"I'd like to know a little about you, first. How did you and Dae meet?" Chloe asks Niall. Is there some," she waves her hand, "bar or something where...unusual people meet up? A Tinder site or something?" Niall laughs, "No. She, um..." he pauses and the smile on his face softens while a distracted expression crosses his face. "She followed me home one night," he chuckles as he rubs the back of his neck.

Chloe's eyebrows go up. "She followed you? Sorry, but I would have thought something the other way around." Wait...he's a demon and he...blushes? "She saw me at the market, actually. Realized I am not of this plane and set off to investigate." His smile grows with pride, "She was prepared to send me back. Damn, that was awesome."

"What happened?" Chloe asks. He shrugs as the grin gets even larger, "Well, we had sex, of course. It hurt quite a lot the first few times. Like drinking battery acid sometimes, and worth it, but once we..." Chloe puts her hand up to stop the apparently forthcoming details, "That's enough. I get the idea."

The demon laughs as he finishes his drink, "You humans are all so bent out of shape about sex. I still don't get it. It feels good, it makes everyone happy...what's the problem?" Chloe shakes her head, "You sound like Lucifer." He shrugs again, "Well, apple, tree, and all that."

He grins and points at her, "So what about you and my lord? How did you meet?" Chloe tells Niall about her first case with Lucifer and some of their subsequent escapades, including Lucifer's death at Malcolm's hands. She turns her head, her gaze lingering on the man playing the piano. "He...died, Niall. Protecting me and Trixie," she chokes out as she looks back at the demon. Her eyes fill with tears and she blinks them away rapidly. "I still don't know how to thank him," she says quietly.

Niall leans forward, "You're doing fine on that front," he offers in a conspiratorial whisper. "What do you mean?" she frowns. "I haven't done anything," she huffs a chuckle, "not even him." The demon shakes his head, "Anyone can have sex with him, Ms. Decker. Hell, everybody does. But you care. Aside from me and Maze, it's been a damned long time since he's had that luxury. Too long, if you ask me." He smiles and winks, "Carry on."

Chloe sits for several minutes, quietly processing the conversation. She looks at Niall as he sits on the floor at her feet, his tail comfortably curled into his lap, then she considers the supposedly evil man behind her who has been drawing the most beautiful music out of his piano for the entire evening so far. Things are never what we think they are going to be, she thinks. Finally, she looks at Niall and takes a deep breath, "I'm ready. What do I do?"

He gives her a soft smile, "Why don't you lay back on the sofa and relax, Ms. Decker? You'll be more comfortable." She complies with his suggestion but quirks her eyebrow, "You can call me 'Chloe,' you know." He shakes his head, "I'd rather not, if you don't mind. Not yet, at least." She frowns, "I just thought...since we're going to be...so close..." "The formality helps me maintain a bit of professional distance, if you will," he explains. "Nothing personal of course," he grins hopefully.

Chloe nods, "Got it." She smiles, "Thank you." He grins, "Of course. Just think of me on the same terms of your gynecologist." She laughs in shock, "You did NOT just say that." Niall grins back at her, "I did! Cheeky as it sounds, I mean it. Doctors for your body are like mechanics, really. Always tinkering with bits and pieces to keep you in top form. Think of me as a mechanic who is fine-tuning your mind." She nods in agreement, "Yeah. I can see that."

"Close your eyes, Ms. Decker," Niall's voice is low and soft. Like the instructor for that yoga class she tried once, before discovering that 'relax' isn't something she knows how to do. I'll just shoot whoever is stressing me. She closes her eyes and he speaks again. His accent, although not as pronounced as Lucifer's, has a soft lilt that lends it a similar musical quality, "Take a slow deep breath and let it out just as slowly. Again. One more time. Good. Now, imagine your mind is 'home.' Think of what the entryway looks like and see that picture at the front of your thoughts. Tell me when you're ready." She does as she asks and is surprised to hear a knock at the door in her thoughts. "May I come in?"

