Writer's Note: Hello faithful readers! These comments you guys leave me are so adorable, I can't even...you guys make me blush every time but anyways, thank you for sticking it out this far, damn this story is long lol. I swear I never intended it to be this lengthy but ideas unfurled in my head and well, here we are. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Please read and review because I'm curious to know what you guys think. Thanks :)

In that moment, she was the very embodiment of beauty. Flashing camera lights clicked sporadically, casting a silver glow on her creamy skin, which was covered in a subtle shimmer. Clad in nothing but a sequinned silver bra, feathery silver panties with sequin accents, and matching wings, Misa looked like a graceful angel. Beneath the sea of multi-colored flashes, she felt as though nothing else existed and that once again, she could be her unmitigated, free, and expressive self. This was her moment, and hers alone. With carefully calculated movements, Misa elongated herself, arched her back, and wove her hands through her long blonde hair while striking a delicate pose. As more cameras flashed, she tossed her waist-long hair to the side, over her firm, round breasts. She reveled in all the attention while running her hands over her slender waist, down the curve that met her hips, in a slow, sensual tease.

"Beautiful Misa, just gorgeous!" Praised the director's voice from behind the wall of cameras. "One more..."

Misa gave him a playful half-smile. Her lips were their natural pink color, with just a bit of gloss added to make them appear moist and inviting. Her hazel eyes danced with edgy confidence as she relished this moment, when she could be herself, surrounded by beauty, embodying beauty. Long gone were the days when all she did was cutesy-type photo shoots. She was a new woman now, three years in the making since she left L behind and took on the role of single mother and the terrible burden of being a detective for the ICPO.

"I lied, two more...no, three more...wow I love that pose!..." Said the director, in awe. Misa smiled even more. After ten more minutes of photographing her, the shoot finally came to a close.

"...and that's a wrap!" Declared the finely dressed director, beaming at the 23-year-old starlet. "Misa, you my dear, are a star." He declared getting up from his seat to hug the model.

She blushed at his praise. Florence was a renowned director and photographer with great influence in the entertainment industry and an even greater sense of fashion, which showed in his pristine clothing and appearance. He worked exclusively with big name brands, and his eye for talent was unmatched, which is how he spotted Misa. However, what the young model liked most about Florence, was that he was very professional, never lewd or disrespectful, and unmistakably gay. She trusted him so much that if there was one man in the modeling world with whom she would feel comfortable doing a nude photo shoot with, it was Florence.

"Thank you, Florence, that means a lot coming from you" She said, bowing politely. Florence smiled, revealing pearly white teeth.

"Oh you don't have to bow darling." He said, waving her off.

"Sorry...old habit" She said, chuckling.

A stage hand came up to Misa with a silk robe to cover her. Meanwhile a whole entourage of people swarmed the area, helping her with her props and breaking down the set.

"Thank you for your hard work everyone!" Said Florence before turning back to Misa. "I can't wait for these to make next month's Victoria's Secret catalogs. The world is going to be taken by storm over your return to modeling after your three-year hiatus. I can see the headlines already, saying 'Misa Amane, an angel in photographs and in real life too!'" He said with a flair that was so him.

Misa blushed again. "Oh Florence, only you would come up with that headline!" She said, laughing.

"You know it. And that's not all, love. Guess what?" He asked, not really expecting her to guess. "You are going to be on my spring collection runway debut, and everyone who's anyone in the entertainment industry is going to be there to see it!" He announced excitedly.

Misa's eyes lit up at the news and it took her a moment to fully digest what he was telling her. Her, on a runway? For years Misa dreamed of doing a live fashion show, but she'd always been too short to be a runway model. In photos she could make herself appear long and tall but in live shows, her modest height was painfully obvious, and a hindrance...but not anymore!

She squealed with delight and threw her arms around the director.

"Oh my gosh! Thank you that's amazing, I promise I won't let you down, I'll be the best ever!" She said all in one breath. "Give me a pair of 10-inch heels, if you have to, I'll rock them!" She said enthusiastically.

Florence grinned. After working with Misa and being blown away by her modeling prowess, he had no doubt that she would shine like a star. Satisfied, he walked off to begin the arduous task of sifting through all the great shots to find the best for the catalog. At least he knew he would not have to do much retouching, as Misa was lovely as she was.

