* * * July 3 * * *

Amelia groaned as she stretched and shielded her eyes from the sunlight escaping into the otherwise dark room. After a few moments, the brunette rolled over and pushed herself into a sitting position. A final yawn escaped her lips as she swung her feet over the bed and checked the time.

Wait... the bed?

The teen furrowed her eyebrows. The last thing she remembered from the prior night was falling asleep on the couch while Matt was in the shower.

She smiled softly as she looked over to the bedroom door. Miles...

With that figured out, the young woman grabbed a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and everything else needed for her morning routine before disappearing into the bathroom. Once she was ready for the day, Amy put her pajamas away and stepped into the main room.

Her red-haired companion was sprawled out on the pull-out bed with the blankets in a mess on top of him, his foot sticking out at the bottom. Unfortunately for him, they had somewhere to be today. The brunette approached the bed to try to wake the young man.

She leaned over and gently shook his shoulder. "Miles, it's time to get up."

The redhead groaned as he asked, "What time is it?"

"It's seven o'clock."

"That's so early," he whined.

Amelia pouted. "I know, but we have places to go. You can sleep in tomorrow, I promise."

He sighed. "Alright."

Miles sat up, the blankets falling off him. His green eyes peered at the young woman through droopy eyelids as he stretched and ran a hand through his messy hair. As he stood, Amy noticed that he was wearing a plain tank top and a pair of gym shorts.

"I'll be ready in a few minutes," he groggily told her before disappearing into the bedroom.

The hacker folded the pull-out bed into the couch as she waited. Shortly after she finished her task, Miles returned dressed in cargo shorts and a striped t-shirt with his goggles resting on the top of his head. He followed he downstairs to grab a complimentary breakfast before heading out. After a few blocks, the redhead seemed to be more awake.

"So, where are we going?" he finally asked.

"My old orphanage."

Miles nodded to himself as they pressed on. Amelia kept herself more focused today, not bothering to stop and admire nostalgia-inducing spots. The further they went, the more run-down the town appeared. There were foreclosed houses for sale, unkempt lawns, and cracks all down the road.

Not much had really changed over the past few years.

The nicest building in their field of vision was situated on the corner of the street surrounded by a tall fence. The Wammy geniuses could see a decently-sized yard in the back with a sandbox and a small swing set. A few children were running around and playing as an older man monitored them.

Amy directed Miles to follow her as they turned into the opened gates. The fence around the front of the building was over twice the young woman's height and adorned with short spikes at the top, and the gates themselves were even taller. As they headed up the path to the front entrance, she noticed the new security cameras surrounding the perimeter.The brunette knocked and waited a few moments before a woman in her early forties answered the door. She had curly brown hair loosely tied behind her neck and a face full of freckles.

The woman smiled at the visitors. "Welcome to the Sacred Heart Orphanage. How can I help y-" Her eyes went wide. "Bambi?"

Matt's eyes went wide as he raised a curious eyebrow and glanced at his companion.

Amelia smiled awkwardly and laughed somewhat. "Yup, that's me."

The teen's old caretaker put her hands to her mouth before smiling. "You got so big. I never expected you to come back." Her eyes landed on the faint scar on Bambi's cheek. "Still getting into fights, I see."

The youngest of the three winced. "Yeah, but only sometimes."

The older woman turned to the redhead with an apologetic smile. "So, sorry to skip you. I'm Carol, Amy's old caretaker."

The young man reached out to shake her hand. "I'm Miles." After a moment, he asked, "So, why did you call her Bambi?"

Carol laughed. "Oh, Amy was a restless sleeper when she arrived as a baby. The only way I could get her so sleep soundly was to play the movie Bambi. The nickname just stuck."

The hacker rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "Yeah, it's kind of ironic since there's some violence in it."

Her old caretaker smiled before holding her hands together. "So, why did you come back?" She then gestured between the teens. "Are you here to adopt?"