She can't help but chuckle, "Seriously? That's so cheesy." She hears the smile in his voice, "I know, but I'm trying to work within your frame of reference in a way that is as sympathetic as possible." She opens the door to let him in and he steps through. She is immediately taken aback to see that, in her mind, he is much shorter. "Why aren't you...normal size?" she asks. He smiles, "I can control my size in here and this will be easier if my size is less of a distraction." Chloe nods, "That makes sense. Thanks."

"Do you mind if I look around?" She shakes her head, "Nope. Go ahead." Niall clasps his hands behind his back and steps into her home, "This is a replica of where you actually live, isn't it?" She looks surprised, "How did you know?" He shrugs, "Because you have no reason to imagine anything else." He walks further into the space and sees a child sitting on a sofa to his right. He walks toward the open kitchen and sees an attractive, middle-aged woman. Nodding, he strolls farther back, there's another man standing in the hallway, looking rather unhappy.

To Niall's left is a set of stairs going up, he climbs them slowly with Chloe close behind. He reaches the top of the stairs to see it's a bedroom and Lucifer is sitting on the edge of the bed, wearing one of his designer suits, leaning over with his elbows on his knees. He seems to be deep in thought. "Oh my G - what is HE doing here?" Chloe asks in shock. Niall laughs, "It seems he is waiting, Ms. Decker." He looks to see her eyes wide open and her face bright red but he waves it off. "There is no need to be embarrassed, Ms. Decker. Truly." He gestures at his imaginary sire, "Frankly, the fact that he's dressed shows a level of consideration of his person that is quite rare." She stares at him, the look on her face is still something close to getting busted in the shower having saucy thoughts, so he points at the stairs, "Let's go back down, shall we? I have some recommendations."

Chloe lets him lead the way down the stairs and they return to the entry way. "So," she begins, her voice still shaky from discovering Lucifer in her bedroom, "What should I do?" "Everyone in the house is someone that means a great deal to you." Niall points at the girl on the sofa, "This child is yours?"

She nods, "That's Trixie - Beatrice. My daughter." "She has accommodations in your home?" She nods again, "Yeah." "Good," he answers. "In here, lock her in her room unless you know without a doubt that you are safe." "But..." she begins but he cuts her off. "That sounds mean, but it's really not. The only direct effect to her is you keeping her safe from discovery." He gives her a pointed look, "I imagine you're interested in that, yes?" She nods silently. He gestures toward imaginary Trixie, "Go on."

Chloe takes a halting step toward Trixie. The eight-year old is playing with her ninja chemist doll while watching an episode of Mythbusters. "Trixie, babe," Chloe begins. Trixie looks up at her with a smile and bounces over for a hug, "Mommy!" "Honey, I need you to play in your room for a little bit, can you do that for me?" Giant brown eyes look up, "But why, Mommy?" Chloe wavers and looks toward Niall, who nods encouragement, then she turns back to Trixie, "I just need you to trust me right now, Monkey. Go on." Trixie grabs her doll and hops off the couch, "Okay, Mommy!" then bounces into her bedroom. Chloe closes the door behind her and, taking a deep, shaking breath, locks the door.

Niall offers her a beautiful smile, "I know that was hard but you did great. Again, unless you know for a fact that you are safe, do not let her out of that room." Chloe frowns, "How do I know that it's safe to let her out?" The demon gives her a pointed look, "As it relates to this sort of thing, you are only safe when I am near you." She exhales loudly, "Okay. What's next?"

Niall walks toward the kitchen and looks at the woman he finds there, "Who is this?" Chloe smiles, "That's my mom. She's watching Trixie right now." He looks at her, "You want to keep her safe as well, then?" She nods emphatically, "I can put her in the room with Trixie." He shakes his head, "No. Keep the ones you love spread out. Have her return to her home." Chloe bites her lip, "But what about Trixie?" she asks. Niall steps forward and takes her hand, "You need to understand that the people in this house are representations. They are not real. Real Trixie isn't actually locked in a room, but she's safe from discovery in your mind because you have her tucked away. Your mother won't know that you've sent her anywhere. Again, she'll be safe because she won't be seen here."

