Authors Note: I LOVE YOU ALL! There I said it...now we can get on with the story lol ;)


Darkness descended. The smell of sulphur assaulted his senses and flakes of ash fell like rain drops from the sky, covering everything in sight with the fine, grey flakes. He staggered clumsily toward the nearest structure, hoping to avoid the creatures he could hear scurrying about nearby. He wasn't in any shape to be dealing with anybody and he had no idea what to expect down here. Wrapping his arms around his naked frame he shivered against the cold. Should hell be this frigid? He had no idea, but he planned on making it hotter. Angels weren't particularly fond of cold temperatures, they preferred warm, and reasonably toasty.

Lucifer stepped inside the desolate building, or at least what appeared to have once been a structure. The roof was falling apart and there was nothing inside except dust and ash, and if he wasn't mistaken what appeared to be the remains of tormented souls whisping around him like plumes of smoke. And like a switch had been flipped he could suddenly hear their screams inside his head and he faltered, falling to his knees on the hard ground and using his hands in an attempt to drown out the suddenly deafening wails.

"Stop! Please stop!" he screamed, over and over and over again.

Lucifer later learned that they would never stop. Instead he had to learn to tune them out.

"Lucifer."

"Stop. Please...stop." He cried out, planting his hands over his ears.

"Lucifer! Wake up!" Chloe called to him again, not wanting him to hurt himself but at the same time trying to snap him out of his nightmare, she reached out and touched his arm before she'd had time to think it through.

His eyes snapped open, his chest heaving and he scrambled from the bed, only making it a few steps before falling to the floor, his legs getting tangled up in the bed covers he'd dragged with him.

"Lucifer?" she called gently, moving around the bed to crouch a few feet from him. She needed to let him come back to himself before she started touching him again. She'd seen cases of PTSD, knew the signs and wanted to kick herself for letting her emotions get the better of her. Chloe didn't know what had happened in his past that made him take on this persona of the Devil but she knew it had to be something pretty traumatic. He'd been mumbling in his sleep, some strange language she'd never heard before, though she thought it sounded beautiful. Then he'd started getting agitated and began calling out for them to stop and Chloe couldn't stand it any more.

"Make them stop...please. Make it...stop!" Lucifer gripped his hair tightly, pulling the short strands with such force that Chloe thought he was going to rip his hair out.

She moved closer, covering his hands with her own and gently pulling them away before he did any real damage.

"Lucifer, talk to me. What's happening?" she asked, her brow furrowed in concern.

He raised his eyes to focus on hers and Chloe didn't think she'd ever seen so much pain lingering in a persons gaze before, yet she couldn't look away. "They're in my...head, Chloe. I can't get them...out. The screaming...the never-ending wails...they just about...drove me mad the...first time."

Chloe had no idea what he was talking about, though her worry for this man increased ten fold. "It was just a bad dream Lucifer. It wasn't real."

The taller man suddenly reached out, grabbing her face and bringing it within inches of his own and for a moment she thought he was going to kiss her, but his eyes were hard, a blackness swirling in the depths of his tortured soul. "No. You don't understand...it was all real. You need to believe me," he cried, his grip becoming uncomfortably tight and Chloe winced slightly, and like a slap to the face he let go of her and scrambled back a bit. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean...forgive me, Chloe."

The Detective nodded. She knew he'd never do anything to intentionally hurt her. "It's okay, I'm fine. Lucifer, please look at me."

He kept his head bowed, staring down at his hands. "I hurt people...it's all I've ever...been good at. You need to go." Lucifer lifted his head, his gaze dark and unwavering and for a moment Chloe started to feel nervousness creep up on her. She'd always known there was something dangerous about this man, a darkness simmering deep down inside him. He did have one hell of a temper, although it wasn't ever aimed at her.

"I trust you." Chloe said truthfully, because she did. This man saved her life the first day they met and continued to chip away at her defences every single day, making her laugh and smile more than she had in years after just a few weeks of meeting. Also her daughter adored him, and she was always a good judge of character.

He shook his head sadly. "You shouldn't."

Taking a steadying breath, Chloe walked the few paces to her partner and held out her hand. "Come on, lets get you up off the floor."

Lucifer stared at her, then after a moment of contemplation he accepted her help wordlessly.

"Do you want to try something to eat?"she asked already knowing the answer.

"No, thank you."

"Lucifer..." she started but he held up his hand to silence her.

"I feel nauseous and if...I eat anything...I'm afraid I'll bring it back up."

She noticed that he was looking a little paler than he had earlier. Then again, he had been burning up with a fever.

"Some water then?"

Lucifer sighed, still not looking at her, and nodded his head.

The Detective vanished out of the room to fetch him some water and Lucifer sat down sullenly on the edge of the bed, holding his head in his hands. He wasn't sure what he'd been infected with but it was getting worse, he could feel it inside him like a cancer, tainting every part of him. He hoped Maze returned soon because he wasn't sure how much longer he could keep fighting this and he didn't want to say anything to Chloe. There was no need to worry her unnecessarily until he had no other choice.

He lifted his head when he heard her return and offered her a small smile. Taking the glass from her, he managed to hide the tremor in his hand by settling the glass on his leg.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."