Phoenix Wright, Miles Edgeworth, Detective Gumshoe, Adrian Andrews and Franziska von Karma belong to CAPCOM. Chief Spencer, Samantha Parris, Marlis Kross and the plot are my creations. :)

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Miles has had a really bad day and he's in a very ugly mood when he gets home. After he and Phoenix get into a bitter fight, he's feeling terribly depressed and miserable as he retreats to the library, wondering exactly what it is that Phoenix sees in him. Phoenix will gently convince him that it doesn't matter if Miles isn't a 'knight in shining armor'-he loves him as he is.

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A fluffy, humorous, semi-serious piece that is exaggerated for humorous purposes. :) (Revised Version)

I'm sure we can all sympathize with Miles and his bad day since we've all had days like that at one point or another and it can be enough to drive a person to distraction! I don't see Miles being a particularly patient person and it wouldn't take a lot to make him lose his cool, especially if the accumulated disasters keep piling up. Thankfully, our loved ones are very forgiving. :)

Thanks to all of my readers for your reading, reviewing, favouriting and alerting! I really appreciate it very much and I hope that you will continue to enjoy my stories!

Thank you to Midnight-hunter, my beta, for her enthusiastic support and critiquing! :) I appreciate it a bunch! :)

Special thanks to my beloved husband, DezoPenguin, for his unfailing love, support, nagging (when necessary) and for helping me to stay grounded during the writing process so I don't end up tearing my hair out. Love you, babe!

I hope you enjoy it and, as always, comments and suggestions are appreciated and welcomed! :)

Rated T, Humor/Romance, Phoenix & Edgeworth
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As I sat at my desk that fateful Thursday, I had every reason to expect that the day would flow smoothly, that I would sail through the day relatively unscathed by the various and sundry disasters of daily living and end the day much as it had started. Quietly.

The previous two weeks had been relatively quiet ones and, as I settled in for another day and pulled a file from the shelf behind me, a wide smile on my face and looking forward to the evening's festivities with Phoenix, I had every reason to expect that it would prove to be another quiet week.

I should have known better than to assume.

The volley that began the disintegration of my perfectly good day was the soft, musical chiming of the telephone on my desk. I looked up, with some surprise, to see the red light softly blinking on and off, indicating an incoming call.

Who could that be? I wondered as I pressed the red button and the crisp, efficient voice of one of my secretaries, Ms. Marlis Kross, came confidently over the line. I'm not expecting any calls today that I know of. A slight smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. Maybe it's a surprise call from Phoenix...

"Yes?"

"Mr. Edgeworth? Chief Spencer is on line three."

"Is he?" I replied with surprise, my fingers reaching up to brush past my lips. "What does he want?"

"He said something about wanting to talk to you about the case going to trial that you're prosecuting in two days. Something's come up and he says he really needs to talk to you right away."

My eyebrow raised as I reached over to pick up the receiver, resisting the urge to sigh. It wouldn't be seemly, after all, to yawn in the man's ear.

"Put him through, Ms. Kross, " I said crisply, my voice betraying no emotion although, I had to admit, my curiosity was indeed piqued as to the reason for the call.

"Yes, Mr. Edgeworth."

What on earth does he want to talk to me about? I thought with some chagrin, tapping my fingers impatiently on the top of my desk as I waited for Ms. Kross to transfer the call. I gave him all the files pertaining to the case the other day which should have been clear enough. What could he possibly want or need to talk to me about?

"Prosecutor Edgeworth?" The voice that came over the line sounded strained and very worried.

"Yes, this is Miles Edgeworth," I replied, trying to keep a slight note of irritation out of my voice. "What can I do for you, Chief Spencer?" Normally, I wouldn't have even bothered to continue the conversation past this point but the man sounded genuinely upset. "My secretary said that you wanted to speak to me right away."

"That's... that's right..." he began, his voice cracking with nervousness. I could well imagine him pacing the floor if the agitation in his voice was any indication.

"What seems to be the problem?"

He didn't speak for some time and, when he finally did, his voice was shaking with fear. I rubbed my eyes tiredly before I closed them and counted to ten, wishing that the good Chief would just get to the point. I had a busy day ahead of me and I didn't have any time to waste on word games with the Chief of Police.

"I...I don't know quite... how... to tell you this, Prosecutor Edgeworth, but..."

"For God's sake, Chief Spencer, just spit it out!" I snapped, my annoyance level rising with each passing moment. "As you know, I am a very busy man and my time is valuable to me. I don't have time to waste it on a blithering idiot who can't string two words properly together!" I could imagine his face going white as a sheet at this point. There was, after all, at least one advantage to being known as the Demon Prosecutor. "Now, either tell me what's wrong or get off the phone!"

"I... we... well, that is to say... uhhh... Detective Gumshoe..."

I sighed inwardly. I might have known.

"What did the good Detective do?" I asked, trying to keep my voice tone to a reasonable level.

