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Chapter 49 - Confined

Here's the new chap in which we discover what L thinks of being on the other side of the law and Grace does a bit of detective work.

Also, I ask you to suspend a little disbelief with how easy the two are to interact in the station. The chapter never seemed to work any other way. :D

I sat in a hard-backed chair in the police station, still wearing L's jacket over my shoulders wondering what on earth had happened to my rational thought. That box, that little velvet box was now in a plastic container behind the custody officer at the front desk. I knew I was a curious person by nature, but when I couldn't force my mind to think of anything else, I wondered if anything was truly wrong with me.

What in bloody hell was L doing carrying around a jewelry box? He had seemed so frustrated and reluctant to pull it out of his pocket, he had looked at me almost apologetically. I couldn't imagine that he had wanted to propose marriage in the back of the car if we hadn't been interrupted, wasn't that a rather large leap? Hadn't we just become boyfriend and girlfriend? I smiled to myself at that thought. I was L's girlfriend. It wasn't just a dream anymore. I could be quite content with that.

"Hey, Red?"

My smile vanished when I realized the cur, Clem, was addressing me. "Yes?" I answered warily.

He had propped his legs up on the desk across the room and had been whistling a nonsense tune for nearly an hour. "Isn't your bloke going to make his phone call?"

I sighed and looked back toward the holding cell where L sat dejected, with his knees drawn up to his chest, and his head hung low. "He will. We daren't phone yet, everyone is still at the ball."

"Right," he snorted. "The ball. Hope your car doesn't turn into a pumpkin either."

I glared and picked up the skirts of the once lovely fabric of my dress and shook them out. "Do you think I'm dressed like this for my health? We were at a fancy do with friends and family, and it's not fair to ruin everyone's evening with the knowledge that we were brought in!"

"Oh, but you want to ruin mine by staying here and not posting bail?"

"I couldn't care less about your comfort or your opinion." I crossed my arms. "Especially after you referred to me as an inebriated prostitute."

"At least she classes up the joint!" Tom, the man at the window, joked as he went back to his game of solitaire. "And darlin' I would never call you either of those things."

"Thank you." I replied curtly, glancing back at L again who hadn't moved.

"To your face anyway." Clem sneered and I got up from my chair, tired of having to observe his smarmy mug for the last eighty minutes. Perhaps L had the right idea keeping his focus on the dingy floor. It had to be a more pleasing view.

"Well that's better than your rude behavior isn't it?" I huffed, before crossing over to the holding cell, trying to muster up my most cheerful expression for the occupant it held.

"Er, Elliott?" I forced back a smile. I still couldn't believe L had created an alias from that name after so much talk about disliking it. Elliott Louis. I had giggled again when he had given it to the officer booking him, which of course hadn't won me any points on either side.

His head lifted, and his look of complete defeat met mine. He remained silent, and I wondered if he'd listen to a single word I planned to say.

I titled my head to the side with a small smile. "Perhaps we should call Wammy now?"

He grunted and went back to glaring at the cement floor. Hardly an overwhelming success at communication on any scale, but I wasn't deterred. I wished I could be beside him, my hand in his as we endured the confinement together. I hated that he had refused to speak as soon as he was locked in the cell, but his obstinacy was to be expected, being him after all.