Jubilee was in a foul mood. Beside her, at the long desk in the main room of headquarters, L was flipping through that stupid book with unfailing interest, cross-referencing everything that he found with her every other minute. Light, still handcuffed to the detective, had his head down in the crook of his arm on the desk, sound asleep. It was approaching midnight.

"It says here," L began, in exactly the same way he had the last twelve times, "That children have angels who 'always behold the face of the Father which is in heaven'. I assume that an angel stays with a child all throughout his or her life, even after reaching maturity, since that appears to have been the case with you. But, if your guardian angel is always with you as you claim yours says he has been, but he is also always with 'the Father which is in heaven'...then, since you are a physical being in a physical location on earth, and since something cannot simultaneously be in two different physical locations at once, it must stand to reason that 'heaven' is not a physical location. Would you agree?"

Jubilee was singularly unwilling to share L's interest. "I guess," she muttered, arms crossed over her chest as she slumped low in her swivel chair. "How should I know?"

L glanced up at her sharply. "Because you claim to have been there."

"That doesn't mean I can write a whole textbook about it!"

"Your ambivalence on the matter does you a disservice, Miss Amachi," he said, sounding stern. "Remember, you are technically still under suspicion for lying about your background."

Jubilee threw her arms in the air. "What? All I said was 'I guess.' That's the truth!" Vaguely she wondered if her arm might have gone through Hellenos just now. She couldn't see him at the moment, probably because she was severely cranky both from fatigue and L's pestering, but there seemed to be a faint shimmer in the air beside her. Taking a deep breath to try and calm her temper, she continued, "I couldn't possibly have understood the ins and outs of everything that was happening to me at the time. It was like nothing I've ever experienced before."

L thumbed the side of his mouth and leaned in close to Jubilee's face, inspecting her with intense scrutiny. "Tell me what it was like."

With great effort Jubilee refrained from flinching at his proximity. She had gotten somewhat used to this sort of behavior in the last couple weeks, and knew that it would do her no good to lean away because he'd only follow her like a magnet. "I already did," she said, almost reprovingly, but then sighed and acquiesced, "It was like...like I was nowhere, and everywhere at once. Here, there, nowhere, and everywhere. Like I'd been removed from the world yet could just as easily see any part of it as clearly as if I were there...if I had any desire to. Which," she added with sudden realization, "I didn't at all."

"Hmmmm." L nodded as if in confirmation, then sat back in his own seat. "As one might expect of a nonphysical dimension. Now," he continued without missing a beat, "It says here..." Jubilee resisted the urge to roll her eyes at hearing the phrase repeated yet again, but L didn't pay her any mind as he rapidly and precisely flipped through the book to land on a page which he jabbed with one long, pale finger, "That we fight 'not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.' Some basic research has helped me uncover the fact that 'principalities' and 'powers' may refer to certain high ranks within the demon hierarchy...which, according to your descriptions, the being that you saw accompanying Light may be categorized under. So, does that mean that these darker beings are 'in high places' even while they are on earth, in the same way that angels are 'in heaven' even while they are on earth—that they are, in fact, simultaneously in two dimensions at once? And what does 'high places' refer to? Something higher than the earthly plane but lower than the heavenly one?" Finishing his lengthy speech, he fixed his eyes on Jubilee in expectation.

Jubilee's head spun from all the questions and theorizing, but, weary from a long day, she yawned. "How should I know?" she asked again, for what must have been the thirteenth time by now.

L tapped a knuckle against the open volume resting against his knees. "Well, you've already read this before, haven't you?" he answered, with perfect logic as usual.

That stopped her short. "I—I—well..." she stuttered. I never finished it, was what she couldn't bring herself to admit, but didn't have to because she could tell in L's eyes that he had just deduced as much. Defiance bloomed within her at his look. "Well, what?" she burst out defensively. "You've never read it before either, have you?"

L shrugged. "Perhaps, but I have now."

"Yes, but—" Jubilee suddenly stopped and did a double take so fast she thought she might have given herself whiplash. "What do you mean, you have now?"

L continued to turn pages nonchalantly. "I have read it now."

Jubilee felt like she was going to hyperventilate. "The whole thing?"

L seemed perfectly ignorant of her plight. "Yes," he said simply.

Jubilee took a few deep breaths. This couldn't be right. There must have been some kind of misunderstanding. "You mean, you finished the New Testament...right?"

"No." L finally looked up from the book at her in the way a patient teacher might at a dim-witted student. "The Old and the New Testaments."

Jubilee thought her jaw might have dropped to her knees. "You...you mean to say—" she began, stuttering stupidly, "That you read...the entire Bible...in only three days?"

"Yes, Miss Amachi," said L, with drawn out patience, "That is what I have been trying to tell you."

Jubilee sputtered for a moment, feeling like she was going to choke on her own spit. "What—but—how..." She struggled violently before finding her voice again. "Do you not sleep?!" was what burst out of her at last.

"No."

She was speechless for a moment, before declaring with firm resolution, "That's impossible."

