Authors Note

Alright, so I have forgotten all about this story! I am very sorry! i've been doing homework since I signed up for a summer class...yeah, not a very good excuse! Anyway, I hope that everyone enjoys this chapter and thank you everyone for reviews! I don't have time at the moment to put your names in here, but I promise that the next chapter will have everyones names in it!

Also, I realize that this chapter doesn't have a lot of action in it. However, the next chapter starts off the Kira case and something very important happens in this chapter. I wonder if anyone will notice it? lol If you notice it, shoot me a review and let me know if you got it! If you get it, the next chapter will be in dedication to you!

- A. Moonbeam

Chapter XIII

Staying On

"On a philosophy test, the correct answer is almost always 'why not'."

- Me

The case closed, Joplin was charged. Alana stretched languidly in the passenger seat of Watari's car. They were heading into town to the orphanage. She was interested to see Watari away from a case and actually out in the field that he seemed to like so much more than case work. Alana looked towards the driver's side of the car and saw that Watari was smiling softly and tapping his fingers on the steering wheel to the song playing quietly throughout the entire vehicle. She smiled softly at the sight and turned her attention back to the road.

She could not stop thinking about what L had told her. He did find her attractive, he did want to be with her. She frowned. Someone that she could get along with and someone that may actually end up making her happy, and here she was denying him. There really must be something wrong with me. I have always followed L's cases, wishing for a chance to meet him, and now here I am and he wants to be with me! What am I so afraid of?

You're afraid that he may use you. Alana sighed mentally as she turned her attention to her window at her side. That was always her problem. She had been used before and she would not allow that to happen again. However, would L really use her?

If I'm honest with myself, no. L would not use me. He never has given me a reason to mistrust him. Alana thought for a moment about all the cases she had followed that L had led. He tests people. Perhaps this is another test. Perhaps L is trying to see if I could actually work with him again without letting my emotions get in the way…Yes, that seems more like L. Alana smiled now and turned her attention back to Watari.

"Did you know that Wammy's House was created just to train new detectives?" Watari asked suddenly.

"I figured as much. All of the children are incredibly intelligent and they all look up to L. It would make sense that they were being trained to follow in his footsteps." Alana nodded her head.

"Some of them realize that detective work is not for them and as such do other things. Some of them have actually stayed on to teach a few of the classes. Others go out into the world and become accomplished doctors or writers or other things. I am proud of all of them, as any father would be." Watari smiled brightly as he turned his attention to Alana. "Since I do feel like their father, however, I must ask what you plan to do with L."

Alana turned away and let her emerald eyes look at the road. She had not expected this question to come from Watari. She sighed and shook her head with a small smile. "I am going to play his games. I believe that he is testing my emotional attachment at the moment. It would make sense because we have been cooped up together during this last case. I understand, also, why he would want to test me on this. We may have to work together again in the future and he would like to know that I could pay attention to the case." Alana chuckled now and turned her attention back to Watari. "It is not every day that a male detective meets a female detective on his same wavelength."

Watari chuckled now, "No, it is not. However, I would like you to know that L never tests someone like this."

"He must have had to change his ways. I am one of the few that have seen him in person and as such, probably one of the first women. It would make sense that he would test me in this way." Alana returned carefully, not allowing her idea to be flattened.

"If that is what you wish to believe." Watari nodded his head with a frown.

Alana did not reply, instead she turned to look at the city that was fast approaching in front of them. She wondered how her mother and father were doing. She was wondering how her brother's were doing and the rest of her family. Of course she was given updates on them every day by her mother, but it was not the same as seeing them with her own eyes.

They pulled up to a two story, brown faced house and Watari turned to look at Alana. "These children come from bad backgrounds. None of them are actually orphans, but they will never be going to their biological parents or even be adopted. Most of them were abused or neglected, a small percentage were sexually abused. I brought you because you have worked in child cases for most of your career. It may help them to understand why I can take some of the children."

Alana nodded, her hands clenching as she looked at the door to the house. She reached for the handle of her door and pushed it open. This is why she did what she did. She wanted children to have a better life, a life where pain was not a factor. Alana frowned as she heard the screams of the children playing out back. She could only be glad that they seemed to be doing better now, but what could make them slip back into their fear?

Alana moved up the front walk behind Watari. She carefully positioned herself next to him at the door after he had rung the bell. She tried to make her stance open and inviting, but her fear of what she would see when the door open frightened her and made her want to protect herself. Alana took a deep breath as the door opened to show an older child, around fourteen in years and she smiled brightly when she saw Watari.

"Mr. Wammy! You're back!" The girl exclaimed before she threw herself at the man.

