AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I do not own death note or the cover art :)

It had been roughly two days since the hospital visit, and there had been multiple more visits during that time. Near's condition had stabilized quite a bit since then and now he was ready to be discharged. Of course, the damage inflicted on his body was far from fully being healed, he still was to be on bed rest for at least a week. Despite this being the day for Near to be discharged, he didn't look very well. Mello and Matt had urged L to visit him as many times as possible throughout the time that he was in the hospital and he always seemed to look tired and pale. Mello couldn't help but feel worried. He knew that Matt felt the same wasy, they had been watching him carefully every visit but he persisted in saying that he was alright even though it was a clear lie. The doctors hadn't allowed him to walk even when he was being released, they had explained that he should use a wheel chair for now. Mello could tell that the white-haired boy knew full well of his own condition adn he knew that he wouldn't be able to walk. Because of this, he did not protest to having to use a wheelchair. Something about him seemed so wrong to Mello, yet he couldn't pin point what exactly it was. Near had always been a quiet person but after his first awakening, he had barely uttered a word. Not even as they entered the new residence that L had purchased for the four of them. Maybe he had used up all the emotion he could muster from that time, because he didn't so much as blink when he saw that they had a new home. Mello took the responsibility of wheeling Near around since he felt partially responsible for his condition. He glanced once again at the small boy in the seat. No reaction.

"Hey… Near? You ok?" He asked quietly. Near's eyes slowly looked up and locked onto his with a steady gaze,

"Y-yeah... I'm just tired…" He whispered back quietly. Mello lowered his suspicious gaze as to not let Near know that he didn't buy his alibi whatsoever. Near had justified his strange behavior with 'being tired' for the past three days and the blonde no longer felt he could believe that statement.

"Alright then, you should get some sleep, I'll take you to your room." Near's soldiers seemed to drop a bit at the statement, but he nodded anyway. Matt and L were also concerned for Near, but at the moment they were unpacking some items that L had told Watari to send him. If he was to be living here now, then some alterations needed to be made. Mello seemed to fully in charge of the younger boy at the moment. He didn't mind though, he wanted to have a chance to try and make it up to him. Although Near had ewasily accepted his apologu back at the hospital, he felt that he needed to prove it to himself that he actually deserved it. Other than the rolling of the wheels, the walk (or ride for Near) down the hall was silent. Near's room was right next to Mello's and straight across from Matt's. The rooms were quite large, much larger than the ones that they all had had at Wammys. Matt seemed to be the most initially exited when he heard about this. He said something about being able to install a 'gaming device' that he had always wanted. The though put a smile on Mello's face, at least one of them hadn't changed. His thoughts cut back to reality when he noticed that they were both in front of the door to Near's assigned bedroom. He let go of the grip he had on the wheel chair handle with his right hand, instead using it twist the door handle and push the door open. It was quite surprising to see that L had already managed to get people to shift their belongings into the house. Near's belongings consisted of many many toys as well as a closet full of white pyjamas identical to the ones he always rolled the wheel chair directly next to Near's bed, which had been draped with soft white sheets. Come to think of it, almost everything in Near's room was either white, or a light shade of grey. Unlike Mello's which only had white walls but everything else was either black or a dark red color. Mello carefully attempted to ease the smaller boy into his bed without causing him any discomfort. Near didn't seem to be in any sort of pain and the blonde was glad for that. He hadn't liked seeing Near hurt one bit, even though he remembered how many times he had wished pain upon him in the past. He internally cringed at those thoughts now. His whole viewpoint had changed so drastically in the last week that he could hardly believe it himself. He would never even thought about carefully tucking Near into bed like an elder brother may do, yet here he was performing that very same action with little to know hesitation. Once he was done, he silently turned on his heels, turning towarfsd that door. If he wants to rest then he probably wouldn't want me to stick around just to watch him sleep… The blonde boy stopped dead in his tracks when he felt a small hand grab his wrist lightly. He turned again only to notice that Near had latched onto his arm.

