Author's Note: Okay, so I wrote this after I finished the epilogue, but it happens between chapter 4 and the epilogue. Why did I do this? Well, I wanted to do a chapter about after Mello blew up his mafia hideout, but that idea didn't come to me until I'd finished this. But I wrote this anyway, as a sort of "bonus" chapter. But I called it "the lost chapter" because that sounded cooler. Also, I fixed it here so that the chapters are in chronological order, unlike on deviantART where it's chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, epilogue, and 5--the order in which I wrote them.

So anyways, without any further rambling, I present to you, chapter 5 of "Reunited". Enjoy.

November 11, 2009; 4:30 P.M.

"Thanks for visiting us. Have a nice day," I tell a customer as he leaves. Man, I hate my job...

Fortunately, I get off in twenty minutes, and I'm planning on surprising Mello tonight. He's been extremely busy with the Kira case over the last several months, and I haven't been able to spend as much time with him as I'd like to, because, again, he wants to 'protect' me. What he doesn't realize is that with a seemingly omniscient serial killer on the loose, I'm just as much a target as he is, especially if Kira knows I'm close to him.

And I've been planning this for months, so I have this whole thing very carefully planned out. Once I leave here, I'll run back to my apartment, grab a few things, and head to Mello's hideout for an unexpected visit.

"Hey, Matt?" I hear by boss say.

"Yes, sir?"

"You've been working very hard today. I appreciate it," he tells me. "So much, in fact, that I believe I'll let you go early today."

I stare in joyous shock at him. "Um...really? Thank you very much..."

"You seemed a little...I don't know, happier today. More motivated than usual."

I blush. "Well...I just, uh..."

"You have plans with a special someone later, don't you?" he asks, giving me a wink.

"Well, he doesn't know yet, but yeah," I admit. "He's been busy with...um, some stuff...and I was gonna drop by his place tonight after work..."

"Well, like I said, you're free to go. Have a nice evening, and I'll see you on Friday."

"Okay, thanks a lot, sir!" I say, then turn to leave.

Once outside, I turn to go back to my apartment when I hear an explosion coming from the other direction. I turn around and see fire. I can't really tell, but it looks like it's around where Mello's hideout is...

No, it's probably not...what are the odds, right? How likely is it that Mello got caught and was forced to blow up the headquarters?

...

Likely enough for me to take off in that direction, apparently.

I run as fast as I possibly can (which, despite what I look like, is very fast) towards Mello's building, trying to block out the horrible images that keep coming to my mind.

Please don't let it be Mello...please don't let it be Mello...I keep repeating in my head. Please, PLEASE don't let it be Mello. Let him be safe, unharmed...

Finally I get to the hideout...or at least the charred remains of the hideout. Oh, no...

"Mello?" I call. "Mello! Can you hear me?"

I walk through the nearby alleys and streets, looking for him. He can't have gotten far...if he was forced into blowing up the place, he was probably inside, and if he did make it out alive, he'd be around here somewhere...I keep going until I find some clue as to where he may be...

And then I hear a faint moan, and I stop. Looking around me, I see a body lying next to another abandoned building. He looks unconscious, and if it weren't for the fact that I knew he was where the moan came from, I'd have guessed he was dead.

"Mello?" I ask, almost in a whisper. "Can you hear me? It's Matt."

Another moan. He turns to face me, and I see that he has a mask on. I take it off of him, revealing a pretty nasty burn mark on the left side of his face.

"Crap...Mel, I know you hate hospitals, but I'm gonna have to take you to one. This burn's pretty bad," I tell him. He groans in disapproval; at least he understands me.

I pick him up and position him so that he's sitting upright against the wall. Then I pull out my cell phone and dial 9-1-1.

"Hello? I need an ambulance, quick!" I practically shout, all in one breath.

"Okay, what's the situation, and what's your location?" the operator asks me.

"He--he was in an explosion. He's still alive, and seems to be responding to my voice, but he's got severe facial burns. How he survived is a mystery to me, but--oh, um...I'm located next to an abandoned warehouse about a block away from the ruins of another warehouse downtown. Intersection of 13th and 7th."

"Okay. We've got someone coming."

"Hurry, dammit!"

