Quick pre-story note!! Forgot to mention this before, or even make any mention of language differences whatsoever, but when they're speaking English from now on, it'll be "Like this, not to be confused with thoughts." 'They're like this.' Okay? Okay. Good.

April 15, cont.

L was silent as he waited for Roger to get Matt on the line, unsure of what to do about all this. Mello would certainly have to be punished, probably beyond what he'd ever been before, and it would most likely be wise to have Matt leave Whammy's. But where could L send him? He didn't believe the boy had taken any Japanese courses; in fact, L wasn't sure that the boy had learned any foreign languages at all aside from sign language. Unless L was mistaken, the House in Winchester was the only one Watari had set up in any English-speaking countries. He would have to suggest that Watari open another the next time he saw him. 'Perhaps I should have him come to stay with the task force and myself,' he thought, rubbing a thumb against his lip. 'I do not know where else he could go, and he would be able to gain some hands-on experience helping with the case.'

"L, I'm putting Matt on now."

The detective brought his attention back to the computer. "Thank you, Roger."

The room was silent for a moment before a quiet voice spoke up. "L?"

"Hello, Matt. I hear Mello has not been treating you well lately."

Matt gave a rather forced laugh. "You heard right."

"Would you care to tell me exactly what happened?"

The teen paused. L waited for a moment; he was sure it couldn't be easy for Matt to actually put into words what his best friend had done. "...I told him that you chose me as your heir. I know Roger said not to tell anyone, but I never thought Mello would take it as badly as he did cuz it was me, and he was gonna go after Near. The kid never did anything to Mello, and I thought Mello might actually kill him if he got to him, so...I just kinda panicked and told him it was me." He paused again, and L encouraged him to go on. "He punched me in the face, yelled at me, and stormed out. I figured he'd probably go beat up some of the younger kids to get out the rest of his frustration, and that'd be that."

"Clearly it was not, Matt. Can you tell me what happened two weeks ago?"

"How'd you know-" Matt started, sounding surprised. "Oh, wait. Duh, Roger probably told you."

"He did tell me that Mello attacked you again, but he did not tell me what happened, although I believe you still have not told him. He failed to mention what injuries you sustained as well. Will you tell me?"

"Yeah." The boy sighed, and L could nearly see him run a hand through his hair. It was a habit he had noticed the redhead develop when he was remembering something particularly painful. "Mello completely avoided me for a while, and I figured our friendship was pretty much screwed. Then on the first, he came over to talk to me, asked if I wanted to play football with him and the guys. We had a lot of fun that day, L; it was almost like before you chose me."

L flinched slightly at that. He was certain that if he hadn't needed an heir, this would not have happened.

"After dinner, he said he wanted to show me something, and we went around to the back yard. I asked what he wanted to show me, and he said 'Nothing'. So I asked why he even brought me out there, and he said..." Matt's voice broke for a moment, and he was quiet for almost a full minute. "He said, 'April Fool's, L', and punched me in the gut. Really hard, too, I couldn't breathe for a few seconds, and by the time I could, Mello had knocked me to the ground, and was just pounding his fist into my face. I tried to kick him off, but I couldn't get my leg up enough, and he shoved his knee into me." Matt stopped again, clearly trying to control his emotions. "That hurt enough it almost made me puke. Then he grabbed my hand, and started bending it back, and he was still punching me, too. I blacked out a little later, and woke up in the infirmary. Roger said some of the older kids found me and brought me in." Matt was silent for several minutes, and when he finally spoke again, he sounded very close to tears. "Did Roger tell you about when Mello visited me?"

"Yes, Matt. You do not have to tell me any more," L said, with a quiet sigh. The teen clearly hadn't been expecting an attack of this magnitude, and certainly not from the one boy he'd always stuck so close to. He would definitely have to get either Matt or Mello away from Whammy's, and it would be beneficial for Matt to see what exactly L did in his work. "Matt, will you allow me to ask you something?"