Watari laughed as he caught the girl and hugged her. "How are you, Jessie?" Watari asked politely as he placed the girl back on her feet and looked her over. "You've grown!"

Jessie laughed and nodded, "Last time you were here I was only twelve. It's been two years, Mr. Wammy. I thought you weren't going to come back. Mrs. Inglin kept telling me you'd be back though."

Watari nodded his head before turning to look at Alana. "Jessie, this is a friend of mine. Her name is Alana. She wanted to come with me to help with the new children that came here."

Jessie blocked the door as she looked at Alana. "Why did you come?"

Alana's eyes widened for a moment at the scene of protectiveness coming from the girl before her. At this, however, Alana knelt down in front of the door to look Jessie in the eyes. "I came because Mr. Wammy asked me to. However, when I heard of the children here, I wanted to help them, just like you seem to want to. I want to help you protect them from the evils of this world. Can I help you?" Alana whispered so Watari did not hear her conversation with Jessie.

The girl narrowed her blue eyes in suspicion but nodded anyway, "I think you can. Just don't hurt them more. They don't deserve to be hurt."

Alana nodded her head with a small smile on her face before standing up again. Watari and Alana stepped through the door that Jessie vacated. They were taken down a bright hall to a sitting room where an older woman sat. Alana smirked slightly at Jessie who was also shaking her head in amusement. The woman they had been taken to was around Watari's age and she blushed when Watari was brought into the room.

"Quillish Wammy! Why I'd never thought that you would have brought another woman here to see me!" Mrs. Inglin chastised casually as she stood from her chair.

Alana looked the woman over. Mrs. Inglin seemed to care about kids, but from no wedding band around her finger, Alana figured she had never been married. It also seemed as if she had never even noticed another man besides Watari. Alana noticed that the woman was wearing a pants suit with stains on the knees. This may be caused by getting in the floor to play with the children, Alana was at least happy that Mrs. Inglin still had good joints. The jewelry that the woman wore, however, was fake. It showed Alana that Mrs. Inglin was not one for spending money on herself. Alana then turned her attention from the corner of her eye to look at what Jessie was wearing.

Jessie was wearing good clothes, they seemed to be name brand. Alana smiled. Mrs. Inglin was spending money that she earned or inherited on the children that she had rescued and loved. Alana was pleased to know that these children had such a gracious caregiver. At least, that was what she noticed from appearances of Mrs. Inglin and Jessie. She would need to go ahead and look at the rest of the house for her theory to be completely supported.

"Harriet, this is Alana. I asked her to come with me since she has worked on a few cases involving children. I decided that she could see what I do and possibly have a few moments alone with the older children from different backgrounds." Watari was explaining as the older woman came towards them.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Alana. Any friend of Mr. Wammy's is a friend of mine. The only thing I ask you to do here, is to try to keep smiles on my kids' faces. I won't have someone new frightening them back to square one." Mrs. Inglin stated smoothly as she took hold of Alana's hand.

"I wouldn't dream of it, Mrs. Inglin." Alana smiled as she shook the woman's hand and placed her hand back at her side afterwards. "Mr. Wammy explained that you had a few children that have just arrived. I was wondering if I could speak with them before Mr. Wammy administers his test."

"Of course, my dear!" Mrs. Inglin exclaimed before looking towards Jessie. "Poppet, could you be a dear and take Alana to Faye's room? I think that Alana and Faye may have a lot in common and it may be better to get that one out of the way."

Jessie only nodded her head with a slight frown on her face before turning from the room. Alana followed the girl after Watari gave her a reassuring smile. Once in the hall way and moving towards the stairs, Alana had to ask her question. "What did Mrs. Inglin mean by Faye and I having a lot in common?"

"Oh! Well, Faye's an albino African American. She had been adopted once before by her old family. Well, they did bad things to her, just like the rest of us here. She's also a little bit stranger than the rest of us. She talks to herself a lot and claims that her parents never did anything to her and she doesn't understand why she's here. Mrs. Inglin thinks that she may open up to someone who is also an albino." Jessie explained as they walked up the stairs, moving around toys and other children.

Alana only nodded her head. Normally a child would wish to protect the person that was abusing them because of fear. However, if the person has already been caught and the child knows that they are safe and that person cannot reach them again…well, normally the child will actually open up and speak. However, from what Jessie said, Faye will not open up. She continues to deny that she was abused or molested. Alana frowned as they stopped outside a bedroom door. "Thank you, Jessie." Alana whispered before putting her hand to the door and knocking softly.

"No problem, but I'm guessing that she won't answer your knock. You may just have to walk on in." Jessie shrugged lightly with a frown before walking away.

