Diego's Dilemma

Disclaimer: Phoenix Wright belongs to Capcom and not me.

Author's Note: Remember when I said I probably wouldn't write anything else until my schoolwork was done? Yeeeah, procrastination is fun. Part of my research paper is on empathy in infants, one thought led to another, and this little story was born. This was written at about 1:30 AM when I was half asleep, so the plot is kinda silly. But I think it actually turned out pretty well. It's meant to be light-hearted, so don't take it too seriously.

Also, I've been meaning to write of a situation in which Mia knows exactly what she's doing and Diego's the unsure one. So my procrastination works out in the end! Anyway, I'm gonna shut up now and let you read, enjoy!

***

Mia was sprawled out on the couch in her apartment. She was reading a book she had been meaning to catch up on. Luckily for her, it was the weekend; she could just kick back, relax, and not worry about anything work-related for the next two days.

She continued reading when she heard a knock on her door. Looking up, she gave a puzzled "hmm." "Who is it?" she called out.

"It's Diego, Kitten!" the voice on the other side of the door called out. But Diego didn't sound quite like himself. She couldn't quite place it. Could it be… stress?

"Be right there!" Mia leapt off the couch and walked over to the door. Nothing could have prepared her for what was on the other side.

Diego Armando stood in the doorway with an infant cradled in his arms and a diaper bag over his shoulder. Mia was completely flabbergasted at the sight.

"Diego?" she asked, surprise evident in her voice, as she cocked her head to the side.

"I'll explain everything, Kitten," Diego answered breathlessly as he shifted the baby in his arms. "Can I come in?"

"O-Of course, take a seat."

Diego entered Mia's apartment, sat on her couch, and placed the diaper bag on the floor. Mia had so many questions, but she didn't know where to start. She eventually sat next to him and smiled down at the baby in his arms.

"May I ask who this little cutie is?" Mia asked, her smile growing larger.

"Oh, yeah," Diego answered, seeming distracted and uncomfortable. "This is my niece, Marisol. My brother-in-law's in the emergency room and my sister needed someone to watch the baby for a few hours. Since I live closest to her, she came to me."

This raised even more questions for Mia. Now she really didn't know where to start. "You never told me you had a sister." She decided to go with.

"Yeah, well, Maria and I don't talk very often. We're both very busy, so we don't really meet up unless there's some kind of emergency."

Mia looked at Diego, nonplussed expression on her face. He wasn't acting like his usual arrogant, cocky self. He kept fidgeting, and seemed almost nervous. Mia decided to cut to the chase.

"Diego, tell me what's wrong. You're not acting like yourself." She prodded, concern in her voice.

Diego's usual tone returned for a brief moment. "Heh, can't get anything past you, can I, Kitten?" He then returned to his worried tone. "Umm, I actually have a small favor to ask you."

Mia raised one eyebrow. "What kind of-" that was when she was hit with a familiar smell. Mia looked at Marisol and back at Diego. A huge smile covered Mia's face and she started to laugh. It all made sense now.

"Give her to me, Diego," Mia laughingly replied, holding her arms out. "Lucky for you, I have experience with babies."

Diego gave a huge sigh of relief and handed Marisol over to Mia. "Thanks, Kitten," he said exasperatedly. "You're a life-saver."

"Why hello there, sweetheart," Mia said in baby-talk to the bundle in her arms. "I bet I know what would make you happy." Mia tickled Marisol's stomach with one finger, causing the infant to giggle. Returning to her normal voice, she turned back to Diego. "Honestly, Diego, this is what you were so worried about?"

As soon as the baby was out of Diego's arms, his usual self was restored. "Well, Kitten, I know next to nothing about taking care of babies."

Mia slung the diaper bag over her shoulder and made her way into her bedroom. "You don't even know how to change a diaper and your sister left her baby with you!?" She asked incredulously.

"Like I said before, my brother-in-law's in the hospital," Diego continued as he followed Mia into her bedroom, confidence back in his voice. "He broke his leg in a skiing accident. My sister had to rush over to the ER and needed someone to watch Marisol. I'm the family member who lives closest to her, so she came to me. I told her I had no idea how to take care of a baby, but she was so frantic that she didn't listen and just left the kid with me."

"I see…" Mia answered a little distractedly. She spread a small towel on her bed and placed Marisol on top of it.

