It was slow motion.

That was really the only way to describe it. Time stopped, the world fell silent, and everything was submerged in an ocean of unseen quicksand. There were a million things he knew he was supposed to be doing, a thousand solutions he knew should have been running through his head, but he couldn't think of a single one. He could only stand and stare as Miles Edgeworth toppled to the ground, disappearing behind his desk.

"Mr. Edgeworth!"

Phoenix jumped, the judge's exclamation dragging him back into reality and spurring him into a frantic run across the courtroom. He grabbed onto the end of Edgeworth's desk and slid around the corner, half kneeling half falling next to the man on the floor.

"Edgeworth," he rasped, grabbing onto the burgundy lapels and giving the prosecutor a hard shake. "Edgeworth, look at me. Look at me, and tell me what's wrong."

Edgeworth winced, grasping at his chest with one hand while the other remained pressed to his side. "I don't know. I feel… I feel faint all of a sudden…"

"Edgeworth—"

Gritting his teeth, the older of the two lawyers tried to sit up, taking deep breaths to steady himself along the way. "How embarrassing."

Phoenix grabbed his shoulders and pushed him back down, trying not to lose himself to frustration. "How can you be thinking about that at a time like this? Something is wrong with you, we need to—" He stopped suddenly, moving up enough to look over the desk. "Maya! Call 911!"

I'm an idiot. I am a complete and total idiot. Phoenix shook his head, ducking back down and pressing two fingers against Edgeworth's neck. That's only the first thing you're supposed to do in an emergency situation, and I'm just getting to it now. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

"You did not just—" Edgeworth stopped to grab a few deep breaths. "I don't need an ambulance, I'm completely fine. I just—I was simply a little lightheaded. I need a ten minute recess not…" He trailed off, screwing his eyes shut and struggling to breathe once again.

"Too bad, an ambulance is already on the way." Phoenix grabbed onto the man's hand and gave it a squeeze, scanning his face and body, looking for any clue as to what was wrong. "Tell me what you're feeling—give me a list of your symptoms or something."

Edgeworth sighed, shaking his head from where he lay on the ground, obviously displeased by the entire situation. "It's really nothing. I started having some… odd sensations in my chest about an hour ago." He spoke calmly enough, but his hand was shaking ever-so-slightly, and he had yet to pull away from Phoenix. "It was just some pressure, on and off, and I just got… unexpectedly dizzy… and it's a bit hard to breathe. It's nothing, Wright, I swear."

"That doesn't sound like nothing. That sounds like something is wrong. Have you—?"

"Um, Nick?"

Phoenix and Edgeworth both jumped, startled by Maya's seemingly sudden appearance.

"Do you have some aspirin?" she asked, trying to force a small smile onto her face.

"Is this really the time?" Phoenix snapped at her but patted himself down nonetheless.

Maya shook her head. "Not for me. I told the operator about his symptoms, and she said Mr. Edgeworth should chew and swallow an aspirin."

Edgeworth groaned. "Whatever for?"

"Because it might be a heart attack." Maya fell silent for a moment, listening to the woman on the other end of the phone conversation. "Alright. Nick, make sure he doesn't pass out. Mr. Edgeworth, lie still and tell Nick if your symptoms change at all." She turned then, pointing to one bailiff in particular. "You, go downstairs and wait for the ambulance. Lead the medics here when they arrive. You," she pointed to another. "I need you to clear out the courtroom. Your Honor, you need to call a recess or something, just help him get everyone out of here. If anybody has aspirin with them, I need it now!"

Phoenix watched her take charge of the situation, and then he slowly turned his head, staring down at Edgeworth with a dumbfounded expression on his face. Heart attack?

Edgeworth stared back, equally astounded, but he quickly shook his head. "This is why I didn't want you to make a big deal out of this. People always overreact."

"Mr. Wright! Catch!"

Phoenix looked up just in time to catch the small bottle flying at his head, twisting off the cap without a moment's hesitation and pouring the contents into his hands. "Here," he muttered, placing a white tablet in Edgeworth's hand and pouring the rest back into the container.

"Wright, I don't—"

"Just take it, Edgeworth." Phoenix screwed the lid back on the bottle and set it again. "If you take one and you don't need it, it isn't going to kill you. Better safe than sorry."

Edgeworth opened his mouth to object but sighed instead, doing as he was told without a single word. Phoenix watched him to ensure the pill was actually swallowed—because Edgeworth was just prideful enough to spit it out as soon as he looked the other way—and then he turned to look at Maya, who had taken to staring out a nearby window.

"What else are we supposed to do?"

Maya didn't look at him, cell phone still pressed to her ear. "I can see the ambulance now. Did he take the aspirin?"

Phoenix nodded before realizing she couldn't see him. "Yes."