"Can you… stay. Just until I fall asleep...?" The small boy questioned, his voice barely above a whisper. The blonde stared at him with disbelief, and here I was trying to give him some privacy…

"Y-yeah sure," Mello muttered hesitantly. There was no chair next to Near's bed as there had been at the hospital, so Mello was stuck in an awkward position just standing there as Near still held his wrist. To the blonde's relief, this awkwardness didn't last for much longer as the white-haired boy mumbled a small 'thank you' before quickly dozing off. As sleep took over him, Near's grip on Mello slackened allowing the blonde to carefully tuck the small boy's arm back under his blanket. He felt a smile tug on the corner of his lips. He was glad for Near to be finally sleeping peacefully, he didn't think that sleep at the hospital could have been comfortable for him. Not with IV's stuck in his arm and a constant beeping monitor playing in his ears. This was probably the first real sleep that Near had had in awhile. At least the first one in a week, which was too darned long of a wait for getting rest. Mello could recall how exhausted he had been after he and Matt were brought to that hotel with L. He knew that he would have been much more grumpy if he was in Near's place and was just now getting a decent amount of rest. He frowned faintly upon the idea before hesitantly turning around and stepping towards the door.

"H-help...Mello...Matt," the small whisper caused Mello to immediately turn back and stare at the boy on the bed disbelievingly. Near tossed in his sleep restlessly whispering words that were almost inaudible. Mello had already made his way to the bed and placed a hand on his shoulder. He shook the boys shoulder in a careful fashion in an attempt to wake him up. Another nightmare, just like that night in the cell. He shivered at the thought of being back there. Their situation had been so hopeless back then but he hadn't had time to give it much thought in the moment. He was only now realizing how much he hated that feeling. Near wasn't waking up, he seemed to get more frantic, flinching violently away from Mello's grip. Mello just barely managed to dodge a leg that came flying from under the blanket. Dude, what is he dreaming about!? Mello shook his head quickly to get a grip on the situation. He grabbed the pale leg that had missed his head by a hair and pushed it back into the bed. He then worked quickly to pin down all of Near's limbs. One thing was for sure, Near was stronger than he looked, not stronger than Mello though, at least not in his current condition. Mello was able to easily get him to stay still, though he was still struggling against the blonde's grip.

"Near! Wake up!" Mello was speaking loud, he was slightly hoping that Matt and L wouldn't walk in to find him half-wrestling Near onto a bed. They would probably think he was trying to murder him…

Near's eyes suddenly snapped open and he realized that he was fighting Mello and not…

"Near, are you with me…?" Mello asked more quietly. He quickly pushed himself off of Near's bed and let his arms and legs free. Near's eyes were wide and he suddenly grew very uncomfortable.

"Mello, I-I'm sorry…" Mello shook his head and smiled softly.

"It's alright, you don't need to apologize… do you want to talk about it?" Mello was genuinely curious as to what had caused Near to thrash and ask for help in his sleep. Near pushed himself into a sitting position, wincing slightly. All that movement really wasn't good for him. Mello's gaze became slightly worried when he noticed that Near was probably in pain. "You okay?" Mello knew that Near couldn't be ok, this question was more of a test of trust. If Near told him he was 'totally fine', the boy probably didn't trust him with the truth. He would respect that, I don't think I would instantly trust someone who used to hate me either…

"I… will be fine." Mello pondered at the words; the nite-haired boy had chosen to say 'will be' and not 'am'. That could only lead to the conclusion that he was not fine at the current moment.

"You're right Near…" Mello started, earning a puzzled look from Near who had obviously not expected him to say that. "You will be fine, but you are not fine right now, and if you need someone to talk to, you can talk to me. I know you probably don't have as much trust in me as you do in someone like L or Matt, so if you're not comfortable talking to me, I can go fetch one of them for you…" Mello explained these words with a heavy heart. He didn't know why he felt upset that Near most likely didn't trust him, or would probably never trust him as much as he did the others. His feelings were irrelevant at the moment. Near had to open up to someone, whether that be him, or the others. If he kept bottling up his emotions… well, that would just be really unhealthy.

