Risenfromash: In my version of the Ace Attorney world a number of OCs exist and even though this story is AU from my big Vera/Polly, Maya/Nick story arc I have reused a location and at least one OC from Polly's Secret. So, if this chapter interested you consider reading that story as it delves much more deeply into this setting and if you don't like it…well, I'm sorry.

CHAPTER 6- If the Suit Fits

Seated at his desk, young Apollo Justice was barely visible behind the stack of dusty law books piled in front of him. He had spent several hours carefully reviewing previous cases regarding park statutes, mistaken identity, and the rights of foreign aliens, but in truth nothing was helping and he was feeling more and more discouraged.

Exasperated by the seemingly unwinable nature of his case, he jokingly asked his assistant, "Why am I doing this, again?"

"Because you believe we should all be free to get as many reindeer diseases as we want."

"I'm confident that wasn't it, Trucy." Apollo responded dryly.

Then in a more serious tone he added, "There is just no way I'm going to win this thing."

She came up behind him, placed her arms around his neck, and whispered in his ear, "Polly, you have to believe. Otherwise the magic doesn't work. Remember, it's like my magic panties."

"Trucy, please don't talk to me about your panties when you're touching me like that. I don't want your dad to get the wrong idea."

Trucy giggled mischievously.

"I dunno. Maybe if Ema had a little competition-"

"NO!"

Trucy smiled, "I'm only kidding, Polly."

"Thank, God. That's the last thing I need. No offense."

"None taken."

Apollo sighed and eyed the pile of books again. There were about thirty more cases he could look up, but it seemed so pointless. Nothing he was referencing was providing any support for a defense. He had to seriously consider advising Mr. Kringle to accept a plea bargain, but doing so meant that this arrest would be on his permanent record and even that seemed like too great a punishment for the 'crimes' the old man had committed.

Sighing, Apollo mused to himself that perhaps the best way to prepare for the next day was just to have a good supper and get some sleep as that was libel to do more good than any more study of the litigious tomes he had been reading.

Trucy stared at him.

"You're upset."

"I'm fine."

"You need a distraction."

"I'm. Fine."

"We could watch some Steel-"

"NO!" Apollo considered the Steel Samurai and all its clones produced by Global Studios to be only slightly more cultured than the Gavinners' music.

"Then we should go do something. We could go Christmas shop-"

"NO!" Christmas shopping was not going to relax him. The stores would be jam-packed and all he would be thinking about was whatever insanely extravagant gift Klavier would be bestowing on Ema. Whatever it was would make whatever he gave her seem pathetic.

Apollo sat glumly staring at nothing in particular. His phone rang and he answered it grouchily by barking his name into it.

"Thank goodness I got ahold of you! We have a big problem down here at the center."

The speaker didn't need to identify herself, nor did she seem surprised by the gruff manner of Apollo's greeting. She knew him well enough to know he didn't mean anything by it.

"Oh, hi, Shelley. How's it going?"

Shelley Johnston had been the main operational manager of A Children's Place safe house for foster kids for as long as Apollo could remember and even though it had been nearly a year since he had last volunteered at the half-way house he could recognize the perpetually optimistic woman's voice easily.

"Tonight's the kid's Christmas party and the person we normally have be Santa can't make it. Could you fill in?"

"Tonight?"

"Yeah, I'm really sorry about the short notice, but I really need a Santa. All you have to do is come to the party and let the kids have their pictures made with you and that sort of thing. Normally, I could have Carol's husband do it, but he's picking up the coats we had donated and Jamal is cooking the tamales, and-"

"No worries, Shell. I'd be happy to help out." Normally, Apollo would never have gone out the night before a trial, but it didn't seem like any of the prep work he was doing was helping and this seemed like something even his client would have wanted him to do.

~xxxx~

"Hold still!" Trucy shouted.

Shelley had lucked out that along with Apollo came a professional performing artist more than qualified at costuming, as transforming the short, young defense attorney into Santa Claus was no small feat.

"I look silly. It's too bad they couldn't find someone older. No ones going to believe that I'm Santa Claus."

Trucy clucked her tongue impatiently as she pinned yet another pillow inside the suit to create the 'bowl full of jelly' commonly sported by St. Nick.

"Polly, they will believe if they wish to believe…and they do. They need this more than anybody."

Apollo nodded. Sadly, the vast majority of the children at the home weren't truly orphans in the way he and Trucy were. Many of them had parents that were still living, but weren't able to deal with the challenges of parenthood for a variety of reasons and while Apollo and Trucy's lives were marked by tragedies and abandonment, compared to some of the things these kids had been through the two of them had had it easy.

