A/N

This is a few days later than I'd planned but I had a last minute party to go to the other night so I had to postpone uploading this chapter so my apologies guys!

The aftermath of von Karma's death. I could've written so much more but I've split this chapter up since I know that I'd probably get a little bored reading a really long fanfic chapter so I'm saving the rest for chapter 15.

But cutesy stuff is set to happen soon I promise!

Throughout the night Miles had stayed in the hospital corridor, pacing its long hallway into the early hours of the morning. He'd been doing this for the last 3 hours or so; not sleeping at all throughout the night and, as early morning began to approach, the chief prosecutor began to feel even more on edge. But after what had occurred, who could have blamed him? Manfred von Karma had been murdered right in front of him – by the woman he loved nonetheless. And even though Miles knew that what Nina had done was justifiable, he just couldn't come to terms with it. Murder was still a crime even if the authorities would regard the ex-officer's actions as self-defence. It wasn't the law that was playing on Miles' mind – it was his own morals.

Detective Gumshoe had arrived at 2am with some clothes and other items for Nina when she came to. If she came to. The detective was obviously certain that his friend would pull through – and he made sure that Miles knew it too – even if he didn't believe it for himself. "If she doesn't pull through this I'll never forgive myself." Miles said quietly, his hands clasped tightly together. He hadn't slept or eaten since the incident even though he was clearly tired and drained from the earlier run-in with the now-late Manfred von Karma.

While the hospital staff and Detective Gumshoe had continued to hold a positive outlook, Miles just couldn't stop thinking over the negatives. He couldn't stop his mind going back to the moment when he opened his eyes to see Manfred von Karma dead with a bullet in his head. Despite himself, his mind kept replaying the moment when his shocked eyes met Nina's; her eyelids drooping as she drifted out of consciousness. She seemed numb and not completely aware of what she had done. Miles vividly remembered standing in shock for a minute or two before he ran over to Nina and carried her outside. Those seconds that he wasted could've been crucial. As soon as he reached the front door, police cars were pulling up outside the old Murray cottage; the unforgettable sound of a dozen sirens was all that Miles could hear as he looked around him and tried to take in both the scene and the situation: his father's murderer was dead. But his mentor was dead also. It certainly was a strange situation for the chief prosecutor to get his head around.

As a result, Gumshoe and Miles had sat in silence for over an hour until a nurse emerged to inform them that Nina's operation had been successful, and that she'd be allowed visitors soon. They were relieved to say the least. "I told you Nina would pull through, Mr Edgeworth sir." The detective grinned. "That reminds me, on my way here I bought these for Nina…" He pulled out a box of chocolates and handed them to Miles. "You should give them to her when you see her."

Miles took them gratefully, although puzzled by Gumshoe's actions. "Why are you smiling?"

The detective rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "you know, sir…just looking out for you and Nina. The two of you mean a lot to me, pal."

His words caused the chief prosecutor to smile too; Nina had been right when they first met – he really did take Detective Gumshoe's kindness and loyalty for granted at times. And on top of this, Miles realised that the detective knew about his fondness for his best friend, and that he supported these feelings.

"Sir, you really should hurry in to see her."

"Don't you want to go first, Detective?" Miles asked, being taken aback further by Gumshoe's thoughtfulness.

He shook his head with a half-smile. "I'm going to stay out here and wait for the other visitors. I'll see Nina later, Mr Edgeworth sir, I'm sure she'll want to see your face first."

"Thank you, Detective. I really appreciate it." The chief prosecutor nodded politely before making his way to Nina's hospital room.

With an anxious sigh, Miles headed into Nina's room; his heart lighting up when he saw her lying there, alive with a weak smile on her face. Alive being the key word.

"Hey Mr Chief Prosecutor."

Forcing a smile of his own, Miles approached the bed and took a seat beside her, noticing how pale Nina was; all colour had vanished from her face apart from the purple blotches and red scabs that were now present from her struggles with the late von Karma.