"What is, Miss Amachi?" said L, returning to his book and lifting a delicate teacup filled with sugary liquid to his lips. "Not sleeping, or reading the Bible in three days?"

"Both!" she exploded.

"Hmmm," he intoned again in that contemplative way of his. "Interesting...I would have thought that you of all people would have stopped believing anything to be impossible, after what you've been through."

That shut her up.

He got you pretty good right there, chuckled a voice from above her. I like him.

She turned to glare up at Hellenos, not caring that L could see. Why don't you be his guardian angel then? she thought sourly.

This just seemed to amuse the angel even more. Because he's already got one.

Good Lord, there are TWO of you? she thought, pushing her seat out from the desk to stand up. Aloud, she announced, "I'm going to bed," and made her way to the short flight of stairs leading up to the elevator landing, without giving L a second glance.

Goodnight, the angel prompted her.

Jubilee grit her teeth but called over her shoulder, "Goodnight!" then proceeded to take the stairs two at a time in a vain attempt to outrun Hellenos, until she reached the top and impatiently jabbed at the elevator buttons. The doors opened and she entered, grumbling. Hellenos was already inside the elevator.

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The angel made a show of whistling at the ceiling as the doors closed and they began to go up. It was an impossibly perfect and beautiful sound, but Jubilee was darned if she was going to acknowledge that fact.

At last, the angel spoke. Funny, Jonah the prophet tried to run away too. And we all know what happened to him.

"Is that a threat?" said Jubilee lowly. Her dreams tonight were definitely going to be a nightmarish mixture of being tied up in a room, endlessly questioned by L, and then swallowed by a whale.

Then again, Elijah the prophet did too, Hellenos went on, ignoring Jubilee. I remember not being able to understand why he did it, but I fed him anyway like the Father asked, even after he ran away. Jubilee stubbornly said nothing, but the angel continued, I've worked with humans long enough by now, though, to understand that it is common for you to want to run. From God, and from your destiny. But it is a hard thing for us angels to understand.

She stared at the floor of the elevator as they rose. "Why's that?" she mumbled.

The angel looked at her as though she were a curious and fascinating thing. Well, trying to run away from those two things is like a fish trying to run away from the ocean. Maybe it can, but only after a good amount of swimming through it in the first place, and only with the end result of death. He paused for a moment, as if in thought. On the other hand, there's also a fair number of humans who are always trying to find those two things...which is like a fish trying to find the ocean. He held out his hands. Both actions are equally absurd. So we find it difficult to understand why you would do it.

Jubilee continued to stare at the floor. "I don't think we know why we do it."

The angel held up one long finger. Precisely what I realized at last. A fish doesn't have a concept of the ocean that it swims in.

Jubilee finally looked up at the angel, annoyance decorating her features. "So am I a fish or a woman?" she asked sardonically.

The angel shrugged. Is the Lord a lion or a lamb?

At this the elevator doors opened, and Jubilee stepped out. Walking down the hall toward her room, she questioned the angel quietly, "So you were the angel that fed Elijah in the wilderness?"

The very same, said he, sounding neither proud of the fact nor embarrassed.

"Huh," said Jubilee, trying not to sound too impressed. "I've read about you. You're famous."

Not really, said the angel. You humans are the major supporting cast in that book. We angels are more, shall we say...the behind the scenes crew? But we step in to fill roles as needed.

"I see," murmured Jubilee, and was about to ask something else when a door in the hall opened. Watari stepped out, wearing a comfortable looking pair of flannel pajamas.

"Good evening, Miss Julie," he greeted.

"Oh!" said Jubilee, surprised by his unexpected appearance. "Hi. I'm so sorry, did I wake you? I didn't mean to—"

Watari waved away her apologies. "No, no, not at all," he chuckled. "I was already awake."

She ogled him. "But it's past midnight! Isn't it—er, that is, I mean..."

"Past my bedtime?" The old man's eyes twinkled. "Oh, I'd say I'm too old for bedtimes. Besides, I must keep an eye on Ryuzaki, make sure he stays out of trouble. Would you like to come in for a cup of chamomile tea? It will help unwind your nerves before bed." He stepped back and motioned inside the door, where Jubilee could see a security room decorated with monitors. The center monitor featured L and Light in the main room; the former still crouched in front of his computer screen, and the latter still sound asleep. The sound of Light's soft snoring played through the speakers.

So Watari had heard everything between her and L, hadn't he? Possibly even her seemingly talking to herself in the elevator.

Jubilee sighed heavily, but found to her surprise that she wasn't too bothered by this old man's observations of her. Something about him made her feel safe and unjudged, like she had with the Andrews.

"Alright," she acquiesced, stepping into the room with him. Hellenos silently glided in beside her and took up position in a corner of the small room. "I suppose I have too much to think about to fall asleep anyway," she added.

