Chloe was cleaning up from breakfast as the kids were coloring at the table. She'd decided to start Trixie's punishment for sneaking out of the house a little later. It didn't feel right to confine her to her room while Samael was there. It was a little too cruel. Plus, it helped keep the boy busy, as he began to get antsy the moment he woke up and found out his father was gone.

Amenadiel was also nearby, sitting on the couch in the living room. He had a good eye on his brother, not willing to leave Chloe alone with him for even a minute.

"This is strangely enjoyable," Samael said as he colored in one of Trixie's books. He couldn't understand the point when Trixie had first told him what 'coloring' meant, but he found himself enjoying the activity.

"Coloring can be fun," Trixie agreed.

Soon, there was a knock at the door. Chloe immediately went and answered it. "Hey, Linda. Come on in."

"Hi, Chloe. Amenadiel called and said there was a problem with…" Linda trailed off as she walked inside and saw the young boy seated at the table with Trixie. "Good God!"

Samael looked up and frowned. "My dad's not here right now."

'Uh, Trixie, why don't you and Samael color in your room. And this time, that better be where you stay," Chloe told her daughter firmly.

"Yes, Mom my," Trixie said before gathering her coloring book and crayons. She and Samael then ran off to her room.

Linda stared at Amenadiel in shock. "That wasn't…"

"It was. It was Lucifer. Sort of," Amenadiel said. He quickly filled her in on everything that happened.

"I guess that explains why he missed his last appointment," Linda said before turning to Chloe. "Why did you do that? I know that it couldn't have been easy for you to deal with finding out the truth, but to try to send him to Hell. What did he do to deserve that?"

"Nothing," Chloe said quietly. "I was scared. I was looking for some kind of answer on what to do with what I saw. All I could think about was every story I've ever heard about the Devil. I forgot everything I knew about the real Lucifer. And suddenly there was someone there to feed into that fear. I made a terrible mistake. I would undo it if I could."

Linda could see the guilt all over Chloe's face. She knew she felt bad. Linda also felt she deserved that guilt. As a psychiatrist, Linda tried to have compassion, which she was trying to now, but that was clouded by the fact that she'd spent years helping Lucifer deal with his trust issues. Chloe helped a great deal with those issues, and now she'd destroyed every bit of progress they'd both made, to the point where Lucifer had to find a very unique way of hiding himself. "Do you know the damage you've done? He may not come back from this, Chloe. Even if he returns to his adult form, he may never recover from this betrayal. He trusted you more than anyone."

"I know. I'm so sorry," Chloe said guiltily.

"Linda, I asked you to come because I'm hoping you can help, Samael," Amenadiel said, causing Linda to turn to him. "Things are much different than he's used to them being. Humans weren't even something Father had begun to think about when Samael was this age the first time, so he's already confused. Soon, he's going to have to go back to Heaven, where everyone he knows is much older than he remembers and where our mother no longer is."

"Oh, boy," Linda whispered. This was a complete disaster. Lucifer was essentially gone, and a little boy who couldn't possibly understand what was happening to him was in his place. How was she supposed to begin to help him make sense of it? She barely made sense of it. "What exactly do you want me to do. Do you want me to tell him all of this? I can't do that."

"No. My father will tell him. We just want your help in getting him to understand, and maybe making it easier for him to accept. First, will you maybe talk to him for a few minutes?" Amenadiel asked.

Linda nodded after a second. "Alright, sure."

"Samael, come here!" Amenadiel called.

Samael came out a moment later and walked over to his brother's side.

"Samael, this is my friend Linda."

Linda bent down slightly and extended her hand. "Hi, Samael."

Samael frowned at the hand in front of him. He didn't know what he was supposed to do with it? Why was this woman showing him her hand.

"Put your hand in hers and shake it. That's how humans greet each other when they meet," Amenadiel explained.

Samael did as his brother instructed. "Hello."

Linda smiled and let go. "Your brother thought we could talk for a little bit. Are you okay with that?"

"Alright," Samael said.

Linda led him to the couch and they sat down.

Chloe headed outside for air, knowing that Linda would need some time along with Samael.

Amenadiel went out the other way. He knew he had to give them privacy, but he didn't want to be anywhere near Chloe.

"How old are you, Samael?" Linda asked.

Samael smiled proudly. "Nine centuries."

Linda nodded. She guessed that was equal to years. He looked around nine. "Are you fleeing okay right now? Are you happy?"

"I guess so. I want to go home though. Dad keeps saying we can soon, but I want to go now," Samael said.