Amy laughed. "I don't even think I'm old enough to do that yet. We're here for other reasons."

Carol nodded her head before leading the pair into the building and up to the front desk.

After taking her place behind it, she asked, "What can I help you with?"

"We're here to retrieve Amy's records," Miles explained.

The older woman furrowed her eyebrows. "Mr. Wammy was given her records after he adopted her. You should take your request up with him."

He raised his eyebrows in shock for a moment.

"I know, but we need the originals too," the youngest told her.

Carol frowned. "Those records are property of the orphanage. I can't legally hand them over."

Amelia sighed before explaining, "We need them to ensure the safety of the orphanage. Please, Carol."

She sighed. "I understand, but I still can't legally give them to you."

At this point, the hacker was well aware that her caretaker wouldn't hand over her records willingly. The teen apologized for taking up her time before leaving with Miles.

Once the orphanage was out of sight, the redhead leaned in and asked, "So, what's the real plan?"

"We're coming back to get them tonight. I'll need your help with the security," she told him. "You might want to take a nap. We'll be out late."

Miles and Amy were sitting at the table in their hotel room as they ate dinner.

After finishing his sandwich, the redhead asked, "So, you used to get into fights a lot?"

The brunette finished chewing before explaining, "Yeah, but I only picked fights when someone was getting picked on. That's how I met Melinda and Kato, though that was a few years apart." She paused for a moment before musing, "I used to lose fights more often than not until I learned enough in my classes. I didn't really start winning consistently until a few years before I became Robin Hood."

He nodded before asking, "So, how are we going to go about this?"

Bambi pursed her lips. "I'm going to need you to hack into the security system and delay the alarms and shut off the cameras. I'll be able to find a way in, but not with all that extra stuff." After a moment she added, "I used to sneak in through a loose section of the gate in the backyard, but that was three years ago so they probably fixed it by now. They probably changed the garage passcode, but that would make too much noise anyway. I guess my best option is to go through the front door."

Matt stood and threw out their garbage as he explained, "I have a few modified headsets we can use."

He motioned for her to follow as he entered the bedroom and went into a zipped section of his suitcase. He pulled out a clear earpiece before handing it to the brunette.

"There's a GPS inside it so I can track your location," he explained as he pulled out a similar earpiece with a USB cord attached. "I'll guide you with this and you can talk back by pressing that button on the side. I have a lock-picking set you can attach to your belt too, if you want."

Amelia smiled and thanked him for all his help before turning to her own suitcase in search of something dark to wear for the mission. She found a pair of boots and black jeans and set them aside as she searched for a shirt. A few minutes passed as she dug through her belongings, but all her shirts were lightly colored or had bright red on them – the longest sleeved shirt being her baseball tee that she hadn't worn in months, but that was white and red. She put a finger under her lips as she stared at the suitcase pensively.

"Hey, Miles?" she called out, still getting used to calling her companion by his real name.

"Yeah?"

She turned to face him as she asked, "Do you have a dark shirt I could wear?"

He knitted his eyebrows together as he turned and began searching through his suitcase again. "I might have something."

Amy walked behind him as she waited. A few moments passed before the redhead pulled out something black and stood. As he handed it to her, she noticed that it was a zip-up, hooded sweatshirt. The brunette thanked him and held it up by the shoulders to size it up. The sweatshirt was big – not unexpected given that he was several inches taller than her – but it would work just fine.

"You might want to wear something under it," Miles suggested.

She nodded as she folded the sweatshirt over her arms. "I'll probably just go with a tank top. It's going to be hot enough without it."

It was the middle of the night on a new moon, so Amelia struggled to see from her hiding spot in a bush across the street from the Sacred Heart Orphanage. She was wearing the dark clothes she had chosen earlier, the sleeves of her friend's sweatshirt rolled up slightly so as not to obstruct her hands. Her brown hair was tied up behind her head, though the shorter parts still framed her face. Although it was difficult to see, she knew that the gates were closed and there were security cameras posted along the perimeter of the fence.

