Anna's POV

I heard the door open, signifying L's arrival. "Hey, sweetheart."

At the greeting, I dropped the book I was reading and sat up quickly. "What did you do?" I accused getting up. I felt him watching me as I did.

"Why do you assume I did something? All I said was hi." He questioned obviously confused.

I raised an eyebrow at him and brushed past him, "No. If you said hi, I wouldn't be accusing you of having done something. You said 'hey, sweetheart.' The last time you said that, you left Near at the park buried under the slide." I reminded him. He sighed as I brushed past him.

He sighed. "I didn't do anything, but I think we need to talk." I froze. Nothing good ever came after those words.

"Anna!" I looked out the door and down the hall where Matt's voice was coming from. He didn't sound distressed, just irritated. Still, I didn't want to talk.

I turned back to L, who was standing in the middle of the room watching me. "I have to go check on Matt." I told him, but he shook his head.

"No, Anna. Sit down." I bit my lip, unsure of where this sudden burst of authority came from. Still, I did as I was asked and took a seat on the bed. Neither of us said anything for a moment, just watching one another. "So are you going to tell me or do I have to ask?"

I blinked confused, "What are you talking about?" Why was L assuming I knew what this was all about?

"What's going on with you?" He asked finally, crossing his arms across his chest.

I met his gaze steadily, but my heart was beating a hundred miles a minute. "Nothing." I lied.

L shook his head, "Looks like I'm not the only liar. Granted I'm much better at it than you are."

I stood up, angry now, "What the hell did you just call me?"

L grabbed me by the shoulders and sat me back down roughly, "Calm down. I want to know what's wrong with you, Anna."

I shrugged him off, "Don't tell me to calm down." I got up again pushing past him.

"Anna, come back here. I'm trying to talk to you." He followed me into the nursery.

"Where's my daughter? L, what did you do?" I asked pointing to the crib. I was getting hysterical.

L shut the door behind him, shutting us away frim the rest of of Wammy's house. "Nothing she's with Misa down the hall."

I threw my hands up, "Of course she is. I don't think I've actually held my daughter in a month between you and her." I was livid, now. Why did Misa have to be here? Why the hell didn't she just leave? She'd been here for over a damn month!

"Anna, will you stop for a second and listen to me?" L's voice was starting to rise, he was losing his temper.

"No, just leave me alone!" I shouted, trying to get past him, but he wouldn't let me.

Grabbing my arm, he pulled me to a stop, blocking me from the door, "Anna, stop it."

Near's POV

I cringed inwardly as Anna and L's muffled voices got louder and louder as the arguing continued across the hall. I jumped as my door opened and slammed shut. Mello and Matt stormed into my room, looking both annoyed and concerned. I simply continued doing my puzzle. "Mom and Dad are fighting?" Mello asked. I started to nod, but stopped short.

I cast Mello a confused look, "What did you just call them?" I asked sitting up. Matt was staring at the blonde as well.

Mello shrugged, "The adoption papers went through. It's official… we're all brothers." He sounded indifferent to the new development, but something in his eye told me he wasn't.

"We've always been brothers." I barely heard Matt mumbled. He covered his mouth with his hands and when he pulled them away, he had a lit cigarette in his mouth.

"Don't smoke in here, Matt. It's gross." I replied, cringing outwardly as a thump was heard in the next room.

"What are they fighting about?" Mello asked looking toward the door.

I shrugged, "Anna." We all fell silent. We weren't stupid, we knew Anna was falling apart on the inside. No matter how much she smiled and tried to act like everything was okay, we knew it wasn't. A smile can only hide so much. Yelling could be heard across the hall. It was unusual to have them fighting. Anna and L always seemed to have it together. They'd always had a strange, idealistic relationship. They balanced once another. Lately, it felt like Anna was slipping away.

"Should we go check on them?" Matt asked, "They're in Sis's room."

"Gia is with Misa." Mello grumbled bitterly.

I shrugged, "The baby would be fine either way. Just let L handle it. It'll all work itself out in the end." I resolved looking up at my brothers. They simply nodded in understanding. We were all worried about Anna, but we couldn't save her. We couldn't help her, only L could do that.

L's POV

I sat on the floor of the nursery, leaning against the wall and holding Anna to my chest while she sobbed. "Anna, please talk to me." I requested quietly. I just wanted to make her stop crying. I didn't even know why she was so upset.

"I'm not even sure where to start." She sobbed into the crook of my neck. I felt so helpless. I was supposedly the world's greatest detective and I couldn't even figure out what was wrong with my girlfriend.

I shrugged, "The beginning is always a good place to start." I suggested, earning myself a small laugh.