Misa tied the silk robe around herself and was about to join Florence in looking at the pictures when her talent manager approached her with her cell phone in hand. Misa turned to her expectantly, knowing well that only two things were important enough to interrupt a photo shoot. Those two things were the ICPO, and her son. She took the phone from the concerned assistant, and held it up to her ear.

"Hello?" She said into the phone. "Yes, that's me...mhm..." She listened intently. As the moments passed, her features went from excited, to neutral, to worried. "Oh my gosh...I...I'm very sorry...Yes, I understand. I'll be right over to pick up my son. Thank you..." She said with seriousness. With that she hung up the cell phone. She sighed and her shoulders slumped as she ran a hand over her bangs.

Sealing the robe tighter, she walked over to Florence with an apologetic look.

"I'm so sorry, I have to go. I have an emergency again..." She said, regretfully. The director gave her a sympathetic look.

"It's fine, we're done here anyways. You take care of yourself and I'll see you next week!" He said, kissing her on both cheeks. He watched her go with a worried look, hoping that everything was alright...

...

A distressed Misa walked briskly up to the entrance of a clinic. She was holding the hand of a small blonde boy with bangs over his eyes and chin length hair which bobbed as he trailed behind his mother. The boy glanced at the plain building with vacant eyes, looking disinterested in everything around him. Misa on the other hand was livid as she replayed in her mind the conversation that took place only an hour before.

-flashback-

The stuffy director of Easton Academy, the most prestigious school in the city looked at her with pursed lips and unyielding eyes.

"...I regret to inform you, Miss Amane, that we simply cannot tolerate Mihael's unruly behavior in this institution any longer! I must take disciplinary action." Said the woman from behind her desk. Misa braced herself, dreading what was coming next. She'd been down this path with her son before, three times already, at three different pre-schools.

"Now, our policy states that we cannot dismiss a child without proper mediation, so consider this the prelude to your son's dismissal from this institution. I am sorry but I am signing his expulsion papers on the grounds that he is disruptive, uncooperative with teachers, and aggressive towards the other children." Said the woman, adjusting her black-rimmed glasses as she glanced down at the boy in question.

Mello sat in a chair next to his mother, twiddling his thumbs without a care in the world, unperturbed by the news of his expulsion. Though the boy was only three years old, Misa had no doubt that he understood what was happening. He was very smart for his age. Easton requires all children to take an intelligence exam prior to enrolling and even the director had once said that in all her years, she'd never seen intelligence exam scores as high as his. However, as smart as he was, he was also troublesome.

The first few days at Easton were good. He'd been very sweet to everyone, and quiet. Misa was happy, thinking that she'd finally found a good pre-school program for him. It came as a shock to her when a week later she was told that a girl was sent home because her Mihael "accidentally" pushed her down some stairs. She didn't believe it, or rather, she refused to. Then as the weeks went by she received many more complaints about him from the instructors. These ranged from bullying the other children, to setting off the fire alarm, to running away, and even stealing things. Finally, today the other kids fought back and bit Mello on the arm several times, leaving cuts and imprints on her son's skin. Apparently this happened because Mihael pushed a couple of boys on the playground into a colony of fire ants. Why there were fire ants in the playground, she could only guess, but the two boys went home crying, with large red welts all over their bodies. It was awful.

The director passed Misa the expulsion papers over the desk. The young mother pleaded with her.

"Please, Mrs. White, don't expel him...I know my son has gotten into trouble in the past but could you give him another chance? Please, I'll talk to him, it's just that I don't think he'll like any of the other schools..." She said, putting her hands over the expulsion papers. The truth was that Mello had already been expelled from two other institutions and Easton was not only the best school, but also her last option for a school within miles. If Mello was kicked out from here, then she wouldn't know what to do.

The director looked at her with unsympathetic eyes. "Are you familiar with evil child syndrome?"

"What?"

"Evil child syndrome, it's not an official medical term, but it can be applied to your son..."

Misa gasped and looked over at Mello to see if he'd been affected by the term 'evil child.' The boy merely yawned and looked like he wanted to take a nap.

"Are you for real?!" Said Misa, interrupting the woman who gave her a disapproving look.

"As I was saying" The woman said sternly. "I think the term applies to your son. You see he shows no remorse or guilt or any signs at all that he even understands that what he's doing is wrong. He's unsympathetic and has no regard for rules."

"He's three! Oh my gosh, are-" She turned to Mello and covered his ears. "-Are you seriously implying that my son is some sort of psychopath or whatever right to his face?"

"Yes, I am. I would say that's a fair assessment too."