Miles addressed the young woman through an earpiece as he told her, "Alright, I hacked into the security system. I can shut off the alarms and cameras for five minutes at most so you can get in, get your stuff, and get out. Make sure you're on your way out after three minutes, okay?"

She pressed her finger against the button on the headset. "Roger that."

Amy waited for a moment as the other hacker went to his work and she checked her watch.

His voice rang out in her ear. "Now!"

5:00 remaining.

The brunette rushed across the street, stopping at the front gate. After looking around for a few moments, she found that the gates were secured together with a heavy lock. She knew that she found those types of locks difficult to pick, so the only remaining option was to climb the fence.

Amelia jumped onto the fence and began to scale it. Thirty seconds passed as she made her way up and carefully lifted her body over the spikes at the top and onto the other side, but her foot slipped. Her brown eyes went wide as she scrambled for a better grip of the upper fence and she winced as she felt something dig into her upper arm.

The young woman was quick to carefully drop to the ground as she clutched the wound. It stung and was clearly bleeding through the ripped fabric of her companion's sweatshirt, but it wasn't bad enough to abort the mission. She wiped the crimson liquid on her pant leg and checked her watch.

3:55 remaining.

After glancing around the dark yard to make sure no one saw that, the brunette crossed the yard and stopped at the front door. Unsurprisingly, it was locked.

There used to be a hidden key in the flower pot next to the entrance, but that was years ago. Rather than risking it not being there and wasting more precious time, she went straight into picking the lock.

Amy took the lock-picking tools out of her pouch and went straight to work. It turned out to be less complicated than she expected. After unlocking the door she put away her tools and stepped inside, checking her watch as she quietly shut the door behind her.

2:55 remaining.

It was pitch black in the orphanage, though the young woman knew the hall well enough that it made no difference. She hurriedly snuck down the hallway to the basement door before quietly rushing downstairs to her final destination: the records room. With a test of the doorknob, she found that it was unlocked.

Praising her good fortune, the brunette stepped inside and turned on the lights. The walls were lined with filing cabinets filled to the brim with papers on all current and past residents of the orphanage. To one side of the room there was a small desk with a computer on it, likely being used to transition the orphanage into the 21st century.

Amelia looked across the filing cabinets before approaching the one labeled with 'S'. As quickly and quietly as possible, she opened the drawers and began to sift through the files. When she made it to her last name, she frowned.

Her files were gone.

Miles addressed her through her earpiece. "You have two minutes left. Get out of there."

She furrowed her eyebrows as she glanced through the files once more. I just need more time!

"Amy, come on. I can't reset the alarms after this," he quickly told her.

The brunette pursed her lips and sighed before pressing the button on her earpiece. "Alright. I'm coming back."

As she closed the drawers, a new voice rang out from behind her. "I had a feeling that you would be back."

The teen's brown eyes went wide as she whipped around to face the source. Carol was standing in the doorway with a sad smile on her face. She was wearing the same clothes as earlier that morning.

"I can't give you the files," she repeated. "But, I won't stop you from checking the desk drawer."

The orphan warily glanced between her former caretaker and the desk that housed the orphanage's computer. A few moments passed before she crossed the room to the desk and opened the single drawer.

What greeted her was a large folder labeled 'Amelia Stein.' Said woman picked it up as she looked back to her old caretaker, noting that Carol wasn't blocking her exit anymore.

Miles sounded almost panicked as he spoke to her again. "C'mon, Amy, talk to me. You haven't moved and you're running out of time."

As the young woman reached up to her earpiece, Carol smiled and began to tear up.

The teen hesitated as the older woman spoke. "I'm going to miss you so much, Amy. I'll shut off the alarms for you on the way out." She wiped a tear. "I hope that you lead an amazing life, my little Bambi."

