First another shout out to my precious readers, Dragonrider 4000, Rainy-Lullaby and Caboose Blue for staying with me and giving me such awesome feedback. I really appreciate your input and readership!!

Again, thanks to the creators of Death Note for allowing me to borrow their fabulous characters and also to Nishio Ishin for his telling of the BB Murder Case.

Chapter 13

It had been three days since L had thrown her out of his apartment and she hadn't had a word from him. Ofcourse, this was not unusual for him when he was working and she knew this case was the most important he'd had worked on since she'd known him, so she wasn't truly surprised. However, she was concerned about where she stood with him now, their friendship meant a lot to her and she was afraid she had sullied it somehow.

The children kept her far too occupied to think on it for too long, it was mid summer and cuts, bruises, busted lips, broken bones and head injuries seemed to be on practically everyone's agenda. She had several visits from the trio as well, it seemed she wasn't the only one L was keeping away from. Although they also knew one of L's methods was to cut himself off from everyone and everything, he hadn't done that in such a while they were concerned. She was concerned that he wasn't giving himself a break at all, he probably wasn't sleeping either. On the other hand, she also hadn't seen Watari and she supposed if L was in any trouble he would have let her know, if only as his doctor.

L had just finished speaking to his agent again. He admitted to her than he had always known who the culprit was they were looking for from the beginning without telling her that she was working alongside him, and that he was impressed she figured out all the clues. He also knew that the fourth death would occur on the 22nd, 6 days from now, and that she needed to be very careful as there was no replacement for her. She had told him that she knew capoeira and not to worry she would be fine.

So now he had six days to try to figure out exactly what B's game would be. 6 days isn't very long and he had to beat B at this. He knew it would be all or nothing, but WHAT exactly would it be. He ran his hand thru his hair in frustration and went over to his sweets trolley. Watari had been overly attentive over the past few days and he understood why, even if it was a bit annoying; he wouldn't allow anyone else in until he had captured B. He had to be available for Naomi's reports, no matter what time they came, and he couldn't afford to not put all of his concentration on this. It was unfortunate that he had made this decision after having words with Christine but he was sure she'd understand and once this was over he would invite her back. He simply couldn't afford the distraction, or non-intentional interference. He picked a dish of fruit cocktail loaded with cherries and went back to his desk.

After leaving L his lunch tray, Watari made his way to the good doctor's office. It was quite obvious by the look on L's face that he really didn't want his company at the moment so he decided this would be a good time to visit. He brought with him a dish of pastries, as it was lunchtime. L had mentioned their disagreement and he was certain Christine would be wondering if things had changed. As L was obviously not seeing anyone until B was caught, he decided he would bring her up to date and let her know all was well if she hadn't already figured it out.

As he reached her office he saw Near leaving with what appeared to be a portable chess set under his arm. He couldn't help the smile as he realized what that meant. He knocked on her office doorframe, as the door was open.

"Practicing for the rematch between you and L?" he asked as he came forward. Christine looked up and smiled happily at her visitor.

"Watari!!! Please come in!! And yes, if there is the opportunity to have one I want to give him more of a challenge." He did so and placed the plate of pastries on her desk, making her smile grow even wider.

"Oh don't worry about that, there will definitely be the opportunity when this B mess is over. I am sorry he lost his temper with you, but it was to be expected under the circumstances." Christine nodded and gestured for him to sit down.

"Well I certainly didn't help matters. Coffee, Watari?" she asked going towards her ever full coffee pot.

"Thank you, yes that would be nice. I thought perhaps I would fill you in on how he has been as I thought you might wish to know." Christine nodded bring the coffee over to him and sitting back down with hers.

"I am concerned on how he's handling the stress, with all the caffeine he drinks and everything….."

"Actually he's doing quite well. I think simply the knowledge of knowing he has an outlet away from all this in your friendship is helping, even if he doesn't actively use it at the moment. Ofcourse, I try to stay with him as much as possible in case he gets overwhelmed."

"Is he close to catching B, any other hints as to what he's really planning?" Watari shook his head with a sigh.

"He has managed to crack clues that have told him when to expect the next death, but as to what this all leading up to, sadly no." Christine chewed on a pastry, taking it all in. She looked at Watari, searching is face.

"He is alright, then?" she asked finally. L's guardian smiled and leaned across the desk he was sitting in front of and patted her hand.

"He is quite fortunate to have made a friend in you. I assure you he is doing as well as can be expected under the circumstances." Watari finished his coffee and checked his watch. He patted her hand again and stood up.

"I think I 've left him on his own resources long enough. Thank you for the coffee, Dr. Thompson…"

"Really, you must call me Christine now, Watari. We are friends aren't we?" He smiled at her.

"Yes, indeed we are. I'll keep you abreast of the situation if anything changes." He gave her a little bow, another quick grin and he was gone. She giggled at the bow as he left. She adored Watari, how could she not. His loyalty and affection to L was amazing to see. Although as she thought about it, L just seemed to create that aura around him that made you want to be loyal to him, to care about him. And the funniest thing about it was he was totally unaware of it. Well at least she knew he was all right. She'd just have to wait until the case was over; at least it gave her more time to practice with Near.

