Castaway

The Wire

"I don't," he replies, irritated. "But I know enough to rule things out." 

"Is he... human?" she asks.

"He looks like the Devil," Dan says.

"I beg your bloody pardon?" Lucifer scoffs.

"No, man," Dan says, shaking his head as he gives himself the sign of the cross. "I mean the real Devil. Like from The Exorcist or some shit."

Lucifer opens his mouth to launch what appears to be scathing reply, but Chloe puts a hand on his shoulder, digging her nails into him through the wool of his suit jacket. "Lucifer," she says softly, feeling him tense up underneath her palm, "this isn't the time."

With his lips pulled back in a vicious sneer, Lucifer snaps to his feet and stalks away.

"You shouldn't say stuff like that around him, Dan," Chloe says as she watches Lucifer disappear into the break room with a flourish and a huffy, over-dramatic sigh.

Dan rolls his eyes. "Oh, come on. Don't tell me he's got you believing his load of shit, now, too."

"It doesn't matter what I believe," Chloe says slowly, pointing to the break room. " He believes it, and he's my partner. He's your partner, too. So can it, will you?"

"He got Charlotte ki—"

"No, he did not, Dan," she snaps. "Or do you think Charlotte and Pierce didn't make their own choices?"

Dan has no response to that except to look away and seethe. For a long moment, he doesn't reply. His temples flutter as he clenches and unclenches his jaw. And then, in a rough, twisted, upset voice he says, "No, I... I know." Like he's barely holding himself together. "I just..."

She puts a hand on his shoulder, for the first time noticing how wrinkled his shirt is. How... unkempt he looks. "Hey," she says softly, stepping close. "Are you... okay?"

He rubs his eyes and looks up at her. His expression is bloodshot and tired, and he isn't crying, but she gets the distinct impression his lack of tears, now, is because he has no tears left to shed. He wipes his face with his palms, bare skin rasping against stubble born from grief hygiene.

"I haven't been sleeping," Dan confesses quietly. "I'm sorry I'm being such a dick." He directs a troubled glance at the break room, where Lucifer seems to have decided to vent his anger by not- exactly-thieving chocolate from the vending machine again. He jams a $100 bill into the open machine, his onyx ring flashing in the light, and withdraws a Snickers bar in exchange. Dan sighs. "I'll apologize... eventually. I just can't stomach it, now, though."

"It's okay," she tells him. A lump forms in her throat. "Can I do anything?"

Dan considers the question for a moment. "Can I pick up Trix tonight? I know it's not my turn..."

 She frowns. "Well, sure, but...?"

He shrugs. "I'll take her to a movie or something and then drop her back with you. I just... need something. Something besides quiet." And Trixie is anything but quiet. He directs a raw look at Chloe. "My apartment is empty, and I..."

Her heart constricts. That, she can understand. Too much, really. "Trixie could stay with you tonight," Chloe suggests. Maybe, they'll do each other some good. "Honestly, she can stay with you as long as you want, as long as she's okay with it. I don't mind."

"Thanks, I'll..." He clears his throat. "I'll ask her when I pick her up." 

"I'm sure she'd love some extended Dad time."