I DO NOT own Death Note.

Quick post of chapter 16. I know it's short. But I wanted to post the chapter I wrote about the doctor. I know its a little OC, but its my story and I'll write what I want! hehe Hope you enjoy!


Roger was still sitting at his desk at 3am when the phone rang. He sighed and rubbed his eyes. He knew the call would come eventually so he had stayed awake. He had hoped Mello would behave himself, but he hadn't counted on it. His shoulders slumped and he picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Roger. I have found something interesting."

Roger blinked. It wasn't the hospital. "L? It's 3am. Why are you calling so late?"

"I apologize. I didn't look to see the time difference. But I wanted to let you know what I found out about Near's doctor."

"Cant this wait until tomorrow, L?"

"It can, yes. But you are only sitting awake waiting to hear if Mello will misbehave, aren't you?"

Roger frowned. He hated it when L did that. "Just tell me, L."

"Dr. Derrick Smith was known as David Harding until he turned 18. He changed his name to escape his past, or so I gather from these records. He has quite a juvenile record, which was sealed when he turned 18. But I can find anything about anyone."

"So he changed his name because of something he did as a minor?"

"Yes and no. The case was in the newspaper, so I believe that is why he changed it. He applied for college, a pre-med program, when he was 18, after he changed his name. An incident such as the one he experienced, having it reported in the newspaper, could have hurt him in wanting to become a doctor. From the records I have pulled on him, none of his employers have discovered his background and he has a very good record as a pediatrician."

"Is that why you called me? To tell me he changed his name and that he is a good doctor?"

"No. I thought you should know what happened in his past."


"Dr. Smith, those boys are sleeping soundly. Are you sure it's a good idea that they share a bed?"

"Leave them be, Kate. They are fine." The doctor looked up at the nurse. She was leaning against the corner of the desk he sat behind, her hip perched on the edge.

"Was what the boy said true? That he and the other boy have had sex?"

The doctor grit his teeth and glared at the nurse. "If they have, it is none of your business. And if I hear you have been spreading that rumor around the hospital I will see you before the hospital board for violating patient confidentiality."

The nurse winced. "I wasn't going to tell anyone. I just wanted to know if it were true. That boy, the one who is hurt, he is only 12 years old. The other one has to be 3 or 4 years older."

"Mello is 14. And like I said, Kate, their relationship is none of your business. I have spoken to both of them about it, as well as to their guardian. The matter is settled so leave it alone."

Kate stood and picked up a chart from the counter. "Alright, there is no reason to be angry about it, Derrick. I will check on them again when I make my next rounds. I'm going to lunch."

The doctor nodded and looked back down at the papers he had been staring at for the last hour. He sighed and swiveled his chair around to look out the window. He had been a doctor for 12 years and seen many cases of minor boys engaging in a sexual relationship with other boys, none of them had made him feel the way that these two boys now did.

It was because Mello looked so much like him. He thought about him almost everyday of his life. When he first saw Mello, he had been shocked at the resemblance. When he learned that this blonde haired boy was the one who had been engaging in a sexual relationship with the seriously injured young boy he had just put back together, he had felt sick. He couldn't quite explain why. This boy obviously wasn't him.


"At the age of 15, David Harding killing his 18 year old brother."

Roger sat up straighter in his chair. "He murdered his brother?"

"Not murder, no. He killed him in self defense. According to the police files and the psychiatrist's files I acquired, David Harding stabbed his brother in the chest with a kitchen knife, puncturing his lung. He told the police he had to do it or he wouldn't stop. When interviewed by a psychiatrist, David told the whole story. When David was 10 years old, his brother forced him into a sexual relationship. He was threatened with death, or the death of loved ones, if he tried to tell anyone about what his brother had been doing to him. The psychiatrist concluded that David had a mental breakdown after 5 years of being raped and otherwise sexually abused by his brother, who was 3 years older then he was. He was cleared of the charges, a judge decided it was self defense. He was ordered by the court to see a psychiatrist three times a week until the doctor decided he didn't need to see him anymore. He attended the appointment for 2 years, until 3 months before his 18th birthday, and then his file states that he was well enough to stop seeing the doctor."

"Two years of seeing the shrink 3 times a week then he just stopped?"

"Yes. His file reads much like the standard sexually abused child. He was afraid of people getting to close to him. He thought that anyone who claimed to love him was a liar. He lashed out at anyone who touched him. But at the end of the two years the doctor stated in the file that he was doing well, he was off medications, and his nightmares had stopped. The file ends there. David Harding never returned to any follow up appointments. I believe he stopped because he was no longer required by law to do so."

Roger sighed. "So what does all this mean, L?"

"I believe that you should keep a close eye on how the doctor acts around Mello and Near, especially when the boys are together. If he is as concerned about their relationship as you have said, he may see in them what happened to him with his brother."

"Mello isn't raping Near. Their relationship isn't like the one the doctor had with his brother."

"I agree. But the doctor may not see it that way. Just warn them to be careful."

"I have warned Mello several times to be careful. But you know Mello as well as I do, probably better, and you know that him being careful wont happen unless he focuses himself. He is confused and worried about what is happening with Near. Focusing on behaving will be the last thing on his mind."

"Still, Roger. I want you to be careful around that doctor. If you need to, I want you to take Mello aside and tell him what I have told you about the doctor. Let him know why the doctor his acting the way he is."

"I will if I have to. But giving Mello that information could turn out to be a very bad idea. He has a habit of throwing information he has into someone's face when he gets angry."

"I know. But you should still warn him. For more reasons then just giving him another reason to be careful."

"What other reason is there?"

"Mello looks alarmingly similar to Paul Harding, the doctors dead brother."


Standing in the doorway, his shoulder against the frame, the doctor watched the boys sleep. He was more confused then ever as to what to do with them. He had planned on calling the boys guardian and having Mello taken out of the hospital at the first show of argument or aggression from him, but the boy had been behaving himself, even being polite. What had shocked him more though, was the fact that Mello seemed to genuinely care for the younger boy. He looked so much like him, but he wasn't him.