She sat up a little, just enough to move herself into a more comfortable position, resting her head on my shoulder. "I think I'm broken." She mumbled, "Ever since… you know." I did. She was talking about Beyond's death. That's when this change started within her. I just nodded in acknowledgement. "I feel so empty. Everyone's gone, L and I don't think I'm strong enough to deal with this." She confessed.

"Hey," I called quietly and she looked up at me. "I'm still here. I'm not gone." I reminded her, wrapping my arms around her.

She shook her head, hiding her face, "You don't understand."

I felt like she'd stabbed me. I tightened my grip around her, "Then help me understand."

"You're going to leave, L. One of these days, probably very soon, Wammy is going to walk in here and hand you a case. Then you'll be gone and I'll be here." She sighed, "I'll be alone again and that scares me." I looked down at her. Beyond's death had prompted all this?

I kissed the top of her head, "You won't be alone. You'll come with me, just like we used to."

A small, humorless chuckle escaped her lips, "You know that's not true. It'll never be just you and I again, L."

I looked down at her, not following, "Why not?"

She brought her tear filled eyes up to my face, "You know why, L." Her voice was barely above a whisper.

The baby. We couldn't leave her here and we couldn't take her with us. "Anna…"

"Its fine, L. I told you, it'll be okay. It just isn't yet." She wrapped her arms around me.

The door flew open and Misa skipped in, happily holding Gia in her hands, "Oh, I'm sorry am I interrupting something?" She asked, turning pink.

Anna untangled herself from me and got up off the floor, "Yes you are, now please give me my kid."

Misa actually took a step back, away from Anna. What was going on there? "She's asleep." Misa claimed.

Even with Anna's back to me, I could sense the flames beginning to rise in her eyes, "Wonderful. Give me my daughter." Misa pouted slightly, but handed Anna the baby. Anna took her, holding her closely as I got myself up off the floor. I looked over Anna's shoulder to find Gia fast asleep and silently thanked God that the baby didn't have Anna's temper. "You can go, Misa." Anna said flatly. Misa hesitated, but one look from Anna sent her out the door.

"What was that about?" I asked, looking down at Anna.

Her eyes softened as they turned on me, "Misa seems to believe she thinks she can parent my children. I've been very lenient with her because I wasn't okay, but I'm getting better." I took Gia from her and placed the four month old in her crib before pulling Anna to me, crushing her against my chest. "L, I can't breathe." She choked out.

"You don't need air." I informed her.

She sighed to herself, resting her head on my chest and wrapping her own arms around me, "You're insane."

I shrugged, holding onto her, "Yeah, I know." I looked down at her to find a small smile tugging at her lips and that was it. I knew she was going to be okay.

Near's POV

"I think they stopped." Matt said quietly as the yelling and crying stopped completely. The three of us looked between one another, unsure of what to do. We'd all been locked away in my room waiting for the fight to end, but now the silence was even more frightening. What happened in there? I think we all jumped when the door opened and L walked in, his arm securely around Anna's shoulders. A weak, but genuine smile on her face.

"Hey Mom, Dad." I saw L's eyes widen at the new titles Mello had bestowed upon them.

Anna just laughed. L looked down at her asking a silent question. Anna's smile brightened, "The adoptions went through today. It usually takes a lot longer, but Wammy had Roger speed things up." L's face contorted in understanding and he looked us over as if seeing us for the first time. He then released Anna and walked out of the room. Anna looked between us and followed after him. Mello looked heartbroken by L's apparent rejection, Matt shrugged.

"Well this is strange." I voiced aloud.

"What's strange?" Matt asked looking from Mello.

I shrugged. "Well… I don't think much is going to change, but…" I paused and looked to the pair sitting on my bed, "We have parents."

Mello looked at me and then at the door, "Yeah, well L doesn't seem to want us."

I shrugged, "He's overwhelmed. He's just recently become a father to an infant, someone who is completely dependent on him, his bride-to-be seems to be going through what seems to be a mild depression, he has an unwanted house guest who is trying to become his daughter's primary caregiver, whether intentionally or not I'm not sure, and now he's suddenly gained three sons he is responsible for. On top of that, he hasn't had a case in almost four months so he's not processing things as quickly as he would if he were actively working. Give him some time, Mello." I explained placing in the last piece of my puzzle.

Mello and Matt watched me for a moment in silence before Mello pushed himself off the bed and stormed off. I expected Matt to follow him, but he didn't. He continued staring down at me through his goggles, "Do you think L really wants us?"

I shrugged, "I don't really care. All I know is Anna wants us. Typically, L wants what Anna wants so probably. Just let it work itself out." With that, I tipped over my puzzle and started over.

A/N: Hi... so I apologize for all the sad chapters... I've been a little down so I've been trying to avoid writing because then I end up murdering innocent characters who don't deserve to die. Anyways, I'm a lot better now so I promise I won't kill off anyone else!

-Insaine