The Omega gasped as a sense of foreboding filled him. L's kiss swollen lips frowned in confusion as he pulled away.

"Is everything alright?" L asked.

Light shook his head and stood, wincing slightly as L abruptly slipped free of his body. He couldn't stop to worry about it. All he could focus on was the invisible pull of the bond. He could practically hear Beyond's voice in his mind.

"Light?" Quillish called from outside the bathroom door.

"Y-yes?" Light asked as he stepped out of the tub.

"Something is wrong with Beyond and I need you to come see him immediately," Quillish explained as Light and L hurriedly threw on robes. "He's in one of the office bedrooms, because he wanted to give you two some space, but I think he might have hurt himself in doing so."

How could I have been so stupid? Guilt welled up inside Light. He warned us that he could sense us, and I just let myself get caught up in my own-

"I'm not sure if it's because he's not as far along in his healing as we had believed, or if it's something else," Quillish added as Light burst into the hall to follow him through the penthouse to Beyond. L followed closely behind, adding to the trail of bathwater on the floor.

Light's heart was pounding so loud that it drowned out everything else Quillish was telling him; a bone-deep ache spread through his limbs with every step, chilling him to his core.

"Beyond!" Light stumbled through the door of the bedroom. The alpha was unresponsive, brow furrowed in pain as he shivered under the covers.

God, it hurts so bad.

Light climbed into the bed and burrowed under the blankets next to his mate. He released a strong burst of his scent, hoping that it would elicit a positive response from the alpha. Light placed his hand on Beyond's chest and felt its rhythm beneath his fingertips, a twin beat to his own racing heart.

Please be okay.

"I'm giving him a dose of pain medicine," Quillish explained as he injected it into the IV port. "Then I'm going to check his vitals and take a blood sa-"

"Ah!" Beyond gasped as he sat straight up in bed, clutching at Light's hand where it rested on his chest.

"Light," Beyond mumbled as he took a deep breath of the omega's scent. Light let out a choked sob of relief as the pain receded and Beyond slumped into the mattress again.

"I'm here," Light burrowed closer and continued to hold him, sniffling as he nuzzled Beyond's throat. "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking-"

"Shh, don't be sorry, sweetheart," Beyond murmured as he closed his eyes and leaned into Light's embrace, drifting off into unconsciousness in mere moments.

"L," Light gazed up at the alpha where he stood next to Quillish as his stomach lurched all too familiarly. "I think I'm going to be sick."

L nodded in understanding and hurried to the other side of the bed to slip beneath the covers as well. His arm wrapped around Light's waist from behind as his scent helped banish the nausea.

"There, is that better?"

"Yes, thank you." Light sighed in relief, nestled between the warmth of his mates. He felt the tension melt from his body as a sense of peace settled over him. He entwined his fingers more tightly with Beyond's, even as he relished the soft press of L's lips against the nape of his neck.

This is what I need.

Not separate.

Not one or the other.

I need both of them.

Together.

But how? How can we make this work?

They can barely stand one another.

Light swallowed hard and opened his eyes. His gaze immediately landed upon Quillish as he looked at the three of them with a worried expression on his face, as if he were trying to figure out the same exact thing.

"I'm going to call Dr. Kadahari and see if she has any idea what just happened," Quillish assured the young omega as he pulled another blanket over the three of them. "Just try to stay calm for now and rest."

"He's right," L chimed in. "And I'm here if you need me."

"I'll always need you," Light whispered as he closed his eyes. He wasn't sure how he could still feel so tired after sleeping so much over the last several days, but for some reason he couldn't resist the pull of slumber once more.

xxx

L waited, albeit impatiently, as Dr. Kadahari checked over Beyond and Light, taking both of their vitals and looking at the healing gunshot wound on the sleeping alpha. She let out a heavy sigh as she finished her examination.

"Let me preface my diagnosis by saying that I am not an expert in alpha healing abilities," she explained to L and Quillish as she put her stethoscope away. "I have colleagues I can refer you to in that regard, however I do have knowledge on the subject of bonded pairs, which includes research into pheromone production, etheric cords and bonded theory."

"Noted," L replied brusquely from where he sat on the bed next to his sleeping mate. "Please just tell us what you think is going on and we'll go from there."

"Alright, to put it simply, I believe Beyond suffered from an episode of acute withdrawal when separated from Light's presence after so many days together," she explained as she ran a hand through her dark hair and gazed down at her patients with a slight frown on her face. "It was an extreme reaction, but-"

"Are you saying they can't be separated from one another's presence now?" L scoffed. "That's ridiculous! Light flew all the way to Japan without us and Beyond was relatively fine."

"I know it seems odd, but given everything that's occurred in the last week or so, I believe that this incident somehow tipped things over the edge for him," Dr. Kadahari continued. "Think about it. Beyond's experienced two life threatening injuries in a matter of weeks and undergone uncommonly rapid healing during that period. On top of that, his etheric connection to Light has been repeatedly strained in a short period of time."

"Okay, so how do we fix this?" L nibbled the tip of his thumb worriedly. I have a feeling I'm not going to like the answer.

"With consistency in proximity for the time being," she reassured him. "My recommendation is that for at least the next couple of days, especially as Beyond continues to heal, they are no more than twenty to thirty feet apart. Ideally, they'll be in the same room at all times. That will ensure the constant presence of one another's pheromones and help jump start the process of repairing the strains on their bond. I've taken baseline samples of their blood today for another bonded panel and we'll do it again in three days to see if there is any improvement. If things start to deteriorate further, we'll need to re-evaluate. If it's working, we'll start testing out more distance between them and gauging the impact it has on their health."

"I'll do whatever it takes to ensure Light's health…and Beyond's," L reluctantly agreed. I'll just have to get over my personal feelings about this situation.

