Ever since she'd started helping him out with his investigations, it hadn't been all that unusual for Mr. Edgeworth to call Kay into his office for some task or another. Today, though, as she pushed her way in through the door without knocking, as per usual (hey, it wasn't like he wouldn't be expecting her, right?), Kay ended up pausing partway through her customary greeting.

"And what do we have today that requires the expertise of one Great-" She came to a halt just short of running into the man in a slightly wrinkled button-down and jeans who had been standing right by the door.

There was a meaningful cough, and Mr. Edgeworth appeared to one side. "Kay, I have some business to attend to. While we are gone, I would ask that you watch over miss Trucy here." He inclined his head toward the couch, where a small girl dressed in a red magician's outfit sat.

At the sound of her name, she looked up, waving a small gloved hand.

"I trust that you can keep her amused without too much trouble."

Kay grinned, putting both hands on her hips. "Don't worry! I'll make sure whatever we break isn't something too expensive."

As she expected, Mr. Edgeworth made one of his funny choked noises, but before he could respond properly, the other man laughed and put a hand on his back, leading him out of the room. "They'll be fine, Edgeworth. We'll be back in an hour or two; make sure you finish your homework by then."

She giggled. "Ok. See you later, daddy!"

With that, the door clicked shut, leaving the two of them alone in the office.

Kay made her way over to the girl, extending a hand. "Hi. I'm Kay. Trucy, right?"

"Not yet!" She beamed, taking the hand with a firmer grip than Kay would've expected out of a kid. When Kay gave her a blank look, she tipped her hat and leaned forward to whisper conspiratorially. "Wright's my new daddy's name, but I don't get to be that yet because they haven't quite finished all the adoption paperwork."

"Ohh. I gotcha."

She gave a satisfied nod, and then started shuffling through the open backpack laying on the couch next to her. "I should get this done now. Daddy said as long as I do, we can get ice cream. And besides," Trucy dropped a folder and pencil before stretching out across the floor on her stomach next to them, "it makes him sad if I don't do something I promised." In a small voice, as she started to write, "and he's sad been enough lately already."

Hopping up to sit on Mr. Edgeworth's desk, Kay studied Trucy as she worked through the papers. She'd guess she was about eight or nine, and the top hat and cloak were vaguely reminiscent of some show she thought she'd seen before. Looking at her and recalling the last few remarks she'd made, especially the seriousness with which they were said, Kay couldn't help but think of the notebook she'd kept under her mattress ever since she'd gotten it back about a month ago.

Lost in thought as she was, Kay didn't notice that Trucy had finished until she was flopping back onto the couch with a huff and stuffing the papers back in the bag.

Noticing Kay's gaze, she stuck a leg up in the air and waved her hands. "Finished!" Then, she rolled off the couch to stand back up. "Hey," she said, questioningly. "Want to see a magic trick?"

The way the girl practically vibrated with held-back excitement left Kay barely able to bite back a laugh as she nodded. "Come sit with me." She patted the spot next to her.

Trucy shook her head as she walked over. "Mr. Edgeworth asked me not to touch his things."

Kay scrunched up her face. "Hmm." Brightening, she scooped Trucy up and placed her on her lap. "There we go! You're not touching the desk; you're sitting on me, who happens to be sitting on his desk."

The way Trucy's eyes lit up as she thought it over was just about the cutest thing Kay had ever seen. "Yeah! But…" she looked down. "What if we still get in trouble?"

Even though she couldn't see her face from this angle, she could just picture the sad little eyes she was probably giving. Kay suddenly found herself wondering if this was how Gummy felt when he'd ended up lying about eating swiss rolls with her. "Well, then we'll just tell Mr. Edgeworth it was my idea. That way, you won't get in trouble!"

"Okay." She sat up, shifting sideways so she could look up at Kay. From some unknown pocket in her dress, she produced a deck of cards, fanning them out with the faces showing so she could see it was a normal playing deck before flipping it over and gesturing for her to take a card.

Kay slid one out.

"Now look at it, but don't show me. Then put it back with the others." After she did so, Trucy placed the whole deck on top of her head, pulling her hat firmly back down over them after. With a flourish, she tapped the side of the hat, sweeping it off her head once more to show that it was now empty. "Now, check under the desk."

Frowning, she reached a hand and felt along the underside of the desk until her hand hit against something. Pulling the thing free, she squinted, mouth open as she looked at it. "Hey, this is my learner's permit!"

"Oops." Trucy stared at the card, a sad pout on her face. Then, she twisted around even more so her upper body was almost facing Kay. Tugging down the outermost layer of Kay's scarf, she pulled something out from between the folds. "Is this your card?"