"How could you say that?!" Said Misa balling her hands.

"I hold an advanced degree in child psychology that's how I can say that." Said the woman.

Misa just gaped at her. 'The nerve of this woman!' She thought angrily.

The director sighed and removed her glasses from her face. "Regardless, the point that I'm trying to make is that there is one last thing you could do. According to our policy, a child in your son's situation could theoretically return to this institution if and only if he is subjected to a psychiatric evaluation by a child psychiatrist. And only after you provide a report from this person stating that your son is fit to be around other children can he come back." She said. "If I were you, I would take him to see a specialist as soon as possible. Until then, this has to be done." Said the director, putting her large signature on the expulsion papers. Misa watched hopelessly with a knotting feeling as her son was kicked out of pre-school for the third time.

-End flashback-

Misa knelt down to Mello's height. He wouldn't even look at her.

"Hey" She said softly. "What's going on with you?" She asked him.

Mello continued to look down at his feet until Misa took his face in her hands and forced him to look her in the eyes. Mello's eyes were a coffee color, so dark they almost looked black. 'Like his eyes...' She thought. She frowned, waiting for him to say something but the boy just stared at her as though she weren't even there.

"Well? Say something!" She said.

Mello was silent as a grave.

"Ok...do you not like school?...Are the teachers mean to you...? Do the other kids bother you?" She asked, not getting any responses.

"What is happening, are you angry at me? Did I do something wrong?!" She continued in vain.

She huffed and frowned. "Mihael please, you haven't spoken to me in months and I know you can talk! I would love it if you said something to me, anything...it would make me very happy. Don't you want to make your mommy happy?" She asked, hopeful.

Mello shrugged. That was more than he usually gave her and she had no idea what to make of it. Her son was like an enigma, one that hadn't spoken a word to her in nearly five months. She knew he could talk. He could talk, and laugh, and play and do everything that other children did because she'd seen him do it from a very young age. It was only until a few months ago that shrugs, groans, and head movements became his main form of communication, as though he'd forgotten how to speak. Even in school he'd just point to things he wanted, or whine when he didn't like something, or draw pictures, or shrug. Out of all his gestures, the shrug was her least favorite because she could never tell what he meant by it, and every time he did it, it was like a painful reminder of the fact that she did not understand her own child.

Misa bit back her frustration, feeling an all-too-familiar sensation that she'd dealt with someone like this before, and she didn't like it.

"OK then, if you won't tell me what's wrong, then I have no choice but to take you to see this psychiatrist!" She declared, putting on her sunglasses. With determination, she grabbed his hand and marched inside as Mello trailed behind, barely keeping up with her strides.

A tall brown-haired man passed her at the door and turned his head sharply to catch another look at her. Misa noticed but did not even bother to look his way. The last thing she wanted right now was a man. In fact, she hadn't dated anyone after L. Between trying to rebuild her acting, singing, and modeling career, doing ICPO detective work, and now dealing with Mello's behavior issues, she had no time and no desire to start a relationship with anyone.

"Hey miss, I think you dropped this!" Said the man, catching up to her. Misa stopped and looked at what he held in his hands, noticing that it was a piece of paper she'd never seen before. 'Really? He wants to talk to me this badly?'

"It's not mine" She said coolly, walking off. The man looked surprised but he followed her anyways.

"Eh, sorry if I'm being rude but I couldn't help but think that you're very beautiful. Are you-"

Misa cut the man off by shoving her left hand in the man's face.

"Thanks but I'm married." She said pointing to the diamond ring on her left ring finger. The man said a simple "Oh." and then stayed quiet. Satisfied by having squashed the man's advances, she turned and resumed her strut toward the clinic's reception area. Mello glanced behind them to see the man standing on the same spot, looking stupefied.

'Ha, the marriage ring never fails.' She thought smugly. She had to commend herself for pulling off such an efficient man-repellent.

When she reached the large reception lobby, more heads turned her way which only made her roll her eyes. She ignored them all as she made her way to the desk, feeling as though she were on a catwalk already with the amount of people staring at her. It was almost ridiculous, she wasn't even wearing anything outrageous, just black boots, black leggings a dress and a cute overcoat. What was there to stare at? And whisper at?

She could have sworn some woman behind her whispered something that sounded like "stuck-up barbie." 'Hmph! Unreal...' She thought, annoyed. She chose to ignore it and pretend that the woman was not referring to her even though it was clear that she was.