"I'm glad to hear that, because Beyond's health directly impacts Light's at the moment, and subsequently your baby's health." Joy pulled a folder from her bag and handed it to L. "Speaking of blood panels, I feel I should let you know that the results came back from the tests I ran on both you and Beyond from my first visit. Actually, I had them run it twice because I wanted to make sure what I was reading was accurate."

"And what exactly was that?" L flipped open the file and began to scan the information as she continued.

"On the surface, Beyond's bonded panel looks fairly normal, until you factor in your blood work as well," Joy explained. "He still has traces of your pheromones in his blood. Not enough to make a noticeable difference in his scent, but it's there."

"Well, I'd like to say I'm surprised, but considering how little we know about how PHa works…" L's voice trailed off as he read through the results. "Please continue to monitor this in his blood work for the foreseeable future, Dr. Kadahari."

"That's the plan," she nodded in agreement. "You can keep that copy. Please call me with any questions."

"Thank you, Doctor," L muttered as he continued to read the contents of the file.

"I'll see you out." Quillish led her from the room, leaving L behind with Light and Beyond. The alpha set down the folder on the nightstand next to the bed and reached out to run his fingers through his mate's messy brunet locks.

"We're going to get through this," L whispered as he slid beneath the covers once more to lay next to Light. He wrapped an arm around his waist and closed his eyes. The steadily building exhaustion he'd been fighting for days since the Yellow Box warehouse incident was finally catching up to him and in the presence of his mate's soothing scent, he couldn't resist the pull of sleep.

When he opened his eyes again, he was surrounded by sunshine and flowers. His fingers ran across the cool stone of the bench he sat upon.

This is beautiful. L smiled as his curious gaze searched the garden around him. He stood and began to walk along the gravel path, rocks crunching beneath his feet as he made his way toward a vaguely familiar building. He felt drawn there, like he somehow knew it held the thing he sought.

I wonder if anyone's home. L peered inside the first window he happened upon and was greeted by the sight of his mate, who was decidedly not alone.

"What is this? Am I dreaming?" L murmured in confusion as he saw himself standing behind Light, kissing along the omega's shoulder and holding him close. A barely audible moan filtered through the glass to him as Light threw back his head to rest against the shoulder of the man behind him. The dark-haired man opened his burgundy eyes to meet L's own. It took a few long seconds before the hazy look in Beyond's eyes lifted and realization dawned on his face as he stumbled back a step from Light.

"What the fuck?!" Beyond growled as surprise turned to anger. Light's eyes snapped open as he felt Beyond's support at his back disappear, nearly falling backward as he took in the sight of L standing outside the kitchen window. The omega's jaw dropped open, face turning bright pink as he leaned forward to grasp the counter top.

"L?" Light trembled as he silently mouthed the alpha's name. "What are you doing here?"

"So, is this what you two do when you dream together?" L called out to them as he crossed his arms on his chest and scrutinized his surroundings now that he realized what was going on.

"Is this the house in Bude?" L reached out to touch the brick wall of the house. It was rough and cool, slightly damp with morning dew. "It's so realistic."

A door to his right swung open with a loud bang and Beyond stomped out to glare at him.

"Thanks for the cock block, L."

"Well, I suppose it's only fair to return the favor, since you interrupted Light and I earlier," L smirked as he strolled past the other alpha and went inside.

"What are you talking about? How are you even here?" Beyond hissed accusingly as he followed him.

"Hell if I know," L snapped as he entered the kitchen. "It's probably your fault."

"Of course, it is. It always is from your perspective. You can just fuck off out of our dream, L," Beyond snarled as he shoved past the detective to go to Light's side in the center of the kitchen. He wrapped his arms around the brunet and held him tightly in his arms with a defiant expression on his face. L forced himself to take a deep calming breath rather than continuing to escalate the situation.

"Listen, all I know is that I fell asleep in the same bed as you and Light," L explained. "The next thing I remember is finding myself in the garden outside. I honestly have no idea what is going on."

L turned away from Beyond's angry gaze to wander slowly around the room, taking in the vivid scents of French toast and coffee. He was having a hard time believing this was a dream. It was fascinating how real everything seemed.

In the next moment, he was opening his eyes to the sight of Light and Beyond slowly waking in the bed next to him. He blinked rapidly as he sat up and looked over at both of their confused faces.

"Wait, was that real?" Light mumbled incredulously. "L, were you just in our dream? How is that even possible?"

"I think so," L replied softly as he pulled his knees to his chest, thoughtfully considering the lingering details of the vivid dream. "There was a garden…and a kitchen. You were there, and Beyond, too."

"Well, that's just fucking great," Beyond sighed wearily. "Now I can't even get a break from you in my sleep."

"Are you feeling better?" Light asked worriedly as he brushed Beyond's hair out of his face. "You scared me."

"I'm sorry. Yeah, I feel a lot better actually." Beyond blinked slowly, a slightly dazed expression overtaking him. "Wow, Quillish must've given me some good drugs."

"Pretty sure that's Light's influence," L interjected. "Dr. Kadahari said that most of what was happening was because you tried to distance yourself from Light too soon after being injured again."

"See? You always say it's my fault…" Beyond muttered sourly as his eyes closed once more. Light glanced at L as he continued to run his fingers through Beyond's hair.

"Tell me everything that Dr. Kadahari said," Light asked as Beyond's breathing grew soft and steady in slumber. L picked up the folder on the nightstand and handed it to his mate. "What is this?"

"Yet another twist for us to deal with," L gave Light a wry smile and leaned forward to kiss him gently. "But we'll manage it…together."

"Together?" Light asked as they both glanced over at Beyond.

"Yes, all of us. Together."