"When Marisol… umm… went, I kind of panicked. I had no idea what to do, and I was especially worried because she wasn't crying. I thought she might be sick or something. So I came to you and here we are now."

Mia chuckled lightly as she started changing Marisol. "Babies don't always cry when they soil themselves, Diego," she said with her back turned to him. "Some babies are actually comforted by the extra warmth."

Diego smirked as he watched Mia changing Marisol. "Heh, I guess I know that now. Anyway, you say you've had some experience with babies, Kitten?" he asked with a sly smile, sounding genuinely interested. "Mind telling me?"

Mia replied as she was reaching for the wipes. "Have you forgotten?" she asked as she mirrored his smirk. "I have a sister who's ten years younger than I am." She smiled fondly at the memory. "I was ten when I found out I was going to have a little sister. I was so excited, I couldn't wait to be a big sister. I wanted to be the best big sister ever, and help my mom in whatever way I could. So I asked my mom to tell me everything about babies. She taught me how to feed, change, burp, she basically taught me all the… well, basics of child care."

Diego nodded, finding Mia's story sweet. He waited for her to continue. Mia grew a little more somber as she went on.

"When mom disappeared, I had to become Maya's primary caregiver. She was two at the time, so she didn't require as much attention as an infant. But she still needed to be taken care of." Mia's somber tone changed and she gave a small laugh as she started to put the new diaper on Marisol. "Maya wasn't quite potty-trained when mom left. She was potty-training but she wasn't trained. I finished potty-training her as quickly as possible. I thought it would be easier on both of us. To this day, I still think of potty-training Maya as one of my proudest accomplishments." She laughed and looked down at Marisol, job now finished.

"There you go, sweetie," Mia said in a baby voice again, lifting Marisol off the bed. "That feels better now, doesn't it?" Mia tickled Marisol again and the baby erupted in laughter. Diego smiled at how cute the two of them were.

"Thank you, Mia," he said gratefully. "I owe you one."

Mia laughed and stood on her tiptoes to give Diego a peck on the cheek. Diego's eyes grew wide and he stared at Mia.

"What was that for?" He asked. Though he was confused, he was still grinning, liking the fact that he just got a kiss from his kitten.

"For being so cute earlier," Mia answered. "I used to think that nothing fazed you. That you were calm and collected in any situation. But your vulnerable side came out today, and I have to say, I liked it. Who would have thought that Diego Armando, star defense attorney, was afraid of changing diapers?" She snickered at the last line.

"Hey now, let's not be hasty," Diego said calmly and with cockiness. "Who said I was afraid? I would have done it if I had known how. That's why I came to you."

Mia was still skeptical. "Sure, Diego, sure." She said with a light-hearted roll of the eyes.

"It's true, Kitten." he said with a light chuckle as he placed his hands on her waist. Suddenly, he was interrupted by his cell phone. Mmm, fragrance of dark coffee… he flipped it open and spoke to the person on the other line.

"Hey, sis… yeah, Marisol's just fine… okay… sure, I'll be right over. See you soon." Hanging up the phone, he turned to Mia. "That was my sis. She wants me to give Marisol back now."

Mia handed the baby back to Diego. "Here you go, back to Uncle Diego." Marisol giggled once again as she was being passed from person to person. They walked back to the door and Diego gave Mia a kiss on the lips.

"Thanks again, Kitten." He said as they broke apart.

"It was no problem, Diego, really." Mia replied with light laugh.

"How about I take you to dinner tonight, to show my gratitude?"

"That sounds lovely," Mia answered with another smile. "I'll be here."

"Perfect. See you later, Kitten."

"Bye, Diego. And bye-bye, Marisol." Mia said in her baby voice as she tickled the baby under the chin. Diego gave Mia one last kiss and was out the door.

When Mia closed the door, she realized that she couldn't wipe the smile from her face. Finally. There was finally an instance where Mia was in control and Diego was the lost kitten. Laughing once more at the whole situation, Mia walked into her bedroom to find an outfit to wear to dinner.

THE END

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End Note: I recently started another Mia/Diego fic (that one will have no babies or small children in it, I promise), but that one REALLY won't be completed until after I'm done with work. If I have enough inspiration to finish that one, I'll publish it. Thanks for reading!