"Just keep him calm. They'll be here any second."

"I am calm. It's everyone else who's panicking." Edgeworth tried once again to sit up, huffing and puffing but very intent on proving he was just fine.

Denial. Quite possibly the worst case Phoenix had ever seen. Still, I guess it's better for him to be in denial and calm than realistic and panicking. Probably. He didn't honestly know. He won't look me in the eye. He has to know, deep down, that something is wrong. But should he draw attention to it or let it slide?

I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do.

"Wright, stop that. You'll give yourself wrinkles."

I have no idea what to do.

"For goodness' sake, I'm fine."

What if he dies?

"Wright—"

Neither man got out another word, the doors to the courtroom flying open as a group of paramedics ushered their way in, a gurney rolling between them. Phoenix moved out the way but refused to let go of Edgeworth's hand, subconsciously aware of the fact that the reluctant patient was just as content as he was to hold on to something familiar.

"Everything's going to be fine, Edgeworth." Phoenix gave him a weak smile and, after a moment of hesitation, allowed the paramedics to wheel his friend out of reach. "Everything is going to be fine."

It had to be.

"Nick?"

Phoenix slowly turned his head from the departing group, meeting a pair of dark eyes brimming with worry and tears.

"Is… Is Mr. Edgeworth really going to be okay?" Maya bit her lip, the closed cell phone clutched tightly in her hands. "Did he really have a heart attack?"

Phoenix fell silent for several moments, and then he started to nod. "I think he could have. He certainly puts himself under enough stress to... cause something like that. But he's going to be fine."

For a moment, Maya looked like she was going to smile, but then her composure crumbled. She stepped forward and buried her face in Phoenix's shirt, wrapping both arms around his waist and holding him tightly, quiet sobs shaking her frame.

"Maya, it's alright." Phoenix glanced towards the door, torn between the friend in his arms and the friend down the hall. "You were great. You did everything you were supposed to do." He squeezed her tightly and turned around, walking out of the courtroom with her pressed against his side.

Maya dragged her arm over her eyes. "What's going to happen to him, Nick?"

Phoenix shook his head. "I don't know, Maya." He grabbed her hand and started to walk faster, pulling her along beside him. "But I know we need to be there for him, and I know he would hate it if the media caught wind of this."

Blinking away the stubborn tears still trying to find their way down her cheeks, Maya smiled brightly and ran out ahead of him. "I hope you realize you just gave me permission to purposefully harass people with cameras."

Phoenix smiled but said nothing, his mind already plummeting back into the depths of what-ifs and worry.

Edgeworth, don't make me into a liar. You have to be okay. You have to.


Phoenix ran his hands through his hair for the hundredth time, looking up at the clock and then down at his feet, heaving a sigh and pressing his palms against his eyes. Sixty seconds later, he repeated the actions in perfect cadence. Sixty seconds later, he did it again, and so the one-minute cycle he had obtained over the past several hours continued, remaining unbroken as long as the clock in the waiting room continued to click out that same, obnoxiously repetitive pattern.

Maya had curled up on a chair next to him roughly two hours earlier, slipping in and out of consciousness as the night wore on. She shifted positions once every fifteen minutes or so in an attempt to get more comfortable, and Phoenix would look at her for a moment or two before returning to his pattern. There was no individuality to any particular moment, and after a while, Phoenix realized he didn't know how much time had actually passed since their arrival.

"Mr. Wright?" It was a nurse.

"Yes!" Phoenix blurted out the response, jumping to his feet. "Here! I'm—yes, I'm Phoenix Wright. That's me."

Maya slowly sat up, awakened by his sudden movement. "What's going on?"

"Mr. Edgeworth has been moved to room 401," the nurse continued to speak as she gestured towards the hall. "You can visit for twenty minutes."

"Thank you. We'll be quick." Phoenix grabbed Maya's hand and started down the hall, not wanting to waste another second in the waiting room.

Twenty minutes? That's all?

Not that he could really complain. It was way past visiting hours, and the only reason they hadn't been sent home already was because he had all but begged to see Edgeworth. They had made an exception for him, and he didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth, so he didn't question the time limit.

But still…

Phoenix stopped outside of the room marked 401 and took a deep breath, exchanging a glance with Maya before stepping through the open doorway and approaching the bed on the far side of the room. He stopped just past the curtain dividing the two sections, staring at the man lying on the hospital bed and wondering whether or not it was a good time to panic.

"Take a picture," the prosecutor muttered. "It'll last longer."

Phoenix forced a quick smile, waving his hand. "Hey, Edgeworth."

Edgeworth only glared. "Wright."