Kay could only look wordlessly from her hand to Trucy's. "But how…"

Pulling her hat down to one side, she stuck her tongue out playfully. "It's a secret!"

"Okay, but where did you learn to do sleight of hand that good?"

"My daddy's a great magician, and some day, I'm gonna be one too! I'm studying so I can impress him when he comes back."

Kay's hand strayed towards the badge on her scarf, although she didn't even notice she was doing it. "Comes back? Oh, you mean not the guy who was with Mr. Edgeworth?"

"Yeah, my old daddy." The smile wilted a little as she retrieved the cards from under her hat. "Even though he didn't kill anyone, he said that prosecutor guy made it sound like he did, so he had to run away."

"That's not very nice." Kay huffed, crossing her arms. "The law's supposed to be used to find the truth. ...Tell you what: if you see that mean prosecutor again, you kick him in the shin, alright?"

That seemed to lighten her mood a bit. She nodded. Then, after a pause: "You want to see something really cool?"

Kay grinned wildly. "Yeah I do."

Trucy practically sprang off of Kay's lap, bounding back a few steps before giving a sweeping bow. "Presenting…the Amazing Mr. Hat!" From beneath her cloak sprung an enormous wooden puppet with an outfit that matched her own. However, its appearance also had the effect of knocking over the small table just behind her, scattering chess pieces across the floor.

Hurriedly putting Mr. Hat back, Trucy scrambled to pick things up, but quickly skidded to a halt again. She let out a gasp, hands flying to her mouth. "Oh no…"

Kay bounded to her, leaning over her shoulder. "Oh. Ohh. Hey, it's alright." She patted Trucy on the shoulder. "You didn't do that."

"But I just-"

Shaking her head, Kay kneeled down to put a hand on the large scratch in the wood that the pedestal had covered up. "Nah, that was me. Did that once when I was doing stuff with my dad in the office…"

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"But daddy, I wanna come with you." Kay gave her best pout, staring down her father. "You said I could help you fight criminals!"

Laughing, he ruffled her hair. "I'm just going down the hall to get some paperwork. Besides," he knelt down to be eye level with her, "someone needs to stay here and make sure no bad guys break in."

"Ooh! Ooh! I can do that!" Bouncing up and down, she waved a hand in the air.

"That's my girl," he said, kissing the top of her head. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his prosecutor's badge, which he pinned to the front of her shirt. "I'll be back soon. You keep guard until then, alright?"

Kay gave a salute as he walked past her and out the door. "I will!"

The first minute or so she spent walking back and forth in front of the closed door, but then she paused, thinking, before scrambling over towards the desk.

When he came back to the office, her father was immediately met with a cry of "identify yourself, intruder!"

In front of him, Kay stood on top of his desk chair, hands on her hips and his coat draped over her shoulders and the back of the chair.

"This is my office."

"Nuh uh." She tapped the badge on her front. "See? I'm the prosecutor in charge here."

A grin spread across his face, and he leaned against the doorway. "Oh, Prosecutor Faraday. Yes, I've heard about you."

"Yeah, so don't try to mess with me." She crossed her arms, doing her best impression of her father's voice as she tried to keep her expression serious. "Cause I'm super cool, and really tough, so there's no way you'd beat me!"

"Yes, but where is your daughter?" He looked around the room as if expecting someone else to pop out. "I've heard she's bright and very capable herself."

"Exactly. In fact, I think she's been doing an extra good job recently, and when we get home tonight she's getting extra dessert."

He faltered in his persona, eyebrows raising. "Hey," he said, playfully upset as he moved toward her.

"Oh no you don't! Take one more step and I'll-" As she leaned forward to deliver the threat, one hand out in the way her father would make an objection, the coat caught on some part of the chair. Off-balance, she ended up stepping forward. With most of her weight on the very edge of the chair, it was pushed backwards on its wheels and crashed out from under her as she fell face-first onto the floor.

"Kay!" Her father immediately dove to the ground, pulling her up into his arms. "Are you alright? Let me see." Once he'd ascertained that she hadn't sustained any serious injuries, he let out a deep breath and simply held her tightly as she cried, rubbing her back and making soothing sounds.

After she had calmed down to merely sniffling, she tugged on the front of his shirt with one hand. "I'm sorry." Looking at the mark that had been made on the floor, she buried the side of her head against his stomach. "I messed up." There was an edge to her voice that warned a potential resumption of crying.

"It's alright," he murmured. "I was thinking about getting a rug in here anyway. The important thing is that you didn't get hurt."

Kay made a soft noise and clung to him. "Really?"

He ran a hand through her hair, hugging her more tightly with the other. "How about this? I promise that I won't be upset with you, if you can promise me you won't stand on any more chairs with wheels again. Deal?"

