Plugin Developement Files / Folders

I’m developing a plugin that (for now) runs from files both in the plugin folder and a child theme. I’ve tried to include the child theme folder (as a separate zip to extract to wp-content/themes) within the plugin zip file but WP pukes when the plugin is installed.
How do I get my child theme to the /themes/my_child_theme folder on installation of the plugin?
OR
Will WP run the child theme files FROM the plugin folder?

I’ve read all I can read from the plugin codex pages…

….need some guidance.