"Hi may I help you?" Greeted the receptionist, a pretty young woman with short brown hair and glasses.

Misa removed her sunglasses and glanced down at the small boy attached to her, bringing him forward. "An appointment for him please" She said, bringing her voice down to a whisper "He needs to see a psychiatrist..."

"Aw, he's adorable" Said the young woman cooing at Mello. "When would you like the appointment?"

"As soon as possible. Today, if there's an opening!" She said. The young woman looked at the appointment schedule and frowned.

"Hmm, it actually doesn't look like we'll have anything open until three weeks from now..."

Misa groaned. Three weeks of Mello not being in school was a long time, not to mention that she'd have to cancel her photo shoots, recording session, and acting audition to stay with him.

"Would I be able to switch appointment slots with anyone? It's urgent." Said Misa with a pleading look.

The young woman thought for a moment. "Hmm, for this little man, I think I can try something." She said, smiling at Mello. "I'll be right back." She said, disappearing into a hallway behind the receptionist station.

'Oh please, please let this work out, I need these next few weeks' She prayed. It was at times like these that she wished she weren't a single mom.

...

Meanwhile, in the back of the clinic, a handsome man with dirty blonde hair came out of his consultation. He stretched his limbs a bit and yawned. He then walked over to the chart hanging outside his office, picking it up.

"Nice, no more appointments today...I might actually make it home in time to catch the game." He said to himself.

He cheered a little and put the chart back on the rack, loosening up his shirt collar and removing his lab coat.

"Hey!" Said the young receptionist.

"Hey Susan, what's up?" Said the man.

"So Alphonse, you weren't planning to go home now were you?" She said, biting her lip with a nervous look.

"Why Susie, I was." He informed her with a smile. He already knew what was coming.

"Oh. Well now I feel awful because you see, I was gonna ask you if you wanted to take one more patient for the day..." She requested sheepishly.

"Ha, I knew it!" He said, chuckling. "You always do this to me Susie. Always!"

"I know! I know! But listen, this time it's a really cute kid and it sounds like it's kind of urgent, and I told the mother that I'd try my best to work something out."

Alphonse sighed and looked at her with mock disapproval.

"Damn it...I'm gonna miss tonight's hockey game though..." He muttered.

"Please!" She said, pouting.

"Ah, Alright...I'll do it, but in exchange you gotta give Prinsky to someone else next time. Tell him I'm busy or something, I seriously can't stand the guy coming into my office and spazzing out like that. Give him to George! He owes me for eating my lunch!" He said, making Susan erupt into laughter.

"Okay, I'll switch Mr. Prinsky over to George." She said with a sigh.

"Thanks...I guess I'd better go see this 'really cute kid' now."

...

Misa knelt down to Mello's level and started telling him all the things he needed to say to the psychiatrist. Lovingly, she ran her fingers through a few strands of his hair which looked a lot like her hair. Satisfied with his appearance, she took his face in her hands.

"I love you" She said kissing him on the forehead. Mello gave her a weak smile but it warmed her heart nonetheless.

She stood back up to see that the receptionist had not returned. She rested her elbow on the counter and stared at the clock. It was 20 minutes past five. She sighed and looked back at the hallway entrance to see a rather handsome man with dark blonde hair and clear blue eyes approaching her. He seemed to scan the area for someone before turning to her.

"Hi, are you being helped?" He asked her.

"Oh, yes. Someone went back there to find out some information about an appointment, but I don't remember her name..." Explained Misa. She stopped talking when she noticed the man was staring at her with a slight smile.

She looked at him confused and he crossed his arms over his chest, looking thoughtful, as though he were studying her.

"Wow" He said.

"What?"

"You're stunning."

She rolled her eyes. "Do you just show up here and pretend to help people so you can hit on them?"

"Actually, I'm a-"

"Whatever-" She raised her left arm to show off her 'wedding ring' "-I'm married."

"Oh, what a lucky man. I'm not surprised though." He said.

"Well good. My husband is very jealous and he doesn't like it when other men hit on me so don't tell me I'm pretty or stunning. In fact, don't even look at me." She said.

"O-kay...has anyone ever told you that you're kind of feisty?" He asked. Misa narrowed her eyes at him and was about to tell him off when the receptionist came back.

"Sorry! This is Dr. Alphonse Sommers he's going to be seeing Mihael for a pre-screening now."

The blonde man looked at Susan confused and then leaned over the counter, finally catching a look at his pint-sized patient.