Matt sniffed loudly, and L was sure he was probably rubbing his nose against his sleeve. "Sure thing, L."

"How would you feel about coming to Japan?"

o0O0o0O0o

"Have we done enough shopping yet, Misa?"

The blonde turned, smiling happily at her boyfriend. "Are you getting tired, Light? Misa-Misa's surprised at you. Matsuda could carry twice the bags you have when he was Misa's manager!"

Light stared at Misa in horror, turning his gaze to the multitude of bags in his hands. "Where did he carry it all?" he mumbled to himself. "Misa, please. Let's just go get some dinner and go back to headquarters."

"Okay," the model said with a sigh. "Where do you want to eat?"

"Somewhere cheap, preferably," the brunet responded, thinking sadly of the money Misa's shopping had murdered on his credit card. Honestly, she could afford to buy all this herself, couldn't she? She was a model, after all. They got paid a lot. Light was almost ready to tell Misa to pay for dinner, but his pride just wouldn't let him take that final fall.

Misa nodded happily, not seeming to have even listened to her boyfriend's answer. "Let's go here, Light!" she squealed, pulling them into the first restaurant they passed. Light gave an annoyed groan; the decor absolutely screamed expensive.

After they had been seated, Misa smiled as she watched Light sit her bags down over her menu. This had been a really good date; she'd gotten lots of new clothes and make-up. She'd even gotten some new lingerie that she just couldn't wait to show Light, because if this skimpy little lace thing couldn't get his attention, she was sure nothing ever would. "How've you been, Light?" she asked. A conversation sounded good right about now. "Misa hasn't gotten to really talk to you in so long."

The brunet sighed, flipping open his menu. "I've been fine, Misa. You really did help us out earlier with that tip about Aoyama, though. We've been stuck for months."

The pair fell into silence then; Light looking through his menu and Misa retreating into her thoughts. The blonde wasn't entirely sure how she felt about telling L about Aoyama. She knew that Shinigami(Rem, wasn't it?), had told her before, just before Higuchi died, that catching the current Kira was part of Light's plan, so she wanted to go along with it now, but at the same time she just wasn't sure that she should. She was happy that Light was Kira, really she was, but sometimes she had her doubts. He'd been so much nicer to her since he lost his memories than he ever was before, and besides, Misa wasn't raised to be a murderer. Her mother had been from America, a foreign beauty who had passed all her looks to her daughter. She'd been a good woman, and while she had been very accepting of her husband's beliefs, she had done her best to raise Misa with at least some Christian beliefs. Misa had taken to them quite well, and even now, as much as she loved Kira and wanted to help him, she still had to wonder sometimes if what he was doing was right. She would stay up all night sometimes, asking herself 'Is it really right to kill all those people? I know they did wrong, and they need to be punished. The law systems aren't working properly, or they wouldn't keep doing these things, but is it really right to just slaughter them?' Then, as it neared three in the morning, and she told herself she needed to get some sleep, or she'd look horrible at her shoot tomorrow, Misa would tell herself that it was right. It had to be right, because Rem had told her she'd shared Kira's power for a time; that she'd killed criminals, too. And if Misa had done that, and it wasn't right; if it was wrong, then she would almost certainly go to Hell when she died, and Misa just couldn't even think about such a thing.

And Kira...Misa did love Kira, but sometimes she thought she might actually love Light more. She was thankful to Kira, and he had such a pretty face, but when he talks to Misa, he treats her like she couldn't find water in a bathtub. Light isn't quite so degrading to her; he's able to see that she's at least a little smarter than she pretends to be, and he might not be as loving as Misa would like him to be, but at least he tolerates her. When Light was Kira, he would snap at Misa over absolutely nothing and send her away, but without his memories, Light could almost be sweet sometimes. He would let her stay near him, even though it was so obvious he didn't want her there; even Misa could tell; even though he had no clue why he'd ever agreed to date her in the first place without the Note to help him remember. And then there was L. He was weird, and so very unkempt, and clearly a pervert, but Misa really couldn't tell what he'd done to deserve the wrath of Kira being brought upon his head except follow his own beliefs; except want to stop Kira from killing so nearly indiscriminately, to stop him from doing such horrible things, from ending so many lives; Misa thought maybe L just wanted to save Kira from himself, and sometimes she thought she should just tell him and Light both everything she knew, everything she'd ever known about Kira and Death Notes and Shinigami, and just let it all out, just make it all stop, stop, stop-

"Misa, what are you going to have?"