Chloe's expression changes to one of determination, "Okay," then she turns to her mother. "Mom, it's time for you to head home. I'll call you later." Imaginary Penelope Decker smiles then kisses her daughter's cheek, "Of course, sweetheart. I'll talk to you later." She grabs her keys off the kitchen counter and bounces out the door. Niall nods his approval, "You're a practical woman, Ms. Decker. That makes the process much easier than I expected."

He walks toward the back door to see the grey-eyed man in the hall. He is a bit shorter than Chloe and wears an expression like he's eaten something rancid. Niall cocks his head, "Who is this guy?" he asks. Chloe huffs, "That's Dan, my ex-husband." She cocks her head, "He's taller than me in real life, why is he short here?" she asks. Niall smirks, "He has clearly done something to diminish himself in your eyes. You said he's no longer your mate, can I ask what happened?"

Chloe scowls, "Where do I begin? He's a condescending prick that never made time for me and Trixie until he realized I was over his crap. Every time I was given a case at work, he would show up and try to tell me how to handle it. He insisted that I was too demanding when I pushed him to participate in Trixie's life. He even had the balls to threaten Lucifer if anything happened to me on a case."

Niall laughs aloud, "My lord didn't punish him for that?" He shakes his head then points to him, "So, why is he in your home?" Chloe frowns, "Because he's Trixie's dad. If something happened to him, she'd be devastated. The demon cocks his head, "What about you?" She looks thoughtful for a moment, "He's a complete ass, but I don't hate him. He's stupid but he doesn't need to die for that." Niall gives a slight bow, "I understand. Out he goes." She actually smiles this time as she sends Dan off.

Niall looks around, satisfied, "Great work, Chloe. You're better at this than I would have thought. Next, we need to set up fortifications." She frowns and points her finger at the ceiling, "But...Lucifer is still upstairs." Niall waves her off, "That's fine. He can wander about all you like. Anybody else that may try to come in will want to see him here anyway."

Chloe nods, a thoughtful look on her face, "I suppose that makes sense. So, what next?" He looks around, "It would be pretty easy to break into this place so we want to make it more secure. What are your thoughts?" She looks around, "Well, we could..." He puts his hand up to stop her. "Seriously, your actual thoughts. Show. Don't tell."

She paces around the space between her kitchen and living area, tapping her finger against her lips, a thoughtful expression on her face. She looks at Niall, "I can make it anything I want, right?" "Sure," he agrees. "The only limit is your imagination, but I recommend you not make it too complex. It should be something you don't have to think much about once it's in place." Chloe smiles then closes her eyes. Suddenly, Niall finds himself relocated to the high wall of a castle.

He laughs, green eyes sparkling merrily, "This is wonderful, Ms. Decker!" From his position on the ramparts, he can see a moat and drawbridge. He turns to her with a large smile, "How did you think of this?" She smiles as she looks around, "I used to love talking about medieval history with my dad. We'd play games together and take vacations to visit old castles. At one point, I thought about being an architect." Her smile grows more wistful, "But things didn't work out that way." Chloe looks around and spreads her arms wide, "I've always wanted a castle of my own." She turns to him, her eyes wide with excitement, "Hey, can I have a dragon to defend it?" Niall laughs, "Absolutely!" He smiles down at her, an odd expression on his face. "You're quite creative with this, Ms. Decker. Well done. I never would have expected this."

Chloe blushes as her gaze is drawn by a brilliant, blue dragon circling the castle to eventually perch on the highest tower. "Trixie is in that tower," then she looks at the demon before her. "I have to think out of the box a lot. I'd like to see that bitch try to get in here and find my daughter." Green eyes gleam as they look her over. Niall bows his head slightly in an obvious show of respect, "It seems my sire has chosen his...friend...well."