Phoenix opened his mouth to speak, but then he closed it again. Edgeworth was obviously exhausted, but it was equally obvious that he was trying to hide it. Phoenix didn't know how to talk to him without making him feel embarrassed or belittled.

Because just about everything made Edgeworth feel embarrassed or belittled.

"Hello, Mr. Edgeworth." Maya crossed the room and sat down on the bedside chair. "How are you feeling?"

Edgeworth glared at her, too. "How do you think I'm feeling?"

Biting down on her lip, the young medium turned to look at Phoenix for help. Phoenix opened his mouth, but once again, he found he had no idea what to say. Edgeworth was normally civil—as civil as Edgeworth could be—when it came to Maya. If he was snapping at her, Phoenix couldn't imagine he would be able to get a word in edgewise.

"Is there something you want?" Edgeworth turned his head to look out the window, pretending to fascinate himself with something beyond the wall of glass.

"Mr. Edgeworth!" Maya clenched her fists, cheeks puffing up the way they always did when she was mad. "Nick practically had to bribe the staff to let us stay, and we've been waiting for hours just to see you. We were worried about you!"

"How is that my problem?" he shot back.

Phoenix held up both hands, stepping closer to the conflict and trying to draw their attention away from each other. "Stop it, both of you. We only have twenty minutes, let's not waste it arguing." He looked between the two of them, eventually stopping on his hospitalized childhood friend. "We really are just trying to help."

Edgeworth stared at him, eyes cold and unwavering. "What exactly do you want me to say, Wright?"

Pressing his lips together, the young defense attorney glanced towards the open door behind him, knowing it was only a matter of time until their conversation would be cut short. There was no way they could cover everything they had to talk about in fifteen minutes.

"I don't want you to say anything. I just… I want to know if there's anything I can do. I want to know how you're feeling, what the doctor said, and what kinds of options you're looking at."

Edgeworth snorted, looking back towards the window. "You make it sound like I've been diagnosed with a terminal illness. It was just a heart attack."

"Just a heart attack?" Phoenix blurted the words out before he could stop himself. "It wasn't 'just' a heart attack, if there even is such a thing. Edgeworth, you could have died."

"You think I don't know that?" Balling his hands into fists, the fallen prosecutor glared at the two visitors in turn. "I am fine, Wright. Even if I wasn't, I'm surrounded by medical professionals. You and Maya should both go home and get some rest."

Phoenix wet his lips, nodding his head. "Alright." He wet his lips again, exhaling slowly, unable to comprehend his fellow attorney's mental state. "Alright, we'll go."

Edgeworth said nothing, turning to once again stare out that window.

"Here, Mr. Edgeworth." Maya reached into her robe and pulled out a small, plush Steel Samurai, setting it down beside him with a weak smile. "Feel better, okay?"

Edgeworth only stared at it, his anger seemingly replaced by a thick fog.

"Come on, Maya. He's tired. Let's go."

Frowning, the spirit medium turned and followed him out of the room, chewing on her nails and glancing over her shoulder more than once. "Do you think Mr. Edgeworth is going to be okay?"

Phoenix nodded, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "I think he will be. I wish he would have gotten help sooner, but he looks like he's doing alright. He'll be put on medication, and he'll probably have to make some changes in his diet and exercise. I imagine they'll want to send him to a cardiologist, too, just to keep an eye on things." He scowled, then, rubbing his chin and pursing his lips. "Edgeworth is stubborn, though. He'll probably try to get out of taking his medications, he'll keep working late hours, and he won't get enough sleep."

Maya laughed, covering her mouth with her hand. "You sound like a worried mother."

"Well, someone has to take care of that idiot, and he doesn't have a mother to fill the role, so that leaves me." Phoenix smiled, smacking his fist into the open palm of the opposite hand. "I guess I'll just have to see to his recovery myself."

Maya blinked. "Wait—what?"

"You heard me." Phoenix stepped off of the elevator and turned around, walking backwards and giving Maya the most genuine smile he had had on his face since the whole incident began. "I'll go live with Edgeworth for a few days, just to keep an eye on him. Make sure he doesn't work too much, takes his medicine, does what the doctor tells him to do—stuff like that."

Maya squinted at him, her shoulders slouching. "Are you sure Mr. Edgeworth will be alright with that?"

Phoenix waved it off, pushing his way through the doors and leaving the clinical castle behind. "Sure. He's a logical person. He'll see my point."

Maya fell in step beside him, nodding slowly with a very clear expression of disbelief etched across her face. "Uh-huh…"

Phoenix paid her no mind, walking down the street with a renewed sense of confidence and enthusiasm. He knew Edgeworth was going to reject the idea of help in its entirety, and he knew Edgeworth wasn't the person he had grown up with, but he was still Edgeworth. He was still a friend.

And I'm going to be there for him, whether he likes it or not!