"Mello, I appreciate the gesture but it was just a nightmare… Nothing more and nothing less. I don't think that I am tired anymore, I can just read a book or something..."

"A nightmare about that man?" Mello's suddenly interrupted. Near's eyes opened just a slight bit wider and his lips parted a bit. It was for a split second but the look didn't go unnoticed by Mello. So I was right… "Near, did he do anything worse than what we know…" torturing him so brutally was already bad enough, but there was only one way that it could get worse… Mello really hoped for that theory to be untrue…

"Mello, it isn't what you think it is… I assure you. The only injuries I received were the ones that you saw with your own eyes. I would not lie about something like this." That was a relief to the blonde boy, who released a breath that he hadn't realized that he was holding.

Suddenly the door burst open revealing A familiar brunette with goggles.

"Near… uh, the police called you for questioning and L's gonna drive us all to the station… " the brunette explained, he then turned to his blonde friend who was already getting up to help Near onto his wheelchair. "Mels, do you need help with that?" Mello swiftly looked up at him and replied with a curt nod.

"Just hold the wheel chair so it doesn't roll while I'm trying to get Near into it." The blonde instructed. Matt didn't waste any time, within a few seconds he was already at the chair, gripping the handles and stabilizing it in place. Not more than two minutes later, Near was seated in the wheelchair. Mello wordlessly pushed him back out the door and through the hallway with Matt following closely behind him. Near was once again silent throughout the ride causing Mello and Matt to feel awkward. Mello could see through the window that the car was already parked outside. A very prim and proper looking driver awaited them inside of the car's drivers seat. L was already sitting in the car, in the shotgun seat. Matt opened the door to the back seat of the car, allowing Mello to carefully help Near into the seat. Once he was sure the white haired boy was situated, he folded up the wheelchair, and put it into the trunk of the car. He was the last one to sit in the car, after having closed the trunk. The driver seemed to be in a hurry to drop them off, for whatever reason, and didn't waste any time in pressing the gas pedal as soon as the sound of the door shutting reached his ears. Aside from the soft hum of the radio, the car ride was silent. It was rather short too because, in what seemed to be around 5 minutes, they had already reached the police station. The car was parked outside of the police station, allowing L and the kids to vacate the vehicle. It took awhile to get Near's wheel chair out of the car, but one he was properly seated, L didn't hesitate to lead in front of the kids. Surprisingly, neither Matt nor Mello showed any sign of hesitation either. It was difficult to tell whether or not Near was uncomfortable. His face showed only neutrality. The same look that, before this incident, he never let slip.

Once they all got into the building, officer Yagami welcomed them with a small smile. It faltered slightly upon seeing the condition of the pale boy in the wheelchair. Nevertheless, he spoke with a kind yet serious tone.

"I'm really glad that all of you are here [in one piece].This may seem a bit sudden, but I think that we may have found the culprits. They have been detained so If it's not too much I would like for you to see them and tell us whether or not they are the same criminals that abducted you kids." Mello really wasn't surprised that the police had managed to find the men so quickly. It wasn't surprising honesty, considering they had the help of L on their side. That being said, sure he would be uncomfortable having to see them again, but he wasn't really too worried about himself. He was more concerned for Matt, or even Near, considering the pale kid was probably the most traumatized from this whole ordeal. Would they be alright? There really was only one way to find out.

"Follow me," officer Yagami ordered, before walking over to a door next to the reception desk. They all obliged with no complaints. As they entered the room, the first thing that came into view was the large cell that took up almost half of the space. Inside the cell were two men, handcuffed and each masked with beige looking sacs. Mello winced slightly. He supposed that cells would never give off positive energy after having to be stuck in one for what seemed like far too long. He glanced at Matt, who was already looking at the ground with his fists clenched tightly. Near didn't look away from the cell but the color of his face resembled that of when they had all been trapped in a cell just like this one. Unable to escape. It was the exact ashen look he had when he was oh so close to the brink of death. The look made Mello's heart ache.