"Well... he... he... lost... one of the files..."

I sat up straight in my chair, my hand clutching the receiver so hard my knuckles were turning white. "He WHAT?!"

I could all but hear him gulp. "He.. he... lost one... one of the files on the way over here yesterday... so... so... if you... could... resend it we... we... would... appreciate it, Prosecutor Edgeworth..."

I counted to forty before I answered and, when I did, I didn't bother to hide the very real rage I was feeling.

"I will resend it," I grated angrily, my free hand clenching into a fist at my side, "to you personally, Chief Spencer. And you can tell him from me that he can expect another salary cut for his stupidity!"

"Yes, Prosecutor Edgeworth," he squeaked. "Th-thank you, Prosecutor Edgeworth!"

"You can expect the new file via fax at three this afternoon. And if you lose that one, there will be hell to pay! Do I make myself clear?"

"Very clear," Chief Spencer said nervously. "And... Detective Gumshoe will be told of his latest paycut as soon as he comes back."

"See that he does, Chief Spencer," I replied frostily, forcing myself to calm down. "I trust that you will not need to contact me again today on this matter?" A good veiled threat goes a long way, I've found.

"No, Prosecutor Edgeworth, I... I will not."

"See to it. Good day, Chief Spencer."

"G-good day, Prosecutor Edgeworth..."

I practically slammed down the phone after I heard the dial tone in my ear, my hands shaking with suppressed rage. I couldn't believe that idiot had lost the file! How in the world could he have lost it?!

This is Detective Gumshoe we're talking about here. He could get lost in a snowstorm outside of his apartment so it really shouldn't have come as such a surprise.

Though I was still angry and upset over Gumshoe's losing of the file I had entrusted to his care, I couldn't argue with that last statement and I had to chuckle over the absurdity of it all. A few moments later, I sat back down in my chair, picked up the file I had been working on and proceeded to go back to work.

That soft chiming again...

What now? I thought with some irritation, feeling my temper slowly beginning to rise as I picked up the receiver. "Yes, Ms. Kross?"

"Mr. Edgeworth? Franziska von Karma is on line two. Something about wanting to talk with you about the case pending that the Chief of Police wants to talk to you about."

Good timing, dear sister... I muttered inwardly but merely grunted, "Put her through."

"Yes, Mr. Edgeworth."

I took a deep breath. "Yes, Franziska?"

"Where is that file, Miles Edgeworth?!" Franziska practically shouted into the phone and I had to hold the receiver away from my ear as she delivered a blistering verbal assault in German before switching over to English. "You foolishly foolish fool! You know I need that file for the trial and you're taking your foolishly foolish time getting it to me!"

I could hear an ominous cracking on the other end when she stopped to take a breath and I knew that she was brandishing her whip; I could all but see her fingers tightening around it.

"That, my dear sister,"I said in a bored tone, letting a slight edge come into my voice, "is Detective Gumshoe's fault, not mine. He lost the file I gave him yesterday and I only found out about it when the Chief of Police called half an hour ago and asked if I could resend it since the good detective had lost it."

"WHAT?!" I could hear her cracking her whip in agitation, her voice rising in anger and indignation. "Scruffy... LOST... it?! That foolishly foolish fool LOST it?! I'll deal with him when I see him again! I'll make him wish he'd never been born when I'm through with him! That foolishly foolish-" She went on in that vein for some time, well seasoned with strong words intermittently in both German and English.

I hated to say it but I did feel sorry for Detective Gumshoe. Just a little.

"You do that, dear sister," I replied nonchalantly, breaking into her tirade, "and, since I have a busy day ahead of me, I need to cut our conversation short. I'll talk to you later. Give my best to Adrian. Auf Wiedersehen."

I hung up before she could say another word, letting out a deep breath while I leaned back in my chair. Even though Franziska's anger had been directed mostly at Detective Gumshoe once I had informed her of the good detective's gaffe, I couldn't help feeling that I, myself, had narrowly escaped being eaten alive.

If that phone doesn't ring again for the rest of the day, I'll be a very happy man!

Soft, musical chiming...

I looked at the phone as if it were a poisonous viper.

Oh, no...

I reluctantly reached out and picked up the receiver. "Yes?"

"Mr. Edgeworth? Maya Fey is on line four. Something about Nick's birthday gift that she wants you to get back to her on, preferably today."

I groaned in frustration before I told Ms. Kross to put her on. Knowing Ms. Fey as I did, I knew that she would keep calling if I didn't talk to her. As if I had all the time in the world to drop what I was doing in order to take her call.

"Yes, Ms. Fey?" I rubbed my eyes tiredly and tried not to grit my teeth or let the frustration I felt to creep into my tone although I was sorely tempted to. "What can I do for you?"

"Mr. Edgeworth!" Maya Fey's loud and piercing voice came across the line and I had to once again hold the phone away from my ear or risk being permanently deafened. "Have you picked up Nick's birthday gift yet?!"