"Oh!" He said. "I didn't even notice this little guy was here. Wow, you have a kid, you don't look like a mother." He told Misa directly.

Misa scowled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. Never mind." He said walking around the counter.

Mello saw the man come up to him and he inched back, clinging to Misa's leg. The man smiled and leaned down to greet him. Mello didn't return the greeting but that didn't seem to bother the man.

"Alright Miss Amane, you're all set." Said the receptionist.

"Miss Amane? Don't you mean Mrs. Amane, Susie? She's married, you know." Said Alphonse. The receptionist gave him a strange look.

"Hm? But she said-"

"Yes, it's Mrs. Amane, sorry I guess I should have made that clearer before. Thanks!" said Misa to the receptionist.

"My pleasure. Have a good session Mihael" Said the receptionist, waving at the small boy as he and Misa followed Alphonse into his office.

...later that night...

Misa walked into the ICPO building that she called home. She was exhausted and not looking forward to the mountain of paperwork that awaited her, but that was the sacrifice she had to make in order to have her modeling career. She could do her modeling stuff during the day but once that finished, she had to come home and deal with all the ICPO detective work.

'Well, it could be worse...I could be in prison...' She thought.

Impatient to get back home, Mello ran off and pressed the up button for the elevator. Misa giggled as he shuffled his feet eagerly waiting for the doors to open. She sighed and went over to him. At the end of the day, he always put a smile on her face.

"Hi there! We're back" Announced Misa, walking into Halle's apartment.

"Hi!" Said Halle, emerging from her kitchen.

"Come here you, and give your godmother a hug!" She said to Mello. Mello silently obliged and even gave her a smile too. The boy then went over to the living room where Gevanni, now his godfather, was watching TV. Gevanni and Halle had been together for almost three years now and were engaged to be married in a few months. Being that they were the closest thing to family that Misa had, it only made sense for them to be Mello's godparents.

Mello climbed onto the couch and sat next to Gevanni. The man greeted him with a high five before patting him on the head playfully. As Gevanni pored over some documents, Mello stayed looking at the TV, taking interest in the show that Gevanni had been watching. It was a crime series involving a shrewd detective, outlandish murders and mysteries. Immediately, the boy was enthralled.

"So what happened?" Asked Halle, keeping her voice down.

"Mello got kicked out of school..." Misa said regretfully.

"Again?!" Said Halle, wide-eyed.

"Yeah...just wait till I tell you what he did this time."

"Oh no..."

"It was pretty bad, the school nurse had to check him out because some boys bit him all over his arms" Said the young mother sadly. "I don't know what to do, Halle...I'm screwing up, aren't I? I don't know what I'm doing wrong though. "She said, frustrated. "I'm trying my best to teach him to behave, but it's not working. And everywhere he goes...people don't want him...at first I thought they were all wrong but now I'm not so sure..." She said, discouraged.

Halle offered her a glass of water and food. Misa thanked her and sat down, remembering that she'd barely eaten all day.

"I'm sorry." Said Halle.

"Me too." Said Misa, sounding tired.

"Why don't you just have him home-schooled?"

"I thought about that, but I really want him to go to a regular school so that he can get socialized. I want him to meet other kids his age, I want him to play, and make friends, and be happy, like I was when I was little." She said. Halle gave her a sympathetic look.

"Have you ever thought about..."

"What?" Asked Misa.

"Nothing...it's a stupid idea, I don't think you would like it anyway."

"Well, I'm all out of ideas so I'm open to any suggestions" She said with a sad smile.

Halle leaned in to make sure that what she was about to say did not reach Mello.

"Have you ever thought about asking L for help?" Asked Halle.

Misa tensed up.

"Ok, hear me out. Even if you just ask him how he grew up...maybe he can guess what's wrong with Mello, who knows? Mello clearly doesn't have your temperament, well, except for when he throws a tantrum. Then he's exactly like you. But that aside, maybe he takes after L... it's evident from his pre-school entry exam that he's far more intelligent than average pre-schoolers, so it's safe to say he's probably a genius."

Misa glared at her but didn't say anything. Ask L for help? Yeah right...as if he'd know what to do. Besides, how would she even go about doing that? She can't just call him after three years and ask him questions about his childhood! And even if she wanted to, she had no idea where L was, or how to contact him.

Without giving Halle an answer, Misa quickly finished her food and excused herself to go upstairs to do work.