But when she looked up at Light, she knew that confessing to being the second Kira would be condemning him as well; L would be convinced beyond a doubt that his suspicions had been right all along; and Misa just couldn't do that. So instead of opening her mouth, and spilling out everything she wanted to say but couldn't put into words, she smiled, opened her mouth, and said, "Misa will have a Caesar salad and a glass of water with a lemon wedge."

~*~

April 18 2005

L was sucking happily on a lollipop, giving himself and the force a short break from the case. Watari had recently begun insisting he take at least a half hour away from the case each day to simply relax, or possibly find something to release some stress. As much as the detective hated to admit it, this daily break had him feeling healthier and happier than he had felt in years. Perhaps those scientists had been on to something when they determined sitting at a computer all day wasn't good for the body.

"Hey, Ryuuzaki," Matsuda piped up, looking at the other man's computer. "There's someone in the lobby."

"Really," L mumbled, rolling his chair over to look. On the screen, two figures could indeed be seen, each holding a suitcase. L smiled slightly, connecting his microphone to Watari's room. "Watari, I believe Matt has arrived, and he seems to have brought someone with him," the detective said in a tone that sounded to most just as monotone as he always was, but Watari could hear an underlying happiness. "Would you go let them in past the lobby, please?"

"I was just about to go do that, Ryuuzaki," the older man responded, and L switched off his microphone with a pleased hum.

"Who's Matt, Ryuuzaki?" Light asked curiously.

"If Light-kun will be patient, he will see," L said, popping his sucker back into his mouth. "I am unsure of who Watari had accompany him, though. Who could it be..."

A few minutes later, the door to the room opened, and a grinning red-haired teenager walked in. "Hi, L!"

The detective smiled again. "We went over this before you left, Matt. While you are here, you must call me Ryuuzaki. And it is rude to speak English in a room full of people who are unlikely to speak it fluently. Have you been neglecting your studies?"

Matt grinned sheepishly. "Uh...sorry, Ryuuzaki. I...um...I only even found out I had to learn Japanese three days ago; I can't learn that fast. I'm not Near, y'know."

"Be that as it may, you will still need to learn as quickly as you can if you wish to be of any help to the investigation. I will not translate for you forever. Now, might I ask who you brought with you?"

Before the teen could answer, the door opened again, and a middle-aged woman rushed in, a small knot of brown hair flopping at the base of her neck. She smiled warmly at the force, breaking into a full-on grin when her eyes fell on L, and she quickly walked over, pulling him into a loose hug. "Hello, dear! It's been so long since I've seen you!" She giggled happily, and the task force stared in amazement. Turning to face the rest of the men in the room, she smiled again. "Hello there. My name is Lori Richards; it's a pleasure to meet all of you."

Light turned to see how L had reacted to the sudden hug, and was quite surprised to see the closest thing he'd ever seen to a real smile on the other man's face. "L, who are these people?" he asked, trying to stay as polite as he could, but he had to admit, he was horribly curious, especially about the boy. The redhead had a cast on his right wrist, a large pad of gauze bandaged onto his neck, and what looked like it might be several stitches under his bangs. What on earth had happened to him?

"Everyone, this is Matt and Ms. Lori," L said, brushing back Matt's hair to study his forehead, and Light confirmed to himself that there were indeed stitches there. "Matt is here due to some unfortunate circumstances at his former place of residence, where Ms. Lori has worked as a doctor for a number of years. I was not aware Roger would be sending you as well," he said, turning his attention back to Lori. Light suppressed a small grin at the look of utter confusion on Matt's face; the poor boy clearly had no idea what was being said.