The hacker tightened her lips into a thin line as tears began to accumulate at the corners of her eyes. She gave Carol a brief hug before rushing out of the orphanage, files in hand.

It was the wee hours of the morning when she finally returned to the hotel room. Amelia was sitting backwards on a chair with her arms wrapped around the back as she leaned forward and let Miles assess the wounds on her arm. It turned out that two spikes had broken her skin. She winced as he dabbed the open cuts with an alcohol pad.

The brunette sighed as she looked over to the young man sitting beside her. He was gentle as he followed the instructions he found on cleaning cuts of that size. His lips were pursed as he focused on her arm.

She frowned as she finally broke the silence. "I'm sorry about your sweatshirt."

"Hey, don't worry about it." Miles glanced up to smile at her before reaching for a gauze pad and neosporin. "I never really wore that one anyway. Besides, it looks like it stopped this from being worse," he added as he spread some of the ointment on the pad and placed it on her wound. "I'd rather lose a sweatshirt than you lose an arm."

Amy sat up straight and watched him carefully wrap her upper arm in an ACE bandage.

She glanced to the side before quietly telling him, "You didn't have to meet me on the way back."

As the redhead finished wrapping her arm, he admitted, "Well, when you stopped answering me and you weren't moving. I got worried that something happened to you."

The brunette frowned. "Sorry about that."

He shrugged. "Hey, I'm just glad you're okay."

A few moments passed as she watched him finish wrapping her arm. She smiled softly to herself. Ever since they met, he always seemed to have her back when she needed him.

After he finished, Miles looked up at her. "We'll need to keep an eye on it, but I think you'll be okay as long as we change the gauze daily and use that antibacterial ointment."

Amelia nodded and turned the chair around so she could sit normally. A few quiet moments passed as the computer geniuses looked over to her files on the table.

"So, what are you going to do with them?" Miles asked with a raised eyebrow.

She pursed her lips as she thought. The simplest answer would be to burn them, but that would fully wipe her from the system. Her contract with L would expire in a few years, and she would have to choose between working with Near for the rest of her life and leaving the investigative force to move on with her life. Without those records, she would never be able to start a normal life if she wanted to do so.

"I think I'll keep them for now, maybe in some sort of safe at the bank or something so no one else can get to them," she told him.

A few moments of silent relaxation passed before her red-haired companion spoke up. "So, where to next?"

The brunette put a finger below her lips as she contemplated the options. Carol had said that Watari retrieved a copy of her personal records after she signed her contract with L. Given that the genius never mentioned it, Bambi reasoned that it was probably at the Wammy House. It would be in her best interest to go and take them back. Additionally, she was willing to bet that Matt, Mello, and Near still had their records there and would want them back.

Amelia looked up at Miles as she told him, "We should head back to Wammy's to get the rest of our records."

He nodded. "Alright. Sounds good to me."

The young woman rose and retrieved her laptop from her suitcase before rejoining the gamer at the table.

As she booted it up, she asked him, "Where is Wammy's?"

"It's in Winchester, England."

She nodded as she searched for flights. "Not too surprising given your accent."

The next page offered tickets at a high price for the next day from Iowa to England. Amy moused over to purchase them, but stopped. The corners of her lips tugged into a slight frown as she looked down.

It wasn't that she couldn't afford them, but she didn't want to go yet. She didn't want to head back to Japan so early and face Mello again. She may not have had much experience in love, but he had made it clear over the past few months that he wasn't into her the way that she was into him. It was more important for him to focus on trying to be L's successor, and she knew that. Still, it was awkward being around him that last week before they left Japan. She needed time to get over him, and time away from the general frustrations that the Kira case brought on.

She tightened her lips into a thin line as she glanced up at the redhead. "Miles?"

He furrowed his eyebrows. "What's up?"

She sighed as she looked back down for a moment. "Would you mind if we just stayed here for another week or two?"

