into her car, the detective was beginning to find it harder and harder to ignore the violent churning in her stomach and the relentless throbbing in her head. Chloe was not one to pray, but she was in desperation for the medication to start working. At least maybe then she could actually think straight.

"Detective!"

Chloe couldn't help but wince at the volume of her partner's greeting. Though she knew he hadn't, it was as if he had shouted right into her ear at close range. It felt that way, at least. Her head continued to ring as she made her way over to her desk, pushing past Lucifer and his ever present devilish grin. Once more, she was hit with another dizzy spell and nearly lost her balance trying to pull her chair out. Struggling to catch her breath, she sank into the seat. Slowly, whatever this was, was starting to wear her down.

"Detective?" Lucifer's smile had faltered away into a deep frown. "Are you alright?"

"I…" Chloe only managed to wheeze in response, chest rising and falling rapidly as she fought to regain her composure. "...I'm fine…" she coughed, waving her hand. "Just coming down with a cold or something."

"It doesn't seem to just be a cold," Lucifer replied, the worry etched across his feature almost comical. "Perhaps you should go home and rest. I can handle everything with Detective Douche," he held up his hand as if swearing in on a bible. "Devil's promise."

"No, no," the detective insisted, finally managing to regain some strength in her voice. "I'll be okay. Let's just focus on the tasks at hand. Isn't there a crime scene we have to go investigate? There's…" Her voice drifted off, and for a brief moment, Lucifer feared she'd pass out on him. She didn't. "There's always something to go to."

If he knew it would've make a difference, Lucifer would've argued against her not making the clearly correct choice of returning home. But Chloe was stubborn and hardheaded, and he both loved and hated her for that. If things got worse, however, he would have to take matters into his own hands, Chloe's permission or not. So with a large pit in his stomach, he waited for the detective to rise to her feet before leading her out to his awaiting car.

For the duration of the drive, Lucifer found it difficult to focus on the road and Chloe at the same time. There wasn't much talking, and if it hadn't been for her coughing, he would've been convinced she was asleep. It was difficult to see her like this. Hell, even the smallest thing that troubled her got to him. For the moment, he could only bite his tongue. But Father, did she look sick. Every time she wheezed, his grip on the steering wheel tightened and he had to remember to control himself enough as to not to snap it into pieces.

"I really think I should take you home," he suggested with hesitation. "Or to the hospital. That sounds like a better idea."

"I'm not going home," she had to pause to regain her breath. "And definitely no doctors."

"Detective-"

"I said no, Lucifer," and for a moment, the Devil saw the resilient, 'I'm the one in charge here, Lucifer', look that he knew so well from his beloved Chloe. It almost made him forget how sick she was. Almost.

"Fine," he grumbled, deciding to give into her demands for the time being. "If you insist."

The weak smile she gave him in response only provided another punch of regret to his gut. The remainder of the ride was in silence, except for Chloe's occasional coughs. By the time they arrived at the crime scene, Lucifer's teeth ached from how much he had been grounding them together in an attempt not to argue with his partner. When he finally stepped outside, his feelings of concern for Chloe had morphed into anger towards her. Well, more frustrated than mad. He was starting to really dislike her headstrong attitude.

"Hey," Ella called out, smiling as they approached. "Glad you two are finally here!"

Almost like the flick of a switch, Chloe's previous feeling of being overheated changed to one of being very cold. She was shivering. Violently. And no matter how hard she attempted to lessen it, the chills grew worse. The feeling had surpassed painful, as if someone had picked her up and rattled her until her bones clashed together. She needed to cough. Bad. And that, combined with the shaking, caused an immense sensation of pressure in her chest. Like she was going to explode.

"Chloe?" Ella's voice sounded distant, and try as she may, Chloe couldn't concentrate on it through the pounding of her own heartbeat in her ears. "Decker?"

Light-headed would be putting things too mildly. And it certainly wasn't your normal dizziness. A thick fog-that was the best description one might come up with-had rolled mercilessly through her mind, the haze seeming to choke out her desperate attempts at remaining conscious. Between the burning in her throat from unexpelled bile and pressure in her chest, discomfort had set into agony. Eyes squeezed shut, she felt herself sinking, betrayed by her own bodily functions. Someone grabbed her in a firm, and yet, gently grasp. She wasn't falling anymore. In fact, it felt more like an awkward cradle. Lucifer.

"Chloe?"

Never before had she heard him use such a tone. Fear. Begging. Pleading. And though she wanted nothing more than to respond, she hasn't the strength. She felt tired. So, incredibly exhausted. Finally, after battling it for so long, Chloe gave in.

"Chloe," his voice, despite sounding far away, was clear enough to make out the desperation. "Chloe, please!"

But the darkness had already swallowed her.

I hope this sounds interesting. I have a lot of ideas for it! Anyway, if you can, reviews are greatly appreciated! It helps me know that people are interested and would like to hear more! Until hopefully next time! -Jen