Lori sighed, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "You honestly think I would have stayed behind once I heard you wanted Matt to come visit? I haven't seen you in nearly fifteen years, child. If you would just come home a bit more often, I wouldn't have to fly halfway around the world just to see my little Lawlipop."

Light snickered as L's cheeks took on such a pale shade of pink it was nearly invisible. "Ms. Lori, please do not call me that. It is important to my safety that you-"

"That I call you Ryuuzaki, I know," Lori interrupted. "I don't see how anyone could figure out your name from that, though." She looked around the room curiously. "Are you busy right now, boys?"

Matsuda shook his head. "No, Ryuuzaki was letting us take a break."

"Excellent," the woman said, taking one of L's hands in her own. "Come on, we need to go catch up with each other, Ryuu. Matt, go with Watari to put your things away. Stay close to him; you don't want to get lost!" That said, she pulled L out of the room and down the hall.

Lori didn't let go of L until they had reached the elevator. "You can be such a mother, Ms. Lori," L said, a half-smile on his lips.

"Well, I did get plenty of practice when you were young," Lori said, stepping into the elevator. "Now, Watari said you had something of a mini-clinic here somewhere. What floor?"

"Fifth. Now, why did you come here? You have plenty of other children to care for back at the House, and I highly doubt you would leave them simply because I am your favorite."

"Watari told me there was a bit of a situation here, and that he was sure I would be able to help out and remain discreet," Lori said, frowning slightly when L merely gave her a blank stare. "You do know what I'm talking about, don't you, L?"

"I believe I do, but I do not quite want to believe that Watari has told anyone without my consent," the detective mumbled, stepping out of the elevator.

Lori sighed, following him down the hall. "He didn't tell me any of the details, L. Only what I need to know to help you. You can't go through this without a doctor, you know. Besides, I think I deserve to know if I'm going to be a grandmother."

"Ms. Lori is not my mother, and I do not feel Watari had the right to do this without even telling me," L grumbled, opening the door to the clinic.

"Oh, hush, I'm close enough," Lori said, waving a hand at the young man, then looked around the room L had led her to. "Wow...mini-clinic was certainly an understatement, Watari," she said quietly.

"He does seem to have had some work done in here recently without informing me," L said curiously, pressing a thumb to his lip. The room was fairly large, with pale yellow walls and white tile flooring. There were several different machines situated around the room, and a comfortable-looking bed was against the far wall, with a large, squishy green armchair near it. Another bed was situated near one of the machines, and L glanced nervously at Lori. "Are all of these machines for use during pregnancy?"

Lori nodded. "I think they are. Why else would Watari have had them put here? Now come here and sit down, we need to have a talk about your diet." The two crossed the room, L crouching in the armchair and Lori sitting on the edge of the bed. "Now, has your diet changed even a little since you were living at the House, L?" Lori asked, the hopeful look in her eyes disappearing when L shook his head. "Well, it's going to have to now. Since you eat all these sweets and cakes and candies, I'm going to have you take a glucose tolerance test tomorrow morning. It's almost two o'clock, so if you take it at eight, you can't eat anything after four today. All right?" L gave a rather forced nod, pulling a piece of hard candy from his pocket and popping it into his mouth. "Now, you're going to have to start eating healthier if you don't want to hurt the baby, okay? You'll need to start actually paying attention to the food pyramid, and it would probably be a good idea to give you some vitamins. I would do a nuchal scan to on the fetus, but it would be more accurate given another week or two, so I'll just do that at your next check-up. I would like to do an ultrasound to get a look at the baby and listen to its heartbeat. Finish your candy, take off your shirt, and lay down over there," she said, a note of fond amusement in her voice.