"Deal."

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"Your daddy sounds nice," Trucy said as she dropped the last of the scattered chess pieces into the makeshift bag she'd turned her cape into. "How come he isn't using this office anymore?"

Kay paused in adjusting the pedestal. "He…died."

"Oh. I'm sorry." Hands full but still wanting to give some gesture of comfort, she leaned her head against her side.

"It's fine! It was a while ago, anyway." She absently patted Trucy on the back.

"You can still be sad about it," she said as she tipped the pieces onto the board. "My mommy died when I was too little to remember her, but I still miss her sometimes. So it probably happens even more for you, and that's ok."

The utter sincerity with which she spoke struck Kay, and she had to pause in arranging the pieces as her vision blurred. "Thanks," she finally managed, although her voice still came out thick. Reaching out, she messed with the bit of Trucy's hair that was sticking out from under her hat.

Trucy covered the hand with one of her own, giving it a light squeeze as it dropped to hang between them. "And besides, you've got Mr. Edgeworth at least. Kind of like how I've got my new daddy."

Well, it wasn't exactly the same, but Kay got the idea. Although… "That doesn't sound like something he would say."

"No," she admitted. "He was talking about you before, and he said that you helped him investigate, but that you were also a lot of trouble, and 'I suppose she might be what one would consider a friend, if you want to put it like that', or something." Making air quotes with her free hand, she dropped the grumpy face she'd taken up when relaying the last bit, a knowing grin now appearing on her face. "But I could tell he was lying. I don't know why, though."

"Probably because he's an old man who wants people to think he's cool and logical all the time, even though he definitely isn't." She finally gave up on trying to decide where the last red piece she had was meant to go and simply placed it where her hand was at that moment. "Eh, close enough," she said under her breath.

With a few light tugs, Trucy guided her to sit over on the couch again. "Well, someone should tell him that's not how you're supposed to be a dad and that you deserve better."

Kay burst out laughing. "I think he might die of shock if someone directly pointed out to him that he basically has kids now." As she made herself comfortable, her eyes softened, and she dragged Trucy over to her again. "You're a good kid, you know that?" A contemplative look. Then, "Want me to teach you something cool?"

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Mr. Edgeworth and Mr. Wright walked in just as Trucy had successfully opened the lock for the third time, the noise of its tiny pop and Kay's subsequent cheer quickly added to by Mr. Edgeworth's gasp.

"Kay." Arms crossed, he glared at her from across the room.

Smirking, she gave an exaggerated shrug. "What? It's a valuable skill to have."

"Yeah, Mr. Edgeworth!" Trucy put her hands on her hips, still holding the lock in one hand and the picks in the other. "Being able to escape from from under lock and key really adds to the tricks a magician can do." She turned to her father, eyes big. "Isn't that right, daddy?"

Mr. Wright rubbed the back of his neck, a sheepish grin on his face. "Well, she's got a point…"

Skipping over to him, she held out her hands as she jumped into his now-outstretched arms. "Of course I'm right," she said, giving him a look.

"That's my girl," he laughed before kissing her on the forehead, ignoring Mr. Edgeworth's continued glare.

Kay watched with great enthusiasm as the two men begin to argue about the appropriateness of teaching an eight-year-old skills that potentially relate to criminal activities. Laughing to herself, she leaned deeper back into the couch, one arm propping her head up. As it went on, something about it tugged at her mind, until she recalled a faint memory of a similar incident in this very office. Her father, in a heated discussion with Uncle Badd about whether she was really old enough to be taking martial arts classes, as she sat in his lap and played with something on the desk. Although the memory brought with it the usual dull ache, there was also a warmth that spread through her body at seeing the trio in the present's similarities to her family back then, followed by a fierce protective instinct bubbling up inside her.

"Alright, let's get going then, kiddo."

Before she could hand Trucy's backpack over to her, Kay paused and took out a blank paper from inside. After a moment, she pressed the now-folded page into Trucy's hand. "That's my number. If you ever need someone, for any reason, let me know and I'll be there."

"Really?" she whispered.

"Well, I've got to have some way of looking out for my new baby sister."

At that, Trucy ducked her head, a hand at the brooch on her cape. She stayed like that just long enough for Kay to start worrying she'd said the wrong thing, but then looked up with tears in her eyes and a wide smile. Wordlessly, she tackled her.

She hugged Trucy tightly, giving the other two a wink as she did so. Between Mr. Wright's nod of approval back, the way Trucy beamed at her all the way until she and her father rounded the corner down the hall and disappeared from sight, and the hand that Mr. Edgeworth placed on her shoulder as they waved them off, for the first time in years, Kay truly felt that the office was home again.