Chapter 4

Upon arrival at the hospital, Christine was amazed at how everyone was ready, waiting and treating them like gold. She had sent patients to the hospital before and never had she been met like this, it was if the halls were cleared and no one was allowed to get in the way. L never let Matt out of his arms until they were well within the treatment room and he could lay him down on the bed.

She allowed the ER doctor to do his examination, she giving the information he needed to proceed. L stood silently, examining everything that was being done, his eyes not missing a detail. The ER doctor turned to them both.

"I'm inclined to believe we have a hot appendix here. I'll go ahead and alert the OR.."

"I believe more testing should be done as you prepare the OR," L said quietly. "It is not that I do not trust your judgment, Dr. Thompson has already stated the same, however, I would like to be sure that there is not a second situation that is being overlooked." The ER doctor opened his mouth to argue, and then looked at L again and thought better of it. He looked at Christine.

"I'm sure you realize time is of the essence.." he began. Christine nodded.

"Ofcourse I do, which is why you need to order those tests NOW and get Matt started towards the OR at the same time. By the time he is prepped and ready the results will be in."

The ER doctor looked from one to the other and realized he had no hope of arguing. That and the fact that he'd been told that they had come from Whammy's and apparently that held an awful lot of power for some reason and he knew better than to get in the middle. He nodded and immediately set things in motion to get it done. He then faced Matt.

"Matt, I'm going to give you a little something that's going to make you sleepy and take the edge off of the pain. When you wake up it will all be over I'm sure." Matt looked panicked and turned to L.

"Ryuzaki…." L eyes showed slight surprise. Even in the midst of the torment he knew Matt had to be in, he was still cognizant enough to know he couldn't call him L.

"I have promised you it will all turn out well and I have never lied to you. I will be here waiting for you." He told him, a small smile on his face. Matt smiled back and then winced slightly as the iv needle went in. In mere seconds it seemed his eyes began to flutter and his head rolled to the side. L looked at the ER doctor.

"You may take him now, but I wish to know immediately what the tests results are. I also wish to know who the surgeon is to be immediately and I wish to be told of any situations as they happen, not later and I also wish to be told the moment surgery is over." The ER doctor blinked to get himself out of the hold of this man's gaze, nodded and motioned for everyone to start moving.

"I'll follow them down and keep an eye on things" she said to him and followed them out of the room. Well at least she'd heard a name, and what a name. Ryuzaki? What kind of name was that? It sounded Japanese but he certainly didn't look Japanese. Leave it to him to give her an answer, which only begged more questions. She followed as far as she could without scrubbing and stood by the door watching.

An orderly handed L the name of the surgeon on call and he immediately called Watari to check it out for him, if necessary he would call in England's premier surgeon if he didn't like what he heard. Watari did caution him that time was of the essence and that he was sure this surgeon was quite skilled but he would indeed check him out.

Within minutes Watari had returned his call, giving L the surgeon's credentials and past history. He was satisfied with the information and prepared to wait. A few moments later Watari appeared by his side and he was profoundly grateful. He looked up at Watari and they exchanged in expressions what didn't have to be said in words. Watari was more than an assistant to L, having brought him up and taught him so much. He was the closest thing that L would ever have as a father, and he knew L sometimes better than L knew himself. He knew right now that L was in turmoil over Matt and needed his company.

"Perhaps this would be the time to tell the doctor who you are," Watari suggested. L looked thoughtful for a moment.

"If the opportunity presents itself. Right now I'm only concerned about Matt." Watari patted L's shoulder and smiled at him.

"Yes, I know. But as you have said, he will be fine. And you never lie." L looked at Watari and smiled.

Not too long after Christine returned, papers in hand and she went directly to L.

"Look at these test results, Ryuzaki" she said trying out his name, " You were also correct. There's a very bad gastrointestinal infection that has probably been plaguing him for the past few days as Mello mentioned. The appendix just happened to have bad timing it seems for poor Matt, that just isn't fair."

"One may well have aggravated the other", L muttered looking at the white blood count,

"I appreciate your help in convincing the good doctor that these were necessary prior to surgery," he said finally turning his gaze to her. She smiled warmly at him.

"You were correct, Ofcourse I was on your side. I can tell he's very special to you; all three of them seem to be. And they seem to be extremely fond of you." L glanced away for a minute and then returned his gaze to her.

"We share a common destiny, among other things. I have known them since they first arrived at Whammy's. They are three of the most talented, and brilliant children here. And hence why we share a destiny. If something should happen to me, they are slated to take my place. Depending on which one is ready at the time. The major contenders are Mello and Near, Near nosing Mello out by just a few points. Mello also tends to be a bit more emotional about things. Matt is just as brilliant as the other two, but I fear he doesn't really want the position."

Christine listened to this explanation completely confused. Take over for him? Just what or who was Ryuzaki that he would need some one in line to take over for him.

"I'm sorry, I'm confused. What is it that you do, or who are you that would require that kind of back up?" He smiled and got very close to her, his lips a mere few inches from her ear.

"I am L". he said simply and turned to stand next to Watari. L? L? THE L that she'd heard about on television, the brilliant, reclusive detective who never lost a case and no one had ever seen? Who police sought out when the cases were completely baffling? This young, slightly strange looking young man was L? She couldn't help gaping when she turned to face him again. She looked over at Watari who smiled and with a slight nod of his head affirmed what she'd been told.

Suddenly so many things made sense. The intense scrutiny she had gone through when she had applied for this position. The endless forms, the several interviews and the final one in which she felt she was all but interrogated by a computerized voice…she stopped. It had been him hadn't it? L had interrogated her.

"But.." she started and L held up his hand.

"This is neither the time nor the place to continue this discussion". He said and she had to agree. There was no telling how many ears were around, not to mention cameras. She nodded and sat down to wait to hear of Matt's progress.

Word came not too much later, the surgeon coming out to tell them that all went well, that Matt was in recovery and that he would be going to his room soon. He didn't expect him to stay in hospital more than a few days, especially when he knew he had a physician on site that could keep an eye on him.

Christine knew the tide of relief that must have been washing through L but his expression never changed as he talked with the surgeon more specifically, and she marveled at his medical knowledge. But then he was L, and everyone knew how brilliant he was supposed to be. He turned to her when he finally let the surgeon go.

"Dr. Thompson I am grateful for everything you have done. If I had any doubts of your abilities I certainly do not have them any more. I must ask that you leave Matt to me, however, as there is an orphanage full of children that require your attendance more than he does at this moment. I will be with him until he is able to come home. Watari will take you back."

Christine wasn't sure she appreciated being dismissed but she had to admit he was right. She had to get back to the kids.

"Alright, but please let me know if anything changes… Ryuzaki." She said smiling as she said the alias again. He gave her a small smile.

"Ofcourse. Watari…" Watari nodded and headed for the door, Christine following him.

L watched them leave and then walked over to the nurse's desk.

"I wish to be shown to recovery. Immediately."