"Laugh," Trucy ordered shaking Apollo from the sad thoughts collecting in his mind.

"What?"

"Like Santa. You need to practice."

Apollo blinked for a moment and then remembering his state of dress adjusted his white beard and said, "Oh! Oh, right…here goes. Ho. Ho."

Trucy groaned. "Polly, do it more like Mr. Kringle. Now, again! And this time with spirit! It's for the kids."

"Ho, ho, ho."

"Better. But it could still use work."

"I'll keep that in mind," he grumbled, feeling less than jolly. He felt ridiculous. He was too short to be Santa, as well as being far too young, and he could think of a million things that proved his get-up to be an obvious fake. He would be shocked if the children so much as spoke to him.

"Oh, Apollo! You look terrific," Shelley said coming in to inspect her last minute volunteer. "I can't thank you enough for doing this. Kelley's just getting the camera and stuff set up so it'll be just another minute…and here's the basket of candy canes for the kids."

Shelley was the most amazing multi-tasker Apollo had ever seen. After coordinating volunteers for years and acting as a stable rock in the lives of kids that tended to be batted around by the waves of life she had to be, but tonight she appeared unusually frazzled.

"So, what happened to the guy who was going to be Santa? He get the flu or something?"

Shelley stopped abruptly and hung her head a little. "Well, no. This sounds horrible, but I guess I can tell you. He's in jail. But it's not what you think! He's really a wonderful man, he just got in some kind of trouble…something about displaying his reindeer or something stupid like that."

Apollo leaned forward, his fake white beard swinging, "I'm sorry, do you mean Mr. Kringle was supposed to be here tonight?"

"Oh, you know him? Isn't he just the sweetest? He's so charming and so good with the children. They insist on calling him Santa even when he isn't in costume and every year he not only helps us on party night, on Christmas Eve he goes down to the warehouse and delivers all the toys to us and helped us get all the stockings stuffed and everything." Pausing for a moment, Shelley's eyes got teary. "I'm just not sure how we're going to do it without him…we've really come to rely on him."

Shelley blinked a couple times and inhaled deeply as though steeling herself fot what lay ahead.

"Oh, well. We'll make it work. We always do. One way or another we'll pull through and get it together. I mean who'd have thought I'd manage to get you here with only two hours notice? And with your own elf, no less! Someone up there is looking out for these kids. I just know it. But, poor Kristopher. Locked up so close to Christmas over something so minor! Anyways, I'm sorry to dash off, but I gotta go check and see how Kelley is doing. You can come out as soon as you're read…Santa."

As soon as Shelley had left the room, Apollo turned toward his friend.

"Truce, fast…give me one good reason not to go hunt Ema down and kill her."

"Because Santa doesn't kill people."

Apollo glanced down at his red suit and his white beard. He set his jaw. He was so angry. He couldn't believe he had actually considered asking that woman out, a woman who would lock up a man who had such an important role to play in spreading holiday cheer to a bunch of kids.

He grumbled and muttered very unjolly things making his white beard slip around on his lips till he accidentally chewed some of the false hair.

"Pyeck," he said spitting it out and readjusting the angle at which it sat upon him.

"That's what you get."

"What? Aren't you mad?"

"Of course I am."

"I am, too," said the Amazing Mr. Hat suddenly appearing from beneath Trucy's cape. "But the show must go on," the puppet said as Trucy placed a festive hat upon his head.

"And you're Santa remember."

"Right."

"Besides, Ema didn't know, Polly. She was just doing her job."

"She's a zealot!"

"She's your friend."

"Not anymore," he announced darkly.

"This is a very bad way for you to be getting in character Polly. Think of something happy. You need to be happy."

"I can't be. I'm-well, hello there."

Apollo had spied a little boy sneaking a peek at Santa from the doorway.

"Eeep!" The boy squealed and dashed away as fast as his legs would carry him back in the direction of the common room.

Apollo smiled. "It's ok, Trucy. I'm Santa. Apollo has a hell of a day ahead of him tomorrow, but me…I'm fine."

Then he spread his arms, patted his padded belly, and chuckled, "Ho, ho, ho" in the deepest voice he could muster.

Trucy clapped. "Oh, that's much better, Polly! I knew you could do it!"

"So, little girl and wooden man have you been good this year?"

"Very good. I only pretended to be kidnapped once and only to stall a trial of the falsely accused."

Apollo grinned and no longer in Santa's voice he said, "You better remember how you did that. I might need help tomorrow."

"No, you won't. You have the magic. I know you do," and she gently took Santa's hand in hers leading him out of the room to the delighted squeals of children and adults throughout the building.