Over the next few days, L was in contact with Naomi often. She told him of her conclusions to other clues, involving numbers and names that were all BB. L congratulated her again, but once again cautioned her against being careful. She told him where she expected the next murder to take place and about what time. As they both agreed on one of two possible apartments in a particular complex, she had the idea of paying for the current occupants to leave and stay at a hotel until after the case was complete and he agreed, forwarding her the necessary funds. L also sent two of his trusted operatives, Wedy and Aiber, to the complex, as back up for her. And now he sat in front of the computer, staring at it, willing it to connect. It was the appointed time for the next murder, why hadn't she called. His fists came down on the desk scattering the papers from the case all around, some falling to the floor. As if on cue the computer beeped at him, call coming through.

"This is L" he tried to sound a lot calmer than he did.

"Wedy. I just came from the room. Apparently someone was set on fire." L hid the panic he felt from his voice.

"Who was it? My agent or.."

"Not your agent, she is fine. She put the fire out. I am not sure who the person on fire was."

"Did you see anyone else, someone slightly resembling me?" he asked cautiously.

"No, I did not. Unless it was the person on fire, I couldn't get a good look at what he had been wearing." And then it hit him like a sledgehammer between his eyes; he finally understood what B was doing.

"Please lend any assistance you can to my agent and report back to me as soon as possible."

He dropped his hands onto his knees and stared blankly in front of him, waiting for the call from Naomi.

It was about 9:30 that evening when Christine's cell phone rang. She had been typing up another accident report and was surprised to hear it ring at that hour. Then once she saw the familiar "unknown" on the screen she snatched it up.

"Dr. Thompson." She answered automatically, knowing it really wasn't necessary. It was quiet for a moment before she heard anything.

"I wonder if you would be agreeable to coming up for some coffee?" he sounded hesitant, almost afraid.

"I'll be right there." She said simply and immediately went out of the door, dropping her phone on the table.

When she got there she knocked once and opened the door, something telling her to not wait. She found him still perched on his chair at the computer, hands still on his knees. Still staring forward at his computer screen. She also realized how much she had missed seeing him over the past two weeks when she looked at him now. At this moment he looked like a lost child, not the man she knew him to be. She walked over to him and stood behind his chair. She placed a tentative hand on his shoulder to let him know she was there, as he had not responded in any way to her presence.

"It's over then?" she asked quietly. He nodded silently, and then slowly turned to look at her.

"He almost succeeded in destroying me. If it had not been for Naomi figuring it out when she did, he would have." She tried to imagine how long he'd been in this position and decided it wasn't good to think about. She reached down and took his hand and pulled him, hoping he'd get the idea. He did, and slowly stretched out his legs, eventually standing up. She led him over to his couch where he sat, and then pulled his legs up to his chest again, this time bringing his thumb to his mouth. She sat next to him and placed a hand on his.

"Do you want to tell me what happened, L?" she asked quietly. He turned to face her and nodded, and then began to tell her what had happened. He told her how Naomi came up with the idea of where the murder would take place, and that it was between two apartments in a condo. The she and B had each taken a room to watch and wait in until the appointed time. It was while she was by herself that she had put all the clues and strange things B had been saying together and realized that the next victim was to be B himself. She ran to the room he was in, broke the lock and ran into the room to find he had set himself on fire, sprinkler systems in the room had been broken and the smell of gasoline was everywhere. She had to run out into the hall to find a fire extinguisher to come back and put out the fire. Because she had arrived so quickly after he had become inflamed he was still alive, if badly hurt. She cuffed him and read him his rights. He explained he had sent two more of his operatives there as back up and one had come into the room after hearing the commotion and had called him to tell him what she'd found. It was then he realized what B had truly been up to.

"What could he have accomplished by killing himself like that, except to keep you from catching him?" Christine asked horrified.

"He would have bested me. Presented me with the case I could never solve. If he had died, chances are he would not have been identified properly. I would have been left with an unknown victim, a set of murders I could never solve, and I still would have been looking for B for the rest of my life. Even if he would have been identified as Beyond Birthday, I would never have been able to prove he had committed the other murders. It would have been the case that L couldn't solve. It would have been with me forever. At least now I can prove he did it, and keep him in prison the rest of his life. But if not for Naomi…"

She reached over and ran her hand through his hair, and was slightly startled to feel him lean into it.

" It was a brilliant move on his part, brilliant and totally insane. I can't imagine you living with that for the rest of your life. You were right about Naomi; she was the best you could have possibly had as your agent. But it's over now, B is in jail and you can relax." He nodded slowly.

"I find that for the first time that I can remember, I am in need of someone to help me do that. I have never had a case consume me like this." Christine stood up turned him so his back was to her.

"I think a back massage to loosen those impossibly tight muscles is a good start." She said and began to massage his back, beginning with his shoulders. As she suspected each and every muscle was pulled so tightly she could barely get a hold on them. Slowly she saw his shoulders lower, and the muscles relaxed. As she moved lower on his back she saw him jump and heard a slight giggle.

"Oh? Are you ticklish there too?" she grinned at him and attacked with her fingers. He cried out and jumped up turning far quicker that she imagined he could, grabbing her arms and pinning them to her sides.

"And how is that supposed to relax me?" he said staring down at her. She realized then just how tall he was when he stood up straight.

"Well it took your mind off things didn't it? " she laughed up at him. She stopped laughing when she saw his expression change, and saw a look in those dark eyes she didn't quite recognize.

"You are right, my mind is finally away from the case. I find it is has led me to more pleasant thoughts." He then leaned down and to her surprise, kissed her. Her hands pulled her closer to him and she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, eventually her hands finding their way into his hair. . When he finally pulled back she saw the question in his eyes and she smiled and nodded. This time it was his turn to lead her into his room.