A/N: Well hello there, everyone. Seems I've managed to wiggle my way into the Phoenix Wright fandom. After reading the stories that are already here, I'm excited to try adding my own! This is an idea that's been bouncing around my head for a few days now, and I'm curious as to how it will be received. There's a second chapter already in the works, but I wanted to post this for now to see how it will be taken.

I'm still relatively new to the Phoenix Wright world, however, and I greatly appreciate any help I can get with characterizations and such. Since I'm still new, I'm trying to pin down the characters and how they'd react in different situations, so any help that you guys can give me with this would be great!

Thanks so much,
BKF

...

It had been a fairly normal day at the Wright & Co. Law Offices – Phoenix made a half-hearted attempt to get some paperwork done before finally giving up and turning his ear and mind to Maya's chatter. It was Christmas Eve Day, after all – there were no clients seeking his help; he was simply spending the day closing out some old client files. It was rather embarrassing just how far behind he had fallen with those matters. Maya had honestly tried her hardest to help him, but with the nearing holiday and the lack of actual work she could help him with (not to mention a lack of interest in said work), she had gotten distracted and started talking.

Phoenix smiled softly, not minding her talk in the least. He listened to her talk about this and that and the other thing. He didn't even need to talk to be content with the conversation; he was content just to listen. In fact, he only interrupted her once – it was that fateful interruption that turned their world upside down.

"Hey, Nick, did I tell you?" Maya chittered, straightening the dusty law books on the shelf behind Phoenix's desk. "Will Powers – you know, W.P., the Steel Samurai? – anyways, he's joining one of those crappy reality shows. Can you believe it? I think it's that one with the—"

"Ahn—!" Phoenix let out a soft grunt, clawing at his chest with a grimace of pain.

"No, I'm serious!" Maya's back was to Phoenix and she didn't see his frantic movement. "It's that one where they put people on an island or something, and—"

"M-Maya," Phoenix managed to gasp out, and Maya finally turned to face him. She immediately could tell something was wrong; Phoenix had broken out in a cold sweat and was quivering violently. The way he gripped his shirt right where his heart should be worried her immensely as well. "M-my chest…it hurts—" Suddenly his knees buckled and Phoenix hit the floor, still grimacing in intense pain.

"Nick!" Maya was instantly at his side. She knelt next to him, placing the back of her hand to his forehead. She yelped and pulled her hand back; she hadn't expected him to be so hot! Maya pushed his hair - which had fallen out of its spikes from his perspiration - off of his clammy forehead. "Nick, I'll call for an ambulance. Hang on, Nick, please!" she begged, fumbling in her robes for her cell phone. The time it took for her call to be answered seemed to drag into some of the longest moments of Maya's young life. She only managed to get out a plea for an ambulance and the address before Phoenix suddenly collapsed. Maya managed to get under his body as he fell to support his weight so he didn't crack his head on the floor. Despite being told never to hang up on a 911 call, Maya did exactly that, though she couldn't say exactly why she did. She carefully lowered Phoenix off of her shoulders, laying his head in her lap.

Watching Phoenix breathe erratically and grimace in pain left Maya feeling a hurt in her own heart. He was unconscious, but still felt pain – somehow that didn't seem fair to Maya. Sleep was supposed to be a comfort. She ran her fingers through his thick black hair, trying to calm him even from beyond the sleep he had fallen into. To her surprise and disgust, she felt her lip quiver and her eyes well up with tears. Her hair whipped around her face as she frantically shook her head, trying to ward off the tears and remain strong for her friend even though he wasn't conscious to see her cry.

Maya allowed herself a sigh of relief when she head sirens screaming over the hill. She turned her attentions back to Phoenix and cradling his head in her lap, not caring anymore that her tears were splashing on his cheeks. Maya was so lost in her own thoughts that she never noticed the pounding on the door, or a familiar gruff voice demanding that she open the door. She didn't even flinch when Gumshoe finally burst his way into the office. The scruffy detective's sharp gasp at the sight was what it took to finally draw Maya out of her trance. Gumshoe felt his heart break as he watched Maya absently caressing Phoenix's cheek, but felt slightly unnerved when she raised her red-rimmed eyes up to him; he felt almost as if he were intruding on a private moment.

"D-detective Gumshoe," Maya finally managed to croak. "Please…h-help Nick…"

Something inside the detective snapped at her helpless plea and he knelt down next to the pair. He slipped his arms under Phoenix and carefully lifted him up, being sure to support his neck as he carried the lawyer out the door, Maya following close behind him.

The precinct was close to the scene, and a disconnected 911 call warranted a police visit, so it was no surprise to the paramedics that Detective Gumshoe had reached the offices first. It was a shock, however, to see him carrying defense attorney Phoenix Wright out of the law offices, cradling him close to his own body. They stood dumbfounded for a moment until Gumshoe brushed past them without a word.

"H-hey!" one of the paramedics shouted. "You can't move him! He could be injured!"

Gumshoe glanced over his shoulder darkly. "Then where were you five minutes ago, pal?" he growled softly. "If he dies…" He turned and squared his shoulders, glaring at the paramedics. "I-I'm personally holding you responsible!"

All three EMTs stood, completely floored by the change in the good-natured detective's demeanor. They said nothing as Gumshoe lifted Phoenix into the ambulance and carefully laid him out on the gurney inside. When Maya breezed past them and into the ambulance as well, the older EMT nodded to himself before closing the ambulance doors. All three paramedics sprinted for the cab of the vehicle, not wanting to waste any more time than had already slipped away from them.