"It is the time and season for sleepless nights, what with this Kira business," agreed Watari, pulling out a chair for Jubilee and pouring a cup of hot tea for her. "Though I suppose Ryuzaki has always had a penchant for sleeplessness." He chuckled as he handed the cup and saucer over to Jubilee. She took them gratefully. "I suppose I've caught on to his habits over the years," the old man continued. "That and I like for him to know that he is not awake alone." He shook a finger upwards, as if at the nighttime sky. "Evening is a lonely time to be awake, while the rest of the world sleeps."

Jubilee sipped her tea and glanced at L's crouched figure onscreen. Beside him Light, still sprawled on the desk, did not stir. Quirking an eyebrow, Jubilee asked, "So why doesn't he just sleep, then?"

"Because there is always another case to solve," answered Watari. "Always another criminal to track down and put safely behind bars." The old man's eyes traveled to where Jubilee was looking at the monitors, and then he almost looked sad. "Ryuzaki will not rest until the world can also be at rest."

Jubilee was taken aback. "Do—do you mean until there is no more crime? But...that's impossible." Inwardly she cringed at hearing herself bandy about the shameful i-word yet again, but she plunged on. "There will always be something. He can't possibly hope to solve all the crime in the world, can he?"

Watari sighed. "He knows. The boy has chosen an impossible burden for himself." At Jubilee's look, Watari laughed. "Do not be so alarmed, Miss Julie...one does sometimes catch Ryuzaki sleeping, but it is as rare as catching a glimpse of the Aurora Borealis. He has conditioned both his body and his mind to the task at hand."

"So he is human then," she quipped. "Sort of," she added under her breath.

Watari obviously heard her, but graciously made no reply to her comment. Instead he asked, "More tea?" and generously refilled her cup.

Jubilee accepted his kindness gratefully. The man was obviously close to Ryuzaki; what was she thinking, thoughtlessly throwing out insults about the boy? Meekly she offered, "His—ah—fortitude, is impressive at least," and sipped her tea.

Watari gave her a sidelong glance and a knowing smile. "He is understandably difficult to get along with. Don't worry my dear."

Jubilee's cheeks heated. Was she so obvious? "I'm sorry," she blurted out, suddenly embarrassed. "I don't mean to—to be unfair to him. I'm still trying to get over resenting him for arresting me for doing nothing wrong, which...which colors my opinion of him, and I know it. And I know I should know better. You'd think, that after everything I claim to have been through, that I'd be past holding grudges, but..." She was aware that she was babbling, but now that she'd started venting she couldn't stop. "But, the moment I think I'm starting to get past it, he up and does something else annoying! And it's not his fault, but it just...it just..." She made a strangling motion with her hands. "I mean, who reads the Bible in three days?! Who does that? As if I didn't already feel like enough of a sorry excuse for a...for a..." A what? she thought to herself. A prophet? A 'chosen one' of God...? What am I?

"A believer?" came Watari's soft voice.

Jubilee set her teacup down on the table in front of her and put her face in her hands. "I am a sorry excuse of a believer," she muttered into her fingertips, almost despairingly. "I may just be the most unbelieving person in the whole world, even after everything I've seen." Not removing her hands from her face, she continued, "And even after narrowly escaping judgment myself, I can't seem to stop judging others. He—" She gestured vaguely with one hand towards the monitors, "Understands the things that I should understand, better than I do...and part of me hates him for it." Parting her fingers a bit, she peered through them at the diminutive figure of the detective sitting onscreen. "And knowing that all he's trying to do is just save the world...makes me hate myself for hating him."

She let her hands fall forlornly to her sides. There. She'd said it. The words were all out before she could have bitten them back. Watari, who was clearly a father figure to L, would now know just how much she held against the boy he considered a son. She'd gone and blown yet another potential friendship. The thought made her unable to meet the old man's eyes.

She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. Looking up, she saw Watari gazing down at her with compassionate eyes.

"My dear," he said, "You blame yourself far too much. Don't you know," he went on, a twinkle in his eye, "That blame is the devil's game?"

Jubilee stared back at him. You don't have to feel guilty anymore, the memory of Pastor Andrews' voice whispered through her mind. And then another voice, her father's, followed it: You didn't do anything wrong, Jubilee.

Jubilee's eyes suddenly felt moist as she remembered the sound of one final voice.

Your sins are forgiven, my daughter.

She glanced over at the angel in the corner. He was glowing brightly, and smiling gently at her. She blinked hard and sniffed, wiping at her eyes. It sometimes blew her mind just how patient this inter-dimensional being was with her. It blew her mind even more that there existed human beings in this world who could be just as patient.

She turned back to Watari. It didn't surprise her to see that he glowed nearly as brightly as the angel did.

"I for one," he was saying, "Have much to thank you for. I've been trying to get that boy to open that book his whole life." He chuckled, and gazed at the L onscreen fondly. "But it wasn't until you came along that he finally did."

Jubilee followed his gaze. The detective's wide, owlish eyes seemed to droop for a second, but were wide open again so fast that she could have imagined it. His gaze didn't waver from his work.

Jubilee took a deep breath.

"Tell me more," she said at last. "About L."