Chapter 2

F1225

Elena's POV

Over the next few days L threw himself into his work. I was impressed by how many languages he knew. Italian, French and the list went on. When he finally fell asleep, I put a blanket around his shoulders and cleaned up. I looked at the picture of Watari on the table.

"I wish I'd known you better. One day we'll meet again." I looked at L. "I'll take care of him. I'll be there with him at the end. Then you'll have to take over from there." I whispered.

I sat down at the table and slowly fell asleep.

L's POV

I never really slept. I heard every word she said. Her words touched my heart, made me feel warm. I opened my eyes and looked at her. She was finally sleeping, so when her cell phone started to ring I rushed to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Ryuzaki? Where's my sister?"

"Sleeping, finally. I didn't want her to wake up."

"Is she okay?"

I looked at her.

"She's sleeping peacefully. Is it an emergency?"

"Kind of. Our bills are due soon and we don't have enough."

"You and your sister won't have to worry about money much longer. I've left my inheritance to you. When I die, it'll be hers."

"Inheritance?"

"Enough to set you up for life." I told him.

He was completely silent for a few seconds.

"Don't tell her yet. I'll tell her."

"Don't think I'm not grateful, but why are you doing this?"

"Your sister had every chance to leave me, but she didn't. She's all I have left, all I care about."

I heard him take a deep breath.

"Thanks, for everything. I'm… I'm really sorry that writing your name in that notebook was the only way to end things. I truly am."

I smiled a bit.

"Thank you. I'll have her call you when she wakes up."

"Yeah. You take care of yourself, L. Out of the few guys Maria ever had feelings for, you're the only one I trusted. The only one I knew would never hurt her. Thank you, L."

He hung up and I slowly put the phone down. I walked over to Elena and gently tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. My finger brushed her cheek. Her skin was always so warm.

"God bless the man that gets you." I whispered.

Later that morning I received a call.

"F1225! F1225! F1225!"

"Is that a child?" Elena asked.

The boy repeated the number again.

"A gift from F… I'll accept the gift."

Since he was coming from a village that had been destroyed by disease, he had to be medically cleared.

"I want you to stay here. I won't be able to die for another nineteen days. I won't risk you getting infected."

She sighed but nodded.

"Your brother called while you were asleep. Call him back while I'm gone."

She nodded again. I took her hand and looked into her eyes.

"I'll be back tonight."

"L I…"

I waited and she squeezed my hand.

"I'll be waiting." She said.

That wasn't what she wanted to say. I smiled a bit and left. When I saw the boy, I was amazed by how young he really was. Maybe four or five. The doctors ran several tests and he looked so scared. After the last test, he ran out of the room screaming. I was incredibly shocked when he grabbed me. I wasn't used to human contact, especially from children. I didn't really know what to do. Elena raised her brother… she'd know. I took the boy back and he followed. When I turned to look at him, he stopped following and just stared at me. I sighed, but as I reached to open the door, I hear soft crying on the other side.

"Elena?"

I opened the door and the boy ran inside.

"Elena?"

She came out and smiled. Her eyes were a little red so I could tell she'd been crying a little. I knew that even if I asked she wouldn't tell me. The boy ran through the doors to another room and we slowly followed him. He looked around and then sat down in the corner. Elena knelt down and smiled at him.

"Does he knew English or Japanese?"

"English I believe." I told her.

I started to make a little snack.

"This room is only for Watari and I." I said.

I knelt down in front of the boy. I saw a necklace with the letter F on it. I slowly held out my hand.

"May I take a look?" I asked.

He looked at the necklace and then clutched in his hand. I sighed.

"My first babysitting experience isn't going well."

Elena smiled a bit and looked at the boy.

"I know you're probably scared, but you're safe here with us. I promise." She said gently.

He stared at her but then ran out of the room again. We both sighed and went after him. He was reaching for a bag of consume flavored chips. Elena smiled and got it for him. She opened it and handed it to him. He must have been hungry, he started to shove the chips into his mouth. She chuckled and I knelt down next to the boy.

Elena's POV

They were both sitting in the same adorable position. I watched L slowly wipe away the crumbs from the boy's mouth. I smiled softly as the boy handed L the necklace. There was a little chip inside. I arched my brow when he looked at me. The boy ran back into the other room as L stood. He gave the chip to me and I put it into the computer. I was horrified by what I saw.

"Ai dios mio…"

What I saw was a village suffering from some unknown disease.

"What is this?" I asked.

A man appeared on screen.

"F." L said.

"Watari, while I was working undercover, bio-terrorists have been attacking the village. The virus is devastating this village. It is extremely dangerous and fatal. I'm going to give the boy contact information for Wammy's Headquarters. The attack is connected with a global terrorist network. This Japanese man, Matoba, is a key person in the investigation."

He held up a picture of a man. He seemed to be blind in one eye, and he had scars on his face. L paused the video and looked long at hard at the picture on the screen. He slowly looked over to the bookshelf and walked over.

"L?"

He took a book labeled, 'Viri and Bacteria Infections' off the shelf. I looked at the camera monitor. The boy was sitting in the room writing on the wall.

"It's a miracle he survived. He's a very lucky boy." I said quietly.

"I agree. Will you tell me why you were crying now?"

I froze and didn't look at him.

"Please tell me, I'm worried about you."

I knew if I looked at him, I would tear up again.

"I hate what you did." I whispered.

He sighed.

"It was the only way. I didn't have a choice."

I closed my eyes.

"We had no choice, always we had no choice. Those were our magic words, we repeat them to ourselves again and again, but you know… the magic never worked. The only thing we're left with, is regret." I told him.

I stood up and walked out of the room.

"Elena!"

I ignored him and closed the door. I cried silently and the boy peeked out from the other door. I quickly dried my eyes and smiled at him.

"Can I get you anything? Are you thirsty or hungry?"

He slowly walked over to me. He reached out and touched my hand. I slowly knelt down and looked took his hand.

"You're a very brave boy. Things are going to be better for you now, I promise. Do you understand?"

He nodded and I smiled a little.