Alana found it strange that Jessie didn't stay. From Jessie's actions at the door, her protection for the other children, it had made Alana think she would have to fight with the young teen just to be left alone with Faye. Instead, it was the complete other way around. Alana could only understand it from the fact that Jessie didn't like Faye because the new girl was different.

"What is it?" A soft voice questioned from inside the room.

"My name is Alana and I was wondering if I could talk to you." Alana returned as she took a step away from the door, not wishing to frighten the girl.

The door opened an inch and a pale blue eye could be seen through the crack. The eye widened before the door was thrown open. Alana could see how the girl was African American in origin as her skin tone was pale but had a darker hint under the surface. Her hair was white and styled in cornrows upon her head to wrap into a braid at the back. Alana was also interested in the fact that the girl wore dark clothes and seemed to be the same age as Alec. Alana smiled as she held out her hand.

"It's nice to meet you."

Faye just looked at her before stepping aside, "Come on in."

Alana looked at the girl curiously before coming into the room. The room was plain, but that was to be expected. Alana remembered seeing a few other bedrooms open on the way here. The rooms were filled with posters, painted walls, flags, pictures, and other things that were acquired over the years. "How are you, Faye?" Alana questioned as she looked at the girl.

"Call me Fayette, please. That's my name and I like it better than the shorter version." The girl wrinkled her nose before going to sit on her bed and motioned for Alana to sit in her desk chair.

Alana did as the girl asked, "Alright, Fayette then. I hear you just got here a few days ago."

"Yeah, the police brought me here from America. I kept telling them that my daddy didn't do anything to me." Fayette rolled her eyes and Alana cocked her head.

"Why would the police think he did something to you?" Alana questioned, acting as if she believed the girl before her.

Fayette sighed as she brought a doll from her bed and hugged it. Alana looked at the doll. It didn't show any signs that Fayette would have taken out her personal image on it. Also it was the only thing here that Fayette seemed to have an attachment to. "The neighbors thought I was weird. The kids on my street didn't like me. They told me that all the time. One of the boys even threw a rock at me to make me leave them alone."

"Why would they do that?" Alana questioned carefully, leaning forward in her chair.

"Well, I think it started with their parents. They never wanted to come over to the dinner parties that my mom always threw for friends. Only people who didn't have a problem with me would come. The parents said that there was something wrong with me, I don't understand what they saw. Daddy always said that I was beautiful and unique, that it was a good thing." Fayette shrugged her small shoulders and looked at Alana with intelligent eyes. "I think I know why that boy hit me with the rock though."

Alana leaned forward a little more, "Why did he hurt you, then?"

Fayette sighed as she looked away again, out the window. Alana saw that her eyes were glazed over as if she were reliving it, "I touched the boy. I stopped him so that I could ask him why he was being so mean; I wanted to know what was wrong with me. When I touched him though, I knew things about him that I never knew. He told me not to touch him; that I was dirty. I told him that I wasn't the one being touched by my mother. He got mad and picked up a rock and threw it." Fayette shuddered as she came back from her memory.

"Is that why you wouldn't take my hand earlier?"

Fayette nodded but then looked at Alana more closely. "You have a secret too."

Alana nodded her head with a smile. "I do and it is similar to yours actually. I promise not to tell anyone about yours if you don't tell anyone about mine." Alana waited for Fayette to nod, a small smile forming on the girls' face. "I can bring things back from the dead.

Alana returned to Wammy's House later that night. Watari and herself had brought Fayette back as she was the only one out of the three children who were brought there that even passed the test. Fayette was up in her room now and her introduction to life at Wammy's would be in the morning. Alana yawned as she leaned back in her seat in Watari's office.

"Alana, I realize that it is late and that you would like to go to sleep, however, I must ask a question." Watari waited for her to nod before he continued, "Would you be willing to stay on here at Wammy's House with us? I believe that you proved yourself capable of handling new children since you were able to get Fayette to answer your questions and open up to you. I also believe that you would do very well here. I would not stop you from taking on cases, but this would also allow you to have pay for yourself."

Alana stopped Watari from continuing. "I don't mind staying here, Watari. I was actually going to speak with you in the morning about it. It's just that I'm not sure if I actually want to be paid for it." Alana laughed lightly. "You see, this is what I live to do. I don't know if I could get paid for it."

Watari chuckled now, "Whether you want the money or not, I'm still going to pay you. I will not have an employee not having money. Now, since this is settled, I will have everything sent to you tomorrow so you can fill out a schedule that you would like to have, also with anything else that you may want or need. I shall speak with you in the morning."

Alana nodded her head, bid Watari good night, and left for her room. She did not bother to look at the bathroom doors which were shut now. She did not bother to register the fact that the shower was running. Instead, she changed into her night gown and fell under her covers for a well deserved sleep.