He gave her a sad, but understanding smile. "Sure, don't worry about it."

Amy smiled back at him. "Thanks."

As she went to purchase tickets for a later date, the young man added, "It'll be nice to relax for once anyway, especially since we haven't in a while. I bet it'll probably be good for you to wind down in a more familiar setting too."

The young woman shut off her laptop as she smiled back up at the redhead. He had dark circles under his eyes from the past few days and adjusting to the time difference. She imagined that her own eyes had a similar appearance.

"You know, I've never been in the US during your Independence Day," he admitted.

She raised an eyebrow as she tilted her head. "Weren't you guys here last summer?"

"We didn't come over until August last year, and before that we were working in England," he explained. "Do you guys really have those big parties like they always show in the movies?"

A short laugh escaped her lips. "Well, every town has its own traditions. Here, we always have this big festival with food, music, and games the weekend after the Fourth of July – most people spend the fourth with their families. Anyway, at the end of the festival we have the fireworks show on the lake."

Miles grinned as his green eyes lit up like a child during Christmas. "Can we go?"

Amelia caught his smile and returned it. "Sure, and I know the perfect way to spend tomorrow."

"I'm looking forward to it," he told her. "So, since I'll probably be asking you a ton of questions about how you do things around here, is there anything you want to ask me about Wammy's before we head there? Near said you've never actually been there."

The brunette pursed her lips as she considered it. Now that she thought about it, she really didn't know much about Wammy's or her mysterious coworkers' lives while there.

The young woman smiled as she asked, "What was it like growing up at Wammy's?"

Miles laughed. "You'd be better off asking Mello since he's been there his whole life. I only came when I was older."

She furrowed her eyebrows and warily asked, "Why?"

Her red-haired companion sighed and looked down. "I had a family before Wammy's. There was no one living in my extended family, otherwise I would've been sent there."

The corners of Amelia's lips tugged into a frown. She could only imagine the horrors he went through in losing his entire family. Now she wished that she had just kept her nosy mouth shut.

"I was six when it happened." He looked up pensively and she noticed that his eyes were glassy. "I can't remember most of it. We were driving to my older brother's football game – or was it hockey?" He winced. "There was a huge truck and this horrible noise before everything went dark. There was smoke everywhere."

He paused as he looked down at the table. "Everyone else died. I was hurt pretty bad and sent to the hospital. They fixed me up and gave me therapy, but I was there for a long time." He glanced up for a moment before admitting, "I don't remember how I got Watari's attention, but I did somehow. I got brought to Wammy's when I was seven and took on my brother's name. It was the only way I knew I could keep him with me, but I still think of myself as Miles."

There was a silence between the pair after the young man finished his story. Amelia tightened her lips into a thin line before reaching across and gently holding onto his hand. The redhead smiled slightly as he looked up at her.

The young woman frowned as she gave his hand a light squeeze. "Miles, I'm so sorry for what happened."

He laughed slightly. "I'm fine – it all happened a long time ago. Sorry for getting all carried away with it. It's been a while since I've told anyone about it."

The brunette gave him a sad smile before retracting her hand.

Miles looked off to the side. "It's really late. We should probably try to get some sleep if we're going out to do whatever you have planned for tomorrow. I'm just going to get changed, then you can have the bedroom."

Amy furrowed her eyebrows and scrunched her nose. "I had it last night – it's your turn."

"Yeah, but you did a lot today," he argued. "You should have it tonight."

She frowned. "It's not fair to make you take the couch two nights in a row."

There was a short silence between the pair as they had a stubborn stare down. He raised an eyebrow after a few moments, and she pouted in response.

"If you fall asleep on that couch, I'm just going to pick you up and put you in the bed again," he told her.

Although a part of her was frustrated by the notion, Amelia couldn't help but smile. "Fine, but you'd better get the bed the next two nights."

Miles laughed. "Sounds good enough to me."

He stood and disappeared into the bedroom to get changed.