"Okay, okay, calm down, sir..."

I scowl and hang up. They expect me to stay calm when Mello could be dying right now, right in front of me?!

Finally, an ambulance comes, and I watch as they carry my injured boyfriend on a stretcher into the back of the vehicle. I follow them and sit next to him.

"Can you still hear me? Are you still with me, Mels?" I ask him, holding his hand.

"Nngh...yeah..." is his reply. I sense a bit of a wince in his voice, probably from me touching him, so I let go of him. "Matt..."

"Yes?"

"I'm...sorry I worried you. But...they found me. The Japanese police force. They had me cornered, they had the notebook and threatened to write my name down, and...it was my only chance of escaping with my life," he tells me in a volume that I can barely hear.

"Blowing up your headquarters? You expected to escape that with your life?"

"Well, when you put it that way, it sounds impossible..." he chuckles, then turns serious again. "The only thing now is that all of my men are dead...I have to fight Kira on my own now..."

"No, you don't."

"What are you talking about?" he asks, then catches on. "Oh...no, Matt. No. It's too dangerous..."

"Says the man who just blew up his own hideout in an attempt to escape the police," I say with a smirk. "Besides, Mello, I've come this far to be with you. I will do anything to help you, even if it means risking my life. I love you too much to abandon you now, Mello. Especially like this."

"But what if something happens to you?" he asks me. "It'll be my fault, and I don't know if I could live with myself for letting you get arrested, or even worse, killed."

"Your fault? I'm the one who's volunteering to help you," I reply.

"Well...fine, if you really want to get involved, you can help me out..." Mello says, trying to sit up. He winces, then lies back down.

"You need to lie still, babe," I tell him. "I don't want you to hurt yourself even more, okay?"

He rolls his eyes, then I lean down and kiss him on the cheek. The non-scarred one...I don't know exactly how sensitive that one is, and I don't want to hurt him.

Soon, we arrive at the hospital, and I'm forced to stay in a waiting room while they do a skin graft to repair his severely charred face, at least somewhat. After what seems like ages, a nurse comes out to see me.

"Matt? You can come in now, if you want," she says with a smile.

I get up and follow her into a room, where Mello is lying on a bed with bandages covering half of his face and going down to his shoulder.

"You doing okay?" I ask.

"Yeah. A little sore from the surgery, but the pain meds are at least making it bearable," he tells me.

"Pain meds? Don't tell me you're gonna go all loopy on me," I say, trying to inject some humor into the situation. I manage to get a small chuckle out of him.

"Um, Matt?" he asks me suddenly. "Will you promise me something?"

"Sure, Mel. Anything."

"Well, when they take these bandages off, I'm pretty sure I'll look a lot different. Promise me you won't be too repulsed by the scar that's certain to be there."

I look at him in disbelief. "Mello, you seriously think I'll leave you over a scar? Those drugs must be messing with your head if that thought even entered your mind. Of course I won't leave!"

He smiles. "Thanks, Matty..."

"No problem," I reply, placing my hand on top of his. Then an idea suddenly strikes me.

"What is it, Matt?" he asks, looking at me oddly.

"I'll be right back. Don't move," I say, then leave the room. I wander through the hallways with only one question in my mind:

Where's the gift and/or snack shop in this hospital?

After I find what I was looking for, I head back up to Mello's room.

"Well, where'd you go?" he asks.

"Getting this. Here," I say, handing him a paper bag. He opens it and sees what I got him.

"You got me chocolate?" Mello asks me.

"Yep! I figured you'd want some, so I ran down to the snack shop and bought some for you," I reply.

"Wow, thanks," he says, grabbing one of the bars from the bag and unwrapping it.

"Mel, this is kind of random, but you know, your hair looks really cute when it's all disheveled like that," I tell him. He blushes and tosses his wadded-up chocolate wrapper at me.

"I'm sorry you had to get involved in all this, Matty," he says suddenly. "But at the same time...I'm really glad you were here to save me. And that you were willing to save me after I did something so dangerous. So...thank you."

I grin and lean toward him for a sweet, chocolatey kiss. Even the small scarred part of his mouth feels just as soft as it always has.

"Believe me, Mels. I'm glad too."