"Do you not like it here?" Linda asked.

"It's alright for the most part. Trixie and Chloe are nice. There was one man that wasn't. Dad had to fix my wing because the man hurt it," Samael said.

"That can't be a very good memory for you. Were you afraid? You had never been to this place before and then someone hurt you," Linda said.

Samael nodded. "That man was mean. He was a bad creation, but I think my father got rid of him. He promised he couldn't hurt me anymore."

"You get along well with your dad?" Linda asked. She wanted to see if there was any animosity there. If there was, it might signal that a part of Lucifer was close to the surface.

"Most of the time. Sometimes I misbehave and he punishes me. He punished me last night. I didn't like that so much, but I love my dad. I want to see my mum though. I think she's mad at me," Samael said. His father had said she wasn't, and he'd never lied to him before, but he thought his mother had to be angry with him. Why wouldn't she come to see him otherwise.

Linda shuddered slightly just at the memory of the Goddess. The woman had nearly killed her without a care. But she certainly understood why Lucifer… Samael would want to see his mother. "Why do you think your mom's angry with you? Do you think you did something wrong?"

"I don't know. I think I might have, but I don't know what it is," Samael said. He felt like he did do something. He didn't know why he thought that, but something made him think he'd done something to make his parents angry.

"I see."

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Chloe was sitting outside on the porch when God suddenly appeared in front of her. She jumped up from her spot, both because she was startled and wanted a little bit more distance from the Creator of the Universe. She knew she was not his favorite person.

"My sons are inside, I assume," God said.

"Samael is. I think Amenadiel went out back," Chloe said. She'd heard the back door open. She assumed it was Amenadiel. "Linda came over and Amenadiel asked her to speak with him alone."

"Good. That gives me the time to deal with you," God said.

Chloe gulped and took a step back.

"I told you we weren't finished," God said.

"I'm sorry. I didn't…"

"I don't care," God cut off coldly. He'd heard her apologize enough times. It didn't make a difference to him. It meant absolutely nothing. "I don't want to hear you apologize again. Your guilt is meaningless. It won't help my son any."

Chloe kept quiet. Apologies were all she could offer. If God didn't want to hear it, there was nothing she could say. She could do nothing but listen to what he had to say to her and hope he would offer her some mercy, even if she didn't deserve it.

"What you've done to my son will not go unpunished, Detective Decker."

Chloe opened her mouth to say something.

"Don't speak!" God said harshly. He didn't raise his voice, but he made it clear that disobeying would be deadly. "I have half a mind to show you the same wrath I did your partner in crime. And if you had been the primary cause of what happened to him, I would've. Plus, it would hardly be fair for me leave your child without a mother because of your choices. After all, your daughter did nothing wrong. In fact, she has been more loyal to my son than you have."

Chloe relaxed quite a bit. She wanted to thank him too, but she decided it wouldn't be advisable to talk right now after he ordered her not to.

"Oh, don't make any mistake about it. As I said, you will be punished for what you did to my son. Hell was my second thought. Let your conscience do the work for me. I doubt your guilt would ever subside enough to grant you access to the Silver City, and even if it did, I could still ensure you went to Hell. But Lucifer wouldn't want that, even after what you've done. I would like you to take a minute to let that realization sink in," God said. He knew his son well enough that even if he didn't forgive the detective, he wouldn't want her to go to Hell."

Chloe cringed. He was right. Lucifer wouldn't have wanted her sent to Hell, and that made everything much worse. She betrayed him, and he would still care enough that he wouldn't want her soul damned.

"Besides, it's not good enough. Your soul would be so consumed by whatever torture you dream up for yourself that you wouldn't even realize what was happening or why. I want you to know what it is your being punished for when the time comes. I want you to feel it for as deem it necessary. So, when you die, you will enter the Silver City, but it will be no Heaven for you. You won't be reunited with your loved ones. You won't have peace. You'll be confined to a set of rooms and secluded. You will have no visitors unless I allow it, which I see no reason to. I believe you humans have something like this for punishment too. You call it Solitary Confinement. I hear it is almost like torture in itself," God said coldly.

Chloe swallowed. Basically, she would be imprisoned for crimes against a celestial. It was ironic considering she was a police detective. She was the one that usually put people away. Now she'd been sentenced to the same thing, only much longer. "For eternity?"

"We'll say, yes, for now. Perhaps after a few centuries, I'll be more forgiving, but I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you. Be grateful I've decided to show you mercy for the sake of my son and your daughter. I could've done much worse," God said before walking inside without waiting for a response