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Alice sat down in front of the fireplace, still shivering form the rain; Watari walked in front of her and lit the few logs, setting the boxes from the bakery down on the table behind her. As he walked into the kitchen, L sat next to Alice, looking at the fire as it quickly grew in size. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Alice hug her knees closer to her chest, either in an attempt to warm up or to comfort herself. Although her tears were hidden by the rain, he was able to see them clearly inside against the soft light of the fire. He wanted to comfort her more, just something to make her smile… but before he was able to say anything, Watari came back with a silver tray with a cake on it, already cut into slices, as well as two saucers, two forks, spoons, a spatula, two cups of tea, and a bowl of sugar cubes. L looked up at Watari for a moment then looked back at the fire. Watari nodded, leaving the two teens alone. L took a slice of cake, placed it on a saucer and sat it next to Alice. “You need to eat something, Alice,” he said, softly as Alice shook her head a bit. He sighed a bit, taking a slice of cake for himself and ate a little of it before reaching for a teacup. L couldn’t help but feel a bit helpless; he might have been the world’s greatest detective, but when it came down to personal matters, he was clueless on how to handle it. Alice placed her head on her knees, sighing heavily.

“I have no place to live, L…” she said, quietly, trying to fight back tears, “I have absolutely nothing to my name except the clothes and things I brought with me when I first came here…” L looked over at her, putting his cup down. So, that’s what’s been troubling her, he thought as she looked at the fire. “What am I going to do now, L? I have no home, no school, no friends, no family…” Alice said as tears ran down her face again, “I might as well be dead.”

“Don’t say that, Alice,” he said, sitting closer to her, “You have plenty reason to live.” She looked over at L.

“Name one reason.”

“I can name three: Matt, Mello, and Near. The three of them love you and would hate it if you were to die on them.”

“But what am I going to do about a place to live?”

“You could always stay here as a permanent resident of Wammy’s House.” Alice’s eyes grew wide in surprise.

“R-really? But I though when a child turns 15, they have to leave. I turn 15 next month.”

“I’ll talk to Watari about letting you stay here as long as you need to,” L said, smiling softly at her. Alice smiled back and hugged him.

“Thank you so much, L. I’ll never forget this,” she said, letting L go. L looked into her eyes for a moment and couldn’t stop staring. Alice began to blush a bit, noticing that L was staring into her eyes. There was something about her cerulean blue eyes that held the detective in a trance. He felt himself being drawn closer to her, as if he wanted to kiss her. Alice felt the same way and closed her eyes out of anxiousness. Just as he was less than an inch away from her lips, he heard footsteps walking down the stairs and quickly pulled away from her. Alice quickly scooted away, looking towards the floor as Mello and Matt ran into the living room, smiling from ear to ear.

“Ali! You’re back!” Mello yelled, hugging her then letting her go, “You’re all wet, Ali. What happened?” Alice looked at the young child and smiled. “Guess what, Mello? I’m going to live here with you guys.”

“No way… Really, Ali?”

“If Watari says I can.” Mello smiled again and hugged her as tightly as he could.

“Yea! Ali is staying with us forever!” he said as Matt hugged her as well. Alice laughed a bit, then looked over at L, who smiled a little. “Okay, you two. Back to bed with the both of you,” L said, eating a slice of cake, “If memory serves, you both have an exam in the morning.” Mello pouted as Matt let go of Alice and gave L a hug. “Okay, big brother. Good night, L. Night, Alice,” Matt said, walking back up the stairs with Mello following behind. “At least they know I’ll still be here for them,” Alice said with a smile as she reached for the slice of cake L had offered her earlier. She took a bite of it, looking over at L. “I really owe a lot to you, L,” she whispered, “I’m forever in your debt.” L looked over at her and smiled, “Don’t worry, you’ll pay me back one way or another.”

The next morning, Alice woke up and noticed that she had slept against the couch and a blanket was wrapped around her shoulders. She looked up and saw two pairs of eyes staring at her. “Morning, sis,” Mello said, holding out a cup of hot chocolate for her, “Did you sleep well?” Alice rubbed her eyes and took the cup. “What time is it?” she asked, sleepily.

“About 9 in the morning,” Matt said, “We wanted to make sure you were okay and everything.”

“Aren’t the two of you late for school?” she asked, taking a sip and flinching a little for burning her tongue. Mello grinned, “Near went on to school, and we thought big brother was in here with you. But when we saw you here, by yourself, we decided to stay until you woke up. Besides, L doesn’t know we’re here.”

“I do now,” L said, walking over to them as they run to the door. “See you later, Ali!” they said, running out the door. Alice giggled a little as L sat beside her and held up a document for her to see. “Hmm? What’s that, L?” she asked, looking at it.

“Your legal papers. You are now an official member of Wammy’s House. Anything about your past, including education and your time with your parents, no longer matter. You literally have no past now. Once Watari determines your IQ, you will be given a code name.” Alice looked at him, “A code name? For what?”

“Think of it as your alias for cases. Giving out your real name in the real world could be dangerous if you’re not careful, so a code name is given to each child who comes to Wammy’s.”

“Even Matt, Mello, and Near have one?”

“Yes. Their real names are classified and are kept a closely guarded secret. Only Watari, Roger, and I know their names.” Alice nodded as Watari walked over to the teens.

“Miss Alice, are you ready for your test?”

“Test? What test?”

“Your IQ test, Miss Alice, to determine where you stand among the others here.” Alice stood up and smiled. “I am.”

Watari led Alice to a small testing room inside the school, away from the eyes of the younger children who were, for the most part, too busy studying or taking notes for their respective classes. Alice looked into one class and saw Near at the blackboard, solving a very difficult math problem. “Out of the three chosen to be L’s successor, Near has the highest IQ,” Watari said, opening a door to an empty room with a single desk with a small packet of papers on it, “In here, Miss Alice.” Alice walked in and sat down. “You have up to 30 minutes to complete the test. I wish you the best of luck,” Watari said, closing to door, leaving Alice alone. As Watari headed towards the front of the building, he saw L walking towards him.

“Is Alice taking the test now?” the teen asked as Watari nodded, “Are you sure she should be tested while recovering from such a traumatic event?”

“Well, each of you were tested under similar conditions, as so were the other children.”

Alice stood in Watari’s office a few hours later while both Watari and L looked over her test. Watari looked up at her and smiled.

“According to this, Miss Alice, your IQ is that of a highly gifted genius,” Watari said as Alice smiled, “That’s why I’ve appointed you to be L’s immediate successor in the event of L’s death.” Alice froze, “W-what? His immediate successor? What about the other three?”

“Keep in mind, Alice, that they are still little children and if I were to die, none of them could take over for me,” L said, eating a cupcake, “That’s why I asked Watari to name you my immediate successor… Athena.”

“Athena? Is that my…?”

“It is. Do you like it?” L asked with a smile, “I chose it myself.” Alice bowed in respect, “I like it. Thank you so much. Both of you.”

“Welcome to Wammy’s House, Athena.”