*L's POV*

"Hello. I'm here for Light Yagami." I knew that voice. I got to my feet, unsure if my eyes were betraying me. "I was informed that his family was here and I was to brief them. My name is Dr. Rupert-"

"Dad?" I asked in disbelief. My mind didn't want to function. There were too many things going through it all at once. There was something wrong with Light, there was definitely something going on with Sayu, though I didn't have enough time to shift my theories for the facts because now there was this.

This man that I had not seen since I was four, but somehow his voice was still the same. His face was the same scowl that it always had been and his eyes were just as uncaring as I remembered.

The air was tense the moment the word left my lips. Even Sayu didn't speak. And those eyes, his dark brown eyes, were piercing as they stared at me. What the hell was happening? My whole inside was shaking, screaming at me. I wanted to yell, just yell at him. Demand how he dared to walk back into my life after what they did to me! And I knew the thought was illogical. How could he have possibly known that I could be here? There was no way he could have, but somehow he should have known! He should have known that I would be here!

"Lawliet?"

My name. He said it aloud. But for some reason I didn't care. Sayu could know my name. She probably didn't understand what was being said anyways.

My chest was tight, my head pounding with the blood rushing in my ears. How was he here? A doctor? He was never a doctor. He was a lawyer. I mean, anyone could change their profession, but a doctor? I guess it had been just over 20 years. There was a lot that could happen in 20 years.

I had never wanted my brain to be so silent before in my life. I just wanted it to stop talking to me. Stop making me feel everything that was shooting through my system. Pain, anger, fear, wonderment, whatever the fuck my body wanted to call it, I wanted it to all stop!

"Ryuzaki?" Sayu asked, a hand on my shoulder. I blinked several times, the room rushing back with a sharp inhale from a breath I didn't know that I had been holding. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," I whispered to her. I couldn't help but take a step back when my father moved towards me.

"You're pale and shaking," he said, his voice in full work mode, the way it had always been. "You should sit down and drink some water."

"I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I've been doing it for years," I shot back harshly. He wasn't even pretending to care, he was just playing the doctor.

"When was the last time you slept or ate anything?" he questioned, coming closer to me, his eyes looking over me. I didn't like it. I was being scrutinized.

"Please don't act like you care," I muttered. I gave Sayu a nod and she released my shoulder to go sit back down. "And I don't want you near Light."

My father gave a slightly confused look, but he glanced back at his clipboard and nodded. "Are you family?"

"Of course I'm family," I hissed. I had never felt like this before. So angry and helpless. I had this nagging, digging want to somehow kill this man. Not just kill, but throw him in a pit and shovel dirt slowly onto him until his mouth was full. I wanted to hear his cries while rocks fell down on his head thicker than a hail storm. Is this what it felt like for Light?

My father gave me a kind smile, teeth white against the grey stubble over his face. I was taken aback by how genuine it felt.

"I am just trying to play the professional. If you want to discuss life decisions after, then we will, but at the moment there is a young boy who needs help and whether you like it or not, I am the best option you have at this time." I didn't like his voice. It was almost a sneer, like he knew what position I was in and was enjoying it in a way. But then again, it was just his job. As messed up as it was, he needed people to be sick or injured, just as I needed crimes to be committed, and just as mechanic needed cars to break down. We all depended on it.

"If you would like to find someone else, then be my guest," he continued, glancing over the clipboard that was still held in his grasp. "But for the time being, with your permission until otherwise, I would like to do my job."

I was silent for a moment and glanced over at Sayu, who was silently watching us. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. "Sayu, are you comfortable with him being Light's doctor?" I asked. She had as much input as I did. This was her brother. "I can find someone else."

"Is he good?" she inquired and I inhaled deeply. "You said they were bringing in the best."

"I would have to research," I admitted. I had lost track of my family and it was obvious that I had missed quite a bit. I looked back up at my father. "Do you have a Board Certification?"

"Yes," he replied with a nod.

"And how much experience do you have?"

"A little over a decade." He took a step closer to me, but again I shrunk back. I didn't want to be too close to this person who I didn't want to trust. I was so torn. So incredibly pained. My pride was getting in the way of what could help Light and I needed to suck it up. "I can get you my file if you would like, but the longer we stand here, the longer it is going to take for me to help Light."

I folded my arms over my chest and looked back at Sayu. "Tell me your thoughts. I know you can't understand what is being said, but what are you thinking?"

Sayu was silent for a moment, glancing between the two of us. "This is for my brother. And I don't mean to be a burden or rude, but just the look of this place tells me that you have the money to cover any costs that may come up. And if he is the best, then please give my brother the best."

"And what do you think of him?"

Sayu looked back towards my father, her eyes trailing over him. "He reminds me of my dad."

I ran a hand over my face and sighed. "Help him, please."

"Of course. I am going to go check on him and make sure that the CT scan is going ok now." He turned away and was almost out the door when I felt myself stepping forward after him.

"Wait," I called, causing my father to stop. "You said you were going to brief us."

"He is currently stable. They are attempting the CT scan again. I am going to look over the results with the radiologists. You are welcome to stay here. If Light doesn't have another fit then we will bring him back here to rest."

"What do you think is wrong?" I looked over my shoulder at Sayu who had returned to her computer.

"I don't have an answer yet. Not until the tests come back."

"That's bullshit," I hissed tightly. "I'm not a little kid."

"If you really must know, the symptoms that you told the nurses sound like a brain tumor. But again, I won't know for certain."

I couldn't find the words to speak. I had expected that much, but hearing it was different. It put everything into perspective. My father must have read into my expression, because I could feel his rough hand take my shoulder.

"You look horrible. Go home. Shower, change, eat, and rest. Don't come back until you've gotten at least two hours of sleep. Doctor's orders." And with that he left the room, his regal manor still floating around me.

I hated it like I had never hated anything in my life. But Light's life is what mattered at the moment, not mine. I could swallow what little pride I had and do what was best for Light.

"Would you like to go back to the house with me? I was going to grab some clean clothes." I sighed. Why was I listening to my father? Not my father, the doctor. That's who I was listening to. The medical professional.

"I would like to stay here, if you don't mind," she replied with a sigh. "Someone needs to stay here and make sure Light's ok."

I simply gave a nod. I wasn't sure what else to do. And it was beginning to weigh on me how absolutely tired I was. And this wasn't the tired where one night of sleep would fix it, this was exhaustion. My bones were heavy and the anxiety wanted to be used up so that my brain could finally relax. And six hours would feel like 60 year, but the effect would be less than ten minutes on my body.

"Is there anything you need?"

"No," Sayu said, giving me a kind smile. "Do go take care of yourself. I'll be ok. If needs be I'll look up a translator on Yahoo or something."

I almost felt guilty as I stepped into my bedroom. The outside world was still white and had made the room chilly. The house was so incredibly quiet that I didn't want to stay here for very long.

The shower was nice. It helped dull the ache that was etched into my limbs, but the knots in my shoulders wouldn't go.

I got dressed and was planning to go right back to the hospital, but I made the mistake of sitting on the bed.

It was as if my mind shut down and I curled around Light's pillow, falling asleep almost instantly.

I came to when the room was dark. The sound of my phone vibrating on the bedside table is what pulled me from my drowsy haze.

I picked up the phone and put it to my ear. "Hello?" I mumbled, rubbing at my eyes while I stretched out my back.

"Ryuzaki," Sayu said on the other side. "I can't understand what's going on, but the look on the doctor's face isn't good. Please come back."

I quickly sat up, no longer tired and raced for the door where my shoes and a coat were.

"Can I talk to him please?" I asked, my heart racing in my chest. I could make out the sound of shuffling, or maybe it was just from me trying to pull on my coat.

"Lawliet?"

If I wasn't in such a hurry, I would have probably demanded the name not to be used, but I was more worried over Light than I was a few letters.

"What's wrong?" I demanded, stumbling from the room and to the stairs.

"We found something odd in the toxicology report," my father's voice said, the muffled sound of papers in the background.

"What is it?" I questioned, racing out the front door and going to the garage. Beside the garage was a small flat that our driver stayed in. I knocked on his door and then moved to the car, impatiently. "You going to tell me?" I demanded when no answer came.

"I was rereading the charts," my father replied with a sigh. "It looks like he has suffered from some sort of lead poisoning. Or at least that's what came up on the toxicology report. But I'm not sure that's the reason for his symptoms."

"What makes you say that?" I questioned, climbing into the car to escape the cold wind. Bradley got into the driver's seat and started up the engine.

"The symptoms don't match lead poisoning," my father continued. "I would like to do more testing to see what is wrong, but it is possible that whatever he had has left his system."

I took a deep breath. "I'm not sure how he would have gotten lead poisoning. There's nothing in the water, because I've been drinking it. He hasn't gone anywhere out of the ordinary."

"Maybe he breathed in dust while working. That's not improbable, especially in older buildings. But again, I would like to run more screening if you would allow me to."

"Why are you asking me?" I rubbed at my eyes and then the back of my neck.

"Because we are not on the best terms and I would like to know what is appropriate for me to do." My father sounded tired. How long had I been asleep?

"Do whatever you need to," I mumbled. "I'll be there in about 45 minutes."