None of the kids noticed when L started at them with his face full of concern. They were all more focused on officer Yagami, as he reached into the cell and pulled off both of the beige colored masks from a top their heads. Their reaction upon seeing the kids was immediate. Pure disgust and hatred blazing in their eyes. They were without a doubt the same people who had put them through hell.

Mello opened his mouth to testify, only to be cut off by Near, who spoke without a hint of fear and hesitation.

"They are the ones," his words sealed the fate of the two criminals in the cell. Even so, officer Yagami glanced at the other two victims of the situation. All three of them had to testify against these two men in order for the court to take legal action against them.

Mello was the second one to respond,

"Yes, they are the sickos that kidnapped us and then tried to sell us off," his voice didn't lack malice. They deserved far worse than just a few harsh words but this is all he could do due to the current situation.

"Y-yeah, it was them," came Matt's shaky yet firm reply.

Officer Yagami gave L a curt nod and then opened the door for them to leave. Despite how quickly they rushed out of the room, Mello heard the unmistakable sound of furious bickering that was now coming from the room. Based on the couple of words he was able to pick up, it was both of the idiots blaming each other for having gotten caught. That was the last, he was sure, that he would see of them. A sense of relief and comfort flooded him when he thought about that. Sure, getting kidnapped had been a horrible experience, but looking on the bright side, they had all managed to survive, and now, they were going to be working right next to L. There was nothing in this world he could think of that would be cooler than to have the opportunity to have the greatest detective in the world as your personal mentor/parent! Especially when Matt was going to be with him too. Hell, he was even excited about having someone as smart as Near around as a friend, rather than a foe!

The sound of soft snoring gently pulled Mello out of his excited thoughts. His eyes lowered to the wheelchair, where he was greeted by an unfamiliar sight. Near was sleeping. And sure, at this point, Mello had seen him sleep at least a dozen times. But him falling unconscious from fever and pain, or being plagued with nightmares as soon as he shut his eyes. That was the only type of 'sleep' he has seen the white-haired boy have. This was different. He didn't look like he was in pain, or that he was suffering from bad dreams. He looked at peace. It could have just been his imagination, but Mello almost thought he saw a soft smile playing on the pale boy's lips. He couldn't have been imagining it though, because he wasn't the only one who noticed.

"Hey! Near's sleeping! Woah, it looks like he's smiling!" Matt exclaimed, his voice slightly above the whisper that it should have been.

"Matt! Do you want to wake him up?" Mello whisper yelled at the brunette.

"Oh, sorry," Matt whispered back, making sure to keep his voice low this time.

Besides them, L smiled fondly at the sight of them. It would take a lot of time to be able to heal from this, but he was sure that they could do it. No, they wouldn't just heal from this mishap, they would use this experience to become even stronger than they were before. He was positive of this. A glance at them was all he needed to tell this. Near slightly shifting in his sleep. Mello scolding Matt for almost waking him up.

It was all he needed to tell that they were already on the path to recovering. Bonding and helping each other find strength within themselves. L was sure that this was what had got the kids through that nightmare situation. He was also positive that this was something that would forever be at their disposal.

Yes, they will be just fine.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Guys! Thank you so much for taking the time to read to the end of this fic. A special thanks to the people that commented. I swear, you commenters were the ones that got me through this fic! I couldn't have done it without you!

BloodyEmeraldRose

Messitoe

eph1027

Manha Khan

KilluaAckerman

(Yes I believe that all of you deserve a special shout out, love you guys)

On a side note, I didn't heavily edit this chapter or the one before it, but I'll be sure to do that in my free time. I really just thought that I should pump it out before I lose my motivation. Feel free to point out any errors! I know that my writing is far from being even close to perfect. Anyways, this is kinda top secret, but I may or may not be in the middle of writing some new fanfiction. And it may or may not be on Jojo's Bizarre Adventure (golden wind)

Don't get you're hopes too high tho, I might lose motivation before I finish the first chapter… (I know ;-; I am very unreliable)

WOW… Sorry for the long Author's note… I'll head out now?