Summary: The inception of Phoenix and Mia's friendship - after finishing law school, Phoenix asks Mia to mentor him. But perhaps Phoenix is not the only one in need of a new start. One-shot.
"Phoenix," Mia unloads a stack of files onto her desk. "I'm sorry, but I don't take students."
"Please, Ms. Fey? I'm willing to do whatever work you need me to do...just please give me a chance to learn from you. I can help with paperwork, make phone calls, track things down in old records, make you coffee..."
Phoenix keeps talking, but Mia stops short as a familiar ache returns to her chest. She likes Phoenix, she really does. Maybe he tends to wear his heart on his sleeve, but she knows that he means every word he says. He'll help so many people one day, she thinks to herself as he talks on earnestly.
He's matured a lot since she last saw him - or maybe it's because he's wearing a (slightly wrinkled) suit instead of a pink sweater with his initials emblazoned on the front. But even if he stands straighter and speaks more calmly now, she stills sees a bit of that sneezing, bumbling idiot on the defendant's chair from all those months ago. And she can't see that guy without thinking of Dahlia. Dahlia, who is the reason there is a man whom she loves lying in the ICU instead of being here with her right now. No, it would just hurt too much to see Phoenix in her office every day as she taught him all the things she learned from Diego. Besides, who is she to teach him anything worthwhile?
Mia sits down, pressing a hand to her head, and gives Phoenix a look that's torn between apologetic and resigned. "Phoenix, there really isn't much you can learn from me. You've probably heard how my very first case went...there are plenty of people at this law firm who are much better suited to teach you. Trust me when I say that you would be better off asking someone else." Mia grabs the nearest case file and starts flipping through, hoping that she looks busy enough for Phoenix to give up.
"Ms. Fey." Phoenix has taken the seat across from her, and there is a subtle change in his tone that makes Mia look back up to him. Something about his expression has sobered, and he talks on determinedly. "If you have too much work and can't spare time to mentor me, I understand, and I won't push the issue. But if you're refusing because you don't think you can teach me well, then you're wrong."
At this, Mia raises an eyebrow and Phoenix scratches his head sheepishly. But he doesn't take it back and plows on impassionedly. "A year ago, you defended me in court even though all the evidence stacked up against me. You believed in me even though you had no good reason to."
Phoenix, Mia wants to interject. I'm not the saint you think I am. I believed in you because I knew Dahlia had to be guilty.
Mia knows she's not this great lawyer Phoenix has made her out to be. She's not this dedicated attorney with an unfailing faith in her clients. She was just a woman with a vendetta against a vicious, manipulative murderer. And now, she's not quite sure who she wants to be anymore.
Phoenix pushes on, "You trusted me and I lied to you. Just because I was trying to hold on to this illusion that I thought was my reality. You didn't just prove the truth to everyone in that courtroom - you proved it to me. I think you understood me before I understood myself. You don't just do you job, Ms. Fey. You make people see themselves, you embrace their flaws before they do, and you believe in them wholeheartedly."
"Phoenix, I'm flattered that your case had such an impact on you, but I'm not this inspirational lawyer you're describing. This is just one case-"
"But it's not!" Phoenix almost slams his hands on the desk. "I've gone through all your cases from the past six months. You always take the clients whom everyone else has rejected. Every case looks completely hopeless...the evidence and witnesses are airtight until you get to them. From there, you are smart and meticulous and relentless and radical, but most of all, you never - even for a moment - stop pursuing the truth. I don't want to learn from someone with a perfect win record. I want to learn from someone who will defend those whom everyone else has given up on, someone who will go after the truth no matter what it takes."
Mia has been silent, surprised by Phoenix's words. She and Diego had always been a team. Even though it was only for a few short months, almost everything Mia had done as a lawyer - whether in the courtroom or not - had been with Diego. When that incident happened, she had been forced to carry on without her partner, constantly feeling like half of her was missing, as if she walked into every case with only part of her defense team there. But hearing Phoenix talk about her this way made her wonder if maybe, she had coped a little better than she had thought. Perhaps she carried more of Diego's determined spirit in her than she had realized. Maybe, just maybe, not giving up on Diego wasn't just about waiting for him to wake up, but about moving forward with what she had learned from him. Maybe this was the first step she needed to take to find herself again.
"You can't say that you won't be able to teach me anything because I've already learned from you." Phoenix's mouth is set in a hard, stubborn line, his shoulders squared as he grips the edge of the desk, all ready to stand up and lay on another argument should Mia dispute this.
There is so much earnestness in his eyes, so much hope and aspiration in his voice - no qualms, no hesitation about his decision. She can see that he has this unshakable faith in righteousness, in wanting the truth, in serving justice. She hopes that he can hold on to that - that the things he encounters in this job will not break him. She also knows that she can't let this man of great potential fall into the wrong hands, so she gives him the answer she knows Diego would have given. "Yes," she says with a smile.
Phoenix blinks. "Yes?" He's like a child who has been playing tug-of-war, whose opponent has suddenly let go. "Wait, really?"
Mia laughs a little. "Yes, Phoenix, I'll mentor you. But I should tell you that I've never taken a student before, and you know that I'm no veteran in this job. Sometimes I feel like I don't even know what I'm doing. But I'll try to teach you everything I've been taught."
"Thank you! You won't regret this! Is there anything I can start doing now?"
"Well, I need some photocopies of these files, if you don't mind. The photocopier is just right around the corner."
Phoenix has already gathered up the files and is practically through the door by the time Mia is finished her sentence.
"Phoenix." She's not quite sure what to say, how to explain that this feels like the first solid, right decision she has made in a while, or how much she desperately hopes that she will be a good teacher to him. "Phoenix...I...thank you." She stumbles over the words, unsure of why she's even thanking him.
But Phoenix just smiles - half of it is still the goofy, naive Feenie, but the other half is a man with a steely determination and blazing passion for the work he is about to embark upon - smiles and grabs Mia's empty coffee mug, doing some half-salute with the files in his hand and says, "We're going to be a great team, Chief."
Author's Notes:
A crappy little one-shot I wrote towards the end of the summer in an attempt to get these writing wheels moving again. I wasn't even sure if I should upload it, but I really miss doing this. I know it's been a very long time since I've uploaded anything here, but let me know what you think, send me prompts, or just come and say hello!