I counted to fifty. Twice.

"No, Ms. Fey, I have not," I replied crossly, my skin flushing a bright red as my temper rose steadily. "I have a lot of work to do today and I'm being constantly interrupted!" I could hear the anger sliding into my voice but, at this point, I didn't care. "I will pick it up after work today, I promise! Now please let me get back to work!"

She sounded disgusted with my outburst. "Geez, Mr. Edgeworth, you don't have to be such a grouch about--"

I slammed down the phone, cutting her off in mid-sentence, struggling to gain control over my tattered temper before I lost control of it. Of all days, what was so special about today that everyone in the entire world felt the need to call me at work? Last week was so quiet...

Soft, musical chiming...

Arrrgh!

I grabbed the receiver, yanked it up to my ear and shouted, "WHAT?!"

Nice phone manners there, Miles.

Ms. Kross seemed unaffected by my rude answering of the phone which, I will admit, did nettle me just a little. It would, in a perverse way, have made me happy if I'd heard annoyance in her voice.

That woman can't be human!

"Mr. Edgeworth? Detective Gumshoe is on line one. Something about wanting to discuss his latest salary cut or something. It was kind of hard to tell with him carrying on like that. He'd like you to call him back at your earliest convenience."

"Put. Him. On..." I hissed through clenched teeth, counting to sixty.

"Yes, Mr. Edgeworth."

"Yes?" The word dripped with venom.

"Mr. Edgeworth, you gotta help me! I can't get another paycut this month!" Detective Gumshoe's voice was desperate and I could hear someone yelling at him in both German and English dimly in the background, my lips curving into a savage smile when I realized that Franziska had caught up with him. I couldn't help but feel meanly glad about it.

Good for you, Franziska...

"You lost a very important file, Detective Gumshoe," I said icily, my voice dangerously quiet, "and, for that, you deserve three paycuts! Be thankful that I only gave you one!"

"But... but... Mr. Edgeworth!" he wailed, his voice rising with each syllable. I could hear banging and scraping noises with intermittent whip cracks, Franziska's angry voice yelling "Dumkopf!" and "Schewinhund!"-among other things-in the brief moments of silence in between. "I can't get another... OW!!! OW!!! OWWWWWW!!! Call her off, Sir! PLEASE, CALL HER OFF!!!"

I smiled grimly as I heard the ruckus on the other end. Franziska was really letting him have it. "I doubt I could even if I tried, Detective Gumshoe, so I will leave you to your punishment. Let that be a lesson to you and the next time I entrust something to you, DON'T LOSE IT!!!!"

"But, Sir– OW!!!!"

"Goodbye, Detective." I was enjoying this. "DON'T call me or I will personally cut your pay for the next six months if you bother me again at any time during the next twenty-four hours!"

"OWWWW!" was all I heard before I slammed the phone down once again, my palms sweating, my breath heaving as I tried to calm down but it was proving to be a nearly impossible task.

Soft, musical chiming...

ENOUGH!!!!

I grabbed the receiver and shouted into it, "IF YOU BOTHER ME ONE MORE TIME WITH ONE MORE PHONE CALL, YOU CAN LOOK FOR ANOTHER JOB!! I AM TRYING TO WORK AND I CAN'T GET ANYTHING DONE WITH THESE CONSTANT INTERRUPTIONS!! DO I MAKE MYSELF PERFECTLY CLEAR, MS. KROSS?!" before slamming it back down into the cradle so hard it rattled.

I groaned and let my head fall onto my folded arms that lay crossed on top of my desk. It was quickly turning out to be one of those days and the timing couldn't have possibly been worse. I'd been going hard since I had arrived at my office early this morning and I had been running nonstop since then with this, that and the other thing, fielding and returning phone calls and numerous trips to the Law Library downtown to check on various files there to research certain ordinances that I needed for the upcoming trial.

After half an hour, I slowly sat up and lifted my head, casting suspicious and wary glances around the room, particularly on the telephone itself. It was so quiet that I could have heard a pin drop. I reveled in the beautiful silence, knowing that it probably wouldn't last long but did allow myself the small hope that it would last until I had a chance to repair my frazzled nerves.

I swore, raking my fingers nervously through my grey hair, that if I had one more phone call with something else going wrong, I was going to scream.

"Mr. Edgeworth?" Samantha Parris, my paralegal, knocked discreetly and, hearing no response-I was amazed that she didn't hear me gnashing my teeth-she poked her head through the open door. "The Chief Prosecutor is on your private line. He says he..."

I looked at her blankly at first, as if I couldn't quite comprehend what she was saying. Once I understood that she was in my office and talking to me, my hands knotted into fists, my pale skin flushing a bright red as I opened my mouth...

I'm surprised that she didn't have heart failure on the spot as my piercing scream brought everyone on the floor on the run to my office where they had the dubious pleasure-if you want to call it that-of seeing me banging my head against my desk.