Nina recognised the concerned look that the chief prosecutor threw her way. "I don't look that bad, do I?" She laughed as best she could even though her muscles were aching. Miles didn't say anything, nor did he make eye contact with the brunette. Instead he simply set the box of chocolates down on the bedside table, still speechless. "Well cheers for the comforting words. You don't look too handsome yourself." She gave him a concerned look, noticing that Miles hadn't understood that she was joking. "You've slept recently, right?"

"No, of course I haven't." Miles replied glumly, still not making eye contact. "How could I even begin to try?"

"You need to keep your strength up. Who else has the capability to take over your job when you collapse from exhaustion?"

"I've got a lot on my mind." He insisted quietly; eyes still focused on the hospital floor and hands clasped tightly together.

"You mean von Karma? And what I did…" Miles felt Nina's eyes burn into him. "Don't tell me you're grieving..."

Her lack of guilt shocked Miles - that much was certain. He couldn't believe that she could've taken a life without feeling an ounce of remorse. "As bad as he was, von Karma raised me into who I am today. I owe a lot to that man, murderer or not. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't feel saddened at all by his death."

Nina's face dropped; it was as if Miles had just slapped her across the face. She just couldn't believe what she was hearing. "That man had me chained up like an animal for days. Look at my face; these bruises aren't just face paint. Not to mention the fact that he stabbed me..!" Nina took a deep breath, "and he almost killed you."

"You should have let him."

"No. No, don't you ever say that." Nina frowned, her eyes glaring holes into the chief prosecutor; his words shocking her by the minute. "Do you think that I'd have been able to live with myself if you'd have died because of me? How would I have been able to explain to everyone that you gave up your life for mine? That would've killed me, Miles. And you're so bloody blind to it all."

"I just wish that I could help you to understand the situation…"

"And I wish that you could realise that von Karma was a twisted son of a bitch who killed so many innocent people. He deserved to die, Miles." The chief prosecutor knew that the brunette was serious in what she was saying; her ideas of justice very different to those belonging to him.

"We don't get to make that call, Nina. Those decisions—"

"Often have to be made in order to protect those you care about." Nina stated bluntly, staring straight into Miles' grey eyes. The room fell silent for a few minutes; neither of them knew what to say to make this right. She sighed, knowing it was up to her to address the tension. And she certainly did. "…Why didn't you tell me about DL-6?" Nina asked suddenly, her voice strained. Miles blinked at her in shock, his head snapping up upon hearing the all-too familiar case name. "You knew exactly what I was going through when my dad was murdered. You'd have been the best person to comfort me, but you didn't tell me. It seems like everyone knew but me." Miles felt a blush prick his cheeks; he felt anxious and embarrassed – and guilty. And now that Nina knew, what did she think of the chief prosecutor. "I know that it's difficult for you to open up to people but you had the perfect opportunity to share that chapter of your life with me and you didn't. I've realised that I hardly know anything about you."

Miles couldn't speak; what Nina was saying was indeed true. If he loved her as much as his mind claimed, he would've opened up. However, he had a burning desire to tell Nina everything about him – anything she wanted to know, he wanted to tell. Being held under the brunette's gaze like that was especially intimidating.

"But that's what intrigues me, Mr Chief Prosecutor. I want to know your story…if you'll let me…" Nina feigned a small smirk and tilted her head to one side; leaving the prosecutor with a strange sense of deja-vu. Except this time, his head was inches from hers.

Their closeness however, was broken by the door swinging open to reveal Nina's brother Alex; back from several days of being awol. He immediately raced over to his sister and threw his muscular arms around her; Nina winced at the contact but ignored the pain in order to stay in her older brother's protective arms for a few moments more.

"You had me going out of my mind with worry…" Alex whispered, not letting his sister go. "I drove over here as soon as I heard that you were missing."

"You didn't have to do that. It's a stupidly long drive over here and I was clearly going to be found eventually…" She looked over to Miles with a slight smile. Alex followed her gaze and nodded at Miles politely; perhaps Nina's brother and the chief prosecutor were finally on the grounds of an acquaintanceship.

"Mr…Edgeworth wasn't it?" Alex asked, reluctantly moving away from his younger sister.

"That's right, yes…" Miles replied quickly, desperate to clear the air with the Englishman.

