For the purpose of this one-shot, L is 26, you and Near are 4, and Mello and Matt are 6.

Also, don't ask why L is holding a leopard in the photo, because I can offer no explanation... I just thought it was a cute picture.

~Lia

You are Y/N, the daughter of the worlds best detective, L.

Now, I believe this requires a little explanation, so here it is.

L and your mother had met at a young age, he was 20, she was 19. They met when he was visiting her hometown while working on a case. He had gone to the local bakery, the same one she worked at, and things progressed from there.

Your mother ended up pregnant just over a year after that day, and you were born nine months after that.

Unfortunately, your mother was murdered only two months after you were born.

L was devastated. He had warned her about how dangerous it was to be involved with him, but she loved him too much to stay away.

For the first year and a half of your life, L worked on cases from Wammy's house, so that he could take care of you. After that, he started taking you with him to wherever he needed to go for a case, but you had to stay in the hotel room at all times.

That was fine and all, but you did get awfully bored when your father took you on these trips. You also got frequent nightmares when you weren't at Wammy's house.

You reach up and grab onto the doorknob of the door to your bedroom in the hotel room. You open it slowly, your (favourite childhood show) nightlight providing just enough light that you can see what you're doing.

You walk out of your room, dragging your blanket -which you always seemed to have with you- behind you. You walk down the short hall, into the main part of the hotel room, and see your father crouching on one of the couches that occupied the far side of the room, staring at his laptop.

"Daddy?" You sniffle, and take a few more steps forward. Your father turns to look at you

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" He asks, as you make your way around the couch, and onto it. L adjusts his position so that he can hold you in his lap.

"Daddy, there were so many people I didn't know and... and you fell off your chair... and you and grandpa died!" You say, tears streaming down your cheeks

"It was only a dream, sweetie. I'm still here." He says, petting your hair gently

"It was awful, daddy... I was all alone... Please don't leave me alone..." Your voice breaks between words, and you begin to hiccup.

"It's alright, it was only a dream, I would never leave you alone." L says, wiping the tears off of your cheeks with the sleeve of his shirt.

L tried to solve as many cases as he could from Wammy's house, for he hated seeing you like this. But, if he had to leave, he tried his hardest to solve the case quickly, so that he could take you back to the orphanage.

Watari, the man you call your grandfather, walks into the room.

"Is she having nightmares again?" He asks, setting down a silver platter on the coffee table. The platter holds a mug, presumably full of coffee, a bowl of sugar cubes, and some cream.

"Yes, please prepare some warm milk for her." L answers, looking at the elder. Watari nods and walks back to the kitchen. L looks back at you, you had calmed down, but there was still no chance of getting you back to sleep.

"Y/N, would you like to watch (favourite childhood show)?" He asks, your eyes light up

"Yeah!" You exclaim happily. L smiles and closes his laptop. He grabs the remote and you move to face the television, which is directly in front of the couch.

L turns the television on and finds the children's channel that plays all night long. Conveniently, (favourite childhood show) was on.

Watari brings out your warm milk as your father changes the channel.

"Thank you, grandpa." You smile as you take the sippy-cup from him

"You're very welcome, dear." He smiles as well.

~~~

A few days after that, your father had solved the case and you were back at the orphanage.

Your best friend at the orphanage was an albino boy named Near. He didn't say much, and he didn't seem to have many friends, but he liked puzzles, and he was always happy -from what you could tell- to have you try and help him with them.

His favourite puzzle seemed to be an almost pure white puzzle, with a calligraphic 'L' in one corner. He would always let you put together the part of the picture with the L, because it was the easiest.

You were sitting on the floor of one of the many sitting areas in the orphanage, with your blanket, watching as Near expertly put together another puzzle. Matt was also with the two of you, playing on his DS.

Matt was another friend of yours. He was an older boy, and was usually accompanied by Mello. Mello didn't talk to you much, you think it's because you're with Near a lot, and Mello doesn't get along with Near.

"Matt!" Mello rushes into the room "I've been looking for you everywhere!" He shouts

"And I've been avoiding you everywhere." Matt replies, not breaking his gaze from his DS.

"Why? We have an assignment to finish!" Mello huffs

"Because we have an assignment to finish." Matt answers cockily. Mello lets out a sound of annoyance as Near presses the last piece of his puzzle into place.

"Y/N, would you like to play a board game?" Near asks, looking at you

"Yes!" You answer happily. There were many board games in the sitting room, it was only a matter of choosing one. Near stands up, he had obviously had a game in mind.

"You guys should play with us!" You exclaim, turning your head to look at Matt and Mello, who was standing beside him.

"Alright, I'll play." Matt says, folding down his DS and shoving it into his pocket.

"I guess I'll play too." Mello says, though with less enthusiasm.

Near walks back, holding Monopoly in his hands. He sets it on the ground, and sits back on the ground.

You all pick your pieces and the game begins.

After playing for a while, you had started loosing, because playing Monopoly against geniuses was extremely difficult, but you weren't out yet.

You weren't exactly sure how the whole successor program worked, but you knew that these three had the best chances of becoming your father's replacement.

Every once and a while, Near would help you out. Mello didn't like this, he called it cheating, but Near didn't seem to care.

However, it didn't take long for you to loose, and Matt was out only minutes after you.

It seemed like the rest of the game could take forever, because Near was really good at it, and Mello was not giving up.

Your father walks into the room, smiling inwardly as you and Matt watched the intense game of Monopoly between Near and Mello.

Your father walks over and kneels beside you.

"They're really good at this game, daddy. I lost again." You say, looking at your father. He seems to be very concentrated, watching every move they make

"You may have lost, Y/N, but I noticed that you are becoming much better at this game. You stayed in this game longer than you ever had before." You had never heard Near praise anyone, much less yourself

"Thanks Near!" You smile, and think that you see a small smile form on his own lips.

The bell rings for curfew, and Mello sighs, obviously annoyed that he could not beat Near before curfew.

"That was fun, we should play board games again some time!" You smile, receiving a nod from Matt

"We could play again tomorrow... I'll win for sure." Mello says, a competitive tone in his voice as he helps clean up the game

You collect all of the Monopoly money and put the rubber band back around them.

After the board game was properly put away, you all part ways, saying good nights as you do.

You change into pyjamas and your father comes into your room, which was right across the hall from his, to tuck you into bed.

You crawl into bed, before realizing something was missing.

"I left blankey down stairs!" You shout, jumping back out of bed and running to your closed bedroom door. You grab the doorknob and pull the door open, only to find Mello at the door, looking like he was about to knock on the door.

"You left this down stairs." He says, handing you your blanket

"Thank you, Mello!" You exclaim, hugging him in your happiness. He seems surprised, and just pats your back awkwardly.

You release the embarrassed boy, and smile at him.

"Goodnight, Mello." You say, reaching for the doorknob again

"Goodnight, Y/N." He smiles back at you, a bit of red tinting his cheeks.

You close your bedroom door and crawl back into bed

"Will you read me a book, daddy?" You ask, snuggling under the covers

"Of course. Which book would you like to read tonight, sweetheart?" He asks, walking over to your bookshelf

"Um... How about (favourite childhood book)?" You ask. He nods and turns to find it on the shelf. Once he had found the book, he moves the armchair from the corner of your room to beside your bed, and crouches in it.

Your father couldn't even finish the book before you had fallen asleep.

"Goodnight Y/N. I love you." He kisses your forehead before turning off your lamp, setting the book back on the bookshelf, and quietly exiting your room.