L bit down on his candy, crushing it, and swallowed before crossing to the other bed he'd seen, ignoring Lori's warnings that that couldn't be good for his teeth. He pulled his shirt up over his head, dropped it onto the floor, and settled into his usual crouch on the bed. Lori chuckled, turning on the nearby machine and picking up a bottle. "Lay down," she commanded gently, pressing L's shoulder until he complied. "This will be a little cold."

The detective twitched a little as the gel dripped onto his stomach, but showed no other signs of discomfort. Lori picked up a small wand-like object from the machine, and started running it over the gel. "Normally, we'd start things off with a transvaginal ultrasound, but you're already almost twelve weeks along according to Watari, so I'm going to go straight to transabdominal. Now...you see there? That's your baby, L," Lori said happily, pointing to a small, grey mass visible on the machine's screen. "Looks like it's going perfectly fine so far. Heartbeat is normal, and there are no signs of any early developmental problems."

L nodded slowly, staring at the blob that would become his child. It was an odd thought, and L wasn't quite sure what to make of it. He'd known he was pregnant for a few months not, of course, but to actually be seeing what he and Light had created was an entirely new experience. Lori turned off the machine and handed L a towel to wipe the gel off his stomach, chuckling quietly to herself. "What is it?" L asked curiously, rubbing the towel on his abdomen.

The doctor smiled, shaking her head. "Nothing, it's just...Do you even realize how big the grin on your face is?"

The detective blinked in surprise, pressing several fingers against his mouth. His lips were indeed pulled into a large smile, and L quickly felt the unfamiliar sensation of a laugh bubbling out of his throat. Perhaps he would be better able to adapt to the idea of becoming a parent better than he had initially thought.

Hey, guys!! :super-big-happy-smile: You have no idea how happy I am to have finished the next chapter. I've never gotten a story going again after something happened to threaten it that badly, so I'm really proud of myself right now. But really, you guys are the ones to thank. You gave me support and love when I really needed it, and I just wish I could give each of you a giant hug. And everyone who reviewed the note I left doesn't have any organs or blood or anything! You know why? There's too much awesome inside you all for any organs to fit. You guys are all my favorite Nerdfighters now, whether you even know what that means or not. Trust me, it's a good thing, though! I saved each and every one of them, because I thought they'd disappear when I removed the chapter, but they didn't, so…yeah. None of you can leave a signed review on this chapter, unless they went away when I took down the note to post this. Do try, though! Please?

My outline for this has gotten a lot longer than I thought it would, and has waaaay more details in it than the original did, so that's actually one positive thing that's come out of all this.

And I noticed something weird when I was comparing this chapter to the last one! The last one is over a page longer, but this one has over 500 words more, not counting author's notes. Does this one just have really big paragraphs or something? I dunno! Anyway, I'm up, I'm writing, and the story is finally moving somewhere!

You people have no idea how close I am to tears of absolute joy from how much I love you all right now. Really, you don't.

One last thing before you go! I really liked the part with Misa I put in here, and I'd kinda like to expand on it or write something similar as a oneshot. If I did, would any of you guys read it and review?

Review Replies! I'm Too Lazy to Put Something Sexy Here!

ShinoHina4eva: Thanks! Poor Matty indeed…:huggle:

J'taime: It's never too late to say happy birthday! That is an odd sickness. Hopefully you're feeling better by now, and if not, here's an update to make you better!

EOSOPHAGUS: Aye-aye, captain! I shall do my best!

master holykira: Thanks! And may I just say, I love your penname!

Hybrid-Sunshine: Kitty cat dance!! Heh…Mellocula…that's an interesting image. Glad you think I'm doing good with Misa!

Yay: ^.^ Glad you like it!

Amanda Saitou: You'll just have to keep reading to find that out, now won't you?

misswarchan: Yeah, there's too many crack!preg fics. I'm putting a lot of research into this to make the pregnancy as realistic as a pregnant natural-born male can be. Sorry about the time scene skips, though…I had no idea how to go about that talk between Light and Soichirou, otherwise I would've put it in.

angstkitten: Chapter is written! Matt's talked of the beating! Review or die! :grin: