I was originally going to make this into two parts, but decided it was better to just write and get this arch out of the way. So far there have been serial arches. Can anyone list them? God knows I can't. ^_^

Chapter fifty-one- Sunrise.

Sunlight streamed through the windows, casting a slight

halo around the room. L laid restlessly in the large, king-sized bed, cradling Misa close. She slept peacefully. L had noticed that she'd started going going back to her natural color instead of the sickly blue color she'd been mere hours ago, but she was still as cold as ice.

There was a curt knock on the door. "Master L. Might I come in, Sir?"

It took L a moment to finally answer. "Yes, you can open the door, Watari."

The door slowly swung open and the grim butler hustled in with a tray in hand. The sweet aroma of cinnamon and strawberries floated into L's nose. Watari had brought them breakfast.

L offered him a smile of gratitude as the old butler handed him the tray. His gaze momentarily shifted to Misa's complex state.

"The young mistress will want to wake up soon. Her meal will get cold," was the only thing he could bring himself to say. He nodded towards L once more before announcing his departure and exiting.

Watari's words still rang loud in his ears. And the underlying meaning.

"If she ever wakes up."

For the rest of the afternoon, L refused to leave his wife's side. She hadn't woken up- not even as much as a slight stir. She just slept in her seemingly comatose state.

L was worried, but he'd never bring himself to admit it. You see, admitting it would be saying that he had no control left over the situation. And if there's one thing L detested more than serial killers, it was helplessness and the feeling of hopelessness.

It's not time for farewell yet, he chided himself briskly. His fingers caressed her peaceful face. You'd be better suited to think of the moment when she wakes up.

But for a guy so good at getting the truth out of people professionally, he was not too good at professionally lying to himself. It just came from high intelligence.

His hand slipped from her face to her frozen hands. The touch burned, but L refused to pull away. He smiled at her almost confidently as he spoke his self-reasurring words. "I won't think that just yet," he whispered half heartedly. "I know you can hear me, Misa. So please wake up. Just come back to me... Please."

Over the next few days, Misa's body visibly started to change back to its once healthy appearance. She wasn't so cold anymore and L kept her under a mass of blankets. She hadn't woken up yet, but L knew that that was because her body was silently healing her.

"I think our dear little Misa will wake up soon, Master L," Watari reassured him one day. It was spoken with a genuine smile. "We just need to sit back and wait for that to happen."

L had had enough of sitting back and waiting for Fate to take over. If this proved anything, it proved Fate had no idea what he was doing.

L fed his surrogate father a perfect lie in the form of a reassuring smile. Watari knew better. "I know, old friend. Misa will be just fine."

Watari patted his son's shoulder once before taking his leave. He knew that L just needed some time alone with his thoughts. Everything would turn out all right, one way or another.

Raven locks fell across the private detective's face as he

glanced down at the sleeping woman. She looked ancient, all knowing, resting the way she was. In a few hours her body would start regaining it's youthful appearance. And then the world would right itself and all would be perfect once again and this memory would be put exactly where it belongs- in the terrible past.

He stroked her face with a gentle palm. "I know, Watari. Misa will be just fine."

And in a few hour's time, he'd see just how true his words would ring.

L couldn't take the silence anymore. He sat in his lab and stared at the floor from blurry eyes. Not hearing her voice and being stuck with a comatose version of her, it was just too painful. He felt as if she were still back at that God forsaken hospital with tubes attached all over her, having her depend on them for her very life.

He groaned and clutched his head in his hands. This wasn't how this was supposed to go down. She was a serial killer and one of Kira's followers. A dangerous foe, by any standards, even if all she was doing at the moment was drooling.

Watari broke through double doors, panting heavily. L jerked to attentiveness. The older man took a moment to gather his breathe before he reported to his son. "L, it's Misa. She's awake and she's calling for you," he gasped out.

L jumped to his feet and raced out of the room without waiting for Watari. He tore into their room, absolutely breathless from the overexertion of trying to see her. She laid on her back and clutched the sheets around her in pale fists. But she was wide awake.

"L!" She called for his attention. "L, please come back! I need you!"

He rushed to her side and touched the side of her face to assure her of his presence. "I'm here, Misa. Stop crying and listen to my voice."

She closed her eyes and held his face in her frail hands, touching every feature and aspect. She blindly took the detail in and accepted them.

"Alright. Are you calm now?" Her husband asked as much as her hands would allow. She nodded and released his face so he could breathe.

He sighed and smiled at her. "You really are a lot of work, you know that?" This was said, of course, for two reasons. One; he was still quite shaken up about her regaining consciousness, and two: he was giving himself time to think of something else to say.

Misa didn't put two and two together. "So I've be told. By you. So, so many times."

L cleared his throat and prolonged himself another minute. The ideas were really flowing now. "The taskforce wanted me to tell you they were worried about you." And of course the wrong thing sprouts forth. The exact thing he'd wanted to avoid: excess awkwardness.

Misa shocked him when she began laughing instead. "Oh, were they really or are you just making that up to make me feel better?" Both of them knew the answer.

He knew a lifeline when he was handed one. "Really. Matsuda even sent you a card."

Like magic, he produced the so-said card from nowhere and passed it over to her timidly. She opened it open and read the contents while the detective squirmed the way he does.

When she finished, he asked the vital question. "Just how stupid was the letter and how Matsudaish was Matsuda acting?"

She rolled her eyes at the obviousness of the answer. "Do you even have to ask? Like Matsu, of course. Man, I wonder what planet bore him and why they won't take him back."

They shared a moment's laughter before L resumed his serious composure. "Well, welcome back all the same."

I'm out of the writer's block and will slowly be climaxing the story to its end. But not in the next twenty - forty chapters. I hope you guys enjoyed reading and will join me for the sequel and the possible oneshot that explains the wedding. Sincerely yours,

A.G.

P.s., I read all your comments, but I seldom respond. I will be willing to reconsider this if you guys want me to answer back. Please tell me whether or not you want this. Thank you and good night (or morning, if that's what's it's like where you are).