"Cheers, you know, for what you've done for my sister. I don't think I could ever make it up to you but I'll owe you a favour, when you need it." The two men exchanged a polite smile and nod – they were officially acquaintances now and that certainly pleased Miles to say the least. "I hate to ask but can you give us five minutes alone, mate?" The chief prosecutor looked over to Nina quickly to approve this request – she smiled and nodded, so Miles got up and left.

As soon as he'd left the room, Alex wasted no time in interrogating his sister. "You killed a guy."

"Jeez Alex, give me a minute. This isn't much of a family reunion, is it?" Nina groaned tiredly, propping herself up against the pillows on her bed, clearly uncomfortable and annoyed with her lack of mobility. "Yeah, I did. What do you want me to do, apologise to his corpse?"

"The guy that held you captive…he's the guy that killed dad right?" Alex asked, fiddling with the silver ring on his pointer finger. "And you shot him dead…I can't help but feel like there's a connection here, Nina."

"Yeah, he was going to shoot Miles so I stopped him." Nina answered ever-so-casually, staring her brother dead in the eye. "Oh don't give me that look! He deserved to die, Alex. He murdered our father and so many others; a life – lives – for his life and all that."

"And what if you go to jail for this Nina? Prison isn't the best place for you, is it?"

"Do you not think so? Personally, I think I'd fit in great with the prison gals. I've already got a tattoo and I can tell a good joke or too – I'm a real card, I'd be the life of the prison." She laughed a little until her brother threw her an annoyed glare; clearly he didn't appreciate his sister's humour either. "I won't get sent down anyway because it was self-defence, you idiot. I'm not just some trigger-happy nut, am I?"

"I don't know, Nina. You seem prepared to do anything to defend dad's honour." Alex stated with folded arms and a furrowed brow.

"Wow, you must really hate dad." Nina practically jumped out of her bed, feeling frustrated with her brother's attitude – in fact, he genuinely thought she was going to take a swing at him. "You were never on his side from the start. I mean, after all the bloody football practises he took you to, after he got you your first job and taught you how to drive and put up with all your shit you still couldn't get your sorry ass over here for his fucking funeral that I had to sort out single-handedly!"

"Here we go, blaming this all on me. Nina, our father was a murderer; he killed mum and tried to shut you up for being a witness. He shot you Nina. I just wish you could remember that night." Alex was dead set on the facts; hoping to finally deter his sister from pursuing what she believed to be the unknown truth – but of course it'd never work.

"When I get out of here I'm going to find out what really happened. Whether I'm back on the force or not, I'll prove that dad didn't kill your precious mother." She smirked smugly at her older brother who just rolled his eyes; he'd heard this determined speech before – proving Robert Murray's innocence had been Nina's sole goal for the last ten years.

From outside the room, Miles and Gumshoe could clearly see that tensions were high between the two siblings. Although the glass gave nothing away in terms of what was being said, the pair could take a good guess and say that the subject of their argument was Nina's actions as well as her father's supposed crime.

"Have you told Nina you love her yet, sir?" Detective Gumshoe asked suddenly, out of the blue; startling Miles, who almost jumped – shocked with both Gumshoe's boldness and the fact that he'd practically snuck up on him to ask the all-important question.

Miles hated the current situation. After what had happened, he was finding it so difficult to look Nina in the eye; despite the fact that he knew she'd murdered the convict to save his own skin. But why did it still feel like she'd done the wrong thing? Although what Miles couldn't get over was the fact that, after taking Manfred von Karma's life, she hadn't displayed any signs of shock or remorse. Moreover, Nina saw her actions as easily justifiable. And Miles knew that the LAPD would've agreed with her actions. Hence why he was the one left feeling the burden of her guilt.

However Miles also knew that, whatever Nina did, he'd still love her just the same.

The only real issue was finding the courage to tell Nina this.

A/N

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!

As I said in my notes at the start of this chapter, the good stuff is coming soon because I'm so eager to start writing about the blossoming of Niles or Mina? Haha I want a power couple name for the two of them.

The next instalment may not be up for at least a week though since I've got hiking this weekend and a French exam in the week but I'll see if I can squeeze some time in as soon as it's all done with